This weekend Mormon history was made.
Every six months us Mormons like to gather together round our television sets and watch tv for eight hours. It's called General Conference. Instead of going to normal church on Sunday, we have four sessions of "conference", a Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon session, and a Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon session. Most members try to catch at least part of the broadcast if not all of it. I realize that to those outside of the church eight hours of church broadcasts sounds absolutely insane, but it's actually wonderful. We get to stay home in our pjs, eat food all day, and hear inspired counsel from the prophet, the 12 apostles, and other church leaders. So yah, I don't mind conference weekend one bit!
This conference session, in addition to all of the normal feel good stuff that normally goes on during conference, had a special announcement.
The president of the church, Thomas S. Monson, announced Saturday morning that the church would be lowering the minimum age required to serve full time LDS missions. For as long as I have lived, the age for missionary service has been 19 years old for men and 21 years old for women. This weekend it was announced that the age for men (boys?!?) would now be 18, and the age for women would be 19.
It might not seem like much. But it is. It is a huge shift in the culture and lives of Mormons. Boys can now leave on their missions right out of high school. They can be home and done with their missions by the time they're only 20. Girls (who serve for 18 months as opposed to the 24 months the boys serve) can be home by the time they're 20 too! This works out perfectly for high school sweethearts- they can pretty much go on their missions at the same time, come home and tie that knot tight! No more of the girl "waiting" for the boy to get home from his mission- something pretty common in Mormon culture- instead they can both go!
I think the hugest difference that will come with this announcement is that there will be more women missionaries. I'm sure you've seen LDS missionaries around your neighborhood, and most likely they have been men. This is because missionary work is something that is asked of all men in the church, but is optional for the women. Because it is optional, and because women can't serve until they are 21, many women decide not to go. By the time women are 21, many are deeply immersed in their college studies, dating seriously, or in some cases, even married already.
By lowering the age to 19, church leaders are essentially making it "easier" for women to go. There's always been a stereotype inside the Mormon Church that girl missionaries are the frumpy ones who couldn't get married. I anticipate that now that women don't have to wait so long to go, many more will serve. The stereotype will change from the "girls who couldn't get married" to the "girls who are passionate about their religion."
I like this announcement from the church. I am all about women empowerment, and I believe this 100% empowers the women in the church. I think Natalie said it best on her twitter account:
"Girls, you can do it all! Go on a mission! Get an education! Get married! Have babies! I love this day. No longer an either/or."
I can't say enough about how much my mission meant to me. (You can read about it here and here.) It was such a special time in my life- a period of time that was dedicated completely to figuring out my relationship with God. I wish everyone could have that experience. And now, it's that much easier.
What this means for people who aren't Mormon:
- The boys with nametags and bicycles around your neighborhood are now going to look even younger.
- My guess is that within 3 years you will be seeing MANY more female missionaries.
- More cute girl missionaries?!?
-Your Mormon neighbors will now be getting married and having kids even earlier than before because now both the boy and girl can be done with their missionary service by 20! WOWZERS!
Hubs thinks there might be a few more negative repercussions than the church bargained for- more homesick missionaries away from home for the first time, more missionaries who can't cook, clean, or manage their money, and more missionary "romances" (something that is most definitely not allowed while you are serving).
So what do y'all think of the big announcement?
(P.S. I heard one of the best talks of my entire life about death and trials and hard things- answering many of the questions I had in this post. I can't wait to share it with you once it is printed!)
