A Practical Example of the Impact of the Mission Age Change

I have a hard time believing this won’t have a significant effect on the organizational structure of missions.

Eventual need for “Female AP’s” to serve like a RS Presidency for the needs of the sister missionaries (who would likely still report to male priesthood leaders for “chain of command” stuff)?

Thanks for posting this, Ray. I figured the change would alter the demographics of missions, but that’s extraordinary! 35 new sister missionaries in just one mission? That’s a bunch of new apartments, new areas to be created, etc. Besides the logistics, I wonder if another effect of this new policy will be a change in the roles missionaries fill? 20 years ago when I was serving proselyting was Job One, and service, reactivation, training local leaders, etc. were way down the line. It seems in the past few years this has changed a bit, and while proselyting still remains a big portion of the job of a missionary, giving service, reactivation, working with members, etc. has become a bigger priority than it was before. I think getting this big infusion of young ladies into the missionary ranks may propel that even further along.

Best wishes for your daughter’s mission.

Ray, I was wondering if your daughter is a TBM or a little more opened to different interpritations? I ask because this will be a very new situation for her and be a real test of her testimony. I was also wondering what yor feelings are? I would encourage most of my kids to go but when my sons went I was a TBM also and now I would maybe feel different than I did then. I think I would talk to them more about being true to themselves and serving the people than trying to get numbers or impressing the MP, not that I ever cared much about those things. How does she feel about ” the one and only true church” and things like that?

She’s a Democrat / Libertarian / Socialist living in Provo, UT. She voted for President Obama even though she knew it was a throwaway vote in practical terms, just so she could complain if Governor Romney won. She has a deep belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but she shakes her head regularly over the differences in her views on a lot of things and those of lots of members she knows. She probably is more like me in that regard than any of our other children.

For example, when a former Stake President mentioned in Stake Conference while she was in high school that he was proud of his son for refusing to date girls who were not LDS, she turned to me and said two things – the first with a grimace and the second with a wicked grin:

So, he doesn’t want me to date at all in high school – or college, if I don’t go to a school in Utah? That’s not going to happen!!

That’s what happens when someone goes past the scheduled time. They end up preaching their own interpretations and saying stupid things.

I love that girl. It will be a challenge, but she’s as loving as she is stubborn. Both of those qualities might serve her well.

She sounds great. I can see her being an interesting participant in district meetings.

I only hope the sometimes narrow-mindedness of some Elders doesn’t become the cause for greater discontent.

I also wonder if she’ll get riled by people who exaggerate ‘mission rules’ into ‘serious sins.’ It’s not a ‘sin’ to stay in bed after 6:30… It’s just less productive.

I also wonder if she’ll get riled by people who exaggerate ‘mission rules’ into ‘serious sins.’ It’s not a ‘sin’ to stay in bed after 6:30… It’s just less productive.

I’m not quite sure how it would go in a zone conference interview with your mission president that you only considered sleeping in “less productive”. 🙂

I am so excited to see how this impacts missions, leadership, and the church. I’m a little worried it will have an adverse impact on college graduation rates for both sexes. We’ll see.

You might see lower graduation rates from women since they’d be returning at the same time as men and wouldn’t be at the dating/marriage disadvantage that sister missionaries are now when they come home at 22-23 years old. If marriage rates per age go up in that just back for the mission group then they might be in the situation of working rather than school.