Rumors of 19 year old females going on missions

[All-American]

Average marriageable age for LDS girls before:

18 years

After:

20.5 years

Men before:

21 years

After:

20 years.

Doesn't that net us a little bit higher average marrying age?

Women: +2.5 years
Men: -1 year
Net: 1.5 years older on average all around. Right?

The average age of men going out is going to be 18.5. Remember, it's not 18; it's 18 + high school.

[smokymountainrain]

I think we are going to find that the sisters serving will eventually outnumber the elders.

That's a bold prediction. I think absent the "expectation", with missions being as hard as they are - financially and physically/emotionally - many yw will still stay home. While the numbers of sisters will increase, they won't come close to matching the boys. Should be interesting.

[smokymountainrain]

The average age of men going out is going to be 18.5. Remember, it's not 18; it's 18 + high school.

Right. For all the attention this is getting, it changes very little in regard to the boys.

[jay santos]

I think we are going to find that the sisters serving will eventually outnumber the elders.

I don't think it's impossible. I think it will approach 1:1 within the next five to ten years.

I predict the missionary force doubles within five years.

[CardiacCoug]

That's a bold prediction. I think absent the "expectation", with missions being as hard as they are - financially and physically/emotionally - many yw will still stay home. While the numbers of sisters will increase, they won't come close to matching the boys. Should be interesting.

True. We all tend to focus on the definite college-bound kids, but I think this is a really, really good thing for young me that aren't going to college for whatever reason but are very committed to going on a mission.

What I have always hated seeing since I was finishing high school and now with kids in my ward is the young men who finish high school and then just are hanging out at home and killing time, doing some crappy job and waiting to turn 19. It's a nice thing for those young men to have the option to just go on the mission right away after high school.

[falafel]

I don't think it's impossible. I think it will approach 1:1 within the next five to ten years.

I predict the missionary force doubles within five years.

That may be part of the impetus for the change.

[The_Tick]

I don't know . . . something about a laughing assassin.

My concern about encouraging more young women to serve would be that it would it would make the completion of the college degree less likely, but that's sheer speculation.

I think more girls will graduate BYU now.

If they do one year out of high school, serve a mission and then go back to school, they will be 20.5-21 year old sophomores.

The boys their same age will also be sophomores.

The one complaint that TK1 had about BYU to start was that the only boys to date were 22-23 years old and she was 18. She was spooking to date and not marry.

So now they should all be finishing school at the same time. Graduation rates for women should go up.

The irony...TK1 is 20 and her husband is 25.

[Jeff Lebowski]

My daughter is seriously thinking about it now.

[Dwight Schr-ute]

Average marriageable age for LDS girls before:

18 years

After:

20.5 years

Men before:

21 years

After:

20 years.

Doesn't that net us a little bit higher average marrying age?

Women: +2.5 years
Men: -1 year
Net: 1.5 years older on average all around. Right?

My though was that now that all of these additional sister missionaries will have been exposed to even less mature young men in a somewhat grown up environment, seems like they'd return put off enough to buy them another 1-2 years of independence.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

FB status of some YW I don't know commented on by one of the YM I used to be with

I now only have a year and a half until I am able to go out and serve my God as a full-time missionary. The announcement yesterday was the most exciting thing I have ever heard. Nothing will stop me now from doing what the prophet has encouraged us to do and what i know now that my Lord has in store for me. Preach my gospel, here I come. =)

His comment

That's the only thing every girl I know is saying since yesterday, what is going on?!

[SportUTE]

A friend of mine has a son who's a Sr. in HS and a frosh daughter @ BYU. He is shell-shocked that he will likely have 2 missionaries next June, when he wasn't expecting another missionary for at least another year

[myboynoah]

I think we are going to find that the sisters serving will eventually outnumber the elders.

ergo, polygamy.

[FMCoug]

My daughter who is a Senior is now talking about the first year of college like guys always have. I can just go for a year and worry about the long term later, etc.

[BigPiney]

I am so pleased with this decision. I really like it.

[FMCoug]

I am so pleased with this decision. I really like it.

Me too. Last time I was this excited about something announced in conference was the PEF.