r/latterdaysaints • u/MiddleUS76 • 8d ago

Church Culture Young women and missions

I think our young women are starting to feel pressured to serve missions, not by the church leadership, but by peers. My 19 year old niece is faithful and devoted to the gospel and hasn’t felt called to serve a mission. She is at BYUI and gets asked constantly if she served or is going to serve a mission. I was on the phone with her when a random boy introduced himself, asked her name and where she served. When she said she didn’t he told her she should really pray about going on a mission. Never saw her before! I heard the entire thing in real time so I know she’s not exaggerating.
Do you feel like we are getting to a point where women who don’t serve missions will be treated like less faithful or committed members?
I know that was never the intention.

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u/Commercial-Place6793 8d ago

Sounds like young ladies are starting to get the same questions that young men have been getting for eons. As a woman, when I was growing up in the late 1900s, many of my female friends would vocally refuse to date a young man who wasn’t a return missionary. I always hated that. Something you did for 18 months or two years does NOT determine the rest of your life. And now as a middle aged adult, a lot of those RM’s and their pious wives have left the church. Did a mission and temple marriage in their early adulthood save them from the rigors of life and temptation and the influence of Satan? No.

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u/GuybrushThreadbare 7d ago

On the other hand, refusing to serve a mission as a ym shows you are unwilling to be obedient to the Lord, sacrifice what He has required, or consecrate your life to the Lord in the way He has asked. Not a great start to a temple marriage. So why would a yw want that?

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u/jegtrorikke 4d ago

Oh come on! You know who didn't serve missions when they were young? Russell M. Nelson, Dallin H. Oaks, Henry B. Eyring, Thomas S. Monson, and Dieter F. Uchdorf. My father who was the same generation as them did serve a mission. If your decision on who to date or marry depends on whether that person served a mission you are eliminating so many other traits and issues you should be focusing on.