Mormon Missionary Age Change

[RebeccaJ]

I use to tell people that I was so dumb as to what the church taught that I was surprised that we were the only ones that had the Book of Mormon.

But you aren’t.

 

[Fatboys]

But you aren’t.

Blushing now but thank you

 

[LEMAITRE]

I’ve invited a few baby-faced young Mormons in for tea when they have knocked on our door. We found them to be polite, engaging and enthusiastic however lacking in spiritual and theological depth and their knowledge of world and church history was dodgy.

Lovely people though.

 

[TexanKnight]

I was 22 when I went on my mission. And I still knew nothing about the church. I had never been active until I was 21. So when I went to the mission home and started to learn what we believed in it was as if it was brand new. I remember learning that we lived before this life and thought wow. We believe that. I believe that too. So even though I was older than my senior companion, he knew much more than I did. I was just excited to share with others what I knew through power of the Holy Ghost. I use to tell people that I was so dumb as to what the church taught that I was surprised that we were the only ones that had the Book of Mormon. Of course I knew that much.

I was 24 when I went on my mission and had only been a member of the Church for one year. I was a college grad. I quit my job, left my fiance behind, and served. I was almost 26 when my mission ended.

 

[twopekinguys]

Is it true that the largest sector of those leaving mormonism are returning missionaries?

I read it on another board, but I don’t remember if there was any reference for it.

 

[jrtrent]

Is it true that the largest sector of those leaving mormonism are returning missionaries?

I read it on another board, but I don’t remember if there was any reference for it.

I couldn’t find any information to support that claim. There is some data in a review of two studies that I found on an online Mormon journal article (dialoguejournal.com/2011/lds-youth-in-an-age-of-transition/). One study, called “Shield of Faith” (done by Mormon scholars), said, “Male returned missionaries are more likely to marry, avoid divorce, gain a higher education, have a higher socioeconomic standard, and remain active in the Church than those who do not go on missions (265–92). Similar results are reported for female returned missionaries, except that the likelihood of their not marrying is statistically the same as the national average. . .”

A study by non-Mormon scholars, “Souls in Transition,” reported that “Mormons had a higher retention rate than any other denomination as young people transitioned into adulthood, with 72 percent of the LDS survey participants self-identifying as LDS five years later (109). A majority (59 percent) say their faith is “very important” to them, which ranks LDS youth just below black Protestants (72 percent) and just above conservative Protestants (57 percent) (113). LDS youth have the highest rates of church attendance (60 percent), personal prayer (54 percent), Sabbath observance (71 percent), and daily scripture reading (23 percent). They exhibited somewhat fewer risky behaviors like substance abuse or premarital sex (258). They are less likely to doubt God’s existence and have fewer doubts about religion in general (120, 124). They are more likely to be “committed traditionalists”; and perhaps most fortunately, they are actually more likely to become more religious rather than less religious during the difficult transition to adulthood (166, 126).”

I don’t know that this says anything about the advisability of reducing the age for starting a mission, but if Mormons are having more difficulty with retention than other denominations, it’s not supported by these findings.