The Age Change

In case you haven't heard the news a thousand times already, it was announced yesterday that Mormon men can now go on missions at age 18, and Mormon women can go at 19 (the previous ages were 19 and 21, respectively). I can't recall the last time some established practice of the church was so drastically changed, unless you count the time a few weeks ago when the church stated unequivocally that caffeinated pop is actually not forbidden.

So what does this mean? SO MUCH. Several countries have been sending out 18-year-old men on missions for a while now, but the global change will mean more boys going on their missions straight out of high school, and more girls going on missions, period.

(Peripheral question: What about people who, by design, held their youngish boys back from starting school at a certain age specifically in order to ensure they didn't qualify for a year of goof-off college before their missions?)

What I can't help thinking about is how this change would have affected my own life, way back when. And the answer is...I don't think it would have. I certainly would have been more likely to consider a mission seriously if I knew I could go at 19. But the truth is that I came to the realization that a mission wasn't for me right around age 18. Here's the simple test I used, aside from pondering and praying: I asked myself if I'd still want to serve a mission if my call were to somewhere like Wyoming. The answer was no - I really only wanted to serve if it was a foreign-speaking mission, overseas. So I went to Japan on a study abroad instead. It worked out well for me.

But for so many young women, right now, the idea of a mission probably just got REAL. And I'm so glad for that. Being allowed to serve a mission only at 21 sent the message (maybe not genuine, and maybe not intentionally) that a mission was something you could do, maybe, some day, especially if you were able to sacrifice to take a break from whatever else might be going on in your life. Now, the message is so much more encouraging. Graduate from high school and then go!

Any thoughts on why they made a point of lowering the age all around but made the girls' standard 19 instead of 18 like the boys? Edited because the FAQ here addresses that question...kind of. Apparently it just works better? Any other thoughts on why this might be the case? I'm sure it wasn't a decision they came to quickly or lightly, so there must be a reason.

And how might this policy change have affected your life, years ago?