Single Dating
by Jeffrey Hilton
From age 16 to the time I left for my mission I can remember going on few if any single dates.
Once I returned from my mission I was reminded that it is now time to focus on single dates. I must
admit that I didn’t really know how to go on a single date. The first single dates I went on usually
ended in embarrassment. Wanting to obey the council of church leaders, I searched for church approved
books for help. Book after book reminded me to obey the law of chastity and to choose the right kind
of people to date. None of them gave practical advice on how to date. I figured the law of chastity
would never be an issue if I lacked the know-how of obtaining a second date. From the age of sixteen
onward I had been attending activities that discouraged pairing off. For many like me a single date
was virtually an unknown experience. What often accompanies the unknown is fear. Is it any wonder
that it is more common for singles to hang out in a group than for them to single date?
Hanging out is an activity that singles have participated in since before they graduated high school.
It’s something very familiar to them.
According to a former singles ward Bishop, dating has become so rare that when a girl is asked on a date
she is expecting a relationship. Learning that one date could mean a relationship, the Bishop says,
the guys try to get to know the girls through group activities that involve no commitment.
The guys feel they must find the perfect girl and then go on a first date with them.
“You’re all attractive girls,” He once told one group, “I’m sure you go on a date three times a week.”
“Bishop, I haven’t been on a date for over a year,” one girl said. “I haven’t been asked out for a year,”
another girl said. “It’s been six months for me,” a third chimed in.
©2008
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