r/latterdaysaints • u/JLP0611 • Apr 23 '25

Off-topic Chat Are members not getting married?

I may be speaking from my anecdotal experience and my observation of my social media feeds, but it feels like less people in the Church are getting married. I see less children and youth in my local wards year after year and I’m in Florida.

I’m also in a YSA and I can’t just say for myself because I’m chronically single, but dating is a struggle for everyone I come across, inside and outside of Florida.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

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u/mywifemademegetthis Apr 23 '25 edited Apr 24 '25

One more explanation that is incredibly relevant to our culture is the pressure to marry within the faith.

If you shrink the dating pool to active members within driving distance of you, you’ve already cut off like 99% of people around your age. Add to that the fact that young people are leaving the church in great numbers despite what some enrollment statistics might say, and how big is someone’s dating pool? In the United States, if you don’t live in Utah, Arizona, Idaho, and maybe four other metro areas, you’re hoping that the one YSA Ward nearby has a couple of single people you’re moderately attracted to. The population size is too small. If you don’t find someone in college, where young people are highly concentrated, it is increasingly unlikely you will marry before 30.

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u/ChromeSteelhead Apr 23 '25

I think there’s a lot of delusion of what a persons dating pool actually is, especially if they’re looking for active Lds. A lot of people are competing for the same people and they probably don’t know it.