Tag: mormon

PROVO, Utah (RNS) The 35-acre campus is an island of young people, where teens and 20-somethings outnumber grown-ups by 10-to-1.

The place is awash in fresh-faced students, and even the workers — from the cafeteria to the copy center, the mailroom to the bookstore — and most of the teachers are under 30.

Last October, President Thomas S. Monson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that instead of waiting until they were 19, young men could serve missions at 18, so long as they had finished high school. For young women, the change was even more significant: 19 instead of 21. This opened the floodgates as the number of missionaries currently serving has surged from 52,000 to 70,000 over the past eight months, and is anticipated to reach almost 100,000 by the end of this year.

Todd Brazington is a quietly confident 22-year-old. He served a mission in Costa Rica from 2009 to 2011 and looks back on those years often.

“Its hard not to look back on it. Almost every day I think about it. It makes me miss my mission a lot,” he said.

LDS congregations are organized geographically, so unlike some other religions, there's not an opportunity to self-select which congregation, or ward, you attend.  With a very few exceptions, your address determines where you go to church.

Kris died at age 8 in 1986, when a car hit him on the way to school. Kourt died about 10 years later, at age 17, killing himself amid depression and the still-stinging absence of his older brother.

Spokane Faith & Values is pleased to welcome Emily H. Geddes to its team of writers.

Geddes is our fourth contributor writing through the lens of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In my last article, I explained why members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are called Mormons. Today, I thought I would answer a question my friends and acquaintances sometimes have when I mention a church commitment. They look at me with wonder as if to say, “Why are you always doing something at church?”