Jana Riess - The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the Lds Church

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Jana Riess 2019

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Riess, Jana, author.

Title: The next Mormons : how Millennials are changing the LDS church / Jana Riess.

Description: New York : Oxford University Press, [2019] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018037059 | ISBN 9780190885205 (hardcover : alk. paper) |ISBN 9780190885229 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsHistory21st century. | Mormon ChurchHistory21st century. | Generation YReligious life. | Generation YAttitudes. | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsPublic opinion. | Mormon ChurchPublic opinion.

Classification: LCC BX8611.R54 2019 | DDC 289.3/7309051dc23LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018037059

For A. B.

T his book tells two very different and apparently contradictory stories about young adult Mormons in America. Both of them happen to be true.

The first is embodied by Jack, a twenty-six-year-old graduate student at a midwestern university.older Mormons they know, including his mom. If they watch a movie that features a few light swear words, they just shrug it off. More significantly, Jack says he does not see the LDS prophet and apostles as infallible, which older Mormons might be more prone to do. I dont think the church will ever derail completely and go in a direction thats contrary to Gods will, but that said, I think there is room for error, he explains. We shouldnt expect perfection from ourselves, from our leaders, or from the church as a whole. But when asked where he falls on a scale of one to tenwhere a ten means he will always stay a Latter-day Saint and a one means he will someday leave the churchJack doesnt hesitate a moment to declare himself a ten. He is all in, a fully committed Mormon.

The second story is illustrated by Emily, who, like Jack, grew up in a large LDS family. In her family a significant focus was placed on being, or at least acting, happy; Emilys mother had a sign in her house that said, If youre unhappy, youre ungrateful. Although Emily sometimes struggled with anxiety and depression, her parents didnt think it was a real thing, so she did not get treatment.

When Emily went to a state university in Utah, it never crossed her mind to stop going to church; church was what she had always done, and she enjoyed it. She had particular goals for her life, and being an active Mormon was a major part of that. I just expected to go to school, meet my husband, get married, and then be a stay-at-home mom. But that did not happen. When she turned thirty she was distressed to still be single in a religion that heavily emphasizes marriage and children. Now thirty-four, she endured a recent breakup and says that in the aftermath her shelf broke, using a term that is common among Mormons who begin to question their faith. Emily felt emotionally vulnerable, and her doubts about Mormonism, which she had long suppressed, began taking center stage. She had previously tried to cure her mental health problems by praying and attending the temple, but that had never worked. She also felt unmoored when, in November 2015, the LDS Church instituted a new policy that, among other things, prohibited any children who were in the custody of same-sex couples from being baptized or blessed. Emily simply did not understand it. She continued trying to go to church, but the religions teachings about gay people bothered her.

Emily eventually stopped attending church and wearing her temple garments, the special underclothing that adult Mormons wear after going through the temple the first time. She still puts them on for family functions, worried someone might notice if she does not have telltale garment lines under her clothing. Shes not sure she can call herself Mormon anymore, which grieves her. And she knows it will sadden her parents when she can muster the courage to tell them, especially her mother. One of the accomplishments for stay-at-home moms is to be able to say all of my children are still in the church, and have married in the temple, and I hate taking that accomplishment away. But Emily cant deny that she feels profound relief now, because going to church had begun to cause her pain. She has gotten therapy, which has helped with her depression, and says she feels more at peace and closer to God than she did when she was a TBMa True Believing Mormon.

I know that in my former TBM ways, and in the eyes of my family, not going to church is a sin. I dont pay tithing anymore. All the things I dont do anymore, like I dont read my scriptures, those were [considered] such horrible things to not do. But all the time I was doing all those things, I never felt this much love, not like I do now.

Emily says she is a three on the one-to-ten scale of her predicted future church activityshe doesnt think shes coming back, but she doesnt rule it out.

Jack and Emily represent two very different trajectories for the Millennial generation of Latter-day Saints. This book uses survey data, historical research, and in-depth interviews to explore those forking paths. What can we learn from Mormon and former Mormon young adults about the spiritual, intellectual, and emotional experiences that successfully imprintor fail to imprintan enduring Mormon identity?

LDS teens are tops in living faith, ran a proud headline in the church-owned Deseret News in 2005, highlighting data from the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR), a major study of the religious beliefs and behaviors of American teenagers. Lead researcher Christian Smith and others found that compared with other religiously identified teens, Mormon youth were more likely to hold religious beliefs similar to their parents, share their faith with others, pray regularly, and discuss religion in their families.

The admiration of these researchers was palpable, and Im not questioning that its well deserved. As a Mormon myself, of course I am gratified to hear that my church is producing young people who place a high value on service and are devoted to their faith. I have seen it first-hand and in my own research, which focuses not on adolescents but on young adults. Theres abundant evidence that young Mormons are often profoundly religious, and that many make great sacrifices to practice their faith, often contributing up to two years of unpaid labor as volunteer missionaries, and paying 10 percent of their income as tithing.