Posted by:
CA girl
(
)
Date: November 20, 2011 01:23AM
Well, I'm curious about them anyway. My son got invited to one last weekend and declined to go. He said it was a multi-stake dance and they have them every three months or so. He also said a dance recommend was not required.
This is way different from when I was growing up. Stake dances were every 2nd Saturday night of each month and only single stake. Only about once a year did we have a multi-stake dance because they were way too crowded. The single stake dances were packed - even some non-LDS kids went. We all needed to get a dance recommend from the bishop to attend, although we could get visitor recommends if we wanted to invite friends. Non-LDS who attended on a regular monthly basis would get a regular dance recommend from the bishop - it wasn't a bishop interview. He'd just stop you in the hall and make sure you knew the rules about modesty, being sober, if you left before it was over you couldn't get back in etc. Then he'd hand over a pre-signed card. Low key - but they still kept an eye on things.
Anyway, I was wondering if the stake dances had been cut back in number like so many other things. And the fact my son said he though all stake dances were multi-stake makes it sound like not many kids go to the few dances they have. My son also told me that he was glad he didn't go because he heard in school that not a lot of kids he knew were there - many of them skipped. I always thought that the youth were one group the church invested money in - to get them convinced of Mormonism during their vulnerable years. But I keep hearing stories of fewer dances, shortened treks, mini YW camps of just two nights and Boy Scout camps that are just glorified campouts - no badges, no official camp etc. Sounds like stuff is rough all over - even amongst Mormon youth.