ABSTRACT
Lindsey and Logan are LDS siblings, two years apart. Lindsey, a fi rstyear college student at Brigham Young University, has decided to submit her “mission papers” – that is, she is applying to serve an 18-month proselytizing mission for the church. She is under no pressure to do so, but she wants to take this time off before she fi nishes college or gets married, which she is likely to do somewhat younger than most Americans, given LDS norms. Lindsey’s younger brother Logan is a junior in high school. Their family takes for granted that Logan will serve a two-year mission once he graduates; his parents have been saving money for that purpose for years. Logan himself has never made a conscious decision to serve, but he accepts missionary service as part of normal life for an LDS male. He looks forward to the experience, positively but somewhat vaguely, much as he looks forward to going to college somewhere, marrying someone, and having children someday. Although Lindsey’s parents did not expect her to serve a mission, they are proud of her decision and will use money they saved for her college education to support her as a missionary.
