Many singles hold to that assumption under the guise of having standards.  They seem to see themselves acting nobly in a chaotic dating world by adhering to their standard that insists on only the best.  But such standards actually impede progress in one’s dating journey.  So if you insist on believing you’ll be happy only with the most attractive companion, then you’re letting your standards keep you single.

How does one progress in dating?  As I discuss in my upcoming book about dating, to progress to each next stage of the journey, you must make an agreement.  No agreement means no progress.  Period.

In the first stage of the dating journey, you meet new people and build friendships.  In the next stage, you casually date candidates you’ve befriended.  These activities require openness to social interactions.  Otherwise, you’ll likely never get the agreement you need to progress from friendship to casual dating and on to exclusive dating.

But assuming you can be happy in life only if your partner is the “best” or most attractive type limits those interactions.  That faulty assumption will encourage you to engage only with those who meet your standards, because what’s the point, after all, in “wasting your time” with people who simply won’t do romantically because they aren’t the “best”?

Mathematically, it just isn’t possible for everyone to have the “best.”  Yet many singles cling tenaciously to the hope they’ll be one of the few to score just such a life partner.  After all, no one wants to accept an unhappy and unfulfilled life.

But happiness in marriage doesn’t come from what each partner has.  Happiness in marriage comes from what each partner gives to each other.  And what you give is a choice.

If your partner has to be the “best” or most attractive sort for you to be happy, then God must have really messed up His plan.  Check out these words from then Elder Gordon B Hinckley.

How can God’s plan provide happiness for all His children if 90% of people aren’t the “best” but just ordinary?  Mathematically, 90% of singles can’t each have monogamous marriage with someone from the top 10%.  At least 80% of singles will be left unhappy if only the “best” makes a happy life.  Because God wants all his children to be happy, clearly happiness must be available without having the most attractive partner.

And happiness is available to those couples who place honoring sacred covenants above personal desires by giving themselves fully to each other.  Your companion doesn’t need to be the “best” or most attractive for you to give all of yourself to that person.  Granted, it’s more easy to do the more attractive your companion is, but it’s not essential for happiness.

The resistance many feel when confronted with such a choice is the natural man or natural woman in each of us.  The natural man and woman value self-gratification more than making and keeping sacred covenants.  Covenant men and women obviously reverse that value system.

I’m not saying we’re interchangeable parts.  You shouldn’t marry just anybody, and having standards does help with decision making.  Far too many LDS singles, however, insist on standards around what really isn’t essential for lasting happiness.  Elder Gerrit W Gong has taught,

Regardless of how you justify it, when you insist on having only the most attractive type of companion, your standards keep you single.  Lowering those standards to accept more candidates into your dating pool doesn’t mean sacrificing happiness.  Rather, it increases your chances of obtaining it.  So reject the natural man and woman, open yourself to possibility, and you may find the blessings you’ve been seeking have been right in front of you all along.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

But it's all really good discussion that touches on many interesting points.  And that got me thinking.  Pondering that and other LDS singles posts leads me to conclude that, when it comes to dating, natural is the enemy.

You might wonder what that means.  After all, these days anything natural is in vogue.  It's associated with purity, innocence, and goodness.  How can natural be the enemy?

You don't need any mental gymnastics to answer that question in a dating context.  You need only understand the differences between natural men and women and covenant men and women.

The Book of Mormon beautifully expresses that difference.  We don't usually discuss Mosiah 3:19 in terms of dating, but it possesses perfect applicability.  Consider each of these words carefully, for this one verse teaches bibles worth of truth:

How do these words apply to dating?  Increasingly in the world, natural men and women have destroyed dating and with it the families that might have resulted.  Thinking primarily of self and following natural behavioral drivers have removed many partners from the dating scene and complicated it for those who remain.

We Latter-day Saints covenant to be in the world but not of it.  That doesn't mean the world doesn't influence us.  In fact, the behavior I see some LDS singles displaying smacks very plainly of a worldly, natural mindset.

Enticement drives the choices of natural men.  Put enough enticement in front of him, and he'll pretty much follow the carrot at the end of your stick.  Of course, all men aren't alike; some enticements enchant some men more than others.  But the concept holds true for all natural men.

Experience, namely the state of feeling desired emotions, drives the choices of natural women.  We all know natural women; they have backup boyfriends, always look to "trade up" if they can, and are ruthless with other women who they see as their competition for their desired experiences with men.

Conversely, covenant men and women value covenant living over their natural drivers.  They seek to make and keep covenants.  Covenant men still feel the natural tug of enticement, and covenant women still feel the natural tug of experience, but they don't follow after it.  They choose to value covenant living over the natural focus on self.

Natural men and women value self over covenants.  The natural woman stays single by insisting on dating only perfect men who can provide her desired experience with emotion.  Since most men aren't that, the natural man struggles with the lack of enticement, eventually opting out of dating to seek enticement in other avenues.

Thus, following natural inclinations results in rejecting opportunities to marry sufficiently good companions and create families that can further the Lord's purposes for this world.  The natural man and woman are indeed enemies to God.

In reality, no single one of us (pun intended) is completely a natural person or a covenant person.  We are each a mixture of both — good and evil, light and darkness, covenant keepers and covenant breakers.  What we choose to value determines how much we are of each.

Will we follow our natural desires when dating?  Will we insist on having only the best when an "average" option can deliver not only the maximum amount of joy it's possible to experience but also make available the covenants we need for exaltation in the eternities to come?  Will we view dating and marriage through the lens of self or through the lens of the family we will create out of that union and the generations that will follow after us?

In so many ways, natural is the enemy.  And it will always be the enemy unless the natural man or woman values covenant living over self.  Only valuing covenant living opens the heart to the Savior and His marvelous Atonement, which can transform us from natural men and women into covenant men and women.  And that will bring us more joy in our journey.

Harry has no clue what happened here.  But I do; I see very clearly what's happened.  Harry, my man!  You got played, bro.

In the comments to this post, most men think the woman was disingenuous, and most women think she was completely honest.  I think if we understood more how each gender thinks, we all might gain an increased understanding prompting greater patience.

Men think with logic.  Reason drives them to seek enticement.  Women think with emotion.  Emotion drives them to seek experience, by which I mean the experience of desired emotions as they live their life.  To understand the choices made in interactions between the sexes, we need to see those choices through each respective perspective.

From the perspective of logic, it's reasonable to expect further interactions based on positive past experience.  From that perspective, what the woman did was not honest; she's playing games.  However, from the perspective of emotion, it's just as reasonable to choose the feeling of being with someone offering enjoyable company (even if that someone is not the right type) over the feeling of being with no one.  From that perspective, what the woman did was honest; she's not playing games.

Who's right?  They both are.  That's why you have got to get good with you and the biological hardwiring in each gender's brain, because that's not going to change.  The sooner you can understand each perspective, the sooner you can accept those perspectives and get busy with what will make you more attractive and your dating journey more enjoyable.

The best way to become more attractive and enjoy your dating journey is to become the best version of you and adopt a personal ministry — your unique contribution of goodness to the world.  By improving upon yourself and giving all of yourself to your special way of improving the lives of others, you chart a course that will both best attract the type of companion that's best for you and maximize your joy along the way.

Too many LDS singles struggle with dating because they have ineffective assumptions.  It's all too common to find men and women who view singles life as something they must escape.  While understandable, that mindset is all backwards.  Trying to escape singles life suggests it's a problem, and no one wants more problems.  It also makes you look desperate, and no one really wants desperate.

Many LDS singles also don't understand the fundamentals of dating.  When they participate in dating (or what they think is dating), they trip all over themselves, ending up hurt and frustrated.  But that's to be expected when you don't understand the fundamental principles governing what you're trying to do.

When you do understand, you see your best course is to embrace singles life.  No matter how long it may be, make your singles life the best it can be.  Get good with you, make you the best you, and throw yourself into a life of contribution, a life that someone special will want to live with you.

Of course, the hardest part is to keep going without knowing how much farther until your journey ends.  But you must keep going, because the moment you quit is the moment you lose all attractiveness, the currency you need to secure the agreements required for progress in your dating journey.

You can't avoid the difficulties surrounding not knowing when your dating journey will end, but you can avoid many other difficulties in that journey with more frequent, higher quality communication.  We all need to assume less and ask more.

Harry, I'm truly sorry you got played, bro.  Yes, it hurts, but you minimize your future pain when you get good with you, chart your course, and then stay your course.  Understand how each gender thinks and what drives their choices.  Stop trying to escape singles life and start embracing it.  When you do, you'll start living your best life.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey. 

Yet a recent experience caused me much reflection on both my own transformation to optimism and how we can all help those singles wont to wallow in their own mire come Friday.

Last Saturday, the newest member of my ward was baptized.  The service reminded me of my own mission, and I cried as the Spirit brought past sacred experiences to my remembrance.

As I left, I noticed across the parking lot a sister missionary who’d previously been in the ward.  She had obviously returned to attend the baptism.  Just before her transfer, she and her companion gave me a very special gift.  They snuck up to my apartment door and plastered it with paper hearts sharing messages of love, hope, and encouragement.

I never had the chance to thank them, because the very next day transfers came, and elders arrived in place of both sisters.  Seeing that sister now in the parking lot, I called out to her and confided that what she and her companion left for me that night before their transfer meant a great deal to me.  I then thanked her.

What happened next surprised me.  She told me I should be thanked because I’d helped her tremendously.  She didn’t go into details — I’m still insanely curious — but then she said something that later drove deep reflection.  She said, “You’re awesome.”

What surprised me was less that she said it (although yes, I wasn’t expecting to hear that from anyone, let alone a sister missionary) or that she was really sincere in saying it (which she was) and more that I found it hard to hear.

That realization caused me much reflection.  I’m very comfortable with myself and enjoy my own society immensely.  So why wouldn’t I believe I’m awesome?  (And why is there an obnoxious song from The Lego Movie playing in my head right now?)

Seriously, why would that message be so hard for me to hear?  After some deep reflection, I concluded it was hard for me to hear because I’d grown too accustomed to hearing the exact opposite.

That shouldn’t surprise anyone.  Looking back over more than two decades of being a single Latter-day Saint, the vast majority of the messages I received from single LDS ladies were negative.  They didn’t affirm my divine worth nor recognize the goodness of a heart that had sacrificed and suffered much.  That’s not to say there weren’t those few who gave me positive messages (there were) or that I made my own mistakes worthy of negative messaging (I did).  Rather it simply means I heard negative messages so often, especially in the dating arena, I came to believe them.

I don’t believe them any more.  My view today is much more optimistic.  But what would my life have been like had I received more positive messages from other single sisters more regularly?  And what of the other LDS singles who are now what I once was?  What of those who are prone to throw that pity party on Friday because they don’t have a valentine of their own?

If you’re among that crowd, please know you have agency.  That means you choose everything for yourself, including what to believe.  I struggled for a long time with negative messages until I realized my agency means I get to choose everything for myself, including what to believe.  Just because someone else believes something doesn’t mean I must believe it also.  I don’t have to believe what I don’t want.

It’s the same for you.  When others send you a negative message, don’t believe them!  Instead, believe you have great worth (because you do) and God loves you so much He has prepared glorious blessings for you (because He does and He has).  Then share that love with others and skip the pity party.  Let your messaging reaffirm the worth of every individual.  Then you’ll feel your own worth reaffirmed.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

Long time audience members know I’m not much for social media.  But occasionally I do dip my toe in the pool.  And despite the infrequency of my visits, I do notice trends.  One I observed recently is the continual appearance of memes that claim to know all about real men.

These memes would have us believe real men always follow the natural hunter instincts buried deep within them.  If he wants a woman, so say these memes, a real man won’t hesitate to chase after her.  So, they conclude, if a man isn’t obviously chasing after a woman, then that woman should stop hoping for a relationship with said man because clearly the man isn’t interested.

Seeing something like this once, I just shake my head.  But several appearances make a trend.  And that concerns me more, especially since these folks don’t seem to know much about real men.

Our modern society likes to idealize everything.  But that’s nothing new.  Ancient Greek statues consistently show figures of perfect proportions even though the distribution of body shapes in their society was undoubtedly not very different from our own.  We could say likewise about the Romans.

So it’s no wonder that some would think real men are perfect.  After all, no one dreams of living forever with imperfection.  Everyone dreams of living forever with perfect.

But perfect doesn’t exist in mortality because every mortal is imperfect.  The Brethren have repeatedly taught that the perfect marriage is not the union of two perfect people living happily ever after but rather the union of two imperfect people working together towards perfection.  That means real men are imperfect.

These imperfections will often manifest as some issue.  And that issue could prevent a man from publicly indicating any interest in a woman.  Primordial instincts may make men the hunter gender, but primordial instincts don’t take precedence over the psychological forces of the present day.

Real men have imperfections.  Real men have issues.  Some of the those issues we created in each other.  Women who complain about not receiving any invitations to go out and then reject casual dating invitations have trained many men into inaction.  Likewise men whose actions teach that perfection is a prerequisite to being loved have trained  many women to devalue themselves.

The idea that men always go after what they want can’t possibly describe real men.  That’s an idealized fantasy which makes no allowance for the reality that everyone’s imperfect.  To get to know a real man — I mean, really know him — you need to know his reality: his real hopes, his real dreams, his real challenges, and his real imperfections.

The story has been told of a Latter-day Saint who was inspired to look up a scripture referenced in a sacrament meeting talk.  Having that smartphone handy, this citizen of Zion executed the task right then and there.  Soon thereafter, this same member received an email from a fellow ward member that went something like this: “I used to admire you, but that was before I saw you use your smartphone in sacrament meeting.  I can’t believe you would do something so irreverent.”

Sometimes things are not what they appear to be.  Likewise, real men don’t always display the idealized behavior.  They’re imperfect people with issues.

Everything said here about real men could also be said about real women.  Real women are imperfect and have issues.  And you’ll never know a real woman until you know her reality.

In the end, real people want real — real relationships with real people; real compensation from a real career; and real rewards from a real life that really moves them closer to their goals and dreams.  They recognize the reality of their challenges but also the reality of their potential to grow and conquer those challenges.

Over four years ago, I declared my desire for real.  I still hold that desire today.  I’ve long since tired of the typical LDS singles life that has me doing the same things over and over while moving me no closer to my goals and dreams.  I want real.  And that’s something you’ll never get from social media memes that don’t understand what real really is.

When we see real men and women for what they really are — people with real imperfections and real issues in the real world — we begin to recognize they aren’t all that different from us, because we too have real imperfections and real issues in the real world.  As we come to embrace that reality, we also embrace the beauty found in the wonderful tapestry that’s the core of God’s work in this real world.  And that will bring us more joy in our journey.

Life knocked me down earlier this week.  While waiting for a student who had an appointment to see me, the text I didn’t expect appeared in my phone.  My father announced my mother’s decision to stop eating and drinking.  She just wanted to die.  After reading that message, I just wanted to die.

My mother has been battling a host of medical conditions for a few years now, most prominently anxiety as a mental disorder and mystery pains no one can properly diagnose.  The anxiety turns every mole hill into a mountain.  So her mystery pains have become an insupportable burden.

My mother has several doctors, each one adding (and frequently changing) their contribution to the soup of medications she takes daily.  The bulk of those doctors, overburdened by long patient lists, often seem more interested in processing my mother through a system rather than listening to her and helping her with her concerns.

I can understand why she just wanted to end it all.  Yet it broke my heart to think of her following through on her decision.  Emotionally I felt like a bus had run me over.  I found it hard to do anything productive.  My world seemed at a standstill.

I visited with my mother the next morning.  She seemed worse than ever, but had an appointment to see one of her doctors.  My time being limited, I tried to use what I had to best advantage.

I always hug my mother when I visit, but this time I hugged her tighter, held her closer, and told her how much I loved her.  Then I couldn’t help myself from breaking into tears.  The mere thought of losing her simply crushed me.

Later I learned about her doctor visit.  There’s something about walking into a doctor’s office and asking for help to die that captures the doctor’s attention.  After a lengthy discussion, the doctor was able to convince my mother to submit to some more tests and exercise patience while he searches more intently for a solution to her mystery pains.

I joined with the rest of the family in thanking the Lord for His merciful hand.

As they’ve have played themselves out, these events have highlighted the opportunity for reflection.  Of course, I know my mother will one day die; death comes to everyone.  It’s the thought of it happening so soon that knocks me over.

Many LDS singles are so wrapped up in the pursuit of their own blessings they don’t think about losing the blessings they already have.  They’re so busy looking for that one special love that they let opportunities to strengthen their love for the family and friends already in their life pass by and expire.

That’s not a singles thing; that’s a human thing.  It’s normal to craft a world for oneself and then get lost in that world.  But the events of this week have brought me to question if I’m busy enough with the greater, weightier matters and too busy with matters of lesser importance.

Am I focusing first on those elements that matter most?  Do the people I care most about know I love them in word and in deed?  Or have I been too occupied in other pursuits to attend to those relationships?

My pondering upon recent events leaves me with a few powerful lessons that apply to us all.

1. Schedule regular holistic reviews of your life.  Life has a way of tugging at us with tides that can slowly steer our ship off course into less-than-desired destinations.  Every so often we need a check to make sure we’re putting first things first.
2. Be consistent in your attentions to what matters most.  The expressions of love I gave my mother this week were long overdue.  People need to know they’re loved and to be reminded of that regularly.  My relationship with my mother might have been much more than it is now had I been more consistent.
3. Don’t wait for love.  Too many LDS singles are waiting for that special someone to love when they already have many people to love in their lives.  We need to recognize and take advantage of the opportunities we all already have to give and receive love.

I don’t know when that special someone will become a part of my life.  But I know I already have several someones who are special to me today.  We all do.  When we put first things first, we don’t need to wait for love.  We can feel love in our lives today and every day, no matter how long it takes for that eternal companion to join us.  And that will bring us more joy in our journey.

After church on Sunday, a member of the stake high council asked me if I were going to attend the singles activity later that day.  I confided that I haven't been attending because I don't feel welcome.  Why should I dress up in a stuffy shirt and tie to sit on benches that aren't that comfortable only to be all alone?  I can wear a T-shirt and sweat pants on my couch and be just as alone but far more comfy.  So why go?

In the ensuing conversation, I learned that he recognized the people hold the perspective of the dating forum.  I then shared with him some of what I’ve shared about the dating forum and the activity club many times in this forum.  We quickly came to agreement there, but then he simply repeated his invitation without any resolve to change anything.  I said I’d think about it.  Of course, I didn't go.

I did think about that conversation, though, during the following days.  Those thoughts led to an important realization: Clearly we see the problem in how singles view activities, but the problem will never be solved unless we take action.  But exactly what action is anyone supposed to take?  I’ve done this before and so know what to do.  But do my local leaders?  Based on the conversation I had Sunday, it doesn’t seem so.

What can be done to turn around a local singles group so that people choose the support network over the dating forum and the activities club?  That's the very question I’m going to answer right now.

The first thing you need to do is get buy-in from leadership.  Nothing happens in this church unless leadership is on board.  So you've got to get the vision of the support network yourself.  And then you must sell that vision to leadership.

And by leadership, I mean both married and single members serving in leadership positions.  Everyone from the stake presidency to the high council to the bishopric to any singles leaders serving on both stake and ward levels must adopt the vision of the support network.  Anyone who thinks their responsibility is just to calendar activities doesn’t have the vision.  You've got to work with them until they adopt the support network.

You’ll know they have the vision when they start playing their part in the support network.  Those attending activities will actively greet and welcome everyone they can.  They'll talk to people, helping them feel somebody cares enough to be interested in them.  They'll also look for those sitting by themselves, offering to sit with them or inviting them to join a larger group seated together.

Once leadership is on board, you’ve got to secure buy-in from the people.  That means you instill the vision of the support network in every single adult so that they do the same things leaders do — connecting with people and helping them feel supported.

Too often we think those in leadership positions do things no one else does.  In some respects that's true, but more often than not, leadership is something everyone should display.  Leadership is a choice, not a position.

And leadership in spreading the vision of the support network is something every single adult should practice.  Otherwise, you'll never have the support network.  The arrangement of everybody helping everybody happens only when everyone reaches out to everyone.  It can't be just those in leadership positions.  Everyone has a part to play because everyone matters.

Support networks take time to build because you must change the way people think.  And because we’re hardwired to follow habit, you're going to meet some resistance both from leaders who think their job is to do nothing more than plan activities and from singles who think in terms of the dating forum or the activities club.

That's why part of leadership’s role is to instill the vision of the support network in everyone.  You must tell people directly what you're trying to accomplish.  You must show them what can happen when everyone gets on board with the vision.  And you must invite them one by one to play their part in making that vision reality.

It won't be easy, and it will take time.  But it is possible.  I know because I’ve done it.  So be patient.  Keep working.  Love the people.  Accept nothing less than glory, and in time you’ll see the support network start to take hold.  You'll see people reaching out to each other.  You'll see the needs of people being met.  You’ll see that you can turn it around.  And you'll feel more of the Savior's love for one another.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

Last week I addressed how habits can keep LDS singles back from enjoying the eternal blessings they seek.  At the end of the day, results are what matter.  And whatever results we have come from the choices we consistently make.  Our results come from our habits.

Habit is so individualized that no one can detail every habit holding people back.  But I can describe some less-effective habits many LDS singles have in common.  We talked about some of them on the program last week.

In thinking about that program this past week, I recognize one habit many LDS singles have that deserves special attention.  Too many of us want perfection to waltz into our lives and set comfortably in our laps.  We look at people as they are now, and we act on the assumption that what we see now is what will always be.

But the truth is that people will always change over time. The question then is in what direction. Will that change be positive or negative?  Direction, not position, determines what results we’ll get in the future.  If we truly want to think about the long game of eternity, we should value direction over position.

This may seem incredibly simplistic.  You might even be thinking to yourself this isn’t a problem you have.  But such is the nature of habit that very often what we do and what we think we do don’t match.

A common manifestation of this habit appears when we judge others by their external appearance.  Just because someone is fat or otherwise physically unattractive doesn't mean that person will always be that way.  And yet isn't that what we think when we see people like that?

With just a single point on a graph, you can’t tell where the next point on a line will be because the line could be oriented in any direction.  But with other points to mark the way, forecasting a future point on a line becomes easier.

Likewise, you can't tell from a single conversation or other encounter what direction someone has.  You can tell only their position.  But after multiple encounters, it's much easier to determine someone's direction.

Those multiple encounters are like multiple points on a graph revealing the patterns that evidence what habits someone has.  And understanding their habits allows you to forecast more accurately what results they’ll have – and also what results you’ll have if you both intertwine your lives together.  To value direction over position means getting to know people well enough to ascertain their direction.

Some don’t want to spend that time.  Maybe they accept that people will change, but given someone’s present position they don’t want to deal with the inconvenience that change will bring.  In this age of instant everything, we want the results we want to appear now.  Spending extra time with people to get to know who they really are doesn't jibe with that culture.

But it does mesh well with a Christ-centered culture.  Christ was the ultimate example of that love called charity.  When we surrender to love and take the time to get to know who people really are, we follow in the path marked by the Master.

Why don't we make more effective choices more often? The best answer is the simplest; we have less effective choices encoded in our habits. We've adopted the habit of not surrendering to love, of staying safe within our own comfort zones, and of avoiding the risk of pain or other difficulty in our lives.

Yet the only true safety lies in taking risks.  You can’t have the greatest happiness without risking having the greatest sadness.  You can’t have the greatest comfort without risking having the greatest hassle.  Greatness simply cannot come without risk.

When we put aside our own agendas and get to know people for who they really are, we not only surrender to love but also invite into our lives the love we seek.  When we value direction over position, we declare with our actions that we value the fundamental nature of people more than what appears superficially today.

When we value position over direction, we send the message that we love people only if they meet certain conditions.  But when we value direction over position, we send the message that we love people unconditionally because we don’t insist that people be a certain way today.  We recognize we’re all imperfect today and on the same journey towards perfection tomorrow.

Value love for others over love for self.  Value people over personal agenda.  Value direction over position.  When you do, you'll find your dating journey more enjoyable.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

If you’re struggling with LDS singles life, and particularly with dating, then you need to examine your attitude and your approach.  Your results in life always come from what you do.  And what you do inside yourself (your attitude) and outside yourself (your approach) comes from your choices.  We’re all choosing the life we want.

Many LDS singles without the life they want need to adjust both attitude and approach.  We touched on some aspects of a more effective approach two weeks ago when we discussed the proper role of revelation in dating.  Then last week we addressed aspects of a more effective attitude.  Neither of these discussions was comprehensive, but they do contain good starting points for positive change.

Here’s another aspect of both attitude and approach: Many LDS singles make assumptions about their world which their habits then use as the basis for action.  But it’s like the old saying goes — garbage in, garbage out.  A more effective attitude and approach begins with more effective assumptions.

Everything goes back to the way you think.  That’s why a periodic reformat and reboot is good; you need to step back, examine your assumptions, and clear your head of anything faulty or less effective.

Sometimes what we think is significant really isn’t.  Many LDS singles reject opportunities for success because their assumptions about what was important or even essential guided them along a different path.  Their assumptions blinded them into thinking what really was an opportunity wasn’t an opportunity.

For example, most singles think the age of their special someone is within 5-6 years of their own.  Why?  Because they assume that’s what they should want.  But often it’s not experience guiding them to adopt that assumption; they’re just being good “sheeple” in following the herd.

Thankfully, President Hinckley’s parents didn’t follow that assumption.  They were separated by 13 years of age.  And their union produced a prophet!

Life will never fully unfold for you until you start questioning your assumptions.  When you let go of what you think you need but really don’t, you open yourself to more possibility.  And that increases your probability of achieving success.

Many LDS singles interact with other singles only insofar as it serves their agenda.  Once someone no longer serves their agenda, they cease all interactions with that someone.

This faulty approach is itself based on faulty assumptions: Spending time and money on people who won’t progress with you towards marriage is a waste.  That assumes people matter only insomuch as they help you achieve what you want.  In the end, all that really matters is getting the goal.

When you spell it out, it’s not hard to see how ridiculous those assumptions are.  People have inherent worth as children of God.  Everyone matters.  Yet many of us don’t have the self-awareness necessary to realize how ridiculous our own assumptions are.

Yes, lovers should be friends first.  But friendship alone has intrinsic value.  Who couldn’t use more support in facing the challenges of LDS singles life?

Every relationship you have, romantic and otherwise, offers knowledge and experience that can help you have a better relationship with that special someone when that person comes into your life.  By discounting the good many potential friends have to offer, you make life harder than it needs to be.  And you might be staying single longer than needed as well.

Elder M Russell Ballard once told the story of a young man who went to California during the Gold Rush to seek his fortune.  He eagerly panned for gold nuggets like the ones he had heard about before coming west.  But after weeks of effort, he had found nothing.

Then one day he met an older gentleman who had spent many days prospecting and found enough gold to fill a small bag.  The young man was discouraged to learn that gold was not the nuggets for which he searched but rather many tiny flecks.  After hearing his discouragement, the older gentleman responded that those flecks had made him a wealthy man.

If we assume the eternal companion we seek is a gold nugget, then we may be joining that young man in disappointment.  Most people aren’t gold nuggets; they have imperfections aplenty.  Yet they also have flecks of gold mingled among those imperfections.  Choosing to give those gold flecks more weight than the imperfections can make us wealthy indeed.

When you clear your head of faulty assumptions, you can more easily meet with your success.  Embracing all experience opens the door of possibility, increases your probability of success, and helps you to find much more than you ever imagined you could.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

Last week we discussed President Nelson’s remarks from the most recent General Conference about increasing the revelation we receive in our lives.  By following the Prophet’s counsel, we can find answers to questions and solutions to challenges.

Many LDS singles rightly seek revelation during their dating journey.  However, many become their own worst obstacle when they seek too much revelation too soon.

These singles ask the obvious question: Is this person “the one”?  That question seems appropriate for exclusive daters contemplating engagement.  But many ask that same question before they get anywhere near the Exclusive Dating stage.  They’re in the Casual Dating stage or even still in the Friendship stage.

I understand why they do it.  They don’t want to waste their time with someone who ultimately won’t give them what they want — a temple marriage.  And they don’t want the emotional pain of heartache after investing in a relationship that dies.  But I also understand why this approach turns LDS singles into their own worst obstacle.

So much of the thinking in LDS subculture is binary.  Everything’s either good or bad, black or white.  There’s no room for gray.

This narrow perspective drives LDS singles to see every dating prospect in extremes.  Everyone is either potential marriage material or an acquaintance.  Why waste time and money, the thinking goes, on someone who won’t be with you in the end anyway?

It’s little wonder we don’t really know what friendship is anymore when we discard further association with others once their failure to satisfy our personal agenda becomes evident.  Getting to know other people is never a waste of time.  Who couldn’t use more support while traveling the road of LDS singles life?

Cutting off association with others once all hope of romance dies sends the message that our worth comes from our ability to provide marriage.  Yet our worth really comes from our status as children of God.  Building genuine friendship with others — especially when they can’t really help us any — is the mark of a true friend.  And more true friends means more support when relationships we do hope will work out don’t.

Asking “Is this the one?” too soon introduces excessive seriousness in our dating journey.  Everyone retracts, becoming extremely cautious about everything they do because they don’t want to be tied to any undesirable commitments.  And that restricts progress in our dating journey.

We also tend to misinterpret our experience with revelation when we ask such a serious question too soon.  What will be the answer to such a question?  More often than not, it’ll be “No.”  We then assume that means this person isn’t “the one” and proceed to sever all relations.  In actuality, it’s far more likely that “No” simply means “No, you’re going about this all wrong.”

I once met an attractive woman at a singles conference.  We really seemed to click.  But a couple of emails later, she told me she prayed to know whether I was “the one” and God told her to stop talking to me.

Please!  Revelation properly used in dating is about confirming choices we make, not instructing us with what to do.  Her choice was in no way informed.  We never went on a single date!

And what resulted from her choice?  No one won.  Both of us remained single longer than we needed to be, and neither one of us gained a new friend.  In many ways, we really are our own worst obstacle.  If only we could get out of our own way!

We can promote rather than frustrate our progress in our dating journey by respecting where we are.  Before the Exclusive Dating stage, there’s no elevated commitment level.  Any commitment between people dies with the end of the date activity.

With such low levels of commitment, asking a very serious question like “Is this the one?” has no place until time with the more serious commitment of the Exclusive Dating stage prompts consideration of progressing even further.  No wonder the answer to that question asked too soon is more often “No.”  The Lord is trying to tell us, “No, you’re going about this all wrong!”

Why can’t we just focus on where we are in our journey and enjoy that place?  Dating is supposed to be fun, and it can be when we set aside our expectations, enjoy getting to know others, and build friendships rather than rushing everything towards the end goal.

Don’t be your own worst obstacle.  Save serious questions for later stages of the journey when the level of commitment demands that level of seriousness.  When you do, you’ll free yourself to enjoy more every part of dating.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.