Two new stakes were created at the end of August in Utah, both of which were Young Single Adult (YSA) Stakes, which administer single Latter-day Saints generally between the ages of 18 and 30. The Providence Utah YSA Stake and the Smithfield Utah YSA Stake were created from YSA congregations which formerly belonged to other stakes in the Logan area.
Up until last month, there were no stakes which were specifically designated for Young Single Adults without a connection to a university or college. Stakes which meet the exclusive needs of young adult singles are listed as Student Single Stakes and are associated with a university or college, such as BYU. Many stakes which were formerly Young Single Adult Stakes have been renamed YSA stakes in the past month. Cities which boast large populations of LDS young adults and maintain at least half a dozen YSA congregations in many different stakes may become future locations for the creation of additional YSA stakes. However, the recent creation of the YSA stakes or renaming of some of the Student Single Stakes has been limited to Utah.
7 comments:
Thought you would be interested in this post:
http://brettfairbourn.blogspot.com/2010/04/quadruple-birthday-new-ysa-stake.html
"The historic event, for which this area is serving as the pilot area for the church, is as follows:
1) There will no longer be any distinction between "student" and "non-student" singles wards or stakes. There are only "YSA" wards and stakes. Student status doesn't matter. [This was not a big change... this distinction has been de-emphasized to the point that I honestly was not even aware of it... I was in a student ward and stake, and I'm not a student].
2) Young married wards have been dissolved. Married couples attend the residential ward for their area.
3) YSA's who do not live at home are automatically part of a singles ward. They do not attend a residential (family) ward. YSA's who live at home should counsel with their parents and decide whether to attend their family's ward or the YSA ward.
4) Boundaries should be clarified and enforced. [This is a big change... people around here tend to "shop" for a ward they like, regardless of boundaries. About 60% of my ward (well, former ward) lives outside the boundaries].
In accordance with these changes, the two Ogden University stakes were dissolved, and two new YSA stakes were organized, with new boundaries."
Thanks for the comment. I figured this was a pilot program which the Church thought best to experiment with in Utah.
In clarification to the quote you posted, the Church did not discontinue the two Ogden University stakes but just renamed, or reorganized, them as the Ogden Utah YSA 1st and Ogden Utah YSA 2nd Stakes.
St George Utah switched to YSA stakes about 2 weeks ago.
I'm in a YSA Ward in Salt Lake. My Bishop informed us a few weeks ago about the details of this new program (there had been many rumors for months). He got his info from Elder Robert D Hales.
The weeding out of Student Wards has happened in Logan, Ogden, and St George. The Bretheren are now working on Provo/Orem, and will then move to Salt Lake, probably Spring 2011.
-Bob
Many Mighty Miracles
http://alma2612.blogspot.com
It is anticipated that the university stakes in Pocatello, Idaho, will also be reorganized as YSA stakes by the end of the year.
Cedar City and Ephraim have also switched over to YSA, but on the point about the married, the married student stakes in Logan and Cedar City are still around, so I'm not sure that is happening yet.
It is exciting to see the changes in the YSA stakes. This reorganization will be helpful with "The Rescue". A great resource for leaders of young single adults is ysaleaders.org. Contains helpful information on YSA ward organization, challenges of YSAs, how to help with pornography addiction and much more.
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