Eleven year olds receive the Priesthood next month

[_moksha]

What problem is this change fixing?

It helps to bring priesthood progression in sync with the factory production line model.

[_Sanctorian]

What problem is this change fixing?

It helps to bring priesthood progression in sync with the factory production line model.

This article might also help explain the change.

https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-01/southern-hemisphere-horses-celebrate-birthday/7677546

[_Shulem]

Which boy do you think the bishop will have the hardest time controlling? Which boy do you think is most likely to break the law of chastity?

[_Shulem]

These children are subject to be asked questions from the bishop about their sexuality and whether they masturbate. These children are in danger of feeling shamed via clergy abuse and mind control methods practiced by The Cult of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

[_toon]

How is that going to be any different?
If I'm 12 years old in December 2019 I will be ordained a Deacon in January 2019.
If I'm 12 years old just a few weeks later in January 2020, I will be ordained 12 months after my buddies who were born in December.

We're buddies, my birthday is New Years Eve, your birthday is a day later New Years Day. We used to progress through our classes and quorums on the same Sunday. Now I will progress a full 12 months before you do.

You're going to have some 11 year olds in Primary AND some in youth, but probably in the same year group/class at school.

Here are the stated objectives behind this change:
"...designed to strengthen children and youth through increased faith in Jesus Christ, deeper understanding of His gospel, and greater unity with His Church and its members."

How does this better achieve those objectives, than the progression being birthday specific?
What problem is this change fixing?

How do you prepare a Sunday school lesson for a class that contains just-turned-11 year olds and nearly-18 years olds?

The church has long operated on a calendar year for Primary and Sunday School classes. All kids turning a certain age in a calendar year moved up were placed together in the same class on January 1, and they remained there for the rest of the year. (So the buddies born on New Year's Eve and New Years day would never have been in the same class, unless some exception was made.)

The exception to the calendar year schedule was when kid turned 12, at which point they stopped attending the last hour of primary on the birthday and started attending YW or Priesthood. So for that hour of primary, it resulted in the class getting smaller and smaller as each kid turned 12, to the point where there was only one remaining. And it really sucked being one of the few remaining kids, especially when the Primary program came around. It was really bad to be the last survivor. You're in a class by yourself, or with just one or two others, and all your other friends that you been attending with since you were a Sunbeam are off in another class, passing the sacrament, and doing stuff without you.

With the move to a two-hour schedule, the problem is exacerbated, because there's no longer even an hour of Primary where everyone is still together.

It's real. I went through it.

And I also saw it as a Blazer B teacher. That was great when all of the kids turned 12 early in the year, as then I had a free hour for the rest of the year and never had to prepare any more lessons. But it sucked for me as a teacher and the one or two kids who had late birthdays. It's no fun teaching to just one or two kids, and no fun for them either.

I'm not sure how the stated purpose is relevant. The church says crap like that all the time. I suspect this still has everything to do with the move to a two-hour block.

[_I have a question]

I suspect this still has everything to do with the move to a two-hour block.

I'm inclined to think you're right. But why not announce it at the same time? Why wait until local leaders and teachers have spent time making preparations and then throw something else into the mix at the eleventh hour? That's just poor management or the age change is an afterthought.

It's worth noting that 11 year old boys are now allowed to do things that God won't allow females of any age to do.

[_I have a question]

Does this perceived problem of mid-year progression not effect the Priest to Elder progression too? In which case why not progress Priests to the office of Elder at the start of the calendar year they turn 18?

[_toon]

I'm inclined to think you're right. But why not announce it at the same time? Why wait until local leaders and teachers have spent time making preparations and then throw something else into the mix at the eleventh hour? That's just poor management or the age change is an afterthought.

It's worth noting that 11 year old boys are now allowed to do things that God won't allow females of any age to do.

I'm guessing they didn't think through, identify, and resolve all of the potential consequences the two-hour block before announcing it. It also may not have been raised as an issue in any of limited trial runs.

It's not like prematurely rushing to implement a new policy or program is something new in the church. I think everyone who cared knew the Nelson was full of crap in his "countless permutations and combinations" comment about the deliberative process behind the November 2015 policy. A couple days after the policy was leaked, they had to back track to clarify that it didn't apply to situations where kids under joint custody of divorced parents, where one of the parents had entered into a gay relationship after the divorce. So apparently the most obvious permutation or combination hadn't been considered there -- the one describing the most likely situation where a child in the church would have one parent in a gay relationship.

I think that, notwithstanding the legal and business backgrounds of many in the hierarchy as well as the fact that promotion in the church often goes to those who are most successful outside of the church (i.e., have money), the church structure and hierarchy fosters a certain level of incompetence.

[_toon]

Does this perceived problem of mid-year progression not effect the Priest to Elder progression too? In which case why not progress Priests to the office of Elder at the start of the calendar year they turn 18?

I don't know how they do that now that kids can leave on missions at 18, as I haven't been to church or paid attention since, but prior, I thought that they generally waited until someone had graduated from high school before ordaining that person an Elder. So generally, they stayed in PQ until out of high school. Once out, they started attending EQ even if they hadn't yet turned 18. Kind of like how YW start attending RS after graduation.

At least I think that's how it happened.

I turned 18 in December, while still in high school. I wasn't ordained an Elder until after my freshman year of college, when I was just about to leave on a mission. My friend turned 18 a few months after graduation, yet he started attending EQ as part of a singles ward immediately upon graduating.

[_Meadowchik]

I'm inclined to think you're right. But why not announce it at the same time? Why wait until local leaders and teachers have spent time making preparations and then throw something else into the mix at the eleventh hour? That's just poor management or the age change is an afterthought.

It's worth noting that 11 year old boys are now allowed to do things that God won't allow females of any age to do.

Maybe they favor the effect of spread-out changes to give the impression of progress and inspiration.

And plenty of girls have their periods at 11 and as we know that is as good as having the priesthood.