When I was on my mission to Colorado in the late 70s, I recall the local bishop showing me a letter he had just received. It was from a man who lived on the other side of the state, a widower with a year old son, and included a picture of them standing by the…. It was basically in letter form a personal ad. The bishop posted the letter and picture on the ward bulletin board. Later, I saw the same letter and picture posted on a meetinghouse bulletin board a substantial distance away.
And I decided I really admired that guy for trying so hard. He must have put together at least dozens, if not hundreds, of snail mail letters the only kind that existed at the time and sent them all over the Rocky Mountains, looking for love.
In the first ward where I saw this letter, there was a single woman we were good friends with, and I encouraged her to respond. She was intrigued and thought about it, but ultimately never pulled the trigger on a response. I think she thought it would be beneath her to respond to such a letter. Well, that was all a long time ago. We have now gone through the era of print personal ads I remember Sunstone tried that out for awhile, but they never had more than about four ads and the idea never gained any traction there to internet dating websites.
It seems to me that such websites have the potential to help resolve the main impediment to Mormon dating, which is geographical distance. And with pictures and greater detail, they strike me as a big advance over print personal ads.
But while in theory it seems like they ought to be a boon to older LDS singles looking for love, we all know that theory often runs headlong into practice. Does internet dating work in the Mormon context? Do you know people that have married through that means? Do you have horror stories? Any cautions or warnings you would care to share? What are your experiences? But was he moustachioed? They have two twin boys, about three years old, and seem to be doing well. In Japan especially, where I served my mission, it has worked wonderfully well for a couple of my good friends.
