YSA Branches/Wards

[silvermoon383]

About a week or 2 ago (well, maybe 3 or 4 by now) I got involved in a rather heated debate about the validity and usefulness of YSA wards and branches. Essentially what happened is that it started as a question on why 50% of all 18 year old girls go inactive instead of transitioning to the Relief Society (the number went unsubstantiated, based solely on 1 stake's stats). After a little bit the originator of the debate claimed that it was the YSA program's fault, and after painting most if not all of us YSAs as ward-hopping, calling-avoiding, responsibility-shirking, pleasure-seeking hedonists I got involved. It got even uglier from there, but after banging my head on the desk for a day or so I gave it up (needless to say, the originator just had to get the final word.)

While I've given that thread up, I've still been thinking about it, and someone necroposted in it, so I thought I'd get some of your thoughts here.

If you want to read the thread in whole, it's here.

Irayo!

 

[tomato1236]

YSA Wards certainly are a different animal, but I wouldn't blame people's failures on the institution. College-age kids are just punks and want to try stuff out, establish themselves. Any trouble I had in YSA was because I wanted to make out with my girlfriend too much and because people weren't very friendly at church. It's not the ward's fault. I would much rather have gone to YSA than sit in with a lot of 60-90 year-olds at the time.