Alone in the Pews

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Finding a spouse remains the priority. Internet dating sites, like LDSHearts.com are popular. But the church prefers to encourage more traditional courtship. When Oaks, the Mormon leader who fretted about the rise of singles, declared in May, "It's marriage time," imploring young people to lay off group activities and date more, single Saints across the country took heed. Even in Manhattan--with a vast support network of unmarried Mormons--Jeffrey Jackson, 27, says he and friends in his singles ward immediately put "more focus on one-on-one relationships," proposing more dates and trying to consider their female friends as potential wives. Many wards hold dances regularly. Wilson sometimes travels two hours to attend them in Raleigh, N.C. Michael Mohan went to one in Denver on a recent Friday and another in Colorado Springs, Colo., the following night. He was excited to see how well members encouraged one another to connect at the Saturday affair. He did his part too, securing phone numbers from four women that night. "I'm not going to stay single forever," he vows.