It is really just a date?

You're in college, studying hard, losing sleep, and trying to progress in your life. One day in your busy schedule a nice young man, who seems interested in you, starts a conversation with you. . . He then asks you out on a date! 
You then:
(A) Blush a little bit because you thought he was cute and hope he purposes on the date so you say yes
(B) Make an excuse like "I have a boyfriend" or show him the fake ring you bought at the nearest grocery mart because you aren't in a position to get married quite yet
(C) Belittle his confidence by hesitating and ultimately just saying, "Uhm(looks around and heavily sighs) sure" 
(D) Excited that he asked, "What did you have in mind"

     Dating can be a real struggle in college when the normal thing is to just 'hang out' with a bunch of friends and have no pressure. Hanging out isn't a bad thing, but the result of that puts the meaning of dating into a higher level. Somewhere in the mix, our generation has confused courtship with dating! Men and women don't exactly know the expectations of the date because they read into it too much or, because of the redefined word of dating, expect too much. 

    More and more I have found that men are shying away from asking a girl on a date. They take a little bit of planning, yes. They take someone to pay for it, yes. They take to people to be paired off, yes. But in the end they are so worth it.

"Elder Dallin H. Oaks provided a brilliant operational definition for the word "date" in his seminal CES Fireside about the importance of dating as opposed to hanging out. According to his definition, for a date to contribute to a pattern that could potentially mature into marriage, it should be paid for, planned ahead and paired off. I'm sure we're all familiar with this talk and the concept of the "three p's."

     Now what do these three P's have to do with an eternal perspective?

Provide ---> Paid for

Preside --->Planned

Protect --->Paired off

When we look at the family proclamation, there are three roles of the males that they are responsible to fulfill. It was neat to link them to dating. When we go on dates, we offer men the chance to practice providing, presiding, and protecting. Then. . . how do we as women practice nurturing when dating?

Nurturing their CONFIDENCE. It takes so much courage for a man to walk up to a women and ask them on a date. If we women but only nurtured their confidence by responding happily, and willing. . . Oh what that would do for a man. We can even answer excitedly and ask them how they are going to plan. "What did you have in mind?"

When we go on a date, it does not mean marriage. . . It does not mean that you two are exclusive! It simply gives the two of you the opportunity to get to know one another and practice our roles as men and women. 

“Simple and more frequent dates allow both men and women to ‘shop around’ in a way that allows extensive evaluation of the prospects. The old-fashioned date was a wonderful way to get acquainted with a member of the opposite sex. It encouraged conversation. It allowed you to see how you treat others and how you are treated in a one-on-one situation. It gave opportunities to learn how to initiate and sustain a mature relationship. None of that happens in hanging out.” -Elder Oaks

(There are other wonderful snips of advice from our general authorities like the quote I just shared on: Advice from Prophets on dating)

    So the next time you get asked out on a date, I hope that you remember that it is just a date. . . a date to have fun! A date to really enjoy one another and let each other practice our roles.

    One of my favorite dates that I had before I got married to Jedd, was when we snow shoeing out in Island Park. We both were on the date to have fun, get to know each other and enjoy the outdoors. We were racing, pushing each other in the snow and realizing that we both enjoyed one anthers company!