PROVO, Utah — Many parents,bishops and young single adult stake representatives asked questions and stated concerns for the emerging adults of the church during a workshop by Blair G. Van Dyke at a presentation during BYU's Campus Education Week Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 18. In his remarks, Van Dyke, who teaches in the Church Educational System, discussed the challenges facing young single adults today, the reasons why problems are prevalent and the role parents and grandparents play in young single adults lives.
\"I have young single adults and any insight I can get to help me help them better is good for me,\" said an education week visitor Debbie Erb, of the South Mountain 3rd Ward, Draper South Mountain Utah Stake. \"I hope to have a better perspective — a more gospel perspective. It seems like we are so bombarded with the view of the world and what the world says the way things are suppose to be. When I come to education week I get back to the perspective of the gospel.\"
For many in attendance, it was a great time to learn more about their children and the challenges they face.
Citing the raising average age of marriage and the declining number of children being born across the globe,Van Dyke spoke of the attack Satan is pursuing on the family as an institution by postponing adulthood and sometimes even parenthood all together.
\"Many of you want to walk out of here with some very, very real reasons, and some real solutions,\" said Van Dyke. \"You'll walk out of here with some information on helping you know why.\"
He gave three reasons studies have found in the group of emerging adults, or the growing group of young adults prolonging their transition to adulthood.
The first reason he talked about was debt. According to Van Dyke, studies show that 66 percent of this age group owe more than $10,000 in debt. Around 5 percent owe more than $100,000 in debt. Since 1992, he said, credit card debt has doubled among 18-24-year-olds. As debt increases, young adults are more likely to live at home with their parents for longer periods of time.
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This story is provided by the LDS Church News, an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is produced weekly by the Deseret News.