Don Osmond on 'Cresting 30'

I'm not about to incite an uprising of 30-somethings and go toe-to-toe against the words of our prophets and living oracles. They are blessed with wisdom — an apostolic gift given to them by God to lead us in righteousness. It would be folly for us not to listen to their counsel.

However, singles wards these days seem to be getting larger and larger. Almost monthly, there is a new Mormon singles ward to go "check out." Despite the constant temple-wedding announcements from the members of young single adult wards that infiltrate my mailbox, I still hear, from time to time, that one of my friends received his or her 31st birthday gift from the church — a hearty welcome to the family ward.

The Pandemic: singles are getting older, marrying later.

Take my ward for example. The average age is 26. Are we all menaces to society? No! Should we be married? Well, yeah, but that's a given.

I came close to being married, twice, and for a long time felt as though I missed out on the blessings of the temple. In my mind's eye, a branding iron came down from heaven and marked me "the eternal bachelor." However, I surrounded myself with good friends, angels who would bear me up. Together, we had seen it all — break-ups, failed engagements, even divorce. Even with all that heartache, we still found reason to enjoy each other's company, have good times and laugh.

The secret: We don't wear these burdens on our sleeves or shout from the rooftops, "Hey, I have a commitment problem!" On the contrary, we find ways to help and serve each other. Getting lost in the compassion of others helps us drown our troubles in service, rather than drinks. As Luke's gospel records: "Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it."

Being single, and cresting 30 in July, I've come to realize the Lord does bless his children. It may be a different type of blessing than our married counterparts, but we are still blessed regardless. There is no reason why any single adult should be sulking.

Singles are blessed with so many experiences and opportunities, yet we are often blinded by the outward perceptions of LDS perfection. Take for example the blessing of freedom. (Now, I'm not saying marrieds aren't free ... you get the picture.) Being single, you should take every opportunity you have readily available. The sky — very literally — is the limit.

If you've done this — great! Take a minute and reflect on where you've been and what you have learned from the past. My guess is you've learned a lot! Now go out and share what you've learned with others. There is strength in numbers, and there are a lot of singles that need each other.

Perhaps you've gone through the refiner's fire of heartache; I just hope you've lighted your candle to light the way for others. That doesn't mean you pour out a sob story to others. What did Bing Crosby say? "You've got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative, don't mess with Mister In-Between."

Great. So there's the pep talk. You still have to date. Just because we feel better about ourselves and the position we are in doesn't mean the ultimate goal has changed. We still strive for the blessings of being sealed in the temple with our spouse for time and all eternity. But instead of being so inwardly focused on what we don't have, we realize the things we do have. You may need to still think about it from time to time and come to terms that what you have, your married friends may not have ... like going on crazy fun vacations with friends.

Don Osmond, son of Donny and Debbie Osmond, is a public relations professional in the greater Salt Lake area as well as a professional bobsledder in Park City, Utah. He served an LDS mission in England and earned a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University. He enjoys camping, mountain/road biking, rock climbing and hiking — basically, every recreational activity Utah has to offer.