Do not date before you are age 16. When people younger than that date, it often leads to tragedy. When you first begin dating, go out in groups or on double dates. Introduce your date to your parents, or invite your date to an activity with your whole family. Dating activities should be inexpensive and help you to get to know one another while maintaining your self-respect and chastity.
Young men should show their good manners by taking the initiative in asking for dates, while young women take a passive role, waiting to be asked. Males should stand up as a female enters a room, and should also act as a gentleman by holding open doors for their dates. This will increase the comfort of both. Even in this age of equal rights, young women still want the polite courtesies extended to them.
Courtship is not just a time to discover what the other person is like, it is also a time to evaluate yourself, taking careful inventory of your appearance, your habits, and you speech. Is your weight driving away potential suitors? Do you have annoying mannerisms? Do you repeat stories ad nauseam? Do you laugh raucously? Do you wear too much makeup or perhaps not enough? Smart young women wear just enough makeup to convince males it's not makeup at all, but the "real you."
What are you doing to make yourself more desirable? Nearly all people have some eccentricities. Once you have identified and made a careful list of yours, prioritize them, and then get to work on eliminating them one by one until you are a very normal person.
Sources:
• A Parent’s Guide, (1985), 44–52
Date a variety of people, avoiding frequent dates with the same person to avoid getting into trouble. It may not be easy, but keep your hands to yourself, and avoid kissing and "making out". Do not sit alone together in a parked car. Do not enter a house together alone, especially a bedroom.
Only date members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Do not date anyone who is a member of other religions, nor people who are members of no religion. A young person might rationalize, thinking, "I don't intend to marry this person, this is just a 'fun' date." But it is not worth the risk of falling in love with someone who might never accept the gospel or join the Church.
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