on Cougarboard. I have also had guys who went there tell me it's easier to meet people up there. I find that a great blessing because for LDS members, going to college isn't just about becoming economically valuable to society. Finding a good person to marry is just as important because the odds are very good someone who leaves BYU unmarried will never again be surrounded by so many suitable LDS partners.

I spent twelve years in East Asia. I met people over there, fine, staunch members, who would gladly give a decade off their life to get their child into BYU. One of their greatest fears was that their son or daughter would marry a nonmember in their home country and leave the Church. They thought if they could just get their child into BYU, and that child met and married a good member, they would have done as much as they could to ensure there were "no empty seats at the table."

It's easy to lose sight of how important this is if you live in Utah, surrounded by Church members and culture, but when you get "out there" and see how little Church influence there is in most places, it really strikes home. If it really is easier to meet people and get married at BYU-I, my hat is off to the administration there. They're fulfilling a critically important and very necessary part of the purpose of LDS higher education.