Rhetorical Analysis – Elder Oaks

WATCO: Young adults’ dating rather than “hanging out” on their relationships with the opposite gender?

Claim: Young adults’ dating rather than “hanging out” helps build healthy relationships with members of the opposite gender because spending quality time getting to know each other helps people respect and appreciate each other.

Implicit Assumption: Whatever helps people respect and appreciate each other also helps build healthy relationships.

Audience: LDS Young Adults who for various reasons are not inclined to date

Elder Oaks’ talk, “The Dedication of a Lifetime” has become quite famous in the LDS community since he gave it nearly two years ago. In this address he expresses his concern over the growing trend of young adults to stay single for longer periods of time, then encourages them to go on meaningful dates with members of the opposite gender. His argument is well-founded and well-stated. He uses academic articles and statistics to show that the average age of marriage in the United States is increasing, and that young adults fit into a new and strange demographic. His many years of experience as a church leader and as President of BYU add to his credibility. I’m sure many of our church leaders would give the same advice, and likely contributed to his talk in various ways. He just acted as the mouthpiece with this address. Elder Oaks was not overbearing in giving advice and counsel to the young adults of the church. Rather, he used humor and wit to confront a potentially sensitive subject. This helped many young adults accept and internalize his message.

I was single when he gave the address but have since married, so I guess dating worked for me. Really, though, Elder Oaks’ talk was very motivational and tactful, which are things the young adults of church needed in a message meant to drive them to action.