Keep Smilin'!

Dear Bro Jo,

I'm a 14 year old girl and I am having some boy trouble. There's this guy I had a crush on, (he is LDS too) and I would see him smile at me and I would smile at him. We never talked before, but my brother knew him. He would always stare at me and smile.

Then, I never really saw him for a while.

Then all of the sudden I saw him and started liking him all over again. And then, it went back to the whole 'staring and smiling' thing again. Suddenly, I find out he just broke up with a girlfriend he had and he's ONLY 14! I also found out that this boy has already had a couple of girlfriends. It really hurts me that a LDS guy like him wouldn't following a prophet's teachings.

For me, I'm really strict on my standards, people always make fun of me for being modest and not dating yet. He's a really nice guy, my brother told me. Lately, I have been trying to get over this guy but I can't seem to. Should I give up on this guy? If so, how do I get over him? Am I too young to be worrying about guys now? Thanks for your help, Bro Jo :)

-LDS girl


Dear LDSG,

This is going to sound harsh, but seriously! You're only 14! You've never dated this guy . . . he's not your boyfriend . . . there's nothing to "get over" or give up on.

You're not too young to like guys, that's OK.

But yeah, you are too young to be either burning bridges or worrying. The guy had a girlfriend. It's not like he was a lying, thieving, porn addict . . . I wouldn't refuse to ever dance with him at another Church Dance simply because he openly liked a girl that liked him back.

It's OK for you to like him. It's OK for you to think he's cute. It's OK to be at the same get-togethers and smile at him.

It's NOT a good idea to be his new girlfriend, so stay away from that.

Keep to your standards - you're doing the right thing!

When you're both 16, if he's not a bad guy, and he asks you to go on a Casual Group Date or two, by all means go.

Maybe your brother can be part of the group.

- Bro Jo