Jorgen Sumsion spent the fall semester studying biostatistics at Brigham Young University, but he's not enrolled this semester.Sumsion is still in Provo, but the 18-year-old is at the Missionary Training Center preparing for a Mormon mission in Taiwan. He plans to continue his studies at BYU -- after he returns from his two-year mission.
Colleges and universities across Utah are dealing with the temporary loss of Mormon students like Sumsion. It is one of many ripple effects from the Oct. 6 announcement by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to lower the minimum age for missionaries: from 21 to 19 for women; and from 19 to 18 for men.