In May 2005, Elder Oaks gave a talk to young single adults giving an apostolic smackdown on the proliferation of “hanging out” as opposed to good old fashion dating. He partly blames the elaborate dates that young Mormons do, like having a picnic on the street median. If that’s what you have to do take a girl on a date, no wonder men aren’t asking women out.
Elder Oaks offers this nice little date hack.
Gone is the clumsy and inexpensive phone call your parents and grandparents and I used to make. That call went something like this: “What’re ya doin’ tonight? How about a movie?” Or, “How about taking a walk downtown?” Cheap dates like that can be frequent and nonthreatening, since they don’t seem to imply a continuing commitment.
Simple as that pick up the phone and ask someone for ice cream. No fancy picnics. No planned kidnappings. Just pick up the phone and call.