Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Tree

We know the story about the girl who hears her lover has been called off to war. After a long kiss good-bye the boy in uniform gets on the train and the girl waits for the man to return.

In the Mormon culture there is much the same scenario. It is common for an LDS boy to leave on a mission around the age of 19 and then he's gone for two years. He could be going only a few thousand miles away or maybe to the other side of the world. It makes little difference, he is gone and she is waiting for the man to return.

When a missionary leaves a girlfriend at home there is the possibility that she might get taken up by another man that has already gotten home. (It isn't too often that she gets taken by one that has yet to leave on his own mission.) It works out to be a bit of a gamble. "Does she love me enough to wait the full two years?" "Will other guys try and date, and after a little success she'll decide that I'm better?" Once the boy leaves the only control he has over the matter is to send letters regularly, whereas the men still at home still have direct contact. Dear John's are a common occurrence out in the mission field and it becomes a time of sorrow for the missionary (and a time of celebration for his companion because now he'll actually get to work!)

It is a constant battle between the boys and the men about who gains and who loses. The most ridiculous part of it all is that the girls simply reap the rewards one way or the other :D