LDS Student Association

See this page in the original 1992 publication.

Author: Cannon, Elaine Anderson

The LDS Student Association (LDSSA) is an organization which sponsors social, religious, and recreational activities for LDS college students and their friends. The organization provides a framework wherein students have access to all phases of the Church that affect their lives during the week.

The purposes of LDSSA are to help college and university students stay closely affiliated with the Church, succeed in their studies, and achieve a balanced educational-social life while on campus; to motivate LDS students to become a powerful influence for good on the campus; to provide meaningful activities that are consistent with Church standards; and to coordinate Church-related activities for college students. These purposes are accomplished under the direction of the priesthood and in cooperation with the institutes of the Church Educational System. These student associations create a sense of belonging, an opportunity for leadership, and an expanded circle of friends who share similar values. For some students, LDSSA is the center of their school experience.

LDSSA was established in 1960, and has expanded to every college campus where there is an LDS institute of religion. In 1990, some 290 LDSSA organizations existed within the United States and Canada in post-secondary institutions, including community colleges, universities, and trade and technical schools. Each campus organization operates under the direction of an assigned local stake president who is also the priesthood leader for all LDS affairs on campus. He presides over an executive committee consisting of a student president, vice president(s), a secretary, and an education adviser, who is usually the director of the institute associated with the campus. The student leaders are called, set apart, and serve under the direction of the priesthood leader. The executive committee is the policymaking body for the local student association.

A student president presides over the chapter LDSSA council. The membership includes representatives of all LDS organizations that function on, or are influenced by, the school. These may include lambda delta sigma sorority and sigma gamma chi fraternity, young single adults, married students, campus stakes or wards, and other interest groups. While each of these groups operates as an independent agency, their activities are correlated through the LDSSA council, which strives to meet needs without undue overlap. The type of institution, geographic location, number of LDS students, and the social, cultural, and academic traditions influence how LDSSA is organized and how it functions to meet local and individual student needs.

At the general level of the Church, a governing board is made up of an executive director, presidents of Sigma Gamma Chi and Lambda Delta Sigma, and representatives of the General Authorities, seminaries, and institutes. ELAINE ANDERSON CANNON

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