Can "Mormons" date?

Yes. Dating is fun and a great way to get to know other young people. I would say a date is a boy and girl going together on a planned activity.
​
In my novel, Not of This World, Marti's parents are very restrictive on her dating. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, youth are encouraged to date with guidelines. Some of the guidelines are to wait to date until 16 years old, go with at least one other couple--no single dating, avoid dates with the same person--date many different people, and date those with high moral standards. The For Strength of Youth Pamphlet is a great resource for dating guidelines. Each family and teenager must decide their rules within those guidelines. Since youth can attend church dances at the age of 14, I think that dating and hanging out are different activities. To me the term group dating doesn't mean hanging out in a group at someone's house or going to a party. Group dating involves a young man asking a young woman (or sometimes the girl asks the boy), finding at least one other couple to go on the date with them, and planning a fun activity where all in the group get to know each other. Then while on the date, the young man and young woman are particularly attentive and courteous to each other. Do the young man and young woman kiss on this date? That's a question for another post.