Is it OK to have a crush?

Crushes are natural. It’s normal to like someone and even to feel strongly attracted to that person. But don’t obsess over someone, thinking about him or her all the time, especially if you’re not old enough to date. And even if you are old enough to date, don’t center your romantic feelings so strongly around one person while you’re in your teens. That can be unhealthy and sometimes dangerous.

As President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) said, “The Lord has made us attractive one to another for a great purpose. But this very attraction becomes as a powder keg unless it is kept under control” (“A Prophet’s Counsel and Prayer for Youth,” New Era, Jan. 2001, 13).

Focusing too much on a romantic interest in one person could get in the way of the fun and positive experiences you can have as a teen as you form friendships with a variety of people and get to know them in a variety of settings, including group dates and Church activities (see For the Strength of Youth [2011], 4–5, 16–17).