Missionary Safety

My heart goes out to the sister missionaries who were attacked in Durban. Having served in South Africa I know how dangerous and scary it can be at times.

I was reading an article on DeseretNews.com this morning. I found the last paragraph interesting:

A Deseret Morning News analysis in January showed that LDS missionaries are comparatively safe. The church has more than 50,000 missionaries around the world at any one time. The analysis found 25 missionaries were killed in the past seven years, and most of them died in accidents. Three were murdered.

Looking at those numbers, I can’t imagine a safer situation to be in at that age. I wonder what the mortality rate for non missionaries of the same age group are. I know most are quietly entering college and starting careers, but what about those who are not so quietly entering college, or those that may be involved in gangs, or those energetic youth out surfing, swimming, boating, rock climbing, etc. etc.

Suit Yourself

I’ve recently lost about 20lbs. As I was getting dressed for a meeting last week, my wife said I looked like a little kid wearing his dad’s suit. So, for a combined Father’s Day/Anniversary gift, she wanted to get me a new suit.

I remember one time on a home teaching visit my companion was going off on how great Men’s Warehouse was. He said they treat you like a king there. Buying a suit at Men’s Warehouse was obviously one of his favorite things to do. So that is where I first suggested we go. I hate to say this, but I was really dissappointed. Maybe it was the Salesperson, maybe it was the store, maybe it was the selection… I don’t know. I think more than anything though it was the Salesperson that bugged me. It was a girl wearing a mini skirt and big hoop earings – just not what I expected. I bought a sports jacket there that cost $160, plus $15 for alterations in the sleaves. I left feeling sick to my stomach, because I didn’t really like the jacket and I had just spent close to $200 on it. The next day I went back during lunch and got a refund. I have to commend them for that. It was very easy and no questions asked – litterally. They simply issued me a refund and said “Sorry it didn’t work out for you.”

I told my wife that I really wanted a suit rather than a sports jacket. Also, I had read recently that most millionaires buy their suits at JC Penny due to the price and quality of the suits. So last night we started there. I was please to find that they had a lot larger selection that I was led to believe by looking on their website. I was also please to see they were having a sale and many suits were 25-50% off. I could have bought a Dockers brand suit for as low as $100 for the jacket and pants, or other suits for $150. There were no sales people though. This was a good and a bad thing – good in the sense that I didn’t feel pressured in any way, bad in a sense that I’m no expert in picking out suits ;). We found a few we liked, but I wanted to check out Mr. Mac’s before making a purchase.

I bought my missionary suits at Mr. Mac’s. In fact, I bought most everything for my mission at Mr. Mac’s. I was pleased with everything I purchase there. Suits were durable and lasted my whole mission and them some. My white shirts were durable and ramained white beyond my mission as well, and that is saying something for some of the areas I served in.

So we drove to Mr. Mac’s. The salesman who helped us was an older gentleman. We told him what we were looking for and my size and he showed us our selection. I found a suit that my wife and I really liked for $300. But I remembered him telling us they had some suits that were 2 for $300. Being the budget concious man that I am, I could clearly see the value of getting two for the price of one ;). We found two suits that we liked and actually got them both for $275. Then we threw in some nice ties that they gave us a 50% discount on, and some socks.

One thing I really liked about Mr. Mac’s was that all the alterations are free for the life of the suit. At Men’s Warehouse they had different fees for all types of alterations. This means that if I happen to lose any more weight, or (heaven forbid) gain some weight, I can go back in and get free alterations again.

All in all, I spend $365 last night. But this time I didn’t feel that sick sense of spending money for something I didn’t want.

So, where do you prefer to get your suits?

Ammendment to Protect Traditional Marriage

The First Presidency issued a letter for saints in America to “express themselves on this urgent matter to their elected representatives in the Senate.”

I probably would have forgotten to do so, but thanks to a friend who fowarded me the contact information for the senators in my state, I followed through.

I would just like to encourage anyone who reads this to express themselves to the state senators. Also, may I suggest that once you have done so, you may forward your state senators contact information on to friends and family to make it easier for them to do the same.

Below is the letter I wrote, in case you want/need ideas to get you started with the letter. It shouldn’t be too difficult to “express yourself”:

Senator [Senator’s Surname],

I am writing to express my feelings about the upcoming vote on June 6, to amend the federal constitution to protect the traditional institution of marriage.

While I understand the desire some same-gender couples have to express their love publicly and have laws in their favor as couples, marriage has always been between man and wife, and should always be between man and wife. If a same gender couple wants to be “bound” in some way, let them call it something else because it is not marriage.

Our society is built on the family unit. I believe that the best way to strengthen our country is to strengthen and promote families. Protecting “marriage” will only serve this purpose.

Please vote in favor to amend the constitution to protect the traditional institution of marriage.

Sincerely,
Dustin Davis
Taylorsville, Utah

Helpful Links:
Full Text of First Presidency Letter
Church Urges Members to Contact Senators on Marriage Amendment
The Family: A Proclamation to the World
U.S. Senate Contact Information for each Senator

What is your “Dream Calling”

Among conversations I have with people, this topic will occassionally come up. What calling in the church do you most aspire to? For me it is “Stake Sports Director!” Why? Well, I’ve always loved sports. Growing up in a small town there wasn’t much else to do. I played every sport available to me. Now that I’m married with small kids, the opportunity to be involved with sports is much less available to me. It’s hard to leave my wife at home with some ornery babies to go “play.” I’m guessing that with this calling, when I go play, or I go referree, or I go “oversee” a sports program, I would simply be fulfilling my calling. Plus, I don’t know much about this, but I would assume there is not a lot early morning meetings that need to be attended or lessons to prepare each week – not that I mind that stuff…

So what is your “Dream Calling?”