Sarah shared it, so I thought I’d pass along a few of my thoughts. Her father passed away two days ago. Back before Sarah and I started dating, I made a list of future qualities I wanted in a wife. Some of the top qualities were things like being intelligent and kind. One of the qualities was related to having a family I liked and would enjoy having as a large part of our lives. Having caring parents like hers to be the grandparents of our children was very important to me. Her father will be missed by all of us in our family. It was tough/tender moment sharing that with Joseph the other day. I’m well acquainted with loss in my life, so I tend to adapt quicker than most to things like this but please keep Sarah, Joseph and everyone else in Sarah’s family in your prayers. Having a knowledge of our eternal destinies is helpful but the loss is still felt.

Interesting items from the study:

• All “white Christian” religions in the US are declining except Mormons.
• All “white Christian” religions are aging (lack of young people) in the US except Mormons.
• Mormons are steady at about 2% of the US population.
• Gender identifying as Mormon: 48% men, 52% women (one of the most gender balanced religions in the US).
• Men account for 64% of atheists and 63% of agnostics in the US.
• 38% of people 18-29 are in the “religiously unaffiliated” category.
• The religiously unaffiliated category is higher and growing faster than ever at 24% of the US population.
• Mormons continue to be one of the most educated religions in the US but have a larger group with only some college education at 32%.
• Mormons have the largest family sizes out of all religions in the US.
• 42% of Mormons have more than 3 children under 18 in their homes.
• 44% of Mormons are Republicans, 12% are Democrats.
• 51% of Utah identifies as Mormon. Six states are less diverse.
• 20% of Idaho identifies as Mormon.

So yesterday I got a new AR-15 rifle. Well technically it’s called an ArmaLite M-15 because Colt owns the name AR-15 but the name has become pretty generic for any rifle that is compatible with the AR-15 platform. This particular rifle is chambered as 223 Wylde which is supposed to make the most of both 223 and 5.56 ammunition. For those that don’t know, 223 rifles can’t fire 5.56 but 5.56 rifles can fire both. There is some minor drop in performance when using 223 in a 5.56 rifle though. 223 Wylde is supposed to cut the difference and handle the 223 just as well as 5.56. The difference is minor enough that I probably wouldn’t notice but it was a good deal, so I’ll see how it does. The rifle is pictured next to my Ruger 10/22 for size comparison. It’s smaller than the M-16 A2 I was used to firing back in the Army but still has a familiar feel. Of course having no auto option on the selector switch, because tax stamps are expensive. I ordered a standard sling for $10 to go along with it from Amazon last night.It should be fun to take to the range.