"The death of a missionary is felt by every Church member in a deep and personal way, Elder David F. Evans, Executive Director of the Church’s Missionary Department, said today. He was commenting on the fact that ten young missionaries serving around the world have died from accident or illness over the course of this year. The latest serious accident occurred in Idaho yesterday – a road accident which left a young missionary hospitalized and on life support.
Elder Evans also said, "For the Church and particularly for the families of these missionaries who have lost their lives we know that the loss of even one missionary is far too many. To these remarkable families we extend our love, our faith, our hope and our prayers. And we pray that peace and comfort will be yours during these times of sorrow."
Evans noted that, "gratefully, these occurrences are rare, and missionary work is inherently safe. The mortality rate for missionaries is significantly less than those in their same age group in the general population."
According to the statement, "The Church does everything it can to ensure the safety of its missionaries, including providing training in personal safety and good health practices, repeated instruction for missionaries on auto and bicycle safety, and ongoing consultation with local Church leaders about the safety of specific areas and neighborhoods."
I recall watching a training video on auto safety, featuring Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve, at a zone conference while on my mission. This was after a fatal auto accident involving missionaries which had occurred in Kentucky. I think it was my mission president who suggested that missionaries should not expect to be protected from harm if they violate traffic laws as blessings are predicated on obedience -- and we believe in being obedient to the laws of the land..
Young missionaries, of course, face the same temptations that other young people do to drive fast and do other things. I have to confess that one evening I found myself driving at 90 miles an hour down the Pacific Coast Highway between Santa Cruz and Watsonville. In my defense, I will say that I was trying to catch up to the zone leaders because we had forgotten to give them our weekly letters to the mission president. In any case, the four of us in the car were very fortunate that we didn't get into an accident, and I was fortunate to not get pulled over by the highway patrol and ticketed.
Elders up in San Francisco were often tempted to re-create the moments in TV and movie car chases where the cars go over the hills in the city and get some air time. This usually resulted in a dropped pan, and sometimes the damage was enough to total the vehicle. This naturally cost the mission money to repair or replace the cars.
Driving a car on a mission is a privilege not a right. Most missionaries ride bikes or rely on public transport. Even on bikes there can be a temptation to go fast. In one area we would have a bike race back to the apartment after our weekly district meeting. One night an elder had a crash which resulted in a separated shoulder, this was fortunate for him because a broken collar bone would have been a ticket home with an early release.
Driving and bike riding are not the only areas of risk. I had a companion tear some ligaments in his leg while jogging. Another elder twisted an ankle playing basketball on P-day. Still another elder caught me in the face with his elbow while we were playing basketball. I worried for awhile that my nose was broken but fortunately it wasn't, it just hurt like heck. It is against the rules, by the way, for missionaries to play full-court basketball, yet these incidents on the hardwood (carpet, actually) happened when we were playing half-court games.
Sometimes, nature steps in. I posted a few months ago about a major earthquake:
Surviving a Major Disaster on a Mission
So, now that I have scared moms everywhere to death, let me conclude by saying that missions are not more dangerous than life at home. As noted in the statement released by the church, "The mortality rate for missionaries is significantly less than those in their same age group in the general population." As the saying goes, stuff happens, but the way to stay safe on a mission is to obey the rules and the law, be mindful of what you are doing at all times, and obey all promptings from the spirit.
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