If a chimp can take it's mate on a date...

It was with interest that I recently read a report on the mating habits of chimpanzees. It seems that the male chimps that go off and hunt meat and then bring it back to the group and share it with the females in the group get to have more sex with said females than the males in the group that don't treat the females to dinner. And it isn't an immediate exchange either. The male might bring the female meat for a while with no sex. But then when she's fertile, that male that brought her food gets to have twice as much sex as the self-ish ones.

So what is the lesson in all of this?

It's simple. Men who take women on dates get the women. Men who are self-ish or just hang out, don't get the women.

I mean, if a male chimp can court the female and take her out to dinner, why is it so hard for male humans to figure out the same thing?

From Elder Oaks (Dating versus Hanging Out, Ensign, June 2006):

My single young friends, we counsel you to channel your associations with the opposite sex into dating patterns that have the potential to mature into marriage, not hanging-out patterns that only have the prospect to mature into team sports like touch football.

And also:

A “date” must pass the test of three p’s: (1) planned ahead, (2) paid for, and (3) paired off.

I'm 30. I'm not going to hang-out any more. And honestly, I haven't wanted to hang out since the end of my mission.

I think I speak for many when I say, stop hanging-out and start bringing me meat!

And I did get a date Saturday night. And it was great.