NOT A NICE WAY TO SAY IT

Elder Whitney has been taught that grown men  don't  cry.  Neither do they bawl, blubber, howl, lament, snivel, sob, shed tears, wail, weep, whimper, yowl, put on the weeps, muel, moan, mourn, shed bitter tears, turn on the water works or let it all out.   There is really no nice way to say it.  
Since he has been in Scotland,  Elder Whitney has  wondered at times if  he was simply past feeling, a sobering, rather  terrifying thought,  or maybe  that he had actually forgotten how to shed tears, equally disquieting. 

SO WHAT MADE ELDER WHITNEY DO IT?

 

While a picture would be worth a thousand words, fortunately we all had our eyes shut, or at least Elder Whitney did, as he  was too embarrassed to open his.    Besides he  was offering a closing prayer seated in a flat with two 19 or 20 year olds and Sister Whitney,  a young lady and mother of two from Zambia or close to it on a continent which Elder Whitney knows too little about, namely Africa.  Is it really a continent?

 

So what happened before the prayer, that created this compulsion in Elder Whitney to let it all out?

By a process of elimination,  he  concludes that his emotions were spiritual in nature, which could only have come from a higher power.  He was basically overwhelmed by his feelings of appreciation for  this young mother, for these young men, for Sister Whitney and for their common cause.  As a result, he could not start or finish his simple prayer without putting on the weeps. Fortunately, he did manage to refrain from wailing or yowling.  He is unsure about mueling, since he is not sure what that is, or even how to spell it, except the image of a mule comes to mind -- braying, and that is not what he recalls.  He fears he might have gotten close to sobbing, but he is certain he refrained from whimpering, the descriptive form of which would be too much for him to digest.  Real men may have a soft spot, but they are not wimps. 

 

So why was Elder Whitney so appreciative?      Elder Whitney, despite a resume which might suggest that he should know better, is extremely naive.  Either he has spent too much time in Utah and maybe even Arizona,  or he has practiced keeping his eyes wide shut.  He has considered plastic surgery to open those eyes, but it is not in the budget. 

 

Elder Whitney was struck profoundly on a cold, dark night in Glasgow on the 7th of February, 2013, with the realization that someone, in this case a young mother,  could come Out of Africa from a different race and culture, that so reminded himself of himself,  not only because of what she said, but by her mannerisms and the way she said it, that he felt as probably he had never quite felt before, the reality of the brotherhood of man and the Fatherhood of God.  This feeling was only enhanced by the spirituality and polished  wisdom of these two 19-20 year olds, which cannot be explained but only experienced.  Elder Whitney will admit that his interaction with a diversity of fantastic people here has gradually prepared him for this experience. 

 

Since Sister Whitney will soon remind  her husband  that no one will finish this, even if they start,  and  that his  protestations that he  has  not spoken in the first person are simply a sham to cover up self-absorption, he will finish this off with a few photos.

 



PROOF THAT WE NEED TO BUDGET FOR A BETTER CAMERA

 

1/2 OF BURNS NIGHT 1-28-13:  Spring, Lars, Couple from China, Elder Moser, Elder Bayor

 

 

 

INSTITUTE ACTIVITY 2-6-13

 

 

 

 

 

CHINATOWN ELDERS AT OUR FLAT

 

 

 

MISSIONARY FAREWELL GATHERING [1-27-13] DUMBARTON, SCOTLAND

 

 

BISHOP GALLACHER, DUMBARTON