How to Save a Life

(Written Sunday, May 27)

Girls:  Anyone who reads:

If you're ever sitting in Relief Society (or wherever) and notice someone who is/has been fighting back tears for the entire lesson, is wiping her drippy nose and drippy eyes on her fingers, hand, arm, etc. because she has exhausted the one kleenex she had in her scripture case, and you can see very distinct signs of distress in her face rather than the "this lesson is so spiritual it's leaking out of my eyes" contented look, here are some suggestions:

1.  Get the girl a kleenex for crying out loud! (No pun intended.)
2.  Put your arm around her.* Even if you don't know what to say, and if you feel awkward (which you probably will), this girl needs something.  Human touch is generally a good start.  Her quiet but very socially apparent tears are nothing less than a reverent scream for help.

"And now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, 

and are willing to bear one another's burdens, that they may be light; yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort,  and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in...  

Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being...a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with...?" - Mosiah 18:8-10

Okay, so our culture sometimes doesn't jive well with doing things like what I've suggested above. I understand that, and I can definitely relate.  But for the sake of the suffering, please consider going counter-culture as occasion warrants.  Someone nearby needs your help, and in many cases (although not all) it may very well be visibly apparent.


Just food for thought.


*If you can't bring yourself to do the whole arm-around thing, at least ask her if she's okay. It's like arriving at the scene of a potential medical emergency: first you ask if the person's okay, then you call for help/911, then you proceed to rescue breathe, tie a tourniquet, do chest compressions or whatever else it takes to save a life. The scene you're witnessing in Relief Society could be just as serious of an emotional or spiritual emergency (I know she just looks hormonal, but she actually might be emotionally close to dead... you never know)--doesn't it make sense to treat it with the same life-or-death approach and throw cultural inhibitions to the wind? Anyway... I'll be done here. Just give this a thought the next time you're faced with a similar situation.  The End.