--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Allen, J. X. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 8 number: 12 published: 1905-10 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'J. X. Allen, "Don’t Growl!—Don’t Whine," *Improvement Era* 8, no. 12 (October 1905): 903–904.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0812unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera0812unse start_page: 903 end_page: 904 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1905-10) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0812unse publication_year: 1905 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1905, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Don’t Growl!—Don’t Whine DON'T GROWL!— DON'T WHINE BY DR. JAMES X. ALLEN. Hot! Of course it's hot. Why shouldn't it be hot? You want twenty degrees colder? Oh, that would never do. How about the wheat? It will not ripen without sunshine. We can't get along, or at least we don't want to get along, without bread. How about the fruit? It needs the sun to ripen it. How about the hay? We must have hay for the cattle. Let it be hot. It is all right. Thank God for the sunshine! What a bad fix we should be in without fruit and vegetables! At least that is what the pioneers thought about it, fifty- eight years ago. But one good thing about that noble band of God's tried-and- not-found- wanting people was: they got along with the least possible amount of grumbling. The first man that I met in the street today, said: "My, but isn't it hot!" "Yes;" I told him, "thank God, it is hot." And I named some of the blessings resultant of hot weather. "But," he said, "we may not live until winter, so as to reap the promised blessings." "Now, there is where you make a mistake: I am wearing lighter clothing than I do in winter. I am burning less coal. My electric light bill is lighter than in winter; and I find quite a sav- ing in many ways. The hot weather is all right." Brother Peter, the other day, told me a story about a poor, aged lady in Norway, who was too old to work, and had to beg her bread. She never had anything laid away for a rainy day. She would turn out in the worst kind of weather, and beg from — I 904 IMPROVEMENT ERA. house to house. The people whom she would call upon would fre- quently say: "Why, Nancy, it is too bad that you have to be out in such weather as this." Nancy's reply would be: "It might be a great deal worse, you know. am alive, while God is calling I people home every day. He gives me life, and I get all I need." I remember a story about a poor man with a large family — forget his name, — Thompson was never known call him Thompson. to murmur. When the weather was cold, someone would say to ; him: "Thompson, this is awfully cold weather, isn't it? ' expecting Thompson to growl. "Not so," Thompson would reply: "This is the kind of weather that one enjoys, sitting around the stove at nights, having a good time with the little shavers." At another time Thompson is found ditching, or working in the harvest field: "Hello, Thompson, how do you stand this hard work, this hot weather?" "Yes, it is kind of warm, isn't it? But, you see, the children don't wear so much clothing when it is warm; and they don't have to wear shoes all the time, and then, we don't have to burn so much coal, and, taking it altogether, it is not so bad, after all." Not a whine! God bless Thompson. But there came a time when the neighbors felt sure that Thompson's courage would give way. He had an accident, and broke one of his legs. Everyone in the neighborhood fully ex- pected that Thompson must surely do a little grumbling. They gathered into the house. They sighed, looked sad, and pitied the poor man: "Thompson, this is really too bad. You can't afford a big doctor bill, and to be laid up for a length of time. It really is too bad." "Oh, I don't know," was Thompson's reply, "You see, I have been working hard for a long time, and I needed a rest, and if it hadn't been for this happening, there is no telling when I should have got a lay-off." God bless Thompson! God bless all Thompsons! It is so very restful to fall in with a man of grateful heart one who always displays a trust in God; and thankfulness for the blessings which he bestows upon us. We may have six good things to rejoice over and one incon- venience. Shall we spend all of our time bewailing that one in- convenience, or shall we devote a part of the time in contempla-