destroying, cleansing element "shall con- dations of the mountains." (Deu. 32:22.) United States Census Estimated to be 78,964,742 in the following table: Population of the United States, ex- Value of farm land: Per cent. of gain, 39: 1900, $17,865,200,831; census of 1890, $13,279,252,649. mony and love, blessedness and peace. in This is what the Lord taught His disciples to pray for, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is Heaven." (Matt. 6:10.) When the will of God is obeyed on earth as it is in heaven we shall find all things in subjection and submission thereto. Now, kind reader, does not your soul long to enjoy this holy peace, this sacred rest, in the celestial kingdom of God's glory? Would you journey along this highway of salvation that you might be made the happy recipient of God's greatest gift; then follow the course pursued by the Savior, yea, keep in that straight and narrow path marked out by Prophets and Apostles under God's direction. It is both plain and safe, and no honest inquirer after truth, no earnest investigator for righteousness, need fail to traverse its beaten track, or go astray after he has entered upon it; for the Lord hath promised unto all those who obey Him a spirit which will lead and guide into all truth, and which the Prophet Isaiah says shall be as a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk ye in it." When the glory of our Lord shall cover the face of the purified soil, then shall alse this Heavenly influence rest upon man and beast, removing from them the enmity which was placed there by reason of the transgression of our foreparents in the Garden of Eden, for God said, "I will put enmity," (Gen. 3:15), and now we are given to understand that this enmity shall be removed, and that the Spirit of the Lord shall be poured out upon all flesh. (Joel 2:28.) This glorious outpouring of God's Spirit will bring to pass that blessed state of affairs which Isaiah's pen has so beautifully described: "But with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth; and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of His lions, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb; and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; and their young ones shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah 11:4-lasting joy upon their heads." 9.) This is the millennial era, when Christ shall reign upon the earth; when righteousness and good will shall abound: when sin, wickedness, and violence of every kind shall cease; when the Saints of the Most High God shall be given the kingdom of the Lord forever, and they shall live together in har OX. There is glory and honor for the faith- The population of the twenty-five largest cities in the country is as follows: Greater New York. Chicago Washington Per cent. of gain. 1900. 3,654,590 63 2,007,241 68 1,843,678 57 1,267,158 15 1,200,000 52 687,795 38 600,000 24 555,057 35 400,000 57 400,000 49 390,000 And the truth is that this physical beauty is but an outward expression of the beauty of soul. There is a law according to which that which dwells within will find an expression in the outward form. The sculptor no more faithfully carves his ideal in the marble than does the indwelling spirit stamp its image upon the walls of the home in which it dwells. Sorrow, joy, passions, happiness, will leave their peculiar traces. If the heart is pure, the faith strong, and the mind bent submissive to divine will, the tent in which such a personality lives will show it, just as the surroundings of a home give a fair index to the character of the inhabitants thereof. Miss Anna Barr has paid a He is the noblest who has raised himgreat self by his own exertions to a higher sta- compliment to the Western woman, and tion.--Cicero. found that the idea of the West as "wild and woolly" is entirely erroneous. Drive thy business, let not that drive Wildness must be looked for where "flat thee.-Franklin. heads" and other deformities prevail. (To be continued.) THE SOUTHERN STAR. 243 WHAT GOD REQUIRES. The Gospel in Brief- Only One Church-Its Organization-Persecution. BY ELDER R. W. SMITH. In starting out upon a search after the body would survive after the head had been severed; as that the church would still exist although you should exclude, or do away with its visible head-Apostles and Prophets. of According to the Apostles' doctrine, as taught in the Bible, the first requirement made of the candidate for salvation is that he shall believe on the Lord Jesus Christ; second, that he must repent of his sins; third, that he should receive a remission thereof by being baptized in water by a legally qualified servant God; and fourth, that he should receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by the impocome to one of two conclusions to comsition of hands of those holding the aumence with; either that all the churches thority to confer it. And having obeyed now in existence claiming to be Chris- these principles, he is considered a letian taken as a whole, constitute the gally adopted citizen of the Kingdom of Church of Christ; or that one only is God on the earth, prepared to ascend right and the rest wrong. It would be higher and higher on the Gospel ladder entirely unreasonable as well as leading to the throne of the Majesty on scriptural for one to arrive at the first high, which he must do by adding to his named conclusion, for Christ Himself faith, virtue; and to virtue knowledge; said that if a house be divided against it- and to knowledge temperance; and to self it could not stand. to God also said temperance patience; and patience that His house is a house of order, and godliness; and to godliness brotherly the teachings of the Apostles was to the kindness; and to brotherly kindness chareffect that all true followers of the Mas-ity, and so on till the last round, perfecter must be baptized by one spirit into tion, is reached. This is the Gospel of one body, and live in the unity of the Jesus Christ, pure and simple. faith, being perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. This brings us then to the last named conclusion, viz., that there can be but one true Church of God upon the un No doubt there are many honest-heart- | will keep clear of this web of deception ed people in the world today who are and learn the will of God by endeavortrying to serve God to the best of their ing to comply with His requests, and ability according to their conception of obtain His Spirit as a teacher, by which, His divine will; but who are so blinded and it alone, mankind can understand by the traditions and false doctrines the things of God. which are so universally taught in the world, that they are in a great measure, if not entirely, ignorant of what our Heavenly Father actually requires of His children in this life. It is a great thing to know the will of the Father, but a greater one to do it when once understood. Knowledge is a great blessing to one who puts it to proper use and cultivation. But to have a knowledge pertaining to the things of God and His commandments and then to ignore them or fail to govern our lives accordingly, is in itself sin. James says, "he that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." In order to do good, how ever, we must first get understanding, without which all is uncertainty and doubt. Those who desire an inheritance in the mansions of our Father in the life that is to come, and who are willing to sacrifice the pleasures of this life, and life itself if necessary, in order to obtain it, should first of all turn their whole attention to acquiring a knowledge of the conditions upon which this great blessing is predicated. Then, having gained the necessary information of what to do, by coupling with that, faith and energy to act accordingly, obeying each principle as it is brought to your understanding, you are then in a fair road to final success and ultimate salvation; which you will gain by continuing steadfast unto the end. Should the investigator, seeking the "straight and narrow way," go no farther in his investigations than to observe those who profess to be following it and serving as guides to others, he is almost sure to be defeated in his object and give up in despair: for one could never pattern after modern methods of Christianity as an example of obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The spectacle presented by the combined forces of modern Christendom is, to say the least, discouraging to one who is trying to solve the great problem of salvation. Here is one sect or party advocating certain principles and ordinances as a means of salvation; another alongside of it directly opposing its teachings and holding up to the public gaze an entirely different system of worship; and still a third openly condemning the other two and advocating other doctrines agreeable to their own peculiar views. And so we might go through them all with the same result -opposition. division, multiplied division, and the farther we go the more complicated it becomes. What seems most strange and perplexing to the mind of the truth seeker in his investigations, is the fact that each one of these sects claim to be following the same road, with Christ and the Apostles as their guide and example. Now our natural conception of reason and sound judgment teaches us that there is something very wrong here, and that there are many thousands who are being deceived and led astray either by the mistaken ideas and conjectures of men, or their cunning craftiness, or perhaps both. The wise man, therefore, will be warned, and instead of stumbling, as many have, earth. It should be, therefore, the uppermost desire in the heart of every individual, as it certainly is his duty and obligation to God, to seek out that one organization or Kingdom of God, and when found to accept the terms of admission, become associated therewith and obey its precepts, principles and doctrines, which alone will bring salvation in the celestial Kingdom of God in the life to come. The Church of God as it rolled from the hands of its divine organizer, Jesus Christ, and as it must remain as long as God has a people on the earth, is a perfectly organized system, or body, containing all the gifts, powers and blessings requisite for its government and perpetuation in the earth; and its members enjoy all the rights, privileges and blessings which has ever been accorded the people of God by our Eternal Father. It is built upon the foundation of revelation, and is presided over by a quorum of Apostles, who stand as prophets, seers and revelators to the Church, and who exercise the right of holding direct communication with the heavens and making known to the children of the kingdom the mind and will of God respecting their lives and actions from time to time as circumstances may require. You will find by referring to 1st Corinthians, 12th chapter and 18th and 26th verses, that God Himself placed these officers, together with many others, in the Church; and from Ephe. 4, 11 to 14, that He placed them there for an express purpose, which was to edify or instruct the Saints and to attend to the work of the ministry; and also that they were to remain until all men should come to a unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man. Paul. in the same chapter referred to above (1st Cor., 12th chapter), likens the Church to the body of a man, and reasons that to dispense with one of the officers of the Church would be equivalent to severing one of the members of our physical organism. We could, therefore, with as much propriety assert that the This до Is there anything strange, inconsistent or unreasonable about it? No, it is beautiful and grand when understood in its true light, and exhibits most beautifully the divine hand of Providence in its composition and arrangement; each principle following the other in perfectly natural and harmonious sequence. is the Gospel as taught by that generally despised sect known to the world "Mormons." These are the principles they advocate, and for defending them they are subjected to the same ment, and made to suffer the same injustice, and receive the same persecution at the hands of their fellow-men, as was our beloved Savior and His followers who inaugurated the system eighteen hundred years ago. treat Yet, notwithstanding the great opposition which is encountered in the work of disseminating these divine principles and doctrines among the children of men, they are being widely proclaimed in all the world by the humble servants of the Master in whom they originated; and the time is not far distant when all mankind who will deign to listen will have heard them and had the opportunity of embracing them. And when ample opportunity for their acceptance will have been given the sons of men and they are left entirely without excuse, then Christ will make His appearance, wickedness be overthrown, Satan will be bound and justice will be meted out to all. will "The time is nigh, that happy time, LIFE. HENRY KING. The wind blows out. the bubble dies, Subscribers removing from one place to another. and desiring papers changed, should always give former as well as present address, by postal card or letter. daughters who sin, but this punishment will be nothing compared to the judgment that will be pronounced upon man, whom God created, the stronger of the sexes, and therefore expected him to become a protector, instead of the defiler of His daughters. Man will be more severely punished, because he will be looked upon as the responsible one. It would not surprise us, if, when a daughter of Eve, one who has lead a life of sin in this world, stands before the great judgment seat, that God's voice may not be heard telling her to step aside, before receiving her sentence, until He had first passed judgment upon the man who was the cause of her starting out on this life of sin, and also upon the men who were the cause of her continuing in this downward path. But to return to the original subject, the fault of mankind today lies in their Entered at the Post Office at Chattanooga, Tenn., as ignorance in not knowing the difference second class matter. Correspondence from all parts of the missionary will be rejected. Write on one side of paper only when sent for publication. We reserve the right to either eliminate or reject any communication sent in. Address Box 107 field is solicited. Give name and address, or articles SATURDAY, JUNE 30, 1900. ARTICLES OF FAITH OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS. 1. We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in His Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. 3. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression. 8. We believe that, through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordi. Dances of the Gospel. 4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: First, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of Hands for the Gift of the Holy Thost. 6. We believe that a man must be called of God, by "prophecy, and by the laying on of hands," by those who are in authority, to preach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof. 6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the primitive church-namely, Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers, Evangelista, etc. 7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, etc. 8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. 9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. 10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion will be built upon this (the American) continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth, and that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory. 11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may. 12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates; in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law. 13.We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul, "We believe all things, we hope all things," we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these JOSEPH SMITH.. ARGUMENTS OF BIGOTS ANSWERED. We have recently received several letters, asking if the Latter-day Saints belive a woman cannot be saved, unless she be, as our enemies express it, "tacked on to some man." This argument is only a fair sample of many of its kind used by silly, bigoted fanatics, who are unable to meet our Elders in reasonable arguments, and are constantly resorting to just such rot as this. There is not a religious sect on earth, professing a belief in Christ Jesus, whose religious views are filled with so much charity, concerning the salvation of the daughters of Eve, as is the belief of the Latter-day Saints. When the great day of eternal judgment dawns it will be found that man will be punished and damned for the sinful lives lived by many of the women of the world; God will deal out a just and a charitable punishment to those of His can between merely being saved and being exalted. Many will be saved who will not be exalted, because there are differ ent degrees of salvation, just as there are different glories in the Kingdom of God; as the Apostle Paul, says, one like unto the sun, another like the moon, and others like the stars; or, as the Master Himself said, in His Father's house were many mansions, and that He would go to prepare a place for them, that where He was there they might be also. Those who will inherit the greatest glory and dwell with Christ will be those who will be exalted; others of God's children will be saved, each one according to his or her acts, but none will reach that glory like unto the sun, save they obey the Gospel of Christ, and none will be exalted in that glory (because there will also be different degrees of salvation in that glory), unless they are faithful in keeping all of God's commandments. We therefore believe that no woman reach the highest exaltation without the man, and that no man can be thus exalted without the woman. We cannot help whether this doctrine suits bigots or not, it is the law of God and will be understood when the great day dawns, and to those who open so wide their mouths in denouncing the Mormons we ask why they do not denounce the Apostle Paul in the same manner? He taught the same doctrine when he said the man was not without the woman, neither the woman without the man in the Lord. The trouble is that modern Christianity has heaped unto themselves teachers for such a length of time and has listened so much to man's interpretation of God's word, that they understand about much regarding being saved, being exalted, and being sanctified, as a pickaninny coon knows about ancient Greek. That our readers might know something more about our belief concerning woman, we reproduce, in this number, an article on the "origin and destiny of woman," from the pen of the late President John Taylor. as The Fairhope Courier, a neat little journal, published down in Alabama. contains the following, from the pen of Marie Howland: We have had a visitation from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Very few indeed were out to hear the Elder's (Martineau) address, given on such short notice, merely nut on the bulletin board a few hours, and as there was a band rehearsal, and at Cliff Cottage a class meet ing. Speaking for myself, only. I was eutertained and instructed; and of absorbing interest to me was the account of that small band of devoted Saints traveling from Missouri hundreds of miles (through a desert region much of the way) and among savage Indians: most of them pushing twowheel carts, containing all their worldly goods; arriving at length, weary, lame, hunand foot-sore, in the Great Salt Lake valley. There they halted, and before twenty-four hours had passed prepared a little portion of the soil and planted some of the precious seeds they had brought with them. They were on that inhospitable alkali soil, and for years they fought death. starvation and other enemies with an indomitable will and an unfaltering trust that God had led them there to found the Church of Zion and to build up a noble commonwealth. No wonder, when we consider what they have accomplished, that they believed themselves divinely led. I never saw a Mormon before, though one of my most valued and learned correspondJournal of Utah, is one of the Saints; and. ents, the editor of the Young Woman's literally, judging from the wise, tolerant. liberty-loving spirit she always manifests, her to be of the "salt of the earth." I and from her beautiful photograph, I believe should also add from the testimony of those who know her personally. Words of Condolence. with Elder All who are acquainted Sylvester Low, President of the South Carolina Conference, will be pained to learn of the death recently of his 9-yearBrother Low is a man old son, Leslie. of sterling worth, who is loved and respected by all who know him, and in his hour of trial we pray he and his family may be comforted by the sweet influence of God's Holy Spirit. "Cease, ye fond parents, cease to weep, Let grief no more your bosoms swell; For what is death? "Tis nature's sleep: The trump of God will break the spell, For He, whose arm is strong to save, Arose in triumph o'er the grave. "Why should you sorrow? Death is sweet To those that die in Jesus' love; Though called to part, you soon will meet In holier, happier climes above; For all the faithful, Christ will save, And crown with vict'ry o'er the grave." News' Special Edition. The special edition of the Deseret News, issued June 16th, in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary, is indeed a gem, teeming with good reading. For general make-up, clean and newsy reading, and as an educator, the News is a leader. In comparing the two papers, that of June, 1850, with the one recently issued, we see and appreciate the real ad vancement made by the News, which has ever had as its motto, "Truth and Liberty." Summer Excursions-Colorado, Utah. The Union Pacific will place in effect June 21, July 7 to 10, inclusive, July 18 and August 2, summer excursion rates of one fare for the round trip plus $2 from Missouri river to Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Ogden and Salt Lake. Tickets good for return until October 31. For full particulars address J. F. Aglar, General Agent, St. Louis. Reduced Rates to Salt Lake, via Union Pacific. June 25th to July 11th, Union Pacific make one fare plus two dollars for the round trip, Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City to Ogden and Salt Lake. ORATORICAL CONTEST. The Young Men's Mutual Improve ment Association's oratorical contest, held in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, June 11, was won by Walter J. Sloan, there being five contestants. The judges of the contest were, on delivery. B. H. Roberts, O. F. Whitney and Geo. H. Brimhall; on thought and composition, Dr. J. E. Talmage, Prof. N. L. Nelson and E. H. Anderson. We publish the prize oration, "Thou Shalt Not," in full, as contained in the Deseret News of June 12th: The world's tragedy, enacted on the summit of Calvary, was but the effect of a cause which had preceded it. The breaking of the sixth commandment had been preceded by the breaking of the ninth commandment. Let your minds go back to the scene which was enacted in the judgment hall of Pilate, nearly 1,900 years ago. Seated upon his throne, with his purple robes about his form, is the Roman governor; before him stands the man who, but a few hours earlier, had been dragged from his agonizing prayer in Gethsemane; to the right and left. stand Rome's hirelings: close to the throne stands the band of priests, elders, and scribes, every feature of their vicious faces showing the hatred which they bear towards their intended victim. Only one thought seems to control their actions: "Away with him. Let his blood be upon us and upon our children." The background of the judgment hall is filled with a hating, howling mob, crying, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" presenting in their action, a picture of hate and murderous intent such as the world has rarely seen. Pilate finds no fault. The testimony is not strong enough to convict. Are, then, the priests. elders and people to be denied the blood of their intended victim? No, for. "At last came two false witnesses. It would be unjust to say that Pilate knew that the testimony was false, yet upon it he sentenced the "perfect man" to death upon the cross. The Son of God was crucified on Calvary. He was convicted before Pilate. He was murdered by baters. He was convicted by liars. The breaking of the sixth commandment on Calvary Hill was not a greater crime than was the breaking of the ninth in the judgment hall of Pilate, The Savior was crucified through the breaking of it: Peter and John were imprisoned by the same means: also Paul and Silas; the stoning to death of Stephen was not an effect from the same cause: Peter was crucified, head downward: Paul was beheaded; all the horrors of the early Christian persecutions were but the outcome of the testimony of false witnesses. Read the story of the Inquisition; of the massacre of St. Bartholomew; of the religions persecutions through the world for the past nineteen centuries, and then tell me if you know of any other commandment, the breaking of which has had as farreaching an effect as has the breaking of the ninth. Time forbids a detailed account of all the horrors committed in the name of religion, but in nearly every case the cause. was the same as that which drove the "Man of Sorrow" from as were THE SOUTHERN STAR. the judgment hall of Pilate to the Hill of Calvary. No sooner did the "Boy Prophet of the Nineteenth Century" tell of the heavenly visit which he had received, than false witnesses arose. Read the story of his mob-driven life from the age of 14 until his cold body lay against the stone wall of Carthage jail. Read the history of the Latter-day Saints from Kirtland to Jackson county, to Nauvoo, to Far West, to the valleys of the Rockies, the story Penitentiary and then tell me what was of Johnson's Army and the Utah State the cause of all the robbing, driving, imprisonments, beatings, mobbings and murders which have been committed in the name of religion and justice, if it did not arise from the testimony of false witnesses? Let your minds dwell for a moment on the tragedy enacted on Slippery Fork of Cane Creek, in Lewis county, Tennessee, in 1884, in which Elders Gibbs and Berry gave their lives for the cause of truth, or turn to the tragic death of Elder Standing in Georgia, and then answer what was the incentive which organized and drove those mobs to their bloody work if it was not the testimony of false witnesses? Let any Elder of this Church who has filled a mission to any nation of the earth, tell you of his trials and persecutions, and ask him the cause. I think that he will answer with me, that it was brought about through the testimony of false witnesses. may be written in two sentences, The The history of the world's great crimes breaking of the ninth commandment, the the effect. cause; stealing, mobbing and murdering, Few, if any, people in the world's history have suffered so much from the breaking of this commandment as have the Latter-day Saints, yet sometimes I wonder if many have not forgotten the their sorrow and sufferings? If some of cause of their persecutions, of most of them have not forgotten that the God who gave them existence has said, "Thou shalt not?" forgotten that good (though homely it If many of them have not may be) maxim of the Church, "Mind your own business?" cowardly creature is the character assas The lowest, most contemptible and sin, for his work is usually done in such defense. The thief and murderer are ofta way that his victim has no chance for times brave in comparison, for "none the right to break the ninth commandbut cowards lie." No person can have ment any more than he can have the right to break the sixth or seventh. If, for the breaking of the ninth commandment, you can plead "not guilty,' for you have injured no man with false testimony, then all praise to you for keeping free from this sin. But characters may be ruined without a direct lie, by inuendo, a false impression, by a half a truth and half insinuation. "A lie that is half a truth is the blackest lie of all." Such actions always have weight with those who wish to believe evil. A word, a look, a sigh, then metaphorically like the Arab, you fold your tent and silently steal away; Mark Antony-like, your ac tions seem to say, "Now let it work: mischief. thou art afoot. Take thou what course thou wilt." "When we say of people what we will not say to them, we are either cowards or liars." You tell me that man is the architect of his own life, that if he has broken the law, he must pay the penalty. I grant your charge. But his actions do not license you to add greater crimes to his credit. I deny any man the right to sit in judgment upon the actions of his neighbor, unless he has been injured; yes, even then. I deny him the right to judgment. "Judge not lest ye be judged." "Forgive one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven you." If you pray to God to forgive you of your sins and refuse to forgive your fellow-man, I deny you the right to utter the Lord's Prayer, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." Note the first thought 245 which The Prince of Peace uttered after the prayer, "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Before you refuse to forgive, I ask you to remember the last great prayer--"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Forgetting not the words of life and beauty, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.' Humanity is frail enough; the faults and wrongs which we have and commit are numerous enough without any adding thereto. What joy or satisfaction does it give to tell the faults of another? God has not appointed us to tell the faults of our neighbors, to make their failings known to the world. Would it not be nearer our religion and our Prince to hide the faults and to try and lead the erring one from the errors of his way? Remembering that "The words of the tale bearer are as wounds?" Let me make a plea for the erring soul. Fathers, mothers, you who know the faults of your neighbors' son, or the indiscreet acts of their daughter,-before you tell them, think how your story would sound if it were directed against your own loved ones and how you would feel if the story told should blight the fair name of your child and cast a stigma upon yourself? You who have children whom you love with your heart's strong beating, what would be your feelings if it were your child whom some one had spoken ill of? "If you're the first to see a fault, Be not the first to make it known." Hide rather than expose a fault, for there are times when silence is better than the truth. The first Napoleon had, as one of his mottoes, "I command, or I to, "I speak good of others, or I am siam silent." Can we not take for a motlent?" Young man, you have a mother and sisters, ere you speak ill, true or false, against the mother or sister of another, would sound spoken against those dear let me ask you to think how your words ones whom you love, remember that to the true man, the character of a woman is ever sacred; no matter what she is or self to speak ill of her. may have been, you do but lower yourTo the young speaking, I can only say. Thou art thy woman who is given to this fault, of evil sex's own worst enemy. Thou hast less charity toward thy sex than has man. We are human, weak and frail. Paullike, "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.' How willing, how weak, only the struggling, fighting soul knows. The greatest battles of life are those fought in silence. Be he what he may or where he may, away down deep in every heart lies the wish to lead a higher. a better, a nobler life; yet how hard it is to overcome evil. to leave forever the flesh-pots of Egypt! Yet. how much easier would be our fight if there were only a helping hand, a smile or a word of encouragement. Would it not be better for the young man or woman whom you see going wrong, if, instead of telling others of the wrong, you were to go to them with love and kindness and try to help them to a higher and better life. A pound of help is better than a ton of advice, an ounce of kindness better than a car load of faultfinding. "There is an infinite satisfaction in receiving the gifts of God, but the privilege of becoming the means through which He will bestow light and blessings upon others is the greatest privilege bestowed upon man.' "There is no beautifier of the form, complexion and manner like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us." I cannot think that we would defame the character of our brother wilfully: I cannot think that we would injure. by tale-bearing, with malicious intent; but rather I try to think that we do not know the "whys and wherefores" for every false step that he may have made. It is not given us to know his temptations and trials. we understood his heart's motives, we If 246 would be less ready to find fault, more "If we knew the cares and trials, "Ah, we judge each other harshly, All the golden grains of good; I plead for the erring, struggling, misunderstood soul; that with love and kindness it shall be led, not driven, to a higher, a better, a nobler life. They God gave ten commandments. are as binding as they ever were. Where is the Latter-day Saint that would make unto himself any graven image? Where is the one who would worship any other God? They are not Sabbath breakers; they are not profaners; they are not thieves; the teaching of the seventh commandment is sacred to them; the mur All of derer is unknown among them. these commandments have they kept from their youth, up; but do they break the ninth commandment? Do they bear false witness? You ask me if I place the bearing of false witness upon the same level of crime as the breaking of the sixth, seventh, eighth or tenth commandment? And why not? God made no distinction when He gave them. He preI faced each with "Thou shalt not. know of but one distinction made in Holy Writ that which was made by the Christ. The first great commandment is this: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy might, mind and strength.' And the second is like unto this "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Who is thy neighbor? Read the parable of the Good Samaritan? Do I love my neighbor as myself when with words I rob them of their honor, of their good name? You remember the words which the "Bard of Avon" has put into the mouth of his character of Iago? "Good name in man and woman, dear my Lord, is the immediate jewels of their souls: steals my purse, steals trash; 'tis something, nothing; 'twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands. But he that filches from me my good name, robs me of that which not enriches him and makes me poor indeed." "The crown Wealth and glory of life. is character." nor talent should be so priceless. Fame is ofttimes but a dream; wealth, but a will-o'-wisp. Who The Origin and Destiny of Woman. The Latter-day Saints have often been viz.: For her benefit and all others con cerned, we will endeavor to answer the of the most helpless of all beings that I Thy spirit, filled with joy and thanksgiving, rejoiced in thy Father, and ren dered praise to His holy name, and the spirit world resounded in anthems of praise and rejoicing to the Father of spirits. Thou bade Father, mother and all farewell, and along with thy guardian angel, thou came on this terraqueous globe. The spirits thou had chosen to come and tabernacle through their lineage, and your head having left the spirit world some years previous, thou came a spirit pure and holy, thou hast taken upon thee a tabernacle, thou hast obeyed the truth, and thy guardian angel ministers unto thee and watches over thee. Thou hast chosen him you loved in the spirit world to be thy companion. Now, crowns, thrones, exaltations and dominions are in reserve for thee in the eternal worlds, and the way is opened for thee to return back into the presence of thy Heavenly Father, if thou wilt only abide by and walk in a celestial law, fulfill the designs of thy creation, and hold out to the end. That when mortality is laid in the tomb, you may go down to your grave in peace, arise in glory, and receive your everlasting reward in the resurrection of the just, along with thy head and husband. Thou wilt be permitted to pass by the Gods and angels who guard the gates, and onward, upward to thy exaltation in a celestial world among the Gods. To be a priestess queen unto thy Hear enly Father, and a glory to thy husband and offspring, to bear the souls of men, to people other worlds (as thou didst bear in mortality), while their tabernacles eternity goes and eternity comes; and if you will receive it, lady, this is eternal And herein is the saying of the life. Apostle Paul fulfilled, "that the man is not without the woman in the Lord, nei ther is the woman without the man in the Lord." "That man is the head of the woman, and the glory of the man is the Hence, thine origin, the object of thy creation, and thy ultimate destiny, if faithful, lady, the cup is within thy reach, drink the heavenly draught, and live. then Keep Still. Keep still! When trouble is brewing, keep still; when slander is getting on its legs, keep still; when your feelings are hurt, keep still till you recover from your excitement at any rate. Things look different through an unagitated eye. woman. Thou being willing and anxious to imitate them, waiting and desirous to obtain a body, a resurrection and exaltation also, and having obtained permission, thou made a covenant with one of thy kindred spirits to be thy guardian angel while in mortality, also with two others, male and female spirits, that thou would st come and take a tabernacle Death robs you of your loved ones and through their lineage, and become one of sorrow fills the heart; friends prove false their offspring. You also chose a kinand regret floods the soul; wealth vandred spirit whom you loved in the spirit ishes and leaves poverty; take away reworld (and had permission to come to ligion and the bright star of hope is this planet and take a tabernacle), to be gone; health goes, the vengeance of a vio- your head, stay, husband and protection lated law of nature remains. Wealth on the earth, and to exalt you in the may be regained, health may return, eternal worlds. All these were arranged, other loved ones may fill the aching void, likewise the spirits that should tabernew friends take the place of those lost,nacle through your lineage. Thou longed, the star of hope may once more shine, but take away honor and you leave nothing but desolation, heart-aches and misThe sun of life is set; darkness alone remains. You have stolen that which can never be returned. surely as God lives you shall pay the penalty of that theft. The laws of the land may fail to reach you in this life. but the laws of God will reach you in eternity. You have broken a commandment and the penalty shall be paid. ery! And as The breaking of the ninth commandment has ever been followed by suffering, misery and death. The partial breaking of it by disgrace and dishonor. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.' Such are the commandments of God. Can we, will we, do we follow them? thou sighed and thou prayed to thy Fa- At length the time arrived, and thou or In a commotion once I wrote a letter and sent it, and wished I had not. In my later years, I had another commotion and wrote a long letter; but life rubbed a little sense into me, and I kept that letter in my pocket against the day when I could look over it without agitation and without tears. I was glad I did. Less and less it seemed necessary to send it. I was not sure it would do any hurt, but in my doubtfulness I leaned to reticence and eventually it was destroyed. Time works wonders. Wait till you can speak calmly, and then you will not need to speak, maybe. Silence is the most massive thing conceivable sometimes. It is strength in very grandeur. It is like a regiment ordered to stand still in the mad fury of battle. To plunge in were twice as easy. The tongue has unsettled more ministers than small salaries ever did or lack of ability.-Exchange. |