Editor’s Table
Improvement Era, vol. 1, no. 11, September 1898, pp. 843 to 855
Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations
EDITOR'S TABLE, A WORD WITH RETURNED MISSIONARIES. There is one request that we desire to make of the young men who have returned from their missions, and who have been brightened up in the testimony of the Spirit of the Lord and the knowledge of the gospel, and that is this, that they will keep the armor of the gospel upon them and the spirit of truth in their hearts, and will voluntarily constitute them- selves missionaries to look after the youth of Zion who are wandering from the straight path. Wherever they find young men or young women who are in any degree departing from the way of life and salvation, let them take up a labor with them, and if possible bring them to a realization of the con- sequences which will follow the course they are pursuing, that these young people, through their faith and efforts, may be brought to comprehend and obey the truth. If there is any considerable portion of our young people going astray, certainly there is a field at home for the labors of those who are endowed with the Holy Priesthood. Every man who holds the priesthood ought to be a power in himself in exer- cising its authority by precept and example in the proclama- tion of the gospel to the young people of our own land, and to all as far as possible who sit in darkness; for it is our duty to preach the gospel for the salvation of mankind. We were surprised to hear a young man say that during his whole life (and he was born in the church, of goodly par- ents, and has been brought up among the people) no man had ever taken the trouble to come to him personally and point out to him the error of his ways; no one had ever come
to him as a friend and as a brother, to reason with him and to point out to him that the course he was pursuing was dis- pleasing in the sight of the Lord and would result in great injury to himself, if he continued in it. Let us say to the elders of Israel, and especially to those young men who have been out into the world to preach the gospel and have re- turned with honor, wherever you see a young man who is do- ing that which is not right, take up a labor with him. Go to him personally; and if you do not succeed the first time, go again, and keep up the labor with him until you can, if pos- sible, make some impression upon him. Labor with these young people who are going astray until you can convince them that you love them and are seeking their welfare; for if you can convince them of this, then you will have a chance to do them some good. We go out into the world and preach the gospel, we en- dure the scorn and contumely of the world; but we do not get discouraged because of this. We still persist in our labors. If a man insults us, we do not cast him off. If a man shows his ignorance, we do not condemn him, but try all the more to enlighten him. Thus we keep on laboring until frequently many of those who have been bitter enemies to the truth are converted to the gospel or become friends to the elders and to the cause of Zion. Let us labor as persis- tently at home as we do abroad. It is a labor of love and of salvation—a labor that is worthy of the laborer. A SUPPOSED INCONSISTENCY. From a young convert in Kentucky we receive the fol- lowing: Catlettsburg, Kentucky, August 3rd, 1898. Dear Sir: A young convert to the cause of Christ takes the liberty to address you a question which has given him much trouble lately. I am deeply interested in the Latter-day work and know that Joseph Smith was ordained of God, for I can tes- tify that through the ordinance of baptism and through the
EDITOR'S TABLE. 845 imposition of hands I received a remission of sins and a por- tion of the Holy Ghost, sufficient, if I strive, to enable me to live a Christian life. Therefore, it is in all kindness and with a desire to attain to a fuller knowledge of things pertaining to Christ's king- dom, that I point out the apparently glaring inconsistency which occurs in the following: Speaking of a vision of January, 1836, the Prophet Jos- eph said: "The heavens were opened upon us and I beheld the celestial king- dom of God. * * * I saw fathers Adam and Abraham and my father and mother and my brother Alvin that has long since slept; and mar- velled how it was that he had obtained an inheritance in that kingdom, see- ing that he had departed this life before the Lord had set his hand to gather Israel the second time and had not been baptized for the remission of sins. Thus came the voice of the Lord unto me saying: "All who have died -without a knozuledge of this gospel, ruho -would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; also all that die henceforth vuithout a knowl- edge of it, -who zvould have received it -with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom, for I the Lord will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts And I also beheld all child- ren who die before they arrive at years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven." Now the impression from the above is that the spirits of children and of the honest in heart who have not been per- mitted to tarry on earth, are permitted at once to enter upon the joys of the celestial kingdom, where, as I understand it, exists the fullest degree of glory, notwithstanding the fact that they had never been baptized nor had vicarious work of any character performed for them. Now arises the questions: If the foregoing conclusions are correct (and I see no reasons why they are not), why the necessity of such vicarious works as baptism, sealings, etc? "Why are we then baptised for the dead?" Will you kindly give me some explanation in a personal letter? Allow me also to suggest that you place this matter before the missionaries through the columns of your Improve- ment Era, for, as you will readily see, an enemy of the faith
could create from this mole hill a mountain of doubt and dis- trust in the minds of many honest investigators. Your younger brother in the faith, Jesse Workman. The vision referred to was received in the Kirtland Temple on the 21st of January, 1836, during the time that the several quorums of the priesthood were being organized and endowed with the powers of heaven. The passage of the Jewish scripture with which the facts stated in the vision of the Prophet Joseph are supposed to come in conflict, are the words of Jesus to Nicodemus: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (St. John III: 3-5). The point is here: Alvin Smith, the prophet's eldest brother, died when he was a young man, before the new dis- pensation of the gospel had been committed to his younger brother. He died without a knowledge of the gospel, and therefore had not obeyed the ordinance of baptism—without which, according to the words of Jesus himself, no man can enter into the kingdom of God; and yet, according to the vision, Alvin Smith, without having been baptized, was in the celestial kingdom, together with Adam, Abraham, and also the prophet's own father and mother. The fact is that the vision was given to show what would be the condition of tnose parties in the future; it did not relate to the situation of the parties at the time the vision was given—January, 1836;—for in the vision the prophet saw both his father and mother in the celestial kingdom as well as his brother Alvin, and that father and mother were then both alive in the flesh, conse- quently they were not then in the celestial kingdom of God, nor in company with Adam or Abraham. The father of Al- vin and Joseph did not die until the 14th of August, 1840; and the mother lived on until some time after, 1853—so that the vision relates to the future.
EDITOR'S TABLE. 847 The reason the Prophet Joseph marveled at seeing that his brother Alvin would be in the celestial kingdom was be- cause at that time he knew nothing of the doctrine of baptism for the dead. It was not until the 3rd of April, 1836, more than two months after the vision under discussion was given, that Elijah the prophet came to fulfill his mission of deliver- ing those keys of knowledge which would turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers.* The knowledge revealed by this messenger from heaven threw a flood of light upon the plan of salvation, and showed how broad and far-reaching it was in its operations, and how it extended the friendly hand of assistance to man not only in time but also in eternity. Previous to this, when the elders of Israel bore record that the gospel and the priest- hood which administered its ordinances had been taken from the earth for a number of centuries, and only recently had been restored through the Prophet Joseph—when people would ask what became of those neglected through those ages of spiritual darkness, the only answer was "God is just;" and they used to sing: Seek no crop where 'twas not planted, Nor the day where reigns the night; Now the sunshine bright is beaming, Let all creatures see aright. But after Elijah fulfilled his mission, as foretold in Mala- chi,f they understood how the gospel could reach those who had died without a knowledge of it. There was an intelli- gent significance revealed then in the scriptures which say: For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water (I Peter III: 18-20). They now saw that while the body of the Son of God *Doc. & Cov., sec. no. fMal. IV: 5, 6.
was in the new tomb prepared by Joseph of Arimathaea, his spirit had gone to the spirit world, and opened the door of salvation to those who had once been disobedient in the days of Noah. This fact adds a significance also to several passages in Isaiah respecting the mission of the Messiah. Such, for instance, as where the Lord says of his Son: I * * will give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house (Isaiah LXII: 6, 7). And again: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound (Isaiah LXI: 1). The Apostle Peter is even more explicit on this subject in the fourth chapter of his first epistle, than he is in the chapter from which we have already quoted. He says: For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit (I Peter IV: 6). We may be drifting somewhat beyond the question of our correspondent in thus enlarging upon the subject his let- ter suggests, but we think we are justified in doing so. There can be no question but what the gospel of Christ is preached to the dead. Nor can there be any doubt but what in the economy of the gospel there is some means by which it can be made available to them. What was the object of preaching it to them if it be not so? And it has been revealed from heaven in this last dispensation, that the manner in which the benefits of baptism is made to reach those who have died without it, is that an agent here on earth may in their name and for them receive this ordinance, and inasmuch as the person for whom this vicarious work is done shall accept it, it shall be accounted to him as if he had re- ceived it in person. That the ancient saints understood something in relation to this matter is evident from the words of Paul:
EDITOR'S TABLE. 849 "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? "Why are they then baptized for the dead?"* And why, we ask, if there was no such thing as being baptized for the dead among the Saints—why did Paul refer to it in such a positive manner? Another thing we wish to call the attention of the reader to. It will be seen by an examination of the passage we have quoted from I. Peter III: 18-20, that the Son of God went to the spirits of those people who once had rejected the gospel, and presented it to them again; they, in the meantime, hav- ing so far paid the penalty of their former disobedience, and justice was so far satisfied, that another opportunity was given them to lay hold of the principles of eternal life. And if those who once rejected the gospel could have such a privilege, how much sooner would such a blessing be granted to those who never heard it, and consequently never rejected it? And surely all those who have died without a knowledge of it, who would have received it had it been taught to them, of right and in justice ought to be "heirs of the celestial king- dom"—and God in his infinite wisdom knowing all such spirits, even as he knew Alvin Smith, the prophet's brother, has provided a means for their entrance into that glory—but will they get there without accepting the ordinance of bap- tism, either in person or vicariously? No, they will not. For the Son of God has said: "Except a man be born of the water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Therefore let all those to whom this knowledge comes take heed to themselves to receive it, and presume not too far upon the mercy of God, for in these things he will not be mocked, and those who reject the plan of salvation when it is taught them, must pay rhe utmost farthing for their folly; and such parties will find that it is no light thing to fall under the displeasure of God. At the same time we rejoice in the justice and mercy of God, when we see there is a means by which the blessings of salvation may be extended to those *I Cor. XV: 29. 61
who have gone into the spirit world without yielding obedi- ence to the gospel, and that it is in our power to assist, to some extent, in so great a work. THE MAN OF THE WORLD. George H. Hepworth is writing brief articles of a moral and religious character for the Sunday issue of the New York Herald. The articles are brief and appear upon the editorial page of the Herald. Many of them have been brilliant, and are of such a helpful character that we sincerely hope they will be collected and published in book form; for surely they are too valuable to be lost in the passing away of the current numbers of a daily paper. Recently he said this under the caption—"We belong to two worlds:" "I am a man of the world!" That is your boast. But it is really nothing to boast of, for you have dissipated one-half of your heritage. Or perhaps you have never known anything about that lost half. The ideal man is not simply and only a man of the world, but a man of two worlds. Until he recognizes that fact and governs himself accordingly he cannot sing his song with a clear voice or do his own soul justice. There must be two sides to a twenty dollar gold piece, or it is not gen- uine. In like manner a genuine life must have two worlds in view all the time. This lower world is man's field of action, in which he shows his met- tle, and in which he not only forms his character, just as a boy learns his lessons at school, but adds to the aggregate streDgth or weakness of his fel- lows. If he is ablaze others will light their candles at his fire; if he is merely cold ashes they will blow into people's eyes and so blind them that they cannot see the truth. The other world is a reservoir from which he draws daily inspiration, patience with which to achieve under difficulties, hope, cheerfulness, spiritual repose and resignation which sweetens the soul that would other- wise be embittered. When a man is only half himself he is satisfied with today, its ambi- tions and pleasures. When he is his whole self this world is too narrow for his soul and he finds a peculiar happiness in the contemplation of another sphere which will furnish him the opportunity to attain his manifest destiny. It seems very odd to hear a man argue that he is under no obligation to obey a God whom he has never publicly confessed. He is a man of the world, neither knows nor cares anything about religion, and therefore claims the right to do as he pleases.
EDITOR'S TABLE. 851 Now, it is man's business to know something about the laws of the world he lives in, and it will not help him in the least to shrug his shoulders and declare that he does not believe in those laws. The stern fact is that the laws will act whether he believes in them or not. They are quite inde- pendent of anything he may or may not believe, and after a while he will learn that it is very much more to his interest to know what they are and to give strict heed to them than to ignore them or deny their existence. He sees this with regard to physical law and is very careful about breaking it. When standing on the edge of a precipice he may deny the existence of gravitation, but he will not take the leap and thus show the courage of his convictions. The law does not care a jot or tittle about his personal theories. It will do its work in spite of his arguments, and he will certainly suffer the consequence of his rashness. The spiritual law is equally rigid, though it acts more slowly. For that reason some men are deceived. You may not believe in purity of body, but still the revenges of time are awful. You may ignore all moral prin- ciples; you may even succeed so far as to make a fortune based on evil practices, but when you investigate your own character, if you ever dare to do so, you will be forced to acknowledge that you know little about the sweetest and most reposeful and joyous part of life, and that you have been feeding on "the husks which the swine did eat. " I know of no spectacle more painful to contemplate than that of a man who has persistently used the world for purposes of selfish gain, ignoring all obligations of honesty, charity and generosity, and then in his old age sees himself just as he is—dwarfed, twisted, incapable of holy emotions or high aspirations; a poor, miserable creature who has lived a mistake and reached a period beyond which recovery is impossible so far as this life is concerned. For such a man to see himself just as he is, to measure his own exact weight, to know vividly how he is regarded by his fellow men, to be conscious that his example, as bad as it is brilliant, has led scores astray— that must be a doom too dreadful for words to express. I have heard a great deal about hell, but that man can tell me of more horrors than I have ever conceived. To have your soul take you in hand and show you how you have abused it, to have some angel paint the picture of what you might have been and then force you by divine compulsion to compare it with what you really are, that would be simply awful. If you answer the charges of the angel by saying that you are a man of the world the reply will be forthcoming like a peal of thunder:—"You were not born to be a man of the world, but a man of God." If you know enough to use this world you should know enough to use it in such way that if there is any other world you will be fitted to enter it without shame. No; there is but one way to live, and that is to live justly. The world is large and wide, but there is no spot where a man can hide from the moral consequences of dishonesty. A noble character is not created, it is made. Even on the low plane of pure expediency it is better to be true to yourself
852 1MPR O VEMENT ERA. than to be false. You cannot ignore a tornado, you must protect yourself against it. You cannot ignore God or his laws, for they refuse to be ig- nored. NOTES. It is always best to avoid controversy with two kinds of people—those who cannot understand and those who will not.
Charity is never lost. It may be of no service to those upon whom it is bestowed, yet it ever does a work of beauty and grace upon the heart of the giver.
There must be a weak spot or two in a character before we can love it much. People that do not laugh or cry, or take more of anything than is good for them, or use anything but dictionary words, are admirable subjects for biographies.
Manner is one of the principal external graces of char- acter. It is the ornament of action, and often makes the commonest offices beautiful by the way in which it performs them. It is a happy way of doing things, adorning even the smallest details of life.
We should listen to others not merely to hear, or even to hear accurately, though this is much, but also to learn, to test, to judge, to know, to remember, to store away for future use, to help, to advise, to comfort, to benefit. These are re- sults worthy of all the efforts we can make to cultivate effec- tively the valuable art of listening.
We do well to honor the mutual feeling of brotherhood which draws men so closely together, the desire to aid and comfort and protect which animates so many hearts, the will- ingness to bear one another's burdens, and to soften one an- other's lot. Yet we shall also do well to watch, lest in this general spirit of benevolence we lose something of that firmness and stability which enables each man to stand alone, bravely facing his own future and enduring his own hardships. It is seldom that courtesy obtains a very high place in the list of desirable qualities. While it is recom- mended as a grateful contribution to the pleasures of life and a means of sweetening social intercourse, it is rarely supposed
EDITOR'S TABLE. 853 to have any more important or valuable mission to perform. Yet, just as in nature some of the gentlest and most yielding elements are also the most important, so some of those char- acteristics which we are pleased to consider trifling in their nature and limited in their efficacy may have influences and purposes of which we never dream. It is so with courtesy.
The idler is never happy. The time hangs heavily on his hands. The busy one never notices its flight. Indeed it seems all too short for the accomplishment of his worthy ends. He is, too, less liable to temptation than the one who finds both occupation and recreation a bore. Do your level best in all times and in all places. You owe this much to your friends, yourself, and to the higher power that created you. Then, whether your earthly existence be long or short, you will achieve as much happiness as the world can offer, and will be well prepaid for the bliss that has no ending. Follow the poet Longfellow's advice, and be up and doing, with a heart for anything. To take no amusement is bad, for it deprives the mind of needful rest and recreation; so likewise is it bad to be al- together given up to amusement, for then all serious objects are lost sight of. The true plan is to take amusement in moderation. To be very much in society is sure to cause the human character to deteriorate, making it frivolous, and inca- pacitating it for taking abstract and elevated views; on the other hand, a perfectly solitary life weakens the mind, lays it open to odd fancies and eccentricities, if not to hypochondria, and ends in some instances by altogether throwing it from its balance. The medium here is alone found salutary. Even in the simplest points of behavior an extreme is to be condemned. To be excessively gay, in a world where so many onerous things call for our attention, is wrong; so is it to be always serious, seeing that the world also contains ma- terial for much happiness, and that gaiety to a certain extent is positively salutary. IN LIGHTER MOOD. A Chicago man, visiting Cincinnati, was being shown around by a citizen, who said, "Now let's go and see the Widow's Home." The Chicago man put his finger to the side of his nose, and winked, saying, "I won't; I saw a widow home once, and she sued me for a breach of promise, and
proved it on me. No, sir, send the widows home in a hack."
A good story is told of the late Chief Justice Cockburn. He was counsel for the plaintiff in a certain case, and a Mr. B— was for the defendant. Cockburn called a witness, and proceeded to examine him. "I understand," he said, "that you called on the plaintiff, Mr. Jones. Is that so?" "Yes," replied the man. "What did he say?" demanded Cockburn. Mr. B—promptly rose and objected. The conversation could not be permitted as evidence. But Cockburn persisted, and Mr. B— thereupon appealed to the judges, who, after a time, retired to consider the point. They were absent for nearly half an hour, and when they returned they announced that Mr. Cockburn might put his question. "Well, and what did he say?" asked counsel. "Please, sir, he wasn't at home," replied the witness without moving a muscle.
In a German village there lived a parson and a clerk who had ofted quarrelled about some trivial matters relating to church affairs. One Sabbath morning the minister chose for his text, "and unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek, offer also the other;" and after an eloquent discourse, he proceeded on his way home. The clerk waylaid the clergyman, and, thinking that the opportunity had at last ar- rived for avenging past injuries, confronted him, saying: "Let us see if you can practice as well as you can preach." He then gave the parson a smart blow on the right cheek. The clergyman determined to act on his text rather than to allow the clerk to deride and sneer at him, offered him his left cheek also, upon which the clerk, thinking the clergy- man thoroughly cowed, promptly administered a heavier blow than before. "Now," said the parson, who was a man of rather large dimensions, "there is another text which runs thus: 'For with the same measure ye mete withal, it shall be measured to you again," and suiting the action to the word, he gave the clerk such a thrashing as he had never be- fore received in his life, and never wished to receive again. The squire of the parish, happening to pass in his carriage, and desirous to know the cause of the scuffle sent his footman to ascertain what it was about. Returning quickly, and touching his hat, he said: "Oh sir, it is only the parson and the clerk expounding scripture to one another."
The press of both England and America may be said to be teeming with anecdote concerning the late Mr. Gladstone,
EDITOR'S TABLE. 855 nearly all of which is of a kindly tone. Mr. W. T. Stead in his sketch of the life of Gladstone in the July number of the Review of Reviews tells the following concerning Mr. Carlyle and the great statesman: "Mr. Carlyle had small love for Mr. Gladstone, but his criticisms were apt to be based upon somewhat scanty materials. Of this I had an amusing illustration in 1877. Carlyle and Gladstone were then the two gods of my idolatry, and it grieved me to hear the way in which the Chelsea philosopher went on about the Liberal leader. "There is that Gladstone," growled Mr. Carlyle, "who is running up and down the country talking and talking, filling whole acres of the papers with his speeches, and never, so far as I can see, a single wise word in the whole of it." "Really, Mr. Carlyle," I ventured to say, "I should have thought you would have been delighted with one of his recent speeches in which he expressed in his own way the same ideas as those you have been impressing on me. Do you not remember? The speech was made only a week or two since." "Remem- ber!" said Mr. Carlyle with disgust. "Why, do you think I ever read his speeches? I have never read a word of them!" Mr. Carlyle was not the first nor is he the last to condemn Mr. Gladstone unheard." The following comes from an English publication: "Mr. Gladstone dearly loved a joke, even at his own ex- pense, and he possessed considerable mimetic powers. He was once guilty of an amusing "bull" in a debate on the question of disestablishment. Dilating on the hold of the affections of the people which the Church of England had, he said: "When an Englishman wants to get married, to whom does he go? To the parish priest. When he wants his child baptized, to whom does he go? To the parish priest. When he wants to get buried, to whom does he go?" The house answered with a roar of laughter, in which Mr. Gladstone himself joined, adding, "As I am contrasting the English Church with the Irish, a 'bull' is perhaps excusable." The following shows that Mrs. Gladstone, too, had some sense of humor: "Mrs. Gladstone was going out for a walk. She had got a short distance from the Castle when a party of visitors met her. "I say," queried one of them, "is.the old gentleman at home?" "Yes," replied Mrs. Gladstone. "We want to see him," said the visitor. "Follow me," was the reply—"I'll take you to him." So she led the way to the front door, entered it and called out, "William, you are wanted." "By ," whispered one of the "trippers," "she must be his wife!"