--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 4 number: 3 published: 1901-01 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations, "The Meeting of the Centuries: A Symposium, Part I," *Improvement Era* 4, no. 3 (January 1901): 161–176.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0403unse 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: improvementera0403unse start_page: 161 end_page: 176 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1901-01) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0403unse publication_year: 1901 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 1901, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The Meeting of the Centuries: A Symposium, Part I IMPROVEMENT ERA. Vol. IV. JANUARY, 1901. No 3. THE MEETING OF THE CENTURIES. GOODNIGHT TO THE REMARKABLE NINETEENTH; HAIL TO THE SPLENDID MORNING OF THE MYSTIC TWENTIETH! A SYMPOSIUM. The editors of the Era sent the following letter to a number of its contributors, and in response thereto, we present our readers with an interesting symposium of thought for the opening New Year and New Century: Salt Lake City, Utah, November 27, 1900. Dear Friend: At the meeting of the centuries, next New Year's eve, men will say good-night to the remarkable Nineteenth, and hail the splendid morning of the mystic Twentieth. The Era desires at this fitting time to place before its readers some of the thoughts of its writers and other friends on the achievements, religious, moral and material, of the closing century; and on the prospects and promises, in these lines, for the new. Will you favor us with a short sentiment for this symposium? 162 IMPROVEMENT ERA. Bearing in mind the great audience of young men to whom you may speak through the Era, we feel sure that you will be led to present a valuable lesson from the history of the past, and to utter cheering words of truth, inspiration and encouragement for the future, to those upon whom will rest the duty of beginning the labors of the century to be. Awaiting your favor, and thanking you in advance for the kindness^. we remain, with sentiments of esteem and greetings of the season, Fraternally yours, Joseph F, Smith, Edward H. Anderson, Editors. The Nineteenth Century: At the close of the present century, the world may naturally look in retrospect upon the achievements of the past one hundred years. It is safe to say that greater progress has been made in science, art, commerce, inventions, and the general material advancement of the world during the past century, than has been made in all the history of its predecessors, and the greater part of that progress has been made during the last twenty-five years. In great events, the nineteenth century stands out pre-eminently above all others. It is greater than all combined. It is distinctly one of miracles. Men of thought cease to wonder at the things which Christ did simply because they were incomprehensible. The unexpected is constantly happening. We cease to wonder at the marvelous. Transformations are so complex and so incomprehensible that we simply strive to keep in touch with the results. The processes we leave unsolved. This is an age of natural miracles. What has been accomplished in Japan in a single generation, was believed by students of history to belong to the impossible. Everywhere the great events in history put on an air of the miraculous. Read this long list of wars and revolutions, of explorations, inven-- tions and other human achievements, and ask yourselves where, in the work of humanity, a parallel can be found: Wars and Revolutions. —Battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon defeats Austrians and Russians, 1805. Battle of Trafalgar, Nelson sinks French fleet, 1805. Moscow burned by the Russians to entrap Napoleon, 1812. Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon vanquished, 1815. Battle of Navarino securing Greek independence, 1827. Crimean War, Great Britain, France THE MEETING OF THE CENTURIES. 163 and Sardinia against Eussia, 1853-55. India Mutiny, in which native soldiers massacre English men, women and children, 1857. Franco-Austrian War, 1859, followed by Garibaldi's campaign, unifying Italy, 1860. The Great Civil War in America, 1861-65. Surrender of Lee to Grant at Appomattox, April 9, 1865. Austro-Prussian War. Decisive battle, Sadowa, July 3, 1866. Franco-Prussian War, decisive battle, Sedan, September 1, 1870; followed by federation of German states in German empire. Russo-Turkish War, battle of Plevna, December 10, 1877. Bombardment of Alexandria by the British, 1882, followed by the occupation of Egypt. War between Chinese and Japanese, 1894. AmericoSpanish War, Manila, May 1, 1898; Santiago, July 3, 1898. War by Great Britain against South African Republics, 1899-1900. France becomes an empire, 1804; a republic, 1848; an empire again, 1842; third republic, 1870. General outbreak of revolutions throughout Europe, 1870. Rome seized from the pope, becomes capital of United Italy, 1870. Explorations. —In the Arctic: Expedition of Sir John Franklin, 1845; DeLong. 1879; Greely, 1881; Peary, 1892; Nansen, 1894; Duke of the Abruzzi (farthest north), 1900. In the Antarctic: Biscoe, 1831; Balleny, 1838; D'Urville, 1840; Ross, 1841; Wilkes, 1842; Borchgrevink, 1898. In Africa: Livingstone, 1840-73; Stanley, 1875-87; Speke and Grant, 1863. In America: John C. Fremont's journey westward to the Pacific, 1842-46. Invention. —First steamboat, the Clermont, made a voyage from New York to Albany, 1807; the first steamboat to cross the Atlantic* the Savannah, 1819. First railroad, Stockton and Darlington, England, 1825; Baltimore and Ohio, fourteen miles long, 1830. Lighting the streets by gas, first experiment in London, 1807. Electric light by Edison's application of sub-division, 1878. produced The McCormick reaper, invented 1834. Howe's sewing machine, 1846. The electric telegraph, Sam.uel F. B. Morse, 1837. First line in the United States, 1844. The telephone first exhibited, 1876. The phonograph, 1877-88. Cable laid across the Atlantic, 1857; perfected 1866. Electric railroad at Edison's home at Menlo Park, 1880. Photography: first experiments by Daguerre, 1829. First successful portraits by Norse, 1839. The spectroscope first used, 1802; perfected, 1859. Roentgen rays found to penetrate solids, 1896. Miscellaneous. — Joseph Smith, the prophet, born, 1805; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints organized, 1830. Gold discovered in California, 1848; in Australia, 1851; in the Transvaal, 1887; in the Klondike, 1897. Diamond mines worked in the Transvaal, 1870. Open- 164 IMPROVEMENT ERA. ing of the Mont Cenis Tunnel, 1871. Last spike of the Union Pacific Railroad driven, 1869. Trans-Sfberian Railroad operated, 1899. Opening of the Suez Canal, 1869. Alaska ceded by Russia to the United States, 1867. First session of the Parliament of United Canada, 1867. The Australias under one government, 1900. Maximilian executed in Mexico, 1867. Expulsion of the emperor from Brazil, 1889. Assassinations: Lincoln, 1865; Garfield, 1881; Emperor Alexander II., 1881; Carnot, President of France, 1894; Shah of Persia, 1896; King Humbert of Italy, 1900. Expulsion of Jews from Russia, 1882-91. Massacre of Christians in Armenia, 1895. Massacre of missionaries and converts in China, 1900. Army draft riots in New York, 1863. Chloroform first used, 1847. Vaccination legalized, 1803. Pasteur discovers remedy for hydrophobia by inoculation, 1884. The Rosetta Stone furnishes key to hieroglyphics, 1841. — M. Tanner. J. What of the Fature— J900-J90J? What is a century? The aggregate of one hundred years; a periodical space of time. We are about to cross the threshold of the twentieth cycle of time; reckoning from the birth of our Savior. A period during which will occur many important events that will utterly eclipse anything that has transpired during the past nineteen hundred years. The wonderful things which transpired during the Nineteenth century willeventually revolutionize the entire earth, and the Twentieth century will witness and record many, very many important features of that revolution. In the Nineteenth century, heaven came to earth and God talked with man. In the Twentieth century who dare say that earth —not in name only —but in reality will become the foot-stool of him who created it, and that the visits of heavenly beings shall be of frequent occurrence during that period? Who will question the completion of a Holy Temple upon the chosen spot in Zion in the West, and the occupancy of the lands adjacent by the Saints of the Most High? Who dare doubt the return of Judah to the land of their fathers in the East, and the building of a sacred edifice there, as well as a city corresponding to the Jerusalem of old? Who will deny that the remnants of the land; sunken, de- . THE MEETING OF THE CENTURIES. 165 graded and wasted as they are, shall receive of heaven's favor and become the honored instruments to help accomplish the purposes of our Father? Would it be at all strange if the key that was given by Moses to the Prophet Joseph should be turned during the coming century to unlock the icy north and there should be revealed and brought forth the ten lost tribes of Israel a mighty host of God's ; chosen, who have been hid for more than twenty-eight centuries from the rest of mankind? For come they will in the due time of the Lord with their valuable records and their treasures to receive at the hands of the children of Ephraim the sacred ordinances of the Gospel. The sons of Levi having been purified shall again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Most High in God's Holy Temple. Will the Zion above unite with the Zion below in a grand millennium of peace, and the worthy dead again appear on earth clothed with the powers of a holy resurrection? Will our beloved and martyred Prophet stand forth in all the dignity and power of his holy calling, accompanied with the heads of other dispensations, to counsel, advise and direct the labors necessary to be performed to secure the redemption of the living and the dead? These are no fancied imaginings, but are among the possibilities of a near or more distant future, and are strictly in keeping with the declarations of ancient and modern prophets. God has set his hand to redeem this earth to sanctify it, and ; prepare it to inherit his glory.It must be cleansed before it can be redeemed. The gift of prescience is scarcely needed to foretell the mighty revolutions and overturnings that must take place in the religious, the social, the civil, aye, and the material world before this can be realized. As the heavens continue to reveal the purposes of the Eternal One to his chosen servants, so will science in a corresponding degree continue to develop and demonstrate the hidden mysteries of nature, to the entire bewilderment of the ordinary intellect, and man will stand appalled at the result of his own experiments and researches. — 166 IMPROVEMENT ERA. The Saints can congratulate the outgoing century because of the choice gifts and precious treasures that it has brought to them. They can hail the incoming century with unspeakable joy in anticipation of the fulfillment of many glorious predictions looking to, and leading up to, the redemption and glory of Zion. To the outgoing 1900 then, we bid a pleasing farewell. To the incoming 1901, we say, welcome — thrice welcome. Joseph E. Taylor. Vitttte Exalts the Race. It may go without saying that no cycle of years embraced in any century since the first, has closed with as bright a record as the one now completed. With the evolution of its years, achievement has followed achievement, in almost every realm of human activity, with such astounding rapidity and result as to fill us with wonder and admiration: indeed, we often marvel that our fathers endured and survived the rust and inertia of the ages they were placed in. The religious world has passed through changes that have startled the devout, and the ideas of mankind have become enlarged, enabling many to discard the fallacies and narrow views of the fathers, fostered through the centuries. The intolerance exhibited by churches and nations against any innovation upon their cherished ideas and doctrinal views, has become modified by the leaven of truth that has obtained by dint of its sheer potency, having fought its way through gloom of error and ignorance. The introduction of true religion by divine appointment has done much to dispel the mists of darkness resting upon the world during the Nineteenth century; its influence has been felt for good in the moral and materialistic methods of the times. The glare of refinement seen in the world is too often the garnishment of hypocrisy, yet it must be admitted that candor has found a lodgem3nt in the souls of millions, and by their fruits they are known. Withal, no community can rise religiously unless its morals are above question. The moral atmosphere of the closing century is still susceptible of improvement, its purgation will be effected, let us hope, by the superior forces that lie undeveloped in the segis of the THE MEETING OF THE CENTURIES. 167 century now born, that upon a basic, purified moral fabric may be built a religious structure that shall endure forever. The material interests of mankind start out into the Twentieth century with an impetus that has cost the best thought of the age; the resources of the world are well in hand, so that, under the blessing of God, the wants of society are well-nigh assured. The facilities that have been developed through science and invention have lessened the drudgery aad discontent of the laboring classes of the world, and the outlook into the century now upon us is auspicious indeed. It would appear that all that is needed to bring peace aad plenty to man is to keep the commandments of God, for as "virtue exalts a nation" so it will save and exalt the race. — M. W. Merrill. ^'Greater Works than these shall He do/^ "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." (John 14: 12.) These were the words of the Savior to his disciples at the time that he washed their feet, just before he was taken away from them to be crucified. Jesus had done a great work in introducing the plan of salvation among the Jews in Palestine; but his apostles, whom he commanded to "teach all nations," in a certain sense, had a greater work to do than that: they were to preach in all the world; and history tells us how faithful they were in keeping the Master's command. In our day, God has commanded anew that "this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations," or, as the revelator says, "to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." In summing up the great work performed by the elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, during the Nineteenth century, we can speak joyfully of a growth from a membership of six to that of three hundred thousand, the building of six temples, the organization of about fifty stakes of Zion (of w^bich forty-two are in a thrifty condition at the close of the century) and the preaching of the Gospel in the United States, Great Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, Switzerland and a few other countries, and upon a number of the islands of the sea. — 168 IMPROVEMENT ERA. But the workers in God's cause in the Twentieth century will no doubt be privileged to do far greater works than these. I fully expect that they will not only continue to deliver the heavenly message in the few countries named, but that they will preach the Gospel, as restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith, to all other nations; that they will build temples all over the western hemisphere; thus, they will see Zion redeemed, and not only erect a great temple but also build the New Jerusalem in Jackson County, Missouri, as the capital city and the permanent headquarters of The Church, and the kingdom of God; that they will rebuild the other waste places of Zion in Missouri, Illinois, and Ohio, and that they will organize and build up new stakes, until the whole land of Zion (including North and South America) shall be filled with Latterday Saints, properly organized into wards and branches, stakes and missions. And who will say that the Twentieth century shall not witness the ushering in of the glorious Millennium, so long expected, when Christ shall reign upon the earth "as King of kings and Lord of lords?" Andrew Jenson. The Nineteenth and Twentieth —The Seed-time and Harvest. The phenomenal increase of human knowledge, the miraculous extension of man's power over the elements and the forces of nature, the development of society and the growth of civilization — all unite in characterizing the Nineteenth as the most marvelous But when its history is rightly of all the centuries that have passed. when its true relation to prior and to later time is compre- "read, hended, it will be known for an event greater and more significant than any or all of the achievements of man. The Nineteenth century is destined to be distinguished in history as marking the inauguration of the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. In it have been concentrated the developments of all preceding ages, — both of man's doings and of God's dealings with the human family. The spirit of every Divine law revealed in earlier periods is operative in this the last and greatest dispensation, though the letter has been modified to suit the changing conditions. The century just closed has been one of evolution in the truest sense of the term. Yet it is not more truly an ending, than a THE MEETING OF THE CENTURIES. 169 beginning. Its completion is but the close of the seed-time, of which the harvest, is bequeathed to the new century just begun.— J. E. Talmage. Yeats and Centaries. The old year wanes. And lo! the century, too, Gives place to its successor, bold and new. Like some aged parent, dignified and grand, Leading his youngest offspring by the hand, The Nineteenth century its finale takes. — — And regal head bowed low its exit makes. How short the year; how long the century seems; Reviewing, how replete with wondrous themes! The grandest century since Christ was born And slain, will close as opes the New Year's morn. While yet the Nineteenth century was young. The vail was pierced which o'er this terra hung: Celestial feet again the old earth trod. And Joseph Smith conversed with Christ and God. The heavenly light shown forth in darkness then; Christ's Gospel was again restored to men: Alas! the darkness could not comprehend; Men slew their kindest, truest, earthly friend. Before the century reached meridian, The direst massacre was foully done; Joseph and Hyrum were the assassin's mark, Slain were the Prophet and Patriarch! And still, the light, by Joseph turned, shines on, And of the Twentieth century hails the dawn. Much error has its radiant warmth o'erthrown; Men feel the glow, by whom, the source unknown. Is unacknowledged. But the time draws near When all shall know whence comes the peace and cheer Which will dispel all darkness; it may be Ere men the Twentieth century's finale see. — L. L. Greene Richards. Expansion of the Gospel, and the Dawn of the Millenniam. The Nineteenth century is the marvel of the ages. It is marked by the rapid progress of science in ^11 its varied branches. 170 IMPROVEMENT ERA. and its practical application to the wants of man. In the realms of intellectual development and religious thought, its advances are without a parallel. The inauguration of the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times is an event unsurpassed in any age. What the mystic Twentieth century may bring, no uninspired tongue can tell. Among its probable events will be the rapid expansion of the true Gospel among the nations of the earth, and consequently, a recognition of the brotherhood of man, growth of international courtesy, and the dawn of the Millennium. — H. Ward. J. The Cuttain has Arisen for the Closing Act. The world's history is not unlike a sublime drama, composed of many acts and scenes, and portrayed by numerous performers. Since the dawn of creation, a majestic and glorious scheme has been gradually unfolding. One scene after another has been presented to view; and actors in succession have made their appearance on the stage, played their parts, and passed on. With the close of the Nineteenth century another act in the grand performance terminated. It has been one of unprecedented brilliance— fraught with wonderful and significant events. In it, the splendid and mighty conception of the Great Master Mind, by whom the complete work was planned and is being conducted, has been revealed more clearly than ever before. A number of valiant characters have been presented during the various scenes of this momentous period in the magnificent production, and those who have sustained them have performed their parts in an admirable manner. The curtain has now arisen for the closing act. In its display of wondrous revelations, it gives promise of greatly surpassing everything that has yet transpired since the beginning, and is destined to culminate in a fitting climax of inconceivable splendor. Ere the grand finale shall be attained, many important parts must yet be performed in supporting the Great Hero who bears the titlerole, and who is expected to appear in exalted triumph and resplendent glory. In what has yet to take place to complete the mighty drama, the youth of Israel will be among the principal actors. Let them — THE MEETING OF THE CENTURIES. 171 learn their parts well, that they may acquit themselves with credit and honor. Edwin F. Parry. There is Pleasure in Living. The coming of the new century fills me with a feverish joy. The Twentieth will be so much more marvelous than the Nineteenth. There is a unique pleasure in living in the last days, and in reading — the signs of the times. J. A. Widtsoe. A Commandment for the Young to Remember* As the morning of a new century dawns upon us, with all the promises of a grand and glorious day, perhaps even such a day as has never graced the earth since God's voice first sounded in it, and all things were "very good," we naturally look back upon the present one with all its wonderful achievements. Many valuable lessons will be drawn from the past, and held up for this generation to profit by. When God gave to Moses, on Mount Sinai, the ten commandments, which have guided and held in check unruly mankind for so many generations, he gave one, and only one, to which he attached a promise. Did we indeed need an extra inducement to do that which it would seem our hearts would naturally incline to? The Alwise Father doubtless knew how natural it is for mortals, as they grow in knowledge and greatness, to undervalue the wisdom of those who are older. In our constant race for new things and greater achievements, we forget those which have served us well in the past. So with the men and women of another generation, whose love and labor have helped make us what we are; whose untiring work has cleared the boulders from our path; whose forethought has straightened so many a tangle that would have confronted us. Yet how often do the young and the thoughtless overlook the older people as entirely as if they did not exist! When God said, "Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee," he not only meant our own fathers and mothers, but also the fathers and mothers of all. May then the new century see the young people of Zion grow in knowledge and grace before God and man, that all good and — 17?. IMPROVEMENT ERA. desirable things may come to them. That they may live long uponthe earth, let them honor their fathers and mothers. When the New Year's bells joyously ring in the coming year, the first of another hundred from which we expect so much, let them bow in reverence to the gray heads that helped to make the last century as great as it was; and let them not forget that whatsoever ye soweth that shall ye also reap. Sophy Valentine. The Fear of Matefialfsm* The spirit of the Nineteenth century departs amidst a blaze of light into the shadows of the unknown, and points to this motto as characteristic of her reign: "The glory of God is intelligence^*' Never before has intellect been such a monarch. Knowledge is indeed power. As the electric light exceeds the candle's puny ray, so do the scientific achievements of this century eclipse the efforts of any other period. Industrial problems have disappeared before this intellectual light like Niobe's children, before the shafts of Apollo. On the whole, the world is growing better. She smiles more often; she is more tolerant and less bigoted than formerly, and her yellow eye of prejudice is but rarely seen. Liberality has visited the poor, and has become acquainted with the famine-stricken, and the unfortunate. A mighty light has come to illuminate the dark places of the earth; prosperity has followed in its wake, and misery and want are vanishing into the dim past. But the glare of scientific achievement casts a dangerous shadow. Men have come to pin their belief to scientific proof alone. What observation, experiment, and the logic of reason do not demonstrate, they refuse to believe. Yet the method of science is cold and formal, it has neither feeling nor charity. Its inordinate pursuit dries up the fountains of sympathy, and chokes the well of love. Men worship success. Material prosperity keeps time to every heart beat. Conquer difficulties and ride them to success, is the ideal of the American. In this we see the culmination of the old Aryan spirit of progress. But the ethical and spiritual in life are fettered and thrown, into prison, and left to die of inaction and neglect. So many phenomena of nature that once overawed man, and compelled his- — THE MEETING OF THE CENTURIES. 178 'knee to bend in reverence, and his soul to bow in worship, are now explained by the principles of cause and effect, that he js com- — ing to believe that science can explain everything that, it can solve all the problems of life. He, therefore, no longer believes in visions, miracles, and revelations. Doubt has taken the place of belief, and the test tube has usurped the throne of faith. The questions of the future are industrial, social and religious. The century must determine how the marvels of science and in- dustry may be used to benefit the whole of mankind; how the few may be prevented from forming an aristocracy of wealth, more powerful, more oppressive, and more to be dreaded than any despotic power the world has ever known. Widespread intelligence, -and the sweet taste of liberty,have given to the people ideals of life and of government which will not allow them to endure industrial servitude and social inequality. "The laborer is worthy of his hire." Labor will demand and receive a share in the earnings of toil. "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof" will be devoted to the comfort and happiness of all the people. Man must recognize the fact that the ethical and religious are the noblest and the most real phases of his being, and that all else must be subordinated to them. When the industrial and social problems are solved; when cheap production and distribution of the essentials of life are assured to all; and when opportunities for the accumulation of great wealth and for the exercise of ambitious power are no longer possible, then will the restless spirit of man seek a new sanction in ethical and religious ideals. God has not abandoned man. He is still solicitous for his welfare. Let us hope that the Twentieth century will make more rapid progress towards the Millennium than has the past. Mosiah Hall. The Century's Brightest Star. The memory of the Nineteenth century is destined to continue down through the ages, partly on account of the world's wonder- ful progress in material prosperity, through inventions in the use- ful arts and discoveries in science; but, while these things may fade into insignificance in the light of greater things to come, there is one star in its crown that will ever prevent its passing into obliv- ion, and that will increase in effulgence, not only while earth shall — — 174 IMPROVEMENT ERA. last, but in the eternities to come, and that is: the ushering in of the Gospel Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. Attewall WOOTTON. Some Advice to the Youth of Zion. We are now standing upon the threshold pf a new century. Time, in its constant revolution, ushers in the dawn of a new era, the birth of a new year, and the inauguration of a new century. "Onward," is our theme and song; "Forward," our course and pathway! In reviewing the past, we behold on every hand the marvel- ous works and wonderful manifestations of God's power and goodness. During the century which has now gone to form the history of the past, we have witnessed the opening of the heavens; the visitation of angels; the restoration of the everlasting Gospel; the interposition of the mighty hand of Providence in behalf of the afflicted, exiled Saints; their establishment in the Rockies, and their prosperity as a people. To the youth of Zion, yea, to the young men of the world, I would say: be industrious, sober, energetic and faithful. Have a righteous target in view, with a firm, resolute will to deliver the shaft! Study the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and let speculation, philosophy, worldly wisdom, and the logic of schools take their proper, legitimate stations; but in things pertaining to godliness, holiness, righteousness and eternal life, let revelation be your guiding star; and when she marks the path, you may pursue it in safety and security. Strive to pattern after the example of him who was the perfect exemplification of all things holy and pleasing in the sight of his Father — even Jesus, the captain of our salvation, who went about "doing good." Serve Gcd,honor the Priesthood, give heed to the voice of inspiration, love one another, overcome evil with good, master self, and then you are following in his steps. Ben E. Rich. Prospects of Sanctified Existence. 'jT^J^! "The earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the law," filleth says the Lord through Joseph the Prophet. The Nineteenth century has witnessed wonderful progress in this evolution of the — THE MEETING OF THE CENTURIES. 175 earth toward its perfect goal. If the Twentieth century brings, proportionately, the same advancement, who shall say how near this globe of ours shall be to its sanctification, when it, with all its creations upon it, will take its place among the self-shining spheres of the universe! Nephi Anderson. The Old and the New. "Give thanks!" sang the angels, "the New Year is born!" "Cling-clang!" cried the bells, in a tumult of praise. "The night is departing. All hail to the morn! To the hope and the promise of happier days!" "Give glory! Cling-clang! rejoice!" the bells said, "Let us wake the whole earth with the gladness we feel. Till old wrongs are buried, and old sins are dead, And every heart bounds to our jubilant peal!" "Praise Him!" sang the seraphs. "Let war and hate cease; And straying feet turn from the paths they have trod. Let Love rule the world with his scepter of peace. The Old year is gone. Give the New Year to God." As the people of former times shouted, "The king is dead! Long live the king !" so shout we at the close of the century. As we review it, the truth is born in upon us that it began with war and it is ending with war. Sad commentary on the results of the actions of men for the past hundred years. Although the century will go down in history as one remarkable for great inventions; inventions coined from men's minds to suit the arts of peace as well as the arts of war; yet, there has been lacking one great moral purpose along the whole line. Let us pause and think. Has the purpose of these inventions been to secure an advancement of the race or of the individual? Are we not all God's children, and if by their signs we shall know them, have not many of the people of the Nineteenth century, even down to its close, been tainted with a thirst for warfare, either in the mad chase for wealth or for fame? Possibly living in a century, where war has run like -a red thread through it, has tended to turn men's minds more to combat than to peace. But despite the fact of wars and distrust among nations, the spirit of rivalry has not been without some gain. Races sunk in slavery — 176 IMPROVEMENT ERA have been raised from despair; and now at the close of the century, mighty efforts along educational lines are being made to raise them to the full stature of man. Viewed in the light of past ages, the Nineteenth century has made great strides in morality. In education, a great forward move has been made since it has become evident to the enlightened nations of the world that education is a power which cannot be overlooked. Women of the Nineteenth century, unlike the Roman matrons, are teaching their boys, not to buckle on their armor to go forth, but to keep to their books and to the more peaceful arts of home. And it must be said for the credit of the century just passed that education is more within the grasp of the people than it ever was before. But, leaving aside whatever the century has done or left undone, let us turn our faces boldly to the future. Let us face the new century with new hopes, new aspirations, fresh courage. Let us make it a starting point from which we may press forward with new life, leaving the dead past to bury its dead. The new, holds everything in store for us, it has not been contaminated by the touch of anything vile, it is pure, fresh from the hand of the Creator; and let us take it so, and endeavor by every means in our power to keep the Twentieth century, so far as we are concerned, as pure and fresh as when it came to us. There is a great task to be accomplished, and the new century holds jewels in store for those who wish to avail themselves of them. There are opportunities for every young man, for every young woman, for every one. in fact, to do their utmost to make the new century the best and brightest that the world has ever seen. Let the grand work of The Church be spread far and wide. The Church which had its rise in the Nineteenth century is destined to do a glorious work in the next, for that there is a work to be done, no one doubts. There are lives to be made purer, there are hearts to be encouraged, there are nations to be raised from the slough of despair; and there is a still grander work, a work which the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has proclaimed from the beginning, the heralding to all the world, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Sara WHALEN. (Continued on page 214.)