Speakers’ Contest: “My Spirit Shall Not Always Strive with Man”

SPEAKERS' CONTEST.

THE ORATION WHICH WON THE FIRST PLACE AND THE SILVER CUP.

[The second annual Speakers' Contest of the Y. M. M. L A. of the Salt Lake Stake (see Era for June, 1900, page 632), was held in the As- sembly Hall, before a large and enthusiastic audience, on Wednesday evening, June 5, 1901. President Joseph F. Smith presided. There were five speakers, named below in the order of merit assigned them by the judges after the contest: Alma 0. Taylor, who spoke on "My Spirit Shall Not Always Strive With Man;" Rulon M. Owen, "Endurance of the Truth;" David H. Elton, "The Immortality of Man;" Harrison E. Jenkins, "Knowledge;" and Don C, Clayton, "Do the Mormons Believe in Education?" We present our readers with the winning oration, de- livered by Elder Alma 0. Taylor. The judges on thought and composition were: B. H. Roberts, Willard Done and R. L. McGhie; on delivery: George H, Brimhall, William M. Stewart and Maud May Babcock. The prize, a fifty-dollar silver cup, was awarded to Elder Taylor, a son of Elder Joseph E. Taylor and about nineteen years of age, who has recently been chosen to accompany Apostle Heber J. Grant on his mission to Japan. The presentation was made by Apostle Grant. The cup was given by Boyd Park, and will be engraved with the name of the champion, and held by the Stake organiza- tion. It is intended that winners of future contests also will have their

names engraved thereon. Editors.]

"MY SPIRIT SHALL NOT ALWAYS STRIVE WITH MAN." BY ALMA 0. TAYLOR.

We are not yet perfect. Mankind with their mortal eyes are swift to see the weakness of a brother, and prone to hastily con

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demn those who have fallen into darkness. Very often we allow the failings of our fellows to so completely occupy our thoughts, that the virtues and moral lessons of their lives are entirely un- heeded by us. No matter how ignorant, low, or debased a man may be, there is generally that connected with his career which teaches some moral lesson by which his fellows may profit. Even in the consequences that follow the transgressions of an evil life, there are warnings given, which, if heeded, would save many a sorrowing heart and the pangs of a smiting conscience. We need only refer, therefore, to such men as Sidney Rigdon, David Whit- mer and others who have fallen into the awful condition of aposta- sy, to call attention to the great lesson that we may learn from

their experience, for they are indeed types from which we may draw many valuable morals. When we look at the history of these men, it appeals to us as being very strange that persons holding such exalted positions, and receiving such heavenly distinction, should lose their faith and fight against the Church which they had formerly so ardently de- fended. Yet a moment's reflection tells us that it is but a repeti- tion of the fate which befell mighty men of all ages who neglected to cultivate, nourish, and exercise the Spirit which God gave them, to his honor and glory. The Holy Ghost is a gift from God; and one which, because of its manifold blessings, may be considered next to the gift of eternal life. But according to the manner in which we cherish and use it, so is its continuance assured to us. The life of Samson exemplifies the working of this law. He enters the scene a child of innocence, possessing superior strength and a brawny beauty. Disciplined in the practices of temperance and sobriety, he grew into manhood, having gained favor in the eyes of the Lord. Soon his noble strength, instinctive sagacity, and inexhaustive patience, made him the idol of his race. Heaven crowned the youth with strength, and strength crowned him king. Moved upon by the Holy Spirit, he became the means of delivering Israel from the oppression of the Philistines, and restoring peace throughout the land. But with ease and honor came self-indulgence. When once a , breach was made in the defenses of his moral nature, the fiends

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of passion burst forth from their captivity and plunged him into sin. Finally the giant was entrapped by the subtleness of the beautiful Delilah, who one night charmed him with her beauty until, drunken with passionate lust, he betrayed the secret of his strength and wisdom. Then the fair traitress opened the doors, and Sam- son's enemies fell upon him; with swift and accurate strokes, they made him prisoner, and once more overran the land. The child

had disappointed the fond hopes of its parents; the captor had been bound with captive chains; the king had fallen from his throne; the heaven-favored one had betrayed his God. The moral of the tragic story is, that Samson, having sinned against his finer spiritual sentiments, had driven from his soul that divine inspiration and ardor which alone had been his shield and protection. For years, he lived bereft of hope; forlorn and blind, he labored in his prison cell, grinding corn for his guards. But far more afflictive than his blindness, was the thought of what might have been, had he continued to heed the still small voice which brought him from obscurity to fame; far more galling than his chains, was the painful disappointment and remorse. Conscience- stricken, he waited for the end. Thus, with all men, great and small; a seeming victory hastens to defeat, when the inner light is neglected or abused. For with God there is an unalterable law, that he who neglects or misuses a faculty will lose it. In nature also, we see this law exemplified. The wheat fields, whose bounteous harvests made the valley of the Euphrates one of the most fruitful in the world, when deserted and left without the care /Of the husbandman, reverted into patches of wild rice, the plant, from which the wheat was origi- nally derived. The strawberry which by cultivation has become tame and large, will, through neglect, go back to its small and wild state; and the rose, now double and of every hue, without the attention and care of the florist, will in a few years, return to the original wild type — always single and pink. Travelers, who have visited the Mammoth Cave, tell us that the subterranean lakes are filled with fish, but upon flashing a light before them, it is discovered that they are blind. The investigation of scientists has demonstrated that while the front of the eye is perfect, yet

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through disuse, the optic nerve has become a dead, insensate thread, along which vision has never flashed. Thus, in every realm, nature withdraws her gift from those who neglect or misuse it.

For use is life; neglect is atrophy and death. "There is no virtue comes unasked, no frame of mind or heart that stays unurged." No man need say that the teachings or actions of his fellows were the cause of his apostasy. A careful observation of the lives of those who have disunited themselves from The Church of Christ reveals the fact, that the light of the Spirit departs only from him who neglects or abuses the spiritual faculties with which he has been so richly endowed. In the early years of his connection with the work of God, Oliver Cowdery received, with the Prophet Joseph Smith, many of the most remarkable heavenly manifestations given in this dispen- sation; David Whitmer, because of his previous faithfulness, was privileged to behold an angel from heaven, and to hear his voice declaring that the doctrines which Joseph Smith had presented to the world were true; Sidney Rigdon, under divine favor, was called by the word of God to occupy a position in the presiding council of The Church, and at one time, in connection with the Prophet, had the vision of the glories of the eternal world opened to his view, as well as the fate of the sons of perdition. Great, indeed, were the gifts and blessings of these men! But in a fateful hour, the evil one presented to their minds thoughts, lawful perhaps in the eyes of men, but sinful in the light of inspiration; Satan, by his shrewdness, had discovered the weak parts of their natures, and with cunning, he laid the trap to capture their faith and steal away their testimony. When once they had chosen evil instead of good, the light which burned so brightly in their souls began to and die. flicker Unwise ambition, and the desire for fame and honor so beclouded their minds, that the darkness which crept slowly over them was unheeded. But soon that darkness was com- plete. The light and inspiration which had been a joy and com- fort to them seemed but the phantom of a dream in the long, long past. Disbelief had taken the place of admiration and de- votion. Their better selves had been sinned against, and the right to leadership was forfeited. Eagerly they coveted a place among the immortals of earth,

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while accepting the trials of life with cursings and blasphemy; earnestly they wished to be heroes among their fellow-men, yet privately they were rebelling against God's authority. Thus, be- cause of their transgressions, the Spirit of the Lord was driven from them, for it is written: "My Spirit will not dwell in unholy temples." Like Hawthorne's legend of Donatello, whose great sin caused the death of the beautiful fountain girl whom he loved, so the wrongs of these men placed a blood stain on the forehead of their souls. And in their dark hours, the bow of hope faded from the sky; the green sod ceased to be elastic to their feet; the sky was leaden to their looks; the sun itself became a patch of darkness; and God and conscience became a jargon of words. Their lives is the story of those who have sinned against them- selves; who have slain happiness and murdered sleep; who have in- jured the mind's eye until the sight is gone; who have betrayed their Master and played the traitor to their own souls; it is the story of those in whose heart the Spirit of God has ceased to strive. And when the light of inspiration is out, and the warmth of soul is chilled, man stands forth only a bundle of flesh; his art has lost its genius; his music its sweetness; his eloquence its moral purpose; his manhood its character. How true, therefore, the words of the Master when he said: "What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" Strange it is that the fate of those who have suffered the loss of the gospel light should not forewarn others from falling into darkness. When a beaver has been caught in a trap, the next animal finds some odor clinging to the steel jaws that tells of the suffering of its fellow; so the trappers have to use fragrant oils to deceive the cautious creatures. Yet with man, the old trap still avails for his enthrallment, and thirty pieces of silver, a wedge of gold, a purple robe, a bewitching Delilah, a tinsel ornament, are still serviceable for man's overthrow. In our day, the pace of life is fast, and the temptation to throw the whole soul into the business is very great. Some men are so avaricious in their fight for gold that trade and commerce preclude from their minds all thoughts of religious matters, and homage is paid at the shrine of wealth. The love of social promi- nence finds such a place in the hearts of this generation, that

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thousands are bowing before the idol of society, instead of wor- shiping the Lord. It is said that the great men of the world, dying, have left

no successors, and this is largely due to the waxing of material- ism and the waning of religious faculty. And while knowledge is more widely diffused than ever before, yet it is certain that the lack of care and training of the higher religious feelings, has re- sulted in a distinct loss of mental power. For the lives of those who have been truly great teach us, that an expanded religious life is simply the atmosphere in which the higher talents of the artist, the scientist, the statesman, or the philosopher, are to find their nourishment and stimulation. So in that time only, when the peo- ple have learned to cultivate in their hearts a love for the inspira- tion of heaven, can there appear an epoch in which the accom- plishments of men will make them truly great. He who would become immortal must not forget that worship, song, and prayer, cleanse away the grime of life, sharpen the intellectual faculties, and enable the soul to take its observations and lay out the voyage toward the distant harbor. There is a great tendency in modern life to make men spiritual dwarfs, and some parents are allowing their children to grow up to become moral and religious weaklings. And while many parents mourn over the physical deformity of their children, and mankind feel keenly the sorrow of their own physical in-

feriority, yet they seldom realize that their entire spiritual nature is wrapped up in grave clothes, so that, dying, they carry into that other realm a multitude of moral distortions and spiritual ab- normalities. There need be little surprise, therefore, that he who has dulled his heart with avarice or cruelty, he who has wasted his power in folly and iniquity, he who has debased himself by some great evil, is out of touch with the most beautiful sights in nature, hears not the sweetest sounds, discerns not God's footsteps in his daily life. For there is truly something lacking in the man who through sin has lost his power to recognize the hand of Provi- dence and love the word of God. To all young hearts who live within the greatest century that has ever passed over our earth, there comes the reflection, that victory and happiness hasten toward sorrow and defeat for him in.

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whom the inner light hath failed. For the saddest sight on earth is not that of a youth stricken down and laid beneath the turf earth's greatest tragedy is the tragedy of those who have fallen from integrity and virtue, as the stars fall out of the sky. Happy, indeed, is he who hath ears to hear and heart to obey the still small voice that whispers: "He who neglects his finer spiritual senti-

ments will find that the Spirit of God has ceased to strive within him," for the Lord hath said: "My Spirit shall not always strive with man."