--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Selected collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 5 number: 7 published: 1902-05 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Selected, "The Cornerstone of Character," *Improvement Era* 5, no. 7 (May 1902): 499.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0507unse 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: improvementera0507unse start_page: 499 end_page: 499 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1902-05) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0507unse publication_year: 1902 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 1902, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The Cornerstone of Character HISTORY OF THE PROPHET JOSEPH. 499 This time, Mr. Smith, and myself accompanied him, and was our it intention to have passed near the tavern, where Samuel was so abusively treated a fortnight previous, but just before we came to the house, a sign of small-pox intercepted us. We turned aside, and meeting a citizen of the place, we enquired of him, to what extent this disease prevailed. He answered, that the tavern keep- er and two of his family had died with it not long since, but he did not know that any one else had caught the disease, and that it was brought into the neighborhood by a traveler, who stopped at the tavern over night. This is a specimen of the peculiar disposition of some individ- uals, who would sacrifice their soul's salvation rather than give a Saint of God a meal of victuals. According to the word of God, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah, in the day of judgment, than for such persons. We arrived at Esquire Beaman's, in Livonia, that night. The next morning Samuel took the road to Mr. Greene's, and, finding that he had made no sale of the books, we returned home the f ol- ing day. THE CORNERSTONE OF CHARACTER. The corner stone of character, that on which the whole edi- fice is to rest, must be truth. Be truthful in word and deed and act, faithful to your conception of right, and you can no more help building a noble character than the earth can help moving in its orbit. A boy who has the courage to tell the truth under all circumstances, even when it may appear to be to his own disad- vantage, will never do a mean, unmanly, or dishonest thing. He will not stoop to do anything questionable, no matter what material gain it may promise. — Selected.