The Flood-time of Energy

330 IMPROVEMENT ERA. miles away, stood the representatives of the state in Congress, their thoughts flying quicker even than telegraphic message to the people gathered in the great pavilion. And so, united by the material ties of the electric wire, and the subtle powers of thought, the East and the West were held for a few brief moments by a community of good wishes. Wonderful as all this is, it is now eclipsed by wireless tele- graphy— now passed beyond its experimental stages, and rapidly coming into the practical commerce of the nations. Man is no longer dependent upon a network of wires and cables for means of communication. The atmosphere enveloping the world affords suf- ficient means for conducting vibrations made intelligible by the instrument of man's invention; and today, even across the surface of the broad Atlantic, messages are transmitted by this means as easily as by means of the cable lines. So delicate and perfect are the receiving instruments, that from the roar of our great cities' traffic, the message is picked out of the confusion and faithfully registered. The argument based on all these facts, of course, is this: If man with his limited intelligence, and his limited experience, has contrived means by which he stands in instant communication with all parts of the world, why should it be thought a thing incredible that God, from the midst of his glory, from the heart of the universe, may be within instant means of communication with all parts of his crea- tions. Especially since it is quite generally conceded, by scientists, that all the fixed stars and all the planetary systems encircling them, float in and are connected by the ether, a substance more sub- tle and sensitive to vibrations than the atmosphere which sur- rounds our planet, and suggests the media of communication. To all this, however, I fancy that I hear the reply of the men of science : "We do not deny the possibility or even the probability of communication from superior intelligences of other planets, we simply say that up to the present time there is no convincing tes- timony that such communications have been received." This, however, is a miserable begging of the whole question; and an unwarranted repudiation of the testimony of those who have borne witness to the verity of such communications. The testimony of Moses and the prophets, of Jesus and the Apostles, and of Joseph Smith and his associates, may not thus be put out of the reckon-

THE PROBABILITY OF JOSEPH SMITH'S ST0R1.
331 ing. The character rof these witnesses, their service to mankind, what they suffered and sacrificed for their testimonies, make them worthy of belief; and, since in the nature of things in the universe, there is nothing which makes their testimony improbable, but, on the contrary, much that makes it very probable, it is not beneath the dignity of scientists to accord to their statements a patient investigation. (to be concluded.) THE FLOOD-TIME OF ENERGY. How prodigal most young people are of their physical and mental forces! How little they appreciate their value ! On every hand we see young men and women squandering their vital energy, as if a perpetual supply were insured, — as if the fountain of youth would never run dry. They fling away their force as wastefully as the waters of a spring flood overflow into the surrounding country. But, when the flood-tide of youth is past,— when they begin to feel the dryness of age, — they realize the preciousness of what they squandered so recklessly. In some placet where the water supply is abundant in spring, the streams dry up completely in summer. The only possible way of securing power to work the mills in such places is to store the water of the spring floods by means of dams. Even so the great floods of mental and physical force come to us in the spring of ryouth. The drain upon them begins in middle or later life. If men had a higher regard for their energy, there would be less occasion for the report that when they reach middle life employers cannot use them. — Selected.