--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Mosiah Hall collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 7 number: 7 published: 1904-05 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Mosiah Hall, "A Political Prophecy. I," *Improvement Era* 7, no. 7 (May 1904): 525–531.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0707unse 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: improvementera0707unse start_page: 525 end_page: 531 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1904-05) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0707unse publication_year: 1904 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 1904, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # A Political Prophecy. I A POLITICAL PROPHECY. BY MOSIAH HALL, b. s., d. b., ph. m., PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION, BRIGHAM YOUNG COLLEGE, LOGAN, UTAH. What is the central fact of our civilization, and towards what is it tending? The attempt to discover the direction of the stream of time, and to see even dimly the shore towards which it is carrying us, is a task worthy of a mighty mind. We cannot hope to accomplish it satisfactorily, but will be content if sympa- thetic thought shall be led in that direction. The fruit of the future is wrapped in the seeds of the present, and the seeds now being sown trace their life-forces to the plants that bloomed in the past. Nothing is isolated; everything is related. Things seem single and separate, because our knowledge is not sufficient to see the deep-seated relationship. The future cannot be foretold without knowing the present, and the present cannot be understood without a knowledge of the past. Our question, therefore, compels us to ask the past for its central fact — that upon which all other facts depended, and which determined largely the thought, the conduct, and the degree of its civilization. No great knowledge of ancient history is required to learn that in those days the majority of mankind were ignorant and superstitious, and were utterly subservient to a few who had slight regard for the life or liberty of their subjects. Property was never safe; wives and children were commonly carried off as slaves. Pillage, fire and bloodshed were the rule, and law, order and peace the exception. Human life was held in low esteem; even down to modern times, the death penalty was inflicted for the most trivial offenses. Religion, too, shared the universal savagery. With the exception of the chosen people, who turned to Jehovah from the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth, the whole world practiced idolatry. The rites and ceremonies connected with this worship were unspeakably abominable. The sacrifice of babes to the fire god, Molech, and the offering each year to the Aztec gods of a hundred thousand human hearts torn from living victims, are examples of this unholy practice. A person living in our peaceful, lawful times cannot realize the real conditions then existing. His experience is not adequate to grasp their meaning. But enough has been said to indicate the general nature of the time. What was its central fact or characteristic? There can be but one answer: Absolutism, or, if the term is preferred, despot- ism, characterized the period. The despot held absolute power over his subjects, and they had no rights, privileges or blessings that were not derived from him. Absolutism, however, could not exist long in this extreme form for the reason that its own defects would arouse an opposi- tion that would tend to modify its harshness. Besides, no single principle can live alone —an opposing principle is necessary to its existence. A despotism could hardly have that name, if there were no struggle towards freedom which it was suppressing. Hence, from the time of the most ancient despotisms, an opposite spirit existed. Nothing is more interesting, historically, than to trace the growth of this opposition. Its beginning was slight, scarcely perceptible, but it has been gaining strength with the passing of the years. We shall note a few of the high places it touched on its journey down the ages. When Socrates broke away from the traditional guessing methods of the past, and taught men the value of thought, and how each individual might attain to it, he struck ignorance a blow, from which that champion of despotism never recovered. When the divine Plato took men by the hand, and led them from the earth into the real heaven of ideals, men lost forever some of their brutality and spiritual slavery. When Aristotle, the world's greatest scholar, appeared, and gave to man his first psychology, laid down the lawsof thought, taught the four causes of things, and propounded the great principle of progression, the power of A POLITICAL PROPHECY. 527 despotism was forever weakened. The contribution of this great scholar to the cause of humanity is excelled oniy by that of the Great Teacher himself. Men must forget Aristotle in order to again become savage. Greece, taking advantage of her opportunities, and prof- iting by her great teachers, became the centre of the world, and developed a civilization that was the glory of the ancient world,' and a pattern to all succeeding ages. In Athens, opposition to despotism and ignorance reached its zenith. Where before the despot ruled supreme, the individual was exalted. An ideal of the development of man for his own sake, not for the benefit of a tyrant or the state, appeared for the first time in the world's history. Symmetry, proportion, nothing in excess, individual worth and harmonious development, were the great ideals of this period. For nearly fifty years, during the age of Pericles, there was established in Athens the world's first democracy. Here every free Athenian had equal rights with his neighbor, and freedom and intelligence burst forth like a great star to light men into a happier and brighter day. But the world was not ready for this tremendous change. It came too suddenly, and was too good to last. Besides, during this period, a large majority of the popula- tion in Athens were slaves, and it could not be expected that free- dom and slavery would continue on these terms. Therefore, the brilliancy was short lived. It was like a meteor that flashes for a moment across the sky, and then disappears, leaving behind a great memory, and a boundless hope. Rome also contributed something towards the emancipation of men. The long struggle between the plebeian and patrician aroused men to a consciousness of individual rights as opposed to the monopoly of privileges by the rich and well born. The final triumph of the plebeian was a victory for the whole human race. Eome's leniency to her conquered subjects, and the many privileges granted them, assisted also in the growth towards freedom. The gods of conquered nations were allowed a place in the Pantheon at Rome, by the side of the Roman deities, and it was not long until the practical Roman saw that the gods of one nation were as good as those of another. Soon it became evident that none of the gods were infallible, and a slow but certain skepticism arose that paved the way for the coming of a new religion— the religion of the Son of Man. The time was propitious for the introduction of this gospel of humanity. And what were the ideals of this eternal religion which was destined to shatter the gods of heathenism, and to set up standards of moral, political, and religious excellence that would satisfy the cravings of mankind? Briefly, we may enumerate them as follows: 1. Belief in a personal God, the common Father of all. 2. Belief in Christ as the Son of God, and the Redeemer of mankind. 3. A resurrection and glorious eternal life to replace the want of hope in a hereafter, and as a substitute for the gloomy hades and sheol of the ancients. 4. Love, the central principle of all conduct and action. 5. Freedom of will. Man has the power to choose either good or evil, but will be rewarded or punished according to his choice. 6. The equality of all men. The soul of one man is just as precious as that of another in the sight of God. Neither birth nor wealth, nor any other condition of life, makes one man better than another. His superiority depends upon his good works, and on the extent to which he develops his powers. How impossible to state the value of these ideals to the future progress of mankind! What a vast hope stirred the hearts of men when their faith accepted God as the common Father of all, who held them equal in his sight, and was solicitous for their wel- fare! To the slave, and to the downtrodden and unfortunate of the earth, what a solace was the doctrine of humanity: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek Take For my and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Mat. 11: 28-30). Under the influence of such teachings, the fierceness of men should melt to gentleness, their hate, to love. The universal brotherhood which the gospel proclaims should abolish slavery, destroy castes, sweep despotism from the earth, and establish governments founded upon freedom and equality. True, these ideals were slow to take possession of the hearts of men. They A POLITICAL PROPHECY. 529 were so different from what the world had thought and practiced. The heavy weight of tradition, deep seated superstition, and- firmly intrenched despotism were capable of waging a long warfare with the new doctrine. Peace, good will and love, seemed weak instru- ments to oppose power, pride and hate. Not brutal strength, but moral courage was the charac- teristic of the early Christian. Faith in his religion, and confidence in the reward he would receive after death, gave him the strength to go to his martyrdom with a smile upon his lips. And what a conflict! On one side the unresisting Christian clothed in the armor of faith, on the other, the iron arm of the whole world. Cast into the amphitheatre, to be torn to pieces by wild beasts, crucified with head downwards, covered with tar and turpentine and burned for torches in the garden of Nero, the Christian had to seek safety in the Catacombs of the earth, like a timid animal that hides in its burrow from its fierce pursuer. This savagery could not last forever. After some hundreds of thousands had sealed their testimony with their blood, the brutal lust was satisfied. The winter of unbelief melted under the sun of right- eousness, and the Roman became Christian. But the Roman was so saturated with tradition and supersti- tion that he could neither grasp nor practice the self-renunciation required by the new religion. He succeeded, however, in corrupt- ing it, and he was largely instrumental in bringing about the apos- tasy of the early church. Soon after the downfall of Rome, and the consequent reign of anarchy, the world forgot her troubles, and sank into a deep sleep. During this long night but few stars lit the prevailing darkness. Then came the awakening — the renaissance. The memory of the mighty ideals persisted, in perverted form, it is true, but with vitality sufficient to start our modern civilization. The worth and dignity of the individual survived, and the fact was realized that progress depends upon individual initiative, not upon the decrees of the state. Men began to think for themselves, and science was born. Necessity demanded a better way of doing things, so invention came into existence. Explorations followed, new worlds were dis- covered, and commerce was created. Quicker means of exchang- ing thought and communicating knowledge were called for, and printing answered the summons. Freedom of thought, freedom of belief, and freedom in government, equality of privileges, and the recognition of individual worth, were the great ideals entering into human consciousness. . Despotism, it is true, struggled mightily, but his victories were few, and his strength was failing fast. Shameful to relate, religion, when freed from persecution, for- got the furnace through which she had passed, and, uniting with des- potism, began to persecute others. Every discovery made by science which seemed to conflict with religion was fiercely opposed* and its advocates made to recant or suffer death. Not content with this, religion added bigotry 'and fanaticism to her cruelty, and, turning upon herself, rent and tortured her own body until it broke into struggling creeds and factions. These fought each other with a fury inconceivable, and then was re-enacted the horrors of the early Christian age, but with this difference, it was Christian who fought Christian. Rivers again ran crimson to the sea; their current swelled with the blood of martyrs to science and freedom. How few of us realize that our bark of civilization rides upon a sea of blood! Progress, how- ever, could not be held back, and at length all enemies were over- come, religion ceased to persecute and kill, and our present civil- ization, imperfect but magnificent, was inaugurated. What is the central fact or characteristic of this civilization? In other words, what is it that has waged the successful battle against despotism? The answer is, individualism. The present is the outcome of the struggle of the individual towards freedom and light. Individualism furnishes our thoughts and ideals with their motive power. The air we breathe is charged with it, and our babes are born with it in their hearts and mouths. Truly the earth and the heavens were made for man, and "he is monarch of all he surveys." It has been suggested that the present is the golden age of which the prophets dreamed, and that the martyrs to free- dom and truth are looking down upon us with smiles of satisfaction. But, hold! While we admit that individualism is glorious, and that its charms have taken us captive, we must not too hasti- ly conclude that it is perfect. We do rejoice in the freedom, and in A POLITICAL PROPHECY. 531 the equality of privileges that We willingly concede we possess. the almost transcendent value of our scientific achievements. We give all praise to our free schools, and to our intellectual attain- ments. We admire the kinder and more charitable feeling that ex- ists. But, granting all this and much more, for no pen can tell, no voice proclaim, the complete story of our civilization, is there not, underneath it all, a still small voice that tells us that things are not what we wish they were ? In our own nation, particularly, freedom and equality seem to have reached their zenith. Yet how many people are free? How many are equal? To what extent do the people make the laws and govern themselves? Have injustice, im- morality, and irreligion, been banished, or do they still exist among us ? Let us recall the statement made at the beginning of our dis- cussion to the effect that no principle can exist alone, that some- thing opposed to it is essential to its existence. "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things." — Nephi, 2: 11. II "For it must needs be that offenses come." —Matt. 18: 7. Is the undercurrent of discontent merely a natural and necessary oppo- sition? We hope not, for the cause of. our dissatisfaction seems too real to be a negative principle. Who, for instance, is pleased with the conditions that prevail regarding crime, selfishness, and poverty? The evils existing are not the necessary opposites to in- dividualism. Socialism is the opposite to individualism.It began its steady advance some time before the latter reached its climax, but the deep-seated cause of the evils now existing can in no way be attributed to the rise of socialism. What then is the cause ? We do not know that it is within the power of man to fully an- swer the question. We will offer but two suggestions toward its solution. First, much of the evil is the heritage of the past. The persistence of custom and habit, and the marvelous influence of heredity, are responsible for much of it. Second, individualism it- self is the cause of some of it. "But," you will say, "after the extravagant praise accorded individualism, how can you hold it to be a source of evil?" We justify the charge from the fact that a good principle pushed to an extreme becomes evil. There is a cer- tain line across which nothing can pass without changing its na- ture. Individualism appears to be near that line. (to be continued).