--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Walter M. Wolfe collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 7 number: 9 published: 1904-07 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Walter M. Wolfe, "Converted by Signs," *Improvement Era* 7, no. 9 (July 1904): 647–652.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0709unse 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: improvementera0709unse start_page: 647 end_page: 652 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1904-07) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0709unse 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. --- # Converted by Signs CONVERTED BY SIGNS. BY WALTER M. WOLFE, ASSOCIATE EDITOR OF THE "MILLENNIAL STAR," LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND. It is only while in a state of purity itself that any church or creed can hope to win disciples by its intrinsic merits. Faith be- gets faith, hope begets hope, and love, love. The man who fails tq keep the entire law cannot preach that law effectively. If he attempt to do so, something will arise that will brand him as a hypocrite. The very disregard of law shows a lack of faith. If he keeps one law and disobeys another, the one that is slighted will inevitably rise in judgment against him. Hence, men often try to evade the commands of God by substituting some scheme of their own for obedience. Faith, hope and love cease to be factors in the evangelization of the human race, and a method of promulgating doctrine and creed has to be employed. There came a time in the history of the Former-day Church when, through the disobedience of those who professed the gos- pel, the Church, as it had been established by the Savior and his apostles, lapsed into apostasy. The beauties of Christ's teachings could no longer be used to attract honest souls to it, because the teachers themselves did not practice the virtues which Jesus in- culcated. So another means of proselyting became absolutely neces- sary to widen the field of Christianity, to increase the number of converts, and to place all the people of Europe under one spiritual over-lordship, that of the pope. The sword might be effectual under such generals as Belisa- rius and Clovis, but the sword, save the sword of the Spirit, was not a Christian weapon. Even in the cruel centuries that followed the era of Constantine, men did not quite forget that the gospel should be a gospel of peace. Faith as an element of conversion being lacking, and the sword being discredited, the only recourse left was to miracles and signs; and these were the means that, for more than a thousand years, were used to bring individuals and even nations into the fold of the church. Instead of signs follow- ing those who believed, signs preceded and were made the founda- tion of belief. Without the miracle there was no faith, and faith that is based solely upon miracles must need have fresh supply of the miraculous constantly, in order to keep it alive. As signs in- creased, faith waned; and when the reason of men obtained mas- tery of their credulity, there arose an intellectual revolution against the teachings and practices of the dominant church that eventually led to a spiritual reformation. For more than twelve hundred years prior to the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the now famil- iar verse, "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself," seemed to have been expurgated from the Bible. At all events its signifi- cance was utterly lost sight of. Men obtained their knowledge of religion not of themselves, nor for themselves, but only on the testimony, in a great majority of cases traditional, of others. There was incentive neither to acceptable work nor to implicit faith. Man was contented to go along taking for spiritual bread tlie barren stone —the myths and legends of what had been done generations before." These traditions belong not alone to the old world, nor to any one race of people. Wherever the great Catholic church has gone, there she has taken her tradition, for to her, tradition is sacred, and tradition has in every case been transformed so as to adapt itself to the immediate needs of the people with whom it has to do. There are legends of mighty events whereby the whole trend of history has been changed, legends that have almost become his- tory, such afe the appearance of the fiery cross in the heavens to the Emperor Constantine, and Clovis' miraculous victory over the Burgundians. There are other tales so manifestly improbable that they have been almost forgotten, save by the more superstitious who still make pilgrimages to Lourdes and Loretto. A third class of traditions contain in themselves an element of truth that ex- CONVERTED BY SIGNS. 649 aggerations, the natural result of time, and the desire of the priests to foster a belief in the miraculous, have so distorted that it has almost been hidden. Yet these legends of homely origin, told in simple language, have had a heart-power to win souls that the more mighty miracles did not possess. The one filled the human breast with awe, the other with love; and love has always been the most powerful and effective weapon in spiritual conquest. Two of these folk-legends that are little known are here given; the one deals with the Christianization of the Angles in Northumberland, the other with the conversion of the Zapotecs in Mexico. Both come to us from monkish sources. For a long lime after the Saxons of the Thames valley had been converted to Christianity, the Angles to the north of England refused to receive the new religion. They clung to their old gods with a tenacity that was worthy a better cause, and it was only by a sign that their hard hearts were changed and they received the gospel as it was brought them from Rome by Paulinus. It hap- pened in the early part of the seventh century that Edwin, the rightful heir to the throne of Deira, was an exile in the house of - Rsedwald, the king of the East Angles; and while he was there ^thelfrith, who had usurped the kingdom of Deira, sent to Rsed- wald and demanded his life.At first Rsedwald refused to betray his guest, but afterwards, when ^thelfrith had sent the third time and now threatened to come into East Anglia with an army. Rsed- wald consented to give up Edwin to his enemy. Now, Edwin had a friend who heard what Rsedwald had said to the messengers of ^thelfrith. So he went to Edwin in his chamber (for it was the first hour of the night), and he said, "Come forth out of the house." So Edwin came forth out of the house, and his friend said unto him, "Lo, Rsedwald hath promised- to slay thee. Follow me, therefore, and I will lead thee out of this land and hide thee where neither Rsedwald nor .Ethelfrith can find thee.'' But Edwin said, "I thank thee well, but I cannot follow thee. I have sworn to Rsedwald that I will dwell in his land, and I may not go back on that I have spoken." So his friend went his way, and Edwin sat alone on a stone before the house, and his heart was very sorrowful, and he knew not what to do or whither to turn Mm. Then there came a man and stood before him, a man of strange countenance and clad in strange raiment, such as Edwin had never before seen, and Edwin was afraid. Then said he, "Wherefore dost thou, while other men sleep, sit thus alone and sad on a stone be- fore the house?" And Edwin answered, "What is it to thee whether I abide this night within the house or without it?" Then the strange man answered and said, "Think not that I know thee not who thou art, and why thou art sad and sleepest not, and why thou sittest thus alone before the house. For I truly know thee, and I know what evils they are that thou fearest lest they should come upon thee. But tell me what reward wilt thou give unto him who shall free thee from thy sorrows, and shall persuade Raedwald that he shall not do thee any harm, nor deliver thee into the hands of them who seek thy life?" Then Edwin answered and said, "All that I have will I give as a reward to him that will do this thing for me." Again the stranger said, "And what wilt thou do, of a truth, if a man shall promise thee, of a truth, that thou shalt smite thine enemies and reign in their stead, and shalt be a mightier king than were any of thy forefathers?" And Edwin replied, "Yea, verily, if a man shall do this thing unto me, I will give him such a reward as shall be fitting for his good deeds." Then the strange man spake unto him the third time and said, "Yea, and when this thing hath come to pass, and when thou sittest on thy father's throne, what wilt thou do if he that promised thee all these things shall tell thee of a new life and of a new law, better than any that thou or thy fathers have known? Wilt thou then believe him, and obey him, and do such things as he shall speak unto thee for thy good?" And Edwin answered and said, "Yea, verily, if such a man shall deliver me out of my sorrows, and set me on my father's throne, I will believe him, and obey him in all things whatsoever he shall say unto me." Then the strange man laid his hand on Edwin's head, and spake unto him saying, "When this sign shall come unto thee, remember this night and thine own words, and delay not to do that which thou hast promised." Then the strange man van- ished out of Edwin's sight, and he saw him no more, and he said in his heart, "This is no man, but rather one of the great gods, or one of the kind elves that has spoken with me." So Edwin sat alone before the house, and he rejoiced greatly CONVERTED BY SIGNS. 651 in his heart at that which the strange man had said unto him, and he wondered who the man might be and whence he had come. Then came forth the friend who had before spoken to him, and he came with a joyful countenance and said, "Rise up, and come into the house, and lay aside thy sorrows, and let thy limbs rest in sleep, for the king's heart is changed, and he will do thee no harm, but will keep the promise that he hath sworn unto thee." Afterwards Rsedwald and Edwin fought with ^Ethelfrith and his army, and slew him, and Edwin did indeed sit on the throne of his father and become the greatest king in all England. He mar- ried a wife who was a Christian, and her priest, Paulinus, spake with him often about the gospel of Christ, but he would not accept it. Years after, when all the kings of the West Saxons were sub- ject to Edwin, and there was peace throughout the land, he was sitting by himself one day and pondering upon the things that Paulinus had told him. Then came Paulinus to him and laid his hand upon his head, and said, "Knowest thou this sign?" And Ed- win trembled and fell at his feet. Then Paulinus stretched forth his hand and lifted him up, and said unto him, "Be of good cheer, Edwin; the Lord whom I serve hath delivered thee out of the hand of thine enemies whom thou didst fear, and he hath given the kingdom which thou didst desire. Defer not then to do the thing which thou didst promise." Then Edwin knew that it was he who spake to him by night, as he sat at the gate of the house of Rsed- wald, and he believed. When the king was converted, the work was really done. Ed- win called a council of his wise men and told them all that had happened to him, and they believed also. So, as the result of a sign, all the folk of the north of England became Christians and were baptized, as was Edwin their king. In honor of his conver- sion, Edwin built a great church of wood in his capital city of York, and he made Paulinus bishop of York. Afterwards a mighty church of stone was built called Yorkminster, and today it is, next to the cathedral in Canterbury, the most important church in old England. We often think of the inhabitants of Mexico at the time of the conquest, with the exception of the Aztecs, as a barbarous people, and yet the tradition of the conversion of the Zapotecs will compare very favorably with the Anglo-Saxon legend given above. Midway between Oaxaca and Mitla, in the state of Oaxaca, is the little village of Santa Maria del Tule, famous for its big tree, which is said to be the largest in Mexico. It shades the greater part of the church-yard, and is an object of veneration to the In- dians. When Alvarado commenced his southward march of con- quest, it was beneath this tree that the Zapotec princes met to consider plans for resistance. It had been their council tree for generations. The new faith was exceedingly hard for the Zapotecs to accept. Had they been allowed to retain their old religion, they might have yielded fealty sooner. As it was, neither mailed war- rior or black-robed priest produced much effect upon them. One evening after the council had dispersed, a blind man came to rest under the wide-spreading branches. As he sat, he became aware of a presence near by, and a melodious voice asked him if he wished to receive his sight. Naturally he replied in the affirmative. His visitor then informed him that she was the Blessed Virgin, the pro- tector of the Christians, and that if he would believe her and obey her commands, he should see. The Indian made all the necessary promises, whereupon his eyes were touched, and looking up, he saw a being of such celestial brightness that he fell to the ground in a swoon. The Virgin raised him to his feet, and bade him go to the priests and princes of the Zapotecs, who had known him in the days of his affliction, and tell them who had healed him, and preach to them the religion of Jesus and Mary. It goes without saying that, by this miracle, the tribe was immediately brought to a sense of its lost condition, and the priests were kept as busy baptizing converts as they were in the days of Clovis, the Frank. A church was built close to the tree, and Santa Maria del Tule became the patroness of the Zapotecs. Pilgrimages are made here by blind In- dians, but, during our short stay in Tule, we could get track of no authenticated case of healing in this generation. Still the faith of the Indians is unshaken. For both the story of Edwin and that of the blind Indian there might have been originally the shadow of a foundation, but, as was the case with the ancient classic myths, by being repeated from generation to generation, the tale increased until the predominat- ing element, instead of truth, was fiction, and it was the fiction rathe-5' than th. <,rath. that possessed the power of attraction. It