--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Naisbitt, Henry W. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 8 number: 2 published: 1904-12 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Henry W. Naisbitt, "The Value of Soul," *Improvement Era* 8, no. 2 (December 1904): 88–90.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0802unse 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: improvementera0802unse start_page: 88 end_page: 90 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1904-12) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0802unse 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. --- # The Value of Soul THE VALUE OF SOUL. BY HENRY W. NAISBITT. This caption is not intended to discuss the nature of soul, its high prerogatives, its wonderful functions, its sublime operations, or its eternal character. That needs an inspirational pen, and the language which is not of earth. It is to glorify the manifestation of soul- culture that I give a passing word or two, which might be dilated upon ad infinitum, and applied in many directions. A gentleman of culture, from Toronto, Canada, was a visitor at the Temple Block, and the writer was his privileged guide. This visitor was susceptible, appreciative and inquiring. He was a student; had made a life's hobby of the character of sound under many conditions; had endeavored to discover its phenomena, meeting a climax to his thought in the imperial acoustic properties of our inspirational edifice, the great Tabernacle, where all his experience was baffled, and many prior conclusions dissipated. As a component part of that wonderful building is the majestic organ and its marvelous choir. Being a member of the oratorio association, in Toronto, he said he would give anything if he could hear "The Hallelujah Chorus" with the full general rendition. Prof. Stephens had just returned from a three months' European observation and study, and was expected to meet with the choir that evening, so the visitor and the writer attended, and presented the request to the professor, who, in turn, asked the members if they could render it, as during his absence it had not been a part of their practice; feeling well at seeing the beaming countenance of their returned leader, the response was unanimous: "We will try," and they did not try alone, but gave it a magnificent rendition. THE VALVE OF SOUL. 89 At the close, our visitor enthusiastically said to the writer, "Oh, Mr. N we can do that just as well in Toronto, me- , chanically, but your choir puts soul into it" When told that this was a volunteer and unpaid choir, his face-expression was a study for an artist. The secret was out, and one's mind reverted to a worthy English divine, who, conversing with a famous actor inquired, "Why is it, Mr. , that you, by the rendering of fiction can move an audience to tears, while I, preaching the most solemn truths, can make no impression?" "Ah," said the student of human nature from the stage, "my Lord, you present your truths as though they were fiction, while I present the latter as though it were truth." The one was mechanical, the other had soul, 'twas this that gave vitality, life, power. The whole world needs, today, in the promulgation of saving doctrine, this potent freshness that comes of soul, the iteration and reiteration of truth backed by inspiration. The teacher must feel and know the truth himself; he must be a living apostle so that the hearers may say, "The gospel came unto us, not in word only, but in power and in much assurance." He, the teacher, must know it for himself, he must live its life, and enjoy its spirit; he must make his appeal from soul to soul, realizing the value and power of both truth and the waiting soul. Such a teacher will not be a parrot; conviction will follow the burning testimony, and the life-giving work; such a speaker will be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, to use the old prophetic symbol, whose lips will be touched as with a live coal from the altar; his eye will be single, and his whole being will be full of light, and he will gather a harvest of souls where the mechanical, cold, logician will fail, because sympathy is not aroused; the soul is not reached, and even if the hearer is converted, unless the spirit enters between the joints of the harness, the opponent or inquirer will stumble yet again. As the sculptor sees in the marble the hidden statue, and the artist paints on the canvas the soul's ideal, so the faithful laborer sees in the quarry of humanity the divine image — a sublime ideal; so the true minister of the word sees enshrouded in every man the possible ideal. It only needs toil and application, intelligent 90 IMPROVEMENT ERA. application, to develop the internal and external symbols of the divine. A jurist asked a famous artist what he mixed his colors with. The artist brusquely responded, ''Brains;" but this is but another name for intelligent soul, an adaptation of means to an end, or, as Paul had it, "Becoming all things to all men, if haply he might save some." It was tauntingly said of the Christ, "He saved others, himself he cannot save." Every laborer in the vineyard of God knows, or should know, how to save himself, or he will not be a successful savior. The divine order should be studied; the divine revelations should be his life; the economy and purpose of God, his daily bread; then, with the fire ofGod within him, he will hew down the idols of ignorance and superstition, and error will fall as Dagon fell before the ark of God. He will stand before his adversaries as Paul before Felix, Joseph Smith before his accusers; Brigham Young before the United States Commissioners; Joseph F. Smith before the Senate Committee. "Speak the truth in love," brethren, be in earnest, mean all you say, be valiant in testimony, seek to be wise, intelligent, patient, and "Cast not pearls before swine;" but, giving to all "a portion of meat in due season," avoid being mechanical, consecrating all your talents to the saving of mankind, so shall you be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge or presentation of the things of God. "Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do with all thy might," and if all the talent is not given you today, it shall be said hereafter, take from him who failed to use his talent and give to him who hath done what he could, for it hath been declared that "he who is faithful over a few things, shall be made ruler over many." It was this afflux of soul that redeemed the Bible from being the commonplace history of a stubborn and stiff-necked people, and placed it before mankind as the word of God from which the Christian and the Jewish world have drawn their inspiration, and saturated their literature from the earliest times. It is the same which, differirg in degree, perchance, gave to antiquity the superhuman strength of Homer and Dante, and to more modern times the richness of Milton, Shakespeare and other giants; to Paul,