Strength for Today: A Poem

948 IMPROVEMENT ERA. the most important duties of the Mohammedan is to pray. A form of prayer in the Koran, corresponding to the Lord's prayer in our Bible, runs: IN THE NAME OF GOD. THE COMPASSIONATE, THE MERCIFUL. Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds, The Compassionate, the Merciful. The King of the day of judgment. Thee do we worship, and of Thee seek we help. Guide us in the right way, The way of those to whom Thou hast been gracious, Not of those with whom Thou art wroth, nor of the erring. The five most important duties imposed on the faithful Mohammedan are : 1 . The belief in Allah and his prophet Mohammed. 2, Five times each day must he stand facing Mecca and utter a formal prayer. 3. He must give alms, which in Mohammed's time were used in war. 4. He must fast at certain fixed times. 5. He must make his annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Such in brief is Islam. Gibbon and Carlyle put Mohammed among the greatest prophets of history, while Voltaire and Luther denounce him as the greatest imposter in the history of Christendom. There are, at the present time, according to Dr. Crawford H. Toy, of Harvard University, some two hundred million followers of Islam. Most of them live in Arabia and northern Africa. Salt Lake City, Utah. STRENGTH FOR TODAY. Strength for today is all we need, As there never will be a tomorrow; For tomorrow will prove but another today, With its measure of joy and sorrow. Then why forecast the trials of life With such sad and grave persistence, And wait and watch for a crowd of ills That as .yet have no existence? — Selected.