Priesthood Quorums’ Table

Priesthood Quorums' Table. The Judgment. — "If a missionary, through diligent labor, bring a soul unto the Lord and accomplish many other good works, after which he turn from the Lord and apostatize and become an atrocious sinner, will he receive any reward for the good he did while working righteousness, or will that be blotted out? Take, for example, Judas Iscariot." There are two classes of sinners, those who may be forgiven, and the sons of perdition who may not be forgiven. Every man will be judged according to his works and the deeds which he has done. If he has done evil, sinned and become wicked, he will have to answer for his sin and wickedness and evil in the place of punishment, until the judgment of the Lord shall have been satisfied, and he shall be willing to repent. If a man has done good works, he will receive his reward. The good he has done will stand to his credit forever, provided, of course, he shall not have sinned so grievously that he cannot repent; for, if he repent not, it is clear that the good which he has done will then be of no benefit to him, as he chooses to remain in punishment. As to the second class of sinners, the sons of perdition, who are guilty of shedding innocent blood, or who deny the Son after the Father has revealed him, the end of their punishment, and the place thereof, and their torment, no man knows. God is very merciful, and all his judgments are not given unto men. (Read section 19 of the Doctrine and Covenants, also section 29: 30; and section 76). Summing up the matter, it is clear from the scriptures that all men will receive their rewards according to their works, tempered by the justice and mercy of God. If they have done good, they will be rewarded for that good; if they have done evil, they will receive punishment for that evil. If they have done both good and evil, to which class we all belong, they may rest assured that they will be rewarded for the good and punished for the evil. Playing Cards. — "Is playing cards on Sunday breaking the Sabbath— not observing it nor keeping it holy — therefore breaking one of the Ten Commandments? Is card-playing a sin under such conditions?" We consider that it would be breaking the Sabbath day, and that it would be very harmful to play cards on the Sabbath. It is wrong to play cards at any time, because of the evils that are almost sure to re-

664 IMPROVEMENT ERA. suit from indulgences in this line of amusement. To know that an act is wrong and then to do it, is a grievous sin; to knov to do good and not to do it is a sin. Some people consider cards an innocent game. To show that it is not so, President Smith relates an incident of a young man who was a playmate of his in Nauvoo and who later came to Utah and went with him to Hawaii on a mission. This young man, shortly after their arrival in Utah after their mission was filled, was married. He had a good home and wife and for those days was well provided for. Through some means or other he became infatuated with card-playing and spent evenings at that game. President Smith at that time lived close by and was frequently invited in with him to play cards. He also finally became interested in cards, and spent many evenings with his friend at the game. After a while he found that he was not fit for duty, and that with it there was an excitement that led him away from his more serious thoughts and occupations. Discovering this, President Smith said to himself: "This is getting monotonous, I must quit. I have other things to do than to waste my time with cards. I must learn to do something, to get an education, to progress, to make achievement in life. I can't afford to spend my time in wasteful, exciting amusement.'' He so told his friend, and that was the end of it with President Smith. His friend, however, paid no attention to the warning, but kept right on with his cards The next thing he indulged in beer at his home to keep up the interest; and this paling, he ordered whisky in order to keep up the excitement, — and this was the way of an innocent, social game of cards. The result was that in the end his friend, who refused to consider cards a sin and evil, became so reckless with drink that he was finally picked up in the gutter and became a vagabond and an outcast, and even committed grievous sin, so grievous that he was compelled to leave the country. He was gone for years, but finally died a miserable outcast, shunned by all and respected by none — all for an innocent game of cards. President Smith is so set upon the truth that cards are evil that he will not tolerate them either on Sundays nor on any other day, and absolutely forbids his family from playing cards under any conditions. He has also made this declaration to the public and advises the Saints generally throughout the Church to leave cards severely alone. It is a waste of time, and a dangerous and useless diversion, and he can see no good in cards in any way. Some years ago he wrote several articles in the Era and Juvenile condemning the practice of cards and advising the Latter-day Saints to quit that amusement. This has generally been adhered to, in families anxious to obey counsel and believe that therein is safety.