Editor’s Table: Peace or War?

A CHARACTER TEST. 349 which the buildings for the world's fair were to be built. On their return, the party visited Independence and Kansas City. At mission headquarters short services were held, and it was at these services that the words above referred to were spoken. After speaking of the generous treatment he and his party had received at St. Louis, he said, "But as we associate with the wealthy and the eminent of the world, we must not forget that we are God's people— that we must be a light to the world. We must not for- get that it is our mission to uphold the high standard required by the gospel. When a man holding the priesthood begins to eat and drink with the drunken, to engage with the vile in their evil prac- tices, he cuts the cord which binds him to heaven. ... If any man is untrue to his wife, he cannot keep the spirit of his calling." He who is true to his brethren, true to his family, true to the government under which he lives, will be true to his God. He who is true to his God will be saved eternally in his celestial kingdom. "We seek after these things." Pbovo, Utah. Nannie L. Richards, widow of Franklin D. Richards, died Janu- ary 7, 1911. She was born in Arncliff, Yorkshire, England, April 15, 1828, and became a member of the Church in 1839. With her parents, she left Liverpool for America, February 5, 1842; she lived in St. Louis for two years, and later moved to Nauvoo, Illinois. On January 25, 1846, she was married to President Willard Richards, in the Nauvoo temple, and with him came west over the plains, in 1848, sharing all the hardships of the pioneers. On August 4, 1860, she settled in Farm- ington with her family, where she resided for more than thirty years, much of the time under extremely diverse financial circumstances. She moved to Nephi, June 1, 1891, and resided with her daughter until 1894, when she came to Salt Lake City living with her daughter Mary A. Grover. After the death of Dr. Willard Richards, March 11, 1854, she married Franklin D. Richards, March 6, 1857. She has three childron with Dr. Willard Richards— Alice Ann Smith, Mary A. Grover, and Dr. Stephen L. Richards; and three with Franklin D. Richards— Minerva E. Knowlton, George Franklin Richards and Frederick W. Richards; and adopted three children of her sister Sarah's. Her posterity numbers one hundred and seven persons. She was a patient, gentle, and kind mother, untiringly devoted to her children, a staunch and faithful mem- ber of the Church, and a worthy, upright citizen.

Editor's Table. Peace or War? Will the sound of war ere long be silenced in the land? Will disputes arising among the nations be settled by an authoritative court of justice? Surely there are events almost daily occurring that would confirm a belief in an affirmative answer to these questions. There was no war to speak of in the year just past, but many events occurred that argue for peace. Among them is the recent gift of ten million dollars by Andrew Carnegie, the interest of which, amounting to half a million annually, is to be used for the abolishment of war. And when that is accomplished, the income is to be used for the wiping away of the earth's next greatest evil. Then, there is the proposal to establish at The Hague an international court of arbitral justice. It is called to mind also that war between Peru and Chili and Peru and Ecuador was avoided by peace treaties. The threatening friction between Great Britain and Germany disappeared. The formation of the South African Union, and the signing of a peace treaty between Russia and Japan on July 4, were events tending to stimulate and encourage peace workers. Congress last spring authorized the appointment of a commission to study the problem relating to the limitations of armaments and kindred subjects. Other nations will perhaps appoint similar committees, and these problems will doubtless receive a thorough study before the third Hague conference shall be convened, four years hence. All these and many other signs of the coming of the hour when deliverance from the curse of war is at hand, are commend- able movements in the right direction, and should increase the faith and energy of the friends of peace everywhere.

EDITOR'S TABLE. 351 On the other hand, there are many opposite tendencies. Preparations for war in all the nations are vigorously pushed every day, and there is no abatement in the building of dreadnaughts, the drilling of armies, and in the expenditure of untold millions, wrenched from the masses, for these and other accoutrements of war. The United States alone has expended in the past ten years, in preparations for war, according to Representative Tawney of Minnesota, over two billion one hundred and ninety-two million dollars — enough to cover all the fire losses of the country from 1820 to 1905, or enough to build five Panama canals. These facts argue a serious postponement of universal good will. Many events, too, according to the word of the Lord, must yet happen before the daydawn of permanent peace. The wickedness of nations must be eliminated, the burdens of the oppressor must be lifted from the backs of the oppressed, sin must be smothered, and the love of Christ find a place in the individual hearts of men. The power of darkness must cease to prevail. The gospel of Jesus Christ must be more widely adopted. The Lord has said, "The hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion; and also the Lord shall have power over his Saints, and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment upon the world" (Doc. and Cov. 1: 35). To this end, the Lord is making known his will, his marvelous designs, to all mankind, and has declared that the day of judgment shall speed- ily come. We are told further that those who will not hear the voice of the Lord, in other words, who refuse to adopt in their lives the gospel of Jesus Christ, and fail to listen to his servants, "shall be cut off from among his people:" For they have strayed from mine ordinances and have broken mine everlasting covenant; They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own God, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall (Doc. and Cov. 1: 15, 16). The days will come, we are further told, when war will be poured out upon all nations:

And thus, with the sword, and by bloodshed, the inhabitants of the earth shall mourn; and with famine and plague and earthquakes, and the thunder of heaven, and the fierce and vivid lightning also, shall the inhabitants of the earth be made to feel the wrath, and indignation, and chastening hand of an Almighty God, until the consumption decreed hath made a full end of all nations (Doc. and Cov. 87: 1, 2, 6; 112: 24-26). It appears clear from these predictions that peace will come to the earth when men shall have come to a full knowledge of Christ, and shall have adopted his precepts— his message of peace. That very condition will put an end to warring nations, and establish in their stead one universal brotherhood of man. That this may be dene, the gospel of Jesus Christ — the mes- sage of peace — must be taught to all nations, kindreds, tongues and people — a work now being extensively done without price by the Latter-day Saints; — and when the righteous shall have adopted its teachings, then shall the end of conflict come. Then shall the Lord have power over his Saints, and shall reign in their midst. The sound of war shall be silenced, and justice shall be dispensed in righteousness by divine authority among the peoples of the earth. In the meantime, all these efforts tending to the establish- ment of peace are encouraging manifestations of the influence that the gospel is having upon mankind; but nevertheless, before the sun of universal peace shall arise over the world, we may yet look for many serious conflicts. Messages from the Missions. Elder John I. Benson, of Ostersund, Sweden, writes that the work of the Lord is progressing in his district, with prospects for new additions to the Church in the near future. The missionaries are well and enjoy- ing their labors. President C. Alvin Orme, of the Australian mission, writes, under date of November 22, 1910, that copies of the Era which reach their mission are read by the elders, and then loaned to Saints and friends, one magazine being used in several homes. They hear favorable comments

EDITORS TABLE. on the articles, and feel that much good is being accomplished by this free distribution of good magazine literature. "We welcome the Improvement Era to the six conferences in this mission, and wish con- tinued success to our magazine." LaPriel Gardner and Zella V. Farrer, writing from Zion City, Illi- nois, call attention to the fact that the eyes of the critical world are turned upon the "Mormons," and speak of the need there is of being true to ourselves and to the King, our Savior. "Often the entire people are judged by the unbecoming acts of only one or two among us; so, also, if every member of the Church is humble and becoming in his actions, it is a force for good to all who become acquainted with him. Our missionary work is thus not confined to the field alone, but to the lives and acts of every person who belongs to the Church at home. Our every act is either a light or a stumbling block to the world." These sisters spend the morning hours tracting, and in the afternoon visit with friends. Good results follow their labors. Elders Jesse Haws and Andrew Schurink, writing under date of November 28, from Deventer, Holland, one of the oldest and most his- toric Dutch cities, say: "Deventer is situated on the banks of Ijsel, one of the largest tributaries of the famous Rhine, It has about thirty-five thousand inhabit- ants, and the most interesting people in the world. They are of the good old freedom-loving Dutch, with their quaint, old houses, dykes, wooden shoes, and wonderful wind mills. The gospel is making rapid headway, and this nation, which battled eighty years for the privi- lege, of serving God according to the dic- tates of its people's own conscience, now has the privilege of hearing the fulness Jesse Haws, Provo; Andrew 0f the gospel preached. The people are Schurink, Salt Lake City. open-hearted and good, and so far as the great command, 'Love thy neighbor as thyself,' is concerned, the people of the United States could learn a great lesson from them. This year is a record-breaker on baptisms for the Netherlands, and the Saints and missionaries are abundantly blessed.'' Elder J. A. Vernon, writing from Larned, Kansas, December 20, 1910, says: "We are meeting with success and enjoying our work.

354 IMPRO VEMENT ERA . We recently received some phonograph records containing songs and solos by the Tabernacle choir and organ. On hearing them played, the people become inquisitive, which gives us many opportunities to explain the principles of the gospel, and many comments are made on them, especially on the song entitled "0 my Father!" The Era is a great help to us in preaching the gospel, and the elders look forward with longing for each issue. We wish the publishers and readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year." Elder 0. T. Harmon, writing from St. Johns, Kansas, December 15, calls attention to the Latter-day Saint Sunday school at Poe, Kansas, organized March 9, 1909, of which he encloses a photograph. The majority of the members are not Latter-day Saints, but are strong investigators, who are studying the Book of Mormon in their classes. The photo shows himself and Elder A. Dallen, of the St. Johns Con- ference, tracting at Ellsworth, Kansas. The elders enjoy their work, and sold, TRACTING, ELLSWORTH, KAN. during ^ ^^ Qf q^^ rRe hundred and thirty-eight Books of Mormon. L. D. S. SUNDAY SCHOOL, POE, KANSAS.