--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Hogenson, J. C. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 19 number: 11 published: 1916-09 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'J. C. Hogenson, "The Greatness of Little Things," *Improvement Era* 19, no. 11 (September 1916): 1011–1014.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera19011unse 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: improvementera19011unse start_page: 1011 end_page: 1014 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1916-09) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera19011unse publication_year: 1916 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 1916, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The Greatness of Little Things The Greatness of Little Things BY J. C. H0GENS0N, OF THE UTAH STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE We are all likely to feel that our lives should be made up of a few big things, instead of thousands of small things, but after all is said and done, the big things are always made up of little ones woven together. A wise man said, "he that despiseth small things, shall fall little by little." It is a fixed law of the universe that little things are but parts of the great. The grass does not spring up full grown by eruptions it rises by an increase so noiseless and ; gentle as not to disturb an angel's ear, perhaps to be invisible to an angel's eye. The rain does not fall in masses, but in drops, or even in the breathlike moisture of the finest mist. The planets do not leap from end to end of their orbits, but inch by inch, and. line by line they circle the heavens. Intellect, felling, habit, character, all become what they are through the influence of little things. And in morals and religion it is by little things, by little influences acting on us, or seemingly little decisions made by us, that all of us are building the structures of our real selves. The influences of little things are as real and as constantly about us as the air we breathe, or the light by which we see. These are the small, the often invisible, the almost unthought of strands which are weaving and twisting by millions to bind our characters to good or evil. In the social side of life, it is the same, the little seemingly unimportant things make us what we are. In Proverbs 27:17-18, we read: "As iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend, and as in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man." We are naturally social beings. We unconsciously partake of the influence of those who surround us. As individuals, we are responsible not only for the words we speak, and the acts we perform, but also for the unseen influence which we have upon those with whom we come in contact. Two pieces of steel rubbed together soon sharpen each other, whereas if they were moved separately, no sharpening would take place so two human beings whose intellects come together ; in some contest or in a social way, make both intellects brighter and better, and more quick and sharp. In still water, an image is clearly reflected, but a small pebble thrown into the water ripples the whole surface. A person who is constantly by himself 1012 IMPROVEMENT ERA advances very slowly, while he who comes in contact with his fellows daily, or even weekly, usually makes rapid progress. In our social work we can either bring out by our thoughts and acts, the good, happy, and pure, or the evil and sullen. If we are silent and sullen, the influence of our presence will permeate the whole atmosphere. If we are happy and glad, our countenance will reflect upon- our friends. In every activity of life we are in reality our brother's keeper. Our brothers and associates are mirrors in whose faces and acts we see ourselves reflected. Let our actions, therefore, be such that the reflection will be happy and glad and worthy of noble aspirations. , Sam Walter Foss brings out the thought of the dependence of man upon man, in his poem, "A Friend to Man:" There are hermit souls that live withdrawn, In the peace of their self-content. v There are souls like stars that dwell apart, In a fellowless firmament; There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths Where highways never ran, But let me live by the side of the road, And be a friend of man. Let me live in my house by the side of the road, Where the race of men go by; They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong, Wise, foolish, so am I. Then why should I sit in the scorner's seat, Or hurl the Cynic's ban? Let me live in my house by the side of the road, And be a friend to man. A man who believes in the little things believes in progress. He believes with George F. Hoar that "today is better than yesterday, and that tomorrow will be better than today." He believes in the bright sunshine, the pure air, the clear, blue sky, the rippling, sparkling water, the fertile soil, the men and women, and the boys and girls, if he would make his life well rounded and complete. He takes a soil grain and, small as it is, he realizes its true gieatness. He sees it in its native bed among thousands a*nd millions of other soil grains that make up the soil. He sees each surrounded by a thin film of moisture. He sees part of this moisture moving either up or down or from side to side from one soil grain to another, depending upon the climatic conditions existing at the surface of the soil and where plant roots are penetrating. He sees this film-moisture dissolving certain substances from the soil grain. He sees the tiny root hairs of plants push their way among the soil grains and come in contact with this moisture surrounding the soil grain. He sees part of this moisture absorbed by the root hairs, and with it the substances which THE GREATNESS OF LITTLE THINGS 1013 it holds in solution. He sees this water pass on up into the larger roots, up into the stem of the plant, into the leaves and there evaporate, leaving the dissolved substances which it held in solution in the leaves. He sees air entering the leaves, and the substances uniting with certain gasses from the air, thus forming certain foods which are taken to various parts of the plant to be used in its growth and development, and thus a plant grows and is builded up. He picks up a potato, and sees not merely a tuber of starchy material, but a whole colony of living individuals each one capable of separate existence. He sees the potato itself composed of various layers, each consisting of a large number of cells filled more or less with starch grains. He sees this potato, as it is cooking, each starch grain swell with heat until finally the cell walls burst and a white, starchy, mealy mass is the result. He sees a potato after it is planted in the soil, each eye germinating and sending stems into the air, each competing for existence. He sees small leaves develop on the stems beneath the surface of the soil and from the same place on the stem he sees a tiny sprout begin to grow. He sees the end of this enlarge until a new potato is formed. He sees in each step in potato culture the same greatness of the small, seemingly unimportant, things. In the kernel of corn, in the grain of wheat, the same greatness is manifest. And so we could continue to find the great, the wonderful, the elevating, the inspiring, the beautiful, in the small things around us. Seeing all this greatness where we did not expect it, we are likely to say with William Knox: "Oh, Why Should the Spirit of Mortal be Proud?' But, reflecting for a time, we learn to say with Sir Humphrey Davy: "Life is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, but of little things, in which smiles and kindness, and small obligations, given habitually, are what win and preserve the heart and secure comfort." As parents, the little things we say or do in the presence of our children, will have a great influence upon their future welfare. I recall hearing of a family consisting of father, mother, and two sons, one eight and the other five. The father and the older son were great companions, and were together whenever opportunity permitted. One morning as the father and son came out to the barn, they found there a newly-born Jersey calf. The father, in the joy of his heart said, "Tommy, this little calf is yours, you must take it, care for it, and keep it as long as you like." As the boy and the calf grew, they became very much attached to each other. The last thing which the boy did in the morning before he went to school was to look after his little calf. The first thing he did in the afternoon upon returning from school was to see his calf. ! 1014 IMPROVEMENT ERA One day, while the boy was at school, a calf buyer came along and seeing the Jersey calf in the yard stopped to look at it - , and ask if it was for sale. The father said, "No," that it belonged to his son. "I will give you $40 for the calf," said the man. "No it is not for sale." "Well I will make it $60." The father looked at the calf, scratched his head, and then said to himself, "Sixty dollars, that is certainly more than the calf is worth, and I don't suppose Tommy will care so much after all." Then, aloud to the man, he said, "All right, I will sell him to you for sixty dollars." The bargain was made, and the calf was taken away. The father went back to his work with a heavy heart and a stricken conscience. When the boy came from school, the first thing he did was to go out to the barn to see his calf. He searched through the barn, and the yard, but no calf could be found. He then went to his father with tears of confidence in his eyes, and asked if he knew where his calf was, as he had searched everywhere and could not find it. Then it was that the father, for the first time, realized what he had done. The boy gazed steadily at his father while he was telling him of the bargain he had made. "You see, the calf was not worth sixty dollars, I will give you thirty dollars and you can get another calf and we will still have thirty dollars." Then it was that the boy said, "I thought that you said the calf was mine." "Well, yes, I did say that, but we could not afford to lose such a bargain." The boy left his father suddenly, and went home and cried. After that, the boy and father were not so companionable as they had been before. The son had learned that his father, whom he had thought to be perfect, was only a common man, that he did not always mean what he said, and did not always keep his promises. In short, he had lost confidence in his father and was disappointed in him. That little thing was the starting point which began the separation of father and son. As time went on, they became almost strangers to each other. No longer did the son tell the little incidents which had happened during the day. No longer did he go to his father for advice and counsel. He kept more to himself, and finally separated from his father's companionship altogether. Let us strive to the best of our ability to retain the confidence of our children, and to keep the promises which we make to them. So long as we can do this, there is little danger of them going astray. It is when they lose confidence in their father or mother, that they begin to drift apart from them, and then it is that they are likely to stray from the path of rectitude and right. If we look well to the little things, the big ones will take care of themselves as they come to us in life.