Three Practical Sermons

Three Practical Sermons* On Sowing Wheat — Avoiding Speculators — Singing Suitable Songs

By Bishop Charles W. Nibley

I have enjoyed the spirit of this conference more, I think, than any previous conference that I have ever attended. There are two or three items that I would like to briefly touch upon.

Save Enough Wheat for Food and Seed

We have been blessed with seed time and harvest and the earth has yielded in rich abundance which is now being gath- ered by the farmers of our land. The Government has fixed the price at which wheat shall be sold. The Government has also issued instructions that no great amount of wheat shall be stored to be held for future use. But I believe it is the part of wisdom that our people should be counseled that they should not dispose of all the wheat they have, but save at least enough for seed for the fall and spring planting, and also sufficient quantity for bread, at least until another harvest. If we are not careful, pretty much all of the wheat that we have raised will be shipped out of the country, and before next fall we will probably be — importing flour from Minneapolis if we can get it. So, my brethren and sisters, see to it that you retain enough of the wheat you have raised, for seed, and for food, that not only you yourselves may be fed by it, but that you may have sufficient to feed the communities in which you reside; so that if you have an extra loaf or an extra pound or two of wheat more than you yourselves need, it will provide food for the poor, or for people who have to buy from you, and I feel sure the Government would not wish you to do otherwise than to care for those of your own household and of your own community. Probably that will do for one sermon.

Avoid Speculators, Invest Your Surplus in Liberty Bonds One other point. People this year, in every activity, whether on the farm or the ranch, in sheep or cattle or who are mer-

*These very practical and timely remarks were made at a meeting of the October conference, 1917.

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chandising, have been blessed with unexampled prosperity in a temporal way. Brother George Albert Smith called attention to the fact last night in the priesthood meeting, and very wisely advised the people to take care of what the Lord is now giving them, that which he is putting into their hands, and not allow it to be wasted in foolish speculations. He called attention to the fact that speculators would be after you in great number with every sort of scheme to allure you to investing money whereby you are sure to get rich quick. The oil man will show you where there are great fortunes in oil, and the coal man will make you rich from coal, and the rubber man has got fortunes for you in rubber, if you will only listen to him, and the gas man can prove there are millions in natural gas; and it is a fact that that kind of a promoter usually has a good flow of natural gas himself. So there are fortunes for you everywhere, if you will only invest in these wild schemes, part with your money and get rich quickly. We read that the fellow who parts quickly with his money is not very wise. The fool and his money do rot stick together very long; they are soon parted, and all these promoters, so many of them coming around now in this year of your greatest prosperity, to separate you from your money. Well, don't you let them do it. And you, sisters, take my advice — as the phrase is, "take it from me" —don't allow your husbands to separate themselves from their money and put it into some- thing they don't know anything about. — But if you have a little surplus money and you will have it with the prices now paid for grain and hay and potatoes and

sheep and cattle and wool, and for all products of the soil, you — will have cosiderable surplus let me tell you what to do with it. If you have $100 surplus, buy a Liberty Bond. You can't lose on that. That is good for all time, and if you want to go to a bank you can borrow money on it more than you can in propor- tion on your own farm, because on your farms the insurance companies and other loaning companies, including the banks, will not loan more than about 50 per cent of the land's value. But if you have a little surplus money, and put it into Liberty Bonds, the banks will advance you a much larger percentage than they will on your land. So I repeat the good words of advice offered by Elder George Albert Smith last night. Don't allow these men to separate you from your money. Hang on to it. Put it into something that you know will do you some good. Put it into something that you yourselves know some- thing about. That is another sermon.

Congregational Singing and Selecting Suitable Songs Now just one minute more. I would like to encourage the idea in our wards and stakes of this Church, and also outside o»

68 IMPROVEMENT ERA

the Church, of that which is being encouraged in the east very extensively, and that is community singing, congregational sing- ing. I do not object to solos. We had some here this morning — never any better anywhere in the world. They were very fine. I love to hear them. But solos may be overdone. As a rule people love to sing. There is something in the spirit of song when you can get the people to join in it. Even though some of us can't sing so well, that gives forth an inspiration which cannot be otherwise found. When we all sing together there is a spirit, an influence and a power — — an inspirational power that goes with it, that fires the soul in a way that it can't otherwise be touched or fired. So this spirit of comradeship, which the war is very largely responsible for in the east, has taken hold of the people, and they are getting together all classes of nation- alities, blending together their voices and singing patriotic songs and other songs. Especially in our congregations of the Saints, we should have more of congregational singing. We should bring our hymn books to meeting with us and then sing, have everybody sing, and everybody will feel better for it. And let me advise our — — leaders of choirs if I may presume that much to try when they do have selections in "Mormon" meetings, that they choose such selections as fit the occasion. A number of the leading brethren attended a meeting some time ago, at which meeting I was present, and the brother who was presiding had a slip of paper in his hand. I happened to sit next to him. There were these prominent brethren of the Church at a Latter-day Saint meeting, although there were quite a number present who were not Latter-day Saints, but it was a "Mormon" meeting for "Mor- mon" purposes. I looked over his list of songs on the paper that he held in his hand, which had been handed to him by the choir leader, and not one of them had the least reference to "Mormon" thought, "Mormon" ideas, or "Mormon" anything about it. Well, I don't believe that is just right. I have seen, too, some of our brethren, leaders of choirs, select a soloist who will come forward — someone with a good — voice, who is capable of good singing who will get up in a "Mormon" meeting and commence to sing "My Rosary." Well now, "My Rosary" is fine music and a good song for a Catholic meeting, but it is entirely out of place in a "Mormon" meeting. That song recites how "I count my beads and kiss my Cross," and all that sort of thing. Well, I don't do either, I don't be- lieve in doing either, and you don't believe in it. So, a song like that is entirely out of place in a "Mormon" meeting, as much so, I think, as it would be to sing, "We thank Thee, God, for a Prophet, to guide us in these Latter Days," in a Catholic meeting.

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Then I have heard a soloist brought in who would sing a song entirely at variance from our religious thought. Perhaps it would be the song "Without One Stain," the idea being that

"Jesus had done everything; he has cleansed me; I haven't done anything myself, but I am going right up without one stain." 1 have thought: Yes, you will! Not if He knows it, you won't. There are too many stains on people who have not by sincere and heartfelt repentance cleansed themselves from stains. Such a song, therefore, is entirely out of place in a "Mormon" meet- ing. And you will hear, as one of the brethren suggests, the song about "The Beautiful Isle of Somewhere." Well, yes, that is in line with the same thought. They do not belong and should not have place in our meetings. Now, my brethren and sisters, my time is up, I see, and this is my third sermon. Let us have more of community singing, congregational singing. Let us sing songs of Zion. They carry with them a spirit and an influence that cannot be found with any other songs, and they thrill the soul as nothing else will touch it and thrill it. Invite our neighbors to our meetings that they also may enjoy the spirit of song with us. God bless you. Amen.

One of the Wonders of the War One most remarkable and of the unusual photographs to arrive in this country since the outbreak of the war shows this wonder of the mammoth struggle. The great task of building this staircase up the side of the mountain to the Tafane, a very rugged and steep group of peaks on the Isonzo front, to aid in the progress of the troops, is one of the greatest accomplish- ments of the Italian engineers. The staircase extends two thousand metres up the side of the moun- tain. The Italian engineers more than any others have to face the most aggravating problems. This feat gives an idea of the great tasks the engineers have to en- counter. The staircase was built during a recent drive of the Ital- ians. The troops were movedso fast that they surprised the Aus- trians and drove them from their positions. The photo is extremely picturesque, and shows the wond- ers of the country where the Ital- ians are driving back the Aus- trian*. Copyright Underwood & Underwood, N. Y.