--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Smith, Joseph Fielding collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 22 number: 7 published: 1919-05 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Smith, Joseph Fielding, "Future Rewards," *Improvement Era* 22, no. 7 (May 1919): 621–623.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2207unse 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: improvementera2207unse start_page: 621 end_page: 623 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1919-05) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2207unse publication_year: 1919 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 1919, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Future Rewards FUTURE REWARDS 623 he may have attained, shall be most severe. "Hearken and hear, ye my people, saith the Lord and your God, ye whom I delight to bless with the greatest blessings, ye that hear me; and ye that hear me not will I curse, that have professed my name, with the heaviest of all cursings" (Doc. & Cov. 41:1). It would be well to read in connection with this subject the following: Luke 12:9-10; II Peter 2:19-21; Hebrews 6:4-6; Mosiah 3:24-27; Alma 34:32-35. Question 2. Aman who has accepted the testimony of Jesus in the flesh may inherit any of the three kingdom;?, according to the degree of faithfulness he has shown in keeping the comandments of the Lord. If he keeps the full law, he shall be entitled to enter the celestial kingdom. If he is willing to abide by only a portion of the law, and rejects the covenants which govern in the celestial kingdom, notwithstanding he is honest, virtuous and truthful, he shall be assigned to the terrestrial kingdom where other honorable men shall be found. If he enters into the Church, but rejects the light, and lives a life of disobedience and corruption, he may be assigned to the telestial kingdom and obtain such blessings as he is willing to receive because he was not willing to enjoy that which he might have received. Doc. & Cov. 88:32. Read Sec. 88:14-40. Those who enter the terrestrial kingdom are^ 1. Those who died without law. 2. Thespirits (souls) who were kept in prison because of their disobedience in the days of Noah, having rejected the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards receiving it. 3. Honorable men who reject the gospel because they are blinded by tradition and the false teachings and craftiness of men. 4. Those who receive of the Savior's glory, but not of the fulness. That these become members of the Church but refuse to accept the is, fulness of the gospel and its ordinances. 5. Those who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus. Question 3. This verse reads as follows: "These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; wherefore they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God." These enter into the terrestrial glory. Who are they? All who refuse to receive the fulness of the truth, or abide by the principles and ordinances of the everlasting gospel. They may have received a testimony; they may be able to testify that they know that Jesus is the Christ, but in their lives they have refused to accept ordinances which are essential to entrance into the celestial kingdom. They have refused to live the gospel, when they knew it to be true, or have been blinded by tradition, or for other cause have not been willing to walk in the light. In this class we could properly place those who refuse to take upon them the name of Christ, even though they belong to the Church; and those who are not willing when called to — 624 IMPROVEMENT ERA go forth and preach to a perverse world "Jesus Christ and him crucified." They may live clean lives; they may be honest, industrious, good citizens, and all that, but they are not willing to assume any portion of the labor which devolves upon members of the Church, in carrying on the great work of redemption of mankind. We have known members of the Church who have gone out in the world and have mingled with those not of our faith, and these members were ashamed to have it known that they were Latter-day Saints. Such persons certainly are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus. The Lord has said: "Whosoever, therefore, shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels." Over the Hills Over the hills where the road leads, A joy is waiting for you Waiting aglow where the sun shines Forth from thj glimmering blue. You'll find it there in the evening, If you're not afraid of the climb; Just stick to the place where the road leads Over the hills of time. Over the hills, with a steady tread; It's a long, long way to go; But a buoyant heart will take you there, While the tender zephyrs blow. And your truest wish is lingering Close by a sea of gold, To carry you on to the sun gates Across the fairy wold. Yes, the grade is steep where the road leads Up many a slope of the hills; And dangers galore will besiege you, If you falter or grow afraid. Be strong, and staunch, and brave, lad; And the treasures of life are thine; And your journev will be a happy one Over the hills of time. Garden City, Utah Ezra J. Paulsen. The Horrible Toad By George H. Maughn, Instructor in Biology, Ricks Normal College Of all the innocent, harmless creatures which render humanity a great service and receive in return the loathing and abuse of a mistaken world, the toad probably stands first. The story of the life of this animal is very interesting. It gets its class name, amphibia, from the fact that it spends the first part of its life in water, breathing much as the fish do by means of gills. As it develops it gradually changes into an air-breathing animal, finally developing hind legs and later fore legs. At this stage the "pollywog" may be seen coming to the surface of the water opening its little round mouth and taking in by a series of little gasps a new supply of air. The toad leaves the water while still quite small, its tail being absorbed within a few days by the rest of the body. From now on he becomes one of the best, but least loved friends of humanity. Little boys hate him, because he is so "stupid" and he often suffers inhuman treatment at their hands, even in spite of the boyish tradition, "that the cow will give bloody milk if they kill him." Boys, don't kill the toads. They may be slow to get out of the way, or you may pick one up instead of a potato, in the cellar, but they do not cause warts and they are as innocent of doing any harm to you as any creature could be. They feed upon insects that are most destructive to crops, such as the cut worm and grasshopper, they catch thousands of flies that might be, within a few weeks, the ancestors of millions more of these troublesome filthy carriers of disease. The "horrible toad" sitting in the sand near your doorstep may be standing guard over your home. He is snapping up those enemies that carry contagion and deposit germs upon the food you are eating. The toad spends the winter wherever it overtakes him, by simply digging down in the sand or soil and there by the power his skin has of taking oxygen from the soil, air, and by a slight breathing, he sleeps until spring. Frogs are near relatives of the toad, and have much the same economic value as the toad. Their powerful and graceful plunge into the pond as one approaches, as well as their merry soothing chorus of the night time make them the interesting and joy-bringing friends of many of us. Fishing for frogs was one of the great sports of my young boyhood. The thrill came in the fact that if it was done right, the frog would allow himself to be caught without a hook. After serving his time as a cow or a horse or some other animal, on a play farm, he was turned loose, perhaps to be a wiser frog. Rexburg, Idaho.