The First Commandment

The First Commandment By C. L. Olsen, M. D.

In Three Parts —Part II "Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord. * * * Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them."

This quotation from the Psalmist represents the scriptural view of the matter. To some, these words lend comfort; others consider them a broken reed upon which poor, puzzled parents, tried to the core, may lean for support; and to the unbeliever and to those who can see only the material side of life, they amount to a huge joke —for who could believe a sane man or woman really happy, while struggling to rear a large family of children! Few, indeed, nowadays, care to discuss publicly the ques- tion of child-bearing, because many, even otherwise good, capable men and women, boldly take the ground that it is al- together a matter of personal concern. That such is not the case entirely, however, is not difficult to comprehend. But none is more blind than he who will not see. Another reason is the modern notion of personal independence and the grow-

ing disregard for anything that tends to curb individual inclina- tions, or that in the least interferes with the modern tendency of living a life of pleasure and freedom from care. Once in a great while a voice can be heard in the distance, pleading for a return to normal family life in other words,— that men and women, as parents, live a natural, married life, shunning none of its responsibilities. Theodore Roosevelt, for instance, that intrepid, red-blooded American, how scathingly he condemns the "life of slothful ease," as he terms it. "A mere life of ease," says he, "is not in the end a very satisfac- tory life, and, above all, it is a life which ultimately unfits those who follow it for serious work in the world." To be natural, married men must be men, not merely males. They must be vigorously maculine; willing to furnish wife and children with a comfortable home; be thoughtful providers and fearless defenders of the weak. And as for the women, we will let Roosevelt speak: "The woman must be the housewife, the helpmeet, the homemaker, the wise and fearless mother of many healthy children." Lo, this is natural. And

1048 IMPROVEMENT ERA if we live according to nature, allowing nature to take its course, all will be well with us. It is only when we, short- sighted mortals, take the reins in our own hands, or the bit in our teeth, so to speak, trying to improve upon the plan of creation, that trouble is in store for us. Barrenness is not a virtue; fruitfulness is. Barrenness is the exception; it is, indeed, very rare, compared with the general rule in any race. To "multiply and replenish," is a law applicable to all animate beings. The human family, at the head of all creation, as was clearly the intention of the Creator, should set an example in obeying this universal law. Realizing this, the immortal Shakespeare wrote:

"Torches are made to light, jewels to wear, Dainties to taste, fresh beauty for the use, Herbs for their smell, and sappy plants to bear; Things growing to themselves are growth's abuse: Seeds spring from seeds, and beauty breedeth beauty, — Thou wast begot to get it is thy duty. Upon the earth's increase why shouldst thou feed, Unless the earth with thy increase be fed? By law of Nature thou art bound to breed, That thine may live, when thou thyself art dead; And so in spite of death thou dost survive, In that thy likeness still is left alive."

It is taken for granted that the reader accepts the proposi- tion that, for obvious reasons, married life is the only proper state or condition in which men and women can live together, sexually. To reach the point: it might be stated that as an invariable rule, a normal married couple instinctively yearn for offspring. With such a normal couple, living a normal life and under normal conditions, children are always welcome guests. With most men, but with women particularly, being brought to realize the stern reality that they are doomed to live a life of childless solitude, the condition is well-nigh un- bearable. — Those fortunately comparatively few, however who, from causes beyond their control, are deprived of this "heritage," are inclined first, to criticize themselves severely, in attempting to discover the cause; and, second, to make every effort to remedy the abnormal condition. The first attitude is natural; the latter course, praiseworthy. And no refined per- son would, either by inuendo or otherwise, utter one word calculated to wound the sensitive feelings of such unfortunate mortals. In noticing the easy, indolent, good-for-nothing life led by many ultra-fashionable men and women, who have adopted the damnable practice of either altogether preventing children from being born to them, or of curtailing the number of chil-

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT 1049

dren in their family, the intelligent observer cannot fail to see that all is not gold, that glitters. Here, happiness is for the most part only a sham; the forced smile, a deception. In spite of outward appearances, the wealth and luxury, the glamor and glare, the studied efforts at appearing contented, there is a secret something proclaiming the whole scheme a miserable make-believe; for, the absence of frolicking children — — who thrive only in the warm atmosphere of real love bear mute evidence that something is wrong in that household. As a rule there is a spirit pervading such a loveless dwelling (not a home) which is absolutely repulsive to pure-minded, morally clean parents who, trusting God, do not put a straw in the way for an unborn spirit to be clothed in flesh, according to the plan of the great Creator. Many such childless domiciles might be likened "unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness." Think of the blighted hopes of the many pure, immaculate spirits who, when trying to enter, have had the doors of inhospitality slammed in their faces by human beings whom dumb brutes could teach a lesson; think of the wicked practices going on within, the premeditated evasion of natural duties and intentional disregard for divine law. — Angels well might weep they undoubtedly do. And is it not clothfulness, to say the least, in the strong and powerful man and the beautiful woman who, "with malice aforethought," evade the law and for the sake of personal comfort, and out of purely selfish motives, refuse to "multiply and replenish?" We have learned by heart the apparently plausible argu- ments brought out to sustain the sophistry that, as regards children, "it is not quantity but quality that counts." Who can tell in advance with any degree of certainty the quality of his child? That time alone will tell. The claim or assump- tion that where there are two children in a family, their qual- ity will be better than if there were four, is sheer nonsense. For where would such reasoning end? The facts are that in rearing the child to manhood or womanhood, parents or other guardians may notice certain inclinations, traits and desires in the child, which clearly are inherent in this particular individ- ual; and this, for the very good reason, that inasmuch as no two persons are alike, there cannot be two spirits absolutely alike. As to the ultimate quality of the individuals entrusted to our care, all the best of us can do is to teach them correct principles, set them a good example, and endeavor to bring them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. The rest must be left to the individuals themselves, who are endowed — with free agency to choose the life they wish to lead the result

1050 IMPROVEMENT ERA of which determines the quality of each particular person. The quality may be good, bad or indifferent, whether there are one child or a dozen children in the same family. "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou earnest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet." (Jer. 1:5.) Plain words, surely. Jeremiah was sanctified (set apart) and ordained a prophet before he in- habited the earthly tabernacle obtained through his earthly — parents. In other words, he was potentially a prophet he had the quality, or possessed the "stuff," that prophets are made of; but it remained for him to "make good." Jeremiah's "qual- ity" did not depend on whether or not his earthly father had few or many children. The writer, believing he has set a good example (he has sixteen children of his own), pleads for the spirits destined to come forth upon this earth and who, no doubt, are anxiously awaiting their opportunity to receive an earthly tabernacle. Let them come; and hinder them not. Give them the same privileges that we have received. It is part of our mission on earth. We are all more or less acquainted with the stock argu- ments brought forward by the opponents of this view, which view is held to be a cardinal truth by the Latter-day Saints in particu-

lar. Some of these arguments have already been referred to. It was Daudet who, in treating this subject, referred to "the fear of maternity, the haunting terror of the young wife of the present day." But why should maternity be such a haunting terror to woman today? The alwise Creator fitted and prepared woman precisely for her role in the drama of life; and if she will but cheerfully endeavor to take her allotted part on this stage, the Lord will assuredly come to her assistance, in time of need. Fashion, improper clothing, corsets, high-heeled shoes, er- ror in diet, immoderate dancing and other amusements, late hours, novel-reading, indolence and inactivity, cramming at school, high-pressure education, and numerous other causes have been urged as reasons why childbearing today is something entirely different from what it was in olden times. Then — inas- much as the same causes produce the same effects —change the program: come back to first principles. Live a natural life and observe the well-known laws of nature; then fear of maternity will cease to be the haunting terror it is claimed to be today.