The Pure in Heart

The Pure in Heart

By Lloyd O. Ivie

Of all things, I am most thankful for the little lessons Na- ture has taught me. While upon my mission, I happened to be laboring in a sec- tion of the countrywhere heavy wind storms were not at all infrequent. One night such a storm arose, one of the most dreadful for quite a number of years. The rain beat in at every crack and crevice; houses, trees, electric line poles swayed to and fro, a number of them gave way and went crashing to the ground. How different was the following morning; everything was calm and peaceful; nothing but the damaged property re- mained as evidence of the raging storm. My companions and I mounted our wheels and started out eastward into the country to our daily work as missionaries in Japan. After about an hour's ride we came to a pine grove, which covered five or six acres of a little knoll. In its center was builded a very quaint little shrine. We stopped here Cor a few moments' rest, wandering about leisurely as we did so. Quite a large number of the trees were damaged; few in- deed escaped the ravages of the storm. I was surprised to no- tice that the trees which were broken down were dried and worm-eaten in the heart. Their bark and leaves were intact; it would have been, I judged, almost impossible before the storm to have picked out the defective trees. However, the storm had been able to do that with unfailing accuracy. Many of the good trees had suffered more or less the loss of decayed branches; some had received injury by having the storm-culled trees fall upon them. But only those which had been strong and firm within stood the test. _^ To the Saints of Zion there lies herein a great lesson. Who- so readeth let him understand." Raymond, Canada.

£lllilililllliiiiiiiiiini iiiiliiiiiiilllliiliil Ill inn in i until Illllllll liiillllllliiiiiiiitiiiiimillllltlllllllllltlliu