--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Nelson, N. L. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 23 number: 3 published: 1920-01 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Nelson, N. L., "The Camel and the Eye of the Needle," *Improvement Era* 23, no. 3 (January 1920): 187–195.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2303unse 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: improvementera2303unse start_page: 187 end_page: 195 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1920-01) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2303unse publication_year: 1920 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 1920, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The Camel and the Eye of the Needle ! THE CAMEL AND THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE 189 spending side. Nor will it take long to put our finger on the bad place. Let us first try what analogy may yield us. How much is a man entitled to eat—morally speaking? As — much as he can assimilate turn into muscle, and bone, and — nerve, and brain but not into fat. Fat is nature's fine for the sin of gluttony or laziness. Fat does not help — it loads and clogs and weakens. In like manner, riches unassimilated, or falsely" assimilated, puts useless wads and lumps of adipose upon the soul. It was perhaps this analogy that led the Savior to ex- — claim: "Blessed are the poor in spirit" the spirit unencum- — bered by the load that clogs and congests, and weakens "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." It would be a monstrous proposition that a man is entitled to eat all he can place before himself on the table; and nature very properly stamps it as such by limiting the capacity of his endoderm. But in the sight of heaven the parallel proposition is equally monstrous: that a man may own all that his acquisitive powers enable him to collect and store. Monstrous it is coming to be regarded also by man; for how to find a wealthlimitation, a natural bar to man's rapacity and avarice, is now the live question in social economics. Indeed, to the eye of — God, what spiritual deformities padded and humped with — gold must those millionaires appear, whose millions are used to oppress their fellows !And even when the self -loaded victims attempt, like Mr. Carnegie, to bless the world, what swollen and distorted figures they must cut in the sight of angels, waddling about, their spiritual limbs swathed and shackled by material dross ! What chances have they, so cumbered with material safeguards, of reaching the Land of Self-sacrifice, whence alone man finds his soul "People envy me my great wealth," said C. P. Huntington, the late railroad magnate. "They little realize what mountains of care rest upon the head of the rich man. Think how very little it takes to keep a man going in this world. This tie, for instance, is no better than my boot black may afford, if he choose. The lunch I take every day in yonder restaurant, may be shared by the humblest of my employes. A few hundred — dollars a year suffice for all my wants I can't spend more without feeling the pain of wastefulness. What, then, of my accumulating millions? Instead of my owning them, it would be truer to say they own me." What, therefore, is the real meaning of ownership? Not legal ownership, which is simple enough; but moral and spiritual ownership? How much property can a man really own, and still be a free man? Not many years ago, an American millionaire entered a — 190 IMPROVEMENT ERA bookdealer's establishment in New York and dazzled the clerks by the magnificence of his purchases. He wanted the best private library in America, and his list of books included the greatest names in the world of letters — all to be furnished in the most costly bindings. "And now," he said contemptuously, when his last orders were booked, "now, I'd like something to read. Got anything from Old Sleuth?" Query: What does it mean to own a great library? Let us in imagination follow these books on their journey to the classic hall which they are to adorn. Remote from the noisy city, we shall behold, newly risen in the heart of nature, a marble mansion such as no prince of the old world coald afford, save in dreams. Surrounding it we shall see ten thousand acres of woodland lately transformed into a landscape garden whose wealth of trees, flowers, and sculptured fountains, have been drawn from every country and every zone. Within the palace, and adjoining the library, we enter a gallery filled with treasures such as only a world ripe as our own could bring together. From its canvassed walls and marbled groups breathe forth the souls of a thousand masters whose hands have crumbled in the grave. Query: What does it mean to own such grounds, such a mansion, such a collection of art treasures? No doubt our mushroom Croesus gloats in secret because he can say: "Mine all — mine!" And his pleasure, such as it is, perhaps takes on a keener edge to hear his envious fellow-mortals cry: "His, all— his!" But is it possible for such a man to own these things? Setting aside the mere fact of legal title — because of its utter — irrelevancy what can a man of this type be said really to possess? Can the soul which is attuned to "Old Sleuth" have any part in Goethe and Shakespeare? Under the stimulus of nabob competition, and with unlimited millions to draw uoon, he may, indeed, assemble about him architects, painters, and sculptors, the artistic geniuses of the race; but can he come into spiritual accord with their works? Impossible. The iovs of art ownership which can come to him, must have no higher source than the pages of the Police Gazette. And as for the magnificent park on which he has lavished his millions, what part of it can be r^allv owned bv the man of groveling ta°tes? 0"lv th° drive alono- whVh his automobile thunders, or the nath that mark" the trail of h-* "rented ci^ar and his tainted breath. — A« for the re=t. the enchanting effect of arrangement, color, and eo^tour in nature's verdure; the kaleidoseonic changes of snnl'Vbt in its never-ending plav of — tints and shades, what is all this to him but an undifferentiated THE CAMEL AND THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE 191 — expanse of greenness precisely such a picture as appears to the eye of the ox or the ass! Here, then, is the proposition on which the whole problem of wealth ownership turns A man can possess only what he can : — appreciate only what he can enter into soul-correspondence with. He may, of course, have a legal title to a million times more than this; but that is not real ownership; it is merely dogin-the-manger ownership. The dog could not eat the hay, but he could keep the ox from eating it. The analogy between how much food we can digest and truly incorporate, and how much wealth we can assimilate by appreciation, holds therefore, both morally, and in relation to the scheme of attaining to eternal life. Assimilation and appreciation! rightly considered, both are organic processes. Assimlated food builds up the natural man, and appreciated — wealth, or rather the reactions represented by appreciated — wealth, builds up the spiritual man; that is to say, the struggle to win wealth on the one side, and on the other, the experiences — which wealth places in the pathway of our lives, books, music, — education, travel, art, and so on, tend to expand our spiritual life, tend to make us live more deeply and widely. But unless — they be organic processes unless there be true assimilation and — true appreciation both processes stultify; undigested food brings indigestion, wealth brings gilded slavery; and neither dyspeptic nor wealth-gorged slave is fitted to see the kingdom of God, let alone enter it. What then is the lesson we must learn in relation to wealth, if we would enter the kingdom of heaven, or, having entered, retain our communion with God? The most obvious thought is that all our wealth must be — in service, no part of it should be in vaults, which are symbols of distrust in God and distrust in man; in service in relation both to ourselves and our fellow men; requiring on the one hand our — keenest activity in keeping it up, for in such activity is spiritual — growth, and on the other, that active appreciation and gratitude to God for the comforts and blessings it brings, which is inseparable from true spiritual devotion. The second thought is that our wealth mast be limited; — otherwise we lose on both ends. Vaulted weaith the wealth — tapped only by writing a check, develops no resourcefulness in winning, nor gratitude to God in spending. It deadens, or — — earthens the spirit in both directions. So also of too much wealth; it absorbs all one's time in management, leaving no leisure for real apnreciation. A man thus clogged, so far from entering the kingdom of God, does not get even a glimpse of that spiritual order of life. — 192 IMPROVEMENT ERA But before we can come to closer quarters with this — thought, before we can make of it a suggestion practical in our — every-day lives we shall need to differentiate wealth into the three aspects in which man can enter into relations of appreciation with it. The first we may call cosmic ivealth. It is the wealth show- . ered upon all men alike by a loving Father; a form of wealth that can never be measured in terms of money, and therefore is at once the most exalted, and least appreciated, of all those external values with which the soul can correspond. Indeed, to nine people out of ten, it is not wealth at all; for most men and women are like Peter Bell: "He roved among the vales and streams, In the green wood and hollow dell. They were his dwelling day and night, But Nature ne'er could find the way Into the heart of Peter Bell. "In vain through every changeful year, Did Nature lead him as before; A primrose hy a river's brim A yellow primrose was to him And it was nothing more." — Foremost in the cosmic class, as intimated in this quota- — tion from Wordsworth, is the wealth of earth and sea and sky, with all their ever-changing, new-created glories; foremost, because they are fresh, as it were, every hour, from the Creator's hand. The history of mankind shows that where a race has come into close touch with nature, whether from the practical, the scientific, or the esthetic point of view, there sanity reigns, and virtue prevails in the home, the state, and the Church. Moreover, like air and water, these sources of soul-wealth are free. Man may never have the opportunity of visiting a famous art gallery; but if his eyes have been opened to the splendor of "skv and mountain wall, where God's great pictures liang," he will hardly be the poorer. The second greatest form of wealth may be called the altruistic. It is the wealth that may be held in common — the wealth which is no less mine, because it is equally thine. Wealth of this order is not consumed, but rather enhanced in value, the more widely it is used and appreciated. A beautiful city, with all its details of art and utility in public buildings, parks, lawns, fountains, statuary, free library, art gallery, bath, illuminations ^-all this may be mine to the full extent of my capacity to enjoy, without the need of spending a penny for the privilege; and it may also be yours, without interfering in the least with my ownership of it. THE CAMEL AND THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE 193 This is real wealth, the wealth that blesses both giver and receiver. Whoever finds his camel so heavily and bulkily loaded — that it cannot go through the eye of the needle, that is to say, through the little passenger-gate by the side of the big city gates — which are closed for the night, let him unload his top-heavy wealth into this wide field of altruism, as Mr. Carnegie did: let him "sell that which he hath" and give to the intellectually, socially, and spiritually hungry, and he shall then find joy in following the Christ into the kingdom of God. And as recipient of these millions, let me, on my part, not hesitate to live on a crust, dress in jeans or denims, if need be, — and sleep on straw little matter if the carnal man be pinched; but let me not fail to gormandize on this free wealth spread out for the expansion of my soul-life. Unfortunately, the notion prevails that culture is impossible without money. But how short-sighted is this dictum. If the millionaire's park is open to me, are not its beauties as free as nature's landscape on sky and mountainside? If I have access to a city library of a million volumes, need I remain illiterate because I cannot buy books? And with a city full of beautiful homes, shall my taste in architecture remain crude, because I can build no mansion of my own? Thanks to the advance in our civilization, the beggar in our streets may have access to soul-wealth, which kings and princes of the ancient world could not command. The beggar, I say, may have access to such wealth; but the fact that he remains a beggar, shows that he is blind to his op* portunities. That millions of men and women in higher ranks are equally blind, argues nothing against the freedom of opportunity. For, wherever there is access for appreciation, there real ownership begins. Only to him who hankers for the envy of his fellows, does it matter whether such ownership includes the notion of legal title. Indeed, how much better to be rich in taste and poor in purse, than to be poor in taste and rich in purse! The former has free range for appreciation, without the burden of maintenance; the latter is so loaded down with this burden, that he has little energy left with which to appreciate. He, therefore, is a wise man who, like Mr. Carnegie, shall say :"Here, take all my wealth use it thus and so, and it shall ; be yours the only condition I ask is the privilege of looking on ; — of appreciating in common with my fellow-men." Perhaps it would be ethically wrong thus to shirk the burden of administering one's surplus for the soul-enrichment of mankind. Nevertheless, such a burden is too great for any one man to undertake for his fellow men, and should, therefore, belong to the people 194 IMPROVEMENT ERA as a whole. The moment this is done, wealth in property becomes equally the burden and the blessing of all who hold it in common; in other words, it fits the condition of real wealth: what is mine, is equally thine. The Bible teaches that the proper use of gold is for paving purposes; and no truth could be more apt or cogent to the nature of our theme. Generalize the streets which John the — Revelator saw, into public utilities buildings, parks, libraries, museums, light, heat, power, water, and sewer services and — where would it be possible to invest better the surplus gold of a — community the wealth that keeps the camel from passing through the eye of the needle? Every man, however poor, thus becomes a multi-millionaire, to the extent of his capacity for real ownership. What is mine becomes thine, and what is thine becomes mine. Is it necessary now to characterize the third and lowest form of wealth? It is bread-and-butter wealth, the money needed immediately for daily food, clothing, and shelter. We have seen that wealth both of the cosmic and the altruistic kind tend alike to lead to the kingdom of God, to the extent of one's ownership in appreciation. Can this lowest form of wealth also help lift the soul to God? Yes, if it keep within the bound set for Adam: "By the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat thy bread;" if instead of merely signing a check, there be real anxiety and concern by each member of the family in contributing to the living; for thus shall our resourcefulness be sharpened, and thus, too, shall we feel our daily dependence upon God. What, then, as this bread-and-butter wealth increases to a swollen bank account? Herein lies the danger against which — Jesus warned his disciples. Vanity, pride, envy, worldliness all the evils that bar the way to the kingdom, come with ease and affluence. "Go, therefore, and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven." If thou dost value eternal life, change thy surplus wealth, which is of the "thine-alone" kind, to the form which becomes "thine and mine;" nay, begin to do this long before a surplus appear; do it while it is yet a real sacrifice while it shall mean plainer food, : less fashionable apparel, and a humbler home, — if thou wouldst have thy wealth aid, and not hinder, thy entrance into the kingdom of God. But, after all, does that change of wealth which, by ministering less to the carnal man, ministers more to the spiritual man, deserve to be called sacrifice? As members of the Church, we pay our tithing, truly enough; but which of us does not secretly feel he should be rewarded for his sacrifice? What! Sacrifice, when for a paltry hundred dollars a year I can own THE CAMEL AND THE EYE OF THE NEEDLE 195 Six magnificent temples! For are they less mine because they — are equally thine ? Sacrifice, when I can thereby own a score of Church schools and colleges? Sacrifice, when by giving up this small part of my individual property the message burning in my soul gets two thousand voices among every "people, tongue, and nation?" We talk with much unction about the privilege of going back to build up Jackson county. Do we realize that only he will be found worthy, who is enlightened enough to see that by consecrating his little, individual All, he immediately comes into ownership of the combined All of his fellow- workers? Has it become plain to the reader, by this time, that, so far from shutting out from the kingdom of God, wealth furnishes the dearest opportunity of all our achievements, of entering therein? Dearest, because no other acquirement tries man so to his heart's core, and crucifies selfishness so mercilessly, as does the Godly use of riches. He must also discern by now that the philsophy behind the discussion in this essay, is the philosophy behind the payment of tithing. Where else can Latter-day Saints so consecrate the wealth that cankers and corrodes, where else make it so divinely altruistic, almost cosmic, in its mission, as by giving it to the uses of the Lord? Gradually from giving one-tenth we shall come to understand that higher law of the United Order, in which we shall consecrate it all. Provo, Utah Robert A. Wilkins, of the Tintic stake of Zion, has sent us this picture of some of the 235 members of the Tintic stake, who took the Manti temple excursion from that stake, on September 1 and 2. The excursion was a complete success, and much good, spiritually and socially, was accomplished in the undertaking. The excursion is an indication of the great interest taken by the Latter-day Saints in temple work. Christianity Falsely So-Called A Late Instance of Intolerance and Bigotry By James E. Talmage, of the Council of the Twelve In accordance with widely advertised announcements a series of notable meetings took place in Pittsburgh, Pa., during the eight-day period Nov. 9 to 16, 1919. The occasion was the assembling of the Third World's Christian Citizenship Conference, under the auspices of an organization calling itself The National Reform Association, with headquarters in Pittsburgh. An elaborate program had been prepared, comprising twenty-seven meetings, of which on certain days two or more were conducted concurrently, and about eighty listed speakers, among whom were some of world-wide renown, several of national prominence, and others of lesser repute. Besides representatives from several of the Americas, there were delegates from most of the great countries of Europe and Asia. The subjects announced for discussion were of broad scope, as these few titles sufficiently show: The Kingship of Christ; The Family and Social Efficiency; The Sabbath and the State; The World to Be; Post-war Conditions in the Near East; Woman's Place in Public Life; The Federation of Nations; The World Conscience; The Antidote for Bolshevism; The Moral Element in Public Education, etc. In addition to addresses and discussions on these and numerous other topics of great importance and interest, several reports were listed, including the following: World Commission on the Family; World Commission on the Lord's Day; On Intemperance; On Capital and Labor; On Social Purity; On Education and World Commission on Mormonism. ; It was my privilege to attend several of the meetings; and I was much impressed by the able presentation of the principal subjects, and by the liberal provision made for discussion. I was present as the delegate from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and so registered on the first day of the Conference; furthermore, I held credentials as an official delegate from the State of Utah and from Salt Lake City, under appointment from the Acting Governor and the Mayor respectively. Other delegates similarly accredited from the State and the City were Major Wesley E. King, and President Geo. W. McCune of our Eastern States Mission. Major King : CHRISTIANITY FALSELY SO-CALLED 197 was also the representative of the Commercial Club and the Rotary Club of Salt Lake City. As already indicated, liberality, toleration, and freedom of speech were generally characteristic of the proceedings; but to this commendable order of things there was one striking exception, which by contrast with all the rest of the program stands as midnight is to sunshine, as foul license is to wholesome liberty, or as pagan superstition to Christian truth. This exceptional manifestation of the baser sort, which indeed must be classed as an exhibition of un-Christianlike conduct in extreme degree, occurred on Wednesday, Nov. 12, for which day a Conference on Mormonism was programmed. The preannounced topics included: Report of the World Commission of Mormonism; History and Tactics of Mormon Propaganda; The Mormon Menace; Mormonism and the Swiss; Defeating Mormon Proselyting. This special conference was held, as were all the greater assemblies, in the spacious and beautiful Syria Mosque. The estimated attendance was over two thousand during the forenoon and nearly double that number in the afternoon. The chairman in announcing the opening of the "Conference on Mormonism" made plain the fact that denunciation, not investigation, would be the key-note for the day; and the appointed speakers without exception followed this lead. Many of the old and self -refuting charges against the "Mormon" Church were reiterated with some modern amplifications, and with variations more absurd, if possible, than the original and time-worn fiction. Thus, it was vehemently asserted That the Church, through its alleged nation-wide political power, will make the final and effective decision as to who shall be the next President of the United States. That the Church controls the national Congress, both Senate and House. That elections in the Western States are manipulated and controlled by the Church through the corrupt use of its "vast wealth" and through 'Ait compelling force of its mandates. That the present sugar shortage is due to the power and cupidity of the Church, which was declared to hold control of both the beet and cane sugar business throughout the country. That the Church has subsidized in great measure the press of the country. That members of the Church are slaves in all things, material, spiritual, and particularly political, being compelled to obey the commands of their presiding officers. That every Latter-day Saint who has entered one of the Temples has been put under oath of treasonable hostility against the government of the United States. # . That the Church, directly, or through its secret agents, is bringing great numbers of women and girls from other states and from foreign