--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Pratt, Elmer W. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 24 number: 11 published: 1921-09 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Elmer W. Pratt, "A Warning Word," *Improvement Era* 24, no. 11 (September 1921): 1018–1019.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera24011unse 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: improvementera24011unse start_page: 1018 end_page: 1019 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1921-09) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera24011unse publication_year: 1921 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 1921, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # A Warning Word A Warning Word By Elmer W. Pratt This know, also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blas- phemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful., unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of Cod. Thus did Paul, the apostle, predict the conditions of the present day. To my young friends who have been reared among a righteous people, amid peaceful surroundings, who do not know the wickedness of the world, nor realize the workings of Satan in our own midst, I would speak a word of warning: Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. The burden of my message is to call to your minds a com- mandment of God: "Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord, thy God, giveth thee." It is quite evident that a soldier learns a great deal about war by merely being in a battle. On the same principle, we can all learn worth-while things about life just by living. Ex- perience gained in the battle of life gives our parents the right to speak with authority. We are told that to know the only true God, and his Son Jesus Christ, is life eternal. All Latter-day Saints believe in a personal God, and we have some idea of his character and at- tributes. But we cannot know him except as we become like him. And we cannot become like him unless we obey the laws and commandments which, through his mercy, he has given to us. Let me ask, can we keep the statutes of our Father in heaven if we abide not by the counsel of our earthly parents? Can we live in accordance with a high law without having fulfilled the lower one? Kind friends, the world is in a sad condition. The words of Paul are indeed fulfilled. Satan is working even among the chosen people of God, and there are many who will be led away from the fountain of life unless more attention is given the tes- A WARNING WORD 1019 timony of their fathers in regard to the divinity of the gospel. Our sturdy parents, who have come from all parts of the earth, and by their labors have caused a barren desert to produce in rich abundance, did not accept the gospel and leave their na- tive lands without carefully examining every principle and doctrine taught by the missionaries, and gaining a testimony that "good tidings of great joy" were again being carried by men of God to all people. Shall we, who are enjoying the fruits of their toil, spend our time in seeking pleasure for pleasure's sake, and disregard the advice of our Lord and Savior: "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God"? If we would obey the counsel of our fathers and mothers, we would seek after God, and no doubt some of us would receive wonderful manifestations of his divine mind and will. There are many reasons why we should honor our par- ents, but the most important is that our days may be long upon the land which the Lord has given us for an inheritance. It may be said that this promise was made only to ancient Israel. But if we examine carefully Genesis 17:8 we will find that all the land of Canaan was given to Abraham and his seed after him for an everlasting possession. Now we come to the question: How is it that we are being gathered together on this land of America, rather than in the land of Canaan? In Genesis 49:22-26 and Deuteronomy 33:13-16 we find our answer: "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well whose branches run over the wall," whose blessings are greater than the blessings of his brethren reaching "unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills." This is the blessing given by Jacob to his son who was sold into Egypt. Moses also invokes the blessing of the Lord on the land of Joseph "for the chief things of the ancient mountains and the precious things of the everlasting hills" and "upon the head of him that was separated from his brethren." We are, practically all, of the seed of Joseph. We have been gathered unto "his land." If we honor our parents and seek to gain the testimony they have, our days will be prolonged in this life, and after death we will rise again in the resurrection of the just and receive our inheritance on this land, as an everlasting possession, and we will dwell forever with our fathers and fore-fathers and with Joseph who, with all his seed, is separated from his brethren. Every thought, every word and every action of our lives leaves a definite impression on our minds. Every person with whom we come in contact has some influence, small or great, upon the future of our lives. Our parents, who have covenanted with the Lord by sacrifice, will ever strive to exert a righteous influence over us. Let us recognize their authority and abide