Is It Worth While?

Is it Worth While? By Dr. Thomas L. Martin, of the Brigham Young University If we would get away from the crowd for a short while and take a good, square hold upon our shoulders, and push ourselves against the wall, and with a penetrating gaze look ourselves pointedly in the eyes and say: What are you here for? What are you anyway? Are you amounting to anything in this world? Are you building on the right foundation — faith in God, and in the gospel message of his son Jesus Christ? Are you a parasite on society? Are you giving back to the world that which you have taken from it? If we would do this once in a while we should have a happier world. We would have men whose every movement would give evidence of snap and vitality. Men who command the world to stand aside because they have a broad vision, know where they are going, and because they have behind them the prom- ise of Christ, "Ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." Young men, is it worth while? Is it worth the effort? Can we not take hold of our innate powers, supplemented by the inspiration and life of our Lord Jesus Christ, without whom we can do nothing,* and use them for the betterment of ourselves and our fellows? Unless we do get into that progressive condition we shall be failures. Unless we do our part to make the social group one where there is no un- necessary sorrow, where every member labors to his utmost to make people happy, where every opportunity to become something of importance is not neglected, and where the pat- tern set by our Savior is the order of the day, we shall have nothing to our credit and we shall take chances of being classed with the parasitic group, a group which takes all and gives nothing in return ... We often admire the great men of the past for the things they have done. They are the ones who grasped every oppor- tunity, when it came their way. They are they whose every deed gave evidence of a big purpose in their lives. Columbus is a splendid example. Nephi, in the Book of Mormon,j informs us that "he beheld a man among the Gen- tiles who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the John 15:5-8; I Cor. 15:10; II Cor. 3:5: I Nephi, 13:12. JBook of Mormon I Nephi 13:12.

242 IMPROVEMENT ERA many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land." This "man among the Gentiles" was Columbus, who is not only thus referred to in the Amer- ican Scriptures, but in history,* as one who consoled "himself with the belief that he was a chosen instrument in the hands of Providence for enlarging the bounds of Christendom." We are told, furthermore, that he attributed his discoveries largely to inspiration, which harmonizes with the expression of Nephi in the Book of Mormon, and shows Columbus' depend- ence upon the Spirit of the Lord, which lay at the root of his determination. Having spent a life of activity, and hav- ing in mind the desire to make the best use of his innate powers, he was prepared to render service. An injustice was being done his people, in their trade relations with India.. This necessitated the development or discovery of a new route to India. He made the bold assertion that he could get to India in the east by sailing west. It took determination. It took stamina. It took the kind of Spirit that characterizes all men with a mission to make such an assertion and be will- ing to carry it out. "How dare any man go beyond the sight of land where leviathans and other huge monsters lie in wait to devour? Besides, the earth is flat and one would certainly drop off into regions unknown and suffer a death too horrible to describe. "Columbus, you must be crazy," came the answer from all sides. But, undaunted, he prepared to render service. He visited the king and queen of Spain in an attempt to gain consent to make the trip. The answer Was, No. He repeated his visit for seven different years. He called upon the royalty of England and received the same discouraging replies. How- ever, after seven years of pleading, he was given fifty-nine thousand dollars and one hundred men; his boats were made ready, and he started out into the unknown waters where huge monsters and boiling whirl-pools awaited him and his men. Trusting to his sails he went on. Read the poem Sail On, by Joaquin Miller and get acquainted with the spirit of the man. Seldom have we seen an equal in the history of the world- Thousands of miles away from land, the stars gone, and with a group of men who had lost heart, his answer to all questions was, "Sail on." His men mutinous, for days and days they had seen no land. The ideas of the world regarding the ter- rible unknown deep were dominant in their minds; yet Colum- bus had only one thought, Sail on. Lost in the mighty deep, *Discovery of America, Fiske, Vol. I, Chapter VI, p. 505.

IS It WORTH WHILE? 243 his men pleading a return, hope gone, but the only idea that characterized this man of inspiration and courage, as he stood at the front of the vessel, gazing anxiously into the distance, was, Sail on. Such courage cannot help but bring results; such determination cannot but bring its reward. At the end of one of the darkest nights of their voyage his courage and his prayers were rewarded. He gave to the doubting world its answer. He gave, to the struggling youth, hope. "He gained a world; he gave that world one of its grandest les- sons, 'On, sail on."' The majesty of that lesson is a stimulation to anyone. It thrills a person with a desire to live the useful life. He per- formed his mission and we are reaping the benefits of his work. Who knows but that the opportunity to render service that will live for all time may be ours! The world is big and its problems are many. It is calling wildly for men- Will we heed the call? Let us be conscious of our mission in life. Let us realize that help is badly needed in this strug- gling world; then, with real, red-blooded energy, and a grip seldom seen except at intervals when men have found their opportunity, we will go forth and pay the debt we owe to the Lord, and to these men who have done so much for us by rendering service to a needy world. Provo, Utah