Exceptions

Exceptions By Nephi Anderson "Mr. and Mrs. John Fountain announce the engagement of their daugh- ter Gladys to Mr. Leon Tourney. The marriage will take place early next month at the home of the bride's parents." It was a strange coincidence that Erma Dexter, sitting in the park that afternoon, should read this announcement for the first time, and five minutes! later the couple of which she had been reading should come walking across the lawn to where she sat with the paper in her lap. "Well," this is fortunate!" exclaimed Gladys, on seeing Erma. "Leon was just wondering how he could leave me alone so he could rush off to an appointment, and here you are. I'll visit with you for a while. I can't leave the park yet, as it's the coolest place in town. Isn't it dreadfully hot?" Erma laughingly said she would gladly undertake the task of chaperoning her friend, and see that she did not fall into the lake, at which Mr. Leon Tourney politely expressed his pleasure and hurried away. "Isn't he a dear!' murmured Gladys as she looked at the retreating form of her fiance. "I've just been reading the announcement," said Erma. "Were you surprised?" "Yes, I'll admit I was. I thought you had decided other- wise." "Oh, I just couldn't. I remember, Erma, what you said to me the last time we talked about it; but ours is an exceptional case. You know there are exceptions. Leon is such a good boy. Everything will be all right, I'm sure." "I hope so, Gladys, but — " "This is no time for buts. Let's take a walk." They sauntered on across the grass toward the children's playground where a small boy and a smaller girl paused long enough in their shouting to greet Erma with a coy, "How do you do?" "These are Nora Barth's children" explained Erma, 'I don't think you know Nora. She was a Warren before she was mar- ried. Oh, here she is now. You must meet her" The three found a seat in the shade where the mother could keep a watch over the children in their play. Nora Barth was a

250 IMPROVEMENT ERA matured young woman, with brown eyes, and dark hair flecked with a little gray. "Nora," Ei-ma said in elaboration of the introduction, "Gladys and I have known each other for years, as we live in the same ward and attend the same Sunday school and Mutual. Would you mind telling us your story — the story you told me, which you called 'The Exception'?'* "Oh, Erma, I don't want to — I — " She laid a demurring hand on Erma's arm. "Please do," added Gladys. Erma gave the older woman a look which pleaded the urg- ency of the case. Nora had told the story a number of times to listeners whose need was much like those present that afternoon, told not to cater to the curious or the sensational. It was no easy task for a high-minded sensitive woman like Nora Barth thus to lay bare the secrets of her life. She did it only because she understood the need of warning others from a danger which she knew to be real. This is the story, not noting the interruptions, which Nora Barth told to her two friends in the park that afternoon: "I was born of 'Mormon' parents. My father is a faithful Latter-day Saint, my mother likewise. I was taught the prin- ciples of the gospel in my home and in the ward societies. I was baptized when I was eight years old. I graduated from a Church school. Then I met Jack. The first meeting was some- what romantic, which always appeals to a young girl. He was such a 'nice' young man, more refined, I thought, than the local boys whom I knew so well. He was not a 'Mormon.' He had come from Chicago with his parents a few years before, and his father was in business here. "The first few meetings were clandestine. Then he came to the house. He made a good impression on my parents, but when they learned that he was an outsider, they spoke to me about him. I am sure they did not fully sense the danger of permitting me to receive Jack as a lover, or they would have found some means of stopping this courtship. The beginning is where the danger lies. Love-making of the undesirable kind can be 'nipped in the bud.' If the proper barriers are up there is little danger. "In my case the proper barriers were not up, neither in the way of my own mental attitude nor the watchcare of others. I became very much attached to my admirer. He went with me to the ward meetings and other gatherings. He talked freely with me about my religious beliefs but he never permitted him- self to take any stand for or against. He greeted my weak at-

EXCEPTIONS 251 tempts to convert him to 'Mormonism' with a smile. I suppose every 'Mormon' girl has a mental reservation that she will never marry anyone outside the Church, but when they are put to the test, the present-day reality so far outweighs the possible future that the trial of faith is severe. "I knew very well I should not marry outside the fold. 1 had seen the failure of such ventures, but I said, not only to myself, but to others, that my case would be an exception. The men in the instances which I had known were usually of the wild, smoking, and drinking kind. Of course, such matches could end in no other way but disaster. Jack was different. He was a gentleman. He did not smoke, nor drink and his language was always good. Besides, if he continued to go to our meetings, he could not help seeing the truth, and eventually receive it. I quieted my conscience with these optimistic thoughts. "Well, Jack and I were married at my home by the bishop of the ward. We went to the Coast for a two weeks' honey- moon. I was happy in a way; but when I looked at myself honestly, deep down into my soul, I had a knowledge there was something lacking, something quite intangible at first, for Jack continued to treat me as he had always done; and when we came home and began housekeeping in a cozy new cottage, to all outward appearances, my happiness was complete. I am sure some of my girl friends envied me. They came to visit me as usual, and they cast admiring eyes at my well-appointed home; yes, and at my gallant husband. "As the months went by, and I was alone a good deal of the time — for Jack's business took him out of town each month —it began to come to me what this lack of complete happiness was. My life up to this time had been immersed, as it were, in the spirit of the gospel. I was a Latter-day Saint not only by birth, but by the process of growth. From childhood I had been nurtured by the sweet, subtle Spirit, and my very nature had become fixed. I could not be anything else but a Latter- day Saint. I might neglect my religious duties, I might grieve the good Spirit, but I was still a Latter-day Saint. "Before my marriage I had not often visited Jack's home, therefore I had not discovered the difference between that home and my own. His father and mother are cultured people, as the world understands the term. Their house is beautifully furnished. Its luxury and refinement contrasted sharply with my parents' somewhat old-fashioned place of abode. There are no prayers said, no hymns of praise sung in that modern dwelling. Its refinement is clear, icy cold, utterly lacking the

252 IMPROVEMENT ERA warm, genial spirit which finds domicile about the hearth of the Latter-day Saint. "The plain fact of the matter is that Jack and his parents are Gentiles, and I and my parents are of the blood of Israel; and I tell you there is a vast difference — a gulf fixed — between these two divisions of the human family. My first baby came. I made ready to have it blessed and named in fast meeting. My husband was not ugly about it, but he jokingly called the ceremony a bit of superstition. I put off going, thinking he would change his mind and attitude; but he did not. He had long since ceased going to meeting with me, and when I asked him to go on this special occasion he refused. It was a simple matter, no doubt, but it was my first keen sorrow. I saw the gap between us widen. Rather, I saw more plainly the gap which had always been there. "And it kept on widening and darkening, and there are no prospects of ever bridging the gulf, as far as I can see. Not that there was or is any outward discord between us. Jack is still a gentleman. He goes on in the manner of life to which he has been accustomed from a child. He is a man of the world, of this world only. His \ision does not reach to any other. He makes no plans for eternity. He does not realize that we are liv- ing here only that we may go on to something better and higher, and that this earth-life is the time and place to lay permanent and enduring foundations. "I realize now that I may never enter the Temple. That sacred building and the blessings therein obtained are denied me. The family structure I am building here is of the tempor- ary earth-life. The covenants made between me and my hus- band have not been sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, therefore will not continue in the life to come. My husband would not turn his hand over to place himself in a position to claim me and children in the future life. He smiles sarcastic- ally at the idea. 'When we are dead, we are dead,' he says, 'why bother — here, Nora, take this fifty dollars and show the kiddies a good time.' That's Jack, my husband, the head of my home and father of my children." The speaker paused, and with a sad smile looked not at her listeners, but at the playing children; and as she looked she added: "And my case was to have been an exception." One of the children— the little girl — had bumped herself a little too hard on the sandpile, and was crying. The mother ran to comfort her, and by the time she had the tears dried, and the face wiped and had turned to the seat where her friends had been sitting, she saw that they were gone. She took the children, one by each hand, and walked quietly out of the park.

EXCEPTIONS 253 Two weeks later Erma Dexter again met Nora Barth, when she explained the reason of her sudden disappearance at their former meeting. "It was shameful to run away like that," she said, "but after you had told your story and had gone to the children, 1 looked at Gladys, and her face was as pale as death. She sat staring into space for a moment, then arose and walked away. She acted so strangely that I was fearful of her, and so I had to go with her; it was nothing, howe\er; she soon became her normal self, and — but here — read for yourself, I cut it out of the paper to show you:" "The marriage of Miss Glady's Fountain, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Fountain, and Mr. Leon Tourney took place last evening at the home of the bride's parents. After a honeymoon to the coast, they will make their heme in this city." Procrastination, the Thief of Time By J. M. Pierce Not only is procrastination the thief of time, but by neglect we de- crease our learning powers. I desire in this brief article to deal especially with the spiritual powers. However, the above is true in every field of activity. By very casual observation, I have noticed in social conversation with my fellow men along this line, that we do' not differ so much in our ideas, finally, as to the meaning of the gospel taught by the Master. But the time to begin actual service, and to take up the Cross, appeals much more important to some than to others. Now, then, God has said that he is a jealous God and a rewarder of those who diligently seek him, and again, he has promised us nothing only after a trial of our faith, for he has said that signs should follow and not precede the believer. Naturally then, he expects his creatures to test the reliability of the gospel promises "by doing the will of the Father that we might know of the doctrine" before running after strange gods. He also admonishes to seek him in humility. As to the proof of the importance of this last statement, I desire to call attention to the great missionary department of the Church to which I belong1, viz. the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints. The majority of our missionaries are young men who, when leav- ing their homes for missions, in most cases, do not have a testimony as to the divinity of the gospel. But, pf course, in their case, they are forced to seek, and that early, or return home failures. Consequently, they do seek, and invariably they find and return home with testimonies that will convince anyone who is honest in heart. We find this also to be true with the young men and women who take advantage of the opportunities afforded them in the different auxiliary organizations in the Church for their development and benefit. So, then, I contend that each day's neglect, or our trying to climb up some other than the right way, places us in the same condition as the student in school at examination time who has "sluffed" and copied and tried to rise by false methods. We all like easy things to do, and all understand that work postponed always becomes harder, so let us be stirred to a realization of our neglect and bear the cross bravely for, says the Master again, "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light;" seek and ye shall find, for the promise is sure. Springville, Utah.