The Second Advent

Improvement Era Vol. XXVII MARCH, 1924 No. 5 THE SECOND ADVENT By President Charles W. Penrose [This article, written in 185 9 and published in the Millennial Star on Sept. 1 0 of that year, is replete with prophecy on important subjects upper- most in the thoughts of all who are looking forward to the advent of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and who are noting the signs of the times that have been given as indications of the near approach of that great and coming event. That the spirit of prophecy and inspiration burned in the bosom of the author, at the time of his writing, is clearly apparent. It must give him great joy to have lived to see, in his own life time, many of the promised signs appear, which point to the fulfilment of the predictions of the prophets of God, the gathering of Israel in Zion, East and West, and the coming of Christ to reign on earth as King of kings and Lord of lords. — Editors. ] Professed Christians of all denominations believe in the second coming of Christ; but while all agree that he will appear "the second time without sin unto salvation," they disagree about the manner, the place, and the time of his appearance. The popular opinion is that he will come in a spiritual manner and reign in the hearts of his people; that his presence will be uni- versally and simultaneously felt when all the world has been con- verted through the preaching of the word. Now, against this doctrine there have been many objectors. Some have declared that he would come "traveling as a man" and commence again to preach to the world; others have even contended that he would appear "in the form of a woman." Various places have been fixed upon as the spot where he would appear; the very "day and hour" of his coming have been proclaimed to the world; and the periods were as various as the localities. The Latter-day Saints have their peculiar views upon this im- portant subject, founded, however, not upon mere speculation, popu- lar opinion, or mystical interpretations of ancient prophecy, but upon God's word revealed in these latter times, corroborated by the plain and pointed declarations of "holy men of God who spake by the Holy Ghost." It is the design of this article to briefly explain some of these views for the benefit of the general reader. Entered at the Post Office, Salt Lake City, Utah, as second class matter. Ac- ceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 2, 1918, $2 per annum. Address Room 406 Church Office Building, Salt Lake City, Utah.

404 IMPROVEMENT ERA Before the Lord made his first appearance among men on earth, notwithstanding that the ancient seers had predicted his appearance, he sent a Prophet to prepare the people for his coming. Therefore it is reasonable to suppose (though the old prophets and apostles have spoken many things concerning his second advent) that he should send someone to prepare the world for that event; and the necessity of this is obvious when we consider the uncertainty and differences of opinion that prevail upon the subject. Now, although the ancient Jews had the writings of the prophets and the presence of John the Baptist, yet but a few, comparatively speaking, would believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah. His forerunner was put to death, and he himself was crucified; and though the people of this generation have the Old and New testaments, and though the Lord has sent a messenger to prepare the world for his second advent, the same ignorance exists and the same spirit now pre- vails which caused the death of John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ. Joseph Smith, like John the Baptist, came to a sectarian genera- tion to "prepare the way" before the Messiah. Like him, he preached "the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins," and, like him, he was persecuted, imprisoned, and slain. But those who have re- ceived his testimony, and obeyed the principles of righteousness which he proclaimed, have received from God a light which enables them to "discern the signs of the times" and to see the day quickly advancing when the Lord shall come. The false alarms which startle the world at intervals have no terrors for them, for they have "a more sure word of prophecy." Through the preaching of the Gospel of Christ, as revealed through Joseph Smith — namely, faith, repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, etc., many among all nations will be led to forsake the tradi- tions of their fathers and become numbered with the people of God. These will gather to one place to prepare themselves for the appear- ance of the Savior, by learning through his inspired servants the things which are pleasing to him and purifying themselves from all things which he hates. They will build unto him a holy Temple. Of necessity some form of government must be set up among them, as they will exist in a national as well as an ecclesiastical capacity. This government will be a theocracy, or, in other words, the kingdom of God. The laws, ordinances, regulations, etc., will be under the direc- tion of God's Priesthood, and the people will progress in arts, sciences, and everything that will produce happiness, promote union, and establish them in strength, righteousness, and everlasting peace. On the other hand, through the rejection of this gospel, which "shall be preached to all the world as a witness" of the coming of Christ, the world will increase in confusion, doubt, and horrible strife. As the upright in heart, the meek of the earth, withdraw from their

THE SECOND ADVENT 405 midst, so will the Spirit of God also be withdrawn from them. The darkness upon their minds in relation to eternal things will become blacker, nations will engage in frightful and bloody warfare, the crimes which are now becoming so frequent will be of continual occur- rence, the ties that bind together families and kindred will be disre- garded and violated, the passions of human nature will be put to the vilest uses, the very elements around will seem to be affected by the national and social convulsions that will agitate the world, and storms, earthquakes, and appalling disasters by sea and land will cause terror and dismay among the people; new diseases will silently eat their ghastly way through the ranks of the wicked; the earth, soaked with gore and defiled with the filthiness of her inhabitants, will begin to withhold her fruits in their season; the waves of the sea will heave themselves beyond their bounds, and all things will be in commotion; and in the midst of all these calamities, the master-minds among na- tions will be taken away, and fear will take hold of the hearts of all men. The Jews, still in unbelief that Jesus was the Christ, will sep- arate themselves from among the Gentiles and gather to their father- land. Events will be so controlled by the God of Israel that they shall possess the land again and build the temple in its former place; they will increase and multiply in numbers and in riches, and practice the rites of the Mosaic law, looking for the coming of Messiah to reign over them as king. The bankrupt nations, envying the wealth of the sons of Judah, will seek a pretext to make war upon them, and will invade the "holy land" to "take a prey and a spoil." We may consider the inhabitants of the earth at the time imme- diately preceding the coming of Christ under three general divisions: First, the Saints of God gathered to one place on the western continent, called Zion, busily preparing for his appearance in their midst as their Redeemer, who had shed his blood for their salvation, now coming to reign over them and to reward them for their labors in establishing his government: Second, the Jews gathered to Jerusalem and also expecting the Messiah, but not believing that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God, and being in danger of destruction from their Gentile enemies: Third, the corrupt nations and kingdoms of men, who, rejecting the light of the Gospel, are unprepared for the Lord's advent and are almost ripe for destruction. Among the first-mentioned of these three classes of men, the Lord will make his appearance first; and that appearance will be unknown to the rest of mankind. He will come to the Temple pre- pared for him, and his faithful people will behold his face, hear his voice, and gaze upon his glory. From his own lips they will receive further instructions for the development and beautifying of Zion and for the extension and sure stability of his kingdom.

406 IMPROVEMENT ERA His next appearance will be among the distressed and nearly van- quished sons of Judah. At the crisis of their fate, when the hostile troops of several nations are ravaging the city and all the horrors of war are overwhelming the people of Jerusalem, he will set his feet upon the Mount of Olives, which will cleave and part asunder at his touch. Attended by a host from heaven, he will overthrow and destroy the combined armies of the Gentiles, and appear to the wor- shiping Jews as the mighty Deliverer and Conqueror so long expected by their race; and while love, gratitude, awe, and admiration swell their bosoms, the Deliverer will show them the tokens of his crucifix- ion and disclose himself as Jesus of Nazareth, whom they had reviled and whom their fathers put to death. Then will unbelief depart from their souls, and "the blindness in part which has happened unto Israel" be removed. "A fountain for sin and uncleanness shall be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem," and "a nation will be born" unto God "in a day." They will be baptized for the remission of their sins, and will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the government of God as established in Zion will be set up among them, no more to be thrown down for ever. The great and crowning advent of the Lord will be subsequent to these two appearances; but who can describe it in the language of mortals? The tongue of man falters, and the pen drops from the hand of the writer, as the mind is rapt in contemplation of the sub- lime and awful majesty of his coming to take vengeance on the un- godly and to reign as King of the whole earth. He comes! The earth shakes, and the tall mountains tremble; the mighty deep rolls back to the north as in fear, and the rent skies glow like molten brass. He comes! The dead Saints burst forth from their tombs, and "those who are alive and remain" are "caught up" with them to meet him. The ungodly rush to hide themselves from his presence, and call upon the quivering rocks to cover them. He comes! with all the hosts of the righteous glorified. The breath of his lips strikes death to the wicked. His glory is a consuming fire. The proud and rebellious are as stubble; they are burned and "left neither root nor branch." He sweeps the earth "as with the besom of destruction." He deluges the earth with the fiery floods of his wrath, and the filthiness and abominations of the world are consumed. Satan and his dark hosts are taken and bound — the prince of the power of the air has lost his dominion, for he whose right it is to reign has come, and "the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ." "The people of the Saints of the Most High" will dwell on the earth, which shall bring forth her strength as in the days of her youth; they will build cities and plant gardens; those who have been faithful over a few things will be made rulers over many things; Eden will bloom, and the fruits and flowers of Paradise display their loveliness as at the first; Jesus shall reign "in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and

THE SECOND ADVENT 407 before his ancients gloriously," and all created things shall "praise the Lord." In answer to questions put by his Apostles, Jesus spoke of cer- tain events which were to be taken as signs of his advent. These things are now taking place: therefore we are living in the day of his coming. The "Gospel of the kingdom," restored to earth by revelation, is being preached as a special "witness" of his appearing; his people are gathering together; already the foundations of his kingdom are being laid in the mountains; Zion is being built up; a Temple is being reared for his reception; the spirit of gathering is brooding over the Jews, and wealthy and influential men among them are exerting themselves for the re-establishment of Jerusalem; barren parts of that land are beginning to blossom, and streams there long since dried up begin again to flow. The spirit of contention increases in every de- partment of society, and the nations feel impelled by an invisible in- fluence to prepare themselves for war. Horrible inventions are con- stantly being brought out for the purpose of destroying the lives of men. Incapacity among law-makers and rulers is seen to a most humiliating degree. We hear of earthquakes, tornadoes, storms, and all kinds of appalling disasters; and though the earth still brings forth an abundance of her fruits, thousands pine for the want of natural nourishment. Crime increases at a fearful rate; the religion of the great mass of mankind is nothing but a mockery and a sham; the cords that hold together society are snapping and loosening, and all feel that "there's something at hand!" These are some of the tokens of his coming. "Behold the Bride- groom cometh. Go ye out to meet Him!" The "wise virgins" are awaking; their lamps are trimmed; they walk not in the dark, but, with "a light to their feet and a lamp to their path," they are hastening to the place appointed; for it is written, "The Redeemer shall come to Zion." The time is close at hand. The events we have been considering will follow one another in rapid succession. God will cut his work short in righteousness. The day and hour are not revealed; but "when the Lord hath built up Zion, then will he appear in his glory." O ye children of men, put away your sins — repent of your evil doings. The Spirit of the Lord has whispered in your hearts, and you have felt your iniquities, when alone in the silent night you have been sleepless. Heed not the gibe and the sneer of the corrupt and evil-minded, but come forth and be buried with Christ in bap- tism; receive the rich gift of the Spirit of God, and help, with the Saints, to prepare the kingdom for the Son of Man, that when he shall come you may be looking for his appearance, and that the "day of the Lord" may not come upon you unawares, "like a thief in the night."

IS PERSECUTION A RESULT OF TRANS- GRESSION OR RIGHTEOUSNESS?* By President Anthony W. Ivins In the course of my remarks this morning, brethren and sisters, I referred to the fact that since the day of its organization the Church has met with opposition, opposition so pronounced that it might be termed persecution. After the morning session a sister came to me and propounded this question: "Was the persecution which came to the Church the result of transgression on the part of the people and lack of faith, or did persecution come because of their righteousness? What would you say about that?" I could readily see that it was a question that might be easily misunderstood and misinterpreted. We are here in mortality, gov- erned by two influences, influences which have prevailed in the world from the beginning of time until the present. We are here, always acting in a more or less dual capacity. When we discuss re- ligion we refer to the law of God, which has been given to men. Religion is a purely voluntary act. Obedience or disobedience to the law of the Lord is entirely optional with us and must be voluntary upon our part because of the fact that, endowing us with knowledge of good and evil in the beginning, from the time that the Lord made that decree in the Garden of Eden that this knowledge had been given us, we became responsible to him for our acts and to him only, so far as matters of religious faith and belief are concerned. For the protection and development of society we have been organized into communities, into counties, states and nations, and in our conduct towards each other, so far as it applies to this civil organ- ization which has been effected for the benefit and protection of so- ciety, we are responsible to the laws which we ourselves have enacted and created. And so, when we violate the civil law, the civil law immediately lays its hands upon us and makes us responsible for our acts. The civil law controls our property; it controls our very lives, for, if the emergency arises, it says to us that we must give them in defense of the fundamentals of our government; and we comply. It taxes us to meet the expense of government, and if we refuse to be obedient to the law of taxation, it takes from us our homes, it takes our property; and we are entirely helpless to prevent it. We may protest, we may say it is unjust, but it makes no difference. In contrast to this, the law of the Lord appeals to us to be obedient to God's revealed will, and if we refuse we are only subject *A question answered in the Granite stake Conference, Nov. 25, 1923.

PERSECUTION 409 to the penalties and conditions which are imposed because of diso- bedience. There is no force applied in an endeavor to compel us to obey God — no physical means are applied as are applied by the civil law. We are left to answer to him. As an inducement to obey him, certain promises are made to us. As a penalty for rejecting his law we separate ourselves from his presence, from his protecting care and are no longer entitled to the blessings which he promised to those who are faithful. Penalties are only inflicted because of opposition to law, whether it be civil law or whether it be the law of the Lord, and anything that is inflicted upon a person or a community as a penalty for the violation of a fixed law is not persecution — it is simply the judgment of the court or the penalty which he or they p^y for their own misdeeds. Persecution is that which annoys, that which places burdens upon, that which is used to bring trouble upon people unjustly, people who may not have violated the law, either civil or ecclesiastical. If they are pursued, if they are annoyed, if people are made to pay penalties for that which they have not done, it imme- diately becomes persecution; and it is in that sense that I wish to apply this word. So that persecution has come to the people of the Church, not be- cause of their transgressions, but because of their righteousness. Go back over the history of the world. It was not because of the transgressions of the Redeemer — he is the ensample to us — that he was persecuted until his life was finally taken. Righteousness was manifested in all his works, and yet he suffered persecution, not because God approved. He disapproves of anything that partakes of the nature of persecution; it is contrary to his will, contrary to every word that he has uttered. The Redeemer said to the Jews: "* * * How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not." This sister quoted to me this morning the revelation of the Lord which says that Zion might have been redeemed, even now, had it not been for the transgression of my people. Yes; it might have been, but it was not; and that was speaking of the Church generally and not of individual members of it. That is a law as old as the gos- pel itself, that if faith had been sufficient nothing would have been left unaccomplished. That has been taught to us always. With a little faith, mountains have been removed; with sufficient faith, noth- ing would be impossible to a community of men and women; but clothed upon as we are with mortality, we have not faith sufficient. Read the Doctrine and Covenants and you will find that persecution came to Joseph Smith, not because he transgressed the law — neither the civil law nor the law of the Lord — but because he advocated righteousness. Go to the Book of Mormon. The people therein referred to were taught faith in Christ, prophets came among them and testified that he would come into the world, and many believed, a church was

410 IMPROVEMENT ERA organized; and then what happened? Why, unbelievers, because these people differed from them in their faith, persecuted the Church and went so far that they appointed a day upon which all those who believed in this foolish tradition, this doctrine, which they called foolish tradition, should be put to death. And when Nephi went out and prayed to the Lord, a voice from heaven came to him bringing comfort and telling him that the time had come, "and tonight come I into the world," the voice of the Redeemer said, "and the words of the prophets will be fulfilled." And so, when the sun went down there was no darkness but it remained light as midday. They knew that there had been a day and a night, because they had seen the sun sink in the west and rise again in the east; and they knew that the words of the prophet Samuel and others had been fulfilled. And yet they would have put these people to death because they had faith. It was just the same after the appearance of the Redeemer here. For two hundred years the Church lived in a condition of righteous- ness and accomplished that which had never been accomplished before, and I suppose has never been accomplished since by any people; and then came division, people drew away from the Church, they lost faith in Christ as the Redeemer of the world; and what happened, they immediately began to persecute those who had faith. If we accept this doctrine that everything that is is the will of the Lord and exists because of his decree, we immediately drop into the condition of the sectarian world. I have a prayer book in my possession of one of the principal Protestant denominations of the world, in which it is plainly declared that some men are foreordained to be redeemed in the presence of God, and that redemption comes to them regardless of any act of theirs, and that others are irrevocably foreordained to go into perdition, and that no act of theirs can save them from it. In other words, they are fatalists. If a man is hung, they believe that he was born to be hung; if he becomes a murderer, they believe that that was foreordained of the Lord. It is an erroneous, false doctrine. We must remember that our own acts may separate us from the protecting care which the Lord would otherwise have over us, and leave us to ourselves without that care. The wages of sin are death. The wages of righteousness are life eternal. These contrasts are constantly before us, they have been from the beginning. They are in our very being. You boys and girls that are lacking in faith, have you ever gone to the Lord and prayed to him? If you have, you know that when you knelt down a power which was almost irresistible, and in many cases was entirely irresistible, has prompted you not to pray, told you it was useless to pray, that there was no one there to hear you. What is that? It is the power of Lucifer, cast down before we ever came to earth, before our spirits tabernacled in the flesh. It is here today seeking dominion over this earth, just as potent, so far as the Lord allows it to go, as

PERSECUTION 411 is the power of God which is constantly striving to lead men away from Lucifer and back to him, and each of us, being an agent to himself, may choose the good and refrain from evil. Did you ever do an evil thing in your life that you were not prompted immediately to know that it was wrong? You may call it conscience or what you like — it is the light of God's Spirit that is born in every man and woman that comes into the world, a knowl- edge of good and evil; and it is the thing that makes every hu- man responsible before God for that which he does, because the Lord does not leave him in ignorance of sin. He may be a cannibal with but little knowledge of God, but when he goes off to celebrate his cannibalistic feasts in the Pacific islands he goes in the night, he goes to a secluded place, he gets away from other people because he knows that it is wrong. The Indian on the plains who robs his fellow tribesman or the white man does it by himself. Why? Be- cause something tells him that it is the wrong thing to do, he must not be seen doing it. But the Spirit of the Lord does things openly. It is represented in the light of this beautiful day. After that day will come darkness and night, symbolical of the other influence which prevails here in the world. The time will come when there will be no more night, the time will come when there will be no more suffering, the time will come when there will be no more sorrow, which is in contrast to joy; because those things,- the Lord has told us, will be done away. Now, I have just made these brief remarks to try to fix in your minds, if I can, this truth: that the Church was not driven first from Ohio, next from Missouri, and then from Illinois, because of trans- gression, because it was in sin. It was driven from those places because of its endeavor to establish righteousness on earth, that the will of God might be done here. But one says: the Prophet said that that would happen, that the Church would come to the moun- tains. Of course, it was because God had given foresight to inspired men to look into the future, that they saw what would happen, not because it was always God's decree. Certain things, it is true, he has decreed; definite and tangible they are, but many of the circumstances associated with them are simply the circumstances which naturally develop in order that these things may eventually be accomplished; and they are due not always to the decree of the Almighty, but he will overrule them all eventually through his infinite power, for the accomplishment of those great purposes which he has decreed — the ultimate redemption of the human family, the ultimate binding of Satan and taking away his power. The powers of darkness will be removed and he will not be here to tempt and lead people into trans- gression. People then will not be persecuted because of their good works by those who love darkness rather than light. The Lord never pronounced judgment and imposed penalties upon an individual or a community because of their righteousness,

412 IMPROVEMENT ERA but men have very frequently done it. It all appears so plain to me. It is not easy for me to make it plain, perhaps, to you, but you must not confound the decrees of the Lord with circumstances which are brought about because of the agency which men exercise, both in their own behalf and towards others. Exercised for good, it brings bless- ings; exercised for evil, it naturally brings evil results. No man can be a persecutor of his neighbor, no man can love darkness rather than light and escape the penalties which are attached to it, because they naturally follow it. It is inevitable. The man who does wrong suf- fers in his conscience and suffers the penalties which the law imposes, both the civil law and the law of the Lord. And so, I answered this good woman that she must not think that because the Lord permits things to be done that he is always the author of them. The world will be held responsible for the persecu- tion that they impose upon other people. The Jews were held responsible for persecuting the Redeemer of the world. War came to this nation, civil war, largely because of its attitude towards the Church and its rejection of the doctrines taught by the Prophet of the Lord, through obedience to which war might have been entirely avoided. Just so with these great world wars that we have had, the Lord is not the author of them at all — men are the authors of them. He is the author of peace. He appeals to us to establish peace. If we reject his appeals and go on preparing for war, of course we will have it; and one disturbing man, I tell you, can create a lot of trouble in the world, in the state, or in the church. Now, my brethren and sisters, when the Lord told us that he was displeased with no one except those who refused to acknowledge his hand in all things, he did not mean that he had decreed all things, but he did mean that it was pleasing to him and it is pleasing to him that when trouble may come to us, when persecution may come, when death may come to rob us of our friends, or when disaster may come to rob us of our personal goods, that we should be reconciled to God in it and acknowledge his hand. He will overrule it for good, and frequently for our eventual blessing, but he does not order it, he does not decree it. May the Lord bless you, my brethren and sisters, bless us all, help us to remember that we are free agents before the Lord, that he holds us responsible for our acts. I thank the Lord that he is going to redeem his children, not only those of us who have taken upon us his name and identified ourselves with his Church, but the millions of mankind who have gone before, and who live now, many of whom ignorantly persecuted the Church because of the traditions of their fathers and the false notions which they have in misinterpreting the word of the Lord. The Father will be very merciful to them, and after they have repented they will be redeemed. I thank the Lord for that doctrine of repentance. They will be redeemed and brought back

PERSECUTION 413 into his presence and will inherit everlasting life there. That is one of the burdens which has been placed upon the Church, or one of the privileges, that we may be saviors upon Mount Zion, for those who have died without acknowledging these things. I suppose there will be very few eventually who will be lost; so we will have hope for every one, believe in God, believe in ourselves, keep his command- ments, be merciful and considerate of those who are around us, regard- less of their faith, their condition so far as this world's goods are con- cerned, their race or the tribe from which they came. He expects us to exercise consideration for all. I am sure the time will come when many people whom we now regard perhaps as not entitled to great consideration will be blessed beyond our capacity to understand. Hasn't he told us that the very least of the blessings which come to men in his kingdom will so far surpass our conception of blessing and mercy that the minds of men cannot conceive of it. So will the Lord be merciful to us. So will he judge in mercy those who ignorantly sin. So will he judge in mercy those who have persecuted the Saints just as Paul did, believing that he was doing God's service; and it took the voice of the Lord to convert him. The preaching of the brethren did not do it. It took the voice of the Lord to convert him. Notwithstanding the fact that he had consented to the death of Stephen, the Lord forgave him and made him one of the most ardent advocates of the truth that the meridian of time had. I believe in his mercy, in his goodness, in his consideration, that he will bless us with every blessing that is necessary for our good if we devotedly serve him, and he will bless other people far beyond what we may regard as their deserts. It is a pleasure for me to look for mercy and con- sideration for the people of the world. They are all the children of God. They are all our brothers, whether they are black or white, bond or free — they are all the descendants of Adam, and after him the descendants of Noah, one common father; and these people gath- ered together here, those of our friends who are not of us, are the descendants of Abraham to whom this gospel dispensation is of special importance, because it is his descendants that are first being gathered. The Lord bless you I humbly pray through Jesus Christ. Amen. Maxims From Readers Danger God has placed us upon this earth to prove us, and if we disobey him. there is danger of our falling. With such a righteous thought and plan before us, and knowing the right way, if we disregard them, the danger is that we will lose the light which we have. So, dear friends, be up and doing. We have no time to waste. Let us have our houses set in order so that we shall have no cause to weep. God has promised us his blessings, and has said: "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do as I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." Hence, let us walk straight in the

414 IMPROVEMENT ERA light, always do the best that we know how, and the promise is sure. — Ephraim K. Hanks. Life A life whose faith controls the passions of the soul, and with joy retains the purity of its birth, serving others throughout, is indeed a model life. — Christen Hansen. Think Right "Try to improve yourselves constantly by directing your thoughts along the right channel. Our thoughts largely make us, and if they are good, we grow in grace and goodness. If they are bad, we advance in that direction." — Oscar J. Laird. Liberty The great degrees of liberty which we enjoy in this country, the degree of personal liberty which every man and woman enjoys, is limited by a like degree of liberty in every other person; and it is the duty of men and the duty of women in their conduct, in the exercise of the liberty they enjoy to consider that every other man and woman has the right to exercise the same degree of liberty; that when one person enters into society — and society is the state in which personal liberty exists — each gives up something of that liberty in order that the other may enjoy the same degree of liberty. It is a conception that perhaps some people find difficult to understand, but it is the conception of liberty which we enjoy. — Supreme Court of the United States of America. Patriarchal Blessings I am wondering if we as Latter-day Saints avail ourselves of the oppor- tunity afforded us of having our Patriarchal blessings! Our patriarchs are ready and anxious to give to all Saints their blessings concerning their future, to be a guide to their feet and a lamp to their pathway, if they live for it. If we have not already received our blessings let us call on the good patri- archs and obtain them. Then let us read and re-read them, finding comfort and consolation in so doing. Let us encourage our children to get theirs, that they may be induced to live so as to get the blessings promised to the faithful. Why wait? Don't delay. Attend to this at once, and you will always be proud of it. — . G. Borgeson. The Canadian Scouts' Patriotic Creed I submit this as good sentiment for the scouts of Canada: "I believe in the Dominion of Canada where I receive and enjoy the full benefits and blessings of representative and also responsible government — truly a govern- ment of the people, by the people and for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed — a democracy in a sovereign state, being a component part of the British Empire — an association of sovereign states established upon principles of freedom, equality, justice and humanity. I therefore believe it to be my duty to love and honor my country; to obey and maintain its laws; to respect and uphold its flag and to protect and defend it from all enemies." — David H. Elton, Lethbridge, Alta., Canada.