The Heritage and Promise

THE HERITAGE AND PROMISE By John Henry Evans, Author of "One Hundred Years of Mormonism" When President Brigham Young first looked upon Salt Lake valley on that memorable twenty-third of July, eighteen hundred forty-seven, he is said to have exclaimed, "This is the place!" And indeed this is the place in a wider and somewhat differ- ent sense from that which the great pioneer leader probably meant just then, not only to the present generation of Latter-day Saints but to the generations yet to come here. For Utah and the intermountain country generally is not among the least of those things that may be deemed their inheritance. It is one of the choicest spots in a singularly choice land, as well in its material possibilities, as in its wonderful climate, and in its scenic beauty. The setting in which people in real life, like people in works of fiction, find themselves, plays a large part in determining their char- acter and doings. There can be no doubt that this is true of nations. Says Taine, in his book on English literature: "The profound differences which are manifest between * * * races, arise for the most part from the difference between the countries in which they are settled; some in cold, moist lands, deep in rugged marshy for- ests or on the shor«6 of a mild ocean, beset by melancholy or violent sensa- tions, prone to drunkenness and gluttony, bent on a fighting, blood-spilling life; others, again, within the loveliest landscapes, on a bright and pleasant sea-coast, enticed to navigation and commerce, exempt from gross cravings of the stomach, inclined from the beginning to social ways, to a settled organiza- tion of the state, to feelings and dispositions such as develop the art of ora- tory, the talent for enjoyment, the inventions of science, letters, arts." But it is equally true that these same influences react on individ- ual character and life. John Ruskin has called attention to the effect of mountains and plains on the individual. "The spirit of the hills is action," he says, "that of the valleys repose." And he goes on to record this effect on himself personally in these words: "To myself, mountains are the beginning and the end of all natural scenery; in them, and in the forms of inferior landscape that lead to them, my affections are wholly bound up; and though I can look with happy admiration at the lowland flowers, and woods, and open skies, the happiness is tranquil and cold, like that of examining detached flowers in a conservatory, or reading a pleasant book; and if the scenery be resolutely level, insisting upon the declaration of its own flatness in all the detail of it, it appears to me like a prison, and I cannot long endure it. But the slightest rise and fall in the road — a mossy bank

322 IMPROVEMENT ERA at the side of a crag of chalk, with brambles at its brow, overhanging it — a ripple over three or four stones in the stream by the bridge — above all, a wild bit of ferny ground under a fir or two, looking as if, possibly, one might see a hill if one got to the other side of the trees, will instantly give me intense delight, because the shadow, or the hope, of the hills is in them." To be sure most people are not so sensitive to a broken country — or, for that matter, to anything else in their surroundings, whether natural or artificial — as Ruskin. Still the effect is there just the same, although they are not conscious of it, working out its delicate tracery on the soul. Early "Mormons" were fond of calling their home "the Val- leys of the Mountains." And indeed nothing could better describe the rugged and broken features of Utah. For, in the picturesque biblical phrase, the Saints are literally "in the top of the mountains" and are exalted "above the hills." No other spot in America, "a choice land above all other lands," according to the Book of Mormon, is more secure for its inhabitants in time of war, or in times of peace more abundant in its natural resources, or more beautiful in its scenery, or more desirable in its varied climate. One thousand miles from the Pacific coast, with its Oriental menace, three thousand miles from the Atlantic, with its proximity to European troubles, and situated midway between Canada on the north and Mexico on the south, Utah in its mountain fastnesses forms at once a safe retreat in unsettled periods and a home of loveliness and quiet in times of peace. Its climate is ideal. Not so cold as to inhibit work and traffic, nor yet so hot as to bring on in its people a lack of energy, it furnishes a variety in its rather well-defined sea- sons and a general vigor throughout the year that leaves nothing to be desired. The autumnal glories of its pine-clad hills, the bewitching tracery of its leafy vales and canyons, the "translucent splendors of its skies, more radiantly saphirean than ever bent their crystal arches above the far-famed, beggar-hemmed and flea-girt Bay of Naples" are known to every tourist and traveler to this inter-mountain State. As for its natural resources, there is no other place in all the world of the same size so rich and so varied in its richness as Utah. Its vast area, greater than all New England and New York com- bined, is underlaid with gold and silver, with copper and lead and iron, with many-colored marble, with all the varieties of coal, with sulphur and soda and gypsum. In its canyon streams, pure and cool, is enough power to turn all the machinery of the world. Cold, warm, and hot springs, salt and fresh-water lakes, healing in their properties, valleys teeming with all the varieties of cereals, orchards filled with luscious fruits of almost every kind from the hardiest winter apple to the most delicious pomegranate in any climate, gardens with lux- uriant growths of vegetables and small fruit, from the crisp celery in

THE HERITAGE AND PROMISE 323 its frozen earth to the ever-bearing strawberry with a flavor all its own. One might go on indefinitely till the reader wearied of the catalogue — and then but the half would have been told. The influence of all this — the sense of living in such an in- vigorating climate, of being surrounded by mineral wealth of such vastness, of breathing in such loveliness in hill and vale and canyon and mountain stream — is to be stimulated to dreams of greatness. In- stead of lying down on one's oars, as the saying is, and reclining in a restful contentment that overcomes like the breath of the lotus, one feels braced to go forth conquering and to conquer. Not that this effect will come on suddenly, in a day. That is not the way of nature. But come it will, in its silent manner, working its results, though it take a hundred generations. PART II / will go in the strength of the Lord God : I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Now also when I am old and gray headed, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come. — The Psalmist. Introduction Coming from forbears who represent several different strains of blood, each in itself among the best; who were nurtured in the tempest and the whirlwind of contending forces, where the hardiest qualities of character are forged; and who proved always builders and producers, not parasites and destroyers — the young men and women of "Mormondom," present and prospective, have thus a foundation laid for them of which we have a right to expect something. But to have a good foundation is not all that is necessary. There must be a building erected on this foundation before we can have a structure of beauty and usefulness. A youth may have in him the best of blood and yet come to nothing through lack of good environ- ment. Of the elements which go to the chiseling out of a desirable type of man, environment, taking this word in its broadest sense, is perhaps the most important. You may own a horse which, so far as stock or blood is concerned, has the capability of being developed into a Zev; but you will never get the requisite speed from it on the race-track, unless you subject it to the discipline required for this purpose. And so we approach another phase of our theme — in what at- mosphere do the youth of the Latter-day Saints grow up? What incentives to action are placed before them, what standards of con- duct, what teachings given them? There is generally supposed to be a difference in the "type of civilization" in Utah from that which prevails in other sections of the United States. Stanton Coit, from whom this phrase is quoted, says

324 IMPROVEMENT ERA that he "became aware of a drop in tone" as he entered the Beehive State, and he attributes this impression to the influence of the Book of Mormon. While we are not interested just now in finding out whether this "drop" is real or imaginary, it is probably true that there is a difference and that this difference is to be traced to the teach- ings of the Nephite Record. This is not only what one might have expected who was acquainted with the history of "Mormonism," but what other visitors to Utah than Mr. Coit have observed. Now, what is the total push of such a "type of civilization" (whatever that is) as the "Mormons" have built up here, so far as the making of character is concerned? We have seen what kind of men and women are attracted to the "Mormon" faith. Is the influ- ence of the group what one would be led to expect of the individuals who compose the group? Living and growing up in a community where such a difference exists should tell powerfully on its young people from generation to generation. For a "peculiar" people are generally tenacious to pass on their peculiarities. Than the Latter-day Saints no church has a more effective ma- chinery for perpetuating the faith. This has long been a truism among those who are familiar with "Mormonism." The Sunday schools are perhaps the best organized in the world. Besides these they have the Religion class, the Primary, and the Improvement asso- ciations— week-day organizations. These have grown up in response to the demands of their religion to teach the children in the faith of the Saints. The following sections, therefore, aim to inquire into the nature of the teachings that are given the youth of the Church as well as the influences that go to the formation of character in them. Only the salient points, however, can be taken, those which lie at the basis of "Mormonism," it being taken for granted that all else must necessarily be in harmony with these fundamentals. (To be Continued) Let's Sing Chide not the rain, for the sun comes again — Snow-drops gleam when the roses are dead — We each sing our part, and then slowly depart, And another moves on in our stead. So while we are here, through laughter and tear, Let's sing the hest song that we know. And He who will hear with our failures" will bear, And lighten our load as we go. So, sing ye with me in glad laughter and love The goodness that cheereth thine heart, And when even dies and the stars light the skies, Sing that song as you bow and depart. Lethbridge, Canada. H. C. SINGER.