The Heritage and Promise

THE HERITAGE AND PROMISE By John Henry Evans Author of One Hundred Years of Mormonism. Part III That servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not. and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ash the more. — Jesus. I Perhaps no one is responsible for his ancestors. He did not choose them so far as he knows. He had nothing to do with their manner of life, whatever that may have been. So, too, in the matter of his early environment. He did not shape it this way or that. All he has heen able to do is grow up in what he was thrust into. But even with the best blood in his veins and with wholesome instruction and training, there may still be something lacking. A young man cannot unctuously contemplate the stock he has come from and the teachings he has been brought up under, and hope to get any- where simply because of these. This has been tried over and over again from the beginning of time but with indifferent results. He must do something for himself. Ancestry and training furnish a good begin- ning, but only a beginning, a foundation. These taken for granted, the future is largely in his own hands. It is to a certain extent within his control. What he makes of himself from now on, within certain limits, depends on his educated will. One thing a young "Mormon," of whichever sex, must always keep in mind — he will constantly be in the eyes of the world. These eyes may be watching him in sympathy, as in the case of his friends and the friends of his people; or in antipathy, as in the case of those who are unfriendly to his religion; or in criticism that is neither friendly nor unfriendly, as of one who is merely waiting to make up his mind in the matter. Tolstoi, the great Russian novelist and thinker on socialistic lines, once when he was asked what he thought about "Mormonism," is reported to have answered that there had not been sufficient time allowed to be sure how it would turn out, and advised waiting a few generations. There are a great many persons in the world with this same attitude of mind, thoughtful persons who are anxiously looking for something that promises to help the race along a very difficult path. To the class of friendly observers belongs the late Senator Knox, whose view we quoted in the first section of this treatise. He saw clearly the direction in which observance of the Word of Wisdom would lead any people, in all its implications. And he expressed the hope, which he admitted rested on rather precarious ground, that the

THE HERITAGE AND PROMISE 823 young "Mormons" might follow their light to the end and not fall into the ways of those whose lamp was dim. And, lastly, there are those, both within and without the Church, who are watching anxiously, prayerfully, the outcome of each new crop of "Utah's best," believing confidently that in the end it means an advance in each generation over its predecessor. Such a one is the man, a Latter-day Saint, we heard of the other day, a man now on the other side of the hill. "Son," he said to his maturing boy, whom he loved as the apple of his eye, "my father was a goou man, the bes; I ever knew. But he had small opportunities, although he made the most of them, I believe. I have tried all my life to be as good a man as my father. I have had better opportunities than he had, and I be- lieve I have availed myself of them. You are the third generation. Your chances in life are brighter than mine were at your age. Make Do Something "A young man cannot sit down and unctuously contem- plate the stock he has come from and the teachings he has been brought up under, and hope to get anywhere simply because of these. This has been tried over and over aqain from the beginning of time with but indifferent results. He must do something for himself." good. Be a better and a bigger man than I have been. Carry the torch a little farther on than I have been able to, just as I have carried it farther than my father did." This is the spirit of an old war-horse, with the scent of battle in his distended nostrils. The effect of living or not living up to one's standards has an awkward way of cropping out sometimes. Not long ago a young man asked a large employer of labor for a job. In answer to questions he gave out the information that he was twenty-three, that he was married, and that he had had some experience in the line of manual labor asked for. "Are you a 'Mormon?' " "Yes, sir." There was no place for him. Presently another young man came up in search of work. He was asked the same questions, including the one about his religion. He was about the same age, was also married, and appeared to be a good workman. But he was a non-"Mormon." He was given a job. A by-stander, an educator in a Church school, said to the em- ployer, "Don't you hire 'Mormons' here?" "Yes," was the reply, "but not 'Mormons' who smoke." "But how do you know that first man smokes? You didn't ask him. The other man had a cigarette in his hand, didn't he?"

824 IMPROVEMENT ERA "I didn't need to ask the first one whether he smoked. The yellow on his fingers betrayed the yellow on his inside." The teacher could not understand. "You see. it's this way," the employer explained, "it's a question of standards. The first one's standard was higher, but he didn't live up to it. The other has no standard, so far as tobacco is concerned. Any young man who will take his sweetheart to the temple and then come out and break the vows he took there — I wouldn't have such a man handling a shovel for me." Another story is to the same point. It is of a shrewd railroad owner. Making the statement one day that he never employed, if he knew it, a returned Mormon" mis- sionary who smoked, he was asked why he drew the line at a returned missionary. He made this answer: "Any man who is deemed worthy to fill a mission for the 'Mor- mon' Church, has gone through a certain form of religious education. He has been reared in a good home, he has probably gone to the "Mormon" Sunday schools, and has attended Church. In all these places special stress has been placed on the effects or using tobacco, which must not be used under any circumstances. Then that man goes on a mission and teaches others not to use the weed in any form. Well now, if a man, after having been taught this more perhaps than any thing else, goes back on this teaching, I simply won't trust him in any department of my business, that is all. That may be a wedge opening to something else. You can never tell. And I cannot take that chance." Then again, every Latter-day Saint, whether or not he holds a position of responsibility in his Church, is a representative of his people. In the eyes of men he stands for a community, and oftentimes the whole "Mormon" Church is judged by the actions of a single in dividual. .This, of course, is unfair. But it is done through a persist- ent trait in human character to pick out a concrete instance rather than to think its way through to an abstract truth. Two cases will illustrate this. A representative of a large publishing house in New York spent several months in Utah, chiefly among the "Mormons." One time, before this representative left the State, a "Mormon" asked him what his opinion of the Saints was. "Well," he said, "one thing that has impressed me is the honesty of your people." "How did you get this impression?" he was asked. "In this way," was the reply. "Only the other day I was given fifty cents by another bookman, whom I knew. 'This belongs to you,' he said. And then I asked him for an explanation. " 'Weren't you at such-and-such a place last month?'

THE HERITAGE AND PROMISE 82 5 " 'I was,' I said. 'And didn't you stop at such-and-such a hotel, kept by so-and- so?' " 'Yes, I did, and I thought she had overcharged me, but I didn't say anything, partly because I wasn't sure and partly because 1 was in a hurry to catch my train.' 'Well, she discovered it as soon as you left. When I came on the scene, and she saw that I was in the same business, she asked me whether, if I knew you and would be likely to see you again, I would please hand you this fifty cents.' "Now, fifty cents isn't much, you know. But this time it's more than half a dollar. It's character. And that's how I know your people are honest." The other instance concerns swearing. A company of tourists was going through the National Park. It was in the days of the wagon and horses, and hired drivers. One of these was a "Mormon," who had taken his part of the company, along with the other drivers, from the railway station ana into the Park. It rained a good deal, and the teams had sometimes to be doubled. Profanity, the picturesque variety of the old West, was much in evi- dence. One of the party was a professor of a large university. He had been observing closely, especially the profanity, which offended his New England conscience. Among other things, he had noticed that one of the teamsters had not taken an oath from the time of starting to the end. And he was curious to know the reason. So he questioned the young man as to the reason. "I'm a 'Mormon,' sir," was the simple explanation. And that was explanation enough to the professor. Wherever he went after that the college man represented the "Mormons" as a non-swearing community. So that a Latter-day Saint carries a double responsibility — one of his own, and another his people's. (To be continued) To President Charles W. Penrose On his Ninetieth Anniversary, February 4, 1922. Whatever else thy tongue and pen, Or life hath wrought to uplift men, The stream of song that from thy soul Gushed forth, shall never cease to roll; And countless millions will rejoice And praise thy name with harp and voice. Geo. H. Brimhall.

GLORY TO GOD Improvement Era, Prize Jubilee Hymn. Fervently. Words and Music by Evan STEPHENS 1. Glo-ry to 2. Glo-ry to 3. "Glo-ry to 4. Honest of God! The Gos - pel's light Shines forth with God! The Saints re - joice, And cry a- Godj and peace on earth," Soon shall we heart, where - 'er ye be, Re - ceive the clear loud hail mes ef - ful with warn mil - len sage and r gence bright; ing voice: nial's birth, be free. The sleeping world be- Re-pent! re - pent! the Soon shall the sleep - ing And ye who know the Sti^ISii^i^ t=^g — j — E~ &~— E gins to hour is righteous bless - pd -p wake, The earth in warn - ing tre - mors near, When all the earth the truth shall rise To meet their Sa - vior in the sound, Proclaim it to the na - tions > > > > i A M. ^ .(2. £_ J2. quake; hear; skies, 'round, mm JSL £==£= t: =£ 1 The And Pre Till m 1 r — I J r — '^ r^ I — r 1 n # — « 0 1 — S — 0 W-s # • — I— a | — *-z 11 r f ? — ^ P 1 g=E=5 «— I — E=g— =::H -t— r bonds Christ pare! all -&- of in pre the sin glo pare, right and ry each eons —12- er - ror shall ap mo - ment shall _ be break. pear. flies, found. -I»-

OH HARK! A GLORIOUS SOUND IS HEARD Words by W. 0. Robinson. Music by B. C. Gates. 1. Oh, hark! A glorious sound is heard, In triumph of the right, As 2. And down the a - ges, on and on, In-creas-ing ev - 'ry hour, In j : * * l I. +■+ -f- P +- — -~^ I- Zi-on's youth, in league with truth, Go forth in wondrous might. They loy - al - ty and faith they go, In manhood, grace and power. The grf^f=E H- -I— -P- -#- # » » H ^"» T- i F— F . . . I raise their voice in loyal shout, A great ex - ult - ant, joyful cry:1 Light of Light, God's torch of truth, As beacon points the upward way - . Td ■+' # dt_ f- -- ♦ — — -fr: +- *- 'Je- ,To — — F — u — i 1- - — v— i ci — i — i t =u ho-vah reigns! Lord God of Hosts, All hail Thee King most High!" endless glo - ry, kingdoms great, In realms of perfect day. %n trz-P -» -— 0 #- m s ^ J.. ^5a ^ r p=fc=r-^l -5> i Copyright, 1925, by B. Cecil Gates.