Temples of God

TEMPLES OF GOD* By Bryant S. Hinckley, President Liberty Stake Apostle Paul tells us (I Cor. 3:16, 17), "Know ye not that ye are the temples of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defileth this, the temple of God, him shall God destroy: for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." This ancient apostle had a fine appreciation of the importance and dignity that attaches to individual strength and personal purity. One of the outstanding proofs of the divinity of this latter-day work and of the inspiration of its leadership is the religious im- portance which it attaches to the moral soundness and physical well- being of its members, for these are basic requirements if any people are long to endure. We believe that this earthly tabernacle is an integral and eternal part of the immortal soul of man, that in the great scheme of man's progress the acquisition of this earthly tabernacle was a necessary and most important step. This fundamental doctrine gives an exalted place to the temple in which man's spirit is enshrined and attaches an added importance to the care of one's health and the protection and development of each of us physically and mentally. A well balanced life has three dimensions: length, breadth and depth. Time is an important factor in human achievement, but mere length of days means little. A rich, full life requires, in addition, breadth and depth. A life that is too broad may be shallow. The great object is to live long, to have broad and interesting contacts, rich and deep experiences and to achieve splendidly. "We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths. In feelings, not in figures on a dial. We should count time by heart throbs. He most lives Who thinks most, feels noblest, acts the best." In order to do this, one must husband with care all of his health endowments. And health has come to have a much broader meaning than mere disease dodging — it means, really, "that condition which enables one to live most and serve best;" consequently, it is a subject that concerns you more vitally and more directly than any other subject in the world, for when your health is gone you are a burden to yourself and to those about you. Isn't it a curious thing that in the face of constant peril of disease and with all the scientific knowledge available for prolonging life, the vast majority of us will not give any serious consideration to the preserving of our health until we begin to feel we are breaking? Do you know that at this moment there are in the United States more than three million people ill; nearly one-half of them un- * Address in the Y. M. M. I. A. Conference. June 11. 19?7.

TEMPLES OF GOD 865 necessarily so? During this current year more than five hundred thousand people will die from preventable and postponable diseases. Now that sounds pessimistic — but nevertheless this is a statement of facts, living facts. These interesting statistics have been compiled by insurance actuaries with reference to the prospects of a hundred average young men twenty-five years of age starting out in business. The results are decidedly disconcerting. Forty years afterward, when these young men are sixty-five years old, they will, on the average, have fallen into the following classes: thirty-six dead, fifty-four financially dependent on family or charity, five barely able to make their own living, four well-to-do, one rich. It is a grim question to ask you young men which one of the four classes you are going to be in when you are sixty-five. Will you be among the dead ones, the dependent ones, those just barely able to make a living, or among the well-to-do or rich? I do not hesitate to say that the greatest single factor in deciding this vital question is the care of your health. "Ten years may be added to the average span of human life if one begins young enough," declared Dr. Charles H. Mayo of the Mayo Clinic. He says, "Man's age lengthened an average of twenty years from the sixteenth century until 1850, when the average age was forty. It had advanced five years more, to forty-five, by 1875. The average age has now advanced to fifty-eight." Dr. Franklin H. Martin of Chicago, Director-General of the American College of Surgeons, said that one in eight persons die of heart disease, one in seven of cancer, and one in six of apoplexy. Every one of these, he declared, is a preventable and curable disease if reached early enough. If people had an annual examination, fifty per cent of these diseases would be caught in their incipient stages. "The care and culture of man is the greatest political economy." Race-building is the supreme task of all ages and success in this great work is based upon accepted fundamentals. It is an impossibility to build up a conquering race without establishing them upon a sound physical basis. It would be as impossible to build up a great people upon a race of dyspeptics as it would be to erect an enduring edifice upon a foundation of sand — it cannot be done. No race or nation has thus far been able to stand continual prosperity. Physical decline has followed ease and luxury, which in turn has resulted in racial exhaustion. The historian, Freeman, declared that the Greek boys were the most attractive that the world had ever seen. This was due to the fact that the Greek system of education laid great stress upon the proper care and development of the body. They systematically sought to make it the robust instrument of a trained and cultured mind. "A sound mind requires a sound body" is an educational axiom. The Greeks held that if physical perfection were cultivated, mental and

866 IMPROVEMENT ERA moral excellence would follow; and that without this, character and culture rested upon an insecure basis. And this system resulted in producing some of the greatest minds that ever adorned the world. Herbert Spencer said, "The first requisite for success is to be a good animal, and to be a nation of good animals is the first con- dition of national prosperity." G. Stanley Hall says, "In our day, there are many reasons to believe that the best nations of the future will be those which give the most intelligent care to the body." A sound body and vigorous health is not the end, but it is a fundamental without which all the finer qualities of the mind and heart are greatly impaired. The realization of one's aims and ambi- tions in life will depend largely upon his health. Your success in life will be measured by the amount and kind of work which you do. Sound health is a great moral factor, without which one can never build for himself the noble character he might otherwise build. "There are conditions for each individual under which he can do the most and best work and it is his duty to ascertain these conditions and live by them;" in other words, it is greatly to one's advantage to live up to the high-water mark of- his efficiency. Full living, high- level living, righteous living, is the condition of joyous living and of splendid achievement. "What are the sources of power and efficiency in strong men and women, and how should strength and power be promoted?" asks Dr. J. M. Tyler, who uses the following illustration to answer these questions: "Look at the great ocean liner plowing through the water. You see the captain, the steersman, the officers and the flag. * * * Go down into the furnace room and you will find grimy, half-naked men shoveling coal into the furnaces. These men do not dine in the saloon nor strut the deck — 'they drive the ship. The power is the steam furnished by the combustion of the coal. Similarly, in our bodies the ultimate source of power is in the digestive system." This illustration shows very clearly that the ocean liner would be of little service, as such, without a strong boiler and a good engine and fuel, but let us not fail to make this distinction clear and sharp; the engine is built for the liner, and not the liner for the engine. The ship needs a strong boiler and a good engine; but it needs much in addition. The greater its capacity, the more perfect its accom- modation; the finer its construction and equipment, the more valuable the vessel. Whether a man belongs to the class of tug boats or ocean liners, depends largely upon what he has aboard besides a boiler and an engine. A man with a strong head and weak stomach is greatly handicapped; but one with a weak head and a strong stomach is likewise handicapped. The mian to be envied is the one who has a strong head and the proof of good digestion upon his cheek. May we submit some suggestions on how to prolong life and in-

TEMPLES OF GOD 86 7 crease one's efficiency.-' Two of the commonest things among good men that contribute most to inefficiency f and to ultimate failure are: First. Worry — One philosopher said, "Worry is interest paid on trouble before it comes due." It is nothing but a diluted, dribbling fear, long drawn out. You can worry more and harder on the fourth day than you can on the first. It grows by what it feeds on. Every normal activity is strangled by it. Any person can systematically worry to the point where he is either sick or unbalanced. Second. Fatigue — Over-fatigue is fatigue that does not disap- pear before the next exertion. To allow fatigue to pile up is to invite the day of wrath. One can become so fatigued that he can not see straight, think straight or act straight. Over-fatigue operates much the same as a poison. When one goes to work with a tired feeling he may know that the storm is gathering. Some Definite Things to Do: 1. Look upon the bright side. It is a well known fact that the number of deaths in a retreating army are much greater than in an army marching to victory. The mental attitude of defeat, of dis- couragement, lowers the resisting powers of the body. 2. Cultivate the play spirit; encourage the joy element in your life through relaxation and proper recreation. Play irons out the wrinkles and tunes up the nerve batteries so that this magnificent machine of yours, your body, will run without knocking and make the hills of life without breaking. The man who persistently plays well is doing something that is really worth while. He is taking the most sensible and practical method of increasing his efficiency. Every man can stand up straight, breathe deeply and look the world squarely in the face. He can make up his mind to tell a funny story at every meal if it kills him, and it won't. Now I have come to the kernel of my discourse. Every man who expects to succeed, must stand on his feet and play the game. No matter how hard or furiously the storm breaks in his face, he must move forward. To do this he must keep his health — there is no substitute for it. You cannot buy it; you cannot borrow it. You may get a few extra parts but they often rattle. There is only one way of keeping this marvelous machine going and that is through exercise and proper living. No automobile, no matter how superbly built, can make all of the hills and the rough places unless it is hitting on every cylinder; neither can you, or any one else, make all of the grades unless you keep fit — and to do this you must consider your health and take a little time off to tune up your nerve batteries and to keep this machine of yours in proper condition. You young men who belong to the Church should find great pride and inspiration in the program which it provides for building up a race of men with superior physical power and with greater capacity for achievement.

868 IMPROVEMENT ERA We do not hesitate to say that a conscientious and intelligent observance of the Word of Wisdom for a few generations would make this, or any similar people, distinguished in the world and place them among the leaders of mankind in thought and action. To live long, to live with inspiration and power, to carry the spirit of youth right up to the border-land of eternity, is a supreme achievement. To do this requires intelligent conservation of all our health endowments and the maintenance of a proper balance in work, rest and recreation. The road to health stretches before each of us; it does not always lead through shady paths and over smooth roads, but through the sun- shine and storm and over rough places — and the goal is life itself. The Glacier I climbed a long trail where thq mountain tops hail All the serrated heights of the world; Where the long line of peaks an adventurer seeks, Pierces through where the clouds are unfurled. Over hummocks and jags, over chasms and crags, Over snow-fields spread out far around. From the earliest dawn the long trail led me on Till the sun-lighted glacier I found. In the solitude there was a new world most fair, Unknown in the country below, Like a dreamland device were its castle's of ice And its ornate embankments of snow. There were scintillate gleams- in the sun's brilliant beams Of the wonderful grottos and towers, And the great hollow halls, with their glistening walls, Hung with frost-ferns and frost-spangled flowers. And far down a crevasse, that was mirrored like glass, The sunbeams glanced into the shade. While a pinnacle near in its glow flashed the clear, Golden light where the shadows were laid. There the sunlight beamed through the ethereal-blue, A glory in streamers of gold, And displayed in its sheen the most soul-lifting scene That mortal can ever behold. Here my heart found delight, all my toil to requite, As my eyes o'er the glacier could trace, In each view that I saw, the transcendence of awe, In the grandeur of silence and space. And my eyes oft explored what my being adored In the realm of magnificent scenes, And my soul felt the dower of invisible power That in the high places convenes; The invisible power of eternity's hour, The faith that through grandeur is shown, Where the soul may aspire, in its greatest desire, To know even as it is known, And closely attune all its powers to commune With God, that all thought must enthrone! Maywood, California JOSEPH LONGKING TOWNSEND