HOW SHALL WE BE BETTER?

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within itself the elements of true har-awaken the slumbering memories of mony and melody; it is the harp of the childhood and innocence and the wild Almighty's creation, the perfect instru- deep pathos of repentance, the softer ment of which all others are but types notes of hope and yearning aspirations or imperfect representations, and from after purity, and the melting strains of which should be constantly ascending gratitude to God and love to man. the sweet and seraphic strains o love to God and man. The sorrows of life may have unstrung it; the dark and gloomy days of disappointment and adversity may have rendered it discordant; the stormy blasts of the world may have snapped some of its finer strings; it may have been so long silent that its possessor has forgotten the sound of its once thrilling music; the scorching siroccos of passion may have warped and cracked it, and in some few, but thank God, very few instances the demon of crime has, with violent and ruthless hand irremediably ruined and for ever unfitted it for the angel of virtue to touch; but with these exceptions there it is, though frequently in a rough and uninviting exterior, only awaiting the touch of some master-band to tune its strings and sweep its chords, to

There is music in every soul, and it is the divinest of arts to know how to fetch it out; to know when and where and how to touch its chords and make them vibrate in responsive harmony with the melodious notes of nature and the thrilling sweetness of the songs of the redeemed. This is the art of arts, the study of studies. It should be ours. It is the most difficult instrument to master, but the most beautiful and sublime when it is mastered. He who can thoroughly understand it in all its intricacies and finger it with a bold confidence and yet delicate refinement, has a power worthy of God himself, and which, like him, he should use for the delight and benefit of earth's, at present, discordant family.

SIRIUS.

HOW SHALL WE BE BETTER?

BY ELDER GEORGE REYNOLDS.

Amongst the vast list of questions that have been from time to time presented to the human family for their consideration, none have been oftener asked or more variously answered than "How shall we be better ?" To say the least of it, it is one of those queries more easily asked than answered; and the condition of the world to-day is but a proof of the fact, the various systems extant being but the embodiment of the ideas, the practical working of the plans that have been put forward by men as answers to the inquiry.

Philosophers, philanthropists, statesmen and divines, have all endeavored in their own peculiar way to solve the problem; to point the road to happiness; to introduce a reign of right; to find the panacea, more valuable than thephilosopher's stone" or the "elexir of life," by which the vice of the world might be stopped, its downward course arrested, and the means devised by which all might enjoy the privileges to

But, waving

which they were heirs.
for a moment their rejection of divine
revelation, and, as a result, the loss of
the Spirit of God, they have made one
grand mistake in their operations.
Instead of taking man as a whole, as
a living soul with perfect harmony in
all his parts, and consequent unity, they
have endeavored to make him better
in parts. One has taken under his
care his moral welfare; another his
social development; a third his physical
training; a fourth his intellectual ad-
vancement, and so on; dividing them-
se ves into doctors of divinity, law and
physic, each one, acting independently,
has prescribed diversified medicines
entirely opposed and at variance, and,
as a natural consequence, death and
division characterize the endeavors of
men to benefit each other.

The course they have pursued somewhat resembles that of the man who, having broken both his legs, sent for two surgeons, placed one limb under

214

HOW SHALL WE BE BETTER?

ills, real and imaginary. Others have gone to greater lengths and advocated theories of the most utopian kind as sure remedies for the social disease. Politicians have endeavored to frame laws to force people to do right, to attend public worship, to keep holy the Sabbath-day, &c.; thus striving by legislation to coerce the consciences of the citizens, while the people have, in their turn, overset these governments and raised, amidst a sea of blood, the cry of "liberty, equality and brotherhood," hoping by this means to accom< plish the so-much-to-be-desired object at which so many had aimed and failed. Yet all these means have proved futile; not one, nor all put together, have answered the expectations of their originators, for much as our self-love might cause us to try and hide the fact, we cannot but admit that the world is degenerating, that crime increases, that vice is rampant, that unity, under present conditions, is a myth, and that, after all the endeavors that have been used, all the experiments that have been tested, the zeal and energy that have been exhausted, men still go on from bad to worse, and the solution of the enigma is apparently as distant as when the inquiry was first made.

the care of each, but informed neither | human regenerator and the cure for all that the other was injured; submitted to all the operations which each advised, and took all the medicine each prescribed, the result being that they treated him quite differently, ending in the death of the too secretive sufferer. So has it been in the history of this world: men have run into extremes of the most ridiculous kind in the advocacy of ideas which they held as paramountly essential to the well-being of the human family, shutting themselves up in the seclusion of these dogmas and ignoring in toto the labors of others who, while endeavoring to arrive at the same end and bring about the same result, took a different view of the subject and advised other remedies. The divine has taken the religious culture of the masses under his care; and, attending only to their spiritual concerns, has preached and pointed the ways devised of men to find out God and regain heaven; and, in the inordinate development of the devotional feelings to the detriment of the rest, has endeavored to better the condition of mankind and cause man to rise to that position of excellence wherein he will love God with all his heart and his neighbor as himself. Others, again, have tried to accomplish the same end by the organization of Social Science Then, how we can be better-better Congresses and the establishment of in every sense of the word-is, indeed, Working-Men's Institutes, &c., and the now a pertinent question. The only lecturer has been sent forth from town answer we can give is, There is but one to town to endeavor to instruct the way-all others are unequal to the task masses in the various moral virtues and must for ever fail, as they have that tend to produce peace and happi- heretofore done-and that way is the ness, while the spread of education has one devised by God and proclaimed by been considered the most formidable his servants; that is the only one that weapon in the hands of the multitude will answer all purposes, supply every to overcome crime, yet it has been want and meet the necessities of every found that to bestow a merely scholastic case. That alone is consistent with the education upon a wicked man only con- character of man and worthy of his fers upon him a greater power to do obedience and support. As Saints, we wrong. Certainly, if education were acknowledge the Gospel to be the work to be understood in its broadest sense, of that same great Being who created it would be all that is wanted. To man, and to be a perfect plan suited to educate the people in true priuciple has all the requirements of humanity. been the aim of the servants of the There is nothing short, nothing wanting; Lord in every age; but the education but that same wisdom that organized generally spoken of is that which begins the one arranged the other. If such be at A B C and ends at a college. This the case, we then can ask ourselves as alone will never better the world, nor individuals, How can we be better, and make men godlike in their character. the answer is plain,-If the plan of Then, again, some have looked to redemption is perfect, the nearer we live Socialism or Teetotalism as the great to it the better we shall be; if it will

HISTORY OF JOSEPH SMITH.

supply all our wants, the more we adhere to it the less we shall lack-or, in one word, let our lives be consistent in all things with the cause we have espoused and the principles we have obeyed, and we shall increase in goodness all the time, for the more we do so the more like our heavenly Father shall we become, the more of his Spirit shall we enjoy and the less difference will there be between our actions and the teachings of truth we recieve. Amongst other things, let us be consistent with our prayers, not only in what we ask for, but in watching that our conduct agrees with the petitions offered to our heavenly Father. Thus, if we implore the assistance of the Holy Spirit, let our lives be such that it can dwell with us; if we pray for health and strength, let us not abuse our bodies by sin, intemperance, unnecessary over-exertion, deprivation

215

or neglect; if we pray for peace and happiness, let us endeavor to spread it around and not try to make others miserable or uncomfortable; if we ask for the way to be opened for us to go to Zion, let us make the best use of the means placed in our hands and be economical and persevering; if we solicit blessings on the Priesthood, let us support them by our faith and good works, and not try to decrease their influence by insinuating anything likely to produce opposition; if we pray for the spread of truth, the building up of the kingdom of God and the gathering of Israel, let us put our shoulders to the wheel and do our part, live up to our duties, magnify our callings, value our privileges and, with the assistance of the Comforter, do all that it is our right to do with life, zeal, wisdom, perseverance, and humility.

HISTORY OF JOSEPH
(Continued from page 201.)

4 p.m.
Meeting of the Twelve
Apostles, High Council and High
Priests at the Seventies' Hall.

President William Marks prayed. President B. Young called upon President Rigdon to make a statement to the Church concerning his message to the Saints, and the vision and revelation he had received.

President Rigdon said :

"The object of my mission is to visit the Saints and offer myself to them as a guardian. I had a vision at Pittsburgh, June 27th. This was presented to my mind not as an open vision, but rather a continuation of the vision mentioned in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants.

It was shown to me that this Church must be built up to Joseph, and that all the blessings we receive must come through him. I have been ordained a spokesman to Joseph, and I must come to Nauvoo and see that the Church is governed in a proper manner. Joseph sustains the same relationship to this Church as he has always done. No man can be the successor of Joseph.

The kingdom is to be built up to Jesus Christ through Joseph; there must be revelation still. The martyred Prophet is still the head of this Church; every Quorum should stand as you stood in your washings and consecrations. I have been

SMITH.

consecrated a spokesman to Joseph, and I was commanded to speak for him. The Church is not disorganized though our head is gone.

We may have a diversity of feelings on this matter. I have been called to be a spokesman unto Joseph, and I want to build up the Church unto him; and if the people want me to sustain this place, I want it upon the principle that every individual shall acknowledge it for himself.

I propose to be a guardian to the people; in this I have discharged my duty and done what God has commanded me, and the people can please themselves whether they accept me or not."

President B. Young said :

"I do not care who leads the Church, even though it were Ann Lee; but one thing I must know, and that is what God says about it. I have the keys and the means of obtaining the mind of God on the subject.

I know there are those in our midst who will seek the lives of the Twelve as they did the lives of Joseph and Hyrum. We shall ordain others and give the fulness of the Priesthood, so that if we are killed the fulness of the Priesthood may remain.

Joseph conferred upon our heads all the keys and powers belonging to the Apostleship which he himself held before he was taken away, and no man or set of men

HISTORY OF JOSEPH SMITH.

SOME little sensation was created on the 23rd ult., by the receipt of a telegram, under date Salt Lake City, March 9th, stating that a collision between the military and the citizens was imminent,-that Governor Harding and Associate Justices Waite and Drake had called upon Colonel Conner, commander of the California Volunteer regiment encamped near Great Salt Lake City, to arrest Presidents Young, Kimball and Wells; stating, also, that the citizens were in arms determined to prevent the arrest of their leaders by military force. Though we have not yet heard what foundation, if any, there may be for this telegram, we feel assured that it is false in many of its particulars; not that we doubt the disposition of Governor Harding, and, perhaps, the Associate Justices Waite and Drake, to do all in their power to disturb and harass President Young and his Counsellors and the people generally, but we do doubt the probability of a collision or a resistance on the part of the citizens such as is stated.

After Harding's arrival in the Territory he made the fairest promises respecting his intentions and the course he was determined to pursue, in discharging the duties of his office, of any man who has ever held a Federal position in the Territory of Utah. This can be seen by per using a report of a speech delivered by him on the 24th of last July, in Great Salt Lake City, immediately after his entrance into the Territory, and published in the 39th number of the 24th volume of the Star. In that speech, after lauding the citizens of Utah in highly eulogistic terms, he says, speaking of one of the articles of our faith,-"As the Great Master of sculpture gathered and combined all the perfections of the human face into one Divine model, so you, in that one grand article, have bound into one golden sheaf all the Christian virtues that underlie our civilization," and spoke in the strongest terms of the perseverance, industry, loyalty and moral worth of the people. When we read that speech we thought that if the sentiments were real he would soon bow in submission to the principles of the Gospel, and become associated with us in our endeavors to establish the principles of truth and righteousness on the earth. We feared, however, that it was too much to expect from a politician, and we therefore viewed his asseverations with a certain amount of distrust. From all accounts, there has probably never been a man sent out by the general Government, to act as its representative in that Territory, who has so abandoned himself to the work of injuring the people with such virulence as this Harding. Had the general Government not had the rebellion