The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-03-02
PREACHING.

President Eliot, of Harvard, re-
Gently said it would be an improve
ment in the relation between pastor
and congregation elf the minister
were frankly allowed sometimes 10
com ment upon a fresh book insieao
of preaching a sermon, sometin es
to read other mems sermons instead
of his own, and, in general. to direct
his hearers to good reading. an0
bring them to know something o.
the minds and works Of the leaders
of the race, living and dead We
doubt il President Eliot expected
his opinion to be endorsed by the
cEurch-goers, or rather by the
church members, for the two are
net always the same. And yet there
ia absolute truth in what the dis
tinguished scholar Gays. 1t is
largely the fault of the ministers
themselves that the preaching OF
the gospel is confined to narrow, II
not decidedly undressing limits.
People have been trained to expect
nothing original; they have been
taught to regard any stepp ng out
side the beaten paths of well-dehned
orthodoxy as bordering upoa"lcked'
ness If not outrageously sacrileglous
The pious pew-holder has been
taught to be Mortified if ne hears
any doctrine from the pulpit that
he has never heard before; it has
been impressed upon him that he
must be content with the dresry
piety that he has heard doled out
from his earliest recollectiOns; to be
satisfied with the old story relate q
in familiar language and free from
innovations and suggestions. Now
and then a preacher will branch
out. either from desire TO be sen
sstional or because he "dares" SHOW
that he has brains; he will inject
some new ideas into his sermons.
and talk to his congregation IN 8
practical way upon practical suo"
jects: but when he does so his
staunch old orthodox friends who
have drowsily nodded approval OF
the regulation discourse for 9
quarter of century, vii
prick up their ears, anc
If he should happen to be 6
thinker, and present something
new, the probabilities are he viii
have to hunt a new congreg atlon
II he should desire new congrega-
ton he is not long in finding it, ane
it Will be composed of people who
are broad. liberal and progressive
like himself-a great improvement
Intellectually upon those he leaves
behind. This has been proven sc
often that it may be accepted as 6
rule.
The gospel principles smay be the
same to-day as they were at the be-
ginning; indeed, they must be the
same, for truth is as Interchangeable
az God himself; at the same time
there must be something new. The
ancients were not perfect either IL
their piety or their wisdom; they
knew less of the Bible than is known
to-day, and far less of the great boob
of nature where God has stamped
his impress more indeIibly than
upon the written scriptures. There
is daily advance in knowledge.
and all the time men are
learning something of truths that
are an essential part of the gospel
Hence ministers should not only
keep up with the times but ieao
their congregations up also. A
sermon is no less truthful, no less
advantageous TO the listener, no less
in line Of the gospel because it is
clothed in beautiful language, and
shows evidence OF thought and in
vestigatlon beyond the century.
beaten paths. There is no stereo-
typed edition of all truth, and no
minister sholld be content with
what he may possess, be it much or
little. The church that succeeds in
standing still will Lbe failure, for
the world moves and man and gOs>
nels must move with it or they will
he left behind. The very best Cos
Del in this world, the best for a
church or for individuals, is the gos.
Del of progress, and in the church
that progress should be marked out
and encouraged by the the preachers.
The pulpit, If it fills its mission,
us1st not fad all its themes III the