, 1884-10-24
CONFERENCE CLOSED.
The Meetings Of the M~ethOdlsts
Concluded Last Evening.
An Able Sermon by Rev. Or. Moore
of Denver.
Will Power as Applied to Thought
and Action.

The Methodist Conference closed last
evening with an address by Rev. DR..
Moore, Chancellor of the University of
Denver. The attendance was large a num-
Der of Denver people being among those
present. One of the pleasing incidents Of
the meeting was the passage of Resolutions
thanking Rev. G. N. Eldridge, pastor of
the First Methodist church of Cheyenne,
for courtesies extended and also ~recogniz-
ing favors from the Union Pacific com
pany.
DIR. Moore's sermon was an able and in
teresting one. He preached from Phil
lipians, 4; s, and during his sermon made
the following remarks on the great import
ance of the control of thought to worthy
subjects. He said: In our text there is
implied the possibility of mastery over our
thoughts. That We can control thought
is evident to any one upon the slightest
reflection. We know that every day we
live, we act upon this because we find that
the moment our attention is distracted our
work flags; as we read our book our wan
dering thoughts paint pictures on the
page and ere we are aware we see some
scenes of beauty that the wizard imagina-
ton has conjured, and we find that there
is no mastery of the lesson, no entering
into the thoughts of the author; and then,
by an exercise of the will, we put the pic
lures away that we may master the one
and enter into the thoughts of the other.
Day after day we are conscious of ~exercis-
ing this power and directing, by the energy
of our will, our thoughts to given subjects.
And yet while this is plain enough in re-
gard to those lines of thought that are
voluntary in ourselves, it is not nearly so
plain that We have this power over
thoughts that seem to be involuntary.
1t is not possible for us to prevent the
coming of thought, but our responsibility
begins where the power of our will may
exert itself; for when they are presented
to us consciously then it is for us to say
whether they shall be welcome and made at
home and entertained in our minds or
whether they shall be elected from the
chamber of our thoughts. l believe it is
possible when thoughts come or throw
themselves upon us for us to determine
for ourselves what treatment they are to
receive. 1t is ours to say by the edict of
our will you are welcome, you are to
make yourself at home, YOU are choice
and chosen and most welcome guestsl' or
you are intruders, you have come un-
hidden, you have violated all the dictates
and principals of decency and delicacy,
begonel' and it is possible for will, by a
resolution that requires energy and prom
pitude, to give a ejectment so violent to
those thoughts as that they will not be
likely to repeat their visit. 1t is all sum
med up in the old maxium, that though
we cannot prevent birds from flying over
our heads we have the power to keepthea
from building nests in our hair"
In speaking of what thoughts we ought
to entertain, the preacher urged as the
first standard to 90 by, that of our own
conscience. MANS conscience, enlight-
ened and guided by the word of God, is
the oracle of Cod l am not afriad of
a man who says: Il am guided by my
conscience. That is rule and standard
enough to him. Only be true to your
own conscience and it will lead you on
nearer and nearer to the right. Only be
honest with yourself and you will come
to have that conscience instructed by God.
IF we would have any intellectual
force, we must have the ability 10 direct
the current of our thoughts, A
man whose thoughts are coming and going
hither and thither may have brilliant
thoughts, but they will be kaleidoscope.
There will not be in them the order and
method of a logical serenity that will
carry strength and force. Consequently
we find all writer's are agreed on this:
That the very essence Of genius is, as
johnson phrased it, patience. Buff
fon a y that genius is protracted
patience, and another writer says
it is the power of patient application
meaning the same thing. And took a
those who have distinguished themselves
and we find that they are men who can
give themselves with such an absorbing
attention to the subject in hand hat
everything else is excluded, and the whole
force of their intellect applied to it, the
light of their mind Eliminates it until
they see things that were hidden and mys-
FERROUS before. When l think of the
great work Newton did l am not sur
prised that he had this power of atten-
ton so wonderfully developed that even
loud noises failed to disturb him.
In conclusion the Rev. gentleman said:
IF ever should have the opportunity to
preach to you again-ifI had known be.
fore | came here tonight that | should
never stand before you again to exert you
to any line of duty-ifI had known that,
| would have taken this very same tex
and have led you to this very line o.
thought. Finally, brethren, whatsoever
things are true, whatsoever things art
honest, whatsoever things are just, what
soever things are pure, whatsoever thing
are lovely, whatsoever things are of goot
report; if there be any virtue, if there b,
any praise, think on these things"
ACard ofThanks.
The ladies in charge have this mornin,
I-l-l Al i q NJ e L.. -