The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-11-18
LIFE OF HEBER c.. KIMBALL

The Life of Heber G. Kimball, BY
Bishop 0rson F. Whitney, his grand
son, has recently been published. l
has long been anticipated and much
has been expected from it. There viii
be no disappointment, unless it be tt
those who have hoped the bishop would
clothe the whole work with the imagry
and pervade it with the thoughts and
aspirations that have made him second
to none in the interests of those who
are fond of devotional speaking, and
who will read this work. A review oil
the work would be difficult. 1t is a
biography, and is not biography the
review of the life of the subject? To
tell the emotions and the thoughts its
reading may give birth to were no easy
task, though it might be done, yet
would be of a magnitude that the
present time and purpose do not war
rant.
There are doubtless these who will
hold that the author, the spirit of his
work growing as it advanced. has in
vested the character of Heber G. Kim
ball with qualifications magnitied be-
yond Justice, and held in allowance
traits which, fully developed as the
others, would perhaps have lessened
the appreciation of the reader for the
subjecJ OF the work. There will also
be those to whom he has done onIy
simple Justice. But neither the nm
bounded admiration of the hero wor-
shipper can increase, nor the calloused
heart of the envious diminish, the glory
of the mans answering, unquestion-
Ing, and bonndless faith-pure and
simple as that of chic in its mother,
combined with q profound knowledge
of the philosophy of human salvation
in the great cause his soul has welded
to itself. Alb, it is good in this age of
worldly mistakes, popularity named
wisdom. when the faith that man praises
most is faith in self. and when
men would seem to have learned too
much to believe humbly and with a
heart undivided, to read of great soul
that had cast itself wholly upon a faith
so trustfully that it took no thought for
the morrow, and withal had that vast
strength strength which is known to
few indeed of men in our day-which
comes from perfect trustfulness in God.
and in His power and His will to bless
and preserve those VINO diligently seek
Him believing with certain heart, that
He is
Perhaps, in no particular, has the au-
thor shown more perfect discretion than
in the preservation of the life recorded
mainly in the language of him of whom
it speaks. There is no hedging in this
language: no fine shading until the
spirit is lost by the author that NAV
give color more to the heart of him
who writes, however strong the tempta-
ton may have been to have done so. 1t
is q plain, simple, unvarnished tale of a
plain and simple man, who, neyerthe-
less, because of fidelity to his innate
qualities, was great for this very plain
ness and simplicity. In no other way
could the great blessing to the human
race of such life have been 30 we'll pre-
served and portrayed by the author.
Bishop Whitney has here shown the
master skill as a biographer. He has
given US the man as he was. No one
can read this book and say that Heber
Chase kimball was not an honest man
and faithful believer in the faith he
taught to so many others.
And is it not something to have be-
fore US, in this day, the record of such
a life? 'Let your light so shine before
men that others seeing your good works
may glorify your Father in Heaven"
How now do men obey this Injunction
This has been called the age of men
dacity. The spirit of lying is in almost
every heart. Its fruits are rotting on
the family hearth. The breeze that
fans the altar is tainted by its putrid
breath. The politician is a king when
his lies detroy his opponent. The man
Of business whose schemes are most
plausible and who cheats with greatest
skill is the great exemplar set before the
youth about to begin his battle in the
world. Nay, men have so far forsaken
The truth that they lie to themselves
md deceive themselves. Do not all |
nen condone tricks? Justify schemes? |
;ountenance duplicity? Do they not
practice the precept which the Jesuit |
caches which makes 1.-THE end for ever /
Justify the means? Are the children
rec from it? Is not the spirit of the
ather of lies inherited by them from
heir fathers and do they not drink it
n with the milk of the mothers
,reast? Men have grown so to lie that
hey cannot tell the truth, and we have
rat to look into our hearts to know
hat this is a sorrowful truth. The
rec of honor is dead, its leaves scat
cred to the winds In its stead has
cen planted the fear of exposure.
rhine is in discovery, not in COM
Mission. And we think we pay every
ebt to truthfnlness and to honesty
Then we praise them. Principle is {
lmost thing of the past and the man [,
no suffers for his faith Is deemed a {
'ol. Amid all this lying. trickery, !,
,heming and duplicity that makes {
he heart of man when, for a II
loment, he looks within himself and I
sholds what custom and time and
'sociation and policy have planted
lere, it is Joy to turn the pages of