The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1890-02-13

maintain, unawed by influence anC
unbribed hy gain"
DOCTRINES OF THE NEW CHURCH..
To those who have been doing ouI
thinking anu writing, as well as oul
praying, it may appear out of place
for a layman and workingman to
write on subjects that are supposed
to belong exclusively to the author.
lied teachers of the church But as
the people everywhere are beginning
to "speak out in meetin', and as the
doctrines which | undertake to pre-
sent, although they embrace the uni.
verse, find their strongest proof in
such everyday matters and things as
are within the reach of all.
l need not enter the field of "schO-
lastic theory" and may, therefore,
reasonably expect to escape the crit
icisms, and perhaps even the atten-
ton, of those who have passed be-
You'd 1.-The day, of small things" OF
course can give the reader only the
few drops which l have been able to
gather from the great ocean, but all
truths are related by laws of affinity
and suggestion. and the least may
lead to the greatest. Let us illus
trate this, and in SO doing we will
not be going out Of our way. Sup
pose we begin to investigate the
causes which have produced the
smallest plant. We hold in our hand
the little seed, and we wish to find
out what conditions and influences
are necessary to produce the plant
We will plant it in good ground land,
in order to find out whether this
alone will produce the plant, let us
overit with a tight box. Wewill soon
find that something more is necessa-
ry, and will now cover it with glass
in such a way as to admit the heat
add light of the sun, but exclude the
air, and find that earth, heat and
light will not perfect the plant We
remove the glass covering, and now
the plant grows, and we have found
that it requires good ground, heat,
light and air. But now we shall have
to push our Investigations in four
different directions, and ascertain
the properties of the mineral king.
dom, of the atmosphere and of heat
and light; and having determined
those OF heat and light, we shall not
need to know by what process or
power they are produced.
Now trip to the sun will be nee.
essary Here we shall find the first
elements of all matter, and after as.
pertaining their agency in the pro.
duction of heat and light, and the
creation of the mineral, vegetable
and animal kingdoms, we shall bid
farewell to matter, and enter the
realm of spiritual substances and
forces, which, if it were possible to
continue our Investigations, would
bring us at last to the first, or life
principle of all things-God.
But we have thus far followed only
one chain of causes in the production
of the plant. We might next inquire
what influence the moon and the
planets of our solar system have
how they affect heat, light, rainfall,
etc, and how this affects the plant
Here would begin the study of as
tronomy. But let us return to the
plant and see what is going on there.
~ cCClho oohlS oiIO pun otLCI SCCbS III
the ground where we planted ours,
and the same causes which are max
ing our plants grow are also devel-
Oping weeds and rriars, and if we
look into the cause of this apparent
contradiction, we shall see that it is
all in the seeds. The weed and briar
seeds, while they received the same
elements as the other plant, changed
them into weeds and briars, and are
choking the life OUT of the first plant
Now, however, a man appears on the
scene, and proceeds to cut out the
weeds and briars, and loosens up the
earth around the plant. Suppose
we TASK him why he does this; he will
answer that the plant is good for
food, and that this is necessary for
it's perfect development. Next we
must call in the chemist, the anato-
mist and the physician, and deter.
mine whether it be brain food, OF
whether it possesses medicinal prop.
critics, etc. Then we may consider
how it may affect human conditions
1t will produce seeds, and these again
will produce other plants, and be-
come great food supply which will
be blessing to the human family
They may even save the life of some
great and good man, who will after.
wards change the political, social
moral and spiritual condition of the
world, and thus take hold upon eter-
nifty.
And thus we might go on without
end, and show the connections of this
one little plant with the whole uni
verse of matter and mind, and come
to the rational conclusion that crea
ton is one great whole. But l feal
the reader is ready to say, "What is
the use of all this talk about little
plant? don't everybody know these
things?" Yes, l suppose they do
but have they made the best use Of
this knowledge? The conviction that
they have not is my excuse for men
tioning them. But we are not yet
done with the plant. 1t is related to
the human mind in such a way that
although on different planes there is
q complete correspondence between
them. -
Let us take little boy who is just
beginning to thing and remember
The little mind begins to receive i'm
pressions and ideas (mind food fron
it's surroundings and to grow, just
as the plant receives plant food and
grows. The mind needs cultivation
so does the plant. Evil affections
and false principles spring upon the
mind and injure the good principles
like the briars and weeds do the plant
The mind natures gradually-so
does the plant. The life of the mint
comes continually from God, but il
In hasod I1,,on the En0wladna derived