The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-05-21

lglous sentiments prevailing about them
on every hand. They are Influenced by the
pubic conception of morality which springs
from the religious sentiments of the people
their understanding of what is the mea-
sure of their duty to GoD, and what He has
revealed as being their duty towards each
other. If these religious agnostics, though
moral men, have no light within them
selves let US not forget that they walk by
borrowed light. To know how well they
would walk in darkness that borrowed
light must be put out, as well as the light
within them. While it is possible that re-
nned education, love for the beautiful
and the pure might have sufficient inf1u
enoe upon one here and there to keep him
within moral lines that would be respecta-
bic, yet how little would such means AFFECT
the great mass Of mankind Blot out from
the convictions of mankind the great fact
that Con is reality, or even let it become
the prevailing idea that His existence is
very doubtful; that it is very questionable
II there is life beyond the grave, and
that it is improbable that man is account
able for his actions in this life in future
state OF existence, or that his actions here
will have anything to do with fixing his
condition in that future state-do this, and
the influences which now scarce keep men
unddr reasonable moral restraint would be
entirely swept away, and men would be
left to follow unrestrained the bent of their
own passions without a sense Of response
bllity to anyone, or to any power. Self
restraint would be no virtue Whatever
would crafty the appetites or please the
fancy would be esteemed good. "Let US
eat. drink and be merry, for tomorrow we
dle'' would be the one motto written upon
every brow and in the palm of every hand,
engraven upon every tombstone. Passion
and appetite, not conscience, would guide
the action of men; and if so it requires no
nice deduction Of logic nor the coming of
any ghost from the other world to tell US
the issue of such state of affairs; british
beasts would men become, and a condition
worse than barbarism would be thrust
upon society.
Fortunately for humanity, 1t is impossi-
bic to bring about reign of unbelief. We
know, and as wise statesman once said,
sit is our glory to know" that man is a
religious animal and we can no more get
away from his religious sentiments and
convictions based upon and springing from
the idea fastened In his mind by nature her
self, that in this universe, guiding, control
ing and shaping its destiny, is a Master
Mind, supreme intelligence, to whom he
himself is responsible for his actions-he
can no more get away from this conviction
than he can get away from himself
1t is a conviction fixed in the
mind Of man by COP himself and
is one of the things humanity cannot
obliterate from their nature, try how they
may. tits conviction impressed upon the
mind Of the most benighted savage in the
darkest corner of heathendom 1t is a con-
viction that steals into the heart of the
man of science in spite of his vain philoso-
phizing; and after life time of thought
and study, back of all the phenomena he
has examined, he sees that mysterious
cause shifting and operating which he can
not grasp-that eludes alike the scalpel and
microscope, which works its own supreme
pleasure independent of him and all his
arts, and of which at the last he stands as
much in awe as does the ignorant savage
and whispers family, but nevertheless dis
| tinctly, "this must be Gop."