The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-09-19

b accomplished II only requissl
Z word Of approval and The teachers IN
6usnee Tor good 10 suddenly gone, n y
forever. How Important, therefore. thas
these taithf.l nsa and yemen S, vn .cr ~ ~
sinply and solely By . desire to 90 ysuI
child good, should have your most cordial
sRpporA Many and heavy are the sacri-
Aces in money. time. labor and shougha
they freely make for your children. 2
eternity alone can tell ths value OF snels
Who loads and feeds the flock, and to the
bishops who stand by him In his great
work, 10 also should you feel to the super
intendsns and teaohera. Who perhaps do
more than either of these. for the spiritual
culture Of POUR child. Others DO musn 20
zion, but these labor for spiritual develop
msnt-the moulding Of The life into the
likeness Of Christ, and the fitting. OF the
spirit for the abode of the redeemed. Y.
that parents could appreciate the power
they possess Of imparting. Immortal powers
power. Gabrisrs adoption may b. secured
against tho powers of He'll or the accidents
Of time, but he oan't transmit his v ma
ture to . precious offspring bearing MS
likeness. But parents, without losing
/ any Of their own Immortality. are able 70
multiply immortalitiea in ever widening
and progressive numbers. How solemn
and high this p~rerogstivel 10 raises us
nearer to the Almighty Creator than any
other power possessed. A we look into the
sweet face Of our child which answers our
gaze with an infantils smile. We should zee
beneath that smile an immortal spark
which " have kindled, but which We can
never quench. should its existence prove
a curse. there 10 40 power which can re-
mand il to n~othineness. Yes, parents. you
have lighted a lamp which will burn on
when the sun is ~darkened. and the moon
has become q clot of blood, burn either
with the glory of heaven or the lutid light
Of despair. How heartily We should vel
come, and how faithfully we should sup
port these noble spirits who aid ua in trim
ming these lamps for the marriage feast OF
our Lord.
But the parents having placed their
children in the school, and having in
structed them in their lessons before going,
and having given the workers of the school
q cordial support. the further work must
now be done by others. This brings
as to our second point:
Duty Of the church to the Sunday school
Like that of her parents. her duty 10 also
threefold:
See that . proper place for work is
supplied. In the intellectual education of
our children we recognize the Importance
of this. 1t il our crown of glory az a ma
tion-young though we be. that we pour out
our money freely for school buildings.
Considering the vast number Of such build
ings. no other class of structures is 80 lib
orally endowed. Not only are they costly
and beautiful. but they are becoming
of their kind. Tn latest mt best
of heating, the spacious halls, the
cloak rooms, the cheerful reci- !
tation rooms, the single desks. the vast
black boards, charts, globes, etc., ETC.. all
show that whatever else We may be neg.
We are not neglecting to prepare
children. But when We look into the
average church how forcibly we are re-
that 'the children of the world are
wiser in their generation than the children
Of light" Generally You see a large audi
Ioriun, modelled somewhat after q shooting
long and narrow. with architecture
that seems TO labor under the impression
hal to orthodoxy. forgetting that Solomon's
built under the immediate super
vision Of Jehovah himself, was one of the
most beautiful and costly buildings
The world has ever seen. But
sven this would be bearable if there
anything except the auditorium.
and then, it is true. We find kitchen
~parlors, an ever welcome and useful
But how seldom, oh, how sell
dom, do We find any arrangement for the
Sunday school. And yet recitation rooms
could be arranged in most of our auditor
iums, or near them, with very little addi-
tional cost and without n sacrifice of
have them? How can We reasonably ex-
peot good work without having a place for
the worker? In the day school. under suoh
circumstances, We would not expect it, and
yet, strange to say. the very people who
recognize this and provide for it in the in
education seem to be utterly un-
of it's Importance in the educa-
ton of the soul. No church in this late
day is exousable which builds with special
to the wants of the young. To
do 80 is TO ignore one of the most glaring
and rational demands OF the age and to
the heartless and sh~ort-siqhted
shepherd. who would carefully shelter the
old of his flock and leave the little lambs
out IN the wintry cold.
Provide proper instruction for the chill
dren. 1t is not enough to have q good
house. modern in equipment. This is i'm
portant, but it is of infinitely more
that tie children be prop
erly taught. So important is it that
if you can furnish only one of the two, let
Garfeld's idea of the Importance of the
teacher is the true one: himself sitting on
one end of a log and Mark Hopkins on the
other, teaching him.
You notice l place this among the duties
of the school. The school is not capable
of selecting its own teacher, no moro 80
than are our day chools capable of select
ing theirs. We feel that our school boards
ought to be composed of the best men
among Us. because of the difficulty and I'M
portanoe of their duties; and especially tho
duty of choosing teachers. But we seem to
cast aside our common sense in Sunday
school work ana let the children select
their officers and teachers, which often re-
suits in the selection Of tho VIGOROUSLY in
competent, and to our shame be it said,
sometimes in the choice of the unconverted.
A chool composed in the main Of children
from 6 to Is years is not competent for this
work. But the church. through her pastor
and official board, aided by the counsel of
other wise and discreet brethren, should
choose she superintendent, and he, BY their
aid, should select his teachers, consulting
always, of course, as far as possible, the
wishes of the school.
But however carefully selected, most OF
tho teachers will be incompetent. How
shall this be ovsroome2 In addition to a
liberal uae of our valuable Sunday school
helps, 0 so abundant and 30 CHEAP. let
there be a teachers meeting, conducted, If
need be, by the pastor. and let every teacher
be impressed with the vital importance of
attending this meeting. Let the lesson be
ing full of the precious message, and go
anxious to tell it to others, that he will
share Paul's feeling when, with the message
of life burning in his noble bosom, he cried
out. Woe IL me If | preach nottbe gospel"
Many, very many teachers stay away from
their ~classea. pleading Soma t1imsy excuse.
who would gladly attend il they could be