The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-02-15

beauty about US. Can we ever weary
/ OF It; or can We ever walk forth to
/ mold communion with any one of its
thousand forms of loveliness without
feeling the presence of the infinite
Father creep into our hearts TO chasten,
comfort and subdue them? The beauty,
| the wealth and the wisdom of the en-
/ tire universe belong 10 US. We are the
| lawful heirs of whatever is to be
found in earth or sky or sea. There
is not leaf that fiutters il the breeze
not a star that wrinkles in the vault
/ OF heaven, not flower that lends its
/ fragrance to the summer night but
was ordained to enhance the pleasure
OF human life and to reveal the love
and care of God. The golden grain
that waves in the sunlight, the purple
vineyard that smiles on the hill side
the shining gold and silver that turks
IN the mountain, the cattle grazing
upon thousand hills, the sparkling
gems that CLEAN in the dark caverns
of the sea, and the vast forests that
cover both mountain and valley, ali
exist for US that We NAV be rich and
glad, and may be wanting in no good
thing.
Let us remember though that we are
not the worlds. but that the world
is ours. The world is not to control
us but we are TO control it; we are TO
keep it under our feet. and never allow
1t to dominate our lives. How 1 pity
the man who is a slave to his wealth
and is unable to master it; or the
woman who is bound hand and foot
by social customs which she condemns
and detests.
1 do not understand that this means
simply the life that is passed upon
earth When I speak of life I do not
mean merely that segment of existence
that stretches between the cradle and
the grave. 1 mean that life which be-
gins with our birth and endures for
ever. If there were no life beyond
the tomb, to my mind, it would be a
worth living at all. If we should take
the evidence of those who commit sui
eide, thereby giving indisputable ev1-
dence that life has grown to be
burden to them; and if we should
add to this number the multitude of
patient souls who bear their weight of
disease, despair, disappointment and
sorrow uncomplainingly yet with oft
repeated prayer that their release may
come speedily; and If we should add
to these the list of vicious and criminal
men and women who are a curse to
themselves and a menace to society,
yet who never stop to ask themselves
a question concerning either the worth
or the purpose of life, / think it would
be doubtful upon which side the bal
ance would fall. Perhaps the majority
would pronounce life a failure if
viewed merely from the time side of
the tomb. Indeed many passages in
the Bible would lead US to draw such
a conclusion. The vanity and brevity
of our earthly life is made the subject
of frequent comment. This present
life is spoken OF as a vapor that dis
appears before the rising sun; as a
no
flower, a troubled dream.
But when we look through the open
tomb of Christ and catch the radiant
glow that is reflected from the sunlit
hills of glory, life assumes a different
aspect; it seems fraught with infinite
worth. When the thought of an i'm
mortal life becomes clear to us and
we interpret its worth and significance
in the light of the noblest and most
inspiring experiences of this life our
future being is thrilled with hope and
ecstacy and we remember that there
we shall be freed from the weight of
the flesh, that ignorance shall be ban
ished, and that pain and fear shall
flee away.
This used to seem to many of US a
strange gift and a dubious consola-
ton, but that was because we We're
permitting a captive to lead US en-
chained. Instead of having the COM
forting conception that death is con-
uuered minion that is compelled to
serve our purpose, we looked upon him
as a frightful monster VINO had US at
his mercy. But the view of life that
is held by the Christian changes the
entire aspect of death. We no longer
dread death. 1t frequently comes as
an angel of light to set the spirit free.
Death is only a screen that separates
us from the heavenly realm; we step
behind the dark, mysterious curtain
and To- we are with God in a brighter
land. Death to the Christian is only a
narrow stream at the brink of which
ne finds the Savior waiting to conduct
him safely to the farther shore. Death
unworthy to die. Many of US have
seen the time that we have reverently
prayed that God might speedily relieve
our suffering friends from the bondage
of pain, disease or insanity. Yes, pa
tient, broken-hearted sufferer, death is
yours; deliverance is at hand; God is
about to take you to himself that he
may place upon your brow the crown
of Immortality.
The persuasive influence of Gods
spirit, incentives to a life of righteous
ness, immediate salvation-all of these
are yours. However dark the sins of
your life have been, however frequent
ly you have rejected the offer of Gods
mercy in the past, however bitter and
rebellious your heart may be this morn
ing, the present, with all of its infinite
possibilities is yours: and this moment
the spirit of God pleads with you to
abandon your sin and your folly and 10
begin a new life, accepting Jesus as
your friend and redeemer. In his heart
every sinful man ought to thank God
this morning that it is not too late to
begin a new and holy life. A thousand
times you have passed by the slippery
brink of destruction, when you have
felt yourselves that, but for the good
ness of God, you must have been pre-
cipitated into utter darkness Time and
again you have promised that, if you
were spared but this once, you certain
" would serve God faithfully all the
rest of your days. Have you ever full
filed these VOWS, my friends? If not,
do so this very morning. The present
is yours; use it wisely.
The future is ours. And what does
it hold in store for us? The Judgment,
The Judgment Seei the beavers are
suddenly rolled back like a scroll. Yon-
der in the distance appears q great
white; and he that is seated thereon
is Jesus, the son of God. Above and
around the judgment seat are massed
myriads of white-winged angels. And
now the fleetest and the strongest takes
his flight to the remotest border of the
universe and as he flies he sounds a
blast upon his trump-a blast that re-
echoes with awful diStinctness in every
nook and corner of the frightened
earth. And instantly, at the sound.
the dead, both small and great, awake
from their long sleep and take their
places before the bar of God From
ar-fny Of ba rlof,