The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-19


1 s4eS lar services a special
&SSsSs musical programme
was - This consisted of an an
them. ''Sing Alleluia Forth" in which
Mr. Wood and Miss Tiff took the solo
parts. Miss SwensOn sang Schencker's
He Is Risen" accompanied with vio-
lin obligato by Professor Peterson. This
was followed by another anthem, Say
Tor. When Night Invades the Skies, -
in which Miss Tangeman took the solo
part. The singing throughout was ex-
cellent and greatly enjoyed by the con-
gregation.
DR.. Lockwood preached on Life and
Immortality as Revealed by Christ. "
He took for his text:
And hath brought life and immor-
tality to light. 81 Tim, Ito.
Il am come that they might have
life, and that they might have it more
abundantly. John x-10.
1t is a fitting season to celebrate the
resurrection of our Lord, and to grasp
the truth of immortality. AS the soft
winds blow from the south, and the
fragrant buds begin to burst their
prison walls. and the tender grass robes
the cold earth in green, and the song of
birds once more fills the world with
music, ii is not difficult for us to be-
lieve that our friends will rise from
the tomb; and that we shall meet again
in summerland beyond the sky. Upon
this glad Easter morn the mists of
doubt and the shadows of fear are all
dispelIed; the heart is warmed and
cheered by the light that streams
through the open sepulcher of the Saw
ior, and the holy Christ himself draws
near to soothe the troubled heart.
My theme this morning is: Life and
Immortality as Revealed by Christ ="
1t is said that one of the large dia-
mond fields of South Africa was dis
covered in this manner: A stranger
entered the valley and made his way
toward the cabin of q settler, which
he saw in the distance. AS he drew
near a boy, who was playing near the
door of the house, threw a stone which
fell near the travellers feet. He picked
it I'D good naturally, intending to
throw il back to the boy when he was
startled by the flash of a beautiful dia-
mond that lay embedded in the rough
stone. This priceless gem had been
spurned by the peasants foot, crushed
under the wheels of his rude cart, and
had served as the chance playthiHg of
his child, and no one had dreamed of
its value until the practiced eye of the
stranger fell upon ii. 1t was just in
this way that Christ discovered the
value of human life. At his advent
who dreamed of the possibilities locked
up in every human life? Who guessed
that every human body. however black
or bent, or SCARED or MANNED, was the
rough stone in which was embedded an
immortal soul destined to shine re-
splendent in the courts of heaven? To
the age into which Christ came, what
was an infant? Unless it We're beauti-
full and a boy, it was a troublesome
and execrated piece of human flesh
\
ure to wild beasts. What was a slave
to this proud and besotted age? Sim
ply a bundle of flesh and bOne-a hu-
man machine to perform mental tasks
for a cruel master. or to die for him,
just as the whim of the moment might
dictate. And what was woman? She
was the slave and the Dlaything of
man. She was helpless and degraded.
She could lay claim to neither her per
son. her property nor her soul.
Coming into such an age as this,
where the greater part of the human
race was spurned, degraged and tram
pied upon by the imperious and favored
few, and where the splendid POSSIBLE
ties of life were buried deep in the
rough soil of sensuality, skepticism and
despair. Christ exalted the individual,
injected hope into the heart of the
most degraded and despairing, and an
that was eventually to supersede the
iron reign of law. There was no phase
of life that Jesus did not gently touch
and transform. To those who knew
him and felt his influence, existence
became a priceless boon instead of a
crushing burden. Men had not guessed
that human beings were all akin; that
life had so much of worth and beauty
in it, however ugly its outward setting,
and that in reality, existence was only
to begin at the grave-after the crude
casket had been shattered and the
spirit freed. But all of these things,
which had always been true, only be-
came manifest as Christ walked among
men. AT a single word from Christ
the loathsome flesh of the lone leper
became as fresh and firm as that of a
child, and he was allowed to exchange
his state of frightful isolation for the
love and warmth of home The bright
world of form and color was added to
the life of the blind man hitherto i'm
prisoned in gloom and sadness, simply
at his request. At one breath from the
master the bars that had for wears
held back the golden flow of speech
that sought issue from the lips of the
dumb man. were smitten down, and
the silent soul was granted intercourse
with his kind. And just so, deaf ears
were unstopDed by the same divine
power, so that the one who had been
compelled to sit apart from his fellows
in loneliness could not hear the song
of the birds. the music of the waterfall
and the laughter that ripples from the
lips of innocence. Christ was a welcome
guest whether in the quiet of some
hospitable home surrounded by init
mate friends, or at the innocent feast
where joy and good will reigned. He
gave his approval to the social instinct,
and enriched and refined social life. on
the other hand. death could not thrive
in his presence. Every funeral which
he attended was turned into a festi-
val of joy, for he broke the bands of
death and restored the lost one. Hun
ger, disease and death always fed at
the approach of Jesus. for he was the
incarnation of lignf and life.
While the Re6eemer did not scorn
the life that now is-providing for its
wants, alleviating its pains and add
ing new beauty and sacredness TO its |
guileless enjoyments-it is interesting
to observe how he lost no opportunity
TO enthrone the spirit at the same time /
that he subverted the letter: to elevate 1
the eternal at the same time that he |
the temporal and the /
transient. In the highest sense, Christ /
was an optimist and an idealist. He
believed in the final triumph of good; /
and he believed in spirit as the soli- |
tary and enduring principle of being. |