Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1900-02-09
w. 9. IL. U.
The Heavenly Birthday.
BY THE ". Q. T. u. OF HOT SPRINGS.

TIT Heavenly Birthday.
Two years ago on the 18th Of Feb.
our beloved Miss Willard was born into
that heavenly kingdom from which
no traveller eve returns. A long and
useful life had been spent in loving
preparation for that.blessed event and
her farewell to earth was that glorious
exclamation "How beautiful to be with
Cod" To her, death wa not an
occasion for mourning, but for rejoic-
ing 9 the birth into a life more
a~bundant-an entering into that beau
tiful city of God not made with hands,
where "nlany mansions" are prepared
for those who manifest their love for
God in heaven by their loving kindness
and helpfulness to his children on
earth.
allow beautiful to be with God!" ex-
pressed her life long idea of the gate
way We call death, but which she cal
led birth into the real kingdom of God,
an entering into our inheritance for
which this life is but a preparatory
school. For this reason, and at her
request, none of the usual black
emblems of death we're visible at her
funeral, but every where flowers and
white, the emblem of peace and purity
a rejoicing that she was released from
the pains and cares incident to our
journey thru this world and entered
into her w%ell-earned reward q "well
done thou good and faithful servant
If more Of our protesting christians
believed with their whole heart and
mind and soul what their lips profess
to believe concerning the kingdom of
God on earth and in the "great I'M
known beyond" their lives would be
more Of an every day prepare tion for
~that..heavenly birthday and much less
striving after the gew gaws and vanit-
les Of this world. They would have no
time nor money to spend on doubtful
amusements, not because those
amusements are necessarily bad in
themselves, but because their time and
their money are already too limited
for the many pleasurable duties which
are an uplift, not to themselves alone
but to every one with whom they come
in contact; because their whole atten-
ton is too much absorbed with making
other lives happier and other characters
more beautiful and pure, to remember
that some entertainment of a lowering
tendency is to take place tonight,
much less to take the time necessary
to get ready for it, go toit and recuper-
ate after it.
From those "many mansions" in "my
Fathers house." Miss Willard speaks
to us to day to go forward in the work
for which she labored so long and so
faithfully and for which she finally
gave her life. Adopting her beautiful
idea that death is but a heavenly birth
the National w. G. 7. u. has decided to
make each anniversary of her heavenly
birthday q memorial thank offering
day, in which we a give substantial
evidence of our thankfulness for her
beautiful life and for what she has done
for the uplifting of humanity by the
giving of her substance, as the God
hath praspered her, to speed the cause
which was dearest to her heart-the
cause of total abstinence and total
humiliation of the liquor traffic.
The best monument that we can
erect to her memory is to build up and
carry out to completeness the organiza.
ton for which she gave the best years
of her life.
In accordance with the above, the
next regular meeting of the Hot
Springs w. G. T. u. on Feb. IA (Wed.)
will be q memorial, thank Offering
meeting. The program will be entirely
concerning her and her works, and the
thank offerings received will be for
warded to the national treasurer for
the national work. We hope for an
extra large attendance on that occa.
sion.
TRY 1T