The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1902-05-02

been hanged for thieving." Then
Jesus looked upon the dead creature
and quietly said: "Pearls cannot
equal the whiteness of it's teeth" !"
Then the men looked up in amaze
ment and each said to his fellow:
"Who is this? This can be no other
than Jesus of Nazareth for only He
could see something to be- pitied
and admired in a dead dora And
abashed, they bowed their heads in
and went their way. You
will not find this story id your BIZ
bles, it is not an historical fact. But
it is beautiful and exact represen-
tation of what Christ was in all His
relations with men. HIS was an un.
erring insight, an infinite pity, an
unfailing charity. He was, and I
say it with all reverence, He was an
Odd Fellow indeed. The world had
never seen His.> like before, and the
world has never seen His like since.
And it is such Odd Fellowship as
Christ displayed which more than
anything else is unify;ng the race,
and dsweetening the world. =:
MORALITY.
This brings me to the second mat
ter of which 1 am to speak, viz. that
true brotherhood only becomes
possible where there is soundness
of the moral sense
In Proverbs, Chap XIV, v. 30, the
wise man, by most appropriate fig
ure, utters profound moral prin-
ciple. He says: "A sound heart isl
the life of the flesh" The obvious
Interpretation is undoubtedly this:
If man would do good he must be
good; if he would exhibit to the
world the beauty of irreproachable
conduct he must possess within
himself the living principle of
beautiful soul. If men would feel
the thrill and stimulus of moral
vigor they must seek to be deliver
ed from the taint of deep seated
moral disease. "A sound heart"
says the text, "is the life of the
flesh" With equal truthfulness we
may add: A diseased heart is the
peril and the destruction of the
flesh.
Now the founders of your Order,
both in Manchester and Baltimore,
very clearly saw that sin, whether
AGAINST God OF ,a1an the aaoat
disintegrating and disrupt sting force
in the. world, that no institution
can long stand which winks at
wrong doing and that sin is inf
nitely too costly price to pay for
any promise of increase or reward.
They therefore made this wise pro-
vision that all persons to be receiv-
ed into their fellowship must be
men of good moral character.
How faithfully you may have ad-
hered to this original legislation of
the fathers in this connection am
not in position to say, and it is
not for mo to offer any criticism
whatsoever. I simply emphasize
what the good men of 1912 and 1919
emphasized, that the benefits of fell
lowship and the loyalty and devo-
tion of brotherhood continue only
as long as the soundness of the
moral character is maintained.
How full of shame and tragedy
are the records of sin. How spotted
with blood and tears are it's pages.
What malice and jealousy has it
wrought between man and man.
What unkindness. bitterness and
wrong have sprung from it's deadly
root. How utterly undependable
the man within whom the voice of
conscience no longer speaks, and
whose moral sense IS undermined
by the ravages of disease. How in
capable is such a man of fulfilling
the demands of friendship and hon.
or. Sin is the supreme satire which
mocks the inhabitants of the world.
it is the most terrible irony of the
universe. You do we'll, my breth-
rem, to watch against the intrusions
of sin, to legislate against the ap-
pearance of sits terrible shapes with
in your borders, and to demand of
all who seek admission to your fel-
lowship that they shall be clean
men, honorable in conduct, decent
in speech, men who realize the sa-
credness of bond, and whose chief
commendation is the respect and
confidence of their neighbors. Look
we'll, brothers, to the cultivation of
your own moral sense, for of all oc-
there is none more SUBJ
lime than that which diligently ap-
plies itself to the cultivation of
character, the building of manhood
and the enrichment and sanctifica-
ton of the soul. Remember that in
the possession of a sound heart lies
your chief personal safety and that