Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1902-09-15
IDEALS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY


by Mrs. w. @. johnson at the w. @.
T. U. convention held at Newport
recently:
The one only perfect Ideal is Christ,
and can we now, simply because we
live in the light of this new century,
imagine for a moment that there is
any higher one, or ever can be? 1
answer, No, but this much we can
consistently say, never was there 80
clear light brought to bear upon the
the Christ Ideal as o-day, revealing
to us the relation we bear to this
Ideal: 1st, how sustained; and 2nd,
what we may reasonably expect from
such a relation. The fashionable
world are constantly calling our at
tention to the "New Attitude" etc.,
and we think it is quite time for
thinking people to ask if there is not
a new way OF looking at our attitude,
or in other words, the position in
which we find ourselves. We have
all arrived at different periods with
out any pre- arrangement on our part,
and all our past experience teaches US
that one by one, under circumstances
over which we have no control, we
shall take our exit, and the good old
way of teaching us was that we must
prepare to meet our God,-meaning
by this the event of our death, and
without one particle of the spirit of
criticism, and truly thankful for all
the progress we may have been able
to make, sincerely think there is a
better way. In some way people
have conceived the idea that their re-
lation to God was bound up in the
fact that by some means they we're to
possess certain preparation to die
by; while the simple truth, to be
taught with ali earnestness, is "a prep
aration for life. The greatest thing
we shall ever be able to teach in this
world is the truth that every living
soul is child of God, and the moment
we live, we partake of His life, and
the blessed chart tells us that ''noth-
ing shall be able to separate US from
the love of God, which is in Christ
Jesus, our Lord"
Whether we recognize the fact or
not, we remain the children of God,
and in this preparatory state which
we call life, if we obediently follow
the instructions of our Father we
have the assurance of great success
here (sixty to a hundred fold and in
the world to come life everlasting.
The principal truth is life, and moth
ing is so near the ideals of the present
time as to have firmly fixed in the
mind that we are part of God. 1 am
conscious that the most thoughtful
can hardly comprehend this truth in
it's completeness, else we should
have very much less to say about
death, and much more about life.
God cannot die-no more can his
children, who partake of His life. To
enjoy life you must be in harmony
with the source of life. This brings
US then to the second part; what
ought we to expect from such a rela-
ton, and what the ideals we shall
place at the opening of the century?
Simply this, then, man (and here we
use the word in it's generic sense,
meaning both man and woman) needs
nothing so much as the complete de-
velopment of all his powers, in other
words, an all-arUund man. But, do
hear some one say, what has this got
to do with temperance? Everything
to do with it. Intemperance is
simply a weakness at some given
point, where there should be strength.
Some start out wholly selfish in their
desires and purposes, forgetting that
they are the children of God and as
such are responsible to Him for the
very faculties they are employing to
deal out poison to the body OF their
brother man, simply to crafty an
overwhelming desire for greed and
gain. How many do you think would
trouble to-day to sell rum were it not
for the money? Nine tenths of them
loathe the business, and despise them
selves, at times anyway, for being in
it, but not realizing the truth that
they too are children of God, and that
the Chart says "Make no haste to be
rich," they madly, blindly rush on
with the one Unsuitable desire to ac-
cumulate money for which they have
given no equivalent. The result 9
will not try to portray, but drawing
the veil right here let me say to you
who are in harmony with God, and
are seeking the best you know to do
His will, this same Chart says "If we
love not our brother whom we have