Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1905-03-08
President Joseph f Smith Speaks
Today at the / D. S.
University
REFERS TO SCIENTIFIC THEORIES
And Contrasts Them With the Truths
OF Revealed Religion = Advice TO
Young People.

President Joseph II. Smith and Prof
Ezra Chrlstianson OF Kicks academy
we're the speakers before the student
assembly at the Latter-day Saints uni
yersity this morning.
Prof. Chrlstianson showed wherein
the Church schools properly differ from
secular institutions. Church schools,
he said could not hope to excel the
latter In wealth or endowment or In the
numbers OF learned men brought to-
gether; but In respect to one thing they
should excel. They should impart that
which Is above prlce-characte and a
knowledge OF the word OF God. Learn
ed men today, like Lyman Abbott. no
longer believe In a personal God The
Church schools should be centers OF
faith In the living God and their stu
dents should ever be defenders Of the
right.
PRESIDENT SMITHS REMARKS.
President Smith said that Il gave him
pleasure TO stand before the ho0l as
sembly for q few moments but that he
would have preferred to hear from
those who are engaged In school work
Continuing he said, In substance;
endorse the remarks that have been
made and feel Ike continuing some Of
them, II | can do so without defracting
from their force and tendency. AS was
said by the previous speaker the OBJ
Jet Of the Church schools is that the
children of the Latter-day Saints may
have not only the brain disciplined.
and the mind informed, but that tho
heart and soul shan be trained IN all
the virtues that should characterize
mankind. We desire that our children
SHAH be taught honor in its broadcast
sense-thonor toward God, and toward
men, honor In business, that their
word shall be as good as their bond.
For IL II fact that the most success
ful business men are men Of their word.
good business man II one whose word
Is as good as his bond, n man whose
word has y he backed up by written
bonds am documents Is not a good
business man. You would not trust
him further than you could enforce
the bond he had given. We desire you
to be educated in this principle. so that
your word shall be more sacred to you
than any written agreement can be.
We would have this Idea so impressed
upon the conduct Of our young people
that It will be adopted as principle
and viii govern them IN their lives.
We desire our young people to be char
acterized by perfect candor and perfect
honesty.
THE DOCTRINES OF MEN.
There are many who profess to be
Christians, but who allow themselves
great latitude IN what they believe
The eloquent and learned man referred
to by the previous speaker, Lyman
Abbott, In leading DISCOURSE has
maintained that God is simply energy
and that energy is Cod This energy,
he said, permeates all nature, and Is
what causes the leaves to bud and the
flowers to grow He declared that this
energy In nature was no other than the
God he worshined. God was not for
him a person, but simply a power; and
this Idea he illustrated by many beau
tlful figures taken from the growing
leaves and expanding flowers. Now
this learned man OF the world attrih-
uted all this development IN nature to
an unseen, universal force, or energy,
which he thought was OF Itself capable
OF producing all that we see. II Is In
deed true that II requires energy to do
all that is done IN the world. II re-
CURED energy to build this house In
which we are assembled; but there was
something else required behind the en-
ergy that put these materials together.
That something was, In this case, the
mind OF man. Men planned this house
and directed the energy that erected
this structure II required the energy
OF the architect, ana OF the mason ard
OF the carpenter and Of a great many
other persons to build this house; but II
never could have been completed by
energy alone. There Is no such thing
az creation by means OF energy, with
out some propelllng power putting
forth the energy and directing Il. God
made the earth. He used, no doubt
His power, and employed this energy
Of which Lyman Abbott speaks; but
God was behind the energy; and thu
earth never could have been created
but for the direction of this energy ac-
cordng TO the plans and the win OF
the Creator All the doctrine that is
put forth OF this nature by men Of sci
ence IN relation to energy being God,
may be described In the homey phrase
OF a learned man who read a learned
book OF this kind, and then laid Il
aside with the remark that It was fried
froth,'
THE GOSPEL TRUTH.
Jesus Christ came into the world in
the meridian of time, possessing
mower In Himself to lay down HIS
life and TO take Il up again.
No man could take His life from Him
without His consent. He could have
called legjons OF angels TO His aid, lie
that could feed the multitude with only
a few loaves and fishes, He that could
give sight to the blind, He that could
cleanse the leper, and raise the dead
would It he any wonder that He could
command leglons Of angels? Had He
90 willed IL, Tie could have struck his
enemies dumb or blind; but He came