Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-07-17
BIBLE IN THE SCHOOLS.

Professor Geo. III. BrlnlhalL Oh FiN-
vo. has just returned from a Trip "
california, where he went as uv'7'
gate To the teachers convention az LOS
Angeles The Professor is very muen
Impressed with the untlring energy Oh
,ha rai,fo,nia1is as well as the re-
sources of the state. utah was wen
rnnrosented at the convention as
ought to be, considering the great "u-
vaneenent of educational interests
here. -
In renIy to questions whether the
.eA,o,mons'. were Disseminated against
An any way in the gatherings Of Inc
A.soclation or anywhere else, the Fro-
feavor replied, without hesitation; Noe
IN The least" He added that many
teachers from other states We're eager
IN hear about the educational system
y, 1rtah. and that they were agreeaply
surprised to learn OF the schools mere
The utah delegates had many oppor-
tunities of answering questions ana
tnnartlnr information on educatonai
subjects
respectfully beg the anti NOR
mons to make a note OF the taet tnte
all their efforts at injurtng the CLASS
~ neonla OF Utah that belong to the
church. In the esteem OF en-
lirhteued people in other states
have so TAR utterly failed. me
.Mormons' are as welcome IN the
non-reIielous gatherings of respectap'e
American citizens. as any other CLASS
And very often curiosity insures tor
"Mormono delegates more attention
than is accorded to other delegates OIL
no particular distinction. If anti
.Mormontsm7 were the succcls frantic
politicians and fanatics would nave
people believe 1t to be. "Mormons
would be treated as outcasts OUTSIDE
of Utah. But they are not All thv
Vaccinations OF their opponents nave
nroved In vain. for the simple reason
that the "Mormons" have, by thelr
pure lives. true doctrines and kindly
feelings toward all men. including the
enemies, proved the utter falsehoods OF
all the accusations hurled against
them.
Prof. Brinhall says he was very
much Impressed by the fact that the
majority of the teachers present at the
convention. favored the use Of the
Bible In the schools as a text book.
James II. Baker. president of the uni
ycrslty of Colorado, In an address ar
gued in favor of this proposition.
At present, public sentiment is not In
favor OF Bible study in the public
schools, but we believe IL change will
take place in this regard, perhaps be-
fore long. The fact will be recognized
that IN the interest OF the state. edu-
cation must have moral foundation,
since education alone Is no power
that can save from degradation and
crime. Many of the greatest criminals
have been educated men and women,
And since no moral agency is more
potent than reverentlal and devo-
tional study OF the Bible. there will
some day be a general demand for
study OF that book OF books accord
ing to the age and capacity of the
child.
The objections that now appear so
formidable VIII be swept away. II is
said. for instance, that the Bible can
not be studied In the schools without
the Introduction of sectarianism with
IT.. This is n real objection, Com
petent, conscientious teachers, however
would know how to avoid this. Blgots
would not want to steer clear of sec
tarianism. But the danger would not
be as great as some Imagine. Let the
child become familiar with the Bible,
no matter under whose instruction, and
the chance is that. when the Judgment
has matured, the familiarity with the
sacred record will be n great help
IN the understanding OF truth and the
avoidance of error. More errors have
sprung up because OF utter Ignorance
Of the Bible, than because OF one-sided
instruction. ''Ye do err. not knowing
the Scriptures" is true principle.
II has also been said that II The
Bible is to be used as text book, why
not the Talmud, the Koran, the Veda
the Gospel OF Buddha, or the doctrine
OF Confuclus? Yes, why not, provided
time and opportunities permit? There
would be less blgotry IN the world II
every nation could be made acquaint'
ed with the moral Ideals OF all Other
nations. The various groups of Tho
human family know too little of eaef
other. Let them exchange Ideas ant
learn from each other, by MI means