Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-05-24
GRADUATES HEAR
president SMITH
truth is Analysed in Strong and
Impressive Manner at FL
L. D. S. u.
ESSENTIAL TO PERMANENCY.
No Science, No Organization, No
philosophy OF Life. No Religion
Can Endure Without 1t.

mo science, no Organization, no phi-
I losophy Of life, no religion can hope to
have anySperinanence unless tits found
3 cd on truth Such was the substance
Of al, earnest and emphatic statement
made last evening DIT Barratt hall by
President oseph f. Smith. The express
sion was given in the commencement
sermon OF the I.atter-day Saints uni
yersity, which the president had been
invited to give. a large audience
turned out to hear him, most OF whom
we're students Of the institution. The
graduates, 80 in number. sat In tho
seats Immediately in front Of the speak
cr's stand lf n
President Smiths address, which oce
cupied about one hour, was analytical
in nature: II was II sympathetic and
pfofound analysis OF the first visionkoi
the Prophet Joseph.
flor a few preliminary remarks, the
q president gave. "a splendid eulosiunl of
truth. "If God Is Cod he declared
in effect. "and Christ Is the son. Of
God. then 1t follows that His word is
! truth And nothing can be more es-
z sential than to know the word of God.
: Coming from Him 1t must be truth, it
must be right, and contributory to
& mans eXaltation. No science, no Ieli-
rior can rise above truth. All truo
science, philosophy, religion, must be
based on truth, else 1t will not endure.
no matter how plausible, or how pop
,ular 1t may be. No SCIENCE no or
ganization, no philosophy of life, no
religion can hope to have any pernla-
i nence unless it is founded I on truth.
Il II religion has not for It's groundw work
.faet. truth, reality, 1t will be vain so
far as its power to save man is con-
8cerncd.' n. III .
President Smith pointed out In his
lucid manner what religion consists Of
some people imagine" he said, That
ia he religious one has merely to pray,
to sing psalms and spiritual songs, 70
abstain from all merrilnent and en-
ioyment, and to wear a solemn couE-
ttenance. This feeling as to VIVA .re-
ligion consists in may be very genuine,
foo And yet%this Is not religion, true
religion. at all. There may be true
RELIGION where there Is no external In
1ications, such as long prayers, an ABB
horrence of laughter and fun. or a long
sonctimor1ious face" President Smith.
Illustrated this point by an instance;
from his own experience. When. ne
Z vas Young man, he said, he fell IN
with O. good woman, whose nus na1iul.
was a minister. and whose nous M "a
bare Of adornment and contorta % pie
furniture, though she was reasonapls
well-to-do; and when he asked her why.
she had no pictures, nothing in the way va
& n adornment: ..Jvfy. my dear boy IS
she had exclaimed, II would not forf
fhe world have anything in my house,
mat would distract my thoughts nom
God and religion. President smith
thought this an altogether wrong no. no.
ton Of what religion Is, OF wha WA Is, Is.
ligion requires of us. He Sbelleveo t .ia'
Il person could enjoy himself an the
4 song! in the dance, could have his nome
4 fS,nist,ed with comfortable, beautlfui
furniture and pictures, and at the same
q lime he devoutly religious. tor rell-
rion consists in having a right concep-
lion Of God, d correct idea Of what the
gospel is and then q disposition % ~
whatever the gospel plan en1olns uooit5
rs. no matter what others may tnihh
Of us. Is j, IL
The president here came to ms man lils /
point, an exposition Of the true W. w.
as revealed in the Prophet a9 ;sa,,,,.
frst vision. He recounted the clrcuiil-ts
stances Of the vision, the youth of y os-
enh. and the glorious appearing of the
Fpther and the Son. Il believe, con con,
tin,Ied President Smith earnestly, stha I,
tho time had come for this great ana
glorious answer to the .Prophet y
prayer. / believe this not only because
of this manifestation itself, 6tnls s s.o.,
Ions opening Of the last dispense ioil'
but because OF what has followed AZ;
irhere IS no organization in the world
"a perfect and so effective for the puI -
pose which it was created to erect
MAIN THINGS IN LIFE.
as this vision true?'' asked the
..vtN1.s ~ ,at I'M ri
it Isl no one can escape it; for II az
fects the dead as well as the living
The essential thing in life is to learn
God, whom to know is eternal ife the
God who so gloriously revealed lin
SELF and His Son in vision to the pro-
phet.
And what IL this vision is not true!
Why, who Is injured thereby? NO one.
Not a soul in all the world is made the
worse BY this occurrence. On the con-
trary, men are made better by II
Granting for8the sake of argumen1t..,t.hatt
it is not true yet my soul Is upiiited5
by il, there comes an exaltation INTO
my soul when think of the doctrine
that9I am made in the image Of GOD.
that there is hope OF eternal lie to,
me- To believe in eternal lire ana
progress, even though the idea be not
true, will contribute to better citizen
ship, better manhood and womanhood,3
than unbelief in this thought But
this first yisionsin its fullest meaning.
President Smith contended, is true, and
men must come to learn it II they
would be exalted in the heavenly king
dom.
The president then went on the speak
CT the principles OF the gospel growing
out of a belief in God, as revealed IN
this first vision. st Is necessary he
declared, '.for men to exercise faith, to
forsake sin. to be baptized for the re-.
mission OF sin. to receive the gift OF
the Holy Ghost, and to live uprlghtlS
all their days, before they can hope to
be saved II there is any one thing
that appears to my intelligence In the
dealings OF God with His children. 1t
is that men Will be judged according
10 the deeds they have done in the
losh.''