The Morning examiner. [volume] (Ogden, Utah) 1904-1910, 1909-02-28
THE DIGNITY OF LABOR.

In the time of eternal might,
God said: Let there be light"
Then the sun, in all his might,
Made all things warm and bright.
Then God made man In his own
image, and placed him in the paradise
which he had prepared Tor him.
Though surrounded. as he WAS, with
all the luXuries that heart could dc
sire-the green grass, the budding
trees. the blooming flowers, the ripen-
ing fruit. the singing birds, the rpp-
Ing brooks. The low, sweet murmur of
all nature. with the beasts of the field,
the fouls of the air and the fish OF
the sea. all subject unto him-"a mon
arch of all he surveyed man
was lonesome; so. in order To make
hiS happiness complete. God Created
for him a mate; and called her "wo-
man. And they, twain, dwelt in the
Garden of Eden under cetTain rcstric-
lions But man. being energetic and
ambitious. WAS not satisfied to dwell
in luxury and idlenesS, so he began TO
grow restless and finally decided up.
on tour OF Investigation BY the in
quisitiveness' OF woman, he soon made
6 discovery, and claiming what he
found by right Of discovery, he pro
ceedod 10 appropriate 1t TO his own use.
In so doing he even perceived us
many man has since. that he had
gotten into the wrong berth Then
A. 10 h.
ashamed; and when questioned as TO
the cause oil this state of things he
OF course, said: Well" she gave II
10 me and | did eat" Then the sen.
tence: ''Iu the sweat of thy face
shalt thou eat bread The man and
the woman were driven from a HE oil
luxury and idlencsS TO earn theiif own
living. We are told by some that this
was curse pronounced upon the
whole human race as punishment
Tor the sins Of our first parents. II
II was curse. II Wa the most glori-
GUS curse pronounced, Our mind Is
too finite to comprehend what the
conditions would be today. if it had
not been for Adams mistake" and
the subsequent curse" In the So
his former prerogatiyeS except pas
sive ignorance and inherent innocence.
The great field of knowledge and pos
sibilities opened up before him, and
that dignity born of purpose, possessed
him
So those sterling qualities which
began development in our early an.
cestorS have been handed down TO
posterity. being constantly developed
In them.
If II were not so, we would not
have had the temples and missions.
monuments TO the skill and handi-
work OF the children of Israel we
would not have had any pyramids OF
Egypt; we would not have any burned
cities TO uncover, revealing to us the
evidences of the arts and sciences
OF days gone by. In fine. we would
have but little history of the centuries
gone by
II may be objected by some that
these great achievements were ac.
complished at the instance OF the
great rulers i'll those times. by the
use Of slaves. II is true that the me-
chanicS who did the work in most
cases. were a subducd and conquered
people; but they were not criminals
And the very fact that they were
compelled TO do this work! placed
within their hands the weapons with
which they were able To overthrow
their enemies-tbe plutocrats-and
surmount every obstacle, and rise to a
higher plane of civilization, and which
their labor, being compulsory. was
humlliating. it was not degrading Tor
there was tho blissful realization OF
superiority. both mental and physical.
over those who lay in the lap OF lux
ury and idleneSs.
But if, by any stretch of magma
tion, labor. in those days. could be
considered degrading or undignited.
that thought must be dispelled, when
We consider that tho Great Master took
his place at the bench and worked as
n carpenter And as He was exalted
above all other men, so he placed
labor on the highest pinnacle OF dig
nifty. And why should IL not be soy
| What has ever been accomplished
without creative labor? Has she nor
created all tho wealth In the universe
! To whom belongs tho glory ot suh.
| during the earth and making IL tn
blossom like the rose? To whom
belongs the hand Of delivering in;o
the BOSOM OF the earth and Wrestling
therefrom the hidden treasures. al
harnessing and suhduing nature's
forces to the good and pleasure OF
humanity Certainly, not To A fen
lack snipos" who have purloined hon.
est toll of her created wealth. and
arrogated TO themselves distinction of
captains OF industry and eudeayorod
to draw line OF distinction between
themselves and honest toll. With them
selves in tho ascendcncy.
From what class Of people have