Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1909-07-30
ne moral pre- sress o, the world. Once

forms, upon statements as to the De-
ity or as to human destiny; later it
shifted to forms of religious organiza-
tons. In cur own day it became NOR
al and ethical. insisting that religion
is valueless unless it produces virtu-
Ii lives, demanding character as the
proof of creed.
Just as psychology knows no indi-
vidual, so does religion, for nome of
us liveth to himself. Men come to a
social realization of themselves. The
study solitude gives place to the HUI
man fellowship. the brooding over per-
sonal faults and the lonely struggle
for individual PROJECTIONS passes and
its high passion is satisfied in banding
ourselves with our fellows for the sal
walton OF the world.
There is one voice to which every
free soul responds today; it is that
which insists on the claim Of all the
lives about US GA our own lives, the
sense of common responsibility. All
who live in any large sense, who lift
up the eyes and know the world as it
is. know that they live in a society as
living parts Of society.
Such living involves religious obi.
cations. 1t means that the higher life
must find expression through these re-
lations to all other lives. Social living
means the death of s~elfishness. Of the
old soul-dwarfng individuality. 1t
takes the l from the old-time throne
aud sets the All there.
Faith nowhere finds finer expression
+L~, -, tLo 1,F, .L.t .-1 .-1r
seeking in order to serve another, that
thus says, | believe so firmly in the
eternal goodness, in the rightness Of
this world l dare cease to think OF my
self and even seem to neglect my own
prosperity in order to maxi sure of
the well-being of my fellows.
Piety need never fear that It will
suffer from too great practical mind
edness OF this type. The people who
warn us Of the danger of the spiritual
life ~decaying in our interest in social
welfare are usually those who dread
the necessity Of making practical
proof of their professions Of religion,
Of expressing their spirituality in any
serviceable amer.
The social interpretations OF religion
do not mean the adoption Of any par
ticular theory Of society; they DO
mean living the life hat is ours az
children of the infinite in full con-
sciousness of all other lives, in rela-
tons of love and service toward them,
in recognition OF all their rights, in
the JOY of living with others and low
ing them.
The creeds of religion may lie be-
yond our co~mprehension; its forms
may seem meaningless to us and its
emotional expressions repellent, but
here is a form Of religion that all may
understand and practice; here are re-
ligious acts that all may do; they lie
next to us in daily living, simple, usu-
ally easy dom and yet farreaching in
their potency. The mystery OF the
love of the Most High will solve itself
as a man gives himself to the loving
service Of his brother man.
II only for a while we might learn
thu. way OF living, the way shown by
the life that gave itself in services for
all lives; if only we might see life
just as the chance to love and help,
ana religion as the eternal spirit in
US seeking the highest good for all,
the wonder would not be so much in
the good hat would come to us as in
the new Joy and f~ullness in living we
ourselves would find.
THE PATTERN IN THE MOUNT.
By Rev. Merle A. Breed.
Text: See, saith He, that thou
make all things according to the pat
tern that was Showed thee In the
mount."-Hebrews SIS.
Our text, which is a quotation from
Exodus 25:40, sets before us a picture
as interesting as it is suggestive. Tne
hosts Of Israel have been waiting long
before Mount Sinai. Their leader, i
Moses, is hidden in the Handicapped,
fire-riven summit in communion with
Jehovah. While the people were wait
ing in the plain. he has zone forth to
the mountains towering peak to be
with God, to heal His will for them
and for himself, and to bring down a
divine pattern of a tabernacle for
Gods worship and the uplifting of
mems hearts and lives to heavenly ,
things. !
What shall we build our lives
howell or palace, or temple? 1t Is an i.
celebrating reflection hat every act
or thought is building them into /;
something. What an infinite variety !
Of patterns! We cannot build after |!
them all-which shall we choose? 1,
There must be unity in the design.
The eclectic method, pure and simple, |
will hardly avail for this. What one
age approved fails to win the appro-
baton of the next. There must be
permanence and real worth in the
pattern, if it is to satisfy ourselves {
or others as the years pass. AS we
read history and the great names Of
past eras move before us, we often
feel how transient they were. How |
like a hovei is Midas, the Phrygian |
king of legend and story. How like /,
a Wondering trieme upon the shores
of time is Pompey the Great. How |
like a dust covered ruin in the Roman !
forum is Caesar. Now we may all be
tabernacle builders, like Moses, if we
will.
The divine pattern has come nea
men in Jesus Christ. We have not
to seek it amid the perils, darkness