The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-12-02

theories and statements. however, no
matter how satisfactory they may APP
pear to the persons who give them
voice, are more fallacious rnan any
system of religion. for while It Is Inn
possible to demonstrate that a given
system of religious teaching is faulty,
IT Is within the power Of the human
mind to prove the worthlessness Of
any teaching that does not recognize a
supreme Power, a God.
Is Greatest Instinct.
Perhaps one Of the great
est instincts implanted in the breast
sire for and belief in a life after
death. This instinct, desire and be-
lief is and has been found with all
peoples and among all nations in all
times and in all places, and it is
taught by every system of religion. In
the whole OF the history of the world
no people has been found that has not
a implanted this desire for and be-
lief in a future life.
When we believe in a Supreme Be-
ing. a Coda Master Intellect who
shapes u courses. we very naturally
also Will believe t::at He, through the
laws of nature, has implanted in the
human breast its instincts and de-
sires, In so far u: they lead towards
n light; and il is reasonable for us
10 believe further that these instincts
and desires ran and will be by us at
tanned SO thai We can, and perhaps we
there is another to which we NAV
attain. n that u intellectual spark
or soul comes to us of and from the
Supreme Being. and we are to that
extent n part of the divine plan; and
that death is to us only a period of
transition. a gate to another, and we
nope a higher existence.
Many OF us go much further with
our beliefs and u hopes and find
in the systems of revealed religion
promises which throb with faith and
nope for a paradise to be realized;
but. be our religion or belief what ii
may. We believe and we know that
death IL not the end.
Not u Religious Institution.
The Benevolent and Protective Or
der OF Elks is not primarily a religious
institution. 1t has no creed, and re-
quires of Its members only SO much
of a religion as is consistent with an
absolute belief in the existence of a
Supreme Ruler OF the Universe-a
God. so that from that standpoint
members Of all religious bodies,
whether Gentile n Jew. Christian or
Mahomedan. are eligible to member
ship: and yet all of the religious
teachings contained in the sermon on
n mount are included within the
teachings and the obligations of the
order. We demand Of our members
that they shall stand for and practice
charity. justice and brotherly love.
ana that they practice these attributes
IN All heir walk and conversation, as
Wen In their every day business life
as "a a. their homes and by their fire.
siaes. NO man Is a good Elk who
departs from these teachings, and we
believe and feel that when a mar in
this life conforms to the rules and
teachings Of this great order, he is
iivir~ not only for this world. which
Is all that is demanded of him by tn.
order. but that in such future state
as man may attain, he who has re-
NAMED faithful here will real,-o :
happy existence beyond. the grave.
Such being our beliefs, we apnroach
n subject which we are considering.
the memory of our brothers who have
departed from us. not wholly in sor-
row: True, we miss them and each
or them from u circle and from our
Iifeslde, but perhaps our sorrow for
their loss is not wholly unselfsh. Do
We not mourn their departure not
because of the loss which is ours
|They have already paid their debt to
nature. and their troubles and trials
are over.
II. as some believe. we are to he
Judged in the hereafter and must give
an account of u stewardship here,
We can but trust and believe that the
All-Wise Master will Judge us not
more harshly than would our brother
Elks. We write the faults of our
brothers upon the sand. that the ebb
flow of the tide twice in twenty
four hour may erase them from the
record. and they be forever forgotten.
God is all good; and He in His wis
dom and In His regard for our faults
n frailties. will He not do like
wise? ~
OF these things it is true we have
no exact knowledge. We are still in
the mists and the shadows and shall
SO remain until we too pass over the
Departed members of the. order for
whom the services are held. are ], J..
McCallum. T. s. Edison. c. T. Kit
tredge, F. w. March. John Vik. w.
James, G. H. Bronson. f. II. Wider.
P. McHugh. James Ryan, J. B.
Mooney, W: A. Murphy. r. L. Metcalf.
w. Clark. NJ. Edison. l.. E. Hanson,
Victor Chaffee. z. H. Williams, II.
Wolff. F. w. Shindler. w. Alderman.
l.. d. Lewis. j. P. White. j. Haggerty.
NJ. +. Williams. w. Ii. Wood, c. /.
Hulett. P. w. Hennessy, r. Brownlee,