The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1913-11-29
THANKSGIVING DAY SERMON

God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin
| for season."
Sometimes we forget God and be-
come pessimistic. The Hebrew chill
dren forgot the Red Sea highway.
| forgot the heavenly mama, forgot
their garments which "waxed not
| DID, forgot the bondage of Egypt,
and in rebellion against God and their
| greatest human benefactor remem-
bered only the "leeks and garlic" ("
Such Is our groveling tendency. The
man with the muck rake" sees not
the glorious crown so graciously ex-
tended. This pessimism: this inap-
| probation; this ingratitude; this lack
| of faith, may, in charity at least, be
explained by our narrowness of vision
How closely circumscribed. Now we
know in part; now we see through a
glass darkly."
How lamentably true has this spirit
OF ingratitude been manifested in
America. The first century of Ameri-
can independence witnessed some of
the most determined attacks upon the
integrity of the Bible. Voltaire in Eu-
rope. Paine and Ingersoll in America.
and many others of less prominence
marshalled all the forces of fallacy
and ridicule; the coldly scientific
minds of Germany have thundered
their scientific artillery; Spencer,
without positively repudiating the
teachings of Holy Writ; spent all the
energy of his ponderous intellect in a
vain attempt to arrange system of
philosophy which should supersede
the teachings of the Carpenters
Son.
and Spencer are seldom seen and
still more seldom read Within recent
years p o. Wagner one of the most
learned of the agnostic school, was
J converted to christianity through the
instrumentality of one of Mr.. Edison's
marvellous inventions. and celebrated
his conversion upon one of the public
squares of Toledo, Ohio, by publicly
consigning to the flames one of the
most complete and expensive collec-
tions of agnostic literature anywhere
to be found.
Firty years ago or more eminent
men of the atheistic propaganda de-
clared that in ten years the Bible
would be out of print, except for
copies kept as reminders of the days
of darkness. What of their prophe-
cies? Statistics show an increasing
number of Bibles published with each
succeeding decade; and today, in all
the world there is left not one of note
to openly espouse the cause of infii-
deity. Nevertheless the foundation
of God stapdeth sure, having this seal:
The Lord knoweth them that are
His"
How firm a foundation, ye saints
of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent
| word"
| We believe that the profoundest
minds of the world today recognize
the truth of the apostolic statement:
Every good gift and every perfect
gift cometh from the Father" Many
, there are, alas! who repudiate God
because they cannot comprehend him
and yet these same persons are sur
rounded by material mystery. Scien-
| tific research is constantly revealing
! facts, chemical and otherwise. that are
demonstrable. yet in the last analysis
| are ineXplicable. The explanation
must always close with a bold inter-
rogation mark. Mr.. Edison has done
more with electricity than any other
man, yet Mr.. Edison can not always
tell us WHY. If then we fail to
comprehend the material and tangible
why should the finite insist upon COM
pretending the infinite? Surely as
| high as the heavens are above the
earth so are Gods thoughts above our
thoughts and Gods ways above our
ways.
Our Educational System.
1t may seem hardly proper on this
/ day of rejoicing to call to our minds
F, the chronic misrule and resulting dis
+, content in Russia; and the equally
chronic revolutionary tendency which
+, has at this time taken an acute form
in our sister republic of Mexico. An
/ oPPicSStQ pSoPit hHoWiiS not now TO
! intelligently redress themselves. We
! have not far to look for the cause
More than a hundred million ililterates
i in Russia and a corresponding per-
| centage in Mexico. No standing army,
however large. can cope with such
conditions. Note the comparison
America, land of schools. More
than a quarter of a million schools.
Schools for nearly 20.000.000 pupils.
More than the armies of all Europe
| combined. Public schools, private
schools: professional schools. business
schools; day schools. night schools:
Industrial schools; schools of art: gov
ernment schools. schools for deaf ana
schools for the blind: schools. schools.
| schools! God said, Let there be
| light" Some rays have penetrated
Russia. and her people will not rest