Show j CHURCHES YESTERDAY Rev W K Bean Able Discourse Upon Religious Tolerance r f F THINKS IT SADLY LACKING REV ADELBERT L HUDSONS SERMON SER-MON AT UNITY HALL Morality In Thought the Theme The Young Men Christian Asso elation Holds an Interesting Service Ser-vice At the Tabernacle The First t Congreerational Church s Dr W K Beans preached to a large congregation at the First Methodist r church last night on Religious Tolerance Toler-ance He took his text from Luke 9 40 The doctor prefaced his most excellent t excel-lent discourse by telling of a man ii who when reaching heaven was surprised sur-prised at three things In the first f place he 4 expected to find many in heaven who were not there in the second place he was surprised to s find many near the throne whom he thought would not be there and in the c third place he was surprised how he ever got to heaven himself The people of God should ever cultivate culti-vate a forgiving tolerant and broad e religious spirit toward each other not r only in the local church but also toward other denominations There were of course many interpretations in every church and the speaker did not expect the church in this world would reach a stage of perfection If he should be called upon to define a model church he would have an edifice of raT architectural beauty furniture harmonious with beautifully designed i 4 ceiling and walls carpets of pleasing pattern and a harmony of colors in fl c everything In this church he would have every member a giant in spiritual power he would not have it said of one member that he was slow at paying pay-ing his bills of another that he was sharp at driving a bargain or of a third that he was miserly He would have models of men and women mingle I i together in harmony The church stewards stew-ards would always know their duty s and do it the Sunday school teachers would always be present at their I classes the janitor would even be an r improvement over the usual run of church sweepers and he would see that the church was never too hot or too cold or that the dust would congregate con-gregate The choir would have more I of a spirit n their singing and the organist would r < ver run into a wrong l key half way through a solo Then he would have a minister consecrated to God a mar of magnificent physique as wise as Soloman as eloquent as Peter whose smile would be as good as the doxology The ministers wife would be a womanly woman who would attend to all her household duties du-ties take an active part in the church work be president of several kindred church organizations and always ready to lend a helping hand to all of her sex He would also have the people of that model church so enthusiastic in i benevolence that they would ask the preacher every once in awhile to take 1 up a special collection in order that they might contribute financially to the upbuilding of the kingdom 01 the Master Such would be the ideal church f The doctor then contrasted the ideal witJh the real church as it is today t tbe improvement of which could only be accomplished by exercising a spirit of tolerance The ordinary man goes to church nowadays and scowls because be-cause Che sermon is too lengthy or too dry or because it is written or because be-cause the preacher talked too long about the church debt There is a tl spirit of Christian tolerance lacking I We are now too apt to thrust our prejudices t pre-judices into the unprejudiced minds of r others with disastrous results Always exercise a spirit of tolerance The f church is established in this woiOd asa as-a sort of moral test It is to test our ability to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth The spirit of intolerance often manifests L mani-fests itself early when it should be discouraged A boy for example will engage in play Suddenly something displeases him and he says with a l scowl on his face Boys I am going l to quit tihe game Such a boy grows no be a man and the same spirit will I > be manifest L We look aghast at the time when I Christians were burned at the stake f because they differed in belief from ft their persecutors In these days it has been abolished to a greaJt extent The preacher of today who in public or private attempts to say his church is the only churoh has come to be regarded re-garded by all intelligent people in a condition of indulgent pity People are going to heaven every day from denominations de-nominations whom we thought would never increase the throng in the celestial celes-tial city The sectarian who says because you do not worship in my church you shall not inherit the kingdom of glory is possessed of a narrow spirit that is cuiy inspired by the devil Because another nan differs from you in his concluski is no reason for condemnation condemna-tion If you give two men the same l < xt and they fail to draw from it the same points you should not condemn l i the men but raither admire the text r which was capable of setting men to think in more than owe direction In closing Dr Beans grew eloquent and appealed to sill to forsake these prejudices and use more of that spirit of tolerance towards other denominations denomina-tions And so I say he closed that on Decoration day on Washingtons birthday or on a Young Mens Christian Chris-tian association day we should not refuse re-fuse to touch elbows and stand on the same platform with < the Presbyterian the Congregationalist the Lutherans and Mormons and Gentiles should join hands In any effort to the upibuilding 1 of mankind and the glorification of God At Unity Hall Rev A L Hudson spoke yesterday morning from the text Search me Oh God and know my heart try me and know my thought his subject being Morality in Thought He referred to the seeming 1 boldness of the prayer since no man would be willing to have his secret thought exposed to those about him Nevertheless he recognized that it is our inner thought which determines our outward lives Rightly understood It is ai scientific fact that as a man I thinketh in his heart so is he Mind predominates over matter The inner power of thought can always break the crust of habit and environment The problem of morality in life is not to be solved by mortifying the flesh but by cultivating the spirit Asceticism is not and cannot be the true solution of lifes problem Not the ascetic with his dwarfed and weakened physical nature is the true type of sterling manhood but rather the perfect physical development in which all faculties are keenly alive but held in subjection iby the dominance dom-inance of the moral law as the inner motive power There can be no permanent and sufficient suf-ficient substitute for this dominance Gf morality in thought Pride good taste respectability love of approbation approba-tion none of these are fundamental < They do not connect with the deeper motives of life and cannot be relied upon to resist thfe pressure of lifes trials and temptations The life that is not well grounded In morality in thought Is always liable to be swept J away by the temptations that musl come to every life If we could know this inner history of the criminal and degraded classes we should find that their downfall did not begin with the first slight yielding to outward temptation but that their moral characters had first been undermined un-dermined by indulgence in impure and dishonest thought On the other hand the strength of the puritan type of character grows out of his unswerving and uncompromising uncompro-mising integrity in those inner thoughts which furnished motive power pow-er to life But the source of morality thought must be found in our relationship to a higher power the Godconsciousness in the soul of man In the failure to recognize this fact lies the weakness of ethical societies At the same time however our consciousness of a higher power does not depend on our accepting accept-ing or formulating any particular definition of such power It requires only the recognition of our own dependence de-pendence When we recosnize our dependence upon infinite love and wisdom the prayer of the Psalmist becomes natural and easy It is no longer bold or boastful It becomes the vo ee of a trusting child seeking for comprehension and sympathy I Conscious of our own weakness and imperfection but trusting to the guidance I guid-ance of divine wisdom we cry out in the language of the text Search me Oh God and know my I heart try me and know my thought and see if there be any wicked way I and lead me in the way everlasting Mr Hudsons subject for next Sunday I Sun-day will he The Lesser and the i I Larger Hope I Following the sermon there will be a service of consecration for young people with responses by the choir II Y ai c A The mens meeting at the Young Mens Christian association yesterday I was addressed by Prof I N Smith of I the collegiate institute on Christian Growth His text was taken from 2d Peter i 111 and he illustrated how I necessary it is for man to take on the I various Christian graces in order to I have a full and perfect growth in j Christ The male quartette Woodward Wood-ward Woods Obell and Dalesang I am Waiting during the after meeting I in > which alarge number participated Mr C H Parsons presided and the I meeting was very helpful to all present pres-ent JI Arrangements for the annual meeting in the Salt Lake theatre are now completed com-pleted and despite the announcement I of the receipt of a telegram by Mr Caskey from Mr Sankey the board of directors is confident that Mr Sankey i and Mr Stebbins when fully apprized I of the circumstances surrounding the plan of action will consent to assist the association in this important meeting meet-ing Hon B H Roberts will deliver the address of the evening on The Influence In-fluence of the Christian Young Man in Business and Public Life and the wonderful won-derful boy contralto Master Charlie Pike will sing No doubt is entertained a to the success of thIs annual meeting meet-ing even under the existing complications complica-tions since public sentiment is so i strongly in favor of the Young Mens Christian association < and the plan adopted by them At the Taliernaele Johnathan G Kimball was the first Speaker at the tabernacle yesterday afternoon His remarks dealt mainly with the shortcomings of the priesthood priest-hood of the church in their relations I with the people in general At times his blunt phrases and western manner I isms caused considerable merriment among the large congregation and asa as-a sermon it was something df a novelty nov-elty In beginning his discourse he said he desired that he be moved by the Holy Ghost he would not standup stand-up before his brethren if he spoke not always as the power of the Holy Ghost directed obedience to authority was the mainspring of their existence as a church and helpless the church would be if they did not obey the voice of God He said it did not make much difference what education a man had if he was devout and listened to God and was pleasing before Him he could please the Latterday Saints Every man and woman in the church should read the Doctrine and Covenants he liked to read them the Lord had said With some I am not well pleased if they will not open their mouths but hide the talents which I have given them because they fear man The Lord then is not pleased with those who hide the gifts and talents which I He has given to them If they have not faith they are not pleasing in the sight of God then the world need be no longer in doubt in regard to the Labterday Saints because their faith is undeniable and cannot be shaken The great difficulty was to learn to use the gifts which are added unto us If the people did not do this it was because be-cause they looked tCO much after themselves them-selves that self was the guiding motive mo-tive of most mens lives They should live as Abraham didhave a time for prayer and this would lead to good I deeds visiting the sick and helpless and ministering to their wants We are trying to get rich too fast there isnt a single individual who can getaway get-away from this fact we all partake of that spirit that is one of the things that holds us back No man can say he is without sin we are all burdened with weakness he said the Latterday Saints were catering to the same ideas that were the ruin of nations upon nations History would repeat itself if these things were not put away All the Latterday Saints had not led lives of virtue and righteousness as they Should and had not set a good example before others As Brigham Young said we ought to be the strongest strong-est people in the word because we area are-a chosen people He spoke of his travels trav-els in the southern states which were at one time most bitter against the I Mormons but who were now won over I to the Church You have not faith t enough in some matters there is alack a-lack of sympathy between the priesthood I priest-hood and the people and as domestic discord ended in a divorce of law on account of a lack of confidence between be-tween man and wife so there would be a divorce in the church The priesthood priest-hood needed stirring up they should be wakened up from their Rip Van Winkle torpor and hold their high positions in a manner that would be an example for their people and thus truth and faith and an earnest I earn-est belief in Gods word would strengthen them in their love and devotion de-votion for the great work begun by its zealous prophet Joseph Smith The next speaker was Elder C W PenrQse He said he was glad the previous pre-vious speaker had stirred up the minds j of the priesthood that something needed i need-ed to be done to establish a more sociable socia-ble communicat b with the people He I said they had a holy calling and it I was their highest duty to instruct the Saints in their duties to God and man they are to carry tjje gospel of Christ to the ends of the earth that all peoples peo-ples may hear the sound of thegospel and have the Opportunity of obeying it If they carry out the instructions which are given them by those appointed to preach then they will be faithful to their calling When the church was organized the Lord said he required every man to warn his neighbor to be diligent and obedient and to carry out and keep the covenant we have with God We ought to remember the sacred sa-cred promises we have made If all did that they would not need such admonitions ad-monitions as were given by Elder Kimball Kim-ball The precious things of heaven revelations and covenants are promised prom-ised to us 8f we live In i the light of the Son of God |