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Show . , n, - ., i , -i - - Prayersjif Peace Last Sunday was peace day and prayers asking the great Huler or the universe to bring peace to the war-ilng war-ilng nations were made In all or thu chinches In America The prayeis by Presidents .Joseph F. Smith and C. W. Penrose were notable, and the sermon by Kev E. I. (Ionium was one of the most stilk. iiiK In the thoughts advanced. L'-tiacts L'-tiacts follow: lift, ('(ishen's Seimuii "Tbih whole movement pioceeds on the theory that Clod has to be begged to do what He ought to be willing to do without begging, provided thai tie ought to do antblug. It assumes that the pia)crs will induce Illm to do what Me would not do were the payers not offeied. If this Is true then tbeie Is no use In making the pracrH. For unless these prayers ln-ililence ln-ililence Ood to do what He otherwise would not do, then the pra)eis are useless. "I would not make light of this subject, sub-ject, nor would I scoff at anyone who are reverent In their attitude, misguided mis-guided as 1 may think them to be. i ml thinking In a practical manner I cannot refrain from wondering why this day or prayer for peace was put off so long. If tho pra)crs or thu churches aro going to be elllcaclous, then why were they not made weeks ago, so that the tunlblu surfering might have been spared? "Thu fact Is that If these terrible things or war and famine and pestilence pesti-lence weru to ne solved by prayer, then they would never exist.. For piayers for their removal havo always been made. If men weru hair as ready to pray for guidance In their councils as they are to pray for roller ro-ller niter they havo ruined all by their hair-sighted policies, then thu worst horrors of life would never uxlst. "Thu tlmu to pray Is beforo wo have ruined all by our prayerless attitude. The time to pray Is when wu aru making mak-ing plans and determining councils. I'rayer for guldaiicu Is great; prayer for relief rrom consequences is cheap, the murderer has no business to pray or liberty after he has murdered a fellow creature. Ho ought to havu prayed for light and guidance long uefon. It will not do a particnl or good to pray for a sound arm after I havu foolishly burned my arm by putting put-ting it in tho lire. The drunkard ought to pray for strength to resist drunk enness, but K hu Is any Bort or a innn lie will not pray to escapu thu effects of drunkenness already Incurred. "It Is pitiful to seo a man praying for the first tlmu In years when thu Titanic Is going down. That is thu pitiful piti-ful weakness or humanity. And wo nil ah aro something In It. Hut thu time to pray Is when tho skies nro bluo and when the ovll dnyB coino not nor tho yonra draw nigh when 1 shall Bay thero Is no pleasure in iboin. "This prayer for tho removal of evils assumes, if ono thinks loglcnlly, that (lad is thu one who is sending thu ills that oppress Iminnnlty. That Is tho old Idea, tho rnlso Idea, the terrible Idea. And this Idea has driven driv-en thousands of good men to abandon prayer altogether. They cannot pray to a Ood who Is responsible tor thu woes and thu sorrows of tho world. "If 1 had to think that Cod sends thu crushing sorrows, tho burning fevers, the tlevastntlons that sweep the earth; If I had to think that Hu was back of tho wnrs and famines and pestilences, then for ono rlght-oous rlght-oous moment 1 would stnnd In my own Integrity, cureu Ood ami dlo. Hut to think anything like that is a trav. esty upon all that wu know of tho KonilnoBH and the lovo of Ood. Ood Is a father and not a tyrant; Ood Is a lover and not a hater; Ood Is the glvor of life and not tho sender or death, "And It will not do at all to say that Ood knows best ami that Ho will do what Is best. That Ho will answer the prayer that makes ror right and that He will refuse the prayer tlutt would nmko for wrong. If that Is true, then why pray nt all either way? If Ood Is going to answer the prayer this Is for thu causo of righteousness, then ho will do thu thing that makes for righteousness whether thero Is any prayer or not. Ins't It pitiful ihiit In this ago or tho world wo havo not advanced rurther than to think of Ood as ono who can bo weedled out of his purpoBti? Isn't Is pitiful that wo have not any higher conception concep-tion than thu primitive people who oracle to give success to their arms? Isn't it a sad commentary upon our thinking that wo look upon prayer as a means of getting what otherwise we would not gut? Doscn't it degrade de-grade tho whok thought of prayer .vhen wo make It to be tho means of getting something? Tnio prayor does noo seek to get anything. True prayer Is communion with the Spirit of the Universe, It is the lifting of tho spirit of a mini to the realms of truth. It Is the wny man seeks and finds Ood "Men have always prayed and men will always piay. Sometimes their prayers have been selfish and very ig. i nornnt. Sometimes they have been wvy simple and very great And when men have prayed In the spirit of de-votlon de-votlon ami fellowship, then they huu. round thulr hearts renewed, their ar-fectlons ar-fectlons purified, their mills strength-ened. strength-ened. So let us pray. Not ror thinks .Not ror release rrom what we ought to bear. Not to have Ood do what wo ought to do ourselves. Let UH 1ft our spirits up to Him who is all In all. Let us be comrads with Ood " I'm) er ly President Smith "Lot thy spirit. O Father, come unto un-to us and dwell with ua In our hearts In our homos, In our business, In our' outgoing and In our Incoming In llfo and In all the duties thereof May the spirit that prompts men to iove Ood with all their heart and mind and soul rest ukiii the children of men and especially upon th,. house-hold house-hold of faith, that from this orifaiilzn. Ion which Thou hast effected "ml 't in lli. miilbt or ill. i . ,,,, v ),,, , i ' "I ll M .1 .I.MV. I i , .1 ... I .1 t ny ttu wuui . -it , , j ( , , 'll'O UH I III I.U L III. ,., ( ,, 4 I ants of tho world and tho nations of tho earth, that Thy gospel or pence may be proclaimed to evofy nation and to every kindred .arid tdngue and people, that they may ccaBe to le""1 war, thut they may ceaso to contend, cease to strive with each other, cease to vie with each other In tho vanity of pride and self conceit and of human hu-man greatness. Grant,' Heavenly Father, that tho high minded, the foolish, the wicked men of the world who aru elevated In thu prldo of their hearts may be humbled and may bo brought under conditions and Into circumstances In Which thpy Will ac. knowledge that there Is n power greater than that of men and greater than that or nations and that It l the right or Ood to rule In thu hearts or men ns In the nations of thu earth "Futher, without multiplying words beforo Thee, wo ask Thee In the name or Jesus that Thou" wilt enable us to establish ourselves In tho very foundations founda-tions or peace, which foupdatlons are the foundations of Thy love and of Thy mercy nnd of Thy forgiveness and kindness towards all Thy children chil-dren If they will but repent. We renllze, O Ood, that Thou hast made It necessary that men shall Bee their dependence, shall understand the necessity ne-cessity of humility and of bowing themselves before the Mighty One, the Creator of the heaven nnd the earth, and to acknowledge their submission herore Thee. Thereroro wq pray, heavenly Father, that the, spirit of repentance may be poured, out upon the Inhabitants of the earth, that the doors may bu opened to Thine elders and Thy Sorvnnts to proclaim the gospel gos-pel or salvation to nil tho. worjd, that uvery nation, kindred, tongue-and'peo-pie upon thu face or tho earth may have the privilege of hearing the sound or the gospel of Thy son, which has been restored In Its fullness through the Instrumentality of Thy servant, tho prophet Joseph Smith, and others unto whom Thou hast revealed re-vealed Thy will In this the dispensation dispensa-tion of tho fullness of time. "Father, wo dedicate ourselves, our efforts to do good, to seek to establish estab-lish pence In our own hearts, In our own homos and with our neighbors and with our fellow men everywhere, that wo may bo an example to the world as Thy Son was nn example unto un-to nil men throughout all tho nations or the world. ThcBe merclos and blessings bles-sings nnd rnvors we humbly ask of Thee this evening, and we dedlcntc all and commit nil Into Thy hands In the name ot Jesus Christ, our Redeemer Amon." Pruyer by President Penrose "Wo ask Thee. O Lord to look In mercy upon this nation. No matter what may havo been tho cause which has brought the tumult nnd conflict now prevailing: Wilt Thou grant that it may be overruled for good, bo that the tlmu shall come, that though thrones may totter and empires fall, liberty and freedom shall come to the oppressed nations In Europe, and In. deed throughout the world. We pray that liberty may come but of this op. proBBlon, Hint freedom may come out of this strUe. And do Thou grant In Thy divine Provldonco that ull (hinge may consplro together ror good, bo that righteousness may bo established: establish-ed: that the fruit or righteousness which Is the spirit or peace, may bo onloyed. And wilt Thou grant, heav-only heav-only Father, that the spirit or the Lord may rest down mightily upon Thy people, event Thy Saints, those assembled hero In cohrcrencc nnd those whom thuy represent In the various stakes or Zlon mid missions abroad. Grant Hint they mny receive thu lnstructloiiB imparted and dwell togethor In ponce, that tho spirit, of poaco and amity and love may,Jbo amoirg Thy Saints. Do Thou grant that they mny bu able to understand each and accord to eaehothor that liberty they desire ror themselves; and though they mny differ In their opinions and views, they mny accede ench and accord to each other that liberty mentioned In the Constitution of tho United Stutes which thou didst ralso up good and wlso men to establish. estab-lish. And grant that there ma'bb no real strlfu among them; but. that as Saints and neighbors, thcymfty dwell together In amliy, brotherly love and unity. And may this pence pervndo throughout the Innd of Zlon: thnt Thy Zlon may be the pure In heart those who serve Ood and keen his commandments. Now, o Urd, wo unite wlth.li thoso who are praying this day! to ask In 1 by mercy and provlnces,.'that this terrlblo slaughter may be brouuUX to an end; thnt tho spirit of strtte may depart and that the splrlr of peace may pervade over tho nations bo that this terrible strffe umeSS'. ,a & ma): l,-,'y I'Ahb nway atid that Ihy righteous purposes may bo accompl shed; that good ,nny come to ho world and the wny prepared for ho coming of peace-that peace ound in Jesus Christ. Thy Son our Elder Ilrother In the spirit, whom we oe am, mloro thu n)' ;, m' noi name wu come unto Thee Wilt ll.ou hear our prayer. C God tho Huler of Nations, tho Mighty One on Hlsh. v'llt Thou look How,, in morcy iiI'o.i,lbo world nnd causo tin-Sit of pencu to go forth and accoinullsh wiMinu. r i .. " '" 0,lr '""arts, i. low n,y Purposes will bu accomplished. ac-complished. We do not wis to step u the way or attempt to hinder Thee I" any degree, but we corao to T '1 oxpress the desire of our so ila So Theo3'1; Thy ch,ldro'' KS uuio inco thut poaco may comr. nmi nS fi asfi r,H, oon "? wS2 in w ll shall bo done on earth as it Ih In heaven Wo dedicate u that we have unto Thco. and Thy service to minister In peace and carry tho Plrlt of peace; ,0 huVn IMn mr hearts and homes, to have it pervade hrougl.out our land and Ko forth from Zion to the uttermost par u of tho earth To this end we l",lCato ourselves and all we have n 1 nr into Thee. ,.d wo nik 1 1Cs" La ' Thy hnii.li, the name u Urn Josus Christ. Allien" .""KU,r"- t. . |