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Show An Appreciation By Richard R. Lyman , JUNIOR MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE. I Tf IK 'great giant oak of the forest bas fallen The last of the old trees ia gone. With the passing of President Joseph F. S,mith, the last of the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day latter-day Saint who were real pioneers, who endured hardships on the plains and who were f.imlllar with all the old pioneer days anil peode, has gone'tpto the great beyond. -Hardly anything cn be found in literature of romance more won-(TeTfoTTy-rhrltrrng -ftraii Hie life of thin I'tnh- prower W waa- Imrn ln poverty, he wan reared in hardship, he perhaps never remembered the face of his martyred father, and hia mother died leaving him an orphan when he was but 14 years old. Practically all of this man's scholastic training was received at hia mother's kn'-e. The textbook most " ued teas the HI hie. The litht by which he ritd his studying waa the campfire. Yet. like Abraham Lincoln, he had t.od given gifts and powers with which he acquired a scholarship, a precision of thought, a knowledge of human affairs and a -knowledge of the accurate use of the Knwllsh language which placed him among the' really great orators of hi time. Multitudes have listened to his stirring and uplifting religious and philosophical B appeal In reverential silence for hours at a time. Truly this man was by nature and by the gift of Ood a great leader K Nor was the church work of this man. his preaching, teaching nnd public speaking, his only unusual qualification. In a business way. few men have accomplished more. From his beginning at the age of IS. an orphan with nothing, his busings career has been very remark- Bj ni.! iii.iM.il simp ts I s.hsi las ishnisnls of such a man would have been had his time, interests and effort been devoted to business Instead of religion. No words can tqwak more powerfully or eloquently the greatnesa of this man in a business way than the monuments of steel and granite and concrete In this city, in Canada, in Hawaii and wherever Ahe Church of Jnus Christ. of Tetter-day Saints Is known Church offices, business houses. chaela. meeting houses and temples thttfft Mrs in intents this geent business man has built to the church and to his .own everlasting commendation. : In Salt Lake the splendid atructure which houaea the cltnrch offices said to be the flneat office building in America--1 notable among hia many contributions to the building of the ctLy The Vermont building, the Hotel I'tah and the bishops building are other outstanding accomplishments. In foreign lands the great temples In Canada and In Hawaii will stand forever as evidence of bis progressive pro-gressive faith. It has been truly said that under hie administration more church buildings of all kinds have been erected than during all other yeara of church history combined As ft preacher and teacher of the doctrines of the Church ojf Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. President Joseph F. Smith from the age of 16 haa been In the harness continually. One who reads his history carefully would fee naturally that one who had preached in nearly all the countries of Europe, one who had been for so many years on the Islands of the seat would have little time left for attending to matters other than those directly connected with the preaching and teaching of the doctrines of the church. While President Smith waa a great preacher, a great teacher and sr a great orator; while he waa a great business man and great finan cier, neither of these was his chief characteristic. This wonderful man was greatest and best as ft father, as a husband and an a 'lover of mankind. There la perhaps no example in history or literature of any man more devoted to his family than waa President Joseph F. Smith. He haa more than forty children and more than eighty grandchildren. In every day that he met even his grownup sons, he greeted them with a kiss. All his children were at his bedside yesterday. He saw them all, he recognized them alt, he kissed them all; to ench and every one this grand and noble, this peerless father said his 'aat goodbye. D The last time 1 saw President Joseph F. Smith dressed and about E on his feet he was praying with a host of hia grandchildren, his face I radiant with that wonderful smile he had always for tit tin children. It was Ina pi art ice -to go with all haste, tm tht bed wide iu.isvis.. M, htm was born a child or a grandchild. Kvery one has been greeted B with a kiss and Into the hand of e ery child has been banded some I sort of present. No- child or grandchild of his Mas ever had a birthday forgotten. Kach and every little one is remembered on each and every I birthday, with ft kiss, a caress' and ft prevent. This man was idolized H by hia grandchildren. No child ever saw an unkind look in lua face, n nor did any child ever find him with his pockets empty. In them were carried always those little things which, to all children, are a delltthl. fl Nor waa the love of President Joseph F. Smith confined only to his own children and to hia own grandchildren. He never saw a child so dirty, he never saw a child so ragged that from him it did not get a look, ft smile, ft touch of love. While as a preacher, a church leader and in business . Joseph F Smith was really a, grea-t man,' he was gentleness and humility personified. per-sonified. -He extended a handshake always and warm greeting to the humblest worker In the streets. Yet among his associates In -rejit V business deals and his fellows in church work he held strong opinions I and stood firmly on all occasions for what he regarded a strict Juh- B -tire: . Q Joseph F. Smith was a model parent, a perfect father, a, fond. I affectionate and tender friend, a fine scholar a great, glorious man. |
