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Show v ' ' . isjrtjaetfvMxeiKsqew- ws'wuW. 'i Church Department THE DESERET NEWS, SATURDAY. MAY 21, 1932. ?- - - fTHENATOREOFGODMMANDlVlENTS A 1 kp4i it U doubtful thiit any subject Mdor attention In than tho ommundm-'iiof cjod. For this "nwn It nny appear that llttl to Do auht. In tho proat ct Ur have no ualon, nowev r, to atudv the commandments as they are usnnily studied, that is tn the Jltfht of their specific or of the effect of dis- t On the other (lictu'o thereto, hand w hop to UIcoer what the commandments really are, also the purpoee of tho client lawgiver In announcing them The term von.a nt ment may be d fined ns an authoritative man once or ordinance emanating from a loveretgn, pacifically, an edict from cod Knrthly sovereigns koinmnnd thlr suhjecus ns the result of cot tain supposed Inherited or d P gated rights, clod the Father of th humnn race Is generally sc with unlimited power of command because of th trnnaeeii-ilni- l position w'lch he holds The comniapdriient of An earthly m ielgn Is sontf time bused upon n will or fancy of the one who It, tuthrr than upon funda ii ntul necessity or verity. An yn-)sample of thie type wag the proclamation of King Herod to the r male rhit, from rffct that two years old and under" should be slam. Ofvftir less drastic, but Of none the lea imperious, nature are the edicts of ertaiu earthly monari hs i mulling their subjects to comply with uHou arbitrary On and mandatory observances. the other hand, the opposition of the Church of Jesus Christ of o of Saint! to tho beverages. Is based upon established physiological may bo law, Thu commandment more tho than dogmatic scarcely announcement of amgant leader or thoy may bo founded upon tou Tho chief purpoee of oio realities, tho proMtrt dlscueoton ta to deter- mine tho oloaa to which tho com mandmontfl of God belong. In other words, are they the result alone of rlUt wilt or nr they founded upon absolute nc'pwlt) ? lows are Just and of uniform application No eartlily f.uh r would eetab-lle- h to gova cod n of regulations ern the conduct of his children merely to enilefy hi, Pincv Much 1, es Would Oil omnln nnl Crcatol make rc'iulreiiu ntw of his olfsprlng I list mere not founded upon absolute ncc. seity Indeed, lha commandments of God are sn nxproe-sioof ntu,t cotwlit on, ili.it must Indiiiduai who bo met ty e',o goes foiuard loeud tho goal of mil atlun. We obtain mu brut conception of the meaning of law by observing the unerr'n i.curiime of natural phcnoiiK nn in tho Mime way or undir identical conditions aFor if some body say heavy ths mcisht of Iron. Is l.ftcd from It Invarl-nlreleased them and ground full to the earth In response law of gravity. No to the matter how many time, tho rele ropmied Identical sults follow. If. howoier. on some ocrsslon the weight should remain sway suspended In the air or float would Into space the phenomena laws not Im regarded as a law. for same uniformly bring about tho results. The Invariability of law le one of the basic factors that make human progress possible. The sun conies up and goes down according to law :lh burning of fuel always emits hent; Iron Is always heavy; reirl cirri )ia y rlit i( c te II J nSTi 1' F' derstand the reasons for all of the thing that ore told hlra. No par-a ent. for example, delaye telling child that. say. a heated stove will burn him th, child understand, till, oondttion. th, law governing t, gracious enough likewise, deity to inform hta children of on almost endless variety of require-men-t, long before they are able to comprehend th, neoeestty for them. Who, for example, can exwhy Uni ar, remitted plain proper obedience to ho th, through law of baptism! And dslty announced tho positive necessity of compliance therewith. Postponement of obeli once Delays Progress. Furthermore, It Is perilous for on individual to postpone the acceptance of counsel until he la familiar with all th, reason, that prompted It, for by on doing h, may greatly delay hi, pro res. If not Indefinitely postpone It. Imagine what would occur If man ahould Inalat upon knowing th, reasons for, say, all he electrical phenomena before employed this ethereal substance In man should or If of Its forma, any ref use, to protect himself against contagion until h was acquainted with tho nature of the baoteria that produced it Compliance with law, whether or not lie full meaning le understood, leada to th realisation of continuously Increasing light, whereas failure to heed it leada lo Increasing darkness. God ta hie goodness and Infinite w. m a. e, W" " P" yt e. ' District Reports Growth last-ter-d- oleo-holl- ly Arbitrary Coiiinitiilniont. It probably not unfair to conclude from the attitude of Christians generally that th, commandment, of Ood are widely renamed e an expression of hie own good will and pleasure. and therefor aa arbitrary and dictatorial In naare ture. Such commandment, thue subject to modification or oven revocation at tho will of the diver. thta viewpoint, Deity la not i v From dleolrallar to an earthly greatly ' monarch who tssueb order, largely for tho purpooo of eattefylng hie k monetary deal re a. It thin role Deity , la autocratic In hla authority and 4' glvee eommande primarily for tho purpooo of compelling hla subjects to do aa ha decree, or of punchLi s ing them if they fall to obey. t Ample proof of thle Interpretation ta furnished by the attitude of-, ? many Christiana toward the prtncl pie ef prayer, more particularly ? when Deity Is Importuned to for- 9 r Cf fcp) ; not nntlko that ef th unrulyrhlld parent not to punish him for hi wrongdoing. Both apto think that If they plead pear long enough th parent will change Bom hta mind. Christiana have oven thought that tha payment of sums of money for certain personal would Influence Deity gratification to -- t aldo tho punishment for ln. Deity Sot Caprtrkma lawgiver. If Deity were a capricious crea- turo of this nature he would deserve no more respect than an earthly monarch who can be influ- Into i , . - enced by thoee who Inveigle them-- , selves Into hla grace. Justice would disappear, for under such condition uniform fairness to all of th children of God could not exist. Only those who were sufficiently adroit to Indue him to reverse his declaration of attitude would escape the consequences of disobedience. He would distribute salvation to the few., who pleased him and punish the multitudes who failed to do so. Strangely, too, this Is precisely the sort of being that some dilution unwittingly make of God. It la unworthy a believer to that savImpute anything ors of bias or unfairness, God la no reapecter of persons and will Judge every Individual strictly according to hla merits. Favoritism Impossible with tho Father ef the human race.- - Of necessity his The spring conference ef the Manchester district, British mission was held In the Philanthropic Ball at Hyde, Cheshire, on April II, 1SI- - The conference was web attended by Balata and friend front Uw district, and vicinity. , Tho principal speakers werei President John A. Wlduoa of the James European mission. PresidentmlMston A. Douglas of tho British and Patriarch James U. Wallis. In torn each speaker Impressed upon the audience the Importance of helping each other by improvTha ing the social conditions. Order or example of the United the Order of Knoch woa explained to show the perfect way Instituted by God to alleviate the distress and poverty among tho Inhabitants of Um earth. President Wldtoos -- , , who begs hta , courses end la failure. Happily, however, through tb provisions of gracious Uod, opto return to th portunities ar alnays available for those path who Bom ear to do so. who stray from the path almost Immediately return; dthera remain away more or less Indefinitely, Exceedingly few. however, wander eo far that It la impossible to com bark. Th Lord hae said that even Though your alne be ax scarlet, they shall be aa whit aa anow; though they be red Ilk crimson, tlso. they shall be aa wool" On th . give In eaeea of etnr knowingly committed. F6r example, an Indl- vldual breakn n knovpn law ef health or ehaatlty and; then plead- ingly petition God for an annulment of the effect that normally would follow. Such an attitude la . er 1 4i ns of Ttnv. other hand, it that the time consumed i l: need. Thereafter follow the course of the stream. Do not venture Into tho plalha; others have don so nearby before you and as yet but few have a returned. In course of time mountain rang will appear, and aa you approach It three canyons will gradually com Into view. JSn-tth center canyon; those at tho right and left terminate in sheer cliffs beyond which you cannot paxa Follow tho designated canyon through ita ever ascending course and eventually will reach the summit, and you there in plendor before you will bo the land of sternal life." Effect of Disobedience. Th foregoing comparison sug- number of fascinating questions, only a few of which however can receive attention In th What, for present lecture. will become ef (hoe example, who tor various reasons have strayed Into the desert or th ImTh passable only answer that oanyonsl can be given la that th must be followed, If th goal path la to be All reached. other 111. ) w 1 t- - with in a field fringed serpent trees. Do nnt be disappointed when you reach it to find no water in Its course; it has been absorbed by tha deaert sands. Dig deep Into ths river bed. however, and yoo will find ample water for your , water always runs down hill; sugar la always sweet, and Ico Is always cold. If tho laws of nature wero variable no reliance could be placed upon them, and hencs'thelr utilisation would bo Impassible. Tbelr unfailing uniformity, however, provide on of th basic factors of human progress, Man's Helot ton to Law. Mans first step In the utilisation of law la familiarisation with It. also with tb field of its operations. Thereafter- - he may b, able to comp,! It to do his bidding. To lllust rat,: When th, law of expanding steam was discovered its utilisation In tho locomotive soon followed. Men has osoended to his present high degree of civilisation largely aa a result of subjecting lew to hie will. But if law were erratia and unreliable thle would be Impoelble. On the other hand, uncontrolled law may result In man's retrogression or even destruction. The law of exploding gasoline may bo controlled to transport man oven from continent to continent, but If uncontrolled it may result in bis Immediate death. Law then may be a factor for both good and evil, depending upon tho extent of man's ability to control las opera- tions. Deity's Attitude Toward Obedience to I aw. It la little wonder therefore that deity has persistently Instructed man in the thins that hs should do in order to bo saved. Jilt attitude is remindful of an earthly parent who diligently teaches his children tho necessity of proper Moreover, In both case living. this teaching begins long before la prepared to un Individual tho counseled all to get out of debt and lo stay out. The report of Dm district showed .and a an all aroand . greater interest Is being taken by the member In performing their religions da ties. The above group picture of elders taken after the conference are os follows I front row. left to right) District President Martin H. Brnlth watte, lUntiia P. Doaglaa, President James A. Donates ; H. Wallis James patriarch and Sister Elisabeth T. Wallis. Back row, Eugene A. Hooper, Leslie T. Norton Percy L. Matthews, E. LeKojr Anderson and Owen k. Iirishman. Eklcn and Saints of the diatrirt Join la sending Uictr love and greetings lo parenta, friends and loved ones in Zion, love boa charted th path that man must follow in order to reach th land of sternal life, and h I using th full strength, of his persuasion to Induce him to follow it Deity himself is intimately acquainted with th course, for he boa traveled it through poet eons of devoted toll. H might be likened to a guide who had personally log- ged. th road and who was anxious attain th that others ahotlld glories that he bad attained. In his Instructions to those who were bo seeking what he had found. might well give, utterance to tho following: "When you begin your Journey to the land of eternal life, you will travel over a path, for many have traveled It before gov. But aa your Journey progreasea the path will becoms Infainter and eventually creasingly It will almost entirely disappear. Yet If you are faithful In followinstructions your ing journey be a delightfully pleasant will on and your deatlnatkyt will bo reached In perfect aafety. Bo begin by traveling toward tha southeast, and after you have Journeyed many day the dim outline of a distant mountain will appear before you. Train your course toward it and when you reach Ita foothllla turn gently toward tha left and there at Ita base you will find a spring of running water. Fill well your casks, for ahead of you la a vaat waterless desert covered with drifting sand and swept with almost ceaseless winds. Later aa you ar crossing th desert turn neither to th right nor the left, for no man eon aafely enter thla meroileaa region. In course of time you will discover far before you a winding object Ilk a great grean - well-beat- la In eMdent straying undeslraol places delnja progress toward tha land of eternal life. th Incidentally, present speaker shall not b surprised If man's punishment In the Ur to com consists largely of regrt t because of lost opportunities, and thus because of failure to sdiunr at a reasonable rate. It le of prime for man to understand tmportnnr that th streets of aln are not likely to disappear tha instant that the wrongdoer regrets his action and rails for Farentol help. He, Ilk the traveler who has strayed from tho path or right, must work his way back to the point Of departure before the Journey can be resumed, Th speaker knows of a young man who broke th moral law and who la now on bit way bark to tha of proper living, but hla head path Is atiil bowed and hla body le still scarred. Payment must bs mad for th breaking of law. it is heartening to observe, however, some of those who that pay th price and return to the path travel, faster thereafter than sonic who never stray. Responsibility to Others. Just here a not of warning ahould be sounded to wrongdoers into forbidden who lead other to those of purpath, especially It is a commonposeful Intent. place in human conduct that many of those who leave tha path of rectitude dollght in taking others The reason for thle with them. attitude is difficult to explain; It la enough for the present however to know that sqch la the case. Besson revolts at the thought that people such as these will be permitted ta returns their journey on the highway to th Kingdom of God until they bring with them those whom they have led astray. It la plainly Impossible for th subverter of righteousness to receive absolution from aln until he himself hoe done everything within hi power to restore that which he has destroyed. Th conclusion Is that every human being should have pride in exerting nothing but influence for good upon those with otherwise whom he associates; sorrow and delay necessarily await him. The present widespread notion that aln can be fcrglven merely It for the asking la not without reIn some improperIt influence. on Is encouragement spects rather than a deterrent to sin. Inclined to wrongdoing Peopl might easily Justify themselves by repentance aforetime promising The concept after indulgence. moreover does Deity violent Ina of him justice. for It make and a frlen respecter of persons of th few. Blessing Follow Obedience. On tho other aid of thla quea-tlo- n the inexorable law of God tno0 promfAi blpwlnw to til of This aspect of the who obey. rao to It quMtlon, ip. (Continued On Pag Eight) |