| Show retrenchment NEEDED A goodmann GOOD many years ago when evidences of pride and vanity first began to crop out among amona the saints sainto to any extent Fres president ident you young ng and other wise leaders in the community became conr berned on an the subject they viewed with anxiety the groy growing King inclination to depart from the s simplicity which bau zed people who first fiaai settled this inter A mountain region unless a check was wall put upon the growl growing rig disposition toward pride and overindulgence over indulgence in worldly pleasure it was easy to understand der stand what the development would lead to lo classes would grow up on the basis of wealth and there would con be a decline in the strength of the common bond of sympathy without which no community can be essentially christian As a means of ch checking efting the growing tendency opposed to the real genius odthe community of saints organizations were formed under the title of societies A leading object jentof of these associations as implied by the name was to use an influence agai against just extravagance in methods of living and in favor of dress reform etc aney finally merged into what have been for a long time known as young ladies mutual improvement associations it is not improbable the change of title the leading original objects of those initiative societies have been to some extent lost sight of if this be so then the present is a time when they could to be again brought to the front with profit the reason why we urge the necessity of this sl subject abject receiving attention as a demand of the times is because there never was an era in the history of the saints when there was a larger percentage of them disposed to divide into distinctive classes among many worldly pride projects conspicuous conspicuously i n their social conduct so glaringly i t ate aim observer can see it without e ej display and glitter is with the them e artier of the day hence the hecei baity of some movement that will turn the tide in favor of retrenchment it would be a great boon financially morally and religiously we have named finance as among the three interests affected by the prevailing spirit at the times the situation tion of the money market ts Is such that almost everybody is 18 complaining pla ining about it of course there are numbers who are always flush of means and they can perhaps best beat afford to take the initial steps in the desired direction not perhaps that they should expend less lees but they might in many instances make a less ostentatious display of their social doings and thus cease to feed the spirit of vanity and emulation in iii people less able to afford and living every person who makes glaring manifestations of costly and fashionable expenditures works an injury upon and is a menace to the welfare and peace of his poorer neighbor every man by his example be it good or bad begets his likeness in others olbers who imitate his bis course speaking from a moral standpoint it Is merely necessary to state that history has proved beyond successful contradiction that when a people run extravagantly in the direction or of pride and pleasure seeking they ultimately lose that finer and higher estimate of exalted virtue which characterizes a great community or nation A strong tendency toward the frivolous is a dangerous indication the present increasing disposition in the direction of devotion to pleasure and extravagance has a disrupting effect in families wise and conservative parents pe see its rapid development to in their children they hey warn them against again lt the adamo notions are resisted the result is too frequently estrangement and flagrant clients of children toward patents of course these things only assume an aspect of importance to those who observe reflect and reason but their weight can scar scarcely eely be overestimated I 1 from a religious lous standpoint the effects effiec ts of the increasing tendency of the times cannot be consistently viewed otherwise than with the deepest concern some of the social features now growing in the community are directly anti christian the spirit of pride undue worldliness frivolity simply means proportionate decay of the spirit of the gospel A ny ay person who is in any degree familiar with the genius of bf the plan of salvation understands the correctness of this proposition it is impossible to serve two masters master sl antagonistic to each other we are in line with the wishes of a largo large number dumber of thoughtful and observant latter day paints saints when we express a desire to see inaugurated a resolute movement against pride and extravagance |
