| Show TRYING in the history of gods dealings with the human family from the earliest agea down to the present there have been whet the poet has termed times that tried mens epochs of war and controversy periods of excitement when the evil pas siona of men were alred to the commission of canne and i ed handed persecution ran not throughout the fairest lenon the earth ahen the lurid torch was lit and the murderous unsheathed in the name 0 religion han law and order were trampled dundei foot covenants violated contracts broken human rights disregard ed governments disrupted and states and stich were indeed times that tried mens souls and demon satiated beyond a doubt who were the brave ahe true the upright and mankind but these arc not the only trying times 0 human history it is not simply during sen sons of bloodshed anarchy and commotion that the truth and integrity of mens chai actors may lie tested and proven by no means peace and prosperity are otheir quite as effectual as tumult and adversity in solving the problem indeed the whole routine of life whether happiness or misery hardship or ease wealth or want turmoil or tranquility is one continuous test extending from the cradle to the grave there are anch things as special times ot trial which come upon all who are caged to tarry at any length in this mortal state and every soul particularly aery righteous soul must some day meet and ex them it is a notable character of divine e conomy that something la not given for nothing but from every indi vidual seeker after eternal happiness is ex isted a fitting pt bof of his or her ness te attain the exaltation to wind they aspire all tests are not ahac they arc as as the sands of the sea acore and as varied as the natures and capacities of those to whom they are applied this is necessary for what would try one would not try another and justice demands that be made equal and ap ate on all but differ as they may in form qualify number and duration they all have the belt same object the development develop of the soul its education and enlightenment its purification and preparation it found worthy for higher and better things heie alter As already intimated and as every latter day saint believes there is just as much variety in eternal rewards as is exhibited in the spirits of those who win them and in alie nature of the trials they are called to endure beforehand belore hand the savior said to his disciples 10 lo my fathers house are many mansions 1 I go to prepare a place for yon that where I 1 am there ye may be also paul writes there is a glory of the sun and another alory of the moon and another glory of the stars for one star differs from another star in glory so also is the resurrection of the dead the prophet joseph renders aliis plain and positive declaration still more intelligible hy a glorious depiction of the celestial terrestrial and worlds of which the son moon and stars are written of as being typical to whom and of what was christ speaking when he said 1 I go to prepare a place for you that where I 1 am there ye may be also he was speaking of the celestial kingdom the glory of the sun the immediate presence of god the highest of all and he addressed those comforting words to such as would follow in his footsteps arins the bitter cup that he draffe of be baptized with the baptism he nas n as baptized with serve him through good and eail report be hated of all men for hid names sake and in spite of chains and dungeons the fagot the scaffold or the rack endure faithful and unflinching to the end they were aiming to the highest exaltation of which human intelligence is capable and were required to come up through great tion and wash their robes and make them white in the blood of the lamb those who strive for celestial honors must certainly expect greater trials of their faith must give stronger proofs of their fidelity to principle than those who are sat fled with the prospect of lesser reward all is based upon and regulated by lust mercil nl justice will not deny mercy nor mercy defeat the enda of justice those whose desire is to twinkle like the stars cannot hope to shine with the radiance of the moon and these who are content to beam with the of the hot expect to blaze with the matchless splendor of the sun every gospel dispensation ia a special time to try mens souls to serve god and sacrifice the world to forsake all and follow the lord of life to choose good and reject evil to practice virtue and shun vice to love those who hate in return to pray tor those who persecute and betray to stand unmoved amidst the taunts and jeers and hostile efforts of the wicked and if needful lay down life itself in the cause of truth and righteousness such are the grand tests required in all ages of the saints of the Mos tHigh delved like prec clous ore from the pits of obscurity purified as gold in the files of affliction burned with the acids of scorn and contumely hammered on the anvils of hardship and oppression stamped by the dies of sorrow and suffering with the image and of deity and rung like suspected coins on the counters of the exchanger ere they are accepted as legal tenders of the government of god and numbered among the treasures of his napalm well has it been said by zions poetess it is no trifling thing to be a saint it is an arduous iron handed reality but arduous as it is it is not impossible god does not require impossibilities of any one what man has done man can do what woman has achieved woman can again ac com pUsh it was a hird anal for abraham to offer ap his only son but bis faith was equal to the test and his willingness to comply with the divine requisition was accounted to him for righteousness was il not a trial for Almighty god to offer his only begotten son tor the sins of a yet the sacrifice was made and a worlds salvation was the result will not the son i and daughters of god do as he has done so far as lies in their power will not abrahams children do the of abraham and thereby prove the truth of their noble lineage this generation muse live bv faith and the day is coming when their faith will be tested to the uttermost god will have a tried people and even as the ar morer tests by pressure the and elasticity of the blade that he has form the almighty will test the faith and endurance of the souls he has created that which will not bend must break and that which snaps in twain or remains bent when the pressure is withdrawn will be accounted imperfect and discarded as a thing of litte worth latter day saints candidates for celestial glory 1 the day of final pressure is approaching pro aching gird up your loins and prepare for it A day that shall cause the cowards knees to anake and the band of the cepro bate to tremble A day that shall tear the mask from the tare of tha hypocrite and lay bare the heart of the traitor A day that will decide who is for the lord and who against him A time ahat will try mens souls and try thorn to the core and sound them to the depth let us prepare for it that it overtake us not as a thief in the night and overwhelm us with the suddenness of its coming judgments that have been predicted are at hand but they will begin at the house of the lord and roll their thunders to the uttermost parts of the earth the ons will scarcely escape but the wicked and ungodly are doomed 0 o destruction come out of her my people that ye be not partakers par takers of her sins and that ye receive not of hea plagues tor her sini have reached unto heaven and god hath bared her iniquities 1 stand ye in holy places and be not dived resting your feet u pon the granite rock of truth with our faith as a tower reaching to heaven 1 lien may you stand firm and calm confidence the great and terrible day when all things that can be will be shaken when the ocean like an angry lion shall toss bis mane and roar when the solid globe shall shiver as an ague stricken mortal when the artillery of gods wrath shall the universe and the sun moo moonane nand starry hosts of heaven shall tremble and retreat before the advance of the eternal judge and king who comes to cen damn the wicked tor transgression to re ward the good for their integrity and endurance and to reign in peace power and righteousness from the avers to the ends of the earth 0 F W |
