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Show THE DESERET NEWS 34 Their mighty men of "n-- , and crowned them kings, Paid honor to brute for. ; the conqueror Without a loving hand, or earnest thought, Such as home gives, or wife, or sister shows. Deified, and gave such I mage, rule and fame. Then wealth was God, and millionaires next Stole the popular heart, and won applause, For Cash was king, no query how 'twas made, Or how 'twas spent, if reached of fraud, or For vice and crime, wealth covered sins as high As Nebo's crest, or deep as Sheol s fires, Till genius claimed renown, and intellect Its throne then Brain was king and asked the world hor worshippers, while skill, invention, strove To win applause, discoverers would be crowned As men of mark, sham patriots schemed for rule, And rolled in luxury bought from common purse, Nay each one crowned himself, my wit, my craft, My success tells I m matchless in my sphere, I See my wealth, my goods, and note the giant Unknown for good, for virtue, sacrifice, Or toil that others might be saved and blest. A few might vary from the mass, but they Were cranks, and deemed unwise, or arrant fools. Once more "The light, the truth," hath sped its way From heaven to earth, the gates are opened wide, The Gospel gr n, the Priesthood acts once more, New motives prompt, a grander standard tells OJ action sanctified of love, as men From land to land, from sea to sea, the new Glad message bear, that God hath voiced again His will, and in a dispensation new Will gather all in one, of things abo e, Beneath, on earth, of all the ages past The Prophet leads, or like "The Master," sends His proclamation out, from Jorge and farm, And bench, from handicrafts diverse, a host Have gone, at inspiration s call, have left Their all, the precious things of life, as home And children, wile and friends, left business, Native land, sans purse or scrip, to bless The world, to tear from superstition, priestcraft, Ignorance, the vail and lead back man to God! ' " The isles have been made glad, and continents Afar have heard the warning voice, till crowds With bursting hearts, by faith sustained, have found The place of old prepared, wheie Zion shall Be built, and Fathers kingdom final stand. Amid the tropics, in the stormy north, Through cultured nations, where the red man roams, Where Ephraim long degenerate finds 'midst Wide spread seas his island home, and dreams full Oft of glory in the past, or yet to come, In crowded streets of cities, boasting, proud Of conquest, beauty, wealth, or famed for high Achievement, born of mental strain and pow'er; Again, where quiet nooks and peaceful life Through generations all unknown have planted Seeds of virtue, faith, to germ and die, then Live again, unchanged by things unseen or felt, What place in Christian or in heathen land, But hath been visited in latter days'5 Hath heard the warning voice of judgment sound, By these ambassadors of loving faith5 Hath gi en their quota of converted souls To crowd these mountain vales, and so fulfil The words of Holy Writ and prophecies of old 5 Who hath not marked these men of apostolic tjpe, Seen them brave all that opposition means, Cross seas and suffer in a stranger s land, Enduring hunger if, perchance, that was The appointed way, in prison now and then, Or here and there lay down a weary life, At sea, on land, in lonely spots of earth, Where sympathy, or loving words, or sad Farewells have been unheard, and unclosed eves By gentle fingers all untouched, have told Their tale of loneliness a stranger's death Perchance devoted laborers in the selfsame Field, with throbbing hearts, as life ebbed out, Stood in praver, or laid their hands m blessing hae On the aching head, hae felt themselves as though They loo weie far from home, and neer might see Again their loved, or cross home's threshold more. The sea shall give again its honored dead, The earth its harvest yield, and lands afar, Where'er the messengers of God have slept Shall keep this treasured dust until the trump Shall sound, when every martyrs grave, abroad, At home, shall break in joy, and they that Sleep in Christ shall find the promised crown. Where Utah's mountains cleave the rounded blue, And where her valleys smile 'neath labor's spell, These heroes, dead or living, have their graves Or tell of missions filled, some, beardless youths Some with maturer looks and step, and some With whitened hair adown the slopes of life, Point their experience to the swelling host Who, trained in Zion, count that in the field Of missionary work is found their best Vocation, and the grandest, truest life The Gospel theirs to teach, the Holy Priesthood Theirs to bravely use, as saviors thus to live And mighty men of God become, if life Or death be in the way, if hate and scorn Of unregenerate man, if prison life, Or if a martyr's grave to them should fall, Their faith and trust in God v ill bear them off, And victory give, as hath been done to those, Who true and brave, m ages, climes remote, Have loved the ti uth, and on its altar laid Their all, content to live or die ' And so farewells are said, but for a time A few brief moons and greeting comes again But not with tears, save they are tears of joy There then the mothers kiss, the lather's hearty Grip for work w'ell done, and sister's warmest Love will wake e'en there, a richer glow of pride For toil, if unto death, and every brother's Hand will tingle tenfold more than e'er in flesh So wives 01 sterling men who waged unequal Fight with hoary wrong; will there forget that Absence which did mutual sacrifice Demand, and faiths increase with higher trust And children, grown to patriarchal age Themselves will con the record father made,. Perchance compare with theirs, and laud the first. Oh, what a scene in counting testings o'er, In telling how sustained when faint and weak, In giving glory to the Great Supreme, And 'mid the acclamation of old friends As numerous as the stars m heaven's vault, To hear the words, "Well done, oer a few things Faithful, thou o'er many now shall rule for E'er and aye 1" Let the curtain half transpaient twould blind to lift too long just now, Fall But clearer vision, purged of mortal taint, Shall see and know, and then praise God, praise God H W. NaBITT. |