OCR Text |
Show I. jj j ffil THE PADEN INCIDENT. SIP It would seem that the province of a min- fliw ister of the gospel oiliciating at a funeral should IBP 1)0 t0 ring whatever solace he could to the It Hi? stricken ones about him, rather than take such 1 ''fiflli' an occas'on lor an exhibition of bigotry such as jlfflfrf that displayed by Dr. Paden, at the funeral of ifllifi' Collin Sinclair. In his denunciation of the Mor- ' nion hymn, "Oh, My Father," and the charges and ' :JlalEf ' counter charges which followed, he showed in this vImoBk little incident to, what extent dogmatism may lead "'ty'tlRw tlie self-righteous, and in this controversy ': 1 -iBMBflc' lu which the doctor stated that the hymn ''HmHK was rot' theology, etc., that part of the public -JBflfs which has taken the trouble to read both sidea VIHHP tllG argument are not favorable to the attitude 'iBon assumed by the village admonisher. '''IjwP This Is the hymn to which the objection was ' k WB 011 y Father, Thou that dwellest t SHr In the lllSn an( Serious place! :' ft t& When shall I regain Thy presence, t i fllE aBain behold Thy face? i flK Dld my sl)irlt once reside? t B ' In my lrsl: nrlmeval childhopd, ' ,J i 9R Was I nurtured near Thy side? ' u IfluMtt Kor a wise and glorious purpose pjnjflij .Thou hast placed me here cn earth, ;- And withheld the recollection ' i mSK my frmer friends and birth. JBB Yet oft times a secret something IH HK Whispered "You're a stranger here,' fltfll And 1 fGlt tlmt 1 had wanderod f9K From a niorG exalted sphere. I had learned to call Thee Father Through Thy Spirit from on liigh; But, .until the key of knowledge Was restored, I knew not why. In the heavens are parents single? No; the thought makes- reason stare! Truth is reason; truth eternal Tells me, I've a mother there. When I leave this frail existence, When I lay this mortal by, Father, mother, may I meet, you In your royal courts on high? Then, at length, when I've completed All you sent me forth to do, With your mutual approbation Let me come and dwell with you. The hymn is not only sacred to the Mormon people, but is beautiful in the sight of most anyone else, and no matter what the reverend doctor may have thought of it personally, good taste would suggest forbearance of the expression of his views when it was suggested to sing the hymn at the funeral of the man who had loved it in life. There are meddlers in theology who would not always scintillate in a discussion of true religion, re-ligion, and while their efforts to improve society may be conscientous, ther puritanical ativatism sometimes tends to get them into deep water. There is another phase of the subject that does not create a desire to leap for joy among those who are tired of the petty bickerings bick-erings that go on among different churches in this state, and it would seem that ministers' above all others should try to so use their influence that the religious atmosphere locally could be finally cleared. It Is easy for anyone to make a mistake, mis-take, but there is no occasion for a divine to go to the extremes of which we have had numerous examples during the present year. |