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Show I WAR SANCTIONED If IE I SCRIPTURES, SAYS MAJOR EdiproT fit TAflnroRTflfPir r UliLlllO 1U SlULiumuLL fl That righteous wars "were sanctioned B and pursued by the Divine Creator, ac- M cording to scriptural history, and that H retaliation by the United States m against German aggression on the high m seas -was worthy of the same sanc- B tion, were the declarations of Major B Brigham H. Roberts, chaplain of the H Utah National Guard, yesterday after- m noon in the Tabernacle. The noted B churchman, orator and patriot based B his first declaration on the following B scriptural quotations, at the opening H of the meeting: H " Exodus 15:3 "The Lord Is a man B of war; the Lord is his name." H Joshua 5:13-15 "And it came to fl pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, H that he lifted up his eyes and looked, H and behold, there stood a man over M against him with a sword drawn In his M ' hand: and Joshua went unto him and M said unto him, 'Art thou for us, or for H our adversaries?' 1 "And he said, 'Nay; but as captain H of the host of the Lord am I now H come.' And Joshua fell on his face to H the earth, and did worship, ami said H unto him, 'What saith my Lord unto H his servant?' H "And the captain of the Lord's host M said unto Joshua, 'Loose thy shoe from H off thy foot; for the place whereon H thou stiindest is holy.' And Joshua H did so." H Revelations 19:11-10 "And I saw H heaven opened, and behold, a vbite H horse; and he that sat upon him was fl called faithful and true, and in right- H eousness he doth judge and make H j "His eyes were as a flame of fire, H , J and on his head were many crowns; H j and he had a name written, that no H j man knew but he himself. H "And he was clothed with a vesture H dipped in blood; and his name is call- 1 ed The Word of God. H I "And the armies which were in heav- Hl en followed him upon white horses, H clothed in fine linen, white and clean. Hj "And out of his mouth goeth a sharp H sword, that with it he should smite H the nations: and he shall rule them H with a rod o Iron: and he tread oth H the winepress of the fierceness and H wrath of Almighty God. H "And he hath on his vesture and on 1 his thigh a name written, KING OF H KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." H Soldiers Present. M These verses were quoted by Major M Roberts at the opening of the service M at which, ho officiated as chaplain and M speaker and followed the singing of M "The Star Spangled Banner" by Mrs. M Agnes Warner. The singing was di- M rected by Prof. Joseph Ballantyne and H the congregation, which included Hl I Troops B and K, National Guard of H Utah, and nearly a thousand other per- H sons, arose at the first chord from the H organ and stood until the national an- H them was finished. Chaplain Roberts H offered an invocation, and then fol- 1 lowed a rendition of "The Flag With- out a Stain," by Mrs. Myrtle Ballin- fl ger-Hlgley and the choir. The voice M of the soloist was peculiarly adapted H to the melody and she handled her H part of tho number in a way that no- H tlceably thrilled the auditors. H At the conclusion of the song the H chaplain announced the purpose of the H t meeting and stated that he was proud H of his new association with the na- H tlonal guard. "In this ielationship," B ho said, "I bid you all hail and wel- H come. I hopo our brotherhood may H grow hard and fast together and I will H consecrate my life to your service H when we are called into the conflict H now at hand." H What America Means. H Then, to the congregation ho said: H "The theme of my talk this after- H noon shall bo 'America,' and I will H i erideavor to explain to you what Am- H -erica means to me, what is the basis H of my patriotism and what should be H I I the basis of yours. First, I will speak H I ,of the land of America itself, then of H ,010. government of the United States, H and then of the 'flag,' as the emblem H of that government, the 'flag' of which H we have just heard so thrillingly sung H ,'the flag without one stain,' tho sourc- H es of which stand as tho word of God. H "When the flood that covered the H earth at the time of Noah receded. H this continent became a precious land H I unto tho Lord and upon which he de- H ' signed to confer great favors and to H work out mighty problems. It was H sanctified by him and he proposed to H establish a new Jerusalem upon it and H a city to be called Zlon, the city of H the pure in heart. And He has ever H since been moving toward tho accom- H plishment of this great and divine H purpose. H "The first colony to people the land H was led from the valley of the Euphra- H tes after tho time of the confusion of H tongues that a nation might be estab- Hj llshed horo. Its members were told H that tho land has been reserved for 1 the righteous and that it had been con- H secrated to righteousness, justice and H mercy. About 600 years before the H birth of Christ tho second colony came H and was likewise informed by the di- H vine revelation of tho decrees of God Hl that this was to be a land of free institutions, in-stitutions, a land of liberty unto tho gentiles, and where there should be no kings. 'He that fighleth against Zion shall perish, saith the Lord.' " Continuing, Major Roberts declared that such a land must produce the highest order of patriotism when the purpose of its sanctiflcation was known. "America is a land of free institutions from the ice-bound lands of the north, through the temperate and tropical zones to the ice-bound lands around the south pole, and from ocean to ocean. And all attempts to found monarchial governments have failed and will continue to fail." Speaking Speak-ing further along this line, he reviewed review-ed the ill-fated attempts of the third Napoleon to establish a kingdom in Mexico and of the punishment to France that resulted from its invasion of a continent consecrated by divine grace to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This punishment, he declared, de-clared, was the defeat of Franco by Germany in the war of 1870. and the death of the third Napoleon afterward. Crowned Heads to Go. Such, he said was the fate of those who attempted to set up a kingdom in this country. "For the great blessings of Divine protection," Major Roberts continued "the people must remain worthy. With freedom must go the righteousness of the people who inhabit the land, else the promises will be of no effect whatever, what-ever, as they were to be fulfilled only as long as the people honor God in the land. "The democratic government of the United States was brought into existence exis-tence by reason of the inspiration of God, resting upon wise men raised up to establish such a government. These men made great sacrifices and through them was their work sanctified. And since that time, though thre have been republics in some degree from ancient times, others never dreamed or have been added to the list, autocracies autoc-racies being torn down and the people peo-ple arising in their sovereign might and demanding their rights. We have seen in recent years heathen China throwing off the monarchial chains of centuries and becoming a republic and since that day surviving an attempt to re-establish the old order of government. gov-ernment. Portugal, too, has thrown off the yoke of kings, but surpassing all these is freedom gained by the people of Russia, who, while engaged in a terrible war, renounced their czar and established a republic that promises prom-ises to be stable." "It Is my sincere belief, and I pray God It may be true, that when this war Is finished there will be no more crowned heads in Europe. It is a war of democracy against militarism and autocracy to establish the people of the world as its rulers' and to unite all countries in a great republic of humanity. hu-manity. I expect no less from this war and, as God has said that sacrifices shall bring forth blessings, i believe ' that from the sacrifice of the millions I of men who have lost their lives in I the present war there will come forth commensurate blessings." Speaking of the flag, in concluding the evolution of his theraov Major Roberts Rob-erts said: "Do you know your flag and all Its symbolism? Each star .is a state and the white stripes stand for the purity of the patriotism of the people. The red represents the blood shed in establishing es-tablishing this government and its institutions, in-stitutions, tho blood of martyrs. The unbroken field of blue is the union of our nation that can no more be rent than can the blue sky of heaven. And as the stars of heaven are beyond the reach of man and indestructible, so is tho union of stales herein represented. repre-sented. The five points of tho stars represent the great truths that underlie under-lie all our Americanism and it was chosen by the builders of tho nation, under the inspiration of God." Speaking a concluding word to the national guardsmen, he said: "You have a sacred land and a sacred sa-cred government to uphold. The Stars and Stripes is the emblem of the land God gave you and of the government that safeguards your homes," The service was closed by the choir and congregation singing "America," and Chaplain Roberts pronounced the benediction. On the platform with Major Roberts were President John Wutson of the Weber stake, through whose good offices, of-fices, at the request of Captains W. E. Kneass and J. Ray Ward of Companies Compa-nies B and K, the meeting was arranged; ar-ranged; Mayor A. R. Hey wood and Superintendent Su-perintendent E. S. Hinckley of the State Industrial School and other prominent citizens. |