Show VOICES FROM THE PEOPLE Sal salvation rAtion on the he altar of alarice AT arice EDITOR HERALD one of the most difficult problems pro blema of human life L reems ti be to reconcile wealth with religion few men ever possessed them both to any great extent though much des desired f ired the fact is as palpable and as scriptural today to day as ever that it la is easier f for or a camel to go through it the tile eye eve of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of god yet after jesus had instructed the young man he be turned away sorrowful because of his hie riches the remark made by jesus that a ric rich i h man shall hardly enter into the kingdom implies that such a thing maybe may be possible as an exception to the general rule stand ingmen will devote their lives and energies to the acquisition of wealth oil often en resorting to very questionable tio means of obtaining it the tile influence of reli religious gius teachings ob abs bained in the midst of religious communities is not sufficient clent to deter men from making haste baste to get rich and risking their cial salvation on the altar of avarice at the late general conference one of the speakers remarked with much earnestness that his most fearful apprehensions of trouble arising among the people was in consequence ofal of class ass distinctions that were growing among them because of the accumulation of wealth in the hands bands of a few the evil that might grow out of this condition of society ety and rind 13 is even now threatening was truly alarming to contemplate the reference te to this subject was so forcibly made as to leave leaven a deep im amsa ivas upon the minds of many and nd someno doubt will give it a serious serious consideration the watchmen upon tho the walls of zion may see eye to eye and sound the alarm u when uben ben danger approaches but if no one heeds the cr cry y the danger is not averted the enemy prevails better would it be to f foresee aresee the evil and hide bide from it if there be cause for alarm evils to anticipate from this con condition edition of things what are they how bow arc are they to be averted are questions of interest and are entitled to contemplation pla tion there must be something wrong something inconsistent with the spirit of the gospel or to result from them which should be corrected like other subjects of imbor tance it should bo be investigated the right and wrong the expediency or inexpediency of any particular condition of things determined by the light of experience reason and truth wealth the possession of property of any kind cither either in the hands bands of a few or of the many should not bo be objectionable but rather desirable it ia is actually necessary to the material prosperity of any community property the result of honest labor is the right of every one to enjoy enjoy in his pursuit of happiness laws are made to protect men in in the right to possess s what they honestly 11 acquire be it much or little 71 this right is universally recognized where I then exists the wrong it must bo be in tle the means or mode of acquiring or in in the use and disposition made of the wealth pos possessed sessell or in beth both accumulated wealth gives to the possessor influence and power that may uy be ile used greatly to the good or injury of both himself and others around him wealth necessarily imposes impose duties on those who possess it those these duties must like all others and faithfully performed or it will prove a serious serious injury to belli both the holder and to others some of those duties relating to the use and disposition of wealth may be briefly noticed here in considering and applying these the human family may be divided into three classes tho the rich who arc are full ef of case and affluence tho the poor and those who arc are neither poor or rich but have alie nece necessary esary conveniences conveniences of life to make it comfortable with tho the two tire former classes lie fearful temp tation sand from them como conic nearly all vice and crime tho the rich get full and deny god the poor are in want and resort to immoral practices for relief which the tile charity of the rich should bestow and while some of both classes may way throw off all moral restraint and ana disregard the virtues of life the other class clam is not entirely exempt from evil though temptations ina may j v not be so strong the existence of tho the poor is is a standing admonition to the rich the poor we ire always have with us and among them we find objects deserving of our sympathy and aid the destitute destitute and needy the sick and the dying should bo be sought out and administered to their needs are a demand upon tho the rich who arc able to afford relief there is a duty they cannot avoid unless st strangers to the common feelings of humanity and destitute of charity not that it is always the best charity which distributes the most money the best is that which will enable the destitute to live without charity earning daily bread by daily to toil ii institutions of various kinds must be established and maintained to e enlighten the ignorant and reclaim the vicious such as scho sch cis hospitals libraries ac let the poor be educated with that tha treal real knowledge r that will make them wise and eager for moral improvement and fill their minds with moral beliefs which will guide them into all virtue and the great sources of destitution tit ution and vice will bo be dried up while morality and honest industry will prevail in all ull this society is benefited as well ae as individual needs are supplied and the sufferings feringa mf of humanity alleviated not the least important among the duties devolving upon I the be rich is 19 that of aiding to spread a knowledge of divine laws of gospel truths adopted to developer deve dev elope lopo the moral in humanity this is a special duty enjoined by god in ilia ili regard for the tile wants of all ilia his creati creatures ires in all the tile world c especially in those dark places of the earth where habitations of cruelty abound for the performance of this duty men are arc answerable to him whose mercy is is over all all that tends to the education moral development and elevation odthe of the benighted toiling millions of the earth becomes a legitimate draft u upon on the rich mans wealth who has learned to regard god as the true owner of his ilia wealth and himself but as a steward in all this the poor learn the lesson lemon and duty of gratitude for layers favors received ce ved learn that there is a heart in humanity which can feel for suffer buffering illg warm with love and ready to every good work and deed bv by this lemou they are made better men and under th a influence of gratitude souls are filled with love to man ruan and god another relation that exists between men and worthy of notice is that of the rich towards those in their employment every human being is bound to industry and economy om r to secure su support fo forthe ali e body M and timo time for the culture of the mind it is not the relation of capital and labor here presented for consideration but simply the duty of the employer to the employed the tile decree that man shall cat eat bread by the sweat of bi abrow has bas never been revoked lie ile roust must toil to have the right to cat eat to be an honest man he must be a producer as well as a consumer SUmer and while he honestly performs his duty as a laborer ho be is entitled to an honorable reward a reward proportionate to his services vices the rule is said to be a fair days wages for a fair daye days work and it is claimed those wages are not fair unless they the y will support the honest laborer in in comfort and something more for the contingencies of lite life it is clear that if a laborer diligently performs per forms i his duty he lie is entitled to have his daily wants supplied by his ems em who reaps the benefit of ilia labor it is the duty then of the rich man who employs the laboring poor to see that he is thus compensated for his toil he ile must cause he has capital put down labor to starvation rates and enrich himself without returning a fair equivalent for what he lie receives receives there would eeerg seem to be something wrong in in an argument which compels one to create wealth for tile case and indulge of others while he lie ia is starving or suffering when such is the case no wonder feelings of hatred grow up with the toiling many against the austere and affluent few A A consciousness of injustice in the minds of the many is is a fearful thing if there is a law of proportion eor wo portion between capital and lubor a it ought surely to be respected it cannot be violated with safety injustice cannot last always ged god will not permit it it must bo righted or it will right itself in strikes mobs burnings and revolutions lut ions justice in the soul of the rich man matt who employs his fel fello Nymen will enable the employer and employed to work to together ether for mutual benefit and the proper relationship between them sustained would develop the noblest qualities of both esteem confidence and love would form bonds of union between them both would be better for the union which is as indispensable to the safety of capital aa as it is to the wel being and honor of the laborer labor would receive its due share of the wealth created by its exertions and princely fortunes would not be accumulated so rapidly by the employer while poverty ignorance and degradation are the sad ad inheritance of those thoo tho o by choso whoso industry and labor all this wealth has been created the possession of wealth is said aid to be a trust and if so it must bo be fur fr the poor for needy suffering humanity evidently it ia is not t to be used alone for the narrow ends oft beholder of the holder if the owner cereso were so to regard it hia his moral sensibilities would become blunted an and d ls ills heart soon hardened he ile may claim ilia his wealth fa is his own w n obtained by his own prudence an ar economy and may be used for his own selfish pur poses in this conclusion god and men arc left out of the question he be becomes penurious and sordid guilty t of vain extravagance and perhaps ps of intemperance debauchery and more flagrant crim crimes his moral life becomes extinguished and I he le lives only to sec see his children without moral restraint indulging every appetite and passion that leads to vice and crime and finally they die dishonored and degraded wit with excessive vice tice the rich roan man is liable to all this and more if he does not protect himself against these terrible evils by a faithful discharge of duties which the possession of wealth lays upon him these views briefly expressed pred are desi designed ned to be in unison with principles believed to be involved la in the very idea of god and in unison with the tr true ue relations which exist between him and hi his rational creatures and in Ji harmony armony with principles of morality and christianity ti god and hia ilia laws must be kept in view in all matters so immediately connected with the I happiness I and ind welfare of the human family the revelations of god to the saints in eur our day declare the they y must by be one w i n temporal ihme s orthey er cannot be one in iti spiritual things anil and if they are not one th they are not christs even ng as eff he e and the father are arcone on e this fact accepted the temporal condition of the people must indicate much of their spiritual condi condition conditio tio which leads to the conclusion that they arc are ti a longway ong way from front the unison required this tein temporal or financial condition of the people required seems not to accord with the idea that in society a few should he be extremely affluent whilo while thousands are in abject circumstance circumstances ancess antly toiling against poverty and want and if so ro what is the rent edy who in the light of revelation and experience will teach us this lesson of equality with that itola gospel simplicity that characterizes all a spiritual p truth as revealed to man why is it so hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven and why need he lift up his eyes in hell bell being in torment and see the poor afar off in abrahams bosom if justice demands demand all this to equalize hereafter what was not equal here our social condition must be wrong our morals seem defective eur our natures perverted and a reformation 13 is called for that will revolutionize the world cause men to walk in God gode ways sways and bring heaven and happiness to man on earth R |