| Show A PICTURE In one of Hawthornes Twice Told Tales but a hundred times read there is one that impresses itself on the mind more than the others It is the one that is known as the Prophetic Picture It tells of a painter passing through a quiet peaceful town on his wanderings and in this town he found a young and happy couple across whose path no shadow had as yet fallen The man was in youth and was filled with youths strength and hope and courage The future looked bright and held out hopes of long happiness for the past the past that in most lives is filled with shadows unrealized hopes and ambitions am-bitions pleasant dreams that have became be-came frightful nightmares had not came The bride was in those years when womanhood and maidenhood blend inmost in-most pleasing harmony and before the cares of life had fallen heavily upon her Upon her lily cheek was the blush of the red rose her eyes were lightened with laughter and in her heart were the songs of joy and gladness for as yet she knew not sorrow It was thus that the painter saw the happy I couple but he painted them not as he I saw them In their faces he saw the future for the look of destiny was there and that look of destiny he put upon his canvas The faces in the picture were far more solemn than the faces of those young people for in them could be seen care and sorrow and regret Was it strange that they were not pleased with their portraits they who were so young and happy and without care To the artist they t expressed their disappointment disappoint-ment but he told them to wait until the years rolled by and in the future they would find the portrait true And so it was and that which seemed harsh and unreal in youth was true and real in after life And thus it is with man the joy and hope of youth in age are replaced with sorrow and regret more intense with some than with others but present to all The careless act the thoughtless act they bear their fruits and their fruits are bitter The thing that is done without heed may be the thing that will do most harm and he who has done it upon him will it rebound It is the Biblical doctrine doc-trine that he who sows the wind will reap the whirlwind No matter on what theory the-ory these things are done no matter in accordance with what belief they bear the same fruits for their seeds are wrong doing sown in carelessness There may be sown with the tares wheat but the tares will predominate for it is their nature na-ture to encroach uponand finally to crowd the wheat entirely out In Utah how many tares are sown how little wheat is garnered Tares are sown because tares are grown and from a belief that God v commands many make their lives miserable miser-able trusting that the hereafter may bestow I be-stow the happiness they have never I known on earth How strange it is that man should think he is best serving I God then when he is making i himself miserable How many in i Utah enter into a marriage relation re-lation that gives them neither honor nor happiness on earth whose best hope is I that it may give them salvation And I what is salvation Is it more than freedom I free-dom from sin and sorrow And is not 11 sorrow the child of sin Did not Mary of Magdala obtain salvation when her Saviour bade her to go forth and sin no more and she did as she was bid Does this marriage system always give joy to the heart and peace to the soul Is Christianity the laying of a burden upon the heart or a lifting of it from off the heart In Utah are seen young men and young women entering this marriage that all the world has said brings sorrow and shame and when they enter it their hearts are as brave their prospects as bright as those of that happy twain whose portrait the artist painted and the same prophetic vision rises into view when we look at them as the painter saw when he painted his Prophetic Picture |
