PREFACE TO THE WRITINGS OF KUMEN JONES
Consisting of Notes, Historical scraps, etc.
RELIGION: We had a pre-mortal existence in the spirit world before coming to this life where we exercised our agency and made some degree of advancement. Some made more advancement than others, thereby making the great difference with which we begin in this life. Our Father in Heaven is a perfect man, with body, parts and passions; a perfected, glorified being, and the Father of our Savior by the Virgin Mary. The Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit and the three constitute the presiding agency over the earth. In the program there is provision for a human nursery or testing period where we are put through numerous tournaments or competitive tests, where we all qualify for a more or less permanent heritage.
The first prize is a Celestial Heritage, the second a Terrestrial heritage, the third a Telestial heritage. The fourth draws a blank, or worse. In the first three of the above, the principal of eternal progression is involved, holding out hope for infinite growth and endless progress as a reward of effort.
We mortal pilgrims cannot, or do not now, fully appreciate eternity. All that we have here comes to an end, or a change which amounts to about the same thing. Nor can we understand that there is no end to space or to matter.
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FOR THE HEALTH: GRATITUDE: Always have a supply of it on hand and pass it along freely. I have an idea the laughter cure for the physical ills of mankind should be stressed and used more than it is by the medical profession. I once had a minor ailment, and the doctor I called dosed me a little, but for the most part he said I would "have to grin and bear it." Then one of those chronic laughters came to see me, bless their resistibilities, and almost immediately I got better. My diaphragm needed shaking.
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IMPRESSIONS: One of the chief corner stones of the gospel of the Savior of this world is, and must be, The Golden Rule. As the time of His crucifixion approached, this ground-work of true religion seemed to bear heavily on his mind, as is indicated in His prayer to the Father and His appealings to His disciples. Especially disappointing must have been the knowledge that His sacrifice and pleadings were to fail of immediate results at that stage of the earth's progress, and that He was to be rejected by all but a few.
This must have been a source of sorrow and sadness to him. But in this, our day, when the gospel has been revealed again, and especially with the promises and assurances that it will not be
taken again from the earth, it brings hope and confidence to the few who will accept it with faith and honest hearts.
But all men, believers and unbelievers, will sometime find it necessary to square their lives and their living to this same "Rule" in order to be accepted of the Savior who gave it. It will become the equalizer and regulator for both the laborer and the business man, the politician and the office-holder, for those of high birth and for those of less prominence, for the rich and for the poor.
"Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them," is, and always will be, one of the foundation principles of Celestial glory. In putting off our accepting and practicing this rule, we do so at our own peril. We may postpone the time of accepting this heavenly principle, or condition, but sooner or later we will see and feel that it is one of the indispensible principles of everlasting importance.
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BORROWED PHILOSOPHY AND SCRIPTURE: which I accept as true and unchangeable for our guide through life. "Whatsoever ye would that men should do, do ye even so unto them." Again, "Whatsoever measure ye mete out to others, it shall be measured to you again, yea, heaped up and running over."
"Judge not that ye be not judged, for with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged." We may be smart enough to deceive each other here in this mortal life, but before we enter the Celestial Kingdom, we will have to pass the perfect judge; the One who can read every thought and intent of the heart or the mind, wherein one has thought to deceive his fellow mortals. But he is the one that is deceived, and he will be humiliated in the presence of the Just and the Pure.
I know one imperfect pilgrim who desires help from above as well as from his fellow men to "fix up" here before passing on to the unknown conditions and surroundings. In case there are any crooked attempts along our trail, they will be detected by ourselves even before we approach the perfect judge.
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TO MY CHILDREN AND DESCENDANTS:
Remember that in all your dealings with your fellowmen in this life, it is up to you to be fair and square with all, if not, it is you to do the worrying, if it is happiness you are after, both here in this life and in the life hereafter, until every wrong is made right. The Prophet Alma says, "As we lay our bodies down, so shall we take them up again; they who have done good unto a state of happiness, and they who have done evil into a state of unhappiness and sorrow." "As the tree is laid down, so shall it rise again."
That means that we shall be judged according to the deeds done in the body, or in other words, by the record we make while passing through this mortal state.
THE GOSPEL "without beginning of days or end of years," But for the purpose of this unlettered little story, we will undertake to answer the three questions that must come up in the mind of every normal person upon reaching the years of accountability:
(1st) From whence did we come from to here,
(2nd) What is the purpose of our being here,
(3rd) Where do we go from here, and what our final destination and condition.
The gospel, "God's Story," gives us to understand that we had a spiritual existence previous to our being born into this mortal life, and even in that pre-mortal state we had an identity a personality, intelligence, an agency to decide for ourselves, and while the spirit substance is finer, it is none the less real, and susceptable to influences, can see, hear, feel, and can think and act more or less freely, and may exercise an influence for good or ill, with groups or individually. Scripture, anciently and modern, informs us that there was a great council held in that spirit world in which all God's spirit children took part, in which council there was at least two groups participating, where Lucifer, "a son of the morning," led the opposition party and one-third of the hosts of the spirit forces of that council followed him in that rebellion.
There was a definite program outlined in that council which must have been more or less fully taught and explained to all that spirit creating. In that school or council convention, a difference of opinion must have developed among the leading spirits upon the subject of "Free Agency." In a way this "Council" may be compared to the efforts of the original colonies to formulate a constitution as the foundation for a permanent government. Some of the individual colonies were loathe to relinguish some "rights" that they contended should belong to the states. Others contending for a strong central government. Finally compromising in checks and balancing afforded by the three--Executive, Legislative, Judiciary--Branches.
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BOYS AND GIRLS PLEASE TAKE NOTICE
You are looking ahead. I'm looking back. Youth may pick up some useful items from my personal experience; could I take this experience back to start this mortal life with it. Here are some improvements I could make.
My Ten Commandments
1st: Be kinder and more helpful to my over-matched Mother, who was left a widow with 6 children, the oldest (living) 7 1/2 years, the youngest (twins) less than one year old; in extreme poverty, broken health, nerves exhaustion. She fought bravely on. I could easily have been better and more helpful, especially after my eighth year. Sorry to have to admit that it was not the case. "Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother that Thy Days may be long upon the Land which the Lord Thy God Giveth Thee."
2nd: Honor and be helpful to your Bishop, always, as he is another father in our Church; represents our Heavenly Parents.
3rd: Be kind and honor all womankind. Defend against insult or harm, as you would like to have your mother or sister honored. A scrub don't do this.
4th: Be kind to all the animal kingdom. Especially all domestic animals. Don't torture any of them.
5th: Be Honest and square with your fellowmen; put the Golden Rule to work in all your dealings and associations with them. "Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them." Peace cannot come, or prevail on this earth until we, the people, accept and live this law.
6th: Pay an honest tithing into the Lord's Store House.
7th: Keep the Word of Wisdom. It's better than doctors and most medicines for a quide to health.
8th: Live within your means. Keep out of debt, if you would have your word as good as your bond.
9th: Sustain all Organizations of the Church.
10th: Be a good student. The intelligence we attain to in this life is all we take into the next probation over and above what we brought with us when we came here.
Join the Church Security plan without reserve, or hesitation. If I understand the Church Security Plan it is a distinct step ahead, toward the putting in to practice the Golden Rule, and end up in the Order of Enoch, and had working on this continent among the Nephites and converted Lamanites after our Savior's visit here. Furthermore it will only create a smile to intimate that any other system or order will prevail after the resurrection in the Celestial Kingdom. Now be careful stepping back down the Golden Stairs, while we finish our earth story here in Blanding homes.
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THE UNFORTUNATE JEWS
November 13, 1938. In reading the current news, and listening in on the radio, all sounds like 1846 Missouri and Illinois History, only the latter news is on a much larger scale, as far as the people involved is concerned. The same cowardly, brutal, ungodly spirit and general treatment by the agressor nations are concerned.
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AS TO ETERNAL MATTERS AND THINGS.
If we knowingly deceive, cheat, or obtain any material thing or things from another person, or company, in any but an honorable way, we are robbing ourselves of eternal riches, unless we repent and make good to the ones we have wronged.
Life insurance for this life, also for Eternity.
Agents who sell life insurance usually sign contracts for policies lasting 20 years, which is a legitimate and praiseworthy calling with character building points in its favor. How much more important must necessarily mean to us is the eternal insurance that is embraced in the Gospel of the Redeemer.
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APPARENTLY SMALL HABITS, that in a life mean much. Each child early in life should form the habit of being tidy, not only in dress and personal appearance, but in caring for all things that we use or handle. This is indispensable where the family is large, unless we determine to make a slave of the truest and best friends we have, or ever will have, Mother and wife. If we form the habit while young of being tidy, helpful, and anxious to serve others, we are sowing seeds and deeds that grow and mature into the richest and sweetest of all the harvest time, in riches that will never rust or "Thieves break thru and steal."
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WHO WILL INVENT, or furnish two English words for use of everyday mortal lives to replace (1st) DEATH, used to describe the passing on of the living creatures providence has place on the earth for a temporary sojourn. Our leaving the Spirit World and starting out in this mortal existence, the most helpless of all living creatures, is more of a death than our taking leave of this life and returning to our first "estate", the Spirit. Why cannot we invent a better word than "death" to describe this change.
2nd. We need a good English word to describe "A high class SPORT. We borrow the word sport from our friends of the sporting world. We need a word that will describe the best people who play
the game of life best. The best brother of all humankind, who said, "Go thy way and sin no more," "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do," "Thy will, not mine, be done," who never uttered one word of self-pity in all his life.
"OUT WHERE THE WEST BEGINS"
Out where the handclasp's a little stronger,
Out where the smile dwells a little longer,
That's where the West begins;
Where there's more of singing and less of sighing,
Where there's more of giving and less of buying,
And a man makes friends without half trying,
That's where the West begins.
Out where the mountains are a little higher,
Out where the climate is a little drier,
That's where the West begins,
Where most all folks are neighbors,
Take interest in each other's labor,
And each thot with sympathy savors,
Out where the West begins.
Out where the sun shines brighter,
The air you breathe is lighter,
That's where the West begins.
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THANKSGIVING DAY REFLECTIONS
How far away the cabin is, that waited by the lane;
How far away the dusty road, that led beyond my sight;
But I can see the cedars still, and I can hear the rain
That beat upon that shingled roof and sang to me at night.
How far away I've drifted from a day that used to be--
But I am thankful for a dream that still comes back to me.
How far away a dream can drift and still remain as clear
As yellow roses in the light against a winter's snow.
How far away a voice can call and still seem just as near
As when I heard it speak my name so very long ago.
The path seems rougher as we march, and dusk is in the sky,
But I am thankful for a dream sent me from One I know.
THANKSGIVING, Nov., 1932. In looking back sixty-four years, and taking stock of my past life, and associations, both as to my own family and the neighbors and friends with whom it has been my good fortune to live and labor, the thot has come to me O how thankful I should be to have my lot cast among so good a people. The truth is dawning on my soul what a responsibility is upon me to live and labor so that these associations shall never end, but endure for all time. When we remember that this mortal life is as
a drop compared to the mighty ocean of the eternity that follows this life, and rather than endanger our chances in the next one it will pay from any point of view to forego any temporary pleasure, for the securing of a reserved seat in the life to come. My soul is filled with gratitude to our Heavenly Father for my earthly father and mother, brothers and sister, wives and children, uncles and aunts, cousins, nephews and nieces, and all blood relations, and for the splendid noble men and women that I have been associated with in the Church all thru my life, and as time goes on I hope to become more worthy of these blessings, exercising more charity and faith. I am more thankful than I have language to express for the knowledge I have that every principle of the Gospel as restored to the earth by the prophet Joseph Smith is true, and is in very deed the power of God unto salvation to all who obey its teachings, enduring to the end.
I would entreat all men everywhere to accept the Gospel, live it and receive the reward that is as sure as death itself, or more than the passing on from this probationary state into the spirit life that we left to come here, the one change no more of a death than the other--rather a birth into a new life and a broader field of operation.
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Just a few thots on what we should know, but don't. The Gospel (God's plan) embraces all truth, all good, chemistry, psychology, history, especially the scriptures and themes mentioned in our scriptures.
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EDUCATION. "Man, know thyself." But, we have to be educated along certain lines in order to know ourselves, even imperfectly. The greater part of us will not fully understand ourselves in this mortal sojourn. If we get started out right in this school and keep going in that general direction, we will make headway in this life, and will be in better shape to get our bearings starting out in the next "Grade."
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WHEN IT'S SPRINGTIME IN THE ROCKIES
The twilight deepens into night, dear
The city lights are gleaming o'er the snow
I sit along beside the fire, dear,
I'm dreaming dreams from out the long ago.
In fancy it is springtime in the mountains,
The flowers with their colors are aflame
And every day I hear you softly saying
"I'll wait until the springtime comes again."
When it's springtime in the Rockies
I am coming back to you,
Little sweetheart of the mountains
With your bonny eyes of blue.
Once again I'll say I love you
While the birds sing all the day
When it's springtime in the Rockies
In the rockies far away.
THINGS WORTH WHILE
Don't ask: Has the world been a friend to me.
But: Have I to the world been true
'Tis not what you get, but what you give
That makes life worthwhile to you.
'Tis the kind word said to a little child
As you wiped its tears away.
And the smile you brot to some careworn face
That really lights up your day.
'Tis the hand you clasp with an honest grasp
That gives you a hearty thrill
'Tis the good you pour into other lives
That comes back, your own to fill.
'Tis the dregs you drain from another's cup
That makes your own seem sweet
And the hours you give to your brother men
That your own life makes complete
'Tis the burden you help another bear
That makes your own seem light
'Tis the danger seen for another's feet
That shows you the path to right.
'Tis the good you do each passing day
With a heart sincere and true
For giving the world your very best
It's best will return to you.
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JUST FOR FUN AND PASTIME AND PRACTICE
During Woodrow Wilson's administration, congress "milled' a long time over the wording of a resolution or law, providing for our joining the League of Nations, haggling, more or less good-naturedly, over the meaning of big words and legal terms, etc. That's how I practiced on something that even a congressman may understand--words with but one syllable.
"No king or czar shall bear rule in this land, nor shall they have any say as to how we shall run it. They shall not have a say as to when or where our boys shall go or shall not go to fight in case of war in any part of the earth. We shall have and love but one flag, and that shall be the good old Stars and Stripes, and we shall say where and when our honored flag shall be raised and flung to the breeze. We will treat all men in all lands as we would like them to treat us. We will help feed those of any land when in great need, and will help all good men to keep the peace of the world, when and if we can. But will not throw in with them or put our rights in their hands, and will not give up to them any of the job God put in our hands, nor will we join them or give them aid to put a wrong over to anyone else. We will be straight and clean in all things, and will make all men to know that we will stand for no other way with the help of the Lord.
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What about it all? Where did we come from and how? No human mind of ourselves can answer. What is our business here, now that we are here, and how shall we attend to that or this business? Now that we are here, where do we go from here?
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From a religious point of view the answer to our boy Prophet's first prayer was the most important and far reaching to this generation of anything that could be given to the human family, which was a clear knowledge of the form, being and attributes of our Eternal Father, His attitude and will towards His earthly offspring, thus affording a foundation for intelligent faith to build upon and clarifying the situation; getting back to where Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and the Savior himself left record of this all important knowledge, and replacing the mythical impossible something that the pretended religious church men had substituted for the God of the scriptures.
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My religion, in brief, at which I have puttered at a little and recommend all my fellow pilgrims to try out, "With all thy getting, get understanding."--Solomon.
With all thy doing, do kindness, help the needy and unload the overburdened, especially those who are handicapped by ill-health of mind or body. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, cheer up the discouraged. Turn the wicked from his evil ways, but do it kindly, patiently, without giving unnecessary offence. Reprove wrongdoing fearlessly, but do it in a way to retain the friendship of the offending one. It takes one with a big kind heart to work these things out. But such is life and the giver and doer of these things has
put the Golden Rule to work in this life, which must needs be to usher in the Millennium reign of the only just and Holy One.
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The foundation for religion must be faith in a Supreme Being, or power, and when I see the great difference in men it's easy for me to believe in the God of the scriptures, as I understand them, when we see how near some men become, even in this mortal life, where we are subjected to sin and temptation on every hand, and the great majority fall for it, many others who take almost a neutral stand; and the small minority, in every age and in every nation, stand with courage and oppose evil in every form and among those few even some at times waver. I say it points to the perfecting of some to the Allwise, Allpure, Allpowerful position of some above the human status, for there are some men and women too, who have taken the knowledge and faith they possessed and work their way up thru grilling tests (most of them) up into most beautiful, enviable lives, even here in mortality, while all about them have been those with the same possibilities have failed miserably.
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MORTALITY: We are here for a wise and glorious purpose, to work out the program we assisted in formulating in the pre-mortal estate. "To see if we would do whatsoever the Father in Heaven commands us to do" (in a state of forgetfulness as to our former life.) The grilling test consists of "What will we do with our free agency," having two opposing influences, or powers working to gain supremacy over us, both real, but not always tangible, but powerful. How early in this life of ours will we learn that "there is a spirit in man and the inspiration or Spirit of the Almighty giveth it understanding," and it is our privilege to listen to and be guided into all truth and liberty by the latter spirit. We are to permanently place our devotion, stabilize our attitude in life, learn the importance of taking proper care of and sacredly guarding our physical bodies as an eternal heritage, as above and beyond price.
We are to learn how to care for ourselves and those dependent upon us, dealing fairly and justly with all men, meeting all public responsibilities of every nature, both in Church and state, soliciting this opportunity as a privilege, with charity and an open mind towards the opinions of everyone, not expecting perfection in any not even ourselves, lest we meet with disappointment.
There may be an occasional exception, but the great majority of those who have worked their way up and into the hearts and memories of the children of men in this good life, have been those who have overcome the greatest difficulties, or lost their lives in the struggle up, in an attempt to better the outlook for their fellowmen. Don't expect too easy sailing or all peaches and cream, and at the same time expect the highest character development, but instead pray that we may overcome the grilling problems on our trail on up to better lives and possibilities.
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JUST MY OPINION AS TO THE "SOUL" OF MAN. The heart is headquarters for the machinery that handles the blood circulation thru the body while in this mortal life. The brain is headquarters for the operation of the spirit. The heart and brain unite in, or are affected by the operation of the nervous system.
After the resurrection the heart and brain, both being operated by the spirit field, will control cooperatively the six senses for the progress, the happiness and well-being of man. The spirit and physical body of man will constitute the soul.
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"WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE," or what of the future? The Savior points the way and sets the pattern. Some there are who take the Savior's sayings to the thief who was crucified with him, that he would go direct to Heaven (claiming that "Paradise" means Heaven), but the text does not sustain that claim, for the third day after the Savior was crucified he informed the women at the tomb that he had not yet ascended to Heaven, so that paradise must mean a temporary station where the spirits meet to get their assignments and where a partial judgment is pronounced, dividing them according to worthiness.
The Savior also gave us an exact pattern as to the resurrected condition of our bodies, the only difference the Savior's body, as King David saw in vision, nearly two thousand years earlier, did not "see corruption." Otherwise our bodies will be as "His, real, actual physical bodies of flesh and bones, without blood (which will be replaced with spirit.)
The Savior at birth was half Divine, and He himself does not expect that we will in this probation reach His state of perfection. But He does expect us to make the choice as to whom we elect to serve and follow, the companions and the general attitude of our lives, with a conscience to assist us as to right and wrong.
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Organization Perfect when put to work. It takes the infant when 8 days or thereabouts. It is given a name and a blessing by one holding authority, assisted by one or more Elders. Even before the birth the mother to be is given instructions in regard to health rules and care of her body and other health information so as to make everything as favorable as possible for the unborn. The Church record begins at birth and blessing, then comes Cradle Roll, Kindergarten class, Primary Organization, Sunday School, Boy Scout Organization for boys and Bee Hive work for girls; Mutual Improvement Associations for both sexes. For the boys they are started in to Priesthood work: Deacons 8 years, Teachers 12, Priests 16, then according to interest and activity 18 to 20 years Elders, according to preparation and worthiness Seventies and High Priests. In all these progressive steps or grades, the very best teachers available are procured, and as near as possible the best and most up-to-date methods are employed. As for the Church, the Savior's Life and Teachings are the foundation and groundwork of all teachings of every organization enumerated above, and the object of it all is the preparation of a race up to when and where they may live the law as outlined by our Savior in His "Sermon on the Mount"--"Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy; blessed are the peace makers for they shall be called the children of God; blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God."
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A FEW OF THE REASONS WHY "MORMONISM" or the Gospel of our Savior must be right, for it teaches that God our Eternal Father is a person (man being formed in his exact image) only perfected, sanctified, glorified, whose physical body
is under complete control of his spiritual being. This is the being described in scripture, the only being understandable by finite beings. This gives us a foundation for intelligent faith, which is an indispensable factor in religion.
We had a pre-mortal, spiritual estate, or existence before this mortal life, in which we had an identity in which we exercised our agency freely, and in which estate the gospel was formulated and taught in all plainness and we were permitted to take part in the whole program of this life's grilling test, where good and evil were to be put before us while in the condition of utmost innocence and forgetfulness as to our spiritual life before coming here.
Now to which of the two influences are we going to react, the immoral, intemperate, lawless body and soul destroying tempter, or the moral, ethical religious uplifting one that Christ lived, taught and died for? The Gospel teaches that we will be rewarded, or punished according to our own works and deeds, no more no less, after taking into account our abilities and opportunities and environment.
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If we think we are in hard lines read the Savior's Life.
If discouraged, down in the dumps, or have a case of just ordinary blues, read the Book of Mormon, especially the last experience of "Mormon and Moroni."
"To serve the present age My calling to fulfil
"O may it all my powers engage Doing my Father's Will.
"I expect to pass thru this mortal life but once. If therefore there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to my fellow human beings, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again." A Quaker.
"It takes courage to speak or act the truth under some circumstances, but without truth nothing of enduring value remains."
"Make truth thy buckler and shield."
"A knocker never wins. A winner never knocks."
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BOYS AND GIRLS, OLD AND YOUNG, think it over, TAKE YOUR CHOICE: THOMAS ALVA EDISON
One of the outstanding characters of all time. High class man with a clean, high class sports attitude toward life. Used his extraordinary inventive mind and talents to bring light, and joy to his fellowmen. Lived a clean, temperate life; associated with good people always. His advice to young men was always uplifting, pointing towards high ideals. He acknowledged without hesitation that there is a higher power than mortal man's leading and guiding our efforts when we have reached our own limitations. The men who made a specialty of religion had him confused until all he cared to say on that subject was "I don't know," and upon nearing the end of this mortal life, in coming out of one of his partly unconscious spells, he exclaimed to his attendants, "Oh, there's a beautiful place over there, " which will forever be a source of comfort to "Believer."
AL CAPONE
One of the outstanding characters of the underworld has just been convicted in a court of law in Chicago of one of his minor offenses against the law. It seems that he has been "slick" enough to cover up his tracks in the more serious crimes. However, there is no desire in this little effort for the right, to judge our misguided citizen. There is One righteous judge who will sift all the evidence, environment, heredity an all, and whose right it is to judge, will attend to this, in case our earthly courts fail. But how does Capone stand with all good-hearted people or citizens of our more or less unhappy country just now.
Boys and girls, Old and Young, think it over and take your choice.
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M. I. A. SLOGANS
In the Name of Our God We will set up Our Banners. Psalms 20:5.
1914-15: We stand for a Sacred Sabbath and a weekly half holiday.
1915-16: We stand for a Weekly Home Evening.
1916-17: We stand for state and nation-wide prohibition.
1917-18: We stand for thrift and economy.
1918-20: We stand for service to God and country.
1920-21: We stand for spiritual growth thru attendance at Sacrament Meetings.
1921-22: We stand for the non-use and non-sale of tobacco.
1922-23: We stand for loyal citizenship.
1922-23: We stand for a pure life thru clean thot and action.
1923-24: We stand for Divine Guidance thru individual and family prayer.
1924-25: We stand for the commandment: Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother.
1925-26: We stand for an individual testimony of the Divinity of Jesus Christ.
1926-27: We stand for a testimony of the divine mission of Joseph Smith.
1927-28: We stand for a fuller knowledge of the Book of Mormon and a testimony of its divine origin.
1928-29: We stand for Law, for the people who live it and the officers who enforce it.
1929-30: We stand for loyal adherence to Latter-day Saint ideals.
1931-32: We stand for physical, mental, and spiritual health thru observance of the Word of Wisdom.
1932-33: We stand for enrichment of life thru constructive use of leisure and personal service to fellowmen.
1933-34: Inspired by the refining influence of Mormonism, we will develop the gifts within us.
The Era in every home. Era Week October 15th to 22nd each year.
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Keep busy; work to best advantage; pay as you go along, and save a little each year if possible.
Keep strict account of all money or its equivalent that comes into our hands, and as we set it down on account, figure exactly what is a just Tithing on same and pay promptly where possible, at least monthly.
Guard well your credit, that means keep your promises all, whether written or verbal, in case something unlooked for or unavoidable comes to hinder your making promises good, look your creditor up immediately, and give him the reasons why. There may be scarcely no end to the disappointments that may occur thru your falling down. There may be turns or exchanges made sometimes to stop the hitch in the run of business between neighbors which may all depend on you keeping your promise.
Know yourself that you are honest. All others will find it out.
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MY LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY embraces a perfect financial policy of life with a perfect directorate and a perfect organization, with a perfect set of by-laws and constitution.
It is the oldest company in existence, with the best security. The only company in existence that cannot fail. The only company ever organized that pays a dividend to its policy holders from the day of their joining and continues to pay a dividend as long as the shareholders live up to their contracts made when joining, and after a certain length of time a shareholder gets a great layout in real estate; with other good shareholders we shall inherit the earth, and if you wish the best join us in procuring an Eternal Life Insurance policy.
To the average boy and girl making a living is and always will be a problem worthy of our honest effort, but making a life and forming a character is a very much bigger problem, embracing the former and taking in every worthwhile thing of value on this earth of ours.
We need Washington's loyalty and staying qualities; Lincoln's kindly, broad, pure, human heart; the thrifty wisdom of a Benjamin Franklin; Paul's courage; the humility of a Moses; the statesmanship of a Brigham Young; the obedient spirit of an Abraham; the purity and faith of the boy Joseph Smith; the inspiration and missionary spirit of a Wilford Woodruff; the brave courageous manhood of Joseph F. Smith. If we had all the above gifts and characteristics, than we would be ready for the Saviour to take hold of us and lead us to the perfection of His perfection.
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LINCOLN. As a lad between 5 and 9 years of age, by listening to the all absorbing conversations and discussions regarding the war between the North and the South, the name of Abraham Lincoln was indelibly impressed upon my memory, and thru the years as they pass along and I read and hear of people or listen to men attempting to pick flaws in his character, I am only surer and stronger in my convictions that big hearted Lincoln was, and is, a splendid human success, and that the bullet of Booth's removed from the mortal sphere of ours one of its greatest human friends. Especially did his being cut down affect the reconstruction of the South. He was the one man with the authority and disposition to lead them out of the humiliation of defeat, back to fellowship and understanding with their countrymen of the North, which process was miserably prolonged by his untimely passing out of this mortal struggle.
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FOR THE CURE OF CONSTIPATION. Eat the following fruits and nothing else for several days: recommend agar-agar, take a teaspoonful of granulated form several times daily with a fruit fast.
At least two enemas daily during fast.
After the fast use plenty of greens and non-starchy vegetables; meat may be freely used with plenty of vegetables. Muffins made from real whole wheat flour; avoid laxitives and cathartics altogether. Long walks and exercise should be taken. Apples, grapes, peaches, apricots, plums, ripe figs, tomatoes.
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WELL-BALANCED MEALS;
1. Roast beef, cooked spinach, asparagus, head lettuce, stewed prunes.
2. Broiled chicken, cooked celery with salad of lettuce and tomatoes.
3. Rabbit, string beans, summer squash, raw celery, jello.
4. Coddled eggs, melba toast, stewed prunes.
5. Good pure milk good anytime except when meat forms a prominent part of the meal; one or the other should go lightly with.
6. Most raw or cooked fruits also good anytime with meals.