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Show / 758 IMPROVEMENT ERA church, h~wever, an_cl after withdrawing from Oxford, in 1842, h e led a life_ ~f ~astmg and prayer and in 18-+S, was received by ~ather Do1111rnc mto the Catholic church. Ile was attacked 011 all sides by prominent E11glish111en, aniong whom was Charles Kingsley. ~ewman '.clt that the Anglican chmch was only further aw1 111 concept~on of the mission of Christ than even the church of 1._0111 .. In 18~8, N~wman was made a Cardinal by Leo XllT. At one t1he while sa tl111g from P;ilermo to Marseilles he was hccalm~.cl in the stm its of 11onifaco, and here he wrote his famous hymn, Lead, Kindly Light." 1 "l,l'ad, kindly Light, a 111id the c 11circl i11 g g l,11,11 1, l.c;1d tho11 111c 0 11 ! The ni ght is dark, and I a111 f;1r fro111 h«111,·; Lead thou me o n! Keep tho11 my feet; I do not ask to sec The distant sce ne; 011c step eno11gh f;,r me. "I was not ever thus, nor prayed that thou Shoulds't lead me on, I lovcJ to choose and see my path, but now, Lead thou me on! T loved the garish day, and spite of fears . I e ru I et1 my will. Remember ' l ., nt not past ' years. "So lon g thy power hath bl es t m e sure it sti ll \Viii lead me on; ' · O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent till The night is gone. ' And with the morn, those angel faces smi le \Vh1ch T have loved long since, and lost awhile." "God Moves in a Mysterious 'Nay" was President Vvilforcl Woodruff's favorite hymn. He li stened to its rendition with the keenest delight, and time and. time again, had it s11ng in se rvice. Tt wa~ composed hy the English poet \Villiam Cowper, who was horn 111 1781. TJe was educated for the law, h11t hi s sensitive, despondent ~ature prevented his success in this profession. He beg~n to wnte verse even when. he became insane. It was only at times,. however, that he r eceived the poetic in spiration which resulted 111 some of the daintiest hits of poetry in the EnoJish )anguage. His "God l\fovcs in a Mysterious Way" is one of the idol s of om hymnal : "G.o~l moves in a mysteriou s way, H 1s wonders to perform· Ile plants his footsteps in' the sea, And rides upon the storm." OUR IIYI\I NS 759 IIU NTI NC;TON \V/\lZD l\llrnTING IIOUSE, Efl!ERY STAKE. This hou se was begun in the year 1889, and is not yet dedicated. IL is built of brick and stone, and cost approxi111ately $20,(XKI. I 11 size it is 77 by 47 feet, :m feet hi g-h, with a seati n gcapacity of <>nc th ousa11d. 1\ gallery scats :mo, and the rostl'lllll about 011c lll111drcd. The building- is cq11ippcd with ;111 orgall and a piano, has gas lights, a11d a water syste111. There arc six rooms. \Villiam Hunter, architect. There a r c one and .: fourth acres of land belonging to the building. ancl not 111 English alone ;ire they sung, hut in the languages of many peoples. Then there arc our own writers, men who received power from Goel. Dy their inspiration have they written beautiful poems, poems th;it will live forever. There were Vv. W. Phelps, Hewy \V. Naisbitt who, by the way, wrote some of the most beautiful poems in our history; Emily H. \Vooclmansce, E. L. Sloan, President John Taylor, John Nich olson, Emmeline R. Wells, ai1cl many others. The list would almost extend indefinitely. 1.Jtah has pro<l11ccd many writers of a high stamp of poetic gcni11s. There arc many such living today . As 1 have already inclicatcd the hymns mentioned in this paper are only a 'few of the many exquisite poems we sing in our services and homes. They arc the source of light and comfort to many thousands, for where all else may fail, the hymn will bring comfort and trnst in life ancl Goel. The world at this season of the yea r seems to look up again to Chri st ancl him crucified. May such a spirit continue thro11 gh out the com ing months, and may the years bring God's children to the Light of His Law. Then can we sing with Sarah F. Adams: "Nearer my Goel to thee Nea r er to t h ec, E'en th ough it be a cross That raiseth me: Still all my song shall be, Nearer my God to thee." A paper on otir hymns could be woven: ipto a volume. The few that T have mentioned in this writing are only s11ggestive of the m;iny. The song·s of the V/eslrys alone fiJI m;iny a humn:d, /881 I IMPROVEMENT ERA VoL. xvrr MAY, 1914 No. 7 Loud Laughter a Sin Ii I I I i PROF. N. L. NELSON, OF THE WEBER ACADEMY. "Therefore, cease from all your light speeches; from all laughter; from all your lnstful tll:sin:s; from all your pride and light mindedness, a11d from all your wicked doings. * * * Cast away y1H1r idle thought,; .111cl your excess of laughter far from you. * * * do these things with thanksgivi11g, with cheerful he,1rts and cou11tena11c"~; 1101 witl1 11111d1 la11ghtcr, for 11:is is sin, l111t with a glad heart and ;1 d1ccrf11l countc 11a11cc."--l>uc. and Cov., 88:121, 69; 59:15. It is now forty years since I first read these passages and wonden:cl that the Lord should condemn so innocent and, to me, so admirable a thing as hearty laughter. I am afraid that a;; a boy the meaning of "glad heart and cheerful countenance," which the Lord offers as a substitute, did not strike 111y attention, and certainly no cine ever pointed it out to me. T fear also that, hy the Jaw of contrast, my 111i11d jumped to the opposite extreme; inter .. preting- as pleasing to hcaVl'tl the groa11i11g ht·an a11d the lo11g, drooping cou11te1w11ce-Jike that of old Brother 1\foody mid old Sister Gloom who, although they were among the first to accept '' Mormonism," failed to slough and leave heliind them in the old country the sour and solemn shams of sectarianism. As a consequence, the years from twelve to eighteen, which mark the hoodlum epoch in my career, were years of rebellion and defiance. l had not read l\'1 ii ton's "L' /\Jll'gro," Intl !tad it r1,111e within 111y !mi, l should certainly liavc approved this stanza: ~IAJOR Y"J J. ll. GILlll~RT • J Ii· t <lit ion of the Book of Mormon. The principal ~OlllJ?OSllOr ic ~s rl~ in 1803, and died in Palmyra, Ile was horn 111 R1ch:non'., 1e ? y~·ir~ 10 month 5 • The photo was N. y ·,.111J '111.1ua9rlyt l 89SSe, e.ig:E~lit;rs' 'i-able ," in this number of the E1<A, taken 11s s 26, year. - 9 "Haste thee, nymph, and Lri11g with lhC'e Jest and youthful Jolity, Imps and cranks and wanron wiles, Nods and hecks aucl wreathed smiles, * * * Sport that wrinkled care derides, Laughter holding both his sides." As it was, the hero of that silly epoch, the incarnation of my |
