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Show 150 John Tanner and His Family been so overworked that some people seem to think the session of property renders the possessor suspect. mere pos So persistent has been the charge that money is an impediment spirituality and an acceptable Christian life, that many people accept the idea without question. The author has sounded out college students many times and found that nearly all of them hold this view. This notion, the author believes to be entirely false and impossible of defense. Students were asked to refer to their own wards and to divide in their minds, if possible, the haves from the have nots. Would the people who owned most be less spiritual than those who owned the least? Where would the bishop, the Sunday school presi to dent, and the rest of the ward officers have nots? come from, the haves or the It was Joseph of Arimathea who saw to it that Jesus got a decent burial and Gamaliel who stood his ground against the members of the Sanhedrin when the apostles were on trail.' Paul found it most convenient to accept the hospitality of Lydia, the wealthy cloth mer chant of Phillipi, and enjoyed the company of Luke, the beloved 5 physician. Devout and dedicated Christians in all ages have come from every strata of society and if more of them came from the poor, it was probably because there were more of them. lucre is the money the other fellow has that a person had, which if he had it would no longer be filthy. It is fortunate the church has had its John Tanners, its Jesse Knights, and its J. Willard Marriots. They are not only convenient to have around, they are some of the choice men of the church. Filthy wishes he John Tanner was one of the have people. He knew how to raise wheat, beef and potatoes. When he put his plow into the ground and turned the sod, he could envision bins of grain and cellars of potatoes. But they were never an end in themselves; he knew the missionaries must be supplied and the poor looked after. Men of his character quite as important in building the kingdom as are the more volatile and vocal variety who have left father, mother, and sometimes wives and children without support while they circled the world searching for converts. And the fact they are not as widely acclaimed and have not left as many diaries and journals does not mean they are less dedicated and pious. are John Tanner did not greatly alter his way of life when he em braced Mormonism. It is true he gave up chewing tobacco which he |
