direct our thoughts to our Lord and Savior; they cause us to reflect on the treatment which He received, and that reflection draws forth our love and adoration for Him. We remember also that He bore all His trials patiently, that when He was reviled He reviled not in turn, but prayed to His Father to forgive those who mocked Him, persecuted Him and who were putting Him to death. Professing to be servants of Christ, it is expected that we follow the example of our Master: that we be patient, longsuffering, forgiving, charitable. So if the unkind receptions which we receive day after day develop within us those excellent Christian virtues, we are not without our reward. The Apostle Paul said: "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." Is the salvation of our immortal souls not worth more to us than all the world? It certainly is. And as the gospel of Jesus Christ contains within it the power of God unto salvation, why should we refuse to give it entrance at our front doors? In speaking to His disciples concerning the signs that were to precede His second coming, the Savior said: "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come." The Lord has told us through His servants the prophets, and also by His own voice, that terrible calamities shall come upon the inhabitants of the earth in the last days because of their wickedness and abominations. Wars, pestilence, famine, earthquakes, etc. shall work havoc among the children of men and myriads shall perish. But the Lord does not take delight in the death of the wicked. It is His desire that all men may repent of their sins and come unto Him and be saved. For this purpose He has restored the everlasting gospel in these latter-days and has sent His servants into the nations with the glad tidings and to call upon all men, king and peasant, rich and poor, master and servant, to hearken unto the warning message that they may be saved from the destructions which are coming upon the earth and from condemnation in the world to come. And this is the message that people spurn, that they will not admit at their front doors, and that hundreds of thousands of them will not receive even at their back doors. Well, they will have to take the consequences, their sins be upon their own heads. They will learn, as others have done, when it is too late, that they made a mistake in refusing to listen to the counsels of God. Some time ago I read of an old farmer who was paying a visit to one of the large eastern cities in America. One day as he stood on the corner of a business street, his eyes wandered up to a large building on the opposite side. He stood gazing at it for a few seconds and then he crossed the street and entered the institution. It was a bank. He went up to a clerk in charge of one of the de He partments and was about to address him when the latter snapped rather abruptly: "Go to the next window to the left." The farmer did as he was told. He had to wait a short time while two or three customers were attended to. "I wanted to say," he began, when the clerk interrupted him with the question, "Have you got an account here?" "No," he replied. "Next window," said the clerk, motioning with his hand. The farmer went there. waited till a gentleman had made a deposit and then he said to the receiver, "I would like to tell you." But he was not allowed to finish the sentence. "You will find the information department the second window to the left," said the clerk hastily. The old man went to the information bureau, and after waiting his turn, he began to tell the man in charge something when a great commotion was heard outside, the fire department dashed up in front of the building and a man rushed in shouting, "The bank is on fire." The old farmer made his way as quickly as possible through the excited crowd, and as he stood at a distance watching the conflagration he said to himself, "I tried for half an hour to tell those fellows that the bank was on fire, but they would not listen to me." It is much the same with the missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For over seventy years they have been trying to tell their fellowmen of the great things which the Lord has done in these last days, of the restoration of the everlasting gospel, which is able to save their souls, of the judgments of God which are coming upon the earth, and but very few have listened to them. The people are too engrossed in worldly matters to pay attention to sacred things. Like the bank officials, they will find out their mistake when it is too late.-LEWIS O. CLARK. Good Business Philosophy.-"Think often of immortality and its transcendent meaning. Stretch out your thoughts to grasp an idea of constellations and eternity, and yet be humble enough to learn a lesson from the ant beneath your feet. Weave a noble spirit into your work, and search for the meanings of life, that you may have them to express. Make a place in your heart for poetry, music, literature, art, philosophy, science and religion. Shun evil of every kind and degree-not through fear of punishment, but because of love, truth and right. Acknowledge the supremacy of the immortal, moral, and spiritual, over the material, immoral and erroneous. Have faith in the grandest conception of life you dream of, and rest assured that God has planned one even better. Shake off the chains of ignorance and selfishness which for centuries have enthralled mankind, and resolve to live the life that can be and should be. Be pure-minded and avoid false modesty. And, above all, work. Work for love of the work. Work because you see things that ought to be done, and because you love to see the advancement of every good thing."-Thoughts on Business. THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS' MILLENNIAL STAR. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1908. GAMES OF CHANCE. TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Among the vices of the present age gambling is very generally condemned. Gambling under its true name is forbidden by law, and is discountenanced by the self-respecting elements of society. Nevertheless, in numerous guises the demon of chance is welcomed in the home, in fashionable clubs, and at entertainments for worthy charities, even within the precincts of sacred edifices. Devices for raising money by appealing to the gambling instinct are common accessories at Church sociables, ward fairs, and the like. Whatever may be the condition elsewhere, this custom is not to be sanctioned within this Church; and any organization allowing such is in opposition to the counsel and instruction of the general authorities of the Church. Without attempting to specify or particularize the many objectionable forms given to this evil practice amongst us, we say again to the people that no kind of chance game, guessing contest, or raffling device, can be approved in any entertainment under the auspices of our Church organizations. The desire to get something of value for little or nothing is pernicious; and any proceeding that strengthens that desire is an effective aid to the gambling spirit, which has proved a veritable demon of destruction to thousands. Risking a dime in the hope of winning a dollar in any game of chance is a species of gambling. Let it not be thought that raffling articles of value, offering prizes to the winners in guessing contests, the use of machines of chance, or any other device of the kind, is to be allowed or excused because the money so obtained is to be used for a good purpose. The Church is not to be supported in any degree by means obtained through gambling. Let the attention of Stake and Ward officers, and those in charge of the auxiliary organizations of the Church be directed to what has been written on this subject and to this present reminder. An article over the signature of the President of the Church was pub lished in the Juvenile Instructor, October 1st, 1902 (volume 37, page 592), in which were given citations from earlier instructions and advice to the people on this subject. For convenience part of that article is repeated here. In reply to a question as to whether raffling and games of chance are justifiable when the purposes to be accomplished are good this was said: "We say emphatically, No. Raffle is only a modified name of gamble." President Young once said to Sister Eliza R. Snow: "Tell the sisters not to raffle. If the mothers raffle the children will gamble. Raffling is gambling." Then it is added: "Some say, 'What shall we do? We have quilts on hand-we cannot sell them and we need means to supply our treasury, which we can obtain by raffling, for the benefit of the poor.' Rather let the quilts rot on the shelves than adopt the old adage, 'The end will sanctify the means.' As Latter-day Saints we cannot afford to sacrifice moral principles to financial gain." As was further stated in the article cited, the General Board of the Deseret Sunday School Union has passed resolutions expressing its unqualified disapproval of raffling, and all games of chance, for the purpose of raising funds for the aid of the Sunday School. And the general Authorities of the Church have said as they now say to the people: Let no raffling, guessing contests, or other means of raising money by appealing to the spirit of winning by chance be tolerated by any organization of the Church. JOSEPH F. SMITH, First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah, November 14th, 1908. The forgoing address from the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, issued specially to the people in Zion, is applicable to members of the Church in every part of the world. We, therefore, commend it to the attention of all the elders and saints in the European Mission, and request the Presidents of Missions, Conferences, and Branches to carry out the counsel it contains. It must be clear to every reasonable and experienced mind that any kind of game of chance in which money is invested, with the expectation of great gain and the risk of losing that which is advanced, is in the nature of gambling and comes under the inhibition contained in the letter of the First Presidency. The matter is set forth in such plainness that there is no need to enter into further arguments concerning it. The only course now to pursue is to carry out the instructions imparted, and under no circumstances, or for any purpose, to encourage or permit practices of the kind prohibited. We feel sure that the Relief Societies, as well as other auxiliary organizations that may have contemplated the raising of funds by the methods disapproved, will receive the admonition of the leaders of the Church in the spirit by which it has been imparted. Gambling of every kind should be suppressed for the public welfare as well as for individual good. We cheerfully add our endorsement of the instructions of our brethren who stand at the head of Church affairs, and press it upon the attention and compliance of the Latter-day Saints everywhere. C. W. P. THE SACRAMENT OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. IN some branches of this mission, we learn, it is customary to administer the sacrament on Sunday in the Sabbath School, and to omit its administration in the regular branch meeting. This we regard as a mistake. While we do not wish to belittle the importance of the sacrament in the Sunday School, we regard as of still greater importance the observance of the law of the Lord in relation to the regular gathering of the saints for public worship on the Lord's day. While it may be likely that some members of the Church attend the Sunday Schools and there receive the benefits of the holy ordinance of the Lord's Supper, it is certain that greater numbers of them attend the regular branch meetings, generally held in the evening, and unless the sacrament is then administered, they lose the blessing of partaking of the emblems of the body and blood of the Redeemer, and fail, through no fault of their own, to fulfil the commandment given in Section 59 of the Doctrine and Covenants, as also enjoined in the New Testament, and particularly by the Savior Himself. It may be argued that the regular branch meetings are mixed assemblies and attended often by strangers who would, some of them, feel offended if the blessed emblems were not offered to them. But an explanation can be offered, as is customary in many branches, that the sacrament is for those who have been baptized, through faith and repentance, for the remission of sins and have been confirmed by the laying on of hands, and that the Lord has provided that these are they who, if still worthy, may partake of that sacrament. We, therefore, direct that this ordinance be made a feature of our Sunday regular services, and that it be attended to in all solemnity and order. Every elder should commit to memory the forms given by revelation for the blessing of the emblems, so that they may be followed just as the Lord has given them. It is permissable to have the words at hand for the benefit of elders or priests with defective memories, but in every case, officers of the Church who hold divine authority to administer in this ordinance, as well as that of baptism, should learn by heart the formula provided, and thus be ready at any time when called upon to officiate properly and effectively. Let all things be done in the spirit of Him who |