In speaking to you at this time let me recall to you the lesson contained in the story of Jonah as given by Dr. A. Lawrence Lowell of Harvard University.

FAILURE TO SEE ARIGHT

Temptations beset every one of us in every walk of life. By temptations I mean failures to see aright. Jonah's was the case of a man who in success lost sight of the real object of his work. He failed to see the right path. He did no harm because God disposed otherwise; but if he could have had his way, he would have destroyed all the people of Nineveh  Jonah 4:1 and thought he was doing right. Yet, had he stopped to ask himself seriously what was the right of his mission, his own answer would certainly have been that it was to bring the people of Nineveh to repentance. His neglect to ask himself that question was the cause of his error. He lost sight of his object, not because he could not see it, but because he did not try to.

Men have good intentions; they mean well: but they do not act well. They do not continually ask themselves, "In what does my best consist?" They pursue lesser aims, not because they prefer them, but because in the press and strain of events, in the cares of life, they become absorbed in immediate objects and forget the higher ones. Then, too, many of our young men do not realize the importance of long, hard work. They have not disciplined their minds to persevere in diligence and steadfastness. They have not learned how to endure strenuous, conscientious work; how to wrestle and work through delays, through disappointments, and failures, through the darkness till the breaking of the day. Let us be sure we never become busy calling attention to our own virtues. Never let us thirst for praise but do right for right's sake. Above all, avoid that indifference, that apathy, that is glad to wrap itself under the cloak of piety, and be self-satisfied, self-righteous. The knowledge that is really the crown of life, is that we may exercise choice, for we have our free agency. Let us never forget that the divine spark is in every man, in him alone, and that he is free to disregard it or to heed it, and to come closer to God by showing his eagerness to work with him and for him.

CONFORMITY TO IDEALS

The spectacle offered by humanity today is a deeply sad one. The gestures of faith, constant attendance at Church, outward piety, signify nothing if man does not conform his acts and his life to the ideals of the teachings of Christ. Men must be made to understand that the important thing is to develop what is within them, to purify themselves, to better themselves, to come closer to the perfect ideal which Jesus taught. He has shown us the way. The path is straight before us. We must love God; we must love our neighbor; we must do unto others as we would have them do unto us. We must pray that the kingdom of God may come to the earth as it is in heaven. The sincere desire of men to progress morally and spiritually leads to the erection of an inside temple, without which the outward manifestation of faith becomes useless. In I Corinthians, we read:

. . . the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are  1 Cor. 3:17

And we read in II Corinthians:

. . . where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty  2 Cor. 3:17

HUMAN DESTINY

Says Le Comte du Nuoy in his Human Destiny:

There is only one way to attain peace. First, to reestablish the cult of historic peace, by teaching the youth of the entire world with the same substance, thus establishing a basis for mutual understanding. This is a preliminary step and it can be taken immediately. Next, to try to establish the cult of individual human destiny, and to improve man by stifling wrong instincts. This will be the work of centuries to come. It is only by direct action on youth that a better society can be successfully molded. All so-called philosophical and political principles must be replaced by Christian principles, the only ones based on liberty and the respect of human destiny.

And then Le Comte du Nuoy goes on to say that God gave men liberty and conscience, and the whole nobility of man is derived from the proper exercise of this liberty. The time has come for nations as well as individuals to know what they want. If civilized nations want peace, they must understand the basic elements of the problems Peace must be established by creating within man a spiritual consciousness and not by erecting external structures. The source of all wars lies in us;* the source of peace will come when we begin to teach the youth of the world that peace depends on the individual development of man from within, on the deep penetration of the virtues of the Holy Scriptures, on the comprehension of human dignity.

WORLD SUFFERS FROM DISTRUST

All nations of the world believe in the Golden Rule, and all Christians are agreed to the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord's Prayer, the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ. These are the fundamental doctrines to be taught to the children of the world, for nothing permanent is built that is not the consequence of a deep previous transformation in the individual soul. We must have greater faith in mankind, and the divinity of man should be made known to children from the time they can walk on up to manhood or womanhood. It is from distrust that the world is suffering. We must be more determined than ever before to fulfil the great task expected of us; to make ourselves better; to make others better; to make this a better world to live in and to bring mankind nearer to God—to have peace in our hearts and love for all men.

SALVATION FOUND IN RELIGION

We believe that the only salvation for mankind will be found in religion, in the true and everlasting gospel. Never in its two thousand years has Christianity had a more urgent call and a nobler opportunity to fulfil its obligations as the comforter and guide of humanity.

I believe that faith and works must be taught and developed in our children. By works, I mean that there is a meaning to intellectual effort and that it plays an important part in our spiritual stature. Else why should the activity of divine intelligence, the power to think and reason, have been created? Intellectual effort is not condemned in the search for spiritual truth, for our spiritual growth, our religion have their roots in the deepest aspirations of man.

How deeply divine are the words of Joseph Smith when he said:

The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth  D&C 93:36

Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection  D&C 130:18

These words inspired the Prophet Joseph to establish in his day schools of learning, and even a university. He advocated the study of the ancient classics, of all the learning of the world. No other American ever advocated as he did, for his wisdom and understanding came from the works of God.

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect  Matt. 5:48

We may further express this idea by saying that all the intellectual acquisitions, all the facilities which society puts at the disposal of man-schools, universities, libraries, laboratories, all things offered by religion, all the occasions given him to develop his own aptitude, his work, his leisure, all must be considered by him as tools destined to improve his personality, his moral self, and to make him feel the divine purpose of God. If the moral law and true religion dominate the world today, mankind will be on the right road to the winning of peace and happiness for humanity.

Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind  2 Tim. 1:6-7

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord  Ps. 33:12