preparation. The promised sending of Elijah the Prophet "before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord," was in order that certain things might be done which, if left undone, would cause that "coming" to "smite the earth with a curse."e

Not that the Lord wishes to curse. His object, even in chastisement, is to bless. But a want of preparedness can change a blessing into a curse. Messiah's glorious appearing will be a wonderful blessing to the earth and its inhab itants, provided they are made ready for it. But a lack of readiness on their part would convert the boon into a calamity. Hence the need of preparation and of previous notice. Whether weal or woe is wending its way earthward, it is only fair that men should be told of it in ad

vance.

The Supernatural Discredited.-But there is a proneness in human nature to discredit the Heaven-sent messenger. Almost invariably the supernatural is discounted, if not derided, by ultra-practical minds. All miracles are myths to the agnostic intellect. "The natural man is an enemy to God."

Dead Prophets Preferred.-Even those who revere the prophets of the past are tempted to ignore the propheis of the present. It seems natural to turn from What Is and bow down to What Has Been. Not only prophets, but poets, philosophers, and other wise and worthy teachers. have been treated in this manner.

"Seven cities claimed the birth of Homer, dead,
Through which the living Homer begged for bread."

The Savior reproved the pious unbelievers of his generation for "garnishing the sepulchres of the righteous."

e. Mal. 4:5, 6.

f. Prov. 3:11, 12.

the dead seers and revelators, and at the same time rejecting the living worthies, as their fathers had done before them. A professed reverence for Moses and the old-time prophets was a prominent characteristic of those who spurned the greatest of all prophets, the very Son of God, concerning whom Moses and other seers had testified. And this same spirit, the spirit that crucified the Christ, has caused the martyrdom of His servants in ail ages.

Counterfeit and Genuine. For the widely prevalent distrust felt toward men who come burdened with a message from on High, false prophets and the mischief they have wrought are largely responsible. But distrust, no less than credulity, can be overdone. Caution against imposition is commendable, but doubt that rejects truth is to be deprecated and condemned. All prophets are not false. There can be no counterfeit without a genuine; and to proclaim against the one is virtually to concede the existence of the other.

A Test of Prophecy.-A simple and sure test of prophecy is furnished in the following passage of Holy Writ: "When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously." By this standard of judgment can be tested all that prophetic inspiration has ever uttered. Given enough time, "the thing" will clearly demonstrate whether or not it was "spoken presumptuously.”

A Serious Situation.-Ponder upon this, ye who hear the testimonies of the Elders of Israel, preaching the restored Gospel of the Kingdom as a final witness to the nations. And when you see coming to pass, in these days of

g, Matt. 23:29. h, Deut. 18:22.

war, pestilence and calamity, the predictions of ancient and modern seers, give a thought, a serious thought to the situation Ask yourselves if you can afford to be classed, either with those who look upon believers in spiritual gifts as deluded dupes living in "haunted houses," or with those who extol the prophets of former ages, and persecute or ignore the prophets of the present time.

ARTICLE THREE.

Concerning Names and Vocations.

Is Not This The Farmer's Son?-Some such paraphrase was probably in the mind, possibly upon the lips, of more than one opponent of the religion termed "Mormonism," when its supposed author, Joseph Smith, started out upon his remarkable career. And it was deemed by them, no doubt, a sufficient answer to his extraordinary claims.

True and False Standards.-"A tree is known by its fruit." This proverb, accepted by the wise and just almost as a truism, seems to have no place in the philosophy of some people, especially when a servant of the Lord is the object of their critical contemplation. "What do men say of him?" is frequently the only criterion by which such a character is judged. And is it not manifestly unfair? When a prophet comes from God with a message for mankind, what matters the name given to that message, or to that messenger, by those unfriendly to the cause he represents?

"The Carpenter's Son."-Those who rejected the Man of Nazareth when he proclaimed himself the Son of God, doubtless thought they had disposed of him effectually by referring to him sneeringly as "The carpenter's son;" this slight, with others put upon him by his neighbors, causing Jesus to remark: "A prophet is not without honor save in his own country and in his own house."a

Effect of Nearness. His nearness was against him. There was no "distance" to "lend enchantment to the view." His name and humble yocation made his marvelous

a, Matt. 13:55-57.

claims seem impossible. It could not be that God would make a prophet out of a carpenter's son—a prophet mightier than Moses or any of the ancient seers—and give to him such a common name as Jesus, another form of Joshua. It was unbelievable, absurd, to most. Therefore were they justified, as they supposed, in withholding from him recognition and honor. "And He did not many mighty works there, because of their unbelief."

History Repeats. As with the carpenter's, so with the farmer's son-each was objected to upon similar grounds. Nor was it a new thing in human experience. That which called forth criticism had occurred many times in other ages when God had raised up prophets and seers. Probably most of them were selected from among the plain people, and were comparatively unknown to men when the Lord called them.

Moses an Exception. Moses was a signal exception. He had been reared as a prince in the palace of the king of Egypt; but that was because Pharaoh's daughter, having found the homeless infant at the water's edge, thenceforth had charge of him and his education. Prince he was, regardless of that princely training; but he was not the only prince in Israel. They were "a nation of kings and priests,' though most of them walked in ways that were lowly.

A Herdsman Prophet.-Prophets are not chosen for their worldly culture or their social position. A plain-going farmer, no less than a college professor, may be gifted with prophetic power and be called to exercise it for the good of his fellows. Amos, according to his own statement, "was no prophet," nor "a prophet's son." That is to say, he

b, "Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew "Joshua," frequently met with in Ezra and Nehemiah. It was pronounced "Joshua" by the early Jews. Other forms of the name are "Hosea" or "Hoshea," "Oshea" and "Jehoshua."