Salt Lake City, Utah, Sunday Morning, September 9, 1934. The Uses of Adversity IF THOU faint in the day of adversity thy strength is small, said Solomon in one of his proverbs. And in the Book of Ecclesiastes, the preacher, we are counseled: In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider. There are many things to consider in times of stress. Deprivation, affliction and despondency engender pity, sympathy and generosity, and even reconcile enemies. In Hebrews 13th we are admonished to remember them that are in bonds and them which suffer adversity. People who have never known want or sacrifice are only half acquainted with life. They know neither themselves nor their neighbors. Sweet are the uses of adversity, sang the bard of Avon, and Bacon wrote: Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes, end adversity is not without comforts and hopes. Prosperity begets extravagance, idleness and self-satisfaction, the triumvirate of stagnation. Those who have everything they want feel no urge to, accomplish more, either for themselves or for mankind. Adversity is a spur to hope and courage. It develops men and women of worth and character, but it dejects the timid and exasperates fools. In the second book of the Chronicles, reference is made to an ancient era of depression. In those times there was no peace to him that went out nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries; and nation was destroyed by nation, for God did vex them all with adversity. Be ye strong, therefore, and let not your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded. The storms of adversity, like those of the ocean, rouse latent energies, stimulate resourcefulness, teach prudence and test the fortitude of the wave tossed mariner. It has been said that a smooth sea never made a skillful sailor. Fabricius in 1574 published a description of the valves of the veins. Thomas Bartholin (1616 to 1680) Danish anatomist. His subjects of study included the vulvo vaginal gland and the entrance of the aqueduct of the cerebrum. His name is associated with the famous old Copenhagen Anatomical Institute. Life and human experience are like the earth and the weather. There are bright days of sunshine and dark days of gloom. Cold winds blow at times from unexpected quarters. Mirages rise in the glimmer of hot air from the desert. There are weeks of drouth and dread and periods of moisture and hilarity. The individual upon whom the sun shines continuously becomes dry and hard and warped. As the poet, Longfellow, aptly said: Into each life some rain must fall, Some days must be dark and dreary. From apparent ills blessings oft arise. Many a man, in losing his fortune, has found himself. If a man, suffering from despondency caused by adversity, would go and visit the poor, the sick, or the helpless in the neighborhood, a better conception of his duties, his advantages, his ability to help others would be When one pauses to think of the privations endured by the founders of this commonwealth, of their struggles to make grain and garden stuff grow into food, of their despair when they saw the grasshoppers strip the valley of its verdure, of the discomforts in which they lived and the dangers they faced, there seems to be no real cause for repining. With a gallon of gasoline, a twist of the radio indicator, a ring of the telephone, a glance at the daily paper, an hour in a picture show, a visit to the library, an afternoon in some park, the blues now can be banished. The best remedy for discouragement, dissatisfaction, fear or resentment is to think back three-quarters of a century and consider how far we have come, in what a short time, and what pluck and perseverence may still do for us. In recent years adversity has tried to teach us the evils of extravagance, of wastefulness, of gambling, of living beyond our means, of aping the more fortunate, of going into debt, and of letting professional politicians run the country. Some people have learned some of these lessons. It may be that a few have learned them all. But others will forget and have to register in the school of experience and listen to the teachings of adversity again and again. SaIt Lake City, Utah, Sunday Morning, October 21, 1934. Conquering With Kindness BE ye kindly affectioned, one to another, with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another; not slothful in business; rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulations; if possible, much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men; if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head; overcome evil with good. Such were the words of counsel that Paul wrote to the Romans. This was his appeal for kindness, for tolerance and for brotherly love, boundless and bounteous.