worldly pleasures and enjoying the material comforts that only the wealthy can afford look with horror and disdain at the humble way the Pioneers lived. In bitter condemnation they denounce as fantastic the history of these early settlers and laughing sarcastically, refer to noble men and women as the people who made water run up hill and caused streams to reverse natural courses and flow in opposite directions during colonization of Utah. Such unholy charges attributed as claims made by our worthy Pioneers are but outward expressions of pent-up hatred in the hearts of enemies. Living destructive, adverse forces that have always plagued man in his weary, earthly travel find fruitful fields in hearts of the weak to stimulate hatred for our people and their accomplishments. During his earthly mission man must follow one of two roads outlined to travel. The one straight and narrow leads to light, the other broad and roomy, leads into darkness; unavoidably, he alone must choose one of the two, for: To every one there comes a way and ways and a way. The high soul goes the high way, The low soul goes the low, In between on the misty flats, the rest drift to and fro. To everyone there comes a highway and a low, Everyone decideth the way his soul shall go. It is true many following the ways of the world today are prospering as far as material goods are concerned and enjoying luxuries the world has to offer, but "what doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his soul. (Matt. 16:26)? If the controversial question that has aroused various opinions, bitter discussions, and created antagonistic feelings, were posed to a cross section of citizens, old and young alike, as to which condition, they would prefer to live under, those prevailing decades ago at the time on under existing conditions today, the majority reply would be as we would naturally expect, under conditions existing today. Features which characterized each period have their merits. The latter period is an outgrowth of the former. After little thought we can readily understand that every thing of consequence had its beginning under humble circumstances, successful business institutions, towns and cities never sprang up overnight. However, in the wake of so-called progressive changes, some nations that rose and flourished from humble beginnings, destroyed themselves when the inhabitants therof lost sight of the founding principles that started them on the way to greatness. While a majority of our people may prefer to live during this age of scientific progress, the Pioneers had many advantages over us, mostly intangible. They had brighter, fresher dreams of the future than we have; to them the sky was the limit. Their lives were happy, and bodies were made vigorous by wholesome uncontaminated surroundings. They had freedom to act, to advance their interests unrestricted by worthless laws. The Ten Commandments were good enough for them. They had no schools or facilities to promote education, but their children were ready and anxious to work to acquire knowledge. Some ascended to enviable -150- heights in various fields of learning. They had no hospital, no high-priced pill, vitamin tablets, reducing saloons, psychiatrists or life-prolonging pills, they didn't need them. Services of a qualified physician were not available, but Mothers in homes were skilled in the use of linament and how to apply wooden splints for injuries or broken limbs, and a spoonful of sage, yarrow, or Indian root tea, given to members of a family each morning before breakfast built up a resistance to most all common ailments. Our Pioneers didn't have the luring temptations that plague the present generation. They had no costly mansions with perfumed corridors and parlors contaminated with cigarette smoke and fumes from empty liquor bottles. This type of home in keeping with this fast age, fits perfectly into the homelife of the wealthy, so-called high society, of our modern cities. Dissipation and hilarious living keeping pace with this age of progress are wrecking the prospects and shattering the lives of thousands. In contrast the Pioneers had the friendly smoke from chimneys of humble cabins they built with their own hands; aroma of sizzling bacon on the fresh morning air; strains of old-time melodies and twangs of a banjo that warmed and cheered the hearts of members of a family gathered around a bonfire at twilight under a friendly moon and the serenity of mind and peaceful nights' rest free from worry after an honest day's toil. They served the God who gave them strength and fortitude to acclaim victory over a wilderness, and sow the Christian seeds of lasting happiness. To them, home was and is today in the hearts of our people, a sacred institution, which, if established and maintained in accord with proper standards and guided by high ideals, will endure throughout eternity. Because of the determination of those who pioneered these valleys, the desert-land that waited so long for their coming was made glad. Water sprang forth in waste places and the parched ground, yielding to the labor of an industrious people, was made to blossom as the rose. A sad condition to contemplate but never the less true, the old style American home instituted by our Pilgrim Fathers and perpetuated by the faithful of this generation, is gradually being disrupted. Unless people turn from following the ways of the world and accept the Latter-Day Saint concept of what constitutes an enduring and commonwealth, the mighty fabric of our true American way of life that has made this nation great, will eventually be destroyed. -151-