fruit unto us.

And now behold, if ye nourish it with much care, it will get root, and grow up, and bring forth fruit.

"But if ye neglect the tree, and take

no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the

heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root, it withers

away and ye pluck it up and cast it out. "Now this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit

thereof would not be desirable; but it

is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore

ye cannot have the fruit thereof.

"And thus, if ye will not nourish the word, looking forward with an eye of

faith to the fruit thereof, ye can never

pluck of the fruit of the tree of life. "But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to

grow, by your faith with great dill

gence, and with patience, looking for ward to the fruit thereof, it shall take

root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.

"And because of your diligence, and your faith, and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white; yea, and pure above all this fruit, even until ye are filled, that

that is pure; and ye shall feast upon

ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.

"Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long suffering, waiting for the tree to bring

forth fruit unto you."

He illustrates very beautifully how faith grows until it becomes knowledge. In addition to his remarks on faith, I commend to all my readers the perusal of chapters 29 and 36, Book of Alma. These chapters, when read under the inspiration of the good Spirit, cause those who read to rejoice. I know of none better in that divine record, the Book of Mormon; time and time again I have read them, and always with much profit.

There are scores of the youth of Zion who have been faithful in keeping God's laws, who know that the Gospel is true, and are willing to testify to this knowledge, and yet they are not able to tell when or just how they secured their testimony. So long as thev shall continue to keep the commandments of the Lord,

this testimony will remain with them and they will never be without the knowledge that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation unto all who believe and obey. I have heard many young men say they had such strong faith in the Gospel that they were willing to pay their tithes and offerings, keep the word of wisdom, go to their meetings and attend to their prayers, but they did not know that the Gospel

was true.

to go on performing their daily duI have always told such. ties and promised them in the name of the Lord that they would one day have an absolute knowledge of the Gospel.

In chatting with some of this class they have said to me that if they could only see an angel, hear speaking in tongues, the interpretation thereof, or witness some miracle, then they would be able and willing to say they knew the Gospel was true; but they are mistaken. I have noticed quite frequently that where men and women come into the Church because of having witnessed some special manifestation of the truth, it takes a miracle about once in six months to keep their faith good running order. Signs, we are told, follow the believer, and are given to bless and comfort those who have embraced the Gospel of Jesus. Christ and are faithful in keeping the commandments of our Lord and Savior. Signs are not given in order to furnish people with a testimony to the divinity of the Gospel. The kind of a testimony which is of value is just such a one as portrayed in Marba's article. No testimony can be greater than that which she and others, who, having kept the commandments of the Lord, enjoy because they have, in fulfillment of the words of the Savior, been blessed with knowledge from God that the Gospel is true. Jesus says, "My doctrine is not mine but His that sent me. If any man will do His

will he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself." John, 7: 16, 17. Marba followed the advice of the Savior:

"Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

"And the rain descended, and

the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

"And every one that heareth these

sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man,

which built his house upon the sand:

"And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds' blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and

great was the fall of it."

She built her Gospel house upon the rock. There is no danger whatever, so long as she shall continue to keep the commandments of God, that storms will ever cause it to fall. If she had continued neglecting the commandments of God, although she might have witnessed the performance of miracles, yet would she have erected her Gospel house upon the sand, and when the rain descended and the storm beat upon the house, it would surely have fallen.

A knowledge of the divinity of the mission of Joseph Smith and the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which he was the instrument in the hands of God of restoring to the earth, grows naturally. It resembles somewhat the growth of a tree or of a child. We cannot discover by looking at a tree that it grows, although we watch it constantly; but when we compare the size of the tree today with its size a few months ago, we plainly discover that it has grown. The growth of a child is even slower than that of a tree, yet there is no difficulty in discovering that year by year the child grows. The tender twig makes the mighty oak. The little babe becomes the stalwart man. The keeping of the commandments of God, bring, in accordance with the prom

Some of the young people give as a reason for being skeptical that they find people who have been strong and valiant in testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who subsequently lose their love for the truth and are even found fighting against the In answer I work of the Lord. will say, never in my life have I known or heard of any one in the Church of Christ who has lost his faith in the Gospel while keeping the commandments of God.

The tender plant may become the mighty oak, but if the soil necessary to nurture the roots of the tree be removed, or if it be denied proper moisture, the tree will die, no matter how mighty it may have been. The only way whereby a man, it matters not how great he may have become in the Church, can retain testimony of the Gospel, is by the proper feeding of his spiritual nature; in other words, by keeping the commandments of the Lord, which, figuratively speaking, is partaking of and digesting spiritual food.

a

The

The tree planted in good soil, receiving the proper amount of moisture, does not die until it has lived out its allotted time. So it is contrary to God's law for man to die spiritually as long as he keeps the commandments of the Lord. Lord tells us plainly in the following words, why men who have had great manifestations, fall, "For although a man may have many revelations, and have power to do many mighty works, yet if he boasts in his own strength, and sets at naught the counsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his own will and carnal desires, he must fall and incur

the vengeance of a just God upon him."

The fruits of the Gospel, as exemplified in the lives of those who are faithful, are a wonderful testimony to its divinity; the Savior says, "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."

The testimony which has come to me from the devoted life of my mother and thousands of other faithful mothers in the Church impresses my reason so strongly that if I had no other evidence of the truth except their lives, it seems to me I would be willing to bear testimony that I knew the Gospel was true. Some would say: "Are not the women in other churches equally as devoted?" In answer to this I say, "Yes," but the women of other churches cannot claim-as do my mother and thousands of other noble women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to whose testimonies I have listened-that they have eaten of the fruit of the Gospel tree by seeing the sick healed, by listening to the speaking in tongues, by having dreams, visions, and other manifestations which are promised to all who embrace the Gospel of Christ.

I have decided to write the history of my mother's life for publication in the Journal-her life being a strong testimony to me of the divinity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I shall write it with the sincere and earnest desire that the simplicity, the devotion, the purity and the integrity of her life, together with her testimony as to the divinity of the work of God, may make an impression for good upon the minds of those who shall read.

I had intended to write something to show how natural it is through the payment of tithes; keeping the word of wisdom, thereby making our tabernacles fit dwelling places for the Holy Spirit; being charitable; thereby bringing to ourselves the

love of God; attending meetings, thereby receiving spiritual foodthat these things would bring about a growth of the spirit, so that the whole being of the individual is permeated and capable of proclaiming its knowledge of the Gospel, but I find to do so will make my article too long; such themes would require many articles.

Oh, how I wish that every young man and woman in Israel who has been careless in the performance of duty, could say as Marba did, “I determined, with the help of the Lord, I would pay my tithing, think more charitably of people, keep strictly the word of wisdom, and attend my meetings." They would have, as she did, a great struggle to become active again, but the final result would be glorious, as they could eventually say with her, "I do truly know that I am working in God's vineyard. This knowledge came to me by living as nearly as I could after the pattern of Christ, our Great Example, and putting myself in the condition to receive light."

The Lord says: "I, the Lord, am bound when you do what I say, but when you do not what I say, ye have no promise."

He has promised through his Son Jesus and His inspired Prophets that He will give a knowledge of the Gospel to all who diligently seek Him and keep His commandments.

I will close my article by bearing my testimony that I know God lives; that Jesus is the Christ; that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and that this knowledge will come to all who repent of their sins, forsaking the same, and who diligently keep the commandments of our Father in Heaven.

Infancy is the germ period of man's existence; it is the springtime of the year, the time of seed sowing.-Mary K. Young.

But,

answer:

a

"Wait until you're forty dear, and have chicks of your own. Then you'll know."

Youth cannot grasp the care of age. Thank God for it. So I am glad to hear Miladi's "Why?" because it tells me that she is still young. And how I glory in her youth. I have been old so long!

When I see a flower drawing bright sunshine from a misty twilight, bending white petals over the mud its roots are planted in, exhaling a delicate fragrance that sweetens the musty atmosphere, and keeping ever fresh while its "mates of the garden" fade and fall, then do I know that in all God's greenhouse this is the rarest flower. Such a one was Miladi's mother. I loved her as a child, I loved her as a woman, I love her memory. And I love her daughter. Who does not? The sunshine of Miladi's glance lingers on some yellow stem and straight it sends forth tiny leaves and blossoms. And she delights in them and does not know that they came because

of her.

One day Miladi came in like a small cyclone.

"Rejoice, rejoice, oh, Israel, and let your ioys abound,'" she said gaily. "What do you think I'm going to tell you, Aunt May? I'll give you three guesses, and if you don't get one right, I'll cauterize your spine first, then put the thumbscrews on you, and then-then I'll have you flayed alive and burned at the stake. That ought to be enough

"Is it a new dress?" I asked. "Dear, dear, no! Vanity, vanity, all is vanity, saith the preacher.' I'm not 'all' if I am three-fourths. It isn't a new dress. One strike." "A new beau?"

"Nay, nay," quoth she, taking a fly out of the honey. "Two strikes."

"A ball?" "Three strikes. Out!" laughed Miladi. "It's a trip to England!" "No!" I gasped.

"Yes," she cried, her eyes dancing with delight at my astonishment. "Fred and June are going to be married right away and go to England for a wedding trip. And father savs that I may go, too!" Miladi emphasized the "I" and spoke the last three words very slowly and impressively.

I did not speak for a long time. Miladi waited patiently, then broke out with, "Why don't you say you are glad?"

"I was just wondering, dearie, what I shall do without you."

"Why, vou have seven children of your own. You won't miss me." "Yes, I shall."

But Miladi was going whether anyone would miss her or not, so we rejoiced in her good fortune and did all we could to help her off. Lil made her a blue silk dressing sacque; Nettie made a delicious nut cake for the lunch basket. Little Madge crocheted a pair of bedroom slippers three sizes too small, then cried her heart out because they did not fit. But Miladi said, "Never mind, pigcon, I'll use them for earlaps," which made Madge laugh so hard

"You'll have to leave out your 'best bonnet,' Miladi," he said. "And your shoes and stockings and a few other unnecessary things. Whatever else you forget, don't forget to pack that box. Oh, I say, give me these nail scissors, will you?"

"What for?" asked Miladi. "Aunt May wants something safe for the baby to play with," he answered. "Here you," he called to my fifth descendant. "Pull the other side of these and see if both of us can open them. Aha," as the scissors widened, "you and I together could move the world, couldn't we? Now, press and see if you can shut them again. Good. Good. Miladi Gladys, take the coal oil can along with your toilet case and you'll be all right."

"It's a shame," laughed Miladi, taking the scissors away from him. "Poor old lady, she'll go without her cup of tea many a night to pay for that box, and I appreciate it. However, it must be locked in my bureau drawer until I come home." "Why don't vou take it along and sell it at a second-hand shop? You might get six shillings for it."

"Freddie," said Miladi, "if you don't stop making remarks, I shall disown you for a brother. Now, I am speaking severely if I do look pleasant. There, I think that everything is in now."

"I'm afraid the lid won't go down," said Fred, after a struggle. "You'll have to take a few of those candy boxes out."

"Never!" said Miladi. "I'd rather crush my best gown. You and

"Dear me, he is asleep. When his only daughter is about to leave on a 'tower' too! You'll have to sit on the trunk alone, Fred, but bear down with twice your weight, please."

"What's the use of taking a trunk anyway?" asked Doris. "You could buy all you need so cheap in London."

"I couldn't go quite destitute," answered Miladi. "Imagine my embarrassment when the queen called and found me in my traveling dress. How I wish you were going, too, Doris."

"Don't," said Doris, choking a little. "I want to go so badly. It will seem as if half of me is missing when you're gone. Why can't everyone be rich, I wonder? Everything you want the most costs such a lot."

"Not everything, Doris," I said softly. "Money won't buy health and love and

"Don't, mammy, interrupted Doris. "It sounds too much like the things we used to get in the fifth reader. I hate moralizing. Besides I have health and love, and I don't see why I'd have to sacrifice either if some unknown rich uncle should 'shuffle off this mortal,' et cetera, and leave me a fortune.. I'm sure I'd be just as happy."

"My child," said Fred, "it is the law of compensation that Ralph Waldo writes about. You might be rich and as healthy and lovable as you are now, but nothing on earth. could ever make you sing. I sit next to you in the choir, and I know. It comes down to this here pint, as the deacon says: You can't be everything and have everything, too. There's always a speck in the butter. I'd rather be than have, wouldn't you? You have brains, a good heart, a