Improvement Era, 1944 by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Religion

Thoughts for the Service Man's Quiet Hour By Hugh B. Brown

COORDINATOR, LATTER-DAY SAINTS IN THE SERVICE AND PRESIDENT, BRITISH MISSION

To a group of pilots and cadets in an army chapel, the speaker read the scripture, "God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him." "God gave man certain instructions called commandments," said the speaker, "and told him that all his blessings are predicated upon obedience to law." He spoke of the immutable, inexorable law of the harvest, "As ye sow, so shall ye also reap."

"God is the Master Builder, the Great Scientist, the Loving Father, all-powerful, all-wise; but he, too, observes law, and he has said it is his work and his glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. Just as the glory of God is intelligence, so man's glory will be measured by his intelligence, and this in turn will be shown by his knowledge of and obedience to law."

At the close of the meeting, some of the men asked the speaker some questions regarding laws and rules and regulations, and obedience, not only in military service, but in life.

One of the group, requesting permission to be entirely frank, said in effect: "We think there are too many rules and regulations anyway. Too much time must be spent in finding out just what one is supposed to do or refrain from doing. If there were fewer rules in the army there would not be so many men in guardhouses, less KP duty as punishment, and there would be a much better feeling between the men and their N.C.O.'s and officers, whose duty it is to see that discipline is maintained." Continuing, he said, "I am not so much concerned about the matter as it affects us while we are in the service, but the same line of reasoning bothers us when we think of the laws of life, when we hear the gospel preached and reference made to sin and its consequences. On every hand and each hour of his life man is confronted with some law or regulation, some edict or commandment, each with its own punishment, each threatening dire consequences with seeming disregard for the sinner's knowledge of the law."

CHAPLAIN CAPTAIN REED G. PROBST OF MALAD, IDAHO, CONDUCTS SERVICES IN NEW GUINEA

Another of the group took up the argument, and said it seemed to him that the Creator had arbitrarily written down a lot of "thou shalt nots" and then spent his time throughout eternity spying on violators and bringing them to judgment, all for his own glory. "What we want is freedom to do as we please, so long as we respect the rights of others. We object to prohibition, restriction, regulation, restraint; just let us be, to live our lives as we choose, and we'll risk the consequences."

THEN the speaker undertook to teach by parable:

A great airplane builder, after years of study and experiment, perfected a plane. He invented all the operating parts and related them one to another, according to the laws of aerodynamics.

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