i Widows. There are four widows of Supreme Court Justices living in Washington, Mrs. Waite, Mrs. Wood, Mrs. Stanley Mathews and Mrs. Miller. A Female Seer. Early in November a seer, signing herself S. E. H., wrote a prediction based upon the Indian troubles in which she says the country will be aroused and the Indians exterminated, and that great and marked changes will be seen everywhere. S. E. H. is known to the scientists and theosophists of Washington. As IT draws to a close, the voting now going on among the members of the Methodist Church throughout the country in regard to the admission of women to seats in the Methodist general conference, indicates that the mind of the church while not fully aroused to the importance of the question, favors the election of women as delegates wherever such an election may be desired. The question has called out a very light vote, which shows that a large proportion of the members are either indifferent to it or have no decided opinion upon the matter; but a summary of the returns thus far indicates a majority of about 1,500 churches in favor of the admission of women. Modern Women. I sometimes think we can attribute the development of women in our own days to the strictures found against them in print. Almost every style of writing that belonged to the past has gone out of vogue except that which inveighs against the faults of women. They are carped at by male writers and lectured by those of their own sex until it would seem that they have a special lease upon the unfortunate traits that make the aggregate evils that mar man's daily life. Not long ago I came across this paragraph in the Ladies' Home Journal: "I never see a pampered, petted girl who is yielded to in every whim by servants and parents, that I do not sigh with pity for the man who will some day be her husband. It is the worshiped girl, who has been taught that her whims and wishes are supreme in a household who makes marriage a failure all her life. She has had her way in things great and small, and when she desires dresses, pleasures or journeys which were beyond the family purse, she carries the day with tears or sulks or posing as a martyr. The parents sacrificed and suffered for her sake, hoping finally to see her well married. They carefully hide her faults from her suitors who seek her hand, and she is ever ready with smiles and allurements to win the hearts of men, and the average man is as blind to the faults of a pretty girl as the newly-hatched bird is blind to the worms on the tree about him. She thinks her little pettish ways are mere girlish moods; but when she becomes his wife and reveals her selfish and cruel nature he is grieved and hurt to think fate has been so unkind to him." This is all very true, and we should without doubt train our daughters to make good wives, but now that we are doing it with all our might will not somebody promulgate the doctrine of training up good husbands for those who have attained the qualifications necessary for good wives? Few parents seem to think it necessary to give a boy any special training, except what he gets at school or in his contact with the world to fit him for the sacred duties of fatherhood or the office of a priest in his own household, to which his sons may look to for an example of rectitude and exalted manhood. A OUR SUNDAY CHAPTER. lips of the Prophet or President Young! Nay, rather stand aside, and while perforce acknowledging your faith is of weaker stuff, watch for the swift coming day of gloom and woe when your own feet will slip on the sands of worldly trust and fleshly arms while you will look longingly at your old time friend entrenched on his house of rock which neither the storms of strange diseases nor the winds of loathsome plagues can shake nor destroy. INSTANCES OF MODERN HEALING | alleged to have been heard from the BY THE POWER OF FAITH. QUESTION that is most frequently addressed to those few humble believers in the complete power of faith and the power of the Priesthood to cure all diseases, is the oft-recurring query, "What would you do if you got your arm broken? I guess you'd have to get a doctor then." This is oftentimes what it is designed to be-a silencer. The poor struggler after the old-fashioned faith, pure and simple, is at a loss what to say. As, nowadays, when any one gets a dislocated or broken limb, off they set for a doctor, even if they have to travel two or three hundred miles. "Well," some one says, "don't you believe in doctors of our own Church?" Yes, if we have not faith strong enough, we are told in the Doctrine and Covenants to be nursed (not doctored) with herbs and mild food and that too not by the hand of an enemy. Our merciful Father knows we have all the weaknesses of the flesh, traditions and prejudices to combat and so provides a way out of the cloud of difficulties which sometimes nearly overwhelms us. But if you see some strong soul struggling to build under his feet a rock of knowledge upon God and His promises, don't, let me beg of you, don't try to undermine his support with your sharp edged picks of sarcasm, worldly wisdom, quoted sayings To be a light on these now infreqently trodden paths of implicit faith and belief in Father and His appointed methods for healing the sick, these facts are gathered and presented to the readers of this journal. A lady friend who has been earnestly but not altogether successfully striving to bring herself to depend upon faith had a severe illness some time ago, for which she would take no medicine but consecrated oil. Her conduct inspired some of her friends with alarm for her ultimate recovery. "Don't you think it criminal to lie here like this without any one to tell you even what ails you?" "Don't you think God knows as much as a doctor? Can't He heal me as well as a doctor? Perhaps if I knew what ailed me I would be frightened," would be the lady's answer. Others were sarcastic. "If you are so pious, and if faith can cure every disease without medicine, heal every possible ailment of the Saints. "But what if you had a broken limb?" despairingly asked the invalid. Whereupon Sister Cluff related the following incident, which I have since obtained from her own lips and written down. why is it you lie sick here so many months?" "Perhaps my dear Father has some lesson to teach me which I can learn in no other way," would be her gentle answer to such sneers. Some were even angry at what was termed her silly obstinacy. "What would you do if you had a broken leg? I guess you'd have to send for a doctor "It was in June 1889," she said, then," was the often repeated argu"that the circumstance occurred. ment of these friends. "Oh don't ask But I must tell you first about someme what I would do under such circumthing I did. For a number of years I stances. I can't tell! I only know I have been urging the sisters in our am trying so hard to trust in God Relief Society (she is first counselor) now!" would be her pitiful reply to to let doctors and medicine alone; for such questions from one dear to her. I just know we are nearing a time when The sister would sometimes silently neither will save our lives. We've got wonder what she would do with a to learn to live by faith. Well, one broken limb. She had known of one day I was out visiting a friend, and or two miracles of that kind being was telling her how much I had sufferperformed in times of necessity and ❘ed the past few years with a female in the early days of the Church. But now, things were all so different. And all she could do was to turn her pale face to the wall and pray God not to allow her to receive more than her struggling faith could bear. One beautiful Sabbath day while this woman lay very ill a sister knocked at the door, and someway, for a wonder, was admitted to the sick room. This visitor's name was Sister Frances Cluff of Provo. "Do you know I have been so strongly impressed all day to come and see you that I could not put it away." The sick woman smiled faintly for she was very weak and visitors were a great strain on her nerves. The conversation drifted from one thing to another. The afternoon's sermon had been upon the power of faith. This led them into such sub jects and finally Sister Cluff said she believed faith could and would complaint. She had been suffering, "We hurried out of there although I said nothing to my companion. This occurred on Saturday. The end of the following week was to be our quarterly conference and I was exceedingly busy preparing for that event. "The following Thursday, my husband being out of town on business, I was hurrying to get all the children ready to go down to the Primary conference, when some one rushed in with the news that Elmo, my six year old boy, had fallen out of the high swing and was nearly killed. We got the child into the house and sure enough his shoulder bone was broken and his arm out of joint. The bone in the front of the neck stuck out almost to break the skin, while the arm swung lifeless out of its socket. "In the confusion, one of my neighbors sent off for Dr. H— who is an excellent as well as a Mormon physician. "Ah,' said my neighbors when they saw the Dr. drive up, so I afterwards learned, 'I thought the time would come when even Sister Cluff would have to send for a doctor.' "Well, the shoulder was set and very carefully bandaged. I was told not to be alarmed if a very high and dangerous fever set in, nor even if the child should vomit blood. But on no account to remove the bandages for nine days at least. And to be very careful as to his diet. Then the Dr. left, and I was alone with the children. "Then began for me the severest struggle of my life. The child's fever did rise. He moaned and screamed in agony. He began to be delirious and all through the dreadful hours of that night tossed about, raving and groaning in terrible suffering. watched beside him my mind in almost as much agony as his body. Now, here was my test! Could I dare to stand by my own words? Was God all-sufficient, all-powerful? Now could I I prove my own faith, my own integrity when I weakly yielded at the first rough onslaught of the enemy? I had allowed the bars to be dragged down this time, would not the Evil One pour out his dread vials of wrath and affliction upon me until I was crushed and swept away, a thousand times worse off than as if I had never proclaimed my implicit trust in God and faith? "On the other hand, here was my poor boy (if it had been myself, the struggle would not have been half so sharp) who might be perhaps a cripple for life if I did not do as I was told by the wise physician. And, too, there were family and friends who would consider me little less than a fool if not a criminal if I presumed to do any different to what I had been told. And the Dr. himself? I had not called him in, a neighbor had done that, but now that he had been and done up the work scientifically, should I presume to interfere with his work? And most convincing of all, was he not of our own faith? And yet-and yet-had I not testified with the Spirit of God upon me that God could cure all disease and affliction and that He was all-sufficient for the Saints? Was I a traitor to my own convictions? "All night long the terrible struggle went on in my mind. Towards morning I came to the resolve that I would cast aside every other thing and lay my child upon the altar. "I went into the children's bedroom and spoke to my son Harvey a lad of 14 years of age. As soon as he saw my face he called out. 'Ma, what are you going to do? You aren't going to take off the bandages are you?' "His strong remonstrance weakened me, and I fled back to the ailing child. Again I went over the awful fight, and at last my faith rose supreme from the conflict. I got up went into the children's room and said to Harvey." " I don't want you to oppose me in what I am about to do, for I believe God will be with me, and all of you children will receive a testimony of His power that you will never forget. Get up and go and bring three of the elders here to administer to Elmo.' "It was daylight then, and was five o'clock when the elders came in. I told them all about it, and how I felt about the matter. That I wanted to take off the bandages but wanted their firm assistance to strengthen me and my faith. They seemed willing if that was my feeling, and I thereupon took scissors, and cut off all the bandages. The poor neck and shoulder were terribly swollen, and the elders anointed it with oil and administered to the child. "He soon dropped off to sleep, for the first time since the accident, and slept quietly and soundly until two o'clock in the afternoon. When he awoke, he asked for a piece of bread and butter. I gave it to him. I also slung up his arm with a silk handkerchief. The child inquired anxiously if that would be anything like doctoring? I said 'No.' So Saturday came and went. I had not dared to break my fast since the accident on Thursday; and on Sunday afternoon I had my oldest daughter come up and watch Elmo while I went to meeting and partook of the Sacrament. Elmo was up and trying to play about the house. After I got home from meeting I felt perfectly satisfied and then broke my fast, feeling that all would be well. Mon day morning Elmo said he was well enough and he wanted to do his chores. So I let him go out and do them. And he was healed entirely from that time. "One day I met the Dr. in the post office and he asked me about the child. I told him the whole circumstance. He said the bone could scarcely have been broken then. So I asked him about a lump which was on the shoulder bone. 'Is there a lump there?' he asked. Well then it was a break, and your child was really healed by faith. For that lump would have been there if he had been in the best hospital in the U. S.' " And thus ended the recital. Can you and I get the same strong faith? Assuredly not, unless we try to get it. If we expect it to come without a struggle, we shall, I fear, be disappointed. PARIS AND RUE BOISSONNADE. Pres. O. B. Huntington and Brethren of the Circle. It always gives me pleasure whenever I think of the good times I have spent with you on Saturday evenings. I have never appreciated my brethren and sisters, and our lovely mountain home in my life, as I do now. Although I appreciated them all as much as I could. There is much to write about, but I hardly know where to begin. We arrived here on July 24th, having spent three days in New York, three or four in Liverpool, and one week in London. In the two last named places we had good times with the Saints and Utah missionaries. will not attempt to describe what I have seen, but rather what those things I |