IMPURE CASTES. a Brahman with a woman belonging to the Kshatrya class, whose profession was to teach the military art. The offspring whose father is of the servile class, and the mother of the Brahminical order, are the most degraded of all the classes. They are called Chandalas, and are despised by all their superiors. Their calling is to execute criminals, carry out corpses to the place of cremation, and to perform all other services that are considered abject and unclean. The Chandalas are even more despised than a Sudra. When they meet any of the superior castes they are obliged to turn out of the way till they pass. They are consigned to live in isolation, so as not to pollute the village where they reside. "Avoid," says the Tantra, "the touch of the Chandalas and other abject classes. Whoever associates with them undoubtedly falls from his class; whoever bathes or drinks in wells or pools, which they have caused to be made, must be purified by the five productions of Kine. Wm. Fotheringham. The Rev. Plato Johnson sometimes refers to scientific subjects in his discourses. Last Sunday morning, in a sermon on the origin of man, he said:"Bruddern, de trubble wid some folks is dat dere brains is too large. I don't 'tend to be pussonal an' has no reference whatever to any man in dis' sembly; but dere is people in dis worl' who has a 'pression dat dey oughter have created. de Lord, an' dat it was a act of condescenshun on dere parts dat dey 'lowed de Lord to create dem at all, an' dey's ben sorry ebber sence dat dey didn' assert dere rights on de fust day an' hab a han' in making' tings. Now, dere's Mr. Darwin, a man who has been makin' a big fuss 'bout de way de Lord put tings togedder, an' beleebs de whole ob creation is wrong jist cos he was n't 'sulted. I wish de Lord would gib sech men as him 'bout a couple ob acres ob de 'riginal chaos, an' see wat kind ob a fist day would make ob it. I guess dat arter a while dey would all move off dere own plantation an' try to rent a house on 139 de land whar de Lord was runnin' de machine. Dis Darwin says dat a man is de gran' son 'ob a' monkey, an' dat de Bible aint got de truff ob de matter at all. You'se all de chillen of baboons, my belubbed. Wat you tink ob dat? How you like your ancestors? In de beginnin' every one ob you had a long tail-dat was long 'fore you wore trousers -an'some ob you got your tails twisted off, an' some ob you was 'shamed ob'em, an' rubbed 'em off against de trees, an' at lass de tails got so disgusted dat dey refused to grow. Dat's wot you are an' dat's whar you cum from. Now, den, my idea is dat ebbery man oughter speak for himself on dis subjec'. Ef Mr. Darwin was born up in a tree while his mudder was stealing cocoanuts it don't follow dat my mudder was up anoder tree doin' de same ting. Darwin is dead shore dat his ancestors was apes, an' he oughter know. I ain't goin' to contradict it. Ebbery man must look after his own family. As fur me, I'se a Bible Christian, an' was made out ob de dust, an' don't take no stock in de monkeys. I can look any one ob 'em in de face widout a blush for my family, an' say, ‘Go long 'bout your business, you ole eater ob peanuts, you ain't no fust cousin ob mine.' I can stan' in front ob a whole cage ob dese funny little fellers, an' don't feel no family sympathy stirrin' in my heart. De fust chapter of Genesis is good 'nuff fur me belubbed. Pass de box." Every man ought to aim at eminence, not by pulling others down, but by raising himself up. The boys and girls of these mountains cannot be made slaves. They have come through a lineage that knew what freedom was worth and how to contend for it. Moses Thatcher. Our physical well being, our moral worth, our social happiness, our political tranquility, all depend upon the control of our appetites and passions, which the ancients designated by the cardinal virtue of Temperance.-Burke. ASSOCIATION HISTORY. WEBER COUNTY. II. IMMEDIATELY after the organization of this board, the members entered upon their labors in real earnest, and took into consideration the best measures calculated to promote the interests of the young in these associations. Having decided upon the proper course to pursue, appointments were made in a number of the surrounding settlements. On Sunday, April 28, they visited and organized the associations in Slaterville, Marriotts and Lynne, and in the evening visited the association at Mound Fort which was already organized. On Sunday, May 8, the board met and organized the associations in Harrisville and North Ogden; and in each place the young manifested by their presence, their appreciation of the privileges placed within their reach. On the first day of June, 1878, the first number of the second volume of the Amateur was issued in a greatly enlarged and improved form. Jos. A. West being editor. The subscription was placed at one dollar a year and it received a wide circulation throughout the county; R. A. Ballantyne was the business manager. The paper, as before, was devoted to the improvement of the young, many of whom availed themselves of the privilege of writing for its columns. The programme of exercises was published in it for the guidance of the societies, together with other association intelligence. A prize essay column was also introduced which created a commendable spirit of emulation among the contributors and greatly added to the interest of the paper. The central board had regular meetings in which much interest was taken, and in the exercises of which many took part, making them of absorbing interest. The labors of the board extended to all the societies in the county, and the different settlements were often visited by them when the good advice given was greatly appreciated by the members. The publication of the Amateur was continued for one year until May 5th, 1879, at which date there had been issued fifteen thousand copies at a cost for publication, alone, of over one thousand dollars; all other work had been done gratuitously by members of the association. It then suspended and has not been resumed in the shape it was before, but a general magazine for the societies of the whole territory has supplanted it, we refer to the excellent publication, the "CONTRIBUTOR," published by Junius F. Wells, at Salt Lake City. The central board has continued under the presidency of Elder Jos. A. West, up to the present time, to perform diligently the labors for which it was organized. Changes have been made in the officers on account of other duties that its members have been called upon to perform. The county is to-day divided into seven circuits of two, three and four societies each, making a total of twenty-one societies, with a membership of over eight hundred. These circuits have a conference quarterly, at which time the central board meets with the societies of the circuit, giving useful instructions concerning the topic of Mutual Improvement. The meetings are held in the wards alternately, so that each ward has the privilege of having a quarterly conference in its turn. Inter-missionary labor is also kept up between the wards of the circuit, which has a tendency to exercise the young in public speaking. Every three months a quarterly conference is held in Ogden, where all the societies are represented and reports are heard from the presidents. There are eight libraries in the county and eight manuscript papers published. During the past year sixtysix thousand one hundred and twentyeight chapters have been read, seven hundred and eighty-three lectures given and six hundred and thirty-five testimonies borne. The forenoon of the circuit conference is occupied in exercises of the societies composing the circuit. These ASSOCIATION HISTORY. are of a highly interesting character, and nothing so tends to give a person joy at the improvement and labors of the young as attending these conferences throughout the county. The afternoon meetings are occupied in hearing instructions from the central board; who are always well entertained and received by the societies. As a rule in these meetings one or more manuscript papers are read, and throughout the Stake these are doing much good in teaching the young to use the pen successfully. In listening to them one is often struck with the orginality of the articles and the sound advice therein contained. The societies are laboring not only in this way but in many other ways for the furtherance of mutual improvement. Many of them have organized and are farming for the benefit of the associations. Thus we have instances where associations have by united effort, and without any expense, except their own labors, been able to raise grain to the amount of many dollars, which have been spent for the purchase of libraries. From these they have interested themselves during their leisure time in winter, and thus where much valuable time was formerly spent in idleness, it is now spent in useful study. The consequences are we are growing better and wiser. The central board is laboring diligently among the associations, making suggestjons here and there, and are untiring in their mission of good. In the early part of May a meeting of the presidents of the various societies was held in Ogden for the purpose of considering the propriety of changing the nature of the exercises of the quarterly conferences held in Ogden, to conform with those of the circuits. It was agreed that each society should be required to take a part in the exercises determined upon. Each society was to prepare a manuscript paper, selections from which were to be read in connection with the other exercises. The committee on programme adopted for the first following conference, held July 10, 1881: Opening exercises: 1. Faith, First Ward; 2. Music; 3. Repentance, Plain City; 4. Reading from Essays; 5. Ancient Profane His 141 tory, Third Ward; 6. Music; 7. Baptism, Huntsville; 8. Church History, Hooper; 9. Gift of the Holy Ghost, Harrisville; 10. Music, instrumental and vocal furnished by North Ogden; 11. Sketch of the organizations by E. H. Anderson. The following were chosen to arrange programmes for other conferences: Chas. Wright, Jas. Storey, G. R. Belnap, L. A. Herrick, and F. E. Barker. The following are the present members of the central board, December, 1881. Jos. A. West, President; E. N. Freeman, First Counselor, L. A. Herrick, Second Counselor; A. T. Wright, Corresponding Secretary; E. H. Anderson, Recording Secretary; John L. Wilson, Treasurer. The associations in the county to-day are in a good condition and are continually improving in the work of God. Many of the members are on missions to foreign countries, and it is a noticeable fact, that all who are prominent young men in the county are or have been members of these associations. From the reports that have been received, thousands of chapters have been read by the members of each society, and as a whole the amount of reading done, since the organization, has been very great. From present appearances the good will continue to increase until all the young will be members of these societies, and the great good, at first confined to a few, be scattered abroad to all. We can not help but think that the early laborers in this cause will be honored. That they will be looked back to as staunch laborers in a righteous cause. That when mutual improvement shall be the rule among young and old and its effects shall be seen among all the youth of Zion, the early founders of the associations will be honored, as such people should be honored, who labor to rear the young in truth and virtue. E. H. Anderson. The closing scene in the life of Mozart, is one of the most touching ever recorded. He seems to have suf fered all his life from the fear and dread of death. He had been employed upon his "requiem" several weeks, all the while | Spirit, thy labor is o'er; Thy earthly probation is run; Thy steps are now bound for the untrodden shore, And the race of immortals begun. Spirit, look not on the strife Pause not on the threshold of limitless life To mourn for the day that is set. Spirit, no fetter can bind, No wicked have power to molest; There the weary, like thee, the wretched shall find The daughter sat down and, with a voice enriched with tenderest emotion, sang the following lines; A haven-a mansion of rest. For which thou art now on the wing; As she concluded, she dwelt for a moment upon the low melancholy notes of the piece, and then, turning from the piano, looked in silence for the approving smile of her father. It was the still passionless smile, which the wrapt and joyous spirit had left, with the seal of death, upon those beautiful features; for the great musician was dead. RELIGION THE influence of religious thought and theory is more potent in the home circle than in any other, of man's daily life. It may be said to be the foundation upon which all the domestic virtues rest, and yet how little does it seem to enter into the composition of many homes. Its suggestions are not always heeded, its requirements are not always filled, its spirit is not always cultivated, nor are its fruits every where seen, or, in any place, found in two lavish abundance. The young men and women who have membership in our mutual improvement associations will be the future fathers and mothers of our community, they will leave the homes of childhood and youth, and jointly create homes which they will call their own. Marriage, while an expected duty, is the assumption of a position of responsibility, its portals can be AT HOME. entered on due reflection, or its duties may be commenced in a thoughtless mood, yet a momentary glance will show it to be the most important step in the life of either man or woman. Not alone is the manhood and womanhood of "the high contracting parties" involved, but the lives of their posterity, and the circle and community in which they reside will be affected by the momentous step. Marriage was or dained of God, it is a divine institution, existing not in time only and on the earth, but it belongs to the eternities of the past, and will exist in the eternities of the future, hence in its origin and continuance it should always be invested with and glorified by the observances and sanction of religion. There are those who consider that love, is the one grand and necessary element RELIGION AT HOME. in the institution of marriage, and that where this is, that the authoritative aid, whether civil or ecclesiastical, is superfluous, and that submission to either, is obedience simply to custom or fashion, or to confer legality ugon the act. But experience shows that much of what is called love is but the glamour and fascination that belong to sex; that rarely is reason and judgment exercised in the selection of a companion and help mate for life, and rarely on either side are the characteristics exhibited taken into account. Some, seeing this have said, that, "many a marriage begins like a rosy morning and falls away like a snow wreath," because of the intangible foundation upon which this supposed love was based. There are reflections growing out of the religion of Jesus Christ, which will bear continuous thought in regard to this relationship, the sexes are eternal and marriage is for the continuation of life, hence all who have entered that state should be fairly posted in regard to the functions of procreation. When generation approaches perfection there will probably be less necessity for regeneration; for those born aright there may be less necessity for their being born again; and it seems from observations and revelations as if the Father realized that his children had in a great measure departed from him, and sunk by self-indulgence the higher attributes of manhood in subordination to the lower. It is a fact which none can gainsay, that the spiritual faculties of man have for ages become more and more dormant, the animal portion of man's nature has acquired ascendancy, until heaven has become beyond the ordinary thought or reach of the masses of our race. Indulgence of passion, appetite and taste, proves the perversion of the powers of being, and the premature death of parents and children demonstates the waning power and continuity of life. One of the early revelations given in this age aimed to reduce the sensual tendencies of a fallen condition, and to deprive the passionate or base brain of many an accustomed stimulus. The "Word of 143 Wisdom" was given in the interests of regeneration, and a strict observance of this, in the economy of life, will cool the ardor of passion and desire, while loftier thoughts of creative power, as shrined in the marriage covenant, will suggest appropriate season and thoughtful purpose in the Godlike pursuit of desirable parentage. Not only so, but as the enlightening influence of the divine spirit is increased in the new formed circle of connubial life, so will the sacredness of the prospective mother be enchanced, and every unhallowed thought and feeling will in passing, leave, to nature and to God, that which will be sanctified even "from the mother's womb." Further, as a still more potent aid in the work of physical and spiritual regeneration, comes the philosophical revelation of the patriarchal order of marriage. A division of hereditary tendencies will surely act with cumulative power upon posterity, and while it may truthfully be said of modern lascivious monogamy that "the foundation of prostitution is in the marriage bed," it can as truly be said that in the patriarchal order, toned by obedience to every "Word of Wisdom," and honored in the spirit of sanctified self-restraint, there will be such increase in real virtue, purity and chastity, that from prospective motherhood, to completed lactation of the given of heaven, every feeling will be in approaching harmony to the natural and every where exhibited conditions of increase. In the overcoming of perverted instincts, in bringing into Godlike order this marvelous function of fatherhood and motherhood, how would our selfrespect be increased, how would there be a greater exhibition of manly vigor in the performance of the duties of our then more enjoyable life; and how would the lassitude and ennui of wifehood become as a memory of the everpast; how would depleted function, give place to rosy health; and how would the numbers be reduced of those we call and mourn for as "our early dead?” Oh what hecatombs of the purest and most affectionate of womankind, and what un |