Posts from February 2025

The strength of the church lies in her supernatural elements, her sure foundations, her divine cornerstone, her residents spirits.  The weakness of the church lies in her human elements.  We can offer no improvements in the supernatural elements, but we can strengthen the human elements.  There are four groups of members who strengthen the church. The first group is composed of attending members.  They are found in every congregation.  They have the same “excuse” which others use: company comes to…

Carl Howey told this true story.  It was winter in New York City, and an especially cold and bitter night.  Very few people were on the subway at that hour.  At one station, the subway stopped, and a peculiar looking woman got on.  Her clothes were ragged and dirty.  She was either extremely tired or very drunk.  As the train lurched forward, she stumbled and fell into a seat and went fast asleep.  Her hands were nestled inside two tattered…

In Valladolid, Spain, where Christopher Columbus died in 1506, stands a monument commemorating the great discoverer.  Perhaps the most interesting feature of the memorial is a statue of a lion destroying one of the Latin words that had been part of Spain’s motto for centuries.  Before Columbus made his voyages, the Spaniards thought they had reached the outer limits of earth.  Thus their motto was “Ne Plus Ultra,” which means “No More Beyond.”  The word being torn away by the…