Centennial Eureka mine posted a dividend of $100,000. * * London advices make it appear that Russia and Turkey are on the verge of war, 250,000 soldiers having been mobilized in south Russia. General Pietrus Jacobus Joubert, Commander-General of the Transvaal forces, died in Pretoria, aged sixtyeight years. General Roberts began preliminary * * * move in the advance into the Transvaal. 29th: The total purchase price of forty-nine vessels bought by the war department was $8,074,455, and refitting and repairing cost $5,189,093. Hancock, Grant, Logan, Sheridan, Sherman, Thomas, each cost over one million dollars. The House passed the Army Appropriation bill. * * * * * Ex-Senator Philitus Sawyer, born September 22, 1816, died in Oshkosh, Wis. 30th: Hon. Tom Fitch addresses a large audience in the interest of Republicans, at the Exposition Building, Salt Lake City. * * * The British and the Boers have an engagement near Bloemfontein at war between Russia and Japan. * two horse batteries with six guns, and kill many English, twenty miles north from Bloemfontein. April 1st: A fire in the Progress Building, occupied by offices and by the Salt Lake Herald, entails an estimated loss of $35,000. 2nd: The special election for a Congressman resulted in the election of Hon. W. H. King, Democrat, by about 4000 plurality over Hon. J. T. Hammond, Republican. The election was very quiet and only a small vote was cast. The Salt Lake Temple workers fittingly celebrated the 86th anniversary of the birth of President Lorenzo Snow, which occurs April 3. * 3rd: Four hundred Germania smelter employees demand an advance The Senate passed the Porto Rican tariff bill by vote of 40 to 31-a majority of 9. It imposes a tariff upon goods from Porto Rico, and caused a prolonged debate. General Otis reports that since January 1st, in 124 skirmishes, 81 Americans were killed and 164 wounded; insurgents killed, 1426; captured, 1453. nounces that he will be a candidate for President. The battle ship Kearsarge made its final successful test, "as steady as a * The Deseret Telegraph rock in a forty-knot gale." Company lines were turned over to the Western Union Telegraph ComThe great convention hall in Kansas City is pany. * destroyed by fire. 4th: The resignation of Webster Davis, Assistant Secretary of the Interior, who resigned to assist the Boers took effect. Queen Victoria is loyally welcomed by a million people in the streets of Dublin, Ireland. * * At Brussels, an attempt is made on the life of the Prince of Wales, who was passing through on his way to Copenhagen. The assassin, Sipido, an anarchist, who is sixteen years of age, fired two bullets without effect. 5th: President Snow in the annual meeting of Z. C. M. I. reports sales for the year $3,574,923, and that the institution employed a total of 345 hands. The 7th annual meeting of the Utah Dairymen's Association opened in Salt Lake. * Admiral Dewey announces that he is a Democrat. 6th: The 70th annual conference of The Church opened under favorable auspices in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. * * The Utah Wool Growers Association met in annual convention, electing Jesse * of British troops near Reddersburg. 8th: Reed Smoot was sustained a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, and the general annual conference adjourned. A rain and snow storm extended over the whole state. three million dollars. The U. S. Navy department has arranged to purchase ten thousand tons of Castle Gate, Utah, coal for Mare Island, California. The Senate committee unanimously declare Senator * * * W. A. Clark of Montana not entitled to his seat. At a battle south of Brandfort, 600 British troops were reported killed and 800 taken prisoners. * General Gatacre is recalled. * 11th: By a vote of 161 to 153 the House concurred in all the Senate amendments of the Porto Rican tariff bill. * * * The British losses in the African war aggregate over 22,000 officers and men up to April 7, including 211 officers and 1960 men killed in action. 12th: James O. Herron was killed by the fall of a rock in a Mercur mine. The president signed the Porto Rican tariff bill. The tariff section goes into immediate effect, and the act for civil government is effective May 1, 1900. Faith, the first principle in revealed religion, is defined by the Prophet Joseph Smith* in the words of Paul, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." To this the Prophet adds, "From this we learn that faith is the assurance which men have of things which they have not seen." On this principle, with this definition, many young persons who have ventured upon the sea of unbelief have wrecked the religion of their childhood; for, the human mind, in some stages of its development, is disinclined to accept as knowledge anything that can not be sensed directly. Nowadays, the young doubter who cannot accept as the foundation of his religion "things which he has not seen," usually turns for comfort and future growth to the results of the study of nature, or science. There he finds truths upon truths, glorious in their beauty and susceptibility to direct and unmistakable proof; and soon he comes back with the pride of the victor. In so-called natural science, he claims to have no need of faith; that if a person *Doc. and Cov., Lecture 1, verse 8. Loco citato, verse 9. has only advanced far enough, every concern of science can be known through one, two, or several of the senses. This statement is an heirloom passed from the older to the younger doubters, and accepted by many of the latter as an eternal truth, which needs no further investigation. It is true that, in the beginnings of science, no faith seems to be required; for every statement is based on experiments and observations that may be repeated by every student. It is further true that nothing in science is "taken on trust;" that, however, does not imply that faith, according to Joseph Smith's definition, is unnecessary. To one who understands true theology, natural science is but a part of the greater science of God; and it does not seem reasonable that the fundamental law of the whole should not also be a governing element of the part. That is, if faith is essential in theology, it should be necessary, also, in natural science, especially in its higher forms. This reasoning may be sufficient to the believer; but to the unbeliever it is valueless. The doubter can be convinced only by an examination of science to learn whether it ever requires its followers to believe in things that are unknowable to the five senses. There is no need to be afraid of such an investigation; for, if the theology and the science are both true, both will come out of the investigation as greater friends. This article is written for the purpose of examining a fragmen of science for the faith it requires. It is not an attempt to prove the existence of God, or the divine mission of Joseph Smith, except as the readers may apply the results for themselves; but, simply an effort to show that natural science as well as theology requires a faith which is the assurance of the existence of things not seen. The subject chosen for investigation is one of the most brilliant results of recent science, and is the boast of the champions of modern progress. It is somewhat intricate to present to those not familiar with the particular branch of science to which it belongs, but an effort to follow the exposition will have its reward. It is generally known that several sugars exist; as, for instance, the sugar made from starch, called glucose, and used by the candy makers; the white or brown sugar crust on raisins; the sugar obtained from sugar beets, or sugar cane; the sugar in milk; and many others not so well known in daily life. These sugars are all very much alike in appearance, taste, and most of their properties. They are extremely important to the human race, as they are necessary in some form or other for the support of life. For many years, although many eminent men have devoted much study to the question, the nature of the sugars was not clearly understood, and the reason for their differences was especially obscure. Early in the 80's a German chemist, Emil Fischer, attacked the subject with new methods of investigation; and to the joy of science, cleared up the hitherto mysterious group of sugars in the most thorough and simple manner. Professor Fischer, mainly through this work, became one of most celebrated scientists of the day, and a few years ago was given the highest honor the German chemist knows: the head professorship of chemistry in the Imperial University at Berlin. How this man did this famous work can be understood in detail only by those who have a knowledge of organic chemistry; what his results are can be understood by every careful reader. A brief review of some elementary scientific facts, known to all, will perhaps make the discussion clearer. A piece of white crystallized glucose, such as is used by candy makers, may easily be divided into two or three pieces by a stroke with a hammer. Each of the pieces may be broken into smaller pieces, and this process of division continued until the sugar powder is as fine as dust. Still, each particle of sugar dust may be divided again and again, if we only have instruments fine enough to continue the process. A question which philosophy asked itself near its beginning was this: Is it possible to keep on dividing a dust particle of sugar (or of any other substance) forever; or is there a particle of sugar so small that it can not be divided again? Neither science nor abstract philosophy has yet been able to answer the question fully. However, science has learned that in the case of sugar, if such a process of division occurs, in course of time a particle of sugar will be obtained which is so small that, if it is divided or broken, the fragments will no longer be sugar, but something entirely different. This smallest piece of sugar, is called a molecule of sugar. The size of such a molecule can not be comprehended by the human. |