JULY 1, 1913 



467 



Our Homes 



Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall 

 find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. — Matt. 

 7:7. 



And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I 

 will answer ; and while they are yet speaking I will 

 hear. — Isa. 65:24. 



Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name ; ask, 

 and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. — 

 John 16:24. 



The following letter from one of ouv sub- 

 scribers explains itself: 



In your account of questioning the Savior, you 

 claim to have got a " plain, distinct, decided ' No ' " 

 to each question. Why, then, do you go to Mr. Rood 

 with some of your questions? If I had the use of a 

 few pages in Gleanings each issue, and could go 

 to the Savior with my questions with assurance of 

 such prompt answers, I would ask him about many 

 things the whole world has wanted to know through- 

 out the ages, and give the knowledge thus gained 

 to a waiting world. Even in such comparatively un- 

 important matters as beekeeping, gardening, poultry, 

 health, eating, authoritative knowledge like that you 

 receive from the Savior would be of vastly more 

 value than any you are now publishing, as infinite 

 knowledge is of more value than finite. You could 

 easily double your circulation in a few months, and 

 do an immense amount of good for temperance and 

 religion. I should be pleased to read your answer 

 to this question in Gleanings or in a letter. 



My good friend, I am glad you have 

 asked this question, because I may have 

 been a little careless by leaving the inference 

 to the effect that I always receive answers 

 to my prayers in such a plain and emphatic 

 way. I believe it is generally recognized 

 that God answers prayer in different Avays. 

 Sometimes, as in the case mentioned, the 

 one who is praying, almost as soon as the 

 words are uttered, receives an enlightened 

 conscience that enables him to see with his 

 spiritual eyes, if I may use the expression, 

 that he had been (at least for the time be- 

 ing) out of the straight and narrow path; 

 or, in other words, that he had been uncon- 

 sciousl}' influenced by Satan to see things 

 in a distorted light. 



In our first text the dear Savior in his 

 own words declares plainly that our prayers 

 shall be answered. He says, " Seek, and ye 

 shall find; knock, and it shall be opened 

 unto you." Now, there are times — in fact, 

 most of the time — when the great Father 

 sees fit to let us work awhile, before getting 

 what we ask for. In mj' Avork Avith the 

 dictaphone God seemed pleased, if you Avill 

 excuse the expression, to let me keep on at 

 Avork, and be baffled again and again, before 

 he told me or showed me hoAv to get the 

 results I was longing for. In the same way 

 a good parent, instead of giving his beloved 

 child every thing he asks for, shoAvs him 

 how he can get the desired thing by a little 

 hard work. 



In our recent studies of the history of 

 Joseph Ave see hoAV he Avas led from being 

 a humble shepherd lad to the highest posi- 

 ton in Egypt, next to the king; and Joseph 

 had perplexities and disappointments so 

 that, had it not been for his unwavering 

 faith in God, he never could have stood for 

 ages before the Avorld as one of the greatest 

 characters that the history of humanity fur- 

 nishes. 



Let us noAv go back and consider my 

 trouble Avith the mischievous schoolboys. I 

 had praj-ed over the matter several times— 

 that is, after I had begun to see that I Avas 

 getting into an unchristianlike frame of 

 mind. I not only asked God's guidance but 

 consulted my friend Rood because he Avas 

 superintendent of the Sunday-school, and 

 Avas universally recognized as a Christian 

 man in that Avhole vicinity. My first im- 

 pression Avas that the boys should be arrest- 

 ed for interfering. After friend Rood had 

 declared that, if it were his case, he would 

 leave the machine and " chase them down," 

 I still felt uneasy and troubled about it. 

 Had they been annoying other people in 

 the same Avay it Avould haA^e been a different 

 thing; and Avhen I asked the Lord on my 

 knees, as I told you, if I should get out of 

 the auto and go after the boys and get their 

 names so I could make complaint, the an- 

 SAver came strong and clear, as I have told 

 you. In other Avords, I could see Avhile 

 there on my knees that I should be out of 

 place in any such proceedings, especially 

 under the circumstances. Again I asked 

 the question, or, if you choose, asked the 

 Lord, to direct me in deciding Avhether I 

 should report them to the sheriff, after I 

 succeeded in getting their names; and the 

 arsAver came as before, or, if you choose to 

 put it differently, in that prayerful attitude 

 Avhere I Avas praying for the good of the 

 boys as Avell as for myself it became very 

 clear to my mind that I should be out of 

 place or out of character, as the author of 

 these Home papers, in reporting the boys 

 to the police authorities, just because they 

 annoyed me and nobody else. Good com- 

 mon sense seemed to declare that I had un- 

 consciously gotten into a strife or quarrel 

 with the schoolboys or the boys in the street. 



Let me noAv tell you something that I did 

 not tell you before. When they Avere an- 

 noying me by climbing on behind but not 

 getting oft' Avhen I ordered them off I de- 

 cided I would get a yardstick Avhich Avould 

 enable me to reach them, and I actually 

 Avent and bought one and laid it on the 



