birds, scripture fails to inform us; but finally God saw that it was not good for man to be alone; so, according to his benign providence, he formed woman to be a helpmate unto man. Adam, beholding the handiwork of his Creator, received unto himself Eve, his wife, and they in their majesty ruled the earth.

They listened to the commands of God, the first being, “Multiply and replenish the earth." The second, "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die; nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee, but remember, I forbid it." With these divine injunctions ever fresh in their minds, Adam and Eve wandered in the garden of Eden.

The hour of temptation soon came. Lucifer, who had so lately been consigned to the regions of anguish and woe, again waged war against the righteousness of Jehovah. Cunningly, he laid his plans to foil the purposes of the Almighty, and wittingly did he, with specious argument, deceive the weaker of Eden's occupants. To Eve he made his appearance, and, in phrases most pleasing, persuaded her to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, saying: "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Seeing that the tree was beautiful, and the words of Satan delightful, the woman plucked and ate of the forbidden fruit whose mortal taste brought death with all its woes into the world. Adam learning of what had been done, and remembering the two commandments of God, studied well his peculiar position. Being honest and faithful, he desired to obey the will of his Father, but under existing circumstances, this was impossible. Eve, having disobeyed God, became mortal, and could no longer enjoy the pleasurable companionship of her husband. This Adam knew, and undoubtedly he argued: how can the first and great commandment be fulfilled unless I break the second? So with a knowledge of the attendant consequences, he chose to follow his wife, and eat. Of this disobedience Paul says, "Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression."

Previous to the breaking of this commandment, Adam and Eve had lived in innocent immortality, but now they had fallen, bring

ing upon themselves and their posterity the trials incident to this life; and, in the end, the pangs of death.

By many, it has been thought that the fall of our first parents was a great calamity-an unpurposed event. Yes, they have denied the Father of humanity the right to stand as chief Patriarch of the race, and in their ignorance they have most bitterly denounced him who, in his wisdom, disobeyed God that the spirits of heaven might come to earth and acquire such experience as would eternally exalt them in the presence of their Father. Adam partook of the forbidden fruit that man might be, and thus bequeathed to his progeny the glorious privilege of gaining exaltation and eternal life on the battle field of mortality.

The fall opened the eyes of our first parents, and they now discerned between good and evil. For the first time, they beheld their own nakedness, and made garments of the leaves of the trees of Eden. Soon the voice of Jehovah was heard, and in reply the feeble words of Adam, "Here I am," broke upon the ear of his Creator. Calmly, the Father spoke unto the woman saying: “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception, in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be unto thy husband, and he shall rule over thee"; while unto the man he said: "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee saying, Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed is the ground for thy sake, in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground."

In order that Adam and Eve might not partake of the fruit of the tree of life and live forever, being as gods, knowing good and evil, they were expelled from the garden, and Cherubim with a flaming sword was stationed to guard the gate.

What a radical change our first parents must have been constrained to endure. One day living in paradise, surrounded with all the grandeur that divine art could display, feeling no pain, sorrow, nor regret, ignorant of the frailties of mortality, and rocked in the cradle of universal peace; the next, living amidst the hills and dales of mother earth; sheltered by the blue canopy of

heaven; encircled by dreary plains and barren bluffs; tasting of the pangs incident to this probation, and sensing most keenly the follies of the flesh. Fear now invaded the field of hope, while anxiety strolled the path of contentment. And all this was done not to satisfy the exigencies of chance, but to fulfill the purposes of a most benign Father, that in his glory, he might be sustained and upheld by the undying loyalty of an exalted, glorified, and immor ́talized family.

GOD'S OMNIPRESENCE.

King David, speaking of "time," says: "A thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday;" and Job asks the question: "Are thy years as man's days?" The compliment of this idea as applied to space is not found in so many words, but the Bible and the Book of Mormon teach that the same idea holds good. The infidel, the atheist and the skeptic laugh at the proposition that God is in more places than one at the same instant of time, and the average Christian is content to accept it as one of the miraculous powers of the Godhead without taking the trouble to investigate the why and the wherefore, or prove it as a fact. Do not the recent discoveries of Marconi and others along the same line provide a key to the mystery? If Marconi could at the beginning of the year eliminate a space of one hundred and ten miles between the steamships Etruria and Umbria, and at the close of the year a space of two thousand two hundred miles across the Atlantic, what possibilities open up to the mind of man? Today, pictures are transmitted from one end of a cable and reproduced at the other. Soon, no cable will be required. We will talk across continents, oceans, and possibly to other planets, and see each other as if no space existed. I submit that this power is now, and has been throughout the past eternities, with God, and in a modified form with those who have put off mortality. Space is eliminated, and God sees us eye to eye, although his corporeal body is enthroned in his courts on high. It is no miracle, it is a law of the kingdom, but heretofore hidden from mortal man. There are many things our finite minds cannot understand. Let us not be impatient, but await God's own good time, when we shall know even also as we are known.-Dr. Frederic Clift, Lehi, Utah.

SOME LEADING EVENTS IN THE CURRENT

STORY OF THE WORLD.

BY DR. J. M. TANNER, SUPERINTENDENT OF CHURCH SCHOOLS.

Venezuela's New Troubles.

Early in December of last year, telegrams from Venezuela notified the world that the allied powers of Great Britain and Germany were blockading the Venezuelan ports for the purpose of coercing this South American republic into the payment of her debts. Venezuela had borrowed very heavily from Germans and English to construct railroads in that country. During the recent revolution of that republic, considerable property belonging to the English had been destroyed, and it is said that certain outrages had been perpetrated against the subjects of Great Britain.

For many years, these European countries have been endeavoring to collect the moneys owed their citizens by Venezuela, and the Venezuelans have met the demands by a promise to pay tomorrow. But the Venezuelan "tomorrow" is very much like the Turkish "We'll see about it"-it never comes. The English began to think that if the Venezuelans could afford so many luxuries, in the nature of revolutions, it could afford to pay its debts. For a long time, the powers had been postponing united action, because of a revolution that was going on in the South American republic. Finally, it was perhaps considered that the interval between revolutions would not be long enough to collect their debts.

The English and Germans were quite well aware of the attitude taken by this country on the Monroe doctrine, and therefore consulted the United States, and gained the consent of this coun

try to adopt measures of coercion, with the understanding that there was to be no conquest of territory whatever. The powers agreed upon two methods of coercing Venezuela: one was to blockade the ports and force Venezuela to pay or starve; the other, undoubtedly more effective, was to seize the ports of that country and collect the tariff revenues until sufficient was obtained to cancel Venezuela's obligations.

Notwithstanding the consent obtained from this country, the task was a very delicate one, owing to the universal sentiment here in favor of the Monroe doctrine. It would be very easy, perhaps, for the admirals in command of these European fleets to commit some act that would arouse opposition in this country. When the combined fleets entered Venezuela's harbors, one of the first acts was to sink two of the republic's gunboats, two harmless vessels; and the act seemed to many throughout the United States unnecessary and wanton. It certainly created a sympathy in favor of Venezuela, and was likely to complicate the situation, which was relieved, however, by the German government recalling the commander in charge.

While the President and the Secretary of State were willing that the great powers might collect the debts owed them in the manner agreed upon, they, of course, could give no assurance that blunders committed in the delicate task might not arouse a warlike sentiment in this country, which the President and his cabinet would be helpless to withstand. A slight feeling of irritation was also aroused in the United States when the English commander bombarded one of Venezuela's weak ports. The President of the United States was quick to foresee that a feeling of hostility here might be aroused, and he, therefore, proposed to the allied powers that their controversy with Venezuela be arbitrated. To the proposition, the great powers wisely consented, and threw a pretty bouquet to this country by proposing that President Roosevelt act as arbitrator.

There were two reasons why it is undesirable that the President of the United States act in that role. The most important was the fact that we could not be put in the attitude of a moral obligation to compel Venezuela to pay the judgment which the President might award against that country. In the second place, there is