the fable of the body and its members.
in the ancient book of wisdom ascribed to aesop, there may be found the following fable with its moral: "the members of the body once rebelled against him. they said he led an idle, lazy life at their expense. the hands declared that they would not again lift a crust even to keep him from starving, the mouth that it would not take a bit more food, the legs that they would carry him about no longer, and so on with the others.
"the body quietly allowed them to follow their own courses, well knowing that they would all soon come to their senses, as indeed they did, when, for want of the blood and nourishment supplied from the stomach, they found themselves fast becoming mere skin and bone.
"no one can live to himself."
the time of aesop.
aesop lived in the long ago. tradition declares that he was born five hundred and fifty years before the time of jesus. but already in that remote age men had learned to appreciate the value of organizing themselves into communities and churches and governments. already, men had discovered that to live to oneself was to fight alone a losing fight against all the forces of the world.
the growth of society.
from the time that adam and eve were driven out of the garden of eden, and their children began to settle two and two in the land to till it and to cultivate it, man has understood the advantages of friendly association. first it was the family. the family has always been, {228} and is still the actual basis of society. the members of the family clung together, and each one worked for the interest of the whole. then, when the families increased they became associated in clans and tribes. then, with the increase of population, came the organization of communities, religious association, governments. for protection, for worship, for education, for commerce and trade, for civilization, men have banded themselves together, and have worked for larger units, of which the individuals were but members. only by such banding together can a community become socially efficient.
a football squad.
now, we may easily understand what this means if we apply the principle to the organization of a football squad. there are eleven men, you know, in the "team." one of them is the captain. when the squad is in action, playing hard against an opposing team, no single man can hope alone to win the game. the strength of the squad depends upon its team work. while each individual must put forth the best that is in him, whether in bucking the line or in playing the open field, that best must be so directed as to add to the sum total of the strength and efficiency of the united eleven. no member of that team may live or play to himself. and the orders of the captain must be obeyed. some player in the line may think the orders poor—wholly wrong in fact—yet he must obey those orders. if he does not, he will go down to ruin himself, and he may possibly drag his team with him to shame and disaster. for, as is clearly evident, when he neglects to follow the command of the captain, he stands alone; the other ten obey orders. {229} alone he can accomplish nothing. nor is that the worst; by disobeying orders, he may spoil the premeditated play and lose the game. the football man is required to learn, therefore, that he is only a member of a body; that he must act with the body; that if he attempts to act in opposition to the body calamity is sure to follow; that success can come only through concerted effort. the football squad is an organization of society for efficiency.
the teachings of jesus.
as it is with the football squad so it is with society in the large. men and women are organized into communities and associations of various kinds for greater efficiency, and are subject to the laws governing organized society. now, since jesus was not primarily a social reformer, nor a social teacher, we should not be surprised if he had little to say about man's duties to organized society. yet since he touches in his teachings nearly all phases of temporal and spiritual life, we might expect that somewhere he has something to say about the larger aspects of society. and we do really find it so. the three chief social institutions in the world are the family, the state, and the church. about man's duties to each one of these jesus has something significant to say. let us consider briefly the most important sayings of jesus concerning these three fundamental institutions.
the family.
in the teaching of jesus, marriage is presented as a divinely appointed sacrament, and the family as a sacred institution one day the pharisees came to jesus to test him, and asked, "is it lawful for man to put away his wife? and {230} he answered and said unto them, what did moses command you? and they said, moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.
"and jesus answered and said unto them, for the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. but from the beginning of the creation god made them male and female. for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh; so then they are no more twain but one flesh. what therefore god hath joined together let no man put asunder."
the family sacred.
thus emphatically did jesus teach that the marriage relation was ordained of god. and in doing so he declared also that the family is a sacred institution and its claims should never be put aside. the crying shame of the world today is the common practice of divorce. boys and girls who become acquainted with the teachings of jesus, should grow up with a horror of the divorce court. they should learn to look upon marriage as one of the highest privileges accorded to them by the heavenly father. and boys and girls in the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints should rejoice in the thought, that, when the proper time comes, they may go into the house of the lord and have there performed the divine sacrament of marriage for time and for all eternity. for the lord has said in this generation, "whoso forbiddeth to marry is not ordained of god, for marriage is ordained of god unto man."
the state.
jesus was equally emphatic in his teachings of man's duty to the state—to organized civil government. certain of the pharisees {231} and of the herodians were sent one day to try to catch jesus in his words. "and when they were come they say unto him, master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of god in truth: is it lawful to give tribute to caesar, or not? shall we give, or shall we not give? but he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them. why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that i may see it. and they brought it. and he saith unto them, whose is this image and superscription? and they said unto him, caesar's. and jesus answering said unto them. render to caesar the things that are caesar's, and to god the things that are god's. and they marvelled at him."
the state divinely instituted.
they had good cause, indeed, to marvel at him; for, not only had he quieted them with a sufficient answer, but he had also declared a fundamental principle of the state. a government cannot exist without revenue to maintain its organization and to enforce the laws enacted for the protection and the welfare of its citizens. caesar was doing much for palestine. it was not only right, therefore, but just that the jews should pay taxes to rome. and so it is in our own day. "we believe," asserted joseph smith, "that governments were instituted of god for the benefit of man." it becomes therefore the duty of every honest citizen to do his utmost to uphold the righteous laws of the government, and to help in the maintaining of peace and order. and it is not only right, but just, that we should pay the taxes imposed by the government. we all enjoy the benefits derived from civil organization—protection, liberty, {232} illumination, trade, good roads, and all. the man who tries, then, to evade the taxes and the responsibilities of the government is dishonest.
the church.
but in declaring that it is right to render to caesar the things that are caesar's, jesus also taught that man owes likewise certain duties to his the church, religious organization. render, said he, "to god the things that are god's." in line with this thought we are instructed by another experience of the lord's. when jesus and his disciples came one day in their journeyings to capernaum, "they that received tribute money came to peter, and said, doth not your master pay tribute (the temple tax)? he saith yes, and when he was come into the house jesus prevented (anticipated) him, saying, what thinkest thou, simon, of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children or of strangers? peter saith unto him, of strangers. jesus saith unto him, then are the children free. notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee."
these gatherers of tribute money, were, it appears, those who collected the taxes for the support and maintenance of the temple at jerusalem. jesus was himself the son of god. he was the master of the temple. he might have been free from the tax. but jesus recognized the fact that the principle was right; therefore, he paid the tax. and in doing so, he taught the lesson {233} that it is right and just for every citizen in the kingdom of god to pay the taxes imposed for the maintenance of the kingdom. as with the state, so with the kingdom of god, he who tries to evade the temple tax is dishonest. "behold," declared jesus to the great modern prophet, "now it is called today (until the coming of the son of man), and verily it is a day of sacrifice, and a day for the tithing of my people, for he that is tithed shall not burn at his coming."
the teachings of our own church.
the children of the latter-day saints have much for which to be thankful. here we are reared in the sanctity of the home, in love and in the fear of god. our family relations are established to continue throughout the eternities. here we are taught to yield honor and obedience to established government, and to deserve the benefits provided by it. here we are taught to revere the priesthood of god, to pay ungrudgingly our tithes and our offerings, and to do our best from day to day in the upbuilding of righteousness. and this we do that we may live and profit and prosper together; for no one can live to himself alone.
the references
mark 12:13-17. doc. and cov. 49:15.
matt. 17:24-27. doc. and cov. 134:1.
doc. and cov. 64:23.
{234} the questions
1. what is the meaning of aesop's fable?
2. explain by means of the football squad how man can not live to himself.
3. what did jesus teach concerning man's duty to the family?
4. what are a man's obligations to the state in which he lives?
5. what does a man owe to the church to which he belongs?
6. why should the children of the latter-day saints be grateful above all other children?
