Salt Lake Tabernacle (Exterior)
President John Taylor
President Wilford Woodruff
The Pioneer Monument
Salt Lake Temple and Grounds
President Lorenzo Snow
The First Presidency, 1916
Joseph Smith Monument and Memorial Cottage
Church Office Building

A YOUNG FOLKS’ HISTORY

Of the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints.

CHAPTER I.

A parable.

Once upon a time the owner of a very large garden planted therein a tree, the fruit of which was very precious and of great value to all who ate of it.  For a time, the tree grew and bore much good fruit.  But the owner of the garden had an enemy who went about secretly sowing seeds of weeds and all manner of briers and brush, that they might spread all over the garden and kill out the good tree which the master had planted.  The enemy also persuaded many of the workmen in the garden to neglect the good tree, and let the briers and weeds grow up around it and so prevent its growth.  Thus in time the once precious fruit of the good tree became wild and scrubby, no better than the enemy’s trees which grew around it.

Years passed, and the master, grieving that the precious fruit should have become so worthless, determined to plant the good tree once more in the garden.  He did not try to clear away a spot for it amid the old, overgrown parts of the land, but he called upon certain workers to go to a distant part of the garden where nothing had been planted for a long time, and there prepare the ground for the planting of the tree.

These workers were faithful to their master and did as they were told.  Very few of the enemy’s noxious weeds were growing in the new soil, so it was not such hard work to clear the ground and prepare a place for the master to plant his tree.

To be better protected against the enemy, the master told his workmen to build a high, strong wall about that part of the garden.  This was all done; and then one beautiful spring day the owner came with his servants.  They had with them the precious tree taken from some other garden where it had grown without hindrance from weeds.  The tree was planted and put in charge of other servants to tend it.  The warm sun shone on it, the rains came from heaven to water it, and the tree took firm root and grew.

Now all the boys and girls who read this book will understand that the little story I have just told is what is called a Parable, meant to make plainer some facts and truths.  I can not tell you all about that tree here, how it grew and bore fruit, and how many people came and ate of its delicious fruit, notwithstanding the enemy came again and tried to check its growth.  I say, I cannot tell it to you in the form of a parable, but will tell it as it actually happened.  You may, if you like, imagine in your own minds the rest of the parable, but the real story you will find more interesting than any made-up tale can be.