T^llmproucmcnt Era
AUGUST, 1945
"'IJ.'O:
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By DR. FRANKLIN S. HARRIS, JR.
HFhe Chinese city of Foochow is built on a small delta at the mouth of the Min River which empties into the sea opposite Formosa. The city is so dense- ly populated on the small delta that thousands of people live on boats which are packed together row after row.
A study has been made by Dr. Henry "^ Borsook of the effect on aircraft workers of extra amounts of six vita- mins and calcium given in capsules and tablets, over a period of a year, com- pared with the effect when similar cap- sules and tablets were given but con- taining no vitamins and calcium, and compared to a third group with nothing extra given. Above the no-vitamin-pill group, the over-all gain to production from the effect of the extra vitamins on absenteeism, turnover, and general work performance was ten and a half working days per man per year, of this about two-thirds was from improved work performance. 4
An aviator who opens his parachute "^ when moving 325 miles an hour through the air experiences a shock equivalent to having a weight of three tons pulling against his body; if he opens it at 120 miles an hour the shock is equivalent to only three-fifths of a
ton.
^
/^alves fed rations low in magnesium develop acute symptoms of tem- porary blindness and convulsions. The trouble is not likely to occur unless the animals are fed too long on milk with- out supplementary feeds.
Japan proper is so full of hill and mountain land that only twenty per- cent of the total area can be cultivated and about sixteen percent is actually under cultivation with normally forty- two percent of the people engaged in agriculture. In no other country are people living so close together on culti- vated land, with 1200 to 1300 people per square mile, according to Professor Glenn T. Trewartha.
♦
'T'here are about 2,700,000 college •*■ graduates in the United States, of whom about one percent are negroes.
'4
Tf each atom of hydrogen and oxygen
in a teaspoonful of water were placed in a single straight line, like beads on a necklace, it would take light a whole day t© travel from one end of the line to the other.
T Tr, native city of Abraham in Meso- *•** potamia, had bathrooms in private homes about 4500 years ago, uncovered in our day by Sir Leonard Woolley.
AUGUST, 1945
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433
Jhe Cc
over
ONE of the feature bronze subjects of "This Is the Place" monument will be that depicting the Donner- Reed Party which crossed Utah in 1846 en route to California.
Led by George and Jacob Donner and James F. Reed, after leaving Fort Bridger where they withdrew from a larger com- pany, they blazed a trail through the moun- tains from the Weber River to the Salt Lake Valley.
When the Mormon Pioneers came over the same route the follow- ing year, they were able to follow, "the emigrant road" prac- tically all the way. William Clayton and others referred to it frequently. The chop- ping of trees and wil- lows in East Canyon and the removal of large rocks by the Donner Party enabled the Utah Pioneers to save two to three weeks of time, which was extremely pre- cious. Arriving in the valley, the Utah Pio- neers planted potatoes for the purpose prin- cipally of saving the seed for the next year. Had it not been for the work of the Donner Party, the potatoes would have been planted during the first or second weeks of August, rather than in the third week in July. The time saved was an important factor in the food supply of the pio- neers.
Leaving Salt Lake Valley where they re- mained for three weeks to permit their animals to recuperate, the Don- ner Party encountered serious disaster on the Great Salt Desert be- cause of misleading in- formation, but finally reached the Sierra Nevada mountains in the late fall. Here even more serious disaster overtook them and many of the party perished. The disaster which befell the Don- ner-Reed Party was one of the most tragic chapters in the history of the West.
The photograph was adapted to cover use by Charles Jacobsen.
^fint -
AUGUST, 1945
VOLUME 48, NO. 8
"THE VOICE OF THE CHURCH"
Official Organ of the Priesthood Quorums, Mutual Improvement
Associations, Department of Education, Music Committee, Ward
Teachers, and Other Agencies of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints
Jke (Lditord f-^a
e
f The Spirit of Forgiveness George Albert Smith 443
OJL
What Is a Testimony?
Fix It or Burn It
Evidences and Reconciliations: Race?
Suggestions for Teachers 437
The Church Moves On 457
Priesthood: Melchizedek 462
Aaronic _ 465
Ward Teaching 466
No-Liquor-Tobacco Column. ...463
^jreatured
Charles A. Callis 444
Marvin CX Ashton 446
XCV — Is There a Master John A. Widtsoe 461
Genealogy 464
Important Notice 474
Field Photos 479
Wilford Ward Presents Star Lite Revue 483
J^pecial ^jreat
ealwrei
Youth Speaks Charlotte Knight 445
Casualties Hyrum J, Smith 448
A Mormon Wife; — The Life Story of Augusta Winters
Grant— Vm Mary Grant Judd 450
Microbes in a Changing World: Part II — Conclusion
Thomas L. Martin 452
Sacred Buildings for the Worship of God
_ Levi Edgar Young 454
The Verrills Join the Church. .... John C* Tootle, Jr. 456
The Spoken Word from Temple Square.... Richard L» Evans 458
The Soldier's Bible Henry C. Nicholas 470
On the Bookrack 467
Homing : The Education of the
Heart, Helen G. Green. 468
Cook's Corner, Josephine B. Nichols 468
Handy Hints 469
Here's How 472
Exploring the Universe, Frank- lin S. Harris, Jr. 433
A New Appreciation 435
A Kind Word, Jack Sears 440
Why Don't You Do Some- thing Useful? Eunice Crea-
ger 442
But Reason Is Not Infallible,
Andrew M. Andersen 453
"All Nations Shall Serve Him," Richard T. Wootton..453
News from the Camps 474
Your Page and Ours 488
(L*di
donate
Food or Drink _ 460
"Who Is My Neighbour?" _ Marba C. Josephson 460
Stories, j-^oetr
Why Don't You Do Something Useful Eunice Creager 442
That Sensible Vacation Christine Whiting Parmenter 449
Poetry Page 439 Anna Stevenson 453
Frontispiece: Roads, Lalia M. Until the Dawn, Arnon L. Goff 473
Thornton 441 The Organ Plays, Linnie F.
This Grain, Dott J. Sartori 448 Robinson 480
Night Session in the Temple, Youth's Prayer, R, D. Beck 484
Editors
George Albert Smith John A. Widtsoe
Managing Editor
Richard L. Evans
Associate Editors
Marba C. Josephson William Mulder
(on leave with the armed forces)
General Manager
George Q. Morris
Associate Manager
Lucy G. Cannon
Business Manager
John D. Giles
National Advertising Representatives
Francis M. Mayo,
Salt Lake City Edward S. Townsend,
San Francisco and
Los Angeles
Dougan and Bolle, Chicago and New York
Member, Audit Bureau of Circulations
Executive and Editorial Offices:
50 North Main Street, Salt Lake City 1, Utah.
Copyright 1945 by Mu- tual Funds, Inc., a Cor- poration of the Young Men's Mutual Improve- ment Association of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All rights reserved. Subscrip- tion price, $2.00 a year, in advance; 20c single copy.
Entered at the Post Office, Salt Lake City, Utah, as second-class matter. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in section 1103, Act of Oc- tober, 1917, authorized July 2, 1918.
The Improvement Era is not responsible for un- solicited manuscripts, but welcomes contributions.
All manuscripts must be accompanied by suffi- cient postage for delivery and return.
434
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
_yv jf few -Arppreciati
mciauovi
Here on the battlefields amid the ruins of once beautiful cities — here where great guns, huge formations of planes, men armed with deadly weapons of all kinds, unite in a great combined effort to destroy — here, far away from the people we have known and loved, God has found a new
mm.
means by which he whispers truths we have been prone to forget.
Out of a world of chaos and confu- sion— out of the hopeless depths of a universal catastrophe, spring new con- victions, a new appreciation for the finer virtues of life. We left a world where certain fundamental truths were accepted lightly, where our thoughts and actions were characterized by a tendency to be too proud and a little arrogant. We have been guilty of ap- praising the desirability of a girl by the standards established by a judge in a Hollywood beauty contest.
I think that I can speak for the greater percentage of Latter-day Saint servicemen all over the world when I say that through this new means God has given us the true light of veal beauty. A girl is beautiful when her virtue cannot be questioned, when her stability and faith in the Church are steadfast. A girl is beautiful when she is sincere and humble; when she looks upon a child with affection, and upon a sufferer with compassion; when she is sincere and humble. She is beautiful because she has a smile and a cheerful word for her associates.
When we return, you can be sure of one thing: Those of us who are yet single will be going to the Mutual Im- provement Association to find the "one" girl. We have traveled to many distant parts of the world, and such travel has only tended to convince us, more thoroughly than ever, that our greatest hope for complete happiness lies in Zion. There, we can rest assured, the girls are beautiful.
— Anonymous M-Men abroad
AUGUST, 1945
"NOW I DON'T WORK SO HARD -SO OFTEN
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W. P. FULLER & CO. BRANCHES & DEALERS THROUGHOUT THE WEST
435
Earl G. Maesei 1875-91
Benjamin Cluff, Jr. L 1891-1903
George H. Brimhall 1903-21
Franklin S. Harris 1921-45
THE CHURCH UNIVERSITY
at Provo, Utah
has had 7Q years of persistent growth since its founding by President Brigham Young.
In 1875 Dr. Karl G. Maeser and two assistants made up the entire teaching staff.
Today the faculty includes over 160 highly trained in- structors and specialists, who keep pace with the best in modern scholarship.
Their interest in character and spiritual development of the students provides expert help and personal advice for those who study at
^Jke ^Tnenatu School
As now organized Brigham Young University comprises
A College of Applied Science A College of Arts and Sciences A College of Commerce A College of Education A College of Fine Arts
Elementary and Secondary Training Schools are maintained in connection with the
College of Education
A Graduate School
A Division of Religion A Summer School
An Extension Division A Research Division
DEPARTMENTS OF INSTRUCTION
Accounting and Business
Administration Agricultural Economics Agronomy Animal Husbandry Art
Bacteriology
Bible and Modern Scripture Botany Chemistry Church History Church Organization and
Administration Economics
Educational Administration Elementary Education English
Finance and Banking Geology and Geography History Home Economics
Horticulture and Landscape
Architecture Journalism Library Marketing Mathematics Mechanic Arts
Modern and Classical Languages Music
Philosophy of Education Physical Education Physics
Political Science Psychology Secondary Education Secretarial Practice Sociology Speech
Theology and Religious Philosophy Zoology and Entomology
Howard S. McDonald 1945-
REGISTRATION FOR THE YEAR 1945-46 OCTOBER 1 AND 2
righam Young University
436
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
SUGGESTIONS
m
eacfoeM
A FEV/ WS' AND TON'TS'
Prepared by High Priests Quorum,
under chairmanship of Merrill O.
Maughan, Bishop of North Shore
Ward, Chicago Stake
These suggestions are very general. However, they are basic. We realize that some teachers do better work with certain techniques than with others. Therefore, try always to find your best method of teaching and strive constantly to improve it.
DO
1. Prepare the lesson thoroughly. Read and study widely. There is no sub- stitute for preparation.
2. Start your class off with something in or relating to, the lesson which will immediately arouse interest. The use of a quotation, a story (if short and applicable), an illustration, a short poem, a question, or a startling state- ment is helpful.
3. Get all in attendance into a discussion as early as possible and keep them in the discussion to a considerable degree. Remember, a class is not a lecture period except in a few places such as at some colleges and universities. Our sacrament meeting is the place for our lectures.
4. Remember, your big job is —
a. To introduce the subject briefly
b. To stimulate discussion by every- one present, so far as possible
c. To keep the discussion on the track and moving forward
d. To clinch points at opportune times
e. To end the class with something which will induce constructive ac- tion on the part of those present. This favorable action may be in the form of a determined inward resolu- tion to do better, or it may be an outward manifestation. The big thing is to motivate those present toward the real and important values in life.
5. Make assignments, preferably short ones, to several. However, also study these yourself and be prepared to lead in the discussion of them. If any or all of those assigned do not arrive, you will still be well equipped in order to have a good class.
6. Be a good engineer and a real leader.
7. Be generous in giving credit and ex- pressing appreciation for help ren- dered.
8. Have a definite objective in each les- son.
9. Teach students, not subject matter.
10. Teach on the level of the class, con- stantly striving, however, to raise that level.
AUGUST, 1945
11. Assume that members of the class are more or less versed in the subject un- der discussion. When you do, you show respect for them, and you appeal to them more successfully. This idea
" is well expressed by Alexander Pope, in his "Essay on Criticism." "Men must be taught as if you taught
them not, And things unknown as things forgot."
12. Remember that much of the art of ef- fective instruction consists in skilful questioning.
13. Be modest. When Socrates was asked why the Delphic Oracle pronounced him the wisest of all the Greeks, he said, "It is because I alone of all the Greeks know. that I know nothing."
14. Live so that your teachings will ring true.
15. Develop within yourself a strong desire to be a good teacher, study extensively, constantly seek help through prayer, and continually practice in every way you can, through advance discussions of the lesson with others, and in num- erous other ways.
16. Remember the statement of Abraham Lincoln, when he said: "Without the help of God I will surely fail, but with his help I will succeed."
Also, remember the things of man are taught by the spirit of man, while the things of God are taught by the Spirit of God. (See I Cor. 2:11.)
DON'T
1. Don't come unprepared, but come.
2. Don't read the lesson in the class, but discuss it. The idea of having various members take turns reading the entire lesson is poor pedagogy. The reading of an excerpt, however, is fine, pro- vided it is short.
3. Don't waste time. Jump right in on the lesson and stay on it; don't drift.
4. Don't be afraid to say diplomatically, that the discussion is getting off the subject; then bring it back and keep it in a straight line toward your goal.
5. Don't let anyone in the class talk too long or too often. Let everyone have a voice, if possible. Answers and com- ments should be brief, with few excep- tions.
6. Don't delve in mysteries. Stay close to known facts.
7. Do not get into arguments. Generally they result in someone's having his feelings hurt. Instead, discuss the les- son in a pleasant way, never getting too certain or becoming dogmatic. Be tolerant.
8. Don't press. Don't force your ideas. On the other hand, with the proper teaching spirit, coupled with the spirit of the Lord, you will quickly win co- operation from the entire class, and they will reach out to you.
9. Don't blame anyone but yourself if the class isn't good.
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437
BAAmER
JUNE: Say Handsome, I thought you said you needed help with these berries. How about getting busy yourself and quit that day-dreaming!
JOHN: I was just thinking of how you remind me of a Safeway store.
JUNE: Talk fast, Eomeo.
JOHN: What I meant, you're like Safeway because they help a farmer most when he needs 'em worst. Like when there's a surplus, they put on those farmer- consumer sales, and without busting down prices, too.
J U N E : I guess so. But just the same, as soon as the berry season's over, I'm going to town and buy some clothes that won't make me look square and . . . well, square.
JUNE: Why, how romantic! There's one on practically every corner. They're all nice and square. And you walk up and help yourself. I never in all my life —
JOHN: Hey, let me explain!
JUNE: Well?
JOHN: Well, I've sure got a surplus of work with this berry-picking, and here you are, helping. Being friendly and on the job like Safeway. See?
.;:■:■:■:•:-:■:•:•:■■ •X&G&. $ O
The Safeway Idea
Works for
All Growers
Fred Arnold, of the Pittsburg - Gilmer sec- tion of Texas, speaks with the authority of many years' farming ex- perience, "Over the years, the Safeway people have taken a lot of my sweet potatoes. They always insist on quality, sure, but they always pay the going price or better. I believe efficient distribution like Safeway's — with less costs along the way — is a real benefit to both growers and consumers."
QZL"P*FW7'flV THE NEIGHBORHOOD OZXt XJ WAX GROCERY STORES
NOTE: Better than a third of our customers are farm folks. Find out why. Trade one full month at your Safeway grocer's — and see how much you save!
438
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
WESTERN PRAIRIE By Christie Jeffries
The prairie lies, An inland sea, Whose tall grass tides. Unerringly,
Flow westward, westward, Under a sun, Copper-burning. Wind whispers run. Rise and echo In slow refrain, Sea-sonorous, Soft as rain.
Dark clouds billow; Twilight invades Wide-spreading lands. The traveler wades Waist-high in grass, Borne by the surge Of shadow tides, Quick with the urge To follow far A nameless quest, Where always, always, The trail leads west.
THE LAST WORD By Anne Pendleton
That idle talk and gossiping May cost a bitter penny, For by our foolish bickering
(As frequently do many) The knock of opportunity
May never twice be heard, If we are busy trying to
Get in that taut last word.
TODAY By Christie Lund Coles
Today I have not used my talent well, There were so many calls upon my time, A birthday cake to make, with candles small, Some childish, painted favor-cards to rhyme; A ruffled dress to press, a ribbon bow To tie upon a softly gleaming curl — What poetry of mine could catch the glow, The grace and beauty of one little girl?
Today I have not used my talent well, I've dropped a handkerchief and turned a
rope For nimble feet to jump — yet, could words
tell The magic of this day, its fun, its hope?
Though critics might say it was poorly
spent, What poetry could catch this day's content?
SUMMER SONG By Margaret O. Slicec
Tuly, flushed with summer heat, Passed this way on dancing feet. Moving lightly on the grass And June stepped back to let her pass. While August followed closely after. Pursuing her with elfin laughter.
AUGUST. 1945
TRIBUTE
TO
Joseph A. F. Everett By Alice Morrey Bailey
They say that he is gone; his brush is still; Yet bits of him are here in polychrome As intimate as windows of a home — His rectitude of thought, his concepts spill In colors for a sky, a stream, a hill. His fearlessness is caught in ocean foam; His roots are pictured in a mountain's loam; Here, left to see, his fine artistic skill.
And in each face he knew is left to share A stroke from his own brush — some fear
erased, Some loveliness that he has kindled there, A line of new-learned strength his faith has
traced.
Is ever artist gone who made men see The beauty in each human and each tree?
ADVENTURE RIDES ON RAILS By Ethel Peake
Piercing the cushioned stillness of the night, Full-throated, weird in its impelling cry, Startling valley and the upland height, The westward locomotive thunders by Flinging behind a long-drawn, eerie call. It wakes the spirit of the pioneer Speaking of far horizons, mystery, all The magic of a beckoning frontier. Typically American, this sound — Promise of new adventure, the appeal That bridged and builded, tunneled, climbed,
and bound The far-flung regions close with rails of
steel.
. ♦ ■
TRANSCRIBED By Janet Moore
MY heart has made a record Of every shining thing Which once we loved together: Wild surf and gulls on wing. Pungent scent of marshes, The nighthawk's throbbing cry, Nude grace of alder saplings Eager for the sky;
Hills limned in snow's white silence Or blue in distant rain. . . . My heart which made the records Now plays them back again.
THIS...
COUNTRY RAIN By Marcia Nichols Holden
This is a day for sleep, The work in the field will keep — Will keep
While rainfall's gentle sound Walks softly over ground.
Oats, cow-corn, and clover, Acres, the rain spreads over — Spreads over
Weeds in their ragged wigs, The dead branch a-mist with twigs
And touches the dripping brush Saying hush (and softer), hush. . . .
...III! THIS
Which is more important? Your vacation away from home ... or the long-awaited "home-coming" of a service- man or woman?
• Don't travel unless absolutely necessary.
439
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440
By JACK
SEARS
Illustrated by the Author
IN each guest room at the Roycroft Inn at East Aurora, New York, El- bert Hubbard had placed a memo book with a notation asking the guest to write his impressions before leaving: possibly a gentle hint for a kind word about Hubbard and his Roycrofters.
One fellow wrote: "I went uptown, several times, to the corner drugstore and heard all about you, but I'm still your friend."
Several years ago I was covering commencement exercises at a large western university for a newspaper. As the procession of faculty and gradu- ates were marching some distance to another building on the campus, a sud- den heavy downpour of rain came.
Among that marching group of sev- eral hundred rain-soaked folk only one man kept his smile through it all.
When my big spread of campus pen and ink sketches appeared in the news- paper that afternoon, under the sketch of a certain dean, there appeared this caption: "The Smiling Dean. It takes more than a downpour of rain to wash away his smile."
Always, after that, as soon as he spotted me he began to smile. Soon the campus smile extended to a "smile habit" wherever he went, adding to his great popularity.
One day the dean rushed into his home, a broader smile than usual play- ing on his face. His wife listened to him say: "Today, many times, I again received that nicest of compliments I have ever had, when I was called the 'Smiling Dean.' Each day, now, when I reach the campus, my shoulders go back, my head goes up, and I keep smiling."
Those few "kind words," not only in- fluenced this educator's entire life, but years ago his wife caught the spirit and began to smile. She now smiles as often as her distinguished husband. They are a joy to behold as they go about smiling in this day of so many sad-faced and war-worried people.
Such was the influence of "a kind word."
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
■',.:.:.' ..■:■■..■■:■■
ROADS
& JJL WltcLlt %mt
y
ornton
*|% ROAD highways have a special place to
A\% go,
<**? But there's a rutted road that well I
know, A wood road, long abandoned to return To seedling birches, sparrowgrass, and fern. No one can say just where its end is found, I have surveyed with eagle eye the ground For wagon tracks, and cannot yet quite say Which deer have made, and which the wood- man's way. Sometimes I think that people are like roads Of concrete, stout and firm for heavy loads, And I am proud of them as travelers are; Seeking some goal (they speed you fast and
far). But sometimes I discover, by mere chance Of time and fate and undreamed circum- stance, A man inviting me to stay my feet And find that trees are kind and ferns are
sweet, And life can loiter down a wood road where It finds the perfect panacea for all care.
Photograph by Keystone View Co.
iS r it i
■ill
*•
:'..■'■:
" ■■ ;...: |j»l!l
IF YOU HAD TO DECIDE
Suppose it was up to you ... to say who should have first call on this nation's soap supply.
Wouldn't you say exactly what the government has said? . . . that Fels & Company, along with other lead- ing soap manufacturers, must help keep men and women in the service supplied with this indispensable item of war equipment. Of course you would!
If you thought about it twice, you would reali2e that one of the reasons our fighting men are winning battles is because they have plenty of good soap. A clean soldier is a healthy soldier. He is in better condition for combat. He gets well quicker if he is hurt.
So — when you find, as you often will, that you can't get Fels-Naptha — just remember that by going short on your favorite soap for a little while now, you are making a long-term investment in a peaceful future.
:els-Naptha Soap
WHY DON'T YOU DO
By EUNICE CREAGER
When Alexander Bell, inventor of the telephone, was a boy, he was full of mischief. His special chum was the local miller's son. One day the miller caught the two boys playing pranks about the mill. He scolded them and ended his talk by saying: "Any- one can waste time by playing silly pranks. Now, boys, why don't you do something useful?"
"What?" asked the boy who was
BAN/SHES TATTLE-TALE GRAY
442
destined to give the world the telephone, one of its greatest and most useful gifts.
"Why — er — " stammered the miller, taken back by the boy's directness. His eyes fell upon some wheat. He picked up a handful and regaining com- posure, said with a touch of humor :
"Well, if you'd only find some way to take the husks off this wheatl That would help me very much, I'm sure!"
The idle words of the miller, spoken more or less in jest, had started Alex- ander Graham Bell's brain to work.
How could he remove those husks?
After a bit of experimentation, he found he could remove the husks from the wheat with a nail brush. Then he went into the mill. He stood and studied the machinery there. Why couldn't the wheat be put in that rotating machine over there and thrown around against brushes or something rough to remove the husks?
Thrilled by the thought, he ran to the miller with his idea. The miller tried it out with complete success.
The question, "Why don't you do something useful?" had led to something more useful than a silly prank and had started Alexander Graham Bell, invent- or of the telephone, on his useful and amazing career.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
^Jke S^pirit or ^sroraL
ivevieM
By PRESIDENT GEORGE ALBERT SMITH
5.
here is one thing that we could well strive to cultivate, and that is, the dis- position to forgive one another our trespasses. The spirit of forgiveness is a virtue without which we shall never fully realize the blessings we hope to receive. Sometimes a brother in authority has of- fended, in some way, one of the members of the Church, probably unknown to himself, and that child of our Father silently continues to feel hurt, instead of doing as the Lord has commanded : going to the offending man and stating to him, in kindness, the feelings of his heart, and giving that brother an opportunity to say to him, "I am sorry I have offended you, and I desire that you shall forgive me." The result is that, in some instances, we find a resentful feeling existing that has been instigated by Satan. We must get into a condition where we can forgive our brethren.
In connection with this matter, I refer to two verses from the eighteenth chapter of St. Matthew beginning with the twenty-first verse. It seems that the apostles were with the Master upon this occasion, and Peter came to him and said :
. . , Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but Until seventy times seven. (Matt. 18:21-22.)
Then the Savior gave a parable of two men, one of whom owed his lord a large amount of money, and he came to him and told him he could not pay what he owed, and asked that he might be forgiven the debt. The lord of that servant was moved with compassion and forgave the debt. Straightway this man who had been forgiven went out and found a fellow servant who owed him a small amount, and he demanded his pay. The poor man was unable to meet the obligation, and he in turn asked that he might be forgiven the debt. But he was not for- given; on the contrary he was taken and cast into prison by the one who had already been forgiven by his lord. When other servants saw what had been done, they went to the lord and told him, and he was wroth and delivered the one whom he had forgiven unto torment, until he should pay all that was due. His soul was not big enough to appreciate the mercy shown him, and because of that lack of charity he lost all.
At times we find little difficulties arising among us, and we forget the patience our Father in heaven exercises towards us, and we magnify in our hearts some trivial thing that our brother or sister may have done or said concerning us. We do not always live the law which the Lord desires us to observe in regard to these matters. We forget the com- mandment he gave to the apostles in the words of the prayer, wherein they were told to pray that they might be forgiven their debts even as they forgive their debtors.
In the book of Doctrine and Covenants we find reference made to this matter of forgiveness, wherein the Lord gives a commandment:
Nevertheless, he has sinned; but verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, forgive sins unto those who confess their sins before me and ask forgiveness, who have not sinned unto death.
My disciples, in days of old, sought occasion against one another, and forgave not one another in their hearts; and for this evil they were afflicted, and sorely chastened.
Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his tres- passes standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.
I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.
And ye ought to say in your hearts — let God judge between me and thee, and reward thee according to thy deeds. (D. & C. 64:7-11.)
If our lives were such that, when we differ with our neighbor, if, instead of setting ourselves up as judges one against another, we could honestly and conscientiously appeal to our Father in heaven and say, "Lord, judge between me and my brother; thou knowest my heart; thou knowest I have no feeling of anger against him; help us to see alike, and give us wisdom that we may deal righteously with each other," how few differences there would be, and what joy and blessings would come to us. But little difficulties arise from time to time which disturb the equilibrium of our daily lives, and we continue to be unhappy because we cherish an improper influence, and have not charity.
We will be in this world only a short time. The youngest and strongest of us are simply preparing for the other life, and before we get into the glory of our Father and enjoy the blessings that we hope to receive through faithfulness, we shall have to live the laws of patience, and exercise forgiveness toward those who trespass against us, and remove from our hearts all feelings of hatred toward them.
And again, if your enemy shall smite you the second time, and you revile not against your enemy, and bear it patiently, your reward shall be an hundredfold.
And again, if he shall smite you the third time, and ye bear it patiently, your reward shall be doubled unto you four-fold;
And these three testimonies shall stand against your enemy if he repent not, and shall not be blotted out. ( D. & C. 98:25-27.)
May we have the spirit of the Master dwelling within us that we may forgive all men as he has commanded, forgive, not only with our lips but in the very depths of our heart, every trespass that may have been committed against us. If we do this throughout life, the blessings of the Lord will abide in our hearts and our homes.
Uke L^dltor'd j^aqe
AUGUST, 1945
443
Wkat
15 a
CHARLES A. CALLIS
The Apostle Paul, who received his knowledge and his strong testi- mony, not of man, neither was he taught it, "but by the revelation of Jesus Christ," declared:
For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God. ... (II Cor. 1:12.)
A testimony, pure and simple, dwells in the innermost recesses of the heart. This is the strongest evidence of the truth of the gospel. Of a truth it is the inner sureness of the heart. It is the living voice that does not err, the voice which the Saints know in the august court of conscience. The principles of the gospel and the testimony of their divine source "are the great rock ribs upon which the structure of Christian character and Christian peace, rests."
Into the believing soul a testimony flows directly from God. Money cannot buy it. To the believing rich and to the believing poor, as also to the unlettered and to the learned, to the simple of heart, who, with sincere intent accept the gospel, this proof is given : for God is no respecter of persons.
"Freezing reason's colder part" is melted by the warmth within the breast caused by the lamp that goeth not out; and the heart burning with the flame not kindled on earth will testify "I have felt."
The divine witness, the source of tes- timony, which dwells in the mind and heart, dissolving all doubt, causes heav- en's morning to break upon the newly opened heart. We thus receive "pre- cept upon precept, line upon line," a complete understanding of divine truth, for the all-knowing Spirit will guide us into all truth.
Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.
Now, behold, this is the spirit of revela- tion; behold, this is the spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through
444
TESTIMONY.
?
ISu L^kaned ^J4. L^aui
15
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE
the Red Sea on dry ground. (D. & C. 8:2, 3.)
The Source of Testimony
This does not spring from earthly soil
Nor from its wisdom grow. Tis not evoked by student's toil
Though years may crown with snow.
If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. (John 7:17.)
'T'he gospel is not an invention of man. A It comes from heaven. Whosoever will, by humble, serious meditation and prayer, labor to understand the will of God, with sincere intent to practice it, shall have the divine truth of the gospel revealed unto him, by the power of the Holy Ghost,
... A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. (John 3:27.)
As the two disciples were on their way to Emmaus "Jesus himself drew near, and went with them." They did not then recognize the risen Lord. But when "he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself"- — and the whole scriptures are a testimony to him — their eyes were opened, and they knew him, and said one to another:
. . . Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? (Luke 24:32.)
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. (John 3:8.)
Though the manner in which the new birth is affected by the divine spirit be incomprehensible to us, yet we must not on this ground suppose it to be impos- sible.
Nor is it any wonder that one cannot conceive how the Holy Ghost en- lightens, quickens, and sanctifies the souls of men, when one cannot even ac- count for the causes and motions of the wind.
Even as the natural man hears the sound of the wind, so the man who is born again hears the word of the spirit. He cannot explain it, but the comfort of a testimony fills his soul, and he goes from strength to strength. By the ef- fects it causes, one can easily discern the change produced.
At the testimony meeting held in the
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 4, 1942, Elder Nephi Lot Smith, of the St. Joseph Stake high council, said:
Shortly after my advent in that mission field I attended a conference and priesthood meeting. I cannot place my finger on a single thing that happened in that meeting to make me feel as I did, but as I emerged from that building I said to my companion, "If ever I am tempted to deny my knowl- edge of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I hope I remember this night."
Do you think I was swept off my feet in imagination? I was not, but so far as I am concerned, in my own feelings, I left that building with a knowledge that I was in the work of the Master, and called upon my companion to witness my statement in the matter. That testimony has stuck to me through life.
Purpose of Testimony
That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. (I Cor. 2:5.)
A fine mental equipment is not enough for a minister of the gospel; he must be moved by the Holy Ghost.
'"Phe descending of the Divine Spirit on the heart removes all doubt, and the working of the Spirit on the heart creates unwavering faith and upholds man.
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgres- sors thy ways; and sinners shall be con- verted unto thee. (Psalm 51:10-13.)
From the heart flows the power that carries the convincing word unto the believing heart; for that which comes from the heart will go to the heart.
. . . For when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men. (II Nephi 33:1.)
The testimonies of God are true and perfect. They are all sufficient unto that end for which they are given.
The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. ( Psalm 19:7.)
And They Knew It Not
Under certain conditions persons
have received the baptism of fire and
( Continued on page 485 )
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
YOUTH SPEAKS
D« L^kanotte
^J\nlakt
Charlotte Knight, on whom both Utah and Western Canada have claim as her home, has been living during recent years in the East, prin- cipatly in New York City, and is at present a staff writer for "Airforce," official journal of the Army Air Forces. Some time ago she delivered at a Sunday evening M.I.A. meeting in New York, an informal address ( a meeting incidentally attended by Su' perintendent George Q. Morris and Emily H. Bennett of the M.I.A. gen- eral boards) which was later re- quested for publication. In introduc- ing her topic the author had this to say:
"The subject assigned to me tonight was 'Youth Speaks.' It might have been better had your M.I.A. president given me less scope, for I'm sure he did not intend that this particular youth should speak on a subject that is regarded by many, I am quite aware, as one best left outside church walls.
"But speak I must, because I think we young people can no longer afford to be silent on an issue that concerns so vitally the future of a country set apart by the Lord himself as a 'land of liberty.' The merest suggestion that my remarks might possibly contain political' implications will, I've no doubt, cause certain brows to furrow and heads to shake in silent warning that 'religion shouldn't be tied up with political issues.*
"To this idea, I have just this to say: The gospel of Jesus Christ is not an ivory-tower religion that can cut itself off from the events which surround it. It is a practical gospel for everyday living for you and me — right now — here in America."
The Lord's plans for his children have to be carried out — indeed can only be carried out — under condi- tions where individual liberty prevails; and if we see any person or persons — whoever they are — jeopardizing that liberty, then the issue ceases to be one of mere politics and becomes one of principle.
I do confess that for a long time I, not alone among an all too large group of young people, may have been dis- inclined to pay much heed to many pronouncements of our Church lead- ers. Let me hasten to add, however, that I did feel it was proper for our leaders to advise us in such matters, and that it was their right to warn us of trends that endanger those principles of govern- ment which we hold to be divinely in- spired.
Upon their right to propound such statements from the pulpit I have quar- relled long and loudly with many of my friends. Though I was often outnum- bered in such debate, I have argued —
AUGUST, 1945
and still do — that at least four times a year we uphold these leaders as proph- ets, seers, and revelators, and that if we accept them as such, it follows that that means belief in all their official pro- nouncements— and not just those with which we happen to be in agreement at the moment. It is not for us to pick and choose and select at random those state- ments we like, and discard the others; it is not for us to say: "Now he's speak- ing as a prophet, seer, and revelator; now he's not." Thus I argued and will probably find it necessary to take up the argument again after making this state- ment.
But in times past, even though I be- lieved such counsel to be divinely in- spired, I have not concerned myself too much with it. I was younger then and careless about any responsibility I owed my country. After all, a different gen- eration from mine, an older generation, was running things. And I was quite content to leave it to them.
I now believe that is not enough.
For I discover that many young peo- ple not much older than I are already beginning to shape this country's future, and with that discovery comes the fur- ther realization that when this war is over, the generation to which I belong will shortly find itself at the helm. That puts things in a different light and I think, that being the case, it is our duty as young people to do some serious thinking on this subject, that it is time we began to realize that when our lead- ers advise us on matters we may inter- pret as being purely political they are in fact advising us on principles that can- not be divorced from religion, that are, in plain truth, a part of our religion, a part of the role we are to play in the building of this country.
It is our obligation, it is our duty to realize that — and act upon it. Further- more, I believe it is our only safeguard against being duped by insidious propa- ganda and still more insidious practices.
T am greatly troubled by many reported * events which, under the guise of democracy, belie many of the very con- cepts for which we are supposed to be fighting. An effective propaganda has made most of us believe that totalitari- anism is pretty well confined to those countries with whom we are now at war; and as long as attention is focused on these major targets not too much con- cern is paid to elements around us here. All these things disturb me profound- ly. Perhaps that's a healthy sign in itself, I hope, for many young people of my age have long been too indifferent to these issues to be perturbed about them. But I am aroused out of my apathy — espe- cially when I see the number of people who are fast becoming victims of a
subtle trend toward national socialism not too far removed from that which began to blight Europe twelve or fifteen years ago.
So what, you ask? So what right have I to speak of these things? Well, I'll tell you : the right of one member of the Church of Jesus Christ who believes that when our leaders warn us to beware of trends, their counsel is born of divine inspiration and that it is not something divorced from our religion. And now I should like to quote an example or two to prove it:
First — about the Constitution itself: We in this Church have maintained that the Constitution was an inspired docu- ment. In Doctrine and Covenants 101 : 79-80, we have this statement of the Lord's: "It is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another. And for this purpose I have established the Constitution of this land, by hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose." And in 1 839, the Proph- et Joseph wrote, even while he was being held in prison, "The Constitution of the United States is a glorious stand- ard; it is founded in the wisdom of God." Later, at a time when we were again being persecuted, Brigham Young made this statement: "To accuse us of being unfriendly toward the government is to accuse us of hostility to our reli- gion, for no item of inspiration is held more sacred with us than the Constitu- tion under which she acts."*
You will hear some say that the Con- stitution is old-fashioned and doesn't meet our present needs. The fact that an idea is old, chronologically speaking, does not lessen one whit its truth nor its worth — any more than we can say that Christ's teachings are outmoded. So let's remember this when people want to change something merely because it was written more than a century and a half ago. More important still, we must re- member this : this Constitution was es- tablished to protect our liberties. We cannot let any one man — nor a handful of men — make their own convenient "amendments" to it, however "tem- porary" these deviations are declared to be.
C econdly, there's this matter of the in- ^dividual to be considered. All through our Church writings, as one of the cor- nerstones of our gospel, is the belief in the importance and dignity of the in- dividual. As the noblest work of God, the individual has been placed here to develop to the fullest his potentialities. Anything that hinders or restricts that development, anything that interferes with the exercise of individual initiative or creative, worth-while endeavor is (Concluded on page 485)
* Journal of Discourses 2:175
445
Fix it or Burn it
k
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arum
\J. ~At6riton
Do these pictures look familiar? There is nothing that discredits our Mormon people more than the sights suggested in the pictures ac- companying this article. The truth often hurts, but if the shoe fits, let's wear it. Yes, once again, "Let's tell the truth if it kills us." In many villages or towns in the west, we are confronted with just such pictures, but the right word to use is "sights." One often wonders how a right thinking individual, the owner of such dilapidated buildings, can live with this picture before him without realizing how these things advertise backwards for him — yes, and for his neighbors. It is a peculiar thing that that same man would never think of go- ing to church not properly groomed. He would want to put on a clean shirt, a necktie to match his suit and his shoes. His wife and daughter will come out of that same shack-looking abode dressed "fit to kill." Their new cut of suit and latest style of "peek-a-boo" shoes wage a terrible battle against that tipping- over porch and falling-to-pie ces front door. That new pansy Easter hat, what a contrast to that hanging-by-its-eye- brows gate through which the lady of the house walks to her car.
I repeat, what bothers us is this twisted pride we find in some of our people — a self-respect that prompts dress in keeping with our dignity and prestige, and yet an attitude that allows a dilapidated leaning-Tower-of-Pisa cow barn and sheds.
Someone has said, "Clothes don't make the man, but they might just as well advertise for us as against us"; yes, very true, but what about the buildings on our premises. In other words, in plain American English, what is the opinion the stranger is going to have of us and our standards if he is to judge by our falling-away fences and forgotten homes? Let's fix them or burn them.
"People seldom buy a house," de- 446
clared a prominent real estate agent. "They buy an impression." This im- pression begins with the very first glimpse of the property. Our impres- sion of a city is measured by our first glimpse of her streets, her parks, her lawns, her fences, her business district, and the sanitation around her homes. A well-kept city will do its own advertis- ing.
A story is told of a tourist riding through Utah on the train. He had heard so much of the Mormons that he asked the conductor to please let him know when they came to a Mormon town. Quickly came the reply from the conductor: "Why, we're passing through a Mormon town now." "But," said the stranger, "are those old sheds and fences what the aborigines left as the Mormons came in?"
You know, folks, that's an awful in- dictment against us, but our stranger friend was in dead earnest. He was serious. If our pride and culture is to be measured by our premises as they are going to be by the clothes we wear, in the name of the pride we are supposed to have, let us make our homes and buildings breathe more of what we stand for. From Mexico to Canada, let us have open season on the falling down house and the "eyesore" cow barn.
Let us ask of each building over which we claim jurisdiction just one question — Is it worth saving? If the an- swer is no, then tear it down or em- blazon the landscape with a good healthy bonfire. Fix it or burn it.
T-Iouse cleaning is as contagious as the measles. Brother member of this Church — and this means you and me — if you live in a town or a village where you have sights such as we are talking about, get out your "Carrie Na- tion" hatchet and go to work. Make the owner of an unbecoming premise
unhappy until he cleans up his place. Perhaps he's been so busy with other problems that he hasn't noticed what you and I see. Teach clean-up in the Primary, preach it in the Mutual, and have your Relief Society get out their "rapid fire guns." Take this clean-up program to your priesthood quorums, and make life miserable for the fellow who tolerates this negative advertising which doesn't tell what we really stand for.
If we only realized how we appear to others, we would get busy. To quote Bobby Burns :
O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us.
Next time we take a ride or walk, or let's say the next time we go to church, make a note of this thing we are talk- ing about — but before we get out our hatchet against our neighbor, pull the mote out of our own eyes. Let's ask ourselves, "What should we do to our premises so it will give the passer-by the right picture of ourselves?" Go from your house to the dog kennel — fix it or burn it
And don't forget another side of this question — real estate values. An old shack will depreciate values of a whole block like a knot in a board. You who have passed through Brigham City the last few years, I ask you, how much do you suppose those beautiful sycamore trees and the parking around them on their prominent streets have added to the intrinsic value of their town? Pardon a guess: The trees and planting cost a thousand or two: they have increased the value of the city property by at least $200,000.
"Demember, righteous pride is like charity — it begins at home. Are you in this position relative to your own dooryard — that you have seen the door off its hinges so long you just can't see
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
OF THE PRESIDING BISHOPRIC
parent indifference and "don't-care- know it. We will be inviting the
ism" are perhaps owned by the most stranger to our gates. Yes, we want to
cultured and refined people in the put our best foot forward, but remem-
world, but what do others think of these ber he is going to see us just as we are.
it? To use a little scripture here in this matter of home upkeep, "We have eyes and see not." Really, down to brass tacks, is there anything in your neigh- borhood that tells the story told in these photographs? Folks, such relics of ap-
people as they ride by? The photo- graphs in this article were taken a few miles from Salt Lake City, and for that matter, could have been taken in the city itself.
Now, 1947 will be here before
we
— Illustrated by ]. A. By water
We may entertain him, as it were, in our parlors, but he'll pass through our kitchens. We'll show him what we have accomplished, but don't forget for a minute, he'll see what we have neg- lected. Start now — fix it or burn it!
AUGUST, 1945
"FIX IT OR BURN IT"
Oh, look at those buildings all falling down.
They used to be the nicest in town.
Just what has become of your pride that you had,
To glance at this sight, it must have gone bad.
The chimney needs fixing, the roof cries for paint,
The way the porch wobbles, would make one turn faint.
The screens all are sagging, the door knobs are gone,
The flowers are dying, and look at that lawn. From basement to attic, it all looks the same, If the thing's not worth saving, then give it the flame;
Or pull down the shack, the neighbors all spurn it,
But get at it quickly and fix it or burn it.
This world's full of relics, all worn out and charred
But why have museums in every back yard?
That there's a great shortage of labor, it's true,
But no one can clean up your place quite like you.
Now Utah is planning a big National Show,
In the year forty-seven, you surely all know,
Let's fix-up and clean-up and burn-up a bit
And make all our homes and our premises fit.
What about the ideals taught us from above
Oh, go a little further than faith, hope, and love?
So let's show the traveler a much better view.
Fix it or burn it — Yes, it means you!
— Marvin O. Ash ton 447
CASUALTIES
HYRUM J. SMITH
Corporal in the United States Armed Forces
From time to time reports go out from the battlefield to the folks at home that somebody's son was killed or wounded in action. Heads are hung in sorrow, a family, close friends, and the whole nation mourn the loss of its young men who have given their lives to save our country.
There are other casualties in wartime that do not get in headlines. When news of these casualties reaches home, heads are again bowed and prayers are offered; but most often the home front does not hear of these casualties. Nevertheless, the number is increasing. The nation should mourn these "spirit- ual deaths" too and provide to over- come the effects of them, but they go on and on, taking their toll without too much concern.
The casualties spoken of here are those who die a "spiritual death," which is worse than death itself, because of immorality, drunkenness, and profanity. There are those who believe that such things are a necessary part of war and that these things make a better fighting soldier. We of the Church of Jesus Christ know differently. We have an example of Helaman and his striplings:
For as I had ever called them my sons (for they were all of them very young) even so they said unto me: Father, behold our God is with us, and he will not surfer that we should fall; then let us go forth; we would not slay our brethren if they would let us alone; therefore let us go, lest they should overpower the army of Antipus. Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt,
448
God would deliver them. And they re- hearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying : We do not doubt our mothers knew it. (Alma 56:46-48.)
7V story that stands out in the mind "^ of this writer is the one that has been told by my grandmother. When President Joseph F. Smith was on his first mission to Hawaii, he was all alone. He could not speak the language at that time, and his clothing consisted of that which he wore. Since he was tired from traveling, he fell asleep on the ground. While asleep he had a dream. He dreamed that he was going somewhere, he did not know where, but he was in a hurry. He had a small bundle under his arm. Soon he came to a beautiful building. He noticed a sign on the door marked "Baths." He stepped inside the building and cleansed his body from the. dust of the road. He opened the small bundle and took therefrom some clean garments and put them on. Then he went to a different room where he saw several of the Church leaders who had passed from this life. His uncle, the Prophet Joseph Smith, spoke to him and said, "Joseph, you are late"; and his an- swer was, "Yes, but I am clean." That is the part that Grandmother always stressed : Be clean!
Occasionally we see some of our number who do not have the power or the desire to overcome these evils. They succumb to the belief that life is short, and therefore today we shall eat, drink, and be merry. They have a short out- look on life. These boys will be casual- ties that will not be counted in the official reports.
Notwithstanding, the Lord has told
THIS GRAIN By Dott ]. Sartor i
Let this be the only bayonet, This green blade cleaving the crust of clay, To smite the ancient enemy, Not that blood may be spilt But that veins may be revitalized.
us that he is mindful of those lost sheep — has he not told us that he will leave the ninety and nine and seek the one that is lost? The members of the Church of Jesus Christ have this responsibility given to them. They must cut down this casualty list so that our country will have clean men to serve it, both in war and in peace.
There are several passages in I Cor- inthians which every person in the Church should read and impress upon his memory. Especially should the young men going into the service learn these things:
Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the mem- bers of an harlot? . . . But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. . . . What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's, {I Cor. 6: 15, 17, 19, 20.) (Italics author's. )
There is plenty of meat for thought in those few verses. The twentieth verse in particular holds the key to our whole ac- tions. Most of us at one time or another have often thought, "Does not my own body belong to me? Is it not mine to do with as I wish?" This passage shows us that it is not ours to do with as we see fit. We are bought with a price, and therefore we should glorify God in all that we undertake to do.
l^OST people pay reverence to a build- ing that has been set aside for wor- ship. Yet these buildings of wood and stone are things of our own creation. Our bodies, however, are the creation of our Father in heaven, and he has de- clared that they are his temples and that his Spirit cannot dwell in unclean tem- ples. Men who would not think of filling a church with obscene literature— fill their minds with obscene thoughts. Men who would not think of decorating a church with obscene pictures, will keep such things before their eyes. Which is worth more in the sight of the Lord — the church building or our bodies which are his own creation?
To the young men who are constantly arriving at the age where they are be- ing taken into the services, this writer would say to them: "Be clean, stay close to your Father in heaven, stay close to the teachings of your mothers." I would say to their parents: "Make sure that your boys understand these things — do they know how valuable their lives are in the sight of the Lord? Do they know what is expected of them in keeping themselves clean? Do they know that even though their faith be tried to the breaking point, and often times it will be, that the Lord will be with them if they will be clean?" The Lord delights in clean, wholesome youth. Those in whom the Lord takes a delight will not become spiritual casualties. Let's all strive to cut down the numbers whose names appear on this invisible casualty list.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
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lou don't mean," said young Mrs. Hawley severely, "that you and Ned are going to different places for your vacation?"
Nan Roberts laughed, stuffed another cushion behind her guest's indignant back, and answered:
"You've caught the idea very quickly, Flora."
"But I haven't caught the idea at all! What will people say? No one in Hill- side ever thought of doing such a thing!"
"Well, it's time they did! Have you ever seen the Dennies start for the mountains? It's perfect agony. Mrs. Dennie can never really plan because the doctor's more likely than not to be delayed. Then, just as they pack their suitcases, the telephone rings, or he stops to see a patient on the way and finds he can't go at all, and they traipse home again just too late to catch the maid, who's gone to stay with her sec- ond cousin or somebody, and then — "
"But," interrupted Mrs. Hawley, "poor Dr. Dennie can't help himself, can he? What would you have them do?"
"Exactly what we are doing," an- swered Nan decidedly. "Let Mrs. Dennie take a sensible vacation by her- self. She hates the mountains anyway, and goes only to please the doctor, who doesn't like the shore. Then sometime when he can get off comfortably, let him go; and she'd be saved that awful waiting around not knowing whether they'll start or not. No wonder she's thin!"
"But I don't see how it affects you, Nan. Ned isn't a doctor. You can plan
AUGUST/1945
months ahead, and go wherever you like."
"Go where Ned likes, you mean," said Nan grimly. "If he weren't so enamored of his old clothes — "
"What on earth have Ned's old clothes got to do with your vacation?" asked Mrs. Hawley.
"They have everything to do with it, my dear. It's plain to see, Flora, that you haven't been married very long. Maybe Howard hasn't any old clothes, but I assure you that when he has ac- quired them, they'll be the first things he'll lay out when you're packing for your yearly jaunt: thick flannel shirts with low collars (and you know, Flora, how long Ned's neck is! ) , spotted old khaki trousers, and boots — "
"But I don't see — "
"Well, you will five years from now! I've thought it all out carefully. Ned was a little dense at first, but now he's keen about it. The trouble with most couples is the fact that when they go on a vacation they need just the op- posite things. Now take Ned. He works all day in an office. Is it any wonder that when vacation time ap- proaches he longs for old khaki and a soft shirt? He yearns to lie on his back under the pine trees and look up at the sky through the branches, or to sit all day on a hard jrock waiting for some unfortunate fish to bite. He wants to forget such things as pavements, and elevators, and investments. He positive- ly needs to go off on endless tramps. Oh, the times I've sat on the hotel piaz- za till after dark, wishing Ned would come back, and worrying for fear he'd broken a leg or something! And when
/ fan r\obert5 wanted —
SENSIBLE VACATION
By CHRISTINE WHITING PARMENTER
he did come, to see him stalk right into the dining room, all dirty and disheveled and — "
"I know," admitted Flora grudgingly, "they do look pretty awful, most of them."
"Well, Flora," said Nan, raising an expressive eyebrow, "does the thought of that rock beside the flowing stream — well, does it appeal to you?"
Flora flushed guiltily as she replied: "Well, Nan, I don't enthuse over fish- ing-"
"Of course you don't! What you pine for, Flora, is a good hotel where you don't even make your own bed; where you're sure of three good meals a day which you didn't plan yourself, a chance to wear your afternoon things in the morning, and to dress up every night as if you were going to the Coun- try Club. I know. Just the thought that for two weeks I don't have to see that the children brush their teeth and wash their ears, or be in at five-thirty to put the baby to bed — "
"Nan," Flora's was the shocked tone of a young mother, "if I didn't know what a conscientious mother you are, I would think you were perfectly hor- rid."
"I'm not," answered Nan calmly. "I'm merely saying what we all feel. You know, Flora, I've never sent my children off to camps to get rid of them, for, as Ned says: 'What's the use of having children, if you can't see 'em?' But mother's wild to spoil them for two weeks, and I'll like them all the better when I get back. For that matter, I expect to be perfectly crazy about Ned when he returns from camp. He starts tomorrow morning."
"Alone?" gasped Flora awedly.
"Yes, alone. He's thirty-six years old, Flora, and it's not necessary to put him in care of the conductor. And I leave a few hours later, after closing the house and taking the children to mother's."
"Well," said Mrs. Hawley, rising, "it may be sensible, but I hope Howard will never be so sensible that he'll be willing to take his vacation without me. And I thought you and Ned were so devoted, and — and congenial."
Her voice was tragic, and Nan laughed.
"We are," she said. "We understand
each other perfectly. That's why I'm
sending him off on a fishing trip while I
( Continued on page 478 )
449
VIII Trying Times
On the occasion of my father's eightieth anniversary, my mother was asked to write something concerning their life together for more than fifty-two years as husband and wife. My mother wrote briefly and poignantly but reluctantly, for she said, "I hesitate to draw aside the veil of our intimacy except to say that no woman ever had a better husband than mine has been tome."
In like manner, as I come to that part of her journal which records the most trying period of her life, I hesitate to reconstruct those times. And yet it must be done to understand her character. Someone has said that as they grow older, human beings acquire the faces they deserve. My mother's face seems to have grown more beautiful with the years. Those who have known her only in her later life as the privileged wife of the president of the Mormon Church might say it is no wonder that Sister Grant has a lovely smile and a serene countenance, for life has dealt kindly with her. Yes, it is true that hers has been, for the most part, a joyous exist- ence; but as the poet says, "into each life some rain must fall," and her life has been no exception.
Augusta Winters Grant had accepted the doctrine of plural marriage with the idea that at some future time she would be privileged to bear the children of her husband, whom she had respected and honored at the time of her marriage and had come to love sincerely. One, two, three, four, nearly five years passed slowly by, and her great desire remained unfulfilled. During this interval she had been a silent onlooker as her sisters, Delia and Susie, established their own homes and led the happy, normal life which it was denied her to know. Susie, who had become the wife of Heber Ben- nion, lived in Taylorsville and was happily watching the development of a two-year-old daughter and a baby son, while Delia, who had married John E. Booth, was finding satisfaction in mak- ing a home for his four motherless chil- dren and caring for a baby of her own. Manie, the fourth daughter in the fami- ly, had now been married for nearly a decade and had two little sons and a daughter to plan for.
"Sometimes a word or a look of those around me goes like a dagger to my heart," Augusta wrote, "when I see the happiness that they enjoy and that I am denied. My Father in heaven alone knows the heartache and unsatisfied longings for everything, everything it seems to me that is needed to make a woman's life complete."
In order to carve a niche for herself, in which she could accomplish some worth-while purpose, in the winter of 1885-86, Augusta inaugurated the first night school in Pleasant Grove. Her pupils were ambitious young people, many of whom had been denied educa-
450
A MORMON WIFE-
AUGUSTA WINTERS GRANT ABOUT FIVE YEARS AFTER HER MARRIAGE IN 1884
— From a photograph taken in San Francisco
tional opportunities in their earlier years. She enjoyed working with these fine young students, but even her inter- est in them could not make her com- pletely forget her own seemingly hope- less situation.
HPhe next fall, trying to keep cheerful by keeping her mind occupied, she enrolled once more in the Deseret Uni- versity. "I had the opportunity of going to theaters and operas, saw Booth and Barrett in Shakespearean plays, heard Emma Abbott, the sweet singer, the Carleton Opera Company, and many others. I could have been quite happy if only the circumstances of my life had been different. I had many kind friends who would have done anything for me, and my dear husband did all in his pow- er to cheer and comfort me."
In September 1887, when she had been married over three years she wrote disconsolately in her journal: "Looking back over the past few years, I can see nothing that I have accomplished, yet I have tried. It seems to me that my life goes on with the same weary monot- ony day after day, and year after year. I never dreamed in former years that my life would be so sad and dreary. It seems sometimes that my trials are more than I can bear, and yet I pray God that I may endure faithful tp the end and not falter or fail. ... I must not forget in my complaining mood that I have had some moments of happiness — brief, fleeting hours, but oh, too few, too few!"
She tried to be thankful that she was comfortably sheltered under her par- ents' roof, but the dear and familiar sur-
roundings could not satisfy the yearning of her heart for a home of her own.
"I know it is wicked to complain," she wrote, "but there seems no ray of hope for any change for the better. I have a constant struggle with my per- verse nature. Sometimes I am com- paratively happy and cheerful when I keep myself so fully occupied that I have no time to think, but more often my heart is filled with bitter rebellious feelings. I know that I must be tried as well as others, but, oh, it is so hard, so hard for me. I pray God earnestly, humbly, that he will guide me, for the path is thorny that my feet must tread."
Tt was in the spring of 1888, when her
spirits seemed at lowest ebb, that Augusta was greatly heartened by "a sweet secret that I must not even whis- per yet, but it makes me very happy just to think about it."
Yes, it was really true. Her joy knew no bounds. A month later she wrote: "I think the Lord has been very good to me to make me so happy and give me this blessing. My secret is known to my family, and I am so glad and thank- ful for it."
That summer, in the best of spirits, she accompanied a number of teachers to San Francisco to attend a convention of the N.E.A. Six days they spent on the way, going by rail to The Dalles in Oregon, and from there down the Columbia and up the Willamette rivers by boat to Portland; then, after a day's sightseeing, on down the coast to San Francisco.
Augusta felt like a bird out of a cage. Being just another teacher in a group of a hundred and fifty, she could lose her identity for the time being. Hungrily she tried to absorb every impression of the trip. She revelled in the magnificent scenery of Oregon and enjoyed her as- sociation with new and congenial com- panions. Evan Stephens, the talented young Welsh leader of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and Bessie Dean, his promising pupil, were along to enliven the time with delightful music.
San Francisco, that city of distinc- tive atmosphere, gave of her charm to the delighted visitor, and her first sight of the Pacific Ocean thrilled her through and through.
Life at this particular period had a way of soaring from the heights to the depths. When Augusta returned from her delightful vacation, her affairs grew more complicated than ever. It became necessary for her to go into hiding until the time when her baby should be born.
It is not always easy to discern the development of a character, as progress in the conquering of self is accom- plished. But it is plain to mark the
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
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By MARY GRANT JUDD
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growth that was taking place in the soul of Augusta Winters Grant during this trying period of her life. Out of the trials and difficulties which she experi- enced, greater nobility of soul resulted. Though she still writes of the sadness of her position, she no longer speaks of her rebellious thoughts and feelings but only bows her head in submission.
In January of 1 889 — that year which was to mark a turning point for her —
HEBER J.
GRANT ABOUT THE TIME HE WAS MADE AN APOSTLE
she was in Provo and wrote: "There has been a great change in my life. I am truly 'on the underground.' Though I do not wish to complain and am deeply thankful for the cause that led me here, yet many things are trying in the ex- treme.
"I left home in October not expecting to go back again. Though I have a com- fortable place to stay, the thought that I am virtually a prisoner makes me very sad, and I spend many hours in tears.
"I often go out for a walk when night comes, and sometimes I walk past Delia's home and can look in the bright- ly lighted windows and see them all with some of my friends from home. The thought that I cannot go into my own sister's home but must stay outside in the darkness nearly breaks my heart,
"Sometimes Delia comes to spend the
AUGUST,. 1945
afternoon with me, and I enjoy so much seeing her and the baby, but when she is gone, oh, how wretchedly lonely I feel. If I could only go about and live like other people, I would be so happy.
"But I have not been so sad as this all the time. I went home the first part of November, and though I could not step outside the house, I had the com- fort of the dear home love and care, and n© one on earth can tell how sweet it was to me at this time. There is no love like mother love, and my dear mother did everything possible for me. I spent the Thanksgiving and Christmas holi- days at home, and for this privilege I was truly thankful. It seems to me that I could not have endured being hemmed in by the four walls of this little room and thinking of the rest of the family all together as we had been so often at holiday times.
"I have received many tokens of my dear husband's love and kindness, though to think that he cannot always see me when he is in the same town seems cruel. Everyone says, 'It isn't wise, it isn't wise,' until I wish there were no such word as 'wise' in the Eng- lish language! Mother has been over to see me and is coming again to stay for a long time. Delia and her husband call almost every evening, and Aunty Cal and Uncle 'Roni, who live in Provo now, came and took me to their home for a visit of two days.
"And now I have not much longer to wait for an event that I have been look- ing forward to for some time and which will make such a great change for the better in my life. I am in the hands of the Lord, and I have perfect confidence in him that all will be well with me. I am thankful to him for my dear husband and his love. I shall put my diary away for the present. I do not expect to write in it again for some time."
Fulfilment
Pan you imagine this writer's emotions as she recently read for the first time these words in her mother's old diary? "Provo, Utah, March 28th, 1889. How much, how very much I have to thank the Lord for this day. It is a beautiful warm, bright spring day. I sit here in my easy chair writing, and my darling little daughter is sleeping sweet- ly on the couch by my side. Even the 'underground' has not many terrors for me now that I have my sweet babe for company, and nothing that I have gone through for her dear sake seems too much; she is such a comfort to me, and
pays me for it all. I might go on in this strain all day, that is the way I talk to her all the time, but I will stop and write something else.
"My baby was born February 6th. Mother and Delia were with me and my dear husband came and stayed with me for some time. How I did appreciate it. We named our baby Mary for mother, and the name just suits her.
"Now that the beautiful spring days have come, I want to get out and enjoy it all. I think I shall soon change my location and go to some place where I can enjoy a little more freedom."
But a month later the new mother was still somewhat of a prisoner at her par- ent's home. "Pleasant Grove, April 22nd, 1889. How I do long to go out for a ride these lovely days, but I dare not. The trees are all in bloom, and the town is at its loveliest, still I must stay shut up in a closed room. I don't expect to remain here long, but I don't know where I am going. I expect to be a 'wanderer on the face of the earth' for some time to come. It can't be helped and I must make the best of it."
"May 23rd, 1890. A year has passed. I have spent my time in different places. Eight months with Susie in Taylorsville. Have had quite a pleasant time. My husband has been with me a good deal, and my darling baby gets lovelier every day. I am at home again in Pleasant Grove, but I cannot go out and see my friends as I should like to. So I have concluded to go far away for a time, and, under an assumed name, try to have as pleasant a time as possible until the time comes that I can come home and live openly with my people.
"It will be hard to leave my husband again. He has done everything in the world that he can do for me; he is just as lovely to me as he can be, and I must be satisfied as long as we can't change circumstances for the present. I sincere- ly pray the Lord to watch over us all and protect us while we are absent."
My mother took her baby and, ac- {Continued on page 480)
AUGUSTA WINTERS GRANT, A FRIEND, AND HER BABY DAUGHTER, MARY, IN NEW YORK.
451
Microbes
Part II — Conclusion
The cancer problem is a puzzling one. It appears to several of the investigators that some disease viruses have a very intimate association with tissue cells. The cells constitute the hosts. They foster and protect the viruses which viruses in turn irritate the cells, stimulating unnatural cell multipli- cation. Tumors appear and ultimately a cancerous lesion grows.
These are just a few of the develop- ments that are going on in the bac- teriological world at the present time. They indicate that this field is relatively new, but exceedingly active and full of great possibilities for the welfare of man. It also indicates that one's under- standing of bacteriology and the activi- ties of bacteria have changed consider- ably since the time of Leeuwenhoek and others when these organisms were first discovered.
It was mentioned earlier that the sci- ence of bacteriology has grown so rapidly that the science had to be di- vided into a number of small divisions for study. In the discussion above we have considered only a few of the facts associated with medical bacteriology. Another division of no less importance is that of soil bacteriology. Soil bac- teriological science has been develop- ing at the same time as medical bacte- riology. It wasn't so many years ago that men knew very little about the soil nitrogen problem. Its part in plant growth was considered relatively in- significant. Soon through curiosity and experimentation it was learned that un- der proper conditions ammonia when passed through a cylinder of soil changed its chemical constitution and appeared as nitrates, the form utilized by plants. Pasteur, the father of medi- cal bacteriology, had had considerable experience with bacteria in milk, yeasts in wine, and bacteria associated with the silkworm disease. He thought that bac- terial life was probably responsible for so many things that perhaps micro- scopic life too could be responsible for this change in the form of the nitrogen. Investigators later proved that living things in the soil were responsible for this nitrogen change, without which the production of agricultural crops would be impossible.
Warrington, an English investigator, said his observations led him to believe that bacterial life was present in soils. He set about to discover them but was unsuccessful. Winogradski, a Russian- Polish worker, changed the technique of investigation and found two organ- isms which were responsible for the oxidation of ammonia to nitrites, and another one which brought about the oxidation of nitrites to nitrates. When the discovery of these organisms was made, one could say, the science of soil bacteriology had been born. These dis- coveries were merely a beginning.
452
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Nitrates were used by plants, nitrates were lost in drainage water from the soil, yet nitrogen in various forms could still be found to increase therein. Berthollet, a European investigator, suggested there might be some nitrogen fixed in the soil from the soil atmosphere as the air diffuses through the soil. It was left for Hellriegel and Wilfarth and Winogradsky and Beijerink to give us our first information about the fixation of nitrogen from the air by bacteria. They showed that bacteria worked in cooperation with legume plants to give one kind of nitrogen fixation, and bac- teria worked with the oxygen in the soil to give another kind of nitrogen fixation. The work of these men constituted the bulk of the information available twen- ty-five years ago. No textbooks existed and very little was to be found in sci- entific journals. But this science has developed at such a rapid rate that there is now available much soil bacteriolog- ical literature, some of which is very voluminous.
/"^ne could elaborate on the part that ^■^ the soil flora plays in determining the productive capacity of the soil. One could recite the activities of the soil fungi and soil actinomycetes, which or- ganisms are associates of bacteria. By such reviews one would become much impressed with the idea that soil or- ganisms are the keys which unlock the possibilities of life upon the earth.
The part that soil organisms play in the control and protection of the soil itself is a new approach. Fungi or soil molds, as they are commonly called, form a network of tender threads around soil particles. Bacteria, too, dur- ing their most vigorous period of growth develop a sticky substance which ce- ments soil particles into small crumbs. These molds and bacterial properties are, in part, responsible for soil granula- tion, which helps to bring about the most desirable soil aeration and freedom from soil erosion. It should be known that in the three hundred years of time since the settlement of this country be- gan, fifty million once fertile acres have been permanently ruined, another fifty million acres seriously damaged, and another hundred million acres impaired by erosion, besides at least another hun- dred million acres on which erosion has begun. Of the total of nearly two mil- lion acres of land in America, nearly
By THOMAS L. MARTIN, PH.D.
DEAN OF COLLEGE OF APPLIED SCIENCE, BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY
two-thirds are in some degree affected by erosion. Millions of dollars are spent annually in attempts to learn how to control this soil erosion. Our knowl- edge of the science of physics and chemistry of the soil, has been applied to correct the condition, but this is not enough. It has been found that when soils are aggregated into large water- stable granules, the soils are more permeable to air and water and are relatively resistant to soil erosion processes. Any procedures which tend to promote aggregation of the finer soil separates, improve the soil structure and result in a decrease of erosion. Soil humus decreases this erosion by improv- ing the physical properties of the soil. In part at least, the reason that this or- ganic matter or humus gives such great protection against erosion is that in it the microorganisms are doing their most rapid decomposing. The fungi increase tremendously and form a network of threads around the soil particles. Also it favors the bacteria which are stimu- lated to form still more sticky sub- stances which cement the soil particles into loosely formed crumbs of soil. The physical properties of the soil are thus improved and a corresponding decrease in soil erosion occurs.
The organisms differ in their power to bind. Some species are very efficient; others are not so good.
Microorganisms not only help pre- vent erosion, but they also play an im- portant role in preventing the soil nutrients from being removed by leach- ing.
HPhe soil microbes are being investi- gated now to see if they may be as- sociated with the control of human dis- ease. Dr. Rene Jules Dubos represent- ing the Rockefeller Foundation has found that if pneumonia organisms are placed in soil, a poisonous substance from soil microorganisms develops which will kill the pneumococcus bac- teria. He has been able to isolate the poison, purify it, and use it for the con- trol of the pneumonia disease in human beings. Accounts of his work have ap- peared in some of the popular magazines of late. Some of these poisons are known as gramicidin and tyrothricin. These substances are being used in the medical world at the present time for the control of infections of the skin, bones, joints, ulcers, mastoiditis, and osteomyelitis.
The soil molds or fungi are being studied too with great vigor. For many years it has been observed that a penici!- Hum mold, such as that found in soil, on fruit, and on cheese, will develop (Concluded on page 477)
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
BUT REASON IS
If lot ^rnfaiu
By '
ANDREW M. ANDERSEN
Many brilliant students of our high- er levels of education are credu- lous. While rigidly skeptical to- wards the acceptance of religious be- liefs, they will embrace as indubitable and final the current philosophical and scientific theories. Respect for the achievements of the mind is a credit- able attitude, but the failure to recog-
nize the limitations of its present knowledge indicates immaturity, for even a cursory glimpse of history re- veals that the theories that are accepted as facts are as transient as merchandise upon the shelves of a successful mer- chant.
The basic conclusions of one genera- tion are demolished and ridiculed by the next. By what reason therefore does the scholar accept and declare a doc- trine of finality and omnipotence for the approved beliefs of his particular small day and hour? He would show more wisdom to assume that much of the dignified and awesome theories of the present will in a few short years appear as outmoded as does the astronomical system of Ptolemy to this generation.
Each of three philosophers of the sev- enteenth and eighteenth centuries built for himself with faultless logic, a philo- sophical castle, only to have a successor topple his tower of reason to the ground.
"How does knowledge arise?" they asked themselves. And their conclusions and the results thereof make an apt il- lustration of the ponderous paths that can be followed by the mind of man.
"All is matter," reasoned John Locke. To him there was nothing in the mind except what was first in the senses. Ideas are copies of the independent mat- ter. He thereby built his philosophical foundation upon a materialistic uni- verse.
"Matter does not exist at all," an- swered Bishop George Berkeley, "ex- cept as a form of mind." For Bishop
AUGUST, 1945
"ALL NATIONS SHALL SERVE HIM"
By RICHARD T. WOOTTON, Sergeant in the U.S. Armed Forces
u
I
F America is the melting pot of na- tions, Hawaii is the electric mix- Illustrative of this remark are
er.
such classes as the Latter-day Saint re- ligious education group at Aliiolani English Standard School, Honolulu,
Most familiar name on the Aliiolani roll to Latter-day Saints is that of George Q. Cannon, great-grandson of George Q. Cannon, first Mormon mis- sionary in the Hawaiian Islands. The present George Q., with nationality of
First row (left to right): Gwendolynne Wakefield (Anglo-Saxon, Hawaiian, Chinese, German), Josephine Young (Chinese), Harriet Yost (English, Hawaiian), Maile Kalani (Hawaiian, Chinese, English), George Naluai (Hawaiian, Chinese, Irish), Harris Okeshige (Japanese, Chinese, Hawaiian), Louis Dilda (Irish).
Second row: Barbara Collins (English), Elmina Kaleikau (Hawaiian, English), Julius Wintermeyer (English, Portugese, Hawaiian), Sonya Tarnosky (Polish, Russian, English), Ida Buta (Portugese, Rumanian), Ralph Yost (Hawaiian, English), Ruth Nunes (Portuguese, English, Swedish), Elizabeth Leithad (Hawaiian, Spanish, English).
Third row: Rodney Godwin (English, Hawaiian), Elizabeth Ah Nee (Hawaiian, Chinese), Jeannette Kilby (Hawaiian, Spanish, English), Katherine Leialoha (Hawaiian, English, German, French), Neola See (Ha- waiian, Chinese), George Q. Cannon (English), Sgt. Richard T. Wootton (English, Danish), and William Barney (Portugese, Polish).
where among twenty-two students, there are fifteen nationalities and three races.
Presence on one short roll of such names as Harris Okeshige, Julius Win- termeyer, Vern Roy Ah Nee, Sonya Tarnosky, Katherine Keialoha, and George Q. Cannon, prompts the in- structor to wonder if he is not preaching the gospel to all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people — at one session.
Races represented are the Caucasian, Polynesian, and Mongoloid. National- ities are English, Chinese, Russian, Polish, German, Japanese, French, Irish, Swedish, Hawaiian, Welsh, Span- ish, Rumanian, Scotch, and Portuguese. Some students boast a surprising num- ber of these in their lineage. Gwen- dolynne Wakefield, for example, men- tions Welsh, Irish, Hawaiian, English, Chinese, and German.
merely English, is a deacon in Waikiki Ward, Oahu Stake.
The class pictured is one of more than fifty conducted by the Church depart- ment of Education under the leadership, in Hawaii, of Elder Frank McGhie, formerly in charge of the Latter-day Saint Seminary at East High School, Salt Lake City. Sgt. Richard T. Woot- ton, instructor under Elder McGhie of the classes in Honolulu Intermediate Schools, works nights at Army Air Force Headquarters near Honolulu.
By territorial law, schoolchildren may elect to take one hour a week of religious education in the denomination of their choice. The schools provide classrooms and time for these classes; the denominations provide instructors. All but four of the class pictured are members of the Church.
Berkeley, all qualities of things were secondary ones, they existed in the mind only and had no place in any supposed unperceived and unperceiving matter.
NIGHT SESSION IN THE TEMPLE By Anna Stevenson
From the turmoil of the day We have sought Thy peace tonight. Earthly cares we fold away; See us cleanly dressed in white.
Colors are but partial light, .
Shadows of the perfect flame. Clothe us in Thy burning white
As we take anew Thy name.
One could set out with the good bishop's fundamental principle and insist, "The world does not exist for me."
"Mind does not exist," concluded David Hume, immediate successor of Berkeley in English philosophy. Mind, too, was nothing but a group of sensa- tions. Both the world of the mind and the world of matter were interpreted as a series of sense perceptions. Thus Hume did for mind precisely what Berkeley did for matter.
"Nothing was left," says Will Dur- rant, "and philosophy found itself in the ruins of its own making. No wonder that a wit advised the abandonment of the controversy, saying, 'No matter, never mind.' "
453
Sacred buildings
a
~Afmen; £5e ^shou [^raided
By PRESIDENT LEVI EDGAR YOUNG
OF THE FIRST COUNCIL OF THE SEVENTY
??
Dr. Felix Morley o£ Haverford College in a recent article in The Saturday Evening Post, wrote this thoughtful sentence : ' A faith which is merely received is never as vital as one which is constantly renewed." Why this quotation is given as the introduc- tory sentence of this article on noted sacred buildings will be apparent as we develop the subject. We are to write about great temples and churches where people assembled to pray to God. As we look at any building erected for holy worship we must try to understand the thoughts and emotions which testify alike to the beauty and the goodness of human life, for a beautiful church is an expression of life. "We must know the thought and faith of the builders, as well as the material with which the walls were built." All houses of worship are connected with the religious idealism of a people as well as the geographical conditions in which the people live. The Salt Lake Temple is an example of what we mean. There was the thought in the minds of the Latter-day Saints in early days that a temple should be built for the worship of God and where certain work might be done for the idealizing and perpetuation of eternal truths which God had revealed. Then a quarry of fine granite was found in a near-by canyon, and the rock was used for the building. The human constants which all people have known in constructing sacred edifices were realized by the pioneers as they built the temple and the tabernacle — -hunger and labor, seedtime and harvest, love and death — all operated to produce a building sacred and dedicated to God. A famous sage in ancient times wrote above the portal of his temple:
O God, in every temple, I see people that
see Thee, And in every language I hear, they praise
Thee.
Come years ago, a delegation of Chinese from the embassy at Wash- ington visited Salt Lake City and were conducted through the temple grounds by the president of the Temple Square Mission. As their attention was called to the temple, one of them said: "We believe that only a people who love God build temples in his honor. There- fore, these are sacred grounds." The essential spirit which stirred the Latter- day Saints to build the large tabernacle was that God might be worshiped. The very name itself suggests a place where God comes unto his people. It re- minds us that Moses had his tabernacle,
454
a sacred house of worship in the wilder- ness and at Mt. Sinai. Even before the ancient tabernacle had come into being, the Israelites had their "Tent of Meet- ing." Then it was that Moses had the tabernacle made. It was a movable tent and temple suited to the requirements of a moving people. Its length was only forty-five feet, and its breadth fifteen feet which was also its height. As Cun- ningham Geikie describes it:
Its sides and western end were formed of acacia wood, the only timber in the Sinai region. The boards were fixed in wooden sockets covered with silver; a plating of gold on both sides, and also over a series of acacia pillars and connecting bars, made the structure firm and gave dignity to it.
The description given by the famous Jewish writer, Josephus, throws a strik- ing light on the condition of the He- brews as a whole, and shows that many
feet and nine inches in length. Within and without, it was overlaid with the purest gold. Here it was that God spoke, and therefore the sacredness of the tab- ernacle culminated in the supreme sym- bol of the presence of God, where he made known his will.
In the holy place, next to the Holy of Holies, stood the Table of Shewbread, covered with gold. On this table the priests placed twelve cakes every Sab- bath, strewing over them incense as a sign that prayer and thanks were ever becoming. This was an acknowledg- ment to God that from him came their daily bread. On the table were the seven lamps in golden lampholders in honor of him who guarded Israel. Interesting it is to recall that the consecration of Aaron and his sons to the priesthood followed immediately after the erection of the tabernacle.
*| 'he Temple of Solomon as described in the First Book of Kings, was built by craftsmen from Tyre and Sidon and the size of the wrought and hewn stones, the beauty of the cedar wood and the worth of the decorations of metal work, bronze, gold, and silver give something of an idea of the beauty of the building.
DENDERA GREAT VESTIBULE, HATHOR TEMPLE, EGYPT
—Photograph bg Stratton & Underwood
of them must have had the finest art culture of Egypt. The tabernacle was divided by curtains into holy rooms, and rich tapestries were laid on the floor and the sides of the tent. The "sacred tent" was enclosed in an open space seventy-five feet broad and one hun- dred and fifty feet long. An ark was commanded by God to be placed in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle. It was small, measuring no more than three
When we read in the eighth chapter of I Kings, Solomon's prayer, something of the significance of the Temple comes to us. ' Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?" We are told by Geikie in his Hours with the Bible that the plan of Solomon's temple was simple. The Holy of Holies stood higher than the rest of the building. A spacious quadrangle, on all sides enclosed by a wall, formed the boundary of the sacred grounds. Trees adorned the open space- — the cedar, the
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
L'tL Worship of
palm, and the olive especially. It was the custom to have a sacred grove con- nected with every temple. Stone which was required to build reservoirs was obtained from the hills on which Jeru- salem stands. Before beginning the temple itself, provision was made for the water supply, so essential for the in- numerable sacrifices to be offered. Cis- terns were hewn out of the rock capable of holding 10,000,000 gallons. All these were supplied with water brought by an aqueduct from Solomon's pools near Bethlehem. The walls were built under the direction of Phoenician builders. They were of squared stones, with beveled edges, and were of gigantic size, and were laid one upon another without mortar. The size of the famous build- ing, compared to our modern cathedrals and churches, was insignificant, for like all sacred edifices of the nations of antiquity, it was designed as the especial dwelling place or "House of God." Compared with the religious buildings of other ancient nations like Egypt and Babylon, Solomon's Temple would be hardly worthy of notice. The great tem-
AUGUST, 1945
TAJ MAHAL, INDIA
—Photograph, Underwood c Underwood
pie of Amon at Thebes, for example was 1170 feet in length, while the ruins around it would cover a plateau of four miles in circumference. So might we speak of other great temples, but the lavish employment of gold for the in- terior of Solomon's Temple exceeds anything ever found in other ancient temples. While the Hebrew temples were humble buildings in comparison with those of other nations, there was in them an expression of loftiness and purity of true religion. There were simple dedicatory prayers for all the Jewish temples. The music of the choirs must have been beautiful, even as we hear music of today. We are told by many historians that a full choir of Levites under leaders, sang at the holy altar, with one hundred and twenty priests nearby, bearing trumpets. A plat- form of polished brass was placed for the king in the court, and "this he ap- prpached, surrounded by all the mag- nificence which he loved — five hundred guards attending him, with golden
shields." The high officials of his court followed in their robes. An outburst of music from a multitude of performers and singers presently filled the air with the words: "For he is good, for his mercy endureth forever." We quote again from Cunningham Geikie:
Meanwhile the temple was seen to be filled with a thick darkness, in which all recognized the cloud of the Presence, once the symbol of the divine glory over the Tabernacle of Sinai.
Solomon knew that God had ac-; cepted the temple. Little wonder that the psalmist gave utterance to his thoughts :
One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to in- quire in his temple. (Psalm 27:4.)
'"Phe synagogues of ancient Israel were A the centers of Jewish religious life, and corresponded to our churches, where people assemble for worship. It was as a rule a simple hall, the roof of which was sustained by round columns or square pillars. A platform faced the temple in Jerusalem, and on it was the Holy Ark. It was a house of prayer and a place for reading and study of the scriptures. We recall that Jesus stood up in the synagogue at Nazareth to read a portion of the book of the prophet Isaiah, chapter 61, (Luke 4:16). The truth which he proclaimed did not rep- resent a scriptural interpretation. What he said stood alone in independent majesty. Herein was his power.
The ancient Egyptians built majestic temples. With the development of ir- rigation in the valley of the Nile, tombs for the dead were constructed. While a tomb was not necessarily a temple, in Egyptian worship, tombs and temples were nearly akin. In the earliest times the king who ruled on earth was a god, and at death he became identified with the Sun God, who controlled the Nile floods and assured fruitful crops to the land. The pyramids were built in the desert, and about 3000 B.C., Cheops (Khufu) the mighty of the fourth dynasty of kings, built the great Pyra- mid of Gizeh. Two million three hun- dred thousand blocks of limestone, av- eraging two and a half tons apiece went to the making of the tomb, which was four hundred and eighty feet in height. The foundation covered thirteen and a half acres. The Pyramid of Gizeh was the symbol of power of a mighty king, who controlled the canals and the royal mines. The workers, of which there were many thousands, were given food and clothing, but no wage. Twice a month a workman was given a new linen gar- ment. On a papyrus which we hope is still extant in the museum at Berlin, are ( Concluded on page 484 )
455
MR. AND MRS. A. HYATT VERRILL
When any person accepts the truth of the restored gospel and is baptized into the Church, there is cause for much rejoicing. When such a person is one of national renown and unusual training, it accelerates our interest to know what factors brought him to this acceptance. Mr. and Mrs. A. Hyatt Verrill were baptized by President Heber Meeks of the South- ern States Mission on February 4, 1945, at West Palm Beach, Florida. Mr. Verrill occupies a position of prominence in the world of science, and Mrs. Verrill is also recognized as an authority because of many years of re- search. Born in New Haven, Connecti- cut, on July 23, 1871, Mr. Verrill at- tended Hopkins Grammar School in his youth. Later, he was a student at Yale University's School of Fine Arts. He received special training in zoology un- der the supervision of his father, Addi- son Emery Verrill, who was a professor at Yale. Many and varied are his achievements, and he truly merits the appellation recently bestowed on him when it was said he is one of America's most versatile men. He is recognized as an explorer, author, ethnologist, archeo- logist, artist, and inventor.
His exploration expeditions have car- ried him into Bermuda, the West Indies, Guiana, and Central and South Ameri- ca. While in Santo Domingo in 1907 he rediscovered the Solenodon paradox- us, an animal which was thought to have been extinct. He lived in Dominica, British West Indies, from 1903 to 1906; in British Guiana from 1913 to 1917, and in Panama from 1917 to 1921.
As author of one hundred five books, he has written mainly about
456
adventure subjects, natural history, travel, and a number of subjects of great interest to young boys. He has contributed articles to many of our na- tionally-circulated magazines, particu- larly scientific reports. Some of his books are of particular interest to Lat- ter-day Saints, inasmuch as they are consistent with the teachings of the Church and yet were written long be- fore he became a member of the Church. One book, The American Indian, deals principally with the history, religion, customs, superstitions, ceremonies, in- dustries, and characteristics of the In- dians, from prehistoric times to the pres- ent. Another of his books, Old Civiliza- tions of the New World, is an absorbing story of the Mayas, Aztecs, Toltecs, Incas, and other groups of the lost civil- izations of the Americas. These are very enlightening and helpful to any student of the Book of Mormon.
In the years between 1916 and 1928, Mr. Verrill made several ethnological expeditions to Panama, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Surinam. His archaeological expeditions have been numerous and have included visits to Central and South America. While in Panama, he carried on extensive excavations and discovered infallible evidences of an unknown prehistoric culture. In 1926- 28 he engaged in making a series of oil paintings of South and Central Ameri- can Indians from life. He illustrated the natural history department of Webster's International Dictionary in 1896. His original illustrations accompany the text of many of his books, and he has de- signed the jackets for some of them.
In 1902, an autochrome process by which photographs could be made in
The Verrills
join the
Church
Dm /john U. Jootle, /jr.
OF THE SOUTHERN STATES MISSION
natural colors was invented by Mr. Ver- rill. He was in charge of an expedition in 1933 assigned the task of salvaging a Spanish galleon which was sunk in the West Indies in the seventeenth century. He established the Anhiarka Gardens in 1940 at the site of the an- cient Indian village of Anhiarka where De Soto made his first settlement in Florida. Here he has also established a natural science museum.
HpHROUGHOUT his many years of re- search and study, he has never found anything which conflicts with the teach- ings of the Book of Mormon in regard to the American Indians. Until he read the Book of Mormon, he had never found a satisfactory explanation of their origin.
For several years Mrs. Verrill has studied the Book of Mormon in con- junction with her research activities and long before she joined the Church, she said:
I have no doubt that the Book of Mormon is a religious record of these early South Americans, just as much as the Bible is a record of the ancient Israelites. In all my research I have not found anything which does not harmonize with the Book of Mor- mon account.
At their request, the baptisms were performed in the Atlantic Ocean. The scene was impressive and peaceful. Breakers rolled softly in toward the white sand of the beach where the little group was gathered. After the ordi- nances were performed Mr. Verrill, walking toward the shore with his face radiating a contentment that was plain- ly visible, turned to President Meeks and said:
I am seventy-three years old and have studied every known religion that is in the earth today. I have joined none of them because they did not have the truth. But I am happy that I have found the truth in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Their conversion marks the entrance into the Church of one of our nation's most outstanding couples in their par- ticular field. Mr. Verrill has for years been associated with the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation of New York City. He is listed in Who's Who in America and in Ameri- can Men of Science.
(See also "Take It From a Famous Explorer," by Jack N. Anderson, February 1944 Era, p. 82.)
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
oves Ow
Robert L. Judd Passes
"Dobert L. Judd, Church attorney since 1934, and vice chairman of the general Church welfare committee, and chairman of the general finance committee and president of the Coop- erative Security Corporation, a finan- cial corporation setup within the Wel- fare program, died June 3 of a heart ailment. He was fifty-nine years of age. Long active in civic as well as Church affairs, he had been a member of the Utah state legislature in 1913, and a member of the board of trustees of Utah State Agricultural College from 1 920 to 1924. In 1936, he was a director and vice chairman of the metropolitan water board of Salt Lake City. He had served as a part-time missionary in Chicago while studying for his law degree. He had been a member of the Deseret Sun- day School Union general board. At the time of his death he was president of the Deseret Book Company.
East Mill Creek Stake
"Past Mill Creek Stake was formed June 1 7, from the eastern portion of Grant Stake, with Lamont B. Gunder- sen, former bishop of the East Mill Creek Ward, as stake president and William Edwin Berrett and Ralph Shupe Barney as first and second coun- selors.
East Mill Creek is the one hundred fiftieth stake of the Church. Had Presi- dent Heber J. Grant lived another month he would have seen the number of stakes of the Church doubled during his administration. The new stake includes the East Mill Creek, Grandview, and Wilford wards.
In the reorganization that followed in Grant Stake, President Charles W. Fagg and his counselors Arthur T. Shurtleff and Oscar J. Harline were released. Elder Harline was sustained as the new stake president with George W. Fowler and Burt A. Hughes as counselors. The stake then included the Hillcrest, Springview, and Wandamere wards.
Elders Spencer W. Kimball and Mark E. Petersen of the Council of the Twelve effected the change.
The following week the Hillcrest Ward was divided to form three wards :
Smith Ward, so named because the mother of President Joseph F. Smith settled within the boundaries of the ward, was created with Harold C. Lar- son as bishop.
The Lorraine Ward was also formed from portions of the Hillcrest Ward, with Jack Lynden Mather as bishop.
The new bishop of the original Hill- crest Ward is Wendell E. Meacham.
North Carbon Stake
■M"orth Carbon Stake was organized
7 June 24, from parts of the Carbon
Stake, with Cecil Broadbent, of Helper,
AUGUST, 1945
Utah, as president. He was formerly second counselor of Carbon Stake. President Broadbent's counselors are Sterling C. Forsyth and Isaac Mc- Queen.
North Carbon Stake, one hundred fifty-first unit of the Church, is com- posed of five wards: Price Second Ward, Castle Gate, Spring Glen, Help- er, Storrs; and five branches: Standard- ville, Rains, Scofield, Clear Creek, and Kenilworth.
President Elton L. Taylor continues as president of the Carbon Stake, with Arvel R. Stevens continuing as first counselor. Asa L. Draper was sustained as second counselor in the presidency.
Membership of the Carbon Stake is found in the Hiawatha, Green River, Sunny side, Willington, Price First, and Price Third wards, and Columbia and Dragerton branches.
The organization and changes were under the direction of Elders Joseph F. Merrill and Charles A. Callis of the Council of the Twelve.
Temple Recommends
'"Phe First Presidency has advised that all temple recommends issued after October 1 will be good for the twelve- month period instead of the six-month limit that has been on temple recom- mends for some time past. All recom- mends will then expire on September 30 following the date of issue.
Monument Commission
President George Albert Smith has been appointed chairman of the "This Is the Place" Monument Com- mission by Utah's Governor Herbert B. Maw. He succeeds President Heber J. Grant in this capacity. Previously, he was second vice-chairman and head of the executive committee.
Presidential Visit
Dresident Harry S. Truman stopped in Salt Lake City June 26, for a night's sleep, following an arduous two- day schedule at the San Francisco Se- curity Conference. He was met at the airport by President George Albert Smith and Governor Herbert B. Maw who rode to the hotel with the Presi- dent. During this brief ride President Smith recalled the story of how Presi- dent Truman's grandfather, Solomon Young, a "mule skinner," drove a load of material to Salt Lake supposedly for the army. The materials were disposed of in Salt Lake City by his grand- father who sought out Brigham Young and made arrangements for the people of Salt Lake to buy the goods. The President laughed at the story and said ( he recalled his grandfather telling it many times.
The following morning President Truman continued east in the presi- dential plane to his "Summer White House" in Independence, Missouri.
70th Old Folks' Day
[ Ttah's seventieth annual Old Folks' *"* Day was held in Salt Lake City's Liberty Park, June 20, with some fifty- five hundred persons over seventy years of age, of all creeds, in attendance. Here they were given a free luncheon by the ninety Salt Lake County wards, and a band concert and program com- pleted the day. The program was under the direction of Bishop LeGrand Rich- ards, chairman of the Old Folks' Day central committee. Like programs are held in other Mormon communities an- nually.
Relief Society
Dy action of the general board, the "National Woman's Relief So- ciety," has had its name changed to the "Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
When organized by the Prophet Jo- seph Smith on March 17, 1842, it was called "The Female Relief Society of Nauvoo." After the exodus to the Salt Lake Valley the words "of Nauvoo" were dropped. In 1872 the name of the organization became known as the "Relief Society." The Relief Society was incorporated under the laws of Utah in 1892, for a fifty-year period with the title "National Woman's Re- lief Society," and has used that name since then.
Conventions and Union Meetings
'"Phe First Presidency has now author - A ized the holding of monthly priest- hood leadership meetings, monthly priesthood meetings, auxiliary regional meetings, and monthly union meetings where they can be held without viola- tion of government restrictions regard- ing the use of gasoline and rubber, and where they will not conflict with quar- terly conferences. "We are looking to those who represent the General Au- thorities in priesthood and in auxiliary work to discharge this responsibility in sincerity and prayerful devotion," is the concluding admonition in the communi- cation.
Bishops, Presiding Elders
Coveville Ward, Benson Stake, Joseph F. Day succeeds Raymond L. Allen.
Arcadia Ward, Duchesne Stake, Marion Ross succeeds A. Hale Holgate.
Midvale First Ward, East Jordan Stake, Reed H. Beckstead succeeds Henry G. Tem- pest.
Soda Springs Ward, Idaho Stake, Frank- lin F. Kunz succeeds Kenneth G. Balls.
Morgan Ward, Morgan Stake, Fernando C. Jensen succeeds Richard H. Rich.
St. Helens Branch, Portland Stake, Ivan W. Atwood succeeds Clifford W. Bagley.
Bisbee Ward, Southern Arizona Stake, Henry Earl Peterson released.
South Jordan Ward, West Jordan Stake, John Wheadon succeeds Royal V. Beck- stead.
Washakie Ward, Malad Stake, Glen Morris succeeds Moroni Timbimboo.
Superior Branch, Maricopa Stake, George L. Bell succeeds Edward Pengilley.
Rupert First Ward, Minidoka Stake, La- von Darley succeeds J. Dean Schofleld.
San Bernardino Second Ward, San Ber- nardino Stake, Nephi Pratt Smith succeeds James B. Thorup. {Concluded on page 476)
457
By RICHARD L EVANS
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TLTeard from the "Crossroads of the West" with the Salt Lake A A Tabernacle Choir and Organ over a nationwide radio net- work through KSL and the Columbia Broadcasting System every Sunday at 12:00 noon Eastern War Time, 11 :00 a.m. Central War Time, 10:00 a.m. Mountain WarTime, and 9:00 a.m. Pacific War Time.
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T was an ancient prophet, reputed for much wisdom, who observed with seeming discouragement: "Of making many books there is no end." ( Ecclesiastes 12:12.) We would paraphrase the utterance with equal truth and with much more of consternation, to observe that, likewise of the making of many laws there is no end. It is common to our time, as also to other times, that there is much of reliance upon the multiplicity of laws as also upon the technicalities of law, sometimes accompanied by the erroneous assumption that everything that is legal or licensed is necessarily moral or ethical. But with our endless making of many laws, with our innumerable legal conflicts and contradictions, there are many acts of expediency and convenience which may have little or nothing to do with morality or ethics. For example, many nations and peoples, many legal agencies, past and present, have seen fit for one cause or another to regulate some forms of vice, rather than to prohibit them. Then, having taxed or licensed the vice in question and having found it to be a profitable source of revenue, there is always present the temptation to broaden the base of the evil, that it may produce yet more revenue. To this temptation there has sometimes been yielding. But vice which is profitable is still vice — no matter to whom it is profitable, and no matter how the profits are used. Profit does not change the nature of evil. Nor does an inherently dishonest act, done with the appearance of legal honesty, thereby become inherently honest. Nor does legal license change the basic character of a moral offense. For example, if, in principle, gambling were demonstrated to be in itself an evil, then it would not cease to be an evil merely because it had somewhere, somehow become licensed — or even should it become sponsored and conducted by an otherwise respectable authority. And so we might make a long list of practices, some more grievous than others, the real moral nature of which is not changed by their becoming legal or licensed. And no man is justified in whitewashing his con- science by telling himself that something basically wrong, but legally tolerated, is morally permissible. There are some principles operative, both in this world and beyond it, which are accompanied with a certainty of consequences which are quite beyond legal loopholes and concerning which no decision can be influenced, which no legislative body can amend or revoke, before which the shrewdest of legal dexterity is helpless, with respect to which no jury can be confused or persuaded, and from which there is no appeal — and one such certainty is that a man cannot escape himself. Seemingly, there are many ways of avoiding friction with the law, increasingly complex and confusing though it be — but there is no way of avoiding the moral consequences of an unethical or immoral act.
—June 10, 1945
458
*"pHE world has become somewhat scrambled of late — that is, people have; and countless numbers, uprooted from their customary environment, find themselves in strange and unfamiliar places with strange and unfamiliar people. But despite this, those who are young look expectantly to the unfolding of the years, to cherished companionship, to the making of homes, to the rearing of families. They have a right to their dreams. They have a right to see such dreams come true. But even in times of settled stability, one of the most critical decisions of life, one forever after affecting happiness, is the question of marriage — or more specifically, the choice of a partner in marriage. It is the normal pattern for each maturing generation to select the partners of a lifetime from among those they have come to know by continuing association, by growing friendship, through family acquaintance, through school or work, or through some approved social channel. And long experi- ence has proved the wisdom of knowing well and appraising with discrimination the qualities of those who seem likely to become more than friends. Concerning marriage, there is perhaps no single factor which one can positively say will insure its success or forecast its failure. But there are conceded to be some standards, some accumulated genera- tions of experience, which those who would commit the whole of their lives to each other would do well to consider. For example, some marriages which seem desirable in far places may not seem to retain the same appearance nearer home. Some hasty marriages prove to be much too hasty. Some decisions influenced by mere loneliness may lead to situations less tolerable than loneliness. And decisions in- fluenced by moonlight and music must also survive the searching scrutiny of broad daylight, with all of its un- deniable realities. Then, of course, there are those who suppose that marriages can be made lightly and unmade easily and with impunity — but lives are permanently altered by marriage, no matter how long they endure or how soon they are terminated. And whatever exceptions may be cited to the contrary, in marriage wisdom suggests common ideals, common beliefs, and a common ground for the meeting of many issues; and, lacking these, personal attraction alone may not always be sufficient. Marriage is much more than a legal contract. It is a sacred covenant, for by it, children and their mental and physical and spiritual heritage are at issue; by this choice, lives are made and broken; ideals are kept or forsaken; homes are secured or violated; happiness is won or lost. Surely no marriage at its making should hold less than the reasonable prospect of continuing forever — and surely the record of broken marriages would suggest thoughtful and prayerful approach to this question, at home or away, in war or in peace.
—June 17, 1945.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
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HHhere is a prevalent practice among us, concerning which we have commented before now, and concerning which it would seem there is need of repeated reminder. We refer again to the use of offensive language — but more especially that language which profanes the name of Deity. There was a time when the uttering of strong and violent oaths, the use of profanity, was more commonly associated with questionable places and people — or at least was reserved for tense and deeply provocative situations — but somehow or other it seems now to have become a thoughtlessly casual custom, until one may hear it sometimes in the most unexpected places and from the most unexpected people, both old and young, both male and female. Frequently those who use profanity are merely careless; some are self- consciously blase; others are defiantly offensive. Some- times this manner of expression is heard from those who earnestly want to give strength to what they are saying, and use this mistaken means of doing it. Often when a man feels called upon to use profanity in order to emphasize his words, one rather suspects that somehow he lacks con- viction, that he feels some weakness in what he is saying which he tries to cover up by the use of an overdose of bad language — like trying to kill a bad flavor with heavy seasoning, or an offensive odor with strong perfume. A simple truth does not need the bolstering of bad language. Aside from religious and moral considerations, the common use of profanity does much to weaken our language. He who accompanies virtually everything he says with an oath, he who attempts to blast his way through with obscene or irreverent or profane speech, has dissipated his strength of expression, and when he really wants to impress some- one with the gravity or importance of an utterance, he has no adequate verbal ammunition left. At best, profanity is in bad taste; at worst, it is a grave offense. Scarcely would it seem consistent that we should pray for divine favor, for the protection of our loved ones, for the preservation of our lives, for the victory of our cause, for peace, for our daily needs, and then go about profaning the name of that God whom we have supplicated for these things. "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." (Deuteronomy 5:11.) Would that all men would cease this thoughtless and offensive practice. ". . . Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name." (Matthew 6:9.) —Jane 3, 1945.
*Revised from "Thy Speech Bewrayeth Thee"
confident in their own strength — confident in their ability to remain unchanged by the influences both of environment and people, and to this kind of caution there often comes the characteristic reply: "It won't hurt us. Why shouldn't we do it?" Youth leaving home, for new experiences, new ac- tivities, are often given to assuring those they leave behind that they will remain unchanged — unchanged in their thoughts, in their feelings, in their actions and their attitudes. And they believe it! -And they wonder why parents and those they are leaving are doubtful and concerned — they wonder, perhaps because they have not yet learned or have failed to remember that we all tend to be changed and modified both by people and places — in other words, we all respond in some manner or other to our environment. This is so whether we choose it to be so or not, and it is quite useless to say: "I am going to partake of this atmos- phere, but I am not going to be affected by it." A person of strong will, living with undesirable influences, may suc- ceed in maintaining his principles and ideals, his standards of value, his beliefs, but he is nevertheless changed, even if only by the very act of resistance. Resistance to a given set of conditions has its effect upon us, as also has yielding — although not in the same way. Knowing this, it is natural for the parents of youth to be concerned about the influences that enter the lives of their sons and daughters, about the company they keep, about the things they see and hear, about the ideals that are set before them, about the friend- ships and attachments they form. Indeed, it is not only a na- tural inclination, but also an obligation of which parents may not rightly relieve themselves. And to those who are young we say — and to all who need such reminder — don't make the mistake of supposing that a new experience or a new association won't change you. We are changed, sometimes favorably, sometimes unfavorably, but always with cer- tainty, by the company we keep, by the friends we embrace, by everything we see, or touch, or think- — by all we experi- ence— both as to places and people — and also as to our own thoughts. Indeed, change is the essence of life itself — to season and qualify us for greater things to come — eternal change and progression. But danger lies in supposing that we can deliberately choose wrong influences, and not be changed unfavorably. This we ask youth to remember when those wiser and more experienced caution them concerning questionable places, questionable companions, and unwise experiences. —June 24, 1945.
Copyright, 1945.
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AUGUST, 1945
459
Editorials
^srooa or <J-)nnh
'T'here is an item in the news that would seem to call for a better explanation than any that has yet been offered by those responsible. It is reported that those agencies empowered by the government to do so, de- clared July 1945, another "holiday" for the manufac- turers of distilled liquor — the third such "liquor holiday" to be so declared in eleven months' time. A later press report indicates that further use of grain for making beverage alcohol has been authorized for part of the month of August, also.
Part of what this means, according to a memorandum from the American Business Men's Research Founda- tion, is that "more than 10,000,000 bushels of rich and perfectly good grains will be destroyed for human food use by the whisky makers. . . . The trade will, it is esti- mated, transform these 10,000,000 bushels of grain into more than a billion drinks of alcoholic liquor poison. If all the grain the whisky distillers will use this July 'holi- day' were properly fed to meat animals, 167,500,000 pounds of pork, or 116,666,000 pounds of beef, or 121,820,000 pounds of lamb could be produced. . . ."
In addition to the use of the ten million bushels of grain, as reported above, the question of available sugar is also reported to be involved — and at a time when American homes are asked to use less and less sugar for food preservation. Quoting again the American Business Men's Research Foundation, "Liquor holidays were granted the distillers in 1944, and while no sugar was used to make whisky, the 'holidays' effectively took 900,000 tons of sugar away from American homes. This is how it happened. The 'holiday' was granted ostensibly because the supply of industrial alcohol { largely used in the war effort ) was sufficient. This did not prove to be the case, and it became necessary to produce more and more. Excess grain had been used by the distillers to make whisky in these 'holidays.' Something had to be found to take the place of grain and that something was sugar. . . . Marketable corn is short now, and other grain shortages seem possible. If these shortages develop, and we need alcohol for war purposes and no grain is available we will again use
sugar 'Sugar and grains are part of the carbohydrate
supply from which both industrial and beverage alcohol are distilled. Reducing the carbohydrate supply of grains for liquor production now may mean requiring sugar from the carbohydrate supply for industrial alcohol production later.' "
Quoting Congressman Clifford R. Hope of Kansas, speaking as of May 31, 1945:
If this order goes into effect, there will be diverted to the manufacture of whisky millions of bushels of valuable grain which will be needed within the next few months as food for our Armed Forces, for our civilian population and to relieve hunger among the starving people of the devastated countries of Europe. Part of this grain will be needed for human food, part of it for livestock, to produce dairy products, poultry and meat of which we are now so woefully short. It seems to be an astounding thing that such an order should be issued at the beginning of what is likely to be the most critical food year in our history . . . the amount of meat, poultry, and dairy products which can be produced is dependent upon the amount of grain which may be available for food . . . the farmers of this country have done an heroic job in food production. ... I am satisfied that they have not undergone these hardships for the purpose of making possible a whisky "holiday."
We can but echo the Congressman's views on this
subject, and, if the facts are as reported, in the face of world food shortages, with starving millions a present reality, it would seem that those individuals and agencies responsible for such policies and actions should be called to give an accounting of their stewardship for increasing drink when food is the crying need of the hour.
n
"WL J, % UifUour?
An item that appeared recently in the papers stimu- *^ lated a great deal of thought and discussion among readers. A man had gone in search of cattle when his horse fell, rolled over him, breaking his pelvis bone in four places. He lay in wet swamp land, with the rain pouring on him, until finally he attracted the attention of three men riding by in a car. They refused his request to drive a short distance and summon aid. One of the occupants of the car said, "We can't go leave him to die," only to have another retort, "He's nothing to us." They drove off.
In these days when the majority in the United States can afford a car, many have lost what they cannot afford to lose: the fine art of neighborliness and Chris- tianity. If, within the boundaries of our country, there are those who are so inconsiderate of human decency that they have no respect for life, there can be little hope that the world as a whole will come to any unanim- ity relative to the brotherhood of man.
We hasten to reassure ourselves that such an occur- rence is infrequent. We consider that this is an isolated event and that there are few who would respond in like manner to such a situation. But, persistently, the ques- tion returns — why can it occur at all?
The answer must be that some of us have forgotten the two greatest of the commandments : Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Today, living has become so remote and mechanized that millions of people live in apartments, in which they seldom see, let alone know, their next-door neighbors. In fact, in most cases, they would prefer not to know them. In crowded cities, people living in adjoining houses seldom have any genuine interest in each other. And to know who lives three or four houses distant is almost too much to expect.
Probably life has been too busy, and we have been able to survive too independently for us to know the meaning of true neighborliness. Perhaps we need to endure hardships to relearn the value of human kind- ness. Undoubtedly suffering develops understanding and real appreciation for mankind.
Certainly, professed Christians the world over will wish to recall the two commandments given by Jesus when he walked the earth — and try to worship God truly, and love his greatest creation — man — wherever he may be found. — M. C. /.
WARD TEACHERS' MESSAGE
■HpHE Ward Teachers' Message for September appears in the August magazine, page 466, for convenience of ward teachers who have expressed a desire to obtain their topic a month before they present it to the ward membership.
460
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Evidences and reconciliations
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'"The Nazi betrayers of Germany declared that the Germans are a "master race," to whom other nations should be subservient. Indeed, the German word hervenvolk, used freely during the late war, connotes a people which has serfs, upon whose toil the hertenvolk live in luxury.
This stupid and insolent claim originated in some con- ceited brain, probably military, several generations ago. It was not, at first, taken seriously by the German people. But it had such appeal to human vanity that it was fanned into popular favor by several philosophers. At least one of these, the most often quoted (Nie- tzsche ) , was of unsound mind. Hitler, himself mentally ill, used the doctrine of German superiority over all other peoples as a bulwark for his incredibly insane, inhuman ideas which threw the whole world into hor- rible, bloody warfare. The recent military defeat of the axis powers has laid low for the time being, it is hoped forever, the untenable notion of German superiority among the nations. Belief in a "master race" is an evi- dence of ignorance of the long history of man on earth. The procession through the ages of Egypt, Babylon, Greece, the various nations of Europe, and many others, refutes the doctrine of the final superiority in any one nation. However, when power came into the hands of these ignorant and mentally oblique proponents of the "master race" theory, they entered into this unhappy war much as a goat butts its head against a solid wall. Ignorance is blind.
Human experience has shown that in all peoples, even in those whom we call semi-civilized or barbarian, lie powers of body, mind, and spirit, which may be de- veloped to match our most "civilized" attainments. Cultivation of these gifts, under the further influence of environment and heredity, will lift men of every land and clime into greater power. It may take longer with some than with others because of their stage of develop- ment, but the possibility of growth is there. As a mass, in innate qualities, there is little difference among races.
There are highly endowed individuals in every land, whose heads are above the crowd — the Platos, Galileos, the Tennysons, who see and do things beyond their fellows. These are the great men of history upon whose thoughts and labors our civilization has been built. They are the artists, writers, scientists, and thinkers who have shaped the lives of the multitudes. They are the New- tons in their respective fields. They are really the final answer to the "master race" question, for every nation has produced some of these mighty minds. They may arise in any society, anywhere. No one nation has built the world of men as it is. Instead, it is the product of people of many lands. Nature has not recognized a "master race" with geographical or racial limitations.
The believer in the "master race" thinks too often of bodily prowess. He is likely to look upon physical strength merely as a means to subjugate his weaker brother. That has been the mistake of Prussianism. He forgets that the members of a "master race" must, above all things, be evenly balanced, and that the developed body is only one mark of superior man. He should also remember that it is a commonplace of knowledge that many people who are on the way to civilization, but yet m the lower stages, have great physical vigor. Witness the Indians of America, the hill tribes of Asia, or the Negroes of Africa. Bodily vigor depends on wise methods of living, notably simplicity in diet and occupa-
tion. Among Europeans the self-styled "master race" has no pre-eminence of physical vigor. Such a claim is idle boasting.
Similarity, no one nation leads in the possibility of intellectual achievement. Nevertheless, it is here that the proponents of the "master race" fallacy have made their greatest claims. They would have us believe that the major conquests by the mind have come from one or a few nations. Even a casual study shows that the world's intellectual history, in every field of endeavor, has been written, painted, sculptured, sung, and played by many peoples. Mental gifts, and those of the emo- tions, have descended upon poor and rich, just and un- just, from China to America, with no reference to geography.
In the case of science, for example — from the lean- ing Tower of Pisa to the atom-smashing cyclotron in Berkeley — at least fourteen nations have been con- cerned with the building of modern science, and nearly all nations are entering the arena.
In the number of notable scientific discoverers, Eng- land, France, and Germany shared about equally; but there were key men in the smaller and less known coun- tries, without whom the others would have been helpless.
Radio, the wonder gift of science, has come to its present perfection by the labors of men in at least fifteen different countries. Some of the most important radio discoveries and inventions came from the smaller, less esteemed lands. The radio results won in any one country, if assembled, would not give us the radio as at present understood and used. In the number of men who have contributed greatly to radio, Germany is a very poor third.
Likewise, spiritual outreachings are not peculiar to one country. Instead, in every land men have sought the gifts of the spirit. Even the savage has pondered upon the meaning of life. The whence, why, where questions persist in the thinking of every person, great or small. Men have arisen in every land, who have tried to formulate the way to happiness, for the benefit of themselves and their fellow men. And millions of soul-hungry men have followed them. The religions of Egypt, China, India, and Persia, are examples. In the Christian world, this eager spirit has resulted in numer- ous sects to correct the evident departures from the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
The "master race" claims, as used in this war, are sheer poppycock, used by characterless men to further their own interests. There has never been a monopoly of mastery in human achievement by any one nation. To claim so is simply to allow lawless nationalism to run wild.
Nevertheless, it must be admitted that there is the possibility of a true "master race" or group, excelling all others in human powers. Its membership will include all who seek truth, and, having discovered it, set about at any sacrifice to accept and to practice it. They have acquired mastery over themselves.
The Master of that group will be Jesus, the Christ. Conformity to his plan of salvation for men will be their law, for thereby they will win the desired health and strength of body, mind, and spirit. Thus they will move towards perfection.
The objective of this group will be not only to help themselves, but also to bless all mankind, and to lift all men to their own stature. That is the difference between the false "master race," and the true redeeming leader- ship of the world. The first is selfish; the other un- selfish. The first is limited to one nation; the other covers the world, believing that "of one blood hath God made all men." The first is of the devil; the other of God.
The "master race" doctrine of the late war was an ugly delusion conceived by the powers of evil, whose prince is Satan, the devil. — /. A. W.
AUGUST, 1945
461
QUARTERLY REPORTS RECEIVED
'"Phe stake quarterly Melchize- dek Priesthood reports for the second quarter have come in much more promptly than was the case with the first quarter or the annual reports, and it is evident that secretaries and presidents of quorums are becoming more fam- iliar with the needs in this respect. Appreciation is expressed for the splendid cooperation given by the stake chairmen of Melchizedek Priesthood committees and their secretaries in getting these reports to us so promptly.
The deadline for including stake reports in the Presiding Bishop- ric's bulletins is the fifteenth day of the month following the close of the quarter. Your fine help in having these stake reports reach the general priesthood committee of the Church by that time is greatly appreciated.
The general and stake authori- ties are watching with much in- terest and satisfaction the prog- ress being made in the activity of the Melchizedek Priesthood quorums as reflected by these re- ports and bulletins. Stake commit- tees report that quorum leaders are accepting their responsibilities and are training for leadership.
When New Quorum Officers Are Selected
\^7hen a new president of a Mel- chizedek Priesthood quorum is selected, it is the responsibility of the chairman of the stake Melchizedek Priesthood committee to see that there is placed in the hands of the new of- ficer, a Melchizedek Priesthood folder, which is being used at present in lieu of the handbook.
The chairman has a further obligation to meet with the new quorum president and orally review the material in the folder and to give such instructions and helps as will enable the new president effectively to carry out the priesthood program of the Church and stake.
It is the responsibility of the quorum president then to acquaint the group leaders of the quorum and their com- mittee members with their duties, and to outline and direct the activities of the quorums, the groups and officers and committees thereof.
These Melchizedek Priesthood fold- ers can be obtained by stake chairmen upon request, from the General Priest- hood Committee, 47 East South Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Each stake committee should keep, for the benefit of the present and new officers, a complete file of the instruc- tions printed regularly in the Melchize- dek Priesthood section of The Improve- merit Era and in the Melchizedek Priest- hood page of the Church section of The Deseret News. 462
It is hardly fair for the new presi- dents merely to set the brethren apart, and leave them to the "job" without acquainting them with the aims, ob- jectives, and problems, together with the means at hand to help accomplish and solve the same.
Often quorums do not show the ac- tivity they might if the stake committee leaders would lead out and train the quorum officers for leadership and help develop the initiative to put our priest- hood work out in front.
Remember, brethren, our monthly Melchizedek Priesthood leadership meetings are intended to be "leadership meetings." It is desired that by your careful, prayerful preparation these meetings give inspiration and enthu- siasm that will provide such an activity program that every member of the Mel- chizedek Priesthood in the stake will be brought into the warming influence of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps there is no more important committee in the stake than the stake Melchizedek Priesthood committee, and certainly no committee has a greater challenge before it for initiative and leadership.
For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is com- pelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he re- ceiveth no reward.
Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to to pass much righteousness;
For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.
But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a command- ment "with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned. (D. & C. 58: 26-29.)
"Today A Letter Came"
HpHROiiGH the press, over the air, and by word of mouth, we have heard much about the value of writing to our boys, and of their appreciation for let- ters from home — they "hunger and thirst after righteous news" from home.
Occasionally we find a boy who is critical of his bishop, or of a priesthood quorum, because of lack of mail, and he feels he is "the forgotten man," so far as his Church is concerned.
Now many of these men will begin to come home, and of course wide-awake quorum officers will seek them out and welcome them home, and will urge their attendance at quorum meetings and their participation with their brethren.
It would indeed be unfortunate if re- turning men could say with justification, "Why this sudden interest in me? You have forgotten me all the time I have been away — I never heard from you.
You seemingly were not concerned about me or my spiritual welfare all that time."
The quarterly comparative bulletin, which is being sent to all stake presi- dents by the Presiding Bishop's office, will list the percentage of Melchizedek Priesthood members away from home who have been corresponded with dur- ing the first three months of this year.
Officers are asked to check with all quorums where there has been less than one hundred percent activity along this line. It is hoped that the reports for the second quarter will show that every man away from home will have heard at least once from his priesthood quo- rum officers since the last report. These letters should not be preachments but should be full of news, full of genuine interest, friendliness and warmth, and include the thought that a place awaits the individual in the group at home, and that you are waiting to welcome him back.
Remember, as Kate Smith puts it, "If you don't write, you're wrong!"
A Worthy Quorum Project
An excellent project for the Church "^ service committee in each Mel- chizedek Priesthood quorum would be to encourage worthy members to do temple work.
In many quorums there are members who seldom go to the temple, some who have not been since their marriage. First, find out in a confidential way from the ward bishop if your brother member may obtain a temple recommend, and then in the spirit of love encourage him to go to the temple. Spiritual blessings follow temple attendance. There can be no excuse because there are thou- sands of male names waiting for some- one to do the temple work for them.
These are the names that the First Presidency has asked quorum members to do. "While many have been cleared, there still remain many to be done.
What a blessing it is to a person that he may return to the temple often for his own encouragement and comfort and at the same time he may do the work for someone who did not have the privilege to do his own work.
As has been previously stated :
There is no service in the Church more powerful in promoting spirituality and de- votion to the gospel requirements than the ordinance work performed in the house of the Lord. Those who engage in it are re- minded of solemn obligations resting upon them and the sacred covenants which they have made as Church members.
If your quorum has not done its share of the 100,000 male names in the tem- ples awaiting the ordinance of endow- ment, a special effort should be made to do them at once.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
HPriestfooA
CONDUCTED BY THE GENERAL PRIESTHOOD COMMITTEE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE — JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH, CHAIRMAN; CHARLES A. CALLIS, HAROLD B. LEE, EZRA TAFT BENSON, MARION G. ROMNEY, THOMAS E. MC KAY, CLIFFORD E. YOUNG, ALMA SONNE, NICHOLAS G. SMITH, LEVI EDGAR YOUNG, ANTOINE R. IVINS
Personal attendance at the temple is preferable. If this is not practical, then money may be sent in so that the proxy work may be done. Some quorums have sent one or more of their members to a temple, paying the expenses while at the temple in order that their share of these names may be cleared.
Do your part in helping others and at the same time receive a blessing which can be obtained in no other way!
Successful Project
Pollowing the assignment given the Melchizedek Priesthood quorums by the First Presidency of the Church on September 13, 1943, the Fifth Ward group of the Provo Stake high priests quorum took temple work as a project.
Each high priest accepted the respon- sibility of doing the work for twenty- four names, or in the event he was un- able to go personally, of contributing $24.00 toward temple work.
Brother Daniel D. Bushnell, of the Church service committee, reports that $190.50 was collected and this amount is being distributed to the four Utah temples. In addition, temple work has been done for three hundred eighty- seven, so that as a result of this project a total of seven hundred sixty-eight en- dowments are accounted for.
This live high priests' group also con- tributed $340.00 toward the Church welfare program of the Fifth Ward, Provo Stake.
Shelley Elders Active
HPhe following very commendable re- ports of activities of elders in the Shelley Stake come from Brother Cor- tez Christensen, chairman of the stake Melchizedek Priesthood committee of that stake.
The second quorum of elders recently did a good job in assisting a member who had broken his leg. They cut, raked, and hauled his crop of hay. They cultivated his potatoes, irrigated his crop, helped with the cleaning up of his ditches, and helped with his threshing. There were about twelve hours of trac- tor work, thirty-two hours of team work, and about one hundred seventy- five man hours. Ira W. Dial is president of this quorum.
Our seventh quorum of elders helped to harvest thirty-five acres of potatoes for the widow of a quorum member who died during the early harvest season. Eleven members of the quorum and about thirty-nine neighbors and friends harvested the crop in a day and a half. Leon Duce is president of this quorum.
AUGUST, 1945
NO-LIQUOR-TOBACCO COLUMN
Conducted by Dr. Joseph F. Merrill
Why? Why? Why?
! Tnder this title in the May number of *-* The Voice, Bishop Edwin Holt Hughes has an article made of forty- four questions, the second of which is as follows : "Why do the Mormon peo- ple in Utah and elsewhere array them- selves against rum and train their people in abstinence from intoxication?"
Another of the bishop's questions was: "Why would neither political party dare to nominate a distiller or
brewer as a candidate for the presi- dency?"
In the article the bishop answers none of his forty-four questions. He was giv- ing a thought-provoking challenge to his readers.
The May number of The Voice was filled, as usual, with excellent material. We wrote to the magazine giving the following answer to the question con- cerning the Mormons:
Among the answers that could be given is this one: Total abstinence from the use of liquor and tobacco in all forms is a re- ligious tenet of the Mormon people.
No doubt the bishop already knew this, but probably many of his readers did not. However, many nonmembers know that the Mormons teach total abstinence as an article of faith. So when they see a Mormon indulge, what is their reaction? Simon Bamberger, a Jew, once told us that as the personnel man- ager of the Bamberger Companies, he liked to hire returned Mormon mission- aries. But he never hired one who ad- mitted that he ever sipped the wine glass even at a formal banquet, made a few draws on a cigaret, or took a cup of coffee. The Mormon Word of Wis- dom, he said, was the best indirect ( Concluded on page 464 )
Melchizedek Priesthood Outline of Study, September, 1945
Text: The Gospel Kingdom: Selections from the Writings and Discourses of John Taylor
LESSON 80
The Power of Faith
Text: pp. 331-336. Topics: The Hope Buoyant. If Men Would be Valiant. Faith, The Gift and First Principle of God. How Faith Comes. Trials and Persecutions (with sub-topics) .
Discuss: Do good men, as well as evil, have to endure affliction and sorrow? What is the power of faith, this circumstance being true? Why are not men as valiant in seek- ing God as in seeking the dollar? In addi- tion to well-known, well-established doc- trines, what additional suggestion is made (p. 332) as to how faith comes to a person? What was President Taylor's philosophy for trials and persecutions? Scan the pages 333-336 for a significant reply to the age- old question asked by Job — why do the righteous suffer (or do they)?
LESSON 81
Some Ethics of "The Kingdom"
Text: pp. 337-340. ( See sub-topics under lesson title.)
Discuss: What great practical wisdom may be discovered in President Taylor's pithy comments on "The Mysteries," "The Eleventh Commandment," and "Free Agency"? (p. 337.) Should politics, trade, industry, be as subservient to divine in- fluence as religion? Before criticizing and setting out to "regulate" the Church or any other branch of human affairs what can well be considered? (See "The Uses of Criti- cism," p. 338.) Why should Latter-day Saints be careful in criticizing the world? (See "A Lesson in Tolerance," p. 339.)
LESSON 82
What Should Men Seek?
Text: pp. 340-343. Topics: Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God. Peace. Promote Happiness. Destiny and Will. Rights.
Virtue. A Philosophy of Happiness. Some Favorite Sayings.
Discuss: How is one to seek the- kingdom of God? Before answering, it might be well to review and ask, What is the kingdom of God that we are admonished to seek? We seek peace today. How may it be attained? Happiness? Virtue? Can a person deter- mine his or her own destiny? In seeking one's "rights," what is a good idea to keep in mind? (pp. 341-342.) How do you like President Taylor's definition of "the greatest happiness"? (p. 342.)
LESSON 83
The Prospect and the Future
Text: pp. 344-349. Topics: History Re- peats Itself. A Prophecy of 1882. The Or- der of God. Judgments Begin at the House of God. The Kingdom Is Onward. The Coming Scene. The Lord's Work. A Prophecy. The Platform of Prophecy. Leave the Wicked to God. Role of the Jews.
Discuss: What lessons may be taken from the excerpt of the 1854 discourse entitled, "History Repeats Itself"? What about the question of remaining neutral today when warfare bursts upon the world? What is the advantage of having the knowledge of fu- ture problems revealed through prophecy? In the previous lesson President Taylor de- clared that men may determine their destiny. If it is prophesied (p. 345) that a "terrible day of reckoning is coming," can such a destiny be averted and the prophecy fail of fulfilment? What did the people of Nineveh do when it was prophesied that they should be destroyed? (See the Book of Jonah.) What yet future events are foreshadowed in this lesson? What is the intelligent thing for us to do about them? Explore the mean- ing of the topic, "The Platform of Proph- ecy." (p. 348.)
463
^cncaiogy
DAMAGED PARISH REGISTERS BEING COPIED
FOR THE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF UTAH
A letter just received from Elder "^ James R. Cunningham, genealogical chairman of the British Mission, tells how the important parish registers of Southwark, London, S.E., England, were almost destroyed by fire when the church was burned during the London blitz of 1941, and are now being tran- scribed by faithful workers for the Genealogical Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ex- cerpts from his letter follow:
We are mailing a package to you today containing handwritten transcript of the register of baptisms 1813-1819 of the parish of Christ Church, Southwark, London, S.E., of which only the shell remains. The heat of the fire caused the registers in the safe to shrivel and scorch.
The register is one of those which was in the safe during the London Blitz of 1941. The safe was red hot owing to fire, but the books inside were not entirely consumed. All volumes are badly burned around the edges.
We have been able to assist the rector and the parish church council in listing and salvaging the registers and copying them to preserve the information. This is an ex- tremely slow task, as the copying is all voluntary. Mrs. E. M. Woodford is tran- scribing by hand these registers, (she is not practised in typing), and Brother David E. Gardner is transcribing marriages on to a typewriter.
Mrs. Woodford has completed this regis- ter of baptisms which we are mailing, but we find it impossible to get it typed here, and hope that you will be able to cooperate in this matter. We have promised the parish church council the typed top copy of the transcript made, and so we trust that you will be able to send us the top copy and also two carbon copies as well. If possible, we would like you to send us about six inches of an example of microfilm of Mrs. Woodford's handwritten manuscripts. We will demonstrate this actual copy of the Christ Church registers to the rector and council. It will take several years to tran- scribe the registers by hand and Mrs. Wood- ford who is doing this may not be in London as she intends to return to Australia when the Pacific War is over. The registers of Christ Church commence in 1671, and all registers of baptisms, burials, marriages are damaged, some very, very badly. They are definitely complete at present in baptisms 1671-1866 (nine volumes probably about 3000-4000 pages total); burials 1671-1853 (some pages destroyed) being about nine volumes total (probably 3000-4000 pages) and marriages 1792-1803, 1807-1812, 1813- 1836; cannot trace any others, probably others are lost; extant therefore about five volumes, possibly about 1500 to 2000 pages, some pages lost by fire.
We will mail to you typescript copy of the marriages transcribed by Brother Gard- ner shortly. This covers marriages 1807- 1812, banns of marriages 1807-1826, being one volume.
464
We will also mail to you the monumental inscriptions copied by David E. Gardner and Frank Smith.
We have considered the copying of these damaged registers, and we are a little chary at the handling of several of them owing to the paper being so brittle from burning. Once the page has been turned over it is liable to completely fall apart, and we be- lieve that a photograph could be taken suc- cessfully, but that would be the end of the register. The most damage is of course at the first few pages or the last few pages and around the edges according to how it was exposed to the heat.
The rector has expressed his willingness to have them photographed but apparently the parish council has not the funds to pay for it.
The ribbon copy is being presented to the rector and parish church council of Christ Church, Southwark to be used instead of the singed and burned registers.
Genealogical Records
A large shipment of English genea- "^ logical records — the largest since the outbreak of the war — has been re- ceived by the Genealogical Society. This collection includes copies of rec- ords from 364 English parishes and one Irish parish. The Genealogical Library is purchasing a large number of records from the British Isles every month.
No-Liquor-Tobacco Column
(Concluded from page 463)
means he knew to find if a Mormon had moral courage and therefore prob- ably was honest and dependable. He said:
I know that your missionaries teach the Word of Wisdom. If they don't observe it, I conclude they are either hypocrites or weaklings. The Bamberger Companies want neither hypocrites nor weaklings in their employ.
Among employers there are perhaps none whose respect for a Mormon em- ployee would not increase by the latter' s observance of the Word of Wisdom.
W.P.B. Rules That—
Tn its issue of June 6th the New York Times published a dispatch from Washington saying, "The War Produc- tion Board decided today that wine, beer, whiskey, and even soft drinks, are not food." The agency ruled that these and other beverages could not be con- sidered "food" in the use of beverage ratings for obtaining can enamels.
Unity at Last?
"Movember 27, 1944, there was formed in Chicago an entirely new nation- al temperance agency which was named "National Temperance Movement." "This organization seeks to unite forces interested in an acceptable solution of the beverage alcohol problem and dis- cover areas of cooperation where all may work together."
Among the twelve stated purposes and objectives of the organization are these:
1. To voice and make effective the de- mand of the American people for moral re- generation of the American way of life
2. To find a Christian solution of the beverage alcohol problem
4. To assist in the rehabilitation of al- cohol victims
6. To formulate and achieve local, state, and national legislation for the abatement of alcohol-caused social evils and for the extermination of the traffic in alcohol bever- ages
7. To provide for the publication and dis- tribution of literature
10. To unite in mutual helpfulness the various organizations whose purpose is to oppose the beverage use of alcohol
1 2. This organization is not affiliated with any political party
Non-affiliation with any political party leaves advocates of temperance free to support candidates in an elec- tion rather than a party. On temperance issues there are friends as well as foes in all political parties. Success to the new National Temperance Movement!
And This Is Interesting
jpROM The Foundation Says we learn that in the name of the nation's abstinence forces, what is asserted to be a test case was filed May 25, 1945, be- fore the Federal Communications Com- mission against the renewal of the li- cense of Station KRD, Dallas, Texas, an outlet of the Columbia Broadcasting System.
The 135-page printed pleading, filed before the commission, challenges the practice of this and other radio stations and networks of selling liberal amounts of their choicest time to the beer and wine interests to present the most "glamorous appeals" to buy and drink beer and wine, and refusing to sell any time whatever to the abstinence forces to counsel against such drinking.
The objections were filed on behalf of the National Temperance and Pro- hibition council, which is made up of twenty-four of the leading religious denominations and temperance and ab- stinence organizations of America, to test out the legality of the complained- of practices.
It is announced that this is the first time the abstinence forces of America have in a united way legally challenged what they claim is a one-sided policy of Columbia and its stations. They an- nounce that the proceedings are a test, and will, if necessary, be carried through the courts to the Supreme Court of the United States.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
CONDUCTED UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE PRESIDING BISHOPRIC. EDITED BY LEE A. PALMER.
WARD BOY LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE OUTLINE OF STUDY
Text: How to Win Boys, by Roscoe Gilmore Stott
SEPTEMBER 1945
Topics and Questions — Chapter 13 — 'The Average Boy"
1. "There is no average boy. If there is, what color are his eyes? Or his hair? How long is his nose? What does he eat? What does he like? What are his home conditions? Who are his com- panions? What is his hobby?"
The above statement should tell, us there is no "one way" to teach a class of boys. Discuss this thoroughly, and show how essential it is that we study boys first and then select our method or methods of teaching them.
Explain and discourage the "herd- ing" method of teaching boys.
2. Consider well the author's suggestions "Incentive" and "Inducement" in teaching boys. He gives a splendid ex- ample on page 96 of the text. Call for other examples from members of the class for illustration.
Topics and Questions — Chapter 14 — "Studying the Thoughtful Boy"
1. Describe the thoughtful type of boy. How does he differ from others in the class? He has little to say; he is often very shy; he would rather let the other fellow do the talking; he may even seem uninterested; he is timid about associating with others; he dislikes crowds.
How shall we teach him? Consider the following seven suggestions from the author:
Pry them out of themselves, when possible.
Find time and opportunity for such boys to get it off their chests to you. If such a boy is poor and lacks ad- vantage, lend him of your own magazines, books, religious litera- ture, and help him to locate other sources of such assistance.
d. Interest others in the particular boy.
e. Push him into social contacts.
f. Lead him into the art of talking and even writing.
g. Tie up the thoughtful boy's brilliant work with God.
For further information on the above sug- gestions, see the text How to Win Boys, pp. 105-106.
a.
c.
Question for Priests
IF you were asked to administer the sacrament and there were no cards or standard works of the Church from which to read the prayers of blessing on the bread and water, could you perform your duty anyway?
Every priest should be able to re- peat the sacrament prayers from memory.
Standard (ajworuin ^Al ward f\e
t$ and /\ecordd
TThe requirements for the standard quorum award and for the individ- ual certificate of award for 1945 re- main the same as for 1944. Our hand- books state that the quorum must estab- lish a minimum record of thirty-five per- cent attendance at sacrament meeting, but this requirement was reduced to twenty- five percent for 1944 and re- mains so for the current year.
Twelve hundred and eleven standard quorum awards have been approved by the Presiding Bishopric during the first six months of this year. This is by far the largest record yet made since the program was introduced in 1936. Prac- tically every stake in the Church is ambitiously promoting this part of the program for 1 945. It looks like another banner year for standard quorum awards.
Individual certificates of award total fifty-one hundred and ninety-nine dur- ing the same period this year. Stakes and wards are really beginning to ap- preciate the value of this relatively new feature of the program. Our young
eavmremen
men are delighted with it.
This report is made in the hope that all Aaronic Priesthood workers will push ahead in this great work. Check your quorums and your individual boys. Discover your weak groups and boys now, and help them to make good. A check-up at this time of year can be very helpful. A check-up de- ferred until the end of the year results in serious disappointments in altogether too many instances.
Question for Aaronic Priesthood Members
When you are asked to pass the sacrament in the sacrament meeting, do you not agree that it is highly disrespectful and irreverent to walk out of the meeting after you have performed your duty?
No deacon, teacher, or priest, should accept an assignment to pass the sacrament if he does not intend to stay for the entire service unless he is legitimately excused by the bishop after the performance of his duty.
AUGUST, 1945
KANE SVILLE WARD, LAKE VIEW STAKE
Kanesville Ward is really in the Aaronic Priesthood program. The teachers' quorum in the upper photo- graph have earned the standard quorum award for the past five years. During the year 1944, they established an attendance record of 96% at priesthood meeting and 54% at sacrament meeting.
The deacons' quorum in the lower photograph was the first quorum to receive the standard quorum award in the stake, which was awarded in 1939 and has received this recognition each year since. Their 1944 attend- ance record was 89% at priesthood meeting and 58% at sacrament meeting.
Here are two more demonstrations that "it can be done."
465
^P^orfS Stacking
CONDUCTED UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE PRESIDING BISHOPRIC. EDITED BY LEE A. PALMER.
lAJard Jeachitia — a Sacred <JDu,t
t
{Following are two excerpts from the leaders of the Church on the subject of ward teaching. These short quotations are commended to both the teachers and the Saints. They have the ring of aw thority and are full of timely guidance and counsel. These instructions, given many years ago, indicate the importance given to ward teaching by the leaders of the Church. )
No Other Duty More Sacred
By President Joseph F. Smith, Confer- ence Report, April 1915, p. 40
**I don't know of any duty that is more sacred, or more necessary, if it is carried out as it should be, than the duties of the teachers who visit the homes of the people, who pray with them, who admonish them to virtue and honor, to unity, to love, and to faith in and fidelity to the cause of Zion : who strive to settle uncertainties in the minds of the people and bring them to the standard of the knowledge that they should possess in the gospel of Jesus Christ. May all the people open their doors, call in the members of their fam- ilies and respect the visits of the teach- ers to their homes, and join with them in striving to bring about a better condi- tion, if possible, in the home than or- dinarily exists. If you can advance, try to aid the teachers to help you make that advancement."
* * #
Teaching in the Home of President Kimball
By Elder Marriner W. Merrill, Confer- ence Report, October 1902, p. 64
"M0^ every family in the Church • and every family in the district ought to be visited. They are the Lord's children, and they ought to be looked after. They ought to be visited at least once a month. Can we bishops or presi- dents of stakes say, and say truthfully, that the flock over which the Lord has appointed us to preside is visited, cared for, looked after and provided for? . . .
"The teachers, you know, have gen- eral jurisdiction. The office of a teach- er is an important one in the Church. I remember once going as a teacher into the family of President Kimball, and President Kimball was there. Of course, being a boy, I felt bashful, and very diffident in talking in the home of one of the Presidency of the Church; but it was not long before President Kimball 466
WARD TEACHERS
The teacher's duty is to watch over the church always, and be with and strengthen them;
And see that there is no iniquity in the church, neither hardness with each other, neither lying, backbiting, nor evil speaking;
And see that the church meet together often, and also see that all the members do their duty. ( D. & C. 20 :53-55. )
Warn JeackeH n/eddaae jror September, 1943
"FRIENDLINESS"
TDecently, a man and his wife in their late fifties were converted and ■^ baptized into the Church. They came to love the Church and all it stands for. The great fraternal spirit manifested by the members of their ward truly warmed their souls. What friends, what comradeship, what interest in each other's welfare! The joy of it all was overwhelming.
Then the hand of death took him away. The widow moved to another ward. There again the friendliness of the ward members cheered and helped to heal the gapping wound of loneliness and bereavement. She was thankful to belong to such a Church where she found warm-hearted friends at every turn.
Then she moved to another ward. She attended services the first Sun- day, the second, third, fourth, and the fifth. In all this time, not one soul spoke to her; not even so much as a friendly smile was given her. Not one presiding officer noticed her. No one seemed to care. The atmosphere was frigid. Where was the friendliness she had enjoyed so much? Was it her fault? She was new in the Church. Why couldn't someone, anyone, come up and be friendly?
Another family moved to a new ward. The husband attended Church and came home to report to his wife, too ill to accompany him, "This is one of those frigid wards we have heard about. Not one person greeted me either by word, handshake, or even a smile."
Many converts to the Church have come away from foreign lands, left their homes, their loved ones, their friends, their all. But they were not afraid, for in "Zion" they felt sure the Saints would welcome them. What a joy it would be to mingle with the body of the Church and be among real friends, friends who would understand and always be helpful and true. But, alas, how many of them have been disillusioned. Many have settled down to nurse a broken heart and live a lonely life in disappointment. Some have become totally indifferent, — some have left the Church.
What is wrong with some of us that we are not more friendly, more considerate? Perhaps the person we passed by in our meetings was seeking the truth, was needing a word of cheer, was lonely, was bereaved, perhaps ill. Let us not forget that a smile, a handshake, a kind word, a friendly greeting, a helpful attitude are some of the ways in which we "practice" what we "preach."
It is our individual responsibility to welcome strangers to our meetings, to extend a friendly greeting to all. We should not wait for the other fellow to do it, for he may be waiting for us to do it. Perhaps we are backward in greeting each other and particularly strangers. Well, let us begin now to overcome this timidity.
Let us be more friendly, more courteous, more kind, more thoughtful. It requires so little effort and means so much to us and to those whom we thus greet in the spirit of good will and friendliness.
This is a personal responsibility resting upon bishoprics, leaders, teach- ers, and laymen.
made me feel perfectly at home, to talk there just as I would to anyone else, because of the spirit and kindness he manifested. He said, 'I want you to preach the gospel to my family. If you see anything out of order, I want you to tell them about it; whether it be indoors
or out-of-doors, tell them about it; ad- vise with them about it, counsel with them about it.' Now, that has always been a lesson to me. I have always remembered it. The teachers should advise with the people in regard to their interests."
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Ovi^tSookracfc
HOPSCOTCH VALLEY, Vol. I
(Anna Johnson. Deseret News Press, Salt Lake City, Utah. 136 pages. $1.00.)
OF interest to young and old alike is this volume of ever-amusing and ever-wise sayings of children, put into jingle form by Miss Johnson. As captivating as the jingles are the photographs of the original authors accompanying each verse and also the black and white sketches interspersed. Fond par- ents and grandparents will enjoy reliving their children's happiest moments. And chil- dren will love to hear their own experiences told in their own words. Teachers of pri- mary grades will find in this book a welcome source of short, easily learned poems for recitation on special occasions or for il- lustrative purposes in class. — H. W. L.
GOLDEN NUGGETS OF THOUGHT (Ezra L. Marler. Zion's Press, Independ- ence, Missouri. 192 pages. $1.00.)
Pocket-size, and therefore convenient for carrying around, this little book affords many provocative quotations that can be read in that minute you have to wa^it for someone who is late — or the dentist who had to take more time with the patient whose appointment was ahead of yours, or can be quoted if you have to give a speech, or pondered deeply when you feel like scratch- ing below the surface of living.
Under convenient headings, arranged alphabetically, the reader can easily find that about which he particularly desires to read. And he will be agreeably surprised at the breadth of the references, including poets, prophets, philosophers, as well as many of the loved thoughts that have come through the ages anonymously. — M. C. /.
THE CONSTITUENTS OF WHEAT AND WHEAT PRODUCTS
(C. H. Bailey. Reinhold Publishing Com- pany, New York. 332 pages. $6.50.)
Wheat remains the "staff of life," for the majority of civilized people. For the best use of the grain, therefore, it is well to know its nature intimately. This has been done as never before in this book. It con- tains sixteen informative chapters, in which the world's learning concerning the con- stituents of wheat: nitrogenous substances, starch, sugars, gums, minerals, etc., are set forth. The application of their knowledge may determine the future welfare of the world, which is largely dependent upon the food we eat.
The book is technical, designed primarily for students, teachers, and others with tech- nical training. Among such people it should have a wide circulation. — /. A. W.
LET'S TALK ABOUT YOU (Margueritte Harmon Bro. Doubleday, Doran and Co., Garden City, N.Y. 213 pages. $1.50.)
Written easily enough that the young person — for whom it is written — will take it in stride, this book will help point the way to a wholesome, realistic develop- ment of personality, which is another way of stating that this book will help its reader find a real zest for life and living. Surpris- ingly enough, the emphasis is right, too, for the author feels that swearing cheapens a girl and that if a girl or woman wishes to be extraordinary, she will avoid drinking.
A cleverly alert book, this will be a worth-while addition to any home where young girls live. — M. C. J.
AUGUST, 1945
BIG GOVERNMENT, CAN
WE CONTROL IT?
(Merlo J. Pusey. Harper and Brothers,
New York. 240 pages. $2.50.)
ARE we moving towards dangerous bigness in our federal government? What are the probable results? What reforms are necessary to check this unwieldy growth and eliminate the evils of "big government"? Lucid answers to these questions are given by the author. The volume contains much information not easily picked up by the ordinary citizen. Indeed, the book is writ- ten clearly with a wealth of information at hand, and the conclusions are those of a mind ripened by contact with governmental affairs. It is a book for the day, for Ameri- cans who yet believe that in the end their land is governed by its citizens.
We congratulate the author, a native Utahn who began his work here, upon this excellent piece of work. — J. A. W.
MAINSPRINGS OF CIVILIZATION
(Ellsworth Huntington. John Wiley and Sons, New York. 660 pages. $4.75.)
This is a notable book, as would be ex- pected from Professor Huntington. The man who dares to break away from old paths, and, in his search for truth, presents the past, remote and near, under a new light, is a benefactor to struggling man.
"This book is an attempt to analyze the role of biological inheritance and physical environment in influencing the course of history." The task so set is well done. A multitude of facts are presented, and clear conclusions expressed. Even when the reader differs with the author in his hypo- theses or conclusions, there is appreciation for his path-breaking work.
The treatment is simple in language, so that scholar and common man may read the book understandingly.- — J. A. W.
TWO BILLION ACRE FARM (Robert West Howard. Doubleday Doran and Co., Inc., Garden City, N.Y. 209 pages. $2.50.)
Farming remains the foundation of our civilization. Therefore, this excellent though informal history of American agri- culture is important reading. Wisely, the author has told the story racily in untech- nical language, so that all may enjoy it. Farming facts are so intermingled with historical and personal narratives that in- terest is developed and held. Between the lines lies perhaps the most important prin- ciple in the building of our national future.
—J. A. W.
COOPERATIVE COMMUNITIES AT WORK
(Henrik F. Infield. The Dryden Press, New York. 201 pages. $3.00.)
COOPERATION in a world of peace has been humanity's ideal throughout the cen- turies. Despite present evils, we are ap- proaching that happy day. After a brief survey of cooperative enterprises in the past, full consideration is given a number of present-day cooperative societies, which vary greatly in the forms of operations. Their experiences may be used as warn- ings against failure and as lessons for suc- cess. It is clear that as yet there is no con- sensus regarding cooperative method. In this restless day this volume has special ap- peal. It is really a survey sponsored jointly by the Research Institute on Peace and Post-
war Problems, of the American Jewish Committee, and The Rural Settlement In- stitute.—/. A. W.
YOUR KEY TO YOUTH PROBLEMS (Harold Sherman. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York. 181 pages. $1.50.)
Youth's problems are always with us. In this upset age they have acquired a new importance. This simple, understandable discussion would be of much help to par- ents and all concerned with the making of our children into fine men and women. The author might well have touched more vigor- ously the spiritual sources of human hap- piness.— /. A. W.
THE DOCTOR'S JOB
(Carl Binger, M.D. W. W. Norton Co.,
New York. 1945. 243 pages. $3.00.)
To most of us, doctors are those necessary evils to whom we go when we are not feeling well. And we expect the doctor to work miracles — from adjusting a diseased body to curing a sick mind. And, for the most part, doctors are eager to do what they can for every patient who consults them. Naturally, it is difficult to be as patient as people would like — -when doctors are crowded for time, when they are only human themselves and subject to the same symp- toms and ailments that their patients have. The author uses as the thesis for his book part of John Donne's Devotions:
". . . any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde."
Divided into eighteen chapters, the author treats such diverse subjects as Psychiatry and Medicine; Socialized Medicine or Pay- ing the Piper; Allergy, Asthma and Tuber- culosis; The Choice of Physician, Medical Fees and Etiquette; Recent Achievements and Tasks Ahead.
Written interestingly enough for the lay reader to enjoy, it will also serve to help him better his own condition. — M. C. /.
AND NOW TO LIVE AGAIN (Betsey Barton. Appleton-Century Co., New York. 1944. 150 pages. $1.75.)
WE have come to take for granted the courage of the soldier on the battle- front, but the courage of this same soldier or others who must rebuild their lives, we have not considered so seriously as we prob- ably should. In this book, a young woman, whose back was broken when she was six- teen, tells how she fought her way back to purposeful living, in spite of the fact that she has been paralyzed for ten years.
The book indicates ways in which loved ones who are disabled may be helped. More than that, the book will call forth from the reader the statement of Shakespeare, "What a piece of work is man," and he will come to respect the sheer indomitable spirit of man.
To Latter-day Saints, there is one state- ment that will be denied. While agreeing that "miracles do happen," the author states, "But the laying on of hands, the curing of one person by another, probably does much harm. It may carry the mind and body into wholeness for a time, but disease comes from some deep underlying cause, and a cure can only deal with the effects: it cannot reach the cause." Many Latter-day Saints can bear witness to the fact that they have been cured by the laying on of hands — with prop- er authority to administer the power of heal- ing through the priesthood.
Notwithstanding this one error, which cannot be accepted, the book has so much to commend it that Latter-day Saints should read it and make application of the good found in it. — M. C. /.
467
The Education of the Heart
By Helen Gregg Green
T)arents usually teach their boys and girls most of the lessons they con- sider important, but they often overlook what Sir Walter Scott called "the edu- cation of the heart."
I am thinking of a poised, charming girl of fourteen by the name of Marilyn. She knows all the variations of etiquette that a child is taught by a fashionable mother and a private school of distinc- tion, and carries them through as beauti- fully as her older sister — a senior in a high class finishing school.
Marilyn is always smartly dressed and has learned to be an intelligent shopper, able to make her money go far. She can cook and sew and is a talented musician. For all this, credit is due not only to Marilyn but to her mother and her teachers. But in the education of the heart they have been remiss.
Marilyn and I were recently standing by an elevator in the apartment hotel in which we both live. I remarked that I was in a great hurry to go down, as a guest of mine was suffering from a severe case of neuralgia. Marilyn said disinterestedly, "I am going to take a sun bath on the roof!"
Although there was only one elevator in service at the time, it did not occur to the child, for whom I had often done kindnesses, to say, "You go first and get the aspirin; I'm not suffering — I can wait for my sun bath."
When the elevator came, she got in and left me waiting.
At another time, I had been detained and was late for an important Red Cross meeting. Marilyn happened to drop into the apartment. Fidgeting, I ex- plained, "Excuse me, dear. I'm trying
owing
to meet a deadline." And then I said, more to myself than to Marilyn, as I hurriedly started laying out my bag and gloves, "I'd like so much to find some- one to stay an hour with our new neigh- bor's little boy. Her nephew is leaving for the army, and she so much wants to see him off."
It never seemed to occur to the child to suggest, "I'd be glad to keep Bobby for an hour."
It is rather pathetic to see such a gently reared girl so lacking in thought- fulness, kindness, and consideration for others.
Why don't we all try to teach our boys and girls to be kind in a kindly way? Some people think they are being kind when the manner in which their assistance is given is so cold and im- personal that the kindness is almost lost in the seeming too-great effort of doing the deed.
I recently heard of a busy mother of five children who illustrates what I mean by the education of the heart. Al- though she had no one with whom to leave her little ones nor to help her get them ready, she planned and carried out a shopping treat for a little old lady who lives in an old ladies' home.
"She loves to go through the stores," the mother explained, "and it is impos- sible for her daughter to take her as she works during shopping hours. So I made plans for the two eldest children to have lunch with their father, the twins to go to a movie, and the youngest to be left in the care of a volunteer mother's help- er, while I gave Mrs. Beatty a treat. I let her browse through the stores to her heart's content."
Not a word from her about all the trouble to make "the treat" possible! That mother of five possessed an edu- cated heart, and she is passing on the beauty of that possession to her chil- dren.
CoofeCkner
Josephine B. Nichols
Pep up wilted appetites with a meal-in-a- salad-bowl, accompanied with rolls, bread sticks, biscuits, or whole wheat sand- wiches.
Tomato With Meat Salad Topping
9 medium sized tomatoes Combine, mixing thoroughly:
2 cups chopped cooked meat or minced
chicken 1 cup chopped celery 1 cup chopped cucumbers 1 cup cooked peas
l.
2 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper
water cress Place each tomato, stem end down, in a leaf of lettuce. With a sharp knife, cut the tomato within about J4 inch °f the bottom, dividing into 10 or 12 sections; pull sections gently apart, and top with meat filling. Gar- nish with water cress.
Salmon-Macaroni Salad
1 8 oz. can salmon J/2 tup chopped sweet pickle
1 cup shell macaroni ( cooked ) J/2 cup mayonnaise lettuce
Drain salmon, remove bones and skin; flake. Combine salmon, pickle, and macaroni; chill. Season to taste; add mayonnaise; toss lightly. Serve on crisp lettuce or arrange in lettuce-lined bowl. Garnish with hard- cooked egg slices.
Hearty Salad