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APR It 1949
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EXPLORING
i
STHE '> ,-.v
By DR. FRANKLIN S. HARRIS, JR.
Dabylonian contracts of 2000 B.C. tell of paying the owner so many gin of silver, as a full price, for un- occupied house-lots or established gar- dens, "That in the future he will not make complaint."
'T'he carat seed from an India plant was the origin of the unit used in weighing diamonds and other gems, except pearls for which a rice grain was employed.
A new dry-cell battery promises long- er life and elimination of almost all soldered connections, a major cause of battery failure. The plastic cells are automatically interlocked to make electrical connections, and efficiently use the space. These miniature cells will be used in portable radios and hearing aids.
A new chemical, phenosulfazole and named "Darvisul," has been found which seems to stop infantile paralysis. This modified sulfa drug developed by Dr. Murray Sanders of Columbia Uni- versity College of Physicians and a group of chemists of Lederle Labora- tories has been given to seventy pa- tients already and further trials are being made.
HThe most important modern discov- ery ever made in Old Testament manuscripts has been announced by Dr. Millar Burrows of Yale Univer- sity. The entire book of Isaiah was found on a well-preserved scroll of parchment dating from the first cen- tury B.C., compared to the ninth cen- tury A.D. for complete Hebrew manu- scripts of Isaiah or any part of the Old Testament we had had before. This valuable manuscript with others was discovered by a Bedouin in a cave near the northern shore of the Dead Sea. These writings had been hidden in earthenware jars, wrapped in linen and covered with a black wax.
Tt is suggested by Jackson B. Hester that the darkening of fruits and vegetables, upon being cut and exposed to the air, is in part due to a change of various iron compounds in that the iron changes from ferric to ferrous form.
Tn England a new wallboard is being made from straw by the application of pressure and heat.
APRIL 1949
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one at a time /
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Look for the
blue and yellow
TOWN HOUSE
package
Two-handed eating enjoyment may not be good manners, but it's certainly good taste if what you reach for is TOWN HOUSE Chocolate-drop Cookies by Purity.
What youngster could resist the rich, tender goodness of cookies made with fresh butter and eggs and lots and lots of chocolate drops!
Get a package of TOWN HOUSE Cookies next time you shop for gro- ceries. Whatever you serve for dessert, these fresh baked, oven fragrant cookies are perfect accompaniment.
Ml) HOUSE
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life
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193
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1949
VOLUME 52 NUMBER 4
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
The Editor's Page
Faith — and Life George Albert Smith 201
Church Features
Mission to Polynesia — II Doyle L. Green 210
Baptism for the Dead in Ancient Times — Conclusion... Hugh Nibley 212
Salt Lake Valley Branch for the Deaf Edwin Ross Thurston 215
Portrait of President George Albert Smith _ 224
Evidences and Reconciliations — Who and What Are the Angels?
(a reprint) Charles W. Penrose 225
The Church Moves On 196 Melchizedek Priesthood 234
M.I.A. June Conference Announce- ment, Marba C. Josephson 198
Salt Lake Theatre to Produce
Play 230
Missionaries Leaving for the Field..233
No-Liquor-Tobacco Column 235
The Presiding Bishopric's Page 236
This Month with Church Publica- tions 255
Special Features
Young Men and Women of the Church — Your Day is Now!
[ ...J. Wesley P, Lloyd 202
M Men Basketball 1948-49 Doyle L. Green 205
Goldsmiths of Ancient Times Levi Edgar Young 206
"Off the Record"— Let's Talk It Over ..... Mary Brentnall 209
Food, Hunger, and People — The Church and Modern Society — IV
_ _ — _G» Homer Durham 216
The Spoken Word from Temple Square Richard L* Evans 221
Exploring the Universe, Franklin Durham 195
>S. Harris, Jr 193 On the Bookrack 223
Era Writers' Conference An- nounced 194
Cover Note 194
These Times: World Affairs and April Conference, G. Homer,
Homing: How to Make the Fam- ily Work, Eugene Olsen 228
Cook's Corner, Josephine B. Nichols 229
Your Page and Ours 256
To Our Leader! John A* Widtsoe 225
Stories, Poetry
The Fort on the Firing Line— Part VII Albert R. Lyman 218
Courage, Maurine Jacobs 198
Frontispiece: The Bride, Alma
Robison Higbee 199
Poetry Page 200
Remembering, Pauline Havard 204
Request, Elaine V. Emans 232
The Morning Star, Adrienne L. De Witt 208
Request, Elaine V. Emans 232
The Dream, Catherine E. Berry. ...251 To a Child Watching Bubbles, Katherine Fernelius Larsen 254
j Executive and Editorial Offices:
50 North Main Street, Salt Lake City 1, Utah Copyright 1949 by Mutual Funds, Inc., a Corporation of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All rights reserved. Subscription price, $2.50 a year, in advance; foreign subscription, $3.00 a year, in advance; 25c
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 1 103, Act of October 1917, authorized July 2, 1918.
The Improvement Era is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts,
but welcomes contributions.
All manuscripts must be accompanied by sufficient postage for delivery and return.
Change of Address: Fifteen days' notice required for change of address. When ordering a change, please include address slip from a recent issue of the magazine. Address changes cannot be made unless the old
address as well as the new one is included.
194
Conference for Era Writers
'T'he Improvement Era will hold "T a one-day conference for its writers, June 1.6, 1949, in the Young Memorial Building, 50 North Main, Salt Lake City, Utah, commencing at 9:30 a.m. Discussions designed to help the beginning and the experi- enced writer and to indicate the needs and requirements of the Era will be given. Three seminars will be held in the afternoon. These will deal with the short story, poetry, and the feature article. At noon a luncheon will be held at which the writers themselves will give some of their work. In the evening the con- ference is invited to participate in the drama festival which precedes June Conference.
The Cover
'T'he storm and cold of winter are T soon forgotten in the burst of new leaves that help create new hope and a desire for better living. The fresh breezes of spring seem to hover over the landscape in this delightful photograph, the work of Eva Luoma, adapted to cover use by Charles Jacobsen.
Editors
George Albert Smith
John A. Widtsoe Managing Editor
Richard L. Evans Assistant Managing Editor
Doyle L. Green Associate Editor
Marba C. Josephson General Manager
Elbert R. Curtis Associate Manager
Bertha S. Reeder Business Manager
John D. Giles Editorial Associates
Elizabeth J. Moffitt
Albert L. Zobell, Jr. Advertising Director
Verl F. Scott
National Advertising Representatives
Edward S. Townsend,
San Francisco and Los Angeles
Dougan and Bolle,
Chicago and New York
Member, Audit Bureau of Circulations
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA.
_... %
WORLD AFFAIRS AND APRIL CONFERENCE
By DR. G. HOMER DURHAM
Head o/ Political Science Department, University of Utah
/~)n August 24, 1948, John Foster Dulles addressed the Assembly of the World Council of Churches, con- vened after no little effort and planning at Amsterdam, Holland. He said:
As we analyze the world situation, Christian responsibility emerges as an in- escapable fact. The moral principles that need to be put to work are implicit in all the great religions. But Christians believe that moral truth was uniquely revealed by Jesus Christ. Also, Christianity emphasizes not merely the relations of man to God, but also the relations of man to man. So the Christian churches should feel a special responsibility. If they do not discharge it, political leadership can scarcely hope to succeed.
This is a serious charge upon the churches. Every commentator for ten years has been saying that moral prin- ciples need to be put to work. Mr.
Dulles, in effect, is saying that if this world's need is to be met, it must begin with the churches. The churches are the claimants to and custodians of moral principles. Can the churches put them to work in modern life? "If they do not," says Mr. Dulles, "political leadership can scarcely hope to suc- ceed."
Tf this line of reasoning is correct, readers of this column have a double responsibility. Not only do we, with our fellow Christians, "believe that moral truth was uniquely revealed by Jesus Christ," but that the basic knowledge of God's personality and nature, and Christ's, was again re- vealed, in unique fashion, in modern times. Therefore the issue might be, for purposes of interest in this column, stated this way: The world is in a moral crisis. We as citizens are actual- ly demanding moral leadership from the politicians of our age. But can moral principles be thus employed? If so, what are we who claim custody of restored truth doing about it? And, if we do not discharge the obligation, how can we expect Truman, Stalin, Trygve Lie, or others to do so?
(Concluded on page 222) APRIL 1949
BAtt
*• '*e leaves
This is the new gentle way to bale hay, saving more of the leaves.
The ONE MAN ROTO-BALER lifts the windrow and rolls it up like a carpet. Leaves and blossoms are wrapped inside so they cannot escape. The pictures here show how it is properly done. Wide double windrows cure fast and make the best rolled bales. They unroll easily in a thick, soft carpet of fluffy straw or hay.
Rolled bales can also be fed whole in the feedrack. They stack compactly, will not buckle, and feed with a minimum of waste.
The ONE MAN ROTO-BALER was designed and priced for home ownership. The hour your crop is ready, you can get it safely into rolled bales that shed showers like a thatched roof.
See your Allis- Chalmers dealer early if you'd like to own a ROTO-BALER this year.
Double windrows are easily made by reversing direction of raking. Ideal for the job is the new POWER DRIVEN Allis-Chalmers Side Delivery Rake and Tedder, with selective reel speeds. It steers true, makes straight, airy windrows.
195
These Features Give You a More Enjoyable Journey!
|# Greyhound controls the temper- ature inside, with draftless air conditioning. It's warm in win- ter; cool in summer.
2. Wide windows, with safety-glass, allow perfect observation, and filter out harsh sun rays.
3. Soft, upholstered chairs, filled with restful, sponge-rubber cush- ioning, cradle your body, and in- sure long-trip relaxation.
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President Richards
President George F. Richards of the Council of the Twelve, and the eldest General Authority of the Church observed his eighty-eighth birthday on February 21. At that time he was in the hospital for a checkup. Presi- dent Richards was sustained as a mem- ber of the Council of the Twelve at the April 1906 general conference, and became President of the Twelve on May 21, 1945.
Chinese Mission
HPhe First Presidency has announced the creation of the Chinese Mis- sion, and called Hilton A. Robertson, of Provo, Utah, a former president of the Japanese Mission, to preside over the new mission.
President Robertson is first counselor in the East Provo Stake presidency. He was called on a mission to Japan in 1921, and for a time, before that mis- sion was closed in 1924, he presided over the mission.
HILTON A. ROBERTSON
Twelve years later, in 1936, he was called to reopen the Japanese Mission (now the Central Pacific Mission) in the Hawaiian Islands. He served in that capacity until 1940. Soon after his return he was ordained bishop of the Provo Eighth Ward, and was later sustained as a member of the East Provo Stake presidency.
Elder Henry K. Aki, of Honolulu, Hawaii, has been called as President Robertson's first counselor in the mis- sion presidency. With them will go Sister Robertson and Sister Aki.
China was discussed as a possibility for missionary endeavor as early as 1849. Three missionaries were called to China in August 1852, and left Salt Lake City that October 20, for the ultimate destination of Hong Kong. They met with little success either among the Europeans in Hong Kong, or the natives. They returned soon.
196
In the meantime, in April 1853, two more elders had been called to the Chinese Mission, but they were as- signed to labor elsewhere, and never went to China.
President David O. McKay, then a member of the Council of the Twelve, in company with the late Hugh J. Cannon, encircled the globe in the interest of the Church in 1920-21. It was during this journey that President McKay dedicated the land of China for the preaching of the gospel.
Belle S. Spafford
"JiyiRS. Belle S. Spafford, general president of the Relief Societies of the Church, has been elected third vice president of the National Council of Women in the United States. She will succeed to the presidency of the organization after the vice presidents preceding her.
Mrs. Spafford, the general president of the Church Relief Societies since 1945, was appointed to the general board in 1935. From 1937 to 1942 she edited The Relief Society Magazine. At that time she became second coun- selor in the general presidency of the Relief Societies.
Genealogical Microfilm Unit
'T'he microfilm laboratory recently placed in operation by the Genea- logical Society of the Church ranks with the best in the nation. Located on the second floor of the Joseph F. Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City. it is capable of processing automati- cally forty feet of thirty-five millimeter film a minute.
Ward Reunions
/^entennial programs were held in the oldest wards in the Salt Lake Valley during February, and traditional ward reunions were held in a great many wards throughout the Church. It was on February 22, 1849, that bishops were ordained of the nineteen designated wards in the city. The same month four county wards had been designated.
Although there was a bishop at Kirt- land and one in Missouri, the ward as a unit with a bishop seems to have come into existence during the Nauvoo period of the Church. There were wards at Winter Quarters, and there were wards in the Old Fort, in Great Salt Lake City, which functioned until the nineteen wards were created in February 1849.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Church Welfare
"D utter and cottage cheese are now being produced on Welfare Square in Salt Lake City, through the Church welfare plan. For the present, one hundred and fifty pounds of butter will be churned about every fifth day. The butter will go to the aged and sick. The new facilities will produce about two hundred pounds of cottage cheese or cultured buttermilk a week. Meanwhile a new bishops' store- house at Las Vegas, Nevada, has been dedicated by Elder Stephen L Richards of the Council of the Twelve. The building includes a storehouse, a Re- lief Society workroom, and a large storage locker in the basement, which has been divided into compartments for frozen meats, vegetables, and fruits.
Primary Hospital
/TJ.ROUND will be broken for the con- valescent unit — the first portion of the Primary Children's new hospital as part of the Primary conference this April. The seventy-bed structure will be located between D and E Streets and Eleventh and Twelfth Avenues in Salt Lake City.
The Primary Association confer- ence sessions will be held April 1 and 2 in Salt Lake City, .
M. I. A. Song book
Anew songbook, Hymns and Songs of the M.I.A., has come from the press. The thirty-two page book of M.I.A. music will be used until a new M.I.A. songbook is published some time in the future. At that time the twenty-one songs presented here will be incorporated into the new book.
The book is divided into three parts : M.I.A. songs, hymns, and recreational music. It is designed to temporarily fill the needs of all Mutual Improve- ment organizations.
The price, of the paper-bound book is ten cents.
New Servicemen
Dlans to keep in touch with the young men of the Church who become members of the armed forces have been announced by Elders Harold B. Lee and Mark E. Petersen of the Council of the Twelve, President Bruce R. McConkie of the First Council of the Seventy, and Elder Hugh B. Brown, former L.D.S. servicemen's coordi- nator.
The ward bishop is to visit the young man entering the service, and give him a copy of a new pamphlet, "So You're Going Into Military Serv- ice." On this visit the bishop is to complete a card on the serviceman, which will be sent to the servicemen's committee of the Church. They will (Continued on page 232) APRIL 1949
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From the finest flower seeds to big, brittle lima beans, from fluffy grass seed to the toughest rice, the Model "A" has proved its power to get grains and seeds out of heads and hulls, to make the most of every crop under every condition.
Instead of costing you more, it costs you less to harvest with a Case "A." The way it keeps going shortens your harvest, reduces risk of loss from lodging or shattering, cuts down the days of labor required. Its ENDURANCE saves you money on upkeep, gives you extra years of use from your investment. Let your Case dealer show you the extra strength of its angle-steel frame sup- porting every bearing, the dozens of ways it's built "a bit better than might seem necessary ."
For every acreage, every size tractor, there's a Case combine — the low-cost 5-foot "F-2" for power take-off opera- tion; the 9- foot "M-2" and 12-foot "K-2" for fast work on big acreages; self-propelled models in 9 and 12-foot sizes. All have Case "air-lift" cleaning. Write for catalog; mention size to fit your farm, also any size tractor, any implements you need. J. I. Case Co.» Dept. D-44, Racine, Wis.
197
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M. I. A. JUNE CONFERENCE to Be Held in Salt Lake City, June 17, 18, 19, 1949
i5u rl/jawa U. /Joseph
June conference for the Mutual Improvement Associations for 1949 includes three days of ac- tivity and meeting, June 17, 18, 19, ! as well as a drama festival that will precede the formal opening of con- ference. The drama festival will be held in Kingsbury Hall, Thursday evening June 16.
Special emphasis this year is be- ; ing given to music choruses who j will be brought together under the [ direction of Crawford Gates of Promised Valley fame. The music festival will be presented in the Tabernacle on Saturday evening. Elder Gates, a member of the facul- j ty at Brigham Young University, has been studying, on leave of ab- 1 sence, at the Eastman Music Con- j servatory in Rochester, New York, , in pursuance of his doctorate.
Selection of the choruses to par- ; ticipate has been made through ap- plication by the choruses, plus their participation in the music program as outlined by the general boards. The program to be presented in- cludes some of the long-time favor- ites as well as new song numbers, and promises to be a thrilling presentation.
In addition to this special feature the conference will be highlighted by the dance festival, a delightful experience for those who participate and those who observe. The dance festival will be given on Friday eve- j ning at the University of Utah stadium, an ideal setting for the presentation.
(~)ne of the most important fea- tures of June conference is the testimony meeting which has been faith-promoting and stimulating. In
COURAGE
By Mautine Jacobs
' I 'he cactus prick of tears against her r- eyes, Her mouth belied the ache that cupped her
heart. Her songs outtrilled the larks that laced the
sky. Her smile outwitted Death's swift, keening
dart
%SOll
this meeting people from widely separated areas have opened their hearts and have given unanimity of feeling to this great Church. People of many nations have expressed their gratitude for the gospel mes- sage as it came to them first through the activities of the M.I. A. and later through their attendance at other Church meetings. The Hawaiians, the Japanese, the Indians, as well as
ill;
198
CRAWFORD GATES
the nations of Europe have been represented in these testimony meet- ings— indicating the carrying forth of the admonition of the Savior to teach the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God.
The day-by-day program is as follows :
Thursday evening — drama festival, Kingsbury Hall
Friday forenoon— age group and recrea- tional presentations in the Tabernacle
Friday afternoon — age group and recrea- tional program in the Tabernacle
Friday evening — dance festival, Univer- sity of Utah stadium
Saturday — department work
Saturday evening — music festival, Tab- ernacle
Sunday forenoon — testimony meeting, Tabernacle
Sunday afternoon — meeting under the di- rection of the First Presidency
Sunday evening — youth conference, Tab- ernacle
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
The Bride
(I5u ^Mlma IKobiion ^Mlab
we
V.
he day I wed my man, a late storm
came; We drove across the prairie, feathery
blown. His face seemed dark and brooding, not
the same; And I, just turned eighteen, felt scared,
alone. The house, when we reached home, in
silence stood, Dark, forbidding, against the star-flecked
sky, While from the blue -white shadows of
cottonwood The wind flung back a lost and wailing
cry.
He laid the kindling wood and set the match, Then in jeans and sheepskin coat, without a word Or even a backward glance, lifted the latch And left me where a strange fear breathed and stirred. He stayed so long the dark fear seemed to grow And beat like a prisoned thing within my breast. At last he came, his dark hair starred with snow, And two young lambs within his coat were pressed.
-Photograph, Jeano Orlando
Fear forgotten, I cradled each small, cold form, Holding with shaking fingers, life's frail thread; And hearing the muffled drums of the winter storm, We knelt and worked till the lambs were warm and fed. "I drove the sheep to the fold and made them fast," He said, "These late storms are the worst, I guess." Then lifting brown eyes he looked at me at last; And fear was gone; his glance, a long caress.
*
*
The scent of milk and perhaps the falling snow ,',; ,: '-.. And the air outside, so frosty-cold and thinned, ; Brought back that night, so long ... so long ago When I heard a young lamb's cry beat down the wind.
APRIL 1949
199
APRIL
By Elizabeth Crawford Yates
/^\N the silver heels of April, v/ Wings are ready for a flight, For escape of spring's immortal, Who is given to our sight Only for the days of lilac, And the shining cherry flower; Only till her wings shall leave us Petals — in a silver shower.
THEN A SONG By Dorothy ]. Roberts
Waiting and absence, grief and loss. By the heart's kind alchemy Help form the happy serenade And the mournful threnody.
These, in the mind, and a flooding light, From whatever the spring, Can lift a song, as the lily's urn, From the dark of remembering.
Within your word, a tone of sun Was April on my winter sleep. Now bright as heather is a hymn Shaped for our lips to keep.
SPRING SURPRISE
By Frances C. Yost
TPhe springing shoots make light of win- * ter's snow As they awaken from earth's soft warm
beds. They stretch their toelike roots as they
outgrow . Their tiny brown nightgowns, and lift their
heads To catch a glimpse of heaven's sapphire
hue. The emerald prongs reach out and inter- lock; Bent on a race to win, they each accrue. When kelly green stems wear a pretty
frock The passersby chortle, "It's spring! Why
see These lovely blossoms, such vivid colors! Winter is past, these bulblets guarantee!" Spring's first flower has no competitors. It's more refreshing than a mint, The early beauty of a gay tulip.
NEED By Pauline Havard
Need is a strange, insistent hunger; Fed, it will make the spirit younger, The heart sing out like an April bird. Need is a short but pithy word; The shards of dreams; the flicker of laugh- ter; Kindness like sunlight coming after Grief's wild storm. Need is these things — A flurry of starlight; a beat of wings; Deathless and lovely, and quick to write The small word, "hope" on a man's dark
night. Not while he breathes will he ever find His needs appeased or his hungry mind Satisfied, and these common hungers Bind men together to face their dangers; Bind men in wisdom to stand and give The needs of the heart, that the heart may live!
200
FROM AN OLD PARABLE By Ora Pate Stewart
'"Poday a weary stranger came to me ■*• And asked for lodging and a small
repast; But I was busy with the panoply Of small affairs. The stranger left at last He'd said his name was Cleanliness; but
who Had ever heard of him? I little cared. My house was small — I had my work to
do— I took no thought of how the stranger
fared.
And then I sent a plea to Godliness,
And asked that he might stay a while with
me — I had an extra room for such a guest And felt that I could house him comfort- ably. But Godliness was kind, yet reticent — "It is with pleasure I receive your plea; But somewhere, Cleanliness, lonely and
spent, Is trudging weary lanes in search of me."
I looked within the chamber of my heart And saw the room was small and dark and
bare, And wondered with what decorator's art I might improve the poor conditions there — The cobwebs of complacency, of doubt, The dust of crumbled hopes, bits of despair, The trash of wrong ambitions strewn about That gave the room a musty, dismal air.
I raised the blinds and let the sunshine in; I swept the cobwebs down and lit the fire; I burned the little scraps of secret sin, And shed the remnants of an old desire; Then hurried out into the busy street And looked this way and that, and up and
down, And asked of every friend I chanced to
meet If he'd seen Cleanliness about the town.
At last, weary, alone, I turned to start Back to my little house in bleak despair — But when I crossed the threshold of my
heart, Both Cleanliness and Godliness were there.
QUESTION IN APRIL By Lucretia Penny
Oh, Summer, of course, and Winter and Fall Each brought some perfect thing, But have Summer's rose or Fall's bright
leaf Or the snow-capped pine that is Winter's
sign Stolen a heart from Spring?
— Photograph bg Paul Hadleg
IN APRIL SUN
By Helen Maring
The green-gold rows of new wheat tin! the hill With light upon the day. The earth is fair. The dandelions bloom with golden will, Yet none computes their sums. The warm
bright air Gives days when dreams of harvest cross
the brow Of hills, when heading grain will spread
like lace. While bright blue swiftness of the days
endow Our hearts with joy, faith keeps the world
in place.
ENGAGEMENT
By R. K. Kent
HPhe apple tree is wearing •*■ A new engagement ring, The southwest breeze is whispering, "The apple tree's engaged to spring.'
I KNOW A PLACE By Josephine Mclntire
I know a place where buds of spring Disport with truant winds that sing. And overhead the cloudlets drift Across the fields, while flowerets lift Their little faces like a cup For April showers to fill them up; Where redbird trills a roundelay As April days give way to May. I know a place where buds of spring Disport with truant winds that sing!
SIMPLE THINGS By Louise Darcy
HPo find calm in a restless world *■ We need to seek the simple things, A pear tree white with fragrant bloom, An oriole on dusky wings. Look out upon the fresh, spring world, A miracle on every side; Here is a host of simple things To teach us faith and hope abide. God's love abounds in leaf and grass, The simple things that do not pass.
APRIL SNOW By Margie S. Giauque
HpHE other day we thought 'twas spring, * We planted our garden V everything, But now it's snowing!
The trees were coming out in leaf, But spring's stay was so very brief — 'Cause now it's snowing!
We turned off the furnace and opened the
door, The coal is gone — we must order some
more
Because it is snowing!
The birds were building their nests in the
trees, The birds were out and so were the bees, But now it's snowing.
Maybe they all were mistaken too, But there's nothing any of us can do Until it quits snowing.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
58=
FAITH-AND LIFE
Dm [-^resident Ljeorae -Mlbert J^Dmitk
o.
ur Heavenly Father desires his children to be happy. When he placed our first parents upon this earth which he had prepared and beautified for them, he told them what they might do in order to enjoy it.
From time to time he has repeated and emphasized his counsels through his serv- ants, the prophets. And those who have had faith in him and the faith to follow these counsels have rejoiced in the blessing of a contented mind, and have enjoyed peace and happiness that they could have had in no other way.
We are informed that without faith we cannot please God. Faith (and the good works that follow faith) is the foundation of temporal and eternal happiness. It is the moving cause of all action, and scripture is replete with evidences of the power of faith.
It was Noah's faith that enabled him to build an ark, and as a result of obedience to the commandments of God he and his house- hold were saved, while those who lacked faith were buried in the great flood. It was through faith that Lot and the members of his family were preserved when fire from heaven consumed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed the inhabitants who had not faith.
When Daniel continued to pray openly to the God of Israel, contrary to a decree which had been purposely prepared by his enemies to destroy him, he was cast into a den of lions. He knew his Heavenly Father could preserve him, and his confidence was unshaken. The next morning the king went early to the pit and found Daniel alive. His faith had rendered the wild beasts harmless and earned for him the devotion of the king.
Three Hebrews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who refused to worship a golden image set up by Nebuchadnezzar, were cast into a fiery furnace. They trusted in the Living God, and their faith was rewarded by the preservation of their lives. By faith, the Prophet Elijah called down fire from heaven to consume his offering, and the king
and the people were convinced that the God of Israel was God and that Baal was not.
It was by faith that the brother of Jared and his followers retained the language of their fathers during the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel and were brought to the Western Hemisphere. It was a similar faith that enabled Lehi to bring his family across the sea and plant their feet on this land.
It was faith that enabled the disciples of Jesus to endure the persecution that overtook them and, in spite of all opposition, to estab- lish the gospel which the Savior had delivered to them.
It was because of faith that Joseph Smith went into the woods and knelt down to pray. Reared in a Christian home, and imbued with the teachings of the Bible, he believed the promise recorded in the fifth verse of the first chapter of James: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."
It remained for this boy, not yet fifteen years of age, living in an obscure village, to test the promise of our Heavenly Father, and to become the first human being in sev- eral centuries to know firsthand that men were made in the literal image of God. This youth had the heavens opened to him, and he beheld the Father and the Son and listened to their voices. This most remarkable ex- perience was the result of faith. Through faith Joseph Smith was able to translate the Book of Mormon from an ancient language by the gift and power of God.
Later he was given additional information and directions which brought about the or- ganization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Under the direction of our Heavenly Father, he organized the Church with apostles and prophets; in fact, with the same form of organization as existed in the days of the Savior. He received from John the Baptist the Aaronic Priesthood;
( Concluded on page 252 )
APRIL 1949
The First of Two Articles
"... your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions." (Joel 2:28.)
More than 180,000 young men and women of the Church are between sixteen and twenty- five years of age. To you. the youth, your problems, your hopes, your ambitions your disappointments, and your fulfilments, we turn our atten- tion. Most of you realize that nei- ther you nor we know the answers to all of your vital problems. We have voiced many trite and easy things to help but have dealt mostly in vague generalities. You ask for under- standing and too often get from us mere quotations or closed answers. More than six thousands of your numbers will take classes at the Church university during the pres- ent school year. Many more will enrol in the colleges, institutes, and seminaries of the Church, while thousands will be participating in education as it is found in state and private colleges and universities throughout the land. All this, and more, will be provided so that you may the better prepare for the dec- ade ahead.
During this year each of you will ask some self-searching question about yourself and your future, for as a group you are thinking about tomorrow and what it may hold for you. Preparation for life is impor- tant but to live each day to its fullest is the challenge of the present. Im- portant as the future may be, it will depend largely upon your work and thinking of today. In this sense, young man and young woman, your day is now.
We shall not start by saying that you, the young men and women of today, are the best in the world. Some of you stimulate our pride; others our wonder. Among you are the ambitious and the lazy, the quick and the slow, the bright and the dull, the handsome and the homely. You are much like your parents and teachers whom, unwittingly, you have in a general way learned to imitate. This realistic picture may be a far cry from the stream of compliments you ordinarily receive — the kind which are typical of our modern world. However, most of you do not ask for compliments, but for our realistic interest in your 202
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omen
hopes and plans. This interest can- not be a mere make-believe, for young people of every age and cul- ture are the most accurate index of the future. The social world of the 1950's is now being sculptured by you, the young people of the '40's. Each of you has problems that are common to all, yet each has prob- lems of his own.
Py the hundreds in recent months, you have asked yourselves these questions: Where can I get a good job? Can I go to college? How may I prepare best for my life's work? How may I overcome my quick temper? Now that I am in love shall I get married or wait until I am bet- ter prepared to head a family? Where will I get money to pay for a new suit? How can I get my chums and friends to feel that I count? May I use the family car next Sat- urday night? What do I gain by going to Church? These are but
--Photograph by Harold M. Lambert Studios
samples of your queries, each hour of the day or into the night. It is such questions, with their answers, that form the center of your lives. Many of the answers cannot be found in books or articles, but in the normal give and take between you and your parents, your teach- ers, and your companions.
Perhaps you realize that as you are asking these questions, we are also asking some of our own: How can I teach Bob to be more careful in caring for his clothes? Why does Jim continue to go out in the winter without wearing his rubbers? How may we help Jane to understand that Sunday is not a day especially set apart for picture shows? How can we arrange sufficient funds for John to go to college? While he is away tonight, will Bill act the part of a gentleman and return home in rea- sonable time?
Yes, the questions of family and social life come from at least two
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
of the L^kawk
YOUR DAY is NOW!
does not attempt earnestly to im- prove in his attitude toward others may rob himself of the thrill of self- discipline, and also he may be poor company for others.. It is one of these essential tasks in which we attempt to discover ourselves, and to learn more about our capacities and our chances for happiness and
>w l/vedieu /". cutout
DEAN OF STUDENTS, BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY
success.
mand? It may be the girl next door or the boy from across the: street. He may be neither handsome nor rich, yet be very much in demand
Do you have friends who seem to be well poised, both in their bodily movements and in their thinking directions, and in the give and take who worry about the family life; and talking, and others who are con- there develops an understanding and the salesman in a store who is fused, uncertain, and highly un- between parents and young people, concerned about making a sale, predictable? Have you noticed, as and usually a greater appreciation Each of these tries to picture him- you gather in crowds at a party, io on the part of both. In the process, self as he is in the eyes of others, a classroom, or in family life, that there will appear differences of We are constantly engaged in the there is often one member of the opinion; these may result from im- process of measuring personality; party who seems to be most in de- patience and lack of experience on we do not use the technical tools of the part of youth, or they may be the psychological laboratory; but in the result of perfectionist philosophy the everyday tasks of life we make on the part of parents. Too often, comparisons and judgments.
as parents, we have spoken with In the first day at school students by his friends and associates. He
impatience then remembered that are analyzing their teachers, and the may say very little but may demon-
your need was not negative criticism teachers are analyzing their stu- strate some characteristic that gives
but a demonstrated better way of dents. A boy asks what kind of people confidence in him, a desire to
doing things. Too often you have principal the school has, and the know him better, and a wish to be
pouted or rebelled rather than principal continues to wonder what accepted by him. At first, we may learned to ride the troubled wave gracefully and with confidence. Re- cent studies in the nature of human nature give parents the opportunity to understand their children better and to find more intelligent ways of helping in the problems of sons and daughters.
We shall here be able to consider only a few of the problems you raise. First, let us talk about per- sonal qualities that make us useful to others. Then, the place of educa- tion in life. Third, we shall talk about social problems involving friendship, courtship, and planning. And finally, we shall consider the religion of youth.
\T Tesley Parkinson Lloyd has earned the love and " respect of the many students who have come under his direction as dean of students at Brigham Young Uni- versity since 1945. Moreover, he won the admiration of those whom he reached in many other capacities in his active life as teacher, athletic coach, principal, and professor of philosophy and education.
Born in Ogden, Utah, he completed his B.S. and M.S. work at Brigham Young University; he re- ceived his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. His Church service has been particularly rich including membership on the general board of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association until he was re- leased in order to assume the position of bishop in his ward. He also has been widely interested in the com- munity life of those places in which he has resided. His membership in the edu- cational organizations also proves his live concern for those whom he counsels.
DR. WESLEY P. LLOYD
Living with Others
T-Tave you ever noticed how im- portant it is in the lives of each of us to have the respect and good wishes of friends and acquaint- ances? It is only in our odd mo- ments that we feel we can get along alone. Almost everyone engages daily in self-analysis. There is the young man who asks his girl for a date; the boy who asks for a job or tries to determine whether or not he will be successful in one; the speaker who wonders if he can face an audience; the father and mother
APRIL 1949
kind of students, he will work with for a year. Each of us has certain personal tendencies which are ob- served by ourselves and others and which constitute a significant part of our personalities. The fine thing about these tendencies of ours is that they are changeable — we no longer speak about courage or ambi- tion or enthusiasm or cheerfulness or anger as absolutes which do not change. We are in these days try- ing to find ways in which we may adjust our personalities in order to be of greater benefit to ourselves and to others. The young man who
think that it is his personal appear- ance which is the cause of his popu- larity or acceptance by others. Then we may see someone in the group who has far more acceptable physi- cal features and dress who sits alone and is largely out of the picture.
Social acceptance seems to involve at least four important factors : •( 1 ) our contribution to others; (2) a friendly and understanding attitude;
(3) a feeling that one has made the most of his physical possibilities;
(4) the ability to think straight and express ideas clearly.
(Continued oh page 204) 203
(Continued from page 203)
Contributing to Others
Daul was a young man of pleas- ing appearance; he was inter- ested in what others were doing and why they were doing it. He seemed always to think carefully and to express his thoughts clearly. The neighborhood crowd did not call him a leader nor did it go through an election to appoint him presi- dent— the fellows just seemed to have the habit of listening when Paul was talking and of wanting to be in on his kind of fun. He was no Apollo; "But," said one of his chums, "when he looked at you, he really meant it." His clothes were not expensive, but well-chosen, and when he said hello it carried glad- ness that he had seen you. Paul was not lazy nor slow, but he seemed to be in no extreme hurry to get places. It seemed that somewhere along the line he had discovered that he was already somewhere and that wher- ever he was counted quite a lot.
Then there was Wendell, another one of the crowd, always five min- utes late, hair uncombed, wearing whatever was handy, good-natured and well-liked, but after all — "just one of the boys." Between these two young men there were differ- ences in native ability and also in home background. It would be most unreal for us to assume that each young man and woman is born with the same capabilities and the same chances for leadership, but many of you smart under these differences and wonder what can be done to narrow the gap. Perhaps the fol- lowing will help: (1 ) make a self- analysis and outline areas in your own life and actions in which im- provements may be made; in short, include yourself in your plans, and work with faith and assurance that through proper application to the task you may be far more effective and more accepted than you are. (2) Do not let minor failures "get you down." First, attention may well be given to the ways in which you have achieved success. ( 3 ) A sense of humor may save your day; do not take your problems too seriously. If life gets too serious, look in a mirror and have a good laugh. There may be plenty to laugh about. Earnest application to a job need not rob you of your sense of humor. ( 4 ) Do 204
YOUR DAY IS NOW
not seek the spotlight. As we help others to achieve, we gain their confidence and appreciation. People like to be with others who are help- ing them. ( 5 ) Be genuine and stand for things which you think really count. As you demonstrate that you are not afraid to uphold your con- victions and ideals and you are cheerful, cooperative, friendly, hon- est and helpful, you will find your- self in real demand; for your friends and mine are looking for compan- ions with these characteristics.
Your School Life
pVERY young man or woman in the Church must settle for himself the problem of how far to go in school. You should not assume that learning to think is synonymous with going to school. In every com- munity there are outstanding citi- zens who were deprived of educa- tional opportunities but who demon- strated that they could think clearly. Many of your fathers and mothers are people of this kind; you have admired their clarity of thought even as you listened to their stories of lack of formal schooling. But as a member of a new generation it is yours to know that the world of the future will be a world of better edu- cated men and women. The latest report on college and university en- rolment lists 2,410,000 students in America alone. This represents a new day in history. Tomorrow's work will be led by men and women of learning. These millions are at- tempting to wrestle from college and university halls correct tools for thinking and subject matter which will come to their support in times of their urgent need. The greatest problems of our day — problems
REMEMBERING
By Pauline Havard
Stuff the colored silks of the sunset Into memory's ample pocket; Store the silver beads of bird-song Into the spirit's chest and lock it. Take them out in an hour of bleakness, In a sunless era when no birds sing; They will light the day with their secret
fires, Till the heart's forest shows an unseasonal
spring Through the magic wand of remembering.
which you will be asked to answer — require something more than co- operative attitude and intense con- viction, important as these qualities are.
We are discussing in reality the difference between an objective and a subjective view of things. When- ever personal interests get strongly entrenched, it is most difficult to see the other fellow's side and to think objectively. It is difficult to stand aside and see ourselves in action. Yet the man who is marching in the parade is in no position to see how the parade looks, or where it is go- ing— he merely follows the person ahead of him. In order to determine how it really looks, he has to stand on the sidewalk and watch the pa- rade go by. Many of us are so inti- mately wrapped up in the events of life, with so many personal inter- ests at stake, that we are not good thinkers or social analysts.
The story of Mr. is
not an uncommon one. He left his regular work early, got a truck, and worked several hours hauling coal to his residence to save fifty cents a ton. By this time he had saved three dollars and had dropped into bed exhausted, but satisfied with himself. The next day without ap- parent hesitation he stood before the village slot machine and in ten min- utes had lost the entire three dollars. He did not complain, even though he knew that his chances to come out even were very slim.
The actions of other people amuse us, but we seldom look ridiculous to ourselves. Have you ever wished that you could stand aside on a hill and watch yourself go by. It is this power to do things impartially and with keen insight that gives direc- tion to social living. It is the prime characteristic of a strong mind. In these examples we have called at- tention to only one of the basic req- uisites for clear thinking.
Learning to think is a product of true education. It is not to be con- fused with simple propaganda. In true education our twin duty is to gain knowledge through the discov- ery of principles, laws, and facts, and to organize and interpret in- formation intelligently. Schools and the educational institutions of the land are provided in order that we (Concluded on page 231 ) THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Members of the 1948-49 all-Church championship team from Maywood Ward, South Los Angeles Stake, along with their coach and sponsor are shown above. They are, left to right: Coach Bob Fowler, Richard Waite, Merwin Waite, Dean Alger, Boyd Benson, William McNaught, Bob Bowman, Captain Harold Heywood, and Noble Waite. Sponsor is Nancy Morley.
Runner-up in the tournament was Fielding Ward, Beat River Stake. They are, left to right: Coach Clark Wilcox, LaMar Bourne, Kent Sutherland, Vernon Coombs, Owen Jones, Joe Hess, Vern Petty, Verl Coombs, Dorvel Gam. Sponsor is Rosemary Kidman.
These are the men selected on the all-Church honor team. They are, left to right: Richard Waite, Maywood Ward; Merwin Waite, Maywood Ward; Roland Williams, Edgehill Ward; Sperry Rueckert, Twenty-sixth Ward, and Vernon Coombs, Fielding Ward,
M Men Basketball 1948-49
Could a complete account of the 1948-49 M Men basketball story be written, it would con- tain unnumbered tales of valor and courage, of heroism and sportsman-
(uy 2/joyle eJL. Cfr
reen
nite need of young men in the
Church, and that in addition to the ship, and of faith and loyalty to the recreational and physical values be-
gospel, reported from many parts ing gained, it is helping to prepare "largest basketball league in the of the Church. Out of the all- our youth to face the future by de- world" this season, met in the all-
veloping sportsmanship and leader- ship. All of this aids in building good Latter-day Saints,
The sixteen teams which repre- sented the more than seven thou- sand young men who played in the
Church tournament it- self come stories we would like to record in full, if space permitted: stories of the team that walked seven miles through snowdrifts to participate in their dis- trict playoff; of the team which spent part of its free time in Salt Lake, during the tournament, doing temple work; of the ten teams on which two or more brothers played together; of the team which contained four married men, all of them married in the temple.
These stories and many more like them would show that the M Men basketball pro- gram is filling a defi-
APRIL 1949
Elbert R. Curtis, general superintendent of the Young Men's Mutual Improve- ment Association, is shown presenting the sportsmanship award to the Manavu Ward team, composed of Don Briggs, Kenneth Flake, James Baird, Joseph Bram- mar, John Huish, Tom Moulton, Don Peterson, and Stanley Walker. The sponsor is Fay Catmull. Coach is Reed Rosenburg.
Church tournament in Salt Lake City on March 2, 3, 4, and 5th. When the final gun was sounded, a team of hustling, well-coached and well-trained play- ers from Maywood Ward, South Los An- geles Stake, emerged victorious, winning a thriller from Fielding War d, Bear River Stake, by a score of 39- 38.
Another thirty sec- onds might have told a different story — the game was that close. In fact, the champions were pressed most of the way in every game they played, winning from Harrisville, Farr
{Concluded on page 246)
205
GOLDSMITHS OF
A gold ornament from Panama
'Illustrations from Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. New York City
Golden statuette of Tizoc, great lord of the Aztecs
Gold mummy mask from Peru
Gold and precious stones and jewels have from the dawn of civilization played a large part in the worship and adoration of the divine. The goldsmith's art is one of the oldest arts practised by man and was brought to a high degree of excellence at an early period. The writings of the prophets of the Holy Bible give many examples of the love that men had for gold and precious metals and jewels. A fa- mous passage in the Book of Job proclaims this truth:
As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire.
The stones of it are the place of sap- phires: and it hath dust of gold. (Job 28:
5-6.)
* * + *
(Now Hiram the king of Tyre had fur- nished Solomon . . . with gold. . . .)
And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold. (I Kings 9:11, 14.)
. . . And (the Queen of Sheba) came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones. . . .
And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices very great store, -and precious stones. . . . And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir. (I Kings 10*2, 10-11.)
In the book of Genesis, we are told that when Abraham went into Mesopotamia to find a wife for Isaac, he gave to Rebekah "a golden earring of half a shekel weight, also two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight," and after the be- trothal was made, presented her "jewels of silver and jewels of gold." Pharaoh wore a ring upon
ISu f-^re5idevit
OF THE FIRST COUNCIL
his hand which he took off and put upon Joseph's hand, and he also put a gold chain about his neck. Gold- alluvial gold washed from the sands of rivers — was used from earliest times. Gold ornaments wrought 3,000 years before the Christian era have been discovered in Egyptian tombs, and of most exquisite work- manship. The sacred scarabaeus, or beetle, considered by the Egyptians the emblem of eternal regeneration, has been found in golden models. From Greece came noted goldsmiths of ancient days who, invited to Rome by the Emperor Caesar Augustus, and others, were the fash- ionable artificers of golden brooches, necklaces, bracelets, and earrings, as well as elaborate objects studded with precious stones. Quantities of wonderful jewels were accumulated by the Emperor Justinian and his successors in the Church of St. Sophia in Rome. The Emperor Charlemagne brought from Byzan- tium noted jewelers and goldsmiths. His crown and sword are still pre- served in the Imperial Treasure of Vienna. His crown was composed of eight plates of gold, four larger than the others, joined together by hinges. The large pieces are studded with different gems, while the small- er are enameled with figures and in-
Gold breast ornaments, from Colombia, the largest measuring ten inches
206
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Ancient times
<=>Lei/i (Ldaar Lye
OF THE SEVENTY
oun
9
scriptions. Britons and Anglo-Sax- ons alike wore necklaces of beads, often made of gold and silver. Amethysts set in gold and hanging from a band have been found. The belts and girdles of the Anglo- Saxons were ornamented very elab- orately. Not only were the buckles by which they were fastened of the richest workmanship, but they were sometimes enriched with plates of gold beautifully cased and set with precious stones or jewels.
The word jewel is significant. It means a "thing of joy," the diminu- tive of the French word pie. It was applied to precious stones and pre- cious metals because they have been used from the earliest stages of civ- ilization to commemorate and signal- ize human joy.
"In ancient days," says Maurice Maeterlinck, "the search for gold was only a symbol concealing the search for the divine faculties in man." Gold was the emblem of purity and formed a part of the offering of the Wise Men to the in- fant Savior.
"Deter Martyr was the first chron- icler of events of Spanish his- tory in America. His book, De Orbe Novo, tells how the Spaniards through their ". . . insatiable desire for gold, oppressed these poor
wretches with extreme labor and toil to find gold, although before the Spaniards came, the natives lived pleasantly and at liberty, given Only to plays and pastimes, as danc- ing, hunting, fishing. . . ."
Chaplain Juan Diaz mentions that in the first voyages along the coasts (Yucatan), "a mask of gold was obtained." He says that one day the "cacique told an Indian that he should clothe the Captain (Crijal- va), and the Indian dressed him in a corselet and some armlets of gold, and on his head he placed a crown of gold, only that the crown was made of very thin gold leaves."
Marshall H. Saville, in his Gold- smiths' Art in Ancient Mexico, gives the translation of a report of one of the soldiers under Cortez, F. Francisco de Aguilar. Sr. Aguilar "was a devout soldier and devout man." He was wealthy and had the support of many Indians. He joined the order of Dominicans, and, when over eighty years of age, he wrote his famous account of the Indians and Cortez. The manuscript has only recently been found in one of the old libraries of Spain. It was apparently written about 1579. He with other soldiers found the ward- robe and treasure of Montezuma and, after describing how they had discovered a secret chamber in one of the palaces of Montezuma, says:
When it was open Cortes and some of
his captains went in first, and they saw
such a number of jewels and slabs and
plates of gold and other great riches, that
(Concluded on page 208)
Sheet gold ornament over ten inches long from Vasca, Peru
Gold ornaments, from Chiriqui, Panama
■I • , ■: :
Gold Crown from Sigsig, Ecuador
Gold breast ornament ten and a half inches in diameter, Colombia
APRIL 1949
207
(Concluded from page 207) they were quite carried away and did not know what to say about such wealth. The news soon spread among all the other cap- tains and soldiers, and very secretly we went in to see it. When I saw it, I mar- veled, and as at that time I was a youth and had never seen such riches as those in my life before, I took it for certain that there could not be another such store of wealth in the whole world. It was decided by all our captains and soldiers that we should not dream of touching a particle of it, but that the stones should immediately be put back in the doorway, and it should be sealed up and cemented just as we found it, and that it should not be spoken about, lest it should reach Montezuma's ears, until times should alter.
Bernal Diaz also describes the secret chamber and writes:
When it was opened, Cortes and some of his captains went in first and they saw such a number of jewels and slabs and plates of gold . . . and other great riches, that they were quite carried away and did not know what to say of such wealth.
None of this loot is known to ex- ist. Many estimates as to the value of it have been made. Prescott, in his Conquest of Mexico, makes the amount in present-day money $6,- 300,000.
In a report of the jewels, shields, and clothing sent to the Emperor Charles the Fifth by Cortez and the Town Council of Vera Cruz, we find reference made to two books that the Indians had made. The sentence reads:
Moreover two books of those which the Indians have here.
It is not certain just what was meant by this statement.
Oaxaca is a valley in southern Mexico, where many towns existed in ancient days. From this region were sent to Montezuma twenty large gold plaques the size of aver- age plates and the thickness of the thumb. The Mexican natives were able to work the metal into very thin gold leaf. Sahagun, in his scholarly work on the "Things of New Spain," says that they worked gold with the hammer, pounding it to make it thin like paper.
Padre Gay mentions that the Mixtecan Indians ". . . sold to some European antiquarians, very thin plates of gold, evidently worked with the hammer, which their an- cestors were about to preserve, on which were engraved ancient hiero- glyphs." In the work written by 208
GOLDSMITHS OF ANCIENT TIMES
Carl Lumholtz, entitled Unknown Mexico, Vol. II, p. 295, is a descrip- tion of the finding of two skeletons; on the breast of one of the dead was a large plate of solid hammered gold which had been used as an ornament.
'\\7'ith the discovery of America, Spanish and Italian noblemen led expeditions to the Indies, Mex- ico, and South America. Through the search in ancient burial grounds, enormous quantities of gold, fash- ioned in a multitude of forms, have been discovered. The countries where gold is most abundant in graves, are Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru; and the ancient peoples of Ecuador were among the most proficient workers of gold in South America. The German archeologist, Dr. Max Uhle, is quoted in a brochure published by the Heye Foundation of New York City as finding an immense amount of gold in the province and town of Sigsig. One tomb alone contained forty- four pounds of gold and another over two hundred pounds. Dr. Uhle describes a deep shaft in which a skeleton was found covered with gold and silver plates, alternating regularly, as if they had been af- fixed to a cloak thrown over the body. "This cloak may have had a fringe formed of small tubes of gold. The arms were discovered with bracelets and the head with a crown all of pure gold. Chonta-wood sticks were found covered with lamellae (leaves) of gold." We read further that gold leaf of the finest quality and as thin as paper has been found in great quantities. On some of the lamellae ate care- fully carved hieroglyphics. Gold plates, held together by small gold nails, are shown in the Museum at > Quito. Gold bangles attached to crowns worn by ancient "kings" were fastened with gold wires. The article written by Marshall Saville
THE MORNING STAR
By Adcienne L. DeWitt
HPhe Great Designer placed a flawless ■*• gem
Upon the trailing, velvet hem of Night. He pinned this perfect, sparkling diadem Upon her draperies to give delight To countless millions of the human race Who gaze upon this harbinger of light That lovely Night so gracefully displays.
from which we have obtained our information concerning the gold plates, crowns, and rings of ancient Ecuador and Peru, says:
We may say that the picture presented by the occurrence of vast quantities of gold artifacts in the various culture areas of South America . . . shows a glittering magnificence in connection with the cere- monial and civic life of the people which perhaps were not excelled even in ancient Egypt or Etruria. In the native architec- ture there is evidence that precious metals were used to sheath the rooms of impor- tant buildings.
Beautiful gold plates were col- lected by the museums of Eu- rope before World War I. The writer saw in the Royal Museum of Berlin, some years ago. a large and beautiful assortment of gold plates, some of them circular and others rectangular or square. Some were as thin as an ordinary sheet of paper and showed careful workmanship. There was no writing on them, but they were found in the old temples of the Mayas and were made ages ago.
Of recent date, the writer was shown the collection of gold plates now in the collection of the Museum of the American Indian in New York City. The plates were about twelve inches long by ten inches wide and as thin as ordinary paper. They were of beautiful workman- ship, and quoting the words of the old historian, Las Casas, when he had seen the thousands of gold fabrics in Mexico, that the work- manship ". . . appeared like a dream, and not as if made by man's hands."
From the writings of the Abbe Francisco Clavijero, Antonio De Solis, Garcilasso de la Vega and other noted Spanish historians of the days of the Spanish Conquest of America, we learn that gold plates were made in all the ages of the history of the peoples of ancient
America.
* * *
The ancient records of the for- bears of the American Indians, writ- ten on gold plates which were given to the Prophet Joseph Smith by the Angel Moroni, must have been very beautiful. After their translation by the Prophet, under the title of the Book of Mormon, the plates were given back to Moroni; and today the book is one of the most widely read sacred books that we have.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
"Off the Record"
OUR neighbor Jean came over the other evening. She looked dis- traught. If there were some way of taking mental temperatures, I'm sure hers would have registered at least 1 04. We all love Jean. She is enthusiastic and eager — a "good kid" who always lifts her share of the load.
dered which Jean needed most — the chance to unburden her soul or to get a good night's sleep. Sadness and weariness seem to belong to the same sympathetic nervous system, and often curing the latter auto- matically dispels the former so I thought that perhaps we should en- courage Jean to go home and get some sleep. But Jean wanted to talk. So we talked. I hope that afterwards she slept. I did — eventu- ally.
I
"What's the matter, Jeannie?" one of us asked. An arm went around her shoulder in friendly con- cern.
Jean laughed in a surprised sort of way as if she hadn't expected anyone to sense her mental turmoil and then burst into tears. It didn't last long — Jean isn't given to pro- longed weeping. Gradually we got the story.
No, her family were not sick. Her boy friend had neither died nor deserted her. Her school work was going well enough. But she had just come from a "work party."
"What sort of work party?"
A school organization to which she belonged was having its big spring dinner dance. The work party met to make favors and dec- orations for the big affair.
Hadn't they "turned out"?
Oh, yes, everything was beauti- ful, but the talk that had gone on as they worked had left her feeling that she had taken a beating.
"A browbeating?" we suggested • — attempting the light touch.
"Black and blue all over — espe- cially blue." Jean smiled, but the tears started up again.
It was getting late, and I won-
APRIL 1949
I urged. "Run along home now. You need to be beautiful and bright in the morning, and sleep will do it. And come back as soon as you can." asked about the work party con- Her radiant smile came forth. "I
versation. What had they talked feel better already. Isn't it funny about? Jean found it hard to re- how talking helps sometimes^espe- member exactly. They had talked cially as a cure for other talking?" about religion and the Church —
about girl and boy friendships and QHE hasn't been over again, but I marriage, about politics. The talk hope she will come soon because
had rambled and jumped about as there are a couple of ideas I'd like to conversation sometimes does. The talk over with her. This is what I
think I'd like to say to Jean:
First. Don't take these con- versations too hard. Words come cheap to many people, and some- times they come "cheaper by the thousand." These cheap words are
thing that had worn on Jean was that none of the talk had been in any way constructive. Oh, yes, it had been witty. Some of it had been hilariously funny if you felt that way about it, but it had been full of
criticism, self-justification, of catty used by various people for various gossip, of a chip-on-the-shoulder reasons. To some they are a chance attitude — of deep pessimism. to "let off steam." To others, a
After a few "now- wait - a - min- utes," made in an ineffectual attempt to stop the bar- rage, Jean had just subsided and quietly worked on the favors. But she felt "spent" out of all proportion to the amount of time and labor given to the evening.
"Why," she finished, "one of the girls said 'who cares what happens to us in the next life? We'll want to be with our friends anyway, so we might just as well do as our friends do.' "
By MARY BRENTNALL
chance to show off. Some use them ^o stir up argument. One young man may use a destruc- tive comment in the mistaken idea that in tearing down another he is building up him- may use poisonous
self. One girl
words in a desperate attempt to put drama and excitement into her bored days. Stupid words can be an expression of illness of the body or fatigue of the spirit.
If you are in a group where the conversation is clearly cheap — "Oh, she was just kidding," some- where it becomes offensive or dispir- one said consolingly. iting, you have two or three courses
"No, she wasn't. She is engaged open to you. Which course you to a boy who doesn't belong to the take will depend upon two things— Church, and she was trying to make exactly how much you are upset herself feel good about it." by the conversation and how much
"Well, she's thinking in gear," the individuals belonging to this said the engineer of the family, particular group mean to you. "reverse, of course, but definitely in If, normally, you enjoy and ad- gear, mire these young men and women, "Let's talk about it again, Jean," {Continued on page 249)
209
"Photograph, courtesy Hawaii Visitors Bureau Air view of Honolulu, harbor to mountains
II
mddison's apprehension about what /I might happen to him alone in ** this strange world in the middle of the Pacific proved to be justified, for no sooner had the tip of the out- rigger canoe touched the shore of the island than his troubles began. He knew two of the natives aboard the canoe. These men, whom Addi- son had hired to take him ashore, had been members of the Rambler's crew and could speak some English. The third native was a stranger. His presence caused no concern to the young American, however, as they were in opposite ends of the canoe. But when the bow of the craft slid upon the white sands of the beach, the stranger gathered up one of Addison's two sea bags into his arms, leaped on shore, and, with a few quick steps, disappeared into the darkness among the dense tropi- cal foliage that bordered the beach. He was stealing Addison's clothes! Addison's first inclination was to try to catch the thief, but he quickly saw the hopelessness of such a plan. 210
Then the thought flashed through his mind that the three natives might have plotted to relieve him of all of his clothes. He knew that clothing was at a premium on the islands. He also realized that the two men who had been aboard the ship knew that he was well supplied. So, instantly he turned around to direct his attention to the second bag. Surely enough, it was already in the possession of the other men, who were carrying it away. Making a running dive for the bag, Addison wrapped his arms around it in a vice-like grip, and a brisk scuffle fol- lowed. Even when the third man returned to help the other two, Ad- dison showed no signs of giving up the fight. Then when he threatened to raise a party of runaway white sailors and tear down the houses of the natives, two of the men slipped away into the darkness. The third, wfoom Addison knew as "Harry," remained, demanding payment for bringing him ashore.
"I won't pay you anything; you have stolen my bag of clothes," Ad- dison retorted.
"You pay. I bring bag back," the native promised.
Addison reached into his pocket. He hated to part with his only pocket knife, but he had promised it as payment, and although he never expected to see the stolen bag again, he felt fortunate to have retained possession of the one. So he handed the knife to the native. Then, swing- ing his bag to his shoulder, he made his way through the coconut palms to the house of Mr. Crown.
MISSION
Addison was soon to find that although Harry had learned many tricks from the white sailors with whom he had been associated, the native still maintained the Polyne- sian trait of living up to a promise. And a short time after Addison ar- rived at the Crowns Harry walked in with the bag. Throwing the bag upon the floor, the native, seemingly disgusted with his own honesty, re- minded Mr. Crown of some things he already knew — that Addison had run away from the ship and that there would soon be a search on for him; that if the young man or even his clothes were found on the Crown premises, Mr. Crown would be punished for aiding a deserter.
Addison had planned to hide out in the mountains, but he knew he could not take the bags with him. He also did not want Mr. Crown to get in trouble because of him. But somehow his new-found friend liked the "cut of his iib." "You go ahead," he said. "I'll keep your clothes safe for you someway."
At the first signs of daylight, Ad- dison headed for the mountains. Making his way up what is now Nuuanu Valley, he was soon over- taken by a native man and boy who accompanied him far into the moun- tains to a distillery where a number of men were engaged in making rum from tea root. Obtaining a bottle of the spirits, the man handed it to Addison saying, "A inu! a inul" and indicating that he should drink. Again Addison sensed treachery. All his life he had been taught not to drink intoxicating beverages. He had also heard stories of how sail- ors, after becoming drunk, had been stripped of their clothes. So
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
he refused. Even when all the men working at the distillery encouraged him to drink, he still withstood.
When the workers found that they could not influence the young man, they insisted that he leave and go back to town with the two natives. Realizing that he was not safe here, Addison decided to start back down the trail.
Why did they want him to return to town? Did they know who he was? Studying the man closely,
turn to the city, he descended to the bottom of the canyon, lay on his stomach on the bank of a clear stream of water, and drank slowly, hoping that this would allay his hunger. Then after gathering some dry grass which he bunched up by a rock ledge, he sat down upon it, thinking this position would be warmer than a lying one, and again went to sleep. Dreams? Yes! — Of Winchester, of home, of loved ones! But when he awoke after a short
V" M. V JJ 1 11 II U 1 l\ ASS'T MANAGING EDITOR
The Story of Addison Pratt
And The
Society Islands Mission
Addison thought he recognized him as being the third man in the canoe the night before — the one who had taken his bag. Was this part of another plot? Was he to be lured into the city and turned over to the authorities? Addison did not know, but he did know that he could not take a chance, so he watched for an opportunity to give them the slip.
Coming to a spot where the path ran around the top of a deep gulley, of a sudden, he dodged off the trail into the luxuriant tropical growth. Then, with all possible speed, keep- ing hidden all the time, he made his way to the bottom of the canyon and ascended the mountain on the other side. By the time he reached a point where he thought he was safe, and from which he could see the path below, he was thoroughly ex- hausted. So he lay down to rest, and soon fell asleep. A little later he was awakened by the chattering of a bird on a nearby bough. Look- ing below, he saw several men searching through the foliage where he had first jumped off the trail. Springing to his feet, he slipped again into the underbrush and scrambled up the mountain, not stopping until he was far out of reach of his pursuers. Then he lay down, and again was soon asleep.
A ddison awoke with hunger pains
gnawing at his stomach. It was
dark, and he was cold. What could
he do? Fighting off a desire to re-
APRIL 1949
time, he was still alone in a foreign land, benumbed with cold and weak with hunger. And so the night passed.
At daylight, Addison again ascended the mountains to a safe height and spent most of the day sleeping in the warm sun. When night came, he returned to the stream in the bottom of the canyon and his pile of grass by the rock ledge, and although his hunger pains by this time had grown in intensity, still his determination to
stay hidden until after the ship sailed, kept him from going in search of food. So, again he sat down on the grass to spend another long night. This time his dreams were not of honied but rather of food and eating.
By morning almost sixty hours had passed since he had eaten, and his extreme hunger at last drove him away from his hiding place. But rather than turn to the coast where he might be caught, he decided to explore the valleys inland. He found no one at work at the distillery, as it was Sunday, but at a small house beyond, he was given a very small portion of boiled potatoes and bitter herbs. At another house farther up the valley, he was invited to stop by a woman and some children and given a slice of a fruit he had never tasted before — pineapple. Just as he was finishing eating the delicious fruit, an old man appeared. He was fierce looking with his head shaved on both sides so as to leave a strip of long hair extending from his forehead to the back of his neck. After looking suspiciously at Addi- son, the man began talking excited- ly with the members of the house- hold. Soon some neighbors were called over, and they all jabbered so much and set up such a commotion that Addison, who was already ill at ease, became more and more frightened. He had heard that these Sandwich Islanders had eaten Cap- tain Cook, and, being unable to comprehend a thing they were talk- ing about, he suspected that they were planning to bake him in one of their underground ovens.
"I must get away from here," he thought. "Yes, that's it. Wander back and forth, slowly at first, so as not to arouse suspicion. Try not to appear frightened. That's it! Now slip behind this bush. Now run — !"
And run he did. Notwithstanding his weakened condition, he streaked down the trail for a half mile or more "at a rate that would have surprised a horse," imagining all the time that a dozen flesh-hungry can- nibals were in hot pursuit behind him.
When he had run as far as he could, he used the trick that had proved so successful once before, and dodged off the trail into the thick underbrush. There he re- mained, hardly daring to breathe,
(Continued on page 252)
211
The Dilemma
i
V— Conclusion
N his younger days St. Augustine
... dared promise not only paradise but also the kingdom of the heavens to un- baptized children, since he could find no other escape from being forced to say that God damns innocent spirits to eternal death. . . . But when he realized that he had spoken ill in saying that the spirits of children would be redeemed without the grace of Christ into eternal life and the kingdom of heaven, and that they could be delivered from the original sin without the baptism of Christ by which comes re- mission of sins — realizing into what a deep and tumultuous shipwreck he had thrown himself ... he saw that there was no other escape than to repent of what he had said.1*
The saint was in a trap, with es- cape blocked at both ends — a ter- rible dilemma, the only refuge from a, cruel God leading straight to a weak law, which is no escape at all, but "shipwreck." Only baptism for the dead can avoid these catastroph- ic extremes, but that is out. The Pelagians tried to dodge the issue by putting a soft seat, quasi medium locum, between the horns, positing a colorless limbo which satisfied no one and which Augustine brushes aside with the declaration that there is no middle region, and that the baptized will go to hell and nowhere else.188 Only this does not satisfy Augustine either; he characteristi- cally tries to eat his cake and have it with the declaration that unbap- tized children must be damned, com- pletely damned, and be with the devil in hell, only, he explains, they will be damned "most gently" (mitissime)^ In such a liberal spir- it, Bottom, the weaver, in order not to frighten the ladies while playing the role of a most terrible lion, promised to "roar you as gently as any sucking dove." (Shakespeare, Midsummer Night's Dream, Act I, Sc. 2.) A "gentle" damnation, in- deed!
It is interesting that Augustine can still report that there actually are
... a few who believe that that custom was part of the gospel according to which the work of substitutes for the dead was effective, and. the members of the dead were laved with the waters of baptism,1*0
thus confusing baptism for the dead (use of substitutes) with baptism of the dead. The universal opinion after Augustine is that there is no
•Numbers, continued from last month, refer to bibliography at .end of article.. S
212
hope whatever for the unbaptized dead. Typical is the statement of his famous contemporary, St. Am- brose, that to die without baptism is to go to eternal misery,"1 while an- other contemporary, St. Basil, says simply, "It is damnation to die with- out baptism,"182 and yet another, Gregory of Nyssen, draws the shocking but logical conclusion that:
It is better to be found among the number of the wicked who have reverted to sin after baptism than to end one's life without having received baptism.188
This immoral doctrine that places ritual conformity before good works is simply one of the unavoidable consequences of denying baptism for the dead. "We cannot believe that any catechumen, even though he dies in the midst of his good works, will have eternal life," wrote Gennadius, to whom the catechu- men's ardent desire for baptism counts for nothing.194 Compare this to the teaching of the Shepherd of Hermas who concludes the passage referred to above with the words:
They died in righteous and great purity, and this seal was the only thing they lacked.
A famous poem of the Middle Ages tells how the Apostle Paul was led to the grave of the poet Vir- gil, who had died just too soon to hear the gospel preached; the saint stands beside the tomb shed- ding tears of bitter frustra- tion, the pic- ture of help- 1 e s s n e s s : "What I could have made of you, O greatest of poets," h e cries, "had I only found you alive!"188 As it is, there is nothing the
The Jordan River meanders like a tidewater stream through the flood plain
BAPTISM FOR THE
Gennadius and his church would damn them for that, but not so the early church. The Shepherd ex- plains:
For this reason they [the Apostles] went down living with them into the water . . . and gave them life . . . and came up out again with them, and were gathered up together with them,
that all might share eternal life.196 The contrast is instructive.
And how about "the gates of hell"? ' They seem to be "prevailing" in fine style. Augustine "... would that God had saved from hell" those good and great schoolmen of ancient times who from their chairs pro- claimed the divine unity, but stern reason forbids it.198 Not long after him Ennodius
In his Libellus in defence of Pope Sym- machus . . . pictures the Imperial City lamenting the fate of her famous and mighty sons . . . who, unredeemed by the Church, were doomed to hell, because they had lived before the coming of Christ.187
&, J4u9k mtey, PL2).
church can do about it, and poor Virgil is forever damned. If you doubt it, behold him in the fourth canto of the Inferno, conducting the dejected Dante into an horrible region ". . . of infinite woes . . . deep darkness and mist ... a blind world," at the sight of which Virgil himself turns pale. "You ask what spirits these are that you see?" he asks the younger poet:
They are not here because of sin, and if they lack a sufficient boon of mercy, it is for not having been baptized. . . . Having lived before the days of Christianity they did not duly worship God; and I am one of them — we are lost for that one failing and not for any sin; for that offence alone we live in hopeless longing!198
He then tells indeed of Christ's visit to that world, and of the re- lease of the great patriarchs of the Old Testament, but adds, "Aside from them not another human spirit was saved!"200 One cannot resist
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
-Photograph from
Three Lions
saying with Peter in the Clementine account:
A good and great god in- deed, who , . . damns the good . . . simply be- cause they do not know him!
So much for those un- f o rtunates "who lived before h i s coming." As for those who came after, a writing to Peter the Deacon states that
. . . from that time when our Savior said, "Except a man be born of wa- ter," etc., no one lacking the sacrament o f baptism can
an earlier day found simply unthink- able and immoral. Even the stern St. Bernard when faced with the cruel logic that would damn ". . . good persons, who meant to be baptized but were prohibited by death," balks at it, "God forgive me!" he cries, but he cannot admit they are damned, though his church offers him no alternative.303
Come divines have maintained that the human race was brought into existence for the express purpose of filling the void left in heaven by the fall of the angels, a doctrine im- pressively set forth by the preacher in Joyce's Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man; yet we are to believe that the overwhelming majority of human spirits were condemned even before their creation never to see heaven at all, but to spend eternity in those nether regions which, so far from having any vacancies to fill, are, to follow the same enlight- ened guide, indescribably over- crowded! And they defend their in- human doctrines in the name of reason ! When Christ "went down and
1/ Jj ii 1/ in ^Xfnclent ^Jl
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND RELIGION, BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY
either enter the kingdom of heaven or re- ceive eternal life.201
"O grave where is thy victory, O death where is thy sting?" Where indeed! By a conservative estimate, the unbaptized should represent at the very least ninety percent of the human family — a substantial victory for the grave and a most effective stinging of God's children. Says Fulgentius:
You are to believe with the utmost firm- ness that all . . . who end this present life outside the Catholic Church are to go to the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels.802
It is cold comfort for any church to claim that the gates of hell do not prevail against its small minority, but only against those who do not belong to it; that is the very doc- trine which, as we saw at the out- set of this study, the Christians of
APRIL 1949 i
iwied
preached . . . overcoming death by death,"204 he delivered those who were in bondage because they had never completely fulfilled the law of obedience, including baptism in particular. Yet that is the very class of dead whom the later Christian churches regard as beyond saving. When the Roman Church, to the loud dismay of Paul, Ennodius, Dante, St. Augustine, etc., is absolutely helpless to open the gates of hell — and hence of heaven —to her beloved Virgil she fails to fill in the most important qualification of the Church of Jesus Christ; and that very verse of scripture upon which she rests the full weight of her vast pretentions, letting the world think against all knowledge that "the gates of hell" is but a poetic generalization, that verse con- demns her utterly.205
At present the justification of the Christian churches for denying bap- tism for the dead may be found in the statement that "... the church
believes that baptism operates only on the person who receives it."208 To be sure, and is there anything wrong with receiving it by proxy? Is it not a far more extravagant arrange- ment to have an infant at baptism accept the gospel by proxy, as most churches do? Those offering the child for baptism, we are told, an- swer for if,*" and the little one be- lieves "through another" {in altero) "because he sinned through an- other."*08 Not only is the purely spir- itual act of believing ( instead of the physical act of immersion) done by proxy, but the baptism itself is ad- ministered vicariously. How is it possible, St. Augustine asks, that Jesus baptizes and yet does not bap- tize?209 The explanation is that "it is not the minister but Christ him- self who baptizes,"210 for
The authority [potestasj of baptism the Lord always keeps to himself, but the min- istry of it he transfer's to anyone, good or bad.m
In a like manner the vicarious prin- ciple runs through the whole econ- omy of the church: through Christ's vicarious sacrifice every member is thought to have paid the penalty for sin and satisfied the demands of justice, while the Lord's own work is carried out by his earthly dele- gates. If it is possible for the Fa- ther and Son to be presently rep- resented through the ministrations of men in the flesh, is it outrageous presumption for men to stand proxy for their own kin in the spirit world? Do not Christian churches today re- quire that every candidate for bap- tism be "according to most ancient usage" accompanied by a vicarious parent?212 All that men can do for themselves they must do, the gospel preaches, but whatever they cannot possibly do for themselves must be done for them; hence the great atonement.
Can there be any serious objec- tion then to a vicarious baptism which makes it possible to satisfy all the demands of the law, enjoy the mercy of God without qualifica- tion, and retain the ordinance in its purity, intact and unaltered? It should be remembered that in the very matter of baptism the Chris- tian churches will waive all their careful rules in an emergency, and allow anyone to baptize anyone else at any time or place and in almost any manner, lest some poor soul in (Concluded on page 214)
213
BAPTISM FOR TIIE DEAD IN ANCIENT TIMES
(Concluded from page 213) extremis be eternally damned.*1" Thus the churches are willing to distort the rite of baptism beyond recognition for the laudable purpose of making it as universal as possible; but as the price of being universal it ceases to be a baptism at all. And so the dilemma remains, with only one escape: baptism for the dead.
Tn summing up the data at hand, we note three aspects of the doc- umentary remains: their adequacy, their paucity, and their distribution. The three support and explain each other and lead to certain obvious conclusions.
In the first place, the evidence is more than sufficient to establish the presence and prominence in the early church of belief in the salva- tion of the dead through ministra- tions that included preaching and baptism. The actual practice of vicarious baptism for the dead in the ancient church is equally cer- tain, even the hostile commentators, with their seventeen different inter- pretations, agreeing on that one thing alone.
Yet if they are clear and specific, references to baptism for the dead are nonetheless few. How is that to be explained in view of the ex- treme importance of the subject and the obvious popularity of the doc- trine with the saints? For one thing the apostolic literature is not exten- sive; one volume could easily con- tain it all. Yet it is in these frag- ments of the earliest church writings that virtually all our references are to be found: the earlier a work is, the more it has to say about bap- tism for the dead. After the third century no one wants to touch the subject, all commentators confining themselves to repeating the same arguments against baptism for the dead and supplying the same far- fetched and hair-splitting explana- tions of what Paul really meant. After the second century the vast barns of the Patrologia are virtual- ly empty, and the fathers who love nothing so much as spinning out their long commentaries on every syllable of scripture pass by those passages of hope for the dead in peculiar silence. As Lanfranc put it, how can one presume to cope with a problem which has baffled the greatest minds of the church? It 214
was the early church that preached and practised work for the dead, that no one denies;814 the later church, condemning the work, con- fesses at the same time that she does not understand it.
It has not been the purpose of this discussion to treat of baptism for the dead as practised by the Latter-day Saints. No one having any ac- quaintance with that system, how- ever, can fail to notice the essential identity of the ancient with the modern usage and doctrine. This close resemblance poses a problem. Where did Joseph Smith get his knowledge? Few if any of the sources cited in this discussion were available to him; the best of these have been discovered only in recent years, while the citations from the others are only to be found scat- tered at wide intervals through works so voluminous that even had they been available to the Prophet he would, lacking modern aids, have had to spend a lifetime run- ning them down. And even had he found such passages, how could they have meant more to him than they did to the most celebrated di- vines of a thousand years, who could make nothing of them?
This is a region in which great theologians are lost and bemused; to have established a rational and satisfying doctrine and practice on grounds so dubious is indeed a tre- mendous achievement. Yet we are asked to believe that Joseph Smith produced out of a shallow and scheming head the whole great structure of work for the dead that for over a century has engaged thousands of quite sane people in an activity which has been the chief joy of their lives. To design such a work would more than tax the pow- ers of the greatest religious leaders of the past, but to have made it con- form at the same time to the pat- terns of the primitive church (not brought to light until the last seven- ty years) is asking far too much of genius and luck. Compared with such an accomplishment the mas- sive and repetitious productions of the ecclesiastical mind from St. Augustine to the present are but the mechanized output of the schools, requiring little more than "patience and a body."
Work for the dead is an all-im- portant phase of Mormonism about
which the world knows virtually nothing. Not even the most zealous anti-Mormon has even begun to of- fer an explanation for its discovery, which in its way is quite as remark- able as the Book of Mormon. The critics will have to go far to explain this one.
In the following references "PC" stands for the Greek Patrologia and "PL" for the Latin, Roman numerals designate volumes and Arabic numerals columns.
w'De Anima. c. ix (PL xllv, 480-1 )
^Op. cit.. 503: 518: 520: 188-9
lss>Op. cit., HO; 120; 188-9
™Contra lutianum, vi (PL xlv. 1596-7)
"'Ambrose, cited In PL Iv. (235)
102Basilius. Lib. de Spicitu Sancto X. 26 (PC xxxii. 113)
183Greg. Nyssen, De Baptismo ( PG xlvi, 424)
>«Gennadius. De Eccl. dogmat.. c. 74 |PL Ivtil, 997). This doctrine precludes any belief in the "bap- tism of desire," a vague device by which modern Catholics attempt to provide baptism for the unbap- tized. No one could be more eligible for such a bap- tism than the pure and desirous catechumen, whom Gennadius describes as lost.
utHermae Pastor. Simil. ix, 16. 6-7
iMAugustine, Epist. No. 164 (PL xxxili. 708-718). Augustine finds it "absurd" to believe that one who lacked faith in life can "believe on Christ In hell" (714). As to those who were disobedient in the time of Noah (I Peter 3:20), the scripture does not say that they ever lived in the flesh! 1713.) By such violent rationalizations A.ugustine upholds a doctrine which he describes as "hard" {durum).
n^Raby, Christian Latin Poetry, p. 117
186 'Ad Maronis mausoleum ductus fudit super eum piae rorem lacrimae Quern te. dixit, rededissem si te vivum invenissem, poetarum maximel
lmlnferno. Canto iv, 7-12, 19-45. The poet says (43-45) that "great sorrow seized his heart" at the sight, for he knew many of the sufferers to be "people of great worth."
aoo/n/erno, iv. 52-63
201 De Fide ad Petrum Diaconum c. HI. fol. 159 (Cit. PL Iviii. 1043)
»*Fulgentius, De fide c 38 (reg. no. 35) (PL lxv.
704)
"•"Cited by Elmenhorst. in PL Iviii. 1043.
^A common formula, Hippolytus. De Antichr., c. 26
a0BProf. Sidney B. Sperry brings to my attention the Coptic rendering of "gates of hell" as "the gates of Amente" (Oxford translation). This Is the well-known Egyptian word meaning "the West" and hence "the realm of the dead." ( K. Sethe, in Aegupt. Ztschr. xlvii (1910). 31): it retains both meanings also in Coptic (Wilh. Splegelbcrg. Kop- tisches tlandworterbuch (Heidelberg. 1921), pp. 5, 25: also in [nl, of Egyptian Archaeologu XII (1926), 35 ) , where it has nothing to do wilh Satan or the devil. It is a fact of decisive importance that the earliest translators of the New Testament, and those nearest to the primitive church in time and in knowl- edge, chose this word instead of those expressions (such as TE or NOUN} which mean "hell" in the bad. tyrannical sense. "Amente" is simply the land of the dead, and regularly a word of good omen.
"WCabrol & Leclercq, Diet. I!. 1, 381
^Augustine, De Baptismo iv. 24 (PL xlifj, 175)
^Augustine, Serm. 294, 11 6 18 (PL xxxviii, 1342. 1346)
"""In PL xxxv. 1511
■"Won minister sed ipse Christus qui baptizat, PL xxxlii. 311
^'Augustine, in PL xxxv. 1419, 1428, 1437: xliii. 368-9. 371-2
tuCodex Juris Canonici (1918). Can, 793
*Hd, Can. 742. 746, 747, 758. 762; these rules allow for two types of baptism, which differ widely in their manner of being carried out.
•^As an example which we failed to include In the preceding article, a belated citation from the ninth century Bishop Aimon ( Haymon ) of Halberstadt. may be allowed at this point. Speaking of the primitive church he says: "If one of their loved ones (friend or relative: propinquus) happened to depart this life without the grace of baptism, some living person would be baptized in his name: and they believed that the baptism of the living would profit the dead." The Bishop must deny, of course, that Paul approved the practice, and has the usual difficulty explaining why the Apostle chose an improper practice to il- lustrate and support {ut suadeat et ostendat) his doctrine. (Expositio in Ep. I Ad Cor.. PL cxvii, 598.)
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
S^att c^Lahe Ua
BRANCH for m DEAF
Whoever it was that said, "Ev- erything comes to him who waits," certainly hit the nail squarely on the head; at least for a certain group of people. The deaf of Salt Lake Valley can breathe with a sigh of relief after twenty- eight long years without a perma- nent "home." Thanks to President George Albert Smith and his coun- selors; to Dr. John A. Widtsoe,
seed, which required many hours of toil. Elder and Sister Barlow were always on hand directing the work as well as laboring, thereby sac- rificing time that would otherwise have been used at their own home. Among the deaf seen most frequent- ly at the site of the building, donat- ing time and labor, seems to have been sixty-eight-year-old Joseph Cameron, Jr. In the women's group,
& (Ldwin f\oM UhursL
fP&JP
on
for conferences, seating nearly four hundred persons for a single meet- ing; a Relief Society room, kitchen, three classrooms, and an office, as well as other facilities. Included are fluorescent lighting throughout, a stage in the recreation hall, large blackboards, and signal lights in place of bells to indicate end of class periods.
(~\N Sunday morning, October 10, 1948, the deaf were delighted by a visit to their services of Dr. John A. Widtsoe, who announced that the chapel was ready for use, and although not yet fully organized, it could be used for Sunday School
At left: the new chapel.
Below: members of the foreign language committee who were present at the organizing of the branch presidency, on November 14, 1948.
from left to right: Arnt Cngh, Hugo Peterson, Dr. John A. Widtsoe, Thomas Clarke, E. Ross Thurston, Lloyd O. Ivie, Holger M. Larsen, Wil- lard f. Barlow, Max W. Woodbury (President of the Ogden Branch for the Deaf), L. Elgin Jacob- son, and Frank I. Kooyman.
chairman of the foreign language committee of the Church; and to members of Dr. Widtsoe's commit- tee; to Willard E, Barlow; and to others, who have in any way con- tributed to this effort in securing the new building, the deaf now have their own beautiful, three-unit struc- ture at the corner of Fifth South and Eighth East streets.
Ground was broken on August 20, 1947, by Bishop Thorpe B. Isaacson, representing the Presiding Authorities, in the presence of a large and enthusiastic gathering of local deaf people and their friends. During the process of building many of the deaf of the valley donated what labor they could in the clearing of trees and weeds, and also did such things as nailing down the sub- flooring, taking down the forms after the cement foundations were set, and leveling of the grounds. When the building was nearly com- pleted, they also, with the help of local deaf ladies, cleaned up wher- ever possible, prepared the grounds for planting of shrubs and lawn
APRIL 1949
Sister Kate O. Keeley did more than her share of the work.
Many facilities are found in this three-unit building, among which are the chapel, capable of seating one hundred ten persons; the recrea- tion hall, which with its movable partition, can be used, if necessary,
—Photos, courtesy Rodney W. Walker
services the following Sunday, Oc- tober 17. Imagine the joy which filled everyone.
Sunday, November 14, the Salt Lake Valley Branch for the Deaf, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints, was officially organized {Continued on page 244) 215
fiV
^Jrood, *~Ml
iviaep,
AND
THE CHURCH AND MODERN SOCIETY
Part IV
of the Department of Anthropology, the American Mu-
/- * |v seum of Natural
History, puts the population prob- lem forward in an
'- -.;-. ■.■:■• interesting way by
pointing out that if
^k^*-*/..- * *■'-?:' /'':&£;>■'.; a husband and wife
-"*'-• ">»*•". ■■ '%* have six children, *<$3*?W8e; " / "^^^^^^UlSB^' M and each pair of
children were to
— Photograph bg Eva Luoma <• . t .-.
1 produce six chil-
Dr. Fairfield Osborn is president dren and so on, after nineteen gen-
of the New York Zoological erations their posterity could num-
Society and author of Our ber more than the present population
Plundered Planet. At the centenary of the world — 2,324,522,934! The
meeting ( 1 948 ) of the American following table, based on Shapiro,
Association for the Advancement of compares 1940 population with that
Science leading participants de- of 1650, about the year that Joseph
clared that the earth was inadequate Smith's ancestor, Robert Smith, left
to support human population at its England for the New World, present rate of increase. Dr. Os- born, speaking on the topic, "What 1650 1940
Hope for Man?" posed this situa- Cwrfineirf (millions) (millions)
tion: In the last three centuries hu- Asia 25° \,\94
man beings have multiplied from gX^SZ Zr 3?
about four hundred million to over Africa 100 156
two billion; this figure will double South America .... 6.4 92
in another seventy years; it takes Australasia 2 11
214 acres to feed one person ade- _ " ' ~~
quately; many countries have less iotas
than an acre of productive land per
capita. Population study began to be a About the same time, William scientific possibility after the
Vogt, chief of the conservation sec- establishment of the Constitution of
tion of the Pan-American Union the United States which requires a
published his view of the situation decennial census in the United
in Road to Survival (Sloane, N,Y.: States, the first count occurring in
1948). His interpretation is approx- 1790. In 1801, England began an
imately the same as Osborn's, official census and since that time
, . „ vl ,, A . many of the modern nations have
. . . that, in all the world, there is not . , J _ , . .
enough available untiled land to fill the taken censuses. It was shortly after
net increase of 50,000 stomachs which are the first American census that
now being added to the world population Robert Malthus, the English clergy-
every day. man, wrote his Essay on Popular
Vogt goes further with the frighten- tion> substantially suggesting the
ing thought that instead of agricul- problems now being elaborated and
tore helping the situation, paradoxi- popularized by Osborn, Vogt, and
cally, it depletes the soil and lays others.
the basis for ruin (as now prac- Between birth and death is life,
tised). Life at its basic level is subsistence.
Dr. Harry L. Shapiro, chairman Subsistence requires air, food, drink, 216
and rest as the basic biological necessities for activity. Air ( despite the modern threat of atomic con- tamination) exists in abundance. Water, in the total sense of ade- quate global supply, is not a severe problem. Food, however, has al- ways been a problem. According to the uniform finding and opinion of scholarship there has never been enough food produced in the world to fill properly the stomachs of mankind. Urbanization and mech- anization have invaded mankind's need for rest, but this problem is of a different order than the problem of food.
What happens between birth and death to influence population? Why weren't there 2,324,522,934 human beings nineteen generations after Adam and Eve? Dr. Shapiro notes two broad influences on the birth rate. These elements affect the broader issue of conservation, agri- culture, and food supply in that they represent influences on the number of human beings who de- nude forests, pollute streams, con- sume corn pone, and treat the earth, not as a precious gift, but as if it would last forever. Under the head- ing of social influences on birth rate, Shapiro lists sexual taboos, long in- fant-nursing periods, abortion, in- fanticide, delayed marriage, con- cubinage, prostitution, social dis- ease, urbanization, and contracep- tion. All these factors operate as brakes on population growth ac- cording to this authority. Not- withstanding these ancient social "brakes," population has forged ahead tremendously in the age of science, hygiene, and industrializa- tion. A second type of influence on the birth rate Shapiro notes as "catastrophic." Examples are fam- ine and war. Yet these catastroph- ic influences do not halt the upward curve of population in modern times: after the year of famine, the birth rate increases and during war it accelerates tremendously. •
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
PEOPLE
•i
JUy Lf. J4omer> <Jjurkam} f^k.^JJ.
HEAD OF POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
Ts it true that there are 600,000,000 too many people in the world to- day? That poverty and hunger, in- stead of being eliminated, are fore- doomed to a large role in the future because of population pressure? We are told in modern revelation that the earth is the Lord's and the ful- ness thereof. The ancient command in Eden was to "multiply and re- plenish the earth" and subdue it. What of teeming mankind in the twentieth century, with a predicted doubling of world population with- in seventy years?
For the first time in human his- tory on this globe, as this problem becomes acute, intelligent mankind are approaching a situation where the condition of all our Father's children can be viewed and under- stood factually. This situation is still future. But thanks to the fore- sight of the framers of the Ameri- can Constitution in requiring an ac- curate, scientific census, and similar developments in many fields in the nineteenth century, we of the twen- tieth may be able to surmount the difficulties posed by Malthus. For this we are also indebted to the scientific work performed by the League of Nations, 1919-1939, and now the United Nations.
"There has never been enough food in the world." With this state- ment begins a recent publication of the FAO — the Food and Agricul- tural Organization of the United Nations. Established towards the end of World War II (Dr. Frank- lin S. Harris, president of Utah State Agricultural College, was a delegate to the organizational meet- ings and has since been active in its affairs ) , the FAO is an international fact-finding society headed by Sir John Boyd Orr as director-general. Following are some of the facts pro- duced by FAO which constitute a basis for solving the problem of food, population, and hunger.
Before the recent war half of mankind were consuming daily less than 2,250 calories and consequent- ly suffering from malnutrition and deficiency diseases. The inhabitants of the United Kingdom under "austerity rations" have had 2,750 or more. But the plight of the under-
APRIL1949 .,■ -f
nourished billion of our brethren and sisters is worse than even this comparison. Most of their prewar diet came from starchy cereals, with hardly any animal products such as milk, cheese, eggs, or meat; and rel- atively few fruits and vegetables. So, declares FAO, what mankind needs is not only more food but better food, containing the neces- sary vitamins and minerals.
It is obvious that if production goals be based on full physiological requirements, the world production of these more ex- pensive foods wilt need to be increased by more than one hundred percent.
A ccording to a world food survey
taken by FAO, covering seventy
countries (about ninety percent of
mankind ) , the worst undernour-
ished countries, both in quantity and quality, are India, Java, the Philippine Islands, Korea, Iran, Iraq, Trans-Jordan, Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Colom- bia, with 2,000 calories or less a day. A number of basic "nutrition- al targets" have been established by FAO as a consequence of this study.
Nutritional Targets of the Food and
Agricultural Organization of
the United Nations
(a) Raise the minimum available food intake in all countries to 2,550-2,600 cal- ories daily.
(b) Produce cereals adequate for 1,200- 1,800 calories, to be carefully balanced however against starchy foods, . fruits, sug- ars. ' ':
{Continued on page 247)
is- —Photograph by Religious News Service
The Fort on the
First schoothouse and chapel in Bluff, Utah, erected in 1880; torn away in 1894, and early settlers. Lett to right: Kumen Jones, Platte D. Lyman, Jense Nielsen, James B. Decker, and F. A. Hammond.
Firing Line ^Jtuie.jf
man
SYNOPSIS
Tn the year 1851, President Brigham * Young sent colonies to extend the Mormon territory to the south. Those who went had to fight four adversaries: the Utes, the Navajos, the renegade whites, and nature, which seemed at times the greatest adversary of all. No treaty with the United States could guarantee the set' tiers from the depredations of the Navajos. Even Kit Carson who displaced the Indians had found it impossible to quell them. Jacob Hamblin and Thales Haskell genuinely loved the Indians, and time after time won them to a reluctant peace, only to have it broken again because of the actions of the renegade whites. But at last the Mormons had begun their settlement, in the face of Indian attacks and nature.
VII
No trees shaded Bluff in 1880. The sun beat down on the white sand with terrific force, dazzling the eyes of all who looked from their improvised shelters, and the winds came loaded with clouds of dust and sand from the dry des- ert of the reservation. It buried things up as in snowdrifts. Food was always gritty.
The settlers had started from southwestern Utah with foundation stock for herds of cattle, and they had brought with them as many good horses as they could afford. It was but a remnant of this founda- tion stock that had survived the hard winter in the rocks, and these few were indispensable to the life and growth of the colony. Yet all these animals, even the work teams and the milk cows had to hunt for for- age away among the unprotected hills, and the range cattle had to be 218
driven to very distant places, some of them beyond Clay Hill.
O what a bonanza for these avari- cious tribes who had been devouring each other on this borderland for generations! Horses to ride! Cattle to butcher! And the owners of these animals too few in numbers to dare anything but plead and preach — nothing like it ever before around this desolated crossing!
Platte D. Lyman wrote in his diary, "We are about to be cruci- fied between two thieves."
With dark prospects of being left afoot, they spared one of their num- ber to guard the horses twenty-four hours a day, but no thief appeared while the guard was watching. The hills took on an innocent expression, for the prowlers, peeping from gulches or summits, knew that the best way to beat this game was to keep out of sight.
That ditch in the sand, and the new fields with their uncertain old bullfences to protect them from starving stock called loudly for the strength and attention of every able man, and they left the horses for a little while and then for a longer while, telling themselves they would be safe for a day — two days. Their horses were never safe for an hour, night or day, even though the ditch was empty and the fields burning up.
Navajo Frank, robust and self- sufficient as a well-fed boar, took up his abode near Bluff and set out to monopolize opportunity as it was opened to him by these strange
Mormons. If a horse were left un- guarded, he got it. If a milk cow wandered far into the willows, she became his beef.
T-Towever, there was a brighter side to this picture, and some people saw in it a promise of better things in the future. Kumen Jones, one of the leading men, went among the Navajos to curry their favor and learn their language, and in his early contact with them he met Jim Joe, a man about his own age, twenty-two years, and they loved each other from the first. Changing scenes and vexatious conditions failed to estrange them. Like David and Jonathan they embraced when they met. Jim's people had been trained from birth to steal, and the passion of thieving ran in their blood, but Jim Joe scorned to take anything not his own, or to tell what was not true. The splendid love-tie between these two men constituted the beginning of an important link which was to develop between their white and red brethren.
By happy little incidents and by slow degrees it dawned on the toil- ers in Bluff that these Navajo peo- ple were not so bad as they had seemed to be. Among those who came to inspect this strange project on the San Juan Crossing, there ap- peared at intervals some very won- derful men and women who, with- out seeming to do so, pleaded the cause of their kinsmen and revealed a delightfully human and lovable side to the Navajo nature.
Corpulent old Pee-jon-kaley,
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
pleasant in form and face, came al- ways with a smile or a refreshing joke. Even the children liked to see him. Pishleki, another pleasant and portly personality, made valuable contributions to the cause of good will by his cheerful words and fine sense of humor.
An old brave and his grown daughter came quietly through the doorway one day, and stood listen- ing in silence to soft music from an adjoining room. Suddenly the young woman dropped into a chair by a table, and, bending over with her head on her wrists, she cried and sobbed like a broken-hearted child. The old man stood regarding her tenderly, and when asked why she cried, he explained that she had re- cently lost a little boy, and she could hear him calling in the music.
An old Navajo mother came into a Bluff home where a weakly skel- eton of a baby was fighting for its life with some problem of malnutri- tion. The Navajo woman bent ten- derly over the child, breathing the love and solicitude which only a true mother can know. Next day she came from her distant hogan with a little bucket of goat's milk to nourish the starving child. She con- tinued to come from day to day with the bucket till the pinched little bones began to be hidden with healthy flesh.
pROM these unpremeditated pleas from the Navajos for good will, a sense of appreciation and sym- pathy like an awakening kinship began to grow like a little flower in a choking tangle of ugly weeds.
Yet the steady disappearance of horses and cattle was unbearable. The people viewed it with dismay
It would have to be checked or they could not survive. They had no de- fense but the charm of entreaty as it was supposed to be employed in the new warfare, and it was strangely difficult to employ. At all events, they had not learned how to make it protect their livestock wandering unguarded on the range.
With their wives and their chil- dren they had staked their fortunes and their lives on this unprecedented venture for the protection of the older settlements, and they hung suspended on their hopes of the Providence which had been prom- ised as their deliverer. How long could it still be delayed before they would starve? Navajo Frank and his pack of greedy rivals gnawed at them every day like coyotes on a carcass, and the Piutes in general gobbled them up slick and clean with every opportunity.
Years of hair-raising experiences in this ancient trouble zone were to prove that these Piutes had been the melting-pot for Indian outlaws from all directions. They had discovered it as a criminal's paradise long be- fore it was recognized as such by white men.
It is well the hopeful toilers on the ditches and fences and non- descript log houses did not see at first this inevitable phase of their monstrous task. Its fortunes good and bad were now all obscured in mists of uncertainty, and like a lamb between two snarling packs it won- dered how long it was to survive.
The Saints appealed to the Church leaders who had called them, and wanted to know whether, in the midst of all these things, they would still be expected to stay. If they were to stay, how were they
to do it? In answer to their petition, Erastus Snow, Brigham Young, Jr., and Francis M. Lyman, came all the long, long way from Salt Lake City to review the situation and to give advice.
They reminded the people that in the undisciplined hearts of these two native tribes rankled a savage something which had menaced the peace of Utah for thirty years. The colony had been planted in this im- portant position to transform them by the magic of kindness. It was intended, and the intention had car- ried thus far, that there were to be no more Indian scares among the old settlements.
It would have been poor consola- tion to the people of Bluff to have it pointed out that no more Indian troubles in the rest of Utah, would almost certainly mean that the quell- ing of the inevitable passion for war would be at the cost of troublesome times and frequent bloodshed in San Juan with its solitary town a hun- dred miles from all other white men. Nothing but the kind of magic which saved Jacob Hamblin from the flames could save them from de- struction.
*"Po Erastus Snow and his com- panions the people poured out the story of their hardships: rob- bers, white and red, stripping them of their property till they hardly had a horse to ride or a cow to milk. Like great kind fathers the three leaders listened to them as they would to the children they loved, reminding them that a great trust had been reposed in them, and much depended on the success of the mis- sion they had been called to fill.
(Continued on page 220)
An early scene of Bluff, Utah
(Continued from page 219) "You are far from the more pop- ulous and more prosperous towns of the territory," they said, "and in your obscurity you may feel that you are forgotten by all the out- side world. You may therefore con- clude that your work is of no im- portance. But as the main fort on the front of the firing line, you are acting as sentinel for the rest of Utah. It is imperative that you stay and carry on. You are here to end the costly troubles which have been breaking out for a long time, and to forestall greater troubles which, but for you, will break out in the fu- ture."
The people believed and accepted what they said. Their strongest in- tuitions assured them that merit could not fail in due time to come into its own.
"If you are true men," declared Erastus Snow," and if you do your part to uphold this mission, the In- dians who are unfriendly to you will waste away."
The people believed it. Yet when the three leaders had gone and the inspiration of their personalities could no longer be felt, when the people went from the meeting in the old bowery to find the prowlers still among their cattle, they wondered how this "wasting away" would be accomplished, and how soon it would begin. If it didn't start promptly and with a vengeance, it might as well never start at all.
The three leaders had directed the people to build a meetinghouse, to stay together, and to make their homes in the form of a fort. The leaders had directed the people not to defy Providence by making places of residence remote from the little community; to be wise and patient in their afflictions and in all their dealings with the Indians; to refrain always from flying into a passion and doing some unwise thing; and to cherish every sugges- tion of friendship and love which should spring from their more pleasant associations.
They built their houses joining in a hollow square covering about three acres, with all the doors and windows on the inside, peepholes or portholes in the backs of the houses to look from the fort in every direc- tion. Four heavy gates wide enough 220
THE FORT ON THE FIRING LINE
to admit a wagon opened into each corner of the fort, and the log meet- inghouse stood in the north center looking south.
Tt was in that square with doors and windows on every side that the writer of this story first be- came aware that he was a living be- ing in a most wonderful world with other living beings. The memory picture of that old fort is still vivid in his mind with the log walls, the dirt roofs and the quaint old- fashioned windows and doors all facing the big log meetinghouse as if in the attitude of worship.
When Silas S. Smith, returning from petitioning the Territorial Leg- islature, caught up with his company settled at Bluff, he brought with him an authorization and appoint- ment for the organization of a coun- ty to be named from the river, San Juan. But the order to organize, maintain, and finance any kind of civil government with laws and standards in this rendezvous of thieves and murderers was about as easy to give and as difficult to exe- cute as the fabled order of the rats to bell the cat.
All the same, the invincible spirit which had dared to ride on a rickety old wagon and yell orders to a four- head-team of clumsy oxen while they dragged that wagon along a perilous trail over a "slantindiclar" surface, was not going to turn pale and surrender at the thought of hoisting the banner of law in a den of thieves. They organized a coun- ty with Bluff as its county seat, the home of every one of its officials, and practically the only permanent community within its wide border. This, however, is not forgetting that Montezuma, fifteen miles up the river, still had half a dozen families and hopes of carrying on.
And now, with the little new or- ganization hatched out in the doubt- ful shelter of the log fort, must they keep it hidden away there, and its existence a kind of secret lest the bullies and gunmen ride over it roughshod and rush it before it could get feathered out and develop its fighting spurs? To announce itself openly would be to flaunt the red rag in the bull's face, a challenge to the rule of anarchy where it had boasted of being supreme.
And where would it get revenue to power its projects, enforce its or- ders, and build up the country? The big cattle kings that had come into the county from Colorado and lo- cated at La Sal and Blue Mountain, the formidable outfits with their gangs of terrible gunmen, had yelled their exultant farewell to taxation when they crossed the line, and they had surrounded themselves with fighting elements calculated to frighten any assessor from ventur- ing into camp.
The new county appointed Lem- uel H. Redd, Jr., assessor and col- lector, who taking with him Kumen Jones, went to the cattle barons to assess their livestock. They told him with a confidential sneer that no taxes would be paid.
"I'm going to assess every horse and cow in your outfit," Lem Redd declared, aggressively, "and when the time comes, I'm going to collect every cent of it."
He felt in his hands the splendid power of the big cause he repre- sented, and when the time came, he collected in full. That was victory number one on the new firing line, but the enemy had been taken un- aware, and would fortify more care- fully for the future.
"Desides the political organization which had been made for San Juan County, the visiting brethren from Salt Lake City had organized San Juan Stake, with Platte D. Lyman as president.
Thales Haskell, loved and trusted for his courage, his wisdom, and his unfaltering fidelity as an aid to Jacob Hamblin, was called by the Church to be interpreter, diplomat, and mediator between the people of the fort and the native tribes. Has- kell was the soul of loyalty. He re- garded his life and his ability as a trust reposed in him for the good of the needy wherever he could help them. He feared God too much to deal with any degree of unfairness, but if ever he feared the face of any man who walked the earth, no- body found it out.
With solemn words of firmness and love he went to Navajo Frank and other chronic thieves, his gray hair and white beard in fitting ac- cord with the dignity of his mes- sage.
(Continued on page 240)
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
FROM TEMRLE
\Jn ^jracin
%
cLita a5 Jrt Jr6
Cometimes in looking at the lives of others we may suppose that there are those who lead an un- troubled existence — free from the heartaches, from the reverses, free from the causes for worry and anx- iety that beset the rest of us. The less we know about others, the more likely we are to make this error. We can't tell on casual acquaintance what another man may be carrying around in his heart, but we can know with almost infallible certainty that, whoever he is and whatever he is, life has dealt with him — or will before he is through with it. We decide in the glorious and optimistic promise of our youth what we would like life to give us. We dream our dreams; we make our plans; we write our own specifications. We decide what we would like to be, what we would like to do, where we would like to live, what we would like for our children, how we would like the days and the years to un- fold— and then, the unforeseen, the unplanned intervenes: sometimes misfortune, sometimes opportunity, but almost certainly something dif- ferent from what we had planned. Few men become precisely what they expected to become. They may become something greater or some- thing smaller but almost certainly something different. Life shapes us as we shape life and when some of the things we had our hearts set upon do not unfold for us, some- times we go to the extreme of rail- ing against the irrevocable. Some- times we waste our days in wishing that something which has happened had not happened — which is entire- ly understandable, but not very
By RICHARD L. EVANS
profitable. It tends to clutter up the present with the wreckage of the past. Fighting against something that can be changed and ought to be, is thrilling. But fighting against what cannot be changed is futile. We all learn about disappointment and regret before we're through. And we all ought to learn also how to face life as it is and to have the faith to recover from our disappoint- ments. Surely we must make our plans. Surely we must keep the blueprints of our dreams before us. Aimless living is intolerable. But, having done the best we can, we may find our greatest victory in what at first seemed to be our cer- tain defeat, as Providence and forces beyond our control step in and take over, and overrule the best- laid plans of men.
—February 6, 1949.
J^>o Jake Lyoar L^koLce
"\X7ith a limited amount of money, we can't buy everything. With a limited amount of life, we can't be everything. Much as we may wish it were otherwise, whenever we decide to do one thing, we de- cide not to do other things. If a man has more than one talent, he is con- stantly faced with a decision as to which talent he wants to give his time to. When lack of talent doesn't limit his choice, lack of time does. No man can know all there is to know, not even in one profession — and perhaps not even in one part of one profession. Everything takes
time. Even active friendship takes time. When we choose to spend a day with some people, we don't spend it with others. Even people of great- est capacity are limited as to how much they can get around and how many lives they can touch on inti- mate terms. Some men can do more things than others. Some men can be more things than others. Some men don't have to narrow their choices as much as others do. But no man can be all things to all peo- ple— not even to himself. And even though we may think we can be ac- ceptable in all kinds of company, even though we may think we would like to be taken seriously by serious people, and lightly by light people, and carouse with those who carouse, and be sanely sober with those who are sober, at every in- stance we have to make a choice, even as a man of limited means has to make his choice of what is offered on the market. We can't be accept- able to all circles. Any profession we pick, any life we choose, any friends we favor, all mean some giving up of other things. We can't play the whole field. We can't have the whole world, no more than a youngster with his penny can buy one of everything at the candy counter. This is one of life's great lessons. And it is a momentous mat- ter, this deciding of what we want to be, and being prepared to pay the price of being it — for there is no such thing as success for the man who casts himself in all characters. In the limitless life ahead, there may be time and opportunity to be every- thing worth while that we want to be. But here and now, we have to take our choice.
—February 13, 1949. {Concluded on page TIT)
TLJeard from the "Crossroads of the West" with the Salt Lake Tabernacle Choir and Organ over a nation-
11 wide radio network through KSL and the Columbia Broadcasting System every Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
Eastern Time, 10:30 a.m. Central Time, 9:30 a.m. Mountain Time, and 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time.
APRIL 1949
221
J St
M<
> at a Jiwie
[ost men resist sudden change. But there are ways in which tremendous changes can come, al- most without our being aware of it. By small steps we may arrive at the same destination, which if we had suddenly been brought there, we would ruggedly have resisted. A step at a time is a well-known tech- nique. And often those who ad- vocate objectives which they know would meet with determined resist- ance if they should attempt to go all the way at once, are content to ar- rive at the same result, step by step. Many things are accomplished a step at a time — both good things and bad things: for example, few
HIE SPOKEN WORD
( Concluded from page 221)
men suddenly acquire a habit. They acquire habits first by trying some- thing the first time, and then by a long and repeated and persistent process — which ultimately is just as complete as if it came all at once. Men have often been led into ac- cepting slavery of one kind or an- other, a step at a time — the slavery of habit, of custom, of comfort, of convenience, and of other kinds also. The road to most things lies along this course: a step at a time. And while each step in any direction may not of itself seem to be impor- tant, any step in any direction is important. And before ever we take the first step, we ought to look where we would arrive if we were to take the second and the third, and all the rest that were to follow.
And we shouldn't take the first step even if it is comfortable, or con- venient, or attractive, or enticing, if the ultimate end is something which in principle we are or should be opposed to. Any trend in our own lives, in our own homes, in our communities, in our country — in our world — should be appraised not only for what it is at the outset, but also for what it could be at the other end. We should never walk blindly and irresponsibly toward any destination. Whether it be in matters of personal habit or private venture or public policy, we have the right and responsibility to know where each step tends to take us, no matter how small the steps are or how easy they seem.
—February 20, 1949.
^Jke i\ecord
At times we may be disposed to conduct our lives carelessly and indifferently on the assumption that when it is convenient or necessary, we will settle down and give a more favorable account of ourselves. However, always there comes a day when we have reason to learn how great is the importance of the rec- ord— all the record — not only the parts we are proud of, but also the parts we wish weren't there. Many records are kept in life, all of which add up to the complete picture. In school, a record is kept of our ac- complishments in every course, which qualifies our further academic opportunities. Records are made of the least infractions of the law that come to official attention. Records
are made of credit ratings, of the certainty and the promptness with which we pay off our obligations; and our future credit is qualified by the record. Records, indelible in memory, are made by our friends and loved ones, of our daily con- duct and consideration in the many small things that make for happiness or unhappiness. But beyond all the records which are kept by others, the record of our lives is kept within us. We are, in fact, our own record. We are the summation of all we have done, all we have seen, all we have thought, all we have experi- enced; and when the books shall be opened and men shall be judged, self-revelation, self-judgment, self- appraisal may be expected to carry the weight of the evidence — with each man knowing fully what he is. Sometimes youth permit the record
to become clouded, thinking that it won't matter later. Unfortunately, however, it does matter later. And often there follows the heartbreak of wishing the record were different. And so it would seem that this should be said to young people, everywhere, at home or away: Live so that you can look at anyone with- out an accusing conscience, without the memory of things you wish weren't there. Be straight and open and honest. Don't permit anything to get into your record that will not stand scrutiny under the searching light of day. If you do, it will rise to plague you in times to come, and your own thoughts will accuse you, even when others do not, for we ourselves are our eternal record.1
1Revised
-February 27, 1949.
WORLD AFFAIRS AND APRIL CONFERENCE
(Concluded from page 195) "Defore the World Council Mr. Dulles continued:
That is a conclusion that ought to lead to practical consequences. The Christian influence is considerable but as yet wholly inadequate. If, in the international field, Christians are to play their clearly indicated part, the churches must have better or- ganization. They should be able to speak more impressively with greater unity.
222
They should be able to act with greater co-ordination. They should put more emphasis on Christianity as a world reli- gion, remembering that God gave his Son because he loved the World, not merely the West.
We are reputed to have one of the soundest, best church organizations in the world, judged by outside observers. Continuing the logic of Mr. Dulles' argument, our burden for generating
"practical consequences" then, is even greater, because of our effective pat- tern.
Incidentally, what are moral prin- ciples? What are the moral princi- ples that need to be put to work, in these times? We might ponder this question and listen carefully to the April conference messages, 1949.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
TIN
E_ j^N <xAz\^ce\^
A CHRONOLOGY OF THE BOOK OF MORMON (Wendell O. Rich. Published by the author. Latter-day Saint Institute, Logan, Utah. 50c.) Tn this chart the course of events in Book of Mormon times is shown graphically. Important contempora- neous world events are indicated. It is an easily understood picture of the suc- cession of events, difficult for the read- er to prepare for himself. The work is carefully done. It is one of the best of such charts, and should be very useful to all Book of Mormon students.
— /. A W.
VERDI
(Dena Humphreys. Illustrated. Henry Holt and Co., New York. 1948. 341 pages. $3.50.) \17hen one studies the lives of the great ones, one comes more and more to realize that fortune does not smile on many, rather they have to make their own desperate fight to achieve. The struggle of Verdi — against poverty, against illness and death — all assume tremendous import in this struggle to reach beyond him- self to the destiny that awaited him if he could but conquer his adversities.
During the life of Verdi great forces were at work. His music, almost more than any other single factor, fanned the flame of liberty in the hearts of the Italians, eager for their freedom from Austria. Also Verdi became aware of the need for care of the wounded — and saw the birth of the International Red Cross. Though Verdi is dead, his music lives on, a tribute to his genius. His great operas, Aida, Falstaff, Otello, Rigoletto, La Ttaviata, II Trovatore, as well as other of his compositions have echoed in the hearts and minds of men to make them feel that music in- deed is the universal language.
— M. C. /.
NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE (Randall Stewart. Yale University Press, New Haven. 1948. 279 pages. $4.00.)
HPo those who have grown up with "The Great Stone Face," and have recognized the genius of The Scarlet Letter, this biography of the author of these and other well-loved tales will be a must. This work is a definitive one — and that adds to the worth of it with- out detracting in the least from its in- terest. To have the New England of this period revived as it is by Profes- sor Stewart is indeed an experience. Into the book Melville comes with his
APRIL 1949
tall tales: Emerson, with whom Hawthorne became cordial; Lowell and several of the leading political figures of the day, including President Frank- lin Pierce whose campaign biography Hawthorne wrote. But chief interest of all, naturally, is that of Hawthorne and his immediate family circle. His trip to Europe and his experiences in England, Scotland, and Italy indicate some of the materials that went into Hawthorne's later books. Without the trip to Italy, for instance, The Marble Faun would undoubtedly never have been written.— M. C. J.
MAXIMS AND REFLECTIONS (Winston S. Churchill. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 1949, 176 pages $2.75.)
"^ot the least important part of this book is the introduction by Colin Coot which is a delight to read both for the expression as well as for the subject matter. And the reflections of Churchill are good — as Churchill is al- ways a master of the English language. In fact, one of the maxims worth quoting — among others that should be quoted if space permitted — stresses the value of English:
I would make all boys learn English; and then I would let the clever ones learn Latin as an honour and Greek as a treat. But the only thing I would whip them for is not knowing English. I would whip them hard for that.
Churchill is so keen an analyst that these selections make fascinating read- ing.—M. C. /.
SWEEPER IN THE SKY The Life of Maria Mitchell Helen Wright. Macmillan Company, New York. 1949. 253 pages. $4.00.) '"Phis biography of the first woman astronomer in America makes thought-provoking reading indeed. It helps round out a picture of New England. The setting for the story is unusual in its beginning— on the soli- tary island of Nantucket, off the coast of Massachusetts, which was frequent- ly isolated during some of the winter weeks. The setting is no less delight- ful when it moves to Boston, to Eng- land, to Rome— because Maria Mitch- ell is there to dominate it and give vividness from her own observing na- ture. Her keen observation did not limit itself to the scene in which she moved or the heavens which she loved; she was a keen analyst of men and books, of science and history. Her ability as a teacher carries over to us today in her instructions, one of which
must be quoted: "You are neglecting infinities for infinitesimals." And throughout the book are rare humor and good common sense that will add much to the lives of all who are ex- posed to it. — M. C. J.
CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN (Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. Illustrated, Thomas Y. Crowell, New York. 1948. 237 pages.)
T iluan Moller Gilbreth and Frank Bunker Gilbreth were industrial en- gineers who decided at the outset of their marriage that they wanted twelve children, preferably six boys and six girls — and which in the end is the exact number and division that they had. The way they managed the family, and the fun they had together make this book an experience that parents should not miss — in order that they can make their own family life better and more enjoyable. The whole book is a re- freshing autobiographical approach to the family life of the Gilbreths. As such, it should do much to cement family loyalties in these days of quick and easy divorce. — Af. C. /.
THE CHESTRY OAK
(Illustrated by the author, Kate Seredy, The Viking Press, New York. 1948. 236 pages. $2.50.) '"The story of the young prince Mich- ael of Hungary will make fascinat- ing reading as well as teach a valuable lesson in democracy for young people. How he came to America and lived with the Brown family and learned to love farming will also teach the value of work. Kate Seredy is one writer whom no young reader should miss — and few older ones will willingly miss any of her writings. Her clever il- lustrations will add to the interest of the book.— M. C. /.
THE FALL OF THE SPANISH- » AMERICAN EMPIRE (Salvador de Madariaga. Macmillan Co., New York. 1948. 443 pages. $5.00.)
A companion book to The Rise of the Spanish-American Empire, this volume is one that all North Americans should read in order to understand and therefore appreciate the history of the Central and South Americas. The first part of the book is titled, The Soul of the Indies, and deals with the human factors in this area, explaining many of the situations that exist even today as a result of racial inheritance. The other three sections deal with Internal Origins of the Secession, External Origins of the Secession, and Beggars for Independence, each of which adds its definitive contribution to the scholarly study of this vast area of i Concluded on page 246) 223
Ljeorae Gilbert J^mltk
'By Daane Haley
Courtesy, Lee Studios
224
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
"V^
^
^Jo OW oLeader!
'J'o our Senior Editor, President George Albert Smith, the Era family, more than eighty thousand strong, with 300,000 readers, offer congratulations upon the anniver- sary of his natal day (April 4, 1870). May his days long increase upon the earth!
His people, the people of the Church, mighty in truth and faith, rejoice in his life-long, intelligent, unfaltering devotion to the eternal cause of Christ. He bears worthily the prophetic mantle, handed down from the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Grateful is the Church for the leadership of a prophet, who in its behalf can commune with the Lord. Other- there could be no certain progress amidst the issues
wise,
of the crowded, passing day. By revelation alone can man move happily and safely towards his divine destiny. For his welfare the prayers of the Latter-day Saints rise daily toward heaven. — /. A. W.
Tn the gospel doctrine classes and priesthood quo- rum study periods the questions frequently arise, "What is an angel?" "Was the angel who ap- peared to Adam after he was driven out of the Garden of Eden a resurrected being?" These discussions are based largely on the statement in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 130, verse 5, which is as follows: "... there are no angels who minister to this earth but those who do belong or have belonged to it."
Because of the misunderstandings we feel it proper to re-publish the following article written many years ago by President Charles W. Penrose and published in The Improvement Era, Vol, 15:949-952.
lA/fio and \AJkat ~J4m tke ^rnaet5i
""Phe annexed letter has been received by The Improvement Era, and I am requested to an- swer it for the benefit of others, as well as "Sub- scriber," who desire information on the points presented.
"How can we harmonize the following state- ments, viz.: The Apostle Paul, in I Cor. 15:20,
[Reconciliation
says that Christ is the firstfruits of the resurrec- tion. The Prophet Joseph Smith, in the Doctrine and Covenants 130:5, says "there are no angels who minister to this earth but those who belong or have belonged to this earth." In the Doctrine and Covenants 129:1 he says angels are resurrected personages. In the Pearl of Great Price (Moses 5:16), after the Lord sent our father Adam out of the Garden, after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam and asked him why he offered sacrifices unto the Lord. It would appear that there is an error in some of these statements. . . . — Subscriber."
If critical people would take as much pains to harmonize scripture texts and the sayings of in- spired men, as they do to discover apparent con- tradictions therein, much discussion would be saved and many contentions be avoided. Most of the arguments of infidels, and the misconceptions of habitual disputants, are the result of incorrect conclusions reached through hasty reading.
Take, for example, the quotation in the fore- going letter of inquiry, from section 129, verse 1, of the Doctrine and Covenants; reference to the text cited will show that it is not there stated that
{Concluded on page 226)
APRIL 1949
225
{Concluded from page 225)
"all" angels are resurrected beings, a notion that our inquirer, like some other persons, seems to entertain and which forms the origin of his trouble. The theme discoursed upon is the presence in heaven of two kinds or classes of beings, namely first, resurrected beings and, second, spirits who are not resurrected. It is not asserted that there are no other kinds of persons in heaven than they, but the subject treated is of the two classes mentioned.
Comparison with other texts of scripture, ancient and modern, makes clear the fact that there are other grades or classes of heavenly beings than the two spoken of in section 129. It is understood by ordinary students of modern reli- gion that there are perfected beings called gods, who are higher than the angels (see section 132:16-20), and to whom the angels are serv- ants. And even among the gods there are presiding personages, the Holy Trinity standing at the head.
There are angels of various ap- pointments and stations. Michael is called an "archangel." (D. & C. 29: 26; Dan. 10:13.) Some are resur- rected beings like the angel that was sent to John the Revelator (Rev. 22:8-9) and those already referred to in D. & C. Sec. 132, while others are "ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation." (Heb. 1:14.) Some of these angels are described as "the spirits of just men made perfect" and are "not resur- rected," and others were made min- istering spirits before entering into mortality, serving among their fel- lows in their pre-existent state. Christ was a ministering spirit be- fore his birth into this world. He was "anointed above his fellows." The angel Gabriel was a ministering spirit after he had been a mortal man (Noah), and before his resur- rection, for Jesus of Nazareth was "the first-fruits of them that slept." (See Luke 1:11-30; Dan. 8:16; 9: 21.)
Angels are God's messengers, whether used in that capacity as un- embodied spirits, selected according to their capacities for the work re- quired, or as disembodied spirits, or as translated men, or as resurrected beings. They are agents of Deity 226
EVIDENCES AND RECONCILIATIONS
of different degrees of intelligence, power, and authority, under the di- rection of higher dignitaries, and subject to the law and order in their respective spheres. Elijah, who ap- peared with Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration, was a translated man; Moses at that time was either a translated man or a spirit minister- ing to the Savior; both acted in the capacity of angels. ( Luke 9 : 23-33. ) Enoch's band of translated beings doubtless appeared as angels in manifestations to the patriarchs recorded in the book of Genesis.
Angels high in authority have been clothed on special occasions with the right to represent Deity personally. They have appeared and have been recognized . . . just as royal ambassadors of earthly potentates have acted, as recorded in history. The angel spoken of in Exodus 23:20-22 was one of these. So also was the angel already spoken of who ministered to John on the Isle of Patmos, and used the names and titles of the Son of God. (Rev. 1:1.)
The popular notion that angels are winged beings, because it is stated by some scripture writers that they saw them "flying through the heavens," is a fallacy. Cherubim and seraphim spoken of by Ezekiel and Isaiah, are not to be classed with the angels, for the angels are of the same race and descent as men, whether in body or in spirit, and do not need wings for locomo- tion, nor do they appear in birdlike form. They are of the family of Deity in different degrees of pro- gression and are "in the image and likeness" of the Most High.
There are fallen angels, too, who were cast down for transgression, as mentioned by Jude (verse 6), chief among whom on this earth is Lucifer or Satan, who has sought on many occasions to appear as an "angel of light" to deceive and lead astray, and who tempted the Son of God but failed in his efforts as he did with Moses and with the Prophet Joseph Smith. (See Luke 4:1-13; Moses 1:12-22; D. & C. 128:20.)
Of those who have leisure and means to improve their minds and make themselves very useful, there are but few who do not squander their time and means.
— Brigham Young
That great spiritual personage was an angel of God in his "first estate," and yet never had a body of flesh, but "was in authority in the presence of God" as a spirit, before he re- belled and was "thrust down." (D. SC 76:25-28.)
Thus it will be seen that all an- gels are not resurrected beings, nor is it so declared. There is no con- flict between what is revealed con- cerning angels who have appeared to man and the statement in the Doctrine and Covenants 130:5. In the first place, it is not there de- clared that no angels from or be- longing to other worlds have ever ministered on this earth. The words are in the present tense; that is: "There are no angels who minister to this earth but those who do be- long or have belonged to it." That is absolutely correct as it relates to the present and many of the past dispensations. It may also be true as to the ministrations of heavenly beings to man on this earth, ever since the fall. The angel who spoke to Adam when he offered sacrifice, like the Savior himself, doubtless "belongs to this earth" through re- ceiving a tabernacle here subse- quent to his appearance as a "min- istering spirit" in the beginning. Abraham, Jeremiah, many others not mentioned in scripture by name, were among "the noble and great ones," chosen before they were born into this world and ministering as required under the direction of the Holy Ones on high. They have "belonged to this earth" in their time and station and are numbered and recognized. . . .
Investigation of sacred writings is commendable, and when conducted for the purpose of obtaining correct information should be encouraged. When pursued in a spirit of in- credulity or to provoke contention or cast doubt on the inspiration of ancient or modern prophets, it is not profitable but injurious. Diligence in comparing text with text to dis- cover the real intent and meaning of the respective writers is desirable, rather than efforts to draw infer- ences from the bare wording, which often, being but a translation, does not warrant the conclusions hastily reached. "... the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." (II Cor. 3:6.)
— Charles W. Penrose.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Why Standard helps young scientists through school
The student's lamp that lights America's future never needed to burn more brightly than today.
During this school year, we have extended our graduate fellowship program from 19 to 25 scholarships and have increased the grants from $1,000 to $1,250, plus tuition where it is needed. These scholarships are awarded by 14 universities to promising young scientists and engineers. We, hope some of them may later work with Standard of California, but there is no obligation either in their choice of studies or career.
This is the eleventh year of these Scholar- ship Awards. It is our sincere hope they will
help develop the well-trained men and women who can best insure continued progress for the West and the whole United States.
Standard Oil Company of California
APRIL 1949
227
^ ^/i Doctors agree that for physi- ^■^ cal and mental development the first year is the most im- portant year in a child's life.
This means that extra spe- cial care must be taken to insure proper development throughout this all-import- ant year.
This is why we take such scrupulous care in the pro- duction of Special Morning Milk, the evaporated milk that so many doctors recom- mend for baby's formula. We carefully control each production step, from the farm to your grocer; and we add extra vitamins A and D in just the right amount to help insure proper bone and tooth development.
Be glad when your doctor prescribes Special Morning Milk for your baby's first
Here's your CHECK CHART for flHl ' MVffiNS
vvfrw
-GiodTjavor
Yes on every count when you bake the Clabber Girl way with Clabber Girl, the baking powder with balanced double action ... Ask Mother, She Knows.
CLABBER GIRL
"Baking *fWlei
How to Make the Family Work
D» (Lugene \Jl6
6en
How I wish that someone had told me what I am about to tell. I have lost valuable years by not having a plan, a family plan!
By the merest chance I learned of a family in the Bear Lake coun- try who formed a family co-op when the mother died. The father called his children, married and un- married, together and said, "Your mother and I have been able to get along fairly well until now. We
have fed and clothed and schooled you. But from now on I will need your help. Let us organize the family and help each other."
They perfected an organization and put in the family co-op fund a certain amount of money each month. The first project was to send the eldest son to college. He was married and teaching school, but if he went for a short time long- er, he could teach in high school. The higher wages he then earned would be used to send the younger son on a mission.
228
The last I heard of this family, the co-op was working out very well. Each member had been help- ed to attain a higher place in the world. The family was more united than it had ever been, and the father felt secure for his old age. He had taught his family how to work together.
Another family decided to organ- ize and build a home for each child. The unmarried children could use the rent on the extra home to send them on a mission or to college. It took seven years to finish the first co-op home. They soon saw that if the young couples were to have a good-sized house while the children were young, they would have to construct basement houses. These cost only about one-fourth of what it takes to build on top. They have a bath and plenty of room for a growing family.
By using cinder blocks the cost of these houses was cut to a mini- mum and figured less than average rent. This family completed four homes, and only two were needed by the family. The other two were rented to provide money for mis- sions and schooling. One of the places was used as an insurance policy in case of death to the bread- winner. It was a paid-up policy, but some of the family insisted on making a premium payment each month to add to the family co-op fund.
For years we have heard the story about the father who called his sons together and handed them a bundle of sticks. "Break this bundle," he said.
Each boy tried to break the bundle, but it was not possible. Then the father untied the sticks. Each son could easily break the single sticks. The moral was plain to the boys.
We may have failed many times because we didn't know how to tie the bundle together. What we need most is someone to show us a way to tie our bundle. What fits one family may not fit another. The battle is half won if we make a plan. If the first plan does not suc- ceed, try, try again.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Josephine B. Nichols
"D ecipes which will help you celebrate Easter.
Qrapefruit'Rhubarb'Cocktail
Combine two cups rhubarb juice with one and one-half cups canned grapefruit, add a dash of salt, and chill.
Rhubarb Juice
Wash, trim, and cut into one-inch pieces one pound rhubarb, cook in one and one- half cups water, until soft. Press through sieve. Add one-half cup sugar, heat un- til sugar is dissolved.
Tuna-Egg-Mushroom Pie
Line a shallow pyrex dish with piecrust and brown in oven. Let cool.
Pie Filling
1 7-oz. can tuna
2 hard cooked eggs (cubed) 1 can mushroom soup
J/> cup water
J-4 cup minced green pepper J4 cup minced pimento 1 tablespoon grated onion
Heat soup, milk, and water in double boiler, stirring until smooth. Add remaining ingredients. Place mixture in pie shell; heat in moderate oven {350CF) twenty minutes. Garnish and serve.
Frosted Buns
J4 cup shortening 34 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 egg 1 cup milk % cup water
1 cake fresh yeast
6 to 6]/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon Yl teaspoon nutmeg
Sift flour; measure; sift again with spices. Heat milk; add water; cool to lukewarm. Add crumbled yeast; stir until dissolved. Add melted shortening, sugar, salt, and beaten egg. Mix well. Add all flour at one time. Mix until dough leaves sides of bowl. Turn out on lightly floured board. Knead gently until smooth. Place dough in large greased bowl; cover with damp cloth.
Let rise in warm place about two hours, or until double in bulk. Punch down to original size; remove from bowl onto board; let remain fifteen minutes. Shape into small balls. Place two inches apart
(Concluded on page 230) APRIL 1949
. . . and naturally, when he came home from a long trip, Mrs. T.S. was very happy — until she unpacked his bag.
The clean white shirts he took away always came back with
a "mourning band" of railroad dust ground into the collars and cuffs.
And the job of getting those shirts white again was not only
a test of wifely devotion — it was very hard on the shirts.
The happy ending to this story came the first time Mrs. T.S. tried Fels-Naptha Soap Chips. To use her own words, "I never had any white shirts come out any whiter — and no rubbing!"
P.S.— Golden Fels-Naptha Soap gives you
THE EXTRA WASHING HELP of TWO CLEANERS-
MILD, GOLDEN SOAP and ACTIVE NAPTHA . . .
This better laundry soap turns out cleaner, whiter washes in less time, with less hard, tiring work. Look for the Fels-Naptha Bar or Fels-Naptha Soap Chips next time you're out shopping.
MADE IN PHILA. BY FEIS & CO.
GOLDEN BAR OR GOLDEN CHIPS
Fels-Naptha Soap
BANISHES "TATTLE-TALE GRAY"
229
TONIGHT AT 6:30
plan to have Tuna en Casserole made with this improved
With "the tuna that almost serves itself". . . it's one of the easiest, quickest of hot entrees. A satisfying main dish that everybody will like, including Dad. ("Bite-size" tuna is some- thing a man can "get his teeth
Trademark of Van Camp Sea Food Co. Inc., Terminal Island, Calif.
230
Cook's Corner
{Concluded from page 229)
on greased cooky sheet or place in greased muffin pans. Cover with damp cloth; let rise at room temperature about forty-five minutes, or until double in bulk. Bake in hot oven (425° F.) twelve or fifteen min- utes. While they are warm spread gen- erously with powdered sugar frosting. Serve hot.
Desserts for the "Small-Fry" Easter Bunnies and Eggs in a Nest Jaunty marshmallow bunnies are fasten- ed on vanilla wafers with dabs of seven- minute frosting. Bunnies are made by us- ing halved marshmallows for the legs, whole ones for bodies and heads, pink candy almonds for ears, cloves for eyes. The bodies of the bunnies may be made secure with frosting.
Blue, pink, and green candy almonds are the eggs in a nest of shredded coconut atop frosted cup cakes. Place cup cakes on lace paper doilies.
Salt Lake Theatre to Produce Play Calt Lake Theatre, Inc., working in cooperation with the Mutual Im- provement Associations closes its ninth season by presenting The Winslow Boy during conference, on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, April 4, 5, 6, at the Lyric Theatre in Salt Lake City. It will be directed by Rowena J. Miller and stage-managed by Bea Thomas, and Mavis Hickman will be assistant director. Taylorsville, North Seventeenth, Marlborough, North Twentieth, University, First, Poplar Grove, Edgehill, and North Eighteenth are all represented in the all-star cast.
Salt Lake Theatre was organized to create an opportunity for Latter-day Saint young people to develop and dis- play their dramatic talents. During its nine years, the organization has given such opportunity to several mem- bers of the Church. Some have com- muted each day from as far away as Ogden and Kaysville to rehearse.
Salt Lake Theatre members have gone to ward and stake meetings foe demonstrations on makeup, lectures on costuming, lighting, sound, scenic de- sign, and myriad other production de- tails necessary to good theatre. Among other activities, the Salt Lake Theatre was in complete charge of all backstage work of the Centennial pageant, The Message of the Ages, and directed a great number of the individual sequences. This organiza- tion also handled all the makeup for the Aaronic Priesthood pageant, Pre- pare Ye the Way, constructed the wagons used in the tableau in the uni- versity stadium in July 1946, and in addition produced the tableaus.
At least a dozen members of Salt Lake Theatre are actively engaged in directing and producing plays in their own wards and stakes, in addition to their own activities.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Your Day Is Now
{Concluded from page 204) may learn to think more effectively and that we may learn to prepare ourselves for the work of living. These two processes come together and depend on one another. One day when we have sensed more keenly the security which comes from developed minds, we may more fully understand that ignorance is sin, that knowledge is a virtue, and that intelligence is a reality — the glory of God.
Most of you are thinking of the time when you will take a major role in homes of your own — the men as fathers and breadwinners, the young women more commonly as mothers and counselors. No long- er does any young Latter-day Saint man have the right to stumble into a vocation or occupation. No long- er in America should vocation be a problem of mere accident. In an increasingly complex civilization, the young man or woman who does not plan his education carefully is lining himself up to play on the los- ing side. As each of you thinks about his schooling, you may know that various schools are thinking about you and your needs. Most of our high schools, vocational schools, and colleges of today have accepted the challenge that people come first and that subject matter is useful only as it relates to the human fam- ily.
In schools that are doing their work well, the student may find op- portunity for self-analysis and for aid from counseling and objective testing services. Occupations and vocations of the community, the state, and the nation are carefully reviewed; and each young man and woman has the right to expect that he shall not have to choose in the dark but may move in an organized way to a life's work of his careful choosing.
In short, there are things which really matter to you, the young peo- ple of the Church. They are not mere trifles, but the stuff out of which life is made. They involve your bodies, your minds, your schools, your vocations, your girl friends, your families, your neigh- borhoods, your country, and your Church.
(Dr. Lloyd's second article is scheduled to appear in a succeeding issue.)
APRIL 1949
When your baby
at you
\17hen a baby smiles often and easily, when he laughs out loud from sheer joy, it means that he is well-fed . . . for only a well-fed baby is a happy baby. And when babies are fed on -Sego Milk they are as a rule sturdy, well-developed, happy babies.
Sego Milk is a favored form of milk for babies because of the sure freedom from harmful germs; the uniform, unvarying richness in all the food substances of whole milk; the ready digestibility that frees babies almost completely from digestive disturbances.
There is also another important point of quality. Sego Milk supplies the vitamin D that a baby must have in order to develop sound teeth, straight bones, and to have the best of growth.
Each pint of Sego Milk contains 400
units of pure vitamin D, — the new form of the sunshine vitamin. "When you mix a pint of double-rich Sego Milk with a pint of water, you have a quart of rich whole milk which provides — in pure form — the amount of vitamin D per quart of milk that medical authorities agree babies need for the best of growth and development.
Sego Milk is the first brand of evaporated milk to be fortified with pure vitamin D;l Ask your doctor about it.
This seal certifies that all statements made here have been accepted as true by the Council on Foods and Nutrition of the American Medical Association.
5§l This seal certifies that the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation makes periodic tests to determine that Sego Milk di- luted with an equal amount of water always gives you 400 units of vitamin D per quart.
SEGO MILK
To get your copy of the 64-page baby book and Mary Lee Taylor's newest recipe book, write Dept. E-8.
SEGO MILK PRODUCTS CO. — Salt Lake City, Utah
The -Standard of Highest Quality for More Than Forty Years
231
STAR-KIST TUNA ROYALE
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has new slant— costs $1*05!
Make it in 30 minutes! A simple recipe with a proud look. Use Star-Kist Tuna for milder, finer flavor . . . it's the best-tasting tuna in all the world.
STAR-KIST TUNA ROYALE
Blend V2 cup milk with 2 cups prepared biscuit mix (dough should be soft, but not sticky; if too dry add more milk). Pat out half of dough in each of two 8"pans; brush with butter. Bake in 450°F. oven 15-20 minutes.
FILLING
1 7-oz. can Fancy Solid Pack Va cup cooked or canned
(or New Chunk Style peas
Grated} Tuna ,. „ . . ..
- ... '* CUP sliced ripe olives
2 cans condensed mushroom
soup 2 tablespoons pimiento
Heat above ingredients slowly, stirring frequently. Pile piping hot filling between layers and on top of short- cake. Serves 6.
BUY SOLID PACK OR CHUNK STYLE GRATED . . . STAR-KIST QUALITY IS THE SAME!
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Makes Menu Planning Easy Economical, kitchen-tested tuna recipes. 24-page booklet! Write Star-KistTuna, Terminal Island, California, Department 4-E.
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"T*0 PERSQNS •• ONE CHARGE"
The Church Moves On
(Continued from page 197) mail the serviceman copies of the Book of Mormon and Principles of the Gos- pel, the books that L.D.S. service per- sonnel had during World War II. He will also be sent a directory of mission and stake meeting places near existing military camps.
Wards are expected to keep in touch with servicemen through letters and Church publications.
The letter announcing this new serv- icemen's program concludes:
If we keep in touch with these boys, we may go far toward protecting them against temptations of the world and helping them to keep up their Church interest and ac- tivity.
MISSIONARIES ENTERING THE MISSIONARY HOME
JANUARY 24, AND DEPARTING FEBRUARY 2, 1949
(Top picture, page 233)
Reading from left to right, first row: Marian Soderquist, Helen Lange, Wanda Farmer, J. Mcrvin Owens, David E. Hepworth, Don B. Colton, director; Gerald R. Rudy, Louis L, Brossard, Barney Sessions, Jack W. Worthen.
Second row: Helen Bitters, Let ha Moyes, Mary L. Petersen, Monette H. Holmes, Pauline I. Varaia, Mildred M. Wehrwein, Gloria G. Jackson, Thelma Brinkerhoff, Betty Nelson.
Third row: Miriel Talbot Dredge, Geraldine Bing- ham, Cleo Johnson, LaVona Richins, Jennie Robin- son, Richard L. Parter, Paul H. Smith, Byron J. Gil- bert, Doris Mortensen.
Fourth row: Dayton Crane, Kenneth C. Irving, W. D. Harris, Cleston Anderson, G. Dwayne Seeley, Beverly Johnson, Ernest Kearl, Jr., Gordon J. Merrill, Edgar K. Meier, Morris R. Graves.
Fifth row: LaMar Smith, Boyd Storey, J, Keith Woodfleld, Donald Neville, A. June Black, Mary F. Lawrence, Norma Skeem, Lena Perry.
Sixth row: Maurice W. Jackson, Virginia Davis, Betty Jo Lunt, Lamont Schenk, Doyle W. Elison, Harold L. Lloyd, Deaun Christensen, Jennie Gough, Keith Carter, Marshall Fox.
Seventh row: Calvin C. Dredge, Leon R. Hartshorn, Wayne Timothy, Ferrell Madsen, Gladys Moore, Robert Kearl, John LaMar Skeen. Dee Lewder, Bruce Mendenhall, Stanley C. Sheppard.
Eighth row: Lukan Sorensen, Harold L. Zltting, Dwight S. Williams, Ira B. Call, Frank Stoddard, Raymond W. Homer, William H. Payne, Gene L. Holland, George L. Mitton, Howard Bartow.
Ninth row: Don M, Christensen, Evan G. Crowther, Max S. Hanks, Reed Olsen Griffiths, Vol Ray Feller, Grant Blaine Dockstader, Robert C. Ashdown, Dal* P. Gallentine.
Tenth row: Lawrence E. Welling, Teddy Grant Davis, David L. Kieslg, Joseph A. Manzione, Jr., Harry Hollingshaus, Wade G. Dewey, George Neil McRae, Thomas Alfred Judd, Hobert L. Stay, Douglas S. Mann, Stanley Udell Smith.
Eleventh row: Lloyd Goodman, Nephi J. Anderson, Kenneth I. Perry, Carlton T. Sumslon, Wayne T. Blomquist, Keith Dort Bybee, Perron Moon, Norman Ellertson.
Twelfth row: Ruel E. Anderson, Warren Child, David A. Taylor, Richard E. Shaw, Don Russell, Lynn A. Swensen, Dennis Ode// Fife, Ken Hamblin.
Thirteenth row: Max Jones, Sidney C. Yeates, Jack R. Egan, Delay Zillis, Claude Heater, Eldon Chandler, Leon E. Orme, Walter Jack Hill, Charles D. Atkinson.
Fourteenth row: Ray E. Hancock, Vernon E. Mor- ris, Elvin Drake, John R. Newbold, Gordon D. Bodily, Monte F. Hales, Booth A. Crabtree, Kendall Smith.
Fifteenth row: Melvln Carl Hunter, Vernal Orland Peterson, Edgar LaVar Meacham, Larry Duane Brimhall, Chester H. Lamoreaux, David S. Lindsay, Raymond A. Smith.
Sixteenth row: Leslie J. Booth, Cecil Dale Jolley, Ivon R. Wall, Leness Keller, Robert Wilcox, Bill Jacobson, Marley D. Petersen.
Seventeenth row: Boyd F. Jensen, Larry V. Muder, Harlo Walz, Keith T. Carlson, Herbert F. Hawkes, Earl Girgor, Alma M. Wilson.
Balcony: LeRoy McGee, Fred H. Hebdon.
■ ♦ ■
232
REQUEST
By Elaine V. Emans
"jlflAY there always be a hill 1V1 Pqj. me t0 be climbing toward Its summit. Whether I reach it Is less important, Lord.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
THE CHURCH MOVES ON
MISSIONARIES ENTERING THE MISSIONARY HOME JANUARY 10, AND DEPARTING JANUARY 19, 1949
Below, reading from left to right, first row: David H. Simister, Blaine H. Le Chiminant (kneeling), My- ron A. Frazier, Joan Ruth Miller, Rosilind Tiffany, Gertrude Fritzsche, Don B. Colton, director; Nolan Lynn Terry, Mary Alice Call, Floyd Lamonde Packard, Joyce Lundell.
Second row: lea Mockli, Elna King, Audrey Leavitt, John B. Hawkes, Laura M. Hawkes, James H. Wiltbank, Sadie Wiltbank, Wallace Shields, David Stevens.
Third row: Shirley Garrett, Helen Crum, Lois Love, Hessie Bunderson, Birdice Crouch, Ethel Hors- pool, Jerry K. Lawrence, Genevieve Hamilton, Don McBride, C. August Sanders.
Fourth row: Verona Kelsey, Lenore Christensen, John Seaton, Barbara Swensen, Ruth Peel, William Y. Farnsworth, Ralph W. Beyer, Cleone Stewart Tal- bot, Parley T. Anderson.
Fifth row: W. LaVon Gifford, Lamona Jenson, Avis Barsby, Robert H. Barker, Ross K. Clements, Mark J. Gibson, George C. Sparks, Ralph O. Hicken- looper, Cecil E. Bown, Conrad G. Stone, Frank Old- royd.
Sixth row: Carl Lawson, Norris R. Kunz, Bryce Sorensen, Melvin Blamires, William Kropfli, Ariel Ricks, Herold L. Gregory, Dexter S. Harton, Wayne L. Ellingson, Elmer L. Holley, David B. Carlisle.
Seventh row: Ernest S. Wells, Darvel M. Robbins, Ronald D. Nelson, Yalton E. Jackson, W. Russell Palfreyman, Jack R. Bagley, Richard C. Johnson, Bruce R. Andresen, Donald S. Bowman.
Eighth row: Cecil Joseph Row berry, David Rawson Hall, Bernard E. Price, Garth M. Harris, D. Max Lawrence, Wayne R. Barrow, Vance M. Holland, Reed K. Westover, Gilbert W. Greene, Richard Heaton.
Ninth row: Reed LeRoy Roberts, Howard T. Gor- ringe, Horace E. Coltrin, Rex Don Sandberg, Dean R. Cannon, Blaine Burton, Jack E. Warner, Richard May, Boyd Campbell, LaVor Neuenswander, Keith B. Hanson.
Tenth row: Alton E. Larsen, Don V. Black, Jesse N. Udall, S. Duane Wright, William S. Blair, Gordon R. Woolley, Jr., Stanley J. Whitaker, Thomas B. Carter, Lloyd Simpson, Douglas R. Bunker, Gilbert Raymond Jorgensen.
Eleventh row: Arthur C. Rich ins, Claude E. Bur- ns, Dale Hanks, John A. Burger, Richard G. Crisp, Guenter Stoll, Vernon R. Waltman, Russell J. Schaer- rer, Spencer Keith Hutchins, Verl F. McMillan.
Twelfth row: Kenneth Hoskisson, Vernon Meland- er, David C. Janson.
Thirteenth row: John A. Trimble, LeGrand Hol- brook, Frank Keller, Reed S. McEntire, Wayne Stoker, Weston Jackson, Jay Croxford, Jo L. Knight, Elwood A. Gwilliam, Gerald G. Morgan, Boyd C. Rich.
Fourteenth row: Joel R. Garrett, Jack H. Goaslind, Hyrum A. Kramer, Marlow Waite Plumb, Heber Homer Anderson, Van L. Shumway, Darwin Seamons, John Whitaker, Dexter Allan.
Fifteenth row: Glen S. Porter, Dan L. Ripplinger, E. W. Buehner, Burton R. Stringfellow, Alden M. Packer.
Sixteenth row: Charles Eldon Guntry, Stanley K. Bramwell, Carvel Whitehead, Chesley Pierson, Bryce Obray, Donald D. Law, Robert G. Harker, L. Don Briggs, Sterling R. Provost.
Seventeenth row: Lee T. Harris, James C. Ham- ilton, Stanley J. Pettingill, R. Gordon LeBaron, Rulon Briggs, Floyd A. O'Neil.
Eighteenth row: Edward L. Kearl, LeRoy E. Porter.
Nineteenth row: Richard P. Anderson, Guy W. Bowlby, Ken E. Willardson, Herschel N. Pederson.
Twentieth row: Clair Anderson, John R. Clawson, Dan Wayne Andersen, Paul Woolston, John R. Chris- tiansen, Gilbert G. Tobler, Harold A. Sorensen, Theo K. Hollie.
APRIL 1949
233
EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM FLOW CHART OF OCCUPATIONAL RESOURCES
Employer Members
Present Employer of each member
Unused jobs in own search
Local Industry needs
or agricultural
opportunities
Newspaper ads Job & Business Opportunities
Church Building Program
Six sources ofj occupational information available to each priesthood & Relief Society Organisation
High Priests
Seventies
if
Elders
Adult Members
Priests
Teachers
Notet This employment program functions through present officers, established organization and schedule of meetings.
Represented^bjr member_of bishopric
Relief Society
Representing_ Women
WARD WELFARE COMMITTEE (Placement Counselors)
STAKE WELFARE COMMITTEE (Placement Counselors)
ir
Other Ward
Other Ward
Other Ward
Sends unused jobs,
'to ward employment
placement counselor
s>j^ Placement counselor to relay j/y^obs to priesthood and Relief ^Society units
Jobs not used in ward pool sent r 'to stake employment placement counselor
I Stake employment placement counselor to relay jobs to and from wards
Other Ward
Other Ward
I
Other Ward
1
Other Ward
Important* Make sure every reasonable effort is made to effect placement by the local ward groups, pass on to noone any direct service you can perform in helpfulness to your brother. "And again I say unto you, let every man esteem his brother as himself." D. & C. 38i25.
PRIESTHOOD EMPLOYMENT PLACEMENT ACTIVITIES
/"\n the Melchizedek Priesthood pages of the March 1949 Improvement Era was published an article entitled, "Priesthood Quorum Aid in Economic Welfare." This outlined in a general way the need for priesthood employ- ment placement activities.
Following is an article to explain the various sources of employment in- formation available to quorums and the use to be made of the information compiled. Two charts have been re- produced on these pages. The one is entitled "Priesthood Program of Occupational Placement," and the other "Employment Program Flow Chart of Occupational Resources." Examination will show that the first chart shows in some detail how this program operates within a quorum. The second chart shows the inter-rela- tion of all ward and stake organiza- tions in the over-all program and how the combined pooling of information is subsequently made available to each unit cooperating in this enterprise.
This program is designed to use 234
the individual and his willingness to contribute information through the channels of the priesthood, with the assistance of the ward welfare com- mittee, to pool occupational informa- tion from which he can be aided by information contributed by others.
At the top of the "flow chart" are shown six blocks listing sources of occupational information available to each priesthood quorum and other organizations. These same sources, in greater detail are listed on the second chart. In addition, the second chart shows one block entitled, "Other Local Occupational Information Resources." This permits the list of resources to be extended as local conditions may warrant. For purposes of simplifi- cation the following additional in- formation is listed in accordance with the blocks shown at the top of the "flow chart":
Employer Members: This term should be interpreted in a broad sense to include not only the industrialist who might be within our priesthood
ranks, but should include all quorum members insofar as they may be em- ployers in any capacity.
Our housewives have some work in housecleaning and spring renovation work. The family automobile needs some maintenance care and repair serv- ice. Coal may need to be delivered to our homes, the garden lot be plow- ed, shrubs planted or pruned. These are all instances wherein we are in the role of an employer for at least a limited period of time. Our report- ing of these needs for workers through the priesthood quorums assists greatly in supplying part-time jobs for our elderly and our physically handicapped people whose abilities prohibit their taking full-time or steady jobs. Such jobs assist those who are struggling to meet rising living costs with inade- quate earnings and those who may need additional income to support a missionary in the field.
Present Employer of Each Member: Each employer is anxious to receive detailed information concerning pros-
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
CONDUCTED BY THE GENERAL PRIESTHOOD 60MMITTEE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE
TWELVE — HAROLD B. LEE. CHAIRMAN; EZRA TAFT BENSON, MARION G. ROMNEY,
THOMAS E. MC KAY. CLIFFORD E. YOUNG, ALMA SONNE, LEVI EDGAR YOUNG,
ANTOINE R. IVINS. RICHARD L. EVANS, OSCAR A. KIRKHAM, S. DILWORTH
YOUNG, MILTON R. HUNTER, BRUCE R. MC CONKIE
pective employees. Present employees are in an excellent position to make recommendations and to furnish such information concerning those whom they recommend. This affords an ideal opportunity to each quorum member employed to render a valuable service to quorum members and employers alike. Employers have been using this pattern of finding new workers through their own employees for years and are anxious to have individuals recommended in this manner.
Unused Jobs in Own Search: Priest- hood members looking about for em- ployment become acquainted with many jobs which they, themselves, cannot fill. Wise priesthood presi- dents will provide for the pooling of this information in the quorum for the benefit of all members.
Local Industry Needs or Agricul- tural Opportunities: Specific assign- ments may be made for members to contact local industries to learn of their specific employment needs. All information gained should be turned over to the quorum where the mem- bers may have access to such informa- tion. Employers are usually happy and willing to cooperate in such an enterprise. The regional employment office might likewise be contacted. Such offices are usually willing to list the skills needed by those whom they serve. Occupational information should not be limited to jobs or positions in industry. Business and agricultural opportunities should also be con- sidered.
[Concluded on page 238)
PRIESTHOOD PROGRAM OF OCCUPATIONAL PLACEMENT
Foreword: The Melchizedek Priesthood and the Welfare Handbooks set forth plainly what should be done. This chart suggests how some priesthood groups have proceeded to accomplish what is desired in this activity.
EMPLOYER MEMBERS* Examples* May pool car repair and maintenance jobs, housework and repairs, painting, garden and farm work, em- ployment in business.
^
PRESENT EMPLOYER OF EACH MEMBER! Report all open- ings listed or contem- plated where you are now working, or any that have come to your notice.
UNUSED JOBS IN OWN SEARCH: Call for information on job3 found by those who are in search of employ- ment and which they can- not use.
RESOURCES FOR OCCUPATIONAL INFORMATION
CHURCH BUILDING PROGRAM! Pay Jobs which cannot be filled by local contri- bution labor*
V
I
PRIESTHOOD QUORUM OR GROUPi
Melchizedek Priesthood
Personal Welfare Comm. Chm.
Rep. of Adult Members
Member of Bishopric for
Priests and Teachers.
£_
ESOURCES
OTHER LOCAL OCCUPATIONAL
INFORMATION RESOURCES:
Which you may add locally
FOR OCCUPATIONAL INFORMATION
LOCAL INDUSTRY NEEDS CR AGRI- CULTURAL OPPORTUNITIES: Assignments can be made to a qualified person to contact local industries for employ- ment opportunities. May use member now employed there. In agricultural areas you would list the farms for sale or lease; also list the needs for workers on farms.
CT'T
Pr. Adult Mem. Teachers
^
NEWSPAPER ADV. FOR JOBS, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES AND FARM LISTINGS: Compile ad- vertisements in daily papers and magazines. Few people can afford to subscribe for all papers. This list can be supplied the quorum largely through assignment of a few members.
WARD WELFARE COMMITTEE EMPLOYMENT PLACEMENT COUNSELORS
T i
1 tT Hi
H.Pr. Seventies Elders
STAKE WELFARE COMMITTEE EMPLOYMENT PLACEMENT COUNSELOR.
NO-UQUOR-TOBACCO COLUMN
Conducted by Dr. Joseph F. Merrill
APRIL 1949
Who Keeps the Word of Wisdom?
An answer to this question, general- ly considered fairly satisfactory, is the person who abstains from the consumption of narcotics, tea, coffee, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco. And yet the Word of Wisdom — Section 89 in the Doctrine and Covenants — con- tains about twice as many words rela- tive to foods as to narcotics. The reader may count them for himself.
Now in recent years we have been giving special attention to promoting abstinence from the use of liquor and tobacco, but with no thought of dis- counting in any way whatsoever, the importance of other teachings in the Word of Wisdom. The growing use of liquor and tobacco, especially among women, and the greater moral and spiritual deterioration their con- sumption entails, created the need for an intensified campaign against their use. But a person is badly in error who assumes or believes that the Word of Wisdom is fully, or even satisfactorily, observed by abstaining from the use of tea, coffee, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco, and giving no attention to foods.
In recent years the Word of Wis- dom is frequently referred to as "the Lord's law of health." The first time this writer ever heard this expression was about thirty years ago in an M.I. A. meeting on fast Sunday. The speaker was a prominent non-Mormon doctor of Salt Lake City. He called it the Lord's law of health, saying in- sofar as he knew, it was the best brief statement in the English language rela- tive to facts pertaining to food upon which health depends. Since that time experts in the field of nutrition gener- ally agree that food has more to do with health than any other factor affecting health. And in order that food may do its most for health, it must be a balanced diet, made up of five essential food substances which they name — proteins, fats, carbohy- drates, minerals, and vitamins. (There are several varieties of each of these substances.) A balanced diet con- tains these substances in the right pro- portions.
In these days probably the majority of homes in America have heard of the need of a balanced diet and in a general way, of what it consists. How- ever, there are multitudes of people who do not get a balanced diet, even (Continued on page 238) 235
WARD YOUTH LEADERSHIP
OUTLINE OF STUDY
MAY 1949
Teach the Truth
Tt is recommended that the lesson for May be a review of the lessons for February, March, and April, appearing, respectively, in The Improvement Era for January, February, and March 1949. Review questions for each les- son are listed below. The class lead- ers should review carefully the lessons so that questions may be answered on the basis of the material provided therein.
Review Questions — February 1949
1. What is the principal obligation assumed by those who accept the re- sponsibility of teaching in the Church?
2. What two classes of teachers are inclined to preach or teach false doc- trine disguised as truth?
3. Discuss the influence and power of truth upon the minds of men.
4. What are the dividends that come from teaching youth?
Review Questions — March 1949
5. Discuss the Lord's definition of truth. (See D. & C. 84:44-45.)
6. What is the word of the Lord? (SeeD. &C. 68:4.)
7. Discuss the two sources of truth as outlined.
Review Questions — April 1949
8. Discuss the Lord's further defini- tion of truth (D. & C. 93:24) and show its relationship to question seven above.
9. What is the relationship between fact and truth?
NORTH DAVIS STAKE AARON IC PRIESTHOOD AND BOY SCOUTS FETED AT BARBECUE
More than five hundred Aaron- ic Priesthood members and Boy Scouts, were honored at a bar- becue at the North Davis Junior High School recently.
In charge of the banquet were members of the North Davis Stake Aaronic Priesthood com- mittee consisting of Jesse D. Barlow, Keith S. Smith, Calvin D. Corbridge, and Henry D. Call. Artell Chandler, assisted by wives of Aaronic Priesthood committee members, prepared the dinner. Speakers included LeGrand Rich- ards, presiding bishop of the Church, and Lee Kay, education- al director of the Utah state fish and game department. Col- ored films of bird life and scenic views of Utah were shown.
Boy Scouts from the Wasatch and North Davis districts lighted their torches of liberty as a part of the program.
Ward Teaching
How to Perfect the Body
■\T7ard teaching is as vital to the strengthening of the body of the Church as the circulatory system