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by Dr. Franklin S. Harris, Jr.

Plant Distribution

There are many interesting mech- anisms which plants use to insure their wide distribution and perpetua- tion. The wild oat and stork's-bill have wedge-shaped seeds but with a humidity-operated tail that coils into a tight spring when dry and uncoils when wet. The barbs on the wedge permit motion in only one direction which is driven by the tail coiling and uncoiling with vary- ing humidity. The squirting cu- cumber ruptures when brushed by a passing animal and squirts a jet of sticky seeds which adhere to the animal.

Plant Industry

It has been estimated that the plants over the whole earth trans- form annually some twenty billion tons of carbon from carbon dioxide into carbohy- drate.

Rates of Interest

In the thirteenth century in Eng- land the average rate of interest charged on loans was ten percent. In the fourteenth century it had dropped to seven or even five per- cent. This was not computed on an "add-on" or "per month" basis fre- quently used in instalment or per- sonal loans which may make the modern interest rate paid equivalent to twenty to thirty-six percent a year.

AUGUST 1959

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The Improvement Era

III

K»«K:;:

Contents for August 1959

The Voice of the Church

Volume 62, Number 8

Church Features

The Editor's Page: Home and the Strength of Youth,

President David O. McKay 582

Your Question: Did the Nephites have a Church Organization before the

Days of Alma? President Joseph Fielding Smith 584

The Grab Bag Part II: What Frontier, What Camp Meeting? Hugh Nibley.... 590

The Church Moves On, 576; Melehizedek Priesthood: Priesthood and Temple Work, 602; The Presiding Bishopric's Page, 604.

Official organ of the Priesthood Quorums, Mutual Improvement Associations, Ward Teachers, Music Committee, Department of Education, and other agencies of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Special Features

This Gave Me Pause, S. Dilivorth Young 587

No Guarantee Unless— Genevieve Van Wageman 593

Where Unto Shall I Liken It? Ernest Eberhard, Jr 594

Romantic and Reckless (So That's What Boys Are Made Of-XII)

W. Cleon Skousen 596

Leadership Development: The Golden Touch, Sterling W. Sill 600

Mormons in the Aleutians, Bob Whittaker 609

The Spoken Word from Temple Square, Richard L. Evans 608, 628, 630

Exploring the Universe, Franklin S. Harris, Jr., 569; These Times: The New Power Politics, G. Homer Durham, 572; Letters and Reports, 574.

Today's Family: Florence B. Pinnock

Hot Days-Cold Desserts! 622

On Being a Lady 625

ART AND PHOTO CREDITS

Cover, Everett C. Thorpe

Max Tharpe, 572, 586

Church Information Service, 583

Dale Kilbourn, 586, 600

Alvin Gittins, 588

Dave Burton, 591

Dale Bryner, 593

John Davenport, 595

Ernst Wittke, 595, 602

H. Armstrong Roberts, 597

Era Staff, 622, 625

The Last Word

632

Stories, Poetry

Aunt Jody, Albert R. Lyman 588

Poetry 578, 580, 592, 606, 607

The Improvement Era Offices, 50 North Main Street, Salt Lake City 11, Utah

David O. McKay and Richard L. Evans, Editors; Doyle L. Creen, Managing Editor; Marba C. Josephson, Associate Managing Editor; Elizabeth J. Moffttt,

Production Editor; Albert L. Zobell, Jr., Research Editor; John G. Kinneab, Editorial Associate; Florence B. Pinnock, Today's Family Editor; Ralph Reynolds

and Ed Maryon, Art Directors.

Archibald F. Bennett, G. Homer Durham, Franklin S. Harris, Jr., Milton R. Hunter, Hugh Nibley, Sh>ney B. Sperry, Contributing Editors.

Joseph T. Bentley, General Manager; Bertha S. Reeder, Associate General Manager; Verl F. Scott, Business Manager; A. Glen Snarr, Subscription Director;

Thayer Evans, Regional Advertising Representative.

Copyright 1959 by Mutual Funds, Inc., and published by the Mutual Improvement Associations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All rights

reserved. Subscription price, $2.50 a year, in advance; foreign subscriptions, $3.00 a year, in advance; 25c single copy, except for special issues.

Entered at the Post Office, Salt Lake City, Utah as second-class matter. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in section 1103. Act

of October 1917, authorized July 2, 1918.

The Improvement Era is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts but welcomes contributions. Manuscripts are paid for on acceptance at the rate of Vbc

a word and must be accompanied by sufficient postage for delivery and return.

Thirty days' notice is 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.

THE COVER: In commemoration of the Miracle of the Gulls in the spring of 1848 Everett C. Thorpe, by commission from The Improvement Era, painted this stirring symbolic tribute.

COVER LITHOGRAPHED IN FULL COLOR BY DESERET NEWS PRESS

570

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

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HE THAT LIVETH

Doyle L. Green

An artistic masterpiece on the life and mission of our Savior, written for both young and mature read- ers. An excellent family book, beautifully illustrated with ten full-color, full-page reproductions of paintings by famous Danish artist, Carl Henrik Bloch. $3.25

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These Times

The New Power Politics

by G. Homer Durham

Vice President, University of Utah

The new power politics may be summed up in the simple words of Francis Bacon: "Knowledge is power." Or, as General Omar N. Bradley expressed it: "The central problem of our time is how to em- ploy human intelligence for the sal- vation of mankind."

Education is becoming more and more a concern in the quest for na- tional power. Winston Churchill in appealing for funds ( 1958 ) to estab- lish a new "Churchill College" at Cambridge said: "It is our duty to master and conscript all the native ingenuity with which God blessed and endowed us. We must provide technological education as high as any that exists. We must be con- tent with nothing but the best." But our concern is more than techni- cal advantage.

The new power politics goes be- yond the consideration that knowl- edge is power to produce, defend, seize, destroy, or maintain. Knowl-

572-

edge is power also to improve the condition of man in society.

Two tremendous considerations confront the university men and women of today: (1) The university is the first line of defense along with the armed services and war industry; (2) the university is also a means whereby humane goals, and aspira- tions bevond defense, whatever those aspirations are, may be realized.

In his Law of Civilization and Decay, Brooks Adams laid down a brilliant hypothesis. When offensive weapons exceed in scope and power the ability to dominate defensive weapons, society centralizes. Arnold Toynbee opines that the world is being gradually unified, and has been so doing since about 1500. "Practical" knowledge plays a promi- nent role in this development. At the end of the fifteenth century, the astrolabe, the mariner's compass, and Mercator's projection were available. (Continued on page 578)

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

Thayer D. Evans and the Evans Quartet practicing in the Sons of the Utah Pioneers' Museum.

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Letters

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Reports

Scouts of Troop 206, Gardena Ward, Redondo ( Califor- nia ) Stake, pose with Woodsman Axe award for the great- est number of awards given to the troop and the Sheep- skin award for being the troop with the greatest number in attendance at the Scout Court of Honor held January 23, 1959. Twelve wards participated in the Court of Honor.

Reading left to right are ( back row ) Charles Brewer, scoutmaster; Nephi Draper; Reldon Pinney, Gardena Ward bishop; Darrell Anderson; Erich Becker; and Dell Wood, assistant scoutmaster. ( Second row ) Neil De Scala, Miles Hawes, Edward Bridge, Dean Larson, Steven

Peterson, Ronald Wood, and Willfried Gassner. (First row) Randy Tyler, Michael Miller, Daniel York, Tom Brewer, John May, and Joe Kingswald. (Kneeling) Gary Wood, junior assistant scoutmaster.-

Fifty-six of the sixty Mia Maids enrolled in the College Ward, Auckland ( New Zealand) Stake participated in their rose- tying. Eighty-three percent of them had their individual awards, and seventy-five percent had their Mia Joy awards. The girls worked under the direction of Sister Wanliss, Sister Wiser, and Sister Metcalf.

Accompanying photograph of the girls was taken in the lounge of the David O. McKay building on the Church college campus.

Pictured ( in insert ) is Susan Boyack, the first girl to obtain her Silver Gleaner award in the Auckland (New Zealand) Stake.

574

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

Four sons of Mr. and Mrs. Leo Pet- tey, Garden Heights Ward, Canyon Rim (Salt Lake) Stake, received their Indi- vidual Aaronic Priesthood awards this spring with one hundred percent seals attached for

perfect attendance. Pictured left to right (hack row) Jax, 16; Dix, 18; (front row) Bryce, 13; and Van, 15.

Dix has served as president of the deacons' quorum, Jax as president of the teachers' quorum, Van as president of the deacons' quorum, and Bryce as first coun- selor in the deacons' quorum.

In addition to their Church activities all four brothers are "A" students at school. Dix placed seventh in the state of Utah in a mathematics examination and was a finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Contest.

The brothers are all active in baseball, basketball, volleyball, and football. Van and Jax played on a team which went to the divisional quarter-finals in 1959.

Pictured above is the LDS group from the destroyer USS Rowan (DD-782), a unit of Destroyer Squadron Five currently operating with the Seventh Fleet in the Far East. Left to right: William A. Simp- son, Elder William G. Barnson, Palmer Black, Douglas D. Gerstner, and Gordon W. Wood.

Although small in number they are strong in faith and have chalked up a record one hundred percent attendance and account for fifty percent of the total attendance and meetings held by LDS on board destroyers and cruisers of the Pacific Fleet.

Northridgc, California

I am enclosing our address slip from our most recent Era and would like to request a change of address. . . .

. . . and by the way, it's a real joy to get the Era. We even wait for it to come. The new effort and consequent improve- ment make it a magazine we really want in the house and not just a magazine we should have in the house . . . especially the May issue. Thanks again.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Robert K. Stitt

2AB/

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The Church Moves On

June 1959

East Idaho Falls Stake formed from portions of Idaho Falls Stake with Elder Charles P. Brizzee, formerly president of Idaho Falls Stake, as president of this, the 285th unit now functioning in the Church. His counselors are Elders Erwin Wirkus and Riley Westergard. Wards are Idaho Falls Twenty- fourth, Idaho Falls Twenty-fifth, Iona, Iona Second, and Lincoln. Elder Paul W. Ahlstrom, formerly first counselor in Idaho Falls Stake, sustained as stake president, with Elder Hal R. Johnson, formerly second counselor, sustained as first counselor, and Elder Edgar J. Mason sustained as second counselor. Wards in this stake are Idaho Falls Second, Idaho Falls Fifth, Idaho Falls Ninth, Idaho Falls Fourteenth, Idaho Falls Sixteenth, Idaho Falls Twentieth, and Idaho Falls Twenty-first. Elder George Q. Morris of the Council of the Twelve and Elder Henry D. Taylor, Assistant to the Council of the Twelve, were in charge of these changes.

Elder Marlon S. Bateman sustained as president of Sandy (Utah) Stake, succeeding President Stanley A. Rasmussen. Coun- selors sustained are Elders James I. Hardcastle and Max A. Mum- ford. Elders Bateman and Mumford served as counselors to President Rasmussen.

A YWMIA camp institute, drama workshop, roadshow work- shop, roadshows, and a Master M Man-Golden Gleaner banquet were pre-conference events preceding June con- ference of the MIA.

President David O. McKay announced the reorganization of the First Presidency with President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., as first counselor, and President Henry D. Moyle as second counselor. President Moyle was called today from his position in the Council of the Twelve.

The sixtieth annual conference of the Young Men's and Young Women's Mutual Improvement Associations opened this morning on Temple Square, with a reception between 7:30 and 9:30. Two general sessions were held in the Tabernacle. In the evening dance and drama festivals were held.

It was announced that beginning this September the MIA would have a September-to-September year. (It has been a year-round program for many years.) Also beginning in September 1959, Mutual time is 6:45 p.m. for executives and secre- taries, 7:00 prayer meeting for all officers and teachers; opening exercises will begin at 7:15; classwork from 7:30 to 8:20, when an activity period will begin under the direction of activity leaders. These periods include activities in drama, dance, speech, music, sports, and athletics. Dismissal will be at 8:55 p.m.

MIA conference today was devoted to departmental sessions.

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

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Henceforth the Junior M Men and Junior Gleaner departments of MIA will be known as Ensigns and Laurels.

Also, the Special Interest department has been divided and the old name dropped. The younger new group will be known as the Mutual Marrieds, and will have as its membership those young married people who have been going to the M Man and Gleaner classes. The other new group will be for "older" Mutual people and it will be the Mutual Study department.

The MIA dance and drama festivals were repeated this

evening.

"Fit to Live" was the subject of the address given by Elder Hugh B. Brown of the Council of the Twelve on the "Church of the Air" program of the Columbia Broadcasting Company's radio network.

The morning general session of this, the third and concluding day of the MIA June conference was held in the Tabernacle under the direction of the First Presidency. (Continued on page 606)

HE KNOWS by Elizabeth Mobry

Christ understood a woman's work- Mending, sweeping, baking bread.

The little home in Nazareth

Still lives in many things he said.

He understands my weariness,

The children, and the household cares. When all the house is still at last,

Lord, bless a mother's sleepy prayers.

These Times

(Continued) Any navigator could then draw a straight line on a M cr- eator map. That straight-edge be- came a "great circle" on the globe —the shortest distance between two points on a sphere. Thereafter, the men with that knowledge, in West- ern Europe, explored and expanded all over the face of the earth. Do we understand the role that behavioral knowledge also plays in this cen- tralizing world? It is easier to govern the world today, from the practical standpoints of public ad- ministration, than it was to govern the Nile Valley when the first great empire states appeared.

Will the world be governed as a free, or as a tyrannically controlled society?

The old power politics emphasized the role of strategic territory, its position, its capacity to produce wealth and physical strength.

From total war came the new power politics. Other considerations than position, fecundity, food sup- ply, economic strength, arms-capa-

city, fire-power by land, air, sea, or under the sea, became important. Portentous demonstration of the ef- ficacy of brainpower was made. The formula E = MC2 also "equaled" military victory.

The new power politics must be more than the creative ability of scientists and engineers to develop ICBM's, solid fuels for space rockets, free radicals for space flight, or non- Euclidean geometry applied to re- producing a moon orbit; more than the ability to replace the H-bomb with the C-bomb (cobalt) or an X- bomb or an Xn-bomb; or to out- sputnik the Russians. (However, this is where we will probably spend most of the money, continuing the behavior pattern of the old power politics. )

The new power politics for us must also be the power of creating effective generalizations about the life and destiny of man; his aspira- tions and his behavior; knowledge of acculturation; knowledge of whether, or where, and when, a Platonic or a Gresham's law of ideas prevails. These are among the chal-

578

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

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AUGUST 1959

579

lenging elements of the new power politics which guardians of universi- ties have to consider.

A statement in February 1958, entitled National Support for Be- havioral Science, from fifteen dis- tinguished Americans reminds us that "the present situation facing our country calls for an evaluation of the role and potential contribu- tion of behavioral science," and "provision of increased funds for behavioral science research, train- ing, and facilities. . . ." Continues this significant document:

"Russia at present lags behind the West— particularly the United States —in the biological, psychological, and social sectors of behavioral sci- ence. The biological and medical sciences in general have not been prosecuted in Russia with the zeal of some of the other natural sciences. Marxist doctrine has held back the social sciences, and an adherence to Pavlovian doctrines has retarded much neuro-physiology and psychol- ogy.

"The democratic conviction of the dignity of man and his role in so- ciety is a point of view that stimu- lates development of behavioral science. Concern for the individual has traditionally set problems for philosophers, statesmen, and spirit- ual* leaders. Human behavior rep- resents a complex intermingling of moral and physical considerations, and there is an important region of overlap between behavioral science and the humanities, particularly his- tory, languages, literature, philos- ophy, and religion. The sciences of man often build on and clarify the wisdom of the humanities, and at- tempt to formulate and test precise laws."1

Here, then, is an additional op- portunity without neglecting the physics and the mathematics.

The Russians know something about the new power politics, espe- cially as knowledge relates to the physical universe. Moreover, they appear to be preparing to communi- cate their ideas to us in our own language. Eight million of them, this year, are studying English. Five thousand in this country, 1,600 times fewer, are studying Russian. Only a few universities and colleges in this country are prepared to teach the languages that will permit Ameri- cans to "cross" cultures: Arabic, Russian, Urdu, Chinese, Hindustani, and Indonesian. Generally we offer

only the French, German, and Span- ish of our own Latinic western Christendom. Fewer and fewer students seem each year to study even these.

In 1947, Everett Dirksen, then a member of the House of Representa- tives from Illinois, caused to be pub- lished a Congressional Library study entitled Communism in Action. This study reported that the Soviets were spending eight percent of their na- tional income on education com- pared with three percent in this country. Our total sum was, natur- ally, much bigger. But their effort

THOUGHTS IN THE SACRED GROVE

by Sylvia Probst Young

How gently morning comes— a golden trace Of sunlight, and the whisper of a breeze Here in this woodland temple where the

trees Lift cool arm's to God, I sense his grace And speak no word, this is a hallowed

place— My thoughts are of a boy one spring- warmed day, Who came into these sheltered woods to

pray, And kneeling here he looked upon God's face

O, let my heart rejoice for faith that stood Against the darkest prisons of despair, A way of life— the beautiful, the good, For restoration of the gospel truth, The answer to a humble spoken prayer— And sacrifice, so Christlike in a youth.

was two and one-half times greater! In 1955 William Benton returned from Russia and told the Association for Higher Education that the threat of Soviet education was more omi- nous than the H-bomb. The gradu- ate of the Soviet ten-year school, if and when successful, completes a tougher curriculum in ten years than many Americans do in sixteen years.2 In the fifth grade, at about age twelve, forty percent of them begin the study of English, forty percent German, and the remainder French, Spanish, or Latin; also physics and science, continuing them for six years before entering the universi- ties. In the universities sixty-five percent of all students study English, whereby they can quickly unlock the doors to our knowledge.

The Russians understand the po-

litical reality that knowledge is power. Many American students, I generally observe, do not take ed- ucation altogether seriously until they enter the graduate professional school. One in four American high school graduates this spring will have had one year of physics. Those one in four graduates of the Russian ten-year school will have completed five or six, and so on with chemistry, mathematics, and biological science. We may expect a tremendous explo- sion of ideas, of research and inven- tion, from these people in the next ten years. Of course, all work and no play will make Ivan a dull, and maybe a more dangerous, boy, sub- ject to state controls. We must not discard lightly our "democratic life adjustment" courses, but realize from them additional powerful knowledge for a humane world so- ciety.

Education has demonstrated the power to change individuals. It makes them physically and econom- ically more effective and productive. This alone enhances the power role of a society. Can it make individuals more productive in the arts of com- munication, obtaining agreement, enforcing responsibility, in maintain- ing schemes of law and the "science of peace"? The new power politics embraces both tasks. Universities now take their central place, not only as the geese which lay the golden eggs, but as the producers of the men who can help adjust the farm problem, the labor problem, the recession problem, the mining problems, and the international problems— so far as these problems yield to search and inquiry for the truth.

Knowledge is power. The new power politics incorporate and recog- nize this fact. The issue is a free world and the freedom route toward salvation for mankind. Education for power alone, without freedom, or without the quest for human un- derstanding, may produce only the works of slavery and death. The challenge of the new power politics is to put knowledge to work in free and diversified ways for free and improved societies of men.

'See National Support for Behavioral Science, Dr. James G. Miller, Chairman, Director of the Mental Health Research Institute, University of Michigan (published at Room 216, 1025 Con- necticut Avenue, N. W., Washington 6, D. C, 24 pp., 1958).

2However, less than one in four Russians complete, successfully, the ten-year school.

580

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

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AUGUST 1959

581

Sometime ago

I had great pleasure in training

a well-bred colt.

Editor's Page

Home . . .

and the strength of youth

by President David O. McKay

Youth! Young men and young women facing their eternal destiny! What can we do to make them happy? What can we say and do to make them worthy citizens of the earth, faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

We train by thoughts. There is no one great thing which we can give a child which will determine his future any more than there was any one great thing which the rich young ruler could do to obtain eternal life, but there are many little things. As a child grows physically by eating regularly at intervals, so character is built by little things, by daily contacts, by an influence here and a fact or truth there.

Sometime ago I had great pleasure in training a well-bred colt. He had a good disposition, clean, well-rounded eye, was well-proportioned, and all in all, a choice equine possession. Under the saddle he was as willing, responsive, and co-operative as a horse could be. He and my dog Scotty were real com- panions. I liked the way he would go up to something of which he was afraid. He had confidence that if he would do just as I bade him he would not be injured.

But Dandy resented restraint. He was ill-con- tented when tied and would nibble at the tie rope until he was free. He would not run away; he just wanted to be free. Thinking that other horses felt the same way, he would proceed to untie their ropes. He hated to be confined in the pasture, and if he could find a place in the fence where there was only

smooth wire, he would paw the wire carefully with his feet until he could step over to freedom. More than once my neighbors were kind enough to put him back into the field. He learned even to push open the gate. Though his depredations were pro- voking and sometimes expensive, I admired his in- telligence and integrity.

But his curiosity and desire to explore the neigh- borhood led him and me into trouble. Once on the highway he was hit by an automobile, resulting in a demolished machine, injury to the horse, and slight, though not serious, injury to the driver.

Recovering from that, and still impelled with a feeling of wanderlust, he inspected the fence through- out the entire boundary. He even found the gate wired. So, for a while we thought we had Dandy secure in the pasture.

One day, however, somebody left the gate unwired. Detecting this, Dandy unlatched it, took Nig, his companion, with him, and together they visited the neighbor's field. They went to an old house used for storage. Dandy's curiosity prompted him to push open the door. Just as he surmised, there was a sack of grain. What a find! Yes, and what a tragedy! The grain was poisoned bait for rodents! In a few minutes Dandy and Nig were in spasmodic pain, and shortly both were dead.

How like Dandy are many of our youth! They are not bad; they do not even intend to do wrong, but they are impulsive, full of life, full of curiosity,

582

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

and long to do something. Tbey, too, are restive under restraint, but if kept busy, guided carefully and rightly, they prove to be responsive and capable; but if left to wander unguided, they all too frequently find themselves in the environment of temptation and too often are entangled in the snares of evil.

To change men and nations, we must change and direct their way of thinking. "Train up a child in the way he should go: . . ." (Proverbs 22:6.) That is our duty. The home is the most potential influence in this training. Sunday Schools, Mutuals, Primaries, Relief Societies are only supplemental. No social, educational, or service group could effectively sup- plant the home as an effective force in making men out of boys and women out of girls.

No man, woman, or child is happy in doing wrong. Nature herself teaches us that our actions are bound within certain limits. But, as Dandy, we want to break away from those limits and go to the dangers beyond them, and our young men and young women should sense that. Growth and happiness are found within certain restricted areas beyond which lie dangerous and injurious indulgences. There is pleasure and health in eating; but pain and sickness in gormandizing. There is pleasure in moderate exer- cise; pain in excessive exertion. In all things, nature says, "thus far shalt thou go and no farther."

The home is the best place in the world to teach the child self-restraint, to give him happiness in self-control, and respect for the rights of others.

Unhappiness in the child's life, as in the adult life, springs largely from non-conformity to natural and social laws. The home is the best place in which to develop obedience, which nature and society will later demand.

So many of our youth today like to break away from conventions. They think their parents are old- fashioned. What a great lesson to learn that you are perfectly free to do as you please so long as you do not please to trespass upon the rights of others.

I believe that the best time for the child to learn these rules of conformity is between the ages of three and five. If the parents do not get control of the child during those ages, they will find great difficulty in getting control later. It seems to me, then, easy to understand how the home contributes to the happiness of the child, first, by teaching obedience. I do not mean to push and drag or confine— just let the small child be perfectly free to develop until he goes beyond the bounds of safety. Then let him feel the gentle but firm hand of restraint.

I feel that the first contribution of the home to the happiness of the child is to impress him with the fact that there are bounds beyond which he cannot go with safety; second, to teach him to be considerate of the rights of others; third, to have him feel that home is a place where confidences and consolations are ex- changed; and fourth, to have him cherish the thought that home is a haven of seclusion and rest from the worries and perplexities of life.

AUGUST 1959

583

DID THE NEPHITES HAVE A CHURCH ORGANIZATION

Question:

"In our lesson this week we came upon the question which follows: 'Are we necessarily obliged to con- clude that the Nephites had no church organization before Alma's time? See Mosiah 18:17-18 and 23:16- 17.'"

Answer:

To get this matter clearly before us let us quote the passage in question:

"And they were called the church of God, or the church of Christ, from that time forward. And it came to pass that whosoever was baptized by the power and authority of God was added to his church.

"And it came to pass that Alma, having authority from God, ordained priests; even one priest to every fifty of their number did he ordain to preach unto them, and to teach them concerning the things per- taining to the kingdom of God." (Mosiah 18:17-18.)

"And now, Alma was their high priest, he being the founder of their church.

"And it came to pass that none received authority to preach or to teach except it were by him from God. Therefore he consecrated all their priests and all their teachers; and none were consecrated except they were just men." (Ibid., 23:16-19.)

There is always danger in isolating passages from their context; or in failing to take into account all the factors of the historical setting. It should be re- membered that Alma had been one of the priests of King Noah in the land of Lehi-Nephi. It should also be taken into consideration that the colony in that land separated themselves from the main body of the Church in Zarahemla. In the days of Amaleki, who kept the Nephite record, a company of Nephites under Zeniff desired to occupy the land which was first settled by the Nephites,1 and entered into an agreement with the Lamanites to possess that land. There they established an independent kingdom which they possessed for many years, however in constant war and bondage to the Lamanites. In

]Omni 27-30. Mosiah 9.

course of time, under King Noah, they became very wicked. It was at this time that the prophet Abinadi was murdered, and Alma, having accepted the teach- ings of Abinadi, gathered around him all who were willing to keep the commandments of the Lord, and doing so he brought upon himself and his followers the wrath of the wicked king, and they had to flee from their homes into the wilderness, with the in- tention of making their way back to the land of Zarahemla. The story of their flight, suffering, and blessings from the hand of the Lord were recorded in the book of Mosiah. While in the wilderness Alma organized his group of believers into a branch of the church and is spoken of as their founder. The main body of the Nephites, under the second King Mosiah, was still intact in the land of Zarahemla. The ref- erence stating that Alma was the founder of their church has reference only to the refugees who were fleeing from the land of the Nephites' first inheritance. In course of time they found their way back to the main body of the Church and Alma was consecrated as the high priest over the church in all of the lands occupied by the Nephites. When we have the com- plete picture before us, it is plain to see that Alma did a great service in rescuing and organizing the refugees who came with him out of the land of Lehi-Nephi.

The colony lead by Lehi out of Jerusalem, was part of the Church of Jesus Christ. From the day of Adam to the present day, whenever the people obeyed the commandments of the Lord, there was the Church, and people came into it by obeying the same ordi- nances which are practised today. The missionary who went to a foreign land and by divine authority baptized a man, that man became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. That was true in the days of Abraham, Moses, Elijah, and John the Baptist. It does not require a complete organization consisting of a branch, ward, and stake to constitute the Church of Jesus Christ. Wherever a person is legally bap- tized, there is the Church, or by right of that baptism, he becomes a member of it. The kingdom of God and the Church are synonymous terms. The Prophet

584

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

BEFORE THE DAYS OF ALMA?

Joseph Smith has made this clear in the following words :

"Some say the kingdom of God was not set up on the earth until the day of Pentecost, and that John [the Baptist] did not preach the baptism of repent- ance for the remission of sins; but I say, in the name of the Lord, that the kingdom of God was set up on the earth from the days of Adam to the present time. Whenever there has been a righteous man on earth unto whom God revealed his word and gave power and authority to administer in his name, and where there is a priest of God— a minister who has power and authority from God to administer in the ordinances of the gospel and officiate in the priest- hood of God, there is the kingdom of God; and, in consequence of rejecting the gospel of Jesus Christ and the prophets whom God hath sent, the judgments of God have rested upon people, cities, and nations, in various ages of the world, which was the case with the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, that were destroyed for rejecting the prophets."2

From the Book of Mormon we learn that the ordinance of baptism for the remission of sins was practised by the Nephites from the beginning. While confirmation is not stated, nevertheless the members were confirmed, for there is an abundance of evi- dence of the gift of the Holy Ghost. Jacob has given us a most definite statement in the following words:

"And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God.

"And if they will not repent and believe in his name, and be baptized in his name, and endure to the end, they must be damned; for the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has spoken it."3

If they were baptized and had the gift of the Holy Ghost in the days of Lehi, then they had a church organization, which endured all through the Nephite history, notwithstanding the constant apostasies that occurred among them.

till

. .

>pti Fie

imc

2Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 271. 32 Nephi 9:23-24.

AUGUST 1959

585

This gave me pause

by President S. Dilworth Young of the First Council of the Seventy

Is there a Latter-day Saint who, making a child feel unwanted, assumes that he will stand in the presence of the Lord to dwell with him forever?

Yesterday I received a letter from an old and valued friend. He has a speech impediment. He stammers. He has been the butt of jokes and ridicule behind his back— occasionally to his face. He has never allowed it to affect him so far as people were allowed to see, but—

Anyhow, here is the letter:

"For years I have been going to ask you to write an article to parents. How parents try to make a child be what the child cannot or does not want to be.

"Up until I was seven-years-old I talked as well as anyone. My father was called on a mission to England when I was five. Mother started me in school when I was six. All went well the first year. Father came home just after I started the second year in school. My brother just older than I by seven years was an A-f- student, skipped two grades in school. I was slow to learn.

"In the first place I was an unwanted child. My father always referred to me as a 'catch colt.' A catch colt is a colt that is not wanted. It is of inferior quality.

"Father had been a schoolteacher, so he set out to make me a student like my brother. I could not read fast. I was forty-four years old before I dis- covered the reason for this. All those years I saw two words where there should be one, and I had to focus my eyes until the words merged. This would take a second or two. Father was not a patient man, so he would scold me and often give me a slap. Then I started to stammer just a little. My parents made a big thing out of it. I can hear my mother now: 'You will be just like Uncle Joe,' and she would scold. The harder I tried not to stutter and stammer, the more I did— and the more they would scold and deride me.

"My marks in school were very poor. My folks would remind me how well my brother did in school. I was never to forget that I stammered; they saw to that.

"When I was about twenty-one, I had saved up enough money to study speech in an eastern city. After many weeks I came home. My parents expected me to be talking perfectly. Yet the teachers there had told us, 'You have only learned how to control your speech.'

"Then the bishopric came to see me about going

on a mission. Father did not want to send me; he wanted to send my brother— he could talk better than I. But the bishop did not want my brother, he wanted me. No one will know of the torture and heartache I went through on that mission. After my mission I saved up some money. Again I went back to school. My money ran out, and I had to come home. I couldn't stay long enough to gain any benefit. My parents raved and ranted, It was a waste of money.'

"But it was not wasted. Our youngest boy was slow to learn. He started to stammer. I knew how to handle him and the rest of the family. The stam- mering lasted but a very short time. He is now a very good craftsman in mechanical arts.

"My personal love has always been forestry. My parents would not let me be a forest ranger, 'You can't; you stutter,' is all I could get from them.

"Do not answer this letter— please just write the article."

All of us are more or less blind. Blind to the aspira- tions of our friends, blind to their hurts, blind that we unconsciously snub them. I have never taken the time to find out the reasons for the tragic diffi- culty which he has carried. Feeling sorry, yes, but not helping. Now I ask:

Do parents discover what a slow child is thinking? Do they suppose he aspires? Or do they feel that afflictions, not apparent as to cause, come from the Lord as a punishment to the individual? Can there be damage not so apparent in the "quick" child if he is not properly understood? Do you know how an unwanted child feels? Is there a Latter-day Saint who, making a child feel unwanted, assumes that he will stand in the presence of the Lord to dwell with him forever?

Can a father come home at night to a family of children, and in the only time available to him to influence them, bury himself in a newspaper or in a television show? What is the most important thing in this life to a man? If it isn't the well-being of his children and his family, what could it be else?

If the gospel teaches anything, it teaches that the rock bottom fundamentals of our faith, so far as our success in this life goes, are the proper connections with our families and the proper teaching of our children.

AUGUST 1959

587

by Albert R. Lyman

It was impossible for Aunt Jody's family to start with the first company in the fall of 1879. They must convert their belongings into teams, wagons, and other equipment, and such livestock as they could take with them. A call from the Church to its people was a call for the people to find a way or make a way to fill that call. It was taken for granted that people with a testimony of the gospel would be ready to place their all on the altar for the sake of their salvation. Tens of thousands of men and women had gone promptly as missionaries to foreign countries, or as settlers to new frontiers, or as beginners in many new fields at their own expense. The Woods were exactly the kind for which the Church was looking; the kind that could be relied upon to respond.

In the three years while they were making their preparation to go with the next com- pany, two little girls were born to them, the first one, Mary Ann, to die at the age of five

588

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

months; the second one, Sarah Jane, to be making a rather precarious survival at the time of their de- parture.

They realized little from the sale of their land and improvements in Cedar. In telling about it with good-natured banter, Josephine said, "Sam traded the home and the land for teams and wagons and a few sacks of bran." And in the same humor Sam coun- tered, "Yes, and Josephine gave the bran to the neigh- bors to feed their hungry pigs."

The time for their departure was October 17, 1882, three years from the starting date of the first com- pany, that left in the fall of 1879, to fight their way through by way of the noteworthy Hole-in-the- Rock crossing of the Colorado. The forepart of the month was sad with farewell visits to friends and relatives, and the two graves where the little brother and sister had been laid to rest.

Four families were to go from Cedar, one from Enoch, and on the morning of the 17th, the town gathered to say good-bye and wish them Godspeed on their journey. They were crowded into their covered wagons with provisions, bedding, camp sup- plies, and the few books, personal belongings, or keepsakes which they could take with them.

"We moved slowly away from our beloved Cedar with aching hearts after saying good-bye to our loved ones, and our homes and the land of our birth, not knowing when, if ever, we would see them again, and not knowing where we were going," wrote "Aunt Jody" in her journal, from which we shall quote freely.

Their traveling companions were Charles Wilden, Alvin Smith, David Adams, and their families; and Frederic I. Jones, his wife Manie, and two little boys from Enoch. Hyrum Perkins was to be their captain, having been sent from Bluff to pilot them through the weary stretches of deserts and mountains.

Josephine kept somewhat of a record of the journey from Cedar although what she saw and what she suffered in the intense thirty days while they toiled through about three hundred miles of raw, roadless wilderness, defied all her powers of description. Her account is sketchy and incomplete, and some of the pages have been lost, but enough is preserved to suggest a very clear picture to the minds of those who have gone through it. They who have never gone through the realities of it, can have little idea

of the weariness, the frustration, and the anguish it entails. With my vivid recollection of traveling hundreds of miles in this same primitive way, and much of it through the same country and on the same road, in heat and cold and storm, in hunger and thirst, with broken wagons, lost or exhausted animals, with floods and rocks, wind and sand and mud, I read her account and am moved to tears in contemplating what it means. For however trying it was to me in my childhood and young manhood, it was not to me what it was to a young mother not inured to that way of life, and having four little children to care for, one of them a delicate infant, requiring constant attention.

For people with imagination to envisage what it was like to travel in oldtime wagons with poor teams through a rugged, broken country without roads, and with very little water, these few quotations from Josephine's diary, will suggest the thrills and the tor- ture of that journey to Bluff. They moved at a snail's pace on the days that they moved at all, seldom cov- ering more than fifteen or twenty miles a day. On that seventeenth day of October they got as far as Johnson, on their way towards Parowan. Quoting now from the diary: "October 18th: we left Johnson's with great sorrow about eleven o'clock, traveled a few miles and met Bishop Arthur and other friends; an- other heartache when we said good-bye. There was nothing to do but lie back in our wagons and weep, and think of those we left behind, their kindness. This is a great trial . . . the company feels very serious. We stopped at Parowan about five o'clock, camped early and turned our stock in the fields. The children and their mamas wanted to go back.

"October 19th— At Red Creek we bid more friends good-bye, and camped in Little Creek Canyon, the children crying to go home. Even the cattle want to go back, but every day is taking us farther away.

"October 20th— It was hard to get started this morn- ing; the teams and the stock are slow. Hyrum Perkins is our captain.

"October 21st— Another cross night with the chil- dren. Sam had to leave one of his cows and calves; the little white calf Walter Hunter gave me. We did not stop till we got to Panguitch. Every night we are called together to prayers; then we go to bed."

They left Panguitch (Continued on page 606)

AUGUST 1959

589

Sixth of the series

"Mixed Voices"

on Book of Mormon

criticism

What

Frontier;,

What

Camp Meeting?

by Hugh Nibley Contributing Editor

Nearly all present-day critics insist on an atmosphere of extreme religious hysteria, "a time of strange wild religious excitement," as essential to the production of the Book of Mormon.51 The heat and passion of the backwoods revival meeting provide the fiery crucible in which the book was forged.52 The frontier and the camp meeting between them set the stage for the Book of Mormon.

In spite of its respectable distant New England background, a recent and typical study reports, "Mormonism was unquestionably a product of the frontier, the strangest, most ambiguous, adventurous, and colorful of all the movements emanating from that turbulent region."53 The latest investigators, however, have been seriously questioning this proposi- tion. Mrs. Brodie has an easy time showing that western New York in Joseph Smith's time was not primitive frontier at all, but thoroughly settled and civilized. Yet after all that she remains true to the party line: the matter of the Book of Mormon "is drawn from the American frontier."54 But others have now taken the magic out of that magic word and demythologized the myth of the frontier.

"Mormonism has usually been described as a fron- tier religion," writes Cross, and hastens to correct the error: "The church did not rise during the pioneering era of western New York. Its early recruits came

Why he's exactly like a wall

more like a spear

from many sects, but invariably from the longest settled neighborhoods of the region. Joseph's pere- grinations [in the early days] . . . were always east- ward, not westward . . . the Church of the Saints was not a frontier phenomenon in origin." Even if you call Western New York the frontier, "its impact upon the region and period from which it sprung was extremely limited," Mormonism receiving its greatest strength from abroad.55 Mr. Davis confirms this ver- dict: "But Upstate New York in the 1820's," he writes, "was not a frontier, . . . actually, the frontier was the place where Mormonism was nearly extinguished, while the final settlement came a thousand miles be- yond the frontier."50 The theory that Mormonism was a product of the frontier will not stand up to any examination.

Equally groundless is the common claim that the element of supernatural intervention in the Book of Mormon was a response to the stimulus of the camp meeting. "There are no detailed descriptions of the revivals in Palmyra and Manchester between 1822 and 1827, when they were at their wildest," writes Mrs. Brodie.57 If she had really wanted to find out what the revivals were like at the time and place indicated, Mrs. Brodie could have had a quite ade- quate description from the autobiography of Nancy Towle, the traveling revivalist who operated in upper New York State between the years 1818 and 1831. From her we learn that the pathological camp meet- ings that Smith is supposed to have attended are a myth of the critics.58 The preaching routine of the time was standardized and stereotyped: if Smith ever got his religion "from the mouth of the wilderness preacher," it is passing strange that his own sermons

590

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

obviously some sort of snake '. . . no, round and tall like a tree ... he is exactly like a huge fan . . . unmistakably like a rope

and writings do not remotely resemble theirs. Par- ticularly repugnant to Miss Towle and her fellow evangelists is Smith's claim that "The gift has re- turned back again, as in former times, to illiterate fishermen." To which Miss Towle's reaction was: "Are you not ashamed, of such pretentions? You who are no more, than any ignorant ploughboy of our land! Oh! blush, at such abominations!"59 So far were the revivalists from admitting any kind of in- spiration. The idea of supernatural manifestations, which Joseph Smith is also supposed to have picked up from the revivals, was completely foreign to them. When she speaks of healing, Miss Nancy makes it perfectly clear that she means only the healing of the soul; when she rushes to the side of the sick and the dying, it is to exhort them to prepare to meet Jesus; when she speaks of death it is with genuine terror and despair;60 she is constantly on guard against accepting for a moment as supernatural any of the many experiences and manifestations that she so often meets with in the course of her neurotic career.01 The revivalists had a definite technique and enthusiasm of their own, but it was of a totally different nature from that found among the Mormons, concerning which one observer noted ninety years ago:

"This enthusiasm is different in style and expres- sion from the religious enthusiasm of many of the Christian sects. The excesses of revivals are not favored by the leaders for this practical Church. There is no frenzy in their prayers, and the worship in their Tabernacle is as decent as that of a Puritan Church. But under this quiet exterior, there is a spirit of fanatical devotion, deep and earnest. . . ."62

Could one ask for plainer evidence that the Mormon

tradition is not that of the camp meeting and the frontier?

From Miss Towle we learn that the revival meetings of Joseph Smith's day were not held in fields, woods, and tents, but in regular churches and in good order.63 It was only in the British Isles that Miss Towle herself preached in tents and in the open air; her message there was the same as in America, and met with the same response— there was nothing "frontier" about it.64

Miss Towle has a good deal to say about the bitter revelries among the ministers, (" . . . rotten-hearted professors. . . . Oh! these men-appointed leaders, how despicable they often, to me, appear!") and so makes it clear that Joseph Smith was not exaggerating (as is often claimed) when he told of how meanly they treated him.65 From Nancy Towle we can learn what the atmosphere of the revivals really was: Re- ligious feeling ran high; rivalry was intense and sometimes bitter;66 but the wild orgiastic rites of the camp meeting, of which we have heard so much, were totally foreign to her experience and to the world of the youthful Joseph Smith. Only twice in all her long experience did Miss Towle see anyone faint at a meeting— once in Cumberland and once in Nova Scotia— and the sight surprised and disturbed her: "Such a thing," she says, "never happens in the 'New England revivals.' "67

As early as 1842 the Methodist Quarterly Review severely criticized an English writer for describing Mormonism as a frontier religion. The Mormon converts, the reviewer pointed out, came not from the frontier or even from America, but from that very "sound, enlightened, Protestant England" that the

AUGUST 1959

591

British writer boasts about!68 As to the Book of Mormon resembling American preaching, at revivals or anywhere else, nothing could be more absurd: "We now fear, that the reviewer [in England] knows just as little about what is said 'at meeting' as he does about the contents of the Book of Mormon, and this is almost nothing at all."69

Dr. O'Dea Bloweth Where He Listeth-.—Dr. O'Dea should have considered some of these things before propounding his favorite thesis on the Book of Mor- mon: "The book is obviously an American work." How, "obviously?" Well, "American sentiments per- meate the work." For example? "Taxation is oppres- sive, and lawyers are not to be trusted."70 In what nations is that not true? Has Dr. O'Dea never heard of Moliere or Aristophanes or Rabelais? Again the "obligation of the clergymen to work" in Alma's church is right out of New England: but why not right out of Cluny, or the Qumran Community, or the Didache? Alma's going "from one body to an- other, preaching unto the people repentance and faith on the Lord" (Mos. 25:15), is for O'Dea "a scene strongly reminiscent of the camp meeting" though he admits else- where that camp meet- ings belong to the post Book of Mormon peri- od.71 But Dr. O'Dea's job as a critic is not simply to report what Book of Mormon scenes and incidents suggest to his mind, but to prove when he suggests a source, that the matter concerned could not pos- sibly have come from any other source. After all, the man who by some mysterious process can borrow the ideas of thirteenth century monks, Brahmin sages, French satirists, and Washingtonian reformers may at any given moment be stealing from any conceivable source, so that no critic can ever be sure of his ground. But Dr. O'Dea is: he finds that in the Book of Mor- mon "the closeness to violence was thoroughly Ameri- can." But what could be more thoroughly Italian or Greek or Irish or Roman or Arabic or Hebrew, etc., than "closeness to violence?"72 Nancy Towle actually left England to get away from a "closeness to violence," in comparison of which America was a haven of calm.72

In his too ready analysis Dr. O'Dea goes far enough to contradict himself soundly, for though the Book of Mormon according to him draws its "fundamental theme" from Calvinism and revivalism, it does so "without either the stress on human depravity of the

BIRTHDAY CAKE

by Christie Lund Coles

The flames climb high Then sink; Wax falls upon The white, the pink;

The shadows move Grotesque and tall Against the curtain And the wall;

former or the excessive emotionalism of the latter." That is to say, what we find in the book is Calvinism and revivalism— but with their essential elements left out: "In contrast to the extremes of religious en- thusiasm that were soon to follow upon the revivals . . . later in the decade, the intellectuality of the Book of Mormon and its appeal as a reasonable answer to the problems of existence and salvation are quite obvious." (P. 31.) So what the Book of Mormon offers is not a resemblance but a "quite obvious" contrast to the ways and teachings of those religious enthusiasts who are supposed to have inspired it! O'Dea even labors the indiscretion: "In fact, in catch- ing and committing to print the hopes and exaltations of the revival meeting and in doing so without the distractions and emotional excesses . . . the Book of Mormon was admirably suited to become . . . the scriptures of an American Church." (P. 40.) Passing by the fact that the book was never meant to become the scriptures of any church, and that the great appeal of Mormonism and the Book of Mormon has in the past not been to Americans but to people of other lands, we must hasten to point out that "emo- tional excesses" are no extraneous fixture of the revival meeting but the very substance of those "hopes and exaltations" without which it would not be a revival meet- ing. To say that the young fanatic Joseph Smith succeeded in sep- arating revivalism from emotionalism makes about as much sense as to talk of separating Romanism from Rome or separat- ing the front of a piece of paper from the back. Calvinism and revivalism "without either the stress on human depravity of the former or the excessive emotionalism of the latter" are simply Hamlet with Hamlet left out.

Though Riley assures us that "Joseph Smith knew as little about Arminius as Arminius did of him," and Davis insists that Mormonism is a revolt against Arminianism,73 Dr. O'Dea finds "The doctrine of the book is wholeheartedly and completely Arminian." The proof? "Men, says the Book of Mormon, will be judged by God according to their works," which Arminius also taught.74 But so did a thousand other Christian teachers, ancient, medieval, and modern, to say nothing of the scripture itself.

Again, we learn that the democratic creed of the Book of Mormon is purely American— except that it is not: "Yet this con- (Continued on page 610)

Her breath comes fast; Her blue eyes shine; A moment here I know her mine.

Yet, few the years I shall make The dainty small girl's Birthday cake.

592

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

by Genevieve Van Wagenen

Each individual is a sensitive, delicate, technical mechanism or piece of equipment. Like a seismo- graph we record everything about us. And every- thing has its effect upon us— either for good or bad. All of life's experiences touch and mold our hearts and souls, and make us what we are. We are the result of many influences.

A child's environment is not only the air he breathes and also the food he eats and the house he lives in. It's also the kind of training he's had. It's the people around him and the way they've felt and acted toward him. It's the lives they've lived— their example. It's the customs and language and ideas he's been taught. The home is most important. The greatest influ- ence upon the individual, either harmful or good, comes from the home. The home is the laboratory where this delicate instrument is regulated and ad- justed. May we never forget that love is the lubricant that is essential for perfect operation.

When we purchase a new appliance or piece of equipment, we make sure we read and follow the directions. We want to get the best service and results from our investment. In fact, the manufacturer feels it so important, he posts warnings and cautions in plain sight. There is no guarantee, if we do not follow instructions. But how about a brand new baby, fresh from its Eternal Maker? Are there any instructions, warnings, or cautions for his care? Oh, yes! The Lord has given complete and detailed in- structions. But have we taken time to read them? To learn them? And put them into practice? Such instructions as given in the Doctrine and Covenants,

Section 68, verse 25: ". . . Inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doc- trine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents." You see, unless we follow the instructions, we are to blame— there is no guarantee.

The Lord further stated: "And they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord." (Idem 28.)

And this admonition: "I say unto you, be one; and

if ye are not one ye are not mine." (See Ibid., 38-27.)

This caution: "Train up a child in the way he should

go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

(Prov. 22:6.)

This warning: "Spare the rod and spoil the child." (See Prov. 13:24.) The Lord taught that ". . . whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, . . ." (See Heb. 12:6.) Even Jesus "learned . . . obedience by the things which he suffered." (Ibid., 5:8.)

The Beatitudes given by our Savior, the Ten Com- mandments thundered from Mount Sinai, and our modern-day revelations are all instructions for the care of this precious little soul.

If we follow these instructions, we will have joy in our posterity. We will earn the rich rewards of par- enthood and the love and respect of our children. And we will make it easy for our children to be obedient to the Lord's commandment, to "Honour thy father and thy mother." (Ex. 20:12.)

AUGUST 1959

593

Conducted by

the Unified

Church School System

by Ernest Eberhard, Jr.

Coordinator, North Utah and South Idaho District Seminaries

To illustrate the differing concepts which are so often prevalent among people, the following example is most effective: To all Europeans any American is a Yankee; to the Southerner the Northerner is a Yankee; to a New Englander a Vermonter is a Yankee; and to a Vermonter a Yankee is a person who eats pie for breakfast.

This example points up the tremendous difficulty human beings have when a word or symbol, with supposedly common meanings and properties, is used as a concept. It pinpoints a difficulty often experi- enced by teachers because they are not acquainted with what might be called the "concept level" of the students they teach. Even the Savior seems to have had some difficulty along this line.

Matthew records:

"And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?" (Matt. 13:10.)

To this Jesus replied:

"Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand." (Ibid., 13:13.)

One can almost visualize the Savior's becoming quiet and meditative as some problem or question is propounded to him. When so perplexed he some- times gave the key to the art of masterful teaching by asking himself this question: "Where unto shall I liken it?"

He was keenly sensitive to the "concept level" of those whom he taught. He spoke understandingly to the highly trained but spiritually blind Pharisees. With equal insight he instructed and gave hope to the unschooled, downtrodden peasant whose limited life was filled with suffering, misery, and frustration. They may not have agreed with him, but they under- stood his message and were able to connect it with their status and their outlook on life.

In our day this point of view on an understanding

interpretation of life's purposes and values has again been stressed indirectly by the Lord in the Doctrine and Covenants:

"Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created." (D&C 29:34.)

After reading how the Savior constantly referred to the laws which govern the temporal world in which he lived and moved, one can see that the laws are illustrative of man's divine destiny and relationship to his Heavenly Father. They were fitted perfectly into the understanding and concept level of those to whom the Savior was explaining the principles of the gospel. This principle of teaching on the concept level of the student or listener has not changed in the passage of time, nor has the principle lost any of its power. It may be somewhat different in applica- tion in our day, but its essence remains the same.

A concept is a word or a symbol which stands for certain common characteristics or properties of ob- jects or situations which may or may not be present. The "concept level" is all which that object or situa- tion means to the individual who has the concept under consideration.

The concept level is also limited by age and experi- ence. Doll, to a tiny girl, means only her doll. Later it may mean other dolls which she has received. With increased age it may include her friends' dolls or all dolls even though they represent races, cultures, and economic conditions which are foreign to her own. The girl's concept level is based on the enlarged understanding of the increased number of common characteristics and properties which she acquires as she grows older and has more experiences in a situa- tion or with an object.

Children gradually develop concepts of faith,

594

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

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How Teachers Can Learn to Teach on the Concept Level of their Students

Teaching on the concept level of his students, no matter in which Church auxiliary a teacher works, is the result of consistent and devoted preparation. It

A teacher should practise listening to his students . . . thus a teacher may be able

to gain insight. . . .

hatred, beauty, obedience, and so on, as a conse- quence of many experiences with existing objects and situations. The number and kind of these experiences determines the "concept level" of the child. Age may or may not give a clue as to what this level is. When- ever the teacher presents a lesson on a level above or below the concept level of the students, a lack of

is not something which is acquired quickly and easily. But since it produces such soul-satisfying and stimu- lating results, it is worth every ounce of effort neces- sary to achieve it. It is a skill, a gift, which will survive death and may well be a treasure beyond all comprehension in the eternities. For those who have the dedication and per- (Continued on page 615)

AUGUST 1959

595

Eleventh of the Series

So That's What Boys Are Made Of

Romantic and Reckless

(Behavior Patterns and Problems of a Boy at 19)

by W. Cleon Skousen Chief of Police, Salt Lake City

Age 19 is called the natural age for romance— at least, parents are warned to expect it around about this time. Junior has become a gay blade now. He feels it inside and shows it outside. He is handsome, self-confident, adventurous. In spite of his former years of awkward growing up he finds that he is now attractive to a great many girls. Even glances from feminine strangers sweep his way. He senses, some- how, that they are sizing him up and most of the time they approve. "Wow!" Mother Nature whis- pers to him, "you are the greatest!"

But Mother Nature has added something to Junior besides the aromatic spirits of romance. The recipe for age 19 also calls for a liberal dash of recklessness. Perhaps this is to keep parents on their toes. In any event, just as we had the paradox last year of a gentleman and a bronco, this year we have the sweet- ness and light of Renaissance romance combined with the blind and crazy recklessness of Russian roulette.

Portrait of a 19-Y ear-Old

Now that Junior is 19 he is almost like another adult around the house. He is developing strong personality traits— likes and dislikes— which occa- sionally put a strain on the rest of the family. He is

instinctively aware that he is outgrowing the family, but he still feels strong ties to the home base.

"Home" is something Junior would like to take for granted— like a hotel or boardinghouse. He is in- clined to resist the routine requirements of farm chores, yard work, doing dishes, or even picking up after himself. Occasionally, he exhibits a burst of ambition and shocks the family with his secret talent for getting things done in a rush. But this is probably just before a planned house party "for the gang" or because of the prospective visit of some sweet young thing he is trying to impress.

Junior at 19 is a primper. He is also a regular clotheshorse. If he has a car he primps that, too. He seems to exist in a theatrical world of bright lights and brilliant costumes. Appearances are of para- mount importance. His hair must have the latest cut; his slacks and sport jacket must have the latest drape. Everything about him seems to shout, "Come alive, man, come alive!"

All of this is part of Junior's driving ambition to become somebody. He is not only sensitive about himself but also about his family. He may worry just a little about the impression his parents make on people— feelings he used to get when he was a junior

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THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

in high school. He secretly criticizes them. Mother is so engrossed in the home, Dad, in his business. "They should be more progressive," he tells him- self. Now that Junior is a sophomore in college (or a young man about town with a fairly good job) he feels he is learning so much. He wishes his parents

would do a little more reading, try to keep up. Of course, in two or three years Junior will discover that his parents were smarter than he thought, but at 19— "Well, I just feel like the folks ought to be boning up on a lot of these new things, like me!"

He is also allergic to the prehistoric barbarism of his younger brothers and sisters. "Crude!" he mum- bles as they go through their normal childish antics. He is definitely sure he was never like that. When important visitors come to dinner, he secretly wishes Dad would take "us grownups" to a restaurant and leave the jabbering little kids at home.

Finally, we should comment on 19-year-old self- sufficiency. "There is absolutely no question whatever about the future. I can handle it."

He feels immortal. He is radiant with health. He possesses optimism to an incredulous degree and refuses to believe that he lives in anything but the best of all possible worlds. He cannot understand why people worry so much. He thrusts out his chin and says, "All I need is an opportunity!"

The people who have to live with this personality sometimes feel that he is a little too cocksure for comfort. They occasionally spill out with, "Boy, have you got some surprises coming!" But as they meditate about it they have to admit that life demands a lot of zip and vinegar from a boy. Perhaps this over-abundance of super-self-sufficiency is simply Mother Nature's ammunition for future survival.

New Places, New Things

Junior's spirit of adventure at 19 is something to behold. He makes a good river rat, broncobuster,

or fighter pilot. He climbs mountains like a billy goat and makes jokes as they pack him down from the ski run with a broken leg.

This very same spirit demands other outlets, too. His entertainment appetites and sight-seeing adven- tures become much more sophisticated. Parents recall how he used to have his favorite resort, his favorite malt shop, favorite park, and favorite beach. Now the familiar things seem to lack luster. All of a sudden he wants to explore a weird assortment of strange new places.

If he can afford it, he likes to strut a tux once in a while, go to hotel dances, to supper clubs, or places with a big-name band. Parents need to remind them- selves that the dynamic urge to "go to high-powered places" and "do big time things" is almost universal for this age group. They say they want to see "life." The ideal arrangement is for Mom and Dad to intro- duce Junior to a few supper club experiences and realistically interpret for him what is going on. This helps Junior to get a proper perspective and take such things in his stride without being bowled over.

Parents who are too tired or too busy for such family excursions might remember that if Junior has to do his own private exploring there is a psychology of "going out on the town" that can spin a 19-year-old boy right off his chassis. For him it is a dizzy new world where he is anxious to fit in. And far too often there will be some smart aleck around who is anxious to make a fool out of Junior by slyly offer- ing him his first drink.

Some boys can decline a drink without any em- barrassment whatever. They have learned how to say "no thanks" or "I'll take a ginger ale straight." Everybody laughs and that is the end of the mat- ter. Others feel compelled to conform to the crowd pattern even though it may mean overriding a life- time of training. If this happens to Junior he may gag at the first sip. "Tastes like a barrel of mildewed excelsior!" he sputters. This may cure him.

On the other hand, if he decides to drink it "even if it kills me," then he has another, and for him, un- expected experience. He feels the warm glow in his stomach, then in his head. The gang watches curi- ously to detect the first signs of this new drinker getting high. It doesn't take long. Even an experi- enced drinker can only digest approximately half an ounce of alcohol an hour. All the rest flows directly into the blood stream. This raw alcohol bathes the brain with its narcotic depressant effect. Junior feels his thinking motor slowing down. He can't say words very plainly. When he does say something, every- body roars with gales of laughter. For the first time in his life he thinks he's a comedian. He doesn't realize they are laughing at him rather than his jokes.

598

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

They urge him to drink more. Perhaps he does. He squints his eyes as tunnel vision closes in on him, and he reels unsteadily when he tries to stand up.

Suddenly he has a feeling he needs fresh air. He is seized with a spasm of whim whams. His stomach region threatens at any moment to do a convulsive flip flop. He rushes to the nearest exit.

The following day, Junior may think a long time about this crazy new experience. He may tell his folks about it and promise to lay off from here on or he may secretly lavish his ego with the memory of being the life of the party. This may trigger his eagerness to be a big shot via this route. In fact, such eagerness can be set on fire by an empty-headed female from the next older set telling him coyly, "Junior, when you're drunk you are so cute!" If this happens, Junior may be a gone goose. He can hardly wait for the next party. This is particularly true if he is emotionally immature and has a gnawing feeling of being inadequate, dull, and inhibited.

"Somehow," he reflects, "that nasty (and expensive) stuff lubricates my personality." What he probably doesn't realize is the fact that if he starts relying on alcohol to lubricate his personality he is headed for the skids. It may take a few years to get there, but psychologists predict habitual alcoholism for those who pursue this course.

What Price Progress

However, at 19 it is sometimes impossible to con- vince a boy. He may think that for the time being, at least, this is progress. He has made what appears at the moment to be a sensational new discovery. Worried and heartsick parents cannot help becoming alarmed as they watch the girations of confused dis- integration appearing in the personality of their boy who was once solid, natural, and normal. They can- not help but agree with the youth leaders who said, "Liquor and a little wild life can produce a flash explosion in a teen-ager's personality that wreaks havoc!"

Police officers who may be called by the parents will recognize some familiar symptoms as Junior ex- hibits a mockish independence, a defiance of author- ity and law, a reckless indifference toward the welfare of himself or anyone around him. In time, drinking is the prelude to senseless crimes or roaring down quiet avenues in the middle of the night with throttles open and tires screaming. There are also screams after the crash, but these usually come from the more sober passengers who went along for the ride. The drunken driver often goes out without ever knowing what hit him.

When a young life suddenly terminates in a police station, a penitentiary, or a morgue, thoughtful peo-

ple cannot help wondering how a youngster could have jammed up his life so completely. It isn't hard to trace the pattern. It all began with "little things."

One final thought about another type of 19-year- old who reaches the same terminal but follows a dif- ferent route: he may have been a drop-out during high school or may have gone to seed after gradua- tion. In any event, he is the boy who decides to become a "peon," a "slum bum," or a juke-joint rock 'n' roll artist who requires all night sessions and a "barby" to keep the gang awake. These are symptoms of personality perversion and while not hopeless, they certainly spell doomsday if not corrected.

A boy of 19 is moving out across the horizon of life with limitless possibilities before him— adventures in glorious achievement or expeditions in human nega- tion. It is worth the time of a mother and dad and all the resources of a community to see that a boy gets a lift in the right direction when he needs it.

The Age of Courtship

Now we hasten to return to the more pleasant part of being 19. Let's talk about courtship.

No 19-year-old is likely to admit he's courting. He will tell you how he enjoys dating. He might even admit he's campaigning. But not "courting." For him courting is too fancy, formal, and old-fashioned.

However, when Mom and Dad get down to cases, they find love-making hasn't really changed much. A few new words maybe, to describe some routing and well-known adventures in billing and cooing, but as a grandfather recently said, "It's still the same old go-around of boy meets girl, girl likes boy, girl plays hard-to-get, and boy pursues her until she catches him."

For Junior, however, it isn't quite that simple. Even getting to meet girls, at least the right kind, may be a barrier. This is particularly true in a large city or in a family where there are few social ties. Such a boy may wander around "just hunting." Likely as not he will eventually find a girl, but a pick-up may turn out to be a girl with more experience than Junior knows how to cope with. A girl on the hunt (with happenstance morals ) can send a boy reeling. In fact, a chance meeting with the wrong girl can derail a very promising boy's career.

It is the task of parents, teachers, and youth leaders to give young people frequent opportunities for well- supervised recreation where there is a common meet- ing ground on the "crowd" level and dates can be made under wholesome conditions.

Problems of Matchmaking

As it finally turns out, most boys have very little trouble getting dates (Continued on page 618)

AUGUST 1959

599

Leadership Development

THE LDEN

TOUCH

by Sterling W. Sill Assistant to the Council of the Twelve

There is an interesting legend in ancient Grecian mythology telling the story of Midas, king of the little Greek state of Phrygia. The Grecian deity, Dionysus, granted the wish of King Midas that everything he touched would turn to gold. Accord- ing to legend, the gift backfired, and when even the food and the daughter of Midas turned into gold, the king begged Dionysus to take back his gift.

But Midas' idea was a good one, and if he had only had some exclusions written into his gift, he might have accomplished some wonderful things. Midas is not the only one who has had this idea. For hundreds of years the alchemists have tried to find

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THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

ways of transmuting the lesser elements into those of greater value, such as iron and lead into silver and gold. In spite of the failure of the alchemists and the unfortunate experience of King Midas, the idea itself should not be abandoned.

I have often wished that this gift of Dionysus could have been granted without its harmful all-inclusive- ness. Then it would have been interesting to see how Midas would have used his unusual powers. I can imagine the thrill that this fine old king might have received as he went around touching worthless things and under his touch seeing them turn into shining, brilliant, sparkling, valuable yellow gold.

The gift of Dionysus to Midas was short-lived, but there are people who have revived the powers of this gift and now have in full operation a wonderful golden touch. All of us know some people who have a great ability where everything they touch seems to turn to gold right in their hands. All of their enter- prises flourish; everything they undertake succeeds. If they go into business, you want to invest some money with them because you know it will prosper. If such a person is given a leadership position in the Church you know in advance that that particular organization will go forward by leaps and bounds and that everyone connected with it will be better off as a consequence.

"The Golden Touch" is a great gift. How would you like to possess it? The Lord has said to us that we should seek good gifts. Certainly the golden touch is one of the best. The gifts of God are always based on worthiness. The people with the golden touch are those who have the ability to think straight and work hard. They are the ones who have a flair for solving their own problems and helping to answer their own prayers. What a thrilling experience to see the productive operation of a fine Church leader who has dependability, know-how, resourcefulness, and courage. You know in advance that every as-

signment will be completed and on schedule; the reports will be accurate and on time; and everyone connected with the enterprise will make a profit.

We sometimes picture a sort of golden, radiant light being given off by pure gold. We call it "sparkle." But there are some people who have some of the same qualities. They radiate enthusiasm, courage, industry, helpfulness, good cheer, diligence, and dependability.

On the night of Benedict Arnold's betrayal, every- thing was in confusion, and the loyalty of many people was under suspicion. General George Wash- ington asked the father of Daniel Webster to stand guard throughout the night. He said, "Captain Webster, I can trust you." Captain Webster had gold in his character. Solomon spoke of one who had gold in his performance. He said, "Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings. . . ." (Prov. 22:29.)

There are some 1959 model kings who are to others like sunshine to the vegetation or water to thirsty crops. A farmer in the late fall was running his irri- gation water in a head ditch past a dry alfalfa field. Because of shortage of water he had abandoned the alfalfa in order to mature more valuable crops. But in two or three places the water broke over the ditch bank and ran down through the dry field. A few weeks later you could tell right to the inch where the water had been, for where these fingers of moisture had reached down into the dry field, the alfalfa stood tall, green, and vigorous; where the water did not go, the dry stubble remained exactly as before.

What water does to thirsty alfalfa, a great leader does to people. Wherever a great leader goes, people grow taller and more useful than they were. The science of criminology says that no one can pass through a room without leaving some evidence of his having been there. It may be a footprint or a scent or a fallen hair. (Continued on page 621)

AUGUST 1959

601

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Priesthood and Temple Work

Temple work is the work of the priesthood. So also is the equally important labor of seeking out the records of our ancestors, so their temple work can be done.

■ In proof of this we quote some of the inspired utterances of our Church leaders of the past and present. Note how emphatically they say that bearers of this priesthood should lead out in this all important mission.

■ The Prophet Joseph Smith said: "The greatest re- sponsibility in this world that God has laid upon us,

is to seek after our dead. This doctrine was the burden of the scriptures. Those Saints who neglect it, in behalf of their deceased relatives, do it at the peril of their own salvation."

■ The Prophet Joseph Smith then continues: "I wish you to understand this subject, for it is important. It is one of the greatest and most important subjects that God has revealed. He should send Elijah to seal the children to the fathers, and the fathers to the children. Without us they could not be made perfect, nor we without them, the fathers without

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THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

the children, nor the children without the fathers."

■ President Brigham Young said: "We have a work to do just as important in its sphere as the Saviors work was in its sphere. Our fathers cannot be made perfect without us; we cannot be made perfect with- out them. They have done their work and now sleep. We are now called upon to do ours; which is to be the greatest work man ever performed on the earth."

■ And then President Brigham Young went on: "The ordinance of sealing must be performed here woman to man, and children to parents, until the chain of generation is made perfect in the sealing ordinances back to Father Adam.

■ "There must be this chain in the Holy Priesthood; it must be welded together from the latest generation that lives on the earth back to Father Adam. This Priesthood has to do it; this Priesthood is for this purpose."

■ And then President Wilford Woodruff said: "Breth- ren and sisters, lay these things to heart. Let us go on with our records. I pray God that as a people our eyes may be opened to see, our ears to hear, and our hearts to understand the great and mighty work that rests upon our shoulders, and that the God of heaven requires at our hands."

■ President Heber J. Grant said: "If you get it into your heart and soul that this is one of the most im- portant things you as Latter-day Saints can do, you will find a way to do it. That is the one lesson of all others that I would like to impress upon you. I know of no work that brings greater peace and comfort to the human heart than missionarv work in the Church of Jesus Christ, at home or abroad, going out to proclaim the Gospel, sitting down and talking upon the gospel, or entering into the temples and doing work for our loved ones that have gone before."

■ Then President Grant added: "I am very desirous at all times to try and encourage the people to go to the temple. I am anxious to encourage the people to press on in securing their genealogies, and after doing so to labor in our temples. I am sure that for each and every one of you who has determination the Lord will open the way whereby you can ac- complish the labor. The important thing is the desire."

■ President George F. Richards, of the Council of the Twelve, said this: "The Genealogical Society of the Church is an aid to the Saints in looking after the genealogies of their dead.

■ "As the temple work for the dead cannot be done until we have certain genealogical information con- cerning them, genealogy is placed on the same plane of importance as temple work, and in both is seen the effect of the restoration of the sealing power of

the Priesthood by Elijah the Prophet. You will see readily that the genealogical research to find our dead and such information as will identify them is on a par of importance with the temple ordinance work itself."

■ President David O. McKay said: "This is the day in which the Lord expects his Church to inaugurate the great work of turning 'the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers.' What about your great-great-ancestors who never heard the name of Jesus Christ? You have the opportunity of gathering the names of your ancestors and, by their being baptized for by proxy, they may become members of the kingdom of God in the other world as we are members here."

■ And then he continues: "May all who hold the Priesthood sense more fully the spirit of Elijah, and comprehend more clearly the necessity of giving to all who have gone beyond the veil the privileges of enjoying the blessings that follow compliance with the principles and ordinances of the everlasting Gos- pel; that some day all mankind, judged by the acts done in mortality, may receive their merited rewards, and those who are worthy be saved, sanctified and glorified."

■ And then in the spirit of prayer President McKay appealed: "Increase our desire, O Father, to put forth even greater efforts towards the consummation of thy purpose to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of all Thy children."

■ President Stephen L Richards of the First Presidency said this : "I think perhaps the work for our kindred dead is the most truly Christlike service performed in the Church. I am sure it is approved of Him and countless grateful hearts in the unseen world. . . . We know that we are engaged in his work."

■ President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., also of the First Presidency, said: "We are to be vicariously the saviors of our ancestors. The countless billions who have gone before will in due time have the oppor- tunity to reap hereafter the blessings which we con- fer upon them here. This is the most glorious concept of its kind that has ever come to the earth. We are indeed saviors on Mount Zion. It is our obligation to go forward in this great work with which we have been charged. Indeed, we have no alternative, if we would be his people."

■ President Joseph Fielding Smith of the Council of the Twelve, and President of the Genealogical Society, has said: "The duty of a man in his own family is to see that he and his wife are sealed at the altar. If married out in the world before they joined the Church, or if they have been in the Church and have been unable to go to the temple, it is that man's duty to go to the (Continued on page 620)

AUGUST 1959

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Administering of Sacrament Is a Great Privilege

Sunday after Sunday, in more than four thousand LDS meetings throughout the world, the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is administered. The sacramental prayers are uttered in English, German, Japanese, Portuguese, and a dozen other languages, and bread and water— symbolic of the flesh and blood of our Savior— are passed for the assembled Saints to partake.

The taking of the Sacrament is a living, profound, religious experience. It is of greater significance than most of us, taking it as often as we do, realize. It is a holy ordinance, vital to our temporal and spir- itual well-being.

Because the Sacrament is so important, it is necessary that competent and dedicated individuals be entrusted with the responsibility of preparing and passing it. This is a special assignment of the Aaronic Priesthood. It is a grave responsibility, but one that is faithfully and diligently performed throughout the Church every week.

Some people have voiced objections to the entrusting of such an enormous responsibility to indi- viduals as young as are most of our Aaronic Priesthood bearers. But the Lord, throughout all dispensations of time, has consistently called young men to positions of great responsibility and authority. Samuel, Joseph the son of Jacob, Nephi, John the Baptist, Daniel, Joseph Smith— these names flash through the mind. Each of these was an anointed leader with a dynamic influence for good at an early age.

In keeping with this pattern, the Lord also gives important responsibilities to young people today- one of the most important of which is caring for the Sacrament.

It is important that Aaronic Priesthood bearers realize the significance of this privilege. If they do, they will know that they must always be dressed neatly and cleanly and be on their best behavior, setting an example for the congregation. They will refrain from such disturbing practices as loud whispering and gum-chewing. They will make certain that the Sacrament is passed quietly and in an orderly manner. They will help create an atmosphere which will enable the worshipers to truly "remember him" and "have his Spirit to be with them." This is what the Church expects of its young Aaronic Priesthood bearers. This is a goal they should work towards.

Advice Given for Success In Senior Member Program

One program in the Church that represents a real challenge to de- votion is the work with the senior members of the Aaronic Priesthood. This is a challenge because it demands patience, perseverence, ingenuity, and versa- tility.

Sometimes advisers feel that they are not "getting through," that their efforts represent only so much

wasted verbiage. Sometimes these fears are justified. In order to enjoy success in this program, contact must be made. One can take a light plug and stab at the wall with it indefinitely; until one gets it into the socket, making a contact, the light will not go on. The same is true in this program.

How does one make this contact? There is no pat, all-inclusive answer; no perfect solution. If there were, we would have no senior Aaronic mem- bers in the Church except newly-baptized converts.

604

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

But there are helps and hints that have proved ex- tremely valuable. Among these are:

1) Obtain the friendship and confidence of your group members. This is a prerequisite to all the following suggestions.

2) Become acquainted with their particular in- terests and appeal to them.

3) Give these men the feeling that they are not only welcome in the Church, but also wanted and needed. It's true; they are.

4) Show them the advantage of Church activity in terms they can understand: growth, service, family opportunities.

5) Have a definite objective for every visit and be well-prepared, in every way, to put over this ob- jective.

6) Recognize that individuals are different and must be approached differently. Some will respond to a challenge; others will shy away. Some can be led and directed; others will resent any attempt to lead or direct as unwarranted intrusion in their per- sonal lives.

7) Encourage them to pray and, when possible and appropriate, pray with them.

8) Above all, be humble to allow for divine direc- tion. Without this, success is out of the question.

Ward Teaching Supplement

The Lord has been very generous

to his children here upon the earth.

One of the greatest of all his gifts

is the opportunity to repent. Without this we could

not hope to return to his presence.

Mankind became aware centuries ago that things do not fust happen, but that events and conditions are controlled by cause and effect relationships. The same is true in our religious life: good works bring blessings, inactivity invariably leads to retrogression and "the wages of sin is death. . . ."

All of us make mistakes; some are accidental, others not quite so innocent. We must learn, and experience is often a costly teacher. Thus, were we left solely to our own devices, punishment would follow trans- gression as night follows day and we would be without a chance of obtaining eternal life.

Here the gospel, and especially the principle of repentance, comes into play. When we truly repent of something, it is not fust as if the Lord agreed to overlook our error, or excuse it or try to forget about

it . . . it is as if we never committed it. As far as that particular transgression is concerned, we are clean, forgiven, free. Therein lies the miracle of true re- pentance.

Repentance, to be efficacious, must be complete and sincere. Temporary repentance, conditional re- pentance, repentance with reservations . . . these are not really repentance at all.

To repent, we must recognize our error and be sorry for what we did, not sorry that we were caught or that things didn't work quite as planned, but sorry for the wrongful act itself. We must then make amends and beg forgiveness, both of the injured party and our Father in heaven.

It is in the final step that the proof of true re- pentance lies. Its essence is the turning away, the new life, the going the Lord's way and sinning no more. If we fail here, then our failure is complete and our "repentance" has been but a futile gesture.

Repentance is a profound and beautiful thing and is not to be approached with flippancy or light- mindedness. None of us is above or beyond it. It concerns each of us, every day of our lives.

AUGUST 1959

605

HARPIST

WATERFRONT

by Elizabeth A. Hutchison

Great harps of the pines, with resonant strings,

When plucked by the wind's imperative fingers,

Vibrate with the storm's tempestuous sweep,

Filled with a dissonant terror that lingers.

In furious tempo and demon-like rage,

Cacophonous chords with evil demanding

Rend the brightness of noon with shriek and with moan

A mystery beyond a man's understanding.

by Catherine E. Berry

The waterfront drowsed in the misty rain

In the quiet hours of the night, Deserted by even the wandering waves

That the tide had taken in flight. Through a break in the clouds a crescent moon

Threw its silver coins down below, To shine in slivers in cracks in the wharf,

On the water in flecks of glow.

But now with evening's mute benediction,

A gossamer breeze strums a soft lullaby,

And low in the west a shimmering Venus

Heralds the peace of a hushed velvet sky.

I lie in the dark and hear the low murmur

Of mystical music, whose motif is sleep;

The penitent wind, a magical harpist,

Would soothe me to slumber, dreamless and deep.

The smell of the sea and the cargoes piled

In fantastic shapes in the dark Pervaded the air— and a lantern's beam

Like an exclamation mark, Was punctuating the black of the night

From the end of a ship that leaned Its tired old hulk on the jetty to rest

Before the dawn intervened.

The Church Moves On

(Continued) The afternoon ses- sion in the Tabernacle was held under the direction of the speech department of the Mutual Improve- ment Associations. Elder Ezra Taft Benson of the Council of the Twelve gave the address of the meeting, with choice young MIA men and women giving inspirational talks. (Elders George Q. Morris and Delbert L. Stapley of the Council of the Twelve had addressed general sessions on Friday, the opening day.)

Elder Byron V. Mumford sustained as president of Columbia River (Oregon) Stake succeeding Presi- dent Royle S. Papworth. Counselors to President Mumford are Elders Raymond L. Kirkham and Willis L. Smith. Released with President Pap- worth were his counselors, Elder Conard Edwin Green and President Mumford.

Presidents J. Reuben Clark, Jr., and Henry D. Moyle were set apart to their new positions

in the First Presidency by President

David O. McKay.

An important statement on the Sabbath was issued by the First Presidency. After quot- ing Exodus 20 and the period of the Captivity from the Bible and from Doctrine and Covenants 59 as mod- ern revelation, the statement con- tinued: ". . '. Latter-day Saints, with a testimony of the gospel and a knowledge of the spiritual blessings that come from keeping the Sabbath, will never permit themselves to make it a shopping day, an activity that has no place in a proper observance of the Holy Day of the Lord, on which we are commanded to pour out our souls in gratitude for the many blessings of health, strength, physical comfort, and spiritual joy which comes from the Lord's bounte- ous hand."

It was announced that Elder Ted Bushman of Salt Lake City had been reappointed to membership on the general board of the Young Men's Mutual Improve- ment Association. He had been re- leased about a year ago.

Aunt Jody

(Continued) about ten o'clock, "traveled about seven miles and stopped at two in the afternoon, since that was the last water for some distance. Washed and baked in the afternoon. David Adams left us this morning, he thinks he can travel faster alone. I don't blame him, the babies are so cross, the cattle stopping so often makes us slow. Sam had to go back for an- other cow. Alma Smith caught up with us today with four more fami- lies; this makes quite a train. Brother Charles Wilden has a big tent; we go in there for prayers; we undress the children there, then go to our beds out in the open. The children are quiet, but the wolves are howling piteously.

"October 23rd. Two of Hyrum's horses went back, and we waited till he found them. . . . We traveled till after dark and was late getting to camp. . . . Traveled seventeen miles today.

"October 24th. Quite cold and blowing, looks like storm. We want to get over Escalante Mountain to-

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THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

day. Hyrum says it won't be so bad then if the storm does come. Chil- dren cried all night. Manie's ( Manie Jones) baby, John, is still not well, and we are all quite homesick. There has been no breakage since we left except one bow on our front wagon, and then we were scattered all over the wagon with the sudden jerk. It is a week today since we took our last look at our homes, and worst of all, our relatives and friends. . . . This road is just a trail, with rocks, fallen trees, and stumps in our path. When we started up the mountain the women walked to the top, carry- ing the babies.

"We are thankful to be over the mountain before the storms come: we could not have made it, it was so steep. We had a good supper and prayers and went to bed very tired; traveled twenty miles today.

"October 25th. Rested well after our long walk up the mountain; we have had breakfast and are ready to leave. Getting ready to start is not as easy as reading this. We warm rocks and put in the wagon to keep the children warm. Traveled two miles today and camped for the rest of the day.

"October 26th. Hyrum is gather- ing stock they left on the last trip, we are laying over, and if he gets them we will go on tomorrow. We are tidying up our wagons, bathing, bak- ing, and washing. Sister Wilden and Sarah washed this morning, and Manie and I this afternoon. We poor sisters have our hands full. We are camped half a mile from town, and the men are getting grain ground for the horses. After we pre- pare supper, we have almost to un- load our wagons to make our beds. Then we have prayers and go to bed. God bless us all.

"October 27th. Still waiting for Hyrum. We wish we could have stayed with our loved ones or move on. Every day counts for peo- ple without a home. We baked enough to last for the next few days, and retired to our apartments to write letters, as this is the last place we can mail them. We spent the evening talking about our call to San Juan, some thought they would just as soon stay in Cedar, but when the call comes from the President of the Church, we go."

Going on from Escalante they turned to the left from the road to Hole-in-the-Rock, taken by the first company, and may have found a

better road, since it is unthinkable they could have found a worse. It was not for a better road that they turned, but to go to Hall's Crossing, instead of to the terrible place where the first company crossed the Colo- rado, now quite impassable. All the same, the way they went would make anyone but a saint weep in despair or turn and go back. They had to build road as they went, and

LITTLE TOWN by Leone E. McCune

So long this little town was my whole

world; Deep sky, low-lying hills, and waters

purled.

My home now wears an unfamiliar face; New owners always want to change a place.

The faces that I loved are there no more; A modern shop replaced the country store.

The small schoolhouse has long outgrown

its need; New buildings stand where farmers planted

seed.

Beloved old church has fallen to decay; The white spires of a new one greet the day.

All is not changed; the hills remain the

same; The sunset dies with well-remembered

flame.

The sun-baked slopes still yield the ripened

grain; The cows trudge to the pasture, down the

lane.

And when the valley dons its cloak of

white; The lights glow in the darkness of the

night;

But most of all, when lilacs drip with

rain, My memories and my heartstrings they

enchain.

they had fewer men and less equip- ment for such work than the first company had. They traveled up hill in deep sand and were some- times late in the night finding a place to camp and camped without water with the children crying for a drink. Their cattle got lost; the wind blew till they couldn't get din- ner or supper; they dragged wearily

on over solid rock surfaces, leaving their trail wagons and having to go back after them, doubling teams, the women and children walking. Sometimes they stood guard all night over their cattle and horses because the animals were so determined to go back. There being no feed for the animals, they could not stop even on Sunday. They ate a cold supper and went to bed without washing, and without a drink; no water. Sometimes darkness compelled them to stop where they were, on a hill so steep they had to block the wheels of their wagons to keep them from going on down.

Once when they went on in the darkness, they narrowly escaped driving over the brow of a cliff, and at another precipitous place: "We had the life frightened right out of us. I don't know what this place is called, but I call it Devil's Twist, and that's a Sunday name for it. Of all the roads on earth I cannot imagine any worse than these are here. Aunt Manie says, 'My, but this is a good schooling, and good for the liver to be jolted to pieces.' There is no use for me to try and describe it. This is the wildest and most God-forsaken country I have ever seen, or read about, or heard about. We hardly get started till we have to double teams on the wagons. The sand is knee-deep in some places, and in other places nothing but sheets of solid rock. Up hill and down hill, steep and slick— the poor animals. I have never before seen horses pull, and paw, fall down and get up as they have done today. We have not stopped for dinner, the horses have had no water and they are almost give out."

On the thirty-first when they had hunted desperately for water, they found a pool from which some of the men dipped up a little in the darkness and brought it to the chil- dren who were crying with thirst. In the daylight, the pool was seen to have two dead sheep in it. At this point Josephine writes: "Water is one of the greatest blessings we can have while traveling. It is so priceless we pour a cup of it on one man's hands, and another holds his hands under that, and four or five people wash with one or two cups of water."

On the third of November they reached Hall's Crossing of the Colo- rado, the most perilous and hair- raising occasion of the trip. They

AUGUST 1959

607

Humility, Hard Work, Integrity . . . and Courage

Richard L. Evans

We are mindful these days of young people who are moving into life's more permanent pursuits. We are mindful also of the many decisions facing those who have completed some part of their preparation, and who must now, or soon, decide whether to quit or how far to proceed with further preparation. It is difficult to generalize, for each case carries its own set of cir- cumstances. But as to quitting, as to weariness of study, weariness of work, as to quitting because of discouragement, because of some uncertainty, or for some shortsighted consideration, this we would say, and say it most sincerely: Whatever we face in the future, the best-prepared people will be the best prepared for any eventuality. "Fortune favors the best prepared."1 And whatever point young people may have reached or arrived at, they would well go forth with faith and make solid plans, and prepare fully to live their lives. We recall the recently reported counsel of an eminent American who suggested three factors for the solid living of life: The first is "humility."2 There is so much that all of us do not know. There is so much others have done for us. There is so much that to all of us the Lord God has given. Humility is a great and simple and essential quality of character. The second is "hard work"2— the willingness to work. We sometimes see the results; we see the flower, the fruit. We see what seems to be an overnight success. What we more seldom see are the roots down deep; the long working, the long waiting, the long period of preparation. No cause was ever served significantly without the earnest effort of preparing, improving, performing. The third is "integrity."2 There isn't anything that anyone has that is worth much without it. Talent isn't worth much without integrity; in- deed, it is more likely a liability. No material possessions can be safe-guarded or assured without integrity— and without it little business between people is possible. Integrity is the very essence of all satisfactory relationships in life. To these three we would add a fourth— although not from the same source: courage, the courage to plan, to prepare, to work, to wait, to face facts: courage and faith in the future. Surely there are uncertainties. We, none of us, know how far our ventures will prosper, how long, how much we can profit by our preparation— but "fortune favors the best prepared"— and we have the faith to prepare, to lay solid foundations; with humility, hard work, integrity, and courage- courage and faith for the future.

1Source unknown.

2Accredited to J. Edgar Hoover.

"The Spoken Word," from Temple Square presented over KSL and the Columbia Broadcasting System, June 7, 1959. Copyright 1959.

had what they called a raft for cross- ing the river, a kind of rough floor built on two boats, and on to this they drove a wagon at a time. Of this on the fourth of November, Josephine writes: "Now it is our turn— O pray for us! The raft was pushed up on the bank, Brother Fred Jones was driving, my chil-

dren and I in the wagon. He drove on to this raft, and the wagon was securely tied to it with ropes. The men started to rowing, and down the raft and all went into the water with a splash. My heart went faint, I went blind and clung to my babies. I shall never forget my feeling as we went down into the water, and

my fear of the wagon going off into the swift-flowing river. Before we started, I asked Fred to nail the cover down on all sides so that if we were drowned, we would all go together, and he did. When the treacherous river was safely crossed, we did thank our Heavenly Father."

To appreciate their days of delay and tribulation in getting their out- fits and cattle across the big stream, it is necessary to see that lonely place where the moaning of the water echoes up among the towering walls, and the approach from each side is difficult and dangerous. Josephine said she couldn't see how they ever got down to it, nor how they would get out, and when they did get out, "we were heartsick for we could see nothing but rock for miles ahead."

They were still a long, weary hun- dred miles or more from Bluff and seem to have been until the seventh in getting away from the river. On the eighth Aunt Jody wrote: "It is a wonder our wagons are not broken to pieces, for today is even worse. We have to go down a rocky place, it is steep and slick; the men hang to the back of the wagon to keep it from rolling on the horses, or from tipping up forward over them. They have to wait till one wagon is out of the way before another can start, because there is no place at the bottom to stop— just down and up like a V. The horses have to rest so often going up the hill, and as soon as they do the wagons start to roll back, and we have to block the wheels by putting rocks back of them. This is dangerous, we are afraid of being crushed. We have been walking most of the way for two days. This is just as hard on the women and children as on the men and horses. Backs were made for the burden, or ours would have been broken long ago. I guess things could be worse— we are all alive and well and the sun is shining."

With the next entry in the diary, made on the thirteenth, the company is supposed to have been in the neighborhood of Clay Hill, "such a terrible road," and then some pages are lost, so it is not known just when they arrived at Bluff, and how much more than a month, if any, they spent on the road. The next entry, without a date: "We are happy to get to Bluff. Our horses are tired out, so are we, but we got here alive; the Lord was surely with us."

608

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

Mormons in the

leutians

by Bob Whittaker

When one mentions the Aleutian Islands, only a few will have any idea just where they are or what they are like. Of course, the big feature of the area is the forty-ninth state, Alaska, but to a handful of Latter-day Saints, the Aleutians are as much a part of this new addition to the United States as the much talked-about mainland itself. This then is a report of the "Northern-most Mormons."

The great expanse and wealth of Alaska has often been repeated of late and one naturally thinks of that large area bordering close to the Russian empire, but stringing out westward from the Alaskan mainland are groups of islands comprising the Aleutian chain. Actually, these "islands" are tops of a giant mountain chain formed many eons ago by volcanic action deep within the earth's crust. The islands are barren of trees, and little life is now sustained on the greater part of them. Discovered and explored by the Rus- sians during the 1700's, they were found to be in- habited by many types of fur-bearing animals and a proud race of hearty people, the Aleuts. Rut over the ensuing years, great numbers of animals and Aleuts were killed and the islands despoiled for what- ever profit might be gained. Once the Aleut nation numbered many thousands, now just a few hundred are left, most of these on the island of Atka. When William H. Seward made his dramatic purchase for the United States, the Aleutian Islands were included in the deal. No one seemed to give them much thought until World War II when their strategic importance was fully realized.

The Japanese had fished the Aleutian waters of the North Pacific and the Rering Sea for many years prior to the war, and so when war broke out, the Japanese moved in. They actually took over several of the islands but were unable to set up bases of

much consequence. The most important fighting took place at Attu, nearest Japan. Rut giving in to the bitter weather and fighting, the Japanese withdrew under cover of dense fog. American forces have since occupied three important Aleutian bases, Attu, Dutch Harbor, and the biggest, Adak. At present, Shem- ya and Adak are maintained as important bases.

Adak lies between the Rering Sea on the west and the Pacific on the east. It is about 1500 miles from Anchorage, Alaska, and just slightly fewer miles from Japan. To the north is the closest big neighbor, Russia, just 700 miles away. A few miles in each direction can be seen the majestic cones of semi- active volcanoes. Since most of the Aleutian chain is volcanic in origin, some of these cones come to life at times. Earthquakes come and go with the wind, but only a few are very violent. The wind blows almost continually, sometimes reaching 120 miles an hour. Rainfall averages about 44 inches annually. During the winter months, Adak experiences some snow, much "horizontal rain," and much wind; temperatures average in the 30's. However, during the summer, it gets up to a warm 65° F. occasionally, but there is still much wind and rain. In summertime, too, the tundra turns from a brown to a vivid green, and hundreds of wild flowers dot the rolling hills. The only trees on the island are some left-over Christ- mas trees set in the sod at "Adak National Forest." For the sportsmen, Adak is a fishing paradise. Dolly- vardin trout and salmon are plentiful during the summer.

On this "remote" outpost, LDS meetings have a representation of all the service as well as a number of government civilian employees and servicemen families. Adak is a naval base, long devoid of Aleuts, and so the "community" is strictly a government

AUGUST 1959

609

function. There is no "town." At priesthood meeting and Sunday School it is not uncommon to see the uniforms of the Navy, Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines, and occasionally a member of the Geodetic Survey. All of these serv- ices have important missions to per- form on "The Pearl of the Aleutians," or called by most, "The Rock."

The Adak LDS Group is attached to the West Anchorage Branch, but visits to the "home" branch are rare, since it is some 1500 miles distant, and the only way is by expensive commercial aircraft, or "space- available" ships. With fairly limited facilities, the group has had to func- tion almost when and where it could. For quite some time, priesthood meeting and Sunday School were held in a small TV room of the Armed Forces TV Service. It was disconcerting, especially to the youngsters, to try to hold religious services in such an atmosphere. The group changed from morning to afternoon hours and was able to meet in the small auditorium of a religious education building annexed to the base chapel. This was an im- provement for the ten to twenty members who came out. Now, the group has moved into the base chapel where a more sacred atmos- phere can be maintained. The size of the attendance is dictated by work schedules, transportation, and the weather.

With constantly rotating person- nel, it is difficult to hold together the few officers of the group, or even to plan ahead from one Sunday to the next. Brother O. C. Ford is group leader. He, his wife Zelma, and sons Barry and Leslie have been on Adak almost three years. Both Fords are government employees of the Navy. Assistant group leader and Sunday School teacher is L. M. (Bob) Whittaker, an Air Force 1/Lt, and Navy-man Vaughn Failner is as- sistant group leader. Uray Funk, another civilian employee, was re- placed as priesthood teacher by Don Bowers, of the Naval communica- tions station. A Navy tug cook, Alex Briskie from American Samoa was group secretary until his rota- tion, and that position is now filled by Marine Master Sergeant Stanley Titcombe. Teaching the youngsters has been assigned to Sister Jo Whit- taker, Sister Ford, and Sister D. E. Seyboldt. Many of these officers are active in many other activities.

Brother Ford is president of the Adak chapter of P-TA, and Brother Whit- taker is publicity chairman of P-TA and the Boy Scouts. Since the de- parture of Brother Dale Brown many months ago, the group has been without an accompanist. A record player and organ accompaniment records are used.

In addition to priesthood meeting and Sunday School, the group meets each Sunday evening at one of three homes for fireside. These are gov- ernment quarters, since there are no "private" homes on the island. A regular lesson is presented, except the last Sunday of each month which is given to a social-type gathering. Among the few members and in- vestigators the "Mormon movement" can be traced to all corners of the world. Needless to say, a great deal of spare time is used in telling and showing pictures of faraway places, reminiscing, and yearning. Considering the twice weekly mail and a once-a-month boat with pack- ages, this remote outpost hears a lot about "home" and warmer climes.

But even here, thousands of miles from home, the power of the gospel was illustrated not long ago. The chance meeting of two priesthood members brought to light a distant relationship. For many years, one had supposed his father to be dead and could find nothing on his paternal genealogy. Not only did the meeting prove the father to be alive, but also revealed the missing genealogy line, and the work was completed.

When the westward movement of the Mormons began over a hundred years ago, few then could visualize the magnitude of the gospel and just how far west it would go. But, here on Adak, just as in other places of the world, the Church continues to be an ever-present influence and in- spiration in the lives of the small LDS Group. As long as the elements will permit, the Adak Latter-day Saints will continue to worship, and join in fellowship that will make the stay on "The Rock" a little less lone- some and an experience that will long be remembered.

What Frontier, What Camp Meeting?

(Continued) fession of faith, so characteristic of the milieu, did not pass without qualification. . . . Whether it was the problems of de-

veloping his 92 B. C. plot or his reflection upon his experience with his contemporaries that gave him pause, Joseph appended a profound warning." ( P. 35. ) That is, it should have been "characteristic of the milieu," according to Dr. O'Dea's calculations, yet it was not, because that rascal Joseph Smith insisted on forcing it into another milieu— that of 92 B. C. We challenge Dr. O'Dea to name a century be- tween the first and the twentieth A.D. in which the "content" of which he speaks was not only pres- ent but also conspicuous in the Christian world: the Reformation was only one of many expressions it has taken through the centuries. Again, it is impossible to take any position regarding baptism that has not been taken by one religious group or another in the past; so while the Book of Mormon concept of baptism conforms to none of the familiar Christian patterns, it may be broken down arbitrarily into fragments that may be held to sug- gest aspects of baptism as practised by somebody or other, and so claim to have discovered the source of the Book of Mormon ideas on the subject, as Dr. O'Dea does.75

Parallels to Taste:— The grab-bag method exemplified by Dr. O'Dea makes it possible for the experts, each feeling his own part of the elephant, to propound with perfect confidence diametrically conflicting explanations of the Book of Mor- mon. Thus some scholars tell us that the Book of Mormon could only have been written by "a man of learning," that "the real author . . . was well acquainted with the classics,"70 while others insist that "only an ignorant man could have produced it."77

Today certain professors find that "the intellectuality of the Book of Mormon and its appeal as a reason- able answer to the problems of ex- istence and salvation are quite obvious,"78 and assure us that the book "satisfied the inbred desire of Yorkers to achieve an orderly, in- tellectual formulation of their be- liefs."79 Can this be the same book which Dr. Davis is calling "the gib- berish of a crazy boy?"80

For Professor Meinhold the Book of Mormon contains no historv, but a wonderful philosophy of history. For Professor Arbaugh it is the other way round: "Mormon scriptures con- tain items of purported history, but,

610

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

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significantly, no philosophy of his- tory."81

Investigators as different as Gibbs, Brodie, and Eduard Meyer have commented on the remarkable con- sistency of the Book of Mormon, which for Mr. Bernard DeVoto was nothing but a "yeasty fermentation, formless, aimless, and inconceivably absurd.'"32 Years later, to be sure, DeVoto admitted he was lying, but the solid majority of scholars are still with him.83

Critics have detected fraud in the Book of Mormon on the one hand in their discovery that it "determines none of the great questions pending the world at large, but only minor difficulties that would have been likely to reach a western village,"84 and on the other hand in the equally astute discovery that it simply re- flects the great issues about which "men in different parts of the coun- try were thinking. . . ,"85 Again, which is it to be, great issues or small, that damn the Book of Mor- mon?

While one school of investigators sees in the Book of Mormon an "al- together remarkable production of an over-imaginative mind . . ." the work of "an audacious and original mind . . . marvellously fecund im- agination," etc.,8'1 others can detect only "a perfect destitution of inven- tive power in its writer." "Not a spark of imagination or invention enlivens the weary sameness of the annalist."87

A learned English divine in 1886 felt to reject the Book of Mormon in spite of "all its air of sincerity and truth; for all the striking and often beautiful passages that it con- tains."88 Yet how many critics de- tect those qualities in the work? The usual reaction is: "In nothing does the line, style, invention, con- ception, content and purpose reveal the hand of a master, let alone of Divine inspiration."89

FOOTNOTES

51Quote is from J. D. Kingsbury, op. cit., p. 6.

5~The Book of Mormon itself is "inter- spersed with the catch-words of the Meth- odist camp meeting exhorter," according to Hastings' Encyclopedia XI, 86. For a particularly gaudy description see Leon Lemonnier, Les Mormons (Paris: Galli- mard, 1948), p. 17; and George Town- shend, The Conversion of Mormonism (Hartford: Church Missions Publishing Co., 1911) pp. 13f.

5:!E. S. Bates, American Faith (New York: W. W. Norton, 1940), p. 341. I. W. Riley, Founder of Mormonism (1902), p.

612

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85, goes even further: ". . . the contents of the Book of Mormon can be traced to . . . ideas which Joseph picked up in the Indian country where he lived." Not merely frontier— Indian country!

"Fawn M. Brodie, No Man Knows my History, (New York: A. Knopf, 1946) pp. 9-10.

53W. R. Cross, Burned-Over District, pp. 146-8, 138-140.

5(iD. B. Davis, New England Quarterly, 26: 151.

57Brodie, op. cit., p. 14.

S8Nancy Towle, Vicissitudes Illustrated (Charleston: J. L. Burges, 1832). It is plain that Mrs. Brodie read only the part deal- ing with Towle's visit to Kirtland in 1831, which she distorts in her usual fashion, reporting, e.g., that Miss Towle "blun- dered" into Kirtland (Brodie, p. 103), while Miss Towle's own account is that she had long planned and carefully ar- ranged her visit to that place.

59N. Towle, op. cit., p. 146.

c0Ibid., pp. 198, 157.

01For example, ibid., pp. 124-5. The worst thing she can call people is "super- stitious," ibid., p. 54.

02J. Remy, op. cit., I, ciii.

C3She commiserates a fellow-evangelist for being forced by unusual circumstances to preach in the open air at the risk of her health, ibid., p. 54, cf. p. 82.

eiIbid., pp. 33, 53.

"Ibid., pp. 1702< 185, 171, 212, 21, 17.

oaShe tells how "the very bigoted Meth- odists" of Geneva, New York, near Pal- myra, refused her their chapel, p. 152. Though she tried hard to get herself persecuted, "that honor," she reports, "was denied me." Ibid., pp. 41, 62-63, cf. 17, 23, 28, 41, 54, 94, etc. Only the Mormons had that honor, p. 146.

"Ibid., pp. 165, n. 1; 164f, 165, n. 1.

^The Methodist Quarterly Review (ed. Geo. Peck, D.D.), XXV ('1843) Vol. 3, p. 126, cf. 128.

"Ibid., p. 126, cf. pp. 123f.

70T. O'Dea, The Mormons, p. 32.

nIbid., p. 28. On page 31 we read that "the extremes of religious enthusiasm . . . follow upon the revivals . . . later in the decade. . . Yet these extremes are

supposed to have produced the Book of Mormon.

"'-Ibid., p. 102; only in Britain did Miss Towle have fears for her life, op. cit., p. 59; she vividly describes the poverty, vio- lence, and insecurity of English lower society. Recently Chief Justice Jackson observed that the American public differs most sharply from the European in its abhorrence of violence: mob action is the rule in European political history, the ex- ception in America.

73Riley, op. cit., p. 135; Davis, op. cit., pp. 154-5, 158.

"O'Dea, op. cit., p. 28, cf. p. 27: ". . . its [the Book of Mormon's] fundamental theme combines the concomitance of righteousness and prosperity of the later Calvinists with the call to repentance and humility of revivalistic Christianity." If Dr. O'Dea troubled to read such odd items as the Bible, the Greek Poets, or the Fathers of the Church he would discover that these teachings are by no means a monopoly of Calvinists and revivalists.

™Ibid., pp. 35-36, accusing the Book of Mormon of "ambiguity on the question of baptism" because it does not conform to one pattern but suggests Baptist, Arminian, Catholic, and Episcopalian ideas.

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

21.

°E. D. Howe, Mormonism (1840), p.

"Van Pelt, in SchafJ-Herzog Encyclo- pedia VIII, 13.

wO'Dea, op. cit., p. 31.

7"Cross, op. cit., p. 145.

^Davis, op. cit., p. 148.

raP. Meinhold, in Saeculum V (1954), p. 86. G. Arbaugh, Revelation in Mor- monism, p. 5.

"-'Ed. Meyer, Ursprung und Geschichte der Mormoren., p. 78; Meinhold, op. cit., p. 67. B. De Voto, in The American Mercury, Jan. 1930, p. 5.

83De Voto, in The Improvement Era, 49 (Mar. 1946), p. 154. See Francis W. Kirkham, A New Witness for Christ in America II, 351-3. D. B. Davis' article of 1953, op. cit., is a faithful echo of the earlier De Voto.

*4J. Hyde, Mormonism, p. 281; J. B. Turner, Mormonism in All Ages, p. 203.

S5H. M. Beardsley, Joseph Smith and His Mormon Empire (Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1931), p. 81.

8(iM. A. Sbresny, Mormonism: As It Is Today (London: A. H. Stockwell, no date), p. 25; cf. Beardsley, op. cit., p. 4; J. F. Gibbs, Lights & Shadows of Mormon- ism (Salt Lake Tribune Publishing Co., 1909), p. 57; F. Brodie,%op. cit., pp. 42, 48.

R7D. P. Kidder, Mormonism (1842), p. 255.

88G. Wotherspoon, Mormonism (Lon- don, 1886), p. 16.

S"M.H:A. Van Der Valk, De Profeet der Mormonen Joseph Smith, Jr. (Kampen: J. H. Kok, 1921), pp. 106-7.

Where Unto Shall I Liken It?

(Continued) sistence to develop it, there will be few more rewarding activities.

The following may be helpful to a teacher in learning to teach on the concept level of his students:

1. Teachers should become ac- quainted with the vocabulary level of their students. Teachers often do not realize the distance between their vocabulary level and that of their students. It might be helpful to examine their schoolbooks and to find out what magazines and other printed matter they read. Lis- ten carefully when they speak and notice the terms they use consistent- ly. This should give a pretty good indication of their vocabulary con- cept level.

2. Lesson outlines are generally written with no particular locality or community pattern in mind. If the teacher does not adapt the abstract part of the lesson somewhat to farm vernacular, the vernacular of a par- ticular geographical area or urban locale, and so on, the students may actually not be able to picture the

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concept the teacher has in mind. Jesus talked of the sower, wheat, tares, and of other terms peculiar to his time and to the area of his life. This adaptation of lesson terminol- ogy and vernacular is most necessary even today.

3. A teacher will find helpful to him a system of projection testing used in the field of psychometrics. It consists of the use of a picture, rather nondescript, or even a large shapeless ink-blot. This is presented to the subject, and he is asked to

express himself concerning what it means to him. The same exercise of showing a picture and letting the students indicate what it means to them may help the Church teachers to see how the healthy growing youngster understands and views his environment. No intimation is in- tended here that the teacher will want to use this exercise for the same purpose the trained psychol- ogist does. It is merely a device to open up the students' minds to the teacher so the teacher can de-

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termine the concept level of his students.

4. A teacher should observe stu- dents carefully as they speak. He should ask questions or tell a story and note to what words or terms the students respond. Then the teacher should incorporate these expressions into his teaching vocabulary. He may list them in some permanent and convenient place so they can be learned until they are a natural part of his teaching vocabulary.

5. When reading, anywhere, any- time, the teacher should evaluate the stories, examples, and reports he reads for probable use in his teaching activity. Soon he will quickly spot those illustrations which are useful. Since he had a purpose in watching for them, he will remember a surprising number of them and be able to recall them spontaneously as he teaches.

6. A good teacher should endeavor to do as Jesus did— try to read spirit- ual significance out of his everyday environment and events. Some of the greatest lessons in life are lost because we view things in general and not in particular. If a teacher sees the principles of the gospel in his immediate world, he has a ready- made community of interests with his students.

7. A teacher should increase his acquaintance with the constructive type of literature which is read by the age group which he is teaching. This may be Mechanics Illustrated, Sports Illustrated, Seventeen, Out- door Life, Children's Friend, The Improvement Era, and other ap- propriate publications. If the stu- dents sense that their teacher reads about and understands their world of interests, they will more readily project their thinking into a more mature aspect of life. In addition, the teacher will find many opportu- nities to draw application of spiritual truths from his students' world of interests.

8. An earnest teacher will read professional books on the attitudes, emotions, and developmental pat- terns of youth of his age group. This area of understanding is of excep- tional value, yet it is one of which many teachers are almost unaware. Knowledge of the principles of de- velopmental psychology gives the teacher a great deal more poise and confidence and increases his or her ability to be truly creative in pre- paring lessons which will "click."

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

The series of articles by Police Chief W. Cleon Skousen in the Era is an excellent source.

9. A devoted teacher will prac- tise discussing, telling stories, and exchanging experiences with indi- viduals or small informal groups of the age he's instructing. Such prac- tice will help develop the empathy so vital for good teaching when he meets his full class.

10. A teacher should practise lis- tening to his students. He should be aware that sometimes teachers talk too much. A teacher may im- part more to his students by giving them an opportunity to discuss and think through their problems than by giving them a redigested adult opinion. By a few deftly placed questions or discussions of personal problems, a teacher may be able to gain an insight into his students' concept level.

11. As often as possible a teacher should visit the classes of teachers who are outstandingly successful. He should try to determine how they achieve their success and then make notes so he can make specific steps for improvement in his own method- ology.

12. Another helpful step for a conscientious teacher is for him to make a tape recording of his class. The teacher should be forewarned that hearing himself in action is often a highly discouraging experi- ence. By the same token it is en- lightening in the same ratio. It will give the teacher the best possible opportunity to check his techniques and methodology and to make con- crete plans for their improvement.

13. From time to time a progres- sive teacher will give his students an opportunity to evaluate his work. They should be allowed to indicate what they like or dislike.

14. When he prepares his lesson, a teacher should consciously try to illustrate every abstract term with some new element which is or will be common to his students' daily environment. Honesty, for example, is a highly specific concept to young people. When it is discussed, hon- esty should be considered in situa- tions peculiar to the students' particular age group. The word obedience means one thing to a six- year-old and something altogether different to a sixteen-year-old. It must be applied specifically if there is to be any growth in those traits which will give character and moral

stability to the mature individual. Too often teachers use these abstract terms without further elaboration because their long experience in life has endowed the concept with many applications. Young people still have this growth to make. The teacher fails when he or she does not consciously promote a maximum de- velopment by giving the students an opportunity to see the principle at work in situations which are pe- culiar to each age group.

15. A final aid, and one of the

most helpful, for a teacher is for him to read and reread the New Testament. He should study care- fully the manner in which the Mas- ter Teacher brought the crux of each matter into clear focus so that his answers were on the concept level of his listeners. His teaching methodology has had no peer in the past; it is without peer today. Every teacher in his Church should have a deep desire to be as nearly effective as he was by using the method which has stood the test of time.

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Romantic and Reckless

(Continued) once they reconcile themselves to a few fundamental rules for dating:

1. Date for fun— to go to a show, a dance, a party, a sports event, or to Church.

2. Date someone you know— per- haps someone close to home. (Some boys get the idea they have to date a girl way off yonder, who doesn't know them as well as the local girls. )

3. Make it a simple date— pick the girl up, go to the party, have fun, take her home, thank her for the grand evening and tell her good night.

4. Avoid the reputation of being a "mooching Casanova." If that's all a boy sees in his date the word soon passes round and he starts getting the go-by from the more desirable girls.

It helps if a date can be as casual and natural as possible. That's the reason for suggesting that a boy look around his own circle of neigh- borhood or school-friends before canvassing the next township. A date with a stranger depends for its success on strained and breath- less efforts somehow to make an im- pression. Such dating usually dis- credits both parties.

There is a special problem of dat- ing for the boy who is looking for his one and only soul mate, and will not date until he finds her. Such a boy lives in a dream world. He needs to learn that he is far more likely to find his dream girl if he circulates around in a constella- tion of dating experiences rather than roams about like a lonely star broadcasting for his space mate to come orbiting around. Such a boy is also usually bashful and sensi- tive. Double dating may help break the ice.

At the other extreme is the boy who has an enterprising mother, aunt, schoolteacher, or any of a dozen ambitious "mothers with daughters" who are always trying to set him up. He finds himself being invited unexpectedly to par- ties, trips, games, or school socials and then finds that a certain girl is always there.

Gradually Junior gets the feeling of smothering. Like a drowning man he feels himself being engulfed. He strikes out to resist the tidal wave of pressures. He may leave a

618

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

broken heart in the scramble but he makes no bones about the battle, "My single object was to escape!"

Adults who truly wish to help young people get together can be more successful by simply telling a boy what nice things they heard a certain girl say about him (or vice versa— whichever said the nice thing first). A young person goes forward with quickened stride if there is assurance of affinity or re- ciprocal feelings in the one to be pursued.

Most young people get so much coaching before they go on a date that they find themselves trying to be a dozen other people instead of their natural selves. This is all the result of insecurity or of acting like dating was "old stuff." The idea is to make a date feel that Junior has reallv been around. If the date has really been around she will see through Junior's act in a second. On the other hand, if she is as new at dating as Junior she will resent his act. He is better off following a few fundamental rules and putting his own best foot forward without trying to copy someone else. The suggested rules are as follows:

1. When you pick up your date don't sit out in front of her house honking your shiny jalopy. Go in the house, say hello to her folks and tell them what you plan to do for the evening. This gives the family confidence that you have a worth- while project for the evening and won't be "just rodding around." It helps them feel they can expect you to bring their daughter home at some kind of a reasonable hour be- cause you operate "according to a plan." Nothing worries the father of a beautiful daughter more than some gay blade who is asked where they are going, and replies, "Out, just out."

2. Show a girl that you are not unfamiliar with the common cour- tesies which every girl appreciates and most girls expect. Help her with her coat, anticipate opening doors, allow her to proceed ahead of you through doorways; be quick to in- troduce her to people you meet.

3. Help her have a good time. Most girls will indicate what they like to do and what they would rather not do. A smart young fellow will keep an eye and ear to starboard and constantly check the changing climate. Once a boy gets a reputation for being a "swell date"

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he can pick his company almost at will and mow down the competi- tion.

4. Don't rush the romance. A girl worth dating is particular.

5. Save your kisses for that some- one special. Some boys think they should start smooching and wooing as soon as they get out of sight of a girl's house. A girl appreciates a boy whose kisses are saved for someone special. It makes her want to qualify.

6. Respect the biological barriers. Expressions of affection between a boy and girl come as natural as blos- soms in spring. But it is one thing to express playful affection and quite another thing to start a pattern of intimate lovemaking which be- longs to marriage and the building of a family and a home. Every boy learns early how impulsive these powerful feelings can become. If he is smart, he will recognize the biological barriers and respect them. A young man recently confided, "The best advice my dad ever gave me was when he told me about the stop signs on a date."

It is a genuine mark of human achievement when a 19-year-old can

go through the jungle of late ado- lescence without getting caught in the many marsh traps which are out there to snare him. If he is willing to listen to a little common-sense advice from his parents and then keep his wits about him he can make it. One boy who recently emerged from his teens philosoph- ically commented, "Toward the last I got scared and a little scarred, but I made it!"

Melckizedek Priesthood

(Continued) temple, have his wife sealed to him and have their chil- dren sealed to them so that the fam- ily group will continue throughout eternity. That is the first duty that a man owes to himself, to his wife, to his children. He receives this blessing by virtue of the priesthood." And then President Smith con- tinues: "Then it is his duty to seek his record as far back as he can go and do the same thing for each family unit. He should begin with his father and mother and their

children; and his grandfather and his children; his great-grandfather and his children, and have the work done in like manner, linking each generation with the one that goes before. That is the responsibility resting upon each man who is at the head of a household in this Church.

"According to the revealed word of God, the family, when properly organized, is to remain intact in the kingdom of God. These families will be joined together from one generation to another back even to Adam. It is our duty to perform this labor for our dead in the tem- ples. If we want to be in this great family organization, we will have to take steps towards saving our worthy dead. If the family organization is not maintained and each generation joined to the one which goes before, we shall find ourselves outside this family circle.

"It matters not what else we have been called to do, or what position we may occupy, or how faithfully in other ways we have labored in the Church, no one is exempt from this great obligation. It is required of the apostle as well as of the

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humblest elder. Place or distinction, or long service in the Church, will not entitle one to disregard the sal- vation of one's dead. If we neglect the weightier privilege and com- mandment, notwithstanding all other good works, we shall find ourselves under severe condemnation"

The Golden Touch

(Continued) But think of the great volume of evidence left by those who pass through the world touching people with greatness, so that their lives grow and blossom and produce.

I know an Aaronic Priesthood ad- viser, for example, who for many years has had one hundred percent of his boys earn an individual Aaronic Priesthood award. He visits them in their homes; they are inspired by his lessons; they feel the genuineness of his interest. Boys are like alfalfa: they always respond immediately when the right condi- tions of fertility, moisture, and cli- mate are present. Seventy of the boys who have been under the in- fluence of this adviser have gone on missions. How grateful they will always be that he has touched their lives and let his spiritual vital- ity invigorate their roots.

The following poem is written about one whose touch was good:

TOUCHING SHOULDERS

There's a comforting thought at the

close of the day When I'm weary and lonely and sad, That sort of grips hold of my crusty

old heart And bids it be merry and glad. It gets in my soul and it drives out

the blues, And finally thrills through and

through; It is just a sweet memory that chants

the refrain "I'm glad I touched shoulders with

you!

Did you know you were brave, did you know you were strong?

Did you know there was one leaning hard?

Did you know that I waited and lis- tened and prayed,

And was cheered by your simplest word?

Did you know that I longed for that smile on your face,

(Continued on page 627)

AUGUST 1959

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621

Today's Family, Florence B. Pinnock, Editor

Is there anyone who doesn't like ice cream, espe- cially when the sun beats down in August, and there isn't the faintest hint of a breeze? American people consume billions of quarts a year; in fact, last year they ate well over a billion gallons. Did you have your share?

The discovery of ice cream goes farther back than the celebrated Dolly Madison. We are told that when Marco Polo returned from one of his travels he brought back a recipe for a fruit ice made with milk. Then later Charles I of England enjoyed his cook's recipe for ice cream so much he tried to keep it a secret. I guess he didn't realize that a recipe belongs to the whole world and the only thing any of us can keep to ourselves is the personal "know how" of making the recipe better than anyone else. So his recipe didn't stay secret very long. It hopped across the Atlantic Ocean to that new country, Amer- ica. Soon Governor Bladen of Maryland, on a very special occasion, served ice cream covered with straw-

berries to guests, just as we do today. Whatever picture you have in your mind of George Washington, will you add the fact that he loved ice cream? When he was President of this country in the summer of 1790 and living in New York, he bought about $200 worth of ice cream from just one man. At that rate he must have had ice cream every day. You see you are in good company when you enjoy ice cream.

Frozen dessert can be made with so little effort with the electric ice-cream freezer. Old-fashioned ice cream is just minutes away. If you really want to be popular one of these warm evenings, round up all the neighbors and serve big dishes of homemade ice cream.

Fifty-five years ago at the World's Fair in St. Louis the ice cream cone was born. We are told that one day the ice cream booth ran out of dishes and a nearby pastry stand came to the rescue. The owner, a Syrian gentleman named Ernest Hamwi, rolled out thin wafer-like waffles into a' shape of a

622

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

SOMETHING'S STIRRING! Have you heard talk lately about Rancho Vegetable Soup? What tickles us is that folks say they love it. We hear comments like "real fresh vegetable flavor. . . nicer color. . . more body . . . better seasoned." Why not an opinion poll from your family on Rancho Vegetable Soup? Tonight, perhaps? Tomorrow, sure!

For your Ward Parties

cornucopia. This cornucopia filled with ice cream was an instant success. It was not until 1906 that the word cornucopia was shortened to cone.

Frozen dishes are so versatile. They may be served as appe- tizers, salads, relishes, and des- serts. Any way they are deli- cious.

For an especially delicious appetizer try grapefruit cock- tail found in the February issue of the Era. The January Era held the recipe of the best frozen fruit salad. It will more than pay you to look up these back issues.

We are told that the turkey is for any month in the year.

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MANDARIN

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(vegetables in lime gelatin)

LIME DELIGHT

(cottage cheese in lime

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HAWAIIAN (pineapple in lemon gelatin)

AUGUST 1959

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623

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If you happen to be serving turkey, cold or hot, try this cranberry sher- bet with it and listen to the raves.

Cranberry Sherbet (use as relish)

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

2 cups cranberries

■Vz cup grapefruit juice

Set refrigerator at coldest setting. Cook first 3 ingredients for about 15 minutes. Cool. Pour into blender; blend 1 minute. Add grape- fruit juice and blend 1 minute more. Pour into trays and freeze. You do not have to stir while freezing. Serve right along with the turkey. If you haven't a blender, stir through a coarse sieve.

For that basic ice cream recipe for the freezer, try this one.

Vanilla Frozen Ice Cream

2 quarts milk, heated % cup flour

5 eggs

3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons vanilla

1 quart whipping cream 1 teaspoon lemon extract

Combine flour and sugar thor- oughly. Add to hot milk and cook until slightly thickened, stirring con- stantly. Pour over beaten egg yolks. Cool and stir in salt and vanilla, and fold in beaten egg whites and whipped cream. Freeze in a 6 quart freezer.

Now if you are really lazy and hot, get out your freezer and just dump the following ingredients into it and freeze by hand or electricity.

Lemon lee Cream

2 quarts of milk 4 cups sugar % cup lemon juice 1 cup table cream IV2 teaspoons lemon extract

Mix and freeze— relax and eat.

A while back Dr. Virginia F. Cut- ler, well-known home economist, came up with a very unusual com- bination of ingredients— mixed to- gether they make a delicious, smooth, refreshing ice cream.

Avocado Ice Cream

1 cup mashed avocado pulp (2 to

3 very ripe avocados) Vz cup orange juice Vz cup pineapple juice

Vz cup lemon juice

1 cup sugar

1 cup skim milk Vt teaspoon salt

Few drops of pistachio flavoring.

Put ripe avocados through sieve. Dissolve sugar in the milk then stir in avocado pulp and fruit juices. Freeze in 1 quart freezer until prop- er consistency. Pack for 2 hours and serve. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

For those of you who haven't an ice cream freezer here are three mouth-watering, heat-squelching re- frigerator frozen desserts.

Peppermint -Stick Ice Cream

1 tablespoon gelatin Vi cup cold milk 1% cups scalded milk

1 cup crushed peppermint candy Vi teaspoon salt

2 cups whipping cream

Soften gelatin in cold milk, dis- solve in hot milk. Add salt and candy and stir until candy dissolves. Freeze firm. Break frozen mixture into chunks with a spoon. Turn into chilled bowl, beat until smooth with beater. Fold in whipped cream. Return to refrigerator tray and freeze until firm. Serves 6 to 8. Delicious served on chocolate cake.

Pineapple Sherbet

Boil for 3 minutes 3 cups sugar and IV2 cups water. Cool. Pour it over the beaten whites of 3 eggs. Add juice of 3 lemons and 3 oranges and grated rind of 3 oranges, 1 small can grated pineapple, 3 cups milk. Freeze over night. In morning beat with beater and fold in IV2 cups cream that has been whipped. Freeze again stirring once again. In this recipe the number 3 is the magic number, but ,it will serve many times that number.

For a very simple, economical cold dessert try this Lime Sherbet.

Lime Sherbet

Dissolve 1 package of lime Jello in 1 cup hot water. Add juice of 2 lemons and Wz cups sugar. Cool. Add 1 quart of milk. Freeze in trays of refrigerator and stir it a number of times as it freezes.

Why don't you start this very afternoon in getting your share of those millions upon millions of gal- lons of ice cream?

624

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

ON BEING A LADY

If a wand could be waved over your head and you were given one wish, what would it be? A million dollars? I don't think so. I believe you and ninety-nine percent of your young friends would wish to be popular, to be accepted by your group, to be loved. Wishes are all right in their place, fun for the moment, but unless this spoken de- sire has a full, will in back of it and also a sincere effort, you might just as well wish for the moon. Don't be like the little boy who prayed just before Christmas, "Make Santa Claus think I'm a good boy." No effort on his part, no working for a whole year at being a good boy, no effort, just wish!

Of course, you want to be liked. What are you doing about it right now? Are you doing all you can to make you the kind of person even you would want for a friend?

Where should you start? The essence of good manners is doing to others what you would have them do to you. Queen Mary is reported to have said to her two grand- daughters Princess Margaret and the then Princess Elizabeth, "You may have been born a princess, but you will have to learn to be a lady." All skills must be learned. You weren't born knowing how to swim, play tennis, or drive a car. It takes desire, study, and practise, practise, practise. So it is true of being the

AUGUST 1959

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626

kind of person others like. You have to learn the skills.

It isn't smart to be ignorant. It isn't smart to be rude, to overlook all the niceties, not to care how you act. It isn't smart, it's just plain stupid. We have to learn, we have to prepare, we have to work at making ourselves someone others will like.

A mother made this remark the other day, "I was thoroughly ashamed of the young people at fireside the other night. Not one of those boys or girls thanked their hostess, not one of those young peo- ple had the graciousness to stand up when the bishop shook hands with them; no consideration was shown for anyone but themselves. Where are their manners?"

Do you young Latter-day Saints know that the way you act reflects on your parents? Your mother and father are judged by what you do or don't do. Wake up: it's smart to be "in the know," and it's still smarter to act "in the know."

To be rude is to be selfish. "Polite- ness is to do and say the kindest things in the kindest way." It isn't old-fashioned to be thoughtful of others. Work at it. Do unto others as you would have them do to you. Do any of your friends ever look at you and say, "What's wrong with her? She's sixteen but she certainly doesn't act like it." Are you sixteen years old in years and emotionally about ten? You've never learned how to be a lady or perhaps you have never cared. Start caring enough to learn all the nice things you should in order to be liked.

For the next few months in the Era we are going to talk about you and how you can become liked and truly accepted by others. We haven't made up these rules; Emily Post hasn't. These rules have grown through the years and by general acceptance they are universally recognized as being the rules of correct behavior. Through abiding by them you are happier and so are those around you. You will notice that friendliness, politeness, and courtesy are their basis and on this foundation you will build friends. We do not find friends; we make them.

Each month we will talk about you— the most important person in the world. We will talk about what you can do to the outside of you to make you tops. Then we will dis-

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

cuss what you can do to the inside of you to make you liked, to make you the kind of a person others will love. Some of the headings will be: be clean, be well groomed, be hap- py, be awake, be appreciative, be sincere, be kind, be polite, be spiritual. Please be with us and be "in the know."

The Golden Touch

(Continued)

For the sound of your voice ringing

true? Did you know I grew stronger and

better because I had merely touched shoulders with

you?

I am glad that I live, that I battle

and strive For the place that I know I must fill; I am thankful for sorrows; I'll meet

with a grin What fortune may send, good or ill. I may not have wealth, and I may

not be great, But I know I shall always be true, For I have in my life that courage

you gave When once I rubbed shoulders with

you.

—Author Unknown i

The above is one thrilling applica- tion of the golden touch which we may apply.

It usually helps us better to under- stand an idea when we think about it on both its negative and positive sides. That is, some have an oppo- site kind of touch, one that withers and blights and destroys. The great exemplar of this touch of death was Lucifer, the once brilliant Son of the Morning. His own life was tainted with rebellion, and he cast his satanic influence over his friends and led away one-third of all the hosts of heaven to suffer for their sins. Someone has estimated that eighty billion people have lived upon the earth since Father Adam. Even though this figure may not be en- tirely accurate, it still helps us to visualize what a vast concourse of spirits were in the council of heaven, one-third of whom, under the influ- ence of Satan, lost their hope for a body and redemption. Satan cannot be held wholly responsible, as every- one must be accountable for his own acts, but it was the blighting touch

AUGUST 1959

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628

of Satan that set this damaging proc- ess in motion.

There are other people who satanize their fellow men on a smaller scale by their seductive per- sonal influence; for example, I know a young man twenty-nine years of age who came to Salt Lake City sometime ago looking for work. He had an excellent appearance, a fine education. But he had been married three times. His three ex-wives with hearts full of bitterness have the

law chasing him around the country trying to get money for the support of his children. But he is deter- mined that regardless of what hap- pens to him they will not get a cent. He cannot be persuaded to do the right thing even to those he has injured. As a consequence, these three women have lost their faith in human nature; his children will grow up hating their own father. In the next twenty years he will probably marry several other worn-

THE

SPOKEN

WORD

'Every man . . . must be trusted

to himself"

Richard L. Evans

As to mental and physical and spiritual discipline, sometime ago we cited some sentences from John Locke which said: "Consent to nothing but what may be suitable to the dignity and excellency of a rational creature. . . . The great principle and foundation of all virtue and worth is . . . this: that a man is able to deny himself his own desires, cross his own inclinations, . . . tho' the appetite lean the other way. . . Z'1 And now briefly we should like to let John Locke introduce another subject for us with this short and significant sentence: "Every man must some- time or other be trusted to himself and his own conduct; . . Z'1 No matter how sheltered we may have been, or how much we may have depended on others, there do come times when we have to make our own choices, when we have to face facts, stand up to temptation, preserve principles; when we have to decide the course and accept the consequences. "Every man must some time or other be trusted to himself. . . "1 With the swiftly moving seasons, the time comes soon, or so it seems, when young people move out and away— from home, from family, from friends: some for further education, some for work, some for marriage, or for a multiplicity of purposes. And at these times of leave-taking from long-felt influence of family and friends, parents and others also under- standably feel some cause for concern. And well would they, except as sound principles have been instilled into the lives of those who leave. And as to youth, well would they know that there do inevitably come times for choosing, for discriminating, for deciding for themselves. Others cannot always go with us; others cannot always be watching; others cannot always make our choices, our decisions, or live our lives. There are countless times, when, by the necessity of circumstances, we have to decide for ourselves. And to youth we would say: live by the sound and safe principles implanted in your hearts by righteous parents and teachers. And to parents and teachers we would say: implant sound principles as early as possible, by precept and by the righteous living of life. "Every man must sometime or other be trusted to himself. . . J"1 And blessed are they who early have im- planted in their souls the foundations for facing these facts.

aJohn Locke, Some Thoughts concerning Education.

"The Spoken Word," from Temple Square presented over KSL and the Columbia Broadcasting System, June 14, 1959. Copyright 1959.

THE IMPROVEMENT ERA

en, and wherever he goes, he will likely leave the mark of blight and decay on everything within his reach. There will be a trail of gloom, disappointment, and despair wherever the pollution of his touch is felt.

There are too many people whose lives tend in this direction. Such a one borrows money without the in- tention of paying it back if it can be avoided. If you try to help him, he will misinterpret your action. Give him information, and you will be misquoted; give him your con- fidence, and he will betray you; put your trust in him, and you will be doublecrossed. Wherever he lays his unclean hands, it dries up hap- piness and kills enthusiasm. He leaves behind him scars, decay, and stench. People are worse off for having known him. God said about some, "It had been better for them never to have been born; . . ." (D&C 76:32.) That is, even God shows a loss on some people.

Now after this negative look, sup- pose we make an analysis of our own leadership. No one's evil will probably be classified as coal black, and no one's goodness will probably show itself as pure white. Each of us will likely rate some shade of gray. Our leadership is also graded. It is very important whether a leader is losing ten percent or forty percent or eighty percent of those he might be getting. It is very easy for us to lay the blame on some of the contributing factors, such as poor home conditions, bad habits, etc., of those under our direction. But any leadership worthy of its name must first be responsible. The perform- ance of those led is about the only measure we have of our real leader- ship. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we developed the kind of leader- ship that gets a one hundred percent response?

There are some who approach that