Get a Superior Education - - The Y's Way
Brigham Young University is one of the great uni- versities of the world. With 15,500 students it is the largest institution of higher learning in the Great Basin and one of the largest church-related universities in the United States. Its students come from every state in the nation and 54 foreign countries because there is "something special" at BYU. On this modern, well equipped campus they receive academic, physical and spiritual education together in an ideal social climate. Standards are high but they pay off in the long run, for BYU students are in demand over the nation and are recognized for their balanced edu- cation.
BYU offers study in sixty departments of eleven colleges and confers the doctor's, master's and bachelor's degrees. Also available is a two-year certificate in the Technical Institute.
Get your education the Y's way. Plan NOW to attend. Write the University Relations Division for information.
CUP AND MA[L
TO:
University Relations Division
Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
Please send me more information about BYU. I am es- pecially interested in
NAME
ADDRESS
CITY STATE
STUDENTS SHOULD KEEP IN MIND -
1 — Students seeking admission or readmission must submit applications with transcripts by Aug. 31, 1964.
2 — Entering freshmen and transfer students also should include the American College Test score with application if possible. In any case the test must be taken BEFORE registration. Contact the University in Provo or BYU Adult Education Centers in your area for information.
3 _ New fees are scheduled to begin autumn semes- ter: full time students, Church members, $160 per semester; full time students, nonmembers, $215 per semester.
REMEMBER THESE DATES
Application deadline Aug. 31
New Student Orientation Sept. 15-16
New Student Registration ....Sept. 17
Registration, all others Sept. 18-19
Classes begin Sept. 21
Brigham Young UNIVERSITY
PROVO- UTAH
Exploring
the
Universe
By Dr. Franklin S. Harris Jr.
HYPODERMIC MICROSCOPE AIDS IN TISSUE EXAMINATION
A hypodermic microscope has been developed by Illinois Institute of Technology Research Institute which makes possible examination of liv- ing tissue anywhere the needle is inserted without any scapel in- cision or removing tissue. The microscope utilizes 10,000 tiny glass fibers to carry the light for observa- tion and an equal number to carry the picture of 10,000 elements out to the rest of the microscope.
NEW KINDS OF MATERIALS
Research on linear polymers not con- taining carbon in their molecular backbones promises new kinds of materials. Linear chain- like giant molecules of this inorganic type offer potential uses for the plastics in- dustry. At present the only commer- cially available polymeric material of this type is the siloxane ( "silicones" ) group, in which silicon and oxygen alternate. Under study are boron- nitrogen, boron-phosphorus chains. A phosphorus-nitrogen-chlorine com- bination with metal chlorides has produced polymer oils which are stable up to temperatures of 1000 degrees F.
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THE SWEETEST PARTNERSHIP
Delicious, fresh fruit is even more taste-tempting with U & I Sugar . . . and there's nothing like rich, ripe fruit that is sweetened and preserved with sparkling, pure U & I Sugar.
UTAH-IDAHO SUGAR CO./GEN'L OFFICE: SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
AUGUST 1964
625
The Improvement Era The Voice of the Church
Volume 67, Number 8 Contents for August 1964
Church Features
The Editor's Page: A Lesson in Faith, President David O. McKay 636
Your Question: Why Does Our Eternal Father Love Sinners?
President Joseph Fielding Smith 638
June Conference Addresses
Be True, President David O. McKay 640
Anything Short of Your Full Potential Isn't Good Enough,
Delbert L. Stapley 640
The Church Moves On, 628; Melchizedek Priesthood, 676; Presiding Bishopric's Page, 678.
Special Features
Hippolytus, the Apostolic Tradition, John A. Green 648
People Are too Vital to Be Statistics, Nora Eddington 652
Suggestions for the Beginning Teacher, F. LeGrande Magleby 656
Genealogy: Amazing Accomplishment of a Twelve- Year-Old Genealogist ... 658
What about Your Other Preparation? Neil J. Flinders 660
The Spoken Word from Temple Square, Richard L. Evans. ...663, 664, .666, 684, 688
Exploring the Universe, Franklin S. Harris, Jr., 625; These Times: Some American History and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, G. Homer Durham, 630; Letters and Reports, 634.
Today's Family: Florence B. Pinnock, Editor
Twenty-four Hours a Day 680
Bonus Baby-Sitting, Beth M. Applegate 683
The Era of Youth: Hang on to your Heritage 689
The Last Word 704
Official organ of the Priesthood Quorums, Mutual Improvement Associations, Home Teaching, Music Committee, Department of Education, and other agencies of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
ART AND PHOTO CREDITS Art Direction: Ralph Reynolds 636 Photo: Ralph Clark 639 Art: Albrecht Durer 642 Photo: Norman Robinson
Church Information Service 648-9 Marble plaque courtesy Elias
Morris and Sons Co.
Carved by Stanley Johnson 652 Art: Dale Kilbourn 654-5 Art: Ted Nagata 656 Art: Ted Nagata 676 Photo: Maurice Scanlon 678 Photo: Boyart Studio 680 Photos: Ruth Widmar
Model is Myrene Nixon 683 Art: Virginia Sargent
689 Art: Virginia Sargent
690 Art: Ted Nagata
691 Photo: Lorin Wiggins
Models are Melissa Young, Garff
Cannon 692-699 Photos: Joy Sansom 702 Art: Siegfried Widmar
All other art and photos: Ralph Reynolds Studio
Stories, Poetry
Listen to the Song of Israel, Nadine W. Larson 644
Survival, Dorothy Perlman 654
Poetry 668, 670, 672, 682, 688
The Improvement Era Offices, 135 South State Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84111
David O. McKay and Richard L. Evans, Editors; Doyle L. Green, Managing Editor; Marba C. Josephson, Associate Managing Editor; Albert L. Zobell, Jr.,
Research Editor; Carter E. Grant, Donna Higgins, Becki Fillmore, Editorial Associates; Florence B. Pinnock, Today's Family Editor; Marion D. Hanks,
The Era of Youth Editor; Elaine Cannon, The Era of Youth Associate Editor; Art Direction: Ralph Reynolds Studio.
G. Homer Durham, Franklin S. Harris, Jr., Hugh Nibley, Sidney B. Sperry, Alma A. Gardiner, Contributing Editors.
G. Carlos Smith, Jr., General Manager; Florence S. Jacobsen, Associate General Manager; Verl F. Scott, Business Manager; A. Glen Snarr, Subscription
Director; Thayer Evans, Advertising Director.
Copyright 1964 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, $3.00 a year, in advance; multiple subscriptions, 2 years, $5.75; 3 years, $8.25; each succeeding year, $2.50 a year added to the
three year price.
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 2c
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.
Information on reservations for
housing accommodations while
attending the World's Fair may be
obtained by contacting
Ernest H. Wiemer,
LDS World's Fair Housing Center
84-52 63rd Avenue
Rego Park,
New York 11379
THE COVER
"Show the Way through MIA," was the theme of the June 1964 MIA conference. Our cover this month was taken from a part of the cover of the official conference program. The photographic illus- tration was developed under the direction of Margaret R. Jackson, first counselor in the Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association general presidency. For guidance in how to "Show the Way" turn to page 640 and the addresses of President David O. McKay and Elder Delbert L. Stapley of the Council of the Twelve which were highlights of the general sessions of the June conference. Cover Lithographed in full color by Deseret News Press
626
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
TREASURES
LIFETIME
NEW, LARGE PRINT, ILLUSTRATED EDITIONS OF THE STANDARD WORKS
«n
. Illustrated Large Print Edition
NEW TESTAMENT
B The King James Version in large, easy-to-read type! I A big 7" x 11" volume with full color litho- graphed cover! I Forty-eight pages of full color illustrations including 15 reproductions of famous Carl Bloch "Life of Jesus" paintings! ■ Eight pages of Hammond's New Testament maps! I Full Bible Concordance (Old and New Testaments)! ■ Full Bible Index! ■ Plus many additional helps including "From the beginning of the Gospel Record," "Some Old Testament Prophecies," "From Malachi to. Matthew," "Jewish Sects and their Beliefs," "Items of Information Concerning the Bible," and others.
$3.95
2. Illustrated Large Print Edition
OLD TESTAMENT
I Large 7" x 11" volume with easy-to-read print!
■ More than thirty pages of illustrations in full color and sepiatone! ■ Eight pages of Old Testament maps!
■ Reader's helps include "Old Testament Chron- ology," "The Ancient Versions of the Old Testa- ment," "Hebrew Festivals," "Weights, Money, and Measures," and "The Languages of the Bible."
$5.95
3. Illustrated Large Print Edition
BOOK OF MORMON
I Large 7" x 11" volume with easy-to-read type!
■ Forty pages of beautiful color illustrations! ■
■ Twelve full color plates of Arnold Friberg Book of Mormon paintings! ■ Sepiatone portrait of the Prophet Joseph Smith!
$3.95
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SPRINKLERS THE CHOICE OF PROFESSIONALS
The Church
Moves
On
MAY 1964
Corpus Christi Stake formed from parts of San Antonio (Texas) Stake with Elder Clarence Cottam sustained as president and Elders William C. Ghormley and Melvin E. Call as counselors. The stake, the 398th now functioning, was created under the direction of Elders Marion G. Romney and Howard W. Hunter of the Council of the Twelve. Church work in Texas began when William S. Steffey went to Texas on business and was ordained an elder and appointed to preach there. This was October 29, 1843.
Elder Roy E. Harris, Jr., sustained as first counselor to Presi- dent Roland C. Bremer of San Antonio Stake, succeeding Elder Clarence Cottam, now president of Corpus Christi Stake. Elder Douglas D. Van Buren is second counselor in San Antonio Stake.
Elder Delmont Hayes sustained as president of Bountiful South (Utah) Stake, succeeding President Ward C. Holbrook. Elders Sterling E. Beesley and Jay R. Bingham sustained as coun- selors. President Hayes and Elder Beesley were counselors to President Holbrook. Typical of many church leaders, President Holbrook has, with the exception of two years, been in church service since 1921 when he was sustained as a ward Sunday School superintendent; he served for thirteen years in a bishopric, then came sendee in the MIA, and then the high council. Called as a member of a stake presidency in 1945, he became a stake president in 1952, and as the stake was divided in 1958, became president of Bountiful South Stake at that time.
Beginning with the conferences this weekend, members of the general boards of the Mutuals and the Sunday School are accom- panying the General Authorities to the stakes. Members of com- mittees representing the Home Teaching and the missionary work will alternate in the stakes for the third or fourth quarterly confer- ence. Earlier this year members of the Relief Society and the Primary boards accompanied the brethren, with members of the genealogical and welfare committees alternating with them at the first or second quarterly conference.
JUNE 1964
The appointment of Elder Bryan L. Bunker as second coun- selor to President Howard S. McDonald of the Salt Lake Temple was announced. He succeeds Elder G. Eugene England who was recently called as president of the London Temple.
Modesto Stake, 399th now functioning, was organized from parts of San Joaquin (California) Stake with President Clifton A. Rooker who presided in San Joaquin sustained as presi- dent of the new unit. Elder Ralph E. Carpenter, first counselor in the old stake, was sustained in that position. Elder D. Leon Ward was sustained as second counselor. The organization was effected by Elder Howard W. Hunter of the Council of the Twelve and Elder Alvin R. Dyer, Assistant to the Twelve. At the close of the centennial year of the Church, 1930, Modesto was one of thirty- three mission branches functioning (Continued on page 674)
628
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
iJiLzJ
A TRULY GREAT
nui
The MORMON STORY is a book that belongs in every LDS home. It helps every member to be a missionary as urged by President McKay.
The MORMON STORY has a thousand uses: as a silent missionary in your home or place of business, as a powerful tool for missionaries, in presenting the gospel to your friends and neighbors, in explaining the Church to children, in helping to reactivate members, and in many other ways.
Gospel Kingdom
3 THE GOSPEL KINGDOM by John Taylor
Out of print since 1947, this religious giant is now available. Compiled and edited by J. Homer Durham, President of Arizona State University, THE GOSPEL KINGDOM is made up from selected writ- ings and discourses of John Taylor. THE GOSPEL KINGDOM is actually 6 books in 1 covering such basic subjects as LDS Philosophy; The Gospel Message; Priesthood, The Government of God; and The Kingdom of God. A perfect book for summer reading.
$3.75
4 HISTORY OF UTAH
by Hubert Howe Bancroft
Reprinted from the original 1889 edition, this outstanding book is the most comprehensive history of early Utah ever written. Considered by most authorities to be the foremost writer of Utah history, Mr. Bancroft objectively and comprehen- sively covers the period from 1540 tc 1886. This book contains better than 800 pages of fascina- ting and factual reading.
$10.00
5 PROPHETS, PRINCIPLES AND NATIONAL SURVIVAL by Jerreld L. Newquist
Read what Presidents of the Church and other General Authorities have said about such timely subjects as communism, the American way of life, the danger of creeping socialism, the stjtus of government in the last days, and many other questions and issues which now face the nation and the world. This outstanding new book is filled with prophetic statements that will give you a greater understanding of the troubled times in which we live.
$4.95
6 IF A MAN DIE by Gordon T. Allred
This interesting book takes you from premortal life through death and into the spirit world, beautifully and comfortingly explaining the even- tuality we know as death. Punctuated throughout by quotations from leading church authorities, this book also has several complete sermons on the subject of death — including one by the prophet Joseph Smith.
$3.50
Newly revised with color added to every page, the MORMON STORY is now available in six languages: English, Spanish, French, Norwegian, Finnish and German. Send one to the missionaries in your family and keep one for your own use.
ORDER FROM YOUR NEAREST BOOKCRAFT DEALER OR FROM
BOOKCRAFT
1186 South Main, Salt Lake City, Utah Please send the following circled books for which I enclose check or money order for $
NAME
ADDRESS
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3 4
(specify language)
5 6
CITY STATE.
.ZIP.
8/64
AUGUST 1964
629
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Some
American
History and the
Civil Rights Act
of 1964
In the presidential election of 1844, Joseph Smith the Mormon Prophet, ran for the office. As leader of a persecuted minority, the Prophet had appealed to Washington; he spent the winter of 1838-39 in Washington, DC, seeking to influ- ence Senators, Congressmen, and the President in behalf of Mormon claims and interests; and from this experience, when the Prophet him- self decided to run for the Presi- dency, the plank with respect to that redress of "all wrongs" was part of his platform. One month and ten days later, he was assassinated. Messengers had been sent to Wash- ington by him to appeal for his civil rights. His appeal to the judicial and executive authority of the state of Illinois had proved to be fruitless.
In these times of the later twen- tieth century, can we gain perspec- tive on other aspects of American national history? History is not what people think. Indeed, the past can hardly be recaptured and completely understood. Neverthe- less, actual documents of original nature, containing sworn statements and official acts and expressions, are perhaps nearer the truth than some- one's ipse dixit, as President John Taylor often said. The perversion of history by selfish interests is a daily occurrence. My daily mail bag as a university president, as one
THESE TIMES
By Dr. G. Homer Durham
President, Arizona State University, Tempe
who writes and speaks, is filled with pamphlets and communications. Most of these are sent by persons or groups who want me to think as they think, to adopt an interpretation of history that often constitutes a dredging up of opinion, weak, sec- ondary, or self-regarding sources, and which neglects the broad docu- mentary record. In such a position, this writer has always been grateful for a reading acquaintance, which began shortly after the age of four, augmented with four years of his- tory in high school and a college major in American history, with basic American documents. After college, I was privileged to pursue advanced studies in American gov- ernment which have continued— with the documents— ever since.
One needs always to get back to source material, not to accept what somebody "says" is in John's gospel, or in Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. One must get out John's gospel or the Gettysburg Address (in as faith- ful a document as available) and see what was actually said. Ob- viously, it is more possible to read what Lincoln said than the Apostle John. No autograph of John has survived. And although there are several documentary versions of the Gettysburg Address, it is possible to read what Lincoln said, and not take anyone else's ipse dixit for it.
Every citizen and every reader
630
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Hillcrest High School, Salt Lake City. Architects, Bruce J. McDermott and Associates; General Contracto Christiansen Brothers Inc.; Masonry Contractor, H.L. Ashton and Sons.
First choice for fine schools-Gladding, McBean Face Brick
Woodstock Elementary School, Salt Lake City. Architects, Cannon and Mullen; General Contractor, Johannessen Construction Co.; Masonry Contractor, H.L. Ashton and Sons.
Many factors have made face brick the traditional wall material for fine schools. It has textural beauty and a substantial look of which students, faculty, and the community can be proud. Winter warmth and summer coolness mean more comfortable classrooms in which better work is done. Minimum maintenance treats bud- gets tenderly, frees funds for directly educational use. The photos show two Salt Lake City schools built with Gladding, McBean Face Brick. Walls of the Hill- crest High School (above) are Cameo Rose matt face. For the Woodstock Elementary School (below), Old Gold smooth face was used in original construction. More is being used in current remodeling by General Contractor W. J. Dean Sons and Masonry Contractor Mullinger and Klungervick.
As municipalities throughout the West have dis- covered, it pays to specify Gladding, McBean Face Brick. Precision manufacturing with steel dies assures brick that always lays and looks the way it should. And INTERPACE offers a wide range of shapes, sizes, colors and textures, always competitively priced.
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AUGUST 1964
631
will not find it possible to go to the basic sources. But the average citizen should recognize that docu- ments exist and that there are re- liable men and women who refresh their understanding at these sources continuously and that the same sources are available to others. In this regard it is noteworthy that be- ginning in 1902, President Joseph F. Smith authorized the publication of a documentary history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints, compiled and edited by B. H. Roberts of the Church His- torian's Office. Seven volumes were printed. They cover the entire range of documents to about 1847. It is virtually complete. A few per- functory orders issued by Joseph Smith as Lieutenant-General of the Nauvoo Legion, represent the few available authentic documents not included. Otherwise, the great body of materials found in the Church Historian's Office have been faith- fully reproduced. These seven vol- umes are a marvelous source book for the study of American as well as LDS church history. They have never been fully plumbed to their depth by scholarship.
As background to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it is interesting to re- call Lincoln's Emancipation Procla- mation. Every American can say the words: "Emancipation Proclama- tion." Very few people other than college professors and students of American history and government have ever read the document. Few, therefore, can recall what President Abraham Lincoln really said. In the summer of 1964, it is quite pos- sible that if Lincoln were alive and were to incorporate the same doc- trines with respect to the authority and responsibility of the federal government, he would be subject to more bitter attacks than a cen- tury ago. What did Lincoln say in the Emancipation Proclamation?
Readers are advised to read it for themselves. Basic documents of American and other history can be purchased in paperback editions for the same price as a sensational de- tective novel. Inexpensive compila- tions are available at the counters of drugstores, airline terminals. Works of thorough-going editorial scrutiny and excellence that have stood the test of time, such as H. S. Com- mager's Documents of American History are also available and con- stitute a sound, permanent invest-
ment for a family library.
For those who may not have the text of the proclamation n<~ u'by, may I quote a few things. The contents may surprise some. But then, the truer history always deals in sur- prises because things are not and were not as we may have been persuaded.
An emancipation proclamation was first issued by President Lin- coln on September 22, 1862. It was extended and formalized in a second document January 1, 1863. It is found in volume twelve of the United States Statutes at Large, page 1,268.
It must be remembered that the proclamation was and is an Execu- tive Order. An Executive Order, under the American system of gov- ernment, has the weight of law, always has had the weight of law, and has the power and authority of the executive branch of the gov- ernment behind it. This all began with George Washington as Presi- dent. An elementary fact about American government is not always understood nor appreciated. Con- gress is not the only law-making organ under the Constitution of the United States. It is the legislative law-making organ. The executive and judicial branches of the govern- ment are also law-making organs, so designed by the Constitution in the light and experience of history.
In the order issued September 22, 1862, the President of the United States said that on January 1, 1863, ". . . all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State . . . shall be then, thencefor- ward, and forever free; and the executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recog- nize and maintain the freedom of such persons and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they make for their actual freedom." (Italics added.)
This commitment of the "execu- tive government of the United States," has never been withdrawn.
There has been a struggle in the elections of Presidents of the United States ever since the election of 1864 to choose candidates and nomi- nees who would accord due weight to this policy. Sectionalism, the seniority rule in succession to con- gressional committees, until 1936 the Southern states' veto, through the
two-thirds' rule, in the selection of Democratic nominees for the Presi- dency and since 1948, the struggle in each major party platform over civil rights, the practice of presi- dential electors in some Southern states since 1948 not to cast ballots for the regular nominees of the Democratic party, have all played a part. The Thirteenth Amend- ment to the Constitution, passed by Congress February 1, 1865, and rati- fied December 18, 1865, prohibited slavery and involuntary servitude. But in the political sense, the re- liance of the freed men is on the "executive government of the United States." This began with Lincoln and has continued, with varying degrees, with each President of the United States since Lincoln.
Lincoln on January 1, 1863 en- joined "upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all vio- lence, unless in necessary self- defense; and I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages." The President continued: "And I further declare and make known that such persons of suitable condition will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service."
Some of these lines make inter- esting reading after a century. But more poignant perhaps, to all races alike, is Lincoln's paragraph:
"And upon this act, sincerely be- lieved to be an act of justice, war- ranted by the Constitution upon military necessity, I invoke the con- siderate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God." (Italics added.)
Intervention by the government of the United States, to extend the due processes and substantive rights of civil liberty, may be said to have begun in the administration of George Washington. Intervention under Washington was largely along economic lines, indicated and spon- sored by Alexander Hamilton's poli- cies. The Emancipation Proclama- tion wiped out millions of dollars in property values with a presi- dential order. The national govern- ment was confronted with the problems of whiskey distillers, slave- holders, manufacturers, commercial bankers, and other economic groups the day the Constitution went into (Continued on page 687)
632
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
They chose the newest
Hammond Organ
for their new sanctuary
C-100 shown is custom finish to match church de- cor. Standard finish is walnut.
■ They listened to the magnificent voice of the new Hammond Organ Model G-100. They looked over its beautiful, authentic console. They decided that this was the organ for the new South Park Church Sanctuary in Park Ridge, Illinois.
The antiphonal organ chamber was installed in the rear of the church. And Hammond Organ G-100 serial number one was installed.
The new Hammond Organ Model G-100 is designed, mechanically and tonally, to operate just like a pipe organ.
The console is authentic in every detail. There is no unification or bor- rowing. There are 50 speaking stops to provide individual voices for inter- preting all schools of organ composi- tion.
The new G-100's sound is generated by Hammond's expanded Tone-Wheel system.
The unique system that incorporates the rich, full ensemble of the pipe organ with all its interaction of many voices. The unique system that pro- duces a deeper, more majestic tone than all others. The unique system that cannot go out of tune and can save your church substantial maintenance costs year after year.
Certainly, you'll want to learn more about the new Hammond Organ Model G-100. Its authenticity, its beauty and grace, its magnificent tone invite the most critical comparison. And we invite you to make it. Send in this coupon for a booklet containing the stop list and other specifications.
Hammond Organ Company
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AUGUST 1964
633
Letters
and
Reports
BAKERSFIELD EXPLORERS HOLD OLYMPICS
The Winter Olympics were held acrpss an ocean in Innsbruck, Austria, but Explorers of the Bakersfield Stake gathered in Bakersfield, California, for their own Spring Olympics. They held inter-ward competition in skills ranging from swim- ming to horseshoes to physical condition- ing tests to a rope climb and an obstacle course.
In Olympic tradition, first place winners received a gold medal; second place, a silver medal; and third place, a bronze medal. Receiving the "Outstanding Ath- lete" award trophy was Explorer Elmer Scott, Bakersfield Second Ward, with 6iy2 points.
The meet was directed by Bruce P. Hill, stake Explorer leader who was re- cently appointed stake YMMIA superin- tendent.
MOTHERS. AWARDS
DAUGHTERS WIN
Following jn the footsteps of their daugh- ters are three Midvale Fourth Ward, Mid- vale (Utah) Stake, YWMIA leaders. Each of these women earned an individual award along with two of her daughters during the 1962-63 MIA year.
Mothers, 1. to r., are Geneal Waters, Mia Maid leader, second year award; Barbara Newbold, Laurel leader, second year award; Leone Jensen, secretary, fifth year award.
Their daughters, 1. to r., are Carole and ReNee Waters, fourth and second year awards; Judy and Sharon Newbold, sixth and fourth year awards; Dianne and Mari- lyn Jensen, seventh and fifth year awards.
iw i:
FATHER, SONS EARN EAGLES
Like father, like son, like son, like son— that is the story of the George Banks fam- ily in Parowan Second Ward, Parowan (Utah) Stake.
Father George and two of his sons, Carl, 17, and George Jr., 20, all received Eagle Scout awards in July 1961. Now younger Ramon has lifted the number of Eagles in the house to four.
Carl and George Jr. have both won Duty to God awards and George Jr. is serving a Central German Mission.
f*e*W®&
CANADIAN SCOUTS REACH
QUEEN RANK
Nearly one-half of the members of an Alberta Boy Scout troop received their Queen rank (equivalent to the Eagle rank) at the same time recently.
The Scouts were members of the Grassy Lake First Troop, Grassy Lake Ward, Taber Stake. Six of the thirteen troop members received the Queen Scout Certifi- cate from Alberta Lt. Gov. J. Percy Page.
At the same time, the troop received the Wes Jensen Challenge Trophy for out- standing camping in the district during 1963. The boys camped out in November and December on Friday nights so they could start early Saturday morning on a service project of fencing a community picnic area north of Grassy Lake. They are led by Scoutmaster Lloyd D. Woodruff.
Queen Scouts, front row, 1. to r., are Colin Morris, Bruce Woodruff, William Redd, Scoutmaster Lloyd Woodruff. Back row, 1. to r., Harold Brown, David Wood- ruff, Wayne Torrie. Harold Brown and David Woodruff also have their Duty to God Awards.
GRATEFUL FOR YOUTH SECTION
I feel I must write to you and express my sincere gratitude to you for the Era of Youth Section. As for me personally, few things help me as much as this. Un- countable times I have felt need to read a certain Era of Youth. Sure enough, every time it contains the counsel I had been seeking. Many, many times have I laid down this magazine feeling so touched that I am to a certain extent a changed person.
Sylvia Pehrsson Whittier, California
634
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
CHURCH MEMBER REACHES CENTURY MARK
One hundred years of living— 88 years in Church positions— 68 years as a Relief So- ciety visiting teacher— and six children— these are the accomplishments of Mary Adelia "Mary Dell" Felt Young.
She was born May 19, 1864, in Salt Lake City, to Nathaniel Henry and Mary Louise Pile Felt, English converts who had emigrated in 1856. On December 8, 1884, she was married to Joseph Orvai Young, a son of President Brigham Young, in the Salt Lake Endowment House.
Mrs. Young has served in Primary, Sun- day School, and Relief Society since she was 12 years cjd. She has been in two Relief Society presidencies, once serving as president. She is still active in Daugh- ters of Utah Pioneers.
Three of her six children are living.
WORDS MAKE PROPHET BECOME REAL
The "Portrait of a Prophet" in the Decem- ber 1963 Era of Youth section was very helpful in making the Prophet Joseph Smith a real person to me. I am a con- vert of ten and one-half years and a regular reader of the church publications. I am particularly impressed with the force- ful way in which the truths of the gospel are being presented to our youth. With so many means being utilized these days by the world to hold their attention, it is a constant challenge to the Church to see that the real truths which matter are held constantly in front of them where they cannot be overlooked or forgotten. Thank you for doing such a wonderful job, espe- cially in behalf of the youth. The vivid picture of the Prophet, both as to his physi- cal appearance and inward qualities, should long be remembered by everyone who reads that particular issue of the Era of Youth.
Sincerely,
Dorothy F. Reynolds
Alexandria, Virginia
JEWISH CONVERT WRITES FROM MISSION
I should like to thank you very much for the inspiration of your magazine. I am a recent convert to the Church from the Jewish faith. Your wonderful magazine helped give me the convictions needed to maintain my new faith.
Sincerely, Elder Allen Getz Southern Far East Mission
TERRY NELSON WINS MEDALLION AWARD
Terry Nelson set an example for MIA girls in the Tucson (Arizona) Stake re- cently, when she was the first girl in the stake to receive the gold medallion award for seven years of individual awards.
Terry attends the University of Arizona, where she is secretary of the University Ward YWMIA. She is working on her Golden Gleaner award.
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AUGUST 1964
635
THE EDITORS PAGE BY PRESIDENT DAVID O. MCKAY
The first lesson of faith in God as our Father was taught to me as I knelt in prayer in early childhood at my mother's knee. She told me that our Father in heaven would hear and answer a little boy's prayer as readily and as willingly as parents would grant their child's request. Implicitly I believed what she said; and in praying, always asked the Lord for bless- ings just as I would ask my earthly father for any favor. I knew nothing about the abstract principle of faith, yet I had true and abiding faith that God would hear and answer prayer. In sickness, the ad- ministration of the elders I accepted as an absolute cure; for example, when Bishop Francis A. Hammond once administered to me during a severe attack of croup, I was immediately relieved. I distinctly re- member the strong assurance that filled my mind as Bishop Hammond blessed me and rebuked the pain. There was no other thought but that I should be better, and I was from that moment.
It was with just this same faith that I sought the Lord in special prayer one night when suffering from intense fear, as the result of an overwrought imagination.
At that time, when father was away from home, mother, before she retired, never failed to look for burglars or other intruders under the bed. Noticing this repeatedly, I began to fear the presence of burglars as almost a reality, and I should not have been surprised any night if she had discovered a burglar or two lurking either under the bed or in a closet. Frequently, after the lights were out, in imagination I could hear footsteps stealing near the
636
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
window and not only heard burglars but also dreamed burglars.
One night, when I was between six and seven years of age, I dreamed that two burglars attacked mama and the baby, and when I tried to give the alarm, one of them shot me in the back. Every detail of that nightmare I remember to this day.
These experiences and others combined to make some of my nights almost unendurable. My imagina- tive notions of the probability of our being harmed while mother and the little ones were without father's protection tyrannized over my childish reason and wrought my feelings to a tension that was hard to bear. As more mature years came, I often felt thankful that my parents had chosen my books with care and that at that age I knew nothing about the bloodcurdling stories of the cheap novel. Someone has said that "many have no happier moments than those which they pass in solitude, abandoned to their own imagination," but to me these sleepless moments of solitude in the dark became the most miserable of my young life.
On the particular night mentioned, for some slight cause or another, I awoke and soon imagined I could hear footsteps near the window. Imagination fol- lowed the depredator around the house to the dining room door. In a short time, I was almost sure he was in the house. My fears must have been at a pretty high pitch, for I breathed heavily, and it seemed I could hear my heart thumping. Other nights I had experi- enced, to a degree, the same fear, and had been told later by my parents that it was only imagination.
This night the thought came that if this was imagina- tion, I ought to overcome it; if reality, we surely needed protection.
True to mother's training and the natural yearning of my soul, I sought the Lord in prayer. To me there was only one way to pray and that was to kneel at the bedside. It was no small effort to get out of bed and kneel in the dark, but I did it, and prayed as never before for God's comfort and protection. Just as I said "Amen," I heard a voice say as distinctly as I ever heard a voice in my life, "Don't be afraid, nothing will hurt you." Immediately all fear left me. I felt comforted at once and crept back to bed to sweet and peaceful sleep. I acknowledged the voice then as the voice of the Lord, answering an earnest petition of one of his boys in distress, and as such I acknowledge it today.
Subsequently, when those boyish fears began to arise, I would immediately recall that comforting moment and hear again the words, "Don't be afraid, nothing will hurt you." In a short time, divine assur- ance replaced imaginative fear.
Thus I proved by actual experience that the teach- ing of my parents was true, that my Father in heaven would hear and answer the sincere prayer of a little boy as readily as his parents would grant him a re- quest, the only condition being, is it for the boy's good? In this instance, it proved to be of lifelong comfort to me and an absolute assurance of the truth- fulness of Christ's words, which I read later in life, "All things whatsoever ye ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." (See 3 Nephi 18:20.)
AUGUST 1964
637
"WHY DOES OUR ETERNAL FATHER LOVE SINNERS?"
question: "In the gospel doc- trine class in our Sunday School, the question was asked: 'Why does our Eternal Father love sinners as well as the righteous?' Surely he cannot love the unrepentant sinner as he does those who are willing
answer: Let us look at this question from a natural point of view. In any family where the par- ents are righteous, and they have a son or a daughter who is rebel- lious, is it not the most natural thing for the parent to love that son or that daughter and earnestly wish that he or she might repent and keep the commandments? Moreover, does not the love of the parent burn intensely, notwith- standing there are rebellious tend- encies on the part of a child? It is a very reasonable thought for us to think that our Eternal Father yearns for and wishes the repent- ance of a wayward child. Naturally we are led to believe that our Eternal Father would have exactly the same feeling as a mortal father to- ward his wayward children and desire that they might repent.
While there are eternal laws by which the kingdom of God is governed, these laws have been based on the principle of righteousness and justice and could not be maintained on any other principle. It is perfectly reasonable for us to believe, as Alma has stated it in his counsel to a wayward son, that it is ". . . requisite with the justice of God that men should be judged according to their works; and if their works were good in this life, and the desires
YOUR QUES- TION
ANSWERED BY
JOSEPH FIELDING
SMITH
PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE
to abide in his commandments. Is there anything in the scriptures that indicates that our Eternal Father loves Satan as he does those who are righteous and do not rebel against him?"
of their hearts were good, that they should also, at the last day, be restored unto that which is good. "And if their works are evil they shall be restored unto them for evil. Therefore, all things shall be restored to their proper order, every thing to its natural frame. . . ." (Alma 41:3-4.)
It has been decreed that "... no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing en- tereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end." (3 Nephi 27:19.) Righteousness and obedience to divine law are and must be a requirement based upon the principle of eternal justice. The fact that man has been given his free agency is an evidence of the justice and mercy of our Eternal Father. He will teach, persuade, and encourage his children to walk in ways of righteous- ness, but even his divine love cannot transcend the decree of justice and the edict that none but the clean can dwell in his kingdom. We are taught that the heavens wept over the rebellion of Lucifer and those who followed him. Moreover, it was the justice of a kind Heavenly Father that grants to every soul the great gift of free agency which makes individuals
638
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
morally responsible for their own deeds.
Naturally, the expression that our Eternal Father loves Satan needs some qualification. There is no doubt that there was a deep sorrow and weeping when Lucifer rebelled- From all that we have received pertaining to the pre-existence, we learn that there was a time when Lucifer held great authority and was known as the light bearer. No doubt at that time he was well received and greatly honored. His great sin lay in the fact that he rebelled against giving to every soul the great gift of free agency. He advocated a doctrine of compulsion. He, if the doctrine he advocated had prevailed, would have forced all to be saved. This, however, would have been a salvation in slavery minus the great gift of free agency. Compulsion to his decrees would have taken place; confusion and slavery would have been the result. We are informed that the heavens wept over this rebellion, but righteous principles includ- ing the freedom to think and to act were decreed in the divine plan.
That our Eternal Father should love his children is just as natural as it is for a mortal parent to love his offspring. We are instructed that our Eternal Father would have every soul saved if that could be accomplished on righteous principles. Satan's plan was to take away from them their free agency and in- troduce compulsion. Such a thing would have been destructive of every righteous principle, and heaven would have ceased to exist.
Salvation is based on two divine principles of para- mount importance: first, redemption from death through the atonement of Jesus Christ, and, second, obedience to divine law on the part of every indi- vidual who obtains the kingdom of God.
Naturally, there w^s weeping in heaven when the rebellion of Lucifer was introduced, and our Eternal Father wept, just as a mortal father who loves right- eousness would weep over a rebellious son.
AUGUST 1964
639
President David O. McKay and Apostle Delbert L.
Remarks by President David 0. McKay at the Sunday morning session of the MIA June Conference,
held in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, June 14, 1964.
Be True
BY PRESIDENT DAVID O. MCKAY
The poet, Charles McKay, impressively said:
"If I were a voice — a persuasive voice That could travel the wide world through, I would fly on the beams of the morning light, And speak to men with a gentle might, And tell them to be true. I'd fly o'er land and sea, Wherever a human heart might be, Telling a tale, or singing a song In praise of the Right and in blame of the Wrong."
In conclusion of President Tanner's and other speakers' remarks to the leaders of the MIA, I would raise my voice in praise of the gospel of Jesus Christ and proclaim to these leaders to be true— true to self, true to the Savior of men, true to the right teachings of parents and loved ones.
I am looking now into the faces of seven thou- sand persons in this audience, and in my mind I can see the faces of other audiences in chapels
throughout the entire world, and I would fly over land and sea, telling them a tale and singing a song in praise of the right and condemnation of the wrong.
Young people, by the hundreds and thousands, I am saying to you, be true to the ideals of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I say it because I want you to be happy— and you will be happy by obey- ing the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I would say, know this, that "If to do were as easy as to know what were good to do, chapels had been churches, poor men's cottages prince's palaces. It is a good divine that follows his own instructions. I can easier teach twenty what were good to be done, than be one of the twenty to follow mine own teaching." ( Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, I, ii, 12-17.)
God bless the youth of Zion, men and women, the wide world through. God help each one to be true to what he knows to be right, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
An address given at the Friday morning session of the MIA June Conference, June 12, 1964.
Leaders of Youth.
Anything short of your full potential isn't good enough
BY DELBERT L. STAPL.EY of the council of the twelve
My brothers and sisters, this large gathering of MIA leaders and others is a wonderful and thrilling sight. The Apostle Peter on one occasion said to the Savior,
"Lord, it is good to be here. . . ." (See Matt. 17:4.) That fully expresses my own feelings. I am grateful for the wonderful presentations here this morning,
640
the improvement era
Stapley inspire MIA leaders at June conference!
the choice thoughts expressed, and for this very wonderful group of young people from the Rexburg, Idaho, stakes, who have sung so beautifully for us. It is a blessed privilege to meet with you, my MIA workers, in the great cause of the youth of the Church. I am sure we can all anticipate a glorious time during this conference. There has been much thought and prayer and preparation, and I know you will be blessed and benefited in whatever department of work you are privileged to attend. While receiving inspira- tion and strength from you, I am conscious of my own responsibility to inspire you in your holy callings to direct those in your charge to grow physically, men- tally, and spiritually into the full stature of intelligent Latter-day Saint manhood and womanhood, with de- sires for ever-increasing righteousness and beneficial service to mankind in whatever life's activities they choose to follow.
Your theme for the coming year, "Show the Way through MIA," is most important and timely. Time is moving quickly for all of us, and for the world also. The pressures of our day and age are terrific but important and most meaningful. In this fast-moving world, events and happenings of a miraculous nature are occurring rapidly. Prophecies relating to these latter days are being fulfilled. There is much await- ing us to be accomplished. It is a time of decision and action, and not one of empty words or mean- ingless phrases.
A friend of mine, president of a large business institution, made this challenging statement: "This is a new era in man's responsibilities to man, and we have to stir abilities and powers we have never used if we are going to be the masters of our destiny."
Many years ago George H. Brimhall, speaking from this pulpit at an MIA June conference, said, "By a proper organization of time, things thought impos- sible to do become possible of accomplishment." How true that statement, and how essential it is for the leaders and teachers in Zion so to organize their time that they may give wise and profitable service to all who look to them for leadership in spiritual and moral guidance. The implications bound up in the theme, "Show the Way through MIA," are tremendous and limitless. I pray that you will always keep it before you as a reminder of your obligations to the youth of the Church. MIA is an agency of the Lord to help prepare its members for maximum usefulness in carry- ing forward the mission of Christ's Church in all the
world. Will its leadership— you who are assembled here this day, and others absent— be found initiating with power and enthusiasm, also high purpose, the full MIA program for rounding out the temporal and spiritual lives of church youth? I believe firmly that you will. However, it will -cost you much effort and time, humble prayer, Christlike dedication, un- ceasing patience, and love. Keep ever before you this vision of high purpose and personal obligation to help youth set goals in life based upon gospel principles, standards, and ideals, and then encourage and counsel them how to achieve those goals. Youth cannot afford to be quitters or failures in whatever they undertake to do. To do so weakens incentive, purpose, and character. Choice opportunities come to those who are better prepared by knowledge, training, and desire and by knowing what they want to do and become. There is no place in the society of men and women today for the mediocre. No matter how humble your assignment, know that it is important and purposeful and much needed to help build God's kingdom among the children of men. It is in your hands to degrade or to exalt the work in which you are engaged. Remember always that the great responsibility of church leadership today is to teach, train, and motivate every worker to measure up to his full potential and become productive and successful in his calling.
Remember also that anything short of your full potential isn't good enough in the service of our Master. It calls for a realization not only of what your capacities and capabilities are, but also of how such abilities can be best used to full advantage in the assignment to help and bless others. It also means that each of you must be well grounded in gospel knowledge and understanding and alert to oppor- tunities for sendee with an intense interest in everyone you are responsible for. It means you teachers are not only to teach in the sense of mere instruction, but to help those whom you instruct to implement into practice that which you teach. This is training— the vital supplement to teaching. It means you officers will inspire your teachers with a clear vision of what is expected of them and then with equally clear vision set goals of achievement. Remember that where there is no vision, the people perish. Therefore, do not let those for whom you are responsible perish for want of vision and good works on your part.
A concern which I and others of the brethren share
MJGUST 1964
641
"God help each one to be true to what he knows is
is the frequency of turnover in the leadership and teachers of the auxiliary organizations. It is most alarming, and youth is apt to suffer as a result. We strongly encourage longer tenure of office. We be- lieve workers, although worthy, should not be invited to serve unless they are willing to stay in a position long enough not only to become acquainted with their responsibilities, but also to continue to give effective service until released from office. I think it is wrong to make changes where leaders or teachers are doing effective work unless there is good reason to do so, and then only if there is someone equally strong and qualified to replace them. Should we follow a differ- ent course, youth surely will suffer, and we leaders will be held accountable if they do not become faith- ful, devoted Latter-day Saints. Never indicate to a person considered for a position that the work load is easy and little will be expected of him. Any calling in the Church is as great as one's vision of it. All callings are important and the time necessary to do one's work properly and effectively should never be minimized. We need more forthrightness and under- standing in calling people to service in the Church. The longer one serves in a position, the more effective he or she is, and better results can be expected.
The Prophet Joseph Smith profoundly observed on one occasion, "When I know what the Lord wants me to do, I do it." Any man can do anything that God asks him to do if he has faith enough to rely on God to help him do it. The trait of procrastination is poison to the soul. Be not guilty of it in MIA. Procrastination is a thief of valuable opportunities available to leaders and teachers. Remember it takes less time to do a thing, or to fulfil an assignment, than it does to worry about doing it. Granted now that the accomplishments of which we have been speaking have reached a measure of attainment, what next is your responsibility? You will answer imme- diately that it is to use all means at your disposal to help youth meet the challenges of our times firmly, courageously, and intelligently, and not yield to the insidious influences and designs of men who exer- cise no moral restraint when personal gain is involved. There has never been a time in the history of man when greater individual freedom of thought, word, and action has been afforded young people than in this, our day. This is particularly true in what we like to call the free world, but this privilege has given rise to problems of immense dimensions. Men, women, and institutions for selfish, sinister, and evil
642
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
right . . . ."
PRESIDENT
DAVID O. McKAY
purposes use youth to accomplish their wicked de- signs. They tell them that pleasure is the standard for the good, that good is a mere state of mind, and that the natural impulses of life should be freely exercised. Such a philosophy has been and is re- sponsible for excuses which lead to delinquencies, sins, and crimes of numerous and vile character. To meet such a situation, the ablest, most dedicated, and purest of heart among us are needed.
I am convinced that in carrying out the over-all MIA program we must be careful to not take youth out of the home in a constant round of activities which prevents them from enjoying a proper home life with sufficient parental contacts for teaching, guidance, and confidential relationships. When the church order of home life is disrupted, it helps to break down controls and safeguards in standards of living expected of youth which could cause serious moral and disciplinary problems. Somehow on a stake and ward level there must be an improved correlation between church auxiliaries and all other approved functioning church groups, as well as the schools, to prevent schedule conflicts and an over- lapping and duplication of activities which leaves little opportunity for perfect home life on the part of
youth. Today, under the guidance of the church co-ordination and correlating committee, the closest co-operation is necessary between the auxiliaries and all other church groups to stay within their own field of activity when programing for each season. There should be no conflicting dates of social or cultural activities in LDS communities. The correla- tion of all church and community activities is neces- sary to assure an over-all balanced program for youth to help them grow physically, culturally, intellectually, and spiritually.
In MIA we must also be careful that youth is not overstimulated by too much activity but maintains a balance that will secure to them the great moral virtues that are so important to a life of joy and happiness. LDS youth are faced with many perplex- ing problems today; therefore, our position as leaders requires that we set up safeguards to protect them in maintaining church standards and ideals with full understanding and wise supervision in all that is planned for them to do. We must teach young peo- ple deeper loyalties as a bulwark against the on- slaught of materialism and worldliness represented in places and activities that encourage them to tempta- tion and to sin. These deeper loyalties include love of God, love of man, love of Church, love of the gospel, love of truth and principle, love of family, love of one's self and one's destiny, and self-control in all activities of life to help and strengthen them to keep sacred and pure the physical body which houses a spirit child of God. Youth must be taught how to live satisfying lives, creatively, with holy courtship in mind and without necking or petting which tear at the bars of self-restraint and self-control. The moral code is being attacked from every side by those who are not grounded in ethical and spiritual values. The standards for Mormon youth of neces- sity will never change. The world may lower its standards, but the Church never can because God has revealed the standards which all faithful members of the Church must live by and honor.
The church places of worship should be the center of learning and activities for youth and the gospel truths and principles the basic foundation values for good character and righteous living.
There has developed among many young people a feeling that it is not too serious to break the law of chastity. Perhaps with (Continued on page 662)
AUGUST 1964
643
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THE MISSIONARY LABORS OF GEORGE R. AND LUCY BLOOMF1ELD TWENTIETH CENTURY PIONEERS
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BY NADINE W. LARSON
Pioneers are uncommon these days. Because they are so rare, we feel it a privilege when we have opportunity to know one and to share his experiences. Those of us who knew George R. Bloomfield consider him, I am sure, to be one of the great pioneers.
No, he didn't cross the plains in a covered wagon, nor did he live in the days of Brigham Young. His pioneering took place in the twentieth century, and it was among our darker brothers and sisters, the Lamanites. Nevertheless, it was pioneering in every sense of the word. He endured many hardships and sorrows as he traveled the paths that Ammon, the great Lamanite mis- sionary in the Book of Mormon, traveled so long ago. Like Ammon, George's missionary labors were filled with adventure and romance and brought astonishing results. Perhaps he didn't face the same dangers, nor was he directly responsible for bringing into the Church the huge numbers that Ammon did. But George played a great part in beginning the movement that will result in bringing the Lamanites, as a nation, into the Church.
Brother Bloomfield was born in Ramah, New Mexico, in 1882, but his days among the Lamanites did not begin until 1912. It was at this time that he and his wife and four children bought the Indian Trading Post at Toad- lena, New Mexico, a lovely spot located in the Lukachukai Mountains on the Navajo reservation. We will let Brother Albert R. Lyman of Blanding, Utah, describe these years for us:
"They bought a little store at Toadlena, ( To-ad-le-na ) and began in business for themselves. Very few of the Navajos could speak English at that time; they wore their hair long and made few departures from the ways and traditions of their ancestors. The government had established a few schools and was moving to open others; also, Indian traders set up more stores at various points in the reservation, and many of these traders were Mormons. . . .
"The Bloomfields were Mormons of the third or fourth generation and cherished the belief that the Indians are sometime to become a white and delightsome people. At the counter of their little store they began learning the language and the ways of their new customers for whom they had a pro- nounced liking from the first. . . . Their motto then and always was to make their word good and take no unfair advantage.
"To these newfound friends in the little store the Navajos began coming with their problems and troubles. If they had met with an accident or a disaster, if there was sickness or a new baby to arrive in the family, they came for medicine, for sympathy, or for help. If they had difficulties with one another or with the ever-intruding world from the outside, they came loping to the store for wise counsel or legal advice.
:&
645
"These traders in the Toadlena store made no undue effort to preach their religion, although they cherished and studied it at their quiet fireside. They gave ready answer to every question the Indians asked, and they lent or gave a copy of the Book of Mormon to everyone who wanted to read it.
"A new generation sprang up around them, a generation whom they had known from infancy. The Navajos made im- portant strides forward; they cut their hair, changed their habits of dress and living, and many of them learned to speak and to write English."1
A few years after the Bloomfields had commenced to operate their store, a Hopi Indian, Howela Polacca, began to trade with them. His home was in Crystal, New Mexico, just over the mountain from Toadlena. Often he would come and stay the night with George and his wife Lucy. On one occasion he came on a Saturday night and, as usual, was heartily welcomed. The next morning at the breakfast table Howela began relat- ing some of the legends of his people. His account was so interesting that the whole family, including a nurse who was visiting them, listened spellbound and entranced until 1 pm, not even moving from the table nor clearing away the dishes.2
He told of a wonderful man who had lived for a short time among the Indian people many years ago. He could stand on a hill and talk to the people, and they could hear him even if he did not speak loud. He could make sick people well. He asked the people not to lie or steal. He requested that they love one another and be good. He taught them how to plant corn. When he left, he went up in the sky in a bright cloud.3
When the long story was finished, Brother George said, "Why, Howela, that sounds just like the story in the Book of Mormon about how Jesus Christ visited the Nephites!" He read the story found in 3 Nephi to Howela. When he stopped, Howela clapped his hands and said, "By golly, is that so? I will have to read that book."
He was given a copy of the Book of Mormon that day. The conversion process for many of our Lamanite brethren is slow, however, and this was especially true for Brother Polacca. He studied and read the Book of Mormon for twenty years. He was finally converted and baptized by missionaries from Snowflake, Arizona, in 1940.
A few years after his baptism, Howela was addressing an open-air conference spread out under the juniper trees. As he was bearing his testimony to the dusky Saints seated before him upon the ground, upon blankets, and upon folding chairs, he said, "Wait a minute." He went into the house which was nearby and brought out the old Book of Mormon he had re- ceived years before from the Bloomfields. He said, "See this old book? It is almost worn out. I studied it for over twenty years, and I know it is true." His body was racked with sobs
1Albert R. Lyman, Blanding News, "Missionary Effort among Navajo Indians Reported," 1942.
2Lucy G. Bloomfield, Book of Remembrance— George R. Bloomfield, "Obituary of Howela Polacca," 1957.
3George R. Bloomfield, Book of Remembrance— George R. Bloomfield.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
for a moment, then he cried fervently, "Oh, that my people could know the truth like I do; it would be their salvation. . . ."4
Howela and his wife were sealed in the Arizona Temple in 1949. Brother Polacca was faithful until the end, always encouraging his family to be active in the Church. He retained his strong testimony until his death in 1957.
This was perhaps the first seed George Bloomfield planted along his pioneer journey. The seed fell on fertile ground, and it grew. Brother Polacca became one of the real bulwarks among the Indian people.
After twenty-six years of trading at Toadlena, the hearts of Brother and Sister Bloomfield overflowed with a desire to fill a mission among the Indians. They wrote to President Heber J. Grant, requesting information concerning missionary activity among the Lamanites. The reply came back, "I, too, am very much interested in work among the Lamanites, but the time is not yet."5
Content to abide by the counsel of the prophet, they were still unable to kill the enthusiasm for the work that was burning in their hearts. Something about these humble, lovable people had touched the souls of George and Lucy. They had tasted the joys of sharing the gospel with a few of them and were overwhelmed with a yearning to do more of this glorious work. They continued to teach the gospel in their own quiet way to the various Navajos with whom they came in contact.
When it was deemed wise to organize missionary work among the Lamanites in 1943, Brother and Sister Bloomfield were among the first, eight missionaries called from the Young Stake to labor in the Navajo- Zuni Mission, as it was then called, under the leader- ship of Ralph William Evans. Naturally, they were overcome with joy, for one of their fondest dreams had become a reality.
George and Lucy Bloomfield enjoyed many choice experiences during their next four and one-half years in the mission field.
Included in his duties as an Indian trader, George R. Bloomfield supervised the Civilian Conservation Corps work at Toadlena, New Mexico, where he began to notice a short, round, little man with a broad smile. He learned that the man was foreman of the work and that his name was Clyde Beyal. George was immediately attracted to this cheerful man, and they soon began a close friendship. Many hours were spent in the camp with the two heads close together— one light and one dark— as they dis- cussed the news of the day.
As Clyde gained more confidence in his newly acquired white brother, he expressed curiosity about this Mormon Church to which George belonged. Thrilled with the opportunity to tell his friend about his most priceless possession, yet fearful to force too much on him too soon, Brother Bloomfield carefully answered all questions. When their work at the reservoirs was completed, their daily association ceased, but their friendship remained strong.
Years later when George and Lucy were called as stake missionaries to labor in the Toadlena area, it was only natural that Clyde and his wife were among the first people they approached. Clyde and Mabel Beyal lived in a tent a mile and a half from the Trading Post. The Bloomfields found a warm wel- come when they arranged for their first cottage meet- ing with this lovely family. As they sat in the humble home and by the light of a lantern, taught the ever- lasting truths of the gospel, they found eager faces and open hearts. Because Mrs. Beyal spoke no Eng- lish, Clyde interpreted for Elder Bloomfield.
It did not take long for the spirit of the gospel to take hold of this Lamanite couple, for it was as a "voice of one crying from the dust." (2 Nephi 33:13.) When Clyde received sufficient assurance that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true, he requested to be baptized. This was the second baptism that Elder Bloomfield performed in Toadlena.
Clyde Beyal worked closely with the Bloomfields, helping in the newly organized Sunday School at Toadlena. The Sunday School attendance started with thirteen, but in two months it grew to an as- tonishing sixty-nine.6
When the Bloomfields felt Clyde and Mabel were ready for temple marriage, they helped with the ar- rangements and escorted the couple to the Salt Lake Temple. It was a joyous little company that made its way to the center of Zion. Their hearts were full as they progressed through the temple ceremony.
When they reached the celestial room, they had to wait until Brother and Sister Beyal's sons were brought to the sealing room for the sealing ceremony. As they sat in the hushed, reverent beauty of the celestial room, they were all deeply impressed. Finally Sister Beyal broke the silence as she spoke to her husband in Navajo. He translated it for the others, "Two weeks ago I had a dream about this room. I saw it just as I see it now. Wall mirrors, chandeliers, and all the beauty, just the same as I see it now, I saw it in my dream."7 As Clyde translated his wife's words, there was great (Continued on page 684)
*Lucy G. Bloomfield, op. cit., 1957. BIdem.
°"Church News," section of The Deseret News, "Death Comes to a Lamanite Missionary," March 7, 1959.
TLetter from Lucy G. Bloomfield to the author, May 25, 1961.
AUGUST 1964
647
APOSTOLIC
1 KA1J1 1 lUfN
BY JOHN A. GREEN
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AND
HEAD OF DEPARTMENT OF FRENCH
UNIVERSITY OF WiCHITA
t ir r
1 ^.natte. JP
.- ■ ■
Y/ /J" now generally recognized that the
Apostolic Tradition of St. Hippolytus is the
most illuminating single source of evidence extant
on the inner life and religious polity of the
early Christian Church .... Hippolytus casts light
on much which is found only in scattered allusions
in other writers of the pre-Nicene period."
648 * ; THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
A HEADLESS STATUE, discovered in a ceme- tery on the outskirts of Rome in 1551, depicted a priest seated and apparently teaching. The figure was that of Hippolytus. Inscrip- tions on the base of the statue, which is presently in the Lateran Museum, listed some of the titles of the man's works, one of which was given as The Apostolic Tradition.
The importance of this find was not realized until after 1842, when the Philosoplwumena, the other main source of information of Hippolytus, came to light. Published in 1851, this latter writing was mistakenly attributed first to Origen, then to Tertul- lian and one or two others, before Doellinger offered enough evidence to5 convince the scholars that Hip- polytus was the author. Solving the case of a manuscript in search of an author did much to dispel the mystery surrounding the figure of the saint. He ^proved to be a contemporary of Callistus,1 with whom he eventually, but unsuccessfully, disputed the throne of the Roman Church early in the third century AD.2 The fact that he had ended his life a schismatic in
us to get a sufficiently exact idea of The Apostolic Tradition."4 The Reverend Gregory Dix, writing on the authenticity of the text for his 1937 English trans- lation, affirmed that "at least nineteen-twentieths of the treatise may be said to be known with certainty and with accuracy ."s
Dix estimates that The Apostolic Tradition dates from about 215 AD/' although it appears quite pos- sible that a somewhat earlier date could be assigned. At least the work seems likely to have been composed before the Philosophoumena, which is not among those titles listed on the base of Hippolytus' statue. Whereas the latter writing pronounces itself most violently against Callistus, who was named bishop of Rome in 217 AD, there is no mention of Callistus in The Apostolic Tradition.
"But let us even suppose that the [latter] work does date from the schismatic period. Does that mean that it has lost, ^either in whole or in part, its documentary value? Not in the least. Let us note first of all that the Tradition is not an apocryphal work, as are the Apostolic Constitutions or the ancient
.'
:--v;;;:;::v.:.^;:|aajPMWPro
turn partially explained why he had fallen into ob- livion, and why The Apostolic Tradition involved an interesting title in search of a text.
By 1870 a series of canons attributed to Hippolytus led to a mass sifting of Egyptian and Syrian docu- ments, with which the canons bore rather obvious affinities. Conjecture and speculation as to the origin of these documents multiplied until, in 1916, Connelly, a British scholar, demonstrated effectively that the canons and other related documents were all pos- terior to, and dependent on, the Aegyptische Kirch- enordnung? which was, in reality, Hippolytus' Apostolic Tradition. It is doubtless not the original text, and many details remain obscure, but "on the whole we can say that it is henceforth possible for
Church orders. This is a work published by Hippoly- tus, under his name and at Rome itself. What likelihood is there that Hippolytus has presented as authentic Roman tradition usages that he might be introducing for the first time? The Romans to whom he was writing would not have been taken in, much less his adversaries, who were themselves Roman. Hippolytus himself is a man of tradition."7
In this same vein, other authorities write: "Hip- polytus ... has nothing of the innovator about him; he poses as a champion of tradition, and, on the whole, we can admit that the liturgical usage he codifies is traditional usage. . . ."8 This admission is a clear vote of confidence in a statement made by Hippolytus toward the close of his work, and in
AUGUST 1964
649
justification of it. He writes, "for the elders [pres- byters] from whom we have received this tradition . . . ," and Easton hastens to point out that acceptance of this passage means that the Tradition is therefore "more than a source for Roman customs at the begin- ning of the third century; it may with equal safety be invoked for the practice of thirty or even fifty years earlier."9 This would push the practice of the tradi- tions reported by Hippolytus back at least to 165-185 AD.
nNE MIGHT assume, if there were I any unity in the church at all at that time, that these traditions represent more than merely local customs. Such an assumption seems safe enough since no less a scholar than Adolph Harnack formulated it. "Here," he said, speaking of The Apostolic Tradition, "is the richest source that we in any form possess for our knowledge of the polity of the Roman Church in the oldest time, and this Roman polity may, in many regards, be accepted as the polity held everywhere."10 Whether or not this polity spread from Rome or to Rome is a question that will be treated later. Suffice it to say here that the traditions set forth by Hip- polytus, going back as they do to early third and possibly late second century customs, constitute "the most ancient known ritual for ordinations,"11 and "the most ancient liturgical collection that we possess."12
"It is now generally recognized that the Apostolic Tradition of St. Hippolytus is the most illuminating single source of evidence extant on the inner life and religious polity of the early Christian Church. . . . Hippolytus casts light on much which is found only in scattered allusions in other writers of the pre- Nicene period."13
Some of "the most illuminating evidence" on the "inner life of the early Christian Church" appears in Hippolytus' very brief introduction and conclusion. It is here that he justifies setting down the more than thirty traditions which go to make up this short work. Essentially, he declares himself an adversary of the changes and heresy he sees in the churches about him and deplores the ignorance of the general membership and especially the ministry whom he holds particu- larly responsible for the drifting condition of the church. Hippolytus apparently recognized that no one, including the bishop of Rome, had any authority to modify in the least anything that Christ and the Apostles had instituted or that the elders before him had passed down in good faith. In the absence of any recognized, central authority, Hippolytus proposes to set down a number of procedures and practices which had been received from the presbyters before
him (36:12), and to which the churches might turn for edification and strength.
On the subject of the clergy Hippolytus deals with the ordination of a bishop (2, 3), a presbyter (8), and a deacon (9). A bishop is to be first elected or chosen by the people over whom he is to preside. Then he is ordained to his office of high priest on a Sunday through the laying on of hands by the other bishops in attendance. One of them acts as voice and improvises a prayer befitting the occasion. Some of his additional duties as a bishop include blessing oil (5), cheese and olives (6), also blessing and passing the Sacrament (4, 24), and confirming mem- bers of the church after baptism by immersion ( 22 ) .
OR THE ORDINATION of a presbyter, which may be trans- lated either as "elder" or "priest," no other bishops need be pres- ent. The bishop of the particu- lar church in question, who is in a governing or presiding position over the quorum of presbyters, lays his hands on the head of the one to be ordained. The other presbyters join him in this act of imposition, but the bishop alone is voice since presbyters can receive the priesthood but have no authority to pass it on. The prayer, again, is to fit the occasion. It may, for example, make mention of God's command to Moses to choose "presbyters"— probably a reference to Exodus 28:1-3— but does not have to follow word for word the model prayer furnished by Hippolytus. The presbyters, aside from assisting the bishop in ordaining other presbyters, are no doubt those primarily intended for instructing new converts (16) and the church in general (33); they can also baptize (21) and break bread (24).
A deacon's ordination is also performed by the laying on of hands, but by the bishop alone. The reason for this, explains Hippolytus, is that a deacon is ordained not only to the priesthood, but to the service of the bishop. It appears likely, although the text is vague here, that deacons are to be voted on by the church before they are set apart. Their duties are, for the most part, temporal: they can break bread, as can presbyters, which they then take to the bishop to bless and pass to the membership (23, 24); and they, along with the subdeacons, are to inform the bishop of those who are ill "that he may, if it pleases him, visit them. Indeed, it is of great comfort to a sick person when the high priest remembers him" (30).
Other callings mentioned by Hippolytus include confessors (10), who, if they have been imprisoned for their beliefs, need no imposition of hands to ordain them deacons or presbyters since each has acquired,
650
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
through his prison confession, "the dignity of the priesthood."
IDOWS are to be recognized as such if the husband has been dead for some time and if suffi- cient evidence exists that the woman is leading a pure life. A widow may be called on to pray, as may anyone worthy, but she is not ordained a widow since "ordination is for the clergy" (11). Neither is a reader ordained to that calling. It is simply a matter of the bishop passing the book to him (12). Virgins, too, as well as subdeacons and healers, are not set apart by the laying on of hands (13-15).
The membership are expected to offer their first fruits to the bishop (28), to pray upon arising in the morning (31), to attend the various meetings intended for instruction, and, on days when there are no meetings, to spend some time reading something spiritually uplifting (35).
Investigators should normally study for three years. "However, if one is zealous and persevering, let him be judged not according to time but rather to con- duct" (17). Baptism is to be held at dawn, children first, then converts. Each person is to be baptized by immersion three times ( 20, 21 ) . Hippolytus makes it clear, in giving a model prayer for confirmation, that the ordinance of baptism is for the remission of sins. Nothing at all is said, which is quite in line with this whole early period, from the New Testament Church to the time of Hippolytus, of the doctrine of "original sin."14
None of Hippolytus' model prayers, including those on the Sacrament or for baptism, seem meant to be given word for word. Instead, the emphasis is on free improvisation according to the occasion and to the spirit (10).
Finally, the manual contains some miscellaneous information on fasting (25), and the love-feast or "agape" (26), and makes two recommendations, (a) to the clergy: "let there be no heavy payment for burial in the cemetery" (34), and (b) to the membership generally: "strive to make the sign of the cross on the forehead in time of need, since that is the sign proved to be effective against the devil" (36).
EGARDLESS of how far back into antiquity the scholars esti- mate Hippolytus' traditions run, not even the most zealous has suggested that they faithfully set forth practices known to, or
tolerated by, the Apostles in their time. Hippolytus himself makes no such claim. Indeed, he appears deliberately vague as to how ancient his traditions are, or how authoritative. The title of his work thus proves to be a misnomer, but not without value for all that. It clearly shows respect for apostolic tradi- tion, not only on the part of Hippolytus, but also that of "the Churches" to whom he addresess himself.
At the same time, his work is conspicuously silent throughout with respect to such supposedly ancient traditions as Roman primacy and Peter's successor. According to the French scholar Cayre, "the bishops of Rome declared themselves successors of Saint Peter and insisted on the privileges of that office. This was not only their right, but their duty; they would have been seriously neglecting the obligations of their responsibility had they not done so, and there would have been, in their silence, strong evidence against the reality of their mission."15
If Roman primacy was a tradition from the be- ginning why did Hippolytus not include it with his other traditions, not only for its own sake, but to put, as it were, the stamp of apostolic authority on the other sections of his manual? Such a weighty tradition would surely have served as a constant point of reference for each of the other traditions. Again, if Roman primacy were a current tradition of the day, why didn't Hippolytus, who was obviously not averse to endowing his book with all the im- portance he could give it, inform his readers that what made his traditions so "proper for the Churches" (Introduction) was that they came directly from church headquarters?
With respect to the tradition that the bishops of Rome are Peter's successors, why did not Hippolytus refer to this tradition either to use it or to argue against it? He was not above attacking the Bishop of Rome, either Zephyrinus or Callistus, and, had either declared himself Peter's successor and insisted on the privileges of that office, surely Hippolytus would not have remained silent on such a major issue.
If Rome had had any claim of authority or primacy through Peter it is inconceivable that Hippolytus would have been unaware of it. It is equally incon- ceivable that Hippolytus would have failed to report that particular tradition, had it existed in his time. In spite of M. Cayre, the evidence in Hippolytus is that no such tradition existed even in Rome before 215 AD.1,! Nor is Hippolytus merely taking Roman custom and authority for granted. The Reverend Dix affirms that "we can safely say that his material comes to him rather than from him. It represents the mind and practice not of St. Hippolytus only but of the whole Catholic Church of the second century. As such it is of (Continued on page 672)
AUGUST 1964
651
o
o
Next time you're tempted to grumble about the big percentage push, stop and break it down— as your bishop does— in terms of people rather than figures on a sheet.
In Ellen Johanson's Sunday School class there are enrolled twelve students. Each student accounts for 8.3 percent of her total enrolment.
Ellen is a fine teacher and has a consistently high average of 83 percent attendance. Wonderful! Yet Ellen is losing two children. Not two times 8.3 per- cent, but two individuals, two real people whose names are Bob and Edith.
Bob is a shy little boy who probably needs the association of Ellen and the children in her class more than any other student. Edith's parents are divorced. Unless she is reached now, she very prob- ably will go through life with no religious training and consequently no firm foundation of faith with which to face a life already blighted by a broken home.
If it weren't for record keeping, we wouldn't be aware of Bob and Edith, of their problems and their desperate needs. Percentages prove they exist. Now it's up to Ellen to find those children and make every attempt to gather them in.
Last spring a Mormon family from a very small town in southern Utah moved to Salt Lake City. To them the city was a metropolis. Eagerly they came, with high hopes and boundless faith.
But the city bewildered them. They were accus- tomed to country neighbors who spotted a need for companionship or assistance almost before it was felt. Their bustling city neighbors, not purposely unkind but uncaring, left them strictly alone. Except for the father going off to work each morning, the family was isolated— lost in the worst kind of loneliness, the lone- liness of a crowd.
But one ward priesthood member cared particularly about percentages in a proper and useful manner. He and his companion picked up this family with- in weeks.
"You'll like our ward. We have fine, friendly peo- ple," he told the lonely family. "I have children about the ages of yours. We'd be happy to stop by and pick them up for Sunday School next Sunday."
Soon the family was integrated and active, con-
tributing the benefits of their fine talents to others and continuing their growth through church association.
What enormous benefits would have been lost had this family drifted into inactivity and indifference.
There lies the golden virtue of seeking for high percentages. The bishop or the stake president is not attempting to make a glorious personal record to impress either the neighboring ward or stake or to impress the church authorities. These men are con- cerned with people. And percentages, wisely and honestly used, are the one way they have of being sure that no individual is missed.
In the beautiful story of the Good Shepherd, remem- ber that the shepherd left the ninety and nine to go after the one lamb that was lost. How else would he have known about the lost one if he hadn't counted his flock?
People are too vital to be statistics. Statistics, how- ever, wisely and properly used, represent individuals- Bob, Edith, and all the rest.
PEOPLE ARE
TOO
VITAL TO
BE STATISTICS
BY NORA EDDINGTON
AUGUST 1964
653
SURVIVAL
BY DOROTHY PERLMAN
Each time I have read about a man or woman who survived a day, a week, or a month, on a mountain- side, in the desert, or on the ocean, I've wondered if under comparable circumstances I could survive.
On Thursday, May 16, 1963, I had the chance to find out!
With thirty-two other women I participated in "voluntary" survival: a three-mile mountain hike with packs on our backs and an overnight camp -out. This was part of a Campcrafter program sponsored by the Glendale Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which my friend Shirley is a member.
Except for the three program leaders (Connie Allred, Dawne Thomsen, and Glenna McCown) and three or four others, none of us had done more walk- ing than was required for our daily household or business activities. Our ages ranged from twenty- five to fifty.
On Monday, three days before, we met at a neigh- borhood park and "trained" intensively for six hours. Our "training" included talks and demonstrations on what to wear, how to pack, how to administer first aid, how to tie knots, how to build a fire, what to do if lost . . . how to survive! We hiked two miles, observed nature, and learned to identify and avoid poison oak.
Before we disbanded, our program leaders ad- monished us to study the Boy Scout Manual and Red Cross First Aid Book. We had to pass tests
before we could qualify as Campcrafters!
Thursday: survival day. Starting point: Cooper Canyon, one and a half miles from Angeles Crest Highway, Los Angeles County, California. Elevation: 6,300 feet. Weather: clear. Sun: hot.
We divided into six groups, each with a leader. My group consisted of Shirley, Eva May, Barbara, Jessie, and me. Instinctively and unanimously, we chose Jessie for our leader. Jessie had the stamp of com- passion on her face.
Driving up to Cooper Canyon we quizzed each other on first aid, practised tying knots, compared notes on our packs. Eva May had the heaviest pack. She'd taken her brother's geology books! Barbara's was the lightest. She'd once suffered heat prostration and knew she had to be careful.
Shirley and I had weighed our packs, limiting them to a modest twenty-six pounds each!
I wore ski underwear under my khaki riding breeches and long-sleeved black turtleneck tee shirt. From my belt hung a hatchet, a first-aid kit, a coil of rope, and a pocketknife. Slung around my neck was a Boy Scout canteen. My orange leather boots I'd worn only once before on the training hike; but I'd reinforced my feet with two layers of Band-Aids at the heels and two pairs of socks. The red cowboy kerchief tied around my white sailor cap I figured could be used for a triangular bandage if necessary. When we unloaded at Cooper Canyon I observed
654
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
that the other hikers were all reasonable facsimiles of me.
Then it began.
First, a wide, pine-scented path where four of us walked abreast. My pack felt comfortable. I walked springy and sure. I envisioned nothing more than a repetition of Monday's hike.
The path narrowed. Now we walked two abreast. The trail narrowed to single file. The sun burned hot.
"Veer sharp right!" yelled Dawne from the head of the line.
"Sharp right" didn't look to me like much more than space! Space, leaning against shale, rocks, and brush!
By this time I was bent forward, arms hanging loose. When I dared raise my eyes to look ahead at the winding, switchback trail, I saw other figures strung along the side of the mountain.
I managed a glimpse at my wristwatch. It was one-thirty. We'd been on the trail an hour and a half! This couldn't last much longer, I thought, as I planted one boot in front of the other, carefully balancing my weight so as not to loosen any shale.
The trail steepened. I thought wistfully of my lovely all-electric house and cool tree-shaded patio. Could I turn back?
Turn back! I was so precariously balanced that even the thought of turning unnerved me! My heart throbbed. My left shoulder ached. My head swirled with trail-rumors of heat exhaustion, sunstroke,
heart attacks.
From the hazy rear I heard Connie's cheerful, "It's not much farther."
An idea flickered in my fuzzy brain. Why not take off my pack and come back for it later? By the time I reached the next tiny plateau, the idea flamed! I peeled off my pack and flung it behind a tree! I floated up the trail.
At the next switchback I glanced casually back at the line of burdened hikers. I gasped. Connie, frail Connie half my size, was carrying my pack.
I wanted to go back and take it from her, but I couldn't. There wasn't enough room on the trail for me to get down to her. I knew then that we had farther to go than Connie had dared say when she answered anxious queries with her breezy "Not much farther." That's why she'd picked up my pack! It would be too far for me to come back.
I pressed against a tree so hikers could pass. Connie finally reached me.
"Are you all right?" she asked anxiously.
I nodded. I couldn't speak. I was ashamed for what I had done. She helped me on with my pack.
"Are you sure you're all right?"
I nodded again and managed a smile.
I determined from then on I would not falter. I visualized myself placing one boot in front of the other until doomsday.
By now the party of thirty -three had subdivided into clusters of three and (Continued on page 670)
AUGUST 1964
655
Suggestions
for the
Beginning
Teacher
BY F. LEGRANDE MAGLEBY
I recently asked an eighteen-year-old beginning teacher how he was getting along with his students.
He answered with enthusiasm, "I thoroughly enjoy my assignment. The lessons are very interesting and provide the wonderful opportunity of learning im- portant truths about the gospel."
He looked somewhat disheartened when he added, "But sometimes I get discouraged. Occasionally three or four of the students will do things to distract the attention of the entire class from the subject under discussion. I don't know what to do about it. How would you like to visit us and give me a few suggestions?"
The young man was enthusiastic, intelligent, a good speaker, well read in his religion, and he thoroughly studied the lessons. He was idealistic and prayerful. What more did he need? What suggestions could I make that would help him to retain his enthusiasm and to improve class discipline?
Perhaps the following account of my investigation and conclusions will help others who are concerned with the exciting and challenging job of teaching.
I visited the class. The eleven boys, ages eight and nine, were bright and alert looking with well scrubbed faces, clean shirts, and Sunday pants. The one little girl, with neatly braided hair and a blue ribbon to match her eyes, was shy, intelligent, and attentive. She obviously wanted to please everyone and to learn whatever she could. Each boy appeared to be con- cerned with becoming the center of attention, for at least a few moments, before the class period was over. They used ingenious and varied methods, but a chubby little youngster with laughing brown eyes and a mischievous smile was the most successful. His five-second show never failed. When all was quiet, he would fold his eyelids into a deformed appearance with quick movements of his fingers, then grin at the class with the demeanor of a professional actor playing the part of a monster. He accepted the giggles of the students and the reprimands of the teacher with a smile of appreciation for then- recognition and always promised never to do it again.
Most of the children seemed to delight in con- stantly moving their hands, elbows, and feet. Con- siderable time was spent by some of them noisily re-adjusting their chairs to positions which were never quite satisfactory. Several of the boys seemed to delight in occasionally pounding on the knees or arms of a neighbor. However, there was evidence that the children heard and understood the lesson; for exam- ple, two of the boys who had given the impression that their primary interests were counting the auto- mobiles moving down the busy street and grabbing the largest share of a handful of elastics which ap-
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THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
peared suddenly from "nowhere" repeated the exact words used by the instructor when answering ques- tions at the end of the lesson period.
But why must they continually wiggle and move and appear to be interested in many things at the same time? Let us examine a littie more closely some of the interests, motivations, and goals of the nine-year-old.
Characteristics of the Nine-Year-Old
Bruce and Douglas, two members of the class, have demonstrated the tremendous energy, the free-flowing imagination, and the intense interest which must be redirected and controlled if discipline is to be main- tained. As I observed them at play last summer, they seemed to be continually in the process of winning imaginary battles in the heart of enemy territory. Six- guns, which seldom ran short of ammunition, were constant companions. Their rifles, army hats, can- teen belts, rubber hunting knives, and old gas masks only slightly impeded their rapid maneuvering around house corners, through choice rosebushes, and across the rough terrain of the apple orchard. Their foxhole in Mr. Peterson's back yard was the object of many hours of arduous labor. A secret hut, in the attic of the garage, was a haven for battle planning. A discarded garden hose served as a telephone for the transmission of secret messages. When the temperature topped 100 degrees, they removed shirts and shoes, but seldom diminished their vigorous search for new adventure.
The nine-year-old gives the impression that his most valuable possession is time, and he doesn't want to waste a second of it. This may explain his desire to keep moving and to be interested in two or three things at once. There is a storm of protest if play is interrupted by a call to the dinner table fifteen seconds too soon, and as long as the light of day remains, a decision must be made among shooting another enemy, riding like the wind on a bicycle, watching the tractor dig a little deeper into the base- ment down the street, or helping the neighbor prepare the movie machine for the ward show. His heart is broken for a moment when he loses a small fish caught in the pond at Fairmont Park, but he reaches a high peak of excitement and concern when his favorite cat has kittens! And when day is done, his imagination demands one last adventure through a good-night story. It must be full of humor and ex- citement and should always have a pleasant ending. His last thoughts are to set the alarm to avoid sleeping in, and to remind his father about the promise to come home early and help with the chemistry experi-
ment or to begin working on the model plane.
Effective Teaching Methods
How does the new teacher capture the energy and the imagination of these live-wire, students? He should strive to obtain their spontaneous attention. They don't like a long lecture about philosophical concepts and ideals but become immediately inter- ested if these concepts are presented as common experiences and goals of everyday living. This may be accomplished by helping the students vicariously to encounter the problems and to feel the hopes and fears and the basic motivations of the characters in the lessons.
When one is teaching the value of obedience to the first and second commandments of God, through re- lating the parable of the Good Samaritan, it may be well to have one of the students stand before the class and pretend he is the merchant. As the other characters and the developments in the parable are dramatically described as if they were actually taking place at the time the lesson is given, the clean and well-dressed nine-year-old boy in the imagination of the students will assume the appearance of the mer- chant with torn clothing, a cut face, and bruised body. And as his need for medical care and a place to sleep is realized, the children will begin to feel, to under- stand, and to appreciate the motivations of the Good Samaritan. They will develop the sincere feeling that a practical and worthwhile method of demon- strating true love for God is by serving a neighbor in time of need.
Stories with a Message
The teacher may fill in a few details and use the following examples of action stories to maintain class discipline while teaching the principles of good living:
1. Three boys disobey their parents and crawl into & cave a few blocks from their home. Part of the roof falls in, and one of the boys is nearly covered with wet sand. Emergency operations help to main- tain sufficient air until a neighbor arrives. The boys learn, the hard way, the importance of listening to the warnings of responsible adults.
2. Three scientists ascend to 80,000 feet in their aluminum air-tight compartment fastened to a giant balloon. Cameras work perfectly while they take pictures of the earth far below, proving that the world is round. Unencumbered by atmosphere, they observe the brilliance of the stars and the great ex- panse of the universe. They experience a strange but glorious feeling of (Continued on page 666)
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Amazing Accomplishment
658
of a Twelve- Year-Old Genealogist
In the Church today we have a generation of young people whose abilities and qualifications are some- times underestimated. How thrilling it is to see the eager interest and tremendous capacity they have for genealogical research and the compiling of records of their ancestors.
Years of experience in youth classes of genealogy in Mesa, Arizona, have convinced the teachers that the best time to begin to train future genealogists is when the children are between ten and twelve.
There were 577 students registered for credit courses on campus in genealogy during the spring semester at Brigham Young University. Many had received no previous training in record keeping and research. How much better prepared they would have been for their college courses in genealogy had they been taught the fundamentals in their pre-teen- age years.
There is no question of the favorable response by young people when they are given a proper intro- duction to genealogical activities. Once actively in- terested, they accomplish results that are astounding.
Confirming this is a letter from John Laurie Whitfield, genealogical chairman of the Southern States Mission and an Air National Guard technician in Savannah, Georgia. He tells of the genealogical success of twelve-year-old Carolyn Black, of the Savan- nah Second Branch of the Southern States Mission:
"Carolyn Black started on her Book of Remem- brance when she was nine years old. She copied by herself everything her mother had accomplished and then, with her mother's help, started to go further back on her lines. She has some lines back to the sixteenth century, with a record of 4,000 names and 524 complete family group sheets. At this writing she has 75 family group sheets ready to present for processing. This is more than the whole Southern States Mission submitted last year.
"This has been an inspiration to me and to the members of the Savannah Second Branch. I believe that the work of this girl would be an inspiration to
all the members of the Church, and especially the younger members.
"Our genealogical work is moving forward now at an ever-increasing pace, and I foresee tremendous growth in the next few months."
Chairman Whitfield enclosed with his letter an article on Carolyn Black that appeared in the Savan- nah Morning News on May 12, 1964. Beneath a picture showing her working on her records, with a Book of Remembrance by her side, is the title, "12- Year-Old Traces Kinfolk Back Four Centuries." Here are a few excerpts from the article:
"Carolyn, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Troy C. Black of 1304 E. Duffy St., has compiled a genealogy of her ancestors, dating back to the 16th century.
"An A-student at Chatham Junior High School, she became interested in genealogy, she says, because it was her mother's hobby. She started three years ago and now has outdistanced her mother's compilation by almost two to one.
"To accumulate the 4,000 names, she has corre- sponded with courthouses, libraries, and other sources throughout the world. Sometimes she has found dead ends— 'sometimes even black sheep'— in the family tree.
"She has traced her ancestors back to England and Wales and through their migration through the Carolinas to Georgia. Most of her ancestors, Carolyn has found, were craftsmen, agrarians, sometimes lawyers, and sometimes Carolina assemblymen. . . .
"Her chief source of information has been the Georgia Historical Society. Often tucked away in statistics in old deeds, wills, and death certificates have been suggestions of real tragedies, sometimes when large families succumbed— perhaps from some plague— almost simultaneously.
"From the knowledge she has picked up in methods of research and the interest she has derived from her hobby, Carolyn said she might someday consider becoming a professional genealogist. Already she's worked 2,500 hours in research."
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teaching
CONDUCTED BY THE CHURCH V/
UNIFIED SCHOOL SYSTEM
What about your other
BY NEIL J. FLINDERS
INSTRUCTOR, OGDEN INSTITUTE OF RELIGION
Any teacher who recognizes that it takes more than the title to teach also realizes that preparation pre- cedes successful presentation. Time and effort must be allotted and expended on the manual; on supple- mentary materials; on reflection of personal experi- ences; on the personality, needs, and experiences of class members; on sequence; on involvement tech- niques; and so forth. Yes, the conscientious teacher does these many things and perhaps more. But what about the other preparation?
Every teacher who stands before a class must make two preparations. The first, as indicated above, pertains to the course material— the subject matter and its transmission to specific students. Most teachers are poignantly aware of this responsibility— this preparation and its adequacy or inadequacy. But there is another preparation that transcends and envelops the immediacy of course work and class membership. It is the philosophy of life that the teacher emanates as an educator. This is the prepara- tion that began in the cradle— no, even before that. It is this preparation that imbues the lesson of the day with a glow of success or the colorless blur of failure.
Now, admittedly, everyone has a philosophy of life— patterns or ways of behaving in the light of past experiences. But this is not enough. To teach effec- tively one must be able to transpose this way of life into a philosophy of education that can be projected and, in turn, be felt by others. Therefore, if one's goal is the acquisition of excellence in teaching, it becomes a requirement to seek consciously answers to three questions: (1) As a teacher, why do I think the way I think? (2) As a teacher, why do I feel the way I feel? ( 3 ) As a teacher, why do I do the things I do?
The obvious in life often affects us the most. But, paradoxically, the obvious is often obscure. Perhaps the failure of many teachers to pay due attention to this other preparation is an example of how man is so often ignorant of the obvious— not wilfully ignorant, but ignorant by default.
Most people are deadline conscious. They fulfil responsibility according to deadlines that are im- posed—always doing those things first which must be done by a certain time. In this way quality is sub- jected to quantity and time often distorts true priority. Consequently, the pressures created by the classroom to deal with students and lesson materials on a day- to-day or week-to-week basis veils the tremendous importance of this other preparation. There are few if any deadlines associated with self-organization and analysis in most educational programs. Therefore, these aspects of growth are very easy to neglect. Further, the pressures of the classroom encourage the teacher to become preoccupied with the immediate task of meeting students and delivering the lesson.
The tragedy of this situation lies in the fact that success in teaching is very shallow where this other preparation is inadequate. In fact, a teacher with excellent academic training, clever techniques, and flawless presentation may well become as "sounding brass." Rhetorically he may roll on and on, but his true value, his lasting influence on character educa- tion, will be meager indeed.
A fundamental task of the teacher, then, is to draw out of obscurity this additional responsibility of preparation; to place it firmly in the light of con- sciousness and reckon with it from week to week just as one reckons with subject material and methodology; for it is this cumulative preparation that generates the teacher's greatest powers— the powers of attentive communication, consistent discipline, inspiration, vi- sion, acceptance, creative attention, and others.
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preparation ?
The problem, however, is mastering the effort, de- sire, and direction necessary to extend one's inherent philosophy of life to the point where it will manifest itself in the form of a productive philosophy of edu- cation. This is not an easy task, and it cannot be accomplished by ignoring effective classroom tech- nique, familiarity with subject matter, and other practical aspects of teaching.
It would be presumptuous to propose that the solu- tion of this problem could be committed to and com- municated through the written word, even if the writer possessed a clear-cut solution— which he does not. Here, as in so many other realms of life, the process cannot be specified in detail. Hence, it cannot be transmitted by a prescription, since no prescription for it exists. Like the skills of artisans that are passed on from master to apprentice, success in this instance will come only through individual efforts of repe- titious practice.
But what must be practised? How can something so abstract be dealt with? These are justifiable ques- tions with less than satisfactory answers. There are, however, directional suggestions and perhaps these will lead to some personal insights of immeasurable value if those who read them will adequately discuss them with their friends. Consider the following:
First, one needs to feel the past and to feel the future if there is to be a dynamic and effective pro- jection into the present. The personality which projects itself best is the personality that is most acutely aware of and in tune with life. A person with such a personality possesses a vitality that in- fluences all with whom he comes in contact. To live in a rut is to quell this power and foster a stagnation that is depressing rather than invigorating to students. Like any good reporter, a teacher must be in touch with the world if he expects to interpret it to others. There is a certain wholeness, a balance that must be
sought after. Narrowness is not and never has been conducive to effective human relations.
Second, it is necessary for a person, a teacher, to give himself attention in the form of self-evaluation or introspection. One must be familiar with the world within as well as with the world without if confidence is to be achieved. A continuous personal inventory of this type is a necessity for those who would be teachers in more than title. To know thyself is the first step towards knowing others, and this is the pathway that leads to love and life eternal. One must become so familiar with himself that he will cease to let anony- mous circumstances dictate the direction of his de- velopment and will begin to exercise the powers within himself to purposefully and consciously create the circumstances of his life. This power of personal navigation is one of the fruits of self-evaluation.
Third, the teacher must be an avid student of human behavior. The attribute of empathy that is within oneself must be cultivated. A significant de- gree of sensitivity is essential in understanding and communicating with others. It is in fact a most vital element in the process of communication. And teach- ing is primarily communication. Telling is one thing, but being heard in idea as well as in sound is quite another.
Fourth, as a religious educator, the teacher must seek to achieve a companionship with the functions of life that will strengthen his faith in the value of existence. Such a companionship with life is the derivative of adequate knowledge properly integrated with experience. This means that one must repeatedly encounter the unknown and adapt to it in a healthy, successful manner. Without this foundation in him- self, it is impossible for the teacher to become a pillar for his students to lean upon as they struggle with the conflicts of growth and development. This discovery of the unknown always constitutes a danger to the status quo. But a continual probing of this shore of wonder, though fraught with some dangers, is an integral part of progression.
In conclusion it should be recognized that this other preparation demands more time and more con- sistent effort than the weekly or daily lesson. It also demands a seeking for and submission to powers beyond the self.
"And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach." (D&C 42:14. Italics added.)
When one is seeking the answers, he is on the right road. Success lies in this direction. In antithesis to this, there is a warning: When one has found all the answers, he is nigh unto failure.
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Anything Short of Your Full Potential Isn't Good Enough
(Continued from page 643)
the perplexing and demanding prob- lems of our day, we are not placing emphasis where it is most needed, in the field of moral uprightness and chastity of lives. Here is a great challenge to the MIA. Perhaps we need a new personal vision, a new approach, a field of teaching with a positive application for the values and the joys of a clean, moral, and upright life. The auxiliaries do not replace home responsibility or the bishop or home teachers in these im- portant matters, but working with youth can be most helpful and en- couraging to them. With an under- standing of gospel truths, principles, standards, and ideals youth should early and firmly make up their minds concerning the course they will follow when faced with tempta- tion and the urge to sin or do any wrong or unjust act. Encourage them, with understanding, to build the strength, will, and courage necessary to resist all temptations to do evil and to keep themselves free from sin with its sorrows and heartaches.
MIA has an excellent, simplified, and compelling program. Without loss of purpose or objectives it could plan to do fewer things better and not get lost in the process of carry- ing out the full program regardless of the size of the branch, ward, or unit. With too much activity young people are often physically run down and develop mental fatigue causing emotional disturbances which may partially account for the present moral decline among them. Is MIA exerting the proper influence upon youth by placing emphasis upon moral standards in such a positive way that youth will be motivated to live according to church standards and ideals? You should be encour- aged to put on the whole armor of righteousness as a protection against those of evil mind and intent and thus keep virtue enthroned on its high pedestal as a desirable char- acter attribute and quality. Young people who come under MIA super- vision are blessed with knowledge of their sacred trust to protect virtue, develop proper attitudes, re- straints, and self-control in all rela- tionships with the opposite sex, and
not to deviate from the accepted church pattern of the clean, moral, and wholesome life.
It seems in the church-prepared lessons the subject of chastity has been somewhat neglected. We should vitalize the gospel with all of its truths and principles into the lives of youth and motivate them to keep their lives clean and pure be- fore the Lord.
The MIA has a great challenge in the field of youth guidance to coun- sel and direct young people into true patterns of moral behavior and righteousness that will assure them and their posterity the full measure of blessings offered by the gospel of our Lord. The hearts and minds of all of us in MIA must bend to this great challenge. We do have a problem. Therefore, we must recog- nize that the ways of the world with its moral laxities are creeping in among our choice young people. Without condemning, we must reach out in love and understanding with a program which will guide them al- ways in the true ways of the Lord.
If youth are so unfortunate as to sin and transgress the moral code, they must not give up and surrender to their mistakes. The Lord has promised forgiveness to those who truly repent of their sins with all their hearts. Therefore, teach youth that in the gospel of our Lord are two glorious principles, namely, re- pentance and forgiveness. There is hope and peace of soul for the truly repentant.
The MIA program is planned to give opportunity to develop the na- tive endowments and talents of youth. What a marvelous blessing if all young people can be encour- aged, yes, persuaded, to cultivate the gifts and talents God has be- stowed upon them by the spirit in all cultural, intellectual, and spiritual fields of activity. These opportuni- ties for enrichment of life are pro- vided for them in MIA. If all understood the profound spiritual significance of the parable of the talents given by our Lord, they would know that regardless of whether few or many gifts are given the Lord expects us to use them wisely. In so doing we may gain other talents, and thus by constant achievement, perfection of the soul can be ultimately realized.
Jesus did not differentiate be- tween the man with five talents and the man with only one. He expected
the man with the one talent to ac- count for its use the same as he did the men who had received two and five talents each.
The Prophet Joseph Smith de- clared, "God judges men according to the use they make of the light which he gives them." How easy it is for those of limited endow- ments to develop an inferiority complex and refrain from activity and service because of fear of men. Jesus, in his parable, emphasized that weakness when he quoted the man with the one talent as saying, "And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine." (Matt. 25:25.)
The Lord in our day has warned: "But with some I am not well pleased for they will not open their mouths, but they hide the talent which I have given unto them, be- cause of the fear of man. Wo unto such, for mine anger is kindled against them.
"And it shall come to pass, if they are not more faithful unto me, it shall be taken away, even that which they have." (D&C 60:2-3.)
". . . Wherefore, I give unto them a commandment, thus: Thou shalt not idle away thy time, neither shalt thou bury thy talent that it may not be known." (Ibid., 60:13.)
When talents are developed through wise use, our capacities expand, and our abilities increase to acquire other choice gifts of the spirit. With these perfected attain- ments our lives become more fruit- ful, joyful, and happy. MIA meets this challenge by furnishing oppor- tunities for expression and worthy activity under trained, faithful, de- voted leaders and teachers.
We should always remember that the souls of the children of God are precious. It is the responsibility of all MIA workers to search out every potential member, neglecting none, for the purpose of bringing or keep- ing him in the fold of the Lord. My brothers and sisters, write this re- sponsibility indelibly upon the tab- lets of your hearts as you labor with these sacred charges, the children of God. Always make yourselves available when a boy or girl needs you. Do not be guilty of losing any boy or girl, young man or young woman, whom you are personally responsible for. Represented as you are on the bishop's council with the help of the new Priesthood Home
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Teaching Program, there is no ex- cuse for nonenlisted members. Study and use this priesthood plan for the assistance you may require to activate potential MIA members.
Set a good example in your per- sonal lives, and with confidence say to those whom you serve, "Come follow me and do the things which you see me do."
Be orthodox in programing and
teaching. MIA leaders cannot afford to go off on program and activity tangents, nor teachers to give their personal views and ideas which are not in harmony with the revealed truths of God. Our responsibility is to build faith and testimony into the hearts and minds of all we serve. The teachings of the Master as con- tained in the gospel plan and the commandments and revelations
THE
SPOKEN WORD -
'REACH
WORLD"
TO THE INVISIBLE
RICHARD L. EVANS
There is much said at this season for those who are moving into serious and permanent pursuits. As we look to what is to be valued, to what is to be attained, to what is to be cherished, it is well to remember that there must be balance. In the urgent quest for material attainment there should be nurturing of mind and spirit, and of the human heart, and of morals and manners and essential qualities of character. "Do not be satisfied merely with the visible world," said Edward S. Martin. "The things of which your senses alone make you aware are not enough. You may satisfy all your senses and still not be satisfied. . . . Reach out to . . . the invisible world ... to your character, to your better understanding of life. . . . Go out on a clear night and look at the sky. It is as though an ant came out of an ant hill and climbed a tree and looked around. When you . . . see the stars, you get some idea of the real size and variety of things. . . . The visible world is important to you while you are in it and a part of it. . . . You have to work with tangible, finite things . . . but . . . after one has considered all the improvements ... all the increases of knowledge . . . what is the main resulting conclusion? . . . that the im- portant thing of all is man. . . . The great thing is to live. . . . Some of our predecessors in human life knew a surprising amount about living . . . but for one reason or another . . . their civilizations pretty well perished with them. . . . The great difficulty man has found has been in being good. . . . The great reason usually given and accepted why civilizations did not last better is that human creatures never learned the great lesson of deportment completely enough to endure prosperity. ... If we can learn to be good there is a fair chance that civilization will be permanent. If we cannot ... it will break down under us."1 With all the knowledge, with all the improvements and progress, there still has not been found a better set of standards, a better code of conduct than that given by the Master of mankind some twenty centuries since. Knowledge, talents, tools, and techniques could make of this world a heaven on earth, if balanced with morals and manners, and things of the spirit, and essential qualities of character. So this to the young moving into life: There must be balance. And along with all else, be a human, compassionate, honorable, a moral and responsible person. "You may satisfy all your senses and still not be satisfied. . . "1
Edward S. Martin, Commencement Reflections, Harper's Monthly Magazine, July 1924.
"The Spoken Word" from Temple Square, presented over KSL and the Columbia Broadcasting System, June 7, 1964. Copyright 1964.
given to holy prophets of God can- not be improved upon. Your re- sponsibility in the teaching and di- rection of youth is to keep vividly before them the eternal values represented in all that pertains to the gospel of our Lord with its ideals, standards, and everlasting principles.
The world we live in has entered into a new era of its history. This is the so-called atomic age. Science and technology seem to predominate. Almost everything connected with life's activities has changed and is tremendously speeded up. Unusual and tremendous demands, never known before, are required of us. More and more is expected in less time than formerly. Therefore, ever-increasing efficiency is de- manded. The Church is a part of this fast-moving world. Its work also must be stepped up to meet the challenge of our time. The mem- bership of the Church and the honest in heart everywhere are yet to be saved.
With all that is happening today" in fulfilment of prophecy, it isn't difficult to understand that these are the last days of God's providence to man. The speed of God's work as it marches forward today is evi- denced by the eagerness with which tens of thousands of sincere people are listening to and accepting the message of the restored gospel. This substantiates the lateness of time to prepare ourselves and the world for the glorious second coming of our Lord. Increasing numbers of di- vinely called messengers to proclaim the truths of the gospel are vital to the success of God's purposes and work. Already the demand for such messengers far exceeds the number who are called to missionary service. Truly, the fields of the Lord are white for the harvest with too few harvesters engaged in this important and wonderful soul-saving assign- ment. Therefore, another charge to the MIA is to inspire young men, and young women, where possible, to develop through activity a desire to fulfil honorable church missions. This is truly a great day for the Church, for the opportunities to teach the gospel were never greater than now. The Lord is freely open- ing doors for proselyting work. It would be a mistake, knowing the great destiny of the Church, if we did not walk through those open doors and teach the glorious truths
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of the restored gospel to all who are honest in heart and willing to listen.
Graduating trained young mission- aries back into the ranks of the Church adds strength in all depart- ments of church service, unques- tionably building the kingdom of God in the eyes of the people and making it a tremendous power for good and righteousness in the af- fairs of men throughout the world.
Ideal courtship with avowed tem- ple marriage should be the goal and standard of Latter-day Saint youth. Young people who sacrifice virtue or who marry out of the temple or out of the Church ofttimes lose present and future church privileges, yet in their own hearts may feel that they are not forsaking oppor- tunities for everlasting blessings. However, their disregard or failure to comply with gospel teachings and the counsel of the Lord's servants often leads to inactivity, loss of testi- mony, and sacrifice of blessings promised to those who will walk in the straight and narrow paths of the Lord. Salvation and exaltation can come only from full obedience to gospel principles, truths, and ordinances, and a willingness to give one's life in devoted service to our Lord. Young people of the Church must be helped to realize that a clean mind and body make for hap- piness now. They don't need to wait for future years to reap all the dividends of a clean life. Also teach youth what constitutes a true Latter-day Saint home. Encourage them to prepare for parenthood and to understand their responsibilities to their children as directed by the Lord in the revelations.
Organize, plan, and administer the MIA program in such a manner that every MIA worker will be most efficient and faithful in the per- formance of everything pertaining to his or her assignments. Finally, help youth by your good teaching, worthy example, wise guidance, ac- tivity participation, and sendee, build strong faith and testimonies to achieve the ideal and everlastingly rewarding, happy life.
I know, brothers and sisters, there are many challenges to the MIA in this presentation, and I present them sincerely. As I travel about the Church, I am impressed by the need of this great organization to carry out many if not all of the suggestions which I have made. I recognize that you are doing a good job in
MIA and that you are spiritually en- thusiastic. You recognize the im- portance of your callings or you would not be assembled in this gathering of MIA leaders and teach- ers and other officers today. This program has tremendous potential, and anything short of our best in this work is not good enough. We should measure up to our potential, our capacities, our abilities. This is a great day of service to those who are called in the program of our
Lord. I know we are on the right track. I know we have the right program. I am grateful for these dedicated general board members who do so much in the interest of you and youth. I pray humbly that God's blessings shall always attend you, that you will remain on the job, be effective in your work, and find the joy and happiness that can come to the soul who does his or her work well. This I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
KNOWLEDGE . . . CHARACTER RESPONSIBILITY . . .
RICHARD L. EVANS
We would recall some words that are especially suited to a season when students are leaving school and coming into careers. In the Stability of Truth, David Starr Jordan said: "Precepts of virtue are useless unless they can be built into life. . . . The essence of character-building lies in action. . . . The habit of finding out the best thing to do next, and then doing it, is the basis of character. . . . Wisdom ... is knowing what is best to do next. Virtue is doing it. Doing right becomes a habit, if it is pursued long enough. It becomes a 'second nature'. . . . Learning to know what is right and why it is right, [and] doing it ... is the basis of character. . . . The moral character is based on knowing the best, choosing the best, and doing the best. ... It is the clinching of good purposes with good actions that makes the man."1 These words bring to mind a statement from an unknown source which says, "A man is not paid for having brains but for using them."2 Students are not paid for learning but for using their learning. They are not paid merely for knowing principles, but for living and preserving principles. And along with the ability to learn, there must be a willingness to take responsibility, not holding back, not ignoring any obligation, not permitting any indifference to "duty. Recently a deeply disappointed person was heard to say: "No one does what he says he will do. I can't find anyone to follow through, to take real responsibility." This couldn't be literally true. If it were, the world wouldn't run. But it is too often true. There is nothing within reason that a young person cannot have, cannot achieve, if he is willing to prepare, willing to learn, willing to work, willing to take real responsibility, willing to follow through. But it can't be done with shoddiness or shortcuts, or by casual or carefree convenience. Knowledge, learning, work, accepting real responsibility, character, and trustworthy conduct— with these there is as much oppor- tunity as ever there was, indeed, much more. And to you who are moving into the work of life— with these there can be a bright future for you, but it requires these qualities of mind and morals, these qualities of con- duct and character. "The future," said Emerson, "belongs to those who prepare for it"3— and who work for it, and live for it.
]David Starr Jordan, Stability of Truth: "Reality and Education." -Author unknown.
3Attributed to Emerson by Charles B. Shuman in an address to the American Farm Bureau Federa- tion 1960.
"The Spoken Word" from Temple Square, presented over KSL and the Columbia Broadcasting System, May 24, 1964. Copyright 1964.
664
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Put an arm around a young man's shoulder
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STANDARD OIL COMPANY OF CALIFORNIA
AUGUST 1964
665
Suggestions for the Beginning Teacher
(Continued from page 657)
peace, undisturbed by the problems of everyday living. In a somewhat detached manner they wonder why men, who are all brothers, should create such trouble for one another by their selfishness, inhumanity, and failure to obey the laws of God. Soon the balloon begins to descend. During the landing, several miles from their launching site, the gon- dola is rapidly bumped over the ground as the nearly deflated bal- loon becomes a giant sail, catching the air from a stiff breeze. Rescue involves radio communication with their ambulance driver and a brave and exciting chase over the hot desert. Their experience proves that co-operation, mutual trust in one another, and quick thinking are realistic assets in time of emergency. 3. In 1849 Lorenzo Snow (who later became President of the Church at age 84) was living with his wife and family at Salt Lake City. When asked to serve as a missionary in Italy, he gladly consents, and prays he will fulfil his mission and safely return to his family. He joins a group of about thirty others who plan to travel across the plains to- ward Missouri. In Indian country their worst fears are realized when about 200 warriors approach on then- mustangs at great speed. They are painted and armed for war and ap- pear determined to annihilate the entire party. When they come within shooting range, they stop suddenly. After a short council of war, and for reasons unknown to the pioneers, the Indians turn their horses and slowly retreat across the desert. Lorenzo Snow feels certain that his prayers have been answered and that it is God's will that he complete his mission and return to Utah.
Teacher-Student Relationships
Discipline in the classroom be- comes simpler when the teacher has a close personal relationship with each student, and when the rela- tionship is based upon mutual re- spect, understanding, and affection.
However, sometimes much may be lost if a teacher relaxes his rules of discipline in order to win approval. The students have almost uncanny ability to judge the standards of discipline the teacher feels must be enforced, and they will often con- form to these standards if they are firm, after testing them out once or
twice to determine the extent and reality of their limits.
A teacher is sometimes able to motivate the development of fine relationships through close associa- tion with his students outside the classroom. A discussion in the hall before class or while walking home with some of the students is a con-
I THE SPOKEN WORD A
MARRIAGE - AND HONESTY BEFORE AND AFTER . . .
RICHARD L. EVANS
"Character," said Josiah Holland, "must stand behind and back up every- thing. . . Z'1 As this applies to marriage, there must be honesty before as well as after: "Before two persons enter into a business partnership there is a frank [statement] of their . . . assets and liabilities," wrote a magistrate who had observed the problems of many partnerships. "Contrast this to the usual preliminaries to that most important of all partnerships — mar- riage. . . . [Often] there is ... a glossing over of the liabilities . . . the failings; an exaggeration of the assets. ... It is natural for youth to put its best foot forward in [courting]. . . . This is not pretension — merely optimism, ambition. . . . But what of [those] who pretend to be what they are not? who . . . pretend virtues they do not possess; pretend keen interest in matters that really bore them . . . [pretend tolerance] in matters upon which th^y are intolerant. . . . The disillusionments due to false pretensions come quickly. . . . Haste and youth is one of the most frequent causes for unsuccessful marriage,"2 this magistrate continued. He spoke of a young man who borrowed an impressive car and pretended it was his own and spent borrowed money in lavish entertainment. The awaken- ing quickly followed a runaway marriage. Haste and youth, honesty, deception, pretension — these are words to reckon with. Mention is made of a young man who simulated piety to impress a girl he felt he must have. He accompanied her to church and pretended to agree fully with her faith, while saying to himself that after marriage such things wouldn't much matter, that each could go his own way. Then came a child, and "then began the religious tug of war, whether it was to follow father or mother. There is no more bitter form of dissension. . . ."3 "Hearts may be attracted by assumed qualities," said De Moy, "but the affections are not to be fixed but by those that are real."4 These incidents and observa- tions come down to one solid conclusion: that marriage is the most momentous commitment of life, and that to have a reasonable assurance of success it must be based on mature judgment, on honesty both before and after, and on a basic compatibility of convictions and character. Love is important, exceedingly so. Life would be less or little without love. But love must be accompanied by maturity and honesty and solid qualities of character, before and after marriage, with an honest forthright facing of facts. "Character must stand behind and back up everything . . "x including marriage and romance.
josiah Gilbert Holland (1819-81), American author.
2The Honorable John J. Freschi, city magistrate of the City of New York, Delineator, March 1913.
sSee ibid.
4De Moy, quoted in New Dictionary of Thoughts.
"The Spoken Word" from Temple Square, presented over KSL and the Columbia Broadcasting System, June 14, 1964. Copyright 1964.
666
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
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AUGUST 1964
667
venient time to become better ac- quainted. The informality of the occasional class party may be used to develop good relationships. Show a sincere interest in the students' hobbies and accomplishments, and let them know you are proud of them when they make positive achievements in any area.
Physical Facilities Are Important
The appearance of the classroom has a great influence upon the de- corum of the students and may con- tribute toward rapid and positive learning. And it is too late to re- arrange the furniture quietly and effectively after the students have arrived. If the students enter a room which is in perfect order, they will more readily respond to a re- quest for their attention.
Sometimes "all is lost" for at least five minutes if the students reach the classroom first. With no "au- thority" present there is a natural tendency to scuffle, to fight for a favorite chair or window, or to hide behind doors or boxes. This frivolous atmosphere is easily discouraged if the teacher pleasantly greets the students as they enter, suggesting in a persuasive but quiet manner that they wait in their seats until the class president officially calls the students to order.
them. A possible solution: accept the reality of the situation and have the occasional problem students— without anger, prejudice, or bitter- ness—placed in another class by themselves. But who will teach them and is there an empty room available? A class of one or two students may be held almost any- where, in a corner of the stage or recreation hall, in the kitchen, in the basement, or on the back steps ( if the weather is warm ) . The aver- age teacher will find them quite easy to handle after they are sepa- rated from their audience, the regu- lar students of their class.
In many instances, after a class or two by themselves, occasional prob- lem students may ask to return to the regular group. If they learn from experience that disturbing in class will result in a loss of status and enforced removal from the class, they will find satisfaction in conforming. In any event, it may be wise sometimes to use this method with dignity and under- standing to help prevent the "rare problem student" from disturbing the most important hour in the week for the teacher and his students.
Conclusions
New teachers should not expect to
achieve immediate perfection in maintaining order in their classes. Don't be discouraged! Decide how you want your students to behave and have confidence in your ability to achieve your goals ultimately. The following suggestions may be helpful:
1. Arrange the chairs and remove (or stack) the surplus furniture be- fore class begins.
2. Be in the room before the stu- dents arrive.
3. Give the students the impres- sion that "order will be maintained."
4. Arrange dramatic presentations of lesson material.
5. Let each child know you like him and that you are personally in- terested in his accomplishments.
6. Sometimes it is helpful if an adult joins your class to lend status and dignity and to "hold down" some of the more noisy children.
7. Continue to examine, to evalu- ate, and to change your teaching methods constructively.
8. Make adequate preparation and depend upon frequent prayers, pa- tience, and hard work.
9. Strive to have your class char- acterized by order, interest, and controlled enthusiasm. Students and teachers appreciate and profit from a class in which discipline is ade- quate and learning is spontaneous.
The Rare Problem Student
In some instances, one or two stu- dents will give the impression that their primary objective during the entire class period is to torment the teacher and to keep the others from learning. Such an unfortunate situ- ation is unusual, but it happens often enough to be given consideration. Dramatic stories, role playing, and visual aids are not effective. These students sometimes laugh boister- ously at inappropriate times, repeat certain words or phrases to empha- size the wrong meaning, or wildly act out the quiet descriptions given by the teacher. They laugh at the prospect of a mild shaking which is sometimes threatened by a frus- trated teacher. Suggestions from the bishop, effective with most chil- dren, have little perceptible influ- ence. Cutting remarks do more harm than good, and to send these children home until they learn to sit still may be the first step in losing
TRAIN WHISTLE BY FRANCES HALL
In the far valley of childhood
When the train's voice cried at midnight
Its praise of other places
As it moved past our meadows,
I would turn in my sleep,
Responsive to this invocation of distance:
Past the mist on the river,
Past the paleness of willow trees.
Past the sleeping fields and the silent houses
My heart would go shouting of cities
And seas and ships and people.
So now when a train speaks at midnight Of the joy of a journey, Having known all its opulent terminals, My heart whispers of a far valley Where I could wake on a bright morning In a room filled with meadow scents And remember a child's dream of cities And ships and seas and people In lands that never were.
For I have been to see.
668
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
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669
Survival
(Continued from page 655)
four. Dawne, the indomitable, (whom I suspected of having a built-in booster) flew from one end of the trail to the other juggling packs as if they were feather pillows!
Two hikers in front of me alter- nated carrying an extra pack. I apologized for not helping. They understood.
I resigned myself to plodding up the trail for the rest of my life. I was sure we'd climbed to twelve thousand feet at least.
The path widened. I heard the splash of water. From somewhere Shirley materialized, and we walked together again. We rounded a curve and saw packs strewn along the side of the trail.
"Must be the end!" I cried.
We looked below. Jessie and lour other hikers were sitting on the rocks beside a noisy waterfall. We stripped off our packs and scrambled down the hill to join them.
"Is this it? Are we here?"
Everyone laughed. No. Just a quarter of a mile more. But what a wonderful place to eat lunch! Both Shirley and I had left our sack lunch tied to our packs. Shirley started up the hill. Jessie handed me half of her ham sandwich and a carrot.
Shirley called down to me. "Shall I get the lunch and bring it down, or shall we go on to camp?"
"On to camp!" I called back. Sandwich in one hand and a carrot in the other, I scrambled up the hill. Halfway up I reached Shirley. We shared Jessie's sandwich and carrot. Never had food tasted so good. I looked at my watch. It was 3:30. We'd been on the trail for almost four hours!
Now the ascent was gradual. We saw campsites ahead. I felt fine. My pack didn't feel heavy any more. Shirley said she felt fine, too.
Dawne and Glenna were coming toward us.
"Need any help?" They stopped. They were both smiling, but I de- tected a hint of anxiety in their eyes.
"Nope! We're fine. Just great." It sounded as if Shirley and I had rehearsed.
"Well. . . ." Dawne's voice trailed off. "Glenna and I are going back
to bring in some of the abandoned packs. . . ." She looked at us quizzi- cally. "Do you think you two might . . . ?"
"Sure thing! Sure thing! We'll be glad to." Again we answered in unison. "We'll bring our packs into camp and be right back."
"You'd better rest a bit. There's no hurry," said Glenna.
Where our energy came from I don't know. But we fairly bounced into camp, unloaded our packs, picked a campsite near a stream, devoured squashed hard-boiled eggs, squashed cheese, and squashed raisin cake. A camper came by. She'd lost her lunch on the trail so we shared.
Just as Shirley and I started back down the trail, we met three pack- laden campers. One was Glenna.
"I think they're all taken care of," said Glenna. "But . . ." her voice wavered slightly, "maybe . . . maybe you might carry this pack into camp. ... It must weigh fifty pounds."
We helped ease the pack off her shoulders. I recognized it. It was Eva May's pack! The one with the geology books!
Shirley and I carried it together for awhile. Then separately. Then we tried dragging it. It must have
REMEMBERING BY ROWENA JENSEN BILLS
Remembering the orchards in their white and pink array,
Emerald fern, the brown low brush, yellow bells in May,
The peacefulness of turquoise sky
mirrored in the brook, Lazy, tranquil clouds above,
secluded, shaded nook,
Far pastures where the cattle grazed, bowlegged calves at play,
Long, low roofs of house and barn; smell of new-mown hay,
Golden glory of waving wheat
in the morning breeze, The call of meadow lark at dawn
from the thick, branched trees,
Gray, dry wood of garden gate, low-swung maple swing,
Remembering my youth! Remem- bering, remembering!
weighed seventy pounds. We marched into camp and deposited the pack at Eva May's feet.
Jessie, arms loaded with firewood, walked over to us.
"You look tired, Jessie," I said. "Why don't you lie down for a bit?"
"I'm all right. I'm fine," she an- swered. But her eyes looked glassy to me. I knew she had a pretty bad cold, though she hadn't com- plained once. "Why don't you lie down? You look tired," Jessie said.
That's what I hoped she'd say!
I looked longingly at the plump sleeping bags and luxuriated in the prospect of a five minute nap. But with everyone busy gathering wood, setting up tents, and preparing supper, I didn't have the nerve to lie down.
Shirley and I roasted weenies and cooked dehydrated soup and dehy- drated beans, while the others struggled with aluminum foiled steaks, hamburgers, and vegetables.
We'd no sooner finished eating than two blasts of a whistle called us to the campfire circle.
Dawne opened the campfire meet- ing, Glenna at her side. After a prayer, Dawne called on each of us to introduce ourselves. There were two other non-Mormons besides me. Each of the six groups presented a new observation about nature and a poem or a story.
I learned how to find North by the stars then couldn't find my way back to our campsite.
By the time I crawled into my sleeping bag, fully dressed except for boots, I was too stimulated to sleep. My head ached. I tried to find the big dipper, the little dipper, the North Star. I couldn't. I guess they were worn out, too; or hiding behind pine trees. I gulped the clean air. My headache subsided. I fell asleep.
Sometime during the night I awoke. It was light, though the sky was still dark! I looked over my shoulder . . . and saw a fat moon hanging on a pine bough.
I couldn't sleep. I was back on the trail. The enormity of what we'd done overwhelmed me. Thirty- three women had climbed a moun- tain. And I was one of them. I had climbed a mountain!
Not an Everest. Not a Whitney. Actually not more than 7,000 feet high. But a very personal, crumbly, rocky, spindly, stubborn mountain!
I relived my own struggle. I saw
6 70
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Connie struggling up the trail with my pack. I wept. From her action I'd learned more than I could've learned from a thousand books.
Not from her alone had I learned. I'd learned from everyone. Not through words, but through actions! I'd witnessed and experienced the capacity of human beings to endure. I'd seen the unquestioned hand, heart, and spirit of one human being giving to another.
I closed my eyes and saw a chain of people snaking up the side of a mountain. Separate and yet to- gether. Bound with an invisible rope of love! It could be nothing else. You love every footstep of every woman in front of you, the voice and breath of every woman behind you. I saw more. The will to survive!
In the morning I crawled re- luctantly out of my sleeping bag and pulled on my boots. Shirley and I wanted to practise our fire- making skill. We found an unused fire grate nearby. Our first joint attempt at a tepee fire fizzled be- cause we didn't stack the kindling properly nor use enough tinder. (See how much we knew?) Our criss-cross fire blazed gloriously!
Shirley made dollar-size pancakes in the two-inch frying pan she'd fastened to her belt and brought with her for the sole purpose of making dollar-size pancakes! (Sur- vival is a delicate business. )
After breakfast the camp was a blur of activity. Wherever I looked I saw women tying knots, honing knives, sharpening axes, tying band- ages, lashing poles. And I was one of them.
And wherever I looked I saw Connie, Dawne, Glenna helping, encouraging, testing.
I marveled at what I saw. I marveled because I knew each woman was as weary as I. But I knew we all burned with the fires kindled by Connie, Dawne, and Glenna.
By four o'clock in the afternoon, Jessie, Eva May, Barbara, Shirley, and I started home. None of us dared look into a mirror. We didn't have to. All we had to do was look at each other, and we saw our own reflection.
Sunburned noses, matted hair, glassy eyes, smokegrimed clothes and hands. We were a mess, and we knew it. But we didn't care. We were Campcrafters. We'd survived!
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Hippolytus
( Continued from page 651 )
outstanding importance."17 Rome simply was not the focal point of the Christian picture in that period. A couple of centuries in time and new traditions of the type Hippolytus op- posed so strongly would change that picture, and The Apostolic Tradition would find itself so out of step with "orthodoxy" that it would sink into oblivion until the middle of the nineteenth century.
The renowned church historian Hans Lietzmann felt that of all the "confessions of Christ" written after the close of the first century AD, "the most important is contained in the earliest surviving eucharistic prayer,"18 which is reported by Hip- polytus in The Apostolic Tradition. "From the Roman church, c. A.D. 200," says Lietzmann, "there has been preserved the actual wording of one of these [eucharistic] formu- laries, and everything essential can be clearly inferred from it."19
In view of the sacramental prayers translated by Joseph Smith in 1829, which the LDS Church accepts as a divine restoration of the manner in which Jesus taught his disciples on this continent to sanctify the bread and wine, it will of course be of extreme interest to members and friends of the Church to see where- in, if at all, this "earliest surviving Eucharist prayer," set down by Hip- polytus around 200 AD, but not discovered until some time after the publication of the Book of Mor- mon, is comparable.
Considering that by 200 AD the Apostles had been killed and the church had therefore been without a foundation20 for a good century, one can scarcely picture conditions other than Hippolytus himself paints them: "Heresies have spread, be- cause those who are at the head are more interested in doing what they want than what the apostles may have intended; they do according to their own pleasure rather than what is fitting" (Conclusion). Hip- polytus himself, while insisting that no one has the right to change or innovate, is careful to point out that he is setting down what the elders before him have done. "Nowhere does he pretend that these formulae go back just as they are to the time
of the apostles. . . . He gives them ... as models and not as invariable, fixed texts."21
As far as he knew, the Sacrament was to be handled as follows:
"Let the deacons present the obla- tion to the bishop who, placing his hands over the latter, in company with the whole quorum of pres- byters, says the following words of grace: 'The Lord be with you.'
"And let all answer: 'And with thy spirit.'
"[Bishop:] 'Lift up your hearts/
"[Church:] 'We have them in the Lord.'
"[Bishop:] 'Let us return thanks to the Lord.'
"[Church:] 'That is right and proper.'
"And let him [the Bishop] con- tinue: 'We thank thee, O God, through thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent in these last times as Savior, Redeemer, and Messenger of thy will, he who is thy inseparable Word, through whom thou wast well pleased, he whom thou didst send from heaven into the womb of a virgin and who, hav- ing been conceived, took on himself a body and manifested himself as thy Son, born of the Holy Ghost and the virgin; he who, in fulfilling thy will and in raising up a holy people unto thee, stretched forth his hands as a good shepherd in order that, through his suffering, he would free those that would believe in thee; he who, delivering himself volun- tarily unto this suffering in order to conquer death and the chains of
the devil, to crush hell under his feet, to enlighten the just, establish his testament, and manifest his resur- rection, took bread, rendered thanks unto Thee and said: "Take, eat; this is my body which is broken for you." In the same manner the cup, say- ing: "This is my blood which is shed for you. When ye do this, do it in remembrance of me."
" 'We, therefore, being mindful of his death and resurrection, bring this bread and wine before thee, thanking thee that thou hast judged us worthy to stand before thee and serve thee. And we ask thee to send thy Holy Spirit into the offering of this, thy Church, and, in uniting them as a congregation, grant unto all the saints who partake of it that they be filled with thy Holy Spirit to strengthen their faith in the truth, that we may praise and glorify thee through thy Son, Jesus Christ, through whom glory and honor be to thee, the Father, and to the Son with the Holy Ghost, now and throughout all time. Amen."
Clearly, there are several re- markable points of comparison be- tween Hippolytus' model prayer and the Book of Mormon sacramental prayers. The former's insistence on free improvisation in all communi- cation with God, though in complete agreement with the general spirit of the restored Church, is out of harmony with the Mormon concept of invariable wording for the bread, wine (water), and baptism. The purpose of both prayers, however, is the same. What stands out in the
SPENDTHRIFT THINGS BY DONNA DICKEY GUYER
When I was sixteen, summer nights were cruel, paradise wasted in a solitude where youth and time forever fought a duel, and neither one could win the inconstant mood. When I was twenty-five, the summer nights were tedious affairs for cynics' mocking.
Elysium and myriad delights
contained no doors to open at my knocking.
But now that 1 am something less than old,
I keep a little private place in time
for spendthrift things like summer nights and gold
and dreams and stars and thinking thoughts in rhyme.
I have grown grateful for this hoarding earned,
these little bits of wisdom I have learned.
672
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Roman priest's model, after all these centuries, is precisely the feature that distinguished the Book of Mormon prayers, in 1829, from traditional practices in the church of Rome and those of the Reformers: Both prayers insist, not on remitting sins, not on tran- or consubstantia- tion, but simply on church member- ship, partaking of bread and wine in remembrance of the body and blood of the Savior. Hippolytus' long preamble, longer than the ac- tual prayer, builds step by step to that particular point, culminating in those simple words of Jesus, "Do this in remembrance of me." One wonders what heresies Hippolytus hoped to keep from spreading by insisting, in his long preamble, on the fundamental point.22 He could scarcely have been more explicit in emphasizing the necessity for spiritual preparation both on the part of officiators and partakers in order that no one "eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily."23 In the course of the prayer itself, Hippolytus con- tinues to avoid all mention of sin, both on the part of the clergy who have been "judged worthy" to serve God, and on the part of the common membership, called "saints."
In Hippolytus, as in the Book of Mormon, the request to sanctify the bread and wine to the souls of all those who partake of it was not understood as a signal to God either to change the emblems into or mix them with the literal flesh and blood of the Savior. The sanctification was to be accomplished by God, who would operate through the Holy Spirit, making it possible for. the membership, through their re- membrance of the Savior, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to be lifted up and unified in their faith and to continue to praise and glorify God forever according to the way the Savior had shown them.
In spirit, the oldest known sacra- mental prayer is in rather close harmony with those restored through the instrumentality of Joseph Smith in 1829. As the heresies against which Hippolytus was struggling continued to spread, The Apostolic Tradition faded into oblivion, ordi- nances and doctrines continued to be changed, and the church became apostate. Reformation could curb corruption but could not bring back knowledge that had been lost. Only God could restore the truth, and he
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673
chose to do it in precisely the same way he had done it all through Old and New Testament times. He raised up a Prophet and restored the truth through revelation, show- ing that he is ". . . the same yesterday, today, and for ever." (Heb. 13:8.)
FOOTNOTES
Thilosophoumerui, ix, 11:4.
*Daniel-Rops, in L'Eglise des apotres et des martyrs (Paris: Fayard, 1948, p. 404), writes that Hippolytus was fortunate enough to die a martyr, which made it possible for the church to remember his good points and forget the bad. Then, in a footnote, Daniel-Rops adds that, until recently, Hippolytus' faults have been generally admitted, "but a recent book seems to whitewash Saint Hippolytus: Pierre Nautin's Hippolyte et Josipe (Paris, 1947). The rebellion is attributed to a certain Josipus, and Hippolytus is made out to be, in reality, a good Church father, author of many treatises against heretics but not in any manner a vehement adver- sary of the Pope."
3The term is taken from H. Achelis, Die Altesten Quellen des Orientalischen Kirchenrechtes, I, Leipzig, 1891.
*Dom B. Botte, Hippolyte de Rome, La Tradition Apostolique, Paris Editions du Cerf (1946), p. 8. (Translations are author's.)
5Gregory Dix, The Treatise of the Apos- tolic Tradition of St. Hippolytus of Rome, New York: Macmillan, 1937, p. lii.
"Ibid., p. xxxvii.
7Botte, op. cit., pp. 8-9.
8J. Lebreton and J. Zeiller, Histoire de I'Eglise depuis les origines jusqu'a nos jours, II (Paris): Bloud et Gay, 1948, p. 109.
9Burton Scott Easton, The Apostolic Tra- dition of Hippolytus, New York: Mac- millan, 1934, p. 25.
10Quoted by Easton, ibid., p. 26.
UJ. Tixeront, L'Ordre et les ordinations, Paris: 1925, p. 108, quoted in F. Cayre, Patrologie et Histoire de la Theologie, I, Paris Desclee, 1947, p. 216.
12Lebreton and Zeiller, op. cit., p. 108.
13Dix, op. cit., p. Ix.
uThe doctrine of original sin did not come into the church as established dogma until the fifth century, under its formidable champion, Augustine.
13Cayre, op. cit., p. 296.
16Cayre himself admits, (loc. cit.) that "the popes who were the most lucid in their solemn claim for this title are Julius I (340 AD), Damasus (377 AD), Siricus (385 AD), Innocent I (417 AD), Zosimus (418 AD), and Boniface I (422 AD)." These dates do not support the theory that Roman primacy is an "apostolic tradition."
17Dix, op. cit., p. xliv.
18Hans Lietzmann, The Founding of the Church Universal, a History of the Early Church, II, trans, by B. L. Woolf, London: Lutterworth Press, (1959), p. 108.
™Ibid., p. 127.
^Ephesians 2:19-20.
aBotte, op. cit., p. 9.
22This was precisely the point upon which the Apostle Paul insisted in his first letter to the Corinthians. (11:23-29.)
23lbid., v. 27.
Church Moves On
( Continued from page 628 )
in California. Today fifteen of those branches have lent their names to stakes of the Church.
Elder David A. Richards, former second counselor to President Rooker of San Joaquin Stake, succeeded him as stake president. His counselors are Elders M. Wayne Richmond and Melford J. Kirby.
The YWMIA camp institute at Tracy Wigwam in Millcreek Canyon was a pre-conference fea- ture of the June conference.
This evening the Master M Man- Golden Gleaner banquet was held at the Union Building, University of Utah campus. Here President N. Eldon Tanner of the First Presi- dency and Sister Tanner were given Honorary Master M Man and Hon- orary Golden Gleaner awards.
The traditional gold and green flags of the MIA were com- paratively still this quiet summer morning as the advisers, general superintendency, and general presi- dency together with the general boards of the Young Men's and Young Women's Mutual Improve- ment Associations greeted thousands of stake and mission, ward and branch Mutual workers on Temple Square beginning at 7:30. Earlier these leaders had attended their special prayer meeting for this conference.
The sixty -fifth annual MIA con- ference convened in the Tabernacle this morning at 9:30. During this session The Improvement Era was announced as the 1964-65 reading course. Here was also given the MIA theme for the year: "For be- hold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors." (Alma 34:32.) Elder Delbert L. Stapley of the Council of the Twelve, an adviser to the MIA, addressed this conference session.
Elder Thomas S. Monson of the Council of the Twelve, an MIA ad- viser, addressed the afternoon gen- eral session. Special music for both sessions was by the mixed choruses
from Rexburg and North Rexburg (Idaho) stakes.
Drama festival performances- eight presentations in all— were given in four locations this evening.
Explorado, demonstrating activi- ties and skills of fifty top Explorer posts, was featured this afternoon on the University of Utah campus, as part of June conference.
The first performance of the music festival, with its 2,000 voice chorus from 180 stakes which filled the Tabernacle Choir seats and about half of the balconies, plus a 100-piece full symphony orchestra, was pre- sented in the Tabernacle.
This was a day set aside for departmental sessions at the MIA conference. Work was carried forward in many buildings through- out Salt Lake City.
In late afternoon and evening the Explorado, drama festivals, and the music festival were again presented in performances that received stand- ing ovations.
n Speakers at this morning's final session of June conference in the Tabernacle included General YWMIA President Florence S. Jacobsen, General YMMIA Superin- tendent G. Carlos Smith, Jr., Elder Alvin R. Dyer, Assistant to the Twelve, Elder Thomas S. Monson of the Twelve, and Elder Robert L. Simpson of the Presiding Bishopric (these three being advisers to the MIA), President N. Eldon Tanner of the First Presidency, and Presi- dent David O. McKay. The session was conducted by President Hugh B. Brown of the First Presidency.
This was the annual Old Folks' Day in Salt Lake City— and the second time since it began in 1875 that it had rained on this day. Radio and television stations quickly an- nounced a change of plans, and in- stead of Liberty Park the honored guests went to various ward and stake houses in the area where pro- grams were given following the tra- ditional lunch.
■ The First Presidency announced J| the following changes in mis- sion presidents: Elder Richard S. Tanner of Salt
674
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Lake City to the Southern Australian Mission to succeed President Bruce R. McConkie of the First Council of the Seventy.
Elder James R. Barton of Albu- querque, New Mexico, as president of the Uruguayan Mission,- succeed- ing President J. Thomas Fyans.
Elder Wallace E. Broberg of Phoenix, Arizona, as president of the West Central States Mission, suc- ceeding President Grant G. Woolley.
Elder John K. Fetzer of Salt Lake City as president of the South Ger- man Mission, succeeding President Blythe M. Gardner.
Elder Archie L. Boyack, now of St. George, Utah, former president of the Cheyenne (Wyoming) Stake, as president of the New Zealand South Mission, succeeding President Fred W. Schwendiman.
Elder Roland L. Jaussi now serv- ing a mission in England but whose home is Fish Haven, Idaho, former president of the Montpelier Stake, as president of the North British mission, succeeding President Alva D. Greene.
Elder Donald Elwood Matthews of Salt Lake City, bishop of the Monument Park Fifth Ward, as president of the Spanish-American Mission, succeeding President Mel- vin R. Brooks.
Elder J. Talmage Jones of Pasa- dena, California, as president of the Western Canadian Mission, succeed- ing President Carroll W. Smith.
Elder J. Golden Snow of Ray- mond, Alberta, Canada, president of the Taylor Stake, as president of the South African Mission, succeed- ing President O. Layton Alldredge.
Elder Sanfred W. Elieson of Salt Lake City as president of the Texas Mission, succeeding President Ralph J. Hill.
Elder Ralph L. Sharp of Apia, Western Samoa, as acting president of the Samoan Mission, succeeding President John Phillip Hanks.
The First Presidency announced appointment of two new mis- sion presidents:
Elder Charles Elmo Turner of West Jordan, Utah, to succeed Presi- dent Finn B. Paulsen of the Brazilian South Mission.
Elder C. Douglas Barnes, of Long Beach, California, former president of Long Beach Stake, to succeed President Reed K. Kohler of the New Zealand Mission.
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The Gospel Is for the Individual . . .
One who joins the Church soon discovers that the gospel is an individual program for an individual. The testimony given of the Holy Ghost comes to an individual. The baptism in water by immersion is performed upon one person, for that person. Confirma- tion and its corollary gift of the Holy Ghost are for an individual.
The priesthood offices are given, one at a time, to an individual. He alone can desire, become con- verted, and receive these ordinances.
After this series of experiences, a person may have another ordinance, this time shared with another, that of marriage. Here two people agree to join in an eternal union, preparatory for, and preliminary to, their becoming worthy to dwell in the presence of the Lord. Their children, because of this act of agreement, share with their parents the blessing of the union. They are born "under the covenant."
All men, all women, all people will sooner or later be given the opportunity to learn of these simple steps to eternal life and to take them one by one. Many will be living on the earth, but perhaps a far greater number will have gone through death to the world of spirits without having heard of this oppor- tunity to be exalted. Wisely the Lord has made pro- vision for this situation. The principles of salvation and exaltation will be taught to each one, and provision made for his acceptance into the celestial kingdom upon worthiness and the performance of the earthly ordinances of baptism, confirmation of the Holy Ghost, and church membership, the priesthood on males, and the sealing of a man to the wife with whom he lived on earth, together with their children.
But the Lord has declared these to be earthly ordinances. They must be done on earth, preferably by descendants of those thus prepared for heavenly acceptance. This is also an individual proposition. The descendant does not know if or if not his ancestor has accepted or will accept. But by faith, yearning over his forebears, he makes it possible for them to achieve should they decide to accept. He fulfills Malachi's prediction that the "heart of the children shall turn to their fathers." (See Mai. 4:6.) He does this in full faith that the hearts of the fathers have already turned toward their children.
Classes will be held, groups will be formed for joint assistance in this important work of genealogical research. The home teachers will persuade families in their charge to become interested so that technical help can be given to them as they desire. The spirit of Elijah will touch each one actively engaged with convincing power and satisfaction.
But the classes held and groups instructed will be ineffective unless each individual becomes as much concerned over his ancestors' baptism as his own. Genealogical work, in the final analysis, is the proposi- tion that each man and his family will seek out the records of their kindred dead and, having found these evidences of the time on earth of their kindred, then perform the ordinances in the temples of the Lord on their behalf. Thus, they become in a large measure saviors on Mount Zion and reap the reward according to their works.
The gospel is for the individual, living or dead. The living are responsible for themselves— and for the dead.
676
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
■
■
TEMPLE RECOMMENDS
Items from the General Church Handbook.
Worthiness a Prerequisite: No person should receive a recommend for any purpose unless he is found to be worthy in every respect. Un- worthiness disqualifies him.
Before issuing recommends bishops will assure themselves by searching inquiry that the recipients are free, from all kinds of immoral or un- christianlike practices; that they have no affiliation, in sympathy or otherwise, with any of the apostate groups that are running counter to the established order of the Church; that they sustain the local and General Authorities of the Church; are full tithepayers, or will covenant to become such; that they observe the Word of Wisdom, abstaining from tea, coffee, tobacco, and liquor; and that they earnestly strive to do their duty in the Church, to attend their Sacrament, priesthood, and other meetings, and to obey the rules, laws, and commandments of the gospel, including abiding by all conditions of their temple obligations.
Where applicants are not keeping the commandments, they should prove themselves through a pro- bationary period before the recom- mend is issued. Every person must be adjudged worthy for a recom- mend each time he applies for one.
In the case of group recommends for children, bishops will assure themselves that each child recom- mended is at least 12 years of age, a good child, exemplary in his life, and attending to such church duties as are required of his age.
Exceptional care will be taken to see that the children of parents be- longing to or affiliating with apos- tate groups are not recommended to the temple, either with groups or as individuals.
Record Membership of One Year Required: Bishops and branch pres- idents should not issue a recommend to a person until he has been a member of record of their ward or branch for at least one year, except upon receipt of a letter or letters from the bishop of the ward, presi- dent of the branch, or stake or mission president, of which the ap- plicant was a member during the preceding year, stating that such person is worthy to enjoy the privi- leges of the temple.
No person should be issued a recommend until he has been a member of the Church for one year. Only the First Presidency may au- thorize an exception to this rule.
Correction: The statement printed on the Melchizedek Priesthood page in the July Era — "A group recommend may be issued for those eight to eleven years of age, to holders of the Aaronic Priesthood and girls of corresponding ages who desire to go to the temple as a group to do baptismal work for the dead" — has been changed as follows: "A group recommend may be issued to holders of the Aaronic Priesthood and girls of corresponding ages who desire to go to the temple as gro2ips to do baptismal work for the dead. Recommends to do bap- tisms for the dead are not issued to those under twelve years of age."
677
BY WENDELL B. MENDENHALL
CHAIRMAN, CHURCH BUILDING COMMITTEE
PRESIDING
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If I were you I would take time to analyze a certain indispensable factor which enters every phase of life. A substantial amount of it in fact is essential to mod- ern living. Society has scarcely enough of it to get along. The individual sorely needs more of it, and its value is at a premium. People who have it are in great demand. Your success in life depends on how much of it you develop. Indeed, it is one of the most valuable assets you can possess.
This certain indispensable factor affects your per- sonal, social, economic, and religious life, which in turn affects the home, the society in which you live, and the nation you revere. Curiously, the average person gives it very little thought. To illustrate, when you start across a bridge, it never occurs to you to wonder whether you will reach the other side in safety. You take it for granted that in all its details the bridge is secure.
Now, in the last analysis, just what are you taking for granted? It is that indispensable factor I men- tioned above, a sense of responsibility. The men who built that bridge had it and were impelled by it to take every precaution to make the bridge safe. Count- less other examples might be cited. We take our watch to be repaired; we go to the drug store to get
a prescription filled; we let a building contractor build our home. As children, we trust our parents, our teachers, our senior citizens. For these and innumer- able other purposes, we continually assume that the people we go to for services and those we trust to direct us will possess a sense of responsibility and will adhere to this trust, and life can go on because enough of them do.
Think of how it affects the individual's life in de- veloping such attributes as honesty, integrity, love, and full devotion to God, to parents, and to country. That's the positive way of appraising the value of this quality of having a sense of responsibility. But you can also measure it negatively in terms of the penalties we pay when the sense of responsibility is weak or lacking— the cost in time, money, and per- haps materials, and in the crippling or ruining of important undertakings. The penalty can even be tragic— people injured or killed because someone took his responsibility too lightly and let poor workman- ship or poor operation get by. However, the most tragic penalty of all to the individual is a lack of honesty, integrity, trust, and self-respect as a result of not developing a sense of responsibility. Yes, not having developed a sense of responsibility, I have
678
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Wendell B. Mendenhall is in his tenth year as chair- man of the building committee of the Church. He was appointed to this position in July 1955 and left an active California career involving several busi- nesses when he answered the call to direct the world- wide program of construction involving hundreds of new church buildings each year. He is a former bishop in Stockton, California, and former president of the San Joaquin Stake. He also has served as regional welfare chairman of the Northern California Region. At present he is chairman of the Pacific Board of Education, which directs activities of the church schools throughout the South Pacific. Elder Mendenhall served a New Zealand mission. He and his wife, the former Wealtha Spafford, have two sons.
labeled myself as one who cannot trust nor be trusted. Of course, the sense of responsibility varies. With some it is keen; with others it is only strong enough to be passable; in others it is weak or lacking entirely. That makes it an excellent yardstick for measuring the worth of an individual to himself, to his family, to his employer, to his society, and to his God. If I were you, I would apply that yardstick to myself.
The sense of responsibility I am talking about is inspiringly illustrated by the life and activities of President David O. McKay. I would encourage you to study his life.
The paramount need of the Church and society today is for men and women who will accept re- sponsibility and honor it. There is hardly a day passes in my office in the church building department with- out plans taking form for some new church structure, and one of the most urgent questions we face is, Whom can we put in charge as a building supervisor to build a house of the Lord? Whom can we trust as a building supervisor to handle the job, properly to represent the Church, the community, the mem- bership of the Church, the bishopric, the stake presi- dency, and the building department? The Lord always comes to our aid and helps us find such a man.
Why? Because the Church has built a deep sense of responsibility into the lives of its members, and men arise everywhere who are trained in the trades to give proper leadership, men with faith, devotion, integrity, and trust, who are dedicated to the service of the Lord to build the kingdom. We thank God for the gospel plan which develops men and women to accept responsibility in all phases of church activity.
A sense of responsibility takes time, discipline, and effort to develop. Even the apostles of the Savior learned it slowly. He called them into service— an exalted service. On many occasions during the Savior's ministry, he left them and upon his return found it necessary to give them further counsel and advice and spiritual training that they could become his special witnesses to testify of him. You can begin to acquire a sense of responsibility almost from the cradle, and if I were you, I would make it an active force in my life without delay, for whether in the area of your livelihood or of your religion or both, the greatest tribute you can earn is a reputation of having a sense of responsibility.
If I were you, I would think more and more about what your responsibilities are and less about what your privileges may be.
AUGUST 1964
679
y.
FLORENCE B. P1NNOCK.
EDITOR
A happy mother at home makes the difference. A house is so empty without her. A man coming home from work to a still, quiet house, a child running in from school to nothing— a mother is missed! A wife and a mother is needed at home. Of course, there are times when she must be the breadwinner, and then her task is many times as hard. She must plan to leave a part of herself, her spirit, in the home if she can't be there. This can be done in many ways, but all of them include planning ahead. A refrigerator with something enticing to catch a little boy's eye, fresh flov/ers or a bowl of fruit on the table, notes left in prominent places, dishes done and beds made, and always a gay good-bye in the morning with a "Have a happy day" as each child leaves the house- all add to this mother picture. But whenever possible mothers should be at home when the family arrives from their various activities of the day.
There is another necessity for a mother besides just being home, and that is to be happily at home. A happy mother creates a happy, contented family. So many young mothers are restless, just marking time until their babies are adults, when, if they only knew it, right now is the happiest, most contented time of their lives. To be a mother of a young family is exciting; her joys are endless; only she can limit her fun and creativity. Each day is a new adventure, a time to mold, to build, to love a tiny child. Don't ever let things become monotonous, find a new chal- lenge each day. When you go to bed at night, be able to say, "Today I have really lived because I have grown and helped someone else become a little nearer to real maturity."
No other job in the world holds so much opportunity and is so varied. Of course, as you clean today you will have to dust the same table tomorrow, and the next day, and the following days to come, just the same as if you were a secretary downtown or a buyer in a large department store. They too must repeat the same tasks over and over again. If you think housework is unglamorous and monotonous, it is just in your mind that it is so. You have let yourself becoming boring, not only to yourself, but also to all those around you. If you care enough, you can change your attitude. Perhaps a good way to begin would be to sit down quietly and make some plans on paper. Make a list of the things that you especially enjoy doing, and make a list of the things you dislike to do. Then see that your days are planned to in- clude more of the things you like to do; for instance, if you like to read a great deal, be sure to plan time for it; even do some reading aloud to your little chil- dren each day. This will require better organization of your own tasks. To leave time to read, or play the
piano, or paint, or sew, or write, or do any other thing you really enjoy, plan a weekly schedule of necessary tasks. So as not to live in confusion, spend a few minutes after breakfast each day soaking the dirty dishes in hot, sudsy water or stacking them in the dishwasher, making the beds, and picking up the papers and litter throughout the rooms. This can