--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 1 number: 4 published: 1898-02 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations, "Our Work: M. I. Missionary Work," *Improvement Era* 1, no. 4 (February 1898): 295–298.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera14unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera14unse start_page: 295 end_page: 298 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1898-02) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera14unse publication_year: 1898 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1898, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Our Work: M. I. Missionary Work OUR WORK. M. I. MISSIONARY WORK. In the January number of the Era. a brief statement was made in relation to the opening of the M. I. A. Mission Work at American Fork, on the 5th of December. Since that time the work has gone steadily forward with the most gratifying results as will be seen from the following excerpts from reports made to the brethren having the work in charge. Brother George F. Shelley, secretary of the association at American Fork, wrote in December as follows: "Much interest is being manifested by the members of our association in the Life of Christ, and we feel that we have a live organization. Tonight our attendance was eighty, a large precentage being young married men, The labors of Elder B. H. Roberts and his assistants are bearing good fruit." In a letter under date of December 22nd, '97, Elder G. A. Iverson, laboring in Utah county, says: ' 'We have been very successful in our work in Lehi; the influence is being felt not only among the young men, but in every circle." After enumerating the settlements visited in Utah county, Elder Able J. Evans, who has charge of the brethren laboring in that county, in a letter dated December 28th, says: ' 'I went with the brethren introducing them to the bishops and presidents of the aforesaid wards and settlements, holding meetings and commencing the work. We were very cordially received and have had the promise of the full support of the bishops and presidents in consummating our labors. We have pretty thoroughly canvassed Lehi and have made great accessions in the membership of the association; an increase of eighty-eight in Lehi proper, and forty-five in the north branch. Brothers Alleman, Iverson, and myself visited Cedar Fort and have enlisted the co-operation of every young man at home as far as we know." Elder Heber C. Jex, who up to the 1st of January had charge of the work in Beaver county, under date of December 27th, writes: "We were heartily received by the people of Beaver, and we held some rousing meetings with them. We held a few cottage meetings with the young, and made them sufficiently entertaining that they were a success. At the last about sixty were present. We seemed to be able to get nearer to them in these meetings than in any other way, and was able to impress them with the results of Mutual Improvement work and their need of the same. Young men were free in opening their houses for meetings to which they would invite their friends. We concluded that way a good plan to reach the young men and form their acquaintance, but besides that we saw many at their own homes and prior to leaving, about tzventy-fcve had joined the association." Elder Edward D. Clyde of Heber, Wasatch county, who has in charge the missionary work in Juab county, under date of December 16th, writes: "I met the brethren all O. K. according to arrangements. They are now hammering away two in each ward of Nephi and two in Levan. I have not yet heard from the two in Levan, but the others are just feeling fine and meeting with considerable success. Every where we go we meet with encouragement." In a subsequent letter, written from Heber, where Elder Clyde spent the holidays with his family, he wrote: ' 'We are very much pleased with our labors so far. Good results have followed our every effort." Elder Clyde also asks that missionaries be sent into his own county, that is in Wasatch." I find, he says, "we have no missionaries in our stake yet. No field was ever more fit for the reaper. Since the stirring up that Brothers Brimhall and Morris gave us a general reformation has taken place here and if we only had some missionaries to labor in connection with our local brethren, I feel that a good work could be done. Now if it is possible, send us some men at once." Elder Frank Y. Taylor sends the following report from Weber stake: "I take pleasure in reporting our labor for the past two weeks in Weber stake in the interests of Y. M. M. I. A. We have visited the following wards with results as stated below: T3 a ■n 3 O 0 • a t3 0 P 3 S £1 . Td 1-1 ■«2 6 g 0 a a -a w memenrolle elders. o * 0 B > So Q a IOI •H 9 North Ogden. . Pleasant View Huntsville Eden Liberty , "We have been received by the bishopric, presidents of associations and all local authorities with uniform kindness and courtesy, and have received their blessings, aid and support. We have held public meetings and visited the people at their homes, traveling two by two. The people received our OUR WORK. 297 message gladly and the young men we visit treat us with deference and respect. The saints universally acknowledge the hand of the Lord in the establishment of the mission, and the harvest is truly ready for the reapers. I wish to cite one instance to prove that the people are looking forward with joy to our coming. At the close of one of our meetings when we had explained the object of our visit an aged brother came up to us with tears in his eyes, grasped our hands and stated that he had been praying for this for the last three years." "I am fully convinced that the Lord is paving the way for us in softening the hearts of the young men as we find many instances that the most wayward boys receive us with the greatest kindness. I take pleasure in reporting that Superintendent Angus T. Wright and assistants, render us all the courtesies and assistance in their power." Elder A. H. Snow, of Brigham City, having in charge the work in Cache stake, writes: "With the hearty co-operation of the president of stake, and the splendid start given us by Elder Kimball, we commenced our labors with four missionaries. * * * We commenced by calling upon the bishop and got his support and armed with a list of 95 names, from 14 to 45, and accompanied by an officer of the association, we commenced our calls. * * * The first day we found but seven who were on our list at home. After a few days experience the best plan that suggested itself to us was this: after canvassing a certain portion of a ward, if we found a number of the boys absent, we would procure a private house, centrally located, and appoint a conversational meeting there for that evening, inviting the boys and all others on our list to attend. The first night nine of the boys from 14 to 21 attended, seven of whom had not identified themselves with the association. After getting them to feel at home we talked to them an hour, when they commenced to ask questions which kept us there another hour. The questions were intelligent and gave us a good opportunity to talk to them. Among other questions asked were these: "How did Joseph Smith get authority to baptize and organize the church?" This gave us a good chance to explain the early career of the Prophet and the visits of the Father and the Son to him, and Moroni's visit to him, etc. Then they wanted to know when infant baptism was introduced and who and about when was the first man improperly baptized. This opened up a conversation on the changing of the ordinances, etc. At our next meeting we had thirteen present. The meetings are very informal, but we open and close them with prayer." "Out of ninety-five names from the 4th Ward we found and conversed with sixty. We called at the homes of some as many as three times and last evening two of the young married men upon whom we had repeatedly called, but did not see, came out and joined the association. " "In the 5th Ward — the 4th and 5th have a population of about 1,400 each — 100 names were handed the missionaries, and they found eighty at home. Now as to results; after one week's labor we had finished our wards, , and at last night's associations new faces appeared — eighteen new ones in the 4th — nearly all good men of the older young element — ten of whom added their names to the roll. There was a dance in the ward and many had gone to the canyon or still better results would no doubt have followed. In the 5th Ward there were twenty-two present the night previous to our commencing our work, and last night twenty-four were added, thus more than doubling the number." ' 'The 3rd Ward is not canvassed, but good work is being done, and there were more present last night than there has been for many years. ' Later reports from Elder Snow are equally encouraging. Elder Charles A. Welch, of Morgan, who has charge of the work in Sanpete stake, under date of December 23rd, reports as follows: • 'I have six elders here and am pleased to say that they are heart and soul in the work. In Ephraim we found thirty members enrolled. Up to last Saturday night the brethren had added 127 new members. In Manti 119 new members have been added. In Gunnison we found 23 members and added 59 more. In Centerfield we found 25 members and added 38 new ones. In Fayette no meetings were held. One was held this fall with eleven members and they discontinued the meetings. We left them with forty members enrolled. In Mayfield there were twenty-eight members and we added twenty-eight new members." "The brethren will finish their labors in Sterling today, but I cannot report in this letter. You will see by the above that four hundred new mem" bers have been added to the great cause of Mutual Improvement. We want one thousand in this stake and shall work to that end. " ' 'We shall finish in the next few days all the towns in the south end and shall begin at Spring City and go northward. We go from house to house in the day and hold conversational meetings in the evening at every opportunity." In a later communication Elder Welch says: "We have finished our work as far north as Moroni and Mt. Pleasant, and shall have finished the stake [first tour] by about the 12th inst. [January.] We have added to the enrollment about six hundred young men and expect two or three hundred more. " A still later report from Elder Welch states that 980 new members in all have been added in Sanpete stake; and Elder F. Y. Taylor reports the additions in Weber stake up to date of going to press to be 726. Bishop Christian A. Madsen, of Gunnison, in a letter full of praise for the work done among the young men of his ward by our missionaries, says: "But now my dear president , believe me, we need more laborers in the field here at Gunnison; and that is the reason I am penning you these lines. This way of having picked men imported to visit parents and the young men in their homes, and then gather them in public meetings has proven to be the very thing wanted. But in proportion to the number of missionaries, their field of missionary work is very large, I think. The sum and substance of this letter is: In behalf of our young men in