--- 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: 5 published: 1898-03 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: "Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations, \"Editor's Table,\" *Improvement Era* 1, no. 5 (March 1898): 371–376." source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera15unse 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: improvementera15unse start_page: 371 end_page: 376 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1898-03) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera15unse 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. --- # Editor's Table EDITOR'S TABLE. ERRATUM. On page 308, this issue, in the editor's note, instead of reading — "and what he says of the second will be interesting because in the east it has been seldom regarded as a profes- sion" — read: "because in the past it has been seldom regarded as a profession." MR. KING'S ARTICLE. ; Through an inadvertence in the correspondence with Mr. King about preparing his article, "In War-Stricken Cuba," that gentleman understood that his manuscript should be in the hands of the editor by the 15th of March instead of the 15th of February. The 15th of February came, and as Mr. King's article had not been received at the Era office, a dis- patch was sent asking if he had mailed it, when to the con- sternation of the editors, they learned that Mr. King had the understanding that the manuscript of the article was not due until the 15th of March. What was to be done? Ithad been announced that Mr. King's article would be published in the February number, and to get the article by mail at that late date meant that the Era would fail to be out on the first of the month. There was no hesitancy as to what should be done. The Era must neither fail to publish the article it had announced, nor be one day late in issuing its February number. So Mr. King was asked to employ a stenographer, dictate his article, and send every word of it as a special dispatch to the Era. This was done although the article contains four thou- sand six hundred words! We merely mention the matter that our readers may know the determination of the publishers of the Era, both to publish the articles they announce, and to have the magazine in the hands of its readers by the first of every month. SHALL WE RECORD TESTIMONY? A correspondent asks the following question: "Is it deemed advisable by the Church officials for one to gather indi- vidual testimonies from our aged brethren who have been faithful in the cause of truth, and also from our elders who return home from time to time from missions, and who are full of the spirit of their calling? Is it proper to record these testimonies in private journals?" We see no impropriety in brethren gathering individual testimonies concerning the truth, either from the aged breth- ren or from the elders returning from missions. On the con- we believe that the testimonies of our aged brethren trary, who knew the Prophet Joseph, and other early elders and leaders of the church, ought to be secured, and carefully re- corded; provided, of course, that the circumstances are well authenticated and carefully and accurately stated. We fear that many things that are reported coming from theas Prophet Joseph, and other early elders in the church, by not being carefully recorded or told with strict regard for accuracy, have lost something of their value as historical data, and un- warranted additions have sometimes been made to the origi- nal facts, until it is difficult to determine just how far some of the traditions which have come to us may be accepted as reliable representations of what was said or what was done. Let those who feel impressed to make a record of facts, as they become acquainted with them, do so; but let them exer- cise the greatest care in obtaining accuracy of statement and in giving the authority for the statements they record. WAS THE APPEARANCE PERSONAL? The following question is also asked: At Mutual Improvement meeting the other evening we could not agree as to whether or not Satan, at the time of the temptation of Jesus, appeared to him in the form of a man, or if Jesus was tempted as we are — only, of course, much stronger — that is, by suggestion to the mind to do evil. EDITOR'S TABLE. 373 We have no reason whatever to doubt that the scriptures which relate the circumstance of the Savior's being tempted of Satan are to be taken literally; and that the conversation detailed in the New Testament actually took place; and that Satan appeared to Messiah as he had before unto Moses and other of the prophets. (See Vision of Moses, Pearl of Great Price). For ourselves we believe that Lucifer and Jesus met personally; and that an actual conversation took place be- tween them, and that the proud Son of the Morning was van- quished by the magnificent answers and splendid deportment of the Son of God. We would suggest in this connection, too, that there is no necessity for seeking to evade the plain statements of the scriptures in regard to matters of this char- acter. Lucifer is a personage, no less so than Jesus of Nazareth, and has power to reveal himself, as may be abund- antly proven from the scriptures; and the best way to deal with questions of this kind is simply to accept the statement of the scriptures, with that reverence and unfaltering faith to which their sacred character entitles them. SECRET SOCIETIES. Mr. J. M. Foster, writing in the Arena for February, un- der the title "Secret Societies and the State," says: "It has been authoritatively stated that 'there are in the United States over fifty distinct secret orders, with over 70,000 lodges and 5,500,000 mem- bers. This does not include members of the various labor organizations, or the 500,000 members of secret military orders, such as the G. A. R. or hose connected with college secret fraternities. These numbers will not include as many persons, since one man is often a member of two or more societies, but it is safe to say that in all there are fully 6,000,000 persons in this country held in the coils of secretism." The number of secret orders, the number of lodges, and the very large membership accredited to them, especially in view of the great number of exceptions that are' made of semi- and in some quarters secret societies, is at least astonishing, will be considered alarming. The facts quoted call to our mind the warnings of the Prophet Moroni, found in the Book of Mormon. While making an abridgment of the ancient records of the Jared- ites, and giving an account of how wicked men, operating through secret organizations, murdered one king in order to fill his place by another, he pauses in his work of abridg- ment to say something of the evil of secret organizations themselves, and as what he says is given as a prophetic warn- ing to the Gentile nations that he knew in the last days would occupy this favored land of America, we quote his remarks at length: And now I, Moroni, do not write the manner of their oaths, and com- binations, for it hath been made known unto me that they are had among all people, and they are had among the Lamanites. And they have caused the destruction of this people of whom I am now speaking [the Jaredites], and also the destruction of the people of Nephi; And whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold, they shall be destroyed, for the Lord will not suffer that the blood of his Saints, which shall be shed by them, shall always cry unto him from the ground for vengeance upon them, and yet he avenge them not; Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may re- pent of your sins and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you; which are built up to get power and gain, and the work, yea, even the work of destruction come upon you, yea. even the sword of the jus- tice of the eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruc- tion, if ye shall suffer these things to be. Wherefore the Lord command- eth you Tvhen ye shall see these things come among' you, that ye shall aivake to a sense of your azvful situation, because of this secret com- bination which shall be among you, or wo be unto it because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who build it up. For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up, seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies, even that same liar who be- guiled our first parents; yea, that same liar who has caused man to commit murder from the beginning; who hath hardened the hearts of men, that they have murdered the prophets and stoned them, and cast them out from the beginning. Wherefore, I Moroni, am, co7nmanded to write these things, that evil may be done away, and that the- time may come that Satan may have no power over the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be. persuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all righteousness and be saved (Book of Ether: Ch. 8). doubly proper that attention should be called to It is this very pointed warning of the Nephite prophet; first, that his inspired words should be as widely circulated as possible among the Gentiles, to whom they are especially addressed, — EDITOR'S TABLE. 3W that they may not plunge unwarned into the dangers attend- ant upon secret societies formed to obtain power and gain; and second, that our young men who, in some quarters, are being induced to become members of secret organizations may be reminded of the word of the Lord on this subject. It is very strange that Latter-day Saints, with the Book of Mormon in their hands, should become entangled in these institutions against which a prophet of God has so empha- tically raised his voice —institutions which threaten the liber- ties of all people and portend the destruction of whatever nation fosters them. Wherever the Elders of Israel have be- come associated with such organizations it is both a singular and significant fact that they soon begin to lose interest in their church and quorum duties. We have known it to be the case that members of the quorums of the priesthood have excused themselves from attending the meetings of their quo- rums because their lodge meeting came on the same night as the quorum meeting, and they gave the preference to the lodge meeting! Other men have excused themselves from paying tithing because they felt they could not pay both lodge fees and their tithing. Still other Elders, when called upon to go on missions, have pleaded that they could not go because they could not meet the expenses of the mission, sus- tain their families and pay their lodge fees during their ab- sence. In some instances these men have explained that there was an insurance guarantee that went with their mem- bership in the society to which they belonged, provided the annual fees were kept paid up, but which was forfeited if the payment of the fees was defaulted; and they had now in- vested so much in the organization that they did not feel that they could afford to lose the prospective insurance the upshot of which was that they could not go upon the mission to which they had been called by the ser- . vants of God. Thus these brethren allowed other in- terests to stand between them and the interests of the king- dom of God; and other supposed duties to prevent them from discharging their duties in the Church of Christ. Such a course as this can have but one result, viz: a loss of interest in the work of God. It must end in men who take such a course grieving the spirit of the Lord and having it with- draw from them. It ought not be forgotten that we serve a jealous God; that is, one who accepts no second place in the hearts of men, and who does not permit his kingdom and its interests to stand second to any other interests under heaven. Many of the brethren have been induced to join these secret and semi-secret organizations because of the insurance guarantee connected with membership in them in case of death. They have been persuaded that to leave one, or two, or five thousand dollars to their families at death would be a good thing; and from every standpoint of human reason it would seem to be a good thing. But God has amply pro- vided for all things in his church that are needed for the spiritual and temporal welfare of his people; and if his ser- vants will but perform the duties assigned them in the Church of Christ, they will have claims upon an institution infinitely better than any man-made institution in all the world, both for themselves and for their posterity. On this subject the experience of the Psalmist is admirable, and with profit may be considered by those who are, perhaps, over-anxious about providing money for their children after their own death. David says: For such as are blessed of him [God], shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut ofif. The steps of a good man are or- dered by the Lord; and he delighteth in his ways. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young and now I am old; yet have I not seen the righteous for- saken, -nor his seed begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed (Psalms 36: 21-26). Our young men can afford to trust the promises of the Lord in respect to the welfare of their children, and both for themselves and their children can do better than merely se- cure the payment of a stipulated amount of money for them in the event of their own death. They can so live and devote their lives to the service of God as to have claim both for themselves and for their children upon the blessing and favor of the Lord. And that, we take it, is infinitely better for the children than the maturing of an insurance policy at the death of the parent. But all this aside, the saints have the word of the Lord upon this subject, and they are made acquainted with the warning that the Lord has placed on record concerning secret organizations; and whatever the seeming advantages may be, the word of the Lord ought to restrain men who believe in that word from becoming connected with those institutions. Whatever they may have in view now, we have the word of the Lord for it that they will seek to overthrow the liberties of all lands and of all people who foster them, and with such affairs Latter-day Saints ought to have nothing to do their— cry should be: "O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor, be thou not thou united."