Our Work

OUR WORK.

THE SUMMER ADJOURNMENT. One of the difficulties that confront the officers of the Young Men's Associations is the matter of keeping up the interest in the work of Mutual Improvement during the long summer vacation forced upon the societies by reason of our inability to continue our weekly meetings in our agricultural communities. It is, perhaps, the most unfortunate thing connected with our work, this long summer vacation. The interest that has been awakened during the winter months is well nigh dissipated by the long summer vaca- tion; so that each fall we are confronted with the task of well nigh creating again the asssociations, and always have to go over the work of awakening again the interest in the societies and their work; and a month or two of the precious firstmonths of the season are sometimes employed in getting ready to start. All this is a serious drawback to our work, and as much of the difficulty should be removed as it is possible to remove. The only thing, however, that occurs to us to suggest in relation to the matter is that an effort be made on the part of the local officers throughout the church to get the bishops to consent to their holding monthly conjoint sessions with the Young Ladies' Associations on Sunday. We are of the opinion that at the regular meeting of the saints one Sabbath in each month, after the opening services and the administration of the sacrament had taken place under the supervision of the bishop, the meeting could be turned over to the Improvement Association officers to be occupied by their exercises. This would not obviate the whole difficulty here pointed out, but it would mater- ially reduce it, and ought to be adopted wherever arrangements can be

made for doing it. We do not think the officers of Improvement Associations in this matter would be asking too much of the local authorities when the importance of the work is taken into account, and the good that is likely to be accomp- lished is considered, but if it should transpire that there would be objection to using that time, it would still be possible to secure Sunday evening, per- haps, for the purpose of holding such conjoint meetings, and if so we think our young men ought to have sufficient interest in the great work to over- come all difficulties and hold these monthly conjoint meetings on the Sun- day evenings, if no other time can be secured. They will materially assist,

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we are sure, in keeping alive an interest in the work of Mutual Improve- ment, and make starting in the fall so much easier. And if this were all that could be hoped from them, it would be worth while, nevertheless, to make the effort to hold them. But there will be a value in the meetings themselves that will make them profitable to both the young men and the young women. These monthly conjoint meetings, too, could be used to advantage on the part of the Young Men's Associations in completing the part of the last season's Manual work that is unfinished. We do not mean by this that the young men should crowd upon our sisters their Manual work in these con- joint meetings, but so far as the part taken by the young men in these meet- ings is concerned, we know of nothing they could do to better advantage than complete whatever lessons remain to complete last season's work in the Manual. In this way the proposed summer monthly conjoint meetings could be made to serve a double purpose to those associations that did not get through with last season's Manual. They would very greatly assist in Keeping up a general interest in Mutual Improvement, and also afford an opportunity to clear up last season's work in the Manual. For these several reasons we commend this matter of monthly conjoint meetings to the consideration of the Stake Superintendents and ward presi- dents, and hope that they will take such steps as may be necessary to ar- range for the conjoint sessions here suggested. There is one thing connected with our work of Mutual Improvement that ought never to be lost sight of, namely, that ourimprovement work is not only intellectual in its character, but moral and spiritual as well; and whatever interruption may necessarily come to our intellectual work, none need ever come to this latter department of our work. Indeed there must be no interruption to it; members of the associations must feel as much un- der obligations to observe the moral law of the gospel during the summer vacation as during the more active period of association work. However hurried by secular employments, there is and must be time for prayer; for seasons of communion with God. The name of Deity must be honored, the Sabbath day kept holy, the word of wisdom observed, and a spirit of uniform kindness and consideration for others cultivated. All this can go on during the summer months as well as in the winter season; and who shall say that, after all, this is not the most important part of Mutual Im- provement work? Let it not be neglected, then, nor the importance of it be earn- be lost sight of; for if effort at improvement along these lines shall only the least im- estly continued, our enforced summer vacation can affect portant part of our work, namely, the intellectual department.

AN IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION READING ROOM. accom- From Brigham City we receive the following communication to, but as the Era panied by a neat photograph of the reading room referred is not an illustrated magazine we cannot reproduce it:

Brigham City, Utah, March 15, 1898. — Dear Bro: The Young Men's and Young Ladies' Mutual Improve- ment Associations of this city have built a library and reading room, a pic- ture of which is enclosed. Early in the season the stake and city officers of both associations be- gan to discuss a plan whereby the many small ward libraries might be gathered into one. As no suitable building could be procured, it was de- cided to erect one on the public square on Main street, a piece of ground being granted us by the city council. Accordingly committees were ap- pointed and all went to work with a will. Not a cent was paid for labor. The cash outlay, $400, was raised by subscription and entertainments. When the building was finished, it was also paid for. Total cost, about $725.00. The building was dedicated on Feb. 14th, President Lorenzo Snow offering the prayer. Nearly five hundred volumes have been collected, many of which are already in circulation. The room is open all day until 9:30 p. m. The tables are supplied with the principal state papers, Im- provement Era, Juvenile Instructor, leading magazines, etc. Though there were some objections at first, now everybody says that it is "a thing of beauty" and a credit to the city. We report this as a part of "Our Work" during the season just closing. Respectfully, Nephi Anderson, Cor. Secy.

OF INTEREST TO MISSIONARIES. Quite a number of Eras which have been sent to elders in the North- ern and Southern States missions are being returned by postmasters because not called for. We presume this is on account of changes in addresses of the elders, of which we have not been notified. In order that the maga- zine may reach all the elders safely and the useless expense of return postage be saved this office, it is very necessary that we be promptly notified of every change in address.

M. I. A. ANNUAL CONFERENCE. At the general conference of the Mutual Improvement Associations to be held on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, May 29th, 30th, and 31st, many topics of great importance to the associations will be discussed. The meetings on Sunday will be held conjointly with theYonng Ladies' Associa- tions in the Tabernacle, and will be of a general character. Those on the two following days will be strictly business meetings of the officers and members of associations, where statements and reports of the work during the past season will be presented, and plans for the future devised, dis- cussed, and decided' upon.

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In the past the attendance of officers at these conferences has not been all that could be desired, many stakes being entirely without representa- tion, although at the last conference there was a better representation than for many years past. This year we hope to have representatives from every stake, and would be pleased to have some one from every ward. With this object in view we request the Stake Superintendents to begin now and continue to urge upon their officers the necessity for making an effort to attend these conferences. We find that those officers who are present at these gatherings, and get the spirit as well as the letter of the instruction given there, return to their homes full of enthusiasm and energy, and carrying the influence of the conference with them, diffuse it through- out their stakes and wards, and accomplish a greater and grander work than is possible in those districts which have no one to bring to them that influence and spirit.