Our Work: Improvement Officers to Be Set Apart; As to Music; A Word to Missionaries; Our Course of Study

OUR WORK. 155

Associations be blessed and set apart by the presidents of stakes and' bishops of wards or under their direction." In accordance with this resolution the General Board desires that whenever stake officers are chosen they be blessed and set apart by

the stake president, or under his direction; and when ward officers are chosen they are to be set apart by the bishop of the ward or by someone acting under his direction. The brethren of the General Board feel that when a young man is called to be an officer in these associations he gains strength from the blessings of his brethren, and they desire that any young man chosen for these positions should have all the help possible for the performance of his labors. It was also decided by the General Board, at the above meeting, that

the young men who have been called to act as missionaries among the members of the associations be set apart previous to leaving for their fields of labor; and some time ago a letter instructing the young men called on missions to apply to the president of their respective stakes to be set apart before leaving their homes to commence their labors, was sent out, and we trust that it reached the brethren in time for them to receive the blessings of their president.

AS TO MUSIC.

The following suggestion comes from a correspondent in Richfield relative to music for the associations:

Dear Brother: An idea has occurred to me, and I hasten to give the same to you* We have no music of our own suitable for the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations, that is, for devotional exercises. How would it be if you were to induce some of our own musicians to compose or

arrange pieces for male voices suitable for this purpose and publish them in the Era; publishing one piece in each number? This w'ould make the Era our Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association glee book, and we need one very much. Geo, M. Jones.

Our correspondent makes a splendid suggestion, and we may say that we have had this matter in mind for some time; and as soon as we can get to it, it is the intention to furnish the associations with something of this kind through the Era.

A WORD TO MISSIONARIES.

By the time this number of the Era reaches the hands of our officersand members of the associations the Y. M. M. I. A. missionary work will be well under way. Quite a number of brethren have been called by the General Superintendency to engage in this work, and most of them are now in their respective fields of labor. We desire to say to them on behalf of the committee having the work in charge that we sincerely hope that the instructions contained in the letter already sent out to them will be carefully followed; but in addition to what is there said for their instruction, we desire to say further that this season's missionary work should differ from that of last year in this particular: that, whereas the objective point last year in the main seems to have been to induce the great number of young men who were not connected with the associations to become members; we desire now to urge that the objective point shall more especially be to convert them to the truth of the gospel. The missionaries will find that many of our young men who have a standing in the associations, are not really established in their faith in the great latter day work, and we are anxious that all should be done that can be done to ground them in that faith. The membership of the associations was very much enlarged by the missionary efforts of last season; but many of those who gave in their names to become members of the associations failed to become actually interested in the work of mutual improvement. It .was decided at the last annual conference of the associations that the enrollment of names should be preserved; and that no one should be dropped from the enrolled membership but for cause. The fact that a young man has his name among the enrolled members of an association should be made a basis of missionary work with him. Our brethren charged with the duties of seeking out the youth of Israel and converting them to the truth of the great latter-day work, should call upon all those who have failed to become real members of the associations, and should strive earnestly for their conversion both to mutual improvement effort and to the gospel. None should be allowed to escape; and not only should our missionary brethren labor with them, but the local officers and members of the associations should also bring to bear upon them their personal infiuence and give them encouragement to persevere in the good work of the Lord. We urge upon our missionaries to take plenty of time, and not be in too^ great a hurry to cover a large field in their operations, but to do their work thoroughly as they go.

—

OUR WORK. 157

One other thing we would also urge— don't mistake timidity for humility. We want to see our missionaries humble, of course. It is one of the first elements necessary to their success. But hui^ility of soul is not incompatible with boldness of action in the matter of discharging a duty; and it does not always follow that a timid man is necessarily a properly humble man. Be humble, brethren, but be bold also and fearless: you cannot succeed in the work assigned you unless you are bold as well as humble. You are sent to call the wayward sons of Zion to repentance search them out, let none escape, and when you find them deliver the message to them without fear and in the power of God. Remember you bear the priesthood of God, you have the truth and are especially commissioned to teach the same; and thus equipped there should be no timidity in your movements. When you go to a settlement, seek out the authorities of the ward, both the bishop and the president of the association, put yourselves at their disposal, procure a list of delinquent members of the association and those who have so far refused to identify themselves with this great cause of improvement, and then seek them out and begin your work. Hold such public meetings as you may find convenient and as may be agreeable to the local authorities. Make arrangements wherever possible for "cottage meetings," get as many of the careless and indifferent ones as you can to attend, sing with them, pray with them, and get them to pray; preach to them, converse with them, answer their questions, disperse their doubts, silence their fears, help them to shake off their indifference, and lead them to God and righteousness in faith. Finally, brethren, the Lord be with you!

OUR COURSE OP STUDY.

We desire to call attention to this year's course of study provided for in our Manual for 1898-9, "The Apostolic Age." Under this title we have given our young men a subject that is in every way worthy of their attention. It has already been stated, perhaps a number of times, that the chief object of mutual improvement is to beget faith in the hearts of our young men in God's great latter-day work; and it may seem by some that by starting for this objective point by devoting one year's study to the life of Jesus Christ, and following that by another year's study of the "Apostolic Age," and the last subject, perhaps, with one that will treat on the interim between the close of the "Apostolic Age" to the

opening of the "Dispensation of the Fullness of Times," which began' — with the revelations of the Lord to Joseph Smith all this, we repeat, may seem a round-about way in which to reach our really objective point; but we* are confident, nevertheless, that all this is necessary to the right understanding of that great dispensation which later on is to occupy our attention, and the best efforts of the Mutual Improvement Associations, We urge our young men, therefore, to their very best effort in studying the "Apostolic Age," and ask them to be especially thorough in their study of this period of development and decline of that institution founded by the personal ministry of Jesus and the apostles. The most valuable records to consult with reference to the events of that age are to be found in the "Acts of the Apostles," and the epistles of the New Testament; and, indeed, these are about the only authoritative documents that can be consulted with any degree of assurance that they are not mixed with error. After the documents of the New Testament come the writings of the "Apostolic Fathers" and the "Apologists" of the second century. These include the epistles of Clement, of Rome; Ignatius, of Antioch; Polycarp, of Smyrna, and the epistles of Barnabus, Perhaps the most accessible works containing these epistles and much other early Christian literature are a series of works called "Primers of Early Christian Literature," edited by Prof. George P. Fisher, and published by D. Appleton & Co., New York. After these works, for the benefit of those who desire to enter deeply into a consideration of this interesting period of the Church, we recommend "Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History," which treats of the first three centuries of church history by one who was very close to the events which he relates. We also recommend Canon Farrar's "Early Days of Christianity," "The History of the Christian Church," during the first ten centuries, by Phillip Smith, under the title of "The Student's Ecclesiastical History;" "The History of Christianity," by Henry H. Milman, generally published in two volumes; "The Life of Paul," by Conybeare and Hawson, and, of course, Mosheim's "Ecclesiastical History" and Milner's "History of the Church," None of these works are expensive, and, in the main, can be procured through our Salt Lake book-dealers, especially through Cannon & Sons of Salt Lake City; and while it may be true that our young men cannot undertake to purchase all of them, still any one of those recommended would be of great assistance, and perhaps each association could secure them as works of reference for the association. In that event the bindings ought to be especially good, and the books would then be an excelent start toward an ecclesiastical library that would be of great value,, not only in the present manual course but in others that are to follow.