---
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: 2
number: 3
published: 1899-01
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: The Use of Missionary Eras,\" *Improvement Era* 2, no. 3 (January 1899): 233–234."
source:
  url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera23unse
  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: improvementera23unse
start_page: 233
end_page: 233
rights:
  status: public-domain
  basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1899-01)
  source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera23unse
  publication_year: 1899
  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 1899, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright.
---

# Our Work: The Use of Missionary Eras

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their being called to their fields of labor, be sent them; and at the same
time they express as the reason for this request that they desire to make
up the complete number in the volume in order to have it bound. This
clearly indicates that some of our missionary brethren do not understand the purpose for which the Era is sent to them free.
First of all the purpose in sending it to them is that they may be
able to keep in touch with the spirit of the work of Mutual Improvement
going on at home; and second that they may have a magazine which
represents the trend of thought among the young people of the Church,
to circulate among the people where they are traveling, that it may aid
the missionary in his work of dispelling prejudice, and be the means of
both advocating and defending the gospel. It was not thought that the
Elders receiving these numbers should put them away carefully for binding, but that they would use them freely in loaning them in the neighborhood where they travel. The Elders, on their return home, will find
abundance of opportunity to secure the complete volumes of the Era, as
in publishing our magazine we have made ample provisions for supplying
complete volumes and even separate numbers. So we ask our brethren
to take no thought about saving their magazines for binding, but use
them as missionaries for the spread of the gospel. Freely ye have
received, as freely give; and use our magazine as a herald of the Faith
as far as it is possible to do so.