---
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: 5
published: 1899-03
publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations
publisher_place: Salt Lake City
language: en
type: magazine
reference: "Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations, \"Sonnet,\" *Improvement Era* 2, no. 5 (March 1899): 370."
source:
  url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera25unse
  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: improvementera25unse
start_page: 370
end_page: 370
rights:
  status: public-domain
  basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1899-03)
  source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera25unse
  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.
---

# Sonnet

<!-- page:370 -->

THE BIBLE AS A FACTOR IN EDUCATION.
It is to be feared that notwithstanding our age is boasted of
as pre-eminently the age of education, in its cold neglect of the
Bible it is abandoning one of the prime factors in education. "Not
long ago," says an eastern writer, " An instructor of youth tried
an experiment.
He wanted to find out how much (or how little) the average
American college student of these days knows about the Bible. To
ninety-six such students he gave nine simple questions, to be
answered off-hand and in writing. He explained to them his object
and promised not to show their answers to anybody. This was
the question paper:
1. What is the Pentateuch?
2. What is the higher criticism of the Scriptures?
3. Does the book of Jude belong to the New Testament or to
the Old?
4. Name one of the patriarchs of the Old Testament.
5. Name one of the judges of the Old Testament.
6. Name three of the kings of Israel.
7. Name three prophets.
8. Give one of the beatitudes.
9. Quote a verse from the letter to the Romans.
In a letter to the Christian Advocate he reports the result of
the experiment. Eight of the ninety-six students answered all the
questions correctly; thirteen answered eight of them, eleven
answered seven, five answered six, nine answered five, twelve
answered four, eleven answered three, thirteen answered two,