Our Work: Answers to Questions; Walter M. Gibson; The Powder and the Bullet

OUR WORK.

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS.

ORDER OF ORDAINING AN ELDER.

What is the regular order of The Church in the presentation and ordination of a person to the office of Elder? H. B. Coles, Point Lookout, Utah.

The person is first selected by the bishopric of the ward in which he is a resident, then presented to a regular meeting of such ward and there, by the congregation, sustained as worthy. He receives a recommend to this effect from the ward clerk. Then follows his presentation, stake, to a regular stake priesthood meeting, by the president of the a certificate to this where, being sustained, he obtains from the clerk, ward. The effect, which is by him presented to the elders' quorum of his Elder by the presiquorum having accepted him, he is then ordained an dency of that quorum.

FORM OF THE LORD'S PRAYER.

What is the proper form of the Lord's prayer as used in The Church? —W. MacFarlane, St. John, Tooele Co., Utah. The Church authorities have never adopted any form, but for the School authorities have sake of uniformity in reciting, the Sunday adopted the prayer as found in Matthew, 6: 9-13. The Improvement Associations have decided upon no form, the members using both forms

of the New Testament.

WHO FIXES THE TITHING PRICES? Should a bishop allow market prices for produce, or is he allowed to

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put his own price on the tithing paid to him. J. S. Gibbons, Coalville^ Utah. The answer is found in paragraph six of "Instructions to Bishops and Stake Tithing Clerks," issued by the First Presidency of The Church and W. B. Preston, under date of December 1, 1899: "The bishop is the proper person to fix the value of all goods and tithes received in his ward, which should be credited at a fair cash market price at the time it is received. This will insure an equality of credit for tithing." Should any question arise as to values, then let the owner sell his property, and pay over the cash to the bishop.

NUMBER OF GOSPEL DISPENSATIONS. How many Gospel dispensations have there been, including this one? A. G. Sedgwick, Fairview, Wyoming. A dispensation is described as a time when the heavens are opened to man and the Holy Priesthood is bestowed upon him with all its powers for the salvation of all who will obey tho gospel. There have been very many dispensations, for whenever God has revealed himself, it may be called a dispensation. The principal dispensations, however, were those of Adam, Enoch, Noah, the Brother of Jared, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Lehi, Jesus Christ, and the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times, in which we live. (See Jaques' Catechism.)

CONCERNING ZION.

Explain the following questions in Manual Lesson XIV: 8. Where is the city of Zion to be? 10. Where is the Temple site? 8. By reference to the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 57: 1-3, it appears that the whole land of Missouri is called the land of Zion, and that the city of Zion is to be built somewhere in the land of Zion. The «xact spot has not yet been designated. 10. The temple site is westward upon a lot not far from the Court House, in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, which is the center place of the land of Zion. The first log for a house, and as a foundation for Zion in Kaw County, which was laid twelve miles west of Independence, was simply a beginning, and was not intended to be the spot where the City of Zion was to be located. A distinction should be kept in mind concerning the terms: Zion, meaning the whole land of Missouri, and perhaps the whole of western America; the City of Zion, not yet

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located, but to be built in the land of Zion; and the Center Place of -Zion, which is at Independence.

WALTER M. GIBSON.

In an article on "Religion in Samoa," on page 178, in the present volume of the Era, it is stated that Walter M. Gibson ignored the request of President Brigham Young to return home with other elders who were laboring in foreign lands. This request was made of the elders in 1857, upon the approach of Johnston's Army. The statement concerning Gibson is wrong in the one particular as to the time. He left Utah for the Sandwich Islands in 1861. It was as late as the early

part of April, 1864, that Elders Ezra T. Benson, Lorenzo Snow, Joseph F. Smith, Alma L. Smith and W. W. Cluff visited Gibson on the island of Lanai, and "after a conference, excommunicated him. This was done, as stated, because of his mismanagement of the affairs of The Church. The Era has been promised an interesting sketch of this schemer Gibson, and his effort to establish himself on the islands, by Assistant Church Historian Andrew Jenson, which will appear in due time.

THE POWDER AND THE BULLET.

Has it ever occurred to you that we need more energy in our work? When an officer says that the boys are indifferent, that nothing can be done to arouse interest, or to get them to work or to study; that the Improvement Fund is lagging, and as to getting subscribers for the Era, that is quite out of the question; what is wrong? These are but small though very essential incidents of the main work, but they indicate the tendency. There is little movement, or spirit, to break the dull monotony —there is an everlasting lack of energy which is the powder of success, and the stuff that wins. It was that peculiar old philosopher, Josh Billings, who said: "Many

men fail to reach the mark because the powder in them is not proportioned to the bullet." An imprt)vement association may be called a

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heavy bullet. It requires considerable powder to push it. It is a

mighty battle field where all the vim of enthusiasm may well find room for profitable action. If the three thousand ofiicers, or more, would practice shooting this big bullet of improvement, the energy gathered in such effort would aid them later in life in achieving success in other ways. Orison Swett Harden, the author of several excellent works on success, talks pointedly to young men on this subject of vim, and energy .-

His words are very appropriate for our work: "Nothing else, excepting honesty, is so much in demand in these days as Vim.' Everybody believes in it; everywhere we hear; 'Give us a man who can do something; a man who has push; a man with some iron in his blood.' Ability is worthless without the power to put it into action. Resolutions, however good, are useless without the energy necessary to carry them out. Push clears the track; people get out of the way of an energetic man. Even small ability with great energy will accomplish more than the greatest ability without energy. If fired from a gun with sufficient velocity, a tallow candle can be shot through an inch board.

"On every hand, we see fine young men and women failing, their ability going to waste, standing in equilibrium, for the lack of 'force.'

If we could only shake them up, put a little powder into them, and set them going, they might amount to something, but without this they are failures. They seem to have every other quality except the power of pushing their way in the world, without which almost all their ability is wasted. The finest engine ever made would be absolutely useless without power to propel it, and drag the load to its destination. "The world admires energetic men. Blow them this way and thatr and they only bend; they never break. Put obstacles in their way, and they surmount them. It is almost impossible to keep such men down. Trip one up, and instantly he is on his feet again; bury him in the mud, and almost instantly he is up and at it again. Such men as he build cities, establish schools and hospitals, whiten the ocean with sails, and blacken the air with the smoke of their industry. "The pathway of life is strewn with wrecks of those who have failed The moment they strike an because they lacked this propelling power. obstacle, they stop; they have no power to climb or overcome. The genius of achievement seems to have been left out of their make-up; their blood lacks the iron of energy, the force of accomplishment."