--- 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: 3 number: 8 published: 1900-06 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations, "The Annual M. I. A. Conference," *Improvement Era* 3, no. 8 (June 1900): 634–635.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera38unse 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: improvementera38unse start_page: 634 end_page: 635 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1900-06) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera38unse publication_year: 1900 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 1900, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The Annual M. I. A. Conference 634 IMPROVEMENT ERA. "No such a subject," said an eastenfprofessor to a Utah boy, after reading his oration on the "Mormon" people, "ever came up before, for an oration, in this institution. If all that is spoken against the 'Mormons' were true, the great work they did in crossing those plains and conquering a desert ought, even then, to make their names live in history forever." There is great power in the simple history of The Church, as evidenced by the fact that one of our leading men, a few years since, was asked to give a talk on the "Mormon" people, at or during an irrigation congress, or some other such gathering, and after he had finished his impromptu talk on the history of The Church, the great men, the scholars and orators, came forward and complimented him on his powerful speech, his masterful eloquence. Again, when a Utah boy, in a talk before the members of a students' Christian association, quoted the thirteenth section of the Doctrine and Covenants, declaring earnestly that an angel of God came down from heaven, laid his hands upon the heads of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and spoke those words, it so impressed a young lady present that she said it seemed to her she could see, in that young man, one of the ancient prophets come again. These, and many other similar experiences, teach us plainly that there is power in the simple narration of the history of The Church, and, therefore the Mutual Improvement speakers contest has been established, that young men may have an opportunity to practice telling this beautiful story, an opportunity to speak the feelings the study of the manual awakens in them. THE ANNUAL M. I. A. CONFERENCE. The annual conference of the Mutual Improvement Associations will be held in Salt Lake City, on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, June 10, 11, and 12, 1900. On the first named date, occurs the anniversary of the organization of the first Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association in Zion, under the present name, and it is designed on that account to make the conference a memorable occasion. The General Superientend- OUR WORK. 635 ency desire, therefore, that all the officers shall be present. It is especially urged that every association in The Church shall be represented, for aside from this feature of celebrating the anniversary of the first organization, by reminiscent speeches from several prominent people who took part in the early rise of the associations, there will be instructions, in the course of the conference, that will prove of great value to every officer and member. The railroads have all made a rate of one regular fare for the round trip. Tickets will be sold from all points south of Santaquin and north of Ogden, on June 9 and 10, and from Santaquin, Ogden and intermediate and all Tintic points, on June 10 and 11, and the final return limit is June 20. This will allow all who desire to attend our conference and remain to the Scandinavian Jubilee, which will be held on June 14, to 17, the opportunity to do so. There will be three public meetings on Sunday, June 10, in the Tabernacle, and on Monday and Tuesday, two meetings each day will be held for officers, at which reports will be presented and the actual business of the conference will be transacted. There is much important business to be attended to, and every Mutual Improvement worker, who desires to be up-to-date in his work, must attend these meetings. No young man who remembers the valuable instructions heretofore imparted in these conferences, will be content to remain away. The meeting of officers, last year, in which President Lorenzo Snow gave the young people a sermon on tithing, with promises to the faithful observer of this law, was of thrilling interest. Those who were present will wish to come again, and those who were not, will desire to meet with the leading workers this year to become familiar with the instruction, and to prepare themselves to. take a place in the van of the great cause of mutual improvement which should sweep through the stakes of Zion this year with greater force than ever. On Monday evening, June 11, the final meeting in the oratorical contest of the Salt Lake Stake will be held, which will be of special interest to all M. I. A. workers. A complimentary entertainment will be tendered by the General Boards to the visiting stake officers and their wives, on Tuesday evening, June 12.