Our Work

STATISTICAL REPORT OF THE Y. M» M« I. A.

MEMBERSHIP. MEETINGS.

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AllDerta 395 4 15 144 190 22 126 23 6 Alpine 696 22 24 297 660 39 209 84 8 Banuock 327 18 27 152 66 45 190 16 7 2 Bear Lake 929 26 60 402 64 347 75 16 2 Beaver 260 8 36 99 10 80 26 11 Bingham 427 14 40 179 238 17i 190 42 7 1 Box Elder 102S 54 94 428 174 146 350 6 110 27 2 Cache 1141 48 50 422 640 125 313 46: 136 3 1 Cassia 416 20 700 2l! 146 107 2 Davis 1019 52 84 355 160 90; 309 29 82 12 2 Emery 700 14 55 202 156 17 221 20 1 Fremont 342 7 13 160 174 62, 149 5 1 Granite 1064 43 60 422 357 46] 357 49 97 25 2 Jordan 479 20 80 213 305 58 295 23 j

76 5 2 Juah 409 13 25 216 28 69! 168 20 40 19 2 Juarez 450 14 78 195 25 41i 158 21 45 11 2 Kanab 326 17 47 148 103 20l 115 18 17 5 1 Malad 453 15 30 i!12 10, 140 6 33 2 2 Maricopa 181 11 20 55 3i 86 33 8 1 Millard i

487 13 42 225 54 18! 174 6' 27 4 2 Morgan 231 7 17 141 44 17| 129 4! 38 14 1 Nebo 1075 36 82 360 217 841 3.35 36 101 15 1 North Sanpete 1033 17 114 551 241 86! 222 31 57 38 1 Oneida 731 35 69 319 126 76 248 23! 65 16 2 Panguitch 304 17 12 113 239 8: 87 18 47 2 1 Parovvan 228 12 2 65 98 4 58 2 1 Pocatello 340 10 5 171 108 40 188 3 2 St. George 676 48 21 307 57 49 355 14 1 St. Johns 202 12 67 74 19 34 124 23 1 St. Joseph 553 15 76 239 35 39 187 17 44 8 1 Salt Lake 1822 108 108 799 984 103 736 48 216 13 1 San Juan 265 19 21 115 32 471 108 33 28 2 San Luis 400 9 33 133 72 35 66 2 2 Sevier j

697 20 81 247 309 14 225 1 Snowflake 185 9 7 89 51 2 113 3 2 South Sanpete' 604 11 37 223 659 67 229 35 1 Star Valley.... 307 19 11 159 68 12! 188 8 2 Summit 313 24 50 185 125 100 212 7 2 Tooele 513 11 48 228 25 5i 144 4 6 Uintah 275 10 3 117 186 19 93 9 35 2 2 Utah 768 32 55 317 349 51 291 37 111 20 2 Wasatch 720 6 50 226 230 31 274 29 42 2 1 Wayne 128 5 6 14 29 6 81 15 Weber 2004 69 177 685 199 335 560 32 1 Woodruff 206 10 18 92 25 6 86 4 N States Mission . 106 13 73 3 34 E. States Mission 10 British Mission.. 335 151 220 Hawaiian Mission 1422 968 1533 Samoan Mission. 185 150 156 Scandinavian Mis 242 157 240 48 Totals, 565 28409 1009 2063 11994 8646 2319 11645 S83 2551 470 63

FOR THE YEAR ENDING APRIL 30th, J90J. 1 MlSSION- EXERCISES. 1 AUT LIBRAEIES. FINANCE. Labors.

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OUR WORK. ANNUAL CONVENTIONS.

To Stake Superintendents, Assistants, and all Stake officers of Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations: Dear Brethren: In conformity with the action of the general M. I. A. conference held in June, this year, this call for a convention in each stake, and letter of instructions is issued by order of the General Board. All superintendents are hereby instructed to call a convention in their stakes in accordance with the following schedule of dates: August 19th — San Juan. September 4th — John's. St. September 8th —Alberta, Alpine, Beaver, Benson, Bingham, Box Elder, Davis, Emery, Fremont, Granite, Juab, Malad, and Morgan. Cassia, September 9th —Snowflake. September 12th—Bannock. September 13th —Maricopa. September 15th —Cache, Jordan, Kanab, Millard, Nebo, North San- pete, Oneida, Panguitch, Parowan, Sevier and Union. September 16th— George. St.

— Joseph. September 17th St. September 22nd — Bear Lake, Hyrum, Pocatello, San Luis, Salt Lake, South Sanpete, Star Valley, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch^ Wayne, Weber, and Woodruff. September 22nd Juarez. — You will confer at once with the presidency of your stake, and ar- range for holding this convention, and secure their co-operation in mak- ing it a success. You will then see that the stake organization, and all ward organizations are complete in your stake, making personal

visits for this purpose wherever necessary, before the date of the conven- tion. Take special pains to notify, either by letter or personal visits, every officer in your stake to be present without fail. You will see

OUR WORK. 871

that a suitable hall is secured, in a central settlement and location, where the convention may be held so as not to interfere with the Sab- bath School. Where officers of the Y. M. M. I. A. are teachers in the Sabbath school, they should arrange to be excused for that morning. It will be well to make provision for the entertainment of your officers who attend the convention. Three meetings should be arranged for; morning, afternoon and evening. It should be understood that these meetings are especially for Y.

M. M. I. A. officers, but it is very desirable that the stake presidency, bishops and other stake and ward officers should be invited to attend. The stake superintendents are expected to conduct these meetings, under the direction of representatives of the General Board, and to be prepared to present the following topics: (These topics are to be treated either by the stake superintendent or by such competent assistants as he may call upon, and the subject matter should be prepared before the day of meeting.) Preparations for the Opening of the Season : The manual should be obtained and distributed in ample time for the preparation of the first

lesson for the opening meeting. The first program should be ready before the first meeting, and be prepared and assigned by the officers at a pre- liminary meeting of the officers held for the purpose. It is very import- ant that an officers' meeting should be held not only before the beginning of the season but every week thereafter. As early as possible, before the commencement of the season's work and before this convention, all the organizations should be completed, and va- cancies filled, but care must be taken that the work goes on even if this cannot be done, or the president or any other officer is unavoidably absent. Grading the Associations — was the decision of the annual M. A It I.

conference to continue the division of the associations into senior and junior classes wherever it is Make two divisions of each practicable. association, placing in the junior class themembers under, say sixteen or seventeen years of age, and in the senior class, all others. The lines of this division should not be too strictly drawn, but should be governed by local conditions. It has been decided to use Manual No. 1, on the Life of Jesus, in the junior class, and No. 5, on the Principles of the Gospel in the senior class, and to conjointly use the preliminary sugges- tive programs in manual No. 5. Class Work —Every association should select a competent class leader. This leader need not be the president of the association, but he should have the ability to conduct the class work in an interesting manner.

872 IMPROVEMENT ERA.

One or two of the very ablest men should be placed in charge of the junior class. No thoroughly effective work can be done in the association unless frequent officers' meetings are held. They are absolutely essential,

and should be held at least once in two weeks, and once each week is better. Care should be exercised in the preparation of the programs, so as to make them attractive. The Manual lessons will always be the back- bone of the work, but will be relieved and lightened by the use of the preliminary programs provided for in the manual, which programs should be presented before the classes separate. As methods for awakening interest in the members, we suggest in addition: 1 —A brief statement of the lesson for the succeeding meeting — made near the close of each session, and 2 Living testimonies. Not more than fifty should be in a class, if the best work is desired. The first thing necessary in a class is to arouse an interest. Then em- phasis must be placed upon the essential points in the exercise or lesson. These points would necessarily be different in the senior and junior classes, and the main facts as seen from the different standpoints of the

boy and the man must be brought out. The key note of success in class work is, "Do the members enjoy it?" Those enjoy it most who are most employed. While a social friendliness should always exist between teacher and student, undignified familiarity should never be permitted. Teachers and members should address each other as Brother So-and-so. The Manual —The new manual is the culmination and outgrowth of the preceding ones, although in some respects it differs from them. In the others, the course of study has been the only factor, while in this are introduced preliminary programs for lighter work in the associations. The previous courses of study have been adapted to all the members while the course presented in this manual has been prepared more with reference to the senior class. The Gospel principles treated in this Manual are: God; The Plan of Salvation; Faith; Repentance, and Baptism. There are twenty- three les- sons, covering about 125 pages. One of these lessons should be completed at each regular meeting. Each of the sub-topics of a lesson should be assigned to a member, and that member should come specially prepared, at the next meeting, to treat upon that topic; such treatment should not occupy more than five or ten minutes; but this special prepartion of one topic should not pre- clude the student from studying the entire lesson. Every member of the class should prepare upon the whole lesson and be familiar with

OUR WORK. 873

every topic, so that in case of the absence of an appointed speaker, upon request, any other member may take his place. It is expected, of course, that the officers shall be fully prepared on every lesson and ready to finish the program, in case of failure on the part of any member, but the officers should not be considered until it has been made clearly ap- parent that no member in the house is prepared ; the members should do the work and not the officers, except in cases of need, and in their regu- lar order on the program. Attention is called to the following rules which have been fre- quently published in our manuals as a guide for our young men in study- ing and presenting these subjects:

1. Talk directly to the subject. 2. Master all its necessary details.
2. Practice stopping at the right time and place. 4. Do not allow end- less, rambling discussions. 5. Avoid the introduction of mysteries. 6.

Use your own language, in preference to reading or reciting the words of others. The notes in the manual are never to be read before the class by the one giving the exercise. He is expected to say what he can of his subject, but not to read it from the manual or any other work. The spirit and the efficacy of an exercise of this kind are always de- stroyed by reading. 7. Master the notes as thoroughly as possible, and make a careful study as well, of the other reference works mentioned in connection with each subject. Do not be satisfied with "skimming." 8.

Use correct language. 9. Practice ease and grace in speaking. lO- Cultivate the habit of correctly quoting important passages of scripture. 11. Testimony-bearing may occasionally be allowed by way of increasing faith. 12. Prepare all lessons thoroughly, whether appointed to treat "them or not. 13. Get the Spirit of God, and work hard under its direction. There are a number of ways to use the review questions. The first and most satisfactory is for the class teacher to ask the questions of or from the whole class, calling promiscuously upon some member for reply. Another plan is the assigning, at the prior meeting, of all the questions to as many members as there are questions; in that case giv- ing them principally to such young or inexperienced members as are a little backward in their studies, thus giving them opportunity and en- couragement. For further instruction on this topic, we refer you to the sub-head "Class Work," in this circular. The manual may be obtained from General Secretary Thomas Hull. There are two ways of handling it. The first has been found most sat- isfactory in certain stakes, where the distances are not so great, and where there is a general central gathering place, — it is for the stake officers to obtain the entire supply for the stake, and distribute the

874 IMPROVEMENT ERA.

manuals to the ward presidents. The second method is for each presi- dent to order the manuals for his association direct from the general secretary, In either case, the manuals are furnished on credit, it being distinctly understood that the person ordering them is responsible for their cost, to the general" secretary. Orders for manuals should be sent in immediately. Joint Sessions —The programs for joint sessions should be prepared at joint officers' meetings, and should consist of the cream of the asso- ciation work for the preceding month. Missionary Work — The present local missionary organizations, let it be distinctly understood, are permanent, and should be kept up by the selection of new missionaries where those already chosen are, for any cause, unable to continue their labors. The local missionary work must not be discontinued, but should be made more effective. Everything should be prepared, and the missionary corps filled, and all made ready for good, vigorous work during the season. This local missionary work is among the most important that the oflScers have to do. Upon it depends greatly the success of the organ- ization and their power to do good. It should be made the spiritual

labor of the season. The already adopted missionary methods must be emphasized and continued. In case this work is not thoroughly under- stood by the officers, information concerning its scope, and the methods to be adopted, will be given at your convention, by a member of the general board. This missionary work should receive careful explana- tion in your convention. This year in addition to the local missionary work elders have been called who will be sent to labor as general missionaries in all the stakes. — The General Improvement Fund The general fund is an essential in the work of mutual improvement, and is an important item to place before the members; because, without it, the work of the General Board cannot be car- ried on. You will remember that there are two weeks set apart as collec- tion weeks for this fund; viz., the first weeks in December and February of each year. It has been decided by the General Board that envelopes shall be sent to the stake superintendents for distribution to the ward associations, in which each member is requested, on the given date, to place his contribution of twenty-five cents, and hand the same to the president or secretary of his association. Committees should be appointed to visit, during the collection weeks, every member of the association, and deliver to them the envelopes and solicit their contribu- tion to this fund. These envelopes will be distributed by the general secretary to all the stakes in time for the December collection.

OUR WORK. 875

The Era —The Era is a necessity in your association, and should be in the hands of everymember thereof. It is your duty, as officers, to see that a thorough canvass is made in your wards for subscribers. Every officer should be a subscriber. Subscriptions may begin at the beginning of the volume, or at any time thereafter. The canvass for subscribers should begin early in September. Do not delay; it makes the work hard and results poor. One way to canvass is to appoint five or six young men, themselves subscribers, to thoroughly canvass the ward on a given date, and to continue their labors until the desired results are obtained. Every ward obtaining, as subscribers, five per cent of its Church population, will be given a rebate of twenty-five cents on each subscrip- tion, upon presentation of their claim for said rebate.

The General Board have decided to make a special offer to the associations on the four published volumes. Any Mutual Improvement Association may have the first, second, third, and fourth volumes, bound in cloth, for $8.00, postpaid. This is a splendid opportunity to obtain the Era for the libraries, and certainly every association should have the complete set. Secretaries — It is very important that competent young men be selected for secretaries who can be depended upon to remain with the association until the season's work is completed, and then make up the statistical report at once. Reports should be prepared during the season so that at its close, everything being in shape, the reports can be compiled and forwarded without delay. The secretary should be present at every meeting, or see that some one is there to represent him, if, for some unavoidable reason, he is

compelled to be absent. He should keep the president informed in relation to the programs and all business connected with the association. He should see that a complete roll is kept containing the names of every member of the association, and that such roll is called at every meeting. For calling the roll, such methods should be adopted as will best suit the local conditions. A new roll book will be prepared for the use of the associations during the coming season, and the associations will be notified of its preparation and price as soon as it is ready. Every association should have a well-kept record, which should include: A roll book carefully kept, minutes of all meetings, including public lectures and joint sessions, and a record of all financial transac- tions. Minutes should contain records of all transactions, but not comments on programs, etc.

876 IMPROVEMENT ERA.

Every stake should have a record of all meetings of the superin- tendency and of the stake board, a roll of all the stake officers, and a careful financial record, also a complete stake directory, showing the names and addresses of every officer of M. I. A. This should show the names of every ward president, counselor, secretary and other officer. — Miscellaneous The stake superintendency and aids should hold board meetings at least once a month, better, as some stakes are now doing, once a week. Where weekly meetings are held, the manual may be studied on the night of the meeting, and the officers made thoroughly familiar with the lessons one week ahead of all the associations, so that they may criticise and help in their weekly visits. Every week the stake officers should be in the field visiting the wards. Ward officers should meet in council every week, and be thoroughly prepared on the lesson so that they may present the same to the best advantage in the class. To these meetings also, all the class leaders should be invited. It is very important that every officer should be in possession of the Era so that he may become familiar with the instructions which have been given and are continually being given, concerning his duties in the work. Outline of Convention Programs —The topics previously outlined above should be treated in the convention in the following order: Morning: Preparations for Opening the Season, Grading, Joint Sessions, The General Improvement Fund. Afternoon: Class Work, The Manual, and the Missionary Work. Evening: Era, Secretaries, and Miscellaneous. As a final word, we say to you that the great aim of the Y. M. M. I. A. work is the salvation of the young, the obtaining by them of a testimony of the truth of the Gospel, and the general social and edu- cational improvement of the community, and we sincerely trust that, with these objects in view, every effort will be made to make these conventions a success, and to carry that same success into all our work for the coming season. We pray that the Spirit of the Lord may attend you in all your work, and make you grandly successful in your labors this season. With sentiments of love and regard, we are Your brethren, George H. Brimhall, Edward H. Anderson, J. G. Kimball, Thomas Hull, Bryant S. Hinckley. Committee.