--- 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: 4 number: 12 published: 1901-10 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," *Improvement Era* 4, no. 12 (October 1901): 953–955.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0412unse 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: improvementera0412unse start_page: 953 end_page: 955 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1901-10) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0412unse publication_year: 1901 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 1901, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Our Work — —— — IN LIGHTER MOOD. Truth lies in a well. This is because there are no fish stories con- nected with well water. New Orleans Picayune. * * * King Edward's coronation, which will be the most brilliant ever known, differs from our inauguration. A coronation marks a change of reign, while rain with very little change generally marks an inaugura- tion. * * * We are willing to take a certain amount of stock in newspaper ac- counts of western cyclones, but when an Arkansas paper telling us about a zephyr carrying a bed quilt sixty- one miles, and then went back for the sheet, we ain't there. Boston Globe. * * * A man at a hotel fell the whole length of a flight of stairs. Ser- vants rushed to pick him up. They asked him if he was hurt. "No," he replied: "not at all. I'm used to coming down that way. I am a life insurance agent." Boston Post. * * * Congressman "Joe" Cannon, of Illinois, is a man of strong likes and dislikes, and never does anything by halves. In the list of his likings, so far as culinary matters are concerned, his fondness for green corn takes first rank, and on this score he tells a good story at his own ex- pense. After a long sojourn in Washington, he returned home and started out to look after his political fences in his district. At a small village hotel, where he stopped for dinner, a scanty plate of fine roast- ing ears was placed before him as a side dish. Immediately he aban- doned the main bill-of-fare and applied himself exclusively to the green corn. When the plate was depleted he called for more roasting ears, and continued his feast until he had made his entire meal from the staple product of the Illinois prairies. The hotel keeper noticed the array of cobs stacked upon the plate of the tall politician, whose identity was un- known to him, and said: "Say, stranger, what in thunder do you want to board at a hotel for? The place for you to put up at is a livery stable. Don't you know green fodder is a dum sight cheaper in a barn than in a house?" During the remainder of the campaign Congress- man Cannon retailed this story to his constituents and turned it to — good account among the corn growers. Philadelphia Post. OUR WORK. GETTING STARTED RIGHT. Elder Frank Y. Taylor addressed the late June conference on this subject. In his remarks he emphasized the importance of getting the mutual improvement work right before the young men in the beginning of the season, and cited the case of one stake in which the superinten- dency, prior to the opening of the season, invited all the ward officers to a sociable, where refreshments were served, pleasing exercises ren- dered, and instructions given touching the season's work; and the ward officers were advised to have similar gatherings in each of the wards, and outline to the people in the ward what they expected to do during the season, and urging all to get ready to start the season on time. Especially were those to be invited who had not manifested any interest in the work, and they were to be taken by the hand and encouraged to attend the associations. In this way a spirit of enthusiasm might be aroused in the wards, and additional interest created in mutual improve- ment work. He urged the officers to lead out themselves and set a good example. The superintendent sould be at the meeting before anyone else, and when the boys came in, he should take them by the hand and welcome them. When strangers come in, they should be welcomed and made to feel quite at home. Many association presidents are too cold to the boys. They come into the meeting hurriedly, and without grasping anybody by the hand, they take their seats and proceed to open the meeting. This should not be. They should make friends with the boys- Not only should they shake hands with the members in the meeting, but they should stop and shake hands with them on the street when they meet, and thus show an interest in them. He advised the officers to keep before the people the mutual im- OUR WORK. 955 provement work; to have the fire continually burning, and to be united in carrying out the plans that have been adopted. It is important that the ward president should remember the bishopric and get close to them. A special effort should be made to bring the careless and indifferent into the associations. We should reach out after the wayward, and, overlooking the past, we should present before them the sunshine of the future. There is supreme joy in laboring with wayward boys, and see- ing them converted to the value of mutual improvement work. SACREDNESS OF THE NAME OF GOD. There is no denying the fact that among many young people, the name of Deity is not held in such resDect and treated with such sacred- ness as it should be. Our Manual, this season, treats of God, and it is a fitting time for our officers to impress the young men with reverence for his holy name. It should not be taken in vain. It is a sin that will not go unpunished to lightly take his name in vain: and the Lord will not hold him guiltless who commits this sin. At a recent meeting of the General Board, the following resolution was unanimously passed, which we trust will be taken up and adopted by all the associations in The Church, and be made the special labor and battle cry for the year: Resolved, that all M. I. A. officers and members shall make special effort this season to inculcate a reverence for the Deity, and labor against the sins of blasphemy and profanity. In this Connection officers should remember the timely instructions delivered at the June conference by Elder B. H. Roberts, on the treat- ment of this subject in connection with our lessons. His remarks follow: We are treating in this Manual the most stupendous of all theolog- ical questions— we are dealing with the Godhead: and I am particularly pleased that the younger members of the associations, perhaps, will not be required to undertake the handling of that subject. I do not know how it occurs to the minds of other brethren, but to get that subject rightly into the minds of our young men requires a great deal of tact and care, and we should approach the study of that subject with a pro- found reverence for our Father in heaven. There have been made known unto The Church, through the revelations of the Lord to the