--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Smith, Joseph F. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 6 number: 2 published: 1902-12 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'President Joseph F. Smith, "Our Work—Do Your Duty," *Improvement Era* 6, no. 2 (December 1902): 154.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0602unse 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: improvementera0602unse start_page: 154 end_page: 154 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1902-12) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0602unse publication_year: 1902 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 1902, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Our Work—Do Your Duty OUR WORK. DO YOUR DUTY. At the late semi-annual Conference of the Church, in the general gumming up of the reports and labors of the Church organizations, President Joseph F. Smith, in the course of his remarks, delivered this message to the workers in the Mutual Improvement Associations, Let every officer ask himself whether or not he is doing his whole duty in the lines indicated, and let us all take courage, and do our full share of missionary work: "Now, I want to say one word to the Mutual Improvement Associ- ations. You young men and young women, officers of the Mutual Improvement Associations, I implore you to go from this conference and do your duty. Look after the wayward, the disobedient, the thought- less, and the indifferent. It is necessary that they should be guarded and looked after. As it has been expressed here, time and again, it is far better, and does not cost so much, for us to save our own boys at home than it is for us to go into the world and spend years of time and endless means to gather in a few people and bring them to a knowledge of the truth; because, they are often so full of the traditions and superstitions of their fathers that it is difficult for them to eradicate these things from their minds, and come to a full comprehension of the gospel and a perfect reception of the truth. Yet a soul saved out in the world is as precious in the sight of God as a soul saved at home. But we have work to do right at home, right at our own doors. It is not right for us to neglect the labor necessary to be done at our own thresholds, and then go out into the world to do work that is no more necessary. Let us do our duty everywhere."