---
title: Improvement Era
description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930.
authors:
  - Done, Willard
collections:
  - periodicals
tags:
  - magazine
  - improvement-era
periodical: Improvement Era
volume: 7
number: 5
published: 1904-03
publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations
publisher_place: Salt Lake City
language: en
type: magazine
reference: 'Willard Done, "Our Work," *Improvement Era* 7, no. 5 (March 1904): 389–391.'
source:
  url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0705unse
  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: improvementera0705unse
start_page: 389
end_page: 391
rights:
  status: public-domain
  basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1904-03)
  source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0705unse
  publication_year: 1904
  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 1904, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright.
---

# Our Work

<!-- page:389 -->

OUR 
        WORK.
PRELIMINARY 
        PROGRAMS.
This 
        subject 
        is 
        one 
        of 
        considerable 
        importance, 
        and 
        one 
        that 
        is 
        some-
what new 
        to 
        the 
        present 
        generation 
        of 
        mutual 
        improvement 
        workers,
with 
        the 
        exception 
        of 
        the 
        trial 
        of 
        it 
        made 
        this 
        year 
        and 
        during 
        the 
        season
of 
        1902-3. 
        It 
        is 
        first 
        necessary 
        to 
        have 
        brought 
        before 
        us 
        the 
        object 
        of
the 
        organization 
        of 
        the 
        Mutual 
        Improvement 
        Association. 
        Roughly
speaking, 
        there 
        were 
        three 
        purposes 
        to 
        be 
        accomplished 
        by 
        this 
        organ-
ization. One 
        of 
        these 
        is 
        the 
        development 
        of 
        religious 
        faith, 
        knowledge
and 
        action. 
        The 
        second 
        is 
        the 
        securing 
        of 
        general 
        culture 
        outside 
        of
theological 
        work. 
        The 
        third 
        is 
        the 
        development 
        of 
        proper 
        social 
        inter-
course and 
        recreation.
The 
        first 
        of 
        these 
        purposes 
        has 
        of 
        late 
        years 
        been 
        given 
        very 
        great
prominence, 
        indeed 
        almost 
        to 
        the 
        exclusion, 
        one 
        may 
        say, 
        of 
        the 
        other
two. 
        We 
        have 
        been 
        giving 
        our 
        attention 
        almost 
        exclusively 
        to 
        the 
        de-
velopment of 
        religious 
        faith, 
        knowledge 
        and 
        action. 
        Now, 
        this 
        field 
        is
not 
        the 
        only 
        field, 
        by 
        any 
        means, 
        that 
        is 
        covered 
        by 
        our 
        association 
        work.
It 
        is 
        expected 
        that 
        as 
        much 
        as 
        possible 
        shall 
        be 
        done 
        along 
        the 
        line 
        of
general 
        culture, 
        and 
        that 
        we 
        shall 
        study 
        other 
        than 
        theological 
        subjects.
It 
        is 
        the 
        purpose 
        to 
        enter 
        upon 
        this 
        other 
        part 
        of 
        our 
        field 
        by 
        means 
        of
these 
        preliminary 
        programs.
At 
        the 
        time 
        of 
        the 
        organization 
        of 
        this 
        association, 
        debating 
        and
literary 
        societies 
        were 
        springing 
        up 
        all 
        over 
        the 
        Church. 
        The 
        young
people 
        were 
        running 
        wild 
        almost 
        in 
        the 
        direction 
        of 
        these 
        things. 
        They
were 
        getting 
        almost 
        beyond 
        restraint 
        in 
        some 
        of 
        those 
        particulars, 
        and
it 
        was 
        partly 
        for 
        the 
        purpose 
        of 
        checking 
        this 
        tendency 
        toward 
        going
outside 
        of 
        the 
        Church 
        for 
        these 
        things 
        that 
        the 
        Mutual 
        Improvement
organizations 
        were 
        instituted. 
        Although 
        the 
        writer 
        was 
        but 
        a 
        small 
        boy
at 
        the 
        time 
        these 
        things 
        were 
        brought 
        into 
        existence, 
        he 
        can 
        remember
very 
        distinctly 
        the 
        attempt 
        that 
        was 
        then 
        made 
        to 
        make 
        this 
        general

<!-- page:390 -->

390 
        IMPROVEMENT 
        ERA.
culture 
        a 
        very 
        prominent 
        feature; 
        and 
        we 
        all 
        remember, 
        no 
        doubt, 
        that
debating, 
        under 
        certain 
        circumstances, 
        was 
        a 
        part 
        of 
        the 
        work. 
        Essay
writing 
        was 
        another 
        part, 
        and 
        there 
        were 
        association 
        papers, 
        contribu-
tions to 
        which 
        were 
        furnished 
        by 
        the 
        young 
        men. 
        There 
        were 
        other 
        lit-
erary selections, 
        as 
        well 
        as 
        musical 
        selections
        —
        all 
        in 
        addition 
        to 
        the
work 
        that 
        was 
        done 
        along 
        theological 
        lines. 
        We 
        remember, 
        also, 
        that
when 
        the 
        first 
        manual 
        was 
        published, 
        something 
        like 
        thirteen 
        years 
        ago,
that 
        features 
        other 
        than 
        theological 
        work 
        were 
        introduced 
        in 
        it. 
        It 
        in-
cluded scientific, 
        historical 
        and 
        literary 
        work, 
        for 
        the 
        purpose 
        of 
        giving
to 
        the 
        young 
        men 
        this 
        broad 
        culture. 
        But 
        of 
        late 
        years, 
        we 
        have 
        confined
ourselves
        —
        and 
        I 
        think 
        wisely, 
        because 
        of 
        the 
        peculiar 
        circumstances 
        that
confronted 
        us
        —
        almost 
        entirely 
        to 
        the 
        theological 
        part; 
        and 
        with 
        what
success, 
        the 
        revivifying 
        of 
        these 
        associations 
        bears 
        testimony. 
        We 
        know
that 
        it 
        has 
        been 
        a 
        most 
        successful 
        movement 
        that 
        has 
        been 
        instituted
and 
        carried 
        through 
        during 
        the 
        last 
        few 
        years.
But 
        now 
        we 
        desire 
        to 
        depart 
        from 
        this 
        exclusive 
        work, 
        and 
        make
our 
        work 
        a 
        little 
        more 
        general, 
        and 
        begin 
        again 
        to 
        occupy 
        the 
        field 
        we
practically 
        abandoned 
        a 
        few 
        years 
        ago, 
        viz., 
        the 
        field 
        of 
        general 
        culture
and 
        social 
        enjoyment. 
        The 
        general 
        culture 
        feature, 
        and 
        the 
        religious
feature, 
        should 
        be 
        attended 
        to 
        in 
        our 
        weekly 
        meetings. 
        It 
        is 
        upon 
        the
subject 
        of 
        these 
        programs, 
        which 
        are 
        beginning 
        to 
        occupy 
        this 
        other
field, 
        that 
        I 
        desire 
        to 
        say 
        a 
        word. 
        It 
        is 
        advisable 
        and 
        very 
        necessary 
        that
some 
        work 
        be 
        done 
        along 
        the 
        line 
        of 
        general 
        culture.
These 
        preliminary 
        programs 
        should 
        consist, 
        as 
        I 
        understand 
        the 
        in-
tention of 
        the 
        Manual 
        committee, 
        of 
        as 
        much 
        work 
        as 
        we 
        can 
        secure
within 
        the 
        brief 
        time 
        allotted 
        along 
        these 
        general 
        lines. 
        Literary 
        work,
for 
        example; 
        literary 
        reading 
        and 
        working 
        are 
        both 
        neglected 
        very
largely 
        by 
        the 
        mass 
        of 
        our 
        young 
        people. 
        There 
        are 
        not 
        many 
        of 
        our
young 
        people 
        that 
        can 
        read 
        properly; 
        that 
        can 
        take 
        the 
        great 
        authors
and 
        fully 
        appreciate 
        their 
        works; 
        that 
        can 
        delve 
        into 
        the 
        productions 
        of
the 
        brightest 
        minds 
        in 
        the 
        world's 
        literature, 
        and 
        understand 
        and 
        appre-
ciate those 
        productions 
        to 
        the 
        fullest 
        extent. 
        The 
        reason 
        for 
        this 
        is 
        that
part 
        of 
        the 
        education 
        of 
        the 
        mass 
        of 
        the 
        young 
        people 
        has 
        not 
        been
developed 
        as 
        highly 
        as 
        we 
        hope 
        to 
        see 
        it 
        developed 
        in 
        the 
        future. 
        We
have 
        devoted 
        our 
        time 
        too 
        exclusively 
        to 
        our 
        theological 
        work. 
        We 
        have
been 
        placed, 
        it 
        appears, 
        under 
        the 
        necessity 
        of 
        doing 
        this. 
        We 
        have
looked 
        upon 
        ourselves 
        as 
        having 
        a 
        special 
        mission, 
        and 
        we 
        have 
        a 
        special
mission, 
        to 
        reform 
        the 
        religious 
        world 
        and 
        to 
        give 
        the 
        truth 
        to 
        the 
        world
in 
        place 
        of 
        the 
        error 
        that 
        they 
        have. 
        And 
        while 
        we 
        have 
        been 
        doing 
        this,
I 
        believe 
        we 
        have 
        neglected, 
        to 
        a 
        certain 
        extent, 
        our 
        reading. 
        We 
        are
not 
        so 
        familiar 
        with 
        the 
        leading 
        authors 
        of 
        English 
        and 
        American 
        litera-

<!-- page:391 -->

OUR 
        WORK. 
        391
ture, 
        and 
        the 
        translations 
        from 
        the 
        German 
        and 
        French, 
        as 
        we 
        should 
        he.
It 
        is 
        the 
        intention, 
        therefore, 
        of 
        these 
        preliminary 
        programs 
        to 
        intro-
duce gradually 
        the 
        works 
        of 
        these 
        authors, 
        in 
        a 
        fragmentary 
        way, 
        it 
        is
true; 
        but 
        a 
        fragmentary 
        introduction 
        to 
        the 
        work 
        will 
        lead 
        the 
        mind
toward 
        the 
        other 
        writings 
        which 
        that 
        author 
        has 
        produced. 
        If 
        we 
        place
before 
        you 
        a 
        choice 
        selection 
        from 
        some 
        of 
        Irving's 
        works, 
        you 
        will 
        be-
come interested 
        in 
        Irving, 
        and 
        will 
        want 
        to 
        find 
        more 
        of 
        his 
        writings. 
        So
with 
        other 
        American 
        and 
        English 
        authors. 
        By 
        this 
        introduction 
        you 
        will
become 
        interested 
        in 
        their 
        work, 
        and 
        you 
        will 
        be 
        prone 
        to 
        read 
        further
outside 
        of 
        the 
        association 
        meetings. 
        Wot 
        only 
        so, 
        but 
        you 
        will 
        be 
        filled,
to 
        a 
        certain 
        extent, 
        with 
        literary 
        zeal 
        yourselves, 
        and 
        those 
        of 
        you 
        who
have 
        some 
        talent 
        in 
        the 
        direction 
        of 
        writing 
        will 
        be 
        led 
        to 
        write, 
        basing
your 
        style 
        -very 
        largely 
        upon 
        the 
        style 
        of 
        those 
        authors 
        whom 
        you 
        read.
By 
        this 
        reading 
        and 
        writing 
        you 
        will 
        be 
        able 
        to 
        secure 
        a 
        culture 
        which 
        is
very 
        necessary 
        and 
        profitable, 
        and 
        very 
        enjoyable 
        indeed. 
        Essay 
        writing
is 
        introduced, 
        therefore, 
        for 
        the 
        purpose 
        of 
        cultivating 
        this 
        skill 
        in 
        liter-
ary work.
Then 
        in 
        music. 
        There 
        may 
        be 
        a 
        scarcity 
        of 
        musical 
        talent 
        in 
        some
associations; 
        but 
        there 
        is 
        always 
        some 
        musical 
        talent 
        to 
        be 
        found 
        there,
and 
        that 
        can 
        be 
        cultivated; 
        and 
        not 
        only 
        will 
        those 
        who 
        have 
        that 
        talent
thus 
        bring 
        it 
        to 
        the 
        front 
        and 
        make 
        it 
        a 
        source 
        of 
        profit 
        and 
        enjoyment,
but 
        others 
        will 
        be 
        led 
        to 
        cultivate 
        their 
        talent. 
        The 
        singing 
        of 
        solos,
duets, 
        trios, 
        quartets, 
        etc, 
        will 
        be 
        encouraged. 
        The 
        organization 
        of 
        a 
        glee
club, 
        or 
        quartet, 
        or 
        some 
        other 
        musical 
        body 
        of 
        that 
        kind, 
        will 
        be 
        en-
couraged. In 
        some 
        of 
        the 
        larger 
        communities, 
        perhaps, 
        an 
        orchestra 
        can
be 
        made 
        up 
        of 
        some 
        of 
        the 
        young 
        men. 
        In 
        some 
        wards 
        we 
        find 
        brass
bands; 
        let 
        them 
        be 
        encouraged 
        by 
        our 
        associations. 
        In 
        this 
        way 
        we 
        will
accomplish 
        two 
        objects: 
        we 
        will 
        increase 
        the 
        musical 
        talent, 
        and 
        we 
        will
give 
        to 
        the 
        people 
        who 
        have 
        not 
        that 
        talent 
        the 
        enjoyment 
        and 
        profit
that 
        naturally 
        come 
        from 
        listening 
        to 
        good 
        music.
In 
        other 
        directions, 
        also, 
        our 
        preliminary 
        programs 
        will 
        serve 
        a 
        good
purpose; 
        but 
        I 
        emphasize 
        these 
        to 
        show 
        you 
        the 
        general 
        tendency, 
        and
the 
        other 
        things 
        can 
        be 
        thought 
        of. 
        You 
        will 
        be 
        led 
        into 
        scientific 
        re-
search, into 
        historical 
        research, 
        into 
        an 
        understanding 
        of 
        current 
        histor-
ical events, 
        and 
        into 
        all 
        those 
        fields 
        of 
        research 
        which 
        will 
        give 
        to 
        you 
        a
culture 
        and 
        a 
        wider 
        and 
        broader 
        knowledge 
        than 
        you 
        have 
        now. 
        That 
        is
one 
        purpose 
        of 
        these 
        preliminary 
        programs. 
        Another 
        purpose 
        is, 
        to 
        bring
into 
        the 
        associations 
        those 
        young 
        men 
        who 
        perhaps 
        will 
        not 
        be 
        interested
in 
        theological 
        work 
        alone. 
        Young 
        men 
        sometimes 
        will 
        come 
        into 
        our
associations 
        to 
        listen 
        to 
        a 
        varied 
        program 
        who 
        will 
        not 
        come 
        to 
        listen 
        to
one 
        subject 
        alone. 
        They 
        can 
        thus 
        be 
        taken 
        off 
        the 
        devil's 
        ground, 
        as 
        one