--- 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: 8 number: 4 published: 1905-02 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations, "On Selection of Officers," *Improvement Era* 8, no. 4 (February 1905): 312.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0804unse 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: improvementera0804unse start_page: 312 end_page: 312 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1905-02) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0804unse publication_year: 1905 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 1905, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # On Selection of Officers ON SELECTION OF OFFICERS. How far does the authority of the stake superintendency go in the selection of oflicers to preside over the ward organizations? What is the extent of their authority in this connection? These questions have been answered by President Joseph F. Smith. The substance of his reply is that there should be no conflict in this matter; that the presiding authorities in each ward have certain rights; but he also states that it would be foolish to exercise those rights in an arbitrary manner. He says that the stake superintendency of the Y. M. M. L A. have certain rights and privileges regarding the selection of the officers over whom they are called to preside. This idea has been followed out in many stakes, and the bishops have been instructed not to make changes in the auxiliary associations without first consulting the stake superintendency of that organization, not merely because they are bound by what the stake superintendency say, but that they may work together in harmony, because the stake superintendency are better acquainted with their particular line of work and know what kind of men they need as officers, and the bishops, on the other hand, are posted on the record of the prospective officers. They should come to a mutual understanding, and neither one of them should select officers for the auxiliary associations of the ward independently of the other.