--- 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: 11 number: 8 published: 1908-06 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations, "Editor’s Table," *Improvement Era* 11, no. 8 (June 1908): 625–632.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1108unse 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: improvementera1108unse start_page: 625 end_page: 632 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1908-06) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1108unse publication_year: 1908 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 1908, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Editor’s Table EDITOR'S TABLE. HOME CULTURE. One of the sweetest and best giftsof God to man is the dis- position to do right. Many temptations and whisperings of evil are overcome by the person who possesses this precious desire in his inmost feeling. It is a strong fortification, acting as a pro- tection for the physical man, and for the salvation of the soul. In most children there is naturally implanted this desire from birth, and even before, perhaps, from the spirit world; but also, co-equal with it, is the seed of evil. Good and evil, right and wrong, we are taught, are eternal principles. So that it depends greatly upon the teachings, the surrounding influences, whether or not the right and the good shall thrive in the life of the child, or whether the wrong and the evil shall prevail. It is here that the responsibility of parents is manifest. All growth must have protection in its early stages; that is true of all plant life, of all animal life, as well. It is true also of all the spiritual, moral and intellectual principles. It is, therefore, true of the naturally im- planted seeds of good and evil in the child. The duty of parents, then, is to cultivate the germs of good and right; and choke out the evil and the wrong, in the minds of their children. That, of course, is more easily said than done. But I be- lieve that much of the evil we see about us in the lives of the young could be prevented, if any cultivation at all were systemati- cally pursued. I fear that there is even more neglect in this field than in the fields of plant life around us. In the latter we are beginning to appreciate the value of the preparation and the culti- vation of the soil; and we go to great expense to learn from insti- 626 IMPROVEMENT ERA. tutes, schools, agricultural colleges, and actual trial and experi- ence, what is most expedient and necessary to produce the best results and gain the greatest harvest. Our husbandmen have al- ready made appreciable advancement in the past few years in this respect. Our orchards are yielding better fruit; our fields of tomatoes, potatoes, and beets, richer returns; and our wheat fields, more bounteous crops. We are being rewarded abundantly for our pains in this direction. There is thrift, health, growth in these material affairs, which is good and very necessary. The temporal may be taken as a sample of the moral and spiritual. Effort will be rewarded in this field also. And we have no lack of schools and 'colleges, organizations, quorums, and meetings, where the theories of the proper cultivation of the soil of moral and spiritual conditions are taught. The danger is that we learn the theories, but fail, because we are interested in other things, in the full practice and application of these theories. They are not put into practical use on the moral and spiritual farm, which is the home. There are some homes, like some fields, that are shamefully neglected, uncultivated, and uncared for. Then there are men and women who are actually placing the fault for this neglect on the organizations in which only the theories can be learned, organizations which at best can only be helps. But the fault is with the husbandmen — the parents They may have learned . in our splendid schools and organizations the theories, but failed to practice them on the farm — in the home, the field of manhood and womanhood —from which the harvests — the results — are to come. The fruits in the one case, are weeds, and miserable crops; in the other, bad children, and crime. I am told that since last October the names of nearly one thousand children, belonging, of course, to all creeds and classes, in Salt Lake county alone, have appeared on the records of the Juvenile court for various offenses, theft, incorrigibility, moral delinquencies. These children range in age from about ten to eighteen years; and the highest percentages of names appear at about the average age, fourteen years. Enquiry into the causes for these conditions develops the fact that the primary evil is in permitting children to roam the streets at night when they ought to be at home, under the parent's watch- EDITOR'S TABLE. 627 care and protection. Here, then, is one item for cultivation, one line of work, that should be looked after in the home. What can I do in my home to interest my child, so that he will love its environment better than that of the street? But asking ques- tions is not enough. Parents must act, and that firmly, as well. They must provide means as well as ask questions They must set . proper examples. They must not devote the entire week to worldly affairs, and then turn their children loose on Sunday, while they themselves loiter about or seek pleasure, and at the same time expect their children to attend to their duties. A second cause of evil, is lack of ^confidence between parents and children . Parents should know what their children think and desire. Children often come and' go without restraint or consent. Here again is work to change this condition, to create absolute confidence between parents and children. Where children seek the counsel of fathers and mothers, in all they contemplate doing, there is little danger of their going astray; and opportunities are thus created for counsel to be given, discriminations to be shown, that will help the children, and lead them away from evil thoughts, acts, and errors of judgment. Most children are reasonable if prop- erly shown the right. Many crimes are committed through ig- norance. Children need to be enlightened kindly, gently, but firmly, and made to respect the authority of their parents. But they must also be taught properly. This one thought alone first wrong, the first lie, the first crime, requires others that the and that no matter how many wrongs or crimes are to cover it, piled upon the first, it can never be hidden, but must be revealed, —is a wonderful preventive of evil. not con- Let it be understood by them that evil, if greater and greater fessed, grows by acquiring additional and until at last crime is apparently required. wrongs to cover it up, part of our Such is the recent terrible tragedy in the southern con- state. That doubtless began in an evil suggestion which, by an honest, open confession to them, fidence in father and mother, in foul might have been avoided, but which, for lack of it ended murder. Even the second, third, fourth, or fifth step confessed, would have prevented the fatal, final one. No crime can be hid- confession— is the best remedy den, and a preventive— open against its further growth. Confessions are made only to those : 628 IMPROVEMENT ERA. in whom we have confidence. Children should be taught to con- fide in their parents, and be required to counsel with them in all important steps. It is the duty of parents to cultivate the original desire in their children's hearts to do the right. They must keep the field of home free from evil moral growths, and apply to the methods of doing so, at least no less, and in my estimation vastly more -ex- pense, care, anxiety, consideration and toil, than they do to their highly cultivated fields of wheat, beets and tomatoes, and their well-sprayed orchards of splendid fruit. Joseph P. Smith. BAPTISM OF CHIEF WASHAKIE. In volume three of the Improvement Era, in a notice of the death of this noted Indian chief, it was stated in a letter sent the Era by President Francis A. Hammond that no elder ever suc- ceeded in baptizing the chief into the Church. It now appears, by a letter received from Hon. J. C. Rich, of Montpelier, Idaho, son of the late Apostle C. C. Rich, that he heard Elder Amos R. Wright, of Bennington, Bear Lake county, state that Washakie had been baptized. He thereupon urged Brother Wright to make a state- ment of the matter. On the nineteenth of February, Brother Wright called upon Brother Rich, and handed him the letter which is given at the close of this article. In addition to this, Elder Rich writes, under the same date When father was called upon to settle this valley, he held a council with Washakie and his Indians, in 1863, in this valley, and obtained their consent to settle this valley, which was then claimed by them as their summer hunting and fishing ground, the Indians at that time not being on reservations. On father's part, he agreed that when the settlers raised crops, they would give the Indians such provisions as they were able to, when they should visit the settlements; and they, in turn, would not molest the settlers nor steal their animals. Washakie faithfully carried out his treaty, and on more than one occasion when young bucks, who could not be controlled, stole our horses, Washakie sent them back by other Indians. You will notice that Brother Wright states he baptized Washakie at night. This was because Brother Wright dare not be seen on the reservation in the day . EDITOR'S TABLE. 629 time, as the Indian agent would not allow any "Mormon" proselyting on the reser- vation. Brother Wright tells me he baptized about 300 Indians on that mission, besides Washakie; their names and time of baptism being sent to the proper Church authorities. During his stay on the reservation, he says the Indians secreted and fed him, and he was never betrayed by them. Brother Wright has a rich fund of information about the Indian mission in the north since the days of Fort Lemhi, and I have told him he ought to leave a record of it, but he feels diffident, and not educated sufficiently to put it in shape. It is possible that if Brother Andrew Jenson, the historian, should see him, that he might obtain many items concerning Indian church matters that should be preserved and re- corded. These suggestions seemed to me proper, and are given for what they are worth With kindest regards to yourself and associates, I am as ever, your brother, J. C. Rich. President Joseph F. Smith: Dear Brother: —My attention has recently been directed to an article con- tained in volume three, page 472 of the Improvement Era, wherein it is stated that no elder ever succeeded in bringing Chief Washakie into the Church, but that just before he died, a minister by the name of Roberts administered to him the rite of baptism according to the Christian religion. The facts are as follows : In the fall of .1884, after being called and duly commissioned to visit the reservation Wyoming, I visited the chief and sought in the opportunity and permission to proselyte among his people, at the same time, and upon the same occasion, explaining to him the first vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the principles of the gospel.I stayed with him until a late hour in the night when I was compelled to return to my place of retirement, or risk my re- turn in the day time. Since his good feelings for the ' 'Mormon' ' people has been questioned by some, I will say that he showed me the photos of President Young, President Taylor, Charles C. Rich, and many others of the leaders of the Church; and, though they had been in his possession a long time, they were neat and clean, and bore evidence that ^reat pains had been taken in their preservation. He told me that my explanations were exactly the same as those he had heard from his friend, President Young, many years before. A week or so after this interview, I received word from Washakie that he wished me to visit him again, for the pur- pose of baptizing him. After my arrival at (his lodge, and after he had sent several of his sons to make a dam on a stream near by, I baptized him, and con- firmed him a member of the Church of .Tesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the presence of members of his family and other witnesses Many years after- wards, while he was prostrate, helpless, and in an unconscious condition, and without his knowledge or consent, Mr. John Roberts stepped up to his bedside, dipped his hand into a bowl of water, sprinkled a few drops of it on the chief's forehead, whereupon it was published in the Wyoming papers that Washakie ac- cepted the Christian religion before he died. Since I have heard that you were the editor of the Era, I thought that possibly you might deem it due to Washakie . 630 IMPRO VEMENT ERA that this should be known so that whatever credit is due him, either from motive , of friendship for our people or true conversion, he ought to have it. Knowing that you are always in the midst of much work and worry with various annoyances, I have yet ventured to furnish you with this information, should you desire to cor- rect the article which appeared in volume three of the Imi rovement Era. Ever your brother in the gospel, A. R. Wright. Bennington, Feb. 18, 1908. MELCHIZEDEK. Questions: Please give the correct spelling of Melchizedek. Kindly give the parentage of Melchizedek. The name of the great High Priest is spelled correctly (see Genesis 14: 18-20; Oxford editions) in the above title (see any authentic Bible Dictionary) . There is one other way that is fre- quently adopted,m:,Melchisedec (see Hebrews 7, Oxford editions), In many of our Church works and publications the name is spelled incorrectly, Melchisedek. To the second request, it is doubtful that a complete answer can be given. The following we believe to be as authentic as any other. It will be remembered that in obedience to the voice of the Lord, Abraham, after the death of his father, Terah, passed through the land of Canaan unto Sichem, afterward a city of Samaria. He then went still farther south to near Bethel where he built an altar unto the Lord; and again south to near the northern part of Idumea. He found Canaanites — descendants of Ham — wherever he journeyed, Now as to the Canaanites, Dr. Lord says: "They are supposed in their invasions to have conquered the aboriginal inhab- itants, whose remote origin is veiled in impenetrable obscurity, but who retained some principles oj the primitive religion. It is even possible that Melchizedek , the unconquered King of Salem, who blessed Abram, belonged to those original people, who were of Semitic origin. Nevertheless the Canaanites, or Hametic tribes, were at this time the dominant inhabitants." MESSAGES FROM THE MISSIONS. In Nordstjarnanof May 1, Elder P. Matson, who has acted as president of the Swedish Mission for nearly three years past, announces his release and EDITOR'S TABLE. 631 bids farewell to the Saints, Elder Peter Sundvall has been appointed to take his place. Elder Sundvall was formerly president of the Scandinavian Mission. Elder LeRoy Hall, of Rockdale, Utah, died of typhoid fever at Leying- ton, Kentucky, He was ailing two or three weeks before any of the April 29. officers of the Southern States Mission were aware of it. He died at the Good Samaritan Hospital. His body was accompanied home by Elder Beecher, his conference president. He was in his 23rd year, and a faithful missionary in every respect. "We have a fine Sunday School here in Bozeman, Mont.," writes N. B. Lund- wall, "although there are but few in numbers. But we have thus more time to go over the work; consequently, more room for thought. I am also glad to state that the people among whom we live have decided by vote April 6, that all places where liquor is sold, shall be closed on Sundays, and from 6 p. m. to 6 a. m. on week days, — a step forward in the line of local option and a 'dry' city." Elder John A. Olsen, who has labored two years and three months in the Scandinavian Mission, eleven months of which time was spent as translator in the mission office at Copenhagen, was released in April to return home, and Elder 0. J. Anderson of Castle Dale, Utah, has taken his place as writer for Skandinaviens Stjerne. There were twenty-four baptisms in the Scandinavian Mission for March, seventeen of which were in Denmark and seven in Norway. There are one hun- dred forty-eight missionaries now laboring in that mission. Elder Emil J. Huber, of Salt Lake City, died recently in Turkey, while serving as a missionary there . President Charles W. Penrose, of the European Mission, cabled the news of his death to the First Presidency on May 18. He was a member of the Third Ward of Salt Lake City, and was born in Paris, France, March 7, 1885. He joined the Church at Zurich, Switzerland, from which place he came to Utah two years ago. His parents, three sisters, and a younger brother, reside at Zurich, and all are members of the Church except his father. Elder John LeRoy Tripp laid down his life in the service of his Master, Tues-. day morning, April 14, 1908, in Belgium, after a very brief illness. He was born at South Cottonwood, Salt Lake county, January 24, 1888, and was a resident of Murray when called on this mission. He arrived in Rotterdam on the 19th of February last, and was appointed by President Sylvester Q. Cannon to labor in Charleroi, Belgium. The cause of his death was appendicitis. His body was prepared for transportation to Utah and placed on Board the Celtic, in care of Elder Leonard G. Hardy, Jr., who was honorably released from his missionary labors in the Netherlands-Belgium mission to accompany the remains home. Elder Tripp was buried frim Murray First Ward, Sunday, May 10. Elder G. E. Gaboon writes from St. Louis, April 13: "There seems to be a 'different feeling among the populace now than heretofore. The elders are treated better, and more people have the spirit of inquiry. The result is we are able to get our literature among them in greater quantities. In March, 1907, President the western half S. 0. Bennion divided the state of Missouri into two conferences; ' . 632 IMPRO VEMENT ERA is known as the Independence, and the eastern half, as the Missouri conference. Elder J. T. Gerrard was the first president of the Missouri conference, and he presided until December last to the satisfaction of all connected therewith . He was then honorably released to return home. Elder G. E. Cahoon is at present occupying the place. We have a very active branch in the city of St. Louis where the Saints enioy the benefits of Sunday School, Mutual Improvement Associations, Relief Society, and the usual sacrament services, once a week. There are eighteen elders and two lady missionaries laboring in the conference. The work is being vigorously push- ed in St. Louis and Hannibal . A missionary campaign Elder'G. E. Cahoon is being carried on by two companies through the country and cities, who present the doctrine both orally and in book form. They meet every Saturday and Sunday in some town where, they hold open air meetings, usually well at tented; afterwards they separ- ate, in pairs, and make a house-to-ho'ise canvass in the country, from one town to another. This is done without purse or scrip. We believe that the amount of Latter-day Saints literature which the elders are distributing among the people is sure to play a very prominent part in changing the religious ideas of the world for the better.'' At Northcut, Tennessee, April 28, 29 and 30 and May 1, 2, 3, 1908, Elder Nephi .Jensen, of the Southern States Mission, held a debate with Mr. F. B. Syrgley on "Modern Miracles." The following statement made by him, shows upon what platform he stands: "I believe the Spirit which touched the harp strings in the soul of the Shepherd King David, and made them sing the sweet music of the Psalms, will touch the harp strings in the souls of men in the same way today. I believe that the Spirit which fired the soul of Jeremiah, and enabled him to write the pa- thetic Lamentations, inspires the souls of men in the same way today. I believe that the Spirit which lifted the soul of Isaiah to celestial heights and made his speech the very flame breath of the Almighty, inspires, thrills and fires the hearts of a en today. I believe that the God who, in answer to the earnest faich- inspired pleading of Cornelius, sent an angel to visit the great Centurion, would deign to send an angelic visitor to the homes of people today, if they were pure enough to receive the royal visitor. I believe that the Christ who cleansed the leper, made the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, and the blind to see, and even defied death and made the lips of the dead to speak, can, will, and does, do the same things today. If men today do not enjoy these great blessings from God, it is because of their unbelief. I am here to say that Mr. F. B. Syrgley, or any other man, shall not impute the blame for withholding these blessings, to God. It is written, 'God is no respecter of persons;' this is my platform. I stand with both feet firmly upon the proposition that God is unchangeable, with Him there is no variation or ' shadow of a turning.