--- 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: 10 published: 1908-08 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. 10 (August 1908): 806–813.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera11010unse 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: improvementera11010unse start_page: 806 end_page: 813 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1908-08) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera11010unse 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. IS SPECULATION A LEGITIMATE MEANS OF EARNING A LIVELIHOOD? The question is asked by a young man who appears to be very earnest in his desire to learn the attitude, if any, which the Church has taken in regard to this subject. What is speculation? In a good sense, it is investing in shares, lands, goods, etc., with expectation of obtaining legitimate dividends and other increases of value. If speculation under this definition is engaged in honestly and does not include unsound, dis- honest and hazardous transactions, and so become gambling, it is legitimate, and the Church does not condemn it. All legitimate investments made in this way and in this sense, may be called speculation. The farmer when he sows seed, speculates upon the harvest. He is legitimately looking for increased returns just as the investor does who uses his money for the purchase of goods or stocks. The investment of means in manufacturing, mining, or other kinds of capital stocks is a personal speculation, and the safety or value of most kinds of stocks and of various enterprises depends upon proper management and the honesty of the officers; but the value of mining stocks, for the precious metals especially, depends upon whether or not the mineral is to be found and can be got out and marketed with profit. In the purchase of stocks for investment one may be said to speculate upon all these condi- tions. However, speculation may easily degenerate into gambling, in which case the Church must and does condemn it. Gambling is to play for a stake or prize, using a variety of instruments and ways EDITOR'S TABLE. 807 according to certain rules. Investments in stocks degenerates into gambling when stocks are purchased with no thought of their intrinsic value as an investment, and solely for the purpose of betting what the price will be tomorrow. The difference between legitimate investment, which may be called speculation, in wheat, and gambling in wheat, is this: in the first instance both the pur- chaser and the seller have the wheat to handle. One buys and the other sells, the wheat is transferred. In the one case it is an honest, legitimate sale; in the other, a bonafide and legitimate purchase and investment. Speculation in this sense is a personal matter which the Church does not condemn The same may be . said of the purchase in like manner of all stocks, shares, land and other properties. It should be said, however, that no person should make any investment solely because this, that or the other man, in the Church or out, so called high or low, is interested. Investments are personal acts, and personal investigation and judgment should govern, not the fact that this or that man has invested In the second case, when gambling is employed, neither pur- chaser nor seller has any wheat. There is no intention to sell on the one hand, and none to invest on the other, because there is neither wheat to sell nor to purchase. It is a case of gambling on the price of wheat in the future — the loser pays the winner the difference between the price at the present time and the future price. This is gambling. Gambling in stocks is no less gambling because it is stocks which is being dealt with, than is gambling for money, or for margins in wheat. Much of the daily buying and selling of mining stocks with a view to make money rapidly, with little if any thought of the value or desirability of the mines as an investment, is scarcely anything else than gambling. Certainly the greater num- ber of such stock transactions comes under that title. The Church does not approve of gambling but strongly con- demns it as morally wrong, and classes also with this gambling, games of chance and lottery, of all kinds, and earnestly disapproves of any of its members engaging therein. As to legitimate investments, our advice to everybody is that they use their best judgment and wisdom in investing their means 808 IMPROVEMENT ERA. where it will not be lost, and, of course, that in all dealings they act honestly, and treat others as they would have others treat them. In this connection, there can be no mistake about the fact that many of our young men — clerks, bookkeepers, and professional men and others, risk too much in the purchase of stocks, and es- pecially mining stocks, of which they know nothing, and thus get into the habit that will in the end lead them into gambling and kindred evils. Members of the Church should guard against this and be careful that in their investments they do not encourage a spirit of gambling. True investment, call it speculation if you will, develops the material resources of the state ; gives employment to men, and enriches the' commonwealth. On the other hand, the daily buying and selling of stocks, mining and manufacturing, solely with the view to making money fast, and on the manipulated fluctuations of the market, is a species of gambling morally debas- ing, and without benefit to industry or trade. Joseph F. Smith. THE TRUTH. "Above all Things Truth Beareth Away the Victory." This striking sentence may serve as the class motto of the Junior Y. M. M. I. A. classes this season. It will be found in the very edifying piece of literature on this subject as given by the disput- ants before King Darius, which story runs through Esdras, chapters 3 and 4, in the Apocrypha. The motto, and the closing remarks of the winning disputant are used on the title leaf of the Junior Manual Great is the truth and stronger than all things. * * * It en- durethand is always strong; it liveth and conquereth forevermore. All the earth calleth upon the truth, and the heavens blesseth it: all works shake and tremble at it, and with it is no unrighteous thing. * * * * As for the truth, it endureth, and is always strong; it liveth and conquereth forevermore. With her there is no accepting of persons or rewards; but she doeth the things that are just, and refraineth from all unjust and wicked things; ai^d all men do well like of her works. Neither in her judgment is any unrighteousness; and she is EDITOR'S TABLE. 809 the strength, kingdom, power, and majesty of all ages. Blessed be the God of truth. * * » * Great is truth, and mighty above all things.— I Esdras 4: 35-41. TRACING THE GENEALOGY OF ORDINATION. Question: — "I was ordained to the office of an elder, receiving the Melchize dek Priesthood under the hands of Jacob Gates, who was a seventy. Later I was ordained to the office of a seventy under the hands of President Wilford Wood- ruff, and still later, to the office of a high priest under the hands of Apostle Heber J. Grant. Which line of ordination shall I trace in order to get the genealogy of my ordination complete?" Answer:—Through the genealogy of Jacob Gates who origin- ally conferred the priesthood upon you. In case the line of ordi- nation cannot be traced through him, then, of course, either of the others will serve the purpose. The priesthood was conferred upon you by the first person who ordained you, and for that reason, he is the proper one through whom to have your genealogy traced MESSAGES FROM THE MISSIONS. Elder Henry 0. Poulsen, clerk of the Christiania conference, writes under date of May 14: "The work of the Lord is progressing nicely in this part of Nor- way. We have just completed the repainting of our hall. Our choir, which is considered the best in Christiania, draws a great many strangers to our meetings. For some time past our elders have met with considerable difficulty in disposing of their literature, and it has not been an uncommon experience for them to be driven out of their houses by our Christian friends, while tracting among them; but it is quite different now. The better classes, many of whom have visited our meetings, are beginning to look upon the Saints as an enlightened people, and we them to accept our books and tracts. find little difficulty in getting As a result those people who were once so bitter toward us are now beginning to consider the Latter-day Saints as Christians, which title, with the right to baptize, was denied us for a long time. We must say for the good people of Norway that when once they see the error of their course, they are not slow in changing, as most of those who visit our meetings cease their persecution, and many of them become our friends. As a result of the change in conditions, our progress has been very marked. Daring the past eight months there have been 74 baptisms in this conference, and under the present conditions we expect to see the number increased considerably in the next eight months. The elders are all enjoying the spirit of their calling, and feel encouraged over the prospects for the future. We look for a great work to be accomplished in this part of the vineyard." A por- trait of the elders in that conference is given on the page following. a^ X be EDITOR'S TABLE. 811 Elder Wiugfield Watson, now past 80 years of age, was invited to speak at a regular evening service of the Church at Independence, Mo., June 21. He is the presiding high priest of the religious society founded by James J. Strang, com- monly called Strangites, who left the Church after the troubles of Nauvoo. In a congregation of some one hundred persons, there were pre.=ient, according to Liahona the Elder's Journal, representatives of four different religious societies, all of whom believe in the divinity of the Book of Mormon and the mission of the Prophet Joseph. This gave Elder Watson occasion to say: "The Prophet Joseph Smith and his early followers proclaimed that the divided condition of Christendom was proof that the different sects were wrong, and now sectarian preachers can use the same argument with believers of the Book of Mormon. * * * * ^jj^ j think the time has come fo the different factions who profess to believe in the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon to get together and investigate each other's claims." * * * "The congregation," says Liahona, "listened to the aged speaker with marked attention and respect. He seemed much impressed by the spirit that pre- vailed,and his closing sentences were spoken with a voice broken by emotion. It is safe to say that from henceforth he will cherish feelings of respect for the elders and Saints from the west, and it seems likely that this sentiment will spread among his followers." Recently the Church purchased a splendid building in London, with the object of converting it into a house for the headquarters of the London mission. It was built for a hotel, but owing to its having been erected in a district where the selling of liquor was not permitted, the hotel was not a success, because it could not continue in business without a bar. It had been unoccupied for some time, and was offered for sale at a low price. President Peterson of the London mis- sion heard of it, and negotiations were entered into with President C. W. Pen- rose, ot the European mission, and the Presidency of the Church, with the result that the Church decided to purchase the building. The elders have been at work to remodel it, and have erected a baptismal font, and seated and arranged the large hall for public worship. The building has also living rooms, and offices for the headquarters of the mission. The building was formerly known as the Markfield Hotel, Tuddenham, London, but its name has now been changed to the Deseret Hall. The property which the Church owns at No. 187 Farleigh Road is now for sale. President Rufus K. Hardy, of the New Zealand mission, says, under date of Auckland, New Zealand, June 10: — "Noting in the February number of the Im- provement Era, Vol. XI, a photograph of the Mutual Improvement association farthest north, I send a photograph of a Mutual Improvement association which was organized at Auckland, New Zealand, July 3, 1907, and which ia, so far as we are aware, the Mutual Improvement association farthest south of the equator. This association extends many thanks to the Improvement Era for its generous gift to them of the Manuals 1897-98, which they have diligently studied and are now nearing the completion of. photograph are Officers of the association in the President, Wilford Woolf; first counselor, Lawrence Jorgensen; second counselor. EDITOR'S TABLE. 813 Emma Ash more; secretary, Mabel Smith; assistant secretary, Nellie Lee; choris- ter, L. S. Jorgensen; organist and class teacher, W. D. Ellis. At its organiza- tion, David P. Howells \vas president. Zion is truly spreading her borders, east, west, north and south, and the Mutual Improvement associations are certainly wielding a wonderful influence for good wherever they are established. ' Elder H. L. By water writes from Chester, Cheshire, England, May 6: I have been laboring here in Chester (the "quiet city,") for the past two months. Ches- ter is noted for its walls, its row of quaint houses, and picturesque streets, for its great antiquity, and its many Roman treasures, and hither come troops of visitors from all foreign lands and climes. It has a population of about 45,000. Here the assizes of the county are held, and the county business is transacted in the old Roman castle, where are also located the Cheshire Regiment. The unique effect of Chester is more largely due to the "Rows" than anything else. Other towns have walls, or portions thereof; other towns have half-timbered, and many, a gabled style of architecture so common in the city; but none of them have any- thing exactly corresponding to the wonderfully picturesque and peculiar "Rows" of Chester; nor have they a town completely surrounded by walls. The "Rows" are covered ways, raised the height of the ground-floors above the street level, and covered by the flooring of the story above. The fronts are open, protected by pillars, mostly of oak, black with age, some rough, some elaborately carved. At the back are lines of shops of all descriptions and degrees of importance. And the quaint effect is absolutely unmatched elsewhere. The upper fronts of the build- ings are for the most part carved and paneled in ancient style. There are also many old picturesque houses and churches. One in particular, the St. John's church, with its ancient priory walls which still stand, was built in 689 by King Ethelred. The city walls of Chester give one the clearest idea of the appearance and arrangement of the ancient fortified towns of England, which is possible to obtain in latter days. They are supposed to have been planned and executed in Saxon times. There is one part of these walls which antiquarians say belong to Septi- mus Severus, A. D. 200. The walls are in thickness about five to nine feet, and there is a path made on the top of them so that a person can walk all around the city. Another important place is the "King Charles' Tower," the place where he stood and witnessed his army defeated, September 24, 1645, on Rowton Moor. Also, we see the "Water Tower'' which derives its name from the fact that in olden times the waters of the Dee came up to its walls with sufficient depth to enable vessels of considerable size to be moored thereto ; there are iron rings which the king fixed in the masonry for that purpose. It is supposed that this tower was built in the fourteenth century, and rebuiit about the middle of the seventeenth. It is now used as a museum, and the ground adjoining has been turned into a tiny pleasure garden . Among the treasures in the garden are the pillars of a hypocaust, or vaulted apartment, from which the heat of a fire was anciently, by the Romans, distributed to the rooms above by means of earthen tubes. This method was used in public baths, and also in private homes. The people here are treating us very kindly and the gospel is spreading and growing.