--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Kirby, George D. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 11 number: 11 published: 1908-09 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Kirby, George D., "What Effect Does My Environment Have Upon My Neighbor?," *Improvement Era* 11, no. 11 (September 1908): 883–884.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera11011unse 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: improvementera11011unse start_page: 883 end_page: 884 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1908-09) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera11011unse 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. --- # What Effect Does My Environment Have Upon My Neighbor? WHAT EFFECT DOES MY ENVIRONMENT HAVE UPON MY NEIGHBOR? BY GEORGE D. KIRBY. By "environment," we mean "the surrounding conditions under which one lives." Therefore, this paper is to explain the effect the conditions under which I live will have upon my neighbor. I wish to quote from an author who is unknown to me: Mind is the master-power that moulds and makes, And man is mind, and evermore he takes The tool of tnought and, shaping what he wills, Brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills — He thinks in secret, and it comes to pa°s; Environment is but his looking-glass. In other words, our surrounding conditions reflect our lives, to a very great extent, and affect our neighbor in the manner suggested by Carlyle, when he said, ''Call a man a bra,veman, and you assist him to become one.'' As your actions towards your neighbor are good, and such as to lead him to think that you believe him to be a good man, so you assist him to become good. If we love our neighbor as ourselves, our environment will be for our neighbor's benefit, and we will be fulfiling the law of God, and be happy in so doing. John said, "God is love," and we have been taught to love one another. Our parents taught this principle to us, as children, and we in turn teach it to our children; and it is one of the great principles of righteousness, that we "love our neighbor as ourselves;"' therefore, the result should be a happy one for us all. If a man love his neighbor, it is not necessary to tell him that he should not covet his neighbor's possessions. He would rather the neighbor had them. If he love his neighbor, it would be superflu- 8S I IMPRO VEMENT ERA . ous to tell him that he should not bear false witness against his neighbor, for he would not think of doing any such thing. Therefore, we can see that the effect of our environment upon our neighbor, is just about what we ourselves make it, and a more neighborly feeling will be the result, and we will become nearer and dearer to our Heavenly Father, when we put into practice the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as ye would that they should do unto you." That we may succeed in putting this into practice in our everyday lives, is my prayer. Sugar City, Idaho. EVENTS. Scandinavian Reunion and Conference. — The annual conference and reunion of the Scandinavian Saints cf Utah was held in Brigham City, on Sunday, July 12. President Anthon H. Lund presided, and a spirited program was given. The conference which was very largely attended closed with a sacred concert in the Tabernacle in the evening. Among other valuable instructions president Lund said: "Do not worry over the evil workings of the enemy; the Lord is at the helm, and will take care of his people if they will serve him. He has established this work never more to be thrown down or given to another people. It is for us to do our individual duty, and the time will come when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jssus is the Christ." Good Roads. — The good roads movement is making perceptible headway in many ways in Utah. The Weber County Good Roads Association and the Salt Lake Automobile Club are making commendable efforts to better the highways, and to make needed improvements in the roads throughout the state. Several meetings have lately been held to interest the county commissioners of Weber, Davis, Salt Lake and Utah counties in this subject. In July, several meetings were held in different parts, which were attended by members of the good roads association of the various counties. A mass meeting at Lagoon was especially effective in interesting the people of the northern counties in "boosting" for good roads, to bring prosperity and benefit to the state and build it up. Horace Newel Whitney.— The eldest son of Elder Orson F. Whitney, of the quorum of Twelve Apostles, died on the 14th of July, at the L. D. S. hospital, of neuritis. He was well known as a newspaper writer; he received his education in the public schools of Salt Lake City, and the Brigham Young schools at Provo and Logan, in which latter city his first newspaper work was done on the Logan Journal, in 1895. In 189» he worked on the Salt Lake Herald and later in California, and did considerable literary work in other lines.