--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Todd, Douglas M. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 13 number: 12 published: 1910-10 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: "Todd, Douglas M., “Efficient Stake M. I. A. Supervision,” *Improvement Era* 13, no. 12 (October 1910): 1091–1097." source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera13012unse 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: improvementera13012unse start_page: 1091 end_page: 1097 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1910-10) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera13012unse publication_year: 1910 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 1910, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Efficient Stake M. I. A. Supervision 1 090 IMPR 0 VEMENT ERA . shall hear my voice, and shall be numbered among my sheep, that there may be one fold and one shepherd; therefore I go to show myself unto them (III Nephi 16: 1-3). But now I go unto the Father, and also to show myself unto the lost tribes of Israel, for they are not lost unto the Father, for he Know- eth whither he hath taken them (III Nephi 17: 4). These revelations will, doubtless, be among the records which the tribes are to bring forth in the latter-d lys, and which are to be united with the Bible and the Book of Mormon, showing the dealings of God among these three separate sections of the house of Israel, bringing to pass the sayings of the prophets of old, and aiding in the consummation of the great work of the latter-days. Thus, while the gathering of scattered Israel is being partly ful- filed in the bringing in of people who are of the blood of Israel from the various nations where it was scattered, there is yet to come to pass the word of the Lord a portion of which is here cited, and we may confidently look for its fulfilment as literally as that concerning the house of Joseph and their record, and the house of Judah and their record. We recommend students on this problem of the probable local- ity of a body of Israelites, descendants of the tribes that escaped from Assyria, and concerning whom great promises have been made, to look at a globe showing the conformation and countries of the earth, about which something is known, or a plan of the earth's surface, exhibiting both hemispheres, and then, with the understanding that the Ten Tribes, in their journey from Assyria northward, passed through continental Europe away up to the regions of ice on that hemisphere, and they will see the possibility, even the probability, of the existence of a body of people who will yet fulfil to the very letter tbe predictions of ancient prophets concerning their restoration in the latter-days. This will detract nothing from the views held concerning the great work of gath- ering of the people who have been mixed among the Gentiles, and whom the Lord is gathering from the east and the west, the north and the south, and giving them an inheritance in Zion. Efficient Stake M. I. A. Supervision.* BY ELDER DOUGLAS M. TODD OF THE GENERAL BOARD Y. M. M. I. A. Inquiry made of a number of stake superintendents as to methods followed in accomplishing their work, reveals little uni- formity. Methods vary under different conditions. While this was to have been expected, and is to a great extent necessary, there are, nevertheless, a number of fundamental principles and methods which every superintendent should thoroughly understand and follow as closely as possible. I. — THE STAKE BOARD. Close observation for many years has proven beyond question that the best results are obtained in those stakes that are provided with strong and well-centralized stake boards. This board should consist of a superintendent, two assistants, a secretary, a treas- urer, and a number of aids, the number of the latter being gov- erned by the number of associations under the supervision of the board. Members of the regular stake board should reside within a reasonably close distance of each other, so as to enable them to be regular attendants at the weekly meetings of the board. Assist- ants to the stake board may be appointed in those stakes where there are associations at long distances from the center, and their reports can be made at stated times in writing. Some objection has been urged against the selecti >n of too many workers as members of stake boards, on the ground that it * Delivered at the Y. M. M. I. A. officers' meeting, annual conference, Saturday, June 4, 1910. 1092 IMPROVEMENT ERA. weakens the organization by taking too many good class leaders and ward workers away from positions where they are accomplish- ing much good. If care is used in the selection of stake and ward workers, little harm need be expected from this source. The qualities that go to make a good board member are -not necessarily those that are found in a good class leader, and whenever a young man is found doing good work as an officer in an association, or as a class leader among the boys, he should be disturbed only for the best of reasons. The highest position in the Church, or the place of greatest honor for any young man, is where he can do the most good. I think we will not feel the burden of these numerous stake boards and organizations, if we can only continue to draw more young men into the field. We have a great deal of work to per- form in the Church, in every organization, and we have a great many organizations; but the plan is formed on the supposition that we have a great many workers, and that there is nothing in the world that develops people faster than giving them something to do. We have lots of offices, and we ought to have lots of officers. I realize that it is a pretty heavy strain, at times, to get the right kind of men to fill the numerous positions which our organizations naturally create; and unless we can reach out, and get more young men into the harness who will perform their duties and get the spirit of their calling, undoubtedly it is going to be a burden on the few. It may weaken us in some places, in order to strengthen us in others. We have failures, not because of the lack of a good system or a good organization, but for lack of following out or working up to any particular plan. Most of our failures go by default. It was not because we did not know what to do; it was not because we did not have men to do it; but it was because we did not organize; we did not get together; we did not do the things that were outlined for us. This is true in nine cases out of ten. You may quiz a superintendent very closely, and, in most instances, you will find his work is deficient, not because he does not understand what ought to be done, but because he has not been sufficiently diligent in doing that work, or in getting others to do it. That is his work; that is the larger part of his work — EFFICIENT STAKE M. I. A. SUPERVISION. 1093 the manifestation of what we call "executive ability," or the power to get somebody else to do the work for you (laughter) ; and that is a very great gift; it is a great power; and there are few men who can exercise it as it ought to be exercised. That is enough for any man that stands at the head of a large and important organization. He is seeing that the work is done, and the chances are that he does, then, as nrav.h as any other member of the organization. Where we have such young men, who take hold of this work in the spirit of the work, and organize it as their necessity demands, it seems impossible, and almost useless, for any stake to copy too closely the organization of another stake. But, I believe that there are these essentials —that we must have stake boards; that they must be reasonably large; that they must be so located that they can hold regular meetings for laying out their work, reporting upon their work, talking over the work, and getting the spirit of the work. II.— WARD ORGANIZATIONS AND MEETINGS OF WARD OFFICERS. Much that has been said regarding the organization of the stake board, applies with equal force to the ward. There should be enough members to create interest in the meetings, and these meetings should be formal in their nature, and held at regular intervals. There should be prayer, roll call, and minutes of the previous meeting, that all may be reminded of actions taken and work assigned. Both members and committees would be more likely to accomplish tasks assigned them if there were more cer- tainty of their being called upon to report their labors. When committees or members are assigned certain duties, it is the busi- ness of the presiding officers to know at short intervals how the work is progressing, so that" assistance or stimulation may be given as needed. This can be done only where meetings of all workers are held regularly. III. — ORGANIZATION OF COMMITTEES. The General Board has been pretty thoroughly divided into committees, in order to meet the necessities of the increasing diversity of our work; and, where necessary, similar committees may be appointed in stake and ward organizations, but it will be 1 094 IMPR 0 VEMEN T ERA. well to know that necessity for the committee exists before it is organized. IV. — CLASS LEADERS. One of the most important objects of all of our efforts as Mutual Improvement workers, is getting the many subjects we put forth in our manuals before as many boys as possible, in such a way as to influence their lives for good. In accomplishing this great end, so much depends on the man who presents the subject that stake presidents, bishops and all concerned should be fully converted to the necessity of rendering all assistance possible to help us secure the best available material. In one of our most successful stakes, that is one of their committees. They have a committee on class study, and they have a chairman of that committee — one of the best men that they can get in the stake, an educator who understands his business, and whose duty it is to assist in the selection of efficient class leaders, to suggest to them plans for doing better class work, making bet- ter preparation, getting the class leaders to understand and get the spirit of their particular work. Very much depends upon securing suitable material. We cannot always hope to secure the best in the stake, because there are many other organizations that are laboring just as diligently as we are, and who are reaching out, just as anxiously, for every well qualified young man they can get hold of. I heard of a movement, in one particular stake, to restrict appointments — one stake position to one person. This is rather a new innovation, and I am doubtful, in my mind, as to how it will work. I do not know that we are far enough along to restrict ourselves in that way. One thing we do want to do, is to be up and doing. Of course, if we do not make an effort, if we do not make application for workers in our organizations, we will not get them. There are two or three places for every efficient young man who comes home from school or college, or returns from a mission. There is a spirit of competition and rivalry among our organizations, and we will have to be up and doing, and get a fair share of all the talent that there is in the Church, among the young men. We will have to organize our stake boards according to our necessities, and according to the work which we are trying to accomplish. There EFFICIENT STAKE M. I. A. SUPERVISION. 1095 has been considerable done the last year or two in the field of athletics. There has been occasion for more and stronger com- mittees. There has been necessity for closer conferences, more regular meetings, better plans, more efficient organizations to accomplish the work that we are attempting along that particular line. But when all is said and done, the greatest thing that there is, in order to secure efficient stake supervision, is the spirit that the young men manifest in this particular work. It is a Church work; it is a religious duty; it is a mission to which our young men are called; and if they do not strive, under the spirit and guidance of the Holy Ghost, to get the spirit of their calling, and to get into it in that spirit, to manifest humility, prayerfulness and an earnest desire in their hearts to perform the work to which they are called, their plans and programs and committees, and all this mechanical outline which they make, amounts to very little. I believe this, brethren, that there is a spirit, that goes with every calling in this Church. A man is entitled to inspiration in every position which he is called to occupy, and he is entitled to more inspiration in that particular calling than any other man in the stake. There isn't another man in the stake, be he high or be he low in the organization, who is entitled to such inspiration from the Lord, as to what ought to be done, as the young man who has been regularly called and set apart to perform that par- ticular work. I think there should be no man in the stake who gets better ideas or more inspiration as to what ought to be done for the good of the young men, than the superintendent of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations in the stake. If I had the power to leave that one particular thought with every stake superintendent and every aid — that they seek diligently for the Spirit of the Lord to guide them and give them inspiration, to suggest to their minds what particular form their work ought to take in order to accomplish the best results — I would feel well paid for all the effort I have put forth in the work. May God bless and prosper us in our labor, I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen. DISCUSSION. A Brother in the audience (name not given): The greatest 1096 IMPROVEMENT ERA. trouble we have in our association is how to get our enrollment and attendance up. I would like to get some ideas on that. How can we get ward workers to work up their attendance, to hunt the boys who are not in the Mutuals, and get them there and keep them there? That is the problem we have to solve. D. M. Todd: It is a big question, brethren, a big subject. I would answer it by saying, in two ways: first, by competent mis- sionary work, especially in the beginning of the season; and then by convincing every young man in the ward that you have his interest at heart and have not forgotten him. Again, I would repeat, we fall down because of lack of effort. There are scores of boys who never receive an invitation of anv kind to go to Mutual, in our various wards, up to Christmas time. In some wards they have received a very nice little invitation, reminding them that Mutual commences on a certain date, and that the brethren would be pleased to have their attendance and their assistance during the coming year. In other wards, they visit around and make personal calls, perhaps at the young man's home, where they can talk with him, and, at the same time, enlist the sympathy and support of the father and mother. I don't know how it operates upon you, but I tell you when a young man comes into my home inquiring and wanting to enlist our support in this cause, he gets it; for the time being, at least, he gets it; there is no question about it. He converts me in a minute, and I feel like putting my shoulder to the wheel and helping him accomplish what he is doing. There are many little devices like this to reach the boys and get the subject before them. Advertising — that is what it is. It is letting every person in the ward know what you are doing and when you are going to do it. Then another thing is to "deliver the goods." The boys will come if you give them what they need and desire. I realize this: that you frequently have to create the desire, create a desire for something that is good, but very much depends upon the character of the work you are doing; it centers and rests right down upon that class leader. We believe, of course, that we are giving you excellent subjects. If we didn't, we would hunt up those that we thought were excel- lent. But, taking all things into consideration, and all the condi- tions, we, the General Board, are certainly trying to give you the