--- 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: 14 number: 5 published: 1911-03 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations, "The Bible’s Three Hundredth Anniversary," *Improvement Era* 14, no. 5 (March 1911): 430.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1405unse 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: improvementera1405unse start_page: 430 end_page: 430 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1911-03) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1405unse publication_year: 1911 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 1911, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The Bible’s Three Hundredth Anniversary her in his arms with nervous fervor, while she questioned in sur- prised tones. "But, George, you have frightened me so. I thought you were hundreds of miles away. For sure, you are not sick?" "No, dear, not exactly. Not sick in body, at least." "Have you been released? Why did you not write me about it? But you have been out only six months." "No; I have not been released." "George!" "Yes, Amanda, I had to come home. I couldn't stand it any longer. I had to come." "I don't quite understand, " she said, as she disengaged her- self from him, looking at him in perplexity. "I simply couldn't stand it longer, that is all," said he. "I had to come home — and here I am. . . I guess you don't like what I have done. . . . You don't seem pleased to see me. But I say again, I had to come home to you and the baby. Where is he?" "He's asleep in the bedroom. . . . George, you do not mean to say that you left your mission field without permission?" "Yes, I did." "0, George!" The wife dropped into a chair, struggling hard with her tears. He stood leaning against the wall, looking at her. He had gone over in his mind, during his home-coming, this meeting with his wife, and had expected some criticism on his doings, but this reception was more disappointing than he had imagined. It had been hard enough out there in the mission field, but this — "Well, I might have known!" he said bitterly. "I might have known! But you do not understand, or perhaps you would not feel so badly about it. Amanda, 1 tried to do my duty — believe me, I tried so hard; but the strain on me became worse each day. You know I never could preach, and it seemed impossible for me to ever learn. 4s for trading, it just made me sick. To have the door slammed in your face, to be called all that is mean and vile, to be looked upon as the scum of the earth, to force a religion on people that they did not want — all this . went so against the grain that I could not stand it."