---
title: Improvement Era
description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930.
authors:
  - Burdette, R. J.
collections:
  - periodicals
tags:
  - magazine
  - improvement-era
periodical: Improvement Era
volume: 17
number: 4
published: 1914-02
publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations
publisher_place: Salt Lake City
language: en
type: magazine
reference: 'R. J. Burdette, "What Lack We Yet? A Poem," *Improvement Era* 17, no. 4 (February 1914): 351.'
source:
  url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1704unse
  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: improvementera1704unse
start_page: 351
end_page: 351
rights:
  status: public-domain
  basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1914-02)
  source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1704unse
  publication_year: 1914
  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 1914, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright.
---

# What Lack We Yet? A Poem

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HAS JOSEPH SMITH BEEN DISCREDITED?
351
later than one reading "sixth." These reasons are not of a character to be
readily apparent to anyone knowing the passage merely in the English translation, but derive a «-ood show of cogency from a discussion of the original language.
In the first place the verb here used does not mean merely "ended" or "finished," as if there were about two hours' work left over to be disposed of on
the morning of the seventh day. The word (kalah) means rather "to be complete, perfect, finished, ended, past," etc., and in no sense "to complete, to
finish," etc. This is one important point to bear in mind. In the second place,
the verb as here used is in causative form, having the meaning "he made, finished, ended," etc., or "he caused to be finished, ended," etc. In the third place,
taken as a whole, this passage (Gen. ii. 2) furnishes an excellent example of
the peculiar Hebrew construction known as "parallelism," in which the same
idea is twice repeated, in somewhat different form, for the sake of emphasis.
This construction is frequent in the Book of Psalms; thus, familiarly (Ps.
xix 1): "The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament showeth his
handiwork (skill)." In the present passage we have a precisely similar idea
thus given twice in slightly varied form. Thus, in the Hebrew order:
"And made ended God on day the seventh work-his which he had done;
"And sabbathed he on day the seventh from all work-his which he had
done."
If there is any sufficient reason for substituting "sixth" for "seventh" in
the first clause of this passage, it is not manifest in the Hebrew text. 'Consequently, the fact that the Book of Abraham rpparently follows a "more recent
reading" is no argument against its antiquity, whether it be translated from
Egyptian or any other language.
What Lack We Yet?
"When Washington was President, as cold as any icicle
He never on a railroad went, and never rode a bicycle.
"He rode his pony near and far, nor ever had an auto ride,
Nor hung to strap of trolley car, and we all know he never lied.
"He read by no electric lamp, nor heard about the Yellowstone;
He never licked a postage stamp, and never saw a telephone.
"His trousers ended at his knees, by wire he could not words dispatch;
He filled his lamp with whale oil grease, and never had a match to scratch
"But in these days it's come to pass, all work is with such dashing done;
We've all these things — but then, alas! We seem to have no Washington."
R. J. BURDETTE.
A GROUP OF MEXICAN SCHOOL CHILDREN, CONCHO,
ARIZONA