--- 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: 17 number: 12 published: 1914-10 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations, "Mutual Work", *Improvement Era* 17, no. 12 (October 1914): 1177–1181.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1712unse 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: improvementera1712unse start_page: 1177 end_page: 1181 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1914-10) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1712unse 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. --- # Mutual Work Mutual Work For Mutual Workers in October Three items should have first attention. Meet with your associates, discuss and assign them Membership: The membership committee should be at work early and late. We must have the young men started, and started right. See Y. M. M. I. A. Hand Book, pp. 15 21 and the reasons in this number why young people should attend M. I. A. Class Study and Manuals: Get the class leaders busy. Have plenty of manuals on hand. See that the membership- are provided and that the study is promptly begun. Give the instructions in the Hand Book, pp. 21-25, careful consideration. Pay special attention to how to organize and conduct Junior classes. Have the Vocation Counselor become a leading spirit in the Senior class. The Canvass for the Era : A number of stakes have already fiinished the canvass, but where it is not finished, get right after your 5%, and have done with it for the season. It's easy if you do it earnestly, and right. The Hand Book page 64 tells all about it. "Up and Doing" is the motto success follows. ; Work for Vocation Supervisors (The following letter has been sent to the Vocation Supervisors by the Committee on Vocations) Dear Brother: The present season offers unusual opportunities for carrying on the work of vocations and industries, and we should take every advantage of these favorable circumstances. The Senior Manual is devoted entirely to the subject of vocations, and the lessons will be studied by thousands of young men throughout the Church, and by hundreds of parents who are anxious to help their sons choose their life's work intelligently. All this will create a public interest in the subject that we have not before experienced. Are you and the vocational counselors of the wards of your stake prepared to take advantage of these favorable opportunities? The most important thing at present is a complete organization in every v/ard. If your organization is not complete, we urge that it be made so at once, and that the work be taken up in earnest at the very beginning of the season. Encourage the vocational counselors to read again all the literature that has been published on vocational work. We call your attention to the articles in the Era which were enumerated in a previous communication. These have now been supplemented by a section 1178 IMPROVEMENT ERA in the Hand Book. This article in the Hand Book is to be thoroughly mastered, and will serve as a constant guide. Besides these articles, have the vocational counselors re-read all the communications that the Vocations and Industries Committee of the General Board sent out last season? If these are not now accessible, advise us how many additional copies you need, and we shall be glad to send them. The ward is to be re-canvassed and every boy between the ages of 12 and 20 years visited personally. Indeed, this is a necessary part of our work every year. In these visits the vocational counselor may note the progress that has been made by the boys who have expressed their choice of a vocation, and again urge upon the boys who have not made a selection, the necessity of their giving the matter serious consideration. Each year will bring a new group of boys under our influence, in whose welfare the vocational counselor should show a great interest. This year especially the vocational counselor is to co-operate with the Senior class. If circumstances make it possible, he may be the class leader or assistant class leader, but in any event he should be a regular attendant and participate actively in the discussions. In all his work he should be in harmony with the Bishop of the ward, and co-operate with the parents, public school teachers, and any others who are taking a direct interest in the welfare of the boys. In conclusion: The first thing for you to do, as Stake Vocational Supervisor, is to see that the organization in your stake is complete, and send a list of the vocational counselors, to the Vocations' Committee of the General Board not later than October 1; Second, Instruct the vocational counselors to re-read the literature published by the vocation's committee, and if all are not supplied with the communications sent out last season, you should make application for the number of letters you need; Third, Have the vocational counselors make a new canvass among the boys of the wards. This canvass should be finished by November 1, and a list of boys sent to you with a statement of their choice and the progress that has been made by those who expressed a choice last season; Fourth, These lists are to bo compiled into a stake report, and forwarded to the Vocations and Industries Committee of the General Board not later than November 15, Fifth, Have all the vocational counselors enroll in the Senior class,and participate actively as class leaders or members in the season's work. With best wishes for your success, and assuring you of our cooperation in your work, we remain, Your brethren in the gospel, Committee on Vocations and Industries. Questions for M. I. A. Officers M. I. A. workers should read these questions carefully, as many pointers will be found in them as to work required of stake and ward officers: 1. How many of your officers are provided with the Y. M. M. I. A. Hand Book? 2. Name the wards of your stake in which the Y. M. M. I. A. is not completely organized. a. Give name of vacant offices. MUTUAL WORK 1179 b. What changes have been made during the month? c. What is your enrollment in your senior classes? d. What in your junior? 3. What is the most successful method you have adopted to increase your membership? a. Name the ward with the largest percent of Church popula- tion enrolled Ward .% 4. Name the associations in your stake in which the senior and junior classes are not thoroughly organized. State reasons. 5. How many in your stake have promised to attend the schools for leadership? 6. Who is your vocation supervisor? a. What has your vocations and industries organization done? 7. Who has charge of the Athletics and Scout work in your stake? a. -Name the wards in which you have no Scout patrol. 8. Name the wards in which this year's reading course has not been installed. a. State reasons. b. Name the stake reading course supervisor. 9. What methods have you adopted for promoting the special contest activities, including the short drama? a. Will your plan call for the promotion of the work through- out the season? b. What arrangements have you made for debating? 10. Name your social committee organized as per Y. M. M. I. A. Hand Book. 11. Send us a sample copy of one of your preliminary programs, also of your open night and monthly joint meetings. 12. Are you receiving, auditing and compiling monthly reports from your ward associations as per requirements in the roll books? 13. Have you divided your work and its responsibilities among your assistants as per Hand Book, Ward Work, page 13? 14. Do you have regular stake and ward officers meetings, with special order of business? 15. Give number of Era subscriptions so far obtained and the amount of General Fund collected. a. How many stake and ward officers subscribe for the Era? 16. Name the difficulties you have encountered in any department of your work, so that we may help you. Music for the M. 1. A. Officers are reminded that the following selections have been made for the M. I. A. musical contests for 1914-15. The music is on hand and may be obtained from the Daynes Beebe Music Company, Salt Lake City, Utah, and from music dealers generally. When ordering lots it will be necessary to send one cent postage for each three copies ordered. The prices are given for the convenience of those who order: |MIXED DOUBLE QUARTET, OPEN TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION Male Quartet, "One Sweetly Solemn Thought" (Key of C) — Parks. Price 15c. To be sung unaccompanied. 1180 IMPROVEMENT ERA Ladies' Quartet, "Lullaby" (Key of G) — C. B. Hawley. Price 10c. To be sung unaccompanied. Mixed Double Quartet, "Lead, Kindly Light" (Key of E Flat) Dud- — ley Buck. Price 10c. To be sung with organ or piano accompani- ment. JUNIOR GIRLS' CHORUS Six or nine members. "Distant Bells" (Key of G) — three part song by A. G. McKenzie. Price 10c. To be sung with organ or piano accompaniment. JUNIOR BOYS' CHORUS — Six or nine members. "Scout Boys' Chorus" Evan Stephens. Three parts; 1st and 2nd parts for unchanged voices and third part for — changed voices. Price 15c $1.00 per dozen. See August Era, p. 957. The Senior Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association Basketball team, of the Seventh Ward, Ogden, champions of the Ogden stake for 1914. This team played seven games, losing only one. Names, left to right, top row: W. Moore, coach; H. De Lamater, center; F. C. Moore, manager; center row: W. Foster, right forward; J. Ferguson, mascot; E. Blakington, right guard; bottom row: Charles Tribe, left guard; W. W. Barker, left forward and captain. MUTUAL WORK 1181 Good Progress in Utah The following appeared in "Scouting," published by the central organization of the Boy Scouts of America, New York, August 15, 1914: "Movement in Utah Has Been Well Received and is Rapidly Spreading "Boy Scout work has been taken up with a great deal of thoroughness by the 'Mormon' Church, and under Scout Commissioner John H. Taylor the enrollment has been very high. The Y. M. M. I. A., the 'Mormon' organization, which corresponds to the Y. M. C. A., published in their hand-book an exhaustive account of the Scout work. The affiliation was made with National Headquarters in 1913, and since then Scout fees and registrations have been coming in steadily. The special organization calls for Ward and Stake officers, while the usual arrangements of troop committees is also enforced. "Examples of what these Scouts have done was seen recently at the three days' convention at Salt Lake City. A member of the Scout committee spoke on the ethics of Scout work, while seventy-five Scouts repeated in concert the Scout Oath and Laws. The Scouts also carried through the color raising, while the chorus sang the 'Star-Spangled Banner.' Anumber of the active Scoutmasters who were present took up the discussion of the movement with other representatives in order to spread the work." DOUBLE MIXED QUARTETTE, FREMONT STAKE, SUGAR CITY, IDAHO This quartet sang at the June contest at the M. I. A. conference. Names, left to right, front row: Christian Schwendiman, tenor; Mary Ricks, accompanist; Myrtle West, alto; D. W. Grover, bass; Gail Caddie, alto; back row: George D. Kirby, bass; Beatrice Thomas, soprano; John I. Dean, tenor; Agnes West, soprano; Francis Findlay, director.