--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Claude Richards collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 18 number: 5 published: 1915-03 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Claude Richards, "Monthly Consultations," *Improvement Era* 18, no. 5 (March 1915): 464.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1805unse 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: improvementera1805unse start_page: 464 end_page: 464 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1915-03) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1805unse publication_year: 1915 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 1915, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Monthly Consultations 464 IMPROVEMENT ERA Vocations and Industries Monthly Consultations BY CLAUDE RICHARDS Fellow Members : "Are you impressed with the true religion in Vocational work?" Your committee of the General Board urges at this time that you do one thing, namely, hold a monthly vocational officers' meet- ing every month in your stake. Make this meeting a part of your monthly joint stake and ward officers' meeting. You will remember that the Committee on Stake work has earnestly advised a monthly M. I. A. departmental meeting for all stake and ward officers. In many stakes this meeting is held in connection with the stake priest- hood meeting. By "departmental" is meant that after preliminary exercises the workers shall separate into departments. The super- intendents will meet by themselves, and likewise the secretaries, Senior class leaders, Junior class leaders, those in charge of athletic and scout work, special activities and any other vocational workers. In each case the stake officer will conduct the exercises. This depart- mental feature will increase the attendance at the monthly meetings, and will also furnish members of the respective departments the opportunity to consider with care and profit their own particular line of M. I. A. work, their own specialty, if you please. You are aware that this is a day of specialization. Our whole movement of Voca- tions and Industries is founded on specializing. As vocational coun- selor you will say to the boy in your ward: "Choose a vocation; specialize and become efficient." Let us put this question to ourselves. What about our own case? Vocational work in our splendid organ- izations has been selected for us by those in authority as our special work in the M. I. A. We have accepted that call to become specialists in this splendid department of true religion. We have adopted this vocational work as our specialty in Church work; as our avocation. Now, shall we specialize? Shall we become efficient in this part of God's work? The opportunity is before us; shall we use it? In your slake will you help to make these vocational meetings hum? A Suggestion. For your first meeting have a lively discussion on the Boys' Half-Acre contest and the City Boys' Industrial contest, using as your guide the instructions sent to you by our committee. Do you know that thirty-three thousand boys and young men in the Church are in need of our services.