Editor's Table

Editors' Table

Let the Guilty Beware

The first article in this number, by J. W. Booth, former pres- ident of the Turkish mission, should at least awaken thought in the heart of every reader on the need of a closer observance of the third commandment "Thou shalt not take the name of the :

Lord thy God in vain." We wish that all might give it consid- eration. If profanity among the people of our favored nation is as prevalent as the author would have us believe, we should sharply awaken to the truth that was thundered from Sinai, "the Lord will not hold him .guiltless that taketh his "name in vain." If the youth of our own communities, in these happy valleys, are so wanting in reverence for the Supreme Being as to indulge increas- ingly in the sin of taking his name in vain, it is well worth our time and attention to sound the alarm, and so help to stamp out this impious habit. If we are to believe the author, and his veracity we have no reason to doubt, for he is a man of high standing among the peo- ple and of varied experiences in the world, the sin of profanity is increasing among all classes, both in and out of the Church. His observations emphatically lead him to such a conclusion. Cer- tainly no member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will continue to be guilty of such irreverence, when he once stops to consider the condemnation that he is under by so doing. The habit denotes a coarseness and lack of refinement in speech, that no person of self-respect would either care to cultivate, or to have his friends and associates believe him addicted to, even on occasion when he might be provoked. It denotes "poverty of in- tellect," ignorance, and lack of elegance in manners, taste and cul- ture. Above all, it indicates a deep disregard for Deity. And, let it be remembered that reverence for God is the first characteristic

of a true man and a faithful Latter-day Saint. True reverence is a strong feeling of profound love, respect and esteem towards God and his cause, ardently expressed. It leads men to perform the requirements of the law of the Lord. It is reverence for the spirit of the gospel that leads men to righteousness, to serve each other and the Lord in purity and in truth. True reverence leads to prayer. Prayer leads to clean life, to purity and truth. To think of that which is most ennobling, and to revere God — that is the

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true spirit of reverence. This no man can possess who taketh the name of God in vain. Some people profane without thought of the meaning of their words, believing it adds emphasis to their speech. But it simply shows their misconception of language, and their lack of dis- crimination in its use. Swearing is a crude species of slang, sel- dom used by men and boys before people for whom they harbor respect. While on earth, Jesus taught the sin of profanity in these words "Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths; "But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne "Nor by the earth for it is his footstool neither by Jerusa- ; ;

lem for it is the city of the great King. ;

"Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. "But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." As early as 1831, the Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith how sacred are the names of God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, and what is the penalty of blasphemy. The prophet was cautioned in these words :

"Behold, I am Alpha and Omega, even Jesus Christ. "Wherefore let all men beware how they take my name in their lips; "For, behold, verily I say, that many there be who are under this condemnation, who use the name of the Lord, and use it in vain, having not authority. "Wherefore, let the Church repent of their sins, and I, the Lord, will own them, otherwise they shall be cut off. "Remember that that which cometh from above is sacred, and must be spoken with care, and by constraint of the Spirit, and in this there is no condemnation, and ye receive the Spirit through prayer; wherefore, without this there remaineth condemnation."

Priesthood Quorum and Other Statistics

In the sixty-six stakes of Zion, according to information com- piled from the stake annual reports, by the Presiding Bishop's Office, for the year ending December 31, 1914, there are in the Church 11,450 High Priests, 2,413 of whom are inactive, and 3,309 who did not attend quorum meeting during 1914. There were 11,112 Seventies on record at the close of the year, 2,275 of

546 IMPROVEMENT ERA whom were inactive, and 2,772 did not attend quorum meeting during the year. There are 27,382 Elders on record, 10,099 of whom were inactive, and 9,545 who did not attend quorum meet- ing during 1914. There are 10,607 Teachers, with 3,975 reported inactive, and 2,937 who did not attend their quorum meeting. Of Deacons there are 22,722 on record, with 7,008 reported in- active and 6,477 who did not attend quorum meeting. This makes a total of Priesthood in the stakes of 92,103, with 29,008 inactive and 27,508 who did not attend quorum meeting during 1914. Nearly every stake of Zion had an increase in membership during the year. The average per capita of fast offerings for the year 1914 in the Church was 18 cents. The percentage of fam- ilies who own their own homes in the Church is 73, a most re- markable showing. The birth rate per thousand was 39.5, with a death rate per thousand of 8.3. This is a very favorable show- ing in vital statistics. The number of children blessed per thou- sand was 40, and the number of baptisms per thousand was 33.3 the number of persons married per thousand was 16. The per- centage of membership attending sacrament meetings was 18 and the average per cent of Priesthood attending the weekly priesthood meetings was 20. The percentage of Melchizedek Priesthood who are inactive is 28, and the percentage of Aaronic Priesthood who are inactive in the Church is 33 ; while the average percentage of families visited by ward teachers is 45.

The Era Story Contest

The Era story contest for February resulted in the selection of "Unbidden Guests," by Nephi Anderson, for first place. There were thirteen stories submitted, and a number of them were very favorably mentioned by the judges who were Thomas Hull, :

James H. Anderson, Moroni Snow, Oscar A. Kirkham, and Ed- ward H. Anderson, of the General Board of Y. M. M. I. A. Prof. ;

D. M. Draper, of the L. D. S. U. Hugo B. Anderson, attorney-at- ;

law; Mary E. Connelly, editor of the Young Woman's Journal; and Dr. Joseph M. Tanner. The winner in the third contest for March 6 will be mentioned in the May number of the Era. Seventeen lively stories were sub- mitted, which are being considered by competent judges. The stories for the April contest must be in by the 5th of April. Par- ticulars relating to the contest will be gladly furnished upon appli- cation to the Associate Editor. The first prize story is printed in this number, and we are sure the readers of the Era will enjoy it. The

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lesson, among other lessons taught, is that calamity and fright are about the only things through which some people will learn to let — "booze" alone the short way to bring them to their senses as to the need of personal prohibition.

Wheat Prices

Some agitation recently arose throughout our country with respect to a shortage in wheat for home consumption, and the government was urged to put an embargo on that food product. However, after an examination it was shown that there were in the country 147,000,000 bushels, and that if 1,000,000 bushels were exported daily, between the time of the report and the com- mencement of this year's harvest, we would still be amply pro- vided for. This put a quietus on the clamor for an embargo. Furthermore, it is discovered that Argentine will now have something like 100,000,000 bushels of wheat to put on the market, and that the supply for exportation from India will be unusually large. The exact amount is not stated. In the United States there has been a considerable increase in the number of acres planted, and it is stated that the acreage throughout Europe will be somewhat larger than it was last year, so that conditions up to the present hour were never more promising for a large crop of wheat. Of course, there are the great unknown factors of the weather. The weather, indeed, is the most important considera- tion, and the changes between now and next harvest may be of a character to run up the price of grain. Further, while the na- tions are at war they will store grain in advance to the utmost of their financial capacity. That may increase prices. However, if we supposed that peace will be declared by next harvest, and

the present conditions of the grain crop were to continue, we should conclude that we shall probably have the largest crop on record and, correspondingly, the lowest price for grain for at least ten years past. The important thing to be remembered in this matter is that the question of high prices for wheat next fall is purely speculative. The reasons and the probabilities of low prices are just as strong as those making for high prices.

Book for Teachers

If class teachers wish a book with helpful thoughts and new- ideas on how to teach bovs, the Problems of Boyhood, by Frank