Mutual Work

(^MUTUAL VJ WORK ,

Stake Work

To Stake Officers The following five or six items should have careful attention, and be presented to the officers of your wards: (1) The seventh anniversary week of the Boy Scouts of America will be celebrated during the week from February 8 to 15. However, the first Sunday evening of the month is generally given to the M. I. A., and we therefore suggest that meetings be held in all your wards on the Boy Scout work as suggested in the January Era, with programs. Please call all your ward officers' attention to this subject and urge prompt and effective action. (2) There is great need of a closer affiliation and co-operation with the Priesthood in the matter of obtaining leadership in our class work, scout work, and vocations and industries, as well as in other activities of our organizations. We urge that all officers of the M. I. A. come in closer contact with the presidents of stakes and with the bishops of wards, so that these may aid in getting competent leaders in our M. I. A. activities. It is a good idea for the ward presidents to obtain permission to meet at least monthly with the bishoprics of the wards, in their meetings, and to report to them their troubles and desires relating to Mutual Improvement work, so that the Priesthood may become informed and act in sympathy with them. Stake M. I. A. officers should do the same with the stake presidencies. (3) In the January Era it appears that only a single stake came up to the requirement in efficiency, in the matter of Membership for November. Make this a point, and see if you cannot encourage a membership that will make your stake efficient. A discussion of this matter will be very interesting in your officers' meeting. (4) It is, now a good time to begin to consider, or at least to check up, on the preparations in the wards for M. I. A. Day. Your special attention is called to the instructions in the Hand Book on pages 85 to 87, with the regulations following, up to page 101. See also the "Closing Meeting," page 17, and broach that subject, particularly relating to the question of keeping records by the secretaries, so that they will be ready to report at the given time without delay on the annual report and the junior class qualifications. Also that you may have officers to look after the summer work and be ready for the fall opening. (5) In order to encourage a greater spirituality and a nearer approach to the Lord, so that we may enjoy His Spirit, it is suggested, if you possibly can, that you hold a special stake officers meeting in connection with all your ward officers, which meeting should be devoted to testimonies and faith-promotion, with a view to greater spirituality in our labors among the young people. t

(6) Call attention to the latest efficiency report of your stake in the Era, and determine what activities it is necessary to lay stress upon, so that you may come up to the "10" mark in them all. In this connection, consider also the Church Merit Certificate, and ascertain if anything is being done with it, and what system has been adopted in each ward to promote thi? activityamong the boys. Entrance may be made at any time.

374 IMPROVEMENT ERA

Efficiency Report

The attention of the superintendents of stakes is called to the efficiency report for December in this number of the Era. Is yours there? A glance at the figures will show the efficiency of the Y. M. M. I. A. in the various stakes of the Church. Some stakes have not yet reported, but we invite them to report, whether they have any items in which they are efficient or not. The purpose is to have a monthly report from each superintendent to ascertain the condition of stakes. One superintendent writes: "This month's report does not show any additional items over November, but we have climbed a little higher in the general average, and hope to add another item before long." The ward reports should be insisted upon each month by the stake officers, who can easily learn from them the exact condition of each ward, and so render help to the wards that are behind. How does the December report satisfy your idea of Y. M. M. I. A. efficiency?

A Scout baking twist.This picture represents one of the M. I. A. Scouts of Utah stake on a summer hike to the mountains, engaged in baking twist.

Ward Teaching For the month of December, 1916, 346 wards out of 798 reported to the Presiding Bishop's office that all the families of the Church had been visited by the ward teachers; 221 reported that more than half the people had been visited; 106, that less than half had been visited, and there were j 25 wards in which the teachers had made no visits. Bear Lake, Bear River, Beaver, Box Elder, North Sanpete, Oneida, and Weber stakes reported all the families in the stake visited by the teachers for December,