--- 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: 21 number: 6 published: 1918-04 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: "Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations, “Home Evening,” *Improvement Era* 21, no. 6 (April 1918): 477–478." source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2106unse 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: improvementera2106unse start_page: 477 end_page: 478 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1918-04) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2106unse publication_year: 1918 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 1918, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Home Evening Home Evening Home Evening, a remarkable movement among the Latter- day Saints, gives parents an opportunity to spend an evening a week under the sweet influence of home in family reunion and pleasure. All church workers are exempt that evening from other duties. On this evening fathers and mothers gather their boys and girls about them in the home, pray with them, teach them the word of the Lord, learn their special needs and re- quirements, become more familiar with them, sing hymns, listen to instrumental music, have scripture reading, give instructions on the principles of the gospel and on ethical problems, and teach the obligations of the children to parents, to the home, the Church, to society and the Nation. Appropriate recita- tions, songs, stories, games, and other entertainments and ex- ercises, according to the ingenuity of the father, mother, and children, are also enjoyed, not forgetting light refreshments. It is one of the most pleasant and agreeable of gatherings, growing more and more interesting and attractive to every member of the family as the home influence spreads. When the First Presidency promulgated the order, in 1915, they requested that the Presidents of stakes and Bishops of wards, also officers of auxiliary organizations throughout the 478 IMPROVEMENT ERA Church, support the movement and encourage the young people to remain at home that evening to make it agreeable, instructive, profitable, and entertaining. They promised that if the Saints would obey this counsel, great blessings would result; that love at home and obedience to parents would increase; that faith would be developed in the hearts of the youth of Zion, thus en- abling them to combat evil influences and temptations. It is the general verdict that their promises have come to pass in every home that has tried the experiment. The Era presents above a "home evening" scene in the home of President E. Frank Birch of the Tintic stake of Zion, at Silver City, Utah. Little daughter is reciting; little brother is coaching her; sister is at the piano ready to play music; father has the scriptures ready to expound; mother is listening and at the same time knitting for the soldiers; big brother, be- hind little sister, is evidently waiting to use his violin, but all, for the moment, are interested in little sister's exercise. Can you picture anything more beautiful than a happy home like this? Can you think of a movement among the people more beneficial to both old and young? "We are all here: Father, mother, Sister, brother, All who hold each other dear. Each chair is filled, we are all at home; Tonight let no cold stranger come; It is not often thus around Our old familiar hearth we're found. Bless, then, the meeting and the spot, For once be every care forgot: Let gentle peace assert her power, And kind affection rule the hour, We're all — all here." — Sprague.