---
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: 9
published: 1918-07
publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations
publisher_place: Salt Lake City
language: en
type: magazine
reference: 'Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations, "M. I. A. Reading Course Books, 1918–1919," *Improvement Era* 21, no. 9 (July 1918): 814.'
source:
  url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2109unse
  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: improvementera2109unse
start_page: 814
end_page: 814
rights:
  status: public-domain
  basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1918-07)
  source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2109unse
  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.
---

# M. I. A. Reading Course Books, 1918–1919

<!-- page:814 -->

816                    IMPROVEMENT ERA

world.   I think at this point that all the people of the world
should comprehend and believe the message sent from the
heavens by God and the dreadful misfortune of the world today
                ;

must have come by not knowing the message from the heavens.
I think there are no greater blessings than to be faithful to God
and comprehend each other.
    I have not had much experience as a Saint of this Church,
having been a member only for the past five months. Before I
received baptism at Osaka I did not know the teaching or influence of God. Of course, it is a blessing to be able to search for
the light of life and know that I can go forward in the unknown
future only by the help of God, and my experience until I became a believer of God is a most interesting part to the person

            The author and three elders laboring in Nipon

who has been born in a country where they live by Christianity.
    The Japanese spirit is filled up with ancient Confucius
doctrine on one side, and on the other side is extended Buddha's
doctrine, and both have been imprinted on the minds of all the
nation.   The so-called "Bushids" of Japan is, of course, the
foundation stone of Japanese spirit, but that was produced only
since the middle epoch of Japan, mixing Confucius doctrine and
"Yamato damashi" (national mind of Japan). Then this Japanese thought is based on the realism of Confucius and the peace
of mind of Buddha, and both thoughts have penetrated into the
mind of all the nation, even corroding it.      Then the original
Japanese thought (until becoming a believer in God) is a little