--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Lyman, Richard R. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 21 number: 10 published: 1918-08 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Lyman, Richard R., "Service to Country "Over Here"," *Improvement Era* 21, no. 10 (August 1918): 912–914.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera21010unse 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: improvementera21010unse start_page: 912 end_page: 914 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1918-08) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera21010unse 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. --- # Service to Country “Over Here” 914 IMPROVEMENT ERA fewer men we will lose, and the sooner the war will be over. What would you not give to save an arm, or a leg, or an eye, for your own son? What would you not give, what would you not do, at this very hour, to save the life of that one you love, who is fighting over there? No American citizen has done enough nor has given enough until the doing or the giving actually hurts, and he is by so doing positively compelled to endure personal sacrifices. What have we done, what are we doing, what can we do, in a religious way "over here" to help to win this war? Since we believe in God and his power, and in his justice, we can and we should appeal to him. If we look into our own lives, and into our own hearts, and find we do not deserve a blessing, then we should repent. We should humble ourselves so completely that we deserve a victory like that at San Juan Hill, at Santiago Bay, or at Manila Harbor. Is our whole country clean and religious? Are the people of the United States in such perfect accord with the great Master and his gospel plan that when our boys aim they will see as if they looked with the eye of God? Are the lives of the people such that when the United States army strikes, the blow will fall as if from the arm of God? Or do conditions prevail now similar to those existing at the time of the Civil war when Lincoln set apart a day of fasting and prayer for the success of the arms of our country? His proclamation, in part, is as follows: "Whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and to pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord; "And, insomuch as we know that by His divine law nations, like individuals, are subject to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war which now desolates the land may be but a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven. We have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown, but we have forgotten God." I ask frankly, in the light of these painful statements, what is the condition of the Latter-day Saints? Do we truly deserve a decisive victory at once? With apologies to Patrick Henry, let us, with all our fellow countrymen, exclaim, "Give us Liberty, Father, give us continual Liberty, or else, be kind enough, to give us death." I close with the words of Kipling, as did an eastern speaker standing on this same spot a few weeks ago. He reached out his arms, and with a prayerful spirit exclaimed, "Oh, God of hosts, be with us yet, lest we forget, lest we forget!" EDITORS' TABLE Win the War but Save the Youth At the training camp for M. I. A. leadership, at our June conference, among other striking exercises was a five-minute talk by Mr. S. A. Moffat, National Field Director, Boy Scouts of America, who pleaded for service to the boys and girls, that they might be held safe for clean living and righteousness. We must win the war, but the new democracy of the world must be entrusted to a "young people who are physically strong, mentally awake, and morally clean and straight." He said: There is so much to be said in favor of the boys and, I might add, more to be said in favor of the girls, that I feel lost when called upon to try to say something worth while on this important subject in a brief five-minute talk. As I have been listening to your excellent program this morning there has come to my heart this one thought that I would like to leave with you for the benefit of the young people: Let us not, in the confusion and the stress and turmoil of these days, when the winning of the war seems to be uppermost in our minds, forget the fact that our greatest problem is going to come after the war. It is important today that we center our thoughts and attention and our energies upon the question as to how we can make this world safe for democracy and righteousness; but it is equally essential that we give some serious thought and attention to the question as to whom we are going to hand over this democracy and this righteousness when it is finally won. On entering the war in 1914, England and France made some mistakes which they have since admitted; but there is another which they have recognized lately and are trying to correct. I hope we do not, in this country, fall into the same mistake. The English people said "We will need all of our money : we will need all of our resources, all of our energy, all of our man-power and all of our machinery to make guns, ammunition and ships, and to prosecute this war. Let us, for the time being, if you please, just forget our charities, our social service work for boys and girls, and cut down on the budgets along those lines." The result was that after England had been at war for a year or two, juvenile delinquency had increased in the largest cities from 100 to 250 per cent. The reason for it was simply this, that the older brothers had been withdrawn from the fam- 916 IMPROVEMENT ERA ilies;the fathers had gone to the front; police supervision was cut down; the general leadership in the agencies of the church and schools were reduced, and so boys were left more or less to themselves. They easily and quickly fell into bad company, and juvenile crime became rampant. About a year before this country entered the war the thoughtful people of England were sending over inquiries to us to have some of our young men, interested in boys' work, come over there and help them reconstruct the organization that would hold their boys safe for clean living and righteousness. I say to you gentlemen and you women here today, that it is highly important that we win the war; but it is also absolutely essential that we safeguard and protect and care for our young people, so that when the war is won we will hand over this democracy to a young people who are physically strong, mentally awake, and morally clean and straight; because it is going to take that kind of clean citizenship to face the insuperable, almost insurmountable problems that are going to confront them after the war. Take this thought home with you. Work out your problems in your stakes and wards, with your boys and with your girls; so that there may be in this nation a righteous citizenship that can lead it forward as God has ordained this nation should be led so that the world may see in us a righteous ; people, a leadership which they can follow. That is important. One word to you, as elders among the children: I hope that no man of you, when called upon to serve in this great cause, will feel that other things are too important for you to give up some time to the boys and girls. Do not neglect them. President Heber J. Grant said, at the close of Mr. Moffat's remarks I want to read just twelve lines of poetry, so as to get it in the record, and I would like to recommend that you all learn these few verses: "Who does his task from day to day And meets whatever comes his way, Believing God has willed it so, Has found real greatness here below. "Who guards his post, no matter where, BelievingGod must need him there, Although but lowly toil it be, Has risen to nobility. "For great and low there's but one test: Tis that each man shall do his best. Who works with all the strength he can Shall never die in debt to man." A Heap o' LivitC— E. A. Guest.