--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Peery, Joseph S. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 23 number: 7 published: 1920-05 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Peery, Joseph S., "Work Out Your Own Salvation," *Improvement Era* 23, no. 7 (May 1920): 598.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2307unse 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: improvementera2307unse start_page: 598 end_page: 598 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1920-05) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2307unse publication_year: 1920 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 1920, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Work Out Your Own Salvation — Work Out Your Own Salvation By Joseph S. Peery Your father cannot save you. No one but you can. God will surely help, but you must do your part. You cannot dele- gate this great responsibility to another. Dodge it though we may for awhile, we will finally come to the conclusion that the most important thing facing us is our own salvation. The quicker we act on this big thought the better, and the fewer debts we will have to pay. — "Every day is a judgment day" every day is in the balance. It is a great blessing to be born under the covenant, but for a child of light to throw away his heritage for a "mess of pot- tage" is the saddest thing of the age. The Savior said, as recorded in Matthew 8:11-12: "And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. "But the children of the kingom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." We are children of the kingdom, and we do not want to be cast out. Then let us turn from time-killing pleasure and frivolity to real service in the Kingdom of God. This service will pay the biggest of all dividends. We cannot comprehend the eternal happiness that such service will bring, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." (1 Cor. 2:9.)