--- 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: 24 number: 4 published: 1921-02 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations, *Improvement Era* 24, no. 4 (February 1921). source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2404unse 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: improvementera2404unse curator_note: Editorial foliation begins at printed p. 281 on PDF leaf 5; printed page = PDF leaf + 276. Advertising and unpaginated plates are omitted. rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1921-02) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2404unse publication_year: 1921 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 1921, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Improvement Era, February 1921 Improvement Era Vol. XXIV FEBRUARY, 1921 No. 4 Two Great Phases of the Lord's Work By Elder Orson F. Whitney, of the Council of the Twelve In Tune with the Keynote My spirit is in perfect tune with the keynote struck for this conference. I believe in charity and forgiveness. I fully agree with the one who said: "He that judgeth a matter before he heareth it is not wise." And we do not hear a matter by hearing one side of it. It is wrong to pass judgment before proof of guilt. The Prophet Joseph Smith was murdered while awaiting trial on a trumped up charge of which he had not been proved guilty,nor could he have been. He had surrendered for trial, but his plotting murderers declared: "The law cannot reach him, but powder and ball shall." And they forthwith carried out their wicked threat. This, however, is not the theme that was weighing upon my mind. Two Phases of Gotfs Work I have been thinking of two great phases of the Lord's Latter-day work, one of them appealing more strongly, perhaps, to the traveling ministry who are preaching the gospel in the world; the other to those who are laboring at home in the stakes of Zion and particularly in the temples of God. Temples in This Dispensation Temples and temple work is a subject that lies very near and is very dear to the heart of every faithful, thoughtful Latter-day Saint. This Church since its organization, has built — eight temples the first one at Kirtland, Ohio, in the year 1836; the next one at Nauvoo, Illinois, in the early forties; and it *Sermon delivered at the October Conference of the Church, 1920.