Mutual Work

The Senior Department "The Senior Committee regards the moral welfare of the senior young man equally important with his spiritual being." "The General Board committee is keenly conscious of the fact that the Church, through its Y. M. M. I. A. has an important obligation to thousands of its young men whom it may not now be reaching.'* These two statements appear under Section VIII, in the Y. M. M. I. A. Handbook. Let us consider them for a moment. In the first, the moral and the spiritual well-being of the senior young man are named as equally important. In fact it is difficult to see how a person's spiritual well-being can be assured if his morals are neg- lected. Indeed, spiritual well-being is non-existent without morality. There rests, then, upon the leaders in the Mutual Improvement work a mighty obligation to advance the moral welfare of the young men of the Church. Presidents and class leaders, do you sense this obligation? In the second statement the Senior Committee expresses its convic- tion that this obligation extends to thousands of young men who are not now being reached by the Y. M. M. I. A. This brings us to a question of serious import to every one who has accepted the responsibility of lead- ership in this great Y. M. M. I. A. work. What are we doing to promote the moral and spiritual well-being of the senior young man? The Committee's message this month to our class leaders is: "Leave no stone unturned to reach every young man in your ward between the ages of 17 and 21 years, and bring him under the influence of the Asso- ciation and into the atmosphere of spiritual and moral development." The machinery is in your hands. Specific suggestions are provided for you in the Handbook, to aid you in this work. Study them and put them into practice. Let your watchword be, "Work and pray," that you may fulfil your obligations to the youth of Israel and be found a profitable servant. The Advanced Senior Class Co-Ed The slogan of this group has thus far been unwritten, but from the kind of work being done and the kind of people doing it, one must think of it all as a movement, "In quest aj the best.'* The best organization where membership includes all unmarried persons over twenty-two and all married ones under that age; a president of the class elected for a definite period to give his or her best executive service during the term of office, a class secretary chosen to do her best to have the data collected and re- ported in the best way, a class leader, the best man or woman in the community for the service, one who can and will be prompt, be prepared, and be full of push for and with the class. Judging from reports, the sub- ject for this year' study, "Sources of Joy and Factors of Happiness," has the best claim on the best interest of life. The class work offers the best opportunity, outside of a college, for getting and expressing thought. One member said of it, "The advanced senior class is the best place for inquiry

274 IMPROVEMENT ERA and information I ever got into." Now we want the best drive that ever was made for new members, the best reports ever sent in, and the com- mittee on Advanced Senior work wants to find out the best way of im- proving this division of the best M. I. movement on the earth, and they re- quest that officers and members send their best suggestions as to what will be the best subject for our next year's work and what changes in our methods would be best. Junior Department Enroll The Boys and Give Them Something To Do The Junior Department includes the boys from twelve to sixteen years of age, and every boy in the Church should be given the inspiration and advantages that this great organization offers. In each ward a careful survey should be made and the name and standing of every boy who is eligible to membership in the organization should be obtained, and then a persistent and systematic effort be made to enroll him. This can best be done by the membership committee who will take up individual labor with the boys, if necessary. If we can start the year 1922 with this information, and follow it up carefully, we can make the best record that has ever been made in the history of the organization. Two things are necessary: first, to get the boys in the organization, and, secondly, to give them something worth while to do when we get them in. The ideal program, the program that will hold them when we get them, is scout work in conjunction with the Junior Manual. To make it effective all of this work should be permeated with the spirit of the gospel. We should not lose sight of the fact that the fundamental thing is to teach the gospel in its strength and purity to the boys. To enroll these boys and to give them something to do is not an easy task; it requires constant and consecrated effort but it is worth it. There is no missionary work at home or abroad more vital to the Church than the work with these boys who are, indeed, the men of tomor- row. Upon their training depends, to a large degree, the future of the State and of the Church. No officer of the organization who is charged with the caro of these boys can absolve himself from this responsibility without first giving it the most careful, prayerful, and profound consideration. Character of Music Programs for Joint M. I. A. Meetings By Edward P. Kimball of the Church Music Committee In a system of public worship as elastic and unhampered by tradition as that of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and one in which the line is not clearly drawn between the purely devotional assemblage and that gathering whose program is a combination of both worship and recrea- tion, great care must be exercised to insure consistency and appropriate- ness in making up the program. Much of the strength of our religious life can be accounted for in the fact that our religious ideals have been so thoroughly carried over into our practical, daily life that even our amuse- ment and recreation have not been, and should not be disassociated from them. That, indeed, is "the religion worth having." Yet, it behooves us to safeguard this very condition which has resulted in such an ideal com- munity life, and to see to it that it fulfils constantly its highest service, and does not become perverted to such an extent that real improvement and culture can not follow in its wake. One great aim in the organization of the Mutual Improvement Associa-

mutual work: 275 tions was to provide a definite agency whose mission it should be to per- petuate this fine balance of the spiritual and the intellectual life. The aim has been gloriously realized by these associations. In their anxiety to provide for leisure-time activities as well as for the spiritual and the intel- lectual, they have recently reached over into the field of recreation, and properly, too. As the latter activity lies more closely to the daily living of most of us, and touches more easily the profaner things in our nature, there is danger of some things connected with it, which originally were in- tended to be merely incidental to the program, becoming from choice and practice the principal features in the program— not of course, in the minds of the officers, but in the conception of the work by the membership. This will be true, not so much of those things which all understand and make common use of, but more in the things which are known and understood by only a comparatively few. Music enters in the front rank of things which appeal to most all per- sons. But only a few, in comparison to the great number who can judge cf literature and even many forms of art, possess knowledge and judg- ment of music's language and ideals. The music program for the most largely attended meeting of the Improvement Associations should be given most serious attention, if it is to fulfil the highest possibilities, and is not to become an actual deterrent in the realization of the aims of the Asso- ciations. Held on the Sabbath day and in the house of prayer, it is impossible to lose sight of this fact, and keeping it in mind will aid greatly in making an appropriate program for joint meetings. It is not urged that the pro- gram should be made up as a commemoration of the day, but it must not be formed in direct opposition tier the day and its purposes. A pro- gram drafted simply as amusements|gnust be classed with other amusements as out of place on the Lord's day.^Creater care should be used in super- vising the music for such meeting^ than is given to any other feature, owing to the subtle manner in whi^h music operates. Possibly one of the most common sources of our enjoyment of music is association. This means that emotions which were experienced upon hearing a combination of tones, or a selection, for the first time, are recalled whenever the same combination or selection is heard again. A moment's reflection will re- vesfPlhe necessity of permitting only such selections to be heard, in a joint M. I. A. service as are wholesome and clean, both in their own being and in their associations. This principle operates in the realm of musical instruments as well. In instruments, just as in songs and popular selections generally, are to be found "fads." Certain instruments are taken up madly, like any new style, pursued madly, until they become stale, and then laid aside until the bell-wether turns the flock to new pastures. These are naturally such as are to be learned with very little thought or effort; and the baneful effect in permitting them to be heard in church comes from their association with things of the street, and from the fact that very little of art is possible in their performance, because art is a jealous and exacting mistress, and does not permit her secrets to be revealed through common, shoddy, and unworthy mediums. She is true to her friends among the instruments that have served her through the years, and who, through this service and a worthy reproduction of her secrets in the past, have proved to her their place in her affections. These meetings must not be resolved into show places for freak instru- ments and combinations of instruments, but they should be in very deed moments for musical mutual improvement that is true and will last. If strict censorship were to be instituted in making up the program, it would not be long before everything improper and unworthy could

276 IMPROVEMENT ERA be eliminated from these meetings. A singer or a musician who is worthy of the name will not object to his contribution coming within the bounds of appropriateness and propriety, if the matter is frankly put up to him. The officers are responsible for the character of the music which is heard in their programs. The practice, quite prevalent in the more populous centers of the Church, of turning the joint meeting over to various teachers for a pupils' recital, should be discontinued. It is a kind of propaganda allowed by the officers mainly as an easy way of providing a program — following the line of least resistance. The opportunity is jumped at by the teacher, as a means of free advertising. It is undignified, and in most cases a waste of time. There can be no serious objection to allowing young students to receive the benefit that comes from public performance, but to turn a whole meeting over to an outside and entirely disinterested combination, with- out any attempt at supervision, is a gross injustice to the members of any ward. Organization and Membership In each ward and stake the Committee on Organization and Member- ship, in the discharge of its duties and in cooperation with the ward president and stake superintendent, should see that all class leaders are active, alive, and efficient, and if any are found who are not, they should be replaced by those who are. It is also the duty of the Committee to see that the Advanced Senior classes, as well as Junior and Senior classes, are properly functioning in organization and work in each ward association. The Committee should meet with the class leaders of each department and devise ways and means, in cooperation with the class leaders, to increase the membership of the classes; indeed, the most effective way of increasing the membership of the association will be through such cooperation in the various classes, thus devising ways and means for bring- ing in and instructing the membership. Further, this Committee should see to it that the first item, "Member- ship," in the monthly efficiency report, shall be properly reported to the stake secretaries by the ward secretaries, so the former can have the report in the hands of the General Secretray no later than the tenth of each month. For the month of January, to be reported no later than the tenth of February, the General Board is making an effort to have every ward in the Church reported. The figures under "Membership" should be properly segregated, showing the enrollment in the Advanced Senior, Senior, and Junior departments; also the average attendance in class work in each of these departments. A Sample Stake Efficiency Report for Local Use in the Stake A compiled efficiency report for the Shelley stake, Idaho, is given here- with with the thought that it may be of great value to stake secretaries in compiling their monthly reports from the wards of the stake, showing exactly how they stand in membership, enrollment, and in the 10 points of scoring in efficiency. In the Shelley stake this stake report is forwarded to each ward association, and all the officers of the stake can see at a glance how each ward stands. One of the interesting things about this report is an added item to the figures in the 10 scoring points. The secre- tary says, "Since there are 10 points of scoring in efficiency, and in the word 'efficiency' there are 10 letters, why not associate the two together and give each ward a banner or pennant and allow them the corresponding letter in efficiency to be pinned on the banner each month for each 10

MUTUAL WORK 277 that they obtain each month. This will act as an incentive to get them to work hard each month and get the word 'efficiency' completely spelled out on their banners." Note how nearly complete the word "efficiency" is on the Woodville report in next to the last column and then observe how a num- ber of the others lack letters in the local stake report, as presented in the score of the report which we herewith present. The young ladies' and the young men's work is to be separate. The Shelley stake has provided eight banners, one for each of their wards, in addition to the showing in the report. By this means, the secretary says, "We are able to do bet- ter work in our associations this winter than we have been able to do be- fore." We have received one or two statements complaining of the work in these reports, but it is the business of the secretaries to look after this work, under the direction of the superintendency, and, this being their business, it should be promptly looked after. Shelley, Idaho, Dec. 6, 1921. COMPILED EFFICIENCY REPORT Shelley Stake Month of November 1921. B G J K S s T W S A 0 A I H H A 0 T s S M M E E Y 0 A A H E B 1 I 1 D K L ' E S A L L 0 V E T K T L E E R I 0 L y Y L N 1 2 L E Order coming in 6th 2nd 5th 4tl 1st 8t] 7 th 3rd 10% Ward Population 78 39 34 20 50 66 28 38 353 Adv. Sen. Enrollment 31 lb 11 0 44 16 16 23 159 Senior Enrollment 29 10 4 27 9 17 0 4 100 Junior Enrollment 24 15 18 3 11 13 11 9 104 Total Enrollment BT 4"3 33 30 64 46 27 36 363 Adv. Sen. Aver. Atten. 27 12 5 0 21 8 14 17 104 Senior Aver. Atten. 16 8 1 13 4 7 0 2 51 Junior Aver. Atten. 13 6 12 3 9 6 7 4 60 Total Aver. Atten. F5 23 IB 16 34 21 21 23 215 1. Membership 10iS 101 10E 10E 10E 7 101 10E 10 2. Class Work 102 9 8 8 8 7 103 10F 9 3. Special Act. Program 10P 10] 101 105 10F 10] . 10] 10F 10 4. Scout Work 0 10: 0 0 101 10: 0 0 S 5. Slogan 0 10( 10( 10c IOC 0 0 IOC 6 6. Era 101 101 9 10] 101 8 0 101 8 7. Fund 6 0 6 10E 4 101 0 10E 6 8. Participation in Exer. ION 101 ION 10M ION 101 101 ION 10 9. S. & W. 0. Meetings IOC 10< IOC IOC IOC IOC 1U( IOC 10 10. W. 0. Meetings & T-T. 10Y 5 5 5 5 5 -5 10Y 6 Total 76 84 78 83 87 77 55 90 80 E. Milton Christensen, Stake Secretary. Special Activities Why not a class party at your house? Mr. Class Leader, has it ever occurred to you that you may have a great opportunity in having your class spend an evening at your home in a social way? We very often learn many things in the hour of relaxed play that we never thought of before;

278 IMPROVEMENT ERA and very often they are things which can be used to great advantage by the leader. All of your boys perhaps do not chum together. An evening or two spent in social life will bring them together and build up class spirit which is so essential in getting united action on some big, worthwhile prob- lem. Let the class know that your interest in them is not limited to the short period of the Mutual session. Such an evening does not need to mean any special expense to you. Have the young men appoint committees to work out the details. One class leader made this remark after an evening party of his class at his home: "It was a great night. Many things were said and done which will help me in leading the boys." Let the officer in charge of special ac- tivities assist in carrying out this suggestion. The Extension Division of the Brigham Young University is preparing to hold a "Leadership Week," at Provo, from January 23 to 28, 1922. The primary aim of this week, according to President Frank S. Harris, is to provide a time when the people of the Church may come in to the university and spend several days at work and play. This work ac- out- lined is especially interesting to M. I. A. workers, since department;, running through the week are to be devoted to the following subjects: scout and beehive activities; general M. I. A., social, and recreational leadership; music; pageantry; public speaking; parliamentary procedure; and teacher training. In addition to this work the following departments will offer work of general interest to members of the Church, and of interest to specialized Church workers in other lines: Sunday school; religion class: relief society; primary; clerical work; home making;, priesthood problems; missionary work; business administration; health problems and genealogy, and temple work. It is understood that living accommodations are to be provided at the very lowest possible cost to visiting people, and that every effort is being put forth by the members of the faculty to arrange an interesting, instructive and entertaining program. Y. M. M. I. A. EFFICIENCY REPORT, NOVEMBER, 1921 . S T3 • <0 CO CO c • 1* U 60 rt„ u on STAKES CO w> U o p. .2 m o o a bo 09 U c s u • bo D C 08.95 |h (0 < E v GO 3 c/2 fe n ,-Ph V JiJ3 0 H U Crt.;; «C.b w Alpine 8 10 9 5 7 7 7 9 10 8 79 Beaver 7 10 10 7 10 10 7 8 8 5 9 7 7 10 9 3 10 8 9 68 Benson 86 Box Elder 9 10 10 6 9 10 6 9 7 10 8 9 4 4 8 10 10 10 8 7 79 Cache 85 Carbon 3 10 6 8 6 6 10 8 10 8 75 Cottonwood 9 5 9 8 5 7 6 8 10 7 74 Deseret 7 2 5 8 3 7 8 6 46 Granite 7 10 10 9 5 6 2 8 10 8 75 Hyrum 9 10 10 7 10 10 10 9 7 5 87 Juab 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 Kanab 10 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 89 Liberty 1 8 10 8 9 8 6 7 10 10 10 86

MUTUAL WORK 279 Y. M. M. I. A. EFFICIENCY REPORT, NOVEMBER, 1921 (Continued) STAKES -.ft 5 <u c/rg co^ Logan 10 Millard Morgan | 10 Nebo I 4 North Davis | 6 North Sanpete 4 6 7 North Weber Ogden Pioneer Roosevelt St. George Salt Lake San Juan Sevier South Davis... South Sanpete Uintah Wasatch Wayne Bear Lake Bingham Blackfoot Boise Burley Cassia Curlew Franklin Fremont Idaho Lost River Malad Montpelier ... Pocatello Portneuf Raft River Shelley I 10 Teton I 3 Yellowstone I 10 Maricopa I 10 Snowflake I 10 Big Horn I 5 Star Valley... ( 10 San Luis Young | M Taylor I 10 Union (Ore.) I 10 9 10 10 10 10 8 4 10 7 9 10 10 9 6 6 10 10 10 10 10 10 8 10 10 5 8 10 10 6 10 6 8 10 10 7 8 10 7 7 8 9 9 10 10 10 6 6 10 9 10- 5 8 6 10 10 9 4 6 10 10 10 6 10 9 9 10 10 10 8 3 9 10 6 4 10 1 9 10 | 10 10 | 10 10 | 10 6 8 8 I 8 I 10 10 1 6 10| 8 10 | 10 10 10 8 8 10 4 10 6 10 10 10 7 10 8 10 8 5 5 6 3 8 5 10 5 6 10 10 10 9 4 10 5 MM B o. b ■~ • ta ft- C * to ■Ejj-a

280 IMPROVEMENT ERA Y. M. M. I. A. STATISTICAL REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF NOV:, 1921 STAKES ja o o c .aW to 3£ -a rt bo ■a p | u v. CM .2 6 > u, 1) o 8 <u •a o W B« <a s fc in bo CO '<! u boC .2 ™ J2 Sue 3 > <U < Alpine Beaver Benson Box Elder Cache Carbon Cottonwood .. Deseret Granite Alpine Hyrum Juab Kanab Liberty Logan Millard Morgan Nebo -. North Davis.... North Sanpete North Weber.. Ogden Pioneer Roosevelt St. George Salt Lake San Juan Seviet South Davis .... South Sanpete Uintah Wasatch Wayne Bear Lake Bingham Blackfoot Boise Burley Cassia Curlew Franklin Fremont Idaho Lost River Malad Montpelier .... Pocatello Portneuf 899 287 761 770 520 360 746 398 1720 899 500 352 210 1041 610 338 210 910 407 786 687 682 930 315 643 1026 250 360 476 440 409 375 201 384 564 494 280 395 181 150 437 653 218 153 398 392 358 300 18 7 13 12 8 9 12 11 16 18 10 5 7 11 11 6 9 13 7 15 16 11 14 9 15 12 5 6 9 10 9 9 6 11 13 9 8 11 6 10 10 13 12 8 11 11 10 12 18 181 197 6 82 91 13 192 289 10 300 212 8 150 186 3 88 33 12 163 232 8 16 334 315 18 181 191 10 178 126 5 3 26 23 11 308 175 11 196 164 6 82 104 5 70 77 7 7 60 97 12 103 103 14 45 207 11 204 138 5 101 91 9 100 91 11 176 228 12 252 193 4 80 40 6 95 131 9 131 121 6 51 163 9 82 94 8 92 99 5 12 89 10 122 151 7 126 72 7 136 98 7 90 123 11 160 124 6 96 58 5 30 33 10 132 150 13 248| 199 1 8 53 103 | 7 75 87 | 8 79 108| 11 1261 140 | 10 141 93| 1 11 33 184 | 342 49 275 234 223 32 297 467 342 151 33 364 274 101 72 90 138 168 172 135 127 241 315 90 151 222 80 132 94 64 158 96 112 90 123 80 50 130 310 68 58 57 103 144 115 720 222 756 746 559 153 692 1116 720 455 372 82 847 634 287 219 247 344 420 514 327 318 645 760 210 377 474 274 308 285 165 431 294 346 303 407 234 113 412 757 224 220 244 370 378 332 122 65 123 218 73 70 104 234 122 116 15 191 126 45 41 41 57 32 185 85 63 125 172 45 69 84 30 77 58 9 66 81 88 64 62 66 10 85 40 33 74 86 25 134 75 186 146 92 28 140 198 134 82 14 114 104 99 47 58 63 126 125 56 72 159 121 15 112 67 111 73 58 61 90 34 85 87 78 38 10 87 158| 123 411 60 51 75 93 63 115 262 41 188 152 153 24 129 363 262 121 22 276 216 58 51 62 108 96 168 92 91 196 235 45 115 134 47 116 74 48 91 59 56 68 82 55 10 76 198 39 53 51 84 96 86

MUTUAL WORK 281 Y. M. M. I. A. STATISTICAL REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF NOV., 1921 (Continued) STAKES (A 13 4> V ■OS a S ■9T2 u rt bo ■g c .2 S c ,_, 0) .2 6 C3 9 c ^ s s. ■9 u > <-, *0 o <"5 u en (u o cog w 3 £ * u c S > « .2 «iS 5 « c o « «J gee .£> S ^1 Raft River.... Shelley Teton Yellowstone Maricopa Snowflake .... Big Horn Star Valley.... San Luis Young Taylor Union (Ore.) 160 9 4 41 15 22 353 8 8 159 100 104 300 7 4 18 49 21 296 9 9 161 56 104 368 8 8 189 117 118 250 13 6 6 6 88 60 60 334 11 9 89 136 127 200 4 4 75 36 38 99 5 3 32 30 17 311 5 5 138 134 109 148 5 5 95 28 40 78 363 88 321 424 208 245 352 149 79 381 163 16 104 9 117 131 66 12 13 51 60 29 16 24 63 83 64 35 38 73 79 25 22 20 14 77 55 19 38 41 215 54 204 278 139 164 201 107 57 205 119 Scouts Holding the Priesthood Function as Ushers J. O. Ellsworth, Scout Deputy Commissioner, of the Bingham stake, writing from Idaho Falls, December 3, calls attention to the first Scout encampment held there. Fifty-five boys met in the basement of the stake tabernacle, November 26, at 2 o'clock, prepared with bedding and food to stay over night. They followed a definite program consisting of scout games and recreation out of doors in the afternoon, each boy bringing his armful of wood from the play-ground for cooking the evening meal and breakfast. Fires were made in the alley back of the tabernacle. In cook- ing supper the boys took cooking test for second and first class. With the exception of five first class scouts, the remainder of the fifty-five were can- didates for first and second class tests. The examinations began at 7 o'clock under the supervision of the stake examining committee, assisted by the scoutmasters from the seven wards from which the boys had come. After examinations 26 beds were placed on the floor of the auditorium hall where the masters and scouts enjoyed the night as well as if they were home on their feather beds. On Saturday morning, an early breakfast cooked out of doors; then, after morning colors, there were scout songs and prayer. The encampment closed at 9:30, the boys attending stake con- ference which convened at 10 o'clock a. m. Four different troops were de- tailed to do the ushering at the conference, one troop at each session. The boys all held the Aaronic Priesthood and functioned as ushers in that calling of the Priesthood. They had a splendid time and look forward to improving their methods for the encampment three months from now. New Organization A. R. Babcock, stake secretary Y. M. M. I. A. of the Lost River stake, reports a new organization of the Y. M. M. I. A. at Mackay, with George Jensen, president; M. K. Thompson, first, and Theodore Ivie, sec- ond counselors; with Melvin Hintze, secretary. He states that the new or- ganization promises to be a live one in the good start they are making.