Mutual Work

Activities for May and June 1. Annual reports. The statistical year in Y. M. M. I. A. work closed March 31. Ward reports to stake secretaries should have been in by April 10. The stake reports to the General Secretary, Moroni Snow, should be in to our general office no later than May 10. Now is the time for ward and stake secretaries to make a general check on their year's work, so that they will be prepared to report promptly. The efficiency reports will continue until June I. 2. Finishing up on general fund and Improvement Era. The details of this work should be completed and sent in with the annual report. All funds which have been collected by wards and turned in to stake secre- taries should be forwarded to the general office at once, and not held by stake officers. When the collection of the annual fund is left until the end of the statistical year, it always becomes a burden and discouragement to the officers. Let us make a thorough check at once. 3. Summer work. Special outlines have been published and are be- ing distributed to stakes and wards. The great importance of keeping our young people engaged in wholesome activities under proper leadership during the summer months should be of paramount interest to every Y. M. M. I. A. leader. 4. Fathers and Sons' Outings. A special bulletin has been published on this important item, to be distributed to stakes and wards. Instruc- tions also were published in the April number of the Improvement Era. Now is the time to build up your organization for this outing. Set your dates at once and report to the general office. Five or six stakes have already finished their preliminary preparations. Let us hear from you. 5. June Conference. The greatest convention and conference in the history of M. I. A. work will be beld this year on June 9, 10, and 11. Com- mittees of the General Board are at work preparing an interesting and in- structive program. Your big job is to insure proper representation. One or more members of your stake superintendency, a stake leader in Junior work, a stake leader in Senior work, and a young man representing the Seniors should be among the representatives from each stake. Kindly bring these items to the attention of your stake and ward of- ficers at your next monthly meeting. Life (Sources of Joy and Factors of Happiness, Designed to aid in the June Sunday Evening Joint Program.) By B. S. Young Life is at once the most commonplace, wonderfully complex, as well as the most inexplicable thing in all the universe. It abounds with joy or is burdened with misery; it supplies fruits that feed and fill us with their lusciousness; or it scourges us with weeds and thorns which sting and smother, proclaiming in the sorrows they inflict the curse they carry. Life is opportunity, used or neglected; and pressing urgently for recognition and action is the everpresent now. Now with its thousand invisible fingers

MUTUAL WORK 655 pointing at and demanding of the individual, "What will you do?" You are the universe. Life proclaims its presence and is insistent in its de- mand to be used. Everything is before you, what do you want, reach out your hand and pluck the plenty that beseeches use. Is it knowledge? The great book of nature opens wide for your perusal and study. Would you have power? "Knowledge is power." The man who knows is the man who is sought. We appeal to military knowledge for protection against invasion; would we irrigate deserts transforming barrenness into fruit- fulness? The call goes to men who know the tremendous pressure of vast areas of water and the construction of mighty dams. Would we harness that mysterious force which rends the heavens and crashes aloud its swift and potent power? We seek men whose genius has wrested destruction from the clouds and made it the willing and wondrous servant of man. Would you possess faith? The shining stairway of prayer opens wide before you, and climbing rung by rung you may attain to heights, which will reveal to you the littleness of earth, teaching the great lesson that the earth is the footstool of Him whom we worship, and that the place of earth is under- neath our feet. Life offers us all this and more, much more; as under- standing expands into ever growing comprehension of God-given oppor- tunity."* Mortality We awoke in the earth as we see it about us — wonderful, glowing with beauty, teeming with interest, inviting us to ephemeral pleasures which intoxicate and leave us stranded, hopeless derelicts. We may also experience a joy which grows in its fulness, making us masters of every situation because we have mastered ourselves. This life and its sources of joy and factors of happiness are innumerable. We are faced as we were before with the condition as to which leadership we shall follow. We see before us two roads, there are tugging at our consciousness two powers; temptation flatters our beauty or lauds our strength, but when we have pierced i:s wondrously-woven mask, we are amazed by its flimsiness and aghast at the horrors it has concealed. Another road stretches before us more open, if less inviting. It conceals none of the obstacles to be sur- mounted, its very ruggedness appeals to our love of battle and conquest. Barrenness stretches to the horizon all about us. The pioneer with inspired vision sees, rising before him, fertile fields and populous cities; other, weaker ones, come, look, and fade into the obscurity of the tide of hu- manity which chokes and festers in congested centers; but to him who fares forth to conquer, who desires to accomplish, everywhere awaiting him is work; work that means the saving of humanity and his own exaltation to such heights of attainment as may never come to men who have grovelled wholly in the mire of worldly contamination. Mortality and its purposes never contemplated the prostitution of man's God-given powers, to be used only for money-changing and dealing in offal, such soul-destroying pursuits must be driven from the men's hearts and no longer profane the temples of God, the souls of his children. Who would welter in the sordid atmosphere of greed, when he might soar amid the ideals Christ so wondrously portrays, those realms to be reached by development. The purpose of mortality is development, the acquiring of capacity, that we may realize, as the Creator intends we should, the illimitable power that is ours potentially. The mission of the gospel is the preparation of its votaries to become even as he who created all things, that we may be a part of and add to the great glory which is his, and which is as boundless as eternity, because we, like our fathers, are Eternal.* *Read selections from third Canto Whitney's Elias, "Elect of Elohim.

656 IMPROVEMENT ERA The Premortal or Spirit State What may have been our sources of joy and what composed the fac- tors of our happiness in the pre-mortal state, or what, indeed, were our activities, are subjects which are more or less uncertain; but that we had activities, there can be no doubt, and that those activities were vital to life must stand as an undeniable fact. The great dominating idea that has come to us out of the meagerness of our information is that we possessed individuality and its right of exercise, agency. So far as we are informed, here began the right of selection, "What do I ivant?" We possessed in- telligence, its exercise meant consequences, we knew the law; would we abide it? Divine wisdom had selected a leader, obedience pointed our plain duty, a world had been organized, a tabernacle or body of its ele- ments meant a development of power impossible without mortality. Who knows but that we saw in mortality its sorrows as well as its possibilities, and .we essayed to follow a leadership which sought exaltation that would transcend all things, because it necessitated a descent below all things; and they who followed that leadership found mortality — or that phase of life which is now? What of those who rebelled, and how far were they the victims of that imperious personality which we know as Satan? What spoke the guileful tongue, honeyed words of persuasion, malicious ridicule, or the lash of invective? What fears inspired he, or to what emotions did he appeal? We do know that the rebellion in heaven accomplished the detention, if he did not compass the destruction of an innumerable host. Each chose for himself, he could resist or yield to baneful influences. Could momentary advantage warp the judgment or sway decision? The answer must rest in the chronicles of our great pas:. We only know results, and those imperfectly, but out of it all comes the dominance of the idea that we are the arbiters of our own fate, and whether we be transported with joy, or burdened with penalty, rests wholly with ourselves.* Doing Things in Juab As to the annual fund for 1922 23, it is sent in. Before the summer is over we expect each ward will have its money set aside to take care of that requirement, at the first meeting of next year's season. Our special activity for the month of March was a community pride program. We always plan our Special Activities from 30 to 60 days ahead. The stake board visited all the wards during the preceeding five weeks and urged that each ward lay special emphasis upon the community pride pro- gram for the month of March. We requested that they do some monumental work in the way of clearing up, papering, and pain ing the meetinghouses, and in improving and beautifying the church premises, and as a result the following was accomplished: The Mona ward house was plastered, kalsomined and painted, a much needed improvement. The Nephi North ward put a new ceiling in its church, and kalsamine^ papered and painted its assembly hall, amusement hall, and six class rooms, at a cost of about $500, all of which was brought about by the com- munity pride program of the Mutual Improvement Association. The Nephi ward re-papered, painted and kalsomined its tabernacle, at a cost of about $350. The Mutual Improvement Officers have direct super- vision of this work, but all of the other organizations are assisting in pay- ing for the same, as, of course, is being done in the other wards. *Read Longfellow's Psalm of Life or other selections depicting life in its best moral aspects; also Ella Wheeler Wilcox's poem, "Solitude."

MUTUAL WORK 657 In the Nephi South ward, they were beautifying their church grounds and. building cement walks and fences. Their church building was re- cently erected and is in good condition. The Levan ward was having what is known as a gravel day and the walks, leading ,'to and from and around the new church building were being built and the interior of the church cleaned. New carpets in the aisle took the place of the old ones. The Levan mutual is also beautifying the grounds around the church. I You ask the question as to how we do this. Our answer is: "A Plan, a Leader, a little work and the job is done." We have 170 scouts in the Juab stake of Zion. The slogan adopted by our Mutual is: "Every scout shall be in scout uniform before July l." We have selected a committee from our business men to put this job over in connection with the mutual officers and the work will be done. We are now planning for our Fathers and Sons' outing, and we intend to make it the biggest thing of its kind ever pulled off. We have a committee ap- pointed to organize a band among the Boy Scouts and the Bee-Hive Girls. And this movement is going to succeed because we have a plan, a leader, and a little work; the job will be done. — Thos. H. Burton, Superintendent. Senior Boys' Convention A Senior Boys' convention was held in the Ogden stake on Sunday, March 26, at 2:30 p. m., in the Fourth ward meetinghouse. This is perhaps the first Senior boys' conference held. It was well-attended from all parts of the stake, and the following program was carried out: 1. Announcement of visitors. 2. Community singing (ten minutes) B. Cecil Gates, member of M. I. A. General Board 3. Prayer Senior boy 4. Roll call of wards. 5. Welcome remarks (two minutes). 6. Talk "Our Senior Class Organization" (six minutes) Ollie Ririe, member of Fourth Ward 7. Chorus Ogden Thirteenth ward 8. Talk "Aims of a Senior Boy" (six minutes) Chester Engstrom, Huntsville Senior Class '9. Remarks Our visitors, Levi Ed^ar Young, Oscar A. Kirkham 10. "Our Plans for the Summer" (three minutes). ...Supt. Ernest R. McKay 11. Community singing. 12. Prayer Senior boy The "Aims of a Senior Boy" by Chester Engstrom, was a characteristic talk, pointing out the benefits that a boy might derive from a class organ- ization in the Y. M. M. I. A. where opportunity is given for each one to have a chance to act in some capacity. Officers might be elected every three months or oftener, committees appointed to work on finance, so- cials, programs, etc.; parliamentary rules studied and observed, and all obtain a chance to develop executive ability. He advocated a college edu- cation for boys wherever possible, also a mission in the world, and a careful selection of a vocation. As an illustration of how boys might help themselves, he related this incident: "One time a small boy bought a flock of bantam chickens. He tended them very carefully, and in time, was rewarded with a goodly number of eggs daily; but when he went to dispose of them, the merchant did not give him the regular price, because the eggs were so small. This worried the boy. Soon after, his mother saw him go into the house, take something, and go out to the coop. Curiosity over-

658 IMPROVEMENT ERA came her, and she went out to see what the boy had done; and, hanging from the ceiling was an ostrich egg, and on it was printed: "Keep your eye on this, and do the best you can." He said that the application of this little story is, Pick an ideal, and if you can't measure up to it, do the best you can. In helping oneself, he advocated that one should not become self-centered, but rather aim to help others, and pointed out a number of ways in which this might be done. Closing he said, "The Lord put us here for a purpose. He gave us a shell full of gray matter, most of us a strong body. Let us use these faculties to benefit ourselves and others. If we do this, nothing can block our progress, and we shall try to fit ourselves to be leaders of tomorrow." California Conventions A series of combined M. I. A. and Sunday School conventions have just been completed covering the northern half of the California mission. These were held at Gridley, Sparks, and San Francisco, respectively. The Fresno convention was postponed two weeks on account of the flu. Remarkable success has attended the conventions both in respect to attendance and the work accomplished. A department meeting and a gen- eral session was devoted to each of the organizations in addition to a teacher training session for both. In the main the convention program for the Church stakes was followed with additional attention to problems pe- culiar to the mission. The aim of the teacher-training class was to impress the importance of teacher-training work to the Church and the need of vitalizing the gos- pel truths. Special warning was given in regard to the "mysteries" and philosophical truths. "Get back to first principles," characterized the spirit of the occasion. In the general sessions splendid programs were given. The messages of the Sunday School session included the "Enlistment problem," "The responsibility of the home in religious training," while Superintendent Larson discussed "The teacher's opportunity." The M. I. A. general session included an address on the 1922 slogan by President G. Marion Gates, of the San Francisco mutual, Elder Larson reviewed the aims of the M I. A. and their relation to the slogan. "The highest type of citizenship," he said "is to live the gospel of Jesus Christ." Splendid work is being done by the mission mutuals. The special activities are manifesting themselves in many unique and delightful chan- nels. A number of plays have been given, and others nearly ready for presentation. Debates, musicals, athletic events, scout features, and socials of all kinds, are reported, showing the M. I. A. spirit at it's height. — The M. I. A. fund has doubled that of last year. — Gustive O: Larson, Superintendent Mission, M. I. A. "Craters of the Moon," Idaho The Arco Advertiser of March 17, in an editorial mentions the fa- mous wonderful natural curiosity in the shape of extinct craters west of Arco, which has been named, "The Craters of the Moon in Idaho." The region has heretofore been known as "The Valley of the Moon." Besides a number of recent pictures that have been taken in the neighborhood, it is stated that the Geographical Magazine has been furnished with an article on the famous wonderland, richly illustrated. It is expected that many tourists will visit the region during this summer; and what especially in- terests the readers of the Improvement Era is that several outings to the wonderland are already being planned by various organizations. Among them the Fathers and Sons' Outings of the Lost River and Blackfoot stakes are announced to take place here June 22-24 of this year. A number of •

A Formation near the "Craters of the Moon" the Church authorities of those stakes and others are interested in this pilgrimage, and it is estimated by the Arco Advertiser that upwards of 400 people will take part in this outing, and spend several days in the region of "The Craters of the Moon in Idaho." Y. M. M. I. A. EFFICIENCY REPORT, MARCH, 1922 STAKES Bear River .... Beaver Benson Box Elder Cache Carbon Cottonwood Deseret Ensign Garfield Hyrum Juab Kanab Logan Millard Morgan Nebo North Sanpete North Sevier.. North Weber.. Ogden Panguitch Roosevelt St. George Salt Lake San Juan Sevier South Davis Q. m . E o bo ■a in u i) .0 E V o as CO a IS to O O c a bo o 55 "a u s U ■Si> 10 10 5 4 5 8 9 10 9 5 8 7 10 6 9 9 9 10 10 8 10 9 10 10 8 6 10 7 10 10 5 3 1 5 1 5 10 6 10 9 9 8 10 5 6 4 6 10 7 6 10 10 10 9 7 5 3 3 10 10 10 10 10 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 8 10 10 10 7 10 10 10 9 10 5 7 7 8 9 10 5 6 3 6 10 9 6 10 8 10 6 4 5 10 7 10 8 5 4 5 1 5 5 8 8 4 5 7 8 9 7 10 9 10 9 6 3 6 1 10 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 4 4 5 5 9 6 10 8 10 10 10 10 8 5 7 6 10 8 10 8 10 9 10 4 10 9 10 10 0<| <0 2 . E ■s|-g 76 81 86 95 86 42 86 67 87 30 94 100 85 94 71 70 76 68 37 75 93 34 98 51 91 78 89 88

M. I. A. EFFICIENCY REPORT (Continued) STAKES South Sanpete South Sevier Summit Tin'ac Bear Lake Bingham Blackfoot Blaine Boise Cassia Curlew Franklin Fremont Idaho Lost River Malad Montpelier Pocatello Portneuf Raft River Rigby Shelley Teton Yellowstone Maricopa St. Joseph Big Horn Star Valley San Luis Young Alberta Taylor Union (Ore.) Juarez (Mex.) Y. M. M. I o. IS 0) E & a G u o ■ en a u 4* ■3* *o CO Q. ~ 8 4 7 10 10 9 10 8 4 10 8 10 10 6 6 10 8 6 10 9 10 10 10 5 10 6 3 10 9 9 10 5 8 10 5 10 10 8 8 10 6 6 10 10 10 9 10 5 10 4 8 10 8 9 10 10 10 10 5 2 7 5 5 10 8 10 10 8 10 10 10 6 10 8 10 10 8 10 10 9 10 10 6 4 10 10 10 10 10 6 10 8 7 10 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 5 3 u o o 111 •2- . fe 5 -Oh £si Z2 V ■gjf -as •5 <- 62 79 65 81 72 70 91 70 67 91 71 88 91 58 90 60 68 82 85 52 50 90 72 80 91 84 94 56 80 56 65 99 83 85 A. STATISTICAL REPORT, MARCH, 1922 STAKES Bear River. Beaver Benson Box Elder... Cache Carbon Cottonwood Deseret Ensign Garfield Hyrum 2 c 509 287 760 770 528 360 749 398 919 271 500 6 <« £ 9 E v .2« 91. ■en 326 112 250 360 6 | 145 9 1 114 12 9 7 2 10 268 213 141 189 U 41 .2 S c — CD O Ed c 1-. 4) .2 B ft) < H O H 132 171 629 95 72 279 344 333 927 231 310 901 77 229 451 79 120 313 286 330 884 106 136 455 190 295 626 139 59 198 151 204 544 1) « Hi o rt ca | 'p =- "Si g a> c. 3 > Jj 307 74 157 237 67 69 113 77 74 122 129 163 69 53 154 206 164 198 70 138 33 31 139 227 75 80 95 188 60 44 167 138 599 196 517 599 275 133 479 232 357 104 427

M. I. A. STATISTICAL REPORT (Continued) STAKES Juab Kanab Logan Millard Morgan Nebo North Sanpete North Sevier.. North Weber.. Ogden Panguitch Roosevelt St. George Salt Lake San Juan Sevier South Sevier.. South Davis.... South Sanpete Summit Tintic Bear Lake Bingham Blackfool Blaine Boise Cassia Curlew Franklin Fremont Idaho Lost River Malad Montpelier .... Pocatello Portneuf Raft River Rigby Shelley Teton Yellowstone .. Maricopa St. Joseph Big Horn Star Valley San Luis Young Alberta Taylor Union (Ore.).. Juarez (Mex.) 0) M H u O C sw > u ts o 352 210 610 338 200 912 802 272 626 682 283 325 634 1026 250 360 300 476 752 210 221 384 564 474 460 280 181 147 437 656 218 153 398 392 389 300 160 576 349 306 338 368 500 289 334 219 99 345 325 148 135 5 5 152 7 7 124 11 10 213 6 6 111 9 8 121 14 14 248 13 9 114 6 3 81 16 14 107 11 11 221 6 4 10 10 121 15 9 152 12 12 285 4 4 79 6 6 118 8 4 85 9 9 149 10 10 147 12 8 20 5 5 48 11 11 159 13 7 198 9 8 137 13 6 8 7 62 6 6 108 10 6 55 10 10 207 13 13 267 12 8 110 8 5 75 11 8 81 11 11 157 10 10 167 12 12 33 9 5 139 6 11 174 8 8 173 8 6 64 8 8 138 8 8 199 15 13 94 5 5 118 11 8 109 4 3 91 5 4 46 11 11 205 5 5 170 5 5 103 5 4 51 .2 8 100 63 220 142 120 241 148 78 221 186 114 201 253 87 171 66 179 278 167 64 185 123 118 145 64 99 212 189 55 87 166 189 115 184 66 101 118 108! 107 | 125| 230| 132 | 122| 71 47 203 167 29 50 ■SJ 3 9 120 86 276 102 102 320 135 56 194 215 151 174 379 101 164 51 250 201 140 77 64 182 309 68 58 114 155 179 115 74 167 127 44 109 147 218 86 126 61 38 153 124 41 57 372 273 709 355 343 809 397 215 522 622 386 527 917 267 453 202 578 626 327 88| 200 207 | 551 178 499 134 j 389 *<■ o Z C « a < 100! 307 249 218 601 765 233 220 361 501 461 332 279 442 418 216 354 471 542 336 357 223 131 561 461 173 158 100 77 77 38 46 157 60 50 61 175 63 74 143 54 67 53 58 60 16 18 55 98 128 40 60 25 139 71 52 54 51 72 17 40 81 93 36 84 106 55 74 111 68 24 121 89 66 25 75 43 100 77 74 154 58 31 119 150 72 101 155 59 108 45 73 138 73 38 67 77 72 62! 132 104 31 55 100 66 73 119 24 58 65 50 68 • 72 160 74 52 28 37 120 99 20 35 110 64 175 72 44 184 105 36 108 180 85 130 236 57 93 39 126 72 54 56 66 110 90 55 47 30 89 154 42 46 86 80 112 88 32 71 65 21 65 71 190 61 61 37 32 110 103 40 45 285 184 352 187 164 495 223 117 288 505 220 305 534 170 268 137 257 270 143 112 188 285 290 167 154 110 283 397 144 153 240 197 257 224 96 210 223 107 217 249 405 209 224 133 93 351 291 126 105 Not reported, 24 stakes. Is yours among them?