--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Widtsoe, John A. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 25 number: 10 published: 1922-08 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'John A. Widtsoe, "The New Senior Program for Y. M. M. I. A. Officers", *Improvement Era* 25, no. 10 (August 1922): 911–924.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera25010unse 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: improvementera25010unse start_page: 911 end_page: 924 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1922-08) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera25010unse publication_year: 1922 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 1922, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The New Senior Program for Y. M. M. I. A. Officers The New Senior Program forY.M.M.I. A. Officers* By John A. Widtsoe, of the Council of the Twelve, and Chairman of the Senior Committee Y. M. M. I. A. My brethren and Sisters: We are all agreed as to the purpose of M. I. A. work; viz., to establish in the hearts and souls of our young people a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, as restored in these latter days through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Our problem is how to accomplish that purpose; and many questions arise in connection with the work. There- fore, the Y. M. M. I. A. organizations have been divided into several departments; and there is a great variety of activities under the general M. I. A. heading. This afternoon we are to discuss the problems that center upon the young men from 17 to 23 years of age. May I say first that in M. I. A. technical language, the members of the junior department are boys — Junior boys — and the members of the senior department are men — young men. It is improper M. I. A. language to speak of the senior boy; it is proper to speak of the junior boy and of the senior young man. Importance of the Senior Work The senior department, consisting of young men between 17 and 23 years of age, represents the original group of young people for whom President Young authorized the establishment of the Y. M. M. I. A. and Y. L. M. I. A. and around which this vast and useful organization has been built. The reason, no doubt, why this group of young people initiated, so to speak, this work, is that during the years that I have mentioned — ap- proximately from 15 or 16 or 17 years of age, to 21, 22 or 23 years of age, every human being undergoes profound bodily and mental changes. It is a time of life when the boy changes into a man, and the girl into a woman. Along with that great change, God-given and God-provided, come all manner of impulses, feelings and visions of the coming, great, mature world. Conse- quently, any person who deals with the young man finds him- self confronted by perhaps the most difficult problems known to those who are engaged in building a sound humanity. The junior boy, while doubtless difficult to handle, with his own *Delivered at the Y. M. M. I. A. meeting, June Conference. 912 IMPROVEMENT ERA peculiar problems which must not be undervalued or under- estimated, is yet relatively easy to deal with. A few simple rules, a few simple regulations, a few common-sense appeals, and the junior boy is yours, ordinarily. The members of the ad- vanced senior department, those who have passed into maturity, even if it is early maturity, present rather easy problems also, because they have laid foundations upon which they are build- ing, and a few simple rules and regulations enable us to guide the average mature person who desires guidance into a correct path of life. But the young man, through the tumultuous days and years of adolescence and early manhood is frequently a mystery to himself and to us who work with him; he i» full of surprises; we never know just how to take him and how to find him, or just how much good we are doing him. I make this rather lengthy introduction, by way of emphasizing the great importance of the senior work in the Y. M. M. I. A., and I do so without much hesitation, because, while we have done splen- did work in all departments of the Y. M. M. I. A. and have served the senior young man very well, yet it must be confessed that today we have a weaker hold upon the young man between 17 and 23 than we have upon the junior boy or the mature man. So we have a good reason for giving our serious attention to the matter which the Superintendency has placed before us this afternoon. The Senior Supervisor and the Senior Leader In every stake organization, some man should be found who is a lover of young men, who understands them, who desires to work with them, and, if possible, who has had some training for such work. He, as a member of the stake Y. M. M. I. A. board, should be placed in charge of the senior departments of the associations throughout the stake, and he should be desig- nated the "stake senior supervisor." By order of the general board, that is the official title of the brother who is in charge from the stake board of the senior young men. In every ward organization, likewise, there should be a man — young or old — but a competent worker, in whose charge the senior young men of the ward organization should be placed. He should be known as the iesenior leader" — not the senior class leader, but the senior leader, because he is to be, under the program adopted by the general board, something more than merely a class leader; he should be the leader of the senior grouo in all of its activities. Very careful attention should be given to the selection of proper young men to serve as stake senior supervisors and ward senior leaders. Much of the success of the work will depend, of THE NEW SENIOR PROGRAM 913 course, upon the men selected for these positions, and, no mis- take will be made if the very strongest men available are made stake senior supervisors and ward senior leaders. Membership The senior department should include all young men from 17 to 23 years of age. However, these lines should not be drawn too tightly. Boys and young men move in groups ; they are gregarious; they like to move in armies or battalions or compa- nies. If, therefore, we find a group of 16, 17 and 18 year old men training together, accept them in the senior department, and if you find a young man who is 21 or 22 years of age who trains with older men, let him go into the advanced senior department. But, as far as possible, the young men between 17 and 23 years of age should be members of the senior department of our organizations. We should consider the physiological and the mental maturity of the young men rather than their ages. Here again there is a splendid opportunity for wise discretion and sound judgment on the part of those in charge of the work. It may be that, where we have competitive sports, as in most of the stakes, an age division may have to be adopted, especially for competitive sports, so that those who are mature will not be permitted to compete unfairly with the younger men who are just entering upon maturity. In general, the period from 17 to 23 constitutes the senior period. The married young man is an exception. Being married, he has the privilege, irrespective of his age, of choosing for himself whether he desires to remain a member of the senior department, or whether he prefers to enter the advanced senior department. Divisions of Senior Work The work of the senior department falls into three distinct divisions. First, the study course, which is essentially the man- ual prepared annually by the general board. Second, the activi- ties of the senior young man beyond the class study period. After the manual lesson has been reviewed properly, the activities of the senior young men, as a group, constitute the second great division of the work of the senior department. Third, all activities of the senior department during the summer period. That is, the period between the close of the regular M. I. A. year and the opening of the next M. I. A., approximately four months. The Study Period Except on conjoint evenings, the senior department should engage once a week in the study of the manual, from the close of 914 IMPROVEMENT ERA the preliminary exercises, 45 niinutes should be allowed each regular weekly evening meeting for the study of the manual. If the associations meet at 7:30 and spend 15 minutes in prelimin- ary exercises, the study period would begin promptly at 7:45 and close promptly at 8:30. The Study Course A five-year study course has been planned, and will be provided by the general board. Each manual during the five years will be different from the others; but all will bear on the same subjects, viz., the senior young man and his needs. Run- ning through the course of study will be one great thought, that if we can present our message to the young man in such a way as to make him feel that he can use our instructions in achieving great things, we are likely to win his attention and interest, and may convert him to our work much more easily than if we did not have that one thought running through our teaching. These manuals will be known, therefore, as the Achievement Series. If they are taught properly, they will give satisfaction. Every young man desires to achieve greatness of some kind; fame or wealth or the worthiness that will win the fine looking girl. It is a natural and proper instinct. The Manual The manual for next year will be called Health and Achieve- ment, and will be built around the Word of Wisdom. It may be the most difficult of the five projected manuals, because the public schools are doing a great deal of work in behalf of health training, and unless taught carefully, it may have less immediate interest. This is said to encourage the very best kind of teach- ing, and to secure the very best kind of men to help in the work. There are 23 lessons in this manual. Seven lessons are de- voted to the food doctrines found in the Word of Wisdom, seven are devoted to other hygienic principles that cluster around the Word of Wisdom and are indispensable if a man is to achieve great things. Six lessons are devoted to negative health factors, such as tobacco, alcohol, tea, coffee, chocolate, fountain drinks, food adulterants, and various excesses. These subjects are treated, as far as we have been able to do in the time at our disposal, from the point of view of making them in- teresting and picturesque, and connecting proper living with the possibility of great achievements in life, and pointing out that no man can well rise to greatness in the world unless he has a sound body. I shall consider only a part of the activities beyond the class period. Brother Hull will consider the most interest- ing part of these activities. THE NEW SENIOR PROGRAM 915 "M" Men Activities At 8:30 o'clock in the evening, if the classwork began at 7:45, the study period closes, and for one half hour, the young men go into session as an affiliated organization, wholly under the jurisdiction of the M. I. A., and the senior leader, but for the special purpose of helping to develop the initiative of young men and giving them practice in conducting their affairs differ- ently. The first real difference between the work after 8:30 and the work before 8:30 is that at 8:30 the young men go into session with their own officers in immediate command. They elect their own officers who preside during the half hour. They make their own programs. The senior leader is always present when the young men go into session in this manner, and he is still in charge, but as a wise leader, recognizing the purpose of this part of the work, he steps aside, advises and suggests, as the big brother of these young men. He does not interfere with these young men, even when minor mistakes are made. The idea is, of course, to give these young men an opportunity for the exer- cise of their own initiative, and judgment. We want to train the young men in the habit of doing things, and doing them right, for themselves and by themselves. Our young men are reaching out for just such opportunities of self-expression, and if we do not provide such opportunities in our association, they will probably be found outside. We desire to have all the activities of our young men which do not belong to other Church organ- izations, under the supervision and direction and friendly coun- sel of the Y. M. M. I. A. These young men are the Y. M. M. I. A. seniors, but to win a readier response from the young men and to give greater dis- tinctiveness to this part of our work, we shall suggest a name by which these senior young men may be known throughout the Church, when they are engaged in activities beyond the class period. The proposition is that these young men in such activi- ties be called the "M" Men — Mutual Improvement Men. Per- haps we can discover what kind of a young man we are dealing with by knowing what M stands for in his mind. If M stands for money, we know he is sort of an earthly, gross fellow. If M stands for might, we know that there is some ambition in the boy, and so on. The Senior young men, throughout the Church, have already been organized in various places. Frequently the word "club" has been used. As far as possible the word "club" should be avoided; not that there is anything fundamentally wrong about the word, but because it has certain meanings in common language that we do not need to impose upon our young men. The name that we have devised for the same purpose is much better. 916 IMPROVEMENT ERA Organization of "M" Men Every group of "M" Men— the "M" Men of the Twenty- seventh ward of the Ensign stake of Zion, for instance — is organ- ized with a president, a vice-president, a secretary, and a trea- surer, and such standing committees as may be necessary. The young men themselves should make their nominations and make their selections and elections, and bear the consequences of their own act, in order to follow out the thought I have expressed that it is desired to give these young men the conscious exercise of their own initiative. They should have a constitution and by-laws. The general board will furnish, through the Era, or in a little pamphlet to be prepared on this subject, a very brief constitution. The by-laws may be derived as each group finds itself in need of by-laws. The "M" Men should have a regular order of business, such as, calling to order, roll call, reading of minutes, special order of business, etc., etc. — whatever the young men may decide upon. All their work is to be done in orderly fashion, according to the best known practice. "M" Men Insignia When a senior young man has joined the "M" Men of his ward, and has shown by faithful attendance for two months, that he is worthy of the honor, he becomes eligible to wear the official Y. M. M. I. A. pin, which, by action of the board, has become the official insignia of the senior young men of the Church who belong to the Y. M. M. I. A. and who enter into the activities of this group as here outlined. That gives a special meaning to the Y. M. M. I. A. pin. Those who wear that pin have gone out of the junior department into the senior depart- ment, and shown at least a willingness to do some work in that department; and those who are older, beyond the senior de- partment age, who wear the pin, show that they, too, have gone through the various departments of the Y. M. M. I. A. and have earned the right to wear the pin. On sweaters the double M or MM might be used to indicate "M" Men athletic activities. Program of "M" Men At 8:30 of each weekly M. I. A. evening, after this organiza- tion, the "M" Men meet, as I have suggested, and carry out a program according to their own wishes. They should lay out the program, perfect it themselves, and see that it is carried through properly. But, it may be necessary to make sugges- tions; and for that reason, the senior committee suggest that the first meeting of each month could be devoted to general cul- THE NEW SENIOR PROGRAM 917 tural subjects, such as public speaking, music, glee club singing, debating, discussion of scientific matters, etc.; and we suggest further that ten minutes be devoted at least once a month, and better every evening, when the "M" Men meet in competitive public speaking, and to male quartet work, which finally may culminate in contests or public exhibitions in the stake or in the Church, as a whole. So, for this year, it is desired that a few minutes each evening be devoted by the "M" Men to competitive public speaking and to male quartet work. Further instruc- tions will be given through the Era. The second evening in the month might be devoted to labor- atory work in connection with the Manual. This year we are studying health as a means of achievement, and therefore, have a splendid opportunity for laboratory work. The young men might go to the bishop and say, "We would like to make a health survey of the meetinghouse or tabernacle. We should like to help you, and bring you a report, and if you approve of our views, we should like to help you make things more sanitary.*' They might offer their services to city officials, town officials, in the same way, and work out practically some of the things that they discuss in their study course. There are many other features of that character that will be thought of as the Manuals appear and our work goes on. At least one "M" Men session each month should be an open night; that is, a night the program of which is conceived entirely by the young men. If the young men desire to make all their programs, no hindrance should be laid in their way, because it is self-expression and self-development, and the exercise of ini- tiative that we seek in this proposed extension of what has been formerly known as the half -hour activity. Each evening, the "M" Men must necessarily discuss some of their activities beyond the period in the meetinghouse, because, as Brother Hull will explain, the work of the M Men does not stop when Mutual is dismissed ; merely two hours' work has been done ; there is work to be done throughout the week, the month, the year, and this must be discussed by the boys and planned by the young men when they meet in regular session. Conclusion This, in general, is the part of the senior program, which is carried on in the meetinghouse, when the associations meet in their regular weekly sessions. I feel, brethren, very strongly, that much of the future of the Church depends upon the wise and careful guidance of our young people, who are in the years of adolescence and young maturity, and I know we have the wisdom, and shall have the 918 IMPROVEMENT ERA inspiration of God, to guide us into serving these young men properly, so that they may have an easier road to maturity and be of greater and earlier service in the Church in the carrying onward of the mighty work which has been assigned to this Church. I pray that God may bless us in these labors in behalf of our young men, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. A Few Suggestions with Regard to the "M" By Charles H. Hart, of the General Board Y. M. M. I. A. A word of explanation. Brother Widtsoe, at the noon luncheon to superintendents, gave us the letter that had been suggested, or the name selected, for the Senior men, and we around the table suggested dif- ferent qualities, words, etc., that this "M" might stand for. This list is a very small part only of what you brethren will think of later; it is a kind of an extemporaneous selection, with the assistance of the brethren who sat about the table: Magnanimity, magnate, magneto — the important part of your car when you want motion. Magnitude, main-stay, maintain, majesty, master, Mara- thon— the race that some of the boys will be able to take part in worthily after training as "MT Men. March — marching abreast. Marksmen — good shooters. Marrow — the. marrow of "Word-of-Wisdom-keeping men. Marseillaise — suggesting love of country. Martyr — reminding us of the great martyrs, the Prophet and the Patriarch. Mathematics, mature, ma- turity— to which these boys are rapidly approaching. Motion — as opposed to the habit of the man that the Brigham City boys sang about this afternoon who loved to sit around. Mettle — the right sort of mettle in these boys. A Meteor — fast moving and brilliant. Milk — milk of human kindness, the Milky Way, the stari spangled way. Some of the things that it would not stand for would be madcap and makeshift, malevolent; but it would stand for mammoth or for manu- facture, for man, for minister and missionary, and for moulder and mul- tiplication. It would not stand for miser nor for mistry, nor musty, and the good many other M's we do not stand for. Preeminently it would stand for the M. I. A., for me, for my organ- ization, for manhood, which we are trying to develop in these boys; for memory, which we are trying to cultivate in them. Mountain — the moun- tain of the Lord's house. Music — the divine handmaiden, which is said to have remained on earth, self-exiled, when all the other muses or other muses departed from earth. Merriment — suggested by these leisure time scientific plays that our friend Kimball told us about this morning. Man- ual— which should be in the hands of every M. I. A. worker. Melchizedek, the Priesthood that these men should be worthy of attaining to. And then there is Michael, Moroni, Milton, Moses, Mosiah and Mor- mon— from whom we get the nickname for the Church. Mark and Matthew — whose gospels should be familiar to these boys. Mother, moth- erhood— represented by these splendid sons of hers whom we expect to develop in the Mutuals. Marriage — the right kind of marriage, a marriage for eternity, a "Mormon" marriage, as our Brother Brimhall now sug- gests, wedded companionship without end. Maidens — for whose honor these boys should be willing to lay down their lives. It stands also for Muscle — THE NEW SENIOR PROGRAM 919 physical development for the hoys. Might and mighty, as already sug- gested, and monuments, monuments in the lives of others, as well as monuments in marble and in granite. There are a good many other words it does not stand for; it does not stand for monks nor for monasteries nor for Mohammedans, but it does stand for Messiah, to know whom is life eternal. Dr. Brimhall. I did not hear the word Merit, and I think that is one of the great things that the letter "M" stands for. Study Period and Activities By Thomas Hull, of the General Board, and Vice-chairman of the Senior Department Finding a Name For many months the Senior Department Committee, and at several sessions, the General Board, have been struggling with this problem of a name for these senior young men when engaged in these what I am now going to call leisure-time activities. We have sweat blood, to use a com- mon expression, in our effort to get a name. Names have been selected and presented to the General Board, and in one instance, accepted and then referred to some of the stake superintendents and turned down. Then the committee finally took the matter up before the board and asked them to decide the question, and the board spent a long session discussing various names for these young men, and then turned the question back to the com. mittee, and from that time until yesterday, the committee have been — I was going to say in labor. You have heard the saying, "A mountain in labor, brought forth a mouse." When we finally decided on the letter "M" for this name, I fancy some of the members of the committee thought of that proverb, and we almost thought we had brought forth a mouse; but this afternoon, after hearing what Brother Hart has said to us, I am sure that we all know we brought forth a very much greater thing than we had any idea of, and I am now perfectly satisfied — though satisfied before, that we got the true inspiration when finally there came out this sug- gestion to use the letter "M." As Brother Widtsoe said, you may be asked to go into some kind of a competition to tell us what you think was in the minds of the Committee when we selected that letter. We had a word, or words, in our mind for which it shall stand. Leisure Time Activities The section that I am to discuss to you this afternoon is leisure-time activities. I want to stress, however, before I take it up, the importance of the work that our senior leaders are engaged in. It has been spoken of time and again, in every session, especially of our senior young men's work, the importance of our particular department, the greatness of our problem. It is so great that I wish to stress it and urge you brethren who are engaged in this work to try to realize its greatness and again urge that you take prayerful hold of this work and devote your very best energies to its accomplishment. * * * These leisure-time activities were referred to by Dr. Widtsoe as the work to be done by the young men outside of the class study period, outside of the meetinghouse time. We mean by this, the work, which they are doing in their own leisure time. It is very important that you should 920 IMPROVEMENT ERA direct these leisure-time activities and encourage the young men to under- take such work as will occupy them in helpful activities. Some Things die "M" Men Can Do Of first interest to the young men, along this line, will be athletics and outdoor exercises If possible, each ward should have an organized baseball club, and each stake should have an organized baseball league, so that there will be something to occupy the young men during the entire summer season in outdoor activity exercises of a competitive char- acter that will give them something to think about, to fight for and to work for. Then you can have for evening work, dramatics. See to it that en- couragement is given by this organization of "M" Men, to dramatics, so that you can bring in the talent of your wards and give them something to present to the public, serving at least two purposes, activity — occupa- tion for the boys themselves — and entertainment and education for the people of the ward. Then you have your Fathers and Sons' outings. You know something about them. Get your fathers and their sons together, have an outing, a time of pleasure, recreation, education, and training for the boys and for the fathers, in association together. You can have your mountain hikes. All of these and many others I can not mention for lack of time, are outdoor activities for the "M" Men. Getting Near the Bishop Much has been said in our various meetings about the difficulty we sometimes have of getting the man we want as leader, and the suggestion has been made, that we should make love to the bishop, get up close to him. One of the ways to get close to the bishop and to get his favor is to help him, make him realize that you are his right-hand; and so get these "M" Men of yours into activities of this nature, volunteering to the bishop their aid, their assistance, in everything there is to do in his ward. You can easily think, you men of experience, of a thousand ways in which these senior young men can be of assistance t© the bishop, and to the stake. Make yourselves assistants to the bishop. It has already been suggested by Brother Widtsoe that they can volunteer to make a survey of the meetinghouse, its grounds and surroundings, in the matter of sani- tation, cleaning up, maintaining and keeping up the meetinghouse and other properties of the ward. Be on hand for that. More Things to Do We recommend also that these "M" Men make themselves popular and helpful by joining in civic activities; in clean city surveys, with the city authorities, and with civic organizations; and so become factors in the civic life of the community, by making themselves an organization of usefulness. A great thing resulting from this work is keeping them busy. I thought this morning, when the suggestion of attendance on Sundays at resorts came up and the question was asked, "How can we keep our young men and young women away from these resorts upon the Sabbath day?" — if we will keep them so busy with these exercises which they initiate themselves in their own "M" Men organization, so occupied, so interested, so wrought up with the splendid things they have to do, they will very soon find that they will have greater joy in performing this work than in seeking pleasure in an illegitimate way. You can do a great deal of work along the lines of our Manual. As you have heard this afternoon, our Manual this year will be known as THE NEW SENIOR PROGRAM 921 Health and Achievement. All this work I have been talking about in sani- tation, etc., civic work, clean city surveys, is along the line of our Man- ual. It will make an excellent text book for you, full of instruction con- cerning the work here referred to. Miscellaneous Activities Another department of this leisure-time activity I desire to refer to is what we have called Miscellaneous Activities. We should give perhaps two or more dancing parties during the year — these parties to be under the direction properly controlled and chaperoned, given and supervised by the "M" Men. We suggest a monthly dinner in each of your wards. Get the "M" Men together; let it be their banquet. Stress the letter "M" there. Have that the main picture in your decorations "M"; keep before them always their designation, "M" Men. At that dinner you should have a well- thought-out and well-planned program, especially attractive to young men, and including a good menu — not too elaborate, of course, but something well-prepared, put up in good shape, attractive to them. Some snappy, short speeches and good stories, all interspersed with attractive com- munity singing, clean and bright, led by someone who knows how, who can lead well. Some examples of it you have had in this conference. It is popular, good, refreshing, uplifting; have plenty of that at your dinner. 4nd this should be all over and dismissed not later than 10 o'clock. We do not want to have these things running into the night, so that they be- come a serious menace, perhaps; but have them over in good time. Then, once a year, there should be held a stake rally. We want to urge upon you to go to work at this; do not let it drag and be forgotten: take hold of this suggestion: once a year hold a stake rally. If that rally is held upon a Saturday, and the weather permits, you can occupy the afternoon with field sports and outdoor activities, and have a good pro- gram. Promptly at 6 o'clock, sit down to a good dinner, modeled on the plan suggested for the ward monthly dinner. We want that dinner to feed more than the physical man; we want it also to feed the mind. Let it be a mental feast as well as a physical feast. At this annual rally all the senior young men of the state should be invited, called together, and after dinner, reports on the activities undertaken in the stake and in the wards should be made. Various stunts may be performed; community singing, a song or two, perhaps, followed by a few — not many, but a few — good heart-to-heart talks by men who know the problems of the young man and can reach them. You should have some of these heart-to-heart talks from the "M" Men themselves. Let them tell you how they feel; what joy they have in the work; their difficulties, open their hearts to you; and then let these good, wise, forceful men that you have in your com- munities, talk to them in a friendly, fatherly, loving, kindly, brotherly way, to comfort and guide and direct them. Leisure Time and Miscellaneous Activities to be Planned by the "M" Men Now, all this leisure-£ime and miscellaneous activity should be planned and conducted, as far as possible, by the "M" Men themselves; guided and directed, and supervised, it is true, but let them do the work; that is the very object of our having organized this "M" Men division, so that they will have an opportunity to use their own powers, their own initiative, to do something themselves and developing in themselves the desirable qualification we are talking so much about in this conference, leadership, and thus training these young men to be real leaders. The leaders now directing them should be training hosts of them to take your 922 IMPROVEMENT ERA and our places, by and by, so that we shall not have a dearth of leaders in our midst. I say that these labors should all be planned, as far as possible, and carried out, by the "M" Men themselves, guided and ad- vised by the senior leader and the senior supervisor. I repeat that, guided and advised by the senior supervisor and leader. Leadership "We heard a good deal this morning on how to lead, how to direct, and of the qualifications and qualities of a true leader. Dr. Harris gave us "Fifteen C's", by the Rule of C, as he said — fifteen various qualities of a leader all beginning with the letter C. I cannot go over them, of course, though I commend them to your thought and study [the pointed remarks of Dr. Harris will soon appear in the Era. — Editors], but we were urged that a wise leader should be with his men, and we want to say to these "M" Men leaders, the supervisor and senior leader, that they should be with the "M" Men all the time. Do not forget that. The leaders may keep themselves more or less in the background and should not undertake to run the whole thing, but they should be there just the same with their influence, their guardianship, their guidance. The very planning of this work by the General Board for leisure time, presupposes the carrying of the influence of Mutual Improvement, of the Church, of the gospel, into the every day life of the young man. That is what we want you to do, lest this organization of the "M" Men carry our boys away from! the Church organization. It is a part of our work, and one of the means by which we want to keep these young men within our influence, the influence of the Church, and of the Mutual Improvement Associations. The stake supervisor should watch carefully the progress of this work in the wards, and while he should not interfere with the work of the senior leader in the ward, yet he should supervise the work, see to it that it is going on in accordance with the plan of our organization. In the stake and to the senior leaders, he should be as the senior leader should be to his "M" Men, a big brother, a friend. Someone figuratively said this morn- ing that these leaders should have their arms round their men; that is what they should be doing, these supervisors and leaders of ours. Get the Approval of the Stake and Ward Authorities Now, just one word in conclusion, in all of this work, all of the activities you plan, your athletics, your dramatics, your entertainments, your rallies, and your dinners, see to it that you have the approval of the authorities of the ward and of the stake, and that they are there with you. When you provide a dinner in your ward, you senior leaders, you "M" Men — or rather when these "M" Men arrange for it under your guidance and direction, see to it that the authorities of the ward are invited, and are there and in accord with it. Size up to them, so that you may have their love, and make them realize that you are a factor for success, for progress and for usefulness in your ward and in your com- munity. Benefits of Y. M. M. I. A. Work I want to say just one word, to you men engaged in this work, in relation to the blessing and benefit of our Mutual Improvement Associa- tion. I feel sure that I express your feeling as well as my own, and I say for you as well as for myself, that the gospel has made us all we are that is worth while; and within the Church, and within the gospel, Mutual Improvement has put us where we are. It has given us opportunity, taught us to preside, taught us to organize, taught us to speak, to defend the THE NEW SENIOR PROGRAM 923 faith, given us all these wonderful opportunities too numerous to men- tion at this time, made us great in the eyes of our brethren and sisters and in the eyes of our heavenly Father. It is God's great opportunity to us to develop ourselves in manhood, in faith, in courage, in devotion, and in the power to defend the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And there is not anything we can do too great in repayment of our obligations to this great organization. Now, brethren, go to it with all your hearts, go into this work this coming year determined that you will make it the banner year in your stakes in the work amongst the young men of the Church. Missionary Work There is one other thing that slipped my mind, that I want to ex- press as to what these "M" Men can do. They can get out and round up the delinquent boys, the juniors as well as the seniors; they can get them into the Sabbath school, into the Priesthood quorums, into the Associations. It is missionary work, it is true, but that is part of your work, part of the work of the "M" Men, to take upon them a part of the responsibility of looking after their young fellows and helping in that kind of work. See to it that they do that, and the blessing will be upon you; your work will grow; your power will grow, and greater joy will come to your hearts. I pray that God will bless us in this work, and that there shall rest upon you the spirit of the work that we are undertaking this year, that you will guide and direct the activities of the boys, controlled and planned and handled by themselves, in such a way that all that they do shall redound to the honor and glory of God, and to their salvation and standing in the Church, which may God grant through Jesus Christ. Amen. What "M" Really Stands For Dr. Wlidlsoe: The word we had in mind includes every one of the good "M' words mentioned by you, as well as all the good ones menr tioned by Judge Hart, and not one of the bad "M" words can be included under the word that we had in mind. "MM stands for Mutual Men — mutually helpful, mutually brothers, mutually improving — with all that Mutual means; and every good word you have mentioned belongs to Mutual. Manuals for Class Study Slogan: We Stand for a Pure Life Through Clean Thought and Action For the Advanced Senior Class, under the title, Problems of Life- Doing Common Things in an Uncommon Way: October lessons— 1. Thinking. 2. Remembering. 3. Using the Im- agination. November lessons — 4. Believing. 5. Desiring. 6. Willing. December lessons — 7. Choosing Habits. 8. Forming Habits. 9. Break- ing Habits. January lessons — 10. Making Promises. 11. Keeping secrets. 12. Mak- ing Good. February lessons — 13. Community Building. 14. Remodeling Old Com- munities. 15. Prevention of Community Decay. March lessons — 16. Handling Delinquency, Part 1, Causes. 17. Handling Delinquency, Part 2, Prevention of Delinquency. 18. Handling Delinquency, Part 3, Cure of Delinquents. 924 IMPROVEMENT ERA April lessons — 19. Advertising (Propaganda). 20. Seeking Employment. 21. Furnishing Work. May lessons — 22. Entertainment; Part 1, the Host and Hostess. 23. Part 2, The Guest. 24. Part 3, Outings. These lessons will not only prove valuable and helpful in the spiritual life of the student, but will help him in the things of the world. The unabated interest of the people will be accelerated by these twenty-four additions to the Problems of Life, and will point out in a most interesting and attractive way how common things may be done in uncommon ways to prove of interest and value, not only to the student, but to his fellow laborers in the world. The text will be printed monthly in the Era and the Journal. Send $2 for the Era now; it will give you one thousand pages of the best reading matter you can place before your friends and families, or enjoy yourself. For the Senior Class, — the "M" Men, under the title Health and Achieve- ment, will have the lessons built around the Word of Wisdom. There are twenty-three projected lessons; seven devoted to food doctrines found in the Word of Wisdom; seven to certain hygienic principles that also cluster around the Word of Wisdom and are fundamental, if a man is to achieve great things; six, to negative health factors, including tobacco, alcohol, tea, coffee, chocolate, fountain drinks, food adulterance, and various excesses in athletics, and three to manhood and health. These subjects are treated from a point of view of making them interesting and picturesque, con- necting proper living with the possibility of great achievements in life, and pointing out that no man can rise to greatness in the world, unless he has a sound body. Group I. Positive Health Factors. Introduction: Lesson 1. The value of good health. Lesson 2. Some modern food experiments. Lesson 3. Food and health. The Word of Wisdom. Lesson 4. Food classifications: meat, vegetables, grains, fats, min- erals. Lesson 5. Mineral foods and over refinement. Lesson 6. Food measurement: The calorie. Lesson 7. Protective Foods: vitamines, etc. Lesson 8. Water and air as health factors: water as food, beverages, ventilation. Lesson 9. The physiological value of work. Lesson 10. Exercise: competitive sports; athletics. Lesson 11. Sleep, rest, play. Lesson 12. Clothing and miscellaneous factors. Lesson 13. Bodily cleanliness: bathing and elimination. Lesson 14. Habits, self-control, etc. Group II. Negative Health Factors. Lesson 15. Tobacco. Lesson 16. Alcohol. Lesson 17. Tea, coffee, chocolate. Lesson 18. Fountain drinks, coca cola; the candy vice. Lesson 19. Food adulterants and substitutes. Lesson 20. Excesses: athletics, amusements, etc. dissipation of strength. Group III. Manhood and Health. Lesson 21. The law of chastity: honor the gift of reproduction. Lesson 22. Normal manhood, punishment of abuses. Conclusion: A Commandment with a Promise.