Mutual Work

To Advanced Senior Class Committees Dear Brethren 'and Sisters: The lack of time at our Fall con- ventions prevented any special featuring of our Advanced Senior class work, and believing the course of study offered in this department can be made a potent f_ctor in vitalizing community social uplift, we are taking this method of calling your attention to a few important facts' which we hope will result in a successful year's work. To urge: First, that you familiarize yourselves thoroughly with the prescribed course — "Doing Common Things in an Uncommon Way" — there- by creating enthusiastic interest in the value of the lessons. No time or effort has been spared to make these lessons of such merit as shall appeal alike to educational, professional or business circles that desire mental stimulus, and those people whose opportunities have not given them a college education, yet whose ambition leads to a craving for worthwhile things. Second, that you sense the fact that yours is the responsibility of acquainting all the) eligible people, not interfering with the Senior class, of this wonderful opportunity that is theirs — not alone by public announce- ment but by personal conversation and appeal, and by the assistance of the Organization and Membership Committees of your stake and ward. This may be done by yourselves or by enlisting as many enthusiastic class members as will make the effort one of pleasure. Third, that you endeavor to socialize your class. Urge them to linger for a short time after the formal closing to visit and stimulate sociability. Fourth, that the class leaders shall be of the highest type, men and women who are capable, efficient, dependable, who recognize their posi- tions as of equal importance with those of teachers in school or college, and who realize, also, that while the effort of obtaining membership may be shared by others, the responsibility of retaining such membership to its blessing and uplift, is their own. — Joint Advanced Senior Committee- M. I. A. Social and Recreational Committee In harmony with the general M. I. A. plan of organization, you should have a Stake Social and Recreational committee, headed by at least one member of the Young Men's Stake Board and one member of the Young Ladies' Stake Board, under the direction of the two stake boards. They should call to their assistance at least two other members from the boards; or the additional members may be chosen from outside the boards. They should be faithful Latter-day Saints and particularly fitted for this work. The Social and Recreational Committee should see that there is a similar committee in each association in the stake. The Recreational committee iof the General Board will forward suggestions and material from time to time; however, this will be sent direct to the supts. in the hope that they will submit them promptly for the consideration of the Stake Boards, and, that they will then be submitted to the Social and Recrea- tional committee for carrying out. The particular duty of the Social and Recreational Committee is to plan for and supervise the social and recrea- tional activities within the M. I. A. This important field in M. I. A. work has been neglected. In order to stimulate activity, we wish first to

MUTUAL WORK 1131 effect complete organization. This will be followed by a definite program. — Social and Summer Work Committee of th'j M. I. A. General Boards. Applicable to All Supt. Elton, of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, Taylor stake, has sent the following circular to all the local president of the Y. M. M. I. A., in his stake. It will apply to all ward presidents, hence the Era reproduces it for their benefit: Dear Brethren: — We are now on the threshold of a new season and must be ready to swing open the doors for the biggest and best and most effective work we have ever yet attempted in our Mutual Improvement Organizations. There are many things for us to keep in mind and we have deemed it advisable to call some of these to your attention with the sincere hope that they may be of some help to you and that you will be good enough to carefully read them and forthwith apply them in your work. Organization Have your local organization with a full complement of officers in every respect. Effective work cannot be accomplished with an incomplete organ- ization. If you lack any officers, call on the bishop or presiding officer and have your organization fully completed before the opening night. When the organization is completed see thai the work is properly distributed according to the diagram given on page 14 of the Y. M. M. I. A. Handbook. Make some one responsible for every phase of the work and see that they do it. Don't fail in this particular. Era The Era is our Guide and Chart and Compass. We cannot make any successful headway without it. There should Le a copy of the Era in every home. What the General Board would have us know and do they com- municate to us through the Era. Let's make a record of Era subscribers. Have some good, pleasant, tactful member "curry" the entire ward with a "fine tooth comb" and get an Era subscriber in every home. If you do this it is not at all impossible that "all other things will be added unlo you." Fund Start in early on, the fund. Collect it while the collecting is good — that's right now — don't wait. Be sure you secure more than 100' per cent. We fell down last year. Let's make good this year and "top it" with a little extra to make up for last year. Secure as many Life Members as you can. We earnestly desire Every officer a Life Member™ If we could — and we can — accomplish this we would set a standard for the entire Church. Let's try! In any event get the Fund in and get it in early. Reports The Secretary will keep after you on your reports from time to time. Please be prompt and accurate. See that the reports are promptly mailed. We must get in our reports and make a good snowing in the Era. Give your secretary every assistance in this matter and make yourselves personally responsible to see that reports are sent forward in due time. Memberships This is an important matter. Get your members all out for the open- ing night and opening social. Start in now and make up your membership list. Personal canvas and personal contact is necessary. Let no young man in your ward of Mutual age fail to receive a visit from you and don't fail to have his name enrolled as a member and his presence at your meet- ings as an active worker. We must have members.

1132 IMPROVEMENT ERA Scouts and "M" Men Read your August Era on "M" Men. Have a class of "M" Men where- ever possible. The Church needs them, and the world is looking for them. Do your part in getting them ready. We must have scouts in every ward and branch. This comes as a mandatory decree from the General Board. We most heartily agree. Enlist the services of your bishop to help you in this great work. Select a real good, live, popular likeable young man for Scout Master and we will endeavor to have him trained and drilled and qualified for the work. Scouts we must have! Special Activities For fear you may have mislaid the program for "Special Activities" we enclose another herewith. If you would "score" you must g**l in all your special activities. It is the social and interetaining part of your work. It furnishes the fun and spice and gives the variety that makes things pleasant and good. The program speaks for itself. Take good care of it — read it carefully and follow out its suggestions. Reading Course Every ward should have a complete set of the reading course. The books should be kept in active service. Every officer should read every book. It is generally conceded that there are no better books available. Read them through yourself, and be prepared to give a brief review so as to arouse a keen interest and have the books constantly in use. Opening Social The opening social should be on the first Tuesday in October, viz., Oct. 3. Unite with the Young Ladies and get the bishopric and all the auxiliary organizations in your ward to help you make this the biggest and best social event of the season. All must be invited. Make it a social in every sense of the word, but let your social preach M. I. A., and in no uncertain tone of voice and keep M. I. A. and the season's work always to the fore. "Well begun is half done." Start right now and get the assist- ance of every brother and sister in your ward. Read your "Special Activi- ties" regarding officer's social and have this before your opening social for the ward. As far as possible we shall endeavor to have a member of the stake board in attendance. Go right ahead and outline your program and make the evening one long and pleasantly to be remembered. Slogan "We stand for a pure life through clean thought and action." The slogan should be repeated at every meeting. The person conducting the slogan should repeat the same first, and then all members repeat in concert. If possible have some one print or paint the slogan in good, large, bold type, and have it tastily and conspicuously displayed in the meetinghouse. The frequent repeating and remembering of this slogan will prove a blessing and benefit to all. Let us be sure, as officers, that we conscientiously live up to the slogan:— "We stand for a pure life through clean thought and action." General We know that Mutual work is to make good, faithful Latter-day Saints. And now, brethren, let us get the Mutual spirit— the spirit of mutual love and mutual advancement. Let us be united in every respect. Be considerate of each other's feelings, and make no man an offender for a word. We are very anxious and earnest for the success of the work and look to you to help us gain the highest place in Mutual work in the Church. We shall do this by getting the "spirit of the work" and keep plugging away.— Your brethren in the M. I. A. Stake Presidency. D. H. Elton, Stake Super- intendent.

MUTUAL WORK 1133 The Boise Bulletin The Boise Bulletin is a typewritten manuscript paper issued by the joint Mutual Improvement Association stake boards. Several numbers have reached the Era, and the number for September, 1922, contains the organization and assignment of stake Y. M. M. I. A. officers, together with a roster of the eight associations in the Boise stake, one of which, Bram- well, is a joint association. The paper is "snappy* with Mutual informa- tion. Superintendent Fred W. Dalton, who has recently been installed as the superintendent of the Y. M. M. I. A., is getting the activities of the organ- ization in shape, and we may look for good results from the Boise stake, which will be set forth, from time to time, in the M. I. A. Bulletin. The recent stake conference-convention held there on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 2 and 3, was well attended and gives promise of good work to be done in that stake for the year. Japanese Natives Preaching the Gospel Elder Hilton R. Robertson, conference president, Osaka, Japan, under date of August 2, says: "The missionary workj in this land is different from that of other missions, as millions of the people have no knowlege at all of the existence of the Bible. We find a great indifference for the study of the gospel, although there are many who are anxious to learn of Christ, who are attending our classes and meetings regularly and reading our literature. During the past month the elders of this conference sold 67 Books of Mormon, 27 Bibles, 169 other books, and distributed 3,023 tracts. We had three baptisms during the past month, and we feel, with these new additions to the fold, more than repaid for the efforts we have put forth to teach them the gospel. We are truly thankful and we feel to bless our enemies for placing into the hands of one of our Saints, previously a member of another church, many anti-"Mormon" books which brought him through curiosity to our Church. From that day his love for truth caused him to seek deeper into our teaching, and after reading our books and liter- ature, including the Book of Mormon, and comparing them to these teach- ings which we were accused of putting forth) to the people, also1 of those of the Bible, he entered the Church last Sunday together with a professor of the Agricultural School. Both of these brethren received practically all our teachings in English, as they speak it fluently, as do many of our investigators. This conference covers the city of Osaka, the second largest of Japan, with a population of over one and one-half million people. The membership of the Church here is comparatively small when we think of the millions, yet we have great hopes of the future, as the native Saints, through the recommendation of Elder David O. McKay, while here about eighteen months ago, have taken over much of the work with joy and vim, anxious to have their own people hear the gospel. "Last fall George Matsumoto, an eleven-year-old boy, called at our Church, saying he had attended our Sunday Schools in Salt Lake City. He had with him a Life of Christ given him there for good attendance. Since his first visit to the Church he has been to Sunday School nearly every Sunday. Tomorrow he is going to be baptized, and we feel that some day he will do a great work among his own people, as he speaks both English and Japanese freely. We little realize how soon or how far away the results of our acts may come, and of how great a worth to this world. We ask the readers of the Era to do all in their power to see that foreigners living among them get fair and just treatment, such as you would like yourself if in a strange land. Especially do we ask you not to participate in any unnecessary sentiment against the Japanese people. ^ We have many good Saints and friends in this land of whom we are proud."