--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Porter, Elizabeth Cannon collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 27 number: 6 published: 1924-04 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: "Elizabeth Cannon Porter, “The Resurrection of Leah Brian,” *Improvement Era 27, no. 6 (April 1924)*: 538–549." source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2706unse 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: improvementera2706unse start_page: 538 end_page: 549 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1924-04) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2706unse publication_year: 1924 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 1924, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The Resurrection of Leah Brian THE RESURECTION OF LEAH BRIAN By Elizabeth Cannon Porter The nurse brought a pot of jonquils into the maternity ward of the county hospital. Their flamboyant beauty greeted the eyes of Leah Brian, young mother, when she opened her eyes that Easter morning. She was awakened by the singing of the Easter carols, and for a moment she did not know where she was. She had hovered so close to the precipice of death these last few weeks, that the chasm held no further terrors for her. But now life in the form of her ten day old baby had come and pulled her back from the brink. The music was not that of celestial beings, but of some over-stout ladies charitably inclined. Leah Rolfe Brian, like all the patients of the hospital, was the guest of the county. She sighed. She guessed that she ought to be thankful for the attentions of charity since it was the only kind she got. Leah, once proud daughter of Judge Rolfe, former happy wife of Donald Brian, had gone down alone, unknown, into the valley of the shadow of death. Calamity had followed her since that first night that she had sneaked off to a cheap dance. There she had met Don Brian, beetling-browed, dashing, splendid in his primitive strength. Elemental as a child, he fascinated her; he was so different from the over-cultured men that she met in her father's house. Not until she married him did she find out that he was an arrogant coward. Clandestine meetings followed. Then her parents found out about him and openly opposed him. He was impossible from every angle. But by that time Leah was so infatuated with him that nothing else mattered. So she took her destiny into her own hands and eloped with him. In casting herself adrift from the safe harbor of her home she felt that she had at least put to sea with a brave adventurer. Imagine her consternation when she found that she did not even have a man to back her. Untrained, ignorant, easily influenced, with no principles to tie to, he let himself be buffeted by all winds. But because she was a thoroughbred and a sport, she gallantly stuck to her unseaworthy sailor. Hoping to break it up by that means, her parents refused to have anything to do with them after the marriage. Her brother made threats against her husband. So he had taken her away. Leah had to deal with poverty, loneliness and sickness. Still, with the perversity of women, she loved her husband. She set a great value upon his love because it had been so costly. Then began the revelations that usually come to those who marry THE RESURRECTION OF LEAH BRIAN 539 in haste. There had been other women in her husband's life — one dead, another divorced. Instead of being the great love of his life, she was only one of the flowers that a stroller picks as he walks through a garden. When she felt that she had suffered so much that she could suffer no more, her husband deserted her. At first, she could not believe it; then she went crazy. After she regained her reason she tried to figure out why he had done it. Knowing the changeable nature of the man, she guessed that it was on the impulse of a moment. He would probably regret it; but it proved his utter lack of manhood. His abandonment at such a time went far to cure her of her love for him. So, after Gethsemane, wearing her crown of thorns, she went on to Golgotha. In her crucifixion she was flanked, not by thieves, but by women who, too, had believed in men. Out of the wreck of her marriage had come life — the wailing cry of a child. Down and out as she was, she had achieved life, the greatest thing in the world. With it came a new hope. She wanted to keep her child. It was all that she had salvaged from the fiasco of wrecked home, heart and mind. Yet when she held him close she felt that he was worth it, for who can set a price upon a human being? The hospital attendants hinted at orphanages, day nurseries, adoption. She listened to them in stolid silence. She wished to start life anew with her baby. She would bury her past like the dead in a tomb, and her soul should rise resurrected, purified, through her ter- rible ordeal. If only her body were a little stronger! She felt her physical weakness and the memory of the man still stabbed her like a knife. The words of a young elder who had come in to administer to a woman who did not want to live, came to her, "He shall raise up the weak things of the earth — " Because she was one of these, she did the only thing that she could do, lying there. She prayed. That afternoon, during the visiting hours, her great aunt, Amelia, was ushered in. She was resplendent in new Easter clothes which exuded the perfume of crab-apple blossoms. "So here you are!" she exclaimed, seating her large person on a chair. "A nice place to find you in, and a high time I've had of it. I had to engage a detective agency to find you!" Leah could not help smiling slightly. There had never been much intimacy between her family and her aunt. "Saw the baby on my way in. Good thing it's a boy. Doesn't look much, but then, they're all homely at that age." Leah vouchsafed no reply to this. "So he went off and left you! H-mp, just about what you could expect! How do you feel?" "About as well as I could expect to," answered Leah, wanly. 540 IMPROVEMENT ERA "What are you going to do?" "I don't know, Aunt." "Well I do. You're coming to me as soon as they will let you move. And you're going to stay right there and be taken care of until you want to do something else." "Can I bring the baby?" asked Leah, suddenly thinking that her prayer had been answered like a miracle. "Of course." The worldly old woman nursed a secret satis- faction in knowing how it would pique Henry to find out that she had taken care of his daughter in her extremity. Amelia had been married in her youth to an old man with money. The pent-up bitterness of her loveless marriage burst forth. "I admired your courage in marrying foi- love, Leah, and I marveled at your grit in sticking by your bargain. The only thing I'm sorry for is that it was wasted on such a worthless scamp!" A desolate feeling came around her heart; what if her aunt had not found her? Because she was still weak, Leah burst into tears. Substitutes for Tobacco The editor of Moral Welfare says the so-called pleasure from the use of tobacco comes from satisfying a cultivated appetite, and not a natural one. He suggests that a good substitute would be to catch the itch because of the pleasure derived from scratching. Besides, he says, "it is far cheaper, and there is no tax on it, and no danger of fire. It does not pollute the air, and does not make one smell like a goat." Much has been written about restoring the youthful vigor of old or weak men by injecting monkey glands into them. Science is doing some quite wonderful things along this line, apparently, but it would be a million times more helpful to the human race if the young men were kept free from the things that make them prematurely old and weak. Tobacco is sending many a youth headlong to debility and decay. When the United States cuts tobacco out of the life of its citizens, it will not be necessary to monkey with monkey glands in restoring wasted vigor for many of our citizens. No substitute can equal the natural vigor of the man who takes care of his body. A London man proposes to teach people "the art of smoking." He would not substitute anything, but says smokers smoke too much, adding: "People who smoke one cigarette after another without stopping are nothing but savages." The ideal way, he says, is to make a cigarette last twenty or twenty-five minutes. If smoking a lot makes a person a real savage, what does a long-drawn out smoke make him? Here is a better prescription: "Make one cigarette last a life-time by never lighting it." — Will H. Brown, Oakland, Calif, MESSAGES FROM THE MISSIONS In all of our United States; in Canada and in Mexico; Great Britain, Scandinavia, Germany and many other countries of Europe, from the pines of the north to the palms of the south; in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hawaii, and in many of the Islands of the far Pacific, the Church has faith- ful men and women teaching with divine authority, and in love, without remuneration, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and calling all mankind to repent- ance. The Church at home and abroad is imbued with the great responsi- bility of this divine calling and duty of proclaiming the gospel to all nations, which let us always remember. "God of our fathers known of old, Lord of our far-flung battle line, Beneath whose awful hand we hold Dominion over palm and pine, Lord God of hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget, lest we forget." Kipling's "Recessional." "The Vision" Presented by the Choir in Breslau, Germany The most successful conference ever held in its history, so pronounced by all in attendance, was that of the Breslau conference, Swiss-German mission, December 15-17, 1923, under the leadership of Conference President L. H. Schobert. The conference opened with a combined priesthood, officers' and teachers' meeting. Valuable instructions were given by Mission President Fred Tadje and Elder Schobert. The former spoke on the "necessity of obe- dience to higher authority, and of every Latter-day Saint doing his utmost to preach the gospel to those who have no knowledge of it," giving scrip- tural quotations to emphasize his points. The Sunday school convention was distinguished, because the entire pro- gram was furnished by children. A choir composed of sixty-five children from the three branches of the conference furnished singing in a commendable manner, for which the 700 Saints and friends present offered the highest of praise. After a welcome greeting and a beautiful bouquet of flowers being presented to President Tadje by ten little girls dressed in white, the President made valuable remarks which set everyone thinking. The afternoon session was a spiritual feast! The sermons given were indeed guided by the Spirit of God. "Repentance" and the "Word of Wis- dom" were the keynotes around which they were woven. The vocal and instrumental solos! rendered by the missionaries were heard with great enthu- siasm, and at the finish of "Forgotten," sung in English by Norwood Craw- ford, the audience burst forth in applause. The crowning event was the rendition of the oratorio, "The Vision," by the Breslau conference choir, under the leadership of John D. Montague. Those acquainted with this beautiful oratorio will realize that it would be no small task to translate it into another language, teach it to an amateur choir of ninety voices in three and one-half months, and present it success- fully, exceeding even their most enthusiastic hopes, — but that is what Elder Montague did. He organized the Breslau choir only seven months ago. j As a prelude to the concert, President Tadje explained to the 1.100 people as- sembled the details of the events leading up to and resulting in the Prophet Joseph's first vision. — L. H, Schobert, conference president. (See p. 542.) 542 IMPROVEMENT ERA a> O 3 "O X> a rfl sj to — >■. rs 0 ? 4-1 "U a X t« * . ft a a> J5 z O 0 44 W CO t-l a> > T3 tO ■"-1 3 w o >» "u O u X r3 n a> 43 22 h O a> a> ♦3 43 .ah ■ — 1 i~. 5 43 > o u 43 ° CO 'u h < a 3 >-i o s U CO s -s w nJ w co X CO S e h Q 5-1 PQ O ^> 5 o 0 --h -, z CO su cu .— 43 "» 8 *" !* 3 u _> "+-» u2 o .52, O X < •s s «1 £: a> o fc 6 o 3 0 4-> X rt S n ai u ^ »-i ■" ^ ►. i-i CQ-T3 CO Jj D CJ «-, C S- < bO-4j 0^ pq X 3 <-> K 3 4) ts-s 01 h ffl c >. *3 43 a. *3 c -c -S1-* 2 fe •0 Vl-I "S 0 a> cy bo ti t-i 3 .- 3 .. 3 .2 MESSAGES FROM THE MISSIONS 543 vertised by printed material on the little round towers which serve as bill- boards in this country as well as by the distribution of leaflets by ten mis- sionaries who are laboring in the city. The result was the appearance of nearly a thousand persons at each of the three meetings held, all of whom expressed themselves as well pleased with the showing made by the "Mormons." The day preceding the conference was devoted by President Tadje to getting acquainted with the thirty-four missionaries of the Dresden Confer- ence, which includes eight branches in various cities of eastern Germany. In a special priesthood meeting each of the workers told of his labors and made suggestions for the advancement of the cause. Also the local officers were called upon to report their activities. The meetings of the conference proper were supervised by President Joseph Duran. They were begun with a Sun- day-school convention at ten o'clock in the morning, at which the various classes of the three Sunday-schools in Breslau offered musical numbers and model recitations, followed by preaching in the afternoon and evening. Presi- dent Tadje addressed all three gatherings, and the principles of the gospel were also explained by President Zaugg of the Basel conference, President Buehner, of the Chemnitz conference, President Rowe of the Hamburg con- ference, President Gardner of the Frankfurt conference, and President Duran, of the Dresden conference. The musical offerings were especially note- worthy. Elder Cornwall, of Salt Lake City, rendered several very pleasing selections on the violin, and the work of the large Breslau choir, under the direction of Elder John Montague of Elsinore, Utah, drew forth many fa- vorable comments. The meetings were pronounced by all who attended them to be among the best that have ever been held in Germany. Monday evening at sun-set twenty-three candidates were baptized in the waters of the famous Oder river before the eyes of a thousand spectators who had gathered out of curiosity and interest. The scene was very picturesque and reminiscent of the scriptural passage which speaks of the inhabitants of the city of Jerusalem going out to the Jordan when John the Baptist was baptizing there. Two airplane pilots who were maneuvering over the city were attracted by the crowd and flew low overhead so that the ceremony was accompanied by the roar of their motors. After the baptisms, President Duran mounted a platform and addressed the crowd, explaining to them the meaning of what they had seen. The work in Breslau is making gratifying progress. • The city has three branches of the Church with some five hundred members who are proud to call their district, "Little Zion." Twelve missionaries, mostly Americans, are at work in the city. The conditions in the city at large, as well as in the whole of Germany were rather stringent due to the pressure of the French in the Ruhr Valley, but some relief from the want and high prices is expected at harvest time. The attitude of the authorities toward the work of the "Mormon" Elders has entirely changed. Before the war they were banished and imprisoned. The situation at present is well illus- trated by the fact that President Tadje was the guest of a German police detective during his visit here. — R. P. Middleton, Clerk. Conference in San Bernadino The semi-annual conference was held November 9,10 and 1 1 . Though stormy, large crowds were in attendance at all nine sessions. Friday at the priesthood meeting there were seventeen missionaries, besides Mission Presi- dent Joseph W. McMurrin and his associates. Prsident McMurrin gave a closing sentence to be remembered: "Perform well your work while in the mission field and the remembrance will always be sweet to you." Follow- 544 IMPROVEMENT ERA ing the meeting the San Bernardino Relief Society served the missionaries to a banquet. Interesting toasts were given. Edith lone Walker acted as toast mistress, one of her clever ideas being to have three ukaleles to accompany the songs. Friday evening the missionaries gave a treat by presenting a short, spicy program, many of them displaying hidden talent never dreamed of before. The Los Angeles missionaries presented as a closing number, a two- act farce which won great applause from the audience. The regular con- ference opened on Saturday morning, addressed by several of the local mis- sionaries and President McMurrin. Saturday afternoon was occupied by the Relief Society and the Primary associations, a playlet being given by the San Bernardino children, and two musical numbers by a Relief Society chorus. In the evening under Superintendent Larsen the M. I. A. sessions convened. Sunday the meetings were well attended by friends and investigators who listened attentively to the different missionaries and visitors who spoke. Good music was presented during the conference. Elders and lady missionaries, left to right: bottom row: William W. Toombs, L. Brooks Abbott, Violet Jensen, L. Glenn Williams, D. V. Farnsworth. Second row: John H. ' Godfrey, Mrs. Charlotte Stahr, president mission Relief Societies; Joseph W. McMurrin, president California mission; Mrs. Josie B. Bay, Ira M. Bay, president San Bernardino conference: Agnes A. West, Truman V. Rollins. Third and fourth rows: Edith lone Walker, Lucille Brown, Verna Lindquist, Millan Peck, J. Dewey Solomon, mission secretary; Grace Cheever, corresponding secre- tary; Lila Brown, Superintendent Gustive O. Larsen, Ethel Burrows, Lydia A. Ekins, mission Y. L: M. I. A. president; Allen Jensen. Top row: Sharp W. Daynes, Calimis editor; Jesse P. Coombs, Claude Surrage, Joseph G. Jeppson, William J. Cook and Irvin B. Janson. A Place of Many Religions Elberfield and Barmen are two cities connected together by a hanging railway, located in Wupper Valley. The inhabitants of the two cities num- ber about 300,000. They might be said to lead the world in religion, there being 240 different sects and religions represented. Politically the Wupper Valley might be called "Little Russia," judging from the numbers of Com- munists or "Reds" who form part of the population. Opposition among the clergy is very marked here. Among themselves, religiously, they do not know what unity means, but they are all united when it comes to "throw- MESSAGES FROM THE MISSIONS 545 ing a monkey-wrench in the 'Mormon' machine." They all warn their flocks not to poison their minds with "such trash." Although our num- bers are few, and those few are sorely tried, we can still report progress, not such, however, as that which is being made in eastern Germany, where there are not one-fourth the religious sects to contend with, and where the people have not been so many times deceived as to lose all confidence in any relig- Missionarics laboring in above branches in Cologne conference, Swiss-German mission, left to right, standing: Paul K. Edmunds, president Eberfield branch: Cecil V. Polland; sitting: Paul Burnham, president Barmen branch; Wilford Bartschi. ion, as is the case here. We are all enjoying our missionary work a great deal, and we can see that the Lord has prepared many of these people for the acceptance of the gospel. — Paul K. Edmunds, President Elberfield branch; Paul Burnham, President Barmen Branch. Los Angeles Missionary Conference The semi-annual missionary conference of the Los Angeles conference was held January 11-13 in the Adams ward chapel under direction of Presi- dent Alexander F. Schreiner. In addition to all local missionaries and mis- sion officials being present, there were several visitors from other conferences. The conference opened with a six-hour Priesthood meeting at which all the missionaries reported their experiences. They were then banqueted by the Adams ward Relief Society, Elder Sharp W. Daynes acting as toast- master. The company was favored by the presence of President and Sister Heber J. Grant, President and Sister Joseph W. McMurrin. In the evening an illustrated lecture was presented, by Supt. Gustive O. Larson, on "The His- tory of Temples and Temple work." This is the third of a series of lectures featured in the California mission to date. Two general sessions were held Saturday and three on Sunday, during which the missionaries gave instructive gospel talks. Music was furnished by the missionaries and by the Los Angeles stake choir. Although this missionary conference was held in the heart of a stake of Zion, and services were conducted in all of the wards, yet a record breaking 546 IMPROVEMENT ERA attendance crowded the chapel during most of the services. A total of 3,555 people attended the sessions. This is the first case of a stake being organ- ized in a mission field, and it is of interest to observe the harmony existing in the operation of the two lines of authority. During the conference the general and mission authorities were sustained and assignments were made for all the missionaries. Many Investigators Elder W. Abner Larson of the East Iowa conference, Northern States mission, reports from Rock Island, Illinois, that the Davenport, Iowa, tri- annual conference was held there recently. The elders are in good working condition and are thankful to their heavenly Father for his many blessings to them. "The help of the Lord his made a corps of young men efficient in doing his work, and many, through their efforts, have become investigators." w f it • f *Wm ILw ' \. j % 1 g If S * • 'V- ' %^ Elders left to right: (top row) A. Dee Showalter, Lovell, Wyoming; C. C. Darwin Brotherson, Mt. Pleasant; Roy F. Tygesen, Garfield; Jesse K. Burrows, Salt Lake City; J. Gale Houston, Panguitch; bottom row: Newel S. Cahoon, Deseret; W. Abner Larsen, Preston, Idaho, conference president; John H. Taylor, mission president; Orson G. Smith, Rexburg, Idaho; Leonard J. Anderson, Moroni, Utah. Succeeding Fairly President John H. Taylor of the Northern States Mission, writing from Chicago, Illinois, February 14, reports considerable sickness among the elders. The work, however, is progressing fairly in the mission, the elders being very active. Some difficulty is being met in tracting, in some parts, on account of having to obtain a license for that purpose. "Recently we have had the pleasure of a visit from James E. Talmage of the Council of the Twelve; also Elder Richard R. Lyman of the Council of the Twelve. We were delighted to receive their good counsel, and instructions and ad- MESSAGES FROM THE MISSIONS 54? monitions. Elder Lyman attended one of our conferences at Springfield, and the conference group is enclosed. On the whole, we are succeeding nicely in our labors." First row: Priscilla Pulley, C. A. Neuenschwander, retiring conference presi- dent; Richard R. Lyman, of the Council of the Twelve, President John H. Taylor; Byron S. Eaton, conference president. Center row: J. L. Somerville, Milton R. Park, G. W. Coffman, Wm. B. Staples, Laura Tree, Edna Scorup. Third row: Hobert B. Stay, Rulon A. Jones, Marion Clark, W. Lyman Miller. Conference in the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium The Long Beach semi-annual missionary conference convened December 28, 29 and 30, 1923, with conference president Silas A. Bushman in charge. Oil the 28th a five-hour missionary priesthood meeting was enjoyed by everyone, all reporting their work. "The five meetings in the chapel had an attendance of about eleven hundred. The people were well pleased with the spirit manifested by the speakers and their message. The evening sessions of Saturday and Sunday were held in the Long Beach municipal auditorium, which privilege was courteously granted to the Latter-day Saints by the city officials. The prominent feature of these meetings was the music rendered by the Los Angeles stake choir under the direction of William Salt. This already famous choir of one hundred voices will long be remembered in Long Beach. The Municipal band, preceding the conference meeting, together with the advertising of the local missionaries, caused an audience of two thousand people to assemble on Saturday evening. The missionaries explained in a clear and powerful method the plan of salvation, the divinity of the Book of Mormon and our belief in latter day revelation respectively. President McMurrin also ex- pressed his appreciation of the hospitality of the city officials and gave many interesting thoughts on the "Mormon" pioneers of California which showed that Utah's sons have merited such courtesy. Although the meeting started at a late hour, nearly one thousand were in attendance. The previous meetings and the choir drew a permanent audience of about twelve hundred Sunday evening in the auditorium. The excellent music furnished by the choir and soloists was greatly enjoyed by the listeners. 548 IMPROVEMENT ERA President Silas A. Bushman, President Charlotte Stahr, of the Relief Society, Elder Joseph G. Jeppson, Elder Allen K. Jensen and Superintendent G. O. Larson were the speakers. The attendance was very gratifying and the number in the Long Beach Auditorium exceeded that of any other Latter- day Saint meeting ever held in the California mission. It changed many prejudiced minds and no doubt paved the way for many souls to be brought back to Christ." — Jos. G. Jeppson. Missionaries of Long Beach conference, back row, left to right: John Godi^ey, Melvin G. Christensen, Noal A. Fuller, Russ Burns, Glen Larson, Mary M. Anderson, Claude Q. Cowley, Myrtle Harris, Hans P. Dennison, Alta Jensen. Third row: Ernest Horsley, Amanda Rasmussen, President of Huntington Beach Relief Society; Arthus Harris, Lavon Lund, Joseph G. Jeppson, Lucile Holdaway, Allen K. Jensen, Agnes Anderson, T. T. Rasmussen, Emily Cook. Second row: Frank Brown assistant mission secretary; Alex F. Schreiner, conference president of Los Angeles; Sharp W. Daynes, editor of Mission Bulletin; Silas A. Bushman, president of Long Beach conference; Joseph W. McMurrin, president of California mission; Lydia A. Ekins, president of Primary and Y. L. M. I. A,; Gustive O. Larson, superintendent of California Sunday School and Y. M. M. I. A.; Elsie Hogan, corresponding secretary. Front row: Ethel Burrows, Dallas Athay, Louise Jeppson, Lavor Doney, Jennie Taylor, Ilda LeCheminant, George Harris. Sixteen Added to the Church in Scotland Dean W. Bench, writing from Glasgow, Scotland, under date of October 22, reports that the people there have had their minds tainted with untrue stories regarding the Latter-day Saints, but to a certain extent, this barrier is gradually being broken down. In the past six months sixteen new, energetic members were added to the Church. We held a notable conference in Glasgow on Sunday, October 7. A total of 398 people attended the three sessions, over which President David O. McKay presided. MESSAGES FROM THE MISSIONS 549 The four traveling elders laboring in Glasgow are as follows, left to right: Dean W. Bench, president of the Scottish conference, released; President Glen A. Finlayson; clerk of the conference, Harvey H. Glade, and Wallace R. Budge. Literature Readily Accepted Elder A. D. Wardell, president of the Mississippi conference, Southern States mission, reports that the people are manifesting a more friendly spirit than in times past in that district. The privilege of holding street meetings has been denied, but the elders have had excellent success in other ways in furthering the cause. "In the past month literature has been readily accepted, eighteen Books of Mor- mon, and 300 other little books have been sold, along with the distribu- tion of many tracts and other printed matter. We have held several interest- ing meetings in the rail- way shops and some well- attended cottage meetings. Several people are earnest- ly investigating the gos- pel message and a few new homes have been opened for preaching the gospel. We greatly en- joy reading the Era each month." Elders, front row, left to right: Conference President A. D. Wardell, Cowley, Wyoming; Eldon J. Peart, Randolph, Utah. Back row: William C. Wood, Blackfoot, Idaho; Warren M. Hughes, Mesquite, Nevada.