Use Simple Words

Improvement Era -Vol. XXVII AUGUST, 1924 No. 10 USE SIMPLE WORDS By Orson F. Whitney, of the Council of the Twelve One of the first things that a young writer or speaker should learn, is to write or speak in a way to be clearly understood, avoiding the use of long words where short words will answer the same pur- pose. Language was not given to conceal thought, but to express it — the diplomatic Tallyrand to the contrary notwithstanding; and while there are occasions when polysyllabic terms are best, as giving weight and dignity to what is uttered, it more frequently happens that words of one or two syllables are to be preferred, as being more forceful and more clearly indicative of the idea to be conveyed. My father, who was an accomplished linguist — though he sel- dom if ever spoke in public or wrote for the press — used to tell of a man who drove up to a wayside tavern and saluted the loitering stable- boy in this manner: "Extricate my quadruped from the vehicle; stabulate him; provide him with an adequate supply of nutritious aliment; and when the aurora of dawn makes his appearance in the oriental horizon, I will award you a pecuniary compensation for your amiable hospitality." i The story goes on that the stable-boy, after staring saucer-eyed at the author of this bewildering display of verbiage, darted into the house, exclaiming: "Master, there's a Dutchman out here wants to talk to you." And yet the man had spoken good English, saying in substance: "Feed my horse and I'll pay you in the morning." But why didn't he put it that way? The story, of course, is an exaggera- tion, as most stories are, but it illustrates the point I wish to make. A similar anecdote is related of a college professor who, seeing a farmer at work near his house, said to him: "You are excavating a subterranean channel, it seems." "No, sir," replied the farmer, "I am only digging a ditch." He had understood the question per- Entered at the Post Office, Salt Lake City, Utah, as second class matter. Ac- ceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1 103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 2, 1918, $2 per annum. Address Room 406 Church Office Building, Salt Lakt City, Utah.

896 IMPROVEMENT ERA fectly, but took occasion to administer a mild reproof to the pedantic professor. Sydney Smith, the famous English wit, said of a certain noble- man, a countryman of his, that if he were asked to define "pepper" he would reply: "Pepper may philosophically be described as a dusty and highly pulverized seed of an oriental fruit; an article rather of condiment than diet, which, dispersed lightly over the surface of food, with no other rule than the caprice of the consumer, communicates pleasure, rather than affords nutrition; and by adding a tropical flavor to the gross and succulent viands of the north, approximates the dif- ferent regions of the earth, explains the objects of commerce, and jus- tifies the industry of man." "When shall we learn," says Dr. William Matthews, "that the secret of beauty and of force, in speaking and in writing, is not to say simple things finely, but to say fine things as simply as possible?" The Latter-day Saints are a plain people, and like Nephi of old they "delight in plainness." The speakers and writers that appeal to them most strongly are those who, while manifesting the gifts and graces of oratory and literature, are at the same time simple in style and readily understood. Such men as Parley P. Pratt and George Q. Cannon, for instance; correct in diction, elegant when necessary, but at all times simple and plain. Contrast their pure Saxon-English with a sentence like this, taken from a discourse that I once heard: "Whether we contemplate the protoplasmatic or the bioplasmatic theory of cre- ation, we are still confronted by the same insuperable hypotheses." A perfectly grammatical sentence, fully embodying its author's idea, but difficult for the ordinary mind to comprehend. Savoring more of the laboratory than of the pulpit, it suggests the prayer offered at chapel service in an Eastern college by a learned professor of mathematics, who startled his hearers by asking Divine Goodness "to enable them to know of its length, its breadth, and its superficial contents."' A would-be improver of the Bible proposed to amend the Savior's beautiful utterance, "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow," so that it would read: "Contemplate the lilies of the valley, how they advance." But the amendment failed, and the line remains un- changed. Another genius of the same sort, in a so-called Liberal Transla- tion of the New Testament, changed the simple touching words: "Jesus wept" (John 11:35), into, "Jesus, the Savior of the world, overcome with grief, burst into a flood of tears." "Puppy!" ex- claimed bluff old Dr. Johnson, himself a user of big words, throwing down the book in a rage. Well for the "liberal translator" that he was not present. Had he been, says Dr. Matthews, Johnson would have thrown the book at his head. Of late, many of our young speakers and writers have formed the habit of testifying to "the truthfulness of the Gospel." As if that divine plan, "the power of God unto salvation," needed any such

USE SIMPLE WORDS 897 commendation. Being Truth itself, the Gospel is necessarily true, as much so as white is white, a self-evident proposition, needing no assertion. But this is not the particular point that I wish to stress. My argument is, that "truthfulness" is too big a word to use in this connection, and that the monosyllable "truth" is preferable. Don't testify that the Gospel is truthful, as if it were a small boy whom you were patting on the head and praising for his candor and straightforwardness; and don't testify that the Gospel is true; but declare "Mormonism" to be the Gospel, the word and work of God, and testify to its divine authenticity. I well remember an address by Judge J. G. Sutherland, for many years a leading member of the Utah Bar — an address delivered before the Zeta Gamma Debating Society, an adjunct to the University of Deseret. The University then had its home in the old Council House, on the site now occupied by the Deseret News Building, and there the Society met. The judge was advising the young debaters, of whom I was one, to use simple language, and to give point to his advice and show us the advantage of short words over long ones on all ordinary occasions, he said: "Suppose a building were on fire down the street, and the crowd was rushing to the scene of the blaze; would you hear them shouting, 'conflagration! conflagration! conflagra- tion!?" The laughter that greeted him almost drowned the answer he gave to his own question . "No," he added, "they would be shout- ing 'fire! fire! fire!' — the shortest, and most forceful word that could be employed to describe what was taking place." A friend of mine, a newspaper man, wielded a powerful pen, and at times made hisi readers thrill and tremble under the dynamic force of his diction. At other times his writing was almost grotesque, because of his propensity for using large words in preference to small ones, and adhering too strictly to his rule of employing the fewest words possible — a plan not always safe. He was the author of this verbal monstrosity: "Such a course is frequently ultimately if not immediately financially profitable." It set the town laughing, and a local wit on a rival paper put it at the head of his rebus column, and under it the words, "Answer next week." The joke would have been pointless — in fact, non-existent, if the clumsy, jerky sentence had had its stiff joints limbered up with a few monosyllables, making it read something like this: "Such a course, if not immediately profitable in a financial way, is frequently so in the end." I went with a fellow missionary, who was somewhat given to grandiloquent speech, to visit a child afflicted with fits. Said my companion to the anxious mother of the little one: "Are the fits in- creasing in frequency and severity?" She stared at him and timidly asked: "What did you say, sir?" He repeated: "Are the fits in- creasing in frequency and severity?" She continued to stare in be- wilderment, until he got down from his high perch and said in simple phrase, "Is your child getting worse?" Then she knew what he meant,

898 IMPROVEMENT ERA and answered accordingly. The family doctor might have understood the first question — though he probably would have smiled inwardly when hearing it — but the mother, whose "education" had been "neg- lected," was not equal to the task. " A speaker or writer should always study his audience before ad- dressing it either by tongue or by pen. "Know thyself" is no more important an injunction, than to know those to whom you are making your appeal. If you want to reach their hearts, don't shoot over their heads. Long words, of course, have their legitimate use; and there are times when nothing else can be depended upon to produce the effect desired. The following lines from the poet Byron afford an illustra- tion. Describing the British army on the field of Waterloo, he says: Last noon beheld them full of lusty life. Last eve, in Beauty's circle, proudly gay, The midnight brought the signal-sound of strife, The morn the marshaling in arms, — the day Battle's magnificently-stern array. Note the power of the last line, and especially that six-syllabled compound word, "magnificently-stern." How could it be spared without weakening the whole verse? Short words alone would not have done justice to the theme. But short and long, intermingled, tell the tale with clearness and force. In most cases, however, short words are preferable to long ones. My dear old friend, John Jaques, the author of that splendid hymn, "O say, what is truth?" once said to me: "If the choice is between two words, take the shorter one, if it tells what you want to say." How often that wise hint has served me. I give it now to my readers as the veteran journalist and poet gave it to me. And let me add, in conclusion, a gem of good counsel from the pen of a former United States Senator, Hon. Albert J. Beveridge, an author and an orator of note: "So, be as brief as you are simple, as plain as you are fair, and, content, with a good job well done, stop when you are through." A Rose to the Living "A rose to the living is more Than sumptuous wreaths to the dead; In filling life's infinite store, A rose to the living is more If graciously given before The hungering spirit is fled — A rose to the living is more Than sumptuous wreaths to the dead." Nixon Waterman.

PROGRESS OF THE M. I. A.— THEIR SLOGANS* By Elder George Albert Smith, General Superintendent of the Y. M. M. I. A. I feci that this splendid audience ought to be an inspiration to anybody. Just to look into your faces is sufficient to make one feel that life is really worth living. I think that you do not know how well your services have been appreciated by those who come to you as visitors from the headquarters of the Church, but I would like you to know that there is nothing that gives those who are directing affairs greater joy than to see the youth of Zion keeping the command- ments of our heavenly Father, and profiting thereby. This morning, as we look around the world, — and we can look around it, and we can listen to it, we live in a wonderful age — there comes to us by the magazines, pictures of every part of mother earth that is inhabited, and we visit with our father's children by seeing the homes that they live in, observing the character of the vegetation, and also the contour of the earth. It is marvelous! That was not possible a hundred years ago. , And more than that, we can sit down in our homes, or in somebody else's home — I would have to — where there is a radio-receiving outfit, and listen to the voices of men and women hundreds of miles away. Only a few weeks ago I was in Cedar City, in the home of one of the stake presidency. He has a boy four- teen years of age, and in the evening the young man said to me: "Brother Smith, would you like to listen in a while?" I said: "I would." Then he explained to me that we could listen to different parts of the country. In about ten minutes I heard speeches or songs or discourses or music of various kinds, from Alberta, Canada, one of the Eastern states, and from Los Angeles and Oakland, California. And we listened, and the marvelous thing to me was that the boy, only fourteen years of age, had assembled that instrument himself, and was able to reach out those long distances and listen to what was going on. And so, as I said, as we look around over the world today, we see what is going on. But this is what I would like you to remember: There is no part of it where the people are so blessed as they are in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We have all that they have. We have the telephone, the automobile, the phonograph, the radio, the steam train, and I might go on enumerating hundreds of things that come to us for our comfort. We have all those things that are enjoyed by the world, but we have another radio that is more powerful than any of them, and we, in this wonderful organization, have at our head one who is in communication with our heav- ♦Opening address at the June M. I. A. Conference, June 6, 1924.

900 IMPROVEMENT ERA enly Father. So that we have all that the world has, and in addition we have Latter-day revelation that brings to us the truth from our heavenly Father. And I think we ought to be grateful, and I can hardly express myself, sometimes, because of the emotions that well up in my soul with gratitude to my Father in heaven that I am permitted to live in so marvelous an age. But with all these blessings there comes to us responsibility. Now I know you will be interested in knowing some of the things that the Mutual Improvement organizations of the Young Men have been trying to take care of during this year. We have increased our sub- scription to the Improvement Era, until it is larger than it has been before. There was an increase in our general fund, not very much, but an increase, a movement in the right direction. Our membership is about the same as last year. When you think that this morning you; here in this room, probably two thousand people assembled, are repre- senting more than one hundred thousand of our Father's choicest sons and daughters, isn't it worth while, isn't our work something to be grateful for? Think, it is now nearly fifty years since Brother Junius F. Wells went out and began the organization, under the direction of President Brigham Young, of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association, — next year will be our semi-centennial year and I think we ought to have a real celebration on that year — but in the meantime we will go right on with our work. The M Men and Boy Scout program have made splendid growth. The fact is that the class work in the Senior department has suffered somewhat, as a result of the im- petus given to the M Men's work. I am sure you will notice this morning on either side of this stand, Boy Scouts, part of the Mutual Improvement Association. These boys represent more than ten thou- sand of the sons of the Latter-day Saints who are being taught to do things worth while; being taught to use the faculties with which our Father has blessed them, not to bring sorrow and distress into the world, but to bring joy, for they are being prepared to devote themselves in such a way that this world will be better for their living in it. We have a splendid recreation committee, and I wonder if you know the hours, and the days, yes, the weeks that have been devoted by this splendid band of voluntary workers, at the headquarters of the Church! They labor unceasingly, and I would feel that we were ungrateful if we do not express our appreciation of the dignified, thoughtful, faithful manner in which they have taken up this depart- ment of our work that was assigned to us by the Presidency of the Church. Of course, our representative in the field is with you fre- quently, Brother Claude C. Cornwall, and I hear, from time to time, splendid reports of his work among you, and I am sure he will be glad if you will make it possible for him to do his best as he comes out to you. And it will not be long — in the near future — we will have to add another worker to that department of our service. And so we keep moving forward.

PROGRESS OF THE M. I. A. 901 Mutual Improvement is what its name implies, onward and upward, in the service of the youth of Zion — those who, tomorrow, will be the men and women to take care of the affairs of this great country that we live in. Our activity program has been kept to a very high standard, and we are delighted with the cooperation of the stakes of Zion in this particular work. Our leadership in the schools of Zion has never been so good. I would like to congratulate both the Young Men's and Young Ladies' organizations on that fine, splendid type of manhood and of womanhood, who take the lead of our work in the stakes of Zion, and I would like to compliment them on the ability they have manifested in surrounding themselves with those who, in many cases, are no less capable than themselves. It is a wonderful thing to work. Some people can only work when they are leading, but I want to tell you the principal part of the work is done by the wheel horse. And so, while we compliment the leaders, we are not unmindful of the wheelers. And so, brethren and sisters, this morning we have assembled in the beginning of this great convention. I regret that many of the leaders of the Church are not here with us, President Heber J. Grant and many of his associates, are officers of the Brigham Young University, at Provo, and several members of our Board are there. It so happens by mis- calculation that they set their Commencement Day exercises today instead of yesterday and President Grant wrote us a letter expressing his deep regret that, because of his being President there, he was unable to be with us here, and voiced the hope that no such con- flict would ever occur again. But these brethren will be with us during many of the sessions of our conference, and so, as you glance over the program you will see those who have been assigned to particular work, and you will find in the stand, and in the audience many of those whom you honor and respect as the leaders in Zion. Two years ago I was on a train in England, and a gentleman said to me, when he learned that I was from Utah, — I had not had time, I had not told him, I was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a splendid thing for me to do, as soon as I get a chance, because I save some people considerable embarrassment thereby, he said: "Well, are there any of those 'Mormons' left out in that country?" And I smiled, and looked at him, and said: "Yes, a few, I am one of them." He said: "Well, really, are there many of them left?" I said: "Yes, a few of them have left that particular part of the country and they have swarmed out into Canada and Mexico and the other states of the American Union. The Latter-day Saints, as they are properly called, may be found in every state of the American Union. If you will examine your Literary Digest, for the year

902 IMPROVEMENT ERA 1921, you will discover that that Church made more rapid progress in the increase of its membership than any other Church in America." And so, brethren and sisters we are growing, and, as Sister Tingey has said, not only is the Church growing, but Mutual Im- provement is growing and it will continue to develop in proportion to our faith and to our good works. There is in our land today a spirit of lawlessness that is alarming to all thoughtful people. It is not our duty to go and make arrests. It is not our duty to carry into effect the laws by acting as peace- officers, but I take it that it is the duty of every man and every woman who is worthy of the name, Latter-day Saint, to give such information to the officers of the land as will enable them to enforce the law and put aside the wickedness that has developed so rapidly since the great World War. We not only believe in honoring the law, we not only believe in obeying the law, but we believe in sus- taining the law, and that can only obtain by individual service. I call the workers in the cause of Mutual Improvement to the standard of loyalty, to the laws of the land. Wherever possible, let us exercise an influence that shall make the evil-doer and the law-breaker fear- ful of violating the rules that govern civilized society in the com- munities in which we live. This is our country, our heavenly Father gave it to us, and he expects each of us to show our ap- preciation of our birthright by helping in every possible way to purify society, and to develop those traits of character, and those virtues, that will enrich the community and prepare an environment for those who are not growing up and those who are yet unborn. We have had a wonderful time in the few years past, as an organization, growing, spreading and multiplying, and this morning we have come here, not in a boisterous way, as Sister Tingey has so beautifully called to our attention, but we are here as sons and daughters of our heavenly Father, each created in his image, each honored by him in being permitted to be identified with his Church; each placed with such a blessing within our reach that no one that has ever lived upon the earth has been blessed to surpass us. Think of it, each of us. It is not necessary that we be the president of a stake, or the bishop of a ward, or the superintendent of an organ- ization, in order to claim at the hands of our heavenly Father the choicest blessings that can come to any of his children. He has so arranged his great work that every individual who embraces his truth and lives the laws bestowed upon us for our guidance, may sit at his right hand, may be in his presence, may go on developing through- out the ages of eternity under his direction, with the companion- ship of those we love. Can you think of anything more desirable? Can you think of anything more to be sought after, than to be received by our heavenly Father when life's labor is complete, with the welcome, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

PROGRESS OF THE M. I. A. $0* We have had the choicest companions in the world here. Do you realize, this morning, you men and women, wno are in this house, that you are in the presence of the best men and women to be found in this world? There are none better, taken as a group. It is impossible to go anywhere in the world and excel the company that is here today. Why do we say that? Because you have cast your lot with the fold of the Master, you have turned your faces towards righteousness, you have sought not only to set your own homes in order, but to exemplify the teachings of the gospel of our Lord in the communities in which you live. You, my brethren and sisters, are a large portion of the leaven that our Father has placed in the earth to uplift and to save mankind. In order that we may have something definite to work out for several years, we have had different slogans. You Will find them on the last page of your program, and I am going to take time to read them and let them pass through your minds quickly: "In the name of our God we will set up our banner." — Ps. 20:5. We stand for A sacred Sabbath and a weekly half holiday. A weekly home evening. State- and Nation-wide prohibition. Thrift and economy. Service to God and Country. Spiritual growth through attendance at Sacrament meetings. The non-use and non-sale of tobacco. Loyal citizenship. A pure life through clean thought and action. Divine guidance through individual and family prayer. Think of the slogans of the past, and think if it is possible for you to hastily resolve in your minds the good that has resulted from these. Our slogan for this year is not unlike the other slogans, it is no less important than the other slogans. It voices one of the great commandments that our heavenly Father gave to Israel on Mount Sinai: The commandment: Honor thy Father and thy Mother. So this splendid gathering of men and women, sons and daughters of him who arose and reigns on high, let us, during the coming season, exercise an influence among the boys and girls of our community and instil in them a desire to bless themselves by honoring their fathers and their mothers. This is your work, brethren and sisters, in the Lord's great work. We are permitted to have part in it. It is the Lord's guidance that we seek. It is the inspiration of his Holy Spirit that we are desirous of receiving. There is only one way that we can obtain that, and that is in the manner pointed out by him: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Think of our part. And, this morning, in conclusion, I do beg of you, my brethren and sisters, that you will appreciate, and sense fully the wonderful

904 IMPROVEMENT ERA gifts of our heavenly Father, your mountain homes, your valley homes, your plain homes, your heritage, and the grand flag that represents the liberty of the greatest Nation upon the earth, and represents the com- bined wisdom of the very men whom our Father says he raised up to give to us the Constitution of this favored land. When we see that starry flag, men should uncover their heads in reverence, and our sisters should evidence their appreciation of it. Wherever we go, let us keep in our hearts this thought: this is the land of Zion, dedicated for the blessing and the uplift of mankind. And among the soldiers in the ranks, among those whom our Father has called to his service to bring about the millennium, are this wonderful group of men and women known as the Mutual Improvement Association, workers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Let us be worthy of the blessings of our heavenly Father, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Father's Gifts (Commemorating the 100th anniversary of President Canute Peterson, a pioneer of 1849, born May 13, 1824.) The passing of one hundred years since father dear was born. Has brought its clouds with rifts of blue, like that sweet May-time morn. His blessed life to us has given rich gifts of sterling worth, Which prove, as clearer light we have, the greatest things of earth. The love for home and parents dear marked well his early youth; His honest toil, his given words, reveal the love of truth. A sincere faith in God's own word, and courage to obey Were his, — they sanctified his life, though hard and long the way. His loyal heart, in times of stress, gave strength and hope and cheer; Rich wisdom, in his loving words, dispelled grim doubt and fear. I His trusting faith to heal the sick was oft made manifest; Through true humility, sincere, his faith was richly blest. How brave the heart of father dear! Warm strength of courage flowed In veins of manly dauntlessness, his acts the hero showed. His thoughtful judgment — sound and clear — proved insight deep and true, The cautious words of counsel given like father's — there were few. Around the hearth, his warmth of love, his smile and kindly care Were richly felt in wealth of cheer, by all assembled there. The greatest gifts he left to us were not in wealth or fame, But rich endowments of his life, and truly honored name. Carrie Tanner