Editors’ Table

Editors (Table The Right Attitude The value of the gospel lies in its giving us the right attitude towards life. It affords us a broad vision and unfolds the future. It places what we ordinarily consider big, everyday problems in their relative position in the scheme of things, and gives us a clear view of greater ones. Apparently big problems thus become smaller and of less value than the really greatest problem — the salvation of our souls. Some of us are inclined to regard what we do in the work of the world as of more importance than our own souls. We often put aside the great purposes to obtain possession of the small objects of life. We miss the right attitude. Eternal life is the greatest gift of God to man. But instead of living so that we may gain eternal life, often in the hurly-burly of the daily grind, we cease thinking about our own immortality and look to the temporal works of our own little day as of greater consequence than our own souls. We argue that to make this end or that end, the immediate results of our daily tasks are first and foremost, and frequently these prevent us from living so that we may gain the big reward of temporal existence — eternal life. What is eternal life? The Lord Jesus answered the question: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." It behooves us to think a little more seriously upon this declaration of the Christ when we are engaged in our arduous daily tasks. For the thought will lighten their humdrum and give rest to those who labor and are heavy laden. How shall we know God? Again the Scriptures are plain: Ask to know him. That is very simple and as little as one can do. The young people of the Church have pointed out the way in the slogan: "We stand for divine guidance through individual and family prayer." One must have faith in God, however, to ask. Jesus declared: "All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." Let us go, therefore, to God in the name of Jesus Christ, believing that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him, and if we do this the promise is: "Whatsoever things ye desire, ye shall have them." That is a direct and emphatic promise; let us have faith to try. If we ask in faith to know God he will surely ere long manifest himself unto us. Once having learned to know him, we will de- light in keeping his commandments and doing his will. We are then engaged in the works of righteousness. This will bring peace to us in this world and eternal life in the world to come. It will place the

EDITORS' TABLE 1183 mind in the right attitude and cause the person to look with greater interest, and to place more importance, upon the essentials that lead to immortality and the salvation of his soul than upon the petty temporalities of daily toil in which he reaches out only for the speedily passing things of the world: "Let us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help at the time of need." — A. A Praiseworthy Achievement The slogan, "We stand for a sacred Sabbath and a weekly half holiday," was adopted by the M. I. A. ten years ago, and all the organizations and communities who have practiced it have obtained splendid results and benefits therefrom. A striking illustration comes from Brigham City, in a report of the recent victory of the Brigham City baseball team, who won the first place in the Intermountain Baseball Tournament held at Ogden,, Utah, August 27 to September 2. At this tournament there were fourteen teams entered, teams which were among the best in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and California. The Brigham City team, made up of local boys, met and defeated the Evanston team on the first day with a score of 7-6. In the second round they defeated the Malad team, 8-3. The third game was played with the Tremonton team, and the Brigham boys won with a score of 8-0. The Sacramento team was picked at the start to win the tourna- ment, but the "Brigham Peaches" delivered the goods 4-1. This Brigham team is made up of the following: C. C. Watkins, catcher and manager; Lloyd Keller, Jess Keller, D. K. Murphy, Dewey Soren- son, pitchers: Ott Williams, F. B.; A. H. Archibald, S. B.; Earl Facer, S. S.; Howard Eliason, T. B.; Hal Egbert, Norm Watkins, J. Varney and Karl Ward, outfielders. These boys, we are told, through consistent work and a fine pitching staff, had no trouble after the first game in taking first place, winning a prize of $750, a silver cup, and a gold baseball for each player. The success of the "Brigham Peaches" speaks well for a local team that has played all summer together without a salary and with poor support from the public. We are informed, furthermore, that Brigham City has heretofore paid as high as $3,000 per month for imported players and in some cases men without much character. This summer the above named boys, born and reared of goodly parents in that part of the state, have demonstrated that they can do things, and have besides provided a better environment for the national game. At the same time they have kept Brigham City free from Sunday ball playing. That is a

1184 IMPROVEMENT ERA splendid recommend and a wonderful performance which the boys in other towns of Utah and the surrounding states may well pattern after. Why not, as they have done, make good with the M. I. A. slogan: "We stand for a sacred Sabbath and a weekly half holiday," and thus support the national game and our local talent? The praiseworthy achievement of the Brigham City boys is a guarantee that it can be done, and well done. — A. Love The Remedy Look at the glory of a rose-pink sunrise; listen to the little birds waking and calling to their mates; watch the leaves moving and flashing their dew diamonds; notice the misty gray cloud shadows tempering the glare of the mid-day sun. Any of the thousand magic performances of Nature will banish the bad taste from your brain with only the slightest effort on your part. When once your brain is swept clean, it lies wholly within yourself to keep it clean. When one loves, one works. When one works, one is happy. When one is happy, one has charity. When one has love and hap- piness and charity, there are no empty rooms in the brain for the storage of a bad taste. — D. C. Retsloff, San Diego, Calif. Day and Night Friends are the sunlight of your earth. They bless your harvest wheat, Your marygolds and hollyhocks And things that people eat; Make jewels flash, light dusty roads, Show cobwebs, gates, and bars; While solitude hides all these things And shows you just the stars. Anna Musser. Reverie Alone with my dreams in the afterglow Of a golden sunset by the sea; And the evening wind that whispers low Sweetens the song of my memory. A home in the hills, where the fragrant pines Soothe the dying day with their lullaby, A radiant youth whose heart divines The love of a maid in her downcast eye. A lover's kiss and a plighted vow, With a star for a witness overhead — Ah, sad is the song of the sea wind now, For I dream alone of a dream that's dead. Price, Utah. LEO W. ALLEN.

cJHutual Work First Ward Brigham Achieves Honor The First ward of Brigham City remitted for thirty-one annual sub- scribers for the Improvement Era for Volume 28, the remittance and list of subscribers arriving at the office on September 15. The First ward Y. M. M. I. A. of Brigham City, Utah, with a population of 608, thus becomes the first ward in the Church to make payment in advance for the required number of subscriptions. There is a prospect of several more subscriptions to be obtained for this year. We congratulated the officers of the Y. M. M. I. A. upon this achievement, and trust that there will be many wards in the Church that will promptly follow their example. Thank you. Their action is highly appreciated by the General Board and by the editors and management of the Improvement Era. The Scouts and the Church It is designed that every scout in a Church troop shall regard his scout program as a service and privilege coming to him from his Church, as well as through it, — a service for which he owes a debt of loyalty to the Church. The scout program is not without the religious element. It stresses the importance of religion, and it will insist that every scout shall have his religious life cared for. There is only one way to do this, in a movement which embraces all religions, — that is to place the responsibility on each religious group to care for the religious education of its own boy scouts. The failure of Church troops to function to the satisfaction of Church leaders may be traced to very definite causes: 1 . Failure to give careful attention to selection of scout leaders. 2. Scoutmasters who have no relation to the inside Church program 3. Inactive troop committee who permit the scoutmaster to carry on as he pleases, even though in conflict with the Church program of religious education. 4. Starting off with a large group of boys which no one could con- trol. The undisciplined group soon degenerates into a worse group and breaks up the furnishings. (Caution — begin with eight to ten boys, train thoroughly, expand slowly.) 5. Appropriating the troop meeting room for other purposes. 6. Neglect of the out-door program. 7. Failure to tie up the troop "good turn" to the Church program of service in the community. Why Honor Father and Mother? The Granite stake M. I. A. convention, evening session, was held in the Richards ward meetinghouse on Sunday, August 31, 1924. In pre- senting the slogan, Elder George H. Budd gave ten reasons why Latter-day Saints should honor their fathers and mothers. After having repeated the slogan: "We stand for the commandment: Honor thy father and thy mother," he read the ten reasons as follows: First, Because I am indebted to them for life with its great possibilities. Second, Because in consequence of their sacrifices and sufferings, opportunity for expansion in mortality has come to me. Third. Because, by and through their loving kindness, all mortal joy has been increased and all mortal suffering has been relieved.

1186 IMPROVEMENT ERA Four. Because father and mother stand as the connecting link between the mortal and spiritual of me. Fifth. Because their love lives when all else dies and I am left alone, except for the undying love of father and mother. Sixth. Because without them mortality would not have been, and eternity with all its glory would have been denied me. Seventh. Because the purity of their lives gave me a sound body and pure blood, in consequence of which I have escaped many of the ills common to humanity. Eighth. Because the faith they have had in God has inspired in me a desire to know God. Ninth. Because their devotion to principle and truth has awakened in my soul a determination to stand by and live for that which is true and if necessary to die for principle. Tenth. Because through their obedience to the gospel I have been born heir to the Priesthood, with all its powers and privileges, the greatest blessing that could come to me in life. "Shinny, "The Favorite Sport of Uintah Indian Women (See Frontispiece for Illustration) "Squaw Shinny" it's called by some of the whites, to distinguish this out-door pastime of Indian women. But it is just the old game of "shinny," familiar to all who ever swung a crooked stick at a ball or a tomato can. At Ft. Duchesne, during the recent Industrial Convention, a game of "Squaw Shinny" attracted a great deal of attention and for an hour furnished a crowd of more than two thousand whites with rare entertainment, not to say amusement. Without removing even their shawls, these women entered into the spirit of the game with a vim suggesting that they not only know the game but get a real "kick" out of playing it. It was a surprise to many spectators to see with what agility the players moved about the field, running and swinging their shinny sticks with startling accuracy. There was some talking, too, but of course what was said remains a secret to most spectators. Perhaps, the "squaws" were calling signals! As for smiles, there were plenty of them, showing that Indians are not always the staid, emotionless folk they are ordinarily believed to be. — P. V. Cordon. The M. I. A. Band and Orchestra The Y. M. M. I. A. of Granite stake, prior to the recent division of the stake, at the May officers meeting, decided to organize a band and orchestra, so the organization embraces both Grant and Granite stake and there are some members who live in Liberty stake. It was decided not to have boundary lines, but to take in any and all boys who applied for membership regardless of the ward or stake to which they belonged and non- members of the Church were welcomed into the organization. The band started with 67 members, and has grown now to 265 members, including band and orchestra, and many new members are coming in at the present time. George H. Budd was chosen president, Arnold Bergener band master, and Walter Burgener, orchestra leader. In June the membership grew to 150 and reached its present number early in July. A few of the members had previous musical instruction, but most of them were raw recruits, and the progress they have made is little short of marvelous. At Granite stake annual excursion to Lagoon the

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1188 IMPROVEMENT ERA band made its first public appearance and were received with much enthusiasm. The Bamberger Railroad Company and the Lagoon resort people furnished transportation, and the M. I. A. gave the members a spread that made their hearts rejoice. The band has also given two open-air concerts at Sugar House Park where hundreds of people gathered and cheered. At the State Capitol on Sunday, August 10, an open air concert was given and the grounds were filled with people and many expressed them- selves as surprised that an organization so recently brought into existence, and especially made up of children of such tender years, and without previous training, could produce music so acceptable. A number of state officials, stake and General M. I. A. Board members who have gone out of their way to attend some of these concerts on practice nights have gone on record as boosters for this enterprise and have ex- pressed themselves as convinced that it is one of the greatest movements yet started among boys and girls of the M. I. A. The organization is to be permanent, it has definite aims, has been enthusiastically received by the bishops of wards where headquarters for the several divisions have been established and much good is expected to result both to the wards and the stakes. Fathers and Sons Take Outing On August 5, a company of about sixty, consisting principally of boys between the ages of seven and fifteen, started from Blanding, on horses and in wagons for the Blue Mountain on a "Fathers and Sons' Outing." Ward president of the Y. M. M. I. A., George Hurst, had the business in charge, and was ably assisted by Scout Master Philip Hurst. Various com- panies started at different hours of the forenoon and climbed by four routes to the mountain, assembling at Jackson's Camp at four in the afternoon. The camping place was still three or four miles away on a summit of the moun- tain, and to be reached by hard climbing. The pack outfits stood ready to go, but the four-horse loads of three wagons had to be lashed on the backs of the work horses, and a man or boy had to ride on top of each pack supporting a grub-box in front of him. Following the trails made by the Forest Service, they climbed to the sharp backbone between the Johnson creek and the Indian creek water sheds, and headed westward, with dark depth of forest on the steep slopes down from them to the north, and waving grass on the steep slopes to the south. They stopped at Ducket's mine, on the edge of a great grove of spruce trees, hobbling the horses in tall grass near by. Away below in the prairie to the south, they could distinguish the town of Blanding, surrounded by its checker-board of fields. From their camp-fires they discovered what ap- peared to be a constellation of stars below the sky-line, but it was the street- lights of the home town. On the 6th they hiked to the high peaks on the west end of the mountain, getting a wonderful view of the naked regions along the course of the Colorado river, and looking over hazy stretches of territory in Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. Below them on the west yawned Canyon Twerto, from which bears come up every summer hunting ripe berries, but also working destruction among herds of sheep, and inspiring terror in the hearts of the Mexican herders who make their camps on the distant peaks and in places of safety far from where they tend their flocks in the daylight. Roy Mussleman caught three of these creatures, in 1923, but his wolf traps could not hold them, and they are still at large. Returning from the hike early in the afternoon, old and young joined in different games till after supper, when they collected around one big fire and Richard W. McAllister led in special songs, and Stake President Wayne