The Root, the Tree, the Fruit

THE ROOT, THE TREE, THE FRUIT The General Boards of the Y. M. and Y. L. M. I. A., in full force, held a Jubilee-Year social, reception, banquet, program and dance, on the evening of March 18, 1925, in the Bishop's Building, Salt Lake City. Following the delightful reception and banquet and welcome speeches by Supt. Geo. Albert Smith, and Prest. Martha H. Tingey, the program was carried out, and one of its main features was toasts on the growth of the M. I. A. under the title, "The Root, the Tree, the Fruit." Axel A. Madsen, of the General Board acted as toastmaster. After these had been given, President Heber J. Grant made some pleasing remarks concerning the growth of the organizations. There were, besides, three episodes under the title, "Out of the Past: a. The Retrenchment Association. b. The Organization of the Y. M. M. I. A. c. Cooperation in Joint Work." The evening closed with dancing. The readers of the Era will be interested in scanning the following replies to the toasts; first, the "Root" by Junius F. Wells, the organizer under President Brigham Young, of the Y. M. M. I. A., on the 10th of June, 1875, in the Thirteenth ward meeting house, Salt Lake City; second, the "Tree" by Mrs. Martha G. Smith, member of the General Board; and third, the "Fruit" by George Q. Morris of the General Board. — Editors. The Root By Junius F. Wells, Organizer of the Y. M. M. I. A., Under the Commission of Brigham Young Ever since the day in which Father Adam died, his children have been eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which brought death into the world, killing him; and throughout this mortal life is killing us. His hope of reanimation and yours and mine is in the Testimony of Jesus Christ. This is the Root of the Tree of Life everlasting. A sower went out to sow his seed, and, as he sowed, some fell upon the wayside and was trodden down; some fell upon the rocks and withered away, because it lacked moisture; some fell among thorns that choked it. And other seed fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit, an hundred fold. Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the V/ord was God . The same was in the beginning with God. * * * In him was life; and the life was the light or men." (John 1:1, 2, 4.) "And some fell on good ground, and bare fruit an hundred fold." It had taken root. The first product of seed sown is the root. Sown on good ground it takes root downward deeply, and its branches and root- lets spread all about it widely, and untimately it bears fruit upwards.

THE ROOT, THE TREE. THE FRUIT 63 9 Sometimes, even in good ground, only forty-fold, sometimes sixty-fold and again an hundred fold. To insure the greater yield, the wise hus- bandman looks early to the crown of the root — from the very hour of its ap- pearance above the surface of the ground. And so he stirs the good soil about it gently and mulches it with care and waters it abundantly. Then he has joy in his labor, for he begins to see the stem of the tree that he has planted coming up sturdy and strong, branching vigorously, leafing out luxuriantly, blossoming gloriously, yielding fruit an hundred fold. But if he neglect the root, and does not stir the good soil, does not mulch about the crown with care, to protect it from the frost or the burning heat of the sun and does not water it, then the root dries in the round, its farthest rootlets wither, its branches shrink up, and its stem dies. The like affliction is witnessed above the ground — -at the top of the tree the little branches begin to shrivel up, the sere and yellowing leaves fall to the ground, the bark of the denuded boughs cracks open, exposing the dry wood of a dying stem doomed, by the neglect of the husbandman, to death and decay. I do not say the wood of a dead tree is wholly useless. It may be cut down and some of it fashioned into shapes of utility and beauty — some will make good kindlings and fire- wood. The wise and patient Job says: "For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. "Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant." Brethren and sisters — we are the sowers — the good ground is the youth of Israel— our field is in this good ground. The Master* has called us to labor there and has given us the seed to sow — even the Word of God. The first product of this seed sown in good ground — the Root is the testimony of Jesus Christ, that he lives and is the light of the world; made known to us by the gift of the Holy Ghost. From the day of its bestowal by the blessings of the Priesthood it should begin to develop a sense of respon- sibility; and by the exercise of it a familiarity with its characteristic intelli- gence, and lovableness, increasingly helpful and delightful as it unfolds its presence to our consciousness. Then at length it becomes the established principle of revelation within us, by which we know the mind and will of God who gave it concerning ourselves as individuals, and concerning others in our authoritative relationship to them. We must nurture and cultivate this gift with zealous care. Nothing else is of so much importance — nothing that we can do compares with it. We are appointed to this labor and God will not hold us guiltless if we neglect it. We are supplied with the imple- ments— the authority of the Priesthood — the ordinances of the gospel, with the exercises and activities enjoined thereby in the Church. I would not reflect disparagingly upon our activities in the field; nor upon the curriculum of studies so skilfully developed in our manuals; nor upon the splendid efforts we are making to lure our members to a better class of entertainments, than the dancing and the social games, pastimes and sports of the world, which the world in our midst provide so temptingly and so dangerously. I only mean that these do not provide our only recourse, nor, I think, our chief recourse, against the evils they are intended to thwart. It seems to me that our relationship to the young men and women of Zion is akin to that of the Apostle Paul to the young man Timothy. At least that we can with propriety apply the adjurations of that apostle to his favorite son and disciple: "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any pri- vate interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of

640 IMPROVEMENT ERA man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.'' 2 Peter 1:20. 21. Jesus says, search the scriptures, for they are they which testify of me. * * * The Holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation. Let me quote some of these: "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." (I Tim. 4:12.) "Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by piophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery." (I Tim. 4:14 ) "Stir up the gift of God, which is in thee. * * * For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a soind mind." (II Tim. 1:6. 7.) "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord." (IITim. 1:8.) For the Lord hath said: "I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me." Prov. 8:17. I feel sure, my brothers and sisters, that this is the Root we should de- velop and cultivate, if we would have our field one of strong and sturdy trees that blossom in their season and bear fruit an hundred fold. Let us then begin forthwith to prepare the ground ; roll off the rocks, grub out the sagebrush and, ladies, permit me to suggest that you might find it helpful to gently top off some of the empty-headed sunflowers and smudge the thistledown — which are beautiful to look at but pernicious when the frivolous breezes of the summer time shake their unfruitful substance to the ground, polluting the pure seed we are trying to propagate there. Let us send out our notices, advertise our intentions to celebrate our Jubilee jubilantly; call the youth of Zion to attention by the clarion voice of all the authority here present; then, at our conference in June, sow the seed, broadcast it abundantly on this good ground that it may take root downwards — and for the rest of the year cultivate, nourish, develop the Root with vigilance and great care. We shall be disappointed then, indeed, if we do not get many, very many of our members on their feet bearing testimony, with delight in the exercise of the gift of God that is within them. We wish to get every member of the Y. M. M. I. A. and of the Y. L. M. I. A. also, down on their knees praying to know it. and up on their feet testifying that "Mormonism" is in fact the Church of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God on earth. We can hope to do this by taking the double course mentioned by President Brigham Young when he said: "As many people have obtained a testimony while on their feet bearing it, as down on their knees praying for it." Shall we not all rejoice exceedingly if we get our hundred thousand members up, witnesses of the priceless gift bestowed upon them? This I believe should be the object of our particular care this year, even if we curtail our less important exercises. Succeeding in it we all shall inevitably increase our members next year, and should aspire with confidence to double their number in ten years and raise it to half a million at our hundredth anniversary. I hope I have not over wearied you in my prosy discourse upon the Root of this wonderful tree. In describing the growth of its branches, with its singing birds and colorful blossoms and the taste of its delectable fruit, those who follow after me will recompense your patience. I now yield, grateful to you for your attention and thankful to them for the treat that is coming.

THE ROOT, THE TREE, THE FRUIT 641 The Tree By Martha G. Smith, of the General Board Y. L. M. I. A. President Brigham Young besides being a great pioneer-leader and Pro- phet was a great planter. It is said of him that one of the first deeds he per- formed at the temporary resting place at Council Bluffs — now Florence. Nebraska — was to plant trees, and a huge black willow with twelve large branches typifying the twelve apostles, then at the head of the Church, stands today in the meadow at Florence. It is also said that when the pioneers entered the Great Salt Lake Valley there were no trees in it, so, of course, the process of planting trees was in order and the valley today is a veritable park of trees; ranging in variety from the native cottonwood and boxelder to the honey-locust and Norway pine. At a very early date, aided by divine guidance, President Young planted the "Mutual Improvement Tree." After fifty years of active growth and, nurtured from well-formed roots, the M. I. A. Tree is beautiful to look upon. There may be those who prefer to say two trees occupy space in the "King's Great Garden" per- haps separated by the great highway of life — one for the Young Men, the other for the Young Ladies, but I perfer to see it as one "great tree" whose symmetric trunk is bound by the bark of truth and usefulness, bearing two huge and lofty branches — one equally as strong as the other,- — -which divide and sub-divide into many parts and branches, all of which go to make up the complete tree. The Young Men's and The Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Associations. In fact, the M. I. A. Tree is much like the Tree of "Joseph". — "It is a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall" — for they reach out to nearly one hundred stakes of Zion, and to upwards of a thousand wards, and all the many missions now in the world, even to the nations abroad, and to the islands of the sea. In the spring time the sap runs up and carries new life to all the parts and keeps the whole tree alive. The two great channels through which the sap flows are the Era and the Journal, each under the direction of a Gen- eral Board who prune and care for the tree from month to month through all the year. The Y. M. M. I. A. is organized with a General Board now of forty- three members, selected and chosen, many of them from the leading authorities of the Church for their special adaptability to the work, presided over by a General Superintendency of three of the twelve apostles. The members of the board are assigned to one or more of the following committees: 1. Committe on Administration — Headed by the General Supsrintendency, dealing with the general management of M. I. A. work throughout the Church. 2. Committee on Organization and Membership — -Who plan to keep organ- izations alive and well officered, and every boy and girl of mutual age enrolled. 3. Committee on Finance and Publication — Who create plans that will secure funds to carry on the work of the General Board, and to care for its publicity programs. 4. Junior Department Committee — Who plan for class study, manuals for all boys from twelve to seventeen years, including "Boy Scouts" and their programs. 5. Senior Deparmcnt Committee — Who plan for the M men, boys from seventeen to twenty-three, their manuals, class work, and general activities, including an active athletic program, basketball, baseball, debating and dancing, and also music and the drama. 6. Advanced Senior Department — {Joint Cmmittee) — Who plan class work

642 IMPROVEMENT ERA and manuals for the large group of married people, and all above the age of twenty- three years in all the Church. 7. Recreation (Joint Committee) — Who plan and supervise special and recre- ational activities of all the members of the Church. 8. M. I. A. Standards — (Joint Committee] — Who select the reading course, the yearly "slogans" and programs for all joint meetings held the first Sunday of each month in all the Wards throughout the Church. And similarly, the Y. L. M. I. A. is organized with a Presidency of three women divinely chosen, equally qualified, gifted and blessed, and a General Board of thirty-five members, organized into nine like committees to care for the Bee Hive Girls of fourteen and fifteen years of age; Junior Girls sixteen and seventeen years of age, and an organization of Gleaners who parallel the M Men. ,, ,, , , In the spring time of the organization, tender '"buds" shoot forth from the branches. And as time advances into the brightness of the good old summer time each infant bud developes and grows into a well-formed and useful com- mittee or department of Mutual work, likened unto well-formed leaves which unite and flutter together in the great Mutual cause to give beauty to the tree and lend "shade" and "shelter" to the young people of Zion as they so- journ through the "Garden of Eden." Many of the terminal buds, as they tip and crown the larger of the many branches, have burst into well formed "Slogans," full of M. I. A. fragrance, which cheer, comfort, and guide the hosts who gather in the Garden from year to year. As the summer advances "trusty agents" in the personnel of our "Exec- utive Director" and field secretaries go out into the King's Great Garden and work unitedly and unceasingly against the day of falling leaves. And as the time comes and goes the great procession of Boy Scouts, Bee-Hive Girls, Juniors, M Men and Gleaners throng the king's great garden preparing for the great day of the harvest. The Fruit By George Q. Morris Mr. Toastmastec: President Grant; Fellow Workers: After this intro- duction from the toastmaster, setting forth my reputation for seriousness and safeness, may I be permitted a moment of levity. I wish to emphasize the ideal character of the young men and young women whom we are anxious to see go forth, as a result of this Mutual Improvement work. And, since the toastmaster has already broken into verse, it may be fitting for me to read you two poems. I must not forget to remind you, however, that the emphasis I refer to is one of contrast. A very mean man wrote this one: (Ob, shades of "The Barefoot Boy") Blessings on thee, little girl. Bare-kneed miss, with brain awhirl — ■ With thy rolled-down shadow hose, — Where the deuce are all thy clothes? And thy red mouth — such a sight — Smeard with lip-stick day and night; With thy powder and thy paint, Cobweb blouse that almost ain't! To the heart, dear, you give pains! Hasn't Mother any brains?

THE ROOT, THE TREE, THE FRUIT 643 And a very nice lady wrote this: Blessings on thee mimic man, With thy cheeks so shy of tan; With thy hair all smeared with oil, Fists that never have known toil; With a "fag" between thy teeth. And a weak chin underneath; With thy hands all manicured, And a brain that's immatured. We poor women you make sick! Hasn't father any kick? I was not just clear as to my assignment to this toast by the committee, I rather got the understanding that this was to be a serious, short, toast — given in a humorous vein. Then it occurred to me that the committee had already supplied the very soul of humor for the toast in fixing its brevity — it was to be not over five minutes. "A very fruitful tree which is planted in a goodly land, by a pure stream, that yieldeth much precious fruit." This splendid tree was planted fifty years ago. Its roots have struck deep into the soil of truth. It has been watered by the pure stream of the spirit, and hath yielded much precious fruit — the knowledge of God! In the aggregate, what a tremendous amount of good this precious fruit has done, as it has gone into the lives of the many thousands of young men and women who have partaken of it during these fifty years! How much good has come from it into their homes, and into the world! How precious this fruit — the knowledge of God, would be for the whole world, if they but could or would partake of it. How many broken homes would be restored to happiness! How many married and unhappy lives would be brightened, and how many of the nations of the world would be healed, if they would par- take of this fruit — the knowledge of God! The young men and women who have gone out from this great or- ganization have carried this fruit to the world and have offered it to them, that they also might partake, but a very few have accepted, and the world at large seems to reject this offering at the hands of our young men and women. But, there is one message they must listen to. There is one way we can force them to take notice. That is, by the lives of young men and young women who have and will partake of this fruit. Behind the message and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ there was that which gave them force and effect — His life. Behind the message and teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith there was that which gave them force and effect — his life. And so with one hundred thousand young men and women who repre- sent the membership of the Mutual Improvement Associations today, who, in the not very distant future may be increased to two hundred thousand, to three hundred thousand — as they and their children partake of the fruit — the knowledge of God, and live the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ, they will form a spectacle that the world must pay attention to; that the world must come to see; and that the world must send its writers to write about 1 For those lives will give force and effect to the message that this people have to give to the world. May our young men and women be true to their obligations and their heritage. May they realize that they are the salt of the earth, and that if the salt shall have lost its savor wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and- trodden under foot of men. And may they, however great their achievements in winning the honors of the world — may they, through all, and above all, preserve that quality which is theirs because they have a knowledge of God and possess his Spirit and power. May they live lives so true that the world may be led to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God.