Editors’ Table

Editors ^Table Close of Volume 30 — An Invitation This number of the Improvement Era closes the thirtieth volume of the magazine. We are grateful to our subscribers, writers and many friends of the present and the past who have contributed their talent and work to its success. We do not forget the Mutual Im- provement officers and members who for these thirty years have freely aided in its circulation. Nor do we forget our many readers and subscribers. Thanks to all. We believe the Improvement Era, through the worthy efforts of these volunteer agencies, has done much good in the world at home and abroad. The aim of the editors always has been to present gospel messages in its pages. That it has been appreciated is amply proved by the reception it has met among the people who have read it — young and old. Encouraging volunteer testimonies come to hand constantly to this effect, for which, also, thanks. The new volume, beginning in November, will be enlarged in size, have new and larger type, and will take a deserved step forward in its appearance. We solicit the aid of all our friends not only in its distribution but in its literary improvement. It will be the aim to provide every subscriber with full value for his investment. On the reading table in the home, the Improvement Era is a means of de- veloping the spirituality so greatly needed in the land by providing matter of interest and attraction for young people. The Improvement Era ought to reach 50,000 homes this year. To this end each reader is now invited to send hisi own and a new subscription. No person or family paying $2, for the Improvement Era will ever regret it. It will be a blessing in every home where it is read. The Era has no capital, pays no dividends. Every dollar received goes to its improvement, and to the cost of publication. We ask M. I. A. workers to be content only when all the homes in the ward in which they live have been invited to place the Era on their reading tables. With deep appreciation for past labors and help, the editors solicit the sympathy and support of every member of the Church in placing the Improvement Era before the world. — A. A Suggestion The completion of the Arizona temple provides a new oppor- tunity for religious worship and work for the Saints in the great Southwest and for the entire Church. It is a means of drawing their attention to temple ordinances of great spiritual importance.

EDITORS' TABLE 1139 There are pix temples already in operation in the Church and through them the hearts of the fathers are turned to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, resulting in rich spiritual blessings as a reward for both. Temple ordinances are not for the dead alone, nor for the old alone. They are for the youth as well. One of the grandest and holiest steps of life, marriage, should be taken in the House of the Lord, because it persuades men and women to do good, to live right, and implies that the candidates for marriage are now worthy of God's richest blessings, and are willing to so continue. Marriage in the temple furthermore is an antidote against the divorce evil, the bane of present day society. Considerable space in this number of the Era is devoted to the new temple in Arizona, and incidentally to temple work and its purposes, marriage, and genealogical labors. We suggest to the young people that an evening spent in reading these articles will prove very interesting. They make good subjects, also, for joint Sunday evening meetings. — A. Books Two Years Before the Mast, listed on the M. I. A. reading course, written by Richard Henry Dana, is one of the outstanding stories of Amer- ican literature. It is the personal narrative of a sailor's life on a long trip to California in the thirties. The hero was a graduate of Harvard College, and forced to suspend his studies. He ships "before the mast" on the sailing vessel The Pilgrim, bound for California by way of Cape Horn. The ship put in at the ports of Monterey, Santa Barbara, and other places along the coast, and at San Diego, Dana remained several months ashore, where he handled and cured hides. At this time, California was Spanish, and the story tells about the life of the people, their habits and customs, when the Pacific Coast was dotted with Spanish towns and cities. It is a splendid story of California days before the Americans went there in the later 40's. Marching On, a book on the M. I. A. reading course list for this year, was written by James Boyd, a young American novelist. It is a story of the Civil War, and shows possibly the feelings of the southern people during that mighty struggle more than anything else that has been written. James Fraser is a poor farmer's son of North Carolina. He en- listed in the southern army, and his experiences in the army are thrilling. The story of his love for the daughter of a slave owner and planter runs its course throughout the war. There are descriptions of battles, prison life, and long marches. Through all the terrors of war and bloodshed, young James Fraser shows a fine manhood, for he has sterling qualities of character. Marching On will take its place with Hugh Wynne and other great novels of American literature. The "Era" Index 1927— Volume 30 Subscribers desiring copies 01 index for the Improvement Era, volume 30, may obtain the same free of charge by request to the Improvement Era, 4 7 E. South Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah.