Editors’ Table

D1T0 Courtship and Marriage "Whoso forbiddeth to marry is not or- dained of God, for marriage is ordained of God unto man." "Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else." "He that looketh upon a woman to lust after her shall deny the faith, and shall not have the spirit." "He hath committed adultery already in his heart." "I give unto you a commandment, that ye suffer none of these things to enter into your heart." "It is better that ye should deny your- selves of these things, * * * than that ye should be cast into hell." Adultery and harlotry "are an abomina- tion in the sight of the Lord; yea, most abominable above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood, or denying the Holy Ghost," both unpardonable sins, when committed "against the light and knowledge of God." Marriage is a holy sacrament, and, with the Latter-day Saints, it is an eternal covenant. It is the foundation of hap- piness, the cornerstone of home. Men and women may well take warning against committing indiscretions against the purity of relations between the sexes, in both courtship and marriage. Pure actions must lie at the foundation of this most sacred association of life — marriage — and the most holy institution of mankind — the home. The riot of evil inclinations, and pas- sions without restraint, personal liberty so-called, subtlely advocated by some writers, must be curbed and brought under subjection. These evils are threatening to disrupt married life and to destroy the home. They will not bring happiness. They must be sacrificed to insure the com- ing of joy and real gladness in the heart. Latter-day Saint young people have the opportunity to be a light to the world in these respects. They have the word of God upon the subject. They have the vision of the eternal marriage covenant and the glory of the everlasting home. —A. Marriage After the article by Elder B. H. Roberts on Marriage was written and sent to press, the author sent to the Era office the fol- lowing paragraph for insertion, but un- fortunately the article was already printed, and we give it place here: "In view of the Eternity of the Mar- riage Covenant by the Church of the Latter-day Saints, no people more appro- priately may use the wedding ring in the marriage ceremony. The circle is the most perfect of geometrical figures; the symbol of completeness and of eternity. Let it be with us the sign and symbol of the per- manence and the eternity of the marriage covenant." Books A very timely volume of some 550 pages and over has just been issued from the Deseret News press, entitled, An Introduc- tion to the Study of the Book of Mormon, by J. M. Sjodahl, associated with Elder Hyrum M. Smith in the compilation of the Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, and at present editor of The Associated Newspapers. Elder Sjodahl is well known to the readers of the Era, many of whom have enjoyed in the past years his con- tributions to this magazine on the subject of the Book of Mormon, There are twenty chapters, the last chapter is a col- lection of some of the fundamental re- ligious doctrines of the Book of Mormon which, in reality, lie at the foundation of the faith of the Latter-day Saints. Stu- dents will find interpreted in this volume many striking passages which appear in the sacred record, also explanations of proph- ecies and illuminating answers to questions that arise in its study. It treats on the

256 IMPROVEMENT ERA geography of the Book of Mormon. It touches the religious concepts, theories and facts concerning the traditions, myths, legends, etc., of the various Indian tribes ■ — -the Pueblos, the Cliff Dwellers, and the Mound Builders. To the reader of this book, the perusal and study of the Book of Mormon will become a pleasure and de- light. It is a valuable contribution to the literature of the Church, and should find a place in every library, and on every read- ing table in the land. President Heber J. Grant, writing of the book, says to the author: "You are en- titled to the gratitude of the 'Mormon' people for the immense amount of labor which you have given to the production of this valuable volume/' Authority as a Universal Principle By Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, of the Council of the Twelve The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. — Psalms 19:1-3. Authority is an eternal principle op- erative throughout the universe. To the "utmost bounds" of space all things are governed by law emanating from the Lord our God. On Kolob and other giant governing stars and in the tiny electron, infinitesimally small, and of which all things are composed, divine authority is manifest in the form of immutable law. All space is filled with matter and that matter is controlled and directed by an All-Wise and Omniscient Creator who "Comprehendeth all things, and all things are before him, and all things are round about him; and he is above all things, and in all things, and is through all things, and is round about all things; and all things are by him, and of him, even God, forever and ever. And again, verily I say unto you, he hath given a law unto all things, by which they move in their times and their seasons." Doc. and Cov. 88: 41-42. To Moses the Lord said: "And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten. * * But onVy an account of this earth and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you, for, behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumer- able are they unto man, but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them. * * And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof, even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words." The Lord showed the stars to Abraham through the aid of Urim and Thummim, and Abraham wrote of them: "And I saw the stars, that they were very great, and that one of them was nearest unto the throne of God; and there were many great ones which were near unto it; and the Lord said unto me; These are the governing ones." From these scriptural references we learn that the controlling authority in the universe is vested in God; that his au- thority is manifest in all things both great and small. In a revelation to Joseph Smith the Lord said: "All kingdoms have a law given, and there are many kingdoms; for there is no space in the which there is no kingdom; and there i9 no kingdom in which there is no space, either a greater or a lesser kingdom." The significance of this expression we could not understand before the very recent discoveries in the field of science pertaining to the atom, electrons, protons, and the ether of the universe. The probabilities are that we do not understand it now; except in small degree, and that future revelations will add to the lustre of this wonderful truth in relation to the composition of the universe and the controlling laws by which it is governed.

AUTHORITY AS A UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLE 257 On this point, one of the world's greatest scientists has said: "The vast interplanetary and interstellar regions will no longer be regarded as waste places in the universe. * * We shall find them to be already full of this wonderful medium (ether) : so full that no human power can remove it from the smallest portion of space, or produce the slightest flaw in its infinite continuity." — Clerk Maxwell. Sir Oliver Lodge, in his valuable little work, Ether and Reality, speaking of the composition of matter, says: "That is one of the first things to realize about matter: there are great gaps between its particles. "You may say, That is all very well for the sky and the stars and planets; but what about the earth? What about a piece of rock, or furniture, or any solid subject? Do you mean to say that the particles of a body like that are widely separated, with great spaces between them in proportion to their size, and that a straight line might penetrate them deeply without encountering a particle? Yes I do: * * * No microscope, however powerful, can show us an atom, still less can it show us how an atom is composed and how far apart its ultimate particles are: we know this otherwise and indirectly. It is. however, common knowledge, now, that mat- ter is built up of minute electric charges, both negative and positive, which are called electrons and protons. It is also known that these elec- tric units are so extremely minute that they are separated from one another like the planets in the solar system. The greater part of the atom is empty space, just like the sky on a small scale." I quote these sayings merely to point out the fact that the scientist today is con- firming what the Lord said to Joseph Smith in relation to the universe: "All kingdoms have a law given; and there are many kingdoms: for there is no space in the which there is no kingdom; and there is no kingdom in which there is no space, either a greater or a lesser kingdom." How wonderfully this is confirmed by the astronomer who studies and charts the stars of the universe; and how equally wonderful it is confirmed by the scientist who divides and examines the substance of the atom. All is subject to the direc- tion and control of the Eternal Father. All matters pertaining to the Aaronic Priesthood, under this heading are prepared under the direction of the Presiding Bishopric Weekly Ward Priesthood Meetings In view of the proposed change in the priesthood quorum or class meetings, be- ginning January 1, 1928, whereby the gospel lessons will be taken out of these classes and taught in the Sunday Schools, it is desirable that all bishops should sense the importance of continuing the weekly ward priesthood meetings, and applying the time available to the training and ac- tivities of the members of the Priesthood. The Priesthood is the very foundation upon which the Church is built, as also the framework which supports the struc- ture. It is the most potent means of real service. Unless the quorums of the Priest- hood generally are trained and active in the performance of their duties, their can- not be the progress that there should be. To secure such training and performance by the members of the Aaronic Priesthood, it is found that weekly meetings, pro- perly directed, and devoted to these pur- poses, produce the best results. There are, in fact, certain priesthood activities affecting all of the wards, under the direction of the bishoprics, that need frequent, systematic attention. They are: (a) the important work of ward teach- ing, and (b) the training and activity of all members of the Aaronic Priesthood in their individual and quorum capacities. It is therefore urged, that the weekly ward priesthood meeting, modified to con- form to these conditions, and consequently

258 IMPROVEMENT ERA shortened in time, be regularly held. The half-hour required should be devoted to these two most important matters'. Let- ters of information outlining these pur- poses and detailing the mode of procedure, have already been sent to all bishoprics, and a booklet of instructions is now being prepared. This will amplify the advices already given and indicate the program for the entire year of 1928. The Presiding Bishopric. Promoting Attendance of the Aaronic Priesthood By Manton Moody, Deseret Stake (At the Bishops' meeting, October 8. 1927.) In all the stakes of Zion there are a certain number who attend their priest- hood meetings regularly. It is not with those that our problem lies, but with those who are habitually or frequently absent from priesthood meeting. Some means must be devised whereby we can break the trend of inactivity and get the boys who have been totally inactive, or practically so, to attend priesthood meet- ings, for it is here they get spiritual food, so essential. We may put it under two heads: first, getting non-attendants to attend; and second, to keep them coming after they once attend. One of the chief things to stimulate interest and get attendance is the attitude shown by the bishoprics in the wards toward their boys. It has been stated that the bishops do not have time to visit each boy personally. But I sug- gest that when you meet a boy, whether he is active or not, that you encourage him in some way, as a kind word of greet- ing will go a long way to get him to come to priesthood meeting. Boys like to be noticed. That is natural. I am sure notice from the bishopric will help to bring them to priesthood meeting. I be- lieve that assignment promotes attend- ance. It is a fact, the records of our stake show, that 90% of the priests who were given assignments filled them. Also 90% of the teachers, and 96% of the deaqtons filled their" assignments. This being the case, we should never fail giving the boys something to do. Assign them duties and they will fill them. If boys are appointed to visit members who are not in the habit of attending meetings, and 96% of these boys fill the assignments, it naturally follows that a great percent of those who have been inactive will come to priesthood meeting. We cannot over- stress the value of assignments. I think, also, that outings have a great deal to do with successful attendance of the boys at their regular priesthood meet- ing. In August at our regular monthly or Union stake priesthood meeting we had an increase of attendance of the Lesser priesthood of about 800%, due to the fact that the stake committee had visited all the wards in the stake and had informed the boys that an outing was to take place after that meeting. As a result there was an increase of attendance from about 18 to 127 members of the Lesser Priesthood. This remarkable increase I am sure, was due to the outing planned for the boys. Similar outings may be planned for the boys in the wards with like success. As to keeping the boys after you once get them to meeting: a man will not re- turn to a well if he finds it empty. So, if the boys who have been neglectful in their attendance at meeting, find when they come that there is nothing that they are interested in, they will not return. There- fore, the problem of interest must be solved. If you solve this you solve the problem of attendance. We feel that the bishopric and ward supervising committee should select the very best boys' men they have in the ward to teach the Lesser Priest- hood classes, — men who can mix with the boysT and still hold their dignity. We cannot meet with much success by giving three-minute talks as outlined for the bishops in the respective classes of the Lesser Priesthood quorums. So, I urge