--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Ballard, Melvin J. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 31 number: 9 published: 1928-07 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: "Melvin J. Ballard, “New Priesthood–M. I. A. Plan,” *Improvement Era* 31, no. 9 (July 1928): 744–745." source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera3109unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera3109unse start_page: 744 end_page: 745 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1928-07) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera3109unse publication_year: 1928 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1928, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # New Priesthood–M. I. A. Plan New Priesthood-M. I. A. Plan* By Melvin J. Ballard, Assistant General Superintendent Y. M. M. I. A. IT IS NOT my purpose to go into a detailed discussion of this plan. That is the business of this conference. It will be con- sidered in the various departments, and my only desire is to try to get you into the right attitude towards it and to make you feel it is the best thing that has yet been devised for the promotion of Priesthood and M. I. A. interests. First of all, I should like to say that the plan was devised primarily to give a simplified program for the membership of the Church involved. We have but one group of men and boys and women and girls. There must be one unified, simplified program for this work. No one organization in the Church can do everything for the entire group. There has been delegated to each organization its specific field. We recognize that the Priesthood is the very life of the Church. It is to the Church what the mainspring is to a watch, the power by which it goes. The auxiliary organizations are but helps in government to the Priest- hood. The Sunday School serves the Priesthood and gives the opportunity not only to the Priesthood but to the whole Church to study its theology. The Mutual Improvement Associations help the Priesthood in the leisure-time field, cooperating with the brethren in eliminating an unnecessary meeting. Therefore one night is chosen for the consideration of Priesthood assignments and other problems. Then in addition to Priesthood participation, the participation of the sisters of the Church in this program has been devised. In Mutual Improvement classes, in the Young Men's department, we discovered that deacons, teachers and priests were studying programs similar to those in our Priesthood manuals, in some instances the very identical lessons, and in addition, an activity program was being built up. The Presiding Bishopric and Superintendency of the Young Men, in studying this program, concluded that, having but one group, we could not have two competitive programs. And so the fine things the Priesthood has been doing and the fine things the Y. M. M. I. A. has been presenting in the manuals for these boys are to be consolidated in lesson work that will be given during the Priesthood section; and the activities that have been presented in both Priesthood and M. I. A. will be given by the Mutual Improve- ment organization. They are serving, one in one field and the other in the other. When we come to the adult group there is an en- largement of our field work, because there comes to this division the ♦Address delivered at the General Joint Session of the Thirty-third Annual Conference of Y. M. and Y. L. M. I. A., June 3, 1928. NEW PRJESTHOOD-M. I. A. PLAN 745 adult people of the Church, where adult education in the Church can be projected in many lines, for there will be elective courses. It is not expected that men and women will go home when the Priest- hood period is ended. There should be a loyal support of this period on the part of the M. I. A., and then a loyal support of the M. I. A. on the part of the Priesthood, and men or women should not fail to enter into the department provided for them. We should like you, therefore, to feel that, after very careful thought and consideration on the part of all interested, this plan was conceived as the solution to a rather complicated situation that was arising because of this competition and rivalry and multiplicity of meetings. And so it is hoped under this simplified plan that the M. I. A. organization may render service to and magnify the Priest- hood, and in return we shall receive benefits by an increase, un- doubtedly, in the attendance at the M. I. A. I am looking for at least 25% increase in attendance and enrollment during the first year. We hope none of you will go home and complain about it or feel that the M. I. A. is being shelved or side-tracked. We may yield something, but we are yielding it for ourselves, for the Priest- hood is the very heart and life of this Church, and anything that promotes and magnifies it is a thing to be desired by every member of the Church. So, if we are yielding something, it is to help keep the Priesthood where it belongs, at the head of the procession. But by willingly and cheerfully adopting this plan we are really losing nothing in the development of the work assigned to us, for we will receive the hearty cooperation of the Priesthood. I can see a more glorious future for this movement than ever before. Though its field is perhaps more elaborate, yet in its development we shall find employment for all our talents, our time and ability; and so let us fall in line with the spirit of this program. It is contemplated that work shall be done on Tuesday night. M. I. A. will start September 1 and run until May 31. It is not expected that summer work will be carried on, but if the Priesthood decides to continue on Tuesday during the summer, then a program should be planned for the Young Men; but where a ward chooses to hold a Priesthood meeting at some hour on Sunday during the summer time, it is not necessary to plan an M. I. A. pro- gram. But when September 1 comes we do expect that Tuesday night will be given up for our work. Let us give our loyal support to the plan which has been studied out with care and thought, and have clearly in mind that we are servants in the Lord's house and, having been given our assignment, cheerfully accept it and with all our might, mind and strength help to accomplish it. God give us power to develop it, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.