Editors’ Table

EDITORS' TABLE 245 it functions as the Lord intends, gives specific attention to the individual member, while the latter give general attention to the community. The re- turned missionary needs some of this solicitous care. The Era has no excuse to offer for the man who, after spending two or three years of his life in calling others to re- pentance, himself deserts a righteous course. We all know he should be eternally wedded to righteousness, should attend his quorum and other meetings, should take part in the class- es, and by his activity keep alive the spirit which brought such sublime joy to his heart while he was away. Very many of the returned missionaries do this; indeed, practically all of them except one here and there who was careless before he left. However, man's nature is such that he seldom does his very best, and it is a regretable fact that a much larger percentage of missionaries become de- linquent after their return than is the case while they were absent in the field. The reasons for this are more or less obvious. Some of them have already been stated. Added to his other dif- ficulties, the missionary frequently finds himself in debt and very often without a salary adequate for his needs, and in this condition is almost certain to ex- aggerate any seeming slight. In view of these facts, and we be- lieve they are self-evident, the Era promised in its prospectus that it would print, from time to time, articles under the caption. "As the Returned Mis- sionary Views It." One of these articles has already appeared, and we expect that others will follow. This feature was inspired solely by a desire to lead our readers to look at the situation for a moment through the eyes of some of these men who are passing through this trying period of adjustment. The ef- fort of this magazine has always been to make good men better and careless men good. Naturally we do not advocate that a quorum or an organization which is operating efficiently should be disrupt- ed merely to give a position to some man recently returned from the mis- sion field. There are numerous ways in which interest in this class may be manifested, and these will suggest themselves to local officers and Church members, if the matter is called, even indirectly, to their attention. In Australia a few years ago, efforts were made through the government to do something for the boys who had been in the trenches in Belgium and France. The people did not respond as it was thought they should, and one of the soldiers remarked: "It took us four years to win the war, but in four months the public has forgotten what we did." It would be an unfortunate situation if any returned missionary had real cause to entertain similar views. Recently one of the general author- ities of the Church suggested to a bishop that he hear oftener from a cer- tain returned missionary, "a good speaker." who had been home ten years, and only twice during that period had been called upon to address a meeting in his own ward. The bish- op's reply was: "That man has had more than his share of opportunities. It would take me twenty years to hear from all the Priesthood in my ward." If this is the actual condition, and if this bishop follows the advice, given for many years, to call local men to speak instead of constantly inviting speakers from the outside, it would seem that there should be about four wards in that particular district instead of one. It is not necessary in order to show consideration for a man to give him an entire evening. As evi- dence of this, attention is called to the general conferences where so many short talks are made. Presiding officers who follow a similar plan of proced- ure will be surprised at the number that can be heard in the course of a year. We hope that officers and members of the Church will make an effort

246 IMPROVEMENT ERA to get the viewpoint of the returned missionary. And of course it is to be hoped that these young men, who have cheerfully given so much of their time and means to the cause, will cultivate and retain the spirit which bore testi- mony to the divinity of this work to their souls while they were abroad. We have faith in the devotion of the returned missionary, and careful sur- veys made in some of the stakes indi- cate that this faith is justified. Salva- tion, after all, is their own individual responsibility. — C. Books Three new books have recently come to the editorial desk of the Era: Redemption, an Epic of the Divine Tragedy, by Octave F. Ursenbach, is an interesting poem, treating an exalted theme. This writer is well known to the Era readers, and in this little vol- ume he has probably done his best work, thus far. My Father's Farm is a well writ- ten book of pastoral and other poems, as the title indicates, by Robert Sparks Walker, also a well known contributor to our columns. Flashes from the Eternal Sema- phore by President Leo J. Muir of the Los Angeles stake, is an inspiring vol- ume, the reading of which will stimu- late every person to live up to his highest possibilities. Leadership Week at the B. Y. U. "Education for the enrichment of rural life" is the theme around which all the activities of the annual Leadership Week, to be held at Brigham Young University, January 21 to 26, will revolve. This theme was chosen partly because the Utah State Farm Bureau convention will be held during part of the week in connection with the other exercises and classes, and partly because it is a subject which may well be stressed in the inter-mountain region where rural life is almost the only life there is. Committees are busy upon plans for the week. They hope to work out a program of study and entertainment which will meet the needs of all adults and especially those engaged in Church and civic work of any kind. The auxiliary organizations of the Church were kept in mind while the program was being worked out, and their officers and teachers will find much help during the convention. As in times past, the week's activities will be entirely free, both the in- struction and the entertainment. The world is blessed most by men who do things, and not by those who merely talk about them. — James Oliver.