Mutual Work

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT The June Conference Enlivened by an interesting wed- ding, the June conference, held on the 7th, 8th and 9th, has passed into history. M. I. A. workers from all parts of the Church were in attendance. They formed a group of alert and for- ward-looking people, intent upon re- ceiving suggestions which would bet- ter qualify them for their important work. General Superintendent George Al- bert Smith opened the conference, ex- tended a welcome to the hundreds who were present and through them sent greetings to the hundred thousand members of the organization. He ex- plained the mission of the M. I. A., as it has been defined by the leaders of the Church, and which has been clearly set forth in the words, "The wholesome use of leisure time." The speaker showed that our ideals arc largely formed and to a great extent lived up to or abandoned during leisure hours. He concluded his brief remarks with a strong appeal for righteousness. President Ruth May Fox expressed her love for the M. I. A. work, her deep appreciation of the hospitality of the people in the wards and stakes, and expressed the thought that there are no sacrifices to be made in the Church; they are all privileges. Sister Fox paid a splendid tribute to Sister Tingey, recently released, as did many other speakers during the conference. Sister Martha H. Tingey was moved to tears as the great congregation spon- taneously arose with her when she stood up to speak. It was a significant tribute of love to a faithful worker. President Heber J. Grant likewise was paid a tribute when the congrega- tion arose to show him honor. He spoke of the love he has always felt for the M. I. A. work and the joy of his heart when witnessing the growth which has come to members of the organization. During the World War, he said, a death occurred among the soldiers being trained in the North- west. No chaplain was available, and the commanding officer asked if there were any "Mormons" present who had been on missions. Seven men stepped out of the line, any one of whom was capable of conducting the services in a creditable manner. That is charac- teristic of our young men. The subjects taken up during the conference were treated by men and women who have specialized on the subject they were discussing: The singing was inspirational. No father could hear the Boy Scouts of Granite stake sing "Dear Old Dad" without feeling a determination to be a better pal to his boy and a kinder father and husband than he had ever been before. This chorus was led by Sister Lucy Freebairn and was worthy of special mention, as, indeed, all items on the program were. The testimony meeting held in the Assembly Hall Sunday morning was a foretaste of heaven and will not soon be forgotten by those who were present. The contests drew forth keen com- petition and were of such quality that the judges were confronted with an extremely difficult task in selecting the winners. To gain second place, there- fore, was a distinct honor. The final results were as follows: Orchestra: Union ward, East Jor-

July. 1929 MUTUAL WORK 785 dan stake, first; Fillmore First ward, Millard stake, second. Mixed Double Quartet: Sugar House ward, Granite stake, first; Gar land ward, Bear River stake, second. Gleaner Girls' Speaking contest: Muriel Christensen, Spanish Fork Fourth ward, Palmyra stake, first, with the subject "The mansions of our soul;" Elthea Snowball, Randolph ward, Woodruff stake, second, her sub- ject being "Moulding our lives." M Men Speaking contest: Melvin Hyde Ridges, Eleventh ward, Ensign stake, first, with "Dishonest America" as his subject; Charles McKell, Fourth ward, Palmyra stake, second, with the subject, "An international mind in the interest of international good will." Ladies' Double Trio: Fourth ward, Provo, Utah stake, first; Willard ward, Box Elder stake, second. Male Quartet: Milton ward, Mor- gan stake, first; Capitol Hill ward, Salt Lake stake, second. Dance: Third ward, Brigham City, Box Elder stake, first; Third ward, Idaho Falls, Idaho Falls stake, second. Drama: Second ward. Idaho Falls stake, first; Third ward, Pleasant Grove. Timpanogos stake, second. Play-writing contest: Mrs. Mor- gan McKay, Panguitch, first; Miss Delia Morrell, Logan, second. Essay-writing contest: Y. L. M. I. A. — Elda Searle. representing Taylor stake, first; Marie Thorne, Box Elder stake, second. Y. M. M. I. A. — Marvin Aslett. representing Portncuf stake, first; Ken- neth Rosenlof, Los Angeles stake, second. Some of the addresses which were made and the detailed instructions given will be presented in a subsequent issue, in order that they may be fresh in the minds of M. I. A. workers as they arc about to commence their season's activities. Sunday Evening Conjoint Program The joint committee to whom the duty of preparing these programs has been assigned suggests that the youn^ men furnish the numbers in the August meeting and the young ladies in Sep- tember. Ten-minute talk on some phase of the book, Moral Teachings of the New Testament, or a ten-minute re- view of one of the characters in Cap- tains of Industry, by a male member of the Adult Department. M Men's Aims and Activities An M Man is a four-square fellow; that is, he is balanced (a) Spiritually. (b) Intellectually. (c) Socially. (d) Physically. Two ten-minute talks should be II. given on the following subjects: I. On the Aim of M Men Spirituallv and Intellectually. 1. Spiritually. (a) An appreciation of things spiritual. (b) The beauty that comes to life through clean think- ing. (c) Development of a testi- mony preparatory for a mission. 2. Intellectuality. (a) Joseph Smith said. "The Glory of God is Intelli- gence." (b) Importance of an educa- tion. (c) The satisfaction which comes into one's life through an acquaintance with the lives of great men a n d a familiarity with the books of great minds. On the Aim of M Men Socially and Physically. 1 . The M Men socially. (a) In athletics. (See para- graph on page 263 of the

786 IMPROVEMENT ERA July. 19 29 Hand Book entitled "Character First.") (b) Music and literature. (Drama, music, public speaking, debating.) (c) Socially. M Men's ban- quets, hikes, picnic parties, cooperation of fathers and sons' out- ings. (See page 255 of the Hand Book.) Vanguard Department A group of six boys will repre- sent the Vanguard Department. This group will stand before the congrega- tion. (a) Boy No. 1 will repeat the Vanguard Slogan: "Friendship is Golden." A Vanguard never reaches his final goal; he seeks new fields to conquer, and his ambition to attain new heights will not admit defeat. He is consistent in his efforts to qualify for real service; he is "Always Ready." (b) Boy No. 2 will read the mean- ing of the word "Vanguard" as given on page 284 of the Hand Book. (c) Boy No. 3 will read the "Pur- pose of the Vanguards" as given on pages 284 and 285 of the Hand Book. (d) Boy No. 4 will read the "Watch Word" as given on page 285 of the Hand Book. (e) Boy No. 5 will give the mean ing of the "Insignia" as given on pagf 285 of the Hand Book. (f) Boy No. 6 will read the para- graph on "Traditions" as given on page 286 of the Hand Book. Male Quartette: Contest or Similar Number. Junior Department 1. A Scout will repeat the following Scout prayer: "Help me, dear Lord, to be a scout who loves the open air; When I go to the home of bird or beast, may I find contentment there. Help me to find the trail of life and to follow it straight and true; When the day is done, may the sink- ing sun, remind me, dear Lord, of you. And when the campfire's glow is gone, and the stars are shining bright, May thy heavenly love, from up above, protect me through the night." 2. Patrol of eight boys will then stand and repeat the Scout promise. 3. Twelve Scouts will then stand, each one repeating a Scout law and what it means, as given in the Scout handbook. 4. The Scouts will then carry through the flag ceremony. Mutual Hour on the Radio Reports from various parts of the Church indicate that the Sunday after- noon Mutual Hour over K S L is an effective contribution to the M. I. A. program of summer work. The sug- gestion made in the Era for June that groups be formed in homes for the radio programs has been followed to some extent, according to reports, but not as generally as was expected. The suggestion is renewed that ward officers and group leaders take the initiative in planning to have as many M. I. A. members as possible take ad- vantage of these excellent educational features. A rare opportunity is of- fered to gain valuable information and suggestions. The series of spoken-word and mu- sical presentations will continue each Sunday afternoon from 4 to 5, stand- ard mountain time, until July 14, when a new series will begin, covering the following thirteen weeks. The programs will continue to reflect M. I. A. objectives but will be along entirely different lines. A special radio com- mittee is now completing plans for the new presentations which will be de- veloped around a central theme. The

July. 1929 MUTUAL WORK 787 theme will be presented in word and music and promises to be of unusual interest. Mutual Radio Hour offers an oppor- tunity to make weekly contacts with at least a part of the members of the or- ganization and can be made to assist in preserving the organization spirit dur- ing the summer months. Canadian M Men Basketball Champions President N. L. Mitchell, of the Raymond First ward Y. M. M. I. A., in the Taylor stake, reports as follows: "Here is a picture of our basketball boys, champions of the three Canadian stakes. These young chaps are all regular attendants at our M. I. A. meetings, and not one of them smokes or disregards the Word of Wisdom in any other way. Twp of them are not members of the Church, but are drawn to us by the opportunities which this organization offers in athletics, public speaking and the study of literature. Canadian M Men Basketball Champions Front row, left to right: A. Hague. B. Card. W. Van Orman. B. Nalder, R. Woolley. Back row: N. L. Mitchell, president Y. M. M. I. A. Raymond First ward: G. Kirkham. captain; R. S. O'Brien, coach: K. Hague; W. J. Van Orman, manager.

788 IMPROVEMENT ERA July. 1929 "I am deeply interested in these activities. They are keeping our young boys off the streets and are giving them a proper sense of direction in which they should travel. The development which has come to one boy alone would richly repay me for all the time I have spent in M. I. A. work. "A short time ago I heard a prominent business man of our community, a non-member of the Church, say at a public gathering: 'I am a college graduate, but 1 would give all I possess if I were able to express my thoughts in public as your young men do who have been trained in the organizations of the Church.' In the Land of the Elk Dr. A. I. Jensen, Bishop J. H. Jensen and W. L. Killpack Three members of the Driggs, Idaho, Scout Troop. Note the elk in the background. H. S. Alvord, Scout Executive Teton Peaks Council Boy Scouts of America, gives the following account of a trip into the Jackson's Hole country during the early part of April of this year: "If you want a real trip through a real country with real men, go to Driggs and get some of those old scouts to go out with you into the moun- tains. Those fellows carry their own packs, and they are all ready for the longest trails. "It has been a long time since I have been anywhere on a jaunt that 'filled the bill' as did the one we took this week out of Driggs into the Jackson's Hole country. "We left Driggs Saturday morning with W. L. Killpack, 'Pa' Hill, Henry Jensen, Dr. A. I. Jensen and Bud Rig- by. We had four bobsleds, and there- were 1 6 boys, including the band, in

July, 1929 MUTUAL WORK 789 the outfit. Across Teton pass at this time of year, and through a snow- storm, is an experience all by itself. "We stopped for lunch at Bur- chard's place, and then we took the trail for the 8000-foot top of the pass. The snowstorm became a blizzard as we climbed the mountain, but the boys took their share of the storm without a murmur. We got to Wilson about 4 o'clock, and went at once to fishing. The boys were all for seeing the 3,000 head of elk that are being wintered in Jackson's Hole, and as they are fed al- most in the town of Jackson, it was easy to get acquainted with the herd. The elk are in fine shape. "In all the fishing that was done we caught nothing but big fish, and not very many of them. It was too cold. Later in the season it would be fine to go there. The trip across that pas-; Scout Band Members All Scouts and leaders are from Driggs. Idaho, with the exception of H. S. Alvord. Scout Executiv, of Teton Peaks Council Boy Scouts of America. The luck was poor. There had been a turn-in' of water from the lake, and the fish were not ready to take the air. We caught only half a dozen. They would weight about 15 or 16 pounds, so you will see there were no minnows among them. "The boys gave a small-sized con- cert while we were there, and promised to return Monday and give a real show. Incidentally, they did when the time came, and there was a good turn-out from the country 'round. "Scout demonstrations were given at Jackson, and were backed by the American Legion, which is actively interested in scouting at that place. on our return was another fine few hours. "We hope that the Jackson's Hole Scouts will come into the Teton Peaks council as soon as they are ready for affiliation. That part of the country is the birthplace of so much that is fine and clean and open, it seems natural that scouting should flourish there. We are glad to know that kind of people, and glad many times over to be wel- comed by them. "One unusual sight encountered was met on the return trip over the pass when we met two new Ford cars being taken to Jackson's Hole on bob- sleds."