Ideals and Early Achievements of the Church in Education

Ideals and Early Achievements of the Church in Education By DR. RICHARD R. LYMAN Of the Council of Twelve and of the General Superintendency of the Y. M. M. 1. A. THE educational achievements of a people indicate their in- tellectual ideals. With mem- bers of the Church these aims, these ideals, are founded upon instruc- tions that came to the Church early in its history through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Intellectual Ideals of a People THE Glory of God is Intelli- *~ gence." (Doc. and Cov. 93: 36) . "It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance." (Doc. and Cov. 131:6). "A man is saved no faster than he gets knowl- edge." (History of Church, Vol- ume IV: 5 88). To our people these words have come to represent the views of the Prophet Joseph Smith, concerning education; and they have kindled in the breasts of the members of the Church the ambition to eliminate ignorance, to disseminate knowledge, and to in- crease intelligence. Education, however, as under- stood by the Prophet and as en- couraged by the Church, means something more than scholastic learning. It aims at building up character, honor, dependability; it means efficiency. It demands the complete development of physical, mental, and spiritual powers. Its aim is high. It endeavors to ac- complish the greatest good. It em- bodies charity, love, sympathy, vision, insight, intelligent effort. It is education which signifies liv- ing a Christian life, — doing to others as we would have others do to us, and literally putting into practice the doctrine that it is better to give than to receive. It requires interest primarily in the welfare of others. It rejoices at the prosper- ity of friends. This ideal, if finally achieved, will so exalt a people, that the oldest and most stubborn enemies of mankind — poverty, dis- ease, and crime — will, from among them, be routed. Moral Standards Interwoven with Intellectual HTO live in accordance with the ideals and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, to be free from wrong doing, to be able to lie down at night to sweet dreams with a sat- isfied conscience — these are what we regard as important elements in education. Some other high edu- cational ideals that have come to us through the Prophet are that "the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance" (Doc. and Cov. 1:31), that "whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection," and that the more knowledge and intelligence a man gains in this life, the greater will be his advan- tage in the world to come (Doc. and Cov. 130:18-19). Joseph Smith! Where did he get these ideas, these ideals? A poor boy, born in the country, he had no opportunity to get more than The Author the slightest degree of education — merely what is to be had in the most modest rural school ; with no opportunity to attend a college, without contact with a great li- brary or with scholars. Joseph Smith! I am looking now and have for years been looking to find someone wise enough to explain him. The clear-cut, powerful lan- guage he used, the unusual and far- reaching doctrines he taught, the influence he has exerted over the lives of hundreds of thousands of people — whence came these powers? If he was not guided and direct- ed by inspiration, as his people believe, then let some wise man come forward and explain his un- usual leadership, his wondrous teachings. The Church Stand on Knowledge HTHE Church, always intensely interested in schools and schol- arship, has taken but one attitude. That attitude is expressed in these words: "Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encour- aged." Schools Always Established ~CROM its very beginning, an outstanding characteristic of the Church has been the establish- ment of schools and the promotion of education. Early Church history records a great amount of persecution, the Saints often being driven from their homes. Yet whenever a suf- ficient number settled in one place for even a few weeks, a school was started. As early as June, 1831, a com-

The Improvement Era for April, 1930 395 mittee was appointed to select and print school books. In the summer of 1833, while the people were migrating to the vicinity of the present Kansas City, Missouri, Parley P. Pratt, because of his intellectual attainments, was called to organize and conduct a school. He says: "The place of meeting was in the open air under some tall trees in a retired place. To attend this school, I had to travel on foot and sometimes with bare feet at that, about six miles." Match, if you can, that kind and quality of zeal for knowledge. T HOUGH the Church was not organized until April 6, 1830, the first issue of the "Morning and Evening Star," in June, 1832, em- phasized the necessity for schools. All the way beside the long line of travel that has been followed by the Church, school facilities have been improvised — under the trees, in tents, in wagons, by camp fires. In Kirtland, Ohio; in Jackson County, Clay County, and Cald- well County, Missouri; in Quincy and Nauvoo, Illinois; and in Montrose, Iowa, the paths of the Church have been blazed by the light of the schools it has every- where set up and fostered. In 1846, after the exodus from Nauvoo, so great was the interest in education that schools were es- tablished in the temporary settle- ments of Garden Grove, Mt. Pis- gah, and subsequently in some forty settlements in Pottawatamie County, Iowa. Schools were later conducted in Kanesville, now Council Bluffs, Iowa; in Winter Quarters, now Florence, Nebraska; also in Pueblo, Colorado, where the sixth detachment of the Mor- mon Battalion and a number of Saints from Mississippi had tem- porarily located. Education on Plains and Frontiers TN the "History of Caldwell and Livingston Counties" (Nation- al Historical Company, 1886) the following concerning Far West, Missouri, occurs: "The Mor- mons very early gave attention to educational matters.# There were many teachers among them, and school houses were among their first buildings. The school house in Far West (1836-9) was used as a Church, as a Town Hall, and as a Court House, as well as for a school house." Adult Education Provided "KTOR was the interest in educa- -^ tion confined to children. As early as December, 1832, instruc- tions were issued to establish "A School of the Prophets." Here the doctrines of the Church, the life and teachings of Jesus, and the principles of righteousness were taught to the Elders. On Feb. 18, 1833, Orson Pratt, who had re- turned the previous day from a short mission to the East, was ad- mitted as a student in this school. This man's mentality and scho- lastic attainments show that the work done must have been of high quality. For a time, in a school con- ducted in the Temple at Kirtland, many of the leading elders of the Church devoted themselves to the study of Hebrew. TN February, 1835, within three weeks after the opening of the Kirtland school, the classes had be- come so large and the house so crowded that many had to be ex- cluded. (Wm. E. McLellan's Re- port.) Mr. McLellan writes: "I have taught school in five differ- ent States and have visited schools in which I was not engaged as a teacher; in none, I can say with certainty, have I seen students make more rapid progress than in this." A school for teaching Hebrew was conducted during the winter of 1835 by Professor Joshua Seixas. Great interest was aroused in the study of ancient languages. Early Schools at Nauvoo. The First Church University TOURING the ten years that fol- lowed, the members of the Church were so persecuted and driven that notwithstanding their unusual interest in schools, educa- tional work was seriously ham- pered. About Nauvoo, however, good permanent school houses were built. The interest in advanced schol- arship was such that on Dec. 10, 1840, when the Church was but ten years old and its membership only 25,000, the University of the City of Nauvoo was established as the head of the school system of the people. Governor Thomas Collin of Illinois signed the char- ter. Nauvoo was a flourishing place, "the city beautiful." Among its important and outstanding features were schools and school buildings, which, however, became a total loss to the Church when, in 1846-7, the people were forced to abandon their homes and start westward. Improvised Schools of Early Utah XJ ARDLY had the pioneers com- pleted their matchless march across the plains, July 24, 1847, when schools were begun. Since there were no school houses, classes were held in tents and wagons. Sawed-off pieces of logs served as seats; letters cut from old news- papers and pasted upon shingles took the place of ready-made charts. During the winter of 1847-8 two small schools under Julian Moses and Mary Jane Dilworth were conducted in what was then known as the "Old Fort" in Pio- neer Square, in Salt Lake City. Oliver B. Huntington com- menced school in the Old Fort in November, 1848; his 30 by 50 foot school house was the first in the Valley. It was located in the northwest corner of the Fort and built as a part of the Old Fort wall. It had a six-light window; but since there was no glass to be had, pieces of cloth, greased with fat, were substituted. When weather would permit, the door was left open to admit light. The walls were made of split logs, laid close together. The roof was cov- ered with dirt; the floor was hard- ened clay. Boards from an old wagon-box served as tables. The source of heat was a fireplace in which sage brush was burned. The boys and girls, healthy, strong, and unaccustomed to a fire in their own homes, did not seem to notice the cold in the school room. A LMOST any book was used as '■■ a text — those that had not been burned for fuel nor thrown out during the long journey across the plains. In some schools one book had to serve a whole class. A record dated April 2, 1849, has the following: "There have been a large number of schools the past winter in which Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French, German,

396 The Improvement Era for April, 1930 Tahitian, and English languages have been taught." Before Christ- mas of that year the pioneers had new schools in operation, and more were started with the arrival of each new company of immigrants. In fact during the year 1849, schools were commenced in each of the 19 wards of Salt Lake City. School houses, mostly adobe build- ings, were erected in nearly all of these wards before 1852. "^7 HEN Captain James Brown purchased the Goodyear Fort, where now stands the city of Ogden, schools were at once or- ganized there. The same forward- looking spirit was \ manifest at Provo, Manti, and other towns as early as '49, schools being one of the first matters to claim the atten- tion of each group of settlers. As a rule they were conducted first in private homes and later in school buildings, which served also for church services and social recrea- tion. These early schools were main- tained first by tuition and dona- tion; later, as they developed, by territorial appropriations. In 1857 the Territorial Super- intendent reported log school houses and slab seats in most of the settlements. These were the re- sults of the struggles of a people who were not only (surrounded with poverty but were 2,000 miles beyond the frontier of civilization. When we take into account the poverty of the people in those days, and the arduous labors they had to put forth in order to redeem the desert, it is perhaps not too much to say that the sacrifices they made and the successes they achieved in the establishment of schools are without parallel. Effects of the Town-Commu- nity System T'HE population of early Utah was neither urban nor rural, but a sort of mixture of these two elements, and possessing character- istics not found in any other Amer- ican community. This society, a development arising from the pe- culiar nature of the country and of the religious and industrial con- ditions of the people, caused them to develop a strong sense and con- dition of social unity. The small size of the tillable areas, the neces- sity for irrigation, the Indian dan- gers common to those early days, the organization of the Church into wards and stakes — all con- tributed to the development of small, compact, closely united town communities, without a strictly rural population in any of them, and resembling in almost every important respect the early New England type of community life. With each group of settlers, the religious and political institu- tions of the community developed together. In town communities, education has always found its most fertile soil ; and since the main purpose of those who settled Utah was to de- velop their ideals of temporal and spiritual perfection, it is not sur- prising to find in the Utah Annual School Report, 1898-1900 (Roy- lance) , many interesting comments on the resulting growth of educa- tion. He calls attention to the fact that the social effects of the "Mor- mon" organization are important, that no church ever possessed a more nearly perfect organization, or surer means of reaching and in- fluencing all of its members and securing their active response. With method and aim the public schools utilized this organization. He says further that for the most part Utah schools have had no back-woods communities to deal with; that there were few schools of the cross- roads type, and little of the prim- itive ignorance that characterizes many older communities. Significance of This Zeal for Learning TN 1850, with great hopes and small resources, the University of Deseret, now the University of Utah, was born. Orson Spencer as Chancellor of the Board, with other college-bred men among the pioneers, worked enthusiastically for higher education — an exhibi- tion of the ideals of the people. It is surprising, Professor Roy- lance notes, that the people of Utah in those early days did so much for education. They were actually more isolated from civili- zation than were the early settlers of America. Surrounded by sav- ages, often hostile, their country invaded by a Federal Army which threatened their jextinction as a community, their loyalty ques- tioned, their crops repeatedly des- troyed by drought, crickets, and grasshoppers, they yet placed in the public schools from 30 to 50 per cent of their children. A Vigorous Teaching Force MANY of the teachers of Utah between 1875 and 1890 were, perhaps, even above the aver- age of professional ability at the present time (1900). They were probably of finer character, greater intellectual caliber, and stronger individuality than many modern teachers with more years of prepa- ration behind them. There was a vigorous virility about their work that is often lacking since the schools have been better system- atized and their work more closely supervised; and, while we feel a just pride in contemplating the present improved conditions of our school system, it might be well to ask whether this period of struggle and distress might not have devel- oped some characteristics that we would better not discard without careful consideration. "Our schools began when Utah began, and they have grown as Utah has grown. Many of the ablest men and women of today re- ceived their education in the public schools before 1890, and their words and deeds are sufficient alone to indicate the kind of training that was given them. * * * We ar^ indebted to the early settlers of the country for the greater part of the excellent educational advantages which we now enjoy. Our educa- tion is deep-rooted in the soil that nourishes all our institutions. * * * There is no blot upon the pages of the history of education in Utah. It is a record of persistent energy, of faithful adherence to higher purpose, and a constant struggle through difficulties that would long since have discouraged men of weaker character." — Roylance Re- port, 1900. Pioneers of Western Education 'THE members of the Latter-day Saint Church have to their credit the establishment at Fort Supply of the first school in Wy- oming; and like priority is true also of the school established at Port Limhi in, Idaho. Early at- tention to educational matters was given at Genoa (now of Nevada) ; and when Orson Hyde and his colonists arrived in Carson City in

The Improvement Era for April, 1930 397 1853. schools were established. "Probably the first school in San Bernardino County, Califor- nia, was taught in a tent at the foot of the Cajon Pass, while the Mor- mons waited for their leaders to select a location for their new 'Zion' " (Ingersoll's San Bernar- dino County, p. 203) . The University of Utah Rescued "VfANY and serious were the ^ ■• early struggles of the Univer- sity of Utah. In March, 1882, for example, because of the refusal of the legislature to place desired patronage at the disposal of Gov- ernor Eli H. Murray, the governor expressed his resentment by vetoing the bill appropriating money for the University of Deseret. A group of public-spirited citi- zens, all members of the "Mor- mon" Church, rescued the Uni- versity at this time by advancing money for aiding in the construc- tion of a building. This roll of honor follows: Feramorz Little William Jennings Trustee-inTrust of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Horace S. Eldredge Joseph F. Smith John R. Park George Q. Cannon Henry Dinwoodey Sharp and Sons Robert T. Burton John T. Caine Industrial School and Agri- cultural College TN 1888 among the measures en- ■■ acted by the legislature was one for bonding the territory for $150,000.00 for the establishment of the Agricultural College and the Reform School. Thus the first bonded debt of Utah was incurred for educational purposes. First University Courses 'T'HE curriculum of the Univer- ■ sity was to include all living languages and the sciences. Both sexes were admitted. The attend- ance in 1 870 was 546. In 1 882 it had an academic, a normal, and a preparatory department. The courses for which certificates were awarded included mathematics, Greek and Latin, ancient, medieval, and modern history, natural his- tory, physical science, political economy, logic, and English liter- ature. "It is probable," says the histo- rian Bancroft, "that in the Univer- sity of Deseret more has been ac- complished at the average cost for each pupil of $50.00 or $60.00 a year per capita than in any similar institution where the pretensions were greater and the expense in proportion" (History of Utah, p. 711). Standards of Educational Work HHHE high character of the educa- ■■ tional work done by the Church may be judged by the remarks of Bancroft on the University of the City of Nauvoo. He says that the president, who was professor of English, was James Kelly, a gradu- ate of Trinity College, Dublin, and a ripe scholar. The professor of mathematics, Orson Pratt, was a man of pure mind and high order of ability, who, without early ed- ucation and amidst great difficul- ties, had to achieve learning as best he could; and in truth he achieved it. The professor of languages, Orson Spencer, was a graduate of Union College and of the Baptist Theological Seminary of New York. The professor of Church History, Sidney Rigdon, was versed in history and skilled in ora- tory. The same high standard was maintained in the University of Deseret. In the curriculum the Celtic and Teutonic languages were to rank side by side with the Romanic, and all leading languages spoken by men were to be includ- ed. Astronomy, chemistry, en- gineering, and other branches of science were to be studied. "For, having sought first the Kingdom of Heaven, the Saints were now assured that knowledge and all other things should be added unto them" (Bancroft, p. 326). AS early as 1848-9 there were **• many schools in which He- brew, Greek, Latin, French, Ger- man, Tahitian, and English lan- guages were taught. German books were brought and used in order that the elders might learn that language (Bancroft, pp. 324-5). In every community today where the "Mormon" people are sufficient in number to wield an appreciable influence, the finest buildings in all the communities are the public schools. To the American public school system, the Church gives its loyal and undivid- ed support. (Education as a Church activity will be dealt with in a second article) . Tke Contagion of Attitude By MARY M. PORTER HTHERE worked in a canning ■*■ factory one summer a young girl who was trying to earn money to help defray her college expenses for the coming school year. She was one of a cosmopolitan group of eight or nine women, who were snipping a special kind of bean. Wages being determined by the number of pounds of the vegetable snipped, it was natural that these workers, most of them facing a grim struggle for life, should want to be kept busy as much of their working time as possible. So avid was their eagerness for the beans, and so rapidly did they work, that these women quite often depleted their supply before a new consign- ment was brought to them. Hence, when they did have the chance to fill their pans, they greedily did so, one being jealous and cross if another happened to secure a greater amount than she. Each was glumly absorbed in her task, som- bre, shifting eyes, compressed lips, and strained face manifesting her suspicion and hostility. The college girl, a new-comer, infected with the dominating spirit, had at first adjusted herself to it, until one day, while nervous- ly waiting for the carrier to replen- ish the bean-box, she began to think: "What's all this worth, anyway? The few more beans (Continued on page 424)