CLIFFORD E. YOUNG
MARCH 1957
:1N*.
%t
AN ORIGINAL PAINTING FOR FRISKIES BY DOUGLASS CROCKWELL
A little man's best friend deserves Friskiest
Meat- loving dogs love Friskies Meal !
REAL MEAT NOURISHMENT
in economical meal form! Friskies Meal satisfies your dog's need for meat... and is even more nourishing than meat alone.
ESSENTIAL VITAMINS. YOUT
dog gets the vitamins, min- erals and other known nec- essary food elements he must have for a complete
well balanced diet. He gets the "meaty" taste and smell, the hamburger-like texture, that all dogs crave.
saves you money and you
have the satisfaction of knowing your dog is being fed right. Start feeding Friskies Meal... made to the high quality standards of the Carnation Company.
bog foop
FOR VARIE TY-Give your dog nourishing canned Friskies. Feed alone, or mix with Friskies Meal. A special taste treat your dog will love.
(arnation
quality products
MEAL
A Complete Doq Food
ALBERS MILLING CO., DIV. OF CARNATION COMPANY, LOS ANGELES 36, CALIFORNIA COPR. 1956, ALBERS milling CO.
Easy, instant m/xing-Just add water. Ready at once. Won't mush. Feeding bowl rinses clean. Complete nutri- tion at its best.
I y-s
Exploring the Universe
<*f
by Dr. Franklin S. Hams, Jr.
Tn the Great Lakes region between -*- the United States and Canada the popular name given May flies depends on which way the winds blow. Along the US shores they are called "Canadian soldiers" because they seem to come from the north. If the wind blows from the south so that the May flies are car- ried in swarms into Canada, they are called "Yankee soldiers."
Decent studies of the closely spaced •*-*- gas cavities that are scattered through the ice in icebergs show that the air in the bubbles is under a pres- sure of from 2 to 6 atmospheres. When berg ice melts in a pail of water, the air in the bubbles is liberated with a fizzing sound. The gas cavities in the ice change the color of pure ice from blue to white.
rT,HE rabbit population in Great Britain ■*- has been reduced from 100 million to around 3 million by the continued spread of the rabbit disease, myxoma- tosis. It is estimated that because of the reduction in the number of rabbits, within the past two years the grazing season has been lengthened considerably and crop yields increased in some places by 50 percent, saving farmers about 42 million dollars a year.
A compound, kinetin, which makes ■^*- cells divide, has been isolated in pure form at the University of Wiscon- sin. Kinetin is obtained from desoxyri- bonnucleic acid and has a molecular weight of 215. As little as ten parts in a million million (a trillion) parts of other matter added to culture media for plant tissue cells that are long past the growth period will cause the cells to divide and new cells to be formed as long as the kinetin is in the medium.
Tn 1954 in Soviet Russia twice as many -r books were published as in 1940. There were 130 million copies of politi- cal publications, 234 million scientific and technical works, 259 million text- books, 118 million volumes of fiction, and 117 million children's books.
*••***•
MARCH 1957
PURITY BISCUIT CO.
Salt Lake • Phoenix • Pocatello
129
psS^i
W
SAFEWAY
Sells a River of
MILK
for Utah Dairymen
One of America's most perplexing agricultural problems of just a year or two ago was the tremendous surplus of milk and dairy products.
The problem has largely been solved by strong promotion and merchandising pro- grams. Safeway has played an important role in this development in Utah.
If the Utah-produced milk and milk products sold through Safeway Stores were channeled into one stream, they would make quite a river, because:
All Lucerne Milk requirements for Utah and Wyoming come from the Federated Milk Producers Association of Utah.
All the cream for the manufacture of Party Pride Ice Cream sold through Safe- way Stores in this area comes from the Cache Valley Dairymen's Association at Smithfield, and the Uintah Creamery of Altamont.
Dried milk products used to make Mrs. Wright's and Skylark Bread at the Salt Lake and Denver Fairfax bakeries for Safeway Stores of nine states come from Weber Central Dairy Association of Ogden.
Many other Utah dairy products are sold through Safeway under the brand name of the processor.
Total Utah milk and dairy products purchased by Safeway last year amounted to $5,245,531.
SAFEWAY IS A FRIEND OF THE FAM- ILY .. . AND A FRIEND OF THE DAIRYMAN FARMER
SAFEWAY
• _M
The "Eisenhower Doctrine
by Dr. G. Homer Durham
VICE PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
In the January Era it was suggested that the United States might be con- sidering "some long-range program of practical idealism to (1) retain British and French friendship in the Atlantic and western Europe, but, (2) recogniz- ing them as liabilities in Africa and Asia, . . . attempting to (3) encourage more national freedom for Egypt (with- out offending Israel) and the broad world of Islamic states stretching from Algiers to Indonesia."1 Written in November 1956, the idea was expressed in official policy January 5, 1957. The occasion was the extraordinary special message delivered in person by Presi- dent Eisenhower to a joint session of Congress. The message embodied a new phase of American foreign policy. It has been called the "Eisenhower Doc- trine."
There have been other "doctrines" announced by American Presidents:
1. The so-called "Neutrality" procla- mation issued by George Washington, April 22, 1793. The occasion was the aggressive action of revolutionary France. The US was bound to that nation by a treaty of alliance of 1778. It had been instrumental in winning American independence from Great Britain. The effect of Washington's proclamation was to sever the alliance with France and to state that in the war between France on the one side, and Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Hol- land, and Sardinia on the other, we "should with sincerity and good faith adopt and pursue a conduct friendly and impartial toward the belligerent powers. . . ." The neutrality policy broke down in 1798 when we fought an undeclared war against France. Again in 1812, we shifted sides in the same general conflict and fought the British.
2. On December 2, 1823, President James Monroe, in his seventh annual message to Congress, said that any attempt on the part of the post- Napoleonic European powers "to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere" would be considered by
^'Overture [or the Second Inaugural," These Times, January 1957.
Imm 11
the United States as "dangerous to our peace and safety." The British foreign minister, George Canning, had sug- gested a joint declaration on the subject to Richard Rush the preceding August 20, 1823. But the "Monroe Doctrine" was issued as a unilateral statement of the US President. Behind it was the sure knowledge that the British navy would sustain it so far as keeping conti- nental European powers out of Latin America was concerned. By 1904 Presi- dent Theodore Roosevelt was able to state that the British fleet would no longer be necessary, thank you, and that the United States, if necessary, would exercise "an international police power" in the interests of law and order in the region. But Roosevelt's statement only earned the name "The Roosevelt Corol- lary to the Monroe Doctrine," and did not become the "Roosevelt Doctrine." 3. On February 6, 1931, Secretary of State Henry L. Stimson addressed the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City. The statement launched what became known as the "Stimson Doctrine," or, sometimes, the "Hoover- Stimson Doctrine" (by including Presi- dent Herbert Hoover, Mr. Stimson's chief). Woodrow Wilson had earlier tried to establish moral standards as a test for recognition by the US of new governments in foreign states. This proved unsuccessful, and Mr. Stimson announced the abandonment of this ef- fort in his address February 6, 1931. He said the US would recognize any foreign government that (1) had control of the administrative machinery of the state; (2) enjoyed the general acquiescence of its people; and (3) had the ability and willingness to discharge its "interna- tional and conventional obligations." However, by January 1932 the Hoover- Stimson doctrine had reincorporated moral tones, inescapable in American foreign policy, and inherent in points (2) and (3). When Japan detached Manchuria from China in 1931, the US refused recognition. We extended our refusal to "any situation, treaty, or agree- ment which may be brought about" (Continued on page 134)
130
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
"The dearest possession a man has is his family. In the divine assurance that family ties may transcend the boundaries of death and may con- tinue throughout endless ages of eternity, I find supreme consolation and inspiration." — David O. McKay.
m niiimiiimiim mi i m i in urn Him niiilli m nil i 111 = 111111111111 iiiiimimn 11 1 1 1 iimiiiiiimiiMiin niiiiiiiiinmiiiiiiimiiiMmiiimmiiuniiiiiiimrii
TELL ME A STORY
Here are 50 of the very best stories from "The Children's Friend," each delightfully easy to read and ideally suited for boys and girls 6 to 14 years of age. These exciting short stories are illustrated and contain a fine moral. $3.00
BOOK OF MORMON STORIES For Young Latter-day Saints
By Emma Marr Petersen
These rich, exciting stories from the Book of Mormon will strengthen young testimonies and instill within them a love for the scrip- tures and a desire to read the Book of Mor- mon. Other inspiring books by this authoritative writer: "Bible Stories for Young Latter-day Saints" and "The Story of our Church for Young Latter-day Saints."
$3.00 each
mm 1 1111 11 1 111 iniiiiiiiiiiii 1 nun 1111 tin iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiEiiii mini iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiimimiiii 1 1111111111111111 mill mill iiimiiimimm
AN ADVENTURE IN FAITH
By S. Dilworth Young
Here's a story you can read as a continuous story for your family for young and old alike. They will thrill to the adventures of Jed Colby as he lives thru a shipwreck and makes the famous trek of the Mormon Battalion. This faith-promoting novel will particularly appeal to boys and girls 11 to 16 years of age. $1.75
JESUS OF NAZARETH
By Dr. Deta Petersen Neeley
Here is a completely captivating story of the life of Jesus, told with historical and scrip- tural authenticity in a language any fourth- grader can easily understand. The author has skillfully dramatized the Four Gospels to make the story and its people come to life.
$2.00
Miiiiiinimiiijiiiiiiiiiiininiiiiiiiiimimiiiiiimninmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimii minim 1111 111 1111 minium 1 1 nun 1 in 1 1111 11 in 1 = mi niiiiiiiiiMimiiiMmminiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiMiinmm 1 iiiiiiiimmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.
mm®
AVAILABLE FROM
BOOKCRAFT DEALERS
EVERYWHERE.
mmmmi
MARCH 1957
BOOKCRAFT
PUBLISHERS TO THE L.D.S. TRADE
1 186 SOUTH MAIN • IN 7-791 1
131
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE PRIESTHOOD QUORUMS, MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT
ASSOCIATIONS, WARD TEACHERS, MUSIC COMMITTEE, DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION, AND OTHER AGENCIES OF THE
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Voice of the Church
The Editors Page
True Education _ President David O. McKay 141
Church Features
Your Question: The Divine Law of Witnesses Joseph Fielding Smith 142
Clifford E. Young, Assistant to the Council of the Twelve Preston Nibley 144
MIA Youth Conference, West German Mission Adam S. Bennion 148
We Walk By Faith (A Reprint) ______ Orson F. Whitney 163
Strengthening the Tie that Binds W. Glenn Harmon 166
Early Days of the Lord's Ministry, MIA Reading Course: Jesus the Christ — IX
- .-Doyle L. Green 168
The Church Moves On _ 136
Melchizedek Priesthood 192
Presiding Bishopric's Page 194
Special Features
The Emerson Ward Mural Mary Kimball Johnson 150
You Also Can Serve _ ...Pansy McCarty 152
Afraid? I. H. Kingsbury 154
Parents: A Look at Ourselves Antone K. Romney 156
Deta Petersen Neeley, Woman of Courage Marba C. Josephson 164
The Spoken Word from Temple Square ._ Richard L. Evans 172, 188, 204
Exploring the Universe, Franklin S. Har- ris, Jr _ 129
Today's Family
A Recipe for Happy Homemaking 196
Bring Me Your Tears, Florence J. Johnson 200
These Times, The Eisenhower Doctrine,
G. Homer Durham 130
Your Page and Ours 208
My Trouble Box, Florence J. Johnson ..201 Make Approach to House Friendly, Louise Price Bell 205
ies, Poetry
My Sister Anna _ ___ Bess Foster Smith 153
To Be a King, Part II Hugh J. Cannon 158
The Richest Girl in Town ______ Mary E. Knowles 160
Frontispiece, Where Blows the Wind? Pansye H. Powell
Poetry Page 140
139 111 Wind, Marian Schroder Crothers 207
Copyright 1957 by Mutual Funds, Inc., and published by the Mutual Improvement Associations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All rights reserved. Subscription price, $2.50 a year, in advance ; foreign subscriptions, $3.00 a year, in advance ; 25c single copy.
Entered at the Post Office, Salt Lake City, Utah as second-class matter. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in section 1103. Act of October 1917, authorized July 2, 1918. The Improvement Era is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, but welcomes contributions. Manuscripts are paid for on acceptance at the rate of l%c a word and must be accompanied by suffi- cient postage for delivery and return.
Thirty days' notice required for change of address. When ordering a change, please include address slip from a recent issue of the magazine. Address changes cannot be made unless the old address as well as the new one is included.
VOLUME 60
NUMBER 3
MARCH 1957
THE COVER
Elder Clifford E. Young, whose likeness appears on our cover, has been an Assistant to the Council of the Twelve since the April general conference of 1941. He was born December 7, 1883, at Salt Lake City. (See page 144.)
This full color photo-study of Elder Young is the work of Hal Rumel Studios.
DAVID O. McKAY
RICHARD. L. EVANS 'Editors
Doyle L. Green
Managing Editor
Marba C. Josephson
Associate Managing Editor
Elizabeth J. Moffitt
Production Editor
Albert L. Zobell, Jr.
Research Editor
Eileen Gibbons
Manuscript Editor
Archibald F. Bennett G. Homer Durham Franklin S. Harris, Jr. Milton R. Hunter • Hugh Nibley Lee A. Palmer Claude B. Petersen Sidney B. Sperey
Contributing Editors
ELBERT R. CURTIS
( lateral Manager
BERTHA S. REEDER
Associate Manager ,
Verl F. Scott
Business. Manager
A. Glen Snarr
S u h scr ip t ion Director
Thayer Evans
Regional Advertising Re pre s entativ e
EDITORIAL AND BUSINESS OFFICES
50 North Main Street :. YMMIA Offices, 50 North Main St* YWMIA Offices, -10 North Main St. Salt Lake City 16, Utah
National A dvertising Representatives
TOWNSEND, MILLSAP & CO.
no Sutter St.
San Francisco, California
TOWNSEND, MILLSAP & CO.
672 Lafayette Park Place
Los Angeles 57, California
SADLER AND SANGSTON ASSOCIATES
342 Madison Ave.
New York 17, N. Y.
DAVIS & SONS
30 N. LaSalle St.
Chicago, Illinois
Member, Audit Bureau of Circulations
• •Cut Curing Time in Half
mm < .
Use the Once-Over JOHN DEERE
MOWER-HAY CONDITIONER Combinati
Now you can cut and condition hay in one fast operation. New hookup and drive equipment adapts the John Deere Hay Con- ditioner for use with No. 5 and No. 20-A Mowers. As a result, one man with one tractor cuts and conditions hay at the same time.
When you condition hay with the John Deere Hay Condi- tioner, you save more valuable leaves and small stems . . . you cut curing time in half . . . you make higher-quality hay that brings a better return whether you feed or sell. Bales made of conditioned hay are firmer, weigh more, and are easier to handle.
See your John Deere dealer in time to put a new John Deere Hay Conditioner on your farm next haying season.
Above you see the No. 5 Mower and Hay Conditioner at work together. The Condi- tioner follows directly behind the tractor for easier handling.
©
JOHN DEERE
"WHEREVER CROPS CROW, THERE'S A GROWING DEMAND FOR JOHN DEERE FARM EQUIPMENT"
SEND FOR FREE LITERATURE
JOHN DEERE • MOLINE, ILL. • DEPT.K50
Please send me a free illustrated folder on the John Deere Hay Conditioner.
Name—
□ STUDENT
R.R..
-Box,
Town-
State,
MARCH 1957
133
AT YOUR LOCAL
LUMBER DEALERS
Gives More for Your Money
You can regain about 7 sq. ft. of usable space - worth $80-$90 - around every doorway in your home, easily and quickly with FOLDOOR "Beautyline" folding door. Install it yourself in minutes . . . paint it yourself with rubber base paint to harmonize with your favorite color scheme. Feathertouch action . . . washable lifetime vinyl fabric on door and attractive cornice included free. Foldoor Beautyline door will give any room a new spacious, gracious appearance. See this space-saver door today at your lumber dealer.
Distributed by
MORRISON-MERRILL & CO.
Building Material Distributors
These limes
(Continued from page 130) by force ("contrary" said the text, "to the covenants and obligations of the Pact of Paris" of 1927). The Soviet government was recognized, notwith- standing, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt November 16, 1933. He reverted to the earlier phase of the Stimson doctrine somewhat. But the reincorporation of the moral tests at- tempted by Wilson persist, and today are "read in" to points (2) and (3) of the Hoover-Stimson doctrine, in addi- tion to the Manchurian "corollary." Red China, in control of the "administrative machinery" since 1950, is still unrecog- nized by the United States.
4. On March 12, 1947, President Har- ry S. Truman went before Congress with the special message which became the "Truman Doctrine." Henry S. Com- mager has written, "The idea that the United States was to underwrite the de- fense of free states against totalitarian regimes was widely hailed as a sharp new turn in American foreign policy, a world-wide equivalent of the Monroe Doctrine." Said Mr. Truman:
"I believe it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pres- sures.
"I believe we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way."
He then asked for $400,000,000 for Greek-Turkish economic aid and for congressional authority to "detail Amer- ican civilian and military personnel to Greece and Turkey, at the request of those countries."
The Truman Doctrine, in the world- wide sweep of its declaration, was too broad for world-wide implementation all at once. Implementation began with the Greek-Turkish aid program of 1947. The Marshall Plan for Western Euro- pean Recovery followed (the Foreign Assistance Act of 1948). Then also came the Rio Pact of 1947 and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization of 1949. Then came Mutual Assistance and International Co-operation pro- grams, mingled with the ANZAC (Australia, New Zealand, Canada) Pact and the SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization) Pact, so that the Soviet area was ringed with American-inspired military and mutual assistance (includ- ing economic aid) pacts. The Korean war was undertaken in pursuit of this general policy in 1950, in co-operation with the United Nations.
With this background, what is the "Eisenhower Doctrine?" In essence it is the continuation and extension of the
134
Truman Doctrine to the available major area in the world left untouched by the previous developments — the Middle East.
Why was not the Middle East in- cluded in a pact like the other negotia- tions: NATO, Rio, ANZAC, SEATO?
Turkey of course was; it was added to NATO. Also, US military assistance to Pakistan was negotiated in SEATO by Mr. Dulles in 1954. But between Turkey and Pakistan, despite technical assistance programs (such as Iran), there were no US guaranteed military security arrangements. Why?
The answer is that the US was bound to Britain and France by NATO; and Britain and France were bound, one or the other of them, in various ways to Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, and other countries of the Middle East. It was impolitic on two counts for the US to negotiate military alliances or mutual defense arrangements in this great re- gion: (1) the first count — impolite to our western European allies who viewed North Africa and the Middle East as areas of their primary interest (just as we view the Western Hemisphere as a matter of primary concern) ; (2) we were not sure of the advantages and disadvantages to ourselves, in view of the anti-colonial feelings in this region towards the British and the French, feelings already directed against us. Hence, the need for a policy that would "retain British and French friendship in the Atlantic and western Europe" and yet extend the fundamental notions stated in the Truman Doctrine of "as- sisting free peoples" everywhere.
The British-French-Israeli attack on Egypt in late October 1956, followed by the UN cease-fire (backed by the United States and Russia), opened the way for an extension of American policy to the Middle East — the "Eisenhower Doctrine."
The "Eisenhower Doctrine" is open to many hazards, such as (1) irritating Britain and France, (2) irritating the Arab states (who are not enthusiastic about the doctrine) and Israel, (3) ir- ritating India and other "neutralist" states, (4) reviving the cold war with Russia, and (5) posing new hazards for Mr. Eisenhower and the Republican Party at home. Each of the five "hazards" is worthy of brief comment.
1. Irritating Britain and France. Brit- ain still has important oil-rich and strategic protectorates in the Middle East; for example, there are Aden and the Sheikdom of Kuwait. The Suez Canal Company, nationalized by Egypt in July 1956, was a French concern. Also, what occurs in Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt is inescapably felt in French Algeria and Morocco. The hazard for the US in this irritation is that we will be
(Concluded on page 174)
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
1 Messages of Inspiration
MKS|AGIS
These addresses by the General Authorities, se- lected by them person- ally for this collection, contain rich and reward- ing information on many aspects of the Restored Gospel. Just a few from many subjects discussed are: faith, prayer, obedi- ence, gratitude and char- ity. $3.75
3 Discourses of the Prophet
JOSeph Smith Compiled by Alma P. Burton
Such important sermons as the King Follett dis- course and many others by the Prophet Joseph SmTth are arranged and clashed accord.ng to
subject matter in this --«*«»
one handy volume. AU of the material is con- veniently arranged by subject for immediate reference. This special treatment and arrange- ment offers a better op- portunity to understand the Prophet and the truths revealed to him. $3.00
IDSEPH
2 Archaeology and the
Book of Mormon
Milton R. Hunter
This is an exciting account of Dr. Milton R Hunters personal tour of the archaeological ruins of Southern Mexico and Central America. This personal tour of Book of Mormon coun- try reads with all the ex- citement of a present-day novel. It's profusely illu- strated with over 134 in- triguing photographs.
$4.50
~J
4 Teachings of the New Testament
Mr 1 au.aII r n
Dr. Lowell L. Bennion
You can discover more Of the underlying mean- ing of religious and moral teachings in the New
Testament through study of this excellent work.
fhe focal point is on re- ligion as it functions in our lives, not on abstract theology nor textual cri- ticism. ?3 50
S Toesfises
5 Teachings of the Doctrine and Covenants
William E. Berrett
Those who have desired additional enlightenment on difficult sections in the Doctrine and Covenants will find this complete study an excellent aid. Not only does it offer great assistance to mem- bers studying LDS doctrine, but it also opens doors of under- Standing to in- vestigators" and converts. $3.00
OFFICIAL
^bUSHBRS
u
44 East Sou)
TO
THE.
LDS CHURCH |
ijHiLiU-3-
iBoofe to
rder -charge to my account ior
Mome- Address ...Zone
inc'
State-
CitV-
Residents o
{Utah
Suae 2% sales tax-
MARCH 1957
135
It's entirely Automatic...
ELECTRIC
WATER
HEATING
costs the
average
family
only
about
a dime
a day
Buy from Your Dealer or Plumber
Be Modern
Live Electrically
UTAH POWER & LIGHT CO.
GRIND YOUR OWN FLOUR & CEREAL
with this sturdy
WHEAT MILL
ONLY
$650
POSTPAID
ANYWHERE
IN
AMERICA
Mill cracks or grinds wheat, corn and all kinds of hard or soft grains. Grinds lVi pounds of flour or cereal per minute. . . . Fully guaranteed by Pehrson's.
SPECIAL PRICES TO LD.S. GROUPS
Please send me one Wheat Mill. Inclosed is $6.50 (check or money order.)
Name ... Address
City State
PEHRSON HARDWARE
2102 SOUTH 11th EAST • SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
THE CHURCH MOVES ON
A Day to Day Chronology of Church Events
January 1957
The First Presidency announced the appointment of Mrs. Helen W. Anderson as second counselor in the general presidency of the Relief Society of the Church, succeeding Mrs. Velma N. Simonsen; and the appointment of Miss Hulda Parker as secretary-treasurer of that organization, succeeding Mrs. Margaret C. Pickering. Both Mrs. Simonsen and Mrs. Pickering have de- voted long years to the cause of Relief Society and the Church. Mrs. Anderson is a former member of the general board of the Relief Society; Miss Parker a former member of the Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association gen- eral board. Mrs. Belle S. Spafford is the general president of the Relief So- ciety and Mrs. Marianne C. Sharp is the first counselor.
[^ Elder Alten Christensen sustained as president of the Sevier (Utah) Stake succeeding President Marden D. Pearson. President Christensen's coun- selors are Elders Orlando J. Condie and Dwain J. Pearson. President Pearson's counselors were Elders Arnold L. Peter- son and Junius F. Powell, who were released with President Pearson.
]W Mrs. Mary V. Cameron and Mrs.
p^ Afton W. Hunt have been called to membership on the general board of the Relief Society, it was announced.
|QW Elders Howard S. Bennion and George H. Fudge have been ap- pointed to the Deseret Sunday School Union general board, it was announced.
GW Elder Delmer E. Simpson sus- r tained as second counselor in the presidency of the South Idaho Falls (Idaho) Stake presidency. This vacancy was created by the passing of the late Elder Reed Blatter of the stake presi- dency.
[UW The appointment of Edith Rich to the general board of the Pri- mary Association was announced.
E[|W President David O. McKay dedi- cated the chapel of the Fort Wayne (Indiana) Branch, Great Lakes Mission. In addition to serving the Fort Wayne Branch, this building serves as headquarters of the North Indiana Dis- trict of the mission.
Elder Alma Sonne, Assistant to the Council of the Twelve, dedicated the seminary building near the Pocatello (Idaho) high school.
Elder Joseph E. Mickelsen, formerly second counselor to President Stanley A. Rasmussen of the Mount Jordan (Utah) Stake, sustained as first coun- selor, succeeding Elder J. Ernest Jensen. Elder Marlon S. Bateman sustained as second counselor in that stake presi- dency.
This was designated as "100 percent Sunday" by the Sunday Schools of the Church.
ffiW Spotlight on MIA: "Meet Me at jr Mutual" night. In many areas of the Church, where more than one ward use the same chapel, this MIA program was held on their regularly as- signed Mutual night during this week, instead of Tuesday evening, which has been traditionally MIA night.
ga^. "This Is Life Eternal," an ad- dress by Elder Delbert L. Stapley of the Council of the Twelve, was pre- sented on the Church of the Air pro- gram of the Columbia Broadcasting System's radio network.
The Fourteenth Ward, Salt Lake Stake, was formally disorganized and its membership records transferred to ad- jacent wards: Sixth-Seventh Ward, Temple View Stake, and Seventeenth and North Seventeenth wards, Salt Lake Stake. One of the original nineteen wards in Great Salt Lake City, as it was known then, the Fourteenth Ward, with Main Street as its eastern boundary, was once the home ward of many of the pioneer leaders of the Church. With- in the ward's boundaries, the Sunday School movement of the Church in the Rocky Mountains was first organ- ized in 1849. The ward, near the Salt Lake Temple, has long been a favorite of elderly people who have come to Salt Lake City to do temple work. Because of the encroachment of business houses within the area, as well as other factors, it has been necessary for the Church to call "missionary bishops" to lead the ward for almost a half a century. Elder George Q. Morris of the Council of the Twelve was one of these "missionary bishops." The Fourteenth Ward chapel, one of the oldest Church buildings in the area, will continue to be used as headquarters of the Salt Lake Minority Group Mis-
sion.
136
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
IHMTCH y»«"*
to*
U*c*
CLIMB
• ••Field-Chop ANY Forage Crop Fast
Now you can power-harvest and power-feed all kinds of forage crops . . . and step the tonnage way up.
Allis-Chalmers makes it easy to hitch-and-go with your own chopper outfit. You're not tied to one crop. Save them all! Get more nutrition out of your trench or upright silo and green-chopped summer feed. Keep the tonnage rolling with the Allis-Chalmers Forage Harvester and any power- unloading or self-feeder wagon.
Curved cut-and-throw knives originated by Allis-Chalmers boost capacity . . . with far less power.
Priced for home ownership, the Allis-Chalmers Forage Harvester walks right through heavy crops . . . up to 20 tons or more per acre . . . with regular farm tractor power take-off!
Keep chopping costs down — push tonnage up . . . compared to old-style cutters. Ask your dealer to show you the latest from Allis-Chalmers.
ALUS-CHALMERS, FARM EQUIPMENT DIVISION, MILWAUKEE 1, WISCONSIN
"■%
c
H
B/ow- and -Throw! Like a baseball pitch- er's hand gripping the ball, wide, cupped fan blades of the Allis-Chalmers Blower throw as well as blow. Big 9-inch pipe tun- nels feed to highest silos . . . fast !
Cut - and -Throw I Wide, power-saving cyl- inder knives of the Allis-Chalmers Forage Harvester are curved and cupped to throw as they cut. (Twelve feet of cutting edge ! ) Power-Sharpened right in the machine. Guarded by stone-stopper safety clutch. Easy Slide-Lock interchanging of grass and row-crop attachments. Side delivery available.
ALLIS-CHALMERS <&>
MARCH 1957
LISTEN! National Farm and Home Hour* NBC— Every Saturday
137
fl
H
CH H
U H New Standard petrochemical has l« \ )/>
W v
HO
an exciting place in your future
CH K
0
■M
H ■
Jl H
)■
H
CH
H
OK
K
HCH
'OJ H
0 0,C-OH Hc
Hundreds of thousands of man hours in research produced these crystals that will revolutionize many paints and plastics.
HOUSE PAINTS THAT LAST YEARS LONGER, superstrong lightweight luggage, improved fibre-glass fishing rods and boats . . . these are some of the things that will come from Isophthalic*, a new petrochemical from Standard laboratories. Even though its possibilities have only begun to be explored, we have invested in a multi-million dollar plant to manufacture Isophthalic.
We're convinced it will make as important a change in your life as detergents, wrinkle-resistant fabrics and other modern wonders whose basic materials were products of Standard research.
Progress in the West means ...
plentiful raw materials
for 3000 manufacturing
firms by 1965
Standard's economists say: "New products from Isophthalic will help provide employment for the 600,000 new workers in manufacturing the West will have by 1965."
0*C
H
II «
*
•Manufactured and distributed by Standard's wholly owned subsidiary, Oronite Chemical Company.
STANDARD OIL COMPANY OF CALIFORNIA
plans ahead to serve you better
138
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Where Blows the Wind?
by Pansye H. Powell
Hhkk » TH.S sheltered spot
No sudden buffets send
Leaves scurrying and not
A window rattles. O my friend,
I wanted peace, but I forgot
The joy of strife. Where blows the wind?
MARCH 1957
139
CLOUD BISCUITS
By Marjorie L. Hafen
/Fixed by winter, floured with snow, * Kneaded by March winds that blow; Left to rise in April's calm, Rising higher through June's balm; Baked in August's torrid term Till they're tender, lightly firm, Fluffy biscuits slowly rise: Puffs of clouds to grace fall skies.
ELUSIVE
By Maude O. Cook
his bit of Time, so like a shining dewdrop That trembles on a slender, newborn leaf, Eludes our grasp and leaves nostalgic long- ing To find again a joy once bright and brief.
Hope whispers that it is not lost forever, For Memory has hidden it away To guard it as a miser would his treasure, Recalling it to brighten some dark day.
CLOUDS By Gordon L. Cluff
Cilver lace and fleecy fingers,
Plume the clear blue sky All the way to heaven's doorstep, In the realms on high. Underneath, the billows tumble, Carved in wondrous lay; Booming thrash of lightning lingers. Holding death at bay.
Down below on Earth's vast prairie,
Wait the flowers there;
Wending soft the droplets whisper
On their cheeks so fair.
Quickly then, without a warning
Fades the sky of gray;
Golden rays from heaven's ruler
Chase the clouds away.
SEASONED YEARS
By Leah Sherman
/Crowded within the seasoned years of life ^ Were children's faces and small broken
toys; Deep sorrows and full joys of being wife: Green country stillnesses: cricket's sharp
noise. Years filled to overflowing. Memory stirs The half-forgotten warmth of courtship days. Faster and faster, now, life's cycle whirs In outward circle through unpatterned haze. Probe quietly to waken sleeping dreams And rediscover love's still smoldering flame; Challenge life's autumn with full-running
streams As interests widen through a broader claim. The speeded years are rich in seasoning For those who walk with quickened pulse
of spring.
STRENGTH By Vesta Nickerson Lukei
I ET ME
Be an anvil Of faith that can sustain The hammer blows of life and still Endure.
140
CONTENTMENT By Frances S. Lovell
I do not ask for much but this:
when Spring steps softly down a hill washed delicately green and gold, that I may have some earth to till, some seeds to lay in soft, dark soil and gentle May rain on my face; a tulip, pink as morning sky, to hold in my two hands; the grace of white narcissus in a drift of late-spring snow where I would stroll and make my peace with earth and time and find contentment for my soul.
9n£|
111
:;: ■■■;■;:-■■.■ :
■
Xs , ■} .-■ VyN ,
■V3
^■&^%
Hi
-Harold M. Lambert
NIGHT RAIN By Marian Schroder Crothers
Where race the untamed steeds of rain, With wild manes tossing against the sky, Hard on the heels of the fleeing wind? Loud in the night their hoofbeats drum, While tall trees tremble and writhe with
fright, Under the blows of their slashing feet. What drove them into headlong flight? From what far pastures did they come? What hidden haven do they seek A secret rendezvous to keep?
BEAUTY IS A FRAGILE THING By Gladys Hesser Burnham
1>eauty is a fragile thing and rare:
Fleeting as a hummingbird in flight, Delicate as fine old lace — as fair As lilies by moonlight.
Music of the harp or violin,
Gentle breezes rustling dry reeds,
Bird calls chirping through the rosy dawn,
Sights and sounds are beauty for our needs.
SONNET By Solveig Paulson Russell
Tf I had known in those young days of mine What wealth these days had stored for
me with you I would have reveled in their golden shine And leaped to meet each glowing day anew. If I had known the waiting treasure, dear, Had heard your lilting promise here for me, I would have laughed at toil and scorned to
fear, And moved as eagles do, triumphant, free. If I had known the quiet deep content In fusing all my yearning in your love, I would have pushed aside each gray lament And sung with voice as soft as turtledove.
Oh, dearest one, through you my life gains
worth, And all the best in me is brought to birth!
FLIGHT
By Caroline Eyring Miner
Earthbound no longer, up we reach, the sky
Sea blue above, and bluer still below,
And in between we lace through clouds blown high
Like elfin folk, like kites, or like the flow
Of mermaid's hair. No sound of bird is here.
No fluttering leaf. Here we go back to things
Of first import, to faith and hope. No fear
Weakens the powers. We too have soaring wings,
For winging thought has wrought this mir- acle,
Has harnessed cloud and wind and arrowed light,
And bent them to one great and holy princi- ple.
We soar on wings of thought into the mists of night.
In clearer, fresher air, we lift above the clod
And join our thoughts and purposes with God.
TWO WOMEN By Ethel Jacohson
lVfARTHA cards her wool
And spins her flax. Elizabeth molds words
Like candle-wax.
Martha bakes a loaf
And sews a seam. Elizabeth plaits starlight,
Weaves a dream.
While Martha bends her head.
And breathes a prayer, Elizabeth wings song
On every air — And the prayer, the hymn of joy
Is there.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
itors
True Education
by President David O. McKay
We of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints take our stand on education from what has been given to us in the scriptures. In the Doctrine and Covenants it was revealed:
"Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.
"And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come." (D & C 130:18-19.)
"It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance." (Ibid., 131:6.)
Southey tells us that on his walk one stormy day, he met an old woman to whom, by way of greeting, he made the rather obvious remark that it was dreadful weather. She answered philosophically that, in her opinion, "Any weather is better than none!" Likewise, any education is undoubtedly better than none, but a free people to remain free must ever strive for the highest and best.
The contribution of general education to the industrial and commercial greatness of the country is obvious on every hand — in research laboratories, in increased pro- ductivity of farms, in achievements of electrical, physical, chemical, engineering sciences, in harnessing either for the benefit or destruction of man the boundless force of atomic energy — but what true education has done and may do to awaken in the human heart a sense of the end and aim of human existence of this earth, what it has done to raise the standard of citizenship, how it has helped to make living happier by contributing to the prosperity, peace, and security of our country, are beyond evaluation.
Courses required of all students in our public schools should include the important areas of study that directly or indirectly provide the student with opportunities for spiritual growth and religious inspiration. From such study it is reasonable to expect that our students will better understand how vital has been the role of religion at critical moments in history; how important spiritual insights in religious faith can be in the lives of men and
MARCH 1957
women; how closely related are human greatness and such qualities as honesty, integrity, humility, generosity, com- passion. We may expect in our students more idealism and less cynicism, more wholesome courage and faith in the future, and less pessimism and foreboding fear. We may hope for increased tolerance of racial and religious differences, increased respect for those of oppo- site political views or of lower social and economic levels, increased awareness of basic and inviolable dignity of the individual man or woman. We may contribute to the development of a more sensitive social conscience, a greater sense of responsibility, for the less fortunate in our society. We may even, perhaps, without knowing it, bring a boy or girl closer to God.
I am but repeating what we all know and feel when I say that our country's greatest asset is its manhood and its womanhood. Upon that depends not only the survival of the individual freedom vouchsafed by the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and all other ideals for which the founders of the republic fought and died, but also the survival of the best that we cherish in present- day civilization throughout the world. The preservation of these must come through education.
The Church stands for education. The very purpose of its organization is to promulgate truth among men. Members of the Church are admonished to acquire learn- ing by study, and also by faith and prayer, and to seek after everything that is virtuous, lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy. In this seeking after they are not con- fined to narrow limits of dogma or creed, but are free to launch into the realm of the infinite.
But gaining knowledge is one thing, and applying it, quite another. Wisdom is the right application of knowledge; and true education — the education for which the Church stands — is the application of knowledge to the development of a noble and Godlike character.
A man may possess a profound knowledge of history and of mathematics; he may be an authority in psy- chology, biology, or astronomy; he may know all the discovered truths pertaining to geology and natural sci- ence; but if he has not with this knowledge that nobility
(Concluded on following page)
141
The Editor's Page
(Concluded from
of soul which prompts him to deal justly with his fellow men, to practise virtue and holiness in personal life, he is not a truly educated man.
In my opinion the highest, noblest purpose in all our education, from the grades to the university, is to teach citizenship and noble character. I believe that thousands
preceding page)
of students have been made to sense, by absorption and inference, that a man's character is greater than intel- lectual attainments or social privileges, that every decision ' is. a revelation of character, that habit is a pillar in the edifice of character. The aims of education must at all times be more spiritual than economic.
by Joseph Fielding Smith
PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE
The Divine Law of Witnesses
"In our stake missionary work we have met the following question: 'If the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated were returned and brought to light to he examined, would it not he easier to convert the balance of the world to Mormonism?' "
Answer:
Questions of this nature frequently are asked. Many tourists who visit the temple grounds ask why the plates of the Book of Mormon were returned to the angel, and they say, "If they were placed in some museum or archive for the deposit of rare manuscripts and could be examined by scholars, the testimony from such a source would convert the whole world." When they are informed that a large portion of the plates was sealed and the Lord would not permit them to be translated at this time because the world is not prepared to receive what is written, the questioner turns away with knowing wink or incredulous smile, feeling that he has struck a vital blow against the truth of the story of the Book of Mormon. The simple fact is, however, that the ways and thoughts of the Lord are not the ways and thoughts of men.1
It is made very clear in the Book of Mormon that it comes to the world with sufficient witnesses. The rec- ords on the plates are sacred; a large part of them have not been revealed because even the members of the Church are not prepared to receive what is written. Then again, the plan of the Lord is to reveal his word by the mouth of chosen witnesses. He had Nephi write regarding the publishing of the Book of Mormon that he, the Lord, w7ould raise up three special witnesses, who would behold the plates by the power of God.
"Wherefore, at that day when the book shall be de- livered unto the man of whom I have spoken, the book
shall be hid from the eyes of the world, that the eyes of none shall behold it save it be that three witnesses shall behold it, by the power of God, besides him to whom the book shall be delivered; and they shall testify to the truth of the book and the things therein.
"And there is none other which shall view it, save it be a few according to the will of God, to bear testimony of his word unto the children of men; for the Lord God hath said that the words of the faithful should speak as if it were from the dead.
"Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to bring forth the words of the book; and in the mouth of as many wit- nesses as seemeth him good will he establish his word; and wo be unto him that rejecteth the word of God."2
Joseph Smith was forbidden to break the seals of the portion of the plates which contain the prophecies of the brother of Jared1 because the hearts of the people were not susceptible to the divine truth which the record con- tained. Therefore this portion of the record was to re- main sealed —
"For the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord.
"And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I mani- fest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are."1
The Lord could not place in the hands of ungodly men a sacred record which contains information far in advance of the thinking of a critical and unbelieving world. Moreover, we are informed that the Book of Mormon as
Isaiah 55:8-9.
142
22 Nephi 27:12-14. 3Ether 5. Hbid., 4:6-7.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
it has come to us, contains the "lesser part of the things which he [Jesus] taught the people," and Mormon wrote:
"... I have written them to the intent that they may be brought again unto this people, from the Gentiles, according to the words which Jesus hath spoken.
"And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them.
"And if it so be that they will not believe these things, then shall the greater things be withheld from them, unto their condemnation.
"Behold, I was about to write them, all which were engraven upon the plates of Nephi, but the Lord forbade it, saying: I will try the faith of my people.
"Therefore, I, Mormon, do write the things which have been commanded me of the Lord. And now I, Mormon, make an end of my sayings, and proceed to write the things which have been commanded me."5
The law given to Israel in the beginning was that in the mouth of two or three witnesses all things should be established. The Jews called Jesus in question, basing their accusation against him on this law:
"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
"The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.
"Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go: but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.
"Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man.
"And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.
"It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.
"I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.
"Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also."G
Here the Savior calls attention to the divine law of witnesses. On innumerable occasions had he demon- strated that he is the Son of God and the Redeemer of the world. On many occasions his Father also bore witness that he is the Only Begotten Son of God: once at the baptism of Jesus, again to the three apostles on the Mount of Transfiguration, and once again in the presence of a group when the Lord prayed to his Father.7 Then also the Father testified for him at the time of his birth by a glorious opening of the heavens when angels sang and a new star appeared.
The Lord speaks through his appointed witnesses upon whom he has bestowed divine power, not by granting documents to be tested by unbelieving men. No doubt,
£•3 Nephi 26:8-12.
eJohn 8:12-19.
7Matt. 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36.
to many of those who do not understand the way of the Lord, it seems to be a very plausible and understand- able argument to say: "How easy it would be f©r you to prove to the world the truth of the Book of Mormon by submitting the plates for expert examination! If they should find these plates to be genuine, their testi- mony would help you to convince the world."
This, however, is the argument of fools. What would the result be if the plates had been placed in the hands of linguistic experts? They would have quarreled and contended among themselves. Then, how could the Lord place in their hands records which are withheld from the world because of the hardness of their hearts and their unbelief? The things of the kingdom of God which are so marvelous, as are these records which are sealed, would not be understood and hence would not be believed. If only pure minds could understand them, how could the impure eyes of the scholarly critics under- stand them? By such critics they would be condemned because they were written in a language that was "sealed" and which no man can read until the Lord gives to him in his own due time the power to break the seal. If they were to be passed on by the scholars, they could not value them, and even members of the Church would reject them. Too many members of the Church today, to say nothing of those who are not members, fail to heed these "lesser things" which have been given to try our faith.8
Why do not these critics who demand that the plates of the Book of Mormon be brought forth for critical ex- amination raise their voices in condemnation of our Lord because after his resurrection he appeared only to his disciples and not to the world? The logic of their contention should be that Jesus after his resurrection should have appeared, first, to Pilate, and he should have said: "Here I am; examine the wounds in my hands and feet and side. Did I not tell you that I was the Son of God and that I would rise again?" Why did he not go to the assembled Sanhedrin and there appear before the high priest and that august body and say to them: "You scourged me, spat upon me, and delivered me to be crucified because I told you I would live again. Now see that what I said is come true!" This he did not do! But he appeared to his disciples — a few humble fishermen and a few women who believed on him.
This smirking remark implying that Joseph Smith did not have the plates because he did not display them to the world and permit conceited scholars to examine them, does not come from the mouths of wise, intelligent men. Yes! How easy it would be for the Lord to send forth his host of angels crying in heaven to all mankind, calling on them to accept his gospel. How much suffer- ing it would relieve! How many days and years of toil it would save his mortal advocates and messengers.
If he would preach his gospel in this way whom would it save? Men are to walk by faith in humility, seeking from the Lord the knowledge of the gospel which saves. The Lord declares his word through his chosen wit- nesses, and woe to those who fight his truth and put his work to open shame.
83 Nephi 26:7-12.
MARCH 1957
143
Elder Clifford E. Young
"I appreciate my membership in this Church. 1 am thankful for my parents who implanted in their children faith and confi- dence in this great work, and I humbly pray that I may not fail in this responsibility, that I may be able to measure up to every requirement and to every expectation that you and the brethren who preside have a right to expect."
—Clifford E. Young, April 6, 1941 General Conference
Clifford Earl Young was the ninth child in a family of twelve, born to Dr. Seymour Bicknell and Ann Elizabeth Riter Young. The date of his birth was December 7, 1883. The home where he was born and reared, at 48 South Fourth East, Salt Lake City, still stands, although the neighborhood has vastly changed in the years that have passed. The home of Dr. Seymour Young was one of education and refinement, but the children were also taught the value of work. Among Clifford's earliest recollections are those of chore boy at the family home: working in the garden, milking the cows, feeding and currying the horses, washing the bug- gies, and occasionally driving his father to visit patients in various parts of the city.
Clifford recalls with great interest that one of his father's distinguished patients was President Wilford Wood- ruff, who then resided at the old family home on Fifth East. He often drove his father to the Woodruff home and thus formed a rather inti- mate acquaintance with the fourth president of the Church, whom he describes as "gentle, kind, considerate, and an emblem of purity."
Clifford at about the age of five.
Dr. Seymour B. Young, father of Clifford E. Young.
Ann Elizabeth Riter Young, mother of Clifford.
Clifford at the age of four.
144
Clifford as he appeared
in 1905. SHH
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Clifford E. Young
ASSISTANT TO THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE
by Preston Nibley
CHURCH HISTORIAN'S OFFICE
Through his father's prominence as one of the General Authorities, Clif- ford had opportunities to meet other leaders of the Church, such as Presi- dents Lorenzo Snow, Joseph F. Smith, and George Q. Cannon. Early in life he became acquainted with President Heber J. Grant, who was then a mem- ber of the Council of the Twelve, and who later became his father-in- law.
Clifford came from a family, that had long sought truth and his ances- tors had early cast their lot with the struggling restored Church. Like Nephi, Elder Young could say, "hav- ing been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; . . ." (1 Nephi 1:1.)
His grandfather, Joseph Young, was an elder brother of President
Brigham Young. Both Joseph and Brigham joined the Church in 1832, in New York State, and soon became officials in the organization. When the First Quorum of Seventy was or- ganized in Kirtland in March 1835, Joseph Young was chosen by the Prophet Joseph Smith as one of the seven presidents. He held this posi- tion during the remainder of his life. At his death in Salt Lake City on July 16, 1881, at the age of eighty- four, the Deseret News said of him editorially:
"Joseph Young has been closely identified with the leaders of the Church for nearly fifty years, and although a quiet and unassuming man, he was well known from one end of the Territory to the other. He was beloved by all who knew him, for his virtue, integrity, humility, and
kindness, his fearlessness in the cause of truth and his love of God and all good people. After a long life of usefulness he has passed away, to re- ceive the reward of his well doing, leaving a name and example that will endure forever." (Deseret News, July 16, 1881.)
Seymour Bicknell Young, the sec- ond son of Joseph Young, was born in Kirtland, Ohio, October 3, 1837. His childhood was spent with his par- ents in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois, as they followed the Latter-day Saints in their wanderings. At Haun's Mill, Missouri, his mother carried him through a rain of bullets to hide him from a savage mob. He remembered being lifted up in the arms of his mother at Nauvoo, in June 1844, to obtain a view of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum as they left their homes for the last time and journeyed to Carthage, and to their martyrdom. At the age of thirteen he drove an ox team across the plains to Utah. When he was nineteen, he was called on a mission to England. The journey across the plains eastward was made "by the handcart method." After his return to Salt Lake City he was married to Ann Elizabeth Riter, on April 14, 1867.
Looking towards a profession in
life, Seymour B. Young took up the
(Continued on following page)
Elder Young, right, as a missionary to Germany in 1907. His companion is Charles T. S. Parsons.
MARCH 1957
The Young family, December 28, 1937. Back row, Brother and Sister Young and Clifford E., Jr. Front row, left to right, Miriam (Farnsworth), Edith (Harris), and Helen (Page).
145
Clifford £. Young
(Continued from preceding page)
study of medicine in the offices of two prominent Salt Lake physicians, Anderson and Benedict. In 1871 he traveled eastward to New York City and matriculated at the University of New York, receiving his degree in March 1874.
While practicing medicine in Salt Lake City, October 1882, he was called to the First Council of the Seventy. In 1893 he became the sen- ior president of that quorum and served in this capacity until his death on December 15, 1924.
At his funeral, held in the Assembly Hall on December 19, President Anthony W. Ivins paid him the fol- lowing tribute:
"I knew him as a man of gentleness, of love, of kindness, of humility, and of service. Wherever he was or what- ever the circumstances might be, these were his outstanding characteristics. And with this there went that other qualification so essential to real man- hood— when occasion required he was a soldier with the courage of a soldier. And so he always appealed to me to be a man, if service to others justifies such expectation, to whom the words of the Savior might aptly apply. His first devotion, his first service and love were to God, whom he recognized as his Father; and after that Seymour B. Young loved his neighbor, loved and served his fellow.
Clifford at the age of 12 (Christmas 1895) sleigh riding behind a pet calf.
That there is laid
up
for him a
crown of everlasting life, a crown of glory; that he has, through his works while in mortality, earned glory and exaltation and everlasting life in the presence of his Father and God, and the Redeemer of the world, I have no doubt at all; and this after all is the only achievement of man which counts for very much. He has lived beyond the allotted age of man; his life of service has been extended as the lives of few men are."
At the same service Dr. George W. Middleton paid tribute to Ann Elizabeth Riter Young, the wife of the deceased:
"By the side of my friend stood a noble woman, through the heat and burden of the day. She was a reflex of all his Christian virtues and had added the savouring grace of rational- ity. When he was a struggling medical student, she stood valiantly by the hearthstone, to defend their tender offspring and to help furnish him the sinews of war. With a sagacity that
was unusual for the sex, she helped to plan the family budget and to formulate the method of the family activities. But a few weeks ago Dr. Young told me this story and gave full credit to one to whom credit was due. ... A large and highly respected family of sons and daughters have inherited the sterling qualities of these noteworthy parents and are re- flecting in their successful lives the precept and example which emanated from that family altar."
Clifford's interest in gaining an education was stimulated by his par- ents and by his older brother, Levi Edgar, now senior president of the First Council of the Seventy. The first school that Clifford attended was in the old Twelfth Ward; later he completed the grades at the Oquirrh School, which still stands on Fourth East. In 1899 he registered at the University of Utah, then located where West High School now stands. The following year the university was
Brother and Sister Young with part of their family at their American Fork Canyon home, August 1947.
146
Assistants to the Council of the Twelve: Back row, left to right, Sterling W. Sill, Hugh B. Brown, John Longden; front row, left to right, El Ray L. Christiansen, Alma Sonne, Clifford E. Young, Thomas E. McKay.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
moved to the east bench, and there Clifford continued his studies, taking general cultural courses until early in 1905, when he accepted a call for a mission to Great Britain. He was well qualified to preach the restored gospel, as he had always been active in the priesthood, in Sunday School, and in YMMIA. In his father's house- hold he had been taught from his youth the principles of truth and sal- vation. On July 6, 1905, he was
Ann Elizabeth Young as a girl.
ordained to the office of seventy by his father, and three days later was on his way. In Boston he got a taste of the critical attitude some people had for the Church when he and his companions were refused admission to one hotel because they were Mor- mons. Among his traveling com- panions, although they were both bound for the Netherlands Mission, were the late President John H. Tay- lor of the First Council of the Seventy, and Dr. Clawson Y. Cannon, for over twenty-five years head of the animal husbandry department of Iowa State College and now of the faculty of Brigham Young University.
The voyage across the ocean was pleasant, and the ship Arabic, carry- ing the missionaries, docked in Liver- pool harbor on July 28. With characteristic friendliness, Heber J. Grant, then president of the European Mission, was at the wharf to greet them.
After stopping at 10 Holly Road, the European Mission headquarters, for a few days, Elder Young received an appointment to the Liverpool Dis- trict. He began his labors in the town of Blackburn, where there was a small branch of the Church. Ernest Wright of Salt Lake City was his first companion. After a few months he was transferred to Harwood, and then, in February 1906, he was trans- ferred to the Swiss -German Mission
MARCH 1957
by President Grant, and assigned to Nuremberg, in the Stuttgart District, by Serge F. Ballif, mission president.
There was a large branch of the Church at Nuremberg, and Elder Young thoroughly enjoyed his labors. He soon acquired the language and felt at home among the people. It was in Nuremberg that he became acquainted with Alexander Schreiner, the present famed Tabernacle organ- ist, who was then a small boy learning to play the organ.
After laboring in Nuremberg one year, Elder Young was appointed president of the Hamburg District in Northern Germany. During the sum- mer of 1907, President Charles W. Penrose of the European Mission visited the Hamburg District and Elder Young translated for him as he spoke to the congregations. Elder Young's work was so satisfactory that President Penrose requested him to accompany him through the mission and to continue to translate for him.
In February 1908, Elder Young re- ceived an honorable release from his missionary labors and returned to his home.
During the summer of 1908 Clifford obtained employment with the Con- solidated Wagon and Machine Com- pany, at their home office in Salt Lake City. In the spring of 1911 he became manager of the branch of the com- pany in American Fork.
On Tuesday, June 20, 1911, in the Salt Lake Temple, Clifford E. Young
was married to Edith Grant, the talented and accomplished daughter of President Heber J. Grant. The couple established a home in Ameri- can Fork. Edith was refined and educated, kind and considerate, and an ideal companion for her husband.
In the fall of 1913 the People's State Bank of American Fork was established and Clifford E. Young be- came cashier. He has been connected with that institution as an employee and an officer since that time. For a number of years he has been presi- dent of the bank.
During his years of residence in American Fork, Clifford has been active in the Church and the com- munity. He served in the Utah legislature as senator from Utah County 1929-1934, and as city coun- cilman in American Fork for six years. He served consecutively as scout- master for American Fork Second Ward (during which time he organ- ized the second Scout troop in Utah), stake superintendent of Sun- day Schools, member of YMMIA stake board, superintendent of the stake YMMIA, and finally as president of Alpine Stake, over which he presided from June 1928 to January 1942. He thus had a long period of preparation for the honor that came to him in April 1941, when he was selected as an Assistant to the Council of the Twelve.
The life of Clifford E. Young has (Continued on page 185)
Elder Young with some of his grandchildren
147
MIA YOUTH MNCE West German mission
by Adam S. Bennion
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE
Night scene of the Weisbaden Kurhaus, scene of the first youth conference for young Saints in Germany.
One of the outstanding events in the history of the European Mis- sions for 1956 was the West German Mission's Youth Conference held at Wiesbaden.
Several major achievements made the event altogether notable: (1) the painstaking and thorough preparation made by President and Sister Dyer and the mission office staff — each member of which de- serves special commendation. (2) the remarkable attendance of young people from all over Western Germany, (3) their friendliness and co-operative attitude, (4) the thrill of a new and stimulating social experience, (5) the excellent music by young people of outstanding ability responding to the inspired leadership of Elder Newel Kay Brown, (6) the rich spiritual tone that pervaded the whole program.
Now, in more detail, the following article reflects the remarkable achievements of this gathering.
Adam S. Bennion
Left to Right: Presi- dent Kenneth B. Dyer of the West German Mission, Dr. Adam S. Bennion of the Council of the Twelve discuss- ing youth conference.
148
YOUNG BROTHERS AND SISTERS of the West German Mission began early in January to save their money for the annual Mutual Im- provement Association conference which was to be held in Wiesbaden, Germany, July 28 to August 2, 1956. Wiesbaden, which is a beautiful old German city, has been world-famous since the time of the Roman Empire as a health resort center and is a lovely setting for such a conference.
With the arrival of the eagerly anticipated day, enthusiastic young people began coming to Wiesbaden from all points in the mission. The walls of the Bleucher School in Wies- baden started ringing once again with the sound of young voices, although the school was actually closed for summer vacation. Those young voices were both German and American. This made no difference — everyone understood the language of fellow- ship, understanding, and religious equality which prevailed among that group. Sleeping and eating accom- modations were efficiently handled, and nine months of plans and preparations began to materialize.
By Friday evening sixty German youths had already arrived, and they, together with 150 missionaries, en- joyed the first event of the conference, a "musical evening." This consisted of talent numbers rendered by the young people themselves. Then ice cream and cookies climaxed the de- lightful program.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
The "Polonaise," first dance of the Gold and Green Ball at the Wiesbaden Kurhaus.
Saturday was a busy day. Final arrangements were made to accom- modate the four hundred young peo- ple who had arrived by this time, and youth chorus rehearsals and a mis- sion-wide speech contest were held.
The setting for the first main event of the conference — a Gold and Green Ball — was an imposing edifice known as the Kurhaus, which is lo- cated in the center of Wiesbaden's formal gardens. In this building of crystal chandeliers and glistening marble hallways, Wiesbaden's finest concerts and lectures are presented throughout the year. It was in this same building that the Tabernacle Choir gave its concert when it toured Europe in 1955. The management of the Kurhaus had been so impressed with the choir and its music that they rented the building to the mis- sion for its MIA conference for one- third the normal cost.
By 7:30 Saturday evening, the ele- gant hall was filled with happy, formally-dressed young people. To many of the young German sisters who had been saving every extra penny to pay for their transportation to Wiesbaden, this semi-formal dance could have presented serious problems had it not been for the goodness of people thousands of miles away. Gleaner girls of the Salt Lake and Ogden areas of Utah, and Idaho, and Wyoming offered to donate lovely formals to the young girls in the West German Mission so it would be pos- sible for them to attend this Gold and Green Ball — the social highlight of the year for the Church in Ger- many. Several weeks before the dance, each German girl who didn't have a formal dress or who couldn't
MARCH 1957
Newel Kay Brown, supervising elder of the Stuttgart District, West German Mis- sion, director of the 200 voice youth chorus.
afford to buy one was given a lovely formal in excellent condition to be worn at the dance and then to be kept afterwards in her own posses- sion.
If the donors of these lovely gowns could have been present that July evening in Wiesbaden and seen the tears of happiness which shone in the eyes of their German sisters who were
Sister Hildegard Babie, missionary, translates for Dr. Adam S. Bennion, of the Council of the Twelve.
attending this beautiful ball — for many their first formal dance — they would have been repaid a thousand times for having given the dresses. Appreciation is expressed by the girls themselves: "Our words will never be enough to thank you for your generosity in asking for, gathering, cleaning, and sending these gowns to us. We want you to know that it was truly a wonderful occasion for which we will always remember with great fondness in our hearts, you, our dear American brothers and sisters."
It was a wonderful sight to see the large Kurhaus hall filled with 1,000 members and friends of the Church on Sunday, July 29. [Editor's Note: Elder Adam S. Bennion's address, the theme of which was, "I have placed before thee an open door, which no one can close," pleased the audience of Germans and Americans. Those in attendance reported that it was stir- ring to hear Elder Bennion suddenly throw in a sentence in perfect Ger-
(Concluded on page 174)
Curtain call for opera cast of "The Merciful Sultan:
149
The Emerson Ward Mural
mill'-"
by Alary Kimball Johnson
if) he Emerson Ward mural _, was not commissioned nor was it a speculative business venture. There was, however, a commitment — one so gradual in its coming that it could be said to have been made long before it was voiced.
The old Emerson Ward meeting- house, my meetinghouse, burned. Along with other children I picked up bits of the green-colored glass window and put them away in a candy box because they were pretty. Then the new chapel was built with nothing behind the pulpit and choir seats but a blank space of wall with an arched area above it.
At Sunday dinner, following our first services in the new chapel, Father commented to mother that it would look less plain when a mural was painted over the front panel of space. I was old enough to know what that meant, for paintings, small or large, had always interested me. Even at the age of eight, drawing paper dolls for my admiring little friends before and after school, I knew I would someday be an artist just as I knew when I taught them to draw their dolls, at ten cents a lesson, that I would also teach art.
As Sunday followed Sunday — for years — I found occasional entertain- ment imagining what type of paint- ing would occupy that space. Then one morning, Father came home from priesthood meeting and commented that Bishop Fairbanks had talked to the men about raising money to have an artist paint a mural in the front of our chapel.
Momentarily stunned^ I gasped, "He can't do that! That's my space!"
It was then that I realized how deeply I wanted to be the artist who did that mural. Father smiled and asked, "Have you told anyone?"
I said, "No."
"Well," he replied, "you'd better speak to the bishop and make your offer before he gets someone in mind."
150
"No, you tell him, Father, please — because of its being priesthood busi- ness, finances and all, and I'll talk to him later."
I did not feel this request pre- sumptuous. I had my B. A. in art, my M. A. in mural and portrait painting, and had received recognition, pub- licity, prizes, and purchasers for my paintings. So I talked with Bishop Lynn R. Fairbanks, and it was under- stood that I would paint a mural for Emerson Ward and present it as a gift.
It seemed quite natural to me to assume the financial burden since I had offered to undertake the assign- ment. Free services to the Church — in no matter what capacity — were taken for granted. I had no idea then how much time the painting would require.
Even after having dreamed of it for years, choosing my subject was a problem. Enlisting the help of my husband, father, and mother, choos- ing became a family group project.
We visited and inquired to learn what subjects had been used in other ward houses. I checked art books containing works of the great masters, and bought books on American In- dian culture and art. There was such a wealth of material to choose from — so many New Testament and Book of Mormon stories, so much in the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith and in the heroism of the pioneers!
Research on costumes, places, and customs was inevitable and challeng- ing. It was not just a problem of what would make a good picture, but what would harmonize with the chapel and congregation.
The chapel is simple and adequate but not luxurious. The people are friendly, unassuming, and sensitive to spiritual values. Percentagewise, our ward has many children, and I so wanted them, especially, to love the mural.
After all of our study and analysis, the subject came to us in an entirely
m
different way. I had taken Mother with me, for company, to Alta on one of my Saturday sketching trips, and on our return home we watched the valley panorama opening out to us as we rounded each curve of the road. It was autumn. The aspen leaves with the sun shining through them were of a color that would have embarrassed purest gold. They framed a valley and distant mountains that were lightly veiled with a golden afternoon haze. We commented on the scene with its little farms and groves, and what joy it would have given the pioneers could they have emerged from the canyon at that mo- ment.
Then a quotation came to Mother: "The earth is the Lord's and the ful- ness thereof." I knew that here was a subject I could paint with my whole heart. I knew it with my emotions. I loved it. My mural would be of our country, our times, and our peo- ple.
The ward people could identify themselves with it and the people in it. So the rest of that autumn sketches were made of aspen, fir trees, and the valley, looking into the after- noon sun.
Psalm 24 from which Mother had quoted almost described my painting for me. Here was a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. There would be people, a little family, in the attitude of prayer.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
'The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." (Psalm 24:1.) Emerson Ward Mural by Mary Kimball Johnson
• * -Photo by Leland Van Wagoner
"The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world and all that dwell therein.
"For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
"Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?
"He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn de- ceitfully.
"He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation."
The first phrase would be in the arch above the picture.
We took our new bishop, Harold Bradley, up the canyon to show him the view that was my inspiration, and to get his approval on the subject. This he gave.
Spring brought the University of Utah summer school catalog to my mailbox, and a reminder that it was time to earn another six hours of "progress credit," toward retaining my state teaching certification. The catalog listed a class in mural paint- ing under Florence Ware a friend who had let me help her on the Kingsbury Hall murals a few years before. I felt fortunate, realizing that her direction and criticism would not only be valuable for this mural but also for my teaching of mural classes.
The course was helpful as I had
MARCH 1957
hoped. Miss Ware and I visited the chapel. I measured and sketched the location of the pulpit, choir seats, piano, organ, and organgrill, in re- lation to the mural space, for mak- ing a scaled drawing.
We had a new bishop by then, Van L. Hixon, who has consistently shown enthusiasm for the project. He climbed a high ladder and measured the arch where the scriptural quota- tion would go. I made samples of near-perfect color-matchings of wood- work and walls. Then a pencil sketch of the mural design was painted in water color on paper scaled in proportion to the space. I pre- sented it for class criticism. It was approved, and I blocked it off in squares for enlargement. When I did a large painting for my master's degree in 1937, we used a projector to enlarge my small sketch on the five by eight foot canvas. This time we had no such convenience.
Brothers John De Young and Clyde Fidler, contractor and carpenter in our ward, built a stretcher and fas- tened my canvas to it in the univer- sity classroom. The main panel was to be eight feet high and nineteen feet four inches wide. It had to be pulled tightly to the exact size and in an upright position for better viewing. The lower edge was elevated a foot for working convenience, and I bought a small stepladder to help me reach the top.
The large canvas was marked off in the same number of squares as the preliminary sketch, and corresponding areas drawn with charcoal. With a little color and much turpentine it was then briefed in. This coat was later to be covered with two or three coats of opaque paint, not too thick.
Summer school ended, and it was necessary to find a room where the painting could be stored and worked on when opportunity afforded — Sat- urdays and vacations. Fortunately, for me, there was one in the Consti- tution Building on Main Street. It was necessary to buy flourescent lights that would imitate daylight so that I could mix colors accurately. The late Brother Robert Bartlett, an electrician in the ward, installed the lights for me. There was little room, the facilities were barely adequate, but the door locked and the rent was low.
This was seven years ago. Since then, as the mural grew, many water color sketches were made which I used as information for parts of the mural — of landscapes, animals, vege- tables, fruits, shrubs, trees, and leaves. And there were sketches of models — all gracious and willing to pose — and never the same one twice for fear of making a portrait. I wanted the figures to be identifiable with the audience at large. For this reason, also, I did not greatly ideal- (Concluded on page 193)
151
You also can( SJh RVJh
by Pansy McCarty
May I suggest that you lay your knitting aside, you women who think you're old and left out of things, and adopt the beautiful words of Victor Hugo, "Winter is in my head, but eternal spring is in my heart," as your motto. Then open your eyes and ears wide to your many, many opportunities. Find an answer for your loneliness problem, perhaps right next door, down the street, or in the next block. Certainly some- where in your town or community there are satisfactory answers if you are willing to hunt for them.
You don't have to be bored. If you still have reasonably good health, your children are all married and gone, your house seems to stay clean with little effort, and you keep ask- ing yourself: "What shall I do now?" — The time has come to lift up your eyes and think of others. Not that you haven't, through all those years of effort and sacrifice in raising your family, but suddenly you are finding yourself without a job. So, again I say, "Look up! There are those who still need you." Why not find con- solation through action from some of the following suggestions?
y/ 1. DO CHURCH WORK
How long has it been since you really took part in activities of the Church? Many are needed to quilt, to repair clothing for relief of needy families, to take food to the sick or to the mourning at the time of a death, to sit as a relief aid in the hos- pital, and to visit as a part of the regular visiting program of the Church. These are just a few of the things that an eager-to-serve woman can find to do. Ask your ward lead- ers for suggestions, if necessary.
V 2. FORM A ROUND-ROBIN SEWING CIRCLE
A sewing circle can be more than a social club. It can offer opportuni- L ties to use your hands for others. And
152
there are many in your neighborhood who would jump at the chance to belong. Instead of doing individual work, make clothes for orphan chil- dren or the needy of your community; dress dolls for children's wards at hospitals; roll bandages for medical supplies; or assist the Red Cross, the American Cancer Society, or some other welfare organization in projects that can be done in group meetings.
v/ 3. CARE FOR CHILDREN
Do no-pay baby sitting in your home if you love to care for small children. Don't make a business of it, but offer occasionally to keep near- by babies while their mothers buy groceries or run errands, or offer to care for some small tot while his mother attends P-TA. She can enjoy her activities more, knowing that her child is safe. You will find that few mothers will take unnecessary ad- vantage of your generosity.
y 4. USE YOUR CAR FOR CHURCH SERVICE
Do you drive a car? And had you thought of all the ways that you can use it for others? There are so many shut-ins who have no opportunities for outside pleasures simply because they have no one to take them. And there are elderly people who would love to attend Church but who are unable to walk.
V 5. TAKE UP A HOBBY
Satisfy that secret longing for a hobby. Perhaps you never took the time from family duties to do any- thing for yourself. Now is the time. Find others who might join you in your hobby pursuit and organize a hobby club. Whether it is playing the piano or painting a picture, you will actually be doing something that's fun. You probably won't be a Grandma Moses, but you will gain a lot of satisfaction, which is more important.
V 6. DO MORE LETTER WRITING
Remember all the friends and rela- tives that you haven't heard from for so long? Now is the time to start writing those letters that time never permitted. Send snapshots of your children or grandchildren and ask for some in return. Start keeping a fam- ily log or diary to be handed down to (Continued on page 184)
These articles were made by Relief Society members for a bazaar.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
'. ' ' .:. " .■:■::. : . :
When she came home on vacations it was a most enjoyable occasion for all of us. She knew many new and more wonderful stories to tell.
My Sister Anna
When I trace the pattern of my life back through my child- hood, I appreciate more and more my sister Anna. She was the middle one of seven and the three of us who came after owe much of the shaping of our lives to her. Not that she ever took care of us or mothered us, in the usual sense of the word. Not at all! As I remember it, she usually worked us. But she always paid up generously, and so we liked being worked.
Her stock in trade was a story, a game, a pan of popcorn, a bonfire with roasted potatoes or something equally tempting, and though she drove a hard bargain, we always had a good time. When there were po- tatoes to dig, we scrambled to find the mamma potato, the big papa potato, and all the little ones. (It took a pretty good Nebraska hill to produce much of a family!) If it was a trip to the cellar, it was approached with a secret pass like entering Ali Baba's cave. Whatever the job was, she
MARCH 1957
by Bess Foster Smith
knew how to make it a thrilling ad- venture.
School seemed to be made to order- for Anna, yet she was not the "know- it-all" type. What she learned she loved, and she wanted to share with us as much of it as our lesser minds could assimilate. During our mile walk from school, she entertained us with stories in which she bore down emphatically on the reward of the good and the punishment of the evil. "Once there was a good little girl and 3. bad little girl," was one of our favorite beginnings. She could put more actual scare into "Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum! I smell the blood of an English- mun," than any storyteller I ever heard, and there was more pathos in "Here stand I, poor Old Man Rink- Rank!" than our tender hearts could hold.
At seventeen she wore a long dress, did her hair up, and taught a country school. There were forty-five chil- dren of all sizes and ages, and some of them did not speak English. She
got twenty-five dollars a month, which she saved, and when she had taught two years she had enough to go to the State Normal.
When she came home on vacations, it was a most enjoyable occasion for all of us. She knew many new and more wonderful stories to tell. We were completely imbued with the thrill and romance of higher learn- ing.
We would all go out on starlit evenings, and she could point out the constellation of Orion striding across the sky with his dog and belt. She told us the story of the seven sisters in the Pleiades and the Big Bear and demonstrated the way the entire uni- verse is spinning around and around the Polar Star, until our heads were fairly spinning, too.
Then in the old orchard we would gather laps full of flowers, and sitting in the cool shade, we would pick some of them apart while she ex- plained the processes of pollination (Continued on page 182)
153
AFRAID?
by I. H. Kingsbury
The Scene: Nauvoo, Illinois, on the bend of the Great Mississippi in the year 1845.
I was sure the day was perfect be- cause the angel on the top of the temple spire seemed to quiver as if in full flight as he rested on the slender pole that bore him. In fact, when I put my hand in front of my face and covered the part of the build- ing that read "Holiness to the Lord" and moved it upward to obscure the many-sided tower and dome, that angel, with his golden trumpet, seemed to float in the cloudless sky. But beneath this breath-taking vi- sion, lower and lower to the ground ... a man skulked. He looked fur- tively for a companion. From be- hind a tree sidled another figure. They crouched together. I could not hear their words, but they were very angry. Their hands jerked menac- ingly, and their feet hastened them out of sight over the brow of the hill.
Until that moment I was so happy all over that I skipped in circles about Mother as she sedately walked up the hill, neither hastening nor slacking her pace because of the dust, rocks, or wagon ruts. But when she saw those two men, she almost hissed my name, not really moving her lips. "Sam," she said, "look at them well!" And that was all. Suddenly I couldn't even swallow. And the sky wasn't as blue nor the breeze from
154
the bend of the river as sweet and cooling as before. I determined never to forget those faces.
I still wanted to caper back and forth in front of Mother, now to one side, now to the other, but my feet became heavy as if shod with iron. Suddenly I thought of my brother's description of the "Whislin' and Whittlin' Boys." These were our youthful relatives, neighbors, and friends who had organized as a vigilante group and been in active service these recent weeks. In my
— C. R. Savage Nauvoo Temple
ears echoed a whistled air and the splintering sound of small knives on wood. The remembrance of the cir- cle of boys around these very two men of the hilltop as the boys wielded their pocket knives flashed across my eyes. I wondered how the two had escaped such determined watchful- ness.
Big brother Tom, barely a teen- ager, had been in that ring of lads and had reported that the two men fled the town and the whistling boys; in fact, that they jumped on a raft and were last seen being carried by the swift Mississippi current toward the sea. As we neared our place of worship, I trembled to guess their business on top of the hill.
Another rod or so and our way converged with that of neighbors and relatives, all our brothers and sisters in the gospel. None guessed from Mother's genial smile that only a moment earlier she had talked to me as if I were grown instead of just past twelve.
We soon gained level ground and saw the elders shaking hands with those who entered the temple. I tipped back my head to get a last glance at the golden angel, really a large weather vane, but I could see only the end of his trumpet, still proclaiming a gladness.
Then I took a closer look at the two round windows above the front door. Like portholes of a ship or great hol- low eyes peering out of the stone edifice, they attracted the eye. I planned right then to climb up and look out of one of those circles. Yes, I would do it the very next time I came to sweep the floors after the brethren quit work in the evening. My cleaning duties would go on until this glorious building was finished. We held public meetings in the tem- ple even though it was not quite com- pleted. Father thought it would take another year to complete the window trims and the interior woodwork. I thought to myself that I would do my little climbing stunt tomorrow just before dusk as the light departed from the hill. Then sounds of eve- ning would tell of a city in the crescent bend of the silvery river. Perhaps I could stand up in one of those windows as if in an oval frame.
From that lookout I could see all of our city, whose name meant "beauti- ful"— -Nauvoo. A recent move had been to re-name it "Joseph" to hon- or the Prophet Joseph Smith. How- ever, some of the young ones had recently, and secretly, shortened the name from "Nauvoo, the Beautiful," as the elders said it in sermons, to "beauty," for that, indeed, is what it was. Her setting was pretty as a picture, Mother had said one day. The river, in a semi-circle, girdling the town like a silver sash, was glis- tening, beckoning. It made an ad- venturer of each boy who stood on its banks. The hill, its gentle slopes fenced and planted, had houses on it. The sky was blue, clear, inviting fancy.
Hurriedly, now, we entered the great doors of the "house." At least Mother always called it that, keeping in mind the ancient phrase, "house of the Lord." Officially it was "The Nauvoo Temple," always said in full to distinguish it from an earlier sa- cred place in Ohio.
The solid silence within the walls fell as an opaque curtain behind us; the world was no more its noisy self, but one of peace, joy, and safety.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
This unusual privilege of holding gen- eral public worship in the still un- finished temple had only recently been granted us, and we were deeply grateful.
I crowded close to Mother, resolv- ing this time not to sit in a far corner away from her as at the last meeting. People and their great enveloping skirts and capes had smothered me out of her handclasp, and only after the meeting could we meet below the steps outside.
If we pushed more sharply to the left, perhaps we could sit where Father would glance at us from the table near the pulpit where he took the minutes of the service. Yes, there he was glancing anxiously at his quills, ink stand, and sand shaker, and counting his papers as if doubt- ing he had brought enough. How I hoped he would search the audience for us, but this time as always he was too preoccupied with his duties. Be- sides, Mother reminded me, it would- n't be just the thing for an authority to be overly cordial in church.
And so we settled ourselves. Mother took off her right glove, it being im- proper to take the Sacrament with a covered hand. From her black satin drawstring bag she took a leatherback hymnbook with words only. She placed it on her lap, ready at a signal from the chorister to join in a song of praise to the Lord.
I am not certain how much of the prayer, song, exhortation, or Sacra- ment had gone forward before a sound, recognizable only to the hunted, crashed our tranquil spirits. Someone whispered, "The mob!" An usher shook a finger of silence, an- other held up a hand for attention, as the noise of advancing horses and carts, angry yells, howls of the mob, occasional gunshots, came thundering through the doors and windows.
If the river had suddenly turned its strength upon our fields and carried them away, if lightning had burned our home to a cinder, if Mother had left us never to return — we could not have experienced terror or helpless horror more. The back of my neck became cold with fright, and my cry for my father to help us was unheard in the din of panic that followed.
As the doors burst open and shrieking mobsters rushed the con- gregation, a surge of terrified people in flight swept toward the far corners, the windows, and staircases. Parents clutched children; strong men formed a wall of defense as the assembly of worshipers fled for their lives.
All the sounds of the human voice could be heard, except singing: cries, yells, sobs, groans of pain — and over it all the curses of persecutors who knew not the meaning of a sacred service. Men and women stampeded past us, closely followed by the mob- sters. Among the last of those wicked people I saw the two plotters urging on their henchmen.
I reached for Mother's hand, hop- ing to escape with her or to die with her. Where was she! Not fleeing in terror, not trampling others under foot, not shrieking for my father to save us, not crying hoarsely for help from any source at all! I stood still. There was Mother! She sat where I had so suddenly left her: head bowed, hands tightly grasped around her hymnbook, eyes closed, a prayer issu- ing from her heart — not a trace of fear on her serene countenance.
I have never before nor since seen a human being so unwilling to run for her life, so utterly self-possessed, so sure she was in the right, and so determined to pursue that right even in the face of death.
Why was I running before the ugly villains, these crazed destroyers of
worship, if Mother could sit and pray? The sight of her there, unmoved, so fortified me that I firmly walked back to her side and sat down. I hoped a ruffian would see me not retreating and believe me as brave as Mother. Just for added strength and comfort, as if I could gain them by osmosis, I pressed my arm against hers. Then I realized the power of her rock-like bearing in the face of danger. I was convinced Mother was not afraid of man or devil!
Scarcely a few minutes elapsed be- fore the temple was cleared of both pursued and pursuing — except that there sat Mother, and there sat I. Then she arose, took me by the hand, and we left the "house."
The deathlike hush that remained was as submerging as though the Mississippi had flooded the building.
Once outside, the worshipers gath- ered in a meadow nearby and were called to order by the presiding au- thority. Apparently nothing could force a closing of one of our meetings. The lawless mobsters departed the scene of their destruction and rushed down one side of the hill. Upon reaching the curve of the river they halted, milled about, and scattered as driftage before a wave of the sea.
Mother and I drew near our loved ones in the meadow and sat on the grass together, still gripping hands. A backward glance at the deserted building called to my mind my resolve to look out its round windows; but somehow I didn't want to do so now or ever — with that mob nearby.
I noticed Mother still held her hymnbook. She tucked it in her silk bag, ready for the next day of wor- ship. Mother put her hand under my chin, and I looked into her eyes as she tilted up my face. She smiled.
I felt I would not be afraid of anything the rest of my life.
Nauvoo from across the river. From a sketch by Fredrick Piercy.
MARCH 1957
* - .W^AV.-^^ ^ ^ ^^
155
Parents: A Look at Ourselves
by Dr. Antone K. Romney
PROFESSOR OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION, BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY, AND PRESIDENT OF BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY STAKE
II
udging from the conduct and | conversation of many adolescents, it is easy to assume that they are interested mostly in food, dates, dances, sports, and in avoiding work and responsibility. Actually this is not true. As parents we learn that they have real interest in the more serious things of life. They are likely to feel deeply about religion, politics, and social reform. They surprise us with their insight and wisdom. They often show great spiritual qualities, and their desire for knowledge about themselves and others is almost limit- less.
An adolescent may outrun his father, but he still has the urge to throw a rock at the neighbor's cat. In some ways he resembles a child and in other ways an adult. He is in that "growing up" period in which rapid changes are occuring emotion- ally, physically, socially, and spirit- ually. For the first dozen years of his life he has depended upon adults to provide for him and guide him in every way. Now he feels new growth and desires. He wants to be an adult, to be independent, to make his own decisions. He has difficulty making proper relationships with adults. He becomes confused and sometimes rebellious. He may sud- denly—without sufficient training in responsibility — want to make his own home, and at once!
Wise parents will understand. They will attempt to realize the ex- tent and force of the problems of this period, to help in every way possible. Perhaps the first way would be through self -analysis. Do we as par- ents have attitudes, obsessions, and "years of experience" which hinder instead of help us make good homes?
156
Let us consider first a few parental attitudes which may be preventing optimum service to our children.
Some parents take the pessimistic attitude: Youth problems are bound to occur and eventually may get the best of our youth. These parents assume an attitude of helplessness, defeatism, an attitude that evil is in- evitable. They forget that had our pioneer forefathers taken a similar at- titude, they would have dropped by the wayside and their descendants would still be seeking happiness through an easier route. As it is, we are reaping the benefits of an optimistic, courageous viewpoint.
mcyer Press Photo service
Close mother-daughter relationship builds confidence and trust.
Another attitude is the cynical one — taken by parents who are satisfied to let things take their course be- cause they feel that no individual parent is in a position to carry through with a constructive program. They therefore do not attempt to fight ills which confront them with constructive plans.
An insincere, optimistic attitude may be equally harmful. Some par- ents feel that youth problems are overemphasized, that the best way to handle them is to ignore them, that youth will somehow muddle through. They convince themselves that event- ually, without too much assistance from parents, children will turn out all right. These parents forget the tremendous responsibility assigned them in the revelations of God. Their insincerity or unwarranted optimism will not free them from their duty.
There are also those parents with the burdened attitude, those who feel that they are pressed beyond their ability to accomplish the tasks con- nected with parenthood. They feel that the job is too big for them and they approach the rearing of chil- dren with great feelings of apprehen- sion.
And again there are parents who feel that they are always too busy for this or that demand which might add to the happiness of the adolescent. Instead of managing their affairs, their affairs manage them. Yet we know that often it is the busiest peo- ple, who nevertheless master their environment, who are our most suc- cessful parents.
These attitudes, and some others, are obviously contrary to gospel teachings and may not be as common among Latter-day Saints as sociolo-
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
gists seem to feel they are among parents in general. Compare these poor attitudes with what sociologists term the intelligent optimistic atti- tude. Note its harmony with Church teachings.
Parents with this attitude consider it a privilege and opportunity to have a family, and they are willing and anxious to take the time to carry the load which this requires. They ap- proach their teen-age children with joyous courage and with the convic- tion that service to and association with these children are the greatest opportunities of life. They truly give of themselves. They are courageous, faithful fathers and mothers to whom young men and women will turn for information, guidance, love, security, and hope in the future. These par- ents are radiant with enthusiasm for righteous living. They are happily living the gospel as it should be lived.
LDS parents with this attitude know that they are responsible for their actions and that they will reap rewards in proportion to their good actions. They want to be responsible for their children, and inasmuch as they are responsible, they desire to be as intelligent about it as possible.
There are, in addition to faulty parental attitudes, other parent-re- lated factors which may weaken the home's effectiveness during the "storm and stress" teen years. Con- sider for example the overemphasis on one phase of life to the neglect of others. Some homes are materialistic to the point of disregarding the higher values of life. Some homes stress outside activity and thus spread energies in too many directions. In other homes, one of the gospel prin- ciples is stressed to the exclusion of all others. Some homes are unbal- anced by the overstress on a political philosophy, and everyone has visited in a home where cleanliness was an obsession so insisted upon that other areas of home life were neglected.
And finally, in the area of parental attitudes and obsessions, there are the differences between parents and their children inherent in age, intel- lect, physical condition, accomplish-
ment, and experience. The average ages of parents of adolescent- age children are 37 to 57 years, and char- acteristics of these ages are naturally unlike those of the 12 to 20 years. Physically there are differences. A father at fifty, for example, may not run as fast, hear as well, or be as alert as his teen-age son. He cannot endure as much physical exertion and his body recuperates from injury less rapidly. Mentally, he is not as quick as his teen-ager.
The parent does have more wis- dom. His accomplishments are greater. He has perhaps fulfilled a mission. He has chosen his mate. He has selected an occupation and made his start financially. He has perhaps col- lected around him most of the mate- rial and spiritual resources which he will accumulate.
He is less radical concerning poli- tics, personal opinions in general, and is usually more tolerant than his teen- age son. He has considerably more poise and confidence and has de- veloped a religious insight which is satisfying. Along with his maturity have come disillusionments, unful- filled hopes and ambitions.
In numerous ways, he is different
from his son. Forgetting his own youthful desires for freedom and in- dependence, for example, he may (particularly in areas where he has suffered disillusionment) press his son toward an undesired vocation.
Wise parents will not try to regu- late and mold their children's lives in terms of the desires of middle age. They will not expect the teen-ager to react to anger, love, or fear as they would. They cannot expect teen- age fears about health, age, money, or other concerns, to equal theirs. Teen-agers are moved more deeply by the immediate urges.
Parental attitudes and obsessions may be harmful or helpful. Parents' "years of experience" may have made them warm and understanding — or rigid. But it is well to remember that the adolescent years are unpredict- able and trying, that teen-age emo- tional, social, physical, and spiritual needs and characteristics are such that parents need all of the faith, knowledge, and inspiration they can muster if they are to give the love, understanding, and guidance without which the complexities of the adoles- cent years are likely to make their children unhappy and insecure.
Build a home where friends feel free to gather For study and for fun.
— Monkmeyer Press Photo service
MARCH 1957
TO BE A
KING
by Hugh J. Cannon
A FORMER EDITOR OF THE ERA
PART II
The home in Jerusalem to which David and his retinue came was a palatial one, more beautiful and scarcely less pretentious than that of Tiberius at Rome. The loving defer- ence with which David was received by the host of servants indicated a heartfelt affection which cannot be purchased with money. The house had been beautified by gold, silver, and precious gems. Skilled decorators had exhausted their ingenuity in an effort to make it and its surroundings perfect. In the gardens, too, the hand of an artist as well as a craftsman was visible.
The young man was conscious of an abnormal obsession to be satisfied with nothing less than the best which could be obtained.
While his association with heathen nations had not weaned him from the faith of his fathers, it had given him tastes not common to his race; and the delight he took in sports, com- bined with his rugged physique, had encouraged him to become highly proficient along lines requiring great bodily strength and endurance. In addition, no possible opportunity of gaining knowledge had been denied him, and his studies, aided by an in- nate love of virtue inherited from his parents and solicitously cultivated by those worthy people, had kept him unpolluted despite the vice which flourished on all sides and to which his associates so flagrantly abandoned themselves.
During the long hours of traveling, after leaving Rome with hope so high, he had endeavored to analyze his own character. Lebanah's words had made a deep impression. If his mis- sion was to bring redemption to an oppressed people, he must be worthy of the call. Outwardly his character was unusually stable; and yet he recognized the fact that it was in
158
reality made up of strangely divergent and contradictory elements.
Not many hours after his return to Jerusalem, David was visited by a number of his staunch friends and supporters. Among them were sol- diers, statesmen, and scholars; and the young man felt at ease with them all, for he was himself a thoroughly trained soldier, had prepared himself to be a member of the great Sanhedrin as soon as years and marriage en- titled him to such a place, and was a scholar of more than ordinary note.
These callers were impatient to learn the results of his visit to Rome; and the report of what had 'occurred there was given and received with enthusiasm.
"One thing Tiberius advised," David said, "is most repugnant to my feelings, and he was offended because of my reluctance to accept his sug- gestion. He insists that I cultivate Herod and his friends, conceding of course that I cannot win the former, but with the thought that some of the latter may join our movement. But you, my friends, know how I abhor the expedient, and I can hardly bring myself to fulfil my promise to the emperor."
Tiberius' view met with vigorous approval from all. Haran expressed the general feeling.
"It is the wise thing to do. To be sure you will never have Herod's good will, but he may be less danger- ous as a professed friend than as an avowed enemy. He himself is so fickle that he has few sincere fol- lowers. Those who remain faithful to him do so because they think such allegiance offers some personal ad- vantage."
"That is largely true but not en-
tirely so," interposed a genial old man, Elihu. "He has some very up- right men on his side whose support we must win if we are to succeed — Nicodemus, for example."
"And Zebulon?" The question aroused opposition on the part of most of those present.
"Zebulon is absolutely pledged to the tetrarch," Elihu replied, "and I am not sure he would add to our strength if we could win his support. He is powerful to be sure, but un- scrupulous, and he hates David bit- terly. Do you know Herod has promised, in the event he becomes king, that at the earliest possible moment Zebulon shall have Annas' position, and that much of the former power of that office is to be restored?"
"What? Make that dissolute wretch high priest?" A chorus of voices were raised in protest.
"That promise has been given. Of that I have positive knowledge," Elihu said. "Judah would indeed have cause to mourn should such a calamity befall us, and we can do our race no greater service than to thwart such unrighteous plans. Zeb- ulon is corrupt, but he has, never- the-less, a large following, and Herod can well afford to make flattering promises in return for the prestige which these elements will bring. Not- withstanding the rebuff he received in Rome, the tetrarch is determined to succeed and is spurred on by the ambitious and unprincipled Hero- dias, to whose seductive wiles he has fallen an easy victim."
"Is he putting forth any direct efforts to win my friends?" David asked.
Several were eager to answer, but Elihu was first to be heard. "To show the lengths to which Herod is prepared to go, I have but to report that he sent for me to seduce me away from you, David, with promise of position and honors. Seduce me! When I have loved you always as my own son! I learned that he is making handsome offers of reward to others, and we must fight him with his own weapons, not the venal ones he uses, to be sure, but with the thing you hate, David, expediency. He professes to have the kindliest feelings for you personally, and no word indicated that he views you as
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
a rival. We must cultivate him and his friends."
This meeting lasted far into the night. Before its conclusion, it was decided that all present should main- tain as pleasant relations with Herod as possible. After much persuasion, David agreed to accept an invitation to attend a celebration which the tetrarch was giving in Jericho in honor of his own birthday.
Frequent reports reached David that Herod had spared neither ex- pense nor pains to make the celebra- tion an event which should surpass in splendor all similar occasions. It was to be held in the palace at the Garden of Palms in Jericho, renowned as the most beautiful spot in Pales- tine.
As the young nobleman, en route with his servants to attend this gathering, came to the brow of the hill from which the first glimpse of the "sea of the plain" and the Jordan valley was to be had, he ordered his company to a halt and gazed en- raptured at the scene spread out be- fore him.
Seven hundred feet below the sur-
face of the Mediterranean and on the eastern slope of the mountains of Judea was the city of Jericho. In early history of the promised land it was known as the fragrant city, "a pleasant place" to live. To the east and southeast the ground declined gradually to the Jordan and the Salt Sea.
On this particular evening Jericho was at its best. A soft rain had fallen during the day, and nature was radiant. The final rays of the setting sun beautified the dark blue saline sea and adjacent hills and plains with their semitropical foliage. Above the city towered the somber mountain, later known as Mount Temptation.
Even the poorest spots in the land- scape were wondrously rich in color and in history. Here prophets had communed with the Almighty and had boldly declared his message. Mount Nebo of the Pisgah district, the highest peak of the mountains of Moab on the extreme east of the valley, stood as a watchful sentinel over the promised land. The River Jordan, a purple ribbon in the mellow evening light, verdant gardens, silvery
lake, and desolate hills united in mak- ing the picture impressively colorful.
So interested in the scene was the young man that the banquet was al- most forgotten. When the lengthen- ing shadows finally reminded him of his duty, he commanded his servants to follow, and urging his swift and willing camel to its greatest speed, he was soon at the gaily decorated palace.
One might easily have imagined from the interest awakened by David's arrival that the Roman emperor himself had honored the feast with his presence. No host could have welcomed a guest more ceremoniously, nor could any hostess be more graciously charming than was the ill -famed Herodias.
Indeed, more than one observant guest suggested to David that this affair was specially planned to re- habilitate Herod and Herodias among the influential men and women of the land; for despite their arrogance and usual disregard of the proprieties, they realized that a feeling was de- veloping against them which, if not effectively checked, would result in (Continued on page 202)
A striking view of Nazareth in Galilee, the town where Mary and Joseph lived and from where they journeyed south to Bethle- hem. Nazareth was the home of Jesus, and here he received his religious training, both at home and in the synagogue. The hill on
which Nazareth stands is honeycombed with tombs and ancient caves.
— Religious News Service Photo
: 1
■-^MMwMm&M-
**¥#j«NaMMy
MARCH 1957
They rolled their trouser legs up and waded into the lake. When they were hungry, Mike built a fire and they roasted hot dogs. . . .
The Richest Girl in Town
When Mike Gregory reached the Braden home on Pierce Avenue, cars were arriving and people in evening clothes were getting out, calling back and forth to each other in easy comraderie.
As Mike walked up the flagstone path, he felt friendless and conspicu- ous. It was all exactly as Jo Hutchin- son had warned him it would be.
He had seen her in the lower hall at Walter Dirk Hospital as he came out of his room. She was hurrying toward the elevator, a hot water bottle in her hand, but she had stopped when she saw him and had come back, and just stood there staring, and suddenly the rented tuxedo felt too tight, and he had blurted out, "Do I look that bad?"
She shook her head. "You look wonderful, Mike." And then her
160
by Mary E. Knoivles
voice blurred a bit. "I didn't believe you were serious about going to Mere- dith Braden's party."
"Why shouldn't I go?" All at once he was angry because the look in Jo's eyes made him feel guilty, although she wasn't his girl. He had been careful not to have a girl.
She had said gently, "You won't know anyone but Meredith, and that ritzy crowd will highhat you."
For a moment he had been tempted not to go, to wait around until Jo got off duty instead. They could go to The Hut down the street and listen to the jukebox.
And then he remembered that he had decided to play life smart. Dad had graduated from medical school at the top of his class, too. He'd had a brilliant future as a surgeon. In- stead he had married a girl as poor
as he, gone to Ebbensville to practise. He had worked for thirty years as a country doctor and died broke.
Make up your mind what you wanted from life and then go after it. Right now Meredith Braden was what he wanted. He had told Jo easily, "Don't worry, I'll get along."
"VTow here he was ready to ring the •*• " doorbell. Guests swarmed around him, and he had that feeling of being alone in a crowd. It wasn't too late to back out. And then he remem- bered last January when Meredith Braden had been brought into Emergency.
She had broken her ankle skiing and the crowd she had been with brought her down from the moun- tains. They had come surging in, their gay ski togs looked strangely out
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
of place in the white-walled hallway. Meredith was shouting, "Be careful, you clumsies!" as two boys carried her in.
One of them said, "You've been crabbing at us all the way down. We should drop you right here!"
Suddenly Meredith had taken her arm from around their necks, pushed them away, and then stood on one foot, holding a chair for support. "I'll manage myself!"
A girl in a kelly-green outfit said angrily, "It's your own fault you got hurt! We warned you not to enter the slalom race. But you had to show off!"
Meredith tossed her head and her shoulder-length hair was like dull gold against the scarlet of her jacket. Mike and Dr. Brent Shaw had taken her in for X-rays then. "Sorry, we'll have to cut your trouser leg."
"So what!" she'd said crossly. "Slash it to ribbons. I've always de- tested this suit."
He had warned her when he set the ankle. "This is going to hurt."
"I can take it!" She had sounded cocky, but he had admired her cour- age. She had clenched her teeth, but she hadn't cried out.
After it was all over, and she'd been sent home in an ambulance, he and Brent had gone outside for a breath of air. "That," Brent had told him, "was Carl Braden's kid. She's the richest girl in town and a spoiled brat."
Mike hadn't replied. He supposed all that Brent said was true, that she was a spoiled brat; but he remembered a moment when he was alone with Meredith, and he had looked up to see her crying soundlessly, tears slid- ing down her cheeks. "I wasn't just showing off, Dr. Gregory. I honestly thought I had good enough control to enter the races. Now — will I ever walk again?"
"Why, of course," he had told her. "You'll be dancing in a month or two."
"Will you dance with me?"
"You bet."
"That's a promise? You're not kidding?" Her mouth twisted into a smile that was wistful.
"You bet it's a promise."
She hadn't forgotten. A week ago she had brought him an engraved in- vitation. "My twenty-first birthday party," she'd said. "There's going to be dancing. Remember your prom- ise?"
MARCH 1957
She had tossed her hair out of her eyes and smiled at him, and there was a coltish awkwardness about her that was charming.
Now he rang the doorbell, and then he was in the large hallway with its scenic paper, its highly polished floor, part of a crowd, and then quite sud- denly alone again. He had been a fool to come. And then he saw him- self in the large mirror on the wall and remembered what Dr. Van Clif- ton had said that day over a year ago when they were scrubbing up before an operation. "What do you plan to do after you finish your intern- ship, Dr. Gregory?"
"Open an office of my own here in the city, sir." He had thought, I won't go back to Ebbensville, that's for sure!
"That takes money."
"More than I've got." Frustration had welled up in Mike's throat, chok- ing him. Working your way through school was hard enough, but it still would cost a small fortune to get started.
Then Dr. Clifton had said quite bluntly, "Play it smart, Dr. Gregory. You are handsome enough to take your pick of girls. Don't get in- volved with any of them until you finish your internship, and then marry the richest girl in town." His right eyebrow had lifted in that in- triguing way his society patients found charming. "That's what I did."
For a moment Mike had been
shocked. You were supposed to marry because you were so much in love you couldn't live without the girl.
But the feeling of shock passed. Why not plan your marriage as sensibly as you planned your career?
Now in the mirror he saw Meredith appear in the archway. She was wearing a dress of some gossamer yel- low material that made her look all golden and radiant.
She came toward him with that . awkward grace and held out her hands. "Oh, you did come!" She sounded happy, and all at once he liked her. Maybe her bad disposition that night had been due to pain. Maybe she wasn't as bad as Brent had said she was.
She hooked her arm in his. "Come see my gifts, and I want you to meet Dad."
He remembered the gift in his pocket. A bracelet with little silver horseshoes and four-leaf clovers for charms. Maybe he should give it to her now. But he hesitated, and a few minutes later he was glad he had as he looked down on the table laden with gifts. He counted four bracelets resplendent with platinum and diamonds and emeralds. He whistled, "Not bad, not bad!"
She picked up one of the bracelets, looked at it, and then tossed it back. "Oh, it's just junk."
If she considered those bracelets junk, what would she think of the charm bracelet? A bracelet with horseshoes and four-leaf clovers was more Jo's speed.
"Dad is over here, Mike." Somehow Mike had pictured Carl Braden differently. A captain of finance, a distinguished "man of dis- tinction." Instead he was a tall, square, ruddy-faced man, and despite the impeccable tailoring of his evening clothes, he looked out of place among his guests. "Dad, this is Dr. Gregory." Carl Braden did not hold out his hand. Gray eyes glared at Mike from beneath shaggy eyebrows. "So you're Dr. Gregory."
"Yes, sir."
"I don't like doctors!" "Dad!" Meredith laughed, but she looked angry, too.
"You all think you are so smart. Why, when Meredith was born — " he stopped suddenly and put his arm affectionately about Meredith. "What do you think of my girl?"
"She's all right," Mike said." "Let's dance, Dr. Gregory." Mere- dith took hold of his arm and they walked out onto the cement terrace (Continued on following page)
161
(Continued from preceding page) where there was an orchestra. Mere- dith went easily into his arms, and he smelled the fragrance of her hair. It reminded him of the roses that grew wild over fences in Ebbensville.
"You mustn't take offense at what Dad said," she told him. "He has never gotten over my mother's death. I was born in a wild boom town, and mother died. I think Dad blames himself for not making her go back to the city."
Mike could imagine Braden in a wild oil town, in leather jacket and khaki pants, bossing a crew of men.
As they danced, Mike saw that the large garden was lighted with strings of lights and there was a long table with a five-tiered cake in the center. The food was set out buffet style and he remembered he had had no dinner.
Someone bumped into them. Mere- dith said, "Oh, hello, Roger."
"Happy birthday again, Meredith." The tall blonde boy's smile was very stiff.
"That's Roger Dixon," Meredith told Mike. "He's still mad at me be- cause I jilted him practically at the church. But he'll still be nice to me because his father owes my father money."
All at once Mike had had enough. But I don't owe your father anything, he thought. The music started again, and Meredith turned to him. He said, "I'm sorry, but I must go now. I'm on duty at seven in the morning."
Her face flushed. "Thanks for coming, Dr. Gregory." He thought he saw hurt in her blue eyes, but he didn't care. He went out the side gate. Carl Braden was standing there. "You leaving so soon?" he asked.
"Yes, sir."
"Got your car?"
"I don't own a car."
"Want my man to drive you home?"
It was a temptation. He was bone- tired. But he didn't want to be under obligation to Carl Braden for even a ride. "No, thank you, sir." He walked away, wondering if he had seen admiration in the big man's eyes, or if it had been a trick of the lights.
He went up the side steps of the hospital, and as he put his hand on the doorknob, he heard Jo call, "Mike
162
The Richest Girl In Town
— wait." She was standing in the shadows. "Don't go in yet."
They sat on the steps. "Did you have a good time?" she asked.
"Not exactly. Her father hates doctors and told me so. Meredith acted like a rude brat."
"Don't feel too bad, Mike." She moved toward him in a gesture of comfort.
"What's the matter with me? We laugh at the same jokes, we speak the same language."
"Nothing is wrong with you," he said miserably.
"Nothing except that I come from the wrong part of town and my father hasn't a million dollars, isn't that it?" she asked in a hurt voice.
Mike took a deep breath. There was much he wanted to tell Jo. He wanted to tell her that his father could have been as wealthy as Dr. Clifton. Instead he doctored people like the Midgleys down by the river. They had a whole tribe of kids, all girls, and every year Dad had de- livered a new baby. They always paid him off in eggs that weren't fresh, and in whole baskets full of parsnips. -
A year ago Mike had been home for two days. He hadn't heard Dad leave because there was a thunderstorm. But when he got up next morning, he found the note, "Gone to Midg- leys." Mike had gone to look for him and found him a mile from home, his car bogged down in mud. He had tried to push the car out and had a heart attack.
Mike had picked him up out of the mud, put him in the car. "You shouldn't have gone, Dad!"
His throat tightened now, remem- bering the way Dad had smiled at him. "I got there in time, Mike."
"And did she pay you off with a bushel of parsnips!"
"No. She gave me the most radiant smile. A boy, Mike, after nine girls."
Dad said something else, too, but Mike was trying to forget it. He said, "You'll come back here to prac- tise, won't you, Son?"
Mike hadn't promised because he didn't see how his father could ask such a thing. He'd said, "We'll talk about that later." But the next min- ute Dad was dead.
Now he wanted to tell Jo all that so she would understand. But he
couldn't. He said, "Let's forget the whole thing, Jo!"
"You'll see Meredith again, won't you?" Jo asked.
"Of course I'll see her again. Some- day I'm going to marry her."
The next morning he thought, It's your move, dope. You're supposed to ask Meredith for a date. And where would you take her, pray tell? You're broke, and payday — such as it is — is a week away.
Two days passed, and he thought of pawning the bracelet, but he didn't. The bracelet was for Meredith. The next day he got a letter from Uncle Fred in Ebbensville. They were still without a doctor and the nearest hospital was fifty miles away. They were praying he could come back there to practise.
Mike read through the letter. He wasn't going back there! He could telephone Meredith, talk to her so she wouldn't forget he existed. That wouldn't cost money. But when he came out of surgery Miss Adams told him, "Telephone for you, Doctor."
It was Meredith. "How are you, Mike?"
"Wonderful. It's good to hear your voice."
"Why didn't you call me?" She sounded as if she had been crying.
"We've been rushed here. I only have one day a week off."
"Are you free tomorrow night?"
"No, but I could trade nights with someone."
"Then let's go somewhere together, Mike. I know you were disgusted with me at my party — "
"Oh no, I wasn't. I—"
"The way I talked about Roger Dixon! Let me see you again. We could drive out to The Pines for din- ner, and — "
"Whoa!" Mike laughed. "You're talking to a poor intern who — "
"Oh, I'd give you money for every- thing."
Mike waged a silent battle with his pride. Then he thought, What difference does it make? She has plenty of money. "All right," he said. "I'll be ready at seven."
As they drove away from the hospi- tal the next evening, Mike saw Jo standing on the steps, a hurt expres- sion on her face. The Pines was crowded and Mike was disturbed to see Carl Braden at a table with four (Continued on page 180) THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
We Walk By Faith
by Orson F. Whitney
MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE
(April 9, 1906 - May 16, 1931)
*
Orson F. Whitney
Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (John 20:29.) So said the Savior to Thomas, one of the chosen Twelve.
Why is it more blessed to believe without seeing? Is it not because, through the exercise of faith in the midst of human vicissitudes, we ac- quire our spiritual development? And are we not here for that purpose? Is it not a fundamental condition of our mortal existence? In the previous
life, we "walked by sight;" but in. this life, we are required to walk by faith— a more difficult thing to do. For keeping our "first estate," we were "added upon," were giv- en these bodies, with opportuni- ties for development; and for keep- ing this, our "second estate," we shall have glory added upon our heads forever and ever. This is the Lord's promise to us.
If he should pour out upon us, prematurely, the fulness of knowl- edge, it would put a stop to our spiritual development, for knowledge swallows up faith and removes the opportunity for its exercise. There- fore, our Heavenly Father, in his wisdom, speaks only through certain ones, his oracles, his special witnesses, and occasionally reveals himself to them. They know that they have seen and heard him; but the great mass of mankind are expected to be- lieve their testimony, and this because it is best for them. Some day the knowledge of God will cover the earth, and all men shall know him, from the least unto the greatest. We shall know what we knew before, and add to it all we have learned since. We do not begin to know in the body what we know out of the body. We are not as good and noble in the body as we are in the spirit and can-
*From The Improvement Era, Vol. 19, p. 608f.
MARCH 1957
Christ praying in the Garden of Geth-
semane.
— Painting by Wenzel Schwarz
Photo by Camera Clix
not be until we have subdued the body and brought it under control. We are hampered and held down by this weight of clay, and when death comes it is a glad release.
But we are not going to die. We are deathless beings. We lived be- fore we came into this world, and we shall live after we go out of it. What we call death is not worthy the name. There is no death for the righteous. Christ died to destroy death. The change called death is but a temporary separation of the spirit from the body; and while the body goes back to mother earth, the spirit returns to God who gave it — it enters Paradise, the place of departed spirits, there to await the resurrection. Yes, the day will come when spirit and body will reunite, to be no more
Improvement ERA
subject to these mortal conditions, and the soul shall inherit eternal life, a fulness of joy. Such are the hopes and promises held out by the gospel.
None of our dear departed ones are dead. They have but gone be- fore. This so-called death, when properly understood, is simply a go- ing back home. There is a universal law requiring all things to return whence they came and where they belong. It is the law of restitution, spoken of by the holy prophets since the world began. This sublime les- son is taught not only in the scrip- tures, but in the book of nature. The raindrops, the moment they strike the ground, begin . to trickle back to the ocean, or evaporate to the clouds from which they fell. Up from the bosom of the mighty deep and over the broad land are carried the waters that are showered upon the earth to make it green and flowery and fruit- ful; and when those waters have ful- filled their mission, they are gathered back to their ocean reservoir. Not a drop of dew is lost. Matter is eternal; spirit is eternal; intelligence or the light of truth is eternal; and our spirits that come from God, the mo- ment they are born into this world, begin traveling back to eternity —
(Continued on page 201)
163
Petersen Neeley —
WOMAN OF COURAGE
"t: ■».&■■
by Marba C. Josephson
ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITOR
Glen and Deta Neeley at the farm in Tremonton, 1945.
Can you drive a little faster, Glen? I'm sure we can catch that little fellow if you can only make the car speed up a little." It was Deta Petersen Neeley 's voice that urged her husband to race over the track- less barren desert lands about thirty miles west of Sugarville, Millard County, Utah. This was a region where wild horses abounded, and nothing would do but that Deta have one — and Glen wholeheartedly fell in with the plan. After all, it would be a wonderful asset on their summer ranch in rural Tremonton, Utah.
Of course, keeping the colt posed a problem because it would be some time before school was out; they would have to find someone to tend him until summer vacation. How- ever, nothing would do but for them to catch the colt — and so they did! They cut him from the band of wild horses and brought him back to Sugarville crowded into the luggage compartment.
A neighbor was prevailed upon to take over the feeding of the colt- — along with his cow. A carpenter was inveigled later to rig up a crate in
164
which they could transport the colt. But that wasn't the half of it; when they finally started for their ranch, they had to stop along the way to get milk to feed the colt and to let him out of the crate; after all, he was cramped in it and needed the exer- cise. Deta could never let anything suffer.
Deta Petersen Neeley, Doctor of Educa- tion, University of California, 1937.
When they reached Tremonton, they had to buy a fresh cow so that the colt would have milk to drink. But their labors were not fruitless because he grew into a beautiful sad- dle horse which they prized all the more because they had found him themselves.
T^he experience of teaching in ■*■ Sugarville followed the marriage in the Logan Temple of Deta Petersen and Nathan Glen Neeley on Novem- ber 30, 1921. The marriage culmin- ated a courtship that began when both young people attended Brigham Young College in Logan, Utah.
Deta was the youngest of a family of eight, the daughter of Mary and Chrest Petersen. At the time of her birth, three boys and a girl had died, two of them within a few hours of each other, from the dread disease diphtheria. Chrest and Mary were delighted with the new baby; hope sprang again in their hearts — they were young; there would be other children. But within four months of Deta's birth, her father lay tragically dead! Deta's mother rented
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
the new farm to which she and her husband had so recently moved and returned with the remaining children to their former home in Bear River City. Here death struck again — an- other son, Frank, died from diph- theria, also.
When Deta was twelve years old, her mother moved to Logan in order that Dave, and later Deta, could at- tend Brigham Young College. An older sister, Lucinda, had married and set up her own home with Orson Jensen.
At Brigham Young College Deta found an entirely new world of de- light open before her. Her activities were many and varied. She sang beautifully and participated in operas, sang solos, sang in duets, quartets, double quartets, and in. the choir. She became a star performer in school dramatics also. Moreover, she was a talented dancer and found such great joy in it that she decided she would make dancing her life career. Dur- ing the summer vacations she went to California and continued her dancing training. There she had an offer of a dancing career that seemed most inviting. Life was challenging and promising to Deta Petersen.
It was at Brigham Young College that she met Nathan Glen Neeley of Franklin, Idaho, and fell in love with him — -and he with her. His stellar performances in athletics, particularly in basketball, made him a hero in the school. Things were moving along smoothly — and then in April 1917 during their third year at the school, the United States declared war against Germany. The young men lived in anxiety from day to day, wondering whether they would be allowed to finish their schooling be- fore they would be called to active duty.
Glen Neeley left for the service on November 7, 1917, to spend fifteen months in France. He returned to Logan in July 1919.
Deta meanwhile continued in school until she earned her normal diploma. During the fall of her second year of teaching she under- went a serious operation at the LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City.
One evening during Deta's illness, her mother suddenly felt a numbing fear. Deta was dying! The mother had already watched five of her chil- dren pass away. She could not let this daughter go. She ran blindly from the room to find a doctor. As
MARCH 1957
.:.:: I: ■ : i '.. ' '
* :
.■::':■ ' • '■■:'.":■' :":":■"■:'::.■:;: :■ :|:':
The Petersens, left to right: David, Deta, Mother Mary, and Lucinda.
she hurried down the hospital corri- dor, she saw a stately man coming toward her.
"Oh, doctor," cried Mary, "come quickly; my daughter needs you."
Mary stopped abruptly. She saw that it was one of the General Author- ities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints whom she had ad- dressed. Hurriedly she began to apologize, but he said kindly, "Take me to her."
When they reached Deta's room, he pleaded for her life. As he finished praying, he said to Mary, "Your daughter will be well again and be- come a teacher of children — not only
Brigham Young College Opera, 1917. Deta Petersen and George Preston.
in this country but abroad as well." This is a promise to which not only Deta's mother but the entire family clung and which brought peace. Through her books Deta has ful- filled this promise— 75,000 to 80,000 of which have been sold to date.
The operation spelled the end to Deta's plans for a dancing career. Since the family was small, only two daughters and one son and the mother remaining, they became a closely knit family. Glen was rapidly integrated into the family after his marriage to Deta.
When she taught in Sugarville, Deta had fifty-seven students and taught four grades. She received $120 a month for her work. Her talents soon came to the attention of the board of education of Millard County. When at the age of twenty- four, Deta became the first super- visor for the Primary grades in that county, she had already proved her worth against difficulties.
Deta was always interested in every child, not only the most precocious or the prettiest. She wished every child to approximate the rich experiences in his schooldays that she had en- joyed. This desire prompted her to write an operetta in which each child in the area had a role to play. She had to write it herself in order to meet her own demands for par- ticipation. In it she used 450 chil- dren. The opera carried the stirring title of King Grizzly Beard.
How could she create such an operetta? Behind the operetta lies the poignant story of Deta Neeley 's own ambitions. Since she had been forced to give up her own dreams of a professional career as actor and dancer, she would use her talents in helping others realize the joy that came from participation in the cul- tural activities for which she had trained.
While Deta was in Deseret Stake, she also served on the Sunday School stake board; an office she later held in Bear River Stake. Moreover, she became supervisor of the Religion Class in Deseret Stake.
Her phenomenal success in her teaching career won those who, at first, felt her too young to succeed so rapidly. Her teaching included work in Porterville, Bear River City, and Richmond, in addition to Sugarville. She also was Elementary Supervisor for four years in the Millard School (Continued on page 176)
165
Strengthening the Tie that Binds
by TV. Glenn Harmon
FORMERLY PRESIDENT BERKELEY STAKE
W5
and the forward, members centered work.
THE COMPLETION of the Swiss
the Los Angeles temples and construction of the British New Zealand temples going the attention of both Church and many non -members has upon temples and temple
Temple work at once brings to mind the subject of genealogy. And of course when one thinks of gene- alogy, it is usually in terms of one's own family tree, for that is of primary and immediate importance.
But genealogy has a broad aspect as well as an intimate one; the family tree is the connecting link between the individual and the great human family in its entirety. It is to that broad, all-inclusive aspect of gene- alogy, the great human family in its entirety, past, present, and future, that I would here direct the reader's attention. It is well, occasionally, to get far enough away from the in- dividual family tree to see the great forest of which it is but a part.
In the October 19, 1955, edition of the San Francisco Chronicle the dis- tinguished columnist Royce Brier en- titled his daily column, "Hoover, Truman, and the Record." The coupling together of two such dis- tinguished but divergent individuals is a sure way to attract reader interest, but one will wonder just what the article might have to do with gene- alogy. To the thoughtful student, however, there is much in it pertain- ing to the broad aspects to which I have reference, even though gene- alogy is not specifically mentioned and may indeed have been far from the author's mind. And the very fact that a noted columnist has per- ceived how close together (in one field at least) two such normally antagonistic personalities as Mr. Hoover and Mr. Truman are, in one field at least, has to me tremendous significance.
166
With this in mind, permit me to quote Mr. Brier:
Herbert Hoover's acceptance of an invita- tion to be one of the sponsors of a Truman Library dinner in San Francisco next month offers a good example of the difference be- tween civilization and social action.
Except as good Americans and as the only living men who formerly held the highest American office, Mr. Hoover and Mr. Tru- man superficially have nothing in com- mon. . . . They are inveterate political antagonists. But as subjects of the Western civilization, which transcends all social philosophy and is indispensable to the lives of a third of mankind, these two men have an intense common interest.
This interest has done far more to make our civilization what it is than technological drive. It is a profound regard for the past.
The former Presidents establish historical libraries. These libraries undertake to pre- serve what can be known of two plunging historical periods. Hoover's related largely to the old war period, Truman's to the late war period. These two wars are great crises in the Western civilization struggle for fulfilment.
// our civilization is to live and advance, it must know about itself, why and how it has had being.
Men have built several civilizations — per- haps fifteen have survived infancy — but all excepting the Western and the Chinese are dead, and the Chinese may be dying. The Western is the only civilization with a per- vading curiosity about the past, hence about the future*
To Egyptians and Hindus the past was a religious genesis, and the future was in heaven. Egyptian pre-occupation with im- mortality left records, but Egyptians did not bother with them. To the Greeks the past was Homeric mythology, and they had no concept, either of their own future, or of a whole mankind and its future. Herodotus, the historian, visiting Egypt where the re- mains of a great civilization were clear-cut after a thousand years, contented himself with trivial fables. His only archaeological act was to measure the Pyramids.
. . . We know more of the Greek and Egyptian civilizations than did the Romans, their immediate heirs. We know more of the Mediterranean cultures than did the learned who lived in them. The Romans
staggered blindly to nothing, wholly con- cerned with struggles of the present, in- curious of past or future. Had they lived in the United States they would never have put a spade into the Inca or Mayan ruins.
Why has the Western civilization, born about 600 years ago, given us this acute sense of past and future?- We do not know. . . .
In a real sense, Hoover and Truman are antiquarians — because they are Westerners. Because of this urge in them, civilized men a thousand years hence will know more of the how, why, and where of the civilization. That is, provided the civilization and its records endure. They can, of course, perish, as so many have. (The italics are mine.)
That which Mr. Brier is pleased to refer to as "this unique and acute sense of the past and future," is virtu- ally identical with genealogy in its broad sense as I have defined it; it is at least so closely related thereto as to be hardly distinguishable. Why the interest in the past if not primarily to learn about what has happened to the human family? Why else should we be concerned with digging into the ruins of ancient Egypt, Baby- lonia, or even ancient America? Even the study of the rocks and streams and the flora and fauna of the world we live in centers primarily on their relationship to and effect upon human life itself. And as to the future, of what interest could it be to any of
LDS Church property on hill overlooking Oakland, California. Photo by the author.
■ ■ :■■■:■:■ W „ ■:■■ . *, - ^
*This broad claim might be questioned By some; the important fact for our present purpose, however, is that the Western civilization has spent and is spending untold time and treasure in this field.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
us to attempt to peer beyond the span of our own immediate lives, to spend untold time and treasure in trying to discover and to perfect things we cannot hope personally to enjoy, to conquer diseases we our- selves will always be subject to — save to make the path smoother for our posterity?
Note that Mr. Brier says he does not know why the Western civiliza- tion, six hundred years old, has given us this "pervading curiosity about the past, hence about the future." And though he points out it had its be- ginning around six hundred years ago, he no doubt would be equally at a loss to explain why more progress has been made in this field in the past 125 years than in all preceding time.
Another interesting question sug- gests itself: Why did the other ancient civilizations mentioned by him decay and fall? No doubt there were many contributing factors. One, however, was common among them all, along with their disinterest in things past and future pointed out by Mr. Brier: the decay of family life and concur- rent spread of laxness in morals; for example, it is not without significance that in Rome, so long as the family hearth was a sacred place and di- vorce was unknown, the nation was
strong and virile. It is worthy of note that the Chinese civilization, which has continued to persist while all the others except the Western civilization have gone into oblivion, has until now placed high value upon family ties and family life, even going to the extreme of ancestor worship. It might well be asked, has this emphasis on and filial respect for the family had something to do with the survival of Chinese culture, while other great civilizations have risen and fallen? I am so bold as to sug- gest that it has.
We would not have to search very hard in the field of the social sciences to find an abundance of evidence to support the proposition that the fam- ily unit is basic and plays a funda- mental part in the development and preservation of civilization. Why, if this be true, should our thinking of the family unit be limited to the family-in-being, meaning those and only those who are alive at any given moment? Why should we not think of the family as a continuous chain linking together into one united whole the long ages of the past, the very fleeting present, and the im- measurable future? Such a view will go a long way toward helping us to understand the why of this great urge to look into the past and the future.
After all, the present is such an in- finitely small fraction of total exist-
ence!
Although Mr. Brier does not pro- fess to know whether this "profound regard for the past" will save our Western civilization from its present perilous position, I seem to read be- tween his lines a feeling of hope that it will — if anything will. And cer- tainly there is logic to support such a hope — for by study of past history it might be possible to learn how to avoid the mistakes of the past while we gain from its achievements.
This brings me back again to the unanswered question propounded by Mr. Brier — why this insatiable curi- osity in the Western civilization which was so utterly lacking in its prede- cessors?
Latter-day Saints have the answer to that question: It is all according to divine plan, foretold by prophecy, for the salvation of the human family. The Lord knew that mankind would get so engrossed in its own lusts and passions as to become completely estranged from the great plan of sal- vation and would stray completely away from him, utterly forgetful of the past, completely regardless of the future, and intent only on immediate self-gratification. That in a word was (Continued on page 206)
MARCH 1957
167
MIA READING COURSE: JESUS THE CHRIST-IX
.<^VtKJ;>
Early Days Of
i-
|ht Lord's Ministry
m •
<-y-
After staying briefly in Capernaum by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus and his disciples made their way south to Jerusalem to attend the Feast of the Passover.* Whether or not Jesus had observed the Passover week in the Holy City since the time he was a boy, we do not know, but we can well imagine that the road was crowded with memories. When he was twelve, accompanied by his father and mother on the journey, every new sight was exciting to him. Then he was anxious to visit his Father's house to be taught of learned men. Now he was the teacher al- ready recognized by many as the Messiah, and eager for the oppor- tunity to spread the gospel message among the Passover crowds.
The Passover was the greatest oc- casion of the year for the children of Judah, and they came from far and near to celebrate it in the Holy City. Some writers say that the population of Jerusalem must have been swollen by from one million to two and one-half million visitors dur- ing this season. Camping in the vacant fields and on the surrounding hills, the pilgrims would visit the temple as often as they could, partici- pate in the many festivities and ordinances, and pay their offerings to the temple treasury.
From daylight .until dark the tem- ple teemed with masses of people. Some reports, indicate that the great and beautiful building, which would have covered two large city blocks as we know them, would accommodate as many as two hundred and ten thousand persons at one time. Forty- six years earlier Herod the Great had started the work of rebuilding the
Drawings by Major Benton Fletcher, from Lionel Cast's Jerusalem: A Historical Sketch, published by A. & C. Black, Ltd., London.
*Scriptural references in this article are from John 3, 4.
168
temple, and it was still not completed. Following the plan of earlier temples erected on the same spot, the building was divided into a succession of "courts" which were set aside for specific functions. The first and most spacious of these courts was known as the Court of the Gentiles, or the Court of the Heathens. It was so named because anyone might enter it. But the gentiles could go no further. The Court of the Women was accessible to all Jews in good standing, while the Court of the Israelites was reserved for faithful men. Only the priests could enter the sacred inner areas.
The Court of the Gentiles was more like a bazaar than a temple, contain- ing stalls for oxen and sheep and cages for doves and pigeons. These the temple goers would purchase for the priests to offer on the sacrificial fires. The vendors, anxious to sell their animals at a good price, pro- claimed in loud voices the merits of their products.
In this court also were the tables
XSwOfTfc/Wfr:
by Doyle L. Green
MANAGING EDITOR
of the money-changers. Temple of- ferings were acceptable only if they were paid in the sacred temple coin — the money of the gentiles was con- sidered as being defiled. Coins from Egypt, from Rome, or from the East had to be changed into temple money.
The money-changers, clever at their business, not only would charge the legal fee for their services, but also would add to their profits by overcharging, shortchanging, and otherwise cheating the pilgrims. Imagine all of this taking place in the confines of the Holy Temple!
When Jesus looked upon these re- volting scenes and saw the confusion, the filth, the selling, the haggling, and the cheating that was defiling his Father's house, righteous indigna- tion grew within him. Lashing a whip which he had made from small cords, he set loose the animals and drove men and beasts before him through the court and out of the gates into the streets of the city. The tables of the money-changers he over- turned; their coins he scattered over the floor. Of the dove sellers he de- manded, "Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise."
What a commotion! One can pic- ture the money-changers scrambling for their coins as they spilled over the floor, snatching up what they could get and then running for safety; the keepers of the animals scampering after their beasts to pre- vent them from getting lost in the crowds.
The astonished temple visitors must have pressed against the walls and around the pillars, safely out of the way of the running animals and the lashing whip, but straining to see what manner of man this was. And the priests, hearing the din, must have pushed their way through the
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
|
— Painting by Carl Block |
|
|
Jesus Cleansing the Temple. |
crowds to locate the cause of the ex- citement. Such an occurrence had never before been witnessed in the long history of the temple, yet no one dared attempt to stop the Man of Galilee.
After it was all over, and undoubt- edly in the presence of an enormous crowd that gathered around, the tem- ple priests asked Jesus by what au- thority he had done these things. His clothes alone showed that he was not a priest or a Pharisee or a mem- ber of the ruling body of the Jews, the Sanhedrin. The very nature of the question and the tone of their voices must have indicated that he had committed such a grievous offense that he might have to pay for it with his life.
Jesus knew that these people would one day kill him, but he also knew he had power over the grave. Think- ing of his death and resurrection, he said, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." The priests were concerned with the great
MARCH 1957
building in which they were standing. Such a statement was an insult!
"Forty and six years was this tem- ple in building," they mocked, "and wilt thou rear it up in three days?" Whether or not Jesus made a reply we know not, but evidently no charges were pressed against him.
The cleansing of the temple spread the fame of the Savior widely over the land, and undoubtedly within a few days every Jew in Palestine had heard the story.
While in the Holy City Jesus did many remarkable works which are not mentioned in the Bible. John says, "Now when he was in Jeru- salem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did."
Among those who believed Jesus to be the Messiah were certain leaders of the Jews. One of these was a man by the name of Nicodemus, a Phari- see and member of the Sanhedrin. The teachings and the miracles per- formed by the Savior appealed to
him, and he sought out Jesus to de- clare his belief and to be further in- structed. A man of importance and standing in his community, he seem- ingly wanted to keep his actions secret for fear of what his friends and asso- ciates might say; in any event, his visit was made at night.
Approaching Jesus he said: "Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him."
It would appear from the account that the conversation may not be re- ported in full, but if it is, Jesus wasted no time in getting to the point, for John reports him as answering, "Ver- ily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Born again? Nicodemus did not understand. "How can a man be born when he is old?" he asked. "Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb, and be born?"
Jesus answered, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Then he explained, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh: and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
Nicodemus may have looked sur- prised for Jesus continued: "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." We hear the wind blow, he explained, yet we cannot see it. Perhaps he was telling this learned man that not everything can be understood in the light of earthly knowledge, that some things have to be accepted on faith. For the first time in recorded scripture, Jesus was preaching what he demonstrated when he was baptized of John in the Jordan River.
Jesus then predicted his crucifixion and briefly reviewed the plan of sal- vation with the words:
"And as Moses lifted up the servant in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
"That whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but
(Continued on following page)
169
Early Days of the Lord's Ministry
(Continued from, preceding page) that the world through, him might be saved."
Those who do not believe in the Son of God, he explained, shall be condemned, because they love dark- ness rather than light, and evil rather than good.
The account ends abruptly and we do not know whether or not this young ruler understood, but it is evi- dent that he was unwilling to take the chance of losing his position in society by openly declaring his belief and following the Master.
From Bethlehem Jesus went with his disciples "into the land of Judea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized." At this same time, John the Baptist was preaching and "bap- tizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there."
Not completely understanding John's position as a forerunner of the Christ, some of the followers of John were somewhat disturbed as news continued to reach them of the suc- cess Jesus was having and the great numbers that were coming to him for baptism. The question even arose between them and some of the peo- ple with whom they talked as to which baptism was right, John's or Jesus'.
Expressing their concern to John they said, "Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the same bap- tizeth, and all men come to him."
John's answer showed his greatness, his fervent testimony, and how deeply and sincerely he was devoted to the work of the Lord. There was noth- ing but love in his heart as he re- plied:
"A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
"Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him."
He compared the situation to a wedding in which Jesus was the groom and he, John, was the best man. He loved Jesus so much that he rejoiced just to hear his voice. His joy was full in his humble assign- ment.
"He must increase," John ex- plained, "but I must decrease."
"The Father loveth the Son," he said, "and hath given all things unto his hand.
170
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." The Baptist was well chosen for his work.
As humble as John was in his call- ing, he was bold, fearless, and outspoken in denouncing sin and wrongdoing wherever he found it. Even the ruler of Galilee and Peraea, Herod Antipas, was condemned by John for his sins.
Antipas believed John to be a just and holy man and listened to much of the advice that the prophet gave him. But when Antipas left his wife for Herodias, who had been married to his brother, John publicly and pri- vately condemned him for living in adultery. Even then Antipas may have accepted the condemnation of the prophet, knowing it was justified. Herodias, however, who seemingly had inherited much of the cruelty of her great-grandfather, Herod the Great, sought to have John killed. When she was unsuccessful, she in- fluenced her husband to have the prophet put where his voice could not be heard.
It was a sad day for this brave and faithful prophet when he was dragged off to the borders of Moab, on the far southern end of the domain of Antipas, and there imprisoned in a fort set atop a rocky and barren hill. A heap of ruins some six miles east of the Dead Sea, today marks this place where John the Baptist lived during the last months of his life.
Soon after Jesus learned that John was in prison, he and his disciples left Judea to return to Galilee. We do not know the route that was taken on many of his journeys, but on this oc- casion, rather than going through the Jordan valley, Jesus decided to go through the land of Samaria.
We will remember that the pious Jews avoided traveling in this country when they could. Feelings between the Jews and the Samaritans had been growing until, unfortunately, they had reached the point of hatred. The trouble had started almost a thousand years earlier when the kingdom of Israel was first divided. Later the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom, carried many of the people away, replacing them with strangers. In time these strangers mixed with the Israelites, and even though their
religion was similar to that of the Jews, they had many serious differ- ences.
One of the important landmarks on the road through Samaria is Jacob's Well, located near the town of Sychar. Here the father of the twelve tribes of Israel had bought some ground, some of which he had given to his son, Joseph, and here Jacob had lived for a time. Conse- quently, the place was sacred to all of the children of Israel.
It was the "sixth hour," or about noon, that Jesus and his fellow trav- elers reached the well. The Savior, weary from the journey, stayed there to rest while his disciples went into the city to buy some food. While they were gone a woman came to the well to draw some water. An ordinary Jew would not have spoken to this person, first of all because she was a woman, and secondly because she was a Samaritan. But the mes- sage of the gospel was for all people, so to engage her in conversation Jesus asked for a drink.
Her answer was what we would have expected: "How is it that thou, being a Jew, asks drink of me, which am of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans."
Jesus replied, "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water."
The woman, not understanding, asked where he would obtain living water, as he had no jar or rope to draw from the deep well. "Art thou greater than our father, Jacob," she asked, "which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his chil- dren, and his cattle?"
Jesus answered, "Whosoever drink - eth of this water shall thirst again:
"But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."
"Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw," the woman asked.
Jesus then asked the woman to go and bring her husband, but she said, "I have no husband."
Jesus answered, "Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
"For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
thy husband: in that saidst thou truly."
The woman, astounded that this man could tell her of her past, said, "Sir, I perceive that thou art a proph- et." After a brief discussion, the woman said, "I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things."
Jesus answered, "I that speak unto thee am he."
This ended the conversation, for just at this time the disciples returned. They were amazed that Jesus was talking with a woman, but no one asked him why he was doing so.
The woman, however, quickly left the scene, and hurrying into the city told the people, "Come, see a man, which told me all things that I ever did: is not this the Christ?"
Meanwhile, the disciples offered food to Jesus, saying, "Master, eat."
But, contemplating the greatness of his Father's work, he said he had meat that they knew not of. The disciples wondered if someone else had brought food, but the Savior added: "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
"Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then comest harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
"And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice to- gether.
"And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
"I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours."
Many of the people of the city, when they heard the story of the woman, believed that Jesus was the Christ, went to the well to see him, and pleaded with him to stay and teach them. This he did, remaining in the city among the Samaritans for two days.
"And many more believed because of his own word;
"And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy say- ing: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world."
After the two days were over, Jesus and his disciples returned to Galilee.
(To he continued) MARCH 1957
Salt Lake City... Air Capital of the West!
WESTERN AIRLINES' flights now assure you
of modern air service to 45 cities in the West
-with connections to all the world!
ENJOY AMERICA'S SMARTEST AIR SERVICE
Luxury beyond compare ... at no extra fare! Gourmet dining, orchids for the ladies, many other delightful extras!
<K
'if
DC-6B LUXURY FLIGHTS
Nonstop to Denver and Minneapolis- St. Paul. Nonstop to Los Angeles, San Francisco-Oakland, and Reno. Convenient departures.
MODERN DC-6B AIRCOACH FLIGHTS
Western's 4-engine DC-6B aircoach, "The Night Owl," offers you pres- surized comfort at coach economy. Minneapolis-St. Paul, $50.75. Las Vegas, $20.05. Los Angeles, $30.25.
^^^^^^
DELUXE PRESSURIZED CONVAIRS NORTHBOUND
Headed for Idaho, Montana, or Can- ada? Western's deluxe pressurized Convairs turn those weary miles in- to pleasant minutes!
To Hawaii and the Orient
To Mexico City
WESTERN
AIRLINES
171
l See your nearest
FLINTKOTE
CANEC dealer
COLORADO
TEXAS
|
ASPEN |
EL PASO |
|
Aspen Lumber & Supply |
Booker Building Materials |
|
AURORA |
Maley Building Material CO. |
|
Strait Lumber Co. |
|
|
11150 East Colfax |
UTAH |
|
BRIGHTON |
CEDAR CITY |
|
United Lmbr. & Hdwe. Inc. 307 Bridge Street |
Perry's Mill & Cabinet Shop |
|
CEDAR EDGE |
HURRICANE |
|
Cedar Edge Lumber Co. |
Graff Mercantile |
|
COLORADO SPRINGS |
KANAB |
|
Collier Lumber Co. |
Kanab Equitable |
|
543 West Colorado Avenue |
|
|
DENVER |
LOGAN |
|
ABZ Lumber Co. |
NiederhauserLmbr.&Constr.Co. |
|
3170 West Alameda |
MIDVALE |
|
Denver Lumber Co. 1580 South Santa Fe |
West Jordan Lumber Co. |
|
Santa Fe Lumber Co. |
MOAB |
|
4141 South Santa Fe |
McCormick Lumber Co. |
|
University Park Lumber Co. |
|
|
1810 South Josephine |
MOUNT PLEASANT |
|
GRAND JUNCTION |
Jewel M. Peterson Lumber Co. |
|
Blevins & Denning |
OGDEN |
|
432 North Avenue |
|
|
Burton Walker Lumber Co. |
|
|
LAKEWOOD |
2427 Lincoln Avenue |
|
Francis Bros. Lumber Co. |
Hansen Lumber Co. |
|
6700 West Colfax |
3125 Grant Avenue |
|
OURAY |
Ketchum Builders Supply |
|
Rice Lumber Co. |
2470 Wall Avenue |
|
Lincoln Lumber Co. |
|
|
2667 Lincoln Avenue |
|
|
IDAHO |
Norman Thompson Lumber Co. |
|
Warren |
|
|
BLACKFOOT |
|
|
Wilcox Sales Co. |
OREM |
|
BOISE |
Geneva Lumber & Hardware |
|
Producers Lumber Co. |
Three-Way Builders |
|
4205 Fairview Avenue |
PAROWAN |
|
BUHL |
Parowan Mercantile |
|
Citizens Building Supply |
|
|
P.O. Box 681 |
PROVO |
|
BURLEY |
Ross Jensen Lmbr. 8c Bldg. Supp |
|
496 North 7th East |
|
|
Independent Bldrs. Supp. Co. |
|
|
McBride Lumber Co. |
RICHFIELD |
|
CALDWELL |
Pearson Si Croft |
|
Simplot Lumber Co. |
SALT LAKE CITY |
|
P.O. Box 631 |
General Builders Supply Co, |
|
COEUR D' ALENE |
255 West 27th South |
|
Atlas Tie Co. |
Hyland Lumber Co. |
|
2182 Highland Drive |
|
|
JEROME Northside Lumber Co. P.O. Box 867 |
Ketchum Builders Supply 780 West 4th South |
|
Mulhollands |
|
|
MERIDIAN |
3298 Highland Drive |
|
Meridian Coal & Lumber Co. |
Nu-Way Builders Supply |
|
632 East First Street |
35 West 9th South |
|
MONTPELIER |
Payless Builders Supply Co. |
|
Bear River Co. |
875 South Redwood Road |
|
South-East Builders Supply Co. |
|
|
SAND POINT |
2189 McClelland |
|
Bargain Suppliers |
Utah Lumber Co.* |
|
SUGAR CITY |
SPRINGVILLE |
|
Sugar City Furn, & Hdwe. |
Grand Lumber Co. |
|
TWIN FALLS |
|
|
Clyde Bishop Lumber Co. |
ST. GEORGE |
|
Cress Building Supply |
J & J Mill & Lumber |
|
P.O. Box 811 |
Pickett Lumber Co. |
|
General Builders Supply Co. |
Woodbury Lumber Co. |
|
Keel-Wilkinson & Stronk P.O. Box 1129 |
TOOELE |
|
Twin Falls Lumber Co. |
Farm & Home Bldrs. Supply Co. |
|
VERNAL |
|
|
NEW MEXICO |
Maeser Lumber Co. |
|
ALBUQUEROUE |
WYOMING |
|
Santa Fe Builders Supply Co. |
|
|
EVANSTON |
|
|
LAS CRUCES |
Bear River Lumber Co. |
|
Robert Porter & Sons |
|
|
ROSWELL |
KEMMERER |
|
Lumberman's Supply Co. |
Lincoln Supply Co. |
|
SANTA FE |
LYMAN |
|
Santa Fe Builders Supply Co. |
Lyman Hardware Si Implements |
|
"AUTHORIZED FLINTKOTE-CANEC DISTRIBUTOR |
PIONEER
Box 2218 Terminal Annex, Los Angeles 54, Calif.
LOS ANGELES • SAN FRANCISCO • PORTLAND • SEATTLE DENVER* HONOLULU 'SPOKANE- HILO-SALT LAKE CITY
Please send free Idea Kit No. 357
STREET- CITY
i
I.
Of**
i
G»n
2
7
i
I
1 l 1
I
. . . -Jhink it
L
uou maw
bte that wilstam
D055L
?en
Richard L. Evans
AST week we quoted from Cromwell a single searching sentence: "I beseech you . . . think it possible that you may be mistaken."1 We applied it then to being mistaken in misjudging men. Today we should like to apply it to the possibility of misjudging other matters. Searching men, with searching minds, are constantly penetrating into unknown areas and discovering much that modifies the theories and hypotheses of the past. And where there are so many un- answered questions, so much as yet undiscovered, so much as yet unrevealed, a closed mind can be neither comfortable nor condoned. The Lord God has not told us all he knows — nor have the minds of men as yet discovered the complete or ultimate answers concerning men, or mind, or matter. But still there is sometimes conceit where there is a little learning. And when a person has learned more, by comparison, than another person, sometimes a little learning seems like a lot of learning. But conceit of learning is unbecoming any man — and all men — for there is no field of knowledge in which any man can be sure he has arrived at the ultimate and absolute answer; there is no one who has reached the ultimate in any area of endeavor. This suggests again some questions that could be asked of all who are dictatorial in teaching, of all who are overly positive in opinion: Who knows of a textbook that will not be revised? Who knows of a process that will not be improved? Who knows of a theory that may not be modified or abandoned? Who knows how the world was made? Who knows how life came to be? Who knows how a single living cell becomes an eye, or a tooth, or a wondrous functioning physical form? Who knows how the body heals itself? Who knows the source of the instinct of animals? As the voice asked of Job so many centuries ago: "Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts?"2 Who knows all the answers? Who knows what visions of the great be- yond the prophets have seen and left unsaid? Who knows what man will yet discover, or when the Lord God will further reveal his mind and will? He does not expect us to know all the answers — not now. But he expects a mind open to truth, and a teachable spirit, and a willingness to learn, to seek, to search with freedom and with faith. He ex- pects us also to use the truth we have — and to keep his com- mandments. And as to the theories and tentative teachings of men: he expects us to know that we may be mistaken — ■ and to avoid conceit of learning — and walk humbly with him who keeps creation in its course.
^■Quoted in Unpopular Essays, Bertrand Russell. 2Job 38:36.
"OL
-Spoken lA/ord
JpG,<*,* vvv.iA, FROM TEMPLE SQUARE
PRESENTED OVER KSL AND THE COLUMBIA BROADCASTING
SYSTEM, JANUARY 20, 1957
Copyright 1957
I I I I I
I
i I
I I
I
I I I I I I I I I I I I I
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
172
I I I
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
happy projects Jar home lovers!
home
improvement products
^DECOTONE TILE
Attractive random perforation traps noise, makes a quieter room in addition to insulating against heat and cold. Factory pre-finished white, size 12"xl2" and 12"x24".
^INSULATING TILE
Big easy-to-apply tiles in many handy sizes — from 12"xl2" to 16"x32". Insulates, decorates, easy to maintain. Factory pre-finished in white, or may be easily painted.
-)jf INSULATING PLANK
The companion Canec wall product, for remodeling or new construction. Apply these big 8' or 10' planks horizontally or vertically for attractive decorative effects. Factory pre-finished in white — easily painted.
cv
rtfcj!*
t
Sowfd condition % imdate % decomte...tvith Came
Home improvement ideas come thick and fast with Canec products. Made of strong Hawaiian cane fibre, they're tough and durable, yet amazingly easy to work with. Best of all, Canec is economical. See your Canec dealer listed in the column on the opposite page, or mail the coupon today!
MIA Youth Conference
(Concluded from page 149)
man. His humor and heartwarming manner brought the audience close to him and made his message excep- tionally forceful and effective. His afternoon address dealt with experi- ences in Palestine along the theme: "Where there's a will, there's a way."] Other special features of the Sun- day meetings were the presentation of Individual Awards to approxi- mately twenty young women from the Augsburg, Esslingen, Frankfurt, and Munich branches; four Silver Gleaner Awards to girls in the Frank- furt Branch; and an Honorary Master M Man award to the first counselor in the mission presidency, Brother Ru- dolf A. Noss, in acknowledgment of his work with and for the young people of the West German Mission during his twenty years of service to the Church. Music was furnished in the morning session by the Frankfurt District choir and in the afternoon session by the combined choirs of the Munich and Stuttgart districts. Spe- cial quartet and solo numbers were rendered by missionaries serving in West Germany.
Sunday evening, a 200-voice chorus, representing young members from branches all over the mission, fur- nished an inspiring musical program under the direction of Elder Newel Kay Brown from Salt Lake City. Guest artists were Elder David J. Dalton, violinist; Sister LuCretia Ferre, soprano soloist from Salt Lake
Flower girl, Helga Mettlach of Frankfurt, Germany, passes roses to Honor Girls during Honor Girls Dance at Gold and Green Ball.
Charlette Yelitto of Darmstadt, Germany, was selected as Queen of Gold and Green Ball.
City who was doing concert work in Europe; and Sister Edelgard Hainke, pianist, who was also in Europe do- ing concert work. A missionary quartet furnished several special numbers.
Monday, July 30, began early with an MIA officers meeting, which later separated into departmental sessions for dance, speech, drama, music, and sports. The early after- noon was devoted to instruction courses for leaders of the various classes in the MIA and then at 3:30 a series of educational films was shown. The young people who had been engaged in sport activities dur- ing the day were encouraged to do some sightseeing in the interesting city of Wiesbaden late in the after- noon.
The evening's entertainment was also the culmination of many days and weeks of script writing, rehearsals, and preparation. The theme for the evening was "Characteristics of Each Country." This was carried out through musical numbers, short skits, and a miniature opera.
An outing was scheduled for Tues- day, July 31, in the beautiful Taunus Mountains. Despite some interfer- ence from the weather, a good time was had by the 550 participants. A picnic completed the day, and the German people found it quite a novelty to eat little white things they had never seen before — marshmal- lows.
Everyone was up by 5 a.m. Wed- nesday morning for a Rhine River cruise. This provided a day of re- laxation and quiet fun on board a 700-passenger river boat. The weather was clear, and the picturesque an- cient castles and the hills terraced by fruitful vineyards which border the Rhine on each side made it a photographer's paradise. This was a memorable day for the young people of the West German Mission, and the crewmen aboard the river boat will also remember it for a long time because, as was said by one of them: "This is the first time we've ever been up the Rhine without selling even one package of cigarets or a bottle of beer."
The group returned home a little tired but very happy. After a re- freshing night's sleep they began their journey homeward by train, motorcycle, car, or bicycle, greatly built up through having renewed many acquaintances, having made new friends, having enjoyed the high- est type of fun and entertainment, and having felt the spirit of the Lord in the inspiring meetings they at- tended. As the 1956 annual MIA conference of the West German Mis- sion came to a close, talk about new ideas and plans for the 1957 confer- ence began to fill the air.
174
These Times
(Continued from page 134)
pulled and used by British and French influence for British and French pur- poses. This will irritate all parties con- cerned, including the Middle Eastern countries themselves.
2. Irritating the Arab States and Israel. Egypt, no less than Syria, other Arab states, and Israel, is extremely sensitive about its "sovereignty" and "independence." The Arab states will not welcome American intervention. We did not welcome the well-meaning Citizen Genet of France who used US ports and cities for French purposes in 1791 before Washington severed the French alliance. In the Arab world the British and French have used key per- sonnel familiar with Arabic language, culture, and religion — and have failed. Americans are even less favorably equipped to deal with these sensitive, newly independent states. They know our western allies need their oil and (Concluded on page 176) THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Now! Two big ways 1957 IH Tractors put power to better use!
. # • gives you PULL-POWER second to none!
Say goodbye to frequent shallow-ups and shiftdowns! Here's your double- barreled answer to tough spots — new Fast-Hitch with Traction- Control, plus Torque Amplifier! See how this great combination of "grip and go" gives new McCormick® Farmall® 350, 450, and International® 350 Utility tractors pull-power out of all proportion to rated horsepower.
IH Traction-Control Fast-Hitch gives you continuous traction that grows with the load! This keeps you plowing full depth when others can't. To give your IH tractor its second wind, just pull the Torque Amplifier lever. Instantly, without shifting, TA increases drawbar pull up to 45% to keep you plowing non-stop! This surging power-punch teamed with ground-gripping traction makes you master of the toughest plowing on your farm!
Call your IH dealer . . . he'll gladly demonstrate. Feel the "grip and go" of traction that grows with the load and the power-punch of TA. Try the new 4-plow Farmall 450 . . . 3-plow Farmall 350, or International 350 Utility.
See your
INTERNATIONAL
HARVESTER Dealer
International Harvester products pay for themselves in use — McCormick Farm Equipment, Farmall and International Tractors . . . Motor Trucks . . Construction Equipment — General Office, Chicago 1, Illinois
Outplow them all with the "grip and go" of this new
Farmall 450 — pulling a new McCormick 4-furrow Fast- Hitch plow with individual spring trip beams.
Ill
|
1. *J iiifW;i?iB |
iSiiiiii§i§i w |
|
|
MARCH 1957 |
175
These Times
(Concluded from page 174)
resources. They know that the Eisen- hower Doctrine, although silent on the subject, is keenly concerned with the two-thirds of the world's oil which lies in the Middle East, and with the strategic Suez waterway which makes movement of the oil possible.
3. Irritating India and other neutralist states. The Afro- Asian bloc with twenty- six votes is a major policy influence in the United Nations. They will not wel- come any show of American power as the heir and successor to their former British and French overlords.
4. Reviving the cold war with Russia. Russia has already met with her central European satellites and condemned the Eisenhower Doctrine as a "threat to peace." The meeting occurred in Buda- pest, January 1-4, 1957, and has had overtones since. But the real threat to a renewal of the cold war lies in the Middle East itself, especially in Egypt, Israel, Syria, and Jordan. Colonel Nasser travels to Moscow on an official visit this year. Egypt, Syria, and Jordan have the jitters about the mili- tary strength of Israel, who, rightly or wrongly, they fear as a trigger-happy aggressor. A major feature of the Eisen- hower Doctrine is the promise of eco- nomic and military American aid. Promised only on request and as a pro- tection against "Communist aggression," it is transparent on the face of the policy that if Egypt requests tanks and planes from the US and receives them, and remains "sovereign," it could also utilize its new-found posture of military strength as a counterbalance against Israel, and vice versa. In other words, involvement in the Middle East, even within the specific terms of the Eisen- hower Doctrine as announced January 5, 1957, means that the United States (or the United Nations with the US backing it to the hilt) has taken on the job of keeping peace between Israel and the Arab states.
5. Posing new hazards for Mr. Eisen- hower and the Republican party at home. The Democrats are in control of Congress. Mr. Sam Rayburn and Mr. Lyndon Johnson, two Democrats from Texas, lead the House and the Senate, respectively. They will follow a successful Eisenhower leadership. But just as patriotic Republicans turned on Mr. Truman over Korea, so patriotic Democrats can stir up plenty of diffi- culty for Mr. Eisenhower if things do not go smoothly.
Mr. Eisenhower finds himself the first President in American history to operate in office with the handicap of the Twenty-second amendment to the Con- stitution of the United States. He is now a "lame duck" President. Whether
176
a "lame duck" president can retain suffi- cient vigor in the administration to ensure successful manipulation of these complicated policies will shortly be ob- servable. It can be said for Mr. Eisen- hower that he has an extremely good chance to do so. The weight of experi- ence, popularity, and national good feel- ing has been with him. He also has the advantage of a recent phenomenon in American politics, a working Vice Presi- dent. It may well be that one result of the Twenty-second Amendment in the next four years will be to elevate the vice presidency, in the hands of a young man, to a new role of importance beyond anything yet seen. The Twenty-second Amendment, in these times, may be the means of giving the American republic not only a working vice presidency, but also a four-year apprenticeship for the presidency. What this means to the Democratic party, which is in control of Congress but which does not have a leader-apparent for 1960, will not be lost on the Democrats. The years 1957 through 1960 will see the Democratic party doing their very best to "run against" Mr. Nixon, while attempting to build up their own potential candidate or candidates for the presidency in 1960 (when President Eisenhower loses his constitutional eligibility). This factor poses real hazards for President Eisen- hower and the Republican leadership in launching the "doctrine" and underlines the importance of the President's phrase
in delivering the message: Under these circumstances I deem it necessary to seek the co-operation of the Congress;" like- wise his appeal "to manifest again our national unity in support of freedom and to show our deep respect for the rights and independence of every nation."
President Eisenhower's statement has put the world on notice that the United States intends to use its economic and military strength to maintain peace, in- cluding peace in the Middle East. The Sixth Fleet, stationed in the Mediter- ranean, is already the strongest armed force in the area. The President's declaration lets the world know that the Sixth Fleet is there on business, that there is more power where that came from, that our main business notwith- standing is peace, and that we are will- ing to support the aspirations of the peoples of that area for independence and "sovereignty." The "irritations" described are likely to be absorbed and cushioned within this framework.
The policy is a bold and courageous step. It is based on the same kind of sense that underlies the thought ex- pressed by Robert Frost, that "good fences make good neighbors." The Eisenhower Doctrine proposes to build no US fences in the Middle East. They are to be built by the nations there. But we are saying we want "no tres- passing" in the area, and if those states want our help in preventing trespassers, we are available for assistance.
Woman of Courage
(Continued from page 165)
District, following her successful three years' work as Primary Supervisor in that area. She tells in her own words of her appointment:
"Superintendent Alonzo Huntsman was responsible for my appointment as Primary Supervisor. It happened like this — early one spring morning he came to our school in Sugarville and said he came to talk to us. He told us that the Board of Education had voted to hire a Primary Super- visor and that he was to recommend the candidates. He suggested two or three names but said he had a local teacher in mind for the job and pro- ceeded to describe her in such glow- ing terms that I had no idea that he was talking about me. When he told me, I was so surprised and shocked that I was at a loss for words. He asked me if I could qualify, and I told him I didn't think so. Glen said,
'Of course you can.' Superintendent Huntsman went immediately to the phone and called Salt Lake City. They told him that I was qualified for a supervisory certificate.
"The little success I achieved as a supervisor was due largely to Super- intendent Huntsman. He was a man of great enthusiasm and marked ability."
A second time tragedy struck, al- though it was not readily recognized at the time. Deta noticed a tremor in her left hand. When the doctor was consulted, he said that she had been working too hard and needed rest. Deta resigned her position and, after a summer vacation of rest, en- tered Utah State Agricultural