IMPROVEMENT
SEPTEMBER 1951
PRESIDENT JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH
Gas vtifer
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Gas works for so little money you can use all the hot water you want with never a worry about the heating cost. Gas is always on the job, too . . . heats water three times faster than any other practical fuel. Gas is so speedy it meets all the demands of an automatic dishwasher, an automatic clothes washer, a houseful of guests, a growing family. All you need to do is to be sure that the storage tank in your automatic gas water heater is the right size for your home. The chart at left gives recom- mended sizes. And when you install a new automatic gas water heater, you'll find it costs less to buy, too. For more facts, see your appliance dealer.
MOUNTAIN FUEL SUPPLY COMPANY
By DR. FRANKLIN S. HARRIS, JR.
rp he behavior of the flatworm is de- *■ termined by the rise and fall of the sea with the tides. When the tide comes in and waves beat on the sand, the animals crawl under the sand for protection; when the water goes down, they creep up to the surface again. Professor H. S. Jennings reports that if the worms are placed in an aquarium, they still go down at the time of high tide and upward at the time of low tide, hence can be used as tide indi- cators for about two weeks.
TJ lies kept completely in the dark for ■*- sixty-nine generations have their
eyes unaffected and still react normally
to light.
nn wenty-one inches of rainfall in ■*■ Texas are needed to produce the same amount of growth that can be produced with thirteen inches in Mon- tana. The moisture available for plants is influenced by the amount of water which evaporates, and evapora- tion is influenced by temperature, rela- tive humidity, and air movement.
TV MONG the most beautiful famous ■**■ waterfalls in the world are two on Brazil's boundaries. On the boundary with Argentina is the Iguassu Falls, over two hundred feet high. On the boundary with Paraguay is the Guaira's seven falls which on the basis of mean annual flow combined with con- siderable height of 130 feet is the world's greatest waterfall. Its esti- mated mean annual flow is 470,000 cubic feet a second.
7\ recent study of 246 violent deaths *"*• in Westchester County in New York, population 600,000, has shown a close relation between alcohol and violent death. Autopsies showed that 87 percent of the homicide victims, 46 percent of those who died in auto acci- dents, 24 percent of those in other accidents and 19 percent of the sui- cides had been drinking before they were killed. The Journal of the Amer- ican Medical Association report notes that of the drivers killed in auto acci- dents most "were not chronic alco- holics but people who had been drink- ing at a cocktail party, a tavern, a wed- ding, or a holiday celebration."
SEPTEMBER 1951
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PARENTS AS TEACHERS
By H. H. Bailey
Perhaps you have often heard this statement, "Parents are good, bad, and indifferent." However, I have never found a father and a mother who did not hope and pray often for that son or daughter of theirs. Without excep- tion, they wanted him to be a good man, a worthy citizen, a credit to the community in which he lived.
The world at large has forgotten the role of parents as teachers. Many educators have discouraged home teaching at an appalling loss to boys and girls. A noble mother is the greatest teacher in the world, especially in building good habits in the lives of her children. The father should be an able assistant.
"Parents are good teachers," did you say? Certainly. There are unnumbered thousands of men and women who owe much of what they are to their parents, not only because their parents taught well, but also of far greater importance, because they lived well. But I am willing to concede that home train- ing is at times bad, and occasional- ly indifferent. Without good home training any child is greatly handi- capped.
Conscientious Church people have a decided advantage in train- ing their children. There is the enduring influence of the Great Teacher, so helpful that no one as yet has been able to estimate its full value. The parents, living the fundamentals of the Church, teach largely by example, which is far greater than teaching by precept. However, home training is of value only so long as it is right home training. Once in awhile children are trained to cry. They are oc- casionally trained to be selfish. At times they are trained to develop undesirable dispositions. A few are trained to be discordant notes in the home and elsewhere.
This training is largely com- pleted within the first six years. Habits and qualities established at that age are broken with difficulty. Now, habits are vital. They are indispensable. Nearly all of what people do is done through habit. Each person is an actual bundle of {Concluded on page 613) THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
UL
miar.
f
FOR ALL-AROUND
TRAINING
^A) cadt
emic
J^plntnai
r
YOUR
CHURCH
UNIVERSITY
[-^kudicat
REMEMBER THESE DATES
Sept. 26— Freshmen report for orientation. Apply now for admission.
Oct. 1 and 2— Registration for all regular students.
Oct. 3— Registration for special students. Classes begin.
BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY
PROVO, UTAH
SEPTEMBER 1951
611;
IMPROVEMENT
r^J n~> n^
VOLUME 54
rW
NUMBER 9
n-J
J^eptemoer 1951
en
Editors: DAVID 0. McKAY - JOHN A. WIDTSOE - RICHARD L. EVANS
Managing Editor: DOYLE L. GREEN
Associate Managing Editor: MARBA C. JOSEPHSON
Manuscript Editor: ELIZABETH J. MOFFITT - Research Editor: ALBERT L.
ZOBELL, JR. - "Today's Family" Editor: BURL SHEPHERD
Contributing Editors: ARCHIBALD F. BENNETT - G. HOMER DURHAM
FRANKLIN S. HARRIS, JR. - HUGH NIBLEY - LEE A. PALMER
CLAUDE B. PETERSEN - SIDNEY B. SPERRY
General Manager: ELBERT R. CURTIS - Associate Manager: BERTHA S. REEDER
Business Manager: JOHN D. GILES - Advertising Director: VERL F. SCOTT
Subscription Director: A. GLEN SNARR
The Editors Page
The Teacher David O. McKay 621
Church Features
Evidences and Reconciliations: CLVIII — Is There a Conflict Be- tween Science and Religion? John A. Widtsoe 622
Joseph Fielding Smith, President of the Quorum of the Twelve
Richard L. Evans 624
The World of the Jaredites— Part I Hugh Nibley 628
Some Problems of Interest Relating to the Brass Plates
Sidney B, Sperry 638
Twice Blessed — Genealogy Marie Bartholomew Larsen 642
The Real Happiness in Life Gleaner Committee 643
No-Liquor-Tobacco Column 666
Presiding Bishopric's Page 668
The Church Moves On 616
Genealogy 642
Melchizedek Priesthood 666
Special Features
Self-Punishment - ,.....W. Dean Belnap 632
Profane and Soiled Speech Keith M. Walker 635
Through the Eyes of Youth— The Richer Life Barbara Benson 644
America's "First" Farmers ._ John Sherman Walker 646
The Spoken Word from Temple Square..
...... Richard L> Evans 652, 656, 660, 662
Exploring the Universe, Franklin
S. Harris, Jr 609
Parents as Teachers, H. H. Bailey..610 These Times, The Science of Hu- man Relations, G. Homer Dur- ham 614
On the Bookrack .........661
Three Tests for Speaking, William Dorris Griffin 667
Today's Family -Burl Shepherd
Fresh Vegetable Chart 676
Sewing Tips, Louise Price Bell..677
Homemaker's Bookrack 679
Handy Hints 679
New Uses for Old Felts 680
Your Page and Ours 688
The Signpost . "Dear John" ... A Lift for Pat
Stories, Poetry
Joyce Knudsen 631
.Alice Morrey Bailey 636 Alvin J, Schow 640
Frontispiece, Mountain Aspens, James W. Magee —.619
Poetry Page 620
Country Doctor, Eleanor A. Chaf- fee 630
To Fashion Song, Inez Clark Thorson 634
The Mystery of a Day, Clarence Edwin Flynn 652
Brown Field, Anobel Armour 654
We Buy a Beach Cottage, Grace Sayre 671
Reassurance, Mabel Law Atkin- son 682
\_Jf facial \Jraan of
THE PRIESTHOOD QUORUMS, MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIA- TIONS, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCA- TION, MUSIC COMMITTEE, WARD TEACHERS, AND OTHER AGENCIES OF
^Jhe L^nurch or
/4eiiA& L^nridl
of <=JLattef-dau S^aints
THE COVER
The cover illustration this month is a photograph of President Joseph Fielding Smith of the Council of the Twelve. With its publication we complete the series of four-color process portraits which, began with the picture of the late President George Albert Smith, and continued with full-color pictures of the new First Presi- dency.
President Joseph Fielding Smith's photograph is the work of Lignell & Gill of Salt Lake City.
■ ♦
612
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Copyright 1951 by Mutual Funds, Inc., a Corpora- tion of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All rights reserved. Sub- scription 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 un- solicited manuscripts, but welcomes contributions. All manuscripts must be accompanied by sufficient postage for delivery and return.
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THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Parents as Teachers
(Concluded from page 610) habits. Every good habit adds to personality: Every bad habit de- tracts from personality.
The child who is not taught proper health habits from babyhood suffers through this neglect. Suffi- cient sleep, one of these habits, should be an early desire. Learning to eat wholesome food, well- balanced, without complaining, is a high-ranking habit.
There are other good habits in large number that every child should possess. The earlier he acquires them the better. Among these is the habit and desire to do honest work. In too many homes and in too many schools, boys and girls are taught not to work but to desire the life of the indolent. Hon- est work is one of God's choicest blessings. There is no success or achievement without it.
The home that delays the train- ing of the child in good habits and right conduct until he is six years old is just six years behind schedule; this lost time is seldom regained.
Memory is a highly important part of the mind. It should be developed early in life. Among its attributes is the ability to recall pleasant events. This should be- come a well-established habit, as should the ability to forget the un- pleasant. Blessed is he who recalls only the helpful, the inspiring, the beautiful!
The characteristic of being agree- able ought to be a common trait of mankind, fully developed during the child's first six years of parental training, and then supplemented by school experiences until there is a well-established habit of agreeable- ness.
No person is properly trained un- til he can live in harmony with those about him. Parents should never forget that it is a superb quality for their son to adjust himself to exist- ing conditions without sacrifice of his high principles of good conduct. One who can do this has pleasant living ahead, as do his parents, his earliest and best teachers.
There are many intangible habits for the parents to teach. Among these are courtesy, kindness, appre- ciation, unselfishness, forgiveness, devotion, loyalty. What an oppor- tunity and privilege parents have!
SEPTEMBER 1951
TEAMS PLAY BETTER WITH QUALITY
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***
now that he wears glasses!
Ask the teachers in school! They'll tell you good eye- sight often makes the dif- ference between poor and excellent school-work. Be certain your child is pre- pared to do his best. Have the registered optometrist examine his eyes today!
SCHOOL-TIME IS EYE-EXAMINATION-TIME
have your child's eyes examined today!
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614
THE SCIENCE OF HUMAN RELATIONS
Tt is commonplace, almost a daily ex- perience, to hear some person pro- claim that the paramount problem in these times is for humans to learn to live together amicably. The issue is usually phrased as a "race" between education and catastrophe; education's role being sometimes emphasized as "education for human relations." This sometimes breeds enormities such as the academic pot-boilers, offered for two hours college credit or more by some "experts" under such titles as "Education for Western Survival," "Education for Better Human Rela- tions," "Civilization and Education," and others — as if some of us profes- sors knew the answers and had ready- made pellets for the body politic. Ah, that we knew one-half as much! And yet, there is much that we do know that we could use far better. Likewise, it is symptomatic of the times that the effort is made, via education, to win the race with catas- trophe.
However a moment's reflection will suggest that all education worth the name, since the activity first began, has been "education for survival," eastern, western, northern, or south- ern. Certainly, the social sciences and the colleges of pedagogy have no mo- nopoly of the field. The social sciences do have a large responsibility in in- vestigating, isolating, and clarifying any data which may assist in helping men to live together, fruitfully and peacefully. The importance of religion and religious systems in this quest is not overlooked by the anthropologist nor by most of the historians. The sociologists, for the most part, too, are aware of the significance of this im- portant area, together with some psy- chologists. Others, including the politi- cal scientists and the economists, judging from their discourse and litera- ture, are but dimly aware of the phenomena which the anthropologist views as vital. The influence of Catholicism, Confucianism, Buddhism are but dimly seen by most "ob- servers," including the journalists and commentators who feed the public its diet of policy-ideas, vis-a-vis the cur- rent conflicts in Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Far East. Yet it seems obvious to a literate person of almost any faith or social experience, that much human behavior finds root or seeks justification in the fundamental
By DR. G. HOMER DURHAM
Head of Political Science Department, University of Utah
attitudes and outlooks nourished by religion. This phenomenon deserves attention from either "empirical" or ' 'philosophical' ' — value-conscious-and- value-impregnated research.
In 1 927 the Western Electric Com- pany began a series of large-scale investigations, with which Harvard University soon joined, into human behavior in industry. A number of sig- nificant volumes appeared in conse- quence: Elton Mayo's The Human Problems of an Indus- trial Civilization (1933); North Whitehead's The Industrial Worker ( 2 vols., 1938); Roethlis- berger and Dickson, Management and the Worker (1939), and several others. World War II brought much opportunity for investi- gation of human behavior in military organization. Monumental volumes such as Samuel Stouffer and asso- ciates', The American Soldier (2 vols., 1949), Grinker and Spiegel, Men Un- der Stress (1945), and War Neuroses in North Africa (1943) stand as re- search monuments to this effort. Fort Benning, Georgia, current Army center for continued investigations in the field, has reported that 640,000 Ameri- can soldiers "cracked up" from mental or emotional causes while in the serv- ice. Administrative theory, as an academic discipline, is now vitally con- cerned with the prospects of a "sci- ence" of human relations. The old traditional ideas of "chain of com- mand," executive controls, central staff services, hierarchy and discipline, are rapidly being either discarded or modified. Instead of viewing organiza- tion under strong central leadership as a problem in hierarchical autocracy and whip-cracking, modern social sci- ence is showing that organizations consist of conscious, strong-emotioned human beings who behave and act like such. Consequently group activity, the essence of any administrative problem, and executive leadership are coming to take such findings into ac- count.
(Concluded on page 670) THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Why the
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OF THESE < FINE BOOKS FOR ONLY
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n,',k * ^lth ,m,embe"Wp in the Family Reading Club Founded to select and distribute books which are worthwhile, interesting and entertainttg
ily Reading Club is just what you have been looking for! Read, below, how the Club brinS you the very finest new books at bargain plTJs
S3rt t2le COupon t0 'oin the Club and ge the three books you want, without delay'
MEMBERSHIP
Thorndike-Barnhart DESK DICTIONARY
A really comprehensive book. Con- tains 80,000 entries, 700 illustrations, 900 pages. Newly written, modern, accurate. Recently featured in Life, Publisher's edition, $2.75.
AN ISLAND SUMMER
By Waller Magnes Teller The warm and entertaining story of the Teller family's escape from the twentieth century to the joys of youth, nature and the simple life of Martha's Vineyard. Publisher's edition, $3-00.
LOOK YOUNGER, LIVE LONGER
By Gayelord Hauser
Here, at last, in one volume is Mr. Hauser's amazing plan for lifelong youth, scrength and health through proper diet. An exciting book every- one should read. Pub. ed., $3.00.
THE GREATEST STORY EVE R TOLD
By Fulton Oursler
A reverent, faithful retelling of the sublime story of Jesus, bringing Him and those whose lives were entwined with His excitingly close to the mod- ern reader. Publisher's edition, $2.95.
MUSIC LOVERS' ENCYCLOPEDIA
Edited by Deems Taylor
Lays the foundation of a musical education ! Contains summaries of 90 operas, a dictionary of 7,000 terms, 8,500 short biographies, 900 pages. A complete source book !
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE
By Cecil Woodbam-Smith
We think of Miss Nightingale as a simple nurse, yet she was actually an iron-willed 'woman who forced world revolution in nursing. As ex- citing as a novel. Pub. ed., $4,50.
WHY WE MAKE THIS SENSATIONAL OFFER!
The Family Reading Club makes this unusual offer to demonstrate how mem- bership in the Club brings you the best and most enjoyable new boots at much less than the publishers' retail editions! Each month publishers are invited to submit books they believe will meet the Family Reading Club standards. Our Board of Editors then selects the book it can recommend most enthusiastically to members. These are books which every member of your family can read— books to be read with pleasure, and retained in your home library with pride. What Membership Means To You There is no charge for membership in the Family Reading Club beyond the cost of the books themselves. You pay only $1.89 each (plus postage and handling) for the books you purchase after reading the book review magazine which will come to your home each month. It is not necessary to purchase a book every month —you may accept as few as four each year to retain your membership. All se- lections are new, complete, well-printed and well-bound. And your books will be delivered to your door by the postman- ready to read!
FAMILY READING CLUB
SEPTEMBER 1951
Free "Bonus" Books
The Family Reading Club distributes a "Bonus" Book free for each four Club selections you take. These books will meet the high Club standards of excel- lence, interest, superior writing and wholesome subject matter— and you can build up a fine home library this way at no extra expense. The purchase of books from the Club for only $1.89 each— in- stead of the publishers' regular retail prices of $2.50 to $4.00— saves you 25% to 35% of your book dollars. And when the value of the Bonus Books is figured in, you actually save as much as 50%!
Join Now — Send No Money
If you believe in a book club which will appeal to the finest instincts of every member of your family, let us introduce you to the Family Reading Club NOW, while you can get your choice of ANY THREE of the wonderful books described here— two as your FREE Membership Gift, and one as your first Club selection —a total value as high as $14.45 for only SI. 89! Send no money, just mail the cou- pon today. However, as this unusual offer may be withdrawn at any time, we urge you to mail the coupon NOWi
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CREATIVE HOME DECORATING
By The Rockows Complete step-by-step methods for working real wonders in your home. 500 illustrations, 41 full-color "dem- onstration rooms", charts, etc. Pub- lisher's edition, $4.95.
APRIL SNOW
By Lillian Budd
The story of a mother's courageous struggle to raise her children to be kind, intelligent and loving — without the help or her cruel and selfish husband! Publisher's edition, $3.00,
THE MAESTRO
By Howard Taubman
A fascinating biography of Arturo Toscanini — as boy, man, musician and conductor. Written by one who has studied the Maestro for twenty years! Publisher's edition, $5.00.
ALL ABOUT HOUSE PLANTS
By Montague Free Make your living room an indoor gar- den ! Here Is a guide on what to "grow and how to grow it. 27 color pictures, scores of photos and drawings. Pub- lisher's edition, $3.50.
THE THREE MEANINGS
By Harry Emerson Fosdick
Dr. Fosdick's famous trilogy, com- plete and unabridged — now in one volume. The meanings of Faith, Prayer and Service help you better understand the Christian way of life.
THE COUNTRY WIFE
By Dorothy Van Doren
The hilarious adventures of a Man' hattan-dwelling family when they esj cape to the country for four months each year. A delightful chuckle on every page. Publisher's edition, $3.00.
MAIL COUPON NOWI
CHECK THE THREE BOOKS YOU WANT
WITH MEMBERSHIP IN THE FAMILY READING CLUB FAMILY READING CLUB. Dept. 9-ER, MINEOLA, NEW YORK
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Desk Dictionary r] An Island Summer
□ Creative Home Decorating
Q April Snow
□ Look Younger, Live Longer
□ The Greatest Story Ever Told
□ The Maestro
□ All About House Plants
□ Music Lovers* En- cyclopedia
□ Florence Nightingale
□ The Three Meanings
□ The Country Wife
Please send me at once the three books I have checked at the right as my two Membership Gift Books and first selection, and bill me only $1.89 (plus delivery) for all three. Also enroll me as a member of the Family Read- ing Club and send me, each month, a review of the Club's forthcoming selection. I have the privilege of notifying you in advance if I do not wish to accept any selection, or alternate book offered— at the special mem- bers' price of only $1.89 each (plus postage and han- dling). There are no membership dues or fees, and I may accept as few as four selections or alternates dur- ing the coming twelve months. As a member, I will receive a free Bonus Book with each four Club selec- tions or alternates I accept.
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THE CHURCH MOVES ON
w^v <rJJau Jo cJJau, Chronowau \_J¥ L^kvivch (Events
June 1951
7 Elder Mark E. Petersen, speak- ing to the title "Sons May Suc- ceed Where Fathers Fail," addressed the radio audience of the Columbia Broadcasting Company's "Church of the Air."
President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., of the First Presidency dedicated the chapel of the Mexican Branch, Temple View ( Salt Lake City ) Stake.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball of the Council of the Twelve dedicated the chapel of the Honeyville Ward, Box Elder (Utah) Stake.
18
Brigham Young University's Leadership Week began. Its
theme this year is "Leadership In a
Time of Uncertainty."
Evening Tabernacle organ recitals
and outside illustrated lectures for the
summer were begun on Temple
Square.
«\ j Nearly five thousand persons " -*- over seventy years of age were feted at the annual old-folks-day out- ing in Salt Lake City's Liberty Park.
i\ j Monument Park (Salt Lake " ^ City) Stake, organized from por- tions of Bonneville and Hillside stakes, with President George L. Nel- son, formerly first counselor in Bon- neville Stake presidency, as president, and Harold R. Boyer and Kenneth P. Borg as counselors. Comprising the new stake are the Monument Park Ward (from Bonneville Stake) and the Laurelcrest, Beacon, and Hillside wards (from the Hillside Stake). Elders Harold B. Lee and Henry D. Moyle of the Council of the Twelve were in charge of the organization of this, the 187th stake of the Church.
Dr. Asahel D. Woodruff, dean of the graduate school, Brigham Young University, began an eight-week series of addresses under the general title "Religion and Modern Problems," on the Church radio hour on KSL.
Elder Ezra Taft Benson of the Council of the Twelve dedicated the joint Oneida (Idaho) Stake house and Preston Seventh Ward chapel.
Elder Matthew Cowley of the Coun- cil of the Twelve dedicated the Re- dondo Ward, Inglewood (California) Stake, chapel.
Elder Marion G. Romney, Assistant to the Council of the Twelve, dedi- cated the Caldwell Ward, Nampa (Idaho) Stake, chapel.
616
y Q A "children's room" to accom- modate parents of small children visiting Temple Square is being built in the rear of the Salt Lake Taber- nacle.
The genealogical society of the Church closed. Before its scheduled reopening, August 13, it is expected that more than fifty thousand rolls of negative film and many thousands of books and records now in storage will be moved to the new annex. The In- dex Bureau offices will be extended into the basement of that annex and the third floor will be used as an ex- tension to the library.
July 1951
1
Santa Monica Stake organized from portions of the Inglewood ( California ) Stake, with President E. Garrett Barlow, president of the Inglewood Stake before this organiza- tion, as president. His counselors are Elders Clinton R. Cameron and C. Lott Hess. Wards are the Santa Monica, Brentwood, Mar Vista, West- dale, and La Cienga. Membership is in excess of four thousand. Wards remaining in the Inglewood Stake are Inglewood, Westchester, Redondo, Lawndale, Lennox, Centinella, and Torrance. Membership is in excess of 5,300. Elders Spencer W. Kimball and Henry D. Moyle of the Council of the Twelve effected the organiza- tion of this 188th stake now function- ing in the Church.
President Austin Gudmundsen, for- merly first counselor "to President E, Garrett Barlow, sustained as president of Inglewood (California) Stake, with Elders Lloyd Prestwich and William G. Woolley as counselors. Elder Clinton R. Cameron was released as second counselor.
Long Beach Sixth Ward, Long Beach (California) Stake, formed' from portions of the Long Beach Sec- ond and the Compton wards, with Elder Vern Handy as bishop.
i The First Presidency an- ^ nounced that by action of the First Presidency and members of the Council of the Twelve, the Japanese Mission has now been 'expanded to include the Philippines, Guam, and Okinawa.
The Church genealogical library now has in excess of seventy-eight million pages of records on micro- films.
0 President David O. McKay dedicated the combination Castle Dale Ward chapel-Emery (Utah) Stake house.
Glendale Park Second Ward, Pio- neer (Salt Lake City) Stake, formed from portions of Glendale Park Ward, with Elder George Ward as bishop. The name of the old ward was changed to Glendale Park First Ward.
Presiding Bishop LeGrand Richards dedicated the chapel of the Tooele Fourth Ward, Tooele (Utah) Stake.
Q The general superintendency of the Deseret Sunday School Union announced that two visual aids were ready for release. The film strip "Special Aids to Teaching" is in- tended for use in the July faculty meet- ing. "Making Lessons Live" is the title of the second film strip and will be used for the August faculty meet- ings of that organization throughout the Church.
j -j President David O. McKay ad- dressed the opening of the four- day celebration commemorating the centennial of Nephi, Utah.
Pjj The Salt Lake Tabernacle choir and organ broadcast began its twenty-third continuous year as a weekly feature on national radio net- works.
Presiding Bishop LeGrand Richard- dedicated the Blackfoot Third-Fifth Ward chapel, Blackfoot (Idaho) Stake.
Bishop Thorpe B. Isaacson of the Presiding Bishopric dedicated the Blackfoot Fourth Ward chapel, Black- foot (Idaho) Stake.
I Q President Joseph Fielding Smith of the Council of the Twelve celebrated his seventy-fifth birthday.
o o President David O. McKay d " dedicated the chapel of the Hood
River Ward, Portland (Oregon)
Stake.
Evening religious services in many
of the wards and branches carried a
pioneer theme.
O \ Pioneer Day. In Salt Lake City c and in other places where the Church is established, appropriate parades or other events marked the one hundred and fourth anniversary of the arrival of the Pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley.
(Concluded on page 665) THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
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FORD TRUCK I
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Stephens was one of 5,000 owners who rolled up over 50 million miles in the Ford Economy Run. He says:
"The daily records show my 1950 Ford F-3 Express ran up a total of 5,109 miles during the Run. Yet my
expense for gas, oil, maintenance and repairs came to only $123.51 . That's a running cost of only 22h£ a mile!"
Like others who rely on Ford for low running costs, Stephens uses the money -saving service available at Ford Dealers' everywhere. For more facts on the trucks that last longer and save you money every mile — see your Ford dealer.
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SEPTEMBER 1951
617
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THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
— Photograph: U.S. Forest Service
MOUNTAIN
ASPENS
Bf Jam* W Wa
$
ee
hey come in a mist of silver
From morning's golden glow, Bringing their peace and their beauty.
Whispering dreams they know — The lovely, tremulous aspens,
Loved by the grave old pines, Loved by the meadow that brings them
A gift of columbines.
The robins sing their sweetest songs
Among the aspen trees; The wild bluebells and roses send
Their fragrance with the breeze. So tenderly, where aspens smile,
The mountain shadows fall, And through the dusk, the aspens hear
A trout stream softly call.
SEPTEMBER 1951
619
„rfWJ)^^«i»S.
ONE MAN'S MEAT . . . By Eva Willes Wangsgaard
When I have gone too far to touch This ruffled lavender Of iris silk I love so much When scented breezes stir,
Somebody else will take my place
In house and garden plot And walk this path of shadow lace
To change what she has bought.
And she will say, "Remove that rose.
That flimsy trellis sags, And dig these out, for goodness knows
I've always hated flags!"
GIRL ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
By Alma Robison Higbee
SHE walked through fields of summer, knowing well That days were winged, that each hour
must be Pressed flower-wise, if still the heart would
tell Its beads of brightness when autumn
roamed the lea And changed green clover to a Tyrian sea.
Just yesterday she came from woods and
streams And turned the key in summer's golden
door; Today, in history books, vicarious dreams Would span the seas to seek the waiting
store Of treasure hidden on some distant shore.
TURN ABOUT By Verdie McMillen
MEN say that all boys need a dog To love, teach tricks, to feed. And if dogs follow boys about, For both it fills a need.
If grownups own a friendly dog
And treat it like a toy, The dog seems lonesome now and then —
Perhaps it needs a boy!
SACRED CONCERT By Anna M. Priestley
^xultantly the clear young voices
raise
A tower of song to reach the skies above, And listeners breathe silent hymns of
praise, One with the universe in faith and love. The very gates of heaven must stand ajar, And cherubim and seraphim bend down To listen, all enraptured, from afar And offer earthly music heaven's crown.
"Unfold, ye portals everlasting!" Hear The notes of triumph swell, a mighty tide Of melody that beats upon the ear Until, indeed, celestial gates swing wide. No other offering the heart can bring Can quite compare with that of those who sing.
620
MIRAGE By Thelma Ireland
A mighty lake spreads its blue wings Upon the deserts sand, With clouds reflected in its depths And trees along its strand. A mighty lake that disappears — - Could it be camouflage? A mighty lake that proved to be A fantasy, mirage. We find mirages, too, in life, That from afar look true, But from another angle, false. It is one's point of view!
ZEPHYR By Virgil B. Smith
Searching winds brush through the trees And whisk away the cloak of leaves — But leave a piercing silhouette Wrhere trunk and branch and twig are set.
And sometimes, too, a breeze of words Conceived in love, soaring like birds, Sweeps through a soul . . . confusion routs, Reveals pure truth beneath tangled doubts.
^> .»-
THE MIGHT AND THE GLORY By Georgia Moore Eberling
Where prairies run to vast infinity, And skies sweep farther than the
widespread plain, Where, like the ceaseless billows of the
sea, You glimpse the swaying miles of gilded
grain, There lies the might and glory of this land. Where wheels of industry and commerce
turn, And where close-knit the ranks of workers
stand, Where fires of forge and mill and home- stead burn, There lives the glory, and there grows the
might Of a free people and their hard-won peace. For these a nation, resolute, will fight, And strong in faith will die to hold their
lease! The world is lightly held with freedom
dead, And who would value life with freedom
fled?
YOUNG VISITOR
By Elaine V. Emans
NO longer now is she the child who gave Her rapt attention to the cunning pair Of elephants, nor does she quite behave With the assured and newly-practised air Of one who's just attained young ladyhood. It's not that she is ever awkward, either — But more as if she wonders if she should Make this or that remark to me, or neither. And oh, if she was lovely as a child. And if she will be lovelier, when mature, To me she is her loveliest, exiled This interval from either state, — unsure Of trivialities, and yet somehow Moving within a magic circle now.
VIGIL By Pansye H. Powell
I shall not sleep this autumn night away. There will be countless evenings after
this When I shall lie, unconscious of the bliss Enjoyed by those who live above the clay. But not tonight! As long as moonbeams
play, And these swift, chattering mountain
freshets kiss The whitened steppingstones, I must not
miss One second of this magic. Here I stay! Once in a life each moment seems to be Supremely clear and all-enrapturing, One of a kind and worthy to be known. Such times are lent us from eternity. How could I sleep when I am capturing This precious hour forever for my own?
AUTUMN REVERY By Daisy L. Detrick
NOW comes the season of tranquility When Autumn gladly binds her
tawny hair With golden fillets, dons a russet gown, And walks in quiet reverie. Aware Of all the pagan fragrances that earth In fruitfulness distils, the blazonry Of color, and the harvest's bounty, spread On field and hill for eager eyes to see, Yet she is musing on the shy young spring. The timid promise in the jade green
strands Of sprouting grain and in the varnished
buds' Sure flowering; recalls the fecund land's Swift burgeoning from vine and bush and
tree; The noisy urgency of summer when Spring's promise is fulfilled; the hum Insistent of the harvesting again.
The cycle is complete from seed to seed. She walks in quietness, content to know That golden haze will yield to gray, and
bring The still Nirvana of the winter's snow.
INTERCEPTION By Ora Pate Stewart
A poet sat in the arbored shade And thought to woo the muse, But her children deftly sought her out And came in threes and twos: "Where did God stand when he made the
world?" "I cannot find my shoes." "Who lights the lamps in lightning bugs?" "My tooth is coming loose."
The evening shade gave way to night:
The moon rose high and round
And pressed the shadows of the leaves
Like lace upon the ground.
"A cloud is shining up the moon."
A fleecy, flannel thing
Rubbed lightly at the copper disc
And left it shimmering.
"No muse tonight," the poet sighed, And raised her weary head — Then sadly, dutifully, she tucked Five muses into bed.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
<5\5^5v?5&55Ss5\?S^S^^
£5iA /-^resident
2>«J 0. WcJC
9
THE TEACHER
It is written that "he who governs well leads the blind, but he that teaches gives them eyes."
In A thoughtful work entitled The Religion Worth Having, Thomas Nixon Carver once gave several sociological marks of what he considered the true church. Among other things I find this comparison:
"Everyone is familiar with the intense struggle for existence that is carried on among the trees of the forest. It is asserted that the struggle is so intense and the issue of life and death is so sharply drawn among the young pines of a thicket, that the cutting of an inch from the top of one of them will doom it to ultimate extinction. Even that slight difference puts it at a disadvantage, and it never regains what was lost, but falls farther and farther behind and is eventually killed by its less unfortunate rivals.
"Now let us imagine," he continues, "that these trees were conscious beings and capable of having a religion. Let us suppose further that one set of trees possessed a religion which stimulated growth and helped them in the struggle for soil and light, while another possessed a religion which retarded growth and hindered in the struggle, is there any doubt as to which of these religions would ultimately dominate the forest? Those trees which happen to possess the religion which helped them would survive, and those which happen to possess the kind of religion which hinders them would perish, and their religion would perish with them.
"The issue of life and death," he adds, "is never so sharply drawn among human beings as among the trees of the forest, but in the long run the results appear to be very much the same"; and then, "if that be true, it will follow that the religion which best fits men [or the struggle with the forces of the world, which enables them to survive in this struggle, will eventually be left in possession of the world."
I am grateful for membership in a Church
whose religion fits men for the struggle with the forces of the world and, which enables them to survive in this struggle. One of these acting forces is the responsibility of teaching, and the opportunity afforded in this Church for so many to share this responsi- bility.
There are others, also; for example, much might be said about the accomplishment of the Church in enabling men to win dominion over the forces of nature; in other words, efficiency in helping supply the material needs of mankind. Though this phase of our religion is glorious to contemplate and will establish in the minds of thinking men the superiority of this divine organization, I shall merely mention it as one of the many com- mendable features which help to fit us in the struggle with nature's forces.
Neither shall I dwell upon the social ef- ficiency except to suggest that anyone who will give thought to it, and examine the di- vine organization and the opportunity that we have for influencing for good our young people as social beings, will be convinced of the efficacy and superiority of the Church in this regard.
But I should like to draw attention to the teaching force of the Church.
Martin Luther once said: "Count it one of the highest virtues upon earth to educate faithfully the children of others which so few, and scarcely any, do their own."
The obligation of teaching is placed by the Church first upon the parents, and the re- sponsibility thereof has been placed upon them by divine command. But besides par- ents, there are tens of thousands of men and women, and of boys and girls, who have ac- cepted the responsibility of teaching. In the priesthood quorums alone the number runs in- to many thousands. And if we add mothers
(Concluded on following page)
SEPTEMBER 1951
621
THE EDITOR'S PAGE
(Concluded from preceding page) and fathers and young men and young women in the Relief Society, the Sunday Schools, the Mutuals, the Primary, and the seminaries, we have an army of teachers who have the privilege and responsibility of exercising what Luther calls "the highest virtue upon earth."
Now in furnishing opportunity for so many to get the development that comes to the true teacher, think what the Church is doing to help this army of teachers as individuals to become strong in the battle against the forces of the world!
First, it places upon them the obligation of teaching their fellow men by example; and there is no better safeguard placed upon an honest man or a sincere woman.
Second, it develops the divine attribute of love for others. Jesus said to one of his Apos- tles, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? . . . Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. . . . Feed my lambs." (John 21:15.) Love should precede the responsibility of feeding those lambs. And these tens of thousands of teachers must have in their hearts the love of teaching, the love of fellow men, and a willing- ness to accept this responsibility with the divine attribute of love.
Then there is a third requirement, namely: purity of life. I cannot imagine one who has soiled himself, teaching successfully purity to boys. I cannot imagine one who has doubt in his mind about the existence of God, teaching impressively the existence of a Deity to young boys and girls. He cannot do it. If he act the hypocrite and attempt so to teach, what he is will speak louder than what he says — and that is the danger of having doubting men as teach- ers of your children. The poison sinks in, and unconsciously they become sick in spirit, be- cause of the poison which the person in whom they have confidence has insidiously instilled into their souls. The thought of teachers at- tempting to teach youth faith in God, when they haven't it, is irreconcilable with consist- ency, if not indeed unthinkable. So the third qualification is purity of life and faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Finally, it gives them an opportunity to serve their fellow men, and therein magnify the call- ing which has come to them, and indeed prove that they are real disciples of Christ. Inasmuch
as ye do it unto the least of these my children, ye have done it unto me. (See Matthew 25:45.) Thus the divine principle of service is instilled in their hearts.
I ask you to think of the effect upon society, if every worthy teacher, every one, will succeed in influencing only one other to love, to have that same purity of life, and that same desire to serve fellow men as he has!
I once observed a young girl in her teens put forth a special effort to speak to the little boy that was by my side. I could see that she wanted to recognize that boy, and that he was glad when he saw her, to return her salutation. As we passed him, I said, "Who is she?"
"She is my teacher."
"What is her name?"
"I don't know what her name is, but, oh, she is a dandy!"
He used an incorrect word, but the signifi- cance he gave the word I knew, and the expres- sion on his face I read, and in my heart I thanked the young girl for the influence she had over that boy. Only in her teens, but what that girl will say to him in his class he will ac- cept as gospel truth; what she does in her life he will emulate; and that young girl (with un- told tens of thousands of other teachers) car- ries the responsibility, in a measure, of molding that boy's character.
God help our teachers* to feel the responsi- bility that comes to them, and to remember that responsibility is not measured alone by what they say, but by what they do, and by the op- portunities that have come to them to know good from evil. Oh, how mighty is the responsibility of a teacher! Well might the Prophet say to them:
' . . . O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day. . . .
"For behold the field is white already to har- vest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul;
"And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work.
"Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temper- ance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence." (D. & C. 4:2-6.)
Is There a Conflict Between Science and Religion?
Dm tfohvi ^A. lA/ldtdoe of the council of the twelve
The answer to this old but ever-recurring question is, "No, there is no such con- flict." The earlier so-called conflict is disappearing or has vanished. There re-
622
mains only the conflict of personal opinions.
This must be so, for the object of science and
religion is truth. Brigham Young, for example,
declared that, "The gospel is a fountain of
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
^w ^rniwer to tke \&Juedion5 of Moutk
truth, and truth is what we are after."1 This is the view of every intelligent and honest fol- lower of science or religion. There is the cer- tainty in science as in religion that in the years ahead only truth will remain and conquer. Again in the words of Brigham Young, "Truth will abide when error passes away."2 The eager search in science or religion should be for truth and more truth. Men's cherished opin- ions and long-conceived be- liefs often fall before truth, if truth is made the chief issue. Unless truth is placed first, there is neither sound science nor respectable religion.
This is illustrated by a well-known historical incident used before in these columns. Aristotle, the famous thinker of the past, taught that if two stones, one heavy, the other light in weight, were dropped from a height, the heavier one would reach the earth first. This was accepted by men of learning for thousands of years. The authority of Aristotle could not be questioned, so they thought! However, a young man, Galileo, decided to try it out. From the top of the leaning tower in Pisa, Italy, he dropped several stones of varying weights. They struck the ground at the same time! The men of er- roneous learning gasped!
By this trial or experiment, not only was an erroneous doctrine replaced by a correct one, but a new vision of one method of arriving at truth was also obtained. This famous experi- ment is historically among the beginnings of modern science.
The experimental method of discovering and testing truth may be applied in the fields of science and religion.
Since both science and religion strive for truth, there cannot be a conflict between them. Truth is unchangeable, the same whether labeled science or re- ligion. Clashes come only when truth is only partially known, or when men use unsupported opin- ions instead of established facts in their arguments.
There is something ludicrous, for example, when intelligent men quibble about the age of the earth or the time of the coming of man on earth, which neither science nor religion knows with certainty. By methods of science, the earth seems to be very old; by certain passages in the Bible, the earth appears to be a relatively young creation. Neither claim is so well-
Evidences
AND
Reconciliations
CLVIII
^■Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 9. Hbid.
founded as to be beyond dispute. Therefore, in our day we assemble more and more knowl- edge and wait patiently for a final conclusion. The somewhat differing fields of truth accepted by science and re- ligion have also led to conflicts of opinion. Science, since its modern birth nearly four hun- dred years ago, has concerned itself primarily with external nature. Only recently has it become interested in matters not subject to the balance or other commonly-employed in- struments. Re- ligion, though all-inclusive in the field of truth, on the other hand, gives first attention to matters of mind and spirit. Science assembles the facts of nature; religion uses them in accordance with God's law. This difference in their fields of endeavor has often led men of limited compre- hension to speak of conflicts between these two human activities.
The difference of opinion among men in their fields is usually due to the unwillingness of one or the other to accept as truth the basic princi- ples used. To illustrate, the extreme scientist may cast out everything that cannot be seen directly. The invisible world, he insists, is closed to man on earth. The man in the field of re- ligion insists that this invisible world may be known by man, too. The existence of God may be demonstrated with absolute certainty by the use of other powers than those employed in ordinary science. When such differences arise, clashes or conflicts of opinion arise, which are not really between science and religion, but between men. Sometimes also it is the man of religion who is at fault. Recently a religious leader proclaimed that the earth was flat, not round. Naturally certain navigators and others rose in protest. There was conflict among men, but not between properly attested science and religion.
As the years have progressed, the tendency has been for science and religion to enter each other's field. The unseen world is more and more being studied by men of science; and men of religion are increasingly finding in external nature proofs of the existence and power of God.
In their honest search for truth, harmony between science in its lesser field and religion in the
greater field is being established. ■ ♦ ■
We have something more than morality alone to teach the peo- ple. What is it? It is how to re- deem the human family. — Brigham Young.
SEPTEMBER 1951
623
As a young child three years old.
Joseph Fielding at twelve years of age (center) with brothers George (left) and David A. (right).
President Joseph F. Smith and his son, Joseph Fielding, January 1914.
As a young man in 1911.
ON June 4, 1951, when the hon- orary degree of Doctor of Let- ters was conferred upon Presi- dent Joseph Fielding Smith at Brigham Young University, this citation was read:
"Joseph Fielding Smith, son and grandson of Prophets of God, him- self a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, and an Apostle of Jesus Christ for over forty-one years. Known and honored for his unbending devo- tion to the revealed word of God, he is also loved for his sportsman- ship and skill in friendly games. Capable of vigorous criticism, he is also quick to extend counsel with others the most kindly of men.
"From his youth he has devoted himself to the preservation of his- tory, the forthright enunciation of scriptural teachings, and the turn- ing of the hearts of the children to their fathers. Under his hand the Historian's Office and the history of the Church have matured to-
gether, and a world-wide gene- alogical society has wrought mira- cles of research and systematic ac-
JOSEPH
complishment. From his pen have come in steady progression seven books and nearly a score of illumi- nating pamphlets which touch vital religious matters with refreshing directness and vigor.
"As administrator of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, he assigns to none, tasks more arduous than those he takes upon himself. As Chairman of the Executive Com- mittee of the Board of Trustees of Brigham Young University he has been its watchful critic and loyal friend and remains readily ap- proachable notwithstanding incred- ibly heavy responsibilities. For
Elder Smith as President of the Salt Lake Temple, with his wife, Jessie Evans Smith, when she was matron of the Salt Lake Temple.
Father and five sons in 1940.
Brother Smith in January 1914.
624
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
President Joseph Fielding Smith
arship, for his life of devotion to its production and to its dissemination, and for his constant encouragement of education as the search of eternal truth, the University confers the degree Doctor of Letters, honoris
causa.
Thus briefly, and in a rather re- markable manner, was epitomized something of the character and ac- complishment of the man who on April 9, 1951, was sustained by the general conference of the Church as President of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, an office in which he had already acted since the death of President George F. Richards, because President McKay was otherwise occupied with his duties as a member of the First Presi- dency.
President Joseph Fielding Smith's
FIELDING SMITH
president of the (&</uomm of the ^Jweti
By RICHARD L. EVANS
thirty-four years a member of the Church Board of Education, he has been influential in shaping the poli- cies and programs of Latter-day Saint Institutes and Seminaries and in directing the destiny of this Uni- versity.
"His guiding hand has kept se- cure the integrity and scriptural soundness of unnumbered manuals and books written for use in re- ligious instruction in the Church.
"Upon this man of spiritual schol-
career divides itself into many cate- gories: as an earnest and active young man and missionary, as an author and editor, as a preacher of righteousness and defender of the faith, as a tireless traveler among the wards and stakes and missions of the Church, as a moving spirit behind genealogical and temple work, as a temple president and counselor in the temple presidency, as a member of the administrative boards of educational institutions,
as a member of various business boards, as chairman of the Church reading committee, as a member of the Council of Twelve Apostles for more than forty years ( to which office he was ordained and set apart on April 7, 1910, at the age of thirty-three), and as a father and friend — and as a man.
It is of the latter that I should like to give some personal impres- sions— as a father and friend, and as a man; but many other activities and events in a long career must first be noted:
Joseph Fielding Smith's ances- tors go back to the early American patriots of New England, and in his veins runs the blood of martyrs who died as a witness to the res- toration. He is the grandson of Hyrum Smith who was shot by the side of his brother Joseph at Carth- age Jail. He is the son of Joseph F. Smith, sixth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Lat- ter-day Saints, preeminent among preachers of righteousness, who as a boy of nine years drove a team of oxen across the plains with his widowed mother, Mary Fielding Smith, in search of a home where freedom could be found and where God could be worshiped according to conscience.
Through his mother, Julina Lambson Smith, Brother Joseph Fielding is also descended from pioneer progenitors. He was born on July 19, 1876, in Salt Lake City. In his boyhood he learned to work on the farm. He learned to work with animals, with nature — and with men, and inborn in him was a love of God, which love grew greater in his youth and has grown greater as the years have been added upon his head. He partook
(Continued on following page)
A modern family in Israel
With part of his grandchildren, who now number forty
SEPTEMBER 1951
625
JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH
Happily engaged at his desk.
(Continued from preceding page) of his father's teachings and testi- mony and grew to manhood full of faith.
He was active in his youth in the organizations of the Church, in- cluding service as superintendent of the Sunday School in the Six- teenth Ward. He also attended L.D.S. University and worked at one time at Z.C.M.I.
As a missionary : President Smith was ordained an elder in 1897, and then, 1 899-1 901 , served as a seventy in the British Mission. He later returned to Great Britain and to Europe, in 1939, with his wife, Jessie Evans Smith, and directed the evacuation of the missionaries from European fields of labor in the early days of World War II, and re- turned to Salt Lake City in Novem- ber 1939, after successfully com- pleting this critically difficult as- signment. He has long been a member of the missionary commit- tee of the Church, and has officially visited many of the missions at home and abroad.
Other Early Activities: After his return from his first mission, he served from 1901 to 1910 as a home missionary in Salt Lake Stake. He served as a member of the Salt Lake Stake M.I.A. board before and after his mission, beginning in 1898. In 1903 he was set apart as a president of the twenty-fourth quorum of seventy, which quorum he also served as instructor. From 1903 to 1919 he served as a mem- ber of the general *board of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement 626
Association, and in 1904, became a member of the high council in the Salt Lake Stake.
The Church Historian: Brother Smith learned a love for Church history in the years of his youth, partly, no doubt, acquired from his father and his forebears who lived through so many of the scenes them- selves. And when he returned from the British Mission in 1901, he accepted an assignment in the Church historian's office, which led to his being sustained in 1906 as assistant Church Historian. He was later named historian and recorder for the Church, in which positions he still serves.
Genealogical and Temple Work: In 1907 President Smith was made
President Smith at the time he received honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from Brigham Young University, June 4, 1951.
a secretary and director of the Genealogical Society of Utah to which work and society, with its world-wide and ever-expanding and important activities, he has since been identified and ener- getically devoted. He is today the president of the Genealogical So- ciety, and has been since 1934.
He has also been long interested and active in temple work and
served as counselor to President Anthon H. Lund in the Salt Lake Temple presidency from 1915 until 1921; upon the death of President Lund, he became a counselor to President George F. Richards. He served as temple presidency coun- selor until the mid-thirties. In June 1945, he became president of the Salt Lake Temple, from which posi- tion he was not long ago released as the weight of other duties in- creased.
As Author and Editor: Brother Smith organized the Genealogical and Historical Magazine and served as its editor. He has also been one of the most energetic writers of the Church, and his books, like his speaking and like his personal life, are vigorous in their defense of the faith and in their exposition of the principles of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as it was restored in this dispensation through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
In addition to innumerable maga- zine articles his published books include: Blood Atonement and the Origin of Plural Marriage; Origin of The Reorganized Church and Question of Succession, 1905; Essentials in Church History, 1922; The Way to Perfection, 1931; The Progress of Man, 1936; Life of Joseph F, Smith, 1938; Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, compiled 1938; Signs of the Times, 1942; The Restoration of All Things, 1944; and Church History and Modern Revelation, 1947-1950. He has also supervised the recent revision of the Doctrine & Covenants Commentary.
On the handball court with his brother David A. Smith, former member of the Presiding Bishop- ric.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
The Church Historian and two assistants, the late Andrew Jenson (left) and A. William Lund (right) examine some Church history.
His son, Milton, former missionary in Argentina, quarterback at the U. of U. last year, had the third highest punting record in the nation in college football in the 1950 season.
He is chairman of the Church reading committee, and as such has read uncounted thousands of pages of manuscript for the auxiliaries, the priesthood, and for other or- ganizations of the Church and for numerous individual authors. His hours at home, early and late, are spent with the hard labor of read- ing, appraising, criticizing, and cor- recting manuscripts and proofs of proposed publications — an under- taking which he has indefatigably pursued.
Brother Smith is also a scripturist of unusual ability. In the Bible, as well as in all the other standard works of the Church, he can turn with sureness and facility to perti- nent and supporting passages of scripture on almost any gospel sub- ject. He lives by, refers to, and supports his position by the revealed and recorded word of the Lord God.
In Education & Business: He has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Brigham Young Uni- versity since 1912 and has been a member of the Church Board of Education since 1917.
He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Beneficial Life In- surance Company, and of the Zion's Savings Bank & Trust Com- pany.
All these facts, and the listing of these offices and activities, add up to a lifetime of earnest energy in which no indolence or dilatory tac- tics have ever been in evidence, and in which early and late he has pursued his Father's purposes — preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, writing of it, exhorting,
SEPTEMBER 1951
pleading for faith, for repentance, doctrines and ordinances that our and for full acceptance of all the Eternal Father has prescribed for
the eternal salvation and exaltation
of his children.
All this, or much of it, perhaps the Church knows rather well, for they have seen Brother Smith in official capacity for more than forty years. But what many may not know so well are his personal and personable qualities:
From his youth he has been vigor- ously interested in sports. He has always been physically active, and for many years was a regular at- tender at classes at the Deseret Gymnasium and an able and en- thusiastic handball player. And when he himself isn't participating, he is an enthusiastic spectator and an encourager of his own sons and of other men's sons in clean and wholesome contests. His son, Mil- ton, who played quarterback on the University of Utah football team last year, had the third highest punting record in the nation in col- lege football.
His Family. In April 1898 Presi- dent Smith married Louise Emyla ShurtlifF who was the mother of his two eldest daughters, Josephine and Julina. Following her death some ten years later, he married Ethel G. Reynolds who was the mother of his five sons and of four of his daughters, and who died in 1937. He later married Jessie Ella Evans who has been the devoted compan- ion of many of his travels during the past decade, the foster mother of his devoted family, and a gra- cious hostess in his home, and who (Concluded on page 687)
627
With his son Lewis Warren Smith who made the supreme sacrifice during World War 11.
Joseph Fielding Smith tells a story to a group of young visitors. \
— Painting by Coff Dowding An artist's conception of the brother of Jared, at the time of the Tower of Babel, crying unto the Lord that their language be not confounded.
Author's Note
TPhe epistolary form of this series of articles, is the style in which the writer most com- monly expounds his views. Al- though "Professor F." to whom these letters are addressed is a purely fictitious anthropologist in an eastern university, he is typical of many a real corre- spondent, and the letters them- selves are no less typical. If "F." seems unduly meek and teachable, that is because with the limited space at our disposal it would be folly to engage in long and needless controversies.
My dear Professor F.:
I warned you that you would find the Book of Mormon full of strange and puzzling things. Please don't hesitate to tell me what you think; above all, there is no need to be concerned about of-
628
fending my religious sensibilities. The Book of Mormon is tough; it thrives on investigation; you may kick it around like a football, as many have done; and I promise you it will wear you out long before you ever make a dent in it.
As to your first objection, you say that you are disturbed by the apparent attempt of the Book of Mormon to trace the origin of our Indian tribes to a single city in the Near East and to a time as recent as 600 B. C. This would seem to you to be a much too simple and limited explanation for everything. It seems so to me, too. But since you have only begun your reading of the Book of Mormon, my urgent advice to you is, read on! There
VL WORLD
is a great surprise awaiting you in the next to last book. Far from being oversimplified, this strange history is extremely varied and complicated. As you know, the missionaries in the early days of the Church recommended the Book of Mormon to the world as "a history of the Indians," Indians being one of the few subjects on which Americans in general pos- sessed some information and on which their interest could be easily aroused. But as a matter of fact, the Book of Mormon is not so much a history of the Indians as of their distant ancestors — people as dif- ferent from them in many things as our Anglo-Saxon forefathers are from us. The story of the Indians THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
only begins where the Book of Mormon ends: before that it deals largely with those great city-build- ing nations of the south, about whom you know much more than I do.
But before the Book of Mormon ever approaches your glamorous field, it has a good deal to say about another culture, one that has been much studied in our day and can still be examined at first hand, namely (of all things) that of the desert Arabs, which is brought be- fore our eyes in First Nephi with a vividness and clarity which, I be- lieve, say much for the authenticity of the record. The same book also gives us a glimpse into the life of the prosperous and civilized "Jews at Jerusalem" in the days of Zede- kiah, briefer but no less clear and specific than the picture of life in the desert.
Already, you see, this remarkable document offers to impart informa- tion on no less than /our widely- divergent cultures. I leave it to you whether an accurate descrip- tion of any one of them, with the possible exception of some Indian tribes, would have been possible from source materials available in the days of Joseph Smith. But it is to the culture number five that I would now call your attention. The last history in the Book of Mormon, which goes under the
'J'he Book of Mormon is tough; it thrives on investi- gation; you may kick it around like a football, as many have done; and it will wear you out long before you ever make a dent in it.
are free to laugh at this, but if you think / am trespassing, what would you say of a man who tried to give an account of life in that prehis- toric world from what was known of it 120 years ago!
With the same unfaltering and unhurried step that led us across the sands of Arabia (and you must agree that that was a marvelous performance), the author of the Book of Mormon now conducts us into a world so remote, so utterly different from anything within the scope of the Biblical or classical student, that if we would follow him, we must acquire a whole new gear and tackle for the journey. I think we are agreed that it would take a great deal of training for any- one to acquire the background nec- essary to compose First Nephi. Now imagine any man insane enough to try after such colossal exertions to write another such story, of equal length and detail but this time about a totally different race of people, liv- ing in an age far removed from the other and in a wholly different geo- graphical setting! As far as I know, not even Joseph Smith ever called anyone's attention to this prodi-
JAREDITES
PART I
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, HISTORY AND RELIGION, BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY
title of Ether, is even more wonder- ful in my opinion than the first. It takes us into the twilight world of proto-history where the dim half- described shadow-empires of Asia are only in our day beginning to take on recognizable form. As you know, my constitutional weakness for whatever is vague and fuzzy has drawn me irresistibly to this dangerous area, and I have been guilty of a number of lengthy arti- cles on matters that sensible peo- ple hold to be unsearchable. You
SEPTEMBER 1951
gious feat; we all take it for granted. Yet you will soon see that the au- thor of Ether could have obtained precious little help from any mate- rials used in writing First Nephi. On the contrary, the former experience could only tend to embarrass any attempt at a new history, which would" call for an entirely new train- ing and preparation.
What the author of Ether has to supply is not a new plot but all new props and scenery. Every century sees its wars, treaties, migrations,
and so forth, but always in a dif- ferent setting; so that the test of an historical document lies, as we have so often insisted, not in the story it tells but in the casual de- tails that only an eyewitness can have seen. The story of Jared and the story of Lehi have the same theme, the familiar one of the right- eous man who leads his people out of a doomed and wicked world. There is nothing original in that: it is also the story of Noah, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, "The Church in the Wilderness," and, for that mat- ter, the restored Church. But what a setting! What strange institu- tions and practices! How shall we ever be able to check up on such recondite stuff? It is going to re- quire a bit of doing, and so I would advise you to prepare yourself for a long siege.
As you know, it is my unfortu- nate habit either to write appallingly long letters (twenty pages yet) or none at all. Since you have set this off by accusing the Book of Mor- mon of proposing an over-simplified story of the Indians, I am not going to let go of your throbbing wrist until, Hamlet-like, I have forced you to look upon a number of strange and disturbing pictures. Had the Jaredites lived in a vacuum, their story would today be beyond the reach of criticism. But they did not live in a vacuum: the Book of Ether tells us that they continued in the New World the customs and vices that had flourished in the Old. If, then, we can only find out what people were up to in the homeland at that early day we will have our "control" for the Ether story. That, as you will recall, is the way we handled the problem of Lehi in the desert — found out what was going on in the world that Nephi was supposed to be describing and then compared the data with what Nephi had to tell us. The task of check- ing up on Lehi's activities was greatly simplified by the. fact that the Beduins of Arabia do things in our day much as they did them in his. What we find in Central Asia — Jared's country — are cus- toms equally stable.
(Continued on folloiving page)
629
{Continued /rom preceding page) "But," I can hear you snorting, "what about the evidence?" It is one thing, I will admit, to read Arabic, and another to lisp the chaste Mongolian. From the isola- tion of Utah it is not possible to do more than skim the top of our ma- terials; but if you will hasten to consult the bibliographies of such standard works as Mc Govern and Vernadsy, you will see that even they have hardly done more. Until someone appears who is competent to deal with the difficult documents — a Classicist who is also a Sinol- ogist, an Indologian, an expert on Semitics, Turkish, Slavic, and what- not, in short, another Vambery — we must be content to base our specu- lations on the limited materials with- in our control. Our whole justifi- cation is that these are adequate, as in the case of Lehi, to prove what we want to prove, no more. And what are we going to prove? That certain strange and unfamiliar things described in Ether actually could have taken place as described, because they actually did take place — characteristically and re- peatedly— in those very cultural areas in which, according to the Book of Mormon, the Jaredites ac- quired their culture and civilization. And what are those "materials" to which we have been so darkly alluding? They come in periods. To illustrate, let us say that there is a peculiar custom — of the royal court or the hunt, for example — described in Ether. We find the same custom described by modern travelers in Central Asia ( source number one ) ; Christian and Moslem merchants, geographers, and missionaries re- port the same peculiar custom in the same region in the Middle Ages ( source number two ) ; next we move back another seven or eight hundred years and behold: the spies and ambassadors of the Byzantine court describe the same custom (source number three, and so on ) , for which we are now beginning to feel a measure of respect! Moving back through the centuries, we find that classical historians from Cassio- dorus to Herodotus, a full thou- sand years apart, mention the same custom, and then slipping back another fifteen hundred to two thousand years we read about it in the records of the Assyrians and 630
THE W0R1D OF THE JAREDITES
Babylonians. Last of all, the Rus- sian archaeologists find evidence for the same thing in prehistoric times. From these many points of reference we may project as it were a smooth curve right back to the Jaredites, and safely assume that when the Book of Ether describes the very institutions depicted in these records of early Asia it is on solid ground. In each instance, how- ever, you will have to be the judge, for all we can give at the present interval is a sampling of the evi- dence. You may have to wait thirty years for the rest of it.
Please note that we are limiting our curiosity to the sort of thing that happened. The exact time and place of any specific event are no concern of ours. Such matters are always open to dispute, and in the case of the Jaredites they don't begin to come within guessing dis- tance. Bear in mind that these peo- ple lived their lives in a realm far removed from the current of world history; in a dateless age they took their culture from the common source and thereafter were on their own until they disappeared from the earth. What difference whether they had a battle in one spot or another — in one year or another? The important thing is that they did have battles and, for our pur- pose, that those battles followed patterns of warfare peculiar to Central Asia. We specialize in patterns.
COUNTRY DOCTOR
(For my Grandfather)
By Eleanor A. Chaffee
f remember him as one recalls * Not form or feature, but a heart well- known. I remember his strong New England walls Stripped by harsh winter to the granite
bone. His door was never locked — his rest un- broken. The horse's harness, ready to his hand,
Waited the urgent step, the low word
spoken. Many a night his buggy used to stand
Outside a farmhouse, while he parried Death
With grave eyes and a touch made sure by years.
His was the burden of the faltering breath Steadied: the faintest sound a doctor hears.
Across my life his passing shadow fell: I never met him, but I know him well.
The first chapter of our text gives us warning not to be dog- matic about chronology. Three times in the genealogical list of thirty names running back to "the great tower" the word "descendant" occurs in place of "son." {1:6, 16, 23. ) As you know, in Hebrew and other languages "son" and "de- scendant" are both rendered by one very common word. One and the same word describes a modern Jew and Father Isaac as "sons" of Abraham — the word is understood differently in each case, but is not written differently. A person con- fined to a written text would have no means of knowing when ben should be taken to mean "son" in a literal sense and when it means merely "descendant." The ancient Hebrews knew perfectly well when to make the distinction: like the Arabs and Maoris they kept their records in their heads, and the men- tion of a particular patriarch as- sumed that the hearer was familiar with his line down to his next im- portant descendant, the written lists being a mere outline to estab- lish connections between particular lines — the name of a patriarch was enough to indicate his line, which did not have to be written out in full. Sir Leonard Woolley has some interesting things to say on this subject in his book Abraham. Now Ether proves, at least to Lat- ter-day Saints, that "son" and "de- scendant" were both used in the ancient genealogies, which thus do not present an unbroken father-to- son relationship. We are told that the genealogy in Ether belongs to the second part of a record and that "the first part of this record . ... is had among the Jews." (1:3). So we may regard the Old Testament genealogies as the earlier part of this same list and are thus faced with the possibility, long suspected by many, that in Biblical genealo- gies ben must sometimes be read "son" and sometimes "descendant," though men have long since lost the knowledge that enabled the an- cient ruler to make the necessary distinction. The result is, of course, that our Biblical genealogies as we read them today may be much too short.
Incidentally, the genealogy in
Ether, chapter one, explains why
(Continued on page 673)
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
He didn't believe in a vengeful God, but he did believe in signs.
She was sipping orange juice con- "Just make me two sandwiches, stairs — Harry and Bob and I. But
tentedly, enjoying the leisurely honey. That's all. I'll be home I put my foot down on Sundays.
Sunday breakfast and forgetful right after lunch. You said you By the time you've got the shop
that Sunday morning could also be liked dinner at night, anyway." ready to open you'll be a wreck
tense. Harry and Bob were en- Her own mental arguments were yourself."
joying their flapjacks like hungry in full swing. Oh yes, Dave, you've "I won't," he insisted. "There little cocker spaniels. Her own said that before, and you come in are only a few weeks more of re- eggs and toast had been good. Now dead-tired at three or four o'clock, modeling work and then I can quit
it was only Daves faintly hurried move- ments with his knife and fork, the quick unob- trusive glance at the kitchen clock that made her suspicious that this was not going to be a good day.
He sat at the table a few minutes longer, as if conceding the need for some Sabbath com- panionship with his family. Then he said, "Is my lunch ready, Lois?"
She pressed her hands together beneath the table but managed to say quietly, "Weren't you going to stay home today?"
The obstinate line had resolved again around his firm mouth. "I've got to get the work done, Lois.. I'd counted on being able to work evenings, you know that. And now with overtime at the plant, I can't. Satur- days and Sundays are all I have. Honestly, I don't understand you — up until now you've been so enthusiastic about going into business for our- selves."
"It's not that, Dave. I've said so many times I want it just as much as you do — " she halted and sug- gested to the children, "You're fin- ished now, boys- — how about going up and getting ready for Sunday School. I haven't seen Snooper since we got up. He has to be fed, too."
It took the boys an endless five minutes to scamper out. When they were gone she turned back to the kitchen. Dave was already easing his arms into his windbreaker.
SEPTEMBER 1951
THE SIGNPOST
i5iA douce ^J\nua5en
"It's not a good example to the kids, sawing stair stringers on a Sunday."
Eleven hours a day you're working at the plant now. You've got to have one day off.
Aloud, she said, "We've gone over this so many times. Look, I know how much you've disliked these years at the plant; I know you've wanted a fresh start of your own, and I'm all for it. I was just as excited as you were when you were able to buy the old sports shop. And I chucked right in, too, and helped tear down the old counters and the rotten cellar
the plant."
Bitterly she told her- self, yes, I can see it. I was thrilled when I saw you so enthusiastic over the prospect of your own business. But it's running away with us. "Is this what it's going to be like from now on? Never having any home life, Saturday your busiest day, and Sunday you'll keep go- ing down to get stock ready or make up the books or some other reason? Start working Sunday and you won't be able to stop it."
"I promise," he said firmly. "I promise to be home after lunch, and then we can have all the rest of the day together. What can possibly be wrong with that?"
She turned suddenly away to make the sand- wiches. What, oh what was wrong with them that after seven years of marriage she could not open her conven- tion-stiffened lips and say simply, "It's wrong because this is the Lord's day."
How was it that two such people could be shocked and embarrassed at the thought of actually speaking to each other the words Sabbath, God, and holy word? How could they be so normal, have Christian upbringings, prefer their own hap- py home life to night clubs or gay parties, attend Church frequently, supervise their sons' religious edu- cation— and yet be afraid, actually afraid, to haltingly pull aside the veil of shame-faced convention that tied their tongues?
(Continued on page 683)
631
SELF-PUNISHMENT
By W. DEAN BELNAP, M.D.
The longer we live, the more likely we are to die ( when death even- tually comes) from causes as- sociated with hardening of the arter- ies— a disease called arteriosclerosis. This condition, characterized by hardened arterial walls, is accompan- ied by a multiplicity of disease proc- esses that account for the majority of deaths among the white races. It is estimated to affect twenty-six percent of people between forty and forty-nine years of age, forty-eight percent of those between fifty and fifty-nine years, seventy-eight per- cent of individuals between sixty and sixty-nine years, and ninety percent of persons over seventy years of age.*
Arteriosclerosis is a crime against man in which bacteria have no part. The major drugs of sulfa, penicillin, and other related substances do nothing to protect man from the crime; however, the weapons with which the crime is committed are there for all of us to see. They are animal protein and animal fat with their bi-product, cholesterol.
The crime is murder but — who is the murderer?
The "medical crime-police" have taken the problem into the labora- tory. It is interesting that they have recently discovered facts concerning the over-indulgence of most of us in animal protein and fat that fully support the long since revealed statement about meat found in the Word of Wisdom. They have fed large amounts of cholesterol, found in animal foods, to rabbits and dogs, and these animals developed arteri- osclerosis.1** It is of importance in this connection to note that the development of high levels of cholesterol in the blood correspond directly with its rapid deposition in the arterial walls. High levels re- sult not only from the intake of large amounts of cholesterol, but also from a diet of high protein con-
' Quoted freely from "Arteriosclerosis," Wyeth, Inc. Brochure by Phillip Itallie.
**Numbers refer to bibliography at end of article.
632
tent, lacking appreciable quantities of cholesterol.2
Experiments with radioactive, atom-tagged foodstuffs prove con- clusively that the body builds the highly complex chemical structure of cholesterol from any extra pro- tein not required to carry on bodily function.3
HThe medical sleuths said, "Ele- mentary! Protein and cholesterol are accomplices! But there is much work to be done. Arteriosclerosis is a disease of man. We must examine man and investigate what happens to protein, fat, and particularly cholesterol in his body.
"You, Mr. Heavy Meat-eater and Mrs. Plump and Forty — you seem to be well supplied with the ingredients of arteriosclerosis. We wish to study what happens to that big steak, French fried potatoes, and pie a la mode you had for lunch. And you young fellow — you seem to be about twenty-two and your waistline is slim, yet you eat what you please. After you eat the same meal as these other two, let us have another look at you."
At hourly intervals, the scientist took samples of blood from the middle-aged couple and from the younger man. The blood was ex-
amined for the number of large protein and fat particles called chylomicrons. The result of the test was that the chylomicron count mounted rapidly as digestion pro- ceeded. In the twenty-two-year-old, the count reached its peak in three hours and subsided to the low pre- meal level by five hours. In the older couple the count kept climbing for nine hours, though they got nothing more to eat; and from the staggering height finally attained, the chylomicron count settled down slowly to reach the fasting level only after twenty-four hours. "This couple," said the scientist, "usually eat too much protein and fat, of which meat is the main source, three times a day. They do not spare the cream or butter. The cholesterol content of their blood must be high most of the time."
What have these chylomicrons to do with cholesterol and arteri- osclerosis?
Tn principle there is nothing wrong with protein and fat as food. In fact, they are very essential. Fat is much less important, however, than protein. All normal persons carry some fat around with them and would look and feel very strange without it. But even if a person never ate any fat, his own body would make enough from carbohydrates (sugars) and protein to keep him from looking like skin and bones. Only small amounts of certain fats supplied by plants, such as the wheat germ, are needed for man.
Proteins are large chemical mole- cules composed of hundreds or even thousands of smaller building blocks called amino acids. Protein— meat being the form most commonly used — is man's chief source of nitrogen and is necessary for growth, maintenance, repair, repro- duction, and milk formation. During digestion, proteins are broken down in the intestines to their basic amino acids and are absorbed into the blood stream. The liver takes what amino acids it needs and reforms them into the type of protein needed for the body of man. This require-
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
ment is small and consists of only two to three ounces a day.4 Any additional amino acids circulate in the blood stream for many hours until they are broken down by the liver and kid- neys to a more usable form.
This breakdown requires the removal of the atom nitrogen, found in all pro- tein, with the balance of atoms being made into sugar and fat. The process is difficult work for the liver and the kidneys, and the work in- creases with additional protein in- take. The leftover nitrogen-contain- ing waste products and cholesterol may be likened to clinkers in a burned-out fire and are just as hard to get rid of.
These waste products, in large amounts, are damaging to the deli- cate linings of the heart and blood vessels. Any damage to these lin- ings speeds up the process of arteriosclerosis.5
T^he problem of hardened arteries, therefore, has become most pressing to medical science because more and more people live to a good age, thanks to the marvelous ad- vances in the treatment of infectious disease with such drugs as sulfa and penicillin. The old assumption that hardened arteries were inevitable products of old age has been gen- erally discarded.
While it is true that old age pro- duces a general deterioration of all tissues, including the arteries, most leaders in the investigation of these conditions believe that the changes
SEPTEMBER 1951
which age alone produces in the arteries are quite distinct from arteriosclerosis. The latter is being viewed as a preventable disease, which is caused by an excessive intake of animal protein and animal fat, commonly superimposed on the normal effects of aging.
Science has discovered that about ten percent of persons attain old age without contracting hardened arteries, and that even a smaller percentage (about three and one- half percent) of young individuals
The "Medical Crime Police" have taken the problem into the laboratory.
pAULTY thinking and
wrong dietary beliefs have shackled mankind in the past.
have arteriosclerosis as early as age twenty to twenty-nine.
The formation of fatty deposits just under the inner lining of the arteries is the earliest recognizable manifestation of the disease. Recent reviews of Heuper and Gubner and Ungerleider7 give an extremely reasonable picture of how this hap- pens.
Arteries are tubes in which three layers can be demonstrated. Except for part of the outside layer, which may be served by an independent blood supply, the rest of the artery gets its nourishment directly from the blood that flows through the main channel itself.
This nourishment consists of minerals, vitamins, proteins, carbo- hydrates, and fatty substances all dissolved or suspended in the blood stream. It has been shown that these nutrients and other particles can pass through the tissue of the artery and make exit through lymph channels back to venous blood.
TVTormally, all these nutrients are forced through the tissue under the impelling force of the blood pressure.
Very recent evidence shows that various chemical parts of protein, fat, and cholesterol can combine in the blood stream to form giant molecules which are predominately associated with fatty deposits in the walls of arteries to make them hard. These molecules form into droplets, the above-named chylomicrons. Un- able to pass through arterial tissues, these giant particles remain im- bedded in the space between the inner and middle layers of the artery to form fatty-protein plaques. When the chemicals of these hard deposits are analyzed in the earliest stages, their composition is virtually identi- cal with that of the protein, fat, and cholesterol of the blood from which they come. Progressively, however, the smaller chemicals manage to pass through the tissue barrier and are removed, leaving behind deposits increasingly rich in cholesterol.
At this state, which characterizes what is now called arteriosclerosis, the blood stream brings along white blood cells, which are the shock troops of the army of defense against invaders. They battle with the cholesterol army of occupation and bodily swallow the enemy, only to {Continued on following page)
633
{Continued from preceding page)
find their exit blocked by the hard- ened "tank troops." Tears develop in the inner arterial lining forming punched-out ulcers.
A^eanwhile, calcium salts settle out in the breaches, and the middle layer, deprived of nourish- ment, degenerates. In the course of all these destructive processes, the cholesterol plaques enlarge and progressively block the blood channel. The projection of these deposits into the channel causes the blood to clot. Complete obstruction to blood flow is the result.
High blood pressure, an independ- ent disease, is often found in as- sociation with arteriosclerosis. The high pressure aggravates the condi- tion by forcing more fatty-protein material into the arterial walls and by subjecting the weakened walls to further strain, which may lead to their rupture.
These are, in general, the findings of the medical sleuths regarding the murders; however, these same de- tectives have some other pointed remarks to make before naming the guilty party.
""The following disease entities are associated with, or caused by arteriosclerosis.
a. Patients with sugar diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease, low thyroid function, and some other diseases have an unusually high cholesterol content of the blood. Because these people develop such high levels of cholesterol from diets consisting of only moderate amounts of animal foods, they should be especially cautioned to eat very sparingly of such foods.
b. As all of us grow older, we tend to develop higher cholesterol levels as a result of decreasing efficiency of the adrenal glands. The adrenals are extremely im- portant glands that rest above each kidney and produce substances that allow the body to meet stress and strain. If overworked, the aging of the body is speeded up and high cholesterol blood levels result.
The digestion of excessive pro- tein intake is itself a stress to the body that overworks the adrenal glands.
c. Goldblatt5 has shown that ex- 634
SELF-PUNISHMENT
cessive amounts of nitrogen-con- taining waste products presented for excretion, deposit in the kidney tissue, at least temporarily, and favor high blood pressure. The re- lationship between this and other kidney disease is a well-established fact.
d. Cholesterol may be deposited in the linings of joints between bones to produce arthritis so char- acteristic of older age groups.8
e. Arteriosclerosis may reduce the blood supply to the kidneys. Any disease decreasing blood flow through the kidneys causes the re- lease of a substance that produces high blood pressure.9
f. Leary10 has found that choles- terol deposits in the adrenal gland encourage hardening and even cancer of that gland as well as some others.
g. Heart attack is the most com- mon cause of death in the fifth and sixth decades of life and results from closure of at least one artery supplying blood to the heart. The vast majority of such closures are due to arteriosclerosis.
h. Similar closure or rupture and hemorrhage in a weakened vessel of the brain results in a paralytic condition called apoplexy or a "stroke." Arteriosclerosis and high blood pressure, with rare exceptions, are the causes.
i. Heart failure is the major cause of death in all ages above forty years. It results from the slow strain, wear and tear of the heart and vessels, caused in the main by arteriosclerosis.
TO FASHION SONG By Inez Clark Thorson
GIVE me the magic of wild plum that spills Its bloom in moonlit valley, butterflies Above a rose, white lilacs banked against The dusk, the lyric joy of daffodils — And I will weave a lilting song and gay That lives no longer than its natal day.
But give me tales of dauntless pioneers,
The thirst for gold and westward-turning wheels,
The hurt of one whose dreaming bore no fruit,
An ailing infant's cry, a widow's tears,
And I will fashion song whose yearning rhyme
Will live beyond the riven walls of time!
"\^7"e see, therefore, a multiplicity of factors entering in to pro- duce a chain of damaging processes that bring about the destruction of the individual.
Meanwhile, the fact remains that persons of and past middle age can no longer handle protein with the efficiency of youth, and this gives the medical detective his cue for naming the culprit. Pointing the finger at Mr. Heavy Meat-eater and Mrs. Plump and Forty, he said, "You are your own murderers. You are digging your graves with your own teeth!"
Since every well-appointed mur- der mystery must have an epilogue, it may be in order to mention that the body needs small amounts of cholesterol for sex and adrenal hormones, vitamin D, and for for- mation of bile. Furthermore, it is virtually impossible to arrange a practical diet adequate for the body's reasonable needs without including some cholesterol. But there is a wide chasm between such a scientific and healthy diet and the diet habittfally consumed by most of us.
If all adults were to go on a diet low in animal foods — a suggestion which sounds utterly fantastic to many people despite its religious and scientific merits — the effect on our daily lives would be revolution- ary.
The war with cholesterol, which seems to be the main object in the control of arteriosclerosis, can be fought on many fronts. Until we have further light and knowledge in reference to other factors, it seems reasonable to try any and every feasible method to reduce the cholesterol level of the blood or at least to keep cholesterol from piling up in the wrong places.
Cholesterol comes from two sources: (1) the diet, and (2) for- mation in the liver. Obviously the human body also gets rid of choles- terol, for if it didn't, human beings would in time become walking moun- tains of cholesterol; consequently, another way of reducing cholesterol is to increase its excretion.
Foods rich in cholesterol include meat, egg yolk, sweetbreads, oys- ters, fish, lard, butter, poultry, cream, and cheese.
[Continued on page 672) THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Profane and
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WE all recognize the beauty of proper speech and fully ap- preciate ability to utter articu- late words to express thought. We venerate the smooth public speaker and the student of English who speak correctly. While it comes quite easy for one inclined to want to speak correctly to do so, in unguarded moments of stress or forgetfulness do we overlook the topcoat of polish so meticulously ap- plied when it was desired to make an impression and resort to harsh and profane expressions that are not in harmony with the beauty of dignified speech? If we strike our finger a damaging blow are we en- thusiastic to exercise sufficient con- trol to convince our audience that speech is something we are too proud of to be guilty of besmirch- ing? It seems inconsistent to strive for polished expression at the ros- trum, and on other special occa- sions, and then ignore the need for wholesome and unsoiled speech as we mingle with our friends on less formal occasions.
We are commanded, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." (Exodus 20:7.) In addition to this commandment our Savior suggested that we "swear not at all; neither by heaven, . . . nor by the earth." (Matt. 5:34-35.) The Prophet Jacob warns against every kind of sin, including lasciviousness, which has reference to anything that produces lewd emotions. (Ja- cob 3:12.) The use of profane, soiled, and filthy language is part of that of which Jacob speaks. While direct use is not made in the scriptures of these or similar terms, the implication should be sufficient for one to assume that such lan- guage has no place in building the strong characters and pleasing per- sonalities expected of us as children of God. Because we know some- thing of the will of God and of the plan of salvation and the purpose
SEPTEMBER 1951
of this earth life, it is a strange in- consistency that some people chan- nel their manner of speaking in de- filement of the name of Deity.
To refrain from using profane, loose, and smutty speech is to ad- vance on the tightrope of a way to perfection. To assist us in reaching out for this goal we must feel some- what offended by the harsh tones of unpolished speech. Unless we
Consider it an obliga- tion to yourself to sustain high-type con- versation notwithstand- ing a lower level exhib- ited by others with whom you talk.
feel some displeasure at such ex- pression and delight in express- ing ourselves with refinement we fail to respond to the beauty of perfect speech and thereby fail to take advantage of one excellent medium of progressing toward the kingdom of heaven. There will be immediate temporal rewards for our efforts. Our minds will be enlight- ened, our tastes refined, and we will live on a high plane of satisfaction in the knowledge and inspiration that a personal contribution is being made in unsullied speech.
Oftentimes we are exposed to profane and vulgar talk which it is impracticable to interrupt, and we must endure the speaker's blas- phemy and foul language. It has been said, however, under such a circumstance, it is not what goes
Soiled Speech
into a man that tarnishes his soul, but that which comes out. The su- periority of wholesome speech is subtly disclosed when the listener has his turn at expression. The audience draws a comparison, per- haps unconsciously, that is compli- mentary to the person who filters his talk. Carefully chosen speech is recognized as a mark of distinc- tion, and it is important to note that formal education is not necessary to achieve a high level of refined speech. It is an obligation to our- selves to sustain high-type conversa- tion, notwithstanding a lower level exhibited by others with whom we talk. i
Profane and scrubby speech is often uttered to demonstrate cos- mopolitan nonchalance, and in the hope of being accepted posthaste by the group. It is comparatively easy to win temporary acceptance by lowering the quality of one's speech deliberately, but isn't it far better to accept momentary non-acceptance in the knowledge that a higher niche will be won in exercising quality conversation?
In some groups it is fashionable to use an occasional tidbit of pro- fanity to lend emphasis or to gain attention. Obviously, if one's con- versation is quality it commands at- tention without profane punctua- tion. The fervor and sincerity of purpose employed by a speaker will emphasize crucial points adequately and in a natural way without his resorting to the artificial coloring of profanity. Smudgy language is quite often a cover-up for inability to find clever and appropriate re- marks. The alleged necessity of injecting a profane and crude ele- ment in order to be in vogue is questionable.
In keeping pace with the ways of the world, in a trend to be modern perhaps, there is no necessity for profane speech, questionable parlor jokes, or immoral stories. One is not stuffy and irritatingly priggish just because he takes pride and de- light in expressing himself within the bounds of wholesome speech. To flavor speech with expressions {Continued on page 664)
635
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Coming down the stairs, seeing Richard look up, brought the old rush of joy to Mary. She longed to run to him, to be caught in his arms. She did none of these things, but instead, curved her lips to a controlled smile of welcome.
"You are prompt," she said, and hated herself for the inane ob- servation about a completely unim- portant point.
"Yes," said Richard, after a mo- ment's hesitation. "I am prompt." His lips were sober and his face gentle, but Mary, looking at his eyes, could not guess his thoughts.
Once she would have known. A quick intake of breath, the flicker of an eyelash, his fingers tightening on her own, and she would have known his very thoughts, as he would have known hers, exactly, to the same degree. That was more than two years ago, or was it two centuries? Before he had gone on his mission, when they had first fallen in love. Now he had been home almost a month, and there was no word, no sign that he still loved her, that things were the same between them,
"Tell me about your mission," she said brightly, quickly, to hide the desperation she felt.
"I meant to tell you about my mission," Richard said, thoughtfully. "I planned out, tucked away, and saved the things to tell you. They — they are not things to make light conversation about."
Mary felt the rebuke, and what hurt most, she deserved it.
"I mean there are other things that must be discussed between us, things about ourselves," he went on.
Mary's eyes flew to his face. She had no time to disguise the panic she felt. Why was he so formal? Why, if he still loved her? Her silly mouth opened again and said: "We'll be late, Richard. The curtain rises at 8:15 sharp."
Mary hardly saw the show, and 636
the only line she really heard was one Beth Waters had given her earlier in the day. They had met in a downtown store where Beth was shopping for her trousseau, and Beth had asked her: "When are you and Rich, getting married?"
The inevitable question had turned the little knife that was al- ways in her heart, but Mary had smiled and ignored it. "Your an- nouncement came yesterday," she told Beth. "You look radiant and beautiful." Yes, Beth did look as radiant and beautiful as she had a bare six months ago, seeing Clyde Jones off on his mission, vowing to love him forever and wait for his return, Mary couldn't help remem- bering.
"Don't look at me like that," Beth had said. "I know everyone thinks I'm terrible for sending Clyde his 'Dear John.' Nobody sees just how it is. I had never met Bill when Clyde left, and it hit us both just like that!" She snapped her fingers for emphasis.
"It depends on what Clyde thought, how it affected him," mur- mured Mary, feeling puzzled. What was the nature of love, anyway, that it could change objects so swiftly and so completely?
"Clyde was all right. So many of his companions were getting theirs, it was probably a relief to him. He's really nice, and I like him, but people change in two years, especially missionaries. May- be he wouldn't have wanted me if I'd waited. Who knows? Every- body can't be as faithful as you."
I should have told her, Mary raged at herself, sitting beside Richard in the darkened theater. Sooner or later she would have to tell everybody: "Richard and I are not getting married." Just like that. Then there would be that other question. The one she couldn't answer herself. Why? What had happened to herself and Richard and that wonderful, indefinable re-
lationship that had been between them?
"He never asked me," she could say simply, and it would be the truth. "I didn't break the engage- ment. There was never one to break." And still it would be true. In the beginning they hadn't needed an engagement with a ring and all the traditional symbols. They knew. They knew!
"This is it," said Richard. "Every man's dream of how love should be. Beautiful, sweet, and — holy." Every language of eyes and lips had been another means of telling her of his love — every object, every circum- stance— and she had loved him, still loved him, completely, without re- serve. It was laughing together, dancing together, tireless talking and working together. It was com- fort and joy and ecstasy.
"It is forever, with me," Richard had told her one day, "no separa- tions— never a minute without you."
That night his bishop called to talk to him. His call to go on a mission had thrilled and excited them both beyond all thought of engagements or schools or any- thing else. The thought of separa- tion grew on them gradually.
"Everybody warns me that a mis- sionary always loses his girl," he had said soon after. He had said it jokingly, but there was a flicker of concern behind his gaiety. Then was her opportunity to assure him he would never lose her, but a little point of pride stood in the way. He should ask her. Instead she had jibed in kind: "I might run off with a handsomer man." There was no handsomer man than Rich- ard, tall, broad-shouldered, his curly hair unruly above features just rugged enough to be mascu- line, thoughtful enough to be reso- lute.
He must have thought much about it, because later he said: "I can't ask you to wait for me. I
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
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It was the fear that caused her to make the wrong statements in her letters, give the wrong impres- sions, and it was the fear that caused her to make the biggest mistake of all — not to meet him at the station, but to wait for him at home — to wait and wait until nearly
tormenting flame in Richard's heart.
Now she knew. She had always felt a little superior to Beth for her lack of finesse, her very durable sensibilities, but it had taken Beth to drive straight to the core of the issue.
"Maybe he wouldn't have wanted me if I'd waited," Beth had said. In one sentence, perhaps coarsely, but unerringly she had
won't tie you with an engagement. I want you to be free to go on dates if you want to. Two years is a long time when you are young and popular and beautiful."
Perhaps that had been the be- ginning of the apprehension that had grown and mounted until it had become fear. Perhaps she had wanted the reality of an engage- ment, a diamond to wear, a promise to keep. Perhaps her emotions craved the jealousy, the possessive- ness that proved a kind of love.
"You won't be going on dates," she had whispered, "or going to parties and dances. If you can stand it, I can."
"It will be different with me," he reasoned. "I'll be working at the greatest interest of my life, some- thing I've always hoped for, looked forward to. This is a high point in my life, and I want to make the best of it. You will be going on much the same — school, Church, family. I want you to do all the things you normally would."
He had spoken earnestly, grip- ping her elbows, his gaze burning into her own. "Promise me, Mary. It will help me. I don't want to think of you having a dull time at home while I am having so much glory in my life."
Mary understood then, and be- lieved, and knew it would be all right. She had been proud of Richard's reasoning, of his thought- fulness and his trust in her. After he had gone, she tried honestly to do as he asked, but it was no good. Every occasion was flat and stale without him.
It was the fear, though, that had made her inhibit her letters to Richard after the first excitement of travel, the first wave of home- sickness died down, when his own became more brief and less fre- quent.
SEPTEMBER 1951
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Now . . . neither of them understood anything any more, and that misunderstanding was between them like a hideous fog. . . .
midnight, when his train was in early in the evening.
"You don't understand, Mary. All of them meeting me at the train, a big dinner planned, and people dropping in. Why didn't you come? Mother said she asked you. I can't understand."
Neither of them understood any- thing any more, and that misunder- standing was between them like a hideous fog, each of them listening for a lost voice calling, listening for a voice that never came, watching for a wisp of wind to clear away the mist and make things clear again. It was there when Richard wanted to talk and Mary was afraid to.
"Dancing, parties, skating — mu- sic and excitement — all of them are fun, but Mary, when are we going to talk?"
They went dancing, to parties, because Mary was afraid to talk. Afraid of something, without know- ing exactly what.
put into words all the nebulous fears and emotions that Mary had been refusing to face for months.
She had waited all right. She had been so faithful there was no hope of Richard getting rid of her. She had read everything possible in order to develop spiritually along with Richard. She had crammed on New England background, history, and culture to be able to listen and understand intelligently when he came home.
Studying him under cover of the half-light, she saw again how he had matured. He had gone away a boy, a clean, sweet, unwritten page of a boy- — her, sweetheart! He had come back a man — and a stranger. Now he was a person of authority, a man with a voice, with strong opinions, and with the poise that comes only from the strength of spirit. No doubt he saw her in an entirely different light.
(Concluded on page 654)
637
FROM DRAWING BY GUSTAVE DORE
Zedekiah; and also many prophecies which have been spoken by the mouth of Jere- miah.
And it came to pass that my father, Lehi, also found upon the plates of brass a gene- alogy of his fathers; wherefore he knew that he was a descendant of Joseph; yea even that Joseph who was the son of Jacob, who was sold into Egypt, and who was preserved by the hand of the Lord, that he might preserve his father Jacob, and all his household from perishing with famine. (I Nephi 5:10-14.)
I wish to call special attention to
Some Problems of
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PROFESSOR OF OLD TESTAMENT LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE AND DIRECTOR OF RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION, BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY
The Book of Mormon relates that when Nephi and his brethren returned from Jerusalem with the brass plates,1 their father Lehi proceeded to give the records thor- ough examination. (I Nephi 5: 10.) It is a well-established fact that writing on metal plates was not an uncommon practice in the ancient world,2 In his search of the brass plates, Lehi" discovered that they contained the "five books of Moses" as well as a record of the Jews from
iThe expression "brass plates" is never used in the Nephite record; good Palestinian idiom dictates "plates of brass."
2See photograph of records of Darius in gold and silver at beginning of author's Ancient Records Testify; I Maccabees 8:21-22; Dr. Hugh Nibley, "Lehi in the Desert," The Improvement Era, 1950, p. 706. Elder Ariel L. Crowley has also published an interesting account concerning the ancient use of m-eta) plates for writing purposes.
638
the beginning down to Zedekiah's reign; many of Jeremiah's prophe- cies were also found engraven on the sacred plates. Let us quote Nephi's exact words:
And after they had given thanks unto the God of Israel, my father, Lehi, took the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass, and he did search them from the beginning.
And he beheld that they did contain the five books of Moses, which gave an ac- count of the creation of the world, and also of Adam and Eve, who were our first parents;
And also a record of the Jews from the beginning, even down to the commence- ment of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah;
And also the prophecies of the holy prophets, from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of
the words, "prophecies which have been spoken by the mouth of Jere- miah" (italics author's), which oc- cur in the paragraph. "By the mouth of" is assuredly not common English usage. We are not accustomed in our ordinary speech to say that we intend to consult prophecies spoken "by the mouth of" Isaiah, Jeremiah, or any other prophet. But the ex- pression is perfectly good Hebrew idiom and seems to have been trans- lated literally by Joseph Smith. The fact that it occurs in II Chronicles 36:21-22 and Ezra 1:1 does not necessarily mean that he copied it from our common English version.
Lehi also discovered the gene- alogy of his fathers upon the brass records; he therefore knew that he was a descendant of Joseph who was sold into Egypt, through his son Manasseh. (I Nephi 5:14; Alma 10:3.)
The statements of Nephi regard- ing the contents of the brass plates are extremely important to us be- cause of present-day critical views respecting the Old Testament. Most contemporary Old Testament schol- ars severely question or deny com- pletely that Moses wrote, or had written, the first five books of our Bible. But the Book of Mormon affirms the truth of the old Hebrew tradition that Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament, or the Pentateuch, as we call it. (I Nephi 5:11; II Nephi 2:15-19;
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
3:4-10; Pearl of Great Price: 12:28- 13; 33, etc.) The Nephite record (together with the Book of Moses) shatters — for the Latter-day Saints, at least — current "critical" views re- garding the date, authorship, and composition of the Pentateuch. Even the book of Deuteronomy, which many critics especially contend was written in the days of Josiah (c. 621 B.C.), is of Mosaic origin, ac- cording to the Book of Mormon. (See, e.g., I Nephi 22:20-21; II Nephi 20:23; cf Deuteronomy 18:15. 18-19.
with them of the money that was delivered into their hand; for they dealt faithfully. And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe: "I have found the book of the Law in the house of the Lord." And Hilkiah delivered the book to Sha- phan, and he read it. And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought back word unto the king, and said: "Thy serv- ants have poured out the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen that have the oversight of the house of the( Lord." And Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying: "Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book." And Shaphan read it before the king. And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of
Interest-
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if
Brass Plates
Many other interesting problems arise as a result of Nephi's words concerning the brass plates. One wonders how Jeremiah's prophecies found their place on the brass plates, since Laban, their former keeper, was a thoroughly unrighteous man. How did Jeremiah, or his scribe Baruch (Jeremiah 36:4), or some other representative of the prophet gain access to the plates in Laban's treasury, in view of the difficulties which Nephi and his brothers had in getting at them? Were they aided and abetted by Zoram, the servant of Laban? We shall have to wait for more light before these ques- tions can be answered. Another problem arises because of the dis- covery of the Book of the Law which was found in the temple in the days of Josiah, the king of Judah. Here is the Biblical account of the dis- covery:
And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah [c. 621 B.C.], that the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of the Lord, saying;
"Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the money which is brought into the house of the Lord, which the keep- ers of the door have gathered of the peo- ple; and let them deliver it into the hand of the workmen that have the oversight of the house of the Lord; and let them give it to the workmen that are in the house of the Lord, to repair the breaches of the house, unto the carpenters, and to the builders, and to the masons; and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the house." - — Howbeit there was no reckoning made SEPTEMBER 1951
the Law, that he rent his clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah the king's servant, saying: "Go ye, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us." (II Kings 22:3- 13; translation of Jewish Publication Soci- ety of America.)
As a result of find- ing this book, King Josiah instituted a great reform. (See II Kings 22:14- 23; 25.) Now the question arises, what was the nature of the Book of the Law, to which Josiah and his fathers had failed to heed? Many conser- vative scholars have held that it included the entire Pentateuch, while most of the critical scholars have held it to be the book of Deuteron- omy. In view of the fact that King Josiah's reforms included in their scope a wider legislation than that found in Deuteronomy, it would seem probable that the book found Judah in the south. A reason- in the temple included not only able answer to our question would Deuteronomy but others, if not all, be this: The northern kingdom of the books of the Pentateuch. As of Israel fell to the Assyrians students of the Book of Mormon we (Continued on page 670)
639
^ famous his- torical exam- ple of writing on metal plates consists in the gold and silver records of Da- rius.
ask ourselves, how does it happen that the Jews in the days of Josiah — ■ at least up to 621 B. C. — were with- out the Book of the Law, inasmuch as the brass plates containing it were in the hands of Laban or one of his predecessors? Are we to sup- pose that the keepers of the brass plates deliberately withheld the Book of the Law from the Jews? They must have known they were without it. Such an action would seem strange because certain indi- viduals were allowed access to the plates in order to write the proph- ecies of Jeremiah. Perhaps the Book of the Law was some other book than we have supposed, but that seems quite unlikely. At present, we are unable to answer, with any cer- tainty, the questions I have asked. But they are interesting questions, and someday we shall probably ob- tain the answers to them.
Nephi makes another statement about the brass plates that arrests our attention. He says, "And Laban also was a descendant of Joseph, wherefore he and his fathers had kept the records." (I Nephi 5:16; italics author's. ) These words seem to indicate that the recording of the Hebrew scriptures on the brass plates had begun many generations before Laban's time, how many we know not. Furthermore, it would be kept in the senior tribe of Israel, that is to say, in the tribe of Ephraim. (See Genesis 48:5, 13-20; I Chronicles 5:1-2.) Laban may well have been a de- scendant of Joseph through Ephraim. We may properly ask ourselves how it hap- pened that Laban — and Lehi's family, for that matter, in- asmuch as they were descendants of Joseph through Ma- nasseh — happened to be living in Jeru- salem. The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, as the reader is well aware, had been allied generations before with the north- ern kingdom of Israel, not with
'One day Pat asked Jane for a movie date.'
Jane was "one of those little Mormon girls." And Pat? Well, Pat was a good boy, as boys go, but he was getting off trail a little. And there didn't seem to be anyone particularly interested in getting him back on it.
His parents were just ordinary run-of-the-mill parents, interested in getting by in the world and hav- ing a good time while doing it. Dur- ing the week they were sober, stable citizens; but come Saturday night they shed their sobriety and went partying. Sunday morning they slept late, and after rising they lolled around the yard.
And that probably accounts for the fact that Pat was as he was. As with the parent, so with the child.
One day Pat asked Jane for a movie date.
Jane said, "Of course. I'd love to."
"Okay," said Pat. "See you about seven."
Pat had heard about Jane, be- cause she had something of a repu- tation. Of course, they knew each other pretty well because they had progressed through school to- gether, and now were in the senior class at the local high school. But Pat had never dated Jane, even though she seemed to be very clever and was decidedly popular.
Now he had decided to see for himself if the "hands-off" story they circulated about Jane was true. It didn't sound right, because all of the girls he went with gave out with a goodnight kiss, at least. Well, as for Jane, he would see.
She didn't keep him waiting when he arrived at seven. They went immediately to the movie. As soon as they were settled in their seats, he reached over and took her hand, intent on holding it. She gave his a little squeeze as she placed it back on his lap, then withdrew her own.
She whispered in his ear, "You'll take my mind off the movie if you do that. And I do want to see this show. It's good."
He settled back in his seat. That was neatly done, he decided. And he couldn't take offense, because her tone was so light and friendly.
640
**
A Lift For Pat
The movie was showing an old prospector having difficulties with his burro.
Jane whispered to Pat, "He's cute, isn't he? Remind me to tell you something about him after the show."
When they were walking home, Pat said, "I really liked that show. And I was afraid I wouldn't." Then, with a teasing note in his voice, "Maybe it was because you wouldn't let me hold your hand, and I had to keep my mind on it."
Jane laughed a little, then said very seriously, "You wouldn't be- lieve it, but I think you're right."
He looked at her queerly. "You know," he said, "I believe you really do think that." They walked on in silence for a moment, then he said, "What was it you were going to tell me about the old prospector?"
"Oh," Jane laughed, "it was something funny I read about him. In real life he loathes burros. But in the first bit part he had a chance to play, he had to manage a burro. He tried so hard to be good that he was a scream. Now, whenever they have a part like that, they get him to play it."
Pat laughed with her. "He played the part well enough," he said. "You'd think he had been doing it all his life."
"A lot of movie stars play parts that are exactly opposite from their everyday lives," Jane said. "When I know something like that about one of them, it makes the acting more interesting to me."
They walked up the path to the Morrel house. The long porch was screened by huge lilac bushes. Jane led the way to a porch glider.
"It's early," she said. "Let's sit out here and talk a little. You sit down, and I'll tell Mother I'm home, then I'll be right back."
"Swell," he said, "I'll be wait- ing."
When she returned, she sat down beside him. "Wasn't the dance fun last Saturday night?" she asked. Her eyes danced as they looked into his. "I felt so good I could have danced all night."
"I could have, too," he said. Then he remembered. "Only — " he be- gan.
"Only what?" she laughed. "You were having a good time, weren't
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
you? You seemed to be when you danced with me."
He looked at her a little sheepish- ly. "Well, yes, I did have a good time," he said slowly, "but I got sick before it was over."
"I guess I just don't understand boys," Jane said. "You get mumps or measles or chicken pox, and you think you're killed. Then you go to a dance, and you think you can't have a good time unless you drink and get sick. It doesn't make sense."
"It doesn't, does it?" Pat agreed. "But then it helps to make a man of you."
"Fiddlesticks," Jane laughed. "Do you think any of you who drink have more fun than Howard Jones?"
Pat thought about Howard for a moment. Howard did seem to have plenty of fun. He could dance with the best of them, and he never seemed to tire. And even when the dances were about to close, after he had been dancing for hours, you could see that he was thoroughly enjoying it. Pat contrasted that with the way he had felt on a num- ber of occasions. It required a conscious effort to keep his eyes open. Even then he had the feel- ing they were half-closed. And his head! He hardly knew how to de- scribe that. Just sort of dead. But
that is against our good behavior and wants to telegraph the muscles to carry the idea out, this little watchdog won't let the message go through. And if the brain can't tell the muscles what to do, nothing happens. But when you get alco- hol in your system, it makes this little watchdog sleepy, and he lets some messages go through that he would stop if he were wide-awake. So you do things you would be ashamed to do if you were in your right mind."
"That probably explains it," Pat said. "Come to think of it, you do some silly things when you're that way. Like the time Johnny Callan tried to walk a plank across a mud- hole. He couldn't keep his balance, and we thought it was terribly fun- ny. I don't see anything so funny about it now, though."
"What happened?" Jane asked.
"He fell in. Just about ruined his suit, too, I guess."
"That's too bad," Jane said soft- ly. "His mother couldn't afford to buy him a new one, either, I guess."
Pat shook his head.
They were silent for a few mo- ments.
Then Jane said quietly, "And as for making a man of you, Pat, that couldn't do it nearly as well as you can do it yourself."
"But lots of men drink," Pat de-
■ ■ .:■ ■.-: -:"' ": ' .
J-Je was going to ask her for a goodnight kiss, but he changed his mind.
through it all Howard danced mer- rily on, bright-eyed and clear- headed, never missing a step.
"Well, I guess we don't," he ad- mitted finally. "But anyway, it sure peps me up sometimes."
"I wonder if it does?" Jane re- plied. "Did anyone ever tell you what it really does to you? I mean, to make you act like you do?"
"No," Pat said, "I don't think anyone ever did."
"Someone explained it to me once," Jane said. "I don't know whether I can explain it or not. He said there is a little watchdog up here somewhere" — she pointed to the base of her skull — "that sort of keeps us on our good behavior. When the brain gets a crazy idea
SEPTEMBER 1951
fended himself, "and it doesn't hurt them a bit. And they have fun doing it."
"I doubt that they have as much fun as they would if they left it alone," Jane said. "And as for not hurting them, I read in a magazine just a few days ago that over seven hundred and fifty thousand people in the United States are alcoholics, and the number is increasing stead-
fly."
"That," said Pat, "probably was written by someone who wanted prohibition."
"On the contrary," Jane replied, "it was written by a man trying to justify drinking. He went on to say that thirty to forty percent of them could be cured, but there was
no hope for the other sixty to sev- enty percent."
"At least some of them can be cured, then," Pat argued.
"Yes, but even that costs plenty of money," Jane pointed out. "Be- sides, what about the rest of them? That leaves over half a million, even if all were cured who could be. And all of them should be sent to asy- lums or other institutions to be tak- en care of. Think of what that costs, not only in money, but also in human misery and suffering."
"I guess that's right," Pat agreed.
"Oh," Jane laughed, "I've been preaching to you. I'm sorry. Tell me some of the things you like to do."
"I like to do a lot of things," Pat grinned, relieved to have the sub- ject changed. "I like to hike and camp out, and to fish, and especially to dance. You know," he said, as though it were something of a con- fession, "I'd like to learn to tap dance. I'd have taken it at school but there were only two other boys taking it, and anyway I couldn't arrange my schedule for it."
"A lot of us couldn't arrange our schedules that way," Jane said, "so our ward M.I. A. asked Miss Niel- son to teach the M-Men and Gleaner Girls every other Tues- day."
"That's swell," Pat said.
"You could come if you wanted."
"But I haven't been to Church for so long," Pat objected.
"That wouldn't matter," Jane said with enthusiasm. "You could join the M-Men.
"I could?" cried Pat. "What would they expect of me?"
"Mostly just be a <|bod sport — and not to smoke or drink. You could do it easy, Pat, if you wanted to. Howard would take you and get you started."
Pat stood up, and his eyes were gleaming. He held out his hand to Jane, and she took it and walked to the door with him.
"I was going to ask you for a goodnight kiss," he said, "but I've changed my mind. And I promise to see Howard before next Tues- day."
Jane smiled. "Goodnight," she said. "I've had a lovely time."
"Goodnight," he grinned, and he started whistling happily as he went down the path. J
641
Twice Blessed
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AT the time our Church made a drive to collect clothing for needy Saints in Europe, I, as thousands of others, contributed my bit to help this worthy cause. I placed my name and address in- side the package. About a year later I was very much surprised to receive a letter from Germany. I knew no one over there although my grandmother's people had origi- nally come from that land.
Not being familiar with the lan- guage, I took the letter to an uncle of mine, to have him translate it for me. The good brother who had written in behalf of himself and family expressed the deepest ap- preciation and gratitude to mem- bers of the Church here who had so generously contributed to help them. "If it had not been for the assistance received through the
Church, I wonder if we would have been able to survive," he said. As many others in Germany, he had been bombed out and had escaped with only the clothes on his back.
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GENEALOGY
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I felt very sorry for these good peo- ple, so with the help of neighbors, friends, and relatives I collected clothing and sent several packages to them. They were so grateful for these things that this man, who was a genealogist by profession, wrote and wanted to do some- thing for me in return for the things I had sent to them. Consequently I had a letter written to him giving some of the background of my mother's ancestors and part of her pedigree. He then asked for a com- plete pedigree with the family groups and any other information
My grandmother had spent over thirty-five years trying to find the records of her people.
642
about the church. This I sent to him. In the meantime I sent other packages with food and clothing.
My grandmother had spent over thirty-five years trying to find the records of her people. She had em- ployed the services of a researcher here to assist her and a researcher in Europe to find information from the records there. Very little was obtained on her father's line. In fact her own family group was in- complete, also that of her father's family. Her success on her mother's line was a little better but still very meager.
I had been much concerned about these incomplete family groups. My grandmother was the only child who reached maturity/and married. All the others either died in infancy or childhood. She had only three mem- bers of the family of eight children identified. Five were recorded as "child" with no further data given, not even "male" or "female," just an approximate date of birth and death.
My joy was beyond expression when, through the efforts of this good man in Germany, I obtained the necessary information to com- plete these family groups and ex- tend my grandmother's line six gen- erations beyond my present record. The family groups also accompanied this pedigree.
That my small contribution should be sent to this certain family and be the means of obtaining such a wealth of information is indeed a testimony to me. "Surely the Lord works in a mysterious way."
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
My work in preparing to become a Golden Gleaner taught me how to be
a better wife . . .
L
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Photograph by H. Armstrong Roberts.
m REAL HAPPINESS *, J%
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"J
ohn, the station, it's— it's so immense!" And as Connie said it, she felt a pang of homesickness for the small town in Utah that she had so recently left.
Her tall, dark-haired husband squeezed her around the waist and winked reassuringly. "We'll make it through," he said.
The tiny hand of their baby son grasped tightly at Connie's skirt, and he began to cry. She realized she was afraid of the big city with all its people. She was afraid just as her tiny son was. As she stood in the huge railway station, her thoughts went back to the Sunday evening just before she and her husband and their tiny son had boarded the train for the East; the service had been so well-planned with musical numbers and a special talk by the bishop. All of her friends and family had been there. Marsha was called up to the pulpit, then Susan, and then — yes, the bishop had called her name. As she stood there before the entire congregation with the bishop shak- ing her hand, she felt a joy that comes only from a wonderful achievement. As she turned to take her seat, John winked, and as she returned the wink, tears of hap- piness came to her eyes. He was proud of her, and that made the achievement even more wonderful.
SEPTEMBER 1951
ommuiee
John suddenly broke into her thoughts with, "Come on, Honey, we'd better get a cab."
"John, I was just thinking about Sunday night. Wasn't it wonder- ful?" Connie's eyes beamed; for a second she forgot the big city and her fears.
John had taken tiny Billy in his arms and was pulling Connie by the hand through the mass of people toward a waiting cab. They were in the cab and on the way to their apartment before John said, "Hon- ey, do you remember the scripture the bishop quoted Sunday night?
"Ye are the light of the world. . . . Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matt. 5:14-16)
"Of course, John." Connie looked proudly at the tiny gold pin fastened securely to her blouse.
"Remember, too, how he had said that he thought it might have been the guiding light in the hearts and minds of the members of the Y. W. M. I. A. general board way back in 1940?" ^
"How could I forget," Connie answered, "when the Church insti- tuted the Golden Gleaner program
and the girls of the Church ac- cepted it!"
John was thoughtful then as he looked at her and said, "Connie, I know you're afraid of this big city, but you are really a very important person. You are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints, and you have just achieved a most wonderful recog- nition. You know you should make that scripture a part of your life and never let your light be hid under a basket. Why I'll bet it won't be long until you get to know lots of people, and you'll really love this city." John's words could have been almost prophetic.
The cab stopped in front of a tall white apartment house, and John, Connie, and tiny Billy hur- ried out of the cab and into the long hall of the apartment house. At one door marked "manager" they stopped and knocked. A charming young woman answered the door. Then almost before intro- ductions were made, the woman's eyes gleamed, and she said to Con- nie, "Are you a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints?" With Connie's af- firmative answer the woman then said, "And you're a Golden Gleaner. I, too, am a Golden Gleaner. There are several of us here, even though we're only a small unit of the Church. We even get together once in a while." Yes, John's words were prophetic because it was only a short time until Connie had many friends, and all of them as dear to her as her friends back in Utah. The big city seemed smaller and less fright- ening with each new friend she met.
Connie many times expressed her gratitude to the Lord for the guid- ance he had given the leaders of the Mutual when in 1940 the Golden Gleaner program was set up. She had really learned the value of Golden Gleaner work.
(Continued on page 656)
643
I feel that I am one of the hap- real problem as far as Latter-day
piest and most fortunate girls in Saint standards are concerned. Sev-
the world; for you see, I am a eral times we've read the M.I. A.
young Latter-day Saint girl who is manuals and the counsel of the
just turning seventeen, who loves to Authorities about what the proper
go out on dates, who would almost dress should be for Latter-day Saint
rather dance and hike and go horse- girls.
back riding than eat, who has a lot School work and getting good
of wonderful girl friends, and who grades are two items we have often
has a family that is just plain discussed. Next year will be my
"tops." This family of mine also last year in high school. But what
believes as I do, that I am living in then? Should I go to college? Just
a wonderful world, that I should be how important should education be
happy and have lots of fun, and to a seventeen-year-old Latter-day
that my chances for real happiness Saint girl? Then there's the prob-
are greater today than they have lem of what to do on Sunday. I
ever been. Many times my family have talked with my older brothers
and I will get together and talk many times about some of the fel-
about those things which are of lows and girls I know who want to
great importance to me and which go on canyon parties and shows on
I like to talk about — the kind of Sunday and their "kidding" those
girl friends I go around with and who didn't participate in this kind
their ideals and standards — the of fun on the Sabbath. They say
type of fellows who take me out on that if you go to Sunday School
dates, and what we do during the and sacrament meeting that it
evening. should be up to you what you do the
Mother is continually reminding rest of the day. me of the importance of the associa- These are but a few of the many tions I make and how they will problems that we as young Latter- influence my happiness now and al- day Saints have to meet almost so my future life. Mother and I every day: what to do on Sundays; often talk about the latest fashions how to act on dates; how to dress the girls are wearing — the new properly; the kind of education we styles that are coming out. Some should receive. We are thankful of the newest dresses we have no- that our Latter-day Saint homes and ticed are quite immodest. Strapless the teachings of our Church have evening dresses seem to be quite given us the answers to many of commonly sold in the fashionable these questions and guides to the stores. We realize this presents a choices we should make.
As girls in our teens it realty shouldn't be too hard tor us to choose what we should do on Sunday.
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644
—Photographs by Harold M. Lambert
So, as girls in our 'teens, it really shouldn't be too hard for us to choose what we should do on Sun- day if we can first of all remember, as we have been taught, that this one day has been set aside as the Lord's day. It's to be a day of rest; a day when we forget the canyon parties, the pleasure trips, and the movies for awhile and think seriously about our Church and the many blessings we enjoy as young people because of being Latter-day Saints. During the week, if we're active and energetic teen-agers, we've had our share of social and athletic activities. We may have gone with a group of girls to the canyon, had a date or two, seen a good movie, or done any number of enjoyable things. Certainly, we've been studying if school has been going on or maybe we've been earn- ing a few dollars during the week working, if it's vacation time.
But now it's Sunday and a real chance to slow down a bit — to give the spiritual side of us a chance to grow, to take stock of ourselves, to make sure that we're giving the necessary time to Church activities and study. All of the family going to Sunday School on Sunday morn- ing and sacrament meeting in the evening are, of course, natural ac- tivities for the Sabbath and two "musts" for every Latter-day Saint girl. And there's the fireside after Church — a wonderful chance for more informal Church instructions and meeting friends.
And what about Sunday after- noons? How long has it been since we've picked up The Improve- ment Era and read some of the really interesting stories and arti- cles that our Church magazine car- ries each month? How about tak- ing down the family Bible or the Book of Mormon and reading a few chapters? These two books are
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
e 5 o
YOUTH
RICHER LIFE
Dm d5arbara (/->£
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certainly two of the greatest books ever written and are the real basis of our Church. Reading the actual words of the Lord from these books on a Sunday afternoon would cer- tainly be a profitable and enjoy- able adventure for every Latter- day Saint girl. In fact, any good book or magazine would be well worth reading on Sunday; also, listening to good music, writing an interesting letter to a relative or friend, visiting with and really getting to know our own family — and neighbors, making a special effort to see and visit those who arc sick and who especially need help and cheering up. Yes, Sunday spent in this manner, keeping the Sabbath day holy in an interesting and en- joyable way is possible for every L.D.S. girl. If we'll just take the time to plan our Sundays in har- mony with Church practices — to make them interesting and worth while — they should soon become the highlights of our week and days to look forward to.
And now let's talk about dating for a few moments. The tele- phone rings, and Bill asks for a date to the graduation dance — the big formal dance of the year. Your
our young sisters realize the temptations they are flaunting before young men when they leave their bodies partly uncovered. I am sure that the immodest dresses that are worn by our young women and their mothers contribute in some degree to the immorality of this age.
The dance draws to a. close much too soon. It has been a dance you'll never forget. Bill was able to get the family car tonight, and so after riding out to your favorite restau- rant for a bite to eat, you start for home. Again, some other words of Brother Kimball help you to end the evening right. Both you and Bill heard them read in seminary awhile back. This was his advice:
The devil knows that he cannot tempt you young people to commit adultery im- mediately, but he knows, too, that if he can get you to drink or if he can get you necking and petting, if he can get you to do it long enough, if he can get you to sit in your car late enough after the dance, if he can get you to park long enough at the end of the lane, he knows that the best boy and the best girl will finally succumb, and will fall. He knows
During the week if we're active and energetic teen-agers and athletic activities;
we've had our share at social
Yes, you do remember the counsel that has been given by the General Authorities. As you leave for the dance that evening with Bill, you feel happy inside because you know you look attractive and lovely and that you are dressed as a Latter- heart skips a couple of beats, and day Saint girl should be. You have you breathlessly answer, 'Yes." a wonderful time at the dance — Saturday night finally comes — cer- talking gaily with Bill about tainly one of the most important the school year activities, trading nights of your school year. Have dances with all your old school you decided what you're going to buddies, dreamily sipping the punch wear; what formal it will be tonight? at intermission, and most important, You want it modest in keeping with dancing to the soft music of your
favorite band.
You notice that some of the couples are dancing cheek-to-cheek, but you and Bill have decided that this kind of dancing isn't necessary for a really good time. In fact, it seems to both of you that it cheap- ens the dance instead of adding to it.
Church standards. You know it can be both. You've read a recent talk of Brother Spencer W. Kimball, and his words still rirrg in your ears. Remember them?
Evening gowns can be most beautiful and modest if they clothe the body. But the Lord never did intend that they should be backless or strapless. I wonder if SEPTEMBER 1951
that they do have a limit to their resist- ance.
You've pondered these words many times, and so has Bill. And so in a few minutes the car pulls up in front of your home, and the evening has come to a pleasant close. You've enjoyed the biggest dance of the year in the best way possible. You have both remem- bered who you are; you've remem- bered the teachings of your Church; and you've had a wonderful time.
As a young Latter-day Saint girl in my teens, there is another im- portant choice I must make, that's concerning my schooling and the necessity for continuing my educa- tion for as long as possible. I should realize that the greatest career I can prepare myself for is being a housewife and mother, and thus I should intelligently plan for (Concluded on page 682)
645
Tn the incredible years of exploration and conquest immediately following the news of the discovery of vast new continents in the western sea, strange new edibles and delicacies were brought to Euro- pean tables by intrepid conquistadores who, well aware of their vast potentialities, had garnered them among
America's "FIRST" Farmers
&
srohn Sherman {/[/ather
Modern-day man is indebted to the ancient red man for many of the staples and not a few of the delicacies which he relishes, all of which originated in the New World and were brought to their perfection by the patience of pre- historic Indian farmers. In fact, about five-sevenths of any typical American banquet is comprised of foods which are strictly from the Amerindian agriculturists.
Corn on the cob would be an unknown item on the epicure's list were it not for the painstaking work of aboriginal Indian farmers in de- veloping this succulent food from the wild Mexican grass called teocintli. How long it took them to work the transformation is prob- lematical.
It is claimed that the aborigines had more varieties of maize than we have today, and there is evidence that maize was the first grain to be domesticated. The Indians suited varieties to climates, having a variety of corn that ripened in three months, admirable for the short growing season in Canada; and in the Texas region they grew a type that matured in five months. Out of experimental types developed some unusual specimens such as flint corn, dent corn — and they were feasting on popcorn several long ages before its crunch and crackle became the complementary accompaniment to the white man's movie melodrama. Just as Ameri- can is the fragrantly-packaged chewing gum, also an aboriginal indulgence. Central American In- dians were chewing chicle — the elastic essence of the modern stick — some generations before North American manufacturers re- alized its possibilities.
It has even been stated that the 646
'J'he "Irish potato," now known throughout the civilized world, is no more Irish than was Montezuma, It was first seen by a white explorer, Pedro de Cieza de Leon, in 1583, when he found Colombian Indians growing and cultivating it on their mountain slopes.
art of farming may have started on this continent and spread to Europe through Asia. Certain it is that the American Indian was far advanced when Christopher Colum- bus touched shore in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492. Expecting to find himself among barbarians, he found a race advanced in agri- cultural pursuits, turning out cer- tain strange and delicious edibles. The Irish potato is really no more Irish than was Montezuma. Pedro de Cieza de Leon, a con- tinental traveler, was supposedly the first white man to have seen a potato, when, in 1538, on an expedi- tion to Colombia, he discovered the tempting treat on the native bill of fare. He described it as a "kind
of truffle." Spanish ships later took some of the white tubers to Europe. In Germany, the potato is still mis- called a truffle (kartoffel), first coming to that country by way of Austria. Ireland accepted it en- thusiastically as an excellent substi- tute for oatmeal, at that time the staple food of the country. Irish emigrants to North America in 1719 introduced it here, the first planting in North America being at London- derry, New Hampshire, after its strangely roundabout journey over the eastern continent.
The tomato, once called the "love-apple," is another important contribution which the red Indian was enjoying long before its intro- duction into civilized Europe. Strange as it seems, as late as the Nineteenth Century, this vitamin- rich "berry" was looked upon by the majority as a poisonous, showy plant, sometimes displayed as an ornamental shrub, its brilliant fruit never eaten. Perhaps the assump- tion was based on the fact that the tomato and its second cousin, the potato, both are of the deadly night- shade family.
The staid Indian would have frowned on such shenanigans as mark the cultured white man's Halloween, but he planted pump- kins, as well as squash and climb- ing beans, among the corn rows. Ancient canals may still be spotted over what were once farm regions of the Indians, evidence of their use of irrigation for crop raising.
Although cotton was known in the Old World in ancient times, some of the best modern varieties were developed by the American Indian. So fine was the cotton grown by the Mayan and Mexican Indians that the Spaniards took it for silk; and so strong its fibers that padded armor was made from it.
And what would that American
institution, the soda fountain, do
without its favorite ingredient?
Such fancy fountain specials as
[Concluded on page 650)
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
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SEPTEMBER 1951
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For three generations Freedom of Worship has been a proud heritage of America. From the Atlantic seaboard to the Western frontier, everywhere churches have become the cornerstones of communities. And America is re-awakening today to the importance of the church in modern society . . . building places where youth may grow in character as they grow in stature . . . centers of wholesome recreation and spiritual development. Patterned on the best experience of the past, these modern structures incorporate a wealth of new ideas in science, art and engineering. But one remarkable fact remains: Brick today, as in the past, is still the preferred masonry material. For wherever strength, beauty and durability are desired, experience dictates brick.
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America's "First" Farmers
(Concluded from page 646) fudge sundaes and whipped-cream- topped hot chocolate trace back to the fragrant, foamy choclatl which was a favorite of the ancient Aztecs, for the Indians first utilized the cacao bean, native to tropical America and the West Indies.
Many of the medicinal drugs used today were discovered and first employed by the American Indians, such as ipecac, cascara, quinine, and balsam Peru. Cocaine is derived from coca, another plant native to South America, with whose medic- inal and anesthetic properties the Indians were believed to have been familiar.
It seems likely that quite a num- ber of plants, herbs, and even weeds, which modern man has over- looked in his concentration on syn- thetics, were beneficially used by the Indians, such as malva, a weed of Mexico, once a food of the early Aztecs and known to contain every element needed by the human body. Their knowledge of certain myste- rious "wonder drugs" was pro- found.
The Incas of Peru sealed sepul- chres of their leaders with a glue which has defied analysis or dupli- cation in the most advanced scien- tific laboratories. Strange clay balls filled with mysterious gray powders were unearthed from these sepul- chres and when analyzed were found to contain marvelous proper- ties. Funridine, a curative tea, was brewed by them ages ago, and only recently has the atomic-age chemist attempted to produce it. Vegecarsal imide, a curious, highly mineralized soil in complex asso- ciation with humus matter, was the Incan farmer's ideal soil builder.
This industrious, ingenious agri- culturist of the ancient times tilled the soil and solved the secrets of the plants of the Americas, all too few of whose contributions to civi- lized man have been acknowledged.
650
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
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CUSTOM FOOTBALL
BY COLLEGE,
JUNIOR COLLEGE AND
HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUES
FOR VARSITY PLAY
After 1950-51 testing, a great many Leagues have offi- cially adopted the Voit XF9 for game play. In addition, hundreds of other schools will play one or more varsity games to prove to themselves these 3 tremendous ad- vantages of Voit over other footballs:
1 DRY E I E I n YCQ Better passing and handling. Kicks same
as leather.
*% 1A# E T E I E I n V CQ Vastly superior passing and handling
A* WW E I riELU,.,Ar7 (does nQf gef s,jppery) Eliminates bad
kicks also caused by slippery ball.
3. WET OR DRY...XF9 .:■^^l5Sli^p•rMw?,9ht,
size, shape, pertormance.
* This is an entirely new ball, and should not be confused with any other football built now or in the past.
NEW YORK 10, CHICAGO 10, LOS ANGELES 1 1
SEPTEMBER 1951
651
feat**''***"*'
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^Jke S^pirit and tk <=U-etter or the <JLau)
RICHARD L EVANS
Cince Paul the Apostle wrote of it — since then and long before — the spirit and the letter of the law have long come in for comment. Certainly we cannot get along without either the spirit or the letter of the law. There must be both. The law is dead without the spirit, and it may be weak without the letter. But one difficulty with over- emphasizing the letter of the law is that men may use it without wisdom, without discretion, without taking into account individual situations and circumstances. Another difficulty with the letter is that men make so many laws that they come in conflict and cause confusion. In all organized activities there must be rules and regulations — but there is no rule book made by man that can cover all the individual variations and that can meet all the emer- gencies. So, even when we have the letter of the law, we must never forget that a large part of the strength of any person or of any people lies in individual resourcefulness and self-reliance, in inventive ingenuity, and in the ability of individuals to think and decide for themselves. For safety and survival, for peace and progress, all people must fit themselves into organized entities; yet history has proved repeatedly that peace and progress and human happiness are impaired when a comparatively few men and a few minds attempt to fit all others into a confining "format." If men are to be at their best, and if voluntary societies are to be at their strongest and safest, men must have wide latitude within which to use their own initia- tive. And to the degree to which we attempt to suppress individual initiative, to that degree we tend to trade the surpassing strength of free men for the weaknesses of an enslaved society. And so, sound, safe freedom would seem to suggest teaching simple, sound principles and self-reliance and individual initiative, and allowing the free spirit of the soul of man to operate within the limits of a minimum amount of law, with the least possible com- plexity.
Wo J"
Ulte ^>pohen Word FROM TEMPLE SQUARE PRESENTED OVER KSL AND THE COLUMBIA BROAD- CASTING SYSTEM, JUNE 24, 1951
Copyright, 1951
S^^S^&t^SSvS^x^^
THE MYSTERY OF A DAY By Clarence Edwin Flynn
YOU cannot tell about a day, Though rainbow colors on it play. It may bring gifts your heart desired, Reach goals to which you have aspired, Fulfil long-treasured hopes for you, And make old, haunting dreams come true; Yet all that brought you in its hour May perish like a withered flower.
652
You cannot tell about a day.
It may seem hard, and dull, and gray.
It may defeat you in your task,
Refuse the heart's desire you ask.
It may bring all you did not want,
And nothing that your pride would vaunt;
Yet be the one day that will not
Perish when others are forgot.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
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SEPTEMBER 1951
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liii
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"DEAR JOHN"
( Concluded from page 637 )
Ironically enough, the more afraid she was that Richard no longer loved her, the more intense became her love for him.
She could put Richard on his honor in a very few well-chosen words. Only a cad would refuse to marry a girl who had waited two years for him, and Richard was no cad. Almost she was tempted, sitting there beside him, feeling his nearness, and loving him so hope- lessly.
But it wasn't good enough, even above the heartache of longing. It isn't good enough for Richard, and it isn't good enough for me, she told herself. However Richard wants it, that is how it will have to be. The next time he wants to talk to me, I'll talk.
"Mary, I have to talk to you," said Richard.
Mary jumped and turned her eyes on him in amazement. "Rich, did I say anything?" she asked, not sure at all that she had not spoken her intense thoughts.
"No, but I could hear your men- tal wheels grinding. Do you like this show?"
"I haven't heard a word of it," said Mary.
"I could write a better tragedy right out of my own life. I'd rather talk, and this is the first time you've been still a minute since I got home. I could never know what you think with all that chatter. You can't talk to a house afire or a whirlwind or a galloping horse, and you have been all of those."
His shoulder touched hers, and his voice was an audible burr. Peo- ple in seats near them glared, and two women in front of them turned and commanded them to "sh-sh."
"Let's get out of here," said Mary, her hands turning icy and her heart thumping rapidly.
"And let you get me back on that platter disc? Not on your life."
"I promise," said Mary desper- ately.
Richard was still formal and re- mote, putting her into the car and steering toward the Drive. Finally he stopped the car where they could look over the blazing valley. The twinkling lights echoed the trembling in Mary's heart.
"I had to be a good missionary, and I was a good missionary, in spite of it," said Richard, as if continuing a conversation. "And now I think we must put an end to it. There comes a time when even certain knowledge, no matter how bad it is when it comes, is preferable to the fear of it."
"Fear?" whispered Mary, her mouth dry with it.
"The fear of losing you. All the other fellows were losing their girls. They had a sort of unofficial club. The DJM's— Dear John Missionaries. I expected my qual- ifications with every letter, especial- ly after yours cooled off so notice- ably. What little hope I had was gone when I found you so strange and different."
"Oh, Richard, I—"
"Don't say it — not until you have heard me out. I love you, Mary. I never stopped loving you, and I never shall. Will you marry me?"
"Oh, Richard — yes!" Mary said. "I love you, too. I never stopped. It was the fear with me, too."
After the tumbling words of ex- planation and assurance, they looked again across the town, now dark in sleep.
"It wasn't the separation, was it, Richard."
"No," said Richard quietly, "no, Mary, it was the fear."
BROWN FIELD By Anobel Armour
'T'he knowledge was the lean boy's and ■*■ his only
That the deserted field was neither lonely Nor yet devoid of sustenance and strength, For he could hear thin rustles down its
length Where chipmunks pattered like the slow
wind's sound. He heard the brown-eared rabbits breaking
ground,
654
And by the fence four quick and freckled
quail Rattled the stubble like an autumn hail. "The field is brown and dead," the hired
man said. The lean boy neither smiled nor shook his
head, Having no time to give to a denying For looking at a toad — and three crows
flying.
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
Business News is Important News to the Growing Mountain West !
BusTnTs~s
oft tb^ To *
By JIM HOAGLAND - . . , r h i v
Halloy'itf naIdal Editor jrrePlace^t division of th n i* -ra^k iXS «* ^ahJ^drica Company I65-/- , adde^ to the 12 ' > S b«*n W'«> company off ^' T q0nfer ,
pas** S?*tt r@£T manawr' saw
«^5£e c^ stock
V been mfne|in fe°H dated ^ing Co ^ oi this growth becomes increasingly vS,?^?*- I P^illy* loU** . being offered
important to citizens of the area. For that reason, 1 t^e C District I ential sale to sf*0 f. the prefer- the Deseret News presents complete reporting of ^ration in "salt / S^th^ to 44>74l sha^ Wh°
1 V*»5§ing. The The rL°0mpany $48 42r??~
>e Wiij be offSin/ "Wo shares X!" !L«^« Peri;.0 1*! Publfc
ilS the Mountain West matures in business and industrial development, news of this growth becomes increasingly- important to citizens of the area. For that reason, the Deseret News presents complete repoi ' business news and conditions on special pages daily and Sunday. Included is a column
"Men at Work" giving timely news of personalities in Mountain West business. Keep posted! Read the Deseret News for complete business news.
THE MOUNTAIN WEST'S FIRST NEWSPAPER
}*n- I St $1.25 ;;>„ , ;JuoiU-
I- Pected to net tl ' and *« ex- } additional Til 5 ?| «°»»4y an
' °f *2«f546* 0UJ o? u a tota" Repaid the COm Which will
(5*463,420 Sa"y's *hare of
^^tration **£* Mi^rais '
^^n and deveT? °red e*- V aevelopment pro.
icinge its
SEPTEMBER 1951
655
##t
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THE REM HAPPINESS IN EIFE
(Continued from page 643) What is this program of achieve- ment which has provided such an incentive for girls to excel in many worth-while fields of endeavor? How has the Golden Gleaner pro- gram helped develop well-rounded personalities and helped girls more effectively to serve their friends,
their families, their communities, and the Church?
The Golden Gleaner program has as its objective the following: (1) to build testimonies of the divinity of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ; ( 2 ) to develop qualities of leadership; (3) to train in the art (Concluded on page 658)
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RICHARD L. EVANS
A
century and some seventy-five years ago, fifty-six Americans signed what has since become a symbol of our legacy of liberty: the Declaration of Independence. Now, because these men of liberty have become legend, we may sometimes suppose that what they did was not so difficult a thing to do in their day. But they were men, even as other men, loving their families, their friends, their freedom. They didn't love life less than we love it. ( And God grant that we don't love liberty less than they. ) It wasn't easy for them to oppose prevailing fallacies or to offer to lay down their lives for liberty. But they had God-given convictions, convictions that they (and all men) "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalien- able rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" . . . and that "governments . . . [derive] their just powers from the consent of the gov- erned." A century and three quarters seems like a long time in terms of history or of what history has proved. And history has proved that the right of liberty is not an unchallenged right nor an imperishable privilege except as people pay its price and live its principles. History has proved that we cannot always draw upon the privileges that were given us by those of the past without devotion to the divine principles on which freedom is founded. And solemnly we recall these words said to be cited from William Penn, the founder of that same city in which the Declaration of Independence was signed: "Those people who are not governed by God will be ruled by tyrants." No matter what we today may do for the fu- ture, we shall never overpay our debt to the past. No matter what we may do for our children's children, we shall never do enough in all our days for the blessings we have had from the God of heaven. God grant that we may "proclaim liberty throughout all the land,"1 and, as did our fathers, "pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor" to preserve for ourselves, for our children, and for all mankind, our legacy of liberty.
^Leviticus 25:10.
*Jke J^pont
WorJ'
FROM TEMPLE SQUARE PRESENTED OVER KSL AND THE COLUMBIA BROAD- CASTING SYSTEM, JULY 1, 1951
Copyright. 1951
iWs^a^
656
THE IMPROVEMENT ERA
' I got the story on
50,000Miles-NoWtear
and changed to New Conoco Super Motor Oil"
"SaOOOM//es-/Vo Wear/' Proved ffete-.
"A mechanic dreams of working on a clean engine," says Lewis Stoddart, Garage Man- ager, Blackfoot, Idaho. "My dream came true when customers started using new Conoco Super. It's hard on my business, as it cuts down trouble, but I'm a loyal booster of Conoco Super."
After a 50,000-mile road test in the blister- ing heat along the Mexican Border, with proper crankcase drains and regular care, engines lubricated with new Conoco Super Motor Oil showed no wear of any consequence ... in fact, an average of less than one one- thousandth inch on cylinders and crank- shafts. Factory finishing marks were still visible on piston rings.
AND gasoline mileage for the last 5,000 miles was actually 99.77% as good as for the first 5,000! This test proved that new Conoco Super, with Oil-Plating, can make your car last longer, perform better, use less gasoline and oil.
"Fm sure glad you converted me to the '50,000 Miles — No Wear' oil," writes Albert E. Lentz, Rancher, Delta, Colorado. "I really barreled my Mercury over all types of highway on a recent trip, and all I could hear was a motor purring like a kitten."
SEPTEMBER 1951
This is a
HEAVY DUTY
OIL
©'«■ CONTINENTAL OIL COMPANY
657
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lust odd
Try these other Tilbest Mixes
• CHIFFON CAKE • BROWNIE
• BLUEBERRY MUFFIN • DOUGHNUT
THE REAL HAPPINESS IN LIFE
%
... it will be long remembered. That's why you choose so carefully . . . exactly the right Bible for the occasion. Look first for the National imprint. It is your guarantee of quality — your assurance that this gift will be a lasting memorial to your good judgment.
No. 119 for group presen- tation— Black imitation leather; flexible, over- lapping covers; round corners; amber edges.
No. 119 RL— With words of Christ in red. Both mod- erately priced.
i No. 124B for individual gift I or presentation — Blue gen- I uine leather; flexible, over- ■1 lapping covers; round ft corners; blue under gold m edges. No. 12 5M — Ma- roon; red under gold edges. No. 12 3 — Black- amber under gold edges.
Ask for ~
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at your bookstore
BELOVED KING JAMES VERSION
Make
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11955 Wilshire Blvd. West Los Angeles 25, Cal. Your Headquarters while in L. A. Excellent location near our new temple site. Five min- utes to ocean. Wonderfully cool. No smog. For Reservations write or wire Nettie Jorgensen Bott, Owner Centrally located for vacation enjoyment.
(Concluded from page 656)
of homemaking and an appreciation of beauty; (4) to encourage in- tellectual, creative, and cultural pursuits. These objectives are ac- complished by filling certain require- ments in four fields of endeavor: spiritual, executive, cultural, and creative. Three years of active participation in the Gleaner pro- gram are required of the candidate before she can qualify. However, she may receive credit for service in any of the auxiliary organizations of the Church or in the mission field, as well as for projects carried on in her home.
Connie was not the only girl to benefit from the Golden Gleaner program.
Many wonderful letters have been received from girls who are applying for this, the top-ranking award of the Y. W. M. I. A. These letters bear fervent testimonies to the power of the priesthood and to the truthfulness of the restored gospel. They tell of the develop- ment and growth received from participation in the Golden Gleaner program. Almost invariably they pay tribute to the love, guidance, and encouragement of understand- ing leaders. Following are excerpts from letters recently received:
My work in preparing to become a Golden Gleaner has touched almost every phase of my life. It has taught me how to be a better wife; it has taught me how to be a better mother and to make my home more comfortable and livable; it has taught me how to be a leader and perhaps to help the youth of Zion to gain a testimony of the gospel; it has given me self-confidence to help teach the word of the Lord. Most important of all, it has guided me to the most wonderful thing in my life — -my testi- mony.
After having filled the requirements and looking back over each experience which came about, I know and understand more fully why each step that we take forward in this great Church is a step on the road to eternal life with our Heavenly Father.
My pen will never be able to relay the true love and joy and happiness I have received in filling the requirements to become a Golden Gleaner.
I became seriously interested in Gleaner work when my sister became a Golden Gleaner. I remember how diligently she worked to fill the requirements. I was present the Sunday evening she was hon- ored and given the Golden Gleaner pin. It wasn't the honor or the pin she received
658
that impressed me, but the look of sheer joy on her face in having reached the goal of a Golden Gleaner.
Having completed my Golden Gleaner requirements I have come to a full reali- zation of the worthiness of this goal. It sets up a high standard for daily work and thought. It helps me to live on the highest level of which I am capable. It gives me confidence in myself that might help me someday in overcoming obstacles and reaching higher peaks. It instils in me a need to gain more knowledge.
These are but a few of the count- less numbers of similar paragraphs written by Golden Gleaners who have found joy in their achievement.
Today there are approximate- ly twenty-four hundred Golden Gleaners in the Church. Scores of new recruits are added each year to this fast-growing army of out- standing young women.
One of the highlights of the year toward which all Golden Gleaners look with joyous anticipation is the annual Golden Gleaner banquet given in connection with the M.I. A. June Conference, At this time hundreds of Golden Gleaners from all parts of the Church meet to- gether in a common bond of love and fellowship. Here they enjoy the true spirit of the Golden Gleaner program — one of beauty, refinement, spirituality, growth and love.
Once a girl has become a Golden Gleaner her achievements are by no means ended. Through partici- pation in this program, she has learned that real happiness in life comes when one is actively engaged in a good cause, and she realizes" that her achievement in this pro- gram has only opened the way for even