Comments on: What Latter-day Saint Women Should Know, 1906 (I)

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:07:43 +0000

Well, aren’t you lucky, Moniker! (to have survived, I mean )

By: Moniker Challenged

Moniker Challenged — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:53:08 +0000

Graci, Ms. Parshall! This post sparked a few pleasant memories of women in my family (who probably read these magazines).
Yeast– My great grandmother used to save potato water and let it sit out to catch wild yeast.
Egg-Toast– My grandmother used to fix us this interesting dish with the charming addition of tuna in the goo

By: charlene

charlene — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:34:25 +0000

Thanks, Ardis. I’ve lurked for a while and enjoy your entries.

The segment on “Music” intrigued me, as I’ve been talking a lot with my friend who has a rotating assignment as organist. We often talk about how people really don’t pay attention to the prelude, or a whimpy style that doesn’t command attention. My pet peeve is when the audience doesn’t get involved with singing because the organ overpowers. I’m inclined to recommend piano accompaniment and “real” organ prelude and postlude.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:14:27 +0000

That’s something that is of natural interest to me, too, Keri. I think we do have to emphasize temple marriage to youth because it *does* matter, and too many Latter-day Saints are too casual, IMO, about temple marriage, either in choosing mates or in choosing temple marriage now rather than later, to say nothing of being equally yoked in building a home and life together. But I also remember some quotations from letters written by Joseph F. Smith and Heber J. Grant and David O. McKay to members who (busybody-like) asked about the eternal status of their sisters or daughters who had married outside the faith. Over and over those presidents wrote “There is no sin in honorable marriage.” I haven’t heard that that’s changed.

By: Keri Brooks

Keri Brooks — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:30:03 +0000

A Vital Question certainly hit home to me. I’m getting to the stage in my life where I have to start thinking really seriously about whether to stay single for the rest of my life or marry outside the church. (Marrying in the church isn’t completely off the table yet, but it’s so unlikely as to be nearly off the table.) I definitely appreciate that the author of the advice left it up to personal revelation.

Naturally, many people I talk to offer their unsolicited advice. One person pretty much said that if I marry outside the church, I’ll go to Hell and drag my (not yet existent) children along with me. (I was really polite and didn’t say “Oh, well, I’ll look forward to seeing you there!”) She didn’t seem to see the logic that my eternal fate would be pretty much the same either way. If I don’t marry, then I don’t have a temple marriage. If I marry a non-member, I don’t have a temple marriage. (And naturally, either way, God would have the opportunity to make things right in the eternities.)

I recall seeing an Ensign article on the church website several years ago, basically saying that it was ok for people (the article was directed at women, but I see no reason why it wouldn’t apply to men as well) who don’t have the opportunity to marry a member of the church to find a good non-member and experience the joys and blessings of married life with. I was young when I read it (late teens/early 20′s), and I was frankly shocked because in YW, it was always presented as temple marriage or nothing. I’ve gone looking for the article again, and I can’t find it now.

By: Stephen Taylor

Stephen Taylor — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:02:02 +0000

Re A Vital Question-
Many years ago I saw a moth-webby church publication from about the year in question for sale on the BYU library remainder shelf (and which, blast it, I did not purchase) containing a poem represented to be the expression of a young woman stating that she would rather remain single than marry a man who did not maintain Church standards. The verse was a pretty spirited expression.

By: Clark

Clark — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:42:26 +0000

The yeast recipe is unusual. It reminds me vaguely of my mom’s doughnut recipe, which calls for mashed potatoes.

The “Music”" section reminds me of the apocryphal story of the apostle who said, “What our meetings need is better music, and more of it; and better preaching, and less of it.”

By: ESO

ESO — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:51:58 +0000

Love this!

I really like the “Standard of Deportment” section–I might use that for a YW lesson.

By: Mark B.

Mark B. — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:45:56 +0000

Since I’d already had a shower and breakfast, I couldn’t follow the recommendations for Egg Toast or “strict attention to sufficient bathing” (blast it! did I forget to wash behind my ears again?) this morning.

But I did read that poem. And, frankly, my dear, if I had only ten minutes to spend on poetry this week, or a year of weeks, I’d choose something else. Maybe anapestic tetrameter just doesn’t do it for me!

By: Steve C.

Steve C. — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:31:03 +0000

Looking over the different pieces of advise, it appears that Church leaders were telling women not to over do it. We seem to have a tendency in the Church to emphasis work which, in my opinion, falls especially hard on women. I think it’s wise once in a while to tell members that a little down-time is fine.

On another note, that Egg Toast recipe looks totally awful!