When my father’s work took our family to Las Vegas in 1975, it was still a relatively small town, and it was still relatively easy to live a normal Mormon life without involvement in the seedier and seamier parts of life there. You stayed away from the Strip. You tried to ignore the “Spice on Ice” ads on the tops of taxis. And you went to church and to school and had a strong family life.

A windstorm blew off part of our roof soon after we moved there, and the priesthood quorums came over with their hammers and nails to help Dad reshingle. We didn’t know many people then. Dad introduced himself to the man working in the hot summer sun next to him, and mentioned that he worked for the government. Brother George shook his hand and said he worked for the government, too. I don’t know how long it was before we realized that his job with the government was as a federal judge. All we knew was that Brother George was helping Brother Parshall put on a new roof under some pretty tough physical conditions.

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VII. Table Manners
IX. Shopping

VIII. Proper Street Deportment

It is the constant boast of missionaries and other travelers from this people that there are no girls so bright, so beautiful and so superior in many ways as are the daughters of the Latter-day Saints. But there is one defect we must guard against, for it spoils the most beautiful face or mars the finest character; it is the lack of good breeding, or the failure to observe the small, delicate points of behavior which mark the lady.

Gentle, lady-like manners are easily acquired, and it was a favorite saying with Sister Eliza R. Snow, quoted, we believe, from the Prophet Joseph Smith, that any man or woman who had the Spirit of the Lord is refining and beautifying to the extent that we will permit it to operate upon ourselves.

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Hot cross buns! Hot cross buns!
One ha’ penny, two ha’ penny,
Hot cross buns!
If you have no daughters, give them to your sons.
One ha’ penny, two ha’ penny,
Hot cross buns!

It apparently took the approval of Elizabeth I to allow these spiced-currant buns to be sold in English pastry shops in celebration of Easter (supposedly they are made from the same recipe as communion wafers; I can’t vouch for that). Shakespeare and hot cross buns! The woman deserves our eternal gratitude!

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The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. – Ezekiel 37:1-10

A couple of months ago, Confutus commented that he had a fairly complete genealogical record of his large Mormon family, but found himself thinking,”Who are these people?” Although their records were good and their temple work apparently complete, he began trying to find out something about their lives:

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And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; and he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

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From 1958 –

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Lesson 11: “How Can I Do this Great Wickedness?”

Genesis 34, 37-39

Purpose

To help class members (1) learn how to make all experiences and circumstances work together for their good, and (2) strengthen their commitment to obey the Lord’s standard of sexual morality.

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Artwork by Nelson White; text by unknown author

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I don’t write ‘em; I just type ‘em, from the pages of the church magazines –

Down with Prosperity

Kind Stranger: “And what do you want to be when you grow up, my little man?”

Little Man: “What Daddy is.”

Kind Stranger: “Splendid! And what is Daddy?”

Little Man: “Unemployed.”

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Abraham leaving Ur of the Chaldees
William Hole

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When you see “Execution” as the heading for an article in the 1912 Young Woman’s Journal, the article will be a dignified exposition by a genteel lady about the efficient planning and carrying out of an ennobling program for the Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Association.

When you see “Execution” in the heading for an article in the 1885 Juvenile Instructor, the article will be a dignified exposition of an uplifting principle for the tender minds and hearts of the Sunday School children for whom the magazine was published.

Right?

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

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A return to a feature we haven’t had for a while: questions posed by the readers of the Young Woman’s Journal to the “Girl Query” feature, and answered by Catherine Hurst.

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Does boracic acid injure the hair? – Jane

The frequent use of boric acid in the shampoo will make the hair dry and brittle. If the hair be very oily a very small quantity occasionally will do no harm.

—oooOooo—

What was the name of Cain’s wife, and where was the land of Nod? – Ruth.

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The theme for Relief Society Magazine cover art in 1939 seems to be a mix of seasonal images, and art works depicting church history.

I think my favorite may be little Miss September and her unhappiness at having to go back to school. How about you?

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Once upon a time – no, even longer ago than that, because he appears in European literature at least as early as 1060 – a Danish boy named Holger appeared at the court of Charlemagne and offered his services as a knight. Holger Danske – Holger the Dane – they called him. He was a good warrior, tall and strong and brave, and legend reports that he never lost a battle in his entire life.

Did I say that Holger Danske was tall? That was an understatement. One tale reports,

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Q. Has an Elder the right to call on a Priest to lay hands with him on the sick, the Elder being mouth or leading in prayer? Has a Priest the right to administer to the sick, there being no Elder present?

A. There ought to be no question on this point. A Priest holds the authority of the Aaronic Priesthood, and while that Priesthood does not give him the power to lay hands on baptized believers for the reception of the Holy Ghost, it undoubtedly gives him authority to lay hands on the sick, if it be necessary. Indeed, members of the Church can lay hands on the sick and pray for their recovery, though they have no right, if they rebuke the disease in the name of Jesus, to say they do so by the authority of the Priesthood.

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And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

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This article appeared in the 9 May 1874 issue of the Juvenile Instructor, another illustration of the generally positive presentation of other religions carried by that publication. Referring to the religion as “Muhammadanism” and its adherents as “Muhammadans” (instead of “Islam” and “Muslims”) is analogous to referring to our church and us as “Smithism” or “Mormonites,” but I think no disrespect was intended – I think those were the terms in use at the time and the JI author was ignorant of any other.

I smiled when I saw which facets of Islam were especially approved of here. Please share your reactions in the comments.

Reading the Koran

The Koran is the sacred book of the Muhammadans. By Muhammadans we mean all who believe that Muhammad was a prophet of God. He was born at Mecca, a city of Arabia, in the year 752. The tribes of Arabia claim their descent from Ishmael, the son of Abraham. At the time of Muhammad’s birth the tribes of Arabia were idolatrous, and believed in numerous gods. He converted them to believe in one sole, eternal and all-powerful God – the creator of heaven and earth, and of all that we find in them. (more…)

[Last Sunday (March 14) was Mothering Sunday in Britain. Anne offered me this post, but between one thing and another I didn't get back to her in time to publish this last Sunday. So I meant to post it first thing this morning ... but between one thing and another I missed it. My apologies to Anne, and to readers who missed the chance perhaps to celebrate along with millions of others who celebrate Mothering Sunday. Please enjoy it now as a report of last Sunday's activities, and I'll link to it again next year in time for us to honor the day ourselves. -- AEP]

Mothering Sunday (not to be confused with “Mother’s Day”, which dates back to the 1870s America) is celebrated in many countries around the world on the fourth Sunday in Lent, so counts as a moveable feast. Its origins lie way back in Ancient Greece, when a festival day was given to honouring Rhea, the Mother of the Gods and Goddesses. Ancient Rome adapted the festival in honour of Cybele, and as with most things in Rome, enlarged and expanded the festival to last for several days. Conversion to Christianity resulted in Mary, the Mother of Christ, replacing Cybele as the object of (aka excuse for) celebration, and the day was placed on the Catholic Church calendar as Laetare Sunday.

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Other than its emphasis of the Passover as a type and foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, this year’s manual covers the events from Joseph’s death through the Israelites’ crossing of the Red Sea in a single chapter. Likewise, the 1937 seminary manual addresses four lessons to that material in a straightforward narration of events. Both manuals offer occasional slight commentary and request class members to apply lessons to their lives, but basically both lessons are stories.

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Artwork by Nelson White; text by unknown author

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Here’s what they were laughing about in the pages of the 1946 Improvement Era –

Typed

“How would you classify a telephone operator?” said the census taker. “Is it a business or a profession?”

“Neither. it’s a calling.”

Essential Labor

“She’s got the leading part in a theater.”

“Star?”

“No, head usher.”

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Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

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VI. Ball Room Etiquette
VIII. Proper Street Deportment

VII. Table Manners

Perhaps no one thing betrays ill breeding, and on the other hand evidences good breeding, as do the manners a person exhibits at the table.

The habits of a life time are difficult to overcome. While some people are constitutionally dainty in their habits and manners, others may be rude and uncouth by nature. But happily training will rid the most ill-mannered person of his faults and he can become, in time, as refined and cultured in this as in any other branch of etiquette.

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In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

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Years before Latter-day Saint artists began illustrating the Book of Mormon, we incorporated Biblical illustrations into our publications. These were generic images purchased from stock houses, and George Q. Cannon sometimes railed against the necessity of illustration the Juvenile Instructor with pictures of winged angels or effeminate Jesuses holding Catholic symbols. In the 19th century these illustrations were most often black and white cuts in primitive styles. Beginning soon after 1900, though, better photographs, even color images, could be printed or at least tipped into church publications.

I have collected hundreds of images illustrating Old Testament stories, from church magazines and lesson manuals, and from turn-of-the-century books that were owned by the Deseret Sunday School Union or the LDS University. These are, I think, the pictures that formed our grandparents’ mental images of the patriarchs and prophets, the heroes and heroines of the Old Testament.

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From 1957 –

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BELFAST NEWS-LETTER
5 November 1851

An Hour with the Mormons!

To the Editor of the Belfast News-Letter.

Sir – A number of individuals, presided over by an “Elder,” and calling themselves “Latter-day Saints,” now occupy the little building in King Street, formerly used by the members of the Baptist communion. The walls of our town, on Saturday, being covered with placards, with the striking heading, “Restoration of the Gospel,” and announcing that “Elder Wallace, from the Great Salt Lake Valley,” would preach a sermon, I determined to be present.

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When we think of pioneers traveling cross country in covered wagons, the images of the westward migration of the 19th century normally come to mind. For poorer families, though, horses and wagons continued to be a mode of transportation on into the 20th century. In the case of my wife’s family, they migrated from Idaho to Canada, and then back to Idaho in the years just before World War I, by covered wagon both ways.

Thomas W. Lyons, my wife’s grandfather, was born in Cache County, Utah, in 1875, and later moved with his family to the St. Anthony area of Idaho to start a farm. Times were always hard, and with a large family Thomas Lyons worked at many different types of jobs to help his family establish themselves. In 1898, Thomas’ father died, and the primary responsibility for providing for his mother and four other siblings fell to him. That year, he also met Julina L. Smith whose father was also farming in the area. They married shortly after they met, traveling to Logan to get married in the temple there in December of 1898. The trip to and from the marriage was by horse drawn sleigh, the several week journey doubling as a honeymoon for the young couple.

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The recent post about ballroom etiquette reminded me of the traumatic – yet ultimately spiritual – experience one pioneer ancestor of mine endured.

Hyrum Ricks Sr. was born on Pioneer Day, July 24, 1858. When he was less than two years old, his family moved to Cache Valley where he grew to adulthood. His father (Thomas E. Ricks, 1828-1901) would later become perhaps the most famous Ricks, colonizing Eastern Idaho and founding the college that used to bear his name in Rexburg.

Hyrum was born with club feet. Confined to hobbling around the house, he spent much of his childhood enduring the taunts of the neighborhood children. He did, however, develop a powerful upper body, and was reportedly the only young man able to beat the local Indians at wrestling.

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This is my outline for teaching Lesson 9 this morning. I decided to add the bit at the beginning about seeing beyond the surface of the scriptural stories, partly because my class members are already so familiar with the narrative but mostly because there has been some discussion about the difficulty of finding value in so many parts of the Old Testament and I wanted to help people remember there are more ways to find value than merely looking at the surface of a world that is so different from our own. I love the idea of types and shadows and personally find so many instances of them in the Old Testament that I want to be able to refer to them throughout the year. I thought if I laid the groundwork for that now, with the story of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac and its such obvious foreshadowing of Christ’s sacrifice, it would be easier to help class members recognize them in future lessons.)

Lesson 9: “God Will Provide Himself a Lamb”

2 Nephi 11:4
Jacob 7:11
Abraham 1
Genesis 15-17; 21-22

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Both the current lesson manual and this trio of lessons scheduled for 18 May, 25 May, and 8 June 1930 examine Joseph’s life in Egypt, noting how Joseph’s faithfulness during trials led to great blessings for himself and all his family.

Joseph

There are many reasons why Joseph should be the favorite son of his father, Jacob. In the first place he was the first born of Rachel whom Jacob had to work so long to get and with whom he was in love from the day he first caught sight of her. Then, too, Joseph was next to the youngest of Jacob’s children. Joseph soon displayed the type of characteristics and disposition which any parent would cherish. Joseph stands out in the history of Israel not only as a great heroic character who saves his family and who becomes great in a strange land, but also as a model boy, son, and brother.

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