Real Dry Spell

A tourist who was traveling through the Kalahari Desert happened to meet an old inhabitant and his son.

“It looks as though it’s going to rain.”

“Well, I hope so, not so much for myself as for my boy. I’ve seen it rain.”

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She washed dishes for three generations. Enough!

From the Relief Society Magazine, June 1943 –

Tch! Tch! Grandma!

By Olive W. Burt

To all outward appearances, this summer morning was just like all the others. The family sat crouched behind wide-spread newspapers, reaching out groping hands for buttered toast and orange slices. Grandma, alone in her little newspaper-walled world, found plenty to do, keeping food within reach of those bodiless hands.

Yes, it did seem just like all other mornings. Breakfast over, the girls rose and stretched and moved into the living room. Judith turned on the radio and curled up in a big chair with a mystery story; Patty sat down and began to do her nails; their mother puttered about with the house plants, and their father dashed out of the house, in his usual rush to get to work.

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Maybe this should be marked as Utah history; in 1874, it’s hard to draw the line between Mormon and Utah history. That’s the year a new state gazeteer and directory was printed.

It’s amazing to me to see the progress of the community — twenty-seven years after the first pioneers reached the valley, luxury goods and specialty services and every kind of staple known to 1874 were available in the Valleys of the Mountains. Some of the advertising shows that the Saints were no longer completely in control of their new homeland. And while fine manufactured goods (pianos, and the continent’s best wagons) are a significant part of the economy, so too are such raw materials as hides, fur, wool, and ore.

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Ward boundaries throughout our stake were redrawn a few months ago. My ward lost a number of members living on the east side of our core geography and gained an enormous number of members living on the west side of that core. Everyone in ward positions throughout the stake, with the exception of our ward’s elders’ quorum president (the new chunk of our ward is so extraordinary that all the men are high priests, so there was no elders’ quorum there), was released en masse. That included me, released from teaching Gospel Doctrine in Sunday School.

It has taken a while, as you might imagine, to reorganize and restaff our ward from the ground up. A chunk of time in every Sacrament Meeting for the first few weeks was occupied by sustaining dozens of members in dozens of callings. At first those tended to be presidencies of auxiliaries, clerks, music people, and enough teachers to run programs for the first few weeks. (more…)

This story breaks my heart — the title pretty much tells you what it’s about.

From the Relief Society Magazine, February 1941 –

Homely Hester

By Olive C. Wehr

“Please, God, if you can’t change me into a boy, then please change me into a pretty little girl,” prayed Hester fervently that night, as she knelt beside the big, old-fashioned bed in Aunt Agnes’ upstairs room.

Then recalling that Miss Evans, her pretty Sunday School teacher, had said that we must pray for others, not ourselves, she shut her eyes so tight that she could see the mysterious silver doughnut that always came when she closed her eyes thus, and pressing her screwed-up little face hard against the red and white patch-work quilt, she carefully reworded her prayer: “Dear God, please give Daddy a beautiful little girl.”

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A new page from our Mormon family photo album: 1930

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Seagull Girls of Fillmore 1st Ward

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(See here for background)

From 1961 –

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A few more bits on How to Live a Beautiful Life by Catherine Hurst of the Young Woman’s Journal –

Is it proper to fold the napkin after a meal is finished? – Gertie.

When through dinner the napkin should be left unfolded, unless at home.

—oooOooo—

What foods should be eaten with the fork? – Julia

The fork should be used for croquettes, patties, vegetables and most made dishes; and should be used equally in either hand. Never eat anything with a spoon that can be eaten with a fork.
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Mrs. Benson is a recurring character in stories published in the Relief Society Magazine (some perhaps earlier than this one, which is the earliest I happen to have found so far). Definitely an unusual heroine for the Magazine — the title tells it all — and one I think you’ll enjoy!

From the Relief Society Magazine, April 1936 –

Mrs. Benson Takes a Hand

In Which She Routs a Racketeer

By Ivy Williams Stone

Mrs. Benson wakened at seven o’clock with a sense of guilt. Breakfast, lunches to pack, dishes, dinner; then, fully conscious, she sank back upon her pillows with a wry smile. Except for herself, the house was empty. The youngest Benson had married a month before, her husband, commonly called “Judge,” had gone for a long-anticipated exploring trip on the Salmon River. There was no need for Mrs. Benson to rise early. No one needed breakfast, nor lunch, nor dinner in the evening. She was unnecessary. The life of the little town could continue to flow smoothly without her. And this knowledge was not pleasant.

“At least,” she said to the canary as she ate a solitary breakfast in the too quiet kitchen, “I can pack my grandfather’s collection of firearms, and send it to the state museum. I’ve been going to do that for a long time. It will save me from boredom, or ennui, as the French say it.”

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I listened to the soundtrack of the musical “South Pacific” the other day and heard Cable’s familiar song:

You’ve got to be taught to hate and fear,
You’ve got to be taught from year to year,
It’s got to be drummed in your dear little ear.
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

You’ve got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff’rent shade.
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

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John 9 and 10 are discussed in both our current manual and in this lesson from a 1935 seminary text, Obert C. Tanner, The New Testament Speaks. Salt Lake City: Church Department of Education, 1935.

EVENTS AT JERUSALEM

Jesus Heals the Man Born Blind. (Read from the Bible: John 9.)

“Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?” It was a general belief of the Jews in that day, that every physical ailment or sickness was a punishment from God for some sin that had been committed. This sin might have been done by the individual in this life, or it might have been committed by one of his ancestors. The Book of Job, in the Old Testament, is a discussion of the question: Why do righteous people have to suffer? It states clearly the truth that righteous people do suffer, though they have done no wrong. That is, it denies this old Jewish belief that people suffer only when they, or their parents, have sinned. But that book had little effect upon the popular beliefs of Jesus’ day.

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In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

And behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

– Matthew 28:1-6; illustration by Phyllis Luch, Children’s Friend, April 1962

For background, see here
previous episode
next episode (to be added when posted)

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Lesson 15: “I Am the Light of the World”

The purpose statement for this year’s lesson is “To strengthen class members’ testimonies that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that by following him we can gain true freedom.” As with many lessons in this manual, the connection between the purpose statement and the episodes presented isn’t entirely clear. The following lesson from the 1961 adult Sunday School course addresses what it means to find liberty in following Christ, which makes the events illustrating the current lesson more relevant than they at first appear. The lesson comes from Lowell L. Bennion, Teachings of the New Testament, Sunday School Course 27. Salt Lake City: Deseret Sunday School Union Board, 1953.

“Called Unto Liberty”

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (Gal. 5:1)

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Why Worry?

Hub: “What are these chops – lamb or pork?”

Wife: “Can’t you tell by the taste?”

Hub: “No.”

Wife: “Well, then, what difference does it make?”

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SPOILER ALERT!

Chapters 11 and 12 are both being posted today, a couple of hours apart. If you haven’t read Chapter 11 yet, look for it just below this post.

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The Bottle Message

The Adventures of a Boy on a South Sea Island

By Janet Tooke

Previous Chapter

Chapter Twelve: Waiki-pali Again

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The Bottle Message

The Adventures of a Boy on a South Sea Island

By Janet Tooke

Previous Chapter

Chapter Eleven: Found!

Synopsis: Tee Totum and his chum, Namay, leave Waiki-pali to search the neighboring islands for Tee’s lost brother Jack. After discovering the presence of a mysterious human on Mahini, who did them a kind service, but refused to show himself, they landed on another island, barren, cruel, and weird, which they hastened to leave, landing on Mahina tired and covered with poisonous coral cuts. Here they are again rescued from an unknown menace by the mysterious person whom they have never seen, and who again disappears, seeming to vanish into thin air before they can thank him. Returning to the scene of horror in the morning, they find their canoe smashed beyond repair, apparently by the monster from which the mysterious man had saved them. Again they search for their unknown friend, and find him. He gives them news of the missing brother, shows them proof that Jack has lived on the island, but cannot say where he is now.

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More questions answered in the Juvenile Instructor by, or under the direction of, George Q. Cannon –

Do the “Lost Tribes” comprise ten only or more than ten of the tribes of Israel?

This question has been submitted with reference to Sunday School Leaflet No. 195, in which the “Lost Tribes” are spoken of as the original tribes. As is generally understood, during the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon the Israelites existed as a united kingdom. After the death of Solomon (about 975 B.C.) the tribe of Judah and part of the tribe of Benjamin accepted as their king Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, while the rest of the people, usually spoken of as the ten tribes, though really comprising ten tribes in addition to part of the tribe of Benjamin, chose Jeroboam as their ruler. Rehoboam and his subjects were known as the Kingdom of Judah and Jeroboam retained for his people the title of Kingdom of Israel. In the division of the territory secured by the two kingdoms, the northern part of the land belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, including the cities Bethel, Ramah and Jericho, fell to Jeroboam; while the southern portion of this tribe’s possessions went with Judah to Rehoboam. (See I Kings 12:29; 15:17, 21; 16:34). It is thus seen that the Kingdom of Israel, which after the Assyrian captivity (721 B.C.) came to be known as the Lost Tribes, comprised ten tribes in addition to a portion of Benjamin. This explains the common reference to these tribes as including ten and a half of the original tribes.

[A much better explanation of exactly which tribes are considered “Lost” is found in this John A. Tvedtnes article in the January 1982 Ensign.]

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Apostle Anthon H. Lund, conference address, 4 April 1913:

We are trying to connect events of Church history in the early days, and when we find in a private day book or record something that connects missing links, why, we feel like we have found a treasure.

Now, if you children of our pioneers and of the early members of the Church have some of their records or day books, we would like that you would give us an opportunity to read them, and to copy from them such things as may help to corroborate data which we already have, or perhaps give us data that we are not in possession of. We do not ask you to give them to us, but to let us have the use of them till we can make copies of such parts that might be useful to us.

Nothing has changed. The Church still needs your family records of the LDS past. Those records are still treasured. The Church will copy them and return the originals to you, unless you are willing to have the originals preserved safely in the archives.

Contact the Church History Library acquisitions call center at 801-240-5696, or e-mail churchhistoryacquisitions [at] ldschurch [dot] org.

(Yes, I’m a broken record!)

It is difficult to write the biography of a child. If you knew her, you could write of what she liked to do and remember the things she said. But from the distance of 140 years, and without the memoirs of family who knew and loved her, what hope is there for a historian to memorialize her life? Still, I’ll try – our Mormon past is well stocked with the short lives of children who left little mark in this world, no matter how great a hole they left in their families when they died.

Anne Maria Jewkes was born in Fountain Green, Utah, on September 18, 1866. Her parents were Samuel Jewkes and Mary Nash Gardner, emigrants from England who met in St. Louis. Samuel (then married to Sarah Knight) had joined the Church in 1851; Mary in 1848. Sarah and Mary were good friends, and sometime after they all emigrated to Utah, Samuel and Mary were also married. Several accounts note that this was a happy example of plural marriage, that the two wives loved each other and the plural families lived happily together all their lives.

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The Bottle Message

The Adventures of a Boy on a South Sea Island

By Janet Tooke

Previous Chapter

Chapter Ten: A Weird Sea Monster

Synopsis: Tee Totum and his chum, Namay, leave Waiki-pali to search the neighboring islands for Jack, Tee’s twin brother, who was lost form the wrecked ‘Mynah.’ Landing on Mahina, they find nothing but a flock of wild goats, and decide that no human being is there. After being caught in a violent storm, they return to the beach to find their canoe gone, apparently carried out to sea. Faced with the prospect of remaining indefinitely on this desolate island, their future looks dark, when they suddenly catch sight of a line of sea shells, obviously placed there by human hand. Following the shells, they find their canoe, safely stowed away from the storm. There is a human on the island after all! Perhaps Jack? they search and call, but no reply returns. Intrigued by the actions of a flock of mynahs, the boys follow them, and discover a splendid but abandoned palace. The next island they land on is a weird barren place, from which they return to Mahina after strange adventures and with many coral cuts.

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My Fellow Keepa’ninnies:

A little blog business, a few explanations, and some plans are in order.

First, why the inundation of the “Problems of the Age” lessons over the past two days? Because I decided they were too heavy, too pessimistic, too unpopular to go on inflicting on you one at a time. I do think they have merit for expressing one Mormon’s views of a great many interesting and important topics at a critical time in history, and I wanted them available in Keepa’s archives. But although some of you have expressed interest in reading some of them, I felt they were driving other readers away. So they have all been posted now, in one foul sweep – er, fell swoop – and if you’re interested, you can easily find links to all parts of the series on this chart. Your comments on any part are welcome at any time, and I’ll respond to anything you say whenever you happen to read and comment.

Next, an apology. For various reasons, I have only been phoning it in for the past few months. I love writing for Keepa, I love reading your comments, and I realize I have to get back in the saddle and do it right if I’m going to do it at all.

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For links to other parts of this series, see this chart.

For a statement on the unofficial nature (i.e., personal interpretation for discussion purposes, not necessarily representative of church doctrine) of these lessons, see this notice.

PROBLEMS OF THE AGE

Dealing with Religious, Social and Economic Questions and Their Solution.
A Study for the Quorums and Classes of the Melchizedek Priesthood. 1917-1918.

By Dr. Joseph M. Tanner

XXXIII. – Fast Offerings

Law of Sacrifice. – The law of sacrifice is one of the most universal of God’s laws. When ancient Israel put upon the altar the firstlings and the best of their flocks and herds and saw the flesh consumed in smoke, they would not be human if they did not feel some taint of selfishness and a disposition to keep the best for their own use. In the days of their devotion to God they were strictly honest in this divine requirement. In the days of their transgressions, sacrifices were performed in a perfunctory manner and without any scrupulous efforts to perform exactly the requirements of God.

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For links to other parts of this series, see this chart.

For a statement on the unofficial nature (i.e., personal interpretation for discussion purposes, not necessarily representative of church doctrine) of these lessons, see this notice.

PROBLEMS OF THE AGE

Dealing with Religious, Social and Economic Questions and Their Solution.
A Study for the Quorums and Classes of the Melchizedek Priesthood. 1917-1918.

By Dr. Joseph M. Tanner

XXXI. – Back to the Land

Present Conditions. – In another chapter I have called attention to the excessive and dangerous growth of the so-called middle-class, or non-producers. Conditions have favored their occupations, and financial prosperity has perhaps attended them more generously than it has the farmer. The war, however, is bringing about a very realistic change: governments that provide for the armies have been liberal buyers. They have fed the soldiers better on the battlefields than the same men have been cared for in times of peace. Such excessive Government demands naturally make prices high. It should then be observed that a very large proportion of every army is taken from the producing classes, especially from the farms, where the vigor of manhood is perhaps more abundantly found. A large army of farm men will lose their lives in battle or become cripples, and thereby unfitted for farm life. It goes, therefore, without saying, that the number of men qualified to conduct operations upon the farm will be enormously decreased. In the civilized countries of the world there is no place for the “mujik” or the “fellahin.” Farm work has made rapid strides in the direction of scientific practice and theory.

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For links to other parts of this series, see this chart.

For a statement on the unofficial nature (i.e., personal interpretation for discussion purposes, not necessarily representative of church doctrine) of these lessons, see this notice.

PROBLEMS OF THE AGE

Dealing with Religious, Social and Economic Questions and Their Solution.
A Study for the Quorums and Classes of the Melchizedek Priesthood. 1917-1918.

By Dr. Joseph M. Tanner

XXX. – Eugenics

Experiments. – We are just now forming eugenic clubs throughout the country with the wise and beneficent purpose of elevating society and establishing correct principles of parentage. In some places the advocacy of eugenics is most enthusiastic and it is spoken of as the new and coming science. Most extreme advantages are predicted for it and by many it is regarded as a sort of salvation for many afflictions which torment human society at the present time. It is sometimes known as Mendelism from the fact that Mendel made certain experiments with sweet peas, with mice, and with cats. He traced out certain laws of breeding which were represented by diagrams and from these discoveries of animal relationships the question was propounded for human society and at once the question arose, if the mating in the vegetable and animal world may produce such exact results, why may it not have the same effect upon human beings?

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For links to other parts of this series, see this chart.

For a statement on the unofficial nature (i.e., personal interpretation for discussion purposes, not necessarily representative of church doctrine) of these lessons, see this notice.

PROBLEMS OF THE AGE

Dealing with Religious, Social and Economic Questions and Their Solution.
A Study for the Quorums and Classes of the Melchizedek Priesthood. 1917-1918.

By Dr. Joseph M. Tanner

XXIX. – Heredity

Its Spiritual Origin. – Much time has been devoted in various social organizations throughout the Church to the discussion of heredity. It has been a subject of debate and scientific research for centuries. Around it all sorts of agreements and disagreements have been hurled, and there is today no definite science of heredity.

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For links to other parts of this series, see this chart.

For a statement on the unofficial nature (i.e., personal interpretation for discussion purposes, not necessarily representative of church doctrine) of these lessons, see this notice.

PROBLEMS OF THE AGE

Dealing with Religious, Social and Economic Questions and Their Solution.
A Study for the Quorums and Classes of the Melchizedek Priesthood. 1917-1918.

By Dr. Joseph M. Tanner

XXVII. – Dancing

Example of Russia. – Of all the nations of Europe, Russia has been most given to social and religious vagaries. Political activities were forbidden and improvements had little encouragement. The great masses of the people are “mujiks” or peasants. They have been in intellectual darkness for centuries, and therefore a prey to all kinds of delusions. Class distinction has been persistent and most oppressive to the people at large. The distinction was really based upon work. There were those who worked, and those who did not. Labor was a badge of inferiority. The rich aspired to social distinction and the excessive pleasures which idle lives beget. Petrograd was notorious as a den of vice, and the ball-room was the center of social ambitions. The ballet was never so popular in Paris as it was in the Russian capital. It was full of scandal and the source of sex corruption.

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For links to other parts of this series, see this chart.

For a statement on the unofficial nature (i.e., personal interpretation for discussion purposes, not necessarily representative of church doctrine) of these lessons, see this notice.

PROBLEMS OF THE AGE

Dealing with Religious, Social and Economic Questions and Their Solution.
A Study for the Quorums and Classes of the Melchizedek Priesthood. 1917-1918.

By Dr. Joseph M. Tanner

XXVI. – Music

History – It is from the historical and moral side that I approach this subject, which is as old as the human race, and as diversified as human life. Of all the arts and accomplishments given for the entertainment and pleasure of man, none has been a greater source of pleasure. It exalts, refines, ennobles, soothes, and heals the human heart. It also entices, charms, and persuades the human soul to leave its moral anchorage and enter the reams of dissipation and vice. Music, s it comes from instruments, is an unspoken language, but saturated with every suggestion of human thought and feeling. As an expression of the human emotions, it has both a moral and licentious aspect. It has been made more dangerous to human life because it is usually unsuspected of any wrong. It may beguile and seduce those who, in the beginning, could not be touched by any other form of pleasure that entices to wrong-doing.

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For links to other parts of this series, see this chart.

For a statement on the unofficial nature (i.e., personal interpretation for discussion purposes, not necessarily representative of church doctrine) of these lessons, see this notice.

PROBLEMS OF THE AGE

Dealing with Religious, Social and Economic Questions and Their Solution.
A Study for the Quorums and Classes of the Melchizedek Priesthood. 1917-1918.

By Dr. Joseph M. Tanner

XXIII. – Divorce

Growth of Divorce. – Easy and frequent divorce has become in the United States a scandalous condition. The state has always considered itself a third party to a marriage, and has therefore insisted that both marriage and divorce must be subject to the regulations of the law. While divorce can effect only by legal proceedings, the grounds for divorce have been so elastic, and judges so willing that unhappy marriages should be dissolved, that the daily grind of divorces in the Untied States has grown to enormous proportions, said to be one out of twelve marriages.

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For links to other parts of this series, see this chart.

For a statement on the unofficial nature (i.e., personal interpretation for discussion purposes, not necessarily representative of church doctrine) of these lessons, see this notice.

PROBLEMS OF THE AGE

Dealing with Religious, Social and Economic Questions and Their Solution.
A Study for the Quorums and Classes of the Melchizedek Priesthood. 1917-1918.

By Dr. Joseph M. Tanner

XXII. – Sexual Life

Its Importance in Life. – One of the burning questions of the age, and at the same time one of the consuming evils, is the life-long story of man’s sexual life. It protrudes in all the great historical events of the world, and now that there are in that life such alarming dangers to the happiness and continuity of the race, men and women have thrown off all disguise of modesty, and speak on the subject with a frankness that would have seemed shocking a generation back.

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For links to other parts of this series, see this chart.

For a statement on the unofficial nature (i.e., personal interpretation for discussion purposes, not necessarily representative of church doctrine) of these lessons, see this notice.

PROBLEMS OF THE AGE

Dealing with Religious, Social and Economic Questions and Their Solution.
A Study for the Quorums and Classes of the Melchizedek Priesthood. 1917-1918.

By Dr. Joseph M. Tanner

XXI. – Dependent Mothers

A Serious Problem. – One of the big economic problems of the future will be the fostering care of widows with children to care for. In our own country thirty states have made provision by law for the support of children whose mothers were not able to care for them. These enactments were passed without regard to the war. When it is over, it is easy to imagine the great burden which such unsupported children will cast upon the nations of the earth. I may include in those mentioned the great numbers who are and will be born out of wedlock. Children are a great asset to the world, but aside from economic considerations, there will be involved the question of humanity. (more…)