Comments on: A Few Minutes in Mt. Glen, Oregon, 1913

By: ji

ji — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 05:11:44 +0000

Thanks! Your work reminds me that these were all people, real people, trying to live the Gospel in their communities…

By: J. Stapley

J. Stapley — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 22:33:08 +0000

Great example of Testimony Meeting as a ritual nexus. Concecrating oil transitioned from prayer circles to testimony meetings over several decades.

By: kevinf

kevinf — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 21:54:59 +0000

The practice of accepting (excepting!) new move-ins has surely changed. I remember the days when we read the names of new members over the pulpit and then voted by the raise of hands to welcome them into the ward. More recently, we went years without ever reading the names, and with a new bishop, we now read the names of new members for informational purposes only, with no action on the part of the congregation, other than asking us to welcome these now folks into the ward and befriend them.

By: The Other Clark

The Other Clark — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 21:31:03 +0000

Interesting that new members had “recommends” read into the wards. I guess this is today’s practice of reading someone’s “records” over the pulpit? I hope it’s not temple recommend worthy or not…

By: reed russell

reed russell — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 18:35:50 +0000

“Also read a letter from the Y.M.C.A. encourageing young men to educate them selves” is a bit ironic.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 17:53:32 +0000

Yeah, I meant to say something about that. The average attendance is just under 30. That’s another indication of shifting practices over time — Mt. Glen was apparently considered a ward instead of a branch, despite its small size.

By: iguacufalls

iguacufalls — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 17:21:42 +0000

I was noticing that the Zauggs and the Feiks seem to be abnormally involved in almost every meeting. Any idea as to the size of the Ward at the time?

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 16:44:20 +0000

Yeah, Bishop Rick, and “High” to Kolob, are some of those private amusements that bind us to our Mormon ancestor’s, aren’t they??

I do know about cottage meetings, but I have no idea what the Egg Party was — they sound so homey and old-timey, and I love seeing them.

Some of the minutes we’ll see are even sparser than these; others give a much more detailed report of talks and announcements. Most of them, despite their general familiarity, will have something different, something local or peculiar to the time. I really hope there is enough reader participation to continue the series indefinitely.

By: Bruce Crow

Bruce Crow — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 16:16:05 +0000

Some of the songs are ones we might sing today, but several are not. And you would think If I were reading “If You Could Hie to Kolob” straight from the hymnbook, I could spell it right. OK, OK, I’ve taken notes long hand. I know how hard it is.

By: David Y.

David Y. — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 15:39:05 +0000

For me, the best part of these minutes are the one-liner summaries of the talks. It’s kind of charming to see what the clerk thought was the main message of each speaker.