OCR Text |
Show ' : - , . - - -"- -' - ,,, - :""' - : THE DESERET NEWS. SATURDAY. SEPTEMBER 25. 1937. , The Missionary System Of The Church By Elder Ivins . ! A. . , , .I ,; , t .. about upon the sea el doubt and uncertainty. They go in a spirit of Church of Jesuit Christ of lAt, Saints is Justly proud, which, hi a way, eats It off in s , ter-da- y thine by itself is Its mlitaioniery ' tem sacrifice and love, lithoring with. out other recompense than the sense of duty performed and meet-:ThWhen log their own expenties. lend they knock at your door them a willing ear anti their cup Of JOY wilt run over, For many years the entire effort of the Church, tit this three-thtion, was expended in territory otore or less dittiint from the or ionised Wake, and wards of the Church. And this was quite propr so long as the se titis and stokes contained 111143,1ilY illetribera; of the toys- - e missionary idea Is in no liens Unique for missionarying Was practice of the early Chris- thin Church, in the years trillTie diatele following the ministry of Christ anti has name down through centuries to the present in one torn or another. We see it hi all ,ol aloft, e - ifowever, the type of service un dirtaittm by the members of the Church et Jesus Christ of Letterdoily Saints is such as to qualify Was unique in our day. I know at no religious group which flee for a comparable organizatiOn proselyting. Zest ,flunday evening, from this - listened to a fine sor-- . the reasons for of the position existence of this system, given by Brother Don 11 Colton, recently States president of the Kastern Mission. . Foundation Laid Christ laid the foundation for 1110 a work when he conimisi,looieli his disciples in these words: ago ye into all the world, and preach the chapel to every creaand is ture. He that believelh baptised shall be saved; but he be not shall thtit belleveth damned.", (Mark lit 15- - 10). lat Modern revelation we have further :' euthortrotion in these words to be found in the Doctrine and cavanants which were di. ireeted to the Apostles of this distpahitation: "Therefore, go ye into world; end unto whatsoever plate 'ye ,cannot go ye shall tend. Budd the testimony may go front yet into all the world unto every ereature.T (Doe. & Coe. 14.83). 0FAnd again, 1 say unto you. that whosoever ye ellen send in fay name; by the voice of .. your brethren. the Twelve, duly roc' ondmended and authorised by you. Shell have power to open the door Piny kingdom unto any notion Whithereoever ye shall 'end them' (Dee. & 'Coe. 1121 21.). to 0,Anclt behold, it hall come be pens that my servanto shall sent forth to the east and to the woad, and to the north and to the south" (Doe. & Coy. 42t 83). "And Ye shall go forth in the power of my spirit, preaching my Gospel, two by two, in my name, lifting up your voices as with the sound of a trump, declaring my word like unto angels of Ood." Vibe. & COv. flere, then, you have our autheriretion for the development of our missionary system. It had its birth in the very first days of our existence as en organized body and Chunk The time ties ronte I! 1 o 3 - 1 oho . I), I...., I I . ,, 1 itt A 11 , - t 11 ha carried forward through the varying vicissitudes of our organised existence. Through micro. IMO, exile, the troubles and dangers incident to pioneering this wonderful land and into the era of Successful conquest the system bee carried on. From Records Our records show that about 45,- 1100 men and women have gone o the world to bear testimony to the glorious truths of the restored I ii ' '. hi-t- : , ; ' Purpose Of Meeting (Continued From Page Two., of this tint announce-Mon- t in modern times, of a work which has started citisens of more than 30 nations in a search for hair ancestors, and has resulted in pilUlons of ordinances in the in behalf of those" whose temples names , are discoottrod being through genealogical research.. bsorvano " hen most a large percentage of non members living within their boundaries. These people should halie opportunity to hear the word and when they so desire to partake of the fruits of the Gospel. It was With this in mind that some years ago. In ef t- lain of the more populous stakes, men and women livers selected and tiet apart" to do missionary work among the nonmembers resident within the confined of these stakee. In initiating this work the oral Authorities thought proper to till for o fotheenrtesPtinsit1" of the Pst a k e purrsrdenicillees (leg turn, were to select suet well qualified men tocompetent take the tin. mediate supervision and leadership of the movement. Areas with in the stakes were marked out and turned over to designated sionaries to be canvassed them. The procedure was yerybysimilar to that developed missions and invOlved such mreartnas' as tracting, cottage meetings anti in some instances- street meetings. :evreirla period of years a rather technique was This experimental ',kirkdeveloped. brought such satisfactory ,results that the stakes in which it was first tried el our liation,"-yo- 3 , Of the First Council bl Seventy Gospel and literally hundreds of RADIO sEnmó thotelands of soots have been bapUsed Into the, Church ,oStiNDAY, SEPT. 19, 1937 through their efforts. ESL 8 P.M. a Of bear They message Pea" and comfort to the stool tossed AMC of the things of which the ' I' Church. Department , , ' COIllintihilieS is hate out made it a permanent inetitunon with the approval of the Presiding tleneral Authorities' of the Churolt. Work at Seventies If this is a successful activity in these experimental areas why can It not be viede general throughout the Church? Here is the vast body of the Seventies whose duty now to that of the Seventy corresponds out to supplement the Elders sent labors of the Ancient Apostles. They are called and ordained to be witnesses and it is expected special that they will consecrate their time and talents to the die:sprains'. tion of truthSpecial Witnesses to the atonement of our lord and Master with all that It implies. Why call into local not, then, activity this Vast army of "minute men?" The thought was father of the act and about a year and a half ago the Twelve Apostles called the First Seven Presidents of Seventies Into solemn conclave in the Temple, here in Salt Lake City, and due cussed the problem with them. The iMIllettleite result of this moIllentOUS meeting was a COMIllie'lion, given by the Twelve to the Seventies. through the Virtu Seven Presitieri te. to organize and conduct In every stake in the Church. a Stake Mission. 'a felt this to re an important charge, of great and possibilities end In it spirit of humility set shout the task of organizing these Stake Missions. A Huge Task Now, there are in the Church no less than 118 stake e and to find and install 118 Miselon Presidents. to say nothing of selecting and of missionsetting apart isthenoarmy mean undertakries needed, and Humbly prayerfully we ing. undertook the development of a plan of operation that would bring the Seventies of the Church into missionary activity under the direction of the First Council of the Seventy in collaboration with the Presidencies of the Stakes. It was first decided that the moat effective organization would parallel that of our foreign missions. There should, then, be a mission president over each stake tniesion and, since this is primarily a Act, entitte work, he should be a Seventy, and preferably, a President of a quorum. He should be Immediately responsible to the Stake tdency and the First Council of the Seventy for the organization and management of his mission. The great body of the Seventies forms a reservoir of suppty material. Every member should hold himself in A Thought For Today By 0 tion J. M. Sjodahl. sesqut rentonittal celebration of the American Constitushould be made the occasion of a thorough study of the time of its birth and the character of itA authors. The importance to the world at large, as well aa to ourselves, of our existence as a nation justifies American,citiserte in ,laying sable, during this celebras tion, and as a part of It IMMO for the eequiremeat of more knowledge and a better understanding of the priceless treasure they have inherited, lest it be lost for want of appreciation. The age was one of a "horse.and,Intgity" time, if you please; without feverish hurry to get nowhere. Hut it. was also an age of dignity and majesty; an age which próduced men and women with imposing loftiness of soul, Who were 'Mildred with a passion uneelfieh, righteous dealings With fellowmen.; Such were the framers of the Constitution whom we admire. They did not have personal advantages In view, when They writing the Constitution. wrote wholly for the benefit of the people. We must honor them, not only with our liparnot Merely with ringing oratory; not with gorgeously colored 'nap bitbbles; unfit even for display, on account of their We deceitful lack of substances. can only honor them bp perpetrating the Immortal principles by which they were guided in their labors for the salvation of the human race. That Is the on acceptable celebration. UR nee-lee- tinte-killer- ' Fifty years ago the centennial of the Constitution was observed in d the United state& On of the of that occasion Was an dregs by President (hover land, lie said, in part Con stitution"comes "I 1 he to us 'sealed with the lout of a century, It has been found sub ficient in the past, and it will be found sufficient In all the years to come . if the American people are 'true to their aacred trust. Another centennial day will come and millions yet unborn will inquire concerning our stewardship and tha God safety of their Constitution. grant they may find it unimpaired; and as we rejoice today in the patriotism anti devotion of those who lived a hundred yeacs ago, so may those who follow us rejoice in our fidelity and love for Constitutional t"--- Liberty." Word. of wisdom, applicable day as well as fifty years ago. to- We might note that George. Washington and times associated, With him in the framing of the Conetittition built better than they realised themselves. Very early in the history of the Republic, party government with furious bitterness made its appearance, and George Washington, I believe, deepaired of the permanence of the young Republic. He saw Wife where ha hoped for unity; selfishnese, where he expected 'patriot-WAt all events, he refused tlip responsibility of the presidency for third term, as he had rejected the Offer of a crown by his military admirers. He ended his career as a Wrong advocate of the Federalism of Hamilton against the ideas of Jefferson. However, his life's work was Cod's work. It has now stood the test of a century and a half. It will, I believe, last. and, like the atone in the dream of Nreliuchadnesaar, become a mountain and fill the en- tire earth. . le hie readiness tor service. This under first and paramount dui!' his ordination. Eiders, Iligh Priests and women are also eligible for this eervice. Bo trnportant is this duty that it has been decided that it should take cuss precedence over certain otherthose tomary activillee and that work who may be called into this should be excused from other Church activity for the period of their missions which should correspond in length to that in foreign fields. laThe objective of this our bor is, primary naturally, to acquaint neighbors with the truths of the Gospel of Christ an we understand It and to bring into the Church those to whom the Spirit of God may bear testimony. A KOCOINId Objective A secondary objective Is to make members, already of record. who may have lost interest in the work and bring them back into activity, These we feel two very worthy projects. You may like to know what has Of been accomplished. the lie stakes all but six were at least partially organized on the last day of June of the current year. There were reported to us fur the month of June. in eervice. 21s3 Elders, 914 Seventies. 101 high Priests, and 309 of women niaking a grand total Prose. This number is almost equal to that of the foreign fields which reported on June :to, 19,17. Add these two egures together and you have a total of 351,2 men and women in the missionary service of the Church. The first six months of this year (intact with 01,575 tracts were distributed, 4054 cottage and half meeting were held and net baptisms were made within the organized stake of the Church. We feel to eongratulate our workers on their tiecompliehmente and to thank our friends for the aid they have given the coupe by the missionaries, entertaining throwing open their inhomes for rot. many other tags meetings, anti ways which we may fail to men-Than- k you. Sweden Entertains Pres. Grant (Continued From Note D) to spread itself in a net work of Inland lakes and channels. See. ward the margins of the briny Bal tic's fingers were traced with glib fringed the tering lights which shadowy islands of the Archipehe Boat The president's party toured the of Stockholm, passing,. waterways along the channels by motor-boat- , which separate her several islands and under the beautiful bridges which finite them. They studied some of Sweden's answers to her social problems as they toured, by bus, the newer apartment house areas, visited the schools, entered work inemen'm fabricated the booties, anti watched the coopers). These tives in action. Cooperatives, which now include one tenth of Sweden's industry, held greso fascination for the Mormon leaders. By appointment the party found itself within the walls of Stock. holm's City Mil at noon. As they passed through corridors of this reimpreiseive edifice they were minded that it room upon the Me: laren shores in those same years that the rest of Europe was locked in a gigantic death struggle, He who once sees its golden hall will million never forget. Twenty-fivpieces of fold leaf fit snugly between so many bits of glass In form the mosaics of its figured walls! It forms an appropriate set. hug for the annual presentation of the Nobel peace award. The vist. tore were lured away from these surroundings in time to witness St. George emerge from the Clock tower. and draw the dragon after him as the clock struck twelve, A all hour journey on Sweden's eleetrified railway brought the party to Goteborg. Here in addition to attending scheduled eery. ices they found time to visit the tity's ultra modern concert house and wondered at its beauty and aceousticel perfection. The Swedish Saints have enjoyed the fulfillment of their hearts' desire to see their President. They have met more of the general of the Church than representative' It has been their privilege to see on any single occasion before. They are grateful for it. The influence of the visit on the Swedish public as well as the Saints will linger. The thrill of anticipation has transformed into the sistisfaeBon of memory. e , |