Show dancing paitie pities tho tire winter is the proper time of the year for indoor recreation and amusements to be engaged in by those who wish to do boand so and the most mot mol prominent among the means used to pass some of the long evenings of or the season pleasantly is the social dancing party we have a few suggestions to offer upon the tho subject of parties of this thia kind hind directed especially to the latter day saints to begin with dancing though perhaps in intrinsically harmless in itself does not form any part of the religion of the latter day sainta but is permitted simply for their amusement and recreation wo we do not esteem attendance at dancing parties the most appropriate way for members of tiie the church to spend upend their evenings we m much i ual prefer to bear of tio the tho organization of improvement improved e s societies 0 littles olet liet les ies literary institutes and I 1 n d e d institutions with ahil which 0 h ar ara associated s the de do livery of lecture lechtur en n religious scientific and ot othen othea ve subjects which will have a dire V tendency ao to improve the minds of the hearers bearers he areis certainly we have no objection to well regulated dancing parties for those who have little to do and need exercise for bodily exercise is beneal beneficial cial cini to health all parties of this as well I 1 in fact as of any other kind should be conducted in accordance with the rules of the strictest propriety though without unnecessary affectation or restraint that the utmost decorum may prevail reform is or should be the order of the day among this progressive and reformatory spirit should extend to the conducting of our dancing parties as well as anything else for the need of an improvement in that regard must bo be se helf belf lf evident to all who claim to be saints in the first place there should be something ilko liko a denn deff definite nite rule regarding tho the more inbae common sense and decorous times for opening and closing such parties which rule has been of late conspicuous for its absence sa so far as this matter is concerned circumstances sometimes alter cases as for instance in the various settlements of the territory there appears to be no valid existing rea on against dancing parties commencing at such hour in the afternoon or evening as to allow plenty of time for those engaging in the pastime to have as much of this recreation as is good for them and close never lata iata later r but as much earlier as desired than ten at night in this thia city however the circumstances are arc somewhat different many people who may wish to attend parties of this nature being engaged in basiner s of various kinds and unable to leave their avocations till late in the even oven evening ing yet under no consideration w what hat ever exer should such parties artles arties be kept open after eleven 0 clock and they should close earlier when reasonably practicable the keeping of late hours is not conducive to the moral physical or intellectual health of individuals or communities but decidedly deteriorating in those respect sand should therefore be discouraged by the latter day saints the keeping of late hours is aison alson aiso also a direct breach of the reve revelation la in the book of doctrine and covenants in which the lord commands his disciples to retire t to 0 rest early and to arisse arhe early in the morning A very important matter in connection with dancing parties is to adopt rules ao so aa as to exclude from them all objectionable characters on moral grounds this being especially necessary in view of the number of individuals who evince an insatiable desire to corrupt the morals of the young people of the community the next and not tho the least important thing to be considered in this thia connection is the kind of dancing ng that should be engaged in at th those so parties there being some kinds that are becoming while others are decidedly the opposite of or the latter class are those generally denominated round dances to which there should be unqualified objection if only on the ground that the position generally occupied by parties engaged in them is at abb least indecorous not to bay eay vulgar mr dio lewis in writing against round dances estates states that all a sensible person needs deeds to convince him of the indelicate not to say indecent character of such buch dances is to imagine a couple standing upon the floor without whirling around in the attitude or iela lela tive position of persons enga engaged geI gel in dancing of wat tn at description it may be urged that there is only evil ovil in a matter when evil is made of it and that thousands of people engage in round dances who have not the shadow of an au evil thought 0 in their minds but we are n now ow talking to latter day saints whose duty it is according p t the nature of their religion C 10 to shun the very appearance ap po arance of evil in a conversation in the tho presidents office dec fth 1875 with bishops layton lay nay ton and smith on ort the subject of dancing president young said baid that it was bh bid bl 3 mind that dances should commence from one to two in the afternoon and dismiss from 9 to 10 that was the plau plan he had adopted in this city in the early days of the territory and andi which he fie wished to see adopted by the bishops in the settlements he had led out in this way himself from the commencement of the bettle settle settlement merit of the territory and set the example in his own practice tic and his mind was still unchanged dancing was no part of our religion but when we attended to it for our amusement we did it in the name of the tiie lord iusi lusi just as we should attend to any other business with regard to round dances dane esho eshe he was vas opposed to them from beginning to end from top to bottom round rund dances were first commenced in and still continue brothel ligum dances GEORGE REYNOLDS clerk to prest young I 1 endorse th tb e above abobo statement signed brigham YOUNG you NG |