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T^HE General Board extends heartfelt and loving sentiments to Relief Society sisters everywhere for the year 1963. The members of the General Board have the joy of personally meeting with sisters in all stakes of the Church. While customs may vary and languages differ in countries, the spiritual understanding flows through material barriers, and fuses two Relief Society sisters into a bond of oneness, as they clasp hands and look into each other's eyes.
Though this coming year may be filled with continuing tensions, unrest, and even violence, though men's hearts may fail them through ''the distress of nations . . . the sea and the waves roaring," still all is in ful- fillment of prophecy by which the saints are forewarned.
Relief Society members know wherein their security lies. They have established their feet on the narrow path — the road of heavenly protec- tion and safety. Serving others, even as they are beset by personal trials and temptations, yet they live in righteousness hedged by the wisdom of older times.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.
Though man-made and heavenly tempests roar, Relief Society mem- bers walk in directed paths and steadfastly look to the time when ''the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the seas."
On behalf of the General Board we send love and greetings to our next-door neighbor Relief Society members, and to all members Jn the uttermost parts of the world; to the sister most lecerrtly voted into mem- bership and to the one whose mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great-grandmother have accepted the joyful opportunity of membership, beginning with membership in Nauvoo the Beautiful. Once the obligations of membership are accepted, all become true sisters in the bonds of charity, with the same glorious heritage of love and service.
May the security of peace in righteousness abide in the heart of every Relief Society member in 1963 and forever, is our prayer.
Affectionately,
'/miA
The article "A Permanent Home/' by Norma Dee Ryan (October 1962) ex- pressed my feelings at the time. The flow- ers I worked on all spring were in bloom and the yard green and nice. Now, in our new home, and it is home already, we have planted two more trees that we will never see grow, and started watering the dead grass. The grass is starting to turn green, but we will not be here long, for my husband, too, is military, and we soon expect an overseas order. The Magazine will follow us there, and the Church will soon make it "home."
— Mrs. Colleen A. Bentley
Edgemont, (Jalitorma
When my Magazine arrives I have to stop whatever I am doing and glance quickly through its pages to satisfy myself with reading the thoughts of other saints, and then carry on the rest of the day with a song in my heart, anticipating the pleas- ure I shall have later when the day is done and I can relax with my favorite Maga- zine, thankful for the pleasure and bene- fits I receive.
—Mrs. D. L. Ring
Leederville, Ir'erthshire Scotland
I always read the "From Near and Far" page because I enjoy the things others think and say about our Magazine. I enjoy every issue. Sometimes I start right at the beginning and read everything ex- cept the continued story, which I save until the last of the month, so that I won't have to wait so long to see what happens next. Sometimes when I am blue, I read something that lifts my heart. Sometimes I find wonderful things to help me with my family of seven children. Sometimes when a problem rests heavily upon me, I find the perfect answer in the Magazine. No matter what the case, the answer seems to come from the Magazine. — Donna Abegglen
bt. Anthony, Idaho
I truly enjoy reading Tht Reliei Society Magazine. It is a warm, spiritual visit from home. Two of our young missionaries out here came to see me one day and informed me that they had marked some articles in my Magazine that they wanted me to read. Upon opening the Magazine, I dis- covered that they had marked all the "articles" in the recipe section — candy, cookies, pie . . . etc. I find that the recipes work just as well here as they did in Switzerland, France, or back in our own country. The elders in the mission here are many of them subscribers to the Magazine, and they tell me that they en- joy it very much.
— Luella B. Hanson
Brussels, Belgmm
I especially enjoyed the editorial "In the Family There Is Strength" (by Vesta P. Crawford) in the August issue of the Magazine. I felt the message so keenly, as we had just had a wonderful visit with my daughter and son-in-law and their six children from Washington, D. C. — Myrene Rich Brewer
Ugden, Utah
During the summer months I was so busy I only took time to scan through my Magazine. Suddenly I found myself in the hospital with a ruptured appendix. I had plenty of time to read all the back issues. For days the Magazine was the only reading material I could handle, be- cause it was small and light. What an uplift I received from its pages, with such a variety of literature and beautiful pic- tures. Many times I read to the woman who shared the room with me. I hope I was able to spread the gospel to her through this medium.
— Marjorie S. Patterson
President
Santa Ana Stake Relief Society
Santa Ana, California
THE RELIEF SOCJITY MAGAZINE
iy- Publication of the Relief Society of lurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
JANUARY 1963
RELIEF SOCIETY MAGAZINE Marianne C. Sharp Editor
Vesta P. Crawford Associate Editor Belle S. Spafford General Manager
SPECIAL FEATURES
New Year's Greeting General Presidency 1
Teach Virtue and Modesty Joseph Fielding Smith 4
Modesty Protects Virtue Mark E. Petersen 7
Relief Society Magazine's Fiftieth Anniversary Marianne C. Sharp 12
Support the March of Dimes George P. Voss 16
Celestia J. Taylor Appointed to the General Board Alice L. Wilkinson 17
Anne R. Gledhill Appointed to the General Board Vesta P. Crawford 18
Belva Barlow Appointed to the General Board Oscar W. McConkie, Jr. 19
Zola J. McGhie Appointed to the General Board Emma Marr Petersen 20
Award Winners — Eliza R. Snow Poem Contest 21
Some Late Evening — First Prize Poem Miranda S. Walton 22
Sego Lilies — Second Prize Poem Roxana F. Hase 23
Attic Rain — Third Prize Poem Dorothy J. Roberts 24
Award Winners — Annual Relief Society Short Story Contest 26
The Tender Kiss — First Prize Story Edith Larson 27
nCTION
Keep My Own — Chapter 1 Kit Linford 37
Out of the Wilderness — Chapter 7 Shirley ThuHn 43
GENERAL FEATURES
From Near and Far 2
Woman's Sphere Ramona W. Cannon 33
Editorial: The Voice of Relief Society ; Vesta P. Crawford 34
Annie M. Ellsworth Resigns From the General Board 36
Notes to the Field: Bound Volumes of 1962 Magazine 36
Notes From the Field: Relief Society Activities Hulda Parker 49
Birthday Congratulations _ 80
FEATURE FOR THE HOME
Katherine W. Sontag Makes Rugs of Unique Design 56
LESSONS FOR APRIL
Theology — The Sign Seeker Roy W. Doxey 57
Visiting Teacher Messages — "It Is Not Meet That I Should Command
In All Things" Christine H. Robinson 63
Work Meeting — The Latter-day Saint Home Exemplifies Thrift Virginia F. Cutler 64
Literature — Melville's Masterpiece — Moby-Dick Briant S. Jacobs 67
Social Science — Gradation of Divine Law Ariel S. Ballif 72
POETRY
A Song of Wheels, by Margery S. Stewart, 6; Words Written in White, by Ida Elaine James, 11; Midwinter Dream, by Eliza S. Crandell, 42; The New Day, by Evelyn Fjeldsted, 62; Morning Prayer, by Eva Willes Wangsgaard, 66; the Fog, by Linnie F. Robinson, 79; Happy Highway of Life, by Rozina Farnsworth, 79; Beauty, by Ida Isaacson, 80.
The Cover: Handcart Monument and the Temple, Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah
Color Transparency by L. Paul Roberts Frontispiece: Tree Shadows in Winter
Photograph by H. Armstrong Roberts Art Layout: Dick Scopes Cover Lithographed in Full Color by Deseret News Press
Published monthly by THE GENERAL BOARD OF RELIEF SOCIETY of The ChurcHT^i
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. © 1963 by the Relief Society General Board Association Editorial and Business Offices: 76 North Main, Salt Lake City 11, Utah: Phone EMpire 4-2511; Subscriptions 246; Editorial Dept. 245. Subscription Price: $2.00 a year; foreign, $2.00 a year; 20c a copy ; payable in advance. The Magazine is not sent after subscription expires. No back numbers can be supplied. Renew promptly so that no copies will be missed. Report change of address at once, giving old and new address.
Entered as second-class matter February 18. 1914, at the Post Office, Salt Lake City, Utah, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in section 1103, Act of October 8, 1917, authorized June 29, 1918. Manuscripts will not be returned unless return postage is enclosed. Rejected manuscripts will be retained for six months only. The Magazine is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts.
Teach Virtue and Modesty
Piesident Joseph Fielding Smith
Of the Council of the Twelve
[Address Delivered at the Officers Meeting of the Relief Society Annual General
Conference, October 3, 1962]
THIS is certainly a wonderful sight to think that you good sisters have come from all parts of the world to attend this conference. I congratulate you for your faith and your integrity and I want to say to you, we pray for you constantly. You are doing a won- derful work, and the Prophet cer- tainly was inspired by the spirit of the Lord to have such an organiza- tion as the Relief Society given to the Church. You have a great work to perform. We remember you in our prayers, we want you to know that the work that you are performing is fully appreciated by the brethren of the Authorities of the Church.
Now, I want to endorse all that has been said and done, and I am very grateful that Brother Petersen had the inspiration to speak as he did on a topic that is most timely. I know of nothing that is more im- portant today than the theme which he presented to us. Now, there are a great many good, honest people in the world, but that does not change the fact that we are living in a wicked world, a fallen world. In fact, it has always been fallen since Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden of Eden. But that does not mean that there have not been good people down through the ages, at least most of the time. Your work is just as im-
portant as any other work in the Church. I want you to know that your brethren appreciate it.
I want to say a few words, too, along the line that was men- tioned by Elder Petersen. Our day was seen in the days of Isaiah. The Lord opened the eyes of Isaiah. He saw the gathering of the Latter-day Saints to these valleys of the moun- tains and spoke about it and about the blessings of the Lord that would attend them. But he also saw in that great vision some of the pit- falls and the difficulties and the transgressions that would befall the Latter-day Saints, along with other people, and he has spoken of it. When Isaiah spoke of Zion, he did not mean the world, and when he spoke of the daughters of Zion, he meant the daughters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I am going to read you a few verses, ''As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. The Lord standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people. The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses" (Isaiah 3:12-14).
TEACH VIRTUE AND MODESTY
'T'HEN he goes on to talk about is dead/' I hope that isn't true of
Zion. Who is Zion? We, the virtue.
Latter-day Saints. The tendency of the times is
Moreover the Lord said: towards evil. I deplore, and I know
Because the daughters of Zion are ^Y brethren do, the tendency in
haughty, and walk with stretched forth the world which Latter-day Saints
necks and wanton eyes, walking and mine- imitate and COpy, as far as the wom-
ing as they go, and making a tinkling ^^ are concerned, at least in their
with their feet: Therefore the Lord will i at 71 t
smite with a scab the crown of the head ^'^''- ^^^" ^ "^^^ ^ Y^^^g "^^n
of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord g^mg to School the girls wore
will discover their secret parts. In that drcsscs that came down to their
day the Lord will take away the bravery ankles. They were modest. They
of their tinkling ornaments about their ^^JQ^'t do that now. I went out
teet, and their cauls, and their round • n • ,i . o. i. •
tires like the moon. The chains, and the Occasionally m my youth to Sa|tair
bracelets, and the mufflers. The bonnets, ^O bathe, when the water was up
and the ornaments of the legs, and the under the pavilion. I had a bathing
headbands, and the tablets, and the ear- suit that covered my body to my
rings. The rings, and nose jewels . . . g^kles, SO did the men, and SO
Isaiah 3:16-21). 4.1. T -u 1
the women. 1 remember when a
We haven't got quite to that young lady came in to go in bathing,
point yet, have we? ^^^ passed one of the men in charge,
and he stopped her. Lie said, "You
The changeable suits of apparel, and the can't go in drcsscd like that." Well,
mantles, and the wimples, and the crisp- she had a drcss on that covered her
mg pins. The glasses, and the fine linen, ^^^ ^^^^ ^^1^^ |^^^ ^ ^ j
and the hoods, and the vails. And it • i i<xr i_ ^ ^ n •
shall come to pass, that instead of sweet ^^^^,1 ^OU have got tO get Stockings
smell there shall be stink; and instead of On. a girdle a rent; and instead of well set
hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a woman came into my office one
a girding of sackcloth; and burning in- l\. • i i / • i •
stead of beauty (Isaiah 3:22-24). day, she might be here in this
group for all I know, and showed
That is as far as I need to read. nie a picture that she had taken,
Now, you good mothers, you somewhere near the beginning of
should teach your children virtue, ^|^^ ^^^^^ ^f ^ bathing at
chastity and they should be taught ^^^^^.^ j ^^.^^ ^^ -^ ^^^^ ^^^
rrom their early childhood. And , . u ._ i ^ i
.1 1 ij 1. J £ i.1, and she would not let me have it.
they should be made aware or the ,,^j „ . . -, <<t • i
pitfalls and the dangers that are so ^o, she said, I am going to keep
prevalent throughout the world, ^his, I am in this picture." But
Now, we are living in a wicked day. every bather was covered — men
When you read your newspapers you and women alike. That's why I
can discover that, and they give us wanted to get it, to see it, to show it.
but a small fraction of what goes on. Now they go in bathing together,
Wickedness prevails. One of my men and women at the resorts, with
good brethren who had the right to very scanty clothing on. Some of
speak some years ago said, "Chastity our good, clean, virtuous daughters
JANUARY 1963
vie to become Miss America or ing that there is nothing wrong in Miss Utah or Cahfornia or some exposing their bodies. What did other State, and they have to be the Lord give Adam and Eve gar- put on exhibition hke prize cattle ments for? To clothe themselves, and go through all kinds of stunts, and the Lord does not like naked- and dress so they have to show their ness. And I think the Latter-day bodies. Pardon me for talking plain- Saints should not follow the fash- ly. I think it is disgraceful that we ions and the immodesty of the have reached that point in our lives world. We are the people of the where, as one of my good brethren Lord. He expects us to live clean, said several years ago, ''Virtue, mod- virtuous lives, to keep our thoughts esty are dead." Now we need refor- clean and minds pure and faithful mation. in the observance of all his other You mothers in your homes, are commandments. Why should we you in the habit of letting your follow the world, why can we not little children run around scantily be modest, why can't we do the clothed because it is warm weather, things the Lord would have us do? practically naked or nearly so? And The Lord bless you in the name they grow up that way, that is, think- of Jesus Christ. Amen.
A Song of Wheels
Margery S. Stewart
The wagon wheels are high and white.
They make a scarring in the snow,
The way that wheels do, coming hard
Behind the oxen, dark and slow.
The wind, a winter Indian, stalks
Past tattered canvas, tattered shawl.
Crouched on the ridges, broods the night.
Like taloned birds, the shadows fall.
Then from the farthest wagon back,
A grizzled man begins to sing.
The song is like him, strong and deep.
The music makes a rising ring,
A spreading splendor in the dark.
To which the others bend their brands.
Someone else against the stark
Oppression sings out sure and bold.
Others . . . and others . . . here and here . . .
Until the notes are all held high,
A fire of music in the night.
Forgotten spectres turn and fly.
Once more the wagons circle and stand.
The dark shrinks back to the edge of the land.
Modesty Protects Virtue
Elder Mark E. Petersen Of the Council of the Twelve
[Address Delivered in the Officers Meeting of the Annual General Relief Society
Conference, October 3, 1962]
INDEED it is a great privilege tue and holiness before me con-
and an honor to be in your tinually" (D & C 46:33). And while
presence here this morning, my the Prophet was in Liberty Jail, the
sisters. I am always humble when Lord spoke to him and said, ". . .
in the presence of the wonderful let virtue garnish thy thoughts un-
women of this Church. I am con- ceasingly; then shall thy confidence
vinced that the sisters of the Latter- wax strong in the presence of God
day Saints are truly angelic in many, (D & C 12:45). many ways. I feel confident that Inasmuch as he used the expres-
you are the stalwarts that lend so sion, ''Practise virtue and holiness
much strength to the entire Church before me continually/' I feel that
through your marvelous devotion, so the Lord not only spoke of virtue
it is indeed a great honor and a in the sense of chastity, but also in
privilege to be in your presence. a broader sense, even as we speak
During the first months following of the different virtues represented the organization of the Relief So- in our Latter-day Saint standards, ciety in 1842, the Prophet Joseph Since the Lord seemed to include Smith addressed the sisters a num- a general connotation of the word ber of times. He endeavored to set virtue in his revelations, I went to the standard and show the way for the dictionary to see what it had to this marvelous organization. One say on this subject. Among other of his principal themes was that the things, it gave as definitions, cour- sisters should uphold morality and age, strength, valor, efficacy, excel- right and promote virtue among lence, merit, rectitude, purity, and members of the Church. chastity. I was particularly inter-
Brigham Young also stressed the ested for the moment in the word importance of the sisters upholding valor which was given as a synonym high standards, and, at one time, and, as a result, refreshed my mind he said, "These Relief Societies are on the dictionary definition of that for the improvement of our man- word. Valor was defined as strength ners, our dress, our habits, and our of mind which enables one to en- methods of living." counter danger firmly. It stands
The Lord spoke at various times for gallantry, heroism, personal
pertaining to the virtues which he bravery, and courage, expects the Latter-day Saints to pre- Then I began to ask myself, what
serve. At one time he said, 'Trac- are the virtues the Lord had in mind
tise virtue and holiness before me'' when he urged the saints to ''let
(D & C 38:24). Still later he virtue garnish thy thoughts unceas-
warned, ". . . ye must practise vir- ingly . . ." and ". . . practise virtue
JANUARY 1961
and holiness before me continual- are threatening the solidarity of our ly"? My reply was, we must prac- homes and families, and that dan- tise the teachings of the Savior by ger is facing us in tremendous pro- upholding all of the standards of portions.
the Church. Without the standards Who can stop this condition?
of the Church there is no holiness. Who can build up our most im-
nor any virtue either in its broader portant defenses? Who has the
sense or in the strict definition of courage to do so?
chastity. When I noted that the chief
I began to list some of the stand- threat is to our homes and families,
ards of the Church which pertain i remembered that the Prophet Jo-
to holiness and the various virtues seph Smith laid it upon the Relief
the Lord expects to find in a Latter- Society women of the Church to
day Saint. I mention just a few of protect our homes and families by
them: first, "We believe in being preserving virtue and holiness. The
true." Again, that is as essential as principal cause of juvenile delin-
the gospel itself. Next came, "We quency is unsatisfactory home life,
believe in being chaste." Benevo- Unsatisfactory home life results
lence, of course, is mentioned and largely from adult delinquency,
also patience, long-suffering, broth- Adult delinquency is weakening the
erly and sisterly kindness, forgive- nioral fiber of the Nation. More
ness, charity, godliness, humility, crimes are committed by people over
and diligence. fifty years of age than by any other
age group; the next highest is among
A LL of these are essential virtues, those over thirty-five.
but, as I read them, I remem- Since our homes are now placed
bered that one of the definitions of in jeopardy, how can we strengthen
virtue is valor, and that valor is the them and resist these evils? Whose
strength of mind which enables one influence is greatest in the home?
to encounter danger firmly with per- We recognize,^ without doubt, the
sonal bravery and courage. place of husband and father, but so
Next I asked myself, are our vir- often those husbands and fathers,
tues, our standards, in danger? Is themselves, do not recognize their
there need for valor and courage responsibility and abandon it in
and strength in meeting such dan- favor of business or other pursuits,
gers today? Then I remembered The preservation of the home is
that in these days there are many left chiefly to the wife and mother,
dangers which confront us and our In a large part the home is what the
families, as well as even our little mother makes it. Do our women
ones. I remembered that delin- have the personal courage, the valor,
quency in the United States is the strength of mind to meet this
growing at a rate five times faster present situation?
than the Nation's pgpulation; that Are you, the women, willing to
divorce is reaching new highs even be the protectors of our homes and
among the Latter-day Saints; that provide the stabilizing qualities our
both adult and juvenile delinquency people need in this day of instabil-
MODESTY PROTECTS VIRTUE
ity? Are you willing to be the they seem to know, and who is to
''Rock of Gibraltar" in your homes, blame? Who permits them to dress
resisting the corroding influences of in this manner? Who buys their
a changing world about you? Do clothes? Who is it that permits
you see what is happening all about them to wear lipstick and high heels
us? even before they reach their teens?
Let us talk of virtue for a moment And who permits them to go dating
in terms of chastity. Do you know at twelve, thirteen, fourteen, and
what tempts the boys to molest the fifteen, with little restriction or
girls today more than any other one supervision? And who permits not
thing? It is the mode of dress of only this early dating but steady
our girls who, in the summertime, dating as well, steady dating which
often wear extremely abbreviated so often leads to early intimacies,
sun suits, even on the streets; who degradation, and loss of this pre-
wear dresses above the knees, whose cious virtue of which we speak and,
clothing about the bust is often so frequently, results in early marriages
tight and revealing that it nearly which almost always break up, even
takes the breath away from the boys while the youngsters are still in their
who look at it. It is the low-cut teens.
evening dress which permits a boy The Lord says we are to garnish to dance all evening gazing down our thoughts with virtue unceasing- into a half-concealed but half-dis- ly. Can a boy's thoughts be gar- closed bosom, thus setting him on nished with virtue while he is look- fire with an unholy desire. It is so ing at the plainly outlined form of a often the very skimpy gymnasium beautiful young woman? Can his suits girls are forced to wear in their thoughts be garnished with virtue physical education classes at school, as he gazes at her limbs so fully
exposed by these short, short skirts
YY/'HEN the boys are coming into of today? Are the girls' thoughts
^ ^ their teens and reaching ma- garnished with virtue when they
turity, and such sights are placed wear revealing clothmg? Are their
before their eyes, almost like an in- thoughts garnished with virtue while
vitation, can you blame them any they engage in a petting party, and
more than you would the girls who then hope for an early marriage to
tempt them, if they take advantage cover up their indiscretions? of those girls?
Unfortunately, many of these A recent national publication
young women are innocent victims carried an editorial discussing
of a bad situation. From infancy this subject, and among other things
they wear but little clothing. As said that we must face the fact that
they reach early childhood there is more and more American women
still little clothing, and so on into are unwittingly inviting sex crimes,
young adulthood. They are taught It was estimated that at least half
that this is the style and they must of the rape cases on the blotter
follow it. They become accustomed could have been avoided had the
to exposing themselves. It is all victim shown more discretion and
JANUARY 1963
good judgment. The peculiarly ed the leaders of the Church as long
American system of encouraging as the brethren stayed away from
our girls to be attractive and allur- certain subjects, but when it came
ing, or training them to be seduc- to style, the women of the Church
tive, and then telling them of course pay far more attention to the style
that they must draw an uncrossable designers in New York and Paris
line, was considered as a destructive than they do to the appeals for
system. modesty on the part of the General
The editorial said that the en- Authorities,
tire concept of training our young The styles of today are immodest,
women to ''both lure and repel, but many women follow them and
simultaneously," is responsible for reject the counsel of the Church
irreconcilable conflicts. A girl is leaders. So whom do they sustain,
encouraged to believe that the num- whom do they place first in their
ber of her dates and the amount of lives? When it comes to styles, it
passion she arouses in them may be certainly is not the leaders of the
in many cases the total measure of Church, and yet modesty is the first
her success as a female. line of defense for chastity.
And then the editorial calls for a When our girls and boys lose
new American heroine, not one who their virtue, we cry to high heaven
is a sweater girl, whose main claim and wonder why this should ever
to fame seems to be the shape of come to our families, forgetting that
her body and how much of it she is in our desire to be fashionable we
willing to reveal, but the editor calls have set aside modesty, which is the
for a national heroine of virtue and great protector of virtue, cleanliness, who is willing to put
her sex appeal in the background A/f OTHERS in Israel, as long as
and put forward her wit, her charm, -^ -*■ we turn away from modesty in
her intelligence, and her integrity. dress and follow the way of the
I believe that if the women of world in style, just that long will this Church could practice the kind we pay the price in a breakdown of of virtue the Lord speaks of, they morals among the younger genera- could change this situation. If they tion.
had the valor and the courage they Have we the courage to correct
could protect their children by help- this condition? We can have a
ing them to live up to the Church style of our own, a modest one! We
standards of decency and right. But, are nearly two million people and
mothers, unless you take a stand, no longer a small minority,
your daughters will not take a stand. But in this we would not be
You must set the requirements, you alone. Millions of other women
must make the decision. are as modest as we would like our
I was confronted the other day by women to be. Recently, one of the
a group of women who were talking colleges of the United States, a
about the leaders of the Church and non-Latter-day Saint school, had a
their attitudes on styles. I told those style show in which every dress
women that I thought they respect- shown was as modest as if it had
10
MODESTY PROTECTS VIRTUE
been cut out by the General Author- ities themselves. There are many sensible and decent people in the world who would support us. Why can we not join with them rather than with those who are so evil- minded that they design styles to emphasize sex, knowing very well that such an appeal is an invitation to sin?
Now, may I mention some of the other virtues, particularly the influence of our women in promot- ing love at home, a spirit of prayer, peace, and co-operation, rather than a spirit of quarreling in the home.
Family quarrels breed delinquency of both children and parents. Wouldn't you like to foster the spirit of love and prayer in your home, rather than the spirit of con- tention? The Savior taught us that the spirit of contention is the spirit of the devil.
Let us practice our religion in the home and strive for patience, good-
ness, forgiveness, and long-suffer- ing, and yet develop the courage to fight evil and put it out of our lives.
Is physical exposure compatible with the gospel of Jesus Christ? Is quarreling in the home, is violation of the rules of honesty, is gambling, is violation of the Sabbath day?
Oh, sisters, let virtue garnish your thoughts unceasingly. Plan your family life so that virtue will gar- nish the thoughts of your children also. Be firm and courageous in standing for the right, regardless of what the world designs, or how it may beckon you into its evil pur- suits.
We must ever remember that while we are in the world we must not be of the world. We must practise virtue and holiness before the Lord always, for so he has com- manded us. I pray that we may do so in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Words Written in White
Ida Elaine ]ames
Today, the world is chastened. Through quiet snows
Upon the streets move common mortals, white
With winter's luminous aureole; each goes
To find his dream or his despair, each bright
With brief, ethereal beauty. The quiet air
Is pregnant now with loveliness that sifts
Magic alike on aging cheek and hair
And heads of children laughing down the drifts.
There is no sorrow through a world of slow And muted wonders such as these that bring Pulse to the buried wish of long ago. Strength to forgotten prayer, the blossoming Of light, from out a world of death and frost. To April dreams the heart has somehow lost.
11
Relief Society Magazine's Fiftieth Anniversary
Marianne C. Sharp, Editor
THIS January 1963 issue of The Relief Society Magazine marks the fiftieth year of its pubhcation by the General Board of Rehef Society.
The need for periodicals within the Church has always been recog- nized. With the publication of the modern scriptures came the printing of weekly or monthly peri- odicals even on foreign soil. Rare and valuable are original copies of such periodicals as The Times and Seasons, the Mormon, The Millen- nial Star, to mention but a few.
It was only thirty years after the saints arrived in the Salt Lake Val- ley that President Brigham Young saw to it that the sisters had a periodical of their own under the name The Woman's Exponent, excerpts from which have been in- cluded in The Relict Society Maga- zine for the past nineteen years, under the heading "Sixty Years Ago."
The Woman's Exponent served as the official publication of Relief Society until 1914, when uniform courses of study were provided by the General Board of Relief Society through a published series of Guide Lessons distributed free which were enlarged in 1915 and known as The Relief Society Magazine. The groundwork for the Magazine was laid at the officers meeting of the General Relief Society Gonference
in April 1914, and voted upon fav- orably. The annual subscription price was to be $1, and the monthly issue was to be forty-eight pages with illustrations. It would require 12,000 paid subscriptions, the sisters were cautioned, to make it self-sup- porting.
At this time in 1914, Emmeline B. Wells, who had been editor of the Woman's Exponent since 1877, was President of the Relief Society, with Clarissa S. Williams, First Counselor, and Julina L. Smith (wife of President Joseph F. Smith) Second Counselor. These sisters chose Susa Young Gates (daughter of President Brigham Young) as the first Editor of the new Maga- zine, with Jeannette P. Hyde, Busi- ness Manager, and Amy Brown Ly- man, General Secretary, as Assistant Manager. An Advisory Committee consisted of Clarissa S. Williams, Julina L. Smith, and Rebecca N. Nibley (wife of Presiding Bishop Charles W. Nibley). The offices were at 28 Bishop's Building (just recently torn down). Interesting incidents have been related of how Sisters Hyde and Lyman went up and down Main Street canvassing for advertisements to meet the pay- roll.
President Joseph F. Smith, who was in California in December, sent the following telegram of good wishes:
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FACSIMILE OF THE COVER OF THE RELIEF SOCIETY MAGAZINE
FOR 1915
Description of the cover, from a note in the January 1915 issue of the Magazine: "The beautiful picture on our cover is one of the four bas-rehefs on the base of the exquisite Sea-Gull Monument in the Temple Square, by our artist, M. M. Young. The artist is a grandson of President Brigham Young" (page 44).
Ocean Park, California, December 5, 1914.
Mrs. Emmeline B. Wells,
General Board of the Relief Society:
Accept my sincere congratulations and heartiest greetings in honor of the birth of the Reliei Society Magazine. May it enter upon its noble mission so firmly entrenched about by the bulwarks of worthy and capable endeavor and endur- ing truth that its career may be successful and glorious.
Joseph F. Smith
In the January 1915 editorial "The Mission of Our Magazine" was de- tailed:
It is impossible for us to be sure what any child of ours may become. How much more impossible, then, to forecast what shall be the future, the final charac- ter, of this literary infant, newly -born. If the Editor of this enterprise might shape its policy and fashion its fulfilment, she would have this magazine filled with the
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JANUARY 1963
EDITORS OF THE RELIEF SOCIETY MAGAZINE
At the top: Susa Young Gates, 1914-1922; Alice Louise Reynolds, 1923-1930; Mary Connelly Kimball, 1930-1937.
At bottom: Belle S. Spafford, 1937-1945; Marianne G. Sharp, 1945-
Spirit of the Lord from cover to cover. In order to do that, no article should be published which would encourage vanity, hurtful luxury, sin, or any evil passion of the human breast. Rather would we make of this magazine a beacon light of hope, beauty and charity.
The Christian world have all the vir- tues. They practice many of the moral precepts of true religion; they are chari- table, kind, honest, and intelligent. They lack one thing, and one thing only, and that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its fulness, taught by those having authority. It is, therefore, the spirit and genius of the Gospel which wc would like to de- velop and expound brightly, attractively, cheerfully, and hopefully, to the readers of the Relief Society Magazine,
While the baby Magazine may have been weak financially, it was strong and robust in the message it imparted. The early editorials re- flect not only the pressing problems of the day, for World War I had begun before the year was out, but they were also filled with encourage- ment and exhortations from Presi- dent Wells who had known the Prophet and undergone the blessings and privations of pioneering and lived on at that late date to lead the women of the Church.
An editorial on Success asks the questions, ''Who are the successful
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RELIEF SOCIETY MAGAZINE'S FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
wives? . . . [They] are the women and wards were urged to prepare who learn to balance their lives so music for ward and stake Relief So- that they can give a portion of them- ciety functions, selves, unreservedly and with loving Readers of The Rdiei Society generosity, in personal ministrations Magazine today can judge of the to their husbands, no matter how inspiration of the General Board of exacting the home cares, nor how 1914 in setting forth the mission of taxing the responsibilities of the The Rehei Society Magazine. Dur- children may be. . . . Who are the ing its history it has inscribed the successful mothers? . . . [They] are history of Relief Society, encouraged the women who have cultivated and exhorted Relief Society mem- their intelligence from day to day, bers to selfless service, instructed so that it has kept pace with the Relief Society leaders and offered to development of their own chil- its readers everywhere the directives, dren. . . . The successful mother has warnings, and inspiration of the been and is the companion of her leading Brethren. The words of the children, no matter where their own Prophet of that day. President Jo- paths in life may be. . . . Who are seph F. Smith, are as vital to Relief the successful daughters? . . . The Society today as they were then. The successful daughter may be bright counsel of succeeding Presidents — or dull, rich or poor — if she be President Heber J. Grant, President sympathetic and tenderly unselfish George Albert Smith, and the to her mother, she is truly success- prophet today, President David O. ful." McKay, live on in The Relief So-
These truths as well as other ma- ciety Magazine to guide and bless
terial in the early issues of The Re- Relief Society,
lief Society Magazine find a respon- Susa Young Gates served