The Seventy's Course in Theology (First Year). B. H. Roberts

and as an accomplishment of our Seventies, praying must be regarded as of far more importance. As gold to brass; as diamonds to pebbles; so is prayer to singing, even, so much more important is it. Yet how little attention is given to prayer! I mean to the cultivation of the gift of it; to nourishing the spirit of it. After an elapse of two thousand years we still have need of going to the Master and saying, "Lord teach us how to pray." To attempt any extended suggestions on the subject here, however, would be beyond the scope of this introduction; all that can be done is to call attention to the need of good taste being observed when addressing the All Father; appropriateness of our petitions to the occasion, respectfulness and reverence in the manner of our address; avoiding a frequent repetition of the divine name or titles; and, above all, right feeling towards the Good Father when speaking to him.

THE ORGAN OF THE SEVENTIES.

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      The Seventies are to be congratulated upon now having an organ through which the First Council can communicate with them from time to time without the inconvenience and expense of special circulars. That the Seventies have an organ may be matter of surprise to them, since this is the first announcement of the fact, and there has been but little agitation of the matter though it has been the proverbial "long felt want." It came about in the following manner: The First Council suggested to President Joseph F. Smith that the "Improvement Era," now the organ of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations, could easily be extended in its scope so as to become also the organ of the Seventies. Its general literature is already, in the main, of the class our Seventies would do well to read. The Era has been the vehicle through which very many important doctrinal articles have been published; and having become the organ of the Seventies, as well as of the Young Men's association, is a guarantee that it will continue that line of work, and perhaps more abundantly in the future than in the past. There will be a Seventies' department opened in the magazine, of several pages, in which will be published each month suggestions and directions relative to Seventies' class work, quorum discipline and general management. Of the advantages of such an arrangement little need be urged since they must be obvious to all. Hereafter, then, the Improvement Era will be known as the "ORGAN OF THE SEVENTIES AND THE YOUNG MEN'S MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATIONS."

      The First Council bespeak for our organ the hearty support of all the Seventies. Its success has depended heretofore on the love and loyalty of the Young Men's Association; hereafter that will be supplemented by the love and loyalty of the Seventies' quorums. The attention of the members of the quorums should at once be called to this new adjunct in our work and they be invited to become subscribers to our magazine. We suggest that one or two members in each quorum be appointed to solicit subscriptions within the quorum, that each member be given the direct opportunity to become a subscriber. The Era, it will be understood, has no other agents except those appointed by the Young Men's Association in the respective wards and branches of the Church, and now, of course, those who will be appointed by our quorums. The service is to be given without remuneration—soliciting subscriptions within our quorums is to be a work of love and interest. The price is two dollars per year, paid in advance, and subscriptions should be sent by the quorum agent to the manager of the Era, Elder Alpha J. Higgs, Era office, 214 Templeton Building, Salt Lake City. Promptness and efficiency in dealing with this matter is expected.

      It is a fortunate circumstance that this inauguration of better working conditions for the quorums of Seventies, and the beginning of the volume of the Era—volume XI—should start off together, viz., in the month of November. But is it not a co-ordination of circumstances brought about by the operation of the Spirit of the Lord upon the minds of the brethren rather than a matter of good fortune? So many things have conjoined for this new movement among the Seventies to augur success that those of us who have been watching its development cannot doubt but that

       "God Wills It!"

CONCLUSION.

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      And now, brethren of the Seventies, in conclusion: Be earnest in this work. Be thorough, patient, self-denying. A great opportunity has come to us—let us make the most of it, and be grateful that it has come. Let no difficulties appall us. We can overcome them. Let us say of difficulties, what Napoleon said of the Alps, when the difficulty, if not the impossibility, of crossing them with an army was suggested, he answered:

       "There Shall Be No Alps!"

      REMEMBER! To become a Seventy means mental activity, intellectual development, and the attainment of spiritual power.

A SUGGESTED LIST OF BOOKS OF REFERENCE.

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      The following named books of reference will be especially useful in the present year's course of study. It is not expected, of course, that all our Seventies will be able to secure the entire collection suggested, but it would be well for our members to purchase so many of them as they can afford to buy as the beginning of a small personal library. The books recommended will not only be useful for the present year's lessons, but are standard books that will be useful in all the courses of study yet to be prescribed. Inasmuch as individuals may not be able to purchase these books, we suggest that it would be well for each quorum to take under consideration the propriety of the quorum as a body obtaining this complete list as the foundation of a quorum reference library, that might be available to all for preparation.

      1. "The Seventy's Indispensible Library:" This consists of the Cambridge Bible, the Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, (bound in one volume) and the Richards-Little Compendium; price, post-paid, $9.00.

      Webster's New Standard Dictionary of the English Language, adapted for High School, Academic and Collegiate Courses; price, $1.50.

      The Works of Flavius-Josephus, in one volume, by William Whiston, A. M., David McKay, Publisher, 23 South Ninth Street, Philadelphia, $1.50.

      Dictionary of the Bible (Dr. William Smith's). The most desirable edition of this work is the four volume edition of Prof. H. B. Hackett, D. D., published by Houghton-Mifflin & Co., Boston. It is a very valuable work and contains, "by universal consent, the fruit of the ripest biblical scholarship of England, and constitutes a library of itself, superceding the use of many books otherwise necessary." The price in leather binding, $25.00. The Seventies individually may not be able to purchase this edition, but where quorums unite for the purchase of books this is the edition that should be secured.

      There is, however, a one volume edition of this work, known as

      Smith's Smaller Dictionary of the Bible, published by Fleming H. Revell Co., New York and Chicago, $1.25, post-paid.

      Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature, edited by John Kitto, two volumes, S. W. Green's Son, Publishers, 74, 76 Beekmen St., New York. If Smith's Dictionary is not secured then the work next in value is the one here named.

      "A Commentary Critical and Explanatory of the Old and New Testament," Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, S. S. Scranton & Co., Hartford, Publishers. This is a very excellent work, and frequently quoted in the references and also in the notes of the present year's course of study. As remarked in one of the notes, the Elders who make up our ministry may not accept the doctrinal interpretation of this or any other commentary, yet its historical and critical treatises are among the most recent and valuable.

      The Old Testament History, by William Smith, Harper & Brothers, Publishers, New York; price, $2.00. This work is designed by the compiler and editor as a manual in relation to Hebrew history and on a par with the histories of Greece and Rome, generally used in our best schools. As a digest of Biblical History, it is a most valuable work.

      Dr.