1974
Comment
January 1974


“Comment,” Ensign, Jan. 1974, 144

Comment

Exodus to Malachi

About the October issue: We love! We love it! The art features were truly inspirational. I have always loved the Old Testament and wished more emphasis were placed on it. Especially welcome was Elder Bruce R. McConkie’s “Ten Keys to Understanding Isaiah.” The Ensign relays true prophecy and is the answer to many prayers. It is our contact with the councils of modern revelation.

Sarah Swanson
Pensacola, Florida

What an outstanding issue the October Ensign is! The Old Testament is the basic foundation of the gospel and this issue should “forge a friendship” with all who read it. Correction on page 86: the recently completed general conference is the 143rd Semiannual General Conference of the Church.

Goldie Stark
Pocatello, Idaho

I can’t keep quiet about the wonderful help I have received from the October issue. I teach the gospel doctrine class in Sunday School. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the great help you have given me and our class. I am 75 years old.

Mrs. Ardell Watts
Idaho Falls, Idaho

Your October issue is the most interesting and in my opinion the best missionary tool invented since the missionary!

Joseph S. Rice
Manti, Utah

On page 58 of the October issue, my response to a question is printed. The editor working on my answer has indicated that Kadesh-Barnea and Wadi Feiran are one and the same area. This is an error. These two areas are separated by 150 miles of desert.

LaMar C. Berrett
Church History and Doctrine Department
Brigham Young University

I have found it hard to understand the Old Testament. But through the past weeks of our gospel doctrine class and the October Ensign, how much better my understanding of the Old Testament is now! I can’t begin to express my thanks for the well-done October issue.

Mrs. Jeannine McCollum
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

Three cheers for your October issue. I have recommended that my students read it as background material. One thing though: I noticed on page 19 that your artist inadvertently made the “vav” a “resh.” The opening “parasha” (section) is “these are the names,” not “these thou hast kept.” I guess scribal errors occur even today.

Paul Jesclard
Instructor in Biblical Hebrew, Brigham Young University

Correct. The Hebrew should look like this:

Image
Hebrew Text

George Edward Anderson

What a true artist George Edward Anderson turns out to be (September). His excellent skill in getting the most out of any setting is not equalled even today. That cow milking scene! The Jex broom factory, the pastoral scenes equalling the famous English artists, and the harvest scene are a remarkable assemblage of everything in just the right way. Congratulations!

Wendell B. Hammond
Bountiful, Utah

The Influence of TV

I remember reading Brother Victor Cline’s article on “How Do Movies and TV Influence Behavior?” (Ensign, October 1972, p. 12.) I would like to share with readers something from the New York Daily News from the “Parents and Children” column:

  • “You Must Monitor Child’s TV Viewing”

  • By Saul Kapel, M.D.

“A psychologist who has long studied the effects of unrestricted TV viewing on child behavior says ‘our society is only 20 years from savagery’ unless we use the medium more wisely.

“Many experts agree with Dr. Robert M. Liebert, a principal researcher for the Surgeon General’s Advisory Committee on TV.

“By the time a typical child is 18, he will have watched 14,000 hours of it. That’s 3,000 more hours than he will have spent in school. The average youngster sees 12,000 killings on TV between his fifth and fifteenth birthdays. He also watches uncounted thousands of other examples of antisocial behavior.

“Two researchers recently exposed three similar groups of children to different programs. One group saw aggressive shows like ‘Superman’, another watched a neutral program about children on a farm, and a third viewed an upbeat, socially rewarding show called ‘Misteroger’s Neighborhood.’

“When tested after 12 episodes, the first had experienced a measurable loss of self-control. The middle group was unaffected. The third group gained self-control.”

Stephen Christensen
Ridgewood, New York

Saints in Southeast Asia

We commend you for a fine magazine. Its value continually increases. In your September issue you carried an article by G. Carlos Smith, former president of this mission. You will be interested to know that the house pictured on page 16 was that of an old Chinese house purchased by the Church while President Smith was here. It is called a bungalow in Singapore. This house was used as a meeting place for the members for some time, but was torn down last year for the erection of the new chapel on that site. A picture of the recently completed building is enclosed. You will be interested to know that there are now over 400 members of the Church in Indonesia and 40 missionaries laboring there—all on the island of Java. The Java District has been organized and there are now five branches of the Church, all with Indonesians as branch presidents.

Miller F. Shurtleff
President, Southeast Asia Mission

What Every Freshman. …

Thanks for the September issue. I was especially impressed with the article by Elder Boyd K. Packer, “What Every Freshman Should Know.” It was very helpful and inspirational. It fit some of my needs for guidance and told me a little of what to expect at college. Many of my friends enjoyed the article and would like to see more articles oriented toward us.

Belinda Stevens
Provo, Utah

The Ensign will continue to orient itself to include the age group of 18–26, which was previously assigned to the New Era. The new age group assignments of the two magazines are: New Era—12 to 18, and teachers and leaders of that age group; and Ensign—19 to 100 and above!