Feedback

Hail to the husstellskole

We really enjoy the New Era. Mom sent it to me as a Christmas present. I’m living at a husstellskole (housewifery school) in Norway at present and am the only Mormon in the school. There is one other American, and I started showing her an article in the New Era every once in awhile. Now she practically eats it up before I even know it has arrived. I really enjoy the articles and the fun way they are written. Incidentally, I learned of this husstellskole from an article in the March 1973 New Era (“Learning to Be a Norwegian Housewife”) and knew that it was for me. Another girl from Ricks College who also read the article will be coming out next year. Thanks so much for everything.

Jenine Graybill
Norway

An excellent guide

I am a Korean member who was baptized eight years ago, and I’d like to express my appreciation for this wonderful magazine. I did not know about the New Era before, but one of my friends in Salt Lake City sent me a subscription as a Christmas present. I really enjoy reading the New Era very much. It helps my testimony grow and improves my English. The article “Marriage—The Proper Way” by President Kimball in the February issue was very, very impressive to me. I am sure this magazine will be an excellent guide for youth.

Sister Daisuk Yu
Seoul, Korea

There is hope

Thank you so much for the article “Talking to Parents” in the March New Era. I haven’t tried the advice given yet, but I’m sure there is hope. I’m 13 and don’t get along with my mom very well. But your article will help me look at the situation from a different angle. My mother read it too. I feel that the article was meant for me. Please continue writing articles on the family problems people might have. They might help others as “Talking to Parents” helped me.

Sandra Vinn
Huntington Beach, California

F&M

I really enjoy reading the New Era. It sure does add to my testimony. I especially like reading the feedback pages. The Mormonisms are good too.

Ellen M. Thompson
Albany, Australia

Beware the Mormon bug!

Hurray! Hurray for the Mormons! Hurray for everyone! Three cheers for the beautiful world! It’s great to live here. Who cares? Everybody does—especially the Mormons! They have something to be proud of. They have the best reputations in the world. They’re great! They’re always there—even when you haven’t asked them to be. They always have something only a Mormon can have. They are almost always happy. They have good family communications and lack that dreaded generation gap. Who knows? You may be the next one to catch the Mormon bug. It’s always out to get you. I got it!

Cheryl Trembath
Sheridan, Wyoming

TLC

The New Era has been a great blessing to me. A friend gave me a year’s subscription, and I am grateful for the messages you publish every month. I really look forward to each issue to help me enrich my life. The part of your magazine that I enjoy most is the Message because I can really think deeply about how it relates to me as a child of God. I especially like the way you present each topic using what I call “enthusiasm with TLC.”

Leslie Alyson Ron
Salt Lake City, Utah

Scriptophilia

Thank you for the fantastic ideas on theme writing in the September New Era. Every tip Paul James Toscano offered was useful. I’ve found from my own experience with scriptophobia that the words of advice in the article are true. The article itself had some excellent examples of the very thing it was telling us about. I hope we will see more articles of this sort in the future.

Jeanette Goates
Salt Lake City, Utah

Doyle L. Green

I am the oldest grandchild of Doyle L. Green, and I was very pleased with the note you wrote in the February magazine on my grandfather’s passing. He was and will continue to be a great man. Thank you. I, along with many others, love him very much.

Emily L. Kimball
Davis, California

Once upon a time …

Could you tell me how the name the New Era came to be. I have often wondered and am very interested in knowing this.

Cathy Davison
Beeston Notts, England

This is the explanation given in the first issue of the New Era (January 1971). “Since the day fourteen-year-old Joseph Smith, Jr., walked out of what is now called the Sacred Grove, it has been a new era for mankind. Joseph had just met Elohim and Jesus Christ.

“At seventeen he was meeting Moroni.

“At twenty-one he was translating a book that would change the course of history.

“At twenty-four he was founding a kingdom that is to prepare the world for the heralded second coming of Christ and the subsequent millennium.

“The new era has been here ever since. One of its hallmarks has been the place of youth within it. All six founders of the Church were thirty years old or younger. Of the original twelve apostles chosen in these last days, four were twenty-three years old, two were twenty-seven, one was twenty-nine, and one was thirty-eight of the Twelve. Their wives were of similar ages.

“Primarily it was through the courage, knowledge, and testimony of young men and young women that the Lord established his kingdom, and today it is upon the shoulders of the youth that so many important responsibilities continue to be placed. It has always been so, simply because youth has what it takes.

“As in the days of Joseph Smith, youth today is charged to voice the call to all who will hear: God has spoken again to the world. A kingdom has been established through which happiness may be found on earth and throughout the eternities. The time for informing interested persons is still with us. And even though it seems unreal to the modern mind, a day of judgment and second coming will come to earth!

“The Lord has said that there is nothing bigger or more important in our era than the building up of this kingdom and the carrying forth of this basic announcement.

“Because of this and probably many other reasons, the First Presidency named this magazine the New Era. In a thousand ways the 1970s and the decades ahead portend something remarkable. It is a new era for the world, the Church—and every year can be a new era for each of us.”

Real food!

I have had young LDS missionaries staying in my home for six years. It seems that every Christmas they receive many packages of sweets, candies, and cookies. Jokingly I mentioned that it would be nice if someone sent something besides these goodies. The elders’ response was, “Yes, we need real food.” May I suggest to care-package-senders that they consider peanut butter, homemade jam, homemade pickles, hard salami, canned stew, etc. Of course, don’t forget a few sweets. Perhaps you could space your packages so the deluge of food is spread out over more than a two-week Christmas period. A gift certificate for a forthcoming package would be appreciated. Keep remembering your missionaries.

Rose Calvin
Albert Lea, Minnesota

Before it’s too late

I just finished reading the November New Era. The article “If It Isn’t Too Late, Thanks” really struck home. I know that when we are young it is hard to appreciate and thank our parents and others for what they do for us. In my case, I was too late. My mother died suddenly when I was 13, before I even had a chance to thank her for everything she had done and tell her how much I loved her. Seven years later I’m still regretting it. I know now that I shouldn’t take people for granted. They may not be around tomorrow. Please print this so that others may read it and be able to act before it’s too late for them.

Mary Culbertson
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Through so much

The New Era is the most beautiful magazine in the world. Teenagers go through so much, but with the New Era life is so beautiful. I received the magazine as a gift for Christmas, and it’s the best Christmas gift I have ever received. I just wanted to tell the person who gave it to me that I love her very much.

Pam Stephens
Omaha, Nebraska

Ringing in the old

We want you to know that the old is as good as the new. While reading through a stack of old New Eras we find they contain many inspiring messages and stories that help us in our missionary work. It is also exciting to see the growth and expansion of the Church throughout the years. It’s great to be a part of it.

Elders Kent Albrecht and Don Steven Terry
Arkansas Little Rock Mission