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Mutual Messaqes

CANADIAN MISSION M. I. A. CONVENTION

By Richard D. Poll, Y. M. M. I. A. Supervisor

HISTORY was made in Toronto, Ontario, on the week-end of April 18-20, when two hundred and seventy-five delegates from cities in eastern Canada gathered for the first Canadian Mission M. I. A. Convention. "A Vital Faith for Troubled Times" was the theme of the conference.

The program began with a Drama Festival on Friday evening, at which two hundred and twenty-five persons more than filled the Toronto Branch Amusement Hall to witness three one-act plays and a variety of skits and musical numbers presented by representatives of the different M. I. A. organizations. Saturday morning eighty of the one hundred and fifteen missionaries in the Canadian Mission met in a report and testimony meeting with President David A. Smith; it was the first inter-district missionary meeting to be held for a number of years. In the afternoon seven M-Men basketball teams competed for the mission championship, the laurels finally going to the Toronto District.

The Gold and Green Green Banquet and Ball on Saturday evening was indeed memorable. President and Sister Smith were the guests of honor, and the banquet program featured music, toasts, and talks by Dorothy Platt and Richard D. Poll, Mission M. I. A. supervisors, and by spokesmen for several of the local Mutuals. In the ball which followed, the Gleam Waltz was demonstrated by couples from five delegations, and Elsie Farraway, of Hamilton, was selected as Canadian Mission M. I. A. Queen from a group of ten nominees from the branch organizations.

The convention sessions on Sunday were devoted to the development of the convention theme in addresses by President Smith, missionaries, and M. I. A. representatives. Three hundred and twenty-five persons attended the morning meeting, and the congregation of three hundred and seventy-five at the evening session was one of the largest L. D. S. gatherings to be held in eastern Canada in recent years. A model Mutual was presented in the afternoon, followed by officers and teachers discussion groups and a buffet lunch served by the Toronto Relief Society.

Delegates came several hundred miles to support the pioneering venture. Members of the Toronto Branch not only performed the committee labors which were essential to the smooth running of the Convention, but they opened their homes to the out-of-town representatives so that none had to pay for lodgings unless he desired to do so.