Show W WOODRUFFS WELCOME apostle aco Q cannons eloquent discourse the fifty ninth general annual conference of the church of jasus christ of latter day saints convened in the tabernacle salt lake city at 10 a m april G 1889 there wore on the stand of the council of the twelve apostles wil fprd woodruff lorenze snow franklin D JR ichards george Q cannon moses thatcher john henry smith heber J grant and john W taylor of counselors to the twelve daniel H wells patriarch john smith of the presiding council of the seventies henry hernman jacob gates abram H cannon seymour B young john morgan of the presiding bishopric william B preston bobert T burton john R winder there were also present a large number of presidents of stakes and other prominent brethren from various parts of utah and surrounding states and territories conference was called to order by president wilford woodruff tho choir sang all hail the clorious pl orious day by prophets long foretold when with harmonious lay the of israels fold on zion s hill his praise proclaim and shout hosanna to his name the opening prayer was offered by apostle moses thatcher singing by the choir the areat and glorious gospel lesht has ushered forth unto my sight which in my soul I 1 have received from bondage and from death relieved PRESIDENT JEU WOODRUFF said I 1 feel that our hearts filled with gratitude and thanksgiving to our heavenly father this morning for the blessings which we enjoy we have again the privilege of assembling in the tabernacle of our god to hold tho general conference and ahil wo attend this conference I 1 hope that our hearts may be lifted up in prayer to our heavenly father that we may enjoy and receive his holy spirit that our hearts may be united together that the spirit of god may be with us to instruct us and direct us in our teaching our counsel our labor while wo are here together in this capacity I 1 feel thankful myself to have the privilege of once more meeting with the lat ter day saints under these conditions I 1 feel that the lord has been very merciful to us in granting us this privilege and the benefits which we have enjoyed in these valleys of the mountains we will call upon our broth rea to bear their testimony and teach and instruct us as they shall bo led by the holy spirit J GRANT expressed his pleasure at once more meeting the saints in general conference he said substantially I 1 trust wo may be blessed with the spirit of god that wo may bo strengthened in the faith of the gospel on I 1 that we may form resolutions and adhere to them that will ens io us to bo more energetic in keeping the commandment of our heavenly father the longer I 1 live and the more experience 1 gain the more gratitude I 1 feel for the breadth of the mercy of the almighty to all mankind none can read the revelations given to the saints with an unbiased mind without being grateful for the principles communicated to this people we are liable to lecomp narrowed in our conceptions of the glories and economy of god and lose eight of the fact that ho is tho father of all peoples it is however difficult to realize that ho will bless even those who oppose his work we should remember that it is according to his design to in course of time save all mankind except the sons of perdition the saints are accused of being illiberal in their views this is unjust to those who understand the true gen iu of the gospel of course there are those among us who are contracted because they do not understand the scope of the plan of salvation and do not live according to their requirements this is no fault of the system but the wrong lies in those who do not conform to it we aro called upon to proclaim the fullness of the gospel to all people until christ shall come all will be rewarded according to the deeds done in tho body there is but one individual in every case capable of impending the progress toward salvation of those who have professed to embrace the gospel that is the person himself A disposition to run in grooves ia often shown by people belonging to the church they select ona principle and follow that to the exclusion of neglect of otylior doctrines of equal importance we must conform to the whole system and thus erect a perfect individual religious structure we should not merely follow those principles in our practice that are easy of application to us because of our nature circumstances those who imagine that merely to know that the gospel is true as a whole will save them in fhe presence of god without redna ig the doctrines to practice are laboring under a delusion it is in line with the sectarian idea of the effina of deathbed death bed repentance which is a fallacy imbued with thia error some people have held that a mur darer by a confession of faith at the last moment before he expiates his crime upon the scaffold will be saved while his victim who probably made no such profession for want of time perhaps will bo lost the breaking of every law brings its own punishment and the keeping of the law brings its reward unless the conditions of future reward are complied with it will not be forthcoming 1 desire to overcome my shortcomings realizing that I 1 cannot attain to a glorious destiny in any other way he who trusts in the arm of alesh will have nothing to loan upon in the day of final judgment but he who takes the holy spirit for bis guide will be enabled to pass by the angels and the gods to his exaltation unless we are so guided we are liable to meet with obstacles that will cause us to stumble and perhaps tail brother grant concluded with a forcible exhortation to personal righteousness APOSTLE JOHN HENKY SMITH said he was a believer in the fullness of the gospel as revealed anew in this age it is rational and man can rely upon it there is no promise made ia that gospel but is based upon mans doing something to obtain its fulfillment fulfilment in none of the walks of life have I 1 been enabled to see that the rewards that men and women receive are the result of we can never obtain any good thing but through the exercise of the powers we possess and by which we seek to secure the samo to some blessings appear to come easily but it is observable that when such is the case the boon is appreciated but lightly I 1 am so deeply fixed in my own view as to the need of practical religion that there is but little room in me for theories established by the wisdom or gifts of men edewards are the result of performance for mance this is a clear proposition and by its aid one is liable to clearly go to work for the production of practical results when the divine master proposes to give rewards to men as a result of the purity of their motives the exercise of their faculties the use of their powers this is indeed of worth thus comes to us in this day through the revelation of correct principle a glorious field for intelligent operation it is inconsistent to expect the reward without the performance of the labor on which its production is predicated when men reflect upon the idea as presented to us by brother grant that they can disobey these laws and conditions continuously can revel in wickedness and sin and expect the caward of righteousness they are deceiving themselves how in consist enec to outrage every law and requirement of heaven and expect to stand an equal chance with the obedient those who have done right and have nought to fulfill fulfil in all respects the requirements quire ments of high heaven chere are none of us who are the fathers and mothers of families but who know with our hearts the abiding confidence we have in the dutiful son in the thoughtful daughter in the consistent and upright child while the wayward and thoughtless cause us anxiety concern and deep regrets we may cling to the latter and labor in their interests to train them in the way of light and into them a love of honor and truth but that confidence and that love are not so fixed in them as in the obedient the upright and the thoughtful we can only judge of things pertaining to the future and the judgments that will be meted out to the sons and daughters of men in some measure by those things which present themselves in our present experience we have gathered from the world to these mountains and have come for the purpose of keeping ourselves in practical training in the principles of life theoretically received in the first place many of the preachers to whom we had previously listened had been of the opinion that no matter what might be a mans weekday week day practice so leng as ho was devout on the sabbath he was relieved from great responsibility those who have been warned and forewarned through tho medium of the gospel fullness should take heed to the greater requirements now imposed upon them those who have entered into holy places should remember the obligation of chastity imposed by the divine master they took upon themselves there need be no mistake regarding those requirements they pertain to the higher law forming the basis of future exaltation these things cannot bo too deeply impressed upon the minds of the young they should bo taught that they ought to prefer to sacrifice life rather than their virtue this should be embodied in our teachings both by precept and example thus will the hosts of israel become pure and clean in the sight of the almighty how great is the importance of this instruction st unless virtue is practiced sad indeed will bo the condition of the community to bo exemplars and instructors in this regard is one of the chief duties of parents there should be instituted with all saints a searching self scrutiny the inquiry should bo whether they individually have been living according to their professions in relation to the purity of conduct of the young there haa been a large measure of success as thousands of the youth of both sexes would I 1 am satisfied rather give up life than sacrifice their virtue yet the seducer is abroad and nothing should be more closely guarded than chastity ELDER W said he could echo the words of president woodruff uttered at iho opening of tho conference that our hearts should be filled with joy and gratitude bo cause of the privileges wo enjoy such is my condition I 1 am in full faith of the principles of alio gospel my heart is engaged in this work such has been the case ever since I 1 boived it I 1 know the doctrines true and I 1 am willing to hear wherever my lot vr ony to them cast I 1 have not been idle sinco my absence from you but have been busily engaged in forwarding the i interests of the work of god I 1 on dorse the principles that have been advanced here this morning we will be rewarded according to our lives and opportunities and so shall we be judged the lord offers rewards for good deeds and penalties for good actions because of our condition the time will come when neither rewards nor punishments will afflict our course when on a higher piano we will do right for the love of it and refrain from wrong because of its being wrong we should so far as practicable reach after and approximate to that condition to this mortal sphere it is to that that god wishes to bring us ho desires us to be influenced by the holy spirit which is the mind of god the lord is just and it is well that he will not judge us as we sometimes judge each other man views the outward evidences god comprehends all the circumstances motives and temptations leading to the courses we pursue he will also judge according to the principle of mercy which however will not rob justice both principles will meet together and each have its due we should think of this when wa attempt to sit in judgment upon each other we have no right to judge persons unless we are appointed to perform that function be not 00 oo censorious especially regarding the acts of those set to guide the affairs of the church each should rather sit in judgment upon himself than upon his neighbor there are times and places bhea and where to talk and to be silent we should find out where these times and places are we should do more and talk less if wo did wo would place fewer stumbling blocks in our own way and in tho way of our neighbor As we show ourselves here so will we be placed in the world to come if we are not entitled to an exaltation we will not get it if we are worthy of it we will obtain it no matter what may be thought of us by our brethren and sisters when wo get there we will be valued for what wa are no matter as to appearances lutfe us bo merciful and charitable and help each other and put no stumbling block in the way of our neighbors it is bad enough for him who has sinned that he has done so for him there is sorrow and humiliation without more boing unnecessarily heaped upon him may we learn to overcome evil and devote ourselves to the interests of the kingdom of god that the crowns and inheritances of the just may be ours the choir sang 0 my father thou that dwell est in the high and glorious place 1 when shall I 1 regail thy presence and again behold thy face closing prayer by president angus M cannon adjourned till 2 pm 2 p m the afternoon services were opened by the choir singing glorious things of thee are spoken zions city of our god he whose word cannot be broken chose thee for his own abode prayer was offered by bishop 0 F whitney the choir then sang were not ashamed to own our lord or worship him on earth we love to learn his holy word and know what souls are worth APOSTLE MOSES was the first speaker he asked the faith and prayers of his listeners while he spoke saying that he earnestly desired to speak such things as might be of benefit to those who heard him he was thankful that the saints were today to day permitted to enjoy the presence of more of the apostles than they had with them for many years and especially for the privilege of meeting under wilford woodruff the president of the twelve apostles it is not possible said the speaker for us to be ono in things that are spiritual unless we are one in things we call temporal if we are pure in heart the time will come when that order will be restored which existed among tho in those days every man was upright and they dealt justly one with another but the time came when there were bicke rings among them and the spirit of god was withdrawn from them tue sheab r compared the influence of doubt aad wavering faith over the spiritual man to the influence of alcohol over the physical man concluding that it is always necessary to kepp ones faith unwavering and live with a fixed and determined purpose it is not difficult for the people to en joy each others society when they are gathered together as they are today under the influence of gadbut in easiness affairs there is too frequently a difference of opinion that causes ill feeling and hatred it is a false idea in business to suppose that tho best interests of the people are preserved by the spirit of competition that exists in the outside world While we are governed by that spirit that exists in the apostate world we are not governed by the spirit of god robert owen the great philanthropist having heard of the operative cooperative co institutions that brigham young had established said that the saints had planted life under the ribs of death apostle thatcher spoke of the growing power of capital combined in trust sand the consequent necessity of organization of labor in self defense the situation is very serious in talking with an officer of the united states army he told me that when he lead his company to the suppression of the pittsburg riota in 1876 he was not certain hache been obliged to give his men an command to fire up on tho mob that they would not have turned and fired on the their officers ceis this condition of affairs is certainly alarming while we have heard of strikes in the east and in the west we have hoped and prayed that we might avert this condition con diton of affairs in our midst I 1 declare unto you my brethren and |