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Show GOLDEfl RULE KEY " TO PEACE OF WORLD PRESIDENT SMITH POINTS OUT CUrtE FOR WORLD ILLS IN MASTERLY MAS-TERLY ADDRESS. Declares Spiritual Fervor of Members of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Has Increased Tremendously Tre-mendously in Late Years. Salt Luke City Tlint the religious fervor of the Saints has increased tremendously tre-mendously in the years since the world war began, with greater numbers num-bers seeking divine solace and guidance guid-ance through unequalod perils, was feet forth iu the sermon of President Joseph F. Smith and addresses of other oth-er authorities at the opening session October 5, of the eighty-eighth semiannual semi-annual conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The conference was one of the largest lar-gest attended in the history of the church. Payment of tithes, said President Kniith, has been greater since the entrance en-trance of the United States into the Var, than heretofore. When President Smith, a smile lighting light-ing up his venerable countenance, announced an-nounced that the conference was iu session, eager faces of young and old Bhone from every pew of the Tabernacle's Taber-nacle's great auditorium. The attending attend-ing spirit, commented authorities, never nev-er was more reassuring and they added add-ed that the blessings which have been bestowed on the people of the church bespeaks the truth of wonderful guid-hnce. guid-hnce. Selecting as a keynote to a stern ex-bortation ex-bortation to faith and charity, the importance im-portance of living up to the truths of church doctrines, President Smith closed his opening address with a thought which thrilled the great congregation con-gregation : "Live the religion the Lord bas given and look not for further revelation or knowledge, so long as there is yet so much truth already revealed re-vealed that is not being lived up to in its fullness." Golden Rule Key to Peace. Earlier in his sermon it was pointed cut that "if the people of the world will love and live in God and dwell la the spirit of His righteousness, there would be no need of prisons, courts, lawyers and pettifoggers ; there would be no suffering, do ill feeling and no evil." He called attention at-tention to the fact that the Golden Hule still is the key and forever will be the key to peace among the peoples peo-ples of the world. Emphasis was made by President Smith on the importance im-portance of keeping the Sabbath and he exhorted parents of young men and women to inculcate in them the significance sig-nificance of the Sabbath. Call to Army Service Divine. That service in the armies of the United States may be regarded as a divine call was pointed out as the conference had progressed toward afternoon af-ternoon both by Charles W. Penrose, of the first presidency, and Patriarch Hyrum G. Smith. The latter said : "They are the best of us who are going go-ing into the conflict." He urged the Saints to pray for them that they may return clean and prepared for further magnification of the priesthood. In a report which attracted the attention at-tention of the entire congregation President Smith showed that the church now has a total of 797 wards and 38 independent branches, 7-1 stakes and 21 missions. In connection with the fund of the Relief society be urged that the children of all the members of the church donate one penny a week to the temple fund for helping to complete two temples under un-der course of construction, one in Canada Can-ada and the other in Hawaii. President Presi-dent Smith said that recently he was handed a check for 512,074, the aggregate aggre-gate of the Relief society's temple fund from all parts of the world. The origin of the temple penny fund Movement started in Nauvoo for helping help-ing to build the temple there. It resulted re-sulted in a signal success which lasts even today. He expressed his gratitude grati-tude to the entire church and he added that the Latter-day Saints had been blessed in very many ways during the present year. Payment of tithes shows an improvement over former years. President Smith said he was highly pleased with the strengthening faith, declaring that he loves the work before him today more than during any other period of his life. "Live Religion," Is Advice. "Constantly have I prayed that the Latter-day Saints live their religion," said President Smith, "for there is nothiug else under heaven, in the whole universe, so important as the gospel of Jesus Christ." In a review of the inspiring history W the Mormon church, President Smith paid homage to the former presidents, dwelling on the character and achievements of all from Prophet Joseph "Smith down to his present administration. ad-ministration. Following President Smilh, Anthon II. Lund of the first presidency said that a very bright future will be in store for the Mormon people if they will adhere to the words of President Smilh. Temporal activities of the church consumed some of the attention atten-tion of President Lund. At the afternoon session President Penrose, Apostle Roger Clawson and Patriarch Hyrum G. Smith addressed the immense crowds that had assembled. assem-bled. Salt Lake City At the closing session ses-sion of the eighty-eighlh semi-annual conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, held in this city October u to 7. inclusive, it was the unanimous decision of the assembled as-sembled churchmen that the .church should purchase with part of the tithing tith-ing funds of the organization, through Trustee-in-trust Joseph F. Smith, a quarter of a million dollars' worth of Liberty bonds to aid the government of the United Stales in prosecuting its part in the war in defense of constitutional constitu-tional freedom in the world. This is the first time in the history of the church that the tithe funds have ever been diverted from their ordinary course of expenditure for purely church purposes. Such action was only taken after President Joseph F. Smith had said that it was the duty of the people to sustain the government in the war. The motion to p-irclv3e the bonds was made by President Anthon H. Lund, first counsellor to President Smith, and seconded by President Charles W. Penrose, second counsellor. When the motion was put by President Presi-dent Smith with the request that approval ap-proval be denoted by the uplifted hand, 12,000 hands were raised in the air. A dissenting showing was called for, but no hand was raised. , Twenty thousand men, won-en and children, it is conservatively estimated, esti-mated, thronged Temple Square Sunday Sun-day morning and aflemoon. Two overflow over-flow meetings were held at each occasion oc-casion one in the Assembly hall and one in the open air near the bureau of information building. In the big tabernacle tab-ernacle sat and stood 12,000 persons, in the Assembly hall were 4500 more and 3500 others stood iu the open air and sang and listened to admonition from their leaders. President Smith had charge of the morning and afternoon meetings in the tabernacle. In the morning at the Assembly As-sembly hall President Seymour B. Young of the first council of seventy had charge, assisted by Elders Walter P. Monson, Samuel E. Woolley, Rey L. Pratt and Andrew Jenson. At the outdoor morning meeting Elder Benjamin Ben-jamin Goddard was iu charge, assisted by Elders Roberts, Iiulon S. Wells, John W. Hart, Joseph It. Shepherd and Heber C. Austin. Truths of the gospel as they have been revealed in the doctrines of the Mormon church, and their attending demand for obedience of the laws of the land and the laws of God, were so vividly pictured in the admonitions of six speakers at the sessions of the second day of the Mormon conference, on October G, that a thrill of inspiration inspira-tion seemed to permeate the vast congregation. con-gregation. Standing out above a great many exhortations were the admonitions of Apostles George Albert Smith and D. O. McKay touching upon divine requirements re-quirements for loyalty to the land and the duty of the church anent the In sinuation of an uncompromising spirit spir-it of purity and cleanliness of habits into Hie minds of our soldiers whose service in the armies of the United States already has been sealed by authorities au-thorities of the Mormon church as a divine calling. Throughout the services serv-ices threaded a spirit of patriotism closely entwining religion with the material ma-terial duties of relieving the oppressed oppress-ed from the bondage of Satanic autocracy. au-tocracy. Shortly before the close of the Saturday Sat-urday session President Smith read a telegram from Apostle Reed Smoot, senior United States senator from Utah, in which he expresses regret at being unable to attend the conference, It is explained iu the message that duties du-ties in congress have made great demands de-mands on his time. During the opening address Apostle Hyrum M. Smith discussed the truo meaning of wisdom. He said that the Saints were intelligent people and he added that they ought to be as wise as they are intelligent. He said that there was need of securing a better bet-ter grasp on the importance of being intelligent and at the same time wise, and he pointed out that wisdom came with full acceptance of the ordinances. Junius F. Wells, an elder of the Mormon church, who followed Apostle George Albert Smith as speaker, told of his acquaintance with presidents of the Mormon church from President Brigham Young to President Smith. He said that he always felt a peculiar realization that they were men especially espe-cially in the service of God to minister to His people under th new interpretation interpre-tation of Uls laws. |