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Show Primary To Introduce New Program At Conference The Primary program of the Church will be changed during April Conference with new group names, new courses and new emblems, according to Mrs. LaVern W. Parmley, general Primary- president. She said many of these changes will be made, in part, because of the worldwide aspect of the Church. Some of the names of the classes have been diffi ult in the past for members outside the United States to - pronounce. Primary conference will be held April 2 and 3 with three general sessions in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. Conference visitors are expected from Europe, the Pacific Islands and Africa as well as from throughout the United States and Canada. Pres. Harold B. Lee, first counselor in the First -- Presidency, is scheduled to speak in the Friday afternoon general session. In the Thursday morning session, Elder Boyd K. Packer, an Assistant to the Twelve, and Bishop Robert L. Simpson, of the Presiding Bishopric, will speak. Both men are advisers to the Primary. Also scheduled to speak in the morning session are three members of the Primary presidency. This will be the first time stake and mission Primary workers will hear from Florence R. Lane, who was named second counselor in the genera Primary presidency last January. Featured speaker In Thursday afternoon session will be Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, of the Council of Twelve. Eldm Hinckleys appointment as an adviser to the Primary was made last February. !' The new lesson courses available in September also be introduced as well as the new reverence and music programs, explained Pres. Parmley. We are doing something else new this year. Instead of a reception, we are having a dinner on Thursday for stake, mission and district presidents," she said. Departmental meetings will be held Friday morning. Some will be held in the Assembly Hall, others in the Salt Palace. Well also have an exciting production Friday afternoon called Primarily New. Particlpanis will show how the Primary has developed since it was organized in Farmington, Utah in 1878, Mrs. Parmley said. will Solemn Assembly Plans Readied official appointment of the First Presidency, members of the Church of Jesus Saints will assemChrist of Latter-da- y ble Monday, April 6, at 10 a.m. in a Solemn Assembly in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square. Purpose of the assembly will be to sustain Piesident Joseph Fielding Snith and his counselors, President Harold B. Lee and President N. Eldon Tanner, who constitute the newdy appointed First Presidency. It will be one of the general sessions of the 140th annual general conference. It will be the first such Solemn Assembly since the one held in April, 1951, when the late President David O. McKay and his counselors w'ere sustained. The procedure will follow that of the 1951 assembly which has been the pattern used to sustain each new presidency since John Taylor and his counselors were named in 188O. The Solemn Assembly will be broadcast by radio and television. Provisions will be made for overflow crowds in both the Assembly Hall and the nearby Salt Palace. The manner of voting to sustain the new officers will be different than in the regular annual conference and will be new to many people in attendance. The priesthood of the Church will be seated by quorums occupying the entire main floor of the Tabernacle. The First Presidency, the Council of the Twelve and all other General Authorities will occupy their usual places on the Tabernacle rostrum. Other groups of priesthood, namely, patriarchs, high priests, seventies, elders, and Aaronic Priesthood will be seated in designated places on the main floor of the building. The general membership of the Church will be seated in the balcony. Voting procedure will be by separate quorums of the priesthood first and then by the general assembly including the priesthood. This special voting will be for the First Presidency, the Council of Twelve and the Patriarch to the Church. When the extraordinary voiing procedure to sustain these officers is completed, then the rest of the General Authorities, the general officers and the general auxiliary officers of the Church will be presented for sustaining vote in the manner followed in the regular general conference. The extraordinary Solemn Assembly session has been held for each of the presidents of the Church as follows, John Taylor in 180, Wilford Woodruff in 1889, Lorenzo Snow in 1898, Joseph F. Smith (father of the new Chupch president) in 1901, Heber J. Grant in 1919 i postponed from 1918 because of the influenza epidemic) George Albert Smith in 194.5 and David O. McKay By President Called To Lead New Japan West Mission The second of two new mission presidents was appointed this week by the First Presidency to lead the Japan West Mis- sion. 'Hes Kan Watanabe, former manager of the Church Translation Services Department in Asian Area and a native of Japan. The Japan West and Japan East Missions were created this week in Japan by Elder Ezra Taft Benson, Elder Hugh B. Brown and Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, all of the Council of the Twelve, and Elder Bernard P. Brockbank, Assistant to the Twelve. Announcement of the appointment of Pres. Russell N. Horiuchi, of Japan East was made earlier by the First Presidency. Pres. Watanabe was born in Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, March 23, 1932. He has been serving in the mission presidency of the Japan Mission and the Northern Far East Mission for about seven years. He served under three mission presidents. Pres. Watanabe has been a member of the Church for about 20 years. He married Yaeko Sliirai of Niigata in 1957. His wife joined the Church in 1950 and has been active in Relief Society and Primary. Pres. Walter R. Bills, president of I lie in Japan Mission, with headquarters Tokyo, named two new counselors, Yoshimi Yamamoto and Shigeyuki Masui. Another change made in Japan by the General Autho.ities was the renaming of the Japan - Okinawa Mission. It will be known as the Japan Central Mission. Headquarters of the mission will remain in Osaka with Pres. Edward Y. Okazaki as president. Also created in Japan was the first stake in that country. tourist Kenji Tanaka, a agent, was named president of the new Tokyo Stake. While the General Authorities of the Church were in Japan they also dedicated the Mormon Pavilion at the Expo 70 World's Fair. Mission offices in Japan are receiving inquires from church members concerning the availability of accommodations in the homes of church members ir Japan when they visit Expo '70. Mission presidents advise that it will not be possible to secure accommodations in homes and visitors should not count on them. Those who plan to visit Japan should make advance hotel reservations through a bonded travel agency, and should receive cor.fii mation of space before traveling to Tokyo or Osaka, they advise. in 1951. WEEK EN t I Solemn Assembly vote will sustain First Presidency. MARCH . 21, 1970 It . CHURCH- -3 It. |