| Show y M M 1 I A conference the th Z fa ler second cond annual general con ence BlICe of the young mens mutual III rement ira ent associations opened S j 6 0 tabernacle at ten a m tha 1 there were present on te 88 of the general 1 dency wilford woodruff and g 8 th atcher of assistants to the I 1 maerkl ua junius 0 sa milton ilton H hardy rodney J per an and d joseph A west I 1 t george Q cannon apos lore renzo anzo snow and J H smith angus M cannon a ends of stake superintendent an other prominent brethren safe 84 ft the south th side of the pulpits om efti considerable number of the choi cho 1378 18 of associations while the who hn r W waa 48 occupied by the children bir cia ad the by he singing prof evan van stephens steph attak At stant fak Wt ant general superintendent junius F wells called the congregation to order singing bright smiling morning prayer by apostle lorenzo snow singing lord accept our T true rue devotion GENERAL SUR superintendent WILFORD WOODRUFF addressed the conference in substance as follows I 1 have been suffering for some days with a cold which almost disables me from public speake speaking tig yet I 1 will try to make a few remarks upon this important occasion in my view there never before was a time when all the powers of heaven earth and hell were working in their respective spheres as hard as they are now for the advancement of tile the purposes of god the lord has labored gored from the creation to lead men to do good and to obey such laws as would result in good to mankind whatever leads to good we are told is of god and whatever leads to evil is of an opposite source As a people we understand somewhat the nature of the warfare necessary in the carrying on of this work we cannot expect any less opposition than has been shown to the work of god in past ages there has always seemed to be a determination on the part of the powers of darkness to frustrate the purposes of god this has been especially the case in this age we know that god has again Teve revealed aled his will and established his kingdom john the revelator Rev dator foretold the flying of an angel through the midst ot of heaven beaven having the everlasting gospel many declarations of scripture point to the restoration of the gospel in these the last days we have gathered in th these age valleys perhaps saints from all parts of the world and from various occupations the weak things of the world have been chosen to bear the priesthood and testify to the lest oration of the gospel those who have listened to and obeyed their message have received the holy ghost and have been led to gather abber if this message had not feen been from god the people who embraced it would not nave have gathered and utah would have still been a barren desert since the saints gathered they have had the same trials and temptations which the saints bainte in all ages have had bad to contend with the hosts of evil spirits who were cast down out of heaven are warring against the saints and all good men we have different organizations of our youth for their proper spiritual training there are the primaries where the little children are taught truths of the go gospel also the sabbath schools which embrace children thank god there are so many from these the youth progress and become members of the mutual improvement associations I 1 regard the work awaiting the youth of this people as equal in importance p nee to that which ever lay before ro a class of young men and and women on earth it rests upon unon them to take the kingdom of god ad and bear it forth to stand in the midst of the judgments which are am coming upon the earth I 1 regard the present generation as lying in as deep darkness as any that ever lived upon the earth A thousand murders are committed now where there was one seventy or eighty years ago the kingdom of go god its keys 1 and priesthood are here and 1 I want to say to my young brethren who are present lead your fellows from that thai which is evil and lay aside everything which corrupts either mind or body y no man can inherit a kingdom of glory wit without b out abiding the law of that king kingdom d om and we are all aiming or should ghoul d be for a celestial kingdom nine out often of ten of the young missionaries now being sent abroad are chosen from the mutual improvement pro associations the members of these organizations are preparing ing themselves for the ministry fan in company with some of my brethren I 1 have the honor bonor to be associated socia ted with these institutions but I 1 have not muck time to spend with them in 1844 about persons esons were baptized in england but rut now the labors labora of our missionaries are like gathering grapes after the vintage is done if an elder during a mission of two or three years baptizes half a dozen or a dozen persons he thinks he has done a good wor kand he has young men leave grog shops alone avoid everything that is evil remember that you have a law to obey ouy and never break it keep the law of purity and chastity I 1 pray god to help you to comprehend your positions duties and labors I 1 am sometimes asked why does not god preserve his saints from persecution and temptation god has his own way to deal with men in no age has he kept his people from contact with persecution tion and temptation we have to meet these things therefore prepare yourselves for them I 1 ask god to bless you all to guide you and preserve you in the name of jesus amen on the conclusion of the address by the general superintendent ELDER RICHARD W YOUNG delivered a lecture on america of which the following is a synopsis the speaker said in substance that he had been appointed to address the congregation on america that the subject was so so bom comprehensive that there was time to do no more than touch upon a few of the many topics suggested oed red by the comprehensive theme that geographically scientifically religiously and tn in various other aspects the subject presented material for rany lectures that therefore he would devote his attention to those features of the history ant and government of america moat fraught with instruction in our present circumstances the united states are generally I 1 spoken ken of as america and its people p T as americans it is theland of chief moment in our own history and in the history of numerous other peoples it was here that ancient t feuds twice resulted iu in the extermination of a nation that chat records important historically and thrice important religiously had been hidden away that a prophet Prop net among the greatest of the earths history had been raised up to reestablish christianity in its primitive purity and power that zis this is the land of the gospels gospels dest destiny 1 neds as god lives and speaks not idle words wor the dim put past the beautiful present the glorious future of america interests and concerns no people so much as the latter day saints the latter day saints are said to be presumptuous in religious affairs they are perhaps pan open 3 to the same criticism in poli political matters for alone they have a peculiar interest in the constitution of the country believing that it was ordained of god largely on their account george gk arge washington voiced the sentiments of this people when he be tendered homage to the author of every public and private good for his manifest agency in accomplishing the liberty ot america it may be trea it may be said to be such but tho the themselves to be just a little bit more nearly related to the constitution than any other citizens of the country this Is proven by the views set foa forth in our sacred writings regarding the object of establishing this government overn ment yet we are not selfish ish enough to claim that this was accomplished solely for our good we understand it is the nature of our religion that all mankind are included within the love the mercy and the beneficence of god the gospel is the most perfect law of liberty the teachings ot of christ christ have undoubtedly exercised ek powerful influence in civilizing and f feeling feeing the nations of christianity and if carried to their legitimate results would secure a perfect rule of liberty christ taught peace on earth and goodwill good will to mento gither with every virtue that could adorn the subject or grace the monarch what must have been the result of the practical adoption of that one injunction that all AH things whatsoever ye would that man should do to you do ye even unto them thema 1 monarchs would not plunge their subjects into war rob them of their property endanger their lives their liberties and their property to satisfy vain ambition to enrich their palaces and further their nefarious schemes for power the declaration of 1776 that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed are the basis principles cip lesof of the constitution and are in perfect harmony with the gos gospel el of christ to appreciate the value e of the blessings of fre freedom edoma a native born american must study other times and other countries EA england glaud though free presents the barriers of royalty nobility and aristocracy to the progress of freedom in russia the word of the czar is supreme in turkey an ottoman prince is omnipotent ni germany austria italy and others of the L european nations sacrifice the liberty of the subject to ambition here it is different there are no barriers in the path of liberty our earnings are not swe swept t at into the coffers of monarchy it hasteen has been the ruling idea that the masses were unable to govern themselves the false idea was justified by history and encouraged by professed emulators of christ but in the birth of freedom here monarchical ideas were to receive a severe shock hewn from the proposition that governments drew their just powers from the consent of the governed framed by men who received their inspiration from the almighty the constitution was launched a century ago upon a voyage which hitherto singularly free from tera tempests pests and breakers bids fair to continue on until the lord shall claim his right to rule iule 11 the successes ss of the government is found in no one feature but in a blen blending dingo wit odethe thew whole bole in his relations with his follow fallow citizens of the state a citizen is governed by the statutes of the state he is respected spec ted in the enjoyment of I 1 life ife liberty and property ro perty he casts his vote for a bernor governor and exercises a voice in the selection of the legislature and directly or indirectly I 1 in q the choice of the judiciary he may speak write and vote to retain good or reject bad men and measures or evento modify the constitution he may shape hi in accordance with hia deserves the only limitation being that he should not infringe upon the rights of others buethe but the citizen of a otate tate may be brought into relation with foreigners or with other citizens of other states in these respects he be is subject to the constitution of the united states and the laws made the general welfare and common defense of the whited states demands that there should somewhere be authority to regul regulate atOD foreign and interstate inter intel state commerce to coin money to establish a postal system to raise armies and navies and so forth these powers are vested in congress and the president and the federal judiciary but all powers not delegated to the united states in the constitution are reserved to the states and to people there is no do clash in this double system one attends to national the other to state inck interests rests the citizens of the states have the voice in the election of the chief executive and the members of the two houses of congress the suc cess of the govern government meint depends as much upon a wise system or oi checks and balances provided for in the constitution as upon any feature of the government vern ment the state and the united states a are limited in their authority over the citizen the senate and the house of representatives are mutual checks the one upon the other and the president is a check U upon n bow both while in the courts are ultimately vested the authority to determine all constitutional and other questions the supreme court of the united states is the most august and the most powerful tribunal 00 the globe the united staw states is 11 limited in cited in its powers the state jn in its and the city and county in int theirs thus securing to the individual the largest measure of power the territories occupy an anomalous position and do not seem to be within the contemplation of the constitution but it is certainly out that a government ie belf the creature of a revolution tough fought to secure the right of local self legis lation should itself deny that right the troubles of the past the gov 0 V has happily survived but thoughtful minds fancy they detect symptoms of weakness and perhaps A 1 of dissolution in our rapidly increasing and unassimilated reign foreign POP popa 41 lation in the growth of and communism the outgrowth european des despotism 0 ti m in the indi 1011 ference of the tatter better class of citizen citizens III fl to the conduct of the government inthe in the growth of wealth and 00 spread of corruption extracts from the centennial sermon of hop potter of desp ne york war were read the work of man is IMI wa himself finite perli perishable hable abc and 1 fleet flee ing his structures crumble it ini to ruins the proudest g government ever erected have bave grown into will pa it j and sunk into decadence willa be so with the constitution of abo U united u tc A states W will I 1 11 that inspru ment succumb to corruption and aw of being the workmanship arp 00 god it will not its principles soo infinite and lm imperishable erl 8 is the belief of OF the latter dw day the 1 saints v we young men of ajo latter day saints may y as said lincoln on the DO of gettysburg that it is 10 W us the living rather ra ther to be d to 0 o the unfinished work which our patriot forefathers have thus far so nobly advanced advance that the nation under ader god may have a new birth of freedom can it be that a mere handful of people motle may yet be the mea means ns u under bod of perpetuating the constitution we have been taught this the proposition pro is not insane minorities nori ties have ae often been right where majorities have been wrong and mere handfuls of people have ac wonders matthew arnold corn commends mends the ble bie conviction of plato aiato iato that states are saved by their righteous remnant by those who love righteousness and are COD convinced vinced of the profitableness ta bleness of evil or as isaiah MYS ays by those v ho cease to do evil arid td delight in the law of the eternal A true religion makes righteous inell en by devotion to principle it may ay yet lie be said of utah as bryant said id of america thine eye with every comi coming g hour aali nail brig brighten hien and thy form shall tower and nd when thy sisters elder born would brand thy name with 4 of scorn laenore afore thine eye upon pon their lips the taunt shall die at the alse cluse of elder youngs ad breh misses mabel cooper and loule felt sang a duet tell us merry haerry birds in a very pleasing olanner Oa anner in the absence of S E woolley superintendent of tooele thoele stake assistant general superintendent P C badger read the following ment written by gilmin him in behalf of that stake upon the EFFECTS OF MUTUAL improvement ENT UPON THE individual self bell culture is the only true basis of 01 personal advancement As soon as the mind is awakened to act for itself if so soon Js is the individual on the highway to success and where can be ground found a more effectual school to bring tang about this most desirable con altion than at tile the improvement gatherings rings the faculties once fully aroused wy ery spare moment is devoted to the e |
