Show SALT LAKE STAKE conference the salt lake stake conference commenced in the tabernacle salt lake city sunday september 1 at 10 16 a m there were present on the tend stand presidents wilford woodruff ada goo geo Q cannon apostles jno henry smith and heber J grant president angus M cannon and counselor charles W penrose president ellas morris of the high priests quorum members of the stoke high council bishops and others president angus M cannon called the congregation to order orde raDd and the choir sang redeemer of israel our only delight prayer by elder W C dunbar the no choir sang san OU on the mountains mono bains top appearing TA lol I 1 the sacred herald stands aiE Q CANNON addressed the congregation As we have met together in conference this morning he said it is our privilege to have the presence of the spirit of the lord loter latter day saint sain know that unless we have the 79 guidance of the lord our god our efforts ff to establish righteousness in she he earth or to accomplish the 0 acts we have in view would be I 1 avain vain 1 I suppose that in this congregation h here are hundreds of men who lave ave a taken foreign missions who ha have traveled east and west north and south without purse or scrip putting their trust in the mercies kindness and promises of god in this respect we are a unique people I 1 know of none like us I 1 know of no people on the face of the earth who have been tested in their faith to the same extent the present fashion of preaching the gospel of jesus is for men to be employed specially for the purpose and receive a fixed salary it is considered necessary that they should be educated for the ministry in places of learning where theology is taught where they may receive those qualifications which are deemed essential for their calling in this respect we have come in contact with all the traditions of our age men have been chosen to preach reach the gospel of jesus christ lecause because god designated them for the purpose As to educational qualifications cat ions they were a matter of secondary importance having been chosen of god he is capable of endowing them with every necessary gift in order to proclaim his word in purity and with power in a this w way ay that which the world calls mormonism has been carried from land to land from island to island from continent to continent until there is scarcely a spot in this habitable globe that has not been visited by the chosen servants of god it is time that faith should be restored to the earth in view of the dreadful march of infidelity on all sides that living faith which men once bad in god and his power has almost departed according to present resent ideas god has withdrawn himself himself completely from the affairs of men he governs his universe by great and universal laws and all special provi dences in favor of his children are no longer exercised if there is anything for which w aich I 1 am particularly thankful it is that god in his providence has permitted me to live in a day when this living faith has been restored to the earth when he has revealed his everlasting gospel in its ite primitive primitive tive P purity and its ancient power ower that he has also reorganized gis his church with the same officers the same authority the same gifts graces braces and blessings w which were the characteristics of that church in ancient days thankful that I 1 am associated socia soc ted with wl a people who have this faith and a d are willing to make any and every sacrifice which god shall require at their hands knowing that he is able to reward them abundantly men will be judged hereafter according to their knowledge and the opportunities which they possessed here below jn in these last days in order to pre pare the inhabitants of the earth for the coming of the lord jesus con descended to reveal himself once more from the heavens he came himself in person astounding though the statement may seema seem for from the end of the first century until ti I 1 the begin beginning ni ng of the present one such a thing as the heavens opening and the son of god making his appearance as angels being seen by man had been unheard of and such a thing is still believed to be impossible men imbued with hatred seek even to kiu kill those who bear such testimony and declare it to be false not content indeed with hating and persecuting one who testified that the father and the son had appeared appeared unto him they shed his bis b blood as generations before the people had shed that of the prophets and apostles who had borne a similar testimony to them but much as ar it may come in contact with the prejudices of the age and all its traditions shocking the sensibilities of some persons in regard to the feelings they entertain concerning gods methods of doing business notwithstanding all this the fact remains that the lord has appe appeared axed and revealed himself in our day and that his son jesus christ has shown himself to mortal eyes quickened by the power and spirit of god the eyes of one mans understanding were opened and he be saw with that spiritual discernment which god gives to his favored children U up to that hour for generations there there had been no clear conception of the character of the deity some su supposed he was a spirit universally diffused through space some entertained one idea and some another there existed a variety of views concerning the deity his character and attributes but this man joseph smith declared that god and j jesus esus appeared and that they were two personages the one resembling sem bling the other thus corresponding with the statement of the apostle paul and others who have written on this subject that jesus was the expressed image of his father that he was in his likeness and corresponded to the saying of jesus jesua he that hath bath seen me hath bath seen the father also but is the testimony of this boy all that we have to rely upon in connection with this matter nu no thank god we are not left with this testimony alone we have gifts and testimonies that sustain it in every particular ti this church notwithstanding rig the derision of men has been led by t those hose gifts from that day until the present resent thousands of persons who have ave been fa familiar mIllar with other rell religions who have been members of other churches are ready to testify that they have received those gifts and that the power of god rested upon them things to come have been revealed to them they have dwelt in this atmosphere of divine favor they have been faithful workers of the church of god witnessing besal in n an unexampled manner that id god was pleased with them had accepted them would bestow upon them the blessings which he had promised this is not the testimony of one person family or nation but it is the testimony coming from every part of the earth to which the elders have gone we as a people are bound together by ties stronger than any known among men and this love will continue to grow and increase until it nils fills the whole earth latter day saints put your trust in god let us be faithful to him let us keep his commandments let us cherish in our hearts that faith which he has implanted there and which Is sweeter than life itself the love of zion should be strong in all our hearts the love of this treat great work which god has established shed it has lifted us up out of darkness and ignorance and placed us in close connection with our fathe let us endure patiently the few sorrows trials and afflictions which we have to hear bear remembering mem bering what christ himself when ou on earth endured for our bakes APOSTLE JOHN HENRY SMITH was the next speaker he said there is iao BO truth in the world but what is comprehended within the plan of life and salvation the work in which we are engaged is the work of god every principle necessary to the salvation and exaltation al of the sons and daughters of men has been given unto us they are rapidly spreading amongst sit the peo people pie and will continue among m th the e future to headmen lead men to understand even more clearly than in the past the purposes of the divine one we should be alive to the duties and responsibilities which rest upon us true and steadfast in every position of life and live lives worthy of imitation my testimony is that that which we have rec received eved is the true gospel of christ Christs the power pwe of god unto salvation to all the sons and daughters of men who will obey its principles and walk by its requirements quire ments it has come to stay and will grow increase and spread abroad on the earth I 1 pray god to prosper us in our good work and keep us true and faithful to the end of our days the choir sang cherp the voice of friendships heard sounding bounding like a sweet toned bird benediction by elder seymour B young SUNDAY AFTERNOON the choir and congregation sang our god we raice to thee thanks for thy blessings free prayer by elder george goddard the cli choir air sang how dark and gloomy was the night when satan did hid hia powers array the priesthood of the fifth ward officiated in the administration of the sacrament PRESIDENT WILFORD WOODRUFF addressed address edthe the congregation I 1 feel thankful that I 1 have the privilege of assembling with the saints and partaking of the lords supper I 1 took look upon this as a great privilege and I 1 often think that those of us who are so favor favored ed should live that we may have the brivil privilege e of partaking of the great ma jage supper of the lamb with hd have kept his commandments command ments ii to be permitted to partake of stat at supper will certainly be a grat t blessing any man who is called to in any of the higher offices of th church Is just as much dekende dependent upon the as auy any deacon teacher or I 1 often think 0 of the injunction of the savior to t treasure up the words of light and life that when we are called upon to preach it may be given us at the moment what we may say 1 never know when I 1 arise before a congregation what I 1 am going t to say bay 1 I leave that matter entirely to the lord the lord never had men u upon the earth called to preach his ro goa 08 pel or labor in his ministry wh who were not dependent upon the holy b 1 0 spirit why because ti the me tooly O 1 ghost is a 4 the godhead a being of spirit and a witness of the gospel god has given to all men in all ages an agency it was so in the heavens when there was a war there and one third of bevens he ivens vens la in habitants were cast out upon this thi 1 a agency you and I 1 are held ki responsible E bh for the course we take 3 an and the religion we embrace joseph smith once said if I 1 were the emperor of the whole world holding the power of life and death over all men I 1 would protect all men in the e enjoyment rh 0 y ment of their religion these es are my sentiments I 1 do not think it right to coerce any man in respect to his religion nor to te oppress hini him on account of it john the revelator saw mati great events which were to take place upon the earth in the last days among other things he saw the gospel restored by an angel flying through the midst of heaven As latter day saints we profess to believe that the everlasting gospel in its falness and power has been thus restored and that joseph smith was ordained to the lesser and the greater Priest hoods by ministering angels I 1 came to these mountains with president brighum brigham young it was then a barren region our history for forty years is before the world we have hu ve survived and still 3 have a work to perform there is but one gospel and never was so far as this world is concerned we do not know what may have been taught in other worlds the gospel for the redemption of the inhabitants of this world has for its first principle faith in the lord jesus christ the next principle is repentance the next baptism for the remission of sins this was taught by jesus beaus aud and his hia disciples till til their death jesus was baptized of john and baptism was taught as a righteous prini prin aiple ave e by his apo apostles s next came the laying on of hands forthe for the gift of the holy which when received and cultivated becomes an inward light for the guidance of the individual in all things the church of christ in the days I 1 sj of jesus was organized on a certain plan and joseph smith was banded ed to organize org anise this church on ahe same model th there ere has been n lal change ial M the aspel in any ally age g of w the world nordah nor can there be any aw it principles ordinances find and hood remain the same ahli pel te fg what the latter day S Q lieve in ajesm christ is out our HB priest he held the hood of which is xa 0 out beginning of days or of aw years no iian antan has ever ba had ai authority to in any 0 oi nanee nance of the gospel without mhd priesthood it Is fe th ton and by the power 99 1 I the efert priesthood that ito offered under the law moses and have ia law 1 ordinances of the gospel f tw ter ler day dav saints have received priesthood and but for its po they might have preached till now DOVI antong the nations and utah would still have hae been as barren as it wa in 1847 the converts co to this cospa have been gathered gathe fed here under the power of they received a testimony tart was wab fight for them to gather w i i should ask those of this cong congre gaK tion who have received this mod mony 7 to arise this assembly bouw wouw bouli ap Z rise in a body A fa no people in any age ever T godly in christ J jesus who did 1 l experience opposition or P 1 tion it Js is so today with us W is the present condition of teft 4 christian world it seem beems 8 to SW that god has become un T the bible his word haar I 1 be i unpopular and is bel being from the schools T Is it reasonable to suppose W god has created myriads of inlew ia N bences who have lived u in A i earth only to pass into abl obrion ion on 1 leaving it such a proposition N TZ incredible it this people have el a mission sion PW P 1 form the lard has set 06 houa to establish his work ile heba bra to do what he has do done ne I 1 in raising I 1 this people in order to fulfill fulfil ne scriptures jesus died to take tab aw what is called original sin BID aad men by obeying hia eis gospe I 1 MAW accomplish the taking away 0 01 own sins the saints are ed 0 O stand in holy places while the pull poses of god are accomplish accomplished alaon the n nations we a are re ca called ailed to W warn am the nations and are under con conjet nation if we fall to do ld MK various ages when god has v preparing to pour ur out his hia juwa on a nation we he has hac first sent kroph pro all that taio j ete eta to warn them prophets have said has come to toja pam 3 prophets of 01 in the he speaker cited a number stances from scriptural history w to I 1 show this the jews are beginning to w re turn to jerusalem they will wm lab M turn there aud and rebuild their el and their temple I 1 want to hayw the ahe latter day saints we 0 have faith in god his broslow P will be fulfilled we have a ws we are botfly eternity before us dw a mission here I 1 way may dot much longer among this emple do not know why I 1 shou should w A B know that OW god hag bm raised up aix pie ale and given them the priesthood ad he requires them to administer W this priesthood for the redemption of both the living and the dead when we pass behind the veil we bl ahU meet not only the servants of the lord who havi have labored on the cab earth in this but in other dispensa MOM we will then receive our reward APOSTLE HEBER J GRANT I 1 believe that if we do not use and improve upon the talents god h has given us we shall not be able to progress I 1 am afraid too many of us 08 think we have sufficient testimony mony and knowledge of the gospel jut I 1 fear that a man who does not add to his knowledge of spiritual will come under condemnation I 1 have often |