| Show TE MORNING SESSION Some Elders Denounce Persecution Others Deplore Its Lck Elder Benjamin E Rich president oC the Southern States mission was presented as the first speaker at the morning session He said that during his labors In that field he had tray led about 110000 miles there had been between 3500 and 4000 baptisms made between 1050 and 1100 elders In the field and he expressed the belief that there was not a house outside of tho large cities Iji the South that had not been visited by a Mormon elder Elder Rich said that the Mormon > Mor-mon faith had some strong and Influential In-fluential friends In the South also some strong and Influential enemies Infuental Qnemes and that he himself had had three in Itatlons to be killed but had not had ime to fill any of them Speaking of tho opposition of the Saints in the South Elder Rich said In part Most of our trouble comes from the ministers I they would remember ho commandments or God and stop theIr lying and stop bearing false witness wit-ness against their neighbors wo would have less trouble In the South Probably Prob-ably the ministers of Salt Lake would be surprised if I were to tell them that I have a book almost the slzo of 0 family Bible containing accounts of all the mobblngs of Mormon elders In the South and S5 per cent of the noby had been headed by ministers He raid that when elders go Into thc Held to preach without purse and scrip the ministers of the South ask the authorities that the elders bo arrested ar-rested as vagrants because they have no visible means of support and they vent so far In one of the Legislatures of the South as to induce n member to Introduce a bill making It a crime o preach the gospel without n salary I think If Christ and the Apostles were to come back and meet some of these representatives of Jesus added Elder Rich he would not labor three years before the cry would go up Crucify Cru-cify him Crucify him Elder Joseph McCrea president of tho Colorado States mission told of I the work being carried on under his BupcrvlHlon He said the elders in this field did not have to contend with persecution hut Indifference which he almost thought was worse and said ho wished sometimes there might he a little persecution as he thought It might cause the honest In heart but Indifferent people to begin to look In to tho matter and see what the Saints are really teaching In his closing rd marks Elder JMeCrca spoke of the marriage of Saints with nonmembers of the church wih nonmcmbers 01 and said he had yet the first one to meet who was happy in that knd of n union while he had met huildfe < 1 who were unhappy mu The work of the Southwestern States SOlthwlster mission was reported by Elder Jnmea C Dufnn tho president of the Jamef ml9 sion lie said sid there was very little persecution of ue elders in the field over which he presides and as a rule they are treated well A part n of his field Includes the abound originally otned by ugJ sth orlEnnl ownCd the Saints at Indcpondonce and where they have always Intended to Imld a temple Eider lltcnded Dufflmm eLt5h ytsterday that n part of the original nif 01 temple plat IB now for wile and he sle believed l and hoped belcved the Saints would carry out tho plan which They hive so long ch 101 cherished of erecting thereon a temple to tho most high God n Apostle Teasdale pogte dwelt nt some length of upon the value or a testimony In the Gospel ctmon and a mcmhprVi h membership nor time Church or Jo8ua day Saints Chrlsl of Latter The closing sPcker nt the morning session was mornnr esflon APoate John Smith who has Aposte Henry haq Just returned from n visit among several 1 mong seerl of the missions of the SaInts In the Eastcjn nllons Ente n States He repolted ptOgCSM In the sork saId thin elders amc happ 1e antI he had noted n spirit of Inu n anche pie who had not been Iflterested among pea fore With Jntcfstcd be < HC Wlh this Inquiry he also od a tendency among the the Saints aU01 people InL treat more fn fairly than they fo merly did Apostle lioir Aposte evens went 1 little further arid Raid ho believed there bclevcd are millions of milons people i now In tho United Slates who ffiveT Unied bcllce In the mission of Joseph hV Smith hut wh who through pride on account of the dice against the Saints preJu T tleSalntR linked The have not themselves with the wih cause At the close of Apostle APOte Henrys re marks 0 recess was taken Tho overflow meeting w meetng WQH presided over by Apostle Heber Aposte J Grant ii opened by the choir and GrQnt I ald co singing tho hymn Guide COflgfegtio1 Us Qh trhon Great Jehovah followed by a prayer by Apostle John T CaIn Aflor the slnglivr of the hymn flow Firm 0 l oundallon addresses were made lY Counselor C W Pcnrose of the Salt Lake stake Elders Joseph W McMur rln and Rulln S Wells and Apostles Ilyrurn M I Smith and II J Grant Tho singing of Time Is Far Spent md benediction by Apache John W Taylor concluded the services |
