OCR Text |
Show Stake Sanday-ScSiooCoovention Sanday-ScSiooCoovention Joseph F. Smith Tells Those Present That Ho Is a Busy Man. Officers and teachers of Salt Lake, Ensign, En-sign, Tooele and Davis slakes met In a District Sunday-school convention mm evening at Barratt hall- This Is tho first of a series of four meotlngs, threo ot which will be held today. The regular prourammo of tho evening was changed In order that Pros dent Josopn R Smith, who nut in a sdl"1I?.p.VJf0 anco, might bo lven an PPrnV'""?t speak anu express his Intense In torch n the work of the convention as gonerai superintendent of tho Sundny-schoois. Declares He Is Busy. After offering a few- worda or apoloey for being Into, tho Prealdent s.iid . i urn what you might call a uh man these days. I am not so much af lktofl with commercialism as omo PC " have a great many rellK lous dtjtlca to attend at-tend to. There are the duties of ' the priesthood, quarterly eot fer ences throughout tho stakea of Zlon. mhwlonnry meetings and duties In connection with tho Mutual Improvement society, the re llbf society and the primary assoclatlons. Then, there aro little troubles constantly being brought up to us from the bishop s courts nnd personal grievances to wliicn wo must listen. I often think that ono of the essentials of a church President is to be extremely social, polite, kind and long suffering. Often It taxes ono patience pa-tience to the utmost. n,A "It goes without saying that thoso parents who keep tho laws of Ood will bo abio to ralso families superior In clint-acter clint-acter to thoao who are brutal. tlobasc and subject to bad practices that resiuc from a Inck of faith in Cod's teachlnt, and laws Diving In Peculiar Times. "Wo aro living In peculiar times thf times havo always been more or less peculiar pe-culiar ever since the church was organized. organ-ized. These conditions exist today ami wo aro now being slandered and misrepresented misrep-resented bv our enemies. They are on the alert and constantly rendy to misinterpret misin-terpret everything that wo do. But shall wo repay evil for evil, ahull we condescend conde-scend to do us they? No, by all means no! Wo cannot afford to. for It would bo like putting an asp Into our own bodies. To give wuy to answer nnd passion would bo to put ourselves on a lovel with our enemies." Listen to Other Addresses. Beforo President Smith arrived Horace Cummlngs of tho University Training school and also a member of the General Sundnv-school board Rave a tall: on the subject, "Tho Spirit Versus tho Letter, llo opposed and frankly criticised tho tendency toward formality and conventionality conven-tionality lit the classroom and urged tho teachers to adapt themselves to the spirit of their class nnd take into consideration Its particular needs. Under tho head of "Practical Talks Charles B. Felt gave a short discussion on the question, "Preparation and Condition Condi-tion of Sunday-school Kooms." He was followed by Arthur W. Brown, who considered con-sidered "The Social Side of Sunday-school." Sunday-school." The meeting was presided over by Superintendent J. M. Tanner and tho address of welcome was delivered by Superintendent Georgo IT. "Wallace. During Dur-ing tho evening a song .service was conducted con-ducted by Alvln A. Betsloy, a solo was sweetly sung by George D. Pyper and a vocal duet was rendered by Mrs. A. E. Carr and Mrs. 1311a Ridges. Meetings will be held today at Brtrratt hall at 9:30 o'clock, 1:45 and 7:30 p. m. |