Show STAKE conference timely instructions and good advice APOSTLE GRANT ON THE PROOFS MORMONISM OF president smoots encouraging remarks about the new tabernacle j he quarterly conference of the utah stake of zion was held saturday and sunday september ast 1st and ad 1888 there were present on the stand apostle heber J grant president A 0 smoot and counselor david john bembera of the high council bishops of tho various wards and other local authorities the services on saturday morning were held in the meetinghouse meeting house the remaining ma ining portion of conference being bield in the new stake tabernacle SATURDAY 10 a m the meeting was called to order by president A 0 smoot the opening prayer was offered by president david john the choir sang jehovah I 1 lord of heaven and carlli thy word of truth proclaim ELDEK WM of said he had reflected much of late on the history of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints and had noticed that those who relied but little upon the guidance of the lord did not run long in the church illustrations were given from the lives of individuals in this we learn that we of ourselves are not sufficient without aid from the almighty the speaker gave a sketch of his receiving the gospel and the joy with which the early saints received the elders and apostles from utah why is it today to day that we are different after having been brought from bondage to riches we seem to be forgetting the giver such bounty has been poured out upon that we allow hundreds of bu liels of fruit to go to waste we have been told to save our grain against a time of famine but we have not done it our blessings have been and still are very great and we ought to uso the wealth we have received in wisdom our rich should be public spirited and our joor should help themselves as much they can and not be dependent upon the tithing let us appreciate our blessings and privileges the associations we have are worth more than tha distinctions of the world the society of the latter day saints is worth more than that of the kins of the earth BISHOP SNELL of spanish fork felt that our coming to these valleys was for a purpose and that that purpose was the up building of the kingdom of god our history baa been progressive under the blessings of the lord we see abundance wherever we travel but we do not see a spirit of unity and of unselfishness it is difficult sometimes to mid an elder who has time to go and administer to the sick when we have difficulties we now resort to lawyers these things are not as they should be still we have some very good latter day saints ia our community they pay tithes and contribute to the binish indof the stake tabernacle that is ih work we are now exercised over the speaker gave a favorable report of the different organizations of the ward and spoke of some difficulties people arising from the distribution of the water jos y of payson realized the varieties of the duties devolving upon alie saints and they should gottl gc v luc moat peace and union are worth more to us than wealth and strife let us choose the straight road the speaker gave a report oi the payson ward saying that the majority were doing well the sunday school is worthy of all praise A good feeling is shown toward the building of the tabernacle said it lias been our custom for over ten years to meet quarterly and discuss alie interests ol 01 the stake that is our purpose this morning the favorable reports this morning indicate that at least a majority of the saints are working bees however there are as wo learn drones these have various excuses for not carrying on their part of tho work it is the duty of the priesthood to help such to dig round them and place them in a condition to receive alie blessings of the lord until this condition is brought about the bishops will be obliged to deny them the blessings of alie temples if the various societies in our midst will do their duties the number of these drones will diminish I 1 was not encouraged cou raged in attending alie conference of the young ladies yesterday morning there were only thirty three present 1 am told that the society was sparsely attended yet the primary conference at lehi not long since was well attended the speaker referred to the tabernacle we shall meet there this afternoon but we were afraid of getting lost in there this morning many have said they would not pay any more unless they could meet in it at conferences I 1 am free to say that it would have been my policy to close it up till it is finished but we shall now see if these brethren will feel better and help to nn ish it it is so easy to find excuses for not doing our duties it is our business to stand as saviors on mount xion if we fail in this we are failures let us stand in our place and gain our blessings the choir sang praise god from whom all blessings flow benediction was offered by george W brunell Brun hll 2 p m alie meeting was called to order by president A 0 smoot the choir sang ere ions the vail will rend in twain tho king with all his the opening prayer was by presidents Pres identA 0 the choir sang on tle mountain tops appe ariu lo 10 1 the sacred ISAAC BULLOCK desired alie spirit of the lord and the faith of the saints while addressing the congregation we are occupying at present a very peculiar position before the world our time ial 80 important that one of the prophets spoke of it as such the full nesa of the gospel has been given tu us when god lias set up a standard it seems as though the crople arc growing into infidelity but the gospel is the standard for all men to look to and alie watchman is to lift up his voice and men shall sec eye to eye when the lord shall bring again xion One object the lord biad iu bringing the gospel was to bet a standard before the people of alie earth alie work is going or ivard in all its power bot une nation is called but all nations the wise men of alie world will not listen to mormonism it may seem that there is i cloud over zion at present but it looks to me that lier light is growing the sun has not been extinguished the plan of the almighty must be carried out and those who think to retard tho progress of ork will only chow their foolishness purpose of alie lord to the wheat from spurious grain we can only be redeemed judgment after works of righteousness we find as the rest of world rather mixed up rood and bad together here wo aro to to the rest of men the truth as god has repealed reye aled it to us wo must show by our works taho we arc our works must prove us tha speaker bore his testimony to the truth of tho gospel abo statistical report of tho stake was then read by stake clerk james W bean APOSTLE HEB EE J ws pleased domeet to meet with the latter day saints once more chehad listened with pleasure to the testimony that had been borne this is always gratifying to hear especially from the aged it takes constant effort on our part to keep up to our privileges there are many of the latter day saints who are keeping the commandments of god with full purpose of heart but he regretted to say that it was not so with the majority from information that I 1 have lately gained I 1 believe that there are not more that twenty per cent who are keeping their covenants yet a majority ot the latter day saints feel that they are doing about right our mistakes however or more of the head than of the heart if the latter day saints were to beep the commandments according to the liblit they possess there would be no power that could bind us to keep have a constant effort the moment we fail to do as we ought that moment our duties become irksome our object in coming here was not to do our own will but the will of our father and if we are working according to this object we will be happy under any circumstance in traveling among the latter day saints I 1 find that we are apt to inter prete alie words of the lord according to our own likes and dislikes the great trouble with us is that we grow too narrow it is necessary to keep all the commandments of the lord if we wish to become fully developed develop pd the speaker gave illustrations the great trouble with the world is eliat they overlook the act that we are not only physical and intellectual but spiritual the result is that the majority of the criminals in our prisons are educated our school laws I 1 hero are very far from what they should be I 1 would rather my children would grow up ignorant than to have them grow up infidels the knowledge of the lord is more important than all the knowledge men can beetow I 1 shall not feel satisfied unless my children are more educated than I 1 am but we should never lose sight of the fact that a testimony of the gogoel is of more importance than anything else I 1 have heard the remark made that its dangerous for a latter day saint to become educated this is contrary to the word of the lord the same with wealth so long uj we are humble we may get intelligence and wealth and we shall be the better off but if we set our hearts upon anything to the neglect of our duties then there is danger we are naturally but if we live up io the requirements made of us wo can have no selfishness these requirements are made of us for this purpose and so it is with all that is asked oi us the man who never prays is nine times out of ten as proud and independent as lucifer here then we see the object of this requirement prayer is the anchor of the soul but we must not merely pray with our lips it is more pleasing to be praised than t be found tault but criticism is the more beneficial if we profit by it it is a duty we owe to ourselves and our children io be improving all the time but our meetings are not made the subject of as much improvement as they should be it should be our object at every meeting to learn our own weaknesses and overcome them that spirit that tells us to do as we please when eluded beneath but that that tells us to overcome our weaknesses is from the lord neglect naturally brings regret until a man gets outside alie reach of the spirit of the father our consciences aie very elastic but the nearer we get to the lord the less elastic our consciences grow to be some of us do not go to common meetings because the same things will be said over and oer but we never hear any complaint about eating bread three hundred and sixty five days in the year we should have a lik ing for spiritual food the same as we have for all the knowledge you have cf the gospel will be to you that much more condemnation if you dont live up to it this is mv testimony to you having the knowledge we do we ought so to live that we would be an example to the world with an prayer for ohp nf ohp latter day saints the speaker closed the choir then sang 0 ye mountains high anere the clear blue sky the vale catlie free benediction by karl G maeser DAY 10 a m the services were called to order by president smoot choir sana some thou desire of all thy saints our strains attend prayer was offered by bishop wm bromley pang happy Is the man who hears warning voice BISHOP ofSan hoped that the note he might strike would be in unison and in tune with the spirit of god lie was not anxious to talk unless he might bo of use to some one I 1 am very please when we come to conference to hear the experience of alie b ethren who speak and also to learn of the progress of the various settlements of the we live so far away we seldom have visits from any body we diah up our food in our own way and alie lord meets with us in our assemblies sem blies the people are united and desirous of doing good last sunday we presented all the of the ward to tho people so that if there was any dissatisfaction with any of alie brethren the saints might so express themselves and the charge be made before alie officers were sustained at this conference I 1 am glad to say eliat not one expressed themselves but desirous of sustaining alie brethren alie saints in alie ward are anxious to raise their proportion to help complete the new tabernacle and they hope by the first of Ta nuary to do so last friday I 1 paid off our proportion and we intend to continue in well doing until we leave accomplished our share our people are a laboring people and they realize alie lord does not measure them by dollars and cents I 1 am desirous of seeing this house finished and I 1 dont want to die uncil it is completed the organ the licater and everything necessary forthe completion of this fine building I 1 consider that nothing is too good in the worshipping wor shipping of the lord we love our front rooms in which we can entertain a friend and alie nice adornments eliat make bliem comfortable for table and I 1 want to see a better place than our fine rooms in which we can entertain the lord I 1 feel that we cannot do too lucli for our father in heaven and alien I 1 reflect upon his goodies good nes unto us I 1 feel as though I 1 would like to open the windows of heaven and shiow his blessings to alie saints many a time before I 1 go to meeting I 1 kneel down before the lord and ask him to open my mouth that 1 might say something eliat will fit to the saints and open their hearts asiat they might receive alie words 0 life I 1 often times reflect upon the advantages the people in prove have over the saints in alie other settlements of this stake in regard to bearg blead by hearing the servants of god intact living under the droppings of the sanctuary and I 1 am constrained in this connection to think of the words of alie savior he the masters will and boeth it not shall be beaten with many stripes then whala good people the sisters in provo should be oftentimes when any of our brethren return to rhomes after being off for some time someone will say wall john the news they do not tell you of attending the worship ping of the saints but they dish out such garbage that is not fit for the people of god hence we see we do not attend to our duties as we should do I 1 thought when in the relief society conference last friday hov grand it would be if ma smoot could leave her duties in the other world for a day and say to slater el iza let us meet with the sisters in provo to day abu remember how they used to meet with the and times they used to have the speaker then closed witha fervent appeal to the to hya their rhuea PRESIDENT bonx felt thankful that he had of meeting with the saints in tabernacle had been pleased with the remarks made and the reports given we are very highly favored of the lord for the blessings that surround us the plentiful harvest and in the blessings of alie lord temporally and spiritually we should acknowledge his hand we are today to day in a temporal point of view in a thriving condition notwithstanding the dark clouds of persecution hanging over the horizon our destiny is onward and upward from the time the prophet joseph received the plates till the present day we have been the subjects of the goodness of god sometimes I 1 think that we could not be perfect without persecution the tempest is just as essential as the suu shine god has appointed us to pass through these dark clouds for we must know the light and the dark in order to become perfected in the ways of the lord we have the assurance in our hearts that god has established his gospel and whatever may be our actions this kingdom will roll onward and no combined force can hinder its progress one day one hour for god has destined it to roll forth until it shall fill the whole earth this gospel is the same ae was preached by jesus it is the one returned to earth our aim should be to sustain its divine truths apon the face of the earth we should give our hearts to god dedicating all our substance to his service vice do we live in this way isbit a kind of a habit we have got into of praying to god that we dedicate all we have to the lord if we were only united and were ambitious in matters of eternal truth it would not take six months to finish this house I 1 dont wish |