Show thousands unable to enter the tabernacle SPIRITED discourses DELIVERED powerful testimonies by alie apostles the sixtieth general semi annual conference of the church of jesu christ of latter day saints convened in the tabernacle salt lake city at 10 a m october ath 1889 there were on the bland of tho first presidency wilford woodruff and george Q cannon of the conn of the twelve apostles lorenzo snow moses thatcher john henry smith F M Lyman Heber J grant and john W taylor of counselors to the twelve john W young and D H wells patriarch john smith of the presiding council of the seventies henry herriman Herri maa jacob gates abraham H cannoo seymour B young john morgan and B H roberts there were also present a large number of presidents of stakes and other prominent brethren from various parts of utah and surrounding states and territories conference was called to order by president george Q cannon the choir sane joy to the world the lord will come and earth receive her king let every heart prepare him room and saints and angels fiang opening prayer was offered by apostle lorenzo snow come listen to a prophets voice and hear the words of god and in the way of truth rejoice and sing for joy aloud PRESIDENT addressed the assemblage aa follows i feel very thankful that my life has been preserved to attend another semiannual semi annual conference of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints I 1 hope and trust that while we are together our hearts may be lifted in prayer to godana that we may enjoy his holy spirit and the revelations of heaven that what may be said while we are assembled together dur ing our conference may be according to the mind of god I 1 feel that of all people under heaven we have the greatest reason to rejoice before the lord that we have lived in a day and generation when the god of israel baa set his hand to establish hia kingdom to gather together his people to build up zion to carry out the great purposes which the lord has promised and given by revelation through the mouths of inspired men prophets patriarchs and apostles Apost lea since the world began I 1 rejoice in the gospel of jesus christ I 1 always have since I 1 have been made acquainted with it it has been my lot and privilege to bo with the latter day saints for over fifty years I 1 have seen the afflictions the tribulations persecutions through which this people have boon called to pass from their organization until the present day but we have everything to encourage UP as the saints of god as those who have entered into covenant with him obeyed his commandments and walked in the ordinances ot his house the lord has never in any dispensation or generation failed to ut his purposes and his works and of all the generations and dispensations that god has given to men this last and great dispensation the greatest of all has been revealed to the human family the kingdom has been revealed the ot jesus christ has been organized the zion of god has been inaugurated tho people of god have been called together and in all the troubles and trials through which we J as a people have been called to pass thero has been no power that has stayed the hand of god or thwarted his purposes with regard to the carriaga out of his principles or those which have been revealed unto the latter day saints the lord has called commencing with joseph smith the prophet of god apostles and prophets patriarchs and elders high priests and seventies in these last days to go forth and warn the world we have been under the of doing this As the lord told ezekiel he sent him as a watchman unto the houe of israel he told him what the consequences would bo if he did not fulfill his mission and do his duty that the blood of that generation 0 the house of israel would be required at his hands so the god of heaven ordained when he raised up joseph smith the prophet to organize this church and kingdom he stood as a watchman on the walls of zion unto this generation there are 30 people 1 suppose today to day dwelling in these hills of israel who hold some portion of the holy priesthood it is our duty to warn the world we hav been called to do this we would have boon under condemnation if we had not fulfilled that duty and BO the church and kingdom of god have grown until the presen aday with regard to our future it is in the hands of god who holds the destiny of this people and of all men in his own bands I 1 would say to the latter day saints fear not i lay your burdens upon the lord and I 1 he will not fail us he will not fail m carrying out all his purposes and all his promises unto us the kioa of god will arise and so will the glory and power of god and we shall be prepared as a bride for the coming of the bride im let our hearts be raised to aro sro od while we are assembled together in this conference that we may have his holy spirit with us continually APOSTLE joha W was the next speaker his remarks were as follows in substance I 1 am pleased to meek with the saints in conference once more if is a surprise to me to be called to speak thus early I 1 regard it as ray duty to respond to every call made by the presidency of the church I 1 hope the day will never come when any other sentiment will animate me president woodruff and his counselors are actuated by the spirit of god to which we would do well to take heed we look to these brethren as having the spirit of revelation when they are united when christ realized his time had come he asked his father if it were possible for the bitter cup to pass to let it be so nevertheless that ahe will of the father bo done and not his we should sustain by our faith prayers and works those whom god has appointed to preside over the church when men write under the influence of the spirit of god it is revelation in order to reveal the mind of our father in heaven it is not necessary that he should come down to earth personally to make a communication many of the revelations given through joseph smith were obtained by that prophet listening to the whisperings of the still smale voice within him it has been remained about some men that they suddenly become absorbed in some line of ideas the impressions of tho holy ghost come like flashes of light and without the presence of doubt or darkness they have to be acted upon forthwith I 1 bear testimony that president woodruff and his counselors are prophets seers and revelatory revelators and the people should remember that especially in these times they should not live by sight circumstances are of such a nature that the righteous must live by faith the hand of god is over this church and no power can destroy it or impede its progress I 1 pray however that it may not be necessary for us to be chasteney chastened chast ened in order to bring us into a disposition of obedience I 1 believe in implicit obedience in temporal and spiritual things to the light of heaven as given through the priesthood if this principle were taught us more frequently t would be better for us as a community we cannot retain the spirit of god and yet be constantly finding fault with the priesthood we should not expect perfection from those who hold that authority they are mortal as other men but they are called of god we must learn not to judge men by what we see nor on the basis of the limited opportunities we have of what transpires when we have an impression derogatory ot our brother it ia our duty to go to him personally and in that way get an understanding of the matter involved we should be possessed of the spirit of unity we should not criticism criticise critic ise the authorities our enemies seek to BOW among us the seeds of dissension they wish to segregate the saints into factions in this endeavor they turn truth into the semblance of falsehood and virtue into vice hasty conclusions are dangerous and should not be arrived at there are many honorable men and women who respect our rights but the great majority do not I 1 have been associated with the authorities of the church for years and I 1 have never seen in their deliberations any disposition toward unrighteousness I 1 bear testimony that they have acted in the spirit of their calling as well as any men on earth could have done if a duty is required of us and it is not diligently performed instead of having a spirit of light and comfort we are possessed of a sentiment of heaviness when I 1 acted as teacher it was a great trial for me to visit the houses of some of the people when this feeling was overcome and the obligation discharged joy was the result when it overcame me and I 1 have been neglectful then J have had heaviness of spirit so it is in all the labors that are required at our hands we should not be afraid to ak our feelings freely at this conference may the fire of the spirit of god increase as this conference progresses this will be the case if we lay aside our cares of a worldly character that are liable to fret and annoy us let us centre our prayers and faith in a desire that the servants of god may speak those things that will be adapted to the wants of the people if this is done the result will be all that could be desired the speaker concluded by bearing testimony to the truth of the work of god ELDER JACOB GATES I 1 received the gospel fifty air years ago under the administrations of apostle and from that time I 1 have known of the truth of this church its divine origin in the darkest days ahen I 1 hava been thrown into prison on false charges I 1 have always been able to asar this testimony not only did I 1 receive this witness through the impressions of the spirit of truth but by the min istra tiona of angels I 1 met the prophet joseph in 1831 in the camp of those who were gathered together to go up to redeem zion which has not yet been redeemed but it will be in the future during my travels ot a thousand miles I 1 became well acquainted quain ted with the prophet joseph I 1 became satisfied from personal knowledge and observation that he was the great prophet of the nineteenth century and a greater prophet never lived on the earth I 1 know that was a prophet of the living god that his words have been fulfilled you who are here today to day are witnesses of the fulfillment of bis predictions for before be died he said that people should live to go to the valleys of the bocky mountains they would drink of the cool which flow down from the canyons and would remain here until therbe came a great and powerful people lived as his neighbor after he was driven out from missouri in nauvoo Nao I 1 knew him well I 1 saw him in life and also in death when his blood had been shed by a ruthless mob in ibis land of freedom I 1 have never known his blood to be atoned for ELDEB C W how sweet it ia to hear good words the effect is peace and union on the other hand how disagreeable is the result of saying that which brings disunion difficulties political and otherwise are growing up around we need not fear them we need not fear the threats that are made against for rod is with this work the government of god is bound to be established it will be the grandest government of which any conception can be formed I 1 mean no treason to any nation on earth in thus expressing myself but merely to assert my loyalty to jesus christ the redeemer of the world whose right it is to reign the time will come when the redemption of zion will be fully wrought out this is as sure es that the sun shines we should not be disappointed if these things are not fulfilled as soon as we anticipate we are liable to fix dates as all things have their times and seasons for verification but they are not set by us neither can they be as the lord has reserved that right to himself after singing by the choir and benediction by president angus M cannon an adjournment was taken ad preach until 2 p m 2 p m there was a slightly mcrea sed attendance in the afternoon there were the usual preliminaries prayer I 1 being offered by president mcalister McA Hister of st george stake APOSTLE J GRANT god requires workers we cannot be idle for he will not bless idleness it is not the diligent workers in his gospel that wear out but those who are careless in doing his will there is only one way by which we may advance and that is by keeping the of abes lord and the only individual to retard the progress of any person ia him or herself my testimony is that no man can live righteously unless be keeps all of the commandments there is such a thing as keeping the commandments in part no elder of israel can address a congregation of saints on the subject of tithing if he pay tithes himself neither can he preach the word of wisdom and give counsels to others concerning it if he himself be not an observer some imi im i agine that if the word of god be kept in part they will receive a salvation and exaltation in his presence and receive all the blessings connected therewith A builder cannot neglect those parts necessary to the construction of a house neither can any principle ot the gospel be neglected if we expect to receive eternal life god loves fais children but he desires them to abide by the laws he has given the lord does not desire for his people to suffer if they are obedient he loves his children no child is punished because it is not loved but its mother chastene chastens cha it because of the great anxiety she has for its welfare the lord will bless men with riches if they beek it in a proper manner to do good as administering to the sick clothing and feeding the poor etc wealth without the spirit of god will damn and not save man eldee A H CANNON the is a perfect law of liberty and it does not control the thoughts or disposition of men except in righteousness it is destined to secure eternal freedom god will havo a tried people and for us to become faithful we must hearken to the counsels of those placed over us past history has shown that blessings have attended those who have kept gods commands ELDEK JOHN MORGAN scolie vividly on the subject of a proper education there is a generation of children growing up to take the place of their parents who have borne the burden in the heat of the day at the present time there are between and children enrolled in the sunday schools it is a subject therefore that should receive due consideration except in the few latter day saints schools there are no other places where our children can be taught the principles of the gospel infidelity results from ignorance many of our people are not able to give a reason for the hope they have within their eyes are fascinated with the glittering things around them and consequently make shipwreck of their souls we have institutions in which the principles of our faith are taught five days in the week instead of two these schools are doing a noble work they will increase in number and influence until there will be a perfect system of training and then we will be redeemed and reign with christ APOSTLE F M LYMAN through transgression man must die and suffer pain and death but through the atonement which christ made we can through faithfulness lay claim on the greatest of all gifts a salvation in kingdom all revelations in the sacred book are from the lord but not foreso than all other truths all knowledge as science literature mathematics etc is from the lord he is the father who has griven peace the father who has erven the light of the gospel and the rather who has preserved us and to him we are indebted for all things we are christs also all truth cometh from god the father to his son jesus christ there are two great powers at work the power of god and the power of satan one or the other of these we must aerie by serving one we receive the blessings of life eternal and by obedience tf the other come pain buffer ing and death the time however will come when scores will want berths in the ship zion he testified that his labors in the kingdom were his happiest the choir aang the anthem sing unto |