| Show b Sunday NA at OO ol HV By years ago yesterday the first FIFTY copy of at the Deseret News was wall Issued The ot of tile the Sunday schools ot of Utah CAIn acne A little tie earlier as aa the first Sunday lunday school In this intermountain region reelon was held Sunday December 1819 This however was not the first lunday school of at the Sainte as ae one ex for a short time In Nauvoo ot of which willoh today but little can an be learned The tIt first Utah Sunday Sundy school was W II held In a small adobe house houM In the Fourteenth ward Salt Bait Lake IAk CIt City at the corner ot of what Are no now known as FI First t Wilt West and Ind Third South louth streets It owed its Ita existence to the seal Hal and devotion of Hider Richard who ho was wasIle Ile 11 superintendent Elder Sider tYme tA was wa Indefatigable A as a SundaY school hool worker and Ind In later years tab schools In Plain City CIt Fit teenUI ward Salt Sett lAke City CIt and I belive be live other place and was AI at the time of hie death the Stake IU Superintendent of these institutions In the Weber Stake ot The first Sunday lunday I school as al mAY be readily supposed eu P td wu was a very ry primitive affair altair anti and eo were many that followed after AHM In those early days daYI every school a sear seart t f rM t of I j 11 M 1 to It k d Where First Sunday School In Utah Was Wa Held By of f S S S did the beet It could according to its advantages and environment There was U no Deseret Sunday School Union to rive give counsel direct unity unify and solidify There wore no Slake organisations to aid In this good work Svery Kery Sunday school chool followed Its own devices Its scholars were taUGht ao to the tho beet Ht light lI ht Its teachers possessed often hampered greatly b by the lack ot of proper books and other appliances and the time ot of gathering differed according to the judgment of the or was waa In Influenced b by local conditions condition It Is fe not surprising that many ot of the early schools were short lived some lome closed u as others opened But year after year the numbers increased until the themore more ot of the Church south In 1949 which migration closed for tor the time being the schools established e in inthe n the northern parts ot of the Territory In Indian dlan dian raids had Indeed previous to this thle been the cause ot of the closing ot of a anum her ber ot of schools In the south either tern tem or permanently In the early I sixties Sunday schools increased and I within R a few tew years eAn they sprang up In all i parts ot of the country then nettled In the schools ot of the earlier the scholars I mOlt universally brought their own books and they were few tew The exercises were confined to the reading of 01 the Bible Very little besides reading was done In many schools classes cia were devoted to teach teachIng teaching Ing the scholars to read and Readers and the like were much In evl dence Bence This lack ot of books booke was the great drawback ot of those days daYl and strange to relate considering our present pres present ent ideas Idea ot of the advantages ot of the Sun Sunday Sunday day schools another obstacle was the indifference and once In a while the tho opposition manifested by the ward and local authorities A few tew not realizing that Sunday schools were the Ibe nurseries ot of the Church gave them the cold shoulder All as innovations nut But Um limes have changed we e know ether better no now In those early days the also aleo wu was very ery primitive There were no noI organs and hymn books book were scarce carce I and again the hymns hymn sung lUng did not apt ap appeal I peal to the hearts heart and understandings ot of the children as there we were at that time no special hymn and song lOng books published for tor the use UN and adapted tB In the thi comprehension and tastes ot of our juvenile population So for tor years year the Sunday school hool cause caulle languished In Zion Elder Bider George Q Cannon gave It a tr fresh h start on his hla reo re return turn In 11 1161 from presiding In the 1 Bu u mission In 1160 he commenced lb publication ot of the Juvenile In which has done a world ot of good In Its sphere This Thill was wa followed by the Ir organisation of at the De Deseret ret Sun dl lay School Union In 1867 but It was pot not until 1971 that the union fairly took hold bold of matters and gradually gUt gave to the Sunday schools the unity tb the strength Itra end and the excellence that now so IO man many ot of them and make them the great power for lor good In the midst ot of the people ot of rOd God which we weare weare are all pleased to acknowledge Print dent Gear George Q CAnnon has hal been from I I the lint first the head hd or general ot of the union For some IOme time he had no assistants Then alder EhSer George was sustained at a his only as aa and later Hider John Morgan bt became hit his second nd assistant After SI m SIder I der Morgans death Dr Karl 0 Masser was waa appointed to fill 1111 lib bit place but no noone noone one hat has yet t been appointed to till 1111 the vacancy cane CUM caused by the more recent r ent death ot of Brother Goddard neat the g general 1 board bocU ot of tho untie seek ell Stake or of Zion hu has new n a Stake secretary treas trea treasurer ur r librarian etc eta and In come ot of the tho larger lamer Stakes there in III R a corps ot of Sun Sunday Sunday day school hool All these thel the brethren are expected to visit as ae often oIlen as po possible All the schools except the very ery small when full tull hue have the follow tollow following Ing officers A first and second assistant superintendents sects tar secretary choir leader librarian assistant librarian treasurer and teachers It is II not always that the schools are the best or that even the best schools hool ere are to be found In our chief cities Far from It Some ot of the most molt perfect schools are sometimes found In remote villages so much mu h depends on the diligence wisdom Intelligence seal Hal and tact ot of the pre elding officer All the ot of ordinary proper ot of the high school an academIc grade gradi lone are divided Into tour lour departments the Primary Prima the First and Second In n term and the Theological or lII high higher h har er ar In the Ibe very lar large e these de sometimes divided Into two or more sections In some schools there are also allO kindergarten and nor normal mat mal departments When I a department I Is divided Into sections It le II understood that tho those sections all study the same lesions and Ire are under the direction ot of the heed head teacher ot of the department A departure from this order entails confusion con fusion end and delays progress year a Sunday Bunday school confer conference enee ence is II held In each ot of the Stakes ot of Zion at III ell ot of which one or more ot of the general board attend This Thle helps to I I i solidify and unity unify the work ot of the schools In November 1 1319 the first convention ot of the Sunday lunda schools of at the Church was 1111 held It WI was a marked success The attendance was remarkably remark remarkablY ablY large the enthusiasm unexpected The good that WI was done cannot be esti estimated mated Another the second convene conven ion will be held In Salt Lake City j f next November when everything I t p ble bie will wll be done to keep It abreast o its I predecessor In excellence harmony and effectiveness During Durin the period ot of It Ile existence the unIon has published numerous works work workbook book booke musk music charts chart leaflets etc elc that have hae greatly aided and strengthened the work of religious education A special committee I Is now engaged In preparing prep an exhaustive Illustrated his hie history tory tor ot of the Church Sunday Sunda schools from the Inception of the work to the pres present present ent time and anyone who ho is II Acquainted with frith what writing original history hl lory means knows what hat labor such euch nn an en enterprise entails Our tint first Sunday school met 40 num numbered bored all told bout about fifty souls louls In 1812 the teachers and not less lei than 1000 four our are Incomplete divided amongst about 20 schools chool Today there are Gre at least leut enrolled and the number ot of schools It at home bome And In the foreign missions million ot of the Church may be roughly estimated at 1100 Ot Of late years far the establishment of missionary schools abroad has hall been found to be one ot of the best ways ot of spreading II a knowledge e of 0 the Gospel Oo ppl and ond many euch schools have been n opened It le II somewhat remarkable as showing the spread pread ot of the work ot of God where some IOme of the largest larRett ot of the are to be found One for tor Instance Is 19 In tar far off orr Australia another r In the Sandwich Islands while the largest ot of all outside this Intermountain r region lon lonIs Is at Stockholm In Sweden the next at In Norway Of the 1100 Sunday schools chool of at the Church at the pre present tnt time nearly If not quite tour four hundred are In our foreign missions The largest larRelt ot of all th the schools is that st at Lehl Lahl Utah Stake its Ita enrollment exams ex ams 1270 1170 next comes come St It George OrRe with and Ind scholars while Bast Bountiful tandl standa third with The average enrollment t In the Stakes ot of Zion Is One ot of the mOlt mat remarkable thin things connected with the present Sunday School hool Union has bu been Its financial policy polky Until Uti 1991 It wholly depended 1 on the profits arising from concerts concert and the like for tor ito Ita Income In that year reI the Nickel Fund WI was en fl la I on one Sunday In Inthe inthe the year now noll the last lut Sunday In Orto Octo her each teacher and scholar is II asked ked to give five e cents to the general lund fund One fifth ot of this donation KOP goes to help defray legitimate Stake Sunday Sunda I school expenses and the remaining tour four fifths II remitted to the treasurer of the Union It 11 is III A noteworthy tact that year after year y ar the union board bord h has re returned P I turned to the In books book harts charts leaflets and other nearly It not quite an 1111 as A the total amount ot of Its portion tit of the fund The missionary schools beyond the hor bor borders derv ders of at the Stakes ot of Zion have hae been the special objects or of its tAre cars If as have also email struggling In the re remote rea mote and newly formed settlements The present nt officers or thE Union art are Merge Q Cannon general superintendent Elder Karl O 0 Masser Ma his Sider S B secretary Rider George treasurer Elder Sider Thins C Griggs bu buds l nes manager Sider Len reo me porter Elder J Joseph W chairman ot of the th executive committee and Elder George Reynolds of nt the publication committee COmIt p The board with It Its aide consists or of twenty two members mon whom ere Ih of nt nth the h general 1 authorities of the It 11 are r in the th T Inn i t the t ni 1 N Newe office where rooms mom II are fitted UP for forthe the ot of super with a library writing mil me etc Theo room mom a an a n u used Pd for the weekly meetings tit of the board I Thursday FInd and for e NII It meetings of Stake Ir with th the union board at t tM the times of nf the n pnra conferences for the 1 of nt I g Ih such a a an cannot ne nely ly h tit be brought 1 before tb the lira semi semiannual 1711 annual of the union nl are I held In the tb Tabernacle u a rule rul on nn the hI Sunday StandA during tnt the conference r sessions r |
