Show PRESIDENT BRINGS II 11 I 1 MESSAGE OF PEACE HEAD OP OF CHURCH DECLARES CHURCH IS 8 AT PEACE WITH ALL THE WORLD opening session of annual confer 0 bence ence of church of jesus christ of 1 latter day saints la Is held on easter sunday salt lake city with the presence of nearly all the general authorities or of the church and a large and enthusiastic thusia crowd the opening session of the eighty fifth annual conference 0 43 t the church ot of jesus christ ot of lat ter day saints was held on easter sunday the first time in twenty eight years that the opening dry day of conference has fell on easter sunday president joseph asmith PS mith although he has not been entirely well for some time presided and made the opening evening address ills message was one ona of peace everything seems to point out he said that the church is pursuing its way peacefully it Is at peace with itself and with all the world tor for it carries a message of life peaceful salvation and redemption irom groin sin our work Is to make peace and to establish goodwill good will following the principal part of his address president smith announced that he be would take a liberty that he said was rather unusual because of the many fa false ise wicked things that had been charged against him and his brethren ile ho then gave a summary ot of the tithes received during the year ot of 1914 and of the uses to which this money had been put the total amount received from tithes during the year he said was in addition to the amount paid out of the tithes to the poor there has been collected and paid to the poor by the relief society and there has been paid to the poor by bishops from the fast offerings and other ward charity funds making a total paid to the por poor fo for 1914 of there has been collected tor for the war sufferers which la Is being expended under the direction of president af smith of the european mission our records show that 73 per cent of all the latter day saint families es residing iding in all the stakes of zion own heir own homes the birth rats rate of the church for the year 1914 Is to the thousand the death rate tor for the year 1914 la IS 83 3 to the thousand marriage rate for the year 1914 is 17 to the thousand during the year there were children blessed to there are 1316 elders and 11 15 5 women en laboring in the missions is as mis Elo sio narles of the membership of the church residing in the stakes of zion were born in the united states there has been a net increase in the membership of the church in the stakes of zion from the year 1901 to of souls there are aie now wards and thirty three independent branches there tire are sixty eight stakes of zion and twenty one missions during the year 1814 twenty tyone ty one new wards have been 0 organized 9 anizel and two stakes of zion vf there have been pe performed reformed in the temples to during the rust past year ha baptisms tor for the living and dead and endowments for the living lh and dead altogether ordinances have been performed in the lour four temples thle Is a very considerable increase over any previous year the speakers at the opening session were president joseph F smith and his counselors anton 11 II lund and charles W penrose at the afternoon session people ac tended tho the three meetings held tho the speakers at the tabernacle being rider elder charles W penrose and elder brands al lyman the great organ was not used because it Is undergoing repairs the floor of the tabernacle has been en replaced the seats have been repainted and and the ills building put in excellent condition nine thousand persons sat or stood in the tabernacle sunday night in at at what the program denominated f the biggest sunday school in the he world tho the meeting being under the auspices of the deseret sunday school union and a part of the spring conference of the A mormon lormon church speakers included president joseph ta r smith who by virtue of his office AS head of the church Is also general superintendent of the sunday school S union and other workers prominent in i sunday school activities A feature of the services was singh ing by a chorus ot of 1000 voices most of them children from the salt lake stake of the church the report of george D general secretary see detary of tho the sunday school association showed a total sunday school enroll ment of a gain ot of over last year meetings of different societies were held during the three days conference and the many visitors from every section of the union will return to their homes feeling that much good has been accomplished hy by the members of the church during t the a past year |