Show anest hubbel gnant fi f I e 3 daiy diy 0 pening ad dress at the ninetieth ikemi annual general conference of the church of jesus carl christ st of latter day saints convened I 1 in I 1 the tabernacle friday morning at 10 0 clock with president heber J grant presiding the main audi corium was mas jammed and the galleries were comfortably tilled filled evidencing the desire of the saints to licar hear the word nord of the lord and tho the advice and council of their leaders in the turmoil and uncertainty of tile the reconstruction and adjustment period following the great world war the minds of the people open and eager for solace warning or admonition were keenly attentive to every word that fell from the lips of the prophet seer and revelator in his kernels address the regular seating arrangement was observed the general au authorities thorl of the church were present as follows follow a president cleber J grant president anthon 11 II lund president charles W penrose and elder elaf r rudger clawson acting president of the council of the twelve elder george 1 I richards elder orson F whitney elder david 0 mckay elder anthony W ivins elder joeph joceph fielding smith elder james jamea E talmage elder stephen L richards elder richard R lyman and elder melvln melvin J ballard accounting or all members of the council ot of welve excepting elder reed an oot who he Is in washington D C a i un ted states senator and elder G gorge george orge albert smith in liverpool president of the european mission presiding patriarch hyrum G smith of the first seven presidents of seventies elder seymour B young elder brigham 11 II roberts elder J golden kimball elder rulon S wells elder elde joseph W mcmurrin home from presiding over the california mission and elder charles 11 hart one absent elder levi edgar young detained on the opening day of conference by duties at the university of utah of the presiding bishopric a full attendance presiding bishop charles W nibley and his counselors bishop david A smith and bishop john wells there were also present members of the general church auditing committee church historians and members of the general church board of education mission presidents were seat ed in their usual place a row ron of chairs immediately in front of the pulpit noticeable particularly among those present was as mr emmeline B wells in her usual place at the head of the members of the general relief society board mrs wells has been ill of late and many feared she might not be able to attend but a few minutes before 10 she was nas escorted up the chancel steps by eager and courteous ushers and her associates greeted her as she took her seat the skies were vere soggy foll following oming a period of rain mists hung low and the foliage and walks were wet giving a touch of cold fall weather but no actual rain was falling while the congregation wais waa assembling sem bling prof J J mcclellan mcclelian played a prelude on the organ the musical program was under tbt direction of prof A C lund president grant called all members of ward or stake choirs to the choh loft and told them to take their places there during the sessions eess lons of conference on friday and saturday the opening hymn was come come ye saints congregational the opening prayer was nas by elder edward ednard ll II anderson andersen of th crinite stake presidency elder anderson andersen prayed for the servants of the lord and his work on earth as usual and then prayed the lord to raise president woodrow wilson up from his affliction for his death would be a calamity to this nation and to the whole world the musical number was waa also congregational do what Is right in hla his opening address pres grant said ho he rejoices to meet with the saints again in conference glad that although it wis was essential to postpone the april conference it has not ben been necessary to postpone the regular october conference ile he said it seems hard to realize that he stands as head of the church but lie he has faith that the lord will rive give him strength with ith the advice and help of hla his counselors and associates to fill the mission to which he has haa been called grant said when hen the list of songs was presented to him that were to be sung during the confer opeo sessions he noted at the head of the list come come ye saints and he had decided to tale take that hymn cf his bis text tor for hla his opening address ile he related how the words cords were written bv the late alder william claton claiton while the saints were to a new and unknown home ile he wrote them at the special request of the tha late lalo president brigham young pros grant told now all leaders of the church have had bad their favorite hymns and he be related how he be had chosen tills this one as his favorite lie he was in liverpool at the time and the late pres francis at alman asked him to name his favorite song and it would bo sung on that particular occasion prea grant said that up ui to that time lie he had not selected a favorite hymn but after hearing enumerated ume rated the favorite songs of other church loaders leaders he made up his mind and chose I 1 come come ye saints pies grant read the hymn and line by line commented upon it and gave interpretations of the text every line and every thought expressed in the verses were held out as truth applicable to the lives of the saints pres prea grant said lie ha nevor never hears the song sung aung or never reads it that his heart does not go out in admiration and gratitude t to 0 the pioneers and that he does not utter a prayer that he as a descendant of those pioneers may keep the faith they espoused lie ile told how the pioneers sacrificed all for their faith and built up a horns horne for their posterity how this religion inhabited by the people of tho the lord Is peaceful restful tree free from mob violence and the rages of war and how it all makes him graceful to his heavenly father for the truth of the gospel the pioneers came here said pros pres grant to do what to Is right re ferling to the second song son sung at the opening of the session lie he read parts of do what Is right t and commented on them pros pres grant said he once asked the late pres prea joseph F smith what his favorite hymn was pres smith said cald he thought ho he did not have a special favorite but he was partial to the hymn uphold the right pros pres grant said the title line of that song sone Is typical of the temperament and character of the late pres joseph F P smith mith tor for he verily did uphold the right pres grant said he desires to urge upon the latter day saints to reflect upon the manned in which the lord has blessed them and they will realize that thea the are under obligation to serve him and yield obedience to his N word ord preb grant said bald he often reflects upon the goodness of the lord to his people how he has blessed them under all circumstances even in the holdst of persecution some of the greatest groa grota test revelations the lord has given through his prophets in this dispensation have been given to them in prison cells he read one such revelation ghen to the prophet joseph smith wherein Alie rein the loid gave words of comfort and doctrine the priesthood is inseparably connected with the word of the lord no power of the priesthood Is given to be exercise od ed save in kindness and long suffering and when any man holding the priesthood seeks reeks to exercise that spir it amen to the priesthood of that man pres grant said bold that while he be is president of the church lie he shall strive to wield his priesthood in accordance cor dance with that revelation pres grant said he had thought of saying something ing about the league of nations but lie he would refer the saints to a sermon lie he preached two weeks necks ago in the I 1 tabernacle and which was printed in full in the deseret news ile ho said he will hive that sermon includes in the proceedings of the conference and that lie he will ask elder E 11 II anderson to have it printed lu in the improvement era president grant said there is one thing however to which lie he desires to refer and that Is IB obedience to the law of the land ile he referred to the recent mob outrage at omaha end said no man has hag any right to take the law into hla his own oun hand ile he called it an outrage and a blot men h ive the right to band together lu in labor unions said the president but the have no right to interfere with the personal right ind and liberty of others A man has a right to earn his hie own living whether or not he belongs to any union and no union has haa the right to demand an employer to bire onla union men lie ile hopes to see the day pros pres grant said bald when no latter day saint will join a labor union un less the union will eliminate the clause that denlis the right of employment to a man who does not belong to the union he said he is not going to lay it down donn as the word of the lord but he hopes members of the church will see it in the right light no labor union has the right to compel men to join tapir ranks or to lay down their tools and quit work because an emPo employ pr will not employ only union men A man may join a union or not that Is his god div given en agency but he cannot by every law of justice or right be absolutely compelled to join any union the principal of compelling an intelligent tell toll igent being to do any certain thing and robbing him of his free agency was fought out in heaven before the foundation of the world was laid and the law of tree free agency prevailed president grant closed by bearing a powerful testimony and invoking the blessings of the lord upon the saints and the work of the lord in toe earth president anthon ir lund was the next speaker ile he rejoiced in meeting with the saints again in conference and said eald the benefits of such gatherings are apparent even the evil one realizes their power tor for good tor for he has always attempted to prevent the saints sainte from meeting he referred to the address of president Preal dent grant and bore his testimony that what was vas said was the word of the lord president lund urged the saints to attend all their meetings as faithfully as they attend to conference especially urging better attendance at the regular stake quarterly conferences at such gatherings he be said the saints will hear the word of the lord and be built up in their faith lie he said eaid he regrets that the people assembled in religious gatherings have rather abandoned the good old practice of speaking an all audible amen to what the speaker has said eald when he concludes pres lund referred to the restoration of 0 the priesthood by john the baptist to the prophet joseph amith and oliver cowdery two years before the church was waa organized then the higher bigbe ar priesthood later was bestowed upon these same men by peter james and john now the power was on earth not only to bap aize but to officiate in the ordinances of the higher priesthood they no now had the authority and the po power from heaven to organize the church the church was first governed and controlled by elders ciders the first office of the higher priesthood restored but that comprehended the power of ordination di and advancement and then came the time when the chuich was presided over by high in spite of all this knowledge and experience said Pies president ident lund oliver cowdery fell away from the faith prest preat lund used this as an example of the necessity of holding steadfastly on to the faith and always yielding obedience to the word of the lord the justice ot of the government of the church to Is seea in that although oil ver cowdery had been so close to the head yet when he transgressed he was disciplined and cast out prest lund related how bow the testimony always remained ith oliver cowdery even though ho he hl renounced the faith he never deviled that he had seen heavenly beings on one cne oc occasion caslon anen he was conducting a law suit oliver cowdery wax wasta taunted tinted with tho the fact act that lie be at one time had been a mormon ile he admitted it and bore testimony to the th of mormonism in after years oliver cowdery came back into the Cli chuich through the door ot of baptism and he died a humble member all this prest lund used to illustrate the necessity of keeping in close touch aith ft ath the spirit of the loid and not relying on the testimony one might have to keep one within the pale or of the gospel a teachings in spite ot of a firm pud positive testimony now any man may fall away from the faith unless lie at all times remains prayerful humble bumble and in close touch with the spirit of god president lund referred to the near approach of tile the coming of the son of man by all the signs of the times and admonished the saints to prepare for that glorious time when satan sa tan shall be bound und and the prince of peace shall reign on oa earth prest lund referred to the effect th great war has had on spreading spreads I 1 9 the gospel but now the way to IB open opened e d up for the spreading of the gospel goo el is as probably never before satan can cannot stop the work of the lord prest lund spoke of how the saints in the scattered conferences and missions in the world espella especially lly in the war torn countries had worked hard to keep up the work of the lord and how they had bad been blessed in their efforts to tide over the terrible time until the elders eldera could come again and now the way ay is being opened up the elders eldera are going out again the mission presidents are again traveling and directing t the he work and the vitality of mormon lem is being made maini manifest fest louisa watson sang bang effectively a soprano solo fear not le e 0 israel regrets pie ll hits president grant said cald it is a source of profound regret that the president of the united states is dangerously ill president grant sald said he was wag favorably impressed with president wilson and what he be said on the occasion of his bis recent visit here lie he believed him to be a conscientious man one who wants to 10 see mankind do and be a leo lei aright according to his best beat light and knowledge and ae ac to his judgment of what Is right president grant announced that after the singing of doxology by the congregation the entire conference assembled would loin join with elder orson oreon F P whitney in fit the closing prayer in invoking god to raise the president of this notion nation up from hla his bed of affliction elder whitney in addition to invoking the healing spirit to attend and restore president wilson prayed that his attendants attendant and associates might be blessed with wisdom in administering such help and care as would speedily restore the president of the united states to health and strength |