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Show w. .- 114th Annual Genera! Conference Fifth Session Friday, April 7,1 944 7P. M. Salt Lake Tabernacle -- Congregational binging, Lord Accept Our True Devotion Conductor J. Spencer Cornwall Organist Alexander Schreiner Opening prayer, resident David L. Sargeant of the Pace wan Stake Singing, Guide Me To Chorus Address-EIderJNichol- -- Thereby ' the .Tabernacle Choir Mens ' - CLSmilh, Assistant to the Council of as the Twelve Address DrFranklin- - Ls West, Church Commissioner of Education Address Dr. Franklin S. Harris of the BrighanF Young Cni- versify Singing, Jesus, Lover of My Soul. mens chorus Address President David O. McKay Address President J. Reuben Clark Jr. - Singing, The Long Bay Closes, mens chflrus - Dillnian of President E. Roosevelt the Closing prayer. Ray Stake ELDER with previous speakers that In many cases the parents and mot the children are delinquent and merited punishment rather than appointment of the children Temple on Tern Petersen to the pie Square has been established Twelve Pleas- for ordinance work for the livand the dead All eligible with him for ing members of the Church should hasten to fulfill the Lords will in tracing their genealogies and linking up families Our people have not taken much to temple work Less than of the Church population have their endowments Sessions at the Salt Lake Temple have decreased from seven to one-thir- L. WEST-CHU- RCH COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION TJhe Church De- par tmentof Education has organizacharge of a tion, with more than 150 units extending over much-- of - the United states There-i- s an Into Obtain creasing difficulty competent - teachers-- - and -- some seminaries have been forced to discontinue because of this shortage But in spite of these handicaps we are doing our best to keep this system operating The 330 teachers now engaged in the seminaries of the Church are genuine believers of the gospel, loyal and devoted and living their religion as well as any group in the Church Many of them have had an opportunity to accept other and more remunerative positions but have remained loyal to far-flun- NICHOLAS 0. SMITH ASSISTANT TO THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE Pleased at the Elder Mark E. Council of the ant association many years Entirely capable In every way to hold that high position Sister Petersen has always been an inspiration to her husband Congratulated Presiding Bishopric on the program of the Aaronic Priesthood as conducted and in effect throughout the Church Agreed their tasks. It is necessary to teach the fundamentals of the gospel and .build for a sound substantial faith Indications that thuThas been accomplished among seminary students is shown in the testimonies they bear There is faith among our young people Temptations are appallingT-mo- re than beset any before and they are generation doinj magnificently; DR. FRANKLIN d four. DR. FRANKLIN S. HARRIS PRESIDENT OF THE BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY Interested in the discussion and exhortation that had centered around the young i people by nearly half of the previous speakers of the conference Thrilled -- with any work with thousands of young students from more than forty states of the union and most of the stakes Church which, give a cros -- ofthe .section of Church I am tremendously thrilled with the goodness of the young people of Zion-Yo- ung people are essentially soundOne cannot talk to them without knowing that they are about Che" eternaiveTi- ties of the world, and they bear fervent testimonies indicative of the sincerity of the youth of ion This Church has the strongest Important thing possessed by any church, its high spiritual quality Rated spiritual exaltation far above practical securnty This quality gives us a sense of our relation to the eternities, a feeling of nearness tornr Heavenly Father and a .consciousness of herebefore and hereafter. of the the-you- th President McKays Address To Priesthood Session Following is the full text of remarks by President David O. McKay made at the fifth general session of the conference held Friday, j4prlI 7, at I pm, in the. Taber, nacle. the beam out of thine own eye, that thou canst more clearly see the mote that lain thy brother's eye. ZIThe nontext of that scripture N the words of Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration;' it la good to be here. That exclamation expresses the feelSaints whening of Latter-da- y ever they meet in sincerity of purpose to worship the Lord. -- Our souls are enriched, not only by what is said but by what is felt in just being together. I pray that I may be guided by that same spirit during the few moments that I stand before you. One of the paramount duties, I might say the paramount duty of parents is to win and merit the confidence and respect of their children. Equally paramount in the life of a bishopric of a ward is td win and merit the confidence of the people of their ward. Too few par- ents have the confidence ' of their children. There are too few officers in the Church who have the confidence, of the members, particularly of the young people of wards and stakes. I feci Impressed to say a word about something which destroys that confidence. The Savior on one occasion said, Judge not, that ye be. not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye. shall be judged; and the measure ye mete to others shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest the mote that is in thy speak-at-t- table- - against the couldnt understand the tremen- against a teacher, stake president or any other officer of the Church are, unwittingly, perhaps, but most assuredly lessening in their childrens minds the respect and confidence in Church authorities. SLANDER A DEADLY - -. dous growth in Church membership since 1938 as compared to previous years. We have all kept the statistics since they were first published. One of my friends is a certified accountant. He was as puzzled as the rest of us until he discovered that .although the number of children baptized in the stakes WEAPON-One of the most deadly weap- and missions and converts bapons of warfare i& the poison tized in the stakes and missions had been added to the Church gas. Slander is to a childs confidence in Church Authorities membership, there had been no in undermining character what deductions on account of deaths in our Church membership poison gas is to the physical the world." Is body. Now that putting it throughout I believe is it this insinuation follows buj Then strongly, true. We should avoid aa pois-o- n or accusation: Of course we are Slander whose whisper all aware that this method over the worlds diameter, as by the Roman Catholic level -- a3 the canon to Its flank, Churchy but is it honest? Act transports it3 poison shot. cordingto figures Recently reHere is a letter that illus- leased by the State. Board of trates what I mean, about peo- Health there were five thouples forming hasty judgment, sand .two hundred . ninety two judging without sufficient evi- deaths in Utah during dence. ,.I hesitate to refer to it .figures are Incomplete. because in a way it Is compli- We know we have a large mentary and also the writer Church - membership In ,Utah, has done' whatjhe Savior has also in Idaho and Canada v asked us to do; viz. If you have parts oL the -- United I States. think a conservative Mother go aught against ybHri to iihnJ tBetwdent thbetddt fean figdH fdPtle dumber bf'deaths bishopric, d 1943.-Thos- e thou broth-er- . a eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye.1HThenlnlatrong alone, adjust your difficulty." But there are other elements in. the letter wbich prompt me to read it to you as illustrative of this th &bSZIllopThe'nter-wri- t er eithrrbear-o- f readwtisri piaMy-in'dirai'Ilia ttlie sTn am the Savior is condemning Is the saying. Then, too, there may disposition tcKlook unfavorably be others who may be thinking th is g the same lines-- Ss on the character and actions of others, which leads almost in writer. To quote: I am writing you variably to the pronouncing of rash, unjust, unlovely judg- in reference to the Church ments upon them. Very often statistics that are read from the these judgments are formed on stand i if the April conferences insufficient evidence,-an- d after every year and which are later and published in Salt Lake newssuperficial obserations people who form them and ex- papers. Some of my friends press them in the presence of and myself have been rather children put poison .into those puzzled by the figures as the childrens minds. Parents who are given out each year. We he and-other- . con- - demnatory terms be said, Thou hypoortth, ftrst rcmevS. V7 in our Church each year be about five thousand. ever the- - actual figure it not be more honest to ISfiZHgiirS Would What- would deduct Seventies, Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons, number of male members, number of lemale.,.member3,riiumber ,.oL and the number membcrshlirinstead5TTt:'e'Ing of female children; and then dead men on our list? I am as right after that there are eolmale-childr- en - anxious as anyone in our tliose Church today to see our mem baptized, converts and children, but I want to see those received bership grow, from o'tlier lF means. Itgrow by-fawards, from missions, children Then here is the venom, I blessed. follows i deThen dont know against whom: Of creases: Removed to other course we can all guess the wards, removed to missions, name of the man wrho is respon-sibi- e deaths and removed from the for the fantastic way of record, children over nine not bookkeeping, but the less said baptized. They are not countabout him the better. ed as members. These are deGIVES ANSWER creases. The total decreases from It is that accusation and that are' as of January 1st, of venom which indication prompts me to say what I am plus the increases of the year, the result of which is the exact going to say. I said to him: membership of the ward, as of In your concluding para- December 31st of each: year. In the above paragraph you graph you say you are as anx- will see that every death is reChurch our in ious as anyone in the ward and deductported our membership see to today ed from .the ward membership. grow, but you want to see it CONDEMNS ATTITUDE grow by fair means. The implication in that statement, of course, Now we commend this writer is an insult to the Church..au-.- . for his interest in thejjhurch, thorities, and the thought be- and his associates and the hind it is unworthy of any expert accountant, but we Saint.- - For condemn faithful Latter-dathe hasty concluam pleased sions of error and their conI information your tp give you the following re- clusions that some men in the garding the gathering of statis- Church have not been fair in tics which may; ojr giay; not be giving out statistics. As I visentirely accurate, but at any ualize the litfie group working rate it is honest. l eaded up and working, testing these figBishopric to as- ures I fancy I can hear unloye-l- y certain the method of gatlier-Eac- h remarks made. We are jusward tified in that conclusion from ing the statistics, is supplied with what is known that venomous statement about as Form E, which 13 a tran- some man who, he implies, is script of the record of ward not just strictly honest. members covering marriages, I dont know how many divorces, births, blessings, con- young people have heard that; firmations, ordinations, deaths but those who have, have had and excpmmunications.- - At the poison put Into their lives and beginning of every year the (Continued pnrJgerJ5)rir ward I membership la Ibroken tfmwv'tvitir regard to ted, then-subtrac- y April 4J, !H 4 t --- c I V |