| Show FORTY FIRST FINST ANNUAL conference CONFER enge ENOE bortne OP THE CHURCH OF or JESUS CHRIST latu LATT ERADAY oay DAY ii i i in tit i THE forty first an annual nual Con conference conferee feren ce of the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints convened on this the sixth day of april 1871 at 10 am in the new tabernacle on the stand were of the finst first presidency brigham young geo A smith and daniel H wells of the twelve apostles orson hyde orson pratt john taylor wilford woodruff charles C crich rich lorenzo snow franklin D richards george Q cannon brigham young j jr r joseph F smith and albert carrington Patr patriarch taya tara john smith of the ferst first sem seven presidents of deve seve seventies 11 1 joseph young young alberia alberta P boek Bock wood andyjohn and john van cott oft s of fhe the Pres presidency meny mens denY of f the AA sigh ats 4 i f 9 elias ellas smith edward and Elia ella 0 O J ilia avi blaje of mod george B wallace L abid alidy john T caine st 1 11 presidency of t tile i e B edward hunter leonard W hardy and jesse sead C little there were also bishop elders and leading men from every set bet settlement in the thin territory conference was called to or order derby by president brigham young the choir sang the towers of zion soon shall rise prayer by elder john taylor the choir sang morlais mortals awake I 1 let angels join ll 11 PRESIDENT GEO A SH SMITH made a few preliminary remarks he said it was a source of joy that we could assemble here on the occasion of the forty first annual conference of the church he alluded to the changes all nil and I 1 persecutions through which the church had passed since its organization our oar coming here building cities towns ac has constituted constituted us the pioneers of civilization in the great west est eat these things are now matters of history during the conference instructive addresses will be delivered by the apostles and elders also a number of matters of business will be laid before the people among which will be the building buil bull din of the temple the payment of tithes tha construction of a railroad south will be considered this road would greatly facilitate the transportation of the necessary material to build the house of god measures will probably be taken to build a temple at st george the time will come when each stake of zion will have its temple 0 on n account of president Eldred dredges eldridges El geis gels health failing it will be necessary to appoint some one to fill his place as president of the european mission mis ion ioD and will probably return this season also some one to fill his bis pre present serit position in the scandinavian miss mission lon ion the foreign mission however may not be very much extended at this conference we would be glad if the people of this city vity would understand that there is plenty of room in this tabernacle for them he hoped they would tell this to their friends he continued to speak on the p present resent condition of the nations of the tho earth and bore testimony to the truth of bf the great latter hitter day ELDER ELDEK ORON HYDE next spoke he said that th the tha weather habib having be been eh for some time tor farming anil and the thel farmers in ift consequence being very busy this conference may way probably not be be quite so well attended as some previous ones whether there be few or many if the spirit of god is poured out on ua us we can enjoy ourselves he read a passage from the psalms be beginning kinning at the verbe verse and then spoke for some time on the attribute of mercy aa as shown by the almighty and how it should be exercised by all men and women in every eveny department of life in n the course of his remarks he alluded to the eternal nature of man and all the ordinances of the gospel of jesus christ speaking more particularly of the law of marriage he also made some remarks with regard to the opposition manifested against the work of god stating that he was inclined to believe that many who thus thua array themselves against the latter day saints are imbued with a degree of of sincerity as all have their peculiar standpoint stand point from which they view the kingdom of god such sincerity however e v er does its possessor more injury t than n good in speaking af of polygamy he said how many of those who oppose the practice of that principle by the saints if they should ee be arraigned before the lar tar bar ban of god with the polygamist could bay say here are my wives and chilgren children chi iiren laren whom I 1 have honored acknowledged knowledg ged and sustained they would b be compelled rather to tell a tale of sin bin and shame in giving their account he exhorted the saints to increased diligence in keeping the commandments mand ments of god if the saints will do right they will live to see their enemies humbled in the dust oust he hoped there would be an abundant harvest that tilt tithes and offerings may flow into storehouse the of the lord the choir choin sang great is jehovah 44 f prayer by elder franklin D richards richa a conference adjourned till ap m 12 2 p pm m the choir sang a mortal ear attend prayer by eider elder woodruff Woodi the choir sang bang JJ tv krise irise i rae 0 glorious zion ELDER LORENZO SKOW SNOW ad Address drew dressed drem sed the conference he said although the church has passed through many checkered and trying scenes since birke ats its organization and notwithstanding staf iding the circumstances of the saints have undergone many changes temporally their faith and the principles of the gospel remain unchanged he s spoke k 1 e of the various dispensations in arie which h god had revealed his will t to man showing the opposition witt with with which such dispensations had been met by the great bulk of the human family he showed the absolute necessity of mankind being guided by revelation and alluded to the gift and power of the holy ghost and the only way by which that great mno gift ft could be obtained there need be no dubiety in the minds minda of any respecting the truth of the gospel we preach for the servants of god declare they have authority to tio administer the ordinances of the house of god and that if people will repent of their sins and be baptized for the remission of them they shall receive the gift of the holy ghost and they will thus have the truth revealed to themselves this has been tested and proved by tens of thousands in various parts of the earth who are living examples of the fulfillment of those promises many who see the good effects of gathering the poor to these valleys thus enabling them to better their cincu circumstances in say president young is ig a very smart man but those good effects are not particularly became because he is a smart man but because the lord continually inspires him with the necessary wisdom to direct the work we are engaged in BISHOP JOHN sharr SHARP ud said be he was fortunate enough to be one of those to whom the ser servants of god brought the plan of salvation when he hb heard the glad message he received it readily the spirit of the lord bore testimony to him that what he heard was the truth the tho gospel found him in a coal pit and had brought him from darkness to light he was not an enemy to mankind and he never would quarrel with his neighbor if he could mot sot bee see as he did he claimed the same right of religious freedom he was willing to accord to others and in exercising that right he took pleasure in bearing testimony that joseph smith was wis a prophet of god raised to introduce the fullness of the gospel of truth it takes but little education to tell oi of has received and the peace bace he enjoys in this thib world of strife M he alluded to the comprehensive nature of the gospel as illustrated luthe he design of the almighty to save not only those being in the flesh but the dead who have gone before who will listen tomis tosia voice I 1 v i PRESIDENT GEORGE A SMITH addres t ed the conference for a hort time he ga gave ve a graphic description of konie ionie some bome of the persecutions endured by the saints in the early rise of the church he showed the great obstacles to be overcome in first bringing so many people nearly all of whom were very poor to these valleys he also alluded to the help that had been extended in gathering the poor from the nations of the earth the contributions for carrying on this important work have been limited for some time on account of the destruction of crops by grasshoppers ac let the brethren consider during this conference what they the will donate for this purpose and why when en they beeme liberal say what they will do this is one of the atoms of this conference those who owe the P E fund should immediately gay pay up let all the elders elder who have been een on missions remember their brethren in the old countries may god bless us in doing this and every good thing PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG briefly addressed the conference he said it would be gratifying if those who spoke would take the course that had been pursued this afternoon viz not to speak too long he bore his testimony to the truth of the gospel and stated that a great many evil spirits were seeking to overthrow every good saint the saints should te be on their guard against such influences he showed that there was not a science in existence but substantiated the truth of the gospel we have received for it embraces all truth he requested that to avoid confusion the people should remain quietly until meeting be dismissed and that the doorkeepers door keepers see th atthe doors be kept closed it was announced that a priesthood meeting would be held tomorrow to morrow evening at 7 the choir sang I 1 make a joyful noise I 1 I 1 I 1 prayer by elder george Q cannon adjourned till tomorrow to morrow ath atlo atio a m ii n ath 10 am c the choir sang i is v s see I 1 all creation joins br to praise th thi eternal god prayer by elder orson hyde the choir sang hosannah to the great messiah I 1 ELDER WILLIAM C STAINES addressed the conference he said he had no subject but life and salvation which he had studied for many years it was thirty years since he heard the gospel the first prayer he heard offered up by an elder of israel was commenced thus 0 thou god of abraham isaac and jacob unto thee I 1 lift up my ny voice this morning he felt convinced that he indeed addressed the true and living godana by his discourse he felt he was a servant of the almighty previous to this he had been a methodist he was baptized for the remission of sins and received the holy ghost after this he sought for the gifts of the th espirit spirit once while alone the spirit of prophesy came upon him he was tempted to think that his having that gift and exercising it while alone was useless on consul consulting t in 9 elder lorenzo snow upon the s subject bj act hebold t hat that gift publicly and repeat the same prophesy he had uttered when alone this was fulfilled afterward just as brother snow had said elder staines bore a powerful testimony to the truth of the work of god paying he knew by revelation that josa Joss josepn joseph epli epil smith was a prophet and also that the spirit and power of god had rested upon president young from the death of joseph to the present time i he spoke of the great difficulties that had to be encountered and overcome by the saints since their settlement here I 1 and through which they had been safely ed by the servants of god he exhorted the saints to increased faithfulness and especially the young brethren and sisters to be obedient to their parents he said he knew that when the prophet joseph was martyred marty red his mantle fell upon brigham and had hd remained with him from that day to the present he desired that the blessings of god should be upon the people EL ELDER DER VA ANkLIN anclin IAl lal lai dlin SLIN D richards spoke he said that he first heard beard the gospel go massachusetts pel pei preached by president young in massachusetts it was over thirty years since he embraced that gospel he had not long obeyed its principles until it was revealed to him by the hol hoi holy ghost that he had bad received the truth he had bad never doubted the truth fro from that time until now his only object in life was to assist in building up the kingdom of god he alluded to the probable great influx of strangers that the opening of our mineral resources would bring here and the mistaken notions of many with regard to the way in which we look upon such an advent we do not look upon strangers with hostility but otherwise we have been expecting strangers to come here no gentleman or lady has ever overcome come here who has been uri url courteously treated there are however many who come with their minds filled witla with prejudice and with a determination nto to find fault with everything and when they leave them they speak evil fals fais falsely elV against the people the honorable however will tell the truth concerning ua no he alluded to the war and contention in some parts of the world showing that peace was being taken from the earth that the spirit of peace is with the maints and that president young is the greatest living iving benefactor of the human family H he e spoke of the allurements allure ments that would p probably be placed before the people by t he the introduction of so called civilization and war tided them against being led astray by them we are greatly blessed in having the privilege of rearing two temples at the present time the prophet joseph said there was no greater reater responsibility resting upon the faints saints than looking after the interests of their dead it is time we looked after our progenitors to whom we are indebted for our existence it is to be hoped that tithes and offerings will now flow in to help carry on this work he spoke of those who are indebted to the P E fund and the necessity of their paying up and of the brethren donating of their means to gather the poor he bore a strong testimony to the restoration to of the gospel in these days PRESIDENT GEO A SMITH addressed the conference he said the hard labors of the saints such aa as moving the people to these valleys with insufficient outfits building cities and settlements ac have hitherto operated against the extension and introduction of facilities for education yet whenever a settlement has been established a school house has been the first b building U id ing erected and the means of education cat to n h have ve spread as rapidly as circumstances cum stances will permit in this city and at provo graded schools have been instituted government has rendered us no assistance in this direction let the brethren and sisters sustain these institutions by sending their children to attend them and furnish means to carry them on it has been a great misfortune to us be he continued that some of our school trustees have engaged teachers of the greatest and best beat foundation for a good teacher is a sound moral character that bis his or her influence with pupils may be on the side of righteousness and purity the choir sang r glory to god prayer by elder geo Q cannon ed till 2 adjourn adjourned 1 pm 7 i ath 2 p m fe the choir sang the great an and glor gior glorious aus gospee prayer was onn off offered eidd by joseph F S smith m ith i 11 1 the choir sang 1 r author of faith eterna eternal word d vt ELDER JOHN TAYLOR taynor addressed the asu assembly embly he said he would take a tear from the church of england prayer book As it was in the beginning 13 now and ever shall be worlds without end he thought as great improvements had taken place in literature science ac sc that there ought tobe a corresponding improvement among men in religious matters the rapid progress in science a art rt and mechanism however affect us only temporally discoveries Discover ies iea are but the development of latent principles which have existed eternally in nature |
