Show FIFTY F winst ANNUAL conference the annual conference of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints convened in the tabernacle sait salt hit ait lake city on sun day april 3rd ard ISSI at 10 a m as per call of the first presidency present on the stand of the first presidency john taylor george Q cannon and jos F smith of the twelve wilford wood ruff lorenzo snow erastus snow franklin D richards BrIg brigham harn young francis Al INI lyman andyjohn and john H smith counselor 1 H veils velis patriarch john smith presidents of seventies joseph young horace S eldredge john van cott and W W taylor of tho the bishopric edward hunter leonard W hardy and robert T burton besides presidents of stakes bishops and other leading men from nearly all the stakes of zion conference called to order by president john taylor choir hang sang I 1 all AU pi eralso algado to our redeeming lord who wio joins us by his grace prayer trayer pr ay or by president joseph F smith the choir sang ob my father thou that dwell est in the ugh high and holy piam place PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR we are met this morning to attend to the duties and the responsibilities bili ties which devolve upon ua us atour annual conference we thought that we would change the pro gramme a little as it regards time 9 and as asi it is the spring season of the year when men are generally engaged with their labor we thought by commencing our conference today it would give men an 0 opportunity of being present w without t hou losing a days labor in their fields we have this morning a deligh delightful trul time very pleasant weather and everything favorable for our assembling together and whilst we are thus assembled it is proper that we as saints of the tto the most high god ou ought to have our hearts and feelings under the direction and inspiration of the almighty that we may seek geek for the good spirit of the lord to be with gitil us to guide us and to direct us ps in all of our teachings in all of our business transactions in all of our co and in the various duties and responsibilities ties which devolve upon us to attend to on this occasion this is the anniversary of the organization of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints or it will be next wednesday morning and when we reflect unon the circumstances with which we have been sui sur rounded surrounded from that time until the present we certainly must feel that we have cause to rejoice israel oice and to be grateful to the god of israel for the many mercies and blessings which he has manifested toward us and for his protecting care which has been over us in the midst of opposition and in the midst of calumny and in the midst of reproach having been assailed all the time by enemies to god and to his truth the lord has preserved usand we will give to god the glo y and irrespective of the feelings and ideas and theories of men we feel to rejoice and praise god our heavenly father from the bottom of our hearts for the kindness and mercy which he has vouchsafed unto us and whatever may be the feelings of man toward us our feelings are glory to god in the highest and on earth peace and good will to men even to all who love the truth everywhere among all peoples in all the world and whatever maybe may be the feelings of others toward us our feelings are nothing but kindness and mercy mency and salvation to the human family we are here to carry out the word and will and designs of god wo are here to help to build up his king dom to combat error to advance principles of truth to establish zion zion and to bring to pass things that have been spoken of by all the holy prophets since the world was and in our teachings in our administrations in our selecting missionaries to 0 go forth to the nations of the earth to 0 procla procia proclaim ln the riches of christana Chri stand in all the relations that we may have to do with in our assembling sem bem bling together we ask for the guidance of the good spirit of god to e with us and I 1 say to israel god bless yoland lead you in the paths achs of life in the name of jesus amen APOSTLE woodruff reiterated the previous ous speakers s eakers sentiment of gratitude to rod cod god for the privilege of meeting with so many of the saints and those bearing the holy priesthood in this the last dispensation he could not bt blit marvel when he meditated over the way in which the saints bad been protected and blessed from the beginning alluded to the example of the three cebre hebrews vs thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow down before image and of their passing through t the fiery ordeal unscathed also to dani Danl daniels elis elIg cruel treatment and subsequent preservation he never knew a man who gained anything by trying to shirk the duties which god 13 expected of him instanced jo experience although the savior and his apostles were called upon to seal their testimony with their blood they could not afford to turn away from the truth or shirk its responsibilities joseph and hyrum smith were also faithful unto death and they could adford afford to die for but not to desert the truth it is for all the latter day saints to cherish the memory of such noble nobie examples and to remember that they can afford to carry out the tiie purposes of god even though death should ensue but no man can afford to compromise with error or forsake the gospel of or god if we are faithful we will see the fulfill fulfil ment of all the promises that god has made in respect ct to this age ar ald ard d dispensation the revelations we have received in this day are from god just as much as any that were ever given to man from the heavens an and d just as truly as ancient relations revelations v ve have been fu ful fuk wiled to 0 the letter so true is it that not one jot or tittle of modern revelation will fall uil uti unfulfilled fulfilled god is over us and we need not fear he will break every weapon formed against us and though we have met with persecution in a measure and even now the hands of the wicked are stretched out against us god will deliver us from all our enemies why are we persecuted er S ecu acu ted it is said we believe in the principle of plural marriage this merely a pretext if we compromised that principle we should have to renounce all I 1 prophets apostles bishops laws and ordinances and even our god this we cannot afford to do god will su sustain stain us he controls man and he will watch over us henceforth and for ever we need not fear man nor renounce one principle of our religion for his sake but fear fair god and keep his commandments and we shall inherit eternal wo lifo in his celestial kingdom APOSTLE LORENZO SNOW said we could well afford to entertain good will and peace toward all mankind it is foi for this that we have been called to the position wo we hold and this is our mission upon the earth jesus came to earth to carry out his fathers father will and to do the work of his father he in turn gave the same mission to his apostles he glorified his father and he told his disciples they must do likewise he told them they should be hated of all men for his sake all that we receive of good comes from god and no man can understand the ways of god but by the spirit of god before the foundation of the world a system of communication between god and men was established and in n no other way can communication be received from him the jews could not with all their understanding know that jesus the son of god was in their midst jesus said then thesis this is eternal life to know the true and living god and jesus christ whom he hath sent on one occasion when peter had answered him that he was christ the son of the living god jesus said art thou simon br by jona tona for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee but my father which is in heaven andee also said 11 upon this rock of revelation I 1 will build my church and the gates of liell shall not prevail against it it is to be hoped all the saints today to day are built upon this rock bock it was the principle in ancient days and it is the principle today to day upon which the church is founded the principle of revelation from god through this came cain all our knowledge and intelligence concerning the things of god and we receive through it the tile comforts of the spirit which enable us to summer suffer persecution gladly looking forward to our eternal exaltation and ready to suffer and sacrifice all things for the sake of the icing kingdom orn of god by doing the works of god we glorify god even as jesus did and we know that if we do these works we shall be rewarded by being raised to his presence and made sharers of his glory we must be united and act as a unit in building up gods kingdom if we refuse to do the works which will make us one god will find some means to compel us to become except we are one we are not his in missouri missour the saints failed to consecrate all their property to the building up of gods kingdom and they afterwards had to give it all u up to the mob let us hope this wirl wigi will not be the case again but let us keep gods commandments ts and seek to glorify him in all our acts APOSTLE F D RICHARDS felt thankful for the I 1 bace i in a which we had been permitted to meet together that the gospel had been revealed to man in this day and that so many had believed it we have good reason to be grateful while pestilence ti war wai and famine accompany the human family in other nations here we have health peace and piu pit plinty nty yet we wo are sometimes prone to think we are hardly dealt with and often we borrow trouble now god has promised to help us in real trouble but he has never said he would help us to bear up tip under borrowed trouble we should trust in god he will bo be ever near to guide console and advise his faithful people it belongs to us to keep the covenants we have made with the lord and with eadi cadi other and the lord lias has said it is his business to take care of his saints pho phe the rho hand of god has bernover be been enover oven over us from the beginning and over ever since our glorious retreat into these mountains wo we have prevailed god has ha s said 1 I the lord lard will forgive whom I 1 will forgive but it is for you the saints to forgive all nien we must remember this and put it into practice in thought and action do we realize that we once lived in the spirit world and had the picture of tins world placed before us and that we havo have been permitted to come como liere here because we were faithful i m h a preexistent pre existent state we came here first as our savior did to descend below all things and by adopting the principles of righteous 11 ss to gradually ascend to our eternal exaltation this is the only vay wiy by which man can bo ba exalted and although we are persecuted for preaching these principles we cannot amford afford to relinquish them but no member of the church who has the spirit of his calling upon him wishes ish sany anything thing but good to the human race it is our constant prayer that the world may receive th the gos gospel I 1 and partake with us in its blengs blessings the choir sang the anthem stag stay to the tho lord in joal str alg alm benediction by president george Q cannon sunday 2 p m the choir sang mortals Mor taia tala awake let angels join and chant the solemn lay prayer by elder JS erastus rastus snow the choir sang bang K lord of hosts we now invoke thy spirit most divine elder orson pratt who has been prostrated by sickness for many weeks past had so far recovered and gained strength as to be brought to the conference and took his seat with the apostles PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR said owing to the magnitude of this immense audience it was very desirable for as much silence to be maintained as possible he therefore called on the deacons to keep children from walking about and to preserve a as s good order as could be maintained that the congregation might be able to hear the remarks of the speakers akers ahers PRESIDENT GEORGE Q CANNON addressed the assembly expressed his pleasure with the saints Sain hain tsin trin in conference and invoked the spirit of the lord to his aid while speaking he ile had been absent in washington for 15 or 16 weeks enjoyed excellent health heal th and had never felt better under similar circumstances there had been considerable sid erable said about the saints of late in the ca capital ital but he had bad not been disturb disturbed sn n his feelings for a second there is an excitement in the warfare we are engaged in the consciousness that we are on the winning ide tide t and that victory will eventually perch on our banners renders the experience pleasurable with the activity which prevails at home among the saints with the labors of the home homo missionaries improvement pro associations relief belief societies clet cie ties les sunday gunday schools etc and the sending of missionaries abroad to disseminate the principles of truth together with the building of temples temple and other works it is no that opposition should be fierce and that there thoro should be a great deal talk and agitation about the dior mor mons 11 we have been taught from the beginning that these things were to be year after year aa as this work develops and the purposes of unfold do we see the striking ful ailment of the prophecies concerning ingus us joseph smith a prophet the living god heralded as good and as evil throughout the tiie world is gradually being lifted up tip and through this the name of god is being glorified many of the prophets predictions of 50 years ago and u up P to the time of or his death have been fulfilled and he has been proven to be a prophet not by the saints alone but by the inhabitants of the earth at large they are doing all in their power to tb establish his claim as inspired an servant of god how marvellous marcellous marv ellous are tho the purposes and abid works of god godl using men nations governments as him good to effect his wonderful purposes those who have been brough brought t up tip in this cli cil church who can remember the dark and bitter past know how lit ht je le they onee once could see seo the accomplishment of these prophecies they could only see them with the eye of faith but the years that have ensued have brought to pass the things seemed so unlikely to be fulfilled when mien the work was wan in it embryo it excited hatred and called forth attention A young and man testified that he she had seen an angel from heaven and that the old gospel its gifts and the everlasting priesthood were to church of god eg es ablis lied hed upon the earth it aroused a fever of excitement men were stirred up to persecute him began to tell lies about him liim and to blast his reputation his family and himself were calumniated every word or act of his life was tortured into evil and charges were spread abroad respecting him which had not the leant lea iea it color or semblance of truth Fifty years the church was organized with but six members it would seem that so insignificant a number men might be permitted to pass unnoticed but rut not so it was heralded far and near that joseph smith had organized a church and everything was done to crush him false charges were heralded by the press and pulpit and every effort made to slander and destroy this youth and his associates at the same time etwas it was baid eaid that mormonism was a delusion and would soon burst and disappear but it did not the elders went forth without purse or scrip preaching by the spirit and power of god in tho the face of all the slanders circulated concerning them and the work continued to grow and spread they went into canada crossed the ocean and sowed bowed the seed of truth on foreign shores it went from land to land until almost every nation heard the gospel sound the elders were persecuted but they cared not but continued to preach for they knew they had it to do at home |