Show pite PILE conference MEETINGS APRIL ath 1883 lo 10 0 clock am in compliance with a published d announcement of the first preal dency denoy a large number of officers and members of tae cauich assem blod hied in the assembly hall the first presidency several of the twelve and a good number of local and distant leading members of the church were present on the stane stand tan president TAYLOR taynor called caned the meeting to order the choir sang bang jesus from whom all blemings s now flow great gmt builder of thy church bot bat bolow below sow low tho the lowing following fai fal prayer was offered by president GEORGE Q CANNON 0 agod god our eternal father we thy servants and thine hand maidens have assembled ourselves together this moril morning ing in this place which has been erected for the worship of thy people for the purpose of commencing our annual conference and giving such instructions as aa thy holy spirit shall dictate and we beseech thee 0 father that thou wilt look don down in mercy and compassion epou thy people and cause that the holy spirit may do de cand upon us in power with jtb ats its gift ritts with its ts graces with its ita qualification fi that we may rejoice therein that thy servants who shall be called upon to speak may speak in the power and demonstration thereof and that thy people sten may do so BO possess possessed of the same influence and filled with that light and intelligence and with tuat meek and lowly feeling which will cause them ta receive thy word and rejoice therein we are thankful our father that this another opportunity of coming together in a conference capacity la Is atford aiford afforded ed ua the years yearb roll by and thy purposes hasten to their fulfillment fulfilment we behold them going forth among the nations of the earth we bee see the fulfillment fulfilment of the predictions of the holy prophets we bee see the advance ment of thy great and glorious design which la Is connected with this great and last dispensation we behold the gathering together of thy people and the proclamation of thy dospel to the nations and the honest being gathered out we behold the building up zion and the extension of the thu stakes and the lengthening of the cords corda thereof and the building up of the settlements of thy people and the peopling of the waste places throughout all these valleys of the mountains 0 father we behold thib this wonderful fulfillment fulfilment of the predictions which thou hast bast made by the mouth of thy servants the Prop Prophets hetal and we rejoice this morning therein we are thankful that we have this another smother opportunity of corning coming together and of mingling ours our oun voice and our faith together and of glori giori tying thee the lord our god in our hearts and in the midst of thynon thy congregations gregat ions and we rejoice exceedingly that thou thon hast bast preserved us from our enemies notwithstanding the many efforts they have made to curtail our liberties and to destroy us and to destroy the influence and power of iho tho holy priesthood and to obliterate it from the face of the earth on this morning this ath day of april 1833 1853 fifty three years since aiace the organization of thy church we thank thee that we can still meet together as a free people in this land which is still a land of liberty unto up u and that we can rejoice exceedingly 0 our father in hi the possession of this great and precious blessing we onner oner unto thee thea our humble tribute of praise and thanksgiving for this blessing thenamae the name of jebus jesus for fer a continuation thereof forgive tho the ains sins and transgressions and ana the shortcomings short comings of thy people 0 father help us ua to repent or of our sins sing and put them away far from us help us to humble ourselves in the dust of humility and to acknowledge our unworthiness before thee a holy and exalted t being help us to confess our sins unto thee and unto one another that they may bo be blotted out from before thy face and that in the hours of extremity and of trial when adversity shall seem to enclose us round hen we call upon thee our father in the name of jesus that thou wilt still condescend to hear and answer our pra prayers pr ayera sers and to extend thine ahme arm of consolation and deliver dellver deliverance ancey ances even aa thou thon hast haat done so recently in our befit behalf mak the feet of thy people fast in thes them mountains and we beseech thee t hep hup us to multiply and increase and spread abroad and to lay jay the foundation of liberty deop deap so deep that it shall shail never be overturned or des dea troyed and thai we may rear upon this his foundation n glorious super structure that shall shail be the admiration of all men because thou art we tue founder thereof beca because use thou bast aided in the building thereof and wilt wiit thou grant 0 father that throughout all these spirit may maybe be poured out in great power upon thy people and especially upon the rising generation and when we behold the departure of so many of thy faithful servants who have been t tae as pioneers of this great work and see them go 0 o one by mir mie leaving others to take their places we feel that we need thy aid 0 father to be with those who remain that they may carry forward this work jr the spirit and in i the power with which thou design it should be in the foundation thereof And we beseech thee in the name of jems jebus that thou wilt raise up faithful laborers inthy ministry that thou wilt fill the rising generation with the holy ghost that they may rejoice in the truth as their fathers have done and that they may ibay be faithful laborers in proclaiming salvation to the of the eharth and in the building up of zion at home give unto them testimonies ti concerning the truth that shall make them valiant in advocating and maintaining the truth in the midst of all circumstances even if 11 may oost cost them their own livee 0 father pour out thy spirit we beseech thee in power upon them that the sons and daughters of ct zion may be worthy of their parentage that they may be worthy of the blessings bles bies sings that thou hast bast vouchsafed unto zion and that they may carry forward this work in a manner that shall be acceptable to thee the lord our god we nek osk this morning that thou wilt Is ie aby thy holy spirit with its gifts and the qualifications thereof rest down upon thy servant president john taylor who to Is in our midst thou seest 0 eather father the great responsibility which rests upon him in his hii advanced years yearb thou bast been his friend throughout his life thou hast bast been with him bince once he has been called to preside over thy church in a wonderful manner we still beseech thee to continue thy bies bles blessings slugs and mercies unto him and make him equal to the discharge of every duty devolving upon him fill him with the revelations of jesus direct hla his attention to every part of this work that needs looking after so that nothing shall escape or go unattended to that every department ot of the work may receive proper attention from time to time that thy servants may ba encouraged that thy servants may be strengthened that thy servants may te bce reproved and may be warned from time to time as aa occasion casion may require blet biet s thou hia hla counsellors couns coun ellore may they be one with him in all things may they preside even the first presidency of thy church in a manner that shall be acceptable unto thee pour out thy holy pit spirit upon them and upon thine apostles with president woodruff at their bead and upon all the authorities of tny church every President of every conne elor every bishop and every counselor and every member of the high councils and every high priest and every seventy and every elder and all the tha members of the lessen lesser priesthood throughout all the ranks of the priesthood that there may be that spirit and power and manifestation of gifts which shall be acceptable unto thee the lord our god comfort the hearts of thy people this morning heal those who are sick who are not appointed unto death and comfort those who mourn and put it into the heartsol heart hearts bof of those who have means to minister to those who need that there may be no cry ascend throughout all this thia land unto thine ear from the poor and grant that all oppre oppression aslon may cease and that tyranny shall not be known in our midst and that no feeling of want shall be known throughout the habitations of thy people and that the cry 0 of f neither mannor manner beast shall ascend unto thee as a complaint against those who inhabit this land we ask thee also that thou wilt remember those who may be in difficult circumstances and where there are those whose faith is tried wilt thou be near to them and strengthen them and uphold them that they may not yield to the destroyer but that they may stand firm and faithful in the truth we now dedicate this thia meeting unto thee and this conference of which this Is a commencement commencements and wk ak thy blessing upon us UE and we dedicate abdicate unto thee all that per pertains taine unto up and pray thee to accept of us as in the name of jesus jesua our lord lordy amen the choir sung bung come thou thoa day of promise come comb and spread thy cheerful ray pres DENT JOHN TAYLOR taynor said bald the object of our coming together at conference time la is to take into consideration the condition and welfare of the church in all the world the church of goda god the zion of god the kingdom of god on such occasions we do not meet to advocate anything for our own personal benefit but bui fur for the purpose ot of pro mating the interests of gods work in the earth its affairs are assuming a more mote important shape than at the beginning we are yet a small people but bat our settlements cover a space of from 1200 to 1500 1600 miles ailee it is in expected that from all these places am the leading authorities at F least eastwell east will come together once a year that all may become acquainted with all throughout the whole land of zion it Is expected that we take an interest in all these thes e mat matters and that the whole people be properly represented if we are under the influence and guid guld guidance a nce odthe of the spirit of the lord and we have no right to administer without lt it we shall all see bee eye to eye fye our dutes dute edutis 3 are similar to dayto those at the beginning of the church only more extensive for as the ela elu elders ers era are active and willing to at tend vend to their duties the work la Is continually ID creasing increasing new settlements are being made under the direction of the holy priesthood so that the people who go out from the older places may not be scattered over the country but may congregate together where they can have meetings schools sunhay schoola echo oia oJa mutual improvement and relief societies cie ties etc EO that they maybe may be under proper regulation and enjoy good order and the spirit of the almighty we intend in tend to continue to spread out and preach the gospel to the gentiles and then to the jews and to IF israel rael and attend to the gat gathering bering hering of the honest ju in heart and the bui building luing laing up of the kingdom of god tili till I 1 his will is done on earth as in heaven we must here seta beta set bet a pattern to 0 others the work must start with the zion or of god and we must serve god and keep his hig laws that we may be the receptacle receptacles 3 of the word and will of god that it may go forth to the ends of the earth it if we do not take this course u v ho will do it and ho how w p ahall h a 11 the will of G god 0 i be done on earth we are hereto here to do his will and he will be nigh unto us to help us he will take care of his fc and he has declared that it is his business to provide for them I 1 pray that the blessing and spirit and power of god maybe may be on those who speak and upon those who hear PRESIDENT geo GUO Q CANNON said baid these therle conference meetings are of exceedingly great interest when I 1 am absent I 1 feel it is really a deprivation in assembling every man and woman should come como with an earnest desire that those who sheab k may speak on those things things that will be most profitable the only difficulty we have Is t to cover all the topics of counsel and instruction that are needed A different style of teaching is necessary now to that at the first of this work everything connect edwith this work is of magnitude and has a national character iffe if we badour had our oun way we should not court publicity we would not make ourselves conspicuous But circumstances are thrown around us despite this feeling to cause us to stand forward and assert asser asset t and maintain the position to which we have ben blen b en called and thus we obtain a prominence which no other people have attained we are treated as though we were a separate tribe and have been compelled to learn the ant ard of self belp government with few honorable exceptions those who have been sent to govern us ua have treated us as am though W we a were not fellow citizens but aliens if peace and good order hate have prevailed if the rights of person and property have been respected it is because the people have determined that it should beso bebo be so the consequence is that there are thousands in these theae mountains who know how to take the needful measures to sustain a true republican form of government ern ment in this our position is different from that of any other people and all these topics come within the range of our religion and belonging to our every day ethey necessarily come within the scope of the teachings at our general conference A great change haa bas been wrought since we came to these mountains that which was taught in tb theory eory is being developed in practice we can wisely the servants of god who taught us then were inspired to instruct us I 1 have usten listened to maly malty statements but I 1 have heard more moru solid practical instruction In tio at our conference and in the visits of the elders to the people then I 1 ever heard in the halia haila of congress god inspired his servants to give the people the bread of life and though they have not a always appreciated it they have gone thereby so ao far as they have en of it god designed that we should be a distinct people and our enemies raise the barriers and beem seem determined that it shall tebo bebo bo BO we must be belf self and not be too cioc clor closely sely gely identified with babylon those who have neglected instruction on these points have experienced sorrow hearts heartis have been broken affections trampled upon and feelings wrenched because of failure to profit by instructions of this kind in reference to marriage with those not of us the saints were instructed by the prophet joseph that they should labor for zion and not for the world those who have followed that counsel consel are rich in faith and their circumstances are at least no worse woree than those who have loved the world we are under obligations to labor with our ouri whole hearts in this cause and lay the foundations of this work so deep that they can never be torn tom up one otie obligation we are re under is this to carry with us here the same spirit of the gospel which inspires those who go forth in self belf sacrifice and unselfishness to carry the truth to the world they put down self belt and labor for zion and are thereby lifted to a higher plane than they ever occupied before this spirit should guide us in all the affairs of life and I 1 pray that it may be with us continually adjourned till 2 p m to meet in the tabernacle the choir sang an anthem awake put on thy et strength renith 0 non von benediction by president wilford Woo woodruff druss drafs 2 p in the choir eang 0 god |