Show bih bib 1883 the conference met in the tho assembly hall at 10 a m present on the stand of the first ficat presidency john taylor george Q cannon and joseph joaeph P F smith of 01 the twelve apostles wilford Woo woodrum woodruff drum druX lorenz snow erastus snow franklin D richards brigham young albert carrington moses thatcher francis M lyman and heber J grant the patriarch of the churchtown Church sohn John smith of 01 the seven first presidents of seven beven seventies ties horace S eldredge EI dredge jacob gates william W taylor Abr ahr abraham abrahama ahama H cannon and seymour B young of the ed edward ward wand ann ter leonard eonard Ii W hardy and robert nobert p T barton in addition to the above general authorities there was a al largo argere representation of lending leading elders end and authorities from nearly every st stake ake of zion even from those the most remote from headquarters the conference was w as called to order at 10 am a m by president john taylor rhe rho choir eang bang glorious things ol of theo are spoken zion city ot of our oun bcd 1 prayer by president george Q cannon oar father who art in ia heaven 2 we thy servants and thine hand m maidens al have assembled ourselves together t this morning in this place for tho the purpose up r aee of shipping worshipping wor thee i tho the nord nora lord our god and at the opening of this conference conder Confer enco we come to thee our oui heavenly father in the name of thywell thy well beloved bon hon jems jesus and call upon thee to look down in mercy and tender compas elon sion upon us we are thankful that tha t we have thia this opportunity we are thankful that oan our ilves hyes have been spared through the various vicissitudes through which wo we have passed during tho the past pst six bix months thap that once onee more ore w wa e thy toy servants and thy peo pla are permitted to assemble our selves pelves together in a confar conff vc enco once capacity when wo we upon thy goodness and thy mercy and long suffering unto us our hearts are filled with thank thanksgiving and praise unto thee the lord our oun god fw toz thou hast wrought wondrously la in our behalf thou hast bast preserved us ua from the snared of our enemies thou hast delivered us ca from their many traps and we can meet thia this morning in 14 this place and rejoice in our hearts in the liberty that thou hast grant ed unto us and preserved unto us and wo we can rejoice in people peoples notwithstanding the efforts of the wicked to bring us ua into bondage our father we desiro desire to eralso thee in the congregation of othy thy saints sainta for these blessings for wo we know they aro tho the gift of thy hand we know there is no power of man that could have preserved and blessed bless biess edus cd us as aa we are now bio bie seed leed therefore w we a give thee the glory with all our hearts wo graisa thee the lord jord our god and rejoice before theo that the promises which thou hast made us oven even the tho very letter ietter wo thank thee for life we thank thee for health wo thank The sour bat Fat herfor the crops thou thon hast given diven unto thy people as a reward for their labor the husband bindman nian naan has been made to reforce in the fruits of his hia hands the land has been greatly blessed of theo thee i our oar father and there Is abundance anee ance of food for man and beast throughout these valleys val vai leyb ieya for which we feel to thank thanh thee theo yea yen and thoa thou hast blessed thy people with a goodly degneo of health tho thou u aasc a P irom from the P power OW er of the destroyer and n notwithstanding ot with stan ding the many wo we havo have had to contend with we feel that our condition la is indeed a blessed one and we thank thee our father for families for wives for husbands for children for fon par enta or othera brothers br and bisters sisters and for the friendship that thou thon hast bast begotten in our hearts oven even the I 1 lovo iove ove ova that thab thou haai haat given unto antous us through the tho everlasting gospel i we oleo in the bestowal of precious preci oua blessings up on ua as aa a people and we desire to coma como unto thee theo this morning and entreat thee in the name to increate in oreace creace thi this iove loye within us love for thee oat our father and god loye iove for our fellow crea cres tures love for those who havo have entered into covenant with thee that we may love hem thern aa we love ourselves grant ran t our FAther that this spirit and n teel feel feeling ng may be diffused throughout throng out nil ail a I 1 tho the branches of thy church and that it may extend wherever the gospel la Is preached wherever where vermen men and women bow in submission to its requirements our father we beseech thea thee this thia morningto morning to be with us in our conference and lot let the holy spirit descend from on high upon thy servants and thy people who have como come together and who may come coma together and upon thine elders who have come zofiaa from afar for the purpose of being instructed 0 father grant that they may be instructed ted that they behall not go away hungry or unsatisfied fled fied I 1 in a their spirits but pour cut thy holy spirit in power upon thy servants and u upon on thy people that those who v beak may not speak their own thong thoughts ts or their own words or reflections za or the feelings that are peculiar to them but that they may speak thy word and thy wih will that they may bring forth from thy treasure nonae houze thom things that shall be adapted to the circumstances and conditions of thy people individually and collectively that those who have hungered and thirsted for ausness may be fed mado made to oe joics having their hearts eoltan ed under uhe tho powerful influence of thy holy spirit and grant oar father that the hearts of the people who have assembled this mornin morning and who shall asso assemble and who shall assemble from day doy to day d ay during our oun conference conferences that they may bo be prepared to re celva ceiva thy word that every heart may be softened under the influence of the holuj Ghost und that a contrite spirit may rest down upon all wo we thanh thank thee our father in heaven tor ton or the presence of thy irby servants who bear the holy priesthood wo we thank thea thee for the presidency of thy we thank theo thea for the twelve apos apostles ties we thank thee for the high priests the tho seventies and elders and for the tho local organizations we e thank tha thee for the frosi FresI dence of B fakas lakes and their counselors for high councils and for the bishops of the various wards with their counsel 1 vi wo kakuk la unk Kuk mylee tor tam the higher and the lesser priesthood and we ask thee to pour out thy spirit in power upon thy servants and let tho the people sea ees that thou has hag indeed restored the holy priesthood to the earth and that they are indeed thy servants by the honor which shall b be a bestowed upon them in the eyes of the people that the tho gifts and qualifications of their various offices and callings may rest down upon them in great power and fend that those who eee see and hear them may feel feol that they are indeed the men whom thou hast haet chosen J and that they do not profess to have h ave power which thou hust hast withheld 0 father wo we ask thee now to bless in a special manner thy fervant president tayl tay lor ors an and d let the gift and qualification and ondo went that pertain to hia his high and und holy calling rest down upon him fill him with the revelations of joau joan fill him with tha know fedgo necessary to enable him to magnify his office acceptably to theland thee and to the satisfaction of his fellow servants and the BaInte Saint gand And sAnd grant that these theyo blessings may reit refat reft upon their varl ouy oua offices and callings and upon thy missionary ser Eer servants who aro are preaching the gospel may the spirit that we ask ash for tor dr ourselves rest down in power upon them and they 13 ba 3 made instrumental in bringing many bouls bouis to a knowledge of the tha truth we now dedicate ourselves unto thee our fathers father with all we have and implore these blessings upon 11 us s in tho the name of jesus christ our lord amen tho the choir bangt eang zion stands with hills bills surrounded zion kept by power divine PRESIDENT JOHN jonn maylor maynor announced the nature and object of the conference it was proper that nil nii parts of the land of zion should bo be represented here that all things pertaining to tho the welfare or of israel might bo be comprehended digested and disseminated among the people that they might full fully y understand der stand the position they occupy in relation to the past pasts present and future enumerated the various organizations of the priesthood general and local together with liuch fluch special institutions as sunday bunday neiler belief societies S mutual improvement and primary associations spoke upon tho the duties and operations of each under the influence of which all things were ordained t inove along in order according to the will of the lord the present t system war waa perfected by president ent brigham young a short time prior to his death but there had bad been more moro or less laxity and neglect mado manifest which was exceedingly reprehensible exhorted tho the higa priests seventies el derp dere patriarchs etc ete i to humility and righteousness before the tho lord that they might be filled with his hib spirit and fully qualified to act in their beveral offices and callings for the perfecting of the saints and the an on rolling of the kingdom of god APOSTLE IX J GRANT said he had bad nd father lother desire in speaking or acting than to serve god gad and benefit his brethren and sisters and he did not ask anyone any one to perform any duty or keep any commandment man mau dment which helas he was unwilling to do himself mingling with the world caused him to ampre elate his jill own religion more fully folly no one who understood 9 mormonism atam would ever evor exchange it for any of the forms of faith prevalent in toe too world but in order to understand it lulb ft was vas necessary to live it god giad hata had laid down certain laws for our guidance and had made promises prom ibea isea as the result of obedience to the same one of these was the word of wisdom through obedience to which some of df the greatest of ble bie blessings isIngs would accrue this law was adapted to the he bit sit capacity yet some of the strongest violated it some were afraid to pay tithing for fear of losing by it and fallin failing behind their associates in temp temporal orai oral affairs laita at euch such had hadnot not nov the spirit of 0 this thib work for they measured the things of god by a standard and would bring themselves the themE mcelrea elves under condemnation in regard to temple tempie rebuilding building tho the speaker enid eald he was wat mercenary enough to feel that those who refused to contribute of ef their means for that purpose ought to be ba denied the privilege of obtaining the bles bies blessings singa only to bo be secured in such buch places ho he believed the dividing line I 1 no was being drawn was thankful foz for the ther raw paw passage aeo aee of such measure measures 3 us the edmunds law it drew a line separating the true tree from the false and d the halfhearted and the a touched upon fhe the principle of plural marriage and denounced denoun cod thom who failed to live it according to tle tile tie spirit and meaning thereof and quoted the I 1 words worda of our the prophet joeph jokeph smith that buch such would be damned APOSTLE aro APO YOUNG the spirit of god had been with his p people ea P 0 from the tha beginning of their history and that spirit was necessary for their preservation the powers of darkness are strengthening for the purpose of destroying the work of god the thi th saints were now enjoying the sl spirit N af f the lord to an extent hitherto the moss perfect organization on the face of the earth today to day is the church of jesus jebus christ of latter lutter day saints the lord had given hia his people every opportunity and facility for carrying on his ho he would a blaud bland by them in so BO doing no power could afleck the of this people peoples for evil only as they themselves permitted ted led through neglect this truth had being made repeatedly manifest it is when we tear down each other that thera thero is danger of our bein being overthrown god will not uphold tsin in following after the ways of the world he ele will not justify them in selecting from hla hia word such portions of doctrine and law as suit their sel sei fishi fancies and i ignoring all sil the nest rest r tho the revelations of god were adapted to his people and absolute obedience to them all was therefore necessary it is often a trial to accept certain laws without reservation and many therefore wrest the scriptures script uros ures and taho tao advantage of technicalities to a foro fore the tho alord the tha revelations ot of god are serl seri serial I 1 and progressive and would be given eny ens brat first the milk and then the meat as fast as his people became strong enough to receive them those who reject ono one revelation are not prepared to receive that which Is to follow E LDER DAVID P wab was pleased after an abben absence ca of six years yearb to meet again with the people of god though bis object in coming to was not to teach but to be ta taught ug 1 l t ha a fel fei feit felt t thankful thanh ful fui for a A standing toa tom ding la iri the church and kingdom of god Us rf berred to the good feeling among the Bain sain tsin in arizona and the region south and spoke of tho the manifest improvement among the saints in this locality since he last was among them PRESIDENT georae GEORGE Q canson CANNON E 9 testified to the pre pro presence evence of the spirit of the lormand eaid eald he should be very much disappointed were it otherwise the saints needed the spirit atall at all nil times this thib work was spreading and increasing rapidly and nothing short of divine inspiration could qualify goda servants and saints for the important duties they were called upon to fulfill when we look around and see that notwithstanding the efforts of our enemies wo we still havo have the privilege of meeting together and worship ping god in his appointed way we havo have cause to be truly thankful no human power could have planned so wisely and successfully as god gid has done to preserve servo tervo us in the enjoyment of ogre our r rights und and liberties and if the saints will prepare themselves for gods greater bleis sings aings the veil between them and their heavenly father will become thinner anu nna in time will be rent and all that they seek in righteousness IOU aness will be poured out upon them it la Is the duty of every bain saint t 0 le the an aa example ts to all around him the fhe angels of god arc watching over his hia people the tha approaching completion ot of the being erected should remind us ua of what la is expected through them e m to no POW power e r f from r 0 m t tho the h a b beginning e I 1 n n in g e of i our our oun history has been effectual in hindering our progress and our advancement from henceforth will be even more rapid the time Is coming when revelation will be poured out upon this people to an extent hitherto unknown when the heavens will be 0 opened and god and his hia angels will bo be nearer to thia this people than ever conference r wah waa as adjourned to the large tabernacle to 2 p m the choir eang bang an anthem who can stand against tho tha work of the lord benediction by President Joseph F smith friday 2 p m tae choir v bans ut we am oro not ashamed to org ogo our lord and worship him on earth prayer by president joseph P F emith smith the cho j |