| Show GENERAL conference th the sixty third annual conference jesus christ of church of of tb the saints convened in the day tabernacle salt bait lake city april ath IM 1893 president wilford woodruff preat ding the following were on the stand bland the first greald presidency enoy wilford woodruff george Q cannon and joseph F smi smith tb of the quorum of the twelve apostles lorenzo snow franklin D richards brigham young francis M lyman john henry smith goorge george teasdale Tea rem adale taie john merrill Mer W taylor marriner W anthou H lund awl aal abraham JEL Cic cannon rion atri john smith of in the Pree presidency woney of tile the seventies saymour B young C D flensted Fi elated john morgan 13 14 H roberts george a Reynolds and jonathan G K kimball Kimb dball alJ if f the presiding william ae Pre atou robert fobert T burton aud and john lit i winder there were also a large camber abber ol of presidents or of stakes aud and bar leading brethren bre turen irona from vario canoua uit laparte toof of utah aud adjacent states anti and terri loriea adaller A elder DILler moses Ti atcher of the orum of the twelve apostle Ap ostlee vaa cable abla to be present ou on ho count account of elder heber J JG grant raut also of little b quorum of the T twelve elve was absent detained in the of being im account the congregation congre gatio 1 was very large the great building bui being tilled ii ivery every art there were probably over toD thousand people present conference Conie renoe rence was called to order by president george Q cannon the choir and sang come ome let us anew our journey pursue boll round with the year and never stand still till the master appear prayer was offered by ke iolder ade r francis M lyman by L the he choir aud anti coo cou grega VOL atol coine come ye saints no toil nor labor fear but with joy wend your way though hard to you this journey may appear grace will be as your day WILFORD WOOD WOODRUFF BUFF said he be felt to thank old gd hit hia heavenly fattier father that he be had bad the privilege this his day of ata in tile ut of such avast a vast iu tile the house bouse ot of israel lie he also 1 the letter j ay whose prayers tia nuo j to the lord in iia hij bia leball by the power of gou goa anti and by their prayers ae ha bal I 1 been preserved until the present hour atillo lie did not leel feel capable of aub his own thoughts la reflecting upon tuto the seen F f burough the latte rd us aa a 8 had bad passed in the years which letb still be assured his hearers bearers that his heart was full fuji of bles blessing bing aud and towards b h s brethren and arter mind all men who had desired to 0 what was right this thia was a dt d y to which he had joked ked forward tor for many years and nhsn hen he be reflected upon the hundreds iad ball thousands of elders of fl lame armel said and I 1 lh prophets and apostles with whom he 6 had bad been associated many of whom bd already passed to the other side aide of marveled at the work w which blob lind bad thus far been accomplished and that his own life had bad been preserved so BO loog in the midst of this people As latter day saints they had great reason for rejoicing before th the eLord lord and their hearts should be filled with gratitude Krati tude and thanksgiving unto the most moat high for the many blessings vouchsafed unto them when retook betook be took a rei respect of their position and a w what had been accomplished complis hed through gous gods mercy by this people since aney arrived in these valleys on the of J july u ly 1847 it wais wad to hima bima marvel and a wun won ler ier enough many or oi r their brethren president brigham young who hau hao led them here aud and others who were formerly associated with them in this great latter day work bad passed way away yet be believed that iu in the spirit world today they were deeply brer ested anti and rejo ioli clig g in the work in which the latter day saints were engaged ou on this special occasion they were expecting continued pl tnt woodruff Woo druH by the bles blessing of bod V salter enter in ili a few days herice hence the which had been reared here in the bagne of the loro lon by his people and he desired in the short time now at his disposal tu to bless every latte rd 8 binm 11 ut from the bottom ot of ing ills heart for what they had done t warda the of this grand object no call he be believed had bad ever been made upon any people upon the face of the ea earth rth which had met wito L uch luch a hearty and uni universal verial response spouse re as that for means meauli to finish the bait lake temi ale ie he felt to thank the lord for the he spirit which had lueen been manifested by the saints in this respect they had erected three temples temple be forsi fori this one in these mountain valleys the elders of israel had bad labored unceasingly cea singly to attend to the ordinances ot of the house of god both for the living and the dead because he need hardly tell the latter day saints that holy temples had been erected for the redemption of the dead as well as blessing the living rhe fhe prophet joseph smith lid the foundation of this church and kingdom and revealed those principles unto us UH but no principle had bad ever been rave led from god to man which had given the batter day saints more joy and consolation than the revelations whereby the lord had fulfilled tile the prophecy of one of the ancient prophets who said that in the last days he would raise up saviors upon mount zion while the kingdom was the lorils lords that day had bad come he himself well remembered the time when that revelation was given the feeling which thrilled their hearts heans and a als when they realized that in their day and generation they bad the power to go forth and attend to these ordinances for their dead progenitors the same as for those who were still living in the flesh they did not hesitate as soon as that revelation came to make a commette commencement ement of this temple temple work and there were scores of men man around him today who had bad labored for years in these temples in this way he greatly at the thought that when he himself entered the spirit world he be would meet those of his pro genitors geni geoit tors ors who perhaps had never heard beard the true gospel who never saw i a prophet apostle or other inspired man while in the flash sti 8 and dd as aa jesus beaus went and preached to the spirits in prison 12 in his day so ao would those men who now lived anil and hekl beld the keys of tte the priesthood when they pawed passed behind the veil also aleo preach to spirits api rits in prison open the prison doors and lot let the prisoners free in all hie labors in the cause of this gospels for some P sixty years there was waa no kind of 01 work which he had performed with greater satisfaction than that of redemption lor for his dead who could not indeed rejoice before the lord when he be contemplated the future of this great work in the rocky mountains and the privileges they enjoyed he was thankful the day hail coma when i bey bad thu the opportunity of dedicating this temple unto the loro lorn ants anil into which the vast numb number eror or people woodwell who wh dwell in this region of country would be able to enter anti and perform the ordinances required 0 01 them mem without having to travel long dit distances as aa had been the ease case hitherto he had seen some serious times timea in the history of this ibis church at kirtland lor for instance kut but when be first heard joseph juseph smith preach he be knew that lie be was wars a thet ol 01 god ot of that hecht he hm n had all the testimony he needed the prophet joseph however had bad labored in the cause of this church and klug king dum about fourteen years only irom the time UL 01 his ordination until he was mardred many mary red he nevertheless performed a great bais mission sion at his own advanced age he thanked god that he be was surrounded by it a quorum ot of apostles Apo sties among whom there existed such a spirit of unity they were united as the heart of one mar amsl he firmly believed belf eved that any on one of them would die for him it if bel be and he would do the name for either ol 01 them should the lori require it at his hinds hands I 1 nere here was a love between all of them that the world know knew not 0 A love which distinguished all men who bore the priesthood irom from the rest of the world the lord had always chosen the weak things of the earth to confound he wise as he had promised and this was a principle which he the speaker had bad thought much about irom his boyhood his own view was that Lb the eLord lord nad had done this because he desired to choose an element which he could dandle and make use or of many ol of the Apo alles of old were poor fishermen but they were ready to yield up their liv a i or lor the gospels sake without a any gregaru whatever for the honors or 01 the burld so 80 in our own day and generation joseph smith was called an ignorant illiterate boy in some respects hy he might have been as the arld w rid understood it but he be was ordained before the uti dation of the world to lay jay the foundation toun dation of the church and king dom ot of god had not this been godlis god boru and had it not been sustained neu by his power from one me very beginning in proof of we this the speaker it ii slanted the remarkable gathering gat herinx of the dainto to thene mountains anti and their wonderful preservation 11 pe persecution reec ution and nd trial As an wito with joseph timith he said so with presidents brigham young anda john taylor could they nave have been bought with gold or turned away from the work with which they had identified a no they were a class of men whom the lur could hand e anti and make use ot of and the same remark applied to lu hundreds eds anu ano thousands of elders eiders in israel today who had b ajen au called arm too plow and hammer and many ol of whom hai baj gone forth aang nna ng the u actions carry i dg the grapel message without purse or scrip this is the work of god and not of man therefore lot jet u us try to ive ave our religion reli glou to du our auty and to magnify our calling during the little timia we have to lu live jive here un on earth through TI rough all our aur trials afflict luns and ana tribulations we art are growing here upal dpn the tops of tile the mountains moun taino in of 01 guus commands tho fhe lord is watching over us let us not be but seek to do what la is tight right remember your prayers before the me lord keep the faith and live in the way that you mar ms enjoy the spirit or the lord so au that when we get through gli our mission here our wora will follow us to the me other aide ot of the vail I 1 pray bod tu to bless you ou and to pour out his holy spirit upon this people GEU GEO Q CANNON the assemblage he began bys by baking ot of the many reasons lor the eatter saints being thankful to boj doj they had bad been specially blessed eased bl favored an j i preserved he next treated upon the remarkable character obar acter of the hist wiry of af the church many of its scones scenes having been intensely uramae c he then graphic graphically ady depict ej sowe some of af the events iu in boila rue bell of the saints d during the whole career ot the church was wao m made ade a feature of toe the ul hii course they had bad adhered witti striking fidelity to the which god had ha civell tin in the af a wort wor which would ultimately mankind from rum every undesirable aau oppressive comparatively 7 lew jew hiu had stopped seide from the pursuit ot of this hi exacted malve rhube who hau aole ru 10 had bad jo 10 t tie spirit bt I 1 U guu A and renewed their affiliations wilh t the sordid conditions condi tiona and ams aims which T influenced lue world the of the daine was util unique que gud had to lu use a 1111 homely ly phrase taken them lut iut partners partnership hip they called it a covenant tile the almighty was always true to his part of the contract the whole history of the community had shown this the speaker dwelt lor for some time upon the wonderful changes in the condition 0 1 the saints that had bad occurred recently their temples and institutions generally had been in jeopardy rhese These hadded had beD removed because ot of our peaking of what god intended to do lu im the future by the ultimate establishment of his kingdom some people had bad imbibed the idea that they were ants anta gon monistic goni letic toward the institutions of the world tole was an incorrect view of our position posit loa which Was to preserve the rights of all people and protect them in their liberties the anticipated beneficent rest results fits to the world would be brought about by the increase of light and the practice of true morality irk in its widest sense the incorrect idea con corning us ua had bail been super induced to some setae extent by the fact that we bad con tested in the courts special legislation which had been enacted against us our course in this thia respect would yet be approved by all ali right tot u king people the speaker dwelt upon the that had lately taken place in relation to the zainib rho rhe latter were bei g viewed by many people in their true character the which find been circulated about tuis tills were lo 10 lose their effect rue f tot anat the of the saints was basone one ol of peace cirod sirod good will to all men was gradually i eing appreciated the portion ut of the discourse die course wa devoted t boniuk the tien effia accruing taking counsel from the bod arid to showing tile deedum ail poso possessing essing a repentant and forgiving sparil toward sell other that the kamta might be united and receive the bieH ble binK siong of 0 ayd whet when they should enter his hia rem pie and participate in its dedication rho rhe fore foregoing Is riot not a synopsis of president Preside ut sudonn SU DOnd but merely embolic a few allusions allue iuna to some of its leading features fea turee rhe choir gang tile the anthem jesus I 1 my cross have taken benediction by patriarch john smith the choir ani congregation siitia redeemer of israel our oar only del delight ht on whom for a blessing we call calf our shadow by day and our pillow by night our king our deliverer our all prayer by elder eider brig hami young singing by the choir gome come dearest lord descend ana dwell by faith and love in every breast then shall we know and taste and feel the joys that cannot be expressed this afternoon tire the congregation was so BO large lare tin ae riot nut atily tu to ciupy coupy all the tb seating capi capacity city but likewise nearly the whole ut of th tb standing etan dinn room PRESIDENT joaeph F SMITH was the he first speaker tie warned toe the people to be un on their guar i agai vist pc pick I 1 pockets and ana other baj characters who bad probably been attracted to this city from other places by the conference and dedication thinking it a good time to practice their trade among the crowds which woula be drawn to gother on this special occasion he felt grateful grate tul for the privilege ot of meeting with the saints under such favorable circumstances and conditions at this time and be prayed that the lord would pour out his holy spirit abundantly upon all those of his faithful saints who had bad assembled t together 0 this ws was a great time for them as a people zion was growing and the people of god were multiply ing we were in a great gospel 9 school bhoj wherein we should be faithful in border that we might be prepared for the great responsibility which might devolve upon us ue as the people ot of god one of the great lessons nee essary ei ary for the latter day saints to learn was that that which was spiritual was above and superior to that which was temporal they should set their hearts above things tar far higher than this world could afford it was necessary that every |
