Show conference IN TAU bay of islands new zealand feb 12 1895 promptly at zo 10 a m on the ath of Fe february bruaM elder william gardner called the conference to order the saints and visitors maori and european having filled up the large hall called the Poro wini t built some years ago by machi laih P kawitt kawiti Kaw iti i a prominent native elder an and chief of the tribe and of ngapuhi in general who has passed away from the midst of the people there were present on the stand from zion william gardner pine valley president of the australasian mission charles B bartlett president of the bay of islands conference with thomas J morgan and joseph markham B H president of the whangarei conference with J H willard goff and hial B hides hales john johnson president of the auckland con farence ie rence with jedediah goff and thos S browning edward J palmer dent of waikato Wai kato with jens H nelson joa C jorgensen president of louie G hoagland president of the mania mallia charles H embley from cwian J fa nui and john H ellis lately from bountiful but not yet appointed to his field of labor some 23 native brethren and sisters came up on the maratoa from the south to attend prominent among whom were elders te booro kaiti wi pai tarewa karewa nuhaka Nn Nu haka te kepa mat anoai te muriwai Mur iwai and tamati nga toto Koron gota A goodly representation ot of native and Mur european local priesthood occupied prominent seats near the stand while the ever vigilant deacons with their long sticks were prepared to remind the inattentive of the solemnity and importance of the occasion elder eider johnson gave out hymn band and the whole of the conference joined heartily in singing te ariki bohu elder palmer offered the opening prayers prayer after which we sang ha whak arango nei te reo president gardners gardeners Gard ners opening address of welcome was listened to with delight by this simple native race who love him so much he said in substance I 1 feel weak in standing in your midst but full of f joy for the blessings of god bestowed on us during the past and to be present at this northern hui ta tau u Y yearly early conference ference I 1 bid you w welcome elcome inviting you ou to come here to listen to words of of truth aruth that we may be saved and obtain eternal life together we are not here 0 ao 40 o quarrel with those who diner with h us in te vit f doctrine but to teach them the gospel 0 s pel and anal fulfill our callings before god T the he church ot of jesus christ was built upon apostles and prophets sixty five years azo awo and pow now numbers over oo we vve have assembled to obtain a least feast of spiritual things let saints and strangers stran geis te be kind and loving to each other and branch presidents take care of their 4 flocks lest they go astray may we all be filled wih wi h the holy spirit and let Z our prayers ascend up to almighty god ri s c to the end that our souls may be strengthened to fight the good fight and keep the faith which has been delivered to the saints in these the latter days may god bless our gathering and inspire A us all to keep his command indents men inen t ts s 11 k F fider elder ider charles B bartlett president of the bay of islands conference greeted all present and reported his field of labor bor was able to say that some though not all of the members were liv V up P to the privileges of their calling her ewas a little pruning to he be done doted gal 5 22 23 and 2 peter i 37 3 7 i show what the saints of dought Go to e elder chaka ngaro angaro kopuawhara aid d he was not ashamed of the gospel ie e had a testimony of this work knew that at joseph smith was a prophet of god therefore he and his brethren and sisters from the south had come to con PU ence spoke on church organization s the journey of lehi to the ameri amen can n continent the institution of the f gospel there the scattering of maori niFa K israel rael and their knowledge of their pro gavi genitors geni t tors 0 rs through the loving labors of zie the elders we must live by bv every kford ord which proceeded forth from god nd ind his prophets 1 all joined in singing tama marie and elder H T pita whanga changa ruru offered benediction the stewards cry of haere mai ki bekai rang out and the saints and elders sat down to a repast laid on nice clean tables decorated with most lovely new zealand flowers it would task our zions daughters to outdo our dusky maori maidens on occasions of this kind at the second bell ceased to ring and the afternoon session commenced by singing E thu er e te kingi nui prayer by elder pai tarewa karewa Nu haki elder hoagland gave out te take 0 te bahi alter after which elder te booro kaiti one ot of the translators of the book ot mormon preached the discourse of the conference was glad to stand up in this assembly under the influence of the spirit of god if we had bad no preacher we hear the gospel without teachers we would be in darkness it is past fifty years since th the e white man landed in ngapuhi tibi northern new zealand with his gospel a gospel contrary to scripture the speaker quoted rev 22 xa 19 to show that every strange doctrine will be overturned and its advocators advocatory advocat ors punished except they speedily repent the anteri lucians rejected the word of god and were destroyed god made man in his own image yet the lower orders ol of animals together with the b buds ads and re rep P tiles accepted salvation dwelt upon maithas faith as the great movin moving 9 cause with many examples such as abrams noahs and jesus christs traced the genealogy of the maori people from abram to lehi showed also the same gospel principles all through we have the book of mormon the stick of joseph and ephraim in which which gospel truths truth s are explained proved jospph joseph smith h to be the prophet foreordained fore ordained of god to bring forth this great latter day work this was prophesied by lehi lebi years bel before ore jesus christ joseph smith preached these principles fourteen and a halt half years ere he was martyred marty red the bible and book of mormon supported each other to the overthrow of all man made gospels and systems of theology rome was responsible for destroying the ancient church from the earth substituting sti her 0 own wn and aad arrogating to herself supreme and divine power her children churches church es who have come out ol of her follow her footsteps and will receive of the punishments see revelations it they dont repent ministers nowadays now a days preach for hire and divine for money compared baptism by immersion with sprinkling ml fathers people church of england sprinkle children at eight days and abid call it baptism said his fathers religion cost lives to establish it yet they claim to be followers of him who said thou not kill encouraged cou raged the saints of god in ngapuhi to keep the faith their only hope of eternal life invoked the blessings of the lord upon all present intense interest was manifest throughout the entire sermon df which the above is but a brief synopsis elder likera te koro Koron gota followed with good advice and instructions he said 1 I want to bear my testimony concerning the gospel by searching carefully the holy script scriptures u res I 1 have found this to be the true church of christ restored to earth by god in these latter days together with the holy priesthood I 1 desire to be faithful to these pria cipes and ask you to examine them I 1 sanction the utterances of the previous speaker he has explained the difference between truth and error errer this afternoon the fig tree is putting forth the gospel is being preached in all the world for a witness plagues pestilence and war testily to the end may god turn the heart of this people to the truth as it is in jesus christ I 1 am glad to be at this conference sang oti kia ahau benediction by elder Here maia hikec via kohen kohe the mabries began their greeting of tena koe which came from every part of the building everyone present seemed to be happy elder bartlett went to the home of charles in kawa kawa with tour four elders to tea proceeding thence to the public hall and held a european service by appointment by p in the hall was crow crowded after the opening exercises elder john joha johnson bocc occupied apted an hour bour on the apostasy Apo stacy followed py oy elder jed jedediah i it goff on the restoration the largest audience the despised mormon elders ever saw in this town listened with marked attention to the able brethren who spoke no questions were asked at the close however though an invitation was extended at conference continued continue cL everyone having amply satisfied the inner man elder markham gave us 0 he o pai te and wd all 11 SAW sang prayer by elder kaio duhani MOM hora hora sang no elder E 1 palmer expressed his pleasure to be present at this conference quoted paul one lord aee faith one baptism there are two roads open to us one to eternal life the other to destruction we ave ace all agents to ourselves taking passages from daniel he dwelt at some length on dream and its interpretation pre tation followed its fulfillment fulfilment down the stream of time until the restoration of the gospel in these days quoting alto also from the prophecies in the book of mormon concerning these things elder eider pai tarewa karewa spoke with 91 great eat power on the organization of the die church of christ in its in these days being very old and his sight failing charara cehi kore read the scriptural passages throughout the whole discourse some of the natives were inclined to be sleepy but the speakers strong ringing voice his energy and superb maori oratory acted linc like electricity on the congregation all felt the influence of the spirit of god which rested mightily qa on him he asked the lord to enlighten the minds of non members that they may see and embrace the gospel the old mans familial familiarity lity with the bible and book of mormon is astonishing sang ete kahui iti nei 11 and elder Hote reni rahi paki napier offered the closing prayer the saints strangers and elders got together and practiced various hymns singing well and in excellent time then they got in little groups and talked of old times many not having met for years nothing occurred today to mar our peace except a gun firing from waikare Wai kare announcing the death of one of our sisters of that place who has been ailing a lonk long time there are now over two hundred people attending oa ference it was inid midnight night before the emers got a chance to retire to a much needed rest second day morning prayers at 7 a m the southern natives led by te kepa sang a pai on the first principles of the gospel and pouana paki prayed morning session at to 10 a m sang ho ihoda te abua prayer by huari mete teacher nuhaka Nu haka followed by hymn 49 elder jorgensen spoke freely on the object of these conferences was pleased to be present himself and to see so many this life is a school preparatory to another and more holy existence ence we should do well our part that god may continually bless us many temptations surround gods children some fall aprey abrey to these evils but we should shun them for they are displeasing to the almighty we must have M tabb only those who manifest a living faith will obtain the promises we should be thankful to live in these eventful times touched on the order of priesthood the apostasy apo stacy and the fafael fali ideas concerning the sacrament of the lords supper which prevail in the earth urged purged the saints to be true to their dw covenants Matani ohi te muriwai Mur iwai anglad was as glad to be at conference praised the non members for their willing as si distance stance god made man in his own basa and li likeness kaness and we should keep knew this to be the lords work iby faith we may overcome the evils of this untoward generation and obtain the blessings ot of the gospel elder hoagland asked for the holy gwost to help him explain the truth tbt latter day saints are different to mot most other people being believers in prophets apostles etc which gene rad yare supposed to have been abolished after christ amos and other prophets predicted the apostasy and it ago taken place likewise the restoration as foretold by john the book of mormon came forth in fulfilment fulfillment of prophecy let us seek first the kingdom kingden ot god and we will obtain all else that is good for us sang xo no leq and elder denare wiki the closing prayer afternoon sang prayer by elder of nuhaka sang E moku abder ader Har aitiana nuhaka Nu haka said he wad happy ha to again attend conference apy many dont ont like scripture baptism but wat that is the only correct mode it was well known to our forefathers before the they fell from the faith and departed christs teachings when they went after balse gods and lusted after the things ot of the flesh they lost the holy ghost and tell fell into darkness but now god has given us the truth and desires to return us to the land of our ancestors america it if we will do right may we keep the faith be kind to each other and to the white brethren who are called to labor among us for they are gods set servants elder tamati Koron gota spoke in brief concerning the judg meets of god that are coming upon the earth that will certainly overtake the world it they do not repent sore bore a strong testimony ony inviting earnestly the ouide ON aide element to investigate the principles which are being preached tatsy conference elder C H U embley loved the gospel and its teachings there is work for all to do in the church of god dwelt upon apon the coming forth of the book of MO mormon and encouraged the saints to be firm to the truth elder J H willard goff endorsed the proceedings of this conference illustrated lust rated the first principles of the gos pel and the signs following true believers bore a strong testimony received under inspiration from the lord invited investigation promising a testimony to all who should do so in an honest heart elder hial B hales announced hymn 46 and Ho aniana Karang aroa pronounced the benediction the storm has come upon us and everything is wet booros wile wife was taken sick and a lady near by named davis took her to her home and nursed her carefully it rained torrents the rest of the evening evening service at sang prayer by heta of te horo sang 46 elder eider addressed the assembly and alter after reporting his conference whangarei said no earthly power can shake this church for it is built upon a sure foundation man made gospels are being preached to those who can pay for it while the poor are being neglected it was not so in the days of jesus christ knew this to be gods work encouraged the Saints to be faithful and outsiders to investigate caari MA mell A nuhaka Nu haka and pouana paki Wai kati bore strong testimonies to the work of god sang Hote reni rahi followed with his testimony when wi pai PaiTa karewa tarewa rewa gave us a sound lecture on galatians i 8 plead with his relatives of ngapuhi to turn to the truth was very earnest sang he hau to te tan ta ogata gata and elder markham offered prayer third day at called the saints together and we sang an old favorite hymn no 2 hoani hoane T pita read 3 nephi chapter i and elder toko offered prayer in ane midst of our large family the rain has ceased and everyone seems glad of it at to 10 the deacon rang the second bell and fifteen minutes later we were called to order by president gardner te tairua tamrua te horo announced the first hymn and elder jorgensen g e risen offered prayer sang no 66 elder johnson advised the saints to be kind and loving one to another not to do any backbiting back biting or entertain uncharitable feelings but so live that the bless promised to the faithful maybe may be ours at the last great day elder jedediah goff gave his feelings when reading the new zealand confer ence account in february 1894 he said |