Show DISCOURSE delivered at the general conference of the church in the tabernacle sau salt lake city sunday october ath zda aj by RESIDENT JOSEPH F SMITH REPORTED BY ARTHUR WINTER president fl has requested me to address you lor for a few moments and in attempting to do so I 1 desire earnestly your ybur faith and prayers many excellent things have been said to the people during this conference the elders who have spoken have borne their testimony to us oi of the truths of the gospel which we have espoused esposit d and I 1 desire to add my testimony atso also to theirs I 1 believe that hat I 1 love the gospel as much today as I 1 ever did in my tafe jf if possible I 1 think that I 1 love it more Itis it is spiritual meat and drink to me I 1 have bave often of the remark which was made by peter to christ on one occa many ot those who had followed jesus har become weary and were departing from him and jesus esus looked upon them and grit ved veri in his feelings to see those who had bad been following him turning sway away for it appears there were apos tates ates from the truth in those early days bile j jesus lesus Hirris himself elf was yet living and teaching andee and he turned to his disciples and said unto them will ye also go away and peter turned to him and said sail lord to whom shall we go thou hast bast the words of eternal life this has been 1 t e sentiment dent of my heart from my first understand ng of the prin erin ap les of the gospel until now if I 1 leave I 1 this truth whither shall I 1 go I 1 6 feray ay god that I 1 may never be left to ay vay self nor 94 to the powers of darkness 66 far as to be led from the path of my luty or to be persuaded to depart ironi irom ways of the lord ery much his has veen been said d during this conference in relation to the spiritual duties mies of the latter day saints and while bile I 1 do not desire to detract from hii which has been said or to divert the thoughts of the people from the excel nt instructions and counsels they have received my mind seems led to speak upon obon something of a different nature in otter aih er words a little upon the temporal 1 el which we have embraced or at lea least s which we should embrace we aie aee a great revolution of feeling on the part art of the people of the united states and of the world at large so far as chev ind cave ave herd heard anything about utah and abete here is ii a friendly feeling manifested at thiv this time toward us now I 1 do not RP that this pleasant feeling 4 I 1 ich is manifested by y the people of the world towards us has arisen through their conviction of the truth of the gospel that is the spiritual truths of the gospel I 1 do not apprehend that chev have fallen in love with our ideas of laith faith repentance and baptism for the remission ot of sins I 1 do not understand that they have accepted our idea of present revelation and the existence among men ot of the authority of the priesthood I 1 do not so understand it why then are they looking toward us with a more friendly feeling than heretofore one reason I 1 see for this hange change c of feeling is that our neighbors are look ing upon our material prosperity the effects of our union they see the fruits of that union to a certain extent and they discover that whereas our country was once a barren desett desert now it blos blob like the rose and they understand too that the beope have made change upon the face of nature by their united efforts and not by the use of large amounts of money their labor hav having ing been organized utilized tu to the best advantage to pro duce the glorious results which are visible and people are looking upon this and are admiring it therefore they are feeling more friendly endly Iri toward us than they have been in years past some of our neighboring states and territories have pursued a different policy to that thai which has been pursued by the p people eople of utah and now they see that their material interests have not been developed ve loped as those of the people of this territory have been and are behind auh in substantial sut growth and many improvements while the people of other territories have turned their attention to gold and silver mining and industries of this character the people of Territory the of utah have turned their attention to agriculture and to the development of the various other resources ot of the coun try and the result is we are able in port to shoe and clothe and house ourselves we buy the products of our own labor 1 we are able to take from the sep seep our wool and out of it to produce cloth with which to clothe the people we are able abie through the herculean effort I 1 will wiil E say aap oi of a few men who have been left to carry the burden thern themselves stives to pro duce a few million pounds of sugar to td supply the people of the territory that valuable article and we have been able to do a few other little things of cf this character in utah it is this industry d astry and this effort on the part of the people of utah that is attract ing today the atten dun of our neighbors and friends our irrigation of the lands and the subjection ot of these deserts to cultivation and 19 the production of grain fruits aruns and vegetables in vast quantities sufficient forthe for the necessities ot of the peb ale ale and some for exportation these thelic th are what are attracting the attention of our neighbors towards us and causing them to feel that there has been wisdom manifested in the direction of the labors of the people therefore Theire foie they are moved as 93 I 1 have said before wita with feelings of friendship and regard for ui us just at present because their eyes are turned upon these things now I 1 want tp to ask this congregation how ow many of you feel eel disposed to patronize these home industries that are the source of wealth of progress of strength and of improvement in this territory Cerri tory how many many of you will patronize pitr onize the sugar factory at lehi and alrid within your own minds to purchase utah sugar and use it to the exclusion of all imported sugar as long as you can get a pound po und of lehi lebi sugar how many of us will patronize the home product in pie preference ference to that which is imported this is an important question I 1 heard a lady say riot not long ago oh I 1 would not use utah sugar why well because it tastes ot of the beet I 1 suppose the cause of that that the beets of which utah sugar is made are raised near nearer rhome home than the beets from which the imported sugar is made the beet tas course evaporates from the beet P ugar that batis is imported into utah from other countries coun ints hence they do not no taste the beet in the foreign article while they can taste itin utah sugar suga r laughter but this is only a pretext and a vety very poor pretext wo tso not to patronize home productions another lady and this lady that thai I 1 now refer 0 to o is not a latter tier day saint the he other lady was a mormon I 1 cannot say she was alaster day dal aini adint said fumito her husband what is the matter with my coffe eit is too sweetland swee tand I 1 have only put the usual asuat amount of sugar in i it why said be acy dont you know that wie we are u using s gitig utah sugar and it dont require ie so much to sweeten your coffee laughter non bon cormons mormons are good patrons of home product productions production io s 1 while ma many 1 y of the latter day sai saints ats will wil itro nize the lehi sugar because they can taste the beets ia inthe the buglar su glar strange it the gentiles dont discover the beet aaste taste also we notice that when the lehi sugar is in ia the market importers of sugar into utah cut down the price in order norderto to undersell the home product to if possible I 1 suppose break down the ios institution titu and to ruin those who have invested their means in this industry and th there le re are thousands of so called latter latier day saints who will buy the imported article because they can get it for a few cents less or even hall half a cent less than i be home article presidents willord woodruff fl geprge Q cannon and J joseph aseph F smith have had t to stand tinder n lie the load of this lehi factory to 0 abe he extent ot of hundreds of thousands of dollars util our credit at times has been strained to the uttermost in order to carry it through and we leel feel that we have been neglected to a great extent by the people of utah in that they have not favored that institution and sustained it with their patronage numbers ot of our brethren who proposed to help us carry the burden in the beginning when the times tightened up upon them shrank up in their feelings and withdrew their support from it leaving the load for others to carry and we have had to carry it and we carry it still to a certain extent with permission I 1 will say this we met a gentleman from the east who came out here to utah on a visit and went down and took a look at the sugar factory and at ibe fields of growing beets he observed the industrious character of the people and he be said to himself and to these men here 1 I have sufficient confidence in your integrity and in your intelligence and wisdom to invest at least one hundred thousand dollars in the purchase of your bonds and so we were able by this means to dispose of a lew few of the utah sugar bonds for money which has lightened the burden upon us to that extent and this was confidence shown by a stranger in the integrity industry and thrift tol ol 01 the people and president cannon suggests in the first presidency as well now I 1 make this statement because the first presidency and some of the twelve have been under this load and are still under the load to the extent of all that they possess in the world and yet some of our brethren are fighting against the industry and against the interests of the people and the interests of the presidency of the church in relation to these things and we do not like it we want the people to know that we do not like it and I 1 take this occasion to tell them that we do not like it we are giving to the people of utah county and other portions s of the territory thousands of dollars lor for their labor where years ago they received not a penny we have increased the value of much of their farming lands more than one half by the establishment of an industry among them that has given not only labor lor for themselves and for their children but has increased double the value of their lands in their productions and we have received but little thanks for it no now w we ask the people to patronize home industries patronize the lehi sugar factory and as long as you can et an ounce of utah sugar at any price beet uy it in preference to anything that is imported then you will be showing a spirit of patriotism a spirit of home interest and of wisdom which will build up and bless the people of the country and the land in which we dwell and do not let any latter day saint say that he or she does not like lehi lebi sugar because it tastes of the beet I 1 have been a lover of sugar all my life I 1 loved it so much when hen I 1 was a boy and al also so when I 1 got to be a man and I 1 ate so much ot of it that I 1 had bad to buy a new set of teeth laughter well I 1 do not advise you to use it to such an extent as that I 1 do not ask you to go to extremes in eating sugar but it you want sweet sugar is the best torm form in which to use it although I 1 have some experience 1 in in using sugar I 1 have not yet been able to detect any unpleasant beet taste in the lehi sugar president cannon tells me that a gentleman who is in charge of the eating houses along the denver and rio grande railway had told him that the utah sugar was remarkable for its sweetness and he bought bouast all lie he could of it in preference to other sugar here is a case of another outsider who can appreciate the value and the worth of a home pro duct when a mormon sister did not like it and would not have it in her house tor for any consideration because she could taste the beets in it president wood ruff says he has eaten a good deal of home made sugar and he has never yet tasted the beet in it we ought to have two or three more sugar factories in utah equal in capacity to that which we have now in order to produce enough sugar for the consumption of the peo pie of utah alone notwithstanding we have a factory which produces five or six millions of pounds of sugar a year we are import importing ipg three fourths of that which we use in in order to supply our necessity five million pounds brother morris the president of the company informs me were produced last year and this is one of several great facts that are drawing the attention of our neighbors toward us they see this people use intelligence and wisdom in the direction of their labors and in the development of the resources ot of the country for their own sustenance and i hey admire us lor for it and so will all the right thinking people of the world admire us the more we are able to take care of ourselves and provide lor for our necessities we have a little woolen factory down in pr provo 0 vo we have another in salt lake city there is another little factory in in beaver I 1 understand and still another on the northern borders of the territory called the north star mills also another in washington kane county and another in brigham city box elder county and one in ogden and another in springville ville some of them are small you can depend upon that so small that we have passed through the country a great many times and never seen them and in fact therle there are some ot of them I 1 have never heard of myself lill just now I 1 am glad to hear there are so many but we have never heard a great deal about them for the reason I 1 suppose that we are importing so much of the materials that can be produced by them that they are not thought of I 1 want to tell you that I 1 and brother heber grant and brother ly man and brother richards and many more of my brethren are clothed in home made goods made from utah sheep by utah workmen in a utah factory and I 1 am not ashamed of my apparel my shoes that I 1 wear are made at Z C M I 1 or at solomon Brot brothers hersi or by somebody that is struggling for an existence and laboring for the support of his family I 1 do not go abroad to get my shoes I 1 would to god that a I 1 this people would do the same here is is poor brother smyth starving to death almost trying arting to make hats tor jor the people and he makes decent good serviceable hats but the people will not patronize him as long as they can get something marked with stetson stetsons 3 in the lining of it they want the foreign made article we ought to sustain this industry I 1 tell you it is the wordani wor dand wisdom of the lord that we should sustain these industries at home it is wisdom it is the true policy of the church the doctrine of the people and has been the doctrine oi 06 the people from the beginning of our settlement here babylon is to fall fali someday some day and the merchants are to ta weep and wail because no man can buy her merchandise any more they will not be able to buy it for babylon is to fall and rise no more so says the scrip tures I 1 can tell you whet whether fier babylon falls or not so far as the principle i is concerned it makes no difference the people that can supply their own necessities meet their own wants and provide lor for themselves are always better people more intelligent people happier people more independent people thau thao any other people upon the face of the earth that do not these things it stands to reason it is common sense it is good judgment it is gospel truth that all this people ought to understand and live up to now if you want blankets all wool and two yards and a half long and two yards and a quarter wide large enough to cover your bed go |