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Show mm. coram. Thousands Unable to Gain Admitance. Moses Thatcher Pays a Tribute Trib-ute to the Loyalty of the People. Wilford Woodruff Tells of the Entrance Into Utah of tho Pioneers The sixty-first annual conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Latter-day Saints convened in Salt Lake City Saturday morning at 10; o'clock. There was a very fair attendance at both morning and afternoon meetings. A large number of prominent members mem-bers of the church were on the stand and among them were noticed: Of the First Bresicency, Wilford Wood-I Wood-I ruff and George Q. Cannon; of the I Council of the Twelve Apostles: Lor- I enzo Snow. Fr;tnViin D. Richards, f ,Mw T1 ::! tf. Fii'-.u is M. Lyman, J .T.-.hn lie. i y Suiitli. Ut-ber .J. Grant. 1 Jul.r W. T.-iyl.-r, MariLer W. M.rr 11, I Anton II. Lund aini Abraham II. Can- nu; Pat.iarch. .lolm South; of the J riY-sidmff vomica or me twenties, Seymour B. You-ig. C D. Fields! ed John Morgan. B. H. KoUrts and Gef.re Reynolds; t the Pressing Bisioinc, Will am B. I'ifStnn. It. T. Bintnii and John B. Winder. Ti.e hymn on pae 19S, "Now let us v-joice in tie day of sal vat on,' va, huh? -y th- choir and cngregat mn. Pr.iver was offered by Angus M. Cannon. The choir then sang, "Gi r-ious r-ious things of tLee are spoken." PRESIDENT WILFORD WOODRUFF: We are again blessed by having the pleasure of meeting in Conference. 1 fee) to rejoice in this privilege. It is true that many of o"r friends and those with whom we are acquainted have been called behind the vail, but as a people we have been blessed. I rejoice in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which has been revealed in this day. The Book of Mormon, which has been hidden for generations, comes out in this day for our guidance and comfort. I trust that while our brethren stand I before us we may be inspired with the f spirit of the Lord, that w may re- I ceive words of comfort. I APOSTLE ANTON II. LUND. ' ' " Te can 6ee iu tlie events of our liis-I liis-I tory that the Lord has ben with his people. The Saints would never have I sustained themselves had it not been for the Lord. He has established His kingdom upon th earth, and He will . sustain it. The speaker alluded to I the parable of the sower, and drew comparisons with the condition of the . Latter Day Saints. If the seed has been sown on good ground, it will bring: forth good fruit. "We have in most instances been gathered from the nations, and if we have the Gospel at heart the riches of the world will not be our highest aim. We should not forget the object we had in view in gathering to Zion. We came here to learn more of the Lord's ways, that we might walk more in His pathi. Well, we have done it; and we should take care that nothing usurps the place of this. We should see that our children attend the Sabbath schools, so that they may learn the things we would hare them learn, tkat when they mingle with the outer world, they j might be able to give a reason for the j faith which is in tham. It is a very , Important thing that we. should look after our priviiej-rs. I belifcv the Lord wiii bless us through this Conference. Con-ference. APOSTLE M. W. HERRILL. My first association with the Saints in this city and Territory da";es back about thirty years ago. But how many have passed away since then. (The speaker here meitioned the names of members who had died in I that time.) The spirit of the Prophet ! has continued on the earth; the mantle of the Prophit Joseph descended on President Young; when he died it fell on President Taylor, and rests now npon our present beloved President. The spirit of this work wdl continue, and the Gospel w.ll not be taken wuy any more. Those who have lost the I spirit of this work Lava lost it through losing the spirit of the Lord. We have beard the remark from many of . the Ltter-day Saints: '"Oh! that I 1 could feel the spirit of God as I felt it ! when I first joined the church'" Xow, let us ask ourselves why have we lost the spirit we once enjoyed? Find out where the fault lies. Is it because we have neglected to attend our meetings meet-ings and the various means placed at our disposal? The Lord says, "Draw near to me and I will draw near to you." If we turn to the Lord we will never lose the testimony of the truth. We can't afford to hold hard feelings in our hearts against any one; the world may do it, but we cannot afford it. If auy have ill feelings against his brother, let him g straightway and make peace. Go to your brother, and if he wish to take away your coat, let I him have your cloak also; remember the Lord has commanded it. The Lord has also commanded that we should be one, and love one another, as brothers j I i - and sisters. Inasmuch as we will observe ob-serve the word of the Lord we shall be blessed. APOSTLE JOHN.W. TAYLOR: I have been requested to make a few remarks. I have listened with great interest to the remarks of Apostle Merrill, and have the same feeling with respect to the work in which we are engaged. I desire to call the attention at-tention of the congregation to the fact that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ promised a knowledge of the truth to eyery one who would do the will of God, and therefore it is not surprising that each one should bear testimony to the truth. The Savior. said, "These are they which have eternal life, and these are they which testify of me." After a few concluding words by President Woodruff, the choir sang an anthem, and benediction was pronounced pro-nounced by Patriarch John Smith. 2 p. M. The choir and congregation sang: "Tke spirit of God like a fire is burning." burn-ing." Prayer was offered by Elder Jacob Gates. The choir then sanj: "'Lord thou wilt hear me when I pray." APOSTLE F. M. LYMAN. If we depend upon the spirit of the Lord we will be stn-ngihem-d in our knowledge of the faith. Ti e only way this knowledge can be obtained is by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. !No man can know that this is the work of the Lord, except by the Holy Ghost. No man can say that; Joseph Smith wns a prophet of ths Lord but by the Iloiy Ghost. We believe that we are the rhiuirfca of God. just as sinceiely as i wo lieiirte we are the children of our first i rents. Ai d Jesus Christ is our ekh r brother: lie came and laid down the princ.pWs w hich should be followed by His younger brethren. God has given every man His agency, and man lias, from the beginning,been endowed with the power to resi&t temptation and choose righteousness, and he will have himself to blame should he he eternally lost. All good comes from God, and all that is wicked and corrupt cor-rupt from the evil one. We are entitled entit-led to know of the doctrine we have received, and thousands can stand up this day and testify that they know it is God's work that we have enlisted in. This knowledge has come to the Latter-day Saints, and it is this knowledge knowl-edge which has caused them to gather; caused them to endure persecution; and, quite a number, even to lay down their lives for the cause. It is bettrr to emlvire . persecution for righteousness1 righteous-ness1 sake than endure punishment for our sins. When we look around we find that nearly all the old members of the church have passed away. Those who stood at the head of the church are gone, and new men, a new generation, genera-tion, supply their places. Nearly all who knew the Prophet Joseph have passed away, yet still the old work goes on and progresses. In reference to what Brother Merrill was sneaking upon this morning, "If any man take yojr coat, let him have your cloak also," I say, if you have any difference with your neighbor, don't wait for him to come to you, but go to him; don't entertain hard feeling; the spirit of the Lord is forgiveness, long suffering, and we can't be good Latter-day Saints without it. That is the spirit which bears record of our acts and leads us into all truth. ATOSTLE LORENZO SNOW: We are entirelv dependent upon the Lord for strength to fulfill the obligations obliga-tions resting upon us. The Lord has accomplished u great deal for the Latter-cay Saints aud has assisted us in carrying out Ihs purposes during the last sixty-one years; and we cannot can-not help in taking a retrospective view of the same, but acknowledge that no paople could have passed through the trials and persecutions, which this people have passed through, without with-out His aid. Xo piople have so much cause to be thankful as have the Latter-day Saints. We have heard from tho brethren who have spoken what the Lord requires of thoee who wou'.d follow Him, and it stems impossible that we could conform con-form to such requ irements. Yet when we look back and see what has been accomplished by tlie Saints in the piist. our wonder ceases. The speaker then recited his association with the church during the persecutions attending attend-ing its early history, observing that on those occasions they gave away not only their coats and cloaks, but every article of clothing, and rejoiced that they were counted worthy. God has revealed to us many glorious things, because when the Gospel was revealed to us we were in darkness; we knew not why we were here; we knew not the glorious association of the future, the society of our wives and children, and what things fod had prepared for those who love and serve Ilim unto the nd. APOSTLE ABRAHAM II. CANNON: I have listened with great attention to the remarks of the speakers, and those things which they have described will in time be counted as nothing compared with the joys they will experience ex-perience hereafter. We feci that we are still studying the rudiments of our religion. It is true we know a great amount in comparison with what is taught among the churches of men. Yet, we have not learned how to live as Saints. We have not learned how to take care of the blessings God has given us, and judging by the remarks of the brethren, we are not as honest to each other as we should be, not as forgiving to each other, not as diligent in attending our meetings and other duties. We shall have to learn these things either in tlm or some future state. Even in our temporal affairs we do not pay that attention to the industries necessary to the development develop-ment of our Territory as we should do. Consider, brethren and sisters, our position to-dav. You are all familiar with the financial difficulties which surround .us. Why not profit by it then? I know that God will bless Zion and her stakes, so long as we will fulfil! His conditions, ilea to-day consider it a mistake that Adam fell, that Eve partook of the forbidden fruit and entailed en-tailed suffering upon the human race, and yet we know that if Adam had not have fallen map could not have been. The speaker detailed numerous instances which were at the time accounted ac-counted mistakes but which the sequel proved was in accordance with the will of God; and so. he continued, will it be with the future of th's church. Its future will prove that what have been accounted mistakes were for our future welfare. PRESIDENT GEO. Q. CANNON I hen addressed the congregation upon the sugar industrv, after which the choir sang the anthem, "Oh give thanks unto the Lord." SUNDAY. President Woodruff addressed the congregation on the missioQ of Joseph Smith, the organization of the church, and the revelations given to him as contained in the Doctrine and Coven-arts. Coven-arts. He showed the necessity of i t - ation and the providences of the AiUiighty in the preservation of His people. Apostle F. D. Richards had learned by practical demonstration that the gospel of Christ was introduced for the salvation of mankind, and that it wa3 the privilege of the Latter day Saints to be so guided by the Holy Spirit as to he in communion with heaven all the day long. Apostle Moses Thatcher referred to the works of the Church, instructing instruct-ing the Saints to be loyal citizens and live in haymony with the laws of the land. He stated the time will come when the Latter-day Saints will march forth full of patriotism to defend our country from ruin and the Constitution from destruction. ' 2 p. m. Pres. Geo. Q. Cannon spoke upon the subject of temples, their necessity, and the great blessings received by tha Saints in them. Apostle IIeijer J. Grant bore a powerful testimony of the Latter-day work, its continuous progress and eventual triumph. MONDAY. The authorities of the church were unanimously sustained, after which several reports and statistics of interest inter-est were read. Apostle Jshn Henry- Smith referred re-ferred to the important subject of teaching the young, by able and competent com-petent educators, who have fellowship in the church and who are models in religion and morals. pres. woodruff gave a vivid description of his travels and the entrance into Utah in 1847. ELDER SEYMOUR B. YOUNG Referred to the handwriting on the wall at the feast of Belshazzar and its interpretation by the Prophet Daniel, and said it showed the result of fighting fight-ing against the work of God. 2 p. m. Elders Jacob Gates and Joha Morgan Mor-gan bore their testimonies, encouraged the people to faithfulness, and predicted pre-dicted the growth of Ziou. rRES. GEO- Q. CANNON Said that every man should so live before be-fore his God that he might haye a continuance con-tinuance of the spirit of truth abiding in him. He then referred to the "Manifesto," "Man-ifesto," and of the painful effect it would have had upon the Latter-day Saints were it not that the spirit of God carried to every honest heart a conviction of its necessity. He spoke of the unalterable loyalty of this people, peo-ple, their fidelity to their country, their respect for its laws, and their confidence in the might of the Lord. Conference adjourned till October. |