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Show I REGULAR CONFERENCE t OF PAROWAN STAKE LARGE NUMBER OF SAINTS OF IRON COUNTY CONGRE-GATE CONGRE-GATE TO RECEIVE SPIRITUAL FEAST FROM THOSE ( IN AUTHORITY. Apostle Jos. F. Smith, Jr., President Rulon S. Wells, and Elder . George M. Cnnnon of the Deseret Sunday School Board in Attendance. f ,t (Reported by Joseph T. Wilkinson.) f Tho quurterly conference of the f Parowan Stake of Zion, which was i held in this city last Saturday and Sunday, opened Saturday at 10 a. m. There was n large attendance of saints, members of the stako prcsi- I - dency, ward bishops, high councilors, l and officers of the various auxiliary ' . organizations, besides the following goneral authorities: Apostle Joseph ; F. Smith, Jr., President Rulon S. WellB of the First Presidency of , Seventies, and Elder George M. Can- ' non of the Desoret Sunday School Board. The opening exercises consisted of anthems by the choir and prayer by Elder James Ollcrton. Present, the presidency of the stake, Joseph F. Smith, Jr., president Rulon S. Wells, of tho first presidency of the seventies, and members of the High Council and other stake officers. After tho opening exercises Prcsi-' Prcsi-' dent L. N. Marsdcn said he was pleased to meet tho saints again in ;'i conference. Believed there is some improvement in our stake since the ' last quarterly conference, we have a., been reported as being rather back- Hgn 'Ward irreligious matters in the Paro- EgfflggL ,; 'wan stake, but he believed 'we were sOKjfB' doing some betters TlM-wghtthat the 'jJ&S'.,.,,,. .;,' 8peclalrliome missionary labor that . had been performed by members of tho High Council and other elders hac been attended with beneficial results both to the missionaries and also to I the saints at large. Hoped that I during the conference he and his as sociates would have an opportunity of meeting and talking with those missionaries and learning moie of their experience among tho people The speaker deprecated the organizt-tion organizt-tion of clubs among tho saints, which he said were not only destructive of I our religious union, but also contrary ,!, to the counsel of our leading authori- ' ties. President Smith had some time " since cautioned the Latterday Saints against such organizations, with the possible exception of commercial I " clubs. Said the Sunday Schools in the if stake are in general in a very satis- ' factory condition, the Mutual Im- l provement Associations are in fair If condition although there is room for much improvement. The religioup class movement is not as a rule very active, although in some wards it is more efficient than in others but in none as active as he would like Should like those who are able to teach the gospel to our young people , to try to do so on all suitable occa sions. BISHOP S. J. FOSTER. , Said he thought that most of the k organizations in his ward were in working order with tho possible excep tion of tho religious class movement. f about which he was not sufficiently Informed to speak definitely. The 7 Sunday School is in good condition in all its parts with tho exception of the ' Parent's class which is not so well at- l tended as he would like it to be. fr There are some fault finders In the fr' ward, but such peoplo aro generally t,, persona who are not doing their duty. Iand who seek by criticising others to ( excuse their own short comings. tw, There had been some clubs organ-KrJS& organ-KrJS& m l"8 ward, mostly for tho pur-vpose pur-vpose of social enjoymont and association, associa-tion, Had not mado any objections 4 -thereto. fc'Jt ELDER CHARLES ADAMS. L Huid ho had been callod to givo a t report of the nigh Council, ho being I the oldest member, in ago at least if &' not in rank. Said he believed the m, Council is composed of good men who are willing to do their duty and uup- 5ft port and assist the stake presidency in jc the dlschargo of tho duties pertaining Wak to the stako. B&" Felt it an honor to belong to the f High Council or indeed to any other '. organization of the Church of Jesus t Christ of Latterday Saints. ' ELDER JOHN W. BENTLEY. f. Said he- had been called on to re- ' port the Seventies in the Parowan stake. Tho attendance at quorum "' meetings is not as great as it ought i . to be, At some meetings there were i, not more than ten or twelve present, while at others there wore twenty. ' Special effort had been made to in- ;f L- --...-'. crease tho attendance by calling upon tho backward ones just before tho time of meeting and inviting thorn to attend, and ho believed this had done somo pood. Some of the Seventies had been visiting the pool hall, but had promised nmendement when approached ap-proached on the subject. APOSTLE JOSEPH F. SMITH, JR. Said that while it is not uncommon to find in all the quorums of the priesthood members who aro backward back-ward in the performance of their duties, it is non the less a regrettable condition. Tho dispensation of tho gospel in which. wo live is an exception to these which havo preceded in the custom that has prevailed in the conferring con-ferring of the priesthood. In former dispensations, it had not been customary custo-mary to give tho priesthood to any one until they had demonstrated their worthiness of it, but in this dispensation dispensa-tion tho conferring of the priesthood had not been confined to this class but had been given on more general, and less particular lines. It is a good thing for all the male members of suitable ago to hold tho priesthood, but they should be worthy nevertheless. neverthe-less. Thought the time would come when the bestowal of the priesthood would bo more carefully watched. If propertyMnRnifiedfHher-pricsthood is one of the greatest blessings that a man can have, but if it is not properly used and appreciated it is a very t'angerous possession, and is liable to prove a curse to tho holder. The attendance at meetings Is of great importance, one who absents himself from meetings continuously is on very dangerous ground, and cannot under Buch conditions retain tho spirit of tlie Lord. Tho partaking of the sacramont is essential to tho spiritual life and well being of the members of the church, the frequent renewal of tho covenant which is made on such occasions is necessary and gives renewed re-newed spiritual strength. Some of our chuurch members are rather ashamed of their religion when in tho company of unbelievers, and are loath to acknowledge their belief in the principles of the gospel, or membership mem-bership in tho church. This is very much to bo regretted and condemned. It is the duty of all church members mem-bers to follow the counsel of tho authorities au-thorities of tho church, whether it be in regard to tho organization of clubs, or anything else, and when they tell us that card parties are not good, ats they have often done, wo ouught to heed their admonitions and avoid such amuusement. Tho very fact of disregarding disre-garding tho counsel of our leading men is wrong, as they aro chosen for the purpose by the Lord. A man who disregards the counsel of tho authorities authori-ties of tho church, need not expect the Lord to answer his prayers. There is no need for either men or women to organize clubs, as tho organizations of the church nre ample for all purposes pur-poses for which clubs are used. Clubs lead us away from the church. ELDER RULON S. WELLS. Fully endorsed the sentiments of the speakers who had proceeded him. There is no need for our church members mem-bers joining any organizations out-sldo out-sldo of our own church. Had nothing to say of many of the organizations existing in the world for the people of tho world, but could see rib need of Latterday Saints belonging to them, because we havo as good or better in tho church. Even when tho object of tho movement is to raise funds for somo charitable purpose- the church methods and influence aro more successful suc-cessful and much less expensive, as he illustrated by tho success which had attended the recent call of the church for help for tho war sufferers in Europe which had realized over thirty thousand dollars all of which had been available for tho purpose for which tho call was made, It having been attended by no oxpenso in tho collection. Had been much- impressed by the remark of ono of tho speakers in relation to tho honor of serving in the priosthood. It is said that our eldera servo tho church without pay, this, so far as a compensation of dollars dol-lars and cents is concorned is true, but after all those who work for the Lord uro the best paid laborers on p-rth. as by sorvinf him they receive ft his snlrlt, which Is beyond all price. When tho Lord ncceDta of the service rf a man bv bestowing his BDirit upon Hm it means that that man's sins are forgiven. Afternoon Meeting. Stako nresldent of Sabbath Schools. TTnn8 J. Mortcnsen, reported the Sunday Sun-day Schools in the stako as follows: Fleven schools, seventeen hundred and sixty six children of Sunday School age, out of which thirteen hundred and seventy are enrollel in tho Sunday Sun-day Schools with an average attendance atten-dance of fifty ono per cent For tho stako and varying in the wards from twenty four to seventy fivo per cent There nre in tho stako 228 teachers ono hundred and ten males and ono hundred and eighteen females, with an average attendance of fortv five per cent in tho stake, varying in tho wards from eighteen per cent to seventy three. Nine schools in tho stake begin on time, two schools do not. Five schools in tho stako hold prayer meetings, tho rest do not. Ninety five per cent of tho teachers observe the word of wisdom. wis-dom. Ninety fivo per cent of tho teachers pav tithing. Seventy five ncr cent of the teachers take the Tuvcnile Instructor. Sabbath schools that do not hold prayer meetings have the lowest attendance. Averages in tho Sunday Schools are better this year in many respects than they were last year. PRESIDENT RULON S. WELLS. Said Sunday Schpol ideas are ncccs-rary ncccs-rary for tho efficient management of the Sunday School activities, tho picture of what ought to be must be in the mind of tho superintendent or teachers, before the best system and plays can obtain, as preparation 1b indispensable to complete success. Had found that people are much more inclined in-clined to set up ideals for others than for themselves. Wo ought to demand quito as officent work from ourselves as we do from others. Sunday School ideals ought to include cleanliness, order and tho thorough preparation beforehand of not only the lessons but nUtheetailsjrf the school proceedings, proceed-ings, m addition to such ideals spiritual spirit-ual ity should bo a prominent feature and aim of the Sunday School and ideals and preparation with this end in view should always be kept in view. ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH. Said that all arrangements should be mado before beginning the exercises exerci-ses in the Sunday School, as otherwise it would cause disorder, which is destructive de-structive of spirituality. Disorder is always opposed to the working of the spirit of the Lord, whether it be in our religious gatherings or in our associations. Parties and other social functions should be opened and closed by prayer, also our social parties mould be more select. Too much 11--ense has been, and is, allowed in these things. The custom of allowing everybody to take part in our dances that will pay the price of admission is a bad one. Said he does not believe in tho public danco. All participants should bo there because they have been invited to attend. This used to be tho case in early days and it should be the practice now. The spirit of tho Lord is needed in the dance. No young man ought to go to tho dance without a partner, and he ought not to expect to take a- lady homo if he did not respect her enough to invite her to go there. Parties ought to begin be-gin early, and close not later than midnight earlier would be better'If I had my way," said the speaker, "partleB of tho young peoplo of tho Latterday Saints would be under the direction of tho priesthood." Believed it would bo better if our young people spent less of their time in dancing and more in some other species of amusement. ELDER GEORGE M. CANNON. Referred to his impressions of Cedar City when ho first saw it when he was six years old. Said efficency was the ability to do things. Elbert Hubbard has said that power comes to the man who knowa how. People loam to do by doing. Preparation contributes and is necessary to efficiency. effici-ency. Also an understanding between workers Is advisable. In Sunday Sohool management a preliminary prayer meeting is indispensable to success; suc-cess; we believe in tho efficacy of prayer. (Tho speaker related some Instances In-stances of'answers to prayer which he had experienced and knew of.) Gave a calculation showing that in tho life of a child under ordinary cir-v'limstanccs cir-v'limstanccs there waa nly flft two hor-8 per yeao during sWreon yours of its lifo that are devotod to spiritual development. Believed In an all around development of tho child, and therefore spirituality should be a very strong feature of tho Sunday School. To this end teachors should havo tho spirit of God to be able to do their duty in this respect They must be in possession of faith. In relation to the social functions pertaining to the Sunday School and (Continued on pago 5,) Regular Conference of Parowan Stake (Continued from first page.) child life there are different kinds of amusements all of which should be judiciously directed and supervised. Tho children should be taught to bo honest and fair in their play, as a habit of unfairness and dishonesty acquired in childhood is likely to affect af-fect their characters later in life. Said the preparation and power of the Sunday School teachers is ono of the topics to be treated during this s3Ssion of the conference. Illustrated the need and importance of the preparation pre-paration by the careful manner in which the skillful housewife prepares for tho making of good bread. Said that imagination is very necessary in the preparation of the teacher for his work and to illustrate its absorbing power related an anecdote of Sir Isaac Newton. "Teacher should always be prepared to explain all the particulars particu-lars in relation to that which they have to teach, but If over such should not be the case, they should never attempt at-tempt to hide their ignorance by pretending pre-tending to a knowledgo which they do not possess." It is important that children should have full confidence in their teacher and should love them, but such will not be the case if they . . . 1 1-J ...V.t-1. 1.1... Jk pretend to a knowledge wmen tncy ao not have. They should always recog-nlze recog-nlze and speak to their students, and this they will do if they love them. Children are quick to notice a lack of sincerity in their teachers. Told a story of a little boy, who, when asked by his fathor why ho did not care for a vory nice young lady, who was calling cal-ling on his parents, said she did not know him only on Sunday; she was his Sunday School teacher but did not recognize him anywhere else. The speaker had heard much of the fine agricultural products of this section sec-tion of tho state, but had not heard what an abundant yield there is of Utah's best crop. PRESIDENT WILLIAM LYMAN Had been much benefitted by what ho had heard. Believed that those who had addressed the conference yesterday and today had been inspired of God. We have met for tho purpose of being instructed in the gospel, which as Paul said, 'Mb tho power of God unto salvation." Parents who have made great sacrifices for tho gospel's sake experience much sorrow when witnessing the lack of spirituality spiritual-ity In their children, but ho is not much surprised at tho condition of the children when he considers tho carelessness of tho parents themselves. them-selves. Wo aro accustomed to view with grave concern anything which threatens our property interests, but often neglect to caro for the spiritual welfare and training of our children, which neglect threatens their moral and eternal welfare. Was sorry to tfeo tho lobso manner in which twr amusements aro thrown open to all sorts of characters. PRESIDENT HENRY L. JONES. Had been much interested in what had been said. Felt that tho spirit of giving is a highor law than receiving. receiv-ing. Would not tako tlmo which could be used to better advantage by our visiting brethorn. ELDER URIAH T. JONES. Felt that to see the large and intelligent in-telligent congregation was an inspiring inspir-ing sight, which ho wished every ono present could view from the place where ho was at the time standing. Believed that tho government of the Unitod States is setting a good example ex-ample to the other nations of tho enrth by its wise policies. Are wo doing equally as well as Lattorday Saints? ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH, JR. Endorsed Elder Jones' remarks in relation to the attitude of our nation. Believed that Admiral George Dewoy was right when he said that the hand of tho Lord had been over the people of these United States for good. Believed Be-lieved that regardless of tho political complexion of our statesmen God is at tho head for good. As witness tho beneficial and far reaching effects of the Monroe doctrine, which is respected respec-ted by all the nations of the earth, and which is in accord with the word of the Lord in relation to tho future of this land as told through tho Prophet Proph-et Jacob in the book of Mormon wherein it was predicted that this should be a land of liberty, that no kings should bear rulo thereon, but that God should be their king, and that he that fighteth against Zion should perish. Showed how that whenever when-ever an nttempt had been made to establish es-tablish a king on this continent it had failed, but to deserve the continuation contin-uation of this blessing wo must servo the Lord. This is not being done as it ought to. All sorts of crime is on tho increase, the hearts of the people peo-ple are turned to pleasure and amusements, amuse-ments, and the Sabbath day is no longer sacred, but is devoted to pleasures instead of tho servlco of God. ' . Sunday Afternoon Session. The session commenced with an anthem an-them by tho choir. , . Tho opening prayer was offered by Elder Charles Heyborne. Singing by the choir. Tho general and stake officers of the church were presented and unanimous-' ly sustained by tho saints assembled, ' who occupied every availablo seat in the building, and some were obliged to remain standing, ' ELDER RULON S. WELLS was the first speaker, his subject being be-ing the Salvation of Human Souls. The human soul, the speaker explained, explain-ed, was comprised of the God-given spirit and the tabernacle or the body of clay, which were the exact counterpart counter-part of each other, and that the work of saving human souls encompassed tho entire program from the creation of the earth to tho resurrection of our bodies. The speaker commenced with the great council held in heaven before tho foundation of the world, in which various plans for tho salvation sal-vation of tho human family wero discussed, dis-cussed, and traced tho various steps through which the human family have advanced, all of which was a part of the broad plan of salvation. Spiritual Spirit-ual food and exorcise are as necessary as physical food and exercise, in order to promote our spiritual existence. Spoke of tho physical maladies to wVitrh tho human familv aro heirs, and said that our mental diseases wero such vlcos as lying, stealing, cheat, ing, swearing, immorality, murder, etc. For tho cure of our physical Ills wo have our doctors, and for tho euro of our spiritual maladies the Gospel is the great panacea. The belief of the Latterday Saints in relation to eternal marriage was contrasted with that of tho people of other denominations who marry for time only. The choir sang an anthem. ELDER GEORGE CANNON, of tho Deseret Sunday School general board spoke of the responsibility resting rest-ing upon Latterday Sainta to train their children in the proper wuy. Spoko of tho law of thithing, and said that tho key to tho proper paying of thithes was to pay as we went along. If one received a dollar, then was the time to pay a dime for thithing. If ten dollars wero received, that one should be paid for thithing; while if one hundred dollars was recolved, that ten dollars was duo to the Lord, and should bo paid at the time, not at the end of the year. ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH, JR. ondorsed tho remarks of tho previous speakers in relation to the principles of eternal marriage, tithing, etc., and said that thor.0 was a grave responsibility re-sponsibility resting upon parents of the Latterday Saints to teach their children those principles. Said that ho was informed that in this stake the marriages performed outside of the temple outnumbered those solemnized within tho tomploj whkTt ho wild showed a lack of faith on tho part of the people. Tho speaker quoted from tho Doctrine and Covenants to prove that men and women thus married would not bo reunited in tho world to fcomo, and that they would bo merely ministering angels, without oxalta-tion, oxalta-tion, to thoso who complied with this ordinanco while on earth. Said that tho failure of parents to teach these doctrines to their children would bring condemnation upon them as -well as their children. PRESIDENT L. N. MARSDEN. thanked tho musicians and. others who had contributed to tho success of tho sessions. Believed that we had enjoyed en-joyed tho spirit of tho Lord and had had a very successful conference, and announced that after singing by the choir and benediction, the conference would stand adjourned for three months. mon-ths. The officers of all tho auxiliary organizations of tho stake were requested re-quested to remain after the meeting. |