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Show I . PRESIDENT BRINGS I MESSflKOF PEACE H HEAD OF CHURCH DECLARES CHURCH IS AT PEACE WITH ALL THE WORLD. f, 3 Opening Sestlon of Annual Conferva Confer-va 5 nco of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Is Held on Easter Sunday. Salt Lake City. With tho presence m of nearly all tho general authorities Jj of tho church, and a largo and en ' thuslastlc crowd, tho opening Besslon fl of tho eighty-fifth annual conference t of tho Church of Josus Christ of Lat- I tor-day Saints was hold on Easter (Sunday, tho first tlmo In twenty c,lght years that tho oponlng day of . conference has foil on Easter Sunday. President Joseph P. Smith, althqugh ho has not been entirely woll for Bomo tlmo, presided and mado tho opening address. Hits message was ono of poaco. "Everything seems to point out," ho said, "that tho church is pursuing Its way peacefully. It Is 1 lit peace with Itself and with all tho ', world, for It carries a message of life, peaceful salvation and redemption , from sin. Our work is to mako peace ' and to establish good-will." Following tho principal part of his address, President Smith announced that ho would take a liberty that, ho said, was rather unusual, because of tho many false, wicked things that j had been charged against him hud his ! brethren. Ho then gave a summary 1 , of tho tithes received during tho j year of 1914 and of tho uses to which .1 this money had been put. Tho total ; . amount received from tithes during i tho year ho said was $1,887,920. In addition to tho amount paid out ! of the tithes to tho poor, $116,238, there has been collected and paid to .the poor by the relief society $74,290, '1 and there has been paid to tho poor by bishops from tho fast offorlngs and other ward charity funds $76,000, making a total paid to tho poor for , 1914 of $266,528. 1 There has been collected for the j war sufferers, which 1b being ex- '1 pended under tho direction of Presl- ji dent Hyrum M. Smith of the Euro- 1 pean mission, $33,000. i Our records show that 73 per cent of all tho Latter-day Saint families , "oslding in all tho stakes of Zlon own .heir own homes. . Tho birth rate of tho church for the year 1914 Is 39.5 to the thousand. -vl The death rate for tho year 1914 Is 1 8.3 to the thousand. 1 Marriage rate for tho year 1914 is 17 to the thousand. During tho year there wero 14,717 ' r ' children bleased. There are 1,316 ciders and 115 wo-'. wo-'. ' men laboring In the missions us mis sionaries. Of the membership of tho church f residing in tho stakes of Zlon, 319,- ' ' O00 were born in tho United States. Thero has been n not lncreaso in the membership of the church in tho I stakes of Zlon from the year 1901 to ) 1914 of 129,943 souls. i There aro now 739 wards and thirty- ) three Independent branches. Thero are sixty-eight stakes . of Zlon and - twonty-ono missions. During tho year 3 1914 twenty-one new wards have been 5 organized and two stakes of Zlon. i There have been performed in the ! temples during tho past year 160,- 909 baptisms for tho living and dead, i and 72,032 endowments tor tho living I' and dead. Altogether 326,261 ordl- I nances have boon porformed In tho ; four temples. This is a very ccmsid- I erablo Increase over any previous 1 year, Tho speakers at the opening ses sion were President Joseph P. Smith i ' and his counbelors Anton H. Lund i , and Charles W. Penrose. ) At tho afternoon session 23,000 peo- j! ' plo attended tho three meetings hold, i tho speakers at tho tubornaclo being J Eldor Charlos W. Ponro&o and Elder ' 1-YuncIs M. Lyman. ,1 The great organ was not used, be- causo it is undergoing repairs. Tho : , lloor of the tabernacle has been en- ;! tlrely replaced; tho seats havo been i, repainted and rovarnlshed, and tho building put in excellent condition. Nine thousand persons sat or stood ,i In the tabernacle Sunday night in at- . tendnnco nt what tho program denom- ; inated "tho biggest Sunday school In i the world," tho meeting being under tho auspices of tho Desorot Sunday ,' School union and n part of tho spring : conference of tho Mormon church. Speakers included Presldont Joseph 5 p. Smith, who by virtue of Mb office ?'as head of tho church Is also general i ' Euperlntondent of the Sunday School union, ami other workers prominent in i Sunday school activities.' A feature of tho services was singing sing-ing by a chorus of 1,000 voices, most of them children from tho Salt Lake ; staku.of tho church. Tho report of Ooorgo D Pyper, general secretary of tho Sunday School association, showed a total Sunday school enrollment enroll-ment of 195,410, a gain of 8,405 over last year. Meetings of different societies wero hold during tho threo days' confor-M confor-M enco. and tho many visitors from every section of tho Union will return re-turn to their homes feeling that much good has been accomplished by the .' members of the church during tho paBt year. President Josoph P. Smith presided at both sessions of tho conference ofi Monday. April 5. Tho speakers it tho morning session -wero Apostlo llober J, Grant, Apostlo Rudger Clawson and Apostlo Heed Smoot. "I belldVo," declared Apostlo Grant, "that I never saw tho people of the church so dovoted us thoy now aro. Recently a wave of unusual zeal and faith Booms to havo swopt over nil tho church and lu people. Work is Its own reward and tho satisfaction of working for tho church and tho spreading of God's word Is greater than can bo Imagined. "Thero is but ono Bafo course for Latter-day Salnta to pursue and that Is tho path of righteousness. No Lat-tor-day Saint can remain in tho faith who does not do his duty as ho sees It in regard to tho vork of tho Lord." Apostle Grant closod his address with an appeal to tho brethren to continue con-tinue staunch In tho faith. Apostlo ClaWBon told of tho Inspiration Inspira-tion to Josoph Smith. In beginning his address Apostle Smoot referred to tho opening prayer or tho conference, which was an appeal ap-peal for light and Inspiration. He discussed Inspiration and declared that no one who had been haptizod by the authorities and blessed in the church doubted that God had rovealod Himself to him. Tho Bpoakor then roferrod to Josoph Smith and told how ho had, nlnoty-flvo years ago, boon Impressed by a great Tovlval held near hlB home. Ho told of the boy rending that passago from James in which thoso seeking knowledge aro urged to ask Go.d. And then he told of lils going into tho woods to pray. "From then on," declared the speakor, "tho heavens wero not closod to tho children of man. Rovo-latlon Rovo-latlon Is a fundamental principle in tho gospel of Jesus Christ. Wo cannot can-not deny revelation unless wo deny Mormonlsm. If Josoph Smith did not receive revelation, then Mormonlsm is a failuro. But I Bhall novor tire of testifying that God did appear to Joseph Smith and ostnbllsh Ills church hero, nover to bo torn down." At tho afternoon session Apostle II. J. Grant read tho report of tlje special auditing commltteo which had been appointed to check up tho accounts ac-counts of tho presidency of the church as trustee in trust for tho people peo-ple of tho church. Tho report stated that tho accounts had been found correct cor-rect and ho also complimented the first presidency of tho church on, the system of accounting used. George Albert Smith of tho quorum of twelve apostles was tho first speakor. speak-or. Ha dovotod his attention largely large-ly to tho growing ovldcnco of desire for amusement Instead of moro attcn tlon to religious duties. Ho was fol lowed by Apostlo Orson P. Whitney Apostlo David O. McKay and Charles A. Callls, president of tho Southern States mission. Apostlo Whitney declarod: "Surely tho Saints who leavo their homes tc come hero in so doing aro preaching the gospel as eloquently as It could bo done. Some day Mormonlsm will do popular. All will clamor for It But now Is tho vital time." "We live in an ago of mlracleB," declared President Callls, "but unfortunately unfor-tunately tho peoplo do not see or understand un-derstand them. Isaiah nredlcted the llfo and work of Josoph Smith as woll as ho predicted that of Christ The Book of Mormon wns predicted, as -was tho gathering of Israel, which 1b yet to come. Moses appeared to Josoph Smith and gave him tho keys to tho Book of Mormon and wo have this great work sustained by the surety of God's promise." "Our people aro efficient, prosperous prosper-ous nnd happy, becauso wo aid one another In tho productive life," said Apostle MoKay. 'Wo truly aro such a peoplo." Bald Apostlo McKay, "for ,wo aid ono another an-other spiritually mid temporarily But mlstakos aro sometlmos made and opportunities to aid sometimes are overlooked. We should help out children In healthful amuosments." Tho music has been a feature ol tho conferonco, aa always, In spite ol tho fact that tho great organ has been silent, repairs not having boon mado In tlmo for tho conference. Reunions of missionaries was one of tho most pleasing features of the conference, many members meeting old friends and fellow workors at thoEo meetings. Presidents of missions who attended conferenco Included President Joseplt E. Robinson of Lob Angeles, Cnl., miB Blon; President Molvln J. Ballard Portland, Ore.i northwestern statef mission; President Gorman E. Ells worth, Chicago, northern statee mis sion; President W. P. Monson, Now York, eastern states mission: Presl dent Charles A. Callls, Chattanooga Tonn.. southern states misBlon; Presl dent S. O, Bonnlon, independence, Mo. central states mission, and President John L. Herrlck, Denver, western Btatea mission Recovered from her recent attack ol Illness, Mrs. Emmolino B. Wells pre sided at tho meetings of tho Relief so cioty conferenco of tho Mormon church, which were held In tho assom bly hall. Tho annual conforenco of tho Worn an's Relief Bocloty of tho Mormon church was closod Saturday afternoon and it was declared -by Mrs. Emmellne D, Wella, president of the Bocloty, tc be tho best In .its history. |