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Show SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE 8AINTS IN SESSION IN SALT .'LAKE CITY. President Smith Presides at Opening of Sventy.Flfth Seml-Annuat Conference Con-ference of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The seventy-fifth scml-nnual conference con-ference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was begun In the tabernacle In Salt Lake City Thursday morning, October 6. There was scarcely scarce-ly a vacant seat In tho Immense auditorium audi-torium when, at 10:15 o'clock, President Presi-dent Joseph F. Smith arose nnd announced an-nounced that the conferenco would open with tho singing by tho choir nnd congregation or tho hymn beginning begin-ning "Come let us nuew our Journey pursue." President Smith mado tho opening address. Ho said ho was happy In tho privilege he enjoyed at the opening open-ing of the seventy-fifth semi-nnnunl conferenco of tho church, and was pleased at seeing such a largo representation repre-sentation of tho brethren on n week dny, when nil lines of business and all tho Industries were being carried on. Notwithstanding severe droughts In southern Utah, New Mexico, Old Mexico, Mex-ico, Canada and other locations, tho season had been an nbundnntone, and of lato the droughts had been' broken by copious rnlns, so that all tho stakes were enjoying ii reasonable prosperity. "I trust," said he, "thnt the spiritual spirit-ual conditions of the Latter-day Saints havo been as good as tho temporal conditions con-ditions have been, and that we arc progressing nnd growing In tho knowledge knowl-edge of the truth, nnd In faithfulness beforo tho Ixird In keeping his commandments com-mandments nnd his laws as he has prospered us, for after all tho great deslreatum Is tho faithfulness of tho pcoplo to the covenants they havo mado with the Lord, nnd which Is their righteousness." President Smith said tho church has In tho United States, Canada nnd Mex-Ico Mex-Ico flfty-flvo organized stakes or Zlon. These havo flfty-flvo presidents and 110 counselors. There aro COO high priests who sit In counsel with tho presfdents and counselors In nil the affairs of the church. Thero aro, ho said, nbout twenty organized missions hroughout the world, presided over by presidents nnd counselors, nnd these missions nre supplied with elders el-ders and seventies that nro sent out to prench the gospel, numbering nt present In the neighborhood of 1 GOO ciders. Thero nre C2G orgnnlzed wnrds presWcd over by C2C bishops, with L-52 bishops' counselors. It dovolves upon tho bishops of tho wards to look after tho poor and to administer to tho sick nnd afflicted. It Is also their duty to look after tho splritunl wulfnre or the people; to sec thnt they aro living moral,, puro nnd upright lives; thnt they nro faithful In tho dlschnrgo of their duties ns Latter-day Sulnts; that they nro honest in their denllngs ono with nnother and with tho children of men generally, and with nil tho world. Thero aro In tho church HO quorums quor-ums or seventies, nnd theso constitute a body of some 10.000 elders, whoso speclnl duty It Is to respond to tho cnll or tho apostles to preach tho gospel gos-pel nnd to go on missions without purso nnd without script. President Smith then explained tho litles of tho members of tho two orders or-ders of priesthood, Anronlc nnd Mel-chlsedek. Mel-chlsedek. In conclusion ho said It did not mako any dlfferenco what the world says about tho Latter-day Snlnts, for they know whnt their mission mis-sion Is nnd proposo to fulfill It by the help of Almighty God. That mlssisn was to snvo men from evil, from error, from wickedness and from tho power of darkness. First Counselor John It. Wlndor mado a brief talk on tho trials, tribulations tribu-lations and successes or tho church missionaries. Ho rejoiced that con- tho earth"" belnK nm'l' 'n a" 1,artS 0f Second Counselor and Hlstorinn Anthon H. Lund discoursed on tho pr est hood. He said there wns no pr estly ensto In tho church, us tho priest ofllco wns conferred oil nearly every mnlo member worthy to-rccelvo r, A , r0 nft0"inn session, Kldor David H. Cannon, president of tho St. eorgo temple, wns tho first speaker, ho being followed by President Jnmes A. Lolshman of tho Logan temple, both speaking of temple work and of tho benefits that Jiavo como from being be-ing baptized for tho dead. President John D. T. McAllister, or tho Mantl Temple, urged that nil marriages mar-riages should tako placo In tho temples. Presldont Francis M. Lymnn, prcsl-dent prcsl-dent or tho quorum or twelvo apostles mado a strong talk ror tho Introduction Introduc-tion or fruit and vegetable cnnnorlea and tho building up of manufacturing Industries. Ho said Utah should not only produce everything It consumes In tho way or food products, Implements Imple-ments and machinery, hut should supply sup-ply tho people of other states. Much fruit and vegetables were going to waste because thero was no way to M can them. The millionaires who havo Si made their money In Utnh mines should spend somo of their money In promoting mnnuractorlcs, Ho advised ad-vised tho saints to got out ot debt and stay out, In order that they might bo prepared when a season of dullness set's In, as It Is apt to do In tho course or n rew years. Uoth the morning and afteirnoon sessions of the second day's meeting or the seventy-fifth seml-nnnual conference con-ference of the Church or Jesus Christ or Latter-day Saints wero mainly devoted de-voted to tho giving of testimony by presidents of stakes as to the progress of tho work of tho church. Testimonies Testi-monies given nt tho conferenco havo shown that In several of tho old-established stakes In Utah tho church population is either stationary or growing very slowly. They also havo shown that In some of the mission fields, notnbly tho eastern and California Califor-nia missions, with headquarters In Now York and San Francisco, few converts havo been mndo during tho past six months or year. To offset this discouraging condltnn, It Is stated thnt some of tho new stnkes in Idaho and Wyoming nre growing rapidly, nnd thnt tho missions in Canada nnd Mexico aro making a good, showing. Tho ract or the poor showing of prog-ress prog-ress In somo of tho older stakes Is accounted ac-counted for by the fact that many or tho younger members nre moving to other stakes going out to secure homes In new countries. 1 lClder William lludgc, president or j)M tho Hear Luke, Idaho, stnko, told or "rT I the work In that state. Instead or the ono Btnke, which wns orgnnlzed when ho first went to Idnho, there nro now ten. Theso stakes are all growing numerically and prospering. Kldor Alouzo A. Hinckley, president of the Mlllnrd stake, followed. Ho had been presiding over tho stnko for two years, ho snld. Tho Btako boundaries wero Idontlcnl with those of Mlllnrd county, Utnh, nnd In It were fi,000 members or the church nnd about 1.000 Gentiles. Or the G.000 fully one-firth one-firth wero In tho priesthood, nnd although al-though church population was not Increasing In-creasing numerically, tho members of tho church In tho stako were growing In spirituality. Ho said the Mormons and Gentiles wero living together In tho utmost harmony, nnd among the lntter woro many good, conscientious men and women. Apostle Rudger ClawBon gavo n general talk on sin and repentance. Ho urged more attention to the ordi- n nances or the church providing for $ tho salvation of tho living and tho re- 1 demptlon of tho dead, and or tho lay- ( lng on or hands ror the reception or S the Holy Ghost. tt On Saturday there were no regular S sessions or tho general conrcronco at m tho tabernnclo, but In tho morning an W Importui: meeting of tho priesthood ? was held In Assembly hall, $ The distinguishing features of tho a Sunday session of the confernco wero Q tho refutation of a statement mado by at a woman at a meeting held In Denver B, recently that young men and young y women, when away from Utah, were is ashamed that they lived In tho state, p the appearance of Apostlo Reed Smoot In tho conferenco and his udvocacy of fl tho reopening of tho wooden mills that j have been closed for years, and tho M sustaining of all tho principal olllccrs jj of tho church by a unanimous voto. ffl President Joseph F. Smith sold the H presidents of missions wero under H strict instruction to guard carefully HI tho health of missionaries, and to send If them homo when ill. They wero to be M tho judges of whnt wns host to be done f In their respective fields. Tho body of H tho church should cheerfully Indorse n their nctlon In tho enses or mlsslonnr- M les nnd rerraln from criticism or those II sent home. m Klder A. II. Woodruff, iormerly pros- I Ident or tho Northern stntes mission. 1 with hendqunrters nt Chicago, told ot S tho work In that field. Ho said tho 1 people or Chlcngo nr not nnturnlly re H ligloiis. nnd aro too much absorbed In H tlio affairs or tho world to pay much fl attention to tho salvation or their Im- H mortnl souls. M Elder Joseph A. McRao, president I or the Colorado mission, with head- n quarters nt Denver, told or tho work In Qj thnt field. Whllo thero had not been M as many converts ns expected, tho peo- n pie had shown n friendly spirit toward 9 tho missionaries. B At tho closing of tho conforenco. -JL Presldont Joseph F. Smith called down rM biesslngs on everybody, Including fl those who would wipe tho Saints out W or oxlstenco. Tho conforenco then H closed its deliberations with tho sing' H lng of an anthem. B |