Show FIFTY FOURTH ANNUAL CON CONFER rElt ENLE of offie the church of Tents christ of latter day saints in salt lake city FRIDAY april 4 1884 10 am the conference convened in the large ta tabernacle bernacle as per adjourn merit present on the stand of the first presidency john taylor georgo george Q cannon joseph F smith of tho the twelve apostles wilford woodruff fl lorenzo snow E erastus rastus snow franklin D ilich rich ards brigham young albert carrington ring ton thatcher francis al lyman geor george 9 e teasdale patriarch john smith of the presidency of the thi seventies horace S E eldredge ldredge W W taylor A II 11 can cannon non S B youn there were presents Pre of stakes bromall fro mall parts of the country also bishops and leading elders from all itil the stakes of zion tha the conference was called to order by president john taylor the choir sang glorious things of thee are spoken zion city of our god prayer by president george Q cannon the he choir sang s zion stands with hills surrounded zion kept by power divine JOHN TAYLOR was pleased to meet with the saints at this conference and with tile surround surroundings imn that we benj enjoy y these gatherings are fraught w with th a great deal of good to the sai saints n t 5 wo have theroy the joy of meeting old friends and listening to the words of truth and salvation which prepare us to battle more successfully with the things of life and the trials of mortality we are engaged in a kwork which the prophets Prop heta of ancient times wrapped in the visions of prophecy spoke with such joy about a woric work which all tho the good men from the beginning of the world desired to live to see this ig is the dispensation of the fullness of times in which all things are to ba be gathered together 4 there is no man or set of men living upon the earth carth who can carry on this work except by the guidance of tho the lord and therefore it be bei hooves us to think of the position we wo occupy from its first organization god has watched over this work and no man has accomplished any anything thing against it except god so desired it and we may rest assured this will ever be the case ease no man can do anything in this church unless he lie be directed by the lord all people depend upon our acts as a church and people hence we WO should seek to exert all our ability to extend our labor for the interest of tho the people of god which ho be has established and will surely uphold to the end wo we have considerable business that will bo be transacted during this conference our brethren from all parts of the country are here and we hail them as our brethren and I 1 bless them and all who favor zion and may his disapprobation rest upon all who seek her overthrow APOSTLE GEORGE TEAS DALli followed saying that god has established his wor work upon the earth carthand and tho the speaker knew hofts of its power and correctness all the world must know that we are fire the only progressive church upon the earth we have gathered to a part of a country which has no particular attraction to us save gave the principles which god reveals to us from time to time wo vo have the testimony ony that jesus is the christ and that he ile has restored hii his church to the earth ho he has set in iti his church apostles prophets Prop heU and other officer ceray restored the keys of the holy priesthood given principles that are in which seek out the honest in heart from all nations no man I 1 can declare that if a people would j oner the offering of a broken he heart art and nud contrite t cirit and bo be baptized such a people woud le saved doles he knows thia this is the case care we offer our ur principles to the world and we know they aro are true hence we can declare these things to mankind like abraham we arc are taught in the things of god by god there is more development of tho the spirit in these valleys of the mountains than in any other part of the world the principle thou shall love the lord thy god with all thy heart and thy neighbor as thyself thy self is is carried out to a greater extent in the peaceful quiet loving homes of the latter att erday day saints than in the homes of any A other I 1 her people upon the face fac 0 of the earth the world need not judge us by our principles but if it they wish they can judge jud e us by our practices of everyday life let them thein judge by the fruits or of the principles the value olour of our doctrines we arc are living wit witnesses nekses that the signs ig follow the believer as our meet meetings ings and associations contin dually bear testimony to the sick i arc are healed by the eldera and the manifestations of god are ever among us let god declare and vc iye will hearken and obey be if awe we are ever sayed in the Ring kingdom doin of of god i it t will be through obedience thu we fully ful ly understand theory will never save us think of it we roay way believe what we wish but mint must not practise it this i is the decision of the highest intellect in the land god help the intellect the promise is to us that if we will believe and practise tho the words of god to us we will bo be saved and become the zion which embraces the pure in heart let us be our own friends care not for the friendship of the world the gospel has made u us s long su suffering frering kind meek and loving if wo we wish to have these blessin continue let us co continue in th the friendship and love of god remember e as 31 far as the things of this world are concerned they are dust but the things of eternity are priceless ri celess beyond value we lye brought brought nothing with us to this earth but a character from god and we should so live livo that wo we can meet him in a day to 0 come with that jewel unspotted when wo we die our spirits return to god then let us is live so 80 that we lye can meet him with the character we had when we departed from him how shall wo we do this not by theory but by practice live so go that I 1 ho I 1 in may greet us with the welcome words well done thou good and faithful servant APOSTLE F M X LYMAN next addressed tho the congregation we nye come together to obtain the key note of our religion to hear tho the true sound and become encouraged I 1 to live lives of saints wo lye will not bo be saved by reason of entertaining any particular belief but it will be because olour of our obedience to the gospel of christ which requires works faith brings works and when we waver in in our duties it is h a certain sign that we have not faith if the works which that faith fth j inspires are not acconio accomplished plis lied what is religion without works it is dead A rel religion i g n which dees does not require men to 1 work lio r k is not a religion but a dead nothing can we refuse to keep the laws of god if wo we have faith in them no better we had bad never heard them we must carry out the will of god we are under obligation to do so to so long as we live therefore we will carry out the laws of god we lye came according to law we live according to law and we will be saved in the kingdom of god according to law the lord has given us to know that the doctrine I 1 is of god wo we are established estable shed as the kingdom of god men are devoted to the service of the lord and we know that he ile lives this the world docs does apt know we have this testimony and why the world say we are stubborn we are no more stubborn than christ and his apostles Apostle 3 were nor n or than the prophets of old were they were willing to lay jay down their lives for the knowledge they possessed so are we the world thinks this strange but they have not the testimony and their ignorance can not bo be wondered at we desire to meet in a world to come with our families wives and child renand when temptation surrounds aslet us re remember our future and the promises in in etore for the faith faithful fu that we may stand firm unto the end the choir sang an anthem 0 who can stand against tho the word of adjourned till 2 p in prayer by apostle wilford Wood ruff t continued Con linued on page 2 conference GON FERENCE A Z page 1 2 p pm m the congregation was called to arder by prest pres t john job n taylor the choir tang the hymn we are not ashamed to own our god and worship him above abo e prayer was offered ered and the choir aang sang 0 0 awake my slumbering minstrel APOSTLE MOSES rejoiced in the remarks made this ibis morning orning by the brethren it was truly remarked that unless sustained by the lord no deop people le can accomplish com lillis his work the lordis lord is the giver of life and no man breathes except by the will of god if man aims to defend upon himself he will be led into dark darkness nesi and failure will be his end the subject of tho the persecution of tho the saints had been among the speakers recent recant reflections ho ile bad often thought that the saints were hated more for their virtue than for their sins the shafts of malice which are hurled at innocence are often dipped in in double distilled pois on before they are hurled at victims all persecutors are led by one and the same spirit the cirit which caused rebellion in heaved ii who declared in the language of milton he would rather ve reign g n in hell than bea be a subject of heaven a en it is because we are raiv rowing against the current of corruption that we wo are aro persecuted by this abue spirit t of rebel rebellion lion itis it is because we ive are going up the current and not down that his poisoned arrows arroba are hurled at our heads WS ar arc iol solving vinc tho the work of jesus christ hence we must understand its theo theory ry 1 in n order that we may put its principles es to practice when nwe we come to practise plural marr marriage tige they say we ft e break the la laws Ns the speaker loved the tile constitution an of the united states and held that is was broad enough to hold all it if Cong congress has a right aright to govern the marriage of a people it also has his a right to make laws for the tile administration tion odthe of the sacrament and other religious this it can not do without breaking the constitution the persecutions which we receive are calculated to make our you young n men grow as defenders of liberty lib er it should be understood that a persecuted religion is a t will bo be investigated our persecutors are probably necessary dry for us for sometimes the they y so far overleap overy r themselves in lies that they make converts where we ave would never reach them there are many honest people in tho the world who would be he more favorable towards us asif if they knew the truth about us let them know who we are a and lid they will love us we can pray for them the speaker could pray even for governor murray he ile IT would pray that the governors Governor 8 advisors vilois would not lead him in the future into as many wrongs as they had led him into in the past APOSTLE ALBEKT ALBERT addressed the congregation bearing his testimony to the work of god one on e person erson with god is a greot ma bority we have now not only one person but thousands who live by the word of god and do his will andthil and this na number niber is increasing g year by year enoch and ant noah noali succeeded in their day to gain g ain only few followers we have even done better thousands are ready to obe obey y the voice of our president as he be may mav be inspired by the spirit of god the natural man mart cannot discern the things of god man must be inspired by the god in order to un der stand the affairs of the lord the lords ways are simp simple to BO simple that thit a wayfaring man though a fool need not err therein wh why y do so many corthen crr then it is because they love darkness rather than light so long joni as any person loves evil he will idill cling to the darkness dar knes and wander in the patha paths forbidden by god the speaker felt to pity all who loved darkness for they are slaves to sin and he lie hoped tho tile eceles would fall from their eyed that they might know of the truth but many would never repent and it was not wisdom to argue the point with them for they hardened in their hearts and would not nut listen to the voice of god the difference diffie renco between such men and true saints is this the are are free in tho the freedom ortho of the everlasting gogel gospels while the wicked with all t their e i r boasted independence and liberality are slaves to the powers of evil and sin APOSTLE V F D said the opportunities afforded to us in meeting together are blessings which make us feel like c coming 0 ming to a feast the pressure of our ene alies has brought us nearer together where we re may drink from the fountains of eternal life theford the lord hsu revealed to us glorious i 1 ples in which we greatly rejoice those who looky look upun zion with ith a view of defiling her ara aro disappointed in their labor when they cry aha ahat we have them now behold god steps to to our rescue and the eff lorts ot the wicked turu turn to our blessing we owe our kindred a duty wo should send the truth to them that they may not believe the errors that are scattered abroad by a wicked press and by the hireling priests wo we should endeavor to preserve them from becoming too much prejudiced that there may be an opening for them on the other side of the veil by so doing we may save them in the world to como come and do a great work for them wo we should see that they rc re caire our newspapers letters and pamphlets from which they may receive ceide the word of truth the people e should remember that there are many honest in heart iu in the world who have never paid raid A amen men to the martyrdom of joseph smith and there arc are thousands who would read the printed word of god if they only received the opportunity the kindness and goodness wo we extend to others we nye may rest assured will ba be returned returned to us and tho the wrong the tho people of the world is pouring upon us will also ho bo returned upon them if wo we could only know what glory awaits us we arc are faithful and how eagerly we desired tho privileges wen we now gIven enjoy wo we w would battlo battle freely with buoyant spirits against every trial that may beset beset u us S there are no P ople who have thelio pcs of joy that we possess we should therefore question ourselves and learn if wo we are living right it is not nearly so important to know if our neighbors bors arc are good and honest as it is to bo be positive that we ours ourselves elves arc are doing right and living according to th the 6 laws of god in our stake where there ii n tendency to apostasy apo stacy the authorities should meet together aud and preach the gospel io to each other liven each other up in their that the good york vork may spread the people and strengthen them thern their faith that zion may to grow and pros prosper cr until all enemies enemies are trodden trodden under foot the choir sang an anthem 0 give thanks unto god the conference adjourned saturday 10 nall bene benediction diction lic tion by prisident P F smith |