Minutes of the April 1880 General Conference

Minutes of the Fiftieth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with preparatory meetings in the Salt Lake Assembly Hall April 4-5, 1880, and main conference sessions in the Large Tabernacle April 6-8, 1880. President John Taylor presiding. This was the Year of Jubilee — the fiftieth anniversary of the Church's organization. ¶

President John Taylor addressed the significance of the Year of Jubilee, covenant renewal after fifty years, biblical jubilee traditions, cooperation and High Councils, and the Perpetual Emigration Fund. On April 6, 1880 the assembled conference voted to appropriate 1,000 cows and 5,000 sheep for the relief of the worthy poor in Zion, with 300 cows and 2,000 sheep subscribed by the Presidency and Twelve and the remainder apportioned among the stakes. Elder Wilford Woodruff delivered a fifty-year church history review and reported on missions among Native Americans in Arizona and New Mexico (Moquis, Zunis, Isletas); he also addressed temple construction and Word of Wisdom observance. Elder Moses Thatcher reported on his Mexico mission, describing Mexican Indian history, Catholic church influence, and Lamanite conversion prospects with spiritual manifestations among converts. Elder Orson Pratt on the symbolism of the Year of Jubilee, creation account typology, seven trumpets and millennial timeline, land redemption laws in ancient Israel, and resurrection doctrine. ¶

Additional addresses by Charles C. Rich, Joseph F. Smith, Daniel H. Wells, Brigham Young Jr., Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Albert Carrington, and Lorenzo Snow. ¶

Key themes: divine providence over fifty years, gathering and building Zion, redemption of Native American peoples (Lamanites), temple work and covenant fulfillment, obedience to revealed principles, Year of Jubilee celebrations. ¶