Opening Remarks

President Wilford Woodruff, said: I feel thankful, my brethren and sisters, that I have the privilege this morning of attending this Sixty-sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with the Elders of Israel and the Saints of the living God. My first attending any conferences of this Church was in 1834, and from that day till the present, from time to time, as circumstances have permitted, I have enjoyed this blessing. And while the Prophets, and Apostles, and Elders and Saints of God, a great many of them, and a number of them who have assembled in these days, are today upon the other side of the veil, still other men as Apostles and Prophets and Elders and members of the Church stand in the flesh, following in their footsteps. I feel thankful to have the privilege of meeting with the Apostles and the various quorums of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today. And while we are together during this conference, I hope and trust that we may all of us have our hearts lifted up in prayer and thanksgiving to God and ask His blessing that we may be guided by His Holy Spirit in whatever we are called to teach the Saints, and the labors we have to perform as the people of God. We have great reason to rejoice, great reason to be thankful to our Creator, to God, our Heavenly Father, for His mercies and blessings over us today. ¶

The hand of the Lord may very clearly be seen, I think, by all men who enjoy the Spirit of God, in the past history of the Latter-day Saints. His hand has been over us since our organization in 1830, until the present time. We have passed, of course, through many trials and tribulations, but the Lord’s mercy is over us, and we are placed here in the mountains of Israel, the Zion of God, and placed here with responsibilities resting upon us to be carried out in our day and time. I am pleased to meet with the Apostles, and trust, as far as we have time and opportunity, we shall have the privilege of hearing from them. But I will say that President Snow is expected to be absent from us for a day or so, in attending the funeral of Judge Smith, of Brigham City, and I will call upon him this morning to occupy a little time in talking to us. ¶