Report on the Weber Stake

My brethren and sisters, it is a pleasure to have this privilege of standing before you here today to make such report as I may be led by the Spirit to give, concerning the Weber Stake of Zion, over which I have the honor to preside. It is one of the oldest stakes in Zion. Although the area of our stake is small, the population is large, numbering over 13,000 souls. I believe we are all laboring in harmony. So far as the tithing is concerned, we have made a large increase during the past year; in fact, the tithing has been increasing for several years. I rejoice to say that the people of the Weber Stake are a good people. Regarding the opening remarks of President Smith at this Conference, advising the Latter-day Saints not to neglect the useful professions, I will say, that although we are located in the central part of the state and have quite a large city, yet nearly all our people are farmers and fruitgrowers, and a great many of them are employed in sugar and canning factories, which have been erected by the Latter-day Saints. I believe there is none in the Weber Stake of Zion who cannot obtain lucrative employment along the lines referred to, without being obliged to enter into the professions. ¶

I rejoice in meeting with the people of God in conference, in hearing the testimonies of our brethren, and in listening to the voice of God's servants, proclaiming the truths of heaven and pointing out our duties. It has been my good fortune, as I deem it, to be associated with the Church all my life. I have had the privilege of being personally acquainted with all of the Presidents of the Church, Prophets of God, since the days of Brigham Young, and have taken a small part in the labors pertaining to the Priesthood from that day until the present. I feel that those who lead the Church today have the same power and authority to guide us as did the first President of the Church. I thank the Lord that we have such men to lead us— the sons of those great men who led Israel in the past, and who introduced the work of God in the earth. ¶

I do not feel that I should prolong my remarks. I know this to be the work of God. I have had this testimony from my youth up, and I have had the privilege of bearing the same not only in my own land, but also in foreign lands; for I realize, as has been said here today, that we will be held accountable for our acts, either of a public or of a private character. I thank the Lord that there is a Judge who will judge us — perhaps more carefully, and according to our deserts, than we judge one another. I pray God to bless us, and to fill us with a love for the truth, that we may never turn traitors to the principles of the Gospel or the servants of God. Amen. ¶