Alpine Sunday School Report

My brethren and sisters, I can say that I am pleased to meet with you in this Sunday school conference tonight. If there is any meeting in the Church that gives me pleasure, it is Sunday school meeting. ¶

We have in Alpine stake seventeen Sunday schools; all of which except one are in good running condition, and I am pleased to report to this body of workers that the Sunday schools in the Alpine stake of Zion are on the improve. We have now increased the average attendance from 50 per cent at the last conference to 67 per cent; and we expect to increase it before our next conference in May to at least 75 per cent or even 80 per cent. We feel that, with the direction of the president of the stake, we can do so; for I want to bear testimony here that the president of the Alpine stake and his counselors are deeply interested in the Sunday school work, and lately they have been visiting our meetings of the union board, and they appoint missionaries among the Sunday schools, and those missionaries go out, and one of their duties is to see whether or not the Sunday schools of the stake are carrying out the instructions that are given by our general superintendent, and his co-laborers. ¶

I am pleased to state that we have in our stake a union board, that is not surpassed. I believe, in the Church. We have every school represented in our union meetings, and the board meetings have been for the last few months devoted, not so much to the consideration of what we can teach the children but how to teach them. We have had presented to us by the general union board sufficient subject matter to teach, but the question now is, how we can best teach it; and I am pleased to state that we find matters easier by reason of that beautiful academy that was established by President Brigham Young at Provo. From there we have some excellent teachers. We have young men and young ladies that are filled with the Spirit of God, that go there during the winter months, and when they come back during the summer months we put them in the Sunday school. I want to say that the Alpine stake board is composed of fifteen energetic workers. Many of them are young men and young women who have been educated in and who graduated from the Brigham Young academy. ¶

We have now adopted a plan, that every Sunday school in the stake should send in a report to the board once a month, that we can know the condition of the school, that we may know whether or not the pupils are improving in attendance, whether or not they are improving in keeping the Word of Wisdom. We have had printed and we send out to the different schools a number of questions, and among these questions are: "Do you attend to your prayers at home?" ¶

My brethren and sisters, it is our object in the Alpine stake to place no teachers to instruct the children of God, these choice spirits who have been sent down here to tabernacle upon the earth, unless they are men of God, unless they can hold up their hands in support of the authorities of the Church and of the stake. We ask them whether or not they are keepers of the Word of Wisdom; whether or not they are tithe payers; whether or not they are members of secret societies. And I tell you, my brethren and sisters, that we see the benefit of these questions. I can say, that our Sunday school corps of teachers are keeping the commandments of God, and that the Sunday schools are being benefited thereby, and I believe that it is just to the children that it should be so. Why shouldn't we educate the children to keep the commandments of God? I ask the teachers if there are any under the sound of my voice who are breakers of the Word of Wisdom, whether or not they can stand up before their Sunday school class and teach them to keep it? ¶

My brethren and sisters, I am interested in the Sunday school work; and that the work in the stake in which I preside, I am pleased to state, is progressing nicely, and we hope that every Sunday school therein ere long can say that 98 per cent keep the Word of Wisdom. One of the Alpine stake Sunday schools reported that 98 per cent were keepers of the Word of Wisdom. My brethren and sisters, I tell you when the time comes that 98 per cent of the children who attend Sunday schools are keepers of the Word of Wisdom, that President Smith will receive more aid from the Church than he is receiving now. If they are keepers of the Word of Wisdom, they will pay an honest tithing unto God, our Eternal Father, the work of God will roll on, and His name will be glorified in the earth, and the hopes that are in the hearts of our leaders will be consummated and the glorious promises fulfilled. May God bless you, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶