Opening Address

I am very happy to greet you, my brethren and sisters, in our gathering on this beautiful morning, to commence our eighty-fourth annual conference of the Church. I do not know how long I may address you this morning, but I sincerely hope I may not weary you too long. I am very grateful to say that I am in the enjoyment of my usual health and strength, notwithstanding for sometime, like a great many of my brethren, I have been "enjoying" a bad cold the best I could. It has had its effect upon my organs of speech, for, notwithstanding the cold, I have endeavored to perform my duty, and have very frequently used my voice to the utmost in addressing the quarterly conferences of our people, and also many ward gatherings as well. ¶

I am very thankful, indeed, that the Lord has preserved us all to meet together here this morning in His service, from whom we receive all good, and in commemoration, also, of the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in this Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. I feel sure that during the sessions of this conference there is in store for us the usual outpouring of the good Spirit by which we may be strengthened in our faith, encouraged in our determination to continue faithful before the Lord, and aided in the performance of our duties as members and officers of the Church, and as men and women bearing responsibilities therein. All these blessings that we may resolve again, as we no doubt have resolved many times, to be more faithful, if possible, in the future than we have been in the past. It is a fact that however good we may be, however careful in the observance of the precepts of the Gospel, and in the preservation of our lives and virtues, there is a certain degree of weakness which we often call "human weakness" pervading our being. Hence, there is always opportunity for improvement over the best that we do. I feel that is the case with me, and I believe I am not an exception to the general rule. None of us, I presume, have reached such degree of perfection in all things that we can say of a truth that we have not neglected any duty required of us in the Church, and that we have done all that we possibly could do for our own good and for the advancement of the kingdom of God. The fact is, whoever will labor for his own welfare, for his own salvation and upbuilding in the knowledge of those principles which draw men nearer to God and make them more like unto Him, fitting them better for the performance of the duties required at their hands, is in like manner building up the Church. None of us, I suppose, can do as well as would be expected of us by those who are perfect in the observance of the laws of God. I presume that there are very few of us today who would be justified in claiming that we actually observe and are capable of living up to the precepts that were taught by the Son of God. However good, honest and faithful we may be, I doubt very much that there are any of us who are capable of rightfully asserting that we are living up to all the precepts of the Son of God. There are some glorious principles advocated by Him that I fear it would be impossible for me, in my present condition and state of mind, to observe or comply with. To illustrate what I desire to express, I fear that if a man should smite me on the right cheek that I would not feel very willing to turn the other cheek also; or, if a man should sue me at the law, unjustly, and take away my cloak, that I would willingly give him my coat also. I fear that I cannot pray for my enemies in the same spirit of love, kindness, devotion and earnest desire for the forgiveness and exemption of the consequences of their transgressions, that I can for my friends, or those who love me, and are true and faithful to me as I would be true and faithful to them. ¶

And so there are many great things, which are almost incomprehensible to mankind as taught by the Savior of the world, which lie before us, which should be the standard of perfection, for which we should aim, that we have not yet been able to master and to apply in ourselves. Yet, I believe that there are no better people in the world than the Latter-day Saints. I do not believe that there are any people in all the world, who more patiently endures insults, calumnies, and misrepresentation than the Latter-day Saints do. I do not believe that there are a people anywhere who would endure the presence of the most vicious, wicked falsifiers on earth, and allow them to peacefully remain unquestioned in their midst, as the Latter-day Saints do and are doing right along. And yet I am firm in the belief that this evil is diminishing, and that the time will come when those who falsify, who wilfully or ignorantly lie and misrepresent the people of God, will be ashamed to wag their vile tongues, at least in public. The time will come when they will be ashamed of it, and this evil will eventually cease. ¶

Now, my brethren and sisters, I want to say to you, as I have said before on occasions like this, (and I believe I can say it again as truly as ever before) that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was never in a better condition than it is today; never was more alive to the interests of Zion; never was more united, and I believe that there never were less of fault to find with the people of God than there is today. I believe we are learning, and while we may be slow in coming to the knowledge of the truth, and to the acceptance of it all, we are progressing, we are growing in the right direction; we are learning wisdom, learning patience, getting understanding; we are increasing in our faith and in unity, and in good works; I believe this with all my soul. I believe that your servants, the Presidency of the Church; your servants, the Twelve Apostles, the Seven Presidents of Seventies, and the Presiding Bishopric of the Church, never were more faithful to you, to your interests and to the interest of the kingdom of God, than they are today. I don't believe that the time ever was when they were more united than they are now. I believe that the councils of the priesthood are united, and that they are laboring together more effectively for their advancement and unity, and for the increase of their knowledge of the principles of the Gospel, than ever before. I can say the same, I think, of all auxiliary organizations of the Church. I believe that our Relief Society is doing a magnificent work among the people. I believe that the General Board of the Relief Society are more united than they have been, and they are doing better work than they have done before; that is, so far as I can remember, and I can remember a long way back in relation to some of the work that has been done by our Relief Societies. They are an essential organization for the good of Israel, for the welfare of the sisters, and mothers, and the daughters in Zion. They are doing a good work, and I believe are united more than ever before. I think I can say the same of all the other organizations that have been devised as helps to the priesthood for the advancement of the cause of Zion. And so I think that the kingdom is growing, that the Lord is with us, that His power is behind and before and above and beneath this work, and that it is the power of God that sustains it, that causes it to grow and to advance in the earth, and that is giving it power and influence for good among the children of men. I believe, too, that the power of God will be exerted in greater measure at home and abroad, in proportion as the faith of the Latter-day Saints and their good work increase; and as the power of the priesthood and of the people of God shall increase in the land, so the power of evil and of opposition will decrease, until the victory will come to the people of God in righteousness. I do not expect any victory, any triumph, anything to boast of, to come to the Latter-day Saints, except upon the principles of righteousness and of truth. Truth and righteousness will prevail, and endure. If we will only continue to build upon the principles of righteousness, of truth, of justice and of honor, I say to you there is no power beneath the celestial kingdom that can stay the progress of this work. And as this work shall progress, and shall gain power and influence among men, so the powers of the adversary and of darkness will diminish before the advancement and growth of this kingdom, until the kingdom of God, and not of men will triumph. ¶

This is my testimony to you. I hardly need to say that I never in my life saw the time when I felt more sure of the truth that we are engaged in that I do today. Never in my life did I feel more satisfied, or greater assurance in my soul of the advancement of the cause of Zion, and of the divinity of the work that we are engaged in. I know that God lives, and I know that He is upholding this work, not you, nor I, no individual is doing it, no community is doing it for themselves. We may co-operate, we may be united with the power of God, and help Him to hasten it on to its consummation, but the honor of the accomplishment of it, of its triumph and victory over sin, over doubt, over the ignorance of the world, will be due to Almighty God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the founder of the Church and of His own kingdom. It will be due to Him, and the people of God will acknowledge it, and will give to Him the honor and the glory thereof. ¶

It is true that we have, now and then, here and there, occasionally, persons who would, if they possibly could, limit the power, the knowledge, the wisdom of God Almighty, to the capacity of men. We have a few of them among us, and some of them have been, and may be, school teachers. They will tell you that the scriptural testimony of the miraculous deeds performed by the Son of God while He tabernacled in the flesh is mere babyism, mere symbols, nothing real, only parable, that is all. They would make you believe that; they would make you and me believe, if they could, that the Lord God never did deal with men except by and through man's own individual agency and wisdom, and that to the extent only of his own finite knowledge. They would make you believe that the winds and the waves are subject to men. They would, if they could, make you believe that the Son of God, who possessed all power, power to raise the dead, power to lay down His own life and take it up again, power to remit sin, power to unstop the ears of the deaf, to open the eyes of the blind, to cleanse the leper, to cast out evil spirits, and do all things, they would make you believe that all these are simply myths, and that God Almighty, who has all power, did not do such things. He "could not" turn water into wine, all nonsense, ridiculous, they say; "could not walk on the water;" no, all nonsense; that the Almighty "could not do such things" any more than men could do them. I say again that there are just a few ignoramuses, "learned fools," if you please, who would make you believe, if they could, that Almighty God is limited in His power to the capacity of man. Don't you believe it, not for one moment. ¶

They would make you believe, if they could, that the Father and Son did not come and reveal themselves to Joseph Smith, in person; that it was but the imagination of Joseph Smith. We know better. The truth is overwhelming to the contrary. The testimony of the Spirit of the living God bears record to the contrary, and it teaches men that these things are true, and that those who deny them are simply going outside of the truth into the fallacies and follies of the philosophies of men. They are not willing to abide in the solid, simple truth which God has revealed for the salvation of the souls of men. Beware of men who come to you with heresies of this kind, who would make you to think or feel that the Lord Almighty, who made heaven and earth and created all things, is limited in His dominion over earthly things to the capacities of mortal men. They try to make you believe that God is too busy and too great to trouble about earthly things. I am glad that there are comparatively few such characters in the world, and I hope that they will become more and more scarce until they are extinct. ¶

Now, I feel that I must not detain you too long. The Presiding Bishop's office has kindly provided a few interesting statements in writing, which I will read to you with, perhaps, some comment as I proceed. ¶

During the year 1913, there was an increase in membership in practically all of the stakes of Zion. The following items culled from the statistical records of the Church are at once interesting and instructive. The figures refer to the organized stakes only, exclusive of the missions: ¶

"Birth rate among the Latter-day Saints, in the stakes, is 37 to the thousand. ¶

"The death rate is 9.3 to the thousand. The average age of death among the Latter-day Saints, is 38 years. ¶

"There are 8 widowers and 24 widows to the thousand." ¶

And these, especially the latter class, are members of the Church who need the care that the widow and the fatherless usually require from those who are abundantly supplied with the necessaries of life, for, as a rule, the widow and the fatherless are left practically destitute of this world's goods. ¶

"Persons over twenty-one years of age, and unmarried, are fifty-one to the thousand. ¶

"The marriages were 15 to the thousand; of these marriages 8 to the thousand were solemnized in the temples, and 7 to the thousand were performed through civil ceremony outside the temples." ¶

This condition, among the Latter-day Saints, so far as the latter statement is concerned, should be remedied as soon as possible. I presume the cause of it is that some of our young people are not properly trained, not properly instructed in their duties in the Church, and when they arrive at a marriageable age, some of them, at least, are not prepared to receive the indorsement of their presiding officers to go into the temples. ¶

While the rate of marriage among the members of the Church is perhaps as high as that prevailing in any other civilized community, it should, nevertheless, be higher. Our young people should be encouraged to marry at the proper age. ¶

This should be a text for every bishop, for every stake president. It is not good for man to be alone, and it is necessary that our young men and women should be properly taught the importance, the sacredness and the duty of marriage. Great evils occur among young people through neglect in teaching them these principles, and from failure to encourage them to the performance of their duties, in this respect. ¶

"During the year, 427 members of the Church entered into marriages with non-members of the Church; and of these 427, it is noted that 398 were women." ¶

So that, it appears distinctly that it is the young women who are most inclined to follow the outsider, and to become associated in marriage with non-believers, which is a pity. ¶

"The number of members of the Church divorced during the year is 163; of this number 59 had been married in the temples, and 104 by civil ceremony." ¶

I think that here is a point worthy of observation by the Latter-day Saints. Men and women who become united in the holy bonds of wedlock, according to the rites and ceremonies of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, enter into the solemn relationship with better understanding of the duties and responsibilities of marriage than others do, because they are taught more fully the facts in the case. ¶

"There were excommunicated from the Church, in the stakes of Zion, 55 persons." ¶

Mostly, I suppose, for being carried away by every wind of doctrine. We have some foolish people who take up with any chimera, or foolish notion that anybody may advance to them. They are to be pitied. ¶

"Baptisms into the Church, of children and adults, within the stakes, numbered 35 to the thousand. ¶

"During the year there has been a greater proportion of baptisms of adults than for several years previous; this gratifying result is probably due to the more systematic missionary service within the stakes, in which excellent labor the Seventies have been prominent. Organized and well directed labor on the part of the Seventies has been conducted whereby the message of the Gospel has been carried to many of our non-'Mormon' friends who are fellow-members of the communities in which our people dwell. It is as surely our duty to preach the Gospel to non-members of the Church with whom we dwell as it is to carry the message of truth to the nations of the earth. Responsibility for this home missionary labor rests upon the local authorities — the presidents and bishops — under whose direction the Seventies residing in the several stakes and wards may be effectively engaged. ¶

"It is gratifying to know, as the records show, that through the benefits of our local option laws, the saloon has been eliminated in communities wherein the Latter-day Saints predominate. ¶

"A marked increase in the labors of the ward teachers is shown; and one of the direct results of this important activity is the increase in the attendance of the Latter-day Saints at their Sacrament meetings, and also a marked increase of enrollment in all the auxiliary organizations of the Church. ¶

"In the Ogden Stake of Zion 93% of all the families in the wards were visited by the teachers, each month, during the year 1913. It is but fair to state that this is the best record in the Church. ¶

"Great good has been accomplished by the regular visits of the ward bishoprics to the homes of the Saints. This has given the bishops a personal insight into the family organization and home life of the people of their wards; and it is pleasing to note that in all except the largest wards, the respective bishoprics have visited at least once during the year every family in their wards. In the larger wards, the bishoprics have very properly called to their aid experienced and influential brethren to assist in this annual visitation by going to the homes of the members, two or three together, as representatives of the bishopric. Approximately 60,000 families were thus visited, either by the bishoprics in person or by their specially appointed representatives, during the closing months of the year 1913." ¶

I would like to interject here just a remark. We have had called to our attention, recently, the fact that some men who are of long standing in the Church — indeed, some of them born and reared in the Church, and who are occupying prominent positions in some of the quorums of the priesthood — when their presidents or their bishops of the wards in which they live call upon them to visit the Saints, teach the principles of the Gospel and perform the duties of teachers, they coolly inform their bishops that they have graduated from that calling, and refuse to act as teachers. Brother Charles W. Penrose is eighty-two years of age. I am going on seventy-six, and I believe that I am older than several of these good men who have graduated from the duties of the Lesser Priesthood, and I want to tell them and you that we are not too old to act as teachers, if you will call us to do it — not one of us. There is never a time, there never will come a time to those who hold the priesthood in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, when men can say of themselves that they have done enough. So long as life lasts, and so long as we possess ability to do good, to labor for the upbuilding of Zion and for the benefit of the human family, we ought, with willingness, to yield with alacrity to the requirements made of us to do our duty, little or great. I hope that my friends of the Seventies and of the High Priests, who have graduated from the duties of the Lesser Priesthood, will take to heart what I say to them, and learn better, and be more valiant in their duties. For it may just come to the point that we will have to deal with men who cease to do their duties, who have paid all the tithing they are going to pay, who have paid their tithing so many years that they have become old and opulent, having plenty of means, and can ride in their automobiles, etc. They can't afford to pay their tithing because they have graduated from it. I say, we may have to deal with some of these lofty, high-minded brethren, by and by, for their fellowship as members in the Church. We do not want to do it, because it is all free will anyhow; but when men cease to have the free will to do their duty as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they ought not to be hoisted into responsible positions where, by their influence, they will destroy the faith of others, and we must see that this is not done. ¶

"As already indicated, the vital statistics of the Church in the established stakes show a generally good condition among the people. As compared with the nation as a whole, our communities show a higher birth rate, a lower death rate, and greater average duration of life. It is strongly urged that strict attention be given to all sanitary requirements and rules of right living. In some of the sparsely settled districts, the people still depend upon wells or open streams for their drinking water. Stake and ward officers should put forth all proper effort to secure for their communities a properly safe-guarded water supply. Strict sanitary observance should characterize all communities. Among the greatest foes to human health are impure drinking water, poor sanitary conditions, and the common house fly." ¶

Now, think of it! Cleanliness, it is said, is a part of godliness. No unclean thing — and I think that means cleanliness of person, cleanliness of body, as well as cleanliness of heart, and cleanliness of spirit — no unclean thing can enter into the presence of God. All of us should do our utmost to supply our homes with pure water for the use of the home. We should provide for our families, as far as possible, every convenience of a sanitary character, to preserve life, and health, and to avoid exposures to colds, to weakness and sickness, incident to frontier life, in our country homes. The idea of going into a home where there are children, and where the housewife, together with the children, many of them, have to dwell, and where not even the most common necessaries of the home are supplied for the comfort of the family, and day or night, heat or cold they must take to the field or back yard, rods away, to meet the exigencies of nature — pardon the expression. I deplore the existence of such conditions. They are not found very commonly, but where they do exist it is deplorable, and men should think and care for the welfare, comfort, safety and health of their wives and children, than to permit them to go on year after year in this comfortless way. ¶

"The Bureau of Information, located on the Temple Block, has continued its splendid service, in affording entertainment and imparting information to the many tourists and transients who come among us. It reports that upwards of 200,000 visitors were received at the Bureau of Information during the year. ¶

"And probably during the present year this number will be practically doubled, if not more than doubled, from now on until the termination of the great Panama Fair at San Francisco. ¶

"The missionary work of the Church outside the stakes has been carried on with unabated zeal. The number of missionaries laboring in the several mission fields during the year approximated an average of 2000: of this number, over 800 went from home to the various mission fields during the year. Among the missionaries are over 100 women, located principally in cities and towns where their services can be most properly applied. The presidents of stakes should feel it their duty to have in the mission field not less than six to the thousand of their stake population, so that the labor and the blessing attendant upon this great latter-day work may be fairly distributed throughout the stakes." ¶

I hope you will remember that. ¶

"The following elders have been honorably released from their positions as mission presidents, and have returned from the field since the last October conference: Charles H. Hyde, from the Australian mission; Roscoe W. Eardly, from the Netherlands mission; Orson D. Romney, from the New Zealand mission; C. Christian Jenson, from the Samoan mission; Franklin J. Hewlett, from the South African mission; A. Theodore Johnson, from the Swedish mission. ¶

The positions thus vacated by the brethren named have been filled by new appointments. The mission presidents now in office are as follows: European mission, Elder Hyrum M. Smith, of the Council of the Twelve; Australian mission, Elder William W. Taylor; French mission, Elder Edgar B. Brossard; Hawaiian mission, Elder Samuel E. Wolley; Japanese mission, Elder H. Grant Ivins; Mexican mission, Elder Rey L. Pratt; Netherlands mission, Elder LeGrand Richards; New Zealand mission, Elder William Gardner; Samoan mission, Elder John A. Nelson, Jr.; Scandinavian mission, Elder Martin Christopherson; South African mission, Elder Nicholas G. Smith; Swedish mission, Elder Theodore Tobiason; Swiss and German mission, Elder Hyrum W. Valentine; Tahitian mission, Elder Franklin J. Fullmer. ¶

And within the United States: California mission, Elder Joseph E. Robinson; Central States mission, Elder Samuel O. Bennion; Eastern States mission, Elder Walter P. Monson; Northern States mission, Elder German E. Ellsworth; North-western States mission, Elder Melvin J. Ballard; Southern States mission, Elder Charles A. Callis; Western States mission, Elder John L. Herrick; Iosepa Colony, Elder T. A. Waddoups. ¶

"There are now 724 organized wards, and in addition, 27 branches, within the stakes of Zion. There are 65 stakes of Zion, and 21 missions, aside from the Iosepa Colony. Of the 724 wards, 607 own meeting houses, most of which are of modern construction and have cost from $5,000 to $35,000 each." ¶

And some of them a great deal more than that. ¶

"There are 117 wards not yet provided with permanent meeting houses." ¶

And we want some of you good brethren of the wards, who are engaged in building meeting houses today, to bear in mind these 117 wards yet unsupplied with meeting houses, and that they will be calling upon us for help, by and by. Make your burdens as light upon us as you can, unless you decide to increase the tithing. If you will get all the non-tithe payers in your wards, who claim to be members of the Church, to pay a full tithing, and everybody else will do likewise, we will not ask you to call upon the people to build your meeting houses. The Trustee-in-Trust will do it for you. But we cannot do it until more of the people will do their duty. ¶

"During the year 1913, one new stake of Zion (Boise stake,) and 26 new wards were organized; four new stake presidents were appointed and installed, also 115 bishops, and 155 ward clerks." ¶

So we keep changing all the while. Some die, some move away, and this creates a necessity for a new supply of men to fill these positions. ¶

"The Church has not failed in its duty to the worthy poor. The hearts of the bishops are always open to provide for the needs of those who otherwise would be left in want. Our splendid Relief Society organization did more in aiding the poor and ministering to the needy, during the year 1913, than in any previous year since its organization." ¶

I think this is a well deserved word of credit to the Relief Societies of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and possibly if our General Board had been a little more active in their efforts among the Latter-day Saints, going out and setting the proper example before them, even a greater work than this might have been accomplished. ¶

"A very considerable item among the many expenditures of the Church for benevolent purposes is the aid extended to our Mexican refugees. ¶

"The Church has sought to provide, as far as possible, mission headquarters and places of worship in the different missions as the need for such appears. At the present time the missions hold, as the property of the Church used strictly for missionary services and places of worship, houses as follows: ¶

British mission, 9; California mission, 5; Central States mission, 10; Eastern States mission, 4; Hawaiian mission, 9; Iosepa Colony, 1; Japanese mission, 1; Netherlands mission, 2; New Zealand mission, 3; Northern States mission, 6; Northwestern States mission, 6; Samoan mission, 8; Scandinavian mission, 6; Swedish mission, 1; Southern States mission, 46; Tahitian mission, 2; Western States mission, 3. ¶

All 46 places in the Southern States mission, with the exception of the headquarters in Chattanooga, have been provided for by the mission itself. The president of the Southern States mission has made his mission self-sustaining, and is able to send a portion of the tithings of the people there to the Presiding Bishop's office, besides. I think it is a worthy example for some of the rest of our brethren. ¶

To me these are very interesting facts, and I think they are facts that everybody in the Church should know. I would like to say that the books in the Bishop's office are open to Latter-day Saints. There isn't a Latter-day Saint anywhere who may not obtain information with reference to these matters and others of interest to himself, at any time when he desires to obtain them for his own information and benefit, and for the work of the ministry in which he may be engaged. It is open to him. ¶

Now, the Lord bless you. I hope you will pardon me for occupying so much of your time. God bless Zion. My heart is with this work, and this people. I love God. I know that He is, and I know that my Redeemer lives. May the Lord help us to abide in the truth and be faithful and vigilant and valiant unto the winding up of our labor in life, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶