President of the Woodruff Stake of Zion

It is with feelings of timidity, my brethren and sisters, that I stand before you this afternoon. I most earnestly desire that you will support me with your faith and prayers the few moments that I may stand before you. ¶

While the general authorities of the Church were being sustained, ¶

this afternoon, I wondered in my mind if the Latter-day Saints sustain them merely as a form, by raising their hands, or if we do sustain them in our lives, in our homes, and in our families. This afternoon we have sustained the general authorities of the Church, the presidency of the Church, and the apostles, and patriarch, as prophets, seers and revelators to the people. It is through them the heavens are opened to us. It is the only source that we have as a Church of receiving revelation from God, our Eternal Father, and I feel, my brethren and sisters, that the children in our homes should be taught to # pray for these men, to sustain them in their prayers, and should hecomei acquainted with them, so that they may know who they are praying for. ¶

I well remember when I was a small boy, in this city, for I was born here, my mother took me to the tabernacle every Sunday of my life, and she pointed out to me the men in the stand that she had taught me to pray for. I well remember at that time, that the presidency of the Church were President Brigham Young, and his counselors, George A. Smith and Daniel H. Wells. Every night before retiring to my rest, I was taught to pray for these men, and the council of the Twelve, and name them in my prayer. And on the Sabbath day, my mother taught me to go with her to meeting, and when the speakers arose she would point them out to me and say, that is the man you are praying for — naming him to me, so that I would know him when I saw him in the stand. In that way confidence and faith in the general authorities of the Church were instilled into me as a child. That faith and that confidence until this day has never been shaken. I think it would be a good thing for mothers occasionally to point out, if they are unable to do so by the persons themselves, by photographs, the leading brethren of our Church. Have their photographs in your homes, and name the brethren, occasionally to your children. Teach your children to pray for the brethren, and as they grow to years of maturity they will grow in faith in our leading men, and their confidence in them will be increased. ¶

I am reminded this beautiful day of the commandment of the Lord, that we remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Reference has been made, during this conference, to a part of the Stake of Zion over which I have the honor to preside, the Fort Bridger country, and I want to relate to you this afternoon a little incident connected with that country, showing what I thought to be a perfect Sabbath day. I don't know that in all my life, in my experience, I ever before saw a perfect Sabbath day until that day. It was in the autumn, at harvest time. Myself and companion' were appointed to visit a small village between old Fort Bridger and Fort Supply on the Black's Fork river. We arrived on Saturday evening, and remained with the bishop over night. He lived at one end of the village, and the meetinghouse was at the other ; perhaps two or three miles apart. In the morning when we started on our way to meeting, as we passed along the farms we beheld that the Sabbath day was observed by the people. We saw beautiful fields of ripened wheat, the binder standing as left the evening before. We saw the stacks of grain, partly built, and wagons ¶

loaded with bundles, as left by the side of the stack the evening before. Some ofi the grain was harvested and in the shock, and some was yet in the field. We saw the animals that had lahored all week, resting in the fields and yards. There was no sound of the hammer, machinery, or work heard from the bishop's home to the house of worship. But we saw people coming to the meetinghouse from all directions, from their farm homes. It was in the autumn, a beautiful day, quiet, no breeze blowing, warm and pleasant; up the Black's Fork, flowing down from the mountains, a beautoful picture met our eyes. The leaves were turning to their autumn hue, and the water came tumbling to the lower levels, over large boulders. On the slopes on either side of the water was the foliage of pine trees. Down along the river bottom were quaking asps and cottonwoods. The people had conrstucted a large flour mill, near the meetinghouse, which was run by water. The mill race was perhaps fifty feet above the river, and the water was flowing idly over the race and dashing upon the stones below. The mill was idle upon the Sabbath day, and as we entered the meetinghouse, I said to the bishop: "Bishop, I presume this is something unusual." The meetinghouse was crowded with people to its utmost capacity. I said, "I suppose your people were expecting visitors today. This is something unusual, is it not?" "O no," he said, "not at all. President Baxter, our people observe the Sabbath day, and keep it holy." He said later, that every family in that little village "was represented at the meetinghouse that day." All the members of every family were not there, but every family in the village was represented, and all of the members of many families were there in the meetinghouse. ¶

I thought, my brethren and sisters, that I would mention this little incident, for it impressed itself upon me, not only that beautiful example of the observance of the Sabbath day, but the thought of these grain fields being in the very locality where Col. Jim Bridger had told President Young that it was impossible for man to grow crops in this mountain country. Perhaps you are not all aware that the altitude of Fort Bridger is very much higher than in this region — it is nearly six thousand feet above sea level. There, in that high altitude, were beautiful fields of grain, beautiful homes of our people, a sweet spirit of contentment. The air seemed to be imbued with the spirit of the Sabbath day, and I will never forget that beautiful picture. ¶

I believe we will be blessed of the Lord, if we observe the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. We labor six days of the week, but on the seventh it is the Sabbath day. Let us not labor on that day, but go up to the house of the Lord to worship, and take our children with us. There seems to be a tendency, on the part of some Latter-day Saints, to allow their children to remain away from the general sacramental meeting. They feel that if they attend the Sabbath school, in the morning, perhaps that is enough for the children. But I do believe that it is a good thing to have the children go to Sabbath meeting with their parents, and partake of the sweet influence, the same as the parents do. ¶

May God bless us, my brethren and sisters, help us to serve him and keep his commandments, and to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶