I feel very thankful, beyond my

I feel very thankful, beyond my words for expression, to have the privilege that I have of meeting with you this morning, and I am delighted to see the number who are assembled here at the opening session of this Eighty-eighth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I feel to thank you for your presence here this morning, for to me it is an evidence of your interest in the great cause in which we are engaged. I feel that the spirit of the gospel, which is the Spirit of the Lord, will accompany us through the sessions of this conference as an evidence of the faith, good desire and faithfulness of those who have assembled this morning and who will continue to meet with us through its sessions. ¶

Physically Ailing, but Spiritually Steadfast

It is an unusual thing for me to attempt to make any apology for myself, but I am in a condition of health just at this time which may prevent me from taking so active a part at this session of our conference as I have usually taken. I hope there is nothing very serious the matter with me, more especially regarding my faith in the work of the Lord and my love for God's truth. I may have physical ailments, but it appears to me that my spiritual status not only remains steadfast as in times past, but is developing, growing, becoming more thoroughly established in the faith of the gospel, in the love of truth, and in a desire to devote all the energy, time, wisdom and ability the Lord may give to me to advance his cause in the earth and to help all I can to build up Zion in these latter days. ¶

Home Industry

I have many things on my mind that I would like to refer to, but I feel that it would be wisdom for me to leave the heft of the speaking to my brethren, this morning. However, I wish to mention some things which I think should be brought to the attention of our people throughout the length and breadth of the land ; and I will simply refer to a few things for a moment or two in order that they may serve as a text, perhaps, for some others who may succeed me in speaking to you. In the good old davs of President Young, the doctrine of self-sustenance, of home manufactories, of local providence in all things necessary to .sustain the people of God and the inhabitants of this intermountain region, were subjects that were dwelt upon very much, and although a little old are still new and deserving the attention of the Latter-day Saints especially, and not only Latter-day Saints but all the people of this intermountain country. In early days we sought to be content and to be happy by using those things which we could as far as possible produce at home. The conditions of those days made it necessary for us to be economical and for us to make an effort on our part to provide everything as far as possible by ¶

our own energy and skill, that we needed. But we have advanced in wealth ; money has become easier to get and more plentiful ; transportation across the deserts and from distant parts of our country has become easy, and it has become so simple and so easy to buy the shoddy which is a few cents less per yard, or piece, which is manufactured in great manufactories in the East or in Europe, by labor which is compensated for at the least possible wages, and shipped easily to this country, that we prefer to patronize the laborers that are afar off to patronizing those who are in our own midst and who would be depending upon the patronage of the people of this intermountain region to support them in their labors. We have sought to manufacture clothing in our Provo Woolen Mills and in other of our manufactories that have been from time to time established in the early days, but the goods that have been manufactured in Provo, which surpassed very far in real value the imported articles. of a similar kind, because they were made of whole wool, had to seek a market in New York and in San Francisco, and in Europe, because the people at home would not patronize home made goods. Why? Because they could not be made quite as cheap as imported shoddy ! These are facts, for I have been associated with this factory somewhat in years past, and I know whereof I speak. It is an easy matter now to get a great many things from the East, and from the West, and pay our money out for them, which we ought to produce at home ; and there are a great many things brought into our country that we purchase with our money that we do not need at all, and which ought never to be imported for the use of Latter-day Saints. ¶

Some Surprising Facts

No Latter-day Saint has any use for tobacco in any form, and yet many thousands of dollars are paid out annually for this noxious weed which is grown in the south, manufactured in the south and shipped here, of course, for the money it takes away, and otherwise merely to do you harm, and absolutely no good. It was .surprising to me to learn that we actually ship eggs by the ton from various distant states, into Utah. It appears to me that it is really a shame and a disgrace to our credit and good name, that the people of this intermountain region, the farmers, the ranchers, the home-makers, and home-dwellers, cannot raise poultry enough to supply themselves and the market at home with eggs and chickens, instead of having to import them from abroad. Why cannot we make our own butter and our own cheese, at home ? Why would not these industries pay our own people as well as they would pay or profit others? Surely they would, if our people would be as loyal in supporting them in their labors and in their manufactories as we are loyal to those that are far away. ¶

The matter has been called to our attention of late that we are importing a great deal more into Utah and into the principal cities of Utah than we are exporting abroad. We are allowing our fruit year after year to rot on the ground by the ton, if not by the hundreds of tons, when a few years ago we were sufficiently interested in home preservation and ¶

home production that we would dry some of our peaches and some of our apples that are now going to waste, for winter use and for transportation abroad. We have quit it. . Scarcely any one will .dry a peach now! I have been trying, year after year, to get a few dried peaches to help eke out my provender during the winter season for my family; and there is nowhere that I can get good dried peaches in Utah, and yet they are wasting by. the hundreds of tons, by the tens of thousands of dollars worth, because they are not taken care of properly. This is wrong. We should adopt the rule to live within our own means, and attempt, at least, again to save the products of the soil, the products of our herds, and of our flocks, import as little as possible, and supply as much as we possibly can for our own support, and for transportation. ¶

A Strange Kind of Economy

We have been having the doctrine of economy thrust down our throats for all it is worth recently, to such an extent that we scarcely know sometimes where we are at. A poor man will go to the store to get twenty-five or fifty pounds of flour, and the storekeepers will compel him to buy at least twenty-five or fifty pounds of some other material that he doesn't want or need, or know what to do with, if he had it, and he is .compelled to buy it or go without the flour. That is a strange kind of economy for the poor people. A poor man goes to the store and he says, "I want twenty-five pounds of flour." "All right, you have got to buy twenty-five pounds of bran or of something else" which he does not need, and pay a good deal more for it, before he can get his flour. What? The poor man under the necessity, when he must have a little flour for bread — (and he can't afford to go to the bakers to get it, because they have raised so high on their prices that he can't afford to go there to buy bread,) and he must get the flour and let his wife bake it, but he is told that he can't have flour unless he will buy at least one and one-fourth more material of one kind or another of greater cost to him than the flour will be. ¶

The Remedy

It would be a mighty good thing if every farmer, gardener, owner of an orchard or a hennery, or a flock of sheep, or any other means of subsistence in the land, would provide for themselves everything that they need at home, and not go to the stores at all unless the store keepers would treat them fairly. I have no fault to find with stores nor with the keepers of them. They are necessary in their spheres of business. But I would not go to a store to get what I did not need, nor what I could produce for myself ; there are many things people can do without with profit to themselves. ¶

Who am I finding fault with? I don't want to find fault with anybody, nor with anybody's methods of economy. I am not doing this in the spirit of fault-finding. I am saying what I am, in the spirit that we ¶

should provide for ourselves so that we will not be dependent upon imported goods, more especially dependent for flour imported from abroad instead of producing flour at home and to transport abroad. Utah, by its irrigation system, can almost beat the world in raising more bushels of wheat to the acre than can be raised anywhere else. ¶

Now, I wanted at least to say this much to you, that we ought not to spend our means in importing into our country things we can raise at home ; and surely not those things that are injurious, nauseating and hurtful .to life. We ought to let them alone. I don't believe that it is really necessary for the Latter-day Saints to import tea and ooffee into Utah. I believe they could makeshift with something more simple, something less injurious, perhaps, than these things that are more or less stimulating and not nourishing, the effects of which are more injurious than beneficial. ¶

Loyal to the Government

I wish to say this, there isn't a feeling in my soul nor in any fibre of my being that is disloyal to the Government of the United States or to the desire that we have in our souls to maintain the principles of individual and National liberty, justice and freedom that have been established in the Constitution of our country. I believe in the Constitution of the United States. I believe in the principles which that instrument promulgates— the freedom of mankind to do right, to worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience, freedom to pursue their way in peace and to observe and maintain their rights, their freedom, their liberties, and justly recognize and equally preserve and defend the rights, freedom and liberty of their neighbors and of their fellow beings — and of all of God's creatures. I believe that the Constitution of the United States was and still is an inspired instrument. The Lord God Almighty inspired the minds that framed it, and I believe it ought to be most sacredly preserved. It is worthy of the defense and should be upheld by all the people of our land. I cannot say that I indorse always some of the acts 'of leading men. Now, the Lord bless you. ¶

Financial, Social and Statistical Facts

I had prepared a few items that I wanted to name. I am going to depart from my intended rule this morning, and finish while I am on my feet. It may be a source of information to the Latter-day Saints, at least, and will be gratifying to them to know in some measure what has become of their tithes and of their offerings which have been handled by the bishops of the Church, and which have come into the office of the Presiding Bishopric, where the strictest possible accounts have been kept of them. I have had the Bishop's office jot down for me a few items that I will take the liberty, since I am on my feet, and am stronger than I thought I would be. to read to you : ¶

There have been expended in the stakes and wards for local purposes, of the tithes, in 1917, divided among all the local organizations of the Church $751,978.00 ¶

Expended for the maintenance and up-keep of temples, including repairs on the St. George and the Logan temples, which latter suffered some considerable loss by fire during ¶

the same year 111,036.00 ¶

Expended on the constructon of the Cardston and Hawaiian ¶

temples, during 1917 126,745.00 ¶

Expended for the maintenance and operation of the Church ¶

schools, 1917 368,028.00 ¶

Expended for charitable purposes, including hospitals 320,963.00 ¶

Expended for mission purposes, including the erection of mission houses and chapels 335,861.00 ¶

Expended for the completion of the new Church Office Building, 1917 154,878.00 ¶

Tithe payers that we have on record number 87,663 ¶

People who paid fast offerings during 1917 number 47,820 ¶

Wards and independent branches number .t 839 ¶

Number of .stakes 75 ¶

Number of missions 22 ¶

The birth rate among .the Latter-day Saints is 37 to each 1,000 Church members. ¶

The marriage rate is 17 to each 1,000 Church members. ¶

The death rate is 8.1 to each 1,000 Church members. ¶

There are 33 widows to each 1,000 Church members, and there are 7 widowers to each 1,000 Church members. If they are not too old they ought to get married again. ¶

The divorced after Temple marriage are 80 persons. ¶

The divorced after Civil marriage, 101 persons. That will prove to you, I judge, that a Church marriage is very much .stronger and more binding than a civil marriage. ¶

Families among the Latter-day Saints who own their own homes, 80 per cent. ¶

Since our last conference, the following changes have taken place among the Presidents of Stakes, Presidents of Missions, etc. : ¶

Bear River stake, Peter M. Hansen, appointed to succeed Milton H. Welling. ¶

Montpelier stake, formerly a part of Bear Lake stake, Edward C. Rich appointed president. ¶

Bear Lake stake, William L. Rich, appointed to succeed Joseph R. Shepherd. ¶

Nebo stake, Joseph Reece succeeded the late Jonathan S. Page, Jr., who recently passed away. ¶

Samoan Mission, Ernest Wright has been released and Willard A. Keith appointed to succeed him as president. ¶

The following bishops have passed away : Lars P. Nielson of the Ovid ward, Bear Lake stake ; Charles L. M. Milne, Union ward, Jordan stake, and Robert McQuarrie of the Ogden Second ward, Weber stake. ¶

The following brethren laboring in the mission field have passed away : Arnold Joseph Kunzler, Rosetta, Utah, died in the Central States Mission, at Springfield, Mo., October 8, 1917, of typhoid fever. Joseph F. Seeley, Mount Pleasant, Utah, died in the Central States Mission, March 29, 1918, of heart failure. ¶

Now, I shall most happily turn over the remaining part of the services of this meeting, perhaps through the conference, to my brethren. ¶