My brethren and sisters, I trust

My brethren and sisters, I trust the Lord will aid me in performing this duty, which comes to me very unexpectedly. I rejoice in the spirit of this conference; my soul has rejoiced within me in listening to the testimonies of my brethren, and performing other duties assigned unto me. ¶

In connection with our work upon this block, I have pleasure in stating that our missionaries — from forty to fifty brethren and sisters — labor most diligently, day after day, in meeting the strangers within our gates. It is our privilege to welcome them to Zion and to represent our faith, telling them that which the Latter-day Saints stand for, directing their attention to the organization of our Church, and speaking of that which was revealed unto the Prophet Joseph Smith; describing also that wonderful vision in the sacred grove, telling them of the authority possessed by our elders who are going to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. We bear testimony unto the strangers who know very little of "Mormonism" when they come within these gates, that God has indeed established his Church upon the earth, and however feeble our young elders may be who are bearing their testimonies they are laboring in the authority of the holy priesthood. We testify that the Baptist has come again, restoring the Aaronic priesthood. We testify and read unto the enquirers the revelation, Section 27 of the Doctrine and Covenants, showing the great work that God has in store for us, and that the authority of the Melchizedek priesthood has come unto us through the ministrations of Peter, James and John. ¶

When the strangers come here they listen most attentively to what we have to say. Our brethren and sisters occasionally have from three hundred to four hundred in one group, who will listen, frequently, to the testimonies that are borne, and will eagerly ask questions and desire to learn more. The spirit of the Latter-day work is on this block; we cannot stand under the shadow of the temple, which we have to do often every day, describing the building, pointing to the figure upon the central tower, representing Moroni who brought unto us the fulness of the gospel, and through whose ministrations we are blest with the Book of Mormon, without feeling the spirit of that sacred house. The people are coming to the tops of the mountains, they are gazing on the House of the Lord, established through the faith and the fidelity of the Latter-day Saints, and are eager to learn just what the work in the temple means. We then explain the great work that you brethren and sisters are engaged in — the mission of Elijah the prophet, "turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers." This is something new to the great majority of people who come here, and they eagerly desire to learn more. ¶

Women call at times, clad in dark drapery, indicating their bereavement through loved ones being taken away, and they are always interested in the subject of salvation for the dead, and desire to know just how they may meet their loved ones again. ¶

I testify unto you that the work of the Lord is growing in the earth; that a spirit of inquiry is amongst the people. They are anxious to know what "Mormonism" is. We are delighted to tell them what it means, and they go from our midst impressed with that which we have told them, and they are eager to meet our missionaries in other places. One lady missionary returning from the Northern States, last week, told me that in the city of Detroit on one street she had met nine families that had been represented amongst the visitors on this block. They had received of our hospitality and were delighted to receive the missionaries and to learn more with regard to our faith. Thus we endeavor to break down prejudice, to remove bigotry, to impress upon the strangers within our gates that which "Mormonism" stands for — fidelity to God and to all his laws, sustaining the priesthood which God has placed upon the earth. ¶

I rejoice in meeting you, my brethren and sisters, we shall be pleased to welcome and entertain you within the walls of the Bureau of Information. I pray that the Spirit of the Lord may continue to rest upon us; that his work may continue to roll forth, until his purposes are fully established in the earth, and to that end with all my soul I sustain the man whom you have sustained in this conference as prophet, seer and revelator. God bless the brethren who stand at the head of this Church. May the Lord soften our hearts, make them open to receive the instructions given unto us, and may we have a desire in our hearts continually to fulfil every obligation placed upon us, sustaining the priesthood and laboring for the good of Zion, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶