The Development of the Church

My brethren and sisters, I am expected by those who have appointed me to address this meeting to give an outline of "Mormonism" for one hundred years, and with the limited time at my command, I can only expect to touch the very high spots, in order to make my narrative at all comprehensive and interesting. ¶

There is a notable similarity between some of the events of the first century of the Christian era and those of the nineteenth century. With the exception of the experience, which Jesus, when twelve years old, had with the Jewish rabbis in Jerusalem, we know next to nothing about his childhood days. Several books have been published dealing with Christ as a child, but they are largely, if not wholly, apocryphal, and consequently more or less unreliable. No great event seems to have taken place in the Savior's life, according to holy writ, until he was thirty years of age, when he was baptized by John in the river Jordan. With that event was commenced the real preaching of the gospel, ushering in that particular dispensation at the head of which stood Christ and his apostles. Yet we are safe in surmising that from the time the Savior was twelve years old until he was baptized he was training and preparing for the great mission before him. ¶

So also with the Prophet Joseph Smith, who was born in the beginning of the nineteenth century. Nothing of importance seems to have occurred in his life, until he was between fourteen and fifteen years old. Born in Vermont he moved with his parents when ten years of age to western New York, where he resided in 1820, one hundred years ago, and where he received the glorious vision which may consistently be termed the very beginning of the new dispensation. The following ten years were years of preparation, and during that time Joseph was visited by the angel Moroni a number of times, received the plates from which he translated the Book of Mormon into the English language, was visited by John the Baptist, who confirmed upon him and Oliver Cowdery the Aaronic Priesthood, and later visited by Peter, James and John who confirmed upon him the Melchizedek Priesthood. Unfortunately we do not know the exact date on which the latter event took place, nor have we been able to establish the exact day or days upon which the Three Witnesses and the Eight Witnesses to the Book of Mormon saw and handled the plates and attached their signatures to the testimonies which are recorded at the beginning of that sacred record; but we are safe in saying that these important events took place in 1829. The Book of Mormon being published as early as March, 1830, the printing must have been commenced in 1829. We are able to state positively that the Book of Mormon was published early in 1830, because the Historian's office has secured a copy of an old newspaper published in Palmyra, New York, which announces the Book of Mormon for sale as early as March, 1830. ¶

While I am speaking about the Book of Mormon, I may say that after the first edition of 5,000 copies, printed by Egbert Grandin, in Palmyra, New York, a great many other editions have been published of the book, both in America and in England; and besides being thus published in the English language on the two hemispheres the book has been translated and published in the Danish, the French, the German, the Italian, the Welsh, the Hawaiian, the Swedish, the Spanish, the Maori, the Dutch, the Tahitian, the Turkish and the Japanese languages, fourteen foreign languages in all. ¶

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized on the 6th of April, 1830. With the Priesthood conferred, and in possession of the Book of Mormon, which contains the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith became an instrument in the hands of the Lord to establish once more upon the earth a true Christian Church, according to the divine order, and also in accordance with the laws of the State of New York. ¶

It is interesting to note that before the end of the year 1830 missionaries of the Church had traveled 1300 miles westward from the place of organization, and to the Atlantic coast in the other direction. The gospel was also preached during the fall of 1830, and the winter of 1830-1831 to several tribes of Lamanites or Indians, some of them beyond the western boundary of the United States, as it was then (now the western part of the State of Missouri). Many ¶

people were converted and perhaps 200 persons had joined the Church by baptism before the close of 1830. Also a number of miraculous interpositions of the power of God took place right in the beginning. In fact, nearly all the gifts of the Church were manifested in that first year, including the gift of healing, prophecy, etc. ¶

In the year 1831 the Church grew rapidly, not only in the east, but also in the western land; and we also find that the first attempt at colonization on the part of the Latter-day Saints took place that year. When the Church was only 15 months old, the Prophet Joseph and others traveled about thirteen hundred miles from Fayette, N. Y., to Jackson county, Missouri, where they founded a prosperous colony. They set up, among other things, a printing press and published a periodical, 120 miles further west than any other paper in the United States. This publication, commenced in June, 1832, was the first periodical of the Church. It was called the Evening and Morning Star. After that followed the Messenger and Advocate, then the Elders Journal, next the Times and Seasons, the Millennial Star, the Nauvoo Neighbor, the Frontier Guardian, etc., and at length, commencing with June, 1850, the Dcseret News, which is the present organ of the Church. ¶

In 1832, also, a dreadful tragedy took place in the town of Hiram, Ohio, when the Prophet Joseph was tarred and feathered and left for dead, and the life of a little child, adopted by the Prophet and his wife Emma, was sacrificed through exposure on account of mob violence. Soon after this event the Prophet Joseph made a second visit to Missouri to bless and encourage the Saints who were gathering in Jackson county. His first visit to that State had been made by him in the summer of 1831, on which occasion the land of Zion was dedicated for the gathering of the Saints and the site of a temple selected and dedicated. ¶

In 1833 a mob arose in Jackson county, Missouri, and drove the Saints, now numbering about twelve hundred souls, away from their homes, having previously destroyed the printing office and other property. In that year also the First Presidency of the Church was organized, Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams being ordained and set apart as counselors to the Prophet Joseph. This was the beginning of the First Presidency as it still exists. ¶

After the expulsion from Jackson county most of the Saints settled temporarily across the Missouri river in Clay county, Missouri, where they made their second attempt at colonizing and were again successful. In the meantime the Saints also made a success at colonization in Kirtland, Ohio, where they commenced the erection of a Temple in 1833, and changed an insignificant village into a town of 2,000 people. The Temple built there still stands. ¶

In 1834 another remarkable event took place in the history of the Church. The Saints, who had been driven from Jackson county, needed assistance and the Lord called the young men of the Church in the Eastern States to go to their relief. Hence the organization of Zion's Camp (numbering over two hundred persons) which, led by Jo- ¶

seph Smith in person, marched 1,000 miles to Missouri, taking their lives in their hands, prepared to sacrifice their all in the interest of their persecuted brethren and sisters, who had been so barbarously treated by the Jackson county mob. But the Lord did not allow this little army to enter into a physical encounter with the mob. In the famous revelation given on Fishing river in June, 1834, the Lord said that he had brought these young men that far, in order to give them an opportunity to show their integrity and their confidence in the Prophet of the Lord. The great majority of them made good, and although the Church was only four years old at the time, it was discovered on this journey of Zion's Camp that some very good and staunch men had already identified themselves with the Church of Christ. Among the members of Zion's Camp were such men as Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Parley P. and Orson Pratt, Hyrum Smith, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith and many others whose names have become household words among the Saints. The journey made by Zion's Camp in 1834 compares most favorably with that of the Mormon Battalion and that of the Utah Pioneers of 1847. In 1834 also the first two High Councils in the Church were organized, one in Kirtland, Ohio, and the other in Clay county, Missouri. ¶

In February, 1835, the Prophet Joseph called the young men together who had distinguished themselves for their faithfulness and integrity as members of Zion's Camp the year before, the Lord having a blessing in store for them. On this occasion twelve of the most faithful men in the Church were chosen, mostly from among the members of Zion's Camp, to constitute the first quorum of the Twelve Apostles and soon afterwards seventy other men were chosen, mostly from the same body, to constitute the first quorum of Seventy. I may explain that up to this time the officers in the Priesthood had consisted of Deacons, Teachers, Priests, Bishops, Elders and High Priests. ¶

The year 1836 witnessed the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, which had been built at a cost of about $100,000. It would indeed be a very easy task for the Saints now to erect a Temple like that, but it was a most stupendous work for the few, comparatively speaking, who at that time constituted the membership of the Church. In that Temple the Saints received great blessings and witnessed many grand and glorious manifestations of the power of God. Jesus Christ himself appeared to some of the brethren in that Temple and declared that he had accepted of the building which had been built and dedicated to his name. Moses also appeared in that holy edifice and committed to the Prophet Joseph the keys for the gathering of Israel from the four quarters of the globe, an event which is responsible for the many nationalities represented in the Church at the present time. Elijah the prophet, who was taken into heaven without tasting death, also appeared in the Kirtland Temple and conferred to men in mortality the keys for turning the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest the whole earth should be smitten with a curse, as predicted by the prophet Malachi. ¶

In passing, I will say, that the Kirtland Temple was not provided ¶

with a baptismal font, nor rooms for ordinance work; it simply provided a sacred place for Christ and other heavenly messengers to appeal and restore certain keys to the brethren and confer blessings upon the people. It also provided a place for schools of learning for the priesthood. This year (1836) the Saints in Missouri were compelled to leave their possessions in Clay county and move into a prairie country which soon afterwards was organized into Caldwell county. When the Saints moved into that county it was inhabited only by two or three families who made their living by gathering honey, but in the course of three years the Saints turned that naked prairie country into beautiful farms and. gardens. In Caldwell county they founded the city of Far West and many other villages; in the adjoining Daviess county they located Adam-ondi-Ahman on Grand river, and in Carroll county they purchased the little town of De Witt. They increased so rapidly in that part of upper Missouri that in 1838 there were as many thousand Saints there as there had formerly been hundreds in Jackson county. ¶

In 1837 the first Latter-day Saint missionaries were sent to England where they commenced that great missionary labor which has resulted in so many thousands of Latter-day Saints from the British Isles migrating to America to become a most important factor in the growth of the Church. The British Mission was a natural outgrowth of missionary labors performed by Parley P. Pratt in 1836, in the Dominion of Canada, where John Taylor, a staunch and influential Englishman, who subsequently became president of the Church, believed the testimony of Brother Pratt and was baptized, together with many others. ¶

In 1838 persecution by mobs was renewed in Caldwell county and that season became a veritable year of martyrdom. We are all familiar with the fact that seventeen Saints were massacred at Haun's Mill on the 30th of October, 1838, and that David W. Patten, one of the original members of the quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and others were killed about the same time on Crooked river. During that year, also, the Prophet Joseph and others were thrown into filthy dungeons as prisoners and kept in durance vile for many months. ¶

In 1839 the exodus of about 12,000 Saints from Missouri took place under the exterminating order of Gov. Lilburn W. Boggs. The exiled Saints fled to Illinois and there, during the following six years, founded and built up the city of Nauvoo, in Hancock county. I will here merely mention that attempts had previously been made by others to build up a town on the same site, but instead of building a town they built a good-sized graveyard on the side hill. Our people, "plucked and peeled," as they were, built up a city containing about 15,000 inhabitants. In Church history this city is known as Nauvoo the Beautiful. It stood on the east bank of the Mississippi river where that mighty stream changes its course so as to make a horseshoe bend and on the projected area thus formed and bounded on three sides by the river, the city was built. There is still a remnant of Nauvoo left, but it is a matter of history that as soon as the Saints ¶

took their departure for the far west an apparent blight or curse settled down upon the place, and has rested upon it ever since. Instead of being the largest city in Illinois, as it was in 1846, Nauvoo of today is a small insignificant village, suffering under the displeasure of God as literally as does the land of Palestine which was placed under a curse because of the wickedness of its inhabitants. ¶

In 1840 the Saints petitioned the President and Congress of the United States for redress for the persecutions endured by them in Missouri, but their prayer was met with this laconic answer from the chief executive of the nation: "Your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you." That year (1840) a number of the Twelve Apostles arrived in England as missionaries, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Parley P. Pratt, Wilford Woodruff and Geo. A. Smith being among the number. These brethren commenced the publication of the Millennial Star, which is still published in England and is now the oldest periodical in the Church. ¶

The year 1841 witnessed the laying of the foundation of a Temple in Nauvoo and the forming of the Nauvoo Legion for the protection of the Saints. This military organization was continued many years after the Saints located in Utah, and some of the brethren who are present today undoubtedly belonged to the Nauvoo Legion. ¶

In 1842 Joseph Smith was troubled with vexatious lawsuits. During his lifetime it is asserted that he was arrested forty-seven times, but was acquitted in every instance; and when his enemies finally found that they could not prove him guilty of any crime, or even misdemeanor, they swore that "if the law could not touch him, powder and ball would." ¶

In 1843 enemies made another attempt to kidnap Joseph and take him to Missouri, but the Saints of Nauvoo, who loved their. Prophet as they loved no other man, except it be Christ himself, rose up in righteous indignation in his defense, and with the Nauvoo Legion at their back rescued their Prophet and brought him safely back to Nauvoo. ¶

The year 1844 witnessed the assassination of the Prophet Joseph. He fell as a martyr to the cause of truth, together with his brother Hyrum and others. ¶

In 1845 the mob burned nearly all the houses outside of Nauvoo, and in 1846 they sacked Nauvoo itself. A number of brethren were killed in the so-called Nauvoo battle and on other occasions. Early in 1846 the Saints made preparations to move westward into the land of the setting sun, and in February of that year, when the weather was so cold that the frost formed a natural bridge across the great Mississippi river, the exodus of the Saints commenced. One company of Saints from the Eastern States, instead of crossing the continent, traveled by sea, doubling Cape Horn and landed at the little Spanish village called Yerba Buena on the Bay of San Francisco, July 31, 1846. This company published a paper called the California Star and turned the village of Yerba Buena into the present town of San Francisco. i ¶

After the Saints in 1846 had traveled westward about three hundred miles from Nauvoo a request reached them from the United States government for five hundred men to participate in the war with Mexico, and while some of the Saints demurred on the ground that they needed "all the able-bodied men in their camps to protect themselves against the Indians, President Brigham Young answered the government messenger by saying: "You shall have your battalion, even if we have to make it up of our Elders," and, sure, enough, the Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons of the Church were mustered into that battalion which commenced its famous march toward California in July, 1846. It is said that these volunteer soldiers made the most difficult march ever undertaken by infantry in any military campaign. The so-called sick detachment of the battalion, which was not considered strong enough to undertake the march all the way across the deserts to California, was sent to a place now called Pueblo, on the Arkansas river, where they spent the winter of 1846-1847, and thus became the first Anglo-Saxon settlers in what is now the State of Colorado. ¶

Having served their time according to enlistment the Mormon Battalion was discharged in California in July, ' 1847, and early in 1848 some of the members discovered gold in California, an event which for a while almost turned the world upside down. ¶

Most of the exiles from Nauvoo spent the winter of 1846-1847 on the west bank of the Missouri river, where they built a town called Winter Quarters, the first Anglo-Saxon settlement in what is now the State of Nebraska. This was done because the Mormon Battalion took away so many of the stronger men that the rest of the exiles could not continue the journey to the mountains that season, as had been contemplated, but in April, 1847, a company, known in history as the pioneers, consisting of 143 men, three women and two children, left Winter Quarters for the Rocky Mountains and arrived in Great Salt Lake Valley in July, 1847. About one thousand eight hundred others of the exiled Saints arrived in the valley in the fall and spent the winter of 1847-1848 in the valley. ¶

Early in 1848 the pioneers in the Valley put in crops which from the beginning promised a rich harvest, and for a while everything looked promising and encouraging, but in the early part of the summer crickets came down in myriads from the mountains surrounding Great Salt Lake Valley and destroyed a great portion of the crops. Notwithstanding every effort was made to drive them off by means of bushes, long rods, etc., whole families and neighbors turning out en masse until almost exhausted, the whole would have been destroyed, had not the Almighty in his kindness sent gulls in vast numbers which covered the fields and destroyed the crickets. This circumstanoe saved the life of the colony which during the winter of 1847-1848 had lived on half rations and their whole hope of escaping starvation was centered on the harvest of 1848. They could not possibly have lived through another winter, nor could the four thousand other emigrants who arrived in the valley in 1848 have escaped starvation if ¶

the harvest of 1848 had proved a failure. Hence, when we view the beautiful statue erected on this block in honor of the sea gulls we may well offer up a prayer of thanksgiving for what these birds did for the pioneers of Utah. ¶

While everything looked dreary and blue in Salt Lake Valley in 1848 and clothing of every description as well as foot gear was so extremely scarce that some of the men were obliged to make clothing of skins, Heber C. Kimball, as a prophet of the Lord, on a certain occasion arose in the midst of a congregation of Saints and said that within one year States goods would be sold on the streets of Salt Lake City as cheap as in the city of New York. After uttering the prophecy, Bro. Kimball remarked that it seemed almost impossible for his prediction to be fulfilled; nor did the brethren who heard him place any confidence in his words. Yet the prophecy was fulfilled in a most natural way in 1849, when tens of thousands of gold diggers from the east and from Europe passed through Salt Lake City on their way to the gold mines in California. Being anxious to continue their journey without delay these travelers were willing to exchange their States goods for fresh cattle and supplies of food, and thus were the wants of the people, so far as clothing was concerned, relieved, while the gold miners could continue their journey rejoicing. In 1849 Provo in Utah county and Manti in Sanpete county were founded, Ogden having been founded the year before. Early in 1849 the people in the valley organized the Provisional Government of the State of Deseret which was the only general government here for more than two years or until the machinery of the Territory of Utah came into existence in 1851. I could say much about this government and the conditions in the Valley, showing the loyalty and the good character of the Saints during those years, but time will not permit. In 1849 missionary operations, which on account of the exodus had been neglected for a few years, were revived, as missionaries were not only called to the United States and Great Britain but to continental Europe. Thus it was that new missions were opened up among many people who do not speak the English language, among them being missions to France, Italy, Denmark, Sweden and the Hawaiian Islands. ¶

In 1850 a string of new settlements was founded in Utah Valley, including Lehi, American Fork, Pleasant Grove, Springville, Spanish Fork, and Payson. ¶

In 1851 the government pertaining to the Territory of Utah (which had been created the year before) was set in motion and Fillmore, Millard county, chosen as the first capital of Utah. That year also Brigham City, Willard, Nephi, Parowan, Cedar City and other settlements of the Saints were founded in Utah and besides these, San Bernardino in California. This year Great Salt Lake City was made an incorporated city with Jedediah M. Grant as the first mayor. New missions were opened by the Church in South America, Australia, India, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland. ¶

In 1852 nearly all the Saints who had stopped temporarily in the Pottawattamie country in Iowa emigrated to the Valley. ¶

In 1853 the so-called Walker war broke out in Utah, in which a number of the settlers were killed. Fort Supply, near Fort Bridger, was founded by the Saints. This was the first Anglo-Saxon settlement in what is now the State of Wyoming. This year also the first branches of the Church were organized in Sweden. ¶

In 1854 hundreds of emigrating Saints from Europe died from cholera while sailing up the Mississippi river and while crossing the plains. New missions of the Church were opened in New Zealand and in Gibraltar. ¶

In 1855 the grasshoppers destroyed nearly all the crops in Utah. A colony of Saints was established in Carson Valley (now Nevada) and a missionary settlement founded near Salmon River in what is now the State of Idaho, this being the first Anglo-Saxon settlement in that State. ¶

Owing to the destruction of the crops in 1855 food was very scarce ih Utah during the early part of 1856, but the lives of the people were saved by their eating thistle tops and sego roots. In 1856 upwards of two thousand Saints crossed the plains with handcarts, and as many more during following years. ¶

In 1857 the so-called Johnston army troubles occurred, through the falsehoods circulated by Judge W. W. Drummond and others. This army was sent to Utah to punish the "Mormons" who were accused of being disloyal to the government. The Utah militia mustered into service by proclamation by Gov. Brigham Young, stopped the army temporarily and the troops spent the winter of 1857-1858 near Fort Bridger. ¶

In 1858 through the good offices of Thos. L. Kane and peace commissioners the difficulties existing between the U. S. government and the citizens of Utah were settled and the army entered the Valley, but not until the inhabitants had vacated Salt Lake City and the northern settlements. They, however, returned to their homes. ¶

In 1859 the Federal judges in Utah exercised undue authority and caused considerable difficulty by instituting unjust court proceedings against Church leaders and others. ¶

In 1860 the so-called pony express was introduced which made communication between Utah and the east and California much easier. ¶

In 1861 Utah was divided and Nevada came into existence as a territory, afterwards as a state. That year also upwards of two hundred wagons, with four yoke of cattle to each, were sent from Utah to the Missouri river to bring in the poor Saints who were emigrating to the vallev. This movement on the part of the Church was repeated in 1862, 1863, 1864, 1866, and 1868. This year (1861) the overland telegraph line was completed to Salt Lake City. ¶

In 1862 another convention was held in Utah which re-adopted with slight amendments, the constitution of 1856. Delegates were sent to Washington to ask for Utah's admission into the Union as a state; the request was again refused. In 1862 Camp Douglas was established, near Salt Lake City, by California volunteers. ¶

In 1863 new settlements of Saints were founded in Sevier Valley, Utah, and Bear Lake Valley, Idaho. ¶

In 1864 Calls Landing was established by the Saints on the Coloothers were subsequently called. The first "Mormon" settlements in Arizona. ¶

In 1865 the so-called Black Hawk war broke out in Southern Utah and continued for three years, during which about 75 people were killed and thousands of head of stock taken off by the Indians. In consequence of these raids and massacres the counties of Piute and Sevier were abandoned as well as some of the small settlements and ranches in Kane county. ¶

In 1866 ten companies of Church teams were sent to the Missouri river after the poor. ¶

In 1867 the large tabernacle in Salt Lake City was nearly completed. ¶

In 1868 nearly all the crops in Utah were destroyed by grasshoppers. In order to create employment for the people, that they might earn means to buy bread, President Brigham Young took a contract to grade ninety miles of the Union Pacific Railroad. Thus work and money became plentiful in Utah. ¶

In 1869 the Union Pacific Railroad was completed to Ogden and on May 10th, 1869, the last rail connecting the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific railroads was laid at Promontory. This put an end to the long and tedious travel across the continent by ox teams. In January, 1870, the Utah Central Railroad was completed to Salt Lake City, thus making the capital of Utah a railroad town. ¶

In February, 1871, the settlements of the Saints on the Muddy, now in Lincoln county, Nevada, were abandoned by them, owing to oppressive taxation by the officials of the new State of Nevada. That year also Judge James B. McKean, who had recently been appointed chief justice in Utah, united with the associate justice in setting the laws of the territory at defiance, which led to considerable disturbance, as under his rulings civil and religious liberty almost departed from Utah for the time being, and tyranny usurped their places. ¶

Early in 1872 another constitutional convention met in Salt Lake City to adopt mesaures anew for the admission of Utah into the Union. A constitution and a memorial to Congress were finally adopted which provided for woman's suffrage and minority representation. When it was submitted to the people for their vote 25,324 persons voted for it and only 368 against it. In May the memorial was presented to Congress, but admission of the State of Deseret into the Union was denied because of the unpopularity of the religion of the Latter-day Saints. ¶

In 1873 an unsuccessful attempt was made by a company of Saints to settle in Arizona territory. President Geo. A. Smith visited Palestine and other countries. ¶

In 1874 a large number of Indians joined the Church and the United Order was introduced among the Saints in Utah. ¶

In 1875 Geo. A. Smith, first counselor to President Brigham Young, and Church historian, died in Salt Lake City. ¶

In 1876 a large number of families in Utah were called by the Church authorities to locate settlements of the Saints in Arizona; others were subsequently called. The first "Mormon" settlements in Arizona were founded on the Little Colorado river. There are now about fifty settlements of the Saints in Arizona, comprising four Stakes of Zion. ¶

In April, 1877, the Temple in St. George was dedicated on the occasion of a general conference of the Church being held within its sacred walls. The erection of that temple, the first in Utah, was commenced in November, 1871. During the year, 1877, under the direction of President Brigham Young, a general re-organization of all the settlements of the Saints took place, regular Stakes of Zion being organized in the different counties in Utah and also in Idaho and Arizona, where the Saints resided. No sooner was this important organization completed than President Brigham Young, who had presided over the Church 33 years, took sick and died in Salt Lake City, August 29, 1877. After his death the Twelve Apostles, with John Taylor at their head, took the lead in all matters pertaining to the Church for three years. ¶

In 1878 a number of Mexican claims were purchased by the Saints in Conejos county, Colorado, where several "Mormon" settlements were subsequently located; they now constitute the San Luis stake of Zion. ¶

In May, 1879, Daniel H. Wells was imprisoned in the territorial penitentiary for alleged contempt of court. The offense consisted in his refusal to disclose the secrets of the Endowment House. In July Elder Joseph Standing was shot and killed by a mob near Varnell station, Whitfield county, Georgia, where he had labored as a missionary. The murderers of Elder Standing were subsequently all identified and three of them arraigned in court in Dalton, Georgia, on the charge of murder in the first degree, but, although the evidence against them was clear and direct, they were acquitted by a wicked and bigoted jury and an unrighteous judge. ¶

In April, 1880, the Church celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its organization by a Jubilee conference held in Salt Lake City, at which the people voted to remit $820,000 of the indebtedness to the P. E. Fund in favor of the worthy poor and to distribute 1,000 cows and 5,000 sheep among the needy, all -of which was done. In October, 1880, the First Presidency of the Church was once more reorganized, John Taylor being chosen president with George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith, counselors. ¶

In 1881, Gov. Eli H. Murray of Utah put himself on record in a most unusual manner by issuing a certificate of election to Allen G. Campbell, the minority candidate for delegate to Congress from Utah, although George Q. Cannon had been properly elected by an overwhelming majority. ¶

In 1882 the* so-called Edmunds anti-polygamy bill was passed by ¶

the U. S. Senate. Under this bill a large number of leading brethren were arrested in Utah, Idaho and Arizona, charged with so-called unlawful co-habitation, and about one thousand men were imprisoned in the Utah Penitentiary and elsewhere for refusing to desert their wives and children. That year (1882) another convention was held in Utah which adopted another constitution and memorial to Congress, praying that Utah be admitted into the Union as a State, but Congress again refused to accede to the wishes of the people of Utah. ¶

In 1883 the Logan temple was finished and dedicated. ¶

In 1884 Elders Wm. L. Berry and John H. Gibbs and others were cruelly murdered by a mob in Tennessee for no other crime than that they were Latter-day Saints. ¶

In 1887 President John Taylor, who had been in exile for some time, died in Kaysville, Utah. The Twelve Apostles again came to the front as the presiding authorities of the Church with Wilford Woodruff, the senior Apostle, at their head. ¶

In 1888 the missionaries were quite successful in their labors, especially on the islands of the sea, including Samoa, where the fulness of the gospel was introduced that year. A temple was completed and dedicated in Manti, Sanpete county. ¶

In April, 1889, a First Presidency was again sustained by the Saints, Wilford Woodruff being' unanimously chosen as President of the Church with George O. Cannon as his first and Joseph F. Smith as his second counselor. ¶

In 1890 the municipal government of Salt Lake City passed from the hands of the Saints represented by the People's Party into those of the so-called Liberal Party which for many years past had represented the anti-"Mormon" faction of the territory. The Liberal city council took possession in February and immediately inaugurated a reign of extravagance and blunders. Until this transfer Salt Lake City was one of the best governed cities in the world, life and property had been safe, peace and order the prominent characteristics of the community, and taxation light. But no sooner had the Liberals come into power than the city became a regular rendezvous for tramps, footpads and burglars, etc. Vile houses of resort, gambling hells, saloons, and other places of evil, multiplied and were at the close of the year in full operation with but little check, even on the Sabbath day. At the general conference of the Church held in Salt Lake City in October, 1890, the Saints voted unanimously to discontinue polygamous marriages, agreeable to the provisions of the manifesto issued by President Wilford Woodruff and dated Sept. 24, 1890. ¶

The year 1891 witnessed the Saints in Utah dividing on party lines; the old People's Party was disorganized and the majority of the members of the Church joined, or acted in unison with, the two great national parties of the land, the Democrats and Republicans, according to their individual preference. ¶

In 1892 missionary work was re-commenced on the Society and Tuamotu Islands; for forty years the Saints of those islands had been left without the guidance of Elders from Zion. ¶

In April, 1893, the Temple in Salt Lake City was dedicated. It had been in course of erection forty years, and its estimated cost was $4,000,000. It was by far the largest Temple erected by the Church up to that time. ¶

In 1894 President Grover Cleveland pardoned all polygamists and restored them to their civil rights. ¶

In 1895 a State constitution was made and adopted by the Constitutional Convention held in Salt Lake City and every preparation made for Utah's admission into the Union as a State. President Grover Cleveland signed the proclamation which admitted Utah into the sisterhood of States Jan. 4, 1896. The occasion was honored by grand celebrations in Salt Lake City and other places in the new State. ¶

In 1897 Utah celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of the Pioneers in Great Salt Lake Valley. ¶

In 1898 President Wilford Woodruff died and the First Presidency of the Church was re-organized with Lorenzo Snow as president. In 1899 settlements of the Saints were organized in the Big Horn Basin in Wyoming, several quorums of Seventies were organized and the misionaries of the Church met with considerable success in their administrations abroad. The close of the century found the Church in a most healthy condition. There were 43 Stakes of Zion, comprising about 400 wards and eighteen missionary fields in the United States and in foreign lands. The total membership of the Church numbered about 400,000 in the whole world ¶

The next decade witnessed many changes and steady progress for the Church. President Lorenzo Snow died in 1901, and the First Presidency of the Church was re-organized with Joseph F. Smith as president and John R. Winder and Anthon H. Lund as counselors. Many new wards were organized in 1902, a Bureau of Information was established on the Temple block, in Salt Lake City, and a new mission house was built and dedicated in Copenhagen, Denmark. In 1903 the Book of Mormon was published in the Samoan language and a new mission house was built and dedicated in Denver, Colorado. In 1904, Salt Lake City was divided into four stakes, a number of prominent Church people were summoned to Washington, D. C, to testify before the Senate committee on Privileges and Elections in the Smoot case, and a mission house, purchased and remodeled by the Church, was dedicated in Stockholm, Sweden. The railway connecting Salt Lake City with southern California was completed, the Church purchased the old Mack farm in Vermont and erected a monument thereon, which was dedicated Dec. 23, 1905. The Church opened a mission field in ancient Greece. In 1906 President Joseph F. Smith made a trip to Europe; it was the first time in the history of the Church that a president of the Church visited Europe. In 1907 the First Presidency of the Church issued a significant address to the world, stating the policy and belief of the Church. During the following four years several new stakes of Zion and a number of new wards were organized. ¶

During the decade commencing with 1911 a great many tabernacles, meetinghouses and chapels were erected. The missionaries met with considerable opposition in some of the European countries. Most of the Saints were forced to leave Mexico in 1912, owing to the revolution in that land. Permanent missionary homes were secured and dedicated in Chicago, Illinois, and in Los Angeles, California, in 1913. A site for a temple was dedicated in Alberta, Canada. President Joseph F. Smith died in Salt Lake City Nov. 19, 1918, and the First Presidency was re-organized a few days later with Heber J. Grant as President and Anthon H. Lund and Charles W. Penrose as counselors. In November, 1919, the newly erected Temple in Hawaii was dedicated by President Heber J. Grant, and early in 1920 a site for a temple was selected in Mesa, Arizona. ¶

Now a word in conclusion, comparing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with the primitive Christian Church. When one hundred years had passed over the original church all the Apostles, save one, and many others, had been martyred, while great numbers of the early Christians had apostatized from the faith. If we compare our position, with theirs, our hearts will rejoice that we live in the latter days. If we had lived in the days of the Savior and his apostles, and had belonged to that dispensation, we might have had the privilege of falling as martyrs, or perhaps we might have denied the faith. But living in this day, we are members of a Church growing year by year, and now stronger than ever before. At least half a million people constitute the membership of "the Church at the present time, and instead of having dead apostles, we have a live First Presidency, twelve live apostles, more than two hundred quorums of seventy and quorums of high priests and other orders of the Priesthood in every stake of the Church. As a Church organization we have grown until there are seventy-nine stakes of Zion and nearly one thousand wards and branches of the Church in these mountains alone, to say nothing of our membership in foreign lands, and still we are safe in saying that "Mormonism" is only singing, as it were, on its first verse. So much having been accomplished during the past one hundred years, what will not be witnessed in the next hundred years to come? For as a Church we are here to stay and grow until our influence for good shall be felt to the ends of the earth. Let us remember that it has cost some of the best blood of the nineteenth century to accomplish that which has already been done. Let us remember, too, the services of Zion's Camp, the Mormon Battalion, the Pioneers of 1847, and the many other faithful men and women who have made sacrifices for us, and through whose labors and faithfulness we today enjoy all the blessings that come within the reach of those who keep the commandments of God. ¶

May God bless us all that we may always remain faithful and true, is my earnest praver in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶

The choir with William S. Wright, Mildred Ware and Myrtle B. Higley sang, "Is This the Messiah?" ¶

Benediction pronounced by Elder Willard C. Burtqn. ¶

Third Overflow Meeting

A third overflow meeting was held in the Bureau of Information Hall at 2 o'clock p. m., April 4, 1920, Elder John M. Knight, President of the Ensign stake and of the Western States Mission, presiding. ¶

The music was furnished by the Swanee singers. The chorus sang, "Let the Lower Lights be Burning." Prayer was offered by Elder Benjamin Goddard of the Bureau of Information. ¶

The chorus sang "The Palms." ¶

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