I rejoice in the opportunity of again meeting

I rejoice in the opportunity of again meeting with the saints in general conference. I am grateful for the blessings that we as a people have enjoyed during the past six months. ¶

As is customary we announce in our opening meeting some of the changes that have taken place during this period. ¶

Presents Changes

Changes in stake and mission officers since last April conference : New stakes organized: ¶

Moroni stake, formerly a part of North Sanpete stake, James L. Nielsen appointed president of the new stake. ¶

Sharon stake, formerly a part of Utah stake, Arthur V. Watkins appointed president of the new stake. ¶

Stake presidents appointed : ¶

A. Richard Peterson has been appointed president of the Emery stake to succeed Lars P. Ovesen. ¶

Wilford A. Beesley has been appointed president of the Salt Lake stake to succeed Nephi L. Morris. ¶

Ralph B. Keeler has been appointed president of the Juarez stake to succeed Joseph C. Bentley. ¶

Joseph T. Finlinson has been appointed president of the Deseret stake, to succeed Alonzo A. Hinckley. ¶

New mission presidents: ¶

John G. Allred has been released as president of the North Central States mission, and Arthur Welling appointed to succeed him. ¶

Hyrum W. Valentine has been released as president of the German-Austrian mission, and Edward P. Kimball appointed to succeed him. ¶

John P. Lillywhite has been released as president of the Netherlands mission, and Frank I. Kooyman appointed to succeed him. ¶

Joseph L. Peterson has been released as president of the Danish mission, and Holger M. Larsen appointed to succeed him. ¶

A new mission has been organized in Czecho-Slovakia, with Arthur Gaeth as president: ¶

New wards organized : ¶

Spanish Fork Fifth ward, Palmyra stake. ¶

Diamond City ward, Lethbridge stake. ¶

Stake President Dies

Stake president who has passed away : ¶

Since our last conference President Fred A. Caine of the Idaho Falls stake has passed away. It fell to my lot to labor for three years with Brother Caine in the Japan mission, and to be intimately acquainted with him from then until the time of his death. I wish to bear witness that it has not been my privilege to ever be associated with a more sincere, God-fearing, capable, faithful man than was Brother Fred A. Caine. ¶

Bishop who has passed away: ¶

Elmer H. Johnson, Alterra ward, Roosevelt stake. ¶

At the present time we have : ¶

Stakes 103 ¶

Wards 933 ¶

Independent branches 70 ¶

Independent branches are presided over by a president and two counselors and are practically, to all intents and purposes, wards ; they are not, however, considered quite large enough to be regularly organized as such. ¶

There are also at the present time : ¶

Dependent branches 41 ¶

Missions 28 ¶

Branches in Missions 783 ¶

Making in round numbers nearly 2,000 organizations in the Church. ¶

Appropriations Increase

The new appropriations made to the stakes and wards for the building of meeting houses during the first nine months of last year amounted to $868,125.00, and this year, for the same period, they amount to $886,780.00. ¶

New Hotel Erected

As you perhaps all know, we have erected a hotel building on the corner opposite this block on the southwest, on some vacant land that has been held by the Church for many years. We feel the necessity of having a building where many of our saints who come here, from Canada to Mexico and from the various missions, can secure accommodations at a more reasonable rate than at the splendid hotel which we erected many years ago, facing this building across the street to the east. ¶

It is only fair to say to the people that we have not utilized any of the means in the nature of tithing that have come into the hands of the Presidency of the Church for the erection of this building. Nor only has all of the money that has been paid as tithes during the last nine months been returned to the stakes of Zion, but even more has been appropriated to them. We have disposed of property and securities that the Church was in possession of, in order to erect this building for the accommodation principally of our people. The drafts upon the Church have been far greater during the last nine months than during any similar period while I have presided over the Church. ¶

Blessings Through Payment of Tithes

I regret to say that there are a great many of the people who are not paying their tithing. To me it is a marvel that any man having a testimony of the divinity of the work in which we are engaged as Latter-day Saints can sing lullabies to his conscience, figuratively speaking, and not be absolutely honest with the Lord in the payment of his tithes. ¶

Tithing is a law of God and the payment of tithes brings peace and joy to the Latter-day Saint who does it. There is a satisfaction that comes into the heart of the man who is absolutely honest with the Lord in contributing of his means to the building up of the Church of Christ, and into the heart of every true, full tithe-payer. Each and every blessing that you and I enjoy comes from God. We are under obligations to him for the very breath of life, and he gives us everything that we have. He asks us to show our appreciation and acknowledge to him his goodness, by returning to the Church for its benefit and for the spreading of the gospel at home and abroad, one-tenth of that which we receive, all of which comes from him. ¶

Appeals for Honesty

Again I say it is beyond my comprehension how any man who is absolutely honest in his dealings with his fellow men and would not think of such a thing as compromising his store bill if he were able to pay, would compromise his obligations to God. I can speak upon the payment of tithing because from my childhood every dollar that has come into my hands has been tithed, and I have endeavored in addition to be as liberal as any of my associates have been in contributing for the various public enterprises that have been required of us — the erection of ward houses, school houses, etc., etc. ¶

I appeal to the Latter-day Saints to be honest with the Lord and I promise them that peace, prosperity and financial success will attend those who are honest with our Heavenly Father, because they are fulfilling the law and an obligation, and he will bless them for doing so. And being strictly honest with the Lord is the most splendid way to teach your children faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The most tender portion of the human anatomy of the male variety of the species, it has been said, is the pocket, and there is something to it. When we set our hearts; upon the things of this world and fail to be strictly honest with the Lord we do not grow in the light and power and strength of the gospel as we otherwise would do. ¶

Ward and Stake Buildings Dedicated

It has fallen to my lot during the past year, in April, to be present and assist in the dedication of the new Hollywood stake and Wilshire ward building. It is one of the very finest buildings that we have ever erected in any of the stakes of Zion for stake and ward purposes, and I am sure it will give us a very splendid standing in that section of the country. I rejoice in the beauty of the building and in the surroundings, as well as in the great accomplishment there. ¶

In May, I had the pleasure of dedicating the Dimond ward chapel. The Dimond ward is in the San Francisco stake of Zion. The chapel is a very beautiful one and a great credit to the people of that ward. I was astonished that so small a ward could build such a splendid building. ¶

Visits Winters Grave

Also in May of this year I went to Scott's Bluff, Nebraska, with members of my family, where I attended services in connection with the placing of a marker by the Daughters of the American Revolution, at the grave of Rebecca Winters. Rebecca Winters died while crossing the plains, and some fifty years later, the Burlington railroad, in surveying on the north side of the Platte river, came to a broken wagon tire upon which was chiseled "Rebecca Winters, aged fifty years." ¶

They very kindly made a detour so as to miss the grave, and the Burlington Railroad company has since erected a fence around the grave and has kept the ground in the enclosure in very nice condition, having put down a well for the express purpose of securing water with which to water the grass around the grave. ¶

It has been my privilege and that of my wife and some other members of our family, to visit that spot upon three different occasions. On this last occasion the Burlington railroad carried ten carloads of people from Scottsbluff to the grave, which is a mile or two distant from that city. Rebecca Winters was the daughter of a Revolutionary soldier, and in Utah, Idaho and this intermountain country, she has nearly six hundred descendants. ¶

New Stake Building

In June I dedicated the Los Angeles stake building at Huntington Park. The chapel and amusement hall are a very splendid and remarkable structure and a very great credit to the people. I rejoice that we have it. The accommodations are very fine indeed, equal, I think, to any of our stake houses. The building is not quite so expensive as the one in Hollywood, but it is equally as commodious and a very splendid structure. ¶

Colorado River Bridge

In company with President Ivins, I was present at the dedication of the bridge across the Colorado river, which will join Utah and Arizona more closely in the future than it has been possible for them to be joined in the past. Formerly it required travel of nearly a thousand miles to get around from the north rim of the Grand Canyon to the county seat, in order to pay your taxes if you wanted to do so in person, in case you owned property in what is known as the Arizona strip on the north rim of the canyon. I can only hope that Arizona will build a good road to the bridge and from the bridge to the Utah line, something that is very greatly lacking at the present time. It is about the worst piece of road from the Utah line to the bridge that it has fallen to my lot for many years to ride over. ¶

Visits Wards and Missions

I have had the pleasure of attending some ward meetings and also some stake conferences during the past six months. ¶

In June I had the privilege of dedicating a fine ward house in Jerome, Idaho. The people there have had a great struggle through many years in constructing this building. It was rather beyond the capacity of the small ward, but the people have done themselves credit, and I rejoice that the work is finally completed and the building dedicated. ¶

In July I visited the Elwood ward in Bear River stake, and dedicated a small chapel there, which is a very creditable structure. They have placed pressed bricks around their old ward meeting house and turned it into an amusement hall, and it looks as fine as though it were an expensive building. The amusement hall and chapel are very creditable, and I congratulate the people on having them. ¶

I had the pleasure of visiting the Elmhurst ward in the San Francisco stake. I expected to be at the dedication of their new building but was unable to do so on account of sickness in my family. ¶

In the past six months I have attended a meeting in the San Jose branch of the California mission. We have a very good chapel at San Jose. ¶

In September I visited Pittsburgh with President James H. Moyle of the Eastern States mission, and there dedicated a fine little chapel, which is a very suitable structure for our purposes. ¶

Coast Members Increase

During the past two weeks I have had the pleasure of speaking in the Sacramento branch of the California mission, and also in the Long Beach ward of Los Angeles stake. When I was in Sacramento only a few years ago we had only two hundred members of the Church there. Today we have over twelve hundred members in that city, and also a great increase in the number of Latter-day Saints in Long Beach. ¶

The work of the Lord is progressing satisfactorily. I am pleased to tell you that from all of the various missions we are receiving calls for more help. The reports that we receive are favorable, and the call for additional missionaries, I believe, comes from every mission that we have. There are something over two thousand of our young men and women out in the world at the present time preaching the gospel. The work of the Lord is spreading, and we are grateful for his blessings that are attending our labors. ¶

Quotes from Revelations

In thinking of what I would like to say today I was reminded of the fact that probably twice if not three times during the past six months in speaking I have quoted the eleventh section of the Doctrine and Covenants. I know of no finer section, it being a revelation to the father of our beloved President Joseph F. Smith. Not only is it a revelation to Hyrum Smith, the Patriarch, but the remarks therein, as the revelation says, are applicable to all the saints who have the right spirit and desire to spread the gospel. This revelation was given eleven months before the organization of the Church. ¶

When the Prophet Joseph was engaged in translating the Book of Mormon there were a great many leading influential men who came to him and asked what the Lord would like them to do. He inquired of the Lord, through the Urim and Thummim, and many revelations were received, telling of the great and marvelous work that was about to come forth, and this is one of them. Many of the men desired to go forth and preach, but you will find that the Lord tells them to wait. ¶

Keep Commandments

"A great and marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men. ¶

"Behold, I am God; give heed to my word, which is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of both joints and marrow ; therefore give heed unto my word. ¶

"Behold, the field is white already to harvest : therefore, whoso desireth to reap let him thrust in his sickle with his might, and reap while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God. ¶

"Yea, whosoever will thrust in his sickle and reap, the same is called of God. ¶

"Therefore, if you will ask of me you shall receive ; if you will knock it shall be opened unto you. ¶

"Now, as you have asked, behold, I say unto you, keep my commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion." ¶

I have heard a great deal of criticism in my life about our repeating over and over and over again the many things that the Lord has revealed to us, and appealing to the people to keep the commandments of the Lord. And yet we find that the Lord, in this revelation, repeats this declaration time and time again : "Keep my commandments." ¶

"Seek not for riches but for wisdom ; and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich. ¶

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, even as you desire of me so it shall be done unto you ; and, if you desire, you shall be the means of doing much good in this generation." ¶

And every Latter-day Saint ought to have a desire in his or her heart to do all the good within his or her power for the advancement of the work of God. ¶

"Say nothing but repentance unto this generation. Keep my commandments, and assist to bring forth my work, according to my commandments, and you shall be blessed. ¶

"Behold, thou hast a gift, or thou shalt have a gift if thou wilt, desire of me in faith, with an honest heart, believing in the power of Jesus Christ, or in my power, which speaketh unto thee; ¶

"For behold, it is I that speak; behold, I am the light which shineth in darkness, and by my power I give these words unto thee. ¶

Spirit Will Lead

"And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good — yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously, and this is my Spirit. ¶

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy! ¶

"And then shall ye know, or by this shall you know, all things whatsoever you desire of me, which are pertaining unto things of righteousness, in faith believing in me that you shall receive. ¶

"Behold, I command you that you need not suppose that you are called to preach until you are called. ¶

"Wait a little longer, until you shall have my word, my rock, my Church, and my gospel, that you may know of a surety my doctrine. ¶

"And then, behold, according to your desires, yea, even according to your faith shall it be done unto you. ¶

"Keep my commandments: hold your peace; appeal unto my Spirit;" ¶

Patience and Study Necessary

"Yea, cleave unto me with all your heart, that you may assist in bringing to light those things of which has been spoken — yea, the translation of my work; be patient until you shall accomplish it." ¶

Remember the Prophet was engaged in the translation of the' Book of Mormon at this time. ¶

Behold, this is your work, to keep my commandments, yea with all your might, mind and strength. ¶

"Seek not to declare my word, but seek first to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men. ¶

"But now hold your peace ; study my word which hath gone forth among the children of men, and also study my word which shall come forth among the children of men, or that which is now translating, yea, until you have obtained all which I shall grant unto the children of men in this generation, and then shall all things be added thereto. ¶

"Behold, thou art Hyrum, my son; seek the kingdom of God, and all things shall be added according to that which is just. ¶

"Build upon my rock, which is my gospel; ¶

"Deny not the spirit of revelation, nor the spirit of prophecy, for wo unto him that denieth these things; ¶

"Therefore, treasure up in your heart until the time which is in my wisdom that you shall go forth. ¶

"Behold, I speak unto all who have good desires, and have thrust in their sickle to reap. ¶

"Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I am the life and the light of the world. ¶

"I am the same who came unto mine own and mine own received me not; ¶

"But verily, verily, I say unto you, that as many as will receive me, to them will I give power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on my name. Amen." ¶

A Marvelous Work and a Wonder

This "marvelous work and a wonder" has come to pass and has spread all over the world where there has been religious liberty; and from every land and from every clime honest, faithful, God-fearing men and women have heard the sound of the true voice of the shepherd through his servants who have gone forth to proclaim the gospel. And men of great influence have been gathered into this Church. Men like John Taylor who presided over the Church, heard the gospel in a foreign land ; the parents of George Q. Cannon, and many other leaders in this Church, heard the sound of this gospel and embraced it and gathered to Zion and labored with all the power and ability that they possessed for the advancement of God's kingdom. Year by year this great and wonderful work has rolled on and we are becoming known as a God-fearing people, as a people with a destiny that is sure to be fulfilled. ¶

Thankful for Testimony

I thank God for a knowledge that he lives, that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world, and that Joseph Smith was his prophet. I rejoice in the knowledge that we are being blessed of Almighty God and being led by the inspiration of his Spirit in all of our labors. May God inspire all who shall speak here during this conference ; may we go home carrying the message of life and salvation under the inspiration of the Spirit of the living God that is poured out upon this occasion during this conference, is my humble prayer, and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ our Redeemer, Amen. ¶