Heber J. Grant President Heber J. Grant. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.22 It is ever and always a very great pleasure to me to meet with the Latter-day Saints in any of their assemblies, and I am particularly pleased to be present at our general conferences. It was a custom with me as a child to attend our general conferences regularly, and for thirty-six years, before this month expires, it has been my privilege to attend these conferences as one of the general authorities of the Church, and I have never yet attended a conference in this building but what I have been fed the bread of life by those who have spoken to the people. I rejoice with you in the very splendid meeting which we held here this morning, in the inspiration that came to each and all of the presidency of the Church as they addressed us. I desire to echo the sentiments expressed of gratitude and thanksgiving to our heavenly Father that our beloved President was able, to be with us at our session this morning; and I hope and pray that the exertion necessary on his part to attend may not have been so great but what he can be with us again before our conference shall close. REGARDING FALSE TEACHING Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.23 I desire on behalf of the council that I have the honor to preside over to say that we endorse the references, which were made here this morning by President Penrose, and so forcibly reaffirmed by the President of the Church, regarding this question of plural marriage and the fact that some men are today teaching it in secret, pretending that they are married or are entering into what they call plural marriage. Such men are indeed rebels, and traitors to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, because they are branding it in the eyes of people who are not of us as being a dishonest organization. Personally, and I also speak for each member of the council of the Twelve Apostles, because I know their sentiments and I know that they are behind me, I endorse with all my heart these remarks. I want to say to the Latter-day Saints that in my opinion when any rebel or traitor to the work of God comes into their homes and tells them something false about the Church that there is a lack of patriotism on the part of all such individuals for not giving the traitor away. I would like you to get this into your minds. These people go around and lie, to put it in good, plain English, and they tell people, "Don't you say anything, don't you tell who told you that it was right." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.23 You don't have to keep the confidence of those who are crooked, you don't have to keep the confidence of somebody who is telling you that which is false, and such people ought to be exposed, and exposed upon the house tops; they go around posing as superior to honest, straight-forward, upright people, branding the Church and the leaders of the Church with infamy by pretending we preach one thing in public and do another thing in private. I do not care to say any more on this subject. I seldom, if ever, speak on it that it doesn't arouse almost every particle of anger in my nature. Some of them say the Lord has directed them to take more wives. Well, I think he directed them just like he directed the negro (not that I am saying this to reflect upon negroes), but there was a negro who prayed: "Oh Lawd, oh Lawd, oh Lawd; send dis heah niggah a turkey." He prayed for a whole week, and he didn't get any turkey, and at the end of a week he said: "Dis heah niggah don' know how to pray," so that night the negro prayed, "Oh Lawd, oh Lawd, oh Lawd, send dis heah niggah to a turkey," and he said, "Dis heah niggah had turkey dinner the next night." A REMARKABLE MANIFESTATION Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.23 I indorse the remarks made by President Penrose regarding the peace and the joy and the happiness that comes into the human heart in testifying of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ which has again been revealed to the earth. From October when I was called to be one of the council of the Twelve, until the following February, I had but little joy and happiness in my labors. There was a spirit following me that told me that I lacked the experience, that I lacked the inspiration, that I lacked the testimony to be worthy of the position of an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. My dear mother had inspired me with such a love of the gospel and with such a reverence and admiration for the men who stood at the head of this Church, that when I was called to be one of them I was overpowered; I felt my unworthiness and the adversary taking advantage of that feeling in my heart, day and night, the spirit pursued me, suggesting that I resign, and when I testified of the divinity of the work we are engaged in, the words would come back, "You haven't seen the Savior; you have no right to bear such a testimony," and I was very unhappy. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.23 But in February, 1883, while riding along on the Navajo Indian Reservation with Elder Brigham Young, Jr., and fifteen or twenty other brethren, including the late president, Lot Smith, of one of the Arizona stakes, on our way to visit the Navajos and Moquis--as we were traveling that day, going through a part of the Navajo Reservation to get to the Moqui Reservation--as we were traveling to the southeast, suddenly the road turned and veered almost to the northeast, but there was a path, a trail, leading on in the direction in which we had been traveling. There were perhaps eight or ten of us on horseback and the rest in wagons. Brother Smith and I were at the rear of our company. When we came to the trail I said, "Wait a minute, Lot; where does this trail lead to?" Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.24 He said, "Oh, it leads back in the road three or four miles over here, but we have to make a detour of eight or nine miles to avoid a large gully that no wagons can cross." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.24 I asked: "Can a horseman get over that gully?" He answered, "Yes." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.24 I said, "Any danger from Indians, by being out there alone?" He answered, "No." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.24 I said, "I want to be alone, so you go on with the company and I will meet you over there where the trail and road join." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.24 One reason that I asked if there was any danger was because a few days before our company had visited the spot where George A. Smith, Jr., had been killed by the Navajo Indians, and I had that event in my mind at the time I was speaking. I had perhaps gone one mile when in the kind providences of the Lord it was manifested to me perfectly so far as my intelligence is concerned--I did not see heaven, I did not see a council held there, but like Lehi of old, I seemed to see, and my very being was so saturated with the information that I received, as I stopped my animal and sat there and communed with heaven, that I am as absolutely convinced of the information that came to me upon that occasion as though the voice of God had spoken the words to me. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.24 It was manifested to me there and then as I sat there and wept for joy that it was not because of any particular intelligence that I possessed, that it was not because of any knowledge that I possessed more than a testimony of the gospel, that it was not because of my wisdom, that I had been called to be one of the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ in this last dispensation, but it was because the prophet of God, the man who was the chosen instrument in the hands of the living God of establishing again upon the earth the plan of life and salvation, Joseph Smith, desired that I be called, and that my father, Jedediah M. Grant, who gave his life for the gospel, while one of the presidency of the Church, a counselor to President Brigham Young, and who had been dead for nearly twenty-six years, desired that his son should be a member of the Council of the Twelve. It was manifested to hie that the prophet and my father were able to bestow upon me the apostleship because of their faithfulness, inasmuch as I had lived a clean life, that now it remained for me to make a success or a failure of that calling. GREAT JOY IN THE TESTIMONY OBTAINED Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.25 I can bear witness to you here today that I do not believe that any man on earth from that day, February, 1883, until now, thirty-five years ago, has had sweeter joy, more perfect and exquisite happiness than I have had in lifting up my voice and testifying of the gospel at home and abroad in every land and in every clime where it has fallen to my lot to go. And I have gone to Japan, I have been in the Hawaiian Islands, I have been from Canada to Mexico. I have been in nearly every state in the Union of the United States; I have been in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Italy, Norway, Sweden and Denmark and I have had joy beyond my ability to express, in lifting up my voice, in bearing witness to those with whom I have come in contact that I know that God lives, that I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world, the Redeemer of mankind; that I know that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of the true and living God, that I have the abiding testimony in my heart that Brigham Young was a chosen instrument of the living God, that John Taylor, that Wilford Woodruff, that Lorenzo Snow were, and that today Joseph F. Smith is the representative of the living God, and the mouthpiece of God here upon the earth. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.25 I do not have the language at my command to express the gratitude to God for this knowledge that I possess; and time and time again my heart has been melted, my eyes have wept tears of gratitude for the knowledge that he lives and that this gospel called "Mormonism" is in very deed the plan of life and salvation, that it is the only true gospel upon the face of the earth, that it is in very deed the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. That God may help you and me and everyone to live it is my constant and earnest prayer. HOW THE POWER OF THE PRIESTHOOD HAS BEEN MAINTAINED BY THE AUTHORITIES OF THE CHURCH Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.25 I will read from Section 121 of the Doctrine and Covenants: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.25 We have learned, by sad experience, that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion. Hence many are called, but few are chosen. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.25 No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the Priesthood, only by persuasion, by long suffering, by gentleness, and meekness, and by love unfeigned; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.25 By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.25 Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.25 That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.25 Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly, then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God, and the doctrine of the Priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.25 The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy sceptre an unchanging sceptre of righteousness and truth, and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shaft flow unto thee for ever and ever. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.25 I want to bear witness to you here today that during the thirty-six years this month that I have been a member of the Council of the Twelve, that no power or influence has ever been exercised by the prophet of God who has presided over this Church during this time except exactly as taught in the Doctrine and Covenants; and that no one of all the men I have been associated with as presidents of the Church has had more charity, more love, and has exercised the priesthood by the power of the living God in meekness and mercy and kindness, than the man who stands at the head of the Church today, Joseph F. Smith. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1918, p.26 That God may preserve his life for many, many years yet to come is the earnest prayer of my heart, and that of every Latter-day Saint in all the land. May God guide us to his praise continually and forever, is my prayer, and I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen. President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.3 We regret that all of the Saints cannot be present in one building to hear the remarks that may be made upon this occasion. We also regret that the men who stand at the head of this great body of Seventies could not remain here to partake of the spirit of this occasion. But we feel that those who have met in the Assembly Hall are entitled to hear some of the general authorities of the Church speak upon the life and labors, and bear witness of their love and reverence for, and their faith in, our beloved prophet, the late President Joseph F. Smith, who has departed this life since we last met in general conference. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.3 THE SPIRIT GIVETH LIFE. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.3 Inasmuch as all that is said here today will be reported, and as our brethren of the Seventy can read what is said, they will miss only the spirit of this occasion, which I feel in my heart --if the Lord will only bless us abundantly --will be considerable of a loss; because, after all is said and done, in all the labors of the Latter-day Saints, it is the spirit that counts, for the spirit giveth life, and the dead letter killeth; but we shall hope and pray that the spirit of this occasion will find echo in the hearts of our brethren who have just left us, when they read today's proceedings. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.4 A PLEDGE OF FAITHFUL SERVICE. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.4 I feel humble, beyond any language with which God has endowed me to express it, in standing before you here this morning, occupying the position in which you have just voted to sustain me. I recall standing before an audience in Tooele, after having been sustained as president of that stake, when I was a young man twenty-three years of age, pledging to that audience the best that was in me. I stand here today in all humility, acknowledging my own weakness, my own lack of wisdom and information, and my lack of the ability to occupy the exalted position in which you have voted to sustain me. But as I said as a boy in Tooele, I say here today: that by and with the help of the Lord, I shall do the best that I can to fulfil every obligation that shall rest upon me as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to the full extent of my ability. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.4 I will ask no man to be more liberal with his means, than I am with mine, in proportion to what he possesses, for the advancement of God's Kingdom. I will ask no man to observe the Word of Wisdom any more closely than I will observe it. I will ask no man to be more conscientious and prompt in the payment of his tithes and his offerings than I will be. I will ask no man to be more ready and willing to come early and to go late, and to labor with full power of mind and body, than I will labor, always in humility. I hope and pray for the blessings of the Lord, acknowledging freely and frankly, that without the Lord's blessings it will be an impossibility for me to make a success of the high calling whereunto I have been called. But, like Nephi of old, I know that the Lord makes no requirements of the children of men, save he will prepare a way for them, whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has required. With this knowledge in my heart, I accept the great responsibility, without fear of the consequences, knowing that God will sustain me as he has sustained all of my predecessors who have occupied this position, provided always, that I shall labor in humility and in diligence, ever seeking for the guidance of his Holy Spirit: and this I shall endeavor to do. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.4 THE STANDARD OF ACTION. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.4 I shall not occupy your time by reading Section 121 of the D&C. I will leave that for each and every one of those before me, and those to the right and the left, holding the priesthood', and as many of the audience' as may feel so disposed, to read it when they go home. With the help of the Lord, I shall endeavor, standing at the head of the Priesthood of God upon the earth, to exercise the authority that has come to me in keeping with that wonderful revelation: "No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the Priesthood, only by persuasion, by long suffering, by gentleness, and meekness, and by love unfeigned." God being my helper, the priesthood that I hold, the position that I occupy, shall be exercised in accordance with these words that I have quoted to you. We can do nothing, as recorded in that revelation, only as we exercise love and charity and kindness --love unfeigned. With the help of the Lord that is exactly how I shall administer, to the best of my ability, the priesthood of God that has come to me. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.5 I could stand here and occupy all of the remaining time, with the hundred and one thoughts that have come into my mind, in connection with the duties that devolve upon me; but I am anxious that my counselors should speak to you here this morning, and I am anxious to pay my tribute of respect to those men who have preceded me. I take no credit to myself for occupying the position that has come to me. I realize that failure will be the result if I do not give the Lord the credit for calling me to this position, and seek for the light of his Spirit to guide me in all that I shall do. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.5 PRESIDENT SNOW'S TESTIMONY CONCERNING THE PROPHET JOSEPH. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.5 I desire to read to you a testimony regarding the first man who occupied the position as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints --the Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. This testimony was given a short time before the death of the late beloved President of the Church, Lorenzo Snow, and will be found in the current June number of the Improvement Era, in an article written by his son, Elder LeRoi C. Snow. He said, referring to his father Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.5 "His work on earth was nearly done, his mission was almost finished; he was about to return to his Maker, and with all the remaining strength of his soul he testified concerning the divinity of the work in which he and the Prophet Joseph Smith commenced their life's work when young men: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.5 "'A word or two about Joseph Smith. Perhaps there are very few men now living who were so well acquainted with Joseph Smith, the Prophet as I was. I was with him often-times. I visited him in his family, ate at his table, associated with him under various circumstances, and had private interviews with him for counsel. I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God; I know that he was an honorable man, a moral man, and that he had the respect of those who were acquainted with him. The Lord has shown me most clearly and completely that he was a Prophet of God, and that he held the holy priesthood and the authority to baptize people for the remission of their sins, and to lay hands upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost, that they might receive a knowledge themselves in relation to these things. I am one, who has received from the Lord the strongest revelation concerning the truth of this work. That manifestation was with me powerfully, for hours and hours, and whatever circumstance may occur in my life, as long as memory lasts this perfect knowledge will remain with me. . . .'" Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.5 As to the testimony that Lorenzo Snow, the Prophet of the Lord, in later years had, in this same article his testimony is recorded. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.5 "About three weeks after his baptism, Lorenzo Snow received a wonderful vision which he tells in his own language, in his journal, as follows: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.5 " 'I had no sooner opened my lips in an effort to pray than I heard a sound, just above my head, like the rustling of silken robes, and immediately the Spirit of God descended upon me, completely. enveloping my whole person, filling me, from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet, and O, the joy and happiness I felt! No language can describe the almost instantaneous transition from a dense cloud of mental and spiritual darkness into a refulgence of light and knowledge, as it was at that time imparted to my understanding. I then received a perfect knowledge that God lives, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and of the restoration of the Holy Priesthood, and the fulness of the Gospel. It was a complete baptism --a tangible immersion in the heavenly principle or element (the gift of) the Holy Ghost; and even more real and physical in its effects upon every part of my system than the immersion by water; dispelling forever, so long as reason and memory lasts, all possibility of doubt or fear in relation to the fact handed down to us historically, that the 'Babe of Bethlehem' is truly the Son of God: also the fact that he is now being revealed to the children of men. and communicating knowledge, the same as in the apostolic times. I was perfectly satisfied. as well as I might be. for my expectations were more than realized. I think I may safely say in an infinite degree. . . . That night as I retired to rest the same wonderful manifestations were repeated, and continued to be for several successive nights. The sweet remembrance of those glorious experiences from that time to the present, bring them fresh before me. imparting an inspiring influence which pervades my whole being, and I trust will to the close of my earthly existence.' " Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.6 CONFIRMING TESTIMONY OF MANY OTHERS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.6 I have listened to the testimony of all of the apostles who have lived in these valleys of the mountains from Brigham Young to Joseph F. Smith. and have heard them tell of their personal acquaintance with the Prophet Joseph Smith. The testimony of Joseph F. Smith was the testimony of one who as a child knew the Prophet and loved him. The testimony of Brigham Young, Jr., was in the same class; but all the other testimonies were those of men of experience. men of power, men of individual determination. men who had wills and minds of their own. men who could not be led by a man who did not teach the truth. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.6 The testimony of Brigham Young, of John Taylor, of Lorenzo Snow, Wilford Woodruff, Erastus Snow, George A. Smith, Heber C. Kimball. and of others who have held the apostleship, who have held the priesthood of God and who knew the Prophet Joseph Smith intimately; of every true Latter-day Saint, man and woman. including the testimony of my own dear departed mother. than whom no sweeter, purer, nobler soul ever lived: the testimony of Eliza R. Snow, Zina D. H. Young, Bathsheba W. Smith, "Aunt Em." Wells, and others too numerous to mention, --was of their individual knowledge regarding the uprightness of the life of Joseph Smith. regarding the integrity of the man. regarding the inspiration of the living God that attended him in all of his labors. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.6 THE TRANSFIGURATION OF BRIGHAM YOUNG. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.6 I have the testimonies from George Romney, from my mother, from other relatives of mine and from scores of people, that, upon the day when Sidney Rigdon endeavored to steal the Church of Christ and to become the leader, God manifested to the people upon that occasion. by the transfiguration of Brigham Young --so that he appeared as Joseph Smith, so that he spoke as Joseph Smith --and thereby the testimony came to the Saints that Brigham Young was the man to succeed Joseph Smith the Prophet of God. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.7 PERSONAL TESTIMONY CONCERNING PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.7 I became acquainted with Brigham Young when I was a little child six years of age; from that time until the day of his death I was intimate with him. I was as intimate with one of his boys --the late Feramorz L. Young --from the time that we were little children until he left to go to Mexico --as any two boys ever could be. Perhaps no three young men were ever more intimate than Heber J. Grant, Feramorz L. Young and General Richard W. Young. We grew up together. We slept together. We played together. We attended Sunday school together. We attended day school together. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.7 I was almost as familiar in the homes of President Brigham Young as I was in the home of my own mother. In one home that of Aunt Emily Partridge Young, if I was hungry I felt as free to go in and ask for something to eat there as in my own home. I have spent hours and hours, as a child, in the rooms of Eliza R. Snow, listening to her counsel and advice, and hearing her relate incidents in the life of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and bearing witness of the wonderful blessings of God to Brigham Young. As I say, I was familiar with the Prophet Brigham Young. I knelt down time and time again in his home in the Lion House at family prayers, as a child and as a young man; and I bear witness that as a little child, upon more than one occasion, because of the inspiration of the Lord to Brigham Young while he was supplicating God for guidance, I have lifted my head, turned and looked at the place where Brigham Young was praying, to see if the Lord was not there. It seemed to me that he talked to the Lord as one man would talk to another. I can bear witness of his kindness. of his love to me as an individual, of his love of God and of the inspiration of the Lord that came to him as he stood where I am standing, when I bad the privilege of being in the audience and listening to his inspiring words. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.7 REVELATION TO PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.7 I was called into the Council of the Twelve Apostles by a revelation of the Lord to President John Taylor, and from the time that I entered the Council of the Twelve, two years after John Taylor was made President of the Church, until the day of his death. I met with him, week after week, in the Endowment house, and I know that he was a servant of the living God; I know that the inspiration of the Lord came to him; and I know that upon all occasions, whenever he said: "This is what the Lord desires," and his associates in the council of the apostles sustained his position, that upon every occasion he was vindicated and the inspiration of the Lord to him showed that his wisdom by the power of God, had been superior to the wisdom of other men. Several times I have gone to meetings in the old Endowment house, knowing that a certain matter was to be discussed and my mind was as perfectly set upon a certain position on that question as it is possible for a man to have his mind set. I believe I am as decided in my opinions as the majority of people. I have heard it said that there is nobody as stubborn as a Scotchman except a Dutchman; and I am Scotch on my father's side and Dutch on my mother's (laughter). While I have gone to meetings in the old Endowment house determined in favor of a certain line of policy, I have willingly and freely voted for the exact opposite of that policy, because of the inspiration of the Lord that came to John Taylor. Upon every such occasion the servant of the Lord, President Taylor, was vindicated, and his superior judgment, by the inspiration of the Lord, asserted itself in favor of those things that were for the best good of the people. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.8 I could relate circumstance after circumstance when the apostles have been sent out to accomplish certain labors under the inspiration of the Lord to John Taylor, when they thought they could not accomplish the labors, they have returned and been able to bear testimony that by and with the help of the Lord they had been able to accomplish the labor placed upon them by President Taylor, the Prophet of the Lord. If time would permit, I would like to relate some of these incidents, because they are faith-promoting, but I have not the time. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.8 PRESIDENT WILFORD WOODRUFF A TRUE PROPHET OF GOD. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.8 I can bear witness that Wilford Woodruff was in very deed a servant of the living God and a true Prophet of God. Wilford Woodruff, a humble man, converted and baptized hundreds of people in a few months in Herefordshire, England. In eight months, as I now remember it, he baptized between fifteen hundred and two thousand souls. I believe that no other man who ever walked the face of the earth was a greater converter of souls to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was a man of the most wonderful and marvelous humility; a man who had never been engaged in any great business affairs; a man who had devoted himself to farming, who had been engaged in raising fruits and cultivating the soil; a humble man, of whom I had heard many people say that he lacked the ability to preside over the Church of Christ. But I want to bear witness to you that, under the inspiration of the Lord, and because of the humility of the man, because of his godlike life and because God loved him, he was blessed upon more than one occasion with wisdom that was superior to all the wisdom of the bright financial minds in the Church. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.8 BEGINNING OF THE SUGAR INDUSTRY IN UTAH. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.8 President Woodruff announced that the Lord would like the great business of manufacturing sugar established in our midst, and a committee was appointed from the directorate of two of the largest Church institutions, two of the most substantial in all Israel, to look into the matter. They investigated the advisability of establishing the beet sugar industry in this State and unanimously reported adversely. President Woodruff was not satisfied. Another committee was appointed. I was on the first committee and he appointed me on the second committee. I begged to be excused, because I had already formed my opinion, had already signed my name to a report, but he would not listen to my request to be excused. We went into the matter again, thoroughly and carefully, and the second committee reported adversely. President Woodruff said: "Never mind the report. The inspiration to me is to establish the sugar industry." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.8 I was called upon a mission, and a letter was given to me in connection with other members of the Council of the Apostles, and we were sent out to ask men to subscribe for stock in the Utah Sugar Company. I took individual letters to different men asking them to subscribe. I delivered a letter to the late David Eccles, than whom I never met a clearer-headed business man in my life, and I have met men who draw their hundred thousand dollars and more every year in salary. He had a comprehensive grasp on business affairs which to me was superior to that of any man I ever met. David smiled when the letter was presented to him, signed by President Woodruff and his counselors, asking him to invest five thousand dollars, or seven thousand five hundred dollars. He said: "Well, I would like to get off at the lowest figure. You can put me down for five thousand dollars." Then he added: "I hope they will buy lumber from me, so I may make a profit on a part of the five thousand dollars; and after I get the stock, if you can find someone who would like to buy it for twenty-five hundred dollars, I will be much obliged to you if you will come and get the stock." Years later, when he put hundreds of thousands of dollars into the sugar business, I don't know whether or not he felt to give credit to that humble man, Wilford Woodruff, for the inspiration of the Lord, whereby this great industry was established. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.9 But for the inspiration of the Lord to Wilford Woodruff I doubt if we would have any sugar business in this state or in Idaho, today, that would amount to very much. I am inclined to think that the Great Western or some other company would have established the business in Utah and Idaho, and that the people of these states would simply have been working for them instead of owning the majority of the stock in our great inter-mountain factories. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.9 After we had let the contract for the building of the sugar factory at Lehi, the panic of 1891 came on. There was a provision in the contract that before the machinery was shipped by the Dyer Company, if we would pay a forfeit of fifty thousand dollars the contract could be cancelled. I had been sent to New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco and other places, by the Presidency, to try to raise the money necessary to build this factory, but it looked like an impossibility to get the money. It was the opinion of business men and others that we should pay the fifty thousand dollars forfeit and abandon the enterprise; but when the recommendation was presented, Wilford Woodruff's answer was this: "From the day I received a knowledge of the divinity of the gospel of Jesus Christ revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith, from the day that I went out as a humble priest to proclaim that gospel, although it looked like death in front of me, if the path of duty that the gospel required me to tread called me to face death, I have never turned to the right nor turned to the left; and now the inspiration of the Lord to me is to build this factory. Every time I think of abandoning it, there is darkness; and every time I think of building it, there is light. We will build the factory if it bursts the Church." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.9 We did built it and it did not burst the Church (laughter); and it and subsequent factories have made for our people and for the Church millions of dollars. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.9 PRESIDENT SNOW'S WORK OF THREE YEARS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.10 I know that Lorenzo Snow was a Prophet of God. By his testimony, which I have read to you, and by the testimony of my mother and hundreds of others who knew the Prophet Joseph, as well as by the revelations of the Spirit Of God to me, I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. I know of my own knowledge that Brigham Young, and John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff were Prophets of God. It is stated that men do not amount to much after they pass fifty, and that when they are sixty you ought to get some kind of a drug and put them to sleep, and that when they are seventy they are simply useless. But Lorenzo Snow came to the presidency of the Church when he was eighty-five years of age, and what he accomplished during the next three years of his life is simply marvelous to contemplate. He lifted the Church from the financial slough of despond, so to speak, from almost financial bankruptcy --when its credit was hardly good for a thousand dollars without security, when it was paying ten per cent for money --he lifted the Church out of that condition and made its credit A No. 1, so that people solicited and asked for the privilege of buying the bonds of this Church at six per cent. Ten per cent is sixty-six and two-thirds per cent more than six per cent, and in three short years this man, beyond the age of ability in the estimation of the world, this man who had not been engaged in financial affairs, who had been devoting his life for years to laboring in the Temple, took hold of the finances of the Church of Christ, under the inspiration of the living God, and in those three years changed everything, financially, from darkness to light. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.10 I know that Lorenzo Snow was God's mouthpiece upon the earth, that he was the representative of the Lord and that he was in very deed a Prophet of God. Read the wonderful testimony that he received a few weeks after his baptism, as recorded in the Improvement Era, concerning the knowledge that he received that God lived, that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, and that the priesthood of the living God has been restored to the earth. I know that that knowledge guided his life from that day to the day that he became God's representative upon the earth. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.10 THE COURAGE OF PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.10 Lorenzo Snow was drowned in the harbor of Honolulu, in the Hawaiian Islands, and it took some hours to bring him to life again. At that particular time the Lord revealed to him the fact that the young man Joseph F. Smith, who had refused to get off the vessel that had carried them from San Francisco to Honolulu, and get into a small boat, would some day be the Prophet of God. Answering Lorenzo Snow who was in charge of the company, he said: "If you by the authority of the Priesthood of God, which you hold, tell me to get into that boat and attempt to land, I will do so, but unless you command me in the authority of the Priesthood, I will not do so, because it is not safe to attempt to land in a small boat while this typhoon is raging." They laughed at the young man Joseph F. Smith, but he said, "The boat will capsize." The others got into the boat, and it did capsize; and but for the blessings of the Lord in resuscitating Lorenzo Snow he would not have lived, because he was drowned upon that occasion. It was revealed to him, then and there, that the boy, with the courage of his convictions, with the iron will to be laughed at and scorned as lacking courage to go in that boat, and who stayed on that vessel, would yet be the Prophet of God. Lorenzo Snow told me this upon more than one occasion, long years before Joseph F. Smith came to the presidency of the Church. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.11 EULOGY AND LETTER OF SYMPATHY IN MEMORY OF PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.11 I said I wanted my counselors to say something, but I am afraid they are not going to have the chance. I now come to Joseph F. Smith. I apologize to his family for reading a personal letter of sympathy. had no idea as I sat down and picked up my pen and poured out my heart in love and sympathy to the family, that I would ever read in public that letter; but I had failed to get my mind upon anything that I particularly desired to say upon this occasion, and last night I borrowed from one of his sons a copy of the letter; and although it may not be good ethics, I wish to read it, because therein are the sentiments of my heart, poured out in love to his family. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.11 At Home, November 20, 1918. To the family of President Joseph F. Smith. My dearly beloved friends: Language fails me to express to you my love for your dear departed father and husband. In dear Aunt Eliza R Snow's words I can truthfully say, "He was beloved, beloved by all." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.11 For thirty-six years I have labored under his Presidency, while he was counselor to or the President of the Church. During all this time no man could possibly have inspired one over whom he presided with more love or confidence for him than President Smith did me. I have said many times that no man who ever lived, with whom I have been associated, had been beloved by me as much as your dear departed husband and father. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.11 I could not and did not in my heart bring myself to feel that he was going to leave us until the afternoon of the 18th, when I called and David said he wanted to see me. The President took my hand and pressed it with a power and strength that was far from what one could expect from a dying man, and he blessed me with power and the Spirit of the living God, and there was love in his eyes and a strong pressure of his hand, and with nearly every word he spoke his pressure of my hand thrilled my being, and tears of gratitude to God and love for His mouthpiece upon the earth filled my heart. His blessing was all that I could ask or expect had he been my own dear father. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.11 Sister Bowman entered and kissed and wept over her father, and I walked into the little front office and wept, feeling that the last words I would ever hear from his beloved lips had been spoken when he said to me, "The Lord bless you, my boy, the Lord bless you, you have a great responsibility. Always remember this is the Lord's work and not man's. The Lord is greater than any man. He knows whom He wants to lead His Church and never makes any mistakes. The Lord bless you." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.11 I returned to my office, but I did not even have the heart to mail some letters which I had written earlier in the day. I went home and after eating supper I again visited the President, whom I found in great pain, and he asked President Lund who was there to bless him and supplicate the Lord to release him, and call him home. We placed our hands upon his head and President Lund told the Lord how much we loved our President and of our gratitude for the joy and happiness we had had in laboring with him, but asked that he be called home if his life could not be spared to us. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.12 The next morning I awoke at one o'clock and was not able to get to sleep until after six-thirty, as my mind was with the President. I got the November Era and reread the President's talk at the October conference, and after doing so I wrote in my Era at the close of his talk: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.12 "Nov. 19/18. Re-read twice and wept as I think of how near death's door the President is. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.12 "It is 3:45 and I have been awake since one a. m." --Heber J. Grant. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.12 The President lived but one hour and five minutes after I had written that he was near death's door. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.12 The Lord has been very good to me in times of sorrow, and I hope and pray with all my heart that He will bless and comfort your sorrowing hearts, as you read of his goodness to me. I am enclosing a copy of a letter telling of the blessings given to me in times of affliction. There are two poems among those published with my letter to Brother and Sister Winters which have comforted and blessed me. "The Changed Cross," and "Providence is Over All."1 Especially have I been blessed while reading Sister Woodmansee's inspiring words. I knew her from my earliest recollection until the day of her death, and my love of her poem was no doubt increased from the fact that she lived in perfect harmony with its teachings. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.12 I was once talking of the favorite poems of our Church leaders and I turned to President Smith and asked him which of our hymns was his favorite and he said he hardly knew, but he thought that perhaps his favorite was the splendid hymn, "Uphold the Right, Though Fierce the Fight, by that heroic little soul, Sister Emily Hill Woodmansee."2 I enclose a copy of this hymn with this letter. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.12 I have never known the joy and comfort of a father's love, but Presidents Joseph F. Smith, Francis M. Lyman, John Henry Smith, and others of my near and dear associates have given me a father's love and filled the place in my affections as completely as men not one's father could possibly do. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.12 Never in my life have I listened to more inspiring words than those at the funeral of my dear departed mother and at the funeral of my dear brother, Joseph Hyrum, which were spoken by President Smith. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.12 I am thankful beyond any power to tell for the inspiration to do my full duty in the battle of life which has come to me from the example and loving teachings of your beloved father and husband. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.12 Flowers fade in a day, and so I shall send each of you for Gusta and myself in loving remembrance of your dear departed husband and father the book "Their Yesterdays."3 I send this book for the reason that when I read it, March 20th, 1914, I marked one of the passages which seemed to me at the time I read the book to be inspirational. It is on pages 228-9. I wrote in my book the sentiments of my heart at the time regarding President Smith in connection with the words on those pages. What I wrote was as follows: "More than any man I have ever known, President Joseph F. Smith has done this. God bless him forever, and his posterity after him. The fact that he is the Prophet of God today is a great testimony to me of the divinity of 'Mormonism' so called." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.13 Little did I think when I wrote these words that he would have departed this life by now. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.13 One of the most sincere and earnest prayers of my heart has been that President Smith should live to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of the Church. I prayed for this some months ago at the close of a Temple fast meeting, and the Lord so abundantly blessed me that I felt my prayer would be answered, and I sat down weeping for joy. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.13 I could go on writing for hours, but I will close by sending my assurance and that of Sister Grant of our profound sympathy, and our most earnest prayer for God to comfort and bless your sorrowing hearts. President Smith sealed us as husband and wife for time and all eternity, and Gusta shares in all the expressions of love for him and admiration of his character in this letter. Again, may God bless you and your loved ones now and forever. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.13 Your affectionate brother, (Signed) HEBER J. GRANT. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.13 At the grave of President Joseph F. Smith I read a poem entitled "A Real Man"1 and I expressed there the hope that I might live to be like Joseph F. Smith. I read at the grave the poem by Eliza R. Snow, written for the Prophet Joseph Smith. "He was beloved, beloved by all."2 The prayer that I had in my heart, the desire that I had to follow in the footsteps of this man of God, who presided over us with so much inspiration, with so much devotion, with so much integrity to God and to his fellow-men, the desire that I might be like him, is still in my heart. I pray God to bless his memory. I pray God to bless his wives and his children, that they may emulate his most wonderful and splendid example. I bear witness to you that from my early childhood days, when I could not thoroughly understand and comprehend the teachings of the gospel, that I have had my very being thrilled, and tears have rolled down my cheeks, under the inspiration of the living God, as I have listened to Joseph F. Smith when preaching the gospel. I believe that Joseph F. Smith and his son Hyrum M. Smith. more than any other men to whom I have listened, who were born in the Church of Christ in our day, were the greatest preachers of righteousness. I know that whenever I heard that Joseph F. Smith was going to speak in one Of the wards. that time and time again as a young man I have left my own ward and gone to listen to him, because he always filled my being and lifted me up as I listened to him proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. I bear witness that he was one of the greatest prophets of God that has ever lived; that God was with him from the day that he went forth as a little boy of fifteen years of age, to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ in the Hawaiian Islands, until the day when, after giving sixty-five years of his life to the work of God, he closed his earthly career. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.14 May God bless each and all of us who have a knowledge of the divinity of the work in which we are engaged, and may we be faithful to the end as our prophet was, our beloved leader who has left us, Joseph F. Smith, is my prayer, and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.14 PROVIDENCE IS OVER ALL. When dark and drear the skies appear, And doubt and dread would thee enthrall, Look up, nor fear, the day is near, And providence is over all. From heaven above, His light and love, God giveth freely when we call. Our utmost need is oft decreed, And Providence is over all. With jealous zeal God guards our weal, And lifts our wayward thoughts above; When storms assail life's bark so frail, We seek the haven of His love. And when our eyes transcend the skies His gracious purpose is complete, No more the night distracts our sight-- The clouds are all beneath our feet. The direst woe that mortals know Can ne'er the honest heart appall Who holds the trust--that God is just, And providence is over all. Should foes increase to mar our peace, Frustrated all their plans shall fall. Our utmost need is oft decreed, And Providence is over all. --Emily Hill Woodmansee. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.14 UPHOLD THE RIGHT Uphold the right, though fierce the fight, And powerful the foe. And freedom's friend, her cause defend, Nor fear nor favor show. No coward can be called a man, No friend will friends betray; Who will be free, alert must be; Indifference will not pay. Note how they toil whose aim is spoil, Who plundering plots devise: Yet time will teach that fools o'erreach The mark and lose the prize. Can justice deign to wrong maintain, Whoever wills it so? Can honor mate with treacherous hate? Can figs on thistles grow? Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.15 Dare to be true, and hopeful, too; Be watchful, brave and shrewd. Weigh every act; be wise, in fact, To serve the general good. Nor basely yield, nor quit the field-- Important is the fray; Scorn to recede, there is no need To give our rights away. Left-handed fraud let those applaud Who would by fraud prevail: In freedom's name, contest their claim, Use no such word as fail; Honor we must each sacred trust, And rightful zeal display; Our part fulfill, then come what will, High heaven will clear the way. --Emily Hill Woodmansee. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.15 FROM "THEIR YESTERDAYS." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.15 "If the men of a race will perfect the manhood strength of the race; if they will exalt their manhood power; if they will fulfill the mission of life by perfecting and producing ever more perfect lives; if they will endeavor to contribute to the ages to come stronger, better, men than themselves; why, the work of the world will be done even as the plant produces its flowers and fruit, the work of the world will be done. In the exaltation of Life is the remedy for the evils that threaten the race. The reformations that men are always attempting in the social, religious, political, and industrial world are but attempts to change the flavor or quality of the fruit when it is ripening on the tree. The true remedy lies in the life of the tree; in the soil from which it springs; in the source from which the fruit derives its quality and flavor. In the appreciation of Life, in the passion of Life, in the production of Life, in the perfection of Life, in the exaltation of Life, is the salvation of human kind. For this, and this alone, man has right to live --has right to his place and part in Life." --Harold Bell Wright. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.15 A REAL MAN. Men are of two kinds, and he Was of the kind I'd like to be. Some preach their virtues, and a few Express their lives by what they do. That sort was he. No flowery phrase Or glibly spoken words of praise Won friends for him. He wasn't cheap Or shallow, but his course ran deep, And it was pure. You know the kind. Not many in a life you find, Whose deeds outrun their words so far That more than what they seem they are. There are two kinds of lies as well: The kind you live, the ones you tell. Back through his years from age to youth He never acted one untruth. Out in the open light he fought And didn't care what others thought Nor what they said about his fight If he believed that he was right. The only deeds he ever hid Were acts of kindness that he did. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.16 What speech he had was plain and blunt. His was an unembellished front. Yet children loved him; babe and boy Played with the strength he could employ, Without one fear, and they are fleet To sense injustice and deceit. No back door gossip linked his name With any shady tale of shame. He did not have to compromise With evil-doers. shrewd and wise, And let them ply their vicious trade Because of some past escapade. Men are of two kinds, and he Was of the kind I'd like to be. No door at which he ever knocked Against his manly form was locked; If ever man on earth was free And independent, it was he. No broken pledge lost him respect, He met all men with head erect; And when he passed I think there went A soul to yonder firmament So white, so splendid and so fine It came complete to God's design. Edgar A. Guest. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.16 HYMN NO. 303. Thou dost not weep to weep alone; The broad bereavement seems to fall Unheeded and unfelt by none, He was beloved, beloved by all. But lo! what joy salutes our grief! Bright rainbows crown the tearful gloom, Hope, hope eternal, brings relief; Faith sounds a triumph o'er the tomb. It soothes our sorrow, says to thee, The Lord in chastening comes to bless: God is thy God, and He will be A father to the fatherless. 'Tis well with the departed one; His heaven-lit lamp was shining bright, And when his mortal day went down, His spirit fled where reigns no night. 'Tis meet to die as he has died, He smiled amid death's conquered gloom, While angels waited by his side, To bear a kindred spirit home. Vain are the trophies wealth can give! His memory needs no sculptor's art; He's left a name --his virtues live, 'Graved on the tablets of the heart. --Eliza R. Snow. President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.74 From the annual reports for the year 1918, we have compiled some information that I believe will be of interest to the Latter-day Saints: STATISTICS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.74 During the year 1918, there were 14,761 baptisms and 15,963 children were blessed. There were 5,752 deaths, which is the largest number on record for any year. Of this number, 1,054 died of influenza and 862 died of pneumonia. MILITARY. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.74 Over 20,000 members of the Church were in the military service of the United States and its allies at the close of the year 1918. Of this number, 383 died in the service. We should have been allowed not less than twenty chaplains and we made application for permission to furnish our quota, but for some reason, unknown to us, we were only allowed to furnish three chaplains, two of whom saw active service at the front in France. PRIESTHOOD. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.74 There has been a better attendance of the priesthood at the ward weekly meetings but there are still 9,078 persons who hold the priesthood whom the Bishops report are willing to labor but have not been assigned to any duties in the stake or ward. TITHES. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.74 There has been a considerable increase in the amount of tithes paid for the year 1918. The tithing has been well handled by the Bishops. Very little loss has been incurred, except through the failure to find a market for the large potato crop of the year 1917. TEMPLES. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.74 There were 175,525 baptisms for the dead performed in the temples, and there were 78,001 endowments for the living and the dead. The Hawaiian Temple is now practically completed at a cost of about $200,000.00. The Cardston Temple is nearing completion and will cost, when finished, about $600,000.00. SACRAMENT MEETINGS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.74 In consequence of the quarantine and conditions prevailing during the epidemic of influenza in the latter part of the year 1918, the attendance at Sacrament meetings has fallen off and the visits of the ward teachers have not been as regular as in other years. FINANCES. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.75 The following are some of the expenditures paid out of the tithes and other Church funds during the year 1918: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.75 There has been expended for assisting the worthy poor -- $ 279,244.30 Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.75 For missionary work, and building of meeting houses in the missions, mission houses and return fare of Elders. -- 345,761.51 Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.75 For the maintenance and operation of the Church school system, including the erection of new Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.75 school buildings -- 605,561.70 Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.75 For the maintenance and operation of the St. George, Logan, Manti and Salt Lake Temples-- 170,000.00 Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.75 For the construction and equipment of the Hawaiian and Cardston Temples -- 340,036.17 Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.75 For the erection of meeting houses (This does not include donations for the same purpose by Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.75 members of the respective wards) -- 288,766.76 For the maintenance of stakes and wards in all their various departments -- 526,002.91 Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.75 Total expenditures -- $2,645,373.35 Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.75 Attention has been called to the fact that the work which the Pioneers did in planting trees and in beautifying homes, farms, ward meeting houses, schools and other buildings, is being sadly neglected in the Latter-day Saint communities. Our advice and counsel to the Latter-day Saints is to plant more trees, to get the best kinds adapted to each locality and grow them wherever they can be grown. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.75 In my remarks here yesterday I referred to the comments of a gentleman from St. Louis, who makes a specialty of parking and beautifying cities, and who stated that we are not living up to the very splendid record made in this particular by the early pioneers. A gentleman remarked to Brother McMurrin, on one occasion, that our whole city is a park, and it would be indeed a park if we carried out the advice given in early days, by President Brigham Young and others, that we should plant trees in the vacant spaces in front of our homes. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.75 As stated yesterday, I had the privilege of attending the Semi-centennial Celebration of the completion of the Union and Central Pacific Railroads at Ogden, and regretted that a report was not taken and published of the speeches of four officials of the Southern Pacific Railroad. I have just received a letter from one of the speakers, Mr. J. M. Fulton, enclosing a short extract from his address, on which I had personally complimented him. I desire to read this extract, in order that it may become part of our proceedings: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.76 But we all do, and must, remember that before either survey or construction of the Central or Union Pacific Railroads had commenced, a hardy, thrifty, industrious, God-loving people had shown that the desert, from the Missouri river to Utah, could be conquered. They were the pioneers who blazed the trail to where we now are, and it is they who have made of Utah what it is today, but in my judgment, they did not then, do not now, conceive of the great future that lies before them. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.76 We find in this Valley, a vast production of sugar-beets, grains, fruit, livestock, and everything that man needs, and the blessing is that there is a home market for all that is produced. You have vast sugar factories, flour mills, canning plants, and your splendid meat packing establishment, all standing ready to take from the farmer for cash all that he produces. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.76 This cooperation will surely make of Utah a great and rich land. Nowhere else in the world do I know of such helpful cooperation between the producer and the manufacturer as shown in Utah, nor have I ever known a more hospitable people. It is the blood of those brave men, whom we all revere, who, for their love of God, dared the desert and sought a new land, who are now building and will soon make of Utah one of the greatest states of the Union. Even now, Utah manufactured commodities are finding a market in nearly every state, and in many foreign lands. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.76 And now, in conclusion, I want to say to you that on this day you are driving a Spike of Gold into our hearts that will stay put, and we hope so worthy a people as you have a similar feeling for us. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.76 The chief engineer of the Southern Pacific Railroad, Mr. Wm. Hood, delivered a magnificent speech upon that occasion, paying one of the finest tributes to the pioneers that I have ever heard. I regret exceedingly that the enterprise of our newspapers was such that we only had pictures of the procession, page after page, but nothing of the very splendid remarks that were made. President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 We have been listening to truth, so we will ask the congregation to arise anti join in singing John Jaques's inspired hymn -- "O, Say, What is Truth:" Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 O, say, what is truth? 'Tis the fairest gem Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 That the riches of worlds can produce; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 And priceless the value of truth will be when Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 The proud monarch's costliest diadem Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 Is counted but dross and refuse. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 Yes, say, what is truth? 'Tis the brightest prize Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 To which mortals or Gods can aspire: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 Go search in the depths where it glittering lies, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 Or ascend in pursuit to the loftiest skies, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 'Tis an aim for the noblest desire. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 The sceptre may fall from the despot's grasp, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 When with winds of stern justice he copes, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 But the pillar of truth will endure to the last, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 And its firm-rooted bulwarks outstand the rude blast, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 And the wreck of the fell tyrant's hopes. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 Then, say, what is truth? 'Tis the last and the first, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 For the limits of time it steps o'er: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 Though the heavens depart, and the earth's fountains burst, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 Truth, the sum of existence, will weather the worst, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 Eternal, unchanged, evermore. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 J. Jaques. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 Following the singing of the hymn, President Grant said: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 Usually, in our conference proceedings, the hymn is mentioned and the first line recorded, but I would request Brother Edward H. Anderson, our clerk, to see that in publishing the proceedings of this conference, this inspired hymn shall appear in full. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.85 Since our last meeting the vacancy caused by the death of our beloved President has been filled by my being taken from the Council of the Twelve, creating a vacancy in that Council, and Brother Melvin J. Ballard has been sustained by you here, yesterday, to fill the vacancy in the Council of the Twelve. We will now ask Brother Ballard to occupy the balance of the time in this meeting. President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.109 I am sure that all the presidents of our missions have had the perfect love, confidence and respect, and the daily faith and prayers of all the Church leaders, as they have had mine, morning and night, for their success in the mission field, each and all of them. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.109 CONCERNING THE MISSION PRESIDENTS Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.109 I regret to learn that in some sections there is a feeling that there must be something wrong or releases would not be given to the men who have labored so long, so faithfully, with such energy and zeal and with the inspiration of the Lord in the mission field. I desire to correct any such impression on the part of any of the Latter-day Saints. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.109 Some years ago it was the unanimous opinion of the Council of the Twelve that it would be fair to the men who had been many years in the mission field, to be released and to have the opportunity of returning to their homes. The Council so unanimously recommended, but further action on the matter was deferred. Soon after the death of President Smith the Twelve Apostles again recommended to the presidency the honorable release of some of the men who had spent long years in the mission field. It so happened that this recommendation was made at a meeting where President Anthon H. Lund presided, and it so happened that Brother Heber J. Grant and Brother Charles W. Penrose were members of the quorum when the original recommendation was made. So you can plainly see that it happened to be strictly unanimous with the First Presidency and all of the Twelve that we should honorably release some of our mission presidents. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.110 I want to say that they have labored with untiring zeal and energy: that they have gained not only the love, the confidence and respect of line general authorities of the Church, but I am sure from my experience in traveling in all of their missions that they have gained the love and confidence of the people with whom they have labored; and because of that intense love, which has grown up in the hearts of the people for those who preside over them in the mission field, some of the Saints have been broken-hearted over the releases that have been made. I felt that it was only fair to say this. I want to say that all of these brethren will always have a seat here and be counted as mission presidents. They have our love and our confidence. When I called for one of the brethren yesterday, be had to come from the gallery. He perhaps felt that, as his successor had been installed, this was not his place. But we expect those men always to come here. We expect to look upon them as faithful. diligent mission presidents. Whenever an announcement is made from this stand that there will be a special priesthood meeting to which presidents of missions are invited, it will include all of those who have presided and who are now released. We want them to feel that they belong with the mission presidents and are invited. I wanted to say this much. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.110 OUR CHAPLAINS IN THE ARMY Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.110 As was read here yesterday in the statistical report, we were entitled to twenty chaplains and we only have had three. Two of these chaplains -- Calvin S. Smith and Herbert Maw saw active service on the firing line. I understand that Brother Smith was wounded three times, and has been decorated for bravery. He is a son of President Joseph F. Smith. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.110 In that wonderful charge of the marines, at Chateau-Thierry. which will go down in history, where six thousand, two hundred out of eight thousand men were killed or wounded, one of President Francis M. Lyman's sons, named after your humble servant, lost his life. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.110 I wish to say here that the general authorities of the Church are very grateful to General Richard W. Young who volunteered, although beyond the age limit, to accept the position of colonel in the army. He had a very excellent oversight and care of the boys fromthe state of Utah, and was subsequently advanced to the rank of brigadier general. Our hearts go out in gratitude to him for again offering his services to his country, as he did in the Spanish American war, when he served in the Philippines. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.110 We are grateful to Brother B. H. Roberts, who also volunteered, notwithstanding be was beyond the age limit, and did splendid service in looking after our boys, as chaplain. He gained their love and their confidence and had an excellent influence over them for good. I desire to say this much with reference to the patriotic service of these men. President Heber J. Grant. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.138 I have in my hand a little book entitled Abraham Lincoln's Don'ts. I wish to read just two or three selections: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.138 SAYINGS FROM PRESIDENT LINCOLN. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.138 "I feel that I cannot succeed without the Divine blessing, and on the Almighty Being I place my reliance for support." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.138 "Two principles have stood face to face from the beginning of time and will ever continue to struggle. The one is the common right of humanity: the other is the divine right of kings." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.138 The common right of humanity has come very near achieving a complete and perfect triumph in the great war that is now closed. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.138 "Teach men that what they cannot take by an election they cannot take by war." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.138 "Take all the Bible upon reason that you can, and the balance on faith, and you will live and die a better man." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.138 "Never send a wrathful letter -- burn it, and write another." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.138 WORK FOR A SUNDAY LAW AT THE NEXT LEGISLATURE. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.138 I wish that I could impress this sentiment which I am about to read, upon the heart of every Latter-day Saint who shall hear it: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.138 "Let reverence for the laws be breathed by every American mother to the lisping babe that prattles on her lap; let it be taught in schools, in seminaries and colleges; let it be written in primers, spelling books and almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and gay of all sexes and tongues and colors and conditions sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.139 And remember that God Almighty has told us to reverence the Sabbath day and to keep it holy. We have tried for years to get a Sunday law, but up to date, we have failed. The good representatives from the outside counties have said: "If you want a Sunday law, you Salt Lake people enact it." We cannot get the men in the legislature to give it to us. We appeal to the good sisters who have the vote, to try and see that no one shall be sent to the legislature from this county or any other county, at its next session, who is not in favor of a Sunday law. (Applause.) Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.139 MORE SELECTIONS FROM LINCOLN. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.139 "What's the matter with my two boys? Just what's the matter with the whole world. I've got three walnuts and each wants two." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.139 "The prudent, penniless beginner in the world labors for wages for a while, saves a surplus with which to buy land or tools for himself, then labors for himself another while, and at length hires another new beginner, to help him. This is the just and generous and prosperous system which opens the way to all, gives hope to all, and consequent energy and progress and improvement of condition to all." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.139 I wish to the Lord that this could be burned into the very heart of the I. W. W. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.139 ANONYMOUS LETTERS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.139 I have received a lot of anonymous letters, since I became President of the Church, telling me a great many things that people would like me to announce here, positions they would like me to take, etc., to all of which I shall pay no attention. Any person who wishes to write me a letter and give me pointers should not be afraid to sign his name: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.139 KIND WORDS FOR THE GERMANS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.139 I did, however, receive one letter from a good sister who signed her name, asking me to say some kind words, if I could do so, regarding the German people. She said it was generally understood, among many of the German Latter-day Saints, that I had hatred in my heart for the German people. I suppose that came from the fact that a year ago last April I spoke of infamous German conceptions, and paid my respects to the Kaiser, with all the force and ability with which God has endowed me. I quoted from that same inspired poet, Goethe, to whom Brother Nibley has referred here today. I did not quote from Goethe's very wonderful play "Faust," but from a simple little poem of four verses which I will read again: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.139 "There are three lessons I would write, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.139 Three words as with a burning pen, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.139 In tracings of eternal light Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.139 Upon the hearts of men. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.139 Have faith, though clouds environ round Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.139 And gladness hides her face in scorn, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.139 Put off the darkness from thy brow; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.139 No night but hath its morn. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.139 Have hope, where'er thy bark is driven, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.139 The calm distorts the tempest's mirth. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.139 Know this, God rules the Hosts of Heaven, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.139 The inhabitants of earth." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.140 I said last year, that I hoped Kaiser William will live to have these words burned into his very brain. I guess he has learned that lesson, by this time, over in Holland: "Know this, God rules the Hosts of Heaven, the inhabitants of earth." I hope he has learned that simple truth. But there was a time when he thought he had so much power that he was going to rule the earth. Goethe closes his poem with this supreme declaration of love -- a declaration in keeping with the teachings of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.140 "Have love -- not love alone for one, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.140 But man as man thy brother call, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.140 And scatter as a circling sun Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.140 Thy charities on all." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.140 Every German who believes in these inspired teachings of Goethe has my love and confidence, but the Germans who believe in force, and who sustained the Kaiser, do not have my love and my support. My remarks were concluded in such a way that I am astonished any good German would imagine I had any ill will toward the German people. I will read what I said a year ago last April: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.140 "In my anxiety to get through with as many items as possible in twenty-five minutes I came near neglecting to say one thing which I desire to say:" Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.140 Those of you who were here will remember that I sat down and afterwards asked permission, of President Smith, to add a few remarks, and this is what I said: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.140 "I have never traveled with a man who impressed me more as loving God, and more determined to give to this work of our Redeemer his life's labor, than did the late Karl G. Maeser. I believe that the men and women whom the gospel found in Germany, and who in all honor embraced it, are as loyal, as true, and as patriotic as any other people who have joined the Church of Christ. The night following my call for a mission to Japan I lay awake until after three o'clock in the morning, and in thinking of those who were aged, and whom I hoped and prayed might live until I returned, I thought of my own dear mother, of John R. Winder, of George Romney, of Karl G. Maeser, and of others whom I loved with all my heart. I feel that the Germans who have embraced the Truth and who have the love of God and the love of our Redeemer in their hearts are as willing to go forth to battle against wrong and error as the people of any other nation who have embraced the gospel of Jesus Christ. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.140 "May the Lord help us who know the Truth to go on proclaiming it, and bringing people to a knowledge of the Redeemer, and teaching them to love their fellow men instead of robbing and killing them, is my prayer and desire, and I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 Now that is exactly how I felt a little over a year ago, and I have not changed my opinion. God bless the German Latter-day Saints. I love them. I love the honest, the world over. I expect a bountiful harvest of souls in Germany. I believe that there are millions of people in Germany who have never sustained, in their hearts, the course that was taken by the ruling classes; but it would have been as much as their lives were worth for them to have dared to assert themselves in opposition to the men who were in power. I hope the time is near at hand when liberty will prevail, when there will be peace, as far as we can get it -- and efforts to that end will be put forth by a League of Nations, and the people will strive to the best of their ability to bring about that condition. When that time comes, I expect a reign of liberty in Germany, and there will be a great harvest of souls in that land. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.141 FATHER AND SONF--TRAINING CHILDREN. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 When Brother E. Wesley Smith was speaking here this morning about the necessity of parents being one with their children, giving them proper teachings and knowing where they are, holding up to us the example of his father, I thought of two splendid poems in a little book entitled A Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 Heap o' Livin'. As they contain some excellent thoughts on father and son, I decided to read them to you today. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.141 ANSWERING HIM. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 "When shall I be a man?" he said, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 As I was putting him to bed. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 "How many years will have to be Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 Before Time makes a man of me? Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 And will I be a man when I Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 Am grown up big?" I heaved a sigh, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 Because it called for careful thought Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 To give the answer that he sought. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 And so I sat him on my knee, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 And said to him: "A man you'll be Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 When you have learned that honor brings Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 More joy than all the crowns of kings; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 That it is better to be true Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 To all who know and trust in you Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 Than all the gold of earth to gain, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 If winning it shall leave a stain. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 "When you can fight for victory sweet, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 Yet bravely swallow down defeat, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 And cling to hope and keep the right, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 Nor use deceit instead of might; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 When you are kind and brave and clean, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 And fair to all and never mean; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 When there is good in all you plan, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 That day, my boy, you'll be a man. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 "Some of us learn this truth too late; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 That years alone can't make us great; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 That many who are three-score ten Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 Have fallen short of being men, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 Because in selfishness they fought Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 And toiled without refining thought; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 And whether wrong or whether right Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 They lived but for their own delight. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 "When you have learned that you must hold Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 Your honor dearer far than gold; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 That no ill-gotten wealth or fame Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 Can pay you for your tarnished name; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 And when in all you say or do Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 Of others you're considerate, too, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 Content to do the best you can Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 By such a creed, you'll be a man." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.141 Edgar A. Guest. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.142 FATHER AND SON. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Be more than his dad, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Be a chum to the lad; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Be a part of his life Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Every hour of the day; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Find time to talk with him, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Take time to walk with him, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Share in his studies Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 And share in his play; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Take him to places, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 To ball games and races, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Teach him the things Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 That you want him to know; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Don't live apart from him, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Don't keep your heart from him, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Be his best comrade, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 He's needing you so! Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Never neglect him, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Though young, still respect him, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Hear his opinions Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 With patience and pride; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Show him his error, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 But be not a terror, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Grim-visaged and fearful, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 When he's at your side. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Know what his thoughts are, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Know what his sports are, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Know all his playmates, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 It's easy to learn to; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Be such a father Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 That when troubles gather Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 You'll be the first one Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 For counsel, he'll turn to. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 You can inspire him Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 With courage and fire him Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Hot with ambition Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 For deeds that are good; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 He'll not betray you Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Nor illy repay you Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 If you have taught him Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 The things that you should. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Father and son Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Must in all things be one-- Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Partners in trouble Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 And comrades in joy. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 More than a dad Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Was the best pal you had; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Be such a chum Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 As you knew, to your boy. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.142 Edgar A. Guest. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.142 MISCONSTRUCTION AND MISAPPLICATION OF PUBLIC UTTERANCES. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.143 Some years ago I preached a sermon in this Tabernacle. At the close of the service, on my way home, between here and the Eagle Gate, six or seven men complimented me for "spanking in public" Brother Abraham H. Cannon who had spoken just before I did. Two or three days later some seven or eight men were in the President's office, and I was summoned before them and taken to task for "spanking" Brother Cannon. They were very angry. They were all Republicans, and all those who had complimented me were Democrats. Brother Abraham and I were there at this meeting, and I asked him if he knew that he was spanked. He said, no, he did not; and I remarked, "If I spanked you in public, I must have done it in my sleep. I quite frequently sleep when other people are talking; but, up to date, I have not learned to sleep while I am talking. I am not aware of saying one single, solitary word that reflected on what you said." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.143 I requested that those two sermons be published in the Deseret News, one following the other; that neither Abraham nor I be permitted to read them before publication. When they were published I was to appear at the President's office and I would make any apology that was necessary for spanking Brother Abraham in public. Brother Cannon and I read them to ourselves and then read them aloud, and we could not find one single, solitary word, wherein I had found any fault with what he had said, neither could the Presidency. So I did not have to apologize. Do you know, it is a very easy matter for us to misconstrue what people say, and make such an application that it may appear partisan or as if it were intended for personal advantage, in some way, shape or manner. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.143 ENDORSEMENT OF THE SPEECHES OF THIS CONFERENCE. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.143 I believe, as I believe the gospel, that all the speakers in this conference have spoken the honest sentiments of their hearts. I feet sure that the same may be said of those who spoke in the Assembly Hall and in the other overflow meetings, although I did not hear their remarks. I am confident all that has been said was intended for your good and my good, and for the advancement of God's kingdom here on earth. I endorse all that has been said here, by every speaker. I thank every man to whom I have listened, for the inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord that has come to him. I thank the Saints from the bottom of my heart for their vote of confidence. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, June 1919, p.143 A PLEDGE AND DECLARATION. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.143 I can pledge to you the best that is in me to fulfil the high and holy calling that has come to me, to exercise in righteousness the power of the Priesthood of the living God, which centers in me, and to administer my office as the Trustee-in-Trust, holding your property, to expend it and use it to the very best of the ability with which God shall endow me. I expect to counsel with my counselors, with the Twelve Apostles and with the Presiding Bishopric of the Church -- the men to whom the Lord refers in revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, naming the men who are to expend the funds of this Church; although I realize and know that legally and technically, I have the right to handle your funds personally, because of your vote, just as my predecessors have had that right. Yet I know that in a multitude of counsel there is safety, and I expect to have multitude of counsel. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.144 Again I pray God to bless all Israel, and to bless all men and all women, the world over, who are honest in heart, who are prayerful, who are virtuous and who desire to do good. I pray God to have mercy on the sinners and to inspire them to repent. God bless you all, I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.144 The choir and congregation sang: "Up, awake, ye defenders of Zion." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.144 PRESIDENT HEBER J. GRANT Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, p.144 In announcing the hymn President Grant said: President Charles W. Penrose wrote this hymn at the time Johnston's army was coming to Utah to destroy the "Mormons." Apparently the army did not make a very good job of it, because we are here. This hymn, by President Penrose, was sung in many places in England, creating considerable enthusiasm. In the London conference alone over $3,000 were raised to pay return fares of elders who were in England, that they might return Zion and be among those who were to be "destroyed." President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.3 I rejoice again at having the opportunity of meeting with the Saints in general conference. It was a source of great regret to all of us that we could not hold our April conference because of health conditions throughout the state. I am gratified, seeing that our postponed conference was only last June, that we have as large an attendance as we have here today. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.3 DEPENDENCE UPON THE LORD Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.3 In standing before you today I feel my weakness and my dependence upon the Lord, and I pray for the faith, sympathy and good will of all who are here assembled, that what I may say shall be for their benefit as well as for my own. I can hardly realize that I am standing here as your representative, at the head of the Church. When I think of the men who have occupied this position, from President Brigham Young to President Joseph F. Smith, I indeed feel weak, but my faith and my knowledge regarding the divinity of the work in which we are engaged are so perfect that I have no doubt whatever that the Lord will give to me, with the aid of my counselors and the Council of the Twelve, with whom I meet in council every week, the inspiration to guide and direct the affairs of this Church in a way and manner which will be pleasing and acceptable to him. I have the same faith as that expressed by Nephi of old: namely, that the Lord requires no labor or work at the hands of man but what he will prepare a way whereby that labor can be accomplished. If I know my own heart, it is set absolutely upon seeking for the mind and the will of the Lord, and then laboring, to the full extent of the ability with which I am endowed, to accomplish his purposes. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.3 THE HYMN, "COME, COME, YE SAINTS" Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.3 Yesterday, or the day before, when I received a list of the songs that would be sung during this conference, I read them over without any particular thought as to their meaning or inspiration, but this morning while lying in bed thinking of this conference, I remembered that the first hymn that we were to sing here today was, "Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear." I concluded to make that my text for my opening remarks, and then speak as I might be led during the remainder of the time I should occupy. To me this is a wonderful hymn, and the circumstances under which it was written, as I have been informed, give it an additional interest to me. I understand that when the pioneers were about to start across the trackless wilderness, to go a thousand miles to a place they knew not where, a place that President Brigham Young had seen in vision, he said to Elder William Clayton, "William, go and write a hymn that the Saints may sing at their camp fires, that shall be an inspiration and an encouragement to them in their journey across the plains," and Brother Clayton withdrew and returned in a couple of hours with this great pioneer hymn that we have just sung. I was asked in Liverpool, by President Lyman, the day I arrived there to preside over the European mission, which of all the hymns was my favorite, and he said, "We will sing it tonight!" I told him I had none, that there were many of the hymns I loved dearly, but I had never selected any one as my special favorite. He said, "My favorite is 'School thy feelings, oh, my brother, Train thy warm, impulsive soul;' President Snow's favorite was, 'Zion stands with hills surrounded; * * * All her foes shall be confounded;' John Henry Smith's was, 'Up, awake, ye defenders of Zion;' President Wilford Woodruff's was,'God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform;' and President Lyman said that President Brigham Young's was, "Oh, ye mountains high;" but I have since been told by one of his daughters that this is a mistake, that his favorite was Brother William Clayton's hymn, "When first the glorious light of truth, burst forth in this last age, How few there were with heart and soul, to obey it did engage." President Daniel H. Wells' favorite was, "Oh, ye mountains high." I said, "Brother Lyman, you don't need to go any further; I will pick mine inside of a minute. I will take, "Come, come, ye Saints," as my favorite." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.4 I believe that William Clayton was inspired of the Lord when he wrote this hymn, and also the other hymn that was President Young's favorite. It was a wonderful trip the Pioneers were about to make. I can never think of it but I have admiration for the courage, the faith, and the will power of our fathers and our mothers who started out in the wilderness, not knowing where they were going, but singing: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.4 Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear, But with joy wend your way. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.4 I have talked with hundreds of those who crossed the plains and they had real joy and happiness in wending their way to this country. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.4 Though hard to you this journey may appear, Grace shall be as your day. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.4 Certainly God did give them grace as their day. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.4 'Tis better far for us to strive, Our useless cares from us to drive, Do this, and joy your hearts will swell -- All is well! all is well! Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.4 And not only was that good advice to people traveling across the plains, but it is good advice to each and to all of us every day of our lives. A cheerful, happy spirit of serenity is pleasing to our heavenly Father. The capacity and the ability to believe and accept the scripture that teaches us to acknowledge the hand of God in all things is pleasing to our heavenly Father. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.5 Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard? 'Tis not so; all is right! Why should we think to earn a great reward, If we now shun the fight? Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.5 The trouble with a great many people is, they are not willing to pay the price; they are not willing to make the fight for success in the battle of life. They are much like the people of whom I read in Brother N. L. Nelson's book on preaching -- which I happened to open one day, and I read about people taking literally the instructions to take no thought of what one should say; and Brother Nelson wrote that many of those who took no thought at all never said much, as they were going contrary to the teaching, that we were to prepare ourselves; and he says, regarding the people who take no thought, that when they speak they ought to say, "Oh, Lord, here I am. I have a mouth and a pair of lungs that I will loan thee for a brief season; fill me with wisdom that I may edify the people," which he seldom does. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.5 Why should we think to earn a great reward, If we now shun the fight? Gird up your loins, fresh courage take, Our God will never us forsake; And soon we'll have this tale to tell -- All is well! all is well! Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.5 This magnificent audience here, our beautiful temple, our Church office building, and the temples from Canada to Southern Utah, and the Hawaiian Islands, bear witness to all the world that God has never forsaken his people. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.5 We'll find the place which God for us prepared, Far away in the West; Where none shall come to hurt or make afraid; There the Saints will be blest. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.5 I believe there is no true Latter-day Saint who does not believe that God did prepare this land for his people. Brigham Young stood on the hill, beyond Fort Douglas, and, looking over this valley, said: "This is the place." God had shown him this place in vision, before he ever came here. Men tried to persuade him to go to California to that rich country, but this was the place which God had prepared, and we stopped here, and no mistake was made. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.5 We'll make the air with music ring, Shout praises to our God and King: Above the rest these words we'll tell -- All is well! All is well! And should we die before our journey's through, Happy day! All is well! We then are free from toil and sorrow too, With the just we shall dwell. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.6 What sublime faith -- that all is well! even should you die in the wilderness, and be buried in an unknown grave, so to speak; and yet that was their faith; and they could sing these words, night after night, with their hearts in what they sang. They were verily praying to the Lord. They had full faith in the revelations given to the wife of the Prophet Joseph Smith, wherein it is written: "The song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads." Also: "My soul delighteth in the song of the heart." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.6 And should we die before our journey's through, Happy day! All is well! We then are free from toil and sorrow too, With the just we shall dwell. But if our lives are spared again To see the Saints their rest obtain, O how we'll make this chorus swell -- All is well, all is well! Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.6 I remember upon one occasion, and I have often spoken of it, -- I may have mentioned it here, -- that my father-in-law, the late Oscar Winters, said: "Heber, I believe that the young people of Zion do not thoroughly appreciate what Brother Clayton's hymn meant to us, as we sang it, night after night, crossing the plains; and I believe that choir leaders do not appreciate it, or they would not stop after singing only three verses. I have listened in vain," as I remember it, he said. "for between twenty-five and thirty years, to hear the last verse of that song sung by a choir, and I have never heard it." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.6 We are beginning to sing it now, because in almost every stake of Zion I have asked the people and the leaders of choirs, that if they only wished to sing three verses, please not to do it when I was present --but to sing the other verse also." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.6 A TOUCHING INCIDENT OF THE PLAINS Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.6 Brother Winters further said. "I want to tell you an incident that happened as I was coming to the valley. One of our company was delayed in coming to camp. We got some volunteers, and were about to go back and see if anything had happened, -- if he had had trouble with Indians, or what was the matter, -- when we saw him coming in the distance. When he arrived, we unyoked his cattle and helped him to get his supper. He had been quite sick and had to lie down by the road, a time or two. After supper he sat down on a large rock, by the camp fire, and sang the hymn, "Come, come, ye Saints." It was the rule in the camp that whenever anybody started to sing that hymn, we would all join with him; but for some reason, no one joined with this brother. His voice was quite weak and feeble; and when he had finished. I glanced around, and I don't believe there were any of the people sitting there whose eyes were tearless. He sang the hymn very beautifully, but with a weak and plaintive voice. and yet with the spirit and inspiration of the hymn. The next morning we discovered that he was not hitching up his oxen; we went to his wagon, and we found that he had died during the night! We dug a shallow grave and laid his body in it. We then thought of the stone on which he had been sitting the night before when he sang: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.7 "And should we die before our journey's through, Happy day! All is well! We then are free from toil and sorrow too, With the just we shall dwell. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.7 "We then rolled that stone over in place as a headstone for his grave." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.7 I noticed tears in Brother Winters' eyes. He started, as if he was about to tell me something more, but he hesitated and did not. I subsequently learned that after he had been in the valley for some time he came from his home in the country to Salt Lake to meet his mother, only to learn that she, too, had died before her journey was through. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.7 ALONG THE "MORMON" TRAIL. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.7 Some years ago, as the Burlington Railroad was building through Nebraska and Wyoming, the engineers found a piece of wagon tire sticking in the ground, on which was chiseled the word, "Winters." They wrote to Salt Lake City, telling of this discovery, and they returned several miles and kindly changed the line, of the road so as to miss that spot, knowing that it was the grave of some Utah pioneer. We have since erected, there, a little monument to the memory of Grandma Winters; and, on one side of that little monument, built of temple granite, we have had chiseled the words in the last verse of, "Come, come, ye Saints." Never can I hear this song, never can I read it, but my heart goes out in gratitude to my father and to my mother, and to thousands of those noble men and women who journeyed over the plains. Many of them, time and time again, crossed the plains to help others, enduring the hardships cheerfully, carrying out, in very deed, the teachings of this inspired hymn! I can never think of them but I am full of admiration and gratitude, and utter a prayer to the Lord to help me, as one of the descendants of that noble band, to be loyal, to be true, to be faithful as they were! In very deed, they were a band of men and women who, as the years come and go, will command greater and greater admiration and respect from the people of the world. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.7 REASONS FOR THE PEOPLE'S COMING. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.7 They came here, for what? Because of the burning and living testimony in their souls regarding the divine mission of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. They came here because they had an abiding knowledge that God lives, that he hears and answers prayers, that Jesus is the Redeemer of the world, and that Joseph Smith is his prophet. God had given them that knowledge! When I think of this land today, and of the prosperity and peace that reign here, from Canada on the north to Arizona on the south, I indeed marvel and thank God. When I think that there is, perhaps, no other part of the United States more peaceful, more free from mob violence, and from those evils which disturb the serenity of people and cause them great unrest and anxiety, I am indeed grateful, and feel to bear witness to the inspiration of William Clayton, under a direct appointment from Brigham Young, the prophet of the Lord, to write a hymn that should so cheer the Saints. I acknowledge the inspiration expressed in the words that they would find the place that God had prepared far away in the West! When I think of the awful devastation that swept over the country, from which the Latter-day Saints were driven in Missouri and Illinois and other places during the Rebellion I am grateful that the Latter-day Saints escaped that awful state of affairs, and I feel to acknowledge the hand of the Lord. They came here for what? For the express purpose to serve God, to do right, as stated in the next hymn that we sang. I think this other hymn is worthy to be counted as a battle hymn: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.8 Do what is right; the day-dawn is breaking, Hailing a future of freedom and light; Angels above us are silent notes taking Of every action; do what is right! Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.8 Do what is right; the shackles are falling; Chains of the bondsmen no longer are bright; Lighten'd by hope, soon they'll cease to be galling; Truth goeth onward: do what is right! Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.8 Do what is right; be faithful and fearless, Onward, press onward, the goal is in sight; Eyes that are wet now, ere long will be tearless; Blessings await you; do what is right. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.8 Do what is right, let the consequence follow; Battle for freedom in spirit and might. And with stout hearts look ye forth till tomorrow; God will protect you; do what is right! Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.8 That is what our fathers and mothers came here for. Our late beloved President, Joseph F. Smith, from the time he was a child, ten years of age, when he crossed the plains, driving the team for his beloved mother, until the day of his death, labored seventy long years, in season and out of season, doing what was right, on all occasions and under all circumstances. I asked him, one day, which was his favorite hymn, and he said he did not have any. I said, "Well, Brother Lyman told me I ought to have one. I wish you would select one." "Well," he said, "I think I would hardly care to, but perhaps I am partial to the hymn by that heroic little soul. Sister Emily Hill Woodmansee, entitled, "Uphold the Right:" Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.9 Uphold the right, tho' fierce the fight, And pow'rful is the foe; As freedom's friend, her cause defend, Nor fear nor favor show. No coward can be called a man -- No friend will friends betray; Who would be free, alert must be; Indifference will not pay. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.9 Note how they toil, whose aim is spoil, Who plundering plots devise; Yet time will teach, that fools o'erreach The mark, and lose the prize. Can justice deign to wrong maintain, Whoever wills it so? Can honor mate with treach'rous hate? Can figs on thistles grow? Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.9 Dare to be true, and hopeful too; Be watchful, brave and shrewd; Weigh every act; be wise, in fact, To serve the general good. Nor basely yield, nor quit the field -- Important is the fray; Scorn to recede, there is no need To give our rights away. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.9 Left-handed fraud let those applaud Who would by fraud prevail; In freedom's name contest their claim, Use no such word as fail; Honor we must each sacred trust, And rightful zeal display; Our part fulfil, then, come what will, High heaven will clear the way. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.9 WHY WE ARE UNDER OBLIGATIONS TO SERVE GOD. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.9 Certainly President Smith's life was an example of courage and willingness to do the right, without fear to announce himself on any proposition for the good of mankind. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.9 As I think of the wonderful prosperity. of the Latter-day Saints, of what they have accomplished, of what they are accomplishing, and of the respect that is being shown them today, in comparison with the contempt that was shown to them years ago, I certainly feel to thank the Lord for all of his mercies and blessings to us, and to beg, entreat, and implore every Latter-day Saint to so order his or her life that they will in very deed do that which is right, let the consequence follow. With all the power that I possess, I would urge upon the Latter-day Saints the keeping of the commandments of the Lord. There is nothing truer than the statement that obedience is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. The man and the woman who obeys the commandments of the Lord grows and increases in light, in knowledge, in intelligence; and above all, they grow in the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. When I think of all that we have accomplished and of our being here in fulfilment of the prediction of Joseph Smith that the Latter-day Saints should come to these Rocky Mountains and become a great and a mighty people, I am reminded of the sufferings, the hardships, and the trials that the people underwent in their drivings and expulsions from Missouri and Illinois, and I feel to say, truly God has preserved and blessed us in this land, and we are under obligations to him to serve him, so that those who know not the truth, may see the honesty, the integrity, the devotion of our lives, that these may inspire them to investigate the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.10 We are told in revelation from the Lord that we should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and that we should bring to pass much righteousness of our own free will and choice, for we are agents unto ourselves; and wherein we do good, we shall in no wise lose our reward. I am always thankful when I read in the D&C that there is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of the world, upon which all blessings are predicated, and that when we obtain any blessing it is by obedience to the law upon which it is predicated. When I go into a house to administer to those who are afflicted, if I know that they have observed what is known as the Word of Wisdom; if I know they have fulfilled the law whereby they are entitled to the blessings of the Lord, I can administer to people of that kind with faith, knowing that if it is not the will of the Lord for them to pass away, he will hear and answer the prayer of faith, and they will be restored. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.10 GOD'S ANSWER TO A PRAYER OF JOSEPH, THE PROPHET. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.10 When I stop to think of the condition our people was in years ago and that some of the great and important revelations that have come to this Church, came to us from prison cells -- today, I say, what a wonderful contrast! Certainly God has been good to this people. I think one of the greatest of all the revelations that we have is the one that came to us in answer to a prayer from the Prophet Joseph Smith when he was in Liberty Jail, in Clay county, Missouri, on the 20th day of March, 1839. He prayed to the Lord: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.10 O God! where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place? How long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, yea thy pure eye, behold, from the eternal heavens, the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants, and thine ear be penetrated with their cries? etc. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.10 In answer to this, the Lord states, among other important items: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.10 "How long can rolling waters remain impure? What power shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty, from pouring down knowledge from heaven, upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.10 "Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen? Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.11 "Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson -- Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.11 "That the rights of the Priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.11 "That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control, or dominion or compulsion, upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the Priesthood, or the authority of that man. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.11 "Behold! ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks; to persecute the saints, and to fight against God. "We have learned, by sad experience, that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion. "Hence many are called, but few are chosen. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.11 "No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the Priesthood, only by persuasion, by long suffering, by gentleness, and meekness, and by love unfeigned; "By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile, "Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy. "That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.11 "Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly, then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God, and the doctrine of the Priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.11 "The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy sceptre an unchanging sceptre of righteousness and truth, and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee for ever and ever." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.11 Placing the Prophet in a jail did not stop communication between God, our heavenly Father, and his chosen instrument here upon the earth. One of the greatest of all the great lessons that has come to us who hold the Priesthood, was given while he was in jail, -- "No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the Priesthood, only by persuasion, by long suffering, by gentleness, and meekness, and by love unfeigned; by kindness and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy," and so on. The Lord being my helper, standing at the head of this great Church, I shall endeavor to exercise the Priesthood that I hold in conformity with this revelation from the living God to the Prophet of the Lord, who was used as his instrument in founding the Church of Christ again upon the earth. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.11 GRATITUDE TO GOD. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.11 I thank the Lord for all his manifold blessings to us as a people. Saints are prosperous, they are in good health now. We are meeting with blessings on all hands. I rejoice in this and feel grateful to the Lord. I pray that, while we are together, we may be abundantly blessed by those that shall speak to us. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.12 POSITION ON THE QUESTION OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.12 I did think of making some remarks similar to those I made here two weeks ago today, but I believe that I will do as the congressmen do. Instead of referring to my position upon the League of Nations and other matters, as I did two weeks ago, I will simply have printed in the conference proceedings the sermon that I then delivered, and you can read it at your leisure. It was printed in the Deseret News, I believe, a week ago last Tuesday. I will not take the time to repeat what I said. I read there a manifesto sent to the Senate of the United States begging them to pass the Peace Treaty, and I will simply have my sermon incorporated in our conference proceedings so that any of the Saints who want to read it can do so, and I will ask Brother Edward H. Anderson, the editor of the Era also to print my sermon in the Era, so that those of you who take that magazine will have the privilege of reading it. If there is any home in all the Church that does not have the Era, it simply shows that the people there are lacking in faith, that they think more of two dollars than they do of getting communications from the authorities of the Church, and important sermons, things which are of more value than the things of this world. You know there are a great many people who hold up copper cents in front of their eyes and hide dollars, and there are a great many who keep two dollars in their pockets and hide hundreds of dollars of inspiration and knowledge of great value to them through all time, and which will be of value to them in the great eternity to come. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.12 UPHOLD THE LAW. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.12 As Latter-day Saints we have what is known as The Articles of Faith, and one of them reads: "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law," and no Latter-day Saint can in very deed be a Latter-day Saint if he does not honor and sustain and uphold the law. Nearly all over the world, at the present time there is a spirit of lawlessness, a spirit of ridicule, and one lacking respect for the men who hold positions. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.12 One of the most terrible crimes that I have read of in years was enacted in Omaha, a few days ago, where a mob of citizens, because the policemen were trying to fulfil their duty as sworn servants of the law -- had the officers in a building that was burning and said: "Let them burn," Let them burn -- why? Because they would not deliver a prisoner to the mob, but kept that prisoner so that he could have a fair trial under the law. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.12 When I was in Los Angeles a short time ago, they were selling whisky all over the city, and I was told that the officials of the city said, "You can sell it if you want to, we do not object, but you will have to take your chances with Uncle Sam." What kind of public servants are they? Elected to enforce laws, they defy the laws of their own country, and allow people to sell whisky and to break the law! No wonder mob violence comes, when some of the leaders themselves break the law. No wonder they had this great war in Europe when the leaders of nations broke treaties and treated them as scraps of paper! No man can do that which is dishonest, or break laws of his country and be a true Latter-day Saint. No nation and no leaders of nations can do wrong, and break their obligations, but what they are just as much under condemnation before God and man as the other individual who does wrong. Truth will prevail. "Uphold the right, though fierce the fight," should be the motto of every Latter-day Saint, as it was the motto of our beloved leader who recently passed away. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.13 ON LABOR UNIONS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.13 I want to say that I am perfectly willing that men shall join labor unions, that they shall band together for the purpose of protecting their rights, provided they do not interfere with the rights of other people. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness belong to all people in the United States, according to the laws of our country, and should, upon all the face of the earth; and I say that, to my mind, a provision in a labor union is all wrong that favors boycotting and the laying down of tools or the quitting of employment because a nonunion man obtains employment while exercising his God-given right to stay out of a union. Men who have that kind of a rule have a rule that is in direct opposition to the laws of God. There was a battle fought in heaven -- for what? To give to man his individual liberty. An attempt to take the agency of man away is made when he does not see fit to join a union, when men in that union, without any complaint, or grievance, strike, because a non-union man is employed. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.13 Now I'd better not say any more, perhaps, on this question, or I may offend somebody. I may hurt somebody's feelings: but it is the God-given right of men to earn their livelihood. The Savior said it was the first great law or commandment to love the Lord with all our hearts, and that the second was like unto it, to love thy neighbor as thyself. That is the doctrine for every true Latter-day Saint. How much love is there in starving your neighbor because he will not surrender his manhood and his individuality, and allow a labor union to direct his labor? Mighty little love, mighty little of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in any such a rule! I hope to see the day when no Latter-day Saint will join a union unless the union eliminate that clause from its rules. I am not going to ask them to leave their union. I am not going to lay it down that they must, that it is the mind and the will of the Lord for them to leave a union. I want, as I said here two weeks ago, to give every man his free agency, to give every man the right to act as he thinks proper, but I cannot see how a Latter-day Saint who is a member of such a union can get down on his knees and pray for God to inspire and bless him, to bless the Saints and to protect them, and then be a party to allowing one of his own brethren to go, year after year, without employment, because that brother will not surrender his manhood and join a union with him. There is none of the Spirit of the Lord in that, to my mind. That is exactly the way I see it. I will quote again what I quoted here two weeks ago: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.14 Should you feel inclined to censure Faults you may in others view, Ask your own heart, ere you venture, If that has not failings too. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.14 Let not friendly vows be broken; Rather strive a friend to gain; Many a word in anger spoken., Finds its passage home again. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.14 Do not then in idle pleasure Trifle with a brother's fame, Guard it as a valued treasure, Sacred as your own good name. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.14 Do not form opinions blindly; Hastiness to trouble tends. Those of whom we thought unkindly Oft become our warmest friends. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.14 Also this poem: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.14 Let each man learn to know himself: To gain that knowledge, let him labor, Improve those failings in himself, Which he condemned so in his neighbor. How lenient our own faults we view, And conscience' voice adeptly smother; But oh! how harshly we review The self-same errors in another. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.14 And if you meet an erring one, Whose deeds are blameable or thoughtless, Consider, ere you cast the stone, If you yourself be pure and faultless. Oh! list to that small voice within. Whose whisperings oft make men confounded, And trumpet not another's sin, You'd blush deep if your own were sounded. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.14 And in self-judgment, if you find Your deeds to others are superior; To you has Providence been kind, As you should be to those inferior; Example sheds a genial ray Of light, which men are apt to borrow; So first, improve yourself today, And then improve your friends tomorrow. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.15 CLOSING TESTIMONY. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.15 I thank the Lord that I am able to bear witness to you here today that I know that God lives, that he hears and answers our prayers; that I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, the Savior of mankind. I bear my witness to you here today that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the true and the living God, that he was the instrument in the hands of God of establishing again upon the earth the plan of life and salvation, not only for the living but for the dead, and that this gospel, commonly called "Mormonism," by the people of the world, is in very deed the plan of life and salvation, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, that the little stone has been cut out of the mountain, and that it shall roll forth until it fills the whole earth. We believe in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; we believe in the literal gathering of Israel, and we believe that Zion shall be built upon this, the American continent, and that Christ shall reign personally upon the earth. May God help us who have a testimony of the gospel to so live that if we are upon the earth when he comes to reign, we will be worthy to be welcomed by him; and if we go beyond before he comes to reign, that we shall receive the plaudit, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of the Lord," is my prayer, and I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.15 DISCOURSE OF PRESIDENT HEBER J. GRANT Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.15 In Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, September 21, 1919, in the afternoon of Salt Lake stake conference -- Defines attitude on Treaty of Peace -- "Standard Works of the Church are not not opposed to the League of Nations -- United States should stand by her allies -- Change in Change in treaty terms making resubmission to Germany necessary, would be a calamity" Allusions to great event in Church History occurring ninety-six years ago -- Visits of Angel Moroni and other heavenly beings to Joseph Smith -- Analysis of Articles of Faith -- Personal experiences -- Powerful testimony of restoration of the gospel. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.15 I am grateful for the opportunity of again meeting with the Latter-day Saints in public worship. It is ever a pleasure to me to meet with the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and also, when opportunity presents, to meet with those not of our faith, to explain our faith to those who are not familiar with it, and to bear witness of the divinity of the work in which we are engaged. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.15 Before speaking today on matters pertaining to our faith, I desire to make a brief statement. I have been requested, by word of mouth and by letter, on more than one occasion, to state my opinion regarding the league of nations. I received a telegram asking me to join ex-President Taft, ex-Attorney General Wickersham, President Lowell of Harvard, and other leading Americans, in signing the following manifesto: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.16 In the senate at Washington, now that the committee on foreign relations has reported the treaty, the lines are sharply drawn between the immediate ratification of the treaty of peace with Germany, and its amendment with a reassembling of the conference and a reopening of negotiations that would bring great delay and prolonged uncertainty in settling the great issues of the peace. No partisan plea can be made. Party lines are already broken. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.16 Standing at a distance from the conflict in the senate chamber, we plead for immediate ratification without delay. Our land requires it. A state of nervous strain, tension, and unrest exists, manifesting itself in disturbances, which in some cases have no self-evident connection with the war, but which are in fact its aftermath. The world is put in imminent peril of new wars by the lapse of each day. Dissensions between us and our former allies are being sown. We firmly believe and solemnly declare that the states and cities in which we dwell desire immediate peace. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.16 The waging of war steadied and united the American people. Peace will bring prosperity, and prosperity content. Delay in the senate postponing ratification in this uncertain period of neither peace nor war has resulted in indecision and doubt, bred strife, and quickened the cupidity of those who sell the daily necessities of life and the fears of those whose daily wage no longer fills the daily market basket. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.16 We beseech the senate to give the land peace and certainty by a ratification which will not keep us longer in the shadows of possible wars, but give the whole world the light of peace. Reservations m the nature of clarifications in the meaning of the treaty, not inconsistent with its terms. will not require the reopening of the negotiations with Germany and with our associates in the war, which we all and each united to win. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.16 But there is no possibility of doubt that amendment of the treaty, as is now proposed by the senate committee on foreign relations, would require negotiation and a reopening of all the questions decided at Paris. Months of delay would follow. The perils of the present would become the deadly dangers of the near future. All the doubt engendered would aid the plots for violent revolution in this and other lands. The issues here and elsewhere between capital and labor, the conspiracy of speculator and profiteer, would all grow, and become more perilous. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.16 This cannot be. The American people cannot, after a victorious war, permit its government to petition Germany, which has accepted the treaty, for its consent to changes in the treaty. Yet, if the United States should amend the treaty for its own purpose and policy, Germany would have full right to ask for concessions. Germany has agreed to make no claim in regard to enemy property seized in this country to an amount of seven hundred million dollars. Our recent foe could ask for a reopening of this issue and of the Lusitania claims. It could raise every question open before hostilities in regard to submarine warfare and the treatment of its nationals in this country. All the provisions for our trade in Germany raised by the economic clauses of the treaty, many of them vital to our industries and our farms, as in dye patents, dye supplies and fertilizers, the working of the reparation commission which superintends the trade of all with Germany could all be brought up by Berlin for readjustment by our negotiators, acting for the United States alone and no longer associated with other victorious powers or supported by a victorious American army on the German border. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.16 Peace is delayed until ratification comes. And any amendment postpones peace. Germany and England alone of the principal powers have ratified. The other principals necessarily await our action, influential and powerful as we are today, in the world's affairs. The ravages of war on more than a score of fighting fronts are continued by our needless delay. Let the senate give the world peace by ratification without amendment. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.16 Even the amendment for which most can be said, the provision in regard to Shantung, will secure nothing which cannot be gained if China, backed by the powerful advocacy of the United States, addresses itself to the machinery for righting international wrongs and meeting just claims created by the league between nations, China after eighty years of oppressive treaties and despoiled rights, by which all the great powers have profiled directly or indirectly, has for the first time, in this covenant and treaty, the means and method to secure justice and the removal of the oppressive economic interference of stronger nations whose citizens are within her gates, protected by a long succession of international agreements. Moreover, it should be remembered that the clause regarding Shantung was made upon the statement by Japan that she will return the territory to China and, therefore, upon that condition; compliance with which promise the league can require. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.17 The peace of the present and the righteousness of the future can be best secured by the ratification of the covenant and treaty without amendment. Let the senate take no action that will give any party to the treaty, and especially Germany, ground for maintaining that the ratification of the United States is not complete and that changes requiring a resumption of conference and negotiations have been made in it. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.17 I replied as follows: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.17 I have pleasure in joining ex-President Taft and other leading Americans in signing manifesto as outlined in your telegram of yesterday. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.17 The sentiments contained in the above manifesto express my personal position with regard to the league of nations; and since signing the telegram I have neither heard nor read anything that has in any degree changed my position on this important question. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.17 I regret exceedingly that the standard works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been brought into this controversy. which has now become practically a partisan controversy. It is my opinion that this important question should have been kept absolutely out of politics. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.17 On one important matter I desire to place the position of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints fairly before the people. An illustrated hand-bill has been circulated and has been widely republished in newspapers under the heading: "Mormon Bible Prophecies Become Issue in Opposition to the League of Nations." The position of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that the standard works of the Church are not opposed to the league of nations. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.17 As stated in what I have read to you, I regret exceedingly that this great and important question has become a political issue, and I desire to ask each and all of the members of the Church, over which I have the honor to preside, that in all their controversy in connection with this great issue, they express themselves as to their views with due deference to the opinions of others. During the controversy I would like them to read, occasionally, the very wonderful and inspired hymn "O say, what is truth?" written by John Jaques, to be found on page 71 of our hymn book: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.17 O, say what is truth? 'Tis the fairest gem That the riches of worlds can produce; And priceless the value of truth will be when The proud monarch's costliest diadem Is counted but dross and refuse. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.18 Yes, say what is truth? 'Tis the brightest prize To which mortals or Gods can aspire; Go, search in the depths where it glittering lies, Or ascend in pursuit to the loftiest skies; 'Tis an aim for the noblest desire. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.18 The sceptre may fall from the despot's grasp, When with winds of stern justice he copes But the pillar of truth will endure to the last, And its firm-rooted bulwarks outstand the rude blast, And the wreck of the fell tyrant's hopes, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.18 Then say, what is truth? 'Tis the last and the first, For the limits of time it steps o'er; Though the heavens depart and the earth's fountains burst, Truth, the sum of existence, will weather the worst, Eternal, unchanged, evermore. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.18 On page 66 of our hymn book we find the following: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.18 Should you feel inclined to censure Faults you may in others view, Ask your own heart, ere you venture, If that has not failings too. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.18 Let not friendly vows be broken; Rather strive a friend to gain; Many a word in anger spoken Finds its passage home again. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.18 Do not then, in idle pleasure, Trifle with a brother's fame, Guard it as a valued treasure, Sacred as your own good name. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.18 Do not form opinions blindly; Hastiness to trouble tends. Those of whom we thought unkindly, Oft become our warmest friends. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.18 Seeing that I have gotten into the habit of quoting poetry, another poem has just come to mind, which I will repeat, as I think it will be of value to us in teaching us to have respect for the opinions of other people: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.18 LET EACH MAN LEARN TO KNOW HIMSELF. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.18 Let each man learn to know himself: To gain that knowledge, let him labor, Improve those failings in himself, Which he condemns so in his neighbor. How lenient our own faults we view, And conscience' voice adeptly smother; But oh! how harshly we review The self-same errors in another! Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.18 And if you meet an erring one Whose deeds are blamable or thoughtless, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.19 Consider, ere you cast the stone, If you yourself be pure and faultless. Oh! list to that small voice within, Whose whisperings oft make men confounded, And trumpet not another's sin, You'd blush deep if your own were sounded. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.19 And in self-judgment, if you find Your deeds to others are superior; To you has Providence been kind, As you should be to those inferior; Example sheds a genial ray Of light, which men are apt to borrow; So first, improve yourself today, And then improve your friends tomorrow. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.19 Philip De La Mere. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.19 I regret exceedingly that in political controversies men seem to lack that courtesy and that respect for their opponents that I believe all Latter-day Saints ought to have. I have never yet heard a Democrat make a political speech that I felt was fair to the Republicans. Being a Democrat, I shall not say anything about what I think of the speeches of Republicans regarding Democrats. It is a strange thing -- but they say that "Love is blind," and some people have added, "and can't smell." I have sometimes thought that both statements were true. From my own personal contact with dear and near friends, Republicans and Democrats, I have not been able to discover the exercise of what you might call charity, if you like, for the opinions of others who oppose them politically at least not as much charity as should exist among our people. I am a thorough convert myself to the idea that it is not possible for all men to see alike. You know the remark made by a man once: "It is a splendid thing that we do not all see alike, because if we did, everybody would want to marry my Sally Ann;" and the other man remarked, "Yes, thank the Lord. If everybody saw your Sally Ann as I see her, nobody on earth would have her, and she would die an old maid." (Laughter.) Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.19 I am convinced in my own feelings that Great Britain, France, and the United States have common aims, common desires, common objects, and that a league in which those three nations are combined will mean peace as far as the acts of nations can bring peace to mankind. The three thousand miles of border between the United States and Canada, maintained for over a hundred years without the slightest trouble, without any great forts, such as they have felt obliged to have between Germany and France, and other European countries, gives me the absolute assurance in my heart that Great Britain and her subjects have the same desires for the welfare of mankind, and for the liberty of mankind, that we have here in the United States. Confidence begets confidence; good will begets good will; and I believe that having fought -- for what? For our own existence, because I believe that but for the fact of our joining with the Allies in the great war, Germany would have conquered France and Great Britain, and that immediately thereafter she would have picked a quarrel with the United States, in the hope that this country, too, might be conquered. That Germany could not have conquered the United States I have no doubt. While representing you, as chairman of the Liberty loan committee of the State of Utah, I attended a banquet in San Francisco, and in the course of a little speech of ten minutes -- the limit given to me -- I announced that we were sure to sure to win the war; that there was no doubt of it in my mind, absolutely none, because I accepted the statement of an inspired prophet of the living God, who resided on this continent hundreds of years ago, who said that this is a choice land above all other lands, and that no king should rule on this land. Therefore I have no fear of Germany or any other country conquering these United States of America -- none whatever. But if Germany had conquered France and England -- which I believe she would have done but for our help -- there would have been been slain, instead of less than 100,000 of our boys, hundreds of thousands before we would have won the victory. I believe in my heart that it is our duty to stand by those nations that stood the brunt of the battle, and that saved us the loss of perhaps millions of our boys in the great struggle. I am not saying that I would not be delighted if this league of nations, or the terms of this covenant of peace, could be changed in some particulars, but they cannot be changed without submitting the treaty again to Germany. To my mind, that would be a calamity. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.20 Now, I did not intend to say this much regarding the league of nations, but rather to preach a little on the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.20 AN IMPORTANT ANNIVERSARY. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.20 Today is the ninety-sixth anniversary of that wonderful manifestation from God, the visitation of an angel from heaven to the boy Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith testified to all the world that Moroni, an ancient prophet of God who resided upon this continent, appeared to him in answer to his prayer to the living God for light and knowledge. He states that his room started to become light, until it was as light as the noonday sun, and then a personage appeared before him, conversed with him, delivered a most important message, and quoted many important passages of scripture, as you will find recorded here in a brief account of this wonderful event, given by the Prophet Joseph Smith in the Pearl of Great Price. I marked a number of passages that I thought I would read, but I will not take the time to do so. This angel delivered a message to Joseph Smith, and told him that in the Hill Cumorah there were buried golden plates containing a record of the forefathers of the American Indians. After delivering his message and quoting a lot of scripture to the boy, the messenger disappeared. He returned and repeated all that he had said before, and added a little additional scripture, then disappeared. He returned once more and repeated all that he had said upon the previous visits -- and by this time it was morning. The boy dressed himself and went to the field to work, but his father, seeing that something was the matter with him, as he had been awake all night and was feeble, told him to go home. On his way home, while trying to climb over a fence, he fell and was awakened by the voice of the messenger, and for the fourth time these messages were delivered to the boy Joseph Smith, after which he told the boy to go to his father in the field and tell him all that he had heard from the messenger. Joseph went to his father and repeated the message that had been delivered to him by an angel of God, a former prophet who lived upon this earth, and his father said: "This message is from God," and told him to follow the instructions of the angel. Joseph Smith went to the place where the plates containing the Book of Mormon record were buried, and when he was about to remove them, the angel told him the time had not yet come when the plates were to be delivered into his hands, but that he was to return to that spot once a year for four years, and then the plates were to be given to him. He did return once a year for four years, and upon each of those visits the angel of the Lord instructed this young man in the things of God, and prepared him to be the chosen instrument in the hands of the living God to restore again to the earth the plan of life and salvation, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Subsequently, John the Baptist, the man who baptized the Lord Jesus Christ, came and laid his hands upon the heads of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and ordained those men to the Aaronic Priesthood, giving them the authority to baptize. After this ordination they went down into the waters of baptism and baptized each other. Subsequently, Peter, James, and John, the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, who had ministered in the days of the Savior and after his crucifixion, came to the earth, and they laid their hands upon the heads of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and ordained the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving them all the keys, the powers, the rights and the authority to establish again the gospel plan and the Church of Jesus Christ upon the earth. "Oh," says the unbeliever, "we do not believe that any messenger ever appeared to Joseph Smith; we do not believe that John the Baptist laid his hands upon the heads of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery; we do not believe that Peter, James, and John ordained these men apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ." The unbelief of all the world cannot change those facts, if they are facts; and we proclaim to the world that by the witness of the Holy Spirit we know that they are facts, and that they shall stand forever, for they can never be overthrown. The angel Moroni told the boy Joseph Smith that the day should come when an ancient prophet should appear and bestow the authority to turn the hearts of the children to the fathers. This promise was made years before the organization of this Church, and before the Book of Mormon was ever revealed, and a number of years later that promise was fulfilled, when that authority was given to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in a wonderful vision and manifestation in the Kirtland temple, April 3, 1836 (Section 110, Doctrine and Covenants): Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.22 The vail was taken from our minds, and the eyes of our understanding were opened. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.22 We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us, and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold in color like amber. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.22 His eyes were as a flame of fire, the hair of his head was white like the pure snow, his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun, and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.22 I am the first and the last, I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain, I am your advocate with the Father. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.22 Behold, your sins are forgiven you, you are clean before me, therefore lift up your heads and rejoice. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.22 Let the hearts of your brethren rejoice, and let the hearts of all my people rejoice, who have, with their might, built this house to my name. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.22 For behold, I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here, and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.22 Yea, I will appear unto my servants, and speak unto them with mine own voice, if my people will keep my commandments, and do not pollute this holy house. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.22 Yea, the hearts of thousands and tens of thousands shall greatly rejoice in consequence of the blessings which shall be poured out, and the endowment with which my servants have been endowed in this house; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.22 And the fame of this house shall spread to foreign lands, and this is the beginning of the blessing which shall be poured out upon the heads of my people. Even so. Amen. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.22 After this vision closed, the heavens were again opened unto us, and Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.22 After this, Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, saying, that in us, and our seed, all generations after us should be blessed. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.22 After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us. Elijah the prophet who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.22 Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.22 To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.22 Therefore the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands, and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.22 WHY WE BUILD TEMPLES. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.22 Millions of dollars have been invested in the Salt Lake temple. Month after month, as a boy, I contributed $1 a month. As my wages increased I contributed $2 a month, and later $3, $4, $5 and finally gave several thousands of dollars, towards the completion of that temple. Why? Because the Lord God Almighty had given me a knowledge that the hearts of the children have been turned to their fathers; that the keys held by Elijah the prophet were in very deed delivered to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. The very granite bears witness to the faith, the knowledge and the testimony that God has given to the Latter-day Saints -- not only this temple, but in Logan, in Manti, in St. George, temples have been erected to the same effect. In Canada there is another temple, not yet completed, and one recently completed in the Hawaiian Islands, wherein ordinances for the dead can be performed. The temple still stands in Kirtland, Ohio, where these wonderful manifestations from God were given to the Latter-day Saints. By the revelations of the Spirit of God to them, they testify that these things did occur. There was also a temple at Nauvoo, Illinois, which was built under great stress -- which our people built with the rifle in one hand, so to speak, and the trowel or the instruments used in building in the other. These temples, erected by the Saints in the days of their poverty, bear witness to all the world of the inspiration of God to those men and to the truthfulness of the visions in the Kirtland temple. No men and women would spend their money by the millions of dollars for the erection of temples, and spend their time, year after year, laboring for the salvation of their dead, if they did not have the witness of the Holy Spirit that in very deed the promise has been fulfilled that was made to the boy Joseph Smith ninety-six years ago today, that Elijah should come and restore these keys. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.23 Almost simultaneously with this wonderful manifestation to the boy, this visitation of an angel of the living God, delivering a message and making promises regarding the organization of the Church and of many wonderful things, all of which have since been fulfilled, came a widespread impulse among men to acquire information concerning their dead progenitors. No person can deny, who will stop to reason upon it, that from the time of Elijah's visit, restoring the keys that he held, turning the hearts of the children to their fathers, there has come into the hearts of people all over the world a desire to know something about their ancestors: No truthful person can deny that this is the case. People will not believe, perhaps, that the turning of their hearts to the fathers, causing them to seek for information regarding their progenitors, is due to the fact that the keys had been turned in the temple at Kirtland; but we know that is the case. I have met men and have conversed with them, who have spent years and years of their lives gathering the genealogy of their forefathers, and compiling books containing that information. When I have asked them why they did it, they would say that they did not know, but that they were seized with a strong, irresistible desire to find out the names of their ancestors and to compile them. Now that they have finished the record, they Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.23 have lost all interest in it. To a Latter-day Saint a book of this size [holding up the Book of Mormon], containing the names of his ancestors, is worth many, many times, hundreds of times more than its weight in gold, because to the Latter-day Saint has come a knowledge that he can in very deed be "a savior upon Mount Zion" of his kindred who have died without a knowledge of the truth. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.23 A VISITOR'S CONVERSION. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.23 I am reminded of the wonderful testimony that comes into the of men regarding the divinity of this work in which we are engaged, by the labors that were performed by a gentleman named R. M. Bryce-Thomas, a retired colonel in the British army. Colonel Thomas came to Salt Lake City and stopped at the Templeton hotel, a small hotel in the Zion's Bank building at that time. His wife was taken sick, and as he sat there in his room and looked across the street to the old two-story adobe building that stood where the Hotel Utah now is, he saw a sign, "Mormon Publications." He read this sign "Mormon Publications," day after day, until it got on his nerves, and so he went over and bought some "Mormon Publications." When his wife recovered, he returned to his home in London, and he read these publications. He afterwards attended "Mormon" meetings and became convinced of the truth of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, as again revealed to the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith. He traveled all the way from the great city of London to Salt Lake City upon two separate and distinct occasions, for the privilege of going into the temple of the Lord, that stands on this block, and becoming a savior of his progenitors. As he was an educated man, and a man of importance, his friends thought that he had practically gone crazy, or he would not have joined the "miserable 'Mormons'." He received so many letters of inquiry, asking why he had joined the "Mormons," that he decided to write out his reasons for leaving the Church of England and joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He did so, and sent those reasons to the Liverpool office to Brother Rulon S. Wells, who was then president of the. European mission, asking him to have a few hundred copies printed so that he could distribute them among his friends. Brother Wells asked permission to utilize, in the shape of a tract, the arguments and reasons that he gave for leaving the Church of England. This request was granted. Tens of thousands of copies of "My Reasons for Leaving the Church of England and joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" have been distributed in this country and in Europe, and I commend that very scholarly and splendid pamphlet to all Latter-day Saints who have not read it. I am sure I have, at least a half dozen times; I have given away thousands of copies of this tract, and I want to bear witness here today, regarding this man -- for I have met him and conversed with him -- that he has the spirit of the gospel; that gospel; that he has in his heart a testimony of the divinity of the work in which you and I are engaged; and it is the spirit that giveth life, that giveth understanding, that testifies of the things of God. This man is converted to the gospel. He is not only converted to the gospel, but he can give his reasons, scriptural reasons, in addition to the witness of the Spirit that he has received from the Lord as to the divinity of this work. Furthermore, he lives the gospel, and that is one of the great evidences of its divinity. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.24 DEMANDS UPON THE POCKET. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.24 It has been said that the tenderest part of the human anatomy, of the male variety of the species, is the pocket; and I think there is little doubt of it, from my experience with mankind. The laws of the gospel of Jesus Christ are most exacting on the pockets of men, and our Church expects more from its members in this regard than any church upon the face of the earth. I remember reading of an incident where a man away up in northern Scandinavia, in that cold, hard country, where it is difficult to make a living, heard an elder proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ again restored to the earth -- faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the true and the living God. He received the witness in his heart to the truthfulness of this message, and he went down into the waters of baptism. He soon received the spirit of gathering, and he gathered from Scandinavia to Utah. After he had been here a little while the bishop called on him and said: "You do not pay any tithing." "Why, I never heard about tithing." And the bishop taught him the law of tithing, that one-tenth of all that he made belonged to the Church for the spread of the gospel and the building up of the work at home and abroad. This man was shocked at the outrageous "tax," of the Church, as he termed it, but he said: "The gospel is true, and I guess I ought to live all the laws." After a great struggle he finally decided to comply with this law, and he honestly paid his tithing. The bishop later came to him and said: "You do not pay any fast-day donation to take care of the poor:" and the man said, "For the love of heaven, isn't ten per cent of all you make enough to take care of the poor?" "No," the bishop said; "but we do not ask you to give a dollar. All we ask is that you fast, that you fail to partake of food for two meals once a month -- you are not asked for any money, but simply to give to us the equivalent of what you save. You can consult your doctor, and you will find that this is beneficial to your health to fast for a couple of meals once a month." Well, he said, he did not know about that, but he finally concluded he ought to do his share for the poor, so he fasted, and in fasting he partook of the Spirit of the Lord that is given to us when we fast and pray to God; and he rejoiced in paying his fast-day donation. Pretty soon the bishop came to him and said, "We need a new ward meetinghouse." "Well, let the Church build it -- the tithing ought to be enough for that." The bishop said, "No, the Church will not build it, but the Church will give one dollar for each two dollars that we give. You know we need a new meetinghouse, in which to worship the Lord." He kicked and kicked hard, to use a slang phrase, but finally concluded that they needed a new meetinghouse, and he wanted to do his share. Next the bishop came around and said, "We need a Church academy, so our children may not only be educated in the things of the world -- the sciences, arts, literature and so on -- but in the things of God;" and he finally persuaded him to donate for an academy. Then he came and said to this man: "We need a stake meetinghouse." He complained again, but finally donated for a stake house. Then the bishop came around and said: "Here, brother, we are making an extra effort to complete the Salt Lake temple, and we want a very large and splendid donation from you. You have been very prosperous; the Lord has blessed you since you came to this land." He hemmed and hawed and complained, but he finally gave the donation, because in the meantime he had learned this glorious principle of vicarious labor for the dead. Some people ridicule that principle; they say it is absurd, it is ridiculous that we, the living, can do work for the dead. People may ridicule this principle, but the very foundation of all Christianity is based upon the vicarious labor and the death of our Lord Jesus Christ for us. So this man finally contributed for the temple. The academy was soon completed, and his boy attended and in due time graduated with honor. Then the bishop called on him and said: "That boy of yours has graduated; he has made a fine record, and we would like him to go on a mission to his father's native land. It will cost you about $25 a month to send him and take care of him." To this the man replied: "Bishop, that is the straw that breaks the camel's back. I paid tithing; I paid fast-day donations; I paid for a ward house; I paid for a stake house; I paid for an academy; I paid for the completion of the temple; but if the Church wants my boy, whom I had expected to bring me in at least seventy-five dollars a month now that he has graduated, they will have to pay his expenses or he will not go on a mission." "Well," the bishop said, "that will be all right, he will not go, because the Church is not paying the expenses. All they will do for him is to bring him home free of charge when his mission is completed. They will do that, they will bring him home again. That will be the limit." "Well, then," he said, "he will never go." The bishop said, "All right. Let us dismiss the subject and talk on something else." They talked on for about an hour. The bishop went around and around, and finally he came to the native land of this man, the country from which he had come, as well as his relatives and friends. Then he said: "By the way, whom do you love more than anybody else on the earth, except your own flesh and blood, your own family?" "Why," he said, "Bishop, more than any other person that draws the breath of life I love the man who came to me, away up in the midnight-sun country of Scandinavia, and brought to me the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the man who came there with the Spirit of the living God, who touched my heart, and melted my very soul, and implanted in my being a knowledge that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the true and the living God; I love him beyond my power to tell." The bishop then said, "Wouldn't you like somebody to love that boy of yours just as you love that elder," "Bishop," he said, "You have conquered me fair and square. The boy can go. I will pay his expenses." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.26 AN ARMY OF MISSIONARIES. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.26 Love of God and love of our fellow men -- the first great command, the Savior said, the first great law is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our might, mind and strength; and the second is like unto it, to love our neighbor as ourselves. I want to bear witness to all the world that no other people upon the face of the earth can show such love of God and such love of their fellow men as do the Latter-day Saints. We have about 2,000 missionaries, on an average, out in the world preaching the gospel, without money, without price, without being sustained except from their own pockets or the pockets of their relatives -- for what? Because of their love of God, and because of their love of their fellows, to deliver the message to all the world that God has again opened the heavens; that he has spoken from on high; that he has sent his messengers; that they have laid their hands upon the servants of God in this day, and restored again to the earth the authority of the Priesthood of the living God, and the power to build up the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the earth. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.27 We have recorded here in the back of this book, the little Pearl of Great Price, the Articles of Faith of the Latter-day Saints. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.27 "We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.27 BELIEF IN A PERSONAL GOD. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.27 We believe absolutely in God our Father. I remember reading, while I was in England, a book entitled, "The Young Man and the World." In that book, written by Senator Albert J. Beveridge, there was one chapter on "The Young Man and the Pulpit." In his book, Mr. Beveridge says that any man who enters the pulpit to preach, if he is not converted in his heart of hearts to the truth of that which he preaches, commits a sacrilege every time that he stands up in his pulpit. Then he said: "A certain man, with good opportunities for getting correct answers, during an entire summer vacation asked three questions of all the ministers with whom he came in contact. The first question was: "Do you believe in God, the Father -- God a person. God a definite and tangible intelligence -- not a congeries of laws floating like a fog through the universe -- but God a person in whose image you were made? Don't argue; don't explain; but is your mind in a condition where you can answer yes or no?". Not a minister answered "Yes." I wish to say that there is not a boy, there is not a girl, in the intermediate classes of the Sunday schools of the Latter-day Saints, nor is there a man or a woman in all the Church of Jesus Christ, who would not answer "Yes" to that question. We believe that we are the children of the living God, and that he is in very deed an exalted person. Why? Because the Lord God Almighty, nearly a hundred years ago, appeared to a little boy 14 years of age, and spoke to him. This boy saw that God our Father is a glorified man, so to speak; and he pointed to his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and said to this little boy: "This is my beloved Son, hear him." In answer to a simple question from that boy, as to which of all these denominations of the world he should join, the Savior told him to join none of them, because they had all gone astray; and later he was called to be the instrument in the hands of God of restoring again the gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.28 The next question in Senator Beveridge's book was: "Yes or no, do you believe that Christ was the Son of the Living God, sent by Him to save the World? I am not asking whether you believe that he was inspired in the sense that the great moral teachers are inspired -- nobody has any difficulty about that; but do you believe that Christ was God's very Son, with a divinely appointed and definite mission, dying on the cross and raised from the dead -- yes or no?" Not a minister answered, "Yes." They went on to explain that he was a great moral teacher. Permit me to deny the fact that he was a great moral teacher, unless he was the Son of God. He himself announced that he was the Savior of the world, that he was the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh, that he was the Son of God; and therefore, if he was not the Son of God, he could not have been a great moral teacher, because the foundation of his mission was that he was God's Only Begotten Son. If he was not God's Son, he could not be a great moral teacher, because his foundation would be a falsehood. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.28 The next question was: "Do you believe that when you die you will live again as a conscious intelligence, knowing who you are and who other people are? Answer yes or no." Not one of them answered "Yes." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.28 Every man and every woman married in the temple on this block, or in any of the temples of God, are married for time and for all eternity. We believe that the marriage covenant is an eternal covenant, and there is not a Latter-day Saint living who does not expect to have his or her conscious identity beyond the grave. Thank God for the first article of our faith and our absolute knowledge, of God and of Jesus Christ. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.28 "We believe that men will be punished for their own sins; and not for Adam's transgression." I shall not comment on that. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.28 "We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.28 We find the following in a revelation from the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith, section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.28 And this is the gospel, the glad tidings which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.28 That he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.28 That through him all might be saved whom the Father has put into his power, and made by him. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.28 Who glorifies the Father, and saves all the works of his hands, except those sons of perdition, who deny the Son after the Father hath revealed him; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.29 And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony last of all, which we give of him, that he lives; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.29 For we saw him, even on the right hand of God, and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father -- Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.29 That by him and through him, and of him the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.29 FIRST PRINCIPLES AND AUTHORITY. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.29 We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the gospel are: First, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, repentance; third, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, laying on of bands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.29 We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands, by those who are in authority to preach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.29 I want to say to you that all those missionaries who have gone out to preach the gospel -- and we have had at least 80,000 of them, from the day the Church was first organized -- have had laid upon their heads, the hands of God's authorized servants, men who held his authority; and all over the wide world, in every land and in every clime, from the midnight-sun country of the north to South Africa, wherever they have gone, the Spirit of the living God has attended them. From every land and from every clime men and women have received the witness of the Holy Spirit, and have embraced the gospel; and all the wisdom of all the world, the wisdom of all the churches, in all the world, has never yet been able to convert any Latter-day Saint elder. They say we have not the truth; they say that we are deluded! How the Lord Almighty has neglected for nearly 90 years, the honest, faithful, virtuous, upright Latter-day Saints, having failed to allow any of their missionaries, or of their converts in the world, to discover the error of this gospel as taught by the Latter-day Saints! Yet these men have gone forth after having had hands laid upon their heads, giving them authority as God's ambassadors to go and proclaim the truth, and from every denomination under heaven men and women have been converted to the gospel which some people regard as a delusion. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.29 BELIEF IN PROPHETS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.29 "We believe in the same organization that existed in the primitive Church, viz; apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.29 I shall not take your time further than to refer to the Prophet Joseph Smith. We believe that he was a prophet of God, and we not only believe it but we know that he was. Why? He declared that he would be chosen, when he was a child, and he was chosen. He announced to the world that he would receive the Book of Mormon, and he did receive the Book of Mormon, which he translated from the plates, to which reference has been made. Eleven men, in addition to himself, bear witness that he had the plates. Eight of these men handled them and saw the engravings, and the plates were shown to three of these men by an angel of God who came down from heaven. "Oh, but," says one, "I don't believe it," but if eleven honest, reputable men testified that a man had committed murder, that man would hang all right or be shot. There is no one who can say that the statement of the witnesses regarding the Book of Mormon, is not true, and there are tens of thousands who can say, by the witness of the Spirit of God, that these things are true. Joseph Smith proclaimed that he would yet be a prophet, before he was one, and he was chosen. He predicted that the Latter-day Saints would be driven from city to city from county to county, from state to state, and finally driven from the confines of the United States to the Rocky Mountains, which was then Mexican territory. People laughed him to scorn for saying that he, whom they considered a miserable upstart, at the head of a deluded lot of people, would attract the attention of anybody to the extent that they would be driven out of a state, and particularly be driven beyond the confines of the United States. He also announced that the day would come when not only a city, not only a county, not only a state should be arrayed against the handful of Latter-day Saints, commonly called "Mormons," but the day should come when the whole United States would be arrayed against them. People hooted at that statement, but the day did come when we were driven from city to city, from county to county, and state to state, and the day did come when we were driven to the Rocky Mountains, where he had said we should become a great and mighty people. And that is exactly what we have become, because in proportion to our numbers we are a great and mighty people, and people are beginning to recognize it today. Finally the United States of America, on the statements of lying judges and others sent an army against us -- for doing what? For doing what we never did, but subsequently the government pardoned us for our sins that we had never committed, but they sent their army here all the same. And later, because of false statements made to Congress, the government confiscated all the property, both real and personal, belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as if the Lord desired doubly to fulfil the prediction of Joseph Smith. I picked up the paper day after day myself, when the trial was going on here in the courts, and read in bold headlines, "The United States of America vs. the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," and laid the paper down and said: "Thanks be to Uncle Sam for putting the absolute stamp of divinity upon the utterances of the Prophet Joseph Smith!" This is one of the reasons why we believe in prophets -- because their prophecies are fulfilled. It is only fair to say that this property was afterwards restored to the Church by acts of Congress. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.30 EVANGELICAL INSPIRATION. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.30 "We believe in pastors, teachers, evangelists" -- Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.30 There is no need of believing in an evangelist unless he has the evangelical inspiration of his office. I want to say to you that when I was a baby my mother took me to the patriarch, or the evangelist, Brother Perkins, who afterwards moved to St. George and located there, and that patriarch put his hands upon my head and bestowed upon me a little blessing that would perhaps be about one-third of a typewritten page. That blessing foretold my life to the present moment. The promises made to that baby have been fulfilled. I went to Tooele as a boy not twenty-four years of age, to preside over that stake of Zion. I was without experience, and I felt mightily my weakness. Soon after I arrived there with my wife and two little babies, my youngest baby was taken very sick and came nigh to death's door. I did not know one single solitary soul in Tooele City when I went out there except John Rowberry and Francis M. Lyman. Brother Lyman lived next door to me, but he was not at home. Knowing that my little baby was in a dying condition, I sent for my friend, John Rowberry, the patriarch, the evangelist in that stake of Zion, asking him to come and assist me in blessing the baby. After blessing the little one he said: "Brother Grant, looking at it naturally, your baby is going to die." I said, "I have no doubt of it, unless the Lord hears and answers our prayers." He said, "Well, the Lord is going to hear and answer them. Go and get a table and a piece of paper, and sit down by the bed; I want to give this baby its patriarchal blessing." He laid his hands upon that baby and promised her that she should live; that she should grow to womanhood; that she should marry a servant of the living God; that she should become a mother in Israel; that she should become a leader among the sisters in the Church. A year or so ago, President Joseph F. Smith handed me the list of Church authorities to present to the people, as he quite frequently did. I read the names and presented them, and when I came to the last name, as one of the General Board of the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association, I had to read that name through tears of gratitude, because I was presenting the name of my daughter, who, I believe, but for the power of God, would have died when a baby -- I was presenting her name to be one of those to preside among her sisters, over thirty or forty-odd thousand of the young women in the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.31 Why do we believe in evangelists? Because they have the inspiration of God, the inspiration of their office and they are able to foretell the lives of the men and women upon whom they place their hands. While in Tooele. I received a patriarchal blessing myself from this same man, John Rowberry, and he promised me that I should be taken from that stake of Zion and become a leader in the Church of Christ; and I stand here today a witness of the inspiration of God to that man, John Rowberry. Not only did he promise me that, but many other things, all of which have been fulfilled. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.31 THE GIFTS PROMISED, AND BESTOWED. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.31 "We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.31 healing, interpretation of tongues," etc. -- we believe in the gift of tongues. When I was a little child, in a Relief society meeting held in the home of the late William C. Staines, corner South Temple and Fifth East streets, my mother was there, "Aunt Em" Wells was there, Eliza R. Snow, Zina D. Young, and many others. After the meeting was over Sister Eliza R. Snow, by the gift of tongues, gave a blessing to each and everyone of those good sisters, and Sister Zina D. Young gave the interpretation. After blessing those sisters, she turned to the boy playing on the floor, and pronounced a blessing upon my head by the gift of tongues, and Zina D. Young gave the interpretation. I of course did not understand one word that Aunt Eliza was saying. I was astonished because she was talking to me and pointing at me. I could not understand a word, and all I got of the interpretation, as a child, was that some day I should be a big man. I thought it meant that I would grow tall. My mother made a record of that blessing. What was it? It was a prophecy, by the gift of tongues, that her boy should live to be an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ; and ofttimes she told me that if I would behave myself, that honor would come to me. I always laughed at her and said: "Every mother believes that her son will become president of the United States, or hold some great office. You ought to get that out of your head, Mother." I did not believe her until that honor came to me. Tell me that the gift of tongues is not exercised in this Church? As well tell me that I do not know that I stand here today. Subsequently my own wife, the mother of the baby to which I have referred, upon one occasion when I came home at 1 or 2 o'clock in the morning, having been working early and late trying to meet the interest on my obligations, read me a lecture about breaking the Word of Wisdom. She said to me: "You'd better drink tea or coffee, or even use tobacco, rather than sit up all night working. You are breaking the Word of Wisdom." Finally she stopped suddenly, and by the gift of tongues she made a prediction and several wonderful promises, among others that I should live to pay all my obligations. This was at a time when my friends were begging me to take the bankruptcy act. Among other things she promised that I should live to lift up my voice in many lands and in many climes, proclaiming the gospel. Since then I have lifted up my voice in the Hawaiian Islands, in Japan, in Great Britain, Belgium, Holland, the three Scandinavian countries, in Canada, in Mexico, and in almost every state in the Union of the United States, proclaiming that I know that God lives, proclaiming that I know that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the true and the living God. I have dote this in fulfilment of a promise made on my head by my wife, whose body now lies in the tomb, who made this promise years before it came to pass. I will not take up further time on that article of our faith. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.32 OTHER ARTICLES OF FAITH. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.32 "We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.32 "We believe all that God has revealed, all that he does now reveal, and we believe that he will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.33 We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion will be built upon this (the American) continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.33 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where or what they may. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.33 We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.33 Yet some people write that we are in rebellion against the United States; that we would like to set up a republic of our own; that we are a great financial combine of people who are arranging to eventually conquer our country. Our boys who gave their lives in France; our boys who went forth in far greater number than the government had requested, according to our population; our money so freely given for Liberty and Victory bonds; our declaration to all the world, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, that the men who wrote the Constitution of this country were inspired of the living God -- all of these things give the lie to all the liars who are perpetually saying that we are opposed to this country. When the Latter-day Saints were being driven from their homes, when they were coming to these Rocky mountains in fulfilment of the prediction of Joseph Smith -- they were being expatriated; they were driven from the confines of the United States, and were coming to Mexican soil. Our country was then in trouble with Mexico, and the government called on Brigham Young for 500 men to help fight Mexico. To this call President Young replied: "You shall have your men, and if we have not enough men we will furnish you women;" and within three days the men were ready. That Mormon Battalion went to California and discovered gold. Show to me, if you can, in all the history of the world another case of a people being expatriated, being driven from their own country, from their own lands which they had purchased, being driven out from a beautiful city, the last remnant of them crossing the Mississippi river in the dead of winter, on the ice, nine babies being born during the night of that terrible expulsion, with no shelter but their mother's breasts, going forth on their journey of a thousand miles in the wilderness, after having appealed to the president of their republic, who could only say: "Your cause is just, but we can do nothing for you" -- show me another people, I say, who under like circumstances would have furnished 500 men to fight their country's battles! Show me greater patriotism and loyalty to country than this! It can't be done. Allow me to announce that from the day of Joseph Smith to this identical day, the leaders of this people have had absolute respect, love and reverence for their country. Allow me to announce further that we are patriotic Americans to the core, and that we have learned it, many of us, at our mother's knees, where we said our prayers. We believe absolutely in the inspiration of God to the men who framed our Constitution. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.34 We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul, We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek after these things. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.34 JUDGED BY THEIR FRUITS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.34 All we ask of the world is to remember the articles of faith of the Latter-day Saints and to judge the Latter-day Saints by their fruits. This was the standard that the Savior gave for a righteous judgment. What are the fruits of "Mormonism?" No people in these United States of America have higher financial credit than the "Mormons." No other people in these United States of America have as low a death rate as the "Mormons." Vileness and wickedness do not decrease the death rate. No people of the same number can produce as many fine singers -- and fine singing does not go with corruption and wickedness. The Lord said in a revelation to the wife of the Prophet Joseph Smith, "For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and shall be answered with blessings upon their heads." No people have a better reputation for fulfiling the first great commandment of God -- "Multiply and replenish the earth." No race suicide in Utah; that is, in the "Mormon" sections of Utah, or in the "Mormon" communities of southern Idaho, or in Canada, or in Arizona, or Old Mexico. No people can make a finer record in failing to produce insane than the Latter-day Saints, and yet insanity generally comes with wickedness. No people can produce fewer criminals than the Latter-day Saints. The governor of the state of Arizona remarked some time ago that we were being robbed of several hundred per cent of our taxes, because none of our people were in the insane asylum, and we were entitled to quite a number. He further said that we were being robbed of two or three thousand per cent of our taxes because we had only one inmate in the penitentiary, although we were entitled to twenty-five or thirty, according to our population. I referred to this statement when I was in Arizona a short time ago, and the district judge, who was sitting in the audience, jumped up and said: "Pardon me, Mr. Grant, but that one has since been pardoned." (Laughter.) Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.34 I see I have talked much longer than I had intended. I rejoice in the witness of the Holy Spirit to me that I can stand up in all sobriety and testify to you that the angel of God, ninety-six years ago today, did appear to the boy Joseph Smith, and that the promises made to that boy have been fulfilled; that he did become a prophet of God; that he died a martyr to the truth; that his blood testified, as the blood of all martyrs has done in ages past, to the divinity of the work that he has established; and I bear to you my witness that God has given to me a knowledge that he lives; that Jesus is the Savior of the world, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I pray for light and knowledge and power and ability that you and I, every one of us who have received this testimony, may so order our lives that all men, seeing our sobriety, seeing the Uprightness of our lives, may be led to investigate the fruits of the gospel of Christ, and that they, too, may receive the witness of the Holy Spirit. This is my prayer, and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.42 It is a source of regret to all of us, I believe, to learn from the dispatches received this morning, that the President of the United States is in a very critical condition of health. I wish to say that I was profoundly impressed with all that he said from this stand, during his recent visit, and that it met with my hearty approval. I had the pleasure of meeting him at the hotel, and I was impressed with the honesty and sincerity of his motives. I believe that he desires, with all the power of his being, to accomplish that which, in his estimation, is for the good of mankind the world over. After the singing of the Doxology, by the congregation, we will ask that you all join Elder Orson F. Whitney in the benediction, and pray for the recovery of the health of our President of these United States. President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.44 It has fallen to my lot, from the time that I became one of the general authorities, to come in close business relations with many influential people, both on the Pacific and the Atlantic coasts, as well as in the cities between. When I was a small boy, about twelve years of age, Colossians Alex G. Hawes, the Western Manager of the New York Life Insurance Company, came to board at my mother's home. He subsequently returned with his bride, and his first child was born in our house. He became, without any exception, the dearest and best friend that I had in all the world, aside from my own people, and my association with him, I believe, was as intimate as it was possible to have with any man. He treated me almost like a father; and in the panic of 1893, hearing that I might fail in business, he wrote and told me he had arranged to mortgage his home, to get money to assist me. He had tried at every commercial bank in the city where he lived to borrow money on first class collateral security, to send me; none of them were making loans. "But," he said, "the savings banks are loaning; they loan only on real estate, and I have no real estate except the home in which I live. I have arranged for a loan on my home, and if it will save your financial life, do not write, but telegraph immediately upon receipt of this letter, and I will transfer the money to you by wire, as delays are dangerous." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.44 I could not hold back the tears of gratitude that filled my eyes, to think that a man of the world would make such an offer as this to me in my time of distress. He subsequently secured for me the agency for Utah of the great company with which he was connected, and for one year I was their representative in connection with my associates in this city. At that time a gentleman by the name of Darwin P. Kingsley was the superintendent of agencies, and subsequently became the president of that company. The day before yesterday I received a very beautifully bound volume of some four hundred pages, containing speeches made by himself mainly upon this great question of peace, and questions connected with the war. I have read with intense interest something over one hundred and fifty pages of these speeches, since the book arrived, and they strike a very responsive chord in my understanding of the situation. I remarked here this morning that, like the congressman, I was going to ask permission to reprint my speech of two weeks ago. I am going to do the same here again this afternoon, and shall have printed in tomorrow night's News one of President Darwin P. Kingsley's speeches on the League of Nations, containing also a splendid tribute to President Wilson. We will now be addressed by President Charles W. Penrose. President Heber J. Grant I have been delighted with the blessings of the Lord that have been poured out upon us during this conference. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.123 I had no intention to speak but have decided to make a few remarks to this very wonderful congregation of Latter-day Saints, occupying the short time which remains. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.123 OVERWHELMING RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PRESIDENCY. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.123 As I stated, I rejoice in the rich outpourings of the Spirit of the Lord. When I first came to the Presidency the thought of the responsibility that rested upon me was overwhelming and for several weeks it was impossible for me to obtain my needed rest. It became absolutely necessary for me to go to the coast to get the needed amount of sleep; because men cannot live very long who do not get rest at night. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.123 A WONDERFUL MANIFESTATION AND TESTIMONY. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.123 When I was chosen one of the apostles -- as I stated this morning in a little meeting of the Religion Classes -- from October until February, I was very unhappy, notwithstanding the fact that my call had come by direct revelation; and the reason was because of my having had such a wonderful reverence and respect, almost adoration for the men who held the apostleship. If there was one thing that my dear departed mother impressed upon my very soul it was reverence and respect for the Priesthood of the living God, and for the men who stood at the head of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When the call came to me to be an apostle, the spirit of the adversary pursued me day and night, from October until February, telling me that I was unfit to occupy that exalted office. Every time that I bore witness of my knowledge that Jesus was the Christ, the words would fly back in my face: "You lie; you have not seen him." I would wake up in the night feeling that I should resign, that I was unworthy. A relative of mine said to me one day: "Do you know that Brother - -- - declared that no man was man was fit to be an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ who had not seen the Lamb of God?" He had first asked me the question, "Have you ever seen the Lamb of God," I said, "No." Then he referred to this man's declaration. I said: "Yes, I know that." "Well then, how is it that you stand as an apostle?" I answered: "Which would you rather believe -- the Lord Almighty or Elder - -- -?" He said: "The Lord." I said: "So would I; and he sent a revelation calling me, and I will take his word for it that I am fit to occupy the position." But, just the same, I did not confess that, day and night, there was a feeling upon me, calling upon me to resign. I took a trip, in January, 1883, with Brigham Young, Jr., to San Luis Valley, Colorado, to San Juan, to the Arizona stakes, to Mexico, where we visited the Yaqui Indians. In Arizona we visited the Navajos and also the Moquis. Speaking of the Navajos, I regret very much that I did not have a shorthand reporter with me when we held a meeting with Manulita, the war chief of the Navajo Indians. I could not understand a word he said, but I knew that he spoke with a fire and a force and fervor that I had seldom heard in all my life, and the interpreter, Brother Ernest Titjen, said that it was the most wonderful speech he had ever heard. The Indian chief was speaking about the wrongs of the Indians and the diseases that had come among the Indians from the whites; and he spoke of the failure of the whites, except only the "Mormons" to treat the Indians rightly. He announced that the women of the Indian nation were safe in the hands of the "Mormons." There was trouble, at that time, in that section of the Navajo Indian Reservation, but he said: "You are absolutely safe to travel among the Navajos, because I will send word ahead that you are 'Mormons,' and they know that 'Mormons' are the friends of the red men." While in the Navajo Indian Reservation, traveling in a company of perhaps half a dozen wagons and eight or ten horsemen, we would alternate riding in the wagons and on horseback. I was riding at the rear of the company with the late President Lot Smith of the Little Colorado stake, and as we were traveling in a southeasterly direction, suddenly the road turned and went northeast. But continuing from where the road changed was a well-beaten path, I said: "Wait a minute, Lot, where does that trail lead?" He said, "O it reaches down there three or four miles and swings back into the road. We will make a regular mule-shoe with the road, and then join the trail. There is a deep gully that a team cannot cross, therefore we have to go around." I said: "Can a horseman cross it?" He said, "Yes." "Well," I said, "Lot, I want to be alone. Go ahead, follow the crowd. I will go over here all alone and meet you when the trail joins the road." First I asked him, "Is there any danger from the Navajos?" He said, "None whatever." I undoubtedly asked this question because only a few days before I had visited the spot where George A. Smith, Jr., -- I believe the only son of that beloved and saintly woman, Bathsheba W. Smith, had been killed by the Navajo Indians, and I was naturally a little nervous, going off alone in that section of the country. The reason that I wanted to be alone was that I was oppressed, as I had never been before, even from October until that moment, with that awful feeling of dread and doubt and with the suggestion hammering away at my brain that I ought to resign as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, that I had never done anything that entitled me to that distinction, that I had never performed any special labor, that I was not posted on the gospel, as an apostle ought to be; that my mind had been given to the ordinary affairs of life, and that I should step aside and let some other man be called who, I believed, was better qualified for the position than myself. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.125 With this awful depression upon me, I desired to be alone, and I rode across there, tortured, so to speak, by the devil. After riding about a mile, I suddenly stopped the mule on which I was riding, and I communed with High Heaven. It was revealed to me there, sitting alone in the Navajo Indian Reservation, that I had done nothing to entitle me to the great honor of being an apostle, except that I had kept my life pure and sweet. It was revealed to me there that a council was held in heaven exactly the same as we hold councils here. Matters were discussed, and there was presented the question of filling the two vacancies existing in the quorum of the Twelve Apostles; that the conference had adjourned, and those two vacancies remained and ought to be filled. The question was: "Whom shall we call, in sending a revelation to fill those vacancies?" My father, Jedediah M. Grant, who died when I was a baby, only nine days old, asked God, our heavenly Father, that his son, Heber J. Grant, be called as an apostle, and Joseph Smith, the Prophet of this last dispensation, the man who, as a child, communed with God, our Father -- who had communed with Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, and was told by the Savior of the world to join none of the churches then extant, as they had all gone astray, and that he should be the instrument in the hands of God to restore the gospel again to the earth -- that great Latter-day Prophet joined in the request made by my father, and the revelation was sent calling me to be an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.125 JOY IN PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.125 No man, I believe ever had less happiness or less joy than I had in proclaiming the gospel from October, 1882, when I was called to be an apostle, until February, 1883, when the Lord Almighty gave to me this manifestation. But I believe that no man lives who has ever had sweeter joy, who has ever had greater happiness than I have had in testifying to the divinity of this work, in Japan, in the Hawaiian Islands, from Canada to Mexico, in nearly every State of the Union, in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Belgium, Holland, Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, -- testifying that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith is his prophet. There is no joy, there is no happiness in all the world, that can compare with that which comes into the heart of a Latter-day Saint when, under the inspiration of the living God, he is able to bear witness: "I know that God lives, I know that Jesus is the Christ, I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of the true and the living God, and that this work called 'Mormonism' is in very deed the plan of life and salvation;" and I bear that witness before you here today, for I have the knowledge from God, and I lie not. God bless you all. Amen. President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.201 Elder Joseph Fielding Smith informs me that I made a mistake, he thinks, in announcing that his father's favorite hymn was, "Uphold the Right." He believes his father's favorite hymn was, "I know that my Redeemer lives." As I read the other favorite hymn, I will read this one. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.201 I know that my Redeemer lives; What comfort this sweet sentence gives! He lives, He lives, who once was dead, He lives, my ever-living head. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.201 He lives to bless me with his love, He lives to plead for me above, He lives, my hungry soul to feed, He lives to bless in time of need. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.201 He lives to grant me rich supply, He lives to guide me with His eye, He lives to comfort me when faint, He lives to hear my soul's complaint. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.201 He lives to silence all my fears, He lives to wipe away my tears, He lives to calm my troubled heart, He lives, all blessings to impart, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.201 He lives, my kind, wise, heavenly friend, He lives and loves me to the end, He lives, and while he lives I'll sing, He lives, my Prophet, Priest and King. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.201 He lives, and grants me daily breath, He lives, and I shall conquer death, He lives, my mansion to prepare, He lives to bring me safely there. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.201 He lives, all glory to His name! He lives, my Savior, still the same; O, the sweet joy this sentence gives, "I know that my Redeemer lives!" Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.201 You will note that I have changed one word in the second line of the last verse. I remember that whenever we sang this hymn in the Temple, President Smith insisted on reading that line as I have given it, "He lives, my Savior, still the same." I believe that I am safe in saying that no man who has ever stood at the head of the Church, within the recollection of us who were born in this valley, ever thrilled the hearts of the people in testifying that his Redeemer lived, as did our late beloved President Joseph F. Smith. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.202 The choir sang: "Hear Him," from the Oratorio, "The Restoration," by B. Cecil Gates, solo by Emma Lucy Gates. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.202 That is very beautiful, indeed, and it seems very appropriate, in this magnificent structure, erected under the direction of President Brigham Young, that his grandson and his granddaughter should be connected with this beautiful singing. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1919, p.202 I sometimes feel that we should have at least four days, instead of three, for conference, as there are so many from whom we would like to hear, but time will not permit. We will now hear briefly from the members of the First Council of Seventy. PRESIDENT HEBER J. GRANT We would have been very much pleased, indeed, to have heard from one or two more, but time will not permit. I wish to say that each and all of the general authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, without any reservations whatever, have my unbounded love and confidence. They have sustained me with their faith and their prayers, and have fulfilled every request that I have made of them. I wish to say that there is not a stake president in all the Church who does not have my love and confidence. The Latter-day Saints throughout the Church have sustained me beyond anything that I could have expected or believed possible. I pray God to sanctify all that has been said and done in this conference to the good of the Latter-day Saints. I pray for the welfare of mankind, at home and abroad. I bear to you my testimony that God has spoken again from the heavens, that we have the gospel of life and salvation; and I pray God to help us to live it, all of which I ask, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.2 It is certainly an inspiring sight to see so many of the Latter-day Saints gathered here at the opening of our conference. Considering the weather I had expected that there would be no need this morning of having an overflow meeting in the Assembly Hall, but I was mistaken. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.2 I rejoice exceedingly in the faith that is in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints. I rejoice in the loyalty of the people to the Church of Jesus Christ, wherever they are located, from Canada on the north, to Mexico in the south, and in all the various missions throughout the world. I am convinced, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that there are no other people upon the face of the earth who are as devoted to their religion, or who are ready and willing to and who do in very deed make as many sacrifices for their church, as an absolute practical demonstration of their faith, as do the Latter-day Saints. THE SAINTS ABSOLUTELY SINCERE. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.2 When we realize that thousands of Latter-day Saints who are absolutely honest in the payment of their tithes, who look upon the obligation to pay one-tenth of all they make as sacredly as they would look upon the obligation to divide with a partner, if that partner had a one-tenth interest in their business; when we think of the donations that are made for the support of the poor, for the erection of meetinghouses in the various wards, for the erection of stake tabernacles, for the building of academies, the construction of temples, and last, greatest of all, when we think of the wonderful sacrifice that is made by the men and women, giving two, three and five years of their time for missionary work, and some of them ten and fifteen years, at their own expense or the expense of their families, not only giving their time but paying their own way--I am sure that any person who stops to reflect upon these sacrifices must acknowledge that there can be no greater evidence of absolute sincerity and devotion given by any people to their faith and to the cause of God, as they understand it, than is given by the Latter-day Saints. DISPOSITION OF TITHING. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.3 I will read for your information some of the things that have been assisted by your tithing during the past year. The Saints themselves have contributed $500,000, because it has been the custom for the Church to pay one-third only in the building of meetinghouses. During the latter part of the year, however, the Church has been doing one-half in the constructing of meetinghouses, and I would like to call attention to the fact that there are no applications now made for assistance from the Trustee-in-Trust, but what the different wards and stakes ask for one-half of the money needed to erect their meetinghouses and their schoolhouses, and there are applications on file now with the Trustee-in-Trust for considerably above one million dollars. It is just as well for you to know that it is a financial impossibility for us to comply with all of those applications. Buildings cost today twice as much as they did a few years ago, so if a building that would cost $30,000 three or four years ago were erected now it would cost $60,000. In the past the Church has given ten thousand; today it is asked for thirty thousand, which is an increase of two hundred per cent. We can not possibly comply with all the requests, much as we would like to. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.3 There has been appropriated for maintenance of meetinghouses in the various wards during last year $254,108.59; for stake tabernacles, $35,811.82; appropriations to the various stakes, $167,410.96; for wards throughout the Church, $444,763.60; for hospitals, $70,121.00; for temple maintenance and construction, $214,476.51; for the various missions, $420,359.88; in addition to money contributed in these missions. Expended for charity, $354,283.26. For education, the Church gave $722,353.83, and the applications now for our schools amount to over one million for the coming year. We can not reach all that is required, but we will do as much as we possibly can. The total amount that has been expended in the various stakes, wards and missions of the Church funds, for the year 1919 is $2,683,689.45. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.3 I am reminded of the fact that in two more days we will be celebrating the 90th anniversary of the birth of the Church of Jesus Christ upon the earth in this last dispensation. Before the Church was organized there were a few people who believed in the vision that the prophet Joseph Smith had had as a boy, fourteen years of age. They also believed that he had been visited by heavenly messengers, that he had had years of instruction, and they believed beyond the shadow of a doubt, that he had in his possession the golden plates from which he was translating the Book of Mormon. They believed in the many revelations that God gave to him and which he wrote out and delivered to the few with whom he was associated prior to the organization of the Church. One of those revelations was to the prophet's father--it is brief and I will read it--given a little more than a year before the organization of the Church. REVELATION TO THE PROPHET'S FATHER. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.4 Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men; Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day; Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God, ye are called to the work, For behold the field is white already to harvest, and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perish not, but bringeth salvation to his soul; And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work. Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence. Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you. (D&C, Section 4.) Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.4 Truly a great and marvelous work has come forth and been proclaimed in every land and in every clime all over the wide world. The gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored--by a personal visitation of the apostles Peter, James and John, laying their hands upon the heads of Oliver Cowdery and the Prophet Joseph Smith and ordaining them to the apostleship; by a personal visitation of John the Baptist, who baptized the Savior, laying his hands upon Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith and ordaining them to the Aaronic, or the lesser priesthood--the gospel is again restored to the earth, with the power and authority that existed in the days of the Savior. Millions of dollars in money have been expended for erecting and maintaining temples wherein ordinances are performed for the salvation of those who have died without a knowledge of the gospel. All these things bear witness of the inspiration of God to that man Joseph Smith, when he delivered this statement in a revelation to his father, that a great and a marvelous work was about to come forth among the children of men. TRIBUTE TO LATTER-DAY SAINTS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.4 The readiness, the willingness, the spirit of sacrifice among the Latter-day Saints are an inspiration to those not of our faith. I had intended to read here this morning some of the very splendid things that were said in the United States Senate regarding the Latter-day Saints by the senators from Nevada, from Colorado and from Arizona. I did not intend to read anything said by our own senator from Utah, but I rejoice when men not of our faith can bear the testimony that these men did, respecting the loyalty of our people. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.4 [President Grant here read selections from the speeches of the senators referred to. The tributes, in full, however, including the speech of Senator Smoot, are here given]: BY SENATOR SMOOT, OF UTAH, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.4 Mr. Smoot. Mr. President, I am not going to occupy more than about 15 minutes of the time of the Senate. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.4 For over 16 years I have paid no attention whatever to any of the false and malicious newspaper reports and statements made against the so-called "Mormon" Church. The only excuse that I have to offer for doing so at this time is that I have received a request from members of a number of the principal clubs of the State of Utah to call the attention of the Senate and of the country to certain false statements published in different newspapers throughout the United States. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.4 First, I desire to call attention to an article that appeared in the New York World of October 22, under the date line of London, October 21. This same article, I will state, was published in many other newspapers throughout the United States. It is as follows: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.4 "Girls, Mormon Converts, Want to Leave England.--Fully 1,200 of them, Says Authoress, Have Asked Passports so They Can go to Utah. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.4 "London, October 21. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.5 "Winifred Graham, the well-known English authoress, who has done much in this country to expose Mormonism, told the World correspondent today that fully 1,200 English girls have recently been persuaded by Mormon propagandists here to go to Utah. 'During the war,' she said, 'the Mormons made great headway in the United Kingdom. I hope the American authorities will prevent the departure of these girls for America. From reliable sources I learn that there are 1,200 of them anxious to sail immediately. Only last week one was bound over in a London police court for falsification of a passport in her efforts to go to Utah.' Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.5 "Winifred Graham is the pen name of Mrs. Theodore Cory. She sails on the Baltic October 29 as the British delegate to the World Citizenship Congress in Pittsburgh, which begins November 9. She will speak on Mormonism. Her anti-Mormon work here, she says, has caused her to be shadowed and threatened by the Mormons. United States consuls are on the lookout for any Mormon converts. Owing to the strict passport regulations there is little chance that any of these English girls will be able to sail. Some of the girls to whom passport vises were refused recently were suspected of being Mormon converts." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.5 Mr. President, I thought the time had arrived when the newspapers of the country would cease publishing such rot. How easy it is for any newspaper to send a representative to the Bureau of Immigration and find out just the number of immigrants entering the United States going to the State of Utah for any year in the past, and also to find out the professions and occupation of the immigrants, and the different classification of each as provided by the department. If the newspaper doing so wants to publish the truth it would never publish such statements as I have just read. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.5 I went to the department, upon my attention being called to the newspaper article and asked for a statement of the number of immigrants for Utah for the years of 1917, 1918, and 1919. The statistics taken from the annual report of the Commissioner General of Immigration show some interesting facts. I have taken the State of Utah and compared it with the State of Colorado and the following is the result: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.5 Immigration in Utah: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.5 Professional--1917, 6; 1918, 8 Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.5 Skilled laborers--1917, 96; 1918, 49 Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.5 Miscellaneous occupations--1917, 501; 1918, 202 Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.5 No occupation (including women and children)--1917, 362; 1918, 254 Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.5 Grand total of all immigrants--1917, 956; 1918, 513; 1919, 588 Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.5 Total immigrants from England--1917, 118; 1918, 48 Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.5 Immigration in Colorado: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.5 Professional--1917, 33; 1918, 19 Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.5 Skilled laborers--1917, 98; 1918, 43 Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.5 Miscellaneous occupations--1917, 448; 1918, 185 Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.5 No occupation (including women and children)--1917, 398; 1918, 326 Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.5 Grand total of all immigrants--1917, 977; 1918, 573; 1919, 738 Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.5 Total of immigrants from England--1917, 136; 1918, 56 Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.5 The above table shows that the total number of immigrants with no occupation--including women and children--going to Utah was smaller on a percentage basis than the same class going to Colorado. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.5 It also shows the percentage of English immigrants of the total which went to both states, the percentage being about the same. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.5 Mr. President, the Commercial Club of Salt Lake City, the leading business club of the State of Utah, upon seeing this scurrilous article against the "Mormon" Church published throughout the United States, prepared and issued a statement, dated November 4, 1919, entitled "Refutation issued by the board of governors of the Commercial Club of Salt Lake City," which I desire to read, as follows: A STATEMENT OF REFUTATION. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.5 Issued by the Board of Governors of the Commercial Club, Salt Lake City. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.6 The attention of the Salt Lake Commercial Club has been called to the appearance in newspapers in the United States, of a "syndicate article" bearing the date line of London, Eng., in some instances as "October 19," from the pen of one purporting to be George Selden, writer of the English metropolis, which is vicious, inconsistent and maliciously false in its accusations against the "Mormon" Church. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.6 This article, sent broadcast through the United States, contains quotations credited to one Winifred Graham, to whom the article refers as a novelist, some of which are as follows: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.6 "What is Mormonism doing in England? It works secretly as in America and snaps its fingers at law in both countries. This very minute the Church elders have twelve hundred girls ready for shipment to Utah. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.6 "The Mormon Church pays the fares and offers excellent wages, but once it gets women over it uses them as it pleases. The war gave the Mormon elders their greatest opportunity for proselyting. In the absence of the men folk and because of the deaths of thousands of soldiers, the women of the poorer classes fell easy victims. Secret meetings were held in homes that attracted the neighborhood without attracting suspicion. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.6 "Every girl is baptized. They then become silent about polygamy, but they become either polygamous wives or slaves of the Mormon Church. Occasionally we hear of girls who are slaving on Mormon farms." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.6 The Commercial Club of Salt Lake City, Utah, through its duly constituted Board of Governors, hereby desires that it be known that it has taken cognizance of and read these statements, which it brands as being vicious in intent and so obviously inconsistent as to be their own refutation, and they are scandalous, pernicious and false. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.6 The Commercial Club, in line with its activities from the time of its organization, is critically persistent and thorough in its survey of conditions relating to the interests of our commonwealth and is fully qualified by its knowledge of facts to thus brand these sensational stories as unmitigated falsehoods. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.6 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly called the "Mormon" Church, is working in harmony with other institutions in Utah, ecclesiastical and civic, for the maintenance of the highest attainable standard of morality, and has made an enviable record in their accomplishment, as also in patriotic and devoted service to the country's needs. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.6 This Commercial Club disavows and condemns with disapprobation equally strong the circulated falsehoods of "Mormon" interference in State or National politics. The "Mormon" people exercise their political rights and preferences in common with their fellow-citizens who are not of their faith; and this Club unhesitatingly affirms that the stories alleging "Mormon" control of political parties in this State or elsewhere are but myths and fables, without even the merit of apparent consistency to excuse their periodical retelling. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.6 (Sgd.) Lester D. Freed, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.6 President Commercial Club, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.6 H. N. Byrne C. B. Hawley A. N. McKay Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.6 H. M. Chamberlain J. C. Howard C. W. Nibley Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.6 Joseph Decker S. R. Inch F. C. Schramm Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.6 Lester D. Freed Jas. Ingebretsen M. H. Sowles Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.6 R. C. Gemmell D. Carlos Kimball Charles Tyng Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.6 (Board of Governors) Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.6 Mr. President, I protest against the libelous press matter that has been published throughout the country, that the blatantly heralded announcement of the falsehoods an English writer of fiction has come here to tell. The Church has nothing to conceal. I want the people of the United States to know that as far as polygamy is concerned it is dead, and scandal mongers in the future must find some other hobby to ride. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.7 All I ask is that the "Mormon" Church and its adherents be judged by the fruit of the tree. No one can examine the record made by that people during the World War without coming to the conclusion that no more loyal people live on this earth. No call was made upon them without an immediate response, and not only for the amount asked for but for nearly double the amount in most every case. They not only furnished their quota of soldiers but in some of the calls 100 and 200 per cent more. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.7 Mr. President, I would not have taken the time of the Senate to make this short statement if it had not been requested of me. I will say: The signers of the statement of refutation are at least three-fourths non-members of the "Mormon" Church, and they are the leading business men of the State. It seems to me that the people of this country ought now to understand the true situation and if the "New York World" or the "New York American" desires to learn the truth about the "Mormon" people, I will gladly pay all expenses of a representative of either paper, if it desired to make an honest investigation. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.7 I am a Senator of the United States. I represent all the people of Utah and not any Church as such. I have never felt called upon to defend the "Mormon" Church against false attacks, because I felt that sooner or later the truth would be understood by all the people. I am not making this statement as a representative of the "Mormon" Church but as a United States Senator. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.7 The "Mormon" Church has been foully misrepresented from many sources in the past. I confidently look forward to the day when the "Mormon" people will be known as they are and not as represented. BY SENATOR ASHURST, OF ARIZONA. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.7 Mr. Ashurst. Mr. President, I am very glad that the Senator from Utah [Mr. Smoot] has spoken as he has. It was time for such a speech. A matchless maker of epigrams said that when "once a lie or a counterfeit statement gets into circulation it is well-nigh impossible to overtake it," and therefore I believe the Senator has done a service to his country in exposing this infamous slander, which has been published broadcast against so many worthy people. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.7 When I read the article, I felt offended because there are in Arizona a large number of "Mormon" people, or people who belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and I would be false to that principle of fair play for which I have always pretended that I stood if I failed at this time to say a word on the subject. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.7 It may be true that I do not understand fully the theology of the "Mormon" Church; but, Mr. President, the first church I ever attended was a "Mormon" Church. When there was no other church within 100 miles of the lonely frontier cabin where my parents lived, we found solace and comfort in attending the "Mormon" Church situated 9 miles distant. Our nearest--in fact, our only--neighbors for years were the "Mormon" people. Better neighbors no pioneer ever had. I am proud of the "Mormon" people. I am proud of the friendship that I have for them, and that I believe they have for me; and while, as I said before, I do not completely understand their theology, I am able to say here, in the Senate of the United States, that their church has elevated many intellects and purified many hearts in my State. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.7 As pioneers in a new country, the "Mormons" are unrivaled. They are sober, industrious, frugal, honest. They are pre-eminently state builders; and today, if called upon to name a people who could most expeditiously transform a desert of swirling and heated sands into splendid fields and farms, I would unhesitatingly choose the "Mormon" people. In many places where once cacti lifted their thorny arms into the brazen and heated air, "Mormon" industry has reared temples, hospitals, homes, factories, and schools. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.8 Moreover, I never saw a "Mormon" I. W. W.; but I have, at some county courthouses in my State, heard disgruntled, lazy, and indolent men who did not belong to the "Mormon" Church, sit on the steps of the courthouse and curse the Government and curse the President, while "Mormon" citizens were going into the same county courthouse to pay taxes without complaint. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.8 Mr. Owen. Mr. President-- Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.8 Mr. Ashurst. I yield for a question. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.8 Mr. Owen. I should like to ask the Senator if it is not a tenet of the "Mormons" to teach and preach industry and thrift? Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.8 Mr. Ashurst. I am able to state that industry and thrift are amongst the foundation stones of the "Mormon" Church. Absolute and unquestioned obedience to law is a tenet of the "Mormon" Church. Respect for authority is one of the tenets of the "Mormon" Church. We need more of such people in these perilous times of the Republic; and again I would be false to every principle of justice and to every sentiment of gratitude if I failed to state at this time that when savage Indians galloped along by our pioneer homes, burning and murdering, plundering and scalping as they went, it was to the "Mormon" people that my defenseless but heroic parents went for refuge and defense. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.8 So, Mr. President, I say the Senator from Utah has done well in "scotching" this falsehood, which has been given such wide circulation. I believe the American people are coming at last fully to understand the "Mormon" people. Their temples, schools, fields, homes, industry, frugality, their morality and their patriotism testify for them in more eloquent terms than the Senator or I could speak. Then, again, observe their Representatives in the House and in the Senate. Look at the high class of public servants they send here. I ask that the "Mormons" be judged as a people, judged as a religion, as the Senator says, by their fruits; and if they be judged by their fruits the verdict of the world will be in their favor. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.8 It seems to me that the time should be welcomed in America when men shall not further be assailed because of their religion or lack of religion. Men ought not further to be assailed or discriminated against because of their particular view of how to follow the Master. America was built up, and one of the reasons why the migrations came from the old countries to these shores was that our ancestors desired to find a place to build free and strong states where such ignoble sentiments as bigotry could not survive. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.8 Mr. President, I do not forget that this splendid domain of Arizona, one of the imperial states of this Union, came into being largely through the brave exploits of the "Mormon" people. When General Stephen Kearny was beleaguered near San Diego during the Mexican War, and it seemed as if the Mexicans were going to capture and annihilate him and his entire command, it was the "Mormon" battalion that marched all the long way from Iowa into Tucson, Arizona, and occupied in Mexican territory a domain we now know as the Gadsden Purchase, which was purchased by our Government in 1854. When the commanding officer, Lieut. Colossians St. George Cooke, entered the Mexican town of Tucson and raised the American flag, he issued a pronunciamento, and I wish the German outragers had read that document before they invaded Belgium. The lieutenant colonel entering the city of Tucson, nearly 1,500 miles from civilization, said in his manifesto to the people of Mexico: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.8 "We do not war upon civilians. We make war against men in uniform only. The property of individuals will be held sacred. All civil rights will be upheld. Those who obey the law and conform to order will be protected." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.8 The command remained there some days to refresh itself and then marched on to the relief of General Kearny, who, as I said, was beleaguered and surrounded near San Diego. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.9 So, Mr. President, the "Mormon" people, as pioneers, as state-builders, as statesmen, as people of industry and patriotism, in every department of life, compare well and favorably with the general mass of their fellow citizens. This much I feel I should have said; more than that I need not say. BY SENATOR THOMAS, OF COLORADO. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.9 Mr. Thomas. Mr. President, I am not and never have been a communicant of any church, and if I live to be as old again as I am now, I would not change. In my youth I was greatly impressed with a remark of Gibbon, that "all religions are to the vulgar equally true, to the philosopher equally false, and to the statesman equally useful," and the experience of mature years has served to deepen the impression. I have never been able to reconcile the tenets and doctrines of all religious faiths with that spirit of persecution and fanaticism they develop toward each other, and which has so many times culminated in destructive and decimating wars. I believe in religious toleration, without any conditions whatever, except those required by the tenets of morality and of law and order. Hence I have remained aloof from identification with any faith. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.9 Up to this time I have never found occasion to publicly defend the "Mormon" people, because it has not seemed necessary; but I can not allow the occasion to pass without paying tribute to their morality and usefulness, not only to their own communities, but as exemplars to the whole country in perilous times like these. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.9 Mr. President, when respect for the law is the exception and not the rule, when the different forces of society are so antagonistic that the political structure is menaced with danger, it is refreshing to note that the adherents of this faith have at all times been the advocates and the exponents of peace, of justice, of law, and of order; and however just the criticisms aimed against former institutions, the fact remains, as established by more than half a century of practice, that the communities professing the "Mormon" faith are among the best and highest exemplars of American citizenship. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.9 During the war there was much disloyalty in America. Scarcely any commonwealth was entirely free from it. During the war resistance to the draft occasionally punctuated our dispatches, and the expression of toleration or friendliness to the enemy was one of the commonest of occurrences. But during that critical period upon no occasion which I can remember did the people of Utah, "Mormon" and Gentile, fail to whole-heartedly, loyally, and enthusiastically respond to every call made by the Government for soldiers or for money. Not in a single instance did this people falter. Their splendid youth were given freely to our armies, and the blood of their boys sanctifies the soil of every battle field in France. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.9 Every loan drive was responded to, not by the quota, but far beyond it, and in everything that contributed to good citizenship, to patriotism, to loyalty, and to love of country, these people were ever conspicuous; and it is due to them, as one of the representatives from a neighboring state wherein many of these people are located, and are among our best citizens, that I should say so. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.9 We have not many "Mormons" in the State of Colorado. Some years ago a settlement was established in what is known as the San Luis Valley. It has grown, it has flourished, it is prosperous. Its people are law-abiding, they are industrious, they are hard working, they pay their debts, they obey and support the authorities. Bolshevism, anarchism, and socialism are foreign to the atmosphere of that community. They can not take root in such a soil. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.9 These people are today, therefore, one of the pillars of the social, economic, and political systems of the country, whose removal might imperil the entire structure of our social, economic, and political life. Their faith I am not concerned with; their character and their achievements are a credit to them and an incalculable benefit to the country. BY SENATOR HENDERSON, OF NEVADA. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.10 Mr. Henderson. Mr. President, I wish to express my approval of and join in all that has been said by the senior Senator from Colorado [Mr. Thomas] relative to those of the "Mormon" faith. We have in eastern Nevada a number of "Mormon" settlements. I have visited a number of them. I wish to say that there are no better citizens in the country than those of that faith. In one community that I know of, established over 40 years ago, there has never been a jail. I believe that is true of the others. These people never have any use for jails. Where they go, law and order prevail, and thrift and economy are taught and practiced. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.10 Mr. President, the record of the "Mormon" people, throughout the war has been without a blemish. Their sons were amongst the first to enlist and their quota was quickly filled. They oversubscribed their proportion of Liberty bonds. Their patriotism has been of the highest order and without question. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.10 There is much that can be said in their favor, Mr. President, but I shall not detain the Senate longer, as there are some Senators waiting to address the Senate on the proposed reservation to article 10. I am glad, however, of the opportunity to express my disapproval of the attack directed against the "Mormons" referred to by the Senator from Utah [Mr. Smoot]. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.10 I thank the Lord that these Senators can truthfully pay such tributes to our people. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.10 I wish to lift my voice and to warn every member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints against the destruction of the property of any man, of any corporation or of any city in these United States of America. LATTER-DAY SAINTS WORK AGAINST DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.10 Property is the fruit of labor; property is desirable, it is a positive good in the world; that some should be rich shows that others may become rich and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise. Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another, but let him work diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built."--Abraham Lincoln. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.10 There is an evil rampant, at the present time, among some who are teaching that it is justifiable to destroy property, and even to destroy life in trying to accomplish their purposes, and I desire to lift my voice, with all the ability and with all the power with which God has endowed me, against anything of this kind. I have been criticized and letters have been written to me by professed Latter-day Saints, finding fault with my remarks at the last conference, about upholding the law; and the only answer that I desire to give to these criticisms, as I have not taken the time to answer the letters, is to read again the identical words that I delivered when I stood here before you six months ago. They were not premeditated or thought out and I have concluded that I could not do any better than to read them, word for word, and say they are my sentiments today: MUST RESPECT RIGHTS OF OTHERS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.11 As Latter-day Saints we have what is known as The Articles of Faith, and one of them reads: "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law," and no Latter-day Saint can in very deed be a Latter-day Saints if he does not honor and sustain and uphold the law. Nearly all over the world, at the present time there is a spirit of lawlessness, a spirit of ridicule, and a lack of respect for the men who hold positions. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.11 I want to say that I am perfectly willing that men shall join labor unions, that they shall band together for the purpose of protecting their rights, provided they do not interfere with the rights of other people. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness belong to all people in the United States, according to the laws of our country, and should, upon all the face of the earth; and I say that, to my mind, a provision in a labor union is all wrong that favors boycotting and the laying down of tools or the quitting of employment because a non-union man obtains employment while exercising his God-given right to stay out of a union. Men who have that kind of a rule have a rule that is in direct opposition to the laws of God. There was a battle fought in heaven--for what? To give to man his individual liberty. An attempt to take the agency of man away is made when he does not see fit to join a union, and when men in that union, without any complaint or grievance, strike because a non-union man is employed. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.11 Now, I'd better not say any more, perhaps, on this question, or I may offend somebody, I may hurt somebody's feelings; but it is the God-given right of men to earn their livelihood. The Savior said it was the first great law or commandment to love the Lord with all our hearts, and that the second was like unto it, to love thy neighbor as thyself. That is the doctrine for every. true Latter-day Saint. How much love is there in starving your neighbor because he will not surrender his manhood and his individuality, and allow a labor union to direct his labor? Mighty little love, mighty little of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in any such a rule! I hope to see the day when no Latter-day Saint will join a union unless the union eliminate that clause from its rules. I am not going to ask them to leave their union. I am not going to lay it down that they must, that it is the mind and the will of the Lord for them to leave a union. I want, as I said here two weeks ago, to give every man his free agency, to give every man the right to act as he thinks proper, but I cannot see how a Latter-day Saint who is a member of such a union can get down on his knees and pray for God to inspire and bless him, to bless the Saints and to protect them and then be a party to allowing one of his own brethren to go, year after year, without employment, because that brother will not surrender his manhood and join a union with him. There is none of the Spirit of the Lord in, that, to my mind. That is exactly the way I see it. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.11 I desire, as stated, to emphasize and re-emphasize those statements delivered here six months ago. I believe that it is the absolute right of men to combine together for their protection, for their advancement, for their welfare in unions, but as stated here, I deprecate the idea of their undertaking to dictate to those who will not join them. I believe this is all I desire to say upon that subject. PROGRESS IN THE MISSIONS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.12 Since we last met here, it has fallen to my lot to hold meetings in the Central States Mission, in the Eastern States Mission, in the Canadian Mission, and three times in various parts of the California Mission. It has fallen to my lot to visit the capital of our Union and to hold a meeting there. It has fallen to my lot to visit some of the stakes of Zion, especially two in Arizona, the Maricopa and the St. Joseph stakes, and to hold a meeting in the capital of Arizona. I wish say that I rejoice in the wonderful change of sentiment regarding the Latter-day Saints that has come to people wherever I have met with them during the past six months. In addition to these visits I have had the privilege of visiting the Hawaiian Islands, with some of the brethren of the general authorities, and of dedicating there to the Lord one more temple for holy ordinances for the salvation of the dead. And I want to bear witness to the Latter-day Saints that there was, with our small party on that trip to the Hawaiian Islands, in the dedication of that temple, in the various services that were held there, lasting for a number of days, the inspiration of the Lord God Almighty, and that we were blessed abundantly, beyond our power to tell. There is something that no mortal tongue can tell, when an individual realizes and knows that while proclaiming the gospel of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ he has been blessed by the inspiration of the Lord; and that was our experience in dedicating another temple to the Lord in that far-off land. The Hawaiian people have a dark skin, but their hearts are white, their loyalty to God is perfect, and the Lord Almighty has abundantly blessed many of that people by giving to them an absolute knowledge of the divinity of the work in which we are engaged. RESPECT GROWING FOR OUR CHURCH. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.12 I am thankful that wherever I have traveled during the past six months I have found a feeling of respect, a feeling of love in the hearts of many for the Latter-day Saints, in the hearts of those not of our faith. I heard many very splendid compliments while in Washington by members of the president's cabinet, by senators and representatives, and by officials of the government in the Federal Reserve banking departments, and in others, wherever I went, and with all the people that I met, bankers in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and other cities, I heard good things said of the Latter-day Saints; we are coming into our own, so to speak. Our character is becoming known, and no longer can men lie about the Latter-day Saints, or women either, and get away with the lies with the great majority of the people in our country. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.13 While our reputation has been bad, this reputation has come to us, how? Because of the lies, as a rule, by men who have been excommunicated from this Church. No loyal, patriotic American citizen wants the people of our country to be judged by the Benedict Arnolds that the country has produced; but the men of America desire that our country shall be judged by its achievements, by the men who have been loyal to that God-inspired instrument, the Constitution of our country. All we ask of any people upon the face of the earth is that they shall judge the Latter-day Saints by Joseph Smith, the prophet of the living God, by the record that he made in the few short years that he stood at the head of the Church. The Church was organized in 1830, 90 years ago, and he presided over it for only 14 years. The accomplishments of those 14 years under his administration, what he did, and what he left to the Church in the wonderful revelations that he gave to us, in the translating of the Book of Mormon, that sacred Scripture of the forefathers of the American Indian, and the wonderful labors that he performed, these stand as a monument stamping him, in very deed, a prophet of the living God. No man without the inspiration of God, in 14 short years, could have accomplished what Joseph Smith did; could have laid the foundation of this great work to which you and I belong. And as the years come and go, men are beginning to recognize the greatness of the labor he performed. MAKE SACRIFICES FOR GOSPEL. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.13 I remember as a boy that I borrowed a book from the Thirteenth ward Sunday School library; it was on the evidences of Christianity by Dr. Paley, and I remember among other things, in that book, that he stated that the strongest evidence of the divine mission of the Savior of the world was the absolute loyalty of those who embraced Christianity, and their willingness to lay down their lives, if need be, for the testimony that they possessed of the divine mission of the Savior. I remember thinking as a boy: If that is the strongest evidence, of men being willing to lay down their lives and to voluntarily make sacrifices and to stand up under persecution, then that same identical evidence applies to the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Latter-day Saints were driven from city to city, county to county, state to state, and finally beyond the confines of the United States to the Rocky Mountains, then Mexican territory. They could have had immunity, they could have dwelt in peace, had they renounced their faith; but our fathers and our mothers had received the witness of the Holy Spirit and they knew that Jesus was the Savior, they knew that Joseph Smith was in very deed a prophet of God. The Lord Almighty had implanted in their hearts a knowledge that God did, one hundred years ago this spring, appear to a boy; that he did speak to that boy; and that when the boy asked of our Father in Heaven, "Which of all the religious denominations in the world is the true Church of Christ?" in answer to that question our God and our Father pointed to the Savior of the world and said: "This is my beloved Son, hear Him." The Savior of the world told that boy to join none of the sects, that they had all gone astray, that they were teaching for doctrine the ideas and the commandments of men, and that they did not have the true Church of Christ. When that boy returned from that wonderful and marvelous vision, the greatest event in all the history of the world, excepting only the birth and death of the Savior, his mother saw that there was something strange about his appearance and asked him some questions; and he simply answered, m substance, and said to his mother (who was a Presbyterian): "Mother, there is one thing I know now, and that is that the Presbyterian church is not the Church of Christ." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.13 When he related his vision to ministers and others the boy was ridiculed. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.14 Three years later an angel of God appeared and told him there was buried in the hill Cumorah some golden plates containing a record, a sacred record of the forefathers of the American Indian, and that he should be the instrument in the hands of God of translating those plates. The angel gave him many wonderful instructions and quoted much Scripture to him; then disappeared. He returned and repeated his instructions and disappeared. He returned again and repeated those instructions, the three visitations occupying the entire night. The next day when that boy went to his work in the field with his father, having had no rest during the night, his father saw that he was not feeling well and told him to go home; and as he was climbing a fence he fainted, but he was aroused from his faint by the voice of the messenger who for the fourth time repeated all that he had said during the previous night, and told him to go back to his father and tell his father all that he had heard and seen. This he did, and the boy's father answered: "This is of God. Listen to the teachings of the angel." The boy visited the hill Cumorah; he saw the plates and was instructed by the messenger to come there once a year for four years, to be instructed by that angel of God, regarding the great and marvelous work that was to come forth in the last days. At the end of four years the plated containing the record were delivered to him by the angel Moroni. He translated those plates, and the translation is the Book of Mormon. VAST MULTITUDE HAVE TESTIMONY. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.14 O but, says one, I don't believe a word of it. There are thousands, there are tens of thousands of men and women, from the midnight sun country in Scandinavia to South Africa, all over Europe, from Canada to South America, in every state of the Union of the United States, upon the islands of the Pacific, who stand up and in all humility bear witness before high heaven that God has given to them a knowledge that Joseph Smith did see him, that Joseph Smith did see the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith was visited by angels of God, that he was ordained to the apostleship, that he did in very deed commune with the Savior of the world, that he was a prophet of the living God. All the non-belief, all the lack of faith of all the people in all the world cannot change that fact, if it be a fact, and God has given many of us a knowledge, an absolute knowledge that it is a fact, that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that this Gospel, called by the world "Mormonism," is in very deed the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. TESTIMONY OF PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.14 I want to read one of the latest testimonies regarding the divinity of this gospel, given from this stand by our late beloved Prophet, Joseph F. Smith, as to where divine authority exists today: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.15 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is no partisan church. It is not a sect. It is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the only one today existing in the world that can and does legitimately bear the name of Jesus Christ and his divine authority. I make this declaration in all simplicity and honesty before you and before all the world, bitter as the truth may seem to those who are opposed and who have no reason for that opposition. It is nevertheless true and will remain true until he who has a right to rule among the nations of the earth and among the individual children of God throughout the world shall come and take the reins of government and receive the bride that shall be prepared for the coming of the Bridegroom. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.15 Many of our great writers have recently been querying and wondering where the divine authority exists today to command in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, so that it will be in effect and acceptable at the throne of the Eternal Father. I will announce here and now, presumptuous as it may seem to be to those who know not the truth, that the divine authority of Almighty God, to speak in the name of the Father and of the Son, is here in the midst of these everlasting hills, in the midst of this intermountain region, and it will abide and will continue, for God is its source, and God is the power by which it has been maintained against all opposition in the world up to the present, and by which it will continue to progress and grow and increase on the earth until it shall cover the earth from sea to sea. This is my testimony to you, my brethren and sisters, and I have a fulness of joy and of satisfaction in being able to declare this without regard to, or fear of, all the adversaries of the truth. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.15 We heard sung here three verses of the hymn, "O, say what is truth?" and I request that in the future the choir sing all four verses, and not omit the last. OH, SAY, WHAT IS TRUTH? Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.15 O, say, what is truth? 'Tis the fairest gem That the riches of worlds can produce And priceless the value of truth will be, When the proud monarch's costliest diadem Is counted but dross and refuse. Yes, say what is truth? 'Tis the brightest prize To which mortals or Gods can aspire: Go search in the depths where it flittering lies. Or ascend in pursuit to the loftiest skies; 'Tis an aim for the noblest desire. The scepter may fall from the despot's grasp, When with winds of stern justice he copes; But the pillar of truth will endure to the last, And its firm-rooted bulwarks outstand the rude blast And the wreck of the fell tyrant's hopes. Then, say, what is truth? 'Tis the last and the first, For the limits of time it steps o'er: Though the heavens depart and the earth's fountains burst, Truth, the sum of existence, will weather the worst, Eternal, unchanged, evermore. CLOSING TESTIMONY. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.16 And I bear witness to you, here today that we have the truth, that God has spoken again, that every gift, every grace, every power, and every endowment that came through the Holy Priesthood of the living God in the days of the Savior, are enjoyed today. God lives, Jesus is the Christ, Joseph Smith was a prophet of the true and the living God. "Mormonism," so called, is in very deed the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. God has given me a witness of these things. I know them and I bear that witness to you, in all humility, and I do it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.16 The choir and congregation sang, "Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah." Three verses were sung and President Heber J. Grant stated that hereafter he would like to have the fourth verse sung by the choir whenever sung in his presence. He then read the last verse of the hymn. President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.23 There is so little time left that we will not impose on anyone of our speakers by asking him to try to concentrate his thoughts and condense his remarks to occupy the few minutes that remain. Perhaps I can overrun the time myself without creating much criticism, so I will take the time and a few minutes beyond. THE "ERA" AND "THE VISION" BY EVAN STEPHENS ENDORSED. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.23 I hold in my hand the last issue of the Improvement Era. I read it, from cover to cover, before it was printed, when it was in proof sheet form. I am very grateful to the men and women who have written for this number, every article of which refers to the vision given to the Prophet Joseph. The words of the sacred historical cantata entitled "The Vision," written by Professor Evan Stephens, which will be sung here tomorrow night is also recorded in this number. I have requested the Deseret News to print ten thousand extra copies of this issue of the Era. I think that every person who believes in that wonderful vision ought to get this number of the Era. STATISTICAL ANNOUNCEMENTS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.23 Since our last General Conference the following changes have occurred in stakes, wards and missions. NEW MISSIONS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.23 Danish mission, Carl E. Peterson, president. Norwegian mission, Andrew S. Schow, president. Chihuahua mission, Joseph C. Bentley, president. NEW WARDS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.23 Lost River ward, Lost River stake; Colonia Chuichupa ward, Juarez stake; Rigby Second ward, Rigby stake; Lehi Fifth ward, Alpine stake; Starrh's Ferry ward, Burley stake; Jackson ward, Burley stake; Stockton ward, Tooele stake; Mountain Home branch, Woodruff stake; Thatcher West ward, St. Joseph stake; Clay's Springs branch, Snowflake stake; West Tintic branch, Tintic stake; Nibley ward, Hyrum stake. NEW PRESIDENTS OF STAKES. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.23 Parowan stake, Henry W. Lunt, president; succeeded Wilford Day. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.23 Utah stake, Thomas N. Taylor, president; succeeded Joseph B. Keeler. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.23 Ensign stake, John M. Knight, president; succeeded Richard W. Young. NEW STAKE CLERKS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.23 St. Johns stake, Dewey Farr; succeeded Levi S. Udall. Granite stake, Milton H. Ross; succeeded Wm. McEwan. STAKE PRESIDENT DIED. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.23 Ensign stake, Richard W. Young. BISHOPS DIED. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.23 Timpanogos ward, Utah stake, Otto J. Poulson. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.23 Vineyard ward, Utah stake, William Varley. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.23 Sugarville ward, Deseret stake, Norman Stillwell Anderson. IN MEMORY OF RICHARD W. YOUNG. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.24 As announced, Richard W. Young, President of the Ensign stake, and a Brigadier General in the United States army, has passed away, by death, since the last conference. He spoke at the overflow meeting in the Assembly Hall, on the afternoon of October 5, 1919, and I desire to read a few words from that address: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.24 I was just looking over that wonderful poem, "The Seer," Written by President John Taylor, that remarkable, splendid father of President Frank Y. Taylor who is here today. I find written there, concerning the Prophet Joseph, that Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.24 "He shared their joys, their sorrows too, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.24 He loved the Saints, he loved Nauvoo." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.24 I have been away from this people long enough to develop a strong love for the Saints of God; the good people, who make up the congregations of the Church are the dearest people in all the world to you and me. There is no experience that touches my heart more deeply than the sight of the face of a good old brother or sister whom I have known, and known to be faithful for many years. I share their joys and their sorrows too. I deeply love the Saints and their association, and am proud of being a member the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.24 I was thinking during the noon hour how much reason we all have to be proud of the record of the Church. When you stop to think about it, you must conclude that this Church has been right throughout its whole history upon all of the important moral questions that have affected our welfare. In the nature of things there is not within the United States a people more patriotic than the Latter-day Saints. I know of no sect that assumes the position that the constitution of the United States was written as it were by the very finger of God. Surely that belief is an inspiration to the highest patriotism. You remember reading in the history of the Church that this people were accused in Missouri of being opposed to slavery. In that slave-holding state such an attitude became one of the reasons of our persecution and drivings. You remember that the first message that flashed across the completed telegraph line from here to the Atlantic ocean was a message of congratulation from Brigham Young to Abraham Lincoln that the Union was preserved or was in the way of preservation. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.24 President Grant spoke this morning of the attitude of the Navajo Indians toward the "Mormons." They had confidence in the "Mormon" people because the "Mormon" people had never abused their confidence. Books have been written, one book that I remember in particular, called "A Century of Dishonor," an indictment covering hundreds of pages against the American people for treatment of the American Indians. But no indictment had ever been framed, or would be formulated against the "Mormon" people for their attitude or treatment of the aborigines of this continent. We have always treated them fairly and squarely, as of course they should have been treated. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.24 We have stood square upon women's suffrage. We were among the very first--the second, as I now recall it--of the states to give what should have been given years before, the right of equal suffrage to the women, now recognized not only in this country but throughout the world as a long delayed measure of justice. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.24 We have stood fairly and squarely upon the prohibition question throughout the Church. IN MEMORY OF OSBORNE J. P. WIDTSOE. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.24 Since our last conference, one of our greatest educators has passed away, Osborne J. P. Widtsoe. One of the splendid articles in this April number of the Improvement Era was from the pen of our departed brother, and I will read the last paragraph or two: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.25 But while it is well it is not enough. Steadily to maintain the narrow way throughout the generations, there must needs be communion with the director of all. Where there is no revelation, the people perish; they wander from paths of rectitude; they deny even that which has given them life. This, then, is the sum of all: Not alone because the doctrines revealed through Joseph the Prophet spurs the energies of man to work, and to know, and to do; nor yet alone because it is based on the law of association, will it thrive and prosper; but because there is added hereto the still more basic principle of faith in God and his power to guide man by continued revelation--as times and seasons and countries shall require--will ultimate triumph be achieved. The far-reaching extent of the work of the Prophet Joseph Smith cannot be declared; the monument he has erected to his memory cannot be measured. But this much is certain: It is as natural as that the rising sun shall appear in the east to spread its glory gradually over the world, that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should prosper and progress to come ultimately to inherit the earth. THEY GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR SERVICE TO THE PEOPLE. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.25 Richard W. Young offered his life twice, by volunteering in the service of his country, going once to the Philippine Islands, and once to France. Osborne Widtsoe gave his life to the service of the Church and for the uplift, educationally, of the people. The lives of these two noble men stand as a testimony to the divinity of this work. No more upright clean men ever drew the breath of life. We thank God for the record that they have left and pray God to bless and comfort their families and to assist them to walk in that straight and narrow path in which their fathers walked. May God's comforting influence be and abide with them and with all those who have been called upon to mourn, since we were last here, is my prayer and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.165 The Government of the United States is endeavoring to the very best of its ability to encourage the people to be thrifty and to save. It is trying to overcome the wave of extravagance that at present seems to be sweeping over the country, notwithstanding the high cost of living. IN THE INTEREST OF ECONOMY, NO LARGE PARTY WILL BE TAKEN TO THE SACRED GROVE. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.166 We desire to announce that the Church authorities are in full accord with this campaign of the Government in favor of thrift. In view of the present conditions and of the marvelous and wonderful rendition of the "Vision" last night in this building, the cantata by Professor Evan Stephens, it has been deemed wise--in view of the immense amount that it would cost to carry a large number of people, probably a thousand, judging from the many applications that have come to us--not to take a large party to the Sacred Grove. We feel it would be an expense that ought to be avoided; and therefore only a small company, if any company at all, will visit that sacred spot. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.166 We had here last night the most magnificent audience that has ever been in this building for any entertainment of any kind or description. The receipts were larger, although the admission was only 50 cents, than when we have had the world-renowned artists of the country here, charging $2 and $3 admission. Hundreds, yes more than a thousand, I am sure, were turned away last evening. THE "VISION," BY STEPHENS, TO BE REPEATED IN JUNE. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.166 We expect to repeat "The Vision" again during the June conference, and to make that occasion as memorable as this conference. We believe that more good will come from this conference and from the June conference than by having an excursion to the Sacred Grove. President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.168 I want to indorse with all my heart the very wonderful testimonies that have been borne here. I want to say that there has been a response in my heart to these marvelous testimonies. I want to pay my tribute of respect to the splendid audience that was here last night and to the wonderful rendition of the "Vision" by the choir. I desire to thank Professor Stephens and each and every one of those who took part in that very remarkable rendition, and to pray God to bless them and inspire them, that when it is repeated the same wonderful spirit may be with them. I am grateful for the splendid speech that was made here last night upon the "Vision," brief, but to the point, by Elder Melvin J. Ballard. I pray that the spirit and inspiration of the living God may accompany each and every one of the Latter-day Saints to their homes. It is the spirit that giveth life. I rejoiced in listening to the testimony of our Patriarch whose great grandfather was the father of the Prophet Joseph Smith and of the Patriarch Hyrum Smith, who lost their lives as a testimony for the divinity of this work. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.168 My heart was filled when I thought of the missionary labors time and time again of John Henry Smith, as I listened to the wonderful five-minute testimony of his son. They say that "Mormonism" is dying out in the second and the third generations; but "Mormonism" is progressing and growing day by day, year by year. This is no mushroom growth but it is the growth of the sturdy oak. We have in very deed the truth. God lives; Jesus is the Christ; Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and he is a prophet of God. He stands at the head of this dispensation. He did see God, he did receive a message from the Redeemer of the world. We have the truth. May God help us to live it, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.168 We will now sing the hymn, "O My Father." The great majority of this audience I am afraid are not acquainted with the old English tune, by which tune Aunt Eliza R. Snow said she loved to hear her hymn sung, better than any other. The choir will lead us in singing the hymn by that tune. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1920, p.168 I was once asked by Professor John J. McClellan, "Why did you learn 'O My Father' by the old tune instead of the Moody and Sankey tune?" I said: "Because it is all wool and a yard wide and the other is shoddy." He said: "Had you been a musician, you could not have made a better criticism." President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.2 I rejoice again to have the opportunity of meeting with the Latter-day Saints in another general conference. I am very happy to see so many here at this, our opening session. I desire with all my heart that all that I may say during this conference, and all that is said by my associates who speak to you, shall be inspired of the Lord. I am grateful beyond expression for the rich outpourings of the Spirit of the Lord during our conferences that we have held since it fell to my lot to preside over the Church. I am free to confess that I approached our June conference, and the other conferences that have been held here since my presidency; with fear and trembling. When I thought of the wonderful blessings of the Lord in the past at our general conferences and the inspiration to Brigham Young and those who have succeeded him, I desired with all my heart that there should be no falling off in the inspiration of the Lord to those who might address us, and earnestly supplicated him to this effect. And I am indeed grateful for the blessings that we have enjoyed, and I pray that that same blessing, that same rich outpouring of his Spirit may be given to all who shall speak to us during the sessions of this conference. A MAGNIFICENT GIFT TO THE CHURCH Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.2 I received a letter last night that was very gratifying to me, and before making any remarks, I will read it: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.2 Salt Lake City, Utah, October 7, 1920. President Heber J. Grant and Council: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.2 Dear brethren: We desire to give to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints our home on Main and First North streets to be used preferably for the women's building, thus housing the three women's organizations, or for such other purpose as may be deemed best. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.2 Yours faithfully, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.2 (Signed) A. W. McCune, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.2 Elizabeth A. C. McCune. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.2 I remarked to one of the wealthy men of our Church, within the last forty-eight hours: "When you come to pass away don't leave all of your property to your family, but give a portion of it as an endowment for some good cause for the advancement of the work of God." I have always regretted that those who have been abundantly blest of the Lord with the wealth of this world have failed to leave a part of it to some of our charitable institutions or our various organizations. I believe that where a man is worth a half million dollars or even less, if he were to give a tenth or even a quarter of his means for some charitable purpose in this Church, the remainder that he left to his family would do them more good and they would have greater wisdom in handling it and would accomplish more than though all the wealth had been left to the heirs of the departed man or woman, as the case may he. My heart has gone out in gratitude to the late Matilda M. Barratt for building us the splendid building known as the Barratt Hall, in the days of the adversity and financial hardships of our schools. And I pray God to bless Brother and Sister McCune for this magnificent gift, and to multiply their substance. HISTORICAL EVENTS SINCE APRIL LAST Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.3 Since our last conference the following bishops have passed away: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.3 Bishops Who Have Died Since April Conference Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.3 Norman S. Anderson, Sugarville ward, Deseret stake; Otto J. Poulson, Timpanogos ward, Utah stake. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.3 New Stakes Organized Since April Conference Franklin stake, Samuel W. Parkinson, president; Logan stake, Oliver H. Budge, president; Roosevelt stake, William H. Smart, president; Garfield stake, Charles E. Rowan Jr., president. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.3 New Stake Clerks Since April Conference Oneida stake, Joseph W. Olson; Cache stake, John C. Peterson; Duchesne stake, LeRoy W. Rust; Franklin stake, Jessie P. Rich; Logan stake, John E. Olson; Roosevelt stake, William H. Gagon; Twin Falls stake, Wilford Johanson. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.3 New Wards Organized Since April Conference Manavu ward, Utah stake, Nephi Anderson, bishop; Lost River ward, Lost River stake, Henry N. Mickelson, bishop; Logan Eleventh ward, Cache stake, Hans A. Pederson, bishop; Manassa Second ward, San Luis stake, Silas S. Weimer, bishop; Roosevelt Second ward, Roosevelt stake, David Bennion, bishop; Star ward, Burley stake, Alma C. Tilley, bishop; Payson Third ward, Nebo stake, Leonard A. Hill, bishop; Rupert Second ward, Blaine stake, Richard T. Astle, bishop. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.3 Mission Changes (Called But Not Yet in the Field) Australian mission, Don C. Rushton, president; New Zealand mission, George F. Taylor, president; Swiss mission, Serge F. Ballif, president. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.3 THE SPIRIT OF HELPFULNESS Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.3 This morning, after coming to my office, I happened to see lying upon my desk the first volume of what is known as Heart Throbs. I had brought it from my home to have a couple of poems copied, several days ago, and as I looked at the book I remembered a poem in it that I decided to read here today: "I shall not pass again this way," is the title. Preceding the poem is the following note: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.3 (For several years before his death, Mr. Daniel S. Ford, the proprietor, editor and builder of the "Youth's Companion," because of delicate health, did his work and managed his mammoth business from a little room in his home in one of the beautiful parks of Boston. When loving hands cleared the plain, but convenient desk, there was found, in a conspicuous place, much worn with frequent handling, the following poem. If the poet had intended to describe Mr. Ford's daily words and actions, he could not have done so in more appropriate language.) Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.4 The bread that bringeth strength I want to give, The water pure that bids the thirsty live; I want to help the fainting day by day; I'm sure I shall not pass again this way. I want to give the oil of joy for tears, The faith to conquer crowding doubts and fears. Beauty for ashes may I give alway; I'm sure I shall not pass again this way. I want to give good measure running o'er, And into angry hearts I want to pour The answer soft that turneth wrath away; I'm sure I shall not pass again this way. I want to give to others hope and faith, I want to do all that the Master saith; I want to live aright from day to day; I'm sure I shall not pass again this way. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.4 I feel that every Latter-day Saint ought to have the same desire as Mr. Ford found expressed in this very beautiful poem. I am sure I have it in my heart this very day, as I stand before you. I feel, as expressed in the Psalms: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.4 Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.4 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. -- 139:23, 24. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.4 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.4 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. -- 19:9, 10. PAINED OVER POLITICAL AND FINANCIAL DIFFERENCES Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.4 In speaking to a few friends the other day I made some remarks and as my secretary happened to be present to take notes, I decided to read what I said on that occasion: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.4 "I am anxious to see the Latter-day Saints devoted to the work of God above everything else in the world; and I have never been so pained in my life as I have been during the past few months over the conditions -- political, financial, and otherwise -- that we find among among the people. The spirit of bitterness that seems to exist in the hearts of some true, faithful and honest Latter-day Saints, because of their difference of ideas and opinions on business matters and political matters is very painful to me. I do hope and pray, with all my heart, that the Spirit of the Lord may come to the Latter-day Saints in great abundance; that this spirit of almost hatred and animosity, that seems to be existing today among the, people may disappear." THE LORD'S DEMAND Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.4 In section 64:8-13, D&C, we find the following: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.4 My disciples, in days of old, sought occasion against one another, and forgave not one another in their hearts, and for this evil they were afflicted, and sorely chastened: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.5 Wherefore I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another, for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses, standeth condemned be fore the Lord, for there remaineth in him the greater sin. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.5 I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.5 And ye ought to say in your hearts, let God judge between me and thee, and reward thee according to thy deeds. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.5 And he that repenteth not of his sins, and confesseth them not, then ye shall bring him before the Church, and do with him as the Scripture saith unto you, either by commandment or by revelation. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.5 And this ye shall do that God may be glorified, not because ye forgive not, having not compassion, but that ye may be justified in the eyes of the law, that ye may not offend him who is your Lawgiver. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.5 And in section 121:45, 46, we read: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.5 Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly, then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God, and the doctrine of the Priesthood shall distill upon thy soul as the dews from heaven. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.5 The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy sceptre an unchanging sceptre of righteousness and truth, and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee for ever and ever. ILLUSTRATION FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.5 I have a very wonderful respect and regard for this quotation from page 240 of the D&C. Some years ago a prominent man was excommunicated from the Church. He, years later, pleaded for baptism. President John Taylor referred the question of his baptism to the apostles, stating that if they unanimously consented to his baptism, he could be baptized, but that if there was one dissenting vote, he should not be admitted into the Church. As I remember the vote, it was five for baptism and seven against. A year or so later the question came up again and it was eight for baptism and four against. Later it came up again and it was ten for baptism and two against. Finally all of the Council of the Apostles, with the exception of your humble servant, consented that this man be baptized and I was then next to the junior member of the quorum. Later I was in the office of the president and he said: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.5 "Heber, I understand that eleven of the apostles have consented to the baptism of Brother So and So," naming the man, "and that you alone are standing out. How will you feel when you get on the other side and you find that this man has pleaded for baptism and you find that you have perhaps kept him out from entering in with those who have repented of their sins and received some reward?" Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.5 I said, "President John Taylor, I can look the Lord squarely in the eye, if he asks me that question, and tell him that I did that which I thought was for the best good of the kingdom. When a man holding the holy Priesthood of God goes forth to proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, to call the wicked to. repentance; goes to proclaim that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that the gospel has been restored again to the earth, and that man in the mission home of the Church of Christ commits adultery, I can tell the Lord that he had disgraced this Church enough, and that I did not propose to let any such a man come back into the Church." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.6 "Well," said President Taylor, "my boy, that is all right, stay with your convictions, stay right with them." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.6 I said, "President Taylor, your letter said you wanted each one of the apostles to vote the convictions of his heart. If you desire me to surrender the convictions of my heart, I will gladly do it; I will gladly vote for this man to come back, but while I live I never expect to consent, if it is left to my judgment. That man was accused before the apostles several years ago and he stood up and lied and claimed that he was innocent, and the Lord gave to me a testimony that he lied, but I could not condemn him because of that. I got down on my knees that night and prayed God to give me the strength not to expose that man, seeing that he had lied but that we had no evidence, except only the testimony of the girl that he had seduced. And I prayed the Lord that some day additional testimony might come, and it did come, and we then excommunicated him. And when a man can lie to the apostles, and when he can be guilty while proclaiming repentance of sin, I think this Church has been disgraced enough without ever letting him come back into the Church." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.6 "Well," repeated President Taylor, "my boy, don't you vote as long as you live, while you hold those ideas, stay right with them." A CHANGE OF HEART--THE SPIRIT OF FORGIVENESS Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.6 I left the president's office. I went home. My lunch was not ready. I was reading the D&C through for the third or fourth time systematically, and I had my bookmark in it, but as I picked it up, instead of opening where the bookmark was, it opened to: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.6 I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men; but he that forgiveth not his brother standeth condemned before the Lord. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.6 And I closed the book and said: "If the devil applies for baptism, and claims that he has repented, I will baptize him." After lunch I returned to the office of President Taylor and I said, "President Taylor, I have had a change of heart. One hour ago I said, never while I live, did I expect to ever consent that Brother So and So should be baptized, but I have come to tell you he can be baptized, so far as I am concerned." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.6 President Taylor had a habit, when he was particularly pleased, of sitting up and laughing and shaking his whole body, and he laughed and said, "My boy, the change is very sudden, very sudden. I want to ask you a question. How did you feel when you left here an hour ago? Did you feel like you wanted to hit that man right squarely between the eyes and knock him down?" Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.7 I said, "That is just the way I felt." He said, "How do you feel now?" Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.7 "Well, to tell you the truth, President Taylor, I hope the Lord will forgive the sinner." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.7 He said, "You feel happy, don't you, in comparison. You had the spirit of anger, you had the spirit of bitterness in your heart toward that man, because of his sin and because of the disgrace he had brought upon the Church. And now you have the spirit of forgiveness and you really feel happy, don't you?" Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.7 And I said, "Yes I do; I felt mean and hateful and now I feel happy." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.7 And he said: "Do you know why I wrote that letter?" I said: "No, sir." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.7 "Well I wrote it, just so you and some of the younger members of the apostles would learn the lesson that forgiveness is in advance of justice, where there is repentance, and that to have in your heart the spirit of forgiveness and to eliminate from your hearts the spirit of hatred and bitterness, brings peace and joy; that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings joy, peace and happiness to every soul that lives it and follows its teachings." LOVE AND FORGIVENESS Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.7 And so he went on. I cannot remember all of the teachings, but he continued in this way, telling me that he could never have given me that experience, that he could not give to me a testimony of the gospel; that I must receive that testimony for myself; that I must have the right spirit come into my heart and feel it -- the spirit of forgiveness, the spirit of long-suffering and charity -- before there would any good come to me as an individual; that by simply surrendering my will to his, and voting to baptize this man, I would never have learned the lesson that the spirit of joy and peace comes in the hour of forgiveness, and when our hearts are full of charity and long-suffering to those who have made mistakes. From that day to this I have remembered those teachings. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.7 The Prophet of the Lord said: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.7 My boy, never forget that when you are in the line of your duty your heart will be full of love and forgiveness, even for the repentant sinner, and that when you get out of that straight line of duty and have the determination that what you think is justice and what you think is equity and right should prevail, you ofttimes are anything but happy. You can know the difference between the Spirit of the Lord and the spirit of the adversary, when you find that you are happy and contented, that you love your fellows, that you are anxious for their welfare; and you can tell that you do not have that spirit when you are full of animosity and feel that you would like to knock somebody down. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.7 I am reminded of one of the finest chapters in all the Bible (One- Corinthians 13): Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.7 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.8 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.8 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.8 Charity, suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.8 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.8 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.8 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.8 Charity never faileth; but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.8 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.8 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.8 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.8 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.8 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.8 Many people imagine that charity is giving a dollar to somebody; but real, genuine charity is giving love and sympathy, and that is the kind of charity that the apostle had reference to in this 13th chapter of First Corinthians. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.8 I remember that after that teaching given to me as a young man, as a boy, almost, by the President of the Church. I read this chapter about once a week for quite a while, then once a month for several months. I thought I needed it in my business, so to speak; that it was one of the things that were necessary for my advancement. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.8 I remember that a year ago, here at the conference, I read a very splendid and wonderful song, the half of the first verse of which reads as follows: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.8 Let each man learn to know himself, To gain that knowledge let him labor, Improve those failings in himself That he condemns so in his neighbor. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.8 The whole poem was published in the conference pamphlet. I quoted it some weeks ago, and was asked where one could get a copy, and again last Sunday, when I told some people that they could read it in next Saturday night's News. So I shall not take up your time by quoting the whole poem. I also quoted the four short verses from our hymn on page 66, a part of which reads as follows: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.8 Should you feel inclined to censure Faults you may in others view, Ask your own heart, ere you venture, If that has not failings too. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.9 I had not the slightest idea when I quoted these poems, that I would desire to quote from them again today; but in view of the condemnation and the spirit, almost, of animosity, and hate that seems to be manifested by some people among the Latter-day Saints, at the present time, regarding business and political affairs, I desire to emphasize, with all the power of my being, the last verse of that little hymn, on page 66: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.9 Do not form opinions blindly, Hastiness to trouble tends, Those of whom we thought unkindly Oft become our warmest friends. EVERY MAN INNOCENT UNTIL PROVED GUILTY Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.9 There are a great many people who believe that if a person is indicted, he is undoubtedly a criminal. There are very few people who stop to reflect upon the fact that when a Grand Jury finds an indictment against any man, it is seldom, if ever, the case that he is permitted to appear before the Grand Jury, or to have a representative there to state his case. The law itself provides -- as I understand it -- although I am not a lawyer -- that every man man shall shall be considered innocent until such time as he is proved guilty; and no man is guilty, in the true sense of the word, of an offense, just because a Grand Jury finds an indictment against him. In criminal cases a man is to be considered innocent unless the evidence against him shall be so conclusive that there is not even a reasonable doubt as to his guilt. Certainly Latter-day Saints ought to be as liberal in their judgments, as the cold law of the land; and certainly every man ought to be considered innocent in the estimation of the Latter-day Saints -- particularly if that man is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has devoted his life for the up-building of God's kingdom until such time as he has what is known as "his day in court." We can afford, I believe, to be as liberal as the cold law itself. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.9 I desire to repeat the last verse of that excellent hymn, which I learned thirty-five or forty years ago, when Francis M. Lyman first sang it for me. I wrote it that very night, and learned it the next day. I would like every Latter-day Saint to apply the teachings of this splendid verse in his or her life, and if we do that I believe we will grow in love and charity; that the spirit of peace and happiness, that President Taylor promised me when I entertained the feeling of determination to keep a man out of the Church, and the spirit of joy and peace which came to me, after the change of heart, will come to Latter-day Saints: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.9 And in self-judgment, if you find Your deeds to others are superior, To you has Providence been kind, As you should be to those inferior. Example sheds a genial ray Of light, which men are apt to borrow, So first improve yourself today And then improve your friends tomorrow. REGRETS THAT THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS QUESTION IS IN POLITICS Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.10 A year ago, at our conference, I expressed sincerely my regrets that bitterness was being engendered in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints, because what was known as the League of Nations had been rejected into politics. I expressed my sincere regrets that this great document should ever have been made a subject for political discussion. I felt that all people in these United States of America should approach the consideration of this great document, independent of party affiliation. I desire to express my regrets that, if anything, it is in politics more today than it was a year ago. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.10 I sincerely regret that what is known as the "sugar question" has been injected into politics, in this State of Utah. I feel in my heart of hearts that it has engendered bitterness, that it has created a great deal of animosity, and I think it is something that ought to have been eliminated from politics, and that all questions of that kind should be settled by the interested people. I desire, beyond my power to tell, that there shall always be perfect harmony and perfect justice between the farmer and the sugar producer. I desire that all judgments by Latter-day Saints upon the course of men connected with any industry in this state, shall be withheld, at least, until there has been passed a final judgment by a court that has the right to pass upon it. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.10 I wish to say to all Latter-day Saints: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.10 Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.10 I beg every Latter-day Saint to cultivate the spirit of charity, of long-suffering, and brotherly love. I say to all Latter-day Saints: Keep the commandments of God. That is my keynote speech, just those few words: Keep the commandments of God. Read the psalm that tells you not to fret your soul about the sinner. It is a magnificent psalm to read. I thought some of reading it here to this congregation, but I have read so much that I am, afraid you will get tired of the reading. Keep the commandments of the Lord. Be honest with God. Never fail to pay an honest tithing to the Lord, on every dollar that comes into your hands. "Oh but," says one, "the Church does not need it." You are right; you are correct. The Church does not need it, but the man who has made covenant with the living God to keep his commandments, and then does not keep them, he needs it. A man who is not honest with the Lord should repent and be honest with the Lord, and then the windows of heaven shall open and God will pour down upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints blessings, if they are financially honest with the Lord. Observe the Word of Wisdom. Never indulge in those things that the Lord God Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, has told us are not good for man. CONCLUSION Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.11 I rejoice that we have national prohibition. I rejoice that many, even in our own community, who were wrecks financially, almost wrecks spiritually, because of prohibition and the taking away of temptation, are making men of themselves today. I rejoice that prohibition -- to my mind the greatest financial and moral blessing that has ever come to humanity -- has come to the people of the United States, and I hope and pray that it may soon come to every nation under heaven. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.11 I rejoice that the women have the franchise. I rejoice in all of the great and wonderful advancements that are being made for the benefit of mankind; and I rejoice, above all things, in a knowledge that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith is a prophet of the true and living God; that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the plan of life and salvation, has been restored to the earth. I rejoice that you and I have a knowledge of that gospel; and oh, may God help us to live it; may he fill our hearts with charity, with love,. with forgiveness, with the desire to serve him, and may we in very deed be Latter-day Saints, is my prayer and desire, and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. President Heber J. Grant: "Boys who smoke cigarettes are like wormy apples. They drop long before the harvest time. They rarely make failures in after life, because they don't have any after life. When the other boys are taking hold of the world's work these are concerned with the sexton and the undertaker." President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.83 I had no idea of saying anything more at this conference, but after listening to the very splendid remarks of Elder Ballard, I desire to read a revelation given a year before the Church was organized. REVELATION TO HYRUM SMITH AND COMMENTS THEREON Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.83 This revelation, among other things, says that it is not only for the man to whom it was given -- Hyrum Smith, who was martyred Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.83 with his brother, the Prophet Joseph Smith -- but that it is to all of us, and therefore I desire to read it: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.83 A great and marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.83 Behold, I am God, and 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 words. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.84 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; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.84 Yea, whosoever will thrust in his sickle and reap, the same is called of God; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.84 Therefore, if you will ask of me you shall receive; if you will knock it shall be opened unto you. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.84 I will say that Hyrum Smith and many other men came to the Prophet Joseph, believing that he was in very deed a prophet, believing that God had chosen him to organize again the Church of Christ upon the earth, they came to him and asked: "What does the Lord desire at our hands?" And many of the revelations in the fore-part of the D&C were given, before the organization of the Church, to individuals, in answer to this inquiry that they made of the prophet. This section I am reading is one of those revelations: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.84 Therefore, if you will ask of me you shall receive; if you will knock it shall be opened unto you. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.84 Now, as you have asked, behold, I say unto you, keep my commandments. THE KEY-NOTE OF THIS CONFERENCE Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.84 Remember, ye Latter-day Saints, that that is the key-note of this conference. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.84 Keep my commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.84 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. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.85 "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. TRIBUTE TO HYRUM SMITH Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.85 No mortal man who ever lived in this Church desired more to do good than did Hyrum Smith, the patriarch. I have it from the lips of my own sainted mother, that of all the men she was acquainted with in her girlhood days in Nauvoo, she admired Hyrum Smith most for his absolute integrity and devotion to God, and his loyalty to the prophet of God. And God honored that man by allowing to come from his loins the late beloved President Joseph F. Smith. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.85 The devil, through his emissaries, thought to destroy this Church by having them kill the prophet and the patriarch; but the son of the patriarch lived to be the Prophet of the living God, and his great-grandson sits here today as the Presiding Patriarch of the Church. Nothing can be done by the people of the world to retard the progress of the work of God. Murder and all that has been done against the Latter-day Saints has had no effect whatever. The work of God has gone steadily on from the day that the Church was organized with only six members. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.85 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. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.85 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. * * * Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.85 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; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.85 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. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.85 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. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.85 No man in all the Church put his trust in that Spirit more perfectly than did Hyrum Smith, or than did his son, the late prophet, Joseph F. Smith. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.85 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. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.85 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. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.85 Behold, I command you, that you need not suppose that you are called to preach until you are called. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.85 Remember, the Church was not yet organized. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.85 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; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.85 And then behold, according to your desires, yea, even according to your faith, shall it be done unto you. * * * Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.85 Keep my commandments, hold your peace, appeal unto my Spirit. Yea, cleave unto me with all your heart, that you may assist in bringing to light those things of which have been spoken; yea, the translation of my work; be patient until you shall accomplish it. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.85 The work of the translation of the inspired record, the Book of Mormon, was in progress at the time of the giving of this revelation. "Behold, this is your work," and it is the work of all the Latter-day Saints: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.85 Behold, this is your work, to keep my commandments, yea, with all your might, mind, and strength; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.85 Seek not to declare my word, but first seek 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; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.85 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 thereunto. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.86 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; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.86 Deny not the Spirit of revelation, nor the Spirit of prophecy, for woe unto him that denieth these things; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.86 Therefore, treasure up in your heart until the time which is in my wisdom that you shall go forth. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.86 Behold, I speak unto all who have good desires, and have thrust in their sickle to reap. (D&C Secs. 6 and 11.) THE SAINTS EXPECTED TO STUDY THIS REVELATION Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.86 Read this revelation, ye Latter-day Saints, over and over again, because it applies to you; and time and time again you will find that the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave this revelation, repeats himself in saying: "Keep my commandments." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.86 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I am the life and the light of the world. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.86 I am the same who came unto my own and my own received me not; But verily, verily, I say unto you, that as many as receive me, to them will I give power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on my name. Amen. President Heber J. Grant I am inclined to think that we will have to arrange, in the future, to have four days for conference. It seems that we can't get through in three days. A LETTER FROM ELDER GEORGE ALBERT SMITH Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.155 I have a letter from the absent member of the Council of the Twelve, Brother George Albert Smith. I would like to read it all to you -- some four or five pages -- but I shall read shall read only a very few words: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.155 Owen Woodruff is making good. He is a splendid man, and I hope to give him every opportunity and encouragement that lies within my power. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.156 Owen Woodruff is a grandson of President Wilford Woodruff, and the son of the late Elder Abram O. Woodruff, of the Council of the Twelve: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.156 President Angus J. Cannon is doing a wonderful work. and in my judgment ought not to be released until next spring, unless you have somebody to take his place who is thoroughly familiar with conditions in Switzerland and Germany. President Cannon has endeared himself to the members of the Church all over. He loves them and they love him, and his heart is in the work. But for his mother and son I am sure he would be pleased to remain here indefinitely. His wife is doing a noble work, she stands by him and does her best all the time. I visited, as far as my time would permit, the various conferences of Switzerland and Germany. President Cannon has nine men working full time in Switzerland, and thirty-eight giving full time in Germany, in addition to the five elders who have come from Utah. These men are all expecting to perform missions of two years or more. Many of them are traveling without purse or scrip and it is a real joy to see the faith that they manifest and to hear how the Lord blesses them. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.156 We held a meeting with the German missionaries at Leipzig. There were thirty-three present. As neat and fine a class of missionaries as I have ever seen. I was sorry to be compelled to leave them. We held conferences in different parts of Germany, the largest being at Chemnitz where more than seven hundred people assembled. We had a joyful time. * * * Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.156 From present indications the Swiss and German mission will be the big end of the European mission, so that in selecting a successor for President Cannon, I hope you will choose a strong man who understands the people and can do the work. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.156 I wrote Brother Smith that we had chosen just that kind of a man; no better; and I believe you can all testify to that fact, after hearing Brother Ballif here today: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.156 The New Home in Basel is all that could be desired. It is a commodious place that will be a credit to the Church, and there is plenty of room to build a chapel sufficiently large to take care of all our people who assemble there. I feel to compliment President Cannon on the purchase that he has made. President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1920, p.176 Before the close of this conference I desire to express to our heavenly Father, on behalf of myself and associates, the deep gratitude of our hearts for the rich outpouring of his Holy Spirit that has been with all those who have addressed the conference since the first opening remarks. I pray God to bless the Latter-day Saints, to fill their hearts full of charity and love and long-suffering, to give them a love of God and of their fellows that they may, in very deed, remember the teachings of the Savior. May the people of Christ love God with all their might, mind, and strength, and may they love their brother as themselves. May the peace of heaven attend the Latter-day Saints. May the Lord bless their flocks, their herds, all their possessions, and all that pertaineth unto them. May they grow in a love of the gospel, in a love of truth, in a love of their fellows; and I, as the mouthpiece of the Lord here upon the earth, bless all the Latter-day Saints and the honest the world over, and pray God to confound the wicked and to bring their schemes to naught, and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.2 I am indeed delighted to see such a wonderful audience here this morning. It is gratifying to note the interest that has been manifested by the Latter-day Saints in their assembling together, throughout the various stakes of Zion, during the past six months, in fact, during the past year, in their houses of worship, to render thanks to the Lord for his goodness and mercy to them, and to testify of the blessings they have received. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.2 I have prepared some items that I believe will be of interest to this conference. It has been usual, in the opening address, to give some items regarding the condition of the Church. INCREASED ATTENDANCE AT SACRAMENT MEETINGS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.2 Our reports show that there has been an increased attendance at our sacrament meetings and fast meetings, all over the Church. I never listen to the revealed prayers that came from God, to be used in our sacrament meetings, wherein we, through those who administer the sacrament, express our determination to remember our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, and to express our willingness to obey him and to keep the commandments which he has given us but what I rejoice in the inspiration of Joseph Smith, in translating the Book of Mormon, and giving to us those two wonderful sacramental prayers, those two marvelous covenants that all Latter-day Saints make when they assemble together and partake of the sacrament. I rejoice in knowing that there has been an increase in the attendance at these meetings, and also at our fast meetings, where we are able to testify of the many blessings of God to us as a people. I am grateful to our young people for adopting the slogan that they were in favor of developing spiritual growth by attendance at our sacrament meetings. The attendance has increased, and therefore there has been a spiritual growth. LOCAL MISSIONARY LABORS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.2 The missionary work which was outlined in our general Priesthood meeting at the last October Conference, has been successfully conducted in most of the stakes and has been the means of doing a great deal. of good. This labor is twice blessed. It blesses him that gives and him that receives. Some of the choicest meetings that I have been permitted to attend, during the last six months, have been gatherings of those who are engaged in missionary work in the various stakes of Zion; and I rejoice to know that many people who have heard the word of God, through these missionaries, have been baptized into the Church. I believe that in proportion to the amount of labor that has been put forth in the various stakes of Zion, of a missionary character, among those who are in our midst, but who know not the gospel, there have been as many, if not more, baptisms than there have been in the missionary fields throughout the different parts of the world. TEMPLE WORK. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.3 The work in our temples is progressing very satisfactorily; the attendance has been increased, and the great interest throughout the Church in temple work is very encouraging. We are now having four companies daily in the Salt Lake Temple. I think that it was a very wonderful example of the faith of the Latter-day Saints in temple work, when a fast-day was declared and the people were requested, last September, to make donations to aid in the erection of the temple in Arizona, that over one hundred eighteen thousand dollars was collected without one cent of expense, by donation upon the special fast-day set apart for that purpose. Nothing could more conclusively show the loyalty of the Latter-day Saints to that principle of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, revealed again to the earth, namely, the right and the privilege to perform labors in the holy temples of God for those of our ancestors who have passed beyond the veil than to have upon a single fast day throughout this Church one hundred eighteen thousands dollars contributed by the people for the erection of the Arizona Temple. TEMPLE BLOCK LABORS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.3 I wish to commend the splendid missionary work done on the Temple Block, under the direction of the Bureau of Information, together with the free organ recitals which are given to the public. The amount of good done by this excellent labor can hardly be estimated. I have met people who have visited the Temple Block, from Salt Lake City to the Hawaiian Islands, and from Salt Lake City to New York, and to San Francisco, and in Canada and other places, and I know from my conversation with them of the splendid impression that has been made upon their minds by coming in contact with those devoted men and women who are working upon the Temple Block here as missionaries. CHANGES OF OFFICERS IN STAKES AND MISSIONS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.3 There has been a slight increase in the payment of fast offerings, although there is still room for much improvement in this matter. Since our last Conference there have been two new Stakes organized -- North Sevier stake, with Moroni Lazenby as president and South Sevier stake, with John E. Magleby president. Since our last Conference, John N. Henrie, President of the Panguitch stake, has passed away. He was a faithful, diligent president of that stake of Zion. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.4 Since our last Conference the following bishops have passed away: Bishop Herbert Beck, of Centerfield ward, South Sanpete stake; Bishop Godfrey Fuhriman, of Providence First ward, Logan stake; Bishop Walter Roberts, of Sutherland ward, Deseret stake, and Bishop Clyde A. Hammond, of Moab ward, San Juan stake. We extend the blessings of the General Authorities to the families of these our brethren, who have been called from us since our last Conference. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.4 The following changes in stake presidencies have been made since our last Conference: Albert Choules has succeeded Don C. Driggs as President of the Teton stake, William J. Henderson has succeeded the late John N. Henrie, as president of the Panguitch stake. Brother Driggs was released with the love and confidence and blessing of his brethren, as the President of the Teton stake. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.4 In the Netherlands mission, John T. Lillywhite has been appointed president, to succeed John A. Butterworth. Mark Coombs has been appointed as President of the Tonga mission to succeed Willard L. Smith. J. Wiley Sessions has been appointed president of the South African mission to succeed Nicholas G. Smith. I have received a letter from Brother Sessions announcing his arrival in South Africa. Brother Sessions had been trying for nearly a year to get to South Africa, but on account of the obstructions put in the way by officials, who refused to vise passports and to allow him to go there, we have been under the necessity of keeping Brother Nicholas Groesbeck Smith in that mission another year after we felt that he should have been released. Brother Smith has filled a splendid mission in South Africa and will return with the love and blessings of all the authorities of the Church. VITAL AND EDUCATIONAL STATISTICS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.4 Seventy-five per cent of the families of the Church in the Stakes of Zion own their homes. The birth rate of the Church is now 38 per 1,000. The death rate is 9 per 1,000. The marriage rate is 15.5 per 1,000. There has been expended for educational purposes $718,497.19. There has been expended for tabernacle, meeting houses and amusement halls, $346,203.17. MISSIONARY ACTIVITIES. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.4 There has been expended for missionary activities $511,709.97. This does not take into account the amount expended by the individuals who go upon missions, nor the amount that they lose by giving up their employment to go upon missions. This, I am sure, would be more than two million dollars a year, in addition to this half million dollars. So that the Latter-day Saints, as a people, are giving to the world an object lesson, such as I believe no other people upon the face of the earth are giving of their love of God, that first great commandment given to us, and also the second commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves. When we stop to reflect that a handful of people, numbering in all parts of the world only five hundred thousand men, women, children and babies, that they are expending $2,500,000 a year in time and means to proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, with no hope of earthly reward, we find an object lesson of the love of our fellows that I believe cannot be matched, in fact I know it cannot be matched, in all the wide world. HELP FOR THE POOR. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.5 There has been expended for assistance rendered to the poor, $450,000, of which $110,000 was raised during a single fast day for the relief of the sufferers in Europe, in Armenia and other places. There has been expended for Temple purposes $158,715.29. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.5 I received a splendid letter from the Near East Relief Committee, in New York, which I failed to find this morning; but a day or two ago the following letter was received from Herbert L. Gutterson: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.5 "New York City, March 21st, 1921. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.5 "Mr. Heber J. Grant, 47 E. South Temple St., Salt Lake City, Utah. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.5 "Dear Mr. Grant: We are in receipt of your letter of the 16th, addressed to Mr. Hoover, which we wish to acknowledge in his behalf. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.5 "The contribution of $68,318.21 from your Church is a most splendid testimonial to the cause, which was the basis for the formation of the European Relief Council. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.5 "Please accept in the name of the European Relief Council as a body, our most sincere, heartfelt thanks for the contribution from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and we beg that you will express to them this sentiment and gratitude for their co-operation. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.5 "With kindest wishes, we are, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.5 "Very sincerely yours, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.5 "CONTROL COMMITTEE. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.5 "By Herbert L. Gutterson." DEATH OF PRESIDENT ANTHON H. LUND. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.5 Since our last Conference we have suffered the sorrow of parting with one of the Presidency of the Church, President Anthon H. Lund, than whom, from the day of his baptism as a boy in Scandinavia, to the day of his death, no more faithful, diligent, energetic, painstaking, conscientious and intelligent worker have I known in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. President Lund was a man beloved by all. I never heard one soul in my life say anything but good of the late President Anthon H. Lund. His ability and capacity were known to all the General Authorities as that of a great and noble and a true man, a Latter-day Saint to the very core. We mourn his loss. But in the providences of the Lord we feel that he will raise up others to assist in the rolling on of this great work. We had here a most wonderful audience at his funeral, the house being crowded to overflowing, thus showing the love and confidence and the respect of the people for President Lund. CHANGES IN THE FIRST PRESIDENCY. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.6 I believe that in the promotion of Brother Penrose to be First Counselor in the First Presidency after he has labored from the time that he was a boy, nineteen years of age, for ten long years in his native land, proclaiming the gospel, and returned to that land to fulfill three more missions, a total of over twenty years of missionary work, and then labored here at home constantly with pen and tongue to proclaim the gospel; after his having accomplished all this, I feel sure that the Latter-day Saints; rejoice in the promotion of this aged man, now in his ninetieth year, to be the First Counselor in the Presidency of the Church. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.6 I believe that the Latter-day Saints generally have approved in their hearts of the selection of Anthony W. Ivins to be my Second Counselor, to become a member of the Presidency of the Church. We have not yet presented these names but they will be presented before the Conference adjourns. CHOICE OF A NEW APOSTLE Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.6 I am convinced in my own heart that if President Anthon H. Lund had had the privilege of nominating a man to fill the vacancy caused in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, through his death, and through the promotion of Brother Ivins, that he would have named Brother John A. Widtsoe. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ has gathered from the British Isles and from the Scandinavian countries many thousands upon thousands of honest, energetic, faithful, loyal, true Latter-day Saints. Scandinavia, second only to the British Isles, has furnished great numbers of converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I believe that the Saints generally approve of those who have been called to these positions. I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Presidency and the Apostles, under the inspiration of the Lord, nominated the proper man to fill the vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and I have absolutely no doubt but what the Latter-day Saints will sanction our having set apart and ordained to the Apostleship Brother John A. Widtsoe. HEARTY RESPONSE TO INSTRUCTIONS AT LAST CONFERENCE. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.6 I rejoice in what I believe has been a response to the speeches made here six months ago. The keynote of our Conference at that time was to obey the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ, to have in our hearts a love of God, a love of our fellows, to have in our hearts the spirit of forgiveness and of long-suffering, to have in our hearts a desire to do those things that would be pleasing and acceptable to our heavenly Father; and I feel grateful that, during the past six months, there has been a spiritual growth. I believe that there has been a better feeling, that some of the animosities that were existing six months ago, because of political differences, have disappeared, now that men have had time, figuratively speaking, to "cool off." I would rejoice beyond all the power which God has given me to express my feelings, if the Latter-day Saints could express their opinions in times of political campaigns without animosity, without vindictiveness, that they could simply proclaim those principles in which they believe, without indulging in personalities. CHANGE OF SENTIMENT FAVORING THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.7 I think that we as a people have very great cause to rejoice in the era of good will and fellowship that is existing today for us as a people, among those not of our faith, in comparison with the conditions that existed some years ago. I do not know of any single thing that has happened in my experience, during the long time that I have been one of the General Authorities of the Church, that has impressed me more profoundly with the change of sentiment towards the latter-day Saints than the reception that was accorded to me December last when I went to Kansas City and delivered a speech upon the accomplishments of "Mormonism." When I reflect upon the fact that in the leading hotel in that wonderful and progressive city -- (I don't know that all of the people here, in fact I feel sure that perhaps the majority of those here are not aware of the fact that although that city is only one-half as large as St. Louis, its bank clearings are larger than those of St. Louis, that in some particular items they stand first, in commerce, among all the cities of the United States; and I do not know whether you are aware of the fact that they have one paper there that is conceded to be one of the six leading newspapers of the United states, the Kansas City Star) -- I was permitted to stand up within ten miles of Independence, the place from which the Latter-day Saints were expelled, by an expulsion and exterminating order of the Governor of the State, Governor Boggs, and to proclaim the accomplishments of the Latter-day Saints; to relate the prophecies of Joseph Smith, to give to those men that were there assembled -- over three hundred of the leading influential business men of the city -- the testimony of Josiah Quincy regarding the Prophet Joseph Smith; to repeat to them the great Pioneer hymn, "Come, come, ye Saints;" to relate the hardships, the drivings and the persecutions of the Latter-day Saints and to have that body of representative men receive that address with approval, applaud it in many places, and many of them come to me after the meeting and shake hands and congratulate me upon the address; and to have some of the members of the Board of Directors of that great club -- the Knife and Fork Club of Kansas City -- (which I have been have been informed is the second greatest dinner club in the United States, the Gridiron of Washington standing first) to have them say that they hoped for a return date so that they could hear more of our people; and then stop to reflect upon the fact that the Prophet and his followers, in the early days, were expelled from Missouri; that many of them were murdered; that all kinds of crimes were committed upon the people; that their property was confiscated; that we have never received anything for our property that belonged to us in that section, that today some of the valuable country that we traveled over there is the very property that our people owned, (for when you follow up many abstracts of valuable property you will find that the title centers in the bishop of the "Mormon" Church, and only because of lapse of time have people secured a proper title to these lands, and not because it was ever paid for) -- I say to stop and reflect that the drivings and the persecutions of the Latter-day Saints, of which no tongue can tell and no pen can paint the conditions; and then to realize that there is a feeling in that community now, among the people residing in the very place, so to speak, from which President Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the living God, and others were driven out; to be invited to go there and be asked to talk of the accomplishments of "Mormonism," and to have that talk received, with open arms, shows the most wonderful change of sentiment. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.8 A short time ago the editor and publisher of the Coast Banker a paper that has a circulation all over the Twelfth Federal Reserve banking district, asked me to write an article on the accomplishments of our people. I did not have time to write the article, but I sent him my speech delivered before the Knife and Fork Club, and told him if that would fill the bill, I would be very glad indeed to have him publish it. Of course, I realized it was a very long speech, because I talked pretty rapidly and I talked for fifty-seven minutes, but he published all that I said. He published, besides, an introduction of such a character that I am very proud of it. I thanked him kindly, when I met him, for this introduction to my speech. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.8 Now, I pray the Lord to bless the Latter-day Saints. I pray the Lord that we may remember that same keynote that was given here six months ago -- keep the commandments of the Lord. Why, you know, if we can just remember those first two great things, to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, with all our might, with all our mind, with all our strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves, we are sure to walk in that straight and narrow path that shall lead us to life eternal. God bless you one and all, and all Israel, and all the honest, the world over, is my prayer, and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. President Heber J. Grant CHANGES IN CONFERENCE PRESIDENTS Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.21 We announced here at the last conference, the changes in the Australian, New Zealand and the Swiss and German missions. At that time Brother James N. Lambert who had been to New Zealand was with us and spoke to the congregation. Since then, Brother Arnold G. Miller, from the Australian mission, and Brother Angus J. Cannon from the Swiss and German mission have arrived home. We welcome them and tender them our sincere thanks for the very splendid, long and arduous labors that they have performed in those missions. INCREASE IN PAYMENTS OF TITHING Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.21 In reading a number of items this morning, I read what became of several millions of dollars of the funds of the Church during the last year, and lo and behold, I skipped the all-important item of tithing. The Saints have done remarkably well, during the past year, in the payment of tithes, especially when we consider the hard times through which we are passing. I wish to commend the bishops, and other officers of the Church, as well as the membership of the Church, in general, for the faithfulness exhibited by the Saints in payment of their tithes. I think that it is nothing less than wonderful in view of the great hardships financially, through which all sections of the country have been passing, during the year that is just closed, that there should be no falling off at all in the tithes of the Latter-day Saints. The tithes for the past year have been slightly in advance of those for the previous year, which was one of the largest years for the payment of tithes in the history of the Church. AN EDITORIAL IN THE "COAST BANKER." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.23 Elder Joseph W. McMurrin, President of the California Mission, came up and suggested that I should waive my insurance modesty, and that I should read the introduction to my speech, as written by the editor of the Coast Banker; and I shall do so. One of my insurance friends in San Francisco, president of one of the greatest companies in the United States, remarking on the photo of myself that is printed with the article, stated that he would pay a great deal if he could only have a picture taken of him that would flatter him as much as this picture flatters me. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.23 (The editorial, which was here read by President Grant, and the speech in full may be found at the close of this record. -- Clerk.) THE CANTATA "THE MARTYRS," BY EVAN STEPHANS Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.23 The sacred cantata, "The Martyrs," by Evan Stephens, and a chorus of 400 will be presented in the Tabernacle, Monday evening, April 4. I read an editorial in The News, last night, and felt that Brother Stephens was entitled to have this splendid editorial read to you here today: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.23 "Among other events of the approaching Conference season claiming the attention of both residents and visitors the rendition of Evan Stephans' sacred cantata, "The Martyrs," in the Tabernacle, on Monday evening next, is deserving of special notice. A year ago this gifted home composer fairly electrified a mammoth audience in the Tabernacle with "The Vision" -- an appropriate precursor of the present work; and those who are in a position to speak with intelligence and authority on the question, affirm with enthusiasm that 'The Martyrs' is in all respects the equal of, and in some respects is superior to, the earlier masterpiece. Certainly in the matter of attention to detail in presentation, Mr. Stephens has allowed nothing to be overlooked a -- a fact upon which those who know his artistic and indefatigable nature will need no assurance. He has in conspicuous degree the talent of infusing into his performers a measure of his own zeal, so that to the most exacting demands of practice and rehearsal they yield without demur. The result is that when at length the hour for the public performance arrives, all those who have been engaged upon it are prepared to give it a rendition as nearly faultless as is humanly possible. Apart from the fame of the soloists, the heavier choral work of the great chorus of four hundred voices should prove at once a mighty attraction and inspiration. In short, it is to be hoped, and it is the probability, that, vast as is the auditorium where the performance will be given, the demand for seats will be so great that not all can gain admission, for it promises to be in all respects a stupendous and memorable occasion." President Heber J. Grant ARIZONA APPROPRIATES $2,500 TO "MORMON" BATTALION MONUMENT. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.42 I have rejoiced in all that has been said here today and endorse most heartily the remarks of my brethren. I have a little note from Brothers J. W. Lesueur and Andrew Kimball of Arizona, the presidents of Maricopa and St. Joseph stakes. They call my attention to the fact that the Arizona legislature has appropriated $2,500 for a Mormon Battalion Monument; that the majority of all the agricultural settlements in Arizona were begun by the "Mormon" people; that the State of Arizona will issue next month the Mormon Settlement book giving an account of the settlements of our people in Arizona, a book of four hundred pages, with sixty illustrations. The state of Arizona is publishing a history of that state, and this volume is a part of it. This volume alone will cost approximately $15,000. The Governor of Arizona and the Historian of the state have devoted a great deal of time, and our friend and brother, LeRoi C. Snow, has been employed in the Historian's office there. We understand that if this volume is sold at the price at which they will sell it, the state will be at a loss of fully $10,000. I have had a brief letter from Brother Snow, enclosing a full account of the contents of the book, but I have been too busy, since I returned from the coast, to read the same. "THE DESERET NEWS" COMMENDED. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.43 After announcing the time and place of various meetings, President Grant continued, referring to the Cantata of Prof. Evan Stephens, and to the splendid editorial in the Saturday News regarding the Cantata, and said: "You should all take the News. The Deseret News is the organ of the Church, and it is entitled to the support of all Israel. Because it is an excellent paper, and also because of the announcements which are made there by the Presidency, from time to time, and other matter it contains, the paper should be in the homes of the people. Read the editorial regarding the Cantata when you get home. REFERENCE TO CHANGES IN THE RELIEF SOCIETY. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.43 There is one thing I forgot -- and I regret it exceedingly. In the meeting of the Relief Society yesterday, I forgot to invite all of the honored and released members of the General Board of the Relief Society, who in years past have sat there to the right of this stand to continue to occupy seats with the new members of the Board. They have our love, our confidence and our blessings, and we want them to know, as we have said to our retired mission presidents, that there is always a place reserved for them at our General Conference meetings. I have been sorry this afternoon, in looking for the familiar faces, that I forgot to make this announcement yesterday. We want our sisters here, they have our love and our confidence, and our blessing for their past labors, and our prayers for their future happiness. President Heber J. Grant CONCERNING THE JEWS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.124 Some of you may be familiar with the agitation that is going on at the present time, in the publications, against the Jewish people. There should be no ill-will, and I am sure there is none, in the heart of any true Latter-day Saint, toward the Jewish people. By the authority of the Holy Priesthood of God, that has again been restored to the earth, and by the ministration, under the direction of the Prophet of God, Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ have been to the Holy Land and have dedicated that country for the return of the Jews; and we believe that in the due time of the Lord they shall be in the favor of God again. And let no Latter-day Saint be guilty of taking any part in any crusade against these people. I believe in no other part of the world is there as good a feeling in the hearts of mankind towards the Jewish people as among the Latter-day Saints. President Heber J. Grant APPRECIATION OF STEPHENS' "THE MARTYRS." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.141 I want to express my unbounded approbation and delight with the very splendid cantata that we had here of "The Martyrs" last night. I am sure all who were here were very much delighted and pleased, and that all feel grateful to the Lord for the inspiration to our beloved brother, Evan Stephens, in furnishing us such a wonderful piece of music, and such a splendid tribute in poetry to our beloved dead. THE SCHOOL OF ART AND MUSIC. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.141 Perhaps you have noticed in the papers that the magnificent McCune residence, which would probably cost over half a million dollars, and which was presented to the Church at our last Conference, has been set aside by the Presidency for the use of a School of Art and Music. And I am pleased to say that this disposition of the property has met with the very hearty approval of A. W. McCune and his wife, the donors of the property; in addition to having given this imposing structure, when they learned it was to be used as a School of Music and Art, they presented to us the two magnificent pieces of statuary that are now in that home, which would probably cost something over twenty thousand dollars, as a beginning for art collections that may go there. I trust that the people will call and partake of the hospitality of the School of Music. Of course, as to this designation for the use of the place, I do not know exactly that it will always be permanent, but we are inclined to think it will be. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.141 There have been a great many people, of course, who have urged me to move there and use that magnificent house as the official residence of the President of the Church. I appreciate the compliment and the many expressions of good will and desire for me to occupy such a magnificent structure; but I consider it would be a vast waste of the money of the good people to maintain me in any such an elegant place, for the reason that if I went there I would want everything to be in keeping with the house, and it would be in direct opposition to what Brother Stephen L. Richards has said here today, all of which I endorse with all my heart. For the time being I shall be perfectly satisfied to live in my little bungalow, one story and a half high in about the nicest spot in all Salt Lake City. During the first six months of my residence there, I don't believe I missed a half dozen times sitting up in bed every morning and taking a view of the whole valley and singing President Charles W. Penrose's hymn, "O ye mountains high." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.141 I endorse with all my heart the excellent remarks that have been made here this morning, and if time would permit, would like to add a few comments, but we aim to start on time and to close on time, barring the musical selection after twelve o'clock. May the Lord bless us, and may we have a time of rejoicing this afternoon and on the morrow in our conference, is my prayer, and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. President Heber J. Grant THE NECESSITY OF THE CIGARETTE LAW. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.146 I believe that Brother Joseph W. McMurrin first called my attention to an article published in the Scientific American and reproduced in the Literary Digest, announcing that for fifty long years no young man in Harvard University had ever graduated at the head of his class, as the principal student, who was a user of tobacco, notwithstanding the fact that eighty-one or two per cent used tobacco and only nineteen or eighteen didn't use it -- so that, taking it man for man, for those many years, the tobacco users had not become the head students of that great institution. I don't think anybody, with an ordinary, common, every-day head on him, needs any greater evidence than that of the necessity of passing anti-cigarette and other laws of this kind. INTRODUCING PROF. PERRY G. HOLDEN. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.147 We have with us today Professor Perry G. Holden of Chicago, a man with a national and international reputation as an extension worker. I have been handed one or two statements made by Professor Holden that I will read before we have the pleasure of hearing from him: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.147 "Every American ought to have his own home, and every family ought to have an acre of ground. Men don't fight for their boarding houses -- they usually fight in them." And we might add, with their tongues, mostly. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.147 "Men who own their own homes don't go out on riotous strikes." That reminds me of a man who was a socialist, over in France, working for a very wealthy man. He went out two or three nights a week to his socialistic meetings, advocating the dividing up of all the property. Finally he quit going, and the wealthy man for whom he worked asked him why he hadn't gone. "Why," he said, "at the last meeting which I attended some months ago, there was a calculation which had been made, and they read how much each family would have after we got all the property divided up, and lo and behold, I have more in the savings bank already than would be my share." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.147 "If the community will take care of its boys today, its boys will take care of the community tomorrow." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.147 To his son leaving for the army: "My son, keep your standard." On his return: "Have you kept your standard?" "Yes, father." "Money spent on education is not a tax. It is an investment." "Am I a better man today than I was yesterday?" Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.147 I have very great pleasure in introducing Professor Perry G. Holden. President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.155 I feel gratified for the very splendid compliments that have been paid to our people by the previous speaker, and on behalf of the Saints here we thank him, particularly for the words of praise that he has spoken regarding us, away from Salt Lake City. I feel, as he has said, that we are coming into our own. It was like an oasis in the desert, a few years ago, to find anybody who was willing to say anything good about the "Mormons;" but some of the finest and most energetic and most faithful men in all America today, educationally and in other lines, are beginning to say good things of the Latter-day Saints. I want to say to Professor Holden that the Latter-day Saints sang "Come, come, ye Saints," as they crossed the plains, with all their hearts and with all their souls, feeling every word of the lines: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.156 "And should we die before our journey's through, Happy day! all is well! We then are free from toil, and sorrow too, With the just we shall dwell," Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.156 The young men and the young women of the "Mormon" Church who live up, to the principles of their fathers, are as loyal and as determined and as willing to sacrifice today as were their fathers, their grandfathers, and their great grandfathers, for that which we know and proclaim to all the world to be, in very deed, the plan of life and salvation, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.187 I read here last evening at the priesthood meeting some items regarding our missionary work, and I thought they would be interesting to all the Saints, so I will read these items again: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.187 MISSIONARY STATISTICS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.187 The mission membership of the Church at the close of 1920 was 99,870. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.187 Tithes paid in all missions of the Church, $456,699; an increase of more than a hundred thousand over any previous year. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.187 Value of mission property, $1,467,571. This does not include all of the Hawaiian property. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.187 Spent for charity in all the missions, $34,532. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.187 Baptisms in all the missions last year, 5,087. This is the highest record in many years. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.187 There were 1,727 missionaries in all the missions on January 1, 1921, an increase of 574 over January 1, 1920; while the average expense of the missionaries of the Church was $37 per month in 1920, or $10 per month higher than in 1919, and that is the highest expense per elder in the history of the Church. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.187 The number of baptisms per elder in 1920 was about three. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.188 Calls of the missionaries were answered at 2,926,416 homes, and the elders had 2,617,345 gospel conversations. They sold 34,703 copies of the Book of Mormon, and distributed 7,023,378 tracts and held 135,532 meetings. President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.201 A revelation was given to the Church ninety years ago last February from which I have read during this conference, and I will read from it again. This revelation is to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or the elders in it. A VERY IMPORTANT REVELATION. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.201 "Oh, hearken, ye elders of my church, and give an ear to the words which I shall speak unto you. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.201 "For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye have received a commandment for a law unto my church, through him whom I have appointed unto you, to receive commandments and revelations from my hands." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.201 I want to emphasize once more, "A law unto my church." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.201 "And this ye shall know assuredly that there is none other appointed unto you," [Who? "my church,"] "to receive commandments and revelations until he be taken, if he abide in me. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.201 "But verily, verily, I say unto you, that none else shall be appointed unto this gift except it be through him, for if it be taken from him, he shall not have power except to appoint another in his stead; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.201 "And this shall be a law unto you," [and who is this law unto? "Unto my church,"] "that ye receive not the teachings of any that shall come before you as revelations or commandments; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.201 "And this I give unto you that you may not be deceived, that you may know they are not of me. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.201 "For verily I say unto you, that he that is ordained of me shall come in at the gate and be ordained as I have told you before, to teach those revelations which you have received, and shall receive through him whom I have appointed." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.201 And I said that anybody who taught contrary to that was a plain, simple, every-day liar. That is what I said; that is what I mean. The idea that any man claiming to believe the teachings of this revelation saying that he has today the right to perform plural marriages, is utterly absurd. We have cut such men off from the Church. CONCERNING PLURAL MARRIAGES. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.201 Perhaps I owe an apology -- in fact I will make one -- for speaking with anger in this building last Sunday night. As I came to the meeting Sunday night, I was told that a person had said that neither Heber J. Grant nor any other man had any right to say that an individual could not perform a plural marriage; that God had revealed plural marriages, and therefore that I had no right to say that they could not be performed, and that one party had remarked that it would take an angel from heaven to convince him, even if I did say it. In my remarks on Sunday evening I had no thought of referring to anybody outside of this Church, or that I ever had any right to undertake to say that I had anything to do with directing any other people than the Latter-day Saints. But I branded as plain, simple liars those who undertake to say that anybody, aside from the President of the Church, had any right to give revelations to this people. I had just heard that one more pretended plural marriage had been performed, and after all the teachings from this stand, and all the declarations, and after excommunicating, as we have done, within the last year, one man for marrying -- or pretending to marry -- a plural wife, I confess I was angry and "rebuked with sharpness." NO PERSON HAS THE RIGHT TO PERFORM PLURAL MARRIAGES. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.202 But I want to say to the Latter-day Saints that no man upon the face of the earth has any right or any authority to perform a plural marriage, and there are no plural marriages today in the Church of Christ, because no human being has the right to perform them. Therefore, any person pretending to have that right is attempting to exercise an authority that he does not have, and therefore be does not perform a marriage and there is no marriage covenant when such ceremonies are performed. SEVERAL PERSONS EXCOMMUNICATED FOR PERFORMING PRETENDED MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.202 We have excommunicated several patriarchs because they arrogated unto themselves, the right, or pretended right, to perform these ceremonies, and after our having excommunicated several patriarchs, another one, so I am informed, has committed the same offense. I announce to all Israel that no living man has the right to perform plural marriages. I announce that no patriarch has the right to perform any marriages at all in the Church. We have delegated, at the present time, to the presidents of stakes and to the bishops of wards, the right to perform lawful marriages, and there has been delegated to some elders who held positions as county clerks, the right to exercise the authority of the Priesthood to perform legal marriages for time. And it was in view of the lie that was going out, and a desire to protect virtuous, noble, good girls who were being deceived and entrapped into doing what, under the law of God today, and under the law of the land, is adultery, that I was branding the liar. CONCERNING INSPIRATION. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.202 I want my friends to know that the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints declare that God inspires men. We heard Elder Whitney read to us the twenty-ninth chapter of Alma. When I was the junior member of the council of the twelve apostles, I knew that chapter off by heart, and I used to repeat it, time and time again, in my public addresses. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.202 "O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!" Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.203 This same chapter further states that men are inspired, and are given all that is wisdom in God that they should have, and Alma says that he ought to be content with the things that were allotted unto him. And the thing allotted unto him was to declare repentance to the people, and he had had great joy in that many men, because of the word he had declared, had come unto God. Perhaps there is no other passage, no single chapter, in all the Book of Mormon, that I have preached from as often as I have from that twenty-ninth chapter of Alma. We believe absolutely, as has been said here, that God inspired Columbus. I commend to all Latter-day Saints when the conference pamphlet is published, to read what Elder Orson F. Whitney said about the inspiration of God being given to men in all parts of the world. We endorse his remarks. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.203 One of the fundamental articles of faith promulgated by the Prophet Joseph Smith was: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.203 "We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience; and allow all men the same privilege -- let them worship how, where, or what they may." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.203 But we claim absolutely no right, no prerogative whatever, to interfere with any other people. We desire the good will of all mankind, and we desire the advancement of all mankind, and we pray God to bless every man that is striving for the betterment of humanity in any of the walks of life; and we say of every man who believes that Jesus is the Christ and who proclaims it: O God, bless that man. But we cannot pray for those who pretend to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and deny the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, and who proclaim that he was only a man. Jesus is the Redeemer of the world, the Savior of mankind, who came to the earth with a divinely appointed mission to die for the redemption of mankind. Jesus Christ is literally the Son of God, the Only Begotten in the flesh. He is our Redeemer, and we worship him, and we praise God for every individual upon the face of the earth who worships our Lord and Master as the Redeemer of the world. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.203 I rejoice in the blessings of the Lord that have come to us during this conference. God bless the Latter-day Saints. God bless every honest-hearted soul all over the world, all who are striving to do good, striving to benefit mankind. I thank the Lord for the rich outpouring of his holy Spirit during our conference. May we all go home and take the Conference spirit of love and of fellowship and good will to all the congregations of the Saints, and thus inspire them to serve God and to keep his commandments is my prayer, and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.204 I want to read just one more thing: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.204 "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers and magistrates; in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.204 The law provides that any person performing a marriage shall record the marriage, and I haven't heard of this last marriage I referred to being recorded; and there should be a license issued also; I haven't heard of any license. Heber J. Grant: Strength of the "Mormon" Church (See Conference Record, April, 1921, p. 23) Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.205 (From the "Coast Banker," San Francisco and Los Angeles, March, 1921.) Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.205 Glimpses From Its History, With Reference to Its Trials, Travels, Beliefs, Achievements, and Plans for the Future, as Shown in an Address Delivered by Invitation at the Banquet of the Knife and Fork Club at Hotel Muhlebach, Kansas City, December 16, 1920, by Heber J. Grant, President of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter-day Saints. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.205 One of the greatest forces, in temporal and religious affairs of the United States is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the "Mormon" Church. Its head is Heber J. Grant, who officiates under the title of President. Mr. Grant possesses the characteristics of a real leader -- strength of purpose, nobility and humility of character, enthusiasm for all causes in which he enters, and indefatigable industry. He is well known and respected by the business men of the western third of the United States, regardless of their religious affiliations. For years he has been a banker, and he holds the office of president of the Utah State National Bank, and of the Zion's Savings Bank and Trust Company, Salt Lake City, and for many years he has been strongly identified with the insurance business as well; so that when, on the death of President Smith, he succeeded to the headship of the "Mormon" Church, he brought with him an equipment that fully qualified him to take up the leadership in the various corporations in which the "Mormon" Church either holds a dominant position or is interested in a lesser degree. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.205 The important place the "Mormon" Church occupies, not only in Utah but in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Arizona, and other parts of the Western Hemisphere, is told by President Grant in a most thorough study and analysis; therefore we recommend to our readers, the financial people of the western third of the United States, that they read this address by him, because it will explain to them, not alone his plans, but those of the organization which is so great a factor in their territory. The Editor. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.205 I consider it a very distinct honor indeed, gentlemen, to be invited to speak here tonight to this representative body of business men in your wonderful city. It is remarkable, to me, that your bank clearings should exceed the showing of St. Louis, although you have only one-half the population. Utah is one of the most enterprising of all the enterprising states in the United States, and the reason I consider it an honor to speak here is the fact that early "Mormons" were driven from this section of the country. (Laughter.) I am grateful for this opportunity of addressing a body of representative men in the very place from which our people were expelled by an exterminating order of Governor Boggs. This is a good illustration of the wonderful change of sentiment in the United States regarding the people with whom I have the honor to be associated. My mother was cast out as a thing of evil, by some of the Ivins family of the East, when she became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Forty-two years later, when I took her back to Philadelphia to meet her relatives and friends, her brothers and sisters having passed away, the nephews and nieces fell in love with the "very fine old lady." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.206 Many people imagine that the "Mormons" have no faith in what is known as the Bible. You will pardon me for taking a little of your time to correct a few erroneous impressions of this kind, and to refer briefly to the travels of our people before the pioneers reached Utah. The "Mormons" accept the Bible as the word of God, but they also believe in the Book of Mormon. Comparatively few people know what the Book of Mormon purports to be. It is the sacred history of the forefathers of the American Indian. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.206 The Latter-day Saints started in New York, where the Church was organized in 1830. They later located at Kirtland, Ohio, where they built quite a large temple, which is still standing. The opposition and ill will which they encountered were so great that they decided to move to Missouri, there locating in and around Far West. Previously they had established a colony at Independence, a few miles from this city, where they met with much opposition and were forced to leave. Afterwards, as I have stated, they were expelled from the State of Missouri under the exterminating order of Governor Lilburn W. Boggs. Later they were invited to locate at Commerce, Illinois, where there were very few people. They built a city known as "Nauvoo, the Beautiful," in which within a few years there were 20,000 inhabitants. Here, too, they met much opposition. The prejudice against them caused them to be bitterly persecuted, and the prophet Joseph Smith crossed the Mississippi River, intending with a chosen body of men to explore the Rocky Mountains for a place of settlement and gathering for the people. A short time before that he had uttered a prophecy "that the Saints would' continue to suffer much affliction, and would be driven to the Rocky Mountains; many would apostatize, others would be put to death by our persecutors, or lose their lives in consequence of exposure or disease; and some would live to go and assist in making settlements, and build cities, and see the Saints become a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains." At the time this prophecy was delivered, one of the foremost statesmen in the United States, Daniel Webster, is quoted as having made a remarkable statement with reference to the western part of our country, in which Joseph Smith had predicted the Saints would become a mighty people. Said Webster: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.206 "What do we want with this vast, worthless area? This region of savages and wild beasts, of deserts, of shifting sands and whirlwinds of dust, of cactus and prairie dogs? To what use could we ever hope to put these great deserts or those endless mountain ranges, impenetrable and covered to their very base with eternal snow? What can we ever hope to do with the western coast of three thousand miles, rockbound, cheerless, uninviting, and not a harbor on it? Mr. President, I will never vote one cent from the public treasury to place the Pacific Coast one inch nearer Boston than it now is." (Laughter.) Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.207 Even statesmen, it appears, sometimes make mistakes. There are some very fine harbors on the Pacific Coast, and the whole section west of the Missouri River certainly has developed into a very marvelous country. THE MARTYRDOM AND SUBSEQUENT EVENTS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.207 Joseph Smith had foreseen that his people would be forced again to leave their homes, and, as I say, he had started West with a picked body of men to find a place of refuge. But some of the people in Nauvoo accused him of running away and deserting his flock. He thereupon returned to Nauvoo, remarking that if his life was of no value to his people, it was of no value to him. He surrendered to the Governor of the State of Illinois. He, with his brother, Hyrum Smith, John Taylor, and Willard Richards, was incarcerated in Carthage jail, with a pledge of protection from the Governor. On his way to Carthage he said: "I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as a summer's morning; I have a conscience void of offense towards God and towards all men. I shall die innocent. and it shall yet be said of me, 'he was murdered in cold blood.'" He and his brother were killed by a mob. John Taylor, who afterwards became president of the Church, received four gunshot wounds and carried in his body some of the rifle-balls to his grave. Brigham Young, as leader of the stricken people, then entered into an agreement that the latter would move to the West. He, with others, began exploring the country, and the migration started. Quite a number of the people located at Council Bluffs; but that winter, after many of the able-bodied men had left, the mob drove the remnant of the "Mormon" people from their beloved city of Nauvoo, which was then the largest city in the State of Illinois. It was a beautiful and populous town of twenty thousand souls when Chicago was a mere trading post; and they deserted that city willingly, because they had to. (Laughter.) The first detachments of the people crossed the Mississippi River on the ice, in the dead of winter, and during that terrible night nine babies were born with no shelter save the rude tents and wagon covers under which their mothers were huddled. No tongue can tell, no pen can paint the sufferings and the hardships of the "Mormon" people in these drivings from Missouri and Illinois. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.207 They next located at Council Bluffs, moved across the river and built Winter Quarters, now known as Florence. In the meantime, a state of war had grown out of difficulties between the United States and Mexico, and a government recruiting officer was sent to the "Mormon" camps at Council Bluffs soliciting five hundred men for military service to march against Mexico. The leaders of our people had previously petitioned the President of the United States, Martin Van Buren, for a redress of wrongs, only to have the President announce: "Your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you," a pusillanimous remark, to say the least. Yet now five hundred men were demanded from whom? From a people who were being expatriated, a people who had been driven from Missouri under circumstances of indescribable cruelty, a people who had also just been expelled from Illinois in the dead of winter. Yet Brigham Young said: "Captain Allen, you shall have your battalion; and if we haven't enough young men, we will give you old men." An American flag was hoisted, recruiting started, and in three days the five hundred men were furnished. I maintain that you will search the history of the world in vain to find elsewhere such evidence of patriotism! In spite of their expatriation, in spite of the fact that in order to save their lives they had been compelled to abandon and flee from their homes, they responded to the call of their country. And as to the nature of the service rendered by the heroic volunteers, the gallant commander, Lieutenant Colonel St. George Cooke, said in his general order announcing the completion of their march: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.208 "History may be searched in vain for an equal march of infantry. Half of it has been through a wilderness where nothing but savages and wild beasts are found; or deserts where, for want of water, there is no living creature. There, with almost hopeless labor, we have dug deep wells which the future traveler will enjoy. Without a guide who had traversed them, we have ventured into trackless tablelands where water was not found for several marches. With crowbar and pick and axe in hand, we have worked our way over mountains which seemed to defy aught save the wild goat, and hewed a passage through a chasm of living rock more narrow than our wagons." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.208 I might incidentally remark, as a further instance of the service of the Mormon Battalion in making the West, that some of its members were among the discoverers of gold in California, which subsequently enriched our nation many millions of dollars. THE GREAT MIGRATION TO UTAH. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.208 Crossing to the west bank of the Missouri River, as I have said. the "Mormon" camps established Winter Quarters, and here many log houses were built, and a frontier settlement was made. In this place Brigham Young planted a cottonwood tree, under which I had the honor of standing two weeks ago last Sunday, with some of my companions; and a snapshot was taken of us, which by the way did not come out very well. (I hope we did not spoil the camera.) It is a large tree, with its branches extending a hundred feet, and its trunk about twenty feet in circumference. It is distinctive, historically and otherwise, among all the other trees in the park where it stands. A short distance from that spot many hundreds of the early "Mormons" are buried; and from there, in 1847, Brigham Young started with his pioneer company of 143 men, three women, and two children to explore the unknown West, and find an abiding place for the homeless people. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.208 I shall not relate the many incidents of peril and anxiety on that memorable trip, which required many weary weeks in traveling from the Missouri River to the Salt Lake Valley, which was then practically an unknown country. Nor was the prospect pleasing when they reached the spot where our chief city now stands. "Weary and worried as I am," said one of the three women, "I would gladly go another thousand miles rather than stay in such a desolate place;" and another, her sister, echoed the same sentiment. But Brigham Young had said, "This is the place," asserting that he had seen the valley in vision some time before, and that it was the spot where the Latter-day Saints should locate. He had been taken sick just before reaching the valley, and a small advance company was sent out two days ahead of the main body of pioneers to look over the country and if possible prepare a bit of land for planting. They had brought some plows, but found the ground so hard that several plowshares were broken. They finally turned the water of a small stream on the parched and baked soil, and the first day succeeded in planting a few acres of crops. So far as I know, this was the beginning of that system of irrigation which has meant so much in the development of the United States of America, a system which has reclaimed millions upon millions of acres of land, and has led to the expenditure of very many millions of dollars by the government in reclamation projects in Idaho, Arizona, Utah, and other sections of the country. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.209 The pioneer company later returned to Winter Quarters, where in the meantime the work of outfitting and preparing for the general migration to the West had gone on apace. Large trains of ox teams were organized that took several months to cross the plains. My own father had the privilege of commanding one of those companies -- the third company of emigrants that went to Utah that first season; and by the fall of 1847, there were 1600 people in the Salt Lake Valley. They had built a log fort with extensions, and a number of log houses. Their industry was prospectively to be rewarded with fruitful harvests in 1848, when myriads of crickets appeared, devouring everything before them. Immigration had continued meanwhile, and now the people felt that ruin and starvation stared them in the face, because they were a thousand miles from anywhere, so to speak, and it appeared that the crops would be utterly lost in spite of all they could do. Unless that harvest could be saved, there was nothing for them to look forward to but absolute starvation. As a people they believe God came to their rescue; that it was His providence that from the islands in the Great Salt Lake the flocks of gulls came which devoured the crickets. In commemoration of this deliverance there has since been erected a very beautiful monument, and I shall take occasion to get from Secretary Tufts a list of the members of your club, and when I return home will mail to each of you a booklet entitled "Utah," on the front cover of which is a picture of the monument, erected in remembrance of the mercy of God in saving from starvation the many hundreds of early pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley. Our Legislature has enacted a law prohibiting the killing of gulls; and the birds are so tame that they will come into our fields, and follow the plowman to feast on the worms that are uncovered by his furrow. PIONEERING THE INTERMOUNTAIN COUNTRY. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.210 In the next few years the "Mormons" redeemed the valleys for a hundred miles north and three hundred and fifty miles to the south. Originally, Utah included all of the present State of Utah, all of Nevada, part of Colorado, and part of Wyoming and Idaho; but pieces have been sliced off from time to time, until it is small in area compared with what it was in the early days, perhaps no more than one-half its original size. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.210 The "Mormon" people have been not only the pioneers in settlement and in irrigation and reclamation in Utah, but they were the pioneers also in Idaho. A little settlement that was once in Utah is now in Idaho, and it is the city where the pioneers of the Gem state meet once a year to celebrate "Idaho Day," being the starting point of civilization in that section. In the other direction, the San Luis Valley in Colorado was considered altogether too high in elevation to be of any value for agriculture until a "Mormon" colony went there and reclaimed the locality. They proved that it was a good country for raising crops, notwithstanding the fact that it was seven thousand feet in elevation. The "Mormons" were also among the very first pioneers to go into Arizona. There was a great deal of prejudice against them, but it has practically all disappeared. Today there is perhaps a better feeling toward our people in Arizona than in any other section in which they are located. As an illustration of the goodwill existing there regarding the "Mormon" people: when a novelist by the name of Winifred Graham came over here from England, telling a lot of unconscionable lies about the "Mormons," a Senator from Arizona stood up in the Senate of the United States and voluntarily and emphatically branded her statements as the falsehoods which they were. The ex-Governor of the state also said that no better class of people could be found anywhere than the "Mormons" of Arizona, adding that in one respect they were being robbed of between 2500 and 3000 per cent of a certain class of taxes in Arizona -- because, according to population, they were entitled to have twenty-five or thirty inmates in the state penitentiary, and they had only one (laughter); also, that we were entitled to 700 or 800 per cent more of the taxes set aside for the support of the insane, being entitled, according to population, to seven or eight inmates in the insane asylum, whereas we had none. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.210 We ask people to judge us by the standard laid down by our Savior: "By their fruits ye shall know them." I was reading last Saturday, in Chicago, from Phil Robinson's book, Sinners and Saints, in which he states that he is at the defiance of any man to find a single book, with one exception, written on the "Mormon" question, that is not absolutely untrue, because practically all the books on that subject were written by the enemies of our people, and are unfair. In the book I refer to, Mr. Robinson gives the "Mormons" a fine certificate of character, and among other things says that he nearly choked to death for "a drink" among the "Mormons" while traveling 350 miles to the south and a hundred-odd miles to the north, until after inquiring for a "back-slider" he was successful in finding a demijohn. After that he got along very well. He said he had always supposed water was for the cleansing of the body until he arrived in Utah, and there he found it was used for drinking purposes. Mr. Robinson also refers to the fact that although we had 80-odd per cent of the population in Utah, the remaining 17 per cent (as I recall) furnished 80 per cent of the inmates of the territorial penitentiary. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.211 The first great commandment is to "multiply and replenish the earth;" and Utah's best crop is babies. (Laughter.) We feel very proud of the record of our people in that particular. We can not begin to compare with other people in furnishing divorces. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.211 Before we divided on party lines in Utah as Democrats and Republicans, I heard a Congressman say, while making a campaign speech in Salt Lake City, that hanging on the wall in one of the houses of Congress in Washington there was a map showing the states and territories of the Union. The map was black originally, but as education grew, it was painted white; and he stated that there were only four whiter spots upon that map than Utah. At that time Utah was a territory and we had no public lands to sell to help us in education; we had forged to the front without receiving one single, solitary dollar from the sale of public lands from the United States. We have been branded as an ignorant lot, and yet for ninety-odd years we have been sending our young men to Harvard and other universities to get an education, and they have made a record of which we are proud. While I was presiding over the European mission of our Church, I read in the newspapers that we have overtaken and equalled one of the states in the Union for second place in literacy. Doctor Winship, one of the great educators of our country, has given us credit, in recent lectures, for having the finest laws on education of any state or territory in the Union. TEMPLE BUILDING AND HOME INDUSTRY. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.211 As I have already told you, the early "Mormons" erected a temple soon after they reached Ohio, and considering the small number of people that were there, it was a wonderful accomplishment. They erected a large temple at Nauvoo, which was destroyed by the mob, after the expulsion of the people. The second day, after the arrival of the pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young walked to the spot where the great temple was later erected, drove his cane into the ground, and said, "Here we will build the Temple of our God." The corners were laid forty years, to a day, before the temple was completed. For forty long years the people contributed of their means toward the erection of that temple. As a child I contributed fifty cents a month; later as a boy I gave a dollar a month, then five dollars, and finally made a contribution of several thousand dollars to aid in its completion. In the meantime the pioneers were redeeming a country which was considered absolutely worthless before they undertook its reclamation. The noted trapper, Jim Bridger, had told Brigham Young and his pioneer company that he would give one thousand dollars for the first ear of corn ripened in the Salt Lake Valley; it was quite generally considered a worthless wilderness. Yet, when years later the United States government offered a handsome prize for the best five acres of wheat raised in any part of the United States, Salt Lake Valley carried off the prize. The temple which, as I have said, was forty years in building was erected at a cost, of over four millions of dollars. I imagine it could be built today, even at the high prices of labor and material, for a million and a half. But in those days it took an ox team several days to go to the mountains and bring one solitary stone for the structure. It took several weeks of work by hand to cut that stone. The footings of the building are sixteen feet; the walls are eight feet thick; and it was built, as Brigham Young advised everybody to build, "to last a thousand years." He erected, at that early day, a theatre in Salt Lake which still stands, in which all of the leading companies that visit Utah put on their plays. It was built when I was a child. Every nail in it was carried a thousand miles from the frontiers at the Missouri River, when nails were a dollar a pound. Those were the days when sugar was selling at one hundred one dollars a bag -- one hundred for the sugar and one dollar for the sack. When people went to the theatre they took their molasses in a can, or brought a squash or something else to pay the price of admission. Fortunately there was no war tax; for they could not have paid it; they had no money. Within twenty years after the arrival of the pioneers, the "Mormon" Tabernacle was built, with a seating capacity of eight thousand. On special occasions, when the building has been crowded, more than ten thousand people have been counted. The Tabernacle was erected without the use of nails, the roof being pinned together with wooden pins and tied with rawhide thongs. At the time of its completion, although a thousand miles from civilization, it was the largest auditorium in the United States of America without a center support to the roof; and it is today the largest except where steel girders have been used to support the roof. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.212 A concert was given in the building, by our Tabernacle Choir of five hundred voices, for the relief of the sufferers from the Johnstown flood. The net receipts, at a $1 a seat, amounted to $7500, which was remitted to the sufferers. Yet under those conditions our people built some splendid irrigation projects. Some of them would cost today millions upon millions of dollars, and they were built by the cooperative labor of the people and the exchange of their products. Brigham Young taught the people to sustain home manufacture, to be economical, to avoid extravagant habits, and not think of getting this, that, and the other which would not add to any actual comfort. In those days we were clothed in what was known as "homespun." In nearly every home the wife would take the wool and prepare it for spinning, she would have in her home a loom on which she would weave the rag carpets. When we built a canal, the only money we needed was for the purchase of plows and scrapers and for powder to blast the rocks. Most of our early, great enterprises were made possible by co-operative labor. I know of one little canal on which the settlers worked each winter for twelve long years, and reclaimed the ground where now stands a little settlement of eight hundred or a thousand people. The accomplishments of Utah have been brought about by pulling together, by "teamwork," by absolute unity, and co-operation, which I believe existed there to a greater extent than in any other community. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.212 Brigham Young has the honor of having established in Utah the first department store in our country -- Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution, of which I am now president. This list of companies (pointing to program) of which I am credited with being president fails to mention those which come my way accidentally, one may say, because I became president of the Church, all of which are of more importance than the ones on the list here published. One of the institutions over which I have the honor to preside, and over which my predecessors from Brigham Young to Joseph F. Smith have presided, is Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution, established in early days to prevent excessive profits and to protect the people by giving them fair goods at a fair profit. That institution now does a business of some twelve million dollars a year. ESTABLISHING BEET-SUGAR INDUSTRY. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.213 Another institution that I have the honor of presiding over is the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company. I wish to say to you gentlemen here that we have the honor of having erected the first beet-sugar factory ever built in the United States of America with American machinery. There had been several factories built with imported machinery; in fact, away back in 1862, the "Mormons" sent John Taylor (who afterwards became president of the Church) to France to bring machinery from there to try to establish the beet-sugar industry in the Great Basin. To my mind, perhaps one of the most substantial illustrations of the loyalty and of the co-operative work of the "Mormon" people is seen in the following: In 1891 when Baring Brothers failed in London, with their investments largely in the Argentine Republic, that failure reached clear out to Salt Lake City; and as there was very little money in the country it made it very hard indeed for our people. Many of those who had subscribed for stock in the sugar company were unable to pay their subscription; but the president of the Church said: "We will build that factory if it breaks the credit of the Church itself; we must build it, because it will make an increased product from the soil and therefore be beneficial to the people." The president sent me East, West, North and South, all through the country, as his agent, to borrow money with which to build that factory. After we had failed in New York and other Eastern centers to get money to finish it, I went to San Francisco and appealed to Henry Wadsworth, then manager of the Wells Fargo Bank, to loan the last hundred thousand dollars that we needed. In my appeal I said to him: "Mr. Wadsworth, when you were in Salt Lake you believed in me as a boy when I worked for you; you gave me $100 as a New Year's present, and stated that no one else in the bank should have a dollar because all the others watched the clock to see how soon they could get out of the front door after 3 o'clock, whereas I came back occasionally and worked at night. Now that I am one of the leading officials of the 'Mormon' Church I ask you to believe in me and to furnish the hundred thousand dollars necessary to complete this factory. I have just succeeded in getting fifty thousand dollars from the Fireman's Fund Insurance Company of San Francisco; they know me well. But I must have a hundred thousand dollars more, and I must have it from you." I pleaded with him to deposit the money in Zion's Savings Bank and Trust Company, in Salt Lake City, and told him we could convince that bank that our securities were good. His reply was that "banks were failing everywhere and he could not let me have the money." Finally I said: "Mr. Wadsworth, the beet-sugar industry must and shall be established. I have no authority to offer you the note of the Church, but I pledge you four notes of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- twenty-five thousand due in six months, twenty-five thousand in a year, twenty-five thousand in eighteen months, and twenty-five thousand in two years, with twenty indorsers, individually and severally liable for the obligation; you to write out twenty-five names of the strongest financial 'Mormon' men in Salt Lake City, and I will guarantee to get twenty indorsers out of the twenty-five." He said: "My boy, that is an impossibility; no twenty men on earth would guarantee, individually and collectively, one hundred thousand dollars for any church." "Well," I replied, "we are a little different from any other church; I will get you the notes and indorsers all right." He insisted that it could not be done. "Then you don't need to give me the money," I said at last; "all I ask is that you give me the opportunity." Then he said: "I will go you one better; I will write thirty names, and if you can get any twenty out of the thirty, it will be satisfactory, and you can have your money." He wrote five or six names, tore up the paper, and said: "Heber, you were my office boy fifteen years ago. Many a man has gone broke in fifteen years. I will just write up to my successor in Salt Lake and tell him to write the names." When I got back home, his successor wrote a list of names, and as he looked at them he said: "Those names remind me of an incident in early days in a California mining camp. There was a saloon-keeper who had on his front door a list of names of the people who owed him for whisky. One day his wife in a streak of cleanliness scrubbed the floor and even washed the door, and when the man discovered it he exclaimed: 'Good heavens! you have ruined me; give me a pencil quick, and maybe I can still make them out.' Then he studied out the names as best he could, and rewrote them, and stood and looked at the list. You know some people say that 'damn' is only emphasis; and with emphasis he said: 'That is the best lot of -- names that was ever on that door.'" So this banker said: "This is the best lot of names I ever saw." A FINANCIER'S FAITH AND AID. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.215 I got twenty-four indorsers out of the thirty men on his list; three of the thirty were out of town, and one man volunteered to sign whose name was not on the list, but who happened to hear two of the gentlemen that were on the list refusing to sign the note, these taking the ground that it was not good morals for a church to borrow money to loan to a private corporation. I said to them: "I will agree, when you and I meet the Lord, if we ever do, to absolve you from all trouble if you will put your name on the back of these notes. (Laughter.) It will be time enough for you, or me, to decide the morals of the question when we become members of the presidency of the Church. The presidency have signed the notes, and they will have to answer to the Lord for the moral part of it. Will you sign the notes, or will you not?" They declined. Then I had this conversation with the voluntary signer to whom I have referred. He lived in Ogden and was worth more than any ten men who had signed the note -- when he died his estate was worth fifteen to twenty millions of dollars. He had been writing a letter and after the two men declined, he said: "Heber, I have heard your story. Is my name on the list?" "No," I replied, "there are only Salt Lake men on the list." He said he would like to look at the notes. I handed them to him, and he wrote his name on the back of each one without even reading the notes. He handed them back, with the remark: "I don't think my name will hurt them." Then he said to me: "Heber, tell the president of the Church that any time he wishes those notes paid, if he will notify David Eccles thirty days ahead -- I always keep from one to three hundred thousand dollars in bank, on certificates of deposit, so that on thirty days' notice I can draw it out -- I will be glad to pay these notes, and the Church can pay me in one year, or five years, or ten years, or when convenient." Maybe you think I did not want to hug this man about that time. (Laughter.) Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.215 Then Mr. Eccles added: "Tell the president of the Church that if he wants my name on another hundred thousand dollars of notes, just to send you up to Ogden. You have never been in my house. I will give you supper, bed and breakfast; and we have pen and ink." By the way, I went up there some time later, and got his signature for another $100,000. (Laughter). When he told me the street on which he lived, I said: "Don't tell me what street you live on. Step across the road to my office and I will show you a plat of your house. I have it insured." (Laughter.) Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.216 I have referred to some of the buildings erected by the Latter-day Saints, among them the great Salt Lake Temple. When I was a boy they erected a temple also at St. George, three hundred fifty miles south of Salt Lake City, at a cost of several hundred thousand dollars. Later, when I was a young man of twenty-six, they completed a temple in Logan, costing several hundred thousand dollars. Some three or four years later they erected another temple, just as large, at Manti, Utah. Last November, on my birthday, I was in the Hawaiian Islands and dedicated a temple there which cost over two hundred thousand dollars. This coming summer we will dedicate, in Canada, a temple costing over six hundred thousand dollars. We have spent millions of dollars in the erection of ward chapels and district meeting houses, also millions of dollars in erecting Church-school buildings, from Canada to Mexico. During the present year we will supply, for maintenance of Church schools alone -- to say nothing of erection of buildings -- three-quarters of a million dollars. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.216 Time will not permit me to speak in detail of the part the Church has played in establishing and fostering institutions for the good of the people. I have referred to Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institution and to the beet-sugar industry. The latter, the first year produced only one million one hundred thousand pounds of sugar. The Dyers of Cleveland, Ohio, who built this factory, left Utah after two or three years, believing that the sugar industry in Utah would be a failure; but among the "Mormon" people there is a considerable percent of Scotch, Dutch and Scandinavian blood, and they are somewhat stubborn. You know it is said there is nobody on earth quite as stubborn as a Scotchman, except a Dutchman. I happen to be Scotch on my father's side and Dutch on my mother's. Our people have been brought together from all sections of the country; in fact, we have converts from all parts of the world. They did not allow difficulties to discourage them; they did not give up; and in 1920, the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company will produce over two million one hundred thousand bags of one hundred pounds each of sugar, instead of one million one hundred thousand pounds as in the first year. There are other sugar companies in Utah and Idaho and their combined product will be equally as much as ours. So that the beet-sugar industry in the intermountain section will produce this year over four million bags of sugar. It is true that Colorado has outstripped us in the beet-sugar production; but the original people who went over into Colorado and built the first factory, received their education in the first factory built in Utah. "MORMON" PIONEER HYMN. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.216 Some day a story will be written about the sufferings and hardships of the "Mormon" pioneers while crossing the plains. I feel disposed to tell at least one little incident in connection with the pioneer journey. When the "Mormons" were at Winter Quarters, preparing to outfit their companies to travel by ox team to Utah, Brigham Young turned to a man named William Clayton and said: "Before the first company starts for Salt Lake Valley, I want you to write a hymn that will inspire and comfort and cheer and bless the people on their long journey." William Clayton went away, and is reputed to have returned the same day with what is known as the great "Mormon" pioneer hymn. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.217 When I arrived in Liverpool to preside over the European mission, as successor to the father of Doctor Richard R. Lyman, who is here with us tonight (a professor of engineering in the University of Utah and graduate from Michigan University), President Lyman said: "We will sing your favorite hymn tonight." I replied that I hadn't any favorite. "All the leaders of the Church ought to have a favorite song," said President Lyman; "my favorite is, 'School thy feelings, O my brother; train thy warm impulsive soul.' The favorite of my bosom friend John Henry Smith, is 'Up, awake, ye defenders of Zion.'" And he named the favorite hymns of about a dozen of our Church leaders. Finally I said: "Hold on; I can choose my favorite in a quarter of a minute -- 'Come, come ye Saints.'" Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.217 Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear, But with joy wend your way; Though hard to you this journey may appear, Grace shall be as your day. 'Tis better far for us to strive Our useless cares from us to drive, Do this, and joy your hearts will swell All is well! All is well! Why should we mourn, or think our lot is hard? 'Tis not so; all is right! Why should we think to earn a great reward, If we now shun the fight? Gird up your loins, fresh courage take, Our God will never us forsake; And soon we'll have this tale to tell -- All is well! All is well! We'll find the place which God for us prepared, Far away in the West; Where none shall come to hurt or make afraid; There the Saints will be blest. We'll make the air with music ring, Shout praises to our God and King; Above the rest these words we'll tell -- All is well! all is well! And should we die before our journey's through, Happy day! all is well! We then are free from toll and sorrow too; With the just we shall dwell. But if our lives are spared again To see the Saints their rest obtain, O, how we'll make this chorus swell -- All is well! All is well. PATHETIC INCIDENT OF THE PLAINS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.218 One day my father-in-law said to me: "Heber, for twenty long years I have listened in vain for our choirs to sing the fourth verse of 'Come, come ye Saints.' I believe the rising generation know nothing whatever of the comfort and cheer which we received, while crossing the plains, from singing that pioneer hymn or they never would be guilty of leaving off the fourth verse, which we looked upon as a prayer." In one of the revelations to our Church we are told by the Lord: "For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart, yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads." My father-in-law said that hymn was a blessing to every one who sang it, and particularly the last verse, which they sang, and meant every word of it: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.218 And should we die before our journey's through, Happy day! all is well! We then are free from toil and sorrow too; With the just we shall dwell. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.218 Then he related the following incident: "One of the men in our company crossing the plains was late coming into camp one night. (In those early companies they traveled a day and a half or two days apart, and had three companies going practically together, so that in case of Indian trouble, having a few horses with each company, men with guns could go back or forward.) As this man had not reached camp, and it was getting late, we organized a volunteer company to go back to see if he had been waylaid by Indians. Just as we were ready to start, we saw him coming in the distance. He explained that he had been sick, and as he happened to have the last wagon in the company, he was alone, and had to lie down by the road for a few hours' rest. He was very feeble when he came into camp, so we unyoked his oxen, and got his supper ready. After supper he sat on a large rock by the campfire and sang 'Come, come ye Saints.' It was the rule of the camp that whenever any one started to sing this pioneer hymn, all the others should join in; but in this case it happened that none of us joined in the song. When he had finished. I looked around and I did not see a dry eye. The next morning, noticing that he had not yoked up his oxen, we went to his wagon and found that he had died during the night. We dug a shallow grave, buried his body, and to the head of his grave we rolled the stone on which he sat the night before. while singing. 'And should we die before our journey's through, happy day! all is well! We then are free from toil and sorrow too; with the just we shall dwell.'" My father- in-law started to tell me something else, but stopped and said: "Never mind." Years later the Burlington railroad, while surveying its line through Nebraska and Wyoming, found a broken wagon tire sticking out of the ground, on which there had been chiseled the words: "Rebecca Winters; age 50 years." The surveyors with delicate kindness and consideration went back three or four miles, and changed the line of the road in order to miss that lonely grave. The railroad company fenced the spot and wrote to Utah to find out if any one knew Rebecca Winters. She was my wife's grandmother. No doubt my father-in-law had intended to tell me during the conversation above quoted, that when he came to Salt Lake City from his home in another part of the territory, to meet an immigrant train on which he expected to find his beloved mother, he learned that she, too, had died before her journey "was through." We have erected a little monument at the grave, inscribing on one side the history of Grandma Winters, and on the other side the fourth verse of "Come, come ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear." AS COLONIZERS AND NATION-BUILDERS. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.219 It is this spirit among the "Mormon" people, of co-operation, this willingness to stand one by the other, and to build up the communities, that has helped to redeem the desert, that has enabled them to make a record in Canada, in Mexico, as well as in our own country -- that has given them the splendid standing and reputation they enjoy. They were regarded as the foremost colonists of all Mexico, in the estimation of that great leader of the republic, the late General Diaz. No one would suspect that that iron character would be guilty of shedding a tear, and yet on the last trip he took to Chihuahua to visit the state fair, when he saw the exhibit of industry and frugality, the saddles and the harness, the canned fruit, the bottled fruit. the exhibits from the "Mormon" academy and the pictures of the "Mormon" Church schools in Juarez, the old warrior wiped his eyes and said: "What could I not do with my beloved Mexico if I only had more citizens and settlers like the 'Mormons.'" Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.219 Wherever we have gone, we have made a success. The "Mormon" people believe in education; they believe in art, in literature, in science, in advancement. They sent their tabernacle choir of two hundred fifty voices to the Chicago Fair in 1893, and won the second prize in competition with all the world, for the best choir of that number of voices. The choir that won first prize, I understand, had hired the best fifty voices from Wales to help them out. (Laughter.) We put in a little protest, but the protest did not work. One of the producers of operas, concerts, and lectures, a great theatrical man of New York, told me that he was at the fair and heard the choirs sing; and his verdict was that those fifty voices did not help the other choir, their strength and power destroyed perfect harmony: "but, of course," he said, "it never would have done to give you miserable 'Mormons' the five-thousand-dollar prize, although if I had been the judge you would have received it." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.219 It was my intention to speak from notes on this occasion, because this is my first attempt at talking to an audience like this. The first thing I had intended to do was to read a poem, but I forgot all about it until I looked at these notes. Now that I see my time is about up, I am going to close with what should have been the beginning and use the remaining few minutes in reading this poem and a statement regarding Joseph Smith. Some four years ago I happened to buy this book, and since then I have given away over five hundred copies. I have just ordered something over a thousand to send out, at the expense of the Church, to our missionaries in the United States. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.220 I am very grateful to be here, as I said in the opening of my remarks, and I hope you will get acquainted with me. This poem is from the pen of Edgar A. Guest, and is entitled: WHEN YOU GET TO KNOW A FELLOW. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.220 When you get to know a fellow, know his joys and know his cares, When you've come to understand him and the burdens that he bears, When you've learned the fight he's making and the troubles in his way, Then you find that he is different than you thought him yesterday. Then you will find his faults are trivial and there's not so much to blame In the brother that you jeered at when you only knew his name. You are quick to see the blemish in the distant neighbor's style, You can point to all his errors and may sneer at him the while, And your prejudices fatten and your hates more violent grow As you talk about the failure of the man you do not know, But when drawn a little closer, and your hands and shoulders touch, You find the traits you hated really don't amount to much. When you get to know a fellow, know his every mood and whim, You begin to find the texture of the splendid side of him; You begin to understand him, and you cease to scoff and sneer, For with understanding always prejudices disappear. You begin to find his virtues and his faults you cease to tell, For you seldom hate a fellow when you know him very well. When next you start in sneering and your phrases turn to blame, Know more of him you censure than his business and his name; For it's likely that acquaintance would your prejudice dispel And you'd really come to like him if you knew him very well. Then his faults won't really matter, for you'll find a lot to praise. When you get to know a fellow and you understand his ways, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.220 (Applause.) TRIBUTE TO THE FOUNDER. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.220 Brigham Young, some day, will be acknowledged as one of the greatest leaders and pioneers that the world has ever known, and yet I want you to know that all that has been accomplished, by so-called "Mormonism" and by our people, was built upon the broad foundation laid by the man who was martyred in Carthage jail. He gave the Church a book of revelations of hundreds of pages. Brigham Young gave but one revelation pertaining to the organizing of the pioneer companies. John Taylor gave but one revelation during his presidency; and his successors promulgated no new revelations. The foundation was laid by the prophet Joseph Smith for all that has been accomplished. He gave his life, in Carthage jail, sealing with his blood the divinity of his testimony, and credit is due to this wonderful leader for what has been accomplished. I desire to read a testimony given by Josiah Quincy, a man who knew Washington and others of the country's great founders, a man who was once Mayor of Boston, and a man who was on the reception committee to welcome Lafayette when he came over here from France. In his book, Figures of the Past, he says: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.221 "It is by no means improbable that some future textbook for the use of generations yet unborn will contain a question something like this: What historical American of the nineteenth century has exerted the most powerful influence upon the destinies of his countrymen? And it is by no means impossible that the answer to that interrogatory may be thus written: 'Joseph Smith, the "Mormon" Prophet.' And the reply, absurd as it doubtless seems to most men now living, may be an obvious commonplace to their descendants. History deals in surprises and paradoxes quite as startling as this. The man who established a religion in this age of free debate, who was and is today accepted by hundreds of thousands as a direct emissary from the Most High -- such a rare human being is not to be disposed of by pelting his memory with unsavory epithets. Fanatic, impostor, charlatan, he may have been; but these hard names furnish no solution to the problem he presents to us. Fanatics and impostors are living and dying every day, and their memory is buried with them; but the wonderful influence which this founder of a religion exerted and still exerts throws him into relief before us, not as a rogue to be criminated, but as a phenomenon to be explained. The most vital questions Americans are asking each other today have to do with this man and what he has left us. * * * A generation other than mine must deal with these questions. Burning questions they are, which must give a prominent place in the history of the country to that sturdy self-asserter whom I visited at Nauvoo. Joseph Smith, claiming to be an inspired teacher, faced adversity such as few men have been called to meet, enjoyed a brief season of prosperity such as few men have ever attained, and, finally, forty-three days after I saw him, went cheerfully to a martyr's death. When he surrendered his person to Governor Ford, in order to prevent the shedding of blood, the prophet had a presentiment of what was before him. 'I am going like a lamb to the slaughter,' he is reported to have said, 'but I am as calm as a summer's morning. I have a conscience void of offense and shall die innocent.' I have no theory to advance respecting this extraordinary man. I shall simply give the facts of my intercourse with him. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.221 "A fine-looking man -- " Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.221 [Incidentally, my mother tells me he was the finest looking man she ever saw; he stood over six feet high.] Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.222 "A fine-looking man is what the passer-by would instinctively have murmured upon meeting the remarkable individual who had fashioned the mold which was to shape the feelings of so many thousands of his fellow mortals. But Smith was more than this, and one could not resist the impression that capacity and resource were natural to his stalwart person. I have already mentioned the resemblance he bore to Elisha R. Potter, of Rhode Island, whom I met in Washington in 1826. The likeness was not such as would be recognized in a picture, but rather one that would be felt in a grave emergency. Of all men I have met -- " Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.222 [Remember the writer had met Washington, he had been private secretary to John Adams, and he had met Lafayette and the great men of his day] NATURAL LEADER AND STATESMAN. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.222 "Of all men I have met, these two seemed best endowed with that kingly faculty which directs, as by intrinsic right, the feeble or confused souls who are looking for guidance." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.222 In passing, I may remark that you can read in one book written against the "Mormons" that Joseph Smith got all his inspiration and revelations while he was having fits. (Laughter.) Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.222 "We then went on to talk of politics. Smith recognized the curse and iniquity of slavery, though he opposed the methods of the abolitionists. His plan was for the nation to pay for the slaves from the sale of the public lands. 'Congress,' he said, 'should be compelled to take this course, by petitions from all parts of the country; but the petitioners must disclaim all alliance with those who would disturb the rights of property recognized by the Constitution and which foment insurrection. It may be worth while to remark that Smith's plan was publicly advocated eleven years later by one who has mixed so much practical shrewdness with his lofty philosophy. In 1855, when men's minds had been moved to their depths on the question of slavery, Ralph Waldo Emerson declared that it should be met in accordance 'with the interest of the South and with the settled conscience of the North. It is not really a great task a great fight for this country to accomplish, to buy that property of the planter, as the British nation bought the West Indian salves.' He further says that the 'United States will be brought to give every inch of their public lands for a purpose like this.' We, who can look back upon the terrible cost of the fratricidal war which put an end to slavery, now say that such a solution of the difficulty would have been worthy a Christian statesman. But if the retired scholar was in advance of his time when he advocated this disposition of the public property in 1855, what shall I say of the political and religious leader who had committed himself, in print, as well as in conversation, to the same course in 1844? If the atmosphere of men's opinions was stirred by such a proposition when war-clouds were discernible in the sky, was it not a statesmanlike word eleven years earlier, when the heavens looked tranquil and beneficent? Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.222 "General Smith proceeded to unfold still further his views upon politics. He denounced the Missouri Compromise as an unjustifiable concession for the benefit of slavery. It was Henry Clay's bid for the presidency. Doctor Goforth might have spared himself the trouble of coming to Nauvoo to electioneer for a duelist who would fire at John Randolph, but was not brave enough to protect the Saints in their rights as American citizens. Clay told his (Smith's) people to go to the wilds of Oregon and set up a government of their own. Oh, yes, the Saints might go into the wilderness and obtain the justice of the Indians, which imbecile, time serving politicians would not give them in the land of freedom and equality. The prophet then talked of the details of government. He thought that the number of members admitted to the lower house of the National Legislature should be reduced. A crowd only darkened counsel and impeded business. A member for every half-million of population would be ample. The powers of the President should be increased. He should have authority to put down rebellion in a state, without waiting for the request of any Governor; for it might happen that the Governor himself would be the leader of the rebels. It is needless to remark how later events showed the executive weakness that Smith pointed out -- a weakness which cost thousands of valuable lives and millions of treasure. ... Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.222 "Born in the lowest ranks of poverty, without booklearning and with the homeliest of all human names, he had made himself at the age of thirty-nine a power upon the earth. Of the multitudinous family of Smith, none had so won human hearts and shaped human lives as this Joseph. His influence, whether for good or evil, is potent today, and the end is not yet. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.222 "I have endeavored to give the details of my visit to the 'Mormon' prophet with absolute accuracy. If the reader does not know just what to make of Joseph Smith, I can not help him out of the difficulty. I myself stand helpless before the puzzle." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1921, p.222 I thank, you, gentlemen, for your attention. President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.2 It is indeed a great pleasure to have again the opportunity of meeting with the Latter-day Saints in General Conference. I desire most earnestly that the prayer of President Chipman may be realized and that all of us, who may have the opportunity of speaking during the sessions of this conference, may be inspired of the Lord. I know that I not only speak for myself but for all of my associates of the General Authorities of the Church when I say that we desire only to say those things, during this conference, that shall be for the benefit, spiritually as well as temporally, of the Latter-day Saints. I know not only my own heart, but I know the hearts of those with whom I am associated, as the General Authorities of the Church, and I know that each and all of us desire more than anything else in the world the advancement of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We desire the welfare spiritually of the people, and also their temporal welfare; and it is our daily and constant prayer to God that his blessings may be and abide with the Saints in all parts of the world, and also with every honest-hearted soul who dwells upon the earth. THE SANCTIFYING POWER OF DISTRESS, AS ILLUSTRATED IN THE HISTORY OF THE SAINTS Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.2 I would like to express my firm conviction as to the application to each and every faithful Latter-day Saint, of the last verse that we have just sung, verse number four of the hymn, "How firm a foundation:" Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.2 When through the deep waters I call thee to go, The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o'erflow, For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless, And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.2 When I think of the distress of the Latter-day Saints, the dangers and persecutions through which they went in New York, Ohio, Missouri and Illinois; when I think of the trouble and difficulties of the great pioneer journey from the Missouri river to these valleys; when I think of the reign almost of terror at different times from my childhood until now -- the coming of an army against our people; when I think how near they came to starving because of the crickets; when I think of the confiscation of all the Church's property, and the many trials and tribulations through which the people have passed, I say when I think of these things I realize that the Lord has sanctified all their trials to the good of the Latter-day Saints, for these afflictions and tribulations have fitted and qualified them more perfectly to live the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. PRESENT DISTRESS AND DEBT Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.3 At the present time the Latter-day Saints and the people of this intermountain country are in great distress financially. Perhaps there has never been a time from the early days of the settlement of the valley, when there was a greater scarcity of money in proportion to the needs of the people, and when so many people find themselves in financial difficulties, mainly due to the fact that they launched out beyond their means, and ran in debt, in many cases for luxuries. I happened to pick up in Chicago a bank advertisement which I think is very fine and timely just in this particular condition of affairs. The words are the words of that wise man, Benjamin Franklin: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.3 Taxes are indeed very heavy; but if those laid on by the government were the only ones we had to pay, we might the more easily discharge them. But we have many others and much more grievous to some of us; we are taxed twice as much by our idleness, three times as much by our pride, and four times as much by our folly, [and they didn't even have automobiles in that day] and from these taxes the commissioners cannot ease or deliver us by allowing an abatement. FAITH, INTEGRITY AND DEVOTION OF THE SAINTS Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.3 From my earliest recollections, from the days of Brigham Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.3 Young until now, I have listened to men standing in the pulpit in the old Tabernacle, and before that in the Bowery, before we had the old Tabernacle, and from this stand, urging the people not to run into debt; and I believe that the great majority of all our troubles today is caused through the failure to carry out that counsel. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.3 I certainly hope that the lessons that we are learning today will turn out a blessing to us, that they will be sanctified to our good, as illustrated in the words of this verse from the hymn that I have read. And I believe that they will. I have an abiding and perfect faith in the integrity and the devotion and the loyalty of the Latter-day Saints to God and their desire to serve him. I have full faith in the people that have embraced the gospel. Why? Because they know the Lord; because they know our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ; because they know that this gospel, commonly called "Mormonism," is in very deed the plan of salvation; because they have an absolute and abiding knowledge that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the true and living God, and that the revelations contained in the D&C are in very deed the words of God. There is no doubt in the minds of the Latter-day Saints that God our heavenly Father, the Creator of heaven and earth; did speak to Joseph Smith. There is no doubt in the minds of the Latter-day Saints that God pointed to his Son and announced that he was his Son, and told the boy to hear him, and that the Savior of the worm gave instructions to Joseph Smith. I read a few months ago of one of the great "divines" in Great Britain -- a great student of the Bible, declaring that Jesus Christ was not the Son of God, and quoting as part of his authority another great "divine" and a famous theological student and teacher. Thank the Lord for the revelations of God to us, for the revelations from Jesus Christ where, time and time again, he announces himself as the Son of the living God, and the Redeemer of the World! Knowing as I know, and as the Latter-day Saints do know, that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, that the revelations contained in this book are in very deed the words of God, and the words of our Redeemer, I repeat that I have full faith in the integrity to God of the Latter-day Saints; and I am convinced beyond a shadow of doubt that the work of the Lord will continue to spread, notwithstanding the hard times financially through which we have been passing. PROGRESS IN THE MISSION FIELD Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.4 We have, at the present time in the missionary field, seventeen hundred and ninety-eight missionaries, not including hundreds of workers in foreign lands who are local missionaries, who have been working in that capacity because of the lack of material in sending elders from the stakes of Zion. Our missionary activities for the first six months of this year indicate an increase in all the missions of the Church of 65 per cent in baptisms, as compared with the same period a year ago. This proves that the work of the Lord is spreading, that notwithstanding hard times, notwithstanding financial difficulties, there is a most remarkable and wonderful increase in the number of those who are embracing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have practically the same number of missionaries now that we had a year ago, so this growth is not because of the increase in the laborers in the fields, but is because of increase in the power of the missionaries and the blessings of the Lord to those who are engaged in the work. There has also been an increase of over 50 per cent in the mission fields in charities obtained during the past six months. ABOUT THE LABORS OF MISSIONARIES Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.5 In this connection, I desire to say to all the Latter-day Saints that we wish they would refrain from writing to laborers in the mission field suggesting that it is about time they were coming home. Where parents have had sons in the mission field for, say 15, 16 or 18 months, and feel, because of financial difficulties that it is impossible to keep them longer, we advise that they state the circumstances to the bishop of their wards, who should then apply to the elders and seventies, and these should endeavor to raise the means to keep those young men in the field for at least two years or two years and a half. In most cases a young elder is just coming to himself and to a capacity and ability and power to preach the gospel with force and with the inspiration of God, when he has been in the mission field 18 months, and it is a great injustice to the boy who is growing spiritually -- as he cannot grow in any other labor in all the world -- that he should have to have to come home too soon. Those who are at home ought to realize this, and ought to feel a responsibility and a willingness and a desire to keep in the field the young men from the various wards until they have completed at least two years of service; and in many cases it would be a god-send to the young men, as well as to those who help, if their mission were extended to two and a half or even three years. I remember President Lyman's idea was that a missionary who had been in the field two years and a half could do more by remaining another six months than he had done in the entire year of his previous term; and I believe this. APPEAL TO THE SAINTS TO KEEP MISSIONARIES IN THE FIELD Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.5 So where young men have the spirit of their missions and are themselves willing and anxious to stay, but whose parents, because of financial difficulties are unable to keep them, I appeal to the Latter-day Saints to respond to the calls of the elders and the seventies and the bishopric of the wards, and assist in keeping these young men in the field. Our mission to the world is to proclaim the gospel; one reason why the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ was placed upon the earth was that men should come to a knowledge of the truth; and the one supreme object above all other objects of every Latter-day Saint should be to bring people to a knowledge of the truth. MISSIONARY WORK THE GREATEST OF ALL IN THE WORLD Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.5 The missionary work of the Latter-day Saints is the greatest of all the great works in all the world. We find recorded in the eighteenth section of the Doctrine and Covenants: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.6 Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.6 For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.6 And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on conditions of repentance; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.6 And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth. Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.6 And if it so be that you should labor all your day in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father? Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.6 And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me? Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.6 Behold, you have my gospel before you, and my rock, and my salvation. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.6 Ask the Father in my name, in faith believing that you shall receive, and you shall have the Holy Ghost, which manifesteth all things which are expedient unto the children of men. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.6 And if we have not faith we cannot please the Lord, the revelation goes on to say. We should have faith in God and not only have faith, but works also, and exhibit our works by supporting those who are in the missionary field. WONDERFUL MISSIONARY LABORS IN THE STAKES OF ZION Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.6 I wish to say that I am delighted with the excellent and wonderful labors that have been accomplished in some of the stakes of Zion in converting and baptizing people. Missionary work that has been carried on here at home during the past six months has been far more fruitful than it has ever been before. We have not really done our duty here at home in our missionary work. It is only within the last year or two that we have taken up a systematic labor of visiting those who are not of our faith and explaining the gospel; and in proportion to the amount of this work that has been done, the results in baptisms have been greater than the same amount of work anywhere. I am grateful for this labor, and commend those stakes of Zion where it has been most energetically carried on. THE BEST LAW IN THE WORLD TO MAKE BETTER LATTER-DAY SAINTS Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.6 In these hard times financially, I want to repeat to the Latter-day Saints my firm belief that God our heavenly Father prospers and blesses and gives wisdom to those men and to those women who are strictly honest with him in the payment of their tithing. I believe that when a man is in financial difficulty, the best way to get out of that difficulty (and I speak from personal experience, because I believe that more than once in my life I have been in the financial mud as deep as almost anybody) is to be absolutely honest with the Lord, and never to allow a dollar to come into our hands without the Lord receiving ten per cent of it. The Lord does not need your money or mine. Compliance with the law of tithing and donations for ward meetinghouses, stake houses, academies, temples, missionary work and these various needs, are all for our good. They are but lessons that we are learning which will qualify and prepare us to become more godlike and to be fitted to go back into the presence of our heavenly Father. The very lessons of a financial nature that are given us are the same as lessons that are given in a school to a boy or a girl; they are for the benefit of the boy; they are for the benefit of the girl, for their advancement, for their joy and happiness in after life; because of all the knowledge and information we acquire, and in the improvement that we make, we ourselves are the ones who are benefited. God our heavenly Father has instituted laws to improve his people physically, spiritually, intellectually, and one of the best laws in all the world to make better Latter-day Saints is the law of tithing. There are many people who believe the gospel and would probably embrace it, but for the fact that they are like that young man of whom we read in the Scripture, when the Savior told him, after the young man declared that "all these things have I done," to sell what he had and give to the poor. Many people cannot endure the gospel because of financial requirements that are made of them, and they allow the things of this world, which they have grasped firmly and steadfastly, to rob them of the greatest of all God's gifts, namely, life eternal. I commend the law of tithing to the Latter-day Saints, and I am entitled to commend it, because from my childhood days I have never made a dollar that the tithing has not been honestly paid upon; and I acknowledge the blessings of Almighty God to me because of obeying this law. THE LAW OF HEALTH AND WEALTH Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.7 I want to exhort the Latter-day Saints to observe and keep the Word of Wisdom. I consider it almost a crime for men and women who acknowledge that they know that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that this gospel commonly called "Mormonism" is in very deed the truth -- I consider it almost a crime that when the Lord Almighty gives to them a law whereby they can have health and vigor of body and mind, they disregard it. Every single dollar that is expended in breaking the Word of Wisdom goes out of the country. It is so much of the vital fluid, so to speak, financially drawn from the community every time a man or woman drinks a cup of tea or coffee or uses tobacco or uses liquor, because we do not produce those things at home. If they actually believed thoroughly the Word of Wisdom it seems to me you couldn't possibly persuade people not to obey it: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.8 "A Word of Wisdom for the benefit of the Council of High Priests, assembled in Kirtland, and Church, and also the Saints of Zion. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.8 "To be sent greeting -- not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of God" -- remember this is the will of God -- "in the temporal salvation of all Saints in the last days." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.8 I believe firmly that if all the money which has been sent out of this country from the day the Saints first located in these valleys, for those things that the Lord has said in this revelation are not good for man, had instead been kept here, the accumulation of wealth in our country would have been so great that this intermountain section where the Latter-day Saints are located, would be one of the richest and most prosperous in all the United States. A dollar is to the financial body what a drop of blood is in the body. We only have, as I understand, about twenty pounds of blood in the body. The heart beats about eighty times a minute and handles about four ounces every time it beats; therefore that twenty pounds of blood is handled every minute and there is about ten tons of it handled every twenty-four hours -- ten tons although there are only twenty pounds of it. Of course they say we just accidentally came here, our hearts just accidentally keep a-going and handles ten tons of blood a day -- a little bit of a pump, the size of your fist -- and if it accidentally stopped two or three minutes, none of us would be here. The heart alone is one of the greatest testimonies of the divine power of God, because we don't even have to think to ask it to beat. If we did, we wouldn't have anything else to do but sit down and tell the heart to work. It would keep us busy all the time. There is nothing in all the world devised by the utmost ingenuity of man, that can do the same amount of work as that little piece of machinery, the human heart, operating after the manner of a pump, with twenty pounds doing practically ten tons of work every twenty-four hours. Now, as I say, money, a dollar, is just the same. It is estimated that a dollar does all the way from twenty to over a hundred dollars of work a year, going round and round, and circulating, and buying and paying and doing work; so when we stop to think that there are hundreds of thousands of dollars sent out of this country every year for breaking the Word of Wisdom -- true, the great majority of it is not sent by the Latter-day Saints -- we can form some idea of what could have happened if money thus sent out had been kept at home and each dollar of it permitted to do its hundred dollars' worth of work. A PRACTICAL LESSON ON THE WORTH OF A DOLLAR IN HOME INDUSTRY Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.9 Speaking of the work a dollar does at home reminds me of an incident that I have related many times. Years ago there was a great drive in this section of the country to support home-made goods, and I was one who was deeply interested in it, being a member of several committees that were working to bring about this policy. I remember that during our conference we had a meeting in the Assembly Hall one evening and one of the speakers on that occasion was the then bishop of Smithfield, George L. Farrell, Brother Farrell said that for twenty odd years, or perhaps he said thirty, he had been coming down to conference twice a year and, knowing that all the stock in the railroad running through that country was owned by eastern capitalists, he had marked the money which he paid for his tickets to see if he ever got any of it back again. "I have also," he said, "marked the money that I paid for home-made goods to see if I got any of that back again, I never got any of my railroad money back," he continued, "but one reason that I always buy home-made goods is that I think a whole lot of George L. Farrell and I like to get my money back again, and time and time again when I have bought homemade goods and marked the money, that identical money, staying in the community and circulating around, has come back to me. And it is because I think a great deal of myself, as well as my neighbors, that I buy shoes made at home for my children, that I buy homemade cloth out of which to make clothes for those children." Then he said: "To give you a practical illustration: When starting for this identical conference, standing at the depot at Smithfield I saw a man who had made some shoes for my children, and I walked up and handed him five dollars to pay for those shoes; he saw somebody else in the group to whom he owed five dollars, and he handed him the five; this man saw another to whom he was indebted and handed him the same piece of money; and he in turn saw another man and handed it to him until finally after five or six debts had been paid with the same piece of money the last man to receive it came up to me and said, 'Brother Farrell, I owe you six dollars. Here is five on my account' -- and I put my home-made shoes money back into my trousers pocket." Twenty or thirty dollars' worth of debts were thus paid by patronizing one shoemaker in Smithfield, the money was saved at home by circulating around, it paid these many debts and at length landed back into the pocket where it started from. That was a practical lesson, and a practical lesson that ought to count. HOME MANUFACTURED GOODS Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.9 It would be a very easy matter to increase the use of this one product in this country by thousands and tens of thousands of dollars. Before me is an audience of at least five to ten thousand people, and I would like to know how many of you are standing, or sitting I should perhaps say, with your feet in home-made shoes. I dare not ask those of you who are thus shod to stand up -- I am afraid the showing would be altogether too thin. I am myself standing in home-made shoes; it is the kind I have been standing in for over thirty years, and I find that they are good enough for me. Another reason why I like them is that they wear longer than any I used to get before I commenced wearing them, and in addition to wearing longer they look better; and in addition to looking better, they cost less. So I am like Brother Farrell. It is not altogether patriotism, it is because I think a whole lot of Heber J. Grant that I wear home-made shoes. I have been converted to home-made goods from the time that, as a young man, I heard a sermon from this stand by Brigham Young, that great leader, that man of wonderful foresight for the benefit of his people spiritually, financially, and intellectually, one of the greatest pioneers and most remarkable men that ever lived. In passing let me say that in conversing with a great banker in New York only a few days ago, I made the remark that Brigham Young would yet be recognized as one of the greatest organizers and one of the greatest leaders of men that ever lived, and this banker replied in substance: "There is no one who knows anything of Brigham Young's history that does not acknowledge it today. I do. I have read his history and it is one of the most intensely interesting books I have ever read." And my belief is that one of the very things which caused the banker to have confidence in the Latter-day Saints today was that many years ago he read the history of Brigham Young and was impressed by the wonderful things that had been accomplished by him. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.10 But coming back to the sermon. President Young pleaded with the people to support the Provo Woolen Mills; and from that day until these mills shut down some years ago, I never bought a suit of clothes in Salt Lake City that was not made from Provo goods which I selected and handed to the tailor to make up for me. I was honored once with being in the legislature when we gave a ball to the members of the Wyoming legislature. I was wearing at the time a gray Provo suit; and, realizing that everybody who would be at the party in the Theatre would have a black suit -- a swallow-tail or Prince Albert, -- I went went to the Z. C. M. I., bought me a black suit, Prince Albert coat. I didn't want to be the only white sheep in the bunch, and so went to the ball in black. The very next day I gave it away to a poor relative: the ball cost me thirty odd dollars -- the cost of a black suit. A friend asked me, "Why didn't you wear it a little while, and get a little benefit out of it before you gave it to your neighbor?" I answered that I didn't want to have the suit on if I happened to want to preach in favor of home-made goods. I was afraid that it being a black suit, I might by chance wear it some Sunday, and I have always felt that I would not ask the people to do anything that I didn't do myself. I didn't know until yesterday that the Provo Woolen Mills were again making cloth for suits and overcoats and I do not propose to buy any overcoats in the future except those made from the Knight Woolen Mills goods or some other Utah establishment which is making them. BUY HOME MADE GOODS Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.11 I call upon the Latter-day Saints to buy home-made goods of every kind that they can possibly get here at home. In other words, let cane sugar alone and buy some beet sugar. Some people think you can't make the finest kind of candy unless you have cane sugar. Well, I have been guilty of swapping sacks, you know, and lo and behold, Utah beet sugar in a cane sugar sack will "jell" all right, will make all kinds of candy; but cane sugar in a Utah beet sugar sack won't do any of these things. I had the same experience years ago with soap. As a young man I was agent for Franklin MacVeagh & Co.'s grocery house, of Chicago. The soapmaker employed by James A. Kirk & Co. had left that firm and MacVeagh & Co. secured his services and proceeded to make all the kinds and brands of soap which he had been making for his former firm. There was a good hired woman working for us who couldn't read English, but knew all the wrappers on the Kirk soap; and she insisted she couldn't create a lather on wash day. She couldn't wash clothes at all with the MacVeagh soap. But when I took the MacVeagh soap out and put in Kirk wrappers she declared it perfect; and when I took the Kirk soap and put it in MacVeagh wrappers the poor woman again insisted she couldn't lather with it. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.11 I say to the people, buy all things that you possibly can which are produced here at home. No section of the inter-mountain country has been hit so hard financially as ours -- Utah and southern Idaho -- because of the tremendous slump in the prices of the products of the soil and because of the great fall in live stock values. I was given a place of honor as state chairman and I esteemed the privilege of calling upon the people to subscribe for Liberty bonds. I went to California with Mr. Farnsworth, chairman of our state defense committee, and other loyal, patriotic, men, to discuss ways and means in connection with raising money for our government and as chairman of the Liberty Loan committee for Utah. I said to Mr. Lynch, then governor of the Federal Reserve Bank: "I pledge you the absolute loyalty of the people of Utah. I promise to put over any requirement, no matter how much it is, that is placed on the people of Utah, on one condition, and that is that you will give us a federal reserve branch in Salt Lake City. We haven't got the resources, we haven't the war activities, we haven't the money. But we have the loyalty, and if you will bring the bank there, we will borrow the money and we will do our share. The Bank organized a bank and they expected that five or six clerks, ten at the most, were all they would need for some time; and it was a little less than five months, as I remember it, when we were owing that branch bank, because of financial distress, between forty and fifty millions of dollars. We did our duty. Then since the slump came, inasmuch as it was all borrowed money, it is wearing the life out of us to pay the interest. I have conversed with men from San Francisco and they acknowledge that this inter-mountain country has been hit hardest because of difficulty in getting our products to market. Our distance from market creates a discrimination -- not that I am blaming this all upon the freight rates, which are costing us heavily, being in some cases almost prohibitive. But if we have to suffer in having to pay so much to get our goods to far-away markets, if we are suffering more than most other sections in this respect, all the more reason to avail ourselves of the great relief and remedy that will come from our purchasing and using every single solitary article that can be made at home. Now, I am not getting any commission for talking home manufactured goods; but I feel that it is clearly for the people's financial benefit that they should support home-made goods to the fullest possible extent. CO-OPERATION ADVISED Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.12 I have been much delighted with the splendid work that President Alonzo A. Hinckley is doing in trying to arrange for a co-operation so that our alfalfa, which is quarantined and cannot be shipped away, can be utilized by the people who have livestock to feed. I would rejoice if we could mature our livestock, quit killing the lambs and the breeding cattle, and arrange to feed our stock here at home. I commend all the co-operative work in this direction that is going on, and hope that the farmer and the stock raiser can get together and use up all the hay and other products of the soil for the feeding of our own stock instead of carrying these products over for another year. As an illustration of the imposition in being obliged to pay so much for mutton, I ordered a couple of muttonchops -- 80 cents -- during my recent trip east; and while I haven't such a fearfully large mouth, I mouth, I honestly believe I could have taken one of them entire in just one bite, if I had cut the meat off the bone -- two bites -- forty cents a bite. On other occasions, I ordered and paid for chops which I am sure I could have got in my mouth without the least trouble in the world, in two bites to a chop -- twenty cents a bite. Now, when you think of the stock-raiser having to sell his ewe lambs and getting about five cents a pound, it will be evident that the time has come when we need a little co-operation between the man who is running the restaurant, the man who is running the meat shop, the man who has hay and grain, and the man who has got mutton for sale. Perhaps some of us then could raise enough money so that instead of getting two bites for eighty cents, we might get three chops for a meal instead of two and get them for thirty or forty cents. CHARITY ENJOINED Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.13 We want to try to get back to first principles, and to co-operate to carry out that second great commandment. The first is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our might, mind and strength; and the second is like unto it, to love our neighbor as ourselves. Let us be charitable in these hard times. Let us not oppress our brothers who may be owing us a little, if we can possibly avoid it. Let us he hopeful and cheerful and happy. Why, we are in a magnificent condition in comparison with the time when the crickets were destroying the crops of our fathers and mothers. We are in a magnificent condition in comparison with the early days when people went around bare-footed, when they had one suit of clothes, when they had one pound of butter in a whole year, as some of us did in our houses. Let us study economy, let us be kind and charitable, and above all, let us serve God with full purpose of heart, be honest in our tithes and offerings, liberal in doing these things with our means that shall be for the benefit and uplift of God's kingdom. May the Lord bless us and pour out his Spirit abundantly upon us during this conference is my prayer, and I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen. President Heber J. Grant Since our last conference new stake presidents have been appointed as follows: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.13 President Thomas L. Allen, Summit stake. President Wallace Calder, Uintah stake. President John V. Bluth, North Weber stake. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.13 New wards have been organized as follows: Logan Twelfth ward, Logan stake. Fairview North ward, North Sanpete stake. Escalante South ward, Garfield stake. Topence ward, Idaho stake. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.13 There have been new independent branches organized: Boulder branch, Garfield stake. Standardville branch, Carbon stake. Kenilworth branch, Carbon stake. Rains branch, Carbon stake, Soldier Summit branch, Utah stake. Grovont branch, Teton stake. Jackson branch, Teton stake. Wilson branch, Teton stake. Ophir branch, Tooele stake. MacKay branch, Lost River stake. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.14 We have to announce the death of President Orville L. Thompson, president of the Millard stake of Zion, a man of devotion as a president of the stake, an honorable, upright member of many sessions of the legislature, a splendid father, husband and Latter-day Saint. We extend to his wife and family the sympathy of all of the people here assembled. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.14 Bishops who have died: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.14 Bishop Clyde A. Hammond, Moab ward, San Juan stake. Bishop Isaac C. McFarlane, St. George East, St. George stake. Bishop Frederick W. Passey, Lanark ward, Bear Lake stake. Bishop Robert Siddoway, Rockport ward, Summit stake. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.14 Bishop Henry K. Thatcher, Thatcher Second ward, Bannock stake; also was Bannock Stake Clerk. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.14 Mission presidents released: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.14 George Albert Smith, European mission. Nicholas G. Smith, South African mission. Theodore Tobiason, Swedish mission. Mission presidents appointed: Orson F. Whitney, European mission. J. Wyley Sessions, South African mission. Isaac P. Thunell, Swedish mission. President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.64 Elder Hart has asked you to read from the scripture. I thought I would do the same; and then while considering it, I believe that nine out of ten of you would not do it, so I am going to read an entire section of the Doctrine and Covenants: Remember this is the word of the Lord Almighty, a revelation from God to his people, the very first section in the Doctrine and Covenants: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.64 Hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the voice of him who dwells on high, and whose eyes are upon all men; yea, verily I say, hearken ye people from afar, and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.64 For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape, and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 And the rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow, for their iniquities shall be spoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts shall be revealed. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 And the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 And they shall go forth and none shall stay them, for I, the Lord, have commanded them. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 Behold, this is mine authority, and the authority of my servants, and my preface unto the book of my commandments, which I have given them to publish unto you, O inhabitants of the earth. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 Wherefore, fear and tremble, O ye people, for what I, the Lord, have decreed in them shall be fulfilled. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 And verily, I say unto you, that they who go forth, bearing these tidings unto the inhabitants of the earth, to them is power given to seal both on earth and in heaven, the unbelieving and rebellious; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 Yea, verily, to seal them up unto the day when the wrath of God shall be poured out upon the wicked without measure; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 Unto the day when the Lord shall come to recompense unto every Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 man according to his work, [not according to his profession, not according to his knowledge, not according to the testimonies he bears, but according to his work] and measure to every man according to the measure which he has measured to his fellow man. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth, that all that will hear may hear: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 And the anger of the Lord is kindled, and his sword is bathed in heaven, and it shall fall upon the inhabitants of the earth; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 And the arm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the day cometh that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles shall be cut off from among the people; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 For they have strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine everlasting covenant; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own God, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 Wherefore I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jr., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 And also gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world; and all this that it might be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 But that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 That faith also might increase in the earth; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 That mine everlasting covenants might be established; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 And inasmuch as they erred it might be made known: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.65 And inasmuch as they sought wisdom they might be instructed: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.66 And inasmuch as they sinned they might be chastened, that they might repent; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.66 And inasmuch as they were humble they might be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive knowledge from time to time: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.66 And after having received the record of the Nephites, yea, even my servant Joseph Smith, Jr., might have power to translate through the mercy of God, by the power of God, the Book of Mormon; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.66 And also those to whom these commandments were given, might have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.66 For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.66 Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.66 And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received, for my spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.66 And again, verily I say unto you, O inhabitants of the earth, I the Lord am willing to make these things known unto all flesh, Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.66 For I am no respecter of persons, and will that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.66 And also the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment upon Idumea, or the world. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.66 Search these commandments for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.66 What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself: and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same; Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.66 For behold, and lo, the Lord is God, and the Spirit beareth record, and the record is true, and the truth abideth for ever and ever. Amen. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.66 A revelation from the Lord God to the Latter-day Saints. President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.86 I really believe that this is the largest gathering I have ever seen in this Tabernacle of a Sunday morning. I am told that the Assembly Hall is full and running over, and that there are several hundred people still standing up. It will therefore be necessary to hold an overflow meeting. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.86 In announcing the hymn, "When dark and drear the skies appear," President Grant remarked: The words of this very splendid hymn are by Sister Emily Hill Woodmansee, the music by our late organist, Joseph J. Daynes. No person that I ever knew, lived more perfectly in keeping with these beautiful words than the good sister who wrote them. She came to this country, dragging a hand cart all the way from the Missouri River to the Salt Lake Valley. She lived and died one of the true and faithful Latter-day Saints. She has written some of the most inspiring of the many inspiring hymns that we have in our hymn book. President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.191 We have with us today the only living survivor of the Pioneers who came here with President Brigham Young -- Brother Lorenzo Zobriskie Young. I doubt if he could be heard, so we will only ask him to stand up and let us take a look at him. This is Brother Young, the only surviving member of President Brigham Young's company, which came here in 1847. [He was one of the two children who came with the company -- Perry Decker, being the other child. -- Clerk.] PRESENTATION OF PEACE RESOLUTION. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.191 President Grant presented the following resolution: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.191 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, brought forth and established by the power of God and dedicated to the mission of preparing the way for the glorious coming of the Son of God to reign in the earth, in truth and righteousness and peace, beholds with deep interest every authoritative movement taken by the nations in the interest of World Peace. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.192 It is believed that the conference called in Washington to consider the limitation of armaments and questions concerning the Pacific and nations of the Far East may, under the favor of Heaven, promote this great objective. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.192 To the end that it may do so, the Latter-day Saints in general conference now assembled approve the appointment of a Sabbath day before the eleventh of November, 1921, on which in all the wards and stakes of Zion, and in all branches of the Church in the United States and in the Missions throughout the world, the members of the Church shall be called together in their usual places of worship to engage in special and solemn prayer for Divine guidance of the International Conference on the Limitation of Armaments, that the cause of Peace may be thereby enhanced, and an amelioration of the burdens of mankind secured. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.192 President Grant: It is moved and seconded that this resolution be adopted by the Latter-day Saints in General Conference assembled. All in favor raise the right hand. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, p.192 There was a unanimous vote of approval. President Heber J. Grant PRESIDENT EMMELINE B. WELLS. Emmeline B. Wells, Conference Report, October 1921, p.199 Since our last meeting here, in general conference, one of the most faithful and best beloved, and most remarkable workers in the Church among our sisters, has passed away, the late Emmeline B. Wells, who lives in the hearts and memory of the people. She bore testimony to the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, from my earliest recollection until she passed away, some ninety-odd years of age, with a power, a force, and a spirit that I have seldom heard from the lips of any person. I rejoice that she had the opportunity of traveling over the stakes of Zion, from Canada to Mexico, and in many foreign lands, in attending many gatherings of noted women in the world, at home in these United States and abroad. Wherever she went she bore that testimony and, by the integrity of her heart, by the wonderful and splendid intellect that she had, and above all, by the burning testimony of the divinity of this work, in which we as Latter-day Saints are engaged, she made friends for this people among all those with whom she came in contact. REGRETS THE LIMIT OF TIME. Emmeline B. Wells, Conference Report, October 1921, p.201 There has been but one regret in my mind during this conference, and that is that we have had to limit the time of the speakers, asking some not to exceed ten minutes, others not to exceed fifteen, and allowing none to go beyond twenty minutes. I sometimes feel that we make a mistake in not having four days of conference, so that when men are speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit of the living God, they will not feel that they have to say "Amen" upon the moment. At the same time, I believe that we feel better and that we accomplish more, if we can start on time and close on time. BLESSINGS FOR TIlE PEOPLE. Emmeline B. Wells, Conference Report, October 1921, p.201 I feel to bless the people for the wonderful attendance at this conference. I feared on account of the hard times, and the great financial depression, that our conference would not be as largely attended as heretofore; but our gatherings here this morning, in this building, in the Assembly Hall, and in the overflow meetings, and our gatherings this afternoon in all three of those meetings, I believe have been larger than upon any other occasion in the history of the Church. Zion is growing. The faith of the people is enlarging. Their attendance at their sacrament meetings, and at their priesthood meetings is increasing and they are becoming more and more faithful in performing the duties and the obligations that rest upon them in the auxiliary associations. They are doing better; more work is being accomplished in the temples than ever before; and the people are growing in the light and the knowledge and testimony and the love of the gospel. I pray God to bless the Latter-day Saints in every land and in every clime, I pray for his blessing upon the honest the world over, and I pray for peace and happiness to come to the inhabitants of the world. We will now close our conference for six months, by the choir singing the words of a song given by revelation from God contained in the D&C, Section 84. Emmeline B. Wells, Conference Report, October 1921, p.202 The music was written by a former citizen of this state, Arthur Shepherd, who has gained for himself a national reputation as a composer of music. Emmeline B. Wells, Conference Report, October 1921, p.202 The Lord hath brought again Zion: The Lord hath redeemed his people, Israel, According to the election of grace, Which was brought to pass by the faith And covenant of their fathers. Emmeline B. Wells, Conference Report, October 1921, p.202 The Lord hath redeemed his people, And Satan is bound and time is no longer: The Lord hath gathered all things in one: The Lord hath brought down Zion from above. The Lord hath brought up Zion from beneath. Emmeline B. Wells, Conference Report, October 1921, p.202 The earth hath travailed and brought forth her strength: And truth is established in her bowels: And the heavens have smiled upon her: And she is clothed with the glory of her God. For he stands in the midst of his people; Emmeline B. Wells, Conference Report, October 1921, p.202 Glory, and honor, and power, and might, Be ascribed to our God; for he is full of mercy, Justice, grace and truth, and peace, For ever and ever, Amen. President Heber J. Grant Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.2 I am delighted once more to have the opportunity of meeting with the Latter-day Saints in General Conference assembled. I am pleased indeed to see so large a congregation here today, considering the inclement weather of some months past, and the great need of our farming community to stay at home to prepare their farms for the coming harvest. It shows the faith of the Latter-day Saints when they neglect their ordinary temporal affairs, and, upon a week day, assemble in such large numbers as we see here before us. I believe this is one of the largest congregations I have seen for a number of years, except on the Sabbath day, of Conference when, as you know, the building is overcrowded and we have to hold overflow meetings. THE INSPIRATIONS FROM A NOTED HYMN Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.2 I never hear the opening hymn, "Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear, but with joy wend your way," but that my heart goes out in gratitude and thanksgiving to God for these wonderful men and women who sang this hymn, day after day, and week after week, and month after month, as they were crossing the plains, coming fifteen hundred miles from the city of Nauvoo, where, as you know, they had been expelled by a mob. A gentleman said to me in substance, when I sang him this hymn one day as I was taking him up one of our beautiful canyons, "Mr. Grant, I have never heard a single verse of any hymn that has impressed me more with an absolute and perfect faith in the immortality of the soul of man than that last verse in your hymn, 'Come, come, ye Saints.'" Previously he had asked me for a copy of the hymn which I gave him, and in addition, I had given him a copy of The Songs of Zion. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.2 "And should we die before our journey's through, happy day, all is well. We then are free from toil and sorrow too, with the just we shall dwell." I am convinced that every one of the people who traveled a thousand miles over an almost trackless trail to these valleys of the mountains, and who sang this hymn, had an absolutely abiding testimony in their hearts and souls of the immortality of man. There is no doubt in the mind of any Latter-day Saint that the body shall be literally resurrected, that we shall meet God, our Father, in whose image we were made, that we shall meet our Redeemer, our elder brother, the Son of the living God. We have in very deed found the place which God for us prepared. We have in very deed been blessed of God. We have become, as the Prophet Joseph Smith predicted, a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains. He said that the Saints should continue to suffer much persecution and affliction, that many should be put to death by our persecutors, and others should live to go and assist in building cities and making settlements and should become a great and a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains. This part of the country was then considered a worthless tract; it was put down upon the maps as the "Great American Desert," but the inspiration of the living God to Joseph Smith as shown by the prophecy that he uttered and had recorded, was that we were to come here; and we have come here, and we have become a mighty people in the midst of these mountains. Brigham Young announced that in vision the Lord had shown him this valley, and when he stood upon the hill to the east and saw the valley, he said "This is the place." When I think of this great building erected by him and remember that the few nails used in it cost at the rate of $1.00 a pound, and that it is held together with wooden pins and tied with raw-hide -- when I think of the erection of this building and the organ here and all the great things that were accomplished under the direction of that wonderful pioneer, especially when I hear this hymn, my heart goes out in gratitude, that I, too, had a father who was one of those who came here in early days as a pioneer and that he had in his heart the love of God and the faith that God had prepared a place for us, far away in the West. CONCERNING THE GREAT SUGAR INDUSTRY OF THE INTERMOUNTAIN COUNTRY Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.3 I have received a communication asking me if I did not think I had charged a little bit too much when I received $900,000 commission for raising $2,100,000 to help out the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company. I did not get one dollar of commission, neither did the "Mormon" Church get a dollar of commission; but the "Mormon" Church used its credit for $2,100,000 to buy $3,000,000 of preferred stock, (less the limited amount which the share holders took, which was a little less, as I remember it, than 10 per cent of the capital stock). We did this to save the sugar industry, and I spent weeks of my time borrowing money for the Church -- something we do not like to do, and would not have done except to save a great industry, for the benefit of the farmers and the stockholders of the company. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.4 I want to say to the Latter-day Saints that the first beet sugar factory ever built in the United States of America, with American machinery, was built by the people of Utah, at Lehi; but for the fact that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints used its credit and borrowed the money to build that factory, during the panic of 1891, that factory would never have been built. I was utilized by President Woodruff and his counselors as the financial agent of the Church, and I went to New York, to Boston, to Hartford, to Philadelphia, to San Francisco and other places, and borrowed money upon the credit of the Church to finish that factory, for the people who had subscribed for stock in it, because of the panic, failed to fulfil their pledges. It is only fair to say that many of the bankers were not willing to loan money to build that factory, even to the Church, because banks were failing all over the country. I made a proposition to the bank that loaned the last $100,000 for the building of the factory that if the banker, the cashier and manager of Wells Fargo Bank of San Francisco, would write the names of twenty-five of the strongest financial men in Salt Lake City who were "Mormons" I would promise that twenty out of that twenty-five would individually and collectively guarantee the payment of the $100,000. I used to be his office boy in Salt Lake City when he was the manager of Wells Fargo Bank here, and I pleaded with him that as he believed in me as a boy, to believe in me now as a man and as one of the leaders of the "Mormon" Church. He laughed and said, "Why, Heber, that is an impossibility, no set of men on the face of the earth would guarantee four Church notes for $25,000 each. I said, "All I ask is for you to give me the privilege, and if I fail to get the twenty signatures, then I do not ask you to loan me the money." He said, "My boy, I will go you 100 per cent better; you offer me a margin of five; I will give you a margin of ten. I will write thirty names, and if you can get twenty out of the thirty, your Church can have the money." He wrote four or five, tore up the slip of paper, threw it in the waste-basket and said, "By the way, Heber, twelve or fourteen years have passed since I left Salt Lake, many a man who was wealthy then may be busted now; I will just have my successor in Salt Lake write those thirty names and when you take him the notes he will pay you the money. I came home and the man wrote thirty names. I secured twenty-four signatures out of the thirty and three of the men on the list were out of the city, and I secured one endorser who was not on the list, the late David Eccles, who was worth more than any half dozen of the men who signed. David Eccles who heard me telling the story, asked me the question, "Is my name one of the thirty?" When I said, "No," he said, "I would like to look at those notes." I had said they were payable, one in six months, one in twelve months, one in eighteen months and one in twenty-four months. He did not look at the face of them; he turned them wrong side up and wrote his name on the back of them and said, "My name won't hurt them." Then he said, "You tell President Wilford Woodruff that David Eccles always keeps two or three hundred thousand dollars where he can put his hand on it by giving thirty days' notice, and that, as these notes fall due, if he will give me thirty days' notice, I will take them up, and he can pay me in one year or five years or ten years or whenever convenient. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.5 There is, perhaps, nothing more tiresome to an audience, accustomed to hearing a man speak always without reading, than for him to read to them, but I am going to tire you by reading an editorial from the Improvement Era, entitled, "Integrity and Industry:" Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.5 "In the practical religion of the Latter-day Saints, we find not only spirituality, but integrity; not only faith, but works" * * * * Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.5 I may not have been a very good preacher of the gospel of the Lord, Jesus Christ, from the standpoint of doctrinal preaching, but I have endeavored, to the best of my ability, since I was called as a boy forty odd years ago, to preside over the Tooele stake of Zion, and forty years this coming October, to be one of the apostles of the Lord, Jesus Christ, to preach the doctrine of St. James, "I will show thee my faith by my works." He wanted men to show their faith by their works: and I have announced to the Latter-day Saints time and time again from my first public speech lasting seven and a half minutes, after my call to the ministry, that I did not ask any man to be a more honest tithe payer, or a more perfect observer of the Word of Wisdom, or to be a better observer of his family and secret prayers, or to be more liberal in proportion to his means, for the advancement of God's kingdom, than I would be; and, thank the Lord, I have kept that promise, made to the people of Tooele. I believe in the Latter-day Saint who is honest with the Lord, God Almighty, who believes it a privilege to contribute to the Lord one-tenth of all that the Lord puts into his hands, I believe in the man who goes down on his knees and supplicates God every day of his life for the guidance that comes from above; I believe in the man who observes the Word of Wisdom and who has faith enough not to take into his system those things that the Lord, God Almighty has revealed to us are not good for man. "* * * * not only thrift, but industry,. not only co-operation, but unselfish service. In a community where these characteristics predominate, the consequence must necessarily result in a God-fearing, clean, loyal, prosperous and dependable people. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.5 "As an illustration of these remarks, we cite the wisdom displayed in the saving of the sugar industry of Utah and Idaho from the recent threatened disaster. The rounding of the sugar industry was one of the grandest happenings that could come to the West, and is an illustration of the wisdom, faith, and integrity of those who stood and who stand at its head. Had this great industry, which was seriously threatened, not been sustained and protected, the disastrous effects would indeed have been far-reaching, the loss most dreadful, not only to business, but to individual producers as well. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.6 "In view of these facts, and considering the benefits to be derived from this accomplishment, the following statement, from one who is well-in-formed on the subject, must prove of great interest, both to manufacturers and farmers, as well as to the people in general: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.6 "'For the various sugar companies of Utah and Idaho during the season of 1921, there were approximately 160,000 acres of sugar beets grown by approximately 16,000 farmers. About half of this amount was raised for the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company. The 16,000 farmers delivered from the 160,000 acres to the various companies in the two states approximately 1,600,000 tons of beets, from which upwards of 4,000,000 bags of sugar have been manufactured, which, if sold at the present price of about $4.50 per bag, would amount to approximately $18,000,000, this being distributed, about one-half to the farmer, and the other half to the workmen and manufacturers for material, etc. While the manufacturers of this sugar will undoubtedly sustain a loss, unless the price of sugar increases, yet the benefits to be derived from the circulation of this vast sum of money, during this period of financial distress is of inestimable value. It furnishes the very life's blood of our industrial pursuits, and will assist in tiding this section of the country over, in some of its financial difficulties. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.6 Speaking of circulation of the blood reminds me of the fact that a dollar as the circulating medium of finance, is to the body of the financial world, exactly what a drop of blood is to the human body. I understand there are about twenty pounds of blood in the human body, and that the heart handles about four ounces every time it beats; therefore it handles, since the heart beats about eighty times a minute, the whole twenty pounds every minute. Multiply this quantity by sixty, and then multiply it by twenty-four, and you get more than ten tons -- yet there are only twenty pounds of blood which circulate continuously every twenty-four hours. Twenty pounds of circulating medium; ten tons of work every twenty-four hours -- the heart, just about the size of my hand, is a wonderful little pump. It goes, with some people, over ninety years, without even being told to go. Of course, it just accidentally dropped inside of us, and just accidentally goes on, according to the ideas of some people! Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.6 Now, it is estimated that a dollar does from $25 to $100 worth of work every year. Just figure it out -- if you can get a string of figures long enough -- what this $18,000,000 would would do, if it did a hundred times that much work every year. Brother Ivins had an interesting check. A man in Arizona, where they have had great money depression and are hard up on account of the discontinuance of the high prices for cotton, drew up a check for $25. When the check was returned it had paid $500 in debts, having twenty endorsers. I heard the manager of the Federal Reserve bank in our city say that some six or seven months ago there were forty odd million dollars of rediscounts in that bank, and that they had been reduced to twenty-two and a fraction. I want to give it, as my judgment, that as 85 per cent of all the sugar that is raised in the intermountain country has to go to or beyond the Missouri river, if the vast sum of money, resulting from sugar sales had not been brought here, instead of the Federal Reserve Bank having only twenty odd millions of rediscounts today, it would have nearer thirty odd millions. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.7 I have often told the story about Bishop Geo. E. Farrell, who bought some home-made shoes and paid for them at the depot, and then found his $5 went around and around and at last landed in his own pocket after paying $25 worth of debts. He said he bought homemade goods because it kept the money at home and helped build up the community. I recommend this, because, since I was a youth of 17 or 18, I bought but one suit of clothes in Salt Lake, until the mills closed, not made from cloth manufactured in the old Provo Woolen Mills. I heard Brigham Young deliver a sermon here, telling the people who were then a thousand miles from supplies, that we should be self-sustaining and should patronize home manufacturing institutions. I patronized the Provo Woolen Mills from that day until the day the mills closed. The one suit purchased in Salt Lake that was not made from Provo goods, was when I had the honor of being in the Legislature. We gave a ball to the members of the Wyoming legislature. I was wearing at that time a gray Provo suit; but did not want to be the only white sheep at the ball in the theatre; so I bought a hand-me-down black suit from the Z. C. M. I. -- "Prince Albert." The next day I gave that thirty odd dollar suit to a poor relative. I said I did not want to have it on, if I should happen to want to preach on supporting home manufacture. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.7 "'Had this financing not been accomplished, business concerns throughout this section would have been shaken to their very foundations and would have suffered great losses. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.7 "'To produce the $18,000,000 resulting from the 160,000 acres of beets and the sugar manufactured therefrom, it would take 1,000,000 acres of grain or 1,500,000 acres of alfalfa at the present prices. Therefore the sugar beet crop manufactured into sugar has produced, in the gross, five or six times, at least, as much per acre as that of the other standard crops of this section. It also furnishes thousands of people with employment both in and out of the factories, which the other crops do not furnish. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.7 "'Besides, the by-products of the beet crop, such as tops, pulp and syrup, have fed thousands of head of cattle, sheep and dairy cows, thus producing abundance of beef, mutton and dairy products, for home consumption and shipment abroad, the returns for which have been brought back to the two states above mentioned. Further, the feeding of the livestock on the farms helps to keep up the fertility. It has been thoroughly demonstrated that the growing of sugar beets raises the standard of farming and in creases the yields of other crops to follow. The countries of the old world, as well as the new, where sugar beets have been grown for a long period of years, have proved that where 25 per cent of the land has been used for beet culture the remaining 75 per cent has raised as much in cereals as the 100 per cent produced before sugar beets were grown. The deep plowing required for this crop, the intense cultivation of the soil, and the small, fine rootlets of the beets, that penetrate deeply into the soil, and are left there to pass off into the soil, are all beneficial to other crops in the rotation system which so many of the farmers have learned to follow.'" Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.7 This is the end of the quotation from whoever furnished this information. The associate editor of the Era, Edward H. Anderson, than whom no more faithful, no more upright, no more diligent man is in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, makes the following comment: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.8 "Both business and agriculture have indeed cause to be thankful that the policy pursued in the beginning of the sugar industry in Utah, about thirty years ago, is still to be continued." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.8 After hearing an adverse report to establishing the industry, made by a committee of leading financial minds of Utah, President Wilford Woodruff said, "The beet sugar industry will be beneficial to this community, and although it may break the Church, it shall be established." To the inspiration of the Lord to that man, we are indebted for the establishment of this great industry. HOME MANUFACTURE Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.8 I am delighted to say that within the last week, I have placed an order for a suit of clothes from goods made at the Knight Woolen factory. Go thou and do likewise. I am delighted to say that I am stranding in shoes that are made here at home. Go thou and do likewise. We sing, "We thank thee, O God, for a prophet to guide us in these latter days," but many of us ought to put a postscript on it, "Provided he doesn't guide us to do something that we do not want to do." GOVERNMENT AID TO INDUSTRY Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.8 During the past year, on account of the financial distress and other troubles, I have had to go to New York and Washington three times. I want to say that I am delighted to be a citizen of this great Republic. I am delighted that we are a great and powerful nation; I am delighted that the men who stand at the head of this nation are anxious for the welfare of the farmer, the stock-growers, the beet industry and every other industry in our country. I believe that, except for the aid extended by the Government of the United States, through the War Finance Committee, amounting to about nine million, five hundred thousand dollars, our beet sugar industry could not have survived. Bankers from San Francisco, Chicago and New York declined to assist when we appealed for aid to harvest our beet crops, for some of our factories here. We asked for an adjournment of forty-eight hours. The next day a committee of influential men from this City and from Denver presented our claims to Mr. Eugene Meyer, Jr., the manager of the War Finance Committee, and to his associates. Mr. Meyer introduced us to the President of the United States, who very kindly said, "These men are entitled to your help." Before the day was over we were pledged ten million dollars upon our stock of sugars, with which to harvest the beet crop and to furnish the money to pay the farmer. That money came to us rapidly. The next day, when we went back to New York, where we had been met with a cold reception and no promise of help, arrangements were made for a year's extension upon several millions of obligations of some of the sugar companies. I am grateful for our wonderful country. SERVICES AND LIBERTIES OF OUR GREAT AND GLORIOUS COUNTRY Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.9 Speaking of our wonderful country reminds me that recently I heard three speeches by Herbert Hoover, which are among the most remarkable that I have heard in my life. One was given at the Commercial Club, one before the Engineer's Association of Utah and the third one before the Rotarians. I have just sent a copy of the speech before the Rotarians to the Deseret News, to be printed next Saturday. I would to the Lord that every American citizen would read that speech. I will read the closing paragraph. He had told of the feeding of millions upon millions by our great and glorious country, and he closed by saying: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.9 "I feel certain that it is more important to our country both spiritually and materially that we should have planted the American flag in the hearts of 250,000,000 people, than that we should maintain it at the masthead of any battle-ship we have yet built." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.9 While I think of it, I am grateful for the success of that wonderful Disarmament Conference recently held in Washington, as a result of which millions upon millions of dollars of battleships will be peaceably sunk, instead of being used as engines of war to kill hosts of people and to be sunk in battle; and that the armaments of the great countries have been reduced. A FIVE WEEKS' REST AND ACTIVITY IN CALIFORNIA Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.9 I recently had the pleasure of spending a little more than five weeks in Southern California. After the strenuous time that I had in the East, and the multiplicity of duties that devolve upon me, I took my first long rest since I was a boy of fifteen. Nevertheless, mail followed me and I kept a stenographer busy most of the time while I was resting. In addition I had the pleasure of attending meetings in the wonderful city of Los Angeles, which is growing by leaps and bounds, in Ocean Park, in San Bernardino, in Fresno, in Bakersfield, in Long Beach and in San Diego. I attended nine meetings in five weeks. Notwithstanding the "loaf," so to speak, that I had down there, I did quite a bit of work. We dedicated a meeting-house in San Bernardino, and I feel to rejoice that upon the spot of ground that was originally settled by "Mormon" pioneers, we now have our own meeting-house. The United States sent an army against us because some run-away judges lied and said that we had burned the court records and that we were in rebellion, etc., etc.; when these charges were afterwards proved to be false we were pardoned for sins that we had not committed. At that time the "Mormon" pioneers in San Bernardino were called home from the great California ranch which they had bought and which today, no doubt, is worth more than all the possessions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, several times over. The fact is that those who remained there and who did not come back when Brigham Young called them, lost their faith; and every Latter-day Saint who believes and knows that we have the truth, realize that the saving of one soul is of greater value than all the wealth of the world. Therefore we feel to thank the Lord that about 95 per cent of the San Bernardino settlers came back to Utah. I thank the Lord that upon the spot in California where once the Latter-day Saints were established, we now have our own meeting-house. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.10 I rejoice thoroughly in the wonderful spirit of the gospel which I found in my recent labors in California. There are no people in all the wide world that can compare with the Latter-day Saints in fulfiling the admonition of our Redeemer to keep the first and second great commandments, "Thou shalt love thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind"; and the second is like unto it, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." WONDERFUL MISSIONARY WORK OF THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.10 When I think of the wonderful missionary work of the Latter-day Saints, the five hundred, the thousand, and some years two thousand men at a time who go out at their own expense, with no hope of earthly reward, to proclaim an unpopular doctrine, solely because of the love of their fellow men, I rejoice in this gospel of Jesus Christ that inspires men with a willingness to perform such service. When I think of the twenty long years that have been given in proclaiming the gospel without money and without price, by my counselor, President Charles W. Penrose, now 90 years old -- twenty long years in his native land, ten years as a young man from nineteen to twenty-nine, without purse and without scrip -- without hope of earthly reward, I rejoice in the testimony and the knowledge of the gospel that must be in a man's heart who will give such wonderful evidence of the love of God and the love of his fellow man. No peoples in all the world can compare with the Latter-day Saints in giving of their time and their money for the benefit of their fellows, to carry to them the glad tidings of great joy. The California mission is growing by leaps and bounds as are all of our missions. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES -- CHURCH AND SECULAR Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.10 That reminds me that I have a few missionary statistics here in connection with some others, that I will now read: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.10 "There have been expended for the year 1921 for stake and ward purposes in the maintenance of operation of the stakes and the wards of the Church, $925,270. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.10 "Education -- Expended for the maintenance and operation of Church schools and seminaries, $893,000. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.10 I will read something about education from a great educator, Nicholas Murray Butler, President of the Columbia University. This was sent to me by the President of the Brigham Young College: Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.11 "The little red schoolhouse of the generation that followed the Civil War, with its wretchedly poor equipment but with an earnest and devoted teacher who laid stress upon character-building and upon the fundamentals of intellectual training, did more for the American people than does many a costly and well-equipped educational palace such as may be seen in any part of the United States today. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.11 "It is significant, too, that in this period of vigorous and able-bodied reaction the world should be without a poet, without a philosopher, and without a notable religious leader. The great voices of the spirit are all stilled just now, while the mad passion for gain and for power endeavors to gratify itself through the odd device of destroying what has already been gained or accomplished. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.11 "The simple business of training young children in good habits of diet and exercise and conduct; of teaching them the elementary facts of the nature which surrounds them and of the society of which they form a part; and of giving them ability to read understandingly, to write legibly and to perform quickly and with accuracy the fundamental operations with numbers, has been pushed into the background by all sorts of enterprises that have their origin in emotionalism in ignorance, or in mere vanity. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.11 "There is no man, there is no people, without a God. That God may be a visible idol, carved of wood, or stone, to which sacrifice is offered in the forest, in the temple, or in the market-place; or it may be an invisible idol, fashioned in a man's own image and worshiped ardently at his own personal shrine. Somewhere in the universe there is that in which each individual has firm faith, and on which he places steady reliance. The fool who says in his heart, "There is no God" really means there is no God but himself. His supreme egotism, his colossal vanity, have placed him at the center of the universe which is thereafter to be measured and dealt with in terms of his personal satisfactions. So it has come to pass that after nearly two thousand years much of the world resembles the Athens of St. Paul's time, in that it is wholly given to idolatry; but in the modern case there are as many idols as idol worshipers, and every such idol worshiper finds his idol in the looking-glass. The time has come once again to repeat and to expound in thunderous tones the noble sermon of St. Paul on Mars Hill, and to declare to these modern idolaters "Whom, therefore, ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.11 A gentleman sent out several hundred letters to representative ministers, and asked them the question: "Do you believe in God, a personal God, a definite and tangible intelligence, not a congeries of laws floating like a fog in the universe, but God a person, in whose image you were made?" Not a minister answered, "yes." They said they could not be certain about a thing of that kind. There is no Latter-day Saint who does not believe absolutely in God as a Personal being, and that the scripture tells the truth when it says "In the image of God created He him; male and female created He them." The foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ, organized ninety-two years ago today, is based upon the appearance of the Lord, God Almighty, a glorified Being beyond the power of man to describe to a boy not yet fifteen years of age. It is based upon the appearance of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in the express image of the Father, to that boy. In answer to the boy's simple question, "Which of all the churches on earth today is the true one," the Lord God Almighty pointed to His Son and said to that boy, "This is my beloved Son; hear Him." When the question was repeated, which church to join, that boy was told to join none of them; that they had all gone astray. He was given to understand that he would be the instrument in the hands of God of again establishing upon the earth the gospel of Jesus Christ. We declare to all the world that God lives, that He is the Father of our spirits, that He is absolutely the Father of Jesus Christ, that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of the world. Men say we lack liberality and breadth, because we say we are the only true Church. We are not lacking in liberality or breadth; the Redeemer of the world, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, said it, and we are repeating what He said. We believe in allowing all men absolute freedom to worship where and what they may, but we declare to all the world the truth as it has been revealed to us through the Prophet Joseph Smith. All men, all women, from the midnight sun country of Scandinavia to South Africa, from Canada to South America, or upon the Islands of the sea, who have entered the waters of baptism and joined the Church of Christ, believe that Joseph Smith was in very deed a prophet of the true and living God, and that God is a person and talked to the boy Joseph. The whole world may declare they do not believe that Joseph Smith saw God, the whole world may declare that they do not believe that Jesus Christ appeared to him or delivered a message, but all the disbelief of the world cannot change that message and the truth of it, as it was delivered. Joseph Smith declared that three years after the First Vision, in answer to fervent prayer, an angel of God appeared and delivered a message to him; that the angel disappeared and returned and repeated his message again; that he again dissappeared and returned the third time. The entire night was consumed with the three repetitions of that message which was that there were buried, in the Hill Cumorah, some golden plates upon which was inscribed the sacred history of the forefathers of the American Indians, and that he should be the instrument in the hands of God of translating those plates. The plates have been translated and the translation is now known as the Book of Mormon. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.12 "Oh," says one, "I do not believe he ever had the plates." If he had the plates, the disbelief of the world cannot change it. Joseph Smith announced that John, the Baptist, came to the earth laid his hands upon the heads of Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith, and ordained them to the Aaronic Priesthood, with authority to baptize; and he also announced that Peter, James and John came to the earth and delivered the authority to build up the Church of Christ, by laying their hands upon them and by ordaining them to the Melchizedek or the higher Priesthood and by bestowing upon them the Apostleship. So, to all the world we declare these truths, and the disbelief of all the world cannot change the fact, for it is a fact. God has given to the Latter-day Saints by the revelations of His Spirit a knowledge that this is true. Again reading from Pres. Butler's remarks: "We are trustees of a great inheritance. If we abuse or neglect that trust, we are responsible before Almighty God for the infinite damage that will be done in the lives of individuals and of nations." Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.13 I will have this extract from the speech of Nicholas Murray Butler, part of which I have read, published in full in the Era. I think you will all enjoy reading it. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.13 I rejoice in the very splendid exercises that we had yesterday up at the University. You will undoubtedly be able to read the speeches that were made. I thoroughly enjoyed them, and I am sure you will. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.13 There has been expended for educational purposes $893,000. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.13 This is over 100 per cent, nearly 150 per cent more than it was a few years ago. I regret, because of the falling off in tithing, the discontinuance of dividends from sugar companies and other institutions, that we will have to curtail very materially during the coming year, our school activities. CHURCH CHARITIES AND MISSION EXPENDITURES Expenditures for Temples: -- Expended for the construction, maintenance and operations of temples, $170,000. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.13 Charities:-Amount expended from the tithes, $266,649. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.13 There was expended for charities through the Relief Societies and other sources, $459,769, therefore the total expenditures for Church charities last year was $726,733. You will notice that the total expenditures not including the Relief Society disbursements, amount to $2,255,234, which is for stake and ward purposes, education, temples and charities. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.13 Mission Expenditures For the erection of chapels and the maintenance and operation of all the missions $518,647. In additions to the payments made from Church funds for mission purposes, we estimate there has been sent to missionaries by their families and friends, $860,640. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.13 By the way, we have heard it remarked by some people, that they had quit paying tithing because all the tithing comes to Salt Lake City, and that they would like to build up their own local section. For the benefit of the Saints, I will announce that 84 2-3 per cent of all the tithes collected, in the missions and in the Church, is sent back to the stakes, wards and missions. So the immense amount that is up here won't hurt anybody very much. CHURCH GROWTH AND VITAL STATISTICS Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.13 Children blessed and entered on the records of the Church in the stakes and missions 20,441. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.13 baptized in the stakes and missions 15,404. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.13 entered on the records of the Church by baptism 7,113 increase in Church membership for the year 1921 22,779 Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.13 There are now 86 stakes of Zion, 879 wards, 24 missions and 789 branches in the missions. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.13 Birth rate, 37.3 per thousand. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.13 Death rate, 8.2 per thousand. Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, April 1922, p.13 Families owning their own homes, 75 per c