ference), Monday Morning, July 29th, 1889. REPORTED BY A. WINTER. I am very much pleased at the re- port whch we have heard from the President and Bishops of this Stake of Zion. I do not know of any Stake that we have visited that has given as good a report, considering all things, as has this Stake of Zion. I rejoice that you are united, for union is what the Lord requires of the Latter-day Saints; and if we are not one, we cannot be counted as the Lord's. Among other things, I am very much gratified at the report con- cerning our young people. I have, I may say, peculiar feelings with re- gard to the rising generation in these mountains. I reflect a great deal concerning them and what lies before them. The organizations among the young people are of vast importance, and the Lord has great- ly blessed these organizations, in rais- ing up men who have been inspired to labor in connection therewith. These Associations have proved a blessing in years that are past, and they are a blessing today. Here are the Primaries. Our sisters or- ganize the children together in these Societies. This is the first step after they leave, as it were, the instruction and teaching of the mother. The fathers sometimes teach them, I suppose; but, as a rule, we regard the mother as the one who gives shape to the charac- ter of the child. I consider that the mother has a greater influence over her posterity than any other person can have. And the question has arisen sometimes, "When does this education begin?" Our proph- ets have said, "When the spirit life from God enters into the taber- nacle." The condition of the mother at that time will have its effect upon the fruit of her womb; and from the birth of the child, and all through life, the teachings and the example of the mother govern and control, in a great measure, that child, and her influence is felt by it through time and eternity. Our children go to the Primaries. There they are taught the first prin- ciples of the Gospel and about the birth of Christ. This lays a founda- tion for them to build upon. From the Primaries they go to the Sab- bath Schools. We have a very large number of children—over sixty thousand—enrolled in Sabbath Schools. President George Q. Cannon has taken an active part in the organization and conducting of these schools. He was inspired to do this, and they have been a great blessing to this people. From the Sabbath Schools these children go to the Young Ladies' and Young Men's Improvement Associations, there to continue improving them- selves. When we call for Elders to go abroad on missions we almost in- variably choose those who have graduated in this manner. Well, I will tell you some of my thoughts and feelings with regard to our young men and maidens. Of course, I know and you know that this is the Kingdom of God. I know that this is the great and last dispensation, which the God of heaven ordained before this world was created; for I believe that the Almighty knew what He was going to do with this world before He made it. He knew what kind of spirits were going to occupy it, and what kind of work would have to be performed in order to save His sons and daughters who should come upon the earth. And in read- ing the history of the dealings of God with men, from the creation of the world to this dispensation, we see the Father has labored to bless His sons and daughters. He gave His only begotten Son to die to re- deem the world—a sacrifice such as only God himself could give. And in these last days He has com- menced the organization of the great and last dispensation—the great- est of all dispensations. Adam, Enoch, Moses, and the prophets saw our day. They had before them the vision and revelation of this work, and they prophesied concerning it. Now, the Lord has labored with us for nearly sixty years since the organization of this Church. It has grown like a little child from its mother's breast. It has grown like a mustard seed, until it is becoming as a tree, for the fowls of the air to lodge in the branches thereof. [Luke 13:19] Its history has been very peculiar in some respects; but it has laid the foundation for a great deal of faith in the minds of the honest and meek of the earth. We have had a warfare right from the time when Moroni first visited Joseph Smith, before the latter received the plates. [Joseph Smith-History 1:49-54] Lucifer and all his evil spirits have labored for the destruction of this work. They labored to defeat, if possible, the going forth of the Book of Mormon—the stick of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim. [Ezekiel 37:15-20] Joseph Smith himself, only fourteen years after the Church was organiz[e]d, was martyred. He had his blood shed, as a testimony of the truth of his mission. I have traveled with Joseph Smith many hundred miles. I have also traveled with Brigham Young and the Apostles, and I have never had any doubts with regard to the truth and final triumph of this work. I have none today. I have no doubts about Zion becom- ing all that the prophets saw it, in its glory, its power, its dominion and strength, with the power of God resting upon it. In view of all these things, the question which has arisen in my mind, and which has caused me a good deal of thought, is, who is going to take this kingdom and bear it off? Unto whom is the Lord going to look to take this kingdom in its final triumph and prepare it in its perfection and glory for the coming of the Son of Man? To our sons and daughters. It is these young men and maidens who dwell in these valleys of the moun- tains that have got to asume this re- sponsibility. Upon their shoulders this kingdom has got to rest, when their fathers and elders have passed to the other side of the vail. This is before me just as plain as the light of the sun in the firmament of heaven. And when I consider this, I ask myself, what condition are our young men and women in?