Prest Wilford Woodruff Dr Brother, Replying to yours of 5th, will acccept the appointment as Missionary to New Zealand, & will be on hand to be set apart for that mission on receiving due notice Your Bro in the Gospel Benjamin. H. Hollingworth Endorsed Albert W. Davis Bishop

To Prest. Willferd Woodruff Salt Lake City Utah Dear Bro, I will say in relation to the call made of me to go on a Mission to Scandinavia, and in reply to my letter stating My circum stances, it was agreeable to wait until Fall or longer to make my arrangements that I am on hand, ready to go at any time you desire next Spring. With the welfare of Zion at heart I am your colaborer in the Gospel of Christ. John Hactor All right for Spring. J. F. S.

THE DESERET WEEKLY. PRESIDENT WILFORD WOODRUFF, In the course of a four minutes' ad- dress, bore his testimony to the remarks of President Cannon on the important subject of temple building. He pointed to the fact that as the Apostles and dis- ciples of God in former days were ever ready to lay down their lives for the Gospel's sake, so since the day of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph this people had always been willing to make similar sacrifices in His holy name. There were but few in the world, he said, prepared to obey the fulness of the Gospel, and that was why the Latter-day Saints had been chosen and brought to these valleys from all nations of the earth. It was because the true Gospel had been offered to them and they had received it. We had been called to go upon missions, to warn the wicked of the judgments which were near at hand. The priesthood belonged to the celes- tial law, both for time and eternity. The Lord had made great promises to all His faithful Saints, from the be- ginning of this work, and if we re- mained steadfast to the end these would all be fulfilled; and no power on earth or in hell could take from us the blessings which were in store for the righteous. We had everything to en- courage us in the good work which we had espoused; but the Lord required much at our hands, and if we united together and carried out faithfully that which He asked of us, we should reap our reward in due season.

THE DESERET WEEKLY. PRESIDENT WILFORD WOODRUFF was the first speaker. The following is a brief synopsis of his discourse: He commenced by stating, that he desired the faith and prayers of the Saints, because nobody could occupy the position he now had profitably to the hearers, without being guided by the Holy Spirit. There were a few thoughts on his mind which he would endeavor to lay before the Conference. In the first place he would bear his witness to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed in these latter days, and he did so fully aware of the fact that he was responsible before the Almighty as to the testimony he gave. The Saints were witnesses before the world and accountable for what they said, but the world would be responsi- ble if it rejected the testimony. The speaker knew that this work was of God and had been established through His power. During almost sixty years he had been connected with the Church and held the holy Priesthood and during that time he had traveled much abroad and at home la- boring for the spread of the Gospel. He had seen numerous manifestations of the power of the Almighty. The gifts formerly possessed by the Saints he had seen exercised in this Church. The Holy Spirit was given to those who complied with the requirements of the Gospel. Hence the speaker knew that Joseph was a Prophet of God and that this Church was the work of God. Concerning revelation, President Woodruff said the Saints were not without that divine gift. There were many men and women in these valleys who were filled with inspiration, and the Apostles, when they spoke to the people by the Holy Spirit, were revela- tors. The kingdom of God could not exist without revelations. We might, however, feel that we wanted more revelations than we had, to better un- derstand our position and to accom- plish the work we were called to perform. From the time of Adam to the present hour no one could be found who ever preached and administered in the ordinances of the Gospel without hav- ing the holy Priesthood. All that Moses and his successors did, and even the work done by our Savior, was done by the power of the Priesthood. This the speaker illustrated by reference to the life and death of our Savior. Christ came in the meridian of time to the Jewish nation, but that people did not receive Him. He lived long enough to teach the gospel and organ- ize His church. But after this work was done, He gave Himself up to death and was crucified by His en- emies, for whom He prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." [Luke 23:34] He had previously chosen twelve Apostles to be His witnesses. These were taken not from the prom- inent men of the nation but from the lowly and humble, who were willing to be taught by Him and to do His will. Something similar had taken place in our age. The Lord had estab- lished a dispensation. This was not for one nation only, but for both Gentiles and Jews. The dispensation in which the first Apostles lived was not permanent. After the time of the Apostles the Priest- hood was taken away, the Church was led into the wilderness, where she re- mained until the time of the restora- tion. But the last dispensation was different from the previous ones. It was established never to be over- thrown, in fulfillment of prophecies given in previous dispensations. In the sacred Scriptures the history of our work is already written. There never was a more important or a greater dispensation. Joseph Smith was an illiterate young man, but he was called upon to perform this great work, and he had revelations given to him that were greater than any we read of given to other prophets. The speaker had traveled with him for thousands of miles, and had been an eye witness to the mighty works he had performed, and he could therefore not doubt his divine mission. He had seen him, by the power of God, heal the sick and do other marvelous works, and the Spirit of God rested upon him until his martyrdom. The Church had there- fore been organized by the power of God, with all the gifts and graces that belonged thereto. A great foundation had been laid. The Saints were here, gathered by the power of God. Our history was known to the world, and it was comforting to know that the work that we have to do had already been foreshadowed thousands of years ago by holy prophets. Even the place in which we now dwell was the one where God wants us to be. This is the place where the city and temple of God should be built. What God has foretold has come true. Concerning the duties of the Saints, the speaker said it now was incumbent upon us to go forth and warn the in- habitants of the earth of the judgments to come. For this we were reserved in the spirit world and had now come forth upon the earth in these days. There was a great responsibility rest- ing upon us in regard to this. The Prophets Joseph and Hyrum laid the foundation of this work and received the crown of martyrs. But on us the responsibility rested to continue the work and warn the world. Speaking of the revelation relating to the redemption of the dead, President Woodruff said this was a most comforting doctrine. Through it we were taught how the principles of salvation could be extended beyond the veil and reach our progenitors. He wished that all the Saints might have their understand- ings opened to this great truth. It was a matter to be thankful for that we had already been able to build three temples in this Territory, and we should be diligent in completing the one now being erected in this city. Our dead did not look to the sectarian world but to us for the performance of the ordinances connected with their salva- tion. A vast host of enemies were arrayed against this work, but the Lord would sustain us and hold His hand over us until the work was done and all His plans and purposes accom- plished. The speaker then took up the subject of home industries, and said that he would endorse the remarks made on this subject during the Conference. The Saints were here to build up Zion. With regard to the future, President Woodruff said, the rising generation would stand up and carry this work onward by the power of God. The right element was there. Our sons, as a general rule, would not forsake their God nor their fathers and mothers. Some of them might go astray, but there would be found among them those who could by the power of God carry out this work. In his early life the speaker had often read about Prophets and Apostles and other holy men and he had wished to live to see one, and when he heard the Gospel he felt that his desire had been granted. He would therefore admonish the young to give themselves up to the work of God. He felt to bless the Saints with all his heart. He would bless his brethren of the Apostles and say there was unity among them. He rejoiced in contemplating the work of God in these last days. It was such a work as was never heard of before. The speaker closed his remarks by stating that he was glad that he was alive yet. He knew he was sustained by the prayers of tens of thousands of righteous men and women. He wished that the Saints might be faith- ful and true and kind to each other and that God's blessings might rest abundantly upon them.

Sunday Morning, , at the Semi-Annual Conference, held in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Utah. I feel disposed to try to address this assembly of Latter-day Saints for a while this morning; but I wish to say that I need not only the strict atten- tion but the faith and prayers of the Saints of God, for no man can fill the place which I or these Apostles occupy, to fulfil the command of God and the requirements of the Latter-day Saints, except by the inspiration of Almighty God. This is a truth that has remained on the earth from the day of Father Adam to this hour. I have some things upon my mind I would like to lay before this assembly if I can get sufficient of the spirit of inspiration to do it. To commence with, I want to bear my testimony to these Latter-day Saints and to the world that I am held responsible be- fore God, the angels and the heavenly hosts for the testimony which I bear before you; and so is every man who bears record of the Son of God and of the work of God in this or any other generation. These Latter-day Saints bear record to the world, and have borne record for almost a generation past, that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God; that they know this work is of God, and [t]hat this is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are held responsible for this, and if they bear a true testimony, the na- tions of the earth who hear that testi- mony will be held responsible for the use they make of it. Do you ask me how I know this is the work of God, and that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God? I will tell you how I know. I know it by the revelations of Jesus Christ and by the inspiration of the Lord. If I may be allowed to refer to myself without being consider- ed egotistical, I will tell you why I bear this testimony. Eighty-five years have passed over my head since I first tabernacled in the flesh. Almost sixty years of that period I have been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During that time I have borne some portion of the Holy Priesthood, and for fifty-three years I have occu- pied the position of the Apostleship, in connection with my brethren. I have also traveled abroad and at home. I have been taught from my childhood up by the revelations of God in the re- cords of divine truth that have been given to us, that there is one God, and that there is one Jesus Christ, who is the Savior of the world, and the only Savior pertaining to this world and to the redemption thereof. I have been taught that there is one Priest- hood, in its two divisions. I have been taught that there is one Holy Ghost, and that there is one Gospel and one set of ordinances for the salvation of the whole posterity of Adam, and only one. I have been taught that these ordinances are the same in every age of the world. Whoever reads the New Testament can see the testimony of the Apostles that there was but one Gospel in that day and generation; and that Gospel was taught by Adam him- self to his posterity. The same Gospel was taught by Moses, and by all the patriarchs and prophets down to the days of Jesus Christ. There was but the one Gospel. But the promise was that whoever received that Gospel should receive the Holy Ghost and the gifts thereof, and these gifts were made manifest from generation to generation when the God of heaven had a people on the face of the earth. In traveling during these sixty years that I have been in the Church, abroad and at home, I have been associated with the Elders of Israel in the ad- ministration of these ordinances to the human family. What has been the result? Remember now what I to[l]d you, that I am held responsible for my testimony. I have traveled, I may say, in the midst of visions, in the midst of the administration of angels, in the midst of the power of God. In connec- tion with my brethren, I have laid hands upon the sick, and they have re- covered. We have laid hands upon the blind, and they have seen; upon the deaf, and they have heard; upon the lame, and they have walked; upon those possessed with devils, and they were cast out; and even unto the resur- rection of the dead. Those gifts and graces that have followed the servants of God in every age of the world have been associated with this Church from the day of its organ- ization until this hour. These are truths in the sight of high heaven, and I will meet them there when I go to the other side of the veil. Therefore, if there are any strangers here, I bear testimony to these things, for I know they are true. The inspiration of the Holy Ghost deceives no man, and when any people receive this Gospel and this Priesthood, they know for themselves whether the work is of God or not. Yes, we lay hands upon the sick, and while we do so, the Spirit and power of God comes upon us, from the crown of our head to the soles of our feet. We lay hands upon men to or- dain them to the Priesthood, and the power of God rests upon the men who administer. These thirty thousand Elders who dwell here in the moun- tains of Israel, when they go to the nations of the earth and get up and declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world, the Holy Ghost is with them. They bear a testimony that rejoices the hearts of men, and men receive that testimony, and ev- erything they promise them is fulfilled to the very letter. This is the reason why I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and that this is the Church of God on the earth. And I wish many times that I had power to express to the Latter-day Saints what is in my heart, and what the vision of my mind opens unto me in those seasons when I am inspired with the Spirit and power of God to see what lies before this people and before this generation. Oh! ye Lat- ter-day Saints, you talk about revelation, and wonder if there is any revelation. Why, bless your souls, say nothing about the Apostles and Elders around me, these mountains contain thousands upon thousands of devoted women, holy women, righteous women, virtu- ous women, who are filled with the inspiration of Almighty God. Yes, these women have brought forth an army of sons and daughters in these mountains by the power of God, and these sons and daughters partake of the inspiration of their mothers, as well as of their fathers. I will ask you, what are these Apostles doing when they rise up and preach to you? What are these Elders of Israel doing when they bear record here to the Latter-day Saints and to the world, if they have not inspiration and rev[e]lation? There is not a man on the footstool of God Almighty today who has power to preach the Gospel and testify to its truth, only by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Yes, we have revelation. The Church of God could not live twenty-four hours without revelation. We do not have as much as we ought to have; and when I look at the work that has been piled up for these Latter- day Saints to bear off in the world, I feel as though we need a good deal of