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?
THE
DESERET WEEKLY.
PIONEER PUBLICATION OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION.
TRUTH AND LIBERTY.
ESTABLISHED JUNE, 1850.
NO. 8. SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 1889. VOL. XXXIX.
REMARKS
By President Wilford Woodruff, at
Grantsville, (Tooele Stake Conference), Monday Morning, July
29th, 1889.
I am very much pleased at the report 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 concerning our young people. I have,
I may say, peculiar feelings with regard to the rising generation in
these mountains. I reflect a great
deal concerning them and what
before them. The organizations
among the young people are of vast
importance, and the Lord has greatly blessed these organizations, in raising 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 organize 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 character 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 prophets have said, "When the spirit life
from God enters into the tabernacle." 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 principles of the Gospel and about the
birth of Christ. This lays a foundation for them to build upon. From
the Primaries they go to the Sabbath 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 themselves. When we call for Elders to
go abroad on missions we almost invariably 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 reading 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 redeem the world—a sacrifice such as
only God himself could give. And
in these last days He has commenced the organization of the great
and last dispensation—the greatest 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. 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.
Lucifer and all his evil spirits have
labored for the destruction of
work. They labored to defeat, if
possible, the going forth of the Book
of Mormon—the stick of Joseph in
the hands of Ephraim. Joseph
Smith himself, only fourteen years
after the Church was organized, 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 becoming 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 mountains that have got to asume this responsibility. 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?
