The Daily Junction.
ISSUED EVERY EVENING.
(Except Sunday,) by
The Junction Printing Association
(INEORPORATED.)
Office corner of Main and Fourth Streets.
Address all communications on business to the
Business Manager; those intended for publication
to the Editor.
MONDAY EVENING, JAN. 24, 1881.
QUARTERLY CONFERENCE
Of the Weber Stake of Zion, in Ogden
Tabernacle.
ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF
addressed the congregation which
was exceedingly large. Elder Wood-
ruff took up the subject of emigration
to Arizona. He said that all our la-
bor of settling Southern Utah and
Arizona had been accomplished un-
der great difficulties, many people
even despairing of the possibility of
redeeming the apparently sterile soil.
Brother Eldredge himself, when sent
on a mission thither, went and re-
ported back that "the country about
St. George stood all up edgewise."
Now St. George is a very garden of
Eden, producing excellent fruit.
There the Church has erected a Tem-
ple in which as many as 100,000 bap-
tisms have taken place. Difficult
also was the first settling of Arizona,
the first mission thither returning
unsuccessful. But others were sent
and now they have flourishing set-
tlements. However forbidding a
country may look to us, we can never
find a country more unpromising
than Utah looked on the 24th of
July, 1847, when first entered by the
Pioneers. Lot Smith was sent South
and he succeeded in establishing set-
tlements. There are Sunset and
Brigham City, on the two banks of
Little Colorado River. Elder Wood-
ruff then gave a description of the
country and how he found it himself.
When he went up the Little Colora-
do River, below Sunset, he found it
dried up for about 50 miles; but
when they got up to Sunset they
found water enough to run a grist-
mill all the year round and to irri-
gate 1,000 acres. There also was a
sufficiency of timber, as near as one
mile from Sunset. The country was
one field of bunch grass, for miles
and miles around, forming an excel-
lent herding ground. The people of
Sunset and Brigham had organized
in the shape of forts. They lived in
United Order, each settlement for
itself. They had fine herds of cattle,
both in the forts and on a dairy in a
fertile valley, called Pleasant Valley.
They raised all kinds of grain in
abundance and of good quality. In
the San Francisco mountains is a fine
forest of timber, from 6 inches to 4
feet thick and 50 to 150 feet high.
St. Joseph is 25 miles up the river;
25 miles further is Woodruff: 25 miles
more, up the river, is another place,
and several more in the vicinity. The
Little Colorado River furnishes am-
ple water for all purposes. Sunset
once looked very unfruitful; now
only 11 men and boys were employ-
ed at farming, harvesting thousands
of bushels of wheat and corn, the
finest ever seen in the West. The
Latter-day Saints there are able to
sustain themselves from the products
of the work of the soil. The United
Order is working most harmoniously,
no swearing, drinking or quarreling
going on. The Order shows most ex-
cellent fruits of union, peace, all the
people showing the greatest willing-
ness to obey the authorities and pay
tithings and donations. Elder Wood-
ruff then treated of St. John, the
county seat of Apache county, where
formerly all bad elements of the out-
side world would congregate—Jews,
Gentiles, Mexicans and others. The
Church now has bought the land
around there and emigration is
wished to secure possession. A good
man is placed in authority as Bishop,
a man who does right and just. Men
are needed to go there to help settle
the place which is the key to the
whole of Apache county. About 200
families are required, as it is a large
country, peopled by many thousands
of the Lamanites, located in villages,
all except the Navajos and Apaches.
These Lamanites are waiting for the
Latter-day Saints to come and ad-
minister to them. The Church wants
to settle Arizona, New Mexico, and a
whole chain of settlements into the
very heart of Old Mexico. St. John
is a very good place for farming, the
Little Colorado River flowing directly
through it: there is even a natural
dam of stone which enables the peo
ple with little trouble and labor to
irrigate their lands. About 30 fami-
lies are desired out of this Stake to
go to St. John. But there is to be no
compulsion about it, all are to be
free about it. Those called upon to
go must consider their interest.
Prest. Taylor does not want to op-
press the people or to call them to go
against their will. All who like to go,
with willing hearts and ready minds
are expected to avail themselves of
the opportunities. There is one fine
stretch of land there, called the Col-
orado Meadows, from 15 miles long
to 3 or 4 miles wide. Elder Wood-
ruff wished the brethren to consider
the matter carefully and those who
are disposed to go and hand in their
names to the President and get ready
as soon as possible, as it is a long
journey, of about 700 miles. The
Latter day Saints want an outlet to
the South and the speaker hopes
that we will obtain a foothold in the
country of Mexico. There are tens
of thousands of the pure blood of
Lehi down there, whose minds are
open and eagerly awaiting the com-
ing of the Latter-day Saints. The
Navajos are our special friends and
many have been converted and bap-
tized.
Elder Woodruff then endorsed the
remarks made in the forenoon by
Elder Joseph F. Smith, about the
intents of the hearts of man. He
would never oppress or oppose any
whatever he pleased. The Lord Him-
self never forced any one to belief.
He has placed good and evil, faith
and unbelief before the children of
men and they can exercise their own
free agency. Such is also the spirit
of the Consititution of the United
States which guarantees full religious
freedom to all.
Another important point is the re-
demption of the dead. This is a
subject of momentous weight. There
are millions and millions in the
spirit world, for whom a work has to
be accomplished. It takes just as
much to save a dead man as
it takes to save a live one. Great
responsibilities are resting upon us,
to do a work for our numerous re-
lations in the spirit world. The
speaker then gave a touching de-
scription of the tender relations be-
tween children and their mother
and showed how great is our respon-
sibility towards our fathers and our
fathers' houses. Elder Woodruff
himself has been baptized 3,000 times
for other people, which should be
an example to others. This will be
a great consolation and joy for him;
so it will be to all the Saints who
have done the proper work for their
progenitors and other kin. In the
spirit world we will only be privil-
eged to unite with those of our
friends whom we have redeemed
while in the flesh, hence we should
eagerly avail ourselves of the glor-
ious opportunity of the great and
mighty work.
The work of building temples is a
great and urging one. It is worth
more than all the gold and silver we
may obtain. There is no money in
apostatizing, or committing any sin.
If there is any glory, it is in men
who will stand up in defense of the
Gospel of Christ and when troubles
come will be found valiant champions
on the watch towers of Zion. In
such men Elder Woodruff glories,
as in Elder Joseph F. Smith, the son
of the martyred Hyrum. He is able
to preach the gospel of temperance,
because he himself lives it and he
nobly fills the exalted position to
which he has been called, and will
one day even occupy the highest.
The speaker concluded with a pow-
erful testimony to the great bless-
ings emanating from the Temples
erected to the name of the Most
High, and an impressive exhorta
tion to the Saints to be solicitous
and eager in the fulfillment of all
the duties devolving upon us, at-
tending to their prayers, for then
the Lord would continue to prosper
and protect the people in peace and
plenty.