The Ninety-Third Semiannual Conference

The Ninty-Third Semi- Annual Conference The 93rd general semi-annual conference of the Church, which convened in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, October 6-8, 1922, was one of the most largely attended conferences ever held in the Church. Even at the opening session the great building Friday morning was filled to its capacity, and during the Sunday session, overflow meetings were held in the Assembly Hall and at the Bureau of Information, besides in the Tabernacle, where the aisles and every available standing room were occupied. It was stated at one of the meetings that over 3,000 people were at the Bureau of Information attending the outdoor meeting, while hundreds were unable to get in to any of the buildings or near enough to the speaker outdoors to hear. Throughout the conference the weather was beautiful — clear sky and pleasant temperature. President Grant presided at all the meetings in the Tabernacle and opened the conference with a masterly ad- dress, in which he emphasized the duty of obedience to civil and religious laws. Practically all the speakers who followed referred to this subject, some briefly and others at length, as one of the great needs of our day. Education in the spiritual needs of man as a means tending to observance of law and order was touched upon. References to the work of the auxiliary or- ganizations, the efficacy of prayer, the heeding of counsel given by the servants of the Lord, and topics bearing on important factors pertaining to civil and religious education and obedience to the laws and commandments of God, as revealed to the Latter- day Saints were discussed. Powerful testimonies were given throughout. One of the features of the meeting was the presence of Mr. J. R. Howard connected with the American Farm Bureau, who was one of the speakers in the Sunday afternoon session in the Tabernacle, and whose short remarks bore upon the beauty of farm life and the topics under consideration. In the different meetings, forty-four sermons were delivered, all of important counsel, and by the power of the Spirit in the numerous speakers,

72 IMPROVEMENT ERA including the Presidency of the Church, the Council of the Twelve Apostles, the Bishopric of the Church, the Presiding Patriarch, and the First Council of Seventy, together with the mission presidents of the Church. All the apostles were present, except Elder Orson F. Whitney, who is presiding over the European mission and whose sickness and anticipated return home was mentioned, together with the fact that Elder David 0. McKay had been chosen to succeed him in the important office of president of the European mission. Other features of the great conference were the numerous missionary reunions, embracing returned missionaries from al- most all parts of the world, the patriarchs, the bishops, coun- selors, and clerks, and the general and special priesthood meet- ings, held on Friday night and Monday morning. The annual conference of the Deseret Sunday School Union, under the presi- dency of Elder David O. McKay of the Council of the Twelve, and general superintendent, was held in the Tabernacle on Sun- day evening the 8th of October. In this great gathering which filled the Tabernacle to its capacity the aims and purposes of the Sunday School were set forth by the speakers and the ef- ficacy of the teaching in this great organization was illustrated by demonstrations by classes of students. President Heber J. Grant spoke briefly, commending the Sunday School workers for their successful efforts in behalf of thei children Of the Church. A very inspirational meeting of officers and workers of the Y. M. M. I. A. was held on Sunday morning at 8 o'clock, at which Elders Melvin J. Ballard, Richard R. Lyman, and George Albert Smith, of the Council of the Twelve, spoke, respectively, on: "How to show our belief in the slogan at the polls in November," "Obtaining 50,000 young men in the Y. M. M. I. A. by January 1," and "Each Y. M. M. I. A. officer to win a boy." Questions and answers were also conducted by Elder Oscar A. Kirkham, executive director of the organization. Out of the 87 stakes, 79 stakes were represented and 5 missions. The Young Ladies had a very excellent meeting on Monday morn- ing, the 9th. Both organizations are prospering and show com- mendable progress in their work. The Tabernacle choir distinguished themselves under the direction of Professor A. C. Lund. "Then shall thy light break forth," from Mendelssohn's "Elijah," was especially delightful as given by the full choir at the Sunday afternoon session. There was an abundant outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord with the speakers and among the people there was manifested a growing faith in God with rich rejoicing in the development, expansion and growth of the Church.