Editors’ Table

JgMSI H:Hpsnga«mi&3:;&™*affrg^^ The Ninety-Third General Annual Conference of the Church The conference opened on Friday, April 6, with every seat in the great Tabernacle occupied, and some people standing, both in the galleries and on the main floor. The departure from the usual custom was the calling on presidents of stakes and oth- ers to make brief addresses, not exceeding ten minutes, and the time of all the speakers was limited, so that during the three days including the Assembly Hall meetings, it was possible to hear fifty-two speakers, including the general authorities pres- ent; and this, notwithstanding the fact that the list of speakers was shortened because radios had been installed in the great Tabernacle, enabling thousands of people out doors, surrounding the Bureau of Information, to hear the speakers, who addressed the Tabernacle congregations. The testimonies were inspiring and full of hope and encouragement, and the Spirit of the Lord was present in rich measure. The music and songs were delight- ful. The conference was well attended, the Tabernacle being completely filled at every meeting, on Friday and Saturday, and on Sunday, greatly crowded, notwithstanding there were two large overflow meetings in the Assembly Hall, besides thousands listening at the Bureau of Information. The opening speech of President Heber J. Grant was full of pertinent points of information and counsel. Aside from the general statistical information which he presented, and which will be printed in the Era later, he said : President Heber J. Grant's Opening Conference Address Great Progress of the Church I am grateful for the preservation of my life until the present moment, and I desire to live as long as I can be of any benefit to the Latter-day Saints. I am grateful for the very wonderful work that has been accomplished in the Salt Lake temple, since its dedication. I am grateful for the prosperity, for the advancement spiritually, temporally, and in every other way, of the Church of Jesus Chris during this period. I am

652 IMPROVEMENT ERA thankful for the great increase in attendance at our general conferences, in comparison to that of thirty years ago. It was very seldom we had, then, more than two-thirds as many in the audience, as we see here today, with the exception of Sun- days, when, of course, we always had more people than this building could accommodate. Clean up Towns and Villages It is expected there will be a great increase in the tourist travel through the state from this time on, particularly through the southern part of the state, where the goverMnent and rail- roads are spending large sums of money to induce tourists to visit Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Cedar Breaks, and the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. In view of this, our people should take pride in cleaning up and grading their streets, fix- ing their fences, planting trees, and in every way making our towns and villages more attractive. Temples and Meetinghouses The Alberta temple is practically completed. Its furnish- ing and equipment is in process. It will be ready for dedica- tion by August 1, 1923. The building of the Arizona temple is under *vay. It is expected that it will be completed within two years. Extensive alterations and improvements will be carried out this year in the Salt Lake temple, to provide facilities for the large number who visit the temple. Comparative report of total ordinances performed in the Salt Lake temple: 1918, 158,887; 1919, 189,593; 1920, 212,514; 1921, 300,474; 1922, 413,- 478, an increase of nearly three hundred per cent since 1918 — a most remarkable and wonderful record. And our other tem- ples, with the exception of St. George, where the population has decreased, have also had remarkable and splendid increases. A splendid new meetinghouse has been erected in Hono- lulu and will be dedicated in the very near future. A mission home is in process of erection in Atlanta, Geor- gia, for the accommodation of the president and office staff of the Southern States mission, the only mission of the United States that has not been furnished with suitable quarters for its president. Quite a number of chapels, some large and beau- tiful, are being erected in most of the missions of the United States. The Primary Conxxdescent Home The Primary Home is taking care of from twenty-five to thirty children, who need expert surgical and nursing treatment.

EDITORS' TABLE 653 The Church has expended considerable means in preparing and equipping this home for these little children. Since then it has been very largely supported by the gifts of the Primary chil- dren and other benevolent persons. The Rotary Club of Salt Lake City has just donated $1,000 to this children's home. Training of the Aaronic Priesthood A commendable work is being done in all the wards and stakes in the development and training of the Aaronic Priest- hood and this good work should be continued. Tithes Returned to the Stakes I should like to call attention to the fact that the amount of tithes returned to the stakes, and total amount of charity, in- cluding that of the Relief Society and the Fast Day donations, amounts to over $3,300,000. Considering the limited member- ship of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to my mind this is a marvelous and wonderful showing of the liber- ality of the people, and of their willingness to contribute for the support and erection of meetinghouses, the support and erection of schoolhouses, and for educational, charitable and Church purposes generally. Remarkable Increase in Temple Work I am particularly pleased with the very remarkable increase in the labor being performed in our temples. There is no work in which the Latter-day Saints are engaged which brings greater peace and joy to the human heart than laboring in the temples for the salvation of our dead. This vicarious labor Is one of the greatest that Latter-day Saints can be engaged in. ft is one that brings greater satisfaction and joy than almost any other in the world, and it is one in which the Latter-day Saints have always taken great pride and great interest. I believe there is no money expended by the Church or by the individual members that has brought more comfort and happiness to the people than that expended for the erection of temples and for the labor per- formed therein. I am pleased to hear that the temple erected in the Ha- waiian Islands is doing a great deal by way of advertising the Latter-day Saints and causing a great many influential people — tourists visiting those wonderful islands — to take an interest in the literature of the Latter-day Saints. I hear nothing but good reports from that temple; and I also hear very wonderful and splendid reports concerning the spirit of good-will that comes through such visits to the temple that is not yet dedicated in Canada. I believe Brother Wood, the president of the Alberta

654 IMPROVEMENT ERA stake, might be willing to put off the dedication another year, on account of the great good that he thinks would be accom- plished by admitting strangers into our temple before is is dedi- cated. But, we have erected that temple, of course, for temple ordinances, and when it is ready for dedication, we will dedicate it that it may be utilized for the purposes expected of us by the Lord. The Beet Indus:ry and the Church A year ago, in this stand, at the opening of the conference, I devoted nearly the entire time in my address, to the beet in- dustry. I urged upon our people, during that conference, the planting of sugar beets, and announced that I believed it would be greatly to their advantage if they would do so. This was my opinion then. I am pleased to say that during the past year the industry has been very successful, and that today it is m a very much better financial condition than it was a year ago. Two years ago this coming October the Church went in debt for the first time in many years; the Trustee-in- Trust borrowed in New York and Chicago in the neighborhood of two millions of dol- lars, to help the sugar industry. It went against the grain, to run the Church in debt, but it was the unanimous opinion of the Presidency and Apostles that it was a wise thing to foster this industry, by borrowing the money necessary to protect and safeguard it. I am very pleased to announce to the Latter-day Saints that all of those obligation of the Trustee-in-Trust, incur- red for the support of the sugar industry, have been paid, and once more the Church has no direct floating indebtedness, barr- ing one little note of $10,000 that we did not get a chance to take up. People Advised to Stay on the Farm I believe it will be to the interests of the farmers to raise sugar beets during the coming year. I believe that the sugar industry, in our community, is one of the greatest beneficial industries that has ever been established. I feel that President Wilford Woodruff was inspired of the Lord to call upon the people to invest their means in that great enterprise; although some of the brightest of our business men had no faith in the final outcome. President Woodruff felt that the inspiration of the Lord pointed to the establishment of that industry, so as to have an increase of the products of the soil. It has always fallen to the lot of the Latter-day Saints to be engaged in tilling the soil. From the days of President Brigham Young until the present time, the leaders of this people have always advised the Latter-day Saints, as far as possible, to be engaged in tilling

EDITORS' TABLE 655 the soil, and in manufacturing, and in other productive enter- prises. Brigham Young preached that the Saints perhaps could go to California and get sudden wealth and come back with gold, but said it would do them very little good, while if they stayed on their farms and engaged in cultivating the soil, mak- ing homes and rearing their families, they would gain eternal riches. I believe firmly that the very best place in all the world to rear Latter-day Saints is on the farm, and that about the poorest place to rear Latter-day Saints is in the biggest city in which you can locate them. There seems to be strength, phys- ical, moral, and religious, which comes to those engaged in cul- tivating the soil which, on an average, is far superior to that of any other occupation I know anything about. At the present time there is quite a feeling that it is not worth while to stay on the farm, that the thing to do is to sell the farm, or if it is mortgaged for a large sum, to say: "Well, we will let the man who owns the mortgage cultivate it. It does not pay us to cultivate it." This is wrong. I believe that with the blessings of the Lord and with economy and the raising of products from the ground, and utilizing those products to feed cattle, sheep and hogs, and to increase your income by producing butter, eggs, cheese and in other ways, that the farms can be made profitably productive. I remember that when I was in the far-off land of Japan, I ate butter from Scandinavia, and I know that while I was in England the great majority of the time I ate butter from Scandinavia. If butter can be shipped all the way from Scandinavia to Japan, I believe butter can be raised and shipped at a profit out of this inter-mountain country. There are no finer farms to be found anywhere than can be found in this inter-mountain country. It is the best dairy coun- try. There is no stronger, more substantial and splendid soil that will produce year after year if it is only treated right, than that of this inter-mountain country. Thrift, Economy and Hard Times We talk about hard times. I wish to say that I have read more than once the wise sayings of Benjamin Franklin, on thrift and economy, and his reference to the people's complaint against the tax burdens laid upon them. He says that the lux- uries in which the people indulge and the wasteful expenditure of their money is a far greater burden, many times over, than the taxes and the public burdens the people have to meet. To- day, the great majority of all the money put into automobiles is for pleasure. In the state of Utah we have 50,000 automobiles. I think we have a few more than that. I do not believe the de- preciation, wear and tear, the oil, gasoline, and the tires will

656 IMPROVEMENT ERA cost less than $501)0 a month per car on the average; 50,000 cars at fifty dollars each a month is $2,500,000; multiplied by twelve, is $30,000,000 a year, principally an unnecessary ex- pense. I believe that this figure could be cut squarly in two, if people made up their minds to do it. I believe that nearly all of the hardships of a majority of the people would disappear if they were willing to forego the habit of wearing silk stockings, so to speak, and get back to the ordinary manner of dressing in a rather quiet, unassuming way; stay away from about nine- tenths of the picture-shows that they attend, return to the ways of thrift and economy that I have heard preached from this stand from the days of President Brigham Young until today. I believe that the burdens that are upon the Latter-day Saints would be very light indeed had the people listened to the advice of our late beloved President Joseph F. Smith, to get out of debt, when everything was booming, when they could sell all of their sheep and their cattle and nearly everything they had for about two or three times its cost instead of running, as they did, further into debt, increasing their mortgages on homes and live-stock, believing that every dollar they could borrow meant increased wealth to them. President Joseph F. Smith's warning sank into my heart. If I have had one opportunity, being in debt, to go in deeper, I have had scores offered to me, but I remembered the teaching of President Smith and I went to work that day to get out of debt and not to speculate one single solitary dollar until I did get out of debt; and, with the exception of some small loans on my life insurance policies — I have saved by investing in a building society every month enough to pay these loans — I do not today personally owe a dol- lar. If I had not listened to and taken the inspired advice of President Sniith, I think I should be everlastingly "busted," because of the very many good things that have been offered to me since for financial investments. President Smith's inspired words found echo in my heart and I went on from then until his death singing, "We thank thee, O God, for a prophet to guide us," instead of adding, "providing he does not guide us to keep out of debt," as a good many people should be singing today. An Appeal to Support Home Industry Brethren and sisters, support our home manufactured goods of all kinds and all descriptions. At a recent conference, I pleaded with the people to do this, and told story after story about home-made goods, and announced that I was going to have a Provo suit of clothes. I got that suit and have been wear- ing it ever since, but it is a little old now, and so thought I would put on my black suit again this morning. Let us support

EDITORS' TABLE 657 our home industries. Let us stay on the farm. Let us remember that our fathers sacrificed and came here for the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I want again to assure you that the best place in the world to rear Latter-day Saints is on the soil. I know of people who have sold their farms, gone to California or some other place to work, and spent all their farms brought them. Now they are wishing they had enough to get back to Utah. "Oh say what is Truth? 'Tis the fairest gem That the riches of worlds ran produce; And priceless the value of truth will he, when The proud monarch's costliest diadem Is counted but dross and refuse." We have the truth to give to the world. We have the plan of life and salvation. We have the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and if we will live our religion, the Lord God Almighty will bless us. "Yes, say, what is Truth? 'Tis the brightest prize To which mortals or Gods can aspire: Go search in the depths where it glittering lies, Or ascend in pursuit to the loftiest skies; 'T,is an aim for the noblest desire." Every Latter-day Saint should have a desire, above all other things, that his life should proclaim the truth, and that his life should be a teacher of the truth, not only to the world, but es- pecially to his own family. "The sceptre may fall from the despot's grasp, When with winds of stern justice he copes, But the pillar of truth will endure to the last, And its firm-rooted bulwarks outstand the rude blast And the wreck of the fell tyrant's hopes. "Then say what is Truth? 'Tis the last and the first, For the limits of time it steps o'er; Though the heavens depart, and the earth's fount£»ns burst, Truth, the sum of existence, will weather the worst, Eternal, unchanged, evermore." I pray the Lord to bless us abundantly in this conference. We are going to have more speakers than ever before, for we are going to limit the time of the speakers including myself. I usually talk an hour in my opening address: I decided to take thirty minutes this morning and I have just about one minute left. We are going to depart a little from our usual custom, and call on the presidents of stakes and others to make brief ad- dresses, not exceeding ten minutes. I earnestly pray the bless- ings of the Lord to attend you. Amen.

658 IMPROVEMENT ERA Messages from the Missions Ten Recently Baptized The elders of the Wellington N. Z., Conference report thai tneir labors in the land of the Southern Cross during the past year have been most enjoyable and successful. Porirua, a little town in this conference ha8 been the scene of a great gathering, for at Christmas time Maoris and Europeans from all over the Dominion were assembled to enjoy a wonder- ful spiritual feast. This conference, or Hue Tau, is held annually and all who attend testify that they are, "real gatherings." We humbly acknow- ledge the blessings of our heavenly Father in our labors and are thankful because of the fact that ten more souls were recently gathered into the fold. We all look forward to the coming of the Era each month, for the encourage- ment and spiritual instruction which it contains are indeed inspiring. Kia Ora from the home of the Maori. Elders left to right, back: Royal L. Garff, Salt Lake; Ralph V. Baird, Lewiston; Angus W. Westover. Centerfield; front, E. R. Nelson, conterence president, Moroni, Utah; James A. Rawson, Preston, Idaho. E. R. Nelson, Box 72, Auckland, N. Z. New Plan of Trading Royal S. Bell, of Maryland, reports that the missionary work in the Maryland conference is making favorable progress. The missionaries are concentrating their efforts in introducing a new plan of systematic tracting recently designed by President B. H. Roberts for the mission, and its effectiveness is already being shown. The work of the M. I. A. in Balti- more the past winter is very gratifying. The Era will be found in practic- ally every home, and in spite of our limited numbers, we have been follow- ing very closely its outlines. We express our deepest appreciation for the Era because of its elevating suggestions and the assistance is renders us in proclaiming the gospel. Last fall our missionaries began active work in Washington, D. C, and are meeting with a marked degree of success.

EDITORS' TABLE 659 Recently a Y. L. M. I. A. was organized and this organization is now meet- ing in conjunction with the local priesthood. There are ahout 200 Utahns residing in our capital city, and for that reason, it is one of the most flour- ishing branches of the mission. Following are the names of the Maryland conference missionaries: Top row, left to right, Charles J. Goodall, Price; Joseph A. Manzione, Beaver; Albert E. Noall, Salt Lake City; Asa F. Hatch, Woods Cross; J. LeMar Bird, Provo; Job Hemsley, Piano, Idaho; Burton E. Tew, Mapleton, Utah; Arnold J. Koeler, Union; E. L. Sloan, Portland, Oregon. Bottom row: Ernest R. Lee, Hyde Park, outgoing conference president; Florence Lee, Brigham, Utah; B. H. Roberts, president Eastern states mission; Alice Haroldsen, Idaho Falls, Idaho; Royal S. Bell, Monroe, Utah, incoming conference president. Seventeen Baptized The missionary labors in the Oregon conference witn headquarters at Portland, are very encouraging. All the branches and organizations in the conference are in splendid condition. "The Spirit giveth life," and we are growing, daily growing, because we have the spirit of the work. Our choir, organized some months ago, has been under the able direction of Brother Conrad Weber. On March 22, 1923, a grand concert was given in the Portland chapel. Of noteworthy interest is the work being conducted by the Relief Society. Much distress was relieved during the recent seige of sickness and want. A successful dance netted neat returns to help carry on their good work. Their services, March 18, in commemoration of the organization of the Relief Society were most inspiring. We have members who are students of the University of Oregon, at Eugene; and at the Oregon Agricultural College, at Corvallis. Organizations there make

660 IMPROVEMENT ERA it possible for them to attend to their Church duties. On March 4 we bap- tized seven, and on the- 17th, two other converts, which made our baptisms number seventeen since the first of the year. Missionaries, left to right, lop row: Winifred S. Haynie, William L. Crane, Susan Wood, Eugene P. Walkins, mission secretary ; L»elesa Rencher, J. Lloyd Olpin, Edwin Fish. Second row: Terry J. Oldroyd, Erma McGavin, Gene Livingston, outgoing conference president; Brigham S. Young, mission president; Orson P. Wright, incoming conference president; Mary Mathis, Orson Haynie. Third row: Velum JNelickcr, Allan Jensen, Josepbiue Her- man, Verne G. Halliday, William H. Wall, Daena Christensen. Bottom row: Arthur Sawyer, Milton Morrell. The Era is enjoyed by. missionaries. They find it a source of help in their work, and it is a big factor in making our Mutual work interesting and successful — Elder Orson P. Wright, conference president. Stuttgarter Conference Organized President LeRoi B. Gardner of the Frankfurter conference, Germany, reports that a conference was held at Frankfurt, January 13-15, President Serge F. Ballif being present. "There were 80 members of the priesthood at the priesthood meeting. In this meeting, held January 13, President Ballif proposed dividing the conference, which, up to this time ,has included fifteen branches, 1500 Saints and over one-fifth the total area of Germany. The proposition was heartily received, and the Stuttgarter conference was organized out of the Frankfurter conference. Elder Armond J. Eardley was the principal speaker and there was a good spirit fen mroughout all the meetings. Many friends reported to us that they were converted and asked for baptism. At the missionary meeting the reports of the mis- sionaries were excellent and President Ballif gave his usual forceful and energetic instructions and counsel to the workers. In nearly every branch

EDITORS' TABLE 661 the Saints have started Church building associations for the purpose of collecting; money to build churches. In spite of the fact that the drop in the value of the mark, has hit them all mighty hard, they are pushing ahead and changing the money immediately to dollars or Swiss francs, so that their savings may be safe. The missionaries are being blessed in every way and enjoying the work immensely. We are all mighty proud to belong to the Swiss-German mission, and our aim is to put it ahead of all other missions. The Era is one of our best helps in our missionary labors." It might be interesting to the Era readers to know that the letter and photograph from which this was taken was carried from Ger- many to the Era office with 256 marks in postage stamps. ■fir * it k ^J T— J f T- *A £ jL£^i \mf-A^iI '- \ J ^"\ - *k *■ > 'H $ w" € Y € *% ~ w V ^ i i F V: r V W Missionaries, left to right, sitting: D. Owen Thurman, Salt Lake City; Grant Pugmire, Idaho Falls, Idaho; Llewelyn R. McKay, Ugden, Utah; First row: Eugene Maier, Mannheim, Germany, conference secretary; Thom- as Biesinger, Arthur Bohn, Salt Lake City; I eRoi B. Gardner, Lehi, presi- dent of the Frankfurter conference; Serge F. Ballif, Logan, president Swiss-German mission; Armand J. Eardley, Salt Lake City, prtaident of the newly organized Stuttgarter conference; Carl Trost, John H. Zenger, John Wendel, Salt Lake City. Third row standing: Robert Hammann, Salt Lake Ctiy; Emil Schultz, Berlin, Germany; William Ludwig, Swigau, Germany; Cecil A. Cunningham, Grace, Idaho; John D. Montague, Elsinore; Welby W. Bigelow, Panguitch; Arthur A. Felsted, Garland, Utah; Max Hoerold, Goerlitz, Germany; Erich Hollstein, Koenigsberg, Germany; Frederich Faeber, Freiburg, Germany; Richard Schuetze, Dresden, Germany. Back row: Walter Brey, Hamburg, Germany; Alfred Hausmann, Dres- den, Germany; Clifton N. Ottosen, Manti; Wallace E. Broberg, Salt Lake City; Henry Brown, Ogden; Averill Warren Larson, Ephraim, Utah; James C. Sharp, St. Anthony, Idaho; Scot Hillam, Brigham City; Raymond L. Margetts, Salt Lake City; LeRoy Bunnel, Provo, Utah; Curt Haehle. Chemnitz, Germany; Russel B. Swenson, Pleasant Grove; Ludwig, H. Schoberth, Salt Lake City; John Mack, Rexburg, Idaho.