M. I. A. Conference Address of Welcome

M. I. A. CONFERENCE ADDRESS OF WELCOME* By Supt. George Albert Smith, of the Council of the Twelve You will doubtless remember the adage, "Nearest the Church furthest from grace." This morning we have had an example of people who live a long way off being on time and in their places. Los Angeles Lauded, I think our brethren and sisters from Los Angeles have set us an excellent example. They came here this morning on a special train, traveling more than eight hundred miles, and were here early enough to be in this building on time. They are led by the presidency of the Young Ladies and the superintendency of the Young Men. Three hundred of them came in this morning, have made their prep- arations, and a portion of them have appeared before us in the delight- ful anthem ("Loyalty" by Evan Stephens, Prof. William Salt, Director) that we have just listened to. Brother LeBaron represents the superintendency of the Young Men, and Sister Savage the presidency of the Young Ladies. I have been looking for two chairs on this stand for them to occupy so that you could see who these people are who can bring a icrowd like this, and I am going to ask them to stand up so that you can all see them. They look mighty good to me. Now, I am not scolding, I would dislike to have anybody think I had anything in my mind but love and kindness this beauti- ful morning; but I do feel that we owe a debt of gratitude to this splendid stake of Zion for being here, not at the second or third meeting, but at the first meeting on time, and bringing these splendid singers with them, who have already delighted us with their music. They will be with us during the entire conference and will be sup- plemented, of course, by others. Some of the other outlying stakes are also represented here, some who are about as far away as Los Anegles, and some who per- haps are a little farther. But I think we will all have to admit that the Los Angeles stake has set the pace for this convention, and we are very grateful to them. We congratulate them and invoke upon them the blessings of our heavenly Father. In coming as they have in so large a group, we hope that they will be able to keep pretty well together. Their plans have been made to that effect, and ♦Delivered Friday Morning, June 11, 1926. at the first meeting of the M. I. A. conference.

M. I. A. CONFERENCE ADDRESS OF WELCOME 921 we hope that we will be able to contribute to their comfort and to the blessing of every delegate that is here this morning, regardless of what section of the world he or she comes from. We are delighted to have you here, as well as all who are interested in this department of our Father's service, and we welcome you. And as the crowd increases, which it will until we will fill the Tabernacle to its full capacity, we realize that each one is here for a purpose, and that purpose is to bless the children of our heavenly Father. Photo by Geo. Ed. Anderson LOS ANGELES M. I. A. THRIFT CHORUS M Men and Gleaner Girls, of Los Angeles stake, Edwin M. LeBaron, chief executive; Wm. Salt, director; Hortense Steel, accompanist; Rose Broderson, Gleaner Girl chairman; Loraine Qualley, M Men chairman. The people in the background are also from California. The picture was taken on the beautiful Temple grounds, June 15, 1926.

922 IMPROVEMENT ERA All M. I. A. Departments Increasing I am reminded of the fact that since our last convention, a year ago, there has been an increase in every department of the work, I am speaking now particularly of the Young Men's organization. Sister Tingey, who is much more capable of speaking for the Young Ladies, will do so during this session. The thing I would like to emphasize is this, that there i9 a unity of spirit and a genuine af- fection between the two great general boards. They work together in harmony, they labor for the blessing of our Father's children throughout this great land and throughout the world, for we have Mutual Improvement organizations in other parts of the world. For your information I would like to say that there has been a steady increase in all the departments of our service — contributions to the fund, subscriptions to the Era, — and I know it will interest you when I tell you that we have now more than 4,000 life members of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association. I am sorry they are not all here this morning. I would like to say in passing that it will be a source of satisfaction to the Young Men's Board if those who are life members will wear their life membership pins. President Hebet J. Grant Absent Owing to Illness Our beloved President Heber J. Grant is confined to his bed because of an attack of throat trouble, which the doctor has diagnosed, I understand, as quinsy. He was to be with us this morning. I was with him in the city of Washington some weeks ago and told him we hoped he would be with us to make an address in our opening meeting, and, as he has always done, he expressed his willingness to be here and his desire to mingle with the young people. He sends his regrets that he is not able to be in attendance, but we trust that before the convention is over we may have the pleasure of his com- pany. Duties of Visiting Delegates This is your convention. We would like every one here, no matter from what department of the Church you may have come, to feel that this is your convention, and we are exceedingly anxious that you should participate in it to the very fullest. The program is very definite. We trust you will read it carefully and discover what department of the work is yours, and then attend the meetings that are arranged for you, and in which you will be expected to be present. Do not spend your time in some other department, but go into the department to which you belong, or have been assigned — if you have been assigned. If you are free from assignment, select the department that you feel will do you the most good, so that when you go home you can accomplish the most possible good for those whom you represent.

M. I. A. CONFERENCE ADDRESS OF WELCOME 923 Last Year's Jubilee A year has passed, almost on the wings of the wind. Just a year ago we were celebrating our great jubilee. We arrived at the point where people felt that life was worth living and that Mutual Improve- ment was a great big part of that life. Wonderful things have hap- pened in the world since then. In a little while that great jubilee will be but a dream, but I want to say it will be a happy dream; it will be a joy for those who were present ever to remember it, and it will be a source of satisfaction to all who participated in it. In that great event we told the world that the youth of Zion do not falter and that they are true to the faith and are loyal to the or- ganization with which they are identified. For your information I would like to say that one of the prominent citizens of Salt Lake City — not a member of this Church — when I asked him a few days later if he saw the parade of the jubilee, said, "Of course, I saw it!" I said, "What did you think of it?" He replied, "I think it has never been duplicated in the history of the world, such a group of young men and young women, march- ing in step, every one with a face beaming with joy and satis- faction and gratitude!" He said, "It was a most marvelous sight." A New Year's Work Before Us The year has passed, that convention and that jubilee arc a mat- ter of record, and today we are met to begin a session of another great convention, the thirty-first general annual conference of M. I. A. and I am satisfied that before it is finished we will all feel that it has been good to be here. We did have a great spiritual uplift last time, our eyes were feasted upon the beauty and clean- liness and purity of the youth of Zion. This convention may not have the same spectacular incidents attached to it, but do you know, my brethren and sisters, there is no reason why, during the sessions of this convention, we may not feel that uplifting influence that comes from our heavenly Father. There is no reason why our eyes should not be dimmed by tears of gratitude, as they were a year ago. There is no reason why every soul that is in this conference shall not feel to say within their very depths, O, Father in heaven, we thank thee! There is no reason why those who are here at this conference shall not each contribute to that wonderful inspiration. Do not let it be a matter of pastime. Do not let the convention be just a source of study, but let it be a source of prayerful exaltation. We can all enjoy that. As I see the growth and development of the Church with which we are identified, as I see the magnitude of the Mutual Improve- ment organizations represented here, and as I look into the faces of the leaders in these multiplying stakes and wards, I thank my Father

924 IMPROVEMENT ERA in heaven for such companionships. When the time comes for our work this Fall, we arc anxious that you who are here shall have taken to the remotest parts of this great Church the feeling and desire that when Mutual Improvement organizations shall call their first meeting there shall be a roll call of such a nature that gratitude and satisfaction will be in your souls because those who ought to be in attendance are there, and then the work can go steadily on through- out the year. Functions of the Recreation Department For your information I would like to say that never before, so far as our records indicate, have we been able to hold on to our Spring and early Summer meetings right up to the end of our course as we have this season. Never before have our festivities been so well controlled, never before has the recreational department functioned as well, and we are just beginning to take hold of that part of our service. I feel that the Lord desires us to enjoy ourselves, and in order that our enjoyment may be acceptable to him, our recreation committees have arranged programs that you are all more or less- familiar with, and there will be an announcement made during this convention, of other preparation that is not yet in your hands. That department which has been placed upon the shoulders of the young people of the Mutual Improvement organizations by the Presidency of the Church has not been laid upon the shelf, but loyally and faith- fully the workers all over this Church have taken hold. There are some who have not quite risen to the opportunity, there are some who have not quite comprehended the privilege, but they are coming, and I am sure that after the demonstration that we will have in this convention, of loyalty, devotion, patriotism and faith in our heavenly Father, we can send to every portion of the Lord's vineyard that enthusiasm and that prayerful desire for an uplift for our young people that will have its effect, and that a year hence we will be able still to say, "Zion prospers! All is well!" and the movement of Mutual Improvement is onward and upward. Gratitude to President Tingey and the Young Ladies I would like to take this occasion to express my gratitude to Sister Martha H. Tingey, her counselors and the members of the Young Ladies' general board. Standing by the side of their brethren, the Young Men, they have been loyal and have been foremost and anxious in every good thing. They are just as devoted women as can be found in this world to the cause of righteousness, and it is a pleasure for the general board of the Young Men's organization to have as our associates in the work of the Lord these splendid women, whose ideals are unsurpassed, whose lives are unexcelled, and whose

M. I. A. CONFERENCE ADDRESS OF WELCOME 925 desires and hopes and aspirations are such as may be followed with profit by the people of this world no matter where they may be. I pray that the blessings of our heavenly Father may be upon this important gathering, and asi it increases in numbers that his Spirit may abide with us, and that we may feel in our hearts a de- termination to obtain all that our Redeemer may have in store for his children who are here in his name and who desire with all their hearts to be worthy to be called his children, both now and forever, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Silent Friends BOOKS! Thanks be to God for the gift of them, The pull and the urge and the lift of them; For the keen delight of the printed page, Priceless alike to the child or. the sage; Thanks be to God for Books. Oh, how could we live on without them, The cozy, warm comfort about them, The strength and the courage they give to the soul, Inspiring the timid to push to the goal, Urging the plodder along past the rocks, Till he finds where the storehouse of wisdom unlocks? BOOKS? How can we measure the size of them? The mastering force in the rise of them? Flooding the earth as a sudden tide Flinging the seeds of true wisdom wide; Thanks be to God for Books. Oh, great is our pride just to own them, But greater their worth when we loan them. Mute heralds of progress in ev'ry clime, Rich treasure vaults in the store-house of time, Preserving the thought of the centuries past, And garnering buds of the present fast. BOOKS! The magic path to a pleasure land, Sesame true to a treasure land Where a mine of gold awaits your spade To loosen the nuggets by genius made. Thanks be to God for Books. A sedative balm to the ragged nerves, A piloting light when the tempter swerves. A friendly pal when your heart is sore, A potent wine when the battle's o'er. Oh what is so fine as a cozy nook, With a cushioned chair and a friendly book? Sigurd, Utah IRVIN L. WARNOCK