The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-04-08

President Joseph T. Smith made an
official denial at yesterdays session of
the general conference of the Mormon
church that the church had in any way
been responsible for the nomination or
election of B. H. Roberts as member of
congress from Utah. He said that the
charge had been made by enemies of
the church to blacken its character
and to bring odium upon it, and he
averred positively that the church was
not responsible for the acts of either
of the political parties, saying, with
some dry humor, as he concluded:
If we did control them, we would
not allow this wrangling and bitterness.
We'd have peace in the ranks, and we'd
put stop to all this Quarreling.
The announcement was made in the
progress Of President Smiths sermon,
just at the close of the afternoon SeS-
sion. The whole tabernacle was crowd
ed to its capacity, and the political ref
erences by President Smith caused a
marked sensation everywhere in the
congregation, as was evidenced by the
buzz of excited conversation which be-
gan as soon as President Smith had
finished speaking and which continued
until President Cannon announced the
closing hymn.
B. II. Roberts himself sat among the
presidents of the seventies, inpaSSive
and calm, gazing out across the vast
assemblage and seemingly hearing
nothing and paying no heed whatever
TO what was passing on about him.
POLYGAMY TALK STOPPED.
There was but one other notable in
laiC 4
at the morning session. Apostle George
Teasdaie had begun to speak somewhat
forcibly on the subject of plural mar
riage, but he had only proceeded with
a sentence or two along the lines when,
on a sudden, he stopped abruptly, con-
tinuing after a long pause by taking up
an entirely different subject.
There was an unusually large attend
ance at both sessions. particularly in
the afternoon, when the crowd nearly
overfiowed the tabernacle.
AT the morning service, after the
hymn -'Redeemar of Israel" had been
sung by the choir and congregation, Ell
der David IL Cannon of st. George
gave the opening prayer, asking that
the lawmakers of the land might be
brought to see the truth of the work
which the church is accomplishing. The
choir sang the hymn, 'All Hail the Clio
rious DAY"
President Lorenzo Snow opened the
Services with a few words, congratulat-
ing the church on the auspicious open
ing Of the conference.
APOSTLE TAYLOR'S REMARKS.
APOSTLE John w. Taylor spoke of
the missionary work in the mountain
states. He advised parents not to send
too much money to their sons who were
on missions, as in his experience the
ar.a Nx-hO do
pended on their own labors for their
support, and not on the money sent
from home. He took issue with Evan
gelist d. L. Moody, who asserts that
ordinances such as baptism and lay
ing on hands are unnecessary. Jesus
taught the necessity of these ordi-
nances, he said, and the same things
are promised at the present time as
when Jesus was on the earth. The
Colorado mission, he said, was pros
pering wonderfully. About 260 people
had been converted to Mormonism in
the past two years and half. Among,
them thirty elders were now working.
He touched upon the present agita-
ton against the church as a result of
the election of Roberts last year, and
he said that since this agitation be-
gan. twice as much interest had been
shown in the meetings held by the mis-
sionaries and that double the usua,
amount of church literature had been
given out. The church had very many
friends, he said, all over the country.
which such agitatiOns as this brought
to the front tc defend it against those
who would overthrow il, or attempt to
cast il down.
APOSTLE GRANT.
Apostle Heber J. Grant followed in
the same vein He said that in his
recent visit to the east he had had
much the same experience. When he
had announced that he would speak
on the Roberts case, he always had a
crowded house to speak to: the meet
lngs more than doubled. He said that
this was only one more testimony of
the truth of the saying that nothing is
done against the work of God but re-
bounds TO the benefit of that work.
Taking up the subject of the claims of
the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ
OF Latter-day Saints, he said that they
had nothing upon which to base the
claim that their church was the true
one. The truth Of the work Of the
church, he said was shown by the ef-
forts which had been vainly made to
tear it down. The United States of
America itself had tried in vain to
stamp it out. The army of the United
States had been sent against it. and by
that act, he said, and by the confisca-
ton of the church properties. and by
all the other methods which had been
used to root ii out. the United States
government had only placed the stamp
of divinity upon the work of the
church.
The hymn zion Stands With Hills
Surrounded" was sung by the temple
choir.
AN ABRUPT ENDING.
Apostle George Teasdale spoke of the
prosecutions through which the church
had gone by reason of some of its be-
liefs.
THAT which we have been most con-
demned for" said he, ''is our belief in
the doctrine of plural marriage. We
are the Israel of God, is my under
standing of the matter Pagan Rome
prohibited plural marriages, and its
example has been generally accepted
by the nations of the earth''
Just here Apostle Teasdale stopped
abruptly, and for a full minute, while