The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-12-25
BIRTH ANNIVERSARY
OF JOSEPH SMITH
hundred and First Birthday of
the Prophet and First
Head of Church.
BIG TABERNACLE Is FILLED
WITH GREAT CROWD
Nephi Norris. j. E. TaImage and
Apostle John Henry Smith
We're the Speakers.

To the walhng of lnnumerable
babies, held in tired mothers arms. the
observance OF the hundred and first an
niversary of the birth of Joseph Smith
was celebrated at the Tabernacle yes.
rerday afternoon, the huge edifce be
ing packed TO the doors with n motley
crowd of devout worshippers, sight
seers and idle townspeople. The ros
trum, draped in white, was the apex
OF a triangle of singing human beings,
the choir rendering several hymns and
the Halleluiah chorus in its usual eN'
ouisite style.
Right under the blazing star picture
Of Joseph Smith in heroic size. loomcd
up in a frame of electric lights, while
lower down the blazing sign The
Glory Of God Is Intelligence added
TO the brilhancy of the scene.
The glorihcation Of the Madonna, the
triumph of motherhood was the prin-
cipsl theme Of Nephi l.. Morris, the first
speaker OF the afternoon, While deal
ing with Christ, the child, the man and
the Savior, he emphasized what the
birth Of Christ meant TO the world
''Great leaders, he declared. Shave
appeared al different times. Alexander,
julius Caesar, Calvin, Cromwell, Ma
poleon. Washington, Lincoln; all of
them have come at Just the proper time
TO fulfill mission And it was left
10 a babe, born of the Virgin Mary. to
FL the greatest mission ever known.
The scofer, the materlalist, must admit
that putting aside the divine mission
OF Christ, he was yet the Savior of the
world. Degeneracy was spelled by
Rome, degeneracy and decay, and the
simple child and virgin mother came as
a protest. Roman women had come to
a pass where they shirked motherhood.
labor was degraded, divorces were as
numerous TO Roman fashionable
woman as there were months in the
year. And the Madonna and child came,
exalting womanhood, making of the
term mother. something grand and
great. Ever since the coming OF that
simple babe. every mother has felt her
self a Madonna and her child a babe of
promise, every man has glorifed in his
labor, for it was for the sustenance of
his Madonna and child. The home of
the world was saved by 8 little child.
and SO today Christ stands the personii-
cation, even to the materialist, of all
the virtues OF manhness, tenderness and
purity Joseph Smith s name wss
mentioned but five times in this dis
course.
"At Christ's death, - declared James
+. Talmadge. the worlds verdict OF
his life and work would have been,
failure The speaker slid easily from
prophets, discoursinP at length on the
idea that ''by their works ye shall
know them" He told of the prophecy
ing by Smith of the civil war n score of
years before il actually came. Then,
turning suddenly. he defended the apos
ties right 20 the common name, Joe
Smith.
John the Baptist he argued in
geniously, had a common name; so
did Joshua. Continuing. he described
at length the visit Of God the Father
and Son TO Joseph, when he was mere
slip of a boy and new at the prophet
business. Mr.. Talmadge declared that
the country. would hesitate to confess
entire ignorance of the Book Of Nor
mon. The Bible and Book OF Mormon
were not at variance, was again his dec
laretioD. He spoke optimistically of
thc future Of the church. which he as
serted was not going down, but spring
ing UP greater than in the day of Jo.
seph. 'Jesus is about TO return he
finished, Dramatically, "and his prophet
Joseph will be with him, great, glorious
and triumphant
The last speaker, the Apostle John
Henry Smith. dwelt on the glorifcation
of the name of Joseph Smith, which,
he declared. would in ages TO come be
known by all the world instead Of being
revered by a mere handful of the tribes
of the world. "The Jewish people, he
continued. "could they have looked
down the stream Of time, would have
been amazed TO see what the word
Christ now means From this the
speaker argued that the name Of Jo-
seph in future aeons would he likewise
known. 'The Father and Son. he
went on, "made no mistake in choosing
Joseph for his great work Continu-
ing the eulogy of his late lamented an
cestor, Mr.. Smith concluded: "They
new his ability and therefore selected
him for the prophet of the last dispen-
sation.''
The feature OF the entire service to
the outsiders, was the singing of Pro
fessor Charles Kent, whose magnificent
voice, TO the swelling accompaniment
of the organ, rendered fThe Seer in
a manner that left absolutely nothing to
be desired, "Joseph, the Seer was
the real title. and as a recitative it was
simply perfect.
In the stead of the usual Christmas
decorations of church, red, white and
blue bunting covered everything. A
fan Of the colors surmounted the organ,
while the gallery was lavisbly hung.
The president of the church was not
present, greatly disappointing the large
crowd of sight-seers, who. reading his
name on the programme, had expected
an address CT at least glimpse of the
man himself.
As service it differed little from or
dlnary meeting, with the exception of
the enthusiastic dwelling on the name
OF Joseph, the speakers giving most of
their time to thoughts OF Christmastide.