The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-10-04
that neither the smoking nor the eat
ing would be in the meeting.
CONFERENCE OPENS TODAY.

The eighty third sem.annual general
conference of the Mormon church opens
in this city this morning The session
prospects arc that il will be attended
by unusual crowds.
The session will doubtless be routine.
There is nothing to indicate that any
special deIiverauce will come from this
conference, although one might well
come from 1T to correct an evil Of which
we have had recent example. We
refer To the signed editorial OF Presi
dent Joseph r. Smith in the Improve
ment Era. which was a political plea
for President Taft. and plainly by the
language used. warning against the
Saints supporting Col, Roosevelt, 1t
lis explained by the Deserct News that
this editorial did not mean anything in
particular. aud tbst no ono is expected
10 be guided by II in his political scnti
ments or votes. Our suggestion. there
fore, to the conference is that it would
be well to pass rule en- Joining the gen.
cral officers Of the church and cspe
cisIly President Smith, not To give
forth, through the special priesthood
official organ, public utierances of this
kind without meaning something by
them, For it is plain that when man
in President Smith IS position gives
forth meaningless talks to the public,
tho dignity of his position is lowered
and his personal influence is weakened.
The conference should impress upon IT.
general officers not to come before the
public in any matter of Injunction. doc
trine, direction. or guidance, without
meaning what they say. and without
expecting the Saints to pay attention
to it. For this random, meaningless
publication is distracting TO the Saints,
who naturally expect to find substance,
and not mere idle wind in the outgIy-
ings of their general authorities. To
give out An apparently authentic
article and then 10 take il back and
declare that it means nothing, is dis
gusting. foolish trifling. The people
here assembled ought to rule against
that sort of deceptive work; and by this
sort Of discipline the conference would
enforce upon its general officers a
proper idea of their responsibility, and
would keep them up to a due sense Of
the dignity Of their positions.
The coming of the conference crowds
is always welcome in Salt Lake, and
The Tribune extends a cordial greeting
to all of the Saints, assuring them that
now, as heretofore, it has been their
best friend. and it takes this occasion
to remind them that If the advice OF
Tho Tribune had been accepted by
their leaders and by themselves thirty
years ago, say the year that the Ed
munds law was passed, we would have
had cessation of sectarian strife so
far as politics and civil affairs are con
cerned at least twenty years ago. The
persistent obduracy of the leaders OF
the church in resisting the laws and the
influence of American institutions, and
their bigoted obstinacy in insisting
that The Tribune was their enemy
when, in fact, it was their best friend
all the time, has postponed the era of
harmony in Utah for more than twenty
years, and it has made much bitterness
and many heartaches that were clearly
unnecessary and should have been
avoided. The Tribune has, in fact, been
a better counselor to the Saints than
their chosen leaders all the time. This
must now be evident to all Of the
thinking men in the Mormon church;
and we assure the people now here as.
sembled at the conference that The
Tribune is still better friend of theirs
and a safer counselor in all their secu'
lar and political affairs than are their
chosen leaders, when these leaders un-
dertake to get out Of the real line
of their calling and TO counsel, guide,
or direct their people in politics, busi"
ness, and civil affairs,
This by way Of preliminary remi'
niscence and present injunction. And
now we trust that all of the conference
visitors will have the best possible
time. that they will meet as many as
they can Of their old friends from all
parts OF the State, and that their So
iourn in Salt Lake City will be happy
and profitable, We can assure them
that the clouds are lifting, and that al
though their leaders are prone 10 be ag-
pressiye on mistaken lines, they them
selves have it within their own hands
to correct all wrongs that their leaders
NAV commit, and to bring themselves
into perfect accord with American 10y
altv, American progress, and American
freedom.