The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1915-04-09
PRESIDENT BRINGS
MESSAGE OF PEACE
HEAD OF CHURCH DECLARES
CHURCH Is AT PEACE WITH
ALL THE WORLD.
Opening Session Of Annual Confer
ence Of Church Of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints Is Held on
Easter Sunday.

Salt Lake City.-With the presence
of nearly all the general authorities
OF the church, and a large and en-
thusiastic crowd, the opening session
Of the eighty-ffth annual conference
OF the Church of Jesus Christ of Lat
ter-day Saints was held on Easter
Sunday, the first time in twenty
eight years that the opening day of
conference has fell on Easter Sunday.
President Joseph f. Smith, although
he has not been entirely we'll for
some time, presided and made the
opening address. His message was
point out" he said, that the church
is pursuing its way peacefully. 1t is
at peace with itself and with all the
world, for it carries message of life,
peaceful salvation and redemption
from sin. Our work is to make peace
and to establish goodwill"
Following the principal part of his
address, President Smith announced
that he would take liberty that, he
said, was rather unusual, because of
the many false, wicked things that
had been charged against him and his
brethren. He then gave a summary
of the tithes received during the
year of 1914 and of the uses to which
this money had been put. The total
amount received from tithes during
the year he said was $1,S87,920.
In addition to the amount paid out
of the tithes to the poor, $116,23S,
there has been collected and paid to
the poor by the relief society $74,290,
and there has been paid to the poor
by bishops from the fast offerings and
other ward charity funds $4,000,
making total paid to the poor for
1914 of $266,528.
There has been collected for the
war sufferers, which is being ex-
pended under the direction of Presi-
dent Hyrum NJ Smith of the Euro.
pean mission, $4,000
Our records show that 70 per cent
of all the Latter-day Saint families
residing in all the stakes of Zion own
their own homes.
The birth rate of the church for
the year 1914 is 1915 to the thousand
The death rate for the year 1914 is
8.3 to the thousand.
Marriage rate for the year 1914 is
IL to the thousand.
During the year there were 14,717
children blessed.
There are 1876 elders and lis wo.
men laboring III the missions as mis-
s.onaries.
Of the membership of the church
residing in the stakes of Zion, 319,-
900 were born in the United States,
There has been a net increase in
the membership of the church in the
stakes of Zion from the year 1901 to
1914 of 129,943 sous.
Inere are now 13J wards and thirty
three independent branches. There
are sixty-eight stakes OF Zion and
twenty-one missions. During the year
1914 twenty-one new wards have been
organized and two stakes OF Zion.
There have been performed in the
temples during the past year 166,
900 baptisms for the living and dead
and 1882 endowments for the living
and dead. Altogether 326,264 ordl
nances have been performed in the
four temples. This is very consid
cradle increase over any previou:
year.
sion were President Joseph F. Smith
and Charles W. Penrose
At the afternoon session %, 900 PEG
pie attended the three meetings held
the speakers at the tabernacle being
Elder Charles w. Penrose and Elder
Francis M. Lyman.
The great organ was not used, be
cause it is undergoing repairs The
floor of the tabernacle has been en-
tirely replaced; the seats have beer
reprinted and revarnished and the
building put in excellent condition.
Nine thousand persons sat or stood
in the tabernacle Sunday night in at
tendance at what the program demon
mated the biggest Sunday school il
the world. fhs meeting being faindej
the auspices of the Deseret Sunday
School union and a part of the SPRING
conference of the Mormon church.
Speakers included President JOSEPH
F. Smith, who by virtue of his office
as head of the church is also genera
superintendent of the Sunday Schoo
union, and other workers prominent il
Sunday school activities.
A feature of the services was sing
ing by chorus of 1000 voices, mos
of them children from the Salt Lake
stake of the church. The report Of
George d. Piper. general secretary o.
the Sunday School association
showed total Sunday school enroll
ment of 1s5,416, a gain of S,465 over
last year.
Meetings of different societies were
held during the three days confer
ence, and the many visitors from
every section of the Union will re
turn to their homes feeling that mucl
good has been accomplished by tbs
members of the church during the
past year.
Priest Sentenced to Death.