Chapter 55: A Great Birthday Celebration, 1897 (1)

Admission of Utah into the Union.--Political Struggles.--Birthday Celebrated.

The year 1896 brought Statehood to Utah. "I feel to thank God," wrote Elder Woodruff "that I have lived to see Utah admitted into the family of states. It is an event that we looked forward to for a generation."

On the 4th of January President Cleveland signed the proclamation, admitting the people to statehood. The Enabling Act had been signed on the 7th of July, 1894. Thus a period of a year and a half had elapsed during which the constitution for the new state had been made and the political preparations looking to statehood had all been consummated. It was ushered in by ringing of bells and firing of guns. Shouts of joy proclaimed the glad tidings throughout almost every town and hamlet in the state.

"Ovando Beebe and Joseph Daynes," he continued, "decorated the front of our house with flags and bunting. This day, January 6th, 1896, celebrates our admission into the union. It is quite universal. There may be a few who dislike to see the Saints enjoy a full measure of human rights. The First Presidency occupied a front place in the procession which marched through the public thoroughfares to the Tabernacle. We reached that building about noon and found it crowded to its utmost capacity.

"The great American flag, which we all revere, was spread overhead and measured in length 150 feet, and in width 75 feet. Acting Governor Richards called the great assembly to order. The opening prayer, by myself, which was written, was read by George Q. Cannon. A thousand voices sang the 'Star Spangled Banner.' The acting Governor then read the proclamation of President Grover Cleveland; declared the end of the territorial government, and introduced Heber M. Wells, the first state governor, and other state officials, who upon taking oath of office, assumed the positions to which they had been elected.

{592} "Our enemies have declared that we should never enjoy the blessings of statehood. Their words have fallen to the ground and we are now in possession of that God-given boon. I am thankful that I live to behold this day."

He was naturally reminiscent, he looked back upon a long and arduous struggle of the Saints for those political rights to which they felt themselves entitled. The past was full of acrimony, misgivings, and bitter contentions. At last it was decided to cease contention, drop the political struggles in which the People's Party had engaged, and place themselves in harmony with one or another of the great political parties of the nation. This seemed the only manner in which what was now becoming a useless controversy could be ended.

After all, a division upon political lines brought with it anxieties, misgivings, and dangers. There would be in the Church Mormon Democrats and Mormon Republicans. How they would conduct themselves toward one another in the stress and heat of political controversy was a matter of no small concern. They would be struggling one against another for supremacy. In an age when the political achievements of men carry with them the highest honors and when almost every other relation of life is subordinated to political aggrandizements, there would naturally be some fear lest the Saints, too, should look upon politics, like many others, as the greatest source of honor and power.

It was soon learned that instead of sitting down side by side in the discussion of political questions as matters of business importance and good government, and of discussing relations thereof in a friendly spirit, there grew up animosities, jealousies, and bitterness which still torment the people.

These political dissentions had their temptations and the gravest dangers attended them. Men were thrown indiscriminately into the society of their follow men, some of whom had no respect for those moral principles which underlie the perpetuity of religion. The spirit of politics was one of intoxication. Here and there, young men and old staggered and swaggered under its influence. They were without restraint, without reassurance, and were drifting hopelessly. Some were now piled up like driftwood after the subsidence of a flood. A few became so saturated with politics and its attending evils that the light and {593} flame of the spirit have never since awakened and enkindled their soggy souls.

Some grew unduly suspicious. Circumstances engendered animosities. Passing events tried many to the limit of their endurance. Some soured and fell by the wayside. During the early years of statehood the influence of some of the Church leaders became involved in political struggles.

Elder Woodruff's journal discloses the regrets which he experienced over such conditions. He lamented the political folly of many, and above all deplored the loss of brotherly love which the political excitement of the times brought about. He felt that trials of one character or another were naturally the lot of the Latter-day Saints. He knew that as time went on men would be tempted and tried in proportion to their worth and consequence in the world. He was grieved, however, when he saw men who had apparently been loyal to their duty and other obligations in life become the victims of a political mania.

Political questions gave rise to long drawn controversies. Some of these controversies involved the faith and even the standing of Church members. Men sought to argue themselves through the mists and fogs of political darkness. Many were groping about as if blindfolded. In time most of them emerged from darkness into light. A few lay down by the wayside and would not believe what they could not see, and they could not see because of darkness about them. They therefore justified their obstinacy which they vainly imagined was courage. During those trying times men of long standing in the Church and of unsuspected integrity came to President Woodruff in a spirit of anger and babbled like thoughtless children. Happily many of them have seen their folly and have learned that the Church guided and controlled by the hand of God, rolls on constantly and persistently like the earth in the midst of the heavens. They have learned, too, that though the Church, like the earth moving through the mists and fogs, when its course is obscured, is nevertheless moving steadfastly and accurately forward according to the laws of its creation. Many have learned, too, that the destines of the Church are after all not in the hands of men; for men are the mere instrumentalities of a divine purpose; and if those men, having walked according to their light and understanding, pass {594} on into the Great Beyond without moving the Church in the least from the great orbit prescribed for it by Divine wisdom, what effect can jealousy and criticism have upon it.

When brethren came to President Woodruff and declared that all the the troubles of the Church were political troubles he lamented their folly, their misunderstanding, and the want in them of that divine spirit which should guide men in every exigency of life.

"Some men," he was wont to exclaim, "really act as though they were possessed by the devil. The Church is not going to pieces. The principles of God are not falling to the ground. Such men will be ashamed of themselves some day."

He did not pretend to know why some things happened, but he knew how men ought to behave themselves after they had learned the great lesson which taught them the destinies of the Church and the duties of a Latter-day Saint. Those were remarkable times; their spirit, as far, as it can be reflected upon the pages of history, will remain to warn and instruct future generations.

President Woodruff's journal of those times discloses a prophetic insight which he had neither the wisdom to explain nor political knowledge to appreciate. Questions that were then great issues, and about which grave apprehensions were felt concerning the welfare of the Church, are now of no consequence when looked back upon. There were dire predictions which time failed to verify and which recede from every possibility as time goes on. In the Church men are affected by the spirit and contentions of the times, but the fate of men and the destiny of the Church are two quite separate matters. In no organizations of the world, and in no institutions of men is the separation between the men who conduct them and the welfare and perpetuity of the organizations so great as between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the men to whose care its interests are entrusted.

Political forecasts of those days do not tally with current events. President Woodruff no where in his journal gives any evidence of a spirit of despair. He positively refuses to take things so seriously as politicians would have him do. Harm to the Church was something he did not comprehend any more than he could comprehend how men could harm God. He manifested {595} sorrow for those whose standard of measurement religiously was a political standard. He was not moved by those grave fears which many entertained for the Church. He took as little thought of the morrow in his contemplation of God's purposes as any man that ever lived since the days of the Master.

Men crowded about him with their tables of calculations, by which they fixed the future welfare of the Church and its threatened destruction. His journal is an interesting revelation of some men's peculiar conceptions of the destiny of the Church under the strain and stress of those times. He never pretended to follow the intricacies of men's reasoning about the future. He recorded their sayings and set over against them the more sure word of prophecy upon which he rested his faith.

He might be confused in the labyrinth of details; sophistries might awaken in him a spirit of wonderment; arguments might create doubt as to the location upon one side or the other of some fact or minor truth, but he was never in any measure of doubt upon the fundamental truth of Mormonism and its triumphs through divine guidance.

It was perhaps a most fortunate circumstance that during the troublous times following statehood, President Woodruff never took seriously to heart those events which so greatly stirred the souls of many other men. His native honesty kept him from political speculations which were to him at most, mere guess work. He always felt some confusion whenever he troubled himself about political speculations. He might be persuaded how some things would be for the good of the Church, but he knew that all things God could turn to good account in its mission to the children of men.

Turning from the considerations of Church and State, he recorded those social pastimes which gave him pleasure. It is remarkable how completely the different topics about which he writes in his journal are separated. However much the intensity of his feelings may be manifested when writing upon some subject, those feelings are not carried into the expression which he uses in describing something else that comes along. In each subject he manifests the peculiar spirit which belongs to it.

On the 11th of January that year, he attended a birthday {596} party of his first counselor, George Q. Cannon, who was then sixty-nine years of age. "The family," he wrote, "consisted of twenty-three sons, and ten daughters." Family gatherings of that kind were of special interest to him. Patriarchal relations of that character had in them something of the spirit and promise of Holy Writ.

On March 1st he celebrated his own anniversary. He was then eight-nine. As many of his family as could be convened on that occasion joined in the celebration of their father and grand-father's natal day. All told there were about fifty present. The annual conference of that year convened April 4th. It was largely attended and of special interest to the people. A general pronunciamento was issued, in which leading Church men were required to obtain the permission of their superiors before accepting political obligations that might interfere with the exercise of their Church duties. The document set forth at some length the relations of Church and state from a Church point of view. Its general acceptance throughout the stakes of Zion was voted upon at both stake and ward conferences. As a rule the policy therein set forth was received as a matter of course by the people generally. In some places there was opposition, and as a consequence some resigned their offices in the Church.

Turning from subjects of religious, social, and political importance, he recorded his views at that time upon the question of mining and the thought that he had that it might be made profitable to the Church in the liquidation of some of its debts. Such a means, however, of meeting the obligations of the Church did not receive permanent consideration. The general principle prevailed that the methods which the Lord had instituted were really the safest means by which the revenues of the Church might be raised. Besides tithing was a law of God and contained a blessing for those who observed it. To be sure, there were legitimate means by which moneys of the Church might be invested, but reliance upon speculations in mines came to be regarded as both unsafe and unsatisfactory.

His journal contained a record of important appointments during his administration. He mentioned with special satisfaction the appointment of A. W. Ivins to the Presidency of the Juarez Stake of Zion in Old Mexico. He spoke in words of {597} praise of Rulon S. Wells, and Joseph W. McMurrin, who succeeded President A. H. Lund in the European mission.

A matter that affected him greatly was the death of Apostle A. H. Cannon, who died on the 19th of July, 1896, at the age of thirty-seven. This young Apostle had evidently gained the love and confidence of President Woodruff, who mourned intensely his death. The funeral of A. H. Cannon was deeply impressive and the funeral procession was one of the longest ever witnessed in Salt Lake City. Sometime afterward, and while on a visit to the coast, he referred to special manifestations which he had, respecting the young apostle's character and his mission in the spirit world. He spoke of his purity, his integrity, and his important mission to the spirit world as the testimony of the spirit to him. "The spirit of God rested upon me at the close of this manifestation in a powerful manner and bore testimony to me of the truth of the revelation to me concerning Abraham H. Cannon."

At the April conference following, he spoke of that, and similar manifestations, and in the course of his testimony, declared that the Lord does not send angels to the earth except to accomplish a work that men cannot do. The Holy Ghost should be with the Saints at all times to reveal to them their duties.

In his journal of that year, he spoke of the intense suffering which he at one time experienced, and said that he was healed instantly by the administration of the Apostles.

That year, November 5th, witnessed a change in the observance of the fast day from the first Thursday to the first Sunday in the month.

The first day of the new year, 1897, found President Woodruff at home with his family. At his advanced age in life, time was making inroad upon his health. He rallied, however, from periods of bodily infirmity, and manifested remarkable renewals of strength. Through it all, he was faithful in keeping his journal, which was to him a matter of first importance. Other offices and callings might be temporary, but his journal was a life's mission to which he had been called. He could not say what that journal might accomplish in days to come, but he gave to it the fidelity and a devotion that are as inspiring as they are characteristic. It is that journal that enables the historian today {598} to give to the world one of the most remarkable and faith-promoting biographies in all the history of the Church. He rises from the faithful records of his journal to engage his mind in business enterprises. On the 19th of January, 1897, he paid a visit to Ogden Canyon, where he viewed with admiration the electric power plant and its marvelous machinery. "I visited all the electric works and was overwhelmed with amazement at the ponderous machinery used for the production of electricity. There is a spirit in man, but the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding."

The celebration of his birthday, February 28th, and March 1st, is a distinct event in his life. The following is a published account of the occasion, contained in the _Deseret News_:

"On Sunday, February 28th, 1897, at 2 p. m., and on the following day, Monday, March 1st, at 10 a. m., were exercises in the Tabernacle in honor of the ninetieth anniversary of the birth of Elder Wilford Woodruff, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and one of the first company of Utah Pioneers that entered the Valley of the Great Salt Lake.

For this occasion the Tabernacle has been beautifully decorated. The speakers' stands are ornamented in white and old gold, with numerous flowers and potted ferns and other plants around the organ. The table at the foot of the stands is covered with flowers, and in front of this, seats are raised above the floor for President Woodruff and wife to occupy during the reception on Monday. Over this is a canopy draped with the Stars and Stripes, with electric lights in the top to throw light upon the couple. This canopy will remain thrown back upon the table until the time of the reception. The upper stand, which will be occupied by the President and his wife during the rendering of the program, has been raised about sixteen inches higher than its usual position, so that a full view can be had of them from every part of the building. In front of and near the top of the organ is a beautiful star composed of sixty-one electric lights; over this, and extending from south to north across the building is a white streamer bearing the inscriptions, "Glory be to God," "Honor to His Prophet," and the three dates, 1807, 1847, and 1897. Around the gallery bunting is stretched, with a star over each post, and at the rear of the building is the inscription, {599} "We honor the man so honored of God." Above the rear of the gallery is a banner on which is painted 1847-1897. Below this is a Union flag which passed through the war.

A brief sketch of President Woodruff's life was read.

SUNDAY SCHOOL AFTERNOON'S CELEBRATION.

Perhaps the largest number of people that ever assembled in the large Tabernacle was present Sunday afternoon on the occasion of the celebration by the Sunday schools of President Woodruff's ninetieth birthday. Not only were the seats all occupied, but the aisles were packed in every part of the immense building.

From the time of the opening of the doors at 1 o'clock, until after 2, the Sunday schools and others continued to pour into the Tabernacle en masse, and when the time arrived to commence the services, all seats were taken, and many people were still outside of the building, while several entire schools were turned away, the general public, having crowded into the reservation, intended for the children. While there was some confusion, caused by the gathering of such a large number of children and getting them seated properly, it must be said that altogether they did well and filed in in as orderly a manner as could reasonably be expected.

A brilliant effect was produced when the electric current was turned into the globes forming the beautiful double star, and into the word "Utah" in front of the organ. The latter and the large star were composed of clear lights, while the small star within was made up of red lights. The decorations were very tastily arranged throughout and added greatly to the imposing scene.

The services commenced at five minutes after two by President George Q. Cannon calling the vast assemblage to order and announcing the opening hymn, "We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet," which was rendered by the entire congregation, under the leadership of Professor Evan Stephens. Its rendition visibly affected President Woodruff, and made it necessary for the honored veteran to wipe the tear-drops from his eyelids.

An appropriate and feeling prayer was offered by Elder George Teasdale, after which the Sunday schools rendered the {600} hymn, "God Speed the Right," under the leadership of Professor E. K. Bassett.

Elder George Goddard, of the general superintendency of Sunday schools, addressed the congregation. He stated that it was the largest assemblage that had ever been within the walls of the Tabernacle. Notwithstanding this, however, he felt that if desired, he could succeed in restoring order such as to hear the dropping of a pin. He requested the children present to note in a book after going home the exercises which they had taken part in today. Children should learn to keep a history of their lives and incidents connected with the experiences which they had passed through, that in after years they might recall those pleasant days which they had seen while here upon the earth. The speaker then sang the Sunday school hymn "In Our Lovely Deseret," the children present joining in the chorus. At the conclusion of the song the speaker called upon all those assembled to pray for President Woodruff and prophesied that if they paid attention to the words of the song just sang, many would live eighty years hence and be able to testify to taking part in the exercises of today.

Under the direction of Elder George Teasdale all the Sunday school children present recited in concert the Articles of Faith.

Professor Joseph J. Daynes rendered in pleasing style an organ solo, entitled "My Father's Growing Old."

Elder George A. Smith gave a short epitome of the life and labors of President Wilford Woodruff. Closing he said in his lifetime he had traveled 175,00 miles to preach the gospel. He had baptized 2,000 souls into the Church, and had written a journal of 7,000 pages, covering his work for a period of sixty-two years.

Two verses of the song, "Is There Anything That We Can Do?" were sung by the congregation, after which Sister Rose Wallace in a felicitous speech presented President Woodruff in behalf of the Desert Sunday School Union, with a beautiful basket of ninety roses. Sister Wallace used these words:

"President Woodruff, our beloved Prophet and leader: In behalf of the Deseret Sunday School Union, I greet you on this the ninetieth anniversary of your natal day, and congratulate you {601} that you have reached this advanced age, and rejoice that you are preserved unto us in all the power of your glorious manhood and of your high and holy calling.

"We hope and pray that your life will still be precious in the eyes of our Father for years to come; that you may be a blessing and a comfort unto His Saints; and that they shall fill your soul with joy unspeakable by their faithful, earnest efforts to do God's will; and that you shall live until every holy desire in your heart is satisfied.

"We love you, we bless you, Brother Woodruff, with all our soul, and thank you for your gentle guidance; for you have been to us 'as a gentle shepherd leading us through the gloom into the bright and glorious day.'

"And since our feeble words cannot express the love we bear you nor the joy we feel in your presence, we have brought these beauteous messengers of love, ninety roses, whose hearts are laden with the exquisite fragrance from our heavenly home where all is love.

"They are the roses Reverence and Regard,
That know no change,
But bloom forever, though the storm be hard
And ways grow strange.

"They are the roses that I bring to you,
Your gaze to greet;
To scent the way you take with fragrance true.
And make life sweet."

Roses to greet you, with a wish from me,
Though skies are drear,
Still may the path you take all fragrant be
Through all the year.

"Though roses born of sunlight and June showers
Fade fast away,
There are sweet roses grown in wintrier hours,
That ne'er decay!"

{602} President Woodruff then addressed the congregation. He said: "I want to say to my young brethren and sisters and friends in the Sabbath schools established here in the Rocky Mountains, God bless you, and I feel to bless you, as far as I have the power. I want to say that this is a scene before me today that has overpowered me--it has overpowered my speech. I would rather not say anything, still I feel I want to make a few remarks to my friends.

"I never in my life have been in a similar position to that of today. The scene before me has been a fulfillment of all my prayers from my boyhood up to early manhood. Eighty years ago I was a little boy ten years of age attending school the same as you are here in the mountains of Israel. I read the New Testament. I read of Jacob; I read of the Apostles and the Prophets. I could not find a man on the face of the earth who taught these principles or believed in them. I prayed to the God of heaven that I might live to see a prophet; that I might live to see an apostle who would say something that would satisfy me like the principles I read of in the New Testament.

"Today I stand in the midst of ten thousand young men and women of Israel--sons and daughters of prophets, patriarchs and men of Israel. Men who hold the holy priesthood appointed by the God of Israel; appointed in the last days to set up and carry these laws and principles of God into effect. It is these principles that we were to look at in the last days. Now I want to say to you as the rising generation, I never expected to see a day of this kind in my life, in my early days. I did expect, as it was promised to me, to see a prophet. I have lived to see him. I have traveled with prophets and patriarchs and sons of God. I have lived to see this body of intelligence of the sons of the living God, who come here to the meetings of Israel.

"I rejoice in this, for I see before me the nature of the Latter-day Saints. We cannot say the Bible is a novel--the Bible that contains revelation. I have passed through the periods of boyhood, early manhood and old age. I cannot expect to tarry a great while longer with you, but I want to give to you a few words of counsel. You occupy a position in the Church and Kingdom of God and have received the power of the holy priesthood. The {603} God of heaven has appointed you and called you forth in this day and generation. I want you to look at this. Young men listen to the counsel of your brethren. Live near to God; pray while young; learn to pray; learn to cultivate the Holy Spirit of God; link it to you and it will become a spirit of revelation unto you, inasmuch as you nourish it. I feel thankful myself that I have lived to see this day. I declare unto you that there are many in the flesh who will remain so until the coming of the Son of Man.

"This is about all I have to say. I feel thankful to my heavenly Father that I see this scene before us this afternoon; that I see the gospel manifestations on the earth. There has been, as it was stated by our brother, two powers, one to destroy me and the other to save me And God in heaven has willed to spare me to see this day. He has given me power to reject every testimony and reject every example that leads to evil. I say to you children, do not use tobacco, liquor, or any of these things that destroy the body and mind, but honor Him and you will have a mission upon your heads that the world know not of. May God bless you. Amen."

Quartette, "We Ever Pray for Thee," specially written for the occasion by Professor Evan Stephens, was nicely rendered by the little Misses Olga Peterson, Mamie Mills, Annie Peterson, and Gertrude Kelly, with a refrain by Brother E. K. Bassett's choir.

President George Q. Cannon was the next speaker. He said that this was a most memorable occasion and one that would live long in the hearts of those assembled. Ninety years, said the speaker, was a long space of time for mankind to live upon the earth. It was gratifying to know that President Woodruff had held the Apostleship in this Church longer than any man that had lived in this dispensation. The Lord had blessed President Woodruff and had spared him to do a mighty work in helping to roll forth the Church and Kingdom of God.

President Cannon called the attention of the children to the good work which had been done by President Woodruff. He had lived a righteous life upon the earth and had been miraculously spared to see the desires of his heart made manifest. The speaker exhorted the young to emulate the example set them by {604} President Woodruff, as in their declining years they would rejoice in keeping themselves pure and unspotted from the sins of the world. They should keep the Word of Wisdom and God would add His blessings.

The hymn, "Song of Praise," was rendered by the Sunday schools.

The Lord's prayer was recited in concert under the leadership of Elder Richard S. Horne of the Sunday School Union Board.

Madame von Finkelstein Mountford was the next speaker. She said: "We are gathered here in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. This is one of the greatest scenes that I have ever witnessed in my life. To see so many children; it is like coming into the Kingdom of Heaven; and before the honorable President here. He must feel today that he is in the Kingdom of Heaven; for Christ said: 'Suffer the little children to come unto me, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.' And as these little ones are singing here, they seem to have come from the heavenly host above singing, 'Glory to God and peace on earth.' Long life and good wishes to our noble President, I want to call him my own President. I am one of the children of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is one of the memorable days of my life. I am the daughter of Zion--that ancient city Zion--and have the privilege and honor to be in this Zion of the western hemisphere. All that I can compare this gathering to is the one that was held by those who were led by Moses through the desert--the children of Israel. While crying for bread Moses said to them, I shall pray to God to send you bread. The next morning when the children of Israel rose up, they expected to see great loaves of bread lying ready to be eaten. They cried, 'Where, oh where is the bread?' Moses said, 'There is the bread.' That was it, around like little seeds. They said, 'Manora,' the meaning of which is, 'Do you want to starve us with this bread?' Moses said, 'Go, gather the bread and eat. And they went and gathered and ate, and they were filled. That bread from heaven was called in the world, manna. There is where the word originated--a symbol of praise to the Maker. What is this, that God has sent us in the wilderness? By His mighty power He has led us forth by His servant into {605} the desert, into the wilderness, and planted us to dwell in this wilderness--brought the children of Israel like mighty Moses through the wilderness. All that I feel to say is that I truly wish long peace to this State, and I give the glory to the God of Israel. It is with you and the children that are here to remember every one of you that you are the temples of the living God. He is living in you, every one. May you live true to Him as our honorable President has done. He is ninety years old, and it is because he has kept himself pure and unspotted from the world, that he has lived in the world and yet not of the world, in himself and with God, as His Prophet, that he is honored now. May God preserve his life to these children here, and may they from generation to generation observe his counsel. May every blessing be with the honorable President of this great movement; and I hope that our President will live long, and that God's love will rest upon him."

The closing hymn, "What Prize Shall Be Your Reward," was sung by the Sunday schools and benediction was pronounced by Elder George Reynolds.

At the close of the exercises many availed themselves of the opportunity to shake hands with President Woodruff, and it was therefore some time before the entire audience was out of the building.

MONDAY MORNING'S CELEBRATION.

According to the arranged program President Woodruff's ninetieth birthday was celebrated in the large Tabernacle today, commencing at the hour of 10 a. m. Before that time arrived, the body of the Tabernacle was filled with people and nearly all the seats in the gallery were occupied.

The two center rows of seats for some distance back were reserved for the family and friends of President Woodruff, the members of the Legislature and others, until 10:23, at which time the public were allowed to fill up the remaining unoccupied seats.

The Tabernacle choir occupied its usual position, while Held's band was stationed in the east end of the gallery and discoursed sweet music at intervals during the proceedings.

{606} When President Woodruff appeared on the stand at 10:07 o'clock he received a perfect ovation. The entire congregation arose in a body, and waving their handkerchiefs joined with the choir in singing "Our God we raise to Thee, Thanks for Thy blessings free, We here enjoy." The scene presented during the singing was very beautiful, indeed. While the crowd was not so large as at yesterday's session, yet all the seats were taken and many people were standing in the aisles and on the stairways leading to the gallery.

The proceedings were opened by the Tabernacle choir singing "Noble Chief," after which prayer was offered by President Joseph F. Smith. Choir then sang, "Hail, Prophet, Brother, Friend."

An address of welcome was then made by President Woodruff. He spoke as follows:

"I feel highly honored this morning in meeting with so many of my friends upon this important occasion. Yesterday those who were present might have observed my condition. I was perfectly overwhelmed in consequence of the scene before me. It was not what was said particularly, but it brought to my mind in overwhelming power my boyhood and early manhood and my desires that I might live upon the earth to find a people who would receive the gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by Christ and the Apostles. In meeting with thousands of the children of the Latter-day Saints, it brought to my mind those scenes and the fulfillment of my prayers and desires before the Lord.

"I hope this morning I may be able to make a few remarks. I will say this, it has been a desire of my life from my boyhood up, never to address any assembly of people whom I could not make hear what I had to say. I feel the same this morning; I do not know whether I can make this assembly hear me or not; but I will do the best I can.

"As I can hardly expect ever to have the opportunity of addressing the people of this State and my friends in days to come, I have a few reflections upon my mind that I wish to lay before you. And I will say they are different from any of my public speeches that I have been in the habit of presenting to the people. I have consulted no man with regard to the course I should pursue {607} in my remarks here this morning, and I do not know that I shall satisfy my friends in the remarks that I may make.

"First, I want to say a few words upon politics. I hope that will not astonish you. I have not been in the habit of this heretofore. But I feel desirous to say a few things that are upon my mind. In the first place, there is not one item, not one sentence in the Constitution of the United States, nor in the laws of the United States, nor of the State of Utah, that deprives any citizen, of any name, nature, religion, or politics in the land, from joining any political party he wishes, or voting for whomsoever he wishes. This is the right of every man without hindrance. We have been accused at times of using Church influence to guide and direct the State. This is occasionally presented to the public as our action. I feel it my right and duty to say here today that I was acquainted with Joseph Smith and associated with him from 1833 until his martyrdom. I have been acquainted with Brigham Young and associated with him for forty years of my life, at home and abroad, under many circumstances. I have also been acquainted with John Taylor and labored with him in every capacity in which he was called to act. I have also been a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for upwards of fifty-six years of my life. And I have been presiding over the Church itself for a few years. I have been associated with my counselors and with the present Twelve Apostles. And I want to say upon this occasion, before God, angels, and all men that are before me, that I never in one instance knew any leader of this Church to attempt to dictate and direct the affairs of the State as member of the Church. At the same time, when any man, no matter who he is--Mormon, Jew, or Gentile--uses money or any means to hire men to vote for him, I think he steps outside of his right, and stands in a measure condemned.

"I want to say so much to my friends this morning. I have officiated for twenty sessions in the Legislative Council of the Territory of Utah, and one session as a member of the House, and it did not cost me one farthing for any office I ever held in the Church, or in the State, or in the Territory. And I never asked any mortal man on the face of the earth to cast a vote for me that I have any recollection of. As an example, perhaps, I may be permitted {608} to say, I am the father of fourteen sons, and have a number of sons-in-law, and I believe they are pretty nearly evenly divided on political party lines--Democrats and Republicans. I will give any man five dollars if, in conversing with them, he can get any one of them to say that his father ever told him whom to vote for. Some of you may try to make a little money perhaps at that. (Laughter.) I consider everybody is responsible for himself, and he has a right to vote for whom he pleases.

"Again, I never asked any office at the hands of any being in heaven or on earth, not even of my heavenly Father, except in one instance, which I will relate here. In my boyhood, as you have heard me testify, I went to the Sabbath schools. I read the New Testament. I saw the doctrine there portrayed in plainness, as taught by Jesus Christ and His Apostles, and it was a glorious doctrine. I had a great desire to live on the earth until I could see inspired men who could teach me those principles that I read of in the New Testament. I prayed a great deal in my boyhood and my early manhood that I might live on the earth to receive those principles that I there read of. In 1833, for the first time in my life, I saw an elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That was Zera Pulsipher. He told me that he was inspired of the Lord. He was threshing grain in his barn when the voice of the Lord came to him and told him to arise and go to the north, the Lord had business for him there. He called upon Brother Cheney, his neighbor, and a member of the Church. They traveled sixty miles on foot, in December, in deep snow, and the first place they felt impressed to call was at the house of my brother and myself. They went into the house and talked with my brother's wife, and they told her who they were and what their business was. They told her that they were moved upon to go to the north, and they never felt impressed to stop anywhere until they came to that house. When they told her their principles, she said her husband and her brother-in-law both were men who believed those principles, and they had prayed for them for years. They appointed a meeting in the school-house upon our farm. I came home in the evening and my sister-in-law told me of this meeting. I had been drawing logs from the shores of Lake Ontario (I was in the lumber business), and I turned out {609} my horses, did not stop to eat anything, and went to the meeting. I found the house and the door yard filled with people. I listened for the first time in my life to a gospel sermon as taught by the elders of this Church. It was what I had sought for from my boyhood up. I invited the men home with me. I borrowed the Book of Mormon, and sat up all that night and read. In the morning I told Brother Pulsipher I wanted to be baptized. I had a testimony for myself that those principles were true. Myself and my brother, as was stated here yesterday, went forth and were baptized--the first two in that county. That was the beginning of my connection with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"At this point I will ask upon the subject of religion, what are the rights of men upon religious subjects? I do not know that I can do better than to quote Brother Joseph Smith's remarks before thousands of people at a conference in Nauvoo, when there were many non-Mormons present. He said, 'If I were the emperor of the world and I had power to control the whole human family, I would sustain every man, woman, and child in the enjoyment of their religion.' Those are my sentiments today. I believe every man--Jew, Catholic, Protestant, or anything--has a right to enjoy his religion unmolested. I believe the Constitution of the United States and the laws of the United States guarantee this blessing and privilege to everybody. In fact, I believe that even Robert Ingersoll and his followers have a right to their opinions and to enjoy the same; they have a right to their views with regard to God, the Christ, to the heavens and earth, to the present and the future. Still I will say, I believe that when Robert Ingersoll goes into the spirit world he will find the Bible is not a novel. He will learn that there if never before. He will learn that the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made is not a burlesque, but that that was done for the salvation of the world. And he will find that there will be a God there, there will be a heaven there, there will be a hell there, there will be everything there of which the Bible has spoken.

"In the spring after I was baptized, I went to Kirtland. There I met the Prophet Joseph Smith, and his brother, Hyrum. I met those men that afterwards formed the Quorum of the {610} Twelve Apostles. I traveled with Joseph Smith and with that company of men, two hundred and five of them, one thousand miles to the Missouri to assist our brethren in their difficulties. They had been driven from their homes and their lands, from Jackson County into Clay County. We traveled a thousand miles together. There I had my first experience in the dealings of God with His Prophet. I understood perfectly well that he was a prophet. I read the vision, I read his revelations, and I knew they could not come from any man on the face of the earth but by the inspiration of Almighty God. From Missouri I commenced my mission under Bishop Partridge. I will say that while there I had a great desire to preach the gospel. I had that desire from my boyhood up. I had been a miller, and I had walked my mill hours and hours in the night, with my soul filled with these desires to preach the gospel to the children of men. At the time I speak of I was a teacher, and had no power and authority to go forth and preach. I went one Sunday into the forest in Clay County. I was living with Lyman Wight, with half a dozen of the signers of the Book of Mormon--the Cowderys, the Whitmers, Judge Higbee and others. I went off by myself and prayed to the Lord that I might have the privilege of preaching the gospel to my fellow-men. That is all the office that I ever asked of the Lord or anybody else, as far as that is concerned. While praying, the Lord gave me His spirit and answered me that my prayers were heard and would be answered upon my head, and that what I had asked for should be given me. I walked two or three hundred yards out of the forest into an open--a broad highway--in the midst of the forest, and there I saw Judge Higbee standing in the middle of the road with his arms folded. I walked up to him, and when I got to him he said: 'Wilford, the Lord has revealed to me that it is your duty to be ordained to go and preach the gospel.' I said: 'Is that so?' He said: 'Yes.' 'Well,' said I, 'if the Lord wants me to preach the gospel I am ready to go and do it to the best of my ability.' I did not tell him that I had been praying for it. My mission commenced there and it has not ended to the present hour. I have had a responsibility resting upon me in connection with my brethren.

{611} "Now, before I close, I will again bear my testimony that this work is of God. This Tabernacle that you are in today was seen by the Prophet Isaiah and other prophets, and they spoke of it, as well as the temples that are built in the Valleys of the Mountains. All have been pointed out by the prophets of God, and the Lord revealed to Isaiah, Jeremiah, and many other prophets, our day, our history, our lives, our position in this immense barren desert which has been occupied by the Latter-day Saints, and is as we see it today through the blessings of God. I will bear my testimony to the world, to my friends of the Church and the State, and to all men under heaven, that this is the truth of God. The Lord Almighty has set His hand to accomplish this work. Joseph Smith was raised up by the power of God and the revelations of Jesus Christ to organize this Church and kingdom in the dispensation of the fulness of times. His life was short, as was the Savior's. But it was a great work that he performed in the flesh. The Savior lived about three and a half years after He entered the ministry. Joseph Smith lived some fourteen years from the time he received the plates and translated them into the English language. He laid down his life, as did Christ and His Apostles, for the word of God and testimony of Jesus Christ. He will rise in his glorified celestial body and meet again with his brethren the apostles and elders of Israel, and will stand in days to come as the leader among us in celestial glory. I feel to bear my testimony to this. It matters not about the unbelief of men. They cannot turn away the work of Almighty God. The Lord has set His hand to carry out these great principles which He has revealed, the establishing of the Zion of God and the preparation for the coming of the Son of Man. What has been said about the mountains of Israel will have its fulfillment. The judgments of God will follow in the earth in fulfillment of what has been said, and no power on earth can stay them. I am anxious, although my life has been preserved to this great age, I still am anxious that we as a people may do our duty, may live our religion, may keep the faith, may so walk before the Lord that the Holy Ghost will be our constant companion to lead us in the days that lie before us. This is my prayer and my desire, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."

{612} The choir and congregation sang, "God Moves in a Mysterious Way," which was followed by a short address by President Lorenzo Snow.

President Snow bore testimony to the truthfulness of the remarks of President Woodruff. He had been acquainted with him sixty years, commencing in Kirtland. President Woodruff was a man who had always acted in harmony with the leaders of the Church, never taking exceptions to the instructions promulgated by those who were in authority. The Church had never acted in hostility to people of outside denominations. It had always encouraged settlement in our midst and had attempted to treat all with fairness and respect. The audience to which he spoke was one made up of nearly all classes of people. They had gathered on invitation in order to participate in honoring President Woodruff on the ninetieth anniversary of his birth.

All people had a perfect right to worship whom they pleased, but they should do so conscientiously. They could take a lesson from the example set by President Woodruff, as he had lived a life of purity and holiness, always trying to make the world better for his having lived.

Held's band, under the direction of Professor John Held, rendered in fine style a medley of beautiful airs.

President George Q. Cannon addressed the assemblage. He said that in standing before such a vast audience one was led to feel keenly the insignificance of man. The assemblage recalled to his mind an occasion of great joy which took place here in 1849, the purpose being to celebrate the advent of the Pioneers into this Valley. At that time feasting, dancing, etc., was indulged in, and thanks was given to God for the bounteous blessings He had bestowed upon His people.

A great change had taken place since then. The inter-mountain country, then a barren desert, had been quite thickly populated and now blossomed as the rose through the efforts of the sturdy, God-fearing men and women who first settled this Valley, coupled with the blessings of the Father. President Woodruff had been a husbandman in his day, and to him belonged the credit of planting the first potato in the Valley. This was a most momentous period, and through the ninety years of President {613} Woodruff's life, he had witnessed many scenes and had seen a great many changes take place. The gospel of the Lord, Jesus Christ, had made great strides in the years of its organization, and it would continue to grow and flourish in the earth until God's purposes had been accomplished. It was destined to revolutionize the whole world, and, if lived up to by the people of the earth, would make mankind happier, and give them a hope and a knowledge of that which would greet them in the life to come.