22 October 1881


Morgan Stake Relief Society; South Morgan Schoolhouse, Morgan, Utah Territory

Single-story, brick school with chimney stacks; men and children pose in front

South Morgan schoolhouse, Morgan, Utah Territory. (Used by permission, Morgan County Historical Society.)

[. . .]

Sister Mary Freze [A. Freeze] [. . .] did not expect to be the first speaker. was afraid the sisters would be disappointed (sis Snow being present) [. . .] [p. 58] [. . .]

[. . .] Prayed the Lord to Bless Sis Snow & heal up her body

Sister E. R. S. Smith then arose and said she did not kneed an introduction was pretty well acquainted with the sisters here & had spoken well of them in many places & that that the sis in morgan were excelled by very few. Said that those who ar[e] present today do not kneed exhortation but those who are asleep who do not realize their duties & said how are we to get at them. She knew of no other way only through teachers they have a great responsibility resting upon them

She said to Teachers do not get discouraged in your labors but continue to encourage them try to get them to meetings and taste of the spirit of God then they will want to come again

said since she was here she had traveled much visiting the sisters organizing the children especialy in the south had effected 36 or 37 PA [Primary Associations] and had had the privelage of working in the temple at St George She realized the necessity of working for our de[a]d friends [p. 59]

The Prophet Joseph [Smith] had said that this is the greatest responsibility resting upon the Sts [Saints]

She had also visited among the Indians in Thistle Valey there a Lamaanite Sister is a coun. in the R. S. & when called upon to speak she arose with dignity & spoke Eloquently & exhorted her Lamanite Bros & Sisters to Keep the commandments of God She would like her white sisters to have heard her, Said that we must arouse ourselves or the Lamanites will get ahead of us1

We must not find fault with the negligent but strive to influence them for good for they have forgotten the covenents they have made, to turn their backs upon the world and be diligent in the building up of his kingdom It was the same in the days of the Book of Mormon they soon forgot when prosperity surrounded them, we have no time to speak evil of any one there is so much to speak of that is good we can occupy our time speaking of the goodness of God to us. He has notified us that there is a famine coming ever close to our doors we should be energetic in storing up grain There is so many calls for our means I often think they should be multiplied & I believe god does multiply them when we are willing to give where it is kneeded

Our duties are also multiplied when women were first called upon to labor in R S capacity there was but one branch now there is societies in every Stake of Zion

Not only are we called upon to work temporaly but to save souls & the good we are doing cannot be estimated our teachers have been called beggars but it is not so she said to the teachers do not ask for any thing unless you are sent especialy for that purpose and there is some one in want and nothing in the treasury to supply ther wants, the poor have to be supported and the people know it & if they wish to give anything they can do so & the teachers should receive it and give credit to the giver no matter how small it may be [p. 60]

It is not those who attend meetings & give liberaly that find fault but the opposite

When we meet togather let us use our gift of spee<ch> in praising god & exhorting to faithfullness, let us exercise faith that we may prevail with God that he will heal our sick

We should also study Medicaly was much pleased to hear since coming here that Sis H. [Hulda] C. Smith was studying Medicine thus striving to become useful, spoke of sister R [Romania] B Pratts studying by the council of the first presidency said we are sending our young people to settle in new places where there is no one who knows any thing about the human Systemn this ought not to be so her heart had often ached for them, there should be thousands fitting themselves, <to understand> for these things spoke of her new Book of Bible questions and answers for the Primary Associations

[. . .] [p. 61] [. . .]

[. . .] Sister E. R. S. Smith expressed herself as much pleased with the remarks rept &c she had heard would have liked to have listened longer

She said that in the performance of duty we must not wait till we are able but make the first effort & not wait to be forced by god if we did we might wait a long time & never ask the Lord to humble us but humble ourselves before him He has given us the Germ of intelligence it is for us to improve upon and develop them We must exercise in order to develop our faculties We will never be prepared for usefullnes without making an Exertion if we grow ever so old and those who atend their meetings are creating a union which will last throughout all Eternity Our little children who attend meetings enjoy the spirit of God the Gospel they can exercise faith & heal the sick the Lord will hear the prayers of very little Children the <he> is no respector of persons2 Oh if Parents could but see <be inspired with> the necessity of their children being kep[t] under the training influence of the Spirit of God

Some mothers cannot afford to spare their <little> girls one hour that th[e]ir spirits may be fed Tis more important than feeding the body tis of more consequence than all else Study does not give a testimony of this work Many of our Young people have gone to destruction because they did not know that this was the work of God they only believed because their parents told them so she said after tasting of the sweets of the Gospel what would the world be to us if we were called upon to give up what we have gained she had seen the great ones fall human nature must have constant training and teaching to keep them bright & active [p. 62] if we can faithfully train our Children they will be able to stand in the midst of pestilence without fear

Many mothers have thought that their Children would naturaly grow up to be true to the gospel but it is not so & many hearts are to-day aching & bleeding because of the unbelief of their Children let us learn a lesson from this & not be so worldly minded, but spare our children to go to their meetings the result will be worth all our efforts

She said we were too easily frightened at disease in the early rise of the Church the Elders were not afraid to go in and administer to persons afflicted with Small Pox said where there is fear there is no faith

said she would not be satisfied short of Celestial Glory because God has placed it within her reach & if she failed her remorse of conscience & disappointment would be a hell far greater than we can immagine

Eternal increase is in the Celestial Kingdom & no where else then how important it is that our children are prepared to bear off this Kingdom when our bodies are laid away The Prests & officers of P. A. cannot make a success of their meetings without the cooperation of parents she urged the mothers to visit them not to make long speeches to <weary> them The Primary Fair will be of great benefit to the Children they should be tot [taught] to work, there will some of the greatest artists grow out of these associations that the world ever knew She wanted to say that our P A had been the means of <indirectly> emigrating a poor Child from the old country the idea originated here & she mentioned it at Brigham City & they had raised the means and Emigrated one Child she had also mentioned it in other places & doubtles many would thus be emigrated

Said there were many good secretaries & others not so good Wished those who do not understand keeping accounts making repts &c to try to inform themselves, to gain information is not beneath the dignity of any the Prophet [Joseph Smith] went to school & became educated altho quite illiterate when first called of God Wished Y L [Young Ladies] to try to keep correct accts & gain all the [p. 63] information they can also learn to use correct language in her Fathers house they always referd to a dictionary whenever the meaning of a word was called in question

Wished Prests of P. A. & parents to use good language discard all slang phrases

In Thistle Valley the white & red Children are togather in the P A when Enrolling their names we came to 3 little Indian girls without names they named them & they were blesssed and enrolled with the rest3

She often thought: if she could only have had the advantages when a girl that our Y L have how usefull she might have been She exhorted the sis to set their aims high And then work to it she did not dread death it is nothing but stepping from one room to another parting with friends here to meet with those that have gone before.

[. . .] [p. 64]

Source Note

Morgan Utah Stake, Relief Society Minutes and Records (1878–1973), vol. 1 (1878–1912), pp. 58–64, CHL (LR 5777 14); H. C. Smith, Secretary.

See also “Conference at Morgan,” Woman’s Exponent 10, no. 11 (1 Nov. 1881): 84.

Cite this page

22 October 1881, Morgan Stake Relief Society; South Morgan Schoolhouse, Morgan, Utah Territory, The Discourses of Eliza R. Snow, accessed March 19, 2024 https://www.churchhistorianspress.org/eliza-r-snow/1880s/1881/10/1881-10-22