I rise on the present occasion, desiring the faith and prayers of the brethren and sisters that I may be able to address them by the majesty of the Spirit of the Almighty. When we come before the Lord to partake of the Sacrament, in memory of his death and suffering, we witness unto him that we do remember him, that we love one another, and that we are willing to endeavor to do all in our power to fulfill our several duties on the earth.
One of the first and most responsible duties that rest upon us is the education, training and cultivation of the minds of our children. A child learns from us by our examples, the actions or examples of the parents being ever remembered by the children. A pious old deacon who may, by the way, have been a hypocrite, and had two half bushel measures, one to buy, and the other to sell with, may be very sure that his children will be dishonest. So it may be with our children if we do not act before them as becometh Saints; our precepts may be very good, but their effect will not be very powerful unless our examples correspond.
We are more or less careless as to the observance of the Sabbath; and, in consequence of the neglect of the Latter-day Saints in this respect, I feel anxious to stir them up to diligence in attending meetings on the Sabbath and on fast days, and in having their children do the same. I have visited a number of Sunday schools, and I have found that there was a good deal of interest manifested in them, and that much benefit to the rising generation is resulting from spending a couple of hours on the Sabbath in giving them religious or such other instruction as may be necessary to cultivate their minds; and, I wish the Bishops and presiding Elders, on their return to their several Branches, to stir up the minds of the brethren and sisters to the necessity of encouraging the Sunday schools, that they may be interesting and agreeable as well as instructive. Stir up the parents, too, that they may be alive and awake in getting the children ready for school in season, and that punctuality in attendance be encouraged. Endeavor also to induce parents and other elder members of families who can do so, to attend the Sunday schools, that there may be no lack of teachers, for one of the most useful callings for persons who can possibly or reasonably attend to it, is to teach the youth in Sunday schools.
I also advise that the "Juvenile Instructor" be circulated extensively among our children. It is a work calculated to inform their minds on the principles of the Gospel; from its pages they may also gain a knowledge of the history of the Church, as well as a variety of other useful and entertaining information. It is a very useful publication, and the benefits it is capable of conferring upon our young people are numerous and great. While speaking on this subject, I will refer to other papers published by our brethren in these valleys—the "Deseret News," the "Salt Lake Herald," "Ogden Junction," "Provo Times," and the "Beaver" and "St. George Enterprise," all of which contain a good deal of information about our home affairs specially, and of events in the world generally. I hope that, in all the Stakes of Zion, the people will manifest a spirit and determination to support papers which are published for their benefit. The "Deseret News," daily, semi-weekly, and weekly, besides the general news of the world, also contains many of the sermons of President Young and others of the Church authorities, and it should be widely circulated in all the settlements of the Saints. The mails now run to all parts of the Territory, and though we can not boast a great deal about the punctuality of some of them, yet in nearly every settlement a mail comes along once in a while bringing the "Deseret News," and a man is pretty safe on the main thoroughfares in taking the weekly, and in many locallities [localities] the semi-weekly or daily may be ventured upon.
We must do something more in relation to printing. The Women's Relief Society are publishing a paper called the "Woman's Exponent," which is a very ably edited sheet, and one containing a great deal of information. I am surprised that all the gentlemen in the Territory do not take it. I invite all the Elders, Bishops and presiding officers in the Stakes of Zion, on their return home, setting the example themselves, to solicit all their brethren, and especially the sisters, to become subs[c]ribers to this little sheet, for I am sure that they will be interested in the instruction and information it contains. I will say that we expect in a short time, through the patronage of the brethren and sisters, that the ladies will be able to enlarge this paper, and to extend its influence far and wide.