THE CHILDREN'S FRIEND. VOL. II. ORGAN OF THE PRIMARY ASSOCIATIONS OF THE OFFICERS' MEETINGS. Owing to circumstances which could not be controlled it was impossible to hold the annual conference of the officers of the Primary Associations this year. However, two very interesting meetings were held on Saturday, May 30th, for the benefit of the officers who were in Salt Lake City at that time. We are pleased to be able to publish some of the excellent and encouraging remarks made by members of the General Board and President John R. Winder. SISTER LOUIE B. FELT. I should not be satisfied, my sisters, to go away from this meeting without expressing to you my gratitude and pleasure in meeting with you. It makes my heart rejoice to see so many of my sisters present who are interested in this great and noble work; for, I heard with my own ears just a few days ago, that it was one of the grandest works in the Church. We have for a long time been wondering where the Primary stands, in what relation to the other organizations, and we have come to the conclusion that while we are in one sense an independent association, we are the junior class, I consider, of the Mutual Improvement Associations. We educate our children up to the age of fourteen years, and if they have become what we desire, if we have ourselves tried to do all the good in our power and have taught the children the glorious principles of our Gospel, the grandest and only true Gospel upon the earth today, if we have been successful in teaching our children, we may have the opportunity and privilege of promoting them, at the age of fourteen years into the Young Men's and Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Associations. The Sunday School is an independent organization throughout; for they take the children from the age of two or three years, many mothers taking their babes with them, as they do in the Primary, and there they have the privilege of remaining until they are too old to go any longer, or, if they are able, until they pass away. Our place, I consider, is preparing and feeding these boys and girls for positions in the Mutual Improvement Associations. Sisters, can you not see if our work is successful, we may have the happy privilege of turning over good young boys and good young girls; and will it not require a very great effort on the part of the young men and young ladies to fit and prepare themselves to take our class of boys and girls and feed them as they will then need to be fed? Because, I think our young sisters who are doing the work in our little junior classes are giving them food that is fitting and preparing them for something greater. Then will not the young men and the young ladies have to keep themselves awake to their position to feed them when they advance into their associations? If we are negligent, if we are not striving to do the best we can to understand the lessons ourselves so as to give them to the children as they ought to be given, and turn the children over to the Young Men and Young Ladies' Associations, ignorant, that is hardly the place for them; because they are not advanced in order to take up the work in the Mutual Improvement Associations. Therefore I trust that when my sisters go to their homes from this meeting they will go with a renewed determination in their hearts to understand for themselves how these lessons are prepared and how they should be given, and not be satisfied with anything short of the correct way of giving the lessons. The members of the General Board, although the lessons are prepared in that Board, take those lessons. We have a sister from the Board appointed once a month to give them, and we sisters study the lessons and answer the questions put to us, and are ready to take up the work as if we were children under fourteen years of age. We have to make children of ourselves, and some of us many times are not nearly so bright as our boys and girls. The suggestion of Sister Richards was a bright and a good one: If you do not yourselves understand the lessons, through lack of privileges in your youth, we do not want you to resign because of that; we want you to put your trust in your Father in Heaven, and go to those who do understand, perhaps, good school teachers, and ask them to give the lessons to you and your aids and counselors; and where it is possible, take some such bright sister on your Board that she may help you, that you may become better qualified to give the lessons required. President Smith is taking a great interest in our work; he has visited around in the different associations where he has been invited; and I wish when the sisters in Salt Lake have a confer ence you would ask him there, because he loves to go and he does a great deal of good. He said to me: "Sister Felt, I never enjoyed myself better in my life than in that little meeting Sunday night." He stood there and asked the children questions, and their little faces beamed with joy as they answered him, and he was pleased and we were all pleased, and we went away from that meeting feeling happy and rejoicing that we had had President Smith with us, that he had given us his support, and that he was willing to do all the good he could for us. We were grieved to send word to the stake presidents that there would be no conference. We did not do it because we did not want you to come; but we knew we could have no conference, and we did not wish to put you to the expense unless you could be fed. It costs some of them a great deal of money to come here; and we felt we could not ask the sisters to go to that expense and have them come, when there would be only an officers' meeting, and when they would not be fed as much as if there had been a conference. We want you to exercise your faith that when next June comes, we will have our conference, with the support of the First Presidency, and we will make the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles, and all those who perhaps today do not understand us, and are a little indifferent to our work, we will make them feel that they need us, that there must be a place for us, because we are worthy of it. We are teaching their sons and daughters and we are trying to do all the good in our power. Now, I assure I would not hold this position for one moment if it had not been placed upon me by those in authority. I have never sought it; I have been willing and have proposed at different times to give way to let some one better qualified take my place; but they have not seen fit to do it, and when they do I shall always expect to be a member of the Primary Association. But I feel that some other could do better: but be that as it may, I will do the best I can, with the help of the Lord, and honor this position. Many mothers have said in my hearing, which has made me feel badly at the time, "It is all very well for Sister Felt to stand up and tell mothers what they should do when she has never been a mother." In one sense I have not been a mother; but after all, my husband has children and I have tried to do my duty to thirteen of his children, and I know I have the respect and love of all of them. And after all I am mother over more children than any woman, for I claim 50,000 children as mine, while I hold this position; and I pray every night and morning of my life that God will give me strength and ability to help to train them, to help the sisters placed over these children to do them good, that they may grow up to honor their fathers and mothers and the dear, kind sisters who are laboring among them. My heart goes out to you, my sisters, who are struggling to do good in the Primary Association, and let me tell you your reward is sure. Some say, "Sister Felt, why do you care? You have no children; why do you work as you do for others ?" I simply say, I get my pay as I go along. When I meet with my sisters I feel that they are working with me, and that our hearts are one. Those in the General Board work for the children. Our Father in Heaven is mindful of us; He loves us, my sisters, He loves you and He respects and honors you for the work you are doing; and I hope you will put your trust in Him and that you will pray earnestly to Him to bless you and to help you and aid you in this work, and that you will not feel that it is too much for you. He will give you freely of His Spirit, and I know that the time will come, it may be away in the future, but it will come, when you will thank God that you had the privilege of working with the children. May the Spirit of God rest upon you, each and every one; may it go with you to your homes, and may it be with us again this afternoon in our meeting, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen. SISTER ISABELLA S. ROSS. My Dear Sisters: If it were not that I believe in the saying of our Saviour, "Come, follow Me!" I do not think that I should be standing here, because it is not really my forte to speak; I am not gifted that way; but I believe we cannot get the children to do as we would like them to do, unless we follow those who are over us. I am heartily interested in the Primary work. I had rather work with the children than I would attempt to talk to you, and I believe perhaps I could do a little more in that way. The summer months are coming, and it is very difficult to arouse interest in our Primary Associations. The children are out of school and it is a difficult matter to get them to attend our associations during the summer months; and the key note to success will be the interest that we ourselves take in the work. I believe we must be whole souled, we must feel that ours is a good and honorable work. I believe when we have that enthusiasm we can give it to the children, and if we can make our lessons interesting, we can hold the children when we have them there. Some of the sisters feel that they are not competent. I do not think that is so much true as that perhaps they are not interested in the work; they are not willing to devote the time that is quired. If we are properly interested in the work, we will like to make our meetings a success and we are willing to devote the time necessary, and unles we are, we cannot make the meetings successful. Now the sisters have provided us with lessons. To me they are an inspiration; but they are simply skeletons; they merely give suggestions, and they expect us to study the lessons from whatever source we can get information, and then be so thoroughly |