Elder Alfred L. Booth

(Of the Fourth Ward of Provo)

(Bishop Booth was standing up in the congregation, when Elder Lyman called him directly from the audience to speak.)

I think that you can perhaps sympathize with me, because I had no more idea of this than you have that you will be next.

I have enjoyed the remarks of the brethren, in the meeting, and I have been thinking how Zion is growing. We attempted to go to the tabernacle, at half-past one, and were told that the seats were all taken, so that presidents of stakes were being turned away that early. And if that is the case, at half-past one, it appears that we may have to arrange after a while so that only the presidents of stakes shall come to the conference, because, as I understand it, they ought to be there in order to get the instructions, to give to their congregations in the various stakes of Zion. I remember when my father, who was a cripple, came to conference, that he always remained in the tabernacle, in a good seat, during the noon hour, going without his dinner, for fear that he could not get back to listen to the instructions of the brethren; but in those days I am certain they did not have overflow meetings in the Assembly Hall and Bureau of Information building.

Another thing I have been impressed with, too, as a difference between those days and these. As I remember it, in the days of President Young, he said that they had only one honest doctor in the Church, and that was Dr. Riggs, of Provo, and he did not know enough to kill a man. You have listened to two of the doctors this afternoon. It seems that they have learned how not to kill people, but how to save them. President McGregor and President Reese, to whom you have listened in this meeting this afternoon, are both practicing physicians, both reputable men of the community, and both presidents of stakes-so you can see that Zion is growing. In those days I do no know what would have been said if they had made a doctor a president of a stake.

Not only that, but it is not long since that we had one of our most prominent presidents of stakes die, who was a member of that other despised class, the lawyers, President Richard W. Young; and in the early days they looked upon the lawyers as even worse than the doctors. [Elder Lyman said: "He happens to be a lawyer himself."] It seems that either the doctors and the lawyers must be getting better, or else the people are getting more liberal in their attitude toward some of these things.

But I have been taught all my life, however, that the gospel which we believe in embraces the whole truth of the universe; and if there is anything virtuous, or lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy, our Articles of Faith say, we seek after these things; so that it is the cry of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that we shall go toward and upward until we become perfected, even as our Father in heaven is perfect. Amen.

The Swanee Singers sang, "Sextette from Lucia."