My brethren and sisters: Here are more statistics. I hope you get more pleasure out of hearing them than I get out of reading them. There is one situation, however, and a very important one, that I should like to call to your attention, and that is that the figures are all in the black. There are none in the red.

Before reading the annual financial statement, we may note a few preliminary matters, some by way of repetition of what has been said on like occasions heretofore.

REVELATION AT FISHING RIVER

At Fishing River, Missouri, June 22, 1834, the Lord declared that the commandments which he had given concerning Zion and her law should be executed and fulfilled after Zion's redemption  D&C 105:34 This suspended the operation of the United Order in Zion—i.e., Missouri. The Order continued for a time thereafter in Kirtland, but was later discontinued there.

In the years immediately following there was no organized plan for meeting the money needs of the Church, and the financial situation became increasingly serious.

THE LAW OF TITHING

In July of 1838 (four years after the Fishing River revelation) the Prophet was again in Missouri, at Far West. On the eighth of the month, the Prophet, urged by the serious financial needs of the Church, went to the Lord, enquiring:

O Lord! Show unto thy servant how much thou requirest of the properties of thy people for a tithing (DHC 3:44.)

The Lord answered with two revelations—the first giving the law of tithing  D&C 119:1-7 and the other fixing the order of its distribution  D&C 120:1

COUNCIL ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF TITHES

Pursuant to these revelations, and as explained at recent conferences, the Church has a Council on the Distribution of Tithes, made up of the First Presidency, the Council of the Twelve, and the Presiding Bishopric. This Council considers the proposed budget of the Church, which is itemized under general headings, and then approves and authorizes such expenditures as it deems proper.

A subcommittee of this Council on the Distribution of Tithes then makes the detailed appropriations from the sums approved and authorized by the Council. This subcommittee is known as the Committee on Expenditures, and is made up of the First Presidency, three members of the Council of the Twelve, and the Presiding Bishopric. A Church Building Committee acts under the direction of the Committee on Expenditures. The Financial Secretary to the First Presidency acts as the secretary of the Committee on Expenditures.

The budget authorized by the Council on the Distribution of Tithes is made up of two parts:

1. The regular approved authorizations for the various items covered by the budget, in the amounts estimated as necessary to carry on the work of the Church for each item of expenditure; and

2. A contingent reserve out of which can be met any unusual expenditures not provided for in the budget, either as to budget items or as to special or unforeseen expenditures. This contingent reserve is likewise spent under the authorization of the Committee on Expenditures. In 1947 the reserve set up was a little over eight percent of the total budget appropriations from the general funds of the Church; this year (1948 budget) this reserve equals about five percent of the itemized budget. Last year the reserve was more than ample to cover the supplementary appropriations. It is believed the reserve for this year will be likewise sufficient.

All unexpended appropriations lapse with the end of the fiscal year and are returned to and are absorbed into the general funds of the Church, subject to appropriation therefrom as are other like Church funds.

EXPENDITURES OF THE CHURCH

The expenditures of the Church are increasing at what seems to me to be a disquieting rate. For the ten years 1936 to 1945, both inclusive, the average expenditure from our general Church funds was just under $5,000,000 annually. As we reported to you at the last April conference, the expenditures for 1946 equaled $6,890,000 from general Church funds, and, including all other cash expenditures made by the people on various accounts, the expenditures amounted in total to $12,310,000. As we shall see, expenditures for 1947 were $11,263,000 out of general Church funds (or $4,373,000 more than in 1946, ) while the total cash expenditures, general funds, plus non-budget funds contributed by the people, were $18,919,000 (or $6,609,000 more than 1946). The total cash expenditures, including budget and nonbudget items for 1948 are put at over $20,000,000.

I may observe that we owe no money. We shall not have to borrow any money to meet our budget. But in my own view, we must all watch more carefully our spending.

As individuals our standard has become, not our need, nor our comfort only, but our luxury. Many of us are not yet willing to bring ourselves under control and to quit spending not only all of our savings, but also all we are making, and in addition, running in debt on installment buying. Our young people, particularly our boys returned from the service, are being inveigled into running debts that, in most cases, will take all their surplus (if they have any) for the next ten to twenty years, and under circumstances and conditions that will cause them to lose everything they have put into their ventures, if there should come to them any incapacitating illness, or accident, or if death came, or if the hard times should come that so many predict and that some fear are even now beginning.

DANGER OF INFLATION

Unemployment is increasing, and if it continues it could become serious. In that event, if we shall follow the pattern other countries have followed, we must not be too surprised if the people, accustomed over the last few years to a certain standard of living and not having money enough to buy the things that will enable them to continue that standard of living, raise the cry that there is not enough money. In other countries when this cry has become sufficiently insistent and from sufficiently large numbers, they have started the printing presses going to print money, always under the delusion that the presumed restrictions and safeguards which are then provided, would enable the stopping of the money flood before it becomes dangerous. But again, if the pattern of other countries worked out here, it would not be possible to stop this flood of paper money once it was well started, and then would follow the inflation that ruins not the very wealthy, but those of moderate means and those with means that are less than moderate. In other words, the poor people are the ones who always suffer most in such financial debacles. Our people should remember the lessons of history, even very recent history, and do all they can to avoid this catastrophe, for such it has always proved to be in the past.

MODERATION IN EXPENDITURES

As to Church spending, for my own part, I should like to urge the people to cease building cathedrals for ward meetinghouses, and to stop furnishing them as if they were palaces. I think I should say to you that the First Presidency is not urging the building of these expensive, luxurious buildings; indeed, they consider that often the load placed upon the people thereby is both unfair and unwise; they feel we could well be much more moderate in many of our expenditures.

The Lord still does not look at the magnificence of our meetinghouses, nor at the luxury of the pews, nor at our expensive carpeting, nor at our overstuffed furniture and the mahogany chairs of the foyer and of the high council and other rooms. The Lord still looks at the humble heart and the contrite spirit of his children, and as he said when he walked with his apostles in the Holy Land:

. . . where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them  Matt. 18:20

It is not the place in which we meet, but the spirit in which we gather together that concerns the Lord. Not pride but humility brings him into our midst.

But I think it might be well to say here that under arrangements which have been made and which we are making, we are photomicrofilming the public records of several of the countries of Europe as well as parts of the United States. Great as our genealogical library already is, when we get through with this operation which we are now undertaking, it will, I am sure, be easily the greatest genealogical library in the world; and our people will be able to come here to our library, those who come from foreign lands or whose ancestors come from foreign lands—and all of us come from foreign lands originally—will be able to come to our library here and do their record work here in great part which heretofore they had to go to Europe to do.

As President Smith told you yesterday, we have now shipped as of this date one hundred carloads of food and clothing to Europe. Their needs are still great, but there are some observers returning from Europe who say that they are eighty percent of their normal production. It may be that notwithstanding the individual cases that we hear of, of great hardship, yet they over there may have acquired some of our habits and are glad to take all they can get. Please do not misunderstand me. The suffering is great, and we must not discontinue our efforts. But it is a relief to know that possibly the whole situation is not so bad as we might expect.

LORD'S ADMONITION TO PARENTS

Now I would like to read to you a little scripture to conclude with. In November of 1831 the Lord said:

"Again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents"  D&C 68:25

Furthermore in the same revelation:

"Now, I the Lord, am not well pleased with the inhabitants of Zion, for there are idlers among them; and their children are also growing up in wickedness; they also seek not earnestly the riches of eternity, but their eyes are full of greediness"  D&C 68:31

The First Presidency of the Church was organized March 18, 1833. On May 6 the Lord gave a revelation regarding the conditions with reference to the children, and he began with the First Presidency, and I will read what he said:

"But verily I say unto you my servant Frederick G. Williams, you have continued under this condemnation;

"You have not taught your children light and truth, according to the commandments; and that wicked one hath power, as yet, over you, and this is the cause of your affliction.

"And now a commandment I give unto you—if you will be delivered you shall set in order your own house, for there are many things that are not right in your house.

"Verily, I say unto my servant Sidney Rigdon, that in some things he hath not kept the commandments concerning his children; therefore, first set in order thy house."

And then to the Prophet he says:

"Verily, I say unto my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., or in other words, I will call you friends, for you are my friends, and ye shall have an inheritance with me—

"I called you servants for the world's sake, and ye are their servants for my sake—

"And now, verily I say unto Joseph Smith, Jun.—You have not kept the commandments, and must needs stand rebuked before the Lord;

"Your family must needs repent and forsake some things, and give more earnest heed unto your sayings, or be removed out of their place.

"What I say unto one I say unto all; pray always lest that wicked one have power in you and remove you out of your place."

And then he goes to the bishop:

"My servant Newel K. Whitney also, a bishop of my church, hath need to be chastened, and set in order his family, and see that they are more diligent and concerned at home, and pray always, or they shall be removed out of their place"  D&C 93:41-50

PRESENT NEED FOR PARENTAL GUIDANCE

As has already been said in this conference, these principles are as applicable today as they were at the time when the Lord gave them. Some of us sometimes think that these messages addressed to particular persons in the D&C during the early days, are not applicable to us. I have always felt and believed that out of every personal revelation given in those early days, and given today, there is a lesson to the whole Church.

You parents need to instruct your children, to admonish them, and then yourselves so to live that they may emulate your example. I do not know whether you have thought of this fact, and fact I think it is: we have become so fearful about our children that discipline has too largely disappeared. The youth of today are very largely by their insistent requests, sometimes demands, directing the course of action of the whole world. We are so keen and anxious, as we should be, to keep them near us so that they will live properly that we are almost giving them everything they ask without any thought as to whether it is wise or unwise.

I appeal to you parents, take nothing for granted about your children. The great bulk of them, of course, are good but some of us do not know when they begin to go away from the path of truth and righteousness. Be watchful every day and hour. Never relax your care, your solicitude. Rule kindly in the spirit of the gospel and the spirit of the priesthood, but rule, if you wish your children to follow the right path. Now I am not talking about cruelty; I am not talking about whippings. Those are the recourses and the last recourses, of the unrighteous man. I am talking to you about loving them, bringing them to you, but always giving them counsel.

May God always be with us and help us to do his service and increase our testimonies; bring to us a testimony that Joseph Smith was the instrument through whom God restored the gospel and the priesthood. If that were not true, we would have nothing. It is true, and you should so teach the youth. Do not be fearful to tell the facts about your religion. Teach Jesus the Christ, the Son of God; teach Joseph the Prophet; teach God as a being who loves his children; and by your own lives and examples see that your children know that that is what you believe. And you teachers, see that your students know that is what you believe.

God bless us, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.