6 WEBER ACADEMY General Information HISTORICAL. In the year 1888 the Church of Christ of Latter-day Saints established the present sytem of Church education; and in order to foster religions training and moral developmnt among the young, President Wilford Woodruff, in the following letter addressed to several presidents of Stakes, urged the appointing of Stake Boards for the establishing of Church educational in-stitutions: "We feel that the time has arrived when the proper education of our children should be taken in hand by us as a people. Religious training is practically excluded from the district schools. The perusal of books that we regard as divine is forbidden. Our children, if left to the training they receive in these schools, will grow up entirely ignorant of those principles of salvation for which the Latter-day Saints have made many sacrifices. To permit this condition of affairs to exist among us would be criminal. The desire is universally expressed by all thinking people in the Church that we should have schools wherein the Bible, the Book of Mormon and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants can be used as text books, and where the principles of our religion may form a part of the teachings of the schools." In conformity with the import of this letter, the Presidency of Weber Stake organized a Board of Education consisting of the folowing members: Lewis W. Shurtliff, president; Counselor Charles F. Middleton, Counselor N. C. Flygare, Hon. Jos. Stanford, Prof. Louis F. Moench, Bishop Thomas J. Stevens, Bishop Robert McQuarrie and Bishop David McKay, WEBER ACADEMY 7 On the death of Bishop Stevens in the spring of 1900, Bishop John Watson was appointed to succeed him, and at the demise of N. C. Flygare in 1908, Bishop Watson was chosen treasurer. Through the efforts of this Board the Weber Stake Academy was established. Temporary quarters were secured in the Second Ward Meeting House, Ogden, where the school was formally opened January 9, 1889, with Louis F. Moench as principal. The attendance, though small at first, increased so rapidly that it was found necessary to secure better accommodations, and in the fall of 1892 the Academy moved into its present home. The next ten years was a period of slow but substantial growth, during which time the Academy over-came obstacles that seemed almost insurmountable. In the spring of 1892 Prof. Moench resigned, and was succeeded in turn by Prof. Emil B. Isgren and Dr. George Philips, each serving for one year. In 1894 Louis F. Moench was reappointed principal, and he acted as such until his resignation in 1902. At the appointment of Prof. David O. McKay, the successor of Prof. Moench, an era of rapid progress opened up for the Academy. In this year the Domestic Arts course, which has since proved so successful, was established, and as later years demanded, more advanced studies have been added to the curriculum to give thorough work in all high school branches. In 1907 the new building was completed, increasing the capacity of the school to six hundred students, and making it up to date in every respect. During the same year the courses of Domestic Science and Mechanic Arts were added.