Friday, July 22 July 20 49 Rich Family to Meet at Lake Forty ninth annual reunion of the Charles C. Rich family will be held July 30 and 31 at Lakota, Bear lake, Family President Morgan J. Rich reported today. Between 300 and 400 members from many states are expected to attend. Jesse Rich is chairman of the reunion. Nice day. Lettie Rich Sister from N York visited us today on her way home Do Read & write some Saturday, July 23 Nice day but hot Nothing special Dr Jr called in evening EDITORIALS We stand for the constitution of the United States with its three departments of government as therein set forth, each one fully independent in its own field. Salt Lake City, Utah The Deseret News Sunday, July 24, 1949 This Is Still the Right Place BRIGHAM YOUNG started more than perhaps any but he envisioned when he arose, from that sick bed 102 years ago today to gaze upon the great valley before him, to see in vision the future glory of Zion and of Israel, and to proclaim this as The Place. Today the hearts of hundreds of thousands, Latter day Saints and others, will turn to him and those of his fellows who opened up this great intermountain area to colonization. Gratitude will be expressed for the leadership and inspiration which the Lord gave this modern Moses. What he and the pioneers did and what remains for us to do will be worthy of the consideration of us all. When they came here this land was a wilderness; now it is a garden. Where the land was once barren and desolate there are now streams in the desert and the parched ground has become a pool. Land that once grew sagebrush and cactus now yields the choicest celery and potatoes. Mining, industries, developments of almost every sort all have sprung up. Peoples have flowed in; temples and cities have been builded; a great civilization has been created. There is an apt proverb that The people who do not revere the deeds of their ancestors will never do anything to be remembered by their descendants. It is on this principle that it is fitting, on these commemorative holidays, for us to refresh our memories of the past and renew our resolutions for the future. President George Albert Smith must have had something along this line in mind when he said recently. Some time ago in traveling over a portion of the old pioneer trail, I stood at the side of one grave containing bodies of 15 of the members of this Church who gave their all for the cause, and passed on to their reward; hundreds of others also lie in unmarked graves. I have been many times on the trail, he continued, over which barefoot, hungry, and weary, in the cold of winter and the heat of summer thousands of our people made their way into this valley, buoyed up with the hope that they could here worship God according to the dictates of their consciences. Today when I think of this marvelous land in which we live, our world famous Temple Square, our homes and farms, and our buildings that have been dedicated to the worship of our Father in heaven, it seems to me that we ought to examine ourselves and check on our lives to see whether or not we are living up to our privileges and are worthy of that which the Lord has given us. It would be well for us to remember that there is no explanation of the founding and building up of Utah and the West that can exclude the religious motive; that it was the testimony of Christ and the assurance that Brigham Young was His mouthpiece that caused the early saints to suffer persecutions, leave their homes and property, and come West to start over again. These humble people came here because they knew that only in the solitude of a new world, untouched by the perversion and spiritual illiteracy of religious bigotry, could they pour out their souls to God without molestation. Faith in a God who speaks had necessitated the Mormon migration. Faith that He had spoken to direct the westward movement buoyed up the weary souls who left their temporal possessions behind to build a new civilization in a waste howling wilderness. Faith that He yet speaks to guide the destinies of a still weary and still uncertain world is the chief heritage left us by those who came here 102 years ago. It was on Friday, July 23, 1847, 102 years ago yesterday, that Brigham Young gained his first partial view of the valley. Then on Saturday the 24th, his gaze first fell on the entire expanse. Writing in his journal under date of July 23, 1847, Brigham Young says. I ascended and crossed over the Big Mountain, when on its summit I directed Elder Woodruff, who kindly tendered me the use of his carriage, to turn the same half way round, so that I could have a view of a portion of Salt Lake Valley. The Spirit of Light rested upon me, and hovered over the valley, and I felt that there the Saints would find protection and safety. We descended and encamped at the foot of the Little Mountain. President Young was suffering at the time from what the pioneers termed mountain feyer. This preview of the valley was but prelude to that which was to come. About noon on the 24th, the presidents party came out of the mouth of Emigration Canyon, and once again Elder Woodruffs carriage was turned around so Israels Leader could gaze on the future headquarters of the Saints. It was here that the memorable pronouncement commonly shortened to the phrase, This Is the Place was made. Wilford Woodruff recorded this later episode in this language. When we came out of the canyon into full view of the valley, I turned the side of my carriage around, open to the west, and President Young arose from his bed and took a survey of the country. While gazing on the scene before us, he was enwrapped in vision for several minutes. He had seen the valley before in vision, and upon this occasion he saw the future glory of Zion and of Israel, as they would be, planted in the valleys of these mountains. When the vision had passed, he said. It is enough. This is the right place. Drive on. So we have a faithful people led here because of their living faith; and we have them building on that faith the foundation of a mighty civilization. All this is past. What of the future? The same principles by which our forbears attained greatness are those that will bring success and achievement into the lives of their descendants. The nature of the frontiers have changed, but the future still holds out as much for us to conquer as it did for them. If we will build on the foundations they laid, in conformity with the same principles that guided them, we will succeed as they did. Brigham Youngs Family TWO SOLE surviving daughters of Brigham Young are being honored today in an unusual way. It is Denver and Rio Grande Western Day at the Railroad Fair in Chicago, and as is fitting for a July 24th setting, the great leaders two remaining daughters are the guests of honor. On this particular day, perhaps more than any other, it is accepted tradition to pay homage to what Brigham Young did as a colonizer, empire builder, and prophet leader of his people. And yet the singling out of Mrs. Mabel Y. Sanborn and Mrs. I. A. Clayton for honor this time reminds us that no man is really great who does not attain greatness in his own family circle. Colonies, nations, and empires will pass away; it will be the righteous family unit that will endure in time and in eternity to add dignity and honor to the family head. R. K. Bradford, D&RGW vice president, has expressed the hope that those attending the fair today will get a glimpse into the moving spirit of the people of Utah. A special program under the direction of President W. Creed Haymond, the Churchs Northern States Mission head, will be presented at the fair. An 80 voice choir will sing such old pioneer hymns as Come, Come Ye Saints, written by Mrs. Claytons father in law, William Clayton; Let the Mountains Shout for Joy, and For the Strength of the Hills. Perhaps no mans family has been less understood or more maligned in the world than that of Brigham Youngs. Religious persecution and bigotry was, of course, the root cause. Even among those of the intermountain empire, which he founded, there is not an over supply of understanding of President Young as a father and head of a posterity in Israel. One of his illustrious daughters, Susa Young Gates, gave us, before her death, an intimate and revealing picture of the home life of her father. It is generally understood, she says, that my father had 19 wives; but of that number some were widows and wives in name only, to whom father gave a, home. Of his wives, 16 bore him children, six of them having but one child. The rest of them had children varying from two to 10. He had 56 living children, 10 of them dying in infancy. There were 26 sons and 30 daughters; 21 sons and 25 daughters lived to maturity. I was born and reared in the Lion House. In all my life in that beloved home I never heard my father speak an unkind or irritable word to one of his wives. I never heard a quarrel between my fathers wives. All of them possessed the innate training of restraint mingled with religious impulse which was so much a part of the Puritan inheritance. I never heard one of my fathers wives chastise or correct another wifes children. I have heard the children quarrel, naturally, but very little of that indeed, for we were not a contentious family. Much less did I ever hear or see anything but the utmost courtesy and kindliness between my father and his wives. Correct his children he did, but each with that dignity and deliberation that neither humiliated the child nor lowered his own self respect. He met the situation man to man, woman to man. The family life was as ideal as human relations could ever be. There may have been tragedies of death, of suffering and of toil, yes, but we had little sickness and few deaths or funerals. All these sorrows flowed about us, never in between us. Today, always in the past, and please the Lord, for ever on the Other Side, we Youngs shall be with each other with father, mothers and with God!There is much the world could learn from Brigham Young in fields other than those of colonizing, empire-building, and turning a desert waste into a garden of beauty. He was great in his family It is well to honor them on this day; they have a choice and a rich heritage.