On January 4, 1896, President Grover Cleveland signed the paper which admitted Utah into the Union as a state.  Celebrations in honor of the event were held in all the towns and cities of the State.

Fifty years from the time the pioneers entered Salt Lake Valley, July 24th, 1897, a grand celebration was held in Salt Lake City to honor the event.

[Illustration:  THE PIONEER MONUMENT.]

This celebration began Tuesday, July 20, 1897, and closed on the night of Saturday 24th.  On the 20th the Pioneer Monument, which is surmounted by a bronze statue of President Brigham Young, and situated near the Southeast corner of the Temple block, Salt Lake City, was dedicated by President Wilford Woodruff.  The same day, at a reception held in the Tabernacle, all surviving pioneers of 1847, were presented with a golden badge.  Memorial services in honor of the deceased pioneers were held in the Tabernacle on Sunday 25th.

When the war with Spain broke out the next year, a call was made on Utah for five hundred volunteers.  Utah’s young men, many of them sons of the pioneers and old settlers, heeded the call, and the men were promptly raised and sent to the seat of war.

President Wilford Woodruff while on a visit to the Pacific coast, took suddenly ill and died in San Francisco, September 2, 1898.

Topics.—­1.  Wilford Woodruff. 2.  George Q. Cannon. 3.  Joseph F. Smith. 4.  The “Manifesto.” 5.  The Parliament of Religions. 6.  Death of President Woodruff.

Questions and Review.—­1.  Who constituted the fourth First Presidency of the Church? 2.  Tell something of President Woodruff. 3.  Name some positions President Cannon has held. 4.  Tell about President Smith’s boyhood. 5.  What further laws did the enemies of the “Mormons” wish passed against them? 6.  What is the “manifesto?” 7.  How came it to be issued? 8.  When was it accepted. 9.  Tell about the Tabernacle choir’s trip to Chicago. 10.  What was the Parliament of Religions? 11.  How was the Church treated in that body? 12.  Give some reasons for this treatment. 13.  When was Utah admitted as a state? 14.  Tell about the Utah volunteers. 15.  When and where did President Woodruff die?

CHAPTER XXXVII.

TEMPLE BUILDING.

God’s goodness, mercy, and watch-care reach to all his children, whether they be white or black, bond or free; whether they live now or lived thousands of years ago; yes, whether they are alive or dead.  Death is but a change from one sphere of action to another, and as God is everywhere, it is not alone in this life that his loving care is manifested.  The gospel also is everlasting.  It did not begin with this world, neither will it end with this life, but its purifying, uplifting power is felt throughout all time and place.