Journal of Discourses

Volume 11

By President Brigham Young

His Two Counsellors, the Twelve Apostles, and Others.

Reported by G. D. Watt, E. L. Sloan, and D. W. Evans, and Humbly Dedicated to the Latter-day Saints in All the World.

Liverpool: Printed and Published by B. Young, Jun., 42, Islington.
London: Latter-day Saints’ Book Depot, 30, Florence Street, Islington.

1867

Journal of Discourses, Volume 11. Kindle edition published October 2010 by Ben Crowder. Updated January 2012.

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Table of Contents

Original page numbers are in parentheses.

- Preface

- Historical Discourse, by George A. Smith (1–12)

- Knowledge in this Life Limited—The Lord Will Waste Away the Wicked—People do not Live to Obtain what they Most Desire—Joseph Desired to go to the Rocky Mountains—More for us than Against Us—Will go to Jackson County from the West—Exhortations to Merchants, Speculators, &c., by Brigham Young (12–19)

- Blessings of the Gospel Contrasted with the Ideas of Men—Evidence Received Through Obedience—Mode by Which the Spirit is Imparted and Unity of the Saint—Their Confidence with Reference to the Future of the Church—Ultimate Establishment of the Government of God on Earth, by John Taylor (20–27)

- Blessings of the People of God—Power of Evil and Unseen Influences—Ministration of Angels—Faith Necessary First as a Preparation for Greater Things—Holy Spirit Necessary for the Right Performance of Temporal Duties, by George Q. Cannon (28–34)

- Analogy Betwixt the History of Joseph in Egypt and that of the Latter-day Saints—Discovery of America by Columbus—Its Effect on the Work of the Last Days—Goodness of God to His People, by Orson Hyde (35–39)

- Ordinance of Bread and Wine—Its Nature—Character of God and of Jesus—Reasons Why Sin and Death Exist—Earthly Probation Necessary for Future Glory—Danger of Apostacy, by Brigham Young (39–44)

- Revelation in the Church—Necessity of Obedience to Counsel—Confidence in the Future of the Saints—Duty of Striving to Increase Our Faith, by George Q. Cannon (45–47)

- First Principles of the Gospel—Apostacy from the Primitive Faith and Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel, by George A. Smith (48–50)

- Different Ideas of Nations in Regard to Government—Views of the Latter-day Saints: Their Philanthropy—Reformation Effected by Them—Liberty of Conscience Allowed to All, by John Taylor (51–59)

- Influence of the Moral Law—Degeneracy of Mankind—Blessings to be Gained by Keeping the Commandments of God—Nations Will be Punished for Their Iniquity—Necessity of the Saints Living Their Religion, by Wilford Woodruff (60–66)

- Causes of Gratitude That the Saints Have—Spiritual and Temporal Blessings Enjoyed by Them—Greater Promises Made to Them Than the Ancients—Obedience to Counsel Necessary, by George Q. Cannon (67–72)

- God the Source of All Intelligence and Wisdom—Man a Natural and Spiritual Being—Mysterious Nature of His Senses and Faculties—Men to be Judged by the Register Within Themselves, by John Taylor (73–80)

- Men Ought to Practise What They Teach—Necessity of Faithfulness on the Part of the Saints—The Young Ought to Live Their Religion—Blessings Received Through the Exercise of Faith, by Heber C. Kimball (80–86)

- Religious Ideas of the World Contrasted with Those of the Saints—Loyalty of the Saints to the Constitution—Persecutions They Have Endured—Prophecy in the Church, by John Taylor (87–94)

- Eternity of the Kingdom of God—Continued Faithfulness of the Saints—Honesty to be Practised by Them, by Heber C. Kimball (95–97)

- Condition of the Saints, etc., by George Q. Cannon (98–100)

- Duties of the Saints—Obedience to Counsel, etc., by Brigham Young (101–110)

- Summary of Instructions, by Brigham Young (110–119)

- Personality of God—His Attributes—Eternal Life, etc., by Brigham Young (119–128)

- Summary of Instructions, by Brigham Young (129–137)

- Home Manufacturing, Merchandising, and General Economy, by Brigham Young (137–143)

- Others’ Sins, No Justification of Ours, by Heber C. Kimball (143–147)

- Instructions Concerning Things Temporal and Spiritual, by Orson Hyde (147–154)

- Prosperity of the Saints, by George A. Smith (155–157)

- Revelation from God, True Knowledge, by John Taylor (157–166)

- Riches of the Gospel, by George Q. Cannon (167–175)

- Synopsys of Remarks, by George A. Smith (176–182)

- Eternal Life Revealed in the Gospel, by Daniel H. Wells (182–190)

- Exhortation to Home-manufacture, by Ezra T. Benson (191–192)

- Development of the Understanding Necessary, by Amasa M. Lyman (192–198)

- Marriage: Its Benefits, by Amasa M. Lyman (198–208)

- Blessings Secured by Faithfulness, by Heber C. Kimball (208–212)

- Holy Ghost Requisite to Teach the Truth, by Brigham Young (212–216)

- Our Religion is From God, by John Taylor (216–224)

- Conflict of Truth Irrepressible—Sin Causes Fear, Then Apostacy, by George Q. Cannon (225–233)

- Opposition Essential to Happiness, by Brigham Young (233–241)

- The Priesthood Ancient and Modern—God’s Dealings with the Children of Men in Every Age—Final Triumph of His Kingdom, by Wilford Woodruff (241–248)

- The Kingdom of God on Earth is a Living, Moving, Effective Institution: We do not Carry it, but it Carries Us, by Brigham Young (249–256)

- Advice to Lawyers—Royal Polygamy in Europe—Polygamy Revealed from Heaven, by Brigham Young (257–263)

- Our Indian Relations—How to Deal With Them, by Brigham Young (263–266)

- Delegate Hooper—Beneficial Effects of Polygamy—Final Redemption of Cain, by Brigham Young (266–272)

- Union—Persecution—The Nature of the Kingdom of God—Trading With Enemies—The Jews—On the Murder of Dr. Robinson, by Brigham Young (273–282)

- Weakness of the Human Mind—Extortion—Imperfection of the Human Judgment—Introduction of Machinery, by Brigham Young (282–291)

- How Saints Should Order Their Vocation of Life—How Employ Their Wealth—To Build up Zion, and not Babylon—Counsel of the Prophet Joseph—Prophet Brigham Young’s Experience Therein, Importance of Union in Things Temporal and Spiritual, Religious and Political, by Brigham Young (291–305)

- Embarrassments in Arising to Speak—The Different Religions—None Perfect Except Revealed from God, by Joseph F. Smith (305–314)

- The Limited Wisdom of Man in Comparison to the Fulness of God’s Wisdom—What is True Philosophy?, by John Taylor (314–320)

- The Improved Condition of the Saints—Preparation Necessary to Build up the Centre Stake of Zion—The Law of Moses Given in Consequence of Rebellion—No True Pleasure Without the Spirit of the Lord, by Brigham Young (321–329)

- Truth to be Received for Its Own Sake—Impossibility of Perceiving the Things of God from a Worldly Point of View—Maternal Influence, by George Q. Cannon (330–339)

- The Complete Difference Between the Saints and the World, by John Taylor (339–347)

- The Elders to Labor for the Unity of the Saints, by Brigham Young (347–349)

- How the Sisters Can Help to Build up the Kingdom, by Brigham Young (350–353)

- Political and Social Economy, by John Taylor (353–359)

- Raising Flax and Wool—Home Manufactures—Church Literature—Folly of Using Tobacco and Liquor, by George A. Smith (359–366)

- Word of Wisdom—Happiness to be Obtained Through Obedience, by Ezra T. Benson (366–368)

- Necessity of Unity and Faith and Practice, by Wilford Woodruff (369–371)

- Building the Temple—Mormonism Embraces All Truth, by Brigham Young (371–375)

Preface

Each successive year the power of God is manifestly increasing upon His people, and more especially upon His ministers in the Holy Priesthood, whose duty it is to build up and instruct the Church in His most holy will.

The Journal of Discourses is a vehicle of doctrine, counsel, and instruction to all people, but especially to the Saints. It follows, then, then, that each successive volume is more and more valuable as the Church increases in numbers and importance in the earth, and its doctrines become more abundantly developed and are brought into practical exercise by His peculiar people. Every step of its advancement is fraught with the greatest possible importance to the human family.

No Saint can afford to do without these precious precepts until they are able to exemplify them in their daily lives and conversation.

THE PUBLISHER

Historical Discourse

George A. Smith

Delivered by Elder George A. Smith, in the Tabernacle, Ogden City, on Tuesday, November 15, 1864. Reported by G. D. Watt.

When the Lord appeared to Joseph Smith and manifested unto him a knowledge pertaining to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and the work of the last days, Satan came also with his power and tempted Joseph. It is written in the book of Job, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.” In the very commencement of this Work, the Prophet Joseph Smith was called upon to contend face to face with the powers of darkness by spiritual manifestations, and open visions, as well as with men in the flesh, stirred up by the same spirit of the adversary to edge up his way and destroy him from the earth, and annihilate the work which he was about to commence. He thus describes the incident:

“In the spring of 1820, after I had retired into the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power, which entirely overcame me, and had such astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction. But—exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction, not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who has such a marvellous power as I had never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, pointing to the other—‘This is my beloved son, hear him.’”

It was also peculiar in the history of the age, that just at the time that God was revealing unto his servant Joseph to raise up men to bear testimony of the principles of the Gospel in its fulness and simplicity, Satan was at work stirring up the hearts of the children of men to a species of religious excitement. There were in many parts of the country strange manifestations, great camp and other protracted meetings were assembled together to worship under the various orders denominated Methodists, Campbelites, Presbyterians, Baptists, Unitarians, etc., among whom were manifested the development of a spirit which deprived men of their strength; they would faint away, or, they would manifest a variety of contortions of countenance. There was introduced into the Western States a phenomenon called the jerks; persons under the influence of religious fanaticism would jerk seemingly enough to tear them to pieces.

When the Church was organized, persons came into it bringing along some of these enthusiastic notions individuals who professed to have revelations on every subject, and who were ready to banish every moral principle under the guidance of false spirits. Joseph the Prophet had also to learn by experience, and to teach the Elders and the early members of the Church, how they should judge of the manifestation of spirits. (Book of Doctrine and Covenants, Sec. 17, Par. 7.)

“Wherefore it shall come to pass, that if you behold a spirit manifested that you cannot understand, and you receive not that spirit, ye shall ask of the Father in the name of Jesus, and if he give not unto you that spirit, that you may know that it is not of God: and it shall be given unto you power over that spirit, and you shall proclaim against that spirit with a loud voice, that it is not of God; not with railing accusation, that ye be not overcome; neither with boasting, nor rejoicing, lest you be seized therewith,” and refers to Hiram Page who began to get revelations through the medium of a black stone, certain characters appearing on that stone which he wrote down.

Notes concerning false revelations, apostacies.

Joseph Smith in his history wrote thus:

“To our great grief, however, we soon found that Satan had been lying in wait to deceive, and seeking whom he might devour. Brother Hyrum Page had got in his possession a certain stone, by which he had obtained revelations concerning the up-building of Zion, the order of the Church, &c., &c., all of which were entirely at variance with the order of God’s house, as laid down in the New Testament, as well as our late revelations. As a Conference had been appointed for the first day of September, I thought it wisdom not to do much more than to converse with the brethren on the subject, until the Conference should meet. Finding, however, that many, especially the Whitmer family and Oliver Cowdery, were believing much in the things set forth by this stone, we thought best to inquire of the Lord concerning so important a matter; and before Conference convened, we received the revelation to Oliver Cowdery given at Fayette, New York, September, 1830, in the 4th paragraph of which the Lord says: “And again, thou shalt take thy brother, Hyrum Page, between him and thee alone, and tell him that those things which he hath written from that stone are not of me, and that Satan deceived him; for, behold, these things have not been appointed unto him, neither shall anything be appointed unto any of this Church contrary to the Church covenants, for all things must be done in order, and by common consent in the Church, by the prayer of faith.”

Joseph’s history continues:

“At length our Conference assembled. The subject of the stone previously mentioned, was discussed, and after considerable investigation, brother Page, as well as the whole Church who were present, renounced the said stone, and all things connected therewith, much to our mutual satisfaction and happiness.”

Some of the Elders journeyed to the westward from the state of New York, and built up Branches in the State of Ohio. Elders Oliver Cowdery and P. P. Pratt visited Sidney Rigdon who resided in Mentor, Geauga county, and was famous in that country as a reformed Baptist minister, more familiarly known as Campbelites. He had preached the doctrine of baptism for the remission of sins, the regular Baptist church having a different, view of the subject, for they considered “baptism as an outward sign of an inward grace,” and that in order to be a candidate for baptism he must have received a change of heart, changed from a heart of stone to one of flesh; he was required to go into the congregation and formally renounce the world, the flesh and the devil, having given evidence that he was a new creature and was prepared for baptism. But the Reformed Baptists held the doctrine which I believe was first preached in Ohio, by Sidney Rigdon, that a man must reform, that repentance was simply a reformation, and the moment that repentance was resolved upon, the candidate was ready for baptism; and so far their notion appeared to be an improvement upon the general idea entertained, and consonant with the Bible view of it, as it was laid down by the Savior and his Apostles. But here they stopped, and did not administer the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and what was further, they contended there was no need of it, that it was all done away, and that the written word was all the spirit there was.

When the Elders waited on Sidney Rigdon and presented to him the Book of Mormon, teaching him the principle of laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, he received it, as did several hundred members of his church, and members of other churches in that vicinity, who were baptized in a few weeks. In a few days Elders Oliver Cowdery, P. P. Pratt and Ziba Patterson, passed on westward, as their mission directed them to the western boundaries of the State of Missouri. Sidney Rigdon took a journey to the east, as did Edward Partridge for the purpose of visiting the Prophet, and these strange spirits of which we have already spoken, began to manifest themselves in the churches and Branches which had been built up.

There was at this time in Kirtland, a society that had undertaken to have a community of property; it has sometimes been denominated the Morley family, as there was a number of them located on a farm owned by Captain Isaac Morley. These persons had been baptized, but had not yet been instructed in relation to their duties. A false spirit entered into them, developing their singular, extravagant and wild ideas. They had a meeting at the farm, and among them was a negro known generally as Black Pete, who became a revelator. Others also manifested wonderful developments; they could see angels, and letters would come down from heaven, they said, and they would be put through wonderful unnatural distortions. Finally on one occasion, Black Pete got sight of one of those revelations carried by a black angel, he started after it, and ran off a steep wash bank twenty-five feet high, passed through a tree top into the Chagrin river beneath. He came out with a few scratches, and his ardor somewhat cooled.

Joseph Smith came to Kirtland, and taught that people in relation to their error. He showed them that the Spirit of God did not bind men nor make them insane, and that the power of the adversary which had been manifested in many instances was visible even from that cause, for persons under its influence became helpless, and were bound hand and foot as in chains, being as immovable as a stick of timber. When Joseph came to instruct these Saints in relation to the true Spirit, and the manner of determining the one from the other, in a short time a number of those who had been influenced by those foul manifestations, apostatized. Among the number was Wycom Clark; he got a revelation that he was to be the prophet—that he was the true revelator; and himself, Northrop Sweet and four other individuals retired from the Church, and organized the “Pure Church of Christ,” as they called it, composed of six members, and commenced having meetings, and preaching, but that was the extent of the growth of this early schism. John Noah, another of this class, assumed to be a prophet, and in consequence thereof was expelled from the church.

Among the early baptisms in Northern Ohio, was a Methodist minister by the name of Ezra Booth. He was present when the Elders first received the ordination of the High Priesthood. They met together in June, 1831, in a log school house in Kirtland, a room about eighteen feet by twenty. While they were there, the manifestation of the power of God being on Joseph, he set apart some of the Elders to the High Priesthood. Ezra Booth was bound, and his countenance was distorted, and numbers of the brethren looked at him, and thought it was a wonderful manifestation of the power of God, but to their astonishment, Joseph came forward and rebuked the foul spirit, and commanded it to depart, in consequence of which Booth was relieved, and many of the brethren were greatly tried at such a singular treatment by the prophet of these wonderful manifestations of power.

Others had visions. Lyman Wight bore testimony that he saw the face of the Savior.

The Priesthood was conferred on a number of Elders, and thirty were selected to take a mission to the western boundaries of Missouri, and travel and preach two and two by the way, travelling without purse or scrip. They did so, building up churches. Joseph was required to travel by water, or at a more rapid rate to reach there, to meet the brethren and hold a Conference in the land of Zion. It was only a short time after the return from this mission, that Ezra Booth apostatized as did Jacob Scott, Symons Rider, Eli Johnson and a number of others. The spirit of apostacy was little known, but when these men apostatized they became more violent, more cruel, and manifested a greater spirit of persecution than any other enemies. What seemed singular, Ezra Booth had been brought into the Church through the manifestation of a miracle. The wife of Father John Johnson had been afflicted with the rheumatism, so as to be unable to raise her arm and hand for two years. Her husband had believed the work, and she also was believing. She went to Joseph Smith the Prophet to have him administer to her, Booth accompanied them, for he was well acquainted with the family, and the condition of Mrs. Johnson. When the Elders laid their hands upon her, she was instantly healed, so that she could use her arm and hand as well as ever she could previously. Booth knew this to be an instantaneous cure, and soon after witnessing this miracle, he was baptized, and ordained an Elder. He having formerly been a Methodist minister, commenced preaching the Gospel without purse or scrip, and he did so until he found, (using a common expression,) it did not pay. Under these circumstances he apostatized. While he was in apostacy he searched his cranium for some means to justify himself and published a series of lying letters in the Ohio Star, a paper printed in Revenna. These nine letters had been republished several times as evidence against “Mormonism;” and his apostacy culminated in collecting a mob who tarred and feathered Joseph Smith, and inflicted upon his family the loss of one of its number at Hyrum, Portage county, Ohio. Joseph Smith was occupying the room of a house brother Johnson was living in, at the same time; it was a two story building, had steps in front. The mob surrounded the house, the twins being afflicted with measles, Joseph was lying upon a trundle bed with one of them. The mob rushed in, gathered up Joseph while in his bed, took him out in his night clothes, and carried him out on to the top of the steps. Joseph got a foot at liberty and kicked one of the men, and knocked him down off the steps, and the print of his head and shoulders were visible on the ground in the morning. Warren Waste, who was the strongest man in the western reserve considered himself perfectly able to handle Joseph alone, but when they got hold of him, Waste cried out, “do not let him touch the ground, or he will run over the whole of us.” Waste suggested in carrying him to cross his legs, for they said that would make it easier for the Prophet, but that was done in consequence of the severe pain it would give to the small of the back. He was daubed with tar, feathered and choked, and aquafortis poured into his mouth. Dr. Dennison had been employed to perform a surgical operation [operation], but he declined when the time came to operate. The liquid they poured into his mouth was so powerful, that it killed the grass where some of it had been scattered on the ground. Joseph is reported by the mob to have said, be merciful, when they told him to call upon his God for mercy. They immediately, as he began to pray, heard an alarm which made them think they were about to be surprised, and left suddenly. Sidney Rigdon, who resided near by, had been dragged by the heels out of his bed at the same time, and his body stripped and a coat of tar and feathers applied. The next morning he was crazy, his head greatly inflamed and lacerated. Joseph found his way in from the light of the house, the mob having abandoned him. While he was engaged in getting off the tar by the application of grease, soap and other materials, Philemon Duzette, the father of our celebrated drummer, came there, and seeing the Prophet in this condition, took it as an evidence of the truth of “Mormonism,” and was baptized. These circumstances exposed the life of the child, the measles struck in and caused its death, and the whole of this persecution was got up through the influence of those apostates; and it made it necessary to keep up a constant watch lest some violence should be repeated. Luke Johnson informed us that Warren Waste was afterwards a cripple, rendered so by weakness in the small of the back, and Dr. Dennison died in the Ohio Penitentiary where he was incarcerated for procuring an abortion, which caused death; Joseph soon after located in Kirtland. In Kirtland there were manifestations of evil spirits in high places, which might have been considered more dangerous than the manifestations in the early establishment of the Church. Sidney Rigdon, on one occasion got up to preach, and commenced by saying that the Church and kingdom was rent from them and given to another people. Joseph was absent, when he came home he found Sidney almost like a mad man. He labored with him and with the Church, and finally succeeded in convincing him that he was under the influence of a false spirit. A man from the State of New York by the name of Hawley, stated that while he was working in his field, barefoot, the word of the Lord came to him, saying that he should start on the instant, and not stop to put on his shoes. He came six hundred miles to Kirtland, and went to Joseph with the message that he had suffered John Noah, a prophet of God, to be cut off from the Church, and that consequently he had lost his office; and he had also suffered the women to wear caps, and the men he allowed to wear cushions on their shoulders, and for these heinous sins he was cut oft, and this man had come six hundred miles barefooted to bear the terrible message. You might suppose such an adventurer coming among us would be regarded as a madman by all, but at that time several men were ready to listen to him; a Bishop’s Council was assembled and an investigation had. During the investigation, the subject of women wearing caps and veils and having their heads covered was canvassed, and the Bible ransacked by Oliver Cowdery and others. When the man was expelled from the Church for giving way to the power of false spirits, he rose up in a most solemn manner, and proclaimed to the Council that they had chosen darkness instead of light. This man went through the streets of Kirtland in the night crying in a most doleful voice, woe, woe to this people. I understand that brother Brigham, hearing this nonsense and noise in the street, jumped up out of his bed in the night, took with him a cow hide whip into the street, and told that noisy person if he did not stop his noise he would certainly cowhide him, which caused him to cease to annoy the inhabitants with his folly.

Another prophet arose by the name of Hoton, he had his head quarters at the forge in Kirtland. He was the president, and a man named Montague was appointed Bishop. They resolved to live precisely in accordance with the principles, as they understood them, spoken of soon after the day of Pentecost, for they had all things common. Their number increased to ten, and they called themselves “the independent Church.” Persons who had apostatized from the Latter-day Saints could be admitted into their party upon the terms of entering the room, shaking hands with every member and consecrating their property. This church lasted some two or three months, when a difficulty occurred between the President and the Bishop. The Bishop accused the President of being too familiar with his meat barrel; the President, in turn, accused the Bishop of being too intimate with his sheets. The result was, a split took place between the two chief authorities, and the organization ceased to exist.

There was a prevalent spirit all through the early history of this Church, which prompted the Elders to suppose that they knew more than the Prophet. Elders would tell you that the prophet was going wrong, men who thought they knew all about this work thirty or forty years some of them before the Lord revealed it, tried “to steady the ark.” The Church was constantly afflicted with such a class of men.

I remember well in Zion’s Camp, Levi W. Hancock made a fife, from a joint of sweet elder, Sylvester Smith marched his company to the music of that fife. That fife may be considered almost the introduction of martial music among the “Mormons.” A dog came out and barked, when Sylvester Smith was going to kill the dog. Joseph said he was a good watch dog, Sylvester became wrathy and threatened; finally Joseph reproved him sharply, showing him that such a spirit would not conquer or control the human family, that he must get rid of it, and predicted that if he did not get rid of it, the day would come when a dog would gnaw his flesh, and he not have the power to resist it. Some months after the return to Kirtland, Sylvester Smith preferred a charge against Joseph the Prophet, for having prophecied lies in the name of the Lord, and undertook to substantiate that charge on the ground that the Prophet had said a dog should bite him, if he did not get rid of that spirit, when he had not power to resist. They were three days and parts of nights, with the High Council in Kirtland, in investigating this charge; one person spoke three hours in behalf of the Prophet. Sylvester published a confession which can be seen in the Church History, acknowledging his fault.

The Church in Kirtland were few in number compared with the inhabitants of the city of Ogden. We had High Council upon High Council, Bishop’s trial upon Bishop’s trial; and labor and toil constantly to settle difficulties and get our minds instructed in principle and doctrine, and in the power that we had to contend with. I remember very well the organization of the High Council, at Kirtland as a permanent institution, there had been several Councils of twelve High Priests called for special cases, but they organized it permanently on 17th Feb. 1834. On the 19th, the first case that was brought up was that of Elder Curtis Hedge, sen., who while speaking in meeting had gone into a Methodist spasm, shouting and screaming in such a manner as caused one of the Elders to rebuke him. Brother Hedge was brought before the Council for so doing. A great deal of instruction was imparted to the people, who were assembled in a room sixteen feet by eighteen. The decision was, that the charges in the declaration had been fairly sustained by good witnesses, that Elder Hedge ought to have confessed when rebuked by Elder Ezra Thayer; also if he had the spirit of the Lord at the meetings where he halloed, he must have abused it and grieved it away, and all the Council agreed with the decision. The report of this case is in Millennial Star, Vol. 15, page 18, and well worthy of perusal.

In relation to the manifestation of the spirit and a man exercising it, he may be guilty of error of manner as well as error in matter, and these principles in this way were gradually introduced into the minds of the brethren, the Elders being instructed all the while now and then, when falling out by the way-side. The first Council I ever attended where the Prophet was present was at the trial of Doctor P. Hurlburt. This occur[r]ed in June, 1833. He had been cut off from the Church by the Bishop’s Council, and a Council of twelve High Priests, was organized to try the case on appeal. Hurlburt did not deny the charge, but begged to be forgiven, made every promise that a man could make that he would from that day live a virtuous life. Finally the Council accepted of his confession, and agreed that he might on public confession be restored to the Church again.

It was at the same Council that Daniel Copley, a timid young man, who had been ordained a Priest, and required to go and preach the Gospel, was called to an account for not going on his mission. The young man said he was too weak to attempt to preach, and the Council cut him off the Church. I wonder what our missionaries now would think of so rigid a discipline as was given at that time thirty one years ago, under the immediate supervision of the Prophet.

As soon as this Council had made this decision upon Hurlburt, Joseph arose, and said to the Council, he is not honest, and what he has promised he will not fulfil; what he has confessed are not the thoughts and intents of his heart, and time will prove it. Hurlburt stated to the Branch in Thompson, Ohio, that he had deceived Joseph Smith’s God or the spirit by which he is actuated, I have proved that Council has no wisdom, I told them I was sorry I confessed and they believed it to be an honest confession, I deceived the whole of them and made them restore me to the Church. Hurlburt was the author of that work known by the name of “Mormonism Unveiled.” Booth’s letters were reprinted by Hurlburt, who is the author of “The Spaulding story,” a book which he intended to publish; and in delivering lectures he had said he would wash his hands in Joseph Smith’s blood. He was taken before the court and required to give bonds to keep the peace towards all men, and especially towards Joseph Smith. These circumstances had some influence, and his fr[i]ends arranged that he should not publish the book, but put it into the hands of E. D. Howe, who resided in Pain[e]sville, Ohio. He agreed that he would give Hurlburt four hundred copies of the first printed and bound, for the manuscript. Hurlburt went round and got subscribers, to pay him when the book should be delivered, one dollar each for the four hundred. Howe got the books printed and refused to furnish Hurlburt with his share, until by a piece of legerdemain he got hold of his subscription list and got the four hundred dollars, and then he let him have the books. When Hurlburt went to supply his subscribers he found they had already been served. The Spaulding story in that country was considered so ridiculous, that the books could with difficulty be sold at any price; but it has now found its way into the scientific journals of the great world as a true history of the origin of the Book of Mormon, when it is very well known that no statement on this earth could be more incorrect or more untrue. Let “Mormonism” be true or false, the Spaulding story from beginning to end is an unmitigated falsehood. Solomon Spaulding was a Presbyterian minister; he entered into the iron trade in Conneaut, Ohio, but failing in business he took a notion to write a novel; he wrote a book called the Manuscript Found, he took his work to Pittsburg, to a man by the name of Patterson to get it printed, but he failed and never printed it. It was pretended that it fell into the hands of Sidney Rigdon, and that he converted it into the Book of Mormon, and induced Joseph Smith to publish it; whereas it is very well known that there had no connection ever existed between these parties. In the first place, Spaulding never wrote any such work; in the next place, Spaulding never had anything to do with Patterson, and Sidney Rigdon and him were perfect strangers to each other. The first knowledge that Sidney Rigdon had of Joseph Smith was when Parley P. Pratt met him in Ohio, and presented him a printed copy of the Book of Mormon; yet all this has found its way into scientific literature, and you will find it even in the North British Review. Hurlburt’s failure to destroy “Mormonism” was so complete, understanding that he was backed by influential men in Mentor and vicinity, that it ended in their disgrace and discomfiture, and this was so complete, that the story in that country was hardly ever spoken of afterwards. Yet the Spaulding story lives among those who make lies their refuge, and under falsehood hide themselves.

The word of the Lord given in September 1831—see Book of Covenants, Sec. 21, Par. 4—to make Kirtland a strong hold for the space of five years, gave rise to a new development in the feelings and sentiments of the Saints. The Prophet said, purchase lands in the vicinity of Kirtland; men were induced to buy farms, and to go to work and build houses, to quarry rock, and haul them on the ground, to build a Temple. We were not then supplied with reporters and clerks as we are now, and many of the books that were kept have been wrested from the hands of the Church by apostates. The foundation of the Kirtland Temple was laid in 1833, and there is scarcely a scrap of history relating to it to be found, not even the names of the twenty-four Elders in their order who laid the foundation of it. When the Temple was completed there was a great manifestation of power. The brethren gathered together to its dedication. We considered it a very large building. Some nine hundred and sixty could be seated, and there would be room for a few to stand, the congregation was swelled to a little over a thousand persons at the time of the dedication. It was a trial of faith. The Elders from every part of the country had come together. The finishing of the Temple had involved a debt of many thousands, and we all came together to the dedication. The congregation was so large that we could not all get in; and when the house was full, then, of course, the doors were closed, and no more admitted. This caused Elder Frazier Eaton, who had paid seven hundred dollars towards building the house, to apostatize, because he did not get there early enough to the meeting. When the dedication prayer was read by Joseph, it was read from a printed copy. This was a great trial of faith to many. “How can it be that the prophet should read a prayer?” What an awful trial it was, for the Prophet to read a prayer! The service of the dedication being over, it was repeated again on the next day, to accommodate these who had not been able to get in on the first day, and all those who had been there on the first day, excepting the authorities, being required to remain outside, till these who could not get in the day before were seated; the result of this arrangement was two days dedication.

The question has often arisen among us, why it is that we do not see more angels, have more visions, that we do not see greater and more manifestations of power. Any of the brethren that were there could have heard testimonies of manifestations in abundance.

On the first day of the dedication, President Frederick G. Williams, one of the Council of the Prophet, and who occupied the upper pulpit, bore testimony that the Savior, dressed in his vesture without seam, came into the stand and accepted of the dedication of the house, that he saw him, and gave a description of his clothing and all things pertaining to it. That evening there was a collection of Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons, etc., amounting to four hundred and sixteen, gathered in the house; there were great manifestations of power, such as speaking in tongues, seeing visions, administration of angels. Many individuals bore testimony that they saw angels, and David Whitmer bore testimony that, he saw three angels passing up the south aisle, and there came a shock on the house like the sound of a mighty rushing wind, and almost every man in the house arose, and hundreds of them were speaking in tongues, prophecying or declaring visions, almost with one voice.

The question arises, where are those men? A number of them who manifested the greatest gifts, and had the greatest manifestations have fallen out by the way side, you look around among us and they are not here. Many who received the knowledge of the things of God by the power of his spirit, and sought not after signs and wonders, and when the spirit rested upon them seemed to produce no visible demonstration, you look around among the Saints in the valleys of the mountains, and you find they are here with us bearing on high the standard of Zion, or have descended into honorable graves. But where you find men who have turned away, and have got terribly afflicted with self conceit, you will find those, who, on that occasion and similar occasions, received great and powerful manifestations, and when the spirit came on them it seemed to distort the countenance, and caused them to make tremendous efforts in some instances. Sylvester Smith bore testimony of seeing the hosts of heaven and the horsemen. In his exertion and excitement it seemed as though he would jump through the ceiling.

Brother Cannon in speaking on the subject this morning referred to the old adage, soon ripe, soon rotten. God has laid the foundation of his kingdom never to be destroyed, and it appears wisdom in him to develop gradually power and glory and strength. I have always heard it suggested that as the spirit of “Mormonism” gathered together the seed of Abraham—mostly the sons of Abraham that are mixed among the nations; that the Holy Spirit falling upon men, who are not of the pure blood, who had the predominance of other blood in their veins, that the manifestation is greater, and when great manifestations fall on men, great trials immediately follow.

I have been conversant with early Elders, and I am satisfied that a large number of them fell from their positions in the kingdom of God because they yielded to the spirit of adultery; this was the cause of their destruction. There was an Elder named John Smith who lived in Indiana, who was quite popular in that part of the country as a preacher. He apostatized, but he did not know it. In talking about his faith and how firm it was, he said, I have proven the revelation given to Joseph Smith untrue, which says if a man shall commit adultery he shall lose the spirit of God, and deny the faith. I have proven that not to be true, for I have violated that commandment and have not denied the faith. He was so blind that he could not see through the darkness that the spirit of adultery had placed upon his head, the great apostacy which seemed to shake the Church, and tried men’s souls.

Some time after the finishing of the Temple, the brethren under the direction of the Prophet had established a bank in Kirtland, the paper to be redeemed by specie, and secured by real estate. The directors of that bank were members of the Church, and they were determined to sustain the credit of that money. The question has some times been asked, how much has that bank failed for; it did not fail for a single dollar, and yet when it failed there was perhaps a hundred thousand dollars of the bank paper out in circulation. Warren Parrish was the teller of the bank, and a number of other men who apostatized were officers. They took out of its vault, unknown to the President or cashier, a hundred thousand dollars, and sent their agents around among the brethren to purchase their farms, wagons, cattle, horses and every thing they could get hold of. The brethren would gather up this money and put it into the bank, and those traitors would steal it and send it out to buy again, and they continued to do so until the plot was discovered and payment stopped. It was the cursed apostates—their stealing and robberies, and their infernal villainies that prevented that bank being conducted as the Prophet designed. If they had followed the counsel of Joseph, there is not a doubt but that it would have been the leading bank in Ohio, probably of the nation. It was founded upon safe principles, and would have been a safe and lasting institution. Parrish and his coadjutors professed to have discovered that Joseph was not a Prophet, and commenced making a noise about it, and went so far as to organize about thirty of the Elders, into a new church called the Parrish party, many of them had been a long time in the church. That may be considered the time that tried men’s souls; for a man that would stand up in the streets and say he was Joseph’s friend, could not get a greater compliment than being called a lick skillet. Joseph had few friends; but among the leading Elders of the Church, in Kirtland the High Council, one of the members of the first Presidency, some of the seven Presidents of the seventies, and a great many others were so darkened that they went astray in every direction. They boasted of the talent at their command, and what they would do. Their plan was to take the doctrines of the Church, such as repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, throw aside the Book of Mormon, the Prophet and Priesthood, and go and unite the whole Christian world under these doctrines. Where are they to-day? Like a rope of sand that has vanished to the four winds of heaven. Many of them have already in dust and ashes lamented their fate, they have never been able to prosper in any business, or take a leading part in any capacity. This is the result of that apostacy; and yet it was so great that Joseph himself and his friends had to flee from Kirtland. There was a council there when President Young, Brother Brigham as we called him, spoke in favor of Joseph, and Jacob Bump who had been a long time a Pugilist before he came into the Church, said “how on earth can I keep my hands off this man,” Brigham said, lay them on if it will do you any good. The voice seemingly of an individual, was absolutely necessary to say that Joseph had a single friend. You look at times of danger, moral and physical, and you will find that the spirit of determination and strong will in the breast of a single man may save a most terrible panic and disaster. By management it was proved that Joseph had friends, and when he had gone to the state of Missouri, having fled from Kirtland, he was met with coldness by men who were in authority there. All this was the result of apostacy. The public funds were held in their own name, and another battle had there to be fought, not perhaps as severe, but at the same time there was a constant pressure seemed to be necessary to give strength to the growing kingdom; yet the revelations were that the kingdom should continue to prevail. The very fact of the promise of its continuing to prevail, signifies that it should have something more or less severe to prevail against. God has been with this people and has guided them, and dictated them, and is continuing to do so up to the present moment, and will continue so to do until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ. May we be prepared to fulfil our share in this great work, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Knowledge in this Life Limited, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday, Dec. 11, 1864. Reported by G. D. Watt.

We are so organized that we can learn but little at a time, and the little we do learn should be that kind of knowledge which will bring to us as individuals and as a community, temporal and eternal salvation. If men were to live until the number of their days should be one hundred years, they still would be but children in the knowledge of this life, and would only be commencing to learn the things which pertain to their temporal life, health and comfort, and how to live hereafter. Very few of the inhabitants of the earth have the time and priviledge of making themselves comfortable in a temporal point of view, before they are called to return to their mother earth.

We have had excellent instructions to-day. They have been edifying, comforting and strengthening to the Saints. I will take the liberty of referring to a few things the brethren have dwelt upon in their remarks. In relation to the contest between Jesus and the power of Satan that is upon the earth, brother George Q. Cannon has said he is ready to commence the contest anew to-day against sin, and the effects of it which have often tried to overthrow us as a people. I have been engaged in a contest against the devil and his rule, for the last thirty three years this present winter. It is that many years since I took the Book of Mormon, and went into His Brittanic Majesty’s realms to teach the Gospel of life and salvation. From that day to this I have been contending against the powers of evil, according to the little ability God has given me. The kingdom of God is re-established upon the earth; and the Gospel of life and salvation must be preached in all the world, that all may be judged thereby. Every nation, kindred, tongue and people must be warned before the Lord can come out of his hiding place, and waste away the wicked who have rejected his warning message. We have contended against sin in high places; we still contend against it in our own bosoms; for we should seek earnestly to gain the victory over sin in ourselves, before we can reasonably expect to gain the conquest over sin in others. Until we can subdue our own passions, and bring every human feeling and aspiration into subjection to the will of God, we are not really capable of guiding and dictating others to the full possession of victory in the Kingdom of God. To conquer and subdue, and school ourselves until we bring everything into subjection to the law of Christ, is our work.

Our Heavenly Father does not always reveal to his children the secret workings of his providences, nor does he show them the end from the beginning; for they have to learn to trust in him who has promised to fight our battles, and crown us with victory, if we are faithful as was faithful Abraham. The contest which we have now on hand is chiefly against sin in ourselves. “For if we sin wil[l]fully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries.” Then let us contend against sin in our families, in our neighbors and friends, and strive to restore to the inhabitants of the earth and to all the creatures which God has made to dwell upon it, that which was lost by the fall of man. Our labor will not end until this is accomplished, our work completed, and the kingdom is the Lord’s. “Know ye not, that they which run a race, run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown but we an incorruptible.” Then let us fight on, “For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion.” He has commenced it with this, our once happy nation, and he will continue until Jesus shall rule and reign triumphantly in the midst of his Saints, over sin, death, and hell. The Lord is gracious and is waiting for us to purify ourselves, and thus be better prepared to receive the providences of God when he arises to shake terribly the earth, and bring to pass the perfect deliverance of his people. “For the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.” For we are made nigh unto Christ by his blood. “But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, say not in thine heart, who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is the word of faith, which we preach.” The Lord is here with us, not in person, but his angels are around us, and he takes cognizance of every act of the children of men, as individuals and as nations. He is here ready by his agents, the angels, and by the power of his Holy Spirit and Priesthood, which he has restored in these last days, to bring most perfect and absolute deliverance unto all who put their trust in Him, when they are ready to receive it; and, until they are ready, the work of preparation must be vigorously progressed in, while at the same time we in patience must possess our souls. For what scholar can at once make himself acquainted thoroughly with the beginning and the end of a finished education? It is a work of time. The Lord is gracious and full of kindness to his children, and has given them this probation to prepare themselves for his coming, and to dwell with him in mansions of glory.

I wish my brethren and sisters to understand that the contest between themselves and the power of Satan is now, to-day, and has been ever since the Lord Almighty bestowed his Holy Priesthood upon his servant Joseph. When holy angels where sent from heaven to call and ordain Joseph Smith, and he to ordain others, the war commenced against sin and the power of it, and will continue until the earth shall be cleansed from it, and shall be made a fit habitation for Saints and angels. The Holy Priesthood has been restored expressly for this purpose. There is nothing that the Saints can ask, or pray for, that will aid them in their progress to the attainment of all the freedom, liberty, power, and conquest, that they are capable of desiring and making a good use of, that will not be granted unto them, if they will only patiently struggle on. I am happy in saying that the Lord is doing his work most admirably. Are we progressing as fast as the work of the Lord is progressing? He has pled with the people by the voice of his Spirit, by the voice of angels, and by the voice of his servants; but their ears are heavy. He is pleading now with the sword, as well as with the voice of his servants, and he will plead with them by tempest and storm, and soon will plead with them by famine and by pestilence. The Savior has said: ‘And ye shall hear of wars, and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

The men and women, who desire to obtain seats in the celestial kingdom, will find that they must battle with the enemy of all righteousness every day. “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching there unto with all perseverance and supplication for all Saints.” Thus let every Saint protect and guard his little castle against every effort of the enemy to assail, and secure a foothold therein. Let us see to it that we are ready for the enemy, to baffle him at every point, contending bravely against him until he is successfully repulsed.

With regard to the obedience of heavenly beings, to which reference has been made to day; they live pure and holy, and they have attained unto this power through suffering. Many of them have drank of the bitter cup even to the dregs. They have learned that righteousness will prevail, that truth is the foundation of their very existence. They have learned that their Father and God never commits an evil, that he never proposes an evil, and that whatever he dictates is for their good. When an angel is appointed to perform a duty, to go to the earth to preach the Gospel, or to do anything for the advancement of his Fathers kingdom in any part of the great domain of heaven, the vision of that angel is opened to see and understand the magnitude of the work that is expected of him to perform, and the grand results which will grow out of it. That is the reason why the angels are of one heart and of one mind, in their faithfulness and obedience to the requirements of their Father and God. They can desire and ask for nothing that will make them happy, good and great that is withheld from them; and life eternal is theirs. Why, then, should they not be of one heart and of one mind? They see alike, understand alike, and know alike, and all things are before them, and, as far as their knowledge and experience extend, they see the propriety of all the works of God, and the harmony and beauty thereof.

Those who do not believe in Jesus Christ, in Joseph the Prophet, or in the Book of Mormon, in short, all who do not believe as we do, or who are out side of this Church and kingdom, love health, wealth, joy, peace, light, intelligence, power, eloquence, and elegance; they want all these blessings which the righteous live for; but they will not live for them. They do not pursue the course to put themselves in possession of the very things they most desire; they are aiming entirely in the opposite direction, and manage always to be too late in obtaining them. Not so with the Latter-day Saints, or the Former-day Saints: they were, are and will be always just in time to secure the blessings they live for. The Saints have their trials, to be sure, to prove their faithfulness before God, and they have the experience and blessings which spring from them. It is thought; by many that the possession of gold and silver will produce for them happiness, and, hence, thousands hunt the mountains for the precious metals; in this they are mistaken. The possession of wealth alone does not produce happiness, although it will produce comfort, when it can be exchanged for the essentials and luxuries of life. When wealth is obtained by purloining, or in any other unfair and dishonorable way, fear of detection and punishment robs the possessor of all human happiness. When wealth is honorably obtained by men, still the possession of it is embittered by the thought that death will soon strip them of it and others will possess it. What hopes have they in the future, after they get through with this sorrowful world? They know nothing about the future; they see nothing but death and hell. Solid comfort and unalloyed joy are unknown to them. When the faithful Latter-day Saints come to the end of their earthly existence, “we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” The faithful Latter-day Saint knows that the dissolution of this mortal house will introduce his immortal spirit to freedom from death and punishment, and to the enjoyment of the society of the spirits of just men made perfect. To a person who has such a glorious hope everything is bright and beautiful. If he has but little, he enjoys that little with a thankful heart to his Heavenly Father; if he possesses much, he is still thankful, not worshiping, or placing his heart upon the filthy lucre God has placed in his power to do good with. In poverty he feels blest and happy; in riches he feels blest and happy; for his hope is in God, and his wealth consists in eternal riches, having laid up treasures in heaven where moth doth not destroy, nor rust corrode, nor thief break through nor steal. The Latter-day Saints have been driven from their homes, and their goods have been spoiled; but they esteem this as nothing. What do we care for houses and lands and possessions? The whole earth is before us and all the fulness thereof. The Latter-day Saints are living in the expectation of redeeming Zion, when the law shall go forth from Zion, and when Jesus will reign king of nations, as he now reigns king of Saints.

Remarks have been made as to our staying here. I will tell you how long we shall stay here. If we live our religion, we shall stay here in these mountains forever and forever, worlds without end, and a portion of the Priesthood will go and redeem and build up the centre Stake of Zion. If we leave here, where shall we go to? Has any one discovered where we can again pitch our tents, when we leave this country? In the days of Joseph we have sat many hours at a time conversing about this very country. Joseph has often said, “If I were only in the Rocky Mountains with a hundred faithful men, I would then be happy, and ask no odds of mobocrats.” And neither do I. Who are going to pull up stakes and leave here? If we forsake our God and our religion, then woe to us; for then we shall be all apostates together, and under such circumstances we have no promise of God for our protection; but, if we live in the faith of the Son of God, we have the heavens, the power of God and of angels on our side. I can tell you, as truly as Elisha said to his servant, “fear not; for they that be with us are more than they that be with them,” (our enemies.) For, “the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around about Elisha.”

Satan has great power upon the earth, which he will exercise against Christ and his kingdom, and we have so to live as to gain power to triumph over him, and successfully drive him and his adherents from the earth, and introduce everlasting righteousness and peace; and we will do it in the name of Israel’s God. The Lord being my helper, I will never give up the ship; I will never leave it, as long as there is an inch of plank left; and it will live in wilder seas than have yet assailed it, and come out unharmed; in short, it will endure for ever. We may apostatize from the faith, and go out of the Church and Kingdom of God, and be lost; but this will have no effect upon the progress of the Lord’s Work, neither can all the powers of hell combined accomplish aught against it. The Lord God of Israel has led this people from the beginning, and every effort the enemy has made to destroy them has only added renewed strength and vigor to the cause of truth, although at the time of our great afflictions, and while in the straits in which we have been placed, we could, naturally speaking, see nothing but death and suffering. The Lord has suffered all these things for the perfecting of the righteous and the good of his people, and that the wicked may be left without excuse. There is not another nation under heaven but this, in whose midst the Book of Mormon could have been brought forth. The Lord has been operating for centuries to prepare the way for the coming forth of the contents of that Book from the bowels of the earth, to be published to the world, to show to the inhabitants thereof that he still lives, and that he will, in the latter days, gather his elect from the four corners of the earth. It was the Lord who directed the discovery of this land to the nations of the old world, and its settlement, and the war for independence, and the final victory of the colonies, and the unprecedented prosperity of the American nation, up to the calling of Joseph the Prophet. The Lord has dictated and directed the whole of this, for the bringing forth, and establishing of his Kingdom in the last days. On one occasion, when the Prophet was imprisoned, Sidney Rigdon exhorted the Saints to scatter and every man do the best he could for himself; “for,” said he, “this work of the gathering of the Saints we shall not accomplish, these Saints will never be gathered again.” I took the liberty of saying to him that it was my opinion that we should be gathered again, and that, by and bye, we should have Joseph with us. Some thought it impossible; but we had Joseph again and we gathered. The Lord thus proved his people, and tried them whether they would apostatize and give themselves up to the power of Satan, or be faithful to their calling and to their God under every circumstance. The Lord will try this people in all things, as he tried Abraham of old, to prove whether they will forsake him, or cling to the faith of the Holy Gospel. I have been in this Kingdom almost from the beginning; and I have not yet seen anything I would call a trial, that I could not willingly and joyfully endure; for, “blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him.” The Lord has thrown his people on several occasions, into circumstances of destitution and dependence, to try the leaders of the nation, and has thus said unto them, what will you now do for my poor and afflicted people; and their reply has been, “We will destroy them, if we can.” They think they will destroy us yet. In this, however, they are mistaken, “for God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Shall we still cling to the faith of Christ, or will we forsake the Lord our God, and seek “the friendship of the world which is enmity against God?” Before we were driven out of Missouri I had a vision, if I would dare to say that I had a vision, and saw that the people would go to the east, to the north and to the west; but we should go back to Jackson County from the west. When this people return to the Centre Stake of Zion, they will go from the west. The Lord has used every means to save the nation. He has called upon them by night and by day, through His servants whom he has sent among them.; but they are bent on their own destruction. When we were driven from Nauvoo, our Elders went to the East to lay our case before the judges, governors, and rulers of the different States to ask for an asylum; but none was offered us. We sent men through the Eastern country to try and raise some means for the destitute women and children, whose husbands, fathers and brothers had gone into the Mexican war at the call of the General Government, leaving their wives and children and aged fathers and mothers upon the open prairies without home or shelter, and the brethren who went East hardly got enough to bear their expenses. The great men of the nation were asked if they would do anything for the Lord’s people. No; not a thing would they do, but hoped they would perish in the wilderness. “Therefore,” saith the Lord, “behold, the destroyer I have sent forth to destroy and lay waste mine enemies: and not many years hence they shall not be left to pollute mine heritage, and to blaspheme my name upon the lands which I have consecrated for the gathering together of my saints.” In the year 1845 I addressed letters to all the Governors of States and Territories in the Union, asking them for an asylum, within their borders, for the Latter-day Saints. We were refused such privilege, either by silent contempt or a flat denial in every instance. They all agreed that we could not come within the limits of their Territory or State. Three members of Congress came to negociate [negotiate] with us to leave the confines of the United States, and of the public domain. It was understood that we were going to Vancouver Island; but we had our eye on Mexico, and here we are located in the midst of what was then northern Mexico. Fears have been entertained that we shall again be meddled with; but you will find that the enemies of the cause of God will have plenty of business besides digging gold and silver and fighting the Saints, and I trust Utah will be left as unnoticed as it is in the President’s message. I thank them for what they have done and for what they have not done. I thank the Lord that he has led this people, and suffered them to be driven from place to place. I thank the Lord that we have the words of eternal life; and if we live by them, our feet are as sure and as fast as these everlasting hills. I know where the Saints will dwell.

In the mind of God there is no such a thing as dividing spiritual from temporal, or temporal from spiritual; for they are one in the Lord. There was nothing of a temporal or spiritual nature suggested by Joseph Smith in his day, for the action of the Latter-day Saints that would not have been beneficial for them, if they had, with one heart and mind, performed all he desired them to do. We have proposed many things with regard to our temporal affairs in these valleys, which, when strictly obeyed, have been attended with great benefits. Our action touching our grain has greatly benefited this community; it has resulted in replenishing the wardrobes of the people throughout the Territory, and placed in their possession many thousands of dollars. If you have a few hundred pounds of flour to sell, keep it by you; by-and-by, you will be offered a good price for it in gold. Do not be tempted to sell your breadstuff for a ribbon, or a frill, or for some useless trapping; for herein we are exposed to danger, when we treat as a light thing the blessings of the Lord, and squander them as a thing of naught. Those men and women who barter away their breadstuff for naught, trifle with the blessings which the heavens have bestowed on them.

There are brethren who have studied law; but where is there a man in our midst now that is worth anything by studying law? Where is there a merchant among us who has, year after year, continued in the love of the world, that cares anything about the kingdom of God? Look out, ye men of Israel, and be careful that you love not the world or the things of the world in their present state, and in your loftiness and pride, forget the Lord your God. We ought to care no more for the silver and the gold, and the property that is so much sought for by the wicked world, than for the soil or the gravel upon which we tread: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world, and the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” “If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” I will refer to our merchants, I mean our “Mormon merchants” particularly. What do they say about their goods? They do not ask what their goods are worth, or what they paid for them, but what will the people give for them? That is the price. It is not what their goods are really worth, but “how many greenbacks will it take to buy me another stock of goods?” It will take a good many. What their goods are worth is not a question with them, but what they can get. They will get sorrow—the most of them will be damned, there is no doubt of it, unless they repent. You will excuse me for talking thus of my brethren, but what else can I say about them? I am not speaking about my individual feelings towards them, but upon principle. My individual feelings are nothing but good towards them. They are kind to me, and I have no fault to find with them in their dealings with me; but I see the danger they are in. Ye merchants, and lawyers, and doctors and speculators, be careful that you secure to yourselves eternal life in the kingdom of God, in preference to doing anything else. That perfect union, which must ultimately be enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints, can only be brought, about by every man and woman living so as to keep their minds pure and unspotted like a piece of clean white paper, being constantly free from the love of the world, that the spirit of revelation may easily indite upon the heart whatever is the mind and will of the Lord. We cannot be truly the members of Christ’s mystical body without living in this way, that the Spirit may indite as easily upon the heart the things of God, as these brethren, our reporters, can write with ink on paper. In this way you have the witness within yourself, and “need that no man teach you only as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.” May the Lord bless the righteous. Amen.

Blessings of the Gospel Contrasted with the Ideas of Men, etc.

John Taylor

Remarks by Elder John Taylor, made in the Tabernacle in Great Salt Lake City, on Sunday, Dec. 11, 1864. Reported by G. D. Watt.

We meet together, as intelligent beings, desirous of understanding something of our common origin, our present existence, and our future destiny. We meet to find out something in relation to our Heavenly Father, in relation to His providential dealings with the human family, in relation to His policy and designs pertaining to us, and in relation to the object of our creation; and to know something, if possible, pertaining to that world that lies beyond our present scene of action. These are some things among the many that we are desirous to know, to comprehend, to find out if possible. We further wish to pursue a course that shall be acceptable to our God and Father; having partaken of a portion of His Holy Spirit we are desirous to be taught more perfectly the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, we are desirous of cultivating His Holy Spirit, and to draw from the fountain of light and intelligence; from the spirit of revelation that flows from God; and the spirit that dwells in us, comfort, consolation, and intelligence; that we may feel that we are the sons and daughters of God, that we are walking in the light of His countenance, that we are doing the things that are pleasing and acceptable in His sight, that our own consciences are producing satisfactory evidence to our minds that our conduct and acts are acceptable before the Lord, and that the Holy Ghost also bears testimony to us that we are His children, doing His will, walking in the light of His countenance, helping to establish His kingdom on the earth, and to fulfil the varied duties we are placed here upon the earth to attend to. These are some of the ideas and feelings which all good men and women entertain in relation to the past, the present, and the future. Notwithstanding, we have many weaknesses, infirmities, follies, and foibles; yet, at the same time, when we are filled with the spirit which flows from the Lord our Heavenly Father, these are generally the feelings which we entertain. We feel a spirit of gratitude to our Heavenly Father for the blessings that we have received from His hands; and when we look upon things as they exist around us, in our nation, and in other nations, we certainly have great cause to cultivate feelings of thankfulness when we reflect upon the position of the world, and view the darkness, ignorance, folly, superstition, wickedness, corruption and evil that is spread abroad, and which prevails over the face of the earth. When we reflect that light and intelligence have beamed forth from the heavens, that God in his mercy has made manifest His will to the human family; that in the plenitude of His mercy and goodness He has restored the Holy Priesthood, and placed us in communication with Himself; that he has taught us not only how to pray but how to approach unto him for the forgiveness of our sins, for the reception of the Holy Ghost, for instruction and guidance in relation to all matters pertaining to our fathers, relative to this world and to the world that is to come, we certainly have great cause of gratitude to our Heavenly Father for the many mercies and blessings He has conferred upon us. Wherever we turn our attention we can find cause of gratitude to our Heavenly Father for the blessings that we enjoy, and we can truly say, as was said by a certain person of old, “The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.” The Lord has revealed unto us the principles of eternal truth, so “That” (unlike the world) “we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.” But our feet are established upon the rock of eternal truth which has been revealed from the heavens, for the benefit, blessing, and exaltation of the human family, in time and in eternity. How very different is our position in relation to this from what it was before we heard the Gospel. Then we were surrounded with ten thousand influences, notions, and ideas which might be right, or which might be wrong; we had no test, no rule, no principle whereby to guide our lives or our conduct; we could not find any person on the earth that knew anything about the principles of eternity; we never heard any thing further than opinion before we embraced this doctrine; we had the opinion of commentators, of divines, philosophers, and politicians, nothing but opinion without certainty to guide our erring feet. We were desirous, perhaps as much so as we are to-day, to do right, we were perhaps as zealous then as we are now in pursuing the course that we thought might be satisfactory to our Heavenly Father; but we knew not what would please Him. The world of mankind to-day are just in the position that we were then in, they have no more certainty, evidence, or knowledge than we had before we embraced the principles of eternal truth—and, in fact, the truth does not exist in the world, or, if it does exist, it is unknown to the men of the world; they are unable to discern between truth and error, light and darkness, between the things of God and the things of man.

The Lord has revealed to us the principles of eternal life. It is not a matter of mere thought, of mere opinion; our principles are not ideal, but they are facts, not notions; they are truths, not opinions; they are certainties—things that we know and comprehend for ourselves. Nothing can be more forcible, nothing can be a stronger evidence, if we want any evidence, than the testimony or evidence which the Lord has communicated unto us individually.

Paul said when he was speaking to the people, “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power; that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” Again, “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God, hath made him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.” Every person who embraced the gospel in that day enjoyed an evident testimony of which the world were ignorant. They received an inspiring intelligent assurance which was imparted by the Holy Ghost unto all those who receive the gospel both in former and in latter times, and hence they that believe have the witness in themselves.

When the Elders were sent to preach the gospel, they were told to call upon the people to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins, and they should receive the Holy Ghost. This was told to the people in ancient days, and no stronger testimony than this could be given to the heart of man; nothing is greater evidence that the Lord is with His Elders that go forth bearing the precious seeds of eternal life than this. An Elder is the minister of God, His representative on the earth; he acts by His authority, in His name, and God sanctions his acts, and proves to him and to those who receive the gospel, that he is the messenger of God. The Lord has told him to go and preach baptism for the remission of sins, and that when people repented and were baptized for the remission of sins, and had hands laid upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost, that they should receive the Holy Ghost, and have evidence for themselves, as they received and knew formerly under the administration of the ancient apostles. Thus every person so baptised and administered to has evidence undoubted within himself, and every Elder has a testimony that God is with him and sanctions his acts; and as an Elder could not impart the Holy Ghost without the authority and power of God, so the person receiving the Holy Ghost could not partake of it without the Lord’s administration through the Elder.

You may use the reasoning of men, you may bring into requisition the strongest oratorial powers, and all this will fail to convince any man, without the Spirit of God. You may bring the brightest talent to bear, and collect the strongest evidence it is possible for man to produce, but in the absence of the Holy Ghost all this will pass away like an idle dream, or with passing remarks such as, “That man is a very eloquent man, the principles he advances are evident, plain, and reasonable, but then it don’t concern us at all, we are not interested in the matter,” etc.; but when the Spirit of eternal truth, emanating from God operates upon our spirits, which are a part of deity, if you please, when there is a union formed, and an intercourse opened, and intelligence communicated, then the persons who possess this intelligence, this knowledge, this comforting influence, this strong assurance that is imparted, and can be imparted only from spirit to spirit; when persons receive this, they then have for themselves an assurance that no earthly argument or philosophical demonstration can possibly impart. We are a part of deity, that is, our spirits are a part, as it were, of the Great Jehovah, that have been struck from His eternal blaze—eternal intelligence and light and life.

When the light that is in heaven communicates with the light within us; when the Spirit that dwells in the bosom of the Almighty dwells in ours, and an intercourse is opened between heaven and us, we are then placed in a position to understand that which it would be impossible to comprehend upon any natural principle known to us, and hence it is written, “For what man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” In order that men may indeed become the children of God, He has introduced in the first principles of the gospel the means of their becoming possessed of His Spirit through baptism and laying on of hands by those having authority, being sent and ordained and authorized by Him that they may receive the Holy Ghost. What can be a stronger evidence to any man than an evidence of this kind? It is not something that affects the outward ear alone; it is not something that affects simply his judgment, but it affects his inner man; it affects the spirit that dwells within him; it is a part of God imparted unto man, if you please, giving him an assurance that God lives. This is a thing of very great importance, more so, perhaps, than many people imagine. A man receives an assurance that God lives, and not only that God lives, but that he is a son of God, because he feels that he has partaken of His spirit, the spirit of adoption; and hence it was said concerning the Saints of old, “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but, ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”

The Saints of old received a spirit whereby they were enabled to say Abba, Father, or, my Father. Now, reflecting upon this, what strong confidence is imparted unto the Saints of God, giving them an assurance that no person has, and that no person can have, unless they adopt the same means, in order to partake of the same blessings or to be administered to in the same way, and receive through the same medium, that same spirit of intelligence which nothing but the Holy Ghost can impart. When persons receive this they are enabled to say, my Father. What were they enabled to say before? Did they know anything about their Father or about their God? Did they know anything about their origin, or did they know anything really in relation to the future?

What can you find among the world like this anywhere, among the most pious, best, the most honorable, pure, and virtuous, what can you find among them? Only, simply, “we try to do the best that we can, and we hope it will be well with us hereafter; we hope our great Heavenly Father will be merciful to us.” They can make no further advances than that, without the gift and blessing of the Holy Ghost. They hope certain things, they believe in certain things, they pray for certain things, they desire certain things, but they have no assurance in relation to them. Nothing but the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son can impart unto us that intelligence which is necessary to place the Church and Kingdom of God upon a sure and firm basis. The Lord has introduced this among us. It is no matter what language a man may speak, or what country he lives in, no matter what his former profession or circumstances, here is the Gospel of eternal life and truth proclaimed by the weakest of God’s Elders, which he has chosen and set apart to preach the words of eternal life in all the world. Wherever people receive the words of truth that that Elder has preached unto them and obey them by baptism, and have hands laid on them for the reception of the Holy Ghost, they all feel alike, no matter what country they were born in, what their religion, politics, social ideas, or anything else; whether Jew or Gentile, bond or free, they are all one in Christ Jesus.

We have people gathered together in this Territory from all parts of the earth; they have all been baptized into one baptism, and all have partaken of one spirit, and that one spirit proceeds from the fountain of light and truth. It would be impossible, under any other circumstances, to unite people together as our people in the mountains are united. It would be impossible for all the reasoning powers of man to bring about any such result; nothing but the power and Spirit of God could accomplish it.

We all feel alike in regard to the great principles of eternal truth. Why do we feel alike? Because we have all partaken of one spirit, which proceeds from our Heavenly Father, it is the Holy Ghost. How does it affect us? It affects our spirits. And although we do not understand, sometimes, one another’s speech, and are ignorant of the ideas entertained by one another; and although the habits, customs, and manners are diverse and various among the different nations from which we have come, we still are one in sentiment, one in faith and in confidence, and one in assurance.

I have heard men in the United States thank God with their whole heart for the spirit imparted to them and for the blessings of the everlasting Gospel; I have heard them do the same in France and in Germany, and I have heard them do the same among other nations whose language I was not acquainted with The same spirit inspires the whole—it is the spirit of God, imparted through obedience to his laws, and through the administration of the Gospel through the Holy Priesthood, or by means of the Elders he has sent forth, and whose acts He sanctions by imparting the Holy Ghost on whom they lay their hands; and hence we are one, having been baptized into one baptism, and partaken of the same spirit, and hence we have assurance, and are constituted as no other people are under the heavens. We possess that evidence and assurance which the world cannot give, neither can the world take it away; and hence, we go forth with a steady unerring aim with regard to the future. We know, individually and collectively, what we are doing, and if there be those among us who do not comprehend all things, yet we do know that we have partaken of the Holy Ghost. We feel like the man that was born blind, who was healed by the Savior. The Pharisees said to the healed man, “Give God the praise, we know that this man is a sinner.” He answered and said: “Whether he be a sinner or not, I know not; one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.”

All the sons and daughters of God who are living their religion, and faithfully keeping the commandments of God, can render a reason for the hope that is within them, and can answer the whys and the wherefores for the movements of the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth. They may not know what is going to be the result of this, that and the other; but they do know that they have received the Holy Ghost, and that God lives—that they have received a principle, whereby they are enabled to say, Abba Father—My Father. “And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” Hence we have partaken of a portion of eternal lives, and have begun to live for ever. It was upon this principle that Jesus spake to the woman of Samaria, when he asked her for a drink. Now there was a strong enmity existing between the Jews and the Samaritans, and she thought it singular when Jesus asked her for a drink of water. “Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, give me to drink; thou would’st have asked him, and he would have given thee living water.” “Whosoever drinketh of this water, shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him, shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Did the world know who these Elders are that go forth among them bearing the precious seed of eternal life; could they comprehend and realize it, they would ask of them, and they would give them water which would be in them a well springing up into eternal life; for they are the representatives of God on the earth, going forth with authority from Him to impart unto the world the Holy Ghost, and lead them into the paths of life. We have partaken of this Holy Spirit, and hence there is confidence manifested in all our movements and actions as a people.

Who among the true saints of God ever doubts as to the destiny of this kingdom? Who that has the spirit of revelation—the spirit of truth—ever dreams that this kingdom will ever be overthrown? They quake in the north, and in the south; they wonder what the end will be—whether they will gain that victory or lose that battle; whether we are going to be divided into two separate nations, be consolidated in one, or divided into a great many. These are matters that puzzle the wisest of our statesmen. If we have any wise men in the United States, and in the nations of Europe or the earth, let them manifest their wisdom and put the world right.

The Latter-day Saints have no wonder what is going to become of them, it never enters into our minds that anything will transpire that will overthrow the Church and kingdom of God on the earth. What man that is a Saint and has in his possession the gift of the Holy Ghost, that does not know that the kingdom of God is onward? We know that we shall overcome every opposing power. No matter what transpires, what effect has it on us? None at all. It only affects the weak and vacillating, that have not lived their religion and followed the light of the Holy Spirit in them, they may fear; but the men and women of God, those who live in the light of the countenance of the Lord, and cherish the Holy Spirit in their bosoms, having no other feeling but the final triumph of the kingdom of God on the earth, they know nothing else.

What inspired the ancient prophets to know that the time would come when the Saints of God should take the kingdom, and the greatness of it under the whole heavens should be given to them and He whose right it is, should rule and reign, and have dominion? The same Spirit that dwells in us proceeds from the same God that inspired the prophets of old, developing the same truths, making manifest the same things, and unfolding the same principles. We have confidence in relation to these matters; and hence men that understand this, who live their religion, feel perfectly satisfied in regard to any or all the events that shall transpire on the earth.

We were driven out of Missouri—we were driven from one place to another in Missouri, before we were driven out altogether; then we were driven from Illinois to this Territory. But what of that? I know some men who thought the work was at an end. I remember a remark made by Sidney Rigdon—I suppose he did not live his religion—I do not think he did—his knees began to shake in Missouri, and on one occasion he said, “Brethren, every one of you take your own way, for the work seems as though it had come to an end.” Brigham Young encouraged the people, and Joseph Smith told them to be firm and maintain their integrity, for God would be with his people and deliver them. I never saw a time that the Saints enjoyed themselves better than when they, apparently, were wading through the deepest troubles; I never saw them more full of the Holy Ghost, and take more joyfully the spoiling of their goods. Why was this? Because they had that spirit within them of which we are speaking, and they knew what would be the result of all these things. When we left Nauvoo, we sang joyfully:—

“On the way to California, In the spring we’ll take our journey; Far above Arkansas fountains, Pass between the Rocky Mountains.”

When it was asked us, “Where are you going?” our reply would be, “We hardly know; we are going somewhere, and God will protect us, and all is right and well in Zion, and all is peace, and all will be peace to those who will love God and keep his commandments; because his kingdom is established upon the rock of ages, and it is God’s business to take care of his Saints, and all is well.”

And when the nation with which we are associated is shaken to its centre and crumbles to pieces (it is pretty well shaken now, notwithstanding what our President seems to say about it, that everything is very prosperous, and that we have more men now than before the war), notwithstanding all this, it is crumbling and falling, and it will continue to fall and to crumble, until it is no more, and by and bye there will be an end of it. Not so with the kingdom of God; it will stand, and continue to exist and spread and go forth, and correct principles—principles of eternal truth and light and revelation from God—will be unfolded, and intelligence that dwells with the gods will continue to be imparted to this people, and God will be their God, and they will be His people, and He will continue to lead them on from strength to strength and from knowledge to knowledge, until they understand all correct principles that can be known on the earth, until they are enabled to redeem themselves and their posterity, and then establish the kingdom of God on the earth until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and for ever. And to this end God has imparted unto us the spirit of intelligence and wisdom that is unfaltering, unwavering, and unchanging, and that will live and abide for ever. Have we not cause to be grateful to God our heavenly Father? I think we have. We enjoy peace, we enjoy happiness, we enjoy the Holy Ghost, we enjoy communication with our heavenly Father, we enjoy an association with the holy Priesthood, we have the revelation of God in us, and God has undertaken to lead His people on from strength to strength, from intelligence to intelligence, from knowledge to knowledge, until they are able to see as they are seen, and know as they, are known. And He is going to establish a reign of righteousness and introduce a correct form of government, even the government of God, the laws of God, the revelations of God to guide and direct in all things: He will be our guide in philosophy, in politics, in agriculture, in science, in art, and in everything that is calculated to enlighten and impart intelligence, and give knowledge of the laws of nations, of the laws of nature, of matter, and of all laws that regulate all things pertaining to time and to eternity. He will continue to instruct and to make manifest, and to put us in possession of those principles that will exalt us and prepare us to dwell with the Gods. We look on the future; we looked on it years ago, and we knew that the kingdom of God would roll on, and we know so to-day, only our faith and knowledge is becoming more stable, more established. We know that this kingdom will continue to spread and to increase. Who can deprive us of that knowledge? No earthly influence or power, or reasoning can do it; hence, we are perfectly satisfied in relation to these things. And while we know this is taking place and that a reign of righteousness will be introduced that will be calculated to exalt and ennoble the human family, and make the earth a paradise and to blossom as the rose, and make the wilderness and desolate places glad, and the government and kingdom of God exist from the rivers to the ends of the earth; whilst we are attending to these things, we are also attending to other things, we are securing to ourselves an everlasting exaltation, we are learning God and His laws, and the whisperings of His Spirit, whereby we can be saved and exalted and be brought to a closer union and connection with Him by covenants and ordinances, and anointings, and endowments, and blessings, that He is revealing and unfolding. We are learning to build temples where we can receive instruction, and revelation, and ordinances to be performed both for the living and the dead, for ourselves, progenitors, and posterity, and bless the human family throughout, that we may be saviors on Mount Zion and the kingdom be the Lord’s. We are learning to secure for ourselves mansions with our heavenly Father, that where He is we may be also. Jesus said, “I go away; but if I go, I will come and receive you to myself, that where I am there you may be also,” &c. We are preparing ourselves for those mansions, and others are helping to prepare mansions for us who are behind the veil. We shall operate for those who are there, and they for us; for they, without us, cannot be made perfect, nor we without them. We are forming an alliance, a union, a connection, with those that are behind the veil, and they are forming a union and connection with us; and while we are living here, we are preparing to live hereafter, and laying a foundation for this in the celestial kingdom of God. Ought we not to call upon our souls, and upon all that is within us, to bless the name of the God of Israel, and to forget not all His mercies? Ought we not to be seeking continually to glorify God in our bodies and spirits, which are His? Ought we not to be seeking to have our passions and desires and appetites in obedience and subjection to the will of God? Ought we not to be seeking to control our will and desires, and have everything yielding obedience to that Spirit which emanates from our heavenly Father? Ought we not to be seeking to promote a union with every godlike principle, with everything that is lovely and amiable, and divest ourselves of all our evil passions and propensities, and follies and waywardness, and seek to draw near unto God ourselves, and also to draw our families near unto Him, and seek to cultivate the Holy Ghost, that it may be in us a well of water springing up into everlasting life, that we may be worthy to be citizens of the kingdom of God; and that hereafter we may enjoy an immortality of happiness with our progenitors and our posterity, and with our God in the eternal world, even in this world, when it shall be redeemed and sanctified and be made new?

May God help us to keep his commandments, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Blessings of the People of God, etc.

George Q. Cannon

Remarks by Elder George Q. Cannon, made in Kaysville, Sunday, November 13, 1864. Reported by G. D. Watt.

It is with very peculiar feelings, my brethren and sisters, that I stand before you this morning to address you upon the principles of life and salvation. In rising before you I request your faith and prayers, that I may have the Spirit of the Lord to dictate unto me those thoughts and reflections and instructions, which will be profitable unto us. I feel myself that the Spirit of the Almighty is here; I have enjoyed it very much this morning. While listening to the singing, I felt that the singers had the Spirit of God resting upon them.

We can enjoy ourselves while we are met together to-day; it is our privilege to have a goodly outpouring of that Spirit which fills our hearts with joy, with peace, light and intel[li]gence. If we concentrate our minds upon the object which has called us together, exercising faith in our Father and God, these meetings will be counted among the most delightful associations of our lives. I do not know that I ever enjoyed myself so happily under any circumstances, as I have in meeting with my brethren and sisters in conferences and in meetings like these that we have had yesterday and to-day. At these meetings we can throw aside the cares that press us from day to day, and concentrate our minds upon the blessings which pertain to the kingdom of God and to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and understand to a greater extent than we can probably on ordinary occasions, how much the Lord our God has favored us in revealing unto us His everlasting Gospel, and in sending unto us His servants, authorized to administer unto us the ordinances thereof. When we are in meetings like the present, we can think about these things and ponder upon them, and our hearts are filled with renewed feelings of thanksgiving and gratitude to God for His abundant mercies to us as individuals and as a people. Since my arrival home from abroad this last time, I think that I never have experienced such a feeling of thanksgiving, joy, and happiness as I have during the last two or three weeks. My feelings have been peculiarly solemn, and I have often felt as though it would be a great luxury to get off in some corner alone and weep for joy for all the blessings God has so bountifully bestowed on us as a people, and upon myself as an individual. The older we grow, and the more the kingdom becomes developed, the more apparent are the blessings heaven bestows upon us. He must be indeed blind who cannot see that we are a people highly favored of God our Father, especially if it should be his lot to go forth among the nations, and come in contact with the evil which abounds in other countries. I believe there is a feeling of gratitude and thanksgiving pervading the breasts of the Saints generally, which causes them to appreciate the kindness of the Lord towards them. This feeling should increase more and more within us every day we live.

The remarks which were made yesterday by the brethren who spoke were to me highly edifying; I rejoiced greatly in them, and I could echo the feeling expressed by Brother Woodruff when he said, we were the most blessed people on the face of the earth, in having a father in our midst who talks unto us in such plainness and simplicity the principles of life and salvation. While Brother Brigham was speaking unto us and dwelling upon the plain and simple principles of the Gospel, and those things necessary for us to observe in order that we may become developed before our heavenly Father, I felt that it requires constant teaching and admonition on the part of the servants of God to keep us in mind of our duty; it requires the servants of God to be stirred up continually to diligence in preaching the plain and simple principles of the Gospel to the people, that they may be duly impressed therewith. Notwithstanding all we have heard, and we have heard a great deal of the principles of righteousness, we still require to be admonished day by day concerning our duty. It seems to be one of the weaknesses of human nature that we are apt to forget the principles of truth and righteousness, and to give way to influences that are not of God. We are placed in this existence for the express purpose of learning to overcome all these things. One of the great objects, as I imagine, which God has in view in sending us here upon the earth, is to give us experience in the influences of the earth that we may contend with them successfully and overcome them, that when we pass beyond the vail we may be in a position to comprehend them to a greater extent than we could had we not come here and felt the influences to which human nature is subject. I have thought that we, as a people and as individuals, do not sufficiently realize the importance of keeping guard upon ourselves, and upon our feelings, and of resisting the influences that surround us.

While the brethren were speaking upon one point, namely, the disposition of some people to imbibe spirituous liquor, it brought some reflections to my mind connected with the influences that prevail throughout the various portions of the earth. I believe there are places and circumstances in which people can be placed, where there are influences of this character brought to bear upon them that are more difficult to resist than there would be under other circumstances and in other places. I have often heard it remarked by the brethren, and I have remarked it myself, that in some places there is a greater disposition entertained by the people to commit adultery and indulge in kindred sins of this description than there is in this country. There seem to be influences in the atmosphere in those lands of such a character, that unless a person is on his guard and constantly watching and resisting them, he will be led down to destruction by them. A spirit and disposition will creep over the people unless they are careful, to lead them astray in the direction which I have named. This is undoubtedly the case. There are spirits in the atmosphere that are filled with that disposition, and who seek to influence those with whom they are brought in contact, impressing those who are in the tabernacle of flesh to indulge in the same sin.

There are influences in the atmosphere that are invisible to us that, while we are here upon the earth, we ought to resist with all our might, mind, and strength—influences which, if we would be led by them, would lead us to destruction—influences that are opposed to the Spirit of God—influences that would bring upon us destruction here and hereafter, if we would yield to them. These influences we have to resist. We have to resist the spirit of adultery, the spirit of whoredom, the spirit of drunkenness, the spirit of theft, and every other evil influence and spirit, that we may continually overcome; and, when we have finished our work on the earth, be prepared to govern and control those influences, and exercise power over them, in the presence of our Father and God. I have no doubt that many of my brethren and sisters have sensibly felt in various places and at various times evil influences around them. Brother Joseph Smith gave an explanation of this. There are places in the Mississippi Valley where the influence or the presence of invisible spirits are very perceptibly felt. He said that numbers had been slain there in war, and that there were evil influences or spirits which affect the spirits of those who have tabernacles on the earth. I myself have felt those influences in other places besides the continent of America; I have felt them on the old battle grounds on the Sandwich Islands. I have come to the conclusion that if our eyes were open to see the spirit world around us, we should feel differently on this subject than we do; we would not be so unguarded and careless, and so indifferent whether we had the spirit and power of God with us or not; but we would be continually watchful and prayerful to our heavenly Father for His Holy Spirit and His holy angels to be around about us to strengthen us overcome every evil influence.

When I see young men indulging in drunkenness and in stealing, I come to the conclusion that they are led captive by the evil spirits around them. We call it the spirit of the evil one; but he has numerous agencies at work, even as the Lord has numerous agencies to assist him in bringing to pass the consummation of His great designs. The adversary has numerous agencies at his command, and he seeks to control and lead to destruction the inhabitants of the earth who will be subject to them. If we could see with our spiritual senses as we now see with our natural senses, we should be greatly shocked at the sight of the influences that prompt us to disobey the counsels of God or the Spirit of the Lord in our hearts. But we cannot see them, for they are spiritually discerned; and he who discerns the most, is the most fully impressed by the Spirit of God; he who does not discern, has not profited by the instructions given to him, and yields to those evil influences in an unguarded moment, and is taken captive in his blindness. He who is imbued with the Spirit of God is sensibly aware when the evil power approaches; but he does not welcome it to his bosom; he resists it with all the might and strength God has given unto him, and he obtains power over it, and it no more troubles him; if it does, its influence is more weakened than previously.

We often talk about and desire to see angels. Every person who has joined this Church has had a desire to have revelations from God our Heavenly Father, and have knowledge poured out upon him as it was poured out in abundance upon the prophets of old. I merely suppose that this is so with everybody else, because I have these feelings myself, and judge others in this respect by myself. But, until we can learn to control and resist those evil influences that are now invisible, I think it would be unprofitable to have the administration of angels personally or visibly unto us. Until we can do this, I do not expect that we can have those other blessings profitably bestowed upon us. I do not expect that in the providence of God we will be favored with those other blessings until we can listen unto and obey the counsels of those appointed to preside over us. I know it is natural for people to be anxious to have some ministering spirit wait on them, and reveal itself unto them. For my own part, my reflections have caused me to view this in a different light than I viewed it in the beginning. I then thought it would be a great blessing to have that favor bestowed upon me. But when I have reflected upon the character and calling of the men whom God has called and sent in this generation—when I have thought of Brother Joseph Smith, and his greatness, his magnanimity, and his faith, I have thought, and still think, it is one of the greatest blessings of God upon me to have been permitted to behold his face and to listen to his teachings. I feel the same now towards the present leaders of Israel. I am satisfied that this generation has been honored by as great prophets as ever stood before God upon the earth excepting the Lord Jesus Christ; and how could I expect, if I disobeyed Brother Joseph Smith’s counsel, that I could be favored with the presence and instruction of any being farther advanced than he was when he was in the flesh? And so I feel in relation to Brother Brigham, whom we now have with us; he is one of the noblest sons of God, a man whom God has endowed with the wisdom of eternity, with the power in part that is exercised in its fulness by the Gods of eternity. If we disobey his counsel, disregard his warning voice, and are careless respecting his teachings and the teachings of those associated with him, we are indeed unworthy of the presence of personages who have been glorified and who now dwell in the presence of God. I do not expect the day to come when this people will be favored with the administration of angels—with the presence of those holy and immortal beings—until we can learn to appreciate the teachings and instructions of the men of God in our midst. When that day does come that this people will implicitly obey the voice of those whom God has placed over them, and give heed to every instruction imparted to them by the spirit of revelation through the servants of God, then I shall expect visits from holy angels, and the glory and power of God to rest upon us to that extent it has never done hitherto; but I cannot well expect it before that time arrives, because if these blessings were to be bestowed upon us before we are prepared to receive them, I should fear they would turn to our condemnation, as they have done to many in the early history of this Church.

There is nothing that we, as a people, have needed since our settlement in these valleys, and I may say since the organization of the Church, connected with the kingdom of God, in intelligence, in wisdom and counsel, that we have had to wait for. We have had line upon line, precept on precept, here a little and there a little, from the beginning unto the present time, and there never was a day, an hour, a moment, from the organization of this Church unto the present time that we, as a people, have been destitute of the voice of God and the instruction of the Holy Ghost. While this is the case, and we have abundance of teachings poured out upon us, and we should refuse to obey any of them, we need not expect visitations from higher personages, coming down to administer unto us and impart unto us things that we could know, if we would only learn to be obedient to the counsels and instructions we now receive. It is necessary that we should be taught and instructed in the things of the kingdom of God, and that our faith should be developed to such an extent that we will have great confidence in those who labor in our midst and who preside over us. It is for this purpose that the Gospel is sent forth by the hand of the servants of God unto the inhabitants of the earth. The Lord says through his servant Joseph Smith, in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, “Wherefore I, the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant, Joseph Smith, jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments; and also gave commandments to others, that, they should proclaim these things unto the world, and all this that it might be fulfilled which was written by the prophets; the weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh, but that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world; that faith also might increase in the earth; that mine everlasting covenant might be established; that the fulness of my Gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers.”

This is the reason of the Gospel being preached, that faith might increase within us, and that the New and Everlasting Covenant might be established in our midst. These things were preached unto us in the beginning, because it is necessary that man should be impressed with the importance of the Gospel and plan of salvation which God has revealed, and that he might have confidence in the words of the servants of God. We have to learn that those who are worthy to be entrusted with our salvation, and with the direction of the affairs of the kingdom of God, are also worthy to be entrusted with the guidance of temporal affairs in the same kingdom. It was a difficult lesson to learn in the beginning. The people of God could not understand, in the beginning, that Brother Joseph had wisdom sufficient to direct them in their temporal affairs as well as in their spiritual affairs. While the Church was in Kirtland it was a lesson they had not learned; they could admit that Joseph was a prophet of God, and chosen of Him to establish His kingdom on the earth, but they would not admit that he had wisdom sufficient to direct them in temporal affairs, and they had to be whipped, scourged, and driven from place to place before they could really believe that the servants of God had this wisdom; but, by-and-by, this knowledge dawned upon them, and they began to see that men, chosen of God to establish righteousness and build up His kingdom, had also wisdom concerning temporal affairs, and that the same God who made the earth so beautiful for the habitation of His saints—He who organized the heavens and controls the movements of the heavenly bodies, that same God had power to give Brother Joseph Smith wisdom to guide them in temporal affairs. This is a lesson that we have had taught unto us from that time until the present; and to-day I feel as though we were but poor scholars, and that there are many things yet to be impressed upon our understandings connected with this lesson.

We have to learn that, in the first place, the Lord sent His servants forth to preach the principles of the Gospel, to impress upon the inhabitants of the earth the necessity of believing in Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world, repenting of their sins, and being baptized for the remission of them, and receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and it was hoped and expected that when the Holy Ghost descended upon men and women they would be filled with the spirit of obedience, and that their understandings would be so awakened that they would begin to comprehend the object God had in view in restoring the everlasting Gospel to the earth. It has had that effect, but it has been slowly manifested; it has dawned upon us ray by ray, gradually opening our minds to the comprehension of the great work the Lord has established on the earth; and to-day, after years of experience, the Church of Christ has barely commenced to comprehend the great work God had in view in establishing His kingdom on the earth. But we are learning it now more rapidly than we have in past years. The knowledge is being brought home to us to a greater extent, because we are in a position where we can be better taught these things than before. We are beginning to understand that there is something, besides that which concerns our spiritual welfare, needed for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God on the earth; we begin to understand that the Lord wishes us to be a people wise in the arts and sciences, full of understanding and wisdom in the building up of cities, in the erection of beautiful habitations and magnificent temples, and in the exhumation of minerals from the bowels of the earth, and their proper application for the beautifying of the cities of Zion and the convenience of God’s people. We begin to understand that the Gospel has been revealed to show unto us the object of our existence, that it affects every action of our lives from birth to the grave, and that we cannot do anything but what is comprehended in the Gospel. We hope our children will learn this lesson better than we have, and to a greater perfection than we have learned it. As I have said, it is necessary in the first place that we should have confidence in the servants of God—in the affairs that pertain unto our eternal salvation, and we would suppose we might trust them with the direction of our temporal affairs, if, indeed, temporal and spiritual can be divided, which really cannot be done.

There is one point we should be guarded against, and the brethren have endeavored to impress it upon our minds, that is, in our seeking to develop the resources of the earth and build up cities and temples and the various works that are incumbent on us, that we should not forget to keep our minds right before the Lord, that we should have his Holy Spirit abiding within us. When the cares of every day life increase upon us, in the business of forming settlements, pioneering and performing our labors from day to day, we are too apt to forget, that we should constantly seek to God with the same fervor and diligence for His aid as we do for spiritual blessings. I find that I have to be careful while engaged in business, for I know that the tendency of my mind is to devote all my thoughts and all my time and attention to the business that is in hand—that happens to occupy my attention at the time. This is the tendency of people generally, and we have to guard against it, and for which we have to be reproved, that we may not yield to it to so great an extent as to drive the Spirit of God from us. There is no necessity for this. If we grieve the Spirit of God when we are performing our temporal duties, it is because we allow the one idea to absorb our attention too much. While we are engaged in these duties, we should have the Spirit of God resting upon us, as if we were engaged in preaching the Gospel.

It is recorded in the Book of Mormon that when the Nephites were oppressed by the Lamanites, who would not suffer them to pray orally unto God, they prayed in their hearts, while engaged in their labors, for the blessings of God to be granted unto them, for His deliverance to be extended to them, and that their enemies might not have power to hold them in bondage; and the word of the Lord came to them and whispered peace, and told them that the day of their deliverance was nigh at hand, the day in which He would emancipate them from the thral[l]dom of their enemies. This is a good example for us to follow. It is possible for us to bring ourselves into such a condition that we can pray unto God in our hearts, no matter what labor we are performing. We are exhorted to pray constantly unto Him, and it is possible for us to concentrate our thoughts on the things of God while we are doing our labor, and our thanksgivings can ascend silently unto God, and they are not unheard by Him, and His blessing can descend upon us, and His joy can fill our hearts, and we can become the happiest and the most blessed people upon all the face of the earth. I know it requires a struggle to concentrate our thoughts on the things of the kingdom of God, while we are engaged in business; but this is one of the things which we have to train ourselves to and to overcome.

I am pleased to see our people developing the resources of the earth as they are. It is gratifying to see them enjoying the blessings of the earth, to see them wearing clothing of home manufacture, and to see their houses carpeted with home-made carpets; to see the sisters wearing beautiful dresses, spun with their own hands, is more pretty to my mind than brocade silk or satin, or fine cloth imported from foreign parts. In these things I can see the independence of our people being gradually secured.

I will bring my remarks to a close, praying God to bless you, my brethren and sisters, and those who may speak unto us, and to fill them with His Holy Spirit, and also those who listen to their sayings, that their hearts may rejoice together with exceeding great joy before Him, which is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Analogy Betwixt the History of Joseph in Egypt and that of the Latter-day Saints, etc.

Orson Hyde

Remarks by Elder Orson Hyde, made in the Tabernacle in Great Salt Lake City, on Sunday, Dec. 18, 1864. Reported by E. L. Sloan.

I feel thankful, my brethren and sisters, for the privilege of once more meeting with you in this tabernacle. I feel thankful that so many of us are spared to meet together.

I need not reiterate in your hearing, that we are living in a most important day and age of the world, equally important to the Saints of the Most High as to the rest of mankind; for the present is fraught with events that should admonish us to live near to the Lord, and to keep ourselves unspotted from the world. We have been tried in adversity. Many of us know what it is to be in the very depths of poverty and privation; and we now seem to have advanced into a measurable prosperity, in order that we may be proved and tried in another manner, and let it be known in the heavens and to the just on the earth whether we are able to abide prosperity as well as adversity.

There are so many things before me and in my mind, that I hardly know what to speak upon and call your attention to. I do not know that it matters much, for the Saints are interested in everything that is good, comforting, and cheering to the heart. I will say, however, that what was written beforetime was written for our profit and instruction, that we, through an understanding thereof, might have patience and hope. A great enterprise was determined upon by our Heavenly Father, and for this purpose he seemed to have inspired a certain individual with the manifestations of his will in dreams, and visions of the day, perhaps, also, of the night, and that individual was Joseph of old. It appears that in this son of the Patriarch Jacob, the germs of greatness and power were manifest, not only to himself in his own reflections and thoughts, and by reason of the manifestations he received of the Divine will, but, also, to the satisfaction of his brethren, that he was likely to aspire to, or be elevated to, dominion and government over them. This roused their envy and jealousy until they could not endure his presence. They sought to rid themselves of him, and contrived various plans and means to accomplish it, especially after he had told them his dream, that their sheaves had made obeisance to his sheaf as they were binding in the harvest-field. And then, to cap the climax, he told them he had had another dream, in which the sun and the moon and the eleven stars had made obeisance to him. Not only was he to have dominion and power over his brethren, but his father and mother, as well, were to recognize his power.

This created a jealousy that was satisfied only in his separation from them, and they sold him to certain Ishmaelitish merchants, who bore him away, a slave, into Egypt. Little did they think, as they saw him take his departure with the camels of those merchants, that he was but a pioneer to open a way before them, and that they would actually have to follow on his track and seek succor at his hands. But in process of time it proved to be true, for the country from which he had been expelled, sold as a bondman and thrust away by force, was visited by famine, and he, by the interposition of Providence, was elevated to power in the land to which he had been banished. He had become a prince in that land, and its revenue and riches were under his control. His brethren were forced by famine to go down there; so were his father and their little ones. When they came to him and found him occupying a princely state, it was overwhelming to them. They bowed down to him. He was a prince! The Almighty had blessed him and made him strong in the land to which they had banished him. Their very jealousy and envy had placed him on the road to greatness and power, and they were themselves compelled to seek succor from the brother they had hated and banished.

I have adverted to but few circumstances connected with the history of these individuals, for it would consume too much time to enter further into them. But enough has been said to show you the analogy that follows: We have been expelled from a certain country because our enemies discovered in us germs of power and greatness which aroused their jealousy and hatred, and they were determined to be rid of us. When they saw us leaving, to cross the vast plains that stretched before us, as we turned our backs upon the homes we had made with much labor and toil, they flattered themselves that they were rid of any dominion of ours, either real or imaginary. But little did they think when they were doing so, that they were forcing us on to a track they would have eventually to travel themselves. This was hid from their eyes.

The Saints did cross the plains to leave that country, and here we are; and who better than ourselves can appreciate the circumstances that now attend us? The Almighty has blessed us in this country; He has poured His blessings bounteously upon us, for which every heart here should beat with gratitude to the Most High. While war is desolating the country from which we came, we are here in peace, for which we should be thankful now that we are here. That element that drove us away, not, perhaps, the first, but that very element is beginning to follow in our track. What is its policy? The policy, no doubt, is to cease to invade us by force of arms. But another is adopted, more easily accomplished. What is it? Why, “We will oil our lips, and smooth our tongues, and ingratiate ourselves into your favor; we will mingle and co-mingle with you as brothers, and lead you away; we will contaminate you, and by pouring wealth into your laps, we will make you indifferent to your God, your faith, and your covenants.” The object is to destroy those germs of greatness which Heaven has planted in our souls, at which they feel alarmed—germs of greatness which, if cultivated, will lead us to wield a power to which the nations will have to bow, as the nations had to bow to that Joseph who was sold into Egypt.

Another circumstance I will call your attention to. In the first place, every great enterprise is attended with its difficulties, its hardships, and oppositions, for there must needs be opposition in all things. We are told that in the year 1492 this American continent was discovered by Christopher Columbus. Look at the exertions made by him to obtain the necessary means to effect the discovery. It required ships, means, and men to enable him to make his way across the trackless deep to find a country which, to him, seemed necessary to balance the earth. The Spirit of God came upon him, and he had no rest day nor night until he accomplished what the Spirit wrought upon him to do. He went first to one place and then to another to procure help. He applied to different crowned heads, and received rebuffs and discouragements. He was poor; the plans of Jehovah are mostly carried out by humble and poor individuals. So it was with Columbus; he was poor, but daring and persevering, and with a soul formed within his bosom to undertake and prosecute the great enterprise that was to bring to light a vast continent reserved in the providence of God as the theatre of great events in a period that was then in the future. By the aid of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain he obtained three small vessels, old and almost rotten, poorly manned and badly provisioned. It was not because they believed he would be successful, but like the unjust judge with the poor widow, they desired to get rid of his importunities. The unjust judge had no very strong feelings in favor of the widow, but that he might be rid of her importunings, he hearkened to her prayer. So did they serve Columbus. They said they would fit him out and send him away, and he might go on his explorations for the imaginary country he fancied lay towards the west. If they had had any faith that he would be successful, they would have fitted him out with the best ships that any navies of the time could have afforded, manned with sufficient men and supplied with all the necessary equipments; and then they would have said, “Go and prosper, and the God of the seas pioneer your course.” But they had no faith in the enterprise; they wanted to stop his importunings and get rid of him.

When we look back at our history we find a certain analogy in it to that of this man. Our enemies wanted to get rid of us. We applied to the powers that were for aid and succor. What did we receive in response to our applications? Silence in some cases; contempt in others. And when we had to sell out, it was not with old rotten ships that they paid us, but with old rotten wagons, old spavined horses, and other things equally worthless. Then they said, “Go and do the best you can.” They thought they had given us an outfit that would last us until our destruction would be consummated; they imagined it would last us until we got beyond what they pleased to call civilization; but thinking that, perhaps, we might live through all, they demanded five hundred of our best men, while in camp in the wilderness, leaving our camp to the care of cripples and old men and women, in the midst of an Indian country. But we lived.

Little did Ferdinand and Isabella think that Columbus was leading the way that all Europe would have to follow. If they had so thought, they would have given him better ships and a better outfit. But when they found he had opened a new country, rich and bountifully productive, behold the surface of the ocean was whitened with the sails of vessels, bearing their living freights crowding to seek fortune on the new continent that spread itself invitingly before them. All Europe, figuratively speaking, followed in his track, and spread themselves over the face of the land. But see what these adventurers have come to. This country, discovered by him, is enveloped in war; and if you live a few years longer, you will see much of the land that has been blessed with unequalled prosperity, from the east to the west, a wilderness and a desolation; and this will be in consequence of the abuse of the blessings bestowed upon it by those who enjoyed them. If I mistake not, a certain Senator said to a Senator from Louisiana, “What are you going to do with Louisiana?” “Why,” was the reply, “Louisiana was a wilderness when we bought her from France, and if she secede we will make her a wilderness again.” If the land does not become a wilderness and a desolation, we do not see correctly—we do not understand correctly the revelations which the Almighty has given us. The Scripture says, that in the last days His people will go forth and build up the waste places of Zion. But they must first be made desolate, before they can be called “the waste places of Zion.” Then the hands of the Saints will be required to build them up.

Compare the coming of the Saints here with the banishment of Joseph into Egypt, and the manner in which Columbus was sent off on his perilous exploration, and note the conclusion that follows. The world dreaded the germs of greatness which they saw in the Saints. They dreaded the power that seemed to attend them. They were almost at war with us because we were united. They disliked the idea of our being politically one. They wanted us to be of different parties. But when they saw we were united, they said, “There is a power that is destined to make them great, to exalt them.” And let me say here to the Saints, be you united and be one with your leader, and you will as surely ascend to power and elevation in the earth as Joseph of old did in the land of Egypt. We are here, and in unity. We are not destroyed. When I look at our condition at the present time, I cannot but feel that we should be thankful to the Lord every day of our lives.

I was once in business, in the East, in the mercantile line, and we used to sell our common unbleached factory at 16 2-3rd cents a-yard. A yard of factory brought a bushel of oats. When I see that the Saints can now get three yards of factory for a bushel of oats—three times as much for their produce in this “God-forsaken country,” so called by some, as we could get when we were in the east, I have said, what but the hand of God could have done it? I feel that the hand of God is over this people. Then why, in the day of prosperity, should we permit our hearts to run after the things of this world, and not permit our feelings and affections to be centred in this kingdom, and use the riches of this world as we use the waters of the ocean—not enter into them to be engulphed [engulfed] by them, but glide over them to power and greatness as the ship moves onward to her destined port.

I am glad of the privilege of being with you to-day, and of speaking a few words to you. In fact, I never felt more thankful to God, nor had feelings of greater joy in the principles of life than I have to-day. I feel glad that I am counted worthy to bear the name of my master Jesus. We are doing our best to build up the kingdom of our God in that part of the Territory where my time is principally spent, and I presume you are doing the same here. I say to the Saints, in the day of prosperity beware of pride, beware of worldly mindedness, beware that we be not ensnared by the things of this world. Let me tell you, the judgments of the Almighty are beginning to be poured out upon the nations of the earth. A great portion of the nations that will not repent will be eventually swept away before the just judgments of Heaven. And if the Elders are sent forth to bear the truth to the nations, they will go, as it were, in the trough of a wave, as the billows of tribulation and destruction pass over the nations, retiring before another wave comes; and thus, by the voice of mercy and the words of truth, the nations will be prepared for their doom.

Brethren and sisters, be faithful—be true to the Lord our God. Though you should not get so much of this world’s goods, be sure your hearts are in unison with the God of Heaven. May the peace of Israel be and abide with you, and with those who guide the destinies of Israel from this time henceforth and for ever. Amen.

Ordinance of Bread and Wine, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Jan. 8, 1865. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I am more and more convinced of the inability of man to receive intelligence to any great amount at any one time. Some have an understanding of what they commit to the keeping of their memories, while others commit to repeat again, and that is the end of it. Some can remember things for years that have been told them, and still not understand what was told them; while others can receive more into their understandings, and retain more in their memories, than others can, and still not be qualified to repeat that which they can remember and understand. Why I make these remarks is, because that I see around me, and feel within me, the defects which are occasioned by the weakness which is in man through the fall. I would not, however, say that a person entirely free from the effects of the fall of man could learn knowledge to any great amount at one time, though he might be able to learn more than a man would who is under the influence of the fall.

I will make a few remarks, in the first place, in regard to the ordinance of administering bread and wine, which ordinance we attend to every first day of the week. This is a very solemn ordinance. The Christian world accepts it, in preference to any other, as one of the ordinances of the house of God. With some, this ordinance is the first and the last; and with others this ordinance is not thought to be of sufficient importance to be attended to. I wish to say to the Latter-day Saints, and also to those who do not believe in the fulness of the Gospel, that this ordinance, which we are now attending to this afternoon, is, in reality, no more sacred than any other ordinance of the house of God in the eyes of Him who has instituted the same. The validity of one divine law is the same as the validity of another with our Father and God. We partake of bread and water to witness that we remember Jesus Christ, who gave his life a ransom for us, and that we are willing to keep His commandments. He has said, “Do this in remembrance of me,” when He ate His last supper with His disciples; and He also said, “But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” We should desire to remember Him in all sincerity, and when we partake of these emblems, do it with an eye single to His glory, and to the building up of His kingdom, also for our own perfection, salvation, and glorification therein. In like manner we should receive and obey all the ordinances of the house of God; and I hope and trust that we shall live to our profession so strictly, and so closely adhere to the commandments of the Lord, that we shall never hear the painful sound that Saints and sinners are one; this I should abhor. I pray that the Latter-day Saints will live so that God, Jesus Christ, and the angels will love them, and the devil and all his hosts will hate them. I have never yet been able to discover in all my researches in sacred history that a Gospel hater, a Jesus Christ hater, and a God hater ever spoke well of Saints, either in the former or in the latter days, but have ever sought occasion against them from the most trifling circumstances. We have an instance of this, when the disciples of Jesus, in passing through the cornfield, being hungry, began to pluck the ears of corn, and eat; the Pharisees, seeing this, said to Jesus, “Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day.” You may read at your leisure the answer of the Savior. This was a trick of the devil to bring evil upon Jesus and his disciples. Satan and his followers think no better of the Saints now than they did in the life time of the Savior, and I hope never to see the day when they will find favor in the eyes of the wicked. It is true, some will backslide, leave the Church of Jesus Christ, and receive the spirit of the world and the love of it, and, finally, be lost; but the great body of the Saints, I most fervently believe, will never amalgamate with Baal.

I will now say a few words relating to the subject which was presented to the people this morning. Inquiries were made by the speaker, why we have not seen God; why we are subject to sin; why we are in this fallen world? I will briefly answer these queries. If our Father and God should be disposed to walk through one of these aisles, we should not know him from one of the congregation. You would see a man, and that is all you would know about him; you would merely know Him as a stranger from some neighboring city or country. This is the character of Him whom we worship and acknowledge as our Father and God: when He is disposed to visit a house, a neighborhood, or a congregation, He does it at His pleasure; and although He may be seen by mortals in this character, yet no man can see Him in His glory and live. When the Lord sends an angel to visit men, He gives him power and authority to appear to the people as a man, and not as an angel in his glory; for we could not endure the presence even of an angel in his glory. No mortal man has ever seen God in His glory at any time and lived. We may have seen the Lord and angels many times, and did not know it. I will be satisfied with seeing and associating with His children whom I now behold, for there is not a son or daughter of Adam and Eve before me to-day but what is the offspring of that God we worship. He is our Heavenly Father; He is also our God, and the Maker and upholder of all things in heaven and on earth. He sends forth His counsels and extends His providences to all living. He is the Supreme Controller of the universe. At His rebuke the sea is dried up, and the rivers become a wilderness. He measures the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meteth out heaven with a span, and comprehendeth the dust of the earth in a measure, and weigheth the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance; the nations to Him are as a drop in a bucket, and He taketh up the isles as a very little thing; the hairs of our heads are numbered by Him, and not a sparrow falleth to the ground without our Father; and He knoweth every thought and intent of the hearts of all living, for He is everywhere present by the power of His Spirit—His minister the Holy Ghost. He is the Father of all, is above all, through all, and in you all; He knoweth all things pertaining to this earth, and He knows all things pertaining to millions of earths like this.

The Lord Jesus Christ might come among us and we would not know Him; and if he were to come in our midst and speak unto us to-day, we might suppose Him to be one of our returned missionaries; and if He was to make himself known unto us, some might say to Him, as it was said by one of old, “Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” He would simply say, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father, and how sayest thou, then, shew us the Father?” It is written of Jesus, that, besides His being the brightness of His Father’s glory, He is also “the express image of His person.” The knowledge of the character of the Only Begotten of the Father comes to us through the testimony, not of disinterested witnesses, but of His friends, those who were most especially and deeply interested for their own welfare, and the welfare of their brethren. We have no testimony concerning the Savior’s character and works, only from those who were thus interested in His welfare and success, and in the building up of His kingdom. It has been often said, if a disinterested witness would testify that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, many might believe his testimony; but no person could be believed, by any intelligent person, who would testify to a matter of such importance, and who would still view it as a thing in which he had no interest. But they who are interested, who know the worth of that man and understand the spirit and the power of his mission, and the character of the Being that sent and ordained him, are the proper persons to testify of the truth of his mission, and they are the most interested of any living upon the earth. So it was with those who bore witness of the Savior, and of His mission on the earth.

If Jesus should veil His glory and appear before you as a man, and witness of himself as being the image of his Father, would you believe that he was really Jesus Christ and that he told you the truth? And if you believed His words, would you not wonder exceedingly to hear that our Father and God is an organized being after the fashion of man’s organization in every respect? Such, however, is the case. One of the prophets describes the Father of us all, saying, “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool; his throne was like the fiery flame,” etc. The prophet further says, “thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him,” etc. Again, “and, behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.” Now, who is this Ancient of days? You may answer this question at your pleasure, I have already told the people. But the Savior would answer the question as to the appearance of the Father of us all, by saying, “Look at me, for I am the very express image of my Father.” Then if the Father is precisely like his Son Jesus Christ, where is the man here in the flesh that is precisely like the Savior? We have not seen Him in person, but there are men on the earth who have seen Him in vision. As to whether the Savior has got a body or not is no question with those who possess the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, and are endowed with the Holy Priesthood; they know that he was a man in the flesh, and is now a man in the heavens; He was a man subject to sin, to temptation, and to weaknesses; but He is now a man that is above all this—a man in perfection.

And what shall we say of our Heavenly Father? He is also a man in perfection, and the father of the man Jesus Christ, and the father of our spirits; He lives far above the influence and power of sin, and holds in his hands the destinies of all. We have not seen the person of the Father, neither have we seen that of the Son; but we have seen the children of the Father, and the brethren of the Savior who are in every way like them in physical appearance and organization. Although mankind of the same color look alike, yet there exist expressions of the features by which one person can be distinguished from another. The human family all resemble one another in the main characteristics of humanity, and all resemble the Savior who died for us; and could we see him in the flesh, as he appeared to the ancients, we should very likely find that some men are more like him than others in feature and form, as we often see men who are more like Joseph Smith than others are. God is our Father, Jesus Christ is our Elder Brother, and we are all brethren, and of one family, and our Heavenly Father is subjecting us to sin, misery, pain, and death for the exquisite enjoyment of an exaltation. This will answer my mind for the present with regard to the character of our Father and our God, and with regard to our Savior.

The reason of our being made subject to sin and misery, pain, woe, and death, is, that we may become acquainted with the opposites of happiness and pleasure. The absence of light brings darkness, and darkness an appreciation of light; pain an appreciation of ease and comfort; and ignorance, falsehood, folly, and sin, in comparison with wisdom, knowledge, righteousness, and truth, make the latter the more desirable to mankind. Facts are made apparent to the human mind by their opposites. We find ourselves surrounded in this mortality by an almost endless combination of opposites, through which we must pass to gain experience and information to fit us for an eternal progression. Those who are enlightened by the spirit of truth, have no difficulty in seeing the propriety and the benefit to us of this state of things. Like heavenly beings, we are endowed with the power of free volition; for God has given to mankind their agency, making them amenable to him for their sins, and entitling them to blessings and rewards for the good they do, and according to their faith in him. It is the wish of our Heavenly Father to bring all his children back into his presence. The spirits of all the human family dwelt with him before they took tabernacles of flesh and became subject to the fall and to sin. He is their spiritual Father, and has sent them here to be clothed with flesh, and to be subject, with their tabernacles, to the ills that afflict fallen humanity. When they have proved themselves faithful in all things, and worthy before Him, they can then have the privilege of returning again to his presence, with their bodies, to dwell in the abodes of the blessed. If man could have been made perfect, in his double capacity of body and spirit, without passing through the ordeals of mortality, there would have been no necessity of our coming into this state of trial and suffering. Could the Lord have glorified his children in spirit, without a body like his own, he no doubt would have done so.

We read that there is nothing impossible with God. In a broad sense there is not; but in another sense there are things he never attempted and never will. He will not exalt a spirit to thrones, to immortality, and eternal lives, unless that spirit is first clothed in mortal flesh, and with it, passes through a mortal probation, and overcomes the world, the flesh, and the devil through the atonement made by Jesus Christ and the power of the Gospel. The spirit must be clothed as He is, or it never can be glorified with him. He must of necessity subject his children to the same, through a strict observance of the ordinances and rules of salvation. To attain to this glory, it is required that we love and honor his name, reverence his character and the ordinances of his house, and never speak lightly of him, of his Son Jesus Christ, or of those who bear His Priesthood; never speaking evil of dignities, who are clothed with the authority of Heaven; for to all such it will be said, “Depart from me, ye cursed,” etc. I say to all, honor God and his Holy Priesthood, which he bestows upon mankind expressly for the purpose of bringing them again into his presence, with their resurrected and renewed tabernacles, for exaltation and glory.

I cannot on the present occasion say all that I would on these matters. The riches of eternity and the marrow of life are embraced in them; they are full of life to all who desire life, they will increase life to those who live, and give life to those who seem to have no life. It is as easy to understand these principles when the mind is opened by the Spirit of the Almighty, as it is to understand one of the simple lessons in the child’s first reader. Here are some of the twelve apostles listening to what I have to say; they have heard me speak at length upon these doctrines, and they have been taught from time to time for years past. The speaker this morning possessed a sweet, loving spirit, and gave us a lovely discourse, but did not think of these things which have been told him time and time again. I would exhort my brethren to read the Scriptures, and seek earnestly for the Spirit of the Almighty to understand them; and this great subject, at which I have merely glanced, will appear to them in all its simplicity and grandeur. Let each man so live that he may know these things for himself, and be always ready to give a reason of the hope within him to all who may ask it. I am trying to be a Latter-day Saint, and I think I shall conquer. I may come short in a thousand things; but I think I shall receive my reward as a faithful servant of God, which I hope to do, and I also hope you will. Let us live so that we may still add to our present stock of knowledge, and have the disposition within us to do even better than we have hitherto done; although I do not know that I could do better than I have done since i have been in this kingdom: if I were to live my life over again, I should be afraid to try it, lest I might make the matter worse instead of better. Let us live so that the oracles of truth, the words of life, and the power of God shall dwell within us constantly. You will not hold these remarks long in your memories, and although they are printed and you can read them at your leisure, yet they may lie upon the book shelf neglected, and the mind remain barren of the true information they contain.

The whole world has gone after Lucifer; they follow the lusts of their eyes and the wicked desires of their depraved minds; they have all gone after sin, except a few, and all hell seems bent on making those few apostatize from the truth; but they cannot destroy the kingdom of God. Some few will be dazzled by the tinsel show and fair pretensions of the world, and be led away from the truth by the silken cords of the enemy of all righteousness; but they do not know the misery of the world. When they get into hell, they would be willing to be preached to, that they might get out, if they could. It would be well for all who wish to apostatize to do so, and give your room for others who want it. We are told that we must be tried in all things; there may yet remain a few things in which we have not yet been tried, and in some things we have been tried pretty well.

Who is for God and his kingdom? I can tell you truly that there are more for the kingdom of God than there are against it. This is a pleasing reflection. We have on former occasions made known to the people the state of the wicked after death; if they will not listen to the testimony of the servants of God, let them taste of the sufferings of the damned and drink of the bitter cup to the dregs, and then they will very likely call for mercy. May the pure in heart ever be enabled, through the mercy of the Lord, to shun suffering, and not be obliged to pass through the great misery that many will who have turned away from the truth, forsaken the principles of life and salvation, and their God, until they are destroyed. This we cannot help. Let the pure in heart, and all those who desire the truth, magnify their calling, and they will have all the sorrow and misery they want. Still, the faithful servants and handmaidens of the Almighty never have, nor never will, suffer like the wicked have and will. The Latter-day Saints, in all their drivings, and persecutions, and sufferings in consequence thereof, have not begun to suffer the distress, the heart wringing, the great woe and slaughter that now spread gloom over our once happy land. If we could behold at one glance the suffering that is endured in one day through the war which is now depopulating some of the fairest portions of the land, we should become sick at heart and cry to God to close the vision. It is the kingdom of God or nothing with us, and by the help of the Almighty we shall bear it off triumphantly to all nations, gather Israel, build up Zion, redeem Israel, and Jesus Christ will triumph, and we shall reign with him on the earth, and possess it and all its fulness with him. May the Lord bless you. Amen.

Revelation in the Church, etc.

George Q. Cannon

Remarks by Elder George Q. Cannon, made in the Tabernacle in Great Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, Nov. 27, 1864. Reported by E. L. Sloan.

The remarks made by the brethren this afternoon, and all through the day, have been to me exceedingly edifying and instructive. If I could impart to you one tenth of the feelings and reflections that have been awakened in me by them, I would be satisfied. So many points have been touched upon that I think every person present has felt to rejoice for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit which we have enjoyed. There is one point in relation to the great work with which we are identified, and its further movements, to which I wish to refer. It has been alluded to this afternoon that some entertain the idea that we may have to leave these upper valleys and retire to the more southern ones before our enemies. For my part, I cannot believe this. I never have believed it. I believe we are in the very place which God designed we should occupy; and I believe with all my heart the words of President Young, when he spoke respecting our movement south and the sacrifice we made of our homes here, which we were willing to put the torch to and burn sooner than our enemies should possess them. He said, when we came back again, that we had begun to return—to retrace our steps in the path we had been compelled to tread by the inhumanity of our enemies, and we would not stop returning until we should re-occupy the lands from which we have been driven. I felt then that it was true, and still feel so; and, to me, it looks like childishness for any of us to cease improving the advantages our Father and God has given us in this valley and in the valleys north, south, east, and west.

The Lord has blessed us to a very great extent. He has constantly poured out upon his servants the spirit of instruction and revelation. There has been no move that it has been necessary for us, as a people, to make that we have not been forewarned of by our leaders; and when they counsel us to take measures for the improvement of our city or the adjacent country, or for doing any thing that will make us great and powerful, it is our duty, being the mind and will of God, to adhere to and obey their counsels and instructions; and he who would think by word, or thought, or expression to weaken the effect of that counsel, is an enemy to the Zion of our God;—he who would try to weaken the counsels of the Presidency is an enemy in disguise, and unless he drives that spirit from his heart, he will sooner or later be found arrayed in the ranks of the enemies of God and truth. There is but one course that can be pursued in safety, and that is the course pointed out by those who are placed to preside over us. It may seem unnecessary to say so; but it is necessary. It seems, at times, as though we had not sufficiently learned the lesson of obedience, and it requires the servants of God to continually remind us of these things, and impress it upon us that in this path alone can we obtain salvation.

The Lord told us years ago that we were called to lay the foundation of a great work. The Latter-day Saint who looks to his own benefit alone and does not recognize the extent of the work and its influence upon the people—not only upon the people gathered together here, but upon the nations of the earth, has failed to comprehend the position he occupies as a servant of God; and, unless he changes his course, instead of increasing in the things of God, he will decrease, and the Spirit of the Lord will not be with him to the extent it would be, were he alive to his duties and responsibilities as a servant of God. We are engaged in a work that affects ourselves, our neighbours, our posterity, and progenitors, and all the nations of the earth, and it will not do to be blinded by petty interests; to think in relation to the counsel to bring out the waters of Jordan, for instance, is it going to benefit my farm or my city lot? To reason in this way betrays a narrowness of mind that does not harmonize with the greatness of the work we are engaged in. If we look at matters in this light, we are not worthy to occupy the position we hold.

While Brother Joseph W. Young and Brother Gates were speaking, my mind reverted to the history of Joseph, who was sold into Egypt, the progenitor, perhaps, of the greatest portion of this congregation. An axiom came to my mind, that history repeats itself. And the great majority of us who are his descendants are not unlikely to accomplish a work similar to that which he accomplished. You know what has been meted out to us by our brethren. It has been our fortune, like him, to be dreamers. Like him, we related our dreams to our brethren, and they acted towards us as his brethren did towards him. They said, “We will not have this dreamer to rule over us.” They put him into a pit, and afterwards sold him to the Ishmaelites, and he was carried to Egypt, where they thought they would never see him or hear from him again. But God overruled their acts, and the fulfilment of the dreams for which they sold him into slavery was brought about by that very means. So our brethren, instead of owning the truth of our visions, acted towards us as the brethren of Joseph did towards him. They would not own the power of God, nor look upon us as their benefactors, but abused us and treated us cruelly, driving us from their midst; yet out of it God will bring salvation to the remnant which is left of them.

You may depend upon it, we are repeating the history of the past. We will yet have to feed our brethren in the flesh; we will yet be the head and will extend unto them the salvation and deliverance, spiritually and temporally, which they need. We can see plainly that the Lord is overruling circumstances for the accomplishment of this end. Shall we not, then, be willing agents in his hands, and seek with all the energy of our nature to do what he requires of us? I believe this is the feeling of every Latter-day Saint, and those who love righteousness are determined in their hearts to do all that is required of them by the servants of God. There is no one under the sound of my voice to-day but has felt happiness in doing what has been required of him by the servants of God. This is the secret of the power wielded by President Young over this people. Because they have a living and abiding testimony of the Spirit with them when doing their duty, their hearts are filled with joy, thanksgiving, and happiness; but when they take an opposite course, and go contrary to what is required of them by the servants of God, they feel miserable, they know they have taken a wrong course, and, if they are wise, they repent speedily of their sins and are obedient to the counsel given.

I hope to see the day when we will have land and water, food and fruit, and everything that is pleasing and useful, everything that is necessary for the comfort and well-being of man, to enjoy ourselves and share with those who come to us and live with us. And I know the measures taken by our leaders now will be attended with these results, if we abide their counsels. Whenever there has been a failure in carrying out any measure that has been counselled, it has been because of a lack of faith on the part of those to whom the counsel has been given. It is time we should begin to think what we are going to be, and rise above those little petty feelings that are characteristic of the world. We should allow our minds to be filled with the Spirit of God to such an extent that we can have enlarged thoughts and views. We should feel to say that “anything which benefits my brethren and sisters, whether it furthers my interests or not, let it be done; let the community be blessed, whether my personal interests are prospered or not by the course taken.” The person who cherishes this feeling will be sure to receive temporal prosperity.

I know we live in the kingdom of God and serve a liberal Master, and though we may be called upon to make what we may view as sacrifices, if we do so willingly and liberally, God will give to us a liberal reward. “The liberal deviseth liberal things, and by liberal things shall he stand,” was said by one of old, and can be said in truth of the day in which we live. If we act upon this principle, God will deal with us in a similar manner. I know this to be true, and that God will reward us with every blessing we need, as a people, if we take the course that is pointed out. There is no circumstance or difficulty we have to contend with but what is for our good; and will ultimately prove so, if we are faithful. No matter what labor we are required to perform, we are in the very position, and doing the very work, God requires at our hands. It is necessary for our development and increase in the faith of the Lord Jesus. This is a glorious consolation to me.

I know that everything will be overruled for our good if we do right. No matter how difficult circumstances may be to bear at the time, they are for our good, and God watches over us; his angels are round about us all the time. The spirit of prophecy and the angels of God are continually with His servant Brigham; and when the people receive and act upon his counsel, it results in good to them. May God bless us, and fill us with more faith and power, that we may go forth in mighty strength to accomplish the work of our God on the earth. Amen.

First Principles of the Gospel, etc.

George A. Smith

Remarks by Elder George A. Smith, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday, Jan. 22, 1865. Reported by E. L. Sloan.

We have heard a very practical discourse this afternoon from Elder Woodruff, one which is calculated to cause all persons to consider for themselves whether they are pursuing such a course as is in accordance with the law of righteousness, instead of following the wickedness spoken of which exists in the world. Considerable has been said on various occasions to show us that great efforts have been made to teach the principles of religion, and to make known to the children of men what they should do to be saved; but professing Christians have unfortunately become very much divided in their opinions as to the proper way of obtaining this salvation. “And he said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day; that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.” Such is the record of Luke of the last commandment given by the Savior of mankind to his Apostles when they went forth to preach the Gospel, and communicate to the human family a knowledge of the way by which they could be saved. He commanded that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name, among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. “And,” said he, “ye are witnesses of these things.” The witnesses were the Apostles sent forth to deliver the message entrusted to them, and to administer the ordinances by which salvation could be attained. “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.”

Now, when these Apostles—these witnesses—went forth, in obedience to the injunction of their Master, they preached repentance to the people; they called upon the human family to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, bearing testimony, as they were witnesses, that it behooved Christ to suffer and rise again from the dead, that the way might be opened for the human family to obtain a remission of their sins. Let us inquire what they taught. The very first lesson, as we find it recorded by the same writer, Luke, after the Apostles had borne testimony of the coming of the Savior, of his death and resurrection, to the representatives of the various nations assembled at Jerusalem on the feast of Pentecost—a testimony which excited so much interest as to cause an outcry among them of, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”—the very first lesson was, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” This, the first delivered message to the nations of the earth, after the ascension of the Savior, that we have any record of, was plain and simple—easily comprehended and easily obeyed. But in a few generations after, we find that those plain and simple doctrines—the doctrines of repentance and the remission of sins through the ordinance of baptism, and the doctrines which they continued to preach of the laying on of hands and the ministration and power of the Holy Ghost, which the Savior promised should be a comforter and should teach and instruct and lead those who received it into all truth—we find that those doctrines became unpopular. The Apostles foresaw this, in their warnings to the children of men, and cried out, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” Look through the writings of these holy men, and you will find them replete with prophecies concerning the degeneracy of mankind in the last days. They declared that, “Men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy; without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good; traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, from such turn away;” and furthermore, “The time will come, when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” This is prophecy—history reversed. In the writings of the Apostle Peter, we find these prophetic warnings repeated, and if we search what is called Church History, we find the result in exact conformity with the declarations made. In the year 1830, such was the condition of the world. Take a Bible in your pocket, at that time, and go into any of the large cities in Christendom—the city of London for instance—and inquire, as you enter a large edifice devoted to religious worship, what church is this? “This is St. Paul’s;” and this? “This is St. Peter’s;” and this? “St. Jude’s;” and so on. Have you any apostles here? I find they were set in the Church, according to the Bible I have in my pocket. “Oh, no; they are all done away.” Have you any prophets? “No; they are all done away.” Have you any inspired men here? “No; they are all done away.” Do you baptize in water here for the remission of sins? “Oh dear, no; we sprinkle babies when they are brought here; but baptism for the remission of sins is no longer needed.”

If you had searched through Christendom, you would have found this to be the condition of affairs, religiously, among professing Christians, when God in his abundant mercy sent forth from the heavens an angel “having the everlasting Gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.” When this angel delivered his message to Joseph Smith, to lay the foundation of the Church upon the original basis, it was as the prophet Isaiah describes it, in language which some would be inclined to say had been written quite recently, if they did not believe in prophecy. “Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled; for the Lord hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth, also, is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant; therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate; therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.”

Here is set forth, in the utmost plainness, why this great destruction, this utter cleaning out of wickedness, should be; because mankind had “transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant; therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate; therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned and few men left” The storm of desolation and destruction has barely commenced; and all who would avoid it must come back to the original platform, beginning with faith, repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins, and live according to the principles of that Gospel that was revealed from heaven, with apostles and prophets, with powers and blessings, accompanied by the gifts of wisdom, of knowledge and understanding, to bless, and save, and exalt mankind, and which will spread among the honest in heart of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ. May God bless us, and enable us to live worthy the high honor of being associated with such a work and participants in its blessings, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Different Ideas of Nations in Regard to Government, etc.

John Taylor

Remarks by Elder John Taylor, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Jan. 18, 1865. Reported by G. D. Watt.

We have gathered out from the people of the world into these valleys to be distinct and separate from them as a Church and a people. If I can answer the desires of my mind, in relation to this matter, I should like to show you in what respect that separation consists; what relation we sustain to God, to his Church and kingdom, and to the world. It is a very broad and comprehensive subject, and one that requires our consideration. A good deal has been said lately about our associations with the world, and our being separate from the world, and about many of us being entangled with the world. It is well for us, as events transpire, to try, if we can, to comprehend the position that we occupy in relation to these matters. We are really a peculiar people, that is, our views differ from those of the rest of the world generally, and that is not confined alone to our religion, but to our social system, to our politics, and to most of the affairs associated with human life. As a people, we present to-day a strange anomaly among the nations of the world. Unlike the rest of the nations, we have come out here to be separate from all other people, and we have notions and principles of a religious nature, differing very materially from all the rest of mankind.

The continental nations of Europe are very differently constituted to what we are; they are generally a distinct people, but they have more or less become amalgamated years ago, and at present have assumed a degree of nationality, having their own peculiar theories, customs, and ideas of religion and politics, and their own notions and standards of a social system. Their systems have been codified to a certain extent—have been taught in their schools, their lyceums, and their churches, and been discussed in their legislative assemblies, and form what is generally termed ideas nationale—they have been written about, thought about, lectured about, and preached about. There are certain mediums through which the ideas of those nations flow generally, which differ according to the position they occupy politically and religiously, and the kind of government which they are under. These theories and systems are peculiarly influenced and modified by the peculiar languages through which their ideas are conveyed. Those nations are organized under strictly political principles or systems—their organizations are almost exclusively of a political nature, although they have arrangements pertaining to church government which regulate and control in many instances the consciences of their subjects. They have a certain kind of religion in which they generally are, no doubt, conscientious, and which is sustained by law.

The United States differ from them; for, although organized on political principles, yet, they have no religion which they acknowledge as such, nationally, leaving the people free to worship as they please.

We differ from all the rest. We have come together simply upon religious principles; we believe that God has spoken, that the heavens have been opened, that a connection has been formed between the heavens and the earth in our day. We believe that God has commenced to establish his kingdom upon the earth, and to teach mankind those principles that are calculated to bless and exalt them in time and in eternity. For this reason we have assembled together, and for this reason we build temples and administer ordinances in those temples which have been revealed unto us from the Most High. Now, as there are no other people anywhere under the heavens that have these ideas but ourselves, we may, indeed, be called a peculiar people—a people separate and distinct from all others. We are not composed of one particular family of the human race; we cannot be called Germans, we cannot be called English, we cannot be called Americans, or French, or Italians, Swiss, Portuguese, or Scandinavians. You cannot call us by any nationality, in particular, for we are composed of the whole. The nationality we are now in possession of is brought about simply, in the first place, as I have already stated, upon religious grounds.

The Elders of this Church have gone forth to those different nations and have preached the words of life, and have made known unto the people of those nations the things which the Lord hath communicated unto them, and the people in those nations who have received the principles of truth preached to them, all who could have gathered themselves together as we find ourselves to-day in this Territory, a distinct, religious brotherhood—if you please, a distinct nationality, differing from all others. True, we are associated with what is called the United States of America, in a territorial capacity, and acknowledge that authority and submit to its rule; we are really under the constitution of the United States. We have among us Federal officers who represent the United States government, and in this respect, so far as submission to law is concerned, and so far as the constitution of the United States is concerned, we are really associated with them, and form part and parcel of that government, and, at the same time, are just as loyal, and just as patriotic as any other portion of the United States; and we are bound always to admit another great fact, which is, that we are under the constitution of the law of Heaven.

There is a theory which has prevailed to a great extent in the United States lately, among what is called the dominant party of the present day, which is denominated the “higher law.” Whether they understand anything about that higher law or not I am not prepared to say; but there is a law that we are placed under that is really and emphatically a higher law. The higher law, of which those parties speak, refers particularly to the liberation of the negro, wherein they conceive that that is paramount to everything else, and that to it all barriers and obstacles, whether of constitution or law, shall give way; but that is a question which I shall not discuss here this afternoon, but leave it to other parties.

The position that we are placed in is very different; we are gathered together here, as I have stated before, on religious principles, which was the first inducement to our gathering ourselves together. We furthermore believe, that being gathered together, it is our right to worship God according to the dictates of our consciences; we believe other things, also, that have been communicated unto us, that have been spoken and written about very plainly and extensively, viz., that God will establish his kingdom upon the earth, irrespective of what my opinion may be, or yours, or what the opinions of the government of France, of the United States, or any nation of the earth may be; we believe this is a deed that will actually be accomplished, and that God will introduce a rule and government of his own upon this earth, and that all nations, all rule, all power, all government, all authority, will have to submit to that rule, that government, and that authority; that is, this government will spread and extend until “all nations (to use a very familiar expression among all parties) shall bow to the sceptre of King Emmanuel.” That expression is very commonly used, and very little understood; still, at the same time, it is in common use throughout the religious world generally. We believe it; we believe, too, that it will be literally fulfilled; that all nations will be overthrown; that these kingdoms, and governments, and powers, and authorities that exist on the earth, will be broken and destroyed, and that God will introduce a government and rule and dominion of his own.

These are some of our views. There are many people that have believed in these things, many religious parties have written about them; they have expected them, and believed in them; they have been part and parcel of their faith: there is nothing, remarkable, therefore, about this. But when we go a little further and say, we believe that we are the people, then it places things in another position.

Theory is one thing in relation to these matters, and the practical part is another thing. We do believe it, and we honestly acknowledge that this is that kingdom which the Lord has commenced to establish upon the earth, and that it will not only govern all people in a religious capacity, but also in a political capacity. “Well,” say some, “is not that treason?” I do not know that it is; it is not treason against the Lord, and I do not know that it is treason against the government of the United States, or any other government. I have yet to learn that I, or any other person, or nation have power or authority to control the Almighty in his acts. I think that when he has a mind to, he will turn and overturn, and revolutionize, and bring to pass his purposes without asking me or any other person or power on the earth any odds, and we cannot help ourselves. It is merely a matter of faith with me and others, and it may be of knowledge also in regard to the designs and purposes of God in relation to this earth, and in relation to this people associated with him; but who do we interfere with politically, whose rights are proscribed by us, or what law is broken? None. We respect, honor, and obey the Constitution and laws of the nation with which we are associated. This is simply our faith or knowledge, as the case may be; it is the faith of this community that this is that kingdom that the Lord has commenced to establish upon the earth. The way that he has brought us together is, as stated before, by preaching the Gospel unto us through his servants, repentance and the remission of sins through baptism in water in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and the laying on of hands for the impartation of the Holy Ghost.

I remember some years ago being in the city of Paris, in France; there were a great many reformers there, as well as refugees from different parts of Europe. I had a long conversation with a Mr. Krolikeski, a gentleman from Poland, about the Gospel. He then was associated with a certain portion of the red republican party in France, with that particular branch of them that embraced the doctrines that those people professed that came to Nauvoo when we left—the followers of Mr. Cabot. After talking with him for some time on the principles of the Gospel, and what was calculated to be brought about in the earth, he turned to me and said, “Mr. Taylor, do you propose to bring about a revolution in the earth, and to introduce another state of things through the principle of repentance, of faith, and baptism, etc.?” “Yes, sir, that is the way we understand it.” “Well, I wish you every success, but I am afraid you will not be able to accomplish anything.”

I suppose he thought that the gate was very straight, and the road there too narrow to accomplish any national purposes, and, as Jesus said, “that few there were that found it.”

Said I to him, you are trying to bring in a great reformation and you think you are going to accomplish something; we will compare notes. It is a number of years now since we left the city of Nauvoo; it was a large city then, and surrounded by a rich country, that we cultivated. In consequence of our religious views we could not stay there; we were persecuted and driven, and had to go into the wilderness, had to carry with us our husbandry utensils, seed, grain, tools of every kind, and provisions, a distance of over thirteen hundred miles by land, with ox-teams, into an unknown and unexplored country, among the savages of the desert. You and your people came to our vacated city, lived in our houses already built for you; you came to gardens and fields, already in a state of cultivation; you had every facility for improvement and progression. Now, sir, what is the difference between the two people? In reading your communications from Nauvoo, which I frequently read, every time you issue your paper you call for more money and means to help them to carry out their plans, and to progress in building up their city. On the other hand, our people, situated far away among the red skins of the forest, are sending out hundreds and thousands of dollars to help to gather the poor there. Now, which is progressing the most, you or they? “Well,” says he, “I have nothing to say.” I think he will have still less to say to-day than then.

We expect still to continue to progress and to advance in religious intelligence, in political intelligence; in religious power, and in political power; we are still expecting to carry out our social principles, which differ very materially from others. Our marriage system is different from that of others—of that which is called the religious world at the present time—the Christian world, if you please; and this marriage system of ours, at the first sight, appears to them as it did to us at first sight, the most revolting, perhaps, of anything that could be conceived of. Whatever others may have thought about it, I know what was thought about it by those who first embarked in it. If they could have plowed around the log, according to a facetious remark of President Lincoln, or burned it, or done anything else, they would have done it, rather than have entered into it; but they could not, and they had to take it up as the word of, the Lord. It was not a matter of their own choice; it was the will and the commandment of the Almighty, for the guidance of his people. In this we differ materially from others; they think that they are right in their views, we know that we are right in ours, and therefore we are satisfied. We expect, then, that these principles that we have received, and principles that will continue to be imparted unto us by our Heavenly Father, will spread, and increase, and go forth, and obtain the pre-eminence and a position among the nations of the earth. We do not expect that we shall ever be converted to any of their religious systems, or to any of their social systems. We know what we have received emanates from God; and knowing that, we stand upon it, and cleave to it as the rock of ages, knowing that no power under the heavens is able to overturn it, therefore we stand secure. The Lord has a design to speak, to instruct, to guide, to direct us in all our affairs, whether it relates to this world or to the world that is to come, and we are desirous to be taught of Him, and being taught of Him, we are then desirous to communicate the intelligence we receive unto others.

Some people will say, “You are harsh, you are exclusive, you do not wish to associate and to mix with others.” To a certain extent we do, and to a certain extent we do not. To a very great extent we feel very much interested in the welfare and happiness of the human family. I very much question whether greater philanthropy has been developed among any other people under the face of the heavens than among this people. I am at the defiance of any body, or class of men, or nation, to show that greater sacrifices, so to speak, have been made anywhere than have been made among the Elders of this Church to promulge among the people that dwell upon all the earth the things that God has revealed unto them. Can you point out another people who have exhibited the same degree of intelligence, earnestness, and zeal in travelling from nation to nation, from city to city, by land and sea, over mighty oceans and desert wastes, even to the ends of the earth in order to promote the happiness and well being of their fellow men? There are no philanthropical societies existing in the world, that have done what the Elders of this Church have done, they cannot be produced. Are we misanthropists? No, We are cosmopolitans, citizens of the world, and have implanted in our bosoms the spirit of the living God, which prompts us to seek for the welfare and happiness of all the human family. All this, and more, we have done, and I very much question whether you can find anybody that would dispute it. They would say we are in error: that they have a right to say, and to think, if they please; but there is not one who can say in truth that we have not done all we claim to have done. We believe that God has spoken, and that he has organized his church and kingdom upon the earth; that he has and does communicate his will to his church; and believing that, we went forth as heralds of life and salvation to proclaim to the nations of the earth the things God has communicated unto us. Did we go to preach to the people for their gold, for their silver, and for their precious things; for their clothing, or for anything they possess; for honor or for fame? No; but we were pointed at as speckled birds, we were opposed and persecuted in every town where we set our feet, and nothing but the power of God and the power of truth could have sustained the Elders in promulging those principles God gave them to communicate to the world. They had with them the power of God and the power of truth, which prevailed, so far as we see it this day—so far as it has had its influence, and so far as it has operated upon the human mind—so far as it has gathered the Saints of God, and so far as it has preserved them in the position they now occupy.

This being the case, then, we cannot be charged with being narrow and contracted in our views—we cannot be charged with seeking to injure any class of men, for we have sought to benefit everybody that would be benefited by us, we have sought to benefit them every way in regard to their circumstances—in regard to their faith—in regard to their politics, and in regard to their bodies, to their souls, in regard to time and to eternity. There are thousands in this Territory to-day that are now well off that never would have owned one foot of land in the world anywhere else. What have we done besides? We have helped one another, sent out our teams by the hundreds and by the thousands, and our means, to assist those who could not assist themselves. Why? Because they were desirous to come, and we were willing to help them to come. Millions of dollars have been expended in this thing alone among the people. Can we in justice be called niggardly and contracted in our feelings? Can it be said that we have not shown liberality? It would be folly and madness to talk so; and, to say the least of it, it would show a lack of knowledge of the history of this church and people, and the position they occupy. I say, further, that if this nation had listened to the voice of Joseph Smith in a political capacity, they would have been saved this war that has now overtaken them: but they would not be saved; and I have sometimes been reminded of the position that Jerusalem occupied on a certain occasion when Jesus Christ spake by the spirit of revelation prophecying the events about to take place, he said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold your house is left unto you desolate,” etc. He then went on to tell them that Jerusalem should be overthrown and not one stone should be left standing upon another, that it should be trodden down of the Gentiles, etc. Could Joseph Smith or Jesus Christ help being the communicators of such tidings? They could not. Could Jesus Christ prevent the wrath of God overtaking the Jews and plunging them into irrevocable ruin? No. Could Joseph Smith, or this people, have hindered anything that has over-taken the nation of the United States? They could not. They have had warning of the approaching evil for the last thirty years, and they had the opportunity of knowing what would have saved them, but they would not be saved. Is it wrong, cruel, and oppressive to try and save a people when you see that people or nation rushing headlong to the brink of a precipice? Is it wrong to tell them to hold on or they will be destroyed? You would rather call it the voice of a friend; all good men would, and, as far as bad men are concerned, we care little about them.

Now, we are here, and those events spoken of are transpiring and will transpire, and we cannot help it, and President Brigham Young cannot help it; these judgments are the decrees of fate, they will roll on—they have got to come and we cannot hinder them. What are we aiming at now? We want to save ourselves if we can, we want to know how to save ourselves as rational independent beings that have got souls to save—beings that are eternal. We want to know how to save ourselves and how to save our families, and, if possible, save our progenitors, and lay a foundation to save our posterity after us, and also to save all that can be saved of the world—all that are in the reach of salvation, and, if possible, root out the chaos and confusion that every where exist in the political world; form and establish correct principles that shall emanate from the great Eloheim, and that shall elevate the nations of the earth from the degradation in which they are wallowing to-day, and exalt them on high, that they may be prepared to receive teachings and instructions from God, and, if possible, be saved in his kingdom. These are things that we are trying to accomplish; our hearts are full of blessings, full of kindness, full of consideration, full of long suffering, full of a desire to save, bless, and exalt all that are within the reach of salvation. That is the worst injury that we ever did to any of the human family, and these are the worst desires that we ever had towards any of them. What do we wish to do for ourselves? We wish to purify ourselves from every kind of corruption—from all the leaven of gentilism, so to speak (I make use of that term, because it is generally comprehended among us to mean the leaven of the world of corruption and of evil of every kind), and to try to save ourselves and purify ourselves in our spirits, in our bodies, in our feelings, and to seek for intelligence from God, and from all correct sources, that we may be of a truth representatives of God upon the earth. This is what we are aiming at, and we wish, if we can, so to conduct ourselves that God will not be ashamed of us, that holy angels will not be ashamed to associate with us, and that all our communications, doings, and associations may be of that nature that will at all times secure the smile and the approbation of our Heavenly Father, that when we get done with this work, and the world and the affairs of the world, so far as this present existence is concerned, we can say as Paul said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith;” I have done my duty, honored my calling, and now there is a crown laid up for me, and for all who love the appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

These are some of the feelings that throb in our bosoms, and these are the things we wish to accomplish for ourselves and for others. Is there any lack of philanthropy in this, any lack of good feelings towards any of the human family? No. “Then why do you not associate with everybody? Why do you not receive everybody into your houses? Why do you not let everybody do as they please, etc. Why do you not allow everybody to corrupt themselves if they wish to, and corrupt you if they please, and introduce their corruptions among your people?” The reason why we do not do these things is, because we have not a mind to. We think there is a very great distinction between the one and the other—we think there is a great difference between building up the kingdom of God and submitting to the power of the devil; we think there is a very material difference between associating with the Saints of God, or honorable men of the earth, than with the opposite class of persons. We think we have a perfect right always to choose what kind of company we keep and who we associate with. “But Bishop Wooley denounces the gentiles sometimes;” perhaps he has good reason to. I do not know whether ever he denounces any of the folks called Mormons or not; but I know one thing, if he did his duty he would denounce them. I know that there are a great many, both among those that are called gentiles and those that are called Mormons, that do not act as gentlemen ought to act, much less as Saints of the Most High.

I wish this people to understand one thing, that there is a very material difference between treating men with courtesy and kindness, acting in a spirit of civilization, and trying to introduce correct principles among them, and permitting them to introduce their devilism among us; there are rules of etiquette among other nations and peoples, just as much as there are here. I have seen things practised here by men, both by saints and sinners, that would not be tolerated in any other nation more than they would be here. I have seen acts in public, and I was going to say in private—although I do not enter much into the private acts of men, and do not wish to—but I have seen acts in public that would not be tolerated upon any consideration in any decent society; but persons committing such acts would be promptly turned out of that society. It is not because a man has a few dollars in his pocket, anywhere that I have been, that he is allowed to push himself and crowd himself into anybody’s family he thinks proper, and seek to corrupt that family; no such things are tolerated anywhere among people who profess to be guided by correct principles, and shall we tolerate them here? No. It is usual in other countries, before a man can be received into society, that he must bring with him a reputation from reputable men; he is expected to have introductory letters before he can be introduced to them and associate with them, and not because he is in the shape of a man and walks on two legs. Why, baboons do that. Before I should allow strangers to come into my family and mix with my wives and daughters, I should want to know who they were, where they came from, what their instincts were, and what was their moral and religious character. As a head of a family, I have a right to know these things; I have a right to know what influences are brought in and around my house, what spirits predominate there, and I have a right to know what a man’s religion is.

“But do you not allow liberty of conscience?” Yes. You can worship what you please—a donkey or a red dog—but you must not bring that worship into my house; I do not believe in your gods, I believe in the God of Israel, in the Holy Ghost, in the spirit of truth and intelligence, and all good principles; and if you want to worship your gods, worship them somewhere else, and if anybody else wants to worship them, they can do so: you can go on to one of those mountains and worship your gods, or if you are living in a house here, you can be a worshipper of Buddha if you please; but I do not want it in my house, and I do not want the spirit that you have—the spirit of those gods, visible or invisible; I do not want their teachings, spirit, nor influences.

Who does not know that the world is corrupted? Who does not know that it has been recommended by the authorities in the city of Washington, and unblushingly published in the public prints, to send to Utah a lot of nice young men to prostitute our young women? Shame on such a nation, yet such things have been published and proclaimed here. You may see people come here smiling and bowing, and very polite, and “wont you let me take your daughter to a party?” No, nor yourself either, not unless I have a mind to; I will have a say in that, for I want to know who dances with my wives and daughters, and whether they have a reputation or not, and if they have a reputation, what kind of people they are. This I have a right to do in a social capacity, independent of all religion, and I mean to do it. I will now turn the tables another way round. Did you ever see any of the Elders of this Church out abroad among the nations try to crowd themselves upon any people, and seek to go into their balls and assemblies, or families, contrary to rule and to the principles laid down? No, never. Did you ever hear of them wanting to take their daughters to balls and parties, etc? No, never. We claim the same kind of treatment from you; if we want your company we will ask it; if we do not ask it, you may consider that you are not wanted. We know and understand the spirit of the times to a certain extent.

“Do you mean to say that all the gentiles are bad men?” Not by any means; there are a great many good, honorable, high-minded men; we have met with many such abroad; we have met with gentlemanly, courteous treatment from strangers—I have, and so have others—and we have met with such here. We would not be behind any gentleman in reciprocating gentlemanly and courteous behavior; we wish to treat all good men as brothers, and no gentleman will object to what I now say. But I am sorry to say, that a great many are not of this class. Let us look at our position for a little while if you please. We are here in the midst of the mountains; there is a dreadful war raging in the east, and all kinds of characters are flocking here from that war, good and bad, and who knows who they are? We know one thing; vigilant committees in neighboring mining settlements are cutting the throats of some and hanging others. How do we know who we have here? Very likely cutthroats, blacklegs, gamblers, guerillas, and murderers, all gathered here together; and here is an honest, industrious people, and we do not choose to associate with strangers until we know who they are, and we think we are perfectly right in so doing.

Our object is to serve God and keep his commandments, and let the right, and the might, and the truth bear rule, and that right, by the help of God, we will maintain. We do not choose such associates, we want to know who it is we are talking to. I would dislike very much to have a murderer to sit down at my table and be placed under the disagreeable necessity of dragging him out by the neck. We have a right to know these things, and we mean to know them. We mean to take care of ourselves and pursue a course that is right in the sight of God. We mean to purify ourselves as far as we have power, and by the help of God, and cleave to the right and maintain it. May God help us to do it, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Influence of the Moral Law, etc.

Wilford Woodruff

Remarks by Elder Wilford Woodruff, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday, Jan. 22, 1865. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I am called upon to occupy a little time this afternoon. I will found my remarks upon the following words, viz.:—He that walketh in the paths of godliness, righteousness, and truth hath not fellowship with the blasphemer and the ungodly. I am satisfied that in whatever path the children of men walk, whether that path be good or evil, the longer they follow it the more desire they will have to remain therein; and I am perfectly satisfied, also, that any servant of God who faithfully keeps his commandments and enjoys the spirit of the Lord, and walks in the light thereof continually, feels that anything which is contrary to this is unpleasant and disagreeable to him. No man who thus walks can be pleased and edified in hearing the name of God blasphemed, or in associating with the ungodly and with those who honor not the name of the Lord. Every person has more or less influence in the society where he moves, and becomes responsible not only for his acts, but for the influence he exercises over others. Those persons who will not receive the Gospel of Christ, and do not keep the commandments of God, and will not lay these things to heart, are entirely ignorant of the joy, the consolation, the gratification, and the blessings which are received and enjoyed by walking in the paths of the righteous and the godly.

The good and the evil is presented to all, and the light of Christ enlighteneth all that cometh into the world, according to their capacity and the position they occupy upon the face of the earth; the spirit of the Lord operates upon all persons, more or less, throughout the course of their days, whether they live under a gospel dispensation or not. Those who live under what is called civilized rule are taught the moral law—the ten commandments—they are taught not to lie, not to swear, not to steal, in short, not to do those things that are counted ungodly, unholy, and unrighteous in the midst of society. When parents teach their children these principles in early youth, they make an impression upon their minds, and as quick as children arrive at years of accountability, early impressions will have an influence upon their actions and throughout the rest, of their lives. Children so impressed and so trained are ever after shocked when they hear their associates swear and take the name of God in vain; and if ever they learn to swear, it first requires a great effort to overcome their early impressions. Persons who are addicted to stealing, if they have not been actually taught to steal in their youth, their minds have not been sufficiently imbued with the principles of honesty by their parents and guardians.

There is a great responsibility resting upon parents in all communities and societies, and especially with the Latter-day Saints. I was brought up under the Blue Laws of Connecticut, when Presbyterianism ruled throughout the State as the religion of that State; and I dared no more go out to play on a Sunday than I dared put my hand in the fire—it would have been considered an unpardonable sin. We could not attend a ball and dance; we durst not attend a theatre, and from Saturday night, at sundown, to Monday morning, we must not laugh or smile, but we must study our catechism; this we had to do whether we were members of the church or not. My father was not a member of any church. This early teaching had its effect upon me. Where Presbyterians, Baptists, and other sects have taught the youth and mankind in general good wholesome principles of morality, so far it has had a good effect upon the generation around them. It is true they had not the gospel, apostles, pastors, teachers, and presidents—inspired men to teach them how to be saved. Their religion was according to the tradition of their fathers; the true Gospel was not manifested in their time, yet they had a great many good moral principles which had a good effect and a salutary influence upon all those who were affected and influenced by them. Wherever there is an influence that leads anybody to good, or to do good, so far I feel to acknowledge the hand of God in it; for I believe that every thing that leads to good and to do good is of the Lord, and everything that leads to evil and to do evil is of the wicked one.

I feel to thank the Lord for any good moral principles which have been taught me in my childhood. I am satisfied there have been tens of thousands of the human family since Jesus Christ and the ancient apostles were slain and the church went into the wilderness, who have acted up to the best light they had; for they have had moral principles among them, and they have lived up to their religion, millions of them, according to the best light they had, and they will have their reward for so doing. In the early days of my life, if a man cursed or swore, lied or stole, or broke any of the moral commandments of the Lord, it was looked upon as a disgrace, as not being comely and good, or right, in the sight of moral people in that day. Whenever a man did do wrong, so far he had an influence more or less, and those that were good would not hold fellowship with him.

We now live in another age and dispensation, and most of us who live in the valleys of the mountains have received the Gospel of Christ, which has been revealed unto us in our day and generation, and we have great respect unto the name of the Lord according to the light and knowledge which we have; we have respect unto the ordinances of the house of God, and that respect is increased with us according to the increased light and knowledge which we have. We wish to carry out the commandments of the Lord as far as we have knowledge in the things of the kingdom of God, and feel disposed always to do that which is right. It grates upon the ears of the faithful Latter-day Saint when he hears the name of the Lord blasphemed; he cannot fellowship the person who does it, and you do not find him in that kind of company, no matter whether the blasphemer is a professed Mormon or of the wicked world. No matter what their profession, if men live their religion and honor God, they will not fellowship the ungodly. There is no man that lives his religion in this church and kingdom that can associate with any person who blasphemes the name of God; he will not stay in any such society, but feels himself disgraced if he were to countenance by his presence such blasphemy, and this is so with all men who love the Lord and desire to honor his name, no matter where they may be, or what their position on the earth.

We live in a wicked generation. There is a change in the world now from what it was fifty years ago. There is a great change in comparison to the days of my youth. There is, more sin committed now in one gentile city in twenty-four hours than used to be committed in a hundred years. From the time I can remember until I was twenty years of age, there was but one murder committed in the New England States. When it was generally known that a man had murdered his wife and had to be hung up between the heavens and the earth, it caused a great sensation throughout that country. The murders committed to-day have become so numerous that they do not think it worth while to publish them; newspaper editors would rather give the space in their papers to advertisements, they pay better. Wickedness of every kind has increased upon the face of the earth; darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the minds of the people. The whole earth seems to be deluged with profanity and abominations of almost every kind. This is as true as it is lamentable to think about. The Lord has sent his Gospel in its fulness; we have preached it to the nations, and sin and iniquity have increased a thousand fold since the Gospel has been offered to them and they have rejected it. The light which they formerly had is withdrawn from them, and the powers of evil have taken possession of them, and reign universally over the nations; yet, notwithstanding this it is no reason why we should follow in the same path. It is for us to walk in the path of virtue, righteousness, truth, and godliness, honoring God and those things that will exalt men to His favor. This way is open before us—it is open to all men. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has been revealed in its fulness, glory, and beauty, and offered to this generation; and every man and woman who has been willing to accept the Gospel can see and understand the blessings there are to be enjoyed in embracing it. There are blessings offered to this generation in the Gospel which they have had no knowledge of before. There are blessings pertaining to the Gospel in every age that the world were ignorant of until the Gospel was first presented to them.

The Lord gave the holy Priesthood to Adam and to his sons; he gave to him the keys of the kingdom, and all things pertaining to salvation and eternal life. Adam and all his posterity for some centuries possessed and held the priesthood, even down to the days of Enoch and Noah, and the Lord saved the world as far as he could by those principles; but the hearts of men desired to do evil, and evil increased in the world until men became subject to vanity, to sin, and to the temptations of the devil; they yielded to his influence, and the consequence was, after a few generations, and during the days of Noah, they hardly could find a righteous man—a man who was willing to walk in the path of righteousness and truth, and so the Lord brought a judgment upon the world.

The Lord has introduced the Gospel in a number of dispensations, and few have embraced it. It is so in this age of the world. The Lord has commenced to warn the world in our day, and has commenced to save all who will obey his word, that they may receive an exaltation and glory in his presence. He has revealed his Gospel and established his kingdom to save the nations, as far as they will be saved; and we have the same Gospel and Priesthood that Adam had, and the same apostleship that has ever been revealed to any generation of men. This we present to the world—it is in our midst; and the Lord has sent forth his proclamation to save this generation, which is submerged in wickedness, and corruption and abominations of every description.

Many of us have embraced this Gospel, and I will say again, if we live our religion we will have no disposition to walk in the paths of sinners, to blaspheme the name of God, nor will we have fellowship for persons who do it. Dollars and cents will not buy or lead those astray who have embraced the Gospel and live their religion. I know that a man who has been faithful in his prayers, and has become acquainted with the operations of the Holy Spirit and the blessings of it, has no desire to turn from the paths of truth to walk in the ways of the ungodly, for the path of truth and righteousness is the only path of safety.

We are sent into this world to accomplish a great purpose, and to fulfil the object of our creation we must observe the commandments of God, and obey the ordinances of his house, and walk in them while we live in the flesh, that when we have done with this body we can go back into the presence of our Father and our God and receive in fulness the blessings and promises made to his children. Any man or woman that falls short of this, falls short of fulfilling the object of their creation. We have everything to encourage us to do right, and to keep the commandments of God, and to be faithful unto death, that we may have a crown of life. We have but little time to live here—the labor of this probation is very short; and when we can really understand that our future destiny—future happiness, exaltation, and glory, or our future misery, debasement, and sorrow all depend upon the little time we spend in this world, I can say that it is not to the advantage of any man under the heavens to spend his time in doing wrong—it is no advantage to any man to blaspheme the name of God, he makes no money by it, it brings him no joy, happiness, or honor. And again, if a man ever obtains any blessings from any quarter, he has got to obtain them from the Lord, for the devil has no disposition to bless, and will not bless the children of men; but he labors to lead them astray from the paths of righteousness and truth.

Those persons who will not walk according to the light they have, must sooner or later inherit sore afflictions to themselves; they do not have joy, and happiness, and salvation like that person who obeys the commandments of God and constantly does that which is right. The wicked are always in fear. There is no inducement for a man or a woman to commit sin—it is not a paying business. It is better for us to serve the Lord; for those who serve the Lord morning, noon, and night are happy, whether they be rich or poor. I have often thought that I never saw this people more happy than in their seasons of greatest poverty, drivings, and afflictions for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. The Spirit of God has been with them, and in their humility and sufferings the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, has been their constant companion, and they have been filled with joy and consolation, and have rejoiced before the Lord for all these things. They would not have felt so if they had not been trying to keep the commandments of the Lord.

As a people, we never were as greatly blessed in this world’s goods as at the present time. The Lord has planted our feet in the valleys of these mountains, where we can worship our God in safety and peace, where we can kneel down in our family circles in the morning and at evening, and offer up our prayers and thanksgivings before the Lord, and we can teach these principles to our children, and attend our meetings to listen to the servants of the Lord teaching the principles of eternal life. I trust that the Latter-day Saints will not suffer a desire for the wealth of this world to turn their footsteps aside from the paths of their duty towards God and one another—from rectitude, righteousness, holiness, and godliness before the Lord. If we should see a man that holds the Priesthood mingling with the profane who blaspheme the name of God, and seems to fellowship that kind of society, you may mark that man; he enjoys not the spirit of his religion, the Holy Ghost dwells not with him, or, if he enjoys it at all, it is but in a small degree, and when he enters into that kind of society it will leave him.

It does not pay any person to do wrong, and the present generation will suffer the chastening hand of God, and that severely, because that wickedness predominates throughout the whole world, and the name of the God of Israel is not honored, but is almost forgotten by the children of men, only when they remember him to blaspheme his holy name. As wickedness increases in the world, we should increase in righteousness, in faith, and in knowledge, that we may have an increased degree of the spirit of God dwelling with us, and it will take of the things of the Father and show them unto us, that we may be strengthened to magnify our calling as Saints of the Most High, doing the will of God and building up his kingdom. We should in our lives show that we are the friends of God and each other’s friends, and in doing this we shall be happy; and whether Jacob is great or small, in righteousness the kingdom of God will gain strength, for the heavens are full of knowledge, to be revealed for the use of the children of God as fast as they are prepared to receive it. We shall never see the time when we shall cease to progress and increase in knowledge, for we are the children of God, and if we are faithful in fulfilling the object of our creation, keeping the commandments of God as we are guided and directed to do, the knowledge is boundless that this people have yet to receive. We are in the school, and in a great measure we are still little children in the knowledge of the things of the kingdom of God; yet, how great and glorious are those principles that we are in possession of to-day when we compare them with our position and advancement ten years ago, or before we heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We were then under the traditions of our fathers—many of them good, though some of them were false and of no profit. With all the teachings we had and the Bible before us, we did not know the first step to take to secure to ourselves eternal life, for there was no man to teach us. Since that day we have heard the voice of apostles and prophets, some on this side and some on the other side of the vail, and they are all engaged in building up the kingdom of God in this the dispensation of the fulness of time.

These principles are worth more than gold and silver to us, and are sweeter than honey or the honey comb to the faithful, for in them we receive exaltation and salvation both for the living and the dead. They are the same principles that saved our fathers, the prophets and saints of old, and they, without us, cannot be made perfect, nor we without them. I rejoice in the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to all those that believe, both Jew and Greek. When men reject the Gospel they injure themselves, not God or his Saints; they turn the key against themselves that opens the door of salvation to all believers. Anciently, the world was at war with the Savior, and there has always been a great opposition to the introduction of the Gospel of Jesus Christ from the beginning of time to this day. There has always been in the unregenerated world a spirit of warfare against the kingdom of God. Joseph Smith was an obscure individual when Moroni, the Angel of God, revealed unto him the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and gave into his hands the records of the Nephites. The hearts of men were stirred up against him, and the devil is a personage that has knowledge and great power, and he possesses that power, and has ever since he has been upon the earth. He has so much power that he leads at his will almost the whole of the generations of the earth. By his power the hearts of men were stirred up against Joseph Smith when he received the administration of an angel, because it was the germ of the establishment of the kingdom of God. The devil knew when the angel delivered that record to Joseph Smith that it was the foundation of a system that would overthrow his kingdom. The drivings, etc., that this people have passed through has not been because they have been breakers of the law, nor because they have been more wicked than others, but because they were laying the foundation of the kingdom of God that would grow, and increase, and rule, and reign until it fills the whole earth and brings the world into subjection to its authority and sway, and prepare the way for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is king of kings and Lord of Lords, who will come and reign over the whole earth; and all other kingdoms, and presidents and governors, and their subjects will be obliged to acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ. The Latter-day Work which we represent will bind the power of the devil which has held sway among the children of men for 180 generations. Then it is not strange that the devil should become mad and stir up the wicked to make war against it. The Lord will inspire his servants and give them ability to maintain this kingdom upon the earth. He is at the helm. I would not give much for it if He was not the author of it; it could not stand without Him against the great power that is waged against it.

Why is this warfare? It is not because it is Satan’s kingdom or any part of it; if so, his kingdom would be divided against itself; but it is because it is the kingdom of God, and it has got to be planted in the earth, and it will continue until the scene is wound up, and Christ descends in the clouds of heaven, and the holy angels with him, and the dead in Christ shall rise first to meet him at his coming. The Lord Almighty will sustain the kingdom and back up his servants and their testimony, and he will send judgments, and plagues, and afflictions, and destroying angels, and visit the wicked nations with an overwhelming destruction. All this is the work of God, and we cannot help it if we would. The Lord has decreed that he will build up his kingdom in this day and age of the world, and he has decreed that it shall accomplish the work it is intended to do, and stand for ever. The earth belongs to the Lord.

When the devil and his host were sent from heaven because of disobedience, they came to this world. And wherever the children of men are, there also those evil spirits exist to tempt the children of men to do evil, and everything that leads to destruction, and misery, and woe originates from that source, and everything that leads to exaltation, virtue, holiness, goodness, glory, immortality, and eternal life is from the hand of God. The Lord is the strongest power, and he will prevail at last. In this I rejoice, because the earth belongs to him, and we belong to him, and if we have any blessing, we have got to receive it at his hands. When the first missionaries went to England, disembodied spirits sought to destroy them, and had there not been an angel of salvation present, they would have been slain; nothing but the power of God saved them. The visions of their minds were opened, that they saw many of the devils that sought their destruction, although not in the body but in the spirit, and they stood before them like wicked, hideous men, come to destroy them. We had this same power to contend with in London. Sometimes they are invisible, and sometimes they are in the tabernacles of men. In Carthage jail they came in the bodies of men, and were under the influence of the devil, and succeeded in shedding the blood of the Prophet, and thought they would overthrow the Church and kingdom of God. This evil power is manifest and visible more and more as we progress in the kingdom of God.

Let us try to live our religion, and try to be the friends of God; and let us make war against the works of the devil. Let us seek to overcome ourselves, and all our evil impressions, and bring our bodies in subjection to the law of Christ, that we may walk in the light of the Lord, gain power with him, and assist in sanctifying the earth and in building up temples, and in attending to the ordinances of the house of God, that we may be saviors of men, both of the living and the dead.

These are our privileges, and the blessings which the God of heaven has put in our hands. Is there any thing in all the dominions of the devil of more value to us than the blessing of our God, given to us through the organization of his kingdom? We have everything to encourage us, and to give us faith and pe[r]severance in the work of God. If we do our duty we shall prosper, and progress, and spread abroad, and the stakes of Zion will be strengthened and her cords lengthened, and ere long we shall have power to return and build up the centre stake of Zion, and the waste places thereof, and we shall accomplish all we have been called to do. May God bless us and give unto us his Spirit to guide us in all things. Amen.

Causes of Gratitude That the Saints Have, etc.

George Q. Cannon

Remarks by Elder George Q. Cannon, made in the Tabernacle in Great Salt Lake City, Jan. 1, 1865. Reported by G. D. Watt.

My prayer and desire is that while I shall attempt to speak unto you this afternoon, I may be led and dictated by the Spirit of God, and I presume that this is the desire of all the Saints who have assembled themselves together for the purpose of worshipping our Father and God this afternoon in this tabernacle.

There is one point that was alluded to this morning by Brother Lorenzo Snow, in his remarks, which struck me with a great deal of force. It was in relation to the Saints entertaining a feeling of gratitude to God for the blessings he has bestowed upon us—that the Lord loves those who entertain such feelings, and who appreciate the blessings and kindness he bestows upon them.

This truth accounts for the frequency with which the Elders, when led by the Spirit of God and speaking unto the people, dwell upon the many blessings, and privileges, and favors we have received since our obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To many persons, such frequent allusions to the blessings and favors that we enjoy, and the privileges that have been bestowed on us as a people, seem unnecessary, and in the ears of some not acquainted with us and our character, and with the principles we have espoused, sound like egotism; but I can, myself, recognize a great propriety in this style of preaching or exhortation. I can see that there is a necessity for it; that we should be continually stirred up to remember the Lord our God and the favors which he has bestowed upon us from the time we embraced the Gospel until now; and not only from that time, but from the earliest period of our infancy to this time, because his kindness, and providence, and long suffering have not been extended to us alone since we have embraced the Gospel, but from the time of our birth until now.

The Lord has said that he is angry with none except those who acknowledge not his hand in all things. He is angry with those who do not acknowledge his hand in the various dispensations of providence meted out to man.

It is right that we, as a people and as individuals, should be continually grateful to God for what he has done for us. Unless we appreciate these blessings, it is not likely they will be increased upon us—it is not reasonable that greater blessings than those already received will be bestowed upon us; but if we are humble, meek, and filled with thanksgiving and gratitude to our Father and God under all circumstances, appreciating and putting a high value on the mercies he extends unto us, it is more than probable that those blessings and mercies will be increased upon us according to our wants and necessities, and we shall still have increased cause for gratitude and thanksgiving before him.

While the brethren were blessing the bread, it struck me how grateful we ought to be for the blessings which God has guaranteed unto us—the great and the inestimable blessings—through the death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. How grateful we ought to be every day that we live, that our Father and our God has provided a way and means of salvation for us, that before we were born and took upon us the form of mortal men and women, the Lord in his mercy, and in his wisdom and kindness, had provided a way whereby we should be redeemed from the power of Satan, from the power of death, and be brought back into his presence, and be clothed with immortality and all the blessings which attend such a condition. Every time we partake of the sacrament, our hearts should swell with thanksgiving and gratitude for God’s mercy unto us in this respect; yet it is too frequently the case with these blessings, as with many other blessings which God has bestowed upon us, their being so wide-spread prevents us from appreciating them as we should were they confined to a few of us and were not bestowed upon all the family of man. The blessings of air, of water, of the earth—the blessings that all the family of man enjoy in common one with another—because they are so widely spread and so universally enjoyed, are not appreciated as are other blessings which are more confined in their application and in the result which attends them to the children of men. The blessings of the air we breathe, the earth upon which we tread, of the water which courses down in crystal streams to satisfy our wants, and all the blessings that are so bountifully bestowed upon us, ought to be as much the cause of thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father as though they were confined to a few families only. And so, also, the great blessings of that salvation, which is extended universally, through Christ, to all the children of men who will be obedient to his requirements, ought to be appreciated just as much as though confined to us alone, to a few families, or to a small portion of the community which occupies these valleys.

The Lord has truly provided for us a plan of salvation that is as wide as eternity, that is God-like in its nature and in its origin; it is intended to exalt us, his children, and bring us back into his presence. For this purpose our Lord and Savior came in the meridian of time. His blood was shed that an expiation might be made by which the plan of salvation could be completed, that we, whose bodies would otherwise continue subject to an everlasting sleep in the grave, might have our mortal tabernacles resurrected and brought into the presence of our Father and God, there to dwell eternally.

It should be a subject of thanksgiving and gratitude to us that we have the privilege of comprehending the truth sufficiently to derive the full benefit of the salvation which is offered unto us through the death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; because we are assured in the word of God that there is a class, who through their sinfulness and neglect of the privileges and opportunities granted unto them, and their disobedience to the requirements of God, are cut off from the full benefits of that salvation which they would enjoy were they more obedient. But unto us is offered the salvation in its fulness, extended through the death of Jesus. After we have done with this mortal life we are promised a glorious resurrection in the first resurrection, and that our bodies shall not sleep in the tomb any length of time, only so long as is actually necessary to fulfil the requirements of the Lord.

Through the revelations of the truth, which have been made unto us, we are promised all that men and women could ask. All that God has ever promised to his faithful children we will receive, even every blessing that is necessary for our eternal happiness in the presence of God, if we will live subject to the requirements he has made of us in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This should be a constant theme of thanksgiving in our hearts, and I believe it is so; I really believe that the Latter-day Saints are the most grateful people upon the face of the earth; I believe they give evidence of it in their actions. There is, however, room continually given unto us for improvement in this respect. We cannot be too grateful; we cannot get to a point where there is a necessity for us to slacken in this respect; and the more we comprehend of the purposes of our God, the more grateful and more full of thanksgiving we will be. I notice that among those who are not as fully acquainted as they should be with the principles of the Gospel, there is more ingratitude and a greater disposition to murmur, and a greater lack of thankfulness, than among those who are educated—educated, I mean, in the knowledge of the truth, in the principles of life and salvation. I notice that among those who have the most experience, and have made the greatest advancement in the things of God, there is the greatest disposition to be thankful and grateful, and to pour out their souls in prayer before God; and I notice as the Saints increase in the knowledge of the truth, and the comprehension of the principles of life and salvation, their disposition in this direction increases with their knowledge.

Looking at it with the world’s view, we have abundant cause to be thankful; but to look at it through the light of the Spirit of God, our gratitude and thanksgiving should be unbounded to God; there should be no limit to it in our hearts every time we reflect on our position and on the blessings that have been bestowed upon us. What people on the face of the earth to-day can compare with us in temporal blessings? And when we look at the blessings we enjoy, as Saints of the Most High, from the stand point from which the Latter-day Saints should view this work, how can we limit the feelings which should animate our hearts continually with praise to our Father and God?

When unprejudiced strangers look upon us, they see our temporal advantages, and they think we are a blessed and happy people; but there are other blessings that we enjoy. We enjoy promises which are extended unto us, of which strangers know nothing—of which they have not the least conception; blessings and promises which no man can comprehend, except they who have received the Spirit of God. We have blessings, we have favors, we have causes of peace, of which the human family know nothing. While our hearts are burning with joy, with happiness and with peace; while the Spirit of God is descending upon us and we are filled therewith, they who look upon us cannot see or comprehend the spirit that we are of—they cannot understand the feelings that animate our hearts, they only see us as natural men and women; they know not that power which has been communicated unto us and been poured out upon us. While we feel as though we could sing Hosannah to God and the Lamb, they cannot see anything to cause us to have such feelings, because they have not access to that power—to that fountain of knowledge, of light, and wisdom, which our God has opened unto us as a people. We have, then, in addition to the temporal advantages which God has bestowed upon us, abundant cause for gratitude on other points.

There will be no time in the vast future when our cause for thanksgiving and for gratitude will cease; for the more we know and the more we comprehend the purposes of God, the more gratitude we will have. The angels who surround his throne indulge in thanksgiving and praise to God and the Lamb to a greater extent than we can do, because their causes for thanksgiving are greater; they have attained to a glorious exaltation, and they bask in the sunshine of the presence of the great Eternal. Although they are there, they still have cause to sing Hosannah to God and the Lamb; though they are in possession of such great blessings, dwelling as they do in a state of immortality, and freed from the power of Satan, sin, and death, they, nevertheless, see causes for thanksgiving to God our Father; and the nearer we approximate to them and to their perfection, the more we shall have of this feeling in our hearts, the more causes of thanksgiving we will perceive, and the more frequently we will express these feelings.

There is no time that we can conceive of throughout the vast ages of eternity, if we continue our onward progress, when we will become cloyed in our religion and in our worship of God; it will not be a matter of form with us, a duty that will be wearying and onerous upon us; on the contrary, it will increase in its pleasures. These are reflections connected with the truth as revealed to us, which are cheering. If we will let our imaginations stretch into the future, there will be no time when we will arrive at such a condition that we will, through weariness, relax our efforts and our exertions, and cease to feel thanksgiving and gratitude; but there will be increased causes contributed continually to prompt us to indulge in these feelings more and more, and take pleasure in their indulgence.

There never was a people on the face of the earth to whom the same promises have been given as to us. Others, who have preceded us in the enjoyment of the blessings of the Gospel, have looked forward to the time of their decease, and have seen that after they should pass away, the work they then were engaged in would disappear from the earth; they saw that the power of the adversary would be again wielded to great effect among men, and that their labors would be comparatively lost sight of through the evil that would prevail upon the earth. But this is not the case with us; unto us are extended promises which have never been extended to any other people who have lived upon the earth from the days of Adam to this time; unto us a promise is given that this kingdom shall stand for ever, that it shall not be given into the hands of another people, that it shall roll forth, increase, and spread abroad until it fills the whole earth—until all the inhabitants of the earth can dwell in peace and safety under its shadow, being freed from misrule, oppression, and every evil that exists among the inhabitants of the earth; that a reign of truth and righteousness shall be inaugurated, the reign of God and of his Son Jesus Christ on the face of the earth.

This is the promise which has been extended unto us, and the work is committed unto us and to the dispensation in which we live. Such a promise was not extended unto Enoch, unto Noah, unto Abraham, or unto any of the prophets who succeeded them down to the days of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When the apostles asked the Lord Jesus about the restoration of the kingdom, he parried their question; it was not for the people who lived in that dispensation to participate, while in the flesh, in the blessings of the restoration of the kingdom of God on the earth and its final establishment in the latter days. It was reserved for the great and last dispensation of the fulness of times, that great dispensation in which we now live, when the Gospel should be restored to the earth in its fulness, and the eternal Priesthood be revealed; when every angel and every prophet who have lived upon our earth should revisit the earth again, and bestow every key and all power and authority which they held on the man who was elected to stand at the head of this dispensation.

We live in this day, and our posterity will participate in the blessings of this dispensation, if we and they should be faithful. In looking forward to our future generations for the next thousand years, we are not under the necessity of beholding, in vision, our posterity straying into darkness in such a manner as to close the heavens and shut off the communication between God and man. God has taught us differently: he has taught us that instead of the heavens becoming more closed, and communications less frequent and seldom received, truth will be more abundantly bestowed on man; instead of angels ceasing to communicate with man, angels will communicate with him more and more until man shall bask in the full light of eternity.

These are the prospects that are extended to us as individuals and as a people. Hence, I have said that we have greater cause than any other people that ever lived to be thankful to our Father and God for what he has done for us and promised unto us; yet, do we understand it, do we appreciate it? When we have the Spirit of God resting upon us, and our minds are enlightened by it, I presume we do to some extent; we feel then that we would constantly witness unto God by our acts that we really appreciate his kindness in permitting us to come forth at such a time and be associated with such a people. But when the counsels of God come to us through his servants, and they are contrary to our prepossessed notions, we forget that the inspiration of the Almighty is with our brethren, that the power of the Highest is with them, and, as Brother Snow alluded to Jonah this morning, if we do not go to Tarshish, we frequently go somewhere else to avoid doing the things that God requires at our hands.

Now, the day has come when we, as a people, will have to listen to the voice of the servants of God, to the instructions of the Almighty through his servants, and obey them as implicitly as though God was in our midst. Yet, how often is it the case that, when we have counsel imparted unto us, we feel as though we had some suggestions to make that would make that counsel better and more applicable to us. I have seen the Spirit of God grieved, and the understanding of the man of God beclouded by men taking such a course as this. When the servant of God has been under the inspiration of the Almighty to counsel a certain course, somebody has stepped forward and suggested something different, and by that means the counsel of God has been darkened, the spirit of revelation has been grieved, and the benefit which otherwise would be, has not been received.

I have seen this under various circumstances, and I have looked upon it as an evil and something we should never do. When the counsel of God comes through his servants to us, we should bow to that, no matter how much it may come in contact with our pre-conceived ideas; submit to it as though God spoke it, and feel such a reverence towards it as though we believed that the servant of God had the inspiration of the Almighty resting upon him. While many are willing to admit that the servants of God understand everything connected with the work of God, and with the various departments of it on the earth, they think there are some kinds of knowledge which they possess in a superior degree to them who preside over us. They will admit that the servants of God may possess all the knowledge that is needed to spread the Gospel and have it carried to the remotest regions, to build up Zion; but there is something connected with their particular calling that, they think, they understand to a far greater extent than he or they who are appointed to preside over them.

This feeling is not unfrequently manifested. The persons who exhibit it would be reluctant to say in words that this is their feeling, but they express it in their actions. This causes an interference with the Spirit of God, and frequently counsel is darkened by men taking this course. I know that if we follow implicitly the counsel of God’s servants when they are inspired to give counsel, even if they may not know everything about the matter, we will be blessed if we bow to it, and God will overrule everything for good, and it will result as God wishes it.

It is a great thing for us to have the counsel and instruction of the Almighty in our midst. The servants of God are inspired by the power of the Holy Ghost, and the revelations of Jesus are within them; and if we follow their counsels strictly, we shall be led into the presence of God, and I know that they are the only men on the earth who have this power, authority, and knowledge. If we take a course of this kind, you can readily perceive how harmoniously every thing connected with the work of God will roll forth; beauty and order will be witnessed in all the ramifications of the kingdom of God at home and abroad, and salvation will be extended unto us.

My prayer and desires are that the Lord will bless you, and that we may have the Spirit and the power of God resting upon us. Which may God grant, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

God the Source of All Intelligence and Wisdom, etc.

John Taylor

Remarks by Elder John Taylor, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday, Feb. 5, 1865. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I have felt much impressed with the beautiful hymn which our choir has just sung, speaking of our Heavenly Father and our return again into his presence. We frequently talk about our Father who is in heaven, and we delight to dwell upon our relationship with him, and anticipate with pleasure the time when we shall behold his face, regain his presence, and rejoice with him, with the Savior, and with the spirits of the just made perfect, in the eternal world. The Lord has revealed a great many good and great things unto us, but yet we seem scarcely to appreciate the privileges with which we are surrounded and blessed, nor to comprehend exactly our true relationship to our Heavenly Father.

I was very much pleased with some remarks made by President Young in relation to our Father two or three weeks ago, wherein he describes him as being like ourselves, and possessing the power to associate with us, and, that if we were to gaze upon him we should see a person like ourselves; yet he is spoken of as being able to read the thoughts of our hearts, and that a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice. There are some peculiar expressions in the Scripture and in the revelations that we have had given to us, which we may term Scripture, if you please, pertaining to our Father who is in heaven. We are told in one place that “He is the light that enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world.” We are told, also, “That every good and perfect gift proceeds from the Father of lights, in whom there is no variableness nor shadow of turning.” We are told in some of our revelations, which the Lord has given to us in these last days, that “He is the light that is in the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made; that he is the light that is in the moon, and the power by which it was made; that he is the light that is in the stars and the power whereby they were made; and that is the same light that enlighteneth the understanding of man.” According to some of our systems of philosophy, and the ideas that theologists would entertain in relation to this matter, these remarks would appear strange and incongruous.

We have been led generally to suppose that the light which enlighteneth the understanding of man is what is termed of an intellectual character, and differs materially from the solar light, or the light of the sun; but if we examine these things critically, we shall find that there is mixed up with the philosophy of the heavens and the earth things that have been altogether out of the reach of human philosophy; that all true intelligence, all true wisdom, all intelligence that is of any use or benefit to the human family, proceeds from the Lord; that he is the fountain of truth, the source of intelligence, and the developer of every true and correct principle that is known to man upon the earth; that there is no branch of wisdom, of science, of philosophy, of good, sound common sense but what proceeds from him; and we shall furthermore learn, when we come to be acquainted more particularly with heavenly things than we are at the present time, that every thing associated with God and with his economy, whether upon the earth or in the heavens, is strictly reasonable and philosophical; and that the only reason why we do not comprehend many things that are revealed to us, and that have been revealed in former times, is because we are not acquainted with the philosophy of the heavens, nor the laws that govern the intelligences in the eternal worlds. The philosophy of man, of the earth, and of the things with which we are surrounded, is deep—it is abstruse; it is difficult of comprehension even by the most enlightened mind and the most comprehensive and enlarged intellect.

One great reason why men have stumbled so frequently in many of their researches after philosophical truth is, that they have sought them with their own wisdom, and gloried in their own intelligence, and have not sought unto God for that wisdom that fills and governs the universe and regulates all things. That is one great difficulty with the philosophers of the world, as it now exists, that man claims to himself to be the inventor of everything he discovers; any new law and principle which he happens to discover he claims to himself instead of giving glory to God.

There are some ideas that have occurred to me lately in relation to man, if I could only express them, which I consider have been revealed by listening to the communications of others, and through the inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord. There is something peculiar in the organization of man, particularly in regard to his mind. We can think, we can reflect, we can conceive of things, we can form our judgment of events that are transpiring around; but it is difficult for us to perceive or to comprehend how those things are accomplished, and by what process they are brought about. A man, for instance, can store up in his memory thousands and tens of thousands of things. A good linguist, for example, can retain in his memory thousands of words in his own language, and thousands and tens of thousands in other languages, and he can draw upon these when he pleases, and remember their significations. I can remember the time, some years ago, when no person could tell me a passage in the Bible but what I could turn to it; I could not remember every passage, but I knew their connections and could tell others where they could find them.

President Young’s memory is remarkable in regard to names and persons. I have travelled with him throughout the length and breadth of this Territory, and I do not know that I have ever yet seen him come in contact with a man whose name he did not remember and the circumstances connected with him. There is something remarkable in this.

Again, on theological subjects, a man will remember not only all the doctrines which he himself believes, but also the doctrines of various systems of religion that exist in the world, and be enabled to separate, to describe, or define them. Now, the question is, where are all these things stowed away? What book are they written in; where are they recorded? A man may travel over the earth, he may visit towns, cities, and villages, and gaze upon oceans, seas, rivers, streams, mountains, valleys, and plains; upon landscapes and different kinds of scenery, and make himself acquainted with all the vegetable world, and these pictures and this intelligence is carefully laid away somewhere. He may study chemistry, botany, geology, astronomy, geography, natural history, mechanics, the arts and sciences, and every thing in creation which man is capacitated to receive and store it away in his memory from the time of his youth up to old age. There is something very remarkable in that. And then the question arises, how do we judge of those things? If a man sees a thing, how does he see it? There is something very remarkable in the construction of the human eye; it is something like these photographic instruments that receive impressions, only he gazes upon them and his eye takes them in, and the scene he gazes upon is actually imprinted upon what is called the retina of the eye; and one thing after another is recorded, until thousands, and tens of thousands, and millions of things are laid away through that medium, and he is enabled to see any of these things whenever he pleases; his will can call them forth, and they pass in panoramic form before his vision from some source, where they are deposited and registered; all those things that he has gazed upon, that he has handled with his hands, or felt by the sense of touch, he can call up at his pleasure. There is something remarkable in this when we reflect upon it. Men talk about this registry being in the brain, but mens’ heads do not get any larger. When men get what is called the “big head,” it is because there is nothing in their heads. The heart gets no bigger, the body no larger, and yet all these records are laid away somewhere.

Let us examine the Scriptures in relation to some things, and see what they say concerning man. “But there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth it understanding.” We learn from this that there is a spirit in man in addition to this outward frame, to these hands, these eyes, this body, with all its powers, and appliances, and members; there is a spirit, an essence—a principle of the Almighty, if you please—a peculiar essence that dwells in this body; that seems to be inseparably connected therewith.

We are told in a revelation which the Lord has given unto us, “That the body and the spirit is the soul of man”—that the two, when combined, form what is termed in Scripture the soul. Now, then, according to this, man would be what may be termed a natural and a spiritual being—a being connected with the tabernacle that is associated with this earth, and earthy, and another being that is connected with the heavens, or heavenly; some would term it a temporal and a spiritual organization. It is difficult, however, to find words to convey ideas correctly in relation to these matters; our language is meagre when we speak of heavenly things, because it is made for earthly beings, and not for the heavenly; and therefore it does not embrace with that distinctness and clearness those heavenly forms of speech which might convey to our intelligence more clearly those ideas we can better reflect upon than we can express. But, suffice it to say that there are two natures, if you please, mixed up in the human body; the one is what we term material, and the other, some would call it, immaterial; but then, that is not a right phrase—the one is earthly, or pertaining to the earth, that is, liable to decay; the other is heavenly, more spiritual—an essence or being that cannot be destroyed; and hence, says Jesus in speaking concerning this, “And I say unto you, my friends, be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that, have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom you shall fear. Fear Him, which after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, fear Him.”

The body itself is a very remarkable structure or machine. Let me refer to some few items associated with it—to the mediums through which we receive the intelligence of which we speak. For instance, the eye. How is it that you receive impressions into the eye? Just in the same way as impressions are received by a daguerreotype instrument, and they are planted there in what is termed the retina of the eye; there are placed there a number of small nerves which receive these impressions and convey the intelligence somewhere, in some manner, that it is laid away in some place where it can be called up. When we reflect upon and witness their peculiar powers, we discover operations that are very remarkable, comprehensive, accurate, and mysterious; you can see a mountain to the distance of fifty miles, and your eye will take it in and receive the impression; you can gaze upon a thousand objects, and your eye will register them all, and will convey an exact likeness of them, so that you can describe by language, if you have the power to use it, a true resemblance of the objects your vision takes in, so nice and so precise are the figures conveyed to the human mind through the instrumentality of the eye; so acute, so impalpable, so ethereal and refined is its action and power, that its susceptibilities approach very near to the spiritual, although it is temporal, so called.

Again, the power of smell is very peculiar; perfumes of various kinds will last for years, and their various odors can be distinguished by you. Take, for instance, a Tonquin bean, or a rose. The former is very small, and yet it continues to emit or exude, year after year, myriads of small, infinitesimal particles, without any sensible diminution, all of which are charged or impregnated with its own peculiar aroma; and convey this delicate, impalpable matter to the organs of the nose, and so exquisitely sensitive are the nerves associated with the nasal organ, that the minuteness of this touch, and the peculiar odor of the Tonquin bean, the rose, or any other peculiar aroma, is conveyed as distinctly to the understanding as words or signs of any kind can convey impressions to the human mind. This is, indeed, mysterious, yet strictly demonstrative, although, like the capacity of the eye, it approaches the spiritual or ethereal.

Our sense of hearing is also another remarkable instance of the peculiar sensitiveness of the organs of the human system. While I am speaking to you, there is not in this vast assembly a man, woman, or child that does not hear my voice at this time; all present can distinguish every word I say. How do they hear it? My voice causes a vibration in the atmosphere, the same as when a stone is thrown into the water; the water undulates, and a succession of waves are produced, which, if undisturbed, spread in continuous increasing circles, until the disturbing force is exhausted. So, in like manner, the action of the voice operates, or vibrates, upon the atmosphere, which is full of impalpable atoms or globules that undulate, vibrate and rush against each other with great rapidity above, below, around, carrying with great accuracy and distinctness, and conveying the sound so correctly, that every man and woman hears alike; the sound is conveyed in an inexplicable manner to the drum of the ear. The nerves are affected, and those nerves convey intelligence to the congregation I am now talking to—to the understandings of those who hear me.

We are made in the image of God, we were designed by the intelligence of God, and the organs we have are the same kind of organs that the Gods themselves possess. I consider that the body and the spirit are connected together in some inscrutable, indefinable, and intelligent manner; that, if we comprehended, would be a greater wonder and mystery to us than anything that we have already referred to.

Now, then, let me speak of another subject immediately connected with this. President Young remarked, and we are informed in the Scriptures, and that was one of the things that led me to reflect about some of these matters, as well as in our own revelations, something like this, that “God sees and knows the acts of all men.” We read something like this, “But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” Now, this is a remarkable declaration. Look at the millions of human beings that inhabit this earth, and that have inhabited it from the creation up to the present time. It is supposed, generally, by the best authorities, that from eight hundred to a thousand millions of people live upon this earth at the same time, that is, this has been the case for a great many generations at least; they are coming and going continually, they pass into the world by thousands and tens of thousands, and go out of it in the same way daily; a daily stream of this kind is coming and going. Then, if we could discover the thoughts and reflections of these numerous millions of human beings, look at the wisdom, the intelligence, the folly, the nonsense, the good and the evil that is connected with every one of them, it is so vast and complicated that the human mind could not receive it, and it seems as if it would be almost a thing impossible for God to gaze upon the whole of them—to comprehend the whole, and judge of the whole correctly. How shall this be done? My understanding of the thing is, that God has made each man a register within himself, and each man can read his own register, so far as he enjoys his perfect faculties. This can be easily comprehended.

Let your memories run back, and you can remember the time when you did a good action, you can remember the time when you did a bad action; the thing is printed there, and you can bring it out and gaze upon it whenever you please. As I stated before, if you have studied language, you can call that out at pleasure; you can show the distinction between the different parts of speech very readily. If you have studied mechanism, your mind will go to the place where you saw a certain machine, and you will go to work and make one like it. If you have travelled in cities, you can tell what kind of houses and streets composed the different cities you passed through, and the character of the people you associated with; and you can ruminate upon them, and reflect upon them by day or by night whenever you think proper, and call the things up which you did and saw. Where do you read all this? In your own book. You do not go to somebody else’s book or library, it is written in your own record, and you there read it. Your eyes and ears have taken it in, and your hands have touched it; and then your judgment, as it is called, has acted upon it—your reflective powers. Now, if you are in possession of a spirit or intellectuality of that kind, whereby you are enabled to read your own acts, do you not think that that being who has placed that spirit and that intelligence within you holds the keys of that intelligence, and can read it whenever he pleases? Is not that philosophical, reasonable, and scriptural? I think it is. Where did I derive my intelligence from that I possess? From the Lord God of Hosts, and you derived your intelligence from the same source. Where did any man that exists or breathes the breath of life throughout this whole universe get any intelligence he has? He got it from the same source. Then it would be a very great curiosity if I should be able to teach you something and not know that something myself. How could I teach you A, B, C, if I did not know the alphabet, or the rudiments of the English Grammar, or anything else, if I did not know it myself? I could not do it. Well, then, upon this principle we can readily perceive how the Lord will bring into judgment the actions of men when he shall call them forth at the last day. Let me refer to some things in the Scriptures pertaining to this matter. Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, in which he saw a variety of things pass before him. By-and-by the dream was taken from him, and he could not remember it; and he called upon the magicians, and soothsayers, and astrologers to give unto him the dream and the interpretation thereof, but they said it was too hard a thing for them to do; they could not give the king this information, for nobody can know these things but the Gods whose dwelling is not with flesh. They believed, as we do, that there is a Being that had spirit and intelligence above the other gods, and that he alone could unravel those mysteries. Finally, the king sent for Daniel, and Daniel knew nothing about it until he prayed unto the Lord, and the Lord showed it to him; for the Lord had given the dream to Nebuchadnezzar, and if he had given it to one, he could to another. He could read it in Nebuchadnezzar’s mind or spirit in the record which He kept. He revealed the same thing to Daniel, who said unto the king, “Thou sawest a great image; its head was of gold, its arms and breast of silver, its belly and thighs of brass, its legs of iron, and its feet and toes part of iron and part of clay.” When Nebuchadnezzar heard the dream which he had forgotten, he gave glory to the God of Israel, because he could reveal secrets and manifest things which had been manifested to him. We look at things again on natural principles, according to things that we can judge upon by our natural senses. A man gazes upon a thing in the day-time, he goes to sleep, his senses are gone, he wakes up in the morning, and he remembers the things he had forgotten in his sleep—they are remembered as fresh as ever. There have been men afflicted by what the physicians call catalepsy; they lose their senses for a period of time, sometimes for years, and in that state they are entirely ignorant of their former existence; they do not know any events that transpire, they cannot read their own register; but the moment their senses come to them, they reflect and begin at the place they left off when they became deranged. Man sleeps the sleep of death, but the spirit lives where the record of his deeds is kept—that does not die—man cannot kill it; there is no decay associated with it, and it still retains in all its vividness the remembrance of that which transpired before the separation by death of the body and the ever-living spirit. Man sleeps for a time in the grave, and by-and-by he rises again from the dead and goes to judgment; and then the secret thoughts of all men are revealed before Him with whom we have to do; we cannot hide them; it would be in vain for a man to say then, I did not do so-and-so; the command would be, unravel and read the record which he has made of himself, and let it testify in relation to these things, and all could gaze upon it. If a man has acted fraudulently against his neighbor—has committed murder, or adultery, or any thing else, and wants to cover it up, that record will stare him in the face, he tells the story himself, and bears witness against himself. It is written that Jesus will judge not after the sight of the eye, or after the hearing of the ear, but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity the meek of the earth. It is not because somebody has seen things, or heard anything by which a man will be judged and condemned, but it is because that record that is written by the man himself in the tablets of his own mind—that record that cannot lie—will in that day be unfolded before God and angels, and those who shall sit as judges. There will be some singular developments then, I think. If this is to be the case, as was said formerly, “What manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness?” There is, in fact, something in this, that in a partial degree can be read even on this earth. There are men who profess to be phrenologists and physiologists who profess to read character, and perhaps some man, from a knowledge of human nature and from a study of the human mind, can, upon natural principles, unfold a great many things. And there is associated with this Church such a gift as is called the discerning of spirits; but it is one of those things which we see in part and understand in part, etc.; “but when that which is in part is done away, and that which is perfect has come, then we shall see as we are seen, and know as we are known.” That is only a part of what the other will be the perfection of. When we get into the eternal world, into the presence of God our Heavenly Father, his eye can penetrate every one of us, and our own record of our lives here shall develop all. I do not say that he will take trouble to read everybody. We read concerning the apostles in former times, that when Jesus should sit in judgment, they should be seated upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel; and it is also written, “Know ye not that the Saints shall judge the world?” Who will be judges of the world in this generation? You, yourselves, who understand the laws of the Priesthood must say, Now, then, if these things are so, it beho[o]ves us to consider and ponder well the paths of our feet, it beho[o]ves me to be careful what I do, what doctrines I advance, what principles I inculcate, and see to it that I do my duty before God, and the angels, and all men, for I cannot obliterate the record which is written here. If I am engaged in business transactions of any kind, it beho[o]ves me to know what I am doing; that I am dealing as I would wish men to deal with me; if I do not, the record is there. I think we read somewhere, that if our own conscience condemn us, God is greater than our conscience; “if our own hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts.” If I be a father and have charge of a family, it beho[o]ves me to know what kind of an example I set before them, and how I conduct myself; it beho[o]ves both fathers and mothers to know that they are making a record of their doings that they will not be ashamed of. It beho[o]ves children to know what kind of a course they take towards their parents, and towards the building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth. If I am an Elder in Israel, or whatever office I hold in the Church, it beho[o]ves me to comprehend my position, know myself, and act as a Saint of God in all things, which may the Lord help us to do in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Men Ought to Practise What They Teach, etc.

Heber C. Kimball

Remarks made by President Heber C. Kimball, at Centerville, Sunday, Feb. 1, 1865. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I desire most humbly to talk very simply to my brethren and sisters. It is as much my duty as it is the duty of any other member of this Church to learn how to be a Saint. I have got to learn how to be a truthful man, an honest man, an upright man, and I have got to make myself competent, through faithfulness to God and my brethren, to teach others with propriety. It is a common saying, “Do as I say but not as I do;” but I want to do just as I teach you to do without any deviation. There is not anything in my calling that will justify me in doing wrong. It would be nonsense for me to undertake to preach righteousness, virtue, truthfulness, and justice, and not be a righteous, virtuous, and just man myself. You hold a portion of that same holy Priesthood which I hold; it is no matter what office you hold in that Priesthood, and it has all emanated out of the holy Apostleship, making these different offices and callings branches of the Apostleship. We all have a Priesthood to honor, which it is impossible for us to do unless we honor ourselves; and all who hold the Priesthood and honor themselves, are worthy of honor; and it is impossible to honor the Priesthood in that man and not honor the vessel that holds it.

We can command the respect of all men as a people by making ourselves self-sustaining, by acquiring a knowledge of all kinds of mechanical business; and our sisters can make themselves honorable by learning to knit, weave, and spin; how to make a harness for a loom, and how to warp the yarn, after they have spun and colored it. Every young woman who calculates to be a wife and a mother, should make herself acquainted with these matters. Is there any female in our society too good to learn and work at this home industry? I think not. If there are any who consider themselves so, they are also too good to wear home-made clothing. The Priesthood is also with the woman, because she is connected with the man, and the man is connected with his God. Being so connected, we must all be honorable if we are good.

The earth is enlightened by the same light which enlightens our eyes, which is the light of Christ, which enlighteneth every son and daughter of Adam and Eve who cometh into the world, and it is the same light by which I see you this morning. And we have, in addition to this, a holy Priesthood, and have been commanded to go forth and preach the Gospel, and teach the ways of life to all men, and not to be taught by unbelievers. We are also instructed to lead all meetings as we are dictated by the Holy Ghost. The spirit of truth is the spirit of revelation, which we may all possess, for it is the privilege of all Latter-day Saints so to live and honor God as to receive of his attributes and nature in greater perfection, and become more like Him. We are the sons and daughters of God; we have proceeded from him through the laws of generation, the same as my children have proceeded from me. God is the great father of our race, and as a man is not perfect without the woman, neither is the woman without the man in the Lord they depend upon each other, and are necessary to each other for the propagation of our species.

I enjoyed myself very much at your party last night. Such social gatherings are always good in their effects, so long as we keep within the purview of the religion of Jesus Christ in all such exercises. It is my privilege and duty to live so as to become a good man, as much so as any man in this Church and kingdom. Being an Apostle does not excuse me in the least from the performance of every duty which the religion of Jesus makes binding upon me; and, as far as I am concerned, I live as faithfully as possible, considering the failings of mortality which I have in common with all men. There is not a day passes over my head that I do not bow before the Lord once, twice, or thrice; that is the way I have got to live, in order to be a good man, and retain the light of the Holy Spirit to guide me into all truth; and the same faithfulness is required of you, because you are members of the same body and of the same Priesthood. We should all be alive in the performance of our duties. We cannot live the religion of, Jesus and not pray. I have had an experience in this Church of some thirty-two years. I commenced to pray before I heard of the Work of the last days, and I have prayed every day from that day until the present time. I have never been in a circumstance or place wherein I could not pray, if I was disposed to do so. As faith without works is dead, being alone, so our religion is of no benefit to us without prayer. I cannot live and be prospered in the kingdom of God only by a faithful attendance to every duty. When Jesus Christ came to the world as the messenger of life and salvation, he called upon all the ends of the earth to come unto him and be saved, for besides him there is no Savior. He also said, I am the true vine and my Father is the husbandman, that is, he proceeded from the Father; and he further says to the twelve, “And ye are the branches;” and he exhorted them to abide in him even as he abideth in the Father. In doing this they partake of the same spirit. If we abide not in Him, we become like a limb that is dead and ready to be burned.

My being one of the First Presidency of the Church does not excuse me from living my religion; but I should, on that account, be more faithful, and show an example to the flock of Christ, and constantly be alive to know how things are progressing in the Church, and be dictated by the Holy Ghost in every act of my life, that I may have power to discern the spirits of men, and be able to give unto them the very counsel that my Father in heaven would give them if he were here himself. I endeavor to take this course, and when I give counsel, I do not run against Brother Brigham, because I am led by the same spirit. You call these things little things, but they are as big things as I know of; these things lie at the root of the matter, and from them spring the fruits of righteousness. The main roots of a tree are fed by the little fibres, and from them spring the trunk, and the branches, and the fruit. Let us cultivate those principles which lie at the root of all righteousness, that our professions and works may accord with each other, instead of being contented with a mere form of godliness, without power or foundation. This Church is founded upon eternal truth; its roots run into eternity, and all the power of the devil and wicked men may seek its overthrow in vain, for it will triumph over death, hell, and the grave. I know this. I know it by revelation—by the Spirit of God, for in this way my Heavenly Father communes with me, and maketh known unto me his mind and will. I have never seen him in person, but when I see my brethren I see his image, and I discover the attributes of God in them. Then let us honor our bodies and spirits, which are made in the likeness of him who has created all things and upholds them by his power.

I have never seen a time since I entered this Church when there was greater necessity for this people living faithfully than now. It is a very prosperous time, and we are gaining property fast; and many, I fear, are losing sight of everything else but the riches of this world; and, were you to warn them of it, they are so blinded by the deceitfulness of riches, that they would not believe a word you say. The more people stray away from God the harder it is to make them sensible of their danger; and the more light that men and women possess, the easier it is to correct them when they go astray; because they are more like the clay that is in the hands of the potter, and they can be moulded and fashioned according to the will and pleasure of the master potter. We have got to walk very faithfully before our Father in heaven, and strive with all our might to honor the covenants we have made with him in his house.

I do not say but that you are just as good men and women in this place as in any other place in the mountains; yea, I admit that the people are better in the country towns than in Great Salt Lake City, for the froth and scum of hell seem to concentrate there, and those who live in the City have to come in contact with it; and with persons who mingle with robbers, and liars, and thieves, and with whores and whore-masters, etc. Such wicked men will also introduce themselves into Davis County, and among all the settlements throughout these mountains; but where the people are truly righteous and just, wicked men can do them no harm; were the people all righteous who profess to be Latter-day Saints, they would constantly be on their watch against the encroachment of a wicked power. The wicked and corrupt who have settled in our community are taking a course to lead away those who are willing to be led away from the truth—those who have turned away from God; and it will be for our good, as a community, if such persons will leave and never again return to our Territory, unless they can do so with a determination to serve God and keep his commandments. I love those who love God; they are more precious to me than gold, and silver, or possessions.

Do we live our religion as faithfully as we might? Are we not in the habit of telling lies now and then? Oh, yes, we tell occasionally a white lie, or a little catnip lie, once in a while. We should be perfectly truthful and honest in all our sayings and dealings with all men, especially with those who serve the same God that we do, and are in the bonds of the same religion. How to do this is one of the great mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. By telling these little fibs we lose the spirit of the Lord and get into darkness, then the simplest truth becomes a mystery to us; but when our minds are enlightened by the spirit of truth, everything is plain and clear to the understanding. People get an idea that there is no sin in little lies, or catnip lies. You read in the Book of Mormon, where it is said that the devil goeth about deceiving the children of men, and tells them to lie a little, and steal a little, and take the advantage of your neighbor a little, and speak against thy neighbors a little, and do wrong a little here and a little there, and thus he leadeth them with silken cords, as it were, down to destruction. It is just as much a crime to steal a penny or a cent as it is to steal a quarter of a dollar—the quarter of a dollar is more in value than the cent, but what difference is there in the crime? These little things we are apt to pass over unnoticed, but they will operate materially against your obtaining that glory which you design to inherit in the next existence. If little wrongs are not checked, they will lead on to greater ones, until we are cheated out of our salvation. By checking these little wrongs, as they are called, we become more grounded and rooted in the faith of Christ, as a tree is rooted and grounded in the earth.

We ought not to take a course to injure each other. A man holding the Priesthood of the Son of God, a High Priest for instance, will try to destroy the influence of a better man, causing him to walk in sorrow, that he, the High Priest, may step over him and get to some particular distinction; but as the Lord lives, and as the sun shines, such men will be deceived in their designs, and will receive in full the measure they have tried to measure out to others. In our deal with each other, it is better to give a man a dollar than to take a cent from him; by wronging a man of a dollar or a few cents, you may thereby cause a division between yourself and one of your best friends. What for? For a poor, miserable dollar. I have been, and am now, subject to many weaknesses that I would guard you against, but I am trying to fortify myself and overcome every evil that is in me.

I will relate a little incident in my own experience to illustrate the selfishness of the human heart, and how by perseverance it can be overcome. I have lately been at work putting down some carpets in the endowment rooms. I had a piece of good carpet myself, and a spirit came upon me which whispered, “Brother Heber, you may just as well put that carpet into the endowment house as let it lie on one of your floors.” Before I got it out of doors to move it to the endowment house, my generous feeling puckered up and a thought came to me, that the Church was fully able to carpet its own rooms. I took the carpet and put it away again. In a day or two afterwards a thought came to me like this, “Heber, you had better take that carpet and use it in the Lord’s house, for before the spring it may be eat up with moths.” I looked at the carpet again, after bringing it from its hiding place, and said to myself, “That is really a pretty carpet; it is almost too good to put down in that house,” and I put it away again. The thought came to me again, “You had better put it in the endowment house and beautify the Lord’s house with it, for the Lord may notice it, and he will, no doubt, see you dressing up and adorning his house.” I seized the carpet again and dragged it out of doors at once, and placed myself between it and the door, saying to the carpet, “You do not go back again into that room any more.” I presume that nearly all of you have had just such feelings and just such fightings against the power of evil in yourselves, and against carrying into effect your good and generous intentions.

The other day my wife was sick; she came to me and requested me to pray to the Lord that she might be healed. The matter passed from my mind. The day following this I remarked to her that I had not seen her looking so well for some time previous. She replied, “I am perfectly sound.” I had forgotten about her request that I should pray for her, and had not done so; but she was healed through her honesty, faith, and integrity towards the holy Priesthood. She reverenced and honored it; the Holy Spirit saw it, and the angels of God saw it, and she was healed by the power of God, without the laying on of hands. It was with that circumstance as it was anciently. “The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof; but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.”

We who hold the Priesthood do not honor each other as we ought in our intercourse with each other; if we do not honor each other, how can we expect to be honored by God and by his Holy Spirit, who seeth us and is cognizant of all we do. We must try to overcome all unpleasant and unkind language towards each other, and strive to have our intercourse such as angels will applaud. It is written, “resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Some people do not believe that there are any devils. There are thousands of evil spirits that are just as ugly as evil can make them. The wicked die, and their spirits remain not far from where their tabernacles are. When I was in England, twenty-eight years ago next June, I saw more devils than there are persons here to-day; they came upon me with an intention to destroy me; they are the spirits of wicked men who, while in the flesh, were opposed to God and his purposes. I saw them with what we call the spiritual eyes, but what is in reality the natural eye. The atmosphere of many parts of these mountains is doubtless the abode of the spirits of Gadianton robbers, whose spirits are as wicked as hell, and who would kill Jesus Christ and every Apostle and righteous person that ever lived if they had the power. It is by the influence of such wicked spirits that men and women are all the time tempted to tell little lies, to steal a little, to take advantage of their neighbor a little, and they tell us there is no harm in it. It is by the influence and power of evil spirits that the minds of men are prejudiced against each other, until they are led to do each other an injury, and sometimes to kill each other.

We are the sons and daughters of God if we are faithful and honor our calling, and he has respect unto one as much as unto another. In a revelation given to Joseph Smith, it is written, “And again I say unto you, let every man esteem his brother as himself; for what man among you having twelve sons and is no respecter of them, and they serve him obediently, and he saith unto the one, be thou clothed in robes, and sit thou here; and to the other, be thou clothed in rags, and sit thou there, and looketh upon his sons and saith, I am just?” In this way the Lord looks upon this people, and I feel to say, God bless this people with all the power I have got, and with all the good feeling, and with all the Priesthood of the Son of God I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ, and I pray for you and for all this people. Oh, how I desire for us all to be one; for if we are not one, we must see sorrow. Brother Brigham says, If we live our religion and keep the commandments of God, we shall never be moved. That is true. If we are ever disturbed again by our enemies, it will be because we are unfaithful. The first Presidency of this Church and others may be just as righteous and holy as our Father in heaven, and yet a portion of this people can, by their wrong doing, bring sorrow and suffering upon us. The first Presidency, and thousands of others in this Church, are not guilty of crime; we have done right all the time, and we have to suffer for those who are punished for their sins. When one or two among a family are wayward and break the laws of the land, see what sorrow, and tears, and disgrace it brings upon the whole family. It is just so with us. But oh! my desires are for you to do right, and honor your calling, and work faithfully under the dictation of President Young and others who are co-workers with him in the great Work of the last days.

I feel that I would be willing to work day and night to do my brethren and sisters good. I want the rising generation to come forth and secure their blessings in the house of the Lord, that they may be saved from the evil into which they might otherwise fall. If our sons could fully and clearly see the propriety of living their religion, they would from this day cease to mingle with wicked persons; and our daughters, too, if they understood the consequences, would never be found giving themselves in marriage to wicked men. As parents and teachers, we should try with all of our ability to impress upon the minds of our young people, by precept and example, principles of truth, that they may not remain uncontrolled and exposed to all the allurements of sin. We should tie them to us by the saving principles of the Gospel. I want to see this people established in peace, and in a way that they can sway the sceptre of King Emmanuel over the whole earth before I lay my body down to sleep a short time in the grave.

Let us remember that the liberal man deviseth liberal things, and by his liberality he shall live. I can tell you a hundred instances where I have been poor and penniless, and did not know what course to take, and the evil one would tempt me and seek to make me bow down in sorrow, but I would rise up in the name of the Lord, shake off my cares, exclaiming, I know that my Father in heaven lives and has respect for me; then I have been blessed, and my way has been opened before me. “Seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. Draw near to God and he will draw nigh unto you.” Oh! what a great comfort it is to know that you live in the favor of your Father in heaven. If I am faithful, I know it is not in the power of any man upon earth to throw an obstruction between me and Him.

Truth has sprung from the earth, and righteousness has looked down from heaven, and they have met and have kissed each other—they are one. It should be just so with those who possess the holy Priesthood of the Son of God; it never will lead one man to contend against another, and the angels of God never will cause any person to contend about any of the follies of this world, for all the glory of this world is perfectly worthless without God. The life of man is but a few days, and these few days well spent will be spent to secure a place in the haven of eternal rest. Seeing that we have only a few days allotted us to secure so great a blessing, why can we not be faithful every day and every hour of our lives; and why do we yield the point to wicked influences and spend our precious moments in that which yieldeth no profit?

We shall soon pass away and return again with renewed and immortal bodies that will not be subject to sickness and death; then shall we have plenty of time and opportunity to adorn the earth and make it glorious, as we should be doing now, in order to gain an experience by which we may be profited hereafter. We came here into this world to gain an experience and to serve God and keep his commandments. May peace be with you, and comfort and consolation be multiplied upon you and all the Saints in these valleys and in all the world. I do not fear the wicked, they can do nothing against the truth; let us be troubled about doing right ourselves, and I am willing to risk all the rest. Amen.

Religious Ideas of the World Contrasted with Those of the Saints, etc.

John Taylor

Remarks by Elder John Taylor, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday, Mar. 5, 1865. Reported by E. L. Sloan.

As we travel along through what is sometimes called this “vale of tears,” there are many thoughts that occupy our minds, and many subjects for reflection present themselves, sometimes concerning the living and sometimes concerning the dead. However, it is with the living that we have to do at the present time, and it is “Life and the pursuit of happiness” that ought to occupy the attention of all intellectual beings. Mankind have various views and ideas in relation to the attainment of happiness upon the earth, and also after we leave the earth; and those views and ideas that are entertained by us in relation to these matters influence, to a greater or less extent, our actions and proceedings in life. We look at things through another medium, and judge of them from another stand-point, than which they are generally viewed by the inhabitants of the earth. We look upon it that the greatest happiness that we can attain to is in securing the approbation of our Heavenly Father, in fearing God, in being made acquainted with his laws—with the principles of eternal truth, and with those things that we consider will best promote not only our temporal, but our eternal happiness.

There are a great many men in the world who, in the abstract, would say this is correct—that it is very proper for man, who is made in the image of God, to fear him. They would sing as Wesley did:—

“Wisdom to silver we prefer, And gold is dross compared with her: In her right hand are length of days, True riches and immortal praise,” &c.

But then, when we come to scan the matter more minutely, we find that it is, really, only in the abstract that these things are viewed, and that people, generally, carry their religion very easily. They wear it very loosely about them. They do not enter into it with that earnestness and zeal which we, as a people, generally do. Hence, there is quite a difference between them and us in these particulars. Men generally suppose that it is well enough to fear God on Sunday, and perhaps attend to religion a little during the week, but not much; that a course of the latter kind would interfere too much with the daily avocations of life; and that it would be almost impossible for the generality of mankind to attend to these things in the way that we, as a people, believe in. Preaching, for instance, they believe must be done by a man specially set apart for the purpose, who by that means obtains his living, just as another man would in the profession of law, or in any other avocation or trade. In the Church of England, with which I was first connected—inducted into it when a boy, or rather a child— they have not only ministers to read their prayers, but clerks to say amen for them, so that the people have literally nothing to do but go to meeting. Men may profess religion and be drunkards, riotous, fraudulent, debauchees, &c.; yet that does not make much difference, for when they die and are put into consecrated ground, the minister, in reading the service for the dead, declares that their bodies are committed to the dust “In the sure and certain hope of a glorious resurrection.” I used to think when a boy, if such men went to heaven, I should not wish to be in their society; but if there were more apartments than one, I should like to select my company.

It must be a very pleasing sort of way for people to do just as they please when living, and be considered very genteel and fashionable, and then when they die, instead of running the risk of being damned, as they do among the Methodists, have a sure and certain hope of a glorious resurrection. I have studied the theories and views of many other Christian denominations, particularly Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, and various sects of what is called Protestantism, and a similar inconsistency runs through them. A man may be a robber, a murderer, a blasphemer, in fact, no matter how wicked he is, if they can only get him converted or born again immediately before he dies, it is all right; if they can get him to receive religion and believe in Jesus, even though he is about to be hung for some horrible crime—murder in the most aggravated form—he is prepared to enter into the kingdom of heaven to enjoy the society of God and angels; while another man, who may have been moral, upright, honorable, charitable, and humane, is consigned to everlasting burnings because he has not been converted or born again. Yet many of these people are sincere in their convictions, both among teachers and taught, among priests and people. I used to think, what becomes of the justice of God under such circumstances?

In relation to these matters we differ very materially from them, as well as in other things. We are what may emphatically be called a kingdom of priests. But with us, we do not get so much pay for so much work done in the discharge of the duties appertaining to the Priesthood, in the sense in which the religious world look for such remuneration. We have to preach, to attend to the duties of our callings, to administer in the ordinances of God, and to carry the Gospel to the nations of the earth, trusting in God, without salary or pecuniary reward. That is a thing the religious world do not think of, nor believe in doing. The idea of having faith in God about temporal things is a something they cannot understand; they cannot reconcile it with their philosophy; though they profess any amount of faith in the Lord in spiritual things. There is a very material difference between them and us about these matters.

The same thing runs throughout almost every subject on which we reflect and exercise thought upon. Many people suppose, because we differ from them religiously, that we are opposed to them and that we are their enemies. We feel a good deal as Paul felt concerning the Israelites when he said, “My daily prayer is, that Israel may be saved.” Yet Israel persecuted him because he did not believe as they believed in many things. We differ from others in political matters to a great extent. We have other ideas from what they have. We cannot help it. We reason upon certain things and reflect upon them, and use our judgment about them; and when we see things that are wrong, we consider they are wrong, and so state it, and believe that nothing can make a wrong into a right, nothing can turn an error into a truth; and hence there is quite a difference of feeling sometimes arises in relation to many of these things. We believe, for instance, in our religious matters, that God ought to govern us. We believe that when we are called upon to perform any labor or service of any kind, it is part of our religious faith that we must perform that, independent of any consequences whatever. No other people have got this religious feeling. Do you think you could transplant a number of the Church of England people into these valleys in the condition they were in when we came here? No, you could not. They would want to know where their living was to come from, and how they were to be sustained. You may go to the old Methodists, that are yet more zealous, and they would not do it. When the rush was made for the California gold mines here, shortly after they were discovered, a certain number of priests went with them to dig gold, and to take care of their souls, I suppose, at the same time. But then there was supposed to be gold to pay for it. And, as the Scriptures say, “As with the people, so with the priest,” they all travelled in the one road.

With us a few: it is true, have gone after gold—a few straggling ones here and there have wandered in search of it; but the generality of our Elders, while some few have gone in this direction, have been away travelling through the nations of the earth, trying to help forward the best interests and happiness of the human family, and inculcating those great principles which God has revealed from the heavens for the salvation of man; travelling, too, without purse or scrip. I remember, during the time of the gold fever, everybody wished to see me, where I was travelling, because they wanted to know something about the gold, and they thought I was acquainted with the neighborhood where it was obtained. They were surprised that our Elders should be leaving the prospects of such wealth, and going forth on a mission such as we are going on, so profitless and dishonourable in the estimation of men. But the Elders who did it were so infatuated, as some people would say, that they would go forward to the ends of the earth to preach what was viewed as imposture—a something that was considered to be opposed to everything good. It was to them astonishing that men would leave this gold that exerts so powerful an attraction upon the minds and bodies of men; their motives and acts were not comprehended. But our Elders did it, and hence we differed very materially from others in relation to these matters.

We differ from them, also, with regard to our political views, for they are based on our religious faith; we believe in God, and therefore we fear him; we believe he has established his kingdom upon the earth, and therefore we cling to it; we believe that he is designing to turn, and overturn, and revolutionize the nations of the earth, and to establish a government that shall be under his rule, his dominion, and authority, and shall emphatically be called the government of God, or, in other words, the kingdom of God. There is nothing strange, however, in this; for a great many parties, both in the United States and in the governments of the old world, have believed in the kingdom of God being established in the last days; it has been a favorite doctrine, both among Socialists and Christians, and much has been said and written about it, theoretically. The difference between them and us is, they talk about something to come; we say that it has commenced, and that this is that kingdom.

Well, but do you not hold allegiance to the government of the United States also? Do you not believe in the laws and institutions thereof? Yes, we have always sustained and upheld them; and although we have had many very heavy provocations to make us feel rebellious and opposed to that government, yet we have always sustained it under all circumstances and in every position. When they tried to cut our throats, we rather objected to that, you know. We had some slight objection to have our heads cut off and be trampled under foot; we did not think it was either constitutional or legal. But when they took their swords away from our necks and said that we might enjoy the rights of American citizens, that was all we wanted.

There is, however, a kind of political heresy that we have always adopted. We have always maintained that we had a right to worship God as we thought proper under the constitution of the United States, and that we would vote as we pleased. But some people took a notion to say “they would be damned if we should.” We told them, however, that was a matter of their own taste; that we would seek to be saved and yet we would do it. It has always been a principle with us, and in fact is given in one of our revelations, “that he who will observe the laws of God need not transgress the laws of the land.” It has always been a principle inculcated by the authorities of this Church, and taught by our Elders, never to interfere with the political affairs of any nation where they might be—that is, as Elders. They go forth with the Gospel of peace, to preach to the people, and not to interfere with their political institutions. If a mission of that kind should be given at any future time, all well and good. I have always so represented our belief, and acted accordingly, wherever I have been, and so have my brethren in England, in France, in Germany, and in all nations where I have been. I have always adhered to the laws of the nation where I sojourned. In the United States we stand in a political capacity, in this Territory, as part and parcel of the United States. We occupy that position; we are obliged to do so; we cannot help ourselves if we wish it, but we do not wish it. We are a number of men here—a multitude of people, men, women, and children, occupying quite an extensive Territory, with settlements extending over a distance of 500 miles in length. What the amount of population is I am not prepared to say; but I am prepared to say that, as a population, as a people, as a Territory, we have always been loyal to the institutions of our government, and I am at the defiance of the world to prove anything to the contrary. When we left—I was going to say the United States—what did we leave for? Why did we leave that country? Was it because its institutions were not good? No. Was it because its constitution was not one of the best that was ever framed? No. Was it because the laws of the United States, or of the States where we sojourned, were not good? No. Why was it? It was because there was not sufficient virtue found in the Executive to sustain their own laws. That was the reason, gentlemen. Is this anything to be proud of? It is a thing that should make every honorable American hide his head in shame; and all reflecting, intelligent, and honorable men feel thus.

It is well understood that executive officers, whether State or Federal, are bound by the most solemn oath, to sustain the constitution and laws of the United States and of the States where they reside; and where those concerned aided in, or permitted, the expulsion of forty thousand American citizens from their homes, they stood perjured before their country and God; and this huge suicidal act of ostracism proclaimed them enemies of republican institutions and of humanity; traitors to their country, and recreant alike to its laws, constitution, and institutions. “But it was only the damned Mormons. It was only them, was it not?” Who were these “damned Mormons?” We cannot help thinking about these things just the same as we do about religious matters. Why, these “damned Mormons” were American citizens; and the constitution and laws of the United States, and of the several States, guaranteed, just as far as guarantee is worth anything, to these “damned Mormons” just the same rights and privileges that they did to the blessed Christians. But we came here. Now, what is the use of trying to hoodwink us and tell us that we have been very well treated? They know we cannot believe them, and that no rational, intelligent, honorable man would expect us to believe them; such assertions are an outrage at variance alike with common sense and our own experience. But did we rebel? No, we did not act as the Southern States have done. We came here; and, in the absence of any other government, we organized a provisional state government, just the same as Oregon did before us. Thus, in the midst of this abuse heaped upon us, we showed our adherence to the institutions and constitution of our country. If bad men bore rule, if corrupt men held sway—men who had neither the virtue nor the fortitude to maintain the right and protect the institutions and constitution of this, shall I say, our once glorious country—if men could not be found who possessed sufficient integrity to maintain their oaths and their own institutions, there was a people here found of sufficient integrity to the constitution and institutions of the United States not to abandon them. That has been our feeling all the time, and it is based, also, upon that belief considered by a majority of the people of this and other nations as erroneous and false. Again when, after these things had transpired, we petitioned the United States to give us either a territorial or a state government, did that show anything inimical to the institutions of our Government? Verily, no; the very fact of our doing this proclaimed our loyalty and attachment to the institutions of the country. We got then, and had given unto us, a territorial government. We were recognized once more as citizens of the United States. We had sent among us Governors, appointed by the United States; Judges, a Secretary, Marshal, and all the adjuncts, powers, and officers with the territorial government. By them, in many instances, we have been belied, traduced, abused, outraged, and imposed upon. Have we retorted against the United States? No, we have not. Is it the duty of Federal officers, governors, judges, and other officers coming into our midst, secretaries, Indian agents, etc., to conspire against the people they come among? Is it their duty to traduce, abuse, vilify, and misrepresent them? In other places such men would be summarily dealt with. We have borne these things from time to time. They were not very much calculated to strengthen the attachment that we had so often and so strongly manifested to the government of which we form a part. Still, we have been true to our trust, to our integrity, and to the institutions and constitution of our country all the time in the midst of these things.

Through some of those misrepresentations and a corrupt administration, a pretext was found to send an army out here. We heard the report sounding along from those plains that they were coming to destroy and lay waste. What, a government destroy its own offspring? An army raised against an infant Territory? The cannon and the sword, the rifle and the pistol, brought to spread death and desolation among a peaceful people. Is that republicanism? Are those the blessings of a paternal government? Is that the genius of those institutions that were framed to protect man in the enjoyment of all his rights, and to guarantee equal rights to all men? Would that country be an asylum for the oppressed? Would it be a place of refuge or protection to any one? What was left for us to do under those circumstances but to act as men and American citizens? To fall back on our reserved rights, and say to those political gamblers who would stake the lives of the citizens of a Territory in their damning games. Back with your hosts, touch not God’s anointed, and do his prophets no harm. Was there anything wrong in that? No; I would do it ten thousand times over under the circumstances, under this government or any other on the face of the earth with God to help me. No man, no government has the right, at the instigation of traitors, to destroy innocent men, women, and children. God never gave them such a right, the people never gave it to them, and they never had it. True, after a while, some peace-commissioners came along; why did they not come before and inquire into matters? Because of the lack of virtue and integrity among those who professed to rule the nation, and because of a desire to make political capital out of our destruction. Does that alter the institutions of our country or interfere with the Constitution of the country? Verily no. And our hearts beat as fervent in favor of those principles to-day as they ever did. But we feel indignant at the rascals who would try to betray those principles bequeathed to the nation. We cannot help it. We reason upon these principles the same as we do upon other things.

But we frequently hear, “You are not loyal.” Who is it that talks of loyalty? Those who are stabbing the country to its very vitals. Are they the men that are loyal? Those who are sowing the seeds of discord; those who are perjuring themselves before high Heaven and the country they profess to serve? Are these the loyal men? If so, God preserve me and this people from such loyalty from this time, henceforth, and for ever. We look at these things from another stand-point, and view them in a different light entirely from most others.

We had a grand celebration yesterday. I was there, and much pleased to see the brethren turn out as they did. I was glad to hear the remarks of Judge Titus. They were very good; very patriotic. I wish the principles then advanced could always be carried out; that is the worst I wish. Sometimes people think we are acting almost hypocritically when we talk of loyalty to the constitution of the United States. We will stand by that constitution and uphold the flag of our country when everybody else fo[r]sakes it. We cannot shut our eyes to things transpiring around us. We have our reason, and God has revealed unto us many things; but never has he revealed anything in opposition to those institutions and that Constitution, no, never; and, another thing, he never will.

But did not Joseph Smith prophecy that there would be a rebellion in the United States? He did, and so have I scores and hundreds of times; and what of that? Could I help that? Could Joseph Smith help knowing that a rebellion would take place in the United States? Could he help knowing it would commence in South Carolina? You could not blame him for that. He was in his grave at the time it commenced; you killed him long ago; but you did not do away with the fact that this state of things should exist. If the Lord—we all talk about the Lord, you know, Christians as well as “Mormons,” and about the providences of God, and the interposition of the Almighty—if the Lord has a design to accomplish, if there is a fate, if you like the word any better—and some infidels as well as Christians believe strongly in the doctrine of fate—if there is a fate in these things, who ordered it? Who can change its course? Who can stop it? Who can alter it? Joseph Smith did not instigate the rebellion in South Carolina, for he was not there. I heard yesterday from our former representative in Congress—Mr. Hooper—that when in Washington in that capacity, he was approached by two members of Congress from the South who said we had grievances to redress, and that then was the time to have them redressed, stating what great support it would give the Southern cause if Utah was to rise in rebellion against the government. He told them we had difficulties with the government, but we calculated they would be righted in the government or we would endure them. This has been uniformly our feelings. “What is your opinion of the war?” some would ask. If I had had the management of some of those things long ago, I would have hung up a number of Southern fire-eaters on one end of a rope and a lot of rabid Abolitionists on the other end, as enemies and traitors to their country. That is not very disloyal, is it?

We look at things through a different medium than some do, and we feel perfectly calm, perfectly tranquil with regard to our status and what is to come religiously, politically, and every other way. One of our sisters showed me a letter the other day which she had received from a gentleman in New York; he was one of those psychologists who profess to be investigating mind and its operations. He asked her in his letter something like this:—“Have you got among you the vision of prophecy?” I do not know that I give the words exactly. She came to me to see what she should say in reply. Said I, “Tell the gentleman he does not know the question he is asking, and he would not understand the answer if he had it.” The psychology and philosophy that is trying to examine the human mind through the medium of human intelligence, without the aid of the Spirit of God, can never find it out. It was written of old that “no man can know the things of God but by the Spirit of God;” and if they do not know it, you cannot teach it unto them, unless they get a portion of that Spirit.

I am not surprised at men marvelling at our proceedings and wondering at the course we pursue, and in relation to our views. It cannot be expected that they can do anything else. Jesus said to Nicodemus, when he came to talk with Him concerning the things of the kingdom of God, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” And if he cannot see it, how can he comprehend it? How can a man comprehend a thing which he cannot see? So it is with the truth, because no man knows the things of God but by the Spirit of God. “Then you place yourselves on a more elevated platform than anybody else?” This we have the arrogance to do; but we have the honesty to acknowledge that it is from God we receive all, and not through ourselves; and that is why the world will not acknowledge nor believe in the philosophy of the heavens and the earth, of time and eternity; that all things are within the grasp of the intelligence of that mind that is lighted up by the light of the Spirit of God. But how vague and uncertain are the ideas of those who have not that Spirit! Look at the arguments, not only of the divines of the present day but of past ages, in regard to their religious views; look also at the difference of opinion of the best philosophers in regard to the science of life. There is nothing tangible, nothing real, nothing certain. Nothing but the Spirit of God can enlighten mens’ minds. Standing on this platform, we view all things of a political and religious nature associated with the earth we are living on as being very uncertain, intangible, and unphilosophical. We expect to see the nations waste, crumble, and decay. We expect to see a universal chaos of religious and political sentiment, and an uncertainty much more serious than anything that exists at the present time. We look forward to the time, and try to help it on, when God will assert his own right with regard to the government of the earth; when, as in religious matters so in political matters, he will enlighten the minds of those that bear rule, he will teach the kings wisdom and instruct the senators by the Spirit of eternal truth; when to him “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ.” Then “shall the earth be full of knowledge like as the waters cover the sea.” Then shall the mists of darkness be swept away by the light of eternal truth. Then will the intelligence of Heaven beam forth on the human mind, and by it they will comprehend everything that is great, and good, and glorious.

In the meantime, it is for us to plod along in the course God has dictated, yielding obedience to his divine laws, and be co-workers with him in establishing righteousness on the earth; and with feelings of charity towards all mankind, let our motto always be, “Peace on earth and good will to men.”

May God help us to do so, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Eternity of the Kingdom of God, etc.

Heber C. Kimball

Remarks made by President Heber C. Kimball, April 31, 1859. Reported by G. D. Watt.

It is some time since I have occupied much time in this stand. I want you, brethren, sisters, and friends, and all that live, to understand that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the kingdom of God, is the same to-day as it was thirty years ago.

I think it is twenty-seven or twenty-eight years since I came into this Church. My friends and relatives said it would come to naught probably in about a year. I told them it was a Church and kingdom which God had set up, and it never would come to naught; and I now say, it never will be overcome worlds without end. I know this just as well as I know I see you to-day. I knew it when I first became a member of this Church, but not so well as I do to-day. All the nations upon this earth will crumble back to their mother earth, but this Church will stand for ever; so you may set your hearts at rest upon that point.

Things are as we see them to prove our integrity towards God and his cause; for everything that can be shaken and overthrown will not stand, and that which cannot be shaken will remain. And those who stand will be like the gleaning of grapes after the vintage is done. So it will be with this people. It mattereth not what takes place, for it cannot affect the truth, but makes it shine brighter and brighter in the eyes of those who cleave to it, and bring forth the fruits of righteousness.

Joseph Smith was a prophet of the Most High, and laid the foundation of this great Work, and established the holy Priesthood upon the earth, and God gave many revelations through him for our guidance. He said many a time while he was living, “I am laying the foundation, and you, Brother Brigham, and your brethren the Twelve Apostles, with those who are connected with you in the holy Priesthood, will rear a great and mighty fabric upon it; you will bear off the kingdom.” And so it will be. Wicked men and wicked spirits may bring into requisition all the wisdom and cunning they possess to devise plans to overthrow this kingdom, but all their deep-laid plots will fail. They cannot do a thing to hinder the progress of this Work, but everything they do will promote it and bring it more and more into notice, from this time henceforth and for ever. I know it, and all hell cannot prevail against it; for Jesus says, “And upon this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it.” It is the same church that he established in his day which he has renewed unto us, with the same Priesthood and the same authority, and the Lord God will back up this kingdom and cause it to spread like a thrifty plant, and bring about his great purposes by the hands of those who cleave to it.

You may think me too absolute in my language; but how can I be too positive in that which I know? Were I to say I know you are in this tabernacle, would any language be too absolute? Just as certainly do I know that this Work is true and cannot be overthrown by the world; although they may seek to kill, and destroy, and persecute the Saints of God to the death, they never will prevail against it.

It would be well for every one of us to live the religion we profess and let our light so shine that others may see our good works and be led to honor the Lord, and do unto one another as we would wish others to do unto us, and stick to the faith and principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As the Apostle Paul says in his epistle to the Hebrews, “Therefore, (not) leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith towards God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection from the dead, and of eternal judgment.” But let us go on unto perfection, keeping our covenants and vows we have made with each other, with our God, and with the holy angels, and then we shall be blessed all the day long.

When a man backslides and loses the spirit of the Gospel, it is a hard case for that man to redeem himself and gain that communion with his God, with angels, and with the Holy Ghost, which he had in the beginning. Therefore, continue in the faith, progressing from grace to grace unto perfection. This is my exhortation and teaching unto you who profess the faith of Jesus Christ. Let us live our religion, repent and forsake all our sins, lie not, deceive not, steal not.

There is not a horse, ox, cow, sheep, or anything else that is stolen in this Territory, but what it is said the Mormons have done it. Though, doubtless, there are men who profess to be Latter-day Saints that are thieves. And as I said the other day to a person while talking on this matter, if a man will steal from a Gentile, he will steal from me, and vice versa. An honest man will be honest with all men.

This is the religion I have believed and practised ever since I have been a member of this Church, and before I embraced any religious profession, I was taught this by my mother and teachers; for I came from a Christian country—from old Vermont—and they are all Christians there, of course. How can those of the New England States be otherwise who have held up so nobly for their Christianity? They are much extolled for their righteousness. I was there taught to be righteous, and I used to say, like many others there, it was pretty hard for a man to be a righteous man and get any property; for they, in that country, were a pack of knaves who would take the teeth out of your head if you did not keep your mouth shut. That was the kind of Christianity I was brought up amongst, and I came to these mountains to get among a people that worship the Lord God in spirit and in truth.

Then armies, merchants, gamblers, the scum of the Eastern States followed upon our trail; but this is no excuse for me to do wrong and be unrighteous. If the strangers who are passing through to California wish to trade with me, I will deal as righteously with them as with my brethren. This kind of religion I have practised from my youth up.

As for the emigration this year that is passing through our country to California, let me tell you they are pretty fine fellows; they are as civil a set of men as I ever saw pass through these mountains; they mind their own business; they are not damning everybody and swearing they will kill the first Mormon they come across. Why is this? I expect all those kind of characters came with the army, and all the rest: are civil men travelling west to find riches. May God bless them and help them to do right. There is not one of them but what will be blessed in doing unto others as they wish others to do unto them.

Would there be any trouble in this world if all would take that course? Would there be any war, mobs, confusion, desolation, poverty, and distress, as you now see it in the United States and in the old countries? One half of the population of the world is starving for the want of the actual necessaries of life, while the other is living in pomp, and splendor, and extravagance; still, we all come from the same Father and God. It is astonishing to see the wrangling and confusion of this world. I came here with my brethren to get rid of fighting and contention. I have been driven five times, and tamely submitted to be robbed of my home and possessions. I have but two articles now which I had when I was first married, except my wife; one is a tea canister of my own making, of brown earthenware, and the other is a chest made by President Brigham Young.

God bless you, peace be with you, brethren and sisters, and with all the righteous, wherever they be, in this Church or out of it, it mattereth not to me; for I love a good and virtuous man, of whatever profession, who would do to me as he would wish me to do by him. Even so. Amen.

Condition of the Saints, etc.

George Q. Cannon

Remarks by Elder George Q. Cannon, made in the Tabernacle in Great Salt Lake City, March 19, 1865. Reported by G. D. Watt.

A number of excellent remarks have been made to-day in our hearing by the brethren who have spoken, to the truth of which, the Spirit of God accompanying them has borne record in our hearts. The Elders testify to the truth of the principles that we have embraced, and to speak upon them is as delightful a treat as we can have. There is nothing more delightful to the human mind, properly constituted, than to listen to the words of life and salvation spoken under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost; they are sweeter than the sweetest honey, and more satisfying than the best and most nutritious food; because they fill our spirits with joy and gladness, and we feel benefited, and refreshed, and strengthened by them, and then we occupy a closer relationship to our Father and God than before hearing his word. These are my feelings to-day, and they always have been whenever I have attended a meeting where the Spirit of God has prevailed.

A remark was made to-day which called up some reflections in my mind respecting us as a people. The speaker said that we were called illiterate and uneducated, and that we were despised because of our ignorance—because of the class of society from which the mass of us have been gathered. This, doubtless, is the feeling that is entertained in many parts respecting the Latter-day Saints. The remark brought into my mind a number of reflections respecting the position that Jesus occupied, that Jesus who is at the present time acknowledged, by all Christians at least, to be the greatest Being that ever trod the footstool of the Almighty. I thought of his lowly position, humble and obscure birth, and the surroundings he was brought up under; how he must have been despised by those who knew him when they heard the declarations which he made respecting his relationship to God our Father in heaven, and when they saw the men who had been appointed by him to proclaim the Gospel of salvation to the people, and also those associated with him. But now, as I have already stated, there is no doubt in the minds of those who profess to be Christians, that this same Jesus is the Son of God, the Creator of the world; that by him and through him all things were and are created, and that unto him we owe the salvation we have all received, and which we will eventually receive when we attain to the fulness of the glory promised unto us. It is not always they who are called from the humblest classes who are the most illiterate in the true sense of the word; at least, it is not the case with us as a people, nor with any people who have ever been called to the knowledge of the Gospel, or upon whom he has bestowed the power to administer the laws of salvation.

I reflect with great pleasure upon the prospects before us, and upon the past history of our people, and the wisdom God has given unto his servants, and to this people, to establish his truth, and to proclaim it unto the inhabitants of the earth, to accomplish his purposes in building up the kingdom he has so long promised he would establish in the latter times no more to be thrown down. When we see how God made choice of his servant Joseph, and brought him from obscurity and from the midst of ignorance, and bestowed upon him the wisdom of eternity, how he trained him in that knowledge which is necessary, both temporal and spiritual, to enable him to organize this great people—I call us a great people, not because of our numbers, but because of our prospects, our power, and our organization—He gave him wisdom necessary to organize His kingdom upon permanent principles, that it might grow like a seed planted in good ground—small in the beginning, but germinating and growing until it becomes a great and mighty tree. It was by means of the wisdom God gave unto Joseph Smith that he was enabled to organize the kingdom of God upon the earth out of the contending, conflicting elements in Babylon, upon principles that will cause it to increase until it shall spread over the whole earth. He not only gave this wisdom to his prophet Joseph, but he has also given it to his prophet Brigham, whom he has endowed with power and wisdom to take hold of His work where Joseph left it when he passed beyond the vail, and carrying it forward until, in the eyes of all observing and thinking men, it is the greatest wonder of the present age.

It is a wonder that when all nations of the earth are full of contention, strife, and disunion, when they are warring in deadly strife one against another, when they have not the power to cement themselves together, that there has been one man in the midst of the nations who has had such controlling influence that people have been gathered together from every nation, creed, and church, speaking a great variety of languages—men and women trained under different influences, circumstances, and habits. It is a wonder to see them collected as this people are to-day, to see them united and dwelling in peace, to see them governed by the slightest whisper of him God has appointed to preside, to see every obstruction moved from the path of the onward progress of the kingdom of God; not only this, but to see this wisdom developing itself through all the ramifications of that kingdom, to see it filling the breasts of those occupying the various offices in the Church—to see Bishops, Bishops’ Counsellers, Presidents and Presidents’ Counsellors, Apostles, High Priests, Seventies, Elders, Priests, Teachers, and Deacons filling the various offices assigned unto them to perform; though the same knowledge fills them to a less extent, still that spirit and that power are increasing in them which give promise unto them that the organization with which they are connected will become greats and mighty, and overwhelming in the midst of the earth.

We are called uneducated, illiterate, but there is a wisdom which is being developed in the midst of this people, and they are being trained in those principles that will make them great and mighty before God and man. We can see this now, but, with the eye of faith, we can see much more in the future, when the nations will seek for that wisdom which is alone in the possession of this people—a wisdom that will save them from the calamities and the evils that are coming upon them. It is not far distant. It will not be very long before men will seek to be taught of this people the principles that pertain to this and the next world. Though they now pretend to despise them, that knowledge is, nevertheless, in the midst of this people alone. They understand the principles that will save men—not only men individually, but as nations and communities, from the evils with which they are threatened here and hereafter. They have been obtained by us in the same manner in which they were obtained by Jesus Christ, by Peter, and by those associated with him; they have been obtained by the knowledge, and light, and intelligence of heaven, bestowed on men in answer to prayer and faith properly exercised. There is something very delightful and consoling in the reflection that men and women, no matter how ignorant, if they become acquainted with the principles of the Gospel, will become wise unto salvation, and be elevated and be developed, and continue to increase in everything that is great and desirable before God and man. We see this promise, which the Gospel holds out to us, being fulfilled.

We talk about the glory which is in store for us, and well we may talk about it, because we have, to a certain extent, had a foretaste on the earth of those promises, the fulness of which we shall enjoy in that world to which we are all hastening. We can see the effects of the Gospel upon the minds of the people, and upon our own minds; we see the people being morally developed in everything that will make them mighty before God. I know that the Lord, for a wise purpose, has called the noblest spirits that he had around him to come forth in this dispensation. He called them to come in humble circumstances, that they might receive the experience necessary to try and prove them in all things, that they might descend below all things, and gradually begin to ascend above all things; there was a wise design in this, and we see it carried out at the present time.

I take great delight in these things; it is a great pleasure to reflect upon this Work; for, view it which way you will, look at it from any standpoint, there is something attractive and lovely connected with it. We can all have this enjoyment, there is no defect or flaw in the system; there is nothing about it, if we had the power, that we could improve or make better. That is a great consolation to us; it is not the work of man, a cunningly-devised fable man has constructed. It is not made to suit our peculiar tastes and views, but it is eternal; it has always existed, and it accords with our being, and with the laws of our being, because the plan of salvation emanated from the same eternal source that we emanated from, and everything connected with us and this system is in perfect harmony. There is nothing conflicting between the perfect laws of our nature and the laws of God, revealed in the Gospel. It is this that makes it so beautiful, that causes it to have such an elevating effect upon us; and we have to live in agreement with it, in order to eventually be exalted in the presence of our Father and God; which, may God grant, may be our happy lot, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Duties of the Saints, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, May 15, 1865. Reported by E. L. Sloan.

I will say to you, and wish you to inform your neighbors, that on the morrow I expect to start with some of my brethren on a short trip north. I do this lest some might suppose that we are going to leave you. If we would live according to our acknowledgments in the holy Gospel, according to the faith we have embraced, and according to the teachings we receive from time to time, we never would be in the dark with regard to any matters we should understand.

Much is taught the Saints by the Elders of Israel concerning their religion, the way we should live, how we should deal with each other, how we should live before God, what our feelings should be and the spirit we should possess. If we live according to our covenants, we will always enjoy the light of truth; and if we live faithful enough, we shall enjoy the blessings of the Holy Ghost to be our constant companion. In such case no person would turn either to the right hand or to the left, in consequence of the motives, the sayings, or the doings of this one or that one; but they would march straightforward in the path that leads to eternal life; and if others stepped out of the way, they would walk straight along. Without the power of the Holy Ghost, a person is liable to go to the right or the left from the straight path of duty; they are liable to do things they are sorry for; they are liable to make mistakes; and when they try to do their best, behold they do that which they dislike.

I mention my intended trip, because I do not want to hear, when I return, that Brother Brigham: or Brother Heber, or somebody else, “has slipped away”—that “there is something the matter”—“something that is not right”—somebody saying “there is an evil of some kind, and we want to know it;” “why don’t you come right out with it?” “If you do not come back so-and-so, we will leave.”

It was said here to-day, that very few have embraced the truth, considering the great number of the inhabitants of the earth. It can hardly be discovered where those few are. It is astonishing to relate facts as they are. The Elders go forth and preach the Gospel to the nations; they baptize the people—hunt them up from place to place; yet, if you take the names of those who have been baptized, have the one-fourth ever been gathered? No. Is not this strange? Do they keep the faith and stay in the midst of the wicked? No, they do not. The kingdom of God is living and full of spirit; it is on the move; it is not like what we call sectarianism—religion to-day and the world to-morrow; next Sabbath a little more religion, and then the world again; “and as we were, so we are; and as we are, so we shall be, ever more, amen.” It is not so with our religion. Ours is a religion of improvement; it is not contracted and confined, but is calculated to expand the minds of the children of men and lead them up into that state of intelligence that will he an honor to their being.

Look at the people who are here—the few that have gathered—and then look back at the branches you came from. How many have gathered? Where are the rest of those who composed these branches? It is true that occasionally one will remain and keep the faith for many years; but circumstances are such in the world, that they eventually fall away from it, if they remain there.

It was truly said here to-day, that the spirit we have embraced is one, and that we will flow together as surely as drops of water flow together. One drop will unite with another drop, others will unite with them, until, drop added to drop, they form a pond, a sea, or a mighty ocean. So with those who receive the Gospel. There never was a person who embraced the Gospel but desired to gather with the Saints, yet not one-fourth ever have gathered; and we expect that a good many of those who have gathered will go the downward road that leads to destruction. It seems hardly possible to believe that people, after receiving the truth and the love of it, will turn away from it, but they do.

Now, brethren and sisters, proclaim that Brothers Heber and Brigham, and some others, will be gone for a few days; though I do not promise to preach to you when I come back. I do not intend to preach while I am away, but I expect to attend meeting when I return; so that you can see that I am with you in readiness to meet the requirements of my calling. This should satisfy you about my being absent for a few days.

I expect to be absent, some time from now, for quite a while. I do not say I will be absent, but I expect to be. I expect to take the back track from here. When we came back from the south, I told the brethren this. When we shall go is not for me to say. If the people neglect their duty, turn away from the holy commandments which God has given us, seek their own individual wealth, and neglect the interests of the kingdom of God, we may expect to be here quite a time—perhaps a period that will be far longer than we anticipate. Perhaps some do not understand these remarks. You are like me, and I am like you. I cannot see that which is out of sight; you cannot see that which is out of sight. If you bring objects within the range of vision—within the power of sight—you can see them. These sayings may be somewhat mysterious to some.

Some may ask why we did not tarry at the centre stake of Zion when the Lord planted our feet there? We had eyes, but we did not see; we had ears, but we did not hear; we had hearts that were devoid of what the Lord required of his people; consequently, we could not abide what the Lord revealed unto us. We had to go from there to gain an experience. Can you understand this? I think there are some here who can. If we could have received the words of life and lived according to them, when we were first gathered to the centre stake of Zion, we never would have been removed from that place. But we did not abide the law the Lord gave to us. We are here to get an experience, and we cannot increase in that any faster than our capacities will admit. Our capacities are limited, though sometimes we could receive move than we do, but we will not. Preach the riches of eternal life to a congregation, and when the eyes and affections of that congregation are like the fool’s eyes, to the ends of the earth, it is like throwing pearls before swine. If I can actually reach your understandings, you will know just what I know, and see just what I see, in regard to what I may say.

Take the history of this Church from the commencement, and we have proven that we cannot receive all the Lord has for us. We have proven to the heavens and to one another that we are not yet capacitated to receive all the Lord has for us, and that we have not yet a disposition to receive all he has for us. Can you understand that there is a time you can receive and there is a time you cannot receive, a time when there is no place in the heart to receive? The heart of man will be closed up, the will will be set against this and that that we have opportunity to receive. There is an abundance the Lord has for the people, if they would receive it.

I will now lead your minds directly to our own situation here, leaving the first organization of the people, their gathering, etc., and come to our being now here. Some have been here six months, some one year, some two, some five, some six, some ten, and some seventeen years this summer. Now, I will take the liberty of bringing up some circumstances and sayings to connect with the ideas I wish to present in regard to our wills, dispositions, opportunities, etc.

It was said here to-day, by Brother William Carmichael, that he had proved a great many of the sayings and prophecies of Joseph to be true, and also the prophecies of Heber and others. Now you, my brethren and sisters, who have been in the habit of coming here for the last ten, twelve, or fifteen years, have you not been told all the time, at least as often as once a month, that the time would come when you would see the necessity of taking counsel and laying up grain? It has been said that Brother Brigham has prophesied there would be a famine here. I would like to have any one show me the man or woman who heard Brother Brigham make that statement. I did not make that statement; but I have said you would see the time when you would need grain—that you would need bread. You have seen that time. Brother Heber said the same thing. But you never heard me saying the Lord would withdraw his blessings from this land while we live here, unless we forfeit our rights to the Priesthood; then we might expect that the earth would not bring forth.

We have had a cricket war, a grasshopper war, and a dry season, and now we have a time of need. Many of the inhabitants of this very city, I presume, have not breadstuffs enough to last them two days; and I would not be surprised if there are not seven-eighths of the inhabitants who have not breadstuffs sufficient to last them two weeks. Has the Lord stayed the heavens? No. Has he withdrawn his hand? No. He is full of mercy and compassion. He has provided for the Saints. No matter what scarcity there is at present, He gave them bread. If they go without bread, they cannot say the Lord has withheld his hand, for he has been abundantly rich in bestowing the good things of the earth upon this people. Then why are we destitute of the staff of life? Comparing ourselves with our substance, we might say we have sold ourselves for naught. We have peddled off the grain which God has given us so freely, until we have made ourselves destitute. Has this been told us before? Yes, year after year.

How will it be? Listen, all who are in this house, is this the last season we are going to have a scarcity? I will say I hope it is, but I cannot say that it is, if the people are not wise. Some sow their wheat, and after the Lord has given one hundredfold of an increase, they sell that at one-fourth of its value, and leave themselves wanting. The last time I spoke upon this subject I tried to stir up the minds of the people regarding it; I want them to reflect upon it.

At our Semi-Annual Conference last fall, the Bishops were instructed to go to each house and see what breadstuffs were on hand. Why? “Because the time is coming when they will want breadstuffs.” It comes to my ears every day that this one and that one is in want. “Such a one has had no bread for three days.”

What was told you last harvest? “Sister, you had better get a chest, or a little box, for there is plenty of wheat to be had—it is not worth a dollar a bushel—and you had better fill your box with it.” “Oh, there is plenty of it; there is no necessity for my emptying the paper rags out of my box, or my clothes out of the large chest where I have them packed away; my husband can go and get what he wants at the tithing store.” They would not get the wheat and the flour that was then easy to be obtained, and now they are destitute. Why could they not believe what they were told? They ought to have believed, for it was true; and in all these matters, the truth has been timely told to the people. And here let me say to you, that instead of our having plenty here, with nobody to come to buy our substance—to purchase our surplus grain—the demand for what we can raise here will increase year by year.

Are we going to live our religion—to be the servants and handmaids of the Almighty? Are we going to continue in the faith, and try to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth? If we are, the prophecies will be fulfilled on us. We shall have the privilege of seeing the blest, and will be blest.

I look at things as a man looking philosophically; I look at things before us in the future as a politician, as a statesman, as a thinking person. What is going to be the condition of this people and their surrounding neighbors? Do we not see the storm gathering? It will come from the north-east and the south-east, from the east and from the west, and from the north-west. The clouds are gathering; the distant thunders can be heard; the grumblings and mutterings in the distance are audible, and tell of destruction, want, and famine. But mark it well, if we live according to the holy Priesthood bestowed upon us, while God bears rule in the midst of these mountains, I promise you, in the name of Israel’s God, that he will give us seed-time and harvest. We must forfeit our right to the Priesthood before the blessings of the Heavens cease to come upon us. Let us live our religion and hearken to the counsel given to us.

And here let me say to you, buy what flour you need, and do not let it be hauled away. Have you a horse, or an ox, or a wagon, or anything else, if it takes the coat off your back, or the shoes off your feet, and you have to wear moccasins? Sell them and go to the merchants who have it to sell, and buy the flour before it is hauled away. Why did you not buy it when it was cheap? There is a saying that wit dearly bought is remembered. Now buy your wit, buy your wisdom, buy your counsel and judgment, buy them dearly, so that you will remember. You were last fall counselled to supply yourselves with breadstuffs, when flour could have been bought for whistling a tune, and the seller would have whistled one-half of it to induce you to buy. Why have the children of this world been wiser in this day than the children of light? Have not there been Saints enough before us for us to learn by their experience, and revelations enough given for the Saints now not to be in the background? It is mortifying that the children of this world should know more about these things than the children of light. We know more about the kingdom of God. Take these young men, sixteen or eighteen years old, or these old men, or some who have just come into the Church, and let them go into the world, and, with regard to the kingdom of God, they can teach kings and queens, statesmen and philosophers, for they are ignorant of these things; but in things pertaining to this life, the lack of knowledge manifested by us as a people is disgraceful Your knowledge should be as much more than that of the children of this world with regard to the things of the world as it is with regard to the things of the kingdom of God.

Take your money or your property, brethren and sisters, and buy flour; or shall I hear, to-morrow morning, “I am out of bread”? Why not go down street and sell your bonnets and your shawls, sisters, and not wait? “Why, some good brother will feed us.” But that good brother has not got the flour. “I am not going to buy any; I will trust in the Lord; He will send the ravens to feed me.” Perhaps the faith of some people is such that they think the Lord will send down an angel with a loaf of bread under one arm and a leg of bacon under the other—that an angel will be sent from some other world with bread ready buttered for them to eat; or that it will be as was said of the pigs in Ohio, when it was first settled; it was said the soil was so rich that if you hung up one pound of the earth two pounds of fat would run out of it, and that pigs were running through the woods ready roasted, with knives and forks in their backs. My faith is not like that.

A brother told me, when speaking of the rotation of the planets, that he could never believe that the earth did rotate. Said I, “do you believe that the sun which shone to-day shone yesterday?” “Yes.” He had not faith to believe that the earth turns round, but He believed that the sun moved round the earth. Now, said I, take your measuring instruments. If the earth rotates upon its axis each given point upon it moves 24,000 miles in twenty-four hours; while, if the sun goes round the earth, it must travel over a circle, in the same time, of which 95,000,000 is about the semi-diameter. He had not faith to believe that the earth could turn on its axis in twenty-four hours, but I showed him that he had to have millions and millions more faith than I had, when he believed the sun went round the earth.

My faith does not lead me to think the Lord will provide us with roast pigs, bread already buttered, etc. He will give us the ability to raise the grain, to obtain the fruits of the earth, to make habitations, to procure a few boards to make a box, and when harvest comes, giving us the grain, it is for us to preserve it—to save the wheat until we have one, two, five, or seven years’ provisions on hand—until there is enough of the staff of life saved by the people to bread themselves and those who will come here seeking for safety.

Will you do this? “Aye, maybe I will,” says one, and “maybe I wont” says another; “the kingdom that cannot support me I don’t think of much account; the Lord has said it is his business to provide for his Saints, and I guess he will do it.” I have no doubt but what he will provide for his Saints; but if you do not take this counsel and be industrious and prudent, you will not long continue to be one of his Saints. Then, continue to do right, that we may be His Saints; sow, plant, buy half a bushel of wheat here, and a bushel there, and store it up till you get your five or seven years’ provisions on hand.

The war now raging in our nation is in the providence of God, and was told us years and years ago by the Prophet Joseph; and what we are now coming to was foreseen by him, and no power can hinder. Can the inhabitants of our once beautiful, delightful, and happy country avert the horrors and evils that are now upon them? Only by turning from their wickedness and calling upon the Lord. If they will turn unto the Lord and seek after him, they will avert this terrible calamity, otherwise it cannot be averted. There is no power on the earth, nor under it, but the power of God, that can avert the evils that are now upon, and are coming upon, the nation.

What is the prospect? What does the statesman declare to us? What does he point us to? Peace and prosperity? brotherly-kindness and love? union and happiness? No! no! calamity upon calamity; misery upon misery.

Do you see any necessity, Latter-day Saints, for providing for the thousands coming here? Suppose some of your brothers, uncles, children, grand-children, or your old neighbors, fleeing here from the bloodshed and misery in the world, were to come to you. “Well, I am glad to see you; come to my house; come, uncle; come, grandson; come, aunt; I must take you home.” But what have you to give them? Not a morsel! “The country was full of food; I could have obtained it for sewing, for knitting, for almost every kind of work; I could have procured it a year ago, but it grated on my feelings to have it offered to me for my work. I am sorry to say I have nothing in the house, but I think I can borrow,” when you ought to have your bins full, to feed your friends when they come here.

It is not our open enemies who will come here. I told the people last year that the flood and tide of emigration were conservative people, who wished in peace to raise the necessaries of life, to trade, etc—peaceful citizens. What do they come here for? To live in peace. Were they those who robbed us in Missouri and Illinois? No.

The time is coming when your friends are going to write to you about coming here, for this is the only place where there will be peace. There will be war, famine, pestilence, and misery through the nations of the earth, and there will be no safety in any place but Zion, as has been foretold by the Prophets of the Lord, both anciently and in our day.

This is the place of peace and safety. We would see how it would be if the wicked had power here, but they have not the power, and they never will have, if we live as the Lord requires us to. (Amen, by the congregation.)

Buy flour, you who can; and you, sisters, and children too, when harvest comes, glean the wheat fields. I would as soon see my wives and children gleaning wheat as anybody’s. And then, when the people come here by thousands, you will be able to feed them. What will be your feelings when the women and children begin to cry in your ears with not a man to protect them? You can believe it or not, but the time is coming when a good man will be more precious than fine gold.

It is distressing to see the condition our nation is in, but I cannot help it. Who can? The people en masse, by turning to God and ceasing to do wickedly, ceasing to persecute the honest and the truth-lover. If they had done that thirty years ago, it would have been better for them today. When we appealed to the government of our nation for justice, the answer was, “Your cause is just, but we have no power.” Did not Joseph Smith tell them in Washington and Philadelphia, that the time would come when their State rights would be trampled upon?

Joseph said, many and many a time, to us, “Never be anxious for the Lord to pour out his judgments upon the nation; many of you will see the distress and evils poured out upon this nation till you will weep like children.” Many of us have felt to do so already, and it seems to be coming upon us more and more; it seems as though the fangs of destruction were piercing the very vitals of the nation.

We inquire of our friends who come here, the emigration, how it is back where they came from. They say, you can ride all day in some places but recently inhabited and not see any inhabitants, any plowing, any sowing, any planting; you may ride through large districts of country and see one vast desolation. A gentleman said here, the other day, that 100 families were burned alive in their own houses, in the county of Jackson, Missouri; whether this is true is not for me to say, but the thought of it is painful. Have you, Latter-day Saints, ever experienced anything like that? No! You were driven out of your houses, I forget the number, but you were not burned in them. I have said to the Saints, and would proclaim it to the latest of Adam’s generation, that the wicked suffer more than the righteous.

Why do people apostatize? You know we are on the “Old Ship Zion.” We are in the midst of the ocean. A storm comes on, and, as sailors say, she labors very hard. “I am not going to stay here,” says one; “I don’t believe this is the Ship Zion.” “But we are in the midst of the ocean.” “I don’t care, I am not going to stay here.” Off goes the coat, and he jumps overboard. Will he not be drowned? Yes. So with those who leave this Church. It is the old Ship Zion, let us stay in it. Is there any wisdom in all doing as we are all told? Yes.

While Brother Woodruff was talking about the notable text given by Brother Hardy to a gentleman in England, when speaking of the Mormon creed, I thought I could incorporate a very large discourse in the application of that creed. “To mind your own business” incorporates the whole duty of man. What is the duty of a Latter-day Saint? To do all the good he can upon the earth, living in the discharge of every duty obligatory upon him. If you see anybody angry, tell them never to be angry again. If you see anybody chewing tobacco, ask them to stop it and spend the money for something to eat. Will you stop drinking whisky? Let me plead with you to do so. And if the sisters would not think it oppressive, I would ask them to not drink quite so much strong tea. And if I make an application of these remarks in my own person, it is my business to point out these things and to ask you to refrain from them. It is the business of a Latter-day Saint, in passing through the street, if he sees a fence pole down, to put it up; if he sees an animal in the mud, to stop and help to get it out. I make such acts my business. When I am travelling, I stop my whole train and say, “Boys, let us drive those cattle out, of that grain and put up the fence.” If I can do any good in administering among the people, in trying to have them comprehend what is right and do it, that is my business, and it is also your business.

Let us preach righteousness, and practise it. I do not wish to preach what I do not practise. If I wish to preach to others wholesome doctrine, let me practise it myself—show that example to others I wish them to imitate. If we do this, we will be preserved in the truth. We wish to increase; we do not wish to become aliens to the kingdom of God.

When people’s eyes are opened and they see and understand how heinous it is to turn away from the truth, were they to reflect, and ask, “Shall I ever leave the faith? ever turn away from the kingdom of God?” it would make them shudder; there would be a chill over them from their heads to their feet; they would feel to say, “No, God forbid!”

It was said here this morning that no person ever apostatized without actual transgression. Omission of duty leads to apostacy. We want to live so as to have the Spirit every day, every hour of the day, every minute of the day; and every Latter-day Saint is entitled to the Spirit of God, to the power of the Holy Ghost, to lead him in his individual duties. Is no one else entitled to it? No. But this wants explanation.

Here, perhaps, is a good Presbyterian brother, a good Baptist brother, or, perhaps, a good Catholic one. Are they entitled to that degree of the Spirit of God that we are? No; but they are entitled to light. And there is one saying I heard here to-day that I will repeat:—Whenever any one lifts his voice or hand to persecute this people, there is a chill passes through him, unless he is lost to truth and the Spirit of God has entirely left him. He feels it day and night; he feels the Spirit working with him. And the Spirit of the Lord will strive, and strive, and strive with the people, till they have sinned away the day of grace. Until then, all are entitled to the light of Christ, for he is the light that lighteth every man who cometh into the world. But they are not entitled to receive the Holy Ghost. Why not, as well as Cornelius? That bestowal of the Holy Ghost was to convince the superstitious Jews that the Lord designed to send the Gospel to the Gentiles. Peter said, well, now, brethren, can you forbid water to baptize these, seeing the Lord has been so merciful to them as to give them the Holy Ghost? And he baptized them; and that was the opening of the door of the Gospel to the Gentiles.

I pray the Lord for you; I pray for you to get wisdom—worldly wisdom; not to love the things of the world, but to take care of what you raise. Try to raise a little silk here; you know we are raising cotton. Try to raise some flax, and take care of it. Try and make a little sugar here next fall; I understand that article is now fifty cents a pound in New York. As war is wasting the productive strength of the nation, do you not think it becomes us to raise sugar, corn, wheat, sheep, etc., for the consumption of the old, the blind, the lame, and the helpless who will be left, that we may be able to feed and clothe them when they come here? We will feed and care for them, for there are thousands of them who are good people, who have lived according to the best light and truth they knew. And by-and-by the prejudices that exist against us will be wiped away, so that the honest can embrace the truth.

I do not want “Mormonism” to become popular; I would not, if I could, make it as popular as the Roman Catholic Church is in Italy, or as the Church of England is in England, because the wicked and ungodly would crowd into it in their sins. There are enough such characters in it now. There are quite a number here who will apostatize. It needs this and that to occur to make some leave. If “Mormonism” were to become popular, it would be much as it was in the days of the early Christians, when no one could get a good position unless he was baptized for the remission of sins; he could not get an office without he was baptized into the church.

Suppose this Church were so popular that a man could not be elected President of the United States unless he was a Latter-day Saint, we would be overrun by the wicked. I would rather pass through all the misery and sorrow, the troubles and trials of the Saints, than to have the religion of Christ become popular with the world. It would in such case go as the ancient church went. I care not what the world thinks, nor what it says, so they leave us unmolested in the exercise of our inherent rights Take a straightforward course, and meet the jeers and frowns of the wicked.

Unpopular. “Oh! dear, how they are despised and hated, those ‘Mormons?” Did not Jesus say that his disciples should be hated and despised? Said he, “They hate me, and they will hate you also.” Has it ever been otherwise? He said, emphatically, “In the world ye shall have persecution, but in me ye shall have peace.”

What is proved by people’s leaving us, before the heavens, before the angels, and all the prophets and holy men who ever lived upon the earth? You will see every man and woman, when they once consent to leave here, I don’t care what name they are known by, whether Morrisites, Gladden Bishopites, Josephites, or any other ite, they make friends with the wicked—with those who blaspheme the holy name we have been commemorating here this afternoon, and they are full of malice and evil. Whenever any person wants to leave here, the thread is broken that bound him to the truth, and he seeks the society of the wicked; and it proves to every one who has the light of truth within him, that this is the kingdom of God, and that those who leave are of Anti-Christ.

Be steadfast, always abiding in the truth. Never encourage malice or hatred in your hearts; that does not belong to a Saint. I can say in truth, that with all the abuse I have ever met, driven from my home, robbed of my substance, I do not know that a spirit of malice has ever rested in my heart. I have asked the Lord to mete out justice to those who have oppressed us, and the Lord will take his own time and way for doing this. It is in his hands, and not in mine, and I am glad of it, for I could not deal with the wicked as they should be dealt with.

My name is had for good and evil upon the whole earth, as promised to me. Thirty years ago Brother Joseph, in a lecture to the Twelve, said to me, “Your name shall be known for good and evil throughout the world;” and it is so. The good love me, weak and humble as I am, and the wicked hate me; but there is no individual on the earth but what I would lead to salvation, if he would let me; I would take him by the hand, like a child, and lead him like a father in the way that would bring him to salvation.

Would we not rather live as we are living than to become one with the spirit of the world? Yes. Do not be anxious to have this people become rich and possess the affection of the world. I have been fearful lest we come to fellowship the world. Whatever you have, it is the Lord’s. You own nothing, I own nothing. I seem to have a great abundance around me, but I own nothing. The Lord has placed what I have in my hands, to see what I will do with it, and I am perfectly willing for him to dispose of it otherwise whenever he pleases. I have neither wife nor child, no wives nor children; they are only committed to me, to see how I will treat them. If I am faithful, the time will come when they will be given to me.

The Lord has placed it in our power to obtain the greatest gift he can bestow—the gift of eternal life; He has bestowed upon us gifts to be developed and used throughout all eternity—the gifts of seeing, of hearing, of speech, etc—and we are endowed with every gift and qualification, though in weakness, that are the angels; and the germ of the attributes that are developed in Him who controls, is in us to develop. We can see each other, hear each other, converse with each other, and, if we keep the faith, all things will be ours. The Saints do not own anything now. The world do not own anything. They are hunting for gold—it is the Lord’s. If my safe had millions of gold in it, it would be the Lord’s, to be used as he dictates. The time will come when those who are now dissatisfied will not be satisfied with anything; but the Saints who live their religion are and will be satisfied with everything. They know the Lord controls, and that he will control and save the righteous.

May the Lord help us to be righteous and to live our religion, that we may live for ever. Amen.

Summary of Instructions

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young to the people, on his visit to Utah, Juab, and Sanpete Counties, in June and July, 1865. Reported by G. D. Watt.

The Latter-day Saints in these mountains are growing in grace and in favor with God and his servants, and we feel to bless them as parents, as children, as school teachers, as musicians, as singers, as Elders in Israel, and as Saints, in all their employments and honest pursuits. As soon as the people spread out from Great Salt Lake City to form a new settlement, we have visited them to instruct and encourage them; in this we feel satisfied that we have done our duty. We are still travelling from settlement to settlement, and have great joy in visiting and talking to the Saints, and in blessing them. When I leave home to visit the Saints, I leave all in the hands of God, and would not swerve from the fulfilment of my duties as a preacher of righteousness, and as the leader of this great people, if it should save my property from being burnt to ashes. This has been my course from the beginning.

It gives us great joy to see the public manifestations of welcome which the people give everywhere. The little children who take part in these demonstrations, dressed in their best, receive impressions they can never forget; time cannot wear them out; they are impressions of respect and honor to the leaders of Israel. It is a duty we owe to our children to educate and train them in every principle of honor and good manners, in a knowledge of God and his ways, and in popular school education. I am happy to hear the little children sing, and hope they are also learning to read and write, and are progressing in every useful branch of learning.

I feel happy; I feel at peace with all the inhabitants of the earth; I love my friends, and as for my enemies, I pray for them daily; and, if they do not believe I would do them good, let them call at my house, when they are hungry, and I will feed them; yea, I will do good to those who despitefully use and persecute me. I pray for them, and bless my friends all the time.

We are now located in the midst of these mountains, and are here because we were obliged to go somewhere. We were under the necessity of leaving our homes, and had to go somewhere. Before we left Nauvoo, three Members of Congress told us that if we would leave the United States, we should never be troubled by them again. We did leave the United States, and now Congressmen say, if you will renounce polygamy you shall be admitted unto the Union as an independent State and live with us. We shall live any way, and increase, and spread, and prosper, and we shall know the most and be the best-looking people there is on the earth. As for polygamy, or any other doctrine the Lord has revealed, it, is not for me to change, alter, or renounce it; my business is to obey when the Lord commands, and this is the duty of all mankind.

The past of this people proves that we are better able to take care of ourselves than any other people now living. This fact stares the world in the face. When we first came to these mountains, as pioneers to develop their resources, we were poor, and had been scattered and peeled by our enemies, yet our trust was in God. We are now not only able to feed ourselves, but to feed thousands who travel through our settlements, and give them protection from the savage foe who otherwise would have infested this region and made it dangerous to travel. We must watch and pray, and look well to our walk and conversation, and live near to our God, that the love of this world may not choke the precious seed of truth, and feel ready, if necessary, to offer up all things, even life itself, for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. We must not love the world, nor the things of the world, until the world is sanctified and prepared to be presented to the Father with the Saints upon it; then they will inhabit it for ever and ever.

We are living in a country where we are subject to be endangered by aggressions from a savage foe, and I would advise the people to dwell together in cities, and not in a scattered condition. When men and women cannot live together in a community, close enough for self-defence, it denotes a lack of fellowship and friendship, a lack of those brotherly and neighborly feelings which should exist in the bosoms of all true Saints. When I see men and women inclined to withdraw from the community, and children from their parents, I know that there is a spirit of alienation in them which they should not possess. There are persons who say they believe in Joseph the Prophet, in the Book of Mormon, in the gathering of the house of Israel, in the building up of Zion, and in all the blessings promised to the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth; but they do not like to be quite so nigh their neighbors; they want to be off on one side, from under the influence of city regulations, and from under the eye of their Bishop. When I see this feeling manifested, I fear those persons have never felt that brotherly feeling that belongs to the spirit of our religion; if they ever did have it, they certainly do not possess it when they entertain such desires. I would like to see a disposition manifested to live close to the meeting-house, or to the school-house, where the Saints can attend the public worship of God and can send their children to school, where they can live so that their children can associate together and form lasting friendships, that may serve them for good in a day to come, and where they can pass the dreary winter months in associations with people who are informed, and are capable of educating them in singing, in mathematics, spelling, and other branches of education; and when they want to recreate, that they can mingle together in the dance without having to go long distances through the snow and the cold; and that in the case of sickness or accident of any kind, they may be within the reach of sympathetic hearts and the hand of kindness and benevolence, being ever ready to receive kindness or to give it to their neighbors. Those who possess these desires manifest plainly the spirit of the Gospel.

This people are improving; they are improving in the cultivation of the soil, in the study of horticulture, both theoretically and practically, and in all matters that are calculated to multiply around them every substantial comfort of life. Yet we are imperfect, we are weak, and we cannot see afar off, though I think we can see as through a glass darkly, and comprehend the outlines of many things; if we cannot see all the details, we can see the future of this people and the destiny of the nations. We should love the earth—we should love the works which God has made. This is correct; but we should love them in the Lord, as I think the majority of this people do; for what people would have done as this people have, were it not for the kingdom of heaven’s sake? They have forsaken their homes, and friends, and country to come up to these mountains to serve God and build up his kingdom on the earth.

We are doing well, notwithstanding all our failings and weaknesses; but the Lord would like to have us a little more diligent; he would like us to cleave a little more closely to the things of his kingdom, have more of his Spirit, and know more of him and of one another, that complete and perfect confidence may be restored. The confidence which should exist among all people is gone, and the wise men of the world are aware of this fact, but they are at a loss to know how to recover it. The Latter-day Saints alone know how to do this; they know how to sustain themselves and restore the confidence which has been lost. We are actually restoring this confidence. The people abroad who have confidence in our Elders, and in their testimony, are baptized in water according to the ancient pattern, and are born of the water, and are also born of the Spirit, and receive a testimony from the heavens for themselves. This is the only way in which confidence can be restored among men.

All men ought to understand that confidence is one of the most precious jewels that they can possibly possess on the earth, and when we have the confidence of a good man or woman, we never should allow ourselves to do an act that would in the least degree impair it. It is an absolute truth that the confidence of this people in the men God has placed to lead them is daily increasing, and the confidence of the heavens is increasing in us in the same ratio as our confidence increases in one another. It will not do to lie to and deceive one another; neither will it do to cease to chasten and reprove the people when it is necessary to do so. There is no people on the earth that can bear to be spoken to in the language of reproof, and have their faults laid open before them, as this people can. All who are in posses[s]ion of the Holy Spirit of truth receive such reproofs as kindnesses, and are thankful. In this way we go on from truth to truth, and from light to light.

It is interesting to follow this people from the beginning of their existence—through all their drivings and persecutions up to the present time. It will be seen that they have steadily increased in numbers, in righteousness, and in power and influence up to this day. Note the increase of love, of joy and of peace; our peace flows like a river: it is glorious. Hallalujah; praise the God of heaven, for He has spoken from the heavens and has called us to truth and virtue, and wishes to put into our possession the wisdom of eternity; this to us is a matter of great joy. If we will do right and seek the Lord with all our hearts, he will give unto us everything our hearts can desire. The earth is before us, heaven is before us, and the fullness of eternity is before us, and it is for us to live for all our hearts can desire in righteousness.

We have enemies; they are with us all the time, prompting the Saints to do wrong, that their minds may be darkened, and they be plunged into sorrow and grief. Are we ready to receive an enemy? We should be as ready to meet an enemy in one capacity as in another. Every time the enemy throws us off our guard, and we give way to temptation, he gains so much; he weakens us and strengthens himself; when we resist temptation, it strengthens the Saints and weakens the enemy. We should be ready for all emergencies at all times, in all places, and under all circumstances, meeting the enemy at the door, and not waiting until he takes possession of the house. We should at all times be well qualified by faith, by the power of the Holy Spirit of the Gospel which we possess, and be well fortified on every side—this we should do spiritually; this we should do temporally. If the enemy finds that we are prepared, he will be very apt to keep out of doors.

The earth is before us, and all the blessings of the earth. There is not a man who is called now to receive the blessings which pertain to the spiritual world, and the things of eternity, but what is first called to learn how to sustain his natural life here in this world. This life is worth as much as any life that any being can possess in time or in eternity. There is no life more precious to us in the eye of eternal wisdom and justice than the life which we now possess. Our first duty is to take care of this life; and in this duty we are, as a people, tolerably skil[l]ful.

I do not think that another community can be found anywhere more capable of taking care of themselves than are the Latter-day Saints. It is true that we do not raise our own tobacco: we might raise it if we would. We do not raise our tea; but we might raise it if we would, for tea-raising, this is as good a country as China; and the coffee bean can be raised a short distance south of us. Our ladies wear imported silk, when in reality this is one of the finest silk countries in the world. The mulberry tree which produces the natural food of the silk worm, flourish on all our bench lands, and our climate is adapted to the healthy condition of the silk worm. I would recommend the planting and propagating of the mulberry tree as shade trees, and as ornamental trees; they also yield a great abundance of excellent fruit. Let our cities and gardens be adorned with trees that are both ornamental and useful. Our young ladies can be amused and profitably employed in feeding that useful insect, in winding and spinning their silk into sewing silk, and into yarn, which can be converted into silks and satins of the finest texture and quality; for we have in our community artisans who can do this work as well as it can be done in any country in the world. We can sustain ourselves; and as for such so-called luxuries as tea, coffee, tobacco and whiskey, we can produce them or do without them. When we [p]roduce our food and clothing in the country where we live, then are we so far independent of the speculating, money-making world outside, whereas, if we were to dig gold, and make this our business, then should we become slaves to the producers of food and clothing, and make fortunes for speculators and freighters; and instead of working to build up Zion and its interests, we should be labouring to build up gentile institutions and gentile interests. When this people are prepared to properly use the riches of this world for the building up of the kingdom of God, He is ready and willing to bestow them upon us. If the Latter-day Saints will walk up to their privileges, and exercise faith in the name of Jesus Christ, and live in the enjoyment of the fullness of the Holy Ghost constantly day by day, there is nothing on the face of the earth that they could ask for, that would not be given to them. The Lord is waiting to be very gracious unto this people, and to pour out upon them riches, honor, glory, and power, even that they may possess all things according to the promises He has made through His apostles and prophets.

I refer to this, having my eye particularly on the chastisement i gave the merchants last fall and spring Conferences. I said then, what I will say anywhere, for it is as true as the sun shines. Are our merchants honest? I could not be honest and do as they do; they make five hundred per cent. on some of their goods, and that, too, from an innocent, confiding, poor, industrious people. What do this people, who have been gathered from the manufacturing and rural districts of foreign countries, know about speculation? Nothing. Where they lived they worked by the day or by the week for so much, and then would buy so much bread and so much meat, &c., with their wages. Here, when they have a dollar instead of a farthing, they do not know what to do with it; but the merchants are ready to say give it to us for apiece of rag. If they do not repent they will go to hell. They have made fortunes out of the poor Saints. What do you think about them? I know how God looks at them, and I know how I look at them. They have got to devote the riches they have gathered from this poor people to the building up of the kingdom of God, or they and their riches will perish together. I mean this to apply to our merchants that are here, and to those who are scattered through the Territory. I am speaking of our Mormon merchants. When a gentile merchant comes here he gives us to understand that he is here to make all the money he can out of the Mormons; we know how to take him; but when men come and say they are Latter-day Saints, brethren, Mormons, the people trust them as friends and are deceived and suffer through their avarice.

I like to see men get rich by their industry, prudence, management and economy, and then devote it to the building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth, and in gathering in the poor saints from the four corners of the earth; and I am pleased to say that our rich brethren are doing well. I have no fault to find with our brethren who are merchants, in regard to their deal with me as an individual; they are kind to me. I believe they would give me half they are worth, if I were to ask them for it.

The Lord will bestow riches and honor upon this people as fast as they can receive them and learn to take care of them in the Lord. We all have faults: fault could be found with our mechanics and with our common labourers, as well as with our merchants. Yet, notwithstanding all our faults, where is there as good a community of people upon the earth, or as good looking a one, or as wise and knowing a one as the Latter-day Saints in this Territory? Let us continue to improve until we are filled with the knowledge of the truth. We have yet much to learn. It is necessary that the people be taught how to live with each other, and enjoy each other’s society in peace, and in the light of the Holy Spirit of the gospel which we have embraced, that every minute of our lives may be a scene of peace. We should learn to live with our neighbours without contention, learning to do good to each other.

To build up the kingdom of God is our business; we have nothing else on hand. When will we see and understand the general principle of building up the kingdom of God on the earth? When shall we see the interest of the whole of God’s people sought by each person instead of an individual interest? The question in our minds ought to be, what will advance the general interests of our settlements and increase intelligence in the minds of the people. To do this should be our constant study in preference to how shall we secure that farm or that garden, or to saying, I want that house, and I do delight in that horse, and this carriage, &c., so much so that we cannot worship our God in public meeting or kneel down to pray in our families without the images of earthly possessions rising up in our minds to distract them and make our worship and our prayers unprofitable. Until a selfish, individual interest is banished from our minds, and we become interested in the general welfare, we shall never be able to magnify our Holy Priesthood as we should.

On to-morrow (June 27) it will be twenty-one years since Joseph Smith was killed, and from that time to this the Twelve have dictated, guided and directed the destinies of this great people. Can you not discern clearly that this kingdom grows? In a few years more those who composed the Church in the days of Joseph Smith will be found only one here and one there. It will soon be hard to find one who knew the Prophet Joseph. The kingdom has made rapid strides in advance, and prospered amazingly in the last twenty-one years. We have travelled abroad into the world—into the wide field—and have scattered the seed of truth broad-cast, and gathered from the crude masses our brethren, our sisters, their children, and all those who have received the truth, and cemented them together by the power of the Holy Priesthood, into a great people. In this the hand of God is visible to all, in acknowledging the labors of His servants, and this people as His people. I can witness one fact, and so can others, that by paying attention to the building up of the kingdom of God alone we have got rich in the things of this world; and if any man can tell how we can get rich in any other way, he can do more than I can. We leave our business and our families and go out to preach the peaceable things of the kingdom, and pay attention to that, never thinking of our business or our families, except when we ask the Lord to bless our families in common with all the families of the Saints everywhere.

In my first administrations in the gospel, in the rise of this church when I went out to preach, I would leave my family and friends in the hands of the Lord, and I gave them no further thought, but my mind looked forward and my thoughts were, I am going among strangers, how can I present myself to that congregation to which I am going to speak this afternoon, this evening, or to-morrow morning; how can I draw their attention to the principles of the Holy Gospel, and engage their feelings to that degree that they will inquire about the truth and embrace it. I did not think about wife, children, home, native land or friends; but my thoughts were on the great work before me. This should be the state of our feelings continually. The prosperity of the kingdom is before us; we see it as we see one another in this congregation; we see the spread of the people and their increase. Thousands of children are born yearly in Utah; we have an immense immigration among us in this way; and still we are sending Elders abroad to gather in the honest in heart from foreign lands Sixty Elders have gone out this spring, men of experience, character, ability and good standing in society—men who can be depended upon.

The increase of our children, and their growing up to maturity, increases our responsibilities. More land must be brought into cultivation to supply their wants. This will press the necessity of digging canals to guide the waters of our large streams over the immense tracts of bench and bottom lands which now lie waste. We want our children to remain near us, where there is an abundance of land and water, and not go hundreds of miles away to seek homes. In these great public improvements the people should enter with heart and soul, and freely invest in them their surplus property and means, and thus prepare to locate the vast multitudes of our children which are growing up, and strengthen our hands, and solidify still more—make still more compact our present organized spiritual and national institutions. The river Jordan will be brought out and made to flow through a substantial canal to Great Salt Lake City. When this is done, it will not only serve as a means of irrigating, but it will form a means of transportation from the south end of Utah Lake to Great Salt Lake City. Thus we will keep labouring, and preaching, and gathering the people, and the Lord will keep blessing and sustaining us, until the land is full of Saints, and they begin to spread out, to hive forth, seeking for room to dwell, until the earth shall be full of the glory of the Lord and His Saints.

We are greatly blessed as a people. We have had peace here for many years. To-day we are able to meet together to speak to each other, to strengthen and do each other good; and by forsaking our fields for a season, to gather together to worship our God, I can assure you that our crops will be better than they would be if we were to spend all our time in our fields. We may water and plant and toil, but we should never forget that it is God who gives the increase; and by meeting together, our health and spirits will be better, we will look better, and the things of this world will increase around us more, and we will know better how to enjoy them.

At Mount Pleasant, in San Pete county, an Elder wished to give out a notice for the brethren to water their wheat immediately, for it was suffering. I requested him to allow me to give out the notice for him, which he did; and I gave out the appointment, informing the saints that if they would place guards sufficient to keep their homes from Indian depredations, fires, &c., and the rest of the men, women, and children attend our meetings, I would promise them, in the name of Israel’s God, better crops than if they did otherwise. This was on Wednesday, and in the night there came a beautiful shower, and we continued to have showers, until at Manti, on Sunday, we were under the necessity of suspending our meeting in the Bowery, and repairing to the meeting-house; the earth was thoroughly soaked, and vegetation was refreshed, and the people were satisfied. I notice this incident merely to show that if we will do our duty, and be faithful to our God, He will never be backward in dispensing His mercies liberally to us.

We should spend a portion of our time and means in training our children, and a most effective way is to do it by example. If we wish our children to be faithful to us, let us be faithful to God and to one another. If we wish them to be obedient to us, let us be obedient to our superiors Parents should manifest before their children all that they wish to see exhibited in them. Whatever a husband requires of a wife, or of a child, in obedience, in meekness, in submission, manifest before them all that you require of them. Example is better than precept. When we present precepts they should correspond with our own example.

I say to fathers, mothers, and to the whole Priesthood of the Son of God, if we expect to sanctify ourselves and the earth upon which we tread, we must begin that work in our own hearts; let them be pure and holy, and devoted entirely to the service of God, then will the earth become sanctified and holy under our feet; we shall begin to spread abroad and enlarge our borders with greater power when we can conquer ourselves and be able to exercise a good influence over our friends and neighbors. We do many wrongs which we would not do if we knew better, and so it is with our children. You may remember it and lay it to heart, and it you wish, write it in your journals, that some of the best spirits that have ever been sent to earth are coming at the present time, comparatively speaking.

Solomon said, “He that spareth his rod hateth his son,” but instead of using the rod, I will teach my children by example and by precept. I will teach them every opportunity I have to cherish faith, to exercise patience, to be full of long-suffering and kindness. It is not by the whip or the rod that we can make obedient children; but it is by faith and by prayer, and by setting a good example before them. This is my belief. I expect to obtain the same as Abraham obtained by faith and prayer, also the same as Isaac and Jacob obtained; but there are few who live for the blessings of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob after they are sealed upon them. No blessing that is sealed upon us will do us any good, unless we live for it. Whereas, if we are faithful, there is nothing which is calculated to please the eye, to gladden the heart, to cheer and comfort the body and spirit of man, everything in the heavens, with the fullness of the earth, its pleasures and enjoyments, with perfect health, without pain, with appetites made pure, all this, and more that has not yet entered into the heart of man to conceive, the Lord has in store for His children. This earth, when it shall be made pure and holy, and sanctified and glorified and brought back into the presence of the Father and the Son, from whence it came at the time of the fall, will become celestial, and be the glorified habitation of the faithful of this portion of the great family of our Heavenly Father.

Abraham was faithful to the true God, he overthrew the idols of his father and obtained the Priesthood after the order of Melchisedek, which is after the order of the Son of God, and a promise that of the increase of his seed there should be no end; when you obtain the Holy Priesthood, which is after the order of Melchisedek, sealed upon you, and the promise that your seed shall be numerous as the stars in the firmament, or as the sands upon the sea shore, and of your increase there shall be no end, you have then got the promise of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and all the blessings that were conferred upon them.

How many of the youth of our land are entitled to all the blessings of the kingdom of Heaven, without first receiving the law of adoption? When a man and woman have received their endowments and sealings, and then had children born to them afterwards, those children are legal heirs to the kingdom and to all its blessings and promises, and they are the only ones that are on this earth. Where is not a young man in our community who would not be willing to travel from here to England to be married right, if he understood things as they are; there is not a young woman in our community, who loves the gospel and wishes its blessings, that would be married in any other way; they would live unmarried until they could be married as they should be, if they lived until they were as old as Sarah before she had Isaac born to her. Many of our brethren have married off their children without taking this into consideration, and thinking it a matter of little of importance. I wish we all understood this in the light in which heaven understands it.

Those whom I once knew as little boys are growing out of my recollection; these young men know nothing but Mormonism. They are in some instances called wild and ungovernable; but these wild boys, properly guided and directed, will make the greatest men who have ever lived upon this earth; and I want them to throw aside their diffidence and come up and shake hands with me, and say, “How do you, brother Brigham,” for I feel warmly towards them. I say to our young men, be faithful, for you do not know what is before you, and abstain from bad company and bad habits. Let me say to the boys sixteen years old and even younger, make up your minds to mark out the path of rectitude for yourselves, and when evil is presented, let it pass by unnoticed by you, and preserve yourselves in truth, in righteousness, virtue and holiness before the Lord. You were born in the kingdom of God; it is to be built up; the earth has to be renovated, and the people sanctified, after they are gathered from the nations, and it requires considerable skill and ability to do this; let our young men prepare themselves to aid and do their part in this great work. I want you to remember this teaching with regard to our youth.

We are hated and despised as a people, and every one who hates this people, hates the God of heaven; and when men lift their hands against the Latter-day Saints, they lift them against the Almighty. We are the men and women who will renovate the earth, redeem it, and restore all things through the strength of Him who has paid the debt for us, and who has been and is still willing to help us, and give unto us every blessing we need. Our religion is worth everything to us, and for it we should be willing to employ our time, our talent, our means, our energies, our lives.

Let the Latter-day Saints be separate from the ungodly, and learn to live within themselves; and let us cease to give to them the proceeds of our hard toil for that which does not profit us. Any man in this church and kingdom who will cater to a gentile for a little money will be poor in time and in all eternity. To those who plead poverty, and contend that they must take wicked and corrupt men into their houses to board them, etc., for a living, I promise poverty, unless they repent, and turn from the error of their ways. So long as we will fellowship unholy and wicked persons, so long God and angels and holy men will not fellowship us.

May God bless you as parents, as children, as Elders in Israel, as musicians, and as sweet singers; may He bless your houses, your barns, your fields, your flocks, and your herds, your cities and the ranges around them, the mountains, the timber and the waters, and greatly comfort you, and enable you to pursue the journey of life so as to land safely in the haven of eternal rest. Amen.

Personality of God, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, June 18, 1865. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I wish the strict attention of the congregation, which is so large and widely spread under this low bowery that I fear it will be with difficulty that I can make myself heard by all. To persons who wish to understand and improve upon what they hear, it must be very annoying to only hear the sound of the speaker’s voice and not be able to comprehend its signification.

The gospel of life and salvation has again been committed to the children of men, and we are made the happy partakers of its blessings, and my sincere desire is that all may improve upon the words of life which have been revealed from the heavens in our day. It is written, “And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.” All nations, tribes and communities of men worship something, it may be a stump, a stock, a tree, a stone, a figure moulded in brass, iron, silver, or gold, or some living creature, or the sun, the moon, the stars, or the god of the wind and other elements, and while worshiping gods which they can see and handle, there dwells within them a crude and undefined impression of a great Supreme and universal Ruler whom they seek to represent and worship in gods made with their own hands; but where he is located, what his shape and dimensions and what his qualifications are they know not. The Apostle Paul found the city of the Athenians wholly given to idolatry; and they called him a “babbler,” because he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection. He disputed in the synagogue with the Jews and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them who met with him; and standing, in the midst of Mars-hill, he said,” Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, ‘To the Unknown God.’ Whom, therefore, ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you.”

The Athenians knew not what to worship, and it seems they were willing to worship a god unknown to to them, very likely under the impression that he might be the true God, whom they had tried to represent no doubt in various ways.

Wherever the human family dwell upon the face of the earth, whether they are savage or civilised, there is a desire implanted within them to worship a great, Supreme Ruler, and not knowing Him, they suppose that through offering worship and sacrifice to their idols they can conciliate his anger which they think they see manifested in the thunder, in the lightning, in the storm, in the floods, in the reverses of war, in the hand of death, etc., etc.; thus they try to woo his protection and his blessing for victory over their enemies, and at the termination of this life for a place in the heaven their imaginations have created, or tradition has handed down to them. I have much charity for this portion of the human family called heathens or idolators; they have made images to represent to their eyes a power which they cannot see, and desire to worship a Supreme Being through the figure which they have made.

There is a Power that has organised all things from the crude matter that floats in the immensity of space. He has given form, motion and life to this material world; has made the great and small lights that bespangle the firmament above; has allotted to them their times and their seasons, and has marked out their spheres. He has caused the air and the waters to teem with life, and covered the hills and plains with creeping things, and has made man to be a ruler over His creations. All these wonders are the works of the Almighty ruler of the universe, in whom we believe and whom we worship. “The earth rolls upon her wings, and the sun giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her light by night, and the stars also giveth their light, as they roll upon their wings in their glory, in the midst of the power of God.” “Behold all these are kingdoms, and any man who hath seen any or the least of these, hath seen God moving in his majesty and power.”

All people are conscious of the existence of a Supreme Being: they see Him or His power in the sun, in the moon and in the stars, in the storm, in the thunder and in the lightning, in the mighty cataract, in the bursting volcano, or in the powerful and disgusting reptile, etc. He is also described by some as having no form, attributes, or power, or in other words, “without body, parts or passions,” and, consequently, without power or principle; and there are persons who suppose that He consists entirely of attributes universally diffused. Not knowing God they worship His works that manifest His power and His majesty, or His attribut[e]s which manifest His goodness, justice, mercy and truth. According to all that the world has ever learned by the researches of philosophers and wise men, according to all the truths now revealed by science, philosophy and religion, qualities and attributes depend entirely upon their connection with organised matter for their development and visible manifestation.

Mr. Abner Kneeland, who was a citizen of Boston, and who was put into prison for his belief, in an essay which he wrote, made this broad assertion: “Instead of believing there is no God, I believe that all is God.”

We believe in a Deity who is incorporated—who is a Being of tabernacle, through which the great attributes of His nature are made manifest. It is supposed by a certain celebrated philosopher that the most minute particles of matter which float in space, in the waters, or that exist in the solid earth, particles which defy the most powerful glasses to reveal them to the vision of finite man, possess a portion of divinity, a portion of infinite power, knowledge, goodness and truth, and that these qualities are God, and should be worshipped wherever found. I am an infidel to this doctrine. I know the God in whom I believe, and am willing to acknowledge Him before all men. We have persons in this church who have preached and published doctrines on the subject of the Deity which are not true. Elder Orson Pratt has written extensively on the doctrines of this church, and upon this particular doctrine. When he writes and speaks upon subjects with which he is acquainted and understands, he is a very sound reasoner; but when he has written upon matters of which he knows nothing—his own philosophy, which I call vain philosophy—he is wild, uncertain, and contradictory. In all my public administration as a minister of truth, I have never yet been under the necessity of preaching, believing or practising doctrines that are not fully and clearly set forth in the Old and New Testaments, Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and Book of Mormon.

The Book of Mormon, which we firmly believe to be the word of God to nations that flourished upon this continent many centuries ago, corroborates the testimonies of the writers of the Old and New Testaments, and proves these books to be true. They were given to us in weakness, darkness and ignorance; I will, however, give the translators of King James’s version of the Bible the credit of performing their labor according to the best of their ability, and I believe they understood the languages in which the Scriptures were originally found as well as any men who now live. I have in my life-time met with persons who would persist in giving different renderings, and make quotations from the dead languages to show their scholarship, and to confuse and darken still more the minds of the people. To all such I have always felt like saying, there is the Bible, if you are capable of giving us a more correct translation of it than we have, it is your duty to do so. The Old and New Testaments have always answered my purpose as books of reference. Many precious parts have no doubt been taken from them; but the translation which we have, has been translated according to the best knowledge the translators possessed of the languages in which the ancient manuscripts were written, yet as uninspired men they were not qualified to write the things of God.

I believe in one God to us; as it is written, “For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth (as there be gods many, and lords many); but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him,” and, “They were called Gods unto whom the word of God came.” I believe in a God who has power to exalt and glorify all who believe in Him, and are faithful in serving Him to the end of their lives, for this makes them Gods, even the sons of God, and in this sense also there are Gods many, but to us there is but one God, and one Lord Jesus Christ—one Saviour who came in the meridian of time to redeem the earth and the children of men from the original sin that was committed by our first parents, and bring to pass the restoration of all things through His death and sufferings, open wide to all believers the gates of life and salvation and exaltation to the presence of the Father and the Son to dwell with them for ever more. Numerous are the scriptures which I might bring to bear upon the subject of the personality of God. I shall not take time to quote them on this occasion, but will content myself by quoting two passages in the 1st chapter of Genesis, 26th and 27th verses. “And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

I believe that the declaration made in these two scriptures is literally true. God has made His children like Himself to stand erect, and has endowed them with intelligence and power and dominion over all His works, and given them the same attributes which He Himself possesses. He created man, as we create our children; for there is no other process of creation in heaven, on the earth, in the earth, or under the earth, or in all the eternities, that is, that were, or that ever will be. As the Apostle Paul has expressed it, “For in Him we live, and move, and have our being.” “Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art or man’s device.” There exist fixed laws and regulations by which the elements are fashioned to fulfill their destiny in all the varied kingdoms and orders of creation, and this process of creation is from everlasting to everlasting. Jesus Christ is known in the scriptures as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, and it is written of Him as being the brightness of the Father’s glory and the express image of His person. The word image we understand in the same sense as we do the word in the 3rd verse of the 5th chapter of Genesis, “And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image.” I am quite satisfied to be made aware by the scriptures, and by the Spirit of God, that He is not only the God and Father of Jesus Christ, but is also the Father of our spirits and the Creator of our bodies which bear His image as Seth bore the image of his father Adam. Adam begat many children who bore His image, but Seth is no doubt more particularly mentioned, because he was more like his father than the rest of the family.

We bear the image of our earthly parents in their fallen state, but by obedience to the gospel of salvation, and the renovating influences of the Holy Ghost, and the holy resurrection, we shall put on the image of the heavenly, in beauty, glory, power and goodness. Jesus Christ was so like His Father that on one occasion in answer to a request, “Show us the Father,” He said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” The strongest testimony that can be borne to the minds of men is the testimony of the Father concerning the Son, and the testimony of the Son concerning the Father, by the power of the revelations of the Spirit, which every man who is born of woman possesses more or less, and which, if mankind would listen to it, would lead them to the knowledge of God, and ultimately, assisted by the ordinances of the gospel, into His presence.

If there is anything that is great and good and wise among men, it cometh from God. If there are men who possess great ability as statesmen, or as philosophers, or who possess remarkable scientific knowledge and skill, the credit thereof belongs to God, for He dispenses it to His children whether they believe in Him or not, or whether they sin against Him or not; it makes no difference; but all will have to account to Him for the way and manner in which they have used the talents committed unto them. If we believe the plain, broad statements of the Bible, we must believe that Jesus Christ is the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world; none are exempt. This applies to all who possess the least degree of light and intelligence, no matter how small; wherever intelligence can be found, God is the author of it. This light is inherent according to a law of eternity—according to the law of the Gods, according to the law of Him whom we serve as the only wise, true and living God to us. He is the author of this light to us. Yet our knowledge is very limited; who can tell the future, and know it as the past is known to us? It is a small thing, if we were acquainted with the principle. Were we acquainted with this principle, we could just as well read the future as the past.

The Latter-day Saints believe in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father, who came in the meridian of time, performed his work, suffered the penalty and paid the debt of man’s original sin by offering up Himself, was resurrected from the dead, and ascended to His Father; and as Jesus descended below all things, so He will ascend above all things. We believe that Jesus Christ will come again, as it is written of Him: “And while they looked steadfastly toward Heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus which is taken from you unto heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go unto heaven.”

Strange as it may appear to many we believe that Jesus Christ will descend from heaven to earth again even as He ascended into heaven. “Behold, He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.” He will come to receive His own, and rule and reign king of nations as He does king of saints; “For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” He will banish sin from the earth and its dreadful consequences, tears shall be wiped from every eye and there shall be nothing to hurt or destroy in all God’s holy mountain.

In view of the establishment of the kingdom of God upon the earth by Jesus Christ, John the Baptist proclaimed, that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight;” and, “John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance, for the remission of sins.” Jesus Christ sent His disciples to preach the gospel to every creature, to the king and the peasant, to the great and the small, to the rich and the poor, to the bond and the free, to the black and the white; they were sent to preach the gospel of repentance and remission of sins to all the world, and “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but He that believeth not shall be damned; and these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them, they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.”

The Latter-day Saints, this strange people as they are called, believe and practice this gospel; they believe that the acts of the creatures, in the performance of the ordinances, prove to the heavens, to God, to angels and to the good who are upon the earth—to their brethren and to those who are not their brethren in a church capacity—to those who believe and to those who do not believe, that they are sincere in their belief before God and man. Every doctrine and principle that is laid down in the Old and New Testaments for salvation, this people will persist in believing and practicing; and, for so doing, they have become a byword, and are wondered at by the orthodox Christians of the 19th century, who are truly astonished that anybody, in this enlightened age, should emphatically believe that the Lord and His servants anciently spoke the truth, and intended their words should be believed and practiced by all who desire salvation. It is our privilege, if we so wish, to disbelieve the words of God or a part of them; but we choose rather to believe all the words of God, and are trying to observe all of His precepts, to purify the Lord God in our hearts.

There cannot be found a people upon the face of the whole earth who are more perfect in the belief and practice of the gospel of Jesus Christ than are the Latter-day Saints, and there exists no people who are more easily governed. We have been gathered from many nations, and speak many languages; we have been ruled by different nationalities, and educated in different religions, yet we dwell together in Utah under one government, believe in the same God and worship Him in the same way, and we are all one in Christ Jesus. The world wonder at this, and fear the union that prevails among this, as they are called, singular people. Why is this? It is because the Spirit of the Lord Almighty is in the people, and they follow its dictates, and they hearken to the truth, and live by it; this unites them in one, and causeth them to dwell together in peace; and were it not for pettifogging lawyers and judges who are among us, a law suit would not be heard of in Utah from one year’s end to another. When many of these people come to Utah they are poor and houseless, but they go to work and labor away with all their might, without a murmur, under wise and judicious guidance, and in a short time they are able to gather from the soil, the water and the air, the essential and solid comforts of life.

When a lawyer comes into the church, if he happens to have a little common sense left, and will take to ploughing and cultivating the soil, there is a chance for him to make a man of himself; but if he follows his former customs and habits, the chances are against him, he may ruin himself, lose the Spirit of the Lord, if he ever possessed it, and go back into midnight darkness.

It is through the proclamation of the gospel that this great people have been gathered from their homes in distant parts of the earth. It is not in the power of man to accomplish such a work of gathering thousands of men, women, and children from different nations to a distant inland country, and unite them together and make of them a powerful nation. They heard the sound of the gospel, they repented of their sins, and were baptized for the remission of them, and received the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands; this Spirit caused them to gather themselves together for the truth’s sake; they came here because the voice of the Lord called them together from the ends of the earth. They needed not to be persuaded to gather themselves together, for they knew it was the will of God by the power of the Spirit which they had received through the ordinances of the gospel. Here sits brother George D. Watt, our reporter, who was the first man to receive the gospel in a foreign land; there had not been a word spoken to him about gathering to America; but he prophesied that the land of America was the land of Zion, and that the Lord would gather His people to that land in the last days, and thus he prophesied by the Spirit of prophecy which he had received by embracing the gospel.

Wherever the gospel is preached in all the world, and the people repent, are baptized, and receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, that Spirit teaches them that America is the land of Zion, and they begin straightway to prepare to gather, and thus the Lord is building up His kingdom in our day. Were it not that I possess the Spirit of truth which reveals to me the purposes of God, it would appear to me a strange work and a wonder; but I can understand that the Lord is feeling after the inhabitants of the earth, and teaching the honest in heart the truth, and diffusing His Spirit among them, and offering to all men life and salvation.

If the message which the Lord is sending among the nations is rejected by them, they will crumble and fall, and cease to exist. The set time has come for the Lord to favor Zion; He is sending His servants to the uttermost parts of the earth to declare the truth to the inhabitants thereof, which they can receive or reject, and be saved or be damned. This is a hard saying—who can bear it? A gentleman asked the Prophet Joseph once if he believed that all other sects and parties would be damned excepting the Mormons. Joseph Smith’s reply was, “Yes, sir, and most of the Mormons too, unless they repent.” We believe that all will be damned who do not receive the gospel of Jesus Christ; but we do not believe that they will go into a lake which burns with brimstone and fire, and suffer unnamed and unheard of torments, inflicted by cruel and malicious devils to all eternity.

The sectarian doctrine of final rewards and punishments is as strange to me as their bodiless, partless, and passionless God. Every man will receive according to the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or bad. All men, excepting those who sin against the Holy Ghost, who shed innocent blood or who consent thereto, will be saved in some kingdom; for in my father’s house, says Jesus, are many mansions. Where is John Wesley’s abode in the other world? He is not where the Father and the Son live, but he is gone into what is called hades, or paradise, or the spirit-world. He did not receive the gospel as preached by Jesus Christ and His apostles; it was not then upon the earth. The power of the Holy Priesthood was not then among men; but I suppose that Mr. Wesley lived according to the best light he had, and tried to improve upon it all the days of his life. Where is the departed spirit of that celebrated reformer? It occupies a better place than ever entered his heart to conceive of when he was in the flesh. This is a point of doctrine, however, which I have not time to speak upon at large now, even if I had strength to do so.

The Lord sent His angel and called and ordained Joseph Smith, first to the Aaronic and then to the Melchisedek Priesthood, and Joseph Smith ordained others. He baptized believers and confirmed them and organized the church. The Lord revealed to him that order which is now in our midst with regard to our organization as a people, and there is no better among men. It is the government of the Lord Almighty, and we think it is very good. The Lord is again speaking to the children of men, who have opened their ears to hear, and their hearts to understand; He communicates His will to this people, although they may be ignorant and guilty of a thousand wrongs, and some will apostatize; yet we are the best people upon the earth, the most peaceable, the most industrious, and know the best how to take care of ourselves of any people now living who are not the people of God; and what we do not know God will teach us, and what we cannot do He will help us to perform, if we continue to do His will and keep His commandments; for in doing this we shall live, grow and increase in numbers and in strength, and I pray that we may grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth, for without this we are nothing. To me it is the kingdom of God or nothing upon the earth. Without it I would not give a farthing for the wealth, glory, prestige and power of all the world combined; for, like the dew upon the grass, it passeth away and is forgotten, and like the flower of the grass it withereth, and is not. Death levels the most powerful monarch with the poorest starving mendicant; and both must stand before the judgment seat of Christ to answer for the deeds done in the body.

To us life is the sweetest of all enjoyments. A man will give all that he has for his life, yet it is compared to a span length, and is swift to its termination like the shuttle that passeth over the weaver’s beam. Even when denied the enjoyment of health and of wor[l]dly comforts and conveniences, still will men cling to life to the last. The kingdom of God secures unto the faithful eternal life, with wives, children, and friends, in glory immortal, and in eternal felicity and bliss. Life eternal in His presence is the greatest gift that God can bestow upon His children. This life is nothing in point of duration in comparison with the life which is to come to the faithful, and for that reason we say that in this life it is the kingdom of God or nothing to us. With the kingdom of God and the facilities it offers for an everlasting progression in godliness until we know all things as our Father in Heaven knows them, there is no life of greater importance than this life, for there is no life in heaven or on earth to the true followers of Jesus Christ that is not incorporated in His gospel. Those who reject the gospel, when it is proclaimed to them by the authority of heaven, cannot know the Father and the Son, and are cut off from the eternal life which this knowledge alone gives.

We are in the hands of the Almighty as a people, and He is able to take care of us. We entertain no antipathies against any person or community upon this earth; but we would give eternal life to all, if they would receive it at our hands—we would preach the truth to them and administer to them the ordinances of the gospel. But, it is said, you believe in polygamy, and we cannot receive the gospel from your hands. We have been told a great many times that polygamy is not according to Christianity. The Protestant reformers believed the doctrine of polygamy. Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, one of the principal lords and princes of Germany, wrote to the great reformer Martin Luther and his associate reformers, anxiously imploring them to grant unto him the privilege of marrying a second wife, while his first wife, the princess, was yet living. He urged that the practice was in accordance with the Bible, and not prohibited under the Christian dispensation. Upon the reception of this letter, Luther, who had denounced the Romish church for prohibiting the marriage of priests, and who favored polygamy, met in council with the principal Reformers to consult upon the letter which had been received from the Landgrave. They wrote him a lengthy letter in reply, approving of his taking a second wife, saying:—

“There is no need of being much concerned for what men will say, provided all goes right with conscience. So far do we approve it, and in those circumstances only by us specified, for the gospel hath neither recalled nor forbid what was permitted in the law of Moses with respect to the marriage. Jesus Christ has not changed the external economy, but added justice only, and life everlasting for reward. He teaches the true way of obeying God, and endeavours to repair the corruption of nature.”

This letter was written at Wittemburg, the Wednesday after the feast of St. Nicholas, 1539, and was signed by Martin Luther, Philip Melancthon, Martin Bucer and five other Reformers, and was written in Melancthon’s own handwriting.

The marriage was solemnised on the 4th of March, 1540, by the Rev. Denis Melanther, chaplain to Philip. Philip’s first wife was so anxious “that the soul and body of her dearest spouse should run no further risk, and that the glory of God might be increased,” that she freely consented to the match.

This letter of the great Reformer’s was not a hasty conclusion on their part that polygamy was sanctioned by the gospel, for in the year 1522, seventeen years before they wrote this letter, Martin Luther himself, in a sermon which he delivered at Wittemburg for the reformation of marriage, clearly pronounced in favor of polygamy.

These transactions are published in the work entitled “History of the variations of the Protestant churches.”

Ladies and gentlemen, I exhort you to think for yourselves, and read your Bibles for yourselves, get the Holy Spirit for yourselves, and pray for yourselves, that your minds may be divested of false traditions and early impressions that are untrue. Those who are acquainted with the history of the world are not ignorant that polygamy has always been the general rule and monogamy the exception. Since the founding of the Roman empire monogamy has prevailed more extensively than in times previous to that. The founders of that ancient empire were robbers and women stealers, and made laws favoring monogamy in consequence of the scarcity of women among them, and hence this monogamic system which now prevails throughout all Christendom, and which has been so fruitful a source of prostitution and whoredom throughout all the Christian monogamic cities of the Old and New World, until rottenness and decay are at the root of their institutions both national and religious. Polygamy did not have its origin with Joseph Smith, but it existed from the beginning. So far as I am concerned as an individu[a]l, I did not ask for it; I never desired it; and if I ever had a trial of my faith in the world, it was when Joseph Smith revealed that doctrine to me; and I had to pray incessantly and exercise faith before the Lord until He revealed to me the truth, and I was satisfied. I say this at the present time for the satisfaction of both saint and sinner. Now, here are the commandments of the Lord, and here are the wishes of wicked men, which shall we obey? It is the Lord and them for it.

I pray that the Spirit of Truth may find its way to each heart, that we may all love the truth more than error, and cling to that which is good that we may all be saved in the kingdom of our God. Amen.

Summary of Instructions (2)

Brigham Young

Given by President Brigham Young to the people of Box Elder and Cache Counties, Aug. 1–10, 1865. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I wish to present some counsel unto to the people on the subject of their temporal life and point out to them what is their true interest in regard to merchandising. I would propose to the brethren that they keep their grain until they can get money for it, then put that money into the hands of business men, and let them purchase goods with it, which the people can freight themselves, and thus let every ward in the Territory supply themselves from abroad with what they really require; by so doing, the people will have the handling of the means which the Lord has given them, and the greater portion of it will not go into the pockets of speculators to enrich and fatten strangers, but the large profits, which they have made and carried out of the country, will remain here to improve the country, and to improve our condition as a people. We sell our grain to the merchant, and receive our pay in goods. The grain he has bought of us, he sells to the army, or to mail contractors for a greatly increased price, which affords a large profit upon his goods, and upon the wheat which his goods have bought, and all this he gets in money.

Let the past ignorance and folly suffice us, and instead of giving away our strength for naught, let us enjoy the full benefit of our labors ourselves. Why not appoint in every ward of the Territory a good business man, who is filled with integrity and truth, to make contracts for the people of the ward, and let the convention prices be the rule or not sell? Why not draw money for our grain and spend it ourselves, instead of allowing those who have no interest with us to handle it for us and pocket fortunes which we should enjoy and lay out in redeeming the earth and in building up the kingdom of God in all the world? We can do this if we will.

We have yet much to learn, and we are learning little by little, and I do think that we shall yet come to understanding in sustaining ourselves, building up the kingdom of God, renovating the earth, keeping our enemies from our midst, sanctifying ourselves and the earth, that the latter may be finally celestialized to dwell in the presence of our Father and God. If we could all see and understand things as they are, we would heap up the riches of this world. What for? To gather the poor from among all nations, and buy out every foot of land that is for sale upon the continent of America. We should be the most industrious and the most economical of any people upon the face of the whole earth. We should waste nothing, but make everything in some way or other minister to our wants and independence. Everything which we use to feed the life of man or beast, not a grain of it should be permitted to go to waste, but should be made to pass through the stomach of some animal; everything, also, which will fertilize our gardens and our fields should be sedulously saved and wisely husbanded, that nothing may be lost which contains the elements of food and raiment for man and sustenance for beast.

Time is allotted unto man wherein to labor and perform his work under the sun; if our time is properly employed and judiciously divided to our varied duties and labors, each man and woman performing his or her part faithfully, the land would be filled with real wealth, and there would be an abundance of means to prosecute every labor and every private and public improvement which we desire to make for our own comfort and convenience and that of our friends and neighbors and the community at large. Were we to pursue this course faithfully, and continue so to do, eternal permanency would be added to the general peace and freedom which we now enjoy, and we never would be brought into bondage again in any respect by the power of the enemy, but we would continue to live and serve the Lord until the earth would be sanctified and the saints inherit it for ever and ever.

A few words upon the subject of example; and these I speak particularly to my brethren, the Elders of Israel, yet they will apply to all classes of mankind. It is a rule with me, and always has been, to request nothing of the people that I am not willing to do myself, to require no obedience of them that I am unwilling to yield. Experience has taught me, that example is the best method of preaching to any people. It is written—“Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to His disciples, saying, the Scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: all, therefore, whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do: but do not ye after their works: for they say and do not.” If we teach righteousness, let us also practice righteousness in every sense of the word; if we teach morality let us be moral; let us see to it that we preserve ourselves within the bounds of all the good which we teach to others. I am sure this course will be good to live by and good to die by, and when we get through the journey of life here, what a consolation it will be to us to know that we have done as we have wished others to do by us in all respects. This is my doctrine.

Let us, as teachers of righteousness, not only teach the whole law of God, but do it ourselves. And when we pray, let us not ask our Heavenly Father to do that for us which we would not help Him to do were it in our power. When our brethren, who have the cause of God at heart pray, we invariably hear them ask Him to cleanse the earth from sin, and sanctify it and prepare it for the Lord to dwell upon. While we thus pray, we should be employed in sanctifying ourselves first, and then in redeeming and sanctifying the earth, for this the work we are called to perform, aided by the Almighty. We pray the Lord to preserve the righteous and to let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, and “O Lord defend Thy people and fight their battles.” We should be prepared and be as ready and willing to defend ourselves as we are that the Lord should be ready and willing to defend us. We should be as ready and willing to fight our own battles as to have the Lord fight them for us. We should be just as willing to exercise the ability God has given to us to clothe ourselves, to build comfortable habitations for ourselves and our families, as He has been willing to bestow that ability upon us. We should be just as willing to learn to govern and control ourselves, and to abide in the truth, as we are to have the Lord assist us in doing so. When we fully perform our part, the Lord will not be backward in performing all that He has promised, if He should have to waste away and utterly destroy nations and kingdoms to do it.

We all believe that the Lord will fight our battles; but how? Will He do it while we are unconcerned and make no effort whatever for our own safety when an enemy is upon us? If we make no efforts to guard our towns, our houses, our cities, our wives and children, will the Lord guard them for us? He will not; but if we pursue the opposite course and arrive to help Him to accomplish His designs, then will He fight our battles. We are baptized for the remission of sins; but it would be quite as reasonable to expect remission of sins without baptism, as to expect the Lord to fight our battles without our taking every precaution to be prepared to defend ourselves. The Lord requires us to be quite as willing to fight our own battles as to have Him fight them for us. If we are not ready for an enemy when he comes upon us, we have not lived up to the requirements of Him who guides the ship of Zion, or who dictates the affairs of his kingdom.

The Lord has promised to provide for His Saints, to feed them and clothe them; but He expects them to plough and plant, sow and reap, and prepare their bread from the increase of the soil. It is just as reasonable to suppose that He will raise our grain and fruit for us while we are sunning ourselves, or lying in a state of inactivity in the shade—that He will grind our wheat and make it into cakes for us—as to expect that He will fight our battles when we will not make a motion towards preparing for self-defence against any enemy that may approach us. We cannot expect that the Lord will fight our battles if we sell our powder and lead and arms to the Indians, and leave ourselves unarmed and defence-less. If we do this, He will leave us to ourselves to suffer for this great neglect, as we should have to suffer for want of bread, if we did not take the proper precautions to raise it from the ground when it would be in our power to do so. If we wish to preserve ourselves from suffering cold in the winter, it is expected that we build houses and provide fuel. Now, the Lord will not do this for us, when we have the material all around us and the strength to perform the labor required. If we wish to keep our cattle from perishing, it is necessary to lay up fodder; the winter may be severe or it may be mild; but in taking the precaution of laying up fodder, we are prepared for either a mild or a severe winter. The Lord has endowed us with ability to gather from the elements around us every material which is necessary for food, raiment, and shelter. We know how to raise sheep, and how to manufacture their wool into cloth. We know how to raise flax, and cotton, and hemp, and silk, and how to make them contribute to our comfort. We know how to raise grain and fruit in abundance, and what to do with them when we have raised them; and we hope to know how to use weapons of defence as well as any other people or nation, if ever necessary, which I hope and pray will never be necessary. We should always be willing and ready to obey every good and wholesome law, whether it be to arm ourselves as the law directs, to train in the ranks, to labor with our hands, to preach the Gospel, to pray or to pay tithing; for those who obey in all things will enjoy the spirit and blessings of the kingdom of God in time and in eternity. Those who refuse to do their part for the maintenance of the public peace and the public security are not worthy of the fellowship of the Saints, and should be severed from the church.

It is required by the laws of the Territory of Utah of every male citizen from eighteen to forty-five to be armed and equipped and ready for any duty he may be called upon to perform as one of the militia of the county; and if any refuse to obey the laws of the land, I would try them before their bishops for that as readily as I would if they were to refuse to pay a just debt; and if they would not repent, I would sever them from the church, and give them over to the laws of the land. I do not know that there is one person in the Territory who would refuse to perform military duty; there are strangers in our midst; but I very much doubt if one could be found who would refuse to do military duty.

I look upon the Saints with delight; they are my pride; they are my glory; in fact, this is the family that our heavenly Father has selected as His chosen children, although many may yet leave it and go away; but here are my fathers, my mothers, my sisters, my brothers, here are my friends and associates, and here is my joy. I have never desired to be in any place only where the Saints live; I have never desired to associate with any other people. I know that we must become of one heart and one mind in all things, to fulfil the requirements of heaven in the building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth. We enjoy ourselves in our public amusements, but our greatest joy is to meet, as we have now met, to instruct each other in the principles and faith of the holy Gospel, that we may increase in faith, in knowledge, in understanding, and in the power of God to obtain all that is for us, and to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth as Jesus Christ did when He was upon the earth.

Prepare to die, is not the exhortation in this church and kingdom; but prepare to live is the word with us, and improve all we can in this life that we may be the better prepared to enjoy a better life hereafter, wherein we may enjoy a more exalted condition of intelligence, wisdom, light, knowledge, power, glory, and exaltation. Then let us seek to extend the present life to the uttermost, by observing every law of health, and by properly balancing labor, study, rest, and recreation, and thus prepare for a better life. Let us teach these principles to our children, that, in the morning of their days, they may be taught to lay the foundation of health and strength and constitution and power of life in their bodies. Let us teach them good manners, orderly conduct and good behaviour in every respect; and as soon as they can understand what you mean, teach them to be strictly honest, truthful and virtuous, that they may grow up in Christ, their living head. Some of the brightest spirits who dwell in the bosom of the Father are making their appearance among this people, of whom the Lord will make a Royal Priesthood, a peculiar nation that He can own and bless, talk with, and associate with.

I wish to present before the people the subject of a telegraph wire through our settlements. It is a subject which is worthy of our attention, and an enterprise which, when completed, will be of immense benefit in many ways to our country. This work we can do almost entirely within ourselves. We can get the poles from the mountains, and plant them; the wires and insulators we shall be under the necessity of importing from abroad, and for which we must pay money. We can sell our grain and get the money. The freighting we can do ourselves.

Cache Valley should be strong enough to poll three thousand votes, and the people are well able to sustain a printing press. I think that sufficient news could be collected in Cache Valley to make a small sheet interesting, and I have no doubt talent sufficient to produce communications both instructive and amusing. I would also recommend the establishment in Logan of a machine shop for the general good of the people in this and the neighboring valleys.

We know the Gospel to be true by the spirit of revelation, “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save by the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but by the spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” It is our privilege to live so as to know the voice of the good shepherd for ourselves, and to understand the will of God concerning us as individuals. When we live so as to enjoy the glory of our religion, then is our life a happy one, and our hope is bright that we shall secure to ourselves life everlasting in the presence of our Father and God.

The religion of Jesus Christ is a matter-of-fact religion, and taketh hold of the every-day duties and realities of this life. When people go to meeting in the so-called Christian world, they expect to hear the sayings of Jesus Christ explained and enlarged upon and dressed up and polished by the learning of men to make them fit for the ears of the professors of the 19th century; or, they expect to hear some of the dark sayings of the ancient prophets expounded, and how the Lord used to manifest himself to the people in the days of old, and how He spoke to them, and gave them dreams and visions and wonderful manifestations, and what a delightful thing it was for them to gather out from the wicked world and be organised by Him, and how they enjoyed themselves in their social capacity, and what good times they all had in ancient days; and thus they extol the ancients to the heavens, tell of the doings of Adam, of Enoch, of Noah, of Abraham, of the patriarchs, of the prophets, of Jesus and His Apostles; and go on to tell about, the resurrection, and describe the mysteries and joys thereof on the one hand and the torments of the damned in that lake of fire and brimstone and bottomless pit to which they are to be consigned on the other, and who are going to have their hair sheared off, who are going to have their finger nails taken out, who are going to have their eyes dug out, and who are going to have their blood spilled, and their spirits spilled, etc. At the close of such a meeting the exclamation heard on all sides is, what a glorious meeting we have had, what a glorious sermon we have listened to; when I would not give the ashes of a rye straw for the whole of it as to the amount of real practical good it does the people, more than in a moral point of view.

When people are hungry they need substantial food; when they are thirsty they need substantial drink. Moses’ smiting the rock would not have benefitted the people in the least, if water had not gushed out. It is the duty of the true minister of Christ to instruct the people of God how to get their food to-day, and to teach them by precept and example how to become an independent nation. How long shall we have the privilege of sending to New York, St. Louis, or other places to buy our goods? Babylon will surely fall. It may be said that we shall always be poor without commerce, we shall always be poor with it, unless we command it; and unless we can do this, we are better without it. Instead of sending our wealth abroad to purchase artificials, why not try to make them ourselves; or do without them? Why not continue our endeavours until we can manufacture cotton cloth as fine as fine as these children are wearing today? Why not raise flax and prepare it with care, and continue our efforts until we can make linens of every description and quality? This home industry should be persevered in from year to year with the view to our ultimate independence of a foreign market. This is our duty. It is true we do not do it. Instead of our young ladies letting the time hang heavily upon their hands, or instead of being engaged in some useless and profitless employment, they would enjoy much more real peace of mind to be engaged in the production of some useful material of some kind, it may be of silk, of linen, of woollen, of straw, or of artificials and ornaments manufactured from paper, feathers, or other material produced at home.

Every effort of this kind made by our sisters has its weight in the struggle which we should all make to cut ourselves entirely loose from any dependence upon those who have no other aim in view but our final dismemberment as a society, and our utter overthrow as a people. The Lord requires this of us; it comes within the pale of our duty; and in addition to this, to live—for it is the first and foremost of all He requires of us—so that we shall know the voice of the good Shepherd always; to live so that we shall know the truth when we hear it, and our hearts shall say amen to it. If there are any who have never heard the Gospel until to-day, and wish to know how to serve God, begin by repenting of your sins, and by being baptised for the remission of them, and receive the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and ever after live so as to be able to say, “my conscience is void of offence towards God and man.”

The Lord rules in the heavens, and does His pleasure among men. I will here say, as the Lord lives, if this people will be faithful in the performance of every duty, they will never come upon a field of battle to fight their enemies. There is no man among them who trifles with the counsel given to him to be armed and equipped and ready for any emergency but what has lost the spirit of God more or less. If the Saints neglect to pray, and violate the day that is set apart, for the worship of God, they will lose His spirit. If a man shall suffer himself to be overcome with anger, and curse and swear, taking the name of the Deity in vain, he cannot retain the Holy Spirit. In short, if a man shall do anything which he knows to be wrong, and repenteth not, he cannot enjoy the Holy Spirit, but will walk in darkness and ultimately deny the faith. Every good and wholesome law we should obey strictly, and do it with a good and honest heart. If we will pursue this course, the Lord Almighty will put hooks in the jaws of our enemies, and lead them whithersoever He will.

It is far better to die in a good cause than to live in a bad one; it is better to die doing good than to live doing evil. To the Saints of latter-days who do their duty to the best of their knowledge, I promise peace; but I have no promise of God for those who do not do their duty. When I speak of our duty it applies to all, male and female. It is the right of the mother who labors in the kitchen, with her little prattling children around, to enjoy the Spirit of Christ, and to know her duty with regard to those children; but it is not her duty and privilege to dictate to her husband in his duties and business. If that mother or wife enjoys the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, she will never intrude upon the rights of her husband. It is the right and privilege of the husband to know his duty with regard to his wives and children, his flocks and his herds, his fields and his possessions; though I have seen women who, I thought, actually knew more about the business of life than their husbands themselves did, and were really more capable of directing a farm, the building of a house, and the management of flocks and herds, etc., than the men were; but if men were to live up to their priviliges this would not be the case; for it is their right to claim the light of truth and that intelligence and knowledge necessary to enable them to carry on every branch of their business successfully.

It is the right and privilege of every Elder in Israel to enjoy the Holy Ghost, and the light of it, to know everything which concerns himself and his individual duties, but it is not his right and privilege to dictate his superior in office, nor to give him counsel, unless he is called upon to do so, then he may make suggestions; and if the people of a ward are living in the faithful performance of their several duties, their faith and their prayers will be concentrated before the Lord, in the name of Jesus, for and in behalf of their bishop, that he may know his business and be made fully capable to fulfil the duties of his calling to the honor of God and the salvation of the people. Wherever a man is appointed to preside, he should preside in the dignity of his office, and be able to discriminate between his duties as a presiding officer in a branch, he being a high priest we will say, and the duties of the bishop. I am gratified to say that such a thing does exist in the midst of this people that one man can preside as a president and another as a bishop, in the same ward, and not quarrel with each other; each one has the privilege for himself of knowing his duty by the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if all presidents and bishops were inspired by this spirit, they never would have any difficulty, but they would see eye to eye. It is the duty and privilege of the Twelve Apostles to have the Holy Ghost for their constant companion, and live always in the Spirit of Revelation, to know their duty and understand their calling; this is also the duty and privilege of the First Presidency of the church.

In the setting forth of items of doctrine which pertain to the progress and further building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth, and the revealing of His mind and will, He has but one mouth through which to make known His will to His people. When the Lord wishes to give a revelation to His people, when He wishes to reveal new items of doctrine to them, or administer chastisement, He will do it through the man whom He has appointeth to that office and calling. The rest of the offices and callings of the church are helps and governments for the edifying of the body of Christ and the perfection of the Saints, etc., every president, bishop, elder, priest, teacher, deacon and member standing in his order and officiating in his standing and degree of priesthood as ministers of the words of life, as shepherds to watch over departments and sections of the flock of God in all the world, and as helps to strengthen the hands of the Presidency of the whole church. A sister who receives the gift, of tongues is not thereby empowered to dictate her president, or the church. All gifts and endowments given of the Lord to members of His church are not given to control the church; but they are under the control and guidance of the priesthood, and are judged of by it. Some have erred upon this point, and have been led captive by the devil.

Whenever there is a disposition manifested in any of the members of this church to question the right of the President of the whole church to direct in all things, you see manifested the evidences of apostacy—of a spirit which, if encouraged, will lead to separation from the church and final destruction; wherever there is a disposition to operate against any legally appointed officer of this kingdom, no matter in what capacity he is called to act, if persisted in, it will be followed by the same results; they will “walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self-willed; they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusations against them before the Lord.”

In all our daily pursuits in life, of whatever nature and kind, Latter-day Saints, and especially those who hold important positions in the kingdom of God, should maintain a uniform and even temper, both when at home and when abroad. They should not suffer reverses and unpleasant circumstances to sour their natures and render them fretful and unsocial at home, speaking words full of bitterness and biting acrimony to their wives and children, creating gloom and sorrow in their habitations, making themselves feared rather than beloved by their families. Anger should never be permitted to rise in our bosoms, and words suggested by angry feelings should never be permitted to pass our lips. “A soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger.” “Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous;” but “the discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.”

All that we possess and enjoy are the gifts of God to us, whether they be in earthly substance, physical constitution, or mental power; we are accountable to Him for the use we make of these precious gifts, and it is the imperative duty of all the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve to pay their tribute to Him who has created all things, and who is now pouring from the heavens instructions upon, the people that they may know how to live here and return again into His presence. It is not our privilege to waste the Lord’s substance upon the lusts of the flesh, nor to devote one day of time to vanity and sin, or to any employment which will tend to death. We are willing to acknowledge that we receive all our blessings both temporal and spiritual, from the munificent hand of God; but we are not always willing that He should advise us how to use His blessings, when they are in our hands, in the best possible way to build up His kingdom on the earth. O, consistency, thou art one of the fairest jewels in the life of a Saint. We ask God to bless us with houses and lands, and possessions, chariots and horses, etc. When we plough our fields, and sow grain and plant vegetables, we pray to the Lord for good crops, to give us a great increase; and when we have gathered in the abundance which He has sent us until our barns are full and there is no room for more, then we ask no odds of the Lord, and are impatient and rebellious in our feelings, when dictated and advised as to how this fullness of the Lord’s blessings blessings should be disposed of for the individual and general good of the community. This remark will not apply to all; but when the word of the Lord comes to the people, which it does all the time, every man and woman professing to be Latter-day Saints should say amen, and then straightway fulfil it to the letter.

We calculate to continue to visit and preach to the Saints until all shall see eye to eye upon this matter, and become of one heart and of one mind in all things, and become perfectly united in building up the kingdom of God upon the earth, and wipe out wickedness from the world. I thank God that I now live in a community where I can live from one year to another and not hear the name of God blasphemed, and all the butter and eggs and flour that the people take to Bannack and other places would not hire me to be obliged to listen to it. All may not feel as tenacious on this point as I do; some care not how much the names of God and of Jesus Christ are blasphemed in their presence, if they can only sell their butter and eggs; or, “only give me a dollar for your breakfast or dinner, and I care not how much you swear and curse in my house and in the presence of my family.” I would not hear the name of God blasphemed as some who profess to be Latter-day Saints do for all the gold that has been taken from the mines of California.

May the Lord bless His people. Amen.

Home Manufacturing, Merchandising, and General Economy

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, at the General Conference, Great Salt Lake City, Oct. 9, 1865. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I wish now to deliver a few short discourses to the Latter-day Saints, and it does not matter which of them I deliver first, because they are all of equal interest and importance to the Saints, and will be spread upon the pages of the Deseret News for them to read at their leisure in that order that may suit them.

The first item that presents itself to me is, to call upon these sisters—they forming an important element of the kingdom of God in the last days—to listen to the will of God concerning them, that they go to now and manufacture from straw, grass, or any other fitting material that grows in these valleys, their bonnets and hats, and cease to sell the barley, the oats, the wheat, etc., to buy imported ones, or when the wheat, and the oats and the barley are all sold get your husbands to run into debt for that which you can as well make yourselves as not. I am satisfied that we can make, from material grown in these valleys, bonnets and hats as beautiful to look upon as any that have ever been imported to this Territory. I am addressing myself to the ladies of the kingdom of God, to those who know how to keep their houses, furniture and beds pure and clean, who can cook food for their husbands and children in a way that it will be clean, tasteful and wholesome. The woman that can do this I call a lady. In this view I differ from the world generally; for the lady of the world is not supposed to know anything about what is going on in the kitchen; her highest ambition is to be sure and be in the fashion, at no matter what cost to her husband or father; she considers that she may as well be out of the world as out of the fashion.

There has been a great deal said upon the subject of Home Manufacturing; and the article of straw is the readiest to come at of any other material of which clothing is made. Now, my sisters, will you hearken to those who spend all their time to do you good, who traverse the world over to gather the Saints, to preach the Gospel, make believers and gather them together that they become Saints—will you hearken to this counsel and obey it? Rye should be sown in the spring, and cut in the proper season, and cured as it should be to make good straw for hats and bonnets, and our boys and girls should braid it, and have it made up, and save the immense amount of ready means which we have to pay out for that article alone. Will the sisters belonging to the kingdom of God do this? I might call for a vote of those who are present, and no doubt you would enter into a covenant to perform this duty, and many very likely would not give the matter another thought. I will not ask you to vote; but I will ask you to do this as a duty, and to commence right away in this city by wards, and form yourselves into societies for the accomplishment of this purpose, and see that the little boys and girls, instead of their running wild in the streets, throwing the dust and dirt into their hair and garments from morning until night, are brought into the house, their skins and clothes washed clean, their hair combed neatly, and they set to braiding straw. This will teach them to be industrious, and save them from contracting habits of indolence and slothfulness, and be the means of introducing an important branch of industry into our country. How much better this would be than to let our children waste their time in unnecessary play; they need time to study, time for recreation, and time to be engaged in some useful employment. It is the duty of parents to see that the time of their children is properly appropriated to pursuits of usefulness, profit and advantage to themselves, to their parents or guardians, and to the kingdom of God at large, that they may grow up to become efficient and worthy citizens of that kingdom.

Bishops, will you see that enough rye is sown to supply the wants of the people of your wards, and see that the crop is harvested when it should be to make good straw for braiding? If you will do this, and the people will not avail themselves of making their own hats and bonnets, there is no complaint can be attached to you. I have raised crops of rye from year to year, and invited the people to use the straw for making bonnets and hats; but no; the merchants had imported bonnets, and our ladies preferred going to the stores and buying them. When will this people become Saints indeed? Not until they observe every counsel that is given to them of this kind, doing with their might the things that are required of them. I know it is the will of the Lord that this people should manufacture what they wear and consume; and, in addition to its being the will of the Lord, the liability of our being cut off from supplies, through being so far distant from the great manufacturing districts, teaches us that it is wisdom and true economy that we should adopt this course. The money which this community has expended in hats and bonnets for men, women, and children in the last year would bring scores and hundreds of the poor Saints from the old countries to these valleys of Utah. Is it wise in us, and pleasing to the Lord, for us to place the means he has blessed us with where it does not belong, while our sons and our daughters, instead of idling away their time or being employed in that which does not profit them or us, might be engaged in preserving such means among us to be applied in the further progress of the work of God?

My next discourse will be upon merchandising. We are here in these valleys of the mountains organised as a people; and we know how we came to be here; and we know the designs of God, and the designs of our enemies concerning us; we know the distinction which is drawn between this people and the world; these things we understand. Now, we propose to the Bishops, presiding Elders and leading members of the church, who are here assembled to represent the kingdom of God upon the earth, and to all those who are not here, who act in these capacities in the various places where there are Saints gathered together, to do their own merchandising and cease to give the wealth which the Lord has given us to those who would destroy the kingdom of God and scatter us to the four winds, if they had the power. Cease to buy from them the gewgaws and frivolous things they bring here to sell to us for our money and means—means that we should have to bring the poor here, to build our temples, our towers, ornament our public grounds and buildings, and to beautify our cities. For, as merchandising has been generally conducted here, instead of having our means to perform these public works, it has been borne away by our enemies by the million.

I wish the brethren, in all our settlements, to buy the goods they must have, and freight them with their own teams; and then let every one of the Latter-day Saints, male and female, decree in their hearts that they will buy of nobody else but their own faithful brethren, who will do good with the money they will thus obtain. I know it is the will of God that we should sustain ourselves, for, if we do not, we must perish, so far as receiving aid from any quarter, except God and ourselves. If we have not capital ourselves, there are plenty of honorable men whom our brethren can enter into partnership with, who would furnish and assist them whenever they should receive an intimation to that effect. I know it is our duty to save ourselves; the enemy of all righteousness, will do nothing to help us in that work, neither will his children; we have to preserve ourselves, for our enemies are determined to destroy us. I know it is the duty of this people to build up themselves; for our enemies will not build us up, but they will do their uttermost to tear us down. This will not apply to all; but there are enough to bark, and yelp, and growl, and snarl till the peaceable, good meaning man dare not open his mouth. We have thousands of warm-hearted friends who dare not say anything in favour of this people. We have friends in Congress who wish us to become a State in the Union; but they dare not tell of it. No, let them only say in their own districts that they would vote for Utah to become a State, and that would be their political grave, and they know it. If nobody will speak for us, let us speak for ourselves; if no person else will do anything for us, let us do something for ourselves. This is right; it is politically right, religiously right, nationally right, socially and morally right, and it is right in every sense of the word for us to sustain ourselves.

Let us save that money which we spend for bonnets and hats, and the trimmings that are upon them. You may ask me if I think my family will start out with a good example in this direction; I hope they will. If we will be diligent in this kind of economy, and make all we can within ourselves, and send out as little of our ready means as possible, it will place at our control means, which we do not now command, to gather thousands of the poor Saints.

What I am now about to say is on the subject of the use of tobacco. Let us raise our own tobacco, or quit using it. In the years ‘49, ‘50, ‘51, ‘52, and ‘53, and so long as I kept myself posted respecting the amount expended yearly by this people at the stores for articles of merchandise, we spent upwards of 100,000 dollars a year for tobacco alone! We now spend considerably more than we did then. Let us save this ready means in our country by abstaining from the use of this narcotic, or raise it ourselves. By so doing we will have that amount of means to circulate in channels of usefulness and profit which will add to our strength, to our permanency, and to our influence and importance as a great people. But when we place hundreds of thousands of dollars in the hands of those who are not of us, whose homes are not with us, who spend nothing to build up our country, but come here merely to make fortunes to spend elsewhere, we give them so much of our strength, and we are proportionately weakened. This is poor economy, and is displeasing to the Lord, because it retards the de[ve]lopment of His purposes.

I will not call upon you to enter into a covenant to do this, for some might break their covenants and that would be a sin, but I want what you do in this matter to be prompted by a desire to bring to pass some permanent profit and good to yourselves and to the cause which we represent I want you to do it as I have done it myself. I have never made a covenant since I entered this Church only to do good and serve the Lord our God, and in every possible way aid in developing His purposes. The Lord gave me strength to lay aside tobacco, and it is very rarely indeed that I taste tea or coffee; yet I have no objection to aged persons, when they are fatigued and feel infirm, taking a little stimulus that will do them good. It is wrong to use narcotics, for the nervous system is destroyed or injured thereby; but we should maintain a healthy action of all the powers of the body, which should be devoted to the service of our Father and God in building up His kingdom on the earth.

Now, brethren, bishops, presiding elders, influential men, men of property and money, will you go to now and gather up the means in your settlements and set some good reliable men to merchandising in every settlement, men who, if they make anything, will devote it to the building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth. I care not how much a man makes, if he only devotes it to proper uses, or how rich he may be if he make a right application of his riches. It is the bad use that men make of their wealth which God objects to. Go to, my brethren, and prepare yourselves forthwith to import the goods you must have, and never admit of a store being started in your neighbourhood again that you cannot control. It may be asked how can you prevent it? By never spending a dollar with any who will not aid in developing the country and in building it up.

It is the duty of this people to do their own merchandising, and, if I had the power, I would prevail upon them to take care of themselves, to provide for themselves, and use their means in a way to benefit and bless themselves, instead of pouring into the laps of those who will squander and make an ill use of it, who will use it to sustain the power of the enemy in his operations against the kingdom of God. This is right, and who can say aught against it? Nobody but a fault-finder or an accuser. As it has always been, and will be yet for some time, when the sons of God assemble together, Satan will be on hand as an accuser of the brethren, to find fault with those who are trying to do good. What I have said on this matter will answer my purpose.

There is another item which I will now notice, and until we learn such things I will promise you that we shall never inherit the Celestial Kingdom. We are gathered together for the purpose of learning what to do with this present life and with the present blessings bestowed upon us. If we do not learn these lessons, how can we expect to be trusted with the riches of eternity; for he that is faithful over a few things shall be made ruler over many things. The item I wish to refer to is the great loss which the people of this Territory suffer yearly in stock. I have talked about it heretofore many times, and tried to prevail upon the brethren to save their stock. When we are blessed with an increase of cattle, and we disregard this blessing which the Lord bestows upon us, we thereby incur His displeasure, and lay ourselves liable to punishment. What earthly father would bestow blessings upon a son with satisfaction and pleasure while that son would continue to squander them and gamble them away for nothing? After a time that father would withhold his favors, and bestow them upon the more worthy child. The Lord is more merciful than we are; but there may be a termination to His gifts, if we do not receive them with gratitude and take good care of them when we have them in our possession. Let the people take care of their cattle and horses, and the man who does not do it will lay himself liable to censure in the eyes of justice.

Listen to this advice, for here is economy. We have to gather the people, to send our Elders forth into the world to preach the Gospel to every creature; and when the people are gathered, there is probably not one family to fifty out of those who are brought here that knows anything about cultivating the earth, raising cattle, or doing anything to sustain themselves; we have to teach them this after they come here. We have importuned and plead with and instructed the people on these topics all the day long, rising early and continuing late until now; and many, a great many, have profited by our labors. The citizens of this city are tolerably comfortable; a great many of them have an abundance of fruit, and they enjoy it. It is very healthy for them and their children to eat in the season thereof, and it helps many to sustain their families pretty comfortable; and then they raise a few chickens, and they have one or two pigs in the pen, and a cow to give them milk and butter; though as the cows are now fed they are not very profitable to their owners.

I have lamented much that the people do not take the precaution to feed their cows. Let those who have cows in the city, sow a little lucerne seed in their gardens, say three or four rods square, and see that it is well cultivated, and you can feed your cows with a little of this two or three times a day, and take a little oats or wheat for your labor and get it chopped, and feed them a little of that every day, and give them the weeds you pull out of the garden, and the slops from the kitchen. In this way it is not difficult to keep a cow the year round. But take a cow six or seven miles over Jordan for a few dry weeds, and be all day, or as long as she remains there, without water and without shade, when she returns to the river she fills herself with water and comes home looking very full, yet hungry enough to crop the currant bushes where she can reach them, and eat the weeds from under our fences. This is not right. Raise lucerne, plant a few hills of corn, and take off the outside leaves of your cabbages and give to her; sow your beets and carrots, and what you do not use for greens, save and give to the cow. Save everything that she will eat, and feed it to her in a way that she will relish it and eat it all up; feed it to her fresh, and not suffer it to rot about the kitchen and the doors to become a sickly nuisance to your children.

By taking this course, you can as well milk eight quarts of milk twice a day as two, according to the quality of the cow and the kind of feed you give her. Thus you have your milk and a little butter, and your meat of your own raising, and your eggs and chickens, and your fruit; and you have a living here off an acre and a quarter of land. Such a little farm well tilled and well managed, and the products of it economically applied, will do wonders towards keeping and educating a small family. Let the little children do their part, when they are not engaged in their studies, in knitting their stockings and mittens, braiding straw for their hats, or spinning yarn for their frocks and underclothing. If this people would strictly observe these simple principles of economy, they would soon become so rich that they would not have room sufficient to hold their abundance: their store-houses would run over with fullness, and their vats with new wine.

Now, cultivate your farms and gardens well, and drive your stock to where they can live through the winter, if you have not feed for them. Do not keep so many cattle, or, in other words, more than you can well provide for and make profitable to yourselves and to the kingdom of God. We have hundreds and thousands of fat cattle upon the ranges, and yet we have no beef to eat, or very little. Kill your cattle when they are fat, and salt down the meat, that you may have meat to eat in the winter and some to dispose of to your neighbors for their labour to extend your improvements. Lay up your meat, and not let it die on your hands. Such a course is not right. Cattle is made for our use, let us take care of them.

I have now a proposition to make to the Latter-day Saints; and here is the strength and power of Israel to listen to it. It is to send five hundred teams to the Missouri river next season—five hundred good teams, with four yoke of oxen forward of a good wagon, to bring all the poor who have a mind to come to these valleys. There are hundreds of the Saints who can get to the frontiers, but no further; and rather than leave their homes in the old countries and be left among strangers in a strange land, they stay at home. What do you say, shall we send down five hundred teams next season? [The Conference was unanimously in favor of this movement.] I would suggest that we take cattle and wagons from Utah. The wagons that are made in the east now are not so good as they were years ago. The demand has made good wagon timber scarce, and it is rather difficult now to get as good wagons as we got a few years ago. Before the time of starting, you will be furnished with a circular of instructions. May the Lord bless you. Amen.

Others’ Sins, No Justification of Ours

Heber C. Kimball

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Oct. 6, 1865. Reported by G. D. Watt.

Brethren and sisters, may the very peace of our God be upon you, upon all Israel, and upon all those who love our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in all the world.

The more we grow in the Spirit of the Lord Jesus, the more are we inclined to extend the blessings of our God to all men, women and children who love Him. We are called to a very exceeding high calling, namely, to be messengers of life and salvation, holding the Priesthood of the Son of God for the redemption of the world. What manner of men ought we to be? Of all men upon the earth our morality should be the best, and our light should not be hid under a bushel but should be on the top of a bushel to be seen of all, that our good works may be known, and that by our good example we may influence others to do good and to trust in and serve God. Every man can exercise an influence for good or for evil in his sphere, and in the circle wherein he moves.

How often people justify themselves in doing wrong because Mr. or Mrs. So-and-So did so; or in conducting themselves like foolish persons in imitation of somebody’s foolish example! People generally are disinclined to acknowledge their faults and forsake them, but this we ought to do, purely because we love the right, doing it independently, and in defiance of the evil customs and examples with which we are surrounded. Every man ought to receive the truth wherever he finds it. Some would rather receive the truth only from the First Presidency and the Twelve; but we should acknowledge it, let it come from what source it may. Every person should learn to govern himself and live in this world so as to secure life everlasting; and to do this, we must identify ourselves with our Father and our God, being grafted into Him by the ordinances of the Gospel, and through faithfulness being conformed to His image, partaking of His heavenly nature, as the graft which is put into the roots of a tree partakes of the sap and nature of the tree, bringing forth the fruits of righteousness, drawing nourishment, life and strength for ever from the great source of all life and good. There is no other way for us to identify ourselves with God. Being baptized into Christ we put him on and become one with Him, as he was baptized into His Father and became one with His Father; and thus we are all one in Christ Jesus. We are made one with the Father and the Son by observing His word, His law and His ordinances.

If I were to commit an impropriety, another person would not be justified in doing the same thing. If I violate the law of God I shall be condemned and will not escape upon the plea that somebody else did the same. Every man must answer for his own sin. It is true we have our weaknesses. How? I am afflicted with rheumatic pains, or the infirmities of old age, or I am naturally consumptive, etc. These are weaknesses of the flesh; but may it be termed a weakness when men wilfully violate a plain, well-known law of God? The Lord requires nothing of His creatures which they cannot perform. We are subject to the weaknesses of human nature, but they are not crimes, neither should they stand in the way of our doing all the good in our power while we live in the flesh, and as little harm as possible. It is a sin to break any of the commandments of God. When a person bears false witness, it is a sin; or when a person steals, it is a sin; and these sins must be accounted for, either in time or in eternity, by the person who commits them.

We have come to this Conference from all parts of the Territory to be reminded of our duties, and to obtain strength in the worship of the Lord, and we are a good-looking people, and greatly blessed of the Lord. Our happiness consists not in the possession of earthly wealth so much as in the possession of that Spirit which it is our right to obtain and cherish.

The short sentence, “Do right,” embraces a great deal, and extends over the period of man’s life, embracing all his daily duties. It is right for us to build that Tabernacle; it is a work which all the people of the Saints in these mountains are engaged in; and the more faithful we are in paying our tithing, these public works will progress the more vigorously. We all know what the word of the Lord is on the subject of paying tithing, and the use to be made of the means thus collected, namely—to build temples and tabernacles, and to establish the kingdom of God generally. The Israelites built a tabernacle in the wilderness wherein they deposited their holy things, which were afterwards removed into the temple at Jerusalem. When our temple is completed, it will be used for the administering of the holy ordinances of God; it will be for the use of the Priesthood to give endowments to the people. It is just as requisite that that temple should be built as it is that we build houses for our wives and children to dwell in, because the service of our God is not so acceptable to Him in a temporary place of worship when His people can make a permanent one after the pattern which is pleasing to Him. Let us pay our tithing faithfully, and when we do that there will be no trouble in making any public improvement we desire to make; we can bring out the rivers and large streams of these valleys into canals for the purposes of transportation and irrigation, and become enriched by the facilities which these mountain streams offer unto us.

This is the head-quarters of Zion, and the law shall go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. The Lord gave the law through Joseph when he was here, and now he gives it through President Brigham Young. The law shall go forth from Zion unto all nations, and the word of the Lord is, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God and there is none else.” All who will not comply with this call will be damned. The Elders who have faithfully fulfilled their missions, warning all men who came within the sound of their voices, have identified themselves with the Savior, and with the Father, and with the Holy Ghost; and the Holy Ghost will abide with all such if they continue faithful; and herein consists the authority and power of every faithful servant of God in this and in all ages of the world.

When a man revolts against the work of God and against the counsels of his servants, and will not be subject to the Holy Ghost which dwells in him, he commits treason against God, and against his authority on the earth, and neither the Father, nor the Son, nor the Holy Ghost will take up their abode with such a man, and he may bid farewell to the guidance of good angels.

We should so live that we can have the spirit of truth sufficiently to judge between truth and error, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not. It is every man’s right so to live, for a people that are informed and intelligent are much easier led and directed in the truth than a people that are untaught and ignorant. It is for the purpose of instructing the Saints that we need the Temple and Tabernacle erected; and thanks be to God that he acknowledges our labors in the small house we are now using for the purpose of giving endowments; and those who keep their covenants made in that house will reap the blessings promised to them; while those who look upon their endowments as a light thing, and trifle with the things of God, will meet with desolation which they cannot avoid; but in doing so they are deceiving themselves and will bring upon themselves sorrow and wretchedness, and finally destruction.

To be a Saint is an individual work, and it is out of the power of God, angels, or men to make a Saint of a man who is determined to be a sinner. If a man will revolt against God and his authority on the earth, he has a right to do so, as much so as Lucifer had a right to turn away from his Father and God. Men are damned or saved by acting upon their agency, in receiving or rejecting the revealed truths of heaven. The majority of the members of this Church are the very elect of our God. There are some that are not so good, who care not for God, for His servant Brigham, for Heber, nor for the Twelve Apostles. But the day will come when the Lord will choose a people out of this people, upon whom he will bestow his choicest blessings. Think of the great numbers who were baptized into this Church when the Work first commenced in England, and how few there are who have stood to this day:—“many are called but few are chosen.”

Notwithstanding this sifting out of the unfaithful, the Lord has got a chosen people in these valleys of Utah, and He desires them to become self-sustaining, and fully able to control the trade and traffic of these mountains for their own profit and advancement. In view of this we wish our brethren to import their own merchandize, establish stores in their towns and cities, and trade with one another, and thus keep the wealth which we create among ourselves, making every effort in our power to bring about the redemption of Israel, and the great Work of our Father and God. This may be the means of destroying some through the deceitfulness of riches; but Jesus Christ will save all whom the Father hath put in his power to save, and great efforts will be made by the wicked one to destroy, if it were possible, the very elect; but as Jesus Christ hath said, “My sheep hear my voice, and will follow me, and a stranger they will not follow.”

All who profess to be Latter-day Saints will not be saved in the celestial world, for they cannot abide the celestial law, but all will attain to the glory which they can abide. Every righteous thing that we do in this mortality is a rudimental lesson in the celestial law of our God. Let us go to with our might, mind, and strength to abide the celestial law, as it shall be revealed to us from time to time, until we can abide its fulness, that we may ultimately be introduced into the presence of our heavenly Father to dwell with him for ever more. Whatever the Prophet and President of the Church tells us to do that we should do, for he is directed by the unerring Spirit of the Almighty to counsel this people. We are connected with him in the Lord, and we talk and pray together upon all subjects concerning the progress of this people; and it is for him to decide, and give the law to Israel; and all who do not abide it must suffer the consequence of their disobedience; and all those who obey it will obtain the blessings which are promised to faithfulness and obedience.

I desire to do right and to bring about that which is good. I have no other desire in my heart than to make all the acts of my life praise God. When I go into a ballroom I can there contemplate upon the things of God and praise Him in the dance. Virtue cleaveth to virtue, and light to light, and if we receive them they will have a place in us. I shall, the Lord being my helper, try to be a Saint and live my religion. I have come to this Conference with a determination to hear the word of God and be a Saint. We are blessed of the Lord now more than all the people upon the face of the earth, and we ought to be faithful to His commandments every moment of our lives, for we owe all we have and are to His beneficent bounty, and all should be devoted to His interest, or in other words, to our own interests by devoting all to the building up of His kingdom.

No man has a right to commit sin, nor to intrude upon the rights of his neighbor. It is our privilege to do right, to serve God and keep his commandments, and follow faithfully the counsels of President Brigham Young in all things. The world is mad at what they call the one-man-power, but they need not find fault with the “Mormons” for this, when the same thing is so faithfully upheld almost everywhere. For instance, the General Government sends a Governor to the Territory of Utah; the Territorial legislature can make laws and this one man can veto every one of them, making them of none effect. Brigham Young will always exercise an influence over this people for good, and I am going to help him, and the Twelve Apostles will help him, and so will all the faithful Saints of God in all the world. We shall prosper, and God will bless all this people for the righteous’ sake that dwell among them, for there is just as good a people here as ever did live in any part of the earth, according to their blessings and privileges. God has his elect here, and he is gathering them from the four quarters of the earth; and like a net that is cast into the sea, he gathers good and bad, that out of the multitude which he brings over the sea in ships he may gather His chosen people.

Thirty years ago the whole Church was under condemnation because they had neglected the new and everlasting covenant, even the Book of Mormon and other revelations God had given to them, and they were driven by their enemies, for they were under condemnation at that early day of our history. How is it with us now? There are scores of this people who never look at those books. The Book of Mormon is the ensign which God has lifted up to the nations in the last days, and we are not justified when we in our feelings neglect or forsake it. I take much comfort in reading those books which the Lord has given us through Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon was written by the Spirit and power of God; the man that will read it faithfully will be filled with light and with truth. We should hold everything in reverence that God has revealed in the latter-day and in former days; but that which is revealed for us more nearly concerns us.

This Church and kingdom will prevail; it is the kingdom of God, and he will bear it off, and there is no power on earth nor in hell can stay it in its progress from this time henceforth and for ever. Amen.

Instructions Concerning Things Temporal and Spiritual

Orson Hyde

Remarks by Elder Orson Hyde, delivered in the Bowery, in Great Salt Lake City, General Conference, Oct. 7, 1865. Reported by G. D. Watt.

By the request and permission of my brethren, I have the pleasure of rising up in the midst of the Saints to say a few words to them this morning. I feel very thankful to the Lord our God that I still have a name and a place among his people, that I am permitted to meet with them in General Conference, to speak of the goodness of our Father in heaven, and to join in worship with the general assembly of the Church of God. We are favored, truly, with fine weather; this is not only a great blessing to us, but it is a great blessing to our friends and brethren who are journeying on the plains to join us in our localities here.

First and foremost, brethren and sisters, I will say that, on Thursday evening I arrived in this city from the south—from my field of labor. As I came near the borders of the city I came in contact with a very disagreeable smell, arising from the decomposition of some animal that had been hauled out on the outside to remove the nuisance from the city. When I passed a certain line I entered the city and beheld shady trees and fruit trees laden with fruit, and experienced with delight the agreeable odor from the ripening fruit. The contrast was as agreeable as it was great. It immediately occurred to my mind that our brethren who are crossing the plains might come in contact with dead bodies that had been removed from among the Saints, I mean dead as to the spiritual life of God in them, for they must of necessity come in contact with these ere they could reach the city of the Saints. I believe that the evil things that could be said of the Saints are said around the borders, and those that are coming here to find a home have these things to encounter, that are quite disagreeable, and it requires not a little perseverance and faith to force their way through and to arrive here untarnished by the evil that meets them on the way. But when they can come with the Spirit of the Lord—with the spirit of the Saints in them—they forget all those disagreeable things on the borders, and their minds are charged with a heavenly influence, when they find themselves among the Saints here in peace and in truth.

Five years ago, the 10th of last June, I left this city to bestow my labors in another part of the heritage of our God, in the county generally known as that of Sanpete. At the time I went there, there were six efficient settlements, the largest of which would not exceed 125 or 130 families. According to the ability which the Lord has given me, in connection with my brethren who have been laboring more or less with me, the industry of the Saints, and the blessings of the Lord, the settlements have now increased to fifteen in number. They advanced southward until it was deemed expedient and necessary in the Legislature of last winter to organize two new counties, namely, the Sevier county and Piute county. The land in these counties that is susceptible of cultivation is mostly occupied with settlements, which, in several places in these new counties, are quite large.

We have had some difficulties to encounter, and all those who are acquainted with the establishment of new settlements in new localities, are not ignorant that there is always more or less difficulty to contend with; especially when they are so remote from what may be termed headquarters, or from the sources of aid and succor. We have enjoyed, generally, very good health; we have had some little sickness among children, and several have died.

There is a good deal of ambition among our people to cultivate a great quantity of ground, the result of which is, that we cultivate our lands poorly in comparison to what we would if we were contented with a smaller area, and would confine our labors to it. We have found some difficulty with regard to water, and complaints have been made about a scarcity of water in many places, when, indeed, I suppose the Lord has apportioned the water to the amount of land he intended should be cultivated. I do not think that these things are passed over unnoticed by Him without some kind of arrangement or calculation. He understands perfectly well what the elements are capable of producing, and how many of His people may be established here or there with profit and with advantage. I have labored most industriously since I have acquired a little experience myself, to induce my brethren to direct their energies upon smaller tracts of land; for I have noticed where men would attempt to raise a crop off forty acres of land, that they could not get their crops in in season, and frequently the frost came early and destroyed a great portion of them. This is bestowing our labor for that which does not profit. Now, would it not be better to confine our energies to a small tract of land, put in our crops in due season, have ample time to do it, do it well, and then it would only require one-half or one-third the amount of water to mature them, and they would mature in advance of the frost?

I do not know how it is in other sections of the country, but I presume it is more or less with them like the circumstances I will relate. I have known men, single handed, attempt to raise twenty-five and thirty acres of grain when it is more than any one man can well do; the result is, they find themselves troubled to get the water; they run from break of day until dark at night, wearing themselves out, and with all they can do they cannot bestow that attention upon their fields which they need, and they only get from eighteen to twenty bushels of wheat to the acre. When men have confined themselves to ten acres of land, having plowed it well the season before, all the foul weeds killed out and the soil left clean, the seed sown at an early day in the Spring, and put in in good order, I have known such fields to produce from forty to sixty bushels of good plump wheat to the acre. Besides, when fields are so cultivated, less water is used; the necessary labor can be performed wi[t]hout being hurried, and a plentiful harvest of golden sheaves reward the toil of the laborer.

This season, in all probability, our crops will fall short of other years some thirty thousand bushels of wheat, by reason of the early frosts. While I regret this loss, I am happy to say that there is plenty of good wheat in the granary, or in the Egypt of Utah; and I think the loss this year, through early frosts, will aid very much in enforcing the principles which I have endeavored to advance, namely, to confine our labors to smaller tracts of land and put in our crops in good time; that while they are growing luxuriantly and yielding bountifully, filling our bins with golden grain we are not worn out with toil before the days allotted to us to live are expired; but we still have our strength, time to build comfortable houses for our families to live in, barns and sheds, and to prepare shelter for our stock.

I find the longer we live in these valleys that the range is becoming more and more destitute of grass; the grass is not only eaten up by the great amount of stock that feed upon it, but they tramp it out by the very roots; and where grass once grew luxuriantly, there is now nothing but the desert weed, and hardly a spear of grass is to be seen.

Between here and the mouth of Emigration kanyon, when our brethren, the Pioneers, first landed here in ‘47, there was an abundance of grass over all those benches; they were covered with it like a meadow. There is now nothing but the desert weed, the sage, the rabbit-bush, and such like plants, that make very poor feed for stock. Being cut short of our range in the way we have been, and accumulating stock as we are, we have nothing to feed them with in the winter and they perish. There is no profit in this, neither is it pleasing in the sight of God our Heavenly Father that we should continue a course of life like unto this. Hence, in my labors I have exerted an influence, as far as I have been able, to cultivate less land in grain and secure to ourselves meadows that we might have our hay in the time and in the season thereof, shades for our stock, barns, and stables for our horses, and good houses for our families, where they may be made comfortable and happy, and that we may not be everlasting slaves, running, as it were, after an ignus fatuus, or jack in the lantern, following a false light, but that we may confine ourselves to a proper and profitable course of life. I do say, that a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things that he possesses, nor upon the vast amount he extends his jurisdiction over, but it consists in a little well cared for, and everything in order. When we confine ourselves and our labors to small tracts of land, we shall then find time to do everything that is necessary to be done; but if we branch out so largely in plowing, sowing and reaping, we have no time to make necessary improvements around our homes and in our cities; in fact, we have so much to do that we can do nothing at all.

Now I speak of these things, my brethren, not because I think that they are the most edifying to you, but I speak of them because I consider that a temporal salvation is as important as a spiritual one. It is salvation in every respect that we are laboring to obtain, not only to make ourselves comfortable and happy, so far as the physical energies of the body are concerned, but, also, that the mind should not constantly be on the strain day and night. There should be a little time for relaxation and rest to both body and mind, that while our bodies are resting the mind may be fresh to plan and arrange for our personal comfort and how to make everything snug and tidy around us. How much more agreeable is life when everything is in order and good regulation is maintained in and around our homes and cities. This is what I have endeavored, in my weak way, to instil into the minds of the Saints. In some instances I have been successful, and where men have adopted the course I have suggested, they have invariably borne testimony in its favor. I would rather have half a dozen cows in the winter, and have them well taken care of, than to have twenty and have fourteen of them die for want of feed and proper attention, which would leave me only six I would rather only have the six to begin with, then I would not have the mortification of seeing so many suffer and die. In the present condition of the ranges, we cannot indulge in the hope of raising such large herds of stock as we have done heretofore; but we have got to keep about what will serve us, and take care of them well; then we can enjoy ourselves, and we are not the authors of misery to any part of creation.

We are trying to get into this way; it is a slow operation, and it seems that men’s inordinate desire for wealth and extensive possessions is hard to overcome. They hate to be limited; they think their fields are not large enough for their strength; but it is a good thing to have a little strength on hand all the time, and not let out the very last link, because there might be an emergency that would really require it. If we drive a pair of horses all the time at their utmost speed they are soon worn out; and if you want to make a trip very speedily, you cannot do it, your animals are run down, you have not husbanded their strength, and they are not capable of performing the journey you wish; whereas, if they are properly driven, judiciously fed, and their strength properly husbanded, when you want to make a sudden dash you have the power to do it. We are not unlike, in this respect, to other portions of the animal creation. Perhaps I have said enough upon this subject.

We have had our difficulties to encounter in the south; it has not all sunshine and fair weather with us, but we have got along as well as we could. Perhaps that is saying too much, it is saying a good deal; I do not know that I dare say it. I look back frequently upon my past life and find many places that I think I could have bettered; but were I to live my life over again I do not know that I could do any differently. I will, however, let the past take care of itself, and for the future seek to do the will of God and keep myself in subjection to it.

I have no objections to men obtaining wisdom and learning from books, whether old or new; that is all right and good enough; but I consider it is better to have the Spirit of God in our hearts, that we may know the truth when we hear it; and not only know it when we hear it, but be capable by that Spirit of bringing forth things that we never heard. I feel that it is our privilege, brethren and sisters, to have this principle dwelling within us; and when I see men laboring through books, ancient and modern, to find but little that is good, I am reminded of those who run over forty acres of land in a superficial manner, and only reap a little, when a small quantity of land, well watered and well cultivated, would be sure to yield a rich harvest.

I want to speak a few words now in relation to our position. We look back to the days of Abraham, and we consider him to be a great man. Truly, he was a great man; he was among the first of great men in this world, according to our limited knowledge. There were great men before his day, but we are not so well acquainted with the revelations given previous to his time, nor with the men that lived before him, as we are with Abraham, and with the revalations [revelations] given to him and to prophets subsequent to his time. The Lord called him away from the worship of idols, telling him to separate himself and go into a land He would show him. He was guided by that Spirit that always guides aright, so he came into the land of Canaan. The Lord told him to look “northward and southward, and eastward and westward; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth; so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.” The Lord promised to make him a great ruler, a prince, and the father of the faithful. I want to ask the Latter-day Saints if the field is not wide enough, and if it is not the good will of our Father in heaven, to make Abrahams of every faithful man of God that lives on the earth at this day?—if it it is not according to the loving-kindness of our Heavenly Father to bless every faithful man of God as he blessed Abraham? It seems so to me. Abraham had several wives, and he had children. Is not the same blessing extended to us? That if Abraham was to be a prince and a ruler, and his posterity become numerous, may we not, if faithful to our God and to our covenants, be as Abraham? Shall there be any end to our posterity? May they not be as numerous as the stars in the firmament, and as the sands upon the sea shore? Abraham may be in advance of us; he lived in an earlier period; but we are following up in the same track. Although we may not be called upon to yield up an only son, as Abraham was, yet, may we not enjoy through faithfulness the blessings, and honors, and privileges that he did? I see nothing in the way of it. I believe it is according to the goodness, and generosity, and loving kindness of our Father in heaven. Now, the Jews boasted that they were the literal descendants of Abraham; and, notwithstanding their unrighteousness, stubbornness of heart, blindness of mind, and unbelief, they considered themselves heirs to all the promises made unto Abraham, and a distinguished and honored people. Jesus came to them, and taught and instructed them, and would have saved them, but they would not allow him to be their Savior; hence he said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.” The Savior began to reason with them on one occasion; they answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, “If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do; he was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him,” etc. Now, they are the people to whom the promises were made, of whom it is said they should be remembered for ever, and that too with loving kindness and favor. It was understood that they would be chastened if they went astray, but the Lord would always remember them on account of their fathers.

They that are the children of Abraham do the works of Abraham. What did Abraham do? The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and the voice of the Lord was heard by him, and when the Lord commanded him he obeyed; when he was commanded to offer up his only son, his darling Isaac, he prepared to do so. Abraham, no doubt, felt all the sympathies of a kind-hearted father, but still the voice of God to him was paramount to all things else, and he laid his son upon the alter [altar] and was about to slay him; and while the knife was aimed at the life of the lad, showing that Abraham was fully bent to do the will of God, and follow out the instructions given him, an angel’s voice from on high said, Abraham, spare thy son; I have tried and proved you; now I have the evidence that you will not withhold anything from me; there is a ram in the thicket, take him and offer him up instead; and Isaac was accepted in a figure and was saved. Abraham went on in obedience to the requirements of Heaven and faltered not. Now, then, if we will do the works of Abraham, we are the children of Abraham. The natural seed of Abraham rejected the offers of mercy, and it was said of them, “Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them.” Again, Paul says, “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh.” Their true line of connection with Abraham was broken because of unbelief, and Heaven regarded it no more. But here is a new institution, hence, says Jesus, except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God, and except a man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. To be born again is necessary to be a child of Abraham—to be a child of God. We are to be born of water and of the Spirit. What will the Spirit do for us if we give place to it and allow it to act according to its office in our own bosoms, and oppose it not, doing nothing to grieve it and to paralyze its force and influence upon our systems? Will it not create us anew in Christ Jesus, making our flesh, blood, and bones anew, creating the whole creature anew, being born from above and sanctified unto God? It seems so to me. It was said to Jesus, “Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.” But he answered and said unto him who told him, “Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother and sister and mother.” I do not know that I understand the exact meaning of the word sanctification, it is a very commonly used word; what I understand by it is, that the sanctifying influences of the Spirit of God is that influence which purges us from every thing that is worldly, selfish, and contrary to the mind of God: and the creature who is sanctified can say, “Our Father who art in heaven,” because he is born from above. Now, the presumption is, if a child is born to me, that that child inherits my spirit—my nature—by virtue of his birth and “being begotten by me.” If we are, then, begotten of God and born of his Spirit, we inherit the qualities of the Deity himself. Then may we not all become Abrahams? It seems to me that the Almighty can furnish territory enough, room enough: for He is not limited: and this world and all other worlds are subject to him. He controls, governs, and manages them, and they are to provide ample room for the existence and increase of His faithful children.

I do not pretend to understand the secret springs that are subject to the Almighty’s touch, but suffice it to say that I know they exist, and that He can touch them aright; and that if we will serve Him and honor Him and keep His commandments, He will touch them every time in our favor. I do not feel that the kingdom of God is going to be overthrown, that the wicked are going to prevail against it. I would have great mercy upon the wicked, so far as they will repent and obey the Gospel; but if they will not repent and obey the Gospel, if they will love unrighteousness and practice it all the day long, they cannot be acknowledged as the children of God, but will be accounted enemies of the Most High, and will be overthrown.

I wish to put the most charitable construction upon the purposes of all men. When the army was sent up to Utah under Johnston, their design was to overthrow the “Mormons” in these valleys; for they considered our religion a dangerous error, though this was not their manifest and avowed reason. They, however, did us no harm, and that great army, the flower of the United States, was broken to pieces and scattered hither and thither. They exhibited to all men and to the heavens their purpose, but God saved his people. What did they get for their reward? Look at the fields of Virginia and Tennessee. Look on the battle-fields in the South that have been drenched with blood; the nation has been clothed with mourning, sorrow, and wretchedness, and this is their reward for seeking to fight against God and to overthrow his kingdom. Do they look at it so? They do not. And they will spurn this testimony as they would the testimony that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, was armed with the Spirit of God, and carried life and death on his tongue. The nation has had a bloody war and a sore time of suffering, and many a heart will ache and be filled with sorrow after this day; it will take a long time to heal up the deadly wound it has inflicted upon the nation, a long time to cure up the sore, and while it is being cured up in one place, I have thought there is danger of it breaking out in another place. The whole organization of the nation has been infected with a disease that seems to be incurable: perhaps it may be cured, but I cannot say how this may be. Is the trouble ended? I do not apprehend that it is; they may cry peace and safety, but I do not think there is a good foundation for it. If they will provoke further calamities, after the severe reproof that has been given, further calamities will come upon them.

It is perfectly right to look at things as they really are. Here is, perhaps, a million of men to be disbanded that have been accustomed to live not by agricultural and mechanical pursuits, but they have been accustomed for the last few years to live by destroying the fruits of the ground and the productions of mechanical labor; by destroying men, women, and children, and laying towns and cities in flames, and they have had joy in the work of their hands. When this multitude of men are turned loose, are they going to adopt their former course of industry? Some may, but I fear the majority of them will not; the great mass of them have learned to do otherwise, and they are like so many firebrands scattered over the land.

When I was young I used to read about a day that should burn as an oven, and all the proud and they that do wickedly shall be as stubble. I then had an idea that a sheet of fire would come down from heaven and burn up the ungodly; that the sun would be darkened and the moon turned to blood and the stars fall from heaven. I look at things in another point of light now; I now consider that the elements, the agents of destruction, are right here to accomplish that work, and the revelations of God will be fulfilled; for God has put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and they shall make the whore of all the earth desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire. That great day of burning is beginning; we have had a few drops before the shower; it will wax worse and worse, and men will continue to deceive and be deceived until the earth shall be burned up. The word of the Lord is, “Come out from her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins and receive not of her plagues.”

In conclusion, let me say that I know this is the work of God, I know it to be the truth of heaven, I know that Joseph is a Prophet of the Most High God, and I know that he gave the mind and will of Heaven to the world in the days of his mortal life. I know that President Brigham Young is the man now chosen of God to guide the destinies of this people, and I say, May the Lord bless him, and those that are connected with him, and those that listen to his counsel; and may the blessing of God be upon all Israel, and His wrath and indignation be upon all that hate Him, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Prosperity of the Saints

George A. Smith

Remarks made by Elder George A. Smith, in the Bowery, General Conference, Great Salt Lake City, Oct. 7, 1865. Reported by G. D. Watt.

It is with very great pleasure that I have listened to the instructions and counsels of my brethren at this Conference. In fact, the season of Conference is a period of reflection with me. It is eighteen years ago yesterday when the first October Conference was held in this valley under the shade of a hay stack, and it served an abundant means of shading all that attended. As we are here assembled now, it would require an extensive hay stack to create a shade sufficient to accommodate the assembly, and there is but a very small representation here from the settlements of the Territory, though there are considerable numbers from some of them—trains of fifty or sixty wagons loaded with persons to attend Conference. Those of us who are in this city, and who have not had the privilege of travelling through the settlements, can form very little comprehension of the extent, strength, and population of the Territory, and of the amount of labor, toil, and the results of that toil and labor which are progressing throughout.

President Young has devoted a large portion of his time since last Conference, associated with a number of Elders, in travelling and visiting the Saints. He has visited, perhaps, one-half of them, after travelling about eighteen hundred miles. Our Territory is said to be sparsely settled, but our location renders it necessary that wherever a settlement exists it shall be of considerable size, in order to carry out the necessary arrangements for protection and cultivation. It is seldom that a small settlement can do this successfully. I have been pleased with the suggestions offered by President Hyde in relation to the better cultivation of the soil; for when we go to the expense of taking out water, of keeping up dams, making requisite canals, repairing tunnels and smaller ditches and water sects, it would seem really sound policy that every foot of land thus watered, in order to make it effective, should be cultivated in the best possible manner. If the Lord had seen proper to send rains from heaven to water our lands sufficiently and gratuitously as in other places, we might spread over the land and cultivate the soil without so much labor on our part. If the suggestions which have been made are duly considered and applied throughout the Territory, the result will be the production of from one to three times more of the necessaries of life on the same area.

So far as the unity of the people is concerned, I have felt to rejoice the past season; I have accompanied the President this summer, except when on his last trip to Cache Valley, during which I was on a journey to the South with Elder Amasa Lyman. We held twenty-four meetings. It is really an expressive and singular incident that we live to visit so many climates inhabited by Saints in so short a time. We passed near the snow region in July, went directly into a semi-torrid zone to see the effects of all the changes in this variety of climate, thermometer at Washington 110° in the shade, all within our own borders. Our settlements may be compared to a thrifty tree, throwing out annually a new growth more extended and more vigorous. While President Young and company passed on south, Elders F. D. Richards and A. M. Musser took another direction through the new counties of Sevier, Piute, and Kane, through a chain of new settlements never before visited, only in part, by some of the Twelve, visiting on their route some 600 families. It is really astonishing to reflect that such an extent of settlements have been thrown out. We have been gratified very much with the efforts and exertions made by our brethren who were sent on missions to our cotton region in opening and enlarging the settlements there. They have met with many difficulties of which their northern brethren have very little conception. The soil along their streams in many places is composed of such loose material that it is almost impossible to carry a water ditch through it for irrigation, the soil of the banks dissolving in the water like sugar in coffee; dams are washed away by frequent bursting of clouds. You may take the best fields in the vicinity of St. George, and the annual expense of keeping up their canals and dams for irrigation has been 15 dollars per acre, and yet the courage, energy, perseverance, and dilligence of the brethren have not failed, but they continue to construct dams, and contend with the natural obstacles that lie in their way to the permanent improvement of the country. This perseverance, which will eventually bring forth an abundant supply of the needful staples which can be successfully produced in that climate, is very commendable; to support themselves by producing their own breadstuff is true political economy. Notwithstanding the number of mechanics sent there, they have not sufficient to supply the wants of the people. There are many towns without a blacksmith, plasterer, mason, or carpenter. A considerable number of these could find employment and make themselves good homes in many of the southern settlements. We would direct the minds of the brethren to this item.

There is much land that can be cultivated in wheat with flood water that cannot be made to produce cotton, in consequence of drouth later in the season. The raising of bread this year has not interfered to any great extent with the culture of cotton, the supply of which has been greater than last year; and two-thirds of breadstuff necessary has been produced to supply the inhabitants, the other third must be brought from the north. Many vineyards have come into bearing, and extensive new vineyards have been planted, and the efforts at cultivating more breadstuffs have proven successful; and if the brethren continue their efforts, an ample supply will be produced for home consumption without materially lessening the breadth cultivated in cotton and vines. While my brethren are contending with these obstacles I sympathize with them, and rejoice when I see them victorious. As I passed through the mineral lots in St. George I saw their barren aspect, and saw the men working on them to conquer those combined chemical elements which eat up everything that grows, and though the rocks and fences of sandstones were dissolving before them, yet men are conquering this soil and making it produce. Nearly three-fourths of all the fruit trees planted in St. George have been unsuccessful, yet the place is looking like the Garden of Eden, showing that perseverance, faith, and energy will conquer everything. It is a delightful and pleasant locality. I name these things because we are interested in them, and wish the brethren to realize that those brethren on that mission have spent the accumulated property of many years, and many of them are successful; some are yet struggling to make a start, and it is with them as the old adage has it, while the grass grows the cow starves; but they are not discouraged; their eyes look bright, their spirit is determined, and I was pleased to hear Elder Snow speak of the good spirit they felt, and that they were determined to overcome. A people possessed of such great energy, aided by the ready co-operation of their brethren in the north, are bound to conquer that desert, and not only make it blossom as the rose, but make one of the most delightful regions of the earth. I would suggest to all persons who go there to fulfil what is required of them, and not forget that it is necessary to carry the staff of life with them, that those that are there, and those that are going, may be provided with ample supplies of bread; it is better to have a little over when the next harvest comes than to go two or three weeks without bread. May the blessings of God be upon Zion, and may her cords be lengthened and her stakes strengthened, that she may be blessed continually with that wisdom, knowledge, and intelligence that guide the head and inspire the body. We are improving in everything; we must continue to improve until the light of life shines throughout the whole earth; for our business is to be like a city set upon a hill, or a candle set upon a table, to illuminate the earth, and bring all to a knowledge of the truth, life, and peace. May God enable us to be so is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Revelation from God, True Knowledge

John Taylor

Remarks by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, General Conference, Oct. 7, 1865. Reported by G. D. Watt.

It is good to meet together as we are met on the present occasion. It is good to speak on the goodness of God, and it is pleasant and instructive to hear; we enjoy a privilege that is not possessed by any of the inhabitants of the earth except ourselves; it is a privilege which, when properly understood by the Saints, they will esteem to be greater than any other earthly blessing that can be bestowed upon them. We assemble together in a different capacity from that of any other people; we meet here as the representatives of God upon the earth. Yet occupying the high position that we do, blessed as we are with the light of truth, with the Holy Priesthood, with the fulness of the everlasting Gospel; in possession of light and intelligence that is not imparted unto others, but of which they are ignorant, we stand emphatically as God’s elect, as His representatives on the earth; at the same time, there is mixed up with us a great amount of weakness, infirmities, and follies, and we need continually the aid, teaching, and protection of the Almighty God to govern, guide, lead, and direct us in the right path.

As I before stated, we stand in a different position to the Almighty and to the world from that of any other people. To us God has revealed his will; He has opened the heavens to us; among us He has organized the Holy Priesthood, and revealed those principles which exist in the eternal world; of us He has made messengers of life and salvation, to us He has communicated his law, and from us He expects obedience and a ready co-operation with Him in bringing to pass those great events that must transpire in the building up and establishment of the kingdom of God in the last days. The Lord is anxious to do us good, to enlighten our minds, to inform our judgment, to unfold unto us His will, and to strengthen us and prepare us for the great events that must transpire in these last days. He is desirous to show us how to save ourselves, how to bless ourselves, temporally and spiritually, intellectually, morally, physically, politically, and in every possible way that He is capable of bestowing his blessings upon fallen humanity. He is desirous to perform a great work upon the earth, to bring about a great revolution among men; to establish correct principles of every kind, and to make the earth and the inhabitants thereof fulfil the measure of their creation, and prepare all that are capable or worthy to receive everlasting life and exaltation in the celestial kingdom where he dwells. He is desirous of making use of us as his instruments in the development of this great work in which He has engaged.

We have been in the habit of reading the words of the prophets in relation to the establishment of the kingdom of God, and what they have said, and the Spirit, by which they were inspired. We have reflected a good deal upon what the Lord would do in relation to establishing correct principles upon the earth in the last days. We have read about these things, and we have believed them in part; and as the Spirit of God has beamed upon our minds, latterly we have been enabled to comprehend more fully some of the things that the prophets in ancient times wrote about, but of which they understood very little, and we can only understand them as we are taught; we can only comprehend the designs of God as he reveals them to us; we can only understand our duty as the Spirit of God makes it manifest, either through the Elders of Israel or by the revelations of God to ourselves, or both.

It is in vain for the Elders of Israel to teach the principles of truth unless the people are prepared to receive them; and it is vain for the Lord to communicate his will unto the people unless the people possess a portion of his Spirit, to comprehend something of that will and the designs of God towards them, and towards the earth upon which they dwell. Nor can the Lord work with them unless they are prepared to co-operate with him in the establishment of his kingdom upon the earth.

There are a great many things of which we speak that seem to be very simple, and very unnecessary, in the estimation of some, for us to talk about. We have heard in this Conference reports from different parts of the Territory about their crops, about the way the land is cultivated, about the kind of improvements the people are making, about the prospects that lie before them for sustaining themselves with all the common necessaries of life, etc. And some people think that we might, when we convene together, talk about something else—about something which they would designate as being more spiritual. We meet together as men of intelligence, as men possessing natural wants, who have natural bodies, which bodies have to be clothed, to be fed and provided for; we meet together as rational individuals and as heads of families, who have children growing up that need, in the first place, to be instructed in the common laws of life, and in those things that are necessary to promote our common well-being. The first thing that devolves upon all human beings, so far as I can comprehend it, is to provide a way for their own sustenance. One of the very first commandments that God gave to Adam was, when He placed him in the garden, He told him to dress or till it, so that he might be able to provide for his necessities. The fiat of the Almighty, at the time when Adam was expelled from the Garden of Eden was to him, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread;” that we cannot avoid. By this inscrutable law we are compelled to attend to some of the first necessary affairs of life, or to go without bread and necessarily die. Consequently, when we talk about land and possessions, an inheritance, etc., we talk about things that are some of the first necessaries pertaining to human existence. We live by breathing the air that God gives us, by drinking the water that He causes to flow for our sustenance, and by cultivating the earth in order that we may partake of the products of the earth. This is one of the first duties pertaining to man, and hence when we meet together to form new settlements as part of the body politic—as part of the kingdom of God, it devolves upon all of us always to ascertain how we can sustain ourselves in the position in which we are placed. Hence, when we hear of any difficulties, such as we have heard of in the the south at various times, and from other sources, pertaining to the existence of man, it causes a thrill of feeling to go through the whole of the people that form part of the kingdom of God; for if one member of the body suffers, they all suffer with it; and if one member of the body rejoices, the rest rejoice with it. When we hear from the south, as at the present time, that they are raising their bread, and that there is every reasonable prospect of them being enabled to sustain themselves, we feel comforted by the report. When we hear from the north of the destruction made by the early frosts, and yet, notwithstanding this disaster, of the prospects that lie before them, and the encouragement that they hold out to us of the prosperity of their settlements there, and that they will be able to provide for themselves, we feel comforted thereby, and feel thankful to the God of Israel that He is providing for and taking care of his Saints.

We believe that the kingdom of God is a temporal kingdom as well as a spiritual and eternal kingdom, to use this expression according to our comprehension; and when men are deprived of the common necessaries of life, and have not wherewith to sustain themselves, they have but very little time to attend to religious matters, and they cannot be of much benefit to their brethren in helping to establish the kingdom of God upon the earth. But when, on the other hand, we see that the Saints are blessed in the north, in the south, in the east and in the west; when we see them industrious, persevering, dilligent, and using all lawful measures to provide for themselves, and their families, and those that depend upon them; and when we see them cultivating the Spirit of God in them and living their religion, cleaving close to the Almighty and drawing blessings from his hand, then we acknowledge the hand of God in all things, and feel to bless the name of the God of Israel. Every one of these things is of great importance to the Saints of God, and we feel interested in all these matters. Are they prospering in the south? We acknowledge the hand of God in it. Is the climate tempered in the north? We acknowledge the hand of God in it. Do the rains descend upon our parched land and cause it to bring forth luxuriantly? We acknowledge the hand of God in it; and so we do in everything that we see, and in everything that we have to do with; for we read “that the wrath of the Almighty is kindled against none but those who do not acknowledge his hand in all things.”

We are gathered together here as a peculiar people; we differ, as I stated before, in almost every respect from the world of mankind with which we are surrounded. The Lord gives to them seed-time and harvest, summer and winter, and pours the rich blessings of heaven into their laps; He gives them mechanical talent and ingenuity; He inspires them with a knowledge of the arts and sciences; He has been pouring upon them the rich blessings of intelligence and of plenty for ages, but they do not acknowledge his hand. Men boast of their own intelligence, of their own wisdom, of their own power, might, and understanding—this is a general rule, with but few exceptions. They feel a good deal like the king of Babylon did when in his pride he rose up and said, “Is not this great Babylon that I have built? have I not done these things by my wisdom, by my intelligence, by my power and might?” With us it is different. We are indebted to God for the first rays of light and intelligence that ever beamed upon us. Who among us knew the first principles of the Gospel of Christ until we heard them from the Elders of Israel? There is not a man among us that did; there is not a man in existence to-day that knows them, only as they have been communicated to him from God. Who told us that it was right to be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins? Who taught us it was right to receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands? Who taught us that it was right that there should be an authority given by God to man to enable him to officiate legally in His name, and that everything in the shape of religion upon the earth was spurious and not of Him? It was communicated to Joseph Smith by the opening of the heavens, by the ministering of Holy Angels, and by the voice of God. Until that voice was heard, until these communications were made known, the inhabitants of the world were wrapped in ignorance; they knew nothing about God nor the principles of eternity, nor the way to save themselves nor anybody else.

We have nothing to boast of in this particular. I do not speak of these things by way of boasting, but I speak of them to acknowledge the hand and mercy of God towards us as a people. What would a man give in exchange for his soul? We are told that a man will give all he hath for his life; what will he give, then, in exchange for his soul, or has he anything to barter for it? What is it that hath loosed us from the shackles of ignorance, error, superstition, and folly with which we were bound? It is the light of heaven, the revelations of God, the ministration of the Holy Priesthood that has imparted to us intelligence in relation to these things; without this it is impossible that we could follow anything in relation to them. Who is there in the world that understands anything of God, or his will? They cannot be found; they know nothing of Him. It would be needless to talk about the folly of many of their priests, and their ideas and notions in relation to these matters. What do they know of God? They tell us he is a spirit. What else? That He is without “body, parts, and passions.” Some tell us that He sits on the top of a topless throne, etc. It is not necessary to enter into these matters; we know them, and we do not wish, at the present time, to reflect upon them. I am simply reflecting upon my my own ignorance as one of them. When I was among them I was a teacher, and what did I know? Simply nothing. I knew nothing of God, of the principles of eternal truth and life, and I could not find anybody anywhere that knew any more than I did. I am indebted to “Mormonism,” to the light of truth, to the revelations of God, to the administrations of the Holy Priesthood, for all the knowledge, and light, and intelligence that I may possess in relation to these matters; and this is the case with all of us; we were all unacquainted with God, with the Holy Priesthood, and with the way to obtain eternal life; and the same ignorance that beclouded our minds, previous to the opening of the heavens to Joseph Smith, and the coming forth of the fulness of the Gospel through him, beclouds the rest of the world at the present time. They know not where they are going to, nor where they came from. I used to ask myself sometimes questions like the following:—Who am I? Where did I come from? What am I doing here? What is the object of my existence? Who organized the world, and for what purpose was it organized? Could I answer them? No; and nobody else could answer them for me; for they know nothing about these things—neither priest, nor philosopher, nor statesman, nor any man that I could associate with, could unravel these questions; they could not tell the whys and the wherefores in relation to some of these simple things that have been given to us.

The Gospel, we are told in one place, is “the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus,” and “it hath made us free from the law of sin and death.” We are told in another place that it is “good news and glad tidings;” but, if we comprehend it correctly, the Gospel holds the keys, through the Priesthood, of the mysteries of God; the Gospel “brings life and immortality to light;” and wherever it exists, in whatsoever bosom it dwells, whoever has engaged in the propagation of the Gospel, has a knowledge of life and immortality; it is that which unveils the heavens, and without it men are ignorant in relation to the future, and of that salvation of which they talk so much. The Gospel places men in communication with the Lord, so that they can understand something of God, and something of His law, and without the Gospel they cannot understand anything about Him; and hence some will think one thing about Him and some another. Whoever has possessed the Gospel, whether in former or in latter times, it has brought life and immortality to light, to them; it shows men who they are and what they are; it shows them something about God; and it was said in former times that, this is life eternal to know God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent. Without the Gospel it would be impossible for men to have any knowledge of God, or of Jesus Christ whom he hath sent. Hence, when Jesus asked the question of his disciples, “Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” they answered him, “Some say thou art Elias, and some say thou art Moses, and some that thou art one of the prophets risen from the dead.” “But whom say ye that I am?” Peter answered, “Thou art the Son of the Living God.” Jesus said unto him, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven; and thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

How did Peter know that He was the Christ? He knew it by revelation; he had the Gospel, and the Gospel brings life and immortality to light, and reveals unto the human family the existence of a God and their relationship to him. We are indebted to God for light, for the intelligence we enjoy, for the knowledge of the Gospel that is placed within our reach.

Now let us proceed a little further in relation to these matters. God is desirous of benefiting us, and for this reason he has revealed unto us his will; for this reason he has opened the heavens and communicated with us. God is desirous of establishing his law, his authority, his kingdom, his dominion among men. He is desirous to be obeyed by the human family, and to have them submit to his teachings, to his guidance, and to his direction. He is desirous of establishing correct principles among mankind that will do them good, that will bless them, that will exalt them, that will prepare them to fulfil their destiny upon the earth, and the first step that he has taken is to impart unto them, through obedience to the principles of the Gospel of Christ, the Holy Ghost, and only through that can they comprehend God or his laws. “Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God; and except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” We sometimes feel a little indignant at the actions of men around us; we think that they act strangely, and so they do. We think that they are very full of prejudice, and so they are; we think that they are very wicked and show a very malignant spirit toward us, and are desirous to injure us, and we have often been astonished at this when we have been abroad in the world; we have seen very honorable, high-minded men and women that fear God and work righteousness, and yet there is an array of prejudice and persecution against them that would almost astonish us. What is the matter? They do not see things as we see them; there is a thick veil over them; they are something like the people that Jesus spoke about in his day, when he prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” They know not the light and intelligence of the Holy Ghost, and, consequently, they do not understand our position, and they are led by other influences they know nothing about. They do not see the kingdom of God, nor can they. I do not care what their wisdom is, nor their intelligence; I do not care what school they were taught in, or who was their teacher; I care nothing about the extent of their capacity, reading, or intelligence acquired or possessed; unless they have possessed the Spirit of the living God, they cannot comprehend the affairs pertaining to the kingdom of God. Well, but are there not many very honorable and high minded men in the world that are not Latter-day Saints? Yes; but they do not see the kingdom of God any more than Nicodemus did when he came to Jesus by night. We stand upon a different platform from what they do, and we have to make many allowances for their conduct and actions towards us. They do not understand our designs, nor what we are after. Why are we gathered together? Because God has called us and we are willing to obey him; because God sent a message to the nations of the earth, and we possessed a portion of the Spirit of God; and when the Elders of Israel came forth to teach us the words of life, as Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, and they know me,” etc, the word of life was sown broadcast among thousands, and millions of the human family arose and believed it at first, as much as you and I did; but the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the influences with which they were surrounded, choked the precious seed, and it could not bring forth fruit. These influences, more or less to the present time, prey upon our minds and darken and benumb our feelings, and interpose between us and our Heavenly Father.

What is it that we are aiming at, and who are we seeking to injure in the world? Who have been injured by us? There is no man living who can speak the truth and say he has been injured by this people. He does not exist; and whenever they make statements of that kind, you may brand them as liars. Who have we interfered with? What people have we deprived of their rights? Among whom have we sown the seeds of sedition or injury of any kind? Have we gone to the North or South and interfered with any of the Territories or States surrounding us? No man that tells the truth can say so, for we have never done it; we have no need to do it; it is not in our hearts to do it; we cannot do it while we live our religion. The Lord is trying to teach us, if he can, and we are trying to teach each other, if we can; so that we may be elevated and exalted in the scale of intelligence, morality, virtue, honesty, and truth; and with regard to anything and everything that tends to exalt and ennoble the human mind. This is what we are after, and what the Lord is desirous to make of us.

We emanated from Him; we are His children, and not only His children temporally and spiritually, but we are united to Him by covenant to serve Him; we have covenanted to serve Him in baptism; we have covenanted to serve Him in our endowments, to keep His commandments, and walk according to the laws of life.

The Lord is desirous to root out error from among us—from me, and from you, and from all of us; to tear away error, and superstition, and vice, and vanity, and folly, and pride, and evil of every kind; to show us the beauty of holiness, the excellency of truth; to show us every principle that is calculated to build us up, and bless us with life and health, and our posterity after us, worlds without end.

And what does the Gospel show us? It shows us who our Father is; it shows us our relationship to Him, and to our earthly father; it shows us our duty towards our children, our duty towards our wives, and wives their duty towards their husbands; it enters into all the ramifications of human existence.

As God is our Father, and the organizer of these bodies, and of this earth on which we live, He wants to teach us all, principles that will be calculated to exalt us and exalt, the earth on which we live, If anybody has any fault to find with us in any part of the world, it is that we seek to fear God and work the works of righteousness; and if we cannot be swayed from the principles of truth by any power under heaven, our society is ignored.

How often has it been told us, “Gentlemen, if you would only lay aside your religion and become like us, and live as we do, then we will all be good neighbors together.” How often have we had to listen to such stuff and nonsense; like them, serve the devil, commit iniquity, go down to darkness and the shades of death, and live and die without God and without hope in the world, as they would have us to do, and die and be damned. God forbid, we will not do it. (Amen.) Our desire is to serve God; we know the ways of life, for God has taught them to us. We know in whom we have believed, for God has revealed it to us. We know the Gospel is true, because the Gospel has made manifest itself to us, and we feel satisfied with regard to the course we are taking, and God being our helper, we will pursue it to the end. God is our friend, and we are the friends of God.

It was said this morning that we might all be Abrahams. Abraham was the friend of God; we are the friends of God, and if we are not his friends, he cannot find them on the earth; if we are not his friends, he cannot find friends who dare do as we do—who dare cleave to the truth in the midst of shame, obloquy, persecution, and reproach. But we still live, and the truth still lives, and the kingdom of God still exists; and when the kingdoms of the world crumble to pieces and “become like the chaff of the summer threshingfloor, and no place found for them,” we shall still live; for we have within us the seeds of eternal life, and no man can take them from us.

We have begun to live for ever, and feel to rejoice and be glad under all circumstances, and to sing “Hallelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigned, and will reign until he hath put all enemies under his feet.” We are striving to help God to do that which he desires to do; and what is that? It is to benefit mankind.

How often have we heard President Young, President Kimball, and others say to the people, “Why not go to work and plant orchards, it is a very little thing to talk about; why will you not make good fences, and make good gardens, and build good, comfortable houses, and try to make yourselves happy and comfortable.” We now see the fruits of these things, and we begin to eat the fruits of our obedience to those instructions and to realize the benefit of them: our fields teem with plenty, our peach trees, and apple trees, and plum trees are laden down with fruit, and we possess the good things of this earth in abundance. Is there any harm in all this? We are taught, also, to love one another; there is nothing bad about that. Husbands are taught to love their wives, and wives are taught to love their husbands, and children to obey their parents; these are good principles, and they have been taught to us all the day long. We have been taught to pay our tithing, that we might acknowledge to God that we are his people, and that if he gave us all we ask, we might give one-tenth back to him, and by that act acknowledge his hand. Does the Lord care about these things? No. Yes. No. Yes. Yes. No. He does not care about them, so far as they benefit Him, but He does, so far as they develop perfection in the Saints of God, and show that they acknowledge his hand as the author and the giver of every blessing they enjoy. One of the prophets says, “The gold and the silver are His, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.” If you want gold, you will have to go a little further away from here. People think it is strange that the “Mormons” do not develop the gold in these mountains; but those who understand the mind of God, understand that he has a protecting care over his people, and that we are in his hands, and that he will sustain us.

That we do not develop the gold in these mountains is not strange to the Saints of God. He has wisely planned for our sakes in a thousand ways. We can remember the time when we could not raise peaches to eat, and it was a doubt whether an apple tree would grow or not. Now go and look at your orchards; there is not a better peach growing country in the world than this. How is this? God has blessed the elements for our sakes, and also the earth; but let the Saints leave this place, and it would return again to its wilderness condition; the wicked could not live here; they could not live here before we came, and they could not if we went away; consequently, if any of them think that they could by any means or stratagem drive us away to possess themselves of our property, it would not do them one particle of good if they got it, for God blessed it for our sakes. He blesses the land for our sakes.

It is hard sometimes to realize this. What does the Lord say to ancient Israel in one place? “Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep with thee, the covenant and the mercy which He sware unto thy fathers: and He will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee; He will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which He sware to thy fathers to give thee. Thou shalt be blessed above all people; there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle.” “The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face; they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.” Then the curses are enumerated that should come upon them if they forsook the Lord their God and observed not his statues. While the children of Israel obeyed the Lord their God the land abounded in wine, corn, and oil, and they vanquished their enemies. When they departed from God and disobeyed his laws, those calamities which were promised them through disobedience fell upon them to the very letter even to this day. Their temple was destroyed, and not one stone left upon another, as the Savior told, and the ground upon which it stood was plowed up by the Romans in search for gold which they expected to find there.

It is sometimes hard for us to realize that we are in the hands of God, and that he controls, and manages, and guides our affairs. This is the thing we wish to understand, and wish the people to understand that our confidence is in Him. People talk sometimes about what they are going to do with the “Mormons,” and the rumor flies that we are going to be rooted out, destroyed, and overthrown. We shall, when God says so, and not before. The Lord knew in former times how to put a hook into the jaws of the enemies of Israel, and he knows just as well where to place it to-day. The nation in which we live and all nations are in the hands of God; and so are we, and our enemies cannot help themselves nor avert the destiny that awaits them. He will accomplish his purposes towards them, and they cannot help it, and towards us, and they can, not help it. Then we are all in the hands of God, like clay in the hands of the potter, to be moulded, and trained, and fashioned according to the designs of God and according to his will.

As it regards any of those outside influences, we need not fear in relation to them; we need not fear anything they can say and do, for they can do nothing but what God permits. He will let them wander about on Hams Fork, and live on mule flesh for a while; and they were a little independent about things and would not take a little salt when we sent it to them; did they harm us? did they destroy us? No. Why? Because God would not let them. He controlled them, and He now controls and governs kings, and rulers, and magistrates, and generals, and officers, and authorities, though they may not know it; but He says unto them, as He said to the waves of Jordan, “Hitherto shalt thou go and no further, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed.”

We are in the hands of God, and we are trying to do the things God requires of us to do, and that is, to establish his kingdom and his laws—his government. Where do we get the laws of God from? We get them by revelation through the medium He has appointed; and if we keep these laws, the blessing of God will be with us, His Spirit will attend us, He will bless us in all our endeavors, and we shall bring to pass the great designs of the Almighty that have been spoken of by the Holy Prophets. It is for us to keep the commandments of God, whether they refer to temporal or to spiritual things; whether they relate to this world or to the world to come. We should seek to know God and cleave unto him, carry out all his purposes, and he will lead us in the paths of life.

I am glad that the Spirit of the Lord rests upon the President and and people at this Conference. We are here to talk about these things, to preach, and sing, and pray, and commune with one another and with the Lord, and to try to get full of the Spirit of light, that we may go from this Conference and communicate it to others.

May God help us to do his will and keep his commandments, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Riches of the Gospel

George Q. Cannon

Remarks made by Elder George Q. Cannon, in the Bowery, General Conference, Great Salt Lake City, Oct. 8, 1865. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I appreciate very highly the privilege that I have this morning, and that I have had during this Conference, in meeting with the Saints; it is the first Fall Conference I have had the opportunity of attending for sixteen years. These are, indeed, precious privileges which God, our Heavenly Father, has given unto us; these opportunities which we now have of assembling ourselves together and dismissing the cares that press us from week to week and month to month, casting them aside to concentrate our minds and our thoughts upon the things of His kingdom, devoting our attention to those heavenly principles which have produced so much happiness and peace in our midst. It is good for us to thus devote a portion of our time to the worship of our God. I do not know how the Conference felt; but, for myself, after the vote was taken yesterday to continue our Conference a week or a month if it were necessary, or as long as the servants of God should feel inclined to continue it, I experienced a great relief in my feelings; I felt that that restraint was removed which had, to a certain extent, oppressed us, with the view of hurrying through the business and getting done by this evening. I thought that it was right, and I felt a spirit of freedom that I had not experienced before, and I presume that all the Saints felt alike on this subject. There is nothing more important for us to attend to than that which we are engaged in to-day. We cannot think of anything that is of greater importance to us, as individuals and as a people, than this service. It is a delightful work—a labor of love that our Heavenly Father has guaranteed unto us the privilege of performing. The organization that we now behold, the wonderful fruits and results which have attended us from the beginning, and that are so delightful to contemplate to-day, have all sprung from the service that we are now engaged in. We may devote time, as it is necessary we should, to the labors of this life—to plowing, to sowing, to harvesting, to building settlements, to accomplishing the labors that devolve upon us of a temporal character; these labors are important and necessary, but they are no more necessary than those that we are now engaged in; they are no more necessary than that we should assemble ourselves together frequently to listen to the word of God, to be instructed in the principles of life and salvation by those who have been our fathers in the Gospel.

It is necessary that we should examine ourselves, bring ourselves to the light of truth, to learn whether we are taking the right course: like the mariner, when he returns to port, he compares his ship chronometers with the correct time on shore, to see whether they have been keeping true time and are in good condition to enter upon another voyage, to enable him to obtain his bearings correctly, that he may not lose himself when he is on the trackless ocean. We can come to Conference in this manner and examine ourselves like men returning from a mission after an absence of years among the nations. They come back desirous of comparing themselves with their brethren in Zion, saying, like Paul of old, that they have indeed not run in vain; ascertaining for themselves that the Spirit that they have been possessed of, and the course that they have taken, are the Spirit and course that their brethren in Zion have been possessed of and taken. There is a great deal of profit to be derived from associations of this character. It is necessary that we should be brought very frequently to a sense of our condition, of our dependence upon God, of our relationship to him, of the obligations that rest upon us as his children, and servants, and handmaidens. We cannot do this as we should when we neglect opportunities like this; but, when we come together and our hearts are filled with prayers and anxious desire before God for his Holy Spirit to be poured out upon us, we then can see if we have erred, if we have gone astray, if we have done anything wrong and displeasing in the sight of our Father. These things are brought to our minds, and we see ourselves in the light of the Holy Spirit, we renew our strength before the Lord, and our determinations to go forth and serve him with greater diligence and faithfulness in the future than we have done in the past.

There is a mine of wealth in the Gospel of Jesus Christ that is yet comparatively undiscovered by us. We see the world around us digging here and there, and wandering over valleys and mountains in search of hidden treasures; they spend their days and nights in searching for those things and in planning by what means they can obtain them; but we have, in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ which has been revealed unto us, an inexhaustible mine of wealth that is eternal. There is room for us to continually exercise every faculty of our minds and of our bodies in searching out the deep and inexhaustible riches of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which has been committed unto us. We have already partaken to some extent of this wealth; we already have realized to some extent its richness, its abundance; and what we have already obtained of it should be an incentive to us to be still more diligent and persevering in seeking with earnestness and faith unto God to give unto us of his power, and more and more of his Spirit, and of that wealth which He alone possesses, that we may go on increasing in eternal riches on earth to be prepared to enjoy them throughout eternity. That man is truly rich, whatever his worldly circumstances may be, who improves the opportunities he has, and who seeks with all diligence to obtain all the blessings that pertain unto the holy religion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There are those, however, whom I have met with, who profess to be good Latter-day Saints, who seem to be satisfied with the profession of their religion, who seem to be satisfied with the fact that what is called “Mormonion” [“Mormonism”] is superior to everything else that is taught among men. I presume they are of that class of whom President Young has spoken—men who have been compelled to bow in submission to the truth, because they could not contradict nor gainsay it; and that they have become connected with this system has seemed to be enough for them; but is it enough?

In one sense it ought to be enough for us to know that we have received the truth and be satisfied with it, yet we should continue to seek with energy and with faith to partake of those blessings and of that power which our Father and God has to bestow upon us. If we would seek to be possessed of these things with the same diligence the world seeks for earthly riches, there is not a soul within the sound of my voice but what will be refreshed, filled, and satisfied with the blessings God will bestow upon him or upon her. It is a characteristic of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to not be easily exhausted; on the contrary, it is always attractive. You hear it to-day, as you heard it thirty years or thirty-five years ago, and it possesses as many charms and as many attractions now as then; repeating it does not wear it out—does not make the subject threadbare—does not deprive it of its interest; but, on the contrary, its interest increases as years roll over our heads; as they pass by our interest in the work of God, and our love for it, and our appreciation of its greatness, increase. In this respect it differs from everything else we know of; it satisfies every want of man’s nature. Is there a want you can think of, is there anything, in fact, connected with man’s existence here, spiritual or temporal, mental or physical, that the Gospel of Jesus Christ does not satisfy? If there is, I have failed to discover it. It comprehends everything; it gives light and it gives intelligence, it gives wisdom upon every department of human life, it satisfies every longing desire of the soul.

Before the Gospel reached you, my brethren and sisters who have received it since you were of mature years, there were wants that existed which now no longer exist; there were longing desires which you indulged in, and which were ungratified by that which you could obtain from the world, that are to-day gratified to their fullest extent; there is no desire of your heart, there is no feeling of your soul, that cannot be satisfied legitimately and consistently with your nature in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know how you were, those of you who embraced the Gospel in Babylon—you know how you were when the Gospel found you; there was, to quote a familiar expression, an aching void within you. There were desires of your soul, or of your spirit, which could not be gratified by the chaff and husks fed unto you by the so-called teachers of the day; there were aspirations for knowledge, for truth, and for God, that nothing could satisfy; you sought in vain for their gratification; you searched on the right hand and on the left, you inquired here and there, but you could not get the knowledge you needed; there was no one who could give you the satisfaction you yearned after; but no sooner did you hear the truth, no sooner did you hear the sound of the everlasting Gospel, and the voice of a man endowed with the Priesthood, than you felt that you had found the pearl of great price, you felt that the desire of your heart was about to be gratified, and that if this religion proved true, if these statements and testimonies could be relied upon, then that which you had so long sought for and desired was within your grasp.

Men may strive to repress these yearnings and desires after knowledge, as priests and teachers do today throughout the earth; they may ridicule and deny their existence, but there is that within us, as children of God, which speaks louder and has more force, potency, and effect than the traditions of our fathers or the teachings of our former priests and teachers ever had; there is the voice of nature, there is the voice of heaven in our hearts, which calls for revelation from God, which calls for knowledge, which calls for certainty, which calls for something that is tangible and that can be relied upon, and which man with his man-made systems and with his fooleries, cannot gratify nor supply by any means in his power. We hear men constantly talk about the delusion that exists here, and about the folly of men seeking for revelation and knowledge from God. The man must be an idiot who talks so; he who makes such assertions does not understand the human character. If he had studied himself he would have seen that there was something within himself which claimed more than that which man can give—that there was a voice within him which demanded and called loudly for truth—tangible, reliable truth—something that could be understood and that came from God. If this were not so, why do we see so many men running hither and thither after knowledge, after spirit-rappers, astrologers, fortune tellers, and phrenologists, to tell them their fortunes and reveal something relating to the future; they will do anything that will give them any idea of their future. These may be the perversions of the feeling, yet you see the manifestations of this want cropping out in various forms all over the earth, among every people, and even among the heathen. When it is not governed by truthful principles, it is found running astray, and leading men and women astray who are guided by it.

Wherever human nature exists, there is found a desire for the knowledge of truth, a want of that which pertains to God and to eternity, and this want or desire cannot be repressed. There is no power on earth that can repress it; men’s traditions may stifle it; but when the spirit is allowed to operate freely and unrestrained, it breaks through all these barriers, and brushes aside these cobwebs to seek for truth—pure truth as it comes from the Eternal; and when it once obtains a taste from the fountain of truth, and can drink freely, it is refreshed, and the one great desire of the heart is satisfied. This is as it has been with us, my brethren and sisters; hence the contentment that prevails through our valleys and settlements; hence the peace that is to be observed in our families. Peace broods over Zion; there is life and buoyancy in the hearts of the children of Zion. Why is this? It is because we have received that which we have desired; because we are living in harmony with the laws of our being; it is because the wants of our nature are being gratified through the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. If there be any among us who are not satisfied, if there be any among us who are wandering hither and thither, looking for something that they do not have, they are the ones who have committed sin and transgression; they are the ones who have grieved the Spirit of God; they are the ones who have forfeited their claims upon God for his Spirit and his love, and they go with their souls unsatisfied, seeking for contentment but finding it not. If there be any among us who are thus seeking, they form a class that is distinct from the faithful, humble Saints of God who live their religion and work righteousness.

It should be a cause of thanksgiving and gratitude with us that God, our Heavenly Father, in the abundance of his goodness and mercy has revealed unto us his everlasting Gospel; that in his kindness he has sent his Holy Angels from the heavens, with the truth, and the power, and authority to administer the truth, and the ordinances pertaining to the truth, unto the inhabitants of the earth. Yes, God in his mercy has visited our planet, where darkness reigned, where confusion and ignorance had spread their dread consequences, and all were like the blind groping for the wall, when the voice of God sounded from the heavens and broke the long silence that had existed for so many generations. Brother Brigham has said that, in his young days, when he looked at the inhabitants of the earth he was reminded of an ant hill in a state of excitement, with the ants running hither and thither without aim or purpose. Now, this was the condition of ourselves and fathers when the sound of the everlasting Gospel came to the earth. The inhabitants of the earth were running hither and thither, and there was no one to guide them, no one to control them, no voice to be heard among the children of men saying with authority, “Here is the way, walk ye in it;” there was none to say, “Thus saith the Lord;” not a voice inspired of God, to be heard from pole to pole, from east to west; but all were ignorant, all were confused, all were dark. But since the Gospel has been restored, since it was received by Brother Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and preached to the people, and they listened to the testimony of God, what a charge has taken place in the character of some portion of the population of the globe since that time.

There are principles and qualities that have been and are being developed for the last thirty-five years, that were supposed to have no existence among men; it was supposed that they had disappeared, that they never would be restored again. The key of knowledge through which the Apostles wrought such wonders in the days in which they lived was no longer to be found among men; but as soon as the Holy Priesthood was restored to Joseph Smith—for he received the power and authority from heaven, and through him the principles of heaven were restored to the earth—then what a change we behold! From the midst of the chaos that existed, order has been produced; from the midst of the strife that everywhere prevailed, union has been brought to light; from the midst of confusion and war, peace has been established; and we see qualities developed now in the midst of our fellow-men which we supposed never could have existed again. What is this attributable to? Says one, “It is attributable to imposture and delusion.” So they said in the days of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; but, let them say as they please, we enjoy these fruits; for, whereas we lived in strife, we now live in peace; whereas we lived in confusion, we now live in the midst of good order; whereas we lived in ignorance, we now live in the midst of knowledge, we bask now in the light of eternity, in the rays of that light which surrounds the throne of God our Heavenly Father, and our souls are satisfied, and we can rejoice and be glad, and thank God from morning until night for having bestowed upon us his everlasting truth. Why should it not be so?

We are taught to believe that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every soul that believes. Salvation from what? “Oh,” says one, “salvation to our souls.” It is the power of God unto salvation—the salvation not only of our spirits, but of our bodies. In ancient days it saved the Jews, the Greeks, and the Barbarians from error, from evil of various kinds, and it will in like ma[n]ner save us. In heaven, we believe, it produces order, peace, and happiness; and we expect, when we leave here, to go to a sphere where, under the influence of the Gospel, every good quality of our nature will be developed. Why should we not receive, by the application of those heavenly principles to us and our lives here on the earth, the same results? They have produced them in days gone by, they are producing them now, and will continue to produce them as long as we live in accordance with them.

Now, my brethren and sisters, there is nothing left for us to do but to be faithful to that which has been revealed unto us. The evidences which we have received are of that character that we will be under the heaviest condemnation unless we live agreeably to the principles God has given unto us. We cannot plead, as many can, that we are ignorant; we cannot make excuses of this kind, for we are not ignorant; we are in the enjoyment of knowledge. We never went to prayer in our lives, in secret, and supplicated God in faith for the blessings that we needed, that we did not receive the desires of our hearts, and we arose from our knees feeling that God was with us, and that his Spirit and power were near unto us, and resting upon us. There never was a time, from the day that we became Latter-day Saints to this day, that we have asked in humility and meekness for any blessing and have had to arise from our knees dissatisfied and empty; but we have always received those blessings that have been necessary for us when we have asked in faith. What a blessed and glorious privilege is this! When we are in trouble, in the midst of affliction, and harrassed by our enemies, we can go unto Him, who is the Author of our being, unto Him who created all things, who has the power to control our enemies, and pour out our souls in prayer and in supplication, and feel that the record has been made; that the incense of our hearts has ascended acceptably unto God, and is treasured up there, and held in remembrance by his Holy Angels in his presence. What a glorious privilege is this that we have, as a people and as individuals, no matter how bowed down in sorrow, no matter how deep the affliction that may be around us, this is an unfailing source of strength that God has given unto us, and to this may be attributed the wonderful preservations that we have experienced from the beginning.

How diligently our enemies have sought to destroy us, to destroy the Holy Priesthood from the earth and kill the Lord’s anointed! How often has it seemed that they were just upon the point of closing upon us, when it seemed that no earthly power that could be exerted could save us from destruction! To whom shall we attribute these wonderful deliverances which we have experienced? Shall we attribute them to mortal power? Oh, no; we have learned too well how weak and futile is mortal power. But what is it att[r]ibutable to? To the faith that God has implanted in us through the revelation of the truth unto us. It is attributable to his having rent the vail of darkness that has covered the earth and revealed himself unto us. It is attributable to His having opened up the channel of communication between Himself and us. Yes, there is a channel of communication between this people, the men and women who compose this people, and the throne of our Father and God; and our prayers have ascended acceptably in His ears, and they have been registered on high, and they will be answered in their time. There never has been a prayer offered up in faith, meekness, and humility, from the day this Church was founded until now, but has reached the ears of the Lord, and is registered in His presence, and will be fulfilled, sooner or later, upon the earth we inhabit, upon our posterity, and upon the wicked who have afflicted us. Is not this a glorious consolation? Do not your hearts swell with gratitude and thanksgiving to God when you reflect upon this? It has been as a wall of strength surrounding us; it has been greater than the munitions of rocks and the lasting hills that have been reared like a mighty bulwark around our homes. The prayers of the faithful servants of God, which have been exercised from the beginning in behalf of Zion, have been a tower of strength. Shall we call ourselves Latter-day Saints, and fail to appreciate and make a right use of the privileges and blessings which our God has given unto us? If we do, we are unworthy of them; and if we continue to do so, the privileges and the blessings which we may enjoy will be withdrawn from those who do so and given to those who appreciate them, and who are more worthy of them. You may depend upon that, as surely as you may depend that night will come in the course of a few hours when the earth has performed its diurnal revolution.

If I were to ask you to-day, my brethren and sisters, what you would take for your standing and your privileges as Latter-day Saints, is there anything that you could name? Is there anything on earth that would be sufficient in your estimation to induce you to barter off the standing you have in the Church of God and the privileges you enjoy as members of his Church? There is nothing. You would say, if the wealth of the world were to be laid at your feet in exchange, you would spurn it as a thing of naught. But Satan does not tempt us in that style; he knows better. He understands our nature more perfectly than this. The experience he has gained in the past has enabled him to understand the best way of approaching the human heart, how he can best beguile us and insidiously lead us astray by temptations that are most effective. If a man who was in the enjoyment of the Spirit of God one year ago had been told that yesterday, on the 7th of October, a trifling temptation would be presented to him of a certain character (and that at the time he would think contemptible) and he would yield to it, he would be astonished; he would scarcely believe it. “What! will I barter the wealth that God has given me, the wealth of the Gospel, the wealth of freedom which is contained in it? What! will I barter the joy, peace, and happiness that I now have for so contemptible a temptation as that? Will I do it? No; I will not.” Yet the year passes away and the 7th of October comes to hand, the temptation is presented, and the man who thought himself so impregnable in the truth, and thought that he could not be tempted and seduced from it, falls a victim, and to what? to the wealth of the world? No; but to something that is so truly contemptible, mean, and low, that it is a matter of astonishment to everybody who knows him how he could be overcome by it.

By this we see the power of Satan, the knowledge of Satan, and his cunning. He understands the avenues through which he approach us best; he knows the weaknesses of our character, and we do not know the moment we may be seduced by him, and be overcome and fall victims to him. Our only preservation is in living near to God, day by day, and serving him in faithfulness, and having the light of revelation and truth in our hearts continually, so that, when Satan approaches, we will see him and understand the snare that he has laid for us, and we will have the power to say, “O no; God being my helper, I will not yield to it; I will not do that which is wrong; I will not grieve the Spirit of God; I will not deviate from the path that my Father has marked out for me; but I will walk in it.” Can we do this without the light of the Spirit? No; we cannot see where the path upon which we have entered will lead to; we cannot tell what the results will be; but when the light of the Spirit of God illuminates our minds and we are enlig[h]tened by it, we plainly see the results; and if we do not see them at the time, the Lord soon reveals them to us, and shows us that if we continue to take that course we will grieve his Spirit and fall victims to the adversary.

As I said in the beginning of my remarks, there is wealth in the Gospel of Jesus Christ of which we have little knowledge to-day. There is an eternity of truth and knowledge, principle after principle, law after law, until every quality of our nature, of that God-like nature which we have inherited from our Father and God, shall be fully developed; until we shall be made capable of associating with God and angels through eternity. The Gospel that has been revealed unto us contains the principles that will bring this about. As we progress in it we will receive additional knowledge, additional light and intelligence, and our souls will be more and more satisfied. I rejoice exceedingly in this, I thank my God for it, because my soul is satisfied in this Gospel, and I know it would not have been anywhere else. I know there is every good thing for us if we will live the religion of the Lord Jesus.

There is this difference between God and Satan in the treatment of mankind. Satan is perfectly reckless as to what the consequences may be of anything he may give to the children of men. He will heap temptation upon temptation before them, give them honor, riches, and position, and, if necessary, he will give them revelation. What for? To damn them. He does not care anything as to what may become of them; but he offers them all he can control without judgment or discrimination. God does not do so. What is the course God has taken with us from the beginning to the present time? Is there a parent in the congregation who has watched as carefully over his children as God has over us? Is there a parent in the congregation who has withheld improper blessings as carefully from them as God has from us? He has watched over us tenderly and kindly, giving us a blessing here and a blessing there, a revelation here and a revelation there, a precept here and a precept there, as we could bear them, developing our experience, and knowledge, and our wisdom, leading us gently and safely in the path that will bring us into his presence. This is the difference between God and Satan; but I can only give you a little idea of it. Our Heavenly Father is a loving and a kind and beneficent Parent. He, himself, has trod the path we are now treading. He is familiar with every step of the road, with all the meanderings of this life; for he has had the experience in it. He knows how to guide us and how to time his blessings to our wants; and when you feel impatient and dissatisfied because he does not give you more than you now have, and when you are afflicted and bowed down in sorrow and pain, let the reflection enter into your hearts to comfort you, that our Father and God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, trod the path we are now treading, that there is no affliction and sorrow that we are acquainted with, or can be, that the Lord has not already had an experience in; and he knows our condition, he knows what is good for us. If we need a gift and a blessing, he knows when to bestow it upon us. This ought to comfort us; it ought to cause us to rejoice and be glad, and our hearts to be filled with thanksgiving continually before the Lord our God for his abundant mercy and kindness unto us his children.

Can we think of anything that would be good for us, or that we ought to possess, that Satan can offer unto us, that we will not obtain if we are faithful? Will he present unto us a good outfit by going to California or to any other place? If we are only patient, and abide our time, and serve God faithfully, he will bestow on us far more than that. There is no good thing that may be presented to us that we cannot obtain in the Gospel. We may let our minds range over the earth and think of the greatness and glory possessed by kings and potentates, these things are all embraced in the Gospel as a reward for the Saints, who will enjoy even greater blessings than these through their faithfulness. We talk about kings and nobles, and we have admired their glory; but the day is not far distant when there will be thousands of men in Zion holding more power, and having more glory, honor, and wealth than the greatest and the richest of the nobles of the earth. The earth and its fulness are promised unto us by the Lord our God, as soon as we have the wisdom and experience necessary to wield this power and wealth. Shall we not be patient, then, and diligent when we have so much assistance given unto us? Shall we not plod unwearingly and unmurmuringly forward in the path God has marked out for us, when we have the help, the comfort, and the consolation which he gives us day by day?

We are not working for that which is in the distance, and toiling for the reward that is far removed, and that we have to look forward to; but we are receiving our reward as we go along, even the rich blessings of heaven, day by day and hour by hour, and we rejoice in them; and if we are houseless and friendless—that is, so far as the world is concerned—we have within us a wealth of comfort and joy that the world know nothing of; they cannot give it, they cannot take it away, for it comes from God. Why should we not be encouraged, then, under these circumstances? If the Latter-day Saints conduct themselves so as to receive condemnation, their condemnation will be most severe, for they have light, they have knowledge, they have blessings the superior of which no other people that we have any account of ever received in the same length of time on the earth. Well, I rejoice in these things. I do not wish to occupy your time any longer. My prayer is, that God will bless you and us all, and enable us to appreciate the great salvation he has committed unto us, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

Synopsis of Remarks

George A. Smith

By Elder George A. Smith, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, General Conference, Oct. 8, 1865. Reported by G. D. Watt.

It is somewhat of an undertaking to address so large an assembly. I bear my testimony to the truth of the restoration of the everlasting Gospel and this Work which God has commenced in these latter days.

It has been the earnest desire of my heart, from the time I received the ordinance of baptism in 1832, to be able to fulfil my duties as a Saint, and to perform those things which were required of me as an individual—to watch over myself and keep out of mischief; that I might be prepared, when my work is accomplished on the earth, to inherit the blessings and glory of that King in whose service I am enlisted. I presume that a large proportion of the Saints have kept these things in mind, though I am astonished when I reflect upon the great number with whom I have been acquainted that are not now to be found, and of whom we have no report only that they have gone off this, that, or the other way.

This reminds us of the parable of the sower that went forth to sow, as described by our Savior; some of the good seed fell among thorns, and they grew up and choked it; some fell by the way side, and the fowl, gathered it up; some fell upon stony ground where it had not much depth of earth, and it came up quickly, and when the sun was up it was scorched and withered away; and some fell upon good ground and brought forth thirty, sixty, and an hundred fold. This is the substance of the parable, and the kingdom of God in the last days is certainly very much like unto it.

Among the great number who have entered into the fold of Christ, by baptism, few have remained faithful to the present time. There were men among us whose hearts were faint—who felt that it would not do to gather here, because, peradventure, it was the greatest undertaking of any age. To attempt to settle a whole people, situated as we were, in the midst of a howling desert a thousand miles from supplies, was too great an undertaking in the eyes of many, and they dared not risk it. It required faith, courage, energy, daring, and perseverance, almost beyond description, to lead a people into the heart of the great American desert and establish settlements. We now see travellers arrive here by stage, who are proud of the achievement of having crossed the Rocky Mountains. It required a people full of faith, energy, and devotion to the cause of God, and a willingness to abide every counsel given by the servants of God, to come here; and also required a large amount of faith, patience, energy, self-denial, and long-suffering to stay when they got here.

I presume it was over three years after we came before a score of men in the valleys ever believed that an apple, peach, or plum could be grown here, and when the few men who had the faith and the determination to set an example began to produce their peaches, plums, and apples, and exhibit them, many opened their eyes with astonishment. Who on the face of the earth would think that at an altitude of four thousand four hundred feet above the level of the sea, and in latitude nearly forty-one, and near the southern limit of the isothermal line, such nicely-flavored, delicate fruit could be raised!

We came to this land because it was so desert, desolate, and God-forsaken that no mortal upon earth ever would covet it; but as Colonel Fremont reported that at the mouth of Bear River, in the early part of August, his thermometer stood at 29° Fah., three degrees below freezing point, which would kill grain, fruit, or vegetables, our enemies said “You Mormons may go there and welcome,” chuckling to each other over what seemed to them our annihilation. We had been driven several times; our homes had been devastated both in Missouri and Illinois; we had been robbed of everything, and some came here with the little that they gathered up from the smoking ruins of their habitations. The priests sent compliments to each other rejoicing that those “Mormons” (who had been making the people acquainted with the principles of the Gospel by teaching them that the Bible meant what it said) had gone into the heart of a desert, never more to be heard of, for the Indians would destroy and grim want would consume them. The newspapers recorded the joy and gratification felt at the utter end of “Mormonism.” Governor Thomas Ford wrote as follows in the title page of his History of Illinois:—“An account of the rise, progress, and FALL of Mormonism.” Notwithstanding, however, the many drawbacks and difficulties encountered in the shape of drouth, crickets, grass hoppers, and the cold, sterile climate, the Spirit of the Lord was hovering over the Great Basin; as linguists tell us the Spirit of the Lord brooded over the face of the waters anciently, so it brooded over the Great Basin and the climate became genial and soft. I never was at the crossing of the Sevier river in summer, for seven years after our settlements in Iron county had been established, without experiencing frost; and now the Sevier valley produces luxuriant fields of grain and vegetables in the season thereof, in every place where the water has been taken out from the mouth of that river to the head of it, nearly nine thousand feet above the level of the sea. Who has done this? God and the Saints have done it! The Saints have had faith and walked over the land with the Holy Priesthood upon them and blessed and dedicated it to the Lord, and have labored according to the counsels of God, and the work has been accomplished.

To have told the Mountaineers ten years ago that grain could be raised in the upper valleys of the Weber, where they encountered heavy frosts every month in summer, would have incurred their ridicule; but the genial influence of the Spirit of the Almighty has softened the rigor of the climate, and the flourishing counties of Morgan and Summit are the result.

In 1853, an expedition went out from Provo city after some Indians that had stolen stock. They went up the Provo river and encamped near where the city of Heber now stands, in the middle of summer. On their return they reported to me that they were nearly frozen, and that much of the wild vegetation was killed by the severity of the weather, and that it would be useless ever to attempt to raise grain there. I suppose that Provo valley, this season, with all its losses, will raise not less than thirty thousand bushels of grain and vegetables. With a little reflection we can readily perceive that the Lord God of Israel has blessed these mountains and valleys, which have been dedicated and set apart by His servants for the gathering together of His people and the establishment of His latter-day work upon the earth.

Go to Pottawatomie, Iowa; Nauvoo, Illinois; or Kirtland, Ohio, and ask for apples and peaches, and you will find them few and far between. In February, 1857, I visited my former field of labor in Western Virginia, and inquired of an old friend for fruit; his reply was, “My peach trees are all killed, and I have not been able to raise any peaches for six years.” Have you any good apples? “Not an apple that is fit to eat; our trees are all diseased, and many of them have perished.” This condition of things was very general. It is so wherever the Saints have lived and been driven away—their glory has departed to return no more, until the land is dedicated and consecrated to God and occupied by the Saints.

We had to produce the necessaries of life from the ground, for we had not the means to send abroad eleven hundred miles to purchase. In a short time after the Pioneers settled this country, some twenty-five thousand pilgrims to the land of gold passed through this Great Basin; a large portion of them came here destitute, and they are indebted to the inhabitants of these settlements for the preservation of their lives.

California is indebted to the Latter-day Saints for its present greatness. We opened its gold mines, explored its country, explored and made the three principal roads leading there, and ran the first ship load of American emigrants into the port of San Francisco, then called Yerba Buena. We are the men that developed the resources of the Pacific Coast, and then we fed those tens of thousands passing through to that land, who would have starved and perished on the deserts had we not provided them with bread while they travelled the roads we made, to go to the mines.

The passengers on board the ship Brooklyn not only brought to the Pacific Coast their valuable library, but a printing press, which they established at Yerba Buena—now San Francisco, and from which was issued the California Star in 1847-8. We are the Pioneers of the great West. The Latter-day Saints established the first printing press in Western Missouri, the Evening and Morning Star, published at Independence in 1832-3, and the Upper Missouri Advertiser, in 1833, by W. W. Phelps. After the destruction of the printing office by the mob, the press was removed to Liberty, and was for years used to print the only newspaper printed west of Booneville, Mo., excepting the Elder’s Journal, published for a short time in Far West.

We were the Pioneer settlers of Western Iowa, making the road and bridging the streams from the vicinity of Keeosaqua to the Missouri river, nearly three hundred miles. We established the first paper at Council Bluffs, published by Elder Orson Hyde, entitled the Frontier Guardian, in 1848-9 and 50.

The Omaha Arrow, published by Joseph E. Johnson, was the first paper published in Nebraska, who subsequently published the Huntsman’s Echo at Wood river.

We introduced the culture of wheat and fruit in Western Missouri and Iowa, improved agriculture in California, and developed the resources of these mountains, making the roads and showing men how to travel them safely.

While all this has been done for our country, and we have comparatively tamed the savage and held in check his wild and blood-thirsty nature, that the inhabitants of the world could travel across the deserts without being robbed and murdered, we have been the subject of vile scandal, simply because our religious views were different from those of the hireling clergy who occupy the pulpits of Christendom. We taught that men should preach the Gospel without purse or scrip—preach it freely; and a man who depended upon a congregation for a salary by which to obtain his black coat and fit-out, was ready to denounce preaching without purse and scrip as a heresy; why? Because it would reduce him to the necessity of going to some useful calling, instead of making merchandise of the Gospel, which God has made free. It endangered his bread and butter; and thus priestcraft has raised a constant howl that the Mormons were leagued with the Indians. Why? Because we crossed the plains and the Indians did not rob us. The reason the Latter-day Saints crossed the plains and the Indians did not rob them was, they organized their companies, camped in order, kept up guards, treated the Indians with kindness and respect, seeking no quarrel with them, and passed right along. When the Indians look down from the hills on one of our trains and see it camped, they know it is a “Mormon” train; they see a nice corral, and a guard out with the cattle who are carefully attending to their duty. When they come up they get a kind word. When night comes the “Mormons” kneel down to pray; they do not blaspheme the name of God. The Indians see all this and conclude not to interrupt that company, for they might get hurt—the “Mormons” having always provided their companies with sufficient arms for protection. That is the way the Latter-day Saints travel through these mountains uninterrupted. How is it with others? They would organize a company on the frontiers, travel a while in that condition, quarrel who should be captain, and divide into five or six squads; and by the time they got to the Sierra Nevada there would be only two families together, and they would divide their wagon and make it into two carts, and separate, if they were not afraid of the Indians. This way of scattering presents a temptation to the red men which is really very hard for them to resist, for these plains cannot boast of being safer than the streets of New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, where millions are expended to pay police to guard and protect the property and lives of white men from the depredations of white men.

We can but have a deep feeling of sympathy when we realize the grievous afflictions that have befallen our common country. We look at the cause. When the Latter-day Saints organized their first settlements in Missouri—when they undertook to lay the foundation of Zion, although there was no charge which could be brought against them for violating any law, constitutional or moral, yet, because they introduced a new system of religion, the hireling clergy, the priestcraft of the world, arose against them to destroy them. As Governor Dunklin, of Missouri, said, “There are ample provisions in the Constitution and laws of the State to protect you, but the prejudice is so great among the people against you, that it is impossible to enforce these laws.” There is a great deal said about the origin of the trouble between the North and the South; some said it was the almighty negro; but the fact is, the people did not respect the Constitution of our country; for the Latter-day Saints were driven in violation thereof from Jackson County to Clay, and from Clay to Caldwell and Davis counties, and then from the State of Missouri to Illinois, and from Illinois to the Rocky Mountains, robbed and plundered of their property, their women ravished, their leaders murdered, and there was not a solitary man arose to enforce the laws or the Constitution in our defence. When the President of the United States was applied to, all he would say was, “Your cause is just, but we can do nothing for you.” As soon as the Saints had found a shelter in the Rocky Mountains, this feeling of lawlessness went rampant throughout the Union. Men despised the statutes and the laws with which they were bound, and it was mob upon mob, army against army, until the whole country has been deluged in blood and craped in mourning. When will the nation repent of these follies and maintain those institutions God has introduced for the perfection of mankind? When will they hold the Constitution sacred and inviolable, and seek no longer to prostitute it for the destruction of the innocent? Until this is done they may expect to see sorrow and woe, which will increase upon their heads until they shall repent.

Brethren, we should consider these things within ourselves. We commenced to make our settlements here under these circumstances, and here we have found a shelter. It has been a home for the oppressed, and a shelter to everybody that desired rest. The weary traveller has had a chance here to refresh himself and enjoy the blessings that are to be enjoyed in these valleys, and no man’s rights have ever been trampled upon.

It is true we have had a species of animals pass through here that Alfred Cumming, in imitation of General Zachary Taylor, used to call “Camp poicks,” newspaper reporters, who, Cumming declared, prostituted not only the body but the soul, by selling themselves for a penny-a-line to lie; publishing their lies to the world as scandal upon the heads of the Saints. They come here and drink of the mountain water, partake of fine potatoes, and turnips, and luscious strawberries, and feast upon the fruits of the valleys—the products of our industry—and then go off and defame the people, and try to get armies sent here to destroy the Saints. We care very little about these things; but when that species of animals appear among us, we look upon them as we do upon a serpent; we calculate they intend to bite, and all we ask of them is, to do as they generally have done, tell such big lies that nobody in their right senses can believe them.

We have had another class of animals in the shape of Federal Officials. We have had fifty-eight of them, part of whom came here and conducted themselves like gentlemen; but we have had one thing always to consider, with one or two exceptions—very honorable ones—they have scarcely ever sent anybody here that could get a place anywhere else. If they could get an appointment in any other Territory, or a magistracy in the District of Columbia, or a clerkship in a Department, or the appointment of a weigher or gauger in the Custom House, they would never come to Utah. Coming to Utah was the last thing and the last place for a man perfectly desperate for the want of an office. As the Secretary of State said when he sent Perry E. Brochus here to be judge, he had to send him somewhere to get him “out of the way;” and when he would not stay here, he was immediately sent to New Mexico.

We have generally known what the qualification of men was, and understood it precisely when they came. Their qualification generally was that they had performed some dirty work for some successful politician. A few that have come here have done as well as they knew how, with a mediocrity of talent—that is, if they had bright talents they seldom displayed them; and the majority of them come in here, open their eyes (putting one in mind of chickens just come through the egg-shell, when they get a sight of the light for the first time), and exclaim, “There are awful things here! tremendous things here!” and they begin to make reports, and print and publish them, go off to California and write for a year in succession there, drawing their salaries to report how things are in Utah. All these things we have had to encounter; but our industry, our economy and prudence, our loyalty, and our firm and determined adherence to the Constitution of the United States, have carried us through the whole of it.

The administration of President Buchanan brought the power of the Government to bear against us. The traitor, General A. S. Johnston, was sent with what was then called by Secretary Floyd the best appointed army that was ever fitted out by this Government since its formation. General Scott issued orders to keep the troops massed and in hand, the supply trains to be kept with the main body of the army. The newspaper press of the country asserted that this army was to cause the blood of the Elders and Saints to flow in the streets of Great Salt Lake City. The mails being stopped, and the ordinary sources of communication closed, it was supposed the “Mormons” would be ignorant of the movements until the army came upon them like a thunder cloud. The Governorship was tendered to a number who were unwilling to come out with a formidable army, but were willing to come without. Benjamin McCullough, of Texas, declined the honor on the ground that a confirmed old bachelor ought not to interfere with polygamy. Colonel Alfred Cumming accepted the office, and his appointment was hailed with general acclamation by the enemies of Utah, as he was considered a man of desperate character, who had on one occasion compelled even Jeff. Davis to apologise. When Governor Cumming arrived here and investigated the matter, he was satisfied that the Administration had been duped, and he made official reports to Washington that the charges against the Saints were totally unfounded, and the Administration let the whole matter fizzle out, and Uncle Sam, the generous old gentleman, had to submit to his pocket being picked to the tune of about forty millions of dollars—the cost of the Utah expedition.

The lies upon which the Administration had acted were, that we had driven the judges from the country, had burned the Utah Library and the records of the courts of the Territory. When the matter was investigated it was discovered that the judges had gone off to the gold mines, where they could get some feet, or on other speculations, where they stayed until their time was out, not forgetting, however, to draw their salaries. The Library and court records, never having been disturbed, were found all right.

I have been truly astonished at the character and conduct of a large portion of the Government officials we have been brought in contact with. One of them, Governor Harding, was presented by the grand jury of the 3rd Judicial District of the United States Court as a nuisance, and he was removed by Mr. Lincoln’s Administration immediately after.

Whenever a bill is presented before Congress to benefit the people of Utah in any way, it is generally referred to a committee, and there it dies. What is the reason? There is not a man in either House of Congress that dares to record a vote calculated to favor the people of Utah, for the mass of the inhabitants here are “Mormons.” It is admitted that we have established ourselves in the desert under the most trying circumstances, making a half-way house for travellers between the Mississippi and the Pacific, rendering it safe to establish mail and telegraph lines; but the member who would record a vote in favor of this people in any way, the first thing he would hear would be his denunciation in every pulpit of his district by the black-coated gentry, and that would make his political grave. I sympathise with that class of men, as many of them otherwise would be willing to extend the same privileges, donations of land to settlers, means to erect public buildings, open highways, and sustain schools, as to other Territories.

We have never had one dollar from any source to aid in the cause of education. We have built our school houses, hired our school teachers, paid the school bills for our poor—have done everything that has been done in education, without one dollar of encouragement from the parent Government. I have been astonished at this. I suppose it is the policy of the Government to extend the facilities of education, but it has not been done here; not one solitary dime has been received by Utah, while millions upon millions have gone into the treasuries of other states and Territories for school purposes from the Federal Government.

This is the freest people on the face of the earth. By a faithful observance of the laws and Constitution of our country, and by obedience to the principles of our holy religion, we can enjoy the greatest amount of freedom.

The foundation has been laid, and the building will be erected upon it. God is at the helm, and no power can destroy his kingdom.

May God bless us, and enable us to fulfill our high destiny, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Eternal Life Revealed in the Gospel

Daniel H. Wells

Remarks by President Daniel H. Wells, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, General Conference, Oct. 8, 1865. Reported by G. D. Watt.

It is with joy and satisfaction indescribable to myself that I enjoy the privilege, brethren and sisters, of standing before you at this Conference this afternoon.

It is known to a great majority of you that I have been to Europe on a mission. I am glad that I have been to that country, and that I have been permitted to return to these valleys again. Whether I go away or return is all one to me, inasmuch as I am called to act in the Church and kingdom of God; and where the Lord appoints me to act is where I wish to be; that is my place and position, and it is my delight to be subservient unto the call, and unto the counsel of those who hold the authority to dictate in the Church and kingdom of God. If I know myself, that is the place I wish to occupy at all times and on all occasions, and it gives me great satisfaction if I can fill that that place, and perform the mission and duties required of me to perform, in that way that shall be pleasing to them and unto my Father in heaven; for if I please them I shall please Him, and if I please Him I shall please them.

I feel grateful for the privilege of being a member of the Church and kingdom of God, and of being willing to do his bidding and abide the counsels of his servants. I feel happy in this calling, and to be associated with a people whose bosoms beat responsive with mine in regard to the great principles of the Gospel of salvation which has been revealed in these days for the guidance of the children of men upon the earth, that all people may avail themselves of these privileges and principles the same as we have done, if they choose it. They have this option within themselves, to obey and walk in the ways of life and salvation or to reject them; they can do as they please when the principles of salvation are made known unto them; they have their agency, and inasmuch as they will adopt them, they can enjoy the privileges which we now enjoy, and they cannot obtain them upon any other principle. As we have heard this morning, everything that is worth having we can obtain through the principles of the Gospel, and they are for the people of God.

The whole world, we may say, have gone a whoreing after other gods, and they worship not the God of Israel, the true God. They do not know Him, nor do they take the pains to know Him whom to know is life eternal, as we read in the Scriptures. What can the world tell you about Him? Nothing; they do not know Him. How are we to learn God whom to know is eternal life? We learn to know Him through the principles of the Gospel. He is revealed to man through the authority of the Holy Priesthood, which has been established among the children of men through the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ to His servants. What did we know about Him who is our Father, previous to receiving this latter-day Work? Could we tell anything about the relationship that existed between God and his children? Anything about the object of God in bringing man upon the earth? We knew nothing about this nor about the laws which should govern and control him to bring him to exaltation in the presence of God. In ignorance of these great principles, mankind come upon the earth, they live and they die. They do not know how to subserve the purposes of the Almighty in their own being, how to accomplish the object of their creation and the end of their being on the earth. They cannot learn the things of God without the Spirit of God. I have in my own feeble way tried to teach the people concerning the things of God, to teach them who God our Heavenly Father is, or in other words, the ways of eternal life, and the relationship which exists between God and man; to teach them those principles which will subserve their being on the earth while they tarry here, and the laws which the Almighty has revealed for them to obey. I have borne a faithful testimony to the children of men, so far as I have had the power, while I have been on my mission, and have endeavored to do what good I could whenever an opportunity presented itself. But I have often times felt as though the people did not wish to know the things I had to teach them, and that they might as well be left with their idols. I have felt that my testimony has rebounded back upon me, for they cared not to know the things of God. The world treat the revelations of God to Joseph Smith in the last days as an idle dream. They do not care to investigate it because they think it is a humbug and beneath their notice; they treat it with contumely and disrespect; they are united almost universally in rejecting it, in passing it by, while the kingdom of God is actually transpiring upon the earth, and before the face and eyes of the whole world, and they mark it not; they have eyes and cannot see, ears and cannot hear, hearts and cannot comprehend nor understand, or if they do understand, will not obey the truth, but they will reject it. But does this conduct make it any less true? No, my good friends, No.

We read in the good book that “strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leads to eternal life, and few there be which find it.” If the world wish to be saved in the kingdom of God, let them take heed to the words of his servants that are abroad in the earth, for they have the authority of the Holy Priesthood, the authority of heaven; the angel of God has come and restored the Gospel to the earth in these last days, and we know it, and feel able to bear this testimony to all the world, and it has already gone as it were upon the wings of the morning to all the world. Let the people reject it if they can afford to do so; we know they cannot afford to reject it; it is the most expensive thing they ever rejected; they had better receive it if they knew what would be for their best good. The authority of the Holy Priesthood is here upon the earth, and all people can avail themselves of it if they think proper to do so. Why do not the world do it? That, however, is their own affair: if we are faithful and acquit ourselves as men of God, we thereby clear ourselves of the blood of this generation. The communication has been opened up between the heavens and the earth. Do you know it, Latter-day Saints? You do. Do the world know it? They may if they will take the proper course to put themselves in possession of this knowledge, but they do not care to know it; they are like the blind that are led by those who are blind, and they will all fall into the ditch together.

I have felt a pride in speaking to the people in different nations and countries, of telling them that there is a place where good men may gather together, where men and women of integrity dwell, where the rights of all men are protected; that there is a place upon the footstool of God where the rights of mankind can be enjoyed and respected, where all can have the liberty of worshipping God according to the dictates of their conscience; that there dwells a people who are for God: there the earth has been reclaimed and is being brought in subjection to the rule of the God of Heaven, and the predominating feeling is for God. I have felt proud in bearing this testimony, and pointing my finger to Utah, where good men and women may dwell in peace, and where good order and good government prevail, and the people are in subjection to Heaven’s rule. Who is doing this? You, Latter-day Saints. Where else can such a thing be found? Nowhere. Abroad in the world evil influences predominate everywhere, but here it is not so. Not but that there is evil here, more or less: I expect to find it. If it were not mingled up with the people of God, then the wheat and the tares would not grow together until harvest, as the parable of the Savior plainly intimates would be the case, and this would supply grave reasons against it being the Church and kingdom of God. The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net cast into the sea which gathers both good and bad. I expect this is the characteristic of the Church of God here; but still, the predominating influences are for God, the great majority of the people are submitting themselves to high Heaven’s rule, and seeking with all their might to establish the kingdom of God upon the earth, and it is extending abroad, lengthening its cords and strengthening its stakes. It is a great blessing to live in such a place as this; a great blessing to be a citizen of the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth, and to hail from Zion. The world may treat you with contempt, but let them laugh who wins; and who will win if the Latter-day Saints do not?

The world are in ignorance with regard to the principles that will save mankind; they do not know of any principles that will save any portion of mankind either here or hereafter—they do not know how to save themselves. They have a pretty good government in England, and I like that country pretty well for a great many things. You can go there and bear your testimony, and tell the truth, and be protected by the laws of the country; you can do that without being exposed to much danger of being mobbed, as the Latter-day Saints have been in this country, although there is some opposition; but the people stand in fear of the administrators of the law, because they will administer it even in protection of the Latter-day Saints. It is a nice little island, the island of Great Britain; and there dwell upon it a great many good, warm-hearted people, and I love them. There are a great many people there who are trying to know the ways of eternal life, and they will treat the ministers of salvation with more respect than in many other countries. I am glad to be associated with such a people.

There are many persons who belong to the Church in foreign countries who would be glad to be gathered with the people here, and there are many who, although they do not belong to the Church and kingdom of God, still fail to realize and know that there is something necessary to be done. They have no confidence in the organized systems of religion of the present day. They can see no consistency in them, and suppose that everything in the shape of religion is a humbug. “Mormonism” has sprung up in the same age, and they condemn it without examination as being, like all the rest, nothing more than an idle dream. Talk to them about revelation; yes, they have false revelations, and if they have false revelations and false spirits, does it prove that there are no true ones? The very reverse is the fact, and they would find true revelation and true spirits if they would only seek for them in the right way.

We, as Latter-day Saints, have cause to be thankful that we have found out the way of eternal life, because we have had the blessed privilege of living in this day and age of the world in which the Gospel of salvation has been revealed for the guidance of the children of men; that we have been recipients of that knowledge which leads to eternal life and salvation in the presence of God; that we have been gathered out from the world that we may not partake of her abominations and of the plagues which are to come upon her; that this land has been consecrated and dedicated to God; that it has been held for the Latter-day Saints to occupy, to plant, and build, and inhabit, and that in consequence of this the land has been made to bring forth for the sustenance of His people who have been gathered out from where the wicked rule and the people mourn.

Those who have embraced the Gospel in foreign lands sigh for deliverance, and the hope of this deliverance is the only ray of light that burns in their souls, and that gives them joy; although they live with their whole lives oppressed, this beam of gladness has found its way into their souls through the principles of the Gospel, and hence they are less oppressed in their feelings than many others. A hope springs up in their bosoms that the time will come for their deliverance from the oppression under which they groan. Many of you have been delivered from those bonds, and from that oppression. You may have suffered poverty and sickness, and been afflicted in many ways, and perhaps have found things different than what you anticipated in many respects in this your newly adopted country, yet you have been delivered from a land where oppression reigns, and have been placed in a land of liberty—in a country where you can expand and grow, where you can plant your children with a hope that they may rise to importance in the kingdom of God, to something beyond what you and your forefathers have been enabled to do in the land where you have formerly lived, that you and your offspring may dwell where virtue, peace, and industry may meet with their reward.

How is it in many of those old countries with the poor?—and it is with this class that we have the most to do; for some cause, known perhaps best to Him that rules on high, it is the poor who embrace the Gospel, who receive the Gospel, who receive the message of good tidings, it is to them a theme of gladness and joy more than to any other class of men. Hundreds and thousands of them are out of employment, their stores gone, and they have no resources but what arise from their daily labor, and they are on the borders of starvation. The dearth in cotton has thrown thousands of people out of employment upon the cold charities of the world. How is it here, saying nothing about religion? Here a man can get a little land, and in a short time gather around him the necessaries of life upon which he can subsist and let the world wag as it will; his condition is improved, and he may hope to rise to wealth and influence. How is it there? Why he may tread in the path in which his fathers trod, but can go no further—can advance no higher in the scale of existence; if times are good he may subsist, and that comfortably—I am speaking of the poor classes, those that the Gospel most generally find, to them such a deliverance as the Gospel offers is glad tidings of great joy, for they can plant themselves where their children can rise above what their fathers have been. This is what many thousands of the Latter-day Saints have accomplished by emigrating from that country to this, and many more thousands will be benefited in the same way.

This is only one of the benefits which the Gospel confers upon those who obey it; it benefits man whenever it touches him, temporally and spiritually, religiously, morally, and politically; it gives him an understanding of life; it teaches him how to live and how to exalt his being to the standard of heavenly intelligence; how to bring up his children and educate them in a proper manner, and how to avail himself of the facilities and advantages which the sciences and arts present to advance the purposes of the Almighty in the redemption of the human race; teaching him not only how to live in time, but in all eternity; giving him knowledge how to stand forth like a man of God in the world to subserve His purposes.

The Latter-day Saints have the most cause of any people on earth to rejoice continually in Him who has bestowed upon them the proud position which they occupy; for the authority of Heaven is here, and the wisdom of Heaven is here, and you can find it nowhere else. I had the privilege of telling the people in those old countries that the sanctuary of the Lord was not with them; but in order to get the blessings necessary to qualify them to enter into the presence of God, they would have to go to that place where the people of God are abiding, where they shall be strengthened and become even a great and mighty nation; and I thank God that there is a people on the earth that can no longer be ignored by the great and mighty of the earth, for they have attained a standing and a position that must be respected. They may ignore this people if they think they can afford to do it, and we can afford to wait and see the purposes of the Almighty roll forth on the earth better than any other people can, because we are on the safe side; we have more time to wait. If the wicked knew when it is well with them, they would hasten to make their peace with the Almighty, for his judgments are abroad upon the earth, and who can stay his hand. They are upon the wicked, and they know and feel it.

The great mass of mankind are ready to ridicule the people of God, they are ready to ridicule his servants because they stand forth and declare that an angel of the Almighty has come to restore the Gospel in its fullness, and that Joseph Smith was called of God to be his Prophet; all this they say is nonsense, and they reject it without inquiring into the reason why they reject it. If they can afford to do this, we can afford to live our holy religion and bear their contumely and reproaches better than they can afford to give them. Such abuse hardly ruffles my feelings, if they will only keep their hands off; and if there is any danger of violence of that sort, we shall be apprised of it; there is not much danger in them, that is, unless they can take you by surprise. If the Latter-day Saint is on his guard, panoplied with the armor of righteousness, he may walk through the earth without being molested, because the Spirit of the Almighty will show him where the danger lies, and he can ward it off; and wisdom will be given him to absent himself from those places where danger is and turn away in another direction. Wisdom will be given him also what to say and what to do under every circumstance. The great evil that besets the path of the Saints is when they depart from the principles of eternal truth and rectitude, and betray their trust; for this they place themselves in the power of the enemy; and this they do when they are asleep, not when they are wide awake, and they are led little by little until they make shipwreck of their faith and go headlong to the devil, which they would not do while walking in the ways of righteousness. Have I felt that I have been in deadly peril? Yes, many times, if the enemy could have had his way. Sometimes I have felt like buckling on pistols, and at other times I would feel perfectly safe without them. In my travels no man has had the temerity to come up to my face and insult me; but I have heard the grinding of their teeth; I have heard what they would say to me addressed to somebody else.

As I have already said, I cannot express to you the feelings of joy and gladness which pervade my whole soul upon my return home, and to meet with so friendly a people; you cannot imagine what big feelings it gives me to have the privilege of meeting with the Saints in this and in other countries. Wherever I meet the Saints I feel that I always have known and been with them. Why is this? Because they have partaken of the same Spirit that I possess, and it runs from soul to soul like oil, or like water, or electricity, pervading each and every Saint wherever I have met them in any country. It is good when you are far distant from Zion to meet a people who will receive you with such a spirit and feeling. It is different now to what it has been with some of the Elders who have gone forth to preach the Gospel in the early days of the Church, when they found none to receive them possessed of a kindred spirit. After they had made known the message of heaven and found a people willing and glad to receive it, they soon found friends, and they found the same friends I found, namely, an honest-hearted people in ignorance with regard to the principles of life and salvation; they have been made acquainted with those principles, and there are many others who have not yet been made acquainted with them, although the Gospel has reached the ears of many of the inhabitants of the earth, and we have established ourselves in the earth as Latter-day Saints—the sons of God—in other words the Almighty has established his Church and kingdom on the earth with the authority thereof, and it is no longer to be ignored by the people of the world; it is a fixed fact.

I do not know what they will do next, but I expect they will be found trying to do their utmost against it. I do not look for anything else. The Latter-day Saints expect to do a great work when they seek to dig down the hill of error which has accumulated for six thousand years on the earth; this they expect to do with the Gospel and by the blessings of God and his power assisting them, and so continue their labor until the earth is redeemed and brought back again to its pristine glory and perfection, and the kingdom of God rules and predominates all over its face, and the power of the wicked be essentially broken, and law and good order prevail everywhere, and men learn war no more. These may appear high-swelling words, and they may appear absurd to the millions of the earth. It does not matter to me how absurd they look, the facts in the case remain the same; all these things will be fulfilled in the own due time of the Lord; this Work has already commenced and is now transpiring before the face and eyes of all men. It is not done in a corner, but before the whole world in the tops of the mountains; our light is not hid under a bushel, but it is set upon a hill, that all the world may see it. The truth of the Almighty is being made known in these last days, and it is a mighty testimony to the people, and they will be sorry if they do not take heed to it. There cannot be a greater testimony to the world than the living existence of this people in the tops of the Rocky Mountains, and all people can see it.

I rejoice in this work; let it roll forth and my heart is glad. I feel proud to be associated with such a people; I feel proud that such a people exist; I feel glad and rejoice exceedingly in my soul, that I have lived in this day and age of the world, and have the privilege of bearing this testimony to the nations, and of becoming a citizen of the kingdom of God; of aiding to lay a foundation to build upon for time as well as for eternity, that we may come forth in the great hereafter and become associated with the Gods of eternity. What do the world know about all this? Simply nothing.

I have been absent from home about eighteen months; during that time I have attended meetings in England among the different Conferences; I have been to Scandinavia on a short visit, and have been engaged in the Office at Liverpool in the publishing department a portion of my time. I felt exceedingly to rejoice in my labors, and had pretty good health, for me, as a general thing; although I have felt as though I could have done more if my health had been better. I felt to regret that I could not do half as much as I wanted to do; this was the only feeling of regret which accompanied me on my return. I have not accomplished half as much as I would liked to have done. It seems a long way to travel, considerable time spent in coming and going, for so short a mission, but with me it is all right to go or to stay; so long as I am useful in the Church and kingdom of God, it does not matter to me where my time is spent as long as I live.

The joy and gladness which I feel in meeting with my brethren again in this place is inexpressible. Some of them have told me that they intended to give an expression of their gladness at my return, and were disappointed at my entering the city sooner than they expected I would. I will take the will for the deed; the good feelings which prompted the wish to do that I think more of than any manifestation or demonstration that might have occurred. I know there exists in the bosoms of my brethren towards me a good and genial feeling that mingles with the feelings in my own breast. I realize that I have the faith and prayers of my brethren, and have realized their efficacy in many dangers, both by sea and by land, while I have been travelling to preach the Gospel, while I have been writing, while I have been afflicted in sickness, and while I have had difficulties to overcome. In all these circumstances I have felt buoyed up by that feeling which beats responsive in your hearts and my own. I have had the benefit of your prayers and appreciate them; they have bean answered upon my head, and this is a living testimony to me, also, that your prayers are heard, and that you have learned how to approach God in an acceptable manner to find favor in his eyes, and have your prayers answered. My health is much better; the journey to Europe has done me good, and God has done it. This is His work, and we are His people.

We talk about having done this and that; but it is the Lord who has done it, and we are merely instruments in his hands of accomplishing His purposes in the earth. It is a great honor to be an instrument in the hands of God of establishing His kingdom, and of bringing forth His purposes in the last days. The Saints are based upon the eternal rock of truth and they will stand when the refuge of lies is swept away; they are those who will be found wise in their generation, and with oil in their lamps, and they will be the ruling and governing class of mankind; they will possess the earth, and the kingdom under the whole heavens will be given unto them.

If we read the Bible we find that God has placed in His Church Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers, gifts and blessings for the edifying of the Saints and the work of the ministry, etc.; but the religious world in the 19th century say that these are all done away; they are satisfied to read about what the ancients enjoyed, and go hungry and naked themselves. When you go into an hotel for dinner you read the bill of fare, and actually partake of the good things therein noted. We should think a man either crazy or a fool who would read the bill of fare and exclaim against eating the savory food it describes. The Bible cannot ordain a person with authority to stand forth and obey himself and administer the ordinances of the house of God to others. “No man taketh this honor upon himself but he that is called of God as was Aaron;” and how can a man be called of God as was Aaron without immediate revelation from Him? If Jesus had to be baptised unto the baptism of repentance to fulfill all righteousness, who else should be exempt? He went down into the waters and was baptized, and the voice of God said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him.” He said to Nicodemus, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven.” This is recorded in the Bible which the Christian world acknowledge to be their rule of faith. I exhort them to live to it. There is nothing said in the Bible about sprinkling, and the word baptize means immersion, and the world may quibble about it as much as they please. It is through these principles and this administration from under the hands of the servants of God that we receive the Holy Ghost, which will lead into all truth, and to an increase of knowledge in the things of God; through this channel we learn to know God, whom to know is eternal life. That Spirit which lighteth every man that cometh into the world, causeth mankind to seek after the truth and to become anxious after their eternal welfare, and to know about their hereafter. You may travel in every country and you will find this feeling pervading mankind; for everybody, except the infidel, worships at some shrine, and the infidel says there is no God, and does not worship anything. The Scripture says, to know God is eternal life. How can we know Him and learn Him? This is an important question for Latter-day Saints as well as for others. How shall we learn to know the only wise and true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent, and know the relationship that exists between Him and His children, and the purpose He had in bringing us into this existence?

Let us keep this our second estate, for having kept our first estate we have been reserved to come upon this earth and obtain a tabernacle of flesh, pass through this mortality and have the privilege of accomplishing the object and the purpose of the Almighty in the organization of this earth. Let us be wise in our day, and secure unto ourselves those blessings that are for us. Let us be true and faithful, and full of that integrity which can look Heaven in the face without a blush, clinging to the truth, and never swerving from it for a single moment; and may God bless us and help us to do so is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Exhortation to Home-manufacture

Ezra T. Benson

Remarks by Elder Ezra T. Benson, at the General Conference, Great Salt Lake City, Oct. 9, 1865. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I feel grateful for this opportunity of speaking a few words at this Conference, and for the blessings that have been conferred upon us during its session.

We have had a very interesting Conference, and there has been a great deal said which is of vital interest to the kingdom of God. We have come here to receive instruction for our further progress in prosecuting the purposes of God in the future, and for our present individual and mutual benefit. Can we carry the spirit of these instructions home with us, and diffuse it in our families, in our wards, and in the different settlements where we, as delegates to this Conference, reside? If we can do this, then the Saints in the different settlements who have not been at this Conference will be equally benefited with us.

Can we not only treasure up, but carry out, what we have heard this afternoon, and manufacture at home all we possibly can? Yes, we can do it; and we all feel that we can; and we now feel determined in our hearts to commence to do it when we go home from this Conference, that we may be benefited and enjoy the blessings that it is our privilege to enjoy. Who has made this request of us? The President and Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whom we have raised our hands to heaven to sustain. There is not an Elder in this vast assembly that would refuse to go to Europe, or to the islands of the sea, were he called to do so by this Conference. To refuse to respond to such a call would be a disgrace to him, and a sure token that he was weak in the faith, and if he possessed any influence among the Saints he would lose it. Now, it is the same Priesthood, the same power and authority, that has called upon us unitedly as a people, as parents, as children, as families and settlements, as the Saints of the Most High, to produce and make among ourselves that which we consume, to carry out to the best of our abilitiy [ability] in all our settlements this very excellent counsel. It is a faithful attention to such instructions that will insure our salvation here, and our salvation in the celestial kingdom of God hereafter; for it is by means of the Holy Priesthood, and the keys and power of it, that we shall be led back into His presence.

The great object and purpose of the religion of Jesus Christ is to bring all the faithful back into the presence of their Father and God; for all who will abide a celestial law shall have a celestial glory, and a celestial glory is the highest glory is the highest glory that we have any knowledge of—it is where our Heavenly Father dwells; and no faithful Saint can ever feel satisfied short of reaching His presence and beholding His face. We are banished from our Father in Heaven in this low, sinful world; but we are not altogether lost, for He is feeling after us, and if we will listen to and obey the counsels of His servants, we shall be saved.

The brethren have spoken to us with great power during this Conference; I never have seen, in all my life, more power resting upon the Elders. I feel to bear my testimony to the truth of “Mormonism,” as the world call it, to the truths that the Prophet Joseph Smith has brought forth, and to the truth that President Brigham Young reveals to this people; these are the truths of heaven, and they will lead all who obey them to the possession of eternal life. Let us give diligent heed to these things. There is plenty for us to do if we are diligent in the things of the kingdom of God. How simple and plain are the principles of salvation! They pertain to us as mortals, and to this mortal world, and they show us that our heaven is here and will be of our own making, for we are of the earth, earthy; we came from the earth, and the meek will inherit it.

We have got to learn how to take care of ourselves, and to organize the elements around us for our own comfort, and cease going to New York, Boston, and other places for supplies. Let our young ladies take pride in wearing bonnets made of straw raised in the country, and braided with their own hands. In doing this they have the satisfaction of following the counsel of the servants of God, and of aiding a little in attaining our independence of foreign markets. Such a course as we have been advised to take at this Conference, with regard to home manufactures, will affect us for the better more sensibly in the future than in the present; but we are apt to think of the present and let the future take care of itself. When shall we be fully delivered from the corruptions of the world and from the influence of the false traditions which our fathers have taught us? The sooner we can overcome these, and follow faithfully and to the letter the instructions of the Holy Spirit, the better it will be for us as individuals and as a people.

May God bless you, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Development of the Understanding Necessary

Amasa M. Lyman

Remarks by Elder A. M. Lyman, delivered in the Bowery, in Great Salt Lake City, General Conference, Oct. 9, 1865. Reported by David W. Evans.

I am happy to meet with you, my brethren and sisters, this morning, and I simply give expression to my feelings, in repeating what has been expressed by others, that this Conference has been to me one of interest—richly instructive and edifying.

In the admonitions that have been imparted we have been led to see, what in us is weak, dark, and should be improved. And in addition to that, the instructions have been rich in suggestions as to the ways and means by which we can secure to ourselves the blessings of that much needed improvement. While I have listened, the inquiry has risen in my mind as to how we, the people of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, could substantially and profitably pursue the labors devolving upon us and honestly continue the struggle to become what we are denominated—Saints.

In the admonition that has been imparted we were truthfully told, that we were as yet only in part what we should be as Saints; that with all our labors and experience, with all the advantages for acquiring knowledge that have characterized our history thus far, we have yet much to learn. This truth, it appears to me, should be impressed upon the minds of all who think and reflect. It is one that is evinced in our conduct and actions as a people. There is no one feature in our history that is rendered more distinct or plain to be read and comprehended by the reflecting mind than this—that we, in all our learning, learn but slowly, and have as yet learned comparatively little of that large amount that may be learned, and that we yet manifest in our lives but a small degree of that perfection that should characterize us as the children of God, as the people of the Saints of the Most High; who are blessed with the light of the Gospel, ministered to them continually in simplicity and in truth. All our meetings, like the present, where there is congregated together the largest representation of the people of God to be met with in any one place, still continue to be characterized by instruction and teaching on those principles that it has ever been the object of our heavenly Father, and of his servants, to impress upon the minds of the Saints.

Now, how shall we, as the servants and ministers of God, expect to see in ourselves, and in the people to whom our ministrations extend, a permanent and progressive improvement, as the fruits of our labors, unless we, to some extent, justly and truthfully comprehend the principles that are involved in the work that is devolved upon us? It appears to me, as but consistent and truthful, that the enlightenment of the people and the development in them of the knowledge necessary for their blessing and exaltation, should legitimately follow the development of knowledge and a just comprehension of truth in those who minister to them.

Well, we are almost all teachers and preachers; in some relationship in life, in some position in the community, we all put on the character of teachers; and when we take into account the sum of the evils that exist as barriers between us and the enjoyment of a fulness of happiness, when we consider what these are, to remove, conquer, and overcome them should be our labor. And if the knowledge of God, of truth, and of the principles of the Gospel is necessary to the accomplishment of this work, it should be our business, as servants of God and of the people, to learn this lesson ourselves; for it is evident to my mind that our attention and devotion to the truth and to such a course of action as the knowledge of the truth would suggest to us, is that which should regulate us in life, and the extent of our devotion to this is always marked and determined by our appreciation of its value.

If we, as a people, were capable of appreciating, and had justly estimated the counsels that have been imparted to us continually in relation to what is denominated our temporal salvation, our devotion to the advice would have produced far different results. There would not have been, as there is to-day, a feeling to expostulate with the people on the necessity of laying up and securing to themselves bread against a time of want. There would not be the empty granaries and the comparative lack of that which should exist in abundance among the people.

I do not know what name men may give to the causes that have induced this condition of things. In my mind there exists but one general reason—our lack of comprehending the truth in relation to the nature of the work in which we are engaged; and that with all our opportunities of acquiring knowledge and getting understanding we are, as has been truthfully told us in the fatherly admonitions imparted to us during this Conference, only just beginning to be Saints—only just entering on that work, the consummation of which will make of us that kind of a people for whom the Lord says it is his business to provide.

Now, perhaps, we may have been to some extent presuming too much upon the kindness, charity, and goodness of our heavenly Father. We may have fancied, perchance, that he is pledged to preserve us irrespective of the course that we pursue, simply because we have supposed that we are Saints, because we have been baptized into the Church. But this truth cannot be too forcibly impressed on our minds—that if it is the business of the Lord to provide for his Saints, it is our business exclusively so to to live that the Lord may have Saints for whom to care and provide, whom He may protect, and who may securely rest beneath the shadow of His wings, enjoying the blessings of His protection against evil.

But what is it that will constitute us Saints? A knowledge of the work we have to perform, and then a faithful, humble, undivided, and unreserved devotion to its accomplishment. That will constitute us Saints; that will constitute us teachers in the midst of the people; that will constitute us a people to whom the ministrations of the Priesthood will extend as a fountain of blessings.

The attainment of this knowledge, the possession of this rich unde[r]standing, is that to which you and I must reach ere we are established in the truth beyond a chance of becoming unsettled. This is the way it appears to me. My paths may be crooked, and my efforts to attain to this position and condition may be feeble, and not only feeble, but they may be characterized by a corresponding amount of improprieties and inconsistencies; but this is what appears to me to be the great object that is before me, that invites my exertions, induces me to labor and struggle—not till I am worn out, but until I find the realization of my brightest hopes in the possession of that which I seek.

As the Gospel presents itself to me, as the work of God is spread out before my mind, so I judge of it, so I appreciate it, so I talk about it, so I recommend it to you, my brethren and sisters.

“Well,” says one, “when will we learn?” That depends altogether upon ourselves. “Why,” says one, “will not the Lord have something to do with it?” The Lord has to do with it; and if we would be more careful about what we should do, instead of troubling ourselves about what the Lord should do, it might perhaps result in bringing us to the enjoyment of greater and richer blessings. Why, the Lord knows what to do, and He has no need of our instruction. The Lord is supposed, by me at any rate, to be fully up to all that devolves upon Him in relation to ourselves. The Lord is waiting for us to come along; He is only waiting for us to come up to that which it is our privilege to enjoy.

Some people may suppose, perchance, that the channels of knowledge are not open to all the people, as they are to the few. Some may cherish the idea that position, or place in the Church and kingdom of God may make a vast difference in the attainment of the blessings requisite to our happiness, and to our acceptance with God, and to our progress as Saints in the way of life. Position may make vast differences, perchance; but I do not know of an individual so low, I do not know of an individual so poor, but what the fountains of knowledge are as accessible to him as to the highest, as well to the last as to the first. It is not from the fact that the fountain of knowledge is only open to the teachers among the people, that they occupy their position. The teachers in the midst of the people are something like what we see in our schools. You go into our schools, and if the teacher has a large number of pupils in charge, he very likely will have recourse to this bit of policy—he takes some of his most advanced scholars and gives them the position of teachers amongst their schoolfellows and associates. Well, does this exalt them above the character or capacity of pupils? No! They are still learners in the school, and it is just as necessary for them to continue their labor for the acquisition of knowledge as before. This is the character of the teachers in Israel; that is, as I view it. This is the way I view myself as a teacher in the midst of Israel—as one upon whom has devolved the duty of extending the principles of salvation to those around me. When I labor to teach or instruct, I do not feel that they whom I am instructing need instruction any more than I do myself. I feel that all the necessity that may exist for any increase of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding in reference to the humblest soul in the kingdom of God, exists in all its force for me.

Well, with this feeling I look upon the work of God, I think of it, I study about it, and then I make my efforts for the accomplishment of the duties that seem to devolve upon me. And when I get to know more and become wiser with that increase of wisdom, shall not need to tell any body, it will be evinced in increased propriety of action to the accomplishment of what I seek to accomplish. What duty, then, devolves upon us as the ministers of God—the Priesthood dispersed and living among the people? Why, we should seek for the development in ourselves of that knowledge without which we tell the people that neither they nor we can be exalted to glory and greatness.

“But,” says my brother, “we must tell the people they should be correct in the duties of life in its multiplied details.” Yes, this is good; this must be; but what is it that will correct all these matters? My neighbor kindly takes me by the hand to-day and says, “Brother Lyman, you can walk in this, that, or the other direction, it is safe.” It may be ground that I have not explored and do not understand, and I feel that his direction and instruction are a blessing to me. So is that a blessing which shall lead and guide the people until the “day shall dawn and the day star shall arise in their hearts,” whether it be the kindly instruction of teachers who live in their midst, and with whom they meet and associate from time to time, or whether it be the suggestions of the written history of those who have long since passed away, it makes no difference. The history or record contained in the Bible presents an example of the right, and it is suggestive of right to those who read it, and upon the same principle that what could be said to you by the living teacher is suggestive of the truth.

Now, this appears to be what we need; we want to have understanding developed within us. Well, what is it? Perhaps if I were to describe my notions and views of things, it would not be the same as if described by some other man. One of the ancient apostles spoke of understanding in such a way that we can judge something of what his views were in regard to it. Said he, “We know that Jesus has come.” It was a great question in New Testament times among the immediate successors of Jesus—“Has Jesus come, or has he not?” “Has Jesus been and died, or is it an imposture?” the same as it is about the Saints now—“Is this the work of God or is it an imposture?” Well, now, says the apostle, “When that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding to determine between those that serve God and those who do not.” This is what we want; we want understanding, that we may know for ourselves that this is the work of God. Why? Until this is developed within us there is a chance for uncertainty to hang around and cling to us, and a possibility that our feet may be moved from the path of rectitude and truth. We may be like men whom I have seen that have travelled for a score of years with, and have labored in the Church, and have suffered—that is, about as far as men have suffered who have not died—and then, after the expiration of this time, we find them floating off to the east and to the west to the north and to the south. “Why, good brother, what is the matter? I did not believe you would ever have left the Church.” “Ah!” said he, “I have not found it what it was said to be.” Such individuals have not understanding developed within them; they do not know that this is the work of God. The apostle in ancient times knew that; Jesus had come, because of the gift of understanding by which he was able to determine for himself. It is this understanding that, when developed in the mind or soul of a man, sets aside all uncertainty and silences all, doubt. Uncertainty departs from the mind at once, and the soul settles in unbroken, undisturbed tranquility and repose, so far as the nature of the work in which it is engaged is concerned, and the language of that soul is, “I know that this is the work of God.”

Now we, as the ministers of God, called from among the people to labor among them, should remember all the time, that it is our first great duty to learn ourselves, to obtain knowledge and understanding ourselves, and then to use all the judgment and understanding with which God may favor and bless us, to enlighten the people and to lead them onward.

But, says one, the people have been taught for years, and they have not yet learned; when will they learn? I will tell you. When they have been taught long enough they will learn. How? Just as you and I when we went to school. We had to study our lessons until we could master them, and then that labor was completed.

I am glad of this continuous principle that seems to mark the character of the work of God. If we do not learn in two, five, ten, twenty, or thirty years the truth that would make us free, still the opportunity is open, still the chance is afforded us to learn and to mend our crooked ways. This is why I love the Gospel; this is what first fixed a deep and abiding regard for it in my affections—the mercy that was in it, the kind forbearance, that seemed to have a life like the life of the Almighty—eternal, that would never die.

Let us be encouraged to hope for such an increase of intelligence among the people—the fruit of the labors and ministrations of the ministry in their midst, as shall develop increasing perfection of action among the people, and by-and-by they will know enough of themselves to adopt such a policy as would enrich and save them temporally.

Well, says one, would they not get spiritually saved if they were not temporally saved? I do not know. I want to be saved, and I would like to be temporally and spiritually saved. If there should be any difference between them, I want them both. This is the salvation before us. If we had that spiritual salvation which, in the language of the Savior, constitutes eternal life—the knowledge of God, an understanding of the principles of salvation, if we had a sufficiency of divine wisdom, in that light would vanish all these dark clouds that exist around us as so many drawbacks to our prosperity and to our progress in the way of life. In that light we would be able to appreciate the value of doing right, above that of doing wrong. This is the way the matter appears to me, and I look forward to the time when the Saints will be all they should be, as Saints. I hope and labor for it, and there is no feeling in my soul but what reaches forward with hopeful confidence to a time when the last dark cloud shall be moved from the minds, not of every body, but of the Saints with whom our labors in this work begun, and with whom we have been associated the last thirty years of our lives; of the Saints with whom we have endured toil, with whom we have been driven, and in whose fate and fortunes we have shared. We expect it for them, we hope for it for them, and we labor for it for them. Will not you labor with us? We tell you that to know God is eternal life, which is simply repeating the truth declared by the Savior of the world; and while we impress this repeatedly, again and again, on your minds, and bring it to your attention, will not you unite with us in struggling for the acquisition of that knowledge for yourselves? Why, says one, can’t you get it for us? No; it is all I can do to get knowledge for myself. Well, but, says one, can’t you impart to us? I can do what I am doing this morning—making the best effort in my power, within the compass of my ability, to awaken such trains of thought and reflection in your minds as will lead you to seek after the truth, and seeking, find it. If what I have learned, if the little knowledge I possess should have enlightened any other mind than mine, or could be possessed by any other individual than me, without his action being required for its attainment, things would be different from what they are. Our Father has fixed it so that we might live, and find the elements of happiness and joy for ourselves; and when they were acquired, they would be ours to possess, fixed within, the treasure of our own souls, for ever ours, constituting our happiness with all its eternal increase and greatness.

Let us wake up and feel that we are the children of God, and that as God’s children, the object of our being here is to find and realize within ourselves that development of our natures that we inherit from our Father and God, that will exalt us till we can be fit associates for Him, that between Him and ourselves there may exist all that wealth of harmony that will constitute the happiness of heaven, the bliss and glory of the saved and sanctified.

Well, now, to acquire this, what is the labor before us? What is necessary? That we turn from evil. Well, how shall we know evil? Why our evils are pointed out continually, not only by the feeble dawnings of light within us, but by the light of that inspiration that burns in the hearts of the servants of God, making their comprehensions of truth reach incomparably beyond those who have not in such a way devoted themselves to the acquirement of knowledge. In that light our weaknesses and follies are brought to our understanding, that we may see them, and that seeing and comprehending we may go to work and regulate our actions so that when God blesses, aids, and strengthens us, we may acquire that knowledge that will exalt us above the influence of the ignorance that is around us.

Now, my brethren and sisters, having expressed these few thoughts, I hope that we may be able to go away from this Conference to our respective homes to live and labor in the great work of our Father, and that when the half-year shall have passed away, and we are again assembled in this capacity, that we may feel, and not only feel, but that it may be true, that we are a wiser and better people than to-day; and that we may entertain more truthful conceptions of God and the character of his work, and be acting in a manner better calculated to please Him and to secure His blessings upon us, than to-day.

That this may be our happy lot, and that God’s blessings may attend our every exertion for the development of Zion on the earth, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Marriage: Its Benefits

Amasa M. Lyman

Remarks by Elder Amasa M. Lyman, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 5, 1866. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I am glad to enjoy the privileges that are extended to us on this occasion, and to meet with my friends, and to unite with my brethren in the ministry to render the occasion instructive and profitable. Whether we have much or little to say with regard to the great good there is to be secured and enjoyed, I would hope that in our efforts we might be blessed and favored in making some suggestions to the audience that will be calculated to awaken in their minds good thoughts that will lead them to God, and to a knowledge of the principles that are involved in its work.

From all I have been able to gather from observing the course taken by ministers in their labors for the enlightenment of the people, I have come to the conclusion that, perhaps, there are not very many who will be able of themselves, and within the limited circle of their personal labors and exertions, to tell everything, even if they should know it, and communicate all that may be communicated for the benefit of the people. I believe that the servants of God, in their efforts generally, reveal to the people the workings of their own minds, under the influences of the Spirit of God, and are able to bestow upon them for their comfort, encouragement, and aid in the great work in which they are engaged, the results of their experience, of their reflection and thought. The Gospel that we have received is something that, as I view it, bears a direct relationship to our condition here and hereafter, and that it proposes to so direct our actions and our conduct in life, that they may all be made to assume a proper character. When our actions are right they have the character of virtues, and virtues commend us to God and to one another. Virtue, when practiced by us, is the surest and best foundation that we can have for confidence, not only in God, but in ourselves, and in one another, a degree of which is necessary to our happiness, to our comfort and joy. It appears to me that the man or woman, whose course of life is such that he or she has no confidence in his or herself, properly can have but very little in God. As brother Hyde has remarked, the time is near when we are to encounter the realities of our religion. I believe it is so. We have professed to receive the Gospel and have adopted our faith years ago. We have received more or less of a series of lessons that have been given to the Saints, from time to time, through the revelations of God, as they have been communicated to His people.

There is a feature in our religion that I have thought was but little understood; it is like many other things that would be of much more value to us if they were well understood; our understanding of it is limited as a people, and about that very feature in our religion I feel disposed to make a few suggestions, as the results of my own thoughts and reflections, and of all that has been opened up of the matter in my mind with regard to it. As this feature of our religion is now receiving considerable attention from the people of the United States, who have become deeply concerned in regard to it, probably it would be well if we talk a little about it ourselves, that they may not be the first to learn, the first to know that which we ought to know.

The question arises here, what is it that they have become concerned about? Not about our sins; but they have given us credit for a great many good things. They can but acknowledge that we have been brave in conquering the dangers of pioneering our way into an untried land and country; a land that was barren of comfort, barren of these things that were necessary to the sustaining of human life. They will compliment us to-day for our persevering industry, for the toil that we have endured, and for the perseverance that we have evinced in working our way, not to where we expected to find hidden treasures of gold and silver, but to the desert, to find a place so poor, so barren, and so forbidding in its aspect that none others would desire it, but that we might, in its desolation and isolation from the rest of the world, enjoy the poor privilege of living there without having our right questioned. They say we were brave. So we were: we had good reason to be so; we could not well be anything else. We encountered the desert with all its worthlessness and with all its unproductiveness, and we not only made bridges and roads, but we actually conquered the desert.

“Why do you not say that the Lord did it?” If I were to say the Lord did it, then would you not ask me how the Lord did it? I know how he did it, because I saw it done• The Lord led us out here, but I know that he walked us on our own feet all the weary miles of our journeyings until we reached our destination. I know that since all this our friends from the States have come out here, and can now partake of our hospitality and feast on the fruits of our labor, industry, and enterprise. They are pleased at finding a comfortable halfway house between the Atlantic and the Pacific, where they can rest, eat our fruit, and enjoy themselves; yet they smooth down the wrinkles upon their visages (the fruits of indwelling hate), look very grave, and returning home lie about us, and represent the people of Utah different from what they are.

We would suppose that they are blind with a holy horror, excited in them by the contemplation of a phantom which haunts their imaginations continually; they are afraid that the people in Utah will do wrong; they have got so far from the confines of Christian civilization and refinement that they are fearful, if they do not take some action in relation to the Saints, that they will go widely astray and perpetrate some great wrong. We have been asking them for years to admit us into the Union. Would they listen to us? No. Does our constant begging and praying for admittance into the Union ever awaken a feeling of sympathy in them towards us? It does not. Yet they make out to be so alarmed for our moral safety that they seem to have forgotten all the festering corruptions of the great cities of the east.

When the great nation with which we are connected politically begin to make our faith the subject of special legislation, is it not time that we should know and say something about it? They do not complain of any dishonesty and corruption among us; they do not tell us that the land is sowed broadcast with iniquity; they are not alarmed about this, but they are alarmed because men out here in Utah dare marry a wife honorably and fearlessly, and then publicly own her as his wife. This is all they complain of. If we will only ignore this, I do not know but they will admit us into the Union. Do you think we had better ignore this little bit of our religion, or have we really determined within ourselves, soundly and sentimentally, whether it is actually necessary, proper, right, and just. If we could only slip it off and get admitted into the Union, it might be an advantage to us; but if it is worth enough to cling to, even if we have to live out of the Union, we ought to know it, that we may be the better able to make a good trade when we do trade. It is simply plural marriage that they complain of. They corrupt themselves elsewhere all over the world; but out in Utah men actually presume to marry women honestly; they presume to consider this the best course to be pursued to maintain the purity of man and woman.

How shall we determine anything about the value of plural marriage, so that we may know whether it is worth anything or not? I do not know any way better than by determining first whether single marriage is of value or not—whether it extends any advantages or not to those who are parties to this relationship. Were we to ask the multitudes of the earth what the institution of marriage is worth, what the amount of blessing and salvation that accrues from it, to those who are parties to it, we should, no doubt, receive for a reply, “We do not know.” A man marries a wife to keep his house, to do the drudgery, to become a slave who shall do the labor about his place, and become the creature of his wants and wishes. Does he entertain any ideas of any value that pertains to the institution of marriage beyond this; if he does, it is but little. A great many men live in the world, and throughout all their lives they never appreciate the value of marriage in such a way as to ever induce them to marry; they think they can get along better in single life.

How can we be led to an understanding, in a limited degree, of the many advantages that result to men and women who are honorably married? Why, look at the evil and the corruption, and consequent wretchedness that curse the condition of that broad margin of women that never are made to feel the responsibility, comforts and blessings resulting from a pure, and healthy, and virtuous marriage. Where is this state of things to be found? In every Christian community that I know anything about. It is the root of that festering corruption that is eating out the core and vital energies, and sapping the foundation of life in the race of man. It is found in every community where it is declared that a man shall marry one wife only, and it shall be considered a virtue; but to marry a second wife while the first wife is alive, is considered a crime and punishable by confinement in prison, or the payment of a fine, because it is a sin. What, this in a Christian land? Yes, this in a Christian land! Christianity of the most approved kind is advocated where it exists. In the same thoroughfare the victims of corruption and vicious passion, and the devotees of Christianity jostle against each other. In the same locality edifices, whose lofty towers point to heaven, and wherein are held sacred the paraphernalia of Christian worship casts its lengthening shadows over the dens of corruption and crime, where the victims of passion and unhallowed lust live to drag out a miserable existence; in the reeking corruption which is the result of their own sins. The religious sanctuary and the brothel flourish together; they have their development there; in that land we see woman in her most wretched condition. We first see her in the morning of her life, innocent and pure—innocent as innocence itself, pure as the spirit that comes from God. In this condition we see her enter upon her life’s journey. We meet with her when she has progressed, when she has trod far in the path of folly, degradation, wretchedness, and sin; but she is innocent no more. Are the blessings of home extended around her any more? No. Has she the blessings of the warm sympathy of kind friends any more? No; they are frigid and cold; the warm heart gushing out the blessings of friendship is closed against her; she is not fit to be associated with any more; she is unfit to be welcomed to the society of her more fortunate sisters; and, consequently, she is not welcome to return to a pure and better life, could a disposition be awakened in her to do so, and she seeks for the means of prolonging that worthless life as best she can find them. If she carries personal charms, they are to feed the wishes and satiate the appetite of the gloating libertine; for he will give her money. When those charms have faded from her form—when youth is passed and followed by decrepid old age, she becomes the loathsome thing that no one claims or desires, for which none manifests any warm sympathy and affectionate regard. This is the fate of a class of women who were born pure and innocent as you, my sisters, were born, situated as you were, bearing the same relationship to high heaven by creation as you bear, yet she drags out her miserable existence to her resting place, the grave, when death terminates her suffering and wretched existence; no father was there, no mother was there, no kind sister to weep over her departure, no brother had regard for her, no kindred relationship to pay so much as the tribute of a single tear on the spot where her frail dust found its last resting place.

This is the unwept, friendless fate of an extensive class of our erring sisters. What do we call them? Oh, she is merely “a common woman on the street,” “prostitute,” which means a woman, created by and bearing the image of God our Heavenly Father—a woman prostituted to become the victim of passion—passion unhallowed, impure passion in man who should have guarded her virtue with the most scrupulous care, with the most vigilant watchfulness—man who should ever have recognized in her his sister, who should have regarded her as the personification of the purity and innocence of heaven itself, and who should never have made her the victim of his unholy passion. But she has fallen, and this terminates her wretched career. If she leaves an offspring, the vile stain of bastardy is attached to it, and her children are cast out of society, like their disgraced mother; they are discarded and shunned by what is called refined and Christian society; no paternal provisions are made for them, no paternal care and anxiety is cherished in relation to them. The state only sees in them, if males, prospective soldiers, who for a little pay are marshaled to fight its battles, and bleed and die upon the battle field. If any of them happened to be brave, can venture further and kill more than his associates, the probability is that he will gather to himself the honor, and the glory, and respect which his frail mother failed to secure.

This is the most favorable termination of the earthly career of that class of unfortunate women and their children. I appeal to you, who are honorable wives and mothers, if you do not think there is real, unmitigated misery in this? Or do you think that it is merely something of my picturing? I am not here to treat you to empty romance. The tithing of all the misery, wretchedness, and crime that exist among the female sex, or our race, in the great Christian cities and heathen cities of the world, cannot be told; it would be vain for me to undertake to tell it all. I have instanced what I have, that you who are wives and mothers may see something of what you have been saved from, by being blessed with the opportunity of becoming honorably married. You are saved from all the wretchedness which characterizes the life and death of your unfortunate sisters.

Does marriage possess any value, then? Would it not be a very good thing if the blessings arising from it, which you enjoy, could be extended to all? Why is it not so? Because monogamic Christianity says it shall not be extended to all. This Christianity is like the prophets bed, “shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it; and the covering narrower than that he can drop himself in it.” I do not know that the prophet thought any thing of Christianity as it now exists in the world, although this figure is very apt in its fitness to it. Comparing monogamic Christianity with the prophet’s covering, it may be of a fine texture and good, as far as it goes, but it is decidedly too small. This is unquestionably the fault with a Christianity that does not extend the mantle of salvation to all who should be the recipients of its blessings. If all men and all women in a community were honorably married, you can readily understand one thing, that there would be no prostitution of women in that community, there would be an end of the corruption of man in that community, there would be no illegitimacy there. You can see, then, that it is only a question of advantages resulting from a pure marriage to all the inhabitants of any community, who can be blessed by such an institution of marriage; only introduce this, and the cause of all this sin and moral and physical degeneracy would have an end.

“But then,” says one, “is it right?” “We should have no objections to a plural marriage if we could only believe that it was right.” How in heaven’s name you would have to feel, to feel that it is wrong, I cannot imagine. You say that when one wife is married to a man, there is in that transaction nothing but what is religious; nothing but what is godly, healthy, pure, and good; it is good enough to go to church with; it is something you can pray about; you can have it sanctified by the presence of the priest. It is sacred; it is so commendable that the most fastidious will hardly blush at the idea of a man’s marrying one wife. He who marries one wife is considered an honorable man, and his wife finds a place among honorable women, and their children are honored upon the same plane that is secured to them by the character and standing of their honored parents in the community. They have their entry into society; it smiles upon them and extends to them its patronage, and their path is the path of honor from the time they open their infant eyes and gaze upon the surrounding objects in the midst of which life to them has a beginning, and through all the subsequent stages of the lengthened way. These blessings come to them because their parents were honorably married and kept sacredly the vows that made them husband and wife. Their marriage was virtuous and just. What a pity it is that this state of things could not be extended to all. I allude to this single marriage because I want you, Latter-day Saints, that are before me to-day, to begin to think, if you never have, to begin to reason, if you never have, that you may know and understand, if it is only to a limited extent, the reasons that exist why marriage is a pure, holy, and saving institution.

Says one, “The Bible says it is.” But suppose the Bible did not say so, would that make any difference? If a woman were associated in the relationship of wife with an honorable man who kept his marriage vow, would it change the fact that there would be purity, innocence, truthfulness, and virtue in this that could not be found elsewhere—that could not occur without the same intimate relationship between man and woman—aside from the covenant that makes them man and wife.

We say, then, if this is the reason why in Heaven’s wisdom it was ordained that man and woman should be married, it was simply to regulate the actions of man and woman in the most sacred, holy, high, and responsible relationships that exist between them, to preserve in man and woman the fountain of life in purity, that there might be given to earth a people in purity, and free from the taint of inherent corruption. How do I know that? Because that it only requires the careful and continued observance of the law of marriage, as God has revealed it, to preserve man and woman in purity.

Then what bearing has a pure marriage upon the interest of the world that it should be necessary to introduce it as one of the leading features in the great work of God, developed and established in this our day for the prosecution of his will and purposes in the salvation of mankind? Has it any bearing at all upon the purity of man and upon the race? From the little reflection that I have bestowed upon the matter, I have learned to regard it as the world’s great necessity—the great necessity of the race to-day, and it is God’s greatest necessity in reference to the salvation of the world, and to the development of His universal empire of peace and righteousness over all the earth. Why? Because I have learned that there has been, and that there is still in existence, operating and producing its deadly effects, a system of physical degeneracy that is telling fearfully upon the history of the race.

The Bible tells us that men used to reach a longevity that extended to near a thousand years; this was near six thousand years ago. To say that this is not true would be to question the validity of the Bible, and I would not dare to do that, however presumptuous I may be in a thousand other things. We are descendants of that same race who enjoyed the blessing, if it was a blessing, of an extended longevity; yet the statistics of to-day relating to the average life of the human race show that it extends to a fraction over a quarter of a century. Should anybody be alarmed at this? If they not know the causes which have led to it they will not be; but if they have a knowledge sufficient to understand that if the race has so degenerated, physically, in five thousand years that the term of a man’s life is reduced from near a thousand years to a quarter of a century, the question would be awakened in their minds as to how narrow a margin of time is left for the continuation of our race on the earth before it becomes entirely extinct—that there will not be a man, woman, or child to awaken the cheerless condition of the desolate earth with the music of their voices and the light of their smiles. They have ceased to be.

It used to be told us when we were children that the world was coming to an end. We thought it was coming to an end; that something was about to be revealed from somewhere that would burn it up. We see that the world is actually approaching desolation, to a point beyond which it would not be possible for human life to be extended. Is there nothing alarming in this? To me there is. I pore over, in my own mind, what my prospects are as a servant of God. I have entered upon this work, which we denominate the work of God, and which comprises the building up of the kingdom of God and the extension of the government of God over all the earth, carrying with it the blessings of the rule of righteousness and peace, and it promises that I am going to be a prince and a ruler over countless millions of intelligent beings like myself. Where are they all coming from? Why, they will be your children. That cannot be; for as the human race is fast wearing to an end, there would not any of my children be left in a few generations more. You are, no doubt, mathematicians enough to see this. I give the Lord credit in my feelings for having known this long before I did; and hence I say that plural marriage is the great necessity of the age, because it is a means that God has introduced to check the physical corruption and decline of our race; to stop further contributions to the already fearful aggregate of corruption that has been developed as the result of sin in man and woman. What will that do? It will take off a great tax from the recuperative energies of the race by relieving them from the necessity of contending with increasing corruption beyond its present limits; that man may begin to live until he attain to the age of a tree, as he lived before he first began to sin and violate the laws of his being. It is to effect this that the Lord has introduced plural marriage. “But,” says one, “why do you not prove it from the Bible?” You can read the Bible yourselves. I want to know, see, read, and understand, as it is evinced in the physical condition of the race that these are truths, whether the books refer to them or not. If there was no revelation to reach us from foreign quarters, it is a revelation that is before our eyes; its truth is demonstrated within the circle of our own being—within the narrow limits of our own observation it is made plain, and we should understand and comprehend. When we know this, then we know what the Bible may say with regard to polygamy being true, because we find the evidence of it in truth itself. That is what polygamy is worth. It is simply an extension of pure marriage to all the social elements in the community, man and woman, that is all.

Who is it that says there is licentiousness connected with plural marriage? It is the libertine; that man that is corrupt himself; who has worshipped at the shrine of passion; whose passion clamors in his corrupt soul for victims. He dreams of it and talks of it; and because the Saints believe in a plurality of wives, he thinks there must certainly be a lack of moral purity there—virtue must be easy with the people that have more than one wife.

What do you think they have found out? After making experiments that have turned out rather futile, they have found out that with all their mistaken notions of their deluded fellow-citizens in the mountains, the virtue of woman and the sanctity of the marriage relationship cannot be invaded with impunity—it is guarded with jealousy. The same men that were brave in coming over the plains, and energetic in making the roads and in building the bridges, etc., are still here, and continue to be brave. They have not dared so much in the past that they will stop daring now.

Are you going to say something in support of plural marriage? No. I do not wish anybody to tell that I have said a word by way of supporting and sustaining plural marriage. Are you ashamed of it? No. Do you love it? Yes, I love it because it is true, and stands alone, without my aid. “What are you talking about it for, then?” That you may understand the truth and know its value, and secure to yourselves the blessings that only can accrue from the knowledge of the truth. That doctrine is safe and can take care of itself; and if you make an application of the truth to yourselves, it will take care of you; it will secure you from corruption, wretchedness, and death, and give you life and immortality; while others will still sink under the accumulating weight of corruption, until they go down to hell.

“But,” says one, “I have been looking, but I have not seen much change that has taken place in consequence of the introduction of polygamy.” You are not a very close observer, perhaps. When the first edition of Federal officers came out here, we had hardly made a beginning in practical plurality of wives; however, it was awful times for them; they could only once in a while see a woman, and when they did see one, they inquired who she was. “O, she is Elder such a one’s wife.” “Who is that woman over yonder?” “She is brother so and so’s wife.” “Who is that woman that is crossing the street?” “She is Bishop such a one’s wife.” “O, the devil, the women are all married out here.” They begin to look round for a peculiar kind of institution that flourishes so well in Christendom, where such prevail, where they make ample provisions for the gratification of lustful passion no odds how foul, black, and damning in its consequences, still it can find its gratification at those favored institutions. Those Federal gentlemen began to look for similar accommodations in Utah; but instead of finding them they found school houses and houses for the public worship of God, dedicated to the best interests of humanity, for the improvement of the condition of our race. Their peculiar institutions they could not find here, and they could not stay; they went to Washington, and there they began to send up awful howls about the sins of Utah, and the necessity of active measures by the general government to chastise the Mormons in Utah.

How far they have succeeded is evident. The great Buchanan war brought the flower of the army of the United States out here; the bran and shorts were left behind. They came to correct the poor misguided Mormons. For making prostitutes of the women? No. There are plenty of them at home; but the Mormons make wives of them, and this awakened all their sense of horror. It is this that excites our friends in the east—because we think more and better of women than they do. That is the foundation of all the difficulty; they do not complain of us for any thing else now. When the C. V.’s from the west came out here they did not succeed any better. Then they thought they would try the negro. He got part way out here, got tired, and they turned him out. What they will do next to correct our morals is not for me to say. They may tell us that we ought to demolish our school houses and put up houses of assignation, and keep houses of accomm[o]dation, such as travellers can find in other countries. They are well pleased with our potatoes and johnny cake, but they would be still better pleased if we would have the other luxury.

We fought our way to this country against all the hardships and obstacles that stood in our path, and, through God’s blessing, we have overcome them; we have cultivated the land and done the best that we could under the circumstances, and we have provided for ourselves and for our wives and children as well as we could, and we have been contented. If the husbands of Utah were poor, their wives were willing to share that poverty with them; they were willing to nibble a living from the same dry crust, out of the same stinted fare that we partook of, because they were our wives, and we regarded them as honorable and as good as ourselves, if they behaved as well. This our friends do not like. Our business here in the mountains is to develop a community in which man and woman shall find, through the extension of honorable, pure, just, and virtuous marriage, the legitimate position that Heaven ordained them to occupy as wives and mothers, husbands and fathers, and a response to every requirement of nature, without stepping aside from the path of virtue and honor.

That is what God designed when he commenced this work—“Why did He not introduce it at the very commencement of this work?” Because He could not—because our ears were not open to hear it—our prejudices would not allow us to receive it. If I had been talked to about plurality of wives when I was baptized into the Church, the Lord may know, but I do not know what I would have done. I had to go wandering over the world preaching the Gospel years after, had to work longer than Jacob did for a wife to get myself in that state of mind that the Lord dare name the doctrine to me. We were not aware that any such a thing as plural marriage had to be introduced into the world; but the Lord said it after a while, and we obeyed the best we knew how, and, no doubt, made many crooked paths in our ignorance. We were only children, and the Lord was preparing us for an introduction to the principles of salvation. “What, the principles of salvation connected with marriage?” Yes; because they are nowhere else. “Will not our preaching save us, our going to Church, and our paying tithing?” People have been preaching, praying, paying tithes, building cathedrals and churches, and the deadly work of physical degeneracy is still going on until the race is nearly upon the brink of extinction. Christianity, as it now is, and has been for centuries, has proved entirely insufficient to stop the great evil—to check it in its fearful growth.

The Lord understood this when he talked to the people of Nephi: He told them they should have but one wife, and concubines they should have none. Why would He not allow them to have concubines? I suppose it was because He delighted in the chastity of women. This was simply avowing His feeling with regard to that matter. Concubinage was displeasing in His sight. He left them at liberty to have a wife, but concubines they should have none; informing them that when He wanted His people to raise up seed unto Him, and if it was necessary they should have many wives He would command them. That is simply what He has done. He has commanded us. It is well enough now for the brethren and sisters who have been in practical polygamy for many years to begin to understand something of the nature and object of the institution, that they may not trade it off simply for admittance into the Union, or for anything whatever that may be offered for its exchange. However their enemies may plead to the contrary, the Saints are gathered together from all the world, that the provisions of a virtuous marriage may be extended to all the social element in the community, and that by this there should cease to be developed in that community the curse of woman’s prostitution or man’s corruption, and where mothers in Zion can make it their business to teach their children the way in which they should go; to implant in early childhood principles of truth; to lead them to God; to grow around the hearth like plants of righteousness, that the saying of the old preacher may be verified, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

We are not a numerous people, but we are more numerous than when the Lord told Adam and Eve to be fruitful, and multiply and fill this their earthly inheritance with intellectual beings like themselves. How well that first pair succeeded is evidenced here to-day. We need not be discouraged, for we can count thousands that are pledged to this work, which is established to re-people the world, to fill the earth with virtuous, pure, and holy men and women. That is the work that devolves upon us. Should every woman be married? Every woman should be married for the same reasons that one woman is married, namely, to subserve the same high, healthy, and God-like objects of our being. And for the same high purpose should every man be married.

There are certain facts of our existence which we cannot escape from. We are men and women. The very reason why I have spoken here to-day is that we are men and women; we have come here with men’s and women’s natures, passions, and appetites; and if we are ever saved in heaven, we shall be saved as men and women. Our business here is to save men and women by teaching them to live lives of purity. These are self-evident truths. When we count up the men and women that are in the world, we shall find a broad margin more of women than men; and there is a numerical difference in the sexes, as they are developed in our community and every other community. Women must be saved, if the task should devolve on a man to marry two or three of them, and treat them as honorable wives, bless them, and bless their children, provide for them, and teach them principles of purity. When we who made this feeble beginning in that matter can bear the struggle no longer, we will call around us our stalwart sons and daughters, and pledge them before high heaven to devote themselves for ever, and their children after them, to the great work of man’s regeneration.

Let us get the body improved first, that the spirit may live and dwell in a pure tabernacle. When this is done, we can go and cultivate the spirit as much as is needful. The world wants a religion that will address itself to this task, because it will enter into the relationship that exists between man and woman, that will purify them and establish within them the seed of eternal life. Let us pray always and never faint, and ask God to bless us in all that we do, and never do anything that is not sufficiently holy that we can ask God to bless; carrying the purity of Heaven’s religion and ordained principles of salvation into every relationship of our lives, and let the Zion of our God extend forth upon all the earth from this point. What will become of the world? They will live in their corruption until they sink and die in it. Our blessings are to build up the kingdom of God in purity and in its perfection in these mountains. This is our work, and may God help us, is my prayer, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Blessings Secured by Faithfulness

Heber C. Kimball

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 4, 1866. Reported by G. D. Watt.

Self-preservation is the first great law of nature. It is true, whether it be applied to temporal or spiritual salvation. If a man does not try to save himself through the means which are provided in the Gospel, he cannot be saved. If people will not stop committing sin and learn to do better, my doing so will not benefit them. It would be just as reasonable to argue that I can eat, drink, breathe, and reflect for them.

When a minister of the truth arises to address a congregation it aids him much when the people give their undivided attention to him; but when their attention is drawn off by some trifling interference that may occur in the house, their minds are closed to the effects of truth, and the spirit of the preacher is grieved, and so is the Spirit of the Lord. Paul says, “Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the others judge. If anything be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. For ye may all prophecy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.” “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the Saints.”

No one man knoweth everything, “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal;” “now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit,” “dividing to every man severally as he will.” If we exercise upon the gifts we possess in simplicity as little children, striving to do good to one another, and to build up the kingdom of God upon the earth, then we shall be entitled to greater gifts and greater blessings. Let no man lay a snare for his neighbor because of the simplicity of his words, and because he reproves in the gate. If the truth, simply told, is unwelcome to people, it is because they are themselves guilty of sin unrepented of; and by this ye may know that ye need repentance.

The faithful love the truth, though it may be told in the most simple manner; it is sweeter to them than honey or the honey comb; they are no more afraid of it than they would be afraid of eating a piece of good honey. And to the same extent that they love the truth plainly and simply told, do they hate a lie, and the more so when it is dressed up in the garb of truth to deceive the unwary. Truth is the sanctifier of those who love it and are guided by it, and will exalt them to the presence of God; while falsehood corrupts and destroys, or, to use a common scriptural figure, it lays the axe at the root of the tree. As the axe cuts down and destroys the fruitless trees that cumber the ground, so do wicked acts destroy and overthrow all who persist in them.

Truth is an attribute of the nature of God. By it he is sanctified and glorified. Jesus Christ proceeded from his Father. He is called “His only begotten Son,” and inherited germs of his Father’s perfections and the attributes of his Father’s nature, so that he sinned not. So with us; if the attributes of our nature become refined and regenerated by the truth, our offspring must inherit those perfections, more or less. Then, how essential it is that parents should, by living their religion, improve themselves for the improvement of their race. We, too, are the children of God, but we are the offspring in the flesh of fallen and degenerate parents, and we are prone to sin as the sparks fly upward; but by observing the truth, and by following the direction of the Holy Priesthood which has been restored in our day, we may overcome the evil that is within us and that is in the world, begin to improve and perfect the attributes of our nature, which are like the attributes of the nature of God, and lay the foundation of goodness and truth in our offspring.

The devil was a liar from the beginning. Truth has no place in him; but it being a principle of power associated with all goodness, he hates it, and so do all his faithful followers. It is written, “And now, verily I say unto you, I was in the beginning with the Father, and am the first-born; and all those who are begotten through me are partakers of the glory of the same, and are the church of the Firstborn.” “Truth is a knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come; and whatsoever is more or less than this is the spirit of that wicked one who was a liar from the beginning.” He that keepeth the commandments of God receiveth truth and light until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things. Truth is a principle of power, and is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it to act for itself, as well as intelligence also, otherwise there is no existence.”

Under President Young I have presided over the giving of endowments for the last fifteen years. Last Saturday there were over twenty persons in the house to receive their endowments. They came well recommended by their bishops as being worthy, good, and faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I had previously had an impression that many of the people were becoming lukewarm, and even cold, in the performance of some of their duties. After the company had gone through I gave them a lecture, and it came to me by the Spirit of God to try if my impression was correct or not. After instructing them that they must not lie, steal, nor bear false witness, etc., I asked them how many of them prayed in their families, and it transpired that there were many who neglected their duties in this respect; yet they were all recommended by their bishops as good, faithful members of the Church of Christ. It made me think of the parable of the ten virgins, five foolish and five wise. Shall we thus cease to perform our duties, while the wicked are striving with all their power to introduce their wickedness in our community and into our families; while they are seeking to influence our wives and children to be disobedient to us and to God? Should we not rather be more faithful in the performance of every known duty, that God may hear us when we pray to him for strength to aid us to resist the encroachment of evil?

The revelations which Joseph Smith has given to this people were given to him by Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world; and this people cannot be blessed if they lightly esteem any of them, but they will lose the Spirit, and sorrow and vexation will come into their families. The Lord designs that we shall be separate and distinct from every other people, and wishes to make us His peculiar people, and to raise up for himself a pure seed who will keep His law and walk in His statutes. For this purpose did He give the revelation on plurality of wives, as sacred a revelation as was ever given to any people, and fraught with greater blessings to us than we can possibly conceive of, if we do not abuse our privileges and commit sin. This doctrine is a holy and pure principle, in which the power of God for the regeneration of mankind is made manifest; but while it offers immense blessings, and is a source of immense power to God’s people, it will bring sure and certain damnation to those who seek through its means to defile themselves with the daughters of Eve. All those who take wives from any other motive than to subserve the great purpose which God had in view in commanding his servants to take unto themselves many wives, will not be able to retain them. Wives are sealed to men by an everlasting covenant that cannot be broken, if the parties live faithfully before God, and perform with a single eye to his glory the duties of that sacred contract. Jesus Christ said to the Pharisees, when they tempted him upon the subject of a man’s putting away his wife, “For the hardness of your heart Moses allowed you to give a bill of divorcement, but from the beginning of the creation it was not so.” “What, therefore, God hath joined together let no man put asunder.”

I speak of plurality of wives as one of the most holy principles that God ever revealed to man, and all those who exercise an influence against it, unto whom it is taught, man or woman, will be damned, and they, and all who will be influenced by them, will suffer the buffetings of Satan in the flesh; for the curse of God will be upon them, and poverty, and distress, and vexation of spirit will be their portion; while those who honor this and every sacred institution of heaven will shine forth as the stars in the firmament of heaven, and of the increase of their kingdom and glory there shall be no end. This will equally apply to Jew, Gentile, and Mormon, male and female, old and young.

The words of the Lord to the Church, through Joseph the Prophet, in Sep., 1832, will apply very well to many now:—“And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received, which vanity and unbelief hath brought the whole Church under condemnation; and this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all, and they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written, that they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom, otherwise there remaineth a scourge and a judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion; for shall the children of the kingdom pollute my holy land?” Unless we keep our families in order, and instruct our children to be faithful in keeping the commandments of God, not suffering our wives and children to speak lightly of the Priesthood of the Almighty, and of the holy order of marriage which He has revealed for a great purpose—I say, unless we do this, God will visit our families with a scourge, and if they continue in their disobedience they will be removed out of their place, and their names will not be found on the record of the faithful. But, on the contrary, if we are righteous and keep faithfully all the commandments of God, we, with all that portion of our wives and children who also have been faithful, will go into the celestial inheritance prepared for us in the presence of our God. Will the unfaithful, disobedient, and unbelieving of our families enter with us into the celestial kingdom? They will not. The Lord said to Ezekiel, “Son of man, the house of Israel to me has become dross.” So with the unbelieving and disobedient of our families, and of this people; they will be separated from the pure silver, to occupy a place in the mansions of our Father according to their worth.

If our wives would remember and keep faithfully the covenant they have made, they would observe the laws of their husbands, and teach their children to honor every law of God, and to love, honor, and obey their earthly father. If I keep my covenants, shall be saved in the presence of God; if I violate them, I shall be damned; and so it will be with my family; and what applies to me in this respect will apply to all.

Let us carry out the great purposes of God, and be separate from the ungodly. “Woe unto him that has the law given; yea, that has all the commandments of God, like unto us, and that transgresseth them, and that wasteth the days of his probation, for awful is his state.” “And woe unto the deaf, that will not hear, for they shall perish; woe unto the blind, that will not see, for they shall perish also; woe unto the liar, for he shall be thrust down to hell; woe unto the murderer, who deliberately killeth, for he shall die; woe unto them who commit whoredoms, for they shall be thrust down to hell; and woe unto them who die in their sins, for they shall go to their place and suffer the wrath of God.”

May God bless the righteous; but the men or women who raise their voices or use their influence against that holy order of plural marriage will be cursed, and they will wither away, for they have undertaken to fight against God. “For, behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall leave them neither root nor branch.”

Holy Ghost Requisite to Teach the Truth

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 29, 1866. Reported by G. D. Watt.

You have heard what Elder Charles S. Kimball has said this afternoon relative to the general belief of the people in the old countries—That Brigham Young reads all letters before they leave this county, and if any are not written to suit him, they are destroyed by his order! In this way they account for so few letters reaching the members of the Church in distant lands from their friends here in Utah. I will now make a public request that the Saints hereafter cease to bring their letters to me, if there are any that have ever done such a thing; and I also request the postmasters throughout the Territory to stop sending all foreign letters to me for my inspection previous to mailing for abroad; that is, if they have ever done such a thing; and for this simple reason, that I have so much to do that I cannot possibly pay attention to such an extensive amount of reading. If any of you, or if any of the people in any part of the Territory have ever sent letters to me to read, previous to sending them to their friends abroad, be so kind as to take notice and cease to do this thing from this time henceforth. If any postmaster has ever sent me a single letter to read belonging to any person—Jew or Gentile, Saint or sinner—I request him never to do so again; for I have such an extensive correspondence of my own, that it is a very great labor for me to read and answer what I am obliged to do in my business and calling. People who suppose that I can see and read the foreign correspondence of this whole community, give me credit for an amount of physical and mental endurance which I do not possess.

Brother Charles has strongly requested those who have friends in the old country to write to them, and I would make the same request, that you write often to your fathers and mothers, and brothers and sisters and friends, and acquaintances and neighbors, whom you have left behind in those old countries. Tell them the truth with regard to the people here, and with regard to the country, and when you, who are going to that country, arrive there, tell the people the truth.

In this country there is ample opportunity for people to get rich, to gather up property, and accumulate and store up wealth, and the minds of the people are so occupied in this labor that they do not take time to write to their friends, and many not even to fulfill their promises to write. Some of those who have borrowed money of their friends in the old countries, and promised to work when they got to America and send it back again to them, have forgotten to do so. I am sorry to be obliged to say this. If I could have my way, every man who professes to be a Saint would act like a Saint. However, we are trying to be Saints. We have embraced the Gospel of the Son of God; we have embraced a marvellous work—a work which is a great wonder to all people As the Prophet has said, “Therefore behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.”

The brethren have been testifying to the truth of this work, and there is not a man or a woman on this earth who receives the spirit of the Gospel but what can testify to its truth. We are the witnesses of this great work which the Lord has commenced in the Latter days. Were you to ask me how it was that I embraced “Mormonism,” I should answer, for the simple reason that it embraces all truth in heaven and on earth, in the earth, under the earth, and in hell, if there be any truth there. There is no truth outside of it; there is no good outside of it; there is no virtue outside of it; there is nothing holy and honorable outside of it; for wherever these principles are found among all the creations of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and his order and Priesthood, embrace them.

When we talk about making sacrifices for this work, the word to me is without meaning; for if a man desires to get a good name—a good character—if he wishes to make fast friends, if he wishes wealth, comfort, joy, and peace in all of his life here on the earth, let him embrace the truth and then live it. When the unbeliever has a realizing sense of his own condition, he lays down on his bed in sorrow, he wishes things were a little different; he lays down in sorrow, and wakes up in doubt, to live every hour and minute through the day in anxiety. There may be hours and minutes in which people forget themselves; but, when their minds dwell upon their situation and being in life, they are in doubt, they are in anxiety, darkness, and ignorance; they do not know who they are, what they are on the earth for; they know nothing of their pre-existence, or comparatively little of their present existence, only that they are here in the world, and by-and-by they will die and leave the world. Where they will go when they leave the world, they know not, and there are many who do not care. Some strive to be infidels to a great deal of that which is true, to that which it would be to their best interest to believe and know.

If you have truth, you have got what is called “Mormonism.” or, more properly, the Gospel of life and salvation. It is here, and it is nowhere else to the same extent that it is in the doctrine that this people say they have embraced. Do they know it all? In comparison to what we have yet to learn of the things of God, we are but babes and sucklings in the knowledge of God our Father, in the knowledge of his work and of the labor and the mission of our Lord Jesus Christ, that we profess to be so familiar with. If it can be said of us that we are children in the knowledge of God, we have progressed tolerably well.

It has been remarked this afternoon how difficult it is for our Elders to go forth and contend with the learning of the age. You heard the few remarks regarding the religions of the day, and the idea that generally prevails in Christian countries, that it requires men to be qualified, and learned, and eloquent to stand before the people to act as religious teachers. I will give you the reason why this is so. When a false theory has to be maintained, it requires to be set forth with much care; it requires study, and learning, and cunning sophistry to gild over a falsehood and give it the semblance of truth, and make it plausible and congenial to the feelings of the people; but the most simple and unlearned person can tell you the truth. A child can tell you the truth, in child-like language, while falsehood requires the lawyer and the priest to tell it to make it at all plausible; it requires a scholastic education to make falsehood pass for truth. Anciently, all the people, and the publicans, who heard Jesus, justified God, being baptised with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, not being baptized of him. When a simple, honest hearted man, sent of God with the truth to the world, shall question the most learned upholders of false theories, the gilding falls off, and falsehood, in all its deformity, stands naked and exposed. I have scores of times read from the Bible, and the people would declare that it was not the Christian Bible, but the “Mormon” Bible I was reading in; and to convince them to the contrary, would have to read the title page.

Men are educated to promulgate and sustain false theories to make money, and to create and uphold powerful sects. “And they teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance.” “Because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false doctrine, their churches have become corrupted; and their churches are lifted up, because of pride they are puffed up. They rob the poor, because of their fine sanctuaries; they rob the poor, because of their fine clothing; and they persecute the meek and the poor in heart, because in their pride they are puffed up.” And all this because the fathers transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances, and broke the everlasting covenant delivered unto them. The truth is easily understood, and as easily told. The agriculturist and the mechanic can tell the truth, and become efficient ministers of it, by living faithfully in accordance with what they know of the Gospel; for in this way they obtain the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance. Education is a good thing, and blessed is the man who has it, and can use it for the dissemination of the Gospel without being puffed up with pride. “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen; yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things which are: that no flesh should glory in His presence.”

However good and useful a classical education may be in the possession of a good and wise man, yet it is not essentially necessary for him to have it to tell the simple truth which is given to mankind by the revelations of God, because it can be told by the simple and the unlearned. But if the profession of a lawyer is chosen by any person, he needs to be educated in all the learning of the age to be successful; for it is a hard thing for him to make a man appear innocent before a jury of his countrymen whom he knows to be guilty. It is a hard matter to make a jury of men endowed, not with great learning perhaps, but with hard sense, believe that white is black, and that black is white, as the case may be, to present the truth in such a way that they will believe it as a lie, and a lie in such a way that they will believe it as a truth. It requires a lawyer—a man who is well schooled in all that men know, to make things appear what they really are not.

That which will apply to law in this case will apply to a false religion. We take our young men who have been brought up in this community, and I care not whether they can read a chapter in the Bible or not, if they will repent and seek diligently for the Spirit of the Lord, and send them out into the world to preach the Gospel, and if they are faithful, they will be able, ere long, by the blessing of God, to confound the great and the wise of the age in matters of theology. “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.”

It was observed here this afternoon that it requires our boys to go into the world to preach the truth to know that “Mormonism” is true. The older portion of this community embraced the truth through the conviction of it, and prayed unto the Lord for the light of it, and they received the testimony of the Spirit of God; but our children do not know the greatness of their blessings and privileges. They are entitled to the Spirit of the Gospel from their mothers wombs; they have it with them all the time; they are born in it. We say that they are rude, that they are rough and unmanageable, etc.; they do not know that they possess the light of the Holy Spirit until they go out into the world and learn the great contrast—see the blackness of night, the thick darkness of error that has settled down like a great pall upon the moral and religious world. They hear their fathers pray, and they hear the Apostles and Prophets preach, but they cannot know that “Mormonism” is true for themselves until they have had the privilege of being placed in circumstances to exercise faith for themselves, and to pray to God for themselves for testimony and knowledge. Then they obtain the power of the Holy Spirit, which awakens their senses, and they know for themselves that God lives, for he hears and answers their prayers.

I could say something encouraging to parents, if they would heed. Let the father and mother, who are members of this Church and kingdom, take a righteous course, and strive with all their might never to do a wrong, but to do good all their lives; if they have one child or one hundred children, if they conduct themselves towards them as they should, binding them to the Lord by their faith and prayers, I care not where those children go, they are bound up to their parents by an everlasting tie, and no power of earth or hell can separate them from their parents in eternity; they will return again to the fountain from whence they sprang.

I am sorry that this people are worldly-minded; that they are in their feelings and affections glued to the world so much as they are. I am sorry to hear Elders of Israel use words, and manifest anger and impatience that are unbecoming. Men who are vessels of the holy Priesthood, who are charged with words of eternal life to the world, should strive continually in their words and actions and daily deportment to do honor to the great dignity of their calling and office as ministers and representatives of the Most High. We are trying to be Saints, and many of the brethren sin, and repent, and ask forgiveness, and intend to do better in the future, and perhaps to-morrow they lose their temper and swear at their oxen, etc. They love the world, and covet their fine horses; their affections are upon them, and upon their farms, upon their property, their houses and possessions, and in the same ratio that this is the case, the Holy Spirit of God—the spirit of their calling—forsakes them, and they are overcome with the spirit of the evil one, so that they have not strength to resist the weaknesses of their nature; and they swear and take the name of God in vain, are impatient with their families and often abuse them. Such things as these should not be among the servants of the Most High.

If we have possessions, it is because the Lord has given them to us, and it is our duty to see that everything we have is devoted to the advancement of truth, virtue, and holiness, to beauty and excellence; to redeem the earth, and adorn it with beautiful habitations, and orchards, and gardens, and farms, and cities, until it shall become like the garden of Eden. All that we possess belongs to the Lord, and we are the Lord’s, and we should never lust after that over which he has made us stewards, but we should use it profitably to the up-building of the Zion of our God, to send the Gospel to all the world, and to gather and feed the poor. I am thankful that I am able to say these few words. May God bless you. Amen.

Our Religion is From God

John Taylor

Remarks by Elder John Taylor, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 7, 1866. Reported by G. D. Watt.

It is good for the Saints to meet together; it is good to reflect upon the work of God; it is good to be in possession of His blessings; it is a great privilege to enjoy the light of eternal truth, and to be delivered from the darkness, the error, the confusion, and the iniquity that prevails generally throughout the world. There are but very few men in the world who can realize the blessings which we enjoy unless their minds are enlightened by the Spirit of the living God. There are, in fact, comparatively few among the Saints who realize their true position, and who can comprehend correctly the blessings and privileges that they are in possession of; for men can only grasp these things as they are enlightened by the spirit of truth, by the spirit of revelation—by the Holy Ghost—which has been imparted to the Saints by the laying on of hands, and through their obedience to the principles of the everlasting Gospel. If men are in the dark in relation to any of these principles, it is because they do not live their religion; because they do not walk according to that light which has been given to them; because, as we have heard here, they do not pray sufficiently, they do not deny themselves of evil, and cleave close enough to the principles of eternal truth. The Gospel is calculated to lead us on from truth to truth, and from intelligence to intelligence, until that Scripture will be fulfilled which declares that we shall see as we are seen and know as we are known, until one will not have to say to another, know ye the Lord, but all shall know Him from the least unto the greatest, until the light and intelligence of God shall beam forth upon all, and all shall bask in the sunlight of eternal truth.

It is a blessing to have the privilege of meeting together in our general Conference, where the Authorities of the Church can assemble from different parts of the Territory, and of the earth, to learn the law of God, to transact business pertaining to His Church and kingdom, and to build up and establish righteousness on the earth. We cannot realize the extent of the blessings that we enjoy. We are situated differently from any other people under the face of the heavens. There is no people, no government, no kingdom, no nation, no assembly of people, civil, religious, political, or otherwise, that enjoy the blessings that we are in possession of this day; for whilst others are groping in the dark and laboring in a state of uncertainty in relation to the position that they occupy, whether political or religious, we are free from any surmises or doubts concerning these matters.

As it regards our political status, we are well acquainted with that; we know the destiny of this Church and kingdom; we know the position that we occupy towards God and towards the world; we know that the Lord will accomplish His own purposes; and having this knowledge, we rest perfectly easy in relation to the result. We know that the kingdom of God, which is established among us, will continue to spread, increase, and extend, until it covers the earth; and we know that all the plotting, and machinations, and designs, and combinations of men and devils will not be able to stop it in its progress; but as it has begun to roll forth, its speed will continue to accelerate until it has accomplished all for which it is designed of God, and until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and His Christ, and He shall reign with universal empire over this earth, and to Him every knee shall bow and every tongue confess. Therefore, we have no trembling, no feeling of fear, no anxiety or care as to the result. All that we have to care about in relation to these matters is, that we, individually and collectively, do our duty; that, we maintain our integrity before God; that we honor our Priesthood and our calling; that we pursue a course that shall at all times receive the smiles and approbation of the Most High, and then as to the result we care not for we know what the result will be.

As it regards our religious status, we feel just the same in relation to that, for everything is connected with our religion and our God. We are not indebted to any church in existence for the position which we occupy, nor for the intelligence we are in possession of. We have no need to trace our authority through the Popes, or through any other medium, we care nothing about them. We do not need either to go to the Roman or to the Greek Church to find out whether we are right or wrong, where our religion commenced, and whether we are placed on the right or on the wrong foundation. We are not under the necessity of searching the Jewish records, or any other records, in relation to these matters. We are not indebted to any of the schools, academies, or systems of divinity, or theology, or any of the religious systems extant, nor to any of the heathen nations. There is no nation, people, kingdom, government; no religious or political authority of any kind that is of an earthly nature, that we have to go to in relation to this matter. We disclaim the whole of them; claim no affinity to any of them; are not of them nor from them; and, consequently, so far as they are concerned, we are perfectly independent of them. Our religion came from God; it is a revelation from the Most High; it is that everlasting Gospel which John saw an angel bring to be preached in all the earth, and to every people, nation, kindred, and tongue, crying with a loud voice, fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment is come.

Then God is the author of our religion; He has revealed it from the heavens; He has sent His holy angels for that purpose, who communicated it to Joseph Smith and others. Having restored the everlasting Gospel, He has sent it forth to all the world, and those men who have delivered that Gospel to us have received it by revelation directly from God, and have been ordained by that authority. If God has not spoken, if the heavens have not been opened, if the angels of God have not appeared, then we have no religion—it is all a farce; for, as I have said before, we claim no kindred, no affinity, or relationship with them—God forbid that we should, we do not want it. This, then, is the platform we stand upon; this is the position that we occupy before God; for this is God’s work that we are engaged in. If He has given any authority in the last days to mankind, we are in possession of that authority; and if He has not, then we have no authority, nor any true religion, nor any true hope. I shall not this morning enter into all the arguments concerning these matters. All that I can say to you is what Paul said in his day, “Ye are His witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him.”

Brethren, is your religion true, and do you know it? (Voices, yes). Yes, you know and realize it; it is written in living, indelible characters on your hearts, which nothing can remove. We are living witnesses of the truth of God and the revelations which He has given to His people in these last days. Well, then, we are not concerned about what the nations of the world can do against it, for they will crumble and totter, and thrones will be cast down, as it is written in the Scriptures. The empires of the earth may be dissolved, and all the nations may crumble to pieces, and wars, and pestilence, and famine may stalk through the earth; this is not our affair; they are not our nations; they are not God’s nations. Religionists may squabble, and contend, and quarrel, and live in difficulty, doubt, and uncertainty in relation to their affairs; but that is none of our business, it is entirely their own affair. There may be written upon the whole world, religious and political, “Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin.” (Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting) What is that to us? It is none of our affair. We are not associated with them; our interest is not bound up with them; they have nothing which we can sustain. In relation to all these matters we feel perfectly easy. If war goes forth and desolates the nations; if confusion exist among religious denominations; and if they should continue to act as they are doing, like perfect fools, it is their own business. The Pope may tremble on his throne, and be afraid that France or some other power will not sustain him; it is not our affair; we feel perfectly easy and tranquil; all is right with us, for we are in the hands of God, and it is his business to take care of his Saints; therefore, we feel perfectly easy, quiet, and peaceable in relation to all these matters.

Would they try to injure us? Yes. They never tried anything else, and we are not indebted to them for any thing which we enjoy. Did any of them help us along in our religious matters? Who are we indebted to in this world? Is there a religious society under the heavens that we are indebted to for any ideas or intelligence which we possess? Not one. Is there any priest in Christendom that has helped us forward in the least in our religious career? Not one. You cannot find one. Are we indebted to anybody for our political status? We are not. Who is there that helps us? There has never been a man yet who dared, at any time, to advocate our principles and rights in the legislative halls of this or any other nation; there has never been a man who has had the honesty, and truthfulness, and integrity to do it; they dare not do it, because it is unpopular. We dare advocate our principles, and God dare help us; and if we enjoy any rights, and privileges, and peace—if there are any blessings of any kind that we enjoy—we derive them from our Heavenly Father, and we are not indebted to any power, government, rule, or authority, religious, political, or otherwise, throughout the whole of this habitable globe, for any blessings or privileges we enjoy, excepting sometimes, by a little persecution they help us to be a little more united, that’s all; and we do not thank them for this, for it does not come with their good will. If their lies shall make the truth of God abound to his glory, all right; they will lie on, because they are of their father the devil, and his work they will do. He was a liar from the beginning; he is the father of lies, and they are his children. Therefore, in relation to all of these matters we feel perfectly easy.

I was asked the other day if I would like to go and bear testimony before the court in relation to whether polygamy was a religious ordinance or not. I answered yes, if they subpoena me. They have not done it yet, and I do not know whether they will or not. I am quite willing to go and testify to that matter at any time. I think I will testify to you here. To begin with, there is nothing that I know of, or am acquainted with in this world, but what is a part of my religion and mixed up with it. It is all religion with me. I was told that the parties desired to know whether or no[t] I believed that polygamy was a religious ordinance or institution. If this question had been put to me, I should have been inclined to ask the parties what they understood by the word religion; because, if I could not find out what their view of religion was, of course I could not tell whether I, in their estimation, had any or not.

This consideration led me to a few reflections in relation to this matter. I had recourse to some of our dictionaries, to find out what popular lexicographers said about it. I referred to the standard works of several different nations, which I find to be as follows:—

Webster (American), “Religion includes a belief in the revelation of his (God’s) will to man, and in man’s obligation to obey his command.”

Worcester (a prominent American). 1. An acknowledgement of our obligation to God as our creator. 2. A particular system of faith or worship. We speak of the Greek, Hindoo, Jewish, Christian, and Mahomedan religion.

Johnson (English), “Religion, a system of faith and worship.”

Dictionary of the French Academy, “La croyance que l’on a de la divinite’ et le culte qu’on lue rend en consequence.”

Foi croyance.

The belief we have in God and his worship.

Faith—belief.

German Dictionary of Wurterbuch, by Dr. N. N. W. Meissner, a standard work in Germany.

“Religion, glaube, faith, persuasion.”

Here, then we have the opinion of four of the great leading nations of the earth, as expressed by their acknowledged standard works, on what they consider to be the meaning of the word religion.

The German has it—faith, persuasion. The French—faith, belief; faith in God and his worship. The English—a system of faith and worship. These three are very similar.

Next we have Webster, American, which is our acknowledged standard, and he says, “Religion includes a belief in the revelations of God’s will to man, and in man’s obligation to obey his commands.”

This is, indeed, very pointed; and if this definition be correct, it would necessarily lead us to inquire, as did Paul of old. “Whether is it better to obey man or God judge ye.”

Worcester, another prominent American lexicographer, speaks of “Religion as an acknowledgement of God as our creator, and a particular system of faith or worship.” Here he agrees with the French, German, and English. He then quotes from a prominent work—“We speak of the Greek, Hindoo, Jewish, Christian, and Mahomedan religions.” He might very properly have added Mormon.

Faith, belief, and worship seem to be the prominent idea advanced, with the addition of our popular lexicographer Walker, who adds to the faith in God, that it must be in the revelations of His will to man, and in man’s obligations to obey His commands.

Having now found out what the meaning of religion is, we shall be the better prepared to inquire whether a plurality of wives, or, as it is sometimes called, polygamy, is a part of our religious faith or not.

The Constitution of the United States says that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” I have thought of the law which Congress has made in relation to polygamy. The question, however, necessarily arises, is it constitutional for Congress to interfere with religious matters—with the establishment of religion, or the free exercise thereof? The Constitution says no. Then is polygamy a religious question or is it not? Is it a marriage ceremony or is it not? Marriage is received by the Greek church as a solemn sacrament of the church; the Roman Catholic church and the Church of England also admit marriage to be a religious sacrament; and so it is admitted by the great mass of religious sects now in the world. These are facts that need no proof; everybody is acquainted with them. It is true that in France and in the United States magistrates are authorized to officiate in solemnizing marriages. But in France, to this day, unless they are married by a minister of religion, many of the more conscientious feel that they are living in a state of adultery.

Now, in relation to the position that we occupy concerning plurality, or, as it is termed, polygamy, it differs from that of others. I have noticed the usage of several nations regarding marriage; but, as I have said, we are not indebted to any of them for our religion, nor for our ideas of marriage, they came from God. Where did this commandment come from in relation to polygamy? It also came from God. It was a revelation given unto Joseph Smith from God, and was made binding upon His servants. When this system was first introduced among this people, it was one of the greatest crosses that ever was taken up by any set of men since the world stood. Joseph Smith told others; he told me, and I can bear witness of it, “that if this principle was not introduced, this Church and kingdom could not proceed.” When this commandment was given, it was so far religious, and so far binding upon the Elders of this Church, that it was told them if they were not prepared to enter into it, and to stem the torrent of opposition that would come in consequence of it, the keys of the kingdom would be taken from them. When I see any of our people, men or women, opposing a principle of this kind, I have years ago set them down as on the high road to apostacy, and I do to-day; I consider them apostates, and not interested in this Church and kingdom. It is so far, then, a religious institution, that it affects my conscience and the consciences of all good men—it is so far religious that it connects itself with time and with eternity. What are the covenants we enter into, and why is it that Joseph Smith said that unless this principle was entered into this kingdom could not proceed? We ought to know the whys and the wherefores in relation to these matters, and understand something about the principle enunciated. These are simply words; we wish to know their signification.

Where is there in the world a people that make any pretensions to have any claim upon their wives in eternity? Where is there a priest in all Christendom that teaches anything of this kind? You cannot find them. Marriage is solemnized until death do them part, and when death comes to either party, then there is an end to the whole matter, and what comes after death is in the dark to them. It was so with us up to the time of the giving of that revelation; we had no claim upon one wife in eternity. They had obeyed the Gospel as we had; they had been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins as we had; we had been married to them according to the laws of the land, and were living as other Gentiles were, but we had no claim upon them in eternity. It was necessary that one grand truth should be unlocked, which is, that man and woman are destined to live together and have a claim upon each other in eternity. The Priesthood being restored, the key was turned in relation to this matter, and the privilege was placed not only within the reach of the Elders of this Church, but within the reach of all who should be considered worthy of it, to make covenants with their partners that should be binding in the eternal worlds; that in this respect, as well as in other respects, we might stand as a distinguished people, separate and apart from the rest of the earth, depending upon God for our religion.

Previous to this revelation, who in all the world had any claim upon their wives in the eternal world, or what wife had a claim upon her husband? Who ever taught them any such principle? Nobody. Some of the novel writers have noticed it, but they did not claim authority from heaven; they merely wrote their own opinions and followed the promptings of their own instincts, which led them to hope that such a thing might be the case; but there was no certainty about it. Our position was just as Joseph said: if we could not receive the Gospel which is an everlasting Gospel; if we could not receive the dictum of a Priesthood that administers in time and eternity; if we could not receive a principle that would save us in the eternal world, and our wives and children with us, we were not fit to hold this kingdom, and could not hold it, for it would be taken from us and given to others. This is reasonable, proper, consistent, and recommends itself to the minds of all intelligence when it is reflected upon in the light of truth. Then, what did this principle open up to our view? That our wives, who have been associated with us in time—who had borne with us the heat and burden of the day, who had shared in our afflictions, trials, troubles, and difficulties, that they could reign with us in the eternal kingdoms of God, and that they should be sealed to us not only for time, but for all eternity. This unfolded to us the eternal fitness and relationship of things as they exist on the earth, of man to man, and of husband to wife; it unfolds the relationship they should occupy in time to each other, and the relationship that will continue to exist in eternity. Hence it is emphatically a religious subject so deep, sacred, and profound, so extensive and far-reaching, that it is one of the greatest principles that was ever revealed to man. Did we know anything about it before? No. How did we get a knowledge of it? By revelation. And shall we treat lightly these things? No. The Lord says that his servants may take to themselves more wives than one. Who gives to them one wife? The Lord. And has he not a right to give to them another, and another, and another? I think he has that right. Who has a right to dispute it, and prohibit a union of that kind, if God shall ordain it? Has not God as much right to-day to give to me, or you, or any other person two, three, four, five, ten, or twenty wives, as he had anciently to give them to Abraham, Isaac, David, Solomon, etc.? Has not the Lord a right to do what he pleases in this matter, and in all other matters, without the dictation of man? I think He has. Every principle associated with the Gospel which we have received is eternal, hence our marriage covenant is an eternal covenant given unto us of God. Then, when poor, miserable, corrupt men would endeavor to trample us under their feet because of the principles of truth which we have received from God, shall we falter in the least? No, never. Its opposers may croak against it until they go down to the dust of death; God will defend his work which he has introduced in the latter days; and, the Lord being our helper, we will help him to sustain it.

Associated with this is another important principle—the baptism for the dead. One of the prophets has said that, “I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord; and he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” This Elias signifies a restorer. Jesus said of John the Baptist, in his day, “And if ye will receive it, this is the Elias (or restorer) which was for to come.” “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” But they would not hear: they did not receive it. They beheaded John, crucified Jesus, killed his apostles, and persecuted his followers; and their temple, nation, and polity were destroyed. But the times of restitution spoken of by the prophets must take place; the restorer must come “before that great and terrible day of the Lord.” The hearts of the fathers must be turned to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, or the earth will be cursed. This great eternal marriage covenant lays at the foundation of the whole; when this was revealed, then followed the other. Then, and not till then, could the hearts of the fathers be turned to their children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers; then, and not till then, could the restoration be effectually commenced, time and eternity be connected, the past, present, and future harmonize, and the eternal justice of God be vindicated. “Saviors come upon Mount Zion to save the living, redeem the dead, unite man to woman and woman to man, in eternal, indissoluble ties; impart blessings to the dead, redeem the living, and pour eternal blessings upon posterity.

Let us now go back to the action of Congress in relation to plural marriage, of which these eternal covenants are the foundation. The Lord says, “I will introduce the times of the restitution of all things; I will show you my eternal covenants, and call upon you to abide in them; I will show you how to save yourselves, your wives and children, your progenitors and posterity, and to save the earth from a curse. Congress says, if you fulfill that law we will inflict upon you pains and penalties, fines and imprisonments; in effect, we will not allow you to follow God’s commands. Now, if Congress possessed the constitutional right to do so, it would still be a high-handed outrage upon the rights of man; but when we consider that they cannot make such a law without violating the Constitution, and thus nullifying the act, what are we to think of it? Where are we drifting to. After having, with uplifted hands to heaven, sworn that they will “make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” to thus sacrilegiously stand between a whole community and their God, and deliberately debar them, so far as they have the power, from observing his law, do they realize what they are doing? Whence came this law on our statute books? Who constituted them our conscience keepers? Who appointed them the judge of our religious faith, or authorized them to coerce us to transgress a law that is binding and imperative on our consciences? We do not expect that Congress is acquainted with our religious faith; but, as members of the body politic, we do claim the guarantees of the Constitution and immunity from persecution on merely religious grounds.

What are we to think of a United States judge who would marry a man to another man’s wife. He certainly ought to know better. We are told that she was a second wife, and, therefore, not acknowledged. Indeed, this is singular logic. If she was not a wife, then polygamy is no crime in the eyes of the law; for Congress have passed no law against whoredom. A man may have as many mistresses as he please, without transgressing any law of Congress. The act in relation to polygamy contemplates punishing a man for having more wives, not mistresses. If she was simply his mistress, then the law is of no effect; and the very fact of Congress passing such a law is the strongest possible proof, in law, of the existence of a marriage covenant, which, until that law was passed, was by them considered valid. If, then, she was not his wife, no person could be punished under that law for polygamy. If she was his wife, then the judge transgressed the law which he professionally came to maintain.

In relation to all these matters, the safe path for the Saints to take is, to do right, and, by the help of God, seek diligently and honorably to maintain the position which they hold. Are we ashamed of anything we have done in marrying wives? No. We shall not be ashamed before God and the holy angels, much less before a number of corrupt, miserable scoundrels, who are the very dregs of hell. We care nothing for their opinions, their ideas, or notions; for they do not know God, nor the principles which he has revealed. They wallow in the sink of corruption, as they would have us do; but, the Lord being, our helper, we will not do it, but we will try to do right and keep the commandments of God, live our religion, and pursue a course that will secure to us the smiles and approbation of God our Father. Inasmuch as we do this He will take care of us, maintain His own cause, and sustain His people. We have a right to keep His commandments. But what would you do if the United States were to bring up an army against you on account of polygamy, or on account of any other religious subject? We would trust in God, as we always have done. Would you have no fears? None. All the fears that I am troubled with is that this people will not do right—that they will not keep the commandments of God. If we will only faithfully live our religion, we fear no earthly power. Our safety is in God. Our religion is an eternal religion. Our covenants are eternal covenants, and we expect to maintain the principles of our religion on the earth, and to possess them in the heavens. And if our wives and children do right, and we as fathers and husbands do right in this world, we expect to have our wives and children in eternity. Let us live in that way which will secure the approbation of God, that we, his representatives on the earth, may magnify our calling, honor Him, and maintain our integrity to the end; that we may be saved in His celestial kingdom, with our wives, and children, and brethren, from generation to generation, worlds without end. Amen.

Conflict of Truth Irrepressible, etc.

George Q. Cannon

Remarks by Elder George Q. Cannon, made in the Tabernacle in Great Salt Lake, May 6, 1866. Reported by G. D. Watt.

It is very gratifying to me, as it must be to all the Saints, to hear the testimonies of the Elders who return from their missions accompanied by the Spirit of God. There is no position that I know of where a man is more likely to derive a knowledge—a fixed and reliable knowledge—for himself respecting the work of God, than to be called to go to the nations of the earth, without purse and scrip, to travel among the people to proclaim unto them the restoration of the everlasting Gospel in its fullness again to the earth. It is not that there is more power manifested abroad than there is in Zion; but the position in which the Elders are placed is of such a nature, that they are compelled, of necessity, to seek unto God to obtain all the power possible for them to receive through faithfulness and diligence. Men are compelled, if they have any desire whatever to magnify their calling, to live so near unto the Lord that his Spirit and power will be with them all the time; for without these blessings every man, who has had any experience whatever, well knows it is impossible for man to edify and build up the people.

The Lord, since the establishment of his Church upon the earth in these latter days, has performed a great many marvellous works. When our minds are enlightened by the Spirit of God, and we take a review of the Work from the beginning to the present, the only reflection that we can have is one of wonder, that in the midst of the many evidences of divinity which have been exhibited to the inhabitants of the earth since the foundation of this Work, men still justify themselves in the rejection of these principles and the denouncement of those who advocate them. It would be impossible, in the brief time allotted for our meeting, to enumerate all the evidences of the divinity of this Work, which are patent to the observer; but, look wherever we will, in contemplating this Work in the various changes through which it has passed from its first origin to the present, we see the hand of God manifested and his power exhibited, and these things have been no more shown forth in the past than they are being shown forth at the present. The present circumstances which surround us are of such a nature that every man, who can divest himself sufficiently of prejudice and view this Work calmly, must be convinced that there is a power greater than that of man connected with it.

This morning, Brother George A. Smith, in his narrative of the trials through which the Church passed in its early days, alluded to the great number of persons who have apostatized from this Church. There is a peculiar feature attending those who apostatize, of which the parallel cannot be found among any other people, except we go back to the primitive Christians—the immediate disciples of Jesus. Men may belong to any of the so-called Christian sects of the day, and they may renounce their belief or dissolve their connection with the religious bodies of which they are members, and we do not see that virulence, that spirit and disposition to seek for the blood of those with whom they were formerly connected, manifested on their part, which are manifested by those who have been members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and have apostatized therefrom. In consequence of this, the inhabitants of the earth are frequently deceived. Many honest people may have been deceived through this manifestation of hatred, and animosity, and blood-thirstiness on the part of those who have been connected with us. They do not trace these manifestations to their proper cause, and they jump at the conclusion that the people who are so much hated and maligned, and whose injury is so diligently sought by those who were once connected with them, must of course be a very bad people, or there could not be such feelings manifested towards them. Men are misled on this point, because they are not acquainted with the causes which operate on the minds of those who reject the work of God.

The work of God, from its beginning on the earth until the present time, is something that has not a parallel, there being nothing like it that we can see elsewhere. There are traits of character and manifestations of disposition exhibited by the Latter-day Saints which are not to be found elsewhere among men Under the operations of the Gospel upon the people who obey it, new motives and new manifestations are brought into existence. They may be called new, because they have not been witnessed among men for many generations past. And as there are new and peculiar features of character developed and exhibited by the Saints, so also there are traits manifested by those who oppose the Saints, which are diverse from any that the opponents of other systems exhibit. This is particularly the case with those who have been connected with us, and have apostatized, and thereby dissolved that connection.

We who are Latter-day Saints understand this; some, probably, understand it better than others; but still, there is a general understanding among the Saints of God respecting this work. We know that it is as strict a law of heaven as any other that has been given, that the man who enters into this Church, and practices impurity, will lose the Spirit of God, and, sooner or later, will be opposed to this Work. This is a truth that has been proclaimed almost daily in our hearing, from the time the Church was organized until now. There is no general truth that has been so frequently dwelt upon, and so powerfully enforced upon the minds of this people, as this truth to which I now allude. We who are connected with this Church, and retain our membership with this people, must be pure in our thoughts, in our words, and in our actions; we must take a course to retain the Spirit of God in our hearts; and if we do not take a course of this kind, the Spirit of God will inevitably leave us, and that light which has illumined our understandings, that joy and peace which have filled our souls and caused us to rejoice exceedingly before the Lord, will depart from us, and we shall be left in a worse condition than we were before we obeyed the Gospel.

If we turn to the history of the Apostles we find a striking instance of this in the case of Judas, one of the twelve Apostles—one of the chosen disciples of the Lamb—whom we may suppose was once possessed of the Spirit of truth; but he was a hypocrite; he broke the commandments of God; he did that which is evil. How did this disposition manifest itself? As soon as he chose to dissolve his connection with the people of God, did he go and bury himself among the rest of the Jews, and from that time say nothing more about the work of God he had been connected with? No; but the first promptings of his evil heart were to sell his Lord and Master—to be his betrayer, and the destroyer of the innocent—prostituting the knowledge which he had received to a base purpose, distorting and misrepresenting it in such a manner that it proved the means of condemning the man whom he had previously looked upon as his Lord. This is the spirit that will manifest itself, the spirit that the ancient Apostles had to contend with in the midst of those who were opposed to them, and who had formerly been connected with them—false brethren. Whenever a man loses the spirit of the Gospel, whenever the Spirit of God is supplanted by the spirit of the evil one, that man is a fit tool for the adversary to work with and to use to effect his accursed purposes in shedding the blood of innocence; because he gives way to the spirit of him who was a murderer and a liar from the beginning, and whose works have been evil from the creation until now. In our day the two spirits are manifested, only with more power, with more strength than have been witnessed on the earth since the days of the Apostles.

For generations there has been an indifference manifested by the adversary of truth to the systems of religion which have prevailed among men. When men partake of error, when they are not accompanied by the Spirit of God, when the power and authority which God imparts to fulfill his great purposes are not in existence among them, then there is an indifference manifested by the adversary; religious organizations and religious movements are regarded by him with unconcern, because the necessity does not exist, under those circumstances, for vigilant exertion on his part. But the moment the Holy Priesthood of God is restored, being the power and authority imparted by heaven to men, which gives them capacity to go forth and administer in the things of God, then all hell is moved, all who are under the influence of the adversary are at once in commotion, and they seek to destroy all those who have the temerity to stand up in the defence of the truth and righteousness in the power of the Holy Priesthood of the Son of God. This has been the case from the beginning until now, from the shedding of the blood of righteous Abel down to the time that the last Apostle was slain. There have been feelings manifested, dispositions exhibited in connection with this Work which have not been seen among men for a great length of time before. There have been a faith and devotion, a love and integrity manifested by the Saints of God, by those who have received the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that have not been seen for a long period of time. On the other hand, there have been intense feelings of bitterness, hatred, and strife, and murder, and everything that is evil, manifested in opposition thereunto. As I have said, these manifestations are traceable to the fact that God has attempted to do a work again among men at the present time, which is an uncommon thing to this generation.

If we converse with the votaries of modern Christianity about the persecutions which the Apostles and Prophets endured, and which all righteous men in every age have endured from the hands of the wicked, they say that those were ages of barbarism and darkness; civilization and enlightenment had not spread their benign influences over the inhabitants of the earth; the printing press was not in existence, and the benefits that flow therefrom were not known and enjoyed by man; they were, consequently, dark, uneducated, and ignorant, and therefore superstitious and cruel. To such ignorance and darkness do many modern Christians attribute the persecutions righteous men met with in former days. But in this day, they say, we live in the blaze of Gospel light; the Bible is published in almost every language, and extensive means have been taken to disseminate the truth, and the exhibition of those cruel feelings which were common in ancient times are not to be seen now. Thus they delude themselves with the idea that they are better than were the fathers, even as the Jews did in the days of Jesus when they exclaimed, “If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the Prophets;” and they built the tombs of the Prophets, and garnished the sepulchres of the righteous; but Jesus said unto them, “Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves that ye are the children of them which killed the Prophets.” “Fill ye up, then, the measure of your fathers.”

To reason with many men upon this subject, and to have them reason in return, they would impress you with the idea that the antagonism which formerly existed between Satan and God has ceased, and that there is a sort of amnesty existing between them, and hence Satan does not have that power over the hearts of men that he had formerly. This is a very great delusion, and a very common one. It is a delusion which has been common to every generation when the Gospel has been preached among the inhabitants of the earth. Every generation has flattered itself that it is a little better than the one that preceded it. Every generation has prided itself in its knowledge and great advancement in the arts and sciences and its superiority over preceding generations; yet the power of the adversary and his hatred of righteousness and truth are as great to-day as they ever were since the creation of the earth. The moment a man undertakes to proclaim true principles—to declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ and exhort the people to cry unto God in faith, he stirs up in the hearts of the people a feeling of opposition and strife which, if he be not acquainted with the cause, strikes him with wonder and astonishment. How often has it been the case that our Elders in going forth to preach have labored among people who were ignorant of the existence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and of their principles, or, if they have heard anything, it has been but little. This could not be done now; but there have been times in the past when it could be done. But when Elders could go to places where the people had heard but little or nothing about the Latter-day Saints, as soon as they commenced declaring to the people that God had spoken from the heavens, and exhorted the people to seek unto God, and He would answer their prayers as anciently, a spirit of opposition would be aroused. This has been so time and time again with our people, showing that it is not the evils of the Latter-day Saints, nor because they are polygamists, &c., that they are hated; for they met with opposition before anything was known of the doctrine. This feeling did not have its origin in any of these causes; but in the hatred which the adversary always has to the truth, and in the power which he exercises over the hearts of the children of disobedience, prompting them to go to any and every length to prevent the accomplishment of that which God our Heavenly Father seeks to bring to pass among the people.

It is the most foolish thing that people ever attempted to tell us that if we were to do so and so, take such and such a course, that we should not be persecuted. Men who make such assertions do not know this Work; they cannot comprehend it; they know nothing about the characteristics of this people, nor the work which they are connected with; if they did, they would know that the world would love its own, and that it would hate everything that is not of the world, and that comes in contact with religious popularity in the world, and that everything of this kind is hated by the world and by him who is the master of the world.

My brethren and sisters, we are engaged in the greatest of all warfares. No sooner did Joseph Smith receive the Holy Priesthood from heaven, and the power and authority to administer the ordinances of life and salvation, than this warfare commenced; and it has gone on widening and increasing until it has assumed its present dimensions; and it will go on increasing until it will fill the whole earth—until the warfare that has been inaugurated will occupy the thoughts and minds of all the inhabitants of the earth, and until one of these powers will prevail in the earth. It was said on one occasion by a leading statesman of our nation, that the conflict between freedom and slavery was irrepressible. It may be truthfully said respecting the warfare in which we are engaged that it is irrepressible, and it will not terminate until one power or the other succumbs to the other. Which power shall succumb? There will be no cessation to this strife and contest. One or the other has to ride triumphant and hold dominion over this earth. Truth must prevail, or error must hold sway.

God has spoken on this point in unmistakeable terms, that it is his intention to establish his kingdom and carry on his work, which the Prophets in vision had seen from the commencement of the earth until now; that it is his intention to roll forth his kingdom until it shall fill the whole earth—until the laws of the kingdom of God shall be universally respected and obeyed by all the inhabitants of the earth; until he whose right it is to reign shall sway his sceptre over an obedient earth, or over a population who will be obedient to him.

On the other hand, a declaration has been made, not by the adversary directly, but by his emissaries, and those who are under the influence of his spirit, that the work of God must stand still—that it must go backward and be overwhelmed.

The contest is not with cannon or with rifles and swords, and weapons of this description; but it is, nevertheless, a warfare—a warfare between the spirit of darkness and that of light—between he who attempts to usurp the dominion of this earth and the God of heaven. The war which was waged in heaven has been transferred to the earth, and it is now being waged by the hosts of error and darkness against God and truth; and the conflict will not cease until sin is vanquished and this earth is fully redeemed from the power of the adversary, and from the misrule and oppression which have so long exercised power over the earth. Do you wonder, then, that there is hatred and bitterness manifested; that the servants of God have had to watch continually to guard against the attacks of the enemy; that the blood of Joseph and Hyrum, David Patten, and others has been shed, and that the Saints, whose only crime was desiring to serve God in truth, virtue, uprightness, and sincerity, have been persecuted and afflicted all the day long? I do not wonder at it; there is no room for wonder in the minds of those who understand the work in which we are engaged.

This power, which is waging a warfare against us, would shed the blood of every man and woman who profess to be Latter-day Saints and who try with all their might to live their religion and honor the Holy Priesthood. There is no excess of cruelty at which they who are influenced by it would stop, no length to which they would not go to accomplish their damnable and hellish purposes. Why? Because the devil was a murderer from the beginning—he has murdered from the beginning; he prompted the first murder, and he prompted the last one. It was he who prompted men at all times to shed the blood of innocence, and seek by so doing to stop the work of God. He induced Judas to betray and shed the blood of Jesus Christ—to shed the most precious blood that ever flowed in human veins. He it was who stirred men up to commit these murders, impressing them with the false idea that some great advantage would result from such crimes, and that they would be able to check the progress of the kingdom of God and arrest the purposes of Jehovah. And it is the same power which is at work to-day and that suggested to men to shed the blood of Joseph, and instilled into their minds the thought that if they could kill him they could thereby interrupt the work of God. But, as we see, instead of accomplishing what they expected, they have only forwarded the purposes of God our heavenly Father.

In suggesting to men to shed the blood of Jesus Christ, and the blood of innocence in every dispensation and age when God has had a people on the earth, the devil has shown great ignorance and blindness, and God has, through his superior wisdom and power, overruled all these acts for his own glory, and for the accomplishment of his own purposes and the salvation of man upon the earth. We shall have his hatred to meet, and no man need suppose for a moment that Latter-day Saints can avoid it, for in so doing he deceives himself. As long as there is any power on the earth that can be wielded by Satan we shall have to encounter these things and contend with them; and any man not connected with us who imagines that this continued and unceasing warfare is going to discourage us, or cause our determination to roll forth the kingdom of God to slacken in the least, deceives himself. He knows not the men who are engaged in this work, and the power which God has bestowed, and the light and intelligence he has imparted to us respecting this conflict in which we are engaged. God has reserved spirits for this dispensation who have the courage and determination to face the world, and all the powers of the evil one, visible and invisible to proclaim the Gospel, and maintain the truth, and establish and build up the Zion of our God, fearless of all consequences. He has sent these spirits in this generation to lay the foundation of Zion never more to be overthrown, and to raise up a seed that will be righteous, and that will honor God, and honor him supremely, and be obedient to him under all circumstances.

The experience that we have gained in this respect in the past is only a foretaste of that which is in the future. Those who started in this Work with an understanding of its nature, made their calculations that, if it were necessary to lay down their lives and sacrifice everything that is near and dear to them, they, with the Lord’s help, would do so to break the yoke of Satan and free mankind from the thraldom of sin that has so long oppressed them. There is no doubt that many have had their lives shortened through the cruelty of their enemies; many have been spoiled of their goods and have been called upon to make sacrifices, if we may term them such, but in our view they are not sacrifices, yet we cannot express the idea better than by using this word. The difficulties which we have encountered in the past in this respect we shall doubtless meet in the future, with this difference, that the kingdom of God is gaining power and strength; the people are gaining faith and experience, which enable them to endure far more than in former days.

This morning, Brother George A. Smith alluded to circumstances in the early history of this people which caused those who called themselves Saints to apostatize. While he was speaking I contrasted the difference in my mind between the Saints today and then. There is a very great difference. Many apostatized then from trivial and foolish causes; they were so ignorant of the nature of the work of God. Now it is somewhat better understood, and apostacy is not near so common as then; people begin to understand the mind of the Lord. The adversary has less power and influence over the Latter-day Saints than he had in that early day. The kingdom of God is becoming more consolidated, and it wields greater influence every day; and it will be so from this time forward until the Priesthood shall prevail.

The hatred of the adversary will not be lessened by the lapse of time; in fact, I sometimes think that he will make more desperate exertions; he will arouse all the inhabitants of the earth by his influence, and by slanders, and lies, and storms of vituperation, and, by his mists of darkness, endeavor to becloud the understandings of mankind, so that they will be deceived respecting this Work. We have these agencies at work here.

I heard a gentleman remark lately, who himself had just arrived in the city, that he supposed from the reports that were circulated about affairs at this city that all the people here were in a blaze of excitement, that men dare not go out of their houses, and that a certain class were in danger of their lives. Now, we who live here know how false these reports are; yet, it shows the nature of the agencies which are at work, and the means wicked men use to becloud the understanding and to stir up the anger of the powers that be—the Government and its agents—to take steps to crush, if possible, this people. Doubtless, we shall have this to contend with from this time forward to an increased extent, as the kingdom advances and occupies a larger share of public attention and a more conspicuous position among the nations. But, with the increase of this di[s]position among the wicked, there will be an increase of strength, and power, and faith, and experience on the part of the Latter-day Saints.

I often think about our circumstances to-day, and those which we have been surrounded with for some time. Who, do you think, on all the face of the earth could enjoy themselves so calmly as we do with the influences operating against them that we have working against us? We know that men have gone from here with the avowed purpose and determination to do all in their power to stir up the power of the nation against us, and endeavor to get a military force sent here to enforce their obnoxious views. They have boasted of this, and have in anticipation rejoiced over the fulfillment of their accursed hate. Have these things disturbed us as a people? No. I do not know a person in this entire community who has lost five minutes’ sleep through concern and agitation on these points. We have gone to bed as calmly as though all mankind were at peace with us, and we had not an enemy in the world who sought our injury. What is the cause of this calmness? It originated in the experience we have gained. God has promised that we shall be delivered. We believe his promise. He has delivered us in the past, and he will in the future. It is His work, and it is for us to do our duty and leave events with Him.

Our enemies are only fulfilling their mission, as we are fulfilling ours. They are accomplishing the works they have undertaken, and we are performing those for which we have enlisted, namely, the works of God. They are foolish for taking that path which leads to their destruction, when they might take the opposite course. I have all these thoughts respecting them; but then God gives them their agency, and it is not my place to quarrel with them about the way in which they exercise that agency. If they choose to be the tools of wicked and designing men, and of him who is the father of lies, they will get their reward according to their works. If we are faithful, if we are humble, live our religion, and cultivate the Spirit of God and cherish it continually, we will get our reward, and in proportion to our diligence. That is a consolation that we have; therefore, we have no cause to be disturbed at the wicked. Let them fill their destiny and perform their part in the great drama of the last days. It is necessary, probably, in the wisdom of God that every man and woman on the face of the earth should have the free and unrestrained exercise of their agency to do good or evil.

In speaking about apostacy, it is a remarkable feature connected with it and with those who favor apostates and consort with them, that they are filled with the spirit of fear. It can be truthfully said of the Latter-day Saints, that they are a fearless people. Even our enemies give us credit for this—that in the midst of dangers and difficulties we are undisturbed and not easily appalled. But there is this peculiarity connected with apostacy and apostates, and with those who consort with and favor them: they are continually in dread of some impending danger—some evil that is about to be perpetrated upon them by the Latter:day Saints. Go where you will among apostates, you will see this feature in their character, but especially in Zion. Hence, so many stories about destroying angels, Danites, &c., &c., being among the Saints. The moment a man loses the Spirit of God and the spirit of the adversary takes possession of him, he is filled with fear; for “the sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites.” They say their lives are in danger. All the terrible stories that are circulated in the east and the west about the people of Utah have their origin in the fears of the wicked, in the fears of these who have a consciousness within themselves of having committed wrong. No honest man or woman need fear; indeed they never fear. What are they afraid of? They have done nothing to cause the spirit of fear to come upon them. It is only when a man does that which is wrong that he receives the spirit of fear.

This peculiarity has been manifest from the beginning of this Church up to the present time. As was stated here a few Sundays ago, it was exhibited by William Law in Nauvoo. He thought that somebody had designs against his life. His fear had its origin in the spirit of apostacy and adultery with which he was filled. Whenever a man indulges in the spirit of apostacy, he begins to be filled with fear. Those who have the Spirit of God and love their religion have nothing to fear; they can meet their brethren and sisters, the angels of God, and even the Lord himself, without having that dastard fear with them. In the knowledge of their weakness, and their ignorance, and doing many things unintentionally, they feel sorry; but still they are sustained with a consciousness of doing no intentional wrong.

The spirit of evil takes possession of the wicked—the same spirit that is possessed by the damned; that spirit seizes upon them while they are in the flesh.

The Latter-day Saints who live their religion partake of the joys of heaven; the spirit of it shines in their countenances; it is in their habitations; it is around about them, and all who come in contact with them feel its influence resting upon them. This will increase more and more.

May God help us to cultivate it, and may we approximate nearer to our Father and God, and be able to fight the good fight of faith, not laying off our armor, and bravely resist the adversary, and carry forward this great Work until it shall prevail throughout the length and breadth of the earth, and the sound shall go forth that the earth is redeemed and the purposes of God are consummated, which may God grant. Amen.

Opposition Essential to Happiness

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, June 3, 1866. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I wish the few remarks which I may now make to be comprehensive and instructive.

The subject upon which Brother Wells has spoken this afternoon is a very intricate one to define. It is very difficult to convey even the ideas which we may have respecting the operations of, to us, invisible spirits upon the hearts of the children of men; and it is very difficult to frame in the mind a system of thinking and reasoning upon this subject that is at all satisfactory. It is very difficult to form in the mind an even, and unbroken, and correct thread of ideas which will truthfully and satisfactorily explain the variations which we see in the motives and actions of mankind, and to understand the varied motives and feelings of the people, and what they design in performing such and such acts. There are some who have a correct and clear thread of ideas framed in their minds relating to this subject, but cannot convey them to their fellow-beings. This is a weakness that I believe is inherent to a greater or less degree in each and every one of us.

The opposition which we find in the hearts of the children of men to the Gospel of life and salvation, Brother Wells has been setting before us this afternoon in a very able manner. Upon this subject I have my own reflections, and my own way of revealing those reflections to others.

The opposition which we see manifested against the truth in this our day has been manifested in every day and age of the world wherein the Gospel of the Son of God has been preached to the children of men. There is no difference to-day in this respect from what it was formerly. Our opponents tell us that were it not for the doctrine we believe, teach, and practice, there would be no difficulty—no strife between the Latter-day Saints and those who call themselves Gentiles We are all Gentiles by birth who are not of Jewish descent. We who are called Latter-day Saints are Gentiles by birth—we are nationally so. The opposition which we have to meet is not because we believe in polygamy. That principle is not the real bone of contention, but it is the power of Satan against the power of Jesus Christ here upon this earth. It is no matter what the doctrines are; it is no matter by what name they are called, in what manner they are presented, or by whom they are believed; it is the power of God on the one hand, and the power of Satan on the other. We can see the workings of the two spirits upon the hearts and dispositions of the children of men. Opposition to the truth is made manifest by those who render themselves servants to obey false principles or false ideas, and their actions are directed by the power of Satan against the truth of heaven in the persons of those who love and advocate it.

We have been told that when error is introduced it is generally done in a most genteel, religious, scientific, and most refined and civilized manner. The servants of sin should appear polished and pious. It is necessary they should be learned, and be able to call to their assistance the accomplishments and elegancies of science and art, and the subtle, persuasive power of rhetoric. Jesus Christ describes this class of deceivers very forcibly in the following words:—“But all their works they do to be seen of men; they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.” This external polish is really necessary for them as a covering to make successful the introduction of false theories and false principles, and to cover up licentious and wicked lives.

The servants of God have truth, and nothing but truth, to present to the world, that the world may be sanctified by the truth. The truth needeth no polish to make it lovely and desirable to those who love it. The principles of truth and goodness, and of eternal lives and the power of God are from eternity to eternity. The principle of falsehood and wickedness, the power of the devil and the power of death are also from eternity to eternity. These two powers have ever existed and always will exist in all the eternities that are yet to come. Although in relation to this earth, some time in its future history there will be no death, and him that hath the power of death will be destroyed. It is written in the Book of Mormon, “For it must needs be that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, righteousness could not be brough[t] to pass; neither wickedness; neither holiness nor misery; neither good nor bad.”

When man is born into the world he is at once subject to the influences of life and death, and to the innumerable and varied vicissitudes which he meets in his passage from birth to the grave, to give him an experience which will prepare him to enter into and enjoy life everlasting. He is endowed with agency to choose either life or death, and must abide the consequences in the next life of the choice which he makes in this. Were it not that evil exists with good, man could not have been an agent unto himself. When the spirit of man enters the earthly tabernacle, it is as pure as an angel of God. When man, as a child, is brought forth to the light, and begins to live, move, and have a visible and an individual being in this world, he is brought in contact with the principle of evil—he receives the mark of sin, and as passes the usual stages from infancy to manhood, he learns to become disobedient to the requirements of heaven, disobedient to the laws of man, and disobedient to the laws of his own nature; he engenders the spirit of hatred, malice, wrath, strife, and all that class of evils which render him unfit to return again to the presence of his Father and God; but if he will obey the Gospel and walk in the ways of the Lord, his mortal existence and his proneness to sin, which he has inherited through the fall, become profitable and essentially necessary to the full enjoyment of salvation and eternal life.

These ideas may be profitable to the Saints and aid them in understanding to some extent why things are as they are.

Then the opposition to the truth is not because we have no wife, because we have one wife or many wives; it is not because we are Socialists and have all things common; it is not because we believe in or practice this or that doctrine as individuals and as a people; but it is the spirit of him who is an enemy to all righteousness that is in the hearts of those who yield themselves to obey false principles. Paul, in his writing to the Romans, says, “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin; but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” When truth comes, error comes also. When the Gospel of the Son of God is introduced among the children of men, it comes with light and intelligence, with pure and holy principles It embraces all morality, all virtue, all light, all intelligence, all greatness, and all goodness. It introduces a system of laws and ordinances, and a code of moral rectitude which, if obeyed by the human family, will lead them back to the presence of God. As we were exhorted this morning to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, be baptised for the remission of sins, receive the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, receive the spirit of prophecy, the spirit of discerning of spirits, the gift of healing, and, in short, all the gifts, and graces, and laws, and ordinances of the Gospel, which are for life and salvation. Now, the power of Satan is opposed to all this.

Now, let me state somewhat the reason why the devil appears as a gentleman when he presents himself to the children of men. The children of men have good principles dwelling within them. When their spirits came into this mortal flesh, they brought with them the love of all truth, virtue, and goodness; but the sin that has contaminated the mortal tabernacle through the fall creates what the Apostle Paul, when writing to Timothy, calls a “warfare.” When Joseph Smith first preached the Gospel to this generation the Spirit of God attended it, and that Spirit met an opposing spirit, which was the spirit of Satan, exerting his power to lead away mankind from the truth to everlasting ruin; while the Spirit of the Gospel, the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, sought to lead to exaltation and everlasting life. Here are the two powers in opposition to each other.

Now, remember that it is not because we are called “Mormons,” or Latter-day Saints, that we meet opposition; there is nothing odious in mere names and titles. Joseph Smith has as good a right to his name as John Smith has to his. There is nothing criminal in the simple name of Joseph Smith; yet, he being a servant of God and a preacher of righteousness, his name became odious to the wicked, and the three simple words, “Old Joe Smith,” were sufficient to arouse in their hearts every vindictive and blood-thirsty desire. It was not, however, this simple name that aroused the worst feelings of the human heart against those who loved and obeyed the truth; but it was the spirit of Satan working in the hearts of the children of disobedience against the truth. Why was Joseph Smith, and why are his brethren, so odious to those who are not of us? Because we have the words of eternal life to offer to the world. The devil is opposed to this, and offers resistance to the progress of the spirit of the Gospel by arousing the wicked, who are under his influence, to hate, and persecute, and annoy in every possible way, the true followers of the Lord Jesus.

Let me say to you, my friends (and if I have foes here I say it also to them), there is no spirit inhabiting a mortal tabernacle (that has not sinned away the day of grace), but what naturally loves and adores the truth, and would bless and honor all those who seek to walk in the way of the Lord, were it not for the influence and power of evil by which they are controlled. There is a constant warfare between the good and the evil. The mortal tabernacle is of the earth earthy, and came forth for the express purpose of being prepared to serve as a dwelling for the eternal spirit; and the spirit has come here for the express purpose of getting a tabernacle; and the sin that is in the fleshy tabernacle is against the good that is in the spirit. The Apostle Paul, when writing to the Romans, says, “For I delight in the law of God, after the inward man: but I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.”

It is not the name of a man or the name of a sect which inspires this warfare, but it is a war which has always existed, and will always continue to exist, between the good and the bad, between the power of God and the power of the devil. To those who are not instructed in the things of God it appears to be a warfare between sects and parties. The votaries of the bad excuse themselves for their persecutions of the good by supposing that they, themselves, as individuals, or their nations, are about to suffer some great wrong from the upholders of the good. As an example of this I will quote from the Gospel according to St. Luke:—“And the whole multitude of them arose and led him (Jesus Christ) unto Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, we found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying, that he himself is Christ, a king.” This is the cunning of the devil, and a means by which he leads down to destruction great numbers of the human family. He gets the political world to believe that they are, or are going to, be infringed upon; he makes the religious world believe that the sanctity and rights of their holy religion are in danger, and thus he gets them to make his cause their own; they are lashed into a frenzy of excitement and hatred against the Saints; every high-toned, honorable and truthful feeling of the human heart is blunted or entirely subdued in them; they plan for the destruction of God’s people, and, in many instances, the blood of the Saints—the blood of innocence—has been shed by their hands. It is written in the book of Revelation: “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil, and satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels with him.”

Paul in view of the power of this great deceiver and his host exhorted the Saints anciently to “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” A great number of those who oppose the truth, and mob and rob and kill the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, know not what they oppose, but they are moved to commit depredations against the people of God by men who are desperately wicked; these are among the bitterest enemies of the truth. The multitude in the days of Jesus cried out: “Crucify him.” The chief priests had delivered him up from envy. Pilate knew this; “but the chief priests moved the people that he should rather release Barrab[b]as unto them. When Pilate inquired what evil he had done, they cried out more exceedingly: crucify him.” They know not what they did.

Wherever the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been preached, either in these or in former days, it has met with a class of men to whom the truth looked lovely and God-like, and the spirit within would prompt them to embrace it; but they find themselves so advantageously connected in the world, and have so many interests at stake if they should embrace it, they conclude that it will not do, and here comes the warfare again. Some few will overcome the reasonings of the flesh, and follow the dictates of the Spirit; while the great majority of this class of persons are won over by sordid considerations and cleave to their idols. The good spirit tries to overcome the wayward will of the flesh, and the flesh, aided by the cunning and power of the devil, maintains a strong warfare; but, notwithstanding this great power against which the spirit has to contend, the power of God is greater than the power of the wicked one; and unless the Saints sin against light and knowledge, and wilfully neglect their plain and well understood duties, and the Spirit of God is grieved and it ceases to strive with them, the Spirit is sure to prevail over the flesh, and ultimately succeeds in sanctifying the tabernacle for a residence in the presence of God.

The spirit which inhabits these tabernacles naturally loves truth, it naturally loves light and intelligence, it naturally loves virtue, God and godliness; but being so closely united with the flesh their sympathies are blended, and their union being necessary to the possession of a fullness of joy to both, the spirit is indeed subject to be influenced by the sin that is in the mortal body, and to be overcome by it and by the power of the devil, unless it is constantly enlightened by that spirit which enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world, and by the power of the Holy Ghost which is imparted through the Gospel. In this, and this alone, consists the warfare between Christ and the devil.

It is not in my being called a Quaker, a Methodist or a “Mormon” that is the true cause of contention between these two great powers—Christ and Belial; but it is in the fact that God has established His kingdom upon the earth and restored the Holy Priesthood, which gives men authority and power to administer in His name.

It has been told us this afternoon, and was this morning also, that we must be baptized in order to be saved. Much remains to be said on the means necessary to effect salvation in its completeness. We might as well say that a beautiful temple could be built and all its details completed and finished in a day, as to say that we can tell all we know about the plan of man’s salvation in a short hour and a half or in a day. It is plain to every enlightened person that the Lord has introduced fit and proper laws by which he will save His children and exalt them into his presence. If these laws are not obeyed by the human family, they cannot be saved, nor be exalted to the presence of God. What will become of all those who will not obey the laws of salvation? Will they be confined throughout an endless eternity in that bottemless [bottomless] pit, where their worm dieth not, and where their fire is not quenched?

It is necessary that men should become acquainted with the laws of God, and the ordinances of His kingdom, and receive of the power of the world to come in order to fit them to become angels of the devil, and that the devil may have full power over them; and these are the only ones who are cut off from every every degree of salvation. Jesus said, “now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”

He has been lifted up, and He will save every son and daughter of Adam and Eve, except the sons of perdition, in some kingdom where there shall be no more death, no more aches and pains to afflict and torment them; and let me assure you that none of those kingdoms will be any worse than the one we now inhabit. Jesus Christ will draw all men unto him, except those who contend against the power of God and against his kingdom until they have sealed their own damnation.

The adversary presents his principles and arguments in the most approved style, and in the most winning tone, attended with the most graceful attitudes; and he is very careful to ingratiate himself into the favour of the powerful and influential of mankind, uniting himself with popular parties, floating into offices of trust and emolument by pandering to popular feeling, though it should seriously wrong and oppress the innocent. Such characters put on the manners of an angel, appearing as nigh like angels of light as they possibly can, to deceive the innocent and the unwary. The good which they do, they do it to bring to pass an evil purpose upon the good and honest followers of Jesus Christ. Yet the little good, if any, that is in them, they have received from God. Lucifer, the son of the morning, has not got a good principle, does not say a good word, perform a good act, or present a good idea to any people upon this earth or any other earth that he has not received from that God whom you and I serve. Every thing that is good, every thing that is lovely and truthful, virtuous and kind, everything to be admired and desired by the pure in heart comes from God, our Father, who dwells in heaven. The most wicked person that ever dwelt upon the earth, the Lord supports; He gives to him the breath of life, and causes His sun to rise upon that poor miserable wretch, who would, if he had the power, destroy everything that is good. The Lord our God sends His rain upon the just and upon the unjust, and gives food and raiment to the good and to the evil; He parcels out the earth among his children, and his mercy and loving kindness are over all the works of his hands. Though the Lord is thus kind and merciful to all, yet he saith, “them that honour me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.”

In the days before Noah’s flood those who served God and kept his commandments were prepared to receive glory, immortality and eternal life, according to the law of the Gospel. When this law was given to the people in any age, the kingdom of God was established, and the devil and his hosts were made mad even as they are at this day.

We are told that if we would give up polygamy—which we know to be a doctrine revealed from heaven, and it is God and the world for it—but suppose this Church should give up this holy order of marriage, then would the devil, and all who are in league with him against the cause of God, rejoice that they had prevailed upon the Saints to refuse to obey one of the revelations and commandments of God to them. Would they be satisfied with this? No; but they would next want us to renounce Joseph Smith as a true prophet of God, then the Book of Mormon, then baptism for the remission of sins and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost. Then they would wish us to disclaim the gift of prophecy, and the other gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, on the ground that they are done away and no longer needed in our day, also prophets and apostles, etc.

They want us to yield all these points, transgress the laws God has revealed for the salvation of the world, and change all the ordinances of God’s house, and conform to the dogmas of modern Christianity and to the corruptions of the age. Will the Latter-day Saints do this? No; they will not to please anybody. Shall we have a warfare? We shall; we will war and contend for the right, and trust in our God until righteousness is established upon the earth, until peace shall reign everywhere, until the children of men shall lay down the weapons of their warfare and cease to exhaust their ability and ingenuity in forming weapons of destruction to slay their fellow men, until the minds and affections of mankind shall be turned unto the Lord their God, and their energies be directed to beautifying the earth and making it like the garden of Eden. We calculate to struggle on, and continue to exercise faith and enjoy our religion, keeping all the commandments of God, observing the ordinances of his house, trying to fulfill all his words, trusting in him, and we shall see what this course will come to.

I can tell the whole world that we shall preach the gospel of life and salvation and call upon the children of men to cease their wickedness and their warring against God and one another, and embrace those saving principles that will lead them to life here and to eternal life hereafter. We shall preach on, we shall struggle on until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ. To be gentle and kind, modest and truthful, to be full of faith and integrity, doing no wrong is of God; goodness sheds a halo of loveliness around every person who possesses it, making their countenances beam with light, and their society desirable because of its excellency. They are loved of God, of holy angels, and of all the good on earth, while they are hated, envied, admired and feared by the wicked.

What, then, is the mission of Satan, that common foe of all the children of men? It is to destroy and make desolate. When this house was built, every principle, every desire that prompted the putting of these materials together, had good for its object in making the people comfortable and happy. The desire to build cities, open farms, set out orchards and adorn and beautify the earth in every possible way is of God. But you say that those who do not believe in religion at all do that. Very good, are not their lives as much in the hands of God as yours and mine? Does He not prompt them day by day to do good, and blessed are they who resist not the Spirit. There is a spirit of truth gone forth to all the inhabitants of the world. The book of Job says, “but there is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” Again, it is written of Jesus, “that was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

There is that in all men which prompts them to do good and forsake evil; then there is another principle which prompts them to do evil and forsake the good. The few who have moral courage enough to yield obedience to the promptings of the Spirit of God, bringing themselves in subjection to his will, are the ones who compose the church and kingdom of God on the earth, so far as they have opportunity. Whatsoever is good is of God, no matter by whom possessed or presented. If the devil presents principles that are good and pure and lovely, they are not of him, but they are of God.

The devil delights in the work of destruction—to burn and lay waste and destroy the whole earth. He delights to convulse and throw into confusion the affairs of men, politically, religiously and morally, introducing war with its long train of dreadful consequences. It is evil which causeth all these miseries and all deformity to come upon the inhabitants of the earth. But that which is of God is pure, lovely, holy and full of all excellency and truth, no matter where it is found, in hell, in heaven, upon the earth, or in the planets. Let us live in obedience to the good; let us live live our religion.

I do not know that I have explained these things sufficiently clear to you. The thread of the whole subject is clearly defined in my mind. I know what the children of men are when they come upon the earth, and the influence that attends them, and the power of satan who lives upon the earth by permission like the wicked and ungodly do. Will we live our religion? I hope so. It was asked me by a gentleman how I guided the people by revelation. I teach them to live so that the Spirit of revelation may make plain to them their duty day by day that they are able to guide themselves. To get this revelation it is necessary that the people live so that their spirits are as pure and clean as a piece of blank paper that lies on the desk before the inditer, ready to receive any mark the writer may make upon it. When you see the Latter-day Saints greedy, and coveteous of the things of this world, do you think their minds are in a fit condition to be written upon by the pen of revelation? When people will live so that the Spirit of revelation will be with them day by day, they are then in the path of their duty; if they do not live according to this rule, they live beneath their duty and privileges. I hope and pray that we may all live up to our privileges. Amen.

The Priesthood Ancient and Modern, etc.

Wilford Woodruff

Remarks by Elder Wilford Woodruff, Tabernacle, G. S. L. City October 22d, 1865. Reported by E. L. Sloan.

There is a great responsibility resting upon any prophet, apostle, high priest, elder, or any messenger or servant of God, who is called to preach the Gospel; and any person who is called to preach the Gospel to the children of men is entirely dependent upon the Spirit of the Lord for all the principles he may present unto those who hear him. Any generation, also, to whom a message is sent from heaven, is held responsible for the receiving or rejecting of that message.

It is a very hard matter for the Lord to build up His kingdom upon the earth, where the devil has power and dominion over the minds of the children of men. It would be impossible for Him to do so in this or any other age of the world, unless he found an element to work with Him, for the very reason that He has given to all men an agency to choose the path in which they will walk. This is the reason why there has been so small a portion of time since the creation of the world in which God has had an organized kingdom upon the earth—when He has had a church that He Himself has organized, guided, dictated, directed and controlled. The devil—Lucifer—the son of the morning, has had great dominion here upon the earth; he has had great dominion over the minds of the children of men; and the Lord has taken great pains, I may say from the creation, to endeavour to establish His kingdom, to present His laws upon this earth, and to get the children of men to obey those laws that they might fulfil the object of their creation.

The Lord gave father Adam the priesthood, and the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, after the fall. When he went out into the dreary world, driven from the Garden of Eden, he received the Gospel, he received the priesthood, and he started forth upon the face of the earth with the keys of the kingdom of God, to endeavour to establish the works of righteousness upon the earth. He gave this priesthood to his sons. A number of them were ordained high priests. But in the commencement we find not only the work of God but the work of the devil manifest in the the hearts of men. Cain was stirred up in anger against his brother Abel, and rose up and slew him, shedding innocent blood, and the power of evil commenced in the beginning. We find from the Bible, as well as from other revelations which God has given us, that Adam and the early patriarchs, those who were willing to be led by the law of God in that generation, received the high priesthood, and lived to a great age. It is said Methuselah lived to be almost 1,000 years old, and so did father Adam and others. They held the priesthood, and taught their children truth and righteousness to establish the kingdom of God in their day and generation. Herein is where I say the Lord commenced and laboured to establish his kingdom and to guide men to receive the word of the Lord, that they might walk in obedience to His laws, fulfil the object of their creation and be saved when they got through with this probation—that they might keep their estate and receive an exaltation and glory in the presence of God.

We are informed by revelation that Adam, three years previous to his death, “called Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, and Methuselah, who were all high priests, with the residue of his posterity, who were righteous, into the valley of Adam-ondiahman,” and there bestowed upon them his last patriarchal blessing; and he prophesied what should take place even till the coming of Messiah, which prophecy is said to be written in the Book of Enoch. But men soon began to work corruption and unrighteousness on the earth in that early age; and in tracing the history of the church and kingdom of God from those prophets down, we find that the majority of the human family were unwilling to keep the commandments of God or to live according to those principles which were revealed to them for their salvation. It was but a little time after, comparatively speaking, that Enoch, who was acquainted with the teachings of Adam and of his fathers who held the holy priesthood, laboured to gather the people together to practise righteousness, but the majority of them would not be guided by him. He laboured 365 years, we are informed by revelation, teaching them principles of righteousness, that they might become sanctified and prepared to receive celestial glory, but his labors were not appreciated by them. Why did not Enoch remain on the earth and Zion prevail? Because wickedness prevailed. The majority of the human family in that generation were wicked; they were not ruled over by the Lord; and, hence, there were not men enough on the face of the earth, in that generation, who were willing to receive the Gospel, keep the commandments of God, and work the works of righteousness, for Enoch to have power to remain on the earth. Therefore it was that the Lord took Enoch and the city of Enoch to himself; for we are informed by revelation that the city was translated and all its inhabitants. There were not men enough in the days of Enoch who were willing to sustain that which was right; one part or other had to leave the earth; and the Lord translated Enoch and his city and took them home to Himself.

You may trace the history of the kingdom of God from that time down, and you will find this prevailing among the nations of the earth. They were prone to evil, to sin, to blasphemy, to lie, to steal, to swear, to commit adultery, to pollute the earth which they inherited, in their day and generation, and hence it was an impossibility for the Lord to establish His kingdom among the children of men, unless He could find willing minds enough to receive that kingdom, to build it up and sustain it and do the works of righteousness. The devil did not make this earth. It never belonged to him, and never will; but Lucifer was cast down to the earth with the third part of the hosts of heaven, and they have dwelt here until to-day. They remain here yet; and they have had their effect upon the hearts and minds and lives of the children of men for nearly six thousand years—from the time that man was cast out of the Garden of Eden into the cold and dreary world.

The Lord has set His hand many times in different dispensations to establish His kingdom upon the earth, He has raised up men—noble spirits—who have come forth and tabernacled in the flesh at different periods and times. He has inspired those men; given them revelations; filled them with inspiration, with light, with truth, with the things of the kingdom of God; and many of them had the vision of their minds opened to behold the fate of the work of God in all generations—the beginning, the middle and the end. Many old prophets have seen, by revelation, our day, have seen the sorrow, calamity, war and afflictions in various dispensations and ages of the world. The earth had become so corrupted under its inhabitants in the days of Noah, that the word of the Lord came to him to build an ark; he received revelation from God to prepare to save himself and his family, while the wicked were destroyed. Enoch before him had seen this event; he had seen the same things as Noah. The Lord had shown him what was in the future. Whenever a generation have corrupted themselves and defiled the earth, and the cup of their iniquity is full, the Lord has brought judgments upon that generation. This we have ample testimony of from the commencement of the world.

Noah was 120 years building the ark, we are informed in the Scriptures, and during that time he preached the Gospel. How many who were willing to believe his testimony? Only eight souls in all, including himself. He was very unpopular, I presume, and had as much derision heaped upon his head, for building an ark on dry ground, as any man that ever lived on the earth. But Noah was a prophet and a messenger of God, called to warn that generation and to build an ark, and if he had not done it he would have been held responsible for the lives of himself and family and all that generation. But he had the Spirit of God and was willing to do as he was told, whether the doctrine he preached was popular or unpopular. He built the ark, and went into it with his family, and they were saved. The history of the flood and of the salvation of Noah and his family is well known. He performed the work assigned him to do, and was saved; and that generation went to hell, there to remain until Christ went and preached the Gospel to their spirits in prison that they might be judged like men in the flesh. So you may trace the history of the kingdom of God through the world, generation after generation, and there is no generation that we have ever read of, the majority of whom have been willing to serve the Lord.

Look at the days of Abraham, whose faith was so great that he was called the father of the faithful. He was an heir to the royal priesthood, another noble spirit, the friend of God. He came upon this earth, not in a way of light, but through idolatrous parents. His father was an idolater. I do not know who his grandfather was; but his father had false gods that he worshipped and sacrificed to. God inspired Abraham, and his eyes were opened so that he saw and understood something of the dealings of the Lord with the children of men. He understood that there was a God in heaven, a living and true God, and that no man should worship any other God but Him. These were the feelings of Abraham, and he taught his father’s house, and all around him, as far as he had the privilege. The consequence was, his father and the idolatrous priests of that day sought to take his life. In the book of Abraham, translated in our day and generation, we are informed that Abraham was bound, and those priests sought to take his life, but the Lord delivered him from them. One reason why they did so was, that he had gone into those places which his father considered sacred, and among the wooden gods which were there, and, being filled with anger that his father should bow down and worship gods of wood and stone, he broke them. When his father saw that his son Abraham had broken his gods he was very angry with him. But Abraham, trying to reason with his father, said that probably the gods had got to fighting among themselves and had killed one another. He tried to bring him to reason, but his father did not believe they had life enough to kill one another. If he had possessed the spirit which his son had, he would have said there is no power with these gods; but he did not, and Abraham had to flee from his father’s house, confiding in the Lord, who gave many promises to him and concerning his posterity.

We have no account of the Lord’s having organized a kingdom upon the earth in that day; but he gave the priesthood to Abraham, who taught his children the principles of righteousness. Isaac taught Jacob; and Jacob’s sons, the twelve Patriarchs, were taught by the priesthood, and God gave unto them many great and glorious blessings. From that time until the days of Moses we can trace in sacred history that the Lord had witnesses on the earth, from time to time, who were raised up and bore record of the truth to the people. Moses was raised up and led Israel forty years, he was a high priest after the order of Melchizedek, and received his priesthood from Jethro, his father-in-law, who received it through Abraham. Moses undertook to preach the Gospel to the Israelites; but they were very dark, very prone to evil, as well as the Gentiles around them; and they had not that faith and the fulness of inspiration which the Lord desired, to build up his kingdom; consequently, they had a law of carnal commandments given to them to bring them to Christ. The Lord labored with them, and Moses labored with them; he could not leave them for a short time but they were ready to turn to idolatry and make a golden calf to worship, or something contrary to the kingdom of God.

Trace this down to the days of Christ and you will find it has been a hard matter for the Lord to get people to have faith in Him to build up His kingdom. Jesus came in fulfilment of the prophecies; He was the Son of God, and a literal descendant of Abraham. He came to his own and his own received him not, though he was the Son of God. Take the Jews to-day anywhere in the world, and they do not believe in Jesus. I do not say this because I wish to find fault with them. I have a great love for them as a people. But they have rejected the Messiah, and they will remain in unbelief until they go back and rebuild Jerusalem—which they will do in this generation—and until the Messiah comes. The day will come when Judah will know who Shiloh is, and that day is not very far distant. Jesus came, organized his church and kingdom and sent the Gospel to the Jews; but the Jews failed, through unbelief, and the Gospel was given to the Gentiles, to whom one of the ancient apostles said, “If God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He also spare not you.” Did the kingdom of God remain in the days of Christ, with apostles, pastors, teachers, and the gift of the Holy Spirit? But a little time elapsed until the Lord could not find men enough throughout the whole Gentile world who would receive the kingdom of God in its purity, embrace its principles and maintain it on the earth. Hence there was a falling away; the gifts and graces of the Gospel were lost to men; those who held the priesthood were overpowered, and put to death by wicked men. The Church went into the wilderness, and all that the prophets had spoken concerning the kingdom of God in that day had its fulfilment.

Christendom professes to believe the Bible; and all we have asked of this generation is to believe the Bible, and then they will believe that God will establish his kingdom in the last days, for the Bible plainly points it out, and shows that the Lord will send an angel bearing the everlasting Gospel, to them that dwell on the earth, that it may be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. All the prophets who have spoken of the last days have spoken of this work. Daniel saw it and prophesied of it. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and all the prophets have referred to it. And the Lord sent his angel, in fulfilment of what he declared he would do, who called upon a man on the earth, a literal descendant of Abraham and of Joseph—one of the promised seed who had been prophesied of in ages past and gone, that he would come forth and lay the foundation of the kingdom of God. The angels of God ministered unto him; his name was Joseph Smith; and he laid the foundation of this kingdom, or this congregation would not be before me to-day. You are the fruits of the labors he commenced.

The Lord has said that in the last days his kingdom should not be taken from the earth, nor given to another people; but that the kingdoms of this world should become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ. We have the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the book of Doctrine and Covenants, and other revelations of God to this effect. Either this is the kingdom of God or it is not the kingdom of God. If it is not the kingdom of God, then are we like the rest of mankind; our faith is vain, our works are vain, and we are in the same condition of ignorance with regard to the Gospel and the purposes of God, as the rest of the world. There are tens of thousands throughout these valleys, who know that this is the kingdom of God. They know this by the revelations of Jesus Christ. It is not the testimony of another man that gives me the knowledge for myself. If I had not the testimony of truth for myself I would not be qualified to build up this kingdom. There is no man or woman qualified to build up the kingdom of God if they have not the testimony of truth for themselves.

I will say to this congregation, Jew and Gentile, believer and unbeliever, that this is the great kingdom spoken of by Daniel, the commencement of the Zion of our God, which every prophet has spoken of who has referred to the Zion of the last days. The Lord has sworn by himself, because he could swear by no greater, that he will establish it in the latter days. But to do this he must get a people to work with him It could not be done otherwise if the world stood for a million years, for it is by the agency which men hold that he accomplishes his purposes on the earth. The Lord prepared the way for this age and generation, and he has raised up some of the noblest spirits in this dispensation that ever dwelt in the flesh. He ordained Joseph Smith from before the foundation of the world, to come forth and lay the foundation of his kingdom. Those that knew Joseph know that he was true and faithful unto death. He laboured, after he was ordained with Oliver Cowdery, fourteen years, two months and twenty-one-days, in the establishment of this work, after he organized the first branch, with six members on the 6th day of April, 1830. He was martyred on the 27th June, 1844. What did he accomplish, raised up, as he was, in the midst of a generation as full of tradition as the inhabitants of the earth were in the days of Noah, and almost as unbelieving as that generation were? He had to combat the errors of our forefathers which had been handed down for generations. He built upon the same foundation that Jesus and the Apostles built upon. He preached the same Gospel accompanied by the same ordinances that they preached. He organized the Church in the same way, with the same gifts and blessings, and the same Spirit accompanied the Gospel to those who believed. The elders went forth calling upon the children of men to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins, and have hands laid upon them that they might receive the Holy Ghost. And the testimony was, that if they obeyed the Gospel they would receive that Spirit. Did the Lord sustain that testimony by giving the Holy Ghost from the heavens? He did, as every faithful man and woman in this Church knows and can bear testimony to before God, angels and men. This was a great work. He lived until he sent the Gospel to the nations of the earth; he built temples, gave endowments to the Twelve and others, and told them that they must bear off this kingdom. He accomplished all that the Lord required of him, and he sealed his testimony with his blood; and his testimony is in force to-day. Had Joseph Smith shrunk from the duty which God required of him; had he said, “It is unpopular, I will not make as much by preaching the Gospel as if I were to let it alone, I will only be persecuted,” the consequence would have been he would have been damned. The Lord would have taken the priesthood from him, and held him responsible for the testimony he had given him. We are all in this position. If we do not do our duty and bear a faithful testimony to this generation, the Lord will hold us responsible. This generation, who have shed the blood of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum and others of the anointed of God, are held responsible for so doing before high heaven, and the judgments of God will follow them for shedding innocent blood.

But did the kingdom stop when the prophets were put to death? No, for it is the kingdom of God. It fell to the lot of brother Brigham Young to receive the priesthood and hold the keys of the kingdom. You who have been acquainted with him for the past thirty years, know his life. You know what he has accomplished. I have traveled many thousands of miles with him, and have been familiar with his labors. No man ever lived in the flesh who traveled more miles to carry salvation to the children of men, who preached more and did more for the redemption of mankind and to carry out the purposes of God, during thirty years, than he has done and is doing. The Lord has sustained him, for he is going to cut his work short in righteousness. He is determined to build up his kingdom as he has promised. Did you ever see an elder refuse when called upon to go on a mission to preach the Gospel? Hardly one in five thousand. This is because they are true and faithful unto God. The Spirit of God is in them. The Lord has planted that Spirit in them that they might go and work to build up this kingdom.

The world feel to-day concerning “Mormonism” and this people as they did in the days of Noah and Lot concerning the revelations of God and those who believed them then. But what of it? The unbelief of men does not make the work of God of no effect. The Lord requires faithfulness at our hands; and if we do not do our duty we will be held responsible before high heaven for the use we make of the holy priesthood which has been bestowed upon us.

While I sat and gazed, last Conference, upon the vast assembly of elders who were here in this Tabernacle, I thought of the words of Isaiah, when his mind was opened and he looked in vision upon the future. Said he, “Sing, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains; for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.” What do you see, Isaiah, that should cause you to break forth in such language as this? I see what the Gods of eternity see. I see what all the prophets and patriarchs before me have seen—that the Lord Almighty will build up his Zion upon the earth in great power and glory in the latter days. Yes, “But Zion said, the Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will not I forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.” Elder Woodruff quoted from the 13th to the 26th verse of Isaiah, 49th chap.; the 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8 verses of the 52nd chap.; and the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 13, 14, 15, and 22 verses of the 60th chap.)

Thus chapter after chapter he goes on to declare that Zion’s strength is in the Lord Almighty; and his strength is with her because of her faithfulness and integrity. If the elders of Israel had the vision of their minds opened to see Zion in her beauty and glory, they would have no time to sin or do evil; but they would rise up in the strength of the Lord God of Israel and accomplish all that he requires at their hands. Zion is yet in her weakness? but the little one shall become thousands, and the small one a great nation. We talk of the future and of the promises of God to us. They are worthy to be talked of, worthy to be lived for, and to rejoice over, because they are true.

We have warned our own and other nations; and so far our garments are clear of the blood of this generation. There never were men in the flesh who labored harder and tried more to fulfil the commandments of God than the elders of this Church have done. Some of our elders have traveled over 100,000 miles in thirty years to preach the Gospel and build up the kingdom of God; and the Lord Almighty has labored with us.

I have an anxiety—a strong desire, to see the people of the Latter-day Saints—the inhabitants of Zion, rise up and put on their strength. I desire to see them increase in the knowledge of the truth, in faith and good works, and in the knowledge of the things of the kingdom of God. The Lord is not pleased with wickedness and sin. Let any man look at our own beloved country. There is more crime now committed in ten years in it, than used to be in a century. Will the Lord bear with this? No, he will not. He has already destroyed two great and powerful nations that dwelt on this continent, and the remnants of another are scattered over the country in the miserable few who bear the marks of the curse of God upon them—the Indians. If men shed innocent blood, do wickedly, and work iniquity, the seed that they sow they must reap the harvest of.

If the Latter-day Saints, to whom the Lord has revealed the light and truth of the Gospel, were to prove unfaithful and rebel against God, they would be cursed below any people on the earth, below even these miserable Lamanites that we see wandering around our settlements; for we know more than they or their fathers knew; we know better what the mind and will of God is. It is that knowledge that has sustained us for the last thirty years, and over. We know this is the kingdom of God; that we are the friends of God; that the kingdom will stand; and woe be to that nation, kindred, tongue or people, to that individual or family under the whole heaven that lifts a hand against the Lord’s anointed or against the friends of God, for they will feel the chastening hand of God. We wish this generation well, and we have labored hard to try and save them. Whether men believe or disbelieve is nothing to us; it is our business to keep the commandments of God. If we live so as to keep the Spirit of God with us we will have power to do good and to carry out the things which he requires at our hands.

Be true and faithful; do your duty to yourselves, to your country, to your God, and to one another. When we do this we shall overcome and inherit eternal lives. May God grant that we may do so for Christ’s sake. Amen.

The Kingdom of God on Earth is a Living, Moving, Effective Institution, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, in the Tabernacle, in G. S. L. City, June 7th, 1866. Reported by G. D. Watt.

The elders frequently refer to the kingdom of God, and to the ordinances thereof, and to this people and their duty and privilege to roll it forth and to maintain it until it shall triumph, and introduce peace and universal brotherhood over all the earth. I will inform all the elders of Israel and their wives and their children, and also those who are not of us but whose eyes are upon the results arising continually from its establishment among men, that when the kingdom of God is established, if each member of that kingdom singly and individually will do his or her duty it will take care of itself, for it is a living, self-moving, self-sustaining, independent and heaven-ordained establishment.

The priesthood of the Son of God in its operations comprises the kingdom of God, and I know of no form of expression that will better tell what that priesthood is than the language given to me by the Spirit, namely, that it is a pure system of government. If the people who subject themselves to be governed by it, will live strictly according to its pure system of laws and ordinances, they will harmonize in one, and the kingdom of God will steadily move on to the ultimate triumph of truth and the subjugation of wickedness everywhere on this earth.

The establishment of this kingdom is a standing fact—an established truth in the eyes of the rulers and people of all nations; it is like a city upon a hill that cannot be hid. Its great governing power is not confined to one man, or to ten or a thousand men, but the Great architect, manager and superintendent, controller and dictator who guides this work is out of sight to our natural eyes. He lives on another planet; he is in another state of existence; he has passed the ordeals we are now passing through; he has received an experience, has suffered and enjoyed, and knows all that we know regarding the toils, sufferings, life and death of this mortality, for he has passed through the whole of it, and has received his crown and exaltation, and holds the keys and the power of this kingdom; he sways his scepter, and does his will among the children of men, among Saints and among sinners, and brings forth results to suit his purpose among kingdoms and nations and empires, that all may redound to his glory and to the perfection of his work.

This kingdom is governed and control[l]ed by him who knows all things; and he will bring forth the righteous, the just, the humble and the meek of the earth, all those who serve him and keep his commandments to the enjoyment of the fulness of his glory. This kingdom or work is proffered to the whole of the human family, even to all who will accept it, upon the terms of strict obedience to all its ordinances and requirements, and to its organization of prophets and apostles, gifts and blessings and graces. All may receive it upon these simple terms, and become entitled to all its blessings and privileges. When all who constitute this kingdom are faithful to its requirements, it moves along; the old ship Zion will not stop; upon this we may be satisfied, and give ourselves no further trouble.

When we look abroad upon the world we see mankind running to the east and to the west, to the north and to the south, here and there. They are thrown upon the great ocean of human affairs, without compass, rudder or pilot to guide their little barques to a safe haven of rest. They wander to and fro upon the earth; eyes have they, but they see not; ears; but they hear not, and they know not whither to go to find that joy and peace their hearts seek and long for. Their minds individually are confused and distracted, and they cannot see the way of safety when it is placed before them; yet here it is—this kingdom, a living miracle to all its beholders; this is admitted by and astonishes the world.

The great skill and ability of a single man in bearing off this people, and in giving this kingdom success as a nation and as a community is often referred to. This is a mistaken idea; but still the people who know not and understand not the things of God, will entertain it. They attribute the success of this work to human agency entirely; they are averse to giving the Lord Almighty the credit which justly and rightly belongs to him. The same disposition was manifested by the Scribes and Pharisees of old. In the 9th chapter of the gospel by John, we have an instance of this in the case of the man who was born blind, but whose eyes were opened by Jesus Christ. The neighbors and those who had seen him that was blind, said: “Is not this he that sat and begged.” They inquired how his eyes were opened. He told them and gave the credit of this great miracle to Jesus Christ. The Scribes and Pharise[e]s were not willing to give the glory and credit of this miracle to the Saviour; and because the man that was blind, and could now see, persisted that Jesus was a prophet and had opened his eyes, they cast him out.

If the Father of Jesus Christ were here, and should publicly feed the multitudes, and clothe them, and build their houses for them, they would not be willing to acknowledge God and give him the praise and glory and credit that is due to him. This arises from the spirit of opposition which is in the hearts of the children of men. It is the spirit and power of evil in opposition to the power of good that has forever existed, and ever will exist, and here is the warfare.

We are the subjects of the kingdom of God; if we observe its laws and ordinances and transgress none of them—neglect none of them—lay aside none of them—then the kingdom itself will bear off all its members to the haven of salvation and rest. We know this; it is our daily experience. How can the world know the things of God? They can read about them, but they cannot know them without the Spirit of God; “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” They know nothing about this kingdom; we do not expect them to know, and it is no marvel to us when we reflect upon all that is done by the power of Satan against it, for his power will be continually exerted against it through the agency of the ignorant and wicked of mankind.

How long will this opposition continue? Until Jesus comes to take the kingdom and destroys death and him that hath the power of death. Will evil all be destroyed? Yes, the evil which pertains to this earth; but still the same principle of evil will exist elsewhere. Pertaining to this earth death will be swallowed up in victory, and Jesus Christ will come and rule and reign over all nations as he does in the kingdom of the Saints. Until then, this evil power will be exerted to its uttermost to destroy and lead astray every man and woman who loves the truth. It is no matter to the devil what religion men profess or what they worship, how many sacraments they observe, or how many ordinances they pass through, so that they are not legally in the possession of the priesthood of the Son of God, and will not worship the true and living God in the manner he has directed. The devil does not care how much religion there is on the earth; he is a great preacher, and to all appearance a great gentleman, and it is necessary that he should be, and that all his co-workers should be as like their great leader and master as possible. They have forsaken the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. It is popular now-a-days to be religious, it has become the seasoning to a great deal of rascality, hypocrisy and crime.

Here is the kingdom of God, and the Saints should understand, that, if they abide in this kingdom they will realize every promise made to them in its ordinances and covenants. There can be no safety or merit claimed in forsaking the true Church and kingdom of God; there is nothing excellent or praiseworthy in this act. What would you think of a person who would forsake a good staunch ship at sea in a storm and commit himself to the mercy of the raging elements? I should think the same of him as I would of these who forsake this Church. The devil has blinded their eyes to that degree that they recklessly and wilfully plunge into sure and certain destruction. The devil and his servants give their sanction and support to anything that will lead astray the people, even if it is very like the kingdom of God, yet a little different to that order of things which the Lord has established in his Church for the salvation of mankind.

Paul writes to the Corinthians. “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the Church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.”

The same Apostle writes to the Ephesians upon the same subject, “He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers: for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the statu[r]e of the fulness of Christ.” What kind of ministers do the modern Christian churches acknowledge? Are they apostles? No; they tell us apostles are done away. Are they prophets? No; they tell us prophets are no longer needed in the church in this enlightened age, in which, they say, all the people bask in the sunshine—in the full blaze of gospel light.

The kingdom of God on earth is a living, moving, effective institution, and is governed, controlled, dictated and led by the invisible God whom we serve, who is an exalted living being, possessing body, parts and passions, who listens to the prayers of his Saints, is a reasonable, merciful, and intelligent being, who is filled with knowledge and wisdom, who is full of light and glory, and the foundations of whose throne are laid in eternal truth; whose personal form is perfect in proportion and beauty. He loves the good, and is angry with the wicked every day as it is written in the Scriptures. He hates the evil that is done by evil doers, and is merciful to the repenting sinner. He is beloved by all who know him for the attributes he possesses in and of himself, in common with all glorified beings who now dwell with him, and who will yet be glorified and crowned with crowns of glory, immortality and eternal lives. This kingdom of which we are citizens has life in itself; and if we individually and collectively do our duty, it will move on to intelligence, to glory, and to God. We do not have to carry off the kingdom, but, through our faithfulness, it giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

I have seen men who belonged to this kingdom, and who really thought that if they were not associated with it, it could not progress. One man especially, whom I now think of, who was peculiarly gifted in self-reliance and general ability. He said as much to the Prophet Joseph a number of times as to say that if he left this kingdom, it could not progress any further. I speak of Oliver Cowdery. He forsook it, and it still rolled on and still triumphed over every opposing foe, and bore off safely all those who clung to it. “How is it, brother Brigham, that you manage affairs, and dictate and guide and direct this kingdom as you do? The secret is I know enough to let the kingdom of God alone, and it goes of its own accord.

When King David, together with all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand in number, arose to bring up the ark of God from the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah, they put it upon a new cart, and Uzzah and Ahio the sons of Abinadab drove the new cart. When they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God. Let the kingdom alone, the Lord steadies the ark; and if it does jostle, and appear to need steadying, if the way is a little sideling sometimes, and to all appearance threatens its overthrow, be careful how you stretch forth your hands to steady it; let us not be too officious in meddling with that which does not concern us; let it alone, it is the Lord’s work. I know enough to let the kingdom alone, and do my duty. It carries me, I do not carry the kingdom. I sail in the old ship Zion, and it bears me safely above the raging elements. I have my sphere of action and duties to perform on board of that ship; to faithfully perform them should be my constant and unceasing endeavor. If every bishop, every president, every person holding any portion of the holy priesthood, every person who holds a membership in this church and kingdom would take this course the kingdom would roll without our help.

Let each bishop attend faithfully to his ward, and see that every man and woman is well and faithfully and profitably employed that the sick and aged are properly cared for that none suffer. Let each bishop be a tender and indulgent father to his ward, administering a word of comfort and encouragement here, a word of advice and counsel there, and a word of chastisement in another place, where needed, without partiality, wisely judging between man and man, caring for and seeking earnestly the welfare of all, watching over the flock of God with the eye of a true shepherd, that wolves and dogs may not enter among the flock to rend them. Let the presidents and apostles and elders do the work the Lord has set them to do, and obey the counsel which is given them, and the kingdom will continue to roll, to increase in strength, in importance, in magnitude and in power, in wisdom, intelligence and glory; and no one need be concerned, for it is the kingdom which the Lord our God has established, and has sustained by his matchless wisdom and power from the beginning to this day. He called upon his servant Joseph Smith, jun., when he was but a boy, to lay the foundation of his kingdom for the last time. Why did he call upon Joseph Smith to do it? because he was disposed to do it. Was Joseph Smith the only person on earth who could have done this work? No doubt there were many others who, under the direction of the Lord, could have done that work; but the Lord selected the one that pleased him, and that is sufficient.

From the spirit and tenor of the ancient Scriptures and revelations which we have received, it is plainly set forth that there are men pre-appointed to perform certain works in their lifetime, and bring to pass certain ends and purposes in the economy of heaven. I believe that Jesus Christ was fore-ordained before the worlds were to perform the work he came to do; whom God “hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.” He was ordained to come to this world and redeem it, with mankind upon it and all things pertaining to it. “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” The Lord has ordained some men to the performance of good and some to the performance of evil, Pharaoh was ordained to do the worst which he performed. “For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.” The Lord fulfilled his purpose through the wickedness of Pharaoh, and the nations beheld his handy-work in bringing the children of Israel out of the wilderness. They had a crooked path to walk in, and it was made crooked through their disobedience, and hard heartedness. They rebelled against the Lord, and against his servant Moses, they would not submit to, the ordinances of salvation which they had in their possession. After they had received many chastisements and many blessings and mercies from the hand of God, the children of those who left Egypt possessed the land of promise. These works were wrought by the hand of the Almighty, and so does he with all his people.

He has set up his kingdom among us, and the people had better look to it closely and see that each one is performing his and her duty faithfully. If we do this, then all will be well. Will the Latter-day Saints do this? I know not what they will do, but I fully believe that we are naturally a little rebellious, and that, we are practically so; we are a little disposed to have our own way too much. There is a disposition among mankind generally that leads them to the extreme of being damned rather than to submit to anything only that which suits them, unless they are made to submit by the strong hand of the law.

As the world is now so were ancient Israel; they were ignorant of God’s righteousness, and went about to establish their own righteousness, not submitting themselves to the righteousness of God. We are too much disposed to believe and act like the world, not rendering that submission and humble obedience to the righteousness of God which would justly accord with our high profession. Many are disposed through their own wickedness “to do as I damned please,” and they are damned. The volition of the creature is free, to do good or to do evil; but we are responsible to God for our acts, as man is responsible to man if he breaks the laws which man enacts. When we boast of our independence to act, it would be well for us to remember that we are bounded by these limits; if we transcend them and violate the laws of God and man, we shall sooner or later be made to suffer the penalty, without any reference to our choice whether we are willing to suffer that penalty or not. Hence, true independence and freedom can only exist in doing right. It is written, “that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Every item will be recorded and all will be known when the books are opened.

We are acting upon our own responsibility and agency which God has given us, if we secretly violate the laws of righteousness, and our wicked works are in the dark while we maintain a pious and fair exterior; they are nevertheless known; and for every evil word and work which we commit, unless repented of we shall be brought into judgment and be made to pay the utmost farthing of the penalty. The Spirit of the Lord is in the hearts of all people to teach them to cleave to good, and to forsake evil. If they will listen to the whisperings of this Spirit when the Gospel of Jesus Christ is presented to them, whether by the voice of his ministers, or in the written word, their minds will be enlightened to understand it.

Before Joseph Smith made known what the Lord had revealed to him, before his name was even known among many of his neighbours, I knew that Jesus Christ had no true Church upon the earth. I read the Bible for myself; I was supposed to be an infidel and to content myself with a moral religion. When I was told to believe in Jesus Christ, and that was all that was required for salvation, I did not so understand the Bible. I understood from the Bible that when the Lord had a church upon the earth it was a system of ordinances, of laws and regulations to be obeyed, a society presided over and regulated by officers and ministers peculiar to itself to answer such and such purposes, and bring to pass such and such results, and I have not received a revelation to the contrary. Such a system answering the description given in the Bible I could not find on the earth, and I was not prepared to listen to the men who said “lo here” and “lo there,” who presented themselves, as they said, as true ministers of heaven. When I would ask the ministers of religion, if they were prepared to tell me how the kingdom of God should be built up; if that which is laid down in the new Testament is not the pattern, all the reply I could receive from them was; “but you know, my dear friend, that these things are done away.” They would tell me that ordinances were mere matters of ceremony, that belief in Jesus Christ was all-essential and all that was really necessary.

I could only think of the religious world as a mass of confusion; and when I visited England I saw it in its perfection. There I saw hundreds of men and women down upon their knees in the middle of the streets praying for sinners. In that country it rains often, and it is then very muddy. I would stop and listen to their cries for the power to come down upon them, etc., and concluded that that filled the bill exactly for sectarian religion as I looked upon it, no acknowledged ordinances, no standard, no beacon light, no compass or rudder to guide the ship of Zion. In one of their chapels, on one occasion, where a Latter-day Saint sister happened to be present, a young man was convicted of his Sins, and cried out, saying: “What can I do to be saved.” That sister answered him, and said: “Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the Holy Ghost.” They put her down stairs in double quick time.

Will the inhabitants of the earth receive the truth? They will not. Will the Latter-day Saints live the truth? You answer, “I mean to be a good Saint;” yet there are contention and abuse here and there. We are elders in this Church—ministers of God to perfect the people for the coming of the Son of man. Many of us have been in this Church for years, and yet we cannot live in peace and dwell together in union; and if we cannot do this, how can we sanctify the people; and if we cannot live and love each other as we should, be as neighbours as we should, serve the Lord together as we should, deal with each other as we should, fellowship each other as we should, how are we going to prepare the people for the coming of the Son of man? It is folly in the extreme to think of it, unless we set the pattern ourselves.

I believe it is our duty to imitate everything that is good, lovely, dignified and praiseworthy. We ought to imitate the best speakers, and study to convey our ideas to each other in the best and choicest language, especially when we are dispensing the great truths of the Gospel of peace to the people. I generally use the best language I can command. We often hear people excuse themselves for their uncouth manners and offensive language, by remarking “I am no hypocrite,” thus taking to themselves credit for that which is really no credit to them. When evil arises within me let me throw a cloak over it, subdue it instead of acting it out upon the false presumption that I am honest and no hypocrite. Let not thy tongue give utterance to the evil that is in thine heart, but command thy tongue to be silent until good shall prevail over the evil, until thy wrath has passed away and the good spirit shall move thy tongue to blessings and words of kindness. So far I believe in being a hypocrite. This is practical with me. When my feelings are aroused to anger by the ill-doings of others, I hold them as I would hold a wild horse, and I gain the victory. Some think and say that it makes them feel better when they are mad, as they call it, to give vent to their madness in abusive and unbecoming language. This, however, is a mistake. Instead of its making you feel better, it is making bad worse. When you think and say it makes you better you give credit to a falsehood. When the wrath and bitterness of the human heart are moulded into words and hurled with violence at one another, without any check or hindrance, the fire has no sooner expended itself than it is again re-kindled through some trifling course, until the course of nature if set on fire; “and it is set on fire of hell.”

If this practice is continued, it will lead to alienation between man and wife, parents and children, brethren and sisters, until there is no fellowship to be found in the hearts of the people for one another. How can we, and be consistent, with the same tongue bless God, even the Father, and curse man who is made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth should not proceed blessings and cursings, but bless and curse not. “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness and wisdom.” The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

As I have often remarked on former occasions, confidence is lost from among mankind; men who are in authority, who sit at the head of nations, kingdoms and governments, all fear the knife of the assassin, and the torch of the incendiary. Wickedness has submerged the world, and confidence and good faith have fled. We are trying to restore the lost treasure to the world. Then, let me exhort the Latter-day Saints to live a life that is worthy of imitation. Envy not those who do better than you do; do not pursue them with malice, but try to shape and frame your life by theirs. We are trying to govern ourselves, and if we continue trying and faint not, we shall assuredly conquer. Let us from this time forth live so as to create confidence in all men with whom we deal and come in contact; and treasure up each particle of confidence we obtain as one of the most precious possessions mortals can possibly possess. When by my good actions I have created confidence in my neighbour towards me, I pray that I may never do anything that will destroy it. I have tried to do this, and have constantly endeavored to have it increase within me, that when my word is given it may be just as good as the word of an angel. Let us seek always to be guided by the spirit of truth in our utterances, that we may never say anything which we shall afterwards regret.

The psalmist inquires, “Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. In whose eyes a vile person is condemned; but he honoreth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not, etc. Let every man honour his word that he has given to his neighbor, although it may be to his disadvantage and loss, yet in the future it will be to his gain. Preserve your honour, and your integrity, and ever cherish the confidence that men repose in you.

May the Lord bless you. Amen.

Advice to Lawyers, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, in the Bowery, in G. S. L. City, August 12th, 1866. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I have a few words to say to the Latter-day Saints this afternoon, and if I had time, I have many I could say. I would exhort the Latter-day Saints to live in peace, to pursue a course that will effectually preserve the peace that is taught them in the Gospel of the Son of God, and avoid by every possible and righteous means entering into contention, quarreling, disputations, law suits, &c., &c.

You have heard from brother Geo. A. Smith this afternoon a little of the history of this Church and people, and the cause of their coming to these valleys. I am thankful that the rehearsal of those occurrences has ceased to irritate me as it did formerly. But we are here, and we wish to enjoy peace; we earnestly desire it, and we calculate to have it. We are where our enemies cannot come from Carthage and Warsaw before breakfast, and from Springfield in two days. We are so far off, and it is so inconvenient to bring this people to sorrow and affliction in the way it was formerly done, that they consider another plan necessary to be instituted. I wish to tell you what it is.

Brother George A. this afternoon has referred to the lawyers. Where the carcass is there will the eagles be gathered together, and it seems they think that there is one here to which they are gathering. I want them to live here; but I want them to plant their own potatoes and hoe them. It would appear that they think that a civilized community cannot live long together without contention and consequent law suits. I think that a community is civilized so far as it is free from contentions, law suits and litigation of every kind. We wish our friends to come here, and participate with us in the good things the Lord has provided for his people; but we do not want contention. When I hear men and women say that they will go to a Gentile court to have their difficulties adjusted, I think they will go to hell unless they refrain from such a spirit.

The law is made for the lawless and disobedient, not or the good, wise, just and virtuous. Law is made for the maintenance of peace, not for the introduction of litigation and disorder.

What is the true relationship of lawyers to the law and to the community? They should be the true representatives of peace; it should be their business to promote it. I am now taking the liberty of discharging a duty I owe to the lawyers in telling them what their duty is. They read the law; they do or should understand the law of the United States, of the States, and of the Territories and cities in which they live, and whenever they have an opportunity of telling the people how to live in a way to avoid litigation, it is their duty so to do. Then if they wish to get a living, instead of picking people’s pockets, as is too commonly the case, let them have their stores, and bring on goods and trade, buy farms and follow the healthy and honorable professing of farming, and raise their own provisions, and stock enough for themselves and some to part with, and when their services are wanted in the law, give it as freely as we do the Gospel. It is said by lawyers, “We cannot spend our time without some remuneration.” You have no need to spend your time only in some way to produce means for your subsistence. You can give legal advice freely, and pursue an honorable and productive business for a living.

Once I had the pleasure of hearing of a lawyer in old Massachusetts, who attended strictly to his duty. He came into the western part of Massachusetts and bought him a farm He was probably as sound a lawyer as Boston ever produced. They wanted to know why he went to farming instead of following the profession of the law. He replied, that according to the present practice a man could not answer the demands of his clients and be honest. When any of the people would come to him for advice, if he was ploughing in the field, he would stop his team and request them to tell him the truth, to state the case as it was, keeping nothing back on their side of the question. When he had heard their case he would advise them to settle the affair without going to law, telling them what was right and just. When they would ask him what he charged for his advice, he would receive nothing, his team had been resting while he had been conversing, and he would go to ploughing again. One lawyer has actually lived in the United States who did not depend upon the practice of the law for a living, but followed a legitimate business and gave legal advice freely to all who asked it. In pursuing this course he did not follow the practice of picking the pockets of the widow and the fatherless.

We have a few lawyers here, and I know the object of their being here. I object to their introducing litigation among this people. In some instances it may be necessary to sue men. We have some men in this community who are dishonest; they will run into debt, and will not pay their debts. What shall we do with such men? Shall we sue them? Yes; if they will not pay their debts and have the means to do so, sue them; turn them over to the law, which is made for such characters, but they should first be deprived of the fellowship of the Saints. A man who will not pay his honest debts is no Latter-day Saint, if he has the means to pay them. A man who will run into debt, when he has no prospect of paying it back again, does not understand the principles that should prevail in a well regulated community, or he is wilfully dishonest. In this country no persons need run into debt to get bread to feed themselves and their families. There is no need to go into the second house in this Community to ask for food. Those who need can obtain food at the first house, in nearly every instance, at which they will apply. This community feed the poor and the hungry, and clothe the naked, and they will not let the stranger, or those in necessity, ask alms without responding to their calls, if it is in their power to relieve them. Consequently, there is no need of any person running into debt without a prospect of paying. Men in our community run into debt to our brethren, and if they are asked for the pay, they think it is not saint-like if they are asked to sell their stock or put themselves about in the least to pay their just debts. I have had to contend for, and defend men of business who have sought to do the community good in transacting business here, from being imposed upon in this way. But there is no need of further explanation regarding this; we all understand it; if there are strangers, or any who belong to the church, who do not understand it, watch the careers and lives of those who have been long in the church and who understand true principle, and see whether they pay their debts or not.

Now, I ask every man and woman who wishes an honorable name in the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth, if they have entertained any idea of going to law, to banish it from their minds at once. We have our Bishop’s courts; they can tell us what is right. We have our High Councils, and we have also our Selectmen here who are sustained by the suffrages of the people. If you are not satisfied with the decisions of the Bishop’s court and the High Council, call upon the Selectmen, and let them judge your case. We may be told that it is necessary for us to have a lawyer to present our case in a legal manner before the courts; but the less we have to do with this class of professional men the easier and cheaper will our difficulties be settled. When a lawyer is going to court with a case, if you ask him, “do you calculate to be honest?”

“Certainly.”

“Just?”

“Yes, sir.”

Truthful?”

“Most assuredly.”

“Do you expect, in presenting a case to the court, to do anything more than to present the facts in the case?”

“No.”

“Where do you get the facts which you present before the judge and jury?”

“From the witnesses.”

“Have you men of common sense on the jury?”

“Yes; the best we can find; they are men of good capacity and capable of judging right from wrong.”

Then what good does it do to reiterate the testimony of witnesses before the jury? It is an endeavor to make white black and black white, to make the jury believe that they do not know anything, but that “I know it all,” and “I tell you law,” &c. Lawyers will quote law that has been obsolete for years before a jury who may not be so well acquainted with the letter of the law, and this they will do to endeavor, if possible, to blind the eyes and confuse the minds of the judge and jury, to make out something that is different from the facts in the case. Is this the business and duty of a lawyer? It is not. His duty is to place facts before the court. The jury can hear the witnesses as well as the lawyer can, the judge can hear the witnesses as well as the lawyer can, and when the simple facts are told, then let just men decide.

It should be considered beneath the profession of a lawyer to endeavor to clear the guilty, and place the innocent in bonds or bring them into disrepute. I wish to say to that class of gentlemen who are here, that if they expect to break up this people by lawsuits, I think they will have a hard time. I will use my influence with every good man, whether he is in the church or out of it, never to think of going to law. What comes of litigation? Poverty and degredation to any community that will encourage it. Will it build cities, open farms, build railroads, erect telegraph lines and improve a country? It will not; but it will bring any community to ruin. It draws hundreds of men within the circle of its influence, who crowd the court rooms and spend days and weeks and months of their precious time for naught, time that should be employed in getting lumber from the kanyons, in building houses and in providing comfortable means of subsistence for their families. Does it make peaceable, honest, and industrious citizens? It does not, but it engenders strife and habits of intemperance and idleness. Instead of crime being lessened by its influence, it only helps to swell the dark stream.

We have not been broken up, as has been anticipated, by military force, and now it is expected that a course of law suits will accomplish what the military failed to do. I will say one thing to my friends, or to my enemies as they may consider themselves (I myself am not an enemy to any man, yet I am an enemy to some actions), if you undertake to drive a stake in my garden with an intention to jump my claim: there will be a fight before you get it; if you come within an enclosure of mine with any such intent, I will send you home, God being my helper. You can occupy and build where you please, but let our claims alone. We have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in taking out the waters of our mountain streams, fencing in farms and improving the country, and we cannot tamely suffer strangers, who have not spent one day’s labour to make these improvements, to wrest our homesteads out of our hands. There is land enough in the country: go to and improve it, as we have improved our possessions; build cities, as we have done, and thus strive to reclaim the country from its wild state. Is it not a strange thing that men cannot see anything only what the “Mormons” possess; hence, I swear it, by the Gods of eternity, if we are obliged to leave this country, we will leave it as desolate as we found it, and we will hunt those who would compel us to leave to the last minute. Let us alone, and help us to build up cities and towns and villages in these mountains, instead of seeking to destroy the few industrious inhabitants that are here and have made the country. You cannot destroy this community; it never can be done. Remember that. And you men and women who think of going to Gentile law to have your difficulties adjusted, I would advise you to stop it, and let the lawyers go into other business.

We have plenty of good lawyers who belong to the Church, and there are more coming. I have some friends coming here, as eminent lawyers as Massachusetts can produce. I advised them to bring their capital and so invest it that they could live without depending upon litigation and the practice of the law. Ever since this Church was first organized until now we have had to manage and scheme to escape the toils and snares of our enemies. We have had to ask God for wisdom that we might know how to wind our way through the difficulties you have just heard Brother George A. Smith relate. Lawyers will plead law for the Latter-day Saints as well as for anybody else in the world if they can get their pay for it. I have seen too much of this for 34 years past. In the days of Joseph Smith lawyers would get together and hatch out a vexatious lawsuit; one would agree to defend him and another would agree to plead against him, and this with a view to get his money. Thousands, and tens of thousands of dollars have been collected to pay lawyers’ fees. “Brother Brigham, how much have you paid?” Not one farthing. I defied our enemies to get anything against me wherein I had in any way transgressed the laws of my country; and if they tried unlawfully, and with a design to put me in bonds, and to get money from me, they would have to run some risk. We have had to work and pray in order to get along when we had lawyers watching us all the time to get something against the leaders of this people whereby they could in some way bring a lawsuit against them.

Now, they suppose that they have got us safely on polygamy. What about that? I would say to Congress that if they will pass a law, making it death for any man to hold illicit intercourse with any woman but his lawful wife, we would meet them half way on that ground. It is not uncommon for men who have not been lawfully married to any woman, but who pass as old bachelors, to have children by several women. A recent case occurred in Europe which illustrates this point. Prince Christian of Holstein, who has recently married one of the daughters of Victoria, Queen of England, has what is termed a morganatic wife in Germany, by whom he has several children, yet the first lady in Europe, as Queen Victoria is called, with the knowledge of the fact that this Prince, who proposed for her daughter’s hand, was the father of several children by a woman, who to all intents and purposes was his wife, accepts him as a suitable match for her youthful daughter. The first Court in Europe is not shocked by an alliance of this kind, no more than is the first society of this country by similar occurrences in the cities east. Men may do as they please with women, have numerous children by them, and take as many liberties with them as if they were their wives, and yet not call them wives, and modern society smiles upon them. But whenever a man applies the sacred name of wife to the mother of his children, if he happen to have more than one, then the world professes to be wonderfully shocked at the idea. What inconsistency!

Such men will go to hell for ruining innocent women and increasing illegitimate children in the land. The community or nation that indulge in such practices will be damned. If I have wives, I take care of them, and I want my neighbors to let them and my daughters alone. Do you understand it? If you do not, and should undertake to infringe upon any of them, I will point my finger at you. Our young men, and we have many, live virtuous lives with regard to illicit communication with the sexes; they observe the law which has been given to this people. Ask the Lamanites if their women ever complained of being insulted by any of our men at any time, and they cannot produce an instance. How is it with the outsiders—mountaineers, trappers, hunters, soldiers, and other men who have been brought in contact with them. What will the Indians tell you about them? By mingling with those outsiders the Indians will soon be in the dust. Many of them have gone there already by mingling with the Gentiles; the seeds of death have been sown among them, and many of them are dying off; and they will continue to die through that cause. When our Elders go abroad to preach the Gospel, or when they remain at home, if they do not live according to the law of God, we sever them from the Church, and have no further fellowship with them.

The doctrine of plurality of wives was revealed to this people from heaven, and if heaven had revealed that we should have no wife at all, it would have been as faithfully observed as the present law, even if it should result in the depopulation of the world, according to the profession of the Shaking Quakers. But the Lord did not get his kingdom in that way. The kingdoms he possesses and rules over are his own progeny. Every man who is faithful and gets a salvation and glory, and becomes a king of kings and Lord of Lords, or a father of fathers, it will be by the increase of his own progeny. Our Father and God rules over his own children. Wherever there is a God in all the eternities possessing a kingdom and glory and power it is by means of his own progeny. I am not going to ask the people whether they believe it or not; and I do not want Brother Heber to do it either, for it is none of their business. When I tell the truth I do not ask any one’s testimony to swear to it.

The economy of heaven is to gather in all, and save everybody who can be saved. Do we wish to destroy people? We do not, not even those ignorant, blood-thirsty Lamanites. Did we ever destroy? No; it is not our doctrine; but our doctrine is to build up and save life instead of destroying it. Is it necessary on any occasion and under any circumstances whatever? Yes, let a man meet me with a design to kill me, and I am going to get the first blow if I can. I have not come to die for the sins of the world as our Savior, Jesus Christ did. It was necessary for him to be killed; but it is not necessary for me. It was not necessary for Joseph Smith to be killed, if the people had believed his testimony; but as the testator has sealed it with his blood, his testimony is in force on all the inhabitants of the earth, and wherever it goes those who reject it will be damned. Our doctrine is to preach the Gospel of life and salvation, and get every man, woman and child to believe and embrace it, and live as near to its requirements as possible. That is the duty of the Elders of Israel, and it is our duty to preserve ourselves, our wives and children, whether we have many or few. Why does not our government make a law to say how many children a man shall have? They might as well do so as to make a law to say how many wives a man shall have.

There are a few in the Government who will listen to any testimony against us, no matter how false. The man who was referred to this morning has given testimony against us, respecting matters here, which is utterly false. After making such infamous statements, that man could not live here twenty-four hours, if it were not that we are Latter-day Saints who live here. By letting him alone, however, he will kill himself. There is also a man down the street who tried to exhibit the endowments to a party who was here. You will see what becomes of that man. Do not touch him. He has forfeited every right and title to eternal life; but let him alone, and you will see by and by what will become of him. His heart will ache, and so will the heart of every apostate that fights against Zion; they will destroy themselves. It is a mistaken idea that God destroys people, or that the Saints wish to destroy them. It is not so. The seeds of sin which are in them are sufficient to accomplish their destruction. Every government of the world has the seeds of its own destruction in itself.

I hope and trust and pray that the government of our country may remain, because it is so good; but if they cut off this, and cast out that, and institute another thing, they may destroy all the good it contains. This, I hope, they will not do; they cannot do it. I expect to see the day when the Elders of Israel will protect and sustain civil and religious liberty and every constitutional right bequeathed to us by our fathers, and spread those rights abroad in connection with the Gospel for the salvation of all nations. I shall see this whether I live or die.

May the Lord bless you. Amen.

Our Indian Relations—How to Deal With Them

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, in Springville, Sunday, July 28th, 1866. Reported by G. D. Watt.

Brother Ezra T. Benson’s remarks referring to our present difficulties with the Indians, and prospects of future difficulties, should be well considered by this people. As we have here an assemblage of the people from other settlements, I wish to impress them with the necessity of treating the Indians with kindness, and to refrain from harboring that revengeful, vindictive feeling that many indulge in. I am convinced that as long as we harbor in us such feelings towards them, so long they will be our enemies, and the Lord will suffer them to afflict us. I certainly believe that the present affliction, which has come upon us from the Indians, is a consequence of the wickedness which dwells in the hearts of some of our brethren. If the Elders of Israel had always treated the Lamanites as they should, I do not believe that we should have had any difficulty with them at all. This is my firm conviction, and my conclusion according to the light that is in me. I believe that the Lord permits them to chasten us at the present time to convince us that we have to overcome the vindictive feelings which we have harbored towards that poor, down-trodden branch of the house of Israel.

I spoke a harsh word here yesterday with regard to a man who professes to be a Latter-day Saint who has been guilty of killing an innocent Indian. I say to-day that he is just as much a murderer through killing that Indian, as he would have been had he shot down a white man. To slay an innocent person is murder according to the law of Moses. Not that we believe that the law of Moses should, in all its bearings, be observed by us; but we believe that it has been fulfilled in a great measure with regard to the law of sacrifice. The Lord said to Noah, before the law was given to Moses: “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made he man.” Those who shed the blood of the innocent at the present day will have to pay the penalty here, or come short of receiving the glory and the peace which they anticipate receiving hereafter. This may appear very hard and unreasonable to some.

Brother Benson expressed himself as though some of the brethren felt like wiping out the Lamanites in these regions, root and branch. The evil passions that arise in our hearts would prompt us to do this, but we must bring them into subjection to the law of Christ.

I am told by Bishop Aaron Johnson that the Indians who formerly lived in this district, in Provo, on Peteetnet and round about Spanish Fork, have sent word that they wish to return to these settlements and live as they formerly did. Were they to come back again without the minds of the people being prepared, probably some of the Indians might get killed. I wish the people to take care of themselves—to not expose themselves to the ignorant Lamanites without being prepared to defend themselves. When they come to live in your vicinity again, let them come in peace; and that they may come in peace and safety, and live with us as heretofore, it is necessary that all feelings of vengeance should be banished from our hearts. Do we wish to do right? You answer, yes. Then let the Lamanites come back to their homes, where they were born and brought up. This is the land that they and their fathers have walked over and called their own; and they have just as good a right to call it theirs to-day as any people have to call any land their own. They have buried their fathers and mothers and children here; this is their home, and we have taken possession of it, and occupy the land where they used to hunt the rabbit and, not a great while since, the buffalo, and the antelope were in these valleys in large herds when we first came here.

When we came here, they could catch fish in great abundance in the lake in the season thereof, and live upon them pretty much through the summer. But now their game has gone, and they are left to starve. It is our duty to feed them. The Lord has given us ability to cultivate the ground and reap bountiful harvests. We have an abundance of food for ourselves and for the stranger. It is our duty to feed these poor ignorant Indians; we are living on their possessions and at their homes.

The Lord has brought us here and it is all right. We are not intruders, but we are here by the providence of God. We should now use the Indians kindly, and deal with them so gently that we will win their hearts and affections to us more strongly than before; and the much good that has been done them, and the many kindnesses that have been shown them, will come up before them, and they will see that we are their friends. We could circumscribe their camps and kill every man, woman and child of them. This is what others have done, and if we were to do it, what better are we than the wicked and the ungodly? It is our duty to be better than them in our administrations of justice and our general conduct toward the Lamanites. It is not our duty to kill them; but it is our duty to save their lives and the lives of their children. We may not be able to foretell all things that will come to pass in the future, but we can tell when we deal righteously with one another.

If the people had taken the counsel which has been given with regard to the proper steps to be taken for the defence of life and property in new settlements, they would have been as secure from the depredations of Indians as the people are in the old settlements; but they would not build forts nor believe it necessary to follow the salutary counsels which have been continually given them. They have gone out unprotected with their wives and children to settle in the wilderness, exposing their lives and property to the attacks of the untutored, ungoverned and wild Indian. By their works shall ye know them and by their works shall they be justified or condemned. Their works speak for them. We beg of them to secure themselves when they go into new places; they will not do it, until sorrow overtakes them, and they are obliged to mourn the loss of a father, a husband, a wife, a brother, a sister, a mother, a daughter or a son who has been killed by the Indians.

Shall we do as the Lamanites do? No. I forbid it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ—I forbid any elder or member in this church slaying an innocent Lamanite, any more than he would slay an innocent white man; but treat them as they are in their degraded state. When a man undertakes to shoot an ignorant Indian, except in defence of life and property, he degrades himself to the level of the red man, and the portion of that Indian shall be his, and his generations shall be cut off from the earth.

We shall have an end of this Indian war; they are not going to slay us by any means; no; they will see the time they would rather defend this people than slay them. The present difficulties will end in the benefit of the latter-day Saints, and the exaltation of the poor, ignorant Lamanites; and the person or persons who supply the Lamanites with powder and lead, and foster and encourage them in killing the Saints, will find that their iniquity will turn upon their own heads. Let the Indians live, and help them to live.

By and by they will be sueing to us for mercy, and if they repent, according to the revelations given to us we are bound to forgive them. I would rather that a man repent than persist in his wickedness. Is there a heart here to-day that would desire to have a man damned rather than to be saved? I would rather all men would serve God. That heart that would rather have a man damned, and never come to the knowledge of the truth, is devoid of the Spirit of revelation that wishes all men to be saved. The spirit of Him who has redeemed us, cries upon all men to come unto him and be saved. Jesus Christ has redeemed the earth and all things belonging to it, and all mankind may receive salvation if they will come unto him and receive it.

If the Lamanites come in here, and there is any person who kills any of them, take that man and try him by law and let him receive the penalty. The law will slay him. If any of the Lamanites who return have been guilty of murdering our brethren, request them to keep a little to themselves, and not be too free in mixing among the people; we do not wish to see them, and let the friendly Indians get a slice of bread and carry it to them. If they get over it, so that they repent enough to go and bring in Black Hawk and his men and deliver them up to the law, then we will believe that they are sincere in their repentance. But they are ignorant. How is it with the whites? Let the spirit of war be let loose among the Elders of Israel, and they will become as wild as unbroken colts on the prairie. If this would be the case among this people, what may we expect of others? What may we expect of the degraded and ignorant Lamanites? Let us set an example for all mankind to follow in the high road to peace, love, union, fellowship, and confidence, restoring to the world that which has been lost. To close my few remarks, remember that you must not slacken your hands in the least with regard to guarding the people and the stock day and night.

Delegate Hooper—Beneficial Effects of Polygamy, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, in the Bowery, in G. S. L. City, August 19th, 1866. Reported by G. D. Watt.

There is quite a number of subjects and little points that I wish to speak upon, and hope that I shall be able to set them forth in a manner which will answer my wishes.

In the first place, I will say with regard to our Delegate to Congress who has addressed you this afternoon, and this I will say for myself, that I am perfectly satisfied with his course while he has been absent on this mission as our Delegate to the seat of our government. I am satisfied that he has done all that we could expect of him, and I will say further, he has done more than we believed he could perform. Had we possessed the assurance which we now have of his ability, faithfulness and perseverance before he went to Washington, we might have anticipated all his labors and success. He told you the truth, when he said that his affliction, through the bereavement he has suffered, caused him to cleave to the Lord; and I can say of a truth, judging from the spirit which is in him, that the words Brother Stenhouse spoke concerning him this afternoon are true; he is a better man than when he left here for the City of Washington—he is a better man than ever he was before on the earth; he has more faith in God today than ever he had; he is surrounded with an influence that I never saw him possess before his travels and labors at Washington this last term. His labours are known to me. They were known to me when he was in Washington—both his conduct and his success were known to individuals here. We are glad to say of him that we are proud of his labors. We can say this safely in his presence, for he has enough of the Spirit of the Lord in him not to feel flattered. This I believe will satisfy all the Latter-day Saints, and very likely a great many others. Enough on this.

Brother Hooper and Brother Stenhouse have avoided, in their speaking this afternoon, an error that I committed last Sunday by mentioning names; and I will now ask the pardon of this congregation for ever speaking a name when attached to such a vile character, as I mentioned last Sunday. We know by the power of the Spirit of God that it is true, that when men rise up against the Gospel of life and salvation, they will always commit themselves, and then they will commit themselves with one another to that degree that they cannot believe each other. This is the case with those more particularly who have arrayed themselves against us for a few years past. Their work they must perform. I do not wish to injure them. They must have their day. Their time and season are allotted to them, the same as to all men for good or for evil. They can do us no harm—they can do nothing against the truth. The Lord will make the wicked and the ungodly and their acts accomplish his design, for, “Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain.” We need have no fears with regard to the outside world, if we will purify and cleanse the inside of the platter. If this people, the Latter-day Saints, who profess to know and understand the way of life and salvation, can sanctify themselves so that they are accepted of God our Father, and of Jesus Christ, his Son, our Elder Brother and Savior, then all is right everywhere. Rest assured that the omitting of that duty is all we need fear.

I wish to give my views with regard to that doctrine and practice which are so obnoxious to the outsiders—to those who do not believe. It is an old saying that a continual dropping will wear a stone, so a continual laboring will bring about the purposes of the Lord. They say that polygamy is obnoxious to the world. This is really not so; it is the name of it that they object to the most. In connection with this let us look at the Christian world, and I will refer to the ladies who compose a portion of this congregation. There are many ladies, probably, here, who have lived long in the outside world, previous to coming to Utah, and who are not entirely unacquainted with the usages of society there. You know that it is customary to admit a certain class of gentlemen to private parties and entertainments where they are greeted cordially and welcome. They are esteemed as gentlemen of grace, education and polished manners; they are adepts in all the little extras of most refined society. They are great lovers of the fair sex, and their gallantry, fine appearance, and gentlemanly bearing too readily win for them the deepest admiration of the fair ones who may chance to cross their path. Yet it is not unknown, in the circles they frequent, that they are vile and corrupt, with regard to chastity. Yes, it is known that those beautiful gentlemen are libertines, that they do not respect female virtue any more than they do their old clothes, which they have worn and and cast off. Yet, they are greeted with the most profound respect and deference, their great crimes against female chastity are winked at, and they are still permitted to frequent the best society to lead astray, and decoy from the paths of virtue, the unsuspecting and unwary female.

Take another view of this subject Let any one of the poor unfortunates, whom those unprincipled scoundrels have, by their hellish arts, seduced from the paths of virtue and honor, make her appearance in a select party where the ladies are fanning the vanity of those wicked men with their unmeaning and insincere adulations, and what would be the consequence? Instead of making the poor creature welcome, she would be spurned from their presence; unceremoniously cast out upon the cold world to be crushed down still deeper into the dark depths of crime and degradation, with none to reach forth a saving hand, or shed a tear of sympathy over the dreadful fate of the dishonored and lost one.

This is one of the inconsistencies of the refined society of the age. The defiler of the innocent is the one who should be branded with infamy and cast out from respectable society, and shunned as a pest, or as a contagious disease is shunned. The doors of respectable families should be closed against him, and he should be frowned upon by all high-minded and virtuous persons. Wealth, influence and position should not screen him from their righteous indignation. His sin is one of the blackest in the calendar of crime, and he should be cast down from the high pinnacle of respectability and consideration, to find his place among the worst of felons.

Every virtuous woman desires a husband to whom she can look for guidance and protection through this world. God has placed this desire in woman’s nature. It should be respected by the stronger sex. Any man who takes advantage of this, and humbles a daughter of Eve to rob her of her virtue, and cast her off dishonored and defiled, is her destroyer, and is responsible to God for the deed. If the refined Christian society of the nineteenth century will tolerate such a crime, God will not; but he will call the perpetrator to an account. He will be damned; in hell he will lift up his eyes, being in torment, until he has paid the uttermost farthing, and made a full atonement for his sins. It is this very class of men, though not all of them, who have set up such a howl against the doctrine of polygamy, which is so much despised and which was believed in and practiced by the ancients—by the very men who are held up to us as patterns of all the piety that was ever exhibited through man upon the face of the earth.

This matter was a little changed in the case of the Savior of the world, the Son of the living God. The man Joseph, the husband of Mary, did not, that we know of, have more than one wife, but Mary the wife of Joseph had another husband. On this account infidels have called the Savior a bastard. This is merely a human opinion upon one of the inscrutable doings of the Almighty. That very babe that was cradled in the manger, was begotten, not by Joseph, the husband of Mary, but by another Being. Do you inquire by whom? He was begotten by God our heavenly Father. This answer may suffice you—you need never inquire more upon that point. Jesus Christ is the only begotten of the Father, and he is the Savior of the world, and full of grace and truth. It is not polygamy that men fight against when they persecute this people; but, still, if we continue to be faithful to our God, he will defend us in doing what is right. If it is wrong for a man to have more than one wife at a time, the Lord will reveal it by and by, and he will put it away that it will not be known in the Church. I did not ask Him for the revelation upon this subject. When that revelation was first read to me by Joseph Smith, I plainly saw the great trials and the abuse of it that would be made by many of the Elders, and the trouble and the persecution that it would bring upon this whole people. But the Lord revealed it, and it was my business to accept it.

Now, we as Christians desire to be saved in the kingdom of God. We desire to attain to the possession of all the blessings there are for the most faithful man or people that ever lived upon the face of the earth, even him who is said to be the father of the faithful, Abraham of old. We wish to obtain all that father Abraham obtained. I wish here to say to the Elders of Israel, and to all the members of this Church and kingdom, that it is in the hearts of many of them to wish that the doctrine of polygamy was not taught and practiced by us. It may be hard for many, and especially for the ladies, yet it is no harder for them than it is for the gentlemen. It is the word of the Lord, and I wish to say to you, and all the world, that if you desire with all your hearts to obtain the blessings which Abraham obtained, you will be polygamists at least in your faith, or you will come short of enjoying the salvation and the glory which Abraham has obtained. This is as true as that God lives. You who wish that there were no such thing in existence, if you have in your hearts to say: “We will pass along in the Church without obeying or submitting to it in our faith or believing this order, because, for aught that we know, this community may be broken up yet, and we may have lucrative offices offered to us; we will not, therefore, be polygamists lest we should fail in obtaining some earthly honor, character and office, etc,”—the man that has that in his heart, and will continue to persist in pursuing that policy, will come short of dwelling in the presence of the Father and the Son, in celestial glory. The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy. Others attain unto a glory and may even be permitted to come into the presence of the Father and the Son; but they cannot reign as kings in glory, because they had blessings offered unto them, and they refused to accept them.

The Lord gave a revelation through Joseph Smith, His servant; and we have believed and practiced it. Now, then, it is said that this must be done away before we are permitted to receive our place as a State in the Union. It may be, or it may not be. One of the twin relics—slavery—they say, is abolished. I do not, however, wish to speak about this; but if slavery and oppression and iron-handed cruelty are not more felt by the blacks to-day than before, I am glad of it. My heart is pained for that unfortunate race of men. One twin relic having been strangled, the other, they say, must next be destroyed. It is they and God for it, and you will all find that out. It is not Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball and Daniel H. Wells and the Elders of Israel they are fighting against; but it is the Lord Almighty. What is the Lord going to do? He is going to do just as he pleases, and the world cannot help themselves.

I heard the revelation on polygamy, and I believed it with all my heart, and I know it is from God—I know that he revealed it from heaven; I know that it is true, and understand the bearings of it and why it is. “Do you think that we shall ever be admitted as a State into the Union without denying the principle of polygamy?” If we are not admitted until then, we shall never be admitted. These things will be just as the Lord will. Let us live to take just what he sends to us, and when our enemies rise up against us, we will meet them as we can, and exercise faith and pray for wisdom and power more than they have, and contend continually for the right. Go along, my children, saith the Lord, do all you can, and remember that your blessings come through your faith. Be faithful and cut the corners of your enemies where you can—get the advantage of them by faith and good works, take care of yourselves, and they will destroy themselves. Be what you should be, live as you should, and all will be well.

Who knows but the time will come when the inquiry will be made in Washington, by the President, by the Congressmen: “Are things any worse in Utah than in Washington: than they are in New York? or in any State of the Union? are they more unvirtuous, are they more disloyal to the Government? But then there is polygamy.” That has nothing in the least to do with our being loyal or disloyal, one way or the other. But is not the practice of polygamy a transgression of the law of the United States? How are we transgressing that law? In no other way than by obeying a revelation which God has given unto us touching a religious ordinance of his Church. And the anti-polygamy law has yet to be tested, as to its constitutionality, by the courts which have jurisdiction. By and by men will appear in the departments of the Government who will inquire into the validity of some laws and question their constitutionality. Marriage is a civil contract. You might as well make a law to say how many children a man shall have, as to make a law to say how many wives he shall have. It would be as sensible to make a law to say how many horses or oxen he shall possess, or how many cows his wife shall milk. If a woman wants to live with me as a wife, all right; but the law says you must not marry her, and own her as your wife openly. As the law stands, she can come home to me, not as my wife, you know; she can sweep my house, make my bed, help me to make the butter and cheese, and share in all my pleasure and wealth, but the ceremony of marriage must not be performed. This is what is practiced in the outside world from the President in his chair to the lowest dog-whipper on the street that has means to obtain. They have their mistresses, and thereby violate every principle of virtue, chastity and righteousness.

In the large cities of the east—New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Cincinnati, Albany, Boston, etc., clubs are formed, composed of young men of those cities who pass in society as bachelors. Instead of entering into the honorable state of marriage, they hire and support girls. If one of the young men in the club should get honorably married, he is at once rejected, and his name is erased from the roll. The members of those clubs have their girls here and there; but no binding contract exists between them, either for time or eternity—for this life or that which is to come. They are hired the same as you would hire a horse and chaise at a livery stable; you go out a few days for a ride, return again, put up your horse, pay down your money, and you are freed from all further responsibility. The Lord of heaven and earth frowns upon this sort of traffic. The constitution and every just law of the United States are opposed to it. All honourable ladies and gentlemen in North and South America, and in all the world, should be ready to raise their voices against it, in terms of indignation and disgust.

The last time I was in the city of Lowell there were fourteen thousand more females than males in that one city. That is many years ago. They live and die in a single state, and are forgotten. Have they filled the measure of their creation, and accomplished the design of heaven in bringing them upon the earth? No; they have not. Two thousand good, God-fearing men should go there, and take to themselves seven wives a-piece. It is written in the Bible, “and in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, we will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel; only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.” The Government of the United States do not intend that that prophecy shall be fulfilled, and the Lord Almighty means that it shall. Do you not think that the Lord will conquer? I think he will, and we are helping him. It is the decree of the Almighty, that in the last days seven women shall take hold of one man, &c., to be counselled and advised by him, being willing to spin their own wool, make their own clothing and do every thing they can to earn their own living, if they can only bear his name to take away their reproach. What is this order for? It is for the resurrection; it is not for this world. I would not go across this bowery for polygamy, if it only pertained to this world. It is for the resurrection; and the Spirit of the Lord has come upon the people, and upon the ladies especially, to prepare the way for the fulfillment of his word. The female sex have been deceived so long, and been trodden under foot of man so long, that a spirit has come upon them, and they want a place, and a name, and a head; for the man is the head of the woman, to lead her into the celestial kingdom of our Father and God.

A great many people who have lived in this Territory for a time have testified to their friends at home that there is more peace, more real happiness and joy, more union and fellowship in the families of Utah, than can be found in their own neighborhoods and cities. They say that which is true. There is not a tenth part of the trouble in families in this city where there are many wives that there is where there is but one wife. I have more trouble and difficulties to settle with those who have but one companion than I have with those who have more than one, to counsel and advise them, and coax and persuade them to live their religion and do as they should do.

I have proved to my Father and God that I am willing to forsake wives and children, and labor all my life time to build up his kingdom and never enjoy the society of a companion while I live; that I did in my young days, and I feel the same today. By and by the word will be given to me and my brethren to arise from the dead in the first resurrection, and receive the keys thereof, and go and call forth the rest. That will be here in a little while. When a man comes upon the borders of three-score years and ten he begins to prepare and look to where he shall be buried; though he may live a little longer the sands of life will soon be run out. There are now many in this congregation who will soon see the allotted number of years for man to live. I shall see it in less than five years more. Whether I shall live over that time is no matter to me, if I can do the work designed of the Lord for me to do.

I will here notice what Brother Joseph F. Smith was talking of this morning. It was said to Joseph Smith, the prophet, “according to your faith and the teachings of your Elders, nobody will be saved but you, Mormons; now, Mr. Smith, will all be damned but the Mormons?” Jos. Smith replied, “yes, and the most of them, unless they repent and do better.” To be damned is to be banished from, or be deprived of living in the presence of the Father and the Son. Who will live with him? Those whom I have already mentioned. They will come up and inherit the highest glory that is prepared for the faithful—those who live as father Abraham did, and improve upon every means of grace, and upon every privilege given to them of the Lord. What is going to become of the others? Brother Joseph F. Smith told us the truth this morning. None will become angels to the devil except those who have sinned against the Holy Ghost. There exists many intermediate states between the highest glory, where God the father dwells, and the lowest kingdom among these kingdoms which are not kingdoms of glory. “In my Father’s house are many mansions,” said Jesus. The mansions in his Father’s house are many, and they are ready to receive the people of this world who have lived according to the best light they have; and they contain all who have lived upon the earth from the beginning to this time, and they are capacious enough to receive all who will live to the end of time. John Wesley, and other great ecclesiastical reformers, could not attain to the same glory, by their own acts, while in the flesh that they would have done had the fullness of the Holy Priesthood been upon the earth in their day, and they had possessed all the glory and power and keys of it, and lived faithful to its requirements all their days. They cannot be crowned as Gods, even the Sons of God. Will they be saved? They will. In a kingdom? in a good kingdom? A kingdom full of glory, full of light and joy, more than ever entered into the heart of man to conceive. While they lived it never entered into their hearts to conceive of the glory they do or will enjoy. If they have committed wrongs, and repented of them, the blood of the Savior will cleanse them from all sin, except the sin against the Holy Ghost, which is a sin unto death. The Apostle John writes, “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death. I do not say that ye shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin; and there is a sin unto death.”

I have endeavored to give you a few items relating to the celestial kingdom of God and to the other kingdoms which the Lord has prepared for his children. The Lamanites or Indians are just as much the children of our Father and God as we are. So also are the Africans. But we are also the children of adoption through obedience to the Gospel of his Son. Why are so many of the inhabitants of the earth cursed with a sin of blackness? It comes in consequence of their fathers rejecting the power of the Holy Priesthood, and the law of God. They will go down to death. And when all the rest of the children have received their blessings in the Holy Priesthood, then that curse will be removed from the seed of Cain, and they will then come up and possess the priesthood, and receive all the blessings which we now are entitled to. The volition of the creature is free; this is a law of their existence, and the Lord cannot violate his own law; were he to do that, he would cease to be God. He has placed life and death before his children, and it is for them to choose. If they choose life, they receive the blessings of life; if they chose death, they must abide the penalty. This is a law which has always existed from all eternity, and will continue to exist throughout all the eternities to come. Every intelligent being must have the power of choice, and God brings forth the results of the acts of his creatures to promote his kingdom and subserve his purposes in the salvation and exaltation of his children. If the Lord could have his own way, he would have all the human family to enter into his church and kingdom, receive the Holy Priesthood and come into the celestial kingdom of our Father and God, by the power of their own choice.

May the Lord bless you. Amen.

Union, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, in the Tabernacle, in Great Salt Lake City, Sunday, Dec. 23rd, 1866. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I will try to speak to the people. I shall need silence in the house, and the close attention of my hearers. I expect the faith of the Saints even without asking for it. The faithful will exercise faith, and pray always for all who are within the reach of mercy. The good desire good to all. I have words to say to the good, and also to the froward—to the righteous and to the unrighteous—to the Saint and the sinner.

I wish in the first place to address myself to those who profess to be Latter-day Saints upon the subject of the faith that we have embraced. As to the ordinances of the Gospel we are united, we are one; but I will inquire are we one in all temporal matters? Are we one, as we are exhorted to be by the Savior and by his disciples? Jesus prayed, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word: that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them and thou in me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me.” We should very much dislike not to be acknowledged as the Saints of the Most High God, and the disciples of his Son Jesus Christ. Are we one, as the Savior prayed that his disciples might be? If we are, then are we a happy people; if we are, then are we a powerful and influential people. Jesus had power to do many miracles so-called; he changed water into wine, fed thousands upon a few loaves and fishes, and raised the dead.

If we were one, we should then prove to heaven, to God our Father, to Jesus Christ our elder brother, to the angels, to the good upon the earth, and to all mankind that we are the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. If we are not one, we are not in the true sense of the word the disciples of the Lord Jesus. What is necessary to constitute a Saint, or a disciple of Jesus? It is simply this: a strict obedience to all the requirements of the ordinances of the house of God, and to be one in all things as the Father and the Son are one, which will prepare every person for a life of usefulness, and fill them with joy, peace, life, intelligence, good feelings for themselves, for their friends; and for their enemies—good feelings for the world of mankind at large. This spirit of oneness fills them with good desires, with good hopes, and qualifies them to administer good to every person who has determined to cease to do evil and learn to do well. We are constantly taught to love and serve God, and keep his commandments. If we do this, then are we his disciples and preparing ourselves to accomplish a great and good work.

Are the people who are living in this mountainous country, who profess to be members of the Church of Christ, Latter-day Saints indeed? It is true they have left their former homes and friends and come to this distant land to enjoy the privilege of worshipping God according to the revelations He has given unto us, where no one could molest or make us afraid, or break us up as a community again, drive us from our homes, take possession of our farms and rob us of everything we possess. We are here for the purpose of enjoying the fruits of our labours, for the purpose of serving God with an undivided heart. Still, we are prone to wander and come short of faithfully fulfilling all our duties. We are nevertheless, in these mountains. You inquire if we shall stay in these mountains. I answer yes, as long as we please to do the will of God, our Father in heaven. If we are pleased to turn away from the holy commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ, as ancient Israel did, every man turning to his own way, we shall be scattered and peeled, driven before our enemies and persecuted, until we learn to remember the Lord our God and are willing to walk in his ways.

“But,” says one, “I thought that we were to suffer persecution for righteousness’ sake.” I would to God that all our persecutions were for righteousness’ sake, instead of for our evil doings. Still, as I have often remarked, I never believed that the righteous have ever suffered as much as the wicked. Jesus Christ said to his disciples, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world.” I admit that the Saints anciently “were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheep skins, and goat skins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; they wandered in deserts, and in the mountains, and in dens, and caves of the earth.” We are still further informed by historians that the Apostle Peter was crucified, head downwards; and John, the beloved disciple, was thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil, but escaped unhurt. Yet in all this suffering and persecution, they were blessed and comforted and rejoiced though in tribulation.

Since I embraced the Gospel, with many of my brethren, I have been broken up and compelled to leave my home five times, yet we live as a people, and are as comfortable and as well off as our neighbors who do not belong to the Church; and I do not know that our enemies hate us any more than they hate each other. The sufferings that have come upon the Latter-day Saints, through persecution, will not compare in severity with the sufferings which have come upon the wicked in our own day. I desire and pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that I may live so that the wicked and haters of good will not like me very well. It is impossible to unite Christ and Baal—their spirits cannot unite, their objects and purposes are entirely different; the one leads to eternal life and exaltation, the other to death and final destruction. I esteem the persecutions which we suffer as a light thing. We have an object in view, and that is to gain influence among all the inhabitants of the earth for the purpose of establishing the kingdom of God in its righteousness, power and glory, and to exalt the name of the Deity, and cause that name by which we live to be revered everywhere, that he may be honored, that his works may be honored, that we may be honored ourselves, and deport ourselves worthy of the character of his children.

Whoever lives a few years more will see suffering among the wicked until their hearts sicken. If I have one wish which is greater than another, it is, if I had the power, to make men do right; to make them stop their swearing, their lying, their deceiving, to stop trying to injure the innocent, and begin to be honest and upright in all their dealings with one another and honor the name of the Deity. This is the worst wish I have ever had in my heart towards my fellow beings. The great object of my life is to establish the kingdom of God upon the earth. The Latter-day Saints are one in their faith in the great leading doctrines of the Church, but are they one in their efforts to establish the kingdom of God, that must be established upon the earth in the latter days?

It may be asked what I mean by the kingdom of God. The Church of Jesus Christ has been established now for many years, and the kingdom of God has got to be established, even that kingdom which will circumscribe all the kingdoms of this world. It will yet give laws to every nation that exists upon the earth. This is the kingdom that Daniel, the prophet, saw should be set up in the last days. What Daniel saw should come to pass in the latter times is believed by nearly all the religious societies of Christendom. The only great difference between us and them is in the method of its establishment. The mother Church, in trying to establish it, expected that they had to make holy Catholic Christians of everybody who lived on the earth.

If the Latter-day Saints think, when the kingdom of God is established on the earth, that all the inhabitants of the earth will join the church called Latter-day Saints, they are egregiously mistaken. I presume there will be as many sects and parties then as now. Still, when the kingdom of God triumphs, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ, to the glory of the Father. Even the Jews will do it then; but will the Jews and Gentiles be obliged to belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? No; not by any means. Jesus said to his disciples, “in my Father’s house are many mansions; were it not so I would have told you; I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am, there ye may be also,” &c. There are mansions in sufficient numbers to suit the different classes of mankind, and a variety will always exist to all eternity, requiring a classification and an arrangement into societies and communities in the many mansions which are in the Lord’s house, and this will be so for ever and ever. Then do not imagine that if the kingdom of God is established over the whole earth, that all the people will become Latter-day Saints. They will cease their persecutions against the Church of Jesus Christ, and they will be willing to acknowledge that the Lord is God, and that Jesus is the Savior of the world.

If the Latter-day Saints were one politically and financially, and in all their endeavors to build up the kingdom of God, there would be a great power in the midst of this people. There has been considerable said of late touching a class of men that are here who call themselves “gentiles.” I do not know whether they are “Gentiles” or not; I have no doubt but that some of them are do not think they know the meaning of the term they apply to themselves; but they are welcome to it if it pleases them. Much has been said and printed about the “Mormons” spoiling the “Gentiles” here, and bringing their lives and property into jeopardy. We know that hundreds of thousands of dollars go into their hands yearly from this community, which many of them freely spend to bring, if possible, swift destruction on the very people who have made them rich.

In yesterday’s Daily Telegraph you will see a card addressed to the authorities of the Church, and you will also see my answer to it. There is a class of men who are here to pick the pockets of the Latter-day Saints, and then use the means they get from us to bring about our destruction. They want my houses, and your houses, and the priviliege [privilege] of defiling our beds; and if there is any thing said or done about it, lying dispatches are sent to the General Government to get an army sent out here as quickly as possible, for “O dear, we are in danger; and need protection!” What are you in danger of? You have not the privilege of driving a stake on any lot of land you want for the purpose of claiming it, when it has been owned and improved for years. There is a lot opposite the theatre that I took the fence off and rented to the City Council for a hay market. A man whom I now see in this congregation suggested its occupancy; said he, “why does not somebody go and sleep on it, and survey it in the morning and claim it.” If anybody had done so, undoubtedly he would have got a preemption right that would have lasted him as long as he would have wanted it. It is such men as these, who are striving with all their might to rob us of our homes, of our rights and privileges of the country which, by our industry, we have made—it is these men that we should cease to deal with. We should be of one heart and mind, and be determined not to put means in their power to create trouble for us, and bring us to sorrow. The laws of self-preservation demand this of us. Do I wish this to apply to all outsiders? I do not, for there are just as good men who do not belong to the Church, as those who do, as far as they know and understand. There are men with whom we deal who are gentlemen inside and out, men who would not steal my property, and rob me of every right and privilege which belongs to me as an American citizen. They would not insinuate themselves into my family and try to take from me my wife without a legal process, or my daughter without the consent, of the parties concerned. These are the men with whom we should deal, and let alone those who are here to destroy the Latter-day Saints.

I was a little sorry, though I do not know that I ought to be, to see certain names attached to the card I have referred to, and I do not now believe that they mean, by attaching their names to it, what the document shows to the world. It shows that the persons, whose names are there signed, are in open opposition to the people called Latter-day Saints. Shall we foster such a band of men? No.

I understand there are a few men in Congress—and I am glad to think that they are very few—who go so far as to say that the Latter-day Saints never should be permitted to own a foot of land in America, and they will do all they can to deprive us of this privilege; and there are men here who entertain the same ideas, and they will do all they can to wrest our possessions from us. Men of this class have followed us like bloodhounds in all our wanderings as a people from the beginning to this day; and I have thought for sometime that I should lift my voice to the Latter-day Saints to become sufficiently of one heart and of one mind to let this class of men severely alone. I say, from merchants, lawyers, editors, farmers, mechanics, and all individuals who will give succor to such a class of men and to the paper which they have published here, withdraw your support. If he is a lawyer, let him alone. If he is a merchant, pass by his store or place of business; serve the mechanic the same; and let every enemy of this people become satisfied that they cannot look to us for support while they, at the same time, are seeking with all their might to bring about our destruction. I am giving you my counsel upon this matter, that you have no deal or communication with men who would destroy you. For it is written, “He that receiveth you, receiveth me; and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me.”

You say you have dealt with your enemies, and they have treated you kindly, and you can get things cheaper from them than from your brethren, and you will spend your money where you please, etc. You have the privilege of doing so, and the result of such a course you can easily learn. Those very men you are dealing with are wishing and desiring with all their hearts that they had the power to destroy the influence of Brigham Young and his counsellors, and the apostles and the elders of this Church: “If we had the power we would destroy them from the face of the earth.” Do they hate Brigham Young and his friends? They do. Are you a Saint, can you be a Saint, without their hating you as they hate me and my friends, and Jesus Christ and his Father? Are you so shortsighted and blind as to believe that you can be fellowshipped by the wicked, and be a Saint? If such is the case, you had better repent of your sins and be baptised forthwith, before the water freezes up. It is your privilege to trade where you please; but if you trade with your enemies, I will promise you that you will expose yourselves to wicked influences, and, finally, be cut off from the Church, without the necessity of our trying you for your fellowship because you trade at this store or at that store. We shall do no such thing as try you for your fellowship because you trade where you please. All men have power to do good, or to do evil; they have power to serve God or the devil, and we do not wish to deprive, any person, Saint or sinner, of this liberty. We advise you; we give you good and safe counsel. You are at liberty to listen to good advice or not. You are at liberty to be guided by good counsel, if you will. If you observe it, blessings to you will be the result. If you abide not by it, you will walk in darkness. Neglect your duty to your God and your brethren and you will commit evils for which you will be tried for your fellowship and be severed from the Church.

We advise you to pass by the shops and stores of your enemies, and let them alone, but give your means into the hands of men who are honest men, honorable men, and upright men—men who will deal justly and truly with all. Shall we deal with the Jew? Yes. With those who call themselves Gentiles? Certainly. We calculate to continue to deal with them; but shall we mingle our spirits together, and be of their faith? No. We will have our religion, serve our God, and build up his kingdom on the earth; and our friends may have the privilege of eating and drinking and enjoying themselves as well as we, if they get it honestly.

Let the Latter-day Saints be agreed upon their temporal and financial interests. I will ask the question: Do you think the Father and the Son are agreed in their political views and their financial operations? Why every Christian in the world says yes, and we say yes; and we cannot be one, in the sense Jesus prayed for us to be, without this. Would you like to live at ease and get rich? Would you like to keep your homes in this city? I know you would. You can do so by being one in all things. There is much envy in the hearts of men with regard to this city. They want to possess it. They see it as the great emporium of the west—as the great nucleus of commercial wealth in the interior of America. Who will make it so? The Lord. But they do not know this. They imagine that this will be done solely by the industry of the “Mormons.” We could burn up this city, and lay it waste, and go to another district of country and make a city just as good as this, and as desirable, in a few years, by the help of the Lord. I have frequently wondered why our neighbors do not go and settle in some other place, and build up a great city the same as we have done; but no, they want the “Mormons” to build cities for them to possess. This we shall do no more for them, if I can help it. If we build cities we mean to possess them.

A word to the sisters. You run to this store and to that store, and you do not think that men who are used to and are acquainted with the tricks of trade know how to buy you. You want an article that has been sold, we will say, at two dollars at the other stores, you get it for two-thirds of what you would have to pay them. By means of this device, and a proper use of velvet lips, and a whine of sympathy, this sister and that brother is bought. “O it is hard that we cannot go and spend our money where we please.” You may go and trade where you please, I tell you, with the promise that, by and by, you will go out of the Church, and you will go to destruction. And why is this? Because light has come into the world, but if you are disposed to choose darkness rather than light, it will prove that your deeds are evil. Will you come to the light? I am holding it up before you. I am telling the Latter-day Saints how to make themselves useful in the world, how to make themselves happy and comfortable and secure, that they can not be moved out of their place. But give your means to your enemies, and you lay a foundation for your perfect overthrow.

The Bishop of the 13th Ward tried to collect school taxes from some of the “Gentile” population. They refused to pay, and suits were commenced before the District Court. That court decided that we had no right to make a law to collect taxes to build schoolhouses. In any of our neighboring Territories an opposite decision would have been given; but here expounders of the law encourage outsiders not to pay a single dollar of taxes if they can help it, or do anything to improve the city, to erect public buildings, or to maintain public peace and good order. The policy of the traders to whom I have referred, is to get all the people’s money they possibly can, to send men to Washington to howl for an army to come to Utah.

There is a gentleman present this afternoon who said, “we want an army here, not to injure the people, but to get our hands into the public pocket, and our arms too up to the shoulders. I want myself to get one hundred thousand dollars.” What else do they want an army here for? As a means of getting into my houses and into yours, to defile our beds and drive us from our homes. That they will never do again; it never will take place. If the Latter-day Saints will cease supporting such men, they will leave our borders without our buying them out at the rates they propose. They are already sold at an exceedingly cheap rate. There are gentlemen here who are men of honor, and they may be found even among the Jews.

Let me here say a word to the Jews. We do not want you to believe our doctrine. If any professing to be Jews should do so, it would prove that they are not Jews. A Jew cannot now believe in Jesus Christ. Brother Neibaur, who thinks he is a Jew, is a good Latter-day Saint; he has not any of the blood of Judah in his veins. The decree has gone forth from the Almighty that they cannot have the benefit of the atonement until they gather to Jerusalem, for they said, let his blood be upon us and upon our children, consequently, they cannot believe in him until his second coming. We have a great desire for their welfare, and are looking for the time soon to come when they will gather to Jerusalem, build up the city and the land of Palestine, and prepare for the coming of the Messiah. When he comes again he will not come as he did when the Jews rejected him; neither will he appear first at Jerusalem when he makes his second appearance on the earth; but he will appear first on the land where he commenced his work in the beginning, and planted the garden of Eden, and that was done in the land of America.

When the Savior visits Jerusalem, and the Jews look upon him, and see the wounds in his hands and in his side and in his feet, they will then know that they have persecuted and put to death the true Messiah, and then they will acknowledge him, but not till then. They have confounded his first and second coming, expecting his first coming to be as a mighty prince instead of as a servant. They will go back by and by to Jerusalem and own their Lord and Master. We have no feelings against them. I wish they were all gentlemen, men of heart and brain, and knew precisely how the Lord looks upon them.

The Latter-day Saints, in all their travels, have not been as rebellious as the Children of Israel were. Here we are, and the kingdom of God has to be built up by us, and we have a warfare on hand. We have men in our midst who are as full of lies and enmity against this people as the air is full of matter, who are constantly trying to bring evil upon this community. We have the principles and powers of darkness to combat; they stalk abroad at noon-day and in the night, and their influences are at work in secret chambers. We must contend against them.

I will return to our present condition of affairs. I do not think the Government of the United States collects one-hundredth part of the revenue which is due to them for liquor sold by importers and those who manufacture liquor here in this Territory, though I may be mistaken in this. The City Council manufacture liquor and they pay the revenue due on it to the Government, and I am of the opinion they are the only ones in this Territory who promptly do so.

I mean to hold this subject, of not supporting our enemies, before the people, until I get the Saints to build up the kingdom of God unitedly, and let our open and secret enemies alone. Let the Saints spend their money with those merchants who pay their taxes and seek to build up this place and develop the country. Let our enemies alone. “What, all the outsiders?” Not by any means. I trade with outsiders all the time. We trade with them abroad in the east, and by and by we shall trade with them in China and Japan, and with other nations of the world. Our course is upward and onward. “Mormonism” is not going to die out.

My counsel to the Latter-day Saints is to let all merchants alone who seek to do evil to this people. Those who will do well, deal righteously and justly, will be one with us in our financial affairs. There is nothing uncommon in this course. We see it carried out in almost every city in the Union. The Roman Catholics will deal with their friends in preference to their enemies. The same may be said of the Methodists, and of almost every religious sect in Christendom. The same also will apply to political factions. Do you not think that it would be impolitic for us to pursue an opposite course to this? Should we not be of one heart and mind in our temporal interests as well as in our spiritual? What interest have we upon the earth, only to build up the kingdom of God and share and enjoy the benefits arising from this labor? Have you any interest in the “Gentile” nations? Have you any interest in building up “Gentile” cities, as they are called? You have not. Your whole interest is embraced in building up the kingdom of God.

While I advise my brethren to withdraw all support from their enemies, I would have it distinctly understood that we deport ourselves in a friendly and neighborly manner towards our friends. This I calculate always to do; and I shall require something more of them by and by. We shall expect them to open their mouths and use their pens for the right, the just and the honorable. With them we will deal, and together build up settlements and cities, and produce peace and harmony in the country, instead of anarchy and war. I wish our friends to lift their voices against those vile wretches who are seeking to destroy an innocent and industrious people. We wish them to write, and send their testimony to these who will publish it to the world, that the Latter-day Saints are doing as near right as any people. There are some who do it, and more will do it by and by. We will be known and understood better than we have been. Sustain those who sustain this kingdom, and those that fight against it, cease to sustain them.

I am disposed to make a few remarks with regard to a circumstance that transpired here a short time ago; I refer to the death of Dr. Robinson. I have preached here a number of times since he was killed in the street, and have never referred to the subject here. Ex-Governor Weller was assisted in the investigation of this matter by the best counsel that could be got. The great drift of that investigation was to trace that murder to the pulpit of the Tabernacle. I sent word to them by those who I thought would tell them while they were in session where they sat day after day and week after week, not to cease their investigations until they had traced that murder to Brigham Young if it was possible. I also sent word to them to call upon Brigham Young for examination. There is a gentleman here this afternoon who has said that he knows all about it. If he does, why does he not tell of it; and privately he places the murder upon President Brigham Young. Why do you not testify to what you know before the Courts? If President Young is guilty of any such crime, trace it to him. There are some things that Brigham has said he would do; but has never happened to do them; and that is not all, he prays fervently, to his Father and God that he may never be brought into circumstances to be obliged to shed human blood. He never has yet been brought into such a position. Still, let me find a dog in my bedroom I would not say that he would be very safe; I hope he will never get there. If I should find a dog in my buttery, or in my bedroom as some have, I fear they would give their last howl. I hope and pray they never will come there. If they jump my claims here, I shall be very apt to give them a pre-emption right that will last them to the last resurrection. I hope no man will ever venture so far as to tempt me to do such a thing. The Latter-day Saints will never again pull up stakes and give their possessions to their enemies. You think that you can get the Government to help you to do this. It will never be done worlds without end. (A unanimous amen.) We are going to live our religion, and be fervent in the service of our God.

I see a notice in the Daily Telegraph that they are going to send a detective here to trace the murderers of Dr. Robinson. It is published to the world that the murdered man had no enemies only in the City Council. He had no enemies there. Were it not that there are many outsiders here to-day I would like the Saints to know how I feel about all such dastardly transactions. I will tell the Latter-day Saints that there are some things which transpire that I cannot think about. There are transactions that are too horrible for me to contemplate.

The massacre at Haun’s mill, and that of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, and the Mountain Meadow’s massacre and the murder of Dr. Robinson are of this character. I cannot think that there are beings upon the earth who have any claim to the sentiments and feelings which dwell in the breasts of civilized men who could be guilty of such atrocities and it is hard to suppose that even savages would be capable of performing such inhuman acts. To call a physician out of his bed in the night under the pretext of needing his services, and then brutally kill him in the dark, is horrible. “Have you any idea who did that horrible deed?” I have not the least idea in the world who could perpetrate such a crime. I say to all concerned, cease not your efforts until you find the murderers; and place the guilt where it belongs. I have not said this much before on that matter, and should not have spoken of it now, if the excitement which it created had not passed away. I do not care about the outsiders hearing this, as their opinion is neither here nor there to me; the Saints, however, are welcome to my views upon this matter. If the outsiders think that I am guilty of the crime, let them trace it to me and prove it on me.

If any man, woman or child that ever lived has said that Brigham Young ever counseled them to commit crime of any description, they are liars in the face of heaven. If I am guilty of any such thing, let it be proved on me, and not go sneaking around insinuating that Brigham knows all about it. Infernal thieves will come into my public office and sit ten minutes, and then go out and lead thoughtless persons into the practice of thieving, saying: “It is all right; I have been up to see the President.” Such men will be damned. This will answer my mind for the present. This, however, is not all I shall say on this subject; but shall, so help me my Father in heaven, in the name of Jesus, continue my exertions until the Latter-day Saints shall cease supporting their enemies and learn to build up the kingdom of God. If the Latter-day Saints will live their religion, they will increase in political and commercial strength and influence, power and glory on this earth, until we shall be above and entirely out of the reach of those miserable creatures who are continually seeking our overthrow; and we shall go upward and onward, and rise, and continue to rise and increase, until the kingdom of God is fully established on the earth.

The genius of our religion is to have mercy upon all, do good to all, as far as they will let us do good to them. So far as any people will let the Lord do good to them, so far will he do it. We preach life and salvation to all. “But we will not have your doctrine, we will be Jews.” Be Jews; be honest Jews and live your religion that was given to you by Moses. Let every other religious sect do the same. Let the fraternity of the brotherhood keep their oaths and covenants and vows, and they will be honest, upright men, and gentlemen. May the Lord bless you. Amen.

Weakness of the Human Mind, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, January 13th, 1867. Reported by Edward L. Sloan.

It was said by one of old that “faith comes by hearing;” and I might say, with propriety, that faith comes by hearing and conceiving of the words of life. It was also said, “How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent,”—by proper authority. Hence, it is necessary that we should have teachers. When the elders of this Church go into places where the Gospel has never been preached before, the Spirit bears witness to the people of its truth. A number will believe for a time. The seed is sown; some of it falls on stony ground; it springs up rapidly, but has not sufficient root, and it speedily withers. Some falls into the ground, and to all appearance will have a thorough growth; but the cares of the world spring up and choke that seed, and the hearts where it was sown forsake the truth and neglect to hearken to the voice which whispered to them, “This is the truth.” But there are a few in the world who will hearken to the words of life when they hear them, and will remain faithful. Yet but few, in comparison to the great numbers who have heard the Gospel, have received it in good and honest hearts, and have brought forth fruit meet for repentance; and of those who have embraced it, many have run well for a season who have not continued to abide in the faith. Still, it is necessary that we should be taught and instructed in the things of God.

It has just been remarked here, by Brother Musser, that it is hard for a man to study law without forsaking the spirit of the Gospel. This proves that there is a lack of sound knowledge in the individual who permits himself to be thus led away. There are many among the inhabitants of the earth who are weak in comprehension, and of such limited capacity that they can only look upon one thing at a time; and they forsake the contemplation of everything else for the one idea which occupies the mind. There are some of our Elders who will argue themselves into false doctrine by giving an undue preference to one scripture and passing over others equally as important. This same lack of comprehensiveness of mind is also very noticeable at times with some men who happen to accumulate property, and it leads them to forsake the Spirit of the Gospel. Does it not prove that there is a contractedness of mind in those who do so, which should not be? The Lord owns the earth; he made it; the gold and the silver, the wheat and the fine flour are his, and the cattle upon a thousand hills are his;” yet he is not going to forsake the holy Gospel or to apostatize therefrom because of that. When Jesus comes to reign King of nations as he now reigns King of Saints, he will not apostatize although the whole world will be at his command; and when the Ancient of Days shall come and sit upon his throne to bring to judgment the vast family of man, he will not apostatize. How contracted in mind and short-sighted we must be to permit the perishable things of this world to swerve us in the least degree from our fidelity to the truth. It shows that we lack knowledge which we should possess.

If men cannot study and practice law and keep the Spirit of the Lord, they ought to quit it. As I have frequently told the people at our places of recreation, if they cannot go there with the Spirit of the Lord, they had better stay at home. We do not want lawyers, nor merchants, nor business men to be engaged in those pursuits unless they have the Spirit of God with them. We do not wish them to continue in their business unless they can see and understand that all things pertaining to this earth are subject by right to the priesthood of God, and should be guided and directed by it in every matter. All that they are, have, or do, ought to be subject to the priesthood of the Son of God; and unless they can feel thus, they had better go into the fields and can[y]ons to work—suffer themselves to be poor and keep the Holy Spirit with them. It seems to me, at times, as though the people should be ashamed that we are under the necessity of charging them not to become surfeited with the things of this world, so as to neglect the duties that are obligatory upon them.

We are like children who require constant teaching; and the teaching that we principally need is in temporal things. How often do we hear it said that we are one in spiritual matters. If any turn away in the least it is because they yield to some delusive spirit or argument, which convinces them that an error is truth. The Saints want teaching with regard to their every-day life and their temporal avocations. People believe the Gospel to be true in Germany, in France, in Scandinavia, in England, and wherever on the face of the earth it is preached to them, and they receive it.

Brother Musser has been telling us of being in Calcutta, and of baptizing some who believed the Gospel there. They wished to be gathered; but was it to learn of baptism for the remission of sins? or to learn the first principles of the Gospel? No; they could have learned them in Calcutta Do people come from Scandinavia to learn that the laying on of hands is a correct principle? or from England to find out that we should break bread in commemoration of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ? No; they could learn these things in the several parts of the earth where they first heard the Gospel; they could obtain the spirit of prophecy there, and speak in tongues, and have the discerning of spirits. What do you gather here for? To be guided and dictated in the things of the kingdom of God, so as to become of one heart and of one mind in all things political, religious and social; to learn how to live to overcome the evils that are in you, that you may be kind and gentle and truth-loving, full of the Spirit of the Lord from Sunday morning to Sunday morning; not coming together on the first day of the week for our meetings and sacraments, and then going away and turning to the beggarly elements of the world without thinking of religion again until the next Sabbath morning. The Latter-day Saints are gathered together to learn how to overcome every sin, and every passion within them, to sanctify themselves before the heavens, and sanctify the Lord God in their hearts.

It has been remarked this afternoon that we are introducing a new order of things by some of the teachings recently given to the Saints. It is no new doctrine to let our enemies alone. This book (Doctrine and Covenants) contains revelations given to the Church thirty-seven, thirty-six, thirty-five, and thirty years ago. This is what we call the Doctrine and Covenants of the Church; yet it is but a part of them. Here are the Bible and the Book of Mormon, both of them containing the doctrine and covenants of the Church. But this book contains the revelations given in this our day; and one of the first revelations that was given to Joseph the Prophet, concerning the gathering of the house of Israel, points out the manner in which the brethren should live to be justified before the Lord. I have taken the liberty of saying in the past, and I think I might repeat it with safety, that these first revelations given to the Church will probably be among the last to be strictly obeyed. The revelation I refer to dictated the brethren what to do with regard to their temporal business; and it will be comparatively easy to obey all the revelations until we come to that which touches the purse—one of the first that was given to the Church.

You can read it in the Doctrine and Covenants; and you will find that it directs concerning the purchasing of lands, the giving of all property over into the hands of the Bishop, the receiving of inheritances and being satisfied therewith; and that all that the Bishop did not feel disposed to return back to those from whom he received it, was to remain in his charge, or in the charge of the Trustee-in-Trust, to build-up the kingdom, preach the Gospel, administer to the wants of the poor, and sustain the priesthood. How would this be received by our merchants here, who are members of the Church? Commence at the head of East Temple-street, which I call Whisky-street, and go down it on either side, and ask our brethren who are merchants to hand over their property to Bishop Hunter, who might say to them, “I will let you have ten acres of land to commence farming, and here are a thousand dollars to start you,” and how would they act? I feel like saying, as I have said before, unless many of them take a different course they will go to hell. These were the first revelations given to the Church; yet there are men to-day who are Bishops and Presidents of settlements, who express their willingness to labor for the welfare of the people and the building up of the kingdom, but feel that no person holding the priesthood has a right to dictate them with regard to their property. They are very willing that Brother Brigham should dictate in spiritual matters, and trust their eternal salvation to the principles he teaches; but the property they may have acquired or the manner in which their labor should be directed, or who they shall trade with, whether an avowed enemy or a man who pays tithing, and taxes, and helps to build up the community, are things with which, they think, he has no business.

I think it would be well to cleanse the inside of the platter. I had a little note put into my hands not long since, which stated that some of our merchants were taking advantage of the instructions given to the Saints on the matter of trading. There are some merchants who have never made a calculation of what the value of their goods is in first cost, freight, insurance, &c., that they might know at what price they could afford to sell them, so as to have a reasonable living profit; but they have asked themselves. “How much can I get for these goods? how much can the Latter-day Saints bear to be gulled in purchasing them? Do merchants here take cent. per cent. of profit? Yes, 500 per cent., when they can get it. An article which costs them a dollar, they will charge from five to twenty dollars for, as they can obtain it; and they would take fifty dollars for it, only they think the people will not bear to be gulled to that extent. One man came to me lately, who wanted to buy some goods. He asked me if he should buy of so and so. I said I would go among those who pay their tithing and their taxes, and among those who do not swear nor blaspheme the name of God, and men who have consciences, who would not steal your wagon, nor take your stock off the range—these are good traits, and I will here say that thousands and millions who are not in the church are just as good, morally, as we are—I told this friend to go among those men and see what he could purchase goods at. He did so, and returned and showed me his figures. The first place I directed him to; he found he would have to pay twenty per cent. more for his goods than in the second place. The second was a Latter-day Saint; the first was not in the church; he concluded to purchase of one of the brethren because he could do twenty per cent. better with him.

The other day a man wanted to to buy goods of an outsider, because he could do so much better; the bills were examined and it was found that this person was selling fifteen per cent. higher at wholesale than our brethren were selling the same goods at retail. There is something the matter with people who think they can buy cheaper from outsiders merely because they are outsiders. How many of those before me are really judges of goods? Not one in five hundred. “Why, Brother Brigham,” it may be asked, “am I not a judge of a piece of ribbon?” You know whether the colors please you; but can you tell whether it has been on the shelf of the store for one year or twenty years? Brethren will buy cloth without being judges of the quality; and because they can buy an article, apparently the same, a little cheaper in one place than they can in another, they will do so, although the quality is much inferior, and think they have got a bargain.

Brother Kimball sometimes brings up the figure of the potter putting fresh clay into the mill and grinding it to use in his business, to illustrate the influx of the brethren and sisters who are gathered from the nations, and who have to be instructed in those principles which have been taught here for years; but carrying out the figure, I may say that some of the clay here has been ground over and over for thirty years, and it comes out as rough as the first time it passed through the mill. Some men seem as if they could learn so much and no more. They appear to be bounded in their capacity for acquiring knowledge, as Brother Orson Pratt, has in theory, bounded the capacity of God. According to his theory, God can progress no further in knowledge and power; but the God that I serve is progressing eternally, and so are his children: they will increase to all eternity, if they are faithful. But there are some of our brethren who know just so much, and they seem to be able to learn no more. You may plead with them, scold them, flatter them, coax them, and try in various ways to increase their knowledge; but it seems as if they would not learn. They know the Gospel is true, and that it has brought blessings to them, but ask them if they know who they are? where they are from? why they are here? If they have commenced to learn to control the elements around them? and if they understand the nature of their own organizations? and they will answer, “Why I never thought of them.” They have thought of the labor they have been engaged in, how to chop down a tree, or plough the ground, or work at the bench, or do whatever kind of work they have been accustomed to do? but do they know anything about the character of Him whom they profess to worship? No, only that the Gospel has been revealed. The Holy Spirit has touched their hearts; they believe the Gospel, and they do not know that they can learn any more.

We do not intend to let you go until we have tried to do something with you. We wish to talk to the people until they learn to understand principle. When the Saints get understanding they will never ask a question when they are told to build up a settlement, make farms, or do anything else that may be requisite in righteousness to build up the kingdom of God. Some of our elders have learned a good deal by experience on many points. In one thing they are all willing to be obedient, and that is to go and preach the Gospel to the nations. What elder who is called upon a mission would refuse to go. Yet if he is asked to go and make a farm he seems to feel that it is quite a different matter.

There is one subject that I have incessantly kept before the capitalists of the Latter-day Saints for the past sixteen years; and that is to go east and purchase machinery with their means. Go and buy carding machines, you men who have capital; and you who have not capital, sow a quarter of an acre of flax, and keep on sowing until you become flax growers; and you machinists, make mills to spin it, that we may have linen from flax of our own growing. This has been done to some little extent; but for years I have asked the brethren who have capital to go and buy machinery, yet how much has been bought and imported here? There are many of our sisters who like to have silk ribbons for their bonnets, and who wish silk for sewing, and fabrics made from silk for dresses and other things. Why should not this silk be produced and manufactured here? If a man was worth a million of dollars, or millions of dollars, in the kingdom of God, and possessed the Spirit of the Lord, knowing and understanding his duty, and was told to get worms and make silk, and manufacture it from the raw material, he would not say a word, nor ask a question, but he would do as he was desired. So it would be if he were told to go and buy machinery; he would go and buy it, and bring it here to be employed for the good of the people, or his own benefit, and for the upbuilding of the Kingdom of God. Until a very few years ago there was not a carding machine in the Territory only those which I brought, nor a spindle to spin an ounce of cotton or wool until I started it. The factory at Parowan, iron county, I started; there is one little cotton factory in Utah county, and I have a small cotton and woollen factory, and I have urged and urged the brethren to bring on woollen machinery here, then the brethren would save their sheep. We need from one hundred to two hundred of the same capacity in the Territory.

If one of our capitalists is asked to buy machinery, his reply is, “I can make money faster by bringing goods here to sell.” Is that your object in coming here? You who feel so and do so will either stop in your course and change it, or you will never enter the celestial kingdom. You will go where our merchants will go, if they are not careful. When a man has one dollar, or a million of dollars, and his duty is pointed out by the priesthood, and he asks “Can I do better with my means some other way?” he will sooner or later sink in his means and in his faith and go to ruin. The earth is the Lord’s, and he is going to give it to his Saints; and if we are anxious to obtain the world before the Lord is willing to let us have it, we will lose that which we seek to gain; but if we are faithful, we shall inherit all things.

It is for this that we are gathered together. It is not that we may be taught baptism for the remission of sins; neither is it that we may have the gift of prophecy bestowed upon us; nor the gift of tongues, nor the interpretation of tongues; but we are gathered together that we may become one, as a people, in our politics and in our financial matters, as well as in our faith; that we may know how to systematize everything that we are engaged in, how to deal with one another; and how to organize the elements to bring forth for our own wants, and do all we do in the name of the Lord and to his glory. Will it add any thing to his glory? No, but he desires to see his children doing right and living according to the laws of life; and he has brought forth light into the world for this purpose, that we might be saved and know how to obtain eternal life; know how to govern and control ourselves and deal gently with one another; how to increase the kingdom of God and spread abroad peace throughout the land, that all may be quietness, peace, good order and happiness. Would that not be almost Zion? If we will do this we can produce heaven here upon the earth. If we want to enjoy the principles and spirit of heaven, we must live so as to produce them in our own bosoms; and if we should unfortunately find ourselves in hell, it will be because by our acts we will have so chosen. When we are truly one we will be one in those things that pertain to this life.

We do not wish harm to those who have not the faith which we possess. We wish good to all mankind; and desire to do good to all who will permit us. But we should commence our labors of love and kindness with the family to which we belong; and then extend them to others. It is written, “If any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” If we do not seek the welfare of the household of faith, we will sooner or later deny the faith. Our mission is not to build up the wicked anywhere. We are called out of the world to build up the kingdom of God. We are here to promote the principles of heaven, and advance the purposes of the Almighty, and no others and when you spend a dollar to build up any other power or kingdom than the one which God has established, you are doing wrong, and you will find it out sooner or later. Sometimes when I think of these things I am very strenuous in my feelings; and some might think that I was whipping them to it just as we have been whipped into being an independent people. We have been whipped, and beaten, and kicked out of doors; we have been told to go and take care of ourselves; our houses, our lands, and all we had got were wanted by our enemies; and we were driven into the wilderness to starve. Thus we have been whipped to be independent. Have we statesmen here amongst us? Yes, the best in the world, and that is not boasting. We have been obliged to learn how to govern ourselves and the people. If we know how to manufacture what we need, to draw a sustenance from the elements in this forbidding country, it is because we have been obliged to do so. When we came here, if we did not know how to get shoes, we knew how to go barefooted. I will venture to say that not one of four out of my family had shoes to their feet when we came to this valley. Necessity is said to be the mother of invention; and if we did not know how to make moccasins we learned. And we learned how to govern and control ourselves.

Occasionally it is said, and published in the world, “what a terrible people these Mormons are! No man’s life is safe in Utah!” Put this people by themselves and there would not be a law suit among them in a year, nor a murder in fifty years; nor ever, if they would live their religion. But if men try to crowd into our houses to seduce our wives, sisters, and daughters, they should take care. If they want families, let them take an honourable course to obtain them; if they want wives, they should marry them, and give them their names honestly. What is the condition of the world? If you go to Europe, to Germany, to France, and other countries, what will you find? You need not go beyond the United States; not even beyond the City of Friends. I saw a reservoir there in which they found the bodies of twenty-nine children, when cleaning it, and it had been cleaned but a short time previously. Sometimes, I was informed, they had found more in it. It is a little better in England, for there they will keep their illegitimate children if they can, or give them away. If a man wants a wife let him take one, and not act the scoundrel. I will promise every man on the face of this earth, that ever was or ever will be, that if they will betray the innocent and ruin the virtuous they shall have damnation for their portion. Set this people down by themselves and permit them to remain so would there ever be any trouble among them? No; there never would be, so long as they would live their religion. Go to cities west, north and east of us, and it is not uncommon to find half-a-dozen men dead by violence in a morning. What is said about it? Why, nothing. But if a scoundrel should meet his just deserts here what an outcry is made? The Christian world is in an uproar about it. Yet I do not wonder at it; the thing is so rare. But if there were half-a-dozen men killed a day here, as in some other places, it would scarcely be noticed; it would not be so rare.

Do the Latter-day Saints know that they are gathered together to be taught in temporal things, in all their business movements and dealings, and to learn how to live in families and as a community in peace and happiness? We are charged with abusing our families. There is not another community on the earth where families are loved, honored, respected and cherished as they are among the Latter-day Saints—even if we do have more than one wife. You know we are accused of almost every crime; and it is said that we hold our families in bondage. They do not look as if they were held in bondage. They like to be held in the bondage they are in; and there are a great many others in the nations of the earth who feel the same way, and whom we will gather and hold in the same bondage—even in the bonds of the Gospel.

Men are gathered here, and get the spirit of the devil in them. They do feel the influence of the Spirit of the Lord at times, and then they are humble. But they will allow the spirit of evil to seize hold of them, and they will get full of passion and abuse a neighbor, a child or a wife. The wife will run to the bishop and lay her complaint before him, and he will chasten the husband. It seems to me at times as though there are some men and women who are never happy only when they are miserable, they appear to delight so much in quarreling and contending. But if they will strive to live according to the principles of the Gospel, they will overcome that, with everything else which hinders their progress in the truth. We are here to be sanctified, that every thought, and desire and feeling may be brought into subjection to the will of God.

You latter-day Saints are gathered expressly that husbands may be taught how to live with their wives, and wives with their husbands; parents with their children, and children with their parents; that all may become of one heart and of one mind. The Saints are so in many respects already. They are on the increase, and I expect to see the day that they will be subject in all things to the priesthood of God, and never raise an argument against anything they may be instructed to do by the priesthood. Many are like children who seek to handle the very things that would destroy them; but when they come to understanding they will never have to be told of any duty twice by their leaders.

It was remarked here this afternoon that preaching by example is better than preaching by precept. That is so or example exercises a more powerful influence than precept. If any of you can set a better example than is set by myself, do so. Live a better life than I do, if you can. Many men will say they have a violent temper, and try to so excuse themselves for actions of which they are ashamed. I will say, there is not a man in this house who has a more indomitable and unyielding temper than myself But there is not a man in the world who cannot overcome his passion, if he will struggle earnestly to do so. If you find passion coming on you, go off to some place where you cannot be heard; let none of your family see you or hear you, while it is upon you, but struggle till it leaves you; and pray for strength to overcome. As I have said many times to the Elders, pray in your families; and if, when the time for prayer comes, you have not the spirit of prayer upon you, and your knees are unwilling to bow, say to them, “Knees, get, down there;” make them bend, and remain there until you obtain the Spirit of the Lord. If the spirit yields to the body, it becomes corrupt; but if the body yields to the spirit it becomes pure and holy, and is fitted to come forth with the just in the morning of the first resurrection, and to dwell with the sanctified; otherwise we cannot be prepared for this glory. We are gathered together to sanctify these bodies, to deal, act transact and do everything we do in the love of God, and in the fear of God, for the building up of his kingdom and to his name’s honor and glory.

I could tell you many, things that might seem hard to those who are not members of the Church. There are a great many different kinds of capacities on the earth; and a great many who do not understand the different spirits that are in the world. Take a person who is quick of comprehension, if he can receive the Spirit of the Lord, let him have the Gospel preached to him; and if he is honest he will embrace it. Excuse me, outsiders, there are no men or women on the earth, but who, if they will yield to the Spirit of Christ, will embrace that which is known as “Mormonism,” when they have opportunity. There is a great variety of temperaments, many of whom, it seems, cannot see and understand the revelations of God; and if their eyes were opened to see the heaven of heavens, as soon as they would be closed again, they would say “I guess I have been dreaming;” when there is no other spirit of sensibility than the Spirit of God. It fills immensity. David has expressed himself; “Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” David believed that the Lord is in hell. But does he dwell there? No; he is there by his Spirit, for all the evil that is there has bounds set to it which it cannot pass by.

Now, I expect by to-morrow night or next morning, that I shall hear of some of our bishops trading with some of the worst enemies we have; and we have men here in our midst who would cut your throats and mine. But, bishops, if you understood your duties, you would never have to be told twice concerning anything that it was right you should do. We will try to bear with you until you do understand; yet we are not so merciful as our Father in heaven. But when we sanctify ourselves to enter into the presence of the Father and of the Son, we will be filled with the same patience that he is filled with.

May the Lord bless you. Amen.

How Saints Should Order Their Vocation of Life, etc.

Brigham Young

Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt City, February 3, 1867. Reported by David W. Evans.

If the people can hear me as well as I can hear their noise walking, there will not be much difficulty in my making myself understood. This walking carelessly with heavy boots makes quite a confusion in the hall. In addressing the Saints, whether by the word of exhortation, admonition, correction or in doctrine, it requires good attention for a person to retain even a small portion of that which they hear This is why it is so necessary for us to be talked to and preached to so much. If we read the Bible, it soon goes from us; we gather principles and have the pleasure of perusing the experience of others who have lived in former days; but we soon forget them. Our own cares and reflections, and the multitude of thoughts that pass through our minds take away from our recollections that which we hear and read, and our minds are upon present objects—our woes, our trials, our joys, or whatever seems to be present with us and directly in the future, and we forget what we have heard.

When I address the Latter-day Saints, I address a people who wish to be Saints indeed. I look upon my brethren and sisters, and I think, what have you come here for? what brought you here into to this territory—this mountainous country—into these wild regions? Why, the answer is, at once, “I came here because I was a Latter-day Saint, I wanted to gather with this people; my heart was with those who had embraced the Gospel, and I wished to be with the Saints.” There are none who have done so but would like to gather. What for? What is the object of being a Saint? For the express purpose of enjoying the blessings of the pure in heart—of those who will be prepared to dwell in the presence of the Father and the Son. For this I have left my all;—left, perhaps, father, mother, sisters, brothers, friends, relatives, a good home; in many instances left a wife, left a husband, left our children for the sake of the society of the Saints. And when we are gathered together we can look around and inquire of ourselves, if we are really what we profess to be; do we walk in that path that is marked out for the faithful and obedient as strictly and as tenaciously as we should, devoting ourselves entirely to the service of God, for the building up of his kingdom, and the sanctifying of ourselves—striving to overcome every evil passion, every unhallowed appetite; seeking to the Lord for strength to subdue every obnoxious weed that seems to grow in our affections, and overcome the same to that degree that we may be sanctified? We can examine ourselves, and decide upon this question, without asking the counsel of bishop or presiding elder, or Apostle or any man or woman in this church. We are capable of deciding this for ourselves.

If any of the Latter-day Saints would like to have the path of duty pointed out to them in plainness and simplicity, and the road that leads to perfection marked before them so as to travel therein with ease, they should seek unto the Lord and obtain his spirit—the Spirit of Christ—so that they can read and understand for themselves. Do they love God with all their hearts? Do they keep his commandments? Do we know whether we do love the Lord? Do we know whether we keep his commandments? Do we know whether we are walking in the path of obedience or not?

There is a trait in the character of man which is frequently made manifest in the Saints. It is simply this—to see faults in others when we do not examine our own. When you see people, professing to be Latter-day Saints, examining the faults of others, you may know that they are not walking in the path of obedience as strictly as they should. For this simple reason—it is all that you and I can do as individuals, as members in the Church and Kingdom of God, to purify ourselves, to sanctify our own hearts, and to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts. It may be observed, or the question may be asked: “Are we never to know the doings of others? Are we never to look to see how others are walking and progressing in this Gospel? Must we for ever and for ever confine our minds to thinking of ourselves, and our eyes to looking at ourselves?” I can merely say that if persons only understand the path of duty and walk therein, attending strictly to whatever is required of them, they will have plenty to do to examine themselves and to purify their own hearts; and if they look at their neighbors and examine their conduct, they will look for good and not for evil.

It is true that under some circumstances we may have to look at others. For instance, here is the High Council, they are called to act upon cases that come before them. Of course their duty, then, is to examine into the conduct of their brethren and sisters; and this is required of them. And if they do it without prejudice, without selfishness, by the power of the Holy Ghost, divested of every improper feeling, judging righteous judgment between man and man, the performance of this duty will purify themselves just as much as any other labor. If a person is not called to sit in the High Council, he may be called to be a Bishop, and if he is through his ward, faithfully looking after the wants of the poor, examining into the conduct of each and every family to know whether they are orderly and respectable, and whether they conduct themselves accordingly to the word and law of God, seeing there is no evil, backbiting, mischief or any conduct unbecoming Christians, he is laboring faithfully in the discharge of his duty, and is entitled to the Spirit of the Lord to sanctify his own heart and to purify himself, just as much as if he were on his knees praying. If an elder is called to go and preach the Gospel, and he travels over the plains, in a train or in the coach, or by the railroad, or goes aboard a ship and crosses the ocean, he is attending to his duty in this just as much as though he were in the High Council or on his knees praying all the time. If a man is called to go and labor for the poor, if his Bishop calls upon him to go into the kanyon after a load of wood for the poor, and he goes there, with his heart uplifted to God, and with his eye single to the building up of the kingdom, and gets the load of wood and lays it at the door of the Bishop for the poor, for the widow or for those who cannot help themselves, he is just as much in the line of his duty in so doing as though he were on his knees praying. And so we can proceed with the whole duty of man. No matter what the person is called to do, if it is to build up the kingdom of God on the earth, if he cheerfully perform the duty, he is entitled to the Spirit of the Lord—the Spirit of Truth—the Holy Ghost; and will most assuredly possess the same. There is a time for preaching, for praying, for sacrament meetings, for labor, and when we are attending to any or all of these, in the season thereof, we are entitled to the purifying influence of the Spirit of God. If a man is called to go and farm, and he goes faithfully about it, because he is directed to do so by the authorities that are over him, and he raises his grain, his cattle, and brings forth his crops to sustain man and beast, and does this with an eye single to the glory of God and for the building up of his kingdom, he is just as much entitled to the Spirit of the Lord, following his plough, as I am in this pulpit preaching, according to the ministry and calling, and the duties devolving upon him. If a man is called to deal in merchandize for the benefit of the people of God; in traveling to buy his goods, and looking after them and their safety until they reach their place of destination, and distributing those goods to the Saints and taking his pay for them, let him act with an eye single to the glory of God and the upbuilding of his kingdom on the earth, and he is as much entitled to the Spirit of the Lord and the Holy Ghost as a man is preaching. If a man is called to raise stock, and to procure machinery to manufacture the clothing that is necessary for the Saints, and he goes at that business with his eye single to the building up of the kingdom of God on the earth he is entitled to the Spirit of the Holy Gospel, and he will receive and enjoy it just as much as if he were preaching the Gospel. Will he have the spirit of teaching and expounding the Scriptures? No, he has the spirit to know how to raise sheep, to procure the wool, to put machinery in operation to make the clothing for the advancement, benefit and building up of the people of God on the earth. And the Spirit of the Lord is here in these labors—farming, merchandizing and in all mechanical business just as much as it is in preaching the Gospel, if men will live for it.

Suppose we bring a few illustrations in regard to the present feelings and knowledge of the elders of Israel. We need not go back to Nauvoo or Kirtland, to find illustrations among our merchants, but take them as we find them here. If they enter upon their business without God in their thoughts, it is “How much can I get for this? and how much can I make on that? and how much will the people give for this and for that? and how last can I get rich? and how long will it take me to be a millionaire?” which thoughts should never come into the mind of a merchant who professes to be a Latter-day Saint. But it should be “What can I do to benefit this people? And when they live act, and do business upon this principle, and think “What can I do to benefit the kingdom of God on the earth, to establish the laws of this kingdom, to make this kingdom and people honorable, and bring them into note, and give them influence among the nations so that they can gather the pure in heart, build up Zion, redeem the House of Israel, and perhaps assist, (though I do not thinks there will be any need of it) to gather the Jews to Jerusalem and prepare for the coming of the Son of Man?” and labor with all their might for their own sanctification and the sanctification of their brethren and sisters, they will find that the idea of “How much can I make this year? can I make sixty thousand dollars? can I make in my little trade a hundred thousand dollars?” never would enter their minds; they never would think of it. But I am sorry to say they do not. Our merchants may turn round and ask us if we expect them to make anything. Yes, we are perfectly willing they should get rich; no matter how rich they are, but what will you do with those riches? The question will not arise with the Lord, nor with the messengers of the Almighty, how much wealth a man has got, but how has he come by this wealth and what will he do with it?”

I can reveal things to the people, if it would do any good; give them the mind of the Lord if they could hear and then profit by it, with regard to wealth. The Lord has no objection to his people being wealthy; but he has a great objection to people hoarding up their wealth, and not devoting it, expressly, for the advancement of his cause and kingdom on the earth. He has a great objection to this.

And our mechanics, do they labor for the express purpose of building up Zion and the kingdom of God? I am sorry to say that I think there are but very few into whose hearts it has entered, or whose thoughts are occupied in the least with such a principle; but it is, “how much can I make?” • If our mechanics would work upon the principle of establishing the Kingdom of God upon the earth, and building up Zion, they would, as the prophet Joseph said, in the year 1833, never do another day’s work but with that end in view. In that year a number of Elders came up to Kirtland; I think there were some twenty or thirty Elders. Brother Joseph Smith gave us the word of the Lord; it was simply this: “Never do another day’s work to build up a Gentile city; never lay out another dollar while you live, to advance the world in its present state; it is full of wickedness and violence; no regard is paid to the prophets, nor the prophecyings of the prophets, nor to Jesus nor his sayings, nor the word of the Lord that was given anciently, nor to that given in our day. They have gone astray, and they are building up themselves, and they are promoting sin and iniquity upon the earth; and,” said he, “it is the word and commandment of the Lord to his servants that they shall never do another day’s work, nor spend another dollar to build up a Gentile city or nation.”

Now, if any one is disposed to ask whether Brother Brigham has ever, since then, worked a day, or half a day, or an hour, to build up a Gentile city or the Gentile world, he will most emphatically tell the Latter-day Saints that he never has.

I could illustrate by circumstances, and could relate if I were disposed to give them to you, the providences of God, and how favorable they are to those who walk humbly before him. In the summer of 1833, in July, Brother Joseph gave the word of the Lord to the Elders, as I have been telling you. I returned east; and in September Brother Kimball and I went up together with our little families. When we arrived in Kirtland, if any man that ever did gather with the Saints was any poorer than I was—it was because he had nothing. I had something and I had nothing; if he had less than I had, I do not know what it could be. I had two children to take care of—that was all. I was a widower. “Brother Brigham, had you any shoes?” No; not a shoe to my foot, except a pair of borrowed boots I had no winter clothing, except a homemade coat that I had had three or four years. “Any pantaloons?” No. “What did you do? Did you go without?” No; I borrowed a pair to wear till I could get another pair. I had travelled and preached and given away every dollar of my property. I was worth a little property when I started to preach; but I was something like Bunyan—it was “life, life, eternal life,” with me, everything else was secondary. I had traveled and preached until I had nothing left to gather with; but Joseph said: “come up;” and I went up the best I could, hiring Brother Kimball to take my two little children and myself and carry us up to Kirtland. In those days provisions and clothing were as dear as they are now in this place; and a mechanic in that country who got a dollar a day and boarded himself was considered rather an extra man. A dollar a day! And my brethren when they have three or five dollars a day, and have worked a year, will be sure to come out four or five or six hundred dollars in debt if they can get it. We did not live so in that country; we never used anything more than our means. When I reached Kirtland I went to work as soon as the word was that I could work and not preach I knew that I could get plenty; for I knew how; I always could gather around me and make property.

There were some thirty or forty Elders gathered to Kirtland that fall; but there was only one mechanic in the entire number whom I knew that did not go to Cleveland and the neighboring towns to work during the winter—for the simple reason, that they thought they could not get one day’s work and get their pay for it, in the place Joseph was trying to build up—and that exception was your humble servant. I made up my mind that I would stay in Kirtland, and work it I never got a farthing for it; and I went to work for Brother Cahoon, one of the Trustees of the Temple, to build his new house. I worked all winter, and when spring came, was called upon to go to Missouri—a tramp of a thousand miles on foot—and a thousand back. Before going, the brethren gathered in who had been to the surrounding places during the winter—joiners, painters, masons and plasterers. I asked some of the brethren how much they had made? I had worked there through the winter, and at its commencement had not the least prospect of getting twenty-five cents for my winter’s work. I told Brother Cahoon I would work whether I could get anything for it or not, “for,” said I, “the word of the Lord is for me to work, to build up Zion, and poor as I am I shall do it.” But the Lord opened the way; and I gained Brother Cahoon’s heart to that degree that if he received anything he always came to me, and said, “Brother Brigham, I have so and so, and I will divide it with you.” Brother William F. Cahoon and I kept to work at the house until his father got into it. When we had finished the house, he had paid me all that was coming to me. The Lord had opened the way. This work finished, another job came, and then another, and when the spring opened, I can safely say that there was not any four, nor perhaps any six or ten of the brethren who had gone elsewhere to work who could produce as much property, made by them through that winter, as I had made.

You can see from this the providences of God, with one winter’s work in Kirtland, when it was one of the hardest places that ever mortal man had to get a living in, and that too, when I had to work for nothing and find myself, that is, seemingly so, to all outward appearance.

I had my pants and coats, two cows, a hired house and a wife in the meantime. And I was better off than any other man who came to Kirtland the fall before, according to the property that we came with, and I had enough to live with my family and leave them comfortable, and my gun and sword and money enough to pay my expenses. If I had no work to do, and there was nobody to hire me, there was plenty of timber and I made some bedsteads or stands, and if anybody wanted such things they would come along and say, I will give you a little oats or a little corn, or something or other for them, and so the Lord opened the way most astonishingly.

I tell this, because it is an experience I am acquainted with, for it is my own. I am not so well acquainted with the providences of God in the experience of others, as I am with my own, except by faith and the visions of the Spirit.

I stayed in Kirtland from 1833 till 1837; I preached every summer. Here are brethren who know what I am saying. I traveled and preached, and still went back nothing; but was willing to exchange, deal, work and labor for the benefit of my brethren and myself, with the kingdom and nothing else before me all the time. When I left there for Missouri I left property worth over five thousand dollars in gold, that I got comparatively nothing for. I could travel along, with regard to my experience, to this valley. I left my property in Nauvoo, and many know that I left a number of good houses and lots and a farm, and came here without one farthing for them, with the exception of a span of horses, harness and carriage, that Almon W. Babbit let me have for my own dwelling-house that my family lived in; and when I arrived here I owed for my horses, cows, oxen and wagons. Now, the brethren say:—“Why, Brother Brigham you are rich.” I simply relate this to show yet how I have lived and what I have been doing, and the result, that God, and not I, has brought forth. Now, I have some four or five grist mills, besides saw mills and farms; and let anyone ask my clerks if they ever hear me mention them from one year’s end to another, unless somebody comes into the office and alludes to them; but my mind is upon increasing the wealth and advancing the interests of this people, and upon the spread of the Gospel on the continents and the islands of the sea. Ask my clerks and my closest associates if they ever hear me mention my individual property unless somebody speaks about it. I own property, and I employ the best men I can find to look after it. If God does not give it to me, I do not want it; if he does I will do the very best I can with it; but as for spending my own time in doing it, or letting my own mind dwell upon the affairs of this world, I will not do it. I have no heart to look after my own individual advantage, I never have had; my heart is not upon the things of this world.

Excuse me for referring to myself. But I know that there is no man on this earth who can call around him property, be he a merchant, tradesman, or fa[r]mer, with his mind continually occupied with: “How shall I get this or that; how rich can I get; or, how much can I get out of this brother or from that brother?” and dicker and work, and take advantage here and there—no such man ever can magnify the priesthood nor enter the celestial kingdom. Now, remember, they will not enter that kingdom; and if they happen to go there, it will be because somebody takes them by the hand, saying, “I want you for a servant;” or, “Master, will you let this man pass in my service?” “Yes, he may go into your service; but he is not fit for a lord, nor a master, nor fit to be crowned;” and it such men get there, it will be because somebody takes them in as servants.

I have now related a little of my own experience. My experience has taught me, and it has become a principle with me, that it is never any benefit to give, out and out, to man or woman, money, food, clothing, or anything else, if they are able-bodied, and can work and earn what they need, when there is anything on the earth for them to do. This is my principle, and I try to act upon it. To pursue a contrary course would ruin any community in the world and make them idlers. People trained in this way have no interest in working; “but,” say they, “we can beg, or we can get this, that, or the other.” No, my plan and counsel would be, let every person, able to work, work and earn what he needs; and if the poor come around me—able-bodied men and women—take them and put them into the house. “Do you need them?” No; but I will teach this girl to do housework, and teach that woman to sew and do other kinds of work, that they may be profitable when they get married or go for themselves. “Will you give them anything to wear?” O, yes, make them comfortable, give them plenty to eat and teach them to labor and earn what they need; for the bone and sinew of men and women are the capital of the world.

If I could see my brethren and my sisters as willing to be taught, led and directed in the little trifling affairs of life, with regard to their food, raiment, houses, and labors, and how to make themselves useful and not waste their time and strength on that which does them no good; if I could see this people as willing to be taught in these things as they are in the great things—the revelations of the prophets, and what Jesus has said, and the beauties of eternity, and the excellency of the millennium, and what great men and women we are going to be, that would be delightful. But what would you be good for if you were in that condition? Nothing. What would you do? Nothing at all. Learn to be good for something. We have these things to learn here, or, if not here, somewhere else; and if we are not willing to learn here, and practice what we know for the benefit of ourselves, and improve on the grace God gives to us, how can he bestow his blessings upon us in the next state of existence? He will not do it; we have to learn and be willing to be taught here.

To return to the subjects of merchandizing and merchants. I know, and knew sixteen years ago as well as I do to-day, that from the very first the merchants who came here were laying the foundation for the uprooting of this people unless we had exceeding great faith; and that every dollar that was given to them was given to ruin you and me, and to destroy the kingdom of God on the earth. Can you believe this? “I do not know anything about that,” says one, “but I think I shall go where I call buy my calico the cheapest, and I do not know that it is any of your business where I buy my ribbons, hats or coats; I think that it is my business.” It is just as much my business, Latter-day Saints, to dictate in these things as it is in regard to the sacrament we are partaking of here to-day. Do the people know it? It is strange to them. Because your priests in England, France, Germany, in the Eastern or Southern states, and the islands of the sea, did not preach such doctrine, you cannot receive it. Did they preach baptism for the remission of sins? No. Then why receive it? Our fathers and priests did not preach any such doctrine as that a man has a right to dictate in temporal matters. Now by the same kind of reasoning, it might be proved that you could never receive the doctrine of baptism for the remission of sins. Why? Because the priests did not preach it; your fathers did not tell you that it was correct doctrine, and why did you receive it? Well, you did receive it, and the Spirit of the Lord bore witness that it was true. The Spirit also bore witness that you should have hands laid upon you for the reception of the Holy Ghost; and that the gifts of tongues, of prophecy, of faith, and the healing of the sick were to be enjoyed by the Saints. Now ask the Father in the name of Jesus whether I am telling you the truth about temporal things or not, and the same Spirit that bore witness to you that baptism by immersion is the correct way according to the Scriptures, will bear witness that the man whom God calls to dictate affairs in the building up of his Zion has the right to dictate about everything connected with the building up of Zion, yes even to the ribbons the women wear; and any person who denies it is ignorant. There is not a man or woman in the world who rises up against this principle but what is ignorant; all such are destitute of the spirit of revelation and enjoy not the Spirit of Christ.

Do I want to dictate? No, I am just as far from that, naturally, as a man can be; it is not in my heart. How glad would I be to be excused from this. Would I not rejoice to be left to mind my own concerns, and to attend to my own business, providing for the wants of my family and enjoying myself just as much as you? Yes. But the Spirit prompts me to perform the labors which devolve upon me, to plead with and urge the people to act for their own benefit. If this people would hearken to the counsel, given them, and be of one heart and one mind in their temporal affairs, can you not see the result? These men who have been urging trouble upon us, writing lies, and whose whole study is to destroy the kingdom of God from the earth would not be in our midst. Why? There would be nothing for them to do. “No;” says the sister, “if I give you ten dollars profit on your goods you use that for the destruction of this kingdom that I think so much of.” “No;” says a brother, “if I give you one dollar or one thousand dollars profit on your goods, you use that for the destruction of the kingdom of God that I am willing to sacrifice everything for. I can not give it to you, it is not reasonable to think that I must give this to you.”

“But,” says the merchant, “I demand it of you.” “Yes,” but I have just as good a right to go where I please to trade as you have to trade, and I shall give my ten, hundred, or thousand dollars to the man who would devote that means to the building up of the kingdom of God.” I do not say that all our merchants, mechanics or tradesmen are precisely as they should be before the Lord with regard to devoting their means. Touch their means, and in many instances you touch their souls. Still what does that prove? It proves that they are wrong and not right. And they should be right and their whole souls should be centred on the building up of the kingdom of God. There are many persons here who when they get five hundred or five thousand dollars, want to bring a few wagon loads of goods here to speculate upon. Why not bring machinery here? Why not raise silk? Through my own exertions I have the mulberry tree growing here in great abundance. The foundation is at length laid for making as much silk as we wish. But we have to tease the women to get them to weave silk here as they did in the old country. Have we no ladies here who can weave silk ribbons? if not we can soon send for some. But no, the manufacture of silk is not thought of; it is, “how shall I get money to spend with my enemies?” how rich can I get this year?” “how much can I make out of this people?” I am sorry to see it; it is not very creditable; for in so doing, we foster our enemies in our midst—they who seek with all the power they have to uproot us. You who have been in the Church thirty or thirty-five years know that there has always been a set of scavengers following the people to pick up what they could; and they are with us here to collect the filth. Are they willing to go and build up a city for themselves? No; they are not. I am speaking of those who deserve this; but there are many that are not of those speculators. Are they willing to go and take up a farm? No, they would not give a farthing for a farm unless they obtain a “Mormon’s” claim and bring about a fight in getting it. The latter they can do very easily; they can find all the fight they want. Their designs are to interrupt this community; they want some gambling houses, and they will have them. The City Council is no more willing now than ever to license gambling houses and grog shops; but it must, be done, and all hell is stirred up if I ask the people to suppress them. What do they want them for? They want what they call “civilization”—that is fighting, gambling, killing, whore houses, drinking houses, and every species of debauchery that can be imagined on the face of the earth. That is their “civilization,” and what they want introduced here. These scavengers are here and they want to introduce their systems. There are not a great many of them perhaps at the present time; but they will follow up, and I can tell the Latter-day Saints that we will be followed just as long as the devil reigns on the earth. He is untiring in his exertions, fervent in every act possible, for the accomplishment of his work. If the people would take the counsel given them health, wealth, influence, and power among the nations of the earth would surely come to them in a tenfold degree to what it ever has; it would come in such a manner that you would not know what to do with it, and you would, wonder and be astonished. “But no,” say many, “we will mingle with, live among, and nourish and cherish the servants of the devil, and give our money to, and associate with, and have his coadjutors in our midst.” And so we have got to continue to labor, fight, toil, counsel, exercise faith, ask God over and over, and have been praying to the Lord for thirty odd years for that which we might have received and accomplished in one year.

“I do not know,” says one, “how to do better than I do.” The Lord has given you and me the privilege of gathering up from among the wicked. “Come out of her my people,” are some of the last words revealed through his servant John in the last of the revelations given in the New Testament. And one of the last writers we have here in this book—John the Revelator—looking at the Church in the latter days, says: “Come out of her, my people”—out of Babylon, out of this confusion and wickedness, which they call “civilization.” Civilization! it is corruption and wickedness of the deepest dye. It is no society for you, my people, come out of her. Gather out where you can pray, where you can have meetings and sacraments; where you can meet, associate, and mingle together; where you can beautify the earth and gather around you the necessaries of life, and make everything as beautiful as Zion, and begin to establish Zion on the earth; sanctify yourselves, sanctify your houses, the lands that you live upon; your farms, the streams of water that flow through your cities, country places and farms; sanctify your hills and mountains and valleys, and the land around about, and begin to build up Zion. Now, “come out of her, my people,” for this purpose, “and partake not of her sins, lest ye receive of her plagues.” After all these revelations and commandments the people who profess to be Saints will mingle with the wicked, and foster those who would cut their throats, and feed and clothe, and give them everything they can gather together.

How is it if you come down to the acts of the people? Will the women knit their own stockings, and make their own clothing? Some of them may try to do so; but as a general thing, no. It is: “Husband, I want some money to go to the store to buy a bonnet; I will not be troubled with braiding the straw; I want some shoes, frocks and pants for my boys, and I will not be at the trouble of spinning this dirty wool.” And the man will not be at the trouble of raising it.

That is not the way to get rich. If you wish to get rich, save what you get. A fool can earn money; but it takes a wise man to save and dispose of it to his own advantage. Then go to work, and save everything, and make your own bonnets and clothing. And let our merchants do their business for the building up of the kingdom of God. If our merchants do not take this course, the time is not far distant when they will be cut off from the Church. Let them go their own road. If they think that a little money or property will pay their way into the kingdom of God, they may try it. They will find themselves mistaken; they will miss the gate and take another road. The same will apply to our mechanics—if they will not labor for the building up of this kingdom, instead of working to get rich, they will miss the gate of the celestial kingdom, and will not get in there unless we take them in for servants. I do not care whether a man is a merchant or a beggar, whether he has much or little, he must live so that neither the things of this world, nor the cares of this life will becloud his mind, nor exclude him from the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ; but all, whether merchants or preachers, tradesmen or farmers, and mechanics and laborers of every kind, whether they work in the ditch, or building post and rail fence, must live so that the revelations of the Lord Jesus are upon them; and if they live not according to this rule, they will miss the kingdom they are anticipating.

You may think this is pretty hard talk; but recollect the saying of one of the Apostles, when speaking about getting into the kingdom of heaven, that “if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and and the sinner appear?” The best man that ever lived on this earth only just made out to save himself through the grace of God. The best woman that ever lived on the earth has only just made her escape from this world to a better one, with a full assurance of enjoying the first resurrection. It requires all the atonement of Christ, the mercy of the Father, the pity of angels and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to be with us always, and then to do the very best we possibly can, to get rid of this sin within us, so that we may escape from this world into the celestial kingdom. This is just as much as we can do, and there is no room for that carelessness manifested by too many among us.

I do not wonder at this people having trouble; I do not wonder at some of our sisters having sorrow in what is termed plural marriage; for they do not live so as to have the Spirit and power of God upon them; if they did, they would see its beauty and excellence, and not a word would be said against it from this time henceforth and for ever. But they see this with a selfish eye, and say, “I want my glory and my comfort here;” their eye is not on the resurrection and on the kingdom we are looking for when Jesus will come and reign King of nations as he does King of Saints.

With regard to the wealth of this people, I can say they would soon get immensely rich if they would take the counsel that is given them. For instance, here is one little circumstance: we have quite an outlet for our grain; our oats, barley and flour are very much wanted in the neighboring Territories. Who raise[s] this grain? The Latter-day Saints. Suppose they were perfectly united, do you not think they could get a suitable price for it? They could. We required Brother Hunter to counsel the Bishops to take measures to bring about union in this direction, and we saved for the Territory two or three hundred thousand dollars a year for two or three years. Then business slackened; but I was satisfied; we had shown the people what could be done; they have became comparatively well off, and if they have a mind to pursue a proper policy, they have matters in their own hands. Many will not, however, do this. One says “I want to sell my oats; how much are they selling at?” “They are selling at one dollar and a quarter to-day; but there is nobody buying.” “How much will you give?” “Well, I’ll give you a dollar;” and so they are sold; we are so anxious for the money. There is a story, which I have told before, but it will do to tell again. Four years ago a certain sister took down a hundred pounds of flour to the square, hearing that flour was being sold there; but owing to the number of sellers reduction in price had been continually going on. Our sister, however, determined to sell at any price, said “you can have my flour for one dollar,” and she actually sold her hundred pounds of flour and the sack for one dollar. One of the brethren, who had recently arrived here, went on to the square, and saw a load of wheat for sale. He inquired of the owner how much he asked for his wheat. The owner of the wheat told him, and a bargain was made for it. Before they reached the house of the purchaser, the seller suspected he had sold to a “Mormon;” and, upon inquiry, finding it was so, “ah” said he, “had I known that you belonged to the Church I should have made you pay for it.” Such little things as these are like straws—they tell which way the wind blows. If the people would only take the counsel given them, instead of there being people in our midst, in want, or that could be called poor, there would not have been a family in the whole community, but would have been so far above want that it might have been safely said, hard times would come again no more. Every man and woman wishes to work for his or her own interest, but they do not know how, they do not know what is for their best interest and greatest good.

Now, we are here to build up the kingdom of God, and for nothing else; but here are our enemies determined that the kingdom of God shall not be built up. I have often thought that I ought not to blame them so much. They have had possession of this earth some six thousand years; the devil has reigned triumphant, and without a rival has held possession; the wicked rule all over the earth, and they have had possession of this little farm, called earth, so long that they think they are the rightful heirs, and inherit it from the Father. But the Lord has said that the Saints should possess it. And when Joseph translated the Book of Mormon, and revealed the Gospel as it was among God’s children on this continent anciently, that was the starting point. The Lord said “I am going to establish my kingdom; my open foe has had possession of this earth long enough, and I am going to show all the inhabitants of the earth, saint and sinner, good and bad, that it is time for Jesus, according to his promise, sufferings and death to commence to redeem the earth and those who will hearken to his counsel, and bring them forth to enjoy his presence.”

The enemy has had possession of the earth a great while, and they really feel as though it is their right, and that they are the legal heirs.

If this Gospel goes to the uttermost parts of the earth and fulfils its destiny as predicted by the Prophets, by Jesus and by the Apostles, it will eventually swallow up all the good there is on the earth; it will take every honest, truthful and virtuous man and woman and every good person and gather them into the fold of this kingdom, and this society will enlarge, spread abroad and multiply, and will increase in knowledge until the members composing it know enough to lengthen out their days and man’s longevity returns, and they begin to live as men did anciently.

This people are spreading and increasing, and religiously—so far as the ordinances of the house of God are concerned—they are of one heart and one mind.

How is it politically? Do they vote the Democratic ticket or do they take the Republican side of the question? I rather think that so far as voting is concerned they are of one heart and one mind; then they are one religiously and politically. “Oh,” say our enemies, “what will be the result if this people are let alone? the idea of such a thing is rather fearful.” Another man says: “I wish they could be let alone for a hundred years, just to see what they would amount to.” “But,” says another, “I should not; I tell you if those people prosper as they seem to do, I am not going to hold my place in a national capacity.” The Priests in their pulpits, from the holy Catholic down, say, “If this religion is right, ours is wrong, and it is terrible to us to see the prosperity that prevails in their midst, and to know that they are of one heart and of one mind.”

Now, then, here comes this party, and say to us, “You do not own a farm on this earth; we have had power on the earth so long, and shall still reign, and every foot of it shall be divided among us and our adherents.” “It is true,” say they, “that in the days of Moses the Lord did once send a messenger to preach the Gospel to the children of Israel, but our master had such power in their midst that they would not receive the kingdom.” In the days of Abraham, also, long before the days of Moses the Lord revealed the principles of the, kingdom, but they would not have them. And even before that the Lord delivered the principles of the kingdom to Noah, but they were not received by his posterity. Enoch and his band received sufficient of those principles to lead them on step by step till they were so far perfected that the Lord took them from this earth; and down from Enoch to Noah, Abraham and Moses and the children of Israel in the wilderness; these latter, however, would not have the Gospel.

If you turn over this Bible you may read that when the children of Israel would not receive the Gospel, the Lord gave to them what is called the law of carnal commandments. In that he tells them whom a man shall not marry; you can read it for yourselves—he shall not marry his wife’s mother, nor her sister, nor his wife’s aunt, &c. Previous to this the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, through Abraham, Isaac, and through Jacob and the twelve patriarchs never to marry out of their own families. But they would run over yonder to a strange nation and worship other gods, and bring back a wife, or two or three into a family; and then go into another nation and worship idols, and bring their corruption into the midst of Israel, till at length they became so alienated and estranged from the principles of righteousness and the Holy Gospel, that when Moses delivered to them the principles of life and salvation they utterly rejected them, and this is the reason the Lord gave to them the law of carnal commandments.

We are raising up a little party by ourselves; we are actually getting a people here not of the world. We are gathering out of the world, and assembling together, and we have the right to purchase a farm, build a a city or inhabit a Territory or State. But it is grievous for the other party to bear. Yet we “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s;” we pay our taxes and keep the laws of the land. I do not know that I blame them for exercising all their ability to prevent Jesus from coming to reign King of nations as he does King of Saints. They have so long held the reins of government with undisputed sway. They have swept over the earth and have controlled all its inhabitants so long that I do not know that I can blame them for feeling. “We do not like these Latter-day Saints to increase. It is dangerous, very dangerous. If they are going to trade with themselves—have merchants of their own, and not going to trade with us, it is a terrible thing. If they are going to be permitted to buy land and occupy it, the nation ought to take it in hand. If they are going to cease licensing gambling houses, the nation ought to take it in hand?” I cannot blame them so much for feeling so—they see the danger.

They are for themselves and their master, and if they let the Saints alone it will be, as it was said in the days of Jesus, “If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him; and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.” So it will be with the Latter-day Saints; if they are let alone, their doctrine will spread and prosper till it gathers up all the truth in the world; it will gather every good person in the world and will save and preserve them from the ravages of the enemy.

As I said here, once, with regard to preaching the Gospel, a very simple person can tell the truth, but it takes a very smart person to tell a lie and make it appear like the truth. Go into the sectarian world with their systems called religion now before the people; it requires a very learned and talented man to make it appear anyways commendable to the hearts of the honest, so far as doctrine is concerned. When we come to the doctrines that Jesus taught, they are what can save the people, and the only ones on the face of the earth that can. In conversation not long since with a visitor who was about returning to the Eastern States, said he, “You,” as a people, consider that you are perfect?” “Oh, no;” said I, “not by any means. Let me define to you. The doctrine that we have embraced is perfect; but when we come to the people, we have just as many imperfections as you can ask for. We are not perfect; but the Gospel that we preach is calculated to perfect the people so that they can obtain a glorious resurrection and enter into the presence of the Father and the Son.”

Our doctrine embraces all the good. It descends to the capacities of the weakest of the weak; it will teach the girl how to knit, and to be a good housekeeper, and the man how to plant corn. It will teach men and women every vocation in life; how they should eat; how much to eat; how to feed, clothe, and take care of themselves and their children; how to preserve themselves in life and health. But you will ask, how? By close application, and learning from others, and obtaining all the knowledge possible from our surroundings, and by the assistance of the Spirit, as all who have introduced art and science into the world by the aid of revelation. The Gospel will teach us all that variety that we see before us in nature—the greatest variety imaginable. One sister would get up a certain fashioned bonnet, and another one another fashion; one would trim it in a certain way, and another in another way. When the brethren build their houses, the styles would be different; and in walking through the city one would see a vast variety in the gardens, in the orchards, in the walks and in the houses. The same variety would exist in the internal arrangements of the houses. We should see this variety with regard to families—here is one’s taste, and another’s taste, and this constant variety would give beauty to the whole. Thus a variety of talent would be brought forth and exhibited of which nothing would be known, if houses and dresses and other things were all alike. But let the people bring out their talents, and have the variety within them brought forth and made manifest so that we can behold it, like the variety in the works of nature. See the variety God has created—no two trees alike, no two leaves, no two spears of grass alike. The same variety that we see in all the works of God, that we see in the features, visages and forms, exists in the spirits of men. Now let us develop the variety within us, and show to the world that we have talent and taste, and prove to the heavens that our minds are set on beauty and true excellence, so that we can become worthy to enjoy the society of angels, and raise ourselves above the level of the wicked world and begin to increase in faith, and the power that God has given us, and so show to the world an example worthy of imitation.

May the Lord bless you. Amen.

Embarrassments in Arising to Speak, etc.

Joseph F. Smith

Discourse by Elder Joseph F. Smith, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Feb. 17th, 1867.

Very unexpectedly to me I have been asked to stand before you for a short time this afternoon; and although to me it is a great task to attempt to speak to so many, yet it is a pleasure to be able to express my feelings in relation to the truth. I do not know why it should be embarrassing or a task for me to rise before the Saints, for I feel, when I am in their midst, that I am in the midst of the people of God and my friends, whose faith is in common with, and whose desires to a great extent are the same as my own. I feel that I am in the midst of those who are praying to the same God, desiring the accomplishment of the same purposes and objects, and who are ever willing to lend their faith and prayers for the assistance of those who are called upon to officiate in the ministry, and who are not looking for a fault nor seeking to make one an offender for a word, but whose feelings are drawn out after the truth, and who desire to hear words that will be comforting, instructing and beneficial to us all. Why under these circumstances, one should feel embarrassed to rise up here is a little singular to me, and always has been. But it is so, unless he who speaks is filled with the Spirit of the Lord to such an extent that he cares for nothing but God and his approval.

I suppose that this embarrassment is, to some extent, owing to false notions—to pride, perhaps, and to feelings that are more or less common to us all, though not founded upon any correct principle. Why should we fear one another? Why should we fear to discharge the duties devolving upon us as the servants and people of God, under any circumstances or in any place? Why should we fear to stand up and speak the truth, although aware of our weakness and feeling our dependence on God? Have we not the promise that God will give us strength according to our day, and that he will help those who desire it to accomplish all the good that is in their hearts? God has made this promise, and it is our duty to go forward and engage in the work he requires of us, fearlessly and with a determination to carry it out regardless of man. God being our helper.

I have felt this way when traveling in the world, perhaps more so than it would be possible for me to feel here; for when one is thrown upon his own resources, or I may say upon God for assistance, he realizes that he has but few friends; he lives nearer to God, exercises more faith, is more diligent in prayer, and is, therefore, more alive to the duties devolving upon him than when associating in the midst of his friends. I have often reflected why I should tremble and fear to stand before the Saints, the Prophet, or the Apostles, and let them hear my voice, or to give expression to my thoughts. Again, I have thought was there anything in me, any secret feelings that were not right, or that I feared were not right, and for expressing which I would be censured; and even were this the case, how foundationless is such a fear, for were there any thoughts and reflections within me not of God, or not true, why should I be fearful to express them where they might be corrected? Would it not be better to express them and have them corrected, than to harbor, cling to and reason upon them until I convinced myself that they were right, when to have them corrected would perhaps prove a very great trial to me, if not my overthrow.

When I look at and think of myself I do not know that I now entertain or have ever entertained a thought which I would be ashamed of my friends or the servants of God knowing. I desire so to live continually that my thoughts and feelings may be right before God, that my heart may be pure and open to the influences and dictations of the Holy Spirit, that I may be led wholly by the truth, and in the path that leads to eternal life. These should be the feelings of every Saint; if they are not mine, they should be, and when I look at and think of myself, I feel that this is the case. Yet we are all fallible and all liable to err, susceptible of prejudices and assailed by good and bad influences. In every condition of life we are more or less liable to be influenced and controlled in our thoughts and actions by the circumstances by which we are surrounded; the result is we are sometimes alive to the truth and faithful before the Lord, full of kindness, of friendship and love towards our brethren—the servants of God—and towards the work in which we are engaged; and sometimes we are luke-warm and indifferent about, these things. I would love to see the time when we could so live in the enjoyment of the Holy Spirit, every moment of our lives, that no circumstance nor influence could be brought to bear against us that would change that even tenor which is inspired and called forth by the influences of the good Spirit.

Will this time ever be? While surrounded by so many imperfections, clothed in mortality, and subject to the weakness and failings of the flesh, will the time ever be when we as a people, with such glorious promises, privileges and rights, and with such inestimable blessings, shall enjoy the Spirit of God to the exclusion of every other influence that exists? Will we ever be able to enjoy the Spirit of the Lord, while in mortality, to such a degree that we can govern ourselves and not give way one moment to an evil thought or passion? I do not know; but this I do know, that we now have all that is necessary to enable us to attain to this perfection in the truth and the knowledge of God If we have it not now, I do not believe we ever will. “Why,” inquires one, “what have we now? We have the promise of Almighty God that he will give his Spirit to guide, strengthen and assist every individual to accomplish all the good in his heart, if he will only come up to the standard he has established. Besides this promise which the Lord has made, we have the holy priesthood, a powerful auxiliary in our hands if used properly, to enable us to overcome the evils that surround us in the world. But when engaged in our daily avocations, or tried by poverty, sickness, enemies, false friends, or when we are spoken evil of, we too often forget that we hold the priesthood, that we are Elders in Israel—the servants of God—chosen to accomplish his great work in the last days. The result is we regard ourselves simply as men mixed up with and surrounded by sin, and we are apt to drink into the spirit around us, forget God, our callings and the responsibilities resting upon us, and become like others, through giving way to evils which they practice.

I have seen individuals, of whom we might expect better things, give way to evils of this kind until I have heard them say “What is religion?” “In what is one religion better than another? Mormon, Jew, Catholic, Protestant, or any and all religious denominations in the world are all after the same thing, and there are good and bad in all, and there is about as much evil among the Latter-day Saints as among any other religious denomination.” “Why,” say they, “look at the Methodists, some of them are as pious, good and faithful and are as good citizens, neighbors and friends as any you will find among the Latter-day Saints or any other denomination; or go among the Catholics and you will find some as honest, virtuous, upright and charitable as any you will find among the Latter-day Saints.” This being their opinion they decide that one is just as good as another. Now it is true that, so far as moral worth is concerned, we may find hundreds of thousands in the world who are honest, moral and upright to the best of their knowledge. I believe that among the inhabitants of the earth to-day, notwithstanding the vast amount of corruption and sin and the almost universal moral degradation, there are thousands of good, honest, well-meaning people.

So far as they have light and knowledge and understand the principles of truth, so far do thousands of the inhabitants of the earth to-day honor them in their lives. But that does not constitute them the people of God, neither does it argue that they have the holy priesthood, nor that the Gospel in its purity and fulness has been revealed to them; nothing of the kind. Then I say that they are wanting. Although I feel liberal in my heart towards mankind, and willing to accord this truth to the benefit of the honest in heart; yet I am compelled to acknowledge that they are lacking. And because there are good people out of this Church as well as in, that does not argue that we have not the priesthood, that God is not in communion with us, that we are not in fellowship with him, nor that we are not the people he has chosen, through whom to accomplish his great work in the latter days. It simply proves what the prophets and the servants of God have often said, that there are honest people in the world who are not in this Church, and for that reason the Gospel is preached to the nations, that the honest may be gathered into the fold and family of God, that they may take a part in the building up of his kingdom in the last days.

When you compare the systems, creeds, and governing principles among the sects and religious denominations in the world, where will you find one that is perfect, or that is calculated to lead men back to a unity of the faith and to God? Where will you find a system or a denomination of religious people in the world who have such principles embodied in their faith? You cannot find such a system, if you go beyond the pale of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “Well,” inquires one, “are those principles embodied in our faith? Is that principle of government here that is calculated to unite not only this Church but the whole human family in one faith? Are we not to some extent divided one against another, and have we not selfish thoughts and feelings, and do we not have strife in our midst, and do we love one another with a brotherly love and act under the influence of the good Spirit all the time?”

If we did act under its influence and followed its dictation continually, we would be one, and bickering, strife and selfishness would be laid aside, and we would look after and be as zealous for our neighbor’s as for our own good. But we still see in our midst controversies, differences of thought and opinion, one up and another down, and the same thing regarded in a different light by different persons, &c. Why is this? Because the Gospel net has gathered in of every kind, and because we are only children in the school; because we have learned only the first letters, as it were, in the great Gospel plan, and that but imperfectly. And one cause of the diversity in our thoughts and reflections is that some have had greater experience and comprehend the truth more perfectly than others. But does this prove that the Gospel we have embraced does not contain those principles necessary to unite all mankind in the truth. No, it does not. What are these great principles that are calculated to unite the whole human family, and to cause them to worship the same God, adhere it the same counsel and be governed by the same voice? They are the principle of revelation, the power of God revealed to his people, the belief in the hearts of the people that it is God’s right to rule and dictate, and that it is not the right of any man to say it shall be thus and so; nor are the people required to obey these principles blindly—without knowledge.

When we learn the truth and understand what is for our greatest good, we will feel in our hearts that it is God’s right to rule and reign, and to say to us what shall be, and that it is our privilege to obey, and there will not be a feeling in our hearts contrary to his dictation. We will then feel that whatever is, is right; and in this we cannot then rightly be called superstitious, blind, or deluded, for that would be impossible because we will then be governed by higher light and intelligence—by that intelligence which convinces us that God lives, reigns, made the earth and all things it contains, that he is the Father of all, that we are his children, and that all things are in his hands. We will then comprehend this, and, consequently, will feel that it is his right to say and ours to do. But how is it to-day? We do not practically comprehend these facts to their full extent, our own selfish interests more or less blind us, we measurably stand in our own light and choke the channel of blessings from heaven, and cannot fully receive from the Giver of all good that blessing, exaltation and glory that he is ever willing to bestow upon all who will acknowledge and love him and worship him in spirit and in truth.

This is a great and important work—one that we do not fully comprehend. When the Spirit of the Lord rests powerfully upon us, we realize it to some extent; but we do, not always have that Spirit in such copious measure, and when we are left to ourselves we are weak, frail and liable to err. This shows to us that we should be more faithful than we have ever been, and that day and night, wherever we are and under whatever circumstances we may be placed, in order to enjoy the Spirit of the Gospel we must live to God by observing truth, honoring his law, and ever manifest a vigorous determination to accomplish the work he has assigned us.

I thank the Lord that I have the privilege of being associated with this people; and, whatever men may say or do, I desire that the testimony of the truth may continue with me, that I may ever realize for myself that the Gospel has again been revealed to man on the earth.

It seems to me that to-day, or I may say this present moment is a moment of trial for this people. I have often heard the President say, in relation to our having been driven from our homes, hated and mistreated by our enemies and the enemies of truth, that we were not then particularly tried. I believe it. I believe that then we were more happy and better alive to the work we are engaged in than many are to-day. I believe, of the two, take the period when the Saints were driven from the State of Missouri, or subsequently, when we were driven from the State of Illinois, and compare it with the present day, that to-day is the day of trial for this people. When you go along the street, and meet a man or a woman, do you know whether he or she is a Latter-day Saint or not? There was a time when we could walk up and down the streets and tell by the very countenances of men whether they were Latter-day Saints, or not; but can you do it now? You can not, unless you have greater discernment and more of the Spirit and power of God than I have. Why? Because many are trying as hard as they can to transform themselves into the very shape, character, and spirit of the world. Elders in Israel, young men, mothers and daughters in Israel are conforming to the world’s fashions until their very countenances indicate its spirit and character. This course is to the shame and disgrace of those who are so unwise. It is not so much in the settlements, but go where you will in this city and you can see some of these foolish ones. And when the line is drawn and the choice made, there are many, who we think to-day are in fellowship with the Lord, that will be left without the pale. Yet they are now going smoothly along, and we meet, shake hands and call each other brother. We meet here in this Tabernacle and partake of the Holy Sacrament together as brethren in the bonds of the covenant, and go smoothly along together; but it is not all gold that glitters. It is not all as it appears; the surface is deceptive, and while many think that it is no harm to pattern after the foolish, wicked, nonsensical notions and fashions of the world and the character of worldlings, taking them into our homes and making them our companions, and think that we are just as good Saints with as without them, by and by we will wake up to the astounding fact that we have been deceived and misled.

Why did God call us from the world and denounce it? Why did he say that none were good, and that the religious worship of the world was not acceptable to him, but was a mockery and an abomination in his sight? Why tell this to the Prophet and say to him, “I will make you an instrument in my hands to gather out my people from the world, that I may have a righteous and pure people who will worship me in spirit and in truth, and who will not draw near to me with their lips while their hearts are far from me?” It was because the world was corrupt and had gone after the fashions and follies of men; because the people were led by the doctrines of men, put their faith in man and made flesh their arm; and had forsaken God. They boasted of themselves, in their own strength, glory, might and power, and said that they cared not for God, as was manifested on an occasion during the late rebellion, in a convention that was called, I think at Chicago. A proposition was made that they conquer the South; some one proposed, “by the help of God;” but they unanimously voted that they would do it without the, help of God, or not at all. They would have the glory of it themselves, they wanted none of the help of God to do it. God was out of the question with them, for they gloried in their own strength.

And the world, to-day, glory in their own wealth, power and knowledge, and for this they are an abomination in the sight of God; and he has raised up a Prophet and has put forth his hand for the last time to gather his people and to do his great and marvellous work. He is sending forth his missionaries to preach the Gospel to the nations of the earth, to gather out the honest and those who will serve him with full purpose of heart, that they may be gathered from the midst of the world’s wickedness and corruption, to a place where they can better serve the Lord and accomplish his purposes. Then, when we are gathered, when the Lord has delivered us from the hands of our enemies, brought us out of bondage with his outstretched arm and planted us in the midst of these mountains in peace and surrounded us with blessings, and has enriched the soil so that it yields its strength for our good, and has made of us a peculiar people—when the Lord has done this for us—to-day some will cringe and bow to the degrading fashions of the world, and court the society and habits of the wicked. Such conduct is a crying shame on those who, professing to be Latter-day Saints, act so unwisely. We profess to have forsaken the world and to live accordingly to the requirements of the Gospel, and it beho[o]ves us to walk worthily of so excellent a profession.

We cannot trifle with the things of God. Many talents have been committed to us; if we put them in a napkin and hide them in the earth, we shall be beaten with many stripes; but if we use them wisely, we shall receive great blessings and rewards. If we wish to see the work of God carried victoriously forward, if we wish to accomplish the purposes of the Almighty, and have a desire to carry out his will on the earth, that it may be done here as it is in heaven, we must live as we profess, be guided by the whisperings of his Spirit and the teachings and counsels of his servants. Who is there among us that does not feel an interest in the work of God. Those who do not will be cut short, they will loose their inheritance, and the rights and privileges guaranteed to man through his faithfulness.

It grieves me when I hear young men, who have been born and reared in this Church, speaking indifferently of the truth, and as apt to take up an argument against as in its favour. I thank the Lord that I have never been guilty of that to my knowledge; but I do not claim any particular credit on this account, for I was taught from my childhood that the great work in which we are engaged is true, and designed for the salvation of mankind. Until I was fifteen years old I did not know this, but I believed it, my heart was in it, and my feelings were enlisted, and any opposite influence, obstacle or power with which I came in contact, even in my childhood, roused me in a moment, and I felt that I was for the truth and the people of God.

When I was sent on my first mission, though only fifteen years of age, I began to learn and sense things for myself, I began to receive and bear testimony of the truth. In my weakness I endeavoured to preach the Gospel, to tell people the truth, and to explain to them the way of life. This gave to me a knowledge and fixed my faith and feelings, and made them to me seemingly unchangeable. But we are changeable, weak and frail, we know not to-day what we may do or what may occur to-morrow. This is a frail, poor, low condition for the offspring of God to be in, yet it is our condition exactly. Notwithstanding this, men to day will boast of their greatness, power, wealth, descent, associations, influence and honors, when the poor, insignificant miserable things may be dead and food for worms to-morrow. That great thing that boasted of his influence, is proud and stands up in majesty to-day, may be food for worms to-morrow. O, the foolishness of man!

It is for the people called Latter-day Saints to make God their boast, to ascribe to him the honor and power, and to say within themselves, O Father, we are thine. That is the way all mortality should feel. They should feel that the earth and its fulness are God’s, that the gold and silver, the cattle on a thousand hills, the rich fields, the streams of water, the rivers, lakes, ocean and all they contain are his. He made them; they are not ours, for he has not given them to us; we have not earned them; but when we have earned them, when we have proved faithful over a few things committed to us here, when we have proved wise stewards over the little things, when we have fought the good fight of faith, endured to the end and worked out our salvation, then the earth and its fulness will be given to the Saints of the Most High, and they shall possess it for ever and ever. But it is not ours yet, neither is it man’s, neither will it be, until he has earned an inheritance upon it by his faithfulness, diligence, good precepts and examples, and by his endurance to the end in the truth, and not till then. And when we think that by simply bearing the name of Saint, or associating with good men and women, we shall secure an inheritance on this goodly earth, that will yet be purified and made like a sea of glass for a dwelling place for the just, we shall find that we have deceived ourselves, and will see the crown and inheritance designed for us taken away and given to this one or that one who lived on the earth when we did, but who, instead of having only the name of Saints, were Saints in very deed.

I was very much pleased with Brother Hyde’s discourse on this subject a few months ago; it was a most excellent description of things as they are and as they will be, and it was true. If we do not now know that it was so, we will have to learn; and if we are not willing to receive instruction and counsel, we will have to learn through experience and stern necessity, and be made to realize our condition and dependence on God.

In the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, when the latter, looking beyond the yawning gulf that separated him from Paradise, saw Lazarus enjoying bliss in Abraham’s bosom, and wanted an angel sent to warn his friends on earth, the Lord Jesus said, if they will not believe the Prophets and Apostles, neither would they believe though one should be raised from the dead. So in these days, if the Prophets, Apostles and Elders called of God and commissioned to preach the Gospel are not believed by the people, neither would they believe an angel, or one raised from the dead. I once felt that this was a pretty hard saying, but I am now convinced that it is true. I always, perhaps, conceded that it was true, yet at times I felt, would it not be possible for an angel to convince the people when we could not.

Since then I have seen and conversed with men, have known the feelings of their hearts and seen that they were just as full of the darkness of hell as they could be. So full and firmly rooted were they in darkness and ignorance and in a determination not to receive the truth that, though angels and ministering spirits had taught them, they would still have preferred to remain in ignorance and unbelief. I was forcibly reminded of this a short time ago, when in conversation with Alexander H. Smith. Do you suppose an angel would convince him? He said that no human testimony could convince him. Affliction and the chastisement of God might affect his body, but could not touch his heart; it is like adamant, and there are thousands and thousands in the same condition—shutting out the very possibility of truth’s reaching their understandings. They will not receive the testimony of men, yet they will quote and reiterate the testimonies of men whom we know to be as wicked and corrupt as the devil; but when Prophets and Apostles ordained under the hands of the Prophet Joseph, and who are carrying out the very plans and purposes made manifest through him, bear testimony of these things, their testimony is rejected, for they will not receive the testimony of men. It is simply this—we will not have the truth, we can not bear it, and you “cannot force it upon us—we do not want it.

This is a free country; the kingdom of God is a kingdom of freedom; the Gospel of the Son of God is the Gospel of liberty. Men can worship God, if they wish to, but, if not, they may go and worship stones, the sun, moon, stars, or anything else that they wish. We will protect and respect every man in his rights, so far as they do not interfere with the rights of others, for every man must answer for his own deeds.

I sometimes hear the Latter-day Saints instructed about the way they should treat strangers; they are told to extend to all men due respect and kindness. You would not be a Latter-day Saint if you did not; you would not manifest the Spirit of the Gospel did you not show them due kindness, and respect; but remember, at the same time, that you do not compromise yourselves. In trying to be kind and courteous to others, we sometimes place ourselves in their power, and as sure as we do, bad men will take advantage of it. How was the counsel given by the Savior to the Apostles, “Be ye, therefore, as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.” But this generation is wiser than the children of light—the Saints. Why? In one particular, because, when we embrace the Gospel we feel well, so thankful to the Lord, so full of gratitude, that we are thrown off our guard, suspect no evil, nor look for sin in any man, and so invite them into our circles, and, by and by they get the upper hand of us; we begin to loose faith and to think that the devil has not such an awkward cloven foot, that his horns and tail are not quite so long, nor he quite so deformed, black and hideous as we thought. We have been deceived; we thought that the devil had long horns and tail, a cloven foot, and was black, hideous, and grinning; but when we, find him out he is a gentleman in black broad cloth, with a smooth tongue, pleasant countenance, high forehead, and so on; quite a good looking fellow. That is the kind of a person we find the devil to be, and we will find him in more persons than one, and that too right in this city.

I feel well and thankful to have the privilege of being a Saint; and I hope, brethren and sisters, that anything good that is said to us we will feel like carrying out in our lives. It is our duty, and we should never fail to do so.

May God bless us and all Israel, and keep us in the paths of truth.

Notwithstanding what I have said here to-day about the vanity and foolishness amongst us, especially in Great Salt Lake City, yet I believe, as has been frequently said, that taking this people as a whole they are the best on the earth; and I believe that more good people can be found here that can be found in the same number anywhere else on the earth, and that if one-third, one-half, or two-thirds of this people should fall away and go astray, the number then remaining would be sufficient to carry off the work victoriously, for it is God’s work, and he has decreed that it shall be fulfilled according to the predictions of the Prophets. May God grant it, and help us all to be faithful, that we may be numbered among those who obtain a crown and inheritance, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

The Limited Wisdom of Man in Comparison to the Fulness of God’s Wisdom, etc.

John Taylor

Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Feb. 24, 1867. Reported by David W. Evans.

We have heard a good many interesting remarks from Brother Stevenson; in fact, everything pertaining to the church and kingdom of God on the earth is interesting, to those who are desirous for the welfare of Zion. As Brother Stevenson has remarked—“we are engaged in a great work,” and it is with us “the kingdom of God or nothing;” but as the kingdom of God can only be comprehended by the spirit of revelation and the principle of eternal truth, unless men are in possession of this principle, and have the light of revelation, they do not appreciate, neither can they understand correctly the work in which we are engaged.

One of old said “As high as the heavens are above the earth so are his thoughts above our thoughts, and so are his ways above our ways.” There is necessarily, then, a very great difference between him and us in intellect, and in appreciating and comprehending the position that we occupy here on the earth and the relationship that we sustain to him and to the heavens. Men of the world, generally, are engaged in the pursuit of objects that come within their natural reason unaided by the spirit of revelation; and hence, formerly the inhabitants of the earth admired gods that were tangible—something that they could see, more than things they could not see. This led them to worship gods of gold, silver, wood, iron, brass and stone, to which they attributed certain virtues, powers and privileges; and they supplicated God, the invisible God, through this kind of sensuous representation. The people at the present day have a rather more spiritual and refined idea of Deity than was entertained anciently. They attach more importance to faith in the Savior and his works than men did anciently; still we find the same disposition existing in the human mind generally as that which existed formerly. Men, naturally, do not like God; they want to be free to follow their own inclinations and to be unrestrained in regard to religious ideas and notions; hence they make religion, as the ancients made gods, to suit their own views; and it is very difficult for such men to understand the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

In these days men study and take great pleasure in the arts and sciences, law, medicine, politics, war, mechanism; and certain kinds of divinity, particularly if they are paying institutions, are studied. Anything that comes within the reach of their natural senses; but beyond this they do not trouble themselves. They would like, it is true, to go to heaven when they die; but what that heaven is, or what the God is they worship, where he resides, or what kind of enjoyment they will have they know nothing; and care as little. They consider that we are fools because we entertain ideas different from theirs. If you examine their wisdom, however, it does not amount to so much as they would represent. The men of this world do not know a great deal, and what they do understand, if traced to its source, is found to consist of certain laws or principles of nature, and pertains to the organization of this earth, its elements, forces, products, and inhabitants. A surgeon, for instance, is said to be a very intelligent man when he becomes acquainted with anatomy of the human system, can point out the configuration of the bones and describe the motion and power of the muscles; when he can designate the various arteries, veins and nerves, and understands the circulation of the blood through the human system; the action and operation of the lungs, heart, eye, ear, nose, mouth, and other portions of the human body. Men write about these things, and set themselves down as very intelligent beings, and so they are. The human system is a beautiful machine, a wonderful piece of mechanism; but whence our boast? Who organized this human system? Did man? Or can man do it? What does man discover? Why, simply the formation of a machine, a species of mechanism that has been organized by the Deity, that is all. And all the intelligence he displays is simply the investigation and discovery of something that God has made. Some men will study botany, and a very beautiful study it is; but because they can classify herbs and plants, and call them by name, or further, because they understand their nature, and can tell the various medicinal and other properties of herbs, plants, shrubs, flowers and trees, are they to be considered profoundly learned? Who organized these plants and gave them powers of reproduction that they might perpetuate themselves on the earth? And who placed those powers and properties within them? Why the great God, it was not man; there is not a man breathing to-day that has the power to make the least flower, shrub or plant that grows, or even a leaf or a blade of grass. And yet we see men strutting about and boasting of their intelligence, when all the wisdom they possess amounts to no more than the discovery of certain laws or properties created by a superior Being, who also created them.

Others will study astronomy, and they will tell us about the motion and velocity of the heavenly bodies and when eclipses of the sun or moon will take place. This is a beautiful study; but who gave these stars their revolutions, placed them in their present positions and controls them by his power, saying “Thus far shalt thou go and no farther!” Why the great God. But because men discover their distances and velocity, are they to be set down as profound philosophers whom everybody must admire, and almost worship.

A man invents the steam engine, and he and others immediately begin to expatiate and boast of his powers, his philosophy and the profundity of his intellectual acquirements. The Lord revealed it unto him, but he takes the glory to himself. Why, that power has always existed, but men were such big fools that they did not understand it. Electricity, too, always existed, but men did not know how to use it until recently One man is an architect, and he comprehends the structure of buildings, the strength of materials, and how to adapt and place those materials so as to give strength, beauty and symmetry to the buildings he erects. Others will study music, and others again various kinds of philosophy, and it is very good to understand these things; but when we get through what do they all amount to? What has become of the wisest philosopher, the most correct historian, the most formidable warrior, the greatest statesman or philosopher? All their wisdom and great-discoveries amount to no more than feeble glimmerings of certain properties and operations of nature given by the great God in the organization of this earth, while they themselves have returned to dust and become food for worms. Said one, whose conceptions of worldly greatness were very just, “When I am dead you will raise a tombstone over me, upon which you will write ‘Here lies the great,’” said he, “If I could rise then, I would say, ‘False marble where? Nothing but poor sordid dust lies there!’”

What is the history of all these things? Go back if you please to the pyramids of Egypt, and look at those magnificent structures raised by the ambitious living, in which to deposit the remains of the dead. Look at the greatest works ever executed by man, and what are they? Why the “cloud-clapped towers and the gorgeous palaces have dissolved,” and the bodies of some of the greatest among men, who have been embalmed, and preserved for ages, are to-day being used for fuel in fire engines in order to move passenger trains on railroads. That is the end of all their greatness, philosophy, foresight and intelligence. What does it all amount to if there is no hereafter? If there is nothing in those things with which we are associated and are grasping, there is certainly nothing in that which they have been seeking after. What difference will it make to me when my body is crumbling to dust and food for worms, whether mankind shall say I was a smart man or a fool? If there is no hereafter, the present is a matter of very little importance; and as one of old said, “let us eat, drink and be merry for to-morrow we die,” for we are as the grass that withers and fades, and is cast into the oven, and there is no more of it.

I have as poor an idea of the world and its operations to-day as of any age that ever existed, on account of the wickedness, corruption, fraud and iniquity everywhere prevalent; and if there is no kingdom of God, they have nothing to hold out that is worth a thought or reflection.

Brother Stevenson was talking about merchants. I do not refer to them more than anybody else, for I am willing everybody should live if they will live honestly and righteously; but I will suppose that you or I was a merchant, and we could grasp at everything within our reach, could build splendid edifices, had a large amount of credit and any amount of cash, no fear of bankruptcy, and nothing in the world to trouble us, and that we die and there is no hereafter, neither hell nor anything else, but we just live like fools and die like fools, what difference is there between the poor fool and the rich fool? They will both occupy about two feet by six, that is all. No matter what their possessions may have been, or what amount of wealth they may have accumulated, they brought nothing into the world, and they can take nothing out of it. Suppose we take another view of earthly greatness: Many people are very anxious to become legislators, governors, presidents, mayors of cities, or to use a vulgar expression they want to be “big bugs” in society. Now on the principle that there is no hereafter, what difference is there between President Lincoln and the man who was killed for killing him? None. They both occupy about the same space, and if there is nothing certain with regard to the future, I know of no difference in their positions. Neither do I know of any kind of philosophy that will instruct me in these things. I am sure a president has just as much trouble while he lives as the man who works for his daily bread; and I am sure the merchant has more perplexity and annoyance than the poor man has. The man who can supply his family with the common necessaries of life is the happiest man of the two, for he has less care and responsibility. I am sure I do not envy those men at all.

What is true philosophy? It seems to me to be a true principle for men to try and find out who they are. I like to examine myself a little, and I sometimes ask who am I? where did I come from? what am I doing here? and what will be the condition of things when I leave here?

If there is anybody who can tell me anything about these things, I want to know. If I had an existence before I came here, I want to know something about it; and if I shall have an existence hereafter, I want to know what kind of an existence it will be. I do not want to be frightened about hell-fire, pitch-forks, and serpents, nor to be scared to death with hobgoblins and ghosts, nor anything of the kind that is got up to scare the ignorant; but I want truth, intelligence, and something that will bear investigation. I want to probe things to the bottom and to find out the truth if there is any way to find it out.

If I have a spirit within me, which is according to the popularly received notion among men. I want to know whence it came; and if there is a God in existence I want to become acquainted with him. It is not enough for me to know that a man called Moses, who lived thousands of years ago, said he talked with God and that angels came and ministered to him. And if there was such a man as Abraham, and he lived and talked with and obtained promises from God, I want that intelligence that will enable me to do so. I want something more than that which will just take me to the grave, and there leave me to take a leap in the dark, and be forever forgotten and be dependent on somebody else to root me up, investigate my existence, and bring me forth. I want to understand these principles myself. This, it seems to me, is true philosophy and correct principle; and nothing short of this will satisfy my feelings and desires.

Perhaps some people will say you are a fool. Well; I know without any further explanation that you are fools if you have no higher aspirations than to live, get a few dollars, die and be damned or forgotten. Some men will say we do not trouble ourselves about religious matters, we leave them to others. That proves you are fools. A man who will leave his eternal interest to the care of somebody else who cares nothing about him, must be a fool.

If man is an eternal being, and believes that he has an immortal soul, and that that soul will exist somewhere in happiness or misery while life, and thought, and being last, or immortality endures,” and yet he will say he is not concerned about it; such a man must be a fool. I set him down as such; and I do not care what his opinion may be of me. He may think or say I am one, because, in relation to these matters, I choose to find out, if I can something in relation to my existence as an immortal and eternal being. I want to know who I am, to whom I am related, what I am doing here, where I am going when I leave here; and if there is any way of making preparations for eternity I want to know it. That seems to me to be intelligence, reason, and philosophy.

But, would you not like to know something about natural philosophy, anatomy, mineralogy, botany, geology, and the variety of other sciences? Of course I would. I would like to be acquainted with human nature and all pertaining to it; not only with the nature of the human body, but with the organization of the human mind, and with all things on the earth. Then I would like to become acquainted with the heavens, and with the Being who created the heavens and the earth, and my relationship to him.

Some people are very anxious to trace and preserve their genealogies, and tell where they came from; but I wish to go a little further, and if I have a spirit within me I want to know where it came from, when and how it was organized, and how it existed. And if I have a heavenly Father I want to know him, and know how I can have access to him; and then I want to go through the various formula necessary to lead me to him, for the Scriptures tell me that to know the true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent is eternal life. I believe that Jesus lived on the earth, and imparted intelligence to his followers, and that among other things he told them that if he went away, he would come again and receive them to himself. But what is his coming again to me, if I am to die and there is to be no more of me? If there is any hereafter, any eternal life, I want to understand it, and to participate therein. I want to gain possession of that of which Christ spake to the woman of Samaria—the water that should be within her as a well springing up into eternal life. If there is any correct principle whereby I can obtain possession of this I want to find it out. There is another curious saying of his: “I am the resurrection and the life, he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, and he that liveth and believeth shall never die.” These are curious sayings, remarkable expressions made use of by Christ in regard to the future. Some men have had visions concerning things that were to come relative to the restoration of Israel; the building up of Zion; the establishment of the Kingdom of God upon the earth; the reign of righteousness, when iniquity should be swept from the face thereof, when the “law should go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem;” when all men should be subject to that law, and when to Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess. There are a great many curious sayings in the Scriptures in relation to these things. Where did they all come from? Where did these ideas, theories and notions, so numerous in what we call the Word of God, originate? We all believe they come by inspiration, “that holy men of God,” as the Scriptures say, “spake as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost.” I believe they were men who knew how to approach God, and that when they did they obtained visions, revelations and the ministering of angels, and could look through the dark vista of future ages and see the purposes and designs of God rolling on to their accomplishment. I believe they could see his purposes in regard to the creation and organization of this earth, and the placing of man upon it, and all the vicissitudes that each succeeding generation should pass through, until the Lord should have accomplished his purposes, till the earth should be cleansed from wickedness, and purity should be universal, and all, from the least to the greatest, should know God.

If men of old had a knowledge of these things I want to know something about them too. And how am I to acquire this knowledge? The way to do so was made known to me when I first heard the Gospel. I was told to repent of my sins, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for their remission, and have hands laid upon me for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and that the Holy Ghost should take of the things of God and show them to me; that it should bring things past to my remembrance, should lead me to a knowledge of the truth and show me things to come. Is it foolish to understand these things? If I have a body I want to know how to save it. If I have a spirit I want to know how to save it. If there is any such thing as a first resurrection I want to participate in it, and I want to become acquainted with the “whys” and “wherefores” in relation to all of these matters.

I was told that God had spoken, that the heavens had been opened, that angels had appeared, that the kingdom of God was established on the earth, and that the Lord had commenced to fulfil his purposes with regard to the earth; and I believed it, and I was buried in the waters of baptism, had hands laid upon me by a man having authority, and through that medium I obtained a knowledge of these things. Hence, when I talk on these matters, I talk about what I know, and what my natural and spiritual senses comprehend. When I talk to you I talk to a people that understand the things of which I speak, and the operations of the Spirit of the Lord; and if all are not informed in regard to the sciences and learning of the day, yet all good and virtuous men and women who have lived their religion and maintained their integrity before God, feel as certain about these matters as did the man whose son Jesus healed who was born blind. The Pharisees came to him and said, “Give God the glory, for we know that this man is a sinner.” Said he, “I do not know much about this man, but one thing I do know—that he was once blind, but that now he sees.” So it is with you, through obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ you have become enlightened, and although at one time you were blind, you now see. You know another thing too that you did not know before obeying the Gospel. It was said in former times concerning the Jews that they were, all their life long, subject to bondage through the fear of death. That bondage exists to-day among all grades in the world, whether religionists or irreligionists—they are afraid of death. You talk to ministers, and they will tell you to get prepared for death. I want to know nothing about death, it is life, eternal life I am after, and I do not care anything about the grim monster; let him grin, operate and work, it is life I am after, eternal life, and that consists in knowing “the true God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent.” And through obedience to the Gospel we receive the Holy Ghost which opens up communication between us and the heavens, and enables us to exclaim with Paul, “O death where is thy sting, O grave where is thy victory the sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law; but thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We are standing then, may I, shall I say on a more elevated platform than the world, for we know what we talk about. I do know that when this earthly house of my tabernacle is dissolved that I have a building of God not made with hands. I know I shall live for ever, and that God is my father and friend; if nobody else knows this, I know it. Do I want to go back to the beggarly elements of the world? Do I want to compare light, truth, intelligence and the revelations of God with the darkness, ignorance, and corruption of the world? Do I want to leave the light of eternity and mix myself up with that that dies and is forgotten in the tomb? No, sirs! I want something that is calculated to elevate, ennoble and exalt the human mind, and that will place men as the sons of God on the earth, full of light, life, intelligence and the power of God, with the revelations of God beaming upon them, and the visions of eternity open to their minds. This is the kind of religion I believe in; it tells me who my Father is, how I may please him, secure his favor and obtain for myself and my posterity everlasting life in the celestial kingdom of God. Then knowing and comprehending these things in part I would like others to walk in the same track, grasp the same intelligence and act as rational, intelligent beings, that they may stand upon Mount Zion as saviors, help to redeem Israel, and spread light to the world. This is what we are after. But I find time is flying. God bless you, and may he guide us all in the way of peace and help us to fear him and keep his commandments that we may be saved in his kingdom, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

The Improved Condition of the Saints, etc.

Brigham Young

Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Feb. 10th, 1867. Reported by David W. Evans.

When I look at the faces of people, I look at the image of our Creator. When I behold one of the images or likenesses of our Creator, I behold more or less of His character by the manifestations and the influences of the spirit that is in man. “There is a Spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth it understanding.” There is none without a spirit; this spirit is from heaven, and when we look at each other we behold, more or less, the power that is in Him who created and brought us forth, and who sustains all things.

In hearing doctrines and exhortations do we recollect those portions that will actually benefit and purify, and enable us to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth?

We as a people are commanded to leave our places of abode in the countries where we received the gospel, and are required to gather together. This makes us conspicuous; it places us in a position where we are looked at. If we have any influence it is felt; if we do exist, if we have a being here as a congregated people, as I think we have, of course we are so conspicuous that we are noticed by the world. Whether this makes us as Saints, any better, is for our experience, and those who have wisdom, to decide. But we are here I do believe; I do not want anybody to pinch me, to know whether I am in existence or not; I am pretty well convinced that I live, move, and have a being.

Many of the Latter-day Saints are fearful that trouble will come to us. I do not know that our condition is any more critical or dangerous than that of other people. It is true, it appears that we are in a very peculiar and dangerous condition. We have had our enemies after us, to my certain knowledge, for the last thirty-five years, and to-day. I am as free from the influences of the wicked as I ever was any day in my life. I never enjoyed more liberty and freedom, nor had greater access to that which is good than I have to-day. This is what we all believe, and what our experience proves. My beloved brother Joseph, who has been speaking to you, testifies that he realizes that the condition of this people, though they may be a target for the whole world, is safer than that of any other people, no matter who they are nor where they live.

Suppose br. Joseph, the prophet, were with us to-day, do you not think that he would feel safer than he ever did before on any day of his public life? He would. I recollect a little of his history that I will relate. I think it has been told to the congregation, or a portion of them, by br. George A. Smith. When he had almost finished translating the Book of Mormon, nearly forty years ago, and some time before the Church was organized, he was hunted, harassed, tormented, afflicted, and perplexed; taken before this magistrate and that magistrate, and sometimes they would keep him a whole night trying to prove something or other against him. “O, he was guilty man! his crimes were enormous! No man was ever so guilty as he.” The priests commenced this outcry against him: “Did you not hear this man say so and so?” said they to their deacons and the members of their church. “Well, no, we do not know that we did hear him.” “Has he not said or done something or other, transgressed some law of the land, spoken against the government, or something by which he can be proved guilty?” And so he was hunted and hunted, and at one time I recollect that Mr. Reed, the father of the present Secretary of our Territory, then something of a lawyer, defended him from court to court, night after night—they kept Joseph I do not know how many days and nights, and finally they could find nothing against him. They knew in the first place that he was guilty of nothing; but from that time to his last persecution when they served a writ on him in Carthage and he delivered himself up to the Governor, and was examined and committed to prison by the magistrate, their cry was, “Has not Mr. Smith said something or other that we can make treason out of it?” “Well, Dr. Bennet says so, or Jackson and the Laws say so.” “Will you not come forward and testify something or other so that we can condemn this man?” No. They could not get parties to swear this, that, or the other; but they wanted to prove him guilty of treason by trying to prove that he had more than one wife. Very singular treason, that! But so it was.

Now, as bad as myself and my brethren are, and as far as we are from the mark, and from the privileges we should enjoy, if Joseph Smith, jun., the prophet, could have seen the people in his day as willing to obey his voice, as they are to-day to obey the voice of their President, he would have been a happy man. He lived, labored, toiled, and worked; his courage was like the courage of an angel, and his will was like the will of the Almighty, and he labored till they killed him.

We had to leave, and we have come here into these mountains, and do you think we are going to be swallowed up by our enemies? Why, they have already done their uttermost. “Could they not send a hundred thousand men here to destroy the ‘Mormons?’” Yes; that is, they could try. In the winter of 1857-58, when the army was at Bridger, Col. Kane came here to see what he could do for the benefit of the people, and to caution and advise me. He was all the time fearful that I would not take the right step, and that I would do something or other that would bring upon us the ire of the nation. “Why,” said he, “at one word there would be a hundred thousand men ready to come here.” I replied that “I would like to see them trying it.” Afterwards a calculation was made that, for men to come here—tarry through the winter and get back the next summer, it would require four and a half oxen to carry the food, clothing, and ammunition necessary for each man. This was more stock than they could take care of, to say nothing about fighting. I was resolved that they would find nothing here to eat, nor houses to live in, for we were determined that we would not leave a green thing, and if I had time not one adobie should be left standing on another. I was satisfied that if Col. Kane could see what I saw, he would know that the weight of such an army would be so ponderous that it would crush itself, and it could never get here. It is just so now, too.

James Buchanan did all he could do, and when he found he could do nothing, he sent a pardon here. What did he pardon us for? He was the man that had transgressed the laws, and had trampled the Constitution of the United States under his feet. We had neither transgressed against the one nor violated the other. But we did receive his pardon, you know, and when they find out they can do nothing they will be sending on their pardons again. I do not know how it will be out west in Nevada, which is a part of the State of Deseret. In the first place they obtained from the government the right of a Territorial government, and, finally, the right to become a State was granted. But they cannot maintain themselves they have nothing to eat; and a great many of them cannot get anything to wear unless they steal it. Now they have sent their petition to Washington to have Utah annexed to them, so that they can get a little bread. Now, you see, we are gone in and no mistake; I say, if Nevada should really obtain the rest of Utah we are gone in. They have not thought of it, it has never entered their minds at all, but they have opened the door and we have gone in and taken possession of the house. This does not frighten me, not at all. One gentleman from the west sent a telegram to br. Kimball for money to enable him to stop this petition. I told br. Kimball to give no attention to it, and not to pay a dime. Finally the memorial went over the wires, and I received a short account from our Delegate; I telegraphed back to him, saying, “Change the name from Nevada to Deseret. Go ahead, and we have our State government.” They do not have more than one-quarter or one-third the people there that we have in Utah, and I rather think the majority would rule in this case.

There is not much danger, however, from that quarter. But are they not sending troops on here? Yes; and they will have plenty for them to do. Eleven thousand were ordered here by James Buchanan; seven thousand arrived, and about ten thousand hangers on—gamblers, thieves, and so forth. It made a pretty good army, but what did they accomplish? They used one another up. I recollect in the days of Camp Floyd it was thought nothing of to hear every morning of two or three men being killed; but now, if one is killed about once in six months all hell is on the move. If the whisky drinkers and gamblers who were here to winter, were to go to work, and kill off a few of themselves every night, it would stop all excitement about killing.

What would be said if the United States mail were robbed in this neighborhood, as it is east, west, and north of this city every few weeks? It would be thought that we were becoming civilized; but in the absence of frequent deeds of this character, whenever a scoundrel meets with his just des[s]erts here, there is a great outcry raised.

Now, to tell the truth, there are but few, in comparison with the numbers that now live, who are rabid against and seek to destroy the kingdom of God. A great portion of the human family are honorable men and women, and they would just as soon that “Mormonism” should live as any other ism. The few who seek to destroy the kingdom of God are priests, politicians, and office seekers, and they would care nothing about it, only they are afraid we will take away their place and nation. Let them tell the truth, and they say that we have the best government to be found anywhere, and that no other people are controlled so easily as the people in this Territory. I believe that Governor Cumming came to the conclusion that he was Governor of the Territory as domain; but that Brigham Young was Governor of the people. They have to acknowledge this, no matter whom they may send here. And where is there another people that is controlled as easily as this people? It is true that we have not come to understanding as much as we expect to. We have yet to be trained and schooled and receive our lessons with regard to this life. We can go to any part of the world and preach this gospel, and the people will believe and enter the Church, and they receive all the blessings and ordinances necessary till they gather together. But here they have to be instructed with regard to their every-day life. We may talk about the great things of the kingdom, and how glorious the millen[n]ium will be, that there will be no sin, nor pain, nor death, and we will pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks; and have it like a camp meeting; but what is the use of all this to us? You and I are gathered here expressly to prepare for that day; we could not enjoy it now, but our duty is to prepare ourselves in enjoy the glory that the Lord has in store for the faithful. We are going to try and save ourselves, and when we come to understanding we will then be counted worthy to possess Zion, even the centre stake of Zion. It is true this is Zion—North and South America are Zion, and the land where the Lord commenced His work; and where He commenced He will finish. This is the land of Zion; but we are not yet prepared to go and establish the Centre Stake of Zion. The Lord tried this in the first place. He called the people together to the place where the New Jerusalem and the great temple will be built, and where He will prepare for the City of Enoch. And He gave revelation after revelation; but the people could not abide them, and the Church was scattered and peeled, and the people hunted from place to place till, finally, they were driven into the mountains, and here we are. Now, it is for you and me to prepare to return back again; not to our fatherland, in many cases, but to return east, and by-and-by to build up the Centre Stake of Zion. We are not prepared to do this now, but we are here to learn until we are of one heart and of one mind in the things of this life. Do all the Latter-day Saints arrive at this? No; they have not, our former experience has proved this. Of the great many who have been baptized into this Church, but few have been able to abide the word of the Lord; they have fallen out on the right and on the left, and have foundered by the way, and a few have gathered together. Will these be prepared to enter the celestial kingdom? Some of them will be, and will become kings and priests; but not all of these, only a portion of them. They do not know what to do with the revelations, commandments and blessings of God. Talking, for instance, about every-day things, how many do we see here that know what to do with money and property when they get it? Are their eyes single to the building up of the kingdom of God? No; they are single to the building up of themselves. With all the knowledge that Elders have obtained who have travelled in the Church five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, or thirty years, there are few who understand the principles of the kingdom and whose eyes are single to the building of it up in all respects; but their eyes are like the fool’s eye—looking to the ends of the earth. They want this and that, and they do not know what to do; they lack wisdom. By-and-by, perhaps, their wealth will depart from them, and when left poor and penniless, they will humble themselves before the Lord that they may be saved.

This is the situation of the Latter-day Saints, yet they are increasing. It is astonishing to look back and see the ignorance that was manifested by the people in their first gathering together; their experience then was far less than their experience and doings now. Still we are far short of being what we should and must be.

When the people assemble together they should be instructed with regard to their temporal lives. It is good to assemble together and pray, and preach, and exhort, so that we may obtain the power of God to that degree that we can heal the sick, cast out devils, speak with tongues, prophecy and enjoy all the blessings and gifts of the holy gospel; but that does not raise our bread, nor perfect the Saints in wisdom. I referred here, last Sunday, to men out of the Church who possess great gifts and who are not in the Church. Men who know nothing of the Priesthood receive revelation and prophecy, and yet these gifts belong to the Church, and those who are faithful in the kingdom of God inherit them and are entitled to them; and all ought to live so as to enjoy the spirit of these gifts and callings continually.

Do we know and understand that it is our business to build up Zion? To have seen the way this people have conducted themselves in years past, one would not have had the least idea that such was our business; but it made no difference whom we built cities for; many would build for Jew or Gentile, Greek, Mahommedan, or Pagan, every class of men on the earth, as readily, apparently, as they would build up Zion. Yet the word of the Lord to us is to build up Zion and her cities and stakes. Lengthen her cords and strengthen her stakes, O ye House of Israel; add to her beauty and add to her strength! Why, to have seen the conduct of the people you might have supposed they knew no more about Zion than about a city of the Chinese, or a city in France, Italy, Germany, or Asia; just as soon build up a city in Asia or Africa as anywhere else, “no matter whom we build for if we only get the dollar, only get our pay for our work.” Yet the commandment of God to us is to build up Zion and her cities. I told you here last Sunday what Joseph said in this respect—what we should build and what we should not build up. This book [the book of Doctrine and Covenants] is full of it.

We say we believe Joseph was a prophet, that he had the priesthood and was called of God to gather the people together and establish Zion. If we believe this, why not let our lives prove that we believe the doctrine that we profess? Can you see any of the Christians in the world who do not believe the doctrine they profess? It is a very dark picture to look upon—a sad affair that we disbelieve our own doctrines. Let us remember them and live accordingly.

I will take the liberty of reading a portion of a revelation given in November, 1831 (Book Doctrine and Covenants, sec. 21), in reference to duties into which W. W. Phelps, Joseph Smith, Edward Partridge, Sidney Gilbert, and a few others were called: “Wherefore a commandment I give unto them that they shall not give these things unto the Church neither unto the world: nevertheless inasmuch as they receive more than is needful for their necessities and their wants, it shall be given into my store-house, and the benefit shall be consecrated unto the inhabitants of Zion, and unto their generations, inasmuch as they become heirs according to the laws of the kingdom.

“Behold this is what the Lord requires of every man in his stewardship, even as I the Lord have appointed, or shall hereafter appoint unto any man. And behold, none are exempt from this law who belong to the Church of the living God; yea, neither the bishop, neither the agent who keepeth the Lord’s storehouse, neither he who is appointed in a stewardship over temporal things; he who is appointed to administer spiritual things, the same is worthy of his hire even as those who are appointed to a stewardship, to administer in temporal things.”

In the next revelation it speaks of Sidney Gilbert, “And let my servant Sidney Gilbert stand in the office which I have appointed him, to receive monies, to be an agent unto the Church, to buy lands in all the regions round about, inasmuch as can be in righteousness and as wisdom shall direct.

“And let my servant Edward Partridge stand in the office which I have appointed him, to divide the Saints their inheritance, even as I have commanded; and also those whom he has appointed to assist him.

“And again, verily I say unto you, let my servant Sidney Gilbert plant himself in this place,” [that was Independence, Jackson County, Missouri,] “and establish a store that he may sell goods without fraud, that he may obtain money to buy land for the good of the Saints, and that he may obtain whatever things the disciples may need to plant them in their inheritances.”

Sell goods without fraud! That is a point I wish our merchants to look at, if that does not hit them square in the face I am mistaken. Does the Lord talk about a merchant as though he was a mere trader who had gathered for the purpose of clutching all he possibly could without caring for anybody else?

Will the time ever come that we can commence and organise this people as a family? It will. Do we know how? Yes; what was lacking in these revelations from Joseph to enable us to do so was revealed to me. Do you think we will ever be one? When we get home to our Father and God will we not wish to be in the family? Will it not be our highest ambition and desire to be reckoned as the sons of the living God, as the daughters of the Almighty, with a right to the household, and the faith that belongs to the household, heirs of the Father, His goods, His wealth, His power, His excellency, His knowledge and wisdom? Ought it not to be our highest ambition to attain to this? How many families do you think there will be then? It is true that we read in the Bible with regard to the twelve tribes of Israel, that they will be gathered together tribe by tribe, and that when they are so gathered they will hear the sentence of the Ancient of Days.

They were commanded never to go out of their own family—the family of Abraham—to seek a partner for life. Did they keep that command? No; but they ran here and there, to the rebellious nations around, and got their wives; and so they continued transgressing and rebelling until the days of Moses, when the gospel was offered to, and utterly rejected by them, and so the Lord gave them the law of Carnal Commandments, in which they were forbidden to marry, as you can read in the Bible. That was a yoke of bondage. And the whole religious world swallow this down as the revelations of the Lord Almighty to His people; they were to His people, but were given in consequence of their rebellion. A great many arguments might be adduced in favor of this, many more, I think, than could be advanced against it. Still we do not care anything about that; we look at facts just as they are. Abraham married his half sister according to the Bible; but there is a discrepancy in the record, for it is stated in his own writings that she was the daughter of his older brother, and he was the chosen of the Lord; and all can read for themselves and see whom Isaac and Jacob got for wives. Did not Jacob, when going to his uncle’s house, see Rachel at the well drawing water? Said he, “She is a pretty nice looking girl, I guess I’ll help her,” and going to do so, he found she was the daughter of the very man to whose house the Lord had sent him; and he liked her well enough to work seven years for her for a wife, and then Leah was palmed on to him, so he worked seven years more for Rachel, and Jacob and his wives were [his] own cousins. Jacob’s mother and his wives’ father were sister and brother; consequently his wives’ grandfather and grandmother—Nehor and Milcah—were his grandfather and grandmother. Besides, Nehor was the brother of Abraham, Jacob’s grandfather on his father’s side—and Milcah was the sister of Sarah—his grandmother on his father’s side. So it was with Israel, in the days of their obedience they were commanded to take partners in their own families; but Israel was finally divided-up into twelve parts, and they will be brought up so. This, however, is something that I understand, and which the people may understand, perhaps, sometime. They will come up tribe by tribe, and the Ancient of Days, He who led Abraham, and talked to Noah, Enoch, Isaac, and Jacob, that very Being will come and judge the twelve tribes of Israel. He will say, “You rebelled, and you have been left to the mercies of the wicked.” See the tribe of Judah and the half tribe of Benjamin, that tarried in Palestine when the rest went into the north country, how they have been trampled down!—they have not outgrown it to this day. Take them in England, or across on the Continent, or even in this country, no matter what you do to them, they will not resent it; they submit to it. But they will rise by-and-by and assert their rights and have them. They are the oldest nation in the world, and they have as bright talents as any other people in the world, and the time will come when they will obtain their rights and be restored to the land of their fathers, only be patient about it.

There is another class of individuals to whom I will briefly refer. Shall we call them Christians? They were Christians originally. We cannot be admitted into their social societies, into their places of gathering at certain times and on certain occasions, because they are afraid of polygamy. I will give you their title that you may all know whom I am talking about it—I refer to the Freemasons. They have refused our brethren membership in their lodge, because they were polygamists. Who was the founder of Freemasonry? They can go back as far as Solomon, and there they stop. There is the king who established this high and holy order. Now was he a polygamist, or was he not? If he did believe in monogamy he did not practise it a great deal, for he had seven hundred wives, and that is more than I have; and he had three hundred concubines, of which I have none that I know of. Yet the whole fraternity throughout Christendom will cry out against this order. “Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!” What is the matter? “I am in pain,” they all cry out, “I am suffering at witnessing the wickedness there is in our land. Here is one of the ‘relics of barbarism!’” Yes, one of the relics of Adam, of Enoch, of Noah, of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob, of Moses, David, Solomon, the Prophets, of Jesus, and his Apostles. And the other relic they have—you know whether they have used it up or not. Now what does our Bible tell us about this? Under this law of Carnal Commandments, the Lord told Moses to command the people to release their manservants and their maidservants, and forgive their debts once in seven years, and to let their land rest one year in seven; and when seven times seven years had passed over they were commanded to rest seven years, and to release all their manservants and maidservants. How will it be in eternity? We will wait till we get there, for there is no use in telling you; you would not know anything about it. I reckon there will be servants there, and I do not think they will be released once in seven years either; if they are, they will have to be brought right in again, for they will not know how to get their bread, and will have to be taken care of.

A certain portion of the human family have to be looked after and taken care of. If you do not know it, just look through the world and see the very few heads and brains that do all the legislating, and even the obtaining of what the children eat; it is only just a few that do this, out of the inhabitants of the whole earth. We are trying to teach this people to use their brains, that they may obtain knowledge and wisdom to sustain themselves and to dictate for others; that they may be worthy to be made kings and priests to God, which they never can be unless they learn, here or somewhere else, to govern, manage, legislate, and sustain themselves, their families, and friends, even to the making of nations, and nation after nation. If they cannot attain to this, they will have to be servants somewhere.

I say unto you that it is wisdom for us to apply ourselves to the revelations that the Lord has given us, and seek after Him that we may know His will concerning us, that we may be able to abide the day of His wrath, and be counted worthy, through our obedience and faithfulness, to enjoy the blessings that are prepared for the faithful.

We frequently talk about variety. My brother Joseph was talking about the variety in the feelings of this people. Can you see, two faces alike in this congregation? If you cannot, you cannot find two spirits alike, you cannot find two who are the same in disposition. And if you search the world over, and all the works of God, you will find that same eternal variety.

We are capable of talking, thinking, and communicating; then we are capable of receiving, and we can receive a little here, and a little there, as the prophet has said, “Line upon line, and precept upon precept,” until we come to understanding. This is our privilege; we are capable of doing this, and if we will go to work with our might, and apply ourselves to learning the things of God, you will find there will not be quite so much selfishness as there is now.

I do not know but some people would ask br. Brigham if he is ready to hand over what he has got? just as ready as the man who has only three dimes—just exactly, it is nothing to me. If we could live as one family, and could see that intelligence that is distributed among the minds of the people acted upon, we should see no idleness, slothfulness, wastefulness, covetousness, nor contention one with another, but every man and woman would be content with what was given them, and with all their souls would seek to obtain salvation, and would not be so eager after a little worldly honor or pleasure, and they would not feel “If I do not have my heaven here, I do not know that I shall ever have it.” You cannot have it unless you enjoy the spirit of the Lord, not one of you; you cannot find comfort, solace, or bliss without the Spirit of the Lord. All else contaminates and mars, and is calculated to destroy. As I said to the brethren the other day in the Thirteenth Ward Schoolhouse, with regard to worldly pleasure, comfort, and enjoyment; you may take as much as you please of the Spirit of the Lord, and it will not make your stomach or head ache. You may drink nine cups of strong spiritual drink, and it will not hurt you; but if you drink nine cups of strong tea, see what it will do for you. Let a person that is very thirsty and warm satiate his appetite with cold water, and when he gets through he will perhaps have laid the foundation for death, and may go to an untimely grave, which is frequently done. Excessive eating, drinking, or exercise all tend to the grave; but you may take as much of the Spirit of the Lord as you have a mind to, I do not care if you take a good hearty supper of it and then go right to bed, it will not hurt you in the least; if you take it early in the morning it will not spoil your breakfast. It will never hurt you, but will give life, joy, peace, satisfaction, and contentment; it is light, intelligence, strength, power, glory, wisdom, and finally, it comprehends the kingdoms that are, that were, or that will be, and all that we can contemplate or desire, and will lead us to everlasting life. Only let us have the Spirit of the Lord and we can be happy; while the things of this world, that are so eagerly sought after, all point directly to the grave. Men and women who are trying to make themselves happy in the possession of wealth or power will miss it, for nothing short of the gospel of the Son of God can make the inhabitants of the earth happy, and prepare them to enjoy heaven here and hereafter.

May the Lord bless you.

Truth to be Received for Its Own Sake, etc.

George Q. Cannon

Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, March 3rd, 1867. Reported by David W. Evans.

The Lord bestows His blessings upon the children of men according to their faith and diligence. It is true that there are a great many blessings which they receive and enjoy independent of their conduct, to a very great extent. They have this life, the use of their reason, the blessings of air and earth, and the elements which are incorporated or connected with the earth; the sun warms them with its rays, and the showers of heaven revive them. Many of these blessings descend on the children of men in numerous instances regardless of their conduct, and apparently independent of their actions. But there are blessings which mankind cannot receive, only through obedience to the commandments of God, our heavenly Father; there are privileges and gifts which cannot be enjoyed, only through the diligence of those upon they whom are bestowed. The gifts that pertain to the gospel of Jesus Christ can only be obtained by obedience to the truth; and can only be retained by a faithful adherence to the commandments of God; and in order that these may be multiplied upon the people, they must be appreciated by those upon whom they are bestowed. When our hearts are filled with thanksgiving, gratitude, and praise to God, we are in a fit condition to receive additional blessings, and to have more of the outpouring of His Holy Spirit. When we see the deliverances that He vouchsafes to us, and appreciate those deliverances, we are in a fit condition to receive additional strength, power, and salvation, because we acknowledge His hand in all the blessings we receive, and in all the circumstances which surround us.

The things of God are not discerned by those who are not spiritually minded; for the Holy Spirit reveals the things of God to those upon whom it is bestowed. Men in the world at present, place the greatest dependence on the evidence which their outward senses afford them. If they can see, hear, taste, or handle anything with which they may come in contact, they place more value upon that external evidence than upon any internal evidence. Hence, when the elders go forth to preach the gospel to the nations, there is almost a constant demand, made by those to whom they are sent, for the evidence of miracles. They wish to hear the elders speak in tongues, or prophecy; they want to see the sight of the blind restored, the sick healed, the dead raised, or some miraculous manifestation of power, in order that their outward senses may be gratified. Many attach a great deal of importance to the evidence which they receive in this manner; and to this class of persons the things of God are to a very great extent incomprehensible, because the evidence which they look for they do not often receive; or if they do, it comes in such a form that it is not entirely reliable to them. The man or the woman who is convinced of the truth of the gospel by seeing the ears of the deaf unstopped, or the tongue of the dumb unloosed, or by dreams or visions, as a general thing, requires a continuation of these manifestations from that time forward to keep them in the faith of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This our experience confirms. There is another class who obey the truth because it is the truth, and receive the testimony of the Spirit without any particular manifestations, but in whose hearts the Spirit of God continues to burn and increase, imparting to them all its gifts and filling them with joy and peace unspeakable. They retain their faith in the work of God, and as days, weeks, months, and years pass over their heads, their faith and confidence increase.

No doubt there are many saints present this afternoon who have seen illustrations of this kind. They probably can allow their minds to refer to their early experience in the Church, in the branches to which they belonged when they embraced the gospel. Probably there were many of their companions who embraced the gospel at about the same time they did, who received great manifestations, and whose minds never seemed to be content with what they would term the small things of the gospel; but they were constantly reaching after visions and dreams, and extraordinary manifestations of the power of God; and, in nine cases out of ten, with the desire of consuming those manifestations on their own lusts, to have some wonderful testimony to bear, to be a little ahead of, and to excel their brethren and sisters in the things of God. Probably many present can recollect instances of this kind, and have watched the course of such individuals until they have lost the faith and have gone out of the Church. On the other hand there are men and women who were not favoured in these respects, and, in consequence, probably felt that they had committed some sin almost unpardonable in the sight of Heaven; yet through their humility and the constant exercise of faith they have continued to increase in wisdom and strength, and in all the gifts of the Spirit necessary for the perfecting of the Saints; and to-day they can look back through their whole career in the Church, and can see that God has given them the best possible kind of evidence to enable them to retain their standing in the Church. There are probably thousands of people, at the present time, among the nations of the earth, who would say, that if they could see the sick healed, or the blind restored to sight, see a person who was on the verge of the grave snatched from the grasp of death and restored to perfect health, or hear a man speak in tongues or interpret a language of which he was entirely ignorant, they would be perfectly willing to embrace the gospel and become Latter-day Saints for the rest of their lives. I have no doubt there are men in our midst who would say that if they could have evidence of this kind they would be Latter-day Saints; and in making such a statement they would imagine they were perfectly safe, and that it would be consistent with God’s plan for them to expect such evidence. Experience in this work has proved that this is not the best kind of evidence, but that there is a kind which is of a higher order, and which is calculated to preserve those who receive it from all the snares and temptations of the adversary with which they may be assailed. God, our heavenly Father, has promised the Holy Ghost, with all its gifts to those who receive His gospel. He has said that those who go forth in humility and meekness, forsaking their sins and truly repenting, shall receive for themselves a knowledge of the principles which they have embraced; that they shall receive the Comforter, who will take of the things of God and show them to them; and the history of this entire people has proved that such is the case, and that the Spirit of God, with its accompanying gifts, is abundantly poured out upon those who live so as to receive them.

The gospel of Jesus Christ claims our obedience, whether we receive the gifts of the Spirit or not. The Lord in His mercy has promised to us these gifts; but when He makes demand on His children, it is not for them to stand still and make conditions with Him about the principles they are going to receive; and those who do so commit sin in the very outset. They grieve the Spirit of God by manifesting such a want of confidence; whereas, those who go forth in humility, trusting in God, and who receive the truth because God has revealed it, and because it is sweet unto them, have no cause to mourn that He has not bestowed upon them all that He has promised. But, on the contrary, their souls are filled to overflowing with the outpourings of the Spirit of God, and with the gifts of that Spirit which are bestowed upon them. This has ever been the case; it is so to-day, and it will be so as long as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints exists in purity on the earth, or there is a man left on the earth to administer in the ordinances of the holy priesthood of the Son of God.

The great difficulty with mankind is that they have arranged in their own minds plans for the salvation of the human race. You can scarcely meet with a man in the world—although he may acknowledge that God has not spoken to the children of men for nearly 1,800 years, and that he never saw a divinely inspired servant of God, one who had the right to exercise the priesthood of the Son of God as the ancient servants of God did—but has a plan arranged in his own mind respecting the course which he thinks God should take in saving His children. Begin to talk with them, and the traditions they have received from their fathers, preachers, or schoolmasters immediately rise up, and if what you state comes in contact with those traditions, no matter how pure, heavenly, and attractive it may otherwise be, they will reject it. This is the rock on which the nations of the earth are making shipwreck, because, instead of receiving the truth when presented to them in humility and meekness like little children, they feel to dictate, and prescribe the laws and requirements of the gospel, and the manner in which it should be preached. Where-ever this spirit exists, there is no room for the meek and lowly spirit of Jesus to have place; another spirit has possession and controls them.

How many men are there who come from afar and see Zion being built up, and see the work of God progressing on this land, who recognize the features that the prophets have said should characterize and attend on Zion and the work of God in the last days? Why, it is as much as the Latter-day Saints can do who come from the nations of the earth, to recognize in the work of God now progressing in this Territory, the Zion of God. They have their traditions and preconceived notions and ideas respecting the work of God, and what it should be; and when they come here and see the work in actual operation, many of them fail to recognize it and fail to see the power of God manifested. Why is this? It is because of those preconceived notions; it is because they have marked out and adopted a plan in their own minds upon which they expect Zion to be built up, and to which they expect Zion to conform. This is much more the case with those who have no knowledge of the truth, and who have not received the Spirit of God through baptism, the laying on of hands, and obedience to the other ordinances of the house of God. But if they were to come here dispossessed of prejudice and tradition, and were to look at the work of God as it is now progressing through this land, they would be enabled to appreciate it, and to acknowledge that there is a power and a spirit manifested among this people that does not belong to men and women under ordinary circumstances. Who does comprehend the work which the Lord is accomplishing with such rapidity? Why there is not a Latter-day Saint within the sound of my voice, no matter how young, humble, ignorant, or void of understanding he or she may be, who knows anything about the Spirit or the things of God, but can see divinity and the power of God manifested in every move made, and in all that has been done in connection with this work, from the beginning of their experience to the present time. They see God and recognize His hand in this work; and they also understand that man could not bestow upon them the blessings of peace and joy that they have in the Holy Ghost. Though a man may be very learned in the ancient and modern sciences, may have travelled extensively, may understand the various phases of human nature, and be thoroughly acquainted with the history of our race so far as it has been handed down to us, yet, if he have not the Spirit of God, his knowledge fades away if placed alongside that of the otherwise ignorant Saint, for it is found insufficient to reveal to him that this is the work of God. He looks at it from a worldly standpoint and he sees neither God nor divinity in it; neither can he recognize any exhibition of God’s power in this work, and in his mind it is all delusion But that so-called ignorant man or woman who stands beside him, who may not know one-fiftieth part of that which he knows respecting the earth, its inhabitants, and its sciences, recognizes God in it all. He knows that is the Zion of God; his faith is based on the rock of ages; he knows and can bear testimony that this is the work of God, and he can see the hand of God in it all. The power of God is in his soul; he is in communion with God; and the gifts of the Spirit are manifested in and through him; and he rejoices in this knowledge which the man of the world has no comprehension of.

This is the difference, my brethren and sisters, between seeing the things of God from a natural or worldly stand point, and seeing them from the stand point God has established for us. Is this peculiar to the work of God in the last days? No; it is a peculiarity which has characterized all ages and dispensations when God has had a people on the earth. In the days of Jesus, who discovered divinity in him? Who saw in the humble son of a carpenter the lineaments of his divine origin, and recognized the Deity there? Why, a few humble fishermen, ignorant, illiterate men, who, as we learn from the “Acts of the Apostles,” could not speak their mother tongue grammatically. But did the high priests or the learned among the Jews, or those who had been educated in the schools, comprehend it? Though it was an age of enlightenment, so called, they could not recognize God in Jesus, nor divinity in the work which he performed; neither could they recognize any of the power of the apostleship in his Apostles. Who did see it? Why those who bowed in submission to the plan which God revealed through His son Jesus Christ; they comprehended these things, and were able to distinguish between the man of God and the man of the world; they were able to distinguish between the truth of heaven when it came pure and unadulterated from the throne of Jehovah, and the systems of men proclaimed on every hand. Hence, for men spiritually unenlightened to be unable to comprehend the things of God is not peculiar to the dispensation in which we live, but it has been so in every age when God made known His will to the children of men. Such individuals may come in contact with the greatest of Heaven’s children and may associate with them day by day, and yet through not having that Spirit they will fail to recognize their nobility of character, and that they are divinely inspired. Some of the members, even, of Jesus’ own family, as we learn from the sacred record, ridiculed him; they could not recognize that their own brother, the son of their mother, was the Son of God, who was to die for the sins of the world; although they had been brought up with Jesus from childhood, they failed to recognize it for the very reason that Joseph Smith, and Brigham Young, and every prophet and apostle that ever lived on the face of the earth have not been recognized by many of their associates. If their minds had been enlightened by the Spirit of God they would have recognized the men of God, and could have comprehended the things of God and the plan of salvation; they could have seen God in it all; every feature would have beamed with the godhead and with the divinity; they would have recognized it as an emanation from heaven and would have sustained the Son of God as the being he professed to be, and which he was; and his Apostles would have had no occasion to have gone about as they did—persecuted and hated, and afterwards cruelly killed for the testimony of Jesus which they bore to mankind. Noah would not have had such a difficult work in trying to convince the inhabitants of the earth in his day of the message God had given to him, neither would all the prophets from his day down have had the difficulty they had. No man with his natural wisdom can comprehend the things of God; man never did do it and never can do it. Priests may study all the arts and sciences, and finally graduate at a theological college; and after they have passed through it all they have no more conception of God and the things of God, than if such a Being had never existed. A man filled with the power of God might go to them, and they would not understand him; if he told them the most precious things ever uttered by mortal lips, they would not comprehend it, and would be far more likely to reject him than not, because they are imbued with prejudices and preconceived ideas respecting God and His works.

There was a necessity therefore for Jesus to say, that they should receive His kingdom as little children. There is this necessity, my brethren and sisters, to-day, on our part, that we should so receive the kingdom of God. What did any of us know respecting the truth until the Prophet revealed it? What do we know today? Why a great many of us think we know a great many things. It is an exceedingly difficult thing for a Bishop to teach us, or for an Apostle to impress our minds with the truth he is filled with, or for President Young and his counsellors to convey to our minds and have us comprehend the truth which God has revealed to them. Why is this? It is because we are filled with our traditions and preconceived notions as to what is right and what is wrong. We relinquish and part with those notions and traditions very slowly; we cannot cast them aside apparently without great effort, and it requires the work of years to emancipate us from this thral[l]dom. But there is, nevertheless, a great necessity that we should exert ourselves to the utmost of our ability in this labor. We should seek to have our minds spread out and expand so that when the things of God are told to us we can adopt them, and throw aside everything that comes in contact with them. There is a great work before us, and the progress that the Church has made during the last thirty-seven years, only enables us to see a little glimmer of the immensity that stretches out before us. The distance between us and the celestial kingdom of our God is inconceivably great to us at the present time; our minds cannot grasp the distance we have to traverse before we reach the presence of God and are prepared to dwell with Him eternally. By the Spirit of God we can comprehend some little of it; we can comprehend the distance we have yet to travel by thinking of the distance we have travelled.

We have come out of, and travelled from Babylon, according to the command of God, that we may become a people directly opposite to everything existing in Babylon. This was the proclamation made to us; and the object of the proclamation was that we might be emancipated completely from the things of the world, that we might be prepared to dwell with God eternally in the heavens.

Now, think of the distance there is between us and the people of Babylon to-day. The distance we have travelled is scarcely perceptible to some; and on some points we are so near that we can reach and shake hands with them, we have made so little progress. Yet there is nothing truer than this, that before we are prepared to dwell in the presence of God we must be directly opposite to them in almost every respect. Morality is taught and moral truths are enforced among them; but aside from the theory, everything is rotten and corrupt from the base to the topmost stone. God has said so, and we have had some little experience in it ourselves; and so far as we have gone we can say that such is the case. Society has to be differently organized under the rule of the Church of God. We have already made a great stride in this respect. The one great institution which God has revealed has done more to emancipate us, and create a difference between us and the world than anything I can conceive of; that is the order of marriage. It creates a complete distinctness between us and the people of the world. We can see how much we are progressing in this direction, and they who are living their religion are making rapid progress. There was a necessity for the revelation of this principle in order that the people of God might be entirely distinct from the people of Babylon. As long as we lived under those old institutions which are so full of rottenness and corruption, we were liable all the time to become assimilated to the world. But God has laid the foundation of that great distinction which must eventuate in the complete triumph of truth and the establishment of His kingdom on the earth. He has laid the foundation where the foundation of all governments begins—in the family; and it will go on and increase until it permeates every institution and organization, making us entirely different and distinct from the people of the world. You can allow your minds to stretch out if you like to their utmost capacity and they will not begin to comprehend the difference that will be created through the operation of those principles which God has already revealed. Like the pebble that is dropped in the mill pond, every circle goes on increasing and widening until it covers the whole pond. So it is with the truth which God has revealed; it will spread until the institutions of the kingdom of God will revolutionize everything that exists on the earth.

We have this work before us, it belongs to us; it does not belong to the First Presidency alone, or to the Twelve alone, or to the Bishops of wards, or to the Presidents of the settlements or stakes of Zion; but it belongs to every man, woman, and child who has a standing in this Church. God has laid it upon us all individually and collectively, and He expects it at our hands. It is true that the work of God will go forth from triumph to triumph until complete victory shall crown the efforts of the servants of God. But we are the members of this Church, and it is for us to say whether we will be diligent, or whether we will fall back and allow our places to be filled by others more diligent and more capable of comprehending the greatness of the work, and the greatness and facilities that God has given to us, than we are; whether we will combat with and contend against the evils that everywhere exist, govern our houses in righteousness, and bring up our children in the fear of God, or whether we will neglect these things, and suffer the glorious opportunities God has given us to pass by unimproved, to be improved by others more zealous, diligent, and wise in their generation than we are. There is no individual in Zion but can do a great deal of good if they will only allow their minds to expand, and will seek out opportunities to accomplish the work of God. They can correct and prepare themselves to carry on the work of God, and, in doing so, they will help to prepare somebody else; for no one can carry on the work of perfection without being a benefit to all with whom they associate.

We talk about going back to build up the centre stake of Zion; it is the burden of our daily prayers. The aspirations of thousands of the people ascend in the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth in behalf of the redemption of Zion, and that the purposes of God may be forwarded, and that the time may soon come when the centre stake of Zion shall be built up and the people be prepared to go back and inhabit that land. Why do we wish this? Because we anticipate when that day shall come that we will be that much nearer the day of triumph, the day when Jesus will come and reign among his Saints. We are, as it were, in a school where we are to be taught of God, and prepared for the great events that are coming on the earth. We do not wish to leave this land, because it is not fertile, or because it is not a favoured land. We appreciate the home that God has given us here, so fruitful in blessings to the Saints; but we look forward to that land with indescribable feelings, because it is the place where God has said His City shall be built. It is the land where Adam, the Ancient of Days, will gather his posterity again, and where the blessings of God will descend upon them. It is the land for which the wise and learned have travelled and sought in vain. Asia has been ransacked in endeavouring to locate the Garden of Eden. Men have supposed that because the Ark rested on Ararat that the flood commenced there, or rather that it was from thence the Ark started to sail. But God in His revelations has informed us that it was on this choice land of Joseph where Adam was placed and the Garden of Eden was laid out. The spot has been designated, and we look forward with peculiar feelings to repossessing that land. We expect when that day shall come that we will be a very different people to what we are today. We will be prepared to commune with heavenly beings; at any rate, the preparation will be going on very rapidly for Jesus to be revealed. We expect that a society will be organized there that will be a pattern of heavenly society, that when Jesus and the heavenly beings who come with him are revealed in the clouds of heaven, their feelings will not be shocked by the change, for a society will be organized on the earth whose members will be prepared through the revelations of God to meet and associate with them, if not on terms of perfect equality, at least with some degree of equality.

How much preparation have we made for this? We have made considerable progress in some directions. Since the days of Joseph the authority of the holy priesthood has increased. Bishops who are doing their duty have more authority in their wards than Bro. Joseph had formerly in the whole Church. The people understand the requirements made of them and carry them out understandingly and intelligently. This is very good, but a great change has still to be made; we have much more progress to make.

Our enemies are complaining of this one-man power; they want to concoct some plan that will destroy the power of the holy priesthood. They have stated that if anything should happen to Bro. Brigham that this kingdom would fall to pieces. They delude themselves with the same ideas that the wicked did before the death of Joseph. They think we are a severely oppressed people, and they would like to emancipate us from the thral[l]dom we endure. Do they know anything about us? No. We are free, and we are living lives of happiness and contentment. We never were so happy in our lives before as we are to-day if we are faithful. Our wives never felt so free in their lives as they do to-day. What, not when their husbands had only one wife? No, not even then; and the assertion can be sustained that there are no women on the earth so thoroughly and completely free as the women among the Latter-day Saints. You who can doubt this can let your minds refer to the condition of society in other places. See the bondage in which women are placed, and the lives of sorrow they have to drag through, until, worn out, they drop into their graves—the grave being the only refuge from the troubles with which they are oppressed. That is not the case with us, we are a free people, although our enemies say we are oppressed.

We may imagine in our present state of knowledge, that when we reach the point to which I am endeavouring to direct the minds of the people, we shall not feel so well as we do to-day. I tell you we shall feel far better, for the greater the progress the more freedom we shall enjoy. Though every being in heaven obeys the behests of Jehovah implicitly, we will all admit that they are far happier than we are on the earth. We have to progress till we reach that state when all our labors will be under the dictation, guidance, and direction of those whom God has appointed to preside over us. And as we approximate to this condition, they will increase in wisdom and ability to direct, so that harmony will be maintained. As the people increase in obedience God will pour out wisdom on His servants commensurate with that obedience.

It has been said that we are very willing to go on missions when we are told, and in regard to our spiritual labors we are very willing to be directed. In these respects there is no people so easily managed and directed as we are. That obedience which characterises us in spiritual things will have to be manifested in temporal things. Many of the people think “I know more about this matter than my bishop does,” when some temporal matter is agitated. That feeling is running through the minds of numbers of the people; and while this is the case your bishops will probably not be as wise as they might be; they have not your faith to sustain them. But when the time comes that you have implicit faith and confidence in God, and in those whom He appoints to preside over you, in things temporal as well as spiritual, your bishops will have all the wisdom needed to give you the counsel you require.

This time must come; and not only must it be the case with the brethren but it must be so with their families also, for, as I said, family government is the foundation of all government. Show me a community where children are brought up in holiness and purity, and trained in the fear and knowledge of God, and I can prophecy future greatness and prosperity for that people. If I see a family where the children are obedient to their parents, and listen to their voices as to the voice of an angel; and where wives are obedient to their husbands, meeting their wishes and seeking to gratify them in everything in the Lord, I know there is greatness before that family. So with this entire people. If our children be trained in the fear of God, if within their minds are instilled the principles of truth, righteousness, faith, and godliness, we may dismiss all fears respecting the future growth, development, and prosperity of our Father’s kingdom on the earth. When we see our children growing up in unbelief and hardness of heart, then have we cause to fear and tremble. Every one of you, my sisters, can do a great deal towards building up this kingdom. A great glory is bestowed on woman, for she is permitted to bring forth the souls of men. You have the opportunity of training children who shall bear the holy priesthood, and go forth and magnify it in the midst of the earth. It is a glorious mission which God has assigned to his daughters, and they should be correspondingly proud of it, and should realize its importance and seek to be missionaries in their own families, training up their children in the fear of God. It is an established fact, or at least it is so regarded in the world, that scarcely any great man ever had a poor weak-minded mother. If you read of the great men of antiquity, or of modern times, you will find that in almost every instance they have had great mothers, who have moulded and fashioned the plastic minds of their sons according to their own notions of greatness, and sent them forth to battle with the circumstances of life, like gods almost. Great interests are in the hands of mothers. God has reposed in them great power; if they wield that power for good it will be productive of peace and happiness and exaltation to them. They will be blessed in seeing the greatness of their posterity. Their hearts will be gratified in having a posterity who will rise up and called them blessed.

It is something glorious to contemplate, but how few there are who realize the great blessings God has bestowed upon them. God has blessed us with these privileges so that we can lay, in our own households, the foundation for the future greatness of the kingdom of God, by instilling into the minds of our children those lessons and precepts of godliness which will make them mighty in days to come, and will prepare them when they reach manhood, to bear off the work of God and magnify the truth by being exemplars of the gospel of Jesus Christ among the nations of the earth.

God bless you, brethren and sisters; and may He enable us all to be faithful to the truth and to comprehend the greatness of the age in which we live, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

The Complete Difference Between the Saints and the World

John Taylor

Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, March 31st, 1867. Reported by David W. Evans.

Brother Cannon stated this morning that we were the most independent people on the earth. That, I presume, is a correct statement, although the majority of the people on the earth think we are the most dependent. They consider that we are dependent on them for their good or bad opinion, that we are dependent upon the United States for peace and tranquility, and that we are dependent upon popular feeling for the existence of our institutions, whether political religious, or social. Hence men come among us from time to time, and setting themselves up as standards of perfection, they wish to measure us by their ideas of politics and morality; whereas if they only understood the truth, they would know that we are very independent on these points, and that we care no more about their notions and opinions in regard to us than we care for the motion of a passing bird.

We have no tremor in relation to the action of this or any other government. They do not know the true sentiments and feelings of the Latter-day Saints; hence they are not capable of judging us. We feel that we are dependent upon God only, for our existence, whether it be socially, politically, or morally. We do not look upon things as they exist in the world as being correct, and in animadverting upon their acts we could tell a great many things that we believe are essentially wrong, whether relating to their morals, politics, religion, philosophy, or anything else; and some of us are pretty well acquainted with the ideas they entertain, and the morals that prevail amongst them. We did not come here to copy after anything that exists in the world; we had no such idea or intention, and if this fact is not understood by all the Latter-day Saints it ought to be. When men come among us we should be very sorry indeed if they found us like the world; we are not like them, neither do we wish to be. We did not come here to set up a government to be separate and distinct from other governments, and to seek to possess a certain power and influence over our own members or over other people; this never entered into our minds. We do not, to-day, try to imitate any of the governments of the earth; we do not admire their policy; we do not believe that their systems are correct. We believe that they have the seeds of dissolution within themselves, and through the lack of correct princ[i]ples by which to regulate themselves, that they will eventually crumble to pieces. Neither do we believe in their religion, and we should be sorry if any of our people were like them, or even attempted to be like them in a religious point of view. Most of us have been associated with their varied systems of religion before we came here. We have been mixed up with them in the United States, England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and other parts of the earth, and have long ago renounced their religion, because we considered it false. We do not consider it any more true today, and, of course, men who think they are right, and measuring us by their standard, must necessarily conclude that we are wrong; that is the only conclusion at which they can arrive. Having been associated with the various churches—Roman Catholic, Greek, Episcopalian or English, Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, Quaker, and other churches and denominations of the day, we know what their ideas are religiously, and we did not leave them because we thought they were right, but because we believed them to be in error and that the whole of them had departed from the principles laid down in the Scriptures of truth. We left them because we conceived that they lacked the principles of life, vitality, intelligence, and revelation possessed by the religion that Jesus Christ introduced upon the earth. That, I confess, was the reason why I left them.

I remember once calling at a man’s house who was a Presbyterian. After talking to him a little about his religion, said he, “You entertain curious notions.” Said I, “I believe I got my notions from the Bible.” Afterwards an infidel came in with whom I had a long conversation, trying to prove to him that the Bible and the Christian religion were true, or at least that taught by the Bible. “Well,” said this gentleman to me, “I am surprised; I thought you were an infidel.” “Why?” said I “Because,” he replied, “I thought you did not believe in the Bible.” Said I, “You are laboring under a great mistake; I do believe in the Bible, but not in principles contrary to the Bible, and consequently as the religion of the present day does not agree with the Bible I do not agree with it.” I suppose these have been the feelings, more or less, with the majority of the Saints, at least with those who reasoned upon and contemplated these matters. For instance, the Scriptures speak about there being “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God, who is above all, through all and in you all;” and when men of reflection look around and see systems of religion as numerous as gods used to be among the old heathens, how could they suppose or believe that these were all inspired of God? It was impossible for a man of reflection and intelligence to entertain such an idea. We are in pursuit of principles that emanate from God, and we believe that God has spoken, and therefore we are here. We believe that He has revealed to us His will; that He has restored the ancient gospel with all its fullness, blessings, richness, power, and glory. We believe that this gospel will redeem all men who believe in it, and that it will elevate them to a knowledge of the true God, whom to know is life eternal. We believe that God has restored to the earth again Apostles and Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers the same as existed in His Church in former days; and we believe that if men repent of their sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for their remission that they will receive the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands. We believe that that Spirit leads them into all truth; that it brings things past to their remembrance, and shows them things to come; and in this respect we differ from the religions of the world, for they have no such idea as this; they do not believe in it. We believe that the Lord has commenced to establish His kingdom on the earth, and we look to Him for wisdom and intelligence in regard to all matters, whether they be of a political, social, or moral nature; hence, in these respects, we differ very materially from the rest of the world. In the various religious denominations their ministers are set apart by the will and dictum of men; their religions, too, are established by men. God had nothing to do with the matter. He never thought of them. It is no uncommon thing in the Church of England, with which I was associated in my early days, for a man who has three or four sons to educate one to be a doctor, another for a lawyer, another, perhaps, is assigned to the army or navy, as the case may be; and if there is one a little duller than the rest he is generally educated for the ministry and is called a Doctor of Divinity. And it is expected that that dull man, without common sense and without instruction from God, but simply because he is a fool, will point out the way to the kingdom of heaven. Among the Methodists, with whom I was afterwards associated because I thought the Church of England was not good enough, they tell us that “God chooses the base things of the world to bring to nought the things that are.’ That is true enough, but they come to wrong conclusions from these premises;—that is, they suppose because God can choose a man and endow him with wisdom, that therefore they can pick the biggest fools they have got and set them to work to preach.

There is a wide difference between God choosing a man and endowing him with the spirit of intelligence, wisdom, and revelation, and sending him forth to preach the truths of heaven to the nations of the earth, and men picking up their weakest members and setting them to do the same thing; because God can inspire men with wisdom and intelligence from above, while men are incapable of so doing. Hence I do not wonder that men, who are accustomed to listen to, and who believe such teachings, should consider that we are a strange people, for our religious notions evidently do not agree with theirs; if they did, as I said before, we should not have been here, for it was principally on religious grounds that we left them to come here. One of our judges, after leaving here, informed the Administration that the inhabitants of Utah were mostly “Mormons,” and were a very peculiar people. He thought he had made quite a discovery, and that he was putting the world in possession of important information.

We have left the various churches and sects of the day, and infidel associations of all kinds, and have united ourselves with the “Mormons,” and have gathered together here simply because we believed they were all wrong, hence a man must be a fool to suppose that we are like them, for we have a faith that is entirely diverse from theirs. Our ideas, socially and morally, are entirely different from theirs, because ours come from God, and they get theirs from the notions that exist among men.

Who that is acquainted with the moral state of Christendom at the present time does not shudder when reflecting upon the depravity, corruption, licentiousness, and debauchery that everywhere stalk around? We have left this state of things, and the Lord has introduced a new order amongst us, for we profess to be under His guidance and direction, and consequently our ideas and practices must be very different from those which obtain in the world. We have more wives than one. Why? Because God ordained it. And we maintain our wives and children; but they do not maintain their mistresses and children, yet they will prate to us about their beautiful systems There is a great difference between their system and ours; they think their’s is best, but we, who look at things from an entirely different point of view, prefer our system. If we have wives and children we are not afraid to acknowledge them as such. We do not have the children of one woman riding with us in a carriage, while those of another are sweeping the streets and asking us for a halfpenny; nor are they paupers on the community. We do not believe in any such morality as that, we discard it altogether. Many of those who do believe in and sustain it are ashamed of many of their own deeds, and act the hypocrite by trying to cover them up and keep them in the dark, and presenting the bright side only for us to copy after. But we want to take things as a whole, and we will receive no system but that which will bear the scrutiny of the world, and that is just, equitable, and honorable before God, angels, and men. I am not surprised at men, coming from the midst of scenes and practices, forming such incorrect notions in relation to us; but dare they acknowledge their acts as we dare acknowledge ours? No; they dare not; their own laws would punish them if their acts were brought to light.

In relation to our political affairs, we are gathered together as a community, and being so numerous it is impossible but that we should form a part and parcel of the body politic. We have a city here, for instance, and numerous other cities throughout this Territory. We must have an organization in these cities. We want our Mayors and City Councillors and Aldermen, and municipal laws to protect the weak, the virtuous, the pure, and holy, and restrain the wicked, the riotous, the thief, and debauchee, and to maintain order in the community. We have a number of towns and cities extending for some five hundred miles, and it is necessary that we should have a government to regulate and manage affairs in our midst. We are forced into this position, we cannot help ourselves, and hence we become a Territory, and have our Governor, Judges, Marshal, and Secretary of State sent us by the United States; and our Representative in the Congress of the United States.

Then we have our local Legislature, as other Territories have, to enact laws for the protection of the good and virtuous, for punishment of crime, the execution of justice, and the preservation of peace and good order throughout the Territory. Is there anything wrong in all this? Not that I am aware of. Whose rights have we interfered with Who cannot obtain justice here Who are deprived of their rights here? Is there any man, woman, or child, stranger or citizen deprived of his or her rights, or who cannot obtain a hearing for grievances real or imaginary? Who is there throughout the length and breadth of the Territory who cannot obtain the full benefit of law, equity, and justice? No one. Well, we are here in this capacity, and there are other things that underlie these, if you please. The Republicans, you know, in the States, have been very fond for a long time of talking about a higher law of some kind. We, too, have a higher law, not a negro law particularly, but a law that emanates from God; a law that is calculated to promote the best interests and the happiness of this people, and of the world when they will listen to it. Then do you profess to ignore the laws of the land? No; not unless they are unconstitutional, then I would do it all the time. Whenever the Congress of the United States, for instance, pass a law interfering with my religion, or with my religious rights, I will read a small portion of that instrument called the Constitution of the United States, now almost obsolete, which says “Congress shall pass no law interfering with religion or the free exercise thereof;” and I would say, gentlemen, you may go to Gibraltar with your law, and I will live my religion. When you become violators of the Constitution you have sworn before high heaven to uphold, and perjure yourselves before God, then I will maintain the right, and leave you to take the wrong just as you please. There are other things, too, that I, as an individual would do. There have been attempts made here to interfere with the trial by jury, a right guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States as well as by the Magna Charta of England. And we have had cases right in our midst where a judge has told the jury that if they did not bring in such a verdict as he had instructed them to, he would set it aside. Of what use, then, is a jury? Why not let the judge act without them; if they are to be dictated to by him what becomes of our freedom? If my services as a juryman were required, I would give my opinion frankly and honestly, and no judge should control me; but I would try to be a man, and would not be cowed by any man sent among us trying to pervert justice. No man should make a scapegoat of me; if he wished to violate constitutional rights he should do it on his own responsibility. Some men will endure a great deal in matters of this kind, and they will call it humility; but I desire no such humility. I want a principle that will maintain, uphold, and stand by the rights of man, giving to all men everywhere equal rights, and that will preserve inviolate the fundamental principles of the Constitution of our country.

After all, we, as a people, have not much to complain of; we have a great deal of liberty here, and we can do pretty much as we have a mind to if we will only do right. We can think, write, and worship as we please, and we are free from some things that some portions, even of our nation, are perplexed with at the present time. We have no military government, for instance, and we are free to exercise our judgment and to maintain our rights by jury if we have the manhood to do it, and I consider that after all we are very much blessed out here. It is true that the President and Congress quarrel down yonder sometimes; but before the sound reaches us it is so faint that it produces no electric shock; in fact, we scarcely feel it. In the South, too, they are laboring under many difficulties; but they are so far from us that we fail to realize matters as they exist there, and our affairs go on as usual. The smoke comes out of the chimneys, men walk on their feet, the sun rises and sets at proper time, and everything goes on perfectly natural, and I do not know that we have anything to complain of, and for the many blessings that we enjoy I feel thankful to Almighty God. Now, what are we as a people aiming at? To begin with, we are aiming to live our religion more faithfully. We have got the right principles, but I think, sometimes, that we do not live them as well as we might. We have been baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of our sins, and have had hands laid upon us for the reception of the Holy Ghost; but in many instances we have failed to live our religion by giving way to our evil tempers, passions, and appetites, and we want to live our religion better than we have done. We must be more moral, and more honest with each other and before God; and we must pray more and swear less than we do. Our strength is from God; and if we do not have strength, wisdom, intelligence, and grace from Him we do not have it; and it is living our religion that leads us to Him. It is not altogether in ceremonials; it is not because I go to church or meeting; but it is because my heart is right before God, because I do my duty, because I love the Lord and His people and all men, and my desire is to promote the happiness and well being of the human family. This is the feeling that all ought to have. I hear oaths sometimes issuing from the mouths of those who are called Saints, from our young boys, as though it made men of them, and was something great to imitate the gentiles. It is low, mean, degrading, unhallowed, and it is in opposition to every sacred and holy principle. Some of our boys are fond of getting a cigar into their mouths, they think it makes them look manly; there is nothing at all manly about smoking and strutting; why, a monkey could do that. It shows weakness, shallowness, and, I was going to say, a species of idiocy; and for the children of Latter-day Saints to indulge in such things is low and degrading. We want, then, to live our religion more closely, and we should feel all the time that God sees us, that His eye is upon us watching our motions and actions, and that it is necessary for us to humble ourselves before Him, that we may obtain His Holy Spirit to guide us aright. We need to study our morals, to see that they are correct in every respect. Would you, Elders in Israel, who have families growing up, want to act in a manner that you would be ashamed of your sons and daughters copying after? Would it not be a shame, disgrace, and an outrage for you to act so? Do we watch over the morals of our children? Do we pray to God for wisdom to train them aright? Do we pray for power to overcome our own evil passions and propensities that we may set before our children an example worthy of imitation? or, are we letting them take any course they please and go down to the gates of death? What are you doing, you Elders in Israel? Ask yourselves the question and see how far your conduct is calculated to elevate and exalt your families. The Lord, in speaking of Abraham, said, “I know that Abraham will fear me, and that he will command his children after him to do so.” Can the Lord say the same of you, ye Elders of Israel? We ought to be careful about how we act and speak, and our thoughts and feelings ought to be subject to the law of God. We ought to feel like one of old when he said, “Search me, O Lord, and prove me, and if there is any way of wickedness within me, bid it depart, and let me stand accepted before thee.”

Do we not expect by and by to associate with the Gods in the eternal worlds? Let us conduct ourselves, then, here upon the earth so that we may honor our religion and Priesthood. We differ entirely from the world in our political ideas. In the nation with which we are associated, the idea prevails generally that the voice of the people is the voice of God; hence the favorite maxim—“Vox populi, vox dei.” The voice of the people, however, is not always the voice of God. Sometimes “Vox populi, vox diaboli” would more truthfully express it; that is, the voice of the people is the voice of the devil. The latter would more generally express the feelings of any people who are under a corrupt government or religion than “Vox populi, vox dei.” We believe in the voice of God first, and in the voice of the people afterwards, and that in political as well as in religious matters all men ought to be guided by the Lord, and that because they have not been so guided, bloodshed, strife, dissension, and confusion have overspread the earth. The wisdom of God is necessary in controlling worldly affairs whether political or otherwise, as it is in controlling the planetary system. In the latter, everything moves harmoniously, and if in the political affairs of a nation, or of the world, the same wisdom dictated, the same harmony would exist. If the Lord were to copy after the examples of men, system would dash against system, and world against world in mad confusion, and there would be a crash of worlds and a wreck of matter. But God controls His own affairs, and if we can live so as to obtain His guidance, we will risk the results, and this is what we are aiming after. We are borne out in this by the Scriptures. They speak of a time when the Lord will reign, when His empire will be universal; when His dominion “shall extend from the rivers to the ends of the earth,” and when “to Him every knee shall bow and every tongue confess.” They speak of “The law of the Lord going forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” They speak of a time when “He shall smite the nations as with a rod of iron, and when he will dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel,” and when He will introduce a new order of things. We have confidence in the Bible, and in the revelations of God; and there again we differ from the religious world, for they have not. We are anxiously waiting upon and praying to the Lord to give us wisdom that we may be able to carry out His designs. These are our feelings, but others think and feel differently; they put their trust in swords, guns, spears, and so forth. Our strength is in the Lord of Hosts, and we believe we shall conquer. In all our operations in life we are trying to obtain wisdom from God to manage and direct all our affairs. We are seeking to establish a oneness, and that oneness under the guidance and direction of the Almighty. Others are not seeking for that. You will hear them all the time uttering their tirades against the one-man power. We want one-man power and one-God power. Would not they who cry out against it like to have one-man power if they could get it? Yes. Is there now or was there ever a political party in the United States but what would seek to carry their own points? No. Would not the President like to have his own way if he could? He would, and the reason he does not, he has not the power. We consider that union is the great principle that we ought to cultivate; union in religion, morals, politics, and everything else.

Jesus, when about to leave his disciples, seemed to think it was very important, for, said he, “Father, I pray for these whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they may be one in us.” “Neither,” said he, “do I pray for these alone; but for all who shall believe in me through their word.” I am sorry to say that His prayer has not been answered in regard to the Christians at the present time. If there is any principle for which we contend with greater tenacity than another, it is this oneness. We are one in a great many things, but we have to become one in all things before we reach the standard indicated by the prayer of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We have to become one in money matters, and in our deal, and in the course in which our labors shall be directed; and if we could only see and comprehend this principle correctly we should be more like what God requires us to be. But it is difficult for us to understand and realize the importance of this principle. To the world this principle is a gross error, for amongst them it is every man for himself; every man follows his own ideas, his own religion, his own morals, and the course in everything that suits his own notions. But the Lord dictates differently. We are under His guidance, and we should seek to be one with him and with all the authorities of His Church and kingdom on the earth in all the affairs of life. We all of us bow before the Lord day by day (or if we do not it is a shame), and ask the Lord to inspire Presidents Young, Kimball, and Wells with revelation to direct the affairs of the church aright. And what are the feelings of the First Presidency? Be ye one, O Israel! That is the feeling. One in everything; then we shall grow, and prosper like a green bay tree. Then will riches, honor, and power flow to the Latter-day Saints in far greater abundance than they have ever yet done; then you and your offspring will be the blessed of the Lord. This is what we are after, and when we have attained to this ourselves, we want to teach the nations of the earth the same pure principles that have emanated from the Great Eloheim. We want Zion to rise and shine that the glory of God may be manifest in her midst, that the nations of the earth, when they behold her, may be obliged to confess that she is the praise of the whole earth. We never intend to stop until this point is attained through the teaching and guidance of the Lord and our obedience to His laws. Then, when men say unto us, “you are not like us,” we reply, “we know it; we do not want to be. We want to be like the Lord, we want to secure His favor and approbation and to live under His smile, and to acknowledge, as ancient Israel did on a certain occasion, “The Lord is our God, our judge, and our king, and He shall reign over us.” These are my feelings, and the feelings of all good Latter-day Saints. May God help us to live our religion by keeping His commandments, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

The Elders to Labor for the Unity of the Saints

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 6th, 1867. Reported by David W. Evans.

I recollect a few years ago, while we were holding Conference in the Bowery, that the brethren who addressed the congregation were in the habit of turning to the right to preach, and then to the left, and then preaching to those behind them, so that only one portion of the congregation could hear them at once. I set up a mark, and told them to preach to it, right straight ahead, and not turn to the right or to the left, as I wanted all the people to hear. I am now going to set up a mark for the Elders of Israel to preach to. It will not be an old table or a board; but the mark I shall set up for the Elders to preach to is this: Never to cease their labors until they get this people, called Latter-day Saints, to be of one heart and one mind. That is the mark. We hear Elders in Israel praying and praying that the Lord would preserve us from the wicked, and probably within an hour after they will be found coaxing perhaps one of the most ungodly men in the world to trade with them, to rent their houses, or to let them build houses for him, and to be his servant or servants. Such individuals will keep praying to the Lord to preserve us from the wicked when their constant effort is to mingle with, and to call into the midst of this people the wicked and the ungodly; and they are so blind to the mind and will of the Lord that their efforts in this direction would never cease until there was enough of the wicked to overthrow the Kingdom of God, or to break us up and drive us somewhere else. I have very frequently said to the Latter-day Saints that I am willing to try to do my utmost to carry out the designs of Heaven concerning myself, my friends, and the Kingdom of God. Certain ideas arise in our minds, and questions are proposed. What would you do in such and such cases if the wicked, the ungodly, and those who have persecuted and driven us from our homes, and have consented to the death of the Prophets and the innocent, will still follow us, and will have a place among us? What would you do? I would do, I think, about as the Lord does; He lets them alone to take their own course. They have life and death set before them, and can choose between the two. They can refrain, and turn away from wickedness and become righteous, if they are so disposed; but if they are not, why the Lord permits them to take their own course. Then why are we under the necessity of praying the Lord to shield us in this place and in that place?

Perhaps this application is not agreeable to many, and they wish to be sanctified in the midst of the ungodly and in the most wicked place that can be found. To people of this class we say, just come forward and we will give you a mission to go into the world to live, preach, labor, and toil until you pass into the spirit world, if this is your desire; but do not stay here praying the Lord to deliver you from the wicked, and then get up off your knees, and, precisely like the sectarians, let your acts give the lie to the prayers you have offered to God. You know, among the New School Presbyterians, for instance, and the Reform Baptists and Methodists, and the Wesleyan Methodists, the ministers get into the pulpit and pray for the Lord to come into their midst, and that the Holy Ghost may be shed upon the people; and they will pray most fervently that angels may come and dwell with them, that the heavens may be opened that the people may see and understand aright, and when they get through praying, they will declare in their sermons that there is no Holy Ghost given, and that they worship a god without body, parts, and passions. How in the world can such a god come into their midst? If he could come, what would there be? Nothing. What can they comprehend concerning such a god? Nothing; for there is nothing of him. They will pray most fervently for the Lord to give them revelation, and then will get up and say that no such thing as revelation is needed. Do not their sermons give the lie to their prayers? And do not the lives of the Elders of Israel, in many instances, give the lie to their faith and prayers? They do. Can you go to work and make a people of one heart and mind while they are possessed of the spirit of the world? You cannot. Can they feel the same interest in the Kingdom of God while possessing the spirit of the world that they would if they were filled with the Spirit of Christ? They cannot. How can they devote their lives to the building up of the Kingdom of God when they do not delight in it, but delight in building themselves up, in making gain, and in gathering around them the riches of the world? The Latter-day Saints, in their conduct and acts with regard to financial matters, are like the rest of the world. The course pursued by men of business in the world has a tendency to make a few rich, and to sink the masses of the people in poverty and degradation. Too many of the Elders of Israel take this course. No matter what comes they are for gain—for gathering around them riches; and when they get rich how are those riches used? Spent on the lusts of the flesh, wasted as a thing of nought, and they who were once rich are left in poverty, as they are this day.

To give an example: Suppose that one year ago to-day—the 6th of April, 1866—we had asked the brethren and sisters at the head of families, and then asked those who were not heads of families, to sit down and make an estimate of what it cost them through the fiscal year 1865-6 for the tobacco they chewed, and the tea, coffee, and liquor they drank; and after footing it up in round numbers, and seeing what it amounted to, suppose the proclamation had been made that we must all observe the Word of Wisdom, and that in consequence of that proclamation we each of us had said that for the year to come—the fiscal year of 1866-67—I will lay by in the drawer the money that it costs me for tobacco, tea, coffee, and liquor. If we had each adopted this course we would have seen a people at this Conference—April, 1867—with means enough to have purchased and secured their pre-emption right to the land in this Territory, provided that we were permitted to do so. But how is it to-day? Suppose that today news were to come by telegraph that within six weeks a Land Office for this Territory would be established in Great Salt Lake City, whereby actual settlers would have the privilege of paying the pre-emption payment and obtaining the Government title to their land, and thus securing their inheritance, who is there amongst us that could buy the first section or quarter-section? There are very few in the Territory who could do so.

I merely mention this to illustrate my ideas, so that you can see for yourselves where we are. Instead of being-united in our feelings to build up all, each one takes his own course; whereas, if we were united, we would get rich ten times faster than we do now. How are you going to bring a people to that point when they will all be united in the things of this life? By no other means than prevailing upon them to live their religion that they all may possess the Holy Ghost, the spirit of revelation, the light of Christ, which will enable them to see eye to eye. Then their acts and all their dealings would be so connected that they would pull together, as Joseph used to say: “A long pull, a strong pull, and a pull all together.” This point gained, we could bear off the Kingdom victoriously, and we could do what we pleased; but there is no doctrine in existence, short of the gospel of the Son of God, by which a people can be brought to a oneness in their temporal matters. We are approaching this happy period, this delightful state of society; but to enjoy it in its fulness we must live so that the spirit of revelation will be within us a living preacher by day and by night continually, that we may be taught, led, governed, and controlled thereby. We must not get down and pray, and then get right up and let our actions say we do not believe a word of our prayer; but all the acts of our lives must be concentrated on the building up of the Kingdom of God, then we shall be His disciples in very deed.

We will have a good many things to lay before the Conference; but I think I have given my brethren a mark to preach to. You may shoot when you please, and shoot from whatever point you please; but shoot at that mark. You may use what gun you please. I do not care, comparatively, whether it is a Henry’s rifle, a shot gun, an old Kentucky rifle, or an old musket., but shoot at that mark, and in all your preaching let this thread—the oneness of the people of God—be preserved.

How the Sisters Can Help to Build up the Kingdom

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt City, April 6th, 1867. Reported by David W. Evans.

I think I will preach a short sermon to the sisters. “I want to do good; I want to do something to build up the Kingdom of God; I wish I was in a position to do something for this work. I would delight in doing something for the building up of this kingdom if I had it in my power.” These expressions are in the mouth of every sister who has embraced the gospel in her heart. I want to preach them a short sermon. Brother Heber has, in part, touched some of the items, to which I will now more particularly call your attention. I will ask if there is a sister in this Church who is too poor, when we come to dollars and cents; to get tea to drink if she wants to? No, not one. Is there a sister who does not have her cup of coffee to drink? No, not one. Then we are not so poor as to suffer materially after all. Now, I will ask the question: Sisters, if each of you were to save the price of these cups of tea and coffee for one month, what do you suppose the sum in each case would amount to? We will say a shilling, a dime, a quarter dollar, a half dollar, a dollar, or two dollars, as the case may be. Now, say the sisters: “We will cease drinking this tea and coffee, and we will give the money to some of the Elders who are called to preach the gospel, either in the Territory or abroad in the nations of the earth, or who are called on an Indian expedition; or we will give this means to help to bring the poor from the old country.” Would you be doing anything for the Kingdom or would you not? Is there an individual sister in this Church out of the reach of doing good? Not one. “Why,” exclaims a sister, “I am sick, weary, diseased; I cannot work—I cannot do anything.” Is doing good beyond her reach? No; that sister who is sick and unable to cook her own food, wash her own clothing, or to knit or mend her stockings, can give good counsel to her brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, to the members of the family in which she lives, to her neighbors, and to all with whom she may associate. Says she: “I am sick and feeble, but I do not drink any tea. My husband or my bishop would find it for me, if I would drink it; but I tell them to take that sixpence, dime, or dollar, and put it by to help to bring the poor.” She can teach her children to let such things alone. “You must not have any tea or coffee this morning, children; if you feel as though you need it, take a little water porridge.” There is more strength and nutriment in a bowl of water gruel than there is in tea; and there is no unhealthy influence in the water gruel, but there is in tea and coffee.

There is not a person in the world that cannot do good; even the mother who is too feeble to work; she can teach her daughters to work instead of permitting them to patrol these streets; she can teach her children to refrain from drinking tea and coffee, to take care of their clothing. Instead of our girls walking the streets or playing, instead of sliding on the carpets or climbing the peach trees and fences and tearing their clothes they should learn to make their frocks, their aprons, and all their clothing, and to knit their stockings; and when they have cloth to make up, instead of hiring help into the house and getting all the sewing machines that are peddled off in the United States, why not they sit down and make it up themselves? This would be far more economical than to hire women to work your sewing machines when you have them. “But,” says one, “I must have a woman to knit my stockings, to make my underclothing and my children’s clothing, and I must have a woman to wash and iron for me.”

If our mothers want to do good, why do they not sit down, take the wool and card it and spin it—if they cannot get it carded by machine—and knit stockings to put on these men and boys who are working on the Tabernacle, the Temple, and the canal, and help to save your husbands’ shillings and dollars, and not ask for three or four hired women to do the washing and cooking, that you may idle away your time? Why not take hold and attend to your household affairs, and thus help to build up the Kingdom of God? Every dime thus saved can go to gather the poor and to help to support the families of the elders who are abroad preaching. But the cry now is, “You must go to Bro. Brigham or the bishop; I can do nothing for you. I want a ribbon, or my daughter wants a new hat.” How many have you had in the course of the season? “I do not know.” “How many pairs of shoes have you had through the winter my daughter, or my little boy?” “I do not know; ask mother.” “Mother, how many pairs of shoes has your boy had through the winter?” “I do not know.” Does the mother see to the children? She will let them run about and wade here and there until their shoes are wet through, then they are put under the stove and spoiled; a new pair must be procured by the husband or father. Is good beyond your reach, sisters? You say, “We want to do good.” No; there are many who do not; they want to waste everything they put their hands upon. It is the great ignorance which is among the people that prevents their doing better.

What do the sisters want so many hired women for? “O, I want a seamstress, or I want somebody or other to clean the house and the carpets and to wait upon me, to bring the water to wash me, and to wash my neck or my feet; and I have so much cloth to make up, and I want help to make it up.” If there are women who want to do good, let them do their own work, and save their sixpences and dollars for the building of temples, tabernacles, meeting-houses, school-houses, educating the youth, preaching the gospel, and gathering the poor. Put something in the Perpetual Emigration Fund. We have done a great deal to bring the poor here. When we get the poor here, they say they want to do good; but their actions give the lie to their words. Their wives want hired women or girls to do their work for them; instead of knitting their own stockings, they want to be waited upon; instead of spending their time to the best advantage, they waste it, and let their daughters do the same, and their children imbibe habits that grow upon them, and which tend to evil.

Now mothers, if you want to do good, do not let your sons and daughters drink either tea or coffee while under your protection. Save the money to gather the poor, to preach the gospel, to build temples, and to sustain the Priesthood. Make your own drawers, your own shirts, knit your stockings, make your frocks, your bonnets, and hats. I had a very beautiful hat presented to me last evening by one of the wives of Judge Phelps. I believe one of the sisters Pratt sewed it. Now, suppose we set the girls to cutting straw when it is ripe enough, and teach them to cure it, and how to split and open it, and then prepare it with a machine for braiding, and teach them to braid; and then, instead of permitting them to gad around, keep them at home and teach them to do a little good.

I will ask—is doing good out of the reach of any person living who is able to talk? No; it is not. Every woman in this Church can be useful to the Church if she has a mind to be. There are none but what can do good, not one, as long as they can talk to their neighbors or to their children, and teach them how to be saving, and set them an example worthy of imitation.

In speaking in this wise I do not wish the people to be as some are—filthy and dirty. That will not do. We must be neat and clean. If we have only a tow frock and a coarse straw hat to wear let them be kept neat and clean; there is water enough, plenty of it. If you have nothing but a home-made ribbon, woven by yourselves out of the flax that your husbands or neighbors have raised and dressed, you can get logwood, mountain mahogany, or a little of this stuff that grows by the creeks and on the mountains to color it up; and, when it is made, and you are prepared to put on your garments, let them be clean, neat, and nice; and let the beauty of your garments be the work of your own hands. But as matters are now, you must run and buy here and there, and it makes me think of the old saying—“That which is dear bought and far fetched is fit for the ladies.” We must stop this, and if we want to be useful we must begin to teach our children how to save. “My little boy, do not put your shoes under the stove to burn up, and when you undress at night do not fling your hat one way, your jacket another, your breeches under foot, and your stockings under the stove, on the stove, or out of doors, but have a place for everything, and everything in its place;” and when your boys come in show them a place for their hats where they will not be trampled under foot; and when they take off their coats let them be put in the wardrobe or on hooks prepared for that purpose, and take care of them and not have them under foot. The waste that there is in the midst of this people is enough to support a small nation.

Now, sisters, do you want to be useful? If you do, take a course to be so, for this will bring us to the point where we can build up Zion and be of one heart and of one mind, and it will lead us to do all that we do in the name, in the love, and in the fear of our God. By so doing, if the fear of God is upon us, and we work with an eye single to the building up of Zion, our labors will be blessed.

Can we do good? Yes; we can do good by teaching that little girl not to drink tea and coffee, and to take care of her clothing, and as soon as she is big enough teach her to knit her stockings, and her garters, and her nubias. She may learn to do all this just as well as going to the store to buy them. The foolishness of the people here has waxed so strong that unless they get something that is bought in New York it is not good for anything. It makes me think of our brethren, the school teachers. We have brethren here who understand the languages of the nations of the earth, and the various branches of education taught in the world, as well as any man or men out of the Church. But if the man possessing the best talent we have among us were to go to some of our Bishops and say, “Can I keep your school?” The answer would be, “Yes, if you will work for nothing, find yourself, and pay the children for going.” But bring a poor, miserable, rotten-hearted, cursed gentile, and they will lick the dust off his shoes to have him keep school, when he does not know half as much as the Elders in Israel know. This would not apply to every case, but it does to a great many. You go to our brethren, and ask them if they can get their pay for keeping school, and they will tell you they cannot. Ask them if they can get a school, and they will reply, “No, we are looked down upon as something inferior.” Why is this? Because the folly and wickedness of the people have waxen so strong that nothing is of any account unless it is imported. It is strange; it is astonishing! Why not seek to be one in building up and sustaining the Kingdom of God, instead of sustaining wickedness upon the earth? It is time to close. Now, this is a short sermon to the sisters.

Political and Social Economy

John Taylor

Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 6th, 1867. Reported by David W. Evans.

We have met together on the present occasion to attend our annual Conference. The object of our meeting is not altogether for religious purposes, but to consult upon all matters for the interest of the Church and Kingdom of God upon the earth. On these occasions it is quite common for missionaries to be appointed to the different nations of the earth, and it is also usual to discuss the principles and doctrines that we believe in, and to attend to any business that may have to be presented from the different parts of this Territory, and from all parts of the earth; and we try to build up the people in their most holy faith. We meet also to consult upon the best course for us to pursue with regard to temporal things as well as spiritual things. For as we possess bodies as well as spirits, and have to live by eating, drinking, and wearing, it becomes necessary that temporal matters should be considered and discussed in our Conferences, and that we should deliberate upon all things that are calculated to benefit, bless, and exalt the Saints of God, whether they refer to our spiritual affairs or to our avocations and duties in life as husbands and wives, as parents and children, as masters and servants whether they refer to the policy we should pursue in our commercial relations, to protecting ourselves against the incursions of savages, or to any other matter affecting us as human beings composing part of the body politic of this nation or as citizens of the world. The idea of strictly religious feelings with us, and nothing else, is out of the question yet we do everything in the fear of God. Our religion is more comprehensive than that of the world; it does not prompt its votaries with the desire to “sit and sing themselves away to everlasting bliss,” but it embraces all the interests of humanity in every conceivable phase, and every truth in the world comes within its scope. The Lord is making a great experiment, and we are trying to help Him. Through the instrumentality of His servants He has inaugurated the greatest work ever commenced on earth. We are taking a stand to revolutionize the ideas of ages, to overturn the fallacies of centuries, and to root out and destroy the corruptions of past generations by introducing the law of the most high God. Standing upon this elevated platform, having the world as it was, is, and as it will be before us, we feel the responsibility resting upon us to be true and faithful to the calling which the great God has placed upon us. As Jesus said he came not to do his own will, so we are not here to do our own will, to accomplish any favourite project, or to introduce any fanciful creed, notion, or idea. We are not here to propagate any favorite or pleasant dogma, but our object is to make known the laws of life and the designs of the great Eloheim with regard to the earth and its inhabitants.

As President Young remarked this morning, “our object is not to elevate the few at the expense of the many, but to elevate and exalt the whole; to pour health, wealth, and life upon all who will receive our teachings. Consequently, when we assemble on occasions like this, all these interests present themselves for our consideration and reflection. Before we came into this Church many of us belonged to the various churches of the day—the Roman Catholic, the Greek, and Episcopal, and to the various dissenting bodies, and we had our peculiar creeds and articles of religious faith. But we have laid those doctrines aside, and now we are Latter-day Saints, and we believe in their doctrines. We believe that God has spoken, that the heavens have been opened, that holy angels have appeared, that the truths of God, which for ages have slumbered, have again burst forth upon us, and that man, once more, is brought into communion with his Maker. Before entering this Church we were ignorant in regard to the past and the future, but now we comprehend them in part. We have laid aside our religious dogmas, theories, follies, and nonsense; and we have one faith, one Lord, one baptism, one hope of our calling, one idea in relation to what we were, what we are, and what we are going to be, and that idea is in accordance with what God has revealed through the Priesthood. I was unable to comprehend religion until it was taught me by the Priesthood; and anything in opposition to their teachings is not worth the ashes of a rye straw. Like Moses’ serpent, which swallowed up all other serpents, “Mormonism” has banished all our preconceived notions of religion, and has made us one. Why do we believe and feel as we do on these points? Because God has spoken, and we have believed Him. We are are aiming at something more than religious unity. We have a political existence that none can ignore nor destroy; they think they can, but they cannot. They cannot make us mingle with the confusion of Babylon any more than they can make oil and water coalesce. There is no affinity between us. They profess very little faith in God, and know nothing about him; while we profess faith in God, and do know that He lives and speaks to His people; hence unity between them and us is impossible.

I referred just now to our political existence, but before I dwell upon that let us touch a little on our social ideas. They are very different from those of the world. We differ very materially, for instance, with them on the relationship that exists between the sexes. They say the course we pursue has a tendency to degrade women; we think it has a tendency to elevate them, and the course pursued by the world is one of the most damnably corrupt and oppressive that it is possible to conceive of. It is true they will marry their wives until death parts them. But what of their mistresses? By thousands and hundreds of thousands they are seduced and deceived and are being dragged down to death and perdition. Their bodies are weak, corrupt, and emaciated, and they are without pleasure in life and without hope in the future. Yet men who are steeped to the lips in such foul depravity and horrid practices will preach to us about purity and morality, and would have us embrace a system so deeply damned as theirs. It is enough to make a man vomit to hear them. No, sirs, we have come out from that, and are trying to carry out the principle which God has revealed—which is, to make all women wives, to respect, honor, and bless them while they live on the earth, and to exalt them to thrones in the celestial kingdom of God hereafter. Is there anything low, grovelling, or calculated to humble or destroy in that? It is the most blessed, most noble, most exalted principle that ever God revealed to man. Who desires the world to continue in its present course of hypocrisy and corruption? Can the religion or politics of the day stem the evils that everywhere prevail, root out this corroding, fetid, moral curse, and establish pure, correct, and virtuous principles? If they had the wish to do so they have not the power. Nothing short of the power and intelligence of God can ever accomplish that. We are striving to introduce correct moral principles to the people, that men and women may understand their proper relationship to each other, that they may fill the measure of their creation and stand pure and uncontaminated before God, angels, and men, that when they have done with the things of time they may be transplanted to a celestial kingdom and be associated with the Gods in the eternal world.

In political matters we are pretty well united. At our elections we generally vote as a unit. This, we know, is contrary to the general custom, and because we do not disagree and contend as the world do, they say that we are wrong. If we had intended to do as they do we should not have left them. We have long ago weighed them in the balances and found them wanting. We have no desire to be affiliated with them; but in politics as in everything else we want to know the will of God, and then to do it. It is true that a little of the old leaven will manifest itself once in a while. Sometimes some little consequential persons who want to be somebody will gather here and seek to exalt themselves, but our opinion is that it is time enough for men to be somebody when God makes them so, and that man-made men are only poor miserable creatures at the best.

Do we not believe in the voice of the people? Yes; but we believe in the voice of God first, in the middle and in the end. God says, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last;” and we want to be governed by Him in everything—firstly, secondly, thirdly, and lastly. We do not think we have wisdom to manage our political affairs without the interposition of the Most High. Sometime ago we had an army sent against us by the United States. How did we conquer it? Perhaps you will say we did not conquer it; perhaps we did not, but no matter about that. Why did not they conquer us? Because our trust was in the living God, and He has told us that it was His “business to take care of His Saints.” We believed Him; we asked Him to take care of us, and He did. He took care of them, too, and after a while they went sneaking off as they came, and did nothing. We have had difficulties in the south of our Territory with Indians; we have to-day. What is the best course for us to take in regard to them? Who can dictate us in these matters? If the Lord does not, I am sure I do not know who can. I consider that we are all in the hands of God. He could let the red men upon us to chastise us if He saw proper; and and He could say to them “Hold, be still,” and they would be as still as mice. It is so with the United States—they are in His hands as well as we; and when any man or set of men seek to interfere with us or our rights it is just as easy for Him to say to them, as to the waves of Jordan, “Hither shall ye come and no further.” It is necessary for us to understand this; and to realize our position, and also to be united in carrying out any enterprise or policy that the Lord shall dictate to us through His servants. In relation to what may be called political economy the people think “we have the right to do as we please.” I do not know so much about that. You had a right to become “Mormons” or to let “Mormonism” alone, and you had the right to gather to Zion or to stay where you were. You have the right to be “Mormons” here or not, as you please; but I very much doubt the right of men to do as they please when they profess to be Latter-day Saints; because we have covenanted together to keep the commandments of God and obey the holy priesthood, and in this and other Conferences vote to uphold them and not to destroy, plot against, and overturn the power of the priesthood, or individuals, or nations, but to uphold righteousness, maintain truth, establish justice, and spread peace throughout the earth. That is what we plot, contrive, and pray for, and that has been the head and front of our offending from the organization of the Church till the present day. Well, but would we like to have our own way? Yes; and we do to a great extent. But when we do have so much of it we do not get along quite so well. Have you never heard President Young tell the story about the dog that was so very obedient? Said its master, “that dog will obey me in everything;” and to prove his assertion, said he, “Caesar, go out!” But Caesar did not go out, he went under the bed. “Well,” said his master, “if you will not go out, go under the bed, then, you shall obey me.” President Young feels a good deal like this with the Saints. They like their own way, and says he, “Well, if you will not do as the Lord wants you, why, do so and so, for you shall obey me.” What does this feature show? It shows that we are not very strong in the faith, that we are not living up to the privileges that God has given, and that we are not treading in the steps of our file leader as good men and women do.

We could progress a great deal faster, and could prosper a thousand times more than we do if we would be one in carrying out the counsels given us by the Lord through His servants. What did Jesus pray for when about leaving His disciples? “Father, I pray for these whom thou hast given me that they may be one, even as thou and I, Father, are one, that they may be one in us. Neither pray I for these alone, but for all who shall believe in me through their words, that they all may be one.” One in what? In everything. What did President Young say this morning when speaking of some of these things? That we would ask the Lord to bless us and preserve us from our enemies, and the very next step we were hand and glove with them in everything. If we do not feel ashamed when we hear such things we ought to be. What has been the teachings to this people for years? To be self-sustaining. What a poor miserable effort some of us would have made of it if we had lived in Adam’s day! The Lord placed him on the earth and told him to be “fruitful, to multiply and replenish the earth and to subdue it.” Now, Adam never thought of sending to the States for merchandize. If he wanted a coat he had to be his own tailor. The Lord showed him how to make his clothes. I expect He is a good hand, and understands all about these things. The Lord has brought us out here, and has given us a good land, which we have been cultivating for a number of years, and we have done pretty well.

A few days ago I came across a man of the name of Ivins, whose father apostatized in Nauvoo. The son has been around in the mines. I asked him who were the best off—the people here or those following mining pursuits? He said that we were a long way ahead of them. The reason is that we have not been following a vague phantom; but, we have been cultivating the earth, raising sheep and cattle, and the result is that most of us have our houses, gardens, farms, cattle, and sheep, and are comparatively well off; and my opinion is that no community in the world with our numbers are so prosperous as the people of Utah. There are places where there are richer men than you can find amongst us, but there are great numbers steeped in poverty. Have we any among us who are crying for bread? Can you find widows and orphans in our midst who are destitute? Here are men present from all parts of this Territory, can you tell of any such cases? I know of none myself. Can such a state of things be found in any other country? I have never met with it in any country where I have travelled. Why is this? Because the Lord has taught us principles that prompt us to provide for all, hence we do not allow any among us to suffer. But if we were obedient in all things we should be a great deal better off than we are, and would have less care and anxiety than we now have.

I was travelling south a while ago, and as I went along I made enquiries whether the people had all the grain they needed till harvest, I learned that a great many of them had not, the reason being that many had traded it off to the stores, some had bills to meet, and, owing to the fall in the price of grain, it took a great deal more to pay them than was anticipated. Is there any need for this? Not a particle. I was talking not long since with a brother on this subject. He was referring to Sanpete. He said—“It cost about as much to haul the grain from Sanpete to this city as it is worth, and, consequently, the people get nothing for their grain but the pay for hauling it.” Said I—“What is the matter? There is something wrong.” Is there any necessity that the people should bring their grain here or carry it anywhere else and get nothing for it but the pay for hauling? I do not know why it should be so, nor why the people should be so anxious to get rid of everything they have. I do not understand it.

Suppose the people in Sanpete, or any other county, were to establish a small woollen factory in each settlement, if they could not afford more than one or two carding machines, with a sufficient number of spindles to spin up the rolls, and had weavers to make it into cloth and other material necessary for the stockings, pants, vests, coats, dresses, shawls, nubias, &c., that they required, they would have no need, hereafter, to haul their grain to this city or elsewhere to pay for such things; but they might manufacture all the woollen fabric they need and still raise as much grain as they do now.

Let the people take care of their sheep and manufacture their wool, and there would be no uneasiness about their coats wearing out, or their shawls and dresses getting threadbare, for they would know there were plenty more growing.

Another branch of home manufacture that should be more generally encouraged is tanning. I have been told that a good many of the boots and shoes we wear now are made of gum and paper. I will guarantee that there are hides enough rotting around this city to shoe half this people, and I presume it is the case in other places. The effort of the people should be to establish a tannery, where none exists, to tan these hides into leather, and let the farmers haul bark for the tanners and exchange it for leather to shoe their families, and so manufacture leather enough to supply their wants, and if there was any surplus all the better. By adopting this course, boots and shoes for men, women, and children might be made of the hides from our cattle, while the stockings, pants, vests, coats, shawls, dresses, and nubias would come from the sheep. Then there is an article called flax that grows in this country, and if I were looking after the interests of a people I should require them to cultivate it and manufacture it into linen for towels, table cloths, and bed quilts; then if I could not manage to raise cotton enough from any source to make a shirt, I could, on a pinch, wear a linen one. With regard to hats, our hatters should be employed to make them at home, and the ladies could make hats of straw, as was spoken of by President Young this morning. If we procured machinery to do it, it would ease up on the ladies a little, and the work could be done better and more expeditiously. Nine-tenths of the people’s wants could be supplied in this way, and you would still have your grain. Then the farmer, shoemaker, tailor, weaver, and so on through the whole people, could have their bins filled, and have on hand one, two, or three three years’ supply. By and by if somebody came along and said the grasshoppers or the crickets are coming, the feeling would be, “let them ‘crick,’ we do not care, we are safe, our grain is laid up.” That would make the people feel free, easy, and independent, and it ought to be their position to-day.

Well, so much for the political economy that ought to exist in our midst, and by which we as a people ought to be governed. I believe it is the duty of the Bishops and of all our leading men to see these things carried out. I know it is the wish of President Young and of the Lord. We profess to be the people of God, let us subject ourselves to His sway and carry out His designs. We have laid aside our old religion, morals, and politics long ago, and have got a better kind. Let us lay aside our old political economy and get one that is calculated to sustain us in every position in life and be one in that as in other things. I see I am talking too long. May the Lord bless and guide us and help us to be one, that we may be one with Him in His kingdom, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Raising Flax and Wool, etc.

George A. Smith

Discourse by Elder Geo. A. Smith, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 7th 1867. Reported by David W. Evans.

Church Literature—Folly of Using Tobacco and Liquor

The crowded condition of the Tabernacle this morning, and the reflection that there is a number of persons outside who are so unlucky as to be too late to obtain admittance, reminds us forcibly of the necessity there exists for a vigorous prosecution of the work upon the new Tabernacle, that we may be prepared to accommodate the brethren and sisters with seats, especially during Conference. I expect that by the time our great Tabernacle is finished we shall begin to complain that it is too small, for we have never yet had a building sufficiently large and convenient to accommodate our congregations at Conference times. In fact, “Mormonism” has seemed to flourish best out of doors, where there was more room. This circumstance has worn heavily upon the lungs of our Elders, and especially of the Presidency, who have been under the necessity of speaking to very large audiences in the open air, and it is very important that we should concentrate our efforts to render the new Tabernacle habitable as soon as possible. Should that portion of the inhabitants of this city that naturally ought to attend meeting be punctual on the Sabbath day we should find it too small, and should wish that we had half a dozen galleries capable of holding three or four thousand each, that the people might get somewhere within compass and hear the word of the Lord.

It is written by one of the prophets, that the time should come when there would be a famine in the land; not for bread, nor for water, but for the hearing of the word of the Lord. Hence it is necessary that we should prepare a suitable Tabernacle, that we may be supplied when that day of famine shall arrive. I think that it has existed in the world for a long period, but that very few of the human family have realized it.

There are many subjects which I would like to present before my brethren and sisters which bear with more or less weight upon my mind, and which are directly calculated to concentrate the minds of the people on the “mark” given us by the President to preach to. The Presidency, in their instructions yesterday, brought our minds very clearly to the points which it is proper for us to reflect upon and to exert ourselves to carry out: unity in our action, education, business relations, and in everything pertaining to this world or any other with which we ever will have anything to do.

It has often been reiterated that we are agreed in doctrine—in belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, eternal judgments, and the sacrament. We are agreed almost to a unit on these subjects. The Christian world, for many generations, has been split into atoms on the question of the sacrament. The blood of millions has been shed because some have believed that in consecrating the elements for the sacrament they became the actual flesh and blood of Jesus Christ, while others believed they were but symbols, and that it was simply done in remembrance of him. On these points we are agreed. We are the most remarkable people that ever existed on the earth. I might say that devout men and women out of every nation under heaven are gathered here. What did they come here for? To hear the word of the Lord, to walk in His paths, and to prepare to inherit His glory. Having done so much for our religion is an earnest that we are ready to labor all the rest of our days to obey the word of the Lord which goes forth from Zion. We come here with a great variety of prejudices and with abundance of tradition, but with a great deal of confidence in the principles of the gospel. We are, as it were, in a new world, a desert, a country that is only made fertile by actual labor, and its fertility is only retained by the main strength of its inhabitants. Cease to irrigate our fields, repair our dams, clean out our ditches, and our country becomes a desert again in a quarter of the time that it has taken us to make it. In some respects it is peculiarly fitted to us, for while many of us are interested in one dam, one water ditch, or one stream of water, we are compelled to cultivate a spirit of union and oneness, or the result is we go hungry, and that same spirit of oneness is actually necessary to enable us to fulfil our mission here and for our exaltation hereafter.

The God of Heaven has a mission for every man and woman that He calls into this work. We may hear some names read to the Conference of brethren who are called on a mission, but it is only to another part of the vineyard. We are all on a mission, and every man and woman in this church is under just as much obligation to perform that mission as either the Twelve Apostles or the Presidency—salvation and eternal glory are at stake in each case. If the Presidency or the Twelve fail to perform their mission the result is the same as it is with the least member in the church; it may be in a greater degree, from the fact that there is greater responsibility in one case than in the other.

My mind rolls back to the Spring of the year 1857. You recollect that about ten years ago, some time in July, we got information that the mails were all stopped. We had not had them very often up to that period, not above four or five times a year, but at that time we had got a monthly mail established, and it was running punctually. The news came that the Administration then in power at Washington had stopped the mails, and had determined to send a formidable army to Utah. It looked a rather serious affair, for almost every time of persecution against the Saints had been inaugurated by the stoppage of the mail. As messengers brought in the papers we found that preparations were making to send immense armies to Utah. What for? Why, some renegade of a judge had spread the information that the Utah library was burned, that the court records were all destroyed, and that the people here had declared themselves independent of the United States. In confirmation of this, the Legislature of Utah had sent a petition to the Federal Government asking them to send good men here for officers! That was considered to be very near treason or rebellion, and on that ground our country was to be invaded or occupied by an army. The plains were darkened with wagons, six thousand having been started for Utah by one company, besides several thousands by the Government. There were also swarms of soldiers, and immense numbers of those carrion birds—gamblers and blacklegs, that always follow an army. We well remember this, and we also remember that in the providence of God it was all overruled without the shedding of blood; and how, when they got here, or into the vicinity, they sent on their messenger to ask permission to come in, and to ask for quarters in the country; and how they found, on examination, that the library and records and everything were safe, and the whole thing had been based on falsehood. We remember, too, that when the bottom fell out, the Administration scattered themselves to the four winds of heaven as quick as possible, and got out of the scrape as best they could.

This is well known as a matter of history. But what I wish to dwell upon is, that previous to that time we had exerted ourselves to raise wool. Every man that could was determined to raise sheep, and every woman that could was ready to use a spindle, distaff, or loom, if she could get one, no matter how rude it might be, to manufacture the wool into cloth. Efforts were also made to tan leather and to raise flax. Hundreds of acres of flax, for aught I know, had been cultivated, and it was found to be a success. Since then I have heard men say, “What a blessing it was to the people of Utah when that army came, it made them so rich.” How did it make us rich? You got their old iron, and that put a stop to the manufacture of iron here; you got the rags they brought here to sell, and that put a stop to our home manufactures; hence I do not think that, financially, our condition was much improved. The Government is said to have expended forty millions in bringing that army to Utah and in establishing Camp Floyd; yet most of it went into the hands of speculators, and very little into the hands of the actual settlers of this country.

I do believe, however, that if the little means then accumulated by the people had been used with wisdom it would have resulted in permanent benefit to the community, but as it turned out it educated us into the idea that we must buy what we needed from abroad. In 1857 I could get the flax I raised worked up; folks would take care of it. In the spring of 1858 I put into the hands of a man four and a half bushels of flax seed, gave him a good piece of land, and told him there was a chance for him to raise a fine crop of flax. The first thing I knew about it was that the flax was gathered, but the man told he had not time to attend to it; he had been to Camp Floyd trading a little, he had let it all rot, but nobody would swingle, break, or work it out, because it was so much easier and cheaper to do some kind of trading and get a little of something out of the store. Now, had we, when means came into our hands, at that period or any other, taken the advice given, and invested it in machinery, we should not only have been able to supply our future wants at home, but should have kept plenty of money in our own country.

To show you the zeal with which the authorities of the church have endeavoured to promote home manufactures, I have only to refer you to the establishment of the mission in Southern Utah. It was a barren desolate country, and possessed of but a small amount of soil adapted to raising cotton. When President Young sent brethren on that mission he said, “You will yet see cotton cloth sold in this city for a dollar a yard.” Who on the face of the earth believed him? Said the people, “You are a prophet, we guess, but you are mistaken this time.” But how long was it before his words were verified? Only a short time. He immediately started a cotton factory here and another at Parowan, and brother Houtz started one at Springville. These mills have been in operation almost from that day to this, and have turned out a great many thousand bunches of cotton yarn. Besides that, a great deal has been worked up by hand, and a good many machines called plantation spinners have been brought in for that purpose. All this cotton, besides a considerable quantity which has been sent to San Francisco and to the States, and sold at paying rates, has been raised in this Territory; and yet men will come along and tell you that the cotton mission was a failure. What could we have done if it had not been established? I tell, you, brethren and sisters, that thousands would have gone naked if God had not showered down clothing to us as He did manna to the children of Israel. Still, some say “it cost a great deal to start the mission, and the brethren do not get rich, but many of them are still very poor.” Did we come into this church to make money and to get fine clothes, or to work out our salvation by establishing and building up the kingdom of God? As Elders of Israel and as Saints the latter is our mission; and our effort from the beginning to the present time has been to render the kingdom of God self-sustaining. The way to do so has been portrayed before us, and the question with each one of us ought to be—“What can I do for the greatest advancement of Israel?”

Some two years, or a year and a half ago, the President gave instructions to every one of the Bishops to sow a piece of rye in order to supply the sisters with rye straw to make hats for the men and bonnets for themselves. Had that been carried out by the Bishops and the sisters in good faith there would have been in this hall to-day two thousand ladies wearing home-made straw hats, the work of their own hands; and the ladies without them would most certainly have been out of the fashion, for fashion has much influence in this matter. I only use this as a figure, but had this counsel been carried out the result would have been a saving probably of ten thousand dollars that could have been used for the construction of machinery and for the purchase of actual necessaries, and the ladies would have learned a trade they could have worked at hereafter in case of necessity.

Talk to the people about raising sheep and manufacturing the wool, and they will tell you that it is cheaper to buy clothing. Yet, down street, the cry is “nothing doing,” “no trade;” and a good deal of the time the business portions of the city are almost as quiet as the tombs of Herculaneum. What is the cause of this? Why the people have no money; those who had no more brains than to do so have paid all they could afford to the merchants, and they cannot find money to make further purchases. What is to be done under these circumstances? Why, you must go to work and raise wheat and give it to them for their goods, at six bits or a dollar a bushel, and give them double measure, because it is too dear to keep sheep and encourage home manufactures.

Brethren, let us be one, henceforth, and go to work and make good pastures, stables, and sheepcotes, and feed and take care of our sheep instead of starving them to death on the hills or leaving them to be destroyed by the wolves; then we will have twelve or fifteen pounds of wool from each one, instead of the bare backed animals, so common now that we might suppose they never had any wool within a mile of them. Instead of having hundreds and thousands of heads of stock dying on the ranges let us try and realize that we live in a cold northern climate, at a high altitude, and that our stock need shelter and food in the winter, and that if we suffer them to perish through cold and hunger we are responsible to God for the cruelty we inflict upon those animals. The grand juries in any county ought to take these things into consideration, and indict such parties for cruelty to animals, provided a majority could be found on any grand jury who are not guilty of the same practices. You may go to almost any place in this county and find milch [milk] cows half starved and without shelter, freezing and shivering in the cold, and giving about a quart of milk that is not fit for the hogs; you may also find cows that are fed decently, with a nice, fine, full udder. Which pays the best? “We let our cattle perish, because it does not pay to feed them.” Such notions are ridiculous. If we take care of and feed them we will find it will pay, and if we do not keep so many we will not be guilty of murdering, starving, freezing, and torturing to death so much animal flesh that God has placed under our charge. I expect the people will want to know why I do not keep to the “mark,” but I have got after the cattle and sheep.

I travel about occasionally, and sometimes, when I want food or a night’s lodging, I call at the house of a brother, who is probably of long standing in the Church, and who is raising a family of fine children. Now, a part of that man’s mission is to educate those children, to form their tastes, to cultivate their talents, and make a kingdom of holy men and women of them—a kingdom of priests unto God. But what has he got there to do it with? If you ask for a Book of Mormon, he will probably hand you one that old age seems long since to have passed its final veto upon, and if you undertake to pick it up you would say, “it stinks so that I cannot.” I do not know that there are many such Elders, but if there should happen to be one here, it would be well for him to reflect that right here at the Deseret News printing office br. Kelly has the standard works of the Church for sale, and I would like every Elder in Israel to place a full set of them in the hands of his children; but especially, and above all others, the Bible, Book of Mormon, and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. I want to find them in every house. And when I go to a meeting house to preach I want the Bishop to have them on the stand, and the better they are bound and the nicer they look the more they please me. I do not wish to see these sacred books so dirty that you cannot read them, nor so shattered by time and bad usage that you cannot find a passage you wish to read because it is torn out. Where there are meeting houses without them I recommend, if necessary, that collections be taken up to procure them. When stopping at the houses of the brethren, instead of the works of the Church I will probably find “Cresswell’s Eulogy on the Life of Henry Winter Davis.” “How did this get here?” I inquire. “Oh, why, br. Hooper sent it, and it is a very nice work,” is the reply. Have you the Juvenile Instructor?” “No.” “Why, your children are big enough to read it, and it is one of the finest written things imaginable, and there is scarcely a syllable in it but what is useful. How do you manage to keep your children at home without something to interest them? Do you take the Deseret News?” “No, they stopped publishing the sermons, so I concluded that I would do without it.” “Do you take the Daily Telegraph?” “I did take it, but I did not pay for it, and the editor got out of patience at having to furnish it for nothing, and he stopped it. I felt insulted, and would not take it any more.” “Do you send to the States for books?” “No.” So the children are learning nothing at all, and the only chance for them to have a little excitement is to get some corn and play at three men morris.

Brethren, make your homes attractive. Procure the Deseret News and the Juvenile Instructor, and let your children read the sermons and articles printed there, and read them yourselves, you are none of you too old to learn. If you want light reading do not send to the States for it, but support that which is got up here. “Well, really, br. Smith, I cannot afford it.” Cannot, afford it? How much does your tobacco cost you a year? That nasty, filthy stuff, the use of which is in violation of the laws of God, reason, good sense, and decency, and which makes your wife an eternal amount of work, cleaning up after you. That alone costs you enough in the year to furnish your children school books and to pay their school bills.

I really believe there is enough money paid out among us for tobacco to support all the schools in the Territory. A good many of our brethren are like the man who was making up his outfit for the gold mines. Said he, “I will take fifty pounds of flour and ten gallons of whisky.” What else? “I will take ten pounds of tobacco.” What more? “Some more whisky.” I am sorry to say that some of our Elders, some of the very men whose school bills are unpaid, use this whisky. I can have a great deal of patience with tea and coffee, because they do not kill a man outright, but whisky makes a dog of him at once; and there are probably men in this room whose liquor costs them forty, fifty, or a hundred dollars a year. Madmen! Shame on such Elders in Israel! Tobacco is bad enough; its excessive use will shorten a man’s life about ten years, but whisky degrades him far lower than the brutes. “O,” a man will say, “the Bishop drinks a little, and if it is good for him it must be good for me.” Says the little boy, “Dad chews tobacco, and if it is good for dad it is for me.” Suppose, brethren, that we make a general reformation in these things. Says one, “I drink only home-made liquor.” For my part I do not care what kind you drink, nor where it comes from, I want all men in Israel to let it alone.

I was proud the other day at a little notice of the “Mormons” that I was reading. It said that if you saw a man drunk in Salt Lake City, it was invariably a “Gentile.” It is a good deal so, but a great many of our brethren are on the road to ruin through drink, if not in this city in other places. Men think they need it, but they do not. There is something about whisky like tobacco—it makes its own appetite. You drink one glass, and when the time for it comes around you want another, and by and by you cannot do without it. I have seen strong men in Israel nervous and trembling like children because their hour for drink had gone by. Such men die a shame and disgrace. Let us stamp it under our feet, and have nothing more to do with it. When a person is sick weak, and feeble, spirits, probably, may be advantageously used to wash his body, but the practice now is to wash the inside of the body. Away with such nonsense, and shame on the Elders of Israel that are found patronizing it. The curse of the Almighty will rest on the men and the money that established this business in Israel, as sure as the God of Israel reigns. Of all the varied avocations in life, I should consider the superintendence of a liquor shop the most degrading.

But I want to come back to our oneness in wintering our stock and sheep. We will suppose that in Salt Lake City the practice of sending abroad for their goods, hats, caps, boots, shoes, and clothing becomes quite general among the people, while in the little county of Davis the Bishop and the people put their mites together and establish a woollen factory, attend to the cultivation of flax, and take care of the sheep, and do everything they can to live on home products, even to the wearing of straw hats and banners of their own manufacture. What would be the result? The result, would be that while the people of Salt Lake City would be living from hand to mouth, the people of Davis county would, in a few years, be able to buy the Territory. If, as a Territory, we adopted this policy, we would soon have, not only money enough to buy our land, but anything on the face of the earth that is necessary for our enjoyment, and for the accomplishment of the great work in which we are engaged.

A few years ago, you know, the counsel given to Israel was to put our grain in our bins, and not to sell unless we could obtain a fair remunerative price for it. Had that counsel been adhered to what would have been the result? There would have been no scarcity of bread, and our grain would have commanded any price in reason that we might have asked for it. A great many kept the counsel given, but we were not united in the matter. One would undersell another, until large quantities of our grain have gone into the hands of merchants and speculators, at any price they had a mind to give, and the whole community have been injured thereby. May the Lord bless all Israel. Amen.

Word of Wisdom, etc.

Ezra T. Benson

Remarks by Elder E. T. Benson, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, April 7th, 1867. Reported by David W. Evans.

I do not know that I have ever seen a better time to preach the gospel than the present since I have been in the Church. I have not come to this Conference to preach, particularly, but to hear and to learn, yet, as I have the privilege given me to speak, I am very thankful to bear my testimony to the truth, as it has been revealed from the heavens. I have had many reflections since attending Conference, upon the text given to the Elders of Israel to preach from. It is before me all the time. It is a common custom with some to criticise the remarks made by the brethren while speaking. Some will think a speaker has been interesting, while others will consider that his remarks were well enough but without point. I am happy to say that the “point” is already made so far as I am concerned. It is “to be one” in everything that pertains to the building up of the Kingdom of God. And if we are to believe what we have heard during this Conference it is to be one in keeping the Word of Wisdom, and in living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Almighty through His servants. It is true that we have heard this for years, and it will have to be sounded in our ears until we are one in Christ as He is one with the Father.

We have been taught during this Conference to dispense with everything in eating, drinking, and wearing that is not in accordance with the will of God; and I do not know what greater things could be taught to the Latter-day Saints. We all know that there are a great many things that we now eat, drink, and wear, with which we could dispense to our own advantage, but because one has a thing another must have it too, and there is no peace until all these wants are supplied.

Talking about happiness, I told a lady to-day at noon that we, generally, are very ignorant of it. We think that a good bonnet, hat, a fine coat, a good cup of tea, or a pipe of tobacco to smoke will make us happy, but it is a mistaken notion. God never ordained such things for that purpose. We can be happy only in keeping the commandments of God and in being wholly devoted to the things of His Kingdom. Some of our Elders think if they were sent on a mission it would make them happy, but I have been told that there is no better field for missionary labor than here in the mountains; and every man here, bearing the Priesthood, has got a mission to preach the gospel at home, where his labors are most needed, and where he can do the most good. At this Conference every presiding officer, Bishop, Elder, Priest, Teacher, Deacon, and member of the Church has got a text to preach from in his future ministrations; to bring this people to a oneness in all things is, henceforth, the object of our labors. We are already united on many points; for instance, we are one here to-day in partaking of the Sacrament in remembrance of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But there are other things that require our attention. We should be one in all our movements in sustaining ourselves.

This is a portion of the text that has been given to us, and I feel that much good will result from the counsel we have had on this subject, and I intend to lay hold of it with all my might. And let us all endeavour by the help of God to leave off our tea, coffee, liquor, and other things, that are neither good for the body nor for the belly. We can overcome, for God will not require more of us than we can do. He has borne with us these many years; but, if I can discern the signs of the times, He is now going to require these things at our hands. Supposing He had given the Word of Wisdom as a command, how many of us would have been here? I do not know; but He gave this without command or restraint, observing that it would be pleasing in His sight for His people to obey its precepts. Ought we not to try to please our Heavenly Father, and to please His servants who are paving the way for us into the Kingdom of God? Can we get there without them? No; we cannot, and we need not try. God had appointed these prophets and apostles to lead and guide us into His Kingdom, and I do not expect to get there without them, and I am not going to try. If I can get there with them I shall be very thankful. How many blessings have you received in this kingdom without them? I do not know of any. If we have blessings we have received them through their counsel and guidance.

I am thankful that we, to-day, have the privilege of beholding the faces of our brethren who have borne the burden and heat of the day, and who are still ready and willing to administer for our benefit. I think that we, above all people, ought to be willing to retrace our steps in a great many things, that we may obtain the blessings that we are seeking and not be cut short. I tell you the kingdom is rolling; and as for the nations of the earth, we need not be troubled about them, the Lord and the devil will take care of them. They are wasting away, and they will go to their own place, and Israel will be gathered out, and the faithful will be saved in the Kingdom of God. This is my testimony. You need not have any doubts or fears from this time forth; if you are faithful and live your religion you are safe, and you will land safe in the Kingdom of God. I have no dubiety on my mind with regard to these things, and it is my study to know how to live so that I may enjoy the Holy Ghost—the Spirit of this gospel; and it cheers and comforts my heart when I hear the Elders talking about the good things of the Kingdom of God.

I have come nearly a hundred miles through the mud and snow to visit and hear the voices of my brethren and to listen to their counsels. Not but what we have some good folks where I live; at any rate, we have some good preachers among us occasionally. Only a few days ago we had brothers Musser and Stenhouse. They preached good things to us, and cheered and comforted our hearts. Some of the brethren remarked to me that “they preached splendidly, and really enjoyed the spirit of the gospel.” Said I, “Of course they did; they are from the fountain head—from the droppings of the sanctuary—and they possess the spirit of our President and Prophet and of the Apostles with whom they associate.” It is to be expected that men who come from the head here will have something new to tell to cheer the hearts of those who live isolated and far away. It proved to me, however, that we in Cache possess a little of the spirit enjoyed here, or we should not have received and been comforted by the teachings of our brethren. And we have come down to partake of the feeling and to share in the blessings of this great annual Conference, held by the Latter-day Saints in the tops of the mountains, in peace, and with, none to molest or to make us afraid.

There is a little grumbling sometimes on the outside, a little showing me the teeth, but no biting, and no harm, done. The Saints are still living their religion—persevering, going ahead, striving to do the will of God, that they may eventually take the Kingdom; not the kingdoms of this world, for we do not want them. A great many men in the world are afraid that we are striving to take their kingdoms. We are not after the kingdoms of the world but it is the Kingdom of God—the Kingdom of life and peace—that the Latter-day Saints are after, and we expect to have it.

Short sermons are the order of the day, and I do not wish to occupy the time. I am thankful to my brethren for the opportunity of bearing testimony to the truth. I have all the preaching I can attend to when I am at home—which is, wherever I am called to labor. I feel free and easy in talking anywhere, where I am required so to do. I feel free in the spirit of the gospel and in the midst of my brethren. This is the place I like to visit, and I would spend all my time here if duty did not call me elsewhere. Here in the mountains is our field of labor, and nowhere else, unless we are sent. If we receive a mission to the various nations of the earth, let us go and do the best we can. Until then let us take a course to be one: one in dollars and cents, one in obtaining woollen factories and machinery, one in keeping the Word of Wisdom, and in everything else that will tend to bring about good results and increase good feelings in the minds of the Saints. Unless we keep the commands of God we cannot attain to this. It is no use for anybody to say—“I shall be happy if I can have everything to gratify my taste.” It is perfect nonsense, and the individual who entertains such a notion is deceiving himself. Nothing short of the bread of life, that comes down from God out of heaven, can supply the wants and satisfy the feelings of the Latter-day Saints and those who love truth.

May God bless us, brethren and sisters, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Necessity of Unity and Faith and Practice

Wilford Woodruff

Remarks by Elder W. Woodruff, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, April 7th, 1867. Reported by David W. Evans.

I shall call the attention of that portion of the House of Israel who are present to the text which was given us at the beginning of this Conference—“Be ye of one heart and of one mind.” This is a very good text, and one that is of great importance to this people. As was quoted this morning, Jesus said if ye are not one ye are not mine. This principle has been given to us by commandment and revelation. “Mormonism” is not a fable, neither is it a Yankee trick got up to deceive this generation, but it is a living fact, a truth which God and the angels in heaven know, and which many people on earth understand.

The principles which have been taught to us since the commencement of this Conference are very important for us to understand and to carry out in our lives. This is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It has been established by the commandment of God, and it is composed of the honest in heart, the meek of the earth, out of all sects, parties, denominations, and nations. This body of people, or church, has got to build up the Zion of God in the last days, and this work cannot be accomplished upon any other principle than that of our being united together as the heart of one man.

Everywhere upon the face of the earth we can see what the effect of disunion is. The more that nations, communities, families, or bodies of people in any capacity under heaven, are divided, the less power they possess to carry out any purpose or principle imaginable, and the more union they possess, whether in a legislative or any other capacity, the more power they have to accomplish what they desire. We can see that the people of the world are becoming more and more divided every day, and the evils resulting therefrom are everywhere apparent. We are called to build up Zion, and we cannot build it up unless we are united; and in that union we have got to carry out the commandments of God unto us, and we have got to obey those who are set to lead and guide the affairs of the Kingdom of God.

There have been principles presented before us and counsel given during this Conference which are of vast importance to this people. There are many positions that we as a people have to occupy, and many branches of business to which we have to attend, not only of a spiritual but also of a temporal nature. Jesus said to the Jews—You pay tithes of mint, anise, and cummin, but you neglect the weightier matters of the law, and they, as well as your tithing, are required at your hands. So it is with us. We are one of heart and mind, as it regards faith repentance, baptism, or the first principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ; but the same unity must exist in our midst in all our temporal labours—in building temples, tabernacles, cities, towns, villages, canals, cultivating the earth, or any other labor, if we ever accomplish the object for which we have been raised up. No people, unless they are united together, can ever build up Zion and establish the Kingdom of God on the earth.

We have been taught the Word of Wisdom. It was given to us many years ago, and the Lord said it was applicable to the weakest Saint. Very few of us have kept the Word of Wisdom; but I have no doubt that if the counsel of President Young were carried out it would save the people of this Territory a million of dollars annually. I feel that we ought to put these things into practice. We ought to unite together in all matters required of us in order to carry out the purposes of the Lord our God. The people are able to do it if they feel disposed. Why, Bishop Hardy told me here this morning that he had laid aside his tobacco; he has loved it almost ever since he was born, and if he can leave it off every man in Israel ought to be able to do it. It was said to-day that whisky-drinking makes fools of men; it does. Its effects are much worse than they used to be, for the liquor made now-a-days contains so much strychnine and arsenic that it is enough to kill anybody, and unless those who use it do lay it aside many will die. Lay aside whisky, tobacco, tea, and coffee, and use none of them unless it be as a medicine. We can all do it, and there is not a man or woman in Israel, with any faith in this work, but is required to do so.

This little mustard seed here around this bowery, which has sprung up in the valleys of the mountains, has either got to grow and progress and become a great tree, in whose branches the fowls of the air can lodge, or it must stop growing altogether. We have either to build up Zion in its beauty, power, and glory, to the order which has been received by the servants of God, or else give it up. We must do one or the other. If we do this we must advance, and whatever God requires at our hands we must carry out.

I know the world oppose us because we are united; they say we are governed by one man. I would to God that all Israel would obey the voice of one man as the heavens obey the voice of God. Then we would have power to build up Zion and to obtain all things necessary for us before the Lord. We have come to this. There is no division among us so far as the principles of our religion are concerned; it is in relation to some things the world call temporal that we are not one. How are you going to build up Zion? In the hearts of the people? Why you could not get Zion into the heart of any man, not even into that tabernacle, and I never saw a man in my life as big as that, and I hope we shall never see the day when we will have a house big enough to hold Israel, for I trust they will be too numerous for any house we can build. We have to build up Zion, a temporal work here upon the face of the earth, and we have got to establish righteousness and truth. When I say a temporal work I speak of temporal things. The Zion of our God cannot be built up in the hearts of men alone. We have to build up temples and cities, and the earth has to become sanctified and to be made holy by the children of God who will dwell upon it, and to do this we must be united together.

I do not wish to preach a long sermon, but I feel that we ought to lay hold and carry out the counsel that has been given to us at this Conference. If we lay aside these things that do us no good, as has been already said, we will be better off, have more unity, have power to gather and feed the poor, to send the Elders abroad, and to do a great deal of good with the means that we have saved, instead of squandering it upon those things that are injurious to us and displeasing in the sight of God.

Brethren and sisters, let us lay these things to heart, and be united in doing all the good we can in our day and generation. We have the right to do good, but not evil. The principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ which have been revealed in our day are the power of God unto salvation to all that believe, both Jew and Gentile, in this age of the world as well as any other; and inasmuch as we will be united in carrying out the counsel we have received, we can overcome every evil that lies in our path, build up the Zion of God, and place ourselves in a position that we may be saved therein, which, may God grant, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

Building the Temple, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, April 8th 1867. Reported by David W. Evans.

I want your attention. I do not know how long it will be prudent to continue our meeting, but we would like to say a great deal more to the people. I will talk to you a little with regard to building the Temple. When br. Heber asks you to come and join us in drawing rock, you turn round and say, “I have paid my tithing; what more do you want? Do you want any donations or extra help? What do you do with the tithing?” This is in the minds of the people, and it is something that I think about, too, but I confess to you that, although I am Trustee-in-Trust and have the management of all this, I know but little about what is done with the tithing. Br. Hunter is Bishop, and whether he could give you a knowledge of what goes with the tithing I do not know. The brethren turn in their grain and their stock, and it is gathered up, but that does not bring the rock here to build the Temple. Br. Kimball and some others have assisted in bringing some rock here, and a few have been drawn with my teams. Now, the rock does not come as we want it. We have commenced a Temple that I want to see stand a thousand years when the earth rests. We do not calculate that that building will fall down. You know I was so distrustful about the foundation, there were so many things about [it] I did not like, that we took it up and had to commence it again. We have got started now, and I think it is safe. When the Temple is built I want it to stand through the millen[n]ium, in connection with many others that will yet be built, that the Elders may go in and labor for their dead who have died without the gospel, back to the days of Adam. But to see this Temple built and then pass into the hands of the wicked, I would rather that the walls should never rise another foot. I shall not tell you, today, all that I think about building temples and giving endowments.

We have decided that this Temple shall be built of this beautiful granite rock, which, I think, will please everyone. We are preparing a canal to bring the rock to this city, still we shall have five or six miles to draw the rock to the canal, but the most of the distance where our bad roads are we shall float this rock on little boats that we shall have on this canal. We want all the brethren to pay their tithing or tax for the privilege of watering their lands from this ditch or canal according to the charter and organization of the company who are performing this labor. If the brethren will do this we can have the ditch finished up and in operation in a month or two.

A great many want this Temple done that they may go in there and get their endowments. I want to say to the Latter-day Saints, one and all, that we have all the privileges and blessings conferred upon us that we live for. The Latter-day Saints are not prepared to receive the celestial kingdom at once, because they have not eyes to see and ears to hear; and they do not understand the mind and will of the Lord on these subjects. If we did we would see at once that our blessings are greater than our labors merit, and we would not find fault nor be in a hurry, but we would move steadily along. As I told you the other day when talking of the sayings of Joseph, “the Latter-day Saints want to pull together—a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether.” These were the words of Joseph. We want to labor unitedly that our labors may be successful. I want this Temple that we are now building to the name of our God, to stand for all time to come as a monument of the industry, faithfulness, faith, and integrity of the Latter-day Saints who were driven into the mountains. I want to see the Temple finished as soon as it is reasonable and practicable. Whether we go in there to work or not makes no difference; I am perfectly willing to finish it to the last leaf of gold that shall be laid upon it, and to the last lock that should be put on the doors, and then lock every door, and there let it stand until the earth can rest before the Saints commence their labors there. They receive more in the House of the Lord now than is their due. Our brethren and sisters, baptized three, four, or six months ago, go and get their endowments, the sealing blessings for all eternity, the highest that can be conferred upon them, yet how lightly they are treated! Many do not consider, they do not realize these things. They have not the spirit of revelation, they do not live for it, hence they do not see these things in their proper light, and we are not in such a hurry as many think we ought to be.

Well, will we go to work and build this Temple? The brethren around say we will pay our tithing, and we will pay it willingly, and you may do what you please with it. Sometimes I have thought that our tithing is so great that it requires more looking after than it is worth. See a dozen men in the Tithing Office, and a dozen or fifteen in another place taking care of tithing; but how it is used I do not know. One thing I do know, that when our tithing is paid in the north and in the south it costs almost as much to get it here as it is worth. What is paid here is clear profit, and is useful and beneficial for us to work upon. If the brethren pay their tithing, and pay it willingly, we are satisfied; that is all that is required of them. If my brethren who live near here, whom the Lord is blessing, have a mind to put in some teams extra for drawing rock, I give them the privilege.

There are some things with regard to the general business of the Church that is hardly worth while for me to mention. I could name a few things; but I do not know that it would be any benefit. I do not know that doing so would relieve my feelings in the least. If it would be any satisfaction to my brethren, and would enlighten them at all, they are welcome to a few items. I will ask the Elders of Israel who it is that finds the money to defray all these expenses? I will ask them how much money they pay in on their tithing? “Why,” say they, “we let you have our wheat and cattle, and they are just as good as money.” Ask yourselves if you ever knew a bushel of wheat, a hundred pounds of flour, or a horse, an ox, a cow, a mule, a sheep, a load of potatoes, a load of onions or anything else that comes in on tithing to be sold for money? Go and see if there ever was five dollars worth of this property sold for money. What did our emigration cost last season? We will make a rough guess (which will probably be below the mark by many thousand dollars), and say forty thousand dollars. Do the brethren living in the counties around or anywhere else pay any money in towards this? Where do you think it comes from? It is paid, there is no doubt of that, and the poor are brought here; and there are over nine hundred thousand dollars owing to the Perpetual Emigration Fund for helping the poor here.

Does this enlighten your mind any? “Why, no,” say some, “unless we know where the money comes from.” It would puzzle our astrologers to tell you; still, you can ask them if you wish; they can be just as sensible about that as anything else. Who pays this money? Who is it that buys every dollar’s worth of goods that is brought here to pay to these hands who work on the public works? Is there a man at work there but who gets a portion of money and store-pay? And with the exception of what the merchants here pay in on tithing, is there a dollar’s worth of store-pay to be got without paying the money for it? Is there a light of glass, a pound of nails, a pound of rope, or anything else brought here from the east that the money is not paid for? No, not one pound. Now, then, you astrologers, sit down and make your figures and see if you can tell where the money comes from; or you scholars and learned men enlighten the minds of the people on these matters if you can. I will tell you what you can do—you can be economical, prudent, and saving, and help a great deal more than you now do. If we will go to work and finish this canal we can bring the rock here for the Temple. I have asked my brethren, and I will ask again, will not you who have sawmills bring on some lumber so that we can go on with this tabernacle? Will you not help a little in this telegraphic operation? We want lumber for this, that, and the other—will you not bring on some? “Yes,” say they, “if you will pay us money for it.”

With regard to paying tithing, I will say that is becoming easier and more congenial to the minds of the people every year, and they pay it with a glad heart This is a blessing to them. Let me say to you, just what the Lord requires of you, if you would only do it. He requires at our hands, each and every one of us, to begin and sustain the Kingdom of God, and to withdraw from the world and the business of the world. If our neighbours want our flour, let them come here to buy it, pay a good fair price for it, and take it away, but never carry it to them—never, never, no, never! If we want goods, hats, boots, shoes, bonnets, coats, and so forth, we should send Latter-day Saints, Elders of Israel, with our money to markets where they have them for sale, and purchase them and bring them here; and we should buy of our brethren, and sustain the Kingdom of God. I say this is the mind and the will of God concerning this people, if they will hearken to it. Purchase no more of your enemies. I read a revelation here on this subject a few weeks since, given in Jackson County, Missouri, commanding br. Gilbert to go and purchase goods and sell them to the Saints without fraud. I will take the liberty of saying that I consider some of our own merchants do not come up to the requirements of this revelation, for they would sell to the Latter-day Saints a piece of goods worth fifty cents for a thousand dollars if they could get it, without any regard to truth, righteousness, or justice, or the building up of anybody on God’s earth but themselves. This is the case with some of our own merchants, while there are others who deal fairer. There are some amongst us who would not speculate, had they all the opportunity in the world, as much as some who are called Latter-day Saints. All this is true, but we cannot begin to point out and individualize; that will not do here. But it is the will of the Lord that you and I live within ourselves.

Do you recollect that I made mention of our government yesterday? We have sued to them many times for our rights. We have asked for bread, and they have given us a stone; we have asked for a fish, and they have given us a serpent; we have asked for an egg, and they have given us a scorpion; so we have got to live within ourselves and trust in God. We will pay our taxes and we will pay our tithing. But there are some among us who, probably, would like to meddle with our tithing. I wonder if they would like to meddle with the tithing that is paid to build churches in the east, and with the donations made for that purpose? I wonder if they would not like to legislate upon them, and see who has been paying donations to build this church or that schoolhouse or academy. I wonder if they would not like to legislate as they do about schools for the freedmen. I suppose it will not be long before before they will want to dictate in some other places, and say how much shall be raised for schools and so forth; and I suppose it will be but a little while before some of those officious characters will determine the number of beans that brother Kimball and I shall have in our porridge, and whether they shall be white or black. I think, if some of them had their way, they would have them all black.

I have told you some few things with regard to the Temple. We want the tabernacle finished, and when a man is asked to go and work on it, do not begin to make a wry face, and say, “I have got so much work to do.” When you carpenters are asked to go and help to finish it, so that we can hold our October Conference in it, do not begin to say, “I have so many jobs on hand, and so much work to do, and this engagement and that engagement,” where-ever they will pay you sixpence a day more; and “I will work for the devil as quick as for the Lord Jesus Christ.” Do not say that any more. The mechanics, by their conduct, have said hitherto, “We will build up hell just as quick as we will heaven, if we can get sixpence a day more for doing it.” Do you want to know the true policy of building up Zion, and what is required of us as a people? I can give it to you. It is to build up the Kingdom of God on the earth, to build temples and tabernacles, to preach the gospel, to sustain the families of the Elders abroad, and to sustain the Priesthood at home and abroad, whether we get a dollar a day or nothing, it is all the same. Work whether we get our pay or not, or whether we have money offered to us or not. You and I will find in the end that there is not a man on the earth who can give the increase to our labor; but it is the Lord who gives it. No matter whether you make fifty cents or fifty dollars a day, the Lord gives the increase; and whatever He pleases to give He will give, and whatever He pleases to withhold He will withhold. I say to you again and again that the blessings of this people are more than they merit by their lives; but if we live every day of our lives so as to possess the Spirit of the Lord, and are dictated in all our business transactions and in every move we make by the spirit of revelation, we should merit, and justly and righteously obtain greater blessings than we now possess.

Now, my brethren, you who have sinned, repent of your sins. I can say to you in regard to Jesus and the atonement (it is so written, and I firmly believe it), that Christ has died for all. He has paid the full debt, whether you receive the gift or not. But if we continue to sin, to lie, steal, bear false witness, we must repent of and forsake that sin to have the full efficacy of the blood of Christ. Without this it will be of no effect; repentance must come, in order that the atonement may prove a benefit to us. Let all who are doing wrong cease doing wrong; live no longer in transgression, no matter of what kind; but live every day of your lives according to the revelations given, and so that your examples may be worthy of imitation. Let us remember that we never get beyond the purview of our religion—never, never! “Mormonism,” so-called, embraces every principle pertaining to life and salvation, for time and eternity. No matter who has it. If the infidel has got truth it belongs to “Mormonism?” The truth and sound doctrine possessed by the sectarian world, and they have a great deal, all belong to this church. As for their morality many of them are morally just as good as we are. All that is good, lovely, and praiseworthy belongs to this church and kingdom. Death, hell, and the grave only are outside of “Mormonism.” “Mormonism” includes all truth. There is no truth but what belongs to the gospel. It is life, eternal life; it is bliss; it is the fullness of all things in the gods and in the eternities of the gods. What is the difference, then, what we are called to do? Let us do it with a cheerful heart and a willing mind, that we may receive the blessing which the Lord has for the faithful.

May God bless you. Amen.