Journal of Discourses

Volume 25

By President John Taylor,

His Counsellors, the Twelve Apostles, and Others

Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs, John Irvine and Others, and Respectfully Dedicated to the Latter-day Saints in All the World.

Entered at Stationers’ Hall.

Liverpool: Printed and Published by John Henry Smith, 42, Islington.
London: Latter-day Saints’ Book Depot, 19, Sutherland Street, Pimligo, London, S.W.

1884

Journal of Discourses, Volume 25. Kindle edition published December 2010 by Ben Crowder. Updated February 2012.

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Table of Contents

Original page numbers are in parentheses.

- Preface

- Traveling Through the Settlements—The Necessity of the Settlements Being Visited—Revelation—Bogus Authority of Sectarian Preachers—The Claim that the Canon of Scripture is Full—The Cause of there Being No Communication With God—Visitation of the Father and Son and Holy Angels to Joseph Smith—Mahomed—The World No Idea of the Character of God—Restoration of the Knowledge of God—Angels Not Feathered Beings—No Wonder the World Has Gone Astray—Space Between Death and the Resurrection—The Reign of Satan—Joseph Smith Accomplished His Mission—Persecution—This Nation Making Joseph Smith a Prophet—No Surrendering the Kingdom of God—God Will Deliver His People—Temples—Shall Those Who Have Obeyed the Law of God be Looked Down Upon by Those Who Have Not?—Conclusion, by George Q. Cannon (1–3)

- “Truth is Mighty and Will Prevail”—Introduction of the Principles of Eternal Truth—Fulfilment of Prophecy in Our Own Time—Principles of the Gospel Worthy of Consideration—Their Unpopularity—Peculiar Position of the Latter-Day Saints—The Kingdom of God Predicted By the Prophets—Joseph Smith—No Power Can Stay the Hand of Almighty—The Gospel of Christ is the Law of Salvation—Persecution—Polygamy—Treat Our Fellow Men Aright—Commencement of the Millennium—Warfare Between God and the Devil—Faith—the Secret of the Strength of the Saints—Responsibility of Rulers, Etc.—Responsibility of the Saints, by Wilford Woodruff (4–12)

- Joseph Smith’s Testimony Never Proven False—Primitive Organization of the Church—Work of Christ not Completed When He Said, “It is Finished”—Why Should So Much Fault Be Found With the Latter-Day Saints?—The World’s Objection to “Mormonism”—History of the Apostles—Authority to Preach the Gospel Restored—Temples—Baptism for the Dead—Book of Mormon—Restoration of the Priesthood—Cause of Persecution—No Surrender—Plural Marriage, by George Teasdale (13–22)

- Testimonies of the Servants of God—Illogical Manner in Which They Are Met—Only True Way to Obtain a Knowledge of the Gospel—Secret of the Strength of the Church of Christ—Work to Be Accomplished—Struggle Between Satan and God—Influence Brought to Bear Against the Saints, by George Q. Cannon (22–28)

- Near Coming of Christ—Work to Be Accomplished—Temples Already Built, and Many More Yet to Be Built—Redemption of the Dead—Ezekiel’s Vision—How Long Will It Take to Warn the World?—Will the Lord Delay His Coming Until All this Work is Accomplished?—Joseph Smith’s Mission on Earth and Behind the Veil—Another Mission to Be Undertaken—The Resurrection of Joseph Smith Near—The Meaning of the Expression, “The Morning of the First Resurrection”, by Erastus Snow (29–35)

- Present Revelation—Work Required of the Priesthood—Improvement Among the People—More Improvement Necessary—Faith in the Ordinances Required—Design of God in Relation to the Children of the Saints, by Erastus Snow (35–39)

- Sincerity Alone not Sufficient—the Gathering Foretold—Inspired Writings not All Contained in the Bible—Province of the Holy Ghost—The Reformers—Confusion of Sects—Apostate Condition of the World Foretold—How the Apostles Were Sent Out—Authority Required—What the Saints Should Do—Opposition to the Gospel, Ancient and Modern—Testimony, by Charles W. Penrose (39–50)

- Desirable Condition of the Saints—Characteristics of Prophets the Governing Power of God in Human Affairs—Man’s Ingratitude Toward God—The Enlightening Power of God’s Spirit—Man’s Origin, Probation and Destiny—A Base Conception of the Object of Life—The Savior’s Noble Example—The Source of True Happiness—Great Truths Revealed Through Joseph Smith—Eternal Associations and Destiny of the Saints—How to Attain to a Knowledge of the Things of Eternity, by Joseph F. Smith (51–60)

- Necessity of Faith—The Holy Ghost—Importance of the Sacrament—Warfare Between God and the Power of Evil—A True Latter-Day Saint Cannot Be Converted—Knowledge of the Truth Can Only Be Received From God—None Will Suffer As Christ Suffered—God Overrules All Things for the Good of His People—The Organization of the Church of God is Perfect—Proper Training of the Children of the Saints, by Francis M. Lyman (60–68)

- Work of God the Same in All Ages—the Millennium—Christ the Prophet of Whom Moses Spake—What Makes the Saints Steadfast—Cause of Apostasy—Duty of the Saints, by Erastus Snow (68–73)

- Self-Existent Truths—“The Poor Have the Gospel Preached to Them”—Repentance—Faith—“The Doctrine of Baptisms”—The “Laying on of Hands”—Too Strong a Doctrine to Be Endured—The Conflict in Which the Saints Are Engaged—Temples and Their Uses—Salvation for the Dead, by John Morgan (74–83)

- Object of Assembling—A Peculiar People—Saints Misrepresented in All Ages—Statistics—Opposition Expected—Plural Marriage—Early Persecution—“Twin Relics”—Why the Saints Gather to Zion, by John Taylor (84–96)

- Divine Mission of Joseph Smith—Prediction and Promise Fulfilled—Many Others Will Yet Be Verified—the World’s Hatred of the Saints—Indisputable Evidence of the Divine Origin of the Church—No Power Can Destroy It—Missionaries Should Go to the Fields to Which They Are Called—the Effects of Obedience and Its Opposite, by Joseph F. Smith (97–101)

- Conspicuous Position of the Saints—Early Persecutions—Historical Facts that Ought to Be Published in Book Form—Anomalous Treatment of Utah—Governor Young’s Policy and that of His Successors Different—Isaiah’s Prophecy Fulfilled—The Edmunds Law—The Saints Will Yet Conquer—The Real Object of Attack—The Result Predicted, by Erastus Snow (101–112)

- Hatred Towards Saints—Its Cause—Hope of the Saints—Constitutional Rights—Loyal Intentions, by Moses Thatcher (113–116)

- Uniting of Temporal Interests—Not An Obsolete Principle—Improvements Among the Saints—Need of Being More Self-Sustaining—Works to Be Accomplished, by Brigham Young (117–119)

- Predictions in the Book of Mormon—Evidence of Its Divinity—Proof that Joseph Smith Was Inspired—Predictions Concerning the Indians Fulfilled—Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon Foretold—Plainness of Its Teachings—Prediction Relating to Sidney Rigdon—Only Two Churches—Other Prophecies Being Fulfilled, by George Q. Cannon (119–129)

- Joseph Smith’s Mission—Necessity for Such a Mission—Evidences of Apostasy—Restoration of the Gospel and Establishment of the Kingdom of God—Hatred and Persecution Accorded to Joseph Smith, An Evidence of His Divine Calling—Further Proof of Inspiration, by B. H. Roberts (130–143)

- A Church of Order—The Lord’s Promises Sure—People Prepared By Dreams and Visions to Receive the Elders—Gifts Received and Others Yet to Be Received—Blessings to Be Obtained By Faith—Great Promises, by Orson Pratt (144–148)

- Kind of God the Saints Believe In—Skepticism in the World—Miracles not Due to a Suspension of Law—Results of Faith Exercised By the Saints—Providence in Their Favor—Ideas As to the Form and Attributes of Heavenly Beings—How Joseph Smith Obtained His Knowledge—What Our Faith Has Cost, by George Q. Cannon (148–160)

- Temples—Requirements Made of Those Who Seek to Enter Temples—A Woman States Her Case to President Taylor, in Which Arises Some Singular and Serious Questions—The Saints Ought to Be Progressing—They Should Seek to Do the Will of God—Duties of Presiding Officers—Evil Doers Should Be Brought to Account and Dealt With—God is Merciful—the Celestial Kingdom, by John Taylor (160–166)

- The Logan Temple—Circumstances Under Which the Nauvoo Temple Was Built—Faith Required for Such a Work—Retrospective View—Admission of a Congressman—Completeness of the Gospel not Due to Man’s Wisdom—Remarkable Characteristic of Many Early Members of the Church—Salvation for the Dead, by George Q. Cannon (166–176)

- Manifestations to Be Looked For—Some Already Received—Many Things Known Which Can not Be Told Yet—The World Required of the Saints—Other and More Splendid Temples to Be Built—Persons Required to Labor in the Temples—Kind of Men Wanted to Go Upon Missions—Self-Denial Required—Blessings in Store for the Faithful, by John Taylor (176–188)

- Visit to Arizona and New Mexico—Condition of the Settlements—Our Enemies—The “Obnoxious Doctrine”—Things Pertaining to Conscience—The Saints Striving to, Live Their Religion—Prosperity on Every Hand—Persecution—Temples—The Load the Saints Are Carrying—Conclusion, by Brigham Young, Jr. (189–193)

- How Judgment Should Be Formed—Effects of the Gospel Wherein is the Efficacy of Baptism—Who Are Benefitted By It—Persecutions Endured By the Saints—Effects of Persecution, by Erastus Snow (194–201)

- Missionary Labors Reviewed—Testimony Gained—Predictions Fulfilled—Condition of the World—Prospects of the Swiss and German Mission—Class of Men Selected By the Lord for His Work—Restoration of the Gospel—The Priesthood Necessary—How It Was Restored—Ancient Prophecies Concerning the Latter-Day Work—Why the Saints Are Hated—Persecution Predicted—Political Aspect—Revelation Necessary—Distinction Between the Holy Ghost and the Spirit Given to Every Man—True Education—How Joseph Smith and Orson Pratt Obtained Theirs—How Abraham and Moses Were Taught—Action of Congress Considered, by John Q. Cannon, Wilford Woodruff, John Taylor (202–206)

- Religious Liberty Guaranteed By the Constitution—Not Mere Freedom of Belief—Where the Line Should Be Drawn Natural Rights Must Be Protected—Danger of Special Legislation—Object of the Gathering of the Saints—Establishment of God’s Kingdom—Literal Fulfillment of Prophecy—Restoration of the Christian Church—Authority of the Priesthood—Lack of Divine Authority—Proofs of the Divine Mission of the Latter-Day Saints—Plural Marriage a Religious Institution—A Bible Doctrine—Constitutional Right to Practice It, by Charles W. Penrose (218–230)

- Temples the Gates of Heaven—Feelings and Reflections—Around in the Temple—The Work Before the Saints—Sayings of the Savior As to Marriage in the Resurrection Explained—Glorious Hopes Inspired By the Gospel—Enoch and His City—The Three Nephites and John, by F. D. Richards (230–237)

- The Saints Will Triumph Through Faithfulness—Warfare of Satan to Continue—Joseph’s Predictions that the Government Would Be Arrayed Against the Saints, Fulfilled—Internal Strife to Dismember the Government—God the Friend of His People, by George Q. Cannon (238–244)

- The Object of Co-Operation—It is Right to Sustain One’s Friend—Economy Should Be Observed By All—Our Friends Are They Who Aid Us in Time of Need—Keep the Sabbath Day Holy, by Joseph F. Smith (244–252)

- But One Church of God—Wherein the Saints Are a Peculiar People—Church and State Rule—Religion Should Be No Bar to Political Office—Political Doings Elsewhere—Poverty in the East—Fear of Riots—Labor Question—Trades, Etc., for Young People—Storing of Grain—Troubles Coming—Fortunate Situation of the Saints—Exhortation, by George Q. Cannon (252–260)

- Why We Gather—Difference Between the Latter-Day Saints and the World—Organization of the Church in Former Days—Condition of the World Previous to the Restoration of the Gospel—The Reformers and the Work They Performed—All Men Enjoy a Portion of the Spirit of God—The Jews—The Gospel Must Be Preached—Organization of New Stakes—Missionaries’ Families to Be Provided for Building Homes and Beautifying Them—The Destiny of Zion, by John Taylor (261–267)

- A Peculiar Work—Truth Opposed in All Ages—True Religion Never Persecutes Its Opponents—What the Truth Has Cost—With God on Our Side Victory is Sure—Saints Obligated to Spread the Gospel—Forbearance Commanded—A Temple-Building People—Feeling Manifested Towards the Saints—Civil Strife Coming, by George Q. Cannon (268–275)

- Respect to the Dead—Consolation to the Bereaved—Instruction to the Saints—Resignation to the Will of the Almighty—Pity for the Murderers—Condemnation Awaiting Them at the Hands of a Just God—Retribution to Be Left for Him to Mete Out, by George Q. Cannon, Moses Thatcher, George F. Gibbs, John Taylor (275–288)

- The Priesthood—The Future Glory in Store for All Those Who Receive and Magnify the Priesthood—Without the Priesthood “No Man Can See the Face of God, Even the Father and Live”—Moses and the Children of Israel, by George Q. Cannon (288–295)

- Attitude of Our Enemies Towards the Latter-Day Saints—Their Hatred of the Priesthood—The Blessings Received Through the Priesthood, by George Q. Cannon (295–298)

- The Power of God Manifested in the Gathering of the Saints—Purposes of the Gathering—Satan’s Antagonism to the Work of God, by George Q. Cannon (298–302)

- Design of God in Relation to the Earth and Its Inhabitants—Power of Satan—The Two Zions—What is Required of the Saints—A Priesthood in the Heavens, As Well As on the Earth—Duties of the Priesthood—Would-Be Advisers Celestial Marriage—Distinction Between Polygamy and Prostitution—Government Officers Discriminating in Favor of the Latter—Unchastity, not to Be Tolerated in the Church—Charity Advised—Class of People Who Accuse the Saints of Crime—Criminal Statistics—Horrifying Statements of Crime in the Eastern States—Warning to the Saints, by John Taylor (303–317)

- The Fulfillment of Ancient and Modern Prophecy—God the Friend of the Saints—Persons Guilty of Adultery Having Had Their Endowments Cannot Again Be Baptized, by George Q. Cannon (318–328)

- Privilege to Meet to Worship God—This Church Ordained of God—All Other Churches and Societies the Work of Man—Human Institutions of Every Kind Will Pass Away—Only that Which God Sets Up Will Endure—The Ancient Christian Church—the Apostate Church of Rome—The Various Man-Made Creeds—Lack of Divine Authority—The True Church Restored—Religion in Politics—God’s Right to Control in All Things—The Agency of Man and the Authority of God—Abiding in the Lord’s Covenant Even Unto Death—No Compromise With the Wicked—The Spirit of Abel and that of Cain— The Blessings that Come Through Obedience and Fidelity, by Charles W. Penrose (329–340)

- The Gathering—The Lord Will Punish the Wicked—Polygamy and Prostitution—Statistics of Crime Committed By Mormons and Non-Mormons The Wickedness of the New England States—The Debased Position of U. S. Officials As Exhibited in the Courts of Utah, by John Taylor (341–359)

- The Law of Marriage in Ancient Israel—Its Application to Us— The Latter-Day Saints Distinct From the Rest of the World—Evils Resulting From Marriages Between the Saints and Those not of Our Faith, by George Q. Cannon (360–371)

- Blessings Follow Certain Ordinances, by F. D. Richards (371–376)

Preface

In presenting this twenty-fifth volume of the Journal of Discourses to our readers, we express the hope that they may be inspired by the same spirit in perusing those discourses, that our brethren enjoyed in delivering them, and that the fruits may be seen in increased diligence and faith in the lives of the Latter-day Saints.

THE PUBLISHER

Traveling Through the Settlements, etc.

George Q. Cannon

Delivered in the Meeting House, Provo, Sunday morning, September 2nd, 1883. Reported By John Irvine.

(Concluded from page 376, Journal of Discourses)

All that is necessary on our part is to fear God and keep his commandments—to be brave and loyal and true to the cause that He has established upon the earth—to live such lives of purity as shall enlist heaven in our behalf. That is all that is necessary for us as individuals, or as a people, to do. God is doing a great work among us, much greater than many of us imagine. We do not see Him, but He is nevertheless in our midst. We do not see Jesus, but He is nevertheless in our midst. We do not see angels, but they are nevertheless in our midst. God is working to get this people to the perfection that He desires them to attain. We are building Temples. Who shall enter these Temples when completed? Shall the adulterer? Shall the whoremonger? Shall the thief? Shall the drunkard? Shall the blasphemer? Shall the Sabbath breaker? Shall the men who defile themselves by the sins of the world enter therein and receive all those precious blessings that God has to bestow? Ask yourselves who shall enter therein. I tell you, my brethren and sisters, that God demands of us a holiness of life that we cannot conceive of at the present time; but there are duties we can conceive of, that we should attend to. We should put away sin far from us. We should live so that our God will be very near to us. And we should encourage faith in our hearts.

There is a class of people who have been disfranchised because they have chosen to obey the word of God; they have been excluded from the polls, excluded from office, and another class of Latter-day Saints are now in possession of the offices. Shall those who have not obeyed the law of God as perfectly as their brethren and sisters—shall they look down upon those who have obeyed that law and say: “You have been put out of office; we have chosen the better part; we have done that which has resulted in the most good; and if it had not been that we were reluctant to obey that law, this Territory to-day would not be in the hands of the Latter-day Saints?” Shall that be the expression of feeling on the part of those who have been, for various reasons, prevented from obeying the fullness of the law of God? Woe! to this people if that were to be the feeling. I bear my testimony this day that God has commanded us, His servants, to obey His law, and I would not, for all this world, for all its honors, and for everything that is within the power of man to bestow—I would not be in any other condition than the one I am in, so far as that law is concerned. I dare not risk my salvation outside of obedience to that law. There may be men who will get into the celestial kingdom who have not obeyed that law—God will be their judge—but I dare not put myself in that position; I dare not risk my eternal salvation and exaltation on any such contingency as that. The law has been revealed. The moment the revelation was published and it came to my knowledge, it became a command to me—though I was not mentioned personally—and I accepted it as such. I have obeyed it as such, believing in my heart that God will save and exalt all those who perfectly carry it out. It is the hatred of that principle among others, that creates excitement. Yet, by that principle, God has designed to accomplish His purposes on the earth, and to redeem His people from the evils which afflict mankind at the present day. The other agencies that are at work among men to-day, are complete failures. What has all Christendom done towards stopping or arresting the progress of prostitution? All the preachers combined have no more effect upon it than the whistling of the wind. It increases and spreads. And who shall deliver mankind from that sin and dreadful train of evils? There is nothing can do so but the power of God, the commandments of God, and the revelations of God. God has revealed the law by which it shall be accomplished, and we have seen the effects of it to a certain extent. We see a generation growing up here, young men and young women, who are the admiration of all who behold them—fine physical specimens of manhood and womanhood—pleasant faces and lovely countenances and forms—showing that the blessings of God have evidently rested upon the parents. I thought of Brother Smoot’s case. I remarked but for plurality, he would to-day have been without a child of his own. But see what a number of children he has, and what beautiful children they are. It is so everywhere throughout these mountains. The blessing of God has rested down upon His servants. Their houses are filled with beautiful children. The blessing of God has attended the men who have obeyed His law, and the women also. They have had their trials; but these have had the effect of purifying them. They have gained strength and power with God, and with man also, and the day will come when they will be honored men and honored women on the face of the earth. That day will come. It may be distant yet for a little while, but it will come most assuredly.

I pray God my Heavenly Father, to fill you with the Holy Ghost, that you may be enlightened thereby, and that you may be led to see and comprehend the greatness of the work in which we are engaged, and the character of those influences we have to contend with. There are unseen influences on both sides. There are unseen and invisible agencies that God our Heavenly Father has brought to bear upon this work to aid us, and there are on the other side those unseen agencies of evil. We can tell them by their fruits and by the results of their actions upon the children of men. Let us remember that it is not that which is before us alone that we have to contend with, but that there are powers behind those that we see in the flesh, and those powers are determined to destroy this work. It is a contest between Satan and God, and there can be no doubt as to the result; and if we cling to the truth we shall take part in all the glorious triumphs of this work, which I pray for in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“Truth is Mighty and Will Prevail”, etc.

Wilford Woodruff

Discourse by President Wilford Woodruff, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, January 6, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

There is a proverb or saying which I have heard a good many times in my life, and which I think bears a great deal of weight, and that is, “truth is mighty and will prevail.” I think this has been manifested in every capacity in which truth has been used, whether applied temporally or spiritually; whether applied in the capacity of nations, or families, or individuals; whether applied to the world or to the kingdom of God. I think that in every age of the world, truth, whether it has been popular or unpopular, has proved itself, in the end of its labor, to prevail in all cases. When Columbus was moved upon by the Spirit of God, to cross the ocean to find a new continent, his object and desires were unpopular with those by whom he was surrounded, and it was only after a good deal of labor that he gained favor in the eyes of any of the rulers of the nations whereby to receive assistance sufficient to carry out his wishes. But in the end he prevailed. He found a new world, as it were, which to-day contains a population of the Anglo-Saxon race, numbering fifty millions of people. The commencement of Columbus’ project was certainly unpopular, but the result has proved it true. And so in all cases, whenever men have been inspired to receive truth, or to promulgate any principle, which would be a benefit to the human family, they have generally been unpopular. When Robert Fulton undertook to demonstrate the power of steam in a steamboat, the crowd which gathered to behold the event, did not gather to see success; they gathered there to ridicule, to see a man fail in performing a work which they considered impossible. But when the steam was applied to the vessel it moved. The invention was certainly very crude, but there was truth in it, and it has prevailed to a great extent; for steam is the great motive power of all the machinery in the world, in a great measure. And so with a Scottish Earl when he announced that there was a man going to try and light the City of Edinburgh with smoke. The man was looked upon as crazy. But there was truth in that smoke, and it lit the city, and it has given light to a good many other cities since. The principle prevailed, and is now adopted throughout the world. So with Mr. Morse, the electrician. He unsuccessfully in the first instance, (in 1837-8) sought aid both from the American Congress and the English government to enable him to carry out his ideas; but, ultimately (in 1843) he gained assistance from Congress, and his invention of telegraphy was demonstrated a success, and is now made use of throughout the civilized world. And so we might go on to show that in almost every instance when men have undertaken to introduce new principles—principles of truth—principles that would benefit the human family—they have generally been very unpopular, until the truth was made manifest to the world.

The same thing may be applied to the introduction of the principles of eternal truth pertaining to the salvation of the human family in a spiritual point of view. When our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, stepped forth into the world to occupy the position to which He had been ordained of God, there were but few individuals who had faith in Him, or who were looking for the coming of the Son of Man in fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus, all His life, it may be said, from the manger to the cross, was very unpopular with the mass of the human family, more particularly the inhabitants of Jerusalem. His history is before the world. He died an ignominious death upon the cross, and those of His own Father’s house, the High Priests, and the leading men of Jerusalem, were all in favor of His death. Yet the Savior possessed truth. He offered truth to the world; He offered life and salvation to the world. But the principles He taught were unpopular in His day. He gathered around Him a few followers; but the acceptance of His principles cost them their lives, as it did the life of the Savior Himself. I do not know of a man—except it was John the Revelator—who escaped. They all died violent deaths. They had to seal their testimony with their blood. Some were crucified; others were sawn asunder, beheaded, or in some way put to death for the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ. They were put to death for their religion. How is it to-day? What name has been more honored, or more held up as an ensample to the world than the name of Jesus Christ? The Catholic world, the Protestant world, in fact the whole Christian world are professing to honor the name of Jesus Christ. The Savior had truth, but it was not received in His day and time.

With regard to our own time my mind is often led to reflect upon it. Half a century has past and gone before the eyes of this generation, since the God of heaven commenced, as in former ages of the world, the fulfillment of prophecy and revelation contained in the Bible—this good old book that the Christian world profess to believe in so much. The Lord has set His hand to bring to pass some of these prophecies and principles which He had foreordained before the world was, and which He has left on record through the medium of holy men who wrote and spoke as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost from generation to generation. Those prophecies are with us to-day. They are contained in the Bible, a book that is published by millions throughout the Christian world. The Christian world profess to honor the Bible and to honor the prophecies and sayings of Christ and the Apostles. But do they believe in the fulfillment of these things? Do they believe in the fulfillment of these principles and truths which are today being fulfilled in the eyes of heaven and earth? No. Those prophecies and those principles—which the God of heaven has set His hand to carry out—are as unpopular to-day throughout the Christian world as they were when Jesus of Nazareth stood in the flesh and proclaimed the same to the Jewish nation. We occupy the same position that they did in that day and generation with regard to these truths. Now, as I have said, truth is mighty. It always has prevailed in every age of the world. It will prevail in this dispensation as it has done in others. The God of Israel will no more fail to-day to carry out the principles which He has stretched forth His hand to establish, than he did in the days of either Adam, Enoch, Noah, or Jesus, or in the days of any other dispensation.

The principles to which I allude—the principles of the Gospel—are worthy the attention and comprehension of at least the Latter-day Saints, and it would be well for the Christian world to take them into consideration also; for if truth is going to prevail in the earth it certainly will involve the destiny of this whole generation, Jew and Gentile, high and low, rich and poor, Zion and Babylon. It will involve the destiny of the whole world—of the fourteen hundred millions of people who breathe the breath of life in it. And I bear record and testimony; as a servant of God, that the God of heaven has set His hand to carry out those great and eternal principles which He decreed before the world was made and which He has left on record through the mouths of His prophets, to be fulfilled in the last dispensation and fullness of times. Are these principles popular to-day? They are not. Why not? Because the world is not governed by the spirit of inspiration; because its people do not seek the Lord; because they do not honor His name; but they are governed and controlled by other principles. But the Lord will rule over His own Kingdom, notwithstanding the Devil has great dominion to-day as he has had in almost every age of the world. The inhabitants of the earth have their agency. They must use that agency according to the desires of their own hearts, whether they be for good, or whether they be for evil. But the day is at hand when the Lord will show the children of this generation that there is a God in Israel, as He has done in other dispensations when He has reigned. In all the history of the dealings of God with man this one principle, sooner or later, has manifested itself: that virtue exalteth a nation, while sin is a reproach to any people. You will see that this has been manifested in the history of all nations under heaven—in their rise and progress and prosperity, and in their fall and decline and in their final overthrow and destruction. You will find in every instance that sin, error, darkness, falsehood, wrong-doing, have laid the foundation of the overthrow of every nation and city under heaven from the foundation of the world until the present time. What man sow they will reap, and what measure they measure to others will be measured unto them.

To-day we occupy a peculiar position as a people—as Latter-day Saints here in these mountains Here is a people growing up in the earth who are organized into a Church, called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. How did the organization of that Church come about? Why, the God of heaven has proclaimed through His prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others, whose writings are contained within the lids of the Bible, that in the latter days He would set His hand to call forth His Church out of the wilderness and out of darkness and error, and establish it upon the foundation of truth, Christ Jesus being the chief corner stone. The God of heaven also proclaimed through Daniel, 4,000 years ago, that in the latter days he would set up a kingdom which should never be destroyed; and the kingdom should not be left to other people, but it should break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it should stand forever. That prophet also declared that a little stone should be cut out of the mountain without hands; that the stone should become a great mountain and fill the whole earth; and that it should break in pieces all other kingdoms. Was that Prophet inspired by the Spirit and power of God? I say in the name of Israel’s God he was, and so was Isaiah when he spoke of the gathering of the people unto the mountains of Israel to establish the Zion of God in its beauty, strength, power and glory. The God of heaven also inspired a prophet as he stood upon the Isle of Patmos—John the Revelator—and in connection with the great events of the last dispensation and fullness of times he saw, in vision, an “angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people, saying with a loud voice, fear God and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come.” Now I want this congregation; I want the world; I want the Christian world; I want the priests of the day who cry aloud for the blood of innocence to be shed to carry out their desires—I want these priests and all who are laboring to overthrow “Mormonism,” to carefully inquire, whether those prophets were inspired of God, And if they were inspired of God, whether it is right for them to make war against the work of God in the earth? Whether it would not be better to let these things alone—to leave them in the hands of the Lord, and allow Him to govern and control as He sees fit? And if these men were inspired of the Lord and made those proclamations—with thousands of others in the Bible and in the revelations of God—the question is, whether this warfare against God and against His work is going to prevail? The wicked will have no such power; for the Lord has set His hand to fulfill these things which have been predicted by His Prophets—to establish His Church and Kingdom upon the earth. He has called Prophets, and they were inspired of God. Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. He was a man raised up by the power of God. He received the testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by visions and revelation as did John the Revelator. Angels appeared unto him and taught him the ways of life. Those men who held the Priesthood—who were put to death in the flesh for the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ—visited Joseph Smith. John the Baptist conferred upon him the Aaronic Priesthood; Peter, James and John, the Apostleship and Melchisedek Priesthood; and all the Prophets who held any keys and powers belonging to the Gospel these also visited Joseph Smith, and conferred upon him those keys and powers and authority to administer them on the earth. These are eternal truths, as the God of heaven lives, and they will prevail whether men believe them or not, or whether the wicked war against them or not. These truths belong to God Himself. He is the author of them. He has given forth certain decrees, and they will have their fulfillment in the earth.

Now, as far as the Latter-day Saints are concerned, I will say to my brethren and sisters, we ought to contemplate these principles. There is no power organized beneath the heavens that can stay the hand of Almighty God. He has set His hand to carry out His purposes. The world hate this people, because the Lord has called them forth out of the world, the same as He called His disciples of old. This is the position we occupy to-day, as His people. Though our numbers are small, yet “a little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation:” and the Lord will hasten it in His time. A little one has already become more than a thousand, or a hundred thousand, and in spite of all opposition this small one will become a great nation, and God will hasten it in His time, because God is our friend. Now, these are truths. They have emanated from God Himself.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the law of salvation. No man can be saved without it. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth—to Jew or Greek, Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, or any other sect or party on the face of the earth.

We, as Latter-day Saints, are called upon to build up Zion. We have been gathered to be instructed by inspiration and through the medium of the Holy Priesthood, in the principles of eternal truth. This is our condition to-day. Fifty-three years have passed since this work commenced. Joseph Smith dwelt in the flesh some fourteen years after he organized this Church. He holds the keys of this dispensation on both sides of the veil, and will hold them forever. God ordained him to perform a certain work. He performed it. He stayed on earth until his work was finished. All the keys, powers and principles which God gave unto him he left with his brethren; although whatsoever he left with his brethren did not take from him; for as Jesus says in a revelation given in regard to the Priesthood: “Whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two Priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies;

“And he that receiveth my Father, receiveth my Father’s Kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him;

“And this is according to the oath and the covenant which belongeth to the Priesthood;

“But whoso breaketh this covenant, after he hath received it, and altogether turneth therefrom, shall not have forgiveness of sins in this world nor in the world to come.”—Doc. and Cov., Sec. 84.

Thus, although the Lord bestows upon His servants the same powers and blessings that He Himself holds, it does not take away these powers and blessings from the Father. The Father possesses all He had before. The Son possesses all that he hath given unto him. So do the sons of the living God. When a man bestows those gifts and blessings and powers upon others, he does not lose them himself. The Lord raised up Joseph Smith. He organized this Church. It has been organized for 54 years next April. And what has been the consequence? Have we had opposition? Yes. Have we had persecution? Yes. Is not the desire of a great many millions of people for our overthrow? Yes; and a great many wish us put to death. Some men go so far as to be willing to slay, utterly, men, women and children, because they believe what is termed “Mormonism,” but which is really the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These things are proclaimed to the world to-day. What is the matter? Mormonism is unpopular. Why is it unpopular? “Because,” say the priests of the day, “it interferes with our rights. We preach for hire and divine for money, and if the Mormons were to prevail in the earth, we should lose our business, and we cannot endure it.” “Why,” says the world, “you profess to believe in polygamy, and that is why you are persecuted.” No, you are mistaken about that. The worst persecution this Church ever endured was before polygamy was revealed to the Church. We have had more prosperity since we carried out that law, and endeavored to fulfill it according to the command of God, than we ever had as a people before. And here is the principle with me—I speak as an individual; I speak for myself—if this work is of God; if the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as revealed to Joseph Smith, is true, then God will take care of it; if the patriarchal law of marriage comes from the God of Israel, He will take care of it; He will protect and defend it, and He will uphold the people that carry it out. I say this is in the name of Israel’s God, and if it is not of God, who wants it? I don’t, neither do this people. I speak of this principle because I want my brethren and sisters to understand the views I have upon it.

I know we are engaged in the work of the Lord. I know this is His Church. He has organized it with Prophets and Apostles in fulfillment of predictions made thousands of years ago. This is a work which was ordained before the world was. The Lord Almighty never created a world like this and peopled it for 6,000 years, as he has done, without having some motive in view. That motive was, that we might come here and exercise our agency. The probation we are called upon to pass through, is intended to elevate us so that we can dwell in the presence of God our Father. And that eternal variety of character which existed in the heavens among the spirits—from God upon his throne down to Lucifer the son of the morning—exists here upon the earth. That variety will remain upon the earth in the creations of God, and for what I know, throughout the endless ages of eternity. Men will occupy different glories and positions according to their lives—according to the law they keep in the flesh.

But I want the Latter-day Saints to understand their position. Our trust is in God. With regard to men, it is our duty to treat our fellow-men aright, to leave them in the hands of God if they persecute us. The Lord has a controversy with this generation. This Bible, the Old and New Testament, contains a vast amount of, I will say, tremendous revelations, tremendous events, which hang over the heads of the people of this dispensation. Are these events going to fall unfulfilled? No; no more than they did in the days of the fall of Babylon, of Nineveh, of Jerusalem, and of other cities in the nations of the earth. When the inhabitants of Jerusalem became ripe in iniquity; though Jerusalem was the royal city, in which was the Urim and Thummim, and in which sacrifices were made unto the Lord, yet the city was laid low, and the Jews have been trampled under the feet of the Gentiles for 1,800 years. We are living at the commencement of the Millennium, and near the close of the 6,000th year of the world’s history. Tremendous events await this generation. You can read an account of them in the revelations of St. John; the opening of the seals; the blowing of the trumpets; the pouring out of the plagues; the judgments of God which will overtake the wicked when Great Babylon comes in remembrance before God, and when the sword that is bathed in heaven shall fall on Idumea, or the world who shall be able to abide these things? Here we are living in the midst of these tremendous events.

We are in the hands of God; our nation is, and so are the nations of the earth; and when they undertake to overthrow the Kingdom of God, which is decreed shall be established, they have somebody to fight against besides Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, or John Taylor, or any other of the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This warfare is between God and the devil, between light and darkness, truth and error, between the heavens and the earth; and that God who has supported His work from the creation of the world, is bound to do it unto the end. Where have you ever read that the Kingdom of God would be overthrown in the last days? You cannot find it anywhere on the pages of the records of divine truth. No; the revelations of God will be fulfilled. And we must exercise faith in that direction. As the ancients had faith; as the world was created by faith; as Noah built an ark and preached the Gospel of repentance for 120 years by faith; as Abraham went out not knowing where he was going by faith; as the ancients performed many mighty works, such as the subduing of cities and kingdoms by faith; therefore I say to the Latter-day Saints, you are required by the God of Israel, your Heavenly Father, by his Son Jesus Christ, by the holy angels, and by every principle of eternal truth, to exercise faith in the revelations of God, for they will be fulfilled as the Lord lives. God is with this people. But we are required to hearken to his voice, obey his commandments, and humble ourselves before him. And I thank the Lord that I have lived to see the time when I believe there is a great improvement among the Latter-day Saints. I believe they are exercising greater faith in God. And there is a calmness prevailing among the Mormons—so called—that is a marvel and a wonder to the world. The world wonder why we are not excited over the opposition that is brought to bear upon us by the millions of people who inhabit this continent, as well as by the people of the nations of the earth. The reason of our calmness is—God is our friend, our lawgiver, our deliverer. If the Lord cannot sustain His work, we certainly cannot. But He can. He has always done it, and will do it to the end. Therefore I say to the Saints, fear not. Trust in God. Let not your hearts be faint. Let your prayers ascend to the ears of the Lord of Sabbaoth, day and night. Ask what you want. When you do that, the Lord will answer your prayers, if you ask what is right. There is where our our strength lies. It is in God. I have no hope in anything else. But I do look upon the Latter-day Saints as occupying a most glorious position in this day and age of the world. This is the first time since God created the world that he has ever established a dispensation to remain on the earth until the coming of the Son of Man—to remain in power and strength and glory, until the Millennium, until He reigns whose right it is to reign. Behold what lies before you! Behold the power of God! Behold the prosperity of Zion! Behold the blessings which have rested upon your houses, your lands, your flocks and herds, your children—the blessings of the earth as well as of the heavens—in this mighty barren desert! Then should we have any doubts or fears with regard to the Kingdom of God? No! As a people we should rise up in faith and power before God, and make our wants known, and leave our destiny in His hands. It is there anyhow. It will remain there. And with regard to our nation, I leave them in the hands of God; but I would to God their eyes were open to see and understand the responsibilities that rest upon them. I would to God that the rulers of our land—the President of the United States, the Congress of the United States, the Supreme Court of the United States—would learn the responsibility the God of heaven will hold them to it, the administration of those glorious principles laid down in the Constitution of the government of this country. The God of heaven will hold this nation, as well as all other nations, responsible for the manner in which these principles are used. If they misuse them, it will be their loss. If they trample the Constitution under foot; if they undertake to deprive any portion of citizens of the rights the Constitution guarantees unto them, they will be held responsible, and will have to pay the bill. When innocent blood is shed, it costs something; and I would to God that our nation could understand the blessings they enjoy. There is no nation on the face of the earth that has the same liberty that is guaranteed to us by the Constitution of our country.

Have we any warfare with our Government? Have we any reproach to offer them? Not at all I feel sorry that this nation should sow seeds which when ripe will bring destruction; for I know as God lives that if this or any other government departs from the principles of truth, becomes ripened in iniquity, forsakes the Lord, forsakes the principles of life and liberty, the God of heaven will hold it responsible. Judgments will come upon the wicked. When men depart from the principles of truth and cleave unto darkness and wickedness, they reap the whirlwind; they lay the foundation for desolation.

I pray God my heavenly Father, that his blessing may rest upon us as Latter-day Saints; that we may comprehend and understand our position, our duties and our responsibilities to God. When I look, brethren and sisters, upon this handful of men and women here in these mountains of Israel, say 150,000, out of the fourteen hundred million people that dwell on the earth; when I realize the responsibility that God has laid upon the Latter-day Saints, the responsibility of building up this great kingdom of our God, of proclaiming the principles of eternal life, light and truth to the world; when I reflect upon these things I ask myself the question, What manner of men ought we to be? Our numbers are small compared even with the inhabitants of this nation, not to speak of the inhabitants of the world; yet, as I said before I say again, the God of heaven looks to the Latter-day Saints to carry on His work.

Then let us be careful. Let us realize our condition. Let us realize we are here upon a mission. Let us realize that we will be held responsible for the manner in which we fill it. We should be willing to sacrifice everything for the upbuilding of the Kingdom of God. Any man who will seek to save his life and desert the principles of the Gospel, is not worthy of eternal life. How many have laid down their lives since the creation of the world for the sake of the truth? Jesus Himself descended below all things. He descended, I believe, lower than any other man will be called to descend. Are we greater than Jesus? If we are called upon to-day to lay down our lives, what of it? Is it not as well to die for the Gospel’s sake as to die for anything else? A million of men, a few years ago, sacrificed their lives for the honor of this nation. No matter what we may be called to pass through, let us maintain our integrity to God. Where is the man whose mind has been lit up by the inspiration of God to comprehend the celestial kingdom, or the celestial law, or the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who can bear the idea of pursuing a course whereby he will be cut off from inheriting the blessings for which he has hoped in the future? No, I would rather die a thousand deaths than be deprived of these blessings. We have a long time to live when we get through here. There is all eternity before us. It will pay you, it will pay me—no matter what comes, no matter what this nation may do to oppress us—to be true and faithful to our covenants, to our wives and children, to our God and to our country; it will pay us to be faithful to the end.

I pray God that this may be our lot, that we may be true and faithful unto death, and inherit eternal life, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Joseph Smith’s Testimony Never Proven False, etc.

George Teasdale

Delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, January 13th, 1884. Reported By John Irvine.

I likewise can bear my testimony to the truth of this work that the world please to call Mormonism. The “Mormon” problem” is very easily defined if we consider the pretensions of the people called “Mormons.” From the time that Joseph Smith first declared that he had had a vision of the Father and the Son—from that time to the present, I know that the world have never been able to prove that his testimony was false. I know that they have never been able to prove that Moroni did not give to him the plates of gold, or that the translation called the Book of Mormon is false. I know that they have never been able to prove that John the Baptist did not visit Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and confer upon them the Holy Priesthood, even the Aaronic Priesthood; neither have I ever heard that it has been proved that the Melchisedek Priesthood and Apostleship were not restored by Peter, James and John. There has been a great deal said about Mormonism; quite a number of books written upon the subject; a great deal of derision has been made of it; but the testimony of the Latter-day Saints has never been proven to be false. We have declared to the world that God has spoken from the heavens; that angels have appeared to the children of men; and that the keys of the Priesthood and intelligence have been restored to the earth—and we know it. We have invited the people to search the Scriptures to see if these things were not predicted—to find out if it had not been declared therein that it should come to pass in the last days that the God of heaven would establish His Kingdom upon the earth. There had to be a commencement. We read in the Bible that God set in the Church firstly Apostles, then Prophets, then Evangelists, and Teachers, for the work of the ministry and for the edifying of the body of Christ. Paul declared that the Saints were the body of Christ, members in particular, and he bore the same testimony to the Corinthians that he bore to the Ephesians, concerning the fact that God had set in the Church firstly. Apostles, then Prophets, etc. Might I ask where the revelation is that at any time set in the Church firstly Popes, then Cardinals, Archbishops, and Right Reverend Fathers in God? Might I ask where the revelation is authorizing the establishment of the Episcopal Church? Might I ask where the revelation is authorizing the alteration of the order of government which God had set in the Church? We are calmly told that these things are done away with. Who says so? Men whose business it is to try and prevent people from thinking for themselves, and to do the thinking for them. But as a responsible being I am bound to do my own thinking; and when it comes to a question of my eternal welfare, I take the liberty to think for myself. I am told that holy men of old wrote and spoke as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and that the Scriptures were not to be understood by private interpretation. I believe as a child of God, that I have a right to receive intelligence, for it was predicted ages ago that God would give to those who loved Him line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, until they were perfected. The object of the Apostleship was the edification of the Saints. Now, I can understand the value of this Apostleship. Those who hold it are to be taught by the revelations of God, and have authority to call upon men everywhere to repent, to believe in the living and true God, to cease from their heresies, to cease from their wickedness and abominations, to lead perfect and pure lives, and to give them the privilege of being baptized by immersion for the remission of sins, and to have hands laid upon them, that they may receive the Holy Ghost. This, we are given to understand by the historians, was the manner in which the Kingdom of God was established in the days of the Savior, and if it had remained upon the earth there would have been a continuation of the Apostleship. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” He did not give us to understand that the whole work was finished so far as we were concerned as individuals; because the last instructions that He gave to His Apostles, as recorded by the historian Mark, and which were given after His crucifixion and resurrection were: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. 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 they shall 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.” And we are told that the Apostles went and preached this doctrine; called upon men everywhere to repent of their sins, called upon them to repent of their false modes and manner of worship. They preached exclusive salvation. They had the only way to be saved. This was what rendered them so unpopular. This is what renders us so unpopular to day. But if we preach the same doctrine, if we have similar power, if God has spoken from the heavens and has declared to His children the necessity of their repentance, and has chosen men to hold the Priesthood, and go forth to the nations of the earth; if this is the case, where will the wicked and ungodly be? I think, myself, it should be a matter of interest to all classes of people, especially rulers, to make themselves acquainted with the doctrines of the Latter-day Saints, with the principles which they teach, so that they may act in wisdom. They have to give an account of the deeds done in the body; they will have to stand before the bar of God; their record will be there; and I say it is to the individual interest of every man, whether he is a king or a beggar, to make his record of such a character that he will dare to meet it; because as sure as we live to-day, we shall have to face the record we make upon earth. Now, why should so much fault be found with the Latter-day Saints? Right here, I would ask, why should so much fault have been found with the Lord Jesus Christ? Why should so much fault have been found with the Apostles and their followers? Why did they not, when they found it was distasteful to the majority of the people, give up their belief and become one with them, as we are kindly invited to do? Why did they not, in the midst of their persecutions—when they were being torn to pieces by wild beasts, etc.—rise up and say: “Will it not be better, seeing our religion is so distasteful to mankind, to stop our mode of worship, and worship with the majority?” Why, they never dreamed of such a thing. I have never heard of a faithful man that ever lived who dreamed of such a thing as giving up that which he believed to be true for the sake of the approbation even of millions. Joseph Smith, the Prophet, Seer and Revelator, stood alone and declared that God had spoken from the heavens, and when people believed his testimony, when they accepted the doctrines he taught, God bore witness to them that he was a true Prophet. They discovered that the doctrine which he taught was that which was taught anciently; they discovered by the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ, that in the last days the Kingdom of God was to be established upon the earth; and in their simplicity they believed that it had to be commenced with a few; and that it had to commence wherever the Great Eternal determined that it should commence. He revealed Himself that He might have a testator on the earth who knew that He lived, who knew that Jesus was the Christ. He revealed Himself to the boy Joseph Smith, who had sought Him in perfect faith. And, then, in order that the world might be left without excuse, when He sent the angel Moroni to reveal the history of the house of Jacob on this continent, He did not leave the fact of his visit dependent upon the testimony of one man. Others were privileged to receive the visits of heavenly messengers, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word should be established. When did the three witnesses—Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris—ever declare otherwise than that they saw an angel, and that they heard the voice of God declare that the book called the Book of Mormon, had been translated by the power of God? They were never known—though they left the Church—to have flinched from that testimony, and their testimony is as good as the testimony of any body else. It never has been impeached. And then again: Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith both declared that John the Baptist came and laid his hands upon their heads and ordained them to the Aaronic Priesthood. Who had any idea that there was any necessity for John the Baptist to come? Where were there any records to that effect? And yet we are told emphatically that John the Baptist was the forerunner of Christ. But the world contend that he filled his mission as the forerunner of Christ in His first coming. I will take the privilege of questioning that, if you please, and will tell you why I do so. By referring to the 40th chapter of Isaiah, we there find these words: “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” It then goes on to say: “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make strait in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low.” Now, when John the Baptist came, did he speak comforting words to Jerusalem? When the Priests and Pharisees—those professedly holy men—came to him to be baptized in Jordan, what did he say to them? “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth fruits meet for repentance, etc.” He was the forerunner of Christ. He declared so himself. The Lord Jesus bore testimony of him. He said: “This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare the way before thee.” Now, it is true that John the Baptist came as the forerunner of Jesus; it is true that he filled his mission so far; but we know very well that the people generally did not receive him, and ultimately they beheaded him. We know that they did not receive Jesus. They crucified Him. Instead of speaking comforting words to Jerusalem, He exclaimed: “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:” Were these comforting words to Jerusalem? I think not. It is very evident that John the Baptist was not only the forerunner of His first coming, but also of His second advent. The Scriptures are plain on this matter. But let us follow the history of the Apostles, and what do we find? Martyrdom for every one of them, John the Revelator alone excepted. What do we find concerning the Saints? Cruel persecution and death, until, in consequence of the awful crime of the shedding of innocent blood, God in His displeasure withdrew the Priesthood from the earth, and left it as it was before the coming of the Messiah, without divine authority. Was this state of things predicted? Most assuredly it was predicted by the Prophets of old. It was foretold by Paul, who declared that after his departure grievous wolves would enter in among the flocks and destroy them. He also beseeches the Thessalonians not to be soon shaken, or troubled, in regard to the day of Christ being at hand. He told them not to be deceived by any means: “for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first.” Has there been a falling away? Why, the prediction is verified by every sect in Christendom, when they calmly tell us that the spiritual gifts of the Gospel have been done away with, and that they are no longer needed. I argue that it is just as necessary to-day—if God is an unchangeable God, if He is the same yesterday, to-day and forever—that we should enjoy the spiritual gifts of the Gospel as in former days, above all the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, the spirit of truth by which I may comprehend the relationship that exists between me as an individual here upon the earth and my Father who is in heaven. By carefully reading the revelations of St. John, you will find the apostasy foretold. You will find the Church represented as a woman surrounded by twelve stars. You will also find the history of the bringing forth of the Priesthood, and of the woman going into the wilderness for a season. You will also find the history of the establishment of the church of Satan—which is likewise represented by a woman sitting upon a scarlet colored beast; she was proclaimed the Mother of Harlots—a church that was to hold dominion over all the nations of the earth. John also saw the restoration of the everlasting Gospel, as proclaimed in Revelations, 14th chapter and 6th verse: “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come; and worship Him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of water.” Now, if the Gospel was upon the earth, there certainly would be no necessity of an angel bringing the Gospel; there would be no necessity for the restoration of any thing that had not been lost. But seeing that this order of government had been lost—this order of Priesthood—this authority which was given unto the ancient Apostles—it was absolutely essential that it should be restored, otherwise, how could the Gospel of the Kingdom be preached in all the world for a witness before the second advent of the Lord Jesus Christ? For Christ Himself declared: “This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Now, is it not tidings of great joy to learn that God has spoken from the heavens; to know that there are men upon the earth who have authority to preach the Gospel; to know that we can receive a remission of our sins, that we can be made clean, and that we can be taught the ways of the Lord, that we may walk in His paths? Is not this tidings of great joy when we think of the confusion and ignorance that exists in the world to-day? To all reasoning men it must be a source of great consolation. I know it is a cause of great joy to me to know that the Apostleship has been restored, to know that these principles are true and faithful; that God is the same yesterday, today and forever, when faith is manifested; that the signs follow the believer according to his faith; and that all who do the will of the Father are most assuredly put in the possession of the knowledge that the principles that were taught by the Messiah and by His Apostles are true. Since I last had the privilege of bearing my testimony from this stand, I have visited the temple of God at St. George, and spent a season there, and I want to bear my testimony to the truth of the doctrine of baptism for the dead. When Paul was arguing with the Corinthians, some of them were foolish enough to contend that there was no resurrection; they had believed, had been baptized, and they had been a certain portion of time in the Church; but their traditions and their lack of understanding caused them to believe that there was no such thing as the resurrection. Paul, in his argument, made use of the following language: “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?” Do you know why the ancient Saints were baptized for the dead, and do you know why Paul used this argument when they were disputing this principle of the resurrection? We do, for God has revealed it. He says: “Why stand we in jeopardy every hour? If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? Let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die.” Now, don’t you think it would have been wise in Paul to have taken the advice that some of our friends pretend to give us? Don’t you think it would have been wise in Paul, when he stood in jeopardy every day, to give up those principles which rendered him so unpopular among the people? The same question is propounded to us to-day. People say, “Give up your religion; it is unpopular; we don’t like it, and we are fifty millions strong. We want you to please do as we do, say as we say, and be as we are.” But in order to make the thing not quite so glaring—not quite so gross an injustice—they say, “Will you please give up your plural marriage and do as we do? If you must have a plurality of women, marry one and keep the others and raise illegitimate children as we do.” That is the English of it. It may be distasteful to tell so much truth in one afternoon; but that is the English of it. I have traveled in a few of the nations of the earth; I have seen some of their finest cities; and I have seen the effects of the workings of what is termed high Christian civilization. But before referring to this allow me to go back a little with regard to the pretensions of Joseph Smith because this is the “Mormon” problem; “it lies in a nutshell.” Joseph Smith was a true Prophet sent of God, or he was not. He held the keys and powers of the Priesthood, or he did not. These he conferred upon other men in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before his death. Now, those upon whom he conferred these keys have the Apostleship, or they have not; they have the authority of God, or they have not; they hold the keys of the Priesthood, or they do not; God our Eternal Father, reveals His mind and will from the heavens to His children in these valleys of the Rocky Mountains, or He does not. We testify He does. Without quoting any more Scripture, let us reason together a little while. Who knew of the necessity of the Aaronic and Melchisedek Priesthood? Joseph Smith had a vision of the Father and the Son. Who ever conceived of the necessity of such a vision? There was an absence of the knowledge of God. The world by wisdom know not God. The being that is worshipped by so-called Christianity, is a being without a body, parts or passions. In order that He might have a testator upon the earth, God revealed Himself, so that we might understand a little concerning the personality of God; as it is written, we are created in His image. Then the Book of Mormon was brought forth. Jesus Christ declared, “other sheep I have, which are not of this fold.” Those “other sheep” had to be visited; and the Book of Mormon gives us a history of Christ’s visit to them—the aborigines of this continent, called the American Indians, but really the descendants of Jacob. We have given unto us within the lids of this book (Book of Mormon) the fullness of the everlasting Gospel. We have the principles of the Gospel laid down in their simplicity—plainer by far than in the Bible, though agreeing with that sacred record. It is in reality the stick of Judah that is contained in the Bible; the stick of Ephraim is contained in the Book of Mormon. Isaiah prophesied concerning the coming forth of this book. In fact the writings of the Prophets are pregnant with predictions concerning the establishment of the Kingdom of God in the latter days. Joseph Smith declared that John the Baptist came and restored the Aaronic Priesthood, and also that Peter, James and John restored the Apostleship, and the keys and powers thereof. Please tell me who it was that put it into the heart of this so called impostor (Joseph Smith) regarding the coming forth of this book? Will you please tell me where he acquired the wisdom to concoct such a record? Who taught Joseph Smith the necessity of the Aaronic and Melchisedek Priesthoods? Who taught Joseph Smith the perfect system of the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Who taught him the necessity of three High Priests presiding over the Church of Christ like unto Peter, James and John? Who taught him the necessity of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and of their powers and duties and the presidency thereof? Who taught him the necessity of the High Priesthood in their presidings? Who taught him the necessity of the Seventies and their organization? Who taught him the necessity of the Elders’ Quorum, the Priests’ Quorum, the Teachers’ Quorum, and the Deacons’ Quorum? Who taught him the organization of the Stakes of Zion with their presidency, their High Council, their Bishops, Teachers, etc? Who taught him the necessity of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost? Who taught him the necessity of holding keys of Priesthood, and that God would reveal principles through this channel that had been hidden from before the foundation of the world? Who taught him of the pre-existence of the spirit of man? Who taught him the philosophy of our probation upon the earth, and the results that would flow from a faithful observance of the principles of righteousness? He declared that Jesus Christ taught him; he declared that all these things were received through the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ to him. When people say that Joseph Smith was an impostor, they make him one of the greatest men that ever lived in view of the religion he founded. Again, who taught him the necessity of marriage for eternity? Who taught him the doctrine of baptism for the dead? Who taught him the principles of the resurrection and eternal judgment, as described in this Book of Doctrine and Covenants? I answer, God the Eternal Father. Now, will you please tell me why the world are so embittered against us as a people? I will tell you. It is upon the same principle that they were embittered against the Messiah. The Messiah came with His bowels filled with compassion and love for the human family. He taught them how to be saved to the uttermost. He taught them exclusive salvation. Joseph Smith was a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, and acted under His instructions. His life and works boldly tell that he was no impostor: He was, indeed and of a truth, a true Prophet of God. He declared the principles of eternal life, and those principles have been carried to the nations of the earth. What has followed the preaching of the Gospel? Judgment, calamity and desolation have come, in many instances, upon those who have rejected it; upon those who have cast us out and spurned the message of life and salvation: for it has been decreed by the Almighty. The hour of His judgment has come. You take this large congregation. If they had the opportunity of testifying, they would declare in words of soberness that God had revealed to them the principles of the Gospel, and that it was for that reason that they left the States, the islands of the sea, the nations of Europe, and came to this country; it was because they received a knowledge that these principles were true. They had been impressed by His Spirit to gather here; it is the gathering of Israel. In doing this they were told by their friends that they were deceived; but I ask any man who has accepted these principles, who has practiced them in solid faith, if he has ever been deceived? Never, no never. God has been true to His word. He has done His part. He has placed us in the possession of a knowledge of these principles. He has brought us home to Zion from the various nations where we were scattered. He has taught us the principles of righteousness through His appointed channel, by His Holy Spirit, and woe be unto us if we harden our hearts and close our ears against the pleadings of the Holy Ghost. We should sanctify ourselves before the Lord, and live holy and pure lives. We are living in the last days. We have no time to trifle. We are in the midst of the judgments of Almighty God. He has declared that desolation should cover the earth, and that He would waste the inhabitants away who would not listen to His voice. How can the Latter-day Saints escape if they neglect so great a salvation? We are called upon to be ministers of righteousness. We are building temples. We have no right in those temples unless we can go in as saviors upon Mount Zion. We never can be upon Mount Zion unless we save ourselves from this untoward generation. We must practice the principles of righteousness. We must give up our follies, our light speeches, our loud laughter and our inhuman feeling with regard to our children—placing them in a position where they are under the dominion of Belial, and under that influence that would wean them from the principles of righteousness. We must repent of our sins. We must listen to the voice of God through His servants. We must sanctify ourselves before Him or we cannot assist Him in the establishment of His righteousness upon the earth. You know this as well as I do. What right have I to require of anybody what I will not do myself. What right have I to expect of anybody what I do not do myself? No, we must save ourselves. We must make our calling and election sure. Who is afraid to die but the sinner? Who is afraid of death but those who have sinned and who dread to meet the consequence of those sins behind the veil? But those who love the principles of righteousness and who practice them know that they have passed from death unto life. They know that they are redeemed through the precious blood of the Redeemer. When they pass into the spirit world it is not in blindness. They know that they are going into the presence of the Lamb, and the Church of the First Born. They know that they belong to that Church, and they also know whether they have kept their garments clean or not. Have we any occasion to fear the people? Have we any occasion to fear nations? Do we fear when we go forth in their midst, traveling one or two at a time in the midst of our enemies with threatenings on every hand? Do we fear under those circumstances? No; and if we can trust ourselves in the hands of God, under those conditions, I think we can trust Him to-day. And as far as I am concerned as an individual, not one principle that God has revealed from the heavens do I dare to go back on—not one principle. I believe in the fullness of the everlasting Gospel. I believe in plural marriage as a part of the Gospel, just as much as I believe in baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. The same Being who taught me baptism for the remission of sins, taught me plural marriage, and its necessity and glory. Can I afford to give up a single principle? I can not. If I had to give up one principle I would have to give up my religion. If I gave up the first principle of the revelations of the Lord, I would prove before my brethren, before the angels, before God the Eternal Father, that I was unworthy the exaltation that He has promised me. I do not know how you feel; but I do not fear the face of man as I fear the face of God. I fear lest when I go behind the veil and have to meet my progenitors, that I should meet them as a traitor, as a man who had not the backbone to stand by the principles of righteousness for fear of my life; or for fear of some calamity that might come upon me. How would they look upon me? How we would be condemned if we dared suggest such a thing as to say that we would give up the first principle of eternal truth! I bear my solemn testimony that plural marriage is as true as any principle that has been revealed from the heavens. I bear my testimony that it is a necessity, and that the Church of Christ in its fullness never existed without it. Where you have the eternity of marriage you are bound to have plural marriage; bound to; and it is one of the marks of the Church of Jesus Christ in its sealing ordinances. “Whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven.” We know how sensitive the Prophet Joseph was to introduce this principle. He knew the feeling that was against it. It had been taught from the days of heathen Rome down to the present time that a man should have but one wife, which has resulted in the prostitution of many of the fair daughters of Eve as mistresses. Here we have too much love for women to see them trampled in the dust. Here we have too much respect for unborn spirits to have them come into the world branded as bastards, illegitimate, in shame, without knowing their fathers. The children we have are legitimate. They are our own. We honor them and our wives. Our children are given unto us of God, for our wives are given to us of God. We never should have thought of practicing this principle if God had not revealed it from the heavens and commanded it, and we must stand by it and by every principle that He has revealed. It is more than I dare, to go back on that principle or any other principle; and I have besought the Lord with all my heart that He would give me strength according to my day that I might never fail in my integrity, but that I might stand firm as the pillars of heaven to the truths that He has revealed for the redemption of the human family. I understand my own weaknesses; I understand my own insufficiency; but my trust is in the living and true God. And I have a testimony that for over thirty years He has sustained me through some very crooked and tight places by His Almighty power. He has stood by me, been my friend; and so far my testimony and my love for the principles of righteousness are as deep and earnest as my first love, and more so; for I have witnessed His loving kindness in the sealing powers and bonds of the everlasting covenant; I have been privileged to see the magnificent manner in which He has provided for His children, in placing them in a position that they may become like unto Him—eternal, without end of years. That God may give us grace to stand true and faithful to our covenants, and endure to the end, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Testimonies of the Servants of God, etc.

George Q. Cannon

Discourse by President Geo. Q. Cannon, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, January 6th, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

Testimonies of the servants of God, which we hear so frequently from this stand, ought to make an impression upon the minds of those who hear them—they ought to have weight, for the reason that those who bear them declare in solemnity, in the presence of God, that they know that which they testify is true; and when a man, or any number of men, arise in the presence of their fellow men, and declare in words of truth and soberness, that certain things are true, that they know them to be true, that they are willing to bear testimony of them before God and the people, and to suffer all things for their truth, even to death itself, it should make an impression upon the human mind, and inspire those who hear these testimonies with a disposition to at least investigate and withhold their condemnation. Because, unless a man knows something to the contrary, unless he has had a testimony that these things are false, he is not justified in condemning them. There is only one way in which they can be fairly condemned, and that is by proving their falsity, by obtaining knowledge that is directly in contradiction to that which is borne testimony to. In this consists the condemnation of the inhabitants of the earth at the present time, as it has consisted in every age when God has had a work to do upon the earth. Certain men have gone forward in the midst of their fellow men, and in solemnity and in truth have testified that God has spoken, that God has given revelations, that God is doing a certain work in the earth of which they are the witnesses. They know this, they say, for themselves and bear testimony of it, and exhort their fellow men to seek for knowledge in the same manner in which they have sought for it, with an assurance that if they do so they will obtain knowledge. Now, notwithstanding men have done this, the world, without pretending to have any counter demonstration or testimony, without being able to disprove by the same sort of evidence, condemn wholesale, without discrimination or hesitation those testimonies and declare them to be false, and assert that the men who bear them are either deceived themselves or are striving to deceive somebody else.

I do not think this is fair. It never was fair. It is not a proper method of dealing with affairs of this character; because if there is a God, and one man says he has had communication with Him, and another, who believes also, or professes to believe in God, denies that the first has had any such communication, and yet does not pretend that God told him any such thing, does not pretend to have had any communication from God—the contradiction of the one is not equal to the affirmation of the other. It is the height of presumption for a man who professes to believe in God, to rise up and at his own instance and of his own will, because he chooses to take that view of God, and of God’s method of dealing with man, and declare that the testimony of the man who says he has had revelation from God is false. Why, anyone at a glance can see that it is an improper way to deal with the subject. If he does not have revelation himself from God, he should, at least, be modest in contradicting the testimony of others who declare that they have had revelation from Him. The whole religious world in Christendom profess to believe in God. They declare that God lives and are continually preaching to the people a belief in Him, a belief in Jesus, saying that Jesus is the Son of God, that He lived upon the earth in the flesh, that He has gone to the Father, and that they are His ministers, having power to do certain things in His name, and to teach His doctrines. They say to the people who do not listen to them: “You will be visited with the most terrible judgments if you do not believe what we say; you will go to hell, and you will burn there throughout the countless ages of eternity, if you do not believe what we tell you.” Now, when men go to their fellow men and make such statements as these, and assume such prerogatives and powers as these, and say that their fellow men will be condemned by wholesale to eternal hell for not listening to them, they certainly ought to have some method of communicating with the Being they represent, and whose ministers they profess to be, and they ought to know more than other men—more than common men at least—about the Being who, they say, sends them as His ministers. But what are the facts? Here is Brother Woodruff, who for the last half century has been testifying, as he has this afternoon in your hearing, with all the energy of his soul—for he has been a very zealous man all his days—he has been testifying to all people to whom he could get access, that God has spoken from the heavens and restored the plan of salvation in its ancient purity, and the Church as it was organized upon the earth in the days of Jesus, with the plentitude of its gifts and powers and graces, and that this condition of things now exists upon the earth, and that he is a living witness of it; that God has really revealed this to him, so that he has become a witness through revelation from God, of its truth. He has declared this. Hundreds have made a similar declaration, and hundreds are still testifying concerning these things to the inhabitants of the earth. But Christendom through some of its principal representatives says: “We don’t believe a word you say. We don’t believe God has spoken to you. We don’t believe God has given you any authority. We don’t believe your doctrine to be from God. We don’t believe that the church you have organized, and that you declare is the Church of Christ, is the Church of Christ; and so confident are we of this that we believe that it would be justifiable for you to be killed as a lot of impostors and dangerous men, and you ought to be broken up. If it should be necessary to do this, and it cannot be done any other way, we would be willing to have armies resort to violence and have bloodshed, rather than such a dreadful heresy and such a wicked system should be perpetuated on the earth.”

You turn to them— to these men who profess to have the fate of their fellow beings in their hands, whose efforts, as they state, will send millions to heaven and millions to hell—you ask these men who profess to have such awful powers as this—“By what authority do you make these statements? Has God given you any testimony that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not the true Church? Has God told you anything about it?”

“Oh, no,” they will say, “God has not spoken to us. We do not believe He talks to anybody. We believe he has stopped all communication with man; that no living man has heard His voice, or knows anything about His mind and will.”

Now, this is their testimony. You cannot get any of them—at least I have not, and I speak so far as my own personal knowledge goes—to declare that God has revealed to them either by the spirit of prophecy or by the manifestations of the Holy Ghost, that the doctrines taught by the “Mormon” people are false, or that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not of God, and yet, notwithstanding this, they take the course that I now describe. Here on one side is knowledge—at least it purports to be knowledge. Here are men who say they have actually received revelations from God; that God has poured out the Holy Ghost upon men and women; that Jesus has actually visited the earth in person, and been seen by living men; and that angels have been seen and conversed with by living men. They state this in all solemnity and in all truth, and as a test of the sincerity of their statements, they say to their fellow men: “If you will take a certain course that God has pointed out, and that we are authorized to designate; if you will take this certain course, you shall know also of the truth of our testimony. We do not make these statements expecting you to receive them simply because we make them; but we say to you, if you will take this course, if you will accept the conditions which God has prescribed and comply with them in sincerity and humility, you shall receive these blessings and this testimony for yourselves, and you then will be numbered as witnesses with us.”

What can be fairer than this? And this is the course that the servants of God have always taken with mankind, and hence, as I have said, the condemnation of the inhabitants of the earth, because they will not receive that testimony. They abuse the Church of Christ without having reason or foundation for doing so; they abuse it without having any evidence that is at all tangible or that can be relied upon; they have nothing more than their personal feelings, personal prejudice, and their personal tradition—that which they have inherited from their fathers—upon which to base their opposition.

Now, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been built up in this manner. Its strength consists in this peculiarity: that those who have embraced it as a rule—there may be exceptions—have taken the course which has been taught by the servants of God, and the result is that legions of witnesses have been raised up. It is not confined to one; it is not confined to the original few; but this testimony has extended itself, until it has brought within its fold men and women of almost every race; for it is not confined, happily, to sex no more than it is to nationality, but it is extended unto men of every race, and unto women of every race, and all these rise up as an army of witnesses, unanimously bearing testimony of the same great truths, declaring that it is not from their fathers, it is not from tradition, it is not from their teachers, it is not from any human source that they have derived their knowledge; but that God Himself, by His invisible power, by His superhuman power, by the outpouring of the Holy Ghost upon them, has borne testimony to them, so that they are thoroughly convinced and have a knowledge as strong as the knowledge that they themselves live, that this is the work of God, that He has established it, and that He will roll it forth and cause it to accomplish all that He has said it would. It is in this peculiarity that the strength of the people consists. If it was not for this we should be as weak as a rope of sand; there would be no cohesiveness or strength about us. But with this there is a power that makes hell tremble. It makes the Devil mad. It makes every man that is afraid of the truth angry in his spirit because of that which he sees. If men were not afraid of truth there would be no fear connected with this work. What is there about it to create fear? What is there in its manifestations, in its fruits, and in its operations upon the minds of the children of men to cause any man who loves truth to have any dread concerning it? Nothing whatever. It is beneficent in its operations. It elevates men and women; it makes them better, purer, more God-like, more orderly. It bestows blessings—this system does—upon all who espouse it, and all who come within the range of its influence. And this has been its characteristic ever since its organization until to-day. You know it, each of you who have espoused it. You know its effects upon you. You know it has made you better men. You know it has made you men of purer lives, of loftier desires, of more God-like aspirations. You all know this. Every man, every woman, and every child connected with this work is a witness of the truth of this. If it has this effect upon you, will it not have the same effect upon every human being who comes within the range of its influence and who bows in submission to its requirements? Certainly it will. There is no human being, however low, that it will not elevate, if he will obey it. It is the power and lever, so to speak, by which humanity will be elevated to the presence of God our Eternal Father, for the very reason that the exaltation which God has attained to, has been through obedience to these self-same laws that are now taught to us. That which obeyeth law is preserved and sanctified by law. The people who obey law will be exalted by law; they will be preserved by it, they will be sanctified by it; and that is the effect of the teaching of the Gospel upon the Latter-day Saints.

While Brother Woodruff was talking, I thought what an immense labor it is to endeavor to accomplish that which the Prophets have told us will be brought to pass in the last days. I look at this people so comparatively few in numbers, and at the immense work that is to be accomplished, and it seems an herculean, an impossible labor to the natural vision. It seems as if no human beings could accomplish it. But God has spoken concerning this work. His word has gone forth, and it cannot fail. This work will be accomplished, and it will be accomplished by the operation of truth. As Brother Woodruff has said, there is a power connected with truth, that when brought to bear upon human beings, has the effect that he has described, and has the effect that the Prophets have predicted concerning the last days. There will be a power exercised in our behalf, increasing as we are prepared to receive it; for this people with all their weaknesses, and they are many, are nevertheless drawing nearer and nearer to God every day, and faith is increasing in their midst. A generation of boys and girls are growing up who will have greater faith than their predecessors, their parents, have had, and the work will continue to grow and spread. And there is this to be taken into consideration, God having predicted the ushering in of the last dispensation, knowing the odds that would have to be contended with in establishing it: God knowing this has reserved in the heavens to come forth at this time the noblest of His spirits, the men and women most capable of carrying out this work, and achieving the grand results the Prophets have predicted should be accomplished in the day and generation, preparatory to the coming of the Son of Man. God knowing this, in His wisdom and foreknowledge has prepared the way beforehand, and there will be men and women brought forth who will carry off this work in the way He designs. Step by step, the adversary of God, that is the adversary of all truth, will have to recede. The struggle is between Satan and God. The struggle is for the supremacy of this earth, and you may depend upon it, it will not be given up without a mighty wrestle. The adversary has wielded this power now for nearly 2,000 years—1,400 years and upwards on this continent. For this period he has held undisturbed sway, it may be said—that is, if not entirely true it is nearly true in saying it has been undisturbed. There have occasionally some persons arisen who have endeavored to stem the tide of wickedness that the devil has caused to flow over the earth; but there has been no Priesthood on the earth, no organized church, no organized power, through whom God could operate, and you may depend upon it, now that there is one, there will be a mighty struggle. It will cost the best efforts of which we are capable, to lay the foundation so successfully that it shall not be overturned, to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every kind of opposition will be brought against this work. There is nothing that you can conceive of that will be kept back, and it will come upon us as fast as we are able to bear it. It is only the power of God that restrains our enemies from overwhelming us. If it were not that God has said this shall not be, and has told us that He will establish this work never more to be thrown down, we would not be able to stand. But victory will perch upon our banners, and will do so until the end. But it will not be without a mighty warfare, the hostility against this work will be continuous. No man need calculate on anything else. Why, just think of the results that are to be wrought out. Just think of what depends upon our labors and upon this contest? We have been gathering the people from Babylon through the power of God to build up a Zion here. But see the results that attend our labors in this city and in this Territory. It seems as though all hell is endeavoring to defeat our object, and to defeat the cause of God in gathering the people out from the nations of the earth. The adversary has said:

“You shall not have a pure people; you shall not build up Zion; I will bring all my forces to bear against this; I will destroy the work of God; I will not allow the Priesthood of God to remain on the earth; I will kill them off, or I will do everything in my power to cripple them.”

Thus he brings every kind of influence to bear against this people. We would have a pure people here; we would have a Zion such as the Bible describes, if we were allowed; we would have a city in which angels might walk in the streets all day, if we could have our way; but Satan says: “You shall not. I will bring every power and influence to bear against you. I will besmear you in every way I can, and will make you so hateful in the eyes of all people, that they will come up against and destroy you. You shall not build up Zion, if I can prevent it.”

And you see the result. Every power that is conceivable is brought to bear against us. We are maligned. We are represented as everything that is vile. Men think that in killing us they will be doing God service; not because of our wickedness, but because they believe we are wicked, because the adversary has had such power through falsehood and misrepresentation, that men believe that they will be doing God service in exterminating us from the face of the earth. And what is it that restrains the efforts of our enemies? It is the power of God only. We should be overwhelmed if it were not for this invisible agency—invisible to us. There are legions of angels around us. Their power is exerted in our behalf, and the results we can see in the deliverances which are wrought out so miraculously for our good. It is a cause of amazement how we are delivered from time to time, so few in numbers, and so hated as we are. Our friends are filled with astonishment. Every few days, every few weeks, or every few months, they think that something is going to occur, that will cause our destruction—I mean friends who have not the faith and the knowledge that we have. But this work of our God will go forth, despite all the opposition that will be brought against it. It will win, because it is true. As we have been told by Brother Woodruff, the eternal principles of truth are on the earth now in an organized form, and you cannot kill them unless you kill the people themselves. There is no way to stop this work, except by the extirpation of the “Mormons,” or Latter-day Saints, root and branch! No other method can destroy them but that, and God will not permit it. His Priesthood is on the earth, and it will remain on the earth. You may kill off a few, still the Priesthood will remain, and it will exercise power in the earth. It will unite the people, and the power of God will attend its administration in the midst of the people. The honest will receive the Holy Ghost, they will have a knowledge of this work for themselves, and they will be ready to endure all the consequences that may attend the espousal of the truth, just as their predecessors have done in times that are past and in our own age. God will bless us if we seek to do His will. Remember, my brethren and sisters, that that which obeys law is preserved and sanctified by law. If you want to escape evils, obey the law that God has revealed. Keep His commandments. There is safety in this. It is a great work we are engaged in. The desire I have for every man and woman of this Church is, that they may be true, and that their children may live to be true to God in days to come; for we are laying the foundation of a work that shall stand undisturbed for one thousand years. Then, in the purposes of God, Satan will be loosed again for a little season, but it will only be for a little while. We are engaged in laying the foundations of that work. It is the most glorious work that could be committed to man. Angels delight in it, and we have the precious privilege of taking part in it. We have difficulties to contend with, but let them come. We will meet them, and what is better still, we will overcome them through God’s help, and our children will enjoy the blessings of liberty. I trust and pray that of this people who have fought so valiantly, and whose desires for the success of God’s Kingdom are so pure, there will be found men and women of their descent, who so long as time shall last, shall stand up possessed of the Holy Priesthood in the presence of God, to magnify it. This is my desire for myself, it is my desire for my family, it is my desire for my brethren and sisters throughout the Kingdom of God; and that God may grant that we may be exalted in His presence when our work is done, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Near Coming of Christ, etc.

Erastus Snow

Discourse by Apostle Erastus Snow, delivered in the Tabernacle, Logan, Saturday afternoon, February 2nd, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

I am asked to speak, but I feel in attempting to do so that my speech will be barren unless the Lord is pleased to inspire my mind by the Holy Spirit. I know there is faith in the hearts of the people and the Lord is able to give words of edification and comfort. I am not, however, impressed with anything in particular, in the way of doctrine, to speak to my brethren and sisters; I have only a feeling to exhort in general terms.

The Latter-day Saints realize as I do that every year brings us nearer to the coming of our Lord; that every month and week and day that passes over our heads, brings us nearer to the great and important events that must transpire, and that it does not become us to give way to a feeling of apathy and indifference, and to say in our hearts, “The Lord delayeth His coming,” and that to-morrow will be as this day and much more abundant, and that the next generation will be like the present, and as the world has continued to roll on, as generations have come and generations have gone, so will it be with us and our children. I say it does not become us to give way to these sentiments and feelings which are common with unbelievers, with the world, or with the unenlightened, who have not a knowledge of God, who have not been favored with the light of revelation, who have not discerned the signs of the times; for we are not the children of darkness, but the children of light. Light has come unto us. We have been called out of darkness unto light. We have been translated from the kingdom of darkness unto the kingdom of God’s dear Son, and therefore it may and ought to be said of us as Saint Paul said concerning the Saints: “Ye, brethren are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.” It is written and we expect it to be fulfilled upon the heads of the unbelieving and the wicked, that the Lord will overtake them as a thief in the night. “In such an hour,” said the Savior, “as ye think not, the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, that he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But, and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, my lord delayeth his coming, and shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.” Now, it is not impossible, nor yet improbable, that there will be some among the Latter-day Saints who are called of God and appointed to this work, and who are set over their fellow-servants to give them meat in due season, who will be found negligent, who will have forgotten their high and holy calling, who will have laid off their armor of righteousness, who will have become slothful and weary in well doing, and who will have taken to eating and drinking with the drunken and smiting their fellow-servants; but as surely as any such are found among the servants of God, they will be overtaken when the day of the Lord cometh, and their portion will be appointed with hypocrites and unbelievers. But we hope better things of the Elders of Israel, of Presidents of Stakes, of Bishops, of High Counselors, of High Priests, of Seventies, of Priests, Teachers and Deacons, and of all the Latter-day Saints; for we have all been made partakers of this Priesthood, and the blessings of the Lord, directly or indirectly, have been conferred upon us.

The work before us is a great one, and very much remaineth to be accomplished according to the prophecies—Israel is to be gathered, Jerusalem rebuilt, Zion established, the vineyard of the Lord pruned and the corrupt branches cut off and cast into the fire, while the good branches shall be grafted in and partake of the root and fatness of the tame olive tree. There is a great work to be accomplished in the earth. But the Lord has said by the mouth of His servants that He will cut His work short in righteousness in building up His Kingdom in the latter-days. True, when the Lord speaketh He does not reckon time as we do. The time was, in the infancy of this Church, when our minds were so narrow compared to what they are now, that we looked for the speedy coming of our Lord, and the accomplishment of His great work before this time. But as our minds grew, and our ideas enlarged, we began to perceive that we were only children in our views and feelings, our ideas and expectations. We had the views, ideas and expectations of children; and we see how the Lord has enlarged Israel and expanded His work; and now we behold so much more to be accomplished than what has been accomplished, that we are apt in our minds to put off the day of the Lord a great way. The time was that we looked for one temple. The early revelations given to the Latter-day Saints predicted a temple in Zion, and Zion in our minds at that time was a little place on the Missouri River in Jackson County, Western Missouri—a town and a few surrounding villages, or a country, peradventure it may be as large as a county. When we first heard the fullness of the Gospel preached by the first Elders, and read the revelations given through the Prophet Joseph Smith, our ideas of Zion were very limited. But as our minds began to grow and expand, why we began to look upon Zion as a great people, and the Stakes of Zion as numerous, and the area of the country to be inhabited by the people of Zion as this great American continent, or at least such portions of it as the Lord should consecrate for the gathering of His people. We ceased to set bounds to Zion and her Stakes. We began also to cease to think about a single temple in one certain place. Seeing the different Stakes of Zion that were being organized we perceived the idea, possibly, of as many temples. Having had one spot pointed out in the revelations for the temple in Jackson County, our minds expanded so that in a short time we were building another temple in a Stake of Zion in Kirtland, Ohio. A little while afterwards we were laying the foundation of a temple in Far West Missouri, and driven before our enemies; from that place we next laid the foundation and built up a temple unto the Lord in Nauvoo. When we located in the mountains and laid the foundation of a temple in Salt Lake City, who of us had an idea that before it should be completed we would be administering in a temple in St. George, and another in Logan, and another in Manti, and who conceives the idea to-day, that by the time these are completed and the Saints have officiated in them, we will be scattered over the American continent, building temples in a hundred other places? All this comes within the range of possibility nay, probability, almost amounting to certainty. One of my brethren behind me here, who understands these things, and who can speak knowingly in regard to them, says, that we may put it down as a certainty, that by and by, there will be hundreds of these temples throughout the land. Our minds are beginning to comprehend the object and purpose of the temples of our God. We realize that they are places where the Lord bestows the keys of life and salvation pertaining to the everlasting Priesthood, and opens the door of redemption and salvation unto our dead. We begin to comprehend a little of the vision shown to Ezekiel, as recorded in the 37th chapter of his book. Ezekiel, while under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord, was set down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones. He explored the valley, saw there were very many bones, and, lo, they were very dry. The Lord commanded him to prophesy concerning them, and he prophesied, saying: “O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: and I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. * * * And the breath came unto them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Then He said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dry, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.” Now, these were not the prophets and saints and righteous dead who had been partakers of the blessings of the Gospel and of the Priesthood, while in the flesh, but were those who had passed off in a day of darkness, and in their lost condition said to one another, and said in their hearts, “Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.” But lo! the plan of salvation for the dead is revealed. The scheme which the Father had provided for the redemption of those whose hope was lost, and who were cut off is revealed unto their children, unto those who have been gathered from their long dispersion, and who have received the keys of the Holy Priesthood, which bringeth life and salvation to the dead as well as to the living. Having these keys committed unto us, we proceed to establish Zion; to build up her Stakes; to build her temples; to gather together those who purify themselves before the Lord, and qualify and fit themselves to become saviors upon Mount Zion, by entering into holy places and officiating for themselves and their dead, thus laying the foundation for the redemption of the dead in being baptized for them, in being ordained for them, in being blessed and endowed for them, in receiving the keys and the key-words for them, that in the day when the Elders who have passed behind the veil shall preach to them the Gospel of glad tidings of great joy, lo and behold! they will receive it and will be put in possession of those keys, endowments and blessings, whereby they may be freed from their prison houses, and be raised from the dead, and stand upon their feet an exceeding great army, and be restored to the blessings which God promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and their seed after them.

Now, this is the work before us, and I want to ask my brethren, the Elders of Israel, how long shall we be in accomplishing this work? Can I tell you? No, it is not given me to know. It is sufficient for us to know that the time has come for the work to be done: that the Lord has turned the key and opened the door; that it is an effectual door which no man can shut—the door of life and salvation. Hence it is our duty to step forward and magnify the calling whereunto God has called us. Send out the young men of Israel; send out the middle aged send out those who have not as yet cleared their garments of the blood of this generation to call the children of men to repentance, and to see how many will engage with us in this great work of salvation, and become saviors upon Mount Zion. But this preaching the Gospel to the outside world is a small part of the work. It is but the ABC of the lesson to be learned and the work to be accomplished. How long, I ask, shall we be in accomplishing this work? It is not, as I have said, given to me to know; but I can tell you in general terms. As long as there is one soul (of all the sons and daughters of Adam that have been born on this earth) that has not had an opportunity of receiving and obeying the Gospel; as long as there is one soul that is in a condition to be saved and that can be reached by this plan of salvation, so long will the Latter-day Saints be engaged in this work. But what I was going to bring before your minds was this: Shall we expect that the Lord Jesus is going to delay His coming in the midst of His people, until all this great work shall have been accomplished? By no means. I do not understand that He has ever intimated anything of this kind. Nor need we wait in our faith and in our expectations till all these great and glorious things shall have been accomplished on the earth before the Prophet Joseph Smith shall come unto us again. He has merely taken another mission in advance of us. He fulfilled the mission given unto him on earth. The Lord was satisfied with his labors here. He lived long enough to endow his brethren with full authority to carry on the work that he had begun on the earth. He took his departure behind the veil. The Lord suffered his enemies to destroy him in the flesh, to take away his life, and he was made an offering—what shall I say? an offering for sin. Not in the sense in which the Savior was offered, but he was made a martyr for the truth and his blood was shed to attest the testimony that he bore to the world. He entered upon another short mission. Where? Why, unto his brethren of the house of Israel, and as many of the Gentiles as will receive his testimony, behind the veil The mission of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, between his death and resurrection was a similar mission, but a very short one. It lasted only three days. While his body lay in the tomb his spirit visited the spirits in prison, turned the key and opened the door of their prison house, and offered unto them the Gospel of salvation. How many of them were prepared to avail themselves of it at that time? Comparatively few. But he opened the door and offered the message of life and salvation, and having done this, His fellow laborers—the Seventies, Elders and others whom He ordained to the ministry—as fast as they finished their ministry in the flesh—continued their work among the spirits in prison. So is the Prophet Joseph Smith officiating and ministering to those spirits, and so are all His brethren, the Apostles, who have gone in his wake, who have followed, as it were, in his track. They have just gone behind the veil. Who shall we say? Let us call to mind a few of the brethren who have passed away—Brother David Patten (the first of the Apostles who was slain), Parley P. Pratt, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, Brigham Young, Orson Pratt, Charles C. Rich, and others of the Apostles; also Patriarchs Father Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith; Elders Samuel H. Smith, Don Carlos Smith—all the first Elders of this Church and the Presidents of all the early quorums, and a vast company of the members of their quorums. All these and many more are laboring in the spirit world preparing the spirits thereof to receive the benefits and blessings which are now about to be offered to them in the temples of God. In other words, “a ticket of leave” is about to be sent to them to the effect that their friends on the earth have officiated in their behalf, have complied with the ordinances which are appointed for their redemption, which will enable them to advance into a higher sphere, to walk upon a higher plane, to enter a higher class where they can be further instructed and prepared for a glorious resurrection. And as fast as this work is accomplished—and it is nigh at hand, it is now even at our doors—there will be another step made in advance; there will be another mission undertaken. The next mission will be to come and prepare the way in Zion, and in her Stakes, and in the temples of our God for turning the key of the resurrection of the dead, to bring forth those that are asleep, and to exalt them among the Gods. And who will be first and foremost? Why, he whom God has chosen and placed first and foremost to hold the keys of this last dispensation. How long will it be? It is not given tome to say the month, the day, or the hour; but it is given unto me to say that that time is nigh at hand. The time is drawing near (much nearer than scarcely any of us can now comprehend) when Joseph will be clothed upon with immortality, when his brother Hyrum will be clothed upon with immortality, when the martyrs will be raised from the dead, together with their faithful brethren who have performed a good mission in the spirit world—they, too, will be called to assist in the work of the glorious resurrection. The Lord Jesus, who was the first fruits of the dead, the first fruit of them that sleep, and who holds the keys of the resurrection, will bring to pass the resurrection of the Prophet Joseph and his brethren, and will set them to work in bringing about the resurrection of their brethren as He has set them to work in all the other branches of the labor from the beginning. And the Lord Jesus will appear and show Himself unto His servants in His temple in holy places, to counsel and instruct and direct. He will appear in the glory of His Father, in His resurrected body, among those who can endure His presence and glory. And all this I expect long before He will waste away and destroy the wicked from off the face of the earth. True, we have, in our limited understandings, perhaps imagined, many of us, that this glorious resurrection was to come upon us, and upon the whole world suddenly, like the rising of the sun. But you must remember the sun does not rise the same hour and the same moment upon all the earth. It is twenty-four hours in rising and twenty-four hours in setting. So with the resurrection. There is a day appointed for the resurrection of the righteous. And it is sealed upon the heads of many that if they are faithful and true, they shall come forth “in the morning of the first resurrection;” but the morning lasts from the first hour of the day until mid-day, and the day lasts till night; and the rest of the dead—those who are not prepared or counted worthy to have part in the first resurrection—shall not live again until the thousand years are ended. In other words, the first resurrection will have been ended, and another period appointed for the resurrection of the rest of the dead. But this “morning of the first resurrection” is nigh at hand, and blessed are those who, through their faithfulness, shall be counted worthy to have part in it; for they shall be crowned kings and priests with God and the Lamb—they shall reign with Christ and in the midst of His people, and carry on the work of the redemption and resurrection of the Saints of God. And while in some parts of the world the Elders of Israel are preaching the Gospel unto the heathen nations who have not been ripened for destruction, but whose kings and mighty men have perished, and whose governments have been broken in pieces and wasted away, and the government of the Kingdom of God has been extended over them; while this is going on in some portions of the world, in other places, even in Zion and in her Stakes and in Jerusalem, the children of God will be engaged in the redemption of their dead in the temples of our God, and in the resurrection of those that are counted worthy of so great a salvation.

Then, I say, we need not put off the day of the Lord so far from us. Rather let us prepare ourselves for it; for lo and behold! He cometh quickly, and blessed are they who are prepared to receive Him; for they shall enter into His rest and be crowned with glory, and shall labor with Him and with the Prophet Joseph and his brethren in bringing to pass this great salvation and redemption of our God.

May God help us to continue faithful, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Present Revelation, etc.

Erastus Snow

Remarks by Elder Erastus Snow, delivered at the General Conference, Friday afternoon, October 5th, 1883. Reported by John Irvine.

I am grateful for the opportunity of meeting in Conference once more with the Latter-day Saints, and for the health and strength given me to continue my labors among the people, and for this same blessing of health which is enjoyed by my brethren. I am thankful, too, that the Lord has raised up young men to bear off the Kingdom and help carry the burdens of the people. It is also a source of satisfaction that He has spoken and given instructions through His servant pertaining to the Seventies, to more fully organize and set in order the quorums of the Priesthood, the Seventies being more especially called as assistants to the Twelve Apostles, in the work of the ministry. And it is desirable that the revelation upon the subject should be fully carried out, the Priesthood in its various departments fully organized, and every thing set in order according to the word and mind of the Lord; that every quorum of the Priesthood, general and local, might be in good working order. For it devolves upon the quorums of the Melchisedek Priesthood to carry the Gospel to the nations, and to gather those that accept it. This work is great, the field is wide, and the word of the Lord unto us, His servants, is to thrust in our sickles and reap, and gather the harvest of the earth. And here let me say, the Lord has sent His angels to superintend the work. The angel spoken of by John the Revelator, has flown with the everlasting Gospel to preach to those that dwell upon the earth; and it is given unto us that we should proclaim it to all nations, to every people under heaven, the decree having gone forth that this Gospel of the Kingdom should be preached to all nations, and then the end should come.

Many years have elapsed since this message began to be communicated to the sons of men; and we have become, comparatively speaking, a great people. A little one has indeed become a thousand. We, who a few years ago were only numbered by units and tens, now are numbered by thousands and tens of thousands, yea hundreds of thousands. And the Priesthood is correspondingly increasing in numbers and in ability to labor, and acquiring means to carry on the work of preaching the Gospel and of gathering Israel. The labor before us is not diminishing; it is extending on every hand, and the Lord desires to see the Elders of Israel in their various quorums and organizations interested, earnest and alive to their calling, anxious to perform well and faithfully the duties assigned them.

The Spirit of the Lord prompts from time to time the calling and setting apart of men to the work of the ministry, and sending them to different portions of the globe. And inasmuch as people feel earnest and anxious to do good, to use the means that God blesses them with in doing good, in sending the Gospel to the nations, and in gathering the elect of God—and as this feeling prevails and increases among the people generally—the Seventies and Elders, when they feel this spirit moving upon them, should not wait, supinely rest upon their oars, but be ready to act. And here permit me to say that that feeling which has to some extent prevailed with some in time past, that when men are named, either in Conference, or otherwise called on missions, to indulge in such remarks as this—“I wonder what he has been doing that he should be sent upon a mission;”—such a spirit should not exist in the minds of Latter-day Saints, as it is entirely foreign to those who call men to the ministry. Such a feeling is not worthy a man called to preach the Gospel of the Son of God. The qualifications of Elders that are sought after, and that should recommend a minister of the Gospel, should be an earnest; desire to do good, a willingness to serve, a desire to know what the Lord has for him to do, and a readiness to at once engage in the undertaking, using himself and his means, if blessed with means, his talents or gifts bestowed upon him by the Lord, with an eye single to His honor and glory. And men who are at home, ought to show forth these qualities in their daily lives and conduct, by attending their quorum meetings and their ward meetings, and their general Priesthood meetings, and by improving every opportunity to learn their duty, and to improve themselves in their daily lives; by being prompt in paying their tithing and in bringing forth their offerings for the poor, and their contributions for the building of Temples. It may not be those who are loudest in their professions, but those actually pursuing this course of life. These are the men that will be useful on the earth, and whom the Lord will delight to own and bless in their labors in the ministry. And it is desirable, that in the various Stakes of Zion, where quorums are organized, that the Presidents of Stakes should encourage those quorums, and the presiding officers of the various quorums should endeavor to gather together all who have received the Priesthood, and see that they are enrolled in their respective quorums, and encourage them to attend their quorum meetings, and there seek for the counsels of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit that should rest upon the presiding officers of quorums to teach the members of the quorums all things pertaining to their duties, and how to become fitted for the labors whereunto God has called them. For all these quorums and organizations are so many classes for mutual improvement, edification and instruction; and the Presidents thereof are appointed and ordained to instruct the members of their quorums in all things in the line of their duty. And they should be encouraged by the Presidents of Stakes in their Quarterly Conferences to report progress and attendance of members, and the progress they are making in their qualifications. The Elders should thus be sought after; and according to the spirit they manifest in attending to their duties and qualifying themselves for the work of the ministry, they should be called into the field, whether from the Seventies or the Elders or the High Priests, the High Priests, however, being more especially expected to take the responsibility of presiding in Branches, in Stakes, in Wards, as Presidents of Stakes, as High Counselors, as Bishops, or Bishop’s Counselors, as Presiding Elders in the Conferences of the churches abroad. And the time is not far distant when the Elders of Israel will be required to turn their attention and labors among the branches of the house of Israel; and especially among the remnants of Joseph, upon this American Continent.

I am pleased to be able to testify, from my travels among the people, in attending Stake Conferences and Priesthood meetings, and hearing their reports from time to time, that there is a steady improvement in the feelings of the people. This was the testimony of Brother David P. Kimball, this morning, when he said, that he could perceive a decided improvement in the faith of the Latter-day Saints during the six years of his absence. I think this is especially visible to all those who are moving and acting among the people, they being the best able to judge of their true condition. This is a source of gratitude and thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father. I will not say of self-congratulation; for although we have reason for thanksgiving for the mercies and the blessings we have received, yet there are many things still to be done, very many improvements to be made, many weaknesses to be overcome, and very much yet to be done to instruct the people that they may be sanctified and prepared to endure the presence of the Lord, when he shall come; and to enable them to withstand the shocks of the enemy, that will be directed against them. Much remains to be done by the people in putting away evils that still exist in our midst; and very much needs to be done in the various. Wards and Stakes throughout all the settlements of the Saints by the local Priesthood. I don’t merely mean the Presidents of Stakes, the Bishops, the High Counselors, and the lesser Priesthood appointed to assist the Bishops—however important their labors may be and however necessary it may be that they should be alive and active; but they should also have the support of all High Priests, Seventies and Elders in their Wards. And every officer of the Priesthood should be alive and awake to see what good he might do, wherever and whenever the opportunity exists of doing good—in his own home and family first, watching over his own children, laboring to unite the hearts and feelings of his wife or wives and children, that peace may dwell in his own habitation, and the wisdom and knowledge of God grow and increase among his own household; and to see that his children do not grow up idlers, but are trained to be industrious, and taught to reach out after truth, that their spirits may not be unfruitful, and that they may be taught in the fear of the Lord, and to worship Him, and to call upon Him, and to have faith in Him, so that when sickness assails them that they may not first resort to the doctor, or desire to put their trust in medical men to heal them, for the Lord has commanded His people that when any are sick among them, they shall call for the Elders of the Church, who shall pray over them, and lay their hands upon them, and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith shall save the sick. This was the exhortation of the Apostle James to the former-day Saints, and it has been repeated to the Latter-day Saints. The revelations given unto us on this subject are to the effect that “they who have faith to be healed, shall be healed; the deaf who have faith to hear, shall hear; the lame who have faith to walk, shall walk, etc. And they who have not faith to do these things, but believe in me, I will have compassion upon them, and bear their infirmities, and they shall be nursed with herbs and mild food, and that not by the hand of an enemy.”

These things are for you, my brethren and sisters, and for your families, and all who are willing to receive the word and counsels of Almighty God. And if our faith is so weak that we have to resort to medical aid, let us do it trusting and relying upon God, seeking unto those who have faith, and who have confidence in God, and who do what they do unto the Lord, righteously, justly and honorably, seeking for the light of the Holy Ghost to help them in their profession. These will be far more likely to succeed and do good; but the other class are not to be relied upon, for all doctors have not faith any more than all lawyers or other men. But the sound, intelligent philosopher or surgeon has respect for God and His works, which are made manifest in all nature and in nothing more than the human frame, which is after the image of God himself—fearfully and wonderfully made—and those who understand it best, respect, as a rule, the Maker, and acknowledge His wisdom as being superior to that of man, for there is nothing ever devised by man that is equal to his own organization in perfection and beauty, or in strength and durability.

Let us remember and ponder upon these counsels, and cleave to the Priesthood and have confidence in it; and let the Elders administer to the sick in faith, and let them rebuke disease when the Spirit prompts them, and it will be rebuked, and the sick will be healed by the power of God. Every Elder in Israel should so live before the Lord as to have confidence in Him to do this. And let the Presidents of Stakes and the Bishops and the leading influential men encourage faith among the people, depending upon God and the ordinances of His house rather than trusting in man. And while they seek for wisdom to nurse the sick in a manner calculated to do them good, let them learn too, that herb medicine, unless administered in wisdom and intelligence, is liable to injure the patient instead of benefitting him. And let the Elders lay aside strong drinks and tobacco, and discontinue the practice of everything having a tendency to injure the system, and set examples before our sons and daughters that is worthy of imitation. If parents will pursue this course they will command the respect of their children; and when the time comes for them to go down to their graves, their children will point to them in affection and pride as being the chief means, under God, of their learning His ways and walking in His paths, and of eschewing those pernicious habits which are wasting away the life of our nation, and that are gradually undermining society and destroying the human race. It is the design of the Almighty to raise up in these mountains a hardy and a healthy people, a people who shall live according to the laws of heaven that govern them, in whom shall be found the elements of faith and power; and it becomes our duty to shape our lives accordingly. And that God may help us to do so, and to accomplish all that is required of us, is my earnest desire and prayer. Amen.

Sincerity Alone not Sufficient, etc.

Charles W. Penrose

Discourse by Elder Chas. W. Penrose, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, May 20th, 1883. Reported by John Irvine.

I am called upon this afternoon quite unexpectedly to me, to address this congregation, and I earnestly pray that the spirit of the living God may rest down upon me and upon all who are gathered in this Tabernacle, that I may be inspired to say something which will be profitable to hear, and that all who listen to my words may be able to understand them in the spirit by which they are spoken.

We have assembled here to-day to worship God our Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ His Son, under the influence and power of the Holy Spirit. In order that our worship may be acceptable to God, it must be done in the name of Jesus, and it must be done under the influence or His Spirit; for “God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” We must be sincere in our worship; we must be sincere in all that we do in order that it may be acceptable to God. But sincerity alone is not sufficient. We have to worship Him in truth as well as in spirit, and we must worship Him also in the way that He has appointed, not in our way. God does not accept the ways of man unless those ways are in accordance with His ways. And we have come here that we may learn the ways of God, and then walk in His path. This is in accordance with the ancient prophets. They declared that in the last days, people should come from all nations unto “the tops of the mountains” for this very purpose, that they might learn of His ways and walk in His paths. The reason why we have had to do this is because the ways of our fathers, in their worship and in their service towards God, have been only in accordance with their private notions, their ideas of what is right.

There has been no voice from heaven heard among the children of men on this earth for a great many centuries. People have not been guided by the revelations of the Almighty, but by the wisdom of man, or, as we think, the folly of man. It is true that the people called “Christians,” have had the book called the Bible. The Old Testament and the New Testament contain books which were written by men who lived in ancient times, and who were inspired of God. Those books do not contain all that was written by the servants of God, in ancient times, but only a few of the writings given to the children of men by inspiration. This book contains a great deal of truth and some few errors, but the errors are the interpolations or the mistranslations of men. The doctrines which the Bible contains are true, and they are in sufficient plainness to be correctly understood, if the people who read what it contains are influenced by the same spirit or inspired by the same spirit as the men who wrote those things. But without that spirit the people of the earth are not able fully to comprehend that which is written. We read in that book that “the letter killeth.” It is the spirit that giveth life, and it is also the spirit that giveth light. Without the Spirit of God as the revealing influence from on high, mankind are unable to comprehend the things of God. As we are unable this afternoon to see anything of a physical nature without that natural light which comes from the sun, so without the light that comes from the Son of Righteousness, we are unable to see the things of God. The prophets who wrote the things contained in the Old Testament, and the Apostles of Jesus Christ, who wrote the epistles, and other writings contained in the New Testament, were blessed with the gift that is called in the Scriptures the gift of the Holy Ghost. This was not merely an influence which made them feel good; that exalted their spiritual natures so as to make them happy, contented and peaceful; but it was a manifestation of the power that comes from God. As the light that comes from the sun reveals through our natural eyes those objects which we see around us, so the Holy Ghost coming from God opens up and makes clear and plain the things of eternity, those things that are called spiritual, although they are all spiritual to our Heavenly Father. The things which we call natural and temporal are spiritual to Him, because He sees the essence of things, He comprehends them in their internal nature. All the elements of all things that exist are eternal, and “the things that are spiritual are eternal,” and therefore it is all spiritual to God. We at the present time are creatures of time, and we see things that change. We do not comprehend their eternal nature. We do not comprehend their essence. We only see that which is on the surface, on the outside. But God looks into the internal nature of things as well as of men, and comprehends them. And the elements, both of that which is called natural and that which is spiritual, are all eternal, without beginning and without end. They are manipulated and changed and worked over, but they have no beginning in their essence, and they cannot have. No atom in nature can be destroyed. It never commenced to be; it will never cease to be. God looks upon things as they are, in their eternal nature, and therefore they are all eternal or spiritual to Him. But speaking after the manner of men we call things temporal and spiritual, natural and supernatural; yet after all when we come to comprehend them as they are, they are all material and all spiritual.

The inhabitants of the earth, as I have remarked, have been without any direct communication from God, and therefore they have been measurably in the dark. They have been able to read some of the books which were written by the servants of God, who were inspired by Him in ancient times; but they have had no revelation for themselves. They can read what Isaiah said, or Jeremiah, or Peter, or Paul, or Luke, or other writers of the Old or New Testament; but they have had no personal revelation. The light which they have obtained is a borrowed light, like the light of the moon. They have been in a sort of moonlight or twinkling star-light. There have been a great many preachers who have claimed to be the servants of God, ministering among the people in Christendom; some in the ancient church called the Church of Rome, some in the Episcopal Church, some in the Methodist Church, others in the Baptist Church, and so on through all the various denominations that compose modern Christendom. No doubt many of them were good men, men who strove to the best of their ability, and the best of their knowledge to enlighten the minds of their fellow-men. Some of them, perhaps, were mere hirelings, “preaching for hire and divining for money;” but others were sincere in their hearts, sincere in their worship, sincere in the religion which they taught to others. But they had not a knowledge of the truth. They had a faith of some kind. They believed in certain principles. They believed in the things which they read in the Bible so far as they could comprehend them, but they had no positive knowledge in regard to the things which they believed in and which they taught. The men who were called the Reformers, who came out from the Church of Rome, and introduced a little more truth than the people previously had, and reformed several errors that were existing—were, some of them, most excellent men, and they performed a great and a good work in the earth. But they were not called of God in the way that His servants were called in ancient times who wrote the things contained in the Bible, neither were they endowed with the Holy Ghost, which those men enjoyed. They nevertheless did a grand work in the earth, and for that they will receive their reward, no doubt; for no man who ever lived on the earth whether in a Christian nation or among the heathen or pagan world, ever did a good thing but he was the better for it, and will receive his reward for it, and no man ever did wilfully a wicked thing, that which he knew and felt to be wrong, without being the worse for it, and for that he must give an account in the great day when the secrets of the hearts of all mankind shall be made manifest, Christian and heathen, those in the ancient times and those in the latter times. All who ever dwelt in the earth in the flesh must appear before the bar of God, and be judged for the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or evil, and they will receive a reward for the good that they did, and a punishment for the evil that they did, especially and particularly if they did evil knowingly, if they sinned wilfully, sinned against light and knowledge.

A great many of those persons that I have referred to among those reformers and others who worked on the earth, as they thought for righteousness and for the Lord, have labored in sincerity, but not always in truth. A great many errors have prevailed in the world since the time when the Apostles were put to death, when the lights that God placed in the world were put out by the hand of wickedness; since the servants of God were destroyed in the flesh, a great many errors have crept into the world, and darkness has spread over the minds of the children of men. Though many have worshipped in sincerity, they have not worshipped in truth, because they did not fully comprehend the way of truth. When they read the Scriptures, they only partially comprehended them, and they differed among themselves as to the meaning of those things which they read. Thus sect has multiplied upon sect, denomination upon denomination. And in what is called Christendom, people are in confusion, not comprehending alike, not seeing the truth as it is; for if they could all see the truth properly, they would see alike; if they all comprehended the truth correctly, they would be of one heart and one mind so far as they comprehended. But the very fact that those divisions exist, proves that there is darkness in the world. If the light of God was revealed to six men in the same degree, they would comprehend the principles presented before them, the principles of the Gospel, exactly in the same way; and if six men can be united in comprehending truth exactly alike, six millions or any number of men can be united so as to see and comprehend the truth exactly in the same way, and this was the effect of the Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, the Revealer, the spirit of life and light, which God gave to His people in the ancient Christian Church when the Gospel came to them. They were all divided when Jesus Christ came into the world. There was a similar diversity of opinions and faith in regard to God and His ways, to what there is now, only not to so great an extent. Jesus came and showed the right way. He was “the way, the truth, and the life.” He came to reveal His Fathers will. He made plain the way of life and truth, that all who desired might be able to walk therein—in the same way and under the same light, that they might see eye to eye and be no more divided. It was thus with the people called Pharisees or Sadducees, or with those who belonged to any sect that existed among the Jews, or with those who lived among the Greeks, and had adopted the Grecian system of philosophy, or with people who lived in any other part of the world, and believed in any other kind of religion—when they came into the Christian church they were no longer divided in their opinions and in their faith, but they were all brought to see alike; they were “all baptized by one spirit, into one body, whether Jew or Gentile, bond or free.” They no longer worshipped different Gods, or the same God in different ways, but they worshipped alike. They had “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one hope of their calling.” But when darkness came into the world again; when the guides that God had placed among humanity were rejected and thrust out, and the Holy Ghost was withdrawn, and men were left to themselves, then they began to divide up, each man going his own way, according to his notion. Preachers have multiplied, sects have multiplied, and doctrines have multiplied. And here we are in the latter times, in the nineteenth century, when the people boast so much about Gospel light as well as scientific light, here we are in the nineteenth century, and the people are groping like blind men for the wall. They do not know God, and some do not care anything about Him. Some deny His existence, and a great many more stand in a position of doubt and uncertainty. Very few squarely deny the existence of a God; but there are a great many people who do not know whether there is a God or not; they are not satisfied in their minds. “I do not know,” seems to be the sentiment of the great bulk of intelligent people now-a-days in regard to divine things.

Well, as I said in the beginning of my remarks, we have met here to-day to worship God in His way—not our way, that is, not the way we have made, not the way that any man has made, but according to the plan and pattern revealed from heaven by Almighty God, in our day and time. If God manifested himself in ancient times, why should He not manifest Himself in latter times? If God spoke to the world by the power of the Holy Ghost, through chosen men in former ages of the world, why not in this age? If angels came down from heaven and ministered to persons upon the earth in any period of this world’s history, why not in the latter times? Are God’s lips closed that He cannot speak? Are the heavens sealed up and become like brass, that no man can break through, and no heavenly being come to this little world and make manifest the things of eternity? Has the Holy Ghost changed in its power and influence and revealing qualities? Or are the children of men in such a condition that they are not willing to receive the Lord and His ways and His works and His light? Has God purposely departed from the earth, or have the people of the earth departed from God? We read here in the book of Isaiah about a time that should come when “darkness would cover the earth, and gross darkness the people.” We read of a time when God would come out from His hiding place in judgment upon the inhabitants of the earth in the latter days, and it should be “as with the people so with the priest; as with the servant, so with the master; as with the maid, so with the 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 has spoken this word.” What for? “Because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore has the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate.” Now, it looks to me a great deal more reasonable to think that the people of the earth have departed from God, and gone out of His way, and made ways of their own; that they have “heaped to themselves teachers having itching ears, and have turned away their ears from the truth, and have turned unto fables;” that they have become “lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God;” and that they have a form of godliness, but lack the power thereof, than that God has forsaken them, without any acts of their own. Now, I know that this sounds very harsh in Christian ears. It sounds very disagreeable to the people who compose Christendom, to say that they have gone out of the way—those good, pious-appearing people, who express such beautiful sentiments, and have such religious emotions and such lofty feelings, and many of whom are sincere in their hearts—to say that they have gone out of the way and that they are in the dark. It is all right to say that millions upon millions of the heathen nations for hundreds and hundreds of years have been in the dark, and that they are in the dark to-day, that they are away from God, that the light of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ does not shine into their souls, that their philosophers and sages and poets and preachers and mighty men of intellect are all wrong; that is all right; you can say that. Many Christian people do say this, and are not shocked in their feelings a bit; but to say that the Christians of this generation are out of the way sounds terrible in their ears. Nevertheless I will make bold to say that this is the fact; that the whole earth has gone astray. I will go no further than they say themselves: “We have left undone those things that we ought to have done, and have done those things that we ought not to have done, and there is no help in us. O Lord have mercy upon us, miserable sinners.” Well, that is just exactly what they are. Now, I do not boast that we are any better than they are. I am merely taking them as the Lord will take a great many of them: “Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee.” They tell the Lord, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.” That is what is the matter with the Christian world. They are not walking in the Lord’s way. They are walking in the ways that men have invented.

Any student of the Scriptures who is willing to receive truth when it is presented before him, can see by perusing the sacred books of the Old and the New Testaments, that the condition of the world at the present time was anticipated by the ancient prophets and apostles. They all saw that the time would come when the people would turn away from the truth; when they would walk in their own ways; when they would build up churches to themselves; when they would hire men to preach to them things which were wise and good in their own eyes; they would not be very anxious to find out the will of God, or that He might declare it to them, but would have preachers to teach them doctrines which seemed good to their “itching ears.”

A student of the Scriptures will also find that in every age of the world when there was a people dwelling on the earth whom God acknowledged as His people, He required them to do all things as He commanded them; not as they might choose, but as He commanded. When Jesus Christ came He did not come to do His own will, or to preach His own doctrine. Said He: “My doctrine is not mine, but His that sent me. If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” Jesus did nothing and said nothing but that which He had been commanded to do and say. He taught no doctrine of Himself. And He declared that when He should go away, the Comforter would come in His place. What would He do “He will guide you into all truth for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will show you things to come.” When the Apostles who were called of Jesus Christ, went out to preach the Gospel in His name, they did not go to preach their own views and opinions and notions, nor to administer ordinances that they thought were proper and adapted to the people in different nations, but they went out with the word of the Lord; they went out to teach that which had been commanded. Said Jesus Christ: “Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” They were not to preach with the enticing words of man’s wisdom, nor proclaim their notions about things, but they were to go forth with the living word of God, they were to go and teach that which Christ had taught them, and which He did not teach of Himself. And even then He told them to tarry in Jerusalem until they were endowed with power from on high. They waited. And on the day of Pentecost, we read, they came together “with one accord in one place.” They were of one heart, of one mind, and of one spirit, and then the Holy Ghost was manifested to them, in visible form, in cloven tongues as of fire. They were all filled with that spirit, and they spoke with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance, and from that time, having been ordained by Jesus Christ, when He was upon the earth, they were able to go out and preach the Gospel to the nations of the earth. On that day (Pentecost) Peter preached that great gospel sermon which we read about in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. He did not teach the people anything in regard to his opinion. He told the people that which he knew, that which had been made manifest to him, that which he understood, and he did it under the influence and power of the Holy Ghost, the same spirit which rested upon the ancient prophets, the same spirit by which Jesus spoke, which was given to him not by measure, but in a fullness.

No man has a right to preach in the name, of the Lord, unless he is endowed as were those Apostles, unless the Lord has committed to him a dispensation of the Gospel; and if any man does so he does it; upon his own responsibility. Unless he is so-called and endowed, all his administrations, whether it be baptism, confirmation, or any other rite which he may administer in the name of deity, are null and void and of non-effect in the heavens. When God calls men to officiate, what they do on earth in His name in the way He has appointed, by His authority, is as valid as if He performed it himself in person; what they “seal on earth is sealed in the heavens;” and what they “loose on earth is loosed in the heavens.” But when men administer the ordinances without authority, without inspiration, without being called and appointed and ordained specially for that work, all their ministrations are vain and valueless. If they baptize a person that baptism is void. The baptism of infants is void. It never was ordained of God, it never was authorized of Him, but is one of the vagaries of men, one of man’s inventions. But even baptism administered as the ancient Apostles administered it, and as Jesus Christ taught it, and according to the pattern which He Himself set in His own baptism, if administered by men who have not been called and ordained and endowed with the power and right to do it, is utterly void, and is of no more account than a bath. And it is the absence of this authority and the absence of this endowment, the absence of this divine spirit which reveals the things of God, and makes them plain to the children of men, which have caused all this confusion that exists in the Christian world, as well as in the heathen world.

Well, we have met here this afternoon, and we have gathered here in these mountain valleys that we might learn God’s ways, and then carry them out in our lives, for ours is a practical religion. We not only learn but we practice. If we are Latter-day Saints, we come to learn what is right and then do it with all our might, fearless and regardless of the opinions of others, or what other people may do or try to do. The business of our lives is to try and find out the will of our Heavenly Father and perform it. This we can do. There is no need to be in doubt as to what it is. There is no need to depend upon any man—Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, Peter, Paul, Isaiah, or anybody else. Every man that lives, and every woman that breathes the breath of life has a right to know in his or her own heart, whether a thing is right and true or not, and those who do not strive to obtain this knowledge are derelict. “He that doeth the will of the Father shall know of the doctrine.” Our business is then to find out what the Lord’s will is, to guide us in our every-day life, not only to make us feel good, to exalt our spiritual nature, our emotions, our sentiments, our thoughts, not only that, but to guide us in our daily lives, so that all our acts may be squared according to the rule of right, that we may do that which is pleasing to our Heavenly Father, that we may learn to live so as not merely to do our own will, but to do the will of Him that has sent us here on the earth, and who has enlightened our minds in regard to the truth. We need not walk in the dark. It is our privilege to walk in the light. We have come out from the darkness, we have come out from confusion, we have come out from Babylon into the light and the liberty and the certainty of the everlasting Gospel. We have come out from the creeds of men; we have come out from the ways of men; we have come out from the nations and kingdoms of the earth; we have come up into these mountain valleys, that we may find out truth day by day and year by year, that we may get closer and closer to our God, that we may learn the ways of truth, and walk in them more perfectly, until the veil shall be entirely taken away, and we shall see and comprehend the things of eternity as plainly as with our natural eyes we can behold each other and the things of time. It is our privilege to come near unto our Father, to drink of those streams that flow from the eternal fountain, to have the Holy Ghost in our hearts every day, springing up “like a well of water unto everlasting life.” It is our privilege to walk in the light continually, and have the Holy Ghost to be our constant companion, directing our ways, not only our actions and our doings, but our feelings and our thoughts and our sentiments, that we may become purer and holier, day by day, until we are sanctified and made clean and white and fit to go back into the presence of our Heavenly Father.

This is our business here in Utah—to learn the Lord’s ways, to walk in the Lord’s paths, to be devoted to Him; not only to be baptized by water into His Church, but baptized by the Holy Ghost, that we may be brought into a oneness with our Father, brought into communion with Him, that the voice of the eternal Spirit may whisper peace to our souls, and point out the way that we shall go, and enable us to bear testimony of the truths made manifest from the Lord through His inspired servants as He reveals His will. Some people think that we have come here to gratify every lust and every passion and every base desire that is common to poor fallen humanity. Never was a greater mistake made. This is not how I have learned what is commonly called “Mormonism.” I have learned that it is a holy thing, a sacred thing; that it requires self-abnegation, not to men, but to truth, to righteousness, to that which God reveals. The very essence of “Mormonism” is to find out what the Lord wants, and then to do it, and to do it regardless of anybody living upon the face of the earth, regardless of what the world may do to try and prevent us. And the people here are most of them of the same mind. They have come out from the various sects and have all been baptized into one spirit, into one body. The same Holy Ghost has rested down upon them as rested down upon the Saints in ancient times, and has produced the very same results. For the Holy Ghost has not changed, God has not changed, the truth has not changed, and the Lord is just as willing to-day as He was in the first years of the Christian era to reveal himself to those who desire to learn of Him, and the Holy Ghost is just as much a revealer to-day as it was in the olden times when the Prophets wrote and spoke under its influence. The truth is just the same, but the people have gone astray from the Lord’s ways, corrupted themselves before Him, filled the earth with abominations and iniquity, and their eyes are so closed to that which is true and pure, that when the truth is revealed from heaven, it is accounted a strange thing, and they not only turn away from it, but they are filled with hatred towards those who have received the truth and desire to walk in it.

It always was so from the beginning. When Abel would worship God in the way appointed, Cain, who wanted to go his own way, offered what he pleased, what he thought would do, and he was filled with anger towards Abel, because his offering was accepted. Abel offered what God commanded, the firstlings of the flock. Cain offered the fruits of the ground. God had commanded a lamb without blemish and without spot, to be offered as an emblem of the coming Redeemer, who, in the meridian of time should come as “the lamb slain from before the foundation of the world,” and offer his life and pour out his blood for the remission of sins. Cain offered what he pleased, and when Abel’s offering was accepted, Cain was filled with anger. The spirit of Satan entered into him—which is the spirit of destruction, the spirit of murder—and he arose and slew his brother. Now, though persecutors in these times do not realize it themselves, they are filled with the same spirit towards the servants of God. When Joseph Smith, called of God to be a prophet in this latter time, to usher in the great last dispensation of God’s mercy to man, to bring forth the ancient Gospel as taught by Jesus and His Apostles, to reveal again the ancient Priesthood and authority thereof, to lay the foundation of the Latter-day kingdom, to prepare the way for the coming of the Son of Man; when he came as a boy, an unlettered youth, bearing the glad tidings of great joy that communication between the heavens and the earth so long lost, had been restored, that the light from the eternal Sun of Righteousness had again streamed down to lighten up and dispel the darkness of the world—how was he received? Why, men would not listen to his teaching. They would not compare the doctrines he taught with the scriptures which they professed to believe. They hooted at the very idea of present revelation from God. They said: “Even supposing it possible that in this enlightened age one could receive revelation, was God going to speak to an illiterate boy? Would He not choose some of the great and wise men of this generation, some of the learned divines. But the idea of God’s speaking to this youth? And they were filled with anger. The preachers and ministers of the day were filled with hatred and wrath towards him, and towards all those who received his testimony, and the Saints were driven from place to place, from city to city, from State to State, until finally his blood was shed. What for? Because he committed crime? No; their own confession proved to the contrary, for they said, “the law cannot touch him, but powder and ball shall.” The same spirit that put Jesus Christ to death; the same spirit that put, those holy men to death about whom I have spoken, who had “the burden of the word of the Lord,” and came not to declare their own opinions, but the word of God Almighty to the inhabitants of the earth; the spirit that put them to death, put Joseph Smith to death, and that is the spirit that burns in the hearts of the so-called pious “Christian” ministers against the Latter-day Saints. They meet together in their convocations and conferences and assemblies, and pass resolutions about a people of whose doctrines and practices and lives they are in perfect ignorance. They do not know the motives which prompt us. They do not know the principles which actuate us. They know nothing. about the work God Almighty has called us to do, for which we have left our homes in distant lands, and come to these valleys. But they are inspired by the same spirit of wickedness and destruction which filled the hearts of men who slew the servants of God in former times. They do not want to try and convert these Latter-day Saints. Oh, no. What do they want to do? One enlightened minister of the Gospel who came out here and stayed about twenty-four hours, and like a great many other people went back professing to know all about “Mormonism”; although perhaps he never spoke to a “Mormon” while here—got up in the pulpit and preached the gospel of the bayonet and cannon as a means of solving the “Mormon problem!” He said he would solve the problem in a short time. He would gather all the Latter-day Saints into this great Tabernacle, and then turn the artillery of the United States upon them! That was a minister of the orthodox gospel. I do not say they are all like him; God forbid that I should. But the same spirit is working in their hearts and in the hearts of a great many men, and they do not know it.

It may be said of them as Jesus said in regard to His disciples on a certain occasion. Because some people did not do exactly as they wanted, they asked: “Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?” The Savior, we are told, rebuked them and said: “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” That is the spirit of the Gospel, the spirit of salvation. Well, those people who seek the destruction of the Latter-day Saints do not know what spirit they are of. They are in the dark in regard to the things of God. They have not been guided by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost. Many of them have administered in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, without the slightest vestige of authority. They have done it upon their own authority; and they are filled with the spirit of the evil one, and they desire the destruction, not the conversion, of the Latter-day Saints.

Well, my brethren and sisters and friends, I take great pleasure in bearing testimony this afternoon in this public congregation before the heavens, before Almighty God, who shall judge the world, before Jesus Christ, the Mediator of the new covenant, before the angels of heaven who can hear and witness my words, that in these last days our Heavenly Father has revealed the ancient Gospel anew, by His own voice from heaven and by heavenly messengers sent down from on high; that the authority which the ancient prophets and apostles held in ancient times has been restored, and men hold it now; that the same Holy Ghost by which the ancient prophets spoke and wrote the word of the Lord is given to the people called Latter-day Saints—not only to the leaders of the Church who are placed in authority to direct and manage and govern the affairs of the Church of Christ upon the earth, but the body of the people. The spirit that is in the head of the Church is in the body, and runs to every extremity, enlightening it, filling it with life and with vigor. And it brings forth the same fruits, which are love, joy, peace, patience, long-suffering, brotherly kindness and charity, and the light of God bears witness to these things. And not only have we these gifts, but there are other gifts in our midst, the same as were manifested in olden times, such as the gift of tongues, interpretation of tongues, visions and dreams, the gift of prophecy, the discerning of spirits, the healing of the sick—those who have faith to be healed—and every gift and every power and every blessing which were the result of the reception of the Holy Ghost in ancient times, are enjoyed in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I bear this testimony with words of truth and soberness, before God and all men. I know this is God’s work, and I know it will prevail I know it will not be left to another people. I know it will remain, and every power and every influence that rises against it, to destroy it, will itself perish and be destroyed, and every arm that is lifted against this work will, in the due time of the Lord, be palsied and withered, for it is the work of the great God, and it will stand for ever. The servants of the Lord in this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in spite of all attacks and schemes and efforts to stop them, will go out to every nation, kindred, tongue and people, and preach the Gospel of the kingdom as a witness before the end shall come, and they will gather the elect of God from the four winds and bring them to Zion. And these Temples which we are laboring upon will be erected, and the people of God will enter them and administer in behalf of the living and the dead, and God will commune with His servants therein. They will learn more of His ways and walk in His paths; they will purge out all iniquity in their midst; they will cut off the evil doer by severing him or her from the Church; the spirit of judgment will come to Zion, and the wicked and ungodly and the hypocrite will flee away; and God will break every yoke, and remove every bond, and Israel shall be free. And the Zion of our God shall arise and shine, and the glory thereof shall stream forth to the uttermost parts of the earth, and God will break down every nation, kingdom and government of the earth which refuses to hearken to his voice, until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of our God and His Christ, and He shall reign from pole to pole and from shore to shore.

May God add His blessing to this testimony, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Desirable Condition of the Saints, etc.

Joseph F. Smith

Discourse by President Joseph F. Smith, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, February 17th, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

I trust that the Spirit of the Lord may direct what I may say. It is sometime since I stood before a congregation in this building; my labors have been directed in a great measure in other settlements where I have enjoyed seasons of pleasure and profit, witnessing a good spirit and a lively feeling among the Latter day Saints wherever it has been my privilege to meet with them. I believe that the same good spirit prevails among the Latter-day Saints in this City and throughout this Stake of Zion, and that there is generally a feeling of confidence and faith in the hearts of the Saints in the work of the Lord, and in His servants. This is gratifying, when we realize the importance of our being united, and of our faith being centered in the Lord, and in the great work God has begun in the earth in these last days. Without unity and confidence no faithful Latter-day Saint can be truly happy.

Brother Abraham Hatch has dwelt upon the idea he had when a boy, in relation to the characteristics of a Prophet. I presume that his idea was similar to that entertained by most of the civilized world to-day, and yet I do not think that there is any ground or reason for such opinions respecting the character of men who have been inspired of God. While he was speaking upon this subject, my mind reverted to some of the ancient Prophets whose words have been handed down to us as words of inspiration, and so far as my mind can recall, all those eminent men of ancient days were, I believe, young men when they were called to their respective positions. From the first man Adam, down to the latest inspired man of God of which we have any account in the Scriptures, they were all chosen, so far as my knowledge goes, when they were in their youth. Abraham became an inspired man when very young. He was called to be a Prophet and Patriarch in his youth. His sons Isaac and Jacob, were not at all old men when the prophetic inspiration fell upon them. And when we come down to later times we find that the Prophet Samuel was chosen and dedicated unto the Lord in his childhood. He was a Prophet from his youth up. David was a youth, Daniel was a youth, Isaiah was a youth, and so far as I recall to mind, the Prophets were all young men when they were called to the work that they had to perform. Jesus himself, the greatest of all prophets, only attained His thirty-third year when He was offered as a sacrifice upon the cross. Most of the Apostles who were chosen by our Savior were young men, and those who have been chosen in this dispensation were all of them, in the beginning, young men, some of them almost beardless, much less having flowing beards, grey and bald, wrinkled and old, as we see the prophets and patriarchs pictured by modern artists, representing the modern conception of them. President Taylor himself, when he was called to the apostleship—which is a prophetic calling—was only a young man about thirty years of age, and there were many younger than he, and all the way down to the present time nearly every man called to the prophetic calling has been called in his youth, grown up under the inspiration of the Almighty, and has developed under the influence and power of the Spirit of the living God. There is, I think, good reason for this. The young mind is much more plastic, much more susceptible of impressions and of influence than the older mind. A youth can be conformed, so to speak, in his ideas, thoughts and feelings, to the will and requirements of heaven, much easier than in old age. Nevertheless, I believe that God is able to inspire any man who is good, faithful, pure and righteous in his desires; God delights in the willing mind and in those who keep His laws and commandments. Men have been raised up in almost all ages of the world to perform certain works, or accomplish certain missions; they having been inspired for that work and mission from their infancy, and it may be even before they were born into the world. No doubt all the prominent men who have figured in any dispensation of the Gospel since the days of our father, Adam, until the present, were inspired of the Almighty from their childhood, and were chosen and selected even from or before their birth. God has His eye upon the world; He over-rules and controls all things, notwithstanding He is shut out from the councils of men by their unbelief. His authority is not admitted by the world. The children of men ignore His right to govern and control, to dictate or to counsel in the earth. Nevertheless, He governs and controls the nations of the earth and individuals, and all things are subject to His power. I do not mean that all mankind are obedient to His will; I do not mean that they are willing to acknowledge Him, or that they know Him. I am rather inclined to the opinion that they are ignorant entirely of Him and of His power, and that they do not conceive it possible that He governs and controls the affairs of the nations of the earth. Nevertheless, He does so, and while “man proposes, God disposes;” while the leaders of the nations of the earth plan and scheme, and seek to govern according to their ideas, yet God Almighty over-rules their acts and brings forth results which, in accordance with His wisdom, are designed to hasten and ultimately consummate His grand and glorious purposes in the earth. And I believe that one of the greatest sins of which the inhabitants of the earth are guilty to-day, is the sin of ingratitude, the want of acknowledgment, on their part, of God, and His right to govern and control. We see a man raised up with extraordinary gifts, or with great intelligence, and he is instrumental in developing some great principle. He and the world ascribe his great genius and wisdom to himself. He attributes his success to his own energies, labor and mental capacity. He does not acknowledge the hand of God in anything connected with his success, but ignores Him altogether, and takes the honor to himself; this will apply to almost all the world. In all the great modern discoveries in science, in the arts, in mechanism, and in all the material advancement of the age, the world say: “We have done it.” The individual says, “I have done it,” and he gives no honor or credit to God. Now, I read in the revelations through Joseph Smith, the Prophet, that because of this, God is not pleased with the inhabitants of the earth, but is angry with them because they will not acknowledge His hand in all things. I am inclined to acknowledge the hand of God in all things. If I see a man inspired with intelligence, with extraordinary ability and wisdom, I say to myself he is indebted to God for that wisdom and ability, and that without the providence or interposition of the Almighty, he would not have been what he is. He is indebted to the Lord Almighty for his intelligence, and for all that he has; for the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. God originated and designed all things, and all are His children. We are born into the world as His offspring; endowed with the same attributes. The children of men have sprung from the Almighty, whether the world are willing to acknowledge it or not. He is the Father of our spirits. He is the originator of our earthly tabernacles. We live and move and have our being in God our Heavenly Father. And having sprung from Him with our talents, our ability, our wisdom, we should at least be willing to acknowledge His hand in all the prosperity that may attend us in life, and give to Him the honor and glory of all we accomplish in the flesh. We are particularly dependent upon the Almighty for everything we possess of a worldly character. There is not a man on the earth possessed of the wisdom or power of himself to cause even a spear of grass to grow, or to produce a kernel of wheat or of corn, or any fruit, vegetable, or any material whatever which is essential for the sustenance, the happiness and the well-being of a human creature in the world. It is true we can go to the earth, we find it prepared to a certain extent, and we cultivate, plow and plant, and we reap the harvest; but God has ordained that the fruits of our labor shall be in subjection and in obedience to certain laws which He Himself controls, and which He has kept out of the power of man. Man may boast of having a great deal of wisdom; of having accomplished a great deal in this 19th century; but, if he did but know it, he derives the ability by which he accomplishes these things from God his Father, who is in heaven. He does not possess the power in and of himself.

I read a Scripture something like this: that “there is a spirit in man.” Now, if that should stop here, there would not be perhaps anything very remarkable about man; for the spirit of man knoweth only the things of man, and the things of God are discerned by the Spirit of God. But while there is a spirit in man, it is further stated that “the inspiration of the Almighty giveth it understanding.” There is not a man born into the world but has a portion of the Spirit of God, and it is that Spirit of God which gives to his spirit understanding. Without this, he would be but an animal like the rest of the brute creation, without understanding, without judgment, without skill, without ability, except to eat and to drink like the brute beast. But inasmuch as the Spirit of God giveth all men understanding, he is enlightened above the brute beast. He is made in the image of God Himself, so that he can reason, reflect, pray, exercise faith; he can use his energies for the accomplishment of the desires of his heart, and inasmuch as he puts forth his efforts in the proper direction, then he is entitled to an increased portion of the Spirit of the Almighty to inspire him to increased intelligence, to increased prosperity and happiness in the world; but in proportion as he prostitutes his energies for evil, the inspiration of the Almighty is withdrawn from him, until he becomes so dark and so benighted, that so far as his knowledge of God is concerned, so far as the future or hopes of eternal life are concerned, he is quite as ignorant as a dumb brute.

I was remarkably struck upon this point only a short time ago by the expressed opinion of an individual who is considered to be very intelligent—a philanthropist, going about the country, and said to be doing a great deal of good, who remarked in my hearing that the future was a blank; that we knew nothing about it; that we knew nothing as to the condition of the spirit after death; nor as to the pre-existence of spirits; and that all these things must be left without consideration as matters wholly beyond our reach. This, in substance, was the opinion expressed by this very intelligent person who is going about the country doing so much good. I do not doubt that individuals may go about doing good, relieving present necessities, throwing out practical ideas and suggestions, as to temporal concerns and administering reproof that will be greatly beneficial to very many in their present worldly condition. But in view of the possibilities of the great and eternal hereafter, and the important contingencies of the past, involving our origin and our destiny, some of us are so constituted that we cannot content ourselves to rest such vital matters here, in the midst of so much ignorance, uncertainty and doubt. We desire to know something about the future and the past, as well as of the present. What is the object of our being? Whence have we come? Whither are we going? What consequences are dependent upon this life? What is to be gained or lost? To whom are we responsible, seeing we do not owe our existence to our earthly parents alone, nor to chance or hazard? Is there any reward or punishment hereafter for good or evil committed in the flesh? We desire to know something about these things, if it is possible to know anything about them. What is the standard of right and truth, and who is the great example? Those who say in their hearts that it is impossible to learn anything about these things; that it is sufficient to content ourselves with that which we can see and hear and handle, and with that which only materially affects our present existence; that that is all we have to concern ourselves about, can be but little removed beyond the brutes, or the animal creation. Such may be classed with those whom the Savior referred to in the parable of the rich man who said, “Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” In other words, “Let us have pleasure in that which we possess or enjoy today.”

This reminds me of a remark that I was told a certain man—said to be learned in the law—had made in reference to the religion of the Latter-day Saints. He remarked something like this: “You believe in having joy; you claim that your religion is for the purpose of securing to you the greatest amount of joy. Now, on the back of this you deny yourselves of this, that and the other. Your people are called upon to deny their appetites, to control their passions, and to crucify the flesh, etc. My enjoyment consists in whatever I can get that is good to eat, to drink or wear; Whatever ministers to my bodily ease, or comfort, to the gratification of my tastes and appetites. I deny myself nothing that I like or desire. Hence, I drink, I smoke, I chew, and I do as I please,” (he might have added, perhaps, “I curse and swear, I gamble, I commit whoredoms and take advantage of every circumstance I can to augment my pleasure and gratify my lust and my ambition), all these contribute pleasure to me and constitute my greatest joy and happiness.” Such was the confessed moral status of this legal individual to whom I refer. But I consider, (and I believe that every right-minded person will heartily agree with me), that such a conception of the object of human existence is groveling, vile and contemptible. No pure-minded person can perceive anything noble, exalted, pure or praiseworthy in a life so selfish, narrow and gross. There is nothing liberal or manly in such avowals, much less in the practical results of such a life, and coming from a man of years, of legal experience and knowledge to a youth with a view to misleading him, is infamous. Following, this theory, we observe a man wallowing in the gutter, blood-shot, bloated, ragged, hideous and filthy, his family neglected at home and destitute, his children bare-foot, naked or bundled in rags—and starving for food—objects of pity and disgust—without the shadow of a chance for mental improvement—with only the blighting, withering example of a besotted husband and father for their guiding star. And why all this? Because this misguided, fallen human creature is seeking joy in the gratification of his appetite! This theory may be followed in all its leadings, to similar and equally appalling results. No man is safe unless he is master of himself; and there is no tyrant so merciless or more to be dreaded than an uncontrollable appetite or passion. We will find that if we give way to the grovelling appetites of the flesh and follow them up, that the end will be invariably bitter, injurious and sorrowful, both to the individual and society. It is hurtful in example as well as in its individual effects; dangerous and hurtful to the unwary; while the denial of these appetites—the crucifixion of the flesh, so to speak—and an aspiration for something noble; whenever possible, doing good to our fellow creatures, hoping for the future, laying up treasures in heaven where moth and rust cannot corrupt, and where thieves cannot break through and steal—all these things will bring everlasting happiness; happiness for this world and the world to come. If there is no pleasure in the world except that which we experience in the gratification of our physical desires—eating, drinking, gay associations, and the pleasures of the world—then the enjoyments of the world are bubbles; there is nothing in them, there is no lasting benefit or happiness to be derived from them.

It seems to me that the example which was set to us by our Savior is the example we should seek to follow. Did He prostitute His intelligence for the gratification of the lusts of the flesh? Or did He go about doing good—healing the sick, opening the eyes of the blind, giving speech to the dumb, hearing to the deaf, cleansing the lepers, forgiving sin, relieving the distressed? Was not that the example He set before the world? Was not that the course He commanded His disciples to pursue? I think it was. There is something in such a course that is praiseworthy and noble. It will bring true and lasting pleasure; while the pleasures of the world are only temporary and fleeting. The Spirit of God brings unspeakable pleasure to all who enjoy it—it leads men to do good, to deny themselves some things that they may the better be enabled to do good. It certainly affords more pleasure to give than to receive. It is so said in the Scriptures. It is more blessed to administer comfort and joy to our fellow creatures than to have them administer to ourselves. But under the spirit and influence that the world is under at present, this is not the view that is generally taken. Men of the world are rushing headlong after that which will as they suppose contribute to their own pleasure. They don’t care how they get pleasure so that they get it. As a general thing gold or money is the thing which administers most to their pleasure and joy. In a few years, however, they will be called away from this world, when their wealth and everything else they have cherished will have to be left behind. They cannot take their gold with them, because it belongs to the world. When they get behind the veil, that which served to make them happy will be gone beyond their reach. The source of their pleasure will have fled. There will be nothing left for them to enjoy in that other sphere. They had their enjoyment in this. They did not frame their minds for other enjoyments. They served their bodies, their fleshly desires, and the result is they have served the devil, they are, therefore, his children, and they have no pleasure in God, nor He in them. What is there in this world that can give so much joy or so much pleasure as to know that our sins are forgiven; that we stand acceptable to God our Heavenly Father; that we have not injured any of our fellow creatures; that we are free from any indebtedness or incumbrance; that we are not in bondage to the world, nor to our fellow creatures? This gives one far greater pleasure than anything the world can give. Money cannot give it. The wealth of the world cannot bestow this enjoyment upon man. The honors of men do not affect this question at all. If we can only realize before God our Father, that our sins are forgiven, that we are free from transgression, and that our spirit is right and pure in the sight of God—this should be a greater source of happiness than anything the world can give. To know that we possess the gift of the Holy Spirit—that is, the right to claim the aid and assistance of the Spirit of God to direct us in our labors and course in life, is far greater than the wealth and the honors of this world. To know that we enjoy a portion of those rights and privileges which belong to the Priesthood, which is after the order of the Son of God, is a source of greater joy and pleasure to righteous men than all that the world can give. To know that we are in fellowship with the Saints; to know we are held in confidence by them; to know that we have their faith and prayers, is worth more to the honest-in-heart than all that the pleasures of the world can bestow. To know that we have enjoyed privileges by which we have secured to ourselves peculiar blessings for time and eternity is beyond all comparison with earthly things. We would not exchange the least of the gifts that have been bestowed upon us by and through the authority of the Holy Priesthood for all the world can produce; because that which cometh from God is eternal and will not perish. If I were to be deprived of the privileges I have referred to, all else of an earthly character would be worthless, senseless and evanescent to me. We want something that reaches out into eternity. We want to know where we came from, and where we are going. Where did we come from? From God. Our spirits existed before they came to this world. They were in the councils of the heavens before the foundations of the earth were laid. We were there. We sang together with the heavenly hosts for joy, when the foundations of the earth were laid, and when the plan of our existence upon this earth and redemption were mapped out. We were there; we were interested, and we took a part in this great preparation. We were unquestionably present in those councils, when that wonderful circumstance occurred to which President Taylor has so often referred of late, when Satan offered himself as a savior of the world, if he could but receive the honor and the glory of the Father for doing it. But Jesus said, “Father, Thy will be done, and the glory be Thine forever.” Wherefore, because Satan rebelled against God, and sought to destroy the agency of man, the Father rejected him and he was cast out, but Jesus was accepted. We were, no doubt, there, and took a part in all those scenes; we were vitally concerned in the carrying out of these great plans and purposes; we understood them, and it was for our sakes they were decreed and are to be consummated. These spirits have been coming to this earth to take upon them tabernacles, that they might become like unto Jesus Christ—being “formed in His likeness and image,” from the morn of creation until now, and will continue until the winding-up scene, until the spirits who were destined to come to this world shall have come and accomplished their mission in the flesh.

This we have learned. How have we found it out? I answer, through the prophet Joseph Smith, by revelation and the inspiration of the Almighty upon our own minds, by which we are able to ascertain the truth respecting the predictions of the Prophet Joseph Smith, respecting the truth of the sayings of the ancient Prophets, respecting the truth of the Scriptures, respecting the validity of the promises that God has made to the children of men; for every man has the privilege of obtaining the inspiration of the Almighty—or the gift of the Holy Ghost—to know for himself and need not depend upon Joseph Smith, nor upon Brigham Young, nor upon John Taylor, nor upon any of the prophets who wrote and spoke as the Spirit of God gave them utterance, upon these principles. We have learned these things. We have learned whence we came, why we came, and whither we are going. We are not here to seek the joys of the flesh, and yet the Lord does not design that we should go about sorrowful, or that we should deny ourselves of any legitimate pleasure. The Lord never intended that we should go around fasting, mourning, grieving, weeping and wailing, while we sojourn in mortality. Jesus said, “When ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance. * * But appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret. In other words, appear to the world to be happy. This is the privilege of every Latter-day Saint, and indeed the privilege of every soul that lives. There is abundance of joy to be obtained aside from the joy which ends in suffering and sorrow. Seek those joys that bring no alloy with them, those joys which are unremitting, eternal in their nature. Do good.

Again, where are we going? We come here and sojourn in the flesh a little season, and then we pass away. Every soul that is born into the world will die. There is not a soul that has escaped death, except those upon whom God has passed, by the power of His Spirit, that they should live in the flesh until the second coming of the Son of Man: but they will eventually have to pass through the ordeal called death; it may be in the twinkling of an eye, and without pain or suffering; but they will pass through the change, because it is an irrevocable edict of the Almighty. “In the day that thou eatest thou shalt surely die.” This was the edict of the Almighty, and it pertains to Adam—that is, all the human race; for Adam is many, and it means you and me and every soul that lives and that bears the image of the Father. We shall all die. But is that the end of our being? If we had an existence before we came here, we certainly shall continue that existence when we leave here. The spirit will continue to exist as it did before, with the additional advantages derived from having passed through this probation. It is absolutely necessary that we should come to the earth and take upon us tabernacles; because if we did not have tabernacles we could not be like God, or like Jesus Christ. God has a tabernacle of flesh and bone. He is an organized being just as we are, who are now in the flesh. Jesus Christ was born of His mother Mary, He had a fleshly tabernacle; He was crucified on the cross; and his body was raised from the dead. He burst the bonds of the grave and came forth to newness of life, a living soul, a living being, a man with a body, with parts and with spirit—the spirit and the body becoming a living and immortal soul. You and I have to do the same thing. We must go through the same ordeal in order to attain to the glory and exaltation which God designed we should enjoy with him in the eternal worlds. In other words, we must become like Him; peradventure to sit upon thrones, to have dominion, power, and eternal increase. God designed this in the beginning. We are the children of God. He is an eternal being, without beginning of days or end of years. He always was, He is, He always will be. We are precisely in the same condition and under the same circumstances that God our Heavenly Father was when He was passing through this or a similar ordeal. We are destined to come forth out of the grave as Jesus did, and to obtain immortal bodies as He did—that is, that our tabernacles are to become immortal as His became immortal, that the spirit and the body may be joined together and become one living being, indivisible, inseparable, eternal. This is the object of our existence in the world; and we can only attain to these things through obedience to certain principles, through walking in certain channels, through obtaining certain information, certain intelligence from God, without which no man can accomplish this work or fulfill the mission he has come upon the earth to fulfill. These principles are the principles of the Gospel of eternal truth, the principles of faith, repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins, the principle of obedience to God the Eternal Father; for obedience is one of the first principles or laws of heaven. Without obedience, there can be no order, no government, no union, no plan or purpose carried out. And that obedience must be voluntary; it must not be forced; there must be no coercion. Men must not be constrained against their will to obey the will of God; they must obey it because they know it to be right, because they desire to do it, and because it is their pleasure to do it. God delights in the willing heart.

I am looking forward to the time when I shall have passed away from this stage of existence, that I shall be permitted to enjoy more fully every gift and blessing that has contributed to my happiness in this world; everything. I do not believe that there is one thing that was designed or intended to give me joy or make me happy, that I shall be denied hereafter, provided I continue faithful; otherwise my joy cannot be full. I am not now speaking of that happiness or pleasure that is derived from sin; I refer to the happiness experienced in seeking to do the will of God on earth as it is done in heaven. We expect to have our wives and husbands in eternity. We expect our children will acknowledge us as their fathers and mothers in eternity. I expect this; I look for nothing else. Without it I could not be happy. The thought or belief that I should be denied this privilege hereafter would make me miserable from this moment. I never could be happy again without the hope that I shall enjoy the society of my wives and children in eternity. If I had not this hope, I should be of all men most unhappy; “for if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” All who have tasted of the influence of the Spirit of God, and have had awakened within them a hope of eternal life, cannot be happy unless they continue to drink of that fountain until they are satisfied, and it is the only fountain at which they can drink and be satisfied.

Now, we desire to know something about this, and in the name of Israel’s God, I say we do know something about it. How do you know I know it, because God has revealed it, through His ancient and modern Prophets. I know it, because it has been testified of, by all the ancient worthies of God, from the foundation of the world to the present. I know it, because it is the theory of God’s plan of salvation. I know it, because it has been expounded and made plain, not only by the Prophets, but by the Savior Himself. I know it, because the Spirit of the living God testifies of it in my heart, and tells me it is true. I know it is true by all the senses by which I can determine the most simple fact. I see it with my eyes, I hear it with my ears, I understand it with my heart, I comprehend it in part according to the intelligence with which God has endowed me. I am convinced of it and hence I am happy; for I know that I am in the discharge of my duty. This is the happiness I am after. Is it not the happiness we all desire? I think it is.

May God bless this congregation, and all the household of faith, and help us to live for the future, for eternal pleasures, exaltations, thrones, principalities, dominion and power; may God help us to live for these things; may He give us a knowledge of them, that we may comprehend them as He comprehends, that we may take the course that He has marked out for us to pursue, in order that we may secure unto ourselves the riches of eternal life, is my humble prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Necessity of Faith, etc.

Francis M. Lyman

Discourse by Apostle Francis M. Lyman, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, Feb. 24, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

While I attempt to speak to you, my brethren and sisters, this afternoon, I desire an interest in your faith and prayers, that I may speak that which the Lord would have me say, that we may be edified, strengthened and encouraged to go forward in the discharge of our duties as Saints of the living God. And as I speak during the passing of the sacrament, I would not take your minds from this sacred ordinance, as I realize the blessings to be received by us in partaking thereof. We should remember that it is not pleasing in the sight of the Lord to partake of this ordinance or sacrament in a thoughtless manner, but that we should come here for the purpose of renewing our covenants and of pledging ourselves once more to remember the Savior, to take upon us His name, and to keep His commandments—that is, to keep all of them that have been revealed to us, to live lives of purity, and to be devoted and obedient to the principles He has revealed for the salvation of man.

It is said, and truly, that without faith it is impossible to please God. It may be as truthfully said that without obedience it is impossible to please God; that without virtue, without truthfulness, it is impossible to please God. It is not possible for us to perform the labors that are required of us as Latter-day Saints—to preach the Gospel among the nations, to gather together the people, to build temples, and to perform in those temples the labors that are necessary for the salvation of the living and the dead—except we are aided by the Holy Ghost, the Comforter. It is not possible for men who stand at the head of this Church to direct, or to give counsel in regard to the building up of the Kingdom of God, in regard to the location of new settlements, in regard to organizing branches, wards, and stakes, and the opening of missions, except they enjoy the Holy Ghost. It is not possible for us as Apostles, as Presidents of stakes, as Bishops of wards, as Presidents of quorums, as Presidents of associations, to preside with dignity and in a manner pleasing to God, unless we enjoy the Holy Ghost. It is not possible for us as parents, to preside in our families, to set good examples before them, to set and keep our houses in order—as it is necessary they should be kept, that we may have salvation—unless we enjoy the Holy Ghost. It is not possible for us as individuals to be Saints, unless we enjoy the Holy Ghost. It was conferred upon every one of us when we were baptized, when we first embraced the Gospel, and the Lord has given us ample instructions as to how we should live, as to the labors we should perform, and as to the lives we should lead in order that we may enjoy the Holy Ghost. Among other things the sacrament was established by the Savior, when He was here in person. He established it again when He visited this continent and set up His Church among the Nephites. He has again established it in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and it seems to be very important that this sacred ordinance of the Gospel should be attended to frequently, that by partaking of it we may witness to the Lord that we are willing to take upon us His name, that we have not forgotten Him, that we do keep His commandments, and are still willing to keep them, and to walk according to His counsel. Hence it is important that all Saints, not only presiding officers, but all Saints who have named the name of Jesus Christ and entered into covenant with God, should meet together often and partake of the sacrament and renew their covenants, in order that they may have the Spirit of the Lord. It is not pleasing in the sight of the Lord, for us to partake of the sacrament if there be hard feelings in our hearts, if there be jealousness, if there be enmity or strife, if we are not in fellowship with one another, if we are not in fellowship with the Church, if we are not keeping the commandments of the Lord, if we are not living in peace, if we are not obedient to the counsels of heaven; I say that it is not pleasing in the sight of the Lord to partake of the sacrament under such circumstances. This is an ordinance that should be partaken of properly, understandingly, thoughtfully, and with faith that we will receive an increased portion of the Holy Spirit. If we were not in a world of sin if we were not in a world of trial and temptation; if evil was not in the world as well as good; if there were not evil influences; if the spirit and power of darkness was chained and there was nothing in this life but good; if there was no evil inspiration, no evil insinuations—if none of these things existed, then we might possibly manage to go through this world without committing sin. But we find that as good is in the world so there is evil. As there is light in the world, so there is darkness. We are subject to the influences of evil—to the powers of darkness. We are liable to temptation. God has given us our agency; and it is found necessary that we should have very particular instructions, very complete organization and perfect care thrown around us, as the Saints of God, under those circumstances, in order that we may obtain salvation. It is not enough that we be baptized for the remission of sins. We need organization. We need the Priesthood. We need authority. We need power. We need the blessing and help of God from the beginning. When the Elders go out into the world, and baptize for the remission of sins, they do not there leave the people. They are taught the necessity of other ordinances, the necessity of gathering together, the principle of tithing, the words of wisdom, the necessity of prayer; all these doctrines are laid before them. Then organization is given them, not in perfection, but in a primitive form. They have branches, and presiding authorities, Elders, Priests, Teachers, Deacons; etc., to teach and care for them while they are in the world, and when they gather to Zion they have a more complete organization of stakes, wards, quorums, associations and the like; so that every man and every woman has a place and a position. They act as helpers, exhorters, encouragers, and all these are necessary for the salvation of the people; for we find, as we become attached to the Gospel of Christ, the evils of the world come in upon us, and they come with greater strength and power to overcome and destroy us.

There is a warfare in the earth between God and the power of evil. The Lord has established this Church. The Father Himself in person, accompanied by His Son Jesus Christ, came and laid the foundation of this work. They commenced it. They established it. They have sustained and supported it. It has not been sustained and supported by the power of man. Those who have stood faithful to this day—whether they be many or few—among the Latter-day Saints, have stood by the blessing and power of God. No one that was living in the days of Nauvoo, or in the days of Kirtland, or that joined the Church during the lifetime of President Young, and has faithfully endured to the present time, can arrogate to himself that he has so endured in his own strength. God has sustained him. The Lord has given him a testimony, and established in his heart a knowledge of the truth. And the reason that this Church is so much more stable and solid—cannot be overthrown, cannot be broken in upon by those from the outside—is that in each individual heart is established a knowledge that comes by the gift of God—the Holy Ghost. The religious world, so far as they have endeavored to convert the Latter-day Saints—to reform them and turn them from their faith—have failed. They know not the reason of their failure. They cannot understand why it is that the Latter-day Saints are not easily converted. You cannot convert a Latter-day Saint. You cannot change a Latter-day Saint into a Methodist, a Presbyterian, or a Roman Catholic, or cause him to join any other denomination upon the face of the earth. There is not wisdom nor power enough in the world to turn one Latter-day Saint from the truth; for every man, woman and child that is a Latter-day Saint has established in his or her heart a knowledge of the truth. They have a testimony of the truth from God. The father does not have this testimony for the son, or the mother for the daughter, or the priest for the people; but every individual member of the Church has a knowledge of the truth for himself. An honest man cannot turn from that which he knows to be true. An honest, virtuous, good man is willing to lay down his life for the truth. Indeed, men devoted to error are found willing to lay down their lives (and have so done in many instances), for it. How much more, then, will men be willing to lay down their lives for that which they know to be truth—for the Gospel of Christ. Have we a knowledge of the principles of truth? Yes. Do the Apostles depend upon President Taylor, who was so closely associated with the Prophet Joseph in his lifetime and at the time of his death, for a testimony of the truth? No. Is there any man dependent upon President Taylor for a knowledge of the truth. No. There is not a member of the Church dependent upon any man for a knowledge of the truth of this work. The early members of the Church never depended upon Joseph Smith for their testimony in regard to these things. It was not in the power of the Prophet to give that knowledge. Jesus Himself—if I read the Scriptures correctly—had not the power to establish in the hearts of His own Apostles a knowledge of the truth, or even a knowledge of his own character. For when He enquired of Peter and the disciples as to who the world said He was, they answered Him that some said that He was Elias, some that He was John the Baptist arisen from the dead, etc. “But,” said He, “whom say ye that I am?” Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Whereupon the Savior informed him that flesh and blood had not revealed that unto him, but His Father which is in heaven. Now, if there was a man at that time who could possibly obtain, in any other way, a knowledge as to who Jesus was and as to the truth of the work He established, that man was Peter. Such men as President Taylor, and the first Apostles of the Church, would have, if it were possible, obtained that knowledge from the Prophet Joseph. But none of these men obtained their knowledge in regard to these things in that way. And you may ask the Saints by the tens of thousands in the land of Zion to day, as to how they learned Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God—although a great many of them never saw him, and yet there are many of them who knew him personally—and they will tell you that their knowledge of his character, mission and power, was given to them of the Lord. We have had this knowledge established in our hearts and we cannot fly it. We cannot close our eyes upon it. When we know what the truth is, we cannot fail to tell it; and there are people in the world today, that look upon us, perhaps, with no degree of allowance and consider us a very wicked people, that, if they had the same testimony that we have, would be as valiant in defense of the truth as we are. There are many such people in the world to-day—good, honest people. Are they Methodists? I presume so. Are they Presbyterians and Catholics and people belonging to many other denominations? Yes; and there are honest men, perhaps, who do not profess Christ at all—who claim to be infidels and close their eyes to the mission of Christ—that if they had the knowledge we have, they would be just as valiant as we are to-day. They could not help it; for that testimony would make them valiant, and they would be as difficult to turn from the truth as the Latter-day Saints. The world have discovered that the Latter-day Saints cannot be turned from their purpose, cannot be converted, and having failed to attain their object in that way, many advocate strong measures being enacted against us. Some go so far as to think we should be exterminated; others that we should be placed under political disabilities, or hampered in some way, in order that our religious faith may be crippled. Will they accomplish their object by these means? No. Such treatment did not accomplish anything with the Son of God, nor with His Apostles, and it did not accomplish anything with Daniel, or with his brethren, who were cast into the fiery furnace. It did not change their sentiments and their faith, and it will not change ours. We cannot deny the truth. We may have troubles in this life; many of us may see sorrow in this life; but some of us will ever see what the Savior saw in that regard. None of us will suffer as He suffered, although His mission was but a short one. Our mission may be long, and our suffering may possibly, in some instances, be continuous; but we will not be called to suffer as much as He suffered. Yet, we may look for persecution. But the Lord will over-rule all things for our good. He will sustain this Kingdom, and He will build it up in spite of all other kingdoms in the earth; for it is His right to do so. The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof, and the peoples, the nations, and the kingdoms that are upon the earth, all belong to the Lord. We are His children, and He has the right to control and dictate in all the affairs of men. He has the right to over-rule the conduct of men to serve his purposes; to overrule the wars between the nations of the earth. He has the right to break down nations, to change the form of government, to cause revolutions, and in all things to do that which seemeth Him good. He has the right to do all this—just as He broke off the colonies from the mother country, and established religious liberty, thus making it possible for His Kingdom to be established upon this land.

Now, as we discover the world opposed to us—feeling, no doubt, in a great many instances that they are doing God’s service in bringing everything to bear against what they consider a very wicked people—what is the proper thing for the Saints to do for their protection? This is an important matter. When surrounded by enemies, a wise man would take the precaution to protect himself from destruction. What, then, shall we do that we may not be trodden down, broken to pieces and scattered or destroyed; that we may remain in this land; that we may not be removed as we were from Missouri, from Illinois, and from Ohio? What shall we do that we may not be brought into bondage, but may remain a free people?— that is, free to do the will of God, and to build up His Kingdom upon the earth, the mission we are called upon to perform. The most important matter that I know of is, not to prepare our arms, not to prepare for war, but to prepare for peace; to keep the commandments of the Lord; to discharge with fidelity to God every obligation we are under to Him; to keep sacredly His laws, and to be found in the discharge of our duty; preaching the Gospel; gathering the poor; building temples; establishing home industries; becoming a self-sustaining people; providing for our necessities; providing employment that none may need; providing for the poor; nursing the sick; caring for those who need comfort; seeking to do the will of God in all things; abstaining from intemperance, from profanity, from corruptions of every name and nature; seeking to be, not as the world, but to be indeed the Saints of God; striving to be united; listening to counsel; seeking to live so that the Spirit of the Lord may inspire our hearts and prepare us for the responsibilities that are upon us, let our positions be what they may—home missionaries, foreign missionaries, men presiding in the Church, in the Stakes, in the Quorums, in the Associations, in the institutions of learning, each and all standing in their proper place, doing the will of God. For we have no battles to fight if we be the Saints of our God. He will fight our battles if battles are to be fought. The wicked will slay the wicked and the righteous will be left free. The Lord has been very good to us in giving us this land, and in enabling us to maintain peace therein, up to the present time. It is a land that is admirably adapted to the necessities of this growing kingdom. The water supplies are not very great, and as we have multiplied the water sources have been almost all utilized. Yet the fountains of water have increased in many parts of the country, and where but a few families, a few years ago, could be accommodated on a stream—say a half a dozen families or the like—to-day we have fifty to a hundred families on that same stream, with a constant and abundant supply of water. And the Lord has changed the seasons. Fruits are hardier, and some that are not so hardy are doing and thriving well in our land. The blessing of the Lord has been over the land, and peace has reigned in it, and it will continue to reign if we but do the will of the Lord. He will overrule and control all those agencies that may be brought against us from the outside, if we will but listen to the voice of counsel here at home. That voice of counsel is within the reach of every family in every neighborhood. He has given to this people the Priesthood. He has placed it upon almost every man in Zion. Almost every man bears a portion of the Holy Priesthood, Aaronic or Melchisedek. We are almost a nation of Priests—of High Priests, Seventies, Elders—men bearing the Priesthood and authority of God. We have each of us the right to approach the throne of grace, to hear from the Father, to receive counsel, to receive inspiration in regard to the duties which devolve upon us, that we may not go astray. Every man who is called to preside as a Bishop in a ward is entitled to the Holy Spirit to guide him in his labors; so is every man who presides over a family, or in a quorum, or who is placed in a position to lead and instruct the people. That is the reason that the Lord has given us such a host of ministers; for every man who holds the Priesthood is a minister of righteousness and is expected to administer in his calling in the midst of the people in the world, wherever he is located, at home or abroad. We have thousands of such men. Our settlements are full of them. They are the men who build the houses and decorate them, and they do the business that is done in Zion among our people. They are ministers of righteousness; and if the people will keep the commandments of God, His hand will be stretched out in their behalf, to save and protect them from harm.

Now, when I assert that the Latter-day Saints cannot be converted or turned from the truth, I do not mean to say that there are none who turn away from the Gospel. There are many who lose their faith, many who go into sin, many who apostatize. But are they Saints of God? No. Do those that apostatize live the lives of Saints? No. If they were Saints, enjoying the Spirit of the Lord, it would be impossible for them to apostatize. A man cannot deny the truth which the Spirit of God is burning in His bosom; but by transgressing the laws of God, by neglect and sin, men lose their testimony and are taken up by the “Josephites,” or by some other class of people, and perhaps “improved.” I trust they are. But when it comes to converting a Latter-day Saint, a man who keeps the commandments of God, and lives according to the principles of the Gospel, as laid down by the Prophet Joseph Smith, it cannot be done. They may labor here as missionaries from now to doomsday, they never can get one Latter-day Saint to join any of their religious denominations. Strenuous efforts are being made to capture our children as though there were not children enough in the world requiring their attention. They might leave us to manage our own children. But they think they stand a better show to convert children than grown people. If the truth were not grounded in our hearts, we would be liable to conversion. But inasmuch as we keep the commandments of the Lord, and enjoy the Holy Ghost, we cannot be turned.

We have no fears in regard to the work of the Lord; because it is just as plain to us as the sun at noonday, that the Kingdom of God will endure and will not be given to another people. If the Saints will be faithful, the Church and Kingdom of God will be safe; God will be honored, and His purposes accomplished in the earth; and a pure people will grow up here such as the Lord will delight to come and dwell among.

The organization of the Church of God is perfect. We find at the head of every Quorum of Deacons three are appointed to preside; the same with the Teachers, Priests and Elders; the Seventies have seven men to preside over each Quorum; and all these various Quorums are expected to hold meetings and classes, so that they may be instructed in their various duties, that men may be prepared to preach the Gospel in the nations of the earth. Then, we have organizations of the young people—the Mutual Improvement Associations—which are intended to embrace all the young people of Zion. But we find in our visits through the country, that complaints are made that the young people are not all enrolled. Many have not been brought to see the importance of joining these associations. Well, now, if it were left to the children entirely, how many of them would go to school at the age of eight, ten or twelve years? Not many. But there is a proper influence brought to bear upon children by their parents. School houses and teachers are provided, and then the children are sent to school. After a while, as the children grow older, they begin to see the importance of knowledge, and then it does not take very much exertion on the part of parents to get the children to attend school. In the same way, those who have identified themselves with these associations begin to see the importance of their connection therewith. But those who are on the outside need to be instructed in regard to the importance of these things, and an influence should be brought to bear upon them in that direction. They should be taken early in life. Many of them have been left alone until it is too late, or later than it ought to have been. At the age of twelve or fourteen years they should be introduced into the lesser Priesthood, and thus learn something of the authority of the Lord. They should be educated in the principles of the Gospel, and have faith established in their hearts. This should be done by experienced people. But they have been more or less neglected until we have hundreds to-day that are twenty years of age, that bear no Priesthood at all. When they get to that age they become more or less set in their ways; they desire to be free; they don’t care to be hampered with religion or anything of that kind. Now, my brethren and sisters, parents in Zion, Bishops, leading men in the Wards and Stakes, see to it that the young people receive proper instruction; see to it that they are not neglected as those of whom I have been speaking have been neglected in the past. Let fathers and mothers be anxious in regard to their sons and daughters. Let those who are yet young be brought into the Mutual Improvement Associations and classes, that they may have the advantage of a religious training in the Church. There is nothing on earth of greater value to your children than a knowledge of the truth. I know of no gift that could be given to my children from among men that would compensate for their being deprived of the knowledge that God has established His Church and Kingdom upon the earth; that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God; that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; and that God lives. To deprive them of this knowledge, nothing could compensate for its loss. Then, if we so consider these things; if we are so firmly established in the truth and value it so much, let us see to it that our children are not neglected. At eight years of age they should be baptized for remission of their sins, and become members of the Church. And as they get older, see that they are brought into the schools, associations and classes. See, too, that they are taught at home in regard to prayer, family worship, etc. Let them not be neglected; for if they are neglected and go astray, your hearts will be barren and sorrowful. You may be very firm and solid yourselves; but in the loss of a son or daughter, through neglect, your hearts will be made sorrowful. The Catholics are very careful in regard to their children, and I respect them for it. They are very careful to educate their children in regard to the Catholic faith. Not that I would have my children become Catholics; but I would have the same care that they display in this matter displayed in the care of the children of the Latter-day Saints. Early life is the time when they should be trained. Then indelible impressions can be made in their minds How difficult it is when men have grown up in the world with ideas that are prevalent in the world in regard to God, the Savior, religion, etc.—how difficult it is to bring them into the Church, and get those ideas eradicated from their minds. I have heard elderly brethren who were brought up as Methodists say, that it was almost impossible for them to rid themselves of Methodism. One of the earliest revelations given to the Church charges all parents having children in Zion to teach them faith in God, faith in Jesus Christ, and that when they arrive at the age of eight years they should be baptized for remission of their sins. This is a law that has been before us since 1831, many years before I was born. Now, I wonder if this law has not been neglected by the Latter-day Saints—generally forgotten or overlooked. Have we not been careless in this regard? Let every father and every mother question their own hearts on this matter, and if they have been negligent, let them reform and see that they be more careful in the future than they have been in the past. Indeed, let me exhort you, my brethren and sisters, you who stand at the heads of families, Wards, and quorums, to be of a truth educators of the people, teaching them not only in theory, but in practice, in your lives; walking so that you may be the light of a sun instead of a moon; and that great improvement may be found all around.

And that God may sustain us, inspire our hearts and help us to discharge with fidelity every duty; that the testimony God has given us may grow and increase in our hearts, is my prayer in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Work of God the Same in All Ages, etc.

Erastus Snow

Remarks by Apostle Erastus Snow, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, Feb. 24, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

It is allotted to me to occupy a few minutes, and it is a privilege which I ought to esteem, and which I do esteem, to stand before my brethren and sisters as a witness of the truth which we have embraced; the truth as it is revealed in Christ, the truth that is confirmed in the hearts of the Saints of the Holy Ghost, the truth as testified by ancient Prophets, Patriarchs and Apostles, and by our Savior Himself when upon the earth among the Jews, and among the Nephites on the continent of America.

The work in which the Latter-day Saints are engaged, the work whereunto God has called His people in this day, is the work which has engaged the attention of the Prophets and Saints from the beginning of the world till the present time. That portion of the world of mankind who have been inspired from above to look forward through the vista of opening years and contemplate the future history of mankind, have had their eyes directed to the great and last dispensation of the fullness of times, in which the Lord would perfect His work on the earth, and bring in everlasting righteousness; when He would establish a reign of peace, when wickedness would be subdued, when Satan would be curtailed in his power and influence among the children of men—the time represented in the vision of St. John, when he declared:

“I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

“And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and after that he must be loosed a little season.

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

“But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be Priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”

Now, this thousand years is spoken of among modern Christians as the millennium, signifying a thousand years. That period of all other periods will, as we speak of the Sabbath, be a day of rest. On the Sabbath, the seventh day, the Lord rested from his labors, and He has commanded His people to rest from their labors on that day; to meet together and worship Him; to offer up their sacraments and their oblations; to confess their sins unto one and another and before the Lord. And as they ask to be forgiven, and feel to forgive one another, so God forgives them. Our Savior gave us clearly to understand this when He taught His disciples to pray and to say, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors;” for, said he, “If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” This day of rest is a day to forgive and to be forgiven, and to make peace with one another and with our God, and is a type of the millennium, or the seventh thousandth year, in the which universal peace will be established upon the earth, and the Kingdom of our God prevail in all lands—a day when the servants of God may bear the glad tidings to all people, nations, kindreds and tongues upon all the face of the earth, and there shall be none to molest them, or make them afraid. The truth will abound and light and understanding come to the people. It will be a day of great light in every corner of the land—the day spoken of by the Prophet Isaiah, wherein he says the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea—the day when they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, know the Lord; for they shall all know Him from the least of them to the greatest of them—a day when “every man shall see eye to eye.” Prophets and Saints have looked for such a period, have longed for it, have prayed for it, have sung about it, have prophesied of it, and they have spoken of the work that should bring it about. Are all these prophecies fallacious? Are all these hopes vain? Will all these expectations come to naught? Or are they to be fulfilled? With the Latter-day Saints there is but one answer to this question. The Lord has opened their understanding, has touched their eyes, has pricked them in the ear, has comforted them, and has given to them the Holy Ghost. They have been enabled to see and to discern the signs of the times, and to understand in a measure the age in which we live. It is a source of unbounded joy unto those who possess this testimony, and are living for the blessings promised to the faithful. These events are dawning upon us. A preparatory work has been begun in the earth. As foretold in the Scriptures, an angel has flown in the midst of heaven having the everlasting Gospel to deliver to them that dwell on the earth, and which shall be preached unto every nation, kindred, tongue and people before the end cometh. But will every nation and kindred and tongue and people receive it? Not at all. It has not been so written. But it is written that the time cometh when all who will not hear that Prophet whom Moses said God would raise up unto the people should be cut off from among his people. This Prophet was Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, raised up in the meridian of time and in the midst of the house of Israel, from the seed of Abraham, that seed which God said would be a blessing unto all nations. When Jesus showed himself unto the Nephites on the American continent, He quoted this Scripture—this prophecy of Moses—and said to them, “I am that Prophet of whom Moses spake.” Now, we have this assurance, that the time will come when all those who will not hear that Prophet shall be cut off from among the people. It is grievous to reflect upon the darkness that enshrouds the minds of the people; upon the unbelief which prevails among mankind at the present time; upon the infidelity which stalks abroad, that is manifested in church and state, with high and low. It is grievous to contemplate how statesmen and the would-be wise men of our age despise God, or ignore His counsels, ignore His word, His right to rule, His ability to counsel, to teach, and to regulate the affairs of men; how little they acknowledge His hand, how unwilling they are to allow Him to have any voice in the affairs of state. And it is equally sorrowful to contemplate how little are Christian sects willing to acknowledge Him, or allow Him to interfere in their affairs, or acknowledge Him in any way, further than in a sort of—what shall I say?—a sort of mystical way. True, there are many who affect to believe that they must be born again, and teach the doctrine of the new birth, the spiritual birth. But how little they seem to comprehend what is meant by that birth, and the effects that follow it; yet there are some, yea, there are many in the Christian world who profess to believe what Jesus said to Nicodemus in the third chapter of John’s Gospel, that a man must be born of the water and of the Spirit in order to enter into the kingdom of heaven, and that that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Yet when we come to read the New Testament and learn of the fruits, the influence and effects of that Spirit upon those who possess it, how wonderful, how strange it appears to those Christians! The Latter-day Saints strive to bring home to the minds of those modern Christians, that the Holy Spirit, when overshadowing the people born of the water and of the Spirit produces certain fruits, certain effects, that are the same to-day as anciently, and will be the same among all people in all ages and times when people receive that Spirit. But most of the Christian sects of our time ignore those fruits of the Spirit, the spiritual gifts and blessings which followed the outpouring of that Spirit upon the Saints of God in all former ages.

Brother Lyman has well said that it is this Spirit shed abroad upon the Latter-day Saints, bearing witness unto them of the truth—which is the witness of the Holy Ghost of the Father and of the Son—that makes them steadfast and immovable. They cannot be turned away so long as they enjoy this Spirit; they cannot be turned away from the light of the Gospel and the liberties they enjoy in Christ Jesus; they cannot be converted to Catholicism, nor Methodism, nor any other ism; but if they fall into sin, if they violate their holy covenants, if they grieve the Holy Spirit from them, then they are left in great darkness. As the Savior said to His disciples: “The light of the body is the eye: if, therefore, thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If, therefore, that which is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” It may seem to some a wonder how it is, that any man or set of men, after having once tasted of the good word of God, of the heavenly gifts, and the powers of the world to come, and having been made to know and understand the things of God, and been able to bear witness of them, should afterwards fall away, lose their testimony and the light of the truth, fall into darkness and apostatize. It is a marvel and a wonder unto many how this can be, and to some portion of the Christian world it has seemed impossible, and they have affected to espouse the dogma and to make it a part of their religious creed, that once in grace always in grace, and that if they are the elect of God, they cannot fall away. This is a doctrine of men: it is not a doctrine of Christ, and it is not true. The Savior constantly exhorted His disciples to watch and pray, lest they should fall into temptation, and cautioned them that they who once put their hands to the plow and looked back, or turned away, were not fit for the kingdom of heaven, but that they who endured unto the end, the same should have eternal life. He warned them against falling into darkness, and, as I have already quoted, He assured them that the light that was in them might become darkness, and if it did, how great should be that darkness.

Brother Lyman has well said, also, that when men apostatize from the truths of heaven, and become infidel to the things of God, it is because of sin and transgression; it is because they have given way to evil; it is because they have corrupted their ways, defiled their tabernacles, defiled their spirits, violated their own consciences, or given themselves up to work sin and wickedness. All this they may have done in the dark, or in secret, and not upon the housetops: but the time cometh when the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed, and every secret thing shall be made known upon the housetops. Then it shall be known and read of men the causes that operated to take away the light and the truth from the hearts of men and left them to go into outer and utter darkness. None are proof against the attacks of the enemy, against the powers of evil, against the evil devices of the wicked one; none are proof against or safe from the influence and power thereof, without watchfulness and prayer, without so living that the Spirit will have pleasure to abide with them, to be their monitor and protector. That Spirit will not dwell in unholy temples, it will not continue to dwell with those who violate their own consciences, corrupt their ways, defile their spirits and tabernacles, and defile themselves with their fellow creatures; for God will have a pure people. His Kingdom is holy; His dominions are pure; and no impure thing can inherit the Kingdom of God. “And without are dogs and sorcerers, and whoremongers and murderers, and idolaters and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”

Brother Lyman asked the question (and answered it beautifully) pertaining to the preservation of the Latter-day Saints, from the combined efforts of their enemies. He answered well. The safety and protection of the Latter-day Saints lie in their preparing for peace. In other words, it is to make peace with their God, and with one another, and to proclaim peace unto all mankind, and so live and deport themselves, that they will encourage, extend and maintain peace to the utmost of their ability. But, and if the wicked continue to oppress, to war against and annoy the people of God, and to deprive them of social, religious and political privileges, and other rights that belong to them as the children of God, as human beings, as citizens of the commonwealth, those unalienable rights of life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness; if, I say, the wicked combine to abridge these immunities, privileges and rights, and trample them under foot, and to wage war against the Saints for the purpose of destroying them, what may we do to avert it? It has been well answered: Do the will of the Lord; keep His commandments; do good to one another; forgive one another, and ask to be forgiven of each other and of our God; walk humbly before Him day and night; trust in Him, believe in Him, and go forward in the discharge of every duty, fearing only God. “Fear not them,” says the Savior, “which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Let our fear centre upon Him; let our trust and our faith centre upon Him; let us maintain our confidence in Him, that He rules in the heavens and among the armies of men, and that He turns the hearts of the children of men as the rivers of water are turned; and if at one time their hearts are softened, as was Pharaoh’s of old, and then, again, their hearts are hardened, as was Pharaoh’s, we may bear in mind that all these things are necessary in the accomplishment of the divine purposes of our Father and Creator. For the wicked have their agency as well as the righteous, and God will not deprive them of it. He wills not that any be deprived of their agency. If people will work wickedness; if they will violate their covenants; if they will foreswear themselves; if they will trample under foot the constitution and institutions of our common country, (which they are sworn to defend and maintain) in their over-zeal to destroy the Saints they must have their agency so to do. They must have the privilege of working out their own salvation or their own damnation. They must fill up the cup of their iniquity otherwise, how will the Lord be justified in wasting them away and destroying them out of the earth, except they first fill up the cup of their iniquity. But, says one, what and if He shall permit them to overrun and lay waste and scatter and destroy the Latter-day Saints? Such questions have been asked a great many times in years that have gone by, by those that were fearful, or doubtful, or unbelieving; but questions of this kind need not arise in the breasts of those who are living as Saints ought to live, and have the testimony of Jesus dwelling in them. We ought to know, yea, it is our duty to feel that abiding trust and confidence in God, to know that He will make the wrath of the wicked to praise Him, and the residue of wrath He will restrain; and that neither Congress, nor Presidents, nor Senators, nor Judges, nor Governors, nor armies, nor Generals, nor any other human being have or can exercise any power in the earth, except that which is given them of our Father in the heavens, and that He can restrain when it seemeth Him good, and within such limits as seemeth Him good. And this He does without interfering with their personal agency; for man may propose, but God only disposes the affairs of men.

May God help us to be in deed and in truth what we have been called to be—Saints of the last days, and then, whether in life or death, we shall be His, we shall enter into His glory and be numbered with His jewels; for the Lord cometh to make up His jewels, and it will be those who have met together often and have spoken often one to another, that will be numbered therein; while all the proud and they that do wickedly, will become as stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

May the grace of God be sufficient for us under all circumstances, through Jesus Christ our Lord.—Amen.

Self-Existent Truths, etc.

John Morgan

Discourse by Elder John Morgan, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, January 20th, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on to perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God;

“Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.”

I have read the first and second verses of the 6th chapter of Paul’s epistle to the Hebrews.

Having been requested to occupy portion of the time allotted to our afternoon service, I desire an interest in your faith and prayers and confidence, that I may be enabled to say those things which will be acceptable to our common Father and God in the heavens, and will be for our good.

The Latter-day Saints who have congregated together this afternoon for religious worship, come for a particular specified object, having in view the strengthening of their spiritual natures, the receiving of light, intelligence and knowledge from on high on matters that pertain unto eternal life. To enable us to accomplish this object, it is necessary that we draw in our minds from the things by which we are surrounded, and endeavor to concentrate our faith upon the duties which devolve upon us in religious worship. And it is no meaningless phrase when an Elder of Israel asks the faith and prayers of Israel in his behalf, that he may be clothed upon by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to say those things that will be for the good of the people.

We have laid down here, certain principles of the Gospel that Paul taught to the Hebrews nearly 2,000 years ago, but principles that were not new even in that day; on the contrary, principles of eternal truth which have always existed, that always will exist, which cannot be changed in their form, cannot be annihilated through the unbelief of the human family; for they are self-existent and do not depend upon the belief or unbelief of men for their sustenance or for their destruction. In this consists their greatness, that they are not dependent upon the arm of flesh for their existence; for they were just as true when rejected by the Hebrews in days of old as they were in times before that, as they are to-day—accepted by a few of the human family, but rejected by the great mass. The Latter-day Saints, then, feel to congratulate themselves upon this point—that they have built their faith upon a rock which cannot be destroyed, and that will exist not only through the ages of time, but throughout all the endless ages of eternity. Having existed in eternity in the past, it exists to-day, and will exist in the eternities to come.

These principles are plain and simple, so plain and so simple that a wayfaring man though a fool need not err therein; on the contrary they are suited to the capacity of the whole human family, the unlearned as well as the learned. There was this peculiar feature about these principles when they were promulgated in the days of Jesus: as a rule it was the unlearned of the human family that were willing to yield obedience to them; it was the common people who heard him gladly. The teachers of the Jews, they who had control of the synagogues, who stood in the foremost places in the nation, rejected the lowly Nazarene and His teachings, while fishermen from the shores of the Sea of Galilee heard and received Him gladly. That peculiar feature to a greater or less extent adheres to those principles to-day. Gathered from the middle walks of life, from the various nations of the earth, coming from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, for the Gospel’s sake; gathered together in these valleys of the mountains, the Latter-day Saints are willing to sacrifice the good opinion of the world; willing to sacrifice all that man holds near and dear to him for the sake of the truth; willing to forsake kindred and home, the graves of our ancestors, and those associations that bind themselves round the heart—coming here for the sole purpose of being instrumental in the hands of God in establishing His Kingdom, in bringing to pass His purposes, in proclaiming the glad tidings of the Gospel—tidings that were proclaimed to the shepherds upon the plains of Bethlehem 1,800 years ago, “On earth peace, good will towards men;” bringing with us a broad charity and philanthropy for the world, desiring to better the human family, and allowing our charity to go, out broader than that even—reaching behind the veil, taking hold upon the things pertaining not only to this life, but redeeming those who have preceded us into the spirit world—allowing our charity to go out so broad that we give a possible salvation to every son and daughter of Adam that ever came upon the face of the earth, or that shall come.

Paul calls those principles that I have read over, “the doctrine of Christ.” He calls one of those principles the doctrine of repentance. The Latter-day Saints who have gathered from the nations of the earth will bear me out when I say that the doctrine of repentance as believed in by them is different in many respects to the doctrine of repentance as it existed in the lands from whence they came. As the Latter-day Saints understand the doctrine of repentance, it is to turn from that which is wrong; to forsake evil and cleave unto that which is good. If a man has been a wrongdoer, let him be a wrong-doer no longer; let him conform his life to the principles of integrity and righteousness and honor; let him keep the commandments of God in their letter and in their spirit. I care not what the professions of a man may be; I care not with what air of sanctity he may be clothed; without the observance of this law in its true sense, it is not repentance.

Paul speaks of another principle which he calls faith; and in the 11th chapter of his epistle to the Hebrews, he gives some information in regard to its nature and character. He says: “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight. Women received their dead raised to life again,” etc. Faith certainly is a most important principle, and without it, I ask the Latter-day Saints how long could we exist as a body I have often heard the remark made by those unacquainted with the Gospel, those who knew not the truth, but yet who were willing to look dispassionately, yea, even kindly upon the errors and fallacies as they termed them and believed them to be that we are indulging in—the question has been asked by this class of persons: “How does it come, by what process is it that the Latter-day Saints, surrounded as they have been, surrounded as they are to-day, environed around about upon every side by difficulties that seen insurmountable, difficulties and obstacles that might cause, apparently, the stoutest heart to quake and the firmest knees to tremble—that in their hour of trial and tribulation they always had confidence that in the outcome, it would all be well with Israel, that no matter what might be done, it would in the end prove for the good of the Kingdom of God, until, the motto, ‘They can do nothing against, but only for us, has become a household word in the midst of the Saints?” Why, when the powers and influences of the world are brought to bear upon the Latter-day Saints, whether collectively or in an individual capacity, they cling to this principle of faith; they believe in the promises of the God of Israel; they believe that God will not falsify His word; they believe that God will establish His Kingdom, and bring to pass His purposes in the earth. The faith of the Latter-day Saints is a living principle. A Latter-day Saint devoid of the principle of faith, would be an anomaly—in fact such an one could not be a Latter-day Saint; for it requires faith in the God of Israel to stand the tests that they are called upon to pass through. Yet calmly and quietly, deliberately, with full confidence in Jehovah, they can go forth in the discharge of their duties as they understand them, believing that in the outcome God will be their friend and protector in the future as He has been in the past; as He has brought them through the trials and tribulations of days gone by, so will he do in the future. This principle of faith, therefore, that Paul taught to the Hebrews, was certainly a most important one, and it is one without which it would be impossible for the Latter-day Saints to have succeeded.

Paul also speaks of the doctrine of baptisms; not in the singular, but in the plural, apparently, as though there were two baptisms. “The doctrine of baptisms,” he says. We find, following after the principles of faith and repentance, the doctrine of baptism for the remission of sins, as John the forerunner of Jesus taught, as Paul taught, and as Jesus himself taught. It is upon record here that they taught baptism for the remission of sins, of those who would submit to the ordinance of baptism. Or, in other words, to more clearly explain what I wish to, the sins of human beings up till the age at which they are baptized are recorded against them. If they are willing to submit to the ordinance of baptism by immersion, having faith in God, repenting of their sins, by one having authority, God gives them His promise that He will remit their sins; that all that have been committed in the past shall be blotted out from the book of His remembrance, and from that day forth they are free from the sins of the past. The ordinance of baptism, then, is not an ordinance to us of mere form, or something that is submitted to simply because it is an ordinance of the Church. On the contrary, it is positively essential to the salvation of the human family, Nicodemus, in times of old, came to Jesus upon this subject, and apparently asked Him the question, If there was some other possibly better method whereby man could enter the Kingdom of God, and he was told by the Redeemer, that no man could enter the Kingdom of God, except he had been born of the water and of the Spirit.” This is the law as it is laid down. If there is any difference of opinion upon the part of any single individual on this subject, it is not with me, but it is with the word of God, as given through His Son Jesus Christ—that except a man be born of the water and of the spirit he can in no wise enter the Kingdom of God. The Latter-day Saints believe this, and act accordingly—that except a man be born again he could not even see the Kingdom of God, let alone enter therein. The ordinance of baptism for the remission of sins is, then, to Latter-day Saints a very important ordinance.

Paul speaks of another ordinance that he terms the “laying on of hands.” I have found in traveling in the midst of the Christian world, that very often Christian people would agree with me in relation to the principles of which I have spoken. They would say: “Yes, we believe that idea of faith is correct; we believe that idea of repentance is correct; we believe that idea of baptism even is correct; but they were not strong enough apparently to believe in this principle called the “laying on of hands,” which Paul terms one of the doctrines of Christ. We find that this principle is practiced in the midst of the Latter-day Saints as also an essential ordinance—that except a man be baptized in water and born of the Spirit, by the laying on of hands, he can in no wise enter the Kingdom of God. This is the light, we are told, that is given to every soul that comes upon the earth; not to the Latter-day Saints alone, not to the former-day Saints alone, not to those alone who were baptized, but to every soul that cometh upon the earth. The ordinance of baptism for the remission of sins being essential, so is the ordinance of the laying on of hands, that men may receive the Holy Spirit; or, in other words, the laying on of hands is the medium that God has instituted for His children to be placed in communication with Himself, that they may receive the Spirit that leads and guides and directs unto all truth, that brings things past to our remembrance, that shows us things to come, that opens up the visions of heaven and makes known unto us the mind and will of God. I remember one minister with whom I had the privilege of conversing upon this principle. He stated that it looked reasonable; that he did not know really but what it was correct, and doubtless had been neglected in times gone by. Well, he got to thinking over the matter, and he read, “He will show you things to come.” He came to me with some questions. One was, “Do you mean to say the Holy Spirit will show a man things to come?” “Yes.” Well, of course if it shewed me things to come I could tell of it?” “Yes.” “Would not that constitute me a prophet?” “it would.” “Well,” said he, “this generation will not endure this thing; it is too strong doctrine.” I replied that no generation that I had ever read or heard of had endured it; but that in all the ages gone by when God had placed men here upon the earth with authority to confer this gift, they had invariably been rejected of men. This principle is believed in and practiced by the Latter-day Saints. We read in one instance, that is doubtless fresh in the minds of many of the Latter-day Saints—as contained in the 8th Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles—where certain men had been baptized; but they had to send for the Apostles to go into the portion of country where those baptisms had occurred, and we read: “Then laid they their hands on them and they received the Holy Ghost.” The Latter-day Saints believe that not only was that principle efficacious in that direction in that day, but that it is true to-day as then. The Latter-day Saints bear testimony of its truth; that having repented of their sins, having faith in God, having been baptized, having received the laying on of hands, they have received the Holy Spirit, they have received knowledge, light and intelligence from on high, that God has revealed to them certain principles of truth and righteousness. If this is the case, I ask, how can we unlearn these things? how can we unknow them at the dictation of the world? will fines and imprisonment take this knowledge away from us? Will disfranchisement take this knowledge away from us? Will death itself take this knowledge away from us? No, verily, I say to you, it will not. It is with us here to-day; it will be and abide with us when we go hence. The knowledge I have in relation to this principle—of which I bear my testimony to you this day—that I received through the laying of hands, I expect to retain with me so long as I live in accordance with the laws and principles of truth and righteousness. When I turn away from these, there may be a veil of darkness drawn over my mind; but I can never free myself from the fact that I had once a knowledge of the things of God.

These four principles are termed the first principles of the Gospel of the Son of God. These principles the Latter-day Saints believe in. These were the principles that were enunciated by Joseph Smith, 50 years ago. These were the principles, and about the only principles at that time—very nearly the only principles—in the original organization of the Church—that were taught to the world.

But let us reflect in relation to the record and history of that day. Men tell us that a certain doctrine we believe in to-day—a doctrine that has been taught and revealed at more recent date—is the cause of our difficulty. But I ask you, were not difficulties met by the Latter-day Saints, in the early history of the Church, such as we meet to-day? Were they not driven and tossed to and fro? Were they not subject to persecution and death, to fines and imprisonment? Were they not cast out from the Christian world in that day before this obnoxious—as they term it—principle was revealed? Were they not cast out for the doctrine of faith in the God of Israel, for the doctrine of repentance, turning from wrong doing, for the doctrine of baptism for the remission of sins, for the doctrine of the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands? Were the Saints persecuted formerly? So they are to-day; and doubtless this will continue until one or the other power is vanquished; for it is not a struggle between a few people, citizens of the United States, who live here in the Territory of Utah, and in the surrounding States and Territories, to the number of 150,000 or 200,000 people, and the people of the world. It is not a contest between these two parties, by any means, no more than it was a contest between Luther, when, at the Diet at Worms, he exclaimed: “Here I take my stand. I can do no more and no less” It was not a contest between him individually and the priests, but it was a contest between truth and error, right and wrong. It was a contest between the advancement of the human family and their retrogression. This conflict to-day cannot be narrowed down to the few people who live in the Territory of Utah. But running out from here as veins and arteries from the human heart, it penetrates and permeates the whole universe, going from the rivers to the ends thereof, and to all the nations of the human family. This struggle which we are engaged in to-day, the struggle that Joseph Smith was engaged in 50 years ago, in the infancy of this work; the clash of opinion and the conflict of ideas that existed in the days of Nauvoo, that exists to-day; all this does not pertain alone to the Latter-day Saints, my friends, but, on the contrary, to the good, to the salvation and to the redemption of the whole human family—broader in its scope, mightier in its influence than it is generally acknowledged to be. Then, can this conflict cease at the command of men? Can laws be passed to stop this struggle? Is it in the power of kingdoms and principalities and governments to stay the onward march and progress of the principles of truth? No more than it was in times gone by when the march of thought in its onward progress was sought to be stayed by the hand of the mother church from Rome. No more to-day than it could in the days when the Puritans in England, when the Huguenots in France, asked the privilege of worshiping God according to the dictates of their own conscience; and almost as a parody on human nature, when these very same Puritans came to the land of America, they in turn could turn upon the Quakers and persecute them for religion’s sake, bore holes through the tongues of the people that did not agree with them in religious matters. But what did all this accomplish? The world looks back—the Christian world looks back with shame upon this record of their ancestors, and yet in turn they do the very same thing to-day, to be followed in a generation or two by people whose faces will mantle with the blush of shame, that in this free land of America, under a government established for the freedom of the human family, where the religious exile, the exile for thought and ideas, from the nations of the earth could come to for protection; that in this land dedicated to freedom and equality to all men there should have found footing the idea that men must be persecuted for religion’s sake, for belief’s sake. Let the Latter-day Saints then, understand and comprehend that this struggle which we are engaged in, broadens out and extends itself not to us alone, but to the nations of the earth, to the whole human family. I imagine I hear some one say, “But is not that a contradiction. You asserted a few moments ago that baptism was essential to the salvation of the human family, and as there has been but a very few of the human family baptized, how is it with the rest who have not had the privilege of this ordinance? Paul very correctly wrote, and the translators very correctly translated this passage that I read, wherein he refers to the doctrine of baptisms, for there is more than one baptism. We read of the baptism of water for the remission of sin. We read of another baptism; far as I have, already quoted, except a man be born of the water and of the spirit, he can in no wise enter into the Kingdom of God. Then we ask ourselves the question, What shall become of the untold millions of the human family who have not heard the sound of the Gospel? What shall we do with those who have not even heard anything relative to the plan of salvation? Our Christian friends, for instance, devote many thousands of dollars and pounds sterling to the conversion of the heathen as they are pleased to call them, and to carry the Bible to those who are unacquainted with it. This is certainly very commendable; this certainly shows a most philanthropic spirit upon their part; this is an evidence of good will to the human family, and it is to be commended. But inasmuch as they reach but a very few, we ask ourselves the question, What shall become of the rest? To the Latter-day Saints this is a solved problem. We assert this not simply with the words of our lips; we assert this not simply in editorials and pamphlets written; but we prove our faith by our works. Almost within the sound of my voice here, there is a magnificent temple being erected at the expense of many hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the town of St. George in the south, at the expense of nearly half a million; at Manti, in Sanpete County; at Logan, in Cache; we have four temples either completed or nearly so. At Nauvoo, when the Saints were storm-tossed with persecution, surrounded about by mobs, and every influence that fiendish vindictiveness could think of, was brought to bear upon them, they built themselves a magnificent temple there. At Kirtland, in the days of their infancy, when the labors which they performed were very arduous in comparison with the labors the Latter-day Saints have to perform to-day in the building of these temples, they built another temple. What are these temples for? There is an object in their being built. We prove our faith in these things by our works, seeking not only to redeem ourselves, seeking not only salvation for our own household, but extending its influence beyond and reaching out to those of our progenitors who have gone before us into the spirit world and are there, becoming acquainted with the principles of eternal life; for as recorded in the 3rd Chapter of the Epistle of Peter, “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the spirit: by which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah.” Or as we find it still further recorded in the 4th chapter of the same epistle: “For this cause was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.” We also find a question asked of our Savior, as recorded in the account of His crucifixion in the book of Saint Luke. One of the thieves who was crucified alongside of our Savior, said to Him: “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom.” Jesus could not consistently do this; for He had told Nicodemus previous to that, that except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit he could not enter into His Kingdom; and this thief, acknowledging that he was worthy of death, was, consequently, an unrepentant, unbaptized sinner. Jesus, however, turned to him and said: “To-day thou shalt be with me in paradise.” The Christian world have made the mistake of imagining, believing and teaching that Jesus and the thief on the cross went back to the bosom of our Father and God in heaven. But we find, after the resurrection of our Savior, when He stood by the open door of the sepulchre, Mary came, and recognizing Him, put out her hands to touch Him. But Jesus said: “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father in heaven; but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God and your God.” During the three days that the body of Jesus lay in the tomb, then, where was the spirit that formerly inhabited the body? According to the testimony of Peter, as recorded in the 3rd Chapter of the first epistle of Peter, it was preaching to the spirits in prison; and Isaiah tells us that it was for this that Jesus was to come; it was to loose the bonds of the prisoners; it was to open the prison-door. Men who had lived in days gone by, who had failed to obey the commandments of God, who had passed into the spirit world, according to the accepted idea of a few years ago—Christian ideas change about these things, you know—these people were eternally lost. There was no possible chance for their redemption; but having closed their eyes in death as sinners in the sight of God, they were under condemnation to all eternity. A strange parody indeed upon the idea of God’s love and mercy for His children! God is love, we are told, and yet in the short space of one man’s life, that man’s sins and errors—nay, more than that, he might have lived honorably and honestly; he might have sought to do as best he knew how; he might have been a good citizen, a good father, a good husband; he might have filled all these duties acceptably, yet if he is outside the pale of the Church and death overtakes him in that condition, he was eternally lost according to the Christian idea of a few years ago. Leading thinkers of to-day, in the Christian world are changing their views very materially in relation to this matter, as within the past few years I heard the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher declare, that, if his God reigned in the next world, every man and woman who did not learn the truth here, should have the privilege there. Then we find also Dr. Thomas, of Chicago, a leading light in the religious world, and very many who are distinguished in the religious world, are to-day changing their ideas and theories in relation to this matter. One of the peculiar features connected with the Gospel in days gone by is often presented to my mind in this wise: Jesus taught some of His doctrines in the midst of the Pharisees and Scribes. They found that certain of His doctrines were popular; they found that certain of His doctrines were very pleasant; they found that certain of His doctrines were very agreeable. And so they did what He told them they were doing. They poured new wine into their old Pharisee bottles; they endeavored to patch their Sadducee coat with a new piece of cloth; but they were told that they would burst their bottles, and make a larger rent in their coat than there was. So it is to-day. When Mr. Beecher introduces to the Christian world the idea that there is a redemption beyond the grave, he shakes the pillars of so called Christianity; he gives them a mightier blow than could be given by an Elder advocating the same doctrine; and when Dr. Thomas, of Chicago, advanced that idea to his intelligent audience, it went like wild fire over the land that so distinguished a theologian as Dr. Thomas, had declared that there was a chance for redemption after the grave. This new wine, revealed from heaven in this day and age of the world, through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith, a man who was despised by the world, is being taken by the wise men and poured into their sectarian bottles, and in the end the result will be as it was with the Pharisees in times gone by.

But this doctrine has more of a meaning to the Latter-day Saints than simply preaching to the spirits in prison. We read here in the old Bible where God, speaking through the mouth of one of His Prophets, said certain things should transpire in the last days. “Behold,” says the Lord through His Prophet Malachi, “I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord; and he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” So to-day the Latter-day Saints testify that God having sent the Prophet Elijah to the earth to reveal this principle, or rather to give the key for the administration of this principle, the hearts of the children here upon the earth are being turned to the fathers behind the veil, and the hearts of the fathers behind the veil are being turned to their children here upon the earth, the one feeling after the other for their redemption; for without them we cannot be perfect, neither can they without us. This plan of salvation that the Latter-day Saints believe in is broad, indeed it reaches out to the whole human family, present, past and future. We read in the 15th Chapter of 1st Corinthians, an explanation of this expression of Paul’s in regard to the two baptisms. In the 29th verse of that Chapter he says: “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all. Why are they then baptized for the dead?” Or as Paul expresses it in the 19th verse of the same chapter: “If in this life only, we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” Paul in preaching to the Corinthians said that very few of them took hold of the Gospel. The great mass rejected Paul. Paul, however, with that broad philanthropy of heart, lit up by the light that first came to him on his way to Damascus, would have been miserable indeed had he not learned of this great principle that in the spirit world these Corinthians would be preached to and taught. So the Latter-day Saints to-day would be of all men the most miserable if they did not recognize this principle of preaching to spirits in prison and baptism for the dead. The Latter-day Saints are fulfilling the Scripture, which says that there shall be gathered home to Zion, “one of a city and two of a family.” In many instances one person of an entire lineage is all there is in the Church and Kingdom of God. That being the case, what of the fathers and the mothers, the brothers and the sisters, the relatives near and dear, who have not had the opportunity of accepting the Gospel? How glorious, how grand a work it is that swells the hearts of Israel to know that we can enter into the temples of the living God and redeem our dead and become in truth and indeed saviors upon Mount Zion! Certainly no nobler, no grander, no mightier principle has ever been revealed to the human family than this. And though we may have doctrines that are obnoxious to the world; though we may have principles that innovate upon established ideas; though we may have ideas that conflict with those of the honest and the good, and those who love the principles of integrity and righteousness; though we may have all these, yet when we come to reflect in regard to this one principle, that of itself alone should be sufficient to recommend the Latter-day Saints to the whole civilized world; that of itself should blot out from their remembrance those other matters that seem to disagree with and are unpleasant to them. That principle that is reaching out for the salvation of the untold myriads of the human family—the very possibility of it should cause the hearts of the whole human family to rejoice, should cause them to think, to feel and to act kindly towards a people who are seeking to carry out this principle. But human nature is very strong in relation to these matters, and as it has been in the past doubtless it will be in the future—that through much tribulation shall they come up who shall be clothed in robes of white, and that it is through trial and tribulation God shall have a tried people. The Latter-day Saints do not lay to themselves the flattering unction that there shall be peace, peace, peace, to us just yet; but that on the contrary this work and this struggle will continue; the nations of the earth will be brought to the knowledge of the truth; the honest of the blood of Israel will be gathered home; the kingdom of God will be built up; temples will be erected and the Saints will enter into them and redeem their dead, and cause the hearts of our fathers and our mothers who have gone before us into the spirit world to rejoice; and we shall join hands with the Prophets and Apostles of days gone by, with those of to-day who have preceded us behind the veil; with the good and the true of all ages; with our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ, and with God our Eternal Father in the heavens—all linked together in one mighty phalanx in this great and glorious work of the latter-days.

May God bless you. Amen.

Object of Assembling, etc.

John Taylor

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, Feb. 10, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

We meet together from time to time to speak, to sing, to pray, and, according to an institution which has been provided, to partake of the sacrament of the Lord’s supper, and also to perform those various duties devolving upon us as servants of the living God. It is pleasant, for the Saints to meet together to commune with each other, to listen to the words of life, to reflect also upon their position and relationship to God, to His Church and Kingdom, as well as to examine into their own feelings, and, under the guidance of the Lord and of His Holy Spirit, try to find out what relationship they sustain to their Heavenly Father, and whether they are performing the various duties devolving upon them, and are seeking to carry out the word, the will, and the law of God.

We are certainly a very peculiar people gathered together in these valleys of the mountains; we are assembled here from many nations; it would be difficult to say at present how many; but I think on some public occasion a while ago, there were twenty-five nationalities represented. In this respect, we present a very singular aspect, and occupy a very peculiar position in the history of the day and age wherein we live. Our religion differs very widely from that which exists in the world. Our ideas of God, of futurity, of heaven and of hell, and of the future destiny of the human family, not only of ourselves, but of all nations, differ very materially from that of others. Our social ideas, too, are very dissimilar from those entertained by others. And, again, our political ideas are not in accord in many respects with those of others, and thus we find ourselves in a very anomalous position, gathered together here in these valleys of the mountains, separated to a great extent from the rest of mankind. We were a few years ago very decidedly separated. Now, this portion of the continent has become almost the highway of the nations. I frequently meet with persons from France, England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, from the various Principalities of Germany; from Russia, Italy, Spain, Portugal; from Australia, and the Islands of the sea, and from almost all the nations of the earth. They pass by here, and hearing that we are a strange sort of a people, they are desirous to know something about us as they pass through.

It frequently becomes a question in the minds of many—How and in what manner did these things originate, and what is the object of our being thus gathered together as a separate and distinct people? By what motives are we actuated? The world of mankind, whether in this nation, or in any other nation, form very strange notions in regard to our reasons for thus gathering together. Although we have been striving for a great many years to enlighten the world in relation to this and other matters, still they seem very much at sea in regard to the position which we occupy, and to our moral, social, religious and political status. So that it becomes almost impossible for people at a distance from here, notwithstanding we profess to live in an age of light and intelligence, in an age of railroads, telegraphs, and telephones, in an age when rapid communication can be had, say from all parts of the earth in one day, in an age of professed knowledge of science, literature and art, and of everything that is calculated—or ought to be if properly conducted—to promote the welfare of the human family; I say that, notwithstanding all these things, if there is one subject about which the human family to-day is grossly ignorant, it is on the subject of the principles of the Latter-day Saints. A short time ago a very distinguished European gentleman, after eulogising the appearance of our city, the quiet and order that prevail, etc., said to me, “President Taylor you can scarcely conceive how impossible it is, outside of your Territory, to obtain correct information regarding you as a people;” and an editor of The North American Review told me he came here from New York, expressly for the purpose of getting me to write an article on our present status, thus again exhibiting the strange attitude which we occupy before this nation and the world, and demonstrating that in consequence of such a flood of falsehood, vituperation and abuse which is constantly circulated against us, that it is almost impossible, as before referred to, to obtain any correct information concerning us. Some of the literary men who come along here, express to me the opinion that we have been maligned and misrepresented a good deal. I tell them that in an age like this people ought to know better; that they ought to be better informed; that they ought to make themselves acquainted with facts within the reach of everybody; and that there is no excuse for ignorance in relation to these matters, Still this ignorance continues. There is an under-current that men generally are not acquainted with, which operates in the minds of men and produces these results of which I speak at the present time. To the Latter-day Saints there is nothing very mysterious about this. We have passed through this state of things in embryo, years and years ago. Many of you thought, when you heard the Gospel, and your hearts had been made glad by obedience thereunto, that all you would have to do would be to tell your particular friends and relatives of these things, and that it would cause their hearts to rejoice as it did yours. You felt interested in their welfare and had a desire to promote their happiness, that they might rejoice with you in the blessings which you experienced through obedience to the Gospel. But lo and behold! the moment you opened your mouth on this subject, you were set down as impostors. You were probably before this a decent man or a decent woman; but now you became ostracised and cut off in many instances from association even with members of your own family. Was it because you had become corrupt? No. Was it because you had become unsocial? No. Was it because you possessed principles that were at variance with the principles of truth, virtue, honor, and the word of God? No. And if you had asked them what the reason was, for their coolness and the feeling of ostracism that they manifested, they could not tell, only that you were a “Mormon.” You have all of you experienced this. If this is the case, then, with your most intimate friends—with your relatives, with your fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, uncles and aunts, with whom you had been on the most friendly terms heretofore—how can you expect the world to look at things in any different manner. I reflect sometimes upon the position occupied by the ancient Christians, and upon the character, position and standing of Jesus, the Son of God. We all profess to reverence Him. All Christendom bows in reverence at the mention of His name; they feel there is something hallowed about it. They look upon Him as being the Son of God, and they look upon His Apostles as men of unblemished reputation, of pure lives, holy, virtuous and upright. You cannot travel anywhere in Christendom but you find churches erected to St. Paul, St. Peter, to St. John, to St. Matthew, to St. Luke, and to all the different saints as they are now called by the people. But how was it with these saints when they lived here upon the earth They were called disturbers of the peace. It was said of them that they were stirrers up of sedition—that they were impure, ungodly men. The idea of their being persecuted, as we read of, for their religion, would have been altogether preposterous in that day. They would tell you they were prosecuted for their crimes and their iniquities. They were brought before rulers, kings and judges, and they had to depend upon the Lord and His Holy Spirit, to sustain them under those circumstances. Jesus emphatically told them to expect these things. “If the world hate you,” said He, “ye know that it hated me before it hated you. * * * If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. * * * For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?” It is singular, yet it is a fact that these things did exist. While the crowds were ready sometimes to cover his path with olive branches and with their garments, and to shout “Hosanna? Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,” yet with the very next breath they were ready to cry, “Crucify Him! crucify Him! it is not fit that He should live.” And when He was hounded and hunted, persecuted and proscribed, at the very last, even when a Roman judge said, “What evil hath he done?” and washed his hands of the blood of this just person, they still continued to cry, “Let Him be crucified,” and Barabbas, a noted thief and a murderer, was released in preference to Jesus. This was the kind of feeling manifested toward the Savior. Were they an ignorant people that thus treated Him? No. They were what were called the elite of the day, the educated; men of position, the High Priests, the scribes, the Pharisees, the doctors, the lawyers, the leading men of the nation; all of them engaged in this thing, and all of them partook of the same spirit. What was the cause of this? It was because He was not of the world. “If ye were of the world,” said the Savior to His disciples, “the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” That is the cause. The world loveth its own. And the world is to-day, was then, and always will be, until it shall be regenerated, opposed to God, opposed to righteousness and opposed to the principle of truth. Paul makes the following statement: “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is at enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” There is nothing new, therefore, in any of these matters that we hear bruited around from place to place—from the east to the west, from the north to the south, and spreading abroad among the nations of the earth; nothing new, nothing strange, nothing very remarkable in any of these things. The carnal mind knows not tire things of God, and is not subject to the law of God, neither can it be. They form all kinds of opinions, even, with regard to our gathering. “Why don’t you stop at home as other folks do?” Some say that it is an emigration scheme gotten up to make money, and that missionaries are sent out by us to deceive the weak and the ignorant, and to gather them together that they may be made merchandise of. That is one idea. You all know how far that is true, and how far it is false. Others say that we are gathered here for licentious purposes—to carry out polygamic ideas, to corrupt, demoralize, and trample under foot the women who come and associate with us, and to destroy their virtue; whereas you know there is not a place in the world where women are better protected and their virtue more sacredly guarded than in Utah. They compare plural marriage to their whoredom, seductions, their social evils, and the many kinds of iniquity, corruption and rottenness that prevail among themselves. Reasoning from their own standpoint, they consider that we are a very wicked, corrupt and licentious people. But according to the statistics that we have pertaining to these matters, our immorality is twenty to forty times less than theirs here in our midst, without going any further. The crimes, in[i]quities and corruptions committed by the small minority of outsiders in our midst very far exceed, perhaps by twenty to thirty times, the crimes of the Latter-day Saints. This excess of crime on the part of outsiders is what might be reasonably expected; for we profess to be a better people, and we ought to be a better people than those who make no pretentions to be guided by divine revelation. Examine the records of our city jail, of the Penitentiary, of the county prisons, which have been published and are being published, and you will find a full statement in relation to these matters and the per cent of crime that exists between one and the other. Mr. Barclay, a member of the British Parliament, who lately visited us, writes in “The Nineteenth Century,” a monthly review published in London: “In the winter of 1881, a census was taken of the prisons in Utah, with the following results:—In the City Prison were twenty-nine convicts, and in the county prison six convicts, all non-Mormons. In the Penitentiary, out of fifty-one prisoners only five were Mormons, two of whom were there for polygamy. * * Of the population of Salt Lake City, about 75 per cent is Mormon, and 25 per cent non-Mormon.” He further says: “These figures conclusively prove that the Mormons are a sober, law-abiding people, and singularly free from the grosser forms of vice; whatever may be alleged by ignorant or prejudiced enemies. Of the two hundred saloons, billiard, bowling alley, and pool table keepers, not a dozen even profess Mormonism.” And since these figures were published, others in relation to 1882 have been made public. One gentleman, who has spent a considerable length of time investigating these matters, writes: “The statistics at hand for 1882 * * * cover a wide field, taking in all the populous districts of the Territory. The total number of all arrests for crimes and misdemeanors in these localities during 1882, was 2,198—of which the 78 per cent of the Mormon population furnished 300, and the 22 per cent of the non-Mormons 1,898, * * So that the Mormons comprising 78 per cent. of the population of the Territory contributed one eighth of the arrests made during 1882 and the non-Mormons, having only 22 per cent contributed seven-eighths. The number of brothels throughout the Territory was 12, all kept by non-Mormons.”

Regarding Salt Lake City, where he resided for some time, he states: “The criminal record of Salt Lake City, for 1882, shows that in a population of about 25,000, divided between Mormons and non-Mormons as 19 to 6, the total number of arrests was 1,561, of which 188 were Mormons and 1,373 non-Mormons. Of the 66 houses, where beer and liquor were retailed by the glass, 60 were kept by non-Mormons, and the remaining 6, nominally Mormons, were not entitled to participate in the sacraments of the Church by reason of their calling. The 15 billiard rooms and bowling alleys, and the 7 gambling houses were all kept by non-Mormons. The 6 brothels had non-Mormon proprietors, and they were filled by 31 non-Mormon inmates.” There is nothing in this to be proud of; for it would be a pity if we could not live better than they do. We have gathered here, not for speculative purposes, as is sometimes charged, but to worship God, to keep His commandments, and to be instructed in the laws of life. There is no cause for boasting on our part in regard to these things; but I refer to them to show how fallacious their ideas are in regard to these matters.

Then, is it strange that we should be placed in the position that we are? Yes, it is very strange, but it is nevertheless true, and the same condition of things has existed in the different ages.

We profess to be the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ; we profess to be in possession of the everlasting Gospel; we profess to have gathered here to observe the laws and keep the commandments of God, and that we might assist in building up the Church of God, the Kingdom of God, and the Zion of God. These are really the facts of the case. True, we do not do as well as we might. We are not as pure as we might be, nor as good, nor as virtuous, nor as upright, nor do we possess the amount of integrity that we ought; but, then, we don’t propose to place ourselves on a level with the outside world; we have not dropped to their standard by a very long way: and many of us are striving to live our religion, to observe the laws of God, and to keep His commandments.

In regard to the spirit and genius of the age in which we live, there is nothing, as I have said, strange about that. The powers of darkness have always been in antagonism to the light, truth and intelligence that proceeds from God, and till Satan is bound, and his power is curtailed by a superior power, that state of things will continue, and instead of getting better and better, we are told in the Scriptures, that the wicked shall grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. Do you imagine that they will grow better? I do not.

Do not let us be mistaken in relation to all these things—that is as the world are mistaken. We complain sometimes about the injustice of men. I expect to find unjust men, many of them. We refer to certain laws that are being enacted by our Congress as unconstitutional, etc. Why, we expect they will yet pass many laws of that kind. We don’t expect them to be our friends or the friends of God. They don’t profess it. We have a right to expect, of course, that they would abide by the Constitution, because that is an instrument gotten up by themselves, and that they profess to be governed by, and that men in authority swear to uphold. We have a right to expect that. But, then, does not all Christendom profess to believe in the Bible? Yes. And do the ministers of the various denominations? Yes. Do they practice its teachings. Do they follow its doctrines? Or are there any two of their doctrines alike? They have all kinds of theories, notions and ideas; yet still they tell you that the Bible contains the word of God. But are they governed by it? No. God placed in the Church Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers and Evangelists, and He gave unto His servants the Holy Ghost, and the light of revelation, and made them acquainted with the same sacred principles. They were all baptized unto one baptism, and all partook of the same spirit. How is it now? Many Lords, many faiths, many baptisms.

Speaking of the doctrine of the plurality of wives, I remember talking with one of our Presidents—I mean one of the Presidents of the United States—on this subject in Washington, a number of years ago, as I have with others since on the same subject; but I remember some of the remarks made on that occasion. “Well,” said he, after talking some little on politics, and one thing and another, “what about your polygamy?” “Mr. Pierce,” said I—I can mention his name now as it is a thing of the past—“it may be possible that some of us may have wrong ideas in regard to these things. We read about such a man as Abraham, who is described as ‘the friend of God;’ we read about such a man as David, who is described as ‘a man after God’s own heart:’ we read about Jacob, who had twelve sons, whose names are to be written upon the twelve gates of the holy city. Who was Jacob? He was a man who had several wives, by whom he had these twelve sons. Then we read of Moses—a man of God, a leader of Israel, and a law-giver. He told the people how they should treat their children whether by the first wife or by the second, and how all these matters were to be arranged. “Mr. Pierce,” said I, “It is possible that we of the nineteenth century, have not been able to instruct the Lord very much in regard to these matters. Probably He knew just as much about them then as we do now, and that in regard to our marital laws, we may have made some mistakes. “Well,” said Mr. Pierce, “I cannot say.” Of course he could not.

Now, then, men assume to judge the acts of others, but they don’t judge their own acts, and they strive to falsify us, and to make evils of those things that God has ordained according to His economy, and that men of old, who were considered men of God, and the friends of God, practiced under His direction. It is not uncommon for men to talk about Abraham. They would like to get into Abraham’s bosom—that is most of the Christians of the present day would like to have a place in Abraham’s bosom. Would you? Would you really? Are there any of that class here that would like to go unto Abraham’s bosom? Why, should you have your wish, when you woke up you would find you were in the bosom of a polygamist, and would not that be very horrible? But that would be the fact. Jesus Himself, was a descendant of that class of people who had practiced the things that we to-day believe in. But they didn’t persecute Him because He was a polygamist. They persecuted Him because He was a friend of publicans and sinners. They accused Him of being a blasphemer, of casting out devils through the power of Beelzebub, the prince of devils. If He did any good act at all, they were ready to cry out, “Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.”

These things are facts that we cannot ignore. They stand out before us in living characters, and to use a very trite saying, “history repeats itself” in regard to these things. The same causes in one age generally produce the same results in another age.

I will now tell you about some of my feelings when I first came into this Church. It is a long while ago. When I first heard the Gospel I was compelled to admit there was something reasonable about it. I almost hoped it was not true. “If it is true,” said I, “as an honest man I shall be obliged to obey it, or else I cannot have any confidence in myself.” When I had investigated the subject, and become convinced that it was true, I said, “I am in for it; I must embrace it; I cannot reject the principles of eternal truth;” and I will say, moreover, I don’t know of a time in my life when if anybody presented a truth that could not be controverted, but I was ready to obey it; and I am to-day. If any person in the religious world, or the political world, or the scientific world, will present to me a principle that is true, I am prepared to receive it, no matter where it comes from. Well, says one, you believe the Bible? Yes. You believe in the Book of Mormon? Yes. You believe the Book of Doctrine and Covenants? Yes. I believe all that God has ever written or spoken, everything that we have on record, and I am prepared to believe every thing that He will communicate to the human family. We profess to believe in all truth, and to be governed by all truth.

Then, in regard to our position—referring to that again—we are gathered here from the different nations of the earth, from England and elsewhere. I remember the time very well when the Gospel was not preached in England. I remember when Brothers Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, Wilford Woodruff, myself and others took our first, mission to England. Many of you that are here, whose heads are white like mine, will remember the circumstances. We took our departure after laying the corner-stone of the Temple in Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri. The people were much excited about the Mormons at that time, just as they are now, and every once in awhile. They had gotten up a furore against us; and Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Bishop McRae, and others, were seized by a mob and imprisoned; and many of you may have read the remarks made by a certain General Clark—the famous, or rather infamous General Clark. He told the people—the same as they tell us now—that it was wrong to gather as they were then doing, and as we are now doing, and place ourselves under Bishops, etc. And said he—I heard him—“Oh, that I could invoke the spirit of the unknown God to rest upon you, that you may be delivered from the delusions with which you are encompassed.” But his “unknown God” didn’t hear him, and the “delusions” have still gone on. We had been driven out of Missouri. They were so good a people and so virtuous, and we were so bad. But we were not polygamists then; we had not entered into the awful crime of polygamy; but we dared to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience. They drove us out, took possession of our property, and robbed and pillaged everyone they could. After doing this they did not like that their action should go out to the world; so the legislature actually made an appropriation for us—that is, for the poor “Mormons”—of $2,000, if my memory serves me aright. They had killed and destroyed any amount of our cattle and hogs, and anything and everything of that kind that they came across. Still they pretended to be very sorry for us, and solicitous for our welfare. In order that we might not suffer, they went into an adjoining county where our people lived, stole a lot of hogs from them, and then turned in those hogs to make up the appropriation made by the legislature of Missouri! They were so liberal in their operations! They stole the hogs from one portion of our people, and then gave them to another. I saw the hogs come in, and they were butchered and divided among the Mormons.

These are some of the things that I am acquainted with. Was I surprised when I saw such operations? No. I expected when I came into this Church, that I should be persecuted and proscribed. I expected that the people would be persecuted. But I believed that God had spoken, that the eternal principles of truth had been revealed, and that God had a work to accomplish which was in opposition to the ideas, views and notions of men, and I did not know but it would cost me my life before I got through. It came pretty near it at one time; yes, at many times. I have had to “stand the racket” in a way that many of you folks don’t know much about. More than once I have had to face large crowds of people in the shape of armies, expecting to come into contact every moment—no farther off, perhaps, than the length of this hall. That is not a very pleasant position to be in. But I was in a worse scrape in Carthage jail, when Joseph and Hyrum were killed—penned up in a room and attacked by a blackened mob. I had to stand at the door and ward off the guns while they were trying to shoot us, and we without arms, and under the protection of the Governor of the State. Dr. Bernhisel and myself were sent by, Joseph Smith to wait upon the Governor, and lay before him the facts of the case. We told him we were competent to take care of ourselves, and did not require any of his aid, for we had an organized body of militia that were quite competent to protect us from their mobs, and asked his advice. He thereupon stated it would be better for us not to bring an armed force, and pledged his faith and the faith of the State, as Governor, for our protection. We consented. This he said to Dr. Bernhisel and myself; and that pledge was violated by the murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith in Carthage jail, and I myself received five balls in my person; but then I am here yet.

Was there anything surprising in all this? No. If they killed Jesus in former times, would not the same feeling and influence bring about the same results in these times? I had counted the cost when I first started out, and stood prepared to meet it.

We afterwards came to these valleys of the mountains. We people have been gathered here and are gathering; but we have had to encounter very little of such things as I have referred to. It is true, we had what was called the Buchanan war, when we paraded up and down, and when we went to Echo, etc. But there was not much harm done. It cost the government some forty million dollars, from what I learn; but there was no one killed. Two newspaper reporters who had been sent out here to report the war, got to fighting between themselves, and I remember being called upon by one of them to assist him in his trouble in Provo. That is all that occurred. We had to go out and meet the army. We marched and counter marched—the same as we do in our dances, you know; one of those grand marches, marching in and marching out; and finally the President sent us a pardon for that which we had never done. We did not appreciate it very much. With the exception of that little episode, we have not had much trouble. I have heard people complain of our judges and our governors, and this, that and the other. Why, bless your soul, how can they send better men than they have? We need not expect good men, virtuous men, honorable men; they can only send such as they have, consequently, we need not look for any better.

Well, what are we to do? They are talking all kinds of loud things about us now. They keep on talking. Sometimes they do a little; sometimes they don’t do much; sometimes they are very angry with us, and get up quite a furore. A Presidential election is coming on, you know, and they are preparing things for that, and the “Mormon question” is as good a thing as they can have on both sides of the House—on the republican side, and on the democratic, too. “Well,” the question is asked, “What are they going to do with you?” It don’t make much difference. They hardly know themselves. They think they are going to do a great deal. They will do just what the Lord will let them, and no more. But we understand their ideas, I presume, as well as they do. Here are two political parties. The republicans long ago put into their platform that there were two twin relics that had to be moved out of the way—the one was slavery, and the other polygamy. They have removed slavery out of the way, but polygamy seems to be rather a hard nut for them to crack. It seems to bother them. They are in a good deal of trouble about it, and the religious people are very much exercised over it. Their pure souls are very much agonized about things of that sort, and about impurities which exist among the Mormons. They cannot see or say anything about the licentiousness, the corruption, the foeticide, the infanticide, the rottenness, hypocrisy, lying, fraud and deception that exists among themselves; but they think we are a very bad people, and in order to purge the nation of so foul a blot, they must all unite to put us down. They will just do what the Lord will let them, and no more.

Now, neither of these political parties are our friends. Neither of them are the friends of God. They think that we are democratic. We are to a certain extent, and then we are republicans to a certain extent. But the republicans are afraid that the democrats are going to make use of us in some way or other, and they are determined to crowd the Mormons down their throats, and the democrats gulp at it; they don’t like to swallow it. It is worse than the apple that stuck in Adam’s throat. They don’t want to shoulder the responsibility, and so the democrats will join with the republicans on a question of this kind, just the same as the Scribes and Pharisees, the Herodians and Sadducees, did when Jesus was to be crucified. Pilate and Herod could then be made friends, and they were hail fellows, well met. So it is now, and as the Church of England chant says: “As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, worlds without end, amen,” it may continue—at least for a certain length of time.

What are we to do under those circumstances? Shall we be very angry? No. I feel just as easy about it as the boy did about his father. Says Tommy, to his companion: “Do you know my daddy?” “No, I don’t.” “Why,” said Tommy, “I know him just as e-a-s-y.” I feel just as easy as the boy did about knowing his daddy.

We are engaged in a work of importance. We are immortal beings. We are dual beings associated with time and eternity; I might say associated with the past, the present, and the future. We have a work to perform here upon the earth, and with the help of Israel’s God we expect to do that work.

I do not wish to defame anybody. But the things I have talked of are true. It is a pity they are true, but then they are. What are we going to do? Do right. We are called of God to be an upright people, a virtuous people, an honorable people. We are called upon to maintain correct principles, and to introduce them among the peoples of the earth, and especially among the people of this nation. Jesus told His disciples to pray in His day, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Did He understand what He was saying. I think He did.

The Lord has gathered us together in these valleys of the mountains, that He might have a people who would be prepared to receive the eternal truths of heaven, and be governed by them. Instead of your being deceived to get you to come here, you had the pure principles of the Gospel of the Son of God preached unto you, in the various nations from which you have come. You were called upon to repent of your sins, and to be baptized in the name of Jesus, for the remission of sins, and to have hands laid upon you for the reception of the Holy Ghost. And when you received that Holy Ghost, it took of the things of God, and showed them unto you. Among other things it showed you that it was proper for you to gather to the land of Zion, and you came here. It was under this influence you came. You came to learn more fully the law of God, and to be instructed in the principles of eternal life. The Lord has said through the Prophet Jeremiah: “I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion; and I will give you pastors, according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.” This is what we are gathered here for—to build up the Zion of our God, to establish the Kingdom of God, and to purify and exalt the Church of the living God; that His people may be presented without spot or wrinkle, as spoken of in the Scriptures; that they may be prepared to have an inheritance among those that are sanctified; and that the principles of eternal truth may go forth from the land of Zion, and extend to the ends of the earth, that the honest in heart may be gathered together to help establish the principles of truth upon this land of Zion.

Shall we accomplish this? I think we shall. But people are opposed to you. What difference does that make to you or to me? We are here, as Jesus was, to do the will of God. “I seek not mine own will,” said the Savior, “but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” We are here to-day to do the same thing.

Now, do you feel angry at our enemies? No. They don’t know any better, and if they did many of them would not like to act differently. If they are not capable of comprehending and receiving the truths of God, we cannot help it. But shall we be their enemies because of this? No. Shall we return evil for evil? No. What shall we return? Good for evil, blessing for cursing. “Pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.” What was the blessing pronounced upon Abraham? “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;” not cursed. Did they carry this out? Yes. Witness the preaching of the Apostles in former times in the land of Asia, and the disciples on this continent. Who were they? Descendants of Abraham. Whom did they preach to? A good people, a virtuous people, a holy people? No, if they had been good, virtuous and holy, there would have been no need of a message of that kind being taken to them. But God felt merciful towards all the human family; for they are all His children, and His design was to benefit and bless them, so far as they would let Him, and sometimes He has had to deal with them very severely. On one occasion He had to cut them off by a flood, because they had corrupted themselves. Every imagination of their hearts was evil, and that continually. They were raising up a corrupt progeny, and it was an injustice to the spirits that dwelt in the heavens that wished and desired and had a right to have tabernacles here upon the earth. Those corrupt men and women were not fit to be the producers of those tabernacles, and they had to be cut off. But God knew how to manipulate these matters. He prepared a prison house for them, and when Jesus came He went and preached to the spirits in prison that sometime were disobedient in the days of Noah.

God has always felt interested in the welfare of the human family; but there are certain eternal laws associated with His economy that have to be carried out, whether in His Church or out of His Church. From the members of His Church He expects a higher state of morality than He does from those that are outside. All men will be judged according to the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or evil. The Gospel has been sent to them from time to time. The old disciples were told to go to every nation, kindred, tongue and people, and proclaim its glad tiding, and the people on this continent had the same testimony delivered among them. In the last days there was another angel to fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth. What Gospel? The same Gospel that Adam had, the same Gospel that Enoch had, the same Gospel that Seth and Mahalaleel and Noah had, the same Gospel that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had, and that Moses and the Prophets had, the same Gospel that Jesus had, the same Gospel that was taught on the Asiatic continent and on the American continent, and proclaimed to the various peoples of the earth.

As Latter-day Saints we believe this Gospel has been restored, and further, we know that we are in possession of it. I do for one, and so do you; and through obedience to its principles, and the reception of the Holy Ghost, you Latter-day Saints do know that this is the work of God, and if you don’t know it, it is because you are not living your religion, and keeping the commandments of God; “for if any man will do His will,” says Christ, “he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” And the Spirit taketh of the things of God, and shows them unto us, and if we will follow its teaching, it searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. If we do not know these things, we ought to know them, and we shall know them if we only humble ourselves, and ask according to the light of the Spirit of the living God, even the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Now, what are we doing? We are sending the Gospel to the nations of the earth. Why? Because God has commanded it. What are the Seventies for? For this purpose. What are the Twelve for? For this purpose. What are the Elders for? When there is a deficiency among the Seventies they are chosen for this purpose, and the High Priests have to assist in the same way. What to do? To teach, to instruct, to enlighten, to bless, and to lead the people of the world in the ways of life. This may be considered criminal by some, but we consider we have a duty to perform, God has laid that duty upon us and, in the name of Israel’s God, we will try and do it.

We are building temples. What for? To carry out other purposes that have been spoken of. Shall we, carry them out? If the Lord permits we will. We will go on laboring and working in the interest of humanity. “Well,” says one, “don’t you feel angry sometimes?” Well, sometimes I feel almost as Jesus did when he went into the Temple and found a lot of money changers, and took a whip of small cords and chased them out, saying unto them, “It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” We are not all of us what we ought to be, we ought to be more humble and more faithful, more diligent and more self-denying. We ought to assist in building up the Kingdom of God, and in doing the will of God, and seek to promote those principles, which He has introduced for the salvation and exaltation of the human family. And what about this nation? We will do them all the good we can, and I will say, gentlemen, pursue your course, persecute, proscribe, so far as God will let you. We can stand these things if you can, but woe to those who fight against Zion; I say that in the name of Israel’s God. If they can stand these things we can. We are here to do the will of God. Shall we persecute in return? No. We will do good for evil, and pray for those who despitefully use us, and evil intreat us that we may be the children of our Heavenly Father. This is the spirit of the Gospel of the Son of God, and it is for us to carry it out. What shall we do, then? Do right; be honest with ourselves; be honest with our neighbors; honest with the good; honest with the bad; honest, I was going to say, with the devil; honest with everybody. We can afford to do right, whether others can or not. We can afford to maintain the Constitution and institutions of the United States, and all laws, as it is said in the Doctrine and Covenants, that are constitutional. It is the will of God that we should obey them, and sometimes we obey laws that we think are not constitutional. I expect, like the Catholics in this respect, we shall have to do some works of supererogation. However, let us do right. Let us maintain the Constitution of this government. It was ordained of God, and if wicked and corrupt men do wrong, and administer improperly and unrighteously, God will deal with them. We need not rail and rant and get up a commotion about them. We do not cherish any ill-will or ill-feelings, but they would not like it to be said that they are doing the works of their father, the devil: but that is what Jesus said about people of the same kind in His day. We need not be angry with them. Jesus, at the very last, even when hanging on the cross and expiring, said, as it were with His last breath, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Neither do they in this day. But, we are the children of the light. Let us walk in the light, and be governed by the principles of truth and righteousness, virtue and honor, and seek to cleave to God in our bodies and in our spirits, which are His. If the Latter-day Saints throughout the land of Zion, would only fear God and work righteousness, there is not a power on this side of hell, or the other side either, that could harm them; for God will carry out His work and His purposes, and if He suffers us, at any time to be chastened, it will be for our good; but Zion will triumph, and the Kingdom of God will roll forth, and no man shall stop its progress from this time, henceforth and forever, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Divine Mission of Joseph Smith, etc.

Joseph F. Smith

Remarks by Brother Joseph F. Smith, delivered at the General Conference, on Sunday morning, April 6th, 1884. Reported by Geo F. Gibbs.

As the time remaining is so short, I think I could not do better than devote it to continuing the subject dwelt upon by Brother Cannon.

The Doctrine and Covenants, as well as the Book of Mormon, contains indisputable evidence of the divine calling and mission of Joseph Smith. For instance, I will refer the congregation to the revelation given Dec. 25th, 1832, in relation to the great war of the Rebellion, with which all are more or less familiar. A portion of that revelation has been literally fulfilled, even to the very place indicated in the prediction where the war should commence: which, as was therein stated, was to terminate in the death and misery of many souls. Again, in the revelation given in March, 1831, to Parley P. Pratt and Lemon Copley, the following remarkable prediction is found:

“But before the great day of the Lord shall come, Jacob shall flourish in the wilderness, and the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose. Zion shall flourish upon the hills and rejoice upon the mountains, and shall be assembled together unto the place which I have appointed.”

Who, let me ask, unless he was inspired of the Lord, speaking by the gift and power of God, at that remote period of the Church’s history, when our numbers were few, when we had no influence, name or standing in the world—who, I would ask, under the circumstances in which we were placed when this prediction was made, could have uttered such words unless God inspired him? Zion is, indeed, flourishing on the hills, and is rejoicing on the mountains, and we who compose it are gathering and assembling together unto the place appointed. I now ask this congregation if they cannot see that this prediction, (which was made many years before the idea prevailed at all among this people that we should ever migrate and gather out to these mountain valleys), has been and is being literally fulfilled? If there were no other prophecy uttered by Joseph Smith, fulfillment of which could be pointed to, this alone would be sufficient to entitle him to the claim of being a true Prophet.

Again, in the revelation given Feb. 24th, 1834, this remarkable promise and prophecy is found:

“Verily, verily I say unto you, I have decreed a decree which my people shall realize, inasmuch as they hearken from this very hour unto the counsel which I the Lord their God, shall give unto them. Behold, they shall, for I have decreed it, begin to prevail against mine enemies from this very hour, and by hearkening to observe all the words which the Lord their God shall speak unto them, they shall never cease to prevail until the kingdoms of the world are subdued under my feet, and the earth is given unto the Saints, to possess it for ever and ever.”

Is there a person within the sound of my voice, or anywhere else upon the face of the wide earth, who can say that this promise has failed, that this prediction is not founded in truth, that so far it has not been fulfilled? I stand before this vast congregation, and am at the defiance of any human being to say, that this was not pronounced by the spirit of truth, by the inspiration of the Almighty, for it has been fulfilled, and is being fulfilled, and that, too, in the face of opposition of the most deadly character: and what remains will be fulfilled literally and completely. And it is the fear in the heart of Satan that this will be the case, that causes him to stir up his emissaries to oppose the Kingdom of God and seek, if possible, to destroy this great and glorious work. For it is a living fact, a fact that fills the hearts of the righteous and God-fearing with unspeakable joy and the hearts of the wicked and ungodly with consternation and jealous fear that this work of God, this work of redemption and salvation in which we are engaged, is moving forward and is destined to continue in its onward march until the kingdoms of the world shall be subdued and brought under the law of Almighty God. And that this will come to pass, I can assure you, the enemy of all righteousness comprehends as well as we do. Yes, he knows that this will eventually be the case, better than many who profess to have received the Holy Spirit in their hearts; and, therefore, he is diligently seeking to stir up the hearts of the wicked to fight against the Saints of God, until they are discomfited, and Zion is free.

These predictions concerning the triumph of the cause of God over wickedness, and the triumph of the Saints of God over the wicked who contend against them, were uttered by Joseph Smith in his youth, in the early rise of the Church when, to all human appearance, their fulfillment was absolutely impossible. At that time there were but few who could believe, that dared to believe the truth of these predictions. The few, comparatively, that did believe when they heard, were those whose minds had been enlightened by the Holy Spirit of promise and who, therefore, were prepared to receive them. As these predictions have been fulfilled, so those not yet fulfilled will come to pass in the due time of the Lord; and as this latter-day work has so far grown and assumed force and power in the earth, so it will continue to do, and there is no power beneath the Celestial Kingdom that can prevent its growth, or the consummation of all that has been predicted concerning it.

I do not wonder that the enemies of righteousness are stirred up about this matter. I am not surprised that the wicked rage and the heathen imagine a vain thing. I am not astonished when certain men get mad, or that their souls are vexed within them, that their minds are, perplexed, and that they feel wrought up with anger against a people who have never injured them or theirs. One thing I am surprised about in relation to this matter is, that the Latter-day Saints themselves should not be as strongly aroused in the interest of the Kingdom of God, as the enemies of truth are against it. When I contemplate the situation as it is presented to my mind, I am astonished that so many of the Latter-day Saints should be so indifferent and neglectful of duty that they cannot, apparently, appreciate the importance of living their religion. I am surprised that there should be any necessity for reformation among the Latter-day Saints, that is, if I should be surprised at all; though surprised is not the appropriate word to use, the word grieved, perhaps, might be used with greater propriety in this sense. If I would allow myself to indulge in a feeling of sorrow, I might indeed feel grieved that any of us should find ourselves in a condition to require roform [reform] in our lives. It certainly cannot be in consequence of the lack of evidences of the divinity of the work in which we are engaged, as there are so many such evidences transpiring every day in our experience; in fact the whole spectacle of this latter-day work is overwhelming in undeniable proof to the people of God, at least, that it is His work; while the whole world, on the contrary, are arrayed against it, because they cannot see the light. You who have obeyed the requirements of the everlasting Gospel, and have been chosen out of the world, having received the gift of the Holy Ghost, through the laying on of hands, it is your privilege to receive the witness of the Spirit for yourselves; it is your privilege to discern the mind and will of the Father respecting your own welfare, and respecting the final triumph of the work of God. Why, then, should we be told that “Mormonism” is true? Why should we need any further proof that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet, or that his predictions are being fulfilled? Why should it be necessary to prove that the word of God has come to the world through him, and that that word is indisputable, that the world cannot gainsay it? The doctrines and revelations believed in by the Latter-day Saints have now been before the world for 54 years, and during that time what the world has been pleased to call “Mormonism” has been to them an unsolved problem. The sound of the Book of Mormon has rung in the ears of the civilized world since the year 1830, when it was published, and the report of it had gone forth and was being agitated some time before that; and during the 54 years that that book has been made public to the world, there has been no stone unturned by the most learned men of the age to disprove it, and make it appear a delusion and imposition. In this, however, they have signally failed, not being able to produce a single argument that can not be successfully met by even the boys of this community. This may seem a broad assertion, but it is nevertheless true. Our Elders have been sent out as missionaries to the different nations now for the last 50 years, during which time they have testified to the truth of the Book of Mormon, and have invited investigation of its pages. And although many in their day and time have arisen either to ridicule or disprove the truths it contains, their efforts have been futile, resulting only in their own dismay. It cannot be disproved, for it is true. There is not a word or doctrine, of admonition, of instruction within its lids, but what agrees in sentiment and veracity with those of Christ and His Apostles, as contained in the Bible. Neither is there a word of counsel, of admonition or reproof within its lids, but what is calculated to make a bad man a good man, and a good man a better man, if he will hearken to it. It bears the mark of inspiration from beginning to end, and carries conviction to every honest-hearted soul. And because the Book of Mormon is a true and authentic record of a people who once lived and flourished on this American continent—and because God Himself has undertaken, through us, His weak and erring children, to establish His rule and government on the earth in answer to the prayers of His Saints, ancient and modern, and according to the counsels of His own will—because it is verily so, devils rage and the wilfully wicked are angered and seek the life and liberties of the Saints, and the destruction of the work of the Lord; but in the name of Israel’s God, they never will be able to accomplish their purposes against us. As I have often said, so I repeat, the best time the world ever saw, or ever will see, to destroy “Mormonism,” was on the 6th day of April, 1830. But they did not do it then, and so they let the opportunity slip: and have ever since been blindly struggling in the hope of doing something towards it. But the more they struggle, the wider of the mark their efforts will be. This is my testimony. If I had the power, and was called upon to do it, I would go to the ends of the earth and would lift up my voice in testimony of this fact to every nation, tongue and people, for I know that it is true.

Before I close I want to say a word to our young men who are called as missionaries. When a man is called to go on a mission, and a field of labor is assigned him, he should, I think, say in his heart, not my will be done, but thine, O Lord. We find it a little difficult sometimes to get the right men to go to certain distant lands to preach the Gospel. It is sometimes thought, especially among our young Elders, that Great Britain is the finest field of labor in the world; and, consequently, they want to go there. They do not like to go to the Southern States; they do not much fancy the Northern States; they do not care to go to New Zealand, or to the Sandwich Islands. When we call men to go to Great Britain, it is gratifying for them to respond cheerfully to the call and when we call others to go to the Northern States, to New Zealand, or to the Sandwich Islands, we do not want any to come and say, they want their field of labor changed to England. We expect every man to be on hand to go wherever he may be called, and then he may expect the blessing of the Lord to attend him in his labors. I have been thankful only once since I went to the Sandwich Islands on my first mission, and that has been ever since.

Soon after I was sent there was a very bright, intelligent man called to go to the Islands, and it was one of the causes of his apostasy. “What,” said he, “send me, a linguist, a man well read, an educated man, and an Englishman at that, to preach to heathens?” He felt that he was not looked upon with that consideration and respect that his scholarly attainments commanded; he felt that he was slighted; and apostatized, and returned to his native land, where he wrote a book against us, and has since died. When Brother George Q. Cannon was called to go to the Islands, he had no such feelings. He learned the language, and translated the Book of Mormon into the Hawaiian language. He performed a glorious mission, and is now one of the First Presidency of the Church. And singular as it may appear, out of the number of Elders that have been on missions to the Sandwich Islands, I can count more Apostles, more Presidents of Stakes, Bishops, and leading men, than can be found in the same number that have gone to any other country. Why is this? Perhaps it is because they manifested their willingness to descend below all things, that they might rise above all things. If a man in this Church would be exalted, let him humble himself; and he that would exalt himself, God will abase.

God bless Israel, and pour out His Spirit upon the household of faith, and strengthen us to do the labors required of us, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Conspicuous Position of the Saints, etc.

Erastus Snow

Discourse by Apostle Erastus Snow, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, March 9th, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

In rising before you, brethren and sisters, this afternoon, I desire to commit myself unto the Lord, invoking His blessing upon the congregation, and that the Holy Spirit may dictate that which may be spoken to our edification and encouragement in well-doing.

In the providence of God His people are located in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains, midway between the oceans, occupying the position of a city set upon a hill which cannot be hid. It was the providences of God around about His people which brought them to this land, which led them out of—what shall I say? out of bondage?—perhaps that is not quite the phrase to use—but which led them out of the older States of America, where persecution had followed the Saints from their earliest history, across the great plains, guided by the prayer of faith and the inspiration of the Almighty, manifested through President Brigham Young and his brethren, who counseled and guided the people hitherward, and planted their feet in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains. It was not our seeking. As President George A. Smith once quaintly remarked “We came to this country willingly, because we were obliged to.”

When persecuted in the State of New York, the early churches fled to Ohio—established themselves on the “western reserve”—the northern part of Ohio—located a Stake of Zion—built a temple unto the Lord in Kirtland, from which Elders were sent out into all parts of America, and into Europe. Persecuted in those regions, most of them emigrated westward and located in Missouri, where several Stakes of Zion were organized, and again foundations were laid for a temple, and the Twelve, with others of the Priesthood, were commanded of the Lord to take their departure to the nations of Europe and other parts of the globe, to preach the Gospel. Persecutions arose in that land, and became more general than any persecutions that had preceded them, until the State became embroiled, and an executive order was issued by the then Governor Lilburn W. Boggs, who directed his principal generals and aides-de-camp to gather together the militia of the State, and expel the Saints from the State. And in this executive order this remarkable phrase was used; speaking of the Mormon people it said: “They must be exterminated or driven from the State.” Strange that in a republic like ours, a country of law and government, such an executive order should appear. But it is beyond dispute; it has passed into history; the annals of the State attest it; and the result of such an order is well known in the history of this people. They were not exterminated, but they were driven from the State. Time would fail me to tell of the tears, the sorrow of women and children, when husbands and fathers and brothers were dragged to prison, or compelled to flee and to make their escape in various ways, through the wilderness of the Great West, through the then unsettled regions of northern Missouri and Iowa, until they found a stopping place on either side of the Mississippi, in Hancock County, Illinois, and in Lee County, Iowa; these places becoming rallying places, temporarily, for the Latter-day Saints, where the banner of truth was again unfurled, and the Saints began to establish themselves in those, at that time, almost entirely unsettled regions. In the short space of seven years they had increased to tens of thousands, and established several Stakes of Zion on both sides of the Mississippi, with the beautiful city of Nauvoo as the centre of their operations and the site of the new temple. It was here that the ire of the people both of Illinois and Missouri was aroused against the Saints—especially the ire of the surrounding counties, both in Illinois and Iowa—until it became evident that the Saints must again take up the line of march to some other unsettled region. Of the history of the persecutions that followed in 1845-6; the martyrdom of the Prophets Joseph and Hyrum, as also the slaughter of many other individuals; the burning of houses of granaries, of haystacks, of grain stacks, the property of the Saints from outside settlements near Nauvoo, and of the consequent combination of nine counties to make a descent upon Nauvoo, and the expulsion of the Saints from the city—all these things, I say, are matters of history. And while the people of the State in their organized capacity sought to screen themselves from the direct responsibility of those events under various pretences, yet the covering was “too thin” from the fact that the then Governor Ford, of Illinois was really aiding and abetting all those movements; he did nothing to restrain them, but everything to encourage them, and in this way the stain of these things—the death of the Prophets and the expulsion of the Saints—was fastened upon the government of the State. However much some honorable persons in the State may have opposed these things, yet there was not influence and power enough in the State to intervene for the protection of the Saints in the enjoyment of their civil and religious rights. Thus they were compelled to retire, and their march was westward into these mountains.

All this had been predicted by the Prophet Joseph. The Saints had been looking forward to the accomplishment of those events. They were not altogether unlooked for, however much the necessity was deplored and however great were the sufferings of individuals and families, and the community as a whole in their travels for a distance of nearly 1,500 miles across the then barren trackless desert.

The history of the pioneers and the many people that followed, and the privations of the early years in the settlement of the Saints in these Rocky Mountains, are also matters of history. I would that they were compiled in a succinct and lucid history, that our children might peruse the same and not forget the scenes through which their fathers have passed; for they are wonderful. There are many now living who passed through these events; they were personal sharers in them; but, the great mass of the present generation know nothing of them, only as they are occasionally referred to by their fathers.

It is therefore quite true what President George A. Smith said, “that we came to this country willingly because we were obliged to.” It seemed to have been the course marked out before us, and circumstances so surrounded and pressed upon us, that we were not able to avoid it, although we fain would have avoided it, if we could.

Prior to the full determination upon moving westward, President Brigham Young and the Twelve joined in communications to all the Governors of the several States east of the Rocky Mountains, imploring them and their Legislatures for some word of comfort, of consolation, of tacit permission for the Saints to find shelter and protection at the hands of their respective governments. These official communications, made to every State and State legislature in the land, received but very slight consideration. From a portion of them no answers were received at all, and those who did deign to answer those communications answered them evasively, without any hearty expressions of welcome, or any intimation that they would use their influence to maintain the rights, privileges and immunities of citizens. In short, the cold shoulder was turned towards the Saints from every quarter, and immediately in front was the combined mob of nine counties, waging war against them, backed up secretly by the powers of the State—or at least there was no effort on the part of the State to restrain the actions of the mob. President Young and other Elders and the people were harassed continually by vexatious law suits. They were pressed on every hand. Their enemies desired to involve them in trouble. They sought to imprison our leading men. And though, at a council, held in October, 1845, between the Twelve and the leaders of the opposition, including representatives of the State—the principal general of that district, the circuit judge of that district—Stephen A. Douglas, subsequently a Senator of the United States, and presidential aspirant—I say, notwithstanding that it was stipulated at that council, that if we would in good faith go to and make the necessary preparations for our departure westward, as soon as the grass grew in the spring, to enable our teams to live, we should be protected and the mobocratic spirit restrained until we could take our departure—our agreement, and pledge to accept these conditions, only seemed to embolden the more rabid of our enemies in the counties round about, and instead of respecting these conditions, agreed to by the dignitaries of the State for our protection during winter, they commenced to oppress and harrass and war against us to such an extent, that we were compelled to take up our march in the dead of winter. Early in February, multitudes of the people commenced to cross the Mississippi, and form their encampments in the forests of Iowa, preparatory to starting out upon their long and dreary march across the desert. In regard to the terrible sufferings that followed—the terrible snow storms and rains that continued from February until May, causing such floods and mire, distress and suffering and consequent sickness, as perhaps has never before been known to the lot of man under similar circumstances—they were at least such as none can properly depict or comprehend, but those who passed through them. Of the many that were laid by the wayside before reaching these valleys of the mountains, those families who were decimated must be left to tell the tale. The history of those early days of persecution and suffering will never be fully known. But in the midst of it all a goodly number of the people of God were sustained by their faith and the overruling providence of Jehovah, and were brought safely through; while the weaker and more doubtful, the fearful and unbelieving, scattered into the surrounding country, left the body of the Saints, drifted up and down the Mississippi into the various towns of Illinois, Iowa and Missouri, and back into the Eastern States, while others of the poor and less able, though earnest in the faith and abiding in the truth, were left by the wayside, at the way stations that were planted between the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers, where farms were opened, grain and vegetables planted for the poor, until they reached a general place of rendezvous on the Missouri River, at Council Bluffs, where the Mormon Battalion enlisted for the Mexican War, and in the midst of which the emigrating camps were obliged to halt until the following spring, when they started for the western wilds of this great interior country. I said these things had been directed by the overruling providence of God. The combined force of the unbelieving and the wicked was brought to bear to expel the Saints, and compel their journey westward to the Rocky Mountains. It was permitted by Him who overrules all things for the good of His people; and the trials of the people and the afflictions of individuals and individual families were eventually lost, as it were, and buried in the universal good which Providence had provided for His people as a whole. The school of experience through which the early leaders and families of Israel had passed for a period of sixteen years had fitted them for those trying scenes and for the work which they were destined to perform in these mountains, in grappling with the difficulties of a new country, of a barren waste, of an untried region, a region supposed to be utterly uninhabitable. The great arid belt bordering on the Rocky Mountains, extending for some hundreds of miles eastward of the Rocky Mountains, and across the great basin of the American desert, was supposed to be absolutely unproductive—incapable of producing cereals, vegetables and fruits necessary to civilization. The school boys of my age will remember to have looked on their maps and seen all this country marked as the Great American Desert. It was supposed that a strip bordering on the Pacific, was composed of fine fertile land, and adapted to European settlements. But that country on the Pacific, was, at that time, in the possession of the Mexicans, with a few Catholic missions established along the coast, where they had raised a few beans and cabbages and red peppers, and where they had sustained themselves mostly by raising stock. This was all there was to show for their presence in that region. And the few trappers who had mingled with the Indians of this great interior country for twenty years were of the opinion that it was utterly impossible to raise grain in any part of this region. Captain James Bridger, the noted hunter and trapper, who had inter-married and established a trading-post among the Shoshones, met the pioneers on the Big Sandy, and gave it as the opinion of himself, and of the early trappers who had gone through this country, that it would be impossible to raise grain here. He told us of the valley of the Great Salt Lake, and pointed out especially the valley, which he termed the valley of the Utah outlet—the valley that spread between the fresh water lake of Utah and the Great Salt Lake—as the most probable place in all of this great interior country to raise grain, at the same time supplementing his account of the land with the opinion that it was impossible to raise grain, and as a clincher to his opinion offered $1,000 as a premium for the first ear of corn that should be raised in this valley. But the faith which sustained the Saints, and which led them, responded through President Brigham Young to Captain Bridger like this: “Wait a little season and we will show you.”

We have shown to the world what could be done, or, I will say, rather, the Lord our God—the God of the Latter-day Saints—has shown to us and to all the world what could be done in this hitherto barren region when His blessing rested upon it.

The first important movement of the pioneer company on setting foot upon this ground near City Creek, was to call the camp together, and bow down under the sun at high noon, and dedicate themselves unto God, and this land for the habitation of His Saints, imploring His blessing upon it, that its barrenness might be turned into fruitfulness, and that the rewards of His people might be sure. And whithersoever their footsteps were turned, to the north or the south, to the east or the west, the prayer and faith of an afflicted and devoted people ascended up to heaven for the God of the land to sanctify it, and hallow the elements and make tire country fruitful.

The art of irrigation was unknown on the North American continent at that time—at least among European settlers in the United States. There was no part of the United States which at that time relied upon artificial irrigation in all the arid regions of America. The system of irrigation adopted in Utah has measurably been copied by California, Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, although some of the best features of our system of irrigation have been neglected in these surrounding States and Territories; canal and irrigation companies have there been allowed to organize and monopolize the streams and make the farmers tributary to them, taxpayers for use of the fluid which God sends down from heaven—that is, they have not united the interest of the farmer, the land owner, with the canal owners as we have done in Utah, but they have made the water rather personal property than an attach of the realty, compelling the farmer to rent or buy water for their lands. Herein Utah sets an example in this arid region to the rest of the world, and the future history of this great interior country will award all due honor to the wise legislation of Utah, and the wise counsels of her leaders, and deprecate the folly of the surrounding States and Territories in not following their example in this respect. But the Lord has blessed the labors of the people of Utah in diverting the mountain streams over the arid plains, and opening farms, orchards and vineyards, and building villages, towns and cities, organizing governments, and establishing a commonwealth. That the early history of the Latter-day Saints fitted its leaders for governing, for organizing and controlling society, and moulding it for the best interest of the whole, will be admitted by the impartial historian of future ages, when the religious bigotry of the hour shall have spent its fury, and the stupid, blind ignorance of demagogues shall have been lost and drowned in the common sense of the people. Yet, our eastern neighbors in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, and the Atlantic States, sanctioned in their inmost hearts the murder of the Prophets, and the persecution and expulsion of the Saints, though some of them lifted up their voices against it, but the voices so lifted were “like angels’ visits, few and far between,” and powerless to turn the popular current or stem the tide that flowed, like the waters which the serpent cast out of his mouth after the apocalyptic woman that fled from the face of the serpent into the wilderness. The Lord had a place prepared for His Church in the wilderness, in the Great American Desert, where she would be preserved from the face of the serpent for a season.

I well remember those early years, as do many who are here before me to-day, though their numbers are fast becoming very visibly less. We remember the time when the first State government was organized in these mountains. It was simultaneous with the organization of a State government on the Pacific coast under the title of the State of California. Delegates were appointed by the provisional government of the State of Deseret, to visit Washington and present their application for admission into the Union at the same Congress at which California’s representatives appeared and knocked for admission. Both acted in their sovereign capacity in organizing their State government and adopting their State constitution. It did not need any special act of Congress extending liberty to them so to do; for in both instances the people of California and Utah acted in virtue of their inalienable rights as free men entitled to the enjoyment of free government, and under the general institutions of our country, that recognize the right of the people to local self-government. Each State organized a State government, adopted a State constitution; they were equally republican in form and liberal in spirit, and made a simultaneous application to Congress for admission. The answer of the general government to California was favorable; to that of Deseret unfavorable; in other words they recognized in the one the rights of local self-government, admitted their senators and representatives to Congress, and the State into the Union, on an equal footing with the original States; while to Deseret they handed back a Territorial form of government, adopted the Organic Act, and appointed their territorial officers. Thanks to the advice of our never deviating friend, General Thomas L. Kane, President Fillmore, who succeeded General Taylor in the Presidency, nominated President Brigham Young as the first Governor of Utah. Thankful were we even for this partial recognition of the rights of the people to local self-government, but strange to say, that in the organization of our Territorial government, it seemed good to the Congress of the United States to make the Governor of Utah an integral part of its local legislature, empowered to approve its laws or to exercise an unqualified and absolute veto in all matters of legislation, a feature, so unrepublican and unusual, that it could scarcely be endured by any other people for a period of 35 years, except the Latter-day Saints, and in this instance we are an exception. Two-thirds of the Senate and two-thirds of the House of Representatives can pass any measure over the veto of the President of the United States. The same may be said of all the legislatures in every State in the Union; a two-thirds vote of the Legislature suffices to pass any measure over the veto of the governor, and this is the rule obtaining in the territories, as well as the States, with the exception of Utah and New Mexico.

I only refer to this as an instance of the marked jealousy that has prevailed toward this people—the unwillingness to concede to them the common right of local self-government.

Under the administration of Governor Young, his efforts were ever directed with the Legislative Assembly to enlarge and extend the area of freedom and the liberty of the voter, and the rights of the common people, never attempting to exercise the veto power, much less to enlarge and extend, the executive prerogatives; and under his administration, laws were enacted to provide for various offices necessary to administer the affairs of the Territorial government, as well as those of counties and municipalities, making them all elective by the people, or by their chosen representatives in Legislative Assembly united. It seems to have been reserved to one or two of our late Governors—notably our present one—to labor assiduously, tenaciously, blindly, and, as we think, foolishly, to abridge the popular suffrage, the rights of the mass of the people in the management of their own local affairs, and the election of their own officers, or for the handling of their own finances; I say it seems to be left to our late governors to earnestly struggle to enlarge the executive prerogative. Not content with the veto power reserved in the Organic Act by Congress to annul any act of the Legislative Assembly of Utah, nor yet with the second veto vested absolutely in the Governor by simply withholding his approval of any measure; the present Governor has sought in various ways to extend and enlarge this executive prerogative.

I refer to these things only as items of history which we are making for ourselves, and which our Federal government and its representatives in Utah are making for themselves, and which the historian will point to as the evidence of a continual desire for aggression upon the liberties of the people.

I am well aware that the excuse for all this is the unity of our people—the fact that they are not so greatly distracted by the efforts of aspiring demagogues and political satraps—and that their own common sense teaches them the necessity, under existing circumstances, to consider well and ponder the paths of their feet, and unite in the wisest and best measures, and in the choice of reliable honorable men to fill the various offices within the gift of the people, rather than divide and admit into power aspiring demagogues. We, as a people, have adopted the motto, that the office should seek the man, instead of the man seeking the office, and have invariably administered to the office seekers this quiet rebuke, a ticket-of-leave to stay at home. The good sense of the people has led them to seek out honorable and non-aspiring men and call them to duty, to fill the offices in the interests of the people, not for plunder and pelf, but for the reward of a good conscience and the approbation of an honest, discerning and approving people. And this unity of the people has not been solely a matter of our own seeking, however desirable it is, but measurably the result of outward pressure. If left to ourselves, unbelied, unscoffed at; if treated with any degree of fairness and liberality, and freedom to enjoy the rights and immunities of citizenship, unmolested, unpersecuted, I fear that we should soon begin to learn the ways of the wicked around us, or of the foolish of other countries, and the heedless, the thoughtless, and the ignorant among us would soon be following political demagogues. But it seems to be one of the providences of God, that there should be sufficient opposition from without—that is, from those who are not of us—to bind us together and enable us to see our only true interest in seeking to become one. And that oneness has not been the oneness of blindness, a blind following of the blind, but has been the result of. Seers and Prophets and wise men and sages and fathers of the people foreseeing the evil and pointing it out in that way and manner that all have been able to view and see it for themselves. They have followed with their eyes open the Seers and Prophets who are not walking in darkness, and the result has been that we have not fallen into the ditch together, but we have continued to prosper and go on in the path which heaven has marked out for us, and the enemies of this people, who have resorted to every measure which their cunning and ingenuity could devise to hamper them and lessen their liberties—it is these which have fallen into the ditch, that have been trapped in their own measures, that have been ensnared with their own snares, and their folly has been made manifest, and the prediction of the Prophet Isaiah has happened unto them: The wisdom of their wise men has perished, and the understanding of their prudent men has been hid. No more in any former examples than in their last effort—the Edmunds law, so called—which is the result of the combined efforts and labors of a nation, begotten by the hireling priests, a conclave that met in Ogden, the representatives of all the sectarians in Utah. Then a nation groaned, and “the mountain labored,” and brought forth a mouse, the Edmunds law! Its main object was to be effected through a Commission, chosen expressly, not to administer that law according to the letter of it, but chosen with a secret understanding and tacit obligations to enforce it with the spirit of despotism in which it had been conceived; and by establishing rules—irresponsible rules—rules of their own—absolute and appealable to nobody—and enforcing them in their own way they have succeeded in disfranchising not only actual polygamists, but all those who have been in any way associated or connected with polygamist families—not only plural wives, but first wives, and men and women who long years ago have been freed—to use a common phrase—from polygamy; all who have from any cause ceased to be polygamists. All these have been disfranchised—excluded from political privileges—forbidden to be office-holders, even to be a fence viewer, or a school director, or a public surveyor, or a supervisor of streets. Have the men who made this country, who organized government therein, who established order, preserved peace, and tamed the savage—who were the mountain police for all this great interior country for 30 years—have these tamely submitted to these arbitrary rulings and decisions without protest, and because there was no power to withstand? I will only say they have done it from the same inspiration and feeling that has governed them from the beginning in all their wanderings. They have stooped to conquer! Will they conquer? Yes, God will conquer, and with Him they will rise and prevail. Let no one attempt to seize upon this expression as one of treason, of disloyalty to government, of defiance of the power of this great country. It is not spoken in that spirit, nor with any such intent; but it is the outspoken declaration of that faith which underlies the movements of this people, and which has led them on to victory from the beginning. You may write it down as a prophecy, but not as a threat, not as a defiance, not as a treasonable utterance. We recognize our allegiance to the general government: we recognize that it is our duty to sustain constitutional law and the institutions of our common country, and if men in power overstep their legitimate bounds, and exercise power that is not vested in them under the constitution, and violate its sacred provisions in their zeal to trample upon the liberties of the Saints, or hedge up their ways, it is our duty to bear and forbear, until the Lord says—“’Tis enough,” and until He shall open the way, in His own wonderful manner, to bring about a change and our release.

I well recollect the speeches that were uttered in some of the great cities of the west and of the eastern States, when the whole people were aroused and urged to bring their influence to bear upon Congress to pass the Edmunds law. I well remember that numbers of their most noted orators uttered the declaration that polygamy was the least part of the evil they warred against in Utah. I have always been aware of this. Only a few, comparatively speaking, of their leading orators had the temerity—or perhaps the lack of policy—to give utterance, in a public manner, to this view of the case. But those who gave such utterance said that the unity exhibited by the people of Utah—the united, solid vote of the Latter-day Saints—was far more to be dreaded than their polygamy. This was recognized and made clearly manifest by the action of the present Executive of Utah, when he first introduced as a prerequisite to commissioning Notaries Public, an oath of his own providing, unlawful in every way, under pain of refusing their commissions, viz., that they were not polygamists or bigamists, and had not cohabited with more than one woman in the marriage relation! And when the Utah Commissioners arrived in Utah and entered upon their labors, in one of the schemes devised for carrying into effect the Edmunds law, they adopted the same measure that had been introduced by His Excellency, Governor Murray, and incorporated the same provision in their test oath—thrust in the mouths or in the face of every individual voter, male and female, this test oath, leaving every libertine in the land, and every lewd woman, every secret whoremonger and adulterer at liberty to register, vote, and hold office, provided their liaisons have not been in the marriage relation! But the honorable men and the honorable women who had entered into sacred vows with each other, and had sacredly observed these vows, and were rearing their families to honor and respect their parents and to be good citizens in society, teaching them to fear God, and honor the Patriarchs of old, and flee fornication, and look upon whoredom and adultery as the greatest of all crimes, next to the shedding of innocent blood—all these fathers and mothers must be disfranchised! and an attempt made to dishonor them in the eyes of their sons and daughters! They appealed to their sons and daughters to rise up in their majesty and throw their fathers and their mothers overboard, and elect them to power. And when the people nominated Hon. John T. Caine as their Delegate to Congress, to supply the vacancy made by the illiberal and unrepublican action of the so-called Republican party in the expulsion of their Delegate, Hon, George Q. Cannon, from Congress; the opposing candidate, Judge P. T. Van Zile, went through this Territory, delivering his political speech, calling to his aid his retainers, in every place where he could get an audience, telling the masses of the people: My election means the continuation of your liberties; the election of my opponent means your disfranchisement as a whole people, the abolishment of your Legislative Assembly, the reducing of you to a colony governed, absolutely, as a conquered race. Suiting the action to the word, those who sustained him have labored to bring about his prophecies, and they are still laboring to bring them about. We know full well, that the devil, as well as the Lord, can utter some truths, and sometimes is allowed to fulfill his predictions. Wicked men do this as well as righteous men. But there is one decree that has gone out from days of old, that whatever may be the result of a few skirmishes here and there, and now and then, through the generations of men the great and last battle shall result in the utter overthrow of his Satanic Majesty; he will be bound in everlasting chains and thrust into the bottomless pit, his followers being cast down with him. It is this assurance underlying the faith of the Saints, that enables them to go forward, onward and upward, relying upon the arm of Jehovah, and the ultimate triumph of truth and righteousness in the earth. That those men who have laid these schemes to abridge our liberties and immunities as citizens; and forged fetters for our hands and feet, have not done so in the interests of morality, is made painfully apparent in the test oath framed by Governor Murray, adopted by the Commissioners, and sustained—so far as any outward manifestation is concerned—by Congress and the people of the nation, in that they continue to uphold this Federal Governor and these Commissioners, and to sustain them in their rulings and in the results thereof. Had they been honestly working in the interest of morality, would they merely have made the effort to exclude those that were in plural marriage, and embrace in their arms the libertine, the adulterer, the whoremonger, the fornicator, and every lewd person of every class in the land outside of the marriage relation? This shows it was the patriarchal order of marriage that they warred against, and not against illicit intercourse and the defilement of the sexes and degeneracy of the race. All these things are held up before high heaven, for angels to look upon, for future historians to descant upon, and for the children that may, peradventure, be spared of these ignoble sires to gaze upon with unutterable disgust. The one-man power exercised by a stranger appointed to Federal office, and sent among the people as a Governor; the one-man power that puts forth his ipse dixit to nullify the acts of a great people through their representatives in the Legislative Assembly, and to dictate to the people, or their representatives, what they may do with their taxes, or what they must not do with them—all these things, I say, will be referred to by the future historian as very, very black marks upon their history; and also their blind zeal and efforts—to what? To prevent the growth, enlargement and extension of the Latter day Saints in the land. This is the real object underlying all their efforts. The Latter-day Saints do not imitate the examples of the Eastern cities and the old commonwealths of the Atlantic seaboard in destroying their offspring. They do not patronize the vendor of noxious, poisonous, destructive medicines to procure abortion, infanticide; child murder, and other wicked devices, whereby to check the multiplication of their species, in order to facilitate the gratification of fleshly lust. We are not disposed to imitate these examples, nor to drink in the pernicious doctrine once uttered in Plymouth Church by the noted Henry Ward Beecher—that it was a positive evil to increase families in the land beyond a limited extent, and the ability of the parents to properly educate and maintain them, sustaining the idea of small families; in effect, justifying the mothers—the unnatural mothers—of New England, and their partners who sanction their efforts in destroying their own offspring, and in preventing the fecundity of the race. Fancy such a doctrine justified by the noted orator of the nineteenth century, and re-echoed by the smaller fry throughout the country! The Latter-day Saints are taught to reverence the words of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, concerning the multiplication of their species, and are called as His children to multiply and replenish the earth. If the traveler who visits Utah, will deign to visit our congregations, our schools and our Improvement Associations, he can view hosts of children growing up on every hand, all of whom are taught to read and write, and in the common branches of an English education beyond that which is found to exist in any other part of the land under similar circumstances. But notwithstanding all this, they say secretly among themselves, and in the national and state councils: “This will never do. A people multiplying and increasing like this will over-run the land.” They say, as did Pharaoh of old, “We must do something to stop this increase.” Pharaoh devised means of secretly checking it, by charging his midwives, and making a decree, that every male child born in Israel should be put to death. We read that when Moses was born and his mother found him a goodly child she disregarded the decree of the king, and God over-ruled in her favor, in pursuance of her faith, and protected her movements, and Moses was spared and brought into the King’s house, and unwittingly educated under his tuition to become the future deliverer of Israel, and the lawgiver of nations. History but repeats itself. The efforts of the wicked to stop the growth and enlargement of the Latter-day Saints will as signally fail, and the failure will be on as natural principles as it was anciently in the days of Moses. For the Lord has decreed it. He has decreed that Zion shall prosper, and that in the latter days righteousness and truth shall prevail. Blessed are all they that will listen to truth and walk righteously, and woe! be unto those who fight against Zion. For the time cometh saith the Lord of Hosts, when all they that fight against Zion shall be as a dream of a night vision. “It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty; or, as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against Zion.” This work is not of man but of God, who has set His hand the second time to bring again Zion. And He has said: “Gather my Saints unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” His arm is stretched out to accomplish the purposes which He has predicted by His Prophets from the beginning of the world until the present time, and it will not be turned back until it has accomplished all things.

May the grace of God be and abide with us individually and collectively: may it assist us to remember these things; may we not forget the high calling whereunto we are called; may we abide in the truth; may we stand steadfast to our work; may we go forward in our labors, yielding not unto the tempter; for if we are faithful our triumph is sure and our reward cometh not from beneath, but from above, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Hatred Towards Saints, etc.

Moses Thatcher

Remarks by Apostle Moses Thatcher, delivered at the General Conference, Friday afternoon, April 4th, 1884. Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.

I rejoice in the remarks that were made this morning by the brethren, and feel that they were prompted by the Holy Ghost. It was truly remarked by our aged and venerated President, that unless sustained by the Lord, we cannot, as a people, accomplish His work; and it certainly must be apparent to every thoughtful mind, that man in and of himself is very weak, that he is unable, alone and unaided, to accomplish that which will result in his own salvation. It is not difficult to understand or to comprehend the power of God, as it is manifested in the affairs of nations; but we cannot always see how He manages and controls individuals. And yet no human being without His permission breathes the breath of life, for He is the giver of life; and when we, as a community or as individuals, sense this, manifesting by our works a goodly degree of faith and humility before God, then we are in the light. But people, on the other hand, who undertake to exhibit their own wisdom, or to depend upon the knowledge of man will, if they continue in that spirit, be led into darkness, and their life will result in failure.

During the past few months, I have thought much upon a particular subject, which has weighed heavily upon my mind by reason of the enmity, the malice and hatred which I have seen manifested towards the Latter-day Saints. And I have been led to believe that they are hated more for their virtues than for their supposed vices. In connection with this subject, I have been led to believe that many among this people are apt to have compassion for the guilty. And I must confess myself that I have never heard judgment passed on any man by the authorities of the Church without more or less pity in my heart for that man. We are generally apt to be too lenient to the falsifier, who becomes the accuser of his brethren. We are too apt to look with pity upon one who may have fallen from the path of chastity, and forsaken the ways of the Lord. There is something in the human heart that is drawn out in sympathy and compassion for the erring. I will not attempt this afternoon to show whether this is a correct or an incorrect sentiment; whether it is a failing or a virtue; but I have noticed on the other hand, when hatred prompts action, there is but little if any mercy shown. The shafts intended for the innocent are often dipped in doubly distilled poison, before they are sped from the bow of envy by the hand of malice• It was so in the days of the Savior. Thrice tried and thrice condemned, followed to the cross with but little human sympathy, he endured the agonies of a cruel, lingering death. How much sympathy do you suppose Cain had when he slew his brother Abel? Did Cain hate Abel because he was innocent, or because he was guilty? His hand would have paused; he would have reflected had Abel been as guilty before God as he was. But because he was pure, and because God recognized his purity by accepting his offering, there arose in Cain’s heart envy, malice and hatred, that could only be appeased with blood. It has been so in every age of the world. You may trace human persecution; you may trace the history of those who invented the rack, the thumbscrew and the wheel, and you will find they have always been moved by one spirit, that same spirit which raised the rebellion in heaven, and that sought the glory and power of God the Father, and that found its culmination in sending to perdition Lucifer and those that were cast out with him. And Milton, interpreting the spirit that prompted Lucifer in the course he pursues, makes him say, “It is better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.” And wherever we find that spirit, we find a spirit of envy, a spirit of malice, a spirit that desires to destroy that which is more excellent and worthy than itself• In this way, after a just comparison between our persecutors and ourselves, we can account for the persecution to which we have been made subject.

Let the youth of Zion contemplate the character of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and see how evidences of prejudice, hatred and malice were heaped upon him until those that were prompted by it, succeeded at last in slaying him. They perpetrated this deed without mercy, without pity, innocent and guiltless as he was.

How is it to-day? Converse with certain people in Salt Lake City, those who have made it their business to hate, to lie about, and to do all in their power to persecute and despoil the Latter-day Saints, and you will find lurking in their breasts exactly the same spirit manifested by the wickedness towards the Saints of God in all ages of the world; divest them of their malice and hatred and there would be little left.

We hear a great deal about the immorality of this people; but allow me to say, if we permitted ourselves to be led into wickedness; if we would adopt the ways of the Christian age; if we would cast our children into reservoirs and ash pits, on vacant lots and dung heaps, or throw them on to the railroad track; if we would transmit to our sons and daughters disease, and encourage them in ways that lead to death, hell and the grave; we should then have assimilated, as some of our would-be Christianizers have expressed it, with “American institutions;” in other words, then we should be hail fellows well met with the office-seekers, with adventurers, with libertines and other destroyers of other people’s peace and happiness. It is because we cannot do this; because we refuse to “assimilate;” because we prefer to row against the current of corruption; because the fruits of our labors, political, financial and social are good, and bespeak a higher and better civilization, that we are hated and ostracised, and not because of any immorality that may, exist in our midst. We are sensible of the fact that we are not of the world; that if we were, the world would love us as its own. We are sensible of the fact that we have come out from the world, and that, too, for a wise purpose in the wisdom of God. In these mountains we expect to establish the foundation of a civilization that will yet be the admiration of the world. We expect to bequeath to our children the blessings of physical and mental strength such as will enable them to stand the test that will be required of them; and the very principle and tenet of our religion, against which the Christian feeling of the age appears to be so much shocked, will be the chief cornerstone in the hands of the builder of rearing the structure that will be different from anything else in the world. Because we practice celestial or plural marriage, we are branded as law-breakers; we are told that we seek to violate constitutional law, and the enactments of the Congress of the United States. Upon this point I desire to make a few remarks.

I was born in this country. I can trace my lineage to the revolutionary fathers. I love the institutions of my country; I love and venerate the Constitution. But I am not so ignorant, I am not so blind that I cannot see that anything which you or I may do may be made contrary to law, and may be called unconstitutional; but I hold that the Constitution was made broad enough, high enough and deep enough to enable us to practice our religion and be free before God and man. I hold that if Congress has a right to enact a law in relation to marriage, it might just as consistently make a law affecting baptism, or prescribing the manner, if at all, the sacrament of the Lord’s supper should be administered. “What will you do about it? says one. I do not pretend to know what others will do, neither do I pretend to give advice in the premises; but I do say this: that no nation or government has ever been able to crush the religious sentiment of any people unless it crushed the whole people. The nearest approach to success in this direction that I can find in history, was that of Charles IX., advised by his wicked mother, when he slew the Huguenots in the streets of Paris. But even this kind of treatment did not succeed, and never can succeed. For a persecuted religion will be an investigated religion; and in my opinion it is truth that receives the thrust of the enemy far more frequently than evil.

I wish to bear my testimony in relation to the Latter-day Saints and their position. We will abide in these mountains, and we will plead with our government; we will continue to petition Congress and submit our memorials to the President of the United States; and we will continue to love our country, defend its interests, and be free men in these mountains. If we were aught else, if we could be bound hand and foot as abject slaves, we should be unworthy to be citizens of so great a Republic as is ours. It cannot be done, and for this reason: We have come from the nations of the civilized world of our own free will and choice, expecting to enjoy and to bequeath to our children the freedom guaranteed by the laws and institutions of our country; we came as intelligent, independent men and women, and a people who are intelligent and independent cannot be made slaves. The result will doubtless be this: We shall be crowded upon from time to time—but no more, I apprehend, than God in His wisdom will permit—and the very acts of persecution and unfairness that will be directed against us, will bring out and develop the elements of excellency that will make our young men statesmen, and that will make them lovers and defenders of right and liberty, until, in the due time of the Lord, there will grow up in these mountains a race of people that will not only defend the Constitution, but defend the flag of the nation, and at the same time be willing to extend the principles of freedom to all who desire to receive them. It is a great mistake to imagine that the “Mormons” are opposed to the government. They are not opposed to the government; there is not a feeling of secession about them, and they do not propose to be forced on the other side of the fence by any alliance formed either in Utah or outside of Utah. We expect to stand upon the platform laid broad and deep by the fathers. We expect to defend our rights as American citizens, and to do less than this would be unworthy a free people.

Before closing I wish to bear my testimony in regard to the people in the world. I am perfectly satisfied there are thousands of good and honest men and women in our nation who, if they knew our true status, and understood the facts as they are, would defend our rights to the uttermost of their power. But they have been hedged about; and reports misrepresenting and belying our true character have been so widely circulated, that they have been led to believe them; but as we are becoming better known we may expect to find men and women with a high degree of moral courage, here and there, defending us, and speaking favorably of us. There is no such feeling exhibited in our nation towards us to-day as two years ago; and even that, hostile as it was, did good. The evil that the ministers and priests and politicians together, sought to bring upon us was, through the wisdom of God, overruled for our good. And so it will continue to be, whatever the enemies of truth do for the purpose of crushing it, will eventually be found to be the very means used to establish it. We have confidence in the wisdom and power of God, and are abundantly able to wait and labor, to work on in the path marked out for us to walk in, fully believing that in His own due time He will accomplish His “marvelous work and a wonder,” and bring about those happy results foreshadowed in the promises made to His people, both ancient and modern. Amen.

Uniting of Temporal Interests, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by Apostle Brigham Young, delivered at the General Conference, on Saturday morning, April 5th,1884. Reported by John Irvine.

It has been said, that words fitly spoken are like apples of gold in pictures of silver. This is especially true when they are accompanied by the Spirit of the Lord, carrying with them life and salvation to the people. There are many subjects that might be dwelt upon which are familiar to the Latter-day Saints, and which would doubtless yet be appropriate to speak upon in our general assemblies. I look back upon the past few years and recall principles that have been taught to the people, but which the Spirit no longer seems to inspire the Elders to dwell upon. And the question arises in the mind: Have such principles become obsolete?—Are they done away? I look forward to the time when we shall be able to speak upon the principles of uniting this people together in their temporal as well as their spiritual interests far more effectually than we have ever done heretofore. United we stand; our interests are identified; the welfare of the one affects the other; and our influence socially, financially and politically is powerful for good, and is a lever for our own prosperity as well as our own protection. Disunited we acknowledge our own weakness; infirmity is stamped in our every act, and in time we pass away like the dream of the night vision. I do not desire at this time to treat upon the subject of the United Order, but I would like to ask if the Latter-day Saints think for a moment that that principle is done away, or that it may be considered a failure never again to be brought to our notice? If such has been the conclusion of any part of this assembly, I have no hesitancy in stating for their information that such is not the case; it cannot be so if we are ever to answer the design of the Almighty respecting the future of His Kingdom upon the earth. I would say further, the time is approaching, if I am a judge of the Spirit as witnessed among the people throughout our settlements from the extreme north to the extreme south, when the principle will again be sounded in our ears; and the Spirit of God as I read it in its workings among the people, and as I feel its operations in my own breast, testifies to me that when it comes again the people will be prepared to receive it, and act upon it, as they have never done before. It is, perhaps, necessary, in our present state, that we should have a certain amount of experience; the experience we have had will doubtless be of value to us, in the future, when the people will again be called upon to practice this principle; and when this time comes, in my opinion, we will commence at the root of the matter, accepting in the spirit and meaning thereof, that principle which has been disregarded and shunned by us for many years, the principle that lies at the foundation of the greatness and power to which we are destined to attain. I am happy to say that the people are being led to examine their own hearts, and to ask themselves what they are doing individually towards building up the Zion of God, and towards influencing others to do likewise. The spirit that is working among the people is having the effect of reform, as I have never before witnessed it. The reformation of 1856, ran through the people like wild fire; they received it under the impulse of the moment when the spirit of enthusiasm ran high; but now there appears to be but little effort to move the people in this direction, at the same time a determined feeling exists among the Saints to right themselves, and that too by commencing at the bottom round of the ladder, and then gradually ascending. The hearts of the people are being turned to the Lord. The men who have of late been addicted to drinking, using tobacco, swearing, and other loose habits, are, of their own free will, discarding their bad habits, and thus righting themselves, and setting a better example to their children and associates. This silent but potent influence that is fruitful of such good results is significant to the man or woman that is alive in this work, and that is watching with interest its onward progress; and it comes home to our hearts with convincing proof that the Lord is working among the people by His Spirit, and it bids us all in its silent and suggestive way, to prepare ourselves for events that must come, and that are even nigh at our doors.

In witnessing the operations of the Spirit in the midst of the people in such a remarkable manner I was strongly impressed with the idea that we, as a people, ought to be turning our attention in directions looking to our becoming self-sustaining. We are paying out very much more than we produce. Where does the money come from? How is it that the families of our working men are able to purchase for their use imported articles? How long can this people prosper by pursuing such a course? The danger of this course has long been pointed out by our leading men; and sooner or later, unless all turn a short corner, the condition that we shall place ourselves in, will be of such a convincing character, that all will readily concede the correctness of the position taken by our leaders in urging the people to become producers and patrons of home productions. This doctrine was taught by President Young, during much of his life time, but especially during his later years; and it does appear to me that we are hastening on to the point that President Young said we should reach, unless we became self-sustaining, namely, financial embarrassment. In fact his doctrine on this subject was, that we could not stand financially, unless we became self-sustaining. It is doctrine that comes home to the heart of every Latter-day Saint; it is doctrine that all must accept and reduce to practice, if we would attain to power and influence in the land. We must become financially strong. Wealth in and of itself, is a lever of power; and wealth in the hands of a righteous people must necessarily command an influence for good. We must first learn to make a wise use of the means that we possess, however little that may be; and by continuing to do this, we prepare ourselves to make a right and proper use of the power that wealth brings. But in order to attain the position that we are bound to occupy in the land, we must learn to combine our interests in such a manner that it will be to the advantage of the whole community to consume and wear that which is produced and manufactured at home. It will be by co-operative action that we shall be tied together in temporal matters as we are now bound together in spiritual things. As a thoroughly united people we can the better hasten the work of God in the earth; such as building temples, establishing settlements, civilizing the Lamanites, carrying the Gospel to the Jews, and building up the Zion of God in these mountains. We shall be the better able to extend a helping hand to the needy poor, to the oppressed and down-trodden among the nations, as well as to protect ourselves from the inroads of wicked and designing men. The few minutes allotted to me have expired.

That God may inspire our hearts to do His will, and that all may be willing in the day of His power, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Predictions in the Book of Mormon, etc.

George Q. Cannon

Discourse by President George Q. Cannon, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City (to the General Conference assembly), Sunday morning, April 6, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

I will read a portion of the 29th chapter of the second book of Nephi, from the last edition of the Book of Mormon.

1. “But behold, there shall be many at that day, when I shall proceed to do a marvelous work among them, that I may remember my covenants which I have made unto the children of men, that I may set my hand again the second time to recover my people, which are of the house of Israel.

2. “And also, that I may remember the promises which I have made unto thee, Nephi, and also unto thy father, that I would remember your seed; and that the words of your seed should proceed forth out of my mouth unto your seed. And my words shall hiss forth unto the ends of the earth, for a standard unto my people, which are of the house of Israel.

3. “And because my words shall hiss forth, many of the Gentiles shall say, A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there can not be any more Bible.

4. “But thus saith the Lord God; O fools, they shall have a Bible; and it shall proceed forth from the Jews, mine ancient covenant people. And what thank they the Jews for the Bible which they receive from them? Yea, what do the Gentiles mean? Do they remember the travels, and the labors, and the pains of the Jews, and their diligence unto me, in bringing forth salvation unto the Gentiles?

5. “O ye Gentiles, have ye remembered the Jews, mine ancient covenant people? Nay, but ye have cursed them, and have hated them, and have not sought to recover them. But behold, I will return all these things upon your own heads; for I the Lord hath not forgotten my people.

6. “Thou fool, that shall say, A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible. Have ye obtained a Bible, save it were by the Jews?

7. “Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth

8. “Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together, the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.

9. “And I do this that I may prove unto many, that I am the same yesterday, to-day, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word, ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be, until the end of man; neither from that time henceforth and forever.

10. “Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible, ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written:

11. “For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them: for out of the books which shall be written, I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written.”

There is much more of the next chapter and of the preceding chapter that pertains to our time, to the day and age in which we live, and these chapters, with many more, are full of predictions by the Prophet Nephi, concerning the days when the Book of Mormon should come forth.

I want this morning, if I can have the Spirit of God to lead and to assist me, to speak somewhat upon the predictions contained in the Book of Mormon—the predictions which had to be fulfilled after the publication of the book. It is alleged, as you know, that the Book of Mormon is not an inspired record, but that Joseph Smith, if he was the author of it, copied a great deal of it from the Old and New Testament. Now, there is scarcely any need to say to those who have studied the Book of Mormon, who have read it prayerfully and carefully—there is scarcely any need to say to them that it contains the internal evidence of its own divinity, that God wrote it through inspired men, and that no one but an inspired man or men could have written the book. There is no book in the English language that compares with it, unless it be books which contain the pure word of God. It has the advantage of the Bible in this: that it was translated by the power of God, not by the learning of man, and not selected from hundreds and thousands of versions as the Bible has been; for there is no end to the versions which exist, of the books contained in the Bible. Of course we have our version translated by learned men; but there is scarcely a passage of any importance in the Bible concerning which there is not some dispute among learned commentators. But with the Book of Mormon it is different. God preserved those records for a purpose in Himself. They were hidden up. This book, called the Book of Mormon, is an abridgment prepared by one of the last prophets of the Nephites, under the command of God, that it might come forth in the last days. God revealed in part to him, and to his son Moroni, the purpose which He had in view, in making this abridgment, and in concealing it in the earth, and they performed the labor connected with this under the direct command and inspiration of the Almighty, to come forth in the latter times, and to accomplish a great work. I wish to allude to some of the predictions—not those that are contained in other books, but those that are original with the Book of Mormon itself, and that could not have been made, unless the man who wrote them was inspired of God.

The words which I have read were written by Nephi, one of the first prophets of the Nephite nation, and he describes, at great length, and with wonderful plainness and minuteness, the condition of the inhabitants of the earth at the time that this work should go forth. Much of this, the caviller may say, could have been written by a man of these days. But there are some things which Nephi wrote, that could not have been written by a modern man who did not have the spirit of prophecy, and that which I have read in your hearing is a part that could not have been written by any human being, unless he had been inspired of God, and was a prophet of God. If Joseph Smith—if the divinity of his mission—his claims to be a Prophet rested upon this chapter alone, or this portion of the chapter that I have read in your hearing, according to my view his claims would be fully and indisputably established, for the reason that at the time that he translated this chapter he had no conception, neither could any human being have any conception, unless inspired of God, as to the effect the publication of the Book of Mormon would have upon the Gentile world. But Joseph, inspired of God, translated the prediction of Nephi, which prediction states that when the Book of Mormon should be published, it should be received by the Gentiles with this expression: “A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible.” How many times has this expression been made by clergymen, by professors of religion, and by Christendom generally, since the publication of the Book of Mormon? Ye Elders who have traversed sea and land, who have gone from continent to continent, who have visited the isles of the ocean, who have lifted up your voices in the cities of the Gentiles, and in their congregations; ye Elders, who have thus labored, know full well, that in every land, and among every people where you have labored, when you have spoken about God having restored another record, the Book of Mormon—you know that you have been met with these expressions, the literal words that Nephi said, would be used in the last days by the Gentiles, in regard to this work. You Latter-day Saints, who have endeavored to teach your friends the doctrines that God had revealed, and endeavored to show them that God had restored this ancient record—you know how your testimonies have been received concerning the Book of Mormon. These remarkable expressions have come from thousands of lips in many, many lands, and in many, many languages, confirmatory of the Book itself, and of its divine origin, and of its inspired translation. You read all the words of Nephi in this 29th chapter, and you will find that he describes with wonderful, and, I might say, photographic accuracy and minuteness, the condition of the so-called Christian world—the spirit that they possess, the crimes of which they are guilty, the condition in which they are placed, and all the circumstances connected with them.

In his next chapter, he makes further remarks concerning this work, and the effect it should have. He says:

1. “And now, I would prophesy somewhat more concerning the Jews and the Gentiles. For after the book of which I have spoken shall come forth, and be written unto the Gentiles, and sealed up again unto the Lord, there shall be many which shall believe the words which are written; and they shall carry them forth unto the remnant of our seed.

2. “And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of the Jews.

3. “And the Gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among them; wherefore they shall be restored unto the knowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which was had among their fathers.

4. “And then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a white and delightsome people.”

Now, that is one prediction. These are the words of Nephi. I will now read the words of Jesus, recorded in the 16th chapter of the third Book of Nephi, where He, in speaking about the last days, and the coming forth of this work, says:

“And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you at that day when the Gentiles shall sin against my Gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations; and if they shall do all those things, and shall reject the fullness of my Gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fullness of my Gospel from among them:

“And then I will remember my covenant which I have made unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my Gospel unto them:

“And I will show unto thee, O house of Israel, that the Gentiles shall not have power over you, but I will remember my covenant unto you, O house of Israel, and ye shall come unto the knowledge of the fullness of my Gospel.”

These predictions are parallel; they point to the same period; they describe the same events, the same condition of affairs—one uttered 600 years or thereabouts, before the other, and yet they are precisely similar in their tenor, describing that which should be done with the Gospel among the Gentiles. I wish you all to remember—you Latter-day Saints, you young men and you young women, you little children who are capable of understanding my words—I wish you all to remember that at the time this was written, or rather at the time this was translated into the English language—say somewhere about the year 1828—Joseph Smith himself, had not received, or at least obeyed, the Gospel. He had derived some knowledge of it through the ministration of angels, and from that portion of the record that he had translated; but there was not a Latter-day Saint upon the face of the whole earth that we know anything about, or that he knew anything about. No man or woman had received the Gospel; no church had been organized; no Priesthood from the eternal worlds had been bestowed; not a man among all the children of men had been clothed with the power of the eternal Priesthood of the Son of God to administer the ordinances of life and salvation unto the children of men. Yet the Prophet Joseph Smith in this translation, showed forth with great clearness, that the Gospel would be revealed, and that it should be received by some of the Gentiles; that when it should be received by the Gentiles, it should be carried by them to the descendants of Nephi and his brethren, who by that time should have become a filthy and a loathsome people. The Indians of our continent should receive the message of life and salvation. The Gospel should be carried to them. They would receive it with gladness. They would come to a knowledge of their Redeemer, as well as to a knowledge of the principles and doctrines and covenants which their fathers under—stood, and which their fathers had received. Wonderful prediction! And most wonderfully has it been fulfilled. At the time that the Prophet Joseph Smith translated this Book of Mormon, I suppose the impression was general, as it is today, that the Indians were a perishing race, that they would soon disappear from the face of the land. But before Joseph had translated this, he had found in previous predictions that the Gentiles—that is, our nation—that we as a race and the nation to which we belong, should not have power to destroy the Indians. This was a most remarkable statement to make when we consider where Joseph was brought up, and the circumstances surrounding him. If he had not been inspired of God, he would not have dared, in my opinion, and no man would have dared to have made such a prediction. But what, does Nephi say concerning this matter as translated by the Prophet? He says:

“Nevertheless thou beholdest that the Gentiles who have gone forth out of captivity, and have been lifted up by the power of God above all other nations upon the face of the land, which is choice above all other lands, which is the land the Lord God hath covenanted with thy father, that his seed should have for the land of their inheritance, wherefore thou seest that the Lord God will not suffer that the Gentiles will utterly destroy the mixture of thy seed, which are among thy brethren;

“Neither will he suffer that the Gentiles shall destroy the seed of thy brethren;

“Neither will He suffer that the Gentiles shall destroy the seed of thy brethren”—that is, the Lamanites proper. They were not to be permitted to destroy Nephi’s seed that should be mingled among the Lamanites, nor should they be permitted to destroy the Lamanites—that is, the descendants of Laman and Lemuel. Nephi predicted this. To-day it is said that the Indians will perish, and that it is impossible to save them. Here is the word of God recorded in this sacred book. We have the words of God, the testimony of Jesus Christ arrayed against all, or nearly all, the conclusions of the Gentiles. I look around and I see here on this stand to-day, representatives of strange tribes of Indians who have come here to visit, thus being in part a fulfillment of the prediction of the Son of God, and also the fulfillment of that prediction of Nephi, that I have read in your hearing. The Gentiles did receive the Gospel of the Son of God, when it was revealed. Burning with zeal to carry this Gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue and people; inspired by the Holy Ghost, they went out among the Indian races as well as others, and fulfilled the predictions of the Book of Mormon in this respect. And strange to say—if anything can be said to be strange connected with the work of God—the descendants of those ancient covenant people of the Lord, have gladly received the testimony of the servants of God. Wherever we have gone and mingled with those people, with those Red Men, and been able to communicate to them the truths of which we are in possession, which God has revealed to us, they have received the same gladly; not only upon this continent, but upon the islands of the sea, throughout Polynesia, the Sandwich, the Marquesas, the Society and the Navigator Islands—yes, and everywhere where those men with red skins dwell, they have gladly received the testimony of God’s servants concerning the Gospel, and they rejoice in its fullness and in the knowledge that their fathers once possessed, and of the redemption that Jesus Christ has wrought out for them. Most wonderful has this prediction been fulfilled in this respect! And God has done and is doing a great and a mighty work among the people, fulfilling the words of the ancient prophets and of Jesus. When the Gentiles do reject the Gospel—as I fear they will from their conduct in the past—that is, as a nation—although I trust there will yet be many hundreds and thousands—yea, I would that I could say millions—of Gentiles gathered in by this Gospel; I trust that this will be the case, though the prospects are not very hopeful at present. It seems at present that as a nation, the Gentiles will reject the Gospel. When they do reject it, as they have in part, then God will commence, as the Savior said, to do a great work among the house of Israel. He will carry his Gospel there, and the work will commence then among all the scattered remnants of the house of Israel, over the whole earth.

I wish to read another prophecy connected with the coming forth of this Book, and the results that should attend it, namely:

“Wherefore the fruit of thy loins shall write; and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write;” [the Prophet here is speaking of the fruit of the loins of the Patriarch Joseph, who was sold into Egypt by his brethren]; “and that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins” [that is, of Joseph’s loins] “and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah, shall grow together, unto the confounding of false doctrines, and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins, and bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days; and also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord.”

Now, here is a very remarkable prediction connected with the coming forth of this Book. It should have the effect, when united with the Bible—for it was the Bible that the Prophet was referring to as being the writings of the fruit of the loins of Judah; when these two Books should be united, it should have a remarkable effect—that is, their union should. They should confound false doctrine; they should lay down contentions, put an end to them and establish peace; and they should be the means of bringing the people to the knowledge of the covenants of God with those ancient Prophets, with His ancient servants and people. Now, all those who know anything about the effect of the Book of Mormon—of the preaching of the Elders with the aid of the Book of Mormon—know that these words have been fulfilled to the very letter. False doctrines have been put down. Contentions have ceased. Peace has been established, and the people have been brought to the knowledge of the covenants which God made with His ancient servants. Those who have read this Book know how precious are the words of God, contained in it—how plain the doctrine of Jesus Christ is set forth in it. There are no mistranslations; there is no mysticism infused into it by men who have had their own peculiar views of the doctrine of Christ; for in consequence of the taking out from the ancient records (the Bible) of many plain and precious parts of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the whole religious world is in confusion as to the meaning of certain texts. So far as baptism itself is concerned there is no end to contention. The Baptists say that immersion is necessary and is right. Others say that it is wrong, and that sprinkling is right. Others contend for infant baptism, while others say it is not of God. Many claim that infant baptism is necessary, and that if a child is not baptized, it is in danger of being consigned to the regions of the damned. While others, again, contend for the pouring of water; and still others who permit the candidate to elect which mode of baptism he will have, whether sprinkling, immersion or pouring; while men are thus divided upon this subject, Paul says there is but one baptism.

Now, the Book of Mormon comes forth, and it speaks in exceeding great, plainness upon this point. It not only gives the mode of baptism which Jesus gave to His ancient disciples on this continent; but the very words to be used. It says that they shall immerse candidates in the water; and it gives particular directions about the laying on of hands, and about all the doctrines of the church of Christ, or of the Gospel. No man who reads the Book of Mormon, need be at a loss to know the doctrine of Christ. It is as plain as it is possible for the English language to make it, and everybody can see it. Therefore, most wonderfully, when united with the Bible, has it fulfilled this prediction—the writings of the descendants of Joseph, of which this Book is the record.

Another most remarkable prediction is given in this same chapter; showing how plainly the Lord revealed to His ancient servants who wrote this Book, that which should take place in the last times. Lehi in speaking about Moses, said, that the Lord had revealed to Joseph the Patriarch, that He would raise up a mighty prophet named Moses, and that He should raise up for him a spokesman; that Moses would not be mighty in word, but in deed. Here is what the Lord said unto Joseph the Patriarch, as quoted by Lehi:

“And the Lord said unto me also” [that is, Joseph the Patriarch], “I will raise up unto the fruit of thy loins; and I will make for him a spokesman. And I, behold, I will give unto him, that he shall write the writing of the fruit of thy loins, unto the fruit of thy loins, and the spokesman of thy loins shall declare it.”

After the church had been organized some months, Oliver Cowdery, Parley P. Pratt, Peter Whitmer, and Ziba Petersen were appointed by the prophet of God to visit the western boundaries of Missouri. On their journey westward, they passed through the western part of Ohio, where Parley had formerly lived and labored in connection with the Reformed Baptists. They called upon one of the founders of that sect, Sidney Rigdon. They found him in the town of Kirtland, gave him a book of Mormon, and bore their testimony to him of the restoration of the Gospel. Sidney Rigdon said to them: “You tell me a strange tale. I will examine this book” and he commenced to do so. They were all young men, Sidney Rigdon was many years their senior. Rigdon examined the book, and became convinced that it was the word of God. He was baptized in the town of Kirtland, and the foundation of a great work was laid there. God afterwards revealed that this man was to be a spokesman, and he became the spokesman to this people and to the world for the prophet Joseph. Those who knew Sidney Rigdon, know how wonderfully God inspired him, and with what wonderful eloquence he declared the word of God to the people. He was a mighty man in the hands of God, as a spokesman, as long the prophet lived: or up to a short time before his death. Thus you see that even this which many might look upon as a small matter, was predicted about 1,700 years before the birth of the Savior, and was quoted by Lehi 600 years before the same event, and about 2,400 years before its fulfillment, and was translated by the power of God, through his servant Joseph, as was predicted should be the case, and at a time, as I have said, when there was not a man upon the earth who was a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The church had not yet been organized, and Joseph did not know, unless he knew by the spirit of revelation, whether any man would receive the Gospel. I doubt whether he knew as to how the church would be organized. He had some idea, doubtless; but there were many things which he himself did not know, till he wrote this translation.

Time will not permit me to proceed much further with this subject; I wish I had a day to speak upon it; but I am now trespassing on Brother Joseph F. Smith’s time.

There is one prediction, however, I wish, before I sit down, to allude to, because I think it is most signally fulfilled, namely:

“And he said unto me, Behold there are, save two churches only;” [this was the angel speaking to Nephi in the vision,] “the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil.”

This is a new thing. It is supposed there are a great many churches. The Lord here says there is but one church outside of his own church.

“Wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God, belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.

“And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples.

“And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw.

“And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God.”

At the time this was written, a man would have been a bold man who would have said—that is, unless he was inspired of God—that anything of this kind could happen in these United States. One of the chief foundation stones of the great fabric of Government in this land, upon this continent, is religious liberty—liberty for every creed. Persecution of people for religion was unknown at the time this was written, and no man, unless he had been inspired of God, could have contemplated such a possibility as that any church would be persecuted for religion’s sake. Yet here was a prediction made by Nephi, 2,400 years before it took place, in which he foretold the condition of things in this land, and upon all lands where the church of Christ should exist. There should be combinations and peoples gathered together, by religious influences, against the church of God. Now, what are the facts? Among the first persecutors of this church, when its members were few, were those who were themselves religious teachers. The earliest persecutors of Joseph Smith were religious teachers, and the mobs in Missouri, and the mobs in Illinois, were led by religious teachers. Even the mob that murdered our beloved Prophet and Patriarch, and wounded our revered President—that mob was led by a local Baptist preacher, and our people were driven from Nauvoo, as Brother Wells well knows, by a mob headed by a preacher. And to-day, those who are inciting mobs against this people; those who go to Congress, and incite persecutions against us; those who fulminate threats and frame petitions; those who meet together in conventions; those who gather together in conferences, are those who belong to this “mother of abominations,” this “whore of all the earth,” and it is through the influence of that accursed whore, that they gather together and marshal their forces in every land against the Latter-day Saints, the Church of the living God. The blood that has stained Georgia, and that cries from the ground for vengeance upon those who shed it—that blood was shed by mobs who were banded together, headed and “aided and egged on by religious men; and if it were not for this “mother of abominations,” and those who are connected with her, we could dwell in peace and in safety in the valleys of these mountains. Here in this city, who has done as much or more than any one else? The religious teachers, men who came here to preach what they call the Gospel. They are stirring up strife continually, instead of making peace; going back to other religious associations in the east, and telling the most abominable falsehoods about us, exciting the public mind, in order that they may get money with which to come here and accomplish their wicked designs. They tell lies without number about us. Our newspapers have exposed such people time and time again, and yet they shamelessly go forth and repeat those lies about the wickedness of this people, about the intolerance of this people, about the dangers they run when here in this country, when they know, as we all know who are here to-day, that they have never been molested, and that we have never injured them, nor interfered with them in any form, but that we have always treated them with that respect and kindness with which we desire to be treated ourselves.

In this way, this word of God, through his servant Nephi, uttered 2,400 years ago, has been and is being fulfilled to the very letter. Thus God is bringing to pass in the most wonderful manner the words of this Book. It is going forth, as He said it should, to all the nations of the earth. It is accomplishing that which He designed it should, and it will go forth and accomplish its mission. There is no power upon the earth that can stop it, because it is the word of God, and the doctrines of Jesus Christ, and it will be the means, as has been said, of gathering out the honest from every nation, causing them to dwell in peace, uniting them in doctrine, and putting an end to all controversy and contention concerning points of doctrine, because it reveals the Gospel with great plainness unto all those who will receive it.

Now, I want to read one more prediction and then stop. It is contained in the last words of Moroni, concerning this work, namely:

“When ye shall receive these things” says Moroni, (standing alone on the continent, the last one of his race who had been true to God, not knowing what his own fate would be; he leaves on record for us Gentiles, the world of God, as he was inspired to give it, and thus he writes) “I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost;

“And by the power of the Holy Ghost, ye may know the truth of all things.”

These are the words of a prophet of God, standing in the face of eternity, not knowing what his own fate would be. He leaves this, his dying declaration, on record, at the close of this glorious book, which he was the instrument in the hands of God, of hiding up to be brought forth in the latter times. He testifies that if we will ask God concerning these things, in the name of Jesus Christ, we shall know concerning the truth of them by the power of the Holy Ghost. Let me ask this vast congregation: Has not this word of God, through his inspired prophet, been fulfilled?

You men and women and children, who have sought unto God, in the name of Jesus, as he commanded you, have you not received, by the power of the Holy Ghost, a testimony for yourselves, that these things are true, that this is the word of God, divinely inspired, written by the finger of inspiration, and translated by the power of God? [Yes]. I know that if I were to call for a response it would be universal in this congregation, and not only in this congregation, but in every congregation of the Latter-day Saints throughout all these mountains, and scattered abroad among all the nations of the earth. I ask you, at the request of my brethren, if this is no; true? All who know it is, and have received this testimony by the power of the Holy Ghost, say yes—[the vast congregation responded “YES” as by one voice.]

God bless you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Joseph Smith’s Mission, etc.

B. H. Roberts

Lecture by Elder B. H. Roberts, of Centerville, under the auspices of the Mutual Improvement Association, in the Fourteenth Ward Assembly Rooms, Salt Lake City, Monday evening, January 28th, 1884. Reported by James D. Sterling.

At the request of the Presidency of Davis Stake of Zion, I have delivered two lectures in each of the Wards of that county. Being a young man, I have addressed myself to the young people, with a view to strengthen their faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which has been revealed anew to the earth in this age of the world. And in considering the subject before us to-night—“Joseph Smith’s Mission”—I desire to show to my young brethren and sisters that our fathers have not been following cunningly devised fables, but that they have, and so have we, good and sufficient reasons for believing in the mission of Joseph Smith as a divine one.

In considering the subject of our lecture, the question naturally arises What was Joseph Smith’s mission? It was the mission of Joseph Smith, under God’s direction, to establish the Church of Christ and the Kingdom of God upon the earth; and to the accomplishment of this work he devoted the whole energy of his life, and was faithful unto death.

But this statement of what his mission was, gives birth to another question: “Is there any necessity for such a work as is ascribed to Joseph Smith being performed? The Christian world believe that when Christ was upon the earth in the flesh, that he then established his Church and Kingdom, and that it has continued among men from that time until the present. And although many changes have taken place in regard to principles and doctrines, and divisions and subdivisions have distracted the religious world—yet they claim that those things which are essential to the existence of Christ’s Church and Kingdom have remained among men. This is their theory. We have a theory which is opposite to theirs.

The first revelation that Joseph Smith received from the Lord, was that men were teaching for doctrine the commandments and precepts of men, and that He [the Lord] did not acknowledge their institutions as His Church or Kingdom, and told Joseph to join none of them.

Here then you see, we have two propositions presented to us; if one is true the other must be false; both cannot be correct. If the theory held by the Christian world be true, then there appears no necessity for such a work as we ascribe to Joseph Smith being performed; for if the Kingdom of God has continued upon the earth from the days of Jesus until the present, then there would be no need of any one being raised up to establish that which was already here; and proving that there was no necessity for such a work as that ascribed to Joseph Smith would be a big stride towards proving that he was an impostor. But if we can show that the theory held by the Christian world is incorrect—if we can prove that there has been an apostasy—that men have been following for doctrine the commandments of men; if we can prove that Christ’s Church and Kingdom were not upon the earth at the time Joseph Smith’s Mission commenced—then the necessity of such a work as we claim he performed, becomes apparent; and if there is a necessity for such a work as the restoration of the Kingdom of God to the Earth, may not Joseph Smith have been the instrument in the hands of God, in performing that work?

Let us consider the question then—Has there been an apostasy? We cannot examine this subject in detail. All we shall be able to do, is to briefly refer to some of those prophecies which relate to the subject. We begin by calling your attention to the 24th chapter of Isaiah, commencing with the 4th verse: “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 ordinances, 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 are left.”

I have had men in the world try to reason away the force of this prophecy, in the following manner: They reminded us that Isaiah lived in the Mosaic dispensation, when the law of carnal commandments was in force; and claim that it was of this carnal law of which Isaiah spake—it was the law of Moses that was to be transgressed; the Mosaic ordinances which were to be changed; the Mosaic covenant which was to be broken. These assertions, however, are incorrect—from the fact that the, Mosaic law never was considered, by those who understood it, “an everlasting covenant.” It was given for a special purpose, and when it had accomplished that purpose, it was laid aside.

We read from Galatians, 3rd chapter and 8th verse:

“And the Scriptures foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the Gospel unto Abraham: saying: In thee shall all nations be blessed.”

From this it appears that the Gospel was preached unto Abraham. In the 4th chapter of Hebrews and 2nd verse, Paul in speaking of ancient Israel, says:

“For unto us was the Gospel preached, as well as unto them; but the word preached, did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” Not only then was the Gospel preached unto Abraham, but also unto the children of Israel. Now, let us go back to the 3rd chapter of Galatians, for Paul having stated that the Gospel was preached unto Abraham, asks this question (19th verse):

“Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgression, till seed should come to whom the promise was made.”

Added to what? Added to the Gospel, which before that time had been preached unto Abraham, and also to ancient Israel. But the Israelites under Moses, were unable to live the perfect law of the Gospel, were not strong enough to overcome evil with good, as the Gospel requires, so a law of carnal commandments was “added” to the Gospel—a law which included the principle of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”—a law which was suited to their capacity. Paul still speaking of this subject in the same chapter of Galatians, already quoted, (23rd verse), says:

“Before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

“Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

“But after that faith has come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.”

From these passages of Scripture, we learn this: The Gospel was preached to Abraham, and also to ancient Israel. The Israelites were unable to live the law of the Gospel—so a law of carnal commandments, known as the law of Moses, was given as a school-master to bring them up to the higher law: Christ came and introduced that higher-law—the Gospel, explained its precepts, and pointed out the difference between it and the law of Moses. The Gospel took the place of the law of Moses, which was laid aside, having fulfilled the object for which it was added to the Gospel. If then the law of Moses was not an everlasting covenant, this prophecy of Isaiah’s, which we are considering, does not relate to it, as the prophecy of Isaiah was concerning an everlasting Covenant.

We find in Hebrews xiii, 20, the following: “Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect,” etc.

From this we learn that Christ’s blood is called the blood of the everlasting covenant. Paul in writing to Titus, gives us to understand that he lived “In hope of eternal life, which God who cannot lie, promised before the world began,” and this immortal life which God had promised—this everlasting covenant which God had made with man before the world began, was sealed by the blood of Christ, and this life and immortality were brought to light through the Gospel—and is called in the Scripture, the everlasting Gospel or covenant; and Isaiah says that the laws of the everlasting covenant, or the Gospel laws, shall be transgressed, the Gospel ordinances shall be changed: and in consequence of these serious transgressions, the earth is to be burned, and few men left; which judgment still is hanging over the inhabitants of the earth. Having proven then that this prophecy of Isaiah’s refers to the Gospel, and not to the law of Moses, let us remember that Jesus said, “Though heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or tittle of my word shall fail, but all shall be fulfilled.” Either Isaiah was mistaken when he spake as moved upon by the Holy Ghost, in relation to the world departing from that order of things inaugurated by the Savior, or else the Christian world is incorrect in maintaining that the Gospel in all that is essential, has continued from the days of Jesus to the present time.

Some few noted Christian writers more candid than their fellows, have freely admitted the apostasy of Christendom. We will introduce their testimony. John Wesley in his 94th sermon, says:

The reason why the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost are no longer in the church, “is because the love of many waxed cold, and the Christians had turned heathens again, and had only a dead form left:”

The following quotation is taken from page 163, of Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible. This work is indorsed by the names of 63 divines of both Europe and America, all noted for their scholarship. They say:

“We must not expect to see the Church of Holy Scripture actually existing in its perfection upon the earth. It is not to be found thus perfect, either in the collected fragments of Christendom, or still less in any one of those fragments.” This is a frank acknowledgment of all that we claim as to the apostasy of the primitive Church. Christ and his Apostles established the Church upon the earth, in the days of their ministry, and now we are told that it is not to be found even in the collected fragments of Christendom—that is, take the principles of truth which each sect possesses, and put them all together, and yet from this collection of truths we would not find the Gospel of Christ. Let us then take them at their word: they have but a dead form left—“The Church of Christ is not to be found on the earth.” These admissions on the part of the prominent writers of Christendom, coupled with the sure prophecy of Isaiah, forces us to the conclusion that men have corrupted the Gospel, as taught by Christ and the Apostles—that there has been an apostasy, and it must needs be that God set up His Kingdom again upon the earth.

By examination, we shall find that the Scriptures predict the restoration of the Gospel. It pleased the Almighty, while His servant John was on the Isle of Patmos, to show him many things that would transpire in the future. While wrapped in heavenly vision, he saw, among other things, “Another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to them that dwell upon the earth, to every nation, kindred, tongue and people, saying with a loud voice, fear God, and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment is come.” It appears from this passage of Scripture, which you will find in the 14th chapter of Revelation, that the angel who is to come with the Gospel, will make his appearance just prior to the judgments of God being poured out upon the children of men in the last days—“in the hour of God’s judgment.” This Gospel was not to be preached merely to one nation or people, but to EVERY nation, every kindred, every tongue, and every people. It is evident to my mind, that all nations, tongues and peoples must have been without the Gospel, or why would it be necessary for the Lord to restore it by the ministry of an angel to all peoples and tongues, if any of them possessed it? There is another prophet who has predicted the setting up of God’s Kingdom upon the earth in the last days. I refer to Daniel, the Hebrew prophet, who was among the captive Jews, who were taken from Jerusalem to Babylon, by King Nebuchadnezzar, about six hundred years B.C. The Lord gave unto this same king of Babylon a wonderful dream, but he had forgotten it. He assembled all his wise men and magicians, and demanded that they tell him his dream, and the interpretation thereof. If they failed to do so, death was to be the penalty. This produced great consternation among the wise men, but the Lord revealed the thing to Daniel, who came before the king, with the dream, and the interpretation of it.

The king saw a great image, the head of which was gold; the arms and chest of silver; the trunk of brass; the legs of iron; the feet and toes, part of iron and part of potter’s clay. He also saw a little stone, cut out of the mountains without hands, which smote the image on the feet and toes, and broke them in pieces; then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and the gold broken to pieces, and became as the chaff of the summer’s threshing floor, and the wind carried them away, but the little stone became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Such was the dream. Daniel in giving the interpretation thereof, said unto Nebuchadnezzar, “Thou, O king! art a king of kings; for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power and strength and glory; * * * thou art this head of gold.” (Daniel 2, verses 37 and 38.) The head of this great image, therefore, was the Babylonian kingdom, which flourished in the sixth and seventh centuries, B.C., but in 538 B.C., it was destroyed. Daniel continues “And after thee”—Nebuchadnezzar—“shall arise another kingdom, inferior to thee.” (Verse 39.) The Medo-Persian Empire succeeded the Babylonian kingdom, and continued from 538 to 331, B.C., and is represented by the chest and arms of silver in the great image.

Again we quote: “And another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.” (Verse 39.) The Macedonian Empire succeeded the Medo-Persian, being founded by Alexander the Great, and did “bear rule” over the then known world, continuing until 161, B.C.

“And the fourth kingdom,” says Daniel, “shall be strong as iron; for as much as iron breaketh in pieces, and subdueth all things, and as iron breaketh, all these things shall it,” the fourth kingdom, “break in pieces and bruise.” (Verse 40.) The Macedonian Empire, founded by Alexander the Great, was pushed out of existence by the Roman Empire, which entirely supplanted it in 161, B.C. The Roman nation is the fourth great nation seen by Nebuchadnezzar in the image, and is represented by the legs of iron; and as iron breaketh in pieces, all other metals, so the Roman nation broke in pieces the other kingdoms of the earth.

We still have left the feet and toes of the image, which are part of iron and part of clay. What kingdom or kingdoms do they represent?

In the year 364 A. D., the Roman Empire was divided between Valentinian and Valens. The western part of the empire was assailed by the Goths, Vandals, Huns, and other tribes inhabiting the north part of Europe, until it was utterly destroyed 483, A. D. From its ruins arose those kingdoms and empires, which, to-day, occupy the western part of Europe.

The eastern part of the Roman Empire was destroyed by the invasions of the Saracens, and out of this part of ancient Rome has Sprung the kingdoms which now occupy the east of Europe, and the west of Asia.

The old Roman Empire, then, represented in the image by the legs of iron, was divided and subdivided, until the kingdoms represented by the feet and toes of this image are in existence. Concerning these feet and toes, Daniel says, “And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay. THEY” Who? Why those nations which sprung up out of the ruins of the Roman Empire—“they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men, but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.” The nations now in existence marry and intermarry—“mingle themselves with the seed of men,” striving in this manner to unite their interest and avert calamity, but all in vain; they do not cleave together any more than hard pieces of iron will dissolve and become one substance with clay. We have now traced this prophecy down to our own times—to the kingdoms that exist in our own days. What comes next? Why, says Daniel, “In the days of these kings,” represented by the feet and toes of the image, “shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”

Not only, then, does John tell us that the Gospel, in the hour of God’s judgment, shall be restored to the earth by the ministry of an angel, but the Prophet Daniel has proclaimed to us, that in the last days,) for he says—2nd chapter, 28th verse—“There is a God who maketh known unto the king, what shall be in the latter days;”) the God of heaven would set up His kingdom, and has given us the assurance that it would stand for ever. No handwriting will ever appear upon the walls of the temples of that kingdom, saying the kingdom is divided and given to another people. Whatever may be our fate as individuals, we may rest assured the Kingdom of God has come to stay.

Having shown from the Scriptures not only that there would be a universal apostasy, but also a restoration of the Gospel, and the setting up of the Kingdom of God in the last days, we are now at liberty to inquire what the reasons of men are for rejecting Joseph Smith as God’s instrument in accomplishing this work.

Is the fact that Joseph Smith was rejected by the world, hated and persecuted by thousands, any evidence against his being the chosen servant of God, to accomplish the mighty work of setting up the Kingdom of God upon the earth in the last days? Let history answer that question. How have the servants of God been received in all ages of the world? Much in the same way that Joseph Smith was. Paul, in speaking of the Prophets, tells us, “They 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.” (Heb. iv, 37, 38). Jesus was hated and despised by the world, and finally put to death by the wicked. His Apostles and disciples fared but little better. Concerning the Apostles, Paul says: “We are fools for Christ’s sake, * * even unto this present time we both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place; and labor, working with our own hands; being reviled, we bless; being persecuted we suffer it; being defamed, we entreat; we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.” (1 Cor. iv.) Was Joseph Smith despised any more than these ancient servants of God were? But Jesus says: “Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy; for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you; for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” (Luke vi, 22, 26).

On another occasion the same Great Teacher said to His disciples: “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” And does not the same principle hold good to-day? And if Joseph Smith was indeed God’s servant, would not the world hate him? This principle also holds good when applied to the people of God as a whole. If the Latter-day Saints were as vile and corrupt, or as ungodly as they are represented to be by their enemies, if they were as licentious as they are said to be—then as God lives they would be of the world: and if of the world, and the principle which Jesus laid down be true, then the world would love them: but from the fact that this people are hated of the world, we have an assurance that they are not of the world: but God hath chosen them out of the world, and the world hate them.

That Joseph Smith was despised, rejected, and persecuted by men, is no valid objection to his being the honored servant of God. I have heard other objections urged against Joseph Smith: such as that he was unlearned—uneducated in the wisdom of the world—and this was true. That is, in his youth he was unlettered, and his scholastic attainments were limited, but as he grew to manhood, his lack of education could scarcely be complained of, as he proved himself able to cope with all the scholars of the age.

It is also alleged that both he and his followers were men that came from the humble walks of life, and were not among the lawyers, the rulers, and the professors. The same objections were urged against Jesus and His followers—His Apostles. But what does such an objection amount to? Are not these the class of men that God has almost invariably called to perform His work? I read the following passage from the first Chapter of I. Corinthians:

“For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called.

“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 that are mighty;

“And base things of the world, and things which are despised hath God chosen; yea, and the things which are not, to bring to naught things that are: that no flesh might glory in His presence.”

To say, then, that Joseph Smith’s estate was lowly, and that he was unlearned when called to the work of God, instead of being a valid objection against him, is, to the contrary, an evidence in his favor.

Having thus disposed of the objections made against his being a good man and a servant of God, let us next inquire into the evidence of his being an instrument in the hands of God, in restoring the Gospel, and setting up the Kingdom of God upon the earth. What evidences have the Latter-day Saints to offer to the world that he accomplished this important work? First, the work itself: the institution which he organized—it is an exact facsimile of that which Christ instituted when He ministered upon the earth. Did the ancient Apostles teach faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world—did they teach salvation in His name? Yes, and so do we! Did they teach repentance, which includes the forsaking of sin? Yes, and so do we! Did they teach baptism by immersion for the remission of sin? and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost? the resurrection of the dead and future rewards and punishments? Yes, and so do we!

Did they have in the Church Apostles, Prophets, Seventies, Elders, Bishops, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers, and Deacons—together with other helps and governments in the Church organization? Yes, and the same are in the Church of Christ to-day, which Joseph Smith, under God, has organized on the earth.

Did the ancient Saints enjoy the spiritual gifts and blessings of the Gospel—the gifts of knowledge, wisdom, faith, healing, tongues, interpretations, discerning of spirits, revelation, prophecy, visitation of angels, etc.? Yes: and do the Latter-day Saints enjoy these things? You know they do, for you are witnesses of these things—then this institution exactly resembles that which Jesus established upon the earth when He was here. It is the same in its principles and ordinances; its officers and organization; and the same results—the same gifts and graces grow out of obedience to its requirements. If you compare the institution known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with that institution described in the New Testament, you will find they correspond with each other, as face answers to face in the mirror. This feat of organizing a Church which should in every respect resemble that of Christ’s, has been the ambition of the learned and pious reformers for centuries past; but they have failed. The world, however, are now compelled to admit one or the other of the two following conclusions: Either Joseph Smith, unlettered youth though he was, has so far out-stripped the learning and wisdom of ages, and by the power of his own genius accomplished that which genius aided by scholarship could not do in previous centuries; or else they must Conclude that God has in very deed again spoken from heaven, and revealed the Gospel and the organization of His Kingdom, through Joseph Smith. The first conclusion is absurd; the second is the true solution of the mystery, and thousands testify of it.

Another reason I would offer to sustain his being called of God, is—he started right. I have seen a motto somewhere, which reads: “Well begun, is half done.”

Jesus, when among His disciples on one occasion, appeared curious to know what people thought of Him; so He said to His Apostles, “Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am!” He was answered, that some said He was John the Baptist, others Elias, or one of the prophets. “But whom say ye that I am?” Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona,” said Jesus, “for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my father which is in heaven: * * * and upon this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. xvi.) What was that “rock” upon which the Church was to be built? It was upon the principle of God revealing unto men that Jesus was the Christ—the principle of revelation.

In the Spring of 1820, Joseph Smith, in obedience to the instruction given in James—“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him”—was praying in the woods to the Father, when he was suddenly enwrapped in a glorious vision. He saw a pillar of light descending from heaven—it rested upon him—its brightness exceeded the brightness of the sun at noon-day. In the midst of this glorious light stood two personages: each resembling the other. One standing a little above the other, pointing to the one below him said: “This is my Beloved Son; Hear ye Him!”—“Blessed art thou, Peter, for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in Heaven.” The same could be said to Joseph Smith now, for the Father had revealed the Son to him. “And upon this rock will I build my Church.” Hence we say Joseph Smith started upon the very principle upon which Jesus said He would build His Church.

Not only did Joseph start right, but he continued right. John, the Revelator, said that an angel would bring the everlasting Gospel to the earth in the hour of God’s judgment; Joseph Smith declares that the angel Moroni, who had been one of the ancient Prophets upon this American continent, came to him, and taught him many principles of the Gospel, and also delivered to him the metallic plates containing the Book of Mormon, in which is contained the “fullness of the everlasting Gospel.” Thus was the Gospel restored to the earth, according to the prediction of the Scripture. John made the prediction; Joseph Smith declares its fulfillment.

Furthermore, he received the authority to administer in the ordinances of this Gospel as the Scriptures direct. He did not take the honor upon himself, for the Scriptures forbid that. I will read from the 5th chapter of Hebrews, 4th verse. Paul, speaking of those who minister in the things pertaining to God, says:

“And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.”

The question now for our consideration is, how was Aaron called For if we can find out how he was called, we shall then know how all other men must be called before they have authority to administer in the Gospel. Suppose that on the Statute books of Utah Territory, we should find a law which said, “No man shall be governor of Utah, except he be appointed as was Governor Young.” If that law was in force, what would we do if we were without a governor, and wanted one? We would turn back in the history of Utah, and find how Governor Young was appointed, and then appoint one the same way; very well, let us do the same thing in the case before us, as they are parallel cases. How was Aaron called? We read in the 4th chapter of Exodus, that the Lord called Moses to go and deliver Israel out of Egypt. Moses excused himself, and desired the Lord to send some one else, as he was not eloquent, but slow of speech. This angered the Lord, and He said, “Who hath made man’s mouth?” And the Lord promised to be with him, and teach him what he should say. Still Moses shrank; so the Lord says, “Is not Aaron, the Levite, thy brother? I know that he can speak well. * * And he shall be thy spokesman to the people, and he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of a God.” On another occasion, when further authority was granted to Aaron, the word of the Lord came through Moses, saying, “Take thou unto thee, Aaron, thy brother; and his sons with him from among the children of Israel, that he may administer unto me in the Priest’s office,” etc. (Exodus, 28th chapter.) From this, then, we learn that Aaron was called by the word of God coming to a Prophet of God, calling him to administer in things pertaining to God; and Paul states the law—no man taketh this honor unto himself, except he be called in the same way that Aaron was. Joseph Smith was called according to this law. John the Baptist, a Prophet of God, who had held the Priesthood of Aaron when on the earth, came to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and placing his hands upon their heads, ordained them to the Aaronic Priesthood, which gave them authority to preach repentance, and baptize for the remission of sins. Subsequently, Peter, James and John came, and conferred the apostleship upon them, which gave them the authority to build up the Kingdom of God in all the world. Thus he received his authority of God according to the Gospel law relating to this matter.

But let us come to more positive proof than we have yet considered.

I read from the 84th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, 64th verse, the Lord in speaking to the first Elders of the Church, makes this promise unto them through Joseph Smith: “Therefore, as I said unto mine Apostles, I say unto you again, that every soul that believeth on your words, and is baptized by water for the remission of sins, shall receive the Holy Ghost.”

Here, now, is a promise than an impostor dare not make. It is placed within the reach of all men to test the truth whether Joseph Smith was authorized to make such a promise or not. It is just as much a test as that which Jesus gave to the people in His day, when He taught them in their temples, saying, “If any man will do the will of my Father in Heaven, he shall know of the doctrine, whether I speak of myself or of Him who sent me.” So now we are told by this modern teacher, that if we believe on his words, and are baptized, we shall receive the Holy Ghost. If this promise is not fulfilled, then it proves beyond all controversy that the person making it is an impostor. But seeing it is something that man cannot bestow upon another by his own power, if the promise is fulfilled, and men do receive the Holy Ghost, then it is positive evidence that Joseph was authorized of God to make that promise. Thousands can testify that this promise has been fulfilled. Most of you in this hall, if called upon, would doubtless testify that you have received the gift and power of the Holy Ghost. For one I can bear testimony that I have received the Holy Ghost, through obedience to the Gospel. It has expanded my mind, and enabled me to understand many of the principles connected with the Church and Kingdom of God. I have frequently felt it thrill from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet. I could as soon doubt the existence of the sunlight, as doubt the existence of the Holy Ghost within me, and which I have received in fulfillment of this promise in the Doctrine and Covenants.

But I read further, in the same section, “And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name they shall do many wonderful works; in my name they shall cast out devils; in my name they shall heal the sick; in my name they shall open the eyes of the blind, and unstop the ears of the deaf; and the tongue of the dumb shall speak; and if any man shall minister poison unto them, it shall not hurt them; and the poison of a serpent shall not have power to harm them. But a commandment I give unto them, that they shall not boast themselves of these things, neither speak them before the world.” That is, we shall not boast before the world that God has promised to deliver us from these things. We may learn a lesson from Jesus on this subject—The devil took Him to the pinnacle of the temple, and now, said he, if thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written, I will give mine angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands shall they bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. “It is also written,” replied Jesus, “thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” So to-day, we shall not boast ourselves of these things, and tempt the Lord.

But are these signs and blessings in the Church which Joseph Smith established? You, my brethren and sisters, know they are: you know that it is a common thing to send for the Elders to administer to the sick, and they are healed, and thousands in Utah, and hundreds throughout the world, can testify that they have seen the power of God manifest in the Church. If these promises made through Joseph Smith, had not been realized, it would have proven him an impostor; their being fulfilled, is an evidence that he was called of God.

The Lord gave unto ancient Israel a rule by which they might prove the men who spake to them in the name of the Lord, that they might know whether God had sent them or not; you will find it in the 18th chapter of Deuteronomy, 22nd verse.

“When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken; but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously; thou shalt not be afraid of him.”

This, then, was the test made; if their prophecies failed to come to pass when the wheel of time brought them due, the Lord had not sent them. If their prophecies were fulfilled, then Israel might know that the Lord had sent them. Since it is claimed that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God, let us try him by this rule. Many of his predictions are on record, let us examine them. We must confine ourselves to a few, however, for lack of time prevents us from making a very extensive examination.

I call your attention to a prediction recorded in section 103, of the Doctrine and Covenants, verses 5, 6 and 7.

“But verily I say unto you, that I have decreed a decree, which my people shall realize, inasmuch as they hearken from this very hour unto the counsel which I, the Lord their God, shall give unto them. Behold they shall, for I have decreed it, begin to prevail against mine enemies from this very hour; and by hearkening to observe all the words which I, the Lord their God, shall speak unto them, they shall never cease to prevail, until the kingdoms of the world are subdued under my feet, and the earth is given unto the Saints to possess it for ever and for ever.”

This prophecy was given in February, 1834—a few months after the Saints were driven from Jackson County, Missouri. Now, take the history of the Saints from that time until the present, and to my mind, it appears to be one continual series of triumphs. The Saints being driven from Jackson County, did not stop the progress of the Kingdom of God. The Gospel was preached more extensively, and the fruits of the Elders’ labors were more abundant; and when five years later the Saints were expelled from the State of Missouri, 12,000 were driven instead of 1,200 as in the drivings in Jackson County. The only visible effect of their expulsion from Missouri, was to give the work fresh impetus. The exiled Saints settled in Illinois, started to build a great city, and began the erection of a noble temple, at the same time sending the Gospel to the European nations. Eight years after, when they were again obliged to move, instead of 12,000 going, there were 20,000 that began their march for the West. They settled in these mountains, and although great difficulties have had to be surmounted, still the work of God has been growing; and if the Saints had to move again, 150,000 would leave their homes—so persecution has not stayed the work of God.

Again; when the Saints were in Missouri, they had but one temple; to-day we have one temple completed and several more in course of erection—some of which will soon be finished.

In 1833 they drove our fathers from a single county in Missouri; five years later it was found that they had possession of several counties.

In 1846, they drove our parents from a single city and its surroundings; they came to the wilderness, and founded a Territory which we possess; and we are spreading over into the surrounding States and Territories, and to-day the cry of Zion’s children is—“Give us room that we may dwell!” We have prevailed against every obstacle—the prophecy so far has been fulfilled; and if we will but hearken to the counsels of God, we shall never cease to triumph, until the kingdoms of this world are the kingdoms of our God and His Christ.

In Sec. 8, of the Doctrine and Covenants, is the remarkable prophecy of Joseph Smith’s, relating to the great rebellion of the Southern States. Before I read that part of the prophecy of which I wish more particularly to speak, I will pave the way for it. When reasoning with infidels on the truth of the Jewish Scriptures, I have often alluded to the many prophecies in the Bible, and then have shown from history that these predictions have been verified—hence they were inspired. They would generally try to destroy the force of my argument by claiming that the predictions were made after the events had transpired; that is, they were not predictions in fact, but were written by fanatics to deceive mankind. But I wish to show my young brethren this prophecy on the war of the rebellion cannot be overthrown by such assumptions as these, to which I have just alluded.

This revelation and prophecy on war, was given December 25, 1832; the events it predicts did not commence until 1861—29 years after the prophecy was made. I have heard several of the leading Elders of the Church say, they carried with them manuscript copies of that prophecy in their preaching tours throughout the States, and occasionally would read it to the people: better still—in the year 1851, Elder F. D. Richards published in England a book called, “The Pearl of Great Price;” among other interesting matter it contained, was this prophecy on war. This was nine years before the war it predicted began. As this book was widely circulated both in Europe and America, no one can ever use the old infidel argument against it—that is, that the prediction was made after the event had occurred.

I read from the Book of Covenants:

“Verily thus saith the Lord, concerning the wars that shall shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which shall eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls. The days will come when war will be poured out on all nations, beginning at that place:

“For behold, the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the Southern States will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain as it is called, and they shall also call upon other nations in order to defend themselves against other nations; and then war shall be poured out upon all nations.”

We have already shown that this prediction was made a number of years before it began to be fulfilled. It now remains for us to prove that the events spoken of, actually occurred.

It is a matter of history that the first gun fired “in the late unpleasantness, was fired upon Fort Sumpter, from a rebel battery in South Carolina, and from there the war spread to other States. The trouble started, then, where Joseph Smith said it would begin—South Carolina.

It was to “end in the death and misery of many souls.” This, however, was contrary to the expectations both of the North and the South. The South claimed that in a short time they would be able to compel the North to acknowledge them as an independent nation. While Abraham Lincoln was equally confident in his ability to put his foot upon the neck of the Rebellion and crush out its life; his first levy for troops was only for 90,000 men, for 90 days. But whatever the expectations of men might be, the Lord had said the war should “end in the death and misery of many souls.” All who are acquainted with the history of the Rebellion know that it thus ended.

I, myself, have visited many of the battle grounds in the Southern States. Not long ago I was on the battle field of Shiloh, on the Tennessee River, where 20,000 men were killed in two days: I have also passed over the battle fields around Nashville, Franklin, and Murfreesboro; also over Missionary Ridge, Chiamaugel, and Mount Lookout. Last summer I visited Richmond, and passed over that part of country where the Battles of the Wilderness were fought, where over three hundred thousand men laid down their lives in their respective causes; and as I called to mind the thousands who had been slain on these battle fields I have mentioned, and many others—said: The fact that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, is written in characters of blood to this generation, and yet they regard it not.

But this war was to end in the “misery of many souls,” and when I called to mind the sorrow of the sister who looked in vain for the return of the brother—the companion of her childhood—when I thought of the tears that had fretted channels in the pale cheek of the mother who looked in vain for the return of her son, who in the buoyancy of youth had gone to do battle in his country’s cause—when I thought of the wife, who still watched and waited for the return of him whose strong arm was to be her support through life’s dreary march—when I called to mind all the anguish these hearts felt, I exclaimed—That Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, is witnessed by the tears and heart-rending sobs of these multitudes who have looked and waited in vain for the return of their loved ones.

The Southern States were to call on Great Britain to assist them. Did they do it? Yes. The Southern States Confederacy sent two men, Messrs. Mason and Slidell, to negotiate with the English government, with the view of getting assistance; but they were captured and brought back to the United States. This is a familiar matter of history. England, too, was to call upon other nations to protect themselves against other nations. Has this been done? To answer that question we have but to allude to the treaties now existing between Great Britain and other European nations. Thus you see this prophecy, so far as we have read it, has been minutely fulfilled—fulfilled in every particular, and the rest of it will be, so fast as the wheels of time shall bring the events due; and the fulfillment of these prophecies prove beyond controversy, that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and “spake as he was moved upon by the Holy Ghost.”

There is just one more item I will refer to, and then close.

It was always a strange thing to me, that Joseph Smith should have to lay down his life, until I found the following passage of Scripture: it is contained in the 9th chapter of Hebrews, 16 and 17 verses:

“For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.

“For a testament is of force after men are dead; otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.”

Joseph was the instrument through which God ushered in the dispensation of the fullness of times—the greatest of all dispensations—in which God will complete His work, pertaining to the salvation of men on the earth; it was a great work—Joseph was to testify of it—and “where a testament is there must needs be,” says Paul, “the death of the testator.” So when Joseph Smith fell by the old well-curb at Carthage jail, pierced by the bullets of assassins, he placed the capstone upon his mission by sealing it with his blood—and from that time henceforth it is in force on all the world.

A Church of Order, etc.

Orson Pratt

Discourse by Apostle Orson Pratt, delivered at a Conference in Paris, Bear Lake, May 11, 1878. Reported by James H. Hart.

I am pleased to have the opportunity and privilege of speaking to you this morning, and I hope to have your attention while I endeavor to lay before you principles pertaining to salvation and eternal life, and set forth those characteristics that mark the people of God in contradistinction to the people of the world. I hope to be so explicit that you may all understand, and that you may each receive your portion of the Bread of Life in due season.

The Church of Jesus Christ is a Church of order, in which it is necessary that some persons have authority to teach and counsel and preside. The authority of the church in this Stake, is held by Prest. Wm. Budge, who represents the leaders of the church, and is expected to reflect their feelings and spirit upon the people under his presidency. And I must say I feel pleased with the spirit that seems to prevail in this Stake of Zion, which is an evidence that you have been blessed of the Lord, through the ministrations of His servants. And there are still greater blessings offered those who will seek after them with all their heart; some of which can only be received by earnest faith and prayer.

The Prophets, Patriarchs and Saints in olden times received great and glorious blessings, and why should we not be blessed, the same as they were blessed? But some will begin to doubt, and say, such and such blessings were truly given to persons many years ago, but perhaps they are not promised to me. Do we not worship the same God, that they worshipped? Have we not obeyed the same Gospel and received of the same spirit? When you Elders have gone forth on missions, have not the promises of the Lord been fulfilled in your behalf? It depends on ourselves whether we will receive the glorious blessings of the Gospel or not. If we are faithful and diligent in serving the Lord, His promises are sure, and His blessings will certainly be poured out on the humble and obedient.

Those who have been sent on missions to the nations of the earth have had abundant proof that the Lord is ready and willing to pour out His blessings upon them. You were promised that the angels should go before you, and open the hearts of the people to receive you; and when you have gone among a strange people, some of them have recognized you through the dreams and visions given them from the Almighty, and they have said: “I know you are a servant of the Lord, for you were shown to me in the night vision.” These and other blessings are given to us on condition that we are diligent and faithful. If we fail to receive them, the failure is not on the part of the Lord, nor in His servants who preside over us, but the fault lies in ourselves alone.

This failure to realize all the blessings and powers of the Priesthood does not apply to the elders and lesser Priesthood only; but it applies to the higher quorums, and comes home to ourselves, who are Apostles of Jesus Christ. We are presented before the Church, and sustained as prophets, seers and revelators, and we have received oftentimes the gift of prophecy and revelation, and have received many great and glorious gifts. But have we received the fullness of the blessings to which we are entitled? No, we have not. Who, among the Apostles have become seers, and enjoy all the gifts and powers pertaining to that calling? Still it is our privilege to become prophets, seers and revelators, for these blessings were promised us through the Prophet Joseph, in the year 1836. Now I don’t think many of us have attained to these gifts, but it is not the fault of the Almighty, but the fault is in ourselves. And can they be realized by us? Certainly they can, if we are faithful in seeking for them. The Prophet Joseph would not have attained to these glorious gifts if he had not lived for them, and he would not have held out these inducements to us, unless they could have been obtained. These things were renewed at our last fall Conference, and they are brought home to us, and it is our privilege to live for them and enjoy them in their fullness, according to our faith. Brother Charles C. Rich has had visions from the Lord, and revelations through which he has been forewarned of dangers that threatened him; by which means his life has been preserved from time to time. And these are some of the gifts of God, and should be cultivated in our feelings and in our faith, for God is no respecter of persons, but is willing to give to all men liberally, and upbraid not. But all cannot be Apostles. Some have to take the presidency in different ages. Enoch was chosen in his day, and Abraham and Moses in theirs, and Joseph in our day, and unto him was given the power to translate the ancient records, and to bring forth abundance of revelations. And those who are called to perform special missions in opening up dispensations of the Gospel to the children of men, as Joseph and others were called of the Lord, He endows more fully with these gifts; but this does not hinder others from enjoying similar gifts according to His promises, and according to our faithfulness. And I have thought the reason why we have not enjoyed these gifts more fully is, because we have not sought for them as diligently as we ought. I speak for one, I have not sought as diligently as I might have done. More than forty years have passed away since these promises were made. I have been blessed with some revelations and prophecies, and with dreams of things that have come to pass; but as to seeing things as a seer, and beholding heavenly things in open vision, I have not attained to these things. And who is to blame for this? Not the Lord; not brother Joseph—they are not to blame. And so it is with the promises made to you in your confirmations and endowments, and by the patriarchs, in your patriarchal blessings; we do not live up to our privileges as saints of God and elders of Israel; for though we receive many blessings that are promised to us, we do not receive them in their fullness, because we do not seek for them as diligently and faithfully as we should.

The work in which we are engaged has occupied the attention of the Prophets in all ages, and they have prophecied concerning it, and have rejoiced in contemplating the day and age in which we live. The Prophet Isaiah says: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of them that bringeth good tidings; that saith unto Zion thy God reigneth. The watchmen shall lift up the voice, with the voice together shall they sing, for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.”

It is through faith we are made partakers of these glorious blessings, for by faith all the blessings promised are to be obtained; by faith the holy men of old obtained promises pertaining to future generations, and by faith the Gospel has been restored to the earth, with the gifts and powers of the holy Priesthood, with the promise that it shall never be taken from the earth. Joseph, who was sold into Egypt, through his righteousness and faith obtained great promises concerning his seed who should dwell upon this land. And through faith a portion of his seed was brought from Jerusalem and led by the Almighty on the borders of the Red Sea, and brought over the great deep unto a land that is choice above all other lands. By faith the Nephites received the ministrations of the Savior after His resurrection from the dead, through the covenants made with their fathers. By faith the brother of Jared saw the wonders of eternity, and saw the time when the wicked would be destroyed from the face of the earth; and like Enoch, Abraham, Moses and others, saw all things that were to take place upon the earth to the end of time. This latter-day work which occupies our attention, was shown to the prophets thousands of years before we were born. Don’t you suppose they prayed for it, and sought unto the Lord to know when these things should come to pass, and what should be the sign of His coming, and the end of the world? Through faith covenants were made with the Nephite prophets, that the sacred records should be preserved, and should come forth in the last days for the blessing and salvation of their posterity, and all others who would receive them. It has been our privilege to receive these sacred things, and have withal the fullness of the Everlasting Gospel, and if we have the faith that was in them, and live as Saints of God, we shall not be careless and indifferent, but our souls will be filled with joy and gladness, because of the many mercies and blessings that are promised to us, in our calling as elders and priests, and as seers and revelators. If we lived fully up to our privileges, and attained to all the blessings and powers that are promised, and were filled with the spirit of the Lord, we should have more influence, and our ministrations would be of more benefit to the people of God.

I am glad the Lord has spared my life to behold this day, and that I am numbered among His people, a people who have been acknowledged of the Lord as His chosen people. We should all feel thankful for living prophets and apostles, who have been given for the work of the ministry, and for the perfecting of the Saints. I rejoice, moreover, that the First Presidency of the Church has again been organized, for by the more perfect organization we receive greater strength and wisdom, and more abundant blessings from the Lord, and I think this increase in faith and union, and other manifestations of the spirit are felt in this Conference. Every man and woman can feel a renewed influence and power, and it is felt in all the quorums of the Priesthood. And it is our privilege to so live that we may come into possession of all the promised blessings. Among the blessings promised by our Lord Jesus Christ, unto those who humble themselves, and seek unto him, is that “You shall see my face, and know that I am.” This does not mean the Apostles only, but the promise is to every Latter-day Saint who will comply with the conditions, that such person “shall see my face, and know that I am.” These are some of the promises that have been made to the Latter-day Saints through the Prophet Joseph Smith. The same promise was made to ancient Israel, through Moses, the great law-giver and Prophet who promised that they should all hear his voice, and see his face, if they would hearken to his counsels, and obey all His commandments. The promise was not to the Priesthood only, but every son and daughter of God had the same promise, because all are destined to come into the presence of God, and behold the glory of His countenance. If we would attain to these blessings, and enjoy the fullness of the promises made unto the people of God, we must cleanse ourselves from all unrighteousness, that we may endure His presence in the world of glory.

For this reason it was ordered that a tabernacle be built in the wilderness; but such was the wickedness of the people, that while the glory of the Lord was resting on the mountain, and Moses was holding communion with Jehovah in the interests of the people, they had induced Aaron to make a golden calf for them to worship, in place of the true and living God. And the consequence was, they were deprived of the presence of the Lord in their journeyings, for He made a decree that He would not go before the camp, “but mine angel shall go before them, lest I consume them in the land.”

The Lord has been very kind and merciful unto His people in these last days. He has known the hearts of this people, and that we are willing to serve Him. He saw that we were willing to suffer persecution for His sake, and the Gospel’s sake, and for this cause He has poured out His blessings upon us in great abundance, and I hope when these Temples shall be built, and we minister therein, and receive the blessings promised us for ourselves and for our dead, that we shall be more united, and that we shall receive more fully the gifts and endowments that pertain to the sons and daughters of God. And then peradventure He will condescend to bless us with His presence, as He blessed His Saints in the Temple at Kirtland, and the presence and glory of His holy angels. It has been promised to Israel in these latter days, that the Lord Himself will go before them, and lead and guide them, and fight their battles and deliver them from all their enemies. What a glorious promise? and we may be assured that there will be nothing lacking on the part of our Eternal Father, nor in Jesus Christ, His Son, and the holy angels, for all are interested with us in the progress and consummation of this great and glorious latter-day work, for it is the dispensation of the fullness of times.

How great will be our joy when we attain to these blessings, and realize these promises that have been made to us. The Lord will dwell in the midst of His people, and the angels will be with us, with the ministrations of our Father in heaven; these are privileges and blessings indeed, that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, and the glory thereof hath not entered in the heart of man to conceive, but the Lord hath revealed them unto us by His spirit. Then we shall hear His voice, and see His face, and know that He exists, for we shall see His glory and participate with the sanctified in the powers of the world to come, for being heirs of God we shall be joint heirs with our Lord Jesus Christ, and having suffered with Him for righteousness sake, we shall also reign with Him in glory.

In conclusion, let me exhort you to turn to the Lord, and serve Him with full purpose of heart, and be willing to consecrate yourselves and all you have unto His service, and so live that you can perfect the bond of union that will secure unto you eternal life, and bring honor and glory to Him that sitteth upon the throne for ever and ever. That this may be your happy lot, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Kind of God the Saints Believe In, etc.

George Q. Cannon

Discourse by President George Q. Cannon, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday evening (Quarterly Conference, Salt Lake Stake), May 4th, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

In arising to address you, my brethren and sisters, this evening, I desire an interest in your faith and prayers, that I may be led to speak upon those points of doctrine or of principles, that are adapted to our wants and to the circumstances which surround us.

It is a great responsibility to arise as a teacher to a great people like those who have assembled within this house this evening, especially to speak in the name of the Lord, and I do not believe that any man should do this unless he can have the assistance of that spirit which God has promised to bestow upon His servants.

We who belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believe in God; not a God who lived a few thousand years ago, but a God who lives to-day; a God who has a voice with which to speak to-day, and who has arms and a head, and bodily as well as spiritual powers, who can communicate His mind and His will unto His children, with the same facility in the days in which we live as He did in the days of the Savior and His disciples, or in the days of the prophets. If there is any feature characteristic of the present age that is more notable than another, it is the decay of faith in God. It is a characteristic of our age and time, and it is one that is increasingly manifesting itself among what are termed the Christian nations. I have myself frequently—especially of late years—been struck with the contrast between the present unbelief and the faith concerning God, which existed in the days when I first went out to preach the Gospel, or in the days of my youth. Skepticism is increasing on every hand, and if it were not for this Church, and the faith that is cherished by the Latter-day Saints, and which they are endeavoring to instil into the minds of their children, and of all unto whom they have access, there would be no Church of which I have any knowledge that, as a church, believes in God our Eternal Father, as he is described in the Scriptures—a God who can hear and answer—literally answer—the prayers of those who address Him in faith. The idea has become very prevalent of late years, in the so-called Christian world, that God does not interfere by any special providence in behalf of any people or of any individual; that He governs the universe and the earth upon which we stand, and the inhabitants of which we form a part, by grand and universal laws, and that those laws are never over-ruled. In other words, that there is no special interposition of providence in behalf of individuals or of peoples, but that the Lord rules by those grand laws which are applicable to all, and which all have to submit to, and that He does not concern Himself to listen unto the appeals of individuals in behalf of themselves, or of those in whom they are interested, or to have any special providence extended unto nations; and it is this feature of belief that causes mankind who are familiar with us, to entertain such ideas respecting our future as they frequently indulge in. You will often hear it said—I have heard it stated I may say hundreds of times when I have spoken to friends who are not of our faith, concerning the interposition of providence in our behalf; and the faith that we had respecting the deliverances that would be wrought out for us—I have been told that God is on the side of the strongest battalions, that God is on the side of the heaviest artillery; that God is on the side of the greatest numbers; and I have often provoked smiles of incredulity by the simple statement of our faith in God, and our hopes and anticipations concerning the care that He had had over us, the deliverances which He has wrought out for us, and the promises that He had made unto us concerning the future.

Upon this point and in this respect we differ, as I have remarked, from every people with whom I am acquainted—in this feature of our religion, this implicit trust in a God who can hear and who can answer prayer, in a God who is not on the side of the greatest numbers, unless the greatest numbers are in the right; in a God whose power is not exerted in behalf of the strongest battalions, nor of the heaviest artillery, unless the strongest battalions and the heaviest artillery are in the right. We believe, as it has sometimes been stated, that God and one man are a great majority, and that when He purposes to accomplish a certain work, all the powers of earth and the powers of hell combined cannot prevent the accomplishment of that work; that there is no power that can by any possibility defeat His purposes; and that He will interpose by the exercise of His Almighty power in behalf of the individual, in behalf of the community, or in behalf of the nation concerning whom He has spoken, and who are seeking to do his will. We have proved this, at least to our own satisfaction. The history of the people is full of illustrations of the most remarkable character establishing this truth, so far as we are concerned beyond all controversy; and I am happy to say that this faith is increasing instead of decreasing among the Latter-day Saints. I am happy in this knowledge. In my associations with our people in various places, I find that there is a steady growth of faith in that God whom we worship, and in His power to save and to deliver us, and in his power to bless us and to grant unto us the righteous desires of our hearts. This does not necessarily require a suspension of law. It was no suspension of law on the part of our Savior, that caused Him to gather from the elements the bread and the fishes necessary to feed the multitude. It was no suspension of law that caused Him to open the eyes of the blind, or to cause the sick to be healed. It was no suspension of law that caused Him to ascend in the sight of His disciples after His resurrection when He visited them. I know that miracles are said to be a suspension of law; but instead of their being a suspension of law, they are due to a knowledge of a higher law, to a comprehension of greater laws, by the knowledge of which, what are called miracles are wrought. To a person who never saw the effect of electricity, if he were in this Tabernacle and were to see these lights kindled instantaneously by the touch of electricity—a person who did not understand the laws of electricity, would say, “Why this is miraculous.” Or to an ignorant person, a person who knew nothing of the law of electricity, it would seem marvelous that one standing at the end of a wire, stretched under the ocean could, by touching that wire, communicate a distance of nearly 3,000 miles, and could talk to a person at the other end of the wire. Had this been mentioned in the days of our forefathers, they would have declared it was an impossibility. Such power would have been miraculous in their eyes, and they would have said that such a thing was contrary to all known laws concerning the transmission of sound and thought; but to us who understand this law—or if we do not understand it, who see the operations of electricity; who know that we can go to the telegraph office and send a message to Europe from this city, and get a reply within a few hours; in fact, receive it here at a time of the day earlier than it was transmitted from there, which is frequently done. We, who witness this, no longer look upon it as a miracle, or as a suspension of law, or a violation of the laws which govern the transmission of sound or thought. We accept it because we have become familiar with it. And so, if we understood the law by which Jesus operated when He fed the multitude, it would be as simple to us as the law of electricity is today. If we understood the law by which the sick were healed, and sight restored to the blind, or by which He counteracted the laws of gravitation, and ascended in the sight of His disciples into heaven—if we understood these laws, they would be simple to us, as all laws are when they are understood.

There is no suspension of law on the part of our Father when He interposes in behalf of His children. He has ministering spirits who minister unto those, as the Apostle tells us, who shall be heirs of salvation. Jesus conveys the idea very beautifully, when He says, that not one hair of our heads falls to the ground unnoticed. This was the kind of faith which He taught His disciples, and it is the kind of faith that was believed in by the ancients, by those who wrote the Bible, by those who wrote the Book of Mormon, and it is the faith that is transmitted to us, which God is endeavoring to establish in the hearts of the children of men, to bring them nearer to Him, and enable them to partake of that power which He is willing to bestow upon men, if they will follow after Him.

As I have said, the history of this Church is full of instances of this character. When we started out from the State of Illinois, and crossed the Mississippi when it was frozen over, the leading men of this Church, sending their wagons on with the few goods they had, they launched forth into a wilderness, not knowing where they were going. Moses and the children of Israel, when they left Egypt, had a more definite idea of their destination than the Latter-day Saints had, when they left Illinois; because the children of Israel knew that the promises which had been made to their father Abraham, concerning Canaan, (and which was the residence of the heads of their tribes) must be fulfilled. The traditions of the people led them to look back to Canaan, as the land which they would eventually inherit. But there were no such traditions for us to lean upon. Before the people stretched an uninhabited wilderness, two thousand miles in extent, concerning which but little was known, but the people had no hesitation. God had spoken by the mouth of His servant Joseph Smith, the Prophet, concerning the Latter-day Saints, that they should be in the Rocky Mountains, and should become a numerous people, a great people. The Twelve Apostles who then presided over the Church were led by the Spirit of God to organize the people into companies, and to encourage them to look forward to a journey in the wilderness to a land to which God would lead us, and that when we should find it, we should know it was the land that He designed for us. There were inviting places in Iowa, for Iowa was then comparatively uninhabited. We followed Indian trails with our wagons, for there was no regular wagon road. We built bridges across the streams of Iowa—that is, streams that were not fordable—over which to take our wagons and cattle. The whole country was a waste. The Latter-day Saints might, had they chosen, have settled there, but the voice of the Spirit was not to settle there. We crossed the Missouri River, remained during the winter upon its banks, and then in the spring the pioneers launched out through what is now the State of Nebraska, which was then Indian Territory. The fertility of those plains did not tempt them to make that their abiding place, but they pressed on, not a man in the company knowing where they were going, not a man in the company who had ever trod the ground before, or who knew anything, by practical experience, of the character of the region upon which they were entering.

Now, this was faith in God. It is easy to say, after it has been demonstrated that settlements could be made in these mountains—that crops could be raised—it is easy to say that this was not much of an undertaking. I am reminded of a story told of Columbus. After he had made the discovery of America, and returned to Spain, upon one occasion, while at a banquet with a number of Spanish grandees, some one made light of the discovery he had made, of the voyage that he had undertaken, and the result of it. He picked up an egg that was lying near, and asked which of them could make that egg stand on end. They all tried it, but failed; they could not make the egg stand on end. He thereupon took the egg, knocked it on the table, and flattened it, and made the egg stand. “Gentlemen,” said he, “it is easy to make an egg stand on end when you know how to do it.” It is easy to discover a land after it has been discovered. It is easy to talk about the settlement of these valleys, and that which has been done here; after the work has been accomplished and the problem has been solved; after it has been demonstrated beyond all possible doubt that this country is habitable, that these valleys will produce crops to sustain human life and that these streams that flow from the mountains can be used for the irrigating of these lands, and used successfully. But there was a time when there was a doubt concerning this. When the pioneers reached this valley, there was no doubt in the mind of the man who led the people, whatever there might be in the minds of others. His mind was clear, and the whole people felt that he had the right from God, as His servant, to designate the spot. They had faith to believe that God would sustain them in doing what they were told, and they planted themselves on this spot, having faith in God, believing that He would hear them, believing that He had heard them, believing that he would still continue to protect them, and fulfill all His promises which He had made, and they proved then, if they had not proved before, that God the Eternal Father is a God nigh at hand and not afar off. And when the crickets came down, as they did in 1848, in myriads from the mountains, blackening the whole face of the valley, sweeping off during one night fields of grain that were as promising as fields could be, and leaving them as bare as the palm of a man’s hand, even then their faith did not fail: they still had confidence that that God who had led them thus far would still continue to preserve them, and would supply their wants; and when it seemed as though their faith had been tried to the very uttermost, when the last point had been reached, God interposed by a very natural means. He did not come down Himself, that is in our sight, for us to see Him visibly; His angels did not come for us to see them visibly; but He sent the gulls who came by thousands, and devoured those crickets, leaving them in heaps along the edges of the water ditches. Having eaten their fill, they then vomited, and having eaten again, vomited again, and thus continued the work of devouring, until every field was clear of those destructive insects. Now, an unbeliever might not have seen the hand of God in this, but the hearts of the Latter-day Saints did see His hand, and profound gratitude was aroused. Prayers of thanksgiving ascended unto the God of heaven for His interposition in our behalf. The people felt that their God was still near to them, that He still heard and answered their prayers, and granted unto them the desires of their hearts.

And thus it has been from that day until the present time. Notwithstanding the many measures that have been taken against us as a people, the many plots that have seemed so promising to those who framed them concerning the destruction of the Latter-day Saints; when it has seemed that destruction was inevitable, that no power could save us, God has interposed by His wonderful power and we have escaped, and to-day, notwithstanding these many efforts, we are a free people in the mountains, having the privilege, that God said we should have, of worshipping Him, and enjoying peace and prosperity, if we would but continue to put our trust in him and keep His commandments; so that to day, throughout all these valleys, from one end to the other, there is a people found who, notwithstanding all the threats that are fulminated, all the projects that are started, all the efforts that are made to destroy us as a religious organization, to break down our liberties, to rob us of those rights which are dear to every man who has been born free—notwithstanding these threats, a reign of peace and undisturbed quiet prevails throughout all these valleys, in the breasts, in the houses, in the family circles, of all the Latter-day Saints from one end of this land to the other. A grander exhibition of faith, a more sublime exhibition of confidence in God cannot be witnessed anywhere upon the face of the earth, than is afforded by the example of the Latter-day Saints. They do bear witness unto the heavens, unto God the Eternal Father, unto holy angels, and unto all men, that whatever unbelief may prevail elsewhere, whatever the feelings of skepticism may be in other lands, and among other peoples, they at least have, unwaveringly and un-doubtingly, relied upon His glorious promises, and are willing to trust him to the very uttermost, believing that He is indeed a God who is, as I have said, near at hand and not afar off. In fact, outside of this people you can scarcely find a man or a woman who has any clear conception concerning God Himself. You ask members of churches, “What is your God like? Who is the Being whom you worship?”—and the reply, doubtless, of many, would be, “great is the mystery of godliness. That is something we do not comprehend.” It is a forbidden topic, almost. You ask ministers of religion concerning the character and form of God, and how few there are who will attempt to make any sort of a reasonable answer. They have no idea, scarcely. Do they believe Him to be a personal being? I have scarcely ever found a professing Christian who did believe this. They say God is a spirit. True enough. But has God no powers? Is God a diffused substance, filling all creation? That is the idea that many have. And you get the professed Christian and the professed infidel, and let each of them talk about God, and they are as near together as it is possible to be. The infidel who has no faith in God, believes in nature. The Christian, who professes to believe in God, if he attempts to define his God, will describe him something as an infidel would the creative power.

But what is the truth concerning God? Let us hear what Moses says:—

“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 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.”

What could be plainer than this! “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him: male and female created he them.” Again Moses says:

“This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

“Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.”

Yet with this Bible in their hands, you will scarcely find a professed Christian who believes this statement of Moses, that God created man in his own image, notwithstanding the fact that Paul in two or three places in his epistles, actually says that Jesus is the express image of his Father’s person. He wrote so to the Galatians. He wrote so to the Hebrews. He told them that Jesus, Christ was the express image of God his Father. And we have the fact recorded, that Abraham talked with God, and that Abraham plead with God. You remember the occasion when three personages came down and visited Abraham. Abraham it is said, talked with the Lord, and plead with Him concerning the destruction which was about to come upon Sodom. He plead that if there should be fifty righteous men found in Sodom, would He spare the city? He plead that if there should be but forty-five, or forty, or thirty, or twenty, and finally he came down to ten—that if ten righteous men were found, would He spare the city? and He promised He would. He talked with Him as one man talketh with another. Again, we have the record of Moses in Exodus, where he tells us that the seventy Elders of Israel ate and drank in the presence of the God of Israel. We have the statement also that the two tables of stones which contained the law and the testimony, were written by the finger of God, by his own finger. And when Moses plead with Him that He might see His person, He told him that he should see His back parts; but His face should not be seen. He gave that promise to Moses, and Moses saw His person.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whom we worship as God, was a man like unto us, so much so that his divinity was not recognized through any external signs by the Jews. There was nothing about his person that they could discover that would make Him a God, the creator of the heavens and the earth, any more than the Sandwich Islanders could discover in the person of Captain Cook, who discovered their Islands. They believed him to be a god when he first came in their midst; but he showed signs of mortal fear, by which they knew he was not a god, and they slew him. The Jews tested, as they thought most thoroughly, the divinity of Jesus. When they hung Him upon the cross, they said mockingly, “If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.” They assumed that they would believe and accept Him as the Son of God, if He would come down from the cross. He was in all respects a man, so far as the outward appearance was concerned; His exterior was that of a man but, nevertheless, He was a God. He was the first begotten Son of the Eternal Father, who sits enthroned in glory and majesty, surrounded by burning fire. He was the Son of that Being, and was the express image of His person, like Him, having a head, having the senses that men have, having all the bodily features that we have, and His Father was precisely like Him, or He, in other words, was precisely like His Father. There is nothing more plainly conveyed and taught than this in the Scriptures of divine truth, the Bible, and yet men professing to teach godliness and to teach God, endeavor to destroy that feeling and that faith in the minds of the people.

When such misconceptions as these exist in the minds of the children of men, of course there cannot be correct faith exercised; men who do not know to whom to go, on whom to call, or to whom to pray. “This is eternal life,” says Jesus, “that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent.” That was eternal life—to know Him, to comprehend Him, to understand the Being that gave us life, that created us. Therefore, when a man understands this he goes to God with perfect confidence. He asks God as he would his earthly father for that which he desires.

My brethren and sisters, it is a glorious truth that has been taught to us, that we are literally the children of God, that we are his literal descendants, as Jesus was literally descended from Him, and that He is our Father as much as our earthly parent is our father, and we can go to Him with a feeling of nearness, knowing this, understanding it by the revelations which God has given to us.

I would like to read to you a little to refresh your minds and to show you how this faith which had been so long lost to the earth was restored; for the memory of it—the memory of what God was like, had died out of the human mind. Hundreds of years had elapsed since any man had seen God. All that was known, therefore, respecting Him, His personality and His attributes, was that which was written in the Bible; but through the spiritualizing that had taken place, through the attachment of double meanings to the plain word of God, it caused the truth to fade away from men’s minds. There was no man upon the earth of whom we have any knowledge, who could tell any thing about God, or about an angel. As I remarked here a few Sundays ago, the general idea that prevailed in regard to angels was, that they were half fowl, that they were men or women with feathered wings growing out of their backs. I know that there are creatures referred to in the Scriptures, who have wings, but they are not men, they are not angels, such as come and minister unto the human family. Yet you will see in all the pictorial representations of angels in our family Bibles beings dressed somewhat like a woman, with features resembling those of a woman, and with feathered wings growing out on their backs. These ideas became common, and still prevail throughout Christian nations.

Now, as I have said, the true conception of God, like the true conception of angels, had vanished from the minds of the children of men. But Joseph Smith, prompted by the Spirit of God, chosen, as I fully believe, as the old prophets were, from before the beginning of the world, to lay the foundation of this great latter-day work, was moved upon to inquire of God. I will read a little of what is said concerning this:

“While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties, caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth unto men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. Never did any passage of Scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know; and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, would never know; for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passage so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible. At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God. I at length came to the determination to ask of God, concluding that if He gave wisdom to them that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally and not upbraid, I might venture. So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt. It was on the morning of a beautiful clear day, early in the spring of 1820. It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally.

“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 had such a marvelous 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 the air. One of them spake unto me by name, and said (pointing to the other), This is My Beloved Son, Hear Him!

“My object in going to enquire of the Lord, was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right; (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong), and which I should join. I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong, and the personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in His sight; that those professors were all corrupt, they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; they teach for doctrine the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.

“He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me which I cannot write at this time. When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven.”

Here is the testimony of one who actually saw the Father and the Son. They were as described by all who have seen them—literal personages, personages with tabernacles, the Son being the express image of the Father. John the Revelator, also saw one that was like unto the Son of Man. He describes his person. You remember that he fell down and worshipped an angel upon one occasion, thinking it was the Lord, and the angel forbade him doing so, telling him that he must not worship him, that he was one of his fellow-servants, the prophets. John, however, had a correct conception of the great truth that the Son was in the exact image of His Father.

Now, not only have we this testimony, but we have the testimony of others concerning this matter. Doubtless you will remember, my brethren and sisters, what is said respecting this in the vision that has come to us. It was a vision that was seen by Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon. To them was revealed the eventual fate of the various inhabitants of the earth, the various glories and kingdoms which our Father and God has in reserve for His children. Now, say they:

“And while we meditated upon these things, the Lord touched the eyes of our understandings and they were opened, and the glory of the Lord shone round about;

“And we beheld the glory of the Son, on the right hand of the Father, and received of his fullness;

“And saw the holy angels and they who are sanctified, before the throne, worshipping God and the Lamb, who worship Him for ever and ever;

“And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of Him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of Him, that He lives;

“For we saw Him, even on the right hand of God, and we heard the voice bearing record that He is the Only Begotten of the Father—

“That by Him, and through Him, and of Him the worlds were and are created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.”

These two men of our day (fifty-two years ago last February) beheld the Son of God—Jesus, the Only Begotten—and they saw Him at the right hand of the Father, occupying the position that has always been assigned to Him, and in the express image of His Father’s person, as He is described by all who have seen Him. After this, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery both saw the Savior, and both testified as to His person. This was on April 3rd, after the completion of the Kirtland Temple.

“The vail was taken from our minds,” say they, “and the eyes of our understanding were opened.

“We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit before us, and under His feet was a paved work of pure gold in color like amber.

“His eyes were as a flame of fire, the hair of His head was white like the pure snow, His countenance shone above the brightness of the sun, and His voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying—

“I am the first and the last, I am He who liveth, I am He who was slain, I am your advocate with the Father.”

Oliver Cowdery, as well as Joseph Smith, saw this vision; they beheld this glorious personage, even the Son of God, when He accepted the Kirtland Temple after its dedication. These witnesses are also supplemented by hundreds of others who have beheld in vision and otherwise, glorious personages in these last days. There are men alive who have beheld the Son of God, who have heard His voice, and who have been ministered unto by Him in this our day and generation. In the face of these testimonies, which cannot be impeached successfully, is it any wonder that faith grows in the hearts of the people of God, the Latter-day Saints? That notwithstanding the growth of skepticism outside of this Church, faith continues to manifest itself and find lodgment in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints? But just as faith grows among the Latter-day Saints, as a natural consequence faith will decrease in the hearts of those who reject this testimony concerning the truth. This was the crime, the great sin, at least, of the Jewish nation. Light came into the world, but men chose darkness rather than light; therefore the light that was in them became darkness. The Jewish nation became abandoned to hardness of heart and unbelief. They were left to be a prey to that spirit of unbelief which they encouraged, until they rejected God, until they rejected the Son of God, with all His divinity, with His great miracles, with His mighty power, with His pure and spotless life—they rejected Him, they slew Him, and the light that was in them became darkness. He bestowed remarkable power upon those who received His word and they increased in faith; but those unto whom they preached, those who heard their testimony and rejected it, became a prey to that other influence, the power of darkness, the power of Satan, and they shed the blood of innocence, and I am sorry to say that this is the case at the present time with our own nation. The blood of righteous men has been cruelly, inhumanly shed upon this free soil. This man who beheld these visions; this man, the first for hundreds of years who described, who could describe the personage of God, who could say that he beheld Him, who arose as a mighty witness in the midst of this generation to say of a truth that God lived, that Jesus lived; this man was cruelly, treacherously and inhumanly murdered; and murdered, too, under the pledged honor of one of the sovereign States of this our nation; the Governor of the State himself, pledging his own honor and the honor of the State that he (Joseph Smith) should be protected, but he was cruelly slain like the prophets who had gone before, who had borne a similar testimony. He sealed his testimony with his blood, declaring to the very last that that which he had testified of was the truth, willing to die if it were necessary, to seal his testimony and render it so unimpeachable that it never could be questioned from that time forward. This man was thus slain, and who is there that has been punished for it? No more than the murderers of the Prophets were punished in ancient days, no more than the murderers of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ were punished, no more has it been the case in this instance. No, his blood still stains the soil, still cries, with the blood of all the martyrs, unto God in heaven for vengeance on his guilty murderers. And the testimony that he bore has been borne by others, and in like manner others have shared that fate. Our reverend President, who sits to-night in this place, his blood stains the same soil. He himself narrowly escaped the same fate. In the providence of God he was spared for a wise purpose, and has lived among us until this day—a living martyr, a living witness of the cruelty of man towards those who testify that God lives.

My brethren and sisters, the faith that we have received has cost the best blood of this century. The faith that we have received cost the blood of the Son of God when He taught it to men upon the earth. The faith that we have received cost the blood of Isaiah, of Jeremiah, and of others of the prophets who were slain for the truths that they declared. It has always been a costly sacrifice, this teaching of the truth unto the human family. The adversary has been determined that a knowledge of God shall not spread among the people if he can prevent it. He killed Jesus, he killed every one of His apostles that he could, until throughout the wide earth there was no man who could stand up and say to the people, “Thus saith the Lord,” or who could stand up in the authority of the Priesthood of the Son of God and say, “I am God’s servant, and this is God’s will, God having revealed it to me.” They stopped the mouths of all such. They closed them in death. No one was left that they could reach. Then, when the heavens became as brass over the heads of the children of men, a church arose having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, until to-day, throughout Christendom, men who profess to be ministers of Jesus Christ, do not know anything about Him, have no communication with Him. A king with ambassadors here, and these ambassadors receive no communication from the court which authorizes them. What nonsense! Whoever heard of such a thing? Is there anything in this book (the Bible) which hints at such a thing? Who ever heard of a servant of God having no knowledge of him, no revelation from him? There is no such thing in this book. It is reserved for men in the nineteenth century, and preceding centuries, to arise and make such claims as these, and who can believe them?

Now, God has restored the everlasting Gospel to the earth. He has told the children of men that if they will come unto Him and obey His commandments, they shall receive a testimony of the truth of this work, as in times of old, through the gift and power of the Holy Ghost. They do not need to depend on Joseph Smith if he were here, or Oliver Cowdery, or Sidney Rigdon. Others have been administered to. Others have received the Holy Ghost. This is the privilege of every human being who will keep the commandments of the Almighty. It is not the privilege of all to see the Father at present, or to see the Son. Our faith is not strong enough, but it is growing. But it is the privilege of every human being to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, if he or she will obey the commandments of God. This is a privilege that is universal. It is like the air that we breathe. It is like the light that illumines our eyes. So with the gift of the Holy Ghost. It is given to every soul that will bow in submission to the will of God, keep his commandments, and have the ordinances administered by one whom God recognizes as his servant. It is this, my brethren and sisters, that is the glorious feature of the work in which we are engaged. It is this that should stimulate us, and fill us with faith. Let men do as they please concerning this work of our God, God has made promises concerning it. His word cannot fail. He hears and answers the prayers of His children. He is near at hand and not far off, and He will interpose by His wonderful providence, invisible to those who do not see His hand and do not have His Spirit, but visible to those who are enlightened by his Spirit, so that they can see and acknowledge the manifestations of God in their behalf. And thus are we led, and thus we shall be led until, emerging from this darkness, emerging from this unbelief, we shall be ushered into the fullness of the glory of our God, and dwell with him eternally, if we are faithful to the covenants which we have made, which I ask may be the case in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Temples, etc.

John Taylor

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered in the Tabernacle, Cache County, Sunday afternoon, June 15th, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

I have been very much interested while listening to the remarks made by the brethren who have addressed us, and certain thoughts have passed through my mind associated therewith, which it may not be amiss, in part at least, to make known.

There are certain circumstances which take place in our associations with the things of God that tend to lead our minds to reflection and thought. We have been building a temple here. We have exerted ourselves for a number of years for the accomplishment of that object. We have completed it, it has been accepted by the Lord, and we are now administering therein. In these administrations there are many things that tend to lead men to thought and reflection. We meet in our congregations as we are doing here to-day, and in thus meeting we pass along through the common routine of religious duties which devolve upon us; but when we go into those sacred places there are certain requirements made of us, that, whether we may have thought about these things before or not, are then brought to our remembrance. In the first place people desirous to go and attend to ordinances in these houses, must have a recommendation from their Bishop. That is one of those—I was going to say—ugly facts. That is, ugly to those who are not prepared to pass through that ordeal, whose lives have been careless, whose actions have been improper, and whose standing perhaps is precarious—that is one of those facts that must be faced. Then when they have obtained this recommendation from the Bishop, it must be endorsed by the President of the Stake, and after that have the sanction of the President of the Church. This is quite an ordeal for many men to go through. For men and women who are upright, virtuous and honorable, it is a very simple matter; there is no difficulty in their way at any time; but to those who have been careless of their duties, who have departed from the laws of God, and who have tampered with, or violated the ordinances of the Gospel—to such people it is a critical time. However, there is something far more difficult than that yet to come. That is only a starting point in these matters. The things that are ahead are a great deal more difficult to accomplish. What are they? The time will come when we shall not only have to pass by those officers whom I have referred to—say, to have the sanction and approval of our Bishop, of the President of the Stake and of the President of the Church—but we are told in this book [the Book of Doctrine and Covenants] that we shall have to pass by the angels and the Gods. We may have squeezed through the other; we may have got along tolerably well, and been passed and acted upon, and sometimes a “tight squeak” at that; but how will it be when we get on the other side, and we have the angels and the Gods to pass by before we can enter into our exaltation? If we cannot pass, what then? Well, we cannot, that is all. And if we cannot, shall we be able to enter into our exaltation? I think not. What do you think about it?

A great many things of this kind are continually presenting, themselves before me. All kinds of cases are brought to my attention, and some of them are of a very serious nature. I had a case only this morning. I am not going to mention names, nor to expose persons; but it was a case of a sister who had been married to a man, actually sealed to him, in the Endowment House. The man, from what I was given to understand—of course I do not know all the details of the case, it will have to be inquired into by myself and others in authority—the man had frequently one leg in the Church, and the other out; sometimes doing well, and sometimes not doing well; sometimes in good fellowship, making acknowledgements, etc., and sometimes not in good fellowship. The woman had quite a large family by this man, and finally, a little before his death, the man became very careless; very indifferent, and very negligent pertaining to his duties, and he died in that condition. Now this woman comes along and says, “What am I to do? I have borne quite a large family to this man. He was a tolerable good man in some things, but he did not magnify his calling nor honor his God. Now, what shall I do?” Here are some very singular questions, and they will come to all of us in some shape or another, and we might as well begin to look at them now as at any other time, for it is written: “Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment: and some men they follow after;” hence the reason I mention this matter. It is a sample of a great many others, sometimes with the man and sometimes with the woman, and the question is: How far are we prepared to say to such a woman, “You are not safe for eternity with the husband that you have been associated with in time.” These are serious questions. That man was dreaming, perhaps, for a long while that he was on his way to heaven and that all was right; that he had been baptized and been received into the Church, and attended to some of the ordinances thereof, but he was negligent, careless and indifferent about the fulfillment of his duties, neglected his children, did not act right towards his wife, and did many things that were wrong and improper. Now, what shall be done? The woman felt unsafe with such a man. But is it not said; says one, that all manner of sins and blasphemy shall be forgiven, (except the sin against the Holy Ghost, which is the shedding of innocent blood) and that they shall come forth, if they have had certain blessings sealed upon them “in the first resurrection, and if it be after the first resurrection in the next resurrection.” But the question is: If a woman is expecting a man to exalt her, and to lead her forth to thrones and principalities, powers and dominions, is she safe in that expectation? She may have been sealed to him, and he have had these things pronounced upon him, but he may have been destroyed in the flesh, because of his iniquities, which very many have been, although we could not always tell the reason why. There are certain things that men may commit according to the Scriptures, and to that which has been revealed in our day, which render them subject to be turned over to the buffetings of Satan, “for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” (See 1st, Corinthians, verse 5; also Doctrine and Covenants, Section cxxxii, 26.) There are other sins that they may commit, whereof it says they shall be destroyed, whether men or women, that do these things. Now, it may be well enough to fix up our own affairs as we think they ought to be fixed, to make our own calculations, and to settle our own accounts; but these accounts have yet to be supervised and settled before those that have the right to do it before we get through, and we must not only pass by, as I have said, our Bishops, and our Presidents of Stakes, and the President of the Church, but we must pass by the angels and the Gods also.

Some of the brethren mentioned that we are now on a more elevated plane than we were a while ago. We ought to be. We do not expect to remain in the position that we were. We ought to be increasing in intelligence and in knowledge, and be preparing ourselves for those things that are to come. Yet we find men that are careless, such as the person I have referred to. By and by death comes along, they pass out of existence; and while it is the feeling and desire to do the dead man justice, and all men justice, and to act upon correct principles in regard to all, it would scarcely seem just under some of those circumstances to carry our charity so far that we would unite a woman with a man, who, when he came forward and wanted to pass by the angels and the Gods, they said to him, “Stop! and take another course. You have not yet paid the penalty of your wickedness, and the contempt of God’s laws and His kindness. You cannot come forth in this first thousand years; you must wait for the second.” Then what of the children, and what of the wife who perhaps has been faithful, and might have been in very different circumstances, if she had not attached herself to a man of that description?

These are things for us to reflect upon. We shall not have everything our own way about these matters. When we pass out of this world we are left at the mercy of somebody else. If we are resurrected it will be because Jesus is the resurrection, and there are eternal laws and principles that will have to be met by us all, and that cannot be avoided. Jesus says: “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” Certain ones will come forth in the first resurrection, and others will not come forth until the second. For the path of the just is upward and onward all the time, while the path of the unjust is downward.

These are questions, I say, for us to reflect upon. If we are the Saints of God, it is necessary we should begin to learn to do the will of God on the earth as it is done in the heavens: for it is not every one that sayeth, Lord, Lord, that shall enter into Christ’s kingdom, but he that doeth the will of the Father who is in heaven. We think sometimes we can do as we please. We may do as we please, and then God will do as He pleases; and for every word and for every secret thought we shall be brought to judgment, we are told.

Some of these things when we reflect upon them are matters of very great importance. We are not here to do our own will, but the will of our heavenly Father. Some men who think they are doing pretty well, and doing, according to their own expression, “as they darned please,” will wake up to find they have not been doing the will of God. They may have thought that they had wives and children, but they will wake up to find that they have not got them, and that they are deprived of many of those great blessings they anticipated enjoying. With all of our mercy, kindness and tender feeling towards our brethren and sisters, and towards all people, we cannot violate the law of God, nor transgress those principles which He has laid down with impunity. He expects us to do those things that are acceptable before Him, and if we don’t we must pay the penalty of our departure from correct principle.

These are things that are of very great moment, and this building on the hill [the Temple] is one of those things which brings us face to face with many very important facts associated with the present, with the past and with the future. Whatever we may think about it, all things are open and naked before Him with whom we have to do. As it is written: “Hell is naked before Him, and destruction hath no covering,” and how much more the hearts of the children of men

We are here to accomplish the purposes of God, to build up His Zion, and to establish His Kingdom upon the earth, and He expects us to do it. He expects that we will begin to do His will upon the earth as it is done in the heavens—here in this land of Zion among the Latter-day Saints. If we do not do it we shall, as has been remarked by Brother Cannon, dishonor ourselves. It is proper, therefore, for us to consider well and ponder the path of our feet. It is well for us to find out the standing we occupy in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is well for us to realize how we stand, first, with our God, secondly with the Holy Priesthood, thirdly, with our families, with our wives and children, or with our husbands and children, as the case may be, and furthermore that we deal justly and righteously with all men. We cannot run our own way and have the blessing of God. Every one who attempts it, will find he is mistaken. God will withdraw His Spirit from such, and they will be left to themselves to wander in the dark, and go down to perdition. It is expected of us that we shall move on a higher plane, that we shall feel that we are the children of God, that God is our Father, and that He will not be dishonored by disobedient children, or by those who fight against His laws and His Priesthood. He expects us to live our religion, to obey His laws and keep His commandments.

This Temple, as I have already said, is a place where among other things, eternal covenants and obligations are entered into, and the question is, How and in what manner shall they be performed, and who are, worthy and who are unworthy. There are some things that we find it exceedingly difficult to decide upon. Why? Because the parties that are dead are not here to speak for themselves, and we cannot have them misrepresented or robbed of their rights in any shape. But if they have violated the laws of God, what then? Now, here comes the question to which I desire to draw the attention of the authorities of this Stake. There are many of those men (if what we hear about them is correct) who ought to have been cut off from the Church. But they have not been; the Bishops have been negligent, the Teachers have been negligent, and perhaps the President of the Stake has been negligent. I am not speaking particularly of this Stake; I am speaking in general terms. I speak of it to draw the attention of Presidents of Stakes, Bishops, Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons, and those who officiate in the Church of God, and all men who are set to watch over the fold of Christ. If some of these men, that I have referred to, had been brought up on certain occasions, they might have repented of their sins and placed themselves right; but because these officers did not do their duty themselves, and did not see that other men did theirs, things have passed along out of order, and the parties in question have gone behind the veil. What account can we give of ourselves if we are found thus negligent? If people do wrong let them be brought up, and let the Teachers, Priests, and Bishops clear their garments of them, and feel that they have done their duty and purified the Church so far as they could. The Presidents of Stakes should see that these things are carried out according to the laws of God. This is a standard we must attain to, so that when people say, Can we go into the Temple of the Lord? we may know exactly their status, what position they occupy, and what to do with them, without having to take up the records of the dead. These are responsibilities devolving upon us. Our Elders go abroad to preach the Gospel and to gather in the people. When they are thus gathered the Presidents of Stakes, the Bishops, Priests, Teachers and Deacons are expected to watch over them, and see that they are fulfilling their obligations, or that they are not fulfilling them. If they fail to do their duty, let them be brought to account; let them be dealt with according to the laws of God. If they repent, forgive them; but it is expected that all who have taken upon them the name of Christ will obey the laws of God, and walk in obedience to His commands. These are some things that we all of us have to be responsible for, and therefore I, occupying the position that I do, feel it my duty to lay these things before you and to require them at your hands—that is at the hands of the President of the Stake and his Counselors, at the hands of the Bishops and their Counselors, at the hands of the High Council, and at the hands of the Priests, Teachers, and Deacons; for I don’t want to carry myself the sins of the people. God expects us to purge ourselves from iniquity, that we may become the chosen of the Lord, and our offspring with us, no; in name or in theory, but in deed and in truth, and according to the laws of life, and the spirit that dwells in Jesus Christ, our Savior, which every one of us ought to have dwelling in us and dwelling and abiding in our habitations, that we may feel that we are devoted to our God, blameless before the Lord, and keeping His commandments.

These are things that it is proper for us to reflect upon. We enter into obligations here as young men or young women, or as old men or old women, as the case maybe, no matter what or how we enter into covenants before God, holy angels and witnesses, and pledge ourselves in the most solemn manner to be true to these covenants, and if we violate these covenants, and trample under foot the ordinances of God, we ought to be dealt with by the Church, and either repent of our sins or be cut off from the Church, so that by purging the Church from iniquity, we may be acceptable before God. For the Gods spoken of, are not going to associate with every scallawag in existence; scallawags are not going where they are; and if men do not live according to the laws of a Celestial kingdom, they are not going into a Celestial glory; they cannot pass by the angels and the Gods, who are set to guard the way of life. Straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it.

Is God merciful? Yes. Will He treat His children well? Yes. He will do the very best He can for all. But there are certain eternal laws by which the Gods in the eternal worlds are governed and which they cannot violate, and do not want to violate. These eternal principles must be kept, and one principle is, that no unclean thing can enter into the Kingdom of God. What, then, will be the result? Why, the people I have referred to—people who do not keep the Celestial law—will have to go into a lesser kingdom, into a Terrestrial, or perhaps a Telestial, as the case may be. Is that according to the law of God? Yes. For if they are not prepared for the Celestial kingdom, they must go to such a one as they are prepared to endure. Certain principles have been developed, and a great many have not. But we are here in a school to learn, and it is for the Elders of Israel who are desirous to do the will of God, and keep His commandments, to put themselves in the way of doing so, to seek to the Lord for His guidance and direction, to repent of their follies, their nonsense and wickedness of every kind, and to come out for God and His kingdom, and to seek to build up the Zion of God and the kingdom of God upon the earth, and if we do this, God will bless us and exalt us in time and throughout the eternities that are to come. Amen.

The Logan Temple, etc.

George Q. Cannon

Discourse by President George Q. Cannon, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, May 25th, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

President Cannon commenced by reading the 4th chapter of Malachi, after which he said:

In rising to address you this afternoon, my brethren and sisters, I do so relying upon the assistance of your faith and prayers, that the remarks which I may be led to make may be such as shall be adapted to your circumstances, and as shall prove a benefit to us all.

As you know, we have just returned from dedicating the Temple that has been completed at Logan. We have had during our absence and our meetings there a most delightful time. I think that every one who was present felt it to be such, and that we have been greatly favored of God in being permitted to finish one more temple in which the ordinances of life and salvation can be attended to. There has been great rejoicing over its completion, and those who have been engaged in it have labored very assiduously. They have been untiring in their efforts and exceedingly liberal in furnishing the necessary means to accomplish the great work.

It is very encouraging to think that, in the midst of the assaults which are being made upon the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the threats that are in circulation concerning us and our future fate, there is faith enough found in the midst of the people to pursue, without discouragement and without cessation, the great work which we feel that our Father has laid upon us. We have not been situated as we were in Nauvoo, when we finished our temple there, for then the workmen who labored upon it, were like the Jews in the days of Nehemiah, when they undertook to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, and had to labor a portion of the time at least, and a great portion of it too, with their instruments of labor in one hand, and weapons to defend themselves in the other. We were surrounded by mobs, and living in a constant state, it may be said of fear, because of the threats which were made and the combinations which were formed, and the attacks upon our outlying settlements in the burning of houses, in the destruction of grain, in the shooting down of cattle, and in the driving out of the people from their homes. But while we have not been in this condition through the years that we have been engaged in the erection of the Logan Temple, we have not been free from attacks and from threats and from combinations for our destruction. Had we been prompted by the ordinary faith of man, the hands of the people would have been weakened in this great work, and they would have hesitated in its performance. But no such feeling has been manifested or expressed. Undismayed and undiscouraged by all the surrounding circumstances, the people have pressed forward the work, and have now the joy and satisfaction of witnessing its completion. It seems as though in the performance of such labor there is a degree of faith required, an unusual degree; for if our views be correct, it is an important work, an important part of the work of the great God, the building of temples by His direct command. And this being the case, undoubtedly such work will be met by opposition on the part of him who is determined to do everything in his power to retard the work of God. By the revelation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the two forces which have been arrayed against each other since the beginning of the earth have been brought out unto, it may be said, extraordinary prominence. No sooner did the sound go forth that God had again spoken from the heavens than an antagonism and an opposition was aroused, such as the world for a long period had seemed to know nothing of. The power of evil was brought to light, brought into active exercise, and the saying of the Savior was exemplified where He said: “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I come not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.” And that has continued from that day until the present time, gathering strength, increasing in volume and intensity against the work of God, and to those who have had no faith, it has seemed as though it would take but a short period for the waves of opposition to overwhelm and completely submerge this work that our God has founded in the earth. But this work being of God, the promises which He made concerning it, have not failed. Every word thus far has been fulfilled. It seemed like a feeble light in the beginning. It seemed as though a small puff of wind would extinguish it; but it has continued to enlarge, it has continued to increase, until its blaze illumines the horizon, and is watched with interest from afar.

When we look back at the inception of this work, at the promises that were made concerning it, and the labors of those who were engaged in founding it, it is most interesting in this day to mark and ponder upon that which was then done, and that which was then promised unto us. Men wonder why it is that, the Latter-day Saints believe in this work, why it is that they believe in the claims of Joseph Smith as a Prophet of God. Wonder is expressed because we entertain faith in the doctrines which form our religion; but to me it is most extraordinary that men, possessed of the powers of reason, of the faculty of judging between truth and error, should with the light there is upon this subject, with the extraordinary evidence in favor of the divinity of this work, doubt its truth, or that they should hesitate to accept it. It has always seemed from my boyhood, since I was old enough to comprehend these principles, extraordinary that such should be the case. God made promises in the beginning of this work, concerning its growth and future, every word of which has been fulfilled. The evidences are before the world. When the Prophet Joseph first received his manifestations concerning the coming forth of this work, he was but a boy of fourteen years of age. When he received the plates containing the Book of Mormon, he was but twenty-one years of age. When this Church was organized he was but twenty-four years of age. The revelations which were then given, and which are embodied in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants concerning the organization of the Church are such that if I were not a Latter-day Saint, and were to read them and know as I do know concerning the man through whom these revelations came, and through whom this organization was effected, I would be compelled to admit that there was a power connected with the organization of this Church, that there was a light and an intelligence connected with the revelations that were then given, that could not have emanated from any other source but God. It would be harder for me to reject this idea and this view, than it would be to entertain it. The weight and preponderance of argument would be more in favor of that view than of any other. Let any man read the revelations which Joseph received prior to the sixth of April, 1830. Let him read the revelation that was given on that day concerning the organization of this Church, and if he can do so without being impressed that God is in this, then he must indeed be an extraordinary specimen of unbelief, and of hardness of heart. A church organized precisely upon the pattern of the ancient church, with doctrines precisely similar, varying in no single particular from the doctrines of the ancient church, and these revealed in extraordinary plainness and power by an unlettered youth who had had no chance of education save that which the common schools of the country afforded. There has never been a day since this Church was organized until this day of our Lord, 54 years and upwards, that an Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ever failed to maintain the divine authenticity of the doctrines which he had been sent out to preach when brought in contact with the most learned men of the day, the most skilled theologians. At no period in our history has this not been the case. Sending out unlettered men, sending out men not taught in the schools of theology, sending out men from the fields, the bench and workshops, as the Savior sent out His disciples from the lowest walks of life, with the Bible in their hands, to preach the Gospel as God has restored it; and wherever they have been brought in contact with the clergy of the day, in controversy or otherwise, they have always been successful in maintaining their doctrines from the Scripture. Let any man examine the system that Joseph taught, the organization of the Church itself, with all its officers, the ordinances and the doctrines, and he will be compelled to admit as was admitted to me by a prominent Member of Congress, who was one of our bitter enemies, that it is the greatest organization on earth. Said this gentleman: “Mr. Cannon, I have examined the organization of your Church: I am familiar with the Catholic organization; but your organization is the most magnificent of anything I have ever had my attention directed to. It is superior to every other organization on the earth. Where did you get it?” Of course he was not willing to give God any credit for it. I give Him all credit, and not Joseph Smith, nor Brigham Young, nor any other man who has been identified with this Church of Christ.

But there are other points to which my mind is led this afternoon, in connection with this subject. Joseph Smith received the ministration of angels; so he testified: He testified that an angel came to him and taught him the doctrines that he afterwards taught to the people. If I can find the place I will read a little:

“While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in the room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor. He had on a loose robe of most exquisite whiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen; nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly white and brilliant; his hands were naked, and his arms also, a little above the wrist; so, also, were his feet naked, as were his legs a little above the ankles. His head and neck were also bare. I could discover that he had no other clothing on but this robe, as it was open, so that I could see into his bosom.

“Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his whole person was glorious beyond description, and his countenance truly like lightning. The room was exceedingly light, but not so very bright as immediately around his person. When I first looked upon him I was afraid, but the fear soon left me. He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni. That God had a work for me to do, and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues; or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people. He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fullness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants. Also, that there were two stones in silver bows (and these stones, fastened to a breast-plate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim) deposited with the plates, and the possession: and use of these stones was what constituted Seers in ancient or modern times, and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book.”

I will not read the remainder. Three times during that night, was this youth visited by this angelic messenger, and at each interview the same things were repeated to him. Numerous passages of Scripture were quoted to him, and the doctrines of the Gospel of Jesus Christ unfolded to him. The next day he was again visited, and again instructed: so that it appeared to be the mind of the Lord that he should be deeply impressed, so deeply impressed that he would never forget that which was then told to him. There is this remarkable statement made, a statement which was published in the early days of the Church, long before its fulfillment:

“That God had a work for me to do, and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds and tongues; or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people.”

Certainly no truer words could be spoken than these; for everywhere throughout the civilized world, already has the name of Joseph Smith been known for good or evil. No name, probably, next to that of the Son of God, our Redeemer, is held in such veneration by the thousands and hundreds of thousands who believe in the Gospel of the Son of God; next to that name in which we approach the Father, the name of Jesus—next to that in the minds of all who have received the Gospel stands pre-eminently the name of the Prophet Joseph Smith. But with an intensity of hatred equal to that of the love borne by the Latter-day Saints to that name, is the feeling entertained towards it by those who have rejected the Gospel as taught by him. A more complete fulfillment of a prediction is not to be found anywhere throughout the earth in ancient days, or at any time when God had Prophets upon the earth. And so it has been with many other predictions which were made at that time. Joseph Smith foresaw with certainty and predicted with accuracy the growth of this work; that the Elders of this Church should carry the Gospel to the nations of the earth; that they would be successful to the extent they have been successful and no more. No man was led to expect there would be any great conversions of the people by the Elders of this Church. Joseph Smith, enlightened by the Spirit of God, made no such prediction, and led no one associated with him to anticipate such results. On the contrary, he endeavored to the extent of his ability to prepare the people for such persecution as had never been witnessed upon the face of the earth since the days of the Son of God. He never taught the people that their lives would be easy and pleasant, that they would have smooth sailing, that they would have no interruption, or that they would become popular with the world at large. On the contrary, he constantly enjoined upon those whom he sent out, to bear it in mind that they would have persecution as an inevitable consequence of the proclamation of the Gospel. He sent them forth, and they in their turn, whenever they went and bore testimony to the restoration of the Gospel, warned those who embraced it that they might expect to lose everything they had, their good name, their property, their friends, and perhaps life itself, before they got through. He foresaw plainly that this would be the character of the opposition they would have to contend with. God had revealed it to him in the beginning. The very first night that this angel visited him he told him that his name should be had for good and for evil among all people, and he knew full well that it would be the case. And when the Elders went forth, they went as gleaners of grapes after the vintage was over. They were not told that they would find people by hundreds or by thousands, ready to espouse the truth. No; but they were told that they would find a few here and there, a few honest-hearted people ready to receive the truth, a few waiting for the Gospel to come to them; but they would not effect any great conversions among the Gentile nations. But they were told, as it was predicted in the Book of Mormon, that among the Lamanites, as they are termed in that book, that is, among the descendants of the house of Israel, as the Indians are, their success would be exceedingly great. This has been fulfilled to the very letter.

Fifty-four years experience in preaching this Gospel among the various nations of Christendom has proved to us how correctly the man of God foresaw the character of this work. We have gathered the people, through the blessing of God, from the various nations of the earth; but we have gathered them by small handfuls, as it were. There has been no great influx into the Church from these nations; but, as I have said, it has been exactly like a gleaning of grapes after the vintage is over. And it is a remarkable fact that the great bulk of the people who form this Church—that is, those who were adults when they became members of this Church—were anxiously waiting the arrival of some such message as the Elders brought. Our venerated President, who sits on the stand, was one of a company of men—himself a Wesleyan Methodist preacher—awaiting the time when God would reveal something from the heavens, or would send some message that would be more in accordance with the ancient Gospel than that which they had. A company of them were earnestly praying to God to send more light and more power; that power which was manifested in the days of the Apostles. At the time when Elder Parley P. Pratt carried the Gospel to the city of Toronto he fell in with this company. And here sits Brother Wilford Woodruff. I have heard him relate that in his early days he has gone out in secret and besought God to restore the ancient Gospel, to restore the ancient gifts, to restore the ancient power, and he received a promise from God before he ever heard of the Latter-day Saints, or ever heard of the organization of this Church, that the time would come when the true Gospel would be restored, and that he should have the privilege of being identified with it. And the thousands that compose this Church to-day, who joined it when they were adults were, the most of them, in a similar condition, a similar state of mind. Dissatisfied with existing creeds, members, in many instances, of existing Churches, but conscious that there was an absence of that divine power and of those heavenly gifts which characterized the Church in ancient days; dissatisfied with this condition of things, they besought God earnestly, fervently, and anxiously, to restore His Gospel to the earth, or to send some message of life and salvation unto them. They were thus prepared for the Gospel when it came, and received it gladly, because their hearts were prepared, and it is those few who have been gathered from the nations of the earth, with others who are also open, because of the honesty of their hearts, to receive the truth. Joseph Smith said that this should be the character of this work. But it is a remarkable fact—and I wish before leaving this point to call your attention to it, that wherever we have gone among those people whom the Book of Mormon tells us are the descendants of the house of Israel, we have had no trouble in converting them by hundreds, and it may be said by thousands, to the truth. They were ready to receive it without any difficulty whatever. It seemed as though their hearts had been prepared by the God of heaven, and all that has been necessary has been to tell them the truth, and they were natural Latter-day Saints, natural believers in the Gospel of the Son of God.

I myself, went as a missionary, as many of you know, to the Sandwich Islands, the natives of which I believe to be either a branch of the Indians of this continent, or of some other portion of the house of Israel. There was no trouble in baptizing them, and there is no trouble in baptizing any of the Polynesian races. They are ready to receive the Gospel, ready to be baptized; very different in this respect from us Gentiles; for there is a spirit of unbelief among the Gentile race; there is a hardness of heart; there is a want of faith that prevents the blessings of God from descending as they did in ancient days upon His covenant people. Gentiles are naturally unbelievers. It is difficult to convert them, difficult to control them, difficult for them to receive the truth in plainness and simplicity.

Now God has said in this chapter, that He would send Elijah, the Prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. A very singular prediction, a remarkable prediction especially when we consider that in this day and age, men do not believe in the ministration of • angels; and the office of that Prophet should be “to turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” Elijah was to come for a specific purpose. I do not know how Christendom is going to arrange to have this angel come. If he came, I do not suppose Christendom would believe he came. But it is on record in our sacred books that the Prophet Elijah has come. Permit me, in connection with this subject, to read a little upon this point. After the completion of the Kirtland Temple, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery testified that they beheld the Son of God, It is a most remarkable testimony in this age of unbelief; but they solemnly testify that they beheld the Son of God, and that after beholding Him, they were visited by three glorious personages, among whom was the Prophet Elijah. These are the words that they have left on record:

“After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us, for Elijah, the prophet, who was taken to heaven, without tasting death, stood before, us, and said:

“Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he (Elijah) should be sent before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come,

“To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse.

“Therefore the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands, and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors.”

Now, I can imagine how those who are opposed to this work might say, “Why, it is a very easy thing for Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery to make such a statement as that, because it seems to correspond with what Malachi has said, and their making the statement is merely in anticipation of that which the Bible has said would be the case.”

But there is this that is remarkable in connection with this statement: the coming of the prophet Elijah was to be attended with certain results—it was to turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest the Lord should come and smite the earth with a curse.

The question arises, after the visitation of Elijah to those two men, were the hearts of the fathers turned to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers? The very fact that we are building temples to the Most High God, is evidence of it. There never was a greater proof of the truth of any statement than that which is furnished in the acts of the Latter-day Saints upon this point. The people that comprise this church, before joining it, knew nothing about the plan of salvation, except that which they had derived from their teachers, who themselves were very ignorant; but God in His mercy has restored to us certain principles and knowledge concerning the dead. He has informed us that during the time the body of Jesus slept in the tomb, that the Savior went and preached to the spirits that were in prison. I refer now to what Peter says, that while His body lay in the tomb, “He went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah.” He preached the Gospel to them. Isaiah says that one of the objects of his mission should be to unlock the doors of the prison to them that were bound, and He undoubtedly did so on this occasion. I believe the Episcopalian catechism admits that Jesus descended into hell. He certainly did, and visited those spirits that were in prison. After His resurrection, when Mary came forward to salute her Lord, and to embrace Him, He said: “Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” During the interval between His death and resurrection He had been engaged in preaching to the spirits in prison. He had unlocked the prison doors to them that were, bound; thus showing that though the punishment of the wicked may be eternal punishment—God’s punishment being eternal punishment—the Lord does not subject His fallen creatures to suffer that punishment throughout the endless ages of eternity, as has been falsely taught by so-called Christian ministers. There comes a day of release. Jesus preached redemption to those spirits who were disobedient in the days of Noah. They had lain in torment from the days of Noah—upward of 2,000 years—until the Son of Man turned the keys of their prison-house, and preached to them the Gospel of repentance, that they might repent of their sins, though in the spirit, and be judged, as Peter says, according to men in the flesh. God has revealed this doctrine to the Latter-day Saints, and it is for the purpose of carrying it out that we build these temples, that you may go in and officiate vicariously for those who have not had that privilege in the flesh.

It has been a question that has agitated many minds, when they have been told that the name of Jesus is the only name given under heaven whereby man can be saved—“What, then, has become of the millions of Pagans who never heard the sound of the name of Jesus?” They are dying by thousands to-day. Nations are perishing who have never heard the name of the Son of God. This question has been asked of us many times when we have been preaching the Gospel of salvation that God has restored. People have said: “Is it possible that those who do not believe your doctrine will be damned If so, what is to become of our ancestors? I had Christian parents who loved the Lord, and you say that those who are not baptized according to your method and by one having authority, cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.” Many people have been tempted to reject the testimony of the servants of God, because of this, forgetting that Christendom has taught a similar doctrine respecting the heathen nations. The Christian world have believed that all these nations would be sent to a place of endless torment, that they go to hell and can never be redeemed. Most abhorrent doctrine! so inconceivably cruel that it is enough to make men reject God and everything connected with Him, if it is supposed that He could be the author of such teaching as this; as though God would consign men to hell for ignorance—conceal from them the Gospel, and then damn them through all eternity, because they had not known that which might have been revealed to them. No, there is no such doctrine in the Book. There is no such doctrine in the Gospel of salvation. Those heathen nations, like our ancestors, who died in ignorance of the Gospel of Christ, will yet hear the voice of salvation. Jesus and those associated with Him will minister to them; for we are all the sons and daughters of God. What shall we do throughout the ages yet to come, the eternities lying before us? Shall there be no salvation extended to the ignorant, and to the erring, and to those who would have done better could they have known the plan of life and salvation? Why, certainly. The little space of time we live here upon the earth, important as it is to us, compared with the eternities of our God, is only like one grain of sand out of the immensities of grains that are upon the sea shore. Our God is endless and eternal. His Gospel is endless and eternal, and as long as there is a soul to be saved, He, and Jesus, who died for all, and all associated with them who have the same Priesthood, will labor anxiously until every soul will be brought back who can be brought back, who has not committed the unpardonable sin by sinning against light and knowledge, as Judas did in betraying the Lord of life and glory; every soul other than these will be felt after throughout the eternities of our God. Hell itself will be sought; every crevice of it, every part of it will be penetrated by Jesus, and by the Saints of God, in search of the souls of the children of men, until from every crevice and from every recess in the regions of the damned they will be brought forth to light and glory, if they will obey the glorious Gospel of the Son of God, if they will bow in submission to the sceptre of King Immanuel. That is all they have to do—to repent of their sins repent of them whether in this life or in the life to come, and put them away far from them. This is the Gospel of glad tidings. It is not a Gospel that consigns the majority of the human family to an endless condition of torment. That is not the Gospel of Christ.

Now, as I have said, the Lord promised that Elijah should come before the great and dreadful day. He has sent him, and the hearts of the Latter-day Saints have been turned to their fathers who have died in ignorance of the Gospel of the Son of God, and we have the warrant of Scripture to believe that the hearts of the fathers in the eternal worlds, those who have lived upon the earth, are turned to their children who now live here, and who can officiate vicariously for them, and answer the purpose that God has designed in attending to those ordinances which they themselves have not the power to attend to. Certainly this has been fulfilled. It is not the testimony of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery alone; but this whole people. These Latter-day Saints throughout all these mountains, can bear testimony that this spirit has rested upon them, and their hearts have been turned to their fathers, and the hearts of their fathers have without doubt been turned to them. And it is a strange fact connected with the Gospel, that contemporaneously with the revelation of the doctrine to Joseph Smith a spirit seemed to take possession of the people in Eastern lands to hunt up their genealogies, and Genealogical Societies’ have been formed in many places, for what purpose no one can exactly tell, unless it be a Latter-day Saint. Genealogies have been hunted up with wonderful industry, saving us a great amount of labor in these matters. It was a strange spirit that took hold of the American people, especially the people of New England, about that time. It was a common thing in the Western States when I was a boy, for men not to know the names of their grandfathers; and I have known many intelligent men who could not tell the names of their uncles and aunts, their fathers, and mothers, brothers and sisters. This arose from the fact that in moving West, emigrants had left their kindred behind, and had not kept up in their children’s minds the recollection of their names. But within the last 40 years a different spirit has taken possession of the people, and many are industriously engaged in searching out the names of their ancestors. Many volumes have been published in connection with this subject, and in the Historian’s Office are to be found many books containing the genealogies of the families of many whose members are in this Territory. Such books have been invaluable to us, in carrying out this work. Thus, these societies and people have unwittingly helped to fulfill the words of the Lord, through Malachi, and to strengthen the evidence that Joseph Smith was indeed an inspired Prophet of God. In the persecution that this Church has received; in being driven from their homes: in everything that is now being done by the Congress of the United States against the Latter-day Saints, and in this genealogical work that I have just alluded to, men outside of this Church have contributed to prove that Joseph Smith was indeed an inspired Prophet of God; for there has been no action taken by Congress, nothing has been done to us by mobs, or by any combination, that has not been predicted by Joseph Smith the Prophet, and we have the record of it, and know that it is true. We know whereof we speak. Joseph Smith, years and years before the breaking out of the war in South Carolina, predicted that such a war should take place, and he designated the spot where it should commence. And the wicked by their own acts proved to the world, to God, and to angels, that Joseph Smith was an inspired Prophet of God, and that He foretold that which should take place.

God bless you, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Manifestations to Be Looked For, etc.

John Taylor

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered at the time of the Dedication of the Temple, in the Tabernacle, Logan, Cache County, Sunday afternoon, May 18th, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

Since we assembled in this place we have had a very interesting time. It has been our desire that all who could be properly recommended by their Bishops should have an opportunity to visit the Temple, whether it be the Presidents of this Stake, and the Stakes of this Temple district, or the residents of other Stakes, because we have felt that it is due to those who have assisted so liberally in building the Temple in this place, that they should have a full and fair opportunity of seeing it. For that purpose we have already had two dedication services, and we, intend to have another in the Temple, commencing at half-past ten o’clock to-morrow morning, tickets for which can be obtained from President Geo. Q. Cannon, at the close of this meeting.

We are living in a very important day and age of the world, in a time which is pregnant with greater events than any other period that we know of, or any other dispensation that has existed upon the earth. It is called “the dispensation of the fullness of times,” when God “will gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth;” for the heavens, the Gods in the eternal worlds, the Holy Priesthood that have existed upon the earth, the living that live upon the face of the earth, and the dead that have departed this life, are all interested in the work in which we are engaged. Consequently, it is of the greatest importance that everything we do, that every ordinance we administer, that every principle we believe in, should be strictly in accordance with the mind and word, the will and law of God.

I have heard some remarks in the Temple pertaining to these matters, and also here, and it has been thought, as has been expressed by some, that we ought to look for some peculiar manifestations. The question is, What do we want to see? Some peculiar power, some remarkable manifestations? All these things are very proper in their place; all these things we have a right to look for; but we must only look for such manifestations as are requisite for our circumstances, and as God shall see fit to impart them. Certain manifestations have already occurred. When our Heavenly Father appeared unto Joseph Smith, the Prophet, He pointed to the Savior who was with him, (and who, it is said, is the brightness of the Father’s glory and the express image of His person) and said: “This is my beloved Son, hear Him.” So that there was an evidence manifested through His servant to the world, that God lived, that the Redeemer, who was crucified and put to death to atone for the sins of the world, also lived, and that there was a message which had to be communicated to the human family, and that the Son was the personage through which it should be communicated. The key thus being turned, authority given by the highest source in the heavens in relation to the purposes of God on the earth, the Holy Priesthood began to be developed. Why? Because there was no Priesthood on the earth; there was nobody who was authorized to operate and officiate in the name of the Lord, therefore John the Baptist, came as the representative of the Aaronic Priesthood, having held the keys thereof in his day; and he placed his hands upon the heads of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and said: “Upon you, my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.” John the Baptist having thus come and imparted the Aaronic Priesthood, which like the Melchisedec Priesthood is an eternal Priesthood—it being already conferred it is not now necessary that John the Baptist should return for the accomplishment of that purpose. He had delivered his testimony, he had turned the key, he had introduced the power and authority to administer in that Priesthood, so that those upon whom it was conferred were able to perform the several duties associated therewith.

Then Peter, James and John appeared and conferred upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery the Melchisedec Priesthood, which, as you all know, differs from that of the Aaronic. The Melchisedec Priesthood, according to the Scriptures, is after the order of the Son of God, and after the power of an endless life. It places men in communication with God our Heavenly Father, whereby through its influence, ordinances, powers and blessings, they can approach the presence of God, the Eternal Father, and come, as it was said by one of old, “To the general assembly and church of the first born, which are written in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” It is that Priesthood through the Gospel, that brings life and immortality to light, that places man in a position whereby he can obtain, through faithfulness and adherence to the laws of God, all the rich blessings associated with the eternal worlds, of which we are allowed to partake while we dwell here upon the earth, or hereafter in the heavens. It is not necessary that Peter, James and John should come again to do the thing that is already done. The Priesthood has been restored, with which is connected all the blessings that ever were associated with any people upon the face of the earth; and if we know to-day so little in regard to the things of God, and the principles associated with eternity, with the heavens and with the angels, it is because we have not improved our privileges as we might, nor lived up to those principles which God has revealed unto us, and because we are not yet prepared for further advancement.

Jesus in His day, said to His disciples: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. * * * * Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” What did He mean? Just what he said, precisely. If He went away He would send them another Comforter, the Spirit of truth, which should abide with them forever, and teach them all things, and bring all things pertaining to the past to their remembrance; the Comforter was also to lead them into all truth, and show them things to come.

This same Comforter has been given, in connection with the Gospel in these days, for our enlightenment, for our instruction, for our guidance, that we may have a knowledge of things that are past, of the dealings of God with the human family, of the principles of truth that have been developed in the different ages, of the position of the world and its relationship to God in those different ages, of its position in years that are past and gone, and of its present status. It is also given for our enlightenment, that we may be enabled to conduct all things according to the mind and will of God, and in accordance with His eternal laws and those principles which exist in the heavens, and which have been provided by God for the salvation and exaltation of a fallen world; also for the manifestation of principles which have been and will be developed in the interest of man, not only pertaining to this world, but also to that which is to come; through which medium the Lord will make known His plans and designs to His Priesthood and His people in His own due time.

After these things had been introduced, the people in Kirtland, Ohio, by the command of God, through Joseph Smith, the Prophet, some 49 years ago, (without being particular as to dates) commenced to build a house unto the Lord wherein certain preliminary ordinances were introduced, and that house was built under very trying circumstances to the Saints, but they accomplished it. Most of the Saints then devoted all the time they could possibly spare for the accomplishment of that object; it was not in little donations, but they had to exert their undivided energies and means to its accomplishment. When they had finished it, it was dedicated to the Lord, God accepted their sacrifice, and Jesus appeared in that Temple, of which appearance you will find a description in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. (Section 110). Before this they had had the Aaronic and the Melchisedec Priesthoods presented to them, and Moroni, and other personages had appeared unto Joseph Smith. When this Temple was erected for preparatory ordinances—for it was not like the Temples we now have, nor like the Temple that was in Nauvoo, the Lord appeared, and then Moses appeared. They had already the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood, and of the Melchisedec; and as Moses had held the keys and authority of the gathering of the children of Israel, from the land of Egypt, in a former dispensation, so he was now sent to confer these said keys upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. It is said, that after this vision closed—that is the vision of the Savior manifested to Joseph and Oliver in the Kirtland Temple—that:

“The heavens were again opened unto us, and Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north.”

Here then were the keys committed associated with the gathering. Why is it that you are here to-day? and what brought you here? Because the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four quarters of the earth have been committed to Joseph Smith, and he has conferred those keys upon others that the gathering of Israel may be accomplished, and in due time the same thing will be performed to the tribes in the land of the north. It is on this account, and through the unlocking of this principle, and through those means, that you are brought together as you are to-day. I have heretofore mentioned a circumstance, and I will mention it again here, as there are so many present to show you how those things operate. What I refer to is this: Soon after we were driven from Missouri, the Twelve were sent to England. There was no place then for the Saints to gather to; the Prophet therefore said to the Twelve: “When you go to England, until you get further information, do not say anything about the gathering.” Consequently we did not; but we could not keep the spirit of it from the people. Why? Because we had the Gospel, and the Gospel brings life and immortality to light, and those that receive the Gospel receive the Holy Ghost, and a knowledge of the things associated with the Gospel. And hence I remember a sister coming to me in Liverpool, England, where I had raised up a church, and says she, “Brother Taylor, I had a very remarkable dream or vision, I don’t know which, and it was something like this: I thought that the Saints were gathered together on the Pier Head—[that is the place where the vessels then used to sail from], and there was a ship about to sail. The people said they were going to Zion, and they were singing what they called the songs of Zion, and rejoicing exceedingly; you were among them, and you were going also. Now I want to know if you can tell me what it means.” “Yes,” said I, I “know what it means, and I will tell you when the time comes”—just the same as I have to say to day that there are many things that I know of which I can only tell you when the time comes.

By and by, Joseph Smith sent word that the Saints were to gather to Nauvoo; that they had a gathering place there, and the Saints were to be directed to that land. I then went and told this sister the interpretation of her dream or vision. I mention this to show that you cannot prevent these manifestations: they are associated with the Gospel. If men and women receive the Spirit of God and the gift of the Holy Ghost, it reveals those things unto them. It was said by one of old, that through its influence “your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;” and although Joseph had told us not to say anything about the gathering, yet he could not prevent the Lord from revealing it to the people. He did reveal it, and a great many, as well as the sister referred to, had a knowledge of it.

That is the principle which brought you here. If that key had not been turned; if Moses had not come to introduce it, you would not have been here, and Joseph Smith would not have known anything about it, nor anybody else until God revealed it in His own appointed way.

But as I stated before, the Father said, “This is my beloved Son, hear Him.” He manipulates the Priesthood in the heavens and on the earth. He manages the affairs associated with the redemption of the human family. “Hear Him;” and when He was prepared to send forth these messengers, as we send forth messengers to accomplish certain purposes—when He saw that the time had come, He said, “Go Moses, and attend to this matter. They have built a Temple; from now they will begin to gather the Saints, and it is necessary that they should have proper instructions and information relating to these matters.” And Moses came.

Now, that was one thing: Then we read that:

“After this Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of the Gospel of Abraham, saying, that in us, and our seed, all generations after us should be blessed.”

That was the promise made to Abraham some 3,500 years ago. It was not a promise made to Abraham alone, but through him to others. He and his seed were to be the instrumentality, the media through which mankind should be blessed; they were to be the special instruments in the hands of God for the accomplishment of these purposes. Hence the Priesthood began to be organized—the Bishopric and all pertaining to the Aaronic Priesthood including Priests, Teachers and Deacons; and associated with the Melchisedec Priesthood, the First Presidency, the Twelve, the High Council, High Priests, Seventies and Elders, and all those occupying their own particular place; and hence in that small Temple, as we should now call it, that was erected in Kirtland, they had the same organization of the Priesthood, and the same arrangements of the stands for the seating of the Priesthood as we have here. Why? Because the Priesthood had been introduced after the order of Aaron and after the order of Melchisedec which is after the order of the Son of God, and after the power of an endless life, and that officiates and operates in time and in eternity, and by which Priesthood and through which authority the worlds were framed by the power of God. Things as they existed in the heavens again began to be introduced upon the earth. Hence, that His servants might be properly instructed and comprehend correctly the great principles which He designed to unfold to the human family, He sent those several messengers holding those various keys that they might unlock the doors and place His servants in communication with the heavenly Priesthood in the eternal worlds.

Do you want anything more than this, you Latter-day Saints? This was the position in which they were placed, and the position in which we find ourselves to-day.

Then we are told that another personage appeared, as stated:

“After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us, for Elijah, the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us and said—

“Behold the time has fully come which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he {Elijah) should be sent before the great and dreadful day of the Lord came.

“To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest, the whole earth be smitten with a curse.

“Therefore the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands, and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors.”

What means this? What means this Temple that you have built here on the hill? Why have you built it? Why have you expressed such anxiety in the erection of that Temple? Why have such crowds of our brethren and sisters from distant places come here to the dedication of this Temple? Why is it? It is because those keys were turned of which I have just read in your hearing.

“Behold the time has fully come * * * to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse.

“Therefore the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands, and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors.”

What does this mean? It means that there was a great and comprehensive plan designed by the Almighty in his economy connected with the salvation of the human family who are His children; for He is the God and the Father of the spirits of all flesh. It means that He is interested in their welfare, in their prosperity, in their happiness, and in all that pertains to their exaltation in time and throughout the eternities that are to come. Being thus interested, and so little of the Gospel having been revealed in the different ages, and so much of the power of darkness and iniquity having prevailed among men, it was necessary that something should be done for the dead as well as the living. God is interested in the dead as well as the living. Adam, who is the Ancient of Days and the father of the human family; Seth, Enos, Enoch, Mahalaleel, Methuselah, Noah, and all the prominent leading men of God, as well as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, the Prophets, Jesus and His Apostles, together with the Prophets and Apostles who lived on this continent, and who stood at the various times or epochs as the representatives of the nations, and as thousands of these peoples have passed away having held and now holding the Priesthood; all these ancient fathers feel interested in this great work, and their hearts are turned toward the children, being interested in their welfare, happiness and exaltation; and their children who now have received the Gospel have their hearts, through this instrumentality, and the keys and principles which were introduced by Elijah, turned towards the fathers through the inspiration of the same Gospel, which Gospel as spoken of in the Scriptures, is an everlasting Gospel, being associated with the everlasting covenant, which principle wherever it has existed, brought life and immortality to light.

When Jesus came, He came to do a work in many particulars similar to that in which we are engaged, and when He got through with His work here, He stood as the Savior of the world, and of the human family. He came to preach the Gospel to the poor, to open the prison doors to those that were imprisoned, to set at liberty, and to proclaim the acceptable hour of the Lord, etc. This was a work connected with the people who lived at the time of the flood, and were destroyed and kept in prison until the Lord should see proper to extend manifestations of His mercy to them. Hence, as we read, “Christ hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the spirit; by which also he went and preached to the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah.” He having finished His work upon earth for the living, went and performed a work for the dead; as we are informed, “He went and preached to spirits in prison, that had sometime been disobedient in the days of Noah.”

It is reserved for us to do a work for those who have passed away, who have not obeyed or had the Gospel in their lifetime. We are here to do a work connected with the redemption of the dead. When the Temple was commanded to be built in Nauvoo, after the Temple had been built in Kirtland, and after so many keys had been turned, and after so many manifestations, visions and ministrations had been had, yet it was said then that there was not a place upon the earth in which to perform the ordinance of baptism for the dead, and Joseph was commanded to build a house for that purpose. But who knew anything about these things until God revealed them? Nobody. Men talk and boast of their intelligence and their knowledge—why, there is not a man breathing on the earth, outside of this Church, who has any knowledge of those things to which I have referred, and nobody in this Church either, only as God has revealed it. We are all of us indebted to the revelations of God, through the medium of the Holy Priesthood, for these things. Joseph Smith before his death, was much exercised about the completion of the Temple in Nauvoo, and the administering of ordinances therein. In his anxiety and for fear he should not live to see the Temple completed, he prepared a place over what was known as the brick-store—which many of you who lived in Nauvoo will recollect—where to a chosen few he administered those ordinances that we now have to-day associated with endowments, so that if anything should happen to him—which he evidently contemplated—he would feel that he had then fulfilled his mission, that he had conferred upon others all the keys given to him by the manifestations of the power of God.

At first these things were only partially made known to him, and as they were partially developed he called upon the Twelve that were then living—many of you greyheaded people will remember it—to commence and be baptized for the dead, and they were baptized in the Mississippi River. Immediately after these baptisms, the Prophet had a revelation which more clearly developed the order in relation to such baptisms. According to that revelation it appeared that, notwithstanding all the visions, revelations, keys, etc., that had heretofore been given, there was not a place, not even in the Kirtland Temple, wherein those things could be carried out, and hence a font, such as we have in this Temple, was built in the temple at Nauvoo, and it was there, under proper circumstances and proper administration, and according to the principles that he had laid down, that those ordinances were administered then, and are administered now.

I now come to another subject that opens a wide and expansive field, broad as the world in which we live, and expansive as the universe, and which affects all the inhabitants of the earth living or dead. Why is it that there is such a feeling, as I have said, concerning your Temple and other Temples? It is because those keys have been turned, and you have received, like the woman I spake of, a knowledge of the gathering dispensation. You have laid out a great amount of means, done a large amount of labor, and you have built a house that is creditable to you, and which God will sanction and approve and does sanction and approve. You have made it very nice, pleasant and beautiful. We ought to build Temples to the Lord, for we are His offspring and He is our Father, and He has revealed unto us those things and implanted those principles in our bosoms. They are developed within us, and this Temple is a proof of it, just the same as we are a living proof of the gathering dispensation. We have received the gift of the Holy Ghost, and a knowledge, so far as we have progressed, of the things of God. You have been baptized, you have had hands laid upon you for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and you that have lived your religion have received this Holy Ghost, and I want, as an evidence before God and this people—I want to see how many of you can bear testimony to that. All who can, hold up their right hands. [A perfect forest of hands was held up.] We know, by the power of the Holy Ghost, and by obedience to His law, so far as we have obeyed it, that God lives. But then, we have been poor, weak, erring creatures, surrounded by infirmities. Yet God has conferred upon us great, inestimable and eternal treasures, even the gift of eternal lives, and upon many of us are conferred these promises of thrones, principalities, powers and dominion in the eternal worlds. God has conferred those rich and precious treasures upon us, but we have them in earthen vessels. We have to wrestle against flesh and blood, against the powers of darkness, the Adversary, who rules in the hearts of the children of disobedience, and leads them captive at his will, and against the power of wickedness in high places. We have not all of us learned to obey those principles that God has revealed. We have not all of us learned to say in our hearts, “Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.” We have not all of us learned to submit our will to the law and word of God, yet God is introducing Temples and ordinances and blessings, and light, revelations and intelligence, to lift us up, to exalt us, that we may be a city set upon a hill that cannot be hid; that we may progress from intelligence to intelligence, from knowledge to knowledge, until we shall see as we are seen and know as we are known.

We are living, as I have said, in an important day and age of the world. We have gathered to this land because God has decreed it. He has reserved us for the latter days, that we may perform that work which He decreed from before the foundation of the world. If there have been any blessings enjoyed by men in former dispensations of the world, they will also be given to you ye Latter-day Saints, if you will live your religion and be obedient to the laws of God. There is nothing hidden but what shall be revealed says the Lord. He is prepared to unfold all things; all things pertaining to the heavens and the earth, all things pertaining to the peoples who have existed, who now exist or will exist, that we may be instructed and taught in every principle of intelligence associated with the world in which we live, or with the Gods in the eternal worlds.

Having said so much on some of these subjects, let me now talk a little upon some other things.

We have finished our Temple. What is it for? Not a building to look at; not a house to brag about; for before we get through we shall have built some Temples so much better, that you will not feel to boast about this Temple. The Temple that the people built in Kirtland, was only a small building compared with this one, and they were a very small and poor people who built it, yet it was built in accordance with the commands of God. In Nauvoo, also, the people were very poor. They had just been driven from the land of Missouri, yet they were commanded of God to build it. What was obtained in these Temples? In the Kirtland Temple Jesus appeared, and Moses, Elias and Elijah appeared also, and all these things that I have read to you and spoken about, transpired on that occasion. Communication was opened between the heavens and the earth, between the Priesthood in the heavens and the Priesthood on the earth, and the Keys of that Priesthood imparted to Joseph and others on the earth. It was left to those in this world to keep open those communications, to see that the road was clear, and that there was no barrier interposed between earth and the heavens, and to lead forward and progress in other principles yet to be developed; we operating, in our part here in their behalf, and in behalf of their children who are our fathers; while they, in their exalted position, are operating for them and us in the heavens; thus forming a connecting link between the Priesthood on the earth and the Priesthood in the heavens.

We have now finished this Temple, and some people inquire, what is it for? For many things: that our sealings and ordinances may be performed in a manner that will be acceptable before God and the holy angels; that whatsoever is bound on the earth according to the laws of the eternal Priesthood shall be bound in the heavens; that there may be a connecting link between the living and the dead, between those who have lived, all those ancient fathers of which I have spoken who are interested in the welfare of their posterity; that there may be a royal Priesthood, a holy people, a pure people, a virtuous people on the earth to officiate and operate in the interests of the living and the dead; not looking so much after themselves, but after God, after the work of God, and after the accomplishment of those things which God has designed to be carried out in “the dispensation of the fullness of times” when all things are to be united in one, and that they may be prepared to operate with the Priesthood in the heavens in the redemption of the inhabitants of this world from the days of Adam unto the present time. It is also intended to introduce the higher branches of education—literary, scientific, linguistic, philosophical and theological; for we are told to obtain a knowledge of laws, languages, governments, justice, equity, rule, authority, dominion, and all those great cosmopolitan principles exhibited in the laws of nature and among the peoples, by the wisdom, prescience, power and intelligence of “nature’s God.” That we may thus be acquainted with earthly and heavenly things, in accordance with everlasting laws that have existed in the heavens and on the earth from the beginning; and that all those great and eternal principles by which the worlds are governed may be comprehended by us.

This is a great work. Well might it be said to Joseph Smith, “You are laying the foundation of a great work”—so vast that very few can begin to comprehend it. We read sometimes about the millennium. But what do we know about it It is a time when this work will be going on, and Temples, thousands of them, will be reared for the accomplishment of the objects designed, in which communications from the heavens will be received in regard to our labors, how we may perform them, and for whom. This is the work devolving upon us. We have to build up here a Zion unto God. Who are Zion? The pure in heart, and the pure in life. And be it remembered that it is not every one that saith, “Lord, Lord,” that shall enter the Kingdom of heaven, but it is he that doeth the will of the Father who is in heaven. We must be faithful to our calling, for there is a great work for all of us to perform. Some men who have been ordained to the Priesthood have remarked that they have nothing to do. I have heard some foolish remarks of that kind. They will find plenty to do before they get through. They need not be troubled on that score. There will be plenty for them to do if they are only prepared to do it. There is a great work to perform in preaching the Gospel to the nations of the earth. Then as we build our Temples we shall want a great many people to administer in them, and I have seen some people quite pleased at the idea. Some Elders, Seventies, and High Priests have said—“What can I do? I am getting old and grey headed. Still I would like to do something.” We shall require quite a number to administer in the Temples as we get them built. I am informed there are over forty persons employed in the Temple in St. George, about the same number, I presume, will be required in the Temple here, and then forty in the one at Manti, forty or more in the one at Salt Lake, and then forty in each of the others we are going to build. Hence, we shall find places for some of you folks after a while. You need not be concerned about having nothing to do. We will find plenty for the Seventies to do. You need not think there are any too many of them. The nations of the earth have yet to be preached to. The work is not all through. It is hardly begun. We are just getting ready for the labor, and so you may prepare yourselves, you Seventies, you High Priests, and you Elders, for missions to the nations of the earth. [Here President Taylor inquired of Bishop Preston how they were progressing with the missionary farms, and was answered that they were progressing satisfactorily. We don’t want the aged and infirm to go out to the world. For that labor it requires strong, able-bodied men, men that are able to cope with the world, the flesh and the devil, as they say. We want men who are full of vigor, life and vitality. We want men to cleave unto God, and seek for more of His Spirit, that they may go to the nations of the earth to proclaim the glad tidings of salvation to a fallen world. That is what we are gathered together for, that we may be instructed in the laws of life, and then go and teach these laws to others. Our Elders go out to preach the Gospel without purse or scrip, and when they return we help them back. But we should see when they are gone that their families are taken care of, and everything made pleasant and comfortable for them. This is quite a little thing that some of you can turn your hands to. You can assist on the missionary farms, and in this way help to take care of the families of those who are absent on missions. This is a principle we want to see extended all over the land of Zion. How are you going to be paid for this? You will just get the same pay which I used to have when I went out to preach; you will have just the same source to go to, only you will have a little more time, I expect, than some of us had. We used to go without purse or scrip. We went along trusting in God. We are now in a different position, perhaps, and can put a few dollars into the bag to help us along; but I will tell you when I was away I would rather trust in the living God than in any other power on earth, for I learned that I could go to God and He always relieved me. He always supplied my wants. I always had plenty to eat, drink and wear, and could ride on steam boats or railroads, or anywhere I thought proper: God always opened my way, and so He will that of every man who will put his trust in Him. I would rather have God for my friend than all other influences and powers outside; for in God we live, in God we move, and from God we derive our being and our existence.

Then what about the payment of those men who are to be employed in Temples? There are three or four men that will have to be provided for, and others will have to take care of themselves, find their own bread and dinner, and think it a privilege to work for God, for the interests of His Kingdom, and to act as saviors upon Mount Zion. Supposing there are forty required to labor in this Temple. Many of you are pretty well off. You have got fat, and have almost kicked, some of you (laughter). Some of you have got more means than you know what to do with, and it is a bother to you. We will have to fix upon the number of men and women—for the sisters will be required as well as the brethren—that will be needed. These can go along, leaving their farms and their merchandizing, or whatever they may have in hand, and go into the Temple of the Lord, on a mission for six months, or twelve months, or two or three years as the case may be, the same as others who go out into the world. If I to-day were not engaged as I am I should say, “Won’t you be kind enough to give me and one of my wives, or more, as the case might be, an opportunity to officiate in the Temple?” and I should feel it an honor to be privileged to work in the house of God. Would you want pay for it? No, I would bring my own bread and dinner, and I have no doubt there are many of you who would like to do the same. I guess we could pick out the forty people thus required right in this house to-day, without any trouble. All you who are in favor of carrying out this idea hold up your right hands. (All hands went up.) I knew there were more than forty right here (laughter). As to the three or four whose whole time will be engaged in this labor, these will have to be provided for. In this way we shall become saviors upon Mount Zion. It is written in the Scriptures, that “Saviors shall come up on Mount Zion * * and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.” Now, a man is not a savior, nor a woman either, unless they save somebody. Well, we want men and women who are ready to officiate in this place. And when you get there, surrounded by the heavenly influence of the house of God, the gift of the Holy Ghost will rest upon you, which will bring joy and consolation to your hearts. When you have labored there for a while, you will desire to labor there again. You will carry this heavenly influence among your friends and throughout your neighborhood, and this we want to extend throughout all the land of Zion. We shall have, I presume, regular Temple organizations. Something of this kind may be organized among the High Priests who will look after the Temple districts. In this way we will find something for the High Priests to do. Some of them have been very much afraid that there would be nothing for them to do.

And thus we will go on, and God will assist us in the work in which we are engaged. He will yet make us the richest of all people. He will pour wealth into our laps, inasmuch as we keep His commandments. And what else is said? “Sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee.” Men shall call you the ministers of our God. And we want to minister for God in time and throughout the eternities that are to come. We have started in, and we will try by the help of God and the light of His Holy Spirit, and the revelations that he will give to us from time to time—we will try and operate and co-operate with the Priesthood in the eternal worlds, either on this earth or in the heavens. We shall operate until the work that God has designed pertaining to this earth shall be accomplished, and the living and the dead saved so far as they are capable of being saved according to eternal laws that exist in the heavens, and according to the decrees of the Almighty. Don’t you think we have something to do? I remember when I was first called to the Apostleship some 46 years ago. I looked at the calling square in the face, and said, “Well, this is a life work: this is an operation that will last a life time.” I have got other ideas since then, namely, that when I get through in this world I expect to officiate in the other. Hence it is an eternal operation, and that is the difference between what I then thought and what I now think. God has revealed unto us great and glorious truths, and He is prepared to reveal more if we will only place ourselves under His guidance and His direction. Let us seek to follow the principle that Jesus inculcated—to do the will of our Father who is in heaven, who said, “I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” We are here as much as He was here, and under obligations as He was to do the will of our Heavenly Father. We should subject ourselves to the law of God, the word of God, and the will of God. I say continually, “O God, lead me in the right path: O God, preserve me from all error; O God, I am a poor, feeble, weak, erring human creature, surrounded with infirmities. I need Thy help all the day long. O God, help me.” That is my feeling, and the feeling of my brethren of the First Presidency, and of the Twelve and others. We feel that we need the help of the Almighty. We will try and be humble, and be faithful and true to our covenants. And if we listen to counsel, and obey the laws of God, and do the things that He requires at our hands, He will help us and bless us, and He will bless Zion and preserve Israel, and woe to them that fight against Zion, for God will fight against them. But He will preserve us if we are faithful and true to our integrity. We will be blessed in time, we will be brought nearer to the heavens. The light of revelation will burst upon our heads, and the glories of the eternal worlds will be made manifest. We will rejoice together in the fullness of blessings of the Gospel of peace, and by and will be crowned with glory, honor, immortality and eternal life in the celestial kingdom of our God.

God bless you and lead you in the paths of life, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Visit to Arizona and New Mexico, etc.

Brigham Young, Jr.

Remarks by Apostle Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, June 22, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

I am thankful for the opportunity afforded me of meeting with the Latter-day Saints in this Tabernacle. Though I have been absent but a short time, yet it has been a long journey in one sense of the word. Brother F. M. Lyman and myself left this place on the 3rd of May, for the purpose of visiting our settlements in the northern part of Arizona and New Mexico. We have accomplished the object of our mission and are thankful to be at home again. We have met many friends in these distant settlements, and I might say some enemies; but we have been particularly favored in all of our meetings, and where we found enemies in some instances we left them friends; for as I understand the mission of the Elders of this Church, it is a mission of peace, to extend the olive branch to all people upon the face of the earth. I do not consider it my duty nor my privilege to make war upon individuals, or upon sects or parties in the Territories of Arizona or New Mexico, not even in the Territory of Utah. From my earliest recollections, pretty nearly, to the present time, constant persecution has followed this people. I do not feel like persecuting. I have felt sometimes that I would like to stand up for my rights and tell men, “Thus far can you go and no further;” but I have come to the conclusion that I have no desire to take that little business out of the hands of God Almighty. He has managed it excellently well thus far in behalf of this people, far better and more gloriously than any human being could have managed it; for if we had had our desires sometimes, we might have injured the cause of God. While for a little season we have suffered, in the end we have been made whole and have been greatly extended, greatly blessed, and God continues to be our friend.

In the settlements we have visited, we found our enemies in the same condition that enemies have shown themselves to be in this Territory—fighting, beating the empty air, thinking that they had a foe before them, thinking that they had somebody that they could persecute; but their anger has been turned towards each other, and God has over-ruled for the good of those that serve Him.

We have visited most of our settlements in the Territories I have mentioned—Arizona and New Mexico—and while one would suppose from the vituperations of the wicked that all was excitement, and that our people were frightened and about to be swallowed up, I can say that we found the Saints peacefully enjoying their homes. They were ploughing the ground, planting the corn, sowing the wheat, planting out orchards, vineyards, putting up fences, erecting new buildings, making reservoirs to retain the water, that they might have wherewith to irrigate their crops, opening up farms, clearing away the timber where they could have other farms, etc. We found all this work going on; found the people going to meeting on the Sabbath day; preaching and teaching the peaceful things of the Kingdom of God, the children attending their Sabbath schools; also their day schools, as we term them, in need of teachers in some places, but any number of pupils; and wherever we have attended conference among the Latter-day Saints, the rule has held good that one-third of the population of these settlements were under eight years of age. It is a remarkable thing, very strange indeed; but we find that in our settlements in the south, our people are greatly blessed, as elsewhere, with children, and this valuable immigration from above is extending. I do not know how long it will be before Congress will legislate against having babies; but it don’t look much like this immigration could be stopped now. These children are swelling the ranks of the Latter-day Saints, and the Saints are struggling, with what power God has given them, to provide the means of good education and to bring them up in the way that they should go. I can see no objection to this myself, others may; but God is good to this people; and we find peace and harmony and prosperity as a general thing among the Latter-day Saints in the eastern Arizona, and also in the Little Colorado Stakes of Zion. I was thankful to see all this; for it was a testimony that God is mindful of His people.

It is true that some people whom we met in the capital of Arizona Territory, urged upon us the necessity of not introducing what they believe to be our favorite doctrine into the Territory of Arizona—plural marriage. Those who were inclined to be friendly to us said: “Gentlemen, make your fight in Utah. You are in the majority there. Don’t introduce this practice into Arizona. You are few in number here, and your enemies are numerous and perfectly relentless. They don’t care to what trouble or inconvenience you are put: and while your settlements are struggling in their infancy eliminate this doctrine from your creed, that which is obnoxious to the people, and introduce only that which can be tolerated, at least until you gain strength to walk alone.” To the gentlemen who said this to me in all sincerity, in all good feeling, I made this answer: “So far as our doctrines are concerned we know them to be from God.” Yes, they are the revelations of the mind and will of God to us, and the “obnoxious doctrine” (so called) to this nation, and I might say the civilized world, we know to be a revelation from Almighty God to us. If you would have us eliminate from this book [the Book of Doctrine and Covenants], one revelation that God has given us simply because the people at large, and the majority of the people of this nation, have decided that it is untrue, which next in the category of the revelations which God has revealed must we eliminate from this book? Must we give up principle and doctrine simply to suit a majority of people? In one sense of the word our Republican institutions are supposed to place the power of success in the hands of the majority: but we have never found it so—our experience differs on this point. We have been in the minority for upwards of 50 years, and we have been crowded and apparently overwhelmed. Thousands of wealthy people sought to crush us when we were but small, but a child, as it were. But the majority did not succeed. Why? Because the infant struggling for bare existence has been led and preserved by the hand of God. They were led into a land which seemed a desert, but now flowing with all that could strengthen that child, bring it forward, and make it a full-grown man as we see the people to-day. I am willing, in political matters, to take that stand in the midst of this people under present circumstances, at least, to let the majority rule, and if one side is the weaker, which necessarily is the case, let it say amen in a political sense to what the stronger party may do for the government of this Territory. But in the things pertaining to conscience, no man, no set of men, no Governor, no President, can control me before my God. I must control my own heart, my own feelings. I am a free man in relation to these matters, not bowing to any majority nor to any party. So are all the Latter-day Saints. We are free to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience.

But, says one, you are breaking he laws. How do you know we are breaking the laws? I think some one has written, and it used to be taken for sound doctrine, that a bad law is no law at all. But it is not so now. A bad law must pass current for a little season, and it may last a good while if the wicked rule; but, thank God, there are honest men to be raised up to rule the country who will administer justice and equity in the midst of the people.

In our settlements in Arizona, and New Mexico, we found the same feelings predominating that we find here in Salt Lake and in the settlements in this Territory. We find the good are growing better, their faith is increasing, they are laboring more assiduously to promote the interests of Zion; while those that are weak are growing weaker, those that are bad are growing worse; and I have always believed that the Kingdom of God could never be strengthened by numbers when those numbers were of a mixed character, the good with the bad. If, as we believe and testify, this is the Church and Kingdom of God, the wheat and the tares will grow together for a little season, until those that are, or may be termed, the wheat, may be strengthened, and the tares may be plucked up and bound in bundles, ready for the burning. I was thankful, however, to witness the fact that the Latter-day Saints, at least the majority of them, are growing better, becoming firmer in the principles of the everlasting Gospel. They strive to practice what they preach, and the Saints in the South are no exception to this rule. They are seeking to live their religion, to serve God, to perfect themselves in the knowledge of the truth, and to build up a Zion here; in this Territory. The golden rule which has been laid down, and this people have adopted it, “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you,” has been changed a little in some districts which we have visited, not among our people, but among those of the world. They have changed it, and say, “Do unto others as others would have you do unto (?) them.” It is a brass rule, a counterfeit, it is not the golden rule; but the Latter-day Saints in all of their troubles and trials in these extended regions which we have visited, have adopted the golden rule, and are seeking to put it into practice, not only towards each other, but towards those who are inimical to their interests.

As I have said, the settlements are in a prosperous condition. Some of them have even profited greatly by certain laws which have been enacted, in the Territory of Arizona, particularly. I found in one settlement that the people were receiving school tax money to exceed all of their other taxes put together. There was refunded to them from the Territorial school tax, more money than they paid out for all their taxes. I was surprised at this: but it simply proved this fact: that the Latter-day Saints had children in excess of other settlements in the Territory. I thought Zion is growing. If those who desire can succeed in placing us at the mercy of our enemies, I presume these things will be changed; but at present Zion is growing. I have never seen among the people of the Latter-day Saints greater progress both in secular and spiritual matters than I witnessed in the settlements we have visited in the last two months. One would suppose from what is said in the papers, and the coldness that is exhibited by even fair-minded men in relation to the cause of this people—one would suppose that it would at least check our progress; that under the present pressure the Latter-day Saints would begin to weaken in their faith, and in laboring to establish such unpopular doctrines and principles as they are undertaking to establish, but all this seems to make the Saints more zealous in their labors.

Persecution has done us no harm. In fact it seems to me that we need about so much persecution—that we need to carry great loads to make us remember our God. If all was prosperity and peace, I presume we would lose our faith, just as the ancient Christians did when they became popular. But I pray that the time may never come that we may be popular with a people who foster such institutions as are found in Christendom to-day.

With all this persecution upon us, the Latter-day Saints are doing what may be rightfully termed a stupendous labor. Look abroad upon what the people are doing. Go to the settlements; see the improvements they are making upon their farms, in their dwellings, in everything. Behold these temples that are being reared, costing millions of dollars! Who is doing this labor? Is it any rich man worth millions of dollars? No. It is a few poor people, comparatively speaking, who are rearing these temples at such an immense cost. What are they doing it for? The question may well be asked, What are we expending these immense sums of money for? We are preparing for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, just as truly as the world is ripening in iniquity and preparing to receive His judgments when He does come. That is a pretty bold saying, but it is true. We are doing this labor, and we have got all Christendom to carry on our shoulders with their special legislation, with their persecution, and with their antagonism, all aiming to destroy us. Hence, with all this, we have our hands as full as any other people upon the face of the earth. Our labor for the dead alone, which is occupying so much of our attention, is more than all Christendom ever dreamed of—for the amelioration of the condition of their progenitors. They don’t know anything about it, though their own Bible speaks of this principle. Who are we laboring for? Ourselves alone? No. We are laboring for the sires of those men who are persecuting us to-day, for the men who would trample us in the dust and destroy the institution which God has revealed. We are laboring to carry the Gospel to those that are in prison to whom Jesus preached, and to those that have died without a knowledge of the Gospel. We are struggling, I say, with superhuman effort to erect temples wherein this work may be done. It is for their fathers and their mothers that we are laboring. We are striving to tell the people of the world what we are doing. I as an individual cannot shirk it. I have my part to perform. So have these men and these women throughout the length and breadth of the Territories and States we occupy. I wish Christendom knew what we are doing. I wish they knew what God has commanded us to do. They would take the yoke from our necks so far as they are concerned. And still what would we amount to without opposition? Nothing. We must have the opposition of the world. If we were of the world the world would love us: but we have come out of the world, therefore the world hate us. That is true in every sense of the word.

God help us to carry our load faithfully, earnestly, sincerely, with the integrity which God alone can give, being kind to all men, and seeking with every effort and every energy of our natures to follow the example that Jesus gave, that we may attain to salvation in the Kingdom of God, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

How Judgment Should Be Formed, etc.

Erastus Snow

Discourse by Apostle Erastus Snow, delivered in the Stake Meeting House, Ephraim, Saturday afternoon (Quarterly Conference), May 31st, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

Truly we are a blessed people. Of all people upon the face of the earth we have most reason to be thankful that the Lord our God has been mindful of us, and has set His hand the second time to recover Israel.

The prophet Isaiah in the 11th chapter of his book says:

“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.”

“And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;”

“And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears;”

“But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.”

I understand this to have reference to our Savior who, after the flesh, was a descendant of Jesse, Jesse being the father of King David. Out of the stock of Jesse came the royal house that not only ruled in Israel anciently, but the Savior, who is appointed of His Father to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords, because He is anointed to be the Savior of mankind, and when He comes the second time, according to the revelations of St. John, He will have the name I have mentioned.

“And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears;”

“But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.”

This, too, is a lesson for all his people—for His Servants who minister on the earth, for the judges in Israel, the Bishops, High Councils—not always to judge after the sight of the eye nor to “reprove after the hearing of the ear, but with righteousness shall he judge the poor.” Sometimes we find the poor oppressed, though this is not common among the Latter-day Saints, who are influenced, generally, by a spirit of charity and love; but sometimes in our midst, as in the world, people are accused wrongfully, things are misrepresented, and for this reason the prophet speaks of the Savior as he does. We are not always able to determine with certainty the character of any transaction—that is to say, of the spirit and motive that influence and promote action—merely from what we see, nor yet from what somebody may tell us. It is necessary that we become enlightened by the Holy Spirit, to enable us to see as God sees and to understand the motives, purposes and designs of the hearts of our fellow-men. God judges us all according to the motives and designs of the heart. If our purpose is to do good, and that which is right in His sight, he judges us accordingly, though we may, through our weakness, or through circumstances that we are not always able to control, do things that are not strictly in their outward appearance right and correct, or we may neglect to do that which we should do. The Lord judges all men according to the motives that prompt the action, rather than from the action itself. It is not murder in the sight of heaven always, when a man is killed, for sometimes he brings his blood upon his own head by thrusting himself upon some other one to destroy him and is himself slain in the attack, and his blood is therefore upon his own head, and it is not counted murder to the man that slew him. The one who only saw a part of the transaction might accuse the other of murder; but when it comes to be sifted to the foundation, and both hearts can be scanned, and the cause that resulted in the conflict discovered, it is found that the man that slew is innocent, and the man that was slain is the guilty one. I refer to this as a sample. So with many of the transactions of life. So also we may neglect duties that we should attend to, but we neglect them in our ignorance, when we are uninformed, and the Lord does not lay it to our charge until we are better instructed and our defects pointed out to us. Then if we neglect them He holds us responsible for that neglect. So also we may do things that in themselves are not right, not strictly correct, and yet if we are not posted and are ignorant of the evil of the transaction, it is not imputed to us as evil. This is the doctrine that Jesus laid down. “That servant, which knew his Lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes.” That is, a few stripes shall be meted out to him merely to vindicate the law, and to make an impression upon him that what he had done was wrong, though he was ignorant of it before; but a little punishment is meted out, just enough to satisfy and vindicate the law, and to correct the impression upon the individual, to show him that he must be careful, for he had trodden upon forbidden ground. This is a rule that our Father is governed by in judging His children, and it is a rule that we should strive also to be governed by in regard to one another, and especially those who are called to be judges in Israel, or whose calling and duty it is to settle difficulties and assist in adjusting differences among their brethren and sisters.

“And he shall smite the earth with his rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.”

I understand this to be a figurative expression of the Prophet Isaiah: the rod of His mouth by which He should smite the earth. I understand that to be the word that proceeded out of His mouth, the words given of His Father; for His word was that which He received from the Father, and that which goeth forth among the children of men, conquering and to conquer. It is that word that has made impressions upon the Latter-day Saints in other lands and countries where they were born, and brought them to believe and obey the Gospel, and gathered them to this land. And it is that word also which condemns the wicked, and therefore the prophet says:

“With the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.”

For the Gospel of life and salvation is a savor of death unto death, or of life unto life. So says the Apostle Paul. It was so in his days, in the days when Jesus and His Apostles first proclaimed this Gospel to the Jews in Palestine; when they went among the Gentiles it was the same. It is the same to-day. It has been the same in all ages of the world. When the Gospel is sent forth, the word of God among the people, it is a savor of death unto death, or of life unto life. Therefore while the righteous are governed and exalted and blessed through the word, the wicked perish. This is illustrated in another form of expression by the Apostle Paul, when he says that he was slain through the law. Says he:

“For I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.”

He is using this illustration to the Jews—“Sin revived, and I died”—that is, when the law was made known—when the will and commandments of God were revealed and made known, woe! be unto those who should hear and disobey, for if they disobeyed condemnation would follow. This illustrates the principle contained in this verse have read from Isaiah:

“With the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.”

And this is equally true of his fellow laborers and servants who have the word of God in faith, and speak in the name of the Lord, and by the power of the Holy Ghost, and have authority so to speak and act. Their testimony, their words, and the counsels of God that go unto the people through them, are a savor of life unto life, or of death unto death. The Gospel exalts those who receive it, and brings condemnation and destruction upon those who refuse to obey it. But without the Gospel being sent out by authority and power from God, the inhabitants of the earth could not be ripened for destruction. We read in many places in the Scriptures concerning the destruction of the wicked in the last days. But we read also in other Scriptures, that the Lord destroys them only when they are ripe in their iniquity. Jesus, in prophesying of His second coming, and the destruction that shall fall upon the wicked, speaks in this wise—that they shall fill up the cup of their iniquity. This principle we see referred to and illustrated in the days of Abraham. The Lord promised unto him the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession. Nevertheless, his seed must be brought into bondage in Egypt, and remain there until those who dwelt in the land of Canaan had filled up the cup of their iniquity. The people were not yet ripe for destruction, and therefore the Lord could not displace them and put Abraham and his seed in possession of his land.

So the Lord has dealt with nations and generations from the beginning, and so will He in the latter times. We need not marvel because the Latter-day Saints are everywhere spoken against, and the wicked conspire to overthrow them. We need not marvel that even in this boasted land of freedom and liberty, statesmen, rulers and judges should place the iron heel of oppression upon the Latter-day Saints, and seek by every way in their power to bring evil upon them, to discourage them, to hedge up their way, and to destroy them. They must needs do these things. They must needs harden their hearts against the Lord and against His commandments. They must needs do many things that are wicked in His sight and oppressive to His people, in order that God may judge them, and that they fill up the cup of their iniquity. And it must needs be that the Saints, too, should be tried in all things even as Abraham was tried when he was commanded to offer up his only son. It must needs be that when the Gospel found us in our scattered condition mid the nations of the earth, and we yielded obedience to it, that we should be despised of our fellow creatures, that we should be reviled, so that we should feel it a pleasure to leave our fatherland, the graves of our ancestors, the home of our youth and childhood, and gather to Zion. Were it not for these two things that are working in the earth we should not be gathered together; we should not be willing to do it; we should love the home of our ancestors and the country that gave us birth. But because of the persecutions and hatred of the wicked we are weaned from them. As the Savior said on a certain occasion:

“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I come not to send peace, but a sword.”

“For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

“And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.”

At first thought it would seem a strange idea that the Prince of Peace, whose birth was announced by angels to the shepherds saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men”—I say, at first thought it would seem strange that the Prince of Peace so announced should say:

“I come not to send peace, but a sword * * * I am come to set a man at variance against his father, etc. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.”

“But it is all easily explained by our experience and observation, and by considering His teachings and the effects thereof and the words of the Apostle concerning the preaching of the Gospel being a savor of life unto life, or of death unto death. We go out into the Gentile world, and we find a great variety of religious opinions and many different religious sects. We find Catholics, Protestants, and various denominations and sects of Protestantism. They are all laboring together in the same field, preaching different doctrines and items of faith, and all professing to be the religion of Christ. All their teachers profess to be preachers of the Gospel, and their followers all profess to be Christians, and yet there is not power enough in all the doctrines and systems that they are teaching and establishing to produce a separation between the righteous and the wicked. They all continue to harmonize together—at least so far that they all count each other Christians, and it is very difficult to distinguish the Christian from the infidel, unless it be that the Christian is the worst. But not so when the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached. It always did produce a separation between the righteous and the wicked. It drew the line of distinction. It was always like putting yeast into a beer barrel. It sets it to working, and whoever has examined a beer barrel while the beer is working in it under a microscope, will see the way that the beer works itself clear. It is by the different properties it contains running in different directions. You will see the liquid full of little animals running in different directions, and it continues to work in this sort of a way until it becomes clear. Well, the working of beer in a barrel reminds me of the preaching of the Gospel in the earth. It sets Saints to running together. It works out apostates from among us, and they take the opposite direction. It draws the line of distinction between the righteous and the wicked, and that work begins from the moment the Gospel is sounded among the people. The Spirit of truth operates upon the hearts of those who are open to receive it. It draws them to the fountain of life and light. It draws them into the water and then to Zion, and then keeps drawing them nearer and nearer to God; while with those that reject the Gospel, they keep going further and further from the Lord and His people. They harden their hearts more and more against them, and give way to wickedness and all manner of corruption. But while the wicked on the one hand are thus filling up their cup of iniquity, the righteous, on the other hand are called to sanctify themselves and be prepared for the glorious coming of the Savior. It is for this cause that we build temples, and that God reveals to us the ordinances for the sanctification of His people and further glory and exaltation.

The ordinance of baptism, simple as it is, is appointed by the Father as the first fruits of repentance—that is, baptism in water for the emission of sins. He did not appoint Presbyterian baptisms and Roman Catholic baptisms, sprinkling a little water on the forehead and calling that baptism. God never appointed these. There is no place in the Bible to indicate that He ever sanctioned such a thing. The Savior set the example to the human family himself, in going down into the water and being immersed in the river Jordan by John the Baptist. But this same order of baptism had been revealed before this: but that there needs be no mistake the Savior set the example before all the people, and then continued himself to baptize for a season in the same manner and ordained His Apostles to continue the work. And He has appointed that all those who receive this ordinance in His name may receive also the resurrection of their bodies, and baptism, or immersion in water, is in the likeness of the death and burial and resurrection of our Savior. By this ordinance we show forth unto the Lord that we lay off and bury the old man of sin in the waters of baptism, and by rising out of the waters of baptism we show forth unto the Lord that we put on the new man after Christ Jesus, and walk henceforth in newness of life. All those, therefore, who believe the Gospel, and yield obedience to its requirements, and are baptized in water for the remission of their sins, upon this act, if they continue to maintain this faith, they are entitled to be raised in the likeness of the glorious resurrected body of Christ. And yet, to consider this ordinance in the abstract, or as the unbelieving world look at it, we might ask what virtue there is in this ordinance of baptism? We might say, as did Naaman, the Syrian, to Elisha, when he came to be healed of his leprosy. The Prophet told him to go and wash himself seven times in Jordan. But Naaman rose up in a rage and said, in substance, “Have I not washed myself many a time in my rivers at home, and did it ever do me any good? Is there any more virtue in the waters of Jordan than the waters of my native place?” He did not believe the Prophet, and he turned to go away with a sorrowful heart. But his servant followed him and said: “My father, if the Prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he saith to thee, wash and be clean?” This caused Naaman to reflect; and he went and dipped himself seven times in Jordan. He was not healed when he dipped himself once, nor twice, nor thrice; but when he had dipped himself seven times he was cleansed of his leprosy. Was it the waters of Jordan that healed him or is it the waters of the brook that we are immersed in that cleanses us from our sins? Not at all. It is the blood of Christ that was shed for the sins of the world that cleanseth us from our sins; but the water is the emblem and the means by which we comply with the commandment of God.

And so with every other ordinance of the Gospel. So with the laying on of the hands of the Elders of Israel. The wicked will ask what virtue there is in the imposition of the hands of the Elders? Why, the virtue consists in obeying the commandments of heaven. For through the laying on of hands the sick are healed. Through the laying on of hands the Holy Ghost is given. Through the laying on of hands the Priesthood is conferred upon those who are counted worthy to receive it. Herein is the hiding of the Lord’s power. It is this that the Prophet Habakkuk refers to when he speaks of the Lord coming in glory, and says: “He had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.” Horns we know in the Scriptures are often used as figures to represent power. Horns in the Apocalypse and in the prophecies of Daniel represent kingdoms and dynasties, and when one horn fell, another came up in its place, thus representing the fall of one dynasty and the rising of another. And so on. And the same may be said of the Priesthood: the ruling power that God bestows for the salvation of the human family, is that which is given by the laying on of hands. But does this apply to the wicked, to the disobedient, or to the unbelieving? No, not at all; nor does remission of sins come to the wicked and unbelieving by merely being baptized. We have an example of this kind in the New Testament when Phillip baptized the people of Samaria, and Simon the sorcerer, was baptized also; but he was a hypocrite and a corrupt man, and he only sought to gain power whereby he might hoodwink and deceive the people and filch money from them. And when Peter and John came down and prayed with the people, and laid their hands upon them, they received the Holy Ghost. When Simon saw this, he offered them money saying, “Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.” This he sought, as I have said, that he might obtain power to carry on his craft and to make money; but Peter answered him saying, “Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. * * * I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.” There are other similar instances. But remission of sins cometh by baptism to those who believe and repent of their sins with all their hearts; the Holy Ghost is received by the laying on of the hands of the Elders; and the powers of the Priesthood are conferred in the same manner. Simple as the ordinances are, simple to look upon and to think upon, there is power in them, power accompanies them, power is made manifest among the people. The people are gathered together; the people are made one; the differences that existed among us depart. The traditions of the fathers are cast away. We are united in receiving the light and truth from above. Our hearts are made as one, no matter where we were born, or what race of people we have sprung from. This spirit working among the people, and going abroad in the earth is accomplishing what the Lord and His servants have predicted. It is preparing a people for the coming of the Savior.

Persecution begins, as I said, when the Gospel is sounded in our ears in various lands and countries of our home and birth. It follows us up. When we were a small people organized resistance and persecution commenced by townships in the United States. As we grew and became a stronger people, more extensive organizations were arrayed against us by counties or larger communities. At first the Latter-day Saints were driven from their homes in the State of New York, and they fled to Kirtland, Ohio, where persecution was again waged against them, until by and by the opposition was combined to such an extent in all the surrounding country, that they were obliged to flee from that region to Missouri. Here opposition became still more extensive until the whole State rose up against them—rose up and became a mob, even Governor Lilburn W. Boggs, of Missouri, became a sort of Solicitor General for the mob, and issued an exterminating order against the Saints, as utterly illegal as the decree of any tyrant that ever lived. In that order he called upon his aids and principal generals to rally the militia of the State to execute the order of extermination that he issued. They despoiled us of our goods. They compelled us to sign a deed of trust of lands, houses and possessions to defray the expenses of the “war,” as they termed it. That is, they robbed us, and drove us out of the State, and then compelled us to give them what we had, to pay them for doing it. Persecution still followed us in the States of Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri, and finally the Saints fled to these Rocky Mountains where there was nobody to oppose us, save the savages who roamed throughout the country. Here the Lord has planted our feet and made us strong. But it was predicted in early times that we should not only be persecuted by townships and counties, but by and by States should rise against us, and at last the whole United States would rise up against us. But in the midst of it all we have continued to grow, we have waxed strong. It is the power of God and not of man. It is by the word of God that we thrive. It is by the word of God that we are multiplying and increasing in the land; and the same God who commands the Elders of Israel to take the daughters of Israel to wife and who says “multiply and replenish the earth”—that same God sends the fruit and multiplies the sons and daughters of Israel in the land; as, when you sow the seed in the soil He sends the rains and gives a bountiful crop in your fields. It is the blessing of God that is resting upon the people. His people are multiplying in the land, and they are spreading abroad and possessing it in Idaho and Montana in the north, and Arizona and New Mexico in the South. The wicked are determined to persecute and drive us. Where will they drive us to? They say the “Mormons” must go. Where shall we go to? We have become like a city that is set on a hill, we cannot be hid. We have become a strong people, and they do not know what to do with us. Every drop of innocent blood which they shed, will spread the Gospel the faster. Every time they persecute us they will assist the work of God. “Mormonism” is like the mustard plant whose seed is ripe: when shaken it spreads the faster; or like the man I read of when I was a boy. When Canada thistles began to spread in the eastern States, this man was determined that he would put an end to them so far as his farm was concerned. So when the first thistle made its appearance he built a log heap over it and burned the pile. He thought he had squelched the thing; but to his horror and dismay the whole heap, the next year, was a dense mass of Canada thistles. So with “Mormonism,” the more they “squelch” it, the faster it grows.

God bless you in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Missionary Labors Reviewed, etc.

John Q. Cannon, Wilford Woodruff, John Taylor

Remarks delivered by Elder John Q. Cannon, and Presidents Wilford Woodruff & John Taylor, in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, June 29, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

Elder John Q. Cannon said: My brethren and sisters and friends, it is with feelings which I am utterly unable to express that I stand before you this afternoon feelings on the one hand of gratitude to my Heavenly Father, that after an absence of nearly three years from this city I am again permitted to meet with my brethren and sisters in this place, and with feelings on the other hand of intense timidity in standing before so large an audience. But I rely, my brethren and sisters, upon your faith and prayers during the few moments that I may stand before you, and I rely, furthermore, upon the promise which our Lord gave, when He said, “Where two or three have gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them.” I am satisfied, on my own part, that we, this afternoon have assembled ourselves in the name of the Lord, and I am consequently satisfied that His Spirit will be with us inasmuch as we seek for the same, inasmuch as we rid ourselves of every feeling of worldliness and come together with pure hearts to partake of the emblems of the death and suffering of our Lord, and to become instructed in the plan which He has laid down for our salvation.

It is four days since I returned from a mission, and in six weeks it will have been three years since I left this city, in obedience to a call made upon me by the authorities of the Church. On the 9th of August, 1881, I left this city on a mission to Great Britain, in company with eleven other missionaries, who were destined for Scandinavia. We reached Liverpool in due time, and I was assigned, shortly after my arrival there, to the London Conference, where I labored with great pleasure until the 17th of March, 1882. Early in the month the then President of the European Mission—Apostle Albert Carrington—notified me that I should proceed to the German Mission, and within a few days after receiving this notice I joined my brother in North Germany. Of course in going to Germany I had to learn the language; I was utterly ignorant of it when I started and when I landed there; but the Lord strengthened my memory, and in a short time I was able to make myself understood, and pursue the real object of my mission. I labored—it is not for me to say with how much success—until relieved a short time ago to return home.

I can say, my brethren and sisters, that I have enjoyed my mission greatly. The blessing of the Lord has been with me. The promises that were sealed upon my head by the Presidency before I went have been literally fulfilled, and, to my mind, in a most remarkable manner.

Above all things I prize my mission for the testimony it has given me of the truth of this Gospel. It may seem strange to you that I make this assertion; because one would naturally think that I had a testimony before I went. I, however, confess this was not the case. I had heard what the world calls Mormonism—from my childhood up I had heard nothing else. I believed as much as it was possible that this, the Gospel as preached by the Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was the true religion, and was the path of redemption as proclaimed by Jesus Christ and His Apostles. This was my firm belief. But a direct and firm and steadfast testimony of the truth of the Gospel I had not received, and it was to obtain this testimony, more than for anything else, that I obeyed the call that was made of me. I had heard, as you had, that every man who returned from a mission and rose up in this stand or elsewhere to proclaim his testimony and to report his labors—I had heard every man say: “I know this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” And I felt within myself, if I can acquire a knowledge of the truth of the Gospel through going on a mission, I am willing to go. I valued my salvation and a knowledge of the truth of the Gospel just that much. Well, I went, and I labored with great weakness, I have no doubt. But the Lord heard my prayers. He granted unto me a testimony of the truth of the Gospel, and from the time that I received the first one until this moment, one testimony has followed another in rapid succession. I am therefore able to proclaim before you, as I have done with much pleasure before the world, that I do know that God has spoken in these our days, that He has revealed Himself and restored his Priesthood by means of which the human family—those of them who are willing to be saved and to obey the requirements which He has given—may be saved.

It was told me before I started away—the remark was made to me by my father: “My son, you will find in the world that the nations are about in the same condition as the Athenians were when Paul went to preach to them. They have temples and they have altars built, but these are dedicated to the ‘Unknown God.’” I found this to be the truth. I found the word, the written word of God was read in every church in every land, and that every family had it; but I was surprised to find that but few of them were willing to receive the truths which are therein contained. They were content with the dead letter of the law; and when I undertook or attempted to explain the principles of life and salvation, the principles which Jesus Christ taught His disciples, and which they taught all those who would listen to their testimony, I found there was a great coolness. People would not listen. They were content with what they had received. This was my general experience. On the other hand I found very many who acknowledged to me the truth of that which I had said. When I said unto them, “faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is insufficient to save you in His Kingdom;” when I said that something more was necessary than a simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and attempted to prove my position by Scripture, I found many who said, “You are right; something more is necessary according to the Scriptures; faith alone can not save us.” But when I went on to explain the other principles of the Gospel—repentance, baptism for the remission of sins by one who has authority to baptize, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, I discovered that they said, “That may be all true, it is true, we believe, but we don’t want it.” That has been my experience and the experience of others in a great many instances. There are thousands in the world—I have spoken with hundreds I believe—who have made a similar confession—that faith repentance, baptism, and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, were Scriptural principles, that they could not be denied, that the same Gospel was preached by Jesus Christ and His Apostles—but I have found among those hundreds very few who were willing to obey those principles. I am happy to say, however, that some few have obeyed them—that I have been the means, in the hands of God, of bringing some to a knowledge of the truth, and I am very thankful for this privilege.

It may, perhaps, interest you to know something of the present prospects of the Swiss and German mission, where I have labored for upwards of two years. We have some seventeen Elders in the field. Some of these have been laboring in Austria, one is in Italy, all the others are in Switzerland and Germany. In certain parts of Germany the laws are very strict. Public meetings of any kind are forbidden. We are, therefore, not allowed to preach. This has been brought about by the action of the Socialists, with whom we are confounded. They have held meetings, as you who read the papers know, and passed resolutions to upset governments and kingdoms, and reduce everything to chaos, if possible. In the kingdom of Prussia, however, we are at present in the enjoyment of liberty to a great extent. We have the permission of the authorities of the city of Berlin to hold our regular meetings, and we can announce these meetings in the papers if we desire. Of course our meetings are visited by detectives and policemen occasionally, to see that nothing contrary to the laws of the land is promulgated, which action, is, of course, quite agreeable to us. This is the case, however, only as regards the kingdom of Prussia. In the kingdom of Bavaria, which is strongly Catholic, we have been unable, up to the present time, to obtain any rights whatever. We have been threatened and in some cases expelled for having attempted to preach the Gospel. We have been forbidden to hold meetings of any kind. It has even been declared to us that where seven persons assemble together, that number would be considered a meeting, and if the participants were strangers they would be expelled, while natives would be heavily fined. In the Grand Duchy of Baden the same rule holds. In the kingdom of Wurtemberg, it has never been forbidden that we hold meetings, but we have as yet no official permission to do so. Of course in Switzerland we have full permission. We can hold our meetings in any house. It is not yet allowed us, or in fact any one, to hold open air meetings. The prospects of the mission, as I look at it, are very good, and I think the day is soon coming when these rigorous laws will be broken, when all those who desire to serve God in the way that He has commanded, although it may not be in accordance with the desires of the rulers, may have the privilege. The laws of Bavaria pretend to give full freedom of worship; but the actual fact is, every person is prohibited, through pressure which is brought to bear upon him, from attending anything but the established church, which is Catholic, or the Lutheran. People are expected to attend or at least be members of one of these churches; and they are compelled to make an official acknowledgment of their belief in their work books, which are a sort of credential, containing the name, age, business, and place of residence, of every workman in the country. In this book each man must announce his religion, and if this happens to be anything but Lutheran or Catholic, he is put to great trouble and inconvenience, would perhaps find difficulty in obtaining work at all; and in case he called himself a “Mormon,” would be punished according to the regulations which some of the States have made. I do not believe that the king of Bavaria, and the rulers of the kingdoms are as bitter as some of the subordinate officials. The strongest persecution we have met with has been in the city of Nurenburg, and that has been on the part of the circuit judge, a man who in other respects is very liberal, but whose mind became prejudiced through some false reports which came into the country, and were scattered by the press just as we made a beginning. I nevertheless hope—and I believe it is the general feeling—that the day is not far distant when freedom of worship will be allowed—when the Elders can go through the country and proclaim the Gospel without fear or molestation. We pray for that day, and have great hopes that there are many thousands in those countries who will receive the Gospel.

The Elders are laboring energetically. They have spared themselves no pains to discover those who are willing to receive their testimony. They are laboring faithfully and with good results. The emigration has been quite extensive, as you know; but the number of those baptized exceeds by a considerable amount the number that have emigrated. Our branches are therefore growing continually.

My brethren and sisters: I am thankful to be able to testify to the truth of this Gospel, which is being preached in these days. I do know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and this is a testimony which I have received for myself. It is not because my parents taught me this, or because I have heard it from others; that has given me courage to bear this testimony before others. But I have felt free in saying to all men, “Repent and be baptized and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and that will give you a testimony as it has given it to me.” That is the testimony, my brethren and sisters, that I feel to bear before you this afternoon.

I am glad to be once more in these mountains, to breathe this air, to see those with whom I have grown up, and to feel once more at home. During the three years that I have been absent, many changes have taken place, some of them very mournful to me; but I am thankful to be back once more. And now that I am home, I hope to be able to work steadfastly in the cause of God, and to do my part in helping to build up His kingdom upon the earth. This is my desire, and I pray that the Lord will help all of us to remain true to the end, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

President Wilford Woodruff then addressed the congregation. He said: We have been listening to the testimony of one of our Mormon mountain boys, who has been called in his youth to go forth to the nations of the earth to declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the inhabitants thereof. This is an example of this whole Mormon work in the day and generation in which we live. Joseph Smith himself was but a boy, an unlettered youth, when God called him over half a century ago, to listen to the voice of the Lord, and be an instrument in His hands to lay the foundation of His Church and Kingdom on the earth in the last dispensation of the fullness of times; and from that day to this men have been called—some from the plow, the plane, the hammer, and from the various occupations of life—to go forth and lift up their voices and bear record to the nations of the earth of the Gospel of the Son of God. And the Lord has manifested His power, and His mercy to all who have been called to go forth and bear record of His name; and Brother Cannon (John Q.) who has addressed us, like tens of thousands of others, can bear record before God, angels and men, before the heavens and the earth, to the truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which have been revealed unto us in the day and generation in which we live. It is a marvelous work and a wonder in the earth, and it is attracting the attention of the whole human family. The inhabitants of the earth marvel and wonder, and many times desire to know what the end of these things will be. The Lord called upon Joseph Smith, as a literal descendant of Joseph, who was sold into Egypt, to lay the foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church had been in the wilderness for nearly 1800 years. The Church and Kingdom of God had fallen away. The Gentiles had followed the same example of unbelief as did the Jews when they departed from the Gospel of Christ and put to death almost every man who bore the Holy Priesthood on the earth, or who preached the Gospel of the Son of God to the world. The Jews rejected the Messiah; they put Him to death; and they labored to overthrow the Church, although it went to them in all the power and glory, and with all the keys, principles, ordinances and priesthood, that it did to the patriarchs and prophets in former generations. For this the Jews were overthrown. They had to pay the bill for shedding the blood of the Lord’s anointed; and the Lord rent the Kingdom out of their hands, and gave it into the hands of the Gentiles; and Paul the Apostle to the Gentiles, warned them strongly and faithfully to take heed and be cautious lest they should fall through the same example of unbelief. “For if God spare not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.” But all the Prophets and Apostles understood by vision and revelation that there was to be a falling away. There has been a falling away. I can say of a truth—whether the world believe it or not—that from the day the apostles and disciples and those holding the Priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ were put to death, there has not been a man on the face of God’s footstool who has had the power to administer the ordinances of the Gospel so as to have power after death. I understand perfectly well the world does not believe this, nevertheless it is true. There never was a man breathed the breath of life in any age of the world, who had power to go forth and administer the ordinances of the Gospel of Christ, only by the power of that eternal and everlasting Priesthood which Melchisedek held, which Adam, Abraham, Moses, and Elias, and all the ancient Patriarchs and Prophets held. Jesus Christ held it. He was a High Priest after the order of Melchisedec, and has entered into the presence of God to plead for His brethren. The Apostles held it. No man in any age of the world had power to administer the ordinances of the Gospel without it. God himself, who has created worlds upon worlds, has created all these worlds and all those that have been saved have been redeemed by the power of that eternal and everlasting Priesthood. But as I said before, when the Prophets and Apostles and all men who held the Priesthood were put to death, the ordinances of the Gospel became without effect, and in consequence of this, the whole world has been filled with sects and parties, with false religions, and principles, until it would almost appear that there are the six hundred, three-score and six, which John the Revelator saw in his vision. And this has been the condition of the whole Christian world from the days of Jesus Christ and His Apostles until the Lord raised up Joseph Smith, and commanded him to organize this Church and Kingdom. Did he attempt to do this until he received the Priesthood? He did not. He did not attempt to administer any one of the ordinances until he received the Holy Priesthood from under the hands of the holy men who were sent unto him from God out of heaven. The first man that ordained Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery to, the Priesthood was John the Baptist, who was beheaded for the word of God and testimony of Jesus. Thus they were ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood. Joseph afterwards received the Apostleship under the hands of Peter, James and John, who held the keys of the Apostleship. God Almighty could not establish His Kingdom, His Church, His Zion—which the Holy Bible declares from Genesis almost to Revelation should be established in the latter days—without men bearing that Priesthood. God had to raise up such a man as Joseph Smith, and establish His Church, by which to prepare a people for the coming of the Son of Man. To this end Joseph was brought forth. He received these oracles from God. He laid the foundation of this Church and Kingdom in his boyhood, and he, like the Savior, and many of God’s other servants, spent but a short time in the flesh after he commenced his ministry. The Savior lived but three and a half years after He entered upon His ministry. Joseph Smith labored in the flesh some 14 years after the organization of the Church before he sealed his testimony with his blood, as did other Prophets and Patriarchs before him. I say, from that day until this, the Lord has called men to go forth and declare the Gospel of Christ. And Brother John Q. Cannon has testified, he knows for himself. Yes, he knows. There is no doubt of that. There are tens of thousands of this people who can bear the same testimony. It is true there is a difference with men with regard to the amount of testimony they have received to satisfy them of the truth of this work. Many men believe, but many say they require a certain amount of testimony before they know. I will say for myself: the greatest testimony I have ever received in this Church, (and I have spent over 50 years of my life in it), has been the testimony of the Holy Ghost, has been the inspiration of Almighty God, has been the spirit of life and salvation, that still small voice that has rested upon me and rested upon my brethren from the time we were baptized into this Church until the present day. We lay hands upon the sick and they are healed by the power of God. We lay hands upon our brethren, and set them apart for missions. The Spirit of God rests upon us and inspires us in our words and thoughts what we should seal upon their heads. These words are fulfilled, and thousands upon thousands can testify of the truth thereof.

The Bible contains a vast amount of prophecy concerning the last dispensation and the fullness of times; concerning the building up of the Kingdom of God in the last days; concerning a kingdom which shall become an everlasting kingdom, of whose dominion there shall be no end. God showed this to Daniel and to Nebuchadnezzar, as also to Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The Prophet Isaiah has portrayed the whole history of the Latter-day Saints who occupy these mountains of Israel. He described our travels here, and our labors since we came here. These Prophets saw our day, and they spake as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and the prophecies are of no private interpretation. Their words are words of truth. Their words have had their fulfillment and will have to the end. The travels of this Church have been through deep waters, and this should not be a strange thing to the inhabitants of the earth. I will say here, without fear of contradiction, that no man, no set of men, no people, no church, no portion of the Kingdom of God can live godly in Christ Jesus without suffering persecution. You show me a Patriarch or Prophet that ever lived who taught the words of life and salvation without incurring the hatred, the wrath and the indignation of the surrounding nations, and you will show me something that I have not been able to find on the earth. But without dwelling upon this point, allow me to say that this is what ails the Mormons. This is the cause of the warfare made upon us by our nation to-day. God Almighty has set His hand to establish His Church and Kingdom on the earth. He has set His hand to gather His people to the mountains of Israel to build up a Zion. That Zion is here. We have made a beginning. We came here, on the 24th of July, 1847, a little handful of pioneers. We found a barren desert; It did not look as if any white men could live here. We found a few poor, miserable, degraded Indians. They would eat a pint of crickets for breakfast and supper, and this, with a few roots, was all the food they had. To-day, here is a tabernacle. To-day, you can travel one thousand miles throughout these valleys, from north to south, and you will find them filled with towns, villages and cities, and you will see temples, tabernacles, etc. What does it mean? It means that the God of Heaven is a God of truth. He decreed certain things, and these things are now coming to pass in spite of all earth and hell. That is what it means. Had it not been for this, Utah would have been a desert today as it was when we found it.

The testimony of the Elders of Israel is true. This is the Gospel of Christ. It is the only Gospel the Lord ever revealed to man. And Paul the Apostle says: “Though we or an angel from heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” The children of men do not believe the Gospel. They will have everything else on the face of the earth except the Gospel. The Lord has set His hand to fulfill His words and promises, and we are here to help Him in that business. We came here to these mountains by revelation, by inspiration. We were led here by Prophets, Apostles and inspired men; and this Church and Kingdom has continued to grow from the day it was organized until the present time. It will continue to grow. The Gospel of Christ is the truth. “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth,” said Paul to the Galatians, in teaching them this principle. But the truth is unpopular. The world is full of error and falsehood. It will not accept the plan of life and salvation.

We are in the hands of God. God has called us to this labor. He has commanded us to preach the Gospel, to the nations of the earth. This we have done so far as the doors have been opened to us. It seems strange to reflect upon the fact that such nations as Germany, Austria and Prussia, should put up bars as strong as iron, so to speak, against the preaching of the Gospel of Christ, in their midst. Still the Lord, as we have heard from Brother John Q. Cannon, is opening up the way. There are a great many of the house of Israel in Germany; there are a great many of the honest in heart throughout the nations of the earth, and they must hear the Gospel. We have been preaching it for over fifty years. The world in a great measure has rejected it. I heard Joseph Smith say a great deal in regard to the attitude this generation would assume in regard to the Gospel. He saw the situation. Said he: “The world will fight you. The world will war against you. Towns will arise and mob you, counties will oppose you, cities will oppose you, and the United States will combine against you. The world is full of darkness: Sin and wickedness is overwhelming the world as the waters cover the great deep. The devil rules over the world in a great measure. The world will war against you; the devil will, earth will, and hell will. But you must bear testimony of me. You must preach the Gospel, do your duty, and the Lord will stand by you. Earth and hell shall not prevail against you.” “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell.” And I would say to our friends, that is the spirit that vibrates in the bosoms of tens of thousands of Latter-day Saints in these mountains. We stand upon this pedestal. This is our platform. What fear have we with regard to our enemies? Why should we fear? We are in the hands of God. We have come to this earth in this time upon a mission. We have been born on purpose in this generation to take part in this work. The Lord required an element to labor with. He will build up Zion. And I bear my testimony here to all men, and would to all the world if I had the power, that the work in which this people are engaged, small and insignificant as it may appear, is the work of God. It will roll forth. It will become a mountain. It will fill the whole earth. It will break in pieces all other kingdoms, and it will stand forever; for God Almighty has decreed it. Write it down. Watch the signs of the times. See if these things are not true. We are living in an important day. We are called to do a work for the Lord, and we are going to do it as far as we have time and opportunity. It has cost many men their lives; but men’s lives are of little consequence compared with eternal life. Give me eternal life. As for this life, what does it amount to. Why should we fear death? Why, bless your souls, a few years ago this nation sacrificed a million of lives in defense of the country. That may be all right. I have no fault to find. But is it any worse to die for the Kingdom of God than it is to die for the honor of the country? Not much. Then let us be faithful. Let us trust in God. Leave all things in His hands, and all will be right.

Now I would like to say a few words before I close, with regard to our present condition. Of course our affairs have become a national question. The eyes of all the world are looking towards us. But I will say this: it is a pitiful sight—it is a thing sorrowful to contemplate upon, that our wise Senators, yes, our wise Senators have to take falsehood into the halls of Congress to work upon to overthrow this Church and Kingdom: so with the pulpit, so with the press. Who tells the truth about Utah? Not one man in a thousand that attempts to represent this case. We have not a boy in Utah in our common schools, over twelve years of age, but knows, when he reads the statements of some of those Senators, that they are arguing on a false basis. They understand that perfectly. I am at the defiance of the world to prove that we use in our common schools anything but the text books of the world. We don’t even use the Bible in our common schools. To do so would almost be treason in the eyes of our enemies. Yet these venerable Senators represent us as doing this. Why do Senators argue upon false premises to overthrow this people? If people would tell the truth about us, we should be perfectly satisfied. We have to be satisfied anyhow.

Well, this is the state of the world to-day. We are called to preach the Gospel. We preach it. There is but one Gospel. What is it? Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; repentance of sin; baptism for the remission of sins; and the reception of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. These are the doctrines Jesus taught, and that His Apostles taught.

I feel to bear my testimony to these things. They are true. God is with this people. And we say to our nation—maintain the Constitution and we are satisfied. Give us the rights of that Constitution and we are satisfied. It is an instrument inspired by the power of God. Our forefathers were inspired when they framed it. Yet it is marvelous to reflect upon some principles that have been laid down—perhaps I ought not to allude to these things, but I am only expressing my own reflections—even by the supreme court of the United States. In effect it has said that we may think as we please, but must not act. I would ask, in the name of the Lord, was that all Thomas Jefferson, and others had in their minds when they framed the clause in reference to religious liberty? What about men acting? If it was only intended that men should think and not act, why not say so in the instrument? Why should it be stated that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” if men were not to be allowed to act? Why, in the exercise of their religion, men must act: and it is straining points, it is overstepping the bounds of the Constitution to pass laws taking away the rights and privileges of any people because of their religion—because they happen to differ from their neighbors. Where will such a course land our government? I will tell you what it will do. It will rend the government in twain like unto a potter’s vessel. It will lay the nation in the dust. It will overthrow this government. When they get through with the Mormons there will be somebody else to deal with The Constitution is good enough for anybody. It is good enough for the Latter-day Saints. We have no principles but what are in accord with the Constitution of the United States and the laws of God. We are perfectly willing to trust ourselves and our interests in the hands of God, and to leave our nation in His hands also; for God will judge our nation; He will judge us; He will judge all the children of men and He will judge righteous judgment. What men sow they will reap. What measure they mete, it shall be measured to them again.

I pray God to bless this nation. I pray God to give our legislators wisdom, that they may maintain the Constitutional principles of the government, the only government on the face of God’s earth where the Lord could have established His Church and Kingdom. That we may be prepared to inherit eternal life is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

President John Taylor next addressed the congregation. He said: It is some time since I have taken the privilege to speak to the Latter-day Saints in this place. I have been visiting our settlements in different parts of our Territory. There I frequently talk to the people. You have a great many here who are capable of teaching and instructing you, hence it is very seldom that I intrude myself upon you in this capacity. But I always feel pleasure in meeting with the Saints, in hearing my brethren unfold the principles of eternal truth, and in listening to the testimonies which they have to give concerning the Gospel of the Son of God.

God has revealed unto us the principles of the Everlasting Gospel, and that Gospel brings life and immortality to light, Life and immortality can only be made known by the revelations of God, and people who do not believe in revelation cannot have any knowledge of life and immortality. It is through that principle alone that these things are or have been developed. We ourselves could have known nothing of God, from the world in which we live, nor from the teachers thereof, because they do not even profess to be placed in communion with God, nor to have revelation from Him, and how could they speak of that they did not know or comprehend, or that which had not been communicated to them? It was impossible for them to do it. There have been many, very many good men in the world in the different ages when the Gospel has not existed, that have sought to do good to their fellow men, and to promote their welfare and happiness in a social, political and religious capacity, and have sought to introduce principles that would be calculated to elevate and exalt mankind in the scale of being. That is one thing, but the inspiration of the Almighty is another thing. Let me here mention a principle associated with these ideas that will explain somewhat the remarks, and position of our brother, John Q. Cannon, who has addressed us this afternoon. He said he believed in the principles of the Gospel, but he did not have a testimony thereof—did not comprehend the thing, until he had obtained some further manifestation. That might be attributed to his youth and inexperience in the things of God; when he was brought face to face with the actualities of life, and came in conflict with the world he was under the necessity of applying to His Heavenly Father, who imparted unto him, through the Holy Ghost, that knowledge of which he speaks. I will mention a principle here. Outside of the Gospel, among all classes of men, among all nations, kindreds and peoples, of every color and clime everywhere, they have had given unto them a portion of the Spirit of God to profit withal. We are told this in the Scriptures, that God has given to every man a portion of His Spirit; but that is not the gift of the Holy Ghost. Where good men have followed the influence of that Spirit, it has led them to do good acts, to be charitable, to be kind, to be benevolent, to cultivate good morals and correct principles, to be governed by the principles of honor, truth, integrity and virtue, and these principles prevail to a greater or less extent among the nations of the earth and in this nation. This is the portion of the Spirit of God, as I said before, which was given to every man to profit withal. Why, those people that we talk about so much sometimes, the infidels, they have a portion of this Spirit, and many of them do many good acts. This may sound strange, I have no doubt, to many of you, but it is a fact nevertheless. He that doeth righteousness anywhere is righteous, and he that doeth evil is wicked.

Now, what is the difference between that and the other principle? Jesus said when He was upon the earth: “It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” What was the Comforter to do? “He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” Now, the portion of the Spirit of God which is given to all men does not do this thing. It does not lead them unto all truth, for there is a great diversity of opinion among them. One may be a Methodist, another a Presbyterian, one a Quaker, another a Dunker, one a Catholic, another a Protestant, one a Christian, another a Mohammedan, one a Pagan, and another an infidel, and some one thing and some another. If men were in the possession of the gift of the Holy Ghost, it would lead them into all truth, and there would be one Lord, as the Scriptures say, and one faith and one baptism. Hence one of the old Prophets, clothed upon by the Spirit of the Living God, looked through the vista of future ages and contemplated events that should transpire in the latter-days, and said: “When the Lord shall bring again Zion, her watchmen shall see eye to eye.” There will be no confusion there no difference of sentiment there. They will place themselves under the guidance of the Great Eloheim, and under His inspiration they will be enabled to speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and the Spirit of God, as it did formerly, will take of the things of God and shew them unto them. There is the distinction between the two principles.

How can we expect that people will comprehend the things of God without the gift of the Holy Ghost? The Elders when they are sent forth to preach are instructed to preach nothing but the first principles of the Gospel—to preach nothing but repentance to this generation. Why? Because the people cannot comprehend further advanced principles. I remember talking with an eminent clergyman some few years ago. He was a very gentlemanly person, well disposed, intelligent, learned, etc. I talked the Gospel a little to him, but I found he could not comprehend it. Hence I commenced talking politics, history, geography, and some little principles of science. He understood these things perfectly, and we had no difficulty in comprehending each other; but he could not comprehend the Gospel. Was he a minister? Yes; but he had not the gift of the Holy Ghost, and it was useless for me to attempt to teach him. This is the way that I understand these things.

Speaking of education, we have singular notions of education, and some people will say—and I have often said it myself—that Joseph Smith was quite an uneducated man. He was uneducated when he was a boy. He was brought up in the Green Mountains of Vermont, and he did not have any of the advantages of what we call an education. The Lord took him into His school, and He taught him things that I have seen puzzle many of the wisest scientists, profoundest thinkers, and the most learned men that I have met with in this world. Why? Because he was taught of God. What did those principles refer to? To the earth on which we live; to the elements of which it is composed; to the heavens above us; to the Gods that exist in the eternal worlds; to the principles by which the earth was organized, sustained, upheld and governed, and its relationship to other planets and systems; and speaking of governments, laws and principles, he possessed more intelligence than ninety-nine hundredths of the people of to-day. And he sought to teach others, and these things were introduced into the Temple of the Lord in Kirtland.

I have heard the Prophet Joseph quote from the German Bible in support of our method of baptism by immersion, showing that the German Translation of the New Testament favored this idea, and that the word “Taufen” in that language means “to dip;” the same as our term immersion does; and that when John the Baptist was spoken of as John the Baptist it was “Johannes der Taufer,” or John the Dipper, which is correct.

I have heard him quote from the Hebrew Bible in support of a plurality of Gods, showing that the suffix “mem” in the word Eloheim or God, ought to be rendered in the plural and to read if literally translated, “and the Gods said let us, etc.” Certain it is that in our present translation the word “us” or “let us” indicates that idea; for “us” is certainly in the plural and means more than one; and while our translation makes it say: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,” we are also told that “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. * * And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us,” and further, that “All things were made by him,” visible and invisible. We are further told that “There be that are called Gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there be gods many, and lords many). But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things.

If, as stated, Jesus was with the Father in the beginning, there certainly was more than one God—God the Father, and God the Son. Joseph Smith was reasoning upon this doctrine at the time that he made this quotation from the Hebrew Bible.

We had a discussion in this Tabernacle some years ago between Apostle Orson Pratt and Dr. Newman—the latter a very prominent religionist from the east—a Methodist I think he was—what they call a doctor of divinity. The subject of discussion was—“Does the Bible sanction polygamy?” Mr. Newman was a well-educated man. So was Orson Pratt. Mr. Newman received his education in the schools of the day—somewhere in the United States, perhaps in the Methodist order; but I am not sufficiently acquainted with his history to say anything about this; I know very little about Mr. Newman. But I know where Orson Pratt got his information. And during this discussion some Hebrew points were debated, and the original Hebrew had to be referred to. Orson Pratt was quite as well acquainted with Hebrew as Mr. Newman was. Where did he get his knowledge? He received it in the Temple at Kirtland, Ohio. In speaking of that principle, the principle of education, to several leading men only yesterday, I think, I mentioned to them, in alluding to languages, that I was a little astonished to find that an old gentleman, about 80 years of age, whom I met a short time ago, was thoroughly conversant with the Hebrew language. “Where did you learn it?” said I. “Why,” said he, “I learned it in the Temple at Kirtland;” and he informed me that he was now studying Arabic. I was rather amused at the idea of an old man 80 years of age commencing to study Arabic. But to return. I have seldom met with a man that was more intelligent in the science of astronomy than Orson Pratt. Where did he get his information? From the same source. He studied mathematics all his days, and has written works that it is very difficult for some men to comprehend. Yet his works are on record.

The religion of God is not a religion of ignorance. To whom are we indebted for the first principles contained in this book [the Bible]? To Moses. Who was he? A man of God. Who taught him those things The Lord. By what principle? The principle of revelation; for he could not know them without. But had he not been taught in the schools of Egypt? Yes. And had he not obtained a knowledge of astronomy in those schools, too? Probably he had in part; but God taught him the leading, prominent points pertaining thereto. And who taught the Egyptians? Abraham taught them the science of astronomy, so we are informed, by late Egyptologists, and revealed unto them the principle concerning the motions of the heavenly bodies. Where did Abraham get his information from? In reading the history pertaining to this matter we are told that he says of himself that he was a follower of righteousness; that he sought after more righteousness; that he examined the history of his fathers and traced back his genealogy to the commencement of the world, and from before the commencement. Afterwards we are told in the same history that the Lord gave unto him a Urim and Thummim by which he was able to comprehend many things that others did not understand, and by which he obtained a knowledge of the heavenly bodies and of their motions. Moses was one of the first to illustrate this principle; but Abraham, who was before Moses, as also Joseph, understood it more clearly than Moses. And in those things wherein the world to-day are puzzled in regard to the Scriptures, and the six days that are there spoken of, Abraham speaks of those days as times, epochs, or ages, different and distinct from the days spoken of by Moses, and his record agrees precisely with many geological facts that have puzzled so many of this generation. Where did he obtain his knowledge? From God. Who controls the heavens and the earth? The Gods in the eternal worlds. Who has implanted certain principles in matter and in all creation? God has done it. All things are subject to these laws; and if men can place themselves under His guidance and find the way to approach the great Eloheim, they will know more in a very short time than all this world together know in all their lives and more than all the combined intelligence of the world, for God is the foundation of all wisdom, and the source of all intelligence and knowledge. We are told that Solomon was a wise man. Where did he get his wisdom? From God. He prayed to the Lord to give him wisdom, and the Lord told him that because he had sought wisdom he should have it, and He would also add unto him the rich treasures of the earth.

I speak of these things for the information of the Latter-day Saints, and to disabuse your minds in regard to some of those principles that men sometimes talk about. The world possesses a certain amount of knowledge and intelligence, and it has progressed very rapidly of late years. We have had many discoveries in the arts and sciences and in the researches pertaining to geology, chemistry, etc., but many of their ideas and deductions are perfectly foolish and ridiculous. We have had the introduction of railroads, gas, steamboats, manifestations of the power and use of electricity, etc. Nevertheless, these principles always existed; it needed a development of them only to bring them into practical use; and there are thousands of other things not yet made known, yet to be developed, similar to those that have been discovered. In regard to these things, some of them are important, some of them are not very important. The intelligence that the world boasts so much of, is not very profound when you come to test it by the principles of eternal truth.

In regard to the action of the Congress of the United States, which has been referred to, I want to say to you Saints, you need not trouble yourselves about it—you need not be the least concerned about any of these affairs. But they are acting unlawfully. That is the worse for them. When the Government begins to break down the safeguards of society, tear in pieces the Constitution of the United States, and trample under foot the liberties of man, they are only preparing the nation for an utter overthrow. There are plenty of elements of discord and disintegration all around. Congress should not be the first to exhibit examples of lawlessness and the violation of Constitutional rights. However, if they can stand it we can. We need not trouble our heads about any of these matters; there is an overruling Providence that controls the affairs of men and nations. So you can rest perfectly easy, you Latter-day Saints. We shall continue to do right. We will continue to sustain good principle. And what will you do? Just what Jesus said. We will do good for evil. What else? We will pray for them that despitefully use us and evilly treat us. Why? That we may be the children of our Heavenly Father, and act on the same principle that He does towards the human family. Does He act in that way? Yes. For he maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth His rain on the just and on the unjust. He has introduced certain laws into the system of His government that regulates all things pertaining to these matters. He does not make those little divisions that the United States are trying to make to-day. He is more philanthropic. He treats all alike, and places all on the same basis. Then, we will try and operate with Him and for Him and in the interests of humanity, and in the protection of human rights, and we will try by every legal and constitutional method to maintain and sustain the principles of human rights in behalf of ourselves, in behalf of our children, and in behalf of thousands and tens of thousands of honorable men that live in these United States. We can very well afford to abide by the Constitution of the United States, and to sustain it, and we can afford to believe in the Bible and to obey its ordinances, and practice them, which they cannot do, and do not do. As I have said, we can afford to treat all men well, and to pray for those which despitefully use us and persecute us. Those who are trying to despoil us are objects more of sympathy in my feelings than anything else. I feel sorry when I see misrule abound anywhere, let it be in this nation or other nations. God would like to see peace, union and harmony. For that reason He has introduced the Gospel, and the principles of intelligence associated with it. Man is a dual being, he possesses a body and a spirit, and is connected with time and will exist in eternity, and it is for him to understand the nature of his organism, and his relation to the world in which he lives, and to God our Heavenly Father. What, then, will we do? Why, we will try and live for one another; we will try and be honest, honorable and virtuous, no matter what people can say about us. Concerning the lying about us, we need not trouble our heads. I do not think we are much better than Jesus was. The people in His day said He was possessed of devils, and worse than that, that He cast out devils by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of devils, and they killed Him saying He was an impostor and a deceiver, and because He said He was the Son of God, when they knew He was not. And His theology was altogether at fault with the learned Rabbis of that day, as ours is with the learned Rabbis of this. We cannot help that. What we know, as Brother John Q. Cannon has said, we know for ourselves. We do not ask any odds of man. I don’t. I know that God lives; I know that He has revealed the truth; I know this is the everlasting Gospel. I know that you Saints, if you are faithful, will secure to yourselves an inheritance in the celestial kingdom of God; but if you are not true to God and your religion you will not. If you go after the things of the world and depart from the principles of righteousness and trample upon the principles of honor, virtue, truth, or integrity, you will not enter that kingdom. It is not every one that saith, Lord, Lord, that shall enter the kingdom of heaven. What shall we do then? We will fear and love God and work righteousness, and send the Gospel to the nations of the earth, despite the follies, the wickedness and corruption of men; and we will proclaim the truth in these valleys and mountains, and Zion will spread, grow and increase. God will be for Israel, and we will sing, Hallelujah! the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth, and He will reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. Let this people fear God and work righteousness, and I ask no odds of earth or hell. God is at the helm. He will manage things according to the counsels of His will. He will say to this nation and to other nations, as He did to the proud waves of the ocean, “Hitherto shall thou come, but no further; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed.” Our safety and our defense is in the Lord of Hosts. Let us put our trust in Him and obey His laws, and He will bless and sustain us in time and throughout the eternities that are to come; and we will try and benefit this nation all that we can, and all that they will let us, and if they will not let us, we cannot help it.

God bless you and lead you in the paths of life. Amen.

Religious Liberty Guaranteed By the Constitution, etc.

Charles W. Penrose

Remarks by Elder Charles W. Penrose, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, July 26, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

I have been pleased in listening to the remarks of Brother Caine, who has just returned from Washington; glad to hear that his heart with ours is turned toward the truth, and that his desire, in common with ours, is to build up the Kingdom of God in the earth, and to contend for the rights which belong to us as American citizens. Some people seem to imagine because we have embraced a doctrine which is not popular in the world, because we have embraced a faith which is contrary to the generally received notions in regard to religion, that we ought to have no rights whatever as citizens of our common country. We do not look upon the matter in that light. We consider that we have the right under the Constitution of the United States to believe anything which seems right to us, and not only to believe it, but to carry it out in our practice, so far as we can do so without interfering with the rights of other people. The first amendment to the Constitution of the United States says: “Congress shall pass no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” We understand that amendment as it is written. We do not wish to interpret it, or to give to it any meaning other than the plain language conveys. The language is, “That Congress shall pass no law respecting an establishment of religion.” With the establishment of religion, then, Congress has nothing to do. Congress cannot set up a religion, nor can it pass any law respecting an establishment of religion—that is, to prevent its free exercise. There are some people in these latter times who interpret that amendment to mean that people may believe what they please, but it carries with it no freedom of practice. People may believe what seems right to them, but they must not carry it out if it happens to be contrary to the views of the great majority. Now, it appears to me that that is a very narrow interpretation of the meaning of that Amendment to the Constitution. It appears to us, as it must to the great bulk of the people of the country—the sovereign people—that without any constitutional amendment, or the passage of any law, people everywhere are of themselves free to believe. We do not think a law can interfere with belief, even if one were passed for the purpose of interfering with it. A man’s belief cannot be controlled by any Act of Congress or of Parliament. No edict of a government or any other law-making body can interfere with my freedom of belief When a proposition is placed before my mind, and I reflect upon it, and it appears to be correct, my mind receives it and I believe it. Sometimes persons believe in spite of themselves. Sometimes a man will believe a thing in spite of his own desires not to believe. Then this faith cannot be controlled by any person outside of the man himself, and sometimes he cannot control it himself. No edict or law, or any power of man on the earth can alter a man’s belief, or prevent him from believing. A law can be enacted to prevent the carrying of that belief into practice; but it cannot interfere with belief, and it needs no amendment to the Constitution, no enactment of Congress or of any law-making body on earth, to protect a man in mere belief. Then it is clear to us that the intention was, that a man should have not only the right to believe, but that he should be protected in the free exercise of that belief. As the language states, Congress is not to pass any law respecting an establishment of religion, nor prohibit the free exercise thereof. What is the exercise of belief in religion? Why, it is certain acts men perform prompted by their belief, prompted by their religion. Suppose a man believes it is right to be baptized in water—buried in water for the remission of sins—how can he evidence his belief in that principle? He can only do it in the way specified by the Apostle James. He says: Show me thy faith without thy works and I will show thee my faith by my works.” “But wilt thou know, O vain man. that faith without works is dead.” That is the only way in which faith can be truly shown—by works. If I believe that baptism is right I evidence my belief by being baptized, and if I am not baptized it either shows that my faith is very weak or that it does not exist: that I have not the courage of my faith, or else that I do not believe at all.

Now, we consider that we have a perfect right under the Constitution of our country to believe what seems right to us, and then to carry it out. “Well,” some one may say, “do you think there should be no restriction to this? Are people to be protected in any kind of religion they may have? Suppose a man were to come here from India who believed it a religious duty, under some circumstances, to strangle a man, would he have the right under the Constitution of the United States, to strangle? Again, there are people who believe it is right, in India, to burn a widow on the funeral pile, that her spirit may be sent to keep company with her husband in the other world. Would that person, or those persons have the right, under the Constitution of the United States, to carry out their belief in his country?” We say no. We say that the Thug has no right here to practice his faith. We say the Suttee could not be established in this country. “Why not? You believe it is right under some circumstances for a man to have more wives than one, and that those who thus believe are protected by the Constitution in the practice of their religion. Why should not those who believe it right to strangle, or to burn widows, have the right to practice their religion under the Constitution of the United States?” The dividing line is very simple, as truth generally is. It is very easy to be drawn. It is to be drawn in consonance with the spirit of the Declaration of Independence, and with the principles that underlie our government. In the Declaration of Independence it is laid down that there are certain rights that cannot be alienated, that are natural, that are inherent, that are not imparted by governments: they do not belong to politics, but they are inherent in the individual—the right to life, the right to liberty, the right to property, and the right to the pursuit of happiness. These rights are inalienable. They belong to every individual. They are not conferred by law. They belong to us. They are born in us. They belong to every person who breathes the breath of life. Then, an act of any individual or any government which infringes upon these natural rights is wrong in and of itself. If any individual interferes with the rights of his fellow men he may be restrained by the secular law. The right to life, and to liberty, and to the pursuit of happiness, and to property belong to all individuals alike. One body of people professing one faith must not interfere with the rights of any other body of people professing another faith. The Latter-day Saints, as well as the Latter-day sinners, the Methodist as well as the Catholic, the Jew as well as the Gentile—all people alike in this great country must be protected equally in these natural rights which belong to them.

Here, then, is where the line must be drawn. Anything that persons profess to do under the name of religion, which interferes with the rights of others is wrong, and the secular law may step in and protect the citizens and restrain or punish those people who attempt to do this under the plea of religion. If I do anything which interferes with the life, the liberty, the happiness, or the property of my neighbor, the law has a right to step in and protect my neighbor and restrain me. But if my religion—that which I believe to be true, and which I try to carry out as a part of my faith—does not interfere with human rights, does not infringe in any degree upon the rights of my fellow man, neither Congress, nor any other law-making power on the face of the earth, has the right to interfere with me under the Constitution of the country. I have a right to the exercise of my religion so long as it does not infringe upon the rights of other people. There is where we draw the line, and we think it is the right place. And we are standing up, not only for our own rights in this respect, but for the rights of all people upon the face of this land. As has been said by Brother Caine, this afternoon, in passing certain enactments which infringe upon our religious liberties, the Congress of the United States is doing something that will come back upon the very individuals who have been trying to establish this principle or to enact these laws, Because, we may be the society or body aimed at to-day, and to-morrow another sect or party or body may be aimed at by the same enactments which are passed against us, and perhaps will hold good in both directions. It is a poor rule that only works one way. It may be found convenient to-day to single out the “Mormons,” because they are unpopular, for special legislation; but in a little time some other religious body in this country may have the same inimical legislation applied to them, to bear down upon them with greater weight than it does upon us. You cannot violate a principle of truth without receiving very bad consequences. Those who attempt to do that will be sure to reap the fruit of their labors at some time or other. And when the Congress of the United States commences to move away the foundation stones of the system that the fathers of this nation built up, they are working on very dangerous ground, and the consequences thereof will not be confined to the few people against whom these measures are made. It is the duty of every patriot, of every man who loves his country, and of every woman who loves her country, to do their part in preventing the passage of such enactments as these, and in vindicating the principles and doctrines which enter into the Constitution of our beloved country. So we are standing up not only for our own rights, but for the rights of others, and this is one of the duties enjoined upon us by our Heavenly Father.

We have been brought from the various parts of the earth into these mountain valleys that we may establish a system of religion which has been revealed from heaven, which our Heavenly Father has committed to us. We have not taken this religion from any of the sacred books that are in existence; we have not concocted this system from the Bible, or from any other religious work; but it has been revealed to us in our own day and time. God has broken the silence of ages. That same God that spoke to the prophets of old, whose record we have in the Old Testament, and who sent His Son Jesus Christ in the meridian of time to die for the sins of the world—that same God that inspired the Apostles of Jesus Christ in their great works has Himself spoken from heaven in our own day, and angels have come down from the courts of glory with a message of life and salvation for the inhabitants of the earth. This Church, this system, this organization to which we belong has not been set up by the wisdom of man, but has been set, up by the power of God, by the command of the Almighty, and has been sustained by him up to the present time. All the efforts which are made to break it down will only tend to build it up. Every law the United States may pass with the intent to disintegrate this work, to divide the people, to crush the power that exists in the midst of the Latter-day Saints, will only tend to consolidate the people, to bind them closer together, to make their faith more intense, their convictions more certain, and to make their determination more persistent. That will be the effect. God is working with this people, and has worked with them from the beginning. And this, as we have heard this afternoon, is not a mere matter of faith. We have seen so many proofs of an over-ruling power, and manifestations of special providence, as a people and as individuals, in answer to our prayers, that we know that God lives, that God answers prayer, that God Almighty is with the Latter-day Saints while they keep His commandments and do His will, and that He will over-rule for good all the evil which is intended against us.

This work is established for the purpose of bringing about His designs in regard to this earth upon which we live. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. The cattle on a thousand hills are His. The silver and the gold belong to Him, and the life of all mankind is in His hands. He is Lord over all, blessed forever, and it is His right to rule and regulate and control all things on the face of this globe. Jesus Christ His beloved Son has been here. He dwelt on the earth for a time and performed the work allotted to Him, by which he obtained all power and sits at the right hand of the Father; and the time is coming when He will stand on the earth, establish His government and dominion, extending it from pole to pole and from shore to shore, and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our God and His Christ; not in some figurative, mystical, spiritual sense, but really and truly as a matter of fact. The Savior, as foretold by the prophets, came upon the earth literally and truly. He was hung upon the cross, and His spirit left His body. He was laid in the tomb, but He was raised again from the dead, not in a spiritual sense, or some mythical sense, but really and truly His body was raised from the dead. In that body He appeared to His disciples, and went up from their gaze, saying that in like manner he would descend again. And His promises are that when he shall come the second time, it shall not be as the babe of Bethlehem, despised and rejected, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; nor to be persecuted by His own, but that He shall come in the clouds of heaven in power and great glory to sit upon the throne of His Father David and reign and rule from the rivers to the end of the earth, so that all nations, kindreds tongues and people shall serve and obey Him. Now, we look for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we expect it just as much as when the sun goes down we expect it to rise above the hill tops in the morning. And when He comes we expect it will be Himself—Jesus of Nazareth, our Elder Brother, the first born of God in the spirit world, the Only Begotten of God in the flesh. We expect that He will come and reign over the earth as King of kings and lord of lords, and we expect that all kingdoms, all governments, and all institutions that men have set up will be broken down, and as Nebuchadnezzar saw them in the vision which Daniel interpreted, they will become as the chaff of the summer threshing floor, and be swept away, and no place found for them upon the face of the whole earth; because the Kingdom of God and of His Christ will prevail everywhere, and it will cover the earth. For it is the kingdom that was spoken of by the Prophets, and we are told that “the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heavens”—that is over all the earth, is it not?—shall be His kingdom and shall “be given into the hands of the people of the Saints of the Most High, and their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom.” Now, we expect the fulfillment of all these things, and when they come to pass they will occur just as they are written, like other prophecies have been accomplished. When Isaiah prophesied that “a virgin should conceive and bear a son” and that they should “call His name Immanuel,” the prophet meant what he said, and it came to pass; and all the predictions in regard to the second coming, as it is called, the second advent of the Messiah, and the establishment of God’s Kingdom and government on the earth, will be fulfilled exactly as the prophets have predicted. There is no need to mystify, nor to spiritualize, nor to explain them, they will come to pass word for word; for “heaven and earth may pass away, but not one jot or tittle of the word of God shall pass away; it shall all be fulfilled.

Now, this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to which we belong is established by the Almighty for the express purpose of opening up the way for the accomplishment of this great work. In this Church is the germ of that kingdom that Daniel saw. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, set up by the power of God, by the authority of the Most High, is exactly the same Church that Jesus Christ built up—that is, the same in all its essential principles; the same organization, the same kind of officers, the same doctrines, the same in its spirit, the same in its ordinances, the same in the power that attends those ordinances, doctrines, principles and commandments as were revealed to the ancient Church. It is governed just exactly in the same way that the church which Jesus Christ established when he was upon the earth was governed. Every principle which was taught by the ancient Apostles in their time is taught by the latter-day Apostles in their time. And the Apostles in our day have the same authority or Priesthood, as it is called, that the Apostles had in their time whom Jesus ordained; because those that held the keys of that apostleship in the earth in former times have come down to the earth, literally and truly, and ordained men to the same authority and apostleship which they held while living in the flesh. That is how the apostleship has been restored. That authority exists in this Church, and it will never be taken away again. That which is called by the Latter-day Saints the Priesthood, is the authority given of God to men to act in His name, so that what they do by His authority and in the way that He has appointed on the earth shall be acknowledged in heaven—that which they seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven and that which they loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. It must be done as God directs, according to the revelations of His will. But this authority, this right, this power from God exists in this Church, as it existed in the ancient Church, because it has been actually restored by the very men who held the keys of it. And really, after all, it is that that the world is fighting. All these plans and schemes, all that legislation and these influences that are brought to bear on this Church, upon this system called by the world “Mormonism,” is brought to bear in consequence of the restoration of that power and that authority. It is the authority of the kingdom. It is here to stay. It is here to prevail. First it will preach the Gospel of the kingdom as a witness to all nations; it will then gather together the elect of God from the four quarters of the earth; it will build temples to the name of the Most High God in which men can administer in ordinances that pertain to the salvation of the living and the redemption of the dead, it will accomplish all that has been predicted by the prophets concerning the Latter-day Kingdom.

Now, this is the kind of work in which we are engaged. It has been introduced by the Almighty to bring about all those grand events that we read about in the writings of the old prophets that have not yet been fulfilled; there are a great many things contained in the Old Testament that people pay little attention to now-a-days. They have an idea of things coming to pass in some spiritual fashion, or some mythical, mystical kind of way; they don’t know exactly how; and it is the business of certain men who are hired to preach the Gospel, to make mysterious explanations of passages of Scripture, which they manage to cover up, and succeed in confusing the people more than before the expounding was attempted. Nevertheless, all those predictions that refer to events that are to take place in the earth in the latter days will all come to pass as they are written, and this work, this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this thing called “Mormonism” has been introduced by the Almighty for the express purpose of bringing these things about; that is why it is universally opposed. All these different sects of modern Christendom are like the sects of heathendom, without communication from the eternal world. They receive no revelation from God. Their ministers have no authority except that which they obtain from their congregations. Many of them do not pretend to have any other, when you press them closely. They preach those tenets which the people believe and which are acceptable to the people—each minister of each sect preaching that which the members desire to hear. All these different sects contain many good people who are trying to do right, trying to serve God, and a great many others that are hypocrites. But as sects, as societies, as churches, they are not authorized of God. You can trace them all to their origin, and find that that origin is human in its nature. They have not come from God, they have come from men, some of them good men, perhaps. Men have met together and formulated creeds and organized societies, and these societies have grown and spread abroad, and after a while have become orthodox in the earth. At first they were persecuted and opposed, but as they grew in wealth as well as in numbers they made a name and a noise and became a power in the earth, and are recognized and understood as orthodox sects. But there is not one of them ordained of God. They are not set up by divine command, and their ministers have not been divinely authorized to preach the Gospel, nor to administer in the things of the Kingdom. There may be and no doubt are men among them preaching that which they believe to be true. But a man’s belief is not authority. A man may believe a thing to be right, but that does not give him authority to represent God in that matter. A man may believe it is right to sprinkle a babe and call that baptism. But even supposing it is right—though it is not—the fact that he believes it is right would not give him the authority to administer, because he does it “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost,” and he has no right to take these names upon his lips in vain, and he does take them upon his lips in vain unless he has been authorized to use these names. No man has any more right to use the name of Deity in the administration of an ordinance, without authority, than a common citizen, without authority, has the right to use the name and pretend to be the representative of the Government of the United States, or of Great Britain, or of Germany; not a bit. But men seem to think because God does not interfere, that they have a right to do a great many things that he never commanded, and do them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Now, as I said just now, the authority to administer in the things of God’s Church has been restored in the way that I have told you. That is why we claim the right in this Church to administer these ordinances, and that is why we lay down the broad assertion that outside of this Church there is no authority in the world to administer in the name of the Lord. If there is such authority, let those who claim to have it, show their credentials and prove where they obtained their authority from. Now, in this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints not only is this authority restored, and those same doctrines, principles and ordinances which were had in the early Christian Church also restored, but accompanying these are the same spirit and gifts and manifestations and power that existed in the ancient Church. And here is one of the great proofs of the truth of that which I have advanced to you: Wherever the servants of God connected with this Church and holding this authority go into the world—and they go out without purse or scrip and administer: there are no salaried preachers in this Church—wherever they go and proclaim this Gospel they tell the people that if they will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and repent of their sins, and be baptized for the remission of sins, they shall receive the Holy Ghost, through the laying on of hands; and that this Holy Ghost that shall be given to them is the same spirit exactly in its manifestations, in its power, that the Apostles conferred upon the people by the laying on of hands in the early Christian Church, and that rested down upon the old prophets by which they wrote the things called scripture: the same spirit that Jesus Christ had without measure; that spirit that He gave to His Apostles when He breathed upon them and said: “Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you * * Receive ye the Holy Ghost;” that same spirit that was upon them on the day of Pentecost; that spirit which manifested itself to the Church in Corinth by the gift of tongues, interpretations, visions, dreams, healings and miracles, and all those signs which Jesus Christ promised to them that believed. These are manifest in the midst of the Latter-day Saints; this spirit, this power, is revealed to them and communicated to them. Not merely to the Presidency and the Twelve Apostles, and other leading Elders, but to each individual, to every person who believes and repents and is baptized, and upon whom the hands are laid of those having authority from God to administer in His name. Now, these men might claim this authority and be impostors; for the world has been full of impostors, and there are plenty of them now-a-days:—religious impostors; these men might claim to have this authority, but they could not communicate this power, the Holy Ghost. But wherever people receive this doctrine, and obey it in the spirit of it; their testimony is, in every land, in every corner of the earth, wherever the servants of God have penetrated, that they have received for themselves by revelation, by the Holy Ghost from on high, a testimony that this work is the work of God, and that these men are His servants. That is why they are here. That is why they are gathered in these valleys of the mountains. They are here because they have received the truth, and a knowledge of it, because they have received the ordinances of the Church and obtained the power that accompanies them; because God has witnessed to them individually, that He has spoken from the heavens, that He has re-established His Church, and that the time has come for the building up of the latter-day Kingdom and the establishment of God’s dominion in all the earth, and they are called to help in the work; not only the Apostles and Priesthood, but all the members of the Church are called to take a part in the work. And here we are, in these mountain valleys, bound together as a band of brethren—not by the power of man, not by the coercion of man, not by oppression, not by arbitrary rules, but by the spirit and power of the Eternal God, sent down from on high, which has been shed abroad universally upon the members of the Church. This is our testimony to the world.

We know that God lives. We know that there are “special providences” of God. We know that this work will prevail. We know that all these adverse plans and schemes of men, either from individuals or from nations, will only tend to roll on this work, and bring about the purposes of the Almighty in the midst of the children of men. That is why we have so much confidence. It is not because we think so much of ourselves. We do not profess to be a great people, except in our unity—in that we are great—except in our industry, temperance and sobriety, for we are a temperate, sober and thrifty people. Of course there are exceptions to this. There are men and women among us, like there are in all denominations, who will not hearken to good advice and do right. Notwithstanding the promise made by every man and woman that comes into this Church to be holy and righteous, true and faithful, and to avoid sin, there are some who will not be bound by their solemn obligations, nor abide their covenants with one another. And those who will break promises with each other are very likely to break promises made with God Almighty. But as a body we are a united, thrifty, temperate and sober people, and we try to do that which we consider to be right. We may make mistakes like other people: but as a body of people we are on the straight and narrow way, the one path to the celestial city, and we desire to turn neither to the right hand nor to the left. Those who walked in that path in ancient times were told by Jesus Christ that they would be opposed by the world, that the world would hate them. “If ye were of the world the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” We have been called out of the world in the same way. We are called with a special calling, and we have a special mission to perform. There is not a soul in this Church but has a mission. We are called out of the world to be the people of the Lord, to be Saints of the Most High, to consecrate and dedicate ourselves body and soul, with all that we have—the fruits of the labors of our hands, the fruits of the efforts of our minds—to the work in which we are engaged, the work of the Great God in the earth, He using us as instruments. This is the kind of people we are. This is the kind of people the world are opposed to.

Now, in regard to that feature of our faith that they make so much fuss about—a right we claim under the Constitution of the United States, and against which laws have been passed in Congress, framed to prevent our carrying out the commandments of God in regard to our family relations—that feature seems to upset the equilibrium of our “Christian” friends. What is the matter? “Why, you believe in men having more wives than one.” Yes, some men, good men. We don’t believe that a bad man should have a wife at all. None but the good deserve the fair. And we believe that righteous men, virtuous men, men that would not improperly use any power or faculty of their nature, ought to be permitted to have wives and raise up a holy posterity and train their children in the ways of virtue, honesty and uprightness. We do not believe it is right for men to give way to their animal passions. We do not believe it is right to do so either in plural or single marriage or outside of it. We believe marriage to be an holy estate, ordained of God, with which Congress has not the right to interfere. It is a religious matter with us. It is a holy ordinance established by the Eternal Father. We claim that the women of the Church are the daughters of God, and God has some right as to their disposition. We do not believe it is right for a man to pick and choose where he likes, and do as he pleases independent of God Almighty. We read in the Old Testament that “When man began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughter’s of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.” And it is stated that the iniquity of man was great, and God brought a flood on the earth. Now, to understand that correctly we have to know what kind of position those persons were in, and why they were called the “Sons of God.” Those men were in the same position as the Latter-day Saints. They were heirs to the Priesthood. They were the sons of God. They had obeyed the holy covenants. They had received the word of the Lord. They were consecrated to the Almighty. But they went outside of their covenants and their engagement with the Lord, and took wives of the daughters of men that were not in the covenant, and thus transgressed the law of God. The law of God in relation to this has been the same in all ages, and has been given to this people—that the sons of Israel shall wed the daughters of Israel, and shall not go out to wed with the stranger. These men did that, and God was displeased, as He is to-day with Latter-day Saints, who are called out of the world to be His servants, to be holy unto the Lord, to be clean because they bear the vessels of the Lord, when they go outside and wed with the stranger. The law is that they shall not do this, but shall wed under the everlasting covenant and have their wives given them of the Lord and sealed to them by an holy ordinance revealed from heaven, in a holy place prepared for the purpose—sealed for time and all eternity, so that death shall not be able to break the bond of union; that though death may separate them for a little season when they come up in the resurrection, there will be no need to marry or give in marriage, because they were married on the earth by authority of God Almighty for time and all eternity, just like Adam and Eve were, for God gave Eve to Adam before death came into the world. We believe that good men, who have demonstrated their fitness for the responsibilities of holy wedlock, may, under the direction of the Lord, obtain more wives than one, may have them sealed to them by the same covenant and by the same bond, to be their wives in the eternal world; and they expect when they depart hence to go where Abraham is—to that place that is called Abraham’s bosom. There they will be in congenial company. They will verify the words of Jesus, who said, “Many shall come from the east and from the west, and from the north and from the south, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of God;” while others who supposed themselves to be the children of the Kingdom” will be “thrust out.” And I am afraid that a great many of our good Christian friends who are so terribly shocked about this feature of our faith, when they get to the door and look in and see Abraham and Sarah and Hagar and Keturah, and those concubines given of the Lord to Abraham—when they see them in the eternal kingdom they will want to turn away and go to more congenial company, which they are at perfect liberty to do. If Abraham was on the earth to-day; these same good people would put him in the penitentiary, and yet they call Abraham “the father of the faithful, the friend of God,” and want to go to his bosom when they die! If Jacob were here with his four wives, through whom he “did build the house of Israel,” the names of whose twelve sons are to be inscribed upon the gates of the holy city, the New Jerusalem, that is to come down from God out of heaven like a bride adorned for her husband—I say if Jacob were on the earth to-day, they would put him in jail! Well, this is the consistency of some people who profess to believe in the Bible. Men come here to try and sell the Latter-day Saints the Bible. Why, bless your souls, there are no people on the earth who believe as much in the Bible as the “Mormons.” We believe in the Old and New Testament, King James’ translation. It was through our belief in that record that most of us became Latter-day Saints; for, being familiar with the Bible, when the servants of God came with the Gospel we found it was the same as laid down in that sacred record, and that induced us to embrace the faith that is commonly called “Mormonism.”

Well, now, this feature of our faith to which I have alluded—I have not the time to comment upon it in all its bearings, and a great many people would not understand it if I did—is a divine institution. Let me bear my testimony to this congregation, as I would like to bear it to all the world, that it is a pure and holy institution; not to bring women into bondage, but to place them in that position for which they were created—to give them the opportunity to become honored wives and mothers, so that there might be “no margin left for lust to prey upon,” no field for the tricks of the seducer and the adulterer, the corrupt and the ungodly. God Almighty has established this system: It is a religious ordinance established by authority from God, by revelation from on high and administered by religious ceremonies; It belongs to this Priesthood and to none other. We are not seeking to extend it to the world nor to introduce it to other people. It is confined to the Priesthood. It is “a law unto my Holy Priesthood,” saith the Lord, and there are bounds limitations and regulations over which we cannot pass. And it is not for the wicked.

Now, then, in this sense, looking upon this as a religious institution, as a sacrament, as an ordinance of our faith, as a part of our creed, as an establishment of our religion, we claim the right to the free exercise thereof before God and before man. If anybody can prove to us that it is wrong, that it is impure, that its effects are bad for this world or the world to come, that would be another thing altogether, and would have its effect with us, because as members of this Church we are in for truth, for salvation, for the glory of our God. We want to attain to the celestial kingdom. We want to fit ourselves for the society of the holy ones, the society of the best that ever lived upon the face of the earth, and for that we are Latter-day Saints. If men could prove to us that we are wrong, then they might have some chance of converting us. But when they trample upon our inalienable rights, upon our constitutional privileges, upon our religious liberty, why, then, we feel like resisting. But we are not going to fight. We naturally repel the assaults against us, but it is in the way of defence. Our motto, like that of the volunteers in London, is, “Defence, not Defiance.” We defend our rights and privileges against all attacks, and in doing so we are standing up for the rights of all the people of this great country. For if you tear away the underpinning from the structure the fathers established, the whole institution may come down with a crash. I tell you we have got to watch for these things, and this is part of our mission. We must preach the Gospel and build up the Kingdom of God, and contend for our constitutional rights, because they are given of the Lord. The Constitution of our country was revealed of God. God has made known to us that He inspired the framers of the Constitution, and caused that instrument to be brought forth, so that all people might be protected in their rights. We claim the same rights as other folks, and no more. We have received this principle of our faith in connection with many more, and we claim that if we do not infringe upon the rights of others we should have liberty in the exercise thereof. If a man was permitted to force some woman to be his wife, or to interfere with his neighbor’s wife, or infringe upon the rights of another man, then the secular law might step in and interfere. But while the woman is free—no woman among us is coerced, no woman is placed in bondage, every woman is at liberty to marry or not marry—while that is the case we do not think that the law has any right to interfere; and we intend to contend for our rights inch by inch, lawfully, respectfully; but in this we are as firm as these everlasting mountains that are not moved by the blasts of winter or the heat of summer. This is the work of God, and woe! be unto us if we do not preach the Gospel! Woe! be unto us if we relinquish or attempt to sell or barter or compromise one of the eternal principles that have been sent down from the heavens and which we have to carry to the ends of the earth! But if we are faithful to our mission and calling, if we stand firm and true, and regard God rather than man, God shall fight our battles. Everything that seems to be against us will be turned for our good. The clouds that overshadow us from time to time will part and roll away, and the glorious sun of prosperity will shine upon us. If we are true and faithful God Almighty will overrule all things for our good, and bring us off more than conquerors. And every nation and people and institution and society that fight against Zion shall become like the dream of a night vision—it will pass away; and those men that fight against this work will be, as the prophet said, “Even as when a hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite.” So it will be with all who fight against this work and try to overthrow it. Not because we are mightier than anybody else, not because we are so numerous, not because we are learned, not because we are wealthy, but because God Almighty has established this work, and He will cause it to prevail. I bear my testimony that I know this to be true.

May God bless the Latter-day Saints and unite their hearts that they may be one. May they be able to keep those precious things in earthen vessels that God Almighty has committed to them. If they have found the Pearl of Great Price may they value it above all earthly things, and endure every opposition and every influence brought to bear against them and come off triumphant; and may God bless those who have gathered with us this afternoon, and give them a knowledge of the truth of this work, that they may enjoy its blessings with us and be saved in the Kingdom of God, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

Temples the Gates of Heaven, etc.

Franklin D. Richards

Discourse by Apostle F. D. Richards, delivered in the Tabernacle, Logan, Cache County, Saturday afternoon (Quarterly Conference), May 17, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

I scarcely know how to find words to express the feelings which occupy my bosom at this time. This is one of those extraordinary occasions on which the Priesthood of the Church of the last dispensation are gathered together; a great thanksgiving day for God’s people. It is an assemblage of the authorities of the Church from the Stakes of Zion. They have come together to rejoice, to give God thanks, to praise and to magnify His name because another great and peculiar blessing is bestowed upon His people—that of erecting, completing and furnishing another house unto the Lord, and of dedicating it unto Him.

The Temples, the houses of our God, when acceptably dedicated, become to us the gates of heaven. They are esteemed most holy unto the Lord of all places upon the earth; therein the faithful approach nearest unto God, and obtain the greatest fellowship and inspiration of His Holy Spirit. There the righteous perform ordinances that reach into the heavens and take effect upon their dead whom they love, whom they have loved, and who have gone before—to whom they owe a debt of gratitude, for their parentage—the authors of their being and education in the flesh; who have gone unto that other state of spiritual existence. It is fitting on such occasions that the Presidents and Bishops, with their Counselors, should come from the four quarters of the earth, if the knowledge of the Gospel and the organization of the Stakes of Zion had extended so far.

The dedication of the Temple this morning awakens anew in our souls a heavenly, family feeling. It arouses in us an interest that reaches not only over the extent of the work here upon the earth, but into the regions of eternal life in the spirit worlds. It inspires a feeling that we are part of them and that they are part of us, knowing that we cannot be made perfect without them, nor they without us. And it becomes like the opening up of the gate of heaven unto us, that we may view by the eye of faith, and by the light of the Holy Spirit, that portion of the family of God with whom we have before associated, and with whom we expect to be hereafter associated in greater and more glorious labors in His eternal kingdom here upon the earth; when sickness, sorrow, sin and death shall be cleansed from the face of it, and when life, salvation, peace and faith shall, as the fruits of the Spirit, be poured out upon all flesh.

While in the Temple with the chief authorities of the Church and Kingdom of God—which has now extended its operations and its labors to every continent, almost every mainland, and many islands of the sea—the reflection came forcibly to my mind that there are represented in our midst this day people from either Indies, from the Antipodes, and from the various nations of the earth; not less than twenty-five or thirty nationalities, languages, tongues and peoples are represented among us. The impression was irresistible that the fellowship of the heavens was near us, that our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ was near, and that His Spirit was largely in the midst of the congregation; that the spirit of our ancient fathers, Adam, Noah and Abraham, the father of the faithful, who the Revelations inform us has entered into his exaltation and sits upon his throne, were all earnestly interested in our offering and dedication of this Temple to the Most High God. The impression was constantly with me that we were in the presence of the Prophet Joseph, his brother Hyrum, and others who had gone before, such as Brother David W. Patten, as well as Brigham, Heber, Willard, and others of the Apostles and worthies—that their spirits must have been present with us hallowing our reflections, imparting their peaceful influence and truthful inspiration to our souls. Our spirits were awakened to a profound sense of thankfulness that we had been enabled to take another so important a step of advancement in the triumphant progress of the great Latter-day work.

We are sensible that the heavenly powers are moved on these occasions, and we know that the Saints on earth are. Indeed there is no theme that engages the human mind, and that reaches into the innermost recesses thereof as does Temple building, and the ideas associated with that work and the purposes for which they are used. It is this that animates the bosoms of the righteous and brings forth sentiments and emotions from the fountains of their souls, inspiring them with fresh resolutions to faith and good works. I thank the living God and praise His holy name that I have lived to see His work progress thus far upon the earth. I am thankful for the privilege of meeting with so many of my brethren in the Priesthood.

It is a pleasing thought, a glorious truth, that while we are here together in our persons, we are also united in spirit, we are firmly united, so far as we know, in our belief in the principles of the Gospel, and in all the labors assigned to us severally to perform. I do not recollect to have ever read in the Bible history of God’s people on the earth, when His servants and His people wrought together, with greater unamity of faith or with a more generous use of their means than now in all the labors and duties that devolve upon them. The favorable conditions attending us as a people, the peace and plenty there is in the land—the sweet fellowship of the Spirit, the glorious promises and prospects for the future, all draw from the fountain of our souls our best emotions, our strongest faith, our brightest hopes, our most glorious anticipations.

I have reflected upon the days of ancient Israel, and wondered at their decadence, when they had arrived at the height of glory and eminence. Solomon, their king, stood vastly above all the kings of the surrounding nations; he sat safely on his throne, for God sustained him there, until he departed from His counsels and commandments. Oh, what a terrible thing to happen to God’s people, or to any of His servants! What was it that turned the scale and started the decay of that nation? It was simply because their ruler put forth his hand and took to himself wives of other nations, that God had commanded him not to. This was the beginning of the great mischief that came upon Israel, and one mischief led to another; they persuaded him to attend the sacrifices and worship of their idolatrous gods, as the Lord told him they would do, until the family of Israel had come to follow the example of their king—marrying strange women and worshipping strange gods, which brought them down to that terrible degradation that their temple, which was built in wisdom, strength and beauty most glorious, and which was acknowledged at its dedication by the presence and glory of God, had become polluted and degraded to a den of thieves. The Lord told them that their doom was sealed, and that in regard to the Temple, there should not be left one stone upon another to tell where it stood. O, what terrible consequences have followed through the ages until to-day! Even until now, that nation is afflicted and distressed. While it is well with us here, and we are enjoying all these blessings, it is but right, I think, that we should ask our Father in heaven that the day of their affliction and sorrow may soon come to an end, and that they may come, as we have come, with obedient hearts to help build up Zion and Jerusalem.

Our work is at present but small. It is but the beginning, the germination of the wonderfully strange work that is to affect the whole habitable globe, and not only those that are on the earth now, but all that have dwelt here or that shall come to dwell upon it, until the earth shall be made anew, and all things thereon pronounced new again from God. Although Israel had attained to great eminence and glory in the earth, yet they were brought into subjection to other nations because of their transgressions, and though Christ came to be their deliverer, they received Him not—and their Temple was not restored to those glorious and exalted purposes and uses for which it was intended; then what have been the consequences? The Savior told them what would come to pass. “Behold,” said he, “I send unto you prophets, and wise men and scribes, and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues: that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, etc.” What a terrible consequence! If they could have but hearkened to His word, walked in the way of the Lord; continued in its holy course, and believed in the Savior when He came, then they might have been engaged in this work of redeeming their dead back to the beginning of the world, and there would have been a mighty work done by that generation for their dead, as well as for themselves; but it remains for those recent men and women now upon the earth and that shall come upon the earth to perform this labor.

My brethren and sisters, there is before us that which draws upon our faith and upon our prospective ambition and knowledge of Gospel labor clear back to the days of the ancients. The Lord has given us intimations in regard to all these things, and He will continue to reveal all things necessary to be made known by which His great purposes shall be brought about. Great and glorious is His work! The work of the resurrection is not far off. I am fully persuaded of this, and have reflected sometimes concerning it, with an earnest desire. Never in all my ministry have I talked much about the resurrection; but the Lord has manifested some things concerning it, and I would like to allude to them.

It is a popular sentiment among professing Christians generally, and it is believed also by many of the Saints—because of a certain saying the Savior made use of to the Sadducees on a particular occasion—that, in neither of the resurrections is there to be any marrying or giving in marriage. This is a mistaken idea. We are nowhere informed that the Savior ever said any such thing or entertained any such doctrine. He taught the doctrine of the resurrection, saying that He was the resurrection and the life, and that the day will come when all they that are in their graves shall hear His voice and shall come forth. It was because He taught this doctrine that the Sadducees sought to entangle and confuse Him concerning this principle by bringing up the case of the woman who married a man and he died without any children, then because he died childless she married his brother, which was according to the law of Moses, he also died without children, and so on, each of the brothers marrying her, until the seven brothers had her to wife, and last of all the woman died also.

These Sadducees did not believe in any resurrection, and they thought to be very crafty with the Savior, so they put the question squarely to Him: “Therefore in the resurrection, whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.” They evidently thought they had caught the Savior then; but He replied to them saying: “Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.” Now, who was He talking to? He was speaking to those Sadducees who denied there being any resurrection; who lived contemporaneously with the seven men and this woman who had lived and died among them. He was talking to a race of people to whom John the Baptist had come, and many had received his testimony; but these had not. He was talking to a people who claimed to be of the House of Israel, to whom He (Jesus) had come in fulfillment of the testimony of John the Baptist.

There had been sent among this people, whom he was now talking to, prophets who had foretold His coming and the coming of John the Baptist. He had sent His Twelve Apostles among all their cities, all of whom had testified to the coming of the Just One unto all that people, but they had rejected those testimonies, had killed the Prophets, stoned those who had been sent unto them, and were now ready to slay Him.

It was to this class of people, who were living under these circumstances, that He makes the answer saying, “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.” Luke the Evangelist, stating this case in his 20th chapter, says: “The children of this world marry and are given in marriage, but they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage; neither can they die any more; for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.” If we refer to the glorious vision which was shown to Joseph and Sidney on the 16th of February, 1832, as recorded in the 76th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, last edition, we shall find the promised condition of these people, that the glory of the telestial is one, even as the glory of the stars is one, for as one star differs from another star in glory, even so differs one from another in the telestial world; for these are they who are of Paul, Apollos and Cephas, some of Christ—Moses, Elias and others—but received not the Gospel, the testimony of Jesus, neither the prophets nor the everlasting covenant, but are liars, sorcerers, adulterers and whoremongers, who shall not be redeemed from the devil until the last resurrection, when Christ the Lamb shall have finished His work, having subdued all unto Him. These receive not of His fullness, but of the Holy Spirit through the ministration of angels appointed to administer for them. Had they hearkened to the Prophets, the Apostles, the words of the Savior, and received the everlasting covenant, they would have been made heirs of God and joint heirs with our Lord Jesus Christ, and would have been made heirs of the celestial world, with power to increase eternally, being Gods, even the sons of God, but now that they would not receive the Gospel, the Prophets, nor the everlasting covenant which they might have received, they can only become as the angels in heaven who in that world neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are equal to the angels in heaven.

These are not they who inherit the celestial world, nor those who attain to the terrestrial, but they who suffer the judgment of God in the flesh. These are they who come forth in the last resurrection; they who attain to the resurrection in that world, and are neither married nor are given in marriage, just as the revelations of God prescribe and show forth.

There is nothing in all this which says or intimates that those who come forth in either of the other resurrections shall not have the blessing in their resurrection and in their world, whether Celestial or Terrestrial, of being married and given in marriage. Let me ask what is to become of that portion of the human family that have gone down into their graves in past ages without having arrived at the age of puberty, or without having lived to years of accountability? What is to become of them? Are they not to be given the blessings of the New and Everlasting Covenant, to increase, multiply and attain to endless lives, and eternal increase in the covenant of Abraham? Undoubtedly, in the resurrection when they shall have regained their tabernacles, if they render the required obedience to the holy law of God. And who are the others that come forth in the second resurrection? Stop. Let me distinguish. The first resurrection was in the days of Jesus. Those who were resurrected with Him appeared many of them, we are told, in the streets of the holy city. That was the first resurrection. The second resurrection is the resurrection of the just, when Jesus shall come again in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, when they who sleep in Jesus will come with Him. Then will He bring the City of Enoch that has gone away in Terrestrial glory ever since it went to the heavens. Then will those children who have died in Christ—for they are redeemed in Christ from before the foundation of the world—come forth. Then, in the next resurrection, we are told, will come forth the honorable men of the earth who have lived according to the light they had. In this next resurrection will come forth the multitudes of the nations that have never had the Gospel—the heathen nations. They are candidates for the next resurrection, and when they come forth upon the earth, those of them who prove themselves worthy will they not have the opportunity to attain to all the blessings of the new and everlasting covenant? If they are not to be married and given in marriage the Lord has not been pleased to tell us so. I anticipate that in that glorious day the work of performing all the ordinances and endowments for those who have not attained unto these privileges and blessings in the flesh, either by themselves or by proxy, will have that privilege, and the work will be carried on. That blessed epoch seems to dawn upon our view—that glorious period when the righteous will come forth, and while the wicked will sleep on another thousand years.

Let me remind you of another interesting feature in this allegory, and that is this: The Savior tells us that the terrestrial glory, or kingdom, is likened unto the glory of the moon, which is not of the brightness of the sun, neither of the smallness nor dimness of the stars. But those others who have no part in marrying or giving of marriage in the last resurrection, they become as stars, and even differ from each other in glory; but those in the terrestrial kingdom are those who will come forth at the time when Enoch comes back, when the Savior comes again to dwell upon the earth; when Father Abraham will be there with the Urim and Thummim to look after every son and daughter of his race; to make known all things that are needed to be known, and with them enter into their promised inheritance. Thus the people of God will go forward. They will go forward, like unto the new moon, increasing in knowledge and brightness and glory, until they come to a fullness of celestial glory. During the Millennium multitudes of people who have not heard the Gospel will hear and receive it and go forward into this glory, while those who will not go forward to a fullness will go back to that lesser glory which is likened unto the stars of heaven, for as the Prophet Isaiah says; “There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days, for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.

I did not think when I arose that I should be led to speak in this strain; but the fact is, upon these occasions the glories of the other worlds open up before us, and we cannot help thinking of them, and dwelling upon them unless we quench the Spirit.

But says one, I thought that all marriages were to be performed in mortality? In reply to that suggestion I would ask, How was it that Father Adam and Mother Eve were married while they were immortal? And if they could be married as immortal beings, why cannot their children: just as well he? It will doubtless occupy the whole of that sabbath of rest the whole thousand years, and perhaps a period after, to do the work necessary for all the vast myriads of Adam’s children, so that they may be placed in a position to be judged according to men in the flesh, or according to the deeds done in the body.

Brethren and sisters, I rejoice exceedingly with you in this glorious Gospel. If there is anything on the earth that can satisfy the human soul in its desires for excellence, virtue, exaltation and greatness, it certainly is this Gospel of the kingdom. If there is anything in the world that can satisfy the hungry soul for knowledge, it is the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ, which open up continually line upon line, and precept upon precept; here a little and there a little; indeed there is nothing else can satisfy the longing of the human soul. This will lead to the same blessing and glory which the Prophet Joseph told us. Enoch had attained unto. He taught us that he and his city had attained in his day to a terrestrial glory, that they were enjoying that glory still. They attained unto the power of translation, that they might take their bodies and their city with them. The resurrection was not until Christ came and became the first fruits of them that slept.

This view of the subject brings me to think and to speak a word in reference to the three Nephites. They wanted to tarry until Jesus came, and that they might He took them into the heavens and endowed them with the power of translation, probably in one of Enoch’s temples, and brought them back to the earth. Thus they received power to live until the coming of the Son of Man. I believe He took them to Enoch’s city and gave them their endowments there. I expect that in the city of Enoch there are temples; and when Enoch and his people come back, they will come back with their city, their temples, blessings and powers. The north country will yield up its multitude, with the Apostle John, who is looking after them. They also will come to Zion and receive their crowns at the hands of their brethren of Ephraim. There will also be nations here on the earth that have not received the Gospel, but who will receive it, and thus the work of God will go on in all its phases, for the living and for the dead.

It is a good thing to take a glimpse once in a while into, and contemplate the glories of the future. A few years ago, when the wolf stood at our doors, when we had hardly enough of the necessaries of life to keep body and spirit together, we used to sing the song—“There’s a good time coming.” Behold! that time has come. This is one of those good times that we are celebrating to-day. Let us rejoice in the Lord our God. I think that every honest soul that is pure before the Lord can lift up his heart, and praise His holy name, that he has lived to see this day. The Lord help us that we may give to Him our best efforts in forwarding His work here on earth. I rejoice with all my soul and ask the blessing of the Lord to rest upon the Presidency of the Church, upon the Apostles, upon the Seventies, High Priests and all the quorums; also, that the Bishops may be filled with the spirit of justice, equity and truth. I also feel to bless you, my brethren and sisters, that the favor of God may be multiplied upon your persons, your families, your homes, your flocks and your herds, your possessions and your hopes. That we may prove faithful and attain to heaven’s proffered blessings is my desire, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Saints Will Triumph Through Faithfulness, etc.

George Q. Cannon

Remarks by President George Q. Cannon, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, June 22, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

I have listened with much interest—as no doubt all of you have—to the remarks which have been made by Brother Young. It is very interesting to hear respecting the people in distant settlements, their faith, their growth, and their development in things spiritual and temporal. It is very encouraging to hear that the Latter-day Saints in distant places, far removed from this city, are alive to their duties, and to the performance of those obligations which rest upon them. I well remember the time—and doubtless very many of you here to-day also remember it—when it was thought that if we increased to any extent, and the people got beyond the influence of their leaders, who are supposed to be so astute and cunning as to manage them and all their affairs, that what is called Mormonism would soon dissolve, and either fall a prey to internal dissensions or break to pieces through some other cause. The Elders of this Church from the beginning have testified unto the world that if men and women would receive the doctrines of which they were the bearers, in the spirit in which they were taught, they should have a testimony for themselves respecting their truth, and that by means of that testimony they would be enabled to stand and bear up against all pressure and all assaults that might be made or brought to bear upon them.

Mormonism, as it is termed, has been upon its trial from the beginning. The inhabitants of the earth are testing it, and we who are connected with it are obtaining knowledge concerning its adaptability to meet all the wants and requirements of all circumstances in which we may be placed.

The great duty that devolves upon us, my brethren and sisters, is to live that religion which we profess. I confess to you to-day that if I am ever assailed with fears or with doubts respecting the result of the machinations of the wicked against us, and of legislation hostile to us; if I am ever troubled, I say, with any doubts or fears, they have their origin in myself, my own inability, or, perhaps, the inability of my brethren and sisters, and their carelessness in carrying out the commands of God. For no other reason, am I ever troubled with fear respecting us as a people, or the results of the plots that are devised against us. I know, as well as I know I stand here, that the Latter-day Saints will emerge triumphant from every difficulty in which they may be involved, from every trial to which they may be subjected, if they will only live the religion they profess, and carry out its principles strictly in their lives. I know this, I say, as well as I know that I am here to-day, and am speaking to you. If we should be unfaithful, if we should neglect to serve our God with that faithfulness and zeal which He requires of us, then we may expect to be scourged, we may expect to have difficulty and trouble, we may expect that those who oppose us will gain, as they at least think, victories over us. God will use them to whip us into line to bring us to a sense of our duties, to stir us up to diligence and faithfulness in keeping His commandments. He will use them in this direction and for these purposes. It, therefore, is a matter of great importance to us that we should be attentive to our duties; that every man in this Church who has a family should put his family into such a condition, as far as he can, that God will approve of them; that every Teacher in this Church whose duty it is to visit the houses of the Latter-day Saints and give them instructions concerning their duties, to see that there is no difficulty existing, no dissensions, no quarrelling—that these men should attend strictly to their duties; and that every officer in the Church in his place and station should be prompt and zealous in looking after the affairs of the Latter-day Saints; that no drunkenness is permitted that no blasphemies, are permitted, that no Sabbath breaking is permitted that no speaking evil and bearing false witness are permitted, that fornications and adulteries are not permitted, and that those who are guilty of any of these offenses are strictly dealt with, that there shall be no causes of this character existing among us as a people to bring forth the displeasure of our God. I feel myself that this is the time for us to be alive to our duties. We have no other defence than this. Our numbers are insufficient: our wealth, and our strength, and our worldly influence are entirely insufficient to give us victory. We can only hope to prevail by reason of the strength which our God will give unto us, by reason of the protection which He will extend unto us, and we cannot hope to succeed upon any other principle or by any other means. It is this that has given us victory in the past; it is this that will give us the victory in the future; it is this that will make us strong and mighty in the earth.

We are working out a great revolution, it may be said. To-day we are disproving most effectually that remark that has become so trite among men, that God, or Providence, is on the side of the strongest artillery, and upon the side of the greatest numbers. We are disproving this. Our case illustrates most perfectly that when God is upon the side of a people—they may be feeble, they may be poor, they may be despised and be exceedingly unpopular—they will most assuredly gain triumphs and victories over all who oppose them. And I am thankful this day, in the presence of our God, I am thankful this day in your presence, my brethren and sisters, that God has, in His infinite mercy and kindness, spoken once more from the heavens and revealed Himself to men. Persecution! Who cares for it? Who fears it? What is there connected with it to make us tremble or to weaken us in the least degree if we are possessed of the knowledge which God has restored, that He lives, that He is the same to-day that He was 1800 years ago, that He was in the days of the Prophets and Patriarchs—the same kind, beneficent, merciful, all-powerful Being? This knowledge God has restored, and we rejoice in its possession. We would that all men would listen unto His voice and be entreated of Him. We would that all men would seek unto Him and obtain for themselves this knowledge He is so willing to bestow. Our persecutions would be joyous to us—if they may be called persecutions—if such results as these could be wrought out, or would be the results that, would attend these persecutions. While Brother Brigham was speaking about persecution, the thought passed through my mind that that which we term persecution is only the discipline necessary for our development. There is a great destiny in store for this people, and they never can attain unto it unless they pass through just such scenes as they have passed through in the past, and such scenes as they doubtless will have to pass through of a more trying character in the future. This is the discipline that is necessary to purify us, to prepare us in every respect for the fulfilling of that high destiny that awaits us. For just as sure as God lives, so sure will the people called Latter-day Saints become a great and mighty power in the earth. A people possessed of their qualities must, in the very nature of things, accomplish mighty results. A people united, a people believing in one doctrine, a people temperate and frugal, virtuous, industrious and enterprising, possessing every quality of greatness, they must, in the very nature of things, if they are true to themselves and to their religion, achieve distinction in the earth, and God designs it for us. But we must put ourselves in a way to be taught of Him. We must put away evil far from us. We must cleanse ourselves from every thing that is offensive in His sight. We must live the religion that we profess—make it practically a part of our every day lives. This is incumbent upon us individually as well as collectively. A religion of profession amounts to nothing. A religion to be used only on Sundays is valueless. We want a religion that will go with us into our fields, into our workshops, into our habitations, and into our every day dealings one with another. This is the kind of religion we want, and this, I am happy to say, is the kind of religion we have got. If we will live it as we should do, we shall witness these results to a greater extent than we have yet witnessed them, God has tried us in many respects in the past. There are additional ordeals yet before us. We have been told from the beginning that the time would come when not only would the people of a county be opposed to us, but the people of a state would oppose us; and as we increased opposition would increase, until the Government of the United States would pronounce against us. It is a remarkable fact—not known, probably, or if known not believed by the Congress of the United States; or by the members of Congress, who pass inimical measures against us—that Joseph Smith predicted years and years ago, when it was as improbable as anything that is yet unfulfilled, that the time would come when our nation through its Congress, would do the very thing that is now being done, that we have witnessed this last week for instance, in the passage by the Senate of the Edmunds-Hoar bill. Little do they think that by such actions as these they are strengthening the faith of the Latter-day Saints, because they see in these actions that they are fulfilling the words of a man whom they believe to be a Prophet of God. And not only were we told that this would be the case, but that the time would come when the fear of the Kingdom of God would be so great that other nations would array themselves in like manner against the Latter-day Saints.

So, Latter-day Saints, if any of you think that we will immediately have a time when persecution, trial and difficulty will cease, and we will have smooth sailing, you had better be undeceived, for that is not in the programme; it is not designed of God that we should have any such future before us. The time will come, but it will be when Satan is bound, when the Kingdom of God will prevail on the earth, and peace, righteousness and truth will have sway; but until that time we may expect to have troubled seas, tempests, times of trial and difficulty, to test us and train us, and to fit and prepare the earth, as we have been told this afternoon for the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are only testing our strength in these things. The Edmunds law became a law upwards of two years ago. What has it amounted to? Why, we have had an opportunity of showing our strength, our union. Now, this bill that has been passed by the Senate—suppose it should become a law. What then? Will it have the effect that is expected of those who have framed it? If we do our duty, certainly not. If we live our religion, certainly not. It will fall harmless at our feet. There is no law that can be devised by human wisdom that can reach this case—that is, as those who devise such measures desire. It is an impossibility. No mobocratic scheme ever injured us. When the Governor of the State of Missouri issued his exterminating order against the Latter-day Saints, declaring that if they did not leave the State they should be exterminated, he thought, doubtless, that he was dealing this system a deadly blow. We were broken up into fragments, it might be said, in the depths of inclement weather. The people were compelled to flee for their lives. What was the result? Why, in a short time the system became a greater power than before. When we were driven out by violence, by bloodshed, from the State of Illinois, and compelled to launch forth into the wilderness, for a while it was thought that we were certainly placed in a position where we should be ruined. What has been the result? It has had the effect of causing us to spread until throughout these mountain valleys the Latter-day Saints are numbered by thousands. Every measure that has been taken against us since then, designed for our overthrow, has only taught us our strength. It has compelled us to go to the fountain of all strength, to God our Eternal Father. Feeling our own inability, our own in, capacity, our own weakness, we have been compelled to go to a higher power. We have invoked the heavens. From the habitations of the Saints throughout these valleys the prayer of faith has ascended unto the God of heaven imploring Him to protect and preserve the people in their innocence—notwithstanding the malignant falsehoods that have been circulated against them—imploring Him to defend them, and to save them from the hands of those who would destroy them. And abundantly have these prayers been answered. We have had deliverances wrought out that have been most extraordinary. Men have looked upon this system and said, “What crafty leaders, what astute leadership; you have got a very cunning lot of men as Mormon leaders”—giving the glory to men, as though men could preserve the people in this matter, ignoring the God of heaven, denying His power, and asserting that God had done nothing, but that it is all attributable to the management of the leaders in holding the people together, as though it had all been done by the strength of their impostures.

Now, these deliverances which have: been wrought out in the past will be repeated. These trials are necessary. It is just as necessary that we should have these things to contend with as that we live. I do not dread their effects nearly as much as I do something else. Hostile legislation and opposition of this character have but one tendency as a rule, that is, to drive us closer together, to make the cause a common one, to cause us to feel united. You have seen a cooper putting hoops on a barrel; driving them down has the effect of tightening the staves and making the barrel strong. So it is with these measures. The more they are driven the tighter it brings the people together, solidifies them, makes them one, and it gives them a consciousness of strength; because when they emerge from these trials victorious they feel better able to cope with greater difficulties and greater oppression when they are brought to bear upon them. And they are necessary, as I have said, for our development. But let us have ease, let us prosper in worldly things, let the world smile upon us and bid us welcome and treat us as they treat those whom they love; let the world do this, and how long should we be united? Why, the influence would be towards disintegration. Worldly influence would creep in. That is more to be dreaded than persecution. Prosperity is far more to be dreaded under circumstances such as we are placed in—what I mean by prosperity, I mean worldly prosperity, worldly sympathy, worldly favor; these are more to be dreaded than the disfavor of the world and the tyranny that may be brought to bear upon us because of our being obnoxious to them.

Therefore, I look upon these measures and other measures that are proposed as only a part of the programme. Shall we have measures that will be hostile to us? Yes. We may make up our minds for this; but we may also rest assured that that God who has delivered us so frequently in the past will still continue to deliver us, and we shall not fall a prey, if we do our duty, to our enemies. He will preserve us. He will make our feet fast in these mountains. He will throw around us His arm of power, and when the worst comes to the worst He will interpose in our behalf in a miraculous manner to free us and place us upon a sure foundation. In fact, it is all miraculous. The existence of this people is a miracle. The growth of this people is a miracle. The attitude of this people is a miracle. It is all contrary to what are called natural causes, and therefore miraculous, contrary to the laws that pass current among men respecting peoples, communities and individuals, such as we are, and such as all are.

My brethren and sisters: We have every reason to rejoice so long as we are doing right. It is this that we have to console us. If we were vicious the world would not war against us. It is not against vice that the war is being made. Man may say so, but God knows it is not so. Our enemies know that it is not so. They know that it is not vice in us that provokes this warfare. Where is vice to be found in our cities? Nowhere. It finds no favor with us. We cherish virtue, the virtues of humanity, every thing that is God-like, and we frown down everything that is vicious and unholy. If we had our way there would not be an adulterer in these mountains. If we had our way there would not be a seducer in these mountains. Every woman would either be a virtuous maiden or a married woman, or a widow. We would take care of family virtue, preserve it as we would life; for it is more precious than life itself, and should be valued as such, and every man that would do anything to degrade a woman ought to be and will be damned. If we had our way there would be no drunkenness in all these mountains, no lying in these mountains; the name of God would not be taken in vain, no profane words would be heard. We would suppress these things, and in their place cherish virtue, industry, integrity, honesty and every virtue that men love and that God loves. No, it is not because we are vicious; it is not because we love vice; it is not because we are the most corrupt and depraved of mankind that we have enemies Why, the drunkard, the gambler, the whoremonger, the villains of various dyes, who fight against us, would welcome us if we were like them. But we are not. We have come out of the world and are determined to serve God according to the dictates of our conscience, and according to the revelations that He has given us.

The warfare will go on as it has done in the past, only with this difference: that in our age and to us God has made promises, that this kingdom, that is, the Holy Priest, hood that He has restored to the earth and the authority that He once had among men; the promise is to us that it shall not be taken from the earth again; but that this kingdom shall roll forth, continue to grow and increase, until it will encircle within its pale all the virtuous and honest of the nations of the earth. This is the destiny of this work; not to exclude any one, but to include every one; and as it gains strength, influence and power, it will continue to aggregate to itself all that is good in mankind. The day will come when our own nation will be convulsed with intestine strife. The civil war that is past is not the only war that will take place in this land. It is a matter of regret to think it should be otherwise. But God has spoken. There will be intestine strife in our own nation. Already we can see, as it were, the seeds of this germinating and sprouting in the midst of neighborhoods and of communities, and it will break out after a while, and men will flee to Zion. The prediction was made 52 years ago by Joseph Smith, that the time would come when those that would not take up their sword to fight against their neighbor in this blessed land, (the most favored of any land under the heavens, so favored in government, so favored in climate, so favored in every element of wealth, and in all its surroundings) they would be compelled to come here for protection, for we will be the only people that will be at peace on the continent. That prediction was made 52 years ago. It will be fulfilled just as sure as God has spoken it.

My brethren and sisters, I am happy in this reflection: that notwithstanding the threatening aspect of affairs—I speak now in relation to legislation—there is a spirit of peace, calmness and serenity, prevailing throughout our settlements and throughout our families, so far as I have been able to discern, that has shown we are undisturbed, that we are conscious of the fact that God is with us. Continue to cherish this spirit, let it rest upon you, impart it to your children, extend it as far as you can; and may the blessing of our Father and God rest down abundantly upon you and upon all the honest everywhere throughout the wide earth, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Object of Co-Operation, etc.

Joseph F. Smith

Discourse delivered by Joseph F. Smith, in the Ogden Tabernacle, Saturday afternoon, July 18, 1884, being the Quarterly Conference of the Weber Stake of Zion. Reported by John Irvine.

I am pleased to see so many of the Saints assembled here on this the opening day of conference, and I certainly hope that those who have taken the trouble to come to conference on the first day may be amply repaid for so doing.

We ought I think to be very willing to perform any duty that may be required of us as Latter-day Saints, on the Sabbath day, and at other times appointed for the gathering of the Saints. We should come together for the purpose of being spiritually strengthened and encouraged, that our faith may be increased, and that we may learn the duties devolving upon us as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

We are not nearly as united as we ought to be. If the people of Huntsville, whose Bishop has been reporting them, had been united as Saints should be, and as I trust they will be some day, the probability is that they would have been much better off financially than they now are.

Co-operation is a principle that President Young was very much concerned about, and that he endeavored, with his brethren, to impress upon the minds of the people throughout the land. Under his administration our co-operative institutions were established, and by his efforts, many of the people, especially in the southern part of Utah and in Arizona, became united together in organizations that were called “the United Order.” The object was co-operation, that the principles of union in labor as well as in faith might be developed to its fullest extent in the midst of the Saints. We all believe in being united in faith. We all profess to believe that there is one God, one faith, one baptism, and that we should be one people; but notwithstanding we profess this, our individuality stands out very prominent. Many of us cannot see just the same as our brethren see, and we cannot possibly be wholly united with them. We do not expect—I do not expect at all events—that the people will come to see eye to eye all at once. I believe this to be a work of great importance, and one that will not be accomplished without years of experience, and perhaps we will have to suffer many chastisements and reproofs before we are brought to a unity of the faith. Yet we ought to try to see eye to eye as far as possible. Our being united does not destroy our individuality at all. We can be just as strong in our individuality when united in regard to the purposes and designs of the Almighty, as we can possibly be when in opposition to these purposes and designs, and to our brethren who are united in regard to the things of God. Indeed I think it evinces a stronger characteristic of individuality for men and women to bring themselves into harmony and union with the purposes of the Almighty than to be divided against them or separate from them. Of one thing I am certain, and that is, that we ought to seek to become acquainted with the principles of economy. We ought to use the best wisdom, judgment and understanding we can obtain in our temporal as well as in our spiritual affairs and concerns. You take a community like the community of Huntsville, or any community of Saints in a Ward, isolated, perhaps, in a little valley, and if there is union and co-operation in their midst, thousands and tens of thousands of dollars can be saved in their own pockets; while, on the other hand, if individuals are left to do as they please, thousands of dollars will go out of their pockets into the pockets of speculators and others. I know that to be true. As Bishop Hammond has very truly said, there is in Huntsville from half a dozen to a dozen mowing machines, when two or three would be ample to do all the work which is required to be done in that place with these machines. This being the case, as stated by the Bishop, then all the thousands of dollars which have been expended upon these superabundant machines and other implements, have gone out of the possession of the people into the pockets of outsiders and strangers; whereas if they had been contented with having just enough, they could have devoted the balance of their means in other directions, or have placed it in such a position as that it would bring them interest, instead of being operated and used by their enemies, perhaps, for their political or religious destruction. There is no reason why the principle of unity should not operate in the midst of the Latter-day Saints, except that we are too selfish. It should not be “every man for himself;” but we are many of us covetous. We desire in our hearts to have everything our neighbor has, whether we need it or not. In order to be like our neighbor; in order that we may associate with him, and that our daughters may associate with his daughters, and our sons with his sons, we must have as fine a house, as costly furniture, as many horses, as many plows, reaping and mowing machines, and headers, as many cows, as many sheep, and as many luxuries, whether we can afford it as well as our neighbor can or not. Now, all this is extremely foolish. It is wrong. We see a vehicle which costs $200, more or less, and we do not absolutely need it—only we must have it to be like our neighbor—would it not be better to put that money in the bank, or lend it to somebody in business, and thus while benefiting others with our capital, secure interest upon it for ourselves. Certainly it would. In that way the money would be a help to you; whereas if you purchase the wagon you do not require, in addition to paying an exorbitant price in the purchase which is generally the case, the wagon will very likely be left exposed to the sun and wet—as wagons too frequently are left by a great many of the people—and soon becomes useless. Some men think nothing of buying a very nice carriage, spring wagon, or other wagon of some kind, and treating it in this way until it is ruined and worthless. The same with valuable agricultural machinery; too much of it is bought and used for two or three days, or two or three weeks in a season, or for a whole month in a year—say a reaper, or a mower, and where is it the rest of the year? Out doors, in the sun and rain, and before it can be used next season, it must be taken to a blacksmith’s shop for repairs; for through exposure it has become rusty, the wood season checked every joint loosened. This is the way some people use their agricultural implements whereas with very little trouble they might be stored away in the shed, kept dry and secure, and ready for service when the next season came round, But the better way of all is—in a small community where every man knows his neighbor, and where all are on neighborly terms, to consult together, and to form into co-operative bodies for the purpose of transacting the business necessary to be transacted outside of their little community. By thus consulting together, and using the combined wisdom of the community as to the number of reapers, mowers, etc., they will need to do the work of the community, a great deal might be saved. One man need not own the machinery. They could all join together, each contributing a certain sum towards its purchase, which they could use to mutual advantage, and see that it is well housed and taken care of when out of use. In this way a community could save thousands of dollars year after year, and I know the principle is a correct one for the people of Zion. It is a principle of economy. Money is something which a man ought to be able to take care of, and use wisely if he has it; if he does not know how to take care of it, it will escape from his pockets, it will take the wings of the morning and flee away.

I think we ought to be united in all these things, in the purchase of machinery and of the vast amount of merchandise that we consume, that we do not manufacture or produce among ourselves. The very foundation of all real prosperity is home industry and home manufacture. This lies at the foundation of the prosperity of every permanently prosperous community. It is the source of wealth. I think, therefore, we ought to encourage home industry. We ought to co operate together, if there is any kind of business in which there is a profit, let us operate together and have the benefit of that profit among ourselves, instead of giving it to strangers. Why should we encourage the stranger to come here and import wagons to sell to us when we have got the brains and the money to sustain that business among ourselves? Why should we not rather do such things ourselves, and supply business and employment for our own people, many of whom are idle, and be independent of the world, and if there is a profit in it, put that profit in our own pockets, and use it for the comfort and happiness of our wives and children? It is a fact—at least it was reported to me as a fact by a person who is supposed to be acquainted with the business—that one man who deals in wagons and agricultural implements in Utah Territory, put $30,000 into his pocket in one year, and he is only an agent for the company he deals with. I presume that the company put an equal amount into their pockets as the result of his labors; but the agent, as I was informed, put $30,000 in his own pocket as he result of his business. Who is it that buys the wagons, the plows, the harrows, the reapers, the mowers etc., in Utah Territory? Is it the Gentiles? No, it is the Latter-day Saints. Those who are not Latter-day Saints are not engaged in agriculture as a rule. If there are any of them tilling the ground they are exceptions to the rule and they are very few and far between. They are not the people who use the wagons. They may it is true, use some of them at the mines in hauling, etc., etc. The vast bulk of this class of merchandise is consumed by the Latter-day Saints. The result is that the Latter-day, Saints put that $30,000 into the pocket of the man I allude to. That same man sat on a Grand Jury and helped to indict a man for marrying, acknowledging and maintaining his wives. That same man stands head and shoulders above many of his fellows in opposition to the Latter-day Saints, and in using his power abroad as well as in Utah against the interests of the people from whom he gets his money.

I do not feel that the Latter-day Saints are using their best wisdom, or acting upon the principle of the highest intelligence, when they sustain and patronize such men, especially when they have got the skill, the intelligence and the means to do all such business independent of all strangers or foreigners. I know they can do it if they will only co-operate together and do business upon business principles. Our honesty with the world is proverbial. It is the universal testimony of outsiders that trade with us here, that the Latter-day Saints are the most honest and best paying people they ever did business with. I believe this is true. If a Latter-day Saint owes a Gentile and also a brother, it is said, he will pay the Gentile every time in preference to his brother. Well, I do not know that this is right: I think if he cannot pay the full amount to both, it would be proper to pay each a proportion. Would not this be just as honest—instead of paying all to the Gentile and leaving your brother without anything I think so. I do not know that we do this sort of thing to any extent; but I have sometimes heard of people that were thought to be very good payers to the outsiders, but were not so prompt in paying their brethren. I do not think that is exactly right. I think we ought not to go in debt at all beyond what we can pay. The Lord commands this. We ought to live within our means if possible, and if it is not possible and we keep living beyond our means, it is only a question of time when we won’t even have credit, our friends won’t trust us, and we will have to live within our means or die, or steal, as some one has added. When it comes to that kind of thing I feel as Dr. Johnson did when the beggar accosted him, “Why don’t you go to work?” said the Doctor. “I cannot get any work, I cannot get anything to do, and you know, Doctor, I must live.” “Well, said the Doctor, “I don’t see the least necessity for it.” (Laughter.) When a man won’t pay his debts, or will not live within his means, when he knows what his income is: when a man will continue to get in debt to his neighbors as long as he has got any credit, knowing all the time that he cannot pay his way—well, I do not know that there is much necessity for that man to live. Perhaps the world would be as well off if he should pass away quietly somewhere. Every Latter-day Saint ought to learn—and especially every youth in Israel ought to learn—that every one of them should try to make the world a little better for their being in it, if they possibly can. We all ought to try to do some good. If we will do that, then there is some necessity for our living. God will bless us in our labors and efforts; and if we will co-operate together in our temporal affairs and conduct our business on correct principles, the world will be better for us, and we will be better off in the world. We will have more means to build up the kingdom of God; we will have more to use for the gathering of the poor, for the building up of Zion, for the benefit of the Saints, and for our own benefit, and we will have much more power in the world. Money is a powerful agent in this degenerated age. It is said that knowledge is power. Knowledge should stand above money or wealth. But in the present condition of the world money takes the lead.

This ought not to be the case with us. The Lord says in the scriptures, “make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness.” What for? Obviously that you may have power and influence with the unrighteous.

Now, if we had wealth—and we are bound to have it by and by—those who worship wealth would either covet it and hate us and try to destroy us to get it, as some are doing, or else they would be bound to acknowledge the power we could wield through the possession of wealth. Well, now, we need not be at all afraid of the former. They cannot destroy us; for the Lord is our friend, and we are His friends. He will not suffer them to rob and plunder us; and take away from us our possessions; or if He does, he will give us more abundantly; because if we possess riches they will be the Lord’s. We will dedicate them to Him, if we do our duty, and they will belong to Him, and surely the Lord will protect His own. We should not despise these things, but should endeavor to use them for the accomplishment of the all-wise purposes of the Almighty. The Lord has said, Zion shall become the richest of all people. The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness of the earth is His. The cattle upon a thousand hills are His. The gold and the silver and all the mineral wealth of these vast mountains belong to the Lord. And although the wicked may get possession of them for a little while, yet they will perish by and by, and leave all their wealth behind. They cannot take it beyond the grave. By and by the Lord will overrule these matters in such a way, that the righteous, those who love God more than they love the world, and will use their means to the honor and glory of God, shall be made possessors of the earth and the fullness of it. It will be theirs to use for every purpose that is right and legitimate—to manipulate armies if necessary—to manipulate nations, or the world if necessary, to the carrying out of the purposes of Almighty God. We do not want to lavish it upon the lusts of the flesh. We should not desire it for that purpose.

If we do, God will withhold it from us, I hope; for no man should have wealth to gratify the lusts and desires of the flesh. We should use it to the honor and glory of God’s name, and to the building up of His Kingdom.

We ought; therefore, to co-operate together in our mercantile institutions. It is as much a duty to sustain these as any other duty devolving upon us, or now as at any former time. We should patronize our brethren. We ought to see eye to eye in regard to these things. We ought to be united in everything. We should cheerfully extend a helping hand to our neighbors from time to time. If our neighbor is oppressed, if he lacks knowledge or understanding or skill in the management of his affairs, you that have skill and experience and know how to husband your strength and means, ought to take pains to instruct your neighbor or brother who is not as thoroughly posted as you are. The instructions he receives in this way will benefit him and will not injure or impoverish you. We ought not to be miserly in regard to anything we possess, that is good. We can freely impart to others and not diminish our own store. We can impart our experience for the benefit of others. If our brother is about to buy something that is apparently not required, it would be a benefit to the poor man, who lacks judgment, for the Bishop or his counselors, or for his Teacher to go to him and endeavor to show him the mistake he is about to make. I think we ought to co-operate together in all these matters, be one in all respects, and not be like the world, “every one for himself and the devil for all.” The Lord has told us in a revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith, that except we are one, we are not His. He has said that we must be united. We must be one. We should see eye to eye. We should help each other; help our neighbor and our brother. The Savior very beautifully describes who is our neighbor in the example of the good Samaritan. Who is your neighbor? Who is your brother? Why, the man that ministers to you in the time of need; the man that is your friend in the time of adversity; the man that extends a helping hand and saves you from error; the man that gives you the benefit of his experience and of his superior intelligence—he is your neighbor, your friend and your brother. Those who have embraced the Gospel—and especially those who are endowed with the authority of the Holy Priesthood, and are called to be saviors upon Mount Zion—ought to be the first and foremost in this good work of being saviors of their neighbors, and of their fellow creatures on the earth. It is our duty to teach correct principles, to instil them into the hearts of our children, and into the hearts of our neighbors, and to see that these principles are grounded in our own hearts; for except a man has been converted himself, and has a knowledge of the truth, it is folly for him to undertake to teach others the right way. But when the principles of the Gospel are thoroughly established in our own hearts, we can then go in the midst of our fellow creatures and say, “Come and follow me.” We can do this consistently. We are called to be teachers of these principles to the inhabitants of the earth. We are called to be God’s people, not a people of the world, for we have come out of the world. We ought to be united in all things temporal as well as spiritual. With God all things are spiritual. There is nothing temporal with Him at all, and there ought to be no distinction with us in regard to these things. Our earthly or temporal existence is merely a continuance of that which is spiritual. Every step we take in the great journey of life, the great journey of eternity, is a step in advance or in retrogression. We are here in mortality, it is true; but we are ahead of that condition we occupied before we came here and took upon us mortality. We are a step in advance of our former state. What is the body without: the spirit? It is lifeless clay. What is it that affects this lifeless clay? It is the spirit, it is the immortal part, the eternal being, that existed before it came here, that exists within us, and that will continue to exist, and that by and by will redeem these tabernacles and bring them forth out of the graves. This whole mission of ours is spiritual. The work we have to do here, although we call it temporal, pertains alike to our spiritual and our temporal salvation. And the Lord has just as much right to dictate, to counsel, to direct and guide us in the manipulation and management of our temporal affairs, as we call them, as He has to say one word in relation to our spiritual affairs. So far as He is concerned there is no difference in this regard. He looks upon us as immortal beings. Our bodies are designed to become eternal and spiritual. God is spiritual Himself, although He has a body of flesh and bone as Christ has. Yet He is spiritual, and those who worship Him must do so in spirit and in truth. And when you come to separate the spiritual from the temporal, see that you do not make a mistake. Some are inclined to say, “the Lord has a right to manage my spiritual affairs, but I will not allow Him to interfere with my temporal affairs.” Why, bless your soul, temporal things pertain to spiritual things. They minister to the spiritual man though they may be clothed with a tabernacle of flesh. The Bishop has as good a right to counsel the members of his Ward in relation to the purchase of merchandize or machinery, where and when he can do so wisely, as he has to counsel them in regard to spiritual matters. He has just as good a right to do the one as the other. He is a father to the people of the Ward. He is placed over the people for the purpose of leading them in the way of truth and righteousness, and it is his business to look after the temporal—if you chose to make any distinction between the temporal and spiritual—as well as the spiritual things. And President Taylor has as much right to direct the people in temporal things as he has in spiritual things. We ought to acknowledge that right, and ought to do it freely and cheerfully, because we should see that it is right. We are under no compulsion to do so if we do not see that it is right; but at the same time it is a correct principle, and every Latter-day Saint ought to have intelligence enough to know that this is the best thing for him to do—to be united, to be one with his brethren.

Now, you are going to have an election of county officers by and by. What are you going to do about it? Are you going to split tickets? Are you going to the polls to scratch off names, and put on the name of somebody else? I should hope not. I do not care who is put in office, only so far as we must obey the commandments of the Lord in these things. We must choose righteous men, good men to fill these positions. Hence if you will only get good men to fill these offices no one should care who they are, so that you have agreed upon them, and were one. We want you to be one both in temporal, political and religious things, in fact, in everything you put your hands to in righteousness. We want you to be one, one as God and Christ are one, seeing eye to eye. Do not try to crush anybody, or build yourselves up at the expense of your neighbor. Do not do it; it is a custom of the world, and it is a wrong principle. It is said in the Scriptures that the children of the world are wiser in their generation than the children of light. What does that mean? Why as I see it, when you go into Catholic communities, you will find that Catholics send their children to Catholic schools, and not to Protestant schools. You will find them patronizing Catholic merchants. They do not patronize Protestants. If there is anybody to put up for office they will put up their friends and vote for them. If you travel as missionaries throughout the world you will find this to be true. I have seen it in San Francisco, in New York, and in Great Britain, and upon the Continent, and wherever I have been, and yet it is accounted criminal for Latter-day Saints to follow this rule. We might commit treason against the United States if we did not send our children to Gentile schools, or if we did not patronize Gentile merchants. If a Gentile wanted to run for an office, and we did not vote for him, why, we are in rebellion against the government of the United States. I am going to tell you in a few words, what I think about these matters. I think the Latter-day Saints ought to send their children to be educated by those who are their friends, and not by their enemies. I think the Latter-day Saints ought to patronize their brethren and sustain them, in preference to their enemies. I believe that the Latter-day Saints ought to co-operate together and do their own business instead of asking the Gentiles to do it for them. I believe the Latter-day Saints ought to unite together in regard to all these things, and do their business upon the most wise and economical principles, instead of every individual doing it himself, wasting his means, sustaining his enemies, and getting materials he has no use for. That is what I believe in regard to these matters.

To-day is Saturday, I am glad of it; for somebody would say I was breaking the Sabbath if I were to preach to you in this way on the Sabbath. But this is Saturday. It is the Jewish Sabbath. It is only unto man that there is a Sabbath. The Lord has set apart one day in seven upon which man should rest, because it is needful for the body and the mind. We should worship the Lord upon that day. Man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made for man.

It is for us to do our duty and live our religion on one day the same as any other. Let us serve the Lord in righteousness all the day long, and He will be our Father and Friend, and our enemies shall have no power over us. This is my testimony in the name of Jesus, Amen.

But One Church of God, etc.

George Q. Cannon

Discourse by President George Q. Cannon, delivered at Ogden, on Sunday morning, July 21st 1878. Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.

I am very pleased this morning at having the opportunity of meeting with the Latter-day Saints in Ogden, and I trust that while I shall attempt to address you, I shall be assisted by the Spirit of God, in making such remarks as shall be appropriate to your circumstances and condition. Brother Hardy, in his remarks, said we were the people of God, and that we were engaged in establishing His Kingdom on the earth. If this is so—and I suppose you as Latter-day Saints who are present to-day, can bear testimony that this is the case—then we ought to be a people entirely different from every other people upon the face of the earth; because there can be but one people of God, or one Church of God, or one Kingdom of God; there cannot be two, nor three, nor more, one opposed to the other. Everything that has been revealed concerning God, concerning His Church, and concerning the principles of salvation, leads us to the conclusion that there is a oneness, that there is union, and that divisions and opposition cannot exist among the people of God; it would be entirely inconsistent with every idea of the eternal Creator to suppose anything else than this. Hence, no matter where you find those who are truthfully the people of God, you will find them under all circumstances united, thinking alike, believing alike, and acting alike. That is, having the same objects in view, the same aims to reach, and being prompted by one common motive or impulse. Therefore, having this view, I differ, upon some points, from some who are called Latter-day Saints, who seem to entertain the idea that because we are in the world we must necessarily be of the world, a part of them; and that the standard which is looked up to and recognized in the world as correct, is one to which we should conform. Now, in this respect I differ from those of my brethren who entertain these ideas. I think it is our duty, making the professions we do and occupying the position we do, to be so far as necessary entirely original, or to use a word that is commonly used to describe us, a peculiar people. Because the world have a certain way to accomplish certain objects, I do not recognize it as at all necessary for us to do the same as they do. And I am quite willing that it should be known and understood, so far as I am individually concerned, that in many respects I differ from the world by which I am surrounded: and that in being a Latter-day Saint I claim the right, so long as I act in accordance with the rules of good order and do not violate any rules of decorum, to do as I please, to think as I please, and talk as I please. This is a right that I claim as a Latter-day Saint. If I choose to believe that God has established upon the earth His Church, at the head of which He has placed a Prophet, and I choose to believe in that Prophet, to listen to his teachings, to be guided by his counsels, I claim that so long as I do this and do not interfere with my fellow citizens in the exercise of their privileges, it is my right to do so. If I choose to believe that the Lord has placed in His Church Twelve Apostles, to whom He has given the keys of the Apostleship and authority, and to whom He has committed the last dispensation, requiring of them to go to all nations as messengers of life and salvation, or see that the Gospel is carried to all the nations of the earth, and I choose to listen to their instructions and counsels and be governed by them, choosing to acknowledge them as channels through which life and salvation shall flow unto me, and that every administration of the laws and ordinances of God’s House is sacred and holy; if I choose to do this, I think it is my right to do it, so long as in doing so I interfere with no other man’s rights and privileges. So in relation to gathering together. If, as a Latter-day Saint, I choose to leave other societies and communities and separate myself from them, to cast my lot in the midst of a people with a faith similar to my own, to choose them as my associates and mingle with them, and to patronize them and uphold them in all their labors and undertakings, who is there that has the right to question me in so doing, so long as I do not interfere with the rights of my fellow citizens? In speaking thus of myself, the same applies to this entire people; for that which is right in individual cases, is right in cases of an entire community, whether they be numbered by thousands or millions. A great deal of fault has been found with us, as a community, because of these peculiarities, because we choose to believe that God our Eternal Father has established His Church and placed at the head thereof a Prophet; because He has established His Church and placed therein Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Teachers and other helps: because He has restored the everlasting Gospel in its simplicity and power; and also the gifts thereof, so that men can enjoy them again; because, I say, we believe in this and claim this, a great many are disposed to find fault with us. Now, I claim that it is nobody’s business but our own what we believe, as to how we live, as to how we do or how we organize ourselves, so long as we do not violate law and do not trample upon the rights of those by whom we may be surrounded who are our fellow citizens. I speak thus because of some things which I notice in our midst. Now, I am away considerable, and when I get back I suppose I look upon the condition of affairs here with a little more scrutiny than if I were here altogether. And I notice this, that there is a disposition among some who belong to the Church to truckle, a tendency to bow, a tendency to drift in the direction of society as if exists elsewhere, and I have noticed that some people are dreadfully afraid of the association of church and state, dreadfully afraid that somebody will be mingling politics and religion, that some one who holds office in the Church among us may hold some political office. I do not share in that fear in the least. I have never shared in it, I hope I never shall, and have no idea I ever shall. To do this, I am too conscious of the fact that the Latter-day Saints have been led to these mountains by the Almighty, through His servants, and that He has given unto us rights as citizens of the land, and being in the majority, it is our right to govern this land, to govern it in such a manner as shall secure to all men who enter its borders their rights, whether they be Latter-day Saints, Methodists, Presbyterians, Infidels, or anybody else, either “heathen Chinese” or civilized American. The Lord has given us ability thus far to govern the land; and it affords me no little pleasure to be able to say that there is no part of this nation so well governed as this Territory, which has since the day we came here been governed by the “Mormon” people; and there is no part of these United States that compares with this Territory for prosperity, for good order, for good government, and for freedom from taxation and everything else that is burdensome. And to whom is the credit due? It is due to the Lord; and next to Him it is due to His servants and people.

There have been attempts, and there will be continued attempts made to wrest the control of this land from us. We are engaged in a warfare; we have been told from the beginning that it is a warfare that will not cease until righteousness prevails on the earth. Every man that enters into this Church, if he understands the nature of his calling, understands that he enters into a warfare to contend for the triumph of truth. Do not those who are opposed to the Latter-day Saints recognize this? Certainly they do; and their efforts have been, and are so directed to-day, and will continue to be, to wrest that power from us which the Lord has given unto us. They would throw dust in the eyes of the Latter-day Saints, if possible, and try to foster in the minds of the people that there is something very inconsistent with the Constitution and genius of our institutions for men who are religious to have anything to do with politics. It is considered all very well for a wicked man to hold office; he can mingle in politics and help to frame the government of the country; but the man who makes any profession of religion, especially if he be an official in the church to which he belongs, has no right to meddle in politics, or interfere in any way with the government of society. This is all wrong from beginning to end. Admitting what I said in the beginning, that we are the people of God, I would ask, what better people can be found, and what more suitable people to take charge of the affairs of mankind in the earth and establish righteous principles and maintain laws under which all men can dwell in peace and be entirely free from oppression and everything of this character? Who, I would ask, are better qualified to do this than the men who understand the principles of truth? Suppose, for instance, that to-day and from this day forward, the Latter-day Saints, those who are active in their religion and in the performance of the duties of their religion, were to withdraw from politics and leave the government of this land to others, what would be the result? It would not be but a little while before the scenes we see in other places, and that are deplored by every lover of liberty in the country, would be enacted in this part of the land; you would see a condition of affairs that would cause you to mourn, and you would be willing to flee to any place almost to be free from participating in them. This would be the result if those who are active, as Latter-day Saints, were to withdraw from participation in these matters. But is this the design of the Lord? No, it is not; He never did design that this should be the case, and it would be a want of wisdom on our part, as a people, to allow any such a condition of affairs to exist. I maintain that Latter-day Saints have a perfect right to hold office, and they should not be excluded from office; that whenever the people choose to elect one of them, it would not be considered improper in the least degree, no matter what his standing, he has a perfect right to hold that office; and if he be a righteous man, the better it will be for the people, if he will condescend to take upon him the duties of the office. Instead of excluding such a person I would feel thankful to him to fill it, feeling assured that such men would give satisfaction, and that while they were in power good government would be preserved in the land. Some of our enemies have come to Congress, and have complained about “Mormons” holding office. I have said, gentlemen, if you would exclude a “Mormon” from holding office, because of his ecclesiastical authority, you will have to exclude every man of worth in the Territory, for there is not a man of worth in the Territory who does not hold some office in our Church. The shoemaker who works at his trade for a living, may be called upon on the Sabbath to preach to the people; the carpenter, the blacksmith, the mason, the man who works from Monday morning to Saturday night may be called upon to preach the Gospel of salvation; and such men are all the time being called to go to the nations of the earth as ministers of the Gospel; and if it be a crime for a man to hold a political office who is a minister in our Church, then you will have to exclude every man of worth in our Territory, for our Bishops are our most prominent and active business men; and there is this feature with those who act in this Territory, they act without pay; and the men who distinguish themselves in the manipulation of their own affairs are generally selected to manage the affairs of the public, and they are men most suitable to attend to business affairs, to act as Probate Judges, or in any other office. When this is explained, it is very rarely you will hear a man find fault. But there are some who complain about the “Mormon” hierarchy, who do not seem to know that it consists of the entire people, and that every man of worth, professing the faith and religion of the Latter-day Saints, belongs to that hierarchy.

I trust none of the Latter-day Saints are tender on this point. I would proclaim it to the world that we have such confidence in our leading men, the men who have made this country, and who have planted our feet in these mountains, the men who have all the day long urged the people to habits of industry, and to become self-sustaining, the men who framed our governments—our city government, or county government, our Territorial government, such as we have to-day, and who organized us as we are organized here; I say, I am not ashamed to acknowledge that I am willing to be led and governed by the counsels of men who have done such wonders, as we witness on every hand. Call them Apostles, call them Prophets, call them Bishops, call them Elders, call them anything you please that is honorable, I am not ashamed of it. I would just as soon they dictate as to have a little caucus do it. I have seen these caucuses outside of this Territory and among non-Mormons. A few men get together and caucus, and plan and arrange, and they get up a ticket, and lay their wires so that others will sustain it, and the Convention will sustain is, and by this means get their favorites into power. This is a common practice all over the United States. I would deplore it as one of the greatest evils that could occur to us, that there should be a scramble for office among the Latter-day Saints. When two or three brethren, who aspire for office, try to divide the people, this is something to be deplored. I therefore have always advocated keeping down our salaries, that offices may not be very desirable, so that men shall not desire to get possession of office to use it, or feel that because they are elected once to office they ought to always have it. We should always be ready and willing to serve when called upon, and just as willing to decline when required, having at heart the good of the community. A great many of the Members of Congress during the last session were exceedingly anxious for an early adjournment. Why? That they might return home in time, to manage the primary meetings, because if they did not, there was every probability that they would be defeated. It has been noticed, for instance, that Oregon has never elected the same man twice. Why? Because when the convention met to nominate a candidate the member would be in Washington, and somebody else would be nominated, and he would be left out in the cold. It is a remarkable fact that from that State up to the present date a Member of Congress and a Senator has never been elected twice for the same term. And there are other places similarly situated, where men have to be home to superintend the nominations, or they would lose the election. I cannot tell how many times I have been congratulated on the ease with which I have been elected. Members ask me if I have to spend much money and time to secure my election. I tell them it has never cost me any trouble in the least; that I have been elected because the people want me; and when they do not want me I should stop at home. There are some districts in the United States in the same condition, where men are so strong in their districts that it is not necessary that they should return to arrange for their election. But in the most of cases this is what they have to do; they have to watch very carefully, and have their friends on the watch for them, and lay their plans so that they may not have their primary meetings and conventions captured by their enemies. I would indeed deplore the existence of this condition of affairs among us. If there should be any division of sentiment among us at any time, let us do as brethren and sisters should do—for the sisters have a voice in this matter as well as the men, and their voice should have weight; there should be representatives of both sexes—and arrange our differences in the beginning, in our first meetings and there settle them; and then let us go to the polls united, as one body, sinking any differences of opinion we may have, being determined to carry out that which the majority decides upon, because the majority should rule, and this is a principle that should be recognized. The voice of the majority should be potent, and have influence with the minority, and the minority should should not rebel against the majority. You take a republican caucus or a democratic caucus; let them get together and talk about any principle or upon any nomination. They set us an example in some respects, which we might imitate with a good deal of profit. I have seen and known of them quarrelling, and have heard strong arguments—the most bitter arguments; but after the vote has been taken, after the will of the majority has been announced by vote, then the minority submit and cast their votes with the majority. It is so in nominating the Speaker of the House, The Democratic speaker of the House is not the choice of the entire Democratic party, but he is the choice of the majority. So with the door-keeper, sergeant at arms and the various officers selected, and the minority submits to the majority. So with the Republicans in the Senate. It should be so with us, as a community; we should be willing to submit to the will of the majority upon these points.

I am thankful, brethren and sisters, in coming back to find so much prosperity in our Territory. You may think you have had hard times, as I have no doubt you have, there is a scarcity of money, and in some instances a scarcity of labor. But compared with the condition of the East, you can well say you have good deal of prosperity. It is a most painful thing to witness the amount of destitution and poverty found in many of the eastern cities, and through the land generally: You can scarcely walk from, the Capitol down Pennsylvania Avenue to the hotel, without being solicited as many as half a dozen times for charity, colored people and white people something alms. And this is the case in most cities. It is most painful to see respectable people, people whom you would not suspect were in want, from the appearance of their clothes, ask for alms. And this is the case almost universally throughout the east. One of the most grave fears I noticed in the minds of members during this and the summer previous to the adjournment was, that the difficulty arising from the hard times, the want of labor, etc., would give rise to destructive riots. It is true that men’s hearts are failing them in looking forward for the things that are coming to pass.

In this respect we are not without our difficulties. We have trouble about water. That is one of the weighty questions that is looming up in our midst—how to divide our water equitably and justly, and will have to receive attention. Another question is, how to employ our poor people; how shall we put an end to idleness in our midst? how shall we furnish employment to our numerous children, our young men and women growing up? what shall we do to furnish an abundance of employment for every one who desires labor? These two questions require attention. But notwithstanding the existence of these difficulties, our condition in many respects is a most enviable one. We have a healthy country; we have a country where we can live in peace and quietness. The rights of society have been respected thus far in our midst; secret combinations do not exist among us having for their object the overthrow of existing institutions or the destruction of society and property, or the reducing of property to one common level. There are no evils of this kind menacing us to-day. We have an abundance of land. It is true our land is dry land: but still there is plenty of room for our young people spread out. And there should be one principle, I think, observed by us, and that is, that every father and every man who has influence in our various localities should endeavor to the extent of his ability and opportunity to bestow upon our young men a knowledge of the various branches of business. It is a matter pressing itself upon our attention, and it should receive attention from us; that every boy and every girl in our community should be taught something, some branch of skilled industry by which they can sustain themselves. If our boys wish to become farmers, make them the best of farmers, endeavor to teach them some knowledge concerning agricultural chemistry, so that they will be the better qualified to make our land as productive as it can be made. Let our girls be taught branches adapted to their sex, by which they can sustain themselves. Let our great desire in this direction be to become a nation of producers, that idleness may not be known in our land. This is a matter that must receive attention; it has received some, but it must receive more. If some of our boys evince a desire to become herdsmen, efforts should be made to put them in possession of books on stock-raising. The very best sources of information respecting this business should be placed within their reach to enable them to raise the very best animals; and this desire to make the best use of the blessings of God, should be encouraged and entertained by all. Do not forget, my brethren and sisters, the teachings you have heard and which have been repeated in our hearing for so many years; I refer to the saying and storing of grain; for the day will come when you will see the wisdom of doing so, and when many of you will doubtless wish you had profited by it. For I tell you that wars and desolation will cover the land, just as prophets have declared they would; and these are coming, coming, coming, as plainly and as surely as the light comes in the morning before the sun rises above the summit of yonder mountains, and before we see his rays. We see the light approaching from the east, which gives us notice that the sun is upon us, and that we will soon feel his rays. So with the signs of the times at the present. We have only to read the newspapers, and look abroad and see confusion, and see difficulties, and see war, and see pestilence foreshadowing themselves over the land. And these things will come to pass as sure as the Lord has spoken it, and as sure as His servants have testified to these words, I say you should be thankful every morning, noon and night, and all day long, that you are in these mountains, and that your families are so comfortably taken care of in these secluded valleys. You may have difficulties to contend with, we may have many things that render our position unpleasant; but nevertheless our position is the most enviable of any community or any people within the confines of the United States, from Canada in the north to Mexico in the south. There are no people who enjoy a more enviable position. Men have already begun to accord this to us, and say our location is exceedingly desirable. And the fact is being understood and recognized, that there has been what they call a series of fortunate circumstances, but which we call the providences of God, around this people, that have placed us in a most wonderful position to exercise power and do great good. Every time I come home I have these feelings deepened in my heart. I feel more thankful every time I come in sight of these mountains from the east; it seems that every trip increases my thankfulness, to see the homes and places which God has given unto us, to which He has led us and which He has made so blessed in our dwelling here. We are blessed with pure healthy water; and the sun, although its rays are fierce, does not have the effect upon us as upon the people in the east. If the thermometer were to rise 10 degrees higher, I would rather endure the heat here, say at 100 degrees, than at 90 degrees in the east, I feel more vigorous, which is doubtless in consequence of the cool and refreshing canyon breezes which blow down upon us evenings and nights, which enable us to recuperate from the wastes of the day. This is only one thing, but it shows how good the Lord has been in leading us out to this land; and the time will yet come when we will appreciate our position, geographically, still more, when the calamities which have been spoken of by ancient and modern prophets overtake the inhabitants of the earth as well as those of our own nation. Look at our nation for instance; it is asserted by a majority of the people that the President has been put in his position by fraud. Although it has not been proven that President Hayes has been a party to the fraud, and indeed, I believe him to be free from accusations of this kind, yet this does not change the fact that a majority of the nation believe that he occupies the presidential chair through fraud. And of course if this is the case his Cabinet is not legally chosen. But it shows the condition we are coming to; those of you who are posted in the results of what is called the Potter investigating committee are acquainted with the irregularities that have been brought to light, which alone give an idea of the state of society.

Shall we, brethren and sisters, allow ourselves to drift into this channel? When men come to us saying that it is not right that we should manage our election affairs as we do, shall we hearken to them when there are such examples before us all through the east? I say it would be placing ourselves in a most undesirable and critical position; it would be throwing away the blessings God has given us, and which He wishes us to magnify and appreciate. I hope to see the day when through all of these mountains, from Idaho in the north to Mexico in the south, there shall be a free people dwelling at peace, enjoying the blessings of liberty, enjoying the blessings of a Constitutional form of government, electing their own officers by their own free and unbiased choice, and upholding them; and these officers executing justice and righteousness in the midst of the people, I do already see it in part, for all through these valleys we have a system of government which is the purest Constitutional republican-democratic form of government that can be found anywhere over the United States. I prize it, I know its cost; and we should maintain it, every man and woman should maintain it by standing up for their rights, for they have a right to vote, and vote for any man they may choose, no matter who he may be. When you decide that he is the man to fill the office, then elect him, and if you find that such a man does not suit you, when the time comes, change him, and uphold such men only as will maintain the laws and the principles of Constitutional government, and honor the office to which they are elected. Let us never feel to oppress any man because of his religious views, or because of his poverty or because of his political views; but to the contrary, feel that it is a sacred duty imposed upon us to tolerate freedom and preserve good order, and see that integrity and honesty prevail in the land. And you will see the day, and it is not far distant, when these mountains will be the stronghold of a free people, and when men will come here because the principles of the Constitution will be maintained here; and they will be protected in their political and religious rights. And this is the mission which God has given unto us. We should stand shoulder to shoulder, and let no man divide us, no matter who he may be. It is our duty to bind these people together in the strongest possible manner by the bonds of righteousness, not in iniquity, not by secret combinations, but by the bonds of righteousness; because we are few in number, and it is only by our unity that we can be made strong. Let us maintain unity, brethren and sisters; let us maintain it in the Gospel, maintain it in the ordinances that God requires us to submit to; maintain it in all our political affairs, from north to south, and be one, bearing in our minds that a poor nomination well sustained is better than a good nomination not sustained.

That God may bless you, and fill you with His Holy Spirit, and preserve you in the liberty of the Gospel, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Why We Gather, etc.

John Taylor

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered in the Bowery at Rexburg, Bannock Stake, Idaho, Sunday afternoon, Aug. 17th, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

I am pleased to have the opportunity of meeting with you in this place, of visiting your homes in these new settlements, and of striking hands and conversing with many of our old friends with whom we have been associated quite a distance from here, and some a very long distance indeed.

As Latter-day Saints we have gathered to these valleys of the mountains. We are assembled together for certain purposes associated with our own individual interests; in other respects for purposes connected with the welfare of our families, of our wives, our children, our husbands, etc. And then, further, we have gathered together as we have done in these mountains to comply with certain requisitions made by the Almighty upon His people in these latter days. We have come here in accordance with a message that he has communicated from the heavens to the inhabitants of the earth. These ideas and feelings are at the foundation of all our movements, of all our acts. We occupy a very peculiar position in the midst of these United States, and also in the world. We differ from others in a great many respects, in our ideas of God, in our religious sentiments, in our social views, and in our relationship with each other, and in many respects in all the leading characteristics of human life and existence pertaining either to this world or to the world that is to come. We assemble here as Latter-day Saints—for it is to these that I am speaking—and I understand the term Latter-day Saint is used in contradistinction to former-day Saints. The Church of Christ existed some 1800 years ago, when Christ himself was its teacher. He came down from the heavens to teach and instruct the people in the ways of life, Those who believed in Him were baptized in His name for the remission of sins, and they had hands laid upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost. They were born of the water and of the Spirit, and were made new creatures in Christ Jesus. They were instructed in the principles of the Gospel, and they had placed among them Prophets, Apostles, Pastors, Teachers, Evangelists. We are told that these men were authorized by Jesus to preach the Gospel to all the nations of the earth. We are told that they were to tarry at Jerusalem, until they had received power from on high, notwithstanding all the teachings they had had from the Savior. What was that power? It was the gift of the Holy Ghost. Had they not received it? Not in the sense here implied. What, not those that had been with Jesus? No, I repeat, not in the sense here implied. Jesus emphatically told them that it was necessary He should go away; for if He went not away the Comforter would not come. He instructed His Apostles to teach certain principles that should exist and that ought to prevail among all the human family. But the people have departed from these things. The Gospel put them in possession of the Holy Ghost, which brought things past to their remembrance, led them into all truth, and showed them of things to come. The Savior explained the office of the Holy Ghost. It would enable those who received it to comprehend the past, the present and the future. It would draw aside the curtain of the invisible world, and they would be enabled to gaze through the dark vista of future ages and comprehend the purposes of God, as they rolled forth in all their majesty, glory and power. And then in the church, as I have said, there were placed Prophets, Apostles, Pastors, Teachers, etc., for the perfecting of the Saints, and for the work of the ministry; that men properly qualified and endowed of God, by His Holy Spirit, and ordained and set apart by Him, might go forth as messengers of life and salvation to the nations of the earth. Hence they had their Twelve, their Seventies, their Bishops, and the various officers of the Church. This organization to which I now refer, existed 1,800 years ago, on the continent of Asia, and according to accounts given in the Book of Mormon, a similar organization existed on this continent. Here they had their Twelve, and these Twelve were commissioned to preach the Gospel as the others were on the continent of Asia. Jesus visited them here as He visited the others in Asia, and they were placed under His guidance and direction.

Now, what condition was the world in before the Gospel we now preach was introduced? Many of you older men here—there are not so many old men here as we find in some places—lived when the Gospel was not upon the earth. I did and many others did. Where could we find anything resembling that which was taught by Jesus? Nowhere on the face of the wide earth. Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers, etc., were nowhere to be found. Do I know this? I do know it, for I lived in the world at that time. I knew what was going on. I was mixed up with their teachers, and was well acquainted with the different societies and organizations. Did they have the Gospel as laid down in the Scriptures? No. I remember reading with very great interest the remarks of one of the Wesleys—I do not remember now whether it was Charles or John—in some poetry of his:

“From chosen Abraham’s seed the new Apostles choose O’er isles and continents to spread the soul reviving news.”

He knew very well that they did not have Apostles, nor those officers that used to exist in the Church, and he felt it keenly, as did many others. I, myself, mixed up with a society of gentlemen before I heard the fullness of the Gospel, who were searching the Scriptures to find out the true way; for we did not find any men who professed to be inspired. We were told that all inspiration had ceased, and yet there were men professing to be called of God to preach the Gospel. Now, that is a very singular thing. How can a man be called of God, if God has ceased to speak? If a man is called of God, he must be called either by the voice or Spirit of God, or by somebody who is authorized of God, and knows something about His ways. If he does not receive his calling in this way, how is he going to get it? There is one other way—that is, if God has had a regular Priesthood upon the earth, unbroken, uncorrupted and uncontaminated, then it might come down from one to another through the different ages. The Church of Rome professes to trace its authority down from the days of the Apostles until the present. But unfortunately there is a Scripture that rather interferes with them and with others, namely: “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.” I will tell you what Joseph Smith told me personally. Said he: “You are going out to preach the Gospel, and if you can find a people anywhere as you wander through the world”—which I have done a great deal, traveled thousands, and I do not know but hundreds of thousands of miles, and mingled with all classes and creeds and conditions of men, religious and irreligious, professors and non-professors, Christians and Jews, Gentiles and all classes of people—“if you can find,” said he, “a people anywhere having the doctrines of Christ, you need not baptize them.” But I never found anywhere, wherever I went, any persons holding the doctrines of Christ as taught by Him, with Apostles and Prophets and inspired men under the influence of the Holy Ghost, and with an organization similar to that which was introduced by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Therefore I had to call upon all men everywhere to repent, for I could not find the kind of people Joseph said I need not baptize. Wesley and Whitfield, and going back still further, Luther, Melancthon, Knox, Zwingli, and many other reformers, started what are termed reformations. But what did they do in those reformations? Did they bring back the pure Gospel of Christ? No, they did not, and they did not profess to do it. It is left for some of their admirers to do that for them which they in their day never professed to do. What did they do? They tried to reform abuses that were in the church. Well, what was done by these people? What influence were they under? They were under the influence, more or less, of the Spirit of the living God. But they didn’t have the Gospel, you say? No; but they were not deprived of a portion of the Spirit of the living God on that account. It is a very great error for us to suppose that men throughout the whole world have not been under an influence of that kind more or less. We are told in the Scriptures that God has given unto all men a portion of His Spirit to profit withal, and many men who have followed that Spirit according to the light they have had, have done a great deal of good among men, among whom were Luther, Calvin, Melancthon, Wesley, Fletcher, and others in the various churches. Fletcher, I think, was a Church of England minister; so was John Wesley, and many others; then there were others among the Presbyterians, Methodists, Catholics, etc. They were good men. They sought to do good, and did do good; for he that doeth righteousness is righteous. They followed the leadings of that portion of the Spirit of God which is given to all men to profit withal. They operated in the interests of humanity; introduced many charitable institutions; made provision for the poor and outcast, the lame, and the blind; acted in a very liberal, kind and generous manner. I have known, in my travels, many ladies and gentlemen possessing large fortunes, who spent their time and their means in trying to promote the welfare of humanity. But was that the fullness of the Gospel of the Son of God? No, it was not. Was it right for them to do these things? Yes; for it is always right for all men to do good to their fellow men; to be moral, virtuous, honorable and upright; and notwithstanding the wickedness and crime that exist in these United States, yet there are thousands and millions of good honorable men who desire to do right; but they do not know the truth, and are led astray by men who now not what they say nor what they affirm. If these men had the Gospel with which is associated the gift of the Holy Ghost, it would lead them into all truth as it did in former days. And what is said of circumstances and events that shall transpire in the last days? We are told that it shall come to pass, when the Lord shall bring again Zion, that her watchmen shall see eye to eye. This will be the case when all the people of Zion live their religion and comply with the requirements of the Lord.

Speaking of good men, I had several gentlemen call upon me just before I left the city. They were Jews. They came from London, or somewhere in that neighborhood. One of them professed to be a lineal descendant of the tribe of Levi, and of the house of Aaron, and I was told by part of the company that he held the legitimate right to the Aaronic Priesthood, and his name agreed with the records we have pertaining to these things. Well, these men were engaged in a very charitable enterprise. They had heard that we had some sympathies with the Jews, and desired to see me and have a talk with me on the subject. They told me about the terrible scenes that had transpired in Russia lately, and the heavy persecutions that their people had endured in that country. They and their friends had subscribed some £80,000 (about $400,000) to assist their persecuted brethren in Russia, and had formed a number of colonies in the United States, and thus delivered a great many from their oppressors. They have purchased large tracts of land, and established their brethren upon them. I told them they had rather missed the place—that they should have taken up Palestine. That, they said, would be all right in its time; they could easily go from this country to Palestine when the time came. I talked with them about a good many principles. I talked about our temples, and said that they would have to build one at Jerusalem, and I told them that I had spoken to Baron Rothschild on this same subject some few years ago, and that he would assist in gathering the people. They said that he had given them some help in connection with the enterprise they now had in hand, and they supposed he would assist in the future.

I speak of these things to show the good feelings that exist among men in many instances. That was certainly a very charitable act for these men to be engaged in. They were Jews and not Christians, neither were they Latter-day Saints. Why, it would be a good work for an infidel to be engaged in—to do good to his fellow men and relieve the oppressed. That is what we believe in—to do good to all men, especially to the household of faith.

It is well for us to remember that we are not the only people God has on the earth. We are told that He is the God and Father of the spirits of all flesh. He is therefore interested in the whole of the human family. The Savior commanded His Apostles to preach the Gospel to every creature. Why? Because the whole of the human family are the sons and daughters of God, and it was proper that they should have the principles of life and salvation presented to them. He has told us to do the same thing—to carry the Gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue and people—and our Elders go forth, as they did in former times, without purse or scrip, trusting in God. And some of them get killed. We have heard of two being slain quite recently in these United States, where we boast so much of freedom, human rights, liberty of conscience, etc. Right in the State of Tennessee, this atrocious deed has taken place, and it is not long since one of our brethren was murdered in Georgia. We feel sorry for these things; but, then, we cannot help it. We cannot relinquish our labors in relation to these matters. It is enjoined upon us to preach the Gospel to every creature, and we propose to carry out these things as the Apostles did in former times. Lives may be sacrificed for the truth’s sake; but it makes no difference where we are if we are only engaged in the work of God. Jesus said: “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” I fear God, and know no other fear, and do not want to; and when men talk sometimes about what they will do and what they are going to do with the Mormons—“Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red Sea”—it does not make our knees shake nor our heart palsy. We feel that we are here to do the will of God, and in the name of Israel’s God we will do it; we will, God being our helper. These are my feelings, these are the feelings of my brethren around me, and these are the feelings of all good Latter-day Saints who comprehend themselves and intelligently know the principles by which they are governed.

We have embraced the Gospel of the Son of God, and God has taught us how to organize His Church. Had He not taught us we should not have known anything about its organization. Joseph Smith knew nothing about it; Brigham Young knew nothing about it; I could not have known anything about it, nor any of the Twelve, nor any man living on the earth, until God introduced it and taught us in all these things. In addition to establishing His Church He has told us to build up a Zion to His name, and we are gathering the materials together for that purpose. We have got our Stakes organized, and we have come here to help organize your Stake. Yesterday the High Council was organized. This is a body of men that exists in the Church and Kingdom of God. All Stakes must have such a Council that they may have a perfect organization among themselves. Then you have Bishops, Teachers, etc., whose duties you are familiar with, the same being laid down in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. Brother Ricks here is your President, and with one or two exceptions, Bishops have been appointed in all the Wards, that everybody in the various settlements may be placed under proper government, and under the guidance and direction of the Almighty, according to the laws that He has introduced in His Church. For this purpose you have been taught to gather together in your towns and villages, and certain instructions have been given in regard to these matters. Before these instructions were given, Brother Preston and Brother Ricks were directed to come out and examine this land, and they found it was suitable for the settlements of the Saints. They were then requested by me to furnish a plan of the country, and also select places for cities and have them surveyed, to provide lots for meeting houses, school houses, Relief Societies and Mutual Improvement Associations. All of which they promptly attended to.

The Stake of Bannock was afterwards organized, as also a Presidency for the Stake. Town sites were selected and surveyed, and then the instructions which you have heard read were given by the First Presidency. We find you have a very good country, and are pleased to see you as comfortably situated as you are. It is hard struggling always to start new settlements. I am pleased, however, to find so many of our young men embarking in this enterprise; and by and by you will have a number of most beautiful cities in this portion of country. The land is quite productive, as was evidenced by the samples of oats, wheat, corn, turnips, etc, exhibited here yesterday. These things show you have got into a tolerably good country; and you have almost more water than you know what to do with; but when the time comes when all the land is taken up between these mountains, these streams will not be quite so big as they are now; you will be able to manage them a little better, for the earth will drink up a good deal of water. It seems to me your lines have fallen in pleasant places. Don’t be discouraged about anything. Everything is moving along all right. The great thing is to conform yourselves to the circumstances in which you are placed. There is one thing I have been very much pleased to learn. I requested Brother Preston, in talking about these things, to see that in the neighborhood of every town there should be a piece of ground set apart for the benefit of missionaries families; because we shall be calling upon the Elders here to go forth and preach the Gospel, the same as we are doing in other parts of the land of Zion. I asked Brother Preston to set a pattern here in this respect to the balance of the land of Zion, and then report to me, and I would call upon all other peoples in the land of Zion to do the same, that the families of the missionaries may have bread and other supplies, and thus be sustained and looked after, and not feel in any kind of bondage. Most of the missionaries, perhaps, would not be in needy circumstances, but if they should there will be something for their families and they will have no excuse to back out under these circumstances. And then we call upon the older men among the Seventies and High Priests and upon lots of the young men to attend to these matters, and thus promote the welfare of all.

And now we want to see you as Latter-day, Saints, as quickly as circumstances will permit, get on to your city lots, and don’t be scattered abroad like so many stray calves. We want you to locate on your city lots, and in the mean time be preparing to build on them; for we must have beautiful cities and splendid habitations in the land of Zion Many people begin to admire Salt Lake City; but we have done nothing there to what we intend doing. I have talked with Brother Ricks on the subject of building nice homes, and have suggested that you get some architect to furnish the plans of some pleasant cottages, and some more pretentious, according to the means and circumstances of the people. You may be able to purchase architectural books that will answer the purpose; but let us build beautiful homes. It is nearly as cheap to put up a good looking house, and one properly constructed, as it is one of those ill-favored affairs. Build your temporary homes well back in the lot, so that when you build again these will answer for kitchens, or it may be some of your boys or girls, till they can do better. But we want to see beautiful cities beautiful houses and pleasant homes, and everything around you calculated to promote your happiness and well being.

And then we want to see you operate as one in all things. You fathers of families and you mothers, see to it that you dedicate yourselves and your habitation and everything you have to God, and that you live pure, virtuous, and holy and upright lives. See to it that you are men and women of God—children of the, Most High God, and your offspring with you. And I tell you that the time is rolling on when Zion will become the praise and the glory of the whole earth. The time is coming and hastening on when, as one of the prophets predicts, people will say such and such a man was born in Zion—that is, the people of Zion will be so honorable, so upright, so virtuous, and so blessed of God, under the auspices of the Almighty, and the government which He will introduce, that they will think it an honor to have been born in Zion. We will fear God, and work righteousness on earth, and when we get through here be transplanted to the heavens until this earth shall be redeemed; for we shall again possess the earth when it shall be celestialized. God bless you all, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

A Peculiar Work, etc.

George Q. Cannon

Discourse by President George Q. Cannon, in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, August 31, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

The work of God in all ages has been a peculiar work, coming in contact with popular ideas and with men’s preconceived notions, and meeting with opposition frequently of the most deadly character. In every age when truth has been revealed, it has had hostility to contend with. No great principle has ever been established among the children of men without costly sacrifices. The religion of our Lord and Savior was established at the cost of precious and it may be said inestimable blood and lives, and it has been the characteristic of truth in every age to be hated and to be opposed. If, therefore, we as Latter-day Saints are exposed to opposition and hostility—having our names cast out as evil, and men thinking that they are doing God’s service in killing us—it is no more than men have endured in past generations for the truth, for that which is now recognized as the purest and most heavenly truth. It is with our generation as it was with the generation in which the Savior lived, and as it has been with all generations. Truth that has been established has been revered, or men have thought that they revered it, and in looking back to the acts of their ancestors, or of other people, they have said to themselves: “If we had lived in the days of our fathers we should not have killed the prophets and those that were sent unto us.” They said this at the time of the Son of God, and He reproached them for these expressions, and charged them with being the sons of murderers, and they themselves willing to do the very acts that they reprehended and condemned in their fathers.

It would be an incredible thing if we had not seen it and known it, that men and women are persecuted in our day and in our time and in our nation for religion’s sake. To make such a statement a few years ago—half a century ago or a little over—would have been to have raised incredulity; men could not have conceived of the possibility of a church, however ignorant, however misinformed, however untrue its doctrines might be, being persecuted and its votaries slain because it taught false doctrines. It has not been the case in the history of our race that true religion has sought to destroy false religions, and the advocate of false doctrines, by the shedding of blood. That has never been the practice of true religion, or of those who believed in true religion. How preposterous it would be for us to imagine the Savior and the Apostles killing those who differed with them in their views about religion! The mere thought is abhorrent to all our ideas of the religion of Jesus. It would be inconceivable for the Son of God, or for His Apostles, or for any of His disciples, to go forth with the sword, or with any other weapon of destruction, destroying those who did not believe as they believed. In fact, such has never been the case. It is not the method that true men take.

Ah! but it is said of us—we are such a wicked people, we are so law-defying, we are so bigoted and fanatical, that it is justifiable to kill us. It is a terrible confession to make—that in a land of law, a land of constitutional principles, a land where men can be dealt with who violate the law, that there should be no resource for the checking of false religion except violence and the shedding of blood. It is a terrible confession to make in our time—that this is the only way in which to meet false doctrines, or to quiet or put an end to or overcome those who propagate them.

Now; my brethren and sisters, in espousing the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Latter-day Saints were taught—and those of us who were too young to understand it at the time we entered the Church were taught when we were old enough to comprehend the principle—that its espousal might cost us our lives, that it might cost us everything we held dear upon the earth, and thus far in the progress of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have not been disappointed. The espousal and propagation of the truth has cost precious blood, and it is not being established in the earth now any more than at any previous time, without great sacrifices on the part of those who are its devotees. God will test us as a people. He will prove us, He will give us the most ample opportunity of showing our faith in Him, and our confidence in the truth that He has revealed. It should be worth everything that we have. We cannot make too great sacrifices for it. If we look at the example which has been given unto us by our Savior, we will see the path that He walked in and that which He endured. When we think of His origin, His glorious origin, the Creator of heaven and earth, a Being that had reigned in glory and power, coming down here and being clothed with mortality, and suffering as He suffered, enduring that which He endured, and dying the ignominious death which he did—when we think of Him and His life, we should be reconciled to pass through and submit patiently to every trial that the Lord our God may see fit to call us to meet. We should be willing to do this if it costs us, our homes, as it has done, if it costs us our friends and our good name, and even life itself. It is not more than it has cost others; and if we would enter into the glory which God has attained unto, if we would sit down with Him and His Apostles, and with the faithful of all ages, we should be willing to endure that which they have endured. God calls us to pass through these things, and to endure them for the sake of the truth. There is this consolation, however connected with the work with which we are identified—that God has made promises unto us that it shall never be given into the hands of another people. The Apostles looked forward to the time when there would be a great falling away, and the man of sin be revealed, and they warned the church in their day of that falling away. But God has given unto us the assurance that this Church, this work that He has established, shall never be given into the hands of another people, but that it shall stand forever, and it shall go forward accomplishing His designs, until it shall fill the whole earth. This is a glorious promise given unto us, and to our children, and we can rely upon it. Men may be slain, as they have been; people may be driven, as they have been; efforts of the most herculean character may be made to extirpate this work from the earth, but we have the promise of our God that it shall stand and that it shall not be overthrown. And this is very consolatory in the midst of the afflictions and trials which we will be called upon from time to time to submit to. Looking at affairs naturally, however, it would seem as though it was presumptuous in a people like us to entertain such hopes. How often have we been told that in a very little while the opposition to this work would be of such a character that it would completely overwhelm it, and that it was useless for us to attempt to stem the tide of opposition or outlive the storm of persecution that has been raised against us.

But there is a wonderful power in truth, wonderful power in the principles of life and salvation, and when God is on the side of a people, no matter now feeble they may be, they are bound in the course of time, to be victorious. Already great results have been accomplished by he preaching of the truth It is not the Latter-day Saints alone who feel the effects of truth; other people feel its effects who may not espouse it openly. The proclamation of the principles of life and salvation by the Latter-day Saints has caused thousands of persons to recognize error, many errors that they formerly believed in, and to take different and higher views, and this will continue to be the case.

But the duty which devolves upon us as a people is to patiently labor in disseminating the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the nations of the earth. It is our duty to carry these principles to every nation, to every kindred, to every tongue, to every people upon the face of the whole earth; not to the United States alone, not to Europe alone, but to Asia, Africa, and the islands of the sea, throughout our own continent, through these Southern nations, and everywhere, in fact, where the children of men reside; and to lift up a warning voice and declare to the inhabitants of the earth that the time is near when the judgments and calamities of which the Prophets and the Apostles have spoken are about to be poured out upon the ungodly. This is our duty; and this Gospel of the Kingdom, as we have been told, must be preached as a witness unto all nations before the end comes. It is a labor devolving upon us as a people: and though it may cost many precious lives to do this, the obligation rests upon us nevertheless, and we cannot be freed from it only by the discharge of the duty.

My mind, while Brother Teasdale has been speaking, has rested upon a revelation which God gave through Joseph Smith, in the early days of this Church, in which He described to the Church the spirit which they should have concerning offences that should be extended to them, or wrongs that should be perpetrated upon them as a people. We are called to occupy a very different position from that of any other people. We must be lovers of peace. We must be men who shall seek to establish the pure principles of righteousness in the earth, and to continually cultivate and carry out practically the spirit that Jesus endeavored to inculcate. You know how He felt when He was upon the cross. He said; “Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do.” We also must have that same spirit. We have been accused, I know, and very freely accused, of indulging in a different feeling, and having sentiments of revenge and a disposition, if we had the power, to wreak vengeance upon those who are opposed to us. But if we did so we should falsify ourselves and the doctrines that we teach. We should deprive ourselves of the Spirit and blessings of God. We should occupy a position antagonistic to that which He has commanded us to occupy. The Lord says in this revelation:

“And whoso layeth down his life in my cause, for my name’s sake, shall find it again, even life eternal:

“Therefore be not afraid of your enemies, for I have decreed in my heart, saith the Lord, that I will prove you in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant, even unto death, that you may be found worthy:

It would seem strange that such language should be used in the United States in the year 1833 concerning this Church. The Lord knew, however, the spirit with which this people and the proclamation of this truth would be met, and He forewarned His people that they should be found worthy, or rather that they should be true even unto death. Says the revelation:

“For if ye will not abide in my covenant, ye are not worthy of me;

“Therefore renounce war and proclaim peace, and seek diligently to turn the hearts of their children to their fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children;

“And again, the hearts of the Jews unto the prophets, and the prophets unto the Jews, lest I come and smite the whole earth with a curse, and all flesh be consumed before me.

“Now I speak unto you concerning your families; if men will smite you, or your families, once, and ye bear it patiently and revile not against them, neither seek revenge, ye shall be rewarded;

“But if ye bear it not patiently, it shall be accounted unto you as being meted out a just measure unto you.

“And again, if your enemy shall smite you the second time, and you revile not against your enemy, and bear it patiently; your reward shall be an hundred fold.

“And again, if he shall smite you the third time, and ye bear it patiently, your reward shall be doubled unto you four-fold;

“And these three testimonies shall stand against your enemy if he repent not, and shall not be blotted out.

“And now verily I say unto you, if that enemy shall escape my vengeance, that he be not brought into judgment before me, then ye shall see to it that ye warn him in my name, that he come no more upon you, neither upon your family, even your children’s children unto the third and fourth generation;

And then if he shall come upon you, or your children, or your children’s children until the third and fourth generation; I have delivered thine enemy into thine hands;

“And then if thou wilt spare him, thou shalt be rewarded for thy righteousness; and also thy children and thy children’s children unto the third and fourth generation;

“Nevertheless thine enemy is in thine hands, and if thou reward him according to his works, thou art justified if he has sought thy life, and thy life is endangered by him, thine enemy is in thine hands and thou art justified.

“Behold this is the law I gave unto my servant Nephi, and thy fathers Joseph, and Jacob, and Isaac, and Abraham, and all mine ancient prophets and apostles.

“And again, this is the law that I gave unto mine ancients, that they should not go out unto battle against any nation, kindred, tongue or people, save I, the Lord, commanded them.

“And if any nation, tongue or people, should proclaim war against them; they should first lift a standard of peace unto that people, nation, or tongue;

“And if that people did not accept the offering of peace neither the second nor the third time, they should bring these testimonies before the Lord;

“Then I, the Lord, would give unto them a commandment, and justify them in going out to battle against that nation, tongue, or people;

“And I, the Lord, would fight their battles, and their children’s battles, and their children’s children’s, until they had avenged themselves on all their enemies, to the third and fourth generation.

“Behold, this is an ensample unto all people, saith the Lord your God, for justification before me.”

This revelation continues in this strain, and it is well worthy of our attention, especially at the present time. It shows unto us most clearly, my brethren and sisters, that there is no room for revenge in the heart of a true Latter-day Saint. God designs that we shall be a peaceful people, a people who shall love and cultivate peace, a people who shall seek by every means in their power to avert war and to avert bloodshed, to proclaim peace, and to entreat people for peace; and God has said to us most emphatically that He would fight our battles, that He would defend us against our enemies. He does not intend that the Latter-day Saints shall be a people shedding blood. God did not permit David, a man after His own heart, to build the temple at Jerusalem, because he was a man of war, but He gave unto His peaceful son Solomon, who was a peaceful ruler and had no occasion to fight—He gave unto him the privilege of building His holy temple. We are a temple-building people. God has given unto us a mission of this kind, to build temples in which we shall perform the ordinances of life and salvation, and it seems to be meet in His providence that we should refrain from everything that would unfit us for the discharge of this high and holy calling. Therefore, I repeat, that of all people now living upon the face of the earth we are most urgently required by our God to be lovers and cultivators of peace, and to seek not for that revenge which gratifies human passion, which is not of God, and which is opposed to the Gospel of Jesus, and to the sentiments that Jesus invariably inculcated and endeavored to enforce upon His disciples. We have shown this repeatedly. How many times would we have been stirred up to indignation, if we had allowed human feelings to prevail, at the abominable falsehoods which have been circulated in our midst, fabricated by men whose only object has been to bring down vengeance upon this people, to excite the ruling powers against us; to stir up congressional action against us, to create a public opinion against us, to make it justifiable to slay us, to deprive us of every right? How often has this been the case? How easy it would have been for us if we had followed the influences that seem natural to human beings under such circumstances, to have avenged ourselves upon them. But had we done so we should have forfeited the protecting care of our Father and our God. When we attempt to do this, we put ourselves outside of the pale of His protection. We could not ask of Him (as we could do if we were to observe His commandments) that protection and that deliverance which is necessary at times to extricate us from the imminent perils with which we are threatened. And it is by this principle, following this policy, adopting this peaceful, godlike course, that this people have been preserved and blessed up to the present time. It is a spirit which we should cultivate, cultivate it in all our associations, in our intercourse with one another, in our intercourse with the world, and even with those who are most embittered against us. It is not for us to revile against the reviler; it is not for us to bandy vulgar epithets with those who indulge in this mode of warfare; but it is for us to put our trust in God, to leave our cause with Him. For we cannot defend ourselves by earthly weapons. We are too feeble. We are not strong in numbers. We are not strong in wealth. We are not strong in worldly things. We have not these advantages to aid and sustain us. If we are sustained we must be sustained by the overruling providence and power, of God our Eternal Father, and not by any earthly power. Therefore our path of safety is the path which God has pointed out for us; not to be a revengeful people not to be a recriminating people, not to be an abusive people, but to be a meek people, a forbearing people, bearing patiently, but of course not sitting down idly and supinely, and permitting contumely to be heaped upon us without, exerting the powers God has given us to dissipate falsehoods. But this can be done in the spirit of meekness, not in the spirit of revenge, not in the spirit of reviling, not in the spirit of hostility and hatred. This spirit is antagonistic to the spirit that Jesus possesses, and which we all ought to possess to be like Him—to be filled as He was with those desirable attributes which were so acceptable to the Father.

I wished to say this much to you; for I feel that the present time is a fit occasion for us to bear these things in mind. There are many occurrences which are of a character to goad us to do and say things that would be unworthy of us. The whole earth seems to be full of falsehood; and as I have said many people think they are doing God service in killing us. Already a great many public papers—editors speaking through the columns of their papers—have justified assassination and said that those who had committed it were not particularly guilty. This spirit is abroad, and it would, if it had the power, destroy this whole people: it would depopulate these valleys, it would spill our blood just as freely as blood ever was shed under the most cruel and inhuman circumstances. Yes, it would flow in streams throughout these valleys, if some men had their way. Men, women and children would be visited by indiscriminate slaughter, because in their opinion we believe in a false religion. God in his mercy, however, is exercising power in our behalf. If He does not, what then shall be our fate? Could man befriend us? Could man deliver us? Can we ourselves by any exertion, however great or super-human—can we deliver ourselves? No, we cannot. Let me repeat: Our only hope is our God; our only strength is in Him and in His providence, and He will deliver us. Let me say to you, that he has never yet failed to deliver us; and His promises are as firm and immovable as His eternal throne. We can rely upon Him with the utmost assurance that we shall not be deceived; but that in the direst extremity, in the darkest hour, in the midst of the deepest trials and afflictions, His arm will be extended in our behalf, and His providence be exerted to save and to deliver us. We can rest assured of this. Therefore, however dark the prospects may be, however gloomy, let us remember that He who sits on high knows our condition, and that He can deliver us. He will interpose at the very moment when it is needed and rescue us from every evil, and He will defeat and bring to naught; every plan and device which is concocted against the peace and prosperity of those who put their trust in Him and in the great work which He has established in the earth. This I can bear testimony to. I know whereof I speak. I know just as well as I know that I stand here, and that I am speaking to you, that the Latter-day Saints, this Church, or what we call the Zion of our God, will be delivered, and it will roll forth in mighty power, and it will accomplish all that has been predicted concerning it. For the day will come, and it is not far distant, when in our own nation, there will be civil strife, there will be domestic broils, there will be a withdrawal of peace, and men will yet have to come to the Latter-day Saints for that peace and that freedom from civil strife that cannot be found elsewhere. God revealed this and predicted it, upwards of fifty years ago, and it will, just as sure as He predicted it, be fulfilled to the letter. All we have to do is to take the course that He has pointed out to us, to keep His commandments, leaving the results with Him, and He will control all things for the glory of His name. We have been taught to believe that the time will come when constitutional government will be overthrown upon this land, and that it will be the province of the Latter-day Saints to uphold those principles which God inspired the founders of this government to embody in the Constitution; and it seems to be fast approaching. When assassination can be justified, assassination of men peaceably worshipping their God, offending no one, committing no violation of law or of good order; when they can be shot down cruelly and inhumanly, and their murderers be justified for the deed, it seems as though the time when constitutional principles would fail, is near at hand. But this is not all. When we who have built up this country, and made it that which it is by the sacrifices we have made—living here in peace, men and women industriously pursuing their various avocations, molesting no one, observing every law that promotes good order—when such a people as we, I say, are legislated against and considered unworthy of the rights of citizenship, almost every right being taken from us, that free men value, and for which the fathers of many of this people have suffered and died—when we see these acts justified and the men who do them think they are committing acts which will be applauded by their constituents, what are we to conclude? Shall we not say, Surely the predictions are coming to pass, and the time is drawing near when constitutional government will have to be maintained by some other hands than those who now profess to be its upholders?

I pray God the Eternal Father, my brethren and sisters, to fill you with that peace which cometh from above, to fill you with that courage which every true servant and handmaiden of God should possess. I pray that He will preserve you and keep you so that in the midst of every trial and affliction you may be unswerving in the cause of our God, which I ask in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Respect to the Dead, etc.

George Q. Cannon, Moses Thatcher, George F. Gibbs, John Taylor

Remarks by President George Q. Cannon, Apostle M. Thatcher, Elder George F. Gibbs, and President John Taylor, delivered at the funeral services over the remains of Elder John H. Gibbs, held in the Bowery attached to the Meeting House, Paradise, Sunday afternoon, August 24, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

President Geo. Q. Cannon was the first speaker. He said:

I will read from the 6th chapter of the Revelation of St. John, commencing at the 9th verse:

“And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the testimony which they held.

“And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, doest thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

“And white robes were given unto every one of them, and it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”

In the next chapter we find the following:

“And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,

“Saying, Amen: Blessing and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

“And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes and whence came they?

“And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

“Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

“They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

“For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”

If I were to consult my feelings on the present occasion, I would much rather sit still and listen, than to attempt to speak or to give utterance to the feelings which I have had since coming into this shade. But we have assembled together to-day, to pay our last tribute of respect and honor to the martyred dead, and it is meet and proper that we should control our feelings and endeavor to say something that shall be consolatory to the living, and that shall have the effect to make this lesson an impressive one to all of us, and especially to the young men and young women, the rising generation of this people.

It is not a new thing in the history of the work of the last days for the blood of innocence to be shed; but the frequency of these occurrences does not take away from the anguish and the sorrow, and those poignant feelings that are created by such atrocious acts. We cannot become reconciled to these things sufficiently, fortify ourselves as we may, to escape feeling upon occasions of this character that we are all liable at any time to be called to lay down our lives for the truth’s sake. Whenever our brethren are thus called as sacrifices for the truth, it requires the comforting influence and strength which God alone can give to reconcile us, so that we can bear these blows with equanimity and with the resignation which should characterize people of our profession.

When the Gospel was revealed from heaven in these latter times, it was told to those who received it—not only to Joseph the Seer, but to others who received it from him—that the espousal and advocacy of these principles might cost them their lives, and there is a plain intimation in one of the early revelations to Joseph, that his life might be required. During his lifetime he lived under perpetual attacks from his enemies; not that he lived in dread, but there was constant reason to fear, however, all the days of his life, through the revelation of the truth to him, and the bestowal of the holy Priesthood upon him, that at any moment he might fall a victim to the rage of those who hated the truth. He never at any time led those who received the Gospel to anticipate that their fate would be any better than his, for every man and woman was taught that if the principles were what we believed them to be, that which he testified they were, it was worthy of their lives, and of every other sacrifice they might be called to make. Men, therefore, in espousing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in these last days, espouse it, as a general rule, with a full knowledge of the consequences involved therein. They have not been told that their pathway would be strewn with flowers that they would be surrounded with ease and comfort, and that they would have friends on every hand and be popular; but where faithful Elders have gone out preaching the Gospel, they have gone declaring unto the inhabitants of the earth that the same sacrifice which had been called for in ancient days, when Jesus communicated His Gospel unto men—that the same sacrifices might still, in all probability, be demanded of them, and they have been told not to hold their lives dear unto them, but for the sake of the great riches which God had bestowed, and the great and glorious reward that He had promised, they should be willing, if it were necessary, and God should require such sacrifice at their hands, to lay down their lives for the truth. And it was well that these teachings were given to the people; for the early history of our Church, and every step of its progress, has been marked with suffering, and in many instances with blood; the sacrifice of earthly ties, the sacrifice of homes, of friends, of old associations, of kindred, of native land—these sacrifices have been made by all who have connected themselves and remained connected with the Zion of our God. And besides these, not unfrequently has it been the case that bodily torture has been inflicted through the attacks and the malicious spirit of those who have hated the truth, and not unfrequently life itself has been given for the cause of God, or as a testimony to the truth of that cause which He has established. Since our arrival, however, in these valleys, it has been hoped that we would escape the fierce intolerance of the wicked. Years elapsed after our reaching here during which we dwelt in peace and free from annoyance and from the attacks of the wicked. Our Elders have traveled through various nations of Europe, and though persecuted and treated with contumely at times, still blood has not been shed, No men have been destroyed among the nations of Europe who have gone forth bearing the message of life and salvation.

The Lord in His mercy of late years has moved upon His servants to send the messengers of life and salvation to our own nation, and they have gone according to God’s command, to warn the people of the impending judgments and calamities that are about to be poured out upon this nation in common with other nations. The Elders have labored with great zeal, and in many instances with great success, and have been the means of carrying the glad tidings of salvation to very many souls, and this success has seemed to arouse the powers of darkness. Embittered by the falsehoods that have been circulated concerning us, men have sought to stop the onward progress of the work by seeking to destroy those who were its messengers and ministers. We have heard frequently of mobs, especially in the Southern States, where the Elders have labored for some years past. Occasionally they have resorted to violence, and in several instances have made attempts at taking life, and before this recent massacre, succeeded, at least, in killing one Elder—Joseph Standing, in the State of Georgia It seems as though the adversary has been determined that if he could not stop the progress of this work in any other way he would drown it in blood. It is due to the providence of God, and to His wonderful and preserving care that we who live in these valleys have been preserved in peace. The credit of our preservation from blood—that is, from war and consequent bloodshed—is due to our Great Creator; for if the adversary, who is the great antagonist of our God and of His work, could have had his way, our peaceful valleys would have been drenched in the blood of innocence. He who opposes this work does not hesitate at any means to stop its progress. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he has sought by every means in his power, by the circulation of wicked, abominable falsehoods against the Latter-day Saints, to stir up men to bloodshed and to cause them to look upon us as a people whose death would be well merited and against whom acts of violence of the most terrible character could be committed and be entirely justifiable. It is not due to Satan, it is not due to his mercy nor his forbearance, that we have thus escaped, but it is due to the mercy and the overruling providence and the fatherly care of our Great Creator, that we who are here to-day with the rest of our brethren and sisters who are assembled in the various places of worship at this present time—that we have been and still are preserved. A feeling has gone abroad, in consequence of the lies that the father of lies has propagated, which causes thousands of people to think that if the Latter-Saints, or Mormons, could be blotted out, it would be a most praiseworthy and justifiable act, and it is that spirit, engendered by that being, emanating from that source, which has caused the death of these our beloved brethren for whom we mourn to-day. That spirit of murderous hate, unmerciful, cruel, brutal, when it takes possession of the heart of man, leaves no room for a gleam of compassion to enter. It was that spirit which caused the crucifixion of the most glorious Being, the holiest, the purest, and the best that ever trod the earth, that gentle Being, the Son of God—it was that spirit which crucified Him in the most ignominious manner; that spirit brought Him to that cruel death, as it had done the prophets that had preceded Him. Pitiless as the grave is that spirit, the spirit of the evil one, when it takes possession of man, transforming those who naturally might be compassionate, who naturally might have hearts open to the appeals of mercy—transforming them into demons of hate, filled with an unquenchable desire for the blood of their fellow men. It is that spirit which has caused murders in every age from the day that the blood of Abel stained the soil of the virgin earth until this brutal massacre through which the soil of the State of Tennessee has been drenched and stained with innocent blood. We need not wonder at these occurrences when we read the history of the past and that which was done to the Son of God Himself; and to the Prophets and Apostles, and in our own day, to the martyred Joseph, the Prophet of God, and his brother Hyrum. We do not depend upon tradition for our ideas respecting Joseph and Hyrum. They were known to us. Their actions are familiar, their efforts and all their labors we know and understand, and we know how innocent they were. We know that every pulsation of their hearts beat with love for humanity, and for the salvation of their race, as did the heart of this our beloved brother, John H. Gibbs, when it was living. Every pulsation was filled with love for God, and a desire for the salvation of God’s children upon the earth. But towards such as these, the spirit of the evil one has no mercy. Nothing less than blood will satisfy, and it has been so from the very beginning.

Whom shall we pity to-day? This murdered victim and the other murdered victim whose body has gone to his home? For whom shall we shed tears and our hearts swell with pity? Shall it be for these our murdered brethren, these beloved ones, these sainted martyrs, who died in the discharge of duty, serving their God, and seeking earnestly for the salvation of their fellow men? Shall our hearts swell with pity for them and their fate? No. There is no room for pity in my heart for them. I feel thankful to God, not that they were slain, but that they were courageous enough to die for the truth which the Savior died for, for which the blood of Joseph and for which the blood of all the martyrs from the days of righteous Abel until today has been shed. For whom, then, does my pity go out? For the murderers of these holy men. For them my pity is deep, is profound, is inexpressible. Is not this strange that I should have feelings of this kind for the murderers?

When I think of their future; of the penalty they have brought upon themselves; when I think how blindly they have been led by the adversary of their souls, who was a murderer from the beginning, who rebelled against our Father in Heaven, and is the great enemy of the human race, and who seeks to destroy the children of our God—when I think of them I am filled with pity for their fate. As for these victims—this our beloved brother Gibbs, and our beloved Brother Berry—we know what is in store for them. They have received, or rather will receive crowns of glory, immortal glory. They will be the companions of the Gods. They will sit down with Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant. By their deaths they will secure an entrance into the society of the Prophets and the Apostles, and the martyrs, the noblest, the holiest, the best, the most exalted of our race. There is no glory that God can give to man, there is no exaltation which God can bestow upon man that these our martyred brethren will not receive. Untrammelled now, having passed the gates of death, their tabernacles having been destroyed, their spirits have gone to the paradise of God. There awaits them continual progress. They have entered upon a career of never ending glory, a career which will never terminate throughout the endless ages of eternity; for they have done all that mortal men could do, they have been willing to lay down their lives for the truth, and greater love no man can exhibit than this. Therefore, so far as they are concerned, aside from the atrocity of the deed which brought them to so untimely a death, aside from the poignant sorrow that must fill the hearts of the widows, the orphan children; the parents and brothers and sisters and friends—aside from these there is no cause for grief today, not for these brethren at least; but as I have said, Woe to the men! woe to the men! who have committed this ghastly crime. I cannot contemplate their future without my blood being chilled, and being appalled at the damnation that awaiteth all such individuals.

My brethren and sisters, I pray God to make this an example for all of us. I say to the young men of Israel—Here before you is an example worthy of your imitation. What is death? Shall it be feared? Death comes to all, the coward as well as the brave man. The coward has to meet his fate, and why should we shrink from it? A few days or a few weeks or months or years, at the most will only elapse until death will overtake all. Let us seek as a people to be prepared to meet death, to flinch not from the path of duty, from the path of honor, from the path that God has marked out for us to walk in; let us tread it unfalteringly, and trust to God to preserve and deliver us, or if it be His wisdom to permit our blood to be mingled with the blood of other martyrs in testimony of the truth, may we be prepared therefor.

God bless you all, my brethren and sisters, and fill you with the Holy Spirit. God bless and comfort the hearts of these mourners, and fill them with the consolation of the everlasting Gospel, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Apostle Moses Thatcher was the next speaker. He said: I hope, my brethren and sisters, to have your faith and prayers to assist me in the few remarks I may make. There are occasions, and this seems to be one of them, when silence would seem even more impressive than words; there are times when it is difficult to express the thoughts we have in our hearts. Yet I know by the words which have been expressed by President Cannon, that when the Spirit of God dictates, much can be said to comfort the living. As for the dead all is well with them—that is, with the brethren who have sealed their testimony with their blood. You have heard what will be their glory, and to that testimony I will add mine. When we clearly understand, by the light of the Spirit of God, what martyrs for the truth will receive, death fails to create fear in our minds. It is at other times, when surrounded with the trials and temptations of life, when yielding to weaknesses and sin, that we become disqualified for that high glory about which President Cannon has been speaking. To my mind there is nothing here to be sorry about, save to mourn with the relatives and friends of the martyred ones. Their calling and election has been made sure, and it will be said unto them—“enter thou into my rest: having been faithful in a few things thou shalt be made ruler over many.” Our brethren were faithful unto the end, faithful unto death to such, therefore, will be given a crown of life. Having been slain for the testimony of Jesus, they will be able to pass by the angels and the Gods to their inheritance of heights and depths, powers and principalities and endless lives. They have been valiant and true unto the end of their days. Stricken down by the hand of the assassin, yet courageously meeting their fate. What can be a more glorious death? When we come to look at the works of God, and witness the manifestation of His power, we see that everything that is excellent, everything that is desirable, comes forth from the midst of much tribulation. Even the jewels of the earth, and the riches thereof—the minerals, the gold and silver for which men thirst, and for which they have been willing to sacrifice life—are brought forth out of what seems to us the agonies of nature. And so in regard to violent deaths such as our brethren have suffered. In passing through such a trial bravely, faithfully, and truly, they have become jewels in the hands of God, and will continue to progress throughout the endless ages of eternity, It was not that they had violated the laws of the land; it was not that they had broken any law of the State in which they were when their lives were taken by the enemies of righteousness, by ungodly, wicked and murderous men: but as President Cannon has truly observed, it was because they were pure, it was because they were righteous, it was because they were the servants of God, that they were despised and killed. There is no hatred so intense as that which springs from and is begotten of envy and malice. The human heart readily forgives and extenuates the crimes of the wicked. Men have compassion for the ungodly; but there was no pity in the hearts of those who took away the life of Jesus, of Joseph the Prophet, and of Hyrum his brother, who planted their feet on the rock of eternal truth, and stood firm while the waves of prejudice, hatred and malice, inspired by the adversary, who was a murderer from the beginning, continued to advance until their blood saturated the soil. The same spirit is in the midst of the earth to-day. It has caused the taking away of the lives of these brethren. I remember distinctly the impressions that were made upon the minds of some of our people when they first learned of the organization of certain secret societies in the east, organized with the intention, no doubt, of taking life; and it is my strong belief and my firm opinion that the body which lies before us to-day, lifeless, is the result of the operations of the secret societies which, we have been forewarned, would be organized in the latter times. It may be that others will be called to wear the crowns of martyrs. Certainly that passage of Scripture which was read in our hearing to-day, would lead us so to think. But what matters it to us? We have received the testimony of Jesus. We have received the light of the everlasting Gospel. We have received that which will give us influence and power and dominion and glory and endless happiness. Why, then, should we care for the lengthening or shortening of our days here in this mortal condition. If we are faithful and true to God, and can die with the harness on as Brother John H. Gibbs did, it will be well with us. If we can meet death as he met it, while in the line of his duty, and in the full love of God, our salvation will be sure. Had he not been successful as a preacher of righteousness, there would have been no disposition to take his life; but the fact that he had brought forty-one souls to baptism, through which they were made citizens of the Kingdom of God, created the malice that could only be satisfied or checked by the shedding of precious blood. It is not for us to mourn over things ordained as a witness that God is with us. The cords of Zion are being lengthened, her stakes are being strengthened, and the Kingdom of God is gaining day by day, and year by year in the midst of the world. Satan will contest the ground inch by inch. We may expect to meet him in every form, at home as well as abroad. We should, therefore, be diligent and faithful, prudent, humble and wise. We should in all things be faithful to God, our heavenly Father. We should consecrate ourselves, our time, and all we have unto Him, holding ourselves ready to fulfill missions in every part of the habitable globe. If the world imagine that the killing of our brethren will have a tendency to stop the progress of the everlasting Gospel, they are much mistaken. They have tried that before. When Cain lifted up his hand and slew his brother, he thought, no doubt, that it would stop the progress of righteousness. And so with those who slew Joseph the Prophet; so with those who crucified the Savior. It has always been the tactics of the adversary of righteousness, he has always sought to destroy life; but instead of this having a tendency to retard the progress of righteousness and truth, as the wicked expect, according to the testimony of those who labor at home and abroad, it has a contrary effect. And I am well satisfied that the blood of these brethren will have in its effect the same result as that produced by the blood of Brother Standing, who was slain in the State of Georgia. Many people will be led to inquire about a religion the advocacy of which costs life, and thus through their death many may be brought to a knowledge of the truth, and obey the Gospel, that otherwise might not. And I feel without lengthening my remarks to say, God bless the wife and children, relatives and friends of the departed. It is well with him. We have here but the casket. The jewel, the spirit, is in the paradise of God, associating with those who, like him, have died martyrs to the cause of truth. May the peace of God rest down upon all the people throughout Zion. I pray that we may be more faithful, more devoted to the cause of truth in the future than we have been in the past. I can say that I am satisfied that in no sense will the taking away of these brethren retard the progress of the work in the world. Our young Elders will not be less willing to go and preach the Gospel in the future than they have been in the past. They will be willing to go to the State of Tennessee if they are called to go there, or to any state in the Union; for they fear not those who can kill the body, but him only who can destroy both body and soul in hell. This is the feeling of every true Latter-day Saint. We have no disposition to rail against those who did this bloody deed, for they are in the hands of God. Where He dwells they never can come, worlds without end. They will be numbered among the murderers, liars, etc., outside the gates of the holy city. Let peace rest upon the people. May the blessing of the Almighty abide with the wives and children of the departed. Let our hearts mourn with them as far as it is consistent with the lives of Latter-day Saints. Let us in the future bestow upon them, in memory of the departed, that attention which is due to them by reason of the departure of their husbands and fathers, and thus show by our works that we are the friends of the widow and orphan.

Elder George F. Gibbs next addressed the congregation. He said: I have desired, my brethren and sisters, to offer a very few remarks to endeavor to express some feelings that have crowded themselves upon my mind since the arrival of the body of my brother. I will here remark that from the first news we received that he was among those who were slain, nothing but a peaceful feeling has animated the breasts of his family and immediate friends. So in this respect I am thankful to say, I am in perfect accord with the remarks which President Cannon has offered. There is one thing, however, which has touched me very keenly, and that is the honor which has been shown to my brother in connection with those who fell with him. And here I would say that we are not unmindful of the fact that it is not because it was the body of John H. Gibbs, or “Johnny” Gibbs as he was familiarly called, but because he was among others who represented the cause of God in the earth. All along the line until our arrival here great honor and respect have been done him. Flowers have been put upon the casket by hands unknown to us. To-day, a decoration in the shape of a crown, was placed on the casket. I was impressed with a peculiar feeling when that particular decoration was presented, a feeling that led to the inquiry, Is my brother really worthy to receive this token of honor conferred on the Holy Priesthood? To do justice to the feeling that prompts this inquiry, I would say that from intimate conversations I have had with him I am gratified to say that I do firmly believe that in his simple and humble way he does merit the honor thus conferred upon him. And I would also say I am satisfied with my brother’s life, and am honored in his death. We are not unmindful of the fact that it has cost money to bring the remains of my brother here. We are not unmindful of the fact either that it required courage on the part of our brethren, Brother Roberts and others who assisted him, and we gratefully acknowledge the services done us in this respect. We thank President Taylor, as the representative of the Church, for using his influence, and the means of the Church, to have this done. In conclusion, I thank God my Heavenly Father, that my brother is only one among hundreds and thousands of others, who are ready to go forth and represent the truths of heaven amidst danger and at the sacrifice of life. It was soon after the Anti-Mormon league in Cleveland was formed, that my brother wrote and told me that, the influence of that league had reached the Southern States. He stated that he had met that influence in conversation with and in the presence of mobocratic men, and I have no doubt whatever as to the correctness of Brother Thatcher’s remarks in this respect. I pray God to bless the faithful; I pray God our Heavenly Father to bless and sustain His Holy Priesthood and direct them, and that we, my brethren and sisters, may know enough to follow and do as we are bid, This is my humble prayer in the name of Jesus, Amen.

President John Taylor was the next speaker. He said: It makes me feel sorrowful to see a gathering similar to that which we now witness, and to know that good men’s lives are not safe from the attacks of religious bigots and men who are governed by wrong influence. I and, a number of my brethren have been traveling quite extensively through some of our Northern Stakes. We arrived last night in Logan a good deal fatigued with our labors, for we have visited, I think, if not every settlement, nearly every settlement in the northern Stakes since we left home, and we had planned to have the various settlements in this end of the Stake of Cache visited to-day. I had proposed myself to take a little rest; but on hearing of this event I felt a strong desire to unite my sympathies with those of the bereaved, for there were several emotions that agitated my mind; first, to express my feelings of grief for the perpetration of such terrible acts, then to condole with the family in their poignant grief; mingled with this was a feeling of joy and satisfaction pertaining to the destiny and to the present position of the deceased. All things are not as they appear to us. God has certain inscrutable designs and purposes to bring to pass in the earth. He has set His hand to accomplish these things, and many of you that are here and now hear my voice, have become the honored instruments in the hands of the Lord, of proclaiming those principles which God has revealed in the interests of our common humanity in the world in which we live. Those principles though fraught with the truths of eternal intelligence, eternal life, and all the blessings associated therewith, are not comprehended by the human family. But that makes no difference to us. We have our labors to perform, and we propose to accomplish that which God has designed in relation thereto, in the interests of our fellow men, who are the children, all of them, of our Heavenly Father, for He is the God and the Father of the spirits of all flesh. Furthermore, He has given to every man of every color, of every nation, and of every creed, and to people of no creed—He has given to them all a portion of His Spirit to profit withal. But many of them give way to other influences and yield obedience to the powers of darkness, as you have heard stated, and when men give themselves up to these influences, and quench that better feeling which God has planted in the bosom of all men, they by and by become prepared for any and every spirit that may present itself to their minds; especially do they follow a spirit of antagonism to God our Heavenly Father, and to those who espouse His cause, and who are really the best and most philanthropic people that dwell upon the face of the earth—a people who go forward with less selfishness, and with a more single eye to the glory of God, and to the benefit of mankind, than any other people who tread the footstool of our Heavenly Father to-day. It is, as Brother Gibbs has remarked, an honor to be engaged in a work of this kind; and despite the powers of darkness, despite the enmity of man, despite the schemes of oppression that are set on foot by men who ought to know better, despite the various evils that exist in the world, we still possess the same sentiment that was enunciated by Jesus, and would like to proclaim it to all nations, “Peace on earth and good will to men.” But men can only obtain permanent peace by following after righteousness, by being governed by the principles of truth, by associating themselves with God our Heavenly Father, by acknowledging His hand, and by submitting to His law, to His rule, to His dominion, and to His authority. Hence Jesus taught His disciples to pray—“Thy kingdom come.” Why? “That Thy will may be done on earth as it is in heaven.” And these are the principles which we as a people are trying to promulgate among the nations of the earth under the command of the Great Eloheim, who has told us, as He told His disciples in former years, to proclaim this Gospel unto every creature, and it was in obedience to that command that this our beloved brother met his fate. That is all right—all right so far as he is concerned. As has been said, it is of very little account to many of us whether our lives be long or short on this earth, but it is a very grave consideration whether these lives are spent in the service of God or not. Those who have done like Brother Gibbs and Brother Berry, his fellow martyr, brought many to a knowledge of the truth, shall shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Therefore, being the friends of God, God is their friend. Paul, in reflecting upon these principles said: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.” And who else “Not to me only, but unto all them also that love” the appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Brothers Gibbs and Berry have gone to those souls that Brother Cannon read about in your hearing—souls that are beneath the altar. They cried out, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth.” That was uttered years and years ago, when John the Revelator was banished as a slave to the Isle of Patmos for the testimony of Jesus and the word of God, the same testimony that has been delivered by these our brethren, and for which they have suffered. It was said of John, that he was dipped into a caldron of boiling oil, but they did not take his life, for God was with him, and God sustained him, as He did the three Hebrew children when they were cast into the fiery furnace, and the lambent flames that played around them ceased to have power to burn. So John was preserved. But he, under the inspiration of the Almighty, and filled with the light and intelligence of heaven, could gaze upon the position of things in, the eternal worlds, and saw the souls of those who had been slain for the testimony of Jesus, and the word of God, etc. They were told that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. God is manipulating things in His own way. His purposes are rolling forth. He is moving in a mysterious way His wonders to perform. His servants who have been called to lay down their lives, will come forth with crowns upon their heads and reign upon the earth. Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.” When the wickedness and corruptions of men shall have provoked the anger of the Almighty in these latter days as they did in the days before the flood, the Lord will come out of His hiding place to vex the nations of the earth, and then there will be a time of trouble, a time of sorrow such as has not been from the beginning of the world, and we are told, never shall be again. Men may think they can trample upon human rights and upon correct principles, and do things which are contrary to the law and order of God, and to the principles of truth, integrity, equity, justice, and righteousness; but they cannot do this with impunity, for the Lord has said that He will smite the wicked, and with the breath of His nostrils He will slay them. The earth shall be emptied of the wicked, and a place prepared, in the due time of the Lord, for those who fear Him, as He has designed from before the foundation of the world.

And in regard to these matters, I feel sorry for this sister, the wife of the deceased. I feel sorry for her. I feel sorry for her little family and for the family of his fellow sufferer. What shall we do? We will help take care of them, will we not? I think we will. And we will talk more about some of these matters at another time. We sometimes pray for the Lord to bless the widow and the fatherless. Now there is an idea which I have always entertained, and that is, I never would ask God to do a thing that I would not do myself; and we shall have to contrive in some way for the accomplishment of this object. About Brother Gibbs who lies there—that is all right: I might have lain in the same position a good many years ago, if it had been the will of God, but it seems it was not. I was shot at, and hit oftener than Brother Gibbs; but my life was preserved; God protected me. I was with Joseph and Hyrum when they were murdered in Carthage jail, and I never was sorry that I was there. I would not have been absent from a scene of that kind. I would not want to forsake my Brother or Brethren in difficulty; never. Well, what of it? Suppose I had been killed as Joseph and Hyrum were, why, I was in very good company. Joseph and Hyrum were servants of the living God, and I was trying to serve Him in my humble way. And if we had all been killed it would not have made much difference: would it? I suppose it was necessary for me to stay a little while longer; all right; and I am willing to stay as long as the Lord wants me, and to go whenever He wants me. But I, in common with Joseph and Hyrum and Brother Gibbs and others, have within me the principles of eternal life. I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand in the latter days on the earth, and these eyes shall behold Him. I know that God rules and reigns in this nation and among the nations of the earth, and that He will direct all things, according to the counsels of His will. I know that the work which God has commenced in these last days will continue to go forth despite the powers of darkness and all the fiends of hell. Though they are arrayed against it, God and the hosts of Heaven are on the side of Israel, and Israel will prevail. This work will continue to spread and increase until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of our God and His Christ, and He will reign forever. It is for us as Latter-day Saints, to live our religion, to observe the laws of God, to be humble, faithful and diligent; to be men of honor, truth and integrity; to seek to glorify God in our bodies and in our spirits, which are His, and to perform any labor that He may require at our hands, that when we shall get through with the scenes of time and sense, we may inherit a crown which is incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in the heavens for us. So we will not mourn like those who have no hope, but we will put our trust in the living God. And I say unto the widow of the deceased, God bless you, and God bless your children, and God bless all the honest in heart who are trying to fear God and work righteousness; and instead of feeling enmity in our hearts towards our persecutors and those who seek our lives, we will try to entertain the feeling that burned in the bosom of Jesus, who, when expiring upon the cross, cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” But God will not forgive all these men who permit and perpetrate these wicked and atrocious acts. They will have to pay the debt which they have contracted. It is for us to go on, and perform the various labors and duties that devolve upon us. God has blessed us with many blessings. He has blessed us with the rich blessings of eternal life. He has brought us into covenant with Himself. He has taught us how to save ourselves, our wives, our children, our posterity and our progenitors, and He will teach us many more great and precious principles associated with the Gospel of the Son of God.

After what has been so well said by others, time will not permit me to protract my remarks.

I am happy that it has fallen to my lot to join with you in these funeral services, and I am much pleased to see so large a gathering to pay respect to the memory of the honored dead. I am also very much pleased at the action which has been taken by Brother Joseph F. Smith and his brethren who have recommended that memorial services be held to-day in all the different Stakes of Zion; so that while we are meeting here, the tens of thousands of Israel are meeting all through the land, and thus we are showing, as Brother Gibbs has remarked, respect for the memory of the dead.

I also most heartily sympathize with the Condor family who have suffered such a heavy bereavement in Tennessee. And I should have been pleased to have made some further remarks upon this subject, had time permitted; suffice it now to say that they have mingled their blood with those honorable men who have died for the testimony of Jesus and the word of God.

Brother Gibbs has referred to the means furnished to bring the bodies home. That is all right. I was out of reach at the time—that is out of the road of the telegraphic lines—but I was very much pleased when I learned of the arrangement that had been made; with which I heartily coincide. That is a matter of duty alway to look after the living and after the dead, to look after the widow and fatherless, and to fulfill all the duties and responsibilities devolving upon us. God bless you and lead you in the paths of life; and I pray God the Eternal Father that when we shall all of us have passed away from this earth, and when the resurrection trump shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed, that we may so have lived, that like our Brother, we will come forth, in the first resurrection, and participate in the reward of the just in the Celestial Kingdom of our God, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

President George Q. Cannon again arose and said: Before closing our memorial services, I think it but proper, and indeed I intended, if my mind had not been led off in another direction—that is if I spoke at all—to have alluded to the young men Martin Condor and J. Reilly Hudson, who were killed at the same time that our brethren were killed, and also to Sister Condor, who was wounded. These young men, so far as I can learn, have behaved heroically, throughout all the persecutions to which the Elders have been exposed in that region. I am told they have accompanied the Elders upon a number of occasions ready to defend them to the best of their ability, and have been willing, apparently, to risk their lives in defence of the Elders, who have brought them the truth. They have also fallen victims of the hellish hate of the adversaries of truth, both of them being shot and killed, and I feel that their names should be had in honorable remembrance in Zion, as well as the name of their mother and of their family, for their kindness and their bravery, in the cause of truth, and their names should not perish nor be forgotten; and in days to come, when opportunity offers, services should be rendered for them, that they cannot render for themselves; those ordinances which God has provided for the salvation of His children, they should be attended to in their behalf. I trust their memories will live, and their names be handed down in honorable remembrance with the names of our brethren who left here as missionaries. Though they were new converts, comparatively speaking, yet they have shown all the zeal, all the devotion, and all the courage for the truth that could be expected of those who had lived for years in the Church. One of them, I think, is said to have been only 19 years of age—Martin Condor—and I pray God to bless that family, bless those who survive, and have them in remembrance today; that as we remember our brethren who went forth from our midst, as bearers of life and salvation, so may we remember the others in common with them. Also Mr. Garrett, who lived on the same Creek, and in the same neighborhood, where Brother Jones, I believe, was stopping at the time of this dreadful occurrence. He also should have our blessings and be had in kindly remembrance in our midst.

The Priesthood, etc.

George Q. Cannon

Remarks on various subjects, by President George Q. Cannon, delivered (in the settlements indicated) during the recent visit of President and party to the Northern Settlements. August 10, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

I will read a portion of the 84th Section of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, commencing at the 14th paragraph:

Which Abraham received the Priesthood from Melchisedek, who received it through the lineage of his fathers, even till Noah;

And from Noah till Enoch, through the lineage of their fathers;

And from Enoch to Abel, who was slain by the conspiracy of his brother, who received the Priesthood by the commandments of God, by the hand of his father Adam, who was the first man.

Which Priesthood continueth in the church of God in all generations, and is without beginning of days or end of years.

And the Lord confirmed a Priesthood also upon Aaron and his seed, throughout all their generations—which Priesthood also continueth and abideth forever with the Priesthood which is after the holiest order of God.

“And this greater Priesthood administereth the Gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom even the key of the knowledge of God;

“Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest;

“And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the Holy Priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh;

“For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.

“Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the, face of God;

“But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence, therefore the Lord in his wrath (for his anger was kindled against them) swore that they should not enter into his rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fullness of his glory.

“Therefore he took: Moses out of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood also;

“And the lesser priesthood continued, which priesthood holdeth the key of the ministering of angels and the preparatory Gospel;

“Which Gospel is the Gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the remission of sins, and the law of carnal commandments, which the Lord in His wrath caused to continue with the house of Aaron among the children of Israel until John, whom God raised up, being filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb;

“For he was baptized while he was yet in his childhood, and was ordained by the angel of God at the time he was eight days old unto this power, to overthrow the kingdom of the Jews, and to make straight the way of the Lord before the face of his people, to prepare them for the coming of the Lord, in whose hand is given all power.

“And again, the offices of Elder and Bishop are necessary appendages belonging unto the High Priesthood.

“And again, the offices of teacher and deacon are necessary appendages belonging to the lesser Priesthood, which Priesthood was confirmed upon Aaron and his sons.

“Therefore as I said concerning the sons of Moses—for the sons of Moses, and also the sons of Aaron shall offer an acceptable offering and sacrifice in the house of the Lord, which house shall be built unto the Lord in this generation, upon the consecrated spot as I have appointed;

“And the sons of Moses and of Aaron shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, upon Mount Zion in the Lord’s house, whose sons are ye; and also many, whom I have called and sent forth to build up; my church;

“For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two Priesthoods of which I have spoken and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies:

“They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom and the elect of God;

“And also all they who receive this Priesthood receiveth me, saith the Lord;

“For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me;

“And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father;

“And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto Him:

“And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the Priesthood.

“Therefore, all those who receive the Priesthood, receive this oath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved;

“But whoso breaketh this covenant, after he hath received it, and altogether turneth therefrom, shall not have forgiveness of sins in this world nor in the world to come.”

These words that I have read in your hearing are found, as I have said, in the 84th section of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. They contain truths which are of great importance to us as a people, and truths which should be impressed upon our minds, and should not be forgotten by us. For in these words which the Lord has given unto us He has plainly foreshadowed the design that he has in view respecting this Church which He has raised up in the last days and this people unto whom He has given the everlasting priesthood. In these words we are told the future of those who receive these two Priesthoods and magnify the same and the glory which God designs to bestow upon them. He also gives unto us in plainness, the penalty which will rest down upon those who, after receiving this covenant, break the covenant and turn away altogether therefrom. Therefore to the Latter-day Saints this Gospel and this Priesthood come on the one hand, accompanied by great blessings and promises, and great power and exaltation, and, on the other hand, they come accompanied by dreadful penalties, by degradation and condemnation, greater than it would be possible for any being to reach unless he had had the opportunities which the Gospel and the Priesthood bring and afford. On the one hand we are promised in the plainest of all language that those who receive this Priesthood receive the Lord. For it is said:

“They who receive this Priesthood receiveth me, saith the Lord;

“For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me;

“And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father;

“And he that receiveth my Father, receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him;

“And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the Priesthood.”

Here is plainly pointed out to us as a people the future glory that God has in store for all those who receive and magnify the Priesthood. They are to receive the Father’s Kingdom, and if they receive the Father’s Kingdom, they are to receive all that the Father hath, for all that he hath will be given unto them. Can you conceive of this? Can any human being conceive of the immeasurable extent of the glory here promised—the immeasurable extent of exaltation here offered unto all those who receive the Priesthood of the Son of God, and who magnify it? It is impossible for mortal man to have the least conception even when his mind is enlightened by the Spirit of God—that is, the least conception compared with the immeasurable extent of the glory that is here promised. We can have some conception of it, we can have some foretaste of it, when we receive the Spirit of God, when it rests down upon us in power; but to conceive of the fullness of this glory is impossible for any being in this mortal condition of existence. When we understand these words and comprehend their full import we can understand how it was that Jesus when He was upon the earth sought to teach the people the greatest privileges which they had in connection with the Gospel which he bore unto them. The complaint of the Jews about the Son of God, was, that He being man made Himself equal with God. They had the same ideas, doubtless, in those days concerning God and man, that the sectarians of the world now have. God was a remote being, a being beyond their reach, far beyond their ken, and far beyond communication with them; therefore, they were ready to kill the Son of God because He enunciated the great truth that it was possible for man to attain unto God, and become like Him. Referring to the words of the Psalmist, where he said: “Ye are Gods; and all of you are children of the Most High,” he said, “Is it not written in your law, I said, ye are Gods? If he called them Gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken; say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, thou blasphemist; because I said, I am the Son of God.” But they could not understand the doctrine which God has revealed—the eternal truth that He has communicated to us in the Gospel. But God designed when He led Israel out of Egypt to make of that people a royal Priesthood—a kingdom of Kings and Priests. He designed, to lead them forward under the guidance of the everlasting Priesthood, the Priesthood after the holy order of the Son of God—to lead them forward until they should behold the face of their God and see Him for themselves. But they would not. They hardened their hearts. They could not endure His presence. Moses, despite all the power which God gave him, and the revelations which He poured out upon him—Moses could not succeed in leading that people forward. They were a stiff-necked race; they were a rebellious race; they were an idolatrous race; they were hard in their hearts; and they would not have God to be their King. They wanted a lower order of affairs; they wanted lower laws, laws that were more in accordance with their fallen and carnal natures. Therefore according to those revelations which God has given unto us, He took Moses out, of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood also, and the lesser Priesthood continued, the Priesthood of Aaron, a Priesthood that held the keys of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel, the gospel of repentance and baptism for the remission of sins. He left that with them, and the law of carnal commandments which the Lord in His wrath caused to continue with the house of Aaron among the children of Israel until John. They were under this law during this long period. God raised up John as a forerunner to prepare the way for the fullness of the everlasting Gospel and the restoration of the Priesthood in its fullness, that Melchisedek Priesthood which Moses held, and through which he exercised such mighty power among the children of Israel. And it was God’s design—if the people would have submitted to it, if they would have received the message that He sent unto them through John and afterwards through His beloved Son—to have restored the Kingdom even to Israel, and to have built up the Kingdom in great power and glory upon the earth. But instead of receiving the Gospel and the Melchisedek Priesthood, they actually destroyed the Son of God. But before they destroyed Him, they destroyed the heir of the Priesthood of Aaron, John the Baptist; who was a direct descendant of Aaron, and by virtue of this descent held the keys of that Priesthood, and exercised the authority and power thereof among the Jews. Not content with rejecting the Son of God, “they rejected even John, and the Aaronic Priesthood as well as the Melchisedek Priesthood was taken from the midst of the Jews, and they have remained without Priesthood from that day until the present time, even the Aaronic Priesthood having been withdrawn from their midst—the authority to officiate in the ordinances pertaining thereunto.

Now, this Priesthood which God has restored in these last days through Peter, James and John, is the Priesthood that continueth in the Church of God in all generations. The Church of God cannot be without it; for without it the power of Godliness is not made manifest to men in the flesh. A people can progress to a certain extent with the Aaronic Priesthood, but there is a limit to their progress. There are bounds beyond which they cannot pass. They cannot attain to the fullness of the glory of God the Eternal Father, without the presence of the Melchisedek Priesthood; for as I have read in your hearing, “This greater Priesthood administereth the Gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God; therefore in the ordinances thereof,” [that is, in the ordinances of the higher or Melchisedek Priesthood] “the power of Godliness is, manifest.” This cannot be manifest without that higher Priesthood, without the power which accompanies it. “And without the ordinances thereof,” the revelation continues, “and the authority of the Priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh; for without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.”

Without this Priesthood, without its ordinances, without its powers, without its gifts, “no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.” Therefore it is essential that, if a people should be exalted unto the presence of God, they should have this Melchisedek or greater Priesthood, and the ordinances thereof, by the means of which they are to be prepared, or they shall be prepared to enter into the presence of God the Father, and endure His presence.

Now, Moses taught this plainly to the children of Israel in the wilderness. He endeavored to impress upon them the importance of so living as to retain this Melchisedek Priesthood in their midst—to so live as to conform to the law, or laws, and requirements of this Melchisedek Priesthood. Says the revelations, He “sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might see the face of God.” He wanted them to behold the face of God. You remember the expression he gave utterance to, when the Spirit of God rested upon the seventy Elders, and they prophesied. There were two of them that were not with the rest. They were in the camp and not in the tabernacle, yet they prophesied also. And Joshua, jealous for the honor of Moses, jealous because Moses was a Prophet of God, and doubtless afraid that these men were transcending their authority, asked Moses to forbid them. And Moses gave utterance to that memorable, that glorious expression: “Enviest thou for my sake? Would to God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them.” There was no jealousy in the mind of this man of God concerning his brethren having the spirit of prophecy, it excited no feeling in his heart to reprove them, or to check them, or to say to them that they were usurping some authority which belonged to him; no, there was no such feeling in his heart; for had he not sought to lead the people forward to enjoy that privilege? Had he not sought diligently to sanctify the people that they might behold the face of God? “Therefore,” said he, “would to God that all the Lord’s people were Prophets. Would to God that not only the seventy Elders had the spirit of prophecy resting down upon them, but that every man in the whole hosts of Israel had that spirit in its fullness and in its power resting down upon him. How easy it would be for me,” Moses could have said, “to lead this people if all were prophets! How easy it would be for me to guide these hosts, and to lead them into the presence of God, if the spirit of prophecy rested down upon them throughout all the camp of Israel.”

But they hardened their hearts and could not endure the presence of the Lord. “Go thou, Moses, and speak to God,” said the children of Israel, “and then tell us what God has to say: be thou mouthpiece, be thou God to us; we will be content with this, the face of God is too terrible for us. We desire not to enter into His presence. We shall be content to have thee give to us the word of God,” These were, in effect, their words, and their actions corresponded to these words. As Paul says, “Which voice (the voice of God) they that heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more, for they could not endure that which was commanded.” Moses stood between them and God. They could not endure the presence of God. They hardened their hearts against it. Therefore the Lord in His wrath—for his anger was kindled against them, because of their hardness of heart, because of their rebellion—swore that they should not enter into His rest, that they should not attain unto the fullness of the glory that He had in store for them—that is, He swore that they should not enter into this rest while in the wilderness; which rest is the fullness of His glory. So He took Moses from their midst, and took with him the Melchisedek Priesthood; and thus terminated, so far as Israel was concerned, the reign of the Melchisedek Priesthood among them. Occasionally Prophets were raised up who did hold the Melchisedek Priesthood, ordained by God for special purposes; but the people were under the dominion of the rule of the Aaronic Priesthood from that time forward until the days of John.

Now, my brethren and sisters, it is of the utmost importance that we who live in this generation should comprehend that which God is doing for and designs for us. He has precisely the same future in store for us that He intended for our fathers in the wilderness. God designs to have us led in that path which will bring us into His presence. He designs that this whole people called Latter-day Saints shall have the laws of his celestial kingdom revealed unto them line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, until they are brought into His presence, until every man and woman and child who belongs to this Church shall be able to endure the presence of God and live, until by means of this Priesthood, this higher Priesthood, every man will be prepared to receive the fullness of the celestial glory, and this by obedience to law, not by hardness of heart, not by rebellion, not by rejecting the counsel of God through His servants, not by taking our own way; for notwithstanding all that is said by those who oppose us, and by the entire Gentile world in regard to the Priesthood of the Son of God in their opposition to it, these Latter-day Saints must obey the Priesthood of the Son of God, and be led by it in all things, or they never will enter into the presence of God our Eternal Father, never, worlds without end. God has placed this Priesthood in the Church for the express purpose of leading His people forward, just as Moses endeavored to lead the children of Israel forward by giving unto them His law, by revealing unto them His will, by instructing them in the things of righteousness, and leading them forward until they should attain unto the fullness of His glory.

Let us take these things to heart. Let us ponder upon them as a people. Let us purify ourselves with all our might, mind and strength. Let every man in his place and station seek to magnify that Priesthood that he may through magnifying it, attain unto those glorious blessings and privileges which God has promised.

God designs that this people called Latter-day Saints shall be a kingdom of priests and kings. He intends that the Melchisedek Priesthood shall be held by this people. He intends to preserve it on the earth, and those who attain unto this Priesthood, and magnify it to the renewing of their bodies and to the receiving of the promises of God will receive the blessings which God has promised—that is, they will receive all that God has to bestow, they will be joint heirs with Jesus and inherit with Jesus the glory of the Father, and there is nothing that the Father has that He will not give unto us, for all will be ours, everything we can conceive of—glory, immortality and endless lives—if we are faithful to the maintaining of our integrity and the keeping of our covenants, and the doing of the will of God in the flesh.

How important it is, then, brethren and sisters, that we should all be faithful during this probation; that we should walk humbly before our God; that we should obey every law and submit to every ordinance and apply everything that is taught to us to ourselves, and embody every principle in our lives as fast as it is taught to us, beginning with faith in the name of the Lord Jesus, and progressing from that principle forward by repentance, by baptism, by the laying on of hands, and by obeying the other laws and ordinances as fast as they are revealed, until we shall be prepared through obedience to law, and through the redemption which obedience always brings, to go back into the presence of God and the Lamb. We have entered upon an upward career. Let us press forward in that direction, adding faith to faith, adding knowledge to knowledge, adding gift to gift, adding power to power, until we shall behold the face of our Father and our God; and that will be granted unto us. It will be granted unto us to behold the face of Jesus; it will be granted unto us to have angels minister to us; and there is no blessing we shall not attain unto if we continue faithful to the Gospel, and to the covenants of the Holy Priesthood which we have received.

That God may help us to be faithful and lead us forward until we are brought back into His presence, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

The foregoing was delivered in Paris, Bear Lake County, Idaho, Sunday afternoon, August 10, 1884.

Attitude of Our Enemies Towards the Latter-Day Saints, etc.

George Q. Cannon

Delivered in Hyde Park, Saturday afternoon, August 23, 1884.

Every means that it has been possible to use to prevent the Latter-day Saints having peace, and to prevent them enjoying in peace and gladness their religion and the blessings thereof, have been used by our enemies with the utmost care and the utmost determination from the beginning it may be said, but especially during the last 25 years. If our enemies could have their way, those who bear the Priesthood would have no voice in the instruction or direction of the people. Already, as you know, a determined effort has been made to strip us who bear the Priesthood, and who have been forward in keeping the commandments of God, of influence, the influence which has been justly earned during long and faithful service for the benefit of the people, and that attends the exercise of civil and political power. Our enemies thought that this would be a most excellent way of putting us under ban, and judging by the effect that it would have by the operations of such plans among themselves, they fondly hoped that success would attend their efforts, and that the influence of the men, whose fault in their eyes is that they bear the Priesthood, would immediately begin to wane and eventually be broken. This is the disposition of our enemies, who have placed all who have been most forward, as I have said, in keeping the commandments of God in a position where they could not vote, and where they could not hold office, and in this manner making them a proscribed class. They supposed that the young men of the community would rise up and take possession of the offices, throw aside the influence of the older and more experienced people, and inaugurate a new policy in the midst of the Saints. In this manner they hoped that they would redeem, to use their own phraseology—Utah, and that a new order of things would be instituted in the land. This was a very cunningly devised plan, and among other people might have been successful but among the Saints of God, so far, it has proved utterly futile, and in fact has disappointed and it may be said disgusted the authors of the plan themselves. They have felt disgusted with their own efforts. There have not been wanting, however, some few persons who would have liked to join hands with our enemies in this plan. Such persons would not have been averse to having the men who founded this commonwealth, and who principally helped to make it that which it is to-day—the admiration of all unprejudiced people—relegated to the back ground, and a younger class, who would affiliate with our declared enemies, take possession of the reins of government in this Territory, and manage affairs, so that they would be more in accord with the general sentiments, as it is said, of the nation. This feeling has been confined to very few, and has not exhibited itself to any extent.

Notwithstanding every effort which has been made, I am happy to say that we to-day are still the free people we were. The leading men of the community have not lost their influence among the Latter-day Saints. The Saints as a body have stood firm in their determination to be guided by the counsel which God has had to give, and it is very delightful to see the feeling which there is among the Latter-day Saints in all the settlements that we visit, to see the union and the love that prevail, and the disposition to hearken unto the will of God as it is manifested by His Holy Spirit from time to time, through those whom He has chosen to lead and guide His people. There will be wanting no end of effort, however, to accomplish the ends which our enemies seek for. There is a great hatred among the children of men—and they do not themselves know why they have this hatred, but there is a great and undying hatred among the children of men against the Priesthood of the Son of God, a jealousy of the power that Priesthood wields, and in our Territory they are constantly seeking by every means within their reach to weaken the influence of the Priesthood, especially among the rising generation. It has been expressed—and frequently expressed—that they would rather see our young men drink, chew and smoke tobacco, gamble and commit whoredoms, and do everything of this kind, in preference to seeing them obedient to the counsels of God, through those whom He has chosen to lead the people. They would rather see this, because, as I have said, they do not know the spirit which animates them. They are not conscious that they are more or less the instruments of a secret and invisible power which operates upon them; that there are influences at work in their minds and around about them which they cannot see, but of which they are the mere tools, so to speak. This power—the power of darkness—is invisible to them. They do not understand this, but, they blindly fight against the power of God, and seek in every way to undermine the influence of the Priesthood of the Son of God. If they could get you to rebel against the Priesthood they would be suited. It, would please them immensely if the Latter-day Saints would rise in rebellion against the God of Israel and against the authority that He has placed in His Church.

The struggle that is now going on, so far as this class is concerned, is to destroy the influence of the Priesthood. Our effort is to have the Latter-day Saints throughout all these valleys listen to the counsels of the Priesthood, to be obedient to the Priesthood. The issue is a plain one between us and them. They say they wish you to throw off what they call the yoke of the Priesthood. We say on the contrary it is not a yoke, it is not burdensome, it is a beneficent rule, it is a rule that is pregnant with blessings to the people, and that will bring great rewards to them if they will be obedient to it. This is our statement, and we appeal to the Latter-day Saints as witnesses in our behalf to sustain it. We know, and you know, every Latter-day Saint knows, that God in restoring the everlasting Gospel and the everlasting Priesthood to the earth has brought with them every blessing which man can in reason desire. We have been pleased from the beginning to listen to the Priesthood. Who that is old enough, that can recollect his baptism or her baptism, or their first association with the Church, and their first enjoyment of the truth, whose hearts do not burn to-day at the recollection of the feeling they had of the sweet and heavenly influence that came to them when they first became acquainted with the everlasting Gospel as preached by the Elders. There was, as it were, a new life opened before them, even the gates of heaven seemed to be opened to them, and they saw the Kingdom of God as they never had seen it, and never had understood it. Truths that they had read carelessly and indifferently, without comprehending them, came to their minds with an assurance, and with a strength and force and power that they never had comprehended previously. And has it not been a source of blessing from that day to the present to the faithful Latter-day Saint? Has not the Gospel come laden with benefits, laden with blessings, fraught with everything that would make men and women happy? Has it not brought peace to us, and joy to our souls? Has it not opened up the future in a light that we never beheld until the Gospel revealed it?

Mankind, at the re-establishment of the Church of Christ, knew nothing about the future. All was dark and gloomy. Death was indeed a leap in the dark to the great majority of mankind. But when the Gospel came it revealed the future, It revealed to us why we were here, and the design God had in view concerning us. Men and women look forward to it, or contemplate it, when brought face to face with it, with resignation and with a degree of joy, because they know they are going to a reward that is assured to them. And so with everything connected with the future. The prospects of the future are made bright and glorious through the revelations of the Gospel, and it has brought, as I have said, peace to our hearts, peace to our habitations, it has made life enjoyable to us. It is most delightful to contemplate existence in the light of the Gospel, and the associations that we have here now through the Gospel, and through the exercise of the power and authority of the Priesthood.

So it is with everything connected with our lives. Let us glance at our temporal prosperity. Our enemies talk about what others would do for us, if they had the opportunity. But what have they done? Look at our cities, towns and villages; examine the manner in which the local government of this Territory has been conducted, the light taxation and everything in fact connected with our material progress, and to whom is the credit due for the blessings we enjoy? Is this credit due to those who are seeking to destroy the influence and power of the Priesthood? Certainly not. This settlement of Hyde Park, the settlement of Smithfield, every settlement in fact in this valley has been founded under the auspices or direction of men of experience, whom our enemies denounce, because they hold the Holy Priesthood of the Son of God. If we are lightly taxed, if we are out of debt, if our country is prosperous, it is due directly to the counsels of these men, whose chief offense in the eyes of our enemies is that they are God’s servants, whom He has chosen, and to whom He has given wisdom, to direct and manage affairs.

The prosperity which has attended our people is remarkable, more especially when we consider the yearly influx of poor people. I remember when I was in Europe, the four years I was there, upwards of 13,000 Saints were emigrated, the most of them coming directly to Utah. At present we have an emigration of 2,000 to 2,500 per annum, coming into this Territory from abroad—poor people. Why, there is not another population in the country of our numbers that could absorb so many people as our community does, without there being pauperism all over the land. But there is no pauperism. God has blessed the people in their fields, in their flocks, and in all their labors. They have been greatly prospered, and they will continue to prosper if they continue to listen to the voice of inspiration and hearken to the counsels of the Priesthood of the Son of God.

[The above was delivered in Hyde Park, Saturday afternoon, August 23, 1884.]

The Power of God Manifested in the Gathering of the Saints, etc.

George Q. Cannon

Discourse by President George Q. Cannon, delivered in Smithfield, Cache County, Saturday morning, August 23, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

We are in a very peculiar position as a people. Our position is unlike that of any other people upon the face of the earth that we have any knowledge of. God has communicated His mind and will unto the children of men, and it has been made known unto us. Others have heard it as well as we; but we are distinguished from them by our reception of this word, our willingness to obey it, and hence we are gathered together as we are in this place and in other settlements which the Saints have formed, not for the purpose, in the first place, of making money and bettering our condition, but for the purpose of keeping the commandments of God and walking in accordance with the revelations that he has given unto us. We have been gathered together by extraordinary displays of power. The world has not seen and cannot see these manifestations, for the reason that their eyes are closed by unbelief, and their hearts hardened from the same cause. God’s providences are not perceived by them. They do not distinguish the hand and the power of God in the events that are taking place. Nevertheless, we have been gathered together. Every one who is here that has been brought from the nations has been brought by the manifestations, it may be said, of miraculous power. He has accomplished in our case or cases, that which has been foreseen by the holy prophets from the beginning. It is a most wonderful work, the gathering of this people together, as they are here this day in these mountains. The manner in which the spirit of God has been poured out upon the people who have received the Gospel, and the manner in which they have been moved upon to forsake their old homes and their old associations, and part with their friends and relatives, and move among a people with whom they were not acquainted, and to a land of which they had but a little knowledge—this is the wonder that is being wrought in the midst of the nations of the earth. Many people ask for miracles, and they plead with the Elders when they go out to show them a sign to prove to them that they are indeed the authorized servants of God. That which we behold in these mountains to-day is one of the greatest signs, is one of the greatest miracles which has ever been seen or exhibited among the children of men. You may read all the records that we have, either sacred or profane, and there is nothing that approaches this work in which we are engaged, and that which has been accomplished by the outpouring of the Spirit of God upon the people among the various nations, Where in the history of our race has there been such a thing taken place as that which we witness? Where from the beginning has a people been gathered out from all the nations of the earth—moved upon by one common impulse, a simultaneous impulse, an impulse of the same character, impelling them in every land where they have received the everlasting Gospel, to gather to a strange land as the Latter-day Saints are being gathered to this land? No magnet ever drew or attracted to itself that to which it has affinity, with greater power than has the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ drawn to it from the midst of the various nations those who have an affinity for the truth. It has been irresistible in its effects. No sooner has the sound saluted the ears of the elect of God throughout all these United States, throughout. Canada, throughout the various islands of the sea, upon the continent of Europe, and in far-off Asia, Africa and Australia—no sooner have the glad tidings of salvation been proclaimed by the servants of God, under the auspices of the Almighty, than there has sprung up in the hearts of those who have thus heard the truth an irrepressible and irresistible desire to leave their native lands, and to identify themselves with the people of God in these remote regions, in these Rocky Mountains. To me, when I look at it, this seems the most wonderful work that has been accomplished among the children of men from the beginning. There is nothing that we can read of in God’s dealings with the children of men that compares in magnitude and in its wondrous effects with this work with which we are identified. And yet men ask for an evidence respecting the truth of this work! They ask for signs and miracles, as though there is any miracle which could be wrought in our sight that would compare in the very least degree with this great and miraculous work that is being wrought under our very eyes, and which we ourselves are helping to bring to pass. It is not as though the people of one nation were gathered out, or the people of one locality were moved upon; but in every land, in every language among every race and in every nationality throughout the entire earth, from pole to pole, from east to west, from north to south, wherever the Elders of the Church have carried this Gospel in the last days, and the sound thereof has saluted the ears of the children of men, they have been moved upon in this most extraordinary manner, and have traversed sea and land, without hesitation, without faltering, without doubt, and have come and associated themselves together in the place that God has designated as the place of gathering: Most wonderfully has God fulfilled the promises which He made in ancient days to His servants concerning this latter-day dispensation, and most wonderfully has He poured out His spirit and His power upon the inhabitants of the earth to cause them to contribute by their actions to the fulfillment of these remarkable predictions that were uttered thousands of years ago. There is not a Latter-day Saint within the sound of my voice this morning who has been thus moved upon but is a witness for God in this matter, and is a living evidence of what God has done and is doing, because each one knows the character of the influence that has operated upon his or her mind to bring to pass this action which has resulted in the gathering of themselves and the rest of the people together.

Now, my brethren and sisters, there has been a purpose in this. God has not come Himself from heaven and revealed Himself with His Son Jesus Christ for naught. God has not sent angels from heaven for naught. God has not poured out this Spirit to which I have referred upon all the inhabitants of the earth who have been willing to receive the truth for naught. There is a purpose that is as old as man himself, and as the earth itself, in thus bringing us together in this capacity in these valleys, and that purpose has not been that we should break the laws of God, or that we should become identified again with the world from whence we have been gathered. That certainly has not been the object that God has had in view in accomplishing these great works; but it has been that we should become a distinct people, a peculiar people a people whom He could use according to His mind and will, and through whom He could accomplish His mighty, His marvelous, and His wondrous purposes. That is the object He has had in view in bringing us together—to separate us from Babylon. It is for that purpose that the spirit has rested upon the people, under the influence of which they have gathered out to these valleys, so admirably adapted as a home for the Latter-day Saints, so secluded from the rest of the world that they have been reserved until this late day for us as a people to inhabit. If God had designed otherwise He would have let us remain scattered among the nations of the earth; He would never have gathered us out; we would never have had that spirit resting so powerfully, and, as I have said, so irresistibly upon us; we would have remained in the lands where the Gospel found us and our fathers; we would still be connected with the people from which we have been gathered. But this was not the design. Plainly written, as plainly written as the sunlight which we behold, has been the design of our God in connection with the gathering of this people, a people separate from every other people on the face of the earth—a God chosen people, bearing His name, having within us the Holy Ghost that He has poured out to make us His people—distinct from every other people and nation—composed of people of every nationality, yet blended together by the power of the Holy Ghost, and made one people with a oneness that is not known among peoples or nations of one common origin.

Ought we not, in view of these facts which are so well known to us, with which we are so familiar—ought we not to place ourselves in the position and continue to operate in the position in which God designs. Shall we resist these wonders that are wrought in our behalf? Shall we, having been thus elevated and gathered together, be intractable and resist the purposes of God which are so definitely and so wonderfully made manifest in our own experience? If we do, then condemnation of the most dreadful character will rest down upon us; because we cannot say that we have been ignorant of what God has done. As I have said, each Latter-day Saint who has been thus gathered, has a testimony within himself and herself, that this work is from God; that man did not create this desire within us to gather together and to become identified with the people of God. It is not a spirit that came from man; it is not a spirit that diffuses itself throughout the earth at the command of man; but it has come from God Himself; it has descended from Him and rested through His power upon all who have received it, and each one who has been thus gathered is a witness of this. We should, then, place ourselves continually in the position that Go, I designs we shall act in, and be submissive to His will.

We have a foe opposed to us that is the most wily, that is the most cunning, that is the most determined, that is the most unscrupulous, that can be imagined, and that foe is one who was once a great angel holding authority in the presence of God. He was our brother, sitting side by side with our Redeemer, having equal opportunities with Him. But he rebelled. He turned against the Father, because he could not have his own way. He determined that he would overthrow the throne of his Father, and engaged in a rebellion to destroy his plans, and because he was not successful he has sought from that day until this day to destroy the work of the Father, and not only to destroy the work of the Father, but to destroy every one who would listen to the counsel of the Father. Over this earth he has wielded for generations great sway: his dominion has been almost unquestioned, and he has imagined that he would gain supremacy in the earth, and be successful in preventing the Father from fulfilling his designs concerning the earth Therefore, he has sought by every means within his power to destroy the work of the Father. He has shed the most precious blood which has coursed in the veins of mortal man to accomplish his purposes. He has filled the earth with lies. He has circulated every abominable thing. He has stirred up the children of God one against the other, and has inspired them with the most deadly and hostile sentiments against everything that is holy and pure and god-like. It is only a few days since, inspired by his wicked spirit, innocent brethren of ours were cruelly slain, and if he had the power he would sweep this entire people from the face of the earth. If he could, he would destroy us all, as those Elders were destroyed two weeks ago in Tennessee. It is because he has not the power that he does not do it; it is because our Father and God checkmates him, and restrains him, and overrules his acts that he does not do this. The disposition is there, the willingness is there, the murderous spirit is there, everything is there that is necessary to accomplish this except the power to do it, which God in His providence withholds or controls, so as to prevent its exercise. We know this. The experience of 54 years has taught this to us. We have this kind of a foe to contend against. In view of this, what should be our course? Perfect, implicit, unquestioned obedience to our Father and God. What should be the course of every Latter-day Saint? We should not by thought, by word, by action, by any example, by any influence, lend any assistance to this being that is opposed to our God, and who is our deadly enemy, and the deadly enemy of every son and daughter of God. It is for this purpose that we are gathered together. It is that we may be withdrawn from the influence of Satan. It is that our influence may be on the side of our God in establishing righteousness that we are gathered together. We could not operate in this direction with any degree of success if we were scattered among the nations of the earth. Our influence would be unfelt, it would be lost, it would have no effect. It is only by concentration, it is only by gathering together, that we can accomplish the designs of our Father and God. Look at us to-day. We do not number 250,000 people in these mountains, and yet where is the people whose influence compares with ours? Where is the people whose acts and whose movements attract the attention that do ours. But scatter us among the nations and what would our influence amount to? It would be unfelt and lost. But God has gathered us together, and He aims to make us a great people. He will preserve His Priesthood in the earth, and we shall be victorious over our enemies, and our children after us will inherit the land and the earth. We are laying the foundation of that kingdom that shall never be destroyed, and the Lord will at last reign undisturbed and unquestioned for 1,000 years. That is the promise of our God to us, and we are engaged in that work to-day.

[The above was delivered in Smithfield, Cache County, Saturday morning, August 23rd, 1884.]

Design of God in Relation to the Earth and Its Inhabitants, etc.

John Taylor

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Monday and Tuesday (Semi-Annual Conference), October 6 and 7, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

If the congregation will endeavor to preserve as much order as possible, and prevent the crying and disturbance of children, I will try and address you for a short time. Last evening I made quite a lengthy address in this hall; but we had very good order. There was no whispering, no talking, nor disturbance of any kind. It requires, in a large congregation like this, quite an exertion to speak so as to make the people hear. I am told that the people could not hear half of what was said by several of the brethren yesterday. It is wrong for us to have disorder in the house of God, a place where we meet for instruction.

Last evening I talked of some matters of considerable importance to the Priesthood, of which there was an immense number present; they nearly filled this hall. I wish to continue some of these remarks; for it is necessary that all of us should be instructed in the great principles which God has revealed for the guidance, salvation and exaltation of the Saints of God, and also for the benefit of the world wherein we live. There were very many promises made to eminent men in generations long since past; but these generally had reference more particularly to the benefit of the world of mankind than to individuals.

There were certain great principles involved in the organization of this earth, and one was that there might be a place provided whereon the children of our Heavenly Father could live and propagate their species, and have bodies formed for the spirits to inhabit who were the children of God; for we are told that He is the God and Father of the spirits of all flesh. It was requisite, therefore, that an earth should be organized; it was requisite that man should be placed upon it; it was requisite that bodies should be prepared for those spirits to inhabit, in order that the purposes of God pertaining to His progeny might be accomplished, and that those spirits might be enabled, through the medium of the everlasting Gospel, to return unto the presence of their. Heavenly Father, as Gods among the Gods.

There have been different agencies at work throughout this world’s history. Lucifer has been and is one of these agencies. There was a garden planted, and Adam and Eve were placed in it, and there they had communion with God. There was another being whose name was Lucifer, who is called in some places, “the son of the morning.” Job speaks of a time at the creation of this earth when “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy,” (Job xxxviii, 7). As it was necessary that there should be a God, a man, an earth and a heaven, it was also necessary that there should be a devil, that man might be tried, and by trial be instructed. Indeed, in the economy of God, it was not only necessary that man, but the Savior also should be perfected by suffering. It is written: “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” (Hebrews, ii, 10.) It was further necessary that there should be a Redeemer according to the plan which was devised from before the foundation of the world, and also that man might be a free agent to act and operate for himself, to receive the good and reject the evil, or reject the good and be governed by the evil. And there were certain rewards promised to those who would obey the laws of God, and keep his commandments, and certain punishments inflicted upon those who would not. Satan has made very great ravages among the human family in trying to accomplish his purposes; for he has been the enemy of God, and the enemy of man, and in ages past he wrought upon mankind until after a certain period he had contrived to get the great majority of them on his side. Nevertheless, they had the Priesthood among them in those early days as we have among us to-day: After Adam there were Seth, Enos, Mahalaleel, Methusaleh, Lamech, and a great many others until we arrive at Enoch and Noah, who operated especially in behalf of the interest of the human family. They preached the Gospel as we preach it, and taught the same principles that we teach. They gathered the people to a Zion as we gather them, and when they had been gathered together, they had enemies as we have, who arrayed themselves against them. But Enoch was clothed upon with the power of God. He walked with God for 365 years, and we are told, “he was not, for God took him.” That is about all that is said about him in the Bible; but we have other information. Many others walked with God, and there was a city that the people were gathered to—a Zion. They walked with God and they were instructed of the Lord; but it took at any rate, 365 years to accomplish this object. Furthermore, in the latter days there is to be a Zion built up; but in these days we are told that the Lord will cut His work short in righteousness. Enoch, in his day, had his messengers go forth among the people, and when they gathered, if induced the rage of man, and great armies assembled against the Saints but Enoch prophesied by the power of God, and the earth shook and the mountains trembled, and the enemies of the Saints in fear fled afar off. By and by when the time came for the accomplishment of the purposes of God, and before the destruction of the wicked, Enoch was caught up to heaven and his Zion with him. And we are told in latter revelation in relation to these matters that a Zion will be built up in our day; that great trouble will overtake the inhabitants of the earth; and that when the time arrives, the Zion that was caught up will descend, and the Zion that will be organized here will ascend, both possessed of the same spirit, their peoples having been preserved by the power of God according to His purposes and as His children, to take part in the events of the latter days. We are told that when the people of these two Zions meet, they will fall on each others’ necks, and embrace and kiss each other.

As they in that day were placed under the guidance of the Almighty, so are we. As they had a work to perform associated with the welfare of the human family, so have we. As they had the Gospel to preach, so have we. As they had a Zion to buildup, so have we. As they needed the support of the Great Jehovah, so do we. As they were dependent upon Him in all their movements, whether in relation to earth or heaven, so are we. The work in which we are engaged is one that has been introduced by the Great Eloheim, the God and Father of the human family, in the interests of His children. And wherever and whenever these principles have existed, this same being that was in the garden with our first parents still goes forth and has gone forth as a raging lion, seeking whom he may deceive, seeking whom he may devour, seeking whom he may lead down to death. And in these latter days God has introduced these same principles with the same object in view. He has revealed the same principles of heaven, and as heretofore, in the interest of humanity. Who was Enoch? Was he a man of God? Yes. Who were the Elders with him, were they men of God? Yes; and they received their instructions in that Zion that was then built up, and more or less directly from God; for Enoch walked with God. Whom was Enoch operating for? For God his heavenly Father. He was there, as Jesus was on the earth in his time, as he said, not to do His own will, but the will of his Father who sent him. And whom did those people operate for? They operated for the welfare of the human family who would receive the truth and be governed by it. And whom did Jesus and His Apostles in their day operate for? For the benefit of all the world. Jesus Himself appeared as the Redeemer of the world, and He commissioned His Apostles to preach the Gospel to every creature, saying: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned.” What is this salvation and condemnation? That would take a long time to tell. Suffice it to say that there are bodies celestial, bodies terrestrial, and bodies telestial; one glory of the sun, another of the moon, and another of the stars; but straight was the gate and narrow was the way that led unto the lives, and few there were at that time and few there have always been who have gone, in thereat. And what was it that, they sought? It was the Celestial Kingdom of our God, that they might come forth in the first resurrection and be one with: the Father and one with Jesus, and belong to the Church of the First Born whose names are written in heaven, and become Gods among the Gods, and participate in all the glory of the Celestial Kingdom. But few there were who found the narrow path. It is so to day. Were the Apostles of Jesus commanded to preach the Gospel? Yes. Are we commanded as they were? Yes. What was the position of the Apostles? They were simply messengers of life and salvation to a fallen world. What are the First Presidency, the Twelve, the High Priests, the Seventies, and the Elders to-day? What are they? Bearers of life and salvation to a fallen world, the messengers of God to men, the legatees of the skies commissioned by the Great Jehovah to introduce the principles of eternal life, and gather in his elect from the four quarters of the earth, and to prepare them for an exaltation in the celestial kingdom of God. And what becomes of those who choose the other path? They are still God’s children, and He feels interested in them. What will He do with them? They will be judged according to the deeds done in the body, and according to the light and intelligence which God communicates to them. Then there is another glory a telestial glory. Those who enter into that glory will also be judged according to their deeds and he rewarded according to their acts. We are told of others who will suffer the wrath of God, and in the revelations given to us we learn that eternal punishment is God’s punishment, that everlasting punishment is God’s punishment, for He is eternal, and He is, everlasting. We are informed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah suffered the vengeance of eternal fire. We are told, too, that the inhabitants of the antediluvian world, who were destroyed because of their wickedness, were shut up in prison and they remained there for a long, long time. How long? We read that Jesus, who was put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit, went and preached to the Spirits in prison which were sometime disobedient when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah. How long had these people been there? At a rough guess about 2,400 years. It was quite a painful ordeal to go through. It is one that none of us would like very much. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God—a fearful thing to violate His laws. We have gathered here that we may learn those laws, the laws of God, the laws of life, and prepare ourselves under His guidance for an inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom of God. But are all the Latter-day Saints going into that kingdom? No. How is that? It is just as Jesus declared. “It is not every one that sayeth Lord, Lord, that will enter into the Kingdom of God, but he that doeth the will of the Father who is in heaven.” Did Jesus come to do the will of His Father in heaven? He did, and He expects all who aim at Celestial glory to do the same, and if they do not they will not get there. He says. “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works?” And He will say unto them, “Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity, I know you not, you have not lived as becometh Saints,” Oh, say some, that don’t mean the Saints. No, it don’t, but it means many who profess to be Saints. Do the world profess to cast out devils, to heal the sick and to do many mighty works? They do not. Do the world prophesy in His name? No. Do the world preach in the name of God? They preach in His name, many of them, without having the authority, as we have heard at this conference; but they do not propose to do many mighty works in His name, but many of our Elders do—Elders who magnify their calling and honor their God. On the other hand there are Elders who are careless, wayward and rebellious against God and His laws—who seek to trample under foot the principles that He has revealed—who seek to set themselves up to guide, direct, and manipulate the affairs of the Church and Kingdom of God, and yet these same persons know nothing but what they know naturally, as do the brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed; and we none, of us know anything only as God instructs us. We are indebted to Him for the introduction of this work, and for all the information pertaining thereto. It has been from no man nor set of men, nor organizations of a professed spiritual or temporal nature, that we have received intelligence pertaining to the things of God, the Church of God, or the Kingdom of God. It has come directly from the Lord, through the Gospel of the Son of God, which brings life and immortality to light; and if men think—and we every once in a while meet with such characters—they know better than the Lord how to manipulate affairs they will find out their mistake. The Lord will say to them, “Depart from me, I never knew you;” for it is not every one that sayeth Lord, Lord, that shall enter into the Kingdom of God, but He that doeth the will of our Father in Heaven.

Hence there is a great work for us to do. There is something comprehensive in it. It is indeed the dispensation of the fullness of times spoken of by all the holy prophets since the world was. It relates to the interests of men that now live: it relates to the interests of men who have lived, and it relates to things that are yet in the future. It is a thing in which the Gods in the eternal worlds are interested, and all the ancient Patriarchs and Prophets that have lived upon the earth are all interested in the work in which we are engaged. There is a Priesthood in the heavens, and we have the same Priesthood on the earth, but there should be a closer communion between the Priesthood on the earth and the Priesthood in the heavens; it is desirable that we should be brought into closer proximity, we want to be advancing as Enoch advanced. After the appearance of Jesus upon the earth, there was to be a certain power who would make war with the Saints and prevail against them; and it is said, “they shall be given into His hands until a time and times and the dividing of time:” (Daniel vii, 25:) but in this day we are told that “the Saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever,” (18 verse). You and I may violate our covenants; you and I may trample upon the principles of the Gospel, and violate the order of the Priesthood and the commands of God; but among the hosts of Israel there will be thousands and tens of thousands who will be true to the principles of truth, and God in the heavens, the holy angels and the ancient Priesthood that now live where God lives are all united together, for the accomplishment of this purpose. The Lord will roll forth His purposes in His own way and in His own time. And having thus organized, as I before stated it is not for us to act as we may think individually, but as God shall dictate. We have a regular order in the Church. You brethren, who hold the holy Priesthood, understand these things. Has God not given to every man a portion of His Spirit to profit withal? Yes. Has He not done more than this to the saints who are true and faithful? Has He not given to them the gift of the Holy Ghost? He has, and they know it and realize it. They are brought into communion with each other, and into communion with God and the heavenly hosts. But having this Spirit do we need others to guide us? Yes, all the time. Why? Because of the powers of darkness, the influence of Satan and the weakness of human nature. We need watchmen upon the towers of Zion, who are on the alert to look after the interests of Israel, and see that God’s people do not go astray. Hence it becomes the duty of the Teachers to look after the people, to see that there is no hard feeling, no covetousness, no fraud, no adultery, no iniquity of any kind; but that purity, holiness and righteousness prevail among those that they preside over. And how far does this extend? To every place where there is a ward or a portion of a ward—to the utmost extremity. It may be compared unto the body—from the head to the feet, from the toes to the fingers, and to every other part. All the officers necessary for the work of the ministry are to be found in the Church, and everything has been organized according to the order of God. Are any of these men who are called to presiding positions autocrats—men who exercise undue authority over the feelings and associations of their fellow man? No. Have any of them the right to disregard the feelings of their brethren, trample them under foot, and act as tyrants? No. Have the Apostles, or High Priests, or Seventies, or Elders, any such right? No. Brother Cannon will read an extract from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, on this question.

President George Q. Cannon then read as follows from Section 121, of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants—

“Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?

“Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men that they do not learn this one lesson—

“That the rights of the Priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principle of righteousness.

“That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to, gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control, or dominion, or compulsion, upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the Priesthood, or the authority of that, man.

“Behold! ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks; to persecute the Saints, and to fight against God.

“We have learned, by sad experience, that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.

“Hence many are called, but few are chosen.

“No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the Priesthood, only by persuasion, by long suffering, by gentleness, and meekness, and by love unfeigned.

“By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile.

“Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy.

“That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.

“Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly, then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God, and the doctrine of the Priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.

“The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy sceptre an unchanging sceptre of righteousness and truth, and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee for ever and ever.”

President Taylor continuing his remarks said: We have many specimens of the characters referred to in this revelation read by Brother Cannon. These things continue to exist more or less. Some people are very desirous sometimes to instruct me about how I ought to manipulate and manage affairs. Well, if they were set as my instructors I should be much pleased to get all the information I could from them, and I would be pleased to get information from the humblest person in existence—if it was information. Among other things I find that a good many begin to think that we are very much persecuted and proscribed in our marital relations, according to the revelations which God has given us, and there is sometimes a little trembling in the knees. I am pleased there is not much of it, but there is a little once in a while. Sometimes I get advice from outsiders, from the newspapers, etc., and sometimes from some of our brethren, (but from very few of our brethren) in relation to these matters.

God has given us a revelation in regard to celestial marriage. I did not make it. He has told us certain things pertaining to this matter, and they would like us to tone that principle down and change it and make it applicable to the views of the day. This we cannot do; nor can we interfere with any of the commands of God to meet the persuasions or behests of men. I cannot do it, and will not do it.

I find some men try to twist round the principle in any way and every way they can. They want to sneak out of it in some way. Now God don’t want any kind of sycophancy like that. He expects that we will be true to Him, and to the principles He has developed, and to feel as Job did—“Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.” Though other folks would slay us, yet we will trust in the living God and be true to our covenants and to our God. These are my feelings in relation to that matter. We have also been told that “it is not mete that men who will not abide my law shall preside over my Priesthood,” and yet some people would like very much to do it. Well, they cannot do it; because if we are here, as I said before, to do the will of our Father who sent us, and He has told us what to do, we will do it, in the name of Israel’s God—and all who sanction it say Amen—[the vast congregation responded with a loud “Amen.”]—and those that don’t may say what they please. [Laughter.] If God has introduced something for our glory and exaltation, we are not going to have that kicked over by any improper influence, either inside or outside of the Church of the living God. We will stand by the principles of eternal truth; living we will proclaim them, and dying we will be true to them, and after death will live again in their enjoyment in the eternal worlds. That is my feeling; so I don’t feel very trembly in the knees, and I do not think you do, generally. I see sometimes a disposition to try to ignore some of the laws which God has introduced, and this is one of them. People want to slip round a corner, or creep out in some way. There is something very creepy about it. There was a man in former times we are told, came to Jesus by night. His name was Nicodemus. He was one of those persons who did not like the daylight. I have known some people who would want to be baptized in the evening, or get into some corner that they might not be seen. Well, there is not much to such folks. Jesus was very unpopular, quite as unpopular as we are, in His day. Nicodemus was a prominent man among the Jews, and he thought it might injure his reputation if he was seen visiting that Nazarene, to get instruction from Him, so he crawled in at night. Jesus talked quite plainly to him, as you can read for yourselves; but we find some folks of a similar kind now creeping around. They have not the manhood to stand true to their colors and to their God. Some folks think that we polygamists are very much indebted to our brethren who are monogamists to help to steady the ark, (God save the mark!)—(Laughter.)—to help to save us, and that we need such men in the Legislature, etc., and to fill our various offices. Well, I won’t tell you all I think about some of these things, but I do think we are all of us dependent upon God our Heavenly Father, and if He don’t take care of us we shall not be taken care of; if His arm is not extended in our behalf we shall have a poor showing; but if God is with us, we ask no odds of the world, for He governs the destinies of the human family. He puts down one man and exalts another. He dethrones one king or president as the case may be, and sets up another, and He rules as He pleases among the nations of the earth and all the children of men, although they don’t know it. We live in Him, we move in Him, we have our being from Him, We are not dependent very much upon the monogamists about any of these things. You need not plume yourselves very much in these matters; and I will tell you, if you want to get along smoothly, you had better find among your various neighbors, when you have some matter of difficulty to settle, some of these polygamists and ask a little counsel at their hands. They will be able to advise you about many things, especially if they are men of God, humble men, living their religion and keeping the commandments of God.

There are some few things I have been reflecting about, and have noted them down, and I think I shall read them now.

The distinction being made between Polygamy and Prostitution:

1st. Congress made a law which would affect both; and cohabitation with more than one woman was made a crime whether in polygamy or out of polygamy.

2nd. The Governor turned legislator, added to this law, and inserted in a test oath to officials, the following words regarding cohabitation, “in the marriage relation;” thus plainly and definitely sanctioning prostitution, without any law of the United States, or any authority.

3rd. The United States Commissioners, also, without legislation, adopted the action of the Governor, and still insisted on this interpolation, in the test oath in election matters, and placed all polygamists under this unconstitutional oath, and released prostitutes and their paramours from the obligations placed upon others.

4th. The Prosecuting Attorney has sanctioned these things, and pursued a similar course; and while he has asked all the “Mormon” jurors certain questions pertaining to their religious faith in the doctrines of the “Mormon” Church, and challenged them if they answered affirmatively as to their belief in polygamy, he has declined to ask other jurors whether they believed in prostitution, or whether they believed in cohabiting with more than one woman or not.

5th. Chief Justice Zane when appealed to on this question refused to interfere, or give any other ruling, and thus aided in packing the jury.

Thus a law was first passed by Congress, which has been perverted by the administration, by all its officers who have officiated in this Territory, and made to subserve the interests of a party who have placed in their political platform an Anti-Mormon plank; and have clearly proven that there is a combination in all the officers of State, officiating in this Territory, to back up this political intrigue in the interest of party, and at the sacrifice of law, equity, jurisprudence and all the safeguards that are provided by the Constitution for the protection of human rights.

These (continued President Taylor) are some points that are of considerable importance. Similar things have been exhibited in former times—an animus, a united operation against justice, equity and law, and, in our case, against the Constitution of the United States, and the rights and privileges and immunities of the Latter-day Saints. A law was framed professedly in the interest of purity and virtue. When it got here it was perverted and made to subserve the interest of prostitution and prostitutes; and the lowest class of men, who violate their marital relations, and trample under foot all principles of virtue and integrity, can go on our juries, can vote at the polls, through the intrigues of corrupt men; and they thus try to shackle a free people, bring them into bondage, and make slaves of them, unless they will bow to their infernal behests, and in the name of Israel’s God we will not do it. [The congregation responded with a loud “Amen.] We are not going to elevate prostitutes and men who violate their marital relations above men and women who are virtuous, honorable and upright. These are my feelings, and I am not afraid to proclaim them to the world. So much for these things.

Do we want a class of men along with us that will submit to these kind of things, and are we to share in this hypocrisy, this infamy and degradation? What mean these dens in our city that are introduced by our Christian friends—dens of infamy, dens of prostitution, gambling holes, houses of assignation, dram shops, etc? They are to cater to the virtuous (?) feelings of these honorable, high-minded, pure reformers that have come among us—(Laughter)—or what are they for? They are sanctioned, I am ashamed to say by the officers of government, and protected in their libidinous and degrading pursuits. How was it some time ago when the Edmunds law was first introduced? A son of Mayor Little was one of the election registrars. His father some years ago had had two wives—I am sorry to say he has not got them now, they are dead—and because some years before any law of this kind was in operation in the United States he had practiced plural marriage, his son was obliged to tell his father that he could not register. Shortly afterwards a notorious courtesan known as Kate Flint, with some of the inmates of her bagnio, drove up and requested to be registered. “Why, of course.” And this same gentleman that could not register his honorable father, who had never violated any law of the United States, had to endure the mortification of taking the names of these others and placing them on the list as respectable voters in our midst! About this time another non-Mormon came along to one of the other registration officers, and on partly reading the oath—this test oath that had been prescribed—said, “I am afraid I can’t take that?” “Why can’t you take it?” Well, he was an honest man among the Gentiles; he did not like to foreswear himself; so he said, “I have a wife, and then I keep a mistress.” “Oh, well,” says the man, “read on a little further.” He read on until he came to the words, “in the marriage relation.” “Oh, well, yes, I can take that,” he said, and registered. These are facts that are stuck before our noses here in the City of Salt Lake by the officials sent among us, and who are instructed particularly to look after our morals.

So much, then, for such affairs. Now, do we want affiliation or association with such practices and principles as these? God forbid. And we want no falterers in our ranks. What shall we do? Live our religion, be true to our covenants, and keep the commandments of God.

What shall the Presidents of Stakes do? Look after our Stakes, and if you find adulterers or adulteresses among you, don’t permit them to go into the temples of God; for we won’t have such people; they cannot be sanctioned by us, nor have our fellowship. We will not have them; the world may take the strumpets; they may wallow in their filth, but we will not have our holy places polluted by people calling themselves Latter-day Saints, who indulge in these abominable practices; we will not have them; and anybody who permits them to go into these holy places will have to be responsible for it. Many Bishops do it, they will be held responsible. Therefore, be careful, you Presidents of Stakes and you Bishops, how you act, and look well after your people, for be it understood that before our Lord Jesus Christ shall come, “righteousness shall go before Him and shall set us in the way of his steps.” (Psalms lxxxv, 13.) We are preparing ourselves to build up a Zion of God, and these people, whoremasters and whores, liars and hypocrites, will never get into the city of the living God, they will be found outside the gates.

Now, have I any ill feelings towards these people that persecute and proscribe us? No. I would do them good for evil, give blessings for curses; I would treat them well, treat them honorably. Let us be men of truth, honor and integrity; men that will swear to our own hurt and change not; men whose word will be our everlasting bond. If you see men hungry, feed them, no matter who they are: white, black, or red, Jew, Gentile or Mormon, or anybody else—feed them. If you see men naked, clothe them. If you see men sick, administer to them, and learn to be kind to all men; but partake not of their evil practices. “O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united.” We are trying to raise up a people that shall be men of God, men of truth, men of integrity, men of virtue, men who will be fit to associate with the Gods in the eternal worlds.

We are accused of being corrupt, degraded, low and debauched. Who by? By people, as I will show who are ten times as degraded, ten times as debauched, ten times as low and guilty of ten-fold more crime than we are. These are our professed reformers. I speak of these things therefore in our defence, and were we not accused by men void of honor and principle, I never would broach such a subject; for, I do not delight to dwell on the infamies, the corruptions and abominations of the world. I would rather speak of their good qualities and honorable principles, and I am thankful to say that there are thousands and tens of thousands and millions in these United States and in other nations who look with contempt upon all the chicanery, deception and fraud, whether of a moral, social, political, legislative, or judicial character; thousands and millions of men; I see many of them, very many of them, who pass through here, men of note of position in society from the United States, and from the different nations who call upon me from time to time, and express their sentiments pertaining to these matters. In order to sustain what I say, I will have Brother Cannon read over some statistics in regard to crime. We are, as I have said, represented as a very bad people, and I want to show a comparison between us and our reformers, or those that profess to be our reformers in relation to these matters.

President Cannon then read the following, being the criminal statistics for the year 1883.

“The population of Utah may be estimated at 160,000 in 1883.

“Of these say 130,000 were Mormons, and 30,000 Gentiles, a very liberal estimate of the latter.

“In this year there were 46 persons sent to the Penitentiary convicted of crime. Of these 33 were non-Mormons, and 13 reputed Mormons.

“At the above estimate of population the ratio or percentage would be one prisoner to every 10,000 Mormons, or one hundredth of one percent, and of the Gentiles one convict in every 909, or about one ninth of one per cent. So that the actual proportion of criminals is more than ten times greater among the Gentiles of Utah, with the above very liberal estimate, than among the Mormons.

“It is urged that these non-Mormon prisoners are not a fair representation of the average of crime throughout the country, but are the result of the flow of the desperate classes westward to the borders of civilization; with greater truth we reply that the Mormon prisoners are not representatives of Mormonism, nor the results of Mormonism, but of the consequences of a departure from Mormon principles; and of the 13 prisoners classed as “Mormons,” the greater portion were only so by family connection or association:

Arrests in Salt Lake City, 1883:

- Mormons: 150

- Non-Mormons: 1,559

or more than ten times the number of Mormon arrests.

“Again, it is estimated that there are 6,000 non-Mormons, and 19,000 Mormons in Salt Lake City, which shows of Mormon one arrest in 126 2-3.

“Non-Mormons one arrest in a fraction less than every four, or rather more than twenty-five per cent.”

As I have said before, (continued President Taylor,) if we were not on the defensive in this case, I would say nothing about these things; but it ill becomes men who have got ten criminals to our one to come here as our reformers, and try to disfranchise men who are ten times as good as they are. These are facts that are not of my getting up.

They come from the public records and can be verified by the prison and other statistics. And the question is, how much of that rule do we want here

The questionable honor is reserved to these advocates of “advanced high moral ideas” to trample upon all judicial precedents. It was not enough that an insignificant minority should have more than an equal showing with the majority, being equal in numbers in the drawing to make up a venire. It was not enough that every Mormon was questioned as to his religious faith and that no Gentile was. It was not enough that all “Mormons” were excluded from this so-called “impartial grand jury,” and that their avowed enemies were to be their judges. It is not enough that our people must be tried by men whose average record shows them to be ten times their inferiors as law abiding citizens; but not having enough men to pack this “impartial grand jury” according to the provisions of law, under the guise of virtue, and in the name of morality and justice, edicts are issued to the officers to go into the purlieus of the city and gather up ad libitum from among the gutter snipes creatures to form “a jury of the peers” of the accused with which to persecute and prosecute honorable men and women.

These are things we object to, and I wish our brethren and sisters to be informed in regard to these matters, that they may have a correct estimate of the position that we occupy pertaining thereto. We cannot respect and esteem such operations, and while we are desirous to place ourselves in conformity with all law, all order and all correct principle, yet we despise in our hearts this chicanery, hypocrisy, fraud and deception. But do we expect to see such things? Yes. Are we surprised at it? No. Why? Because we have been told over and over again, and the Elders have preached over and over again, and the Prophets have prophesied of it over and over again, that the world will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. Who is it that embarks in these things? It is the corrupt, the ungodly, the debauchee, the adulterer, the liar, the men who violate every principle of honor, truth and integrity, and who are enemies to this nation, and the same class of people are enemies to any nation. They are laying the axe at the root of the tree of liberty, and trying to overturn the freedom of man, and to place free men in bondage, a thing no honorable man would condescend to for a moment. And there are many in this city who despise these things as they do the gates of hell, who are not associated with us in a religious capacity, many honorable men who have feelings of this kind, and then there are tens of thousands in the United States who possess the same feelings and the same abhorrence of this corruption, degradation and infamy that is sought to be palmed upon us. But while we can estimate these things at their worth, we can also estimate the actions of honorable men who are not of us at their true worth. Because a man is not a believer in our doctrines, that is no reason why he should not be an honorable man, for there are thousands and millions of them: it would be a pity if they were in the same condition as the others. But we as a people have to defend ourselves against the aggressions of an unscrupulous enemy who is instigated by the power of the adversary to overturn and destroy the truth to-day as he has done in other ages, in other nations and among other peoples. Therefore it becomes us to look well after our affairs, and protect ourselves as best we may from the calumnies, the reproach, and the infamies that are sought to be foisted upon us by an ungodly, hypocritical and corrupt people.

Now, having got through with this, I want to refer to something else. It has been stated that the reason why we have so many of these criminals is because that the scum of society from the eastern States floats out here, and that therefore a rough, uncouth, lawless class finds its way into this community. Now, I want something read to you about some of these so called virtuous people in the east.

President Cannon again read as follows:

“Dr. Nathan Allen, of Lowell, has declared in a paper read before a late meeting of the American Social Science Association, that “nowhere in the history of the world was the practice of abortion so common as in this country; and he gave expression to the opinion that, in New England alone, many thousands of abortions are procured annually.”

“Dr. Reamy, of the Ohio State Medical Society, says: “From a very large verbal and written correspondence in this and other States, together with personal investigation and facts accumulated * * that we have become a nation of murderers.”

The Rev. Dr. Eddy writes to the Christian Advocate regarding one little village of 1,000 inhabitants: “Yet here, and elsewhere, 15 per cent of wives have the criminal hardihood to practice this black art, there is a still large and additional per cent. who endorse and defend it. * * Among married persons, so extensive has this practice become, that people of high repute not only commit this crime, but do not shun to speak boastingly among their intimates of the deed and the means of accomplishing it.”

“Dr. Allen further states: “Examining the number of deaths, we find that there are absolutely more deaths than births among the strictly American children, so that aside from immigration and births of children of foreign parentage, the population of Massachusetts is rapidly decreasing. * * The birth rate in the State of New York, shows the same fact, that American families do not increase at all, and inspection of the registration in other States shows the same remark applies to all.”

“Bishop Coxe, of the Protestant Episcopal Church of New York, in a pastoral letter to his people, writes: “I have heretofore warned my flock against the blood guiltiness of ante natal infanticide. If any doubts existed heretofore as to the propriety of my warnings on this subject, they must now disappear before the fact that the world itself is beginning to be horrified by the practical results of the sacrifices to Moloch which defile our land. Again I warn you that they who do such things cannot inherit eternal life. If there be a special damnation for those who shed innocent blood, what must be the portion of those who have no mercy upon their own flesh.”

“Dr. Cowan, M. D., writing on what he styles “the Murder of the Unborn,” says: “That this crime is not only wide spread on this great continent, but is rapidly on the increase, we have the testimony of physicians, whose investigations have been thorough, and whose social standing and sincerity cannot be questioned.”

President Taylor continuing said: These are the people that are coming here to reform us, and are so disgusted with our corruptions. Yet I am pleased to find that there are, once in a while, men who have the courage to speak against these damning evils. Bishop Coxe, of the Episcopal Church, is one of these men, and I honor such men whenever I hear of them, and should be glad at all times to extend to them all courtesies possible. Dr. Allen and Dr. Reamy are inspired, it seems, by the same detestation of these hellish, these fiendish, these outrageous acts. Yet from these people come our reformers, who are so horrified at the evils they see in Utah. But fortunately, the bed to too short, they cannot stretch themselves on it; and the covering is too narrow and too contracted, it will not cover them, and their evils and abominations crop out on every side, and they become their own accusers.

It is their own statements that I have had read to you this morning. I am sorry to know that these things are as they are; but these are facts, and we do not feel very much honored with the association of such people. We do feel honored always to associate with honorable men and women; but with the seducer, with harlots, with thieves, with murderers of the innocents, no! never! no never! We want no association with them. As it is stated here by one of these reverend gentlemen in the East, speaking of these things, no murderer hath eternal life in him, nor no murderesses have eternal life in them.

I have had these things read to you for two reasons: First, to show the corruption that exists among these so-called virtuous people, honorable people, pure people, who are so shocked at the atrocities that take place in Utah. Another reason is that I want to warn our brethren and sisters against these infamies, and against permitting these filthy wretches to come into their houses. They are too low, too debased, too corrupt; and I speak of it because I know what I am talking about; there are some of these people crawling around us like so many vipers, and insinuating their hellish, murderous practices into the families of some who call themselves Latter-day Saints. Woe! to such Saints. You cannot have a place among us. No woman murderer, no man murderer can have a place among the Latter-day Saints, and I speak of it that the Presidents of Stakes and the Bishops may be apprised of these things. And some of these people would try to pass by the Bishops, and then by the Presidents of Stakes, and then by the President of the Church, and crawl with all their slime and damnable hypocrisy into the Temples of the living God. They may pass by these, but they will have to pass by the angels and the Gods, before they get through, and they will never inherit the Kingdom of God. Hear it you sisters! Hear it you brethren! Hear it you Bishops, and you Presidents of Stakes? Watch well and know well what you are doing, when you sign recommends for doubtful characters to go into these holy places. We do not want them there, it is not their place, and you will have to account for your acts if you permit these things knowingly. It is necessary that you should be particular about these matters, for you will have to answer for your doings as I have for mine. We cannot, because of relationship, because somebody is a cousin, or an uncle, or an aunt, or a brother, or a sister, or a son or a daughter, or a father or a mother—we cannot admit and will not admit them to any of these holy places unless they are worthy. I call upon you if you know of adulterers or adulteresses, or people that practice these unnatural infamies, to sever them from the Church; they shall not have a place in the Church and Kingdom of God. Mr. Murray here, and others, may make laws and test oaths, with provisions in them to screen the adulterer, the whoremonger, and the seducer; but we will tear that away from our people, and all such shall have no place with Israel, and all who are in favor of it, signify it by saying “Aye.” [The congregation responded with a loud “Aye.”] These are our feelings, and it is some of these things which has led me to talk as plainly as I have done in regard to some of these other matters. I wanted to present the contrast so plainly before you that he that runneth might read. Enough of this, however, for the present:

Handle it carefully. Deal with it gently, Speak of it tenderly, Poor Justice is blind.

The Fulfillment of Ancient and Modern Prophecy, etc.

George Q. Cannon

Discourse by President George Q. Cannon, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday morning (Semi-Annual Conference), October 5th, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

I will read a portion of the 29th chapter of the Book of Isaiah, commencing at the 7th verse:

“And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision.

“It shall even be as when a hungry man dreameth, and behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and behold, he drinketh: but he awaketh, and behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against Mount Zion.

“Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry, they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.

“For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.

“And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying. Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed.

“And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.

“Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me taught by the precept of men.

“Therefore behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.”

There is much more in this chapter which I will not read, but which all can read at their leisure. In sitting and looking at the congregation these words have come to my mind.

“Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.

Truly have these words been fulfilled in our eyes and in our hearing. God our Eternal Father predicted by the mouth of His Prophet Isaiah, concerning the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and the manner in which it should be received; and we to-day are living witnesses of the fulfillment of these things. God our Eternal Father has done and is doing a marvelous work and a wonder in the midst of the inhabitants of the earth. He is causing the wisdom of the wise to perish—He has caused it—and He is bringing to naught the understanding of the prudent, especially those who fight against Mount Zion, or against the covenant people of God. The manner in which our Father and our God has spoken concerning the great work of the last days with which we are identified, is very remarkable. When we examine the prediction of the holy prophets, it is wonderful how plainly everything connected with this work, so far, has been fulfilled; and as we have been told this morning—and we are told whenever the Spirit of God rests down upon the Elders of this Church to speak concerning the future—we have the strongest assurance that can be given by God to any people that as that which has been predicted in the past has been completely fulfilled up to the present time, so all the predictions which have been made connected with this work, or concerning it, will also be fulfilled to the very letter; not one word will fail, not one iota of the word of God concerning Zion will fall to the ground unfulfilled.

This work commenced, as we know, in obscurity, in weakness, with no particular demonstration in the sight of the world. A few individuals only knew concerning it. There were no remarkable manifestations for the world to gaze upon, for the world to wonder at, connected with its birth. It was born, according to the will of God. The Church started out a good deal like we have started out—helpless. What is there more helpless, weak, puny, insignificant, it may be said, in many respects, than a human being when it is born into the world. Yet that being if nurtured properly, if trained as it should be, has before it a career of never-ending glory. That little puling infant may become, in the eternity of our God, a God, to sway power and dominion in the eternal worlds, to be the father of unnumbered millions. Yet at its birth who would anticipate such a future for it. So it was with the Church of our God. Born in weakness, cradled in obscurity, it came forth according to the command of God; not attended, as I have said, by any great demonstration that the world could gaze and wonder at, but attended by the blessing, the power and the promises of our Eternal Father concerning its future. It required faith on the part of those who then received it to believe that such a glorious career as was predicted concerning it, awaited it. No human being unenlightened and uninspired by the Spirit of God, could have anticipated such a future for this great work; and yet in these early days, when it was in this condition which I have attempted to describe, the Prophet Joseph and those who received revelations with him, looked forward to its future, and saw that which we behold to-day in actual reality; they saw in vision that which we participate in to-day, and far more than anything that we have yet seen. I have often been struck with the remarkable character of the predictions which Joseph inspired of God, gave utterance to concerning this work. As I have said, scarcely a step in its advancement was hidden from him; scarcely a step but what was foreshadowed by him through the Spirit of God, which rested down upon him. Men doubt the divinity of this work. Men question the spirit of prophecy, or the divine mission of Joseph Smith. His life is maligned and misrepresented; his character derided and held up to contempt and scorn; yet it is not much to say, it is not much to anticipate, that before many years pass away, he will be recognized by the children of men as one of the mightiest Prophets that ever trod the footstool of God our Eternal Father. It is because his life has not been understood; it is because the work which he was the means in the hands of God of founding, is not comprehended; it is because his life has not been understood; it is because the work which he was the means in the hands of God of founding is not comprehended; it is because everything connected with this Church is beclouded by misrepresentation and falsehood that men assume the attitude they do towards this the great work of our God. In the very beginning of this work Joseph told the Saints, left on record the statement, as to how it would be received by the children of men—the hatred with which it would be met, the violence that would be manifested towards it, the various troubles through which it would have to pass. All these things he told, by his prophetic voice, as though their history had been written, as though they had taken place. Most graphically he has described to the Saints the results that should attend the increase of the work. At the first he said it should excite the animosity and hatred of a township. It did this. God in his mercy did not permit persecution to become so strong in the inception of the work, in the days of its weakness, that it could be overwhelmed. He restrained the power of the wicked, so that the growth and strength of the work would be commensurate with the opposition it had to contend with. As its circle enlarged, as its influence extended, opposition grew proportionately. From townships it extended to cities. As the work grew and outspread these limits, it excited the opposition of counties. As its influence continued to grow, from one county it extended to adjacent counties all the time growing, all the time increasing, all the time meeting with as much opposition as it could well bear up under. Wonderfully has the providence of our God been exhibited in the care exercised over His growing Church and His increasing people! Had it not been for this care, my brethren and sisters, we should not have the happy privilege that we enjoy this day of meeting together in peace in this Tabernacle. Had Satan been permitted to wreak his vengeance upon the Church in the commencement, it could easily have been extinguished in blood. Had the same power that was exercised against the Church in the days of Nauvoo, when the blood of our Prophet and Patriarch, and our present President, drenched the soil of Illinois—had that same spirit been permitted to have wreaked its vengeance upon the Church in the early days, it could, with no more excitement than was then raised, have completely extirpated the Priesthood from the face of the earth. But God, as I have said, in His wonderful providence, restrained the wrath of the wicked in the early days of the Church. Brother Franklin D, Richards has told us this morning, that for eight years after the birth of a child it is free from the power of temptation and Satan. God restrains the power of Satan—forbids him to exercise it over the tender child. And so in like manner did He restrain the power of Satan in the early days of this Church, so that there was a limit to its exercise over the Church in its weak condition. But as power increased, as the gifts of God were manifested, as the keys of the Priesthood were revealed unto the children of men, so did the wrath of the wicked, so did the violence of mobs, so did the combinations that were formed with the object of destroying the work of God increase in their strength and in their numbers. As the work progressed, so did the spirit of opposition progress, one keeping pace, apparently, with the other, and there is a wise purpose in this when we contemplate the great destiny that awaits this people. We can see the wisdom and the purpose of our God in permitting persecution to keep pace with the growth and the advancement of the work. It is just as necessary that we should be developed in our strength; it is just as necessary that we should be developed in our faith, as anything else connected with the work of our God. If it were not for this, we could not become the people that God designs; we could not fulfill the destiny that He has in store for us if it were not for these terrible ordeals to which this Church and this people have been subjected in the past, and to which they are now exposed, and which, doubtless, will continue to increase as the Church increases, until the day comes when the Kingdom of God will triumph over every obstacle and be fully established upon the earth.

But as I have remarked, as the Kingdom has grown and spread, so have the words of our beloved Prophet been literally fulfilled. Men say, “Oh, if you will only get a revelation concerning polygamy, if you will only lay polygamy aside, you will no longer have any opposition to contend with; if you will only conform to modern ideas concerning your domestic institutions, we shall have nothing to say against you. The opposition that finds now such strong support will be deprived of its war-cry and of the sympathy of thousands which sustain it at the present time—they will be deprived of this and you will go along like the rest of the churches, without having to suffer from the opposition and the hatred that are now manifested against you.”

Vain thought!—a thought that is only expressed by those who know nothing of the character of this work, who are not familiar with the history of this dispensation, and who judge of the effects of such movements by their human knowledge and the experience that they have with other systems. This system which God has established, this great work of our God, cannot be measured by human thoughts; the effects of this work and that which it is accomplishing on the earth, that which it will accomplish on the earth, cannot, be estimated by anything that is known among men. It is entirely unique, unlike anything else that has ever been upon the earth since our Savior laid the foundation of that dispensation—there has never been anything like it among men, and therefore every calculation concerning it, every prognostication and every suggestion is at fault in regard to this work of our God. For, be it understood, as, we well understand it as a people, that before the public revelation of plural marriage the opposition to this work was stronger, according to the strength of the people, than it has been since. Therefore, those who understand this work, know very well that anything of this kind—unless indeed the people should apostatize—would have no such effect as our friends in many instances think it would have.

“As I have remarked opposition has continued to grow and increase until to-day, as we have been told and led to ex[p]ect, upwards of half a century ago. Not only has it been a township, not only has it been a county, not only has it been a state that has arrayed itself against the work of God, and instituted measures for its overthrow and entire destruction, but to-day this great fact stares us in the face, it presses itself upon our attention, we cannot shut our eyes to it—this great fact, that today the United States in its governmental capacity, has pitted itself against the work of our God, and has passed measures for its complete overthrow and destruction. Most wonderfully has God thus far fulfilled every word that has been spoken by the mouth of His inspired Prophet! And shall we who witness the remarkable fulfillment of this prophecy—shall we to-day shrink from the issue that is presented to us? Shall we in view of all that God has said to us concerning the past, and all which he has predicted concerning the future? Shall we falter? Shall we tremble or grow weak in our knees? Shall we become palsied in our efforts and let go of that great work of our God which is entrusted to us? God forbid that there should be any weakening, that there should be any faltering, that there should be any lowering of the flag, or any weakening of the flag, or any weakening of the knees, or any trembling of the heart, in view of all that presents itself before us, however appalling the vision may be to mortal sight. God forbid that there should be anything of this kind in the hearts or in the actions of any man or woman who calls himself or herself a Latter-day Saint. For be it known unto you, my brethren and sisters, be it known unto all the earth everywhere, that God, years and years ago, told us by the mouth of His inspired Prophet, that these things, the fulfillment of which we now behold, would actually take place, and that we should have these things to meet and to contend with and to overcome.

What shall be the future result Is this to be the termination, is this to be the end? No. As the Church increases, so will the opposition to it increase, until it will extend itself beyond the confines of our own nation to other lands and to other nations, until, in fact, the whole earth that has not received, or will not receive the Gospel of the Son of God, the message of salvation, of which we are the unworthy bearers, until, I say, all the nations of the earth will array themselves against the work of our God, and exert their power to destroy it, as a township did, as a county did, as a state did, or as the United States are now doing, and then the work of our God will rise in its sublimity, in its strength, in its God-like power and assume its place, its rightful position among the nations of the earth. The puny infant, born on the 6th day of April, 1830, will become a stalwart man, full of power, full of the gifts of God, full of the excellencies that belong to perfect manhood in the sight of God; and will assume its fit and proper place designed by God for it among the nations of the earth. This we may look forward to, this we may expect, and if we do not make calculations on these things we fail to comprehend the character of the work which He, our God, has established on the earth. Men wonder at our temerity—men wonder at the hardihood we have. They are surprised that we should dare think as we do. Only a few days ago we saw the statement of a friend in the Deseret News, appealing to us to get a revelation to do away with plural marriage; because if we did not, war and bloodshed would be the result. Have we not been threatened with this from the beginning? Yes, we have. We have had this ordeal to meet; we have had war threatened; we have suffered from bloodshed; but the burden of the Lord has been upon us, the hand of God has been over us. Though our pathway has been beset by all these difficulties, nevertheless the burden of the Lord has been upon us to carry forward this Gospel and to establish this work, let the consequences be what they may to us individually. We have the promise of God, that so far as the work is concerned it will stand, it will increase, until it fills the whole earth. We know not what the consequences may be to us individually. Each man must do his duty, and do his part faithfully, courageously, manfully, in the sight of God, being willing to endure all the consequences, with a full knowledge that God will save, redeem and exalt him if he will only be true to the holy Priesthood which he has revealed.

Then is not this a marvelous work and a wonder? Has not the wisdom of the wise in connection with it, perished? Has not the understanding of the prudent been brought to naught? Has it not baffled all the calculations of human wisdom? Has it not overcome all the obstacles that have been put in its pathway by human strength and by all the ingenuity which human beings have been able to devise or employ or command? Certainly it has; and to-day human wisdom and human prudence are as much at fault as they ever were, and it will continue to be the case until all that God has predicted concerning this work will be literally fulfilled.

My brethren and sisters, when we look at this work by the light of the Holy Spirit, when God enables us to comprehend some of His designs and purposes, we can see how wonderfully He has wrought in our behalf how wonderfully he, has preserved this people. We to-day are a great people, it may be said. In some respects we are. We are few in numbers, it is true; but God in His wonderful providence has prepared this land, this glorious land, this mountain region, it seems as though He had prepared it beforehand for the ingathering of His people, and as a dwelling-place for them. A better habitat cannot be found on the face of the earth, for the Latter-day Saints than this mountain region. A better or more admirably adapted people for these mountains cannot be found. The training we have had in the past admirably fits us for the labor of establishing cities, towns, villages and hamlets, opening farms, and developing all the resources of these mountain valleys. No other people are so well qualified for this labor as we are. No other land is so well adapted for such a people as this land that we now inhabit. The people and the land have been found. The people and the land have come together. The land is here. The people have found the land which is so surprisingly fitted for their habitation. And there is no people that I know anything of, who can compete with us in these mountain valleys. They are ours by right of possession to begin with, by right of settlement, and they are ours by right of our capacity to inhabit and hold them, and they are ours by right of the blessing and the favor of God our Eternal Father, bestowed upon us and upon the land itself. And, as President Taylor suggests, they are ours by purchase as well as by those other rights.

Shall we be uprooted from this land? Shall we be extirpated? This is a question that presents itself very often, doubtless, to our mind. In the providence of our God, will we be permitted to maintain our foothold here, and to continue to increase and to spread? We have the answer to these questions in our own possession. It depends upon ourselves.

“Oh,” says one, “It don’t depend upon you, it depends upon another power. It depends upon this: whether you will abandon your peculiar practices; whether you will lay aside your peculiarities of doctrine and of religion, and conform to the views, to the institutions, and the practices that prevail in the nation of which you form a part.”

These are the comments of those who are not of us respecting this question or questions, which I have asked. They think it depends upon our abandonment of those peculiar features which make us a distinct people from the rest of the nation. On the other hand I state here in the presence of heaven, in the presence of the Great God, our Eternal Father, that it does not depend upon this. It depends—I affirm it, and I am willing to stake my reputation upon it as a servant of God—it depends entirely, without question, without qualification; upon the Latter-day Saints themselves, whether they will continue to live in this land and to occupy it, and to enjoy the valleys and the peace which God has vouchsafed unto all who dwell here. I know that looking at matters naturally, we are in danger of being overwhelmed, extinguished. A people feeble as we are, a people possessing no greater resources than we have; a people of no greater numbers, of no greater wealth, of no greater influence in the earth—why, it would seem a bold and rash thing to say that we can withstand all opposition that may be brought against us. If God were to permit the world to launch its thunder bolts against this work; if God were to permit the world to unite against this work, to combine and to put in operation its forces against this work, I am willing to admit that there would be great danger of our complete overthrow and destruction, in fact it might be said there would be scarcely a question concerning it. But remember, my brethren and sisters, that this is the work of God. This is not the work of man. It has not been the wisdom of man that has guided this work. It has not been the wisdom of man that has sustained it. It has not been the wisdom of man which has defeated the plans of our enemies. It has been the wisdom and power of the Great God, our Eternal Father. He has chosen his instruments. But, then, how weak they are! how feeble they are! how insufficient their efforts and their words would be if He did not supplement them by the bestowal of His power, and by that overruling providence which controls all the affairs of the children of men, controls all the results according to His own good pleasure. But God our Eternal Father, will not forget His people. He will not forget the promises which He has made, and it is upon these that we must rely. It is for these that we must live. We must live—live, brethren and sisters—let it sink deep into your hearts. We must live ourselves so that we shall have the fulfillment of the promises of God granted unto us, If we so live, there is no power on earth that will be permitted to combine itself, or to array itself, or to exert its force against this work to its injury, or to retard its onward progress. Hear it all ye Latter-day Saints! Hear it! If I could speak so that the whole world would hear the utterance I would like to sound it in the ears of all mortal men—that there is no power that will ever be permitted to array itself, or to combine itself against this work of our God, to retard its onward progress from this time forward until the full consummation will be achieved—that is, if the Latter-day Saints themselves are faithful to God, if they will keep the commandments of God, if they will sanctify themselves and cleanse themselves from sin, and live pure and holy lives. If they will do this, then the success and the triumph and the continued growth and advancement of this kingdom and the continued maintenance of these valleys and these mountains are assured unto us as a people. There is no doubt of it. I say in the name of Jesus Christ, that it will be so. I promise it in His name, and in the authority which I have received from Him—that if we will comply with these requirements and conditions, there is no power upon earth nor in hell that can disturb this people, that can uproot us, that can unsettle us in these valleys and in these mountains; for God has given unto us this land, and from this time forward, we will go on increasing and spreading and enlarging until all that God has said shall be literally fulfilled concerning this work that He has established upon the earth. He will do a marvelous work and a wonder. He will cause the wisdom of the wise to perish; He will bring the understanding of the prudent to naught in all their calculations against this work which He is establishing on the earth, and with which we are connected. Glory to God in the highest for the privilege He has granted unto us, poor, weak mortal creatures, to be identified with His great work and have such glorious immutable promises given unto us! Oh! how our hearts should swell with gratitude to our God! How profoundly grateful we should be and how thanksgiving and joy should well up in our hearts unto our God for having given unto us the privilege of being connected with this great work.

Now, will those connected with it not have their trials? Oh yes. Those who would reign with Christ must suffer with Him. Those who would reign with the Prophets; those who would gain the glory that God has in store for the righteous must suffer with the Prophets and Apostles.

I have spoken in my remarks concerning the great work of our God. I have not yet alluded to individual cases connected with it. What will be the fate of individual members of the Church of God? That depends upon ourselves. But whether we remain connected with the work or not, this I know: I know that this work will roll forth in the manner in which I have, in my humble and weak way, attempted to describe to you. I know that. But whether I will be faithful depends upon myself. I beseech Him in the name of Jesus, that I may be faithful; that whatever may come in my pathway I may never, no never flinch, never weaken in my fidelity, in my courage and in my zeal for this glorious work of our God. I would rather die this instant in your presence, than ever falter in regard to this work. I love it. It is God’s work. I dedicated myself in my childhood to the cause of God, and I have endeavored through my life to be faithful to Him. If we will be faithful to our God He will redeem us, no matter what the circumstances maybe through which we may be called to pass. We may wade through sorrow. We may have to endure persecution. We may have to meet with death. We may have to endure imprisonment and many other things that our predecessors had to endure. God may test us in this manner. Every human being that is connected with this work will have to be tested before he can enter into the Celestial Kingdom of our God. He will try us to the uttermost. If we have any spot more tender than another, He will feel after it. He will test all in some way or other. But like the promises that have been made in regard to the work as a work, so are the promises made to us as individual members of the Church. We have had certain promises made to us. We have had blessings sealed upon us. God has acknowledged them in the heavens when they have been sealed upon our heads by the authority of the Priesthood which He has restored. And you may notice it that as the work of our God has increased we have also increased in the power of the Priesthood. When Joseph Smith committed the keys of the Priesthood unto his brethren, and rolled the burden upon their shoulders of carrying forward this work—in his urgent haste to build the Temple of Nauvoo, in his urgent haste to commit to his fellow servants all that God had committed to him—from that day the Kingdom of our God has grown in majesty and in strength, and at the same time has called forth opposition such as it never met with before. Every Temple that we build excites additional hatred, increases the volume of opposition, the volume of hostility, and the threatenings of the wicked. Every Temple that we have thus far completed—and every Temple of which we lay the foundation—has been another testimony in favor of God, and has brought strength to the people of God, in enlisting the hosts in the eternal world upon our side; but at the same time there has been stirred up, from the very depths of hell, all the damned, Satan and his legions, to unite with their agents, upon the earth in an endeavor to destroy this work, and to do everything in their power to obliterate it from the face of the earth: for hell is engaged at the work we are doing: hell is stirred up at that which we are accomplishing. Satan sees that which he dreads. He sees a people guided by the holy Priesthood. He sees a people gathered together according to the promise of God, filled with the power of God, led by His everlasting Priesthood, and seeing this, He is determined to exert every power, every influence that he can muster for the purpose of preventing the spread and growth of this work. He is determined to do this, and we can see it. But his power and influence are restrained; because, were it not so, the strength of the people of the Church of God is not such as to withstand the power of the evil one without succumbing to it. God, therefore, permits the opposition power to grow in proportion to the strength of the Saints, and if the contest be a sharp one, a keen one, a violent one, the sooner it will be ended. Because there is a termination to all this. There is a time coming when this opposition must cease and when God will stretch forth His arm, as He has already done, to accomplish His great work on the earth. As the nations of the earth reject the Gospel, He will pour out the judgments that are set to follow the preaching of the Gospel. God will fight for Zion. God will remember Zion. Her name is written on the palms of His hands. He never can forget Zion. A woman may forget her nursing child—and that is a very difficult thing to do—but our God will never forget Zion, never forget the promises made to His people. He looks down from His holy habitation, and sees the humble efforts of His people. He sees their devotion to His cause. He sees their willingness to lay down their lives for the truth. Our God is not ignorant of this. His eye is upon this people, and His blessing will be with us. There is no power that can prevent the outpouring of His Spirit upon us; no power whatever.

We are rearing, as I have said, temples. And who shall enter into the temples of our God? Shall the drunkard, the whoremonger, the blasphemer, the Sabbath-breaker? Shall the man who does not train his family as he should do, who is not living a godly life? I tell you, my brethren and sisters, the time has come when a higher standard of purity must be observed by us as a people than has been in the past. We must live worthy of these blessings which God has bestowed upon us. If we do not God will withdraw His Spirit; God would condemn His servant who stands at the head of this Church, were he to permit wickedness to enter into these holy places. Therefore, the servants of God are strictly charged concerning these things. O, you adulterers! O, you whoremongers! O, you drunkards! O you Sabbath-breakers! O you dishonest men, and you hypocrites who have a place and a name among the Latter-day Saints! I say, woe! unto you unless you repent of your sins, unless you forsake everything that is evil and humble yourselves before God, and ask forgiveness from Him; for I tell you the Spirit of God will be withdrawn from you, and you will be left to yourselves and become as withered branches only fit for burning, unless you heartily, sincerely, profoundly, from the bottom of your hearts, repent of all your sins and put them far from you. God will not bear with you any longer. The sinner in Zion will tremble. That day will come. Fear will come upon the hypocrite. Therefore, repent of your sins before it is too late. And if you do you may enter into the holy places which God has provided. But O ye Presidents of Stakes and ye Bishops, you must be on the watch tower about these things, for God will hold you accountable. The sins of the people will be found upon your garments in the day of the Lord Jesus, if you do not cleanse impurity from the midst of your wards. If you recommend men who are unworthy, through tenderness of heart and through sympathy, when they are wicked, I say to you, in the name of Jesus Christ, that the condemnation of God will rest upon you, and He will hold you to a strict accountability. For God has not chosen men to preside without laying upon them responsibility of a very grave and weighty character. He holds us accountable for these things. When a man has a relative and he condones the offence of that relative, through sympathy, he will not be free from responsibility. Now let it be known throughout all Israel, as the word of the Lord to us for the present, through his servant who stands at the head, that a man who commits adultery, a man who has had his endowments, cannot be baptized again into the Church. Let it be known throughout all Israel, as the word of God through His servant, who stands at the head, that a man who has had his endowments and commits whoredom, cannot now be received into the Church again. These must be cut off; because the law that was given in the early days of the Church concerning a man committing adultery once and being received back into the Church does not apply to-day. There has been a higher law since then, namely, the endowments, and men have taken upon themselves, and women also, sacred obligations in holy places. Therefore, hear it and understand it. Let it be given out in all the congregations of the Saints; let it be known everywhere throughout the land of Zion, so that if a man is tempted to do that deed, or a woman, that they will pause in view of the terrible consequences which await its commission—that they will pause and ask themselves the question—can I do this at the expense of my salvation and my exaltation in the presence of God? God has labored with us for fifty-four years and six months. He has revealed unto us His laws in plainness and power, so that all can understand, and if there be any now that do not understand it is because they have not availed themselves of their privileges and opportunities. My brethren and sisters, this land must be a land of Zion to us. It will be a land of Zion to all who keep the commandments of God. It will not be a land of Zion to the adulterer, the seducer, the blasphemer, the Sabbath-breaker, the man who does not pay his tithing, to any who do not keep the commandments of God; but to those who do keep the commandments of God, and who keep themselves pure, it will be a land of peace, a land wherein they and their children after them can dwell in peace and righteousness. But let us be warned in this the day of our probation. Let us walk humbly before our God. Let us live so as to have his revelations constantly within us; let us live so that His Spirit shall burn in our hearts and in our bosoms and in our bones like a very fire, that in the end we may be saved and exalted in His Celestial Kingdom, which I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Privilege to Meet to Worship God, etc.

Charles W. Penrose

Discourse delivered by Elder Charles W. Penrose, in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, November 4, 1882. Reported by John Irvine.

The testimony which has been borne to us this afternoon by Brother Abraham H. Cannon is true and faithful. I presume there is not an Elder in Israel, no matter how much experience he may have had in public speaking, who does not feel in his heart to shrink when called upon to stand before the people and speak to them upon the things of the kingdom of God; for if he can properly realize his position he feels his inability, his weakness; he feels that of himself he is unable to instruct the Saints; he knows that they are familiar with the general principles of the Gospel, and with almost every truth which has been made manifest by the power of God in these last days, many of them are also familiar with the teachings of the servants of God in former times, which they have been able to gather from the Scriptures of divine truth. To stand up before a congregation of people acquainted with the Gospel, its principles, its ordinances, and its spirit and power, is indeed a task, and it is only in the strength of the Lord, it is only because of faith in His promises and of experience in receiving a fulfillment thereof, that the Elders are emboldened to stand up before the people to address them, trusting to the inspiration of the moment, trusting that God will pour out His Spirit upon them and upon the congregation whom they address.

I feel this afternoon that it is a very great privilege to be numbered among the Latter-day Saints, to be permitted to meet in this house and worship God our heavenly Father in the way that He has appointed, to partake of the emblems of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, and to spend a little time together reflecting upon those things that pertain to our eternal welfare. In this I feel that we are blessed of the Lord, and my heart is full of gratitude for this great privilege. For, when we meet to worship, we do not assemble to offer up our prayers and to attend to the ordinances or to perform any ceremony that we have invented, but we meet together to attend to things which have been pointed out to us by the finger of divine providence. Every principle we have received has come from God. Every ordinance which we administer, or of which we receive the administration, has come to us by divine revelation in our own day. The manner of administering the sacrament of the Lord’s supper which we partake of every Sabbath, when we meet together, has been pointed out to us by the Lord. We have not learned this merely by reading the Scriptures, written by holy men of God in ancient times, but the Lord has pointed out in what way it shall be administered, and has given us the words to be used in the blessing of the bread and of the water, the emblems of the body and blood of Jesus Christ. And so with every thing we have in the Church; it is pointed out by the Lord. The Church itself was not organized by man, nor by the wisdom of man, but according to a divine pattern revealed directly from the heavens; and in this respect our Church, our religion, the ordinances which we receive, and all things pertaining to the work in which we are engaged, are different to anything else upon the face of the earth. For all the churches and societies and institutions and governments which exist upon the face of the earth, outside of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are the work of man. It is true that in each of them some divine principles are incorporated; there is some truth in every religion, in every sect, in every creed, in every society, and in every political form of government. But those institutions, civil, political and ecclesiastical, have been set up by man. They have been founded on the knowledge and wisdom of man; they have not been established by authority from our heavenly Father but men have set them up according to circumstances, and according to their desires and their designs and their notions. Yet, at the same time, over all, above all sits our heavenly Father, watching the affairs of men and nations, shaping and controlling and over-ruling all things to bring about eventually His own divine purposes in regard to the earth and the inhabitants thereof. But so far as these organizations are concerned, these various institutions which have been set up, they are the works of men. They have not been authorized by our heavenly Father, although they contain within themselves many things that are right and true.

Now, will all these various institutions endure? Can they stand the test of time? Will they pass away at some period? Institutions like these have been set up in former times, and after a while they have perished and passed away just like all things earthly, just like all things with which men have to do; they are all of a temporary character, and they contain within themselves the elements of their own dissolution and final destruction. Now the Lord has told us a little concerning this in a revelation he gave through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and I will read a portion thereof. It will be found on the 465th page of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants:

“Behold: mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion.

Will I accept of an offering, saith the Lord, that is not made in my name:

Or, will I receive at your hands that which I have not appointed

And will I appoint unto you, saith the Lord, except it be by law, even as I and my Father ordained unto you, before the world was?

I am the Lord thy God, and I give unto you this commandment, that no man shall come unto the Father but by me, or by my word, which is my law, saith the Lord;

And everything that is in the world, whether it be ordained of men, by thrones, or principalities, or powers, or things of name, whatsoever they may be, that are not by me, or by my word, saith the Lord, shall be thrown down, and shall not remain after men are dead, neither in nor after the resurrection, saith the Lord your God;

For whatsoever things remain, are by me; and whatsoever things are not by me shall be shaken and destroyed.”

There are a great many religions in the world, and the people who compose these various religious societies, meet together in their chapels and churches and halls of worship to perform religious ceremonies; to partake of religious ordinances; but we find when we come to examine them, that each one of them has been set up by man, and they have not been authorized by the Lord our God.

A little over 1800 years ago a Church was established upon the earth by our heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, His Son. Jesus Christ not only came to set a pattern to mankind in His earthly acts, and to die for the sins of the world, but also to establish His Church on the face of the earth, the Church of God, whom He represented; for the Father was represented in Him, He being in the express image of the Father’s person. He received the spirit of the Father, not by measure, but in its fullness. He came here not only to represent the Lord upon the earth that man might understand the Father, and to show a pattern to them that they might follow in his footsteps, and to lay down His life for their sins and for the sake of the whole world, but that He might establish the Church of God; and He called certain disciples and ordained them to the same calling and authority which He had received from the Father. He called twelve men and ordained them Apostles. He called seventy men and ordained them unto a position which was an appendage to that Apostleship, that they might work in the same ministry and go where the Twelve could not go; in other words, to be assistants to them. He revealed to those Twelve Apostles sufficient to begin the establishment of His Church, and He also taught them line upon line, precept upon precept, and principle upon principle, to qualify them after His departure to continue the work which He had begun. And after He left them, after He was by wicked hands taken and crucified and slain, and had risen from the dead, and had met with them and talked with them and explained further to them in relation to their duties and in relation to the Church which was to be established upon the earth, He poured out upon them His Holy Spirit, the Comforter, that it might be in His stead; that His word might be spoken to them; and that the things of the Father and of the Son might be revealed to them; that they might comprehend all things needful to establish the Church; that they might do the work of the ministry; that they might edify the body of Christ; that they might lead the saints and the Church to perfection. And we know the Church was fully established under this divine direction, under the gift and power of the Holy Ghost and the personal teaching of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It was established with Apostles and Prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, with helps and governments, with gifts, powers, and privileges and blessings and ordinances, that the people who believed in Jesus Christ might not be left in a scattered condition, but that they might assemble together and be organized after the pattern of heaven, that the beginning of the heavenly kingdom and heavenly government might be in their midst. For the work that Jesus came to establish was indeed the kingdom of heaven so far as He could establish it at that time. And the word of the man who came to prepare the way before Him was: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The disciples of Jesus Christ, all who believed on Him, were organized in the various branches of that Church, and all the branches were joined together in one, with Jesus for their living head, with a representative upon the earth in the person of the Apostle Peter, who, assisted by his counselors, James and John, presided over the Church, and “these men were looked upon as pillars of the Church.” We find by looking through the New Testament, the nature of the Church, the power within it, and the blessings enjoyed; and the promise that Christ made was that if His servants observed to do all things whatsoever He commanded, the gates of hell should not prevail against them.

For a time the Church of Jesus Christ as it was organized, remained upon the earth. The power of God was in the midst of the Saints. They were united together, Jews and Gentiles, some bondsmen and some freemen; some had belonged to one sect; some to another, and some to no sect at all. When they were baptized into Christ’s Church they were all baptized by one spirit into one body, they became united, they were organized after the pattern of heaven, and the Holy Spirit ran through the whole body. The same spirit was in the feet as in the head and in the hands. Every part of the body of the Church was actuated by the same spirit and the same influence, and that was the power in their midst that made them one and different from all other people on the face of the earth. But after a time errors crept in among them. Wickedness and corruption also were introduced. They began to depart from the ways of the Lord. The persecution that was heaped upon them made the hearts of some fail, and after a time the Church began to go into darkness and to lose the characteristics which it showed forth in the time when it was first established. Heresy after heresy crept in, and after a while the things that the Apostles predicted came to pass. Wicked and corrupt men arose in the midst of the people, and “made merchandize of the souls of men.” They turned away their ears from the truth and gave heed unto fables. And after a few years had passed away, the Church went into darkness, and God withdrew His Holy Spirit and the power and authority of the Apostleship. The Apostles were slain. The lights that were placed in the Church were put out by the hand of wickedness. Darkness covered the whole earth and gross darkness the minds of the people.

A church arose different from the Church which Christ established; it is to-day called the Church of Rome, or Roman Catholic Church, which professes to be the ancient Christian church continued upon the earth down to the present time, and the Pope of Rome, who presides over it, claims to be a descendant in authority of St. Peter. But when we come to look into the claims of the church to succession, we find that they will not stand the test of investigation. When we compare the Church of Rome with the Church that Christ established, we find that it is altogether different. Its organization, its ordinances, its teachings, its doctrines are at variance with the organization, teachings and doctrines of the Church of Christ. Instead of Apostles over the church, there are Pope and Cardinals. Instead of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, the sprinkling of infants that know no sin. Instead of the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, darkness. Instead of charity which covereth a multitude of sins, persecution and a desire to coerce man into certain forms of religion. Instead of the ordinances instituted in the ancient Church in behalf of the dead, prayers for the souls in purgatory. I might go on at great length and show the difference between that church and the Church that Christ established. But, that is not my purpose this afternoon. Anyone who will take up the New Testament and read the account given there of the acts of the Apostles, of the doctrines taught in the epistles, of the ordinances, of the spirit and power in the Church of Christ, and then compare that Church with the church called the Church of Rome, will see that they are two entirely distinct and separate organizations, having nothing whatever in common with each other, except perhaps that in a few particulars they have some resemblance.

Now, all the other forms of the Christian religion which exist upon the face of the earth have sprung from that church, either directly or indirectly, and if the Church of Rome is wrong, all the organizations that have sprung from it must be wrong also, unless some of these people who have seceded from that church have been authorized by God Almighty, have been authorized by the Lord Jesus Christ, to establish a new church. But there is not one of them that claims any such thing. Not one of the various sects that I am referring to, claims to have been authorized by divine revelation to set up a new church. No, they have come out from some other church, and upon their own authority, they have started to reform errors which they believed existed in the body from which they had seceded. That is the position which they occupy. The Church of England—or the Episcopal Church, as it is called—is an off-shoot of the Roman Catholic Church, and all the authority its Bishops and Priests and Deacons have was obtained from the Church of Rome. But that church cut them off, and whether the Church of Rome was right or wrong, the Episcopal Church must be wrong so far as a claim of authority goes: for if the Church of Rome had not any authority, then the Episcopal Church cannot have any; and if the Church of Rome had authority, then it used that authority in cutting the other church off. Other sects which have dissented from the Church of England are all in the same condition, so far as their authority is concerned, and although each one has some truth, and each one has tried to correct some error, yet so far as their organization is concerned, they are entirely destitute of divine authority. God never told them to set up their churches. Jesus Christ never spoke to them. No angel has descended from the courts of glory with a message from the Father and the Son to tell them to do thus and so. In fact they all claim that the day of revelation is gone by, that “the awful voice of prophecy is closed forever,” that there will be no more revelation from God to the sons of men. This being the case they are and can only be, the institutions of men.

Now, I do not desire to speak against any of the individuals who compose those various denominations. I do not wish to say anything against their preachers. That is not my design or my desire. What I wish to point out this afternoon is the fact that they have not been set up by the Lord. That being the case—and I presume there can be no dispute about it, for they do not pretend to have received any communication from heaven—they are only the churches of men, they are called after the names of men, a great many of them, and in that they are consistent. One church is called after John Wesley. In that they are consistent. It is not the Church of Christ, it is not God’s Church, it is the church of Wesley, and I believe he was a very good man and accomplished a great deal of good. All the good that men and women do in every sect, in every nation and among every race, will be accounted for good when they stand before the Great Judge to be judged for the deeds done in the body. But these churches are the churches of men. That is the idea. Christ did not ordain them. God did not authorize their establishment. Maybe they accomplished some good purpose, and yet after all they are the churches of men. Now, the Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith, has declared that whatsoever things are not by Him shall at some time be cast down and destroyed, and this includes not only the churches that I have referred to this afternoon which have been built up by men, whether among Christian or pagan nations, but it refers to other things which men have set up. It refers to the governments of the world. If any one likes to call this “treason,” it will not make any difference to me. Men can take the Bible and indict that for treason, if they choose, for it says the time will come when “the kingdoms of this world shall become the Kingdom of our God and of his Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.” We read of the image which Nebuchadnezzar saw, the meaning of which Daniel interpreted. That image was broken in pieces by a stone cut of the mountain without hands, and the particles which once formed the image—the gold, the silver, the iron, the brass and the clay—were blown away and no place was found for them. And the stone that smote the image—the Kingdom of God—became a great mountain and filled the whole earth, after breaking in pieces and consuming all the kingdoms of the earth. Perhaps people will say that is “treason.” If so, they had better indict the Bible for such utterances, as I am only repeating what the Bible says, and what there is in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, the sayings in the latter Book being, in some instances; a repetition of things God spoke in ancient times. But these sayings are from a divine source, and I bear my testimony to-day of their truth; for I know the time will come that “everything that is in the world, whether it be ordained of men, by thrones, or principalities, or powers, or things of name, whatsoever they may be, that are not of God, shall be thrown down and shall not remain.”

Now, my brethren and sisters, you and I belong to a Church which has been set up and ordained and is conducted and carried on under the immediate direction of the Lord Jesus Christ, who represents the Father. Thus the Church of Jesus Christ, the Church of God, has been established by His authority and by His power. It was not set up by the wisdom of Joseph Smith, who was at first but a poor ignorant lad. He was not capable of inventing a church so beautifully organized as the one to which you and I belong. When we look at the order of this Church, as detailed here in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, the order of the Holy Priesthood as revealed by the Almighty to Joseph Smith—it appears a marvel and there is nothing so beautiful on the earth. There is no government, no society, no church which has an existence that can be compared with it. It is a perfect organization. It could not have emanated from the brains of a man like Joseph Smith, neither could it have emanated from the brains of any set of men unless they had been divinely inspired. It is perfect when every officer occupies his right position; when every quorum occupies its proper place; when every man stands in his own order, no one infringing upon the rights or duties of another, but every man in his place; all moving as designed by the Almighty, there is a perfect organization, established by divine power. And it will accomplish the work it was intended to accomplish. And there is this consolation in it to us. Not only is this organization set up as the Almighty ordained, but it is placed here to remain. It shall never be destroyed. The Kingdom shall not be left to another people. It shall never decay. It shall abide and stand forever. It shall regenerate the earth. It shall prepare the way for the coming of the Son of Man. It shall establish the power of God in the midst of the earth. It shall utterly conquer the power of Satan and his hosts, and the organizations to which they belong. It shall prevail among all the nations of the earth. And whereas in former times the kingdoms of this world have prevailed against the Saints and against the institutions to which they were attached, the tide will be turned in the latter days, and the kingdom, or institution, or church, whatever you please to call the organization to which we belong, shall prevail over all its enemies and endure forever. It shall regenerate the earth, and establish the kingdom and power and might and Spirit of God upon the earth and drive out the institutions of man and the power of darkness, and fill the earth with the glory and the power of our Redeemer; who shall come and reign in the midst of His people as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and all nations and kingdoms and peoples shall serve and bow the knee to Him.

I think about that time there will be some talk concerning the union of Church and State. It is very certain that about that time there will be a good deal of religion in politics. There is a great outcry about that now. That is one of the objections made to the Church to which you and I belong, which our Father has set up; for it is just as true that it contains within it the germs of the Kingdom of God as that it is set up by the power of God. This Church to which you and I belong is not the Kingdom in its fullness, but it contains within it the germ of that kingdom which it has been predicted shall be established upon the earth—the mightiest government that the world ever saw. The government of God as it exists in the eternal worlds shall be established among men on the earth, and the will of the Lord shall be done here as it is done in heaven. Our kind “christian friends have been praying for that event. They say, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.”

This Church that God has established takes hold of us just as we are, as men and women, as members of society, as members of any political form of government we may exist under, and teaches us our duties in every phase of life, in every position we occupy as members of the Church, as fathers and mothers, as neighbors, as friends, as members of the same body politic, as members of the same county or territory or state or government. It comes to us in the name of the Lord, and teaches us our duty in every capacity; Is there anything wrong in that? It does not so appear to me. It seems to me that God who is my creator, who owns me, who owns the breath that goes in at my nostrils and which I breathe out again, who owns the life blood that courses through my veins, who owns all the elements that sustain me and keep me in mortal life, who owns the earth I stand upon, and all the particles which compose it, and all things that move upon it, it seems to me, in view of all this, that God has a right to tell me what I shall do that I may please, serve and obey Him, and He has a right to tell me what to do in every position in which I am called to act, civil and religious alike. The ancients used to look to the Lord for instruction in everything, even when they went out to battle against their enemies. In all their movements they looked to the Lord for counsel, and when they did thus they were blessed and prospered, and when they turned away from the Lord they went into darkness.

Now the Lord has set up this Church—the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—upon the old pattern, the same pattern exactly as Jesus Christ revealed to His Apostles. The same ordinances exist, the same gifts and blessings are enjoyed according to the faith of the people, and according to the manner in which they are sought after. If people are careless and indifferent, and do not seek for those blessings, the Lord will not force them upon them. But these blessings exist in the Church to-day as in ancient times. The authority that Peter James, John, and the rest held exists in this Church to-day, revealed direct from on high—not handed down through a succession of doubtful popes, but revealed direct from heaven in our own day. And let me say that this divine communication has not ceased. It was not merely renewed to Joseph Smith and then taken away again. The spirit of revelation now rests down upon the leaders of the people. That spirit by which Moses led the children of Israel in the wilderness, by which they passed through the Red Sea dry shod, the same spirit, the same authority, the same power, are here in the midst of the Latter-day Saints. I know it, and every one else can know that if they will walk in the light of God, and seek for the testimony of His Spirit.

This Church that the Lord has established upon the earth has been established to grow and increase and spread forth. Of course it will attract the attention of the world, and will excite hostility. That is to be expected, it is reasonable that it should, for this Church is different from anything else in the world. It has a different spirit, a different aim, a different design, a different destiny from any other Church upon the earth. It is the Kingdom of God in embryo. It is the power of God in earthen vessels. It is the light of God sent down to dispel the darkness that is upon the earth. It is the authority of God placed upon mortal man, and it will continue until the earth is redeemed, until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and His Christ. No wonder it incites hostility and antagonism. It is natural it should do so.

But the question is whether you and I are going to be able to endure to the end. The Kingdom will stand. That is just as sure as God lives, as sure as the sun shines, as sure as you are in this house this afternoon. The Church will remain, for it has been set up by the Lord, who has said: “Whatsoever things remain, are by me; and whatsoever things are not by me shall be shaken and destroyed.” Now, shall we be able to stand individually? That is the question for you and me to consider. How shall we be able to retain our standing and the spirit of this work? If we will be taught of the Lord, and put our trust in Him, and will keep His commandments, He has promised that we shall come off more than conquerors; but if we abide not in the Lord, we will be shaken and destroyed. Our only safety is within the portals of the Church of Christ, in its ordinances, its spirit, its power and its Priesthood. The Lord has promised that if we are faithful He will fight our battles. On page 342, of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord says:

“And I give unto you a commandment, ye shall forsake all evil and cleave unto all good, that ye shall live by every word which proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God.

“For he will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept; and I will try you and prove you herewith;

“And whoso layeth down his life in my cause, for my name’s sake, shall find it again, even life eternal:

“Therefore be not afraid of your enemies, for I have decreed in my heart, saith the Lord, that I will prove you in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant, even unto death, that you may be found worthy;

“For if ye will not abide in my covenant, ye are not worthy of me.”

Now, then, what we should study is the word of the Lord. Never mind about the word of man. Never mind about the abuse of man. Never mind about the threats of man. Never mind about the governments of man, and what they will do. Of course they are mighty and we are a little handful. This nation of fifty millions is a tremendous host when compared with the people of these, mountains. The kingdoms of this world are great and powerful. They have their armies and navies. They are organized after the fashion of man to plunder and lay waste. But all the nations of the earth are in the hands of the Great. Eternal He setteth up and casteth down at will. He watches over the affairs of nations as well as individuals. And in His hand they are like the drop in the bucket. They are as nothing before His eyes. He can speak and they will be destroyed. In a moment He could withdraw the breath of life from among them, and they would perish: and when people imagine that by putting their heads together and concocting some scheme for the destruction of the Lord’s people, the Lord’s anointed, they can overthrow them, “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh and shall have them in derision.”

As Brother Abraham Cannon has told us this afternoon, the hand of God is in all these things. It must not be understood, however, that God is inciting men to work against this people. No, He leaves them to their own agency. They will go ahead and carry out their designs as far as the Lord pleases to allow them and no further. Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed.” He that spoke to the wind and the waves can speak to the blast of human passion and the breakers of human wrath, bid them go no further, and say, when He pleases; “Peace, be still.” These things will all work together for the good of the people of God, and in them the Lord has a design to prove His Saints. “It must needs be that offences come; but woe unto them by whom they come.” Offences must come that we may be tried and proven, and that the Lord may see whether or not we will abide in His covenant.

The revelation from which I read just now was given as early as 1833. It is the word of the Lord, and is true and faithful Now, if we abide in the covenant of the Lord, all will be well with us. If we do not—well, I have nothing to say about it; that is in the hands of the Lord. The Lord says that some may be called to lay down their lives for the truth’s sake. It is very easy to die when our time comes, but it is mighty hard to die when it has not. I have heard of people being weary of life and trying to die, but they could not do it, To live and endure in the covenant of the Gospel is where the trial comes in. That is what the Lord calls upon us to do, and if necessary to lay down our lives for the Gospel’s sake. Now, will we keep sacred our covenants, and not deny them to please the world? I rather think we will. That is the disposition of the Latter-day Saints. There is a disposition about a few to compromise a little, to give the world a little lee-way, and to seem to be yielding. Well, that is not my disposition. It may be all right for some, but I do not feel that way. I feel that God lives and that He has the right to direct in all things. “What? does the Lord direct in secular and political matters?” He did in ancient times, and He has the right to do so in modern times. The Lord will direct us in all things to His praise, and the time will come when His power and dominion will be fully established in the earth, and when all nations will serve and obey Him.

I feel in my heart to hearken to the voice of God, to do as we are told in this revelation—to live by every word that comes from the mouth of God. It will not do to say when one word of the Lord comes, “Yes, I can accept that,” and then when another word comes, say, “No, I cannot take hold of that, for our enemies are opposed to it.” We must live by every word that proceedeth from the Lord, I feel that God lives, that this is His work, and that every principle and ordinance and institution within the pale of this Church is from on high. This Church has been established by the power of God, and God is able to sustain it; if He cannot, it is a mighty poor thing. But I know the Lord will sustain us if we will do our part, and live and proclaim our religion. I do not think it is our duty to dilate upon it on every occasion, or to try and cram down men’s throats what we believe; but I mean that in our hearts, in our homes, and in all that we do, we will try and live according to the covenants we have made, and: not go back upon them for any power that exists upon the earth.

That which is ordained of God will stand, and that which is not ordained of Him will be destroyed. Ordinances administered by men unauthorized of God—whether it be the sacrament, or pertaining to marriage—will have an end when men are dead; they will not pass beyond the grave. Every baptism of the Catholic Church, and of the Episcopal Church, and of the Baptist Church, or any other church, if God Almighty did not ordain and authorize the man who performed the ordinance even though he performed it in the right way and used the right words, is null and void and as though it had never been performed, with the exception that God will judge him who in administering it without authority took His holy name in vain. And so with the marriages that men administer. They may be all very well for time; but after death the contract will not exist. “Will I accept of an offering,” saith the Lord, “that is not made in my name. Or, will I receive at your hands that which I have not appointed?” Why should He? Some of those sectarian churches think that God ought to accept all their offerings, just because they choose to make them; in their own way. This is as it was with ancient Cain. Abel brought that which the Lord commanded—the firstlings of his flock, typical of the Savior that was to come, and his offering was accepted. Cain brought of the fruit of the ground, and his offering was not accepted. Why? Because he made his offering as he chose, which was not acceptable unto the Lord, while Abel made his offering as commanded, which was acceptable to the Lord. Because of this, Cain became angry and slew his brother. That same spirit is manifested today in the world against the Latter-day Saints. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seeks to make an acceptable offering to the Lord and to worship Him in the way He has commanded. The ordinances of this Church are those which God Himself has established: but men have established their own institutions and their own mode of worship, which is not acceptable to the Lord, and because of this the world is filled with bitterness and frequently with the same spirit that Cain manifested towards Abel, and desire to persecute the Saints even to the shedding of their blood.

Well, what shall we do? We will go along the road that God has marked out for us; we will not go our own way unless it is the way of the Lord. If we will make the will of the Lord our will, then it is right for us to have our will; but it is His right to rule and reign. He is our Father, He has therefore the right to dictate to us His children, and we should obey His dictates. If we do we shall find pleasure therein. He that keeps the commandments of God, carries with him an imperishable treasure that is better than gold or than fine rubies—the testimony of the Holy Spirit, the peace of God that passeth all understanding, the light and the life of God—a spirit by which he can penetrate the heavens, and gaze upon the glories of God, and comprehend somewhat of his Maker and His designs, and peer into the future and comprehend something of his own eternal destiny. He has the friendship of God and the holy ones. He is not only a member of the visible Church in this life, but he is connected by this divine spirit with the Church of the First Born behind the veil. The spirit that emanates from the throne of God, and burns in the hearts of the Saints in the heavenly Jerusalem—that spirit illuminates his mind and he is filled with peace continually. This is the privilege of the Saints of God. Let us try and walk in this way. Let us be indifferent as to what the world may think or say or threaten concerning us. Let us put our trust in. God, the Holy One of Israel. Let us hearken to His voice. Let us desire to receive it, and when it comes through the man that God has appointed to speak to Israel, let us be in a condition to bear record that we know it is the word of the Lord. Let us live so that the still small voice shall whisper peace in our hearts continually; that the light of God may shine in our path; that we may be the children not of the night, but the children of the day. And though the world seek to destroy us, yet God shall bring us off more than conquerors, for in Him is all power, and the kingdoms of this world are as nothing in His eyes.

May the blessing and peace of God be upon Israel. May we be willing to hearken to the voice of God, and may His Spirit continue to rest upon our labors in preparing the way for the coming of the Son of Man; so that, when He whose right it is to reign shall come, and this earth shall be subdued to Him, and the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and His Christ, and wickedness shall flee away, and peace shall prevail in all the land, and the lion and the lamb shall lie down together, and the child shall play with the animals that were once filled with fierceness and terror—in that great day when God shall rule and reign, may we be prepared to enter into His rest and into the fullness of His glory, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

The Gathering, etc.

John Taylor

Discourse delivered by President John Taylor, at Ogden, Sunday, October 19th, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

I am pleased to have the opportunity of meeting with you in Conference here, and to talk with you a little on some of the principles associated with our duties in our connection with the Church and Kingdom of God.

The Latter-day Saints occupy a very peculiar position in the world, but I do not know that we have any thing very particular to say on that question. It is true, we have used our own agency in coming here, but there are certain purposes of the Almighty, associated with our gathering together, over which we had very little control. There is a remarkable saying in the revelation of St. John, in reference to a certain Babylon, which reads as follows:

“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

“For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.”

There is something very significant in the text here quoted. It would seem that John, in a previous part of his vision, had seen an angel who would precede this other. He says:

“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.

“Saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of water.”

As Latter-day Saints we have listened to these things from time to time. We have talked about the opening of the heavens, the manifestations of God our heavenly Father, and Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant, about the restoration of the Gospel, and the organization of the Church and Kingdom of God. We have talked a good deal about the Holy Priesthood, and the authority of God having been conferred upon man from the heavens, which places us in communication with our heavenly Father; and also of the organization of His Church in a manner that is in accordance with His will and under His inspiration. We have heard quoted from time to time, passages like this:

“Gather my Saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”

Again:

“And I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion.

“And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.”

“Many other passages of a similar nature are contained in the Bible, which we all of us at least, profess to believe in; and by the manifestations of the power of God, and the light of revelation, we have been instructed in the things of eternity, and the organization of the Church of God has been effected. It commenced upwards of 54 years ago, and the work has been progressing from that time unto the present; and all the organizations that have been effected pertaining to the Priesthood have been made under the immediate direction of the Spirit of the living God, and have been given unto us by direct revelation in order that we might be instructed in the laws of life and be enabled to accomplish the things that God had designed from before the foundation of the world pertaining to these last days; and with these things we are generally familiar.

When Jesus was upon the earth, and His disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray, He said:

“When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”

In this He had direct reference to the events which are now taking place among us as a people. “Thy Kingdom come.” Why? That Thy will may “be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” We are here for the purpose of becoming acquainted with the will of God, with the law of God, with the order of God, with the dominion of God; and we are here to establish the kingdom of God. We are here to be taught in things pertaining to the Church of God, and its purification. We are here to build up a Zion of God, which implies the pure in heart. Then we are here to send forth the Gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. We are here to build Temples to the name of the Lord, and to administer therein. We are here to represent God upon the earth as His Priesthood, and we are gathered in the different Stakes as you are gathered here to-day, to attend to various duties associated with that Priesthood, and to become acquainted with all the principal features associated with the Church and Kingdom of God upon the earth. It is for us as Stakes, as peoples, and as Saints of God, to learn to comprehend the relationship that we sustain to God our heavenly Father, and to His Church and Kingdom here upon the earth, to Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant, and to the Priesthood that is behind the veil; and also to become acquainted with things upon the earth connected with the welfare of humanity, whether in the land of Zion or in any other land. And we are gathered together for the express purpose of being taught and instructed in all these principles. We are not here, as Jesus was not here, to condemn the world: as He says:

“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.”

This was the prominent object of His mission to the earth, “That the world through Him might be saved;” and we are here to carry out His purposes. We have certain relationships with the world while we are in it, that cannot be ignored, and we have certain duties to perform associated therewith that should be respected. As it is, we are here as an integral part of the United States, and we have duties to perform as citizens thereof, and it is expected that we shall fulfill every proper requirement, observe every correct law, and govern ourselves with propriety and uprightness, honor, truth, and integrity, and be good citizens thereof; these are things that are expected of all honorable people. And it is proper for us to meet the obligations and duties devolving upon us pertaining to the nation with which we are associated. We have another duty to perform to the nations of the earth. It is to send forth the Gospel thereunto; and for this the Twelve are organized and Seventies, and the Elders are sent forth as the messengers of God, that mankind may embrace the eternal truths of the Gospel, by which life and immortality are brought to light; that they, with us, may have the privilege of partaking of the rich blessings of eternal life; that they, with us, may have the opportunity of being instructed in the laws of life, and that they, with us, may be made partakers of all things associated with the Church and Kingdom of God. These are their privileges, inasmuch as they will be obedient to the laws and ordinances pertaining thereunto, and live according to the requirements of heaven. Until these things are done, other things will not be accomplished which God has designed in relation to the nations of the earth; for the people of the earth are all His offspring, and He feels interested in the welfare of humanity, generally. He expects that we shall do the same. We are building Temples, and we are administering in those Temples. What are we doing that for? There is something very peculiar about this matter. Well, we may be doing it in part for ourselves, in part for our wives and our children, in part for our fathers and our mothers, and uncles and aunts, and many of our friends and progenitors that we have been acquainted with, and in part for many others with whom we are not acquainted; that we may be united, together, and stand as saviors upon: Mount Zion. You heard Brother Cannon tell you to-day, that there was a company of about 40 going to Logan this morning, with one Bishop to fulfill some of these duties, and these things are beginning to be generally understood among the Latter-day Saints.

All of these duties and responsibilities devolve upon us. All these things are within our reach. As a people, if we live our religion and prove ourselves worthy, we are privileged to enjoy all the blessings and mercies which God our heavenly Father has conferred upon us through the medium of the Gospel and our obedience thereunto; and we wish to perform our duty to everybody—to perform, as they say in the Church of England, our “duty in that state of life unto which it has pleased God to call us.” It has pleased God to call us to these lands and to make use of us for certain purposes in the interest of humanity and for the welfare of a fallen world. This is the object of our being gathered together, and that we might build up a Zion unto the Lord, and be instructed in all the principles of righteousness, truth, integrity, and everything associated with our present and future happiness, and thus become the blessed of the Lord, and our offspring with us.

These are some of the things devolving upon us. Hence Zion is beginning to lengthen her cords and increase her Stakes, and we are spreading out in the north, in the south, and in various different directions. We are seeking to look after the welfare of the Saints of God, in their various settlements wherever they may be, and to protect them in every way that it is possible for us to extend protection, on the principle of union, harmony and brotherhood, inspired by the Spirit of the living God. Hence it becomes the duty of the First Presidency to look after all these things, and sometimes, under peculiar circumstances, we are obliged to send a few Saints from one Stake to strengthen other Stakes of Zion, that the people may be preserved in their rights and their liberties from the aggressions of unscrupulous people, who are seeking to take advantage of the circumstances with which our people may be surrounded.

We complain sometimes about our trials: we need not do that. These are things that are necessary for our perfection. We think sometimes that we are not rightly treated, and I think we think correctly about some of these things. We think there are plots set on foot to entrap us; and I think we think so very correctly. At the same time we need not be astonished at these things. We need not be amazed at a feeling of hatred and animosity. Why? Because we are living in a peculiar day and age of the world, which is distinctively called the latter days, wherein it is said that God will have a controversy with the nations of the earth. There are some things about these matters that men do not understand. They think that men manipulate the affairs of men. They do in part, and they are used ofttimes as instruments by the Almighty, and sometimes by another power that is called Lucifer, just as circumstances may be. But in regard to the nations of the earth, God sets up one nation and pulls down another, according to the counsels of His own will. And we read of nations that years ago flourished and were great, prosperous and powerful, of which we now know nothing only as we learn it from a few pages of history; they are obliterated and blotted out as nations, and do not exist to-day. Nations and empires have risen and fallen; they have grown, increased, and prospered, and then decayed, crumbled, and died. The Lord manipulates all these things according to the counsels of His own will. But men generally understand very little of these matters; for there has been very little communication with God for ages, until He was prepared to reveal His will in these last days. Yet men profess to fear God, and a great many of them seek to worship Him. There is something very remarkable said by the Prophet Isaiah, when he had his vision opened in regard to the events that should transpire in the latter days: he says:

“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 ordinances, 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.”

There are many statements made by the Prophets in relation to these things—that the Lord would pour out His judgments upon the earth. Jesus speaks of the destruction that should come upon the people, that should befall Jerusalem, that should encompass nations, and of scenes that should transpire in the latter days—that the sun should be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord should come. Associated with this is a part of the work in which we are engaged. A voice was to be heard, as I said before, saying:

“Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

“For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.”

In accordance with this declaration, which is a part of the great programme that we Latter-day Saints believe in, we have been gathered unto this land, which we denominate the land of Zion. We have come out from the world, and some of us hardly know why; yet we have come, having obeyed the Gospel and having received the gift of the Holy Ghost. There has been a feeling and spirit operating upon us that has enlightened our minds and propelled us forward. Our great aim was, when we were in other lands distant from this, to make every effort we could to come to the land of Zion. Did we understand what it was for? In part we did, in part we did not. We came to it because we thought it was the land of Zion. We came to it, if we comprehend ourselves, that we might not partake of the sins nor receive of the plagues of Babylon; and that we and our wives, and our children and our associations, might be free from the corruptions, abominations and evils that exist and prevail throughout the world; and that we might come to a place where we could learn the laws of life, where our children could be brought up in the fear of God, and where we had hoped to be able to worship God according to the dictates of our own consciences. Sometimes we think we have made a little mistake in this. I guess not; for we shall yet understand one thing, and so will the nations of the earth—that “The Lord reigneth: let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. Yes, we shall all learn that “the Lord reigneth.”

Associated with these principles are all the common affairs of life—that is, we have bodies like other people; we need food, we need raiment, we need habitations to live in, we need land to cultivate, fields, gardens and orchards; our children are born as others are, and we live and exist pretty much as other human beings. They are the children of our heavenly Father, and so are we. But the Lord has seen fit to gather us together, and has opened our way, and our lines have fallen unto us in pleasant places. Yet every time the Saints have been gathered together there has been manifested on the part of the wicked a spirit of expression, a spirit of persecution, a blood-thirsty spirit, a spirit which would seek to rob us of our rights, to despoil us of our homes and inheritances. This we have expected among other things. We have never dreamed of anything else than that such a state of things would exist. I remember when I had the Gospel first preached to me before I was baptized, I heard a lecture something like this: “Now, we have nothing particular to promise you, only the favor of God, if you will live righteously and keep His commandments. You may be persecuted, afflicted, imprisoned, or put to death for the testimony you may have to bear for the religion you are called upon to obey; but we can promise to you that inasmuch as this is the case you will have eternal life.” Well, we have had a little of the other mixed up with it. And I have seen mobs gather from time to time, in different parts of these United States, and I have had to meet them time and again. For instance, I was driven from Missouri years ago, together with the whole people. We were robbed and pillaged, and we had to take and throw in what little we had to help each other. Everybody that had a team turned it in to help his brethren away from whom? From their Christian persecutors, that is, so-called Christians. I wish we had another name for them. (Laughter.) We helped one another out until we reached Illinois. I was there, and I know what I am talking about. Did I feel very unhappy? Not at all. I enjoyed myself just as well as I do to-day. I felt quite easy. I have been accustomed to these things, and there is nothing very particular about them. By and by, we built up the beautiful city of Nauvoo. We also built a temple there and officiated in it, and received many precious blessings from the hands of God, that the world know nothing about, and never will know until they embrace the Gospel of the Son of God. But we were driven again, and we are here to-day. Did we leave our property? Yes, I did, quite an amount, and so did many others. We had a city there, and we left it. What was done to us before this! We were mobbed, plundered; we were brought before courts; we were persecuted and proscribed; that was done to us when we were there, and in many instances we had to defend ourselves by our own right; arms, or suffer from crawling assassins who were seeking our lives. I had to do it time and time again, right in that land. I have had to have guards in my house, so had President Young, for nearly two years, to keep from being assassinated. I was in prison with Joseph and Hyrum, when they were shot down in cold blood. We were there placed under the protection, or professed protection, of the Governor, who told Dr. Bernhisel and myself that we had better not bring any arms with us to defend ourselves, and who pledged his faith and the faith of the State for our protection. I saw that faith violated and trampled in the dust. I saw these men, to whom protection was promised, shot down in cold blood by assassins gathered for the purpose. These are things that I have witnessed in the few years that I have lived upon the earth. When I left Nauvoo, I left a very good house, very well furnished. I left carpets on the floors, stoves in the rooms, crockery ware in the cupboards, and I got into my carriage, with my family, and left it to seek that protection among the Red Indians, that we could not find among the people who lived in this boasted land of the free and home of the brave, this vaunted asylum of the oppressed. We were protected here among the Indians, and I felt perfectly safe among them. I would as soon go among the Red men to-day who traverse these mountains, as I would anywhere else, and feel myself just as safe.

I speak of these things to show some of the feelings that have been exhibited. Well, says one, didn’t you feel angry? Oh, no, not particularly so. I felt it was all right. It was a part of the programme. I needed education and other people needed it, and it was necessary we should be placed in a position that we could have it. We did not feel very unhappy. We felt quite comfortable. What! when you left your homes? Yes. I felt as easy as I ever felt in my life. I felt at least that I should be safe from the hands of blood-thirsty men and mobocrats, and that I should be put in a position that I could protect myself better than I could there, and others felt a good deal the same way. I remember we used to sing a song something like this:

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

(Laughter.)

That is the way we used to sing. I remember a little boy of mine—he was then, though he is not a little boy now, for it is about 39 years ago, used to sing this, and all the boys around. He met his grandfather one day, who calling him by name, said: “Joseph, you won’t sing that when you leave your home and go out yonder.” “Oh, yes, grandfather,” said he, “I will sing that then. Finally, we got outside. By and by his grandfather came along, and he ran out to meet him. We were then camped out in about a foot of snow. He ran towards his grandfather and began to sing:

“On the way to California,” etc.

“There,” said he, “grandfather, I can sing that now.” Well, I speak of these things to show some of the incidents I have passed through. We came out here and we found this country a desert, covered generally with sagebrush, and a few scattered Indians straggling around. We had to commence to build our houses, for there were none here when we came; and since then the wilderness and the solitary places have blossomed as the rose, and the desert has been made glad, as foretold in the Scriptures. We feel that we are kind of half comfortable in these valleys of the mountains, but the devil is not dead yet. (Laughter.) We did not think he would be; we have a work to perform; and we purpose, by the help of the Almighty, to accomplish that work. We don’t expect to be disappointed in it either, and we don’t anticipate that it will be overturned. We believe that God lives in the heavens and manipulates the nations of the earth, and woe to them that fight against Zion! I tell them in the name of God that He will fight against them. (Amen.)

This is my testimony in relation to these matters. People may think they are very smart in persecuting the Saints, but by and by they will find they are on the wrong side of the question, and many of them will find it out when it is too late. They will find it out when the harvest, is past and the summer is ended, and they will say; “My soul is not saved.” You Latter-day Saints that begin sometimes to be trembly at the knees, and afraid of certain circumstances, had better trust to the living God than give way to fearful forebodings in these matters; for Zion is onward and upward, and God is on her side, and He will protect His Israel if we will only be true to Him. We are here for that purpose. God will sustain Israel and stand by His people. (Amen.) There is one thing very certain, very certain indeed, and that is, whatever men may think, and however they may plot and contrive, that this Kingdom will never be given into the hands of another people. It will grow and spread and increase, and no man living can stop its progress. Hence I feel quite easy, as I said before, for the Lord reigns, and let the people rejoice.

From time to time we have certain raids made upon us. Something of that sort seems to be afloat to-day, and I wish—I was going to say I wish I could talk about something better—but these matters are as proper as anything else, as far as I know, for they are things we have to meet face to face. We Latter-day Saints—what are we? Professors of religion. Are we? Yes. There are laws being enacted in order to deprive us of our religious rights, whereas the Constitution of the United States says that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Is that true? Read it for yourselves in the Constitution. This is what we profess as Americans. We have men in our midst who have introduced test oaths, whereas the Constitution says, that “no religious test shall ever be required;” yet they have introduced test-oaths, and people are obliged to swear certain things that the Constitution says shall not be permitted. Are we American citizens here? I think so. Have we any rights? I think we ought to have. Are they being trampled upon? Yes, they are; and these things are being done with impunity. How is it? Why, the Constitution is treated by the politicians of to-day as the Bible is treated by professors of religion. You talk with “Christians upon” the Bible, and you will find that they believe it when it is shut. They will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to send it to the heathen, but when you come to open it, they themselves don’t believe in it. Ask them about Prophets, Apostles, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers, and Deacons. Have they them? No, they do not even profess to have them. Ask them about being baptized in the name of Jesus, for the remission of sins by men having authority, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and you will find that they don’t want to hear anything about these principles. They do not believe them. Why they object even to people being married for eternity! They believe in men and women being married only until death doth them part. That is a very cold affair. We do not believe in being married for time only. We believe in making covenants for eternity, and being associated with our wives and children behind the veil. We have received instructions from the Lord in regard to these things, and we are desirous to carry them out. As I have said, the Constitution provides that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Yet men are asked what their religious faith is; right here in our courts to-day. These are things that we as American citizens have a right to look into; to look well after our liberties, and to watch well our enemies. For these are not only our enemies but they are the enemies of human liberty, the enemies of the rights of man and the enemies of God. It is for us to look well after these things, and in our elections and in all like matters, to see that we are very particular about the management of these affairs, and that we are not over-run and cheated out of our liberties by unscrupulous men. I speak of these things at this your Conference, for your information and for your warning; and would say, be united, diligent and energetic, and stand for your rights as men.

I remember some little time ago a gentleman named Mr. Pierpont (who was Attorney-General under President Grant) called upon me. I was pleased to see him, and am pleased to see all honorable gentlemen. I invited him to dinner, and we had quite a chat. But here let me introduce another affair. At the time when the Edmunds law was passed I was living in what is known as the Gardo House. I had most of my wives living with me there, and after looking carefully over the Edmunds law I thought to myself, why Congress is growing very wild; this Government is getting very, very foolish; they are trampling upon Constitutional rights. No matter, I said, I will obey this law. I had comfortable places for my family elsewhere, and I requested my wives to go to their own homes, and live there, and they did so in order that I at least might fulfill that part of the law; for foolish or not foolish, my idea was to fulfill as far as practicable the requirements of the law and not place myself and my family or my friends in jeopardy, through any foolishness of mine. It was expected by many of those corrupt men—I do not say in speaking of these that all are corrupt—that when these laws were passed we should turn our wives out and deal with them as they do with their women under such circumstances—make strumpets of them. There is no such feeling as that in my bosom, nor in the bosoms of this people. We have made eternal covenants with our wives, and we will abide by our wives, and God will sustain us in protecting the rights of innocence, and in fulfilling those eternal obligations which we have entered into. But we can once in a while yield a little to the follies and weaknesses of men, when no principle of truth is involved. Under these circumstances I had a sister of mine who was keeping house for me when Mr. Pierpont came there to dine with me. I said: “Mr. Pierpont, permit me to introduce you to my sister. It is not lawful for us to have wives here.” (Laughter.) After talking further with him upon the subject I said, “Now, Mr. Pierpont, you are well acquainted with all these legal affairs. Although I have yielded in this matter in order that I might not be an obstructionist, and do not wish to act as a Fenian, or a Nihilist, or a Communist, or a Kuklux, or a Regulator, or a Plug Ugly, or a Molly Maguire, yet, sir, we shall stand up for our rights and protect ourselves in every proper way, legally and constitutionally, and dispute inch by inch every step that is taken to deprive us of our rights and liberties? And we will do this in the way that I speak of. We are doing it to-day; and as you have heard it expressed on other occasions, it looks very much like as though the time was drawing near when this country will tumble to pieces; for if the people of this nation are so blind and infatuated as to trample under foot the Constitution and other safeguards provided for the liberties of man, we do not propose to assist them in their suicidal and traitorous enterprises; for we have been told by Joseph Smith that when the people of this nation would trample upon the Constitution, the Elders of this Church would rally round the flag and defend it. And it may come to that; we may be nearer to it than some of us think, for the people are not very zealous in the protection of human rights. And when legislators, governors and judges unite in seeking to tear down the temple of liberty and destroy the bulwarks of human freedom, it will be seen by all lovers of liberty, that they are playing a hazardous game and endangering the perpetuity of human rights. For it will not take long for the unthinking to follow their lead, and they may let loose an element that they never can bind again. We seem to be standing on a precipice and the tumultuous passions of men are agitated by political and party strife; the elements of discord are seething and raging as if portending a coming storm; and no man seems competent to take the helm and guide the ship of State through the fearful breakers that threaten on every hand. These are dangerous things, but it becomes our duty as good citizens to obey the law as far as practicable, and be governed by correct principles.

I had some papers read over at the General Conference, giving my views in relation to some of these matters. They have been published, but I will have one or two extracts read for your information.

President Cannon then read as follows:

The distinction being made between Polygamy and Prostitution:

1st. Congress made a law which would affect both; and cohabitation with more than one woman was made a crime whether in polygamy or out of polygamy.

2nd. The Governor turned legislator, added to this law, and inserted in a test oath to officials, the following words regarding cohabitation, “in the marriage relation;” thus plainly and definitely sanctioning prostitution, without any law of the United States, or any authority.

3rd. The United States Commissioners, also without legislation, adopted the action of the Governor, and still insisted on this interpolation, in the test oath in election matters, and placed all polygamists under this unconstitutional oath, and released prostitutes and their paramours from the obligations placed upon others.

4th. The Prosecuting Attorney has sanctioned these things, and pursued a similar course: and while he has asked all the “Mormon” grand jurors certain questions pertaining to their religious faith in the doctrines of the “Mormon” Church, and challenged them if they answered affirmatively as to their belief in polygamy, he has declined to ask other jurors whether they believed in prostitution, or whether they believed in cohabiting with more than one woman or not.

5th. Chief Justice Zane when appealed to on this question, refused to interfere, or give any other ruling.

Thus a law was first passed by Congress, which has been perverted by the administration, by all its officers, who have officiated in this Territory, and made to subserve the interests of a party who have placed in their political platform an AntiMormon plank; and have clearly proven that there is a combination entered into by all the officers of state officiating in this Territory, to back up this political intrigue in the interest of party, and at the sacrifice of law, equity, jurisprudence, and all the safeguards that are provided by the Constitution for the protection of human rights.

Congress cannot be condemned for these proceedings. The law as it stands on the nation’s Statute Books makes no such distinction, so far as the qualification of jurors are concerned, between those who cohabit with more than one woman in the marriage relation, and those who do so outside of that relation. All the rest has been aided by officials here. The law reads: “Section 5: That in any prosecution for bigamy, polygamy, or unlawful cohabitation, under any Statute of the United States, it shall be sufficient cause of challenge to any person drawn or summoned as a juryman or a talesman, first, that he is or has been living in the practice of bigamy, polygamy, or unlawful cohabitation with more than one woman, * * or second, that he believes it right for a man to have more than one living and undivorced wife at the same time, or to live in the practice of cohabiting with more than one woman.” It will thus be seen that the same questions can be properly put to both classes; and such was the evident, unmistakable intention of Congress. But the Prosecuting Attorney with red-hot zeal changes all this, in his religio-political crusade against the faith of the Latter-day Saints he insists upon his right to propound the question with the Governor’s interpolation super-added, whilst he entirely ignores the other side of the case; hence those who cohabit outside of the marriage relation can go scot free, without interrogation or questioning, and when attention is drawn to this perversion of the law, he asserts that he has the right to propound what questions he chooses, and decline to ask those he has no mind to; in fact that the whole proceeding was a purely optional matter with him. Thus the whole weight of the law is unjustly and unrighteously thrown on the shoulders of those who believe and act in the marriage relation, and entirely removed from the others, who develop into the jurors, who are to indict, try and condemn the other and far more honorable class.

I will have something further read. It is alleged that we are a very corrupt people, that we are a very lawless people; that we are a very wicked people; that we are a very lascivious people; and therefore it becomes necessary for them to pass and execute certain laws in order that we may be placed under the guardianship of people who are more pure and more virtuous. That is why I want some statistics read in relation to that matter, and I would not have had them read, nor have dwelt upon these matters, only on the principle of self-defence.

President Cannon then read as follows.

“The population of Utah may be estimated at 160,000 in 1883.

“Of these say 130,000 were Mormons and 30,000 Gentiles, a very liberal estimate of the latter.

“In this year there were 16 persons sent to the Penitentiary, convicted of crime. Of these 33 were non-Mormons and 13 reputed Mormons.

“At the above estimate of population the ratio or percentage would be one prisoner to every 10,000 Mormons, or one-hundredth of one per cent, and of the Gentiles one convict in every 909, or about one-ninth of one per cent. So that the actual proportion of criminals is more than ten times greater among the Gentiles of Utah, with the above very liberal estimate, than among the Mormons.

“It is urged that those non-Mormon prisoners are not a fair representation of the average of crime throughout the country, but are the result of the flow of the desperate classes westward to the borders of civilization; with greater truth we reply that the Mormon prisoners are not representatives of Mormonism, nor the results of Mormonism, but of the consequences of a departure from Mormon principles: and of the 13 prisoners classed as “Mormons,” the greater portion were only so by family connection or association.

Arrests in Salt Lake City, 1883—

Mormons

150

Non-Mormons

1,550

or more than ten times the number of Mormon arrests.

Again, it is estimated that there are 6,000 non-Mormons and 19,000 Mormons in Salt Lake City, which shows of Mormons one arrest in 126 2-3.

“Non-Mormons one arrest in a fraction less than every four, or rather more than twenty-five per cent.

President Taylor continued:

Make the best of this we may, it is a bad showing, and ought not to exist among the dwelling places of the Saints. What of our drunken Saints? Our violators of the Sabbath day? our Sunday bathing trains? whereon many of our youth mix up with the ungodly, and what of many other evils which exist among us? It is a shame that these things should exist in Zion in the cities of the Saints; but our would-be reformers are ten times lower and more depraved than we are. Yes, but then we have ten times too many crimes; and it is sorrowful to see it, and we can only account for it on this principle, that the wheat and tares must grow together until the harvest. The Gospel net gathers of every kind, good and bad, sheep and goats. Again, it is but just to those who oppose us, to say that they have their ministers, their Sunday schools, their churches, their hospitals, etc., and many, very many good and honorable men and women. But with all these agencies the record shows them to be, as a whole, ten times as corrupt as we are. Before they came, we were comparatively free from their gross immoralities. But what of to-day? The record shows that theirs are the gambling dens, the houses of assignation, theirs the brothels and drinking saloons, etc., and if, which God forbid, we have foeticide and infanticide, it belongs to them—these are their institutions, they do not belong to us. Is it then, any wonder that they have ten times the amount of crime. This is a terrible showing, and yet these are our reformers, our accusers; from these proceed our courts, our juries, etc., they assume to be our regenerators, and are trying to make us as good as they.

President Cannon again read:

“Dr. Nathan Allen, of Lowell, has declared in a paper read before a late meeting of the American Social Science Association, that “nowhere in the history of the world was the practice of abortion so common as in this country; and he gave expression to the opinion that, in New England alone, many thousands of abortions are procured annually.”

“Dr. Reamy, of the Ohio State Medical Society, says: “From a very large verbal and written correspondence in this and other States, together with personal investigation and facts accumulated * * that we have become a nation of murderers.” The Rev. Dr. Eddy writes to the Christian Advocate regarding one little village of 1,000 inhabitants: “Yet here, and elsewhere, where 15 per cent of wives have the criminal hardihood to practice this black art, there is a still large and additional per cent. who endorse and defend it. * * Among married persons, so extensive has this practice become, that people of high repute not only commit this crime, but do not shun to speak boastingly among their intimates of the deed, and the means of accomplishing it.”

Dr. Allen further states: “Examining the number of deaths, we find that there are absolutely more deaths than births among the strictly American children, so that aside from immigration and births of children of foreign parentage, the population of Massachusetts is rapidly decreasing. * * The birth rate in the State of New York, shows the same fact, that American families do not increase at all, and inspection of the registration in other States shows the same remark applies to all” Bishop Coxe, of the Protestant Episcopal Church, of New York, in a pastoral letter to his people writes: “I have heretofore warned my flock against the blood-guiltiness of ante-natal infanticide. If any doubts existed heretofore as to the propriety of my warnings on this subject, they must now disappear before the fact that the world itself is beginning to be horrified by the practical results of the sacrifices to Moloch, which defile our land. Again I warn you that they who do such things, cannot inherit eternal life. If there be a special damnation for those who shed innocent blood, what must be the portion of those who have no mercy upon their own flesh.”

Dr. Cowan, M. D., writing on what he styles “The Murder of the Unborn,” says: “That this crime is not only wide-spread on this great continent, but is rapidly on the increase, we have the testimony of physicians, whose investigations have been thorough, and whose social standing and integrity cannot be questioned.”

President Taylor continued:

In pondering over the above sickening details, and carefully examining the irrefutable records of prison statistics, I note deliberately the weight of testimony furnished by a host of their most honorable and reliable men in the East, to whom I give all honor, who calmly and deliberately pronounce them “a nation of murderers,” “the slayers of the innocent,” the consumers of their own flesh, in connection with this terrible record we have in our prominent cities, flaunted before our eyes, their dens of infamy and crime, impudently and unblushingly paraded before us, and stuck under our very noses. In looking at these things ask myself can human depravity descend any lower, and the humiliating answer comes, yes! yes!! yes!!! The question arises wherein? The most damning nature of this record is that these crimes are sought to be palliated by unjust law, made ostensibly to punish crime, but really to pervert justice and protect falsehood, chicanery and intrigue. We have a local administration which provides test oaths to try to cover up the crimes of their friends, and to protect prostitutes, whoremongers and adulterers, and to make that crime which is nowhere proclaimed a crime by the Almighty. And then we have these whited walls and painted sepulchres under the guise of the protectors of virtue and the defenders and advocates of purity and moral reform, bring all the weight of their influence and position to bear upon innocence, virtue and integrity. Surely, as it is said, justice is fallen in the street, righteousness standeth afar off, and judgment cannot enter. But what of our people? With all of their weaknesses, follies and imperfections, of which we as a people have very many in the sight of God, they are yet in the balances of unbiased equity before the law, as per record ten times the superiors of our accusers but with the points of prostitution harlotry, gambling and other vices not to mention the terrible crimes of foeticide and infanticide, we have nothing to do; these are their institutions only, and do not belong to us.

But it may be argued, are not the executive and judiciary expected to administer the law as they find it? Certainly; and if they would confine themselves to this, all honorable men would sustain them. But governors are nowhere authorized to introduce test oaths, in violation of law, to protect the spoliators of virtue, the brothel and the adulterer; nor is the judiciary required in the execution of its legal function to ignore the precedents of courts, nor to sanction the empannelment of packed juries.

I have had these things read for more reasons than one. First, to show the hypocrisy of those who come here to teach us morality, and who proscribe the acts of a pure and industrious people who dwell in these mountains. And for another purpose, to guard our brethren and sisters against the encroachments of such fiends in human form as those persons here referred to. We cannot have, and won’t have adulterers and adulteresses among us, much less will we have those who, by murder, stain their consciences and damn themselves forever. You sisters, guard yourselves against these infamies, or you will sink yourselves down, down, down to pits of infamy and ruin, that you never dreamed of. I do not wonder that the Prophets have expressed themselves as strongly as they have in relation to the events that shall overtake the world. I remember that some 30 years ago, there was one of our brethren in an eastern city, I heard a report about his wife being engaged in something of that sort. I asked him if it were true. He said it was. I don’t know when I felt such a loathing for a human being in my life as I felt toward her. I would sooner have touched a rattlesnake than touched her hand. And I feel so to-day. We cannot degrade ourselves with these fiendish practices. All are not guilty; for as I have frequently said there are thousands and millions of honorable men and women throughout the land. But these evils which exist in this and other nations are too terrible almost to be spoken of; yet it is requisite they should be presented before you Latter-day Saints, that you may remember the pit from whence you were dug, and the rock from whence you were hewn; that you may appreciate in some measure the blessings you enjoy, and your freedom from these infamies in this land of Zion. And I would say to you Bishops—if you find adulterers and adulteresses in the Church, cut them off, they cannot be associated with the Latter-day Saints.

Another thing: I was lately called upon as a witness—perhaps you may have seen some account of it in the papers—and I want to make some explanation in relation to the matters that I then presented, because they are not generally understood: I was required to divulge certain things. I did not know them to divulge. Perhaps some of you have had people come to you with their confidences. I have. But I don’t want to be confidant. Why? Because if they made a confidant of me and I was called before a tribunal, I could not, as an honorable man, reveal their confidences, yet it would be said I was a transgressor of law; but no honorable man can reveal confidences that are committed to him. Therefore I tell them to keep their own secrets, and remember what is called the Mormon creed, “Mind your own business, I don’t want to know the secrets of people, those that I cannot tell. And I could not tell very much to that court; for I have studiously avoided knowing any more than I could possibly help about such matters. I was asked questions about our temple, which of course I could not divulge. I was asked questions about records which I could not tell them, because I did not know. I have studiously avoided entering into a knowledge of these matters. They did not build our temples. We have never had any revelations from God, through them! we may have had from the devil (laughter), but never have had revelations from God through them. And I think there are some things we have a right to guard sacredly in our own bosoms. We are told “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant.” Now, if the Lord shall commit a secret to me I don’t think I should tell it to any one; I don’t think I would, not unless He told me. Then, I do not want to know your secrets. I was asked if certain ordinances could be performed in different places. I told them, yes, under certain circumstances. “Where,” I was asked—“Anywhere besides in temples?” Yes. Anywhere besides the Endowment House? Yes. “Where, in some other house?” In another house or out of doors, as the circumstances might be. Why did I say that? Is not a temple the proper places? Yes; but it is said in our revelations pertaining to these matters:

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, That when I give a commandment to any of the sons of men, to do a work unto my name, and those sons of men go with all their might, and with all they have, to perform that work, and cease not their diligence, and their enemies come upon them, and hinder them from performing that work; behold, it behoveth me to require that work no more at the hands of those sons of men, but to accept of their offerings.

Thus under such circumstances we perceive that our operations elsewhere will be all correct; it makes no difference. It is the authority of the Priesthood, not the place, that validates and sanctifies the ordinance. I was asked if people could be sealed outside. Yes. I could have told them I was sealed outside, and lots of others.

I want to show you a principle here, you Latter-day Saints. When Jesus was asked if He thought it was proper for His disciples to pluck ears of corn on the Sabbath-day. He told them “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” What else? I will say that man was not made for temples, but temples were made for man, under the direction of the Priesthood, and without the Priesthood temples would amount to nothing.

I speak of these things for your information: but men are not authorized to act foolishly about these matters. The temples are places that are appropriated for a great many ordinances, and among these ordinances that of marriage; but, then, if we are interrupted by men who do not know about our principles, that is all right, it will not impede the work of God, or stop the performance of ordinances. Let them do their work, and we will try and do ours.

While I was in court a few days ago, and gazing upon the assembly of judges, lawyers, marshals, witnesses, spectators, etc., many reflections of a very peculiar character passed through my mind, some of which I will here rehearse.

I could not help thinking as I looked upon the scene, that there was no necessity for all this; these parties need not have placed themselves in this peculiar dilemma. Here was a young man blessed with more than ordinary intelligence, bearing, amongst all who know him a most enviable reputation for virtue, honesty, sobriety, and all other desirable characteristics that we are in the habit of supposing go to make a man respected and beloved, the civilized world over. He had been trained from early childhood in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, had been an attendant at Sabbath schools and Young Men’s Improvement Societies, where his course was of the most pleasing kind; more than this, some years ago, when quite a youth, he had shown his devotion to the faith in which he had been reared, by going forth without purse and scrip, to preach in the midst of the unbelieving the doctrines of a most unpopular faith. And, as I reach this point in my reflections, my mind instinctively wanders to a monument I gazed at in the Salt Lake City cemetery but a few days ago. That monument records in fitting words of respect and admiration the devotion of two young missionaries in a far-off Southern State, one of whom had fallen a victim to mob violence, had sealed with his blood the testimony which he bore, the other had stood by him in this hour of sore need, and rescued his mangled body and brought it safely for thousands of miles to the home of his bereaved parents and sorrowing co-religionists. This heroic young man is the one now arraigned before the courts of his country, for an alleged offence against the morality of the age. Assuming that the reports pertaining to him should prove to be correct, and he really has a plural wife, what then would be the position? He, from his earliest recollection, had been taught to reverence the Bible as the word of God, to revere the lives and examples of the ancient, worthies whom Jehovah honored by making them his confidants, and revealing unto them the secrets of His divine purposes; he had read of one who was called “the friend of God, and the father of the faithful,” of another who was said to be a man after God’s own heart;” of a third who in all things is said to have done the will of Heaven, and so on till they could be numbered by the score; yet all these men, the friends, associates and confidants of the great Creator of heaven and earth, were men with more than one wife, some with many wives, yet they still possessed and rejoiced in the love and honor of the great Judge of all the world, whose judgments are all just, and whose words are all righteousness. This young man is charged with following these worthy examples; it is asserted that he has taken to wife a beautiful and virtuous young lady, belonging, like him, to one of our most respected families, and who also believes in the Bible, and the example set her by those holy women of old, such as Rachel, Ruth, Hannah, and others, who honored God’s law, and became the mothers of Prophets, Priests and Kings. And as my cogitations ran I thought what need had these two to follow such examples of a bye-gone age; why not walk in the way of the world to-day; unite with our modern Christian civilization, and if passion guided their actions, why call each other husband and wife, why hallow their associations by any sacred ceremony; was there any need of such? Why not do as tens of thousands of others do, live in the condition of illicit love? And then if any child should be feared from this unsanctified union, why not still follow our Christian exemplars, remove the foetal incumbrance, call in some of the copyists of Madame Restell, the abortionists, male and female, that pollute our land, that would have been sub-rosa, genteel, fashionable, respectable, Christian-like, as Christianity goes in this generation. And if this did not succeed, the young man might have turned his victim into the street to perish, or die of pollution as is done in tens of thousands of instances, in the most sanctified manner by the hypocrites of the day. Then, in either of these cases, the young gentleman could have been received into good society, be petted and applauded; could hold a position under our government, be even a deputy-marshal, registrar or what not, and still further, be able to answer all the necessary questions; and be admitted as a grand juror without being brought in as a gutter-snipe on an open venire, but as a respectable citizen on the regular panel. Or again, these two, in the event of a child being born, might consign it to the care of some degraded hag, some baby farmer, where gradually and quietly its innocent life would ebb out, and bye and bye the grief-stricken parents would receive the anticipated notice that their dear little offspring, notwithstanding every care, was dead and buried. This is a respectable crime, a crime committed principally by those who go to high-toned churches and fashionable meeting-houses in velvets and feathers, in silks and satins, and who with upturned eyes and hypocritical voices, insult the majesty of Heaven by drawling out, “Lord have mercy upon us, miserable sinners.” Yet they are murderers—murderers of the worst kind, shedders of innocent blood, consumers of their own flesh, whom the vengeance of God awaits. Yet this young man and woman could have done all this and no marshals with ready feet would have dogged their steps, no packed grand juries with unanimous alacrity would do the bidding of over-zealous prosecuting attorneys; no Federal judge would overturn precedent, ignore law, disregard justice on purpose to convict. No, they might then have been the friends, associates, companions of judge and prosecutor, governor and commissioner: but now, as they would neither associate unrighteously, nor take means to destroy the results of their union, but honestly and virtuously live, as is claimed, as husband and wife, he stands in the felon’s dock charged with an offence against the dignity of the United States, and to convict him, oppressive laws, more oppressively administered, are brought to bear with all the ingenuity that malice can devise and hatred adopt. And there, in this ignominious position, he stands, with every person who might possibly be his friend, excluded from the jury, without the possibility of a fair trial by his peers, not one of the panel being in the least sympathy with himself: and by such people this unfortunate young gentleman has to be tried, judged, prosecuted, proscribed, and condemned, because of his firm and unswerving faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, of David, Solomon, and numerous other God-fearing and honorable men, who, like Him, have despised the cant and hypocrisy of an ungodly world, and dared to obey the behests of Jehovah. Of these things he had learned from the Bible, in the Sunday school; no wonder then that our would be reformers are so anxious to exclude the Bible from our district schools, as its teachings and examples so emphatically condemn the theories on which the acts and legislation of Congress are based, as well as the course pursued by those who seek to aid in the regeneration of Utah by adding to or taking from the law as is best suited to shield their own corrupt practices, or, on the other hand, by extra judicial proceedings, under cover of the law, they pervert, to prosecute and persecute the Mormons.

And where was this scene enacted? In the gorgeous palaces of Belshazzar, surrounded by his wives, concubines, and nobles, and where was seen written on the walls, “Mene, mene, tekel upharsin?” No. Was it at the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, when ten righteous persons could not be found to avert the wrath of an offended God, or in Pompeii or Herculaneum, who, in their turn, for their libidinous and unrighteous practices, as Sodom and Gomorrah, suffered the vengeance of eternal fire? No. Was it in the Saturnalia of the Bacchanals of ancient Greece and Rome? No. Those nations have been long overthrown, and are now only known to a few readers of ancient history. Was it during the reign of the first; French republic, when they elevated a prostitute as the goddess of reason? No. Was it in the days of the inquisition, when the rack, the gibbet, the faggot and the flames were brought into requisition to force unwilling victims to testify of things which their consciences forbade, and who perished by thousands for daring to think and act, and believe in and worship God according to the dictates of their consciences? No. Was it under the influence of Bacchus, or in the midnight revellings as exhibited in Rome under Nero. No. This scene was enacted in mid-day, in the 19th century, in the year of our Lord, 1884, in the Federal Court House, in Salt Lake City, at a court presided over by Judge Zane, Chief Justice for the United States in the Territory of Utah, assisted by Prosecuting Attorney Dickson, and the other adjuncts of the law, and in the presence of several hundred American citizens. Towards these gentlemen personally I have no feelings, no complaints to make. I understand them to bear the reputation of being learned and honorable men in all other matters. But they stand in an unfortunate position; they represent a cause so low, that it is impossible to look upon it without loathing and commiseration; they represent a political exigency, a party necessity, capital has to be made by the persecution and prosecution of American citizens who have embraced an unpopular faith, and they are the tools with which the unclean, despicable and barbarous work has to be done. I envy not their calling. I have no desire to stand in their shoes. Let my work be to do the will of God, to build up truth, virtue, righteousness, honor and peace upon the earth, and they may, if they so prefer, continue in the unfortunate work that their party has assigned to them.

Before I close I will say that I have not spoken on this subject with any feeling of acrimony in my heart towards the parties engaged in these proceedings. Some of the gentlemen engaged therein, in other respects, bear an excellent reputation. I will further say that we as Latter-day Saints have often heard it reported and reiterated in our ears, that the world was growing worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived, and that it would grow worse and worse. So we need not be surprised to see the fulfillment of these things. Furthermore, I wish specifically to state that while these abominations exist and these acts of injustice, we leave it with the perpetrators of these acts to pursue their own vain course. But it is for us to guard well against the innovations of the corrupt and the designing; it is for us to guard well our liberties; and then it is for us to treat honorably, rightly, and properly all honorable men and women. Although thousands are engaged in committing these crimes which are too dreadful to reflect upon: yet at the same time there are thousands and millions of honorable men and women throughout the nations, and many of them among us. We don’t class them with the corrupt, the libidinous and the murderers; although for our part we must be very careful of our associations, and know the character of those whom we receive into our houses, or allow our children to associate with.

God bless you and lead you in the paths of life; and while others are trying to exalt crime and murder into a fine art, and extol these libidinous practices; and while we have test oaths framed on purpose to screen the adulterer and adulteress; and while honorable men are prevented or voluntarily abstain from voting, and harlots and whore-mongers, and men who betray their wives and associate with other women are considered honorable men and protected by the authorities of this Territory, it is for us to guard ourselves against everything that is improper, and to be pure, especially you who bear the vessels of the Lord. God bless you, and lead you in the paths of life, in the name of Jesus, Amen.

The Law of Marriage in Ancient Israel, etc.

George Q. Cannon

Discourse by President George Q. Cannon, delivered in the Stake Meeting House, Ephraim, Sanpete County, November 16th, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

I will read a portion of the 7th chapter of Deuteronomy:

“Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.

“For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods; so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.

“But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves and burn their graven images with fire.

“For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God; the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

“The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose, because you were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people.

“But because the Lord loved you, and because He would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

“Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

“And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them; he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.

“Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.

“Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments and keep and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto 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 unto thy fathers to give thee.

“Thou shalt be blessed above all people; there shall not be male nor female barren among you, or among your cattle.

“And the Lord will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.”

These words that I have read in your hearing are found in the 7th chapter of Deuteronomy. In many respects these are most applicable to us as a people; for the same covenant which the Lord made with the children of Israel, and which are contained in part in this chapter, have been renewed unto us. We are their descendants; God has revealed this, and it is manifest that we are the descendants of the house of Israel, by the operations of the Gospel among us. No doubt many of you have been led to wonder in your experience how it was that you should receive the Gospel, and that others who had equal opportunities with you, probably belonging to the same household, and numbered among your friends and acquaintances; that when you received the Gospel, they could see nothing desirable or attractive about it, while your hearts were kindled into a glow, and felt like fire within you when you heard the testimony of the servants of God concerning the Gospel that He had revealed. Nothing that I know of more plainly demonstrates the fact that this is the blood of Israel, that has been gathered out: that we are of the chosen seed, though we have been mixed, or our fathers have been mixed, among the Gentiles. God has saved to himself a seed among all nations; and when the Gospel came to the lands where this seed dwelt, there was, on their part, a natural affinity, a natural attraction to the principles of righteousness, and they received them gladly, and were gathered out by the wonderful power of God to this land, and are numbered now among His Saints. The covenants that our Father made with his ancient chosen people have been renewed in our day and unto us, and there is no promise that was made in ancient days unto the house of Israel, that has not been renewed unto the Latter-day Israel. Every blessing that God promised and that I have read in your hearing, besides many others that are contained in the Scriptures—all these have been fully renewed unto the Latter-day Saints, and they are accompanied by blessings as we see them around us to-day, and as has been related by Brother Woodruff, in regard to our settlement of these valleys. God intended—and I wish that we all could realize it as it really is—God intended when He preached unto the people the Gospel, and gathered them out from the various lands where they lived, to make of them a peculiar and a distinct people upon the face of the earth. Nothing is plainer than this to those who will open their eyes to see, and their hearts to understand the providences of our God. As soon as the Latter-day Saints join the Church, they become a distinct people. All of you, those of you, at least, who embraced this Gospel before you gathered, know this. You know that no sooner were you baptized into the Church, than you were distinguished from all those who surrounded you. If you had brothers, if you had sisters, if you had parents, if you had friends, who did not receive the Gospel, did not enter into the Church, you became distinct from them, they felt that you were different from them, and you felt that they were different from you. The love that your kindred had for you, previous to your espousal of the Gospel, in many instances turned to hatred. The friendships that had existed between you before you embraced the Gospel, turned into enmity, and they with whom you were most closely associated and towards whom you felt the, strongest ties of friendship, became your open and avowed enemies. There are instances even where your own parents, your own brothers and your own sisters rejected the claims of kindred, and turned their backs upon you, and treated you as though you were aliens to them, and had no claim upon their affection, and that they had no desire to mingle with you, or to be any longer connected with you. This has been the case in almost every instance where people have joined this Church and their kindred have not joined it. And that distinction has not been confined to the homes where the Saints embraced the Gospel; but it has continued here and until the present day. A Latter-day Saint may be descended from the oldest families that have peopled this continent, his ancestors may have fought the battles that freed this land from oppression; he may be entitled to all the rights and privileges that belong to a native of this country, and yet if he be a Mormon not a single claim of that character is recognized. He is looked upon as a stranger and an alien. He is looked upon as a man not having the rights of full citizenship that others who are not of his faith are entitled to and enjoy. When we travel among the people as Latter-day Saints, we are conscious ourselves that there is a distinction between us and them; they are also conscious that there is this distinction, and that we are a different people. You can no more cause these Latter-day Saints, while they remain such, to mingle with the world and be one with them, than you can cause oil and water to mingle. There is no affinity between the two. You may shake oil and water together in a bottle, and while you are shaking it, you imagine that the water and the oil have mingled; but the moment you let the bottle stand, the water sinks to the bottom and the oil rises to the top. The two elements do not co-mingle, they are entirely distinct, and you may shake them, and boil them, or do anything of that character, and you cannot cause them to become one fluid. So it is with this people called the Latter-day Saints and the world. There is a difference. God has created the difference. God has called us out from the world for the express purpose of making us His people, and placing, upon us His name, that we may be known as his peculiar people in the midst of the nations of the earth.

Now, when I say this I do not say that, because of this, we are the enemies of mankind; I do not say this because I think there is no opportunity for them and us to unite, that there is no platform upon which we can stand and become united; I do not say this; because there is a platform upon which we can all stand and be a united people; but until we do stand upon that platform, this division and this distinction of which I speak will exist. We belong, because of our obedience, to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, to what is known as the Church of Christ, while those who have not embraced this Gospel and entered into covenant with God, belong to the other church—that is the church which is called in the revelations of God, the whore of all the earth, or the mother of abominations. That is the distinction which exists between the Latter-day Saints and the rest of mankind.

My brethren and sisters, there are some principles which it seems to me we should comprehend clearly in connection with our position as Latter-day Saints; and one is that which is alluded to in this chapter that I have read in your hearing, namely:

“Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.

“For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.”

This was a command that was given unto Israel with great force and emphasis. They were commanded from the beginning that they were not to marry with those who did not belong to their family, or did not belong to the Israel of God, or were not the covenant people of God. And it was not a new law; it was not a law that was given to Moses, and through him to the children of Israel for the first time. If you will read back to the days of Abraham, you will find that the same sentiment filled the heart of Abraham, the patriarch, concerning his posterity. When he wanted a wife for his son Isaac, he took his eldest servant of his house and made him swear by the God of Heaven that he would not take a wife unto his son of the daughters of the Canaanites, a race with which he did not want his son to intermarry, And he sent his servant back to Mesopotamia, to his old country and his kindred, it being where his brother Nahor had lived, to find there for his son Isaac a wife that should be suitable to him. The servant took this oath and he went feeling that God had given unto him a mission and that he would be prospered in obtaining a wife for the son of his master. He prayed unto the God of his master to give him success, and give him a sign by which he might know the girl that the Lord designed for his master’s son. And according to his faith so it was done. Rebekah came to the well, and as he had prayed so she did, and she proved to be the very girl that God had designed for Isaac, and the very girl that Abraham in his heart desired that his son should have. She was Abraham’s grand niece, and his wife Sarah’s grand niece, a double cousin of Isaac’s, her grandmother, Milcoh, being Isaac’s mother’s sister, and her grandfather, Nahor, being Abraham’s father’s brother. You know it is said in the Bible, that Abraham married his sister. But though called his sister, she was not his sister, in our sense of the relationship. She was the daughter of his brother Haran; but at Haran’s death, Terah—Haran and Abraham’s father—brought up Haran’s children as his own. Two of these children were girls. One of them married Nahor, a brother of Abraham’s, and the other married Abraham, both of them sisters of Lot. They were, therefore, nearly related.

So you see that in those early days the same sentiment pervaded the minds of the servants of God, respecting the families with whom they should intermarry. You will remember also that this same Rebekah afterwards, when fear was begotten in her heart respecting her son Jacob, and the enmity of his brother Esau, said to Isaac in substance: I do not want Jacob to marry the daughters of this land, I want him to marry the right blood, to marry into the right families.” Isaac sent Jacob back to his mother’s people, and commanded him not to take a wife of the daughters of Caanan; but to marry into his mother’s family. He did so; he married his two cousins, Leah and Rachel, the daughters of Laban, his mother’s brother. And from these families and from that blood sprang the promised seed. It was the lineage through which the Priesthood ran; it was the lineage that was entitled to the blessings of the father, and on this account they were very particular as to whom they should marry. Isaac was the promised seed, and his father and mother were exceedingly desirous that he should marry in the right direction, and if you will notice that this is the same sentiment that God inspired His servant. Moses to speak unto the children of Israel. They were commanded to marry among themselves, and not to marry among the outside nations that had not the faith that the children of Israel had. Because, as it is said here:

Thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.

“For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods.”

And this was the case with Esau. He was not a man of faith, he was not a man unto whose seed the promises were given as they were to Jacob; because he married the daughters of the land in which they lived, that is the daughters of the Hittites, one of the Canaanite nations, a race not entitled to the blessings and promises which God had given unto those of the family of Abraham, and the families connected with him.

And in every instance that is on record in the Bible where the children of Israel disobeyed this command of God, judgment and calamity always followed. It was so in the case of Samson. You remember Samson, a mighty man in some respects, a man whom God raised up to redeem His people, but he married strange women. He married a woman of the Philistines, and the result was that it brought about his destruction. And we need only refer to the great king who sat upon the throne during the golden days of Israel, a man who was considered the wisest man that ever lived—King Solomon. His heart, we are told in the Scriptures, was turned aside from the Lord our God because he took to himself strange wives, women of the nations with whom God had commanded Israel not to marry, and because of this he was led as he grew in years into idolatry. He built in the groves where the strange nations performed their idolatrous rites, places of worship, and to gratify these wives he went and worshipped with them; and God in His anger, because of this, said that the nation should be rent asunder; and in fulfillment of this word the greater portion of the kingdom was taken from the house of David, and given to another. Ten tribes rebelled, and there was left to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, only the tribe of Judah for his inheritance, this kindness to the dynasty in leaving to it the tribe of Judah as an inheritance, was not because of favors to Solomon, but because his father had served God all his days with a perfect heart, except in the case of Uriah the Hittite. God raised up enemies to Solomon, and at his death as I have said, rent the ten tribes from his son Rehoboam, and gave them to Jeroboam. This was in consequence of the violation of this command of God respecting the intermarriage of His people with strange women. In every instance on record in the Bible, it will be found that the violation of this law resulted in destruction, not only to those who made these marriages, but to their posterity after them. The history of the kings of Israel and Judah illustrates this. The kings who married strange women, women of those nations that God had forbidden Israel to marry, were never prospered; misfortune to themselves and the nation always followed these alliances. One of the most wicked kings that ever sat upon the throne of Israel married a woman of this description. Her name was Jezebel. She was a king’s daughter too, a woman of noble birth, but one of the most wicked women that ever lived. To gratify her desire she incited her husband to murder, and to almost every other crime that could be committed. She was an idolatrous woman and she brought numberless miseries and condemnation from the Lord upon not only her husband’s house, but upon the whole house of Israel because of her wickedness.

In looking around and traveling among our people, I have been deeply impressed with the consequences that follow these improper marriages among us. My attention has been called many, many times to circumstances of this character that have taken place among us. Not unfrequently there is some case that comes up to us for counsel where women have made alliances of this character; and women among us have been more apt to do it than men. There have been a few instances of men marrying strange women, losing the faith and becoming alienated from the Church of God, but it has not been of such frequent occurrence among us with men as it has been with women. The alliances which our daughters, our sisters or our female relatives have formed of this character have been attended with the worst results, and it is a matter that should receive attention from us as a people; our minds should be directed to this. It should be the aim of every father in Israel to have his daughters married to those who are of the right lineage, who have a claim upon the blessings of God, through their descent, added to their own faithfulness in keeping the commandments of God. I deem it of great importance to us as a people, that we should look to this. When I hear of girls in our Church marrying those who are not of us, who have not our faith, I have said to myself—and my experience in watching these matches has warranted me in the thought—that such a proceeding was sure to be attended with trouble to those who entered upon it. The offspring of such marriages do not bring satisfaction or happiness to the hearts of their relatives who are faithful to the truth, and in many instances they bring trouble and sorrow to their hearts. The mother’s head is bowed with sorrow, if she retains her faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because of the acts of her children. There are some men who have so much Gentile blood in them, that their offspring partake of it, and of the unbelief of the father, and in such cases it is impossible for a mother who has such a husband and children, with all her faith, with all her zeal, with all the pains that she takes, to instil into the minds of her children faith in the God of Israel, and faith in the covenant that He has restored. They seem to belong to another flock. It seems as though they have no susceptibility for the truth. There is no good soil in their hearts to receive the seeds of truth, the Gospel of the Son of God. It is just like this: my family, who live on the banks of the Jordan River, have occasionally secured some wild duck eggs, and put them under some tame ducks, and hatched them. But the wild duck as soon as he grew large enough to fly, generally took his flight and left the home nest. It was not natural to be tame. And so it is frequently with marriages. A girl of our faith may marry a gentile, and he may be a pretty good man as far as his conduct is concerned, he may be a good citizen, a truthful man, but there will be a lack of susceptibility to the truth about his offspring. There will be a lack of faith there. Some of the children may have a little faith in the truth, but many of them, probably, will have no faith whatever, and will give the mother uneasiness and trouble and sorrow, and she will have no satisfaction whatever in her children. I have in my mind to-day, an instance where a man joined the Church, in the very early days of the Church, one of the oldest families in the Church, but he had not much faith. He married one of the most faithful women I have ever known in my experience in the Church. She has raised a large family, and by dint of faith and perseverance, finally succeeded in bringing the family to the valley. But the husband was always in the background. It required all her faith, and all her exertions to keep him from breaking out against the Church, and from losing even a nominal membership in it. She has had a large family of children. One of her sons, whom she has brought up with all the care possible, teaching him constantly the principles of the Gospel, and endeavoring to foster faith in his heart, is to-day an avowed enemy of the work of God, of the Church of which the mother is a faithful member. Several of the children seem to partake of that unbelief, that inclination to apostatize, which they seem to have inherited from their father. But it illustrates that which I have endeavored to impress upon your minds, that when women make alliances of this kind, they are not sure, in the least degree, as to the character of their posterity. They may have faithful children, but as likely as not, like the wild ducks I spoke of, they will go back to their old element, and to their old associations, and it seems impossible to prevent them from doing so.

I have no doubt all of you have had some experience of a similar character here in your midst. Have you ever seen a marriage on the part of a faithful member of this Church, either man or woman, with one that is not faithful, that has resulted happily for all concerned? Can you not call to mind instance after instance where it has been attended with the worst results? where the woman after a while, tired of living in that condition, has been compelled, if she did not wish to lose all hope of salvation here and hereafter, to break the tie and to sever herself from the man with whom she had lived in early life, into whose hands she had committed herself as a maiden, and by whom she had raised children—compelled to sever herself from him, if she expected to obtain eternal life in the Kingdom of God. I know many, many such instances as these, and I think that as a people we should be exceedingly careful about these matters. I would rather my daughters—speaking about them—I would rather they would be the fiftieth wife to a good, faithful man, who had kept the commandments of God, and unto whom promises had been made—I would rather they would occupy that relationship, and raise children by him, than that they should be allied to a man unto whom the promises of God had not been made. But, says one, good men’s sons are not always good. I know that, we all know it, Adam, our Father, had a Cain; he was a wicked man; but that does not alter the principle, it does not affect that which I am speaking of. Adam’s posterity had blessings sealed upon them that cannot be taken from them. There was no reason why Cain should not have inherited all the blessings that Abel did, and that afterwards Seth possessed, if he had been disposed to avail himself of them; and it may be that where men have the Priesthood, the power and authority of it, and the blessings that pertain to it, sealed upon their heads—it may be that like it was in the cases of Terah and Abraham, if they belong to the rightful lineage there will some one of that seed arise and be a faithful man, and attain unto all the blessings that God has promised unto such faithful persons. You remember very well how it was with Terah, the father of Abraham. He was of the chosen seed, but he was an idolater. Yet he was heir to the promises, and because of that Abraham, through that heirship, and through descent, or the blessing that came through that descent, was able to go unto God and to plead for and receive the blessings that God had promised through the fathers unto him and unto all who belonged to that chosen seed. And so it maybe with us. There may be faithful men who will have unfaithful sons, who may not be as faithful as they might be; but faithful posterity will come, just as I believe it will be the case with the Prophet Joseph’s seed. To-day he has not a soul descended from him personally, in this Church. There is not a man bearing the Holy Priesthood, to stand before our God in the Church that Joseph was the means in the hands of God, of founding—not a man to-day of his own blood—that is, by descent—to stand before the Lord, and represent him among these Latter-day Saints. But will this always be the case? No. Just as sure as God lives, just as sure as God has made promises, so sure will some one of Joseph Smith’s posterity rise up and be numbered with this Church and bear the everlasting Priesthood that Joseph himself held. It may be delayed in the wise providence of our God. There are many things that we cannot understand, cannot see the reason why they should be so; but these promises are unalterable God made them to Joseph during his lifetime; and they will be fulfilled just as sure as God made them. He (Joseph) will have among this people, some one descended from his own loins, who will bear the everlasting Priesthood, and who will honor and magnify that Priesthood among the Latter-day Saints. Therefore it is a blessing from God, for a woman to bear children to such a man, or to any man who bears or holds the everlasting Priesthood of the Son of God, and who magnifies his calling, and through magnifying it, receives promises from God to himself, and his posterity after him. Hence it is, my brothers and sisters, that remarks are made from time to time about plural marriage, patriarchal marriage. It is designed of God, that it should be so. There are but comparatively few men among the family of mankind, who are capable of leading the daughters of Zion into the Celestial Kingdom of our God—comparatively few—for the Lord says: “Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Out of all the sons of God, there are comparatively few, I say, who are capable through their faith and faithfulness, and through their keeping the commandments of God, of leading the daughters of Zion in the path of exaltation, and leading them into the Celestial Kingdom of our God; and therefore it is of the utmost importance that in these matters we should be exceedingly careful. We should seek by revelation, if we can obtain it—and it is the privilege of all to obtain revelation, that is, all who live as they should do—we should seek by revelation to obtain a knowledge for ourselves, respecting these matters. Our daughters should be taught to control their feelings and affections, and not let them go out without any regard to these circumstances to which I have alluded. A woman should be exceedingly careful, a girl should be exceedingly careful, and parents should be exceedingly careful in instilling into her mind the principles that must be observed by her and by her husband to obtain exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom of God. How often is it the case among us, that women desirous of salvation are compelled to leave their husbands that become drunken, that become apostates, that become careless and indifferent, that do something or other that forfeits their standing in the Church of Christ? And then what is to become of such women? According to our faith no woman should be connected with a man who cannot save her in the Celestial Kingdom of God. What I mean by this is: if a man apostatizes and breaks covenants and loses his standing in the Church of Christ, he is not in a fit condition to save himself, much less to lead his wife aright. He cannot lead her in the path of exaltation, because he has turned aside from that path; he has gone into another path. If she follow him, she will follow him to destruction; she will take the downward road. She will never find, while following him, and he in that condition, the path of salvation. Therefore, how careful men should be, that in marrying they should marry into good families, and not marry into apostate families. Did you ever see any good result from a man taking the daughter of an apostate, that has been brought up an apostate? I never have. That woman and her companions, if there is not great exertions made, will lead that man’s heart away after other gods, away from the God of Israel, away from the covenant, away from everything that is holy and true. She will constantly fight him unless she is an exception to the general rule. There are instances where girls come out of such families, and are good, faithful women; but speaking of this as a rule it is not a safe proceeding. How can fathers and mothers of the Saints who marry into families that are not in the Church, or that are apostates—how can they mingle together upon terms of equality? The grand children, having in them the blood of the apostate, and the blood of the faithful man, can they come together on the same platform and be united with each other, part of them being out of the Church and part of them in the Church? No, they cannot. There is a distinction there, and there must be a letting down of the bars on the part of those in the Church to associate with others out of the Church, on terms of equality, or else there must be a rising up of those who are not in the Church to the platform of those who are in the Church, in order that they may be on anything like terms of equality. There must be some breaking down in some direction. The apostate must sink his difference and try and feel like the Latter-day Saint, or else the faithful family must yield a little in their feelings in order to mingle upon anything like terms of friendship or equality with those who are not in the Church.

My brethren and sisters: I consider that these are very important principles, and should be seriously considered. There is too much laxity among us in Salt Lake City, and elsewhere, upon this point. There are young men and young women, one or the other frequently belonging to good families, who are married not by the Priesthood, but by some civil authority, in order to accommodate the feelings of the girl, or of the young man, or of the families of one or the other. Can such marriages result in happiness? No, they cannot; they cannot result in happiness on the part of a man who claims to be a Latter-day Saint, or on the part of a girl who claims to be a Latter-day Saint. It cannot be a happy marriage. The fruits of such unions cannot be satisfactory, that is, to the faithful Saint, at least, and it is contrary to the mind and will of God. Our people are commanded to marry in their own Church. We are commanded to marry those of our own faith, and not to go outside of our Church for partners. Instead of being married by Justices of the Peace, or by other civil authorities, God has placed in His Church a Priesthood and one of the offices and functions of that Priesthood is to marry the sons and daughters of God—to marry them one to another in the new and everlasting covenant, and to seal upon them and their posterity the blessings that pertain to that new and everlasting covenant; and any man who desires to be a happy husband and to have a happy home, and any woman who desires to be a happy wife and a happy mother, and to have joy in their associations, will never permit themselves to be drawn aside to be married by any authority except that which God has instituted, namely, the authority of the Holy Priesthood, Our daughters should seek, by all the faith that they can exercise before God, to obtain good husbands—husbands who will build them up instead of holding them down; who will strengthen their hands in the work of God, who will make them mothers of a righteous seed and posterity, with whom they can rejoice in the eternal mansions of our Father and our God; and no woman who has the faith of the Gospel within her, will want to bear a child to a man of whom she will be ashamed, and who cannot lead her into the presence of the Lamb. She will rather exercise faith before the Lord that God will give unto her a husband in whom she can trust, in whom she can have confidence, whose word will be as the word of God to her. And in the midst of the troubles, afflictions and trials that belong to this mortal existence, she will feel comforted by the knowledge that her husband is indeed a man of God, a man who will be true and faithful to her under all circumstances. This is a constant cause of strength and comfort to every woman, to know that she has wedded a man whom she can trust, upon whom she can rely, who will never fail her, that is, as far as human nature will permit a man to be free from infallibility. This is the course we should all take.

But, says one, what shall be done with those who are not of this class.

I do not have a word to say against them. I do not want to say one word against this class. Let them marry. Let the Gentile marry with the Gentile. That is right. I have no objection to this. I do not want to say one word against their men or against their women. Let them marry among themselves. But I say to the Latter-day Saints, marry in your own Church. Let the Latter-day Saints marry faithful men, let them marry faithful women, and let them raise up a posterity which God will bless, and upon whom they can ask the blessing of our Father; and when they pass away, they can leave their blessing to be perpetuated upon them and their posterity as long as the earth itself shall last. That is what I say to the Latter-day Saints. At the same time I would not preclude any “non-Mormon,” or Gentile as they are called, from marrying; but let such marry their own class and among their own people. I say we have no right to allow them to marry our daughters, and we should use every influence against it. It is not right to allow apostates to marry our daughters, nor for our sons to marry apostates. This is all wrong, and we should guard against it, and use all the influence in our power to prevent it. And those who are weak in the faith and want to be married by officers of the law, let them choose those who have the same faith and feeling as they have; but let no faithful daughter or faithful son of faithful parents be influenced to marry such persons, and marry in that kind of a way. This is what I say to you this morning, and the counsel I would give to all my brethren and sisters. Let the apostates marry the apostates. Let the gentiles marry the gentiles. There are millions of them in the world. There is no need for them to take our daughters, nor to marry our sons. The apostates also can find plenty of their own kind. Let them marry them. I would not throw a straw in their way, I would do nothing to interfere with them; but let the faithful Latter day Saints marry faithful Latter-day Saints. Let them seek unto God in the name of Jesus, that they may obtain women of virtue, women of probity, women of faith, women of steadfastness, women that will be a glory to the men throughout time and eternity, and who will raise them children in whom they can rejoice; and let the women seek in like manner to obtain men upon whom they can look with respect and love in the midst of every trial, in the midst of every affliction, no matter what the circumstances may be; that their faith may be unmoved in all the trials, difficulties and afflictions that pertain to this mortal life; that they may tread the straight and narrow path as long as mortality lasts, and then enter into the celestial kingdom of our God, when they obtain their resurrected bodies, united as husband and wife, for time and for all eternity.

Now, this is a privilege that God has given unto us His children, and I trust that as His children we will exercise it. Remember, my brethren and sisters, that as wise a king as Solomon, a man unto whom God appeared and unto whom God spake, was led away by strange women and lost his power, became an idolater, and God scourged him and his posterity for his wickedness in this respect. I have in my mind to-day a man among us who in like manner allowed his affections to go after a strange woman, and took her to wife, and when I think about his circumstances, it reminds me in a small degree of the fate of Solomon; the same result is in his case, and it will be in every case. I do not care how strong the man may be, he may have strength enough to hold the woman, to overpower her influence, but it is a risk that should not be taken; for if a man does he will almost be sure to be overcome, and fall into trouble.

I pray God the Eternal Father, to bless us as a people; to bless you, my brethren and sisters, and to give you strength and wisdom and grace to govern your families and yourselves, so that you will always be found in the path of righteousness, the path that leadeth unto the Lord, which I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Blessings Follow Certain Ordinances

Franklin D. Richards

Discourse by Apostle F. D. Richards, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday morning, October 5th, 1884. Reported by John Irvine.

I will read a few verses contained in the 68th section of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, a book of revelation and commandment, which the Lord has given unto us in this last dispensation, for our guidance:

“And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her Stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ, the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of the hands when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents;

“For this shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion, or in any of her Stakes which are organized;

“And their children shall be baptized for the remission of their sins when eight years old, and receive the laying on of hands;

“And they shall also teach their children to pray and to walk uprightly before the Lord.

“And the inhabitants of Zion shall, also, observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy;

“And the inhabitants of Zion, also, shall remember their labors, inasmuch as they are appointed to labor, in all faithfulness; for the idler shall be had in remembrance before the Lord.

“Now, I the Lord, am not well pleased with the inhabitants of Zion, for there are idlers among them; and their children are also growing up in wickedness; they also seek not earnestly the riches of eternity, but their eyes are full of greediness.”

I will also read from the 29th section of the same book:

“But, behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten;

“Wherefore, they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to be accountable before me;

“For it is given unto them even as I will, according to mine own pleasure, that great things may be required at the hand of their fathers.”

Referring to our little children, who are becoming, numerically, a mighty host among us, I wish to make a few remarks this morning, the subject seeming to impress itself on my mind somewhat. A consideration of the associations of our young men and young women, reminds us that before they become young men and young women, in the common acception of the term, they are younger men and younger women; and while infant children are in a dependent and somewhat helpless condition. As the tall oaks from little acorns grow, and as mighty rivers are made up from small streamlets and springs that come from hidden sources in the mountains, so is the increase of God’s people by reason of their little children that are growing—increasing in number and multiplying continually in the land. In early days our increase used to be made up, in a great measure, by emigrants from foreign nations. The past few years our emigration has attained to some three or four thousand, annually, from the various countries in which missions are established, while it has increased many times that number from the great and glorious presence of God our Father, who sends the spirits to this world to dwell. Hence it becomes the great source of our supply, of our increase, and I am sure you will join with me, many of you, this morning in realizing that we have not, in many instances, given a sufficient and proper consideration for our little children that have been committed unto us, when we realize the importance, the eternal consequences that are made to flow from the beginning of their tuition and education here in this mortal life.

Many of this people, who have lived faithful to their professions, know more to-day of God and His purposes, than they did fifty years ago. We learn by experience as well as by precept, from the Lord, and as in the light of our experience we have obtained observation and got knowledge, we should not only profit by it ourselves, but as Elders in Israel we should endeavor to benefit and improve each other by our experiences, so that we may increase in understanding before the Lord in all our relations to Him and to each other.

Now, concerning little children, there is too much of an inclination with many—particularly in the world, but this feeling is growing much less among the Saints—to treat their children with indifference, to put them off, and to think that a very little of anything will do them very well. Children are apt to be waited on even at the table after the feasted and friends are all served.

I will not stop to dilate upon this particular feature of my subject, but will turn to a more pleasing one. Our Savior while here in the flesh, perceiving the people thought that children were of less importance than grown persons, was much, displeased and said: “Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom, of God.” Who, I ask, among my hearers this morning has been attending the Sunday School and listened to their recitations that has not felt their hearts warmed within them at hearing the early germinations of intelligence made manifest and apparent while they have been reciting the Scriptures, the revelations and maxims from the cards that are now in use in the Sabbath Schools? Who has listened to their songs, so sweet and melodious, without feeling that the very blessing of the Lord was there, that it was delightful and lovely to be in their midst? Who has gone into the little associations of the Primaries, now held so regularly, among us, and heard them answer their questions, from perhaps the youngest that were able to speak distinctly and articulate so as to be heard—heard them answer the questions put by their teachers concerning the kind of knowledge they are expected to obtain and are obtaining—who among us have attended these associations and listened to those little ones, without feeling the fragrance of heaven shed abroad upon their souls and being sensible that there is to be found in them a beauty of innocence, of sweetness and purity that we cannot expect in the hearts of a concourse of grown people? Jesus said of them: “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” He might also have said, “their angels, their spirits had always dwelt in the presence of God, or before the face of my Father which is in heaven.” Learn this, mothers, when you sorrowfully lay away your little ones—learn this: their spirits do always dwell before the face of their Father who is in heaven, and let your hearts be comforted, no sin has contaminated their souls, no spot of contamination has tarnished their young and tender consciences. There is purity, the purity of the pure here on earth. What has the Lord said, “That little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world, through mine Only Begotten; wherefore, they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me; for it is given unto them even as I will, according to mine own pleasure, that great things may be required at the hands of their fathers.”

When He was here upon this continent, our risen Redeemer taught the Nephites, and blessed their children in multitudes.

So powerfully was the Holy Ghost poured out upon them that they spake with tongues. Infants that had no learning at all, declared forth His praise in such glorious, exalted terms, that the brethren present, could not write them. Such was the blessing and favor of heaven, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, shed abroad upon the innocent portion of humanity that was permitted to stand in His presence.

Then, seeing that the heavens are so pleased with them, ought not we to understand and entertain a higher estimate of their value, of their heavenly worth, and of their eternal importance, especially when we consider that from these small children that mothers are nursing upon their laps will by and by have grown up Prophets, Seers and Revelators, Judges in Israel, men of God standing forth upon the earth declaring His counsels building up His Kingdom in all righteousness, and in the power of God. Remember then: that as the twig is bent the tree will be inclined.

Let me call your attention to a particular feature in the matter of children and their early condition. In the revelation which I have read to you, the Lord says: “Power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children until they begin to become accountable before me.” Did you notice this when I read it? Let me ask how many of those present have taken this great truth into serious consideration, to consciously sense this great heavenly indemnity of a few years’ growth to each of our infant children in which Satan has no power to tempt their innocent souls; that whatsoever the examples placed before them, whatsoever their early inclinations by reason of erroneous teachings, yet until they are made accountable Satan has no power to tempt them, and they are still innocent before the Lord, until they come to the years of accountability when they should be instructed and prepared to be baptized into the Church, and become members of it.

People of other religious denominations tell us that if we will give them the education of our children for a certain number of years, they will wrest them from us, turn them loose upon the world, cause them to depart from the faith of their fathers and despise their parentage, Seeing this is the design of our enemies, and they are conscious of being able and are endeavoring to do this with our children, ought we not to sense more deeply the value of that same consideration—yes, but in a thousand-fold greater degree—we ought to see to it that the faith of our children is preserved sound, healthy, and kept growing in their bosoms. How important, then, that we teach and educate our children during the first eight years of their lives, so that when they attain to that age they may be admitted into the Church by baptism, and receive the laying on of the hands of the Elders for the reception of the Holy Ghost, then they will have the aid of that heavenly monitor that will assist the formation of their growing judgments.

Let us consider this matter more carefully than we have done. Let us see that while there is a suspension of the wrath—if we may so say—of Satan, that he has not power to tempt our children who have been born under the covenant—let us see that we attend to them, and let us give an assiduity to the business of teaching and preparing their young and tender minds, that we have never given before.

What is the great object and purpose of this life while we are here upon the earth? What one thing, if possible, is more important than another? It is this: that as our children come to us innocent—for the revelation tells us that all men are innocent when they are born into the world, and have these early years of indemnity from the power of the tempter to tempt them to sin—let us go to and make a better use than we have done of the opportunities we enjoy. Let us instill faith into the tender hearts of our children, faith towards God, obedience to their parents, obedience to the authorities of the Church, that when they come to years of accountability, they may take hold for themselves, with a hearty, strong and loving relish for the principles of the Gospel of divine truth. Let us endeavor to realize the importance of this matter. And what is that other thing we want to preserve to them? It is this: as they come to this life innocent, if men and women can be taken through this life innocent, and sin not before the Lord, and receive of His Spirit and walk in the light of it, so that while passing through this state of probation they shall have maintained a condition of innocence through the blessing of the everlasting Gospel, they will have accomplished a wonderful thing—the great object and purpose of their mortal lives. This is the great thing to be sought for—to preserve that innocence with which our children are born, and in which they are permitted to live a few years, at any rate, free from the power of Satan. It seems to me that if we contemplate this matter in the light of revelation, we ought to see its importance. The Lord has given to us the privilege of being united in the holy marriage covenant for time and eternity. We look forward to inheriting the blessings of the kingdom of God with our children, and that to their increase there shall be no end. This was the Gospel that was preached to Father Abraham—that he and his children and his generation should become as the stars in the heavens for multitude, and like the sands on the sea shore that cannot be counted. We look for blessing, dominion, exaltation and glory in the eternal worlds, through similar means.

Now, then, my brethren and sisters, I wish to ask a question at this stage of my discourse. Realizing something of the value which the heavens set upon the children; remembering that the Prophet Joseph Smith himself taught and left on record in his history that little children who depart this life before they come to the years of accountability go back to the presence of God; that many children were of so excellent a spirit that God, in His grace and mercy, took them away from the adverse conditions of this life, that they might not be required to suffer as many others had to; this being their position before the heavens, what are we to think of parents, who, having these principles before them, turn their children over to our avowed enemies to be educated, knowing that their policy is to breakdown “Mormonism,” especially the authority of the Priesthood to counsel, direct and govern the people, I say, what are we to think of such parents? How can those people do such things and be justified in the sight of God? It seems to me they must be consummately ignorant or consummately wicked to do such a thing. I should think it right that such be refused certain privileges of the Gospel, until they had a better idea in regard to these things. I do not see how they can themselves feel that they have a right to open up to further intelligence, or to have further blessings bestowed upon them. If people are so insensible to and so ungrateful for blessings already conferred, how can they expect more? Oh; that such people would turn round and understand the foolishness and sinfulness of their course, for if they do not repent, their action will bring sorrow and affliction, until their gray hairs will come with sorrow to their graves.

It appears in contemplating this subject—more especially since the great work of the Sunday schools has been going on in our midst, since the vast labor of the mutual improvement associations has been inaugurated among our young men and young women—that there is a stupendous work before us, that our children, while they are on our laps, and while prattling in and about our homes, developing the first germinations of intelligence—that then is the time to instil the first ideas of faith towards God and His work, into their young and tender minds. The wicked world are endeavoring to wean away our children by their arts, their publications, and by the blandishments of falsely so-called “superior civilization.” They would like to draw away the young and rising generation of Israel. They have learned that we their parents have the principles of the Gospel established in us, and that we are not easily moved, unless we fall into transgression. They find that their purpose of building up their churches by conversions from amongst our people is futile and hopeless. They find that the Gospel of eternal truth is established in the hearts of this people; that we have received something which satisfies the human mind, a something which they have not got to offer. They find that they cannot furnish the human mind with the satisfying influence and effects which are afforded by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Great and abundant are the blessings that are promised unto those who seek unto the Lord in the days of their youth. They who seek Him early shall find Him, and from such He will not turn away. It was anciently a divine injunction with promise to the youth of Israel, that they were to reverence and obey their fathers and their mothers, that their days might be long in the land which the Lord their God gave to them; and this promise—renewed to our children with the same conditions now—should be esteemed and regarded with equal or greater deference to that anciently bestowed.

Praying always that the understanding of the Lord may be given unto us that we may know and do His Holy will, in the name of Christ our Lord, Amen.