Journal of Discourses

Volume 5

Delivered by President Brigham Young,

His Two Counsellors, the Twelve Apostles, and Others.

Reported by G. D. Watt, J. V. Long, and Others and Humbly Dedicated to the Latter-day Saints in All the World.

Liverpool: Edited and Published by Asa Calkin, 42, Islington.
London: Latter-day Saints’ Book Depot, 35, Jewin Street City.

1858

Journal of Discourses, Volume 5. Kindle edition published August 2010 by Ben Crowder. Updated October 2011.

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Table of Contents

Original page numbers are in parentheses.

- Preface

- True Happiness — Fruits of not Following Counsel — Popular Prejudice Against the Mormons — The Coming Army — Punishment of Evildoers, by Brigham Young (1–6)

- Divine Mission of Joseph Smith — Stability of Mormonism — The Saints’ Enemies yet to Come to them for Succor — Home Manufacture — Distress of Nations, by Heber C. Kimball (7–11)

- The Sacrament — Slanders and Lying Spirits — Monogamy and Polygamy, etc, by George A. Smith (11–14)

- Storing up Grain — Lessons of the Past — Temptation — The Coming Distress, etc., by Orson Hyde (14–17)

- Temple and Endowments — Raising Grain and Building Storehouses — Dedication, by Heber C. Kimball (18–23)

- Blessings of Zion — Prophet of God to be Relied on — Enemies of the Saints, by John Young (24–27)

- The Latter–day Kingdom — Men not to be Governed by their Wives — Love to God Manifested by Love to His Servants, by Heber C. Kimball (27–34)

- Mormonism and its Results — Internal Light and Development — Decrease of Evil — The Fountain of Light, by Amasa Lyman (34–40)

- Life-giving Influence of Mormonism — The Binding of Satan — The Basis of his Claims — Cleanliness — Preparation, by Daniel. H. Wells (41–44)

- Israel to be Exalted by Righteousness — The Elders Should at all Times Rebuke Iniquity, by F. D. Richards (45–48)

- Inspiration and Teachings of the Spirit, by Wilford Woodruff (48–51)

- True Liberty — Organization and Disorganization — Fallen Spirits — Satanic Opposition — Futile Efforts of the Enemy, by Brigham Young (52–58)

- A Vision, by Amasa Lyman (58–59)

- A Visit to the House of Congress — Corruption of the United States, etc., by George A. Smith (60–63)

- Filial Duty — Consecration, etc., by Lorenzo Snow (63–66)

- The Way to Eternal Life — Practical Religion — All are not Saints who Profess to be — Prison — House of Disobedient Spirits, by Orson Hyde (67–72)

- Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream — Opposition of Men and Devils to the Latter–day Kingdom — Governmental Breach of the Utah Mail Contract, by Brigham Young (72–78)

- Report of Journey from San Bernardino to Great Salt Lake City, by Amasa Lyman (79–81)

- Necessity of Adhering to the Priesthood in Preference to Science and Art, by Remarks by Elder Wilford Woodruff (82–86)

- Oneness of the Priesthood — Impossibility of Obliterating Mormonism — Gospel Ordinances — Depopulation of the Human Species — The Coming Famine, etc., by Heber C. Kimball (86–95)

- Joseph Smith’s Family — Bashfulness in Public Speaking — The Coming Crisis — Counsel, by Brigham Young (96–100)

- Joseph Smith’s Family — Details of George A. Smith’s Own Experience, etc., by George A. Smith (101–111)

- Difference Between the Spirit of Zion and the Spirit of the World — Doings in the States, etc., by John Taylor (112–123)

- Approval of the Proceedings of the Delegation to Congress — Condition of the People of the World, etc., by Brigham Young (123–129)

- Organization — Destruction of Zion’s Enemies — Oneness of Spirit in the Priesthood, etc., by Heber C. Kimball (129–138)

- Persecution of the Saints — Redemption of Zion, and the Downfall of Her Enemies — A Vision, etc., by Orson Hyde. (138–144)

- Ignorance and Low Condition of the World — Past Experience, Present Position, and Future Prospects of the Saints, by John Taylor (145–158)

- Correction — Appointment of Governor — “Our Own Name” — The Coming Test, etc., by Heber C. Kimball (158–165)

- Tradition — Duty of the Saints to Live Their Religion — Safety of Zion — Preparation for the Future, etc., by Brigham Young (166–171)

- Faith in the Priesthood — Fruits of Faith — Laying up Grain — Gleaning — The Holy Ghost — Tree of Life, etc., by Heber C. Kimball (171–181)

- The Rights of Mormonism, by John Taylor (182–192)

- Reminiscences and Testimony of Parley P. Pratt, by Parley P. Pratt (193–201)

- Reformation — Satisfaction Should be made to Parties Aggrieved — Practical Religion, &c., by Heber C. Kimball (202–205)

- Return of Thomas B. Marsh to the Church, by Brigham Young and Thomas B. Marsh (206–213)

- Union of the Priesthood — Salvation of the American Nation — Punishment of the Saints’ Enemies, etc., by Heber C. Kimball (213–220)

- Report of a Visit to the Southern Country, by George A. Smith (221–225)

- The United States Administration and Utah Army, by Brigham Young (226–230)

- Movements of the Saints’ Enemies — The Crisis, by Brigham Young (231–236)

- Communism — Sectarianism — The Gospel and its Effects, etc., by John Taylor (237–248)

- Possession of the One Spirit, Blessings Pertaining to the Righteous — Trial of the Saints, etc., by Heber C. Kimball (248–255)

- Superiority of Pure Motives — Ascendancy of the Kingdom of God — Obedience of Counsel, by Brigham Young (256–258)

- Education — Revelation, Obedience, etc., by John Taylor (259–266)

- Blessings — Trials — Obedience to Counsel, etc., by Wilford Woodruff (267–270)

- Spiritual Dissolution — Ignorance of the World, by Heber C. Kimball (271–279)

- Murmuring Against Divine Authority — Faith in Prayer — Unity of Spirit, by Orson Hyde (279–284)

- Preparation of Heart for Divine Blessings — Responsibility — Family Government, by Erastus Snow (285–292)

- Ultimate Victory of the Saints, by Brigham Young (292–293)

- Advantages of Trials and Experience — Reformation of Conduct, etc., by Brigham Young (293–296)

- Sufficiency of the Gospel — Obedience to Truth — Union — Good Spirit Among the Saints — The Lord Will Deliver His People, by Charles C. Rich (296–300)

- Testimonies of Returned Missionaries — Trials Lead to Exaltation — Faith in God, by Erastus Snow (300–301)

- Benefit of Experience — Patience Under Sufferings — Recognition of the Hand of God in the Vicissitudes of His Saints, etc., by Amasa Lyman (302–312)

- The Blessings and Privileges of the Saints — Obedience to Counsel, by Lorenzo Snow (312–317)

- Peace, Confidence, and Ultimate Victory of the Saints, etc., by Amasa Lyman (317–321)

- Wisdom Gained by Experience — The Trials and the Final Triumph of the Saints, etc., by Lorenzo Snow (322–326)

- Testimony of the Spirit — Revelation Given According to Requirements — Spiritual Warfare and Conquest, etc., by Brigham Young (327–333)

- Divine Communications to the People Through Their Leaders — Peace the Result of Obedience — Prosperity of the Saints, by Heber C. Kimball (333–335)

- Present and Former Persecutions of the Saints, etc., by Brigham Young (336–343)

- The Saints’ Blessings — Divine Protection, etc., by Amasa Lyman (344–349)

- Extent of the Latter–day Work — The Freedom of the Saints Dependent on Their Doing Right — Satan’s Revelations, etc., by Brigham Young (350–354)

- Privileges of the Saints — Trials, etc., by Orson Hyde (354–358)

- Religious Worship a Natural and Universal Principle — Sincerity no Test of Truth — Priestly Authority, etc., by George A. Smith (359–367)

- The Present Crisis — The Prospects of Zion and the Fall of Babylon, by John Young (368–376)

Preface

This Number completes the Fifth Volume of the Journal of Discourses.

At the close of the last Volume it was not unlikely that the source from whence the Journal is supplied would be beyond our reach at the needful time, or that important events would hush for a season the oracles of God. But from the number of Discourses delivered during the latter part of last year and the early part of this, previous to the absorbing events succeeding, we have thus been enabled to complete the present Volume.

It is unnecessary for us to dwell on the importance of the Discourses contained herein and the value of this Volume to the Saints’ library, seeing that it represents a part of the most trying season of the Church. We therefore commend it to its readers without further preface, and we are confident that in years to come the value of the Fifth Volume to its possessors will be enhanced.

THE PUBLISHER

True Happiness, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 5, 1857.

It rejoices my heart to hear the brethren testify of their faith and good feelings, and of their confidence in God and in their religion. It is a matter of rejoicing to me to see those who profess to love and serve the Lord live up to their professions.

Brother Park very correctly observed that if this people will actually do the will of those who are placed to lead them, they will be owned, honoured, and blest of their God who dwells in the heavens. I can say, for one, that I cannot be pleased, I cannot be satisfied, I cannot feel to fellowship this people as I wish to do, unless they live their religion and serve their God every day, every hour, and every minute of their lives. There is no time allotted to us to use outside of the limits of duty. But, in doing our duty, in serving our God, in living our religion, in using every possible means to send forth the Gospel of salvation to the inhabitants of the earth, to gather Israel, and establish Zion, and build up the kingdom of heaven upon the earth are incorporated all blessings, all comforts that men can desire.

It is a mistaken idea in the inhabitants of the earth to conclude that it will not do for them to yield obedience to the commandments of heaven, lest it should abridge them in their comforts and in their enjoyments; for there is no real peace, there is no real happiness in anything in heaven or on the earth, except to those who serve the Lord. In His service there is joy, there is happiness; but they are not to be found anywhere else. In it there are peace and comfort; but when the soul is filled with joy, with peace, and with glory, and is perfectly satisfied therewith a person even then has but little idea of that which is in store for all the faithful.

Thrust a man into prison and bind him with chains, and then let him be filled with the comfort and with the glory of eternity, and that prison is a palace to him. Again, let a man be seated upon a throne with power and dominion in this world, ruling his millions and millions, and without that peace which flows from the Lord of Hosts—without that contentment and joy that comes from heaven, his palace is a prison; his life is a burden to him; he lives in fear, in dread, and in sorrow. But when a person is filled with the peace and power of God, all is right with him.

I cannot be satisfied with myself, neither can I be satisfied with this people, unless they live in the enjoyment of the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, having the testimony of Jesus within them. When they live in that manner, they are prepared to judge of all matters that come before them; they are then capable of discerning between truth and error, light and darkness. They can then readily discover the things that are not of God, and distinguish them from those that are. This is the only way for you to know that your leaders are leading you in the path that leads to heaven. Without taking this course, a people or nation is liable to be led astray by their leaders, and thereby be prepared to be destroyed; but when the people understand for themselves—when they know and understand the things of God by the Spirit of revelation, they are not only satisfied but safe. If this people will do as they are told—will please those who preside over them, they will do well for themselves. And if they will do this from morning to evening and from evening to morning, all will be right, and their acts will tend to promote the kingdom of God upon the earth.

As brother Wells lately observed here, it is very little difference what comes or goes. If the world are angry at us, that only fits and prepares them for their destruction. If they afflict the Saints of God, it prepares them for their reward; it prepares the righteous for bliss and immortality, and the wicked are the sooner ripened for their doom. It is very little difference whether men come here as soldiers or as civilians, all will promote the interest of the kingdom of God. It will promote the interests of the Saints, inasmuch as they are united; and though the wicked, in their eagerness to destroy the Saints of God, do not see this, yet God will make it all turn for the good of His people.

True, this people might have done better; but, considering all circumstances, they have done as well as could be expected. It might be shown to them, and perhaps this congregation will acknowledge it, that if this people had invariably been careful to observe counsel, they would have promoted the kingdom of heaven a great deal faster than they have. I will bring up a circumstance to illustrate this idea—one relating to us in these Valleys of the Mountains. It was just now observed by brother Feramorz Little that his feelings would be perfectly satisfied if he should never see another train of goods come in here for sale among this people. I would have been satisfied, if that could have been the case from the beginning.

At a time here when a person could go with a sackful of gold and say to a man, “Can I hire you to do some work for me? I have a sack full of gold;” and the man would say, “No; I cannot do it;” and every man would say, “No; I am too busy; I cannot do it;” and the person still saying, “I have hats full of gold;” but it was so plentiful, that men had such quantities of money that they were lugging it about until their backs ached;—suppose that that money had been put into the hands of the Trustee in Trust, and used for the benefit of the kingdom of God, would it not have been much better than to pay it to the merchants to carry out of the Territory? One merchant, in a day-and-a-half, received for sales a large kettle-full of money, and in two days he took a great deal more. Suppose that that money had been put into the hands of the Trustee in Trust and those associated with him, they would have laid goods down at your doors for from thirty to forty per cent cheaper than you got them. But could the people see that? No; their eyes were dim, and they could not see their own interest.

If the people had concentrated their means during the nine years past, they would now have been worth millions where they have only thousands. I know that now as well as I should have known it if the experiment had been tried, and that result proven. But no; the people would pay their money to others to carry out of the country.

I will tell an anecdote relating to the feelings of some in those days. I stepped into a store at the time when money was so plentiful, and the store was crowded. Every man, woman and child, had their pockets full of gold. A woman stepped up and said, “Mr. So and So, have you any soap?” He replied, “I do not think there is any.” She then asked, “Have you any sugar, or coffee?” He answered, “I do not know whether there is or not: there was some this morning: but I think it has been sold.” It was not long before a woman reached over and touched the one enquiring, and said, “President Young has bought everything of that kind that has been brought in.” I reached over and tapped her on the shoulder and said, “What do you tell that infernal lie for? President Young has not bought a pound of tea, a pound of sugar, or a pound of coffee, since these goods came in.” The people were then in such a state of mind that they would rather have given all they had to the Gentiles than for me to have had a pound of tea or the handling of their money.

They were not all possessed of that feeling; but there were enough to influence the channel of trade and give it an unwise direction; and if there are not now too many of that class, I shall feel thankful, and we shall be able to hold the wheat and the cattle so that those who are passing through and temporarily sojourning in our midst will have to pay a fair price for those articles. But I presume, if the Gentiles come, some of you will run and sell your wheat and your cattle to them for a much less price than we would give you, and be perfectly satisfied with it. If there is not an influence and practice of that kind, I shall be glad of it; for it will prove to me that the people believe what they say.

I am careful about touching anything that is the object of people’s worship—the gold, the goods, and the things of this world, which please the eyes and entice the affections of the people. You who know me know that I have not been under the necessity of asking you to help me much. Instead of the Presidency’s living upon the people, it is well known that they have sustained the people. Suppose that I had not launched forth in business, and that brother Kimball and others had not, what would have been the result? This community would have been living in their log huts, whereas they now have good houses and comfortable homes.

I am decidedly in favour of practical religion—of every-day useful life. And if I to-day attend to what devolves upon me to do, and then do that which presents itself to-morrow, and so on, when eternity comes I will be prepared to enter on the things of eternity. But I would not be prepared for that sphere of action, unless I could manage the things that are now within my reach. You must all learn to do this.

If the people take a wise course and let a few have the handling of the wheat and other commodities that are for sale, and let those who wish to buy come to them to purchase, it would be much better for this people. By pursuing that course, our enemies would either be under the necessity of giving us a fair price, or have to purchase their supplies in the States, and haul them across the plains, through the hills, and over the mountains. How do you think they would prosper in that operation? I think they would soon become discouraged and want to leave these regions.

It is an ignorant excitement which causes some people in the States to feel and act as they do. Who is there, of all who are really acquainted with our proceedings and will let good reason and good sense operate, that has one word to say against us? No one. But the priests have hallooed so much about these Latter-day Saints—the “Mormons” as they term us, that they have become excited; and what is the reason of their outcry? It is simply this—we have the words of eternal life, and they have not; we serve the God of heaven and they serve somebody, they know not whom. We have the true religion that the Bible gives an account of, and they seem to be entirely ignorant of it and of the God of heaven. Only let us leave God out of our religion, and all would be right.

A great many have said to you and me, “Just leave out Joe Smith, the Book of Mormon, and modern revelations, and you will become popular.” Brother Clements said, last Sunday, that he told a priest that he could materially abridge that leaving out by saying, “Just leave God out of the question, and you will be ‘Hail fellows well met.’” We are not going to leave out Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, nor the gathering, nor the building up of Zion.

You hear brethren talk of coming to Zion to enjoy the blessings of this land; but do you not see that it is the shortsightedness of men which causes their disappointment when they arrive here? They read in the Bible, in the Book of Mormon, and Book of Doctrine and Covenants, about Zion, and what it is to be; but brother Park and others could not realize, before they came here, that they were the ones to help to build up Zion. They gather here with the spirit of Zion resting upon them, and expecting to find Zion in its glory, whereas their own doctrine should teach them that they are coming here to make Zion.

We can make Zion, or we can make Babylon, just as we please. We can make just what we please of this place. The people can make Zion: they can make a heaven within themselves. When people gather here, they should come with a determination to make Zion within themselves, with the resolution that “I will carry myself full of the Spirit of Zion wherever I go; and this is the way in which I will control evil spirits; for I mean that my spirit shall have control over evil:” and do you not see that such a course will make Zion?

This American continent will be Zion; for it is so spoken of by the prophets. Jerusalem will be rebuilt and will be the place of gathering, and the tribe of Judah will gather there; but this continent of America is the land of Zion.

The priests are angry because they are afraid that their religion is nothing but a sandy foundationed fabric; and whenever they meditate upon the subject and humble themselves, and the Spirit of the Lord finds its way to their hearts and convicts them, the truth then is made manifest before them, and they begin to learn the falsity of their systems; and when that spirit leaves them, they become angry. “Mormonism” is declared to be true by hosts of witnesses, and this makes the priests angry; for this Gospel bears its own weight and testimony, and they know not how to gainsay it. True, I have aimed to point out their errors; but it is not you or me that they are opposed to, although they throw their darts at us; but it is the spirit of conviction that goes with the report of this work; for wherever it goes it strikes conviction to the heart, and that is what disturbs the priests and the people.

The foolish, and those who are controlled by the hissings of the priests, rage against the work of God, and corrupt politicians urge them on. There is not an honest man in the United States or in the world but what, if he could hear this doctrine taught without knowing that it was a “Mormon” who was teaching it, would drink down these principles. They would swallow every word and say, “That is true; you have more light than I have.” But if you say “Mormon,” that sends the fat into the fire, and arrays their prejudices against you. Do you know this, you Elders? [Voices, “Yes.”]

As I have said before, I have often gone incog., and taught persons the Gospel, and they would drink down its principles as eagerly as a thirsty ox would drink water; but an ignorant prejudice causes all the trouble. The excitement among the priests, and directed by politicians, raises this erroneous prejudice and hue-and-cry.

You know that I have said that, if it was now my calling to go and preach the Gospel, I could make as many converts as I ever did; for I would go in such a manner that the bitterly prejudiced would have to labour hard to find out that I was a “Mormon,” until I had induced them to love the truth. Then they would say, “If that is ‘Mormonism,’ I want it.”

Persons who are as ignorant as jackasses pass through this city, and they are so prejudiced that they cannot see and hear well enough to report things straight. But let persons of good understanding come here, and hear the Elders testify, and stop to investigate, and every honest heart among them will receive the Gospel. Do you not know that they would?

The “Mormons” are trying to take care of themselves. Our enemies may come to kill us, but we know that there is a God in the heavens. I care no more about the threats that are made than I do about the floating of a board on the waters. They have kicked us and cuffed us about so much that I have got used to it. I have been driven, and had to leave my home five times on account of my faith in the Gospel of our Saviour; but I have never until now been a conspicuous character; and I say to my enemies and to the enemies of righteousness, you have now got to fire long shots, unless you come much nearer to us than you are.

I will say to all parties, If you come here and do not observe wholesome laws, we will introduce you to them. In regard to troops coming here, as has been rumored, should 1,500 or 2,000 come, what will you see? You will see that they will ask us to make their soldiers behave themselves, until they can get out of this place, which they will do as soon as possible. They are not coming here to fight us; though, if they were to, I should pray that the Lord would bring those here that mobbed us in days gone by, and just let us look at them. But no; the priests, and some editors and politicians wish to have innocent soldiers sent here to fight us. Let them bring those priests, editors, and politicians who have howled so long about us, and we will attend to their cases. But I pray that I may never witness such scenes as I have in the midst of this people. If they will let us alone, we will preach the Gospel; and if they do not, we will do it, and we will build up Zion, if all the devils in hell howl. Let us know that we have to build up Zion until the Spirit of peace shall overrule our country.

Do you ever reflect upon the matter? Look at St. Louis. More murders have been committed there in almost any few days than have been committed in this Territory since it was organized. It is customary there to have murders committed almost daily; but we, above all other people, ought never to have such a crime committed in our midst; and we never have had, so far as the Latter-day Saints are concerned.

I will now tell you something. It is a secret; and I wish you to keep it to yourselves. There have been men here who have had their plans arranged for robbing; and I will take the liberty to say that, when we find them, “judgment will be laid to the line and righteousness to the plummet.” Those are my feelings, and I express them plainly, that the good and honest may be able to pass from the Eastern States to California, and back and forth, in peace. And when a “Mormon” unlawfully disturbs anybody, I say, let him be overtaken by a “Vigilance Committee.” And when mobocrats come here, they will find a “Vigilance Committee.” Now, listeners, send that to the States, if you wish. I want the people in the States to know that there are a few poor curses here, and also to know that we do not want a gang of highwaymen here. And I say to all such characters, if you come here and practice your iniquity, we will send you home quick, whenever we can catch and convict you. I wish such characters would let the boys have a chance to lay their hands on them.

If men come here and do not behave themselves, they will not only find the Danites, whom they talk so much about, biting the horses’ heels, but the scoundrels will find something biting their heels. In my plain remarks, I merely call things by their right names. Brother Kimball is noted in the States for calling things by their right names, and you will excuse me if I do the same.

We will build up Zion and establish the kingdom of God upon the earth, and the wicked cannot help themselves. I have not built up this kingdom, neither did Joseph Smith. What the Lord told brother Joseph to do, that he did. And what the Lord tells you and me to do we will do, by the help of God. May God bless us all. Amen.

Divine Mission of Joseph Smith, etc.

Heber C. Kimball

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, afternoon, July 5, 1857.

I can say one thing in regard to preaching before this congregation. It is a great deal harder to speak to the people in the afternoon than it is in the forenoon, because they generally come together after partaking of a hearty dinner; and that, in connection with the word they receive in the forenoon, fills them up, and they are somewhat like a barn that is nearly full of hay; for you know it is a great deal harder to put in the last load of hay than it is the first. I speak of these things because the circumstances that surround us call them forth.

In relation to the things we have heard to-day from brother Brigham, and brother Feramorz, and others, I will say that I appreciate them, and I not only believe them, but I know them to be true. This is the work of God, and all the world cannot stay its progress. They have given me the character in the world of calling things by their right names. It is a good deal with them as it was with the old Dutchman, who said, “It is not the thing itself, but it is the name of the damned thing!” That is it exactly. They can talk and hint about every thing, but never call them by their names. I call that hypocrisy; and there never was a nation that lived upon the earth that was fuller of it than this nation.

As to what they call “Mormonism”—properly speaking, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I say it is true; and Joseph Smith the Prophet, who was killed in Illinois, in Carthage Jail, is the author of it; or, in other words, he was the instrument in the hands of God of bringing it forth. Peter, James, and John, three of the ancient Apostles, came and ordained him and set him apart for the work of the ministry of this last dispensation.

I am bearing testimony of those things that are true—things that I know and understand. And I also testify that Hyrum Smith was a Patriarch of God, and just as much so as Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob ever were. Joseph Smith the Prophet ordained his father a Patriarch, and he ordained Hyrum. The same Gospel which was preached by Jesus and by His Apostles has been delivered unto us through Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the living God; and the keys and powers pertaining to that Gospel and priesthood are now resting upon brother Brigham Young; for he is Joseph’s legal successor. All the prophets from the days of Adam and from the creation of the world have conferred their priesthood and keys of this dispensation, and brother Brigham holds them in connection with the old Prophets and Apostles, and in connection with our Father and God pertaining to this earth.

I am telling you the truth, and testifying to that which God has made manifest unto me. Well, the world want that we should lay aside that which God has revealed, and not speak of Joseph Smith, or of the revelations which he gave.

When I was abroad preaching, some said to me, we would be popular if we would say nothing about the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, baptism for the remission of sins, or the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost; they said if we would let these things alone we would be popular. Good heavens! We are now more popular than any other religious community upon the earth. We extend, as some would call it, from Dan to Beersheba; we extend to every nation, continent, and country, and almost to every island of the sea. The Gospel has been carried to almost every people. We have offered them the principles of life and salvation, and we shall continue to do so while there is any hope for them.

I expect, like us, the inhabitants of the earth will have their ups and downs, their troubles and afflictions. There has been a great chill among them: they had one when we had one; and now the fever has begun to increase with us it has begun to increase upon them; and by-and-by there will be another chill; and it will keep doubling and redoubling till the whole world is in motion. Will it overthrow this work? No, never.

I want the gentlemen that are here to-day, and who are going East, to tell the people of the United States that they need not trouble themselves; for “Mormonism” will increase and triumph until every king will be cast down from his throne, and the President of the United States, unless he and the people repent; and what they call “Mormonism” will continue to increase henceforth and for ever.

When they killed Joseph Smith, and Hyrum, David Patten, and many others, they supposed that that was the end of “Mormonism”—that it was annihilated. Bless your souls, instead of its being annihilated, it has increased a hundredfold; and we have now more Elders preaching the Gospel—yes, about ten times more than there are people in this vast congregation this afternoon; and I presume there are some seven or eight thousand here to-day.

You may think this rather extravagant, but there are more Elders in England than there are people here to-day; and England is not as big as the State of New York, where I lived. They will spread and increase from this time on, and this work is bound to increase and spread abroad, and all hell cannot pull it down.

Suppose the Gentiles were to try to put it down, and to kill brother Brigham, and me, and brother Daniel, and the Twelve Apostles, still there are some fifty or sixty Quorums of Seventies that are capable of spreading abroad this kingdom. Why, bless you, it is like the mustard seed: you know it is most troublesome to get out of the garden. You get vexed with it and go and kick it about, and by that means you make ten thousand more little mustard trees.

Well, you know they drove us far away into these mountains; and now see the multitude of little mustard trees that are growing up! (Laughter.)

We want you to tell this, gentlemen, when you get down to the States; for we don’t have a mail very often, and therefore we drop a word here and there, and we want everybody to carry the tidings. It is not only me, but the Prophet Brigham talks just so. I suppose you will think, “What a monstrous fellow he is!”

I have been afflicted with colds ever since I came from the north; but I, all the time, grow fat. I do not drink ale, whisky, rum, or any kind of spirituous liquor, but I seek to drink largely of the peaceable Spirit of God, that I may be strengthening to my brethren and sisters. For the world and the United States, and their opposition, which they call outside pressure, we care very, very little. We have some big mountains between us and them, and they cannot remove them because they have not faith.

Such a row as there is in the States at the present time I never before heard of. It is “Mormonism!” Down with “Mormonism!!” Mr. President, send up the troops and set those “Mormons” in order.

Gentlemen, [to the strangers] did you ever see any body out of order here? Have you seen any body drunk? You have not, unless it was yourselves. I have not seen any body drunk—no, not on the fourth of July. I have not seen a drunken man in the streets, much less a woman. One reason is, perhaps, that we have not got any liquor; and God grant that we may not have much.

You do not see many people about our streets idling away their time. Tomorrow morning you may see a few persons who have come from the country to get a little counsel; but after that you won’t see a man in the street, excepting those who are going to or coming from their work; for they are all hard at work, hoeing their corn, watering their wheat, and getting their wood from the kanyons.

God Almighty bless this people, I say, and increase their faith and their strength, that they may increase and multiply. And may God increase the “mustard seed,” and cause it soon to fill the earth. May the Lord our God bless the bees in the hive of Deseret, and root out the drones; for they only eat out the honey, while the bees go out and gather it in.

Well, gentlemen, we are calculating that we have got the best crops that we have ever had, and the best that are in the world; and the Lord our God has blest the land for our sake. We had a famine last year, but we lived through it; and we are now going to work to lay up our grain, and we are building storehouses to store it away in; and we shall not only store away grain but other things that will keep; and the day will come that you (strangers) will have to come to us for bread to eat; and we will be your saviours here upon Mount Zion. You don’t believe it now; but wait a little while, and you will see that it will come to pass.

Many of the people of the United States exulted over us when we were brought to a morsel of bread, and had to deal out one to another in order to subsist. I put my family on short rations, in order to have some to deal out to others, and so did brother Brigham and many others; and at the same time our enemies and the priests in their pulpits were praising God that we had hard times, with trouble and perplexity. We never were more happy in our lives than we were at that time, and we did not have the belly ache through eating too much; but we were lively and diligent in serving God; and that is the reason we are becoming so corpulent this year. Last year we had not enough, but this year we have plenty, and we are going to lay it up in store—wheat and every thing that will keep. I am telling these gentlemen what we are going to do, so that they can carry the news to the States.

Ladies, we do not want you to tease your husbands for silks, and satins, and fine bonnets, but go to work and manufacture your own clothing; and if you will do that, you will do the best thing that you ever did in your lives. This is as true as that the Lord ever spoke by His prophets. The time has come for us to lay up our stores.

Will the world follow our example? No, they will not; and if we do our duty, who cares whether they do or not. They will come with their bonnets, their fine clothing, and their jewellery, and be glad to work for us to get their bread. You tell that in the States, gentlemen, won’t you? Whether you do or not, they will learn of it. They publish nearly everything that we say, and this will be published.

We are a people, here in the valleys of the mountains, who are hated and have been broken up and driven for our religion till we have got used to it. Brother Brigham told you he had been driven five times, and so have I; and I have had everything taken from me that I had; but yet I have got enough to eat and drink, and enough of everything, and so have you; and my prayer is, all the while, God bless you.

Lay up your stores, and take your silks and fine things, and exchange them for grain and such things as you need, and the time will come when we will be obliged to depend upon our own resources; for the time is not far distant when the curtain will be dropped between us and the United States. When that time comes, brethren and sisters, you will wish you had commenced sooner to make your own clothing. I tell you, God requires us to go into home manufacture; and, prolong it as much as you like, you have got to do it.

You will also see the day that you will wish you had laid up your grain, if you do not do it now; for you will see the day, if you do not take care of the blessings God has given to you, that you will become servants, the same as the world will.

We have told you this before. You have been exhorted, year after year, to prepare for hard times: you have been told of this often enough. We have told you that when hard times come again you won’t have the privilege that you had last time of having food dealt out to you gratuitously, but you will have to pay for all you get. This will come to pass. I suppose there are many who don’t believe it. To such it is like a tune that strikes upon the drum of the ear, passes off, and is forgotten.

I will prove to you that I will put my faith with my works and lay up stores for my family and for my friends that are in the United States, and I will be to them as Joseph was to the people in the land of Egypt. Every man and woman will be a saviour if they will do as I say. You may write this down and send it to the States; for it will be published.

Let repentance take place amongst you where it is necessary, and let confidence, diligence in the performance of duty, and humility be manifest in your lives; keep the commandments of God; be subject to God’s authority, and save yourselves all the time; and the Lord our God will have pleasure in making you like Joseph of old. Now, if persons were coming from the old country, from far distant lands, would you not feel comfortable if you had, plenty to feed them with when they come?

These things bear heavily upon my mind, and they have done so for some time. There are very few who have got any surplus grain on hand. There is considerable in the Tithing Store, and there are a few individuals who have some on hand; but there is not a great deal in the country, excepting our present crop. It beho[o]ves us to be saving and to prepare for the time to come. The day will come when the people of the United States will come lugging their bundles under their arms, coming to us for bread to eat. Every Prophet has spoken of this from the early ages of the world. Already we begin to see sickness, trouble, death, famine, and pestilence; and more yet awaits the nations of the wicked. Jesus said, When you hear of these things in foreign nations—destruction and desolation, you may then look forth for my coming, and know that it is nigh at hand. In relation to the world, our enemies, their soldiery, and their governors, I do not fear them, and I never did.

If you will do right—keep the commandments of God, I can say with all the propriety that any man, prophet, or apostle ever did, you shall never want for food, or raiment, or houses, or lands; and no power on the earth can injure you. There is no power that shall prevent our prosperity; for we shall increase, while every other power upon the earth that is opposed to this work and our God will go down. I just know it. Amen.

The Sacrament, etc.

George A. Smith

Remarks by Elder George A. Smith, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, May 31, 1857.

It appears on the present occasion that we enjoy the privilege of partaking of the sacrament in commemoration of the death and suffering of our Lord and Saviour, to witness to each other that we are willing to keep his commandments, and to observe the requirements of the fulness of the Gospel until he shall come. Under these circumstances we assemble and call together our wandering thoughts and minds. We review our conduct, our feelings to our Heavenly Father, our actions and doings in relation to His laws, and also our faith towards our brethren, and make a kind of settlement with ourselves, a balance of accounts in our minds, repenting of our sins and follies, and we lay the foundation in our own minds to renew our diligence and exertions in future, that wherein we have failed to walk up to the line of our duty we may improve, and that we may partake of those emblems under an express influence, and with a perfect understanding of a covenant that we will remember Him in all things until he come. Marvel not, says the Saviour, if the world hate you; for remember that it hated me before it hated you.

One of the first principles that we are brought to feel, perhaps, on receiving the Gospel, is, that the world hates us. You may ascend or descend into every department of its society, and you find that hatred more or less manifests itself; and this causes a great many people who receive the truth to have misgivings, and they will ask why is it that we are under the necessity of receiving a religion that is hated of all men? The Saviour said to his disciples, “Ye shall be hated of all men, for my name’s sake; and blessed are ye when all men shall persecute you, and speak all manner of evil of you falsely for my name’s sake.” But this is a kind of blessing that we hardly appreciate; but at the present time I am a witness that no people upon the face of the earth have so much reason to be thankful, neither have Latter-day Saints seen any time when they have had greater reason to consider themselves blessed under this promise of our Saviour, than at the present time.

Much is said of the powerful engine of the press, the powerful medium by which truth or falsehood are so quietly circulated. And for the last year, or the last six or eight months, those engines have been universally turned with vengeance upon the devoted heads of this people.

There is nothing that excites more interest in the minds of the reading public, nothing that creates greater anxiety, nothing that is so readily received as statements, or information, as it is termed, concerning the “Mormons;” and nothing that is true can be printed, but to a very limited extent; whereas anything that is false, it matters not how false or exaggerated, it is circulated and represented to the uttermost extreme. It is as an old gentleman told me in Virginia: said he, “There is nothing published that is so extravagant concerning your people but what we believe it readily.”

The spirit of lies has taken hold of the people; it has got possession of their hearts. They love lies; they like to read them; they like to print them, and they really relish them; but truth is another thing. “Truth,” says the Prophet, “has fallen in the streets; yea, truth faileth; he that departeth from iniquity maketh himself a prey.” Such is the case in the present generation. There are lies from responsible sources, lies over fictitious names, lies certified by responsible editors; and lies certified and clothed with judicial authority are current, and are the most important information that is or has been current in the United States for the last season.

What does it all amount to? Men will have what they like; for the spirit that is in men loves lies; they will read them and believe them. At the same time, there is no man or woman upon the face of the earth but what is more or less responsible for what they read and receive; for there is an innate spirit in the man who desires to know the truth that will generally dictate to him which is truth and which is falsehood.

A terrible people these “Mormons!” a dreadful set of fellows! an awful state of society! Oh, tremendous bad people! I was conversing with a gentleman from Vermont on the subject of “Mormonism,” and he expressed himself tremendously shocked at the immorality of the “Mormons,” and was particularly anxious to regulate their morals. He was strongly in favour of having them corrected by the power of the Federal Government. He said it must be done, for he considered them a disgrace to the nation. I told him that we regarded the Vermont people as a very immoral community. Said I, “We consider their laws of a very immoral character; and we believe that the people would be better, but that their laws and institutions are of a character that tends to prevent it—that their laws are calculated to encourage licentiousness, and to cause them to live in open violation of the first commandment, to multiply and replenish the earth.” “Why how so? Vermont is the most moral State in the Union.” I replied, “It may be so, sir; but your laws provide that no man shall have but one wife; and there is a great proportion of females over that of males, and there is a great proportion of males that are too wicked and corrupt to marry and raise up families; and the consequence is that a great proportion of your females are compelled to live single, and hence many of them become prostitutes. We deprecate such a corrupt order of things; but as it is in your State, it is your business and not ours; therefore we shall not interfere with it.” I never saw a man more astonished, to think that I should question the moral tendency of the institutions of Vermont. “But, in our country,” I said, “we are determined that every man shall acknowledge and sanction his own blood. We shall not interfere with Vermont, Massachusetts, or Maryland about their immorality; it is their own business, and they must attend to it themselves; but we do not wish to submit to such immoral regulations in Utah.”

I was talking with a member of Congress, who was very pious, (he was a minister, by the bye,) and he intimated that the doctrine of plurality of wives was so at variance—so grossly at variance with all the civilized world, that it was intolerable to all Christians. I told him that I was surprised at that; “for,” said I, “all our Christian friends expect to sit down in the kingdom of God with father Abraham; and he practised Polygamy.” “Father Abraham,” said he, “was guilty of a great many eccentric tricks.” I replied, “Eccentric as he might be, it is in his bosom that. all Christians expect to rest.”

Strange as it may appear, yet it is true that these things are not understood or appreciated; but the corrupt, the licentious of the world are the people who are respected, while the sayings of the honest and truthful are not allowed to spread. Such is the corruption of the world. They lay down, in the first place, the position that “Mormonism” is not true. If you ask why it is not true, they begin to bring their reasons, and they are a good deal like this—The Mormons are deceived; and the reason why they are deceived is, because they are deceived, sir.” The people actually take such logic as this for argument; they take it for granted and for certain, and they lay it down as a matter of fact, that “Mormonism” is false, and so it follows. Oh, they say it will all come to an end and fall to pieces in a few days; and they have been saying this for the last twenty years; they have kept crying “Mormonism” will go down; it is bound to fall in pieces. Still the bubble rolls ahead and does not burst up; it does not fly to pieces as they have predicted.

I consider that it is necessary that every man should mind his own business and suffer his neighbours to do likewise. I do not know how careful they may be in relation to us. So far as our being admitted into the Union is concerned, we are on just as good and fair a footing as Oregon, Kansas, New Mexico, Nebraska, and Washington. To be sure, they have prejudices against us because we are “Mormons;” but they also hate each other, and they calculate to use each other up, and then to use up the “Mormons.”

I came up the Missouri River with some Free State men, who said, “If ever a fuss breaks out again, we are ready for it; we have got the “Volcanic Rifles,” and we calculate to wipe the border ruffians out of existence; and they showed that they had the tools which do up the business. Whenever I conversed with any of the pro-slavery men on this subject, they generally told me that if the other party should begin again, they were prepared to wipe them out all at once, and leave them much in the same position that Dr. Kane’s ship “Advance” was, when it came between two immense masses of ice, and they found themselves liable to be crushed up in what the Arctic men call a “nip.” After they use each other up, we will stand a little better chance. They need not be alarmed if they see some of the “Mormons” in the Congress of the nations. No, they need not be surprised if they yet see some of our Elders in the halls of Congress—men who understand national affairs equal to any in the nation standing forth to save that Constitution which we are now accused of opposing.

I thank the Lord that I am once more in your midst, and for the privilege of striking hands with my brethren and sisters. But when I think that the enemies of all righteousness are raging, I feel to thank the Lord for the fulfilment of the words of His servants. I realize and know that the keys of exaltation rest in the midst of Israel; and when the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed, then “He that sitteth in the Heavens shall laugh at their calamity: the Lord shall have them in derision.” Amen.

Storing up Grain, etc.

Orson Hyde

Remarks by Elder Orson Hyde, made in the Bowery, Sunday Afternoon, June 14, 1857.

Brethren and sisters—I arise to call your attention to a subject that has been presented to you, time after time, from this stand. I may, perhaps, refresh your minds, and present some things to you that you may not have fully comprehended or understood.

We have been told to store up our grain and to take care of it. The history of the past forms ample ground for advice of this kind. We have not only seen, but felt the folly of placing too low an estimate upon the productions of the earth. When they were plentiful, they have been thought of little value. We have found ourselves comparatively destitute at times, in consequence, and, in the time of this scarcity, have suffered in our feelings—have been pinched with hunger; and it does seem that the subject of laying up our grain has been presented under circumstances that cannot fail to impress every heart with its importance.

I will tell you how things look to me. They look as though the Lord had said—I have tried my people; I have withheld the bounties of the earth, and in this day of want I have given them advice to store up their grain: and if ever they could be brought into circumstances to make them appreciate these words, it is now.

It is now a pretty scarce time for clothing: it is hard to get many of the comforts of life in the shape of wearing apparel. We have no money: many of us have no surplus of the products of the earth to exchange; and if we had, our market is comparatively bare of many of the articles we need.

Some consider that great trials await us; but I will call your attention to one. It is a very great trial to be short of clothing, boots, shoes, &c., (to say nothing of the silks, ribbons, laces, and other gewgaws,) to answer our desires, and perhaps not our real wants and comforts. But the Lord may pour out an abundant harvest of grain; and, while we are destitute of those things, our granaries may be groaning with the weight of the grain that is in them. But by-and-by the market is richly supplied with goods, such as we need. It is supplied with every material or fabric, and perhaps silver and gold, and a liberal price is offered for our grain; and with this grain we can buy those articles of clothing that we need. Now here comes the trial. (But keep in mind “home manufacture.”) We know these circumstances pinch. We want the clothing, and we have an abundance around us, and means in our hands to obtain those articles in exchange for our produce and wheat. This will try us, whether we will abide the counsel that has been given, or whether we will not. I presume to say that just such circumstances will appear before this people: I have not the least hesitancy upon my mind in saying that such will be the case. Here you have grain to any amount; and here is your silver, your gold, your goods, your groceries, and your wares of every kind, and every thing that you can desire to make yourselves comfortable. Now, all this is in the midst of this counsel to store up your grain, and to hold on to it. It is the counterpart, or tempter to beguile. How many will there be who will go and exchange one for the other? Say one and another, I must have a little of this, a little of that, and a little of the other; and thus, little by little, goes the grain that we were commencing to store up, until it has leaked away and our granaries are empty.

It is strange that we should do this, when we really desire bread, and have so keenly felt its need! We had none at one time—that is, comparatively none. Starvation, ghastly and appalling, threw its hideous forms and frightful shadows in our face; and what was the counsel of God then? Was it not to remain faithful over the little that we had, and to divide out the limited supplies that we had, and to relieve the necessities of the poor and needy? And did not the people, in a goodly degree, comply with this counsel? Yes they did. Well, has not our heavenly Father, by multiplying our grain in our store-houses, like the widow’s meal and oil, thwarted off impending calamities? He certainly has.

Now there is a prospect of a bountiful harvest. We cannot tell what may be; but if we are true and faithful, like the needle to the pole, we shall have an abundance to supply not only our present wants, but some to lay by for the future. This is the result of abiding in the counsel of God, and the Lord says, I will give them liberally; for they have said that they will not let it go to waste; for they design now to keep it for the children of the kingdom and for the time of great want, when strangers shall come to them also for bread. And now, therefore, I will pour out a bountiful harvest, to prove their integrity.

I have told them to prove me, and now I will prove them. You bring along your tithes and offerings into my storehouse, and see if I will not pour out a blessing—see if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that you will not have room to receive. I will prove you now, and see if you will be as faithful to me as I have been to you.

If this grain be stored up and properly taken care of, we may go destitute of many comforts that we desire; but, after the Lord has proven us, in this respect, to see if we will resist the temptations of the adversary—to see if we will resist the shining gold and the fine apparel, and to see if we will abide the law, and lock up and preserve our grain, is it not as easy for Him to provide us with those things that we really need for clothing as it was to increase our limited stores, or to give us now a plentiful harvest? Is it not said, “Surely, thou shalt clothe thyself with them all, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.” And is it not said that the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and riches to Zion? What shall hinder them from bringing the treasures by which we can all be clothed? What will induce them to come here at all with their riches, their gold, and their silver, and fine apparel? Let the Almighty shut down the gate of prosperity, as He will do, and a general dearth ensue, and they know that in Zion it is fruitful, and that the good things of the earth are produced there—let them know that there is bread, and you will see them coming here to pour out their treasures for a bit of bread; but if you shall not have it stored up for them, you will not do your duty. The Lord can do this. He can bring these things about; and, brethren, the test is right before us. It is not an imaginary thing, but it is actually coming to test us, to see whether we will, under these circumstances, abide the counsel that has been given to us.

There is hardly ever a commandment given to any person or persons before whom a temptation is not placed to decoy them, if possible, from an obedience to that commandment. Our parents in the garden of Eden had had but little experience in this world; and it seemed that they must have a trial corresponding with the experience and knowledge they had of things as they were. The instruction of Father Adam was, “Of all the trees in the garden thou mayest eat, excepting one; and in the day thou eatest of that, thou shalt surely die.” The Lord said, Adam and Eve, you may enjoy yourselves; but there is one tree I command you that ye shall not eat of; for in the day that ye do, ye shall surely die.”

It seems that they were well provided for. There was an abundance of other kinds of fruits; but there was a kind of itching desire for that which they were forbidden to eat of; and they were led on by temptation until they did partake of that fruit, and thus the devil got power over them.

Well, if counsel has been given unto us to store up our grain, I should not wonder if there were temptations; placed before us, to induce us to non-compliance. High prices in silver and gold may be offered as an inducement. Men may come and say, I will give you a high price for your wheat: here are goods of every kind we will give for your grain.” There, you perceive, is the temptation and the counsel before us. We should like the comforts of life, and would no doubt like to purchase them; but the counsel of the servants of the Lord would lead us to do differently.

Such scenes as these, brethren and sisters, we may see, and they may not be far ahead of us. They may be very near; for things change very suddenly sometimes. It is for us to abide in the counsel of God, and never turn aside nor cast a longing look upon the riches and comforts of this life, when we have to violate a holy precept to gain them. Remember it, brethren and sisters; for I want to impress it upon your minds. Keep your grain for yourselves and for strangers who, in times of famine abroad, seek at your hands bread from heaven and earth. When the servants of God set good counsel before you, and these temptations follow, they will not command, perhaps, when the temptation is present; and these things will be trying to you: they will be so, to see if you will stand by your integrity, or fall by your instability.

I want to tell a little anecdote which came to my ears. I do not know that I shall be right; but, if I am wrong, there are those present who can correct me. It is said that there is a man in this city, a natural miner, who has a peculiar gift to discover metals of value, though hidden in the earth at any depth. He can point out the very place where they are. He happened in a gentleman’s house in this town one day, and they were discussing his powers to discern any metal in the earth. The lady, doubting his ability, took a piece of lead, and slily [slyly] stepped out and buried it, being careful to leave no visible marks by which any other than herself could find it. She returned and told him that in the garden was a piece of lead buried, and wished him to find it if he could. He made the attempt; and, after a little rambling, pointed to the very spot where it was; but the lady, thinking to bluff him off and discourage him, made perfect ridicule of him, and asked what had led him to think it was there. She pretended to regard him as insane, and the poor man came to the conclusion that he might be mistaken, as the lady appeared so sanguine in her ridicule. He gave it up as a mistake, doubting his own gift. Since the time that he was bluffed off from the faith in the natural gift that God had given him—(Pres. H. C. Kimball: And that by a woman!)—yes, and since that, it has been taken away altogether. Before this, he was never mistaken in such matters; but since, has no more powers of discovering than any other.

Now, we have the gift of God, and that is the gift of wise counsel—of good counsel given unto us for the purpose of self-preservation. Will we, by any reason, by any craft, by any device, by any machinations, by any swerving from our purpose, lose that gift? Remember that if we are upon the enemies’ ground, the gift that is given to us may be destroyed or taken from us for ever; and probably the time may be that you and I may not have the counsel of the servants of God from day to day. If it is necessary, however, we may have it; and if it is not; remember it, ye Latter-day Saints, and everybody that fears God and serves Him with full purpose of heart! Remember the counsel that is given, “STORE UP ALL YOUR GRAIN,” and take care of it! Prize it above gold and silver, above rich clothing and fine apparel, and above everything else except the bread of life! And I tell you it is almost as necessary to have bread to sustain the body as it is to have food for the spirit; for the one is as necessary as the other to enable us to carry on the work of God upon the earth.

Brethren and sisters, may God bless you, and bless your fields, and flocks, and all that you possess. Take care of your fields, your flocks, and your herds; take care of and preserve every thing that God has given us to take care of upon the earth. May God bless. you, and bless us all, and give us the gift of eternal life; and may the angel of life preserve us; and may we feel to lay shoulder to shoulder, and prove to God and our brethren that we are ready and determined to roll forth this great work—

“While life, or thought, or being lasts, Or immortality endures.”

—Amen.

Temple and Endowments, etc.

Heber C. Kimball

A discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, April 6, 1857.

I do not know that I can speak so that all of you can hear distinctly. You will have to be very still, or it will be impossible for me to speak to your edification. You have heard what brother Wells has said in reference to the Temple, the canal, &c. The Temple is designed for many purposes, and there are many things that God will reveal and many blessings that he will confer upon this people in that building, if they will use due diligence in forwarding its completion.

Some may think that the erection of the Temple more particularly devolves upon brother Brigham, brother Heber, brother Daniel, the Twelve, and a few of the Seventies, High Priests, and Bishops; and when it is finished they may imagine that they will receive their blessings therein; but that work is designed to be general. There must needs be a universal exertion, not only by the leading official members of this Church, but by every member, male and female; for the Temple is not for us alone; it is also for our sons, and daughters, and succeeding generations. They will receive blessings in it, and therefore it concerns them as well as us.

If I obtain all the blessings of the Priesthood, all the endowments, all the blessings that God has to confer upon us in this probation, and keep those things sacred while I live, I am then as pure and holy as it is possible for a man to be while in the flesh. Then, if my wives are one with me, my children and their posterity will partake of those blessings which have been placed upon me. Every blessing conferred upon me tends to benefit my posterity. Those blessings are for every righteous man; and the blessings that are conferred upon faithful men and women in their holy anointings and sealings will rest upon their posterity after them for ever and for ever, through their faithfulness; and there is no end to it.

It is a strong additional inducement for you to live your religion, in view of the benefits that will be continued to your posterity. If you can only bear this in mind, I think it will serve to keep you steadfast in the line of your duties. Will our posterity partake of the blessings we will receive in the Temple which we are building? They will, for ever and for ever. Our blessings are to continue always. If we live so as to attain to the principles and fulness of perfection and to secure the promises of eternal lives, then those blessings will rest upon us and our children.

How long will it take this people to build the Temple on this Block, supposing that every man and woman, and every child that has arrived at the years of accountability, will unitedly strive for its completion? Not very many years. Were I labouring on that Temple, I would constantly endeavour to work upon it with an eye single to pushing it forward, and to the blessings I expected to receive therein. But supposing that you do not all live, will you not be benefitted by it? Yes, you will.

We are now attending to matters that will answer every purpose, until that Temple is completed. Those who go through their endowments now and are sealed up unto eternal lives, those blessings will stick to them, if they will stick to the blessings and promises that are made ever unto them, and step forward with one heart and one mind to do the will of God as made known to them from time to time from this stand.

Is it requisite that every member of my family should feel the same interest that I do in my welfare and posterity? Yes, every woman and child, from the oldest to the youngest. They should be just like a tree that has many branches to it. The extremity of the longest limb is dependent upon the tree from which it grows. We should become one tree, and be like the “tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits,” all connected with one stalk. I presume that those fruits came from grafts, else the tree probably would not have borne so many kinds.

We must be grafted into the true vine, and continue to partake of its fatness, and then we shall go back to our Father and God, who is connected with one who is still farther back; and this Father is connected with one still further back, and so on; and just so far as we respect our superiors and try to save our children, so shall we receive blessings from this time forth and for ever, and shall become as numerous as the sands upon the sea shore. What is there to hinder us from obtaining these blessings? Nothing, except it be our own want of faithfulness; for, by diligence, integrity, and perseverance, we can accomplish all we desire, and help to move forward the great work of God.

I have heard a whispering that some who work on the Temple at dressing rock, and in the machine and blacksmiths’ shops, have nothing but bread to eat. It seems as though this could not be so; for I have seen the public hands packing home carrots, parsnips, potatoes, &c.; and it is not so very bad while there is plenty of them; and every man gets a pound of flour a day; and I think there should not be any grunting. It will not be a month before we shall have lettuce, radishes, &c.; and there now is plenty of greens; and onions are plentiful in the Tithing Office; and we shall be very glad to have you come and get them at your leisure.

I have just touched upon these things in connection with brother Wells’ remarks concerning the Public Works; for I am one with him, and he is one with me, and we are one with brother Brigham. We have not set our feet to the race for any other purpose than to follow him and run through; for he is our leader and will be our leader, temporally and spiritually, from this time forth. When Joseph comes again, will brother Brigham be removed? No, never. Brother Joseph is ahead; brother Brigham is after him; I am after brother Brigham; and you are after me, are you not? And we will not flinch; and and God will bless and prosper every man that will help himself; and He will bless, prosper, and sustain this people; and they will never fall, as a people, though we expect that many will apostatize, pitch over the dam, and go to wreck.

If we sin, and do not repent, God will chastise us until we do repent of and forsake all sin; but He never will scourge us so long as we do right. I have said a hundred times that we never shall want for bread, meat, and the comforts of life, worlds without end, if we will only do right. That is my prophecy, and always was; and it is true. I agree with Daniel, with Joseph, with Brigham, with Jesus, and the Apostles, and all the holy Prophets; and I have spoken as I have to arouse your feelings, to waken you up, and comfort your hearts, and cheer your minds; for I have no other feeling than to do you good.

When the Big Cottonwood Canal is finished, aside from its being of material benefit in our operations for building the Temple, it will be of great worth for irrigating lots in this city, especially in the east part of it; and you will soon be able to raise enough more than heretofore to pay you for your labour upon that work—yes, tenfold more. You may think that extravagant, but I say it is not. Reckon it up yourselves, and see how much more you could raise if you had plenty of water. You could raise as much corn fodder as would keep your cows through the winter, and I believe more than you have cows to eat it, besides the large extra amount of vegetables you could raise.

I will now make a few remarks in relation to building storehouses—not particularly in regard to building, tithing storehouses here; for there are enough at present to hold all the grain we have; though I believe that by another year this people will fill our tithing houses until they overflow; for a great many of them are going to continue to do right and live their religion; and if they do that, you will see the wheat, the corn, the oats, the barley, and all our stock and possessions increase. If we increase, it will increase; our wealth will grow and increase with us, and there will be no end to it. But in order to lay up grain, you must prepare storehouses. Every man who has a farm needs a storehouse—one made of rock and lime, that will guard your grain against the mice, rats, and all other four-legged vermin; also against the two-legged ones. I have more fears of the two-legged ones than I have of the four-legged ones.

Plan to build a good storehouse, every man who has a farm, and never cease until you have accomplished it. And do not forget to pay your tithing before you put the grain into the storehouse. Lay up enough for seven years, at a calculation for from five to ten in each family; and then calculate that there will be in your families from five to ten persons to where you now have one, because you are on the increase.

It now takes about one thousand bushels of wheat to bread my family one year, and I want to lay up six thousand for each year of the seven for which I calculate to store it up. Reflect upon the probable increase of my family within seven years; they alone will be almost numerous enough to people a small city. Where a family now requires only a hundred bushels a year, let the head of that family lay up a hundred bushels the first year, two hundred the next, and increase the amount every year in proportion to their probable requirements.

When we have stored away our grain we are safe, independent of the world, in case of famine, are we not? Yes, we are; for, in that case, we will have the means for subsistence in our own hands. When the famines begin upon the earth, we shall be very apt to feel them first.

If judgments must need begin at the house of God, and if the righteous scarcely are saved, how will it be with the wicked? Am I looking for famines? Yes, the most terrible and severe that have ever come upon the nations of the earth. These things are right before us, and some of this people are not thinking anything about them; they do not enter their hearts. Still there is not an Elder here who has read the revelation which says, Go forth and warn the inhabitants of this land of the sickness, the death, and disasters that are coming upon this nation, but what must be satisfied of the truth of what I am saying. You have done according to the instruction given in that revelation; and now reflect upon the things that I am declaring in your hearing, and lift up your voices unitedly as a people to the God of Heaven that He will be merciful unto us and favour Zion.

Be wise, listen to counsel, and obey the voice of the head, and you will prosper and never want for bread; but, as the Lord liveth, you will feel it, if you do not continue in the line of duty. [President Brigham Young: That is true.] Yes, it is as true as it is that God ever spake to this generation. I consider that carefully storing our surplus grain against a time of need is of the greatest importance to this people, in connection with building the Temple. You may build that Temple, and at the same time neglect those things that I am speaking of, and you will perish temporally.

Now, go to, and raise grain; for I feel satisfied that the Lord will give us two, three, or four years of good times, and will hold the enemies of the upright by the bit, if we will do right. I will have that “if” in every time; for, in such case, I tell you that God will hold our enemies, and they cannot have any power until He has a mind to permit them; and then He will only permit them for a time, in order to manifest His Almighty power and to qualify and prepare them for a time to come. I mean just what I say.

I have talked here year after year, and told you that I was going to work to build a good storehouse; and I now have a good one, though it is not yet quite finished. I have five or six hundred bushels of wheat in it, and I am going to make a tight floor of rock by grouting it with lime and sand, and plaster the walls on both sides, so that it will be proof against mice and all other kinds of vermin.

As I have said, I know that we will see those things of which I have spoken—such famines as this world never beheld. Yes, we have got to see those scenes; but if we will keep our vows and covenants, the Lord will hold them off until we can prepare ourselves; and if you will wake up and do as you are told, you will escape.

I will advise every man in every settlement to build a storehouse; and if one cannot do so alone, let two or three build one between them. Store up and preserve your grain, and then you will be safe. But if the famine should come upon us in our present condition, what could we do? If we do not do as we are told in this thing, the displeasure of the Lord will be upon us, and He will not continue to bless us as He is now doing.

I know that He is able to suffer famines to come upon us, and then to rain manna down from heaven to sustain us. I also know that He could increase our grain in the granaries and our flour in the bins, and make one small loaf of bread suffice for many persons, by exerting His creative power. I do not know how He does that, but I know that He can do it just as easily as He could bring me into existence upon this earth.

There are a great many things that we can save and take care of, as well as we can wheat, barley, and oats. We can dry pumpkins, squashes, currants, apples, peaches, &c., and save them; we can also save beans, peas, and like articles, and keep them for seven years. And if you will take the right care of your wheat, you can save it just as long as you may wish to; but, in the usual mode of storing it, you have got to stir it, move it, remove it, and turn it over, or it will spoil. It is just so with this people; they have had to be moved and removed from place to place, to prevent them from getting into dotage.

I would not be afraid to promise a man who is sixty years of age, if he will take the counsel of brother Brigham and his brethren, that he will renew his age. I have noticed that a man who has but one wife, and is inclined to that doctrine, soon begins to wither and dry up, while a man who goes into plurality looks fresh, young, and sprightly. Why is this? Because God loves that man, and because he honours His work and word. Some of you may not believe this; but I not only believe it—I also know it. For a man of God to be confined to one woman is small business; for it is as much as we can do now to keep up under the burdens we have to carry; and I do not know what we should do if we had only one wife apiece.

Let us go to work and cultivate the earth, and go into the fields, and bless the land, and dedicate and consecrate it to God; and then dedicate the seed, the implements, and the horses, and oxen. Do you suppose that that will have any effect? I know that it will. Nearly twenty years ago, I was in a place in England in which I felt very curious; but I did not know at the time what it meant. I went through a town called Chadburn, beyond Clithero. Before I went there, some persons told me that there was no use in my going, and asked me what I wanted to go to Chadburn for, saying it was the worst place in the country; for the sectarian priests had preached there faithfully thirty years without making any impression. Notwithstanding that, I went, and preached once, and baptized twenty-five persons, where the priests had not been able to do a thing.

I went through the streets of that town feeling as I never before felt in, my life. My hair would rise on my head as I walked through the streets, and I did not then know what was the matter with me. I pulled off my hat, and felt that I wanted to pull off my shoes, and I did not know what to think of it.

When I returned, I mentioned the circumstance to brother Joseph, who said, “Did you not understand it? That is a place where some of the old Prophets travelled and dedicated that land, and their blessing fell upon you.” Then try it, and see if it will not leave a blessing for us to dedicate our lands. If you think that it will not, never bring another bottle of oil and ask us to dedicate and consecrate it for the benefit of the sick. I know that we can bless the land, and that through our blessing it will be filled with the Spirit and power of God; and that, too, in great profusion, especially if we are filled with that Spirit ourselves. Some may call me enthusiastic; but I am no more so than the old Prophets were when they had the Spirit of God upon them.

Let us bless the land we cultivate and the fountains of water, and they will be blessed, and then men may drink of those waters, and they will fill them with the Spirit and power of God. Let us bless and dedicate the fountains of life that are in us, in our wives and children, and in everything else around us. Can the Spirit of God enter a stone, or one of those posts? Yes; and it can fill every pore as well as it can every pore in my body. Can it enter into my pores? Yes, even into my hair; and it can also enter my bones and quicken every limb, joint, and fibre.

Let us not dispose of any grain, only what is actually necessary. When it is actually necessary to part with any grain, let us put it into the right hands. If I have any to part with, I will put it into the hands of those that will make good use of it. We have got to become one in our financial matters in the Church and Kingdom of God. How can you become one tree, with limbs and branches all pertaining to the selfsame tree, when there is disunion among you?

Then go to work and build up this kingdom, establish righteousness, and prepare yourselves for the famines that are coming upon the earth; for I tell you that they are coming.

Do you suppose that God would give revelations and tell us to warn the inhabitants of the earth of things which were coming speedily upon them, if He did not intend that those things should come? He said that they should feel them, and I know that they are bound to feel them; for they will not repent. Let us go to work and prepare for the thousands upon thousands who will come unto us.

Our Carrying Company is only in its infancy, but it will prepare the way; and the day will come when people will gather here by hundreds and by thousands—yea, fifty thousand in a year; and very many will come trudging along with their bundles under their arms. I have heard brother Joseph, brother Brigham, and several other men say that it will be so; and I know it will, because they have said it. Many of you will venture to say that you believe it; but I know that it is true, and it will surely come to pass.

Brethren and sisters, these are some of my feelings; and I hope and pray that those whom we have warned will go home and warn their neighbours, and tell them to be up and doing; and then we shall not have to tell you these things again. It is no time for grunting; it is no time for having the blues; it is no time for sugar-tits, for dancing, and amusing ourselves. Amusements are stopped for the present; but when brother Brigham says dance, then dance; but when he says stop, then stop; and when he says prophesy, then prophesy, but be sure to prophesy right.

I have said nothing but what the Spirit has dictated; and all the principles that I have touched upon are contained in the Bible. If you don’t believe it, take that book and look for yourselves; and then take the Book of Mormon, and see what the Lord said to the Nephites. He said, “The nation or people that will not serve me on this land I will cut off from the face of the earth;” and I know that He will do it. And brother Brigham, the Twelve Apostles, and Patriarchs John Young and Isaac Morley will all declare that it is true. May God bless you. Amen.

Blessings of Zion, etc.

John Young

Remarks of Patriarch John Young, made at the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 12, 1857.

I feel very happy, my brethren and sisters, for the opportunity I enjoy this day in this place. I feel that the Lord is merciful unto me and unto us all as a people, and I feel much pleasure in rising before you to bear my testimony to the truths of the everlasting Gospel of Jesus Christ, which have been laid before us this day by his servant brother Kimball.

I am thankful to my heavenly Father not only this day, and at this time in particular, but at all times. I am thankful that I live in the day that I do, and that I am associated with the greatest and best men that ever lived upon the earth, and that I have the opportunity of sitting under the sound of their voices, even the oracles of the Almighty, before whom the visions of eternity are passing continually, and who are competent to administer unto the people the words of eternal life.

I thank the Lord for the blessings that we as a community enjoy, and for the good admonitions, for the truth of heaven, for the principles of salvation that are from time to time made known unto us by the Prophets of the Lord. I am thankful to my God that He has gathered us from the nations of the earth where we were scattered into these chambers of the mountains, where the Prophets of the Most High can speak, as they are dictated by His Holy Spirit, the things that are necessary for them to know and understand.

I can well remember the day when the Prophets of the Lord stood up to address the people, that they did not feel that liberty which they feel and enjoy here. This was at a time when they were surrounded by enemies upon the right hand and upon the left, and when those enemies were laying plans to catch and to destroy them; and when I reflect upon this, I thank God that He has brought us to a place where we can administer the words of eternal life without fear or dismay; for we are here secluded and far away from our enemies.

I am thankful for the great and glorious principles that I have heard from brother Kimball this morning; and I can bear my testimony before angels and before my heavenly Father that every word he spoke has been by the inspiration and power of the Holy Ghost. I would like to have you tell of a time, if you can, when brother Brigham and brother Heber did not speak by the power of the Holy Ghost. I know you cannot do it; and yet there are men who are continually whining because the First Presidency are so severe upon the workers of iniquity; but I don’t feel to take off the curses, but, by the authority and power that I have and the priesthood that has been sealed upon me, I seal those curses brother Kimball has pronounced, upon the heads of the guilty.

[The congregation responded, Amen.]

I just know there are men here right amongst us who thirst for the blood of the Prophets of God; and there are those professing to be Saints who are fostering them in their hellish designs; but I pray my heavenly Father to purge out these cursed characters from among us. The time has come when the ungodly and the hypocrites are to be searched out. This is undoubtedly the time the Prophet spoke of when he said, “The sinner in Zion shall be afraid, and fearfulness shall surprise the hypocrite.” The people are better prepared for this now than ever they were; for there never was a time when light was reflected upon this people as at the present; no, there never was such a time as there is now; and I know it, if no other man does.

I have heard brother Brigham say that it should be better and more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah, in the day of judgment, than for this people who hear the truth and do not obey it. Day after day, and Sabbath after Sabbath, the servants of God are administering the words of eternal life; and if the people do not walk in the light, it would be better for them to have a millstone tied to their necks, and they drowned in the depths of the sea, than for them to remain here and live in sin, and add to their guilt and crimes every day of their life.

Brethren, we are blest; yes, we are greatly blest: our fields are clothed with grain; they are greatly burdened with the crops that are upon them. Everything that I behold, as I travel abroad, exhibits abundantly the blessings of our heavenly Father. He is pouring out liberally of His blessings upon us; and, if we are faithful, they will be multiplied more and more upon our heads.

I am thankful to find such a good spirit among the Saints in the various parts of the Territory where I have visited. Last week I visited Utah and Cedar Valleys, and the brethren were willing to drop their scythes and come to meeting, notwithstanding it was a very busy time with them. I held meetings at both settlements in Cedar Valley, and I can say there is a good spirit prevailing there; and I feel that there never was more of the power of the Lord, nor a greater witness of His Spirit resting upon the people than at the present time. It seems as if they were willing to give their very life’s blood to sustain the Prophets of God that are amongst us. It is a matter of consolation to us all to learn that the people are becoming so united.

Now, my brethren, let us be faithful and work righteousness in this the day of our visitation; for we shall not always enjoy the blessings that we now do. Though our land is blest, and though we have peace and plenty, I do not know that this will always be the case with us; we may yet have to pass through severe trials. I know that there will always be peace to those who have the peace of our heavenly Father in their own souls. When a man has the approbation of those who are at the head of the kingdom, he also has the approbation of our heavenly Father; for He sanctions their doings upon the earth.

It is not my desire or intention to take up much time this morning; but I was desirous to bear my testimony to the truth set forth by President Kimball, a man filled with the Holy Ghost.

I wonder if some one won’t go away and say that brother Kimball and the authorities were misinformed. I can tell you they are not; for those men who stand at the head of affairs have the light of heaven with them all the time; they have the power of the Spirit and the visions of the heavens with them always, and they can read men and women from head to foot.

After this, I don’t want anybody to go away from the meeting and say, “I guess they were mistaken.” Don’t let us hear any more of it, brethren; never let such a thing be spoken, that a Prophet of God is mistaken. I ask this congregation, and I adjure you in the name of the Lord to speak, if ever you heard brother Brigham, brother Kimball, brother Jedediah, or brother Wells say anything that was not strictly true. I answer, you never did.

[President H. C. Kimball: If it were so, a man might be a Prophet one minute and a devil another.]

I know there is an under-current working all the time; but I tell you, my brethren, we have to stand up to the work in which we are engaged, and live humbly before our heavenly Father, and keep His Spirit with us always. This is what we have got to do, and, as brother Kimball says, save ourselves and those that are with us, and know that we are born of God and that we are heirs of salvation. It is our privilege, as well as that of the Prophets of God, to have this Spirit and this light in us; for we are the children of the light, and not of the darkness; therefore the day of the Lord Jesus will not overtake us as a thief in the night.

I feel comfortable and happy in being associated with the Saints of the living God; and I never felt more grateful for my position among this people than I do at the present time; for I realize that the hand of the Lord is with us all the day long.

When I heard brother Kimball talking about brother Thomas Marsh, it caused me to think of bygone days; for I was well acquainted with him; and when I heard what I did, I felt to thank my God that He had preserved me and my brethren from the power of the Devil; and I know that it is the Lord’s doing, and not our strength that has saved us. I feel humble and I wish to feel so all the time. I cannot express to you my feelings in full; but this much I can say, that I have never had such an experience in my life as I have had for the year past. It seems as though the vail of darkness was rolled back; and it is so to a great extent, and we begin to know and realize that the day of our redemption draws near.

Talk about fear! We have nothing to fear from our enemies. If we have anything to fear at all, it is those of our own household—those corrupt villains in our midst, who profess to be Saints. Our enemies are entirely powerless. They used to think that Missouri could whip out the “Mormons,” and then they thought that a few counties in Illinois could do it; but of late they have come to the conclusion that it will take all the United States to whip us out; and it is true too, and then they can’t.

I knew last fall that the reformation would commence in the States about the time that it did here, and I told brother Brigham so; and I now pray that it may continue, and that they may be clothed with darkness, and that all their schemes and plans may be frustrated, and that they may be caught in their own snares, and fall into their own pits. There has never been such a fuss in the United States as there is at the present time; and I may also add, that there never has been a time when we have commenced to build a Temple but the Devil has called upon his servants to prevent us from doing the work, if possible. It was so in Kirtland; it was so in Far West and in Illinois; and I expect it will be so here; but it will all tend to roll on the work of God.

I feel to bless you—all you that are honest in heart; and I say the time has come when fearfulness will surprise the hypocrite; and I pray that we may be able more perfectly to discern betwixt him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not. This is what the Prophet said should be with the people in the last days; and he said there should be a book of remembrance kept, that those who are faithful might be his in the day when he shall come to make up his jewels. My prayer is that we may be among those jewels, which I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Latter-day Kingdom, etc.

Heber C. Kimball

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made at the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 12, 1857.

I feel very much to appreciate the remarks of brothers Thomas S. Smith and Edmund Ellsworth. Brother Edmund’s remarks were very good, and will be salvation to every man and woman that will receive and treasure them up in their hearts.

Here in Great Salt Lake City is the seat of government for the Church and Kingdom of God, pertaining to every person that has ever come into a probation on this earth, whether they are now in tabernacles upon this earth, or whether they are in the spirit world, or in hell. This is the place of deposit of all those keys pertaining to the salvation of the human family; and there never will one soul of those spirits now in prison come out of that place, except the keys of the kingdom of God that are now held in Great Salt Lake City open the door and let them out. They may peep and mutter, and may have revelations until doomsday, and may declare to all eternity that Joseph Smith is a false prophet, and that brother Brigham is a false prophet, and that this Church is false, and they will still remain in hell until we let them out.

Brother Brigham Young holds those keys; and brother Heber C. Kimball, and Daniel H. Wells, and others, hold those keys in connection with brother Brigham; and not one soul of you has any keys or power of salvation only what is in us; and that is one thing for you to learn. Those keys and powers were on Joseph Smith when he was in the flesh; and before he departed, he laid his hands on brother Brigham, and brother Heber, and others, and conferred the keys of salvation upon them; and we are here, in the last dispensation of the kingdom of God that pertains to every man and woman on earth, in hell, and in the spirit world; and the redemption of not one individual soul will be obtained upon any other principle.

You may call that pretty snug doctrine and pretty rough; but I would not give a dime for anything that is not rough. What do you think of the stone to be cut out of the mountain without hands? If there are to be no hands, how do you suppose it will ever be polished? Can you polish a stone without hands and chisel? It is to be taken out of the mountain without hands, and it will smash every nation and kingdom except God’s. It will never be polished until it has done that rough work. It will knock the bark from the trees, and will break everything before it.

Let the spirit world peep, and rap, and rap, and rap again. We know you not. Depart, ye workers of iniquity, and get out of the way, and stop your peeping and rapping.

This is the kingdom of God. You talk about building up the kingdom of God; but how can you build up the kingdom of God, except you build up the king and his officers? We are to become kings and priests unto our God, in accordance with the revelations given to the Apostle John. Our lives are a preparatory work to fit us to receive that authority and power; and when we have got that, we will raise up a kingdom. You cannot raise up a kingdom any greater than yourselves. And if you have not attended to these things, you cannot raise up a kingdom that will bring about the purposes of the Almighty.

How can I take a course to save the children of men any further than I am saved myself? If I have saved myself to-day, I can save you to-day; and if I continue on and save myself to-morrow, I can save you to-morrow, and so on from day to day, until finally we are saved in the celestial kingdom of God.

Are the keys here? Yes, the very keys that our Father placed upon His Son Jesus; and He placed that authority upon Peter and his associates; and they have been restored again to this earth through the ministration of the Prophet Joseph.

It is written that the first shall be last, and the last first. This is the last kingdom, and the Lord will make it first; for it has got to raise up, and establish, and confer power upon every one of those kingdoms that have been. That is what we have got to do. Why do you not realize this? You could, if you lived your religion and called upon God by day and by night.

What good do your prayers do, when your works do not correspond? Men may talk about praying, and exhort the people to pray; and if you do not live in a manner to fulfil your prayers, what do they avail you? Faith is dead without works, just as much as my body is dead without my spirit. When my spirit leaves my body, my body is dead; but put them together, and they make a soul—a spirit in a tabernacle. What is the use of our professing to be Saints, unless we live our religion? By our faithfulness and by our good works we shall obtain knowledge.

How can you find out whether brother Brigham is called of God, except you have a revelation from God? And then some are not fully satisfied, but will doubt the revelation that God has given them.

You think you would not. I have known many who have. Oliver Cowdery received revelations and wrote them; so did David Whitmer, and so did Thomas B. Marsh. About the time he was preparing to leave this Church, he received a revelation in the Printing Office. He retired to himself, and prayed, and was humble, and God gave him a revelation, and he wrote it. There were from three to five pages of it; and when he came out, he read it to brother Brigham and me. In it God told him what to do, and that was to sustain brother Joseph and to believe that what brother Joseph had said was true. But no; he took a course to sustain his wife and oppose the Prophet of God, and she led him away.

What!—sustain a woman, a wife, in preference to sustaining the Prophet Joseph, brother Brigham, and his brethren! Your religion is vain when you take that course. Well, my wife may say, “If you will sustain Brigham in preference to me, I will leave you.” I should reply, “Leave, and be damned!” and that very quickly. That is a part of my religion—“ Leave quickly, you poor snoop.”

That was the trouble with Emma Smith. Joseph stood for the truth and maintained it; she struck against it: and where is she? She is where she is, and she will not escape until Joseph Smith opens the door and lets her out. She declared that she would leave him, if he would not sustain her instead of sustaining brother Brigham, and Heber, and the rest of the Twelve Apostles of God. That is as true as that the sun shines. She had her choice, but Joseph would not follow her.

Thomas B. Marsh was once the President over the Quorum of the Twelve—over brother Brigham, me, and others; and God saw fit to give him a revelation to forewarn him of the course he would take; and still he took that course. We told him that if he would listen to that revelation he had received, he would be saved; but he listened to his wife, and away he went. His wife is now dead and damned. She led him some eighteen years; and as soon as she died he came to Winter Quarters—now Florence, and has written to us, pleading for mercy. We have extended it to him, and he will probably be here this season or the next. He says that he has sinned before God and his brethren, and is pleading for mercy; for he feels as though our Father and God would have a little bread for him after all the rest have eaten all they need.

I speak of these things to show men their standing. Women were never placed to lead. Did you ever see a ship rigged for sailing to England, or to any other port in the world, without a helm, and rudder, and a man who knew the points of the compass and how to receive instructions for guiding that ship. And then you will sometimes see a number of boats lashed with cables to a large ships and they are all led by that

ship, and that is guided by the power and intelligence on board of it; Women are made to be led, and counselled, and directed. If they are not led, and do not make their cables fast to the power and authority they are connected with, they will be damned. Instead of cutting those little fibres that pertain to those cables which connect them with the ship, they ought to be adding other strands to to the cables, that they may stand when the sea becomes boisterous.

And it is for the Twelve to be connected, and make the cable which binds them to the First Presidency stronger and stronger; and for the First Presidency to make theirs stronger in relation to God and those who are connected with Him. All the time keep adding to that big cable. And it is for the Seventies to fasten their cable to the Twelve, and to keep increasing its strength; and so on down to Priests, Teachers, and Deacons. Then let every man’s wife strengthen the cable that connects her with her husband; for, if she does not do so, she will go to hell, and you cannot help it.

Women are to be led. If I should undertake to drive a woman, I should have to drive her before me; and then she becomes my leader the moment I do that. I should lead her; and she should be led by me, if I am a good man; and if I am not a good man, I have no just right in this Church to a wife or wives, or to the power to propagate my species. What, then, should be done with me? Make a eunuch of me, and stop my propagation.

I am telling you solemn truths; and I do not know of anything that bears on my mind more to this people than for us to live our religion and be subject to those to whom we should be subject. As brother Brigham said, last Sunday, it. is for every man to make peace with his neighbour and with the man who leads him, and for a man’s wives to take a course to please their husband, and for us all to make peace at home and abroad, when we go out and when we come in. That is the course for you to take—that is your duty; and when you take a contrary course you are wrong.

Some of the sisters say that their husbands are contrary and stubborn, and that they will do this and that, and they cannot control them. Ladies, there is not one of you that has common good sense but what would leave the man that would suffer you to lead him: you would rightly consider that he was not following his calling, if he would bow to your mandates. No man in this Church has a right to a wife, except he is a good man—a man of truth. And when a man violates his calling and priesthood, he forfeits his wife and everything that pertains to that calling and priesthood, or to that limb, when the limb is severed from the tree. Many have been severed from this Church and left their wives and children; for they clung to Gospel faith and priesthood. Now, except those men make restitution, can they hold one of the wives they have taken? No, not one of them. Can they retain, and keep, and preserve their children—their posterity? No, they cannot. Why? Because those limbs have been cut off and have never been restored, and the fruit was taken by the Husbandman of the vineyard and laid up in store. Then they cannot get it, can they? No, they never can, unless they prove themselves worthy and make restitution to satisfy the demands of justice, and that fourfold. They may then receive it back, but not without that restitution. That is justice and righteousness, and I am telling you of it in the name of the Lord; and I know it to be true.

There are thousands of men and women among the nations of the earth that it will be more tolerable for, in the day of judgment, than it will for you, if you violate your calling and do not honour your priesthood. You know that it was declared that it would be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for the children of God who had received the priesthood, and heard the voice of a prophet, and disobeyed it. Sodom was so wicked that they could not hear the word, because they would not admit a man of God to come into their midst. And they would have killed Lot, if the angels had not got him out with the few that believed on his words.

If you cannot believe brother Brigham, and brother Heber, and brother Daniel, and the Twelve, whom have you to go to hearken to? Who is there to lead you? Lay aside the men who lead you, and where is your salvation? Have you not great reason to love these men? They are your servants, and they serve you faithfully. They watch over you by night and by day, and over the Saints throughout the whole world.

If you cannot love the leading members pertaining to this Church, how under the heavens can you love a man you never saw? You cannot, and never did. Tell about loving God! You do not love Him a particle when you do not love your benefactors and the man that feeds you and clothes you. You do not have a drawing of tea, a pound of coffee, or anything else, but what he serves you with it. You say you love him; but some of you lie like hell, and you deceive yourselves. Now, do not tell me that you love my God, and at the same time not love brother Brigham and me, whom you have seen.

Uncle John, (referring to Patriarch John Young,) did you ever see anything bad in me? I never got drunk but a few times in my life, and then I was right straightforward. I never got so drunk, but once, but what I could whip any man I ever saw, except brother Brigham. I know that I am a poor, weak, frail man, and dependent upon my God as much as you are. Do I expect salvation upon any other principle than that upon which you expect to obtain it? No, not in the least. I cannot get salvation and disobey the man that leads me. But whether he feeds me or not, or gets me a hat or a pair of boots or not, what has that to do with my integrity? I am to be true to him—as true as the sun is to this earth, even though I should be barefooted and bareheaded, as I used to be when I was a boy; for I never thought of having anything to wear in the summer seasons but a tow frock and a pair of tow breeches, and go bareheaded; though my hair was not burnt off by the sun; it came out by the roots, through studying and labouring in the great Latter-day Work. That is the course for me, and brother Daniel, and the Twelve, and all the faithful to take.

Tell about loving God and His people! If you do not love the man that leads you, you do not love that Being who confers all the blessings and privileges we enjoy. Tell about loving God, and not love the men that lead you! Get out with your nonsense. Will that apply to the Elders? Yes, and to the Seventies, the High Priests, Bishops, Teachers, and all men. Any further? Yes, it applies to you ladies, in your family capacity. You have not any priesthood, only in connection with your husbands. You suppose that you receive the priesthood when you receive your endowments; but the priesthood is on your husbands. Can you honour God and the Priesthood, and abuse your husbands like the Devil? How can you honour the Priesthood, except you honour the man you are connected with? I am talking about good men: I will not in this connection say anything about bad men. How can you honour the Priesthood, except you honour the one you are connected with?

The Father is the root, Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches. The First Presidency is a quorum pertaining to this branch of the house of Israel, and the Twelve are connected with us; they make part of a branch. And then the Seventies, another large branch on the same vine, and the High Priests, and Bishops, and so on, all belong to the vine. Now, from whence did you come, sisters? From whence spring you and your children? You spring from these main limbs and from that Priesthood. If you did not spring out of the Priesthood, where did you come from? Not many of you have legally sprung out of the Priesthood anywhere in the world in the latter-days; but if you have a legal man, who has a legal Priesthood, you can raise heirs to the kingdom of God, and they become connected with it, without any of your washings, anointings, and sealings. Go and read the Scriptures, and they will teach you a great many things, and it will strengthen your faith in what you hear from brother Brigham, brother Heber, and many others.

Do not tell me that you love God and Jesus Christ, and that angels are around your habitation, conversing with you by night and day, and treat the Priesthood as though it was a thing of naught. Angels who would thus visit you are swamp angels—they are filthy. Would God honour one of them? No; nor would one of His servants—no quicker than they would honour the Devil in hell.

I am talking of things pertaining to your salvation—not to that of my family alone, but to that of all the families of the house of Israel. You have got to take a course to strengthen the cable. Many cables are chains composed of links; and is there not room to put on more links, to extend the chain, so as to reach to the bottom of the deepest waters? Yes. You must become a link on that chain and strengthen it, or you will be lost.

If you prefer the figure of a cable made of flax, sea-grass, or hemp, go to work and increase the strength of it, and tie yourselves to the Priesthood and to the man that you are connected with, or let there be a final conclusion to dissolve the partnership, and go somewhere else. I do not want half-hearted characters to labour with me. Poor miserable creatures, they are not fit for anything. Some of them have been in the house of Israel from fifteen to twenty years, and are following the Devil. Are there any such characters in this congregation? Yes, several, both men and women. There are men and women ready to oppose brother Brigham in what he said last Sunday. He told the truth of God in every word he spoke. Do you suppose that he is so unwise to say a thing which he does not know to be true? He understands what he speaks, and he looks before he jumps, and God Almighty will lead him straight, and he will never stumble—no, never, from this time forth; nor will you, brother Hyde, if you will follow him; neither will any other man.

There are poor, miserable curses in our midst; and there is not a thing spoken of but what there are men and women who will go and tell them every thing that is said, (thank God for that!) and tell more than what is true. There are men and women in this congregation of that stamp. I wish I had some stones; I want to pelt your cursed heads, for you lie like hell. Are you valiant to stand by the work of God, and by your brethren? If you are not, you had better put out, you poor curses.

There is a poor curse who has written the bigger part of those lies which have been printed in the States; and I curse him, in the name of Israel’s God, and by the Priesthood and authority of Jesus Christ; and the disease that is in him shall sap and dry up the fountain of life and eat him up. Some of you may think that he has not the disease I allude to; but he is full of pox from the crown of his head to the point of its beginning. That is the curse of that man; it shall be so, and all Israel shall say, Amen. [The vast congregation of Saints said, “Amen.”] He is laying plans to destroy us, and is striving with his might to stir up the Government of the United States and the President to send troops here to bring us into collision and destroy this pure people—man, woman, and child. May God Almighty curse such men, [Voices all through the congregation: “Amen!”] and women, and every damned thing there is upon the earth that opposes this people. I tell you I feel to curse them to-day. [Voice: “And they shall be cursed.”]. Yes, they will be; and the Devil shall have full possession of every man and woman that raises the tongue to sympathise with those poor curses, I ask no odds of them, no more than I do of the dirt I walk on; for if it was not there I could not walk upon it. Now, go home and sympathise, all of you who wish to.

I tell you that the most of this people are a God-blessed people, as Amasa says; and you shall ever be blessed, with your wives and children after you, for ever. And I bless you in the name of Israel’s God, and you shall be blessed.

Are there any poor, miserable devils in our midst? I cannot step into the street but what some poor, miserable curse is ready to pounce on me, if he dare. Tell about your religion! Shame on you! Go home and put on sackcloth and ashes, and repent of your meannesses. Are such kind of characters here? Yes, in this congregation. Could I pelt them with stones? Yes, if I had the stones here, I could throw them straighter than any rifle that ever was fired.

Let us live our religion by day and by night, when we are at home and when we are abroad, and let us go to and gather up our grain and save it. Save your grain, brethren; save everything that can be saved; for we shall have need of it. The day is now on hand for this people to lay up in store, and to leave off a few ribbons, and jewellery, and fine satins. And where you have from seven to fifteen dresses too good to wear every day, dispose of some of them, and do not trouble your husbands so much. Are you serving God and keeping His commandments, and at the same time seeking to destroy your husbands?

In the house of Israel there is now clothing enough to last us ten years and make us comfortable, if it could be put into the storehouse of God and properly distributed, to clothe men, and their wives, and children, who may be worthy and needy. That is the Apostle’s doctrine, you know. Am I in earnest, brethren? I am telling you the truth; I am telling you God’s truth, and what the Spirit says to me. Stop, stop this extravagance, and in the name of Israel’s God go to work, accumulate, and build up the kingdom.

Tell about building up the kingdom of God, while you take a course to make slaves of your husbands through your love of finery!! Your husbands must be observed and listened to. If you want to offend your God, offend His servants. And how can you love God whom you have not seen, and hate your brethren whom you have seen? Do not talk to me such nonsense any more.

I am in earnest; I am anxious for your salvation—for you to put the best foot forward and lay out your present means for the best purpose, and in a way that they will temporally save this people universally. Save your wheat, corn, barley, buckwheat, oats, and everything that can be saved. You can dry potatoes for keeping as well as you can pumpkins. What is there that you cannot dry? I could even take a great many men and hang them up on a pole, and they will dry in a week, because there is little or no juice in them; and the less juice there is in them the less time it takes them to dry up, upon natural principles. If a cow gives only a gill of milk, do you not know that you can dry her quicker than when she gives a pailful?

Sisters, how can you fulfil your callings and appointments, according to the blessings of the Patriarch and Prophet, except you lay up stores and become saviours, like unto Joseph? Have not some of you received the blessings and promise that you should be instrumental in teaching the Lamanites habits of cleanliness, and how to cook, make clothing, &c.? You have those blessings upon you; and most of you have not taken the first step to fulfil them.

God Almighty bless the righteous, [Voices, “Amen,”] the meek, and humble of the earth, and those who will do right. Your strength shall increase, if you will step forward and do as you are told. It shall increase twentyfold, while that of those who do not do so shall decrease twenty-fold, because that branch or limb that does not bring forth fruit will lose its strength, and it will go into those who do. It will be so.

Is brother Brigham a Prophet? Yes, he is a Prophet and an Apostle, and then he is more than that. He is a man foreordained from before the world was to come along and follow Joseph; and so are you, every man. Do you know brother Joseph? You could think that the Spirit of Jesus could come in the meridian of time—that is, when the time was half out—the first child that was born to his Father on this earth, and take a body. That all seems rational, through your traditions. But, perhaps, many of you have never thought that Joseph was with Jesus in the spirit-world ere the organization of this earth, and came forth in this last dispensation.

If you all live your religion and are faithful to the end of your days, that proves that you were chosen as were Jesus and John, who were prophesied of many hundred years before they came, as were many others. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was raised up to bear the Saviour. Elizabeth was ordained and set apart to come along near the meridian of time, and so we were ordained to come along near the end of time.

You will find out that I am telling you the truth, and that is why I want you to live your religion and serve your God, keep His commandments, and listen to your brethren.

I bless you, and I wish I could make the blessings of God cleave to you like a plaster, that they would never leave you until you become righteous men and women. I bless the earth that we occupy, and the hills and mountains; and I bless every good thing there is; and I curse the ungodly and everything that is attached to them and that will stick to them. Amen.

Mormonism and its Results, etc.

Amasa Lyman

A discourse by Elder Amasa Lyman, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 12, 1857.

It is a matter of gratification to me, my brethren and sisters, to be here with you, because the religion that we have embraced is true.

Views are sometimes expressed by those who address the assembly as to whether what they might say will be edifying and pleasing to the people who may hear. I have no reason for believing that what I may say will be unpleasing to those who hear. Why? Because, if it pleases myself, it will edify those who hear, from the simple fact that what I would delight to talk about the most is that that has edified me the most, and continually edifies me. when I am edified, whether from what I learn from my own study or from what I hear from those around me who speak.

I feel myself as though that I was a Saint. If the Saints are called “Mormons,” then I am a “Mormon;” and I do not feel that I live any life or have any existence but that of a Saint. Not that I suppose that I know everything or act perfectly; but these are the feelings that I cultivate; and the reason that I rejoice continually is, that “Mormonism” is true—that the doctrine I have embraced and the religion that cheers me is not a phantom.

My religion has become convenient to me, from the fact that I have found it adapted to every day use. The happiness that it imparts—I do not care what part of man’s existence or being you may talk about, or apply it to—the happiness it imparts it can impart every day. The bliss that can happify one hour of a man’s being as a Saint, from a knowledge of the truth, and from the influence that truth will exert over him, will, upon the same principle, happify every hour of his life. That light of truth that will enable him at one time to testify of the truth of the work of God, of the manifestation of His hand and His power in the establishment of His kingdom, and the revelation of the Gospel to man in the last days, will shine upon his path unceasingly, if he is constantly and unceasingly faithful.

This leads me to be happy continually; for it does away with a great many of the probabilities of a man’s doing wrong, or being decoyed from the path of rectitude and virtue, and after having preached salvation to others, himself becoming a castaway, because the light that would save them once will save them all the time. They have only to be diligent, faithful, true, and obedient to the requisitions of the truth, to secure its presence with them continually.

This has led me to entertain vastly different notions and ideas of salvation from those I once entertained, whether of my own or that of the Saints universally. It has resolved itself in my mind into very simple truth, and yet a very extended and important one. I find that all the notions I used to entertain, years ago, about salvation and its greatness are comprised in knowing the right and then doing it—not in matters that are foreign from ourselves and from what we have to do, but in the every day occurrences that fill up the history of our lives here.

There is no way that I know of or have ever heard of, believed, or entertained any conception of, that will enable you any better to love God than to love man who is made in the image and likeness of God. Do you want to honour Him? Then honour man that is made in the likeness of God. “But,” says one, “some men are not good:” then honour those that are good, who are his ministers, in whom he is represented on the earth. We cannot go away to his far off dwelling-place to pay our respects and obeisance to him there—to present our offerings before Him, or to tell how much we love Him. What can we do? We can find here, in close proximity with ourselves, the individual in whom we can learn His will, receive the declaration of His truth, the order of His institutions and requirements. They are in our midst. This led one in ancient times to say, “This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and He has commanded us that we should love one another.”

This makes our religion wholly a practical matter. Let people who can live by theorizing, theorize away until doomsday; and, if we will be saved, we want practical virtue—practical truth exemplified in our actions, in our words, and thoughts; we want to live together as a holy people—as a people who fear and honour God. How? By getting down on our knees and saying our prayers, by singing graciously and putting on a long face, by going to meeting on the Sabbath, or by wearing an amiable smile, that when contemplating it you would not think we ever frowned in the world? Is this the way we are to honour God and live right? No; it is something else besides this. To pray is good, to smile is good, to be pleasant is good; but to be holy and acceptable in the sight of God is to be good all the time, in all places, under all circumstances, and with all people.

We want to learn to get along comfortably with the little duties of life that we meet with every day—that make up the labour of every day. We want to learn to do those things right. You want to learn to be as holy at home by your firesides as you are when you go to church. You want to feel well, to enjoy the Spirit of God in every condition and relation of life.

To love the truth supremely, above everything else is salvation. Do not sacrifice it, therefore, or throw it away, for the sake of indulging in a little petty quarrel at home or abroad.

How shall we honour God? We cannot administer to His wants directly, if He has any; but His children are here, and we can feed the hungry and clothe the naked. We can do that here. Whether there are any up yonder to be found in those destitute circumstances, or not, I do not know. I have not been there to see. I can see them here without going there; and one thing which makes me think that “Mormonism” is true, and that this view of it is true, is, because it is what I have experienced.

Now, if it is not the truth, then I am frank to say I do not know anything about it; but this is what I have learned. If I should find myself in a time or place that the Spirit of truth is not in me, and where I could not feel its sacred impulse to give shape and form to my actions, and regulate them according to the revealed will of heaven made known to me, I should be fearful and should have torment; for fear hath torment; I should be afraid I was going to apostatize—that some dark cloud was hanging around me, fatal to my happiness. But I have confidence in the truth, because it is that which abides with me all the time. In the darkest spot I ever have been called to labour or travel in, or have had an existence in, since I embraced the truth, I have always had it present, and enjoyed its light.

If I knew there was any part or portion of myself that was not under the influence of “Mormonism,” or the Spirit of truth, I would want to get out that piece and parcel, and have it repent and be baptized for the remission of that sin, that the whole body might finally become perfectly holy and completely imbued with the influence of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of truth, and the love of truth, which would preserve me to-day, to-morrow, and in all time from falling away.

Is it necessary we should all feel so? I suppose it is just as necessary for you as for me. I do not suppose because I, through the favour or mercy of God and the kind dispensations of His will and providence, have been called to minister as one of the Twelve Apostles to bear off the Gospel to the nations of the earth, that it is any less needful for me, so far as my own soul is concerned, to enjoy the Spirit of God always than it is that you should. I shall be nothing more than saved when I have got all the way through, or as far along as it may be my lot to progress.

“But,” says one, “Won’t it be good for us if we do as we are told?” Yes. What will be the result? You will not always be under the necessity of being so miserably poor that you have to go out in the night to your neighbours to borrow a candle. Do people live this way? Yes. I have lived on borrowed light. How long? Until I got a candle of my own. Until the principles of truth became established in me, I lived on the strength of the instructions and light of heaven that dwelt in others, reflected by them on my path—I followed along by the light of a borrowed candle. How long? Until the Saviour’s words were fulfilled, and the promise verified in myself, and the light of inspiration was planted in my own soul; then the blessings of light and truth came rolling upon me like a river.

Would to God that all the Saints enjoyed this light. What would be the result? There would be more practical purity, more righteous actions, and less evil in the community—more of the Spirit of God, as a natural consequence, because every Saint would be possessed of a living fountain of light and truth—that inspiration which inspires the Apostle, enlightens the mind of the Prophet, tears away the vail from the future, and enables man to look upon and contemplate the excellencies of our Father’s kingdom.

It was in view of this that on a certain time, when report was made to one of the ministers of truth that some of the congregation of Israel were prophesying, the reply was, “Would to God that all the people were prophets.” Why? Then they would all have the light of truth in them, and the knowledge of truth that would save them.

If this was the case, what would be among the results? Sinners in Zion would be afraid, and fearfulness would surprise the hypocrite. Why? Because they would feel uneasy, for this simple reason—they would know they are not honest, and they would be afraid lest they should be overtaken in their guilt.

This, my brethren and sisters, is the “Mormonism” I feel; it is the “Mormonism” I preach—that I have when I pray—that I have about me every day. It is the “Mormonism” I have when I wake up at night, and that I keep with me all night, if I do not go to sleep. Is it good to me? It is. Is it salvation to me? It is. Why? Because it frees me from evil and enables me to live without committing the amount of sin that I would commit if it were not for its presence.

The best reason that I can give you for its being good is that it has been good to me; it has done me good. I might tell you that the Gospel is true, because the ministers of truth say so, have testified so, lived for it, and died for it, in ages gone by; but I do not know so well how they have felt; I do not understand so perfectly; I cannot comprehend with the same clearness how it was that they felt, as I can understand how I have felt myself.

When people tell me they have felt as I have, or, in describing their feelings, I find they have experienced what I have, though I know what I have experienced better than I know what anybody else has experienced: yet, if they have the truth, I also have the truth; and if they are saved by it, then I may hope to be saved by it. This is what I would like to see the Saints enjoy—a knowledge of the truth, and that knowledge to have such an influence over them that they would cease to do any wrong whatever.

When there is no wrong done, how much sin would there be committed in the length and breadth of the land of Zion among the Saints? If there was no individual to do a wrong, I am under the impression it would take a good or a bad mathematician to calculate the amount of sin that would be committed.

Says one, “We expect to see that day.” You do? When there will be no sin? When? “Why, it is that better day that is coming by and by.” What is going to bring it about? Upon what principle do you ever expect to see the time when there will be no sinners in the land? Will it be when the grace of God is manifested in some strange or different way from what it has been to you? “We suppose so, as a matter of course, because we see sins committed now every day.” Do you know of any good that has been done? “Yes, a good deal.” What does it consist of? “Good has been done in the condition of the people as the result of reformation. They have spoken more truth and less falsehood than they did; there is less hypocrisy, less tattling and evil speaking; the people do not think of quite so many evil things to do, and consequently, they do not do much evil: that is the way this change has been brought about.”

And did you ever think for a moment that this was the principle, and the only one upon which sin would be driven away and its power effectually broken upon the face of all the earth? Says one, “The Devil has got to be bound.” And do you know what kind of a chain he will be bound with? What will deprive him of power? When there is no person upon the face of the earth that will listen to his insinuations or yield to the impulses of his influence to perpetrate evil, how much power will the Devil have on earth?

I want you to look at this; I want you to remember that whenever there is a diminution of evil in the community, it is because the people do less wrong than they did; they are more faithful, more truthful, more righteous, more holy, and are making greater progression and advancement towards the consummation of the work of God. It is by the development in them of the principles of righteousness and the establishment of those principles in them to the exclusion of every other principle and feeling. When this is effected, our salvation and redemption are secure. When we do right exclusively, and no wrong, we have nothing to fear. When this becomes the case with the people, will the kingdom of God be built up? Yes, in the hearts of the Saints.

Says one, “Won’t it be built up externally too? Yes; but it is a simple matter to build up the kingdom so far as houses, palaces, and thrones are concerned, only get the principles of the kingdom of God built up and established within yourselves. Then you will simply have arrived at the point that you will live your religion; that is, the light that is in you will be the spirit of your religion operating upon you, and in you, and through you, and over you, and round about you, that your whole being and everything pertaining to your existence will be under its sacred and hallowed influences. Do not settle down and think you are living your religion because you have done a few good things, because you are a. little more faithful than you were last year, and because the Lord is blessing us this year with plenty. Remember, and keep it constantly in view, that there is much improvement to make, much to gain, and much to learn.

You want to have your religion established within you—a living fountain from which the principles of eternal life and truth will flow out and pervade your active being, regulating your actions and conduct in such a way that everything connected with your life shall be in perfect harmony with the truth; then you will live your religion, then you wont need to be waked up in the night, and somebody come along with borrowed light to place it in your habitation; you would have one there all the time, so far as the light of truth and of your religion is concerned: it would be in you all the time, always trimmed, always burning.

If an evil spirit comes to us to tempt us to do evil—if we resist that spirit, what will be the result? The Devil will go away. When he comes, again, and only meets with the same treatment, with the same success, and finds that he cannot get us to say an evil thing or do an evil deed, how long will he tempt us? He would soon come to the rational conclusion not to go there again; he would find it a speculation that would be of no profit to him, while his defeat is our victory.

Whenever evil things, evil thoughts have possession of our bosoms, and we have not spoken a word—not given the thought shape, form, and signification to those around us, who knows of it? Nobody. Who is injured? Nobody. There is no harm done, no stealing, no murder committed, no slander perpetrated, no falsehood told. What has been done? The spirit that would instigate evil has been subdued within us, and we have died a death unto sin, and have individually become alive unto righteousness. One of the best things I ever heard in my life was a simple thing that President Young taught here some time past, which was, that it is not always right to speak the things we think. It is just as necessary that you should be able to think and not speak as to think and speak; the one is just as necessary as the other to your salvation. “But,” says one, “is it not just as bad to think it as to speak it?” Why, thinking never killed anybody. Suppose a man had a thought in his mind that he would kill me, if he did not do it, you know, as far as I am concerned, I would live. But suppose, acting on the old adage, that it is no worse to do it than to think it, and he had laid wait for me by the road side and taken away my life, what would have been the consequence? Then the sin of murder would have been on his soul.

It is the same with every wrong thought and evil suggestion that may occur to your minds. What will be done if you act on this principle? The Father at home, if he thinks a wrong thing, won’t say it. The wife and mother will do the same; and what will be the result? Harmony in the domestic circle will never be destroyed by evil speaking. What then? If harmony be there, the Spirit of God will be there. Why? Because it delights to dwell in a quiet place; it does not love contention; it is no friend to strife; it is not fond of bickering or saying hard things. The Spirit of God will come and take his abode with us, if we prepare our minds for its reception, and make it welcome, and study to cultivate a feeling that is congenial with its own nature.

It is with the Holy Spirit as it is with us. When we seek to gratify ourselves in the associations around us, for whom do we seek in such a time? We seek individuals whose tastes and feelings are congenial to our own, whose “Mormonism” is like ours, whose regard for truth is like our own. Then what do we enjoy? A free, frank, unrestrained feeling. and sentiment: we pour out the feelings of our souls; there is a principle of reciprocity existing between the parties.

So it is with the Holy Spirit of truth. Where it finds a mind so regulated that there is an affinity and congeniality between that mind and itself, there is the place where it will dwell; and when that mind becomes so trained in the truth as to be completely and perfectly subject to its influence, it will remain there constantly and unceasingly; it will not pay a casual visit, but take up its constant abode with that individual, and then its light is there, revelation is there, inspiration is there; it is there to increase in intensity, extent, and in power; it is there to continually pour out upon that soul the unceasing, unbroken tide of life. Then the fountain of life becomes established in the soul; that fountain is flowing continually and unceasingly. Even as the blood passes through the heart to the extremities of our physical system at every pulsation, so also the Spirit of truth pervades our being.

Do I believe “Mormonism” to be true? Do I know it to be true? Yes, I do? Why? Because it has saved me. It has saved me in the first place from ignorance, and then it has saved me from its consequences—that is, to the extent to which it has imparted to me knowledge; and it has imparted to me knowledge according to my faith and devotion to the truth, and the extent to which I have laboured to subject myself to the influence of its sacred principles.

People suppose, perhaps, that myself and those similarly situated in this work have a great deal to do for others; but my work is for myself. It is for myself that I preach, that I go abroad, that I come home again; it is for myself that I do all I do.

You may say I am selfish. Why? Because I promised my Father, when I went into the waters of baptism, that I would obey His commandments as they were made known to me. I made Him that brief promise, and it has cost me all that “Mormonism” has cost me. It has cost me all the toil and labour that has been crowded into my history during the past twenty-five years of my life, to keep that little covenant.

My Father promised me, if I would keep His commandments, I should be saved. Then whom am I working for? For brother Amasa. My interest, my life, money, if I have any, my honour, my salvation, my all is in the kingdom of God. I have not any thing anywhere else; and, as I said, before, if I knew there was a shred of my whole being that was not baptized into the spirit of “Mormonism,” and into this universal love and devotion to it, I would want to hunt it out before I slept, and have it baptized with the same feeling.

I imagine to myself I have the spirit of a Saint—the spirit of “Mormonism.” Why? Because I have laboured to be obedient, faithful, and true, to maintain my integrity; and the result is manifested in the spirit I have felt and still feel. If this is not “Mormonism,” I am in a good place to be told wherein it falls short; and when I learn what “Mormonism” is, if I have not learned it, I shall begin to learn it: I have made up my mind for that.

I feel the Spirit of God just as pure a source of comfort to me when I am away as when I am here. “Do you feel as well when you are away?” No; for I lack the comfort and the genial influence that hovers here like a deathless flame over the congregations of the Saints.

This is my testimony of “Mormonism,” as I have felt it, realized it, experienced it, and lived in it;—not as I lived in it last year, but to-day. To-day is the best day I ever saw; to-day is the most blessed of any day I ever passed since I lived on the earth, because to-day shows me the greatest increase of those things that constitute the greatness, glory, happiness, and blessedness of the Saints; and to-morrow will be the same, in respect to these matters, and more abundantly.

That this may be the case with us is my humble prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Life-giving Influence of Mormonism, etc.

Daniel H. Wells

Remarks by President D. H. Wells, made at the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, March 22, 1857.

Brethren and sisters—I feel it a privilege to have a part in the work of the latter days, and I feel thankful that I have been brought upon the stage of existence in this period of time. It is a privilege which you all enjoy as well as myself, and one which we should appreciate more than we do. When we reflect upon the misery and degradation that prevail in the world, we ought to highly prize the privilege we enjoy.

I heard one remark in the forenoon that he looked younger than he did twenty years ago. This brought to my mind what I had heretofore observed among what we term the world’s people. Men and women plod along in the “even tenour of their way” for fifteen, twenty, or more years, and become perfectly rusty—as rusty as iron that has been long exposed to the action of the elements. But let the Spirit of truth come upon persons and their minds expand, and you at once see a difference in their countenances. Who among us has not noticed this? I know that the Spirit of the Lord gives life, and that men grow younger when they come into this kingdom and live their religion. This is true, although unbelievers may make sport of it. I know that the feelings of the righteous are enlivened, their flesh and blood are quickened, and they become a glorious people; they receive and enjoy the Spirit of the Lord.

Look at the nations of the earth, and see them plodding along without improvement in the knowledge of the things of God—without being touched in their spirits with the life giving power, and they rust out; they do not enjoy themselves near so much as do the “Mormons,” who enjoy themselves a great deal better than any people within my knowledge; for it is a peculiarity of “Mormonism” that its followers enjoy themselves. Upon the Plains you can see them dancing and kicking up their heels. There is not much formal sanctity about them; and in this particular they are also right; for the Lord loves a cheerful heart and a buoyant spirit; and those who receive the Spirit of the Lord are full of life and animation. They are not apt to have the “blues;” or if at times they do, they do not go into their graves with that complaint. They are ready to do anything that will subserve the interests of the kingdom of God and their religion, even though it may be contrary to their natural feelings. This is one principle that makes us so different from the world; the “Mormons” know that all is right, if they carry out the instructions given them.

It is a fact, whether you believe it or not, that this people were getting into their old sectarian traditions: they were getting so that they had not time to do scarcely anything to the cause of God, and they had begun to be very dull and sleepy. It has been with them as the Lord said in the parable, when the men slept the enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat.

Now we are livened up again, we feel the lively emotions of the Spirit of God, and we are ready to do anything that may be counselled by whoever has the right to counsel. We are ready to walk in the path of strict obedience. Let us keep right from this time forth, and not go to sleep again, nor let the enemy sow tares as he did before.

We have no need of being roused from a state of lethargy, if we will let the Spirit lead us; and the Lord will prosper us; for the man and the woman that keeps His Spirit is right: with it the people can bring as much again to pass as they can otherwise. They are stronger in their minds and in their judgments, and are more capable of gathering around them the comforts of life for their subsistence. Instead of “Mormonism” disqualifying us, it qualifies us for all things that ought to be done. Let us be careful not to allow the enemy to come and sow tares, but keep alive to the duties enjoined upon us.

I have a few words to say to the Bishops. Much has been said to them, and I attribute a large share of the improved condition of the people to their faithful instructions. They have done much; but still there is one thing more to which I wish to direct their attention. There are many people who do not know how to set themselves advantageously to work. We call the Bishops the Fathers of the Wards; and, by the exercise of a little care and judgment, they can do much towards putting many of the people in a better way for obtaining a living, and thereby strengthen their feeble knees. A man lately came to me from the north who had land and team, but no seed, and wanted to be put in the way to get a living. I gave him a note to his Bishop. What should be the duty of that Bishop? He should say, I will find you seed this spring, and you can pay it back after harvest. In this manner such individuals may easily be placed in the way for obtaining their own support.

This Gospel brings the silk weavers, potters, and many other tradesmen from the old country; and many could form a vessel who have only learned a single branch of a trade. It often happens, in the manufacture of earthenware, that one turns the clay, another bakes it, and another burns it; but neither can operate in the department of another. Until there are openings here for such mechanics, they labour under many disadvantages. There are hundreds of such persons in your Wards; and what does it become you to do in such cases? To take pains and plan to make their services of some use and profit. The Bishops and their counsellors and assistants should have a wise oversight of such persons, and devise ways and means for them to raise vegetables and grain. They should plan some kind of employment that will make them and their families useful. Put them in a position that will enable them to procure a subsistence and do good for themselves and the great cause in which we are engaged. It is a duty that we owe society to use our influence to build each other up, that we may be united and become strong and able, and by assisting the poor and strengthening the feeble, become a people in whom the Lord will have delight, and assist in bringing to pass His purposes.

Do we realize what these purposes. are? Saints who have received the Gospel and live their religion know, by the vibrations of the heart and the operations of the Spirit, what they are. The Lord’s people will become exceedingly numerous; they are rising fast; and the responsibilities of this kingdom will rest upon the sons of Zion, and He will hasten His work in its time. The day will come in which the earth will tremble and the nations quake with fear because of the wickedness of her inhabitants.

We read that Satan shall be bound a thousand years. How is this to be accomplished? By our becoming so impregnated with the principles of the Gospel—with the Holy Ghost—that the enemy will have no place in us or in our families, and shedding forth that influence in our neighbourhoods. The adversary is first to be driven from ourselves, then from our families, then from our neighbours, next from our Territory, and eventually from the nations, until he shall find no place upon the face of the whole earth: then will he not be bound? Yes, so far as this earth is concerned; and that is the way in which it is to be done, in my humble opinion. He will be chained to all intents and purposes when he can have no influence—no power—no tabernacles into which he can enter: he will then have no place of entertainment. When he finds that he is cornered that close will he not consider himself bound? I think he will, whether he thinks so or not.

This is a work at which we can all labour; for it is by our united efforts that Zion will be produced in our own bosoms, in this city, in our Territory, or anywhere else. If we will do this, and be united as the heart of one man, we shall banish Satan from our presence, and eventually from this earth; and this we have to do. If we resist him, he will flee from us; and you know that the Lord is quick to answer, if we rightly call upon Him for assistance. We shall be made exceedingly numerous and strong, and shall be able to build up a temple to the name of our God.

We are a good people; the Lord loves us, and it will be His delight to bless us more and more. And the more we are capable of receiving, the more He will give; for the heavens are ready to drop with blessings: but we also have a work to perform. We can preach and do much, but we must do still more than we have done.

If we can banish Satan from our presence, we shall do a good work; for he it is who steps in and causes bickerings and strife. But if we will be wide awake, and not let the enemy come in, there will be no bickerings or strife; and we will be able to move the heavens and the earth if necessary; we will be able to drive Satan from our midst, with all the kindred spirits that are seeking our destruction.

Shall we take this course? Or shall we be like the sectarian world, and suffer ourselves to wither and dry up, and have no strength? Before us are light and joy, and an entrance into the celestial kingdom of our God; on the other hand are degradation, poverty, and misery, such as we know nothing about. Let us be alive to our business; for it is our business and interest to look to the upbuilding of the kingdom of God, not only in spiritual, but in temporal matters.

We are constituted to need food and the necessary facilities and appliances for operating successfully, such as the cattle, horses, and the various conveniences for carrying on business. They are all the Lord’s, and He will bless us with those things that are for our good and comfort. If we are faithful we shall increase in the things of God. The Devil can claim no right to the blessings of the Lord; for those things belong to the Saints: therefore let us do all we can for the building up of the kingdom of God, and He will furnish us all we need; for all belongs to Him. No part of the human family belongs to the Devil, unless they sell themselves to him. But the Lord cannot consistently bless us, unless He knows that we will serve Him and make a good use of what He bestows.

Let us be faithful, alive to our duties, and perform our mission upon the earth we inhabit, no matter what it is that we have been sent to do. Let us seek unto the Lord Almighty, and ask for His Spirit to be with us; and if we are faithful He will give it, for He regardeth those who are faithful. We read that He giveth liberally to those who ask of Him, and upbraideth not. Let us not be lazy, but let us ever be alive to the interests of the kingdom of God, and expend our time and strength for the interest and benefit of that kingdom; for the Devil has had the use and benefit of this world nearly long enough.

I feel as though we were all going to do better in future. I feel that this is the intention of this people; for I see them feel alive to each other’s interests. I saw this manifested last fall; and every call that is made upon them they feel anxious to comply with to the utmost. And they feel richer with half the means than they did before, and they will have means doubled and trebled upon them. I am not guessing at this, for I know that it is, if we will only use those means and blessings in the service of our God. If we will entirely cease serving the Devil, we will be still more obviously better and richer than any people upon the face of the earth.

Treasure up the words of wisdom that we hear from time to time, and be cleanly in our persons and in our habitations; for the Holy Ghost will not dwell in unholy temples. It is an insult to the Holy Spirit for us to be filthy, and it may be grieved away if we do not observe cleanliness. Be careful to treasure these things up in your minds. Keep the commandments of God; do not take His name in vain; do not be seen loafing about at the corners of the streets, and spending your time in idleness. When you go to plough and plant, ask God to bless the ground and the seed, and let us have His blessing on all that we do, and have our faith cent[e]red upon the things that we are called upon to perform, and we shall be blessed and prospered, and will see the work of the Almighty roll forth with might and power, even until we shall redeem Zion and build a temple upon the consecrated spot, where it is said that the glory of God shall rest upon it as a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night.

Are we now prepared for the coming of the Son of Man and for the resurrection? Do we ever think of this? Brethren and sisters, let us be faithful, keep our covenants, and press onward until that time shall come. Important events and duties transpire quite as fast as we are prepared for them; therefore let us round up our shoulders—gird up our loins; and if we can bear greater burdens, there is more coming, and we shall have all that we can do.

If we will not do this, the Lord can raise up a people that will. The hearts of all men are in His hands; and if we do not appreciate the blessings given, He will give them to somebody else. Ancient Israel transgressed, and would not keep the covenants and obey the Lord; consequently, they could not enter into the promised land. But was it much trouble to raise up a people that would? No.

May the Lord bless us, and enable us to keep our covenants and be faithful continually, is my prayer, through Christ our Redeemer. Amen.

Israel to be Exalted by Righteousness, etc.

Franklin D. Richards

Remarks by Elder F. D. Richards, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday morning, March 22, 1857.

In these times, when Israel as a people in these mountains are reviewing their past lives, and are taking into consideration so carefully as they now are doing the course of life which they shall hereafter pursue, it should be the diligent study of the Elders, when they rise up to speak to the people, to address them by the dictation of the Holy Ghost upon such subjects and such matters as shall strengthen them in their faith, increase the energy and power of the people, and lead them to do good and that which is well-pleasing in the sight of God. For it is with the people of Israel in the latter days, as it was in former days, that righteousness has got to exalt this nation—I mean the nation of Israel; therefore the more diligent and faithful we are in sustaining the Priesthood and practising righteousness, the more rapidly shall we acquire strength from God, become sanctified from our sins and weaknesses, and become a pure and strong people in the earth, such as the Lord wishes us to be, that by us His will may be done on the earth as in heaven.

This people that were not a people have become a people, even the people of God. They must have the bread of life continually as well as those who administer unto them in the word of life. We not only need it who rise up to preach, but every man and woman needs it; they need it in their families; they need fresh supplies from heaven by the ministrations of the Holy Ghost daily, hourly, and every moment, to qualify them for their duties.

Now, in what way can we best promote the favour of God, so that he will give us the bread of life, so that he will give us strength and energy, and so that he will empower us, that we may adopt and live by every word which we hear from our beloved Prophet, and thereby increase confidence in each other, as he taught us last Sunday. This should be the design of every man and woman—at least, so it appears to me.

We have had a most blessed winter in which to acquire knowledge of ourselves. Indeed, I think that this people can say they never had such a winter before. The Prophet and Apostles had taught us the things of the kingdom so fully that we could not seek for more revelation; but we have been reviewing ourselves and our conduct to discover wherein we have not lived up to what has been revealed; and so great have been the apparent deficienc[i]es, that the people have nearly all realized, when they examined themselves, that there was a great cause for lack of confidence in themselves and in each other. This has been a general feeling; and it becomes us to bestir ourselves and obtain strength by the power of the Holy Ghost, so that we may overcome every evil propensity, resist the adversary of our souls in whatever shape he may present himself, and live our religion.

This is not a work that belongs only to the First Presidency, or to the Twelve, or to any of the Presidents of the Quorums only, but it belongs to every man and to every woman. If we could feel this and realize it individually, we certainly should prevail against and escape from those influences that do tend to impair our confidence in God and each other: there is no doubt of it. It had become so that iniquity could be found dwelling among us, passing in our streets, and stalking forth rampant in our midst, almost without a frown, and unrebuked. So extensive had this become, that those who had not committed sins had become partakers of the influence and of the spirit of those who had, and this because they had not been swift to rebuke and disfellowship sin and sinners. The righteous had become partakers of other men’s crimes; hence this sleepy, deadening, and damning influence among us, because we have not put sin away from us as diligently and faithfully as we should have done.

This winter the people have been looking at this, and they have got to see themselves in a different light to what they ever have before. Shall it be so in the future? Let the Saints determine it shall not; and when men and women see in themselves or in their neighbours the workings of sin and iniquity, let them rebuke it at once, and thereby put an end to transgression.

We have got to purge out all ungodliness from our own souls, and we have to help others to do it also; and especially, if I may be allowed to make any distinction, it should be the business of the Bishops, because they have the oversight of the people in a Ward capacity, and they can have an eye through the Church which many of the Presidents of Quorums cannot have. When a man rises in the morning and calls upon God to qualify and strengthen him for the duties and warfare of the day, he should go out with a determination to carry that feeling of hostility to sin with him, and not only war the good warfare himself, but be able to help his neighbour to do battle also.

Some people deal honestly because they are watched and are obliged to; but a truly honest man will do right because he loves righteousness and honesty the best. These things indicate greater things. It is said a straw will show the way the wind blows. If a man is willing to be dishonest, or to do anything or permit anything that will bring mischief upon you in your absence, your interests would not be safe in his hands. That spirit will lead him to persuade your wives and children away from you, when you are dead, if he can, or to let some one else do it unrebuked; and upon the same principle the spread of good and great things are made to depend and to bring their consequences.

We do see and hear occasionally instances of the kind where men take measures and endeavour to rob the dead. This awful dishonesty in eternal things is the fruit of dishonesty in smaller matters. If men will do honestly in small things, and perform their duties as servants of God to each other, they will by-and-by be honoured for their acts, and vast responsibilities will be laid upon them with safety; but if men in this Church will be dishonest in the smaller matters of every day life, they will soon be overthrown thereby; and so it is with every species of unrighteousness. Then let all be diligent to cleanse themselves of all that is evil upon its first appearance.

When men go to the kanyon for wood or lumber, those that have this difficult labour to perform should take with them a rich portion of the Holy Spirit; and they should realize that they have it to enable them to live their religion there—that God protects them in the kanyons as well as any other place: and let them take all their religion with them that they carry to or from this Tabernacle. If they find that the elements are changed from what they are in the city or in this Tabernacle, let them know that they require more of the Gospel. Do not leave your religion at the mouth of the kanyon, or with the gatekeeper; do not leave it with your waggon; but take your religion and the Spirit of your God with you clear up to where you get your wood. It will help you to keep your axe sharp: you will not be so likely to get hurt yourself, or to lose your bowpins, chains, or axe. Your cattle will be more kindly; for you will not beat them so much, and they will do more work for you. You will not be so likely to break down your waggon; but you will be able to do a better day’s work, bring home a better load, and to feel more thankful for it.

If you find a man there that is swearing and profaning the name of the Lord, remember that you are an Elder in Israel, and that you are authorized to call him to an account. If you find a man that will blaspheme the name of the Lord, do not forget to remind him that the Lord whose name he blasphemes gave him strength to go there, and that He caused the trees to grow, and has permitted him to go and help himself to the timber; and inform him that he should do it decently and without blaspheming the name of the Giver. If you cannot influence him with these importunities, and if you cannot prevail upon him to do right, as an Elder in Israel lay hands upon him, and do it as one having authority; and if you will do this, you will cause the name of God to be honoured in the kanyons. I mean that you should lay hands on as ministers of God—as those who have authority to talk to men in the kanyon, and thereby give them to understand that they shall not blaspheme the name of God in your presence. If you will do this, I tell you the Holy Ghost will rest upon you and enable you to ferret out iniquity—to honour the truth and the priesthood which you hold.

I talk to you Elders who want to perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord. If you will do this you will soon have more confidence in yourselves; your neighbours will have confidence in you, and will find out that you are preachers of righteousness. The man whom you rebuke will also learn that he must stop blaspheming and swearing in your presence. This is one of the subjects that the Elders of Israel should feel themselves called upon to act in. It is not only so in relation to the brethren who hold the Priesthood, but it so with every right, good-meaning man; and it is that man whom the Lord will love; for while you are doing this you are honouring God. If you will talk to and labour with them in this manner, you will bring about much salvation; and should you have to administer the whole ordinance, they will bless you for it, and God will bless you.

We have to rebuke iniquity whenever it is presented before us; and if we have not already commenced, we should begin, one and all, to sanctify the name of the Lord our God in these valleys. How are we going to do this while we allow blaspheming, and swearing, and all manner of wickedness to go on in our midst?Let no man of God suppose that he has not authority to oppose sin. Suppose Phinehas had said “I am not Moses, nor Aaron, nor Caleb, nor Joshua, and I am not called to rebuke sin in Israel,” he would not have secured to himself the “covenant of peace;” but because he rose up and slew the adulterer, God sealed the priesthood upon him and his seed for ever. The Lord will seal blessings upon you if you are jealous for the honour of His name and are valiant for righteousness and truth. His Spirit will strengthen you in body and in spirit. This is life.

I tell you, brethren, we have been too careless in these matters, and because of this we have been partakers of other men’s sins. All are called upon to divest themselves of sin, and then to aid their neighbours, if need be.

It is not only in going to the kanyons, in going to the fields to plow and to sow, that the Lord desires this people to rise up and put iniquity away from them, but in everything with which we have to do.

It is by works of righteousness that we shall become a holy and happy people whose God is the Lord, while sinners will find our society too uncomfortable to dwell in. If we thus live our religion, we shall have confidence in ourselves, in each other, and in our God.

I do not wish to talk much or long: but I feel like calling upon the men in the Priesthood, and upon men that have not received any ordination, and also the women, and requesting them not to hear the name of God, or of his servants, or the doctrines of the Gospel blasphemed with impunity, but to sanctify the name of the Lord in this city, in this Territory, and in all Israel; for this is the way that this people will become sanctified.

Brethren, may the Lord enlighten our minds, that we may see our duty and do it, and that we may also assist others to walk in the way of life, become ministers of righteousness and saviours in his kingdom. This is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Inspiration and Teachings of the Spirit

Wilford Woodruff

Remarks by Elder Wilford Woodruff, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday morning, March 22, 1857.

When any of the Presidency of this Church, or of the Quorum of the Twelve, or any of the Elders rise in this stand to speak, this people look unto them, and expect they will enjoy the Holy Spirit sufficiently to say something that will edify them. The people almost unanimously look for this. I will say, on the other hand, that the Presidency, the Twelve, and the Elders who preach in this house expect that the people will have the Spirit of the Lord, that they may come to understanding; and this is just as much required that they may comprehend what is said unto them, as it is required of the brethren who speak, to teach doctrine, principle, truth, and the revelations of Jesus Christ. When the minds of the people are quickened and enlightened by the power of God and the gift of the Holy Ghost, that they can appreciate and prize the principles of eternal truth and the revelations which God has given through his servant Joseph, or the things which he has revealed during the past winter through the mouth of his servants unto the inhabitants of this city, or those which he has revealed unto the inhabitants of the earth, then they are prepared to be benefitted by those blessings which are poured out upon them. Any of you that have experienced this blessing—and I presume that all have at times—have been astonished at certain periods of their lives that there has been such a difference in their minds. I know this is the case with myself, and I presume it is with others. There have been times that the vision of my mind has been opened to comprehend the word of God and the teachings of his servants. The vision of my mind has been opened and quickened by the power of God and the gift of the Holy Ghost, so that when I have sat here and heard the Presidency and the servants of God teach the principle of righteousness and the word of God unto us, I have felt the force, the power, and the importance of these eternal truths which they have presented unto our minds, while at other times the same truths may have been taught, but they have passed off without making the same impression upon my mind.

We have, as brother Franklin says, spent an interesting time the past winter. Much truth has been spoken: men have been inspired by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost to teach us the things of God; and this I consider to be a matter of great importance to the people. I consider it important that we labour to obtain that Spirit, to have it increased upon us, and carry it with us, that when we hear teaching our minds may be prepared to receive it. Why is it that this Gospel of the kingdom has been preached to the world for twenty-five years, and that there are but so small a number of the children of men who have received those truths, been. governed by them, and suffered them to govern one single act of their lives? It is because their minds have been darkened and have not valued the Gospel, or considered the consequences of rejecting it. It is true we have a large congregation here to-day, and that there are a few thousands in these valleys and throughout this Territory. Yet compare them with the masses of mankind, and how few they are. I am not capable of making a calculation to say whether there is one to five or ten thousand who have embraced the Gospel. One of the old Prophets said that there would be one of a city and two of a family. This has been fulfilled in many instances. When the Elders proclaimed the Gospel unto you; those of you who are here received that word, meditated upon it, so much so that you have been willing to forsake all that you possessed and come to Zion. The seed has produced good fruit; it has caused you to come to Zion; but there are millions of the masses who heard the Gospel, but they have hardened their hearts and darkness has taken hold of their minds, and hence they have rejected the Spirit of God which has striven with them: they, in acting upon their agency, have given way to seducing spirits and rejected the Gospel of Christ, and consequently the Spirit of God has been withdrawn from them; and because of this the Lord has been taking his Spirit from the nations of the earth. We see the fruits of it. It needs no argument to prove a truth so visible.

I will now say that inasmuch as many of us have received the Gospel and gathered with the Saints of God, it is important that we labour to-day—that we live under the influence of that Spirit, that it may continue to increase and to govern us in our acts among the children of men. Now, when a man has the Holy Spirit and hears the plain, simple truths of salvation, they appear more valuable than all else besides, and he is ready to sacrifice everything of a temporal nature to secure himself salvation; but when people’s minds become darkened, they lose the Holy Spirit and the value of that Gospel, and they do not realize the privilege and the honour of being associated with the Saints of God in these valleys of the mountains, neither do they maintain their allegiance to their Heavenly Father, and honour his name upon the earth, or prize their association with those that bear the holy Priesthood, and therefore they go into darkness. Why has the word reformation ever been named in Zion? It has been because we did not labour to keep within us that holy principle of life, that our minds might be quickened day by day, and receive and prize those truths delivered unto us. Now we marvel and wonder when we are enlightened by the Spirit of God and the revelations which he has given unto us; and when we are aroused to a sense of the importance of these things, we then see the effect and the bearing they will have upon us—not only the fitting of our minds to go into the world of spirits, but to prepare us to meet with our Father in heaven. Now, we should live in that way and manner that the Holy Spirit will dwell with us, and so that we may be prepared to receive those truths which are daily delivered unto us by Presidents Young, Kimball, Wells, or any other man who rises up here to speak unto us the words of life. We should give attention to what is said. As brother Kimball says, the man who speaks to you from this stand is the centre, and we should give him our attention, prayers, and faith; and if we do this we shall receive out of the abundance of his heart those things which will benefit us. It should be our chief study to treasure up the words of life, that we may grow in grace, and advance in the knowledge of God, and become perfected in Christ Jesus, that we may receive a fulness, and become heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.

The revelations of Jesus Christ teach us that the Saviour was born in the flesh; and the Father said that He did not give him a fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace until he had received a fulness, and was called the Son of God because he did not receive a fulness at first. We in like manner should seek with all our souls to grow in grace, light, and truth, that in due time we may receive a fulness. The Lord has a great many principles in store for us; and the greatest principles which he has for us are the most simple and plain. The first principles of the Gospel which lead us unto eternal life are the simplest, and yet none are more glorious or important unto us. Men may labour to make a great display of talent, learning, and knowledge, either in printing or preaching. They may try to preach the mysteries and to present something strange, great, and wonderful, and they may labour for this with all their might, in the spirit and strength of man without the aid of the Holy Spirit of God, and yet the people are not edified, and their preaching will not give much satisfaction. It is the plainest and the most simple things that edify us the most, if taught by the Spirit of God; and there is nothing more important or beneficial unto us. If we have that Spirit dwelling with us—if it abides with us continually, enlightening our minds by day and by night, we are in the safe path; and when we have finished the work of the day, we reflect upon it and are satisfied with it, feeling that it is approbated of the Lord. It is our privilege to live in this way, that all our time may be spent so that we have a conscience void of offence towards both God and man. When we reflect on the day that is past and see wherein we have done evil, we should labour to improve and to advance in the things of the kingdom of God. I feel that in order for us to prize the gifts of God, the blessings of the Gospel, the privilege that we have of building tabernacles, and of living here in peace, and kneeling down in our family circles in peace, having in our society the Prophets of God, men filled with wisdom, who are capable of leading us to salvation, and of leading us into the paths of life, who do teach us the principles of truth, which will lead us back to our Father and our God—I say, when we consider these things we ought to prize our privileges as Saints of the Most High. Brethren, we must invariably have the Spirit of God with us, that we may ever be kept in the line of our duty.

I feel to exhort you in regard to these things, that we may prize those blessings which God has given unto us, and pursue a course wherein we may be justified of the Lord. Now, if we attempt to do anything that is not right, the Spirit of the Lord will not approbate us, but we shall feel condemned. The Lord has blessed us during the past winter; He has poured out upon us a great amount of knowledge, wisdom, and treasures, that we ought to prize. Now, as the spring is coming upon us, and as we turn our attention to the plough and to cultivating the earth, if we forget our prayers, the Devil will take double the advantage of us. We have renewed our covenants by baptism, and we have received great blessings from the Lord, and much of the Holy Spirit has been shed abroad among this people. And, as brother Richards has said—and I consider the counsel right—we should not only reprove ourselves when wrong, but we should reprove sin wherever we see it, whether in ourselves, in our streets, or in our quorums. We should always show our disapprobation of those that are wrong—that are sinful and wicked.

I do not feel, this morning, like occupying a great portion of your time, but I do feel that the Lord is gracious unto us, and that we should prize above all things upon the earth the words of eternal life that are given unto us. As long as we are governed by the Holy Spirit, our minds are strengthened, and our faith is and will be increased, and we shall labour for the building up of the kingdom of God. And I pray that our hearts may be inspired to magnify our calling and the holy Priesthood, and honour God, keep his commandments, and live our religion, which I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

True Liberty, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 19, 1857.

I am heartily delighted with what has been said here this morning, so far as I have heard—for I did not come in time to hear all the remarks.

It is my greatest joy to see this people engaged in their religion, faithful to their calling, true to their trust, and fervent in spirit. And when I see the brethren and sisters striving to add faith to faith, and good works to good works, and feeling to renew their obligations, and covenants, and labours day by day, it is satisfying to me—it is joy and peace.

This is a marvellous work and a wonder. Do not the people think it is? What a stir this people make in the world! The sound thereof has gone forth almost, if not entirely, to the uttermost parts of the earth. Our Elders have been round the world and round the world again. They have been to the most noted nations, and to a great many isolated tribes and islands. I do not know but what the sound of “Mormonism” has gone forth into all the earth, and it makes a great stir wherever it goes.

Brother Truman O. Angel said that it appeared as though this people and the work we are engaged in are of the greatest importance. I can say that this work is of the greatest importance to you, and me, and the people of the earth; for no person can get salvation without it. And the remark of brother Carrington, that the unbridled passions of people forge their fetters, is true. There is no freedom anywhere outside the Gospel of salvation. The inhabitants of the earth imagine that they are enjoying great freedom. It is not so. If they would stop and reflect, they would find that they only place each other in bondage. This is the case with all the nations of the earth. Do you see that equality among them that you see here? Where is there a people or nation that does not oppress each other? When our Elders go forth and preach the Gospel, if it was in their power to cast from the people the yoke of bondage, instead of our gathering into the Church, from the British Isles, for instance, two or three thousand or ten thousand a year, we would gain our million a year.

That is a free nation: in the common acceptation of the term they are a free people: they are very liberal. But how many can embrace the work there with impunity? But a few; for people have not moral courage enough to break through their iron fetters. The people are bound down and cannot embrace this work. Thousands and millions have heard this Gospel preached who would have been glad to receive the blessings of it, if they could have done so without endangering their own existence on the earth. Life is sweet, and the majority of men will do anything to preserve it. Jesus said that a man would give all that he had for his life; and in our day there are a great many who will do almost anything to preserve their natural lives. To accomplish this, they will bow down to the whims and sayings of designing men, of the priests of the day, and to the laws and customs of individuals. Were it not for this, you would find that there would be millions embracing this work where there are now but hundreds; for there is no freedom only in the Gospel of salvation.

There is not an individual upon the earth but what has within himself ability to save or to destroy himself; and such is the case with nations. Is there liberty or freedom in destruction? No. When you look at things naturally, which is as far as the natural man sees, a person who takes a course to destroy himself temporally would be considered very unwise. And to the natural man we are taking an unwise, an unnatural course, wherein our religion is obnoxious to the Christian world. Did not your friends say to many of you, before you left your homes, that you were foolish—that the world would despise you and hate you? Did they not ask you if you could not see that troubles were coming upon the Saints, and say that you were very unwise in going with them—that you had better stay where there was safety? They can see nothing more than natural things; they do not understand the ways of God; they are unacquainted with His doings, with His kingdom, and with the principles of eternity.

So far as the natural man is concerned, it appears that the Latter-day Saints are very unwise to embrace in their faith those obnoxious principles that render them so odious in the eyes of the political and Christian world—the popular world. The Latter-day Saints see further; they understand more than what pertains to this world. The Gospel of life and salvation reveals to each individual who receives it that this world is only a place of temporary duration, existence, trials, &c. Its present fashion and uses are but for a few days, while we were created to exist eternally. The wicked can see no further than this world is concerned. We understand that when we are unclothed in this present state, then we are prepared to be clothed upon with immortality—that when we put off these bodies we put on immortality. These bodies will return to dust, but our hope and faith are that we will receive these bodies again from the elements—that we will receive the very organization that we have here, and that, if we are faithful to the principles of freedom, we shall then be prepared to endure eternally.

Can the wicked be brought forth to endure? No; they will be destroyed. Which, then, are the wise, and which are the foolish? We all naturally know—we can naturally understand that man cannot stay here always. The inhabitants of the earth are continually coming and going. This is not our abiding place. All can see naturally, if they would but observe the facts before them, that this world is but of short duration to them. They appear here infants, pass through childhood and youth to middle age, and if they live to a good old age, it is but a short time, and then they must go. But where do they go to, and what will become of them? Will this intelligence cease to be? There are but very few, if any, who really believe this. And the thought of being annihilated—of being blotted out of existence—is most horrid, even to that class called infidels.

The intelligence that is in me to cease to exist is a horrid thought; it is past enduring. This intelligence must exist; it must dwell somewhere. If I take the right course and preserve it in its organization, I will preserve to myself eternal life. This is the greatest gift that ever was bestowed on mankind, to know how to preserve their identity. Shall we forge our own fetters through our ignorance? Shall we lay the foundation to build the bulwarks for our own destruction through our wickedness? No; the Latter-day Saints know better. We will lay the foundation to dwell eternally, and that, too, in the heavens, with beings superior to those with whom we associate in our present situation and circumstances.

We have the principle within us, and so has every being on this earth, to increase and to continue to increase, to enlarge, and receive and treasure up truth, until we become perfect. It is wisdom for us to be the friends of God; and unless we are filled with integrity and preserve ourselves in our integrity before our God, we actually lay the foundation for our destruction. The world think that we are going to be temporally destroyed. That is nonsense. All things are temporal, and all things are spiritual with the Lord; there is no difference with Him, neither is there with any person who has eyes to see things as they exist. To those who have their minds open to eternal things, spiritual and temporal things are all one.

This is only our place of temporary existence. We cannot live here always with our bodies full of pain and subject to decay. Deprive us of food and we die; deprive us of water, and after a short time we die; deprive us of air, and we live but a few moments. We all know that this is not the state for us to live in and endure to eternity. Our eyes are looking beyond this sphere of action, and I trust that we are laying the foundation to endure eternally. If we do, we must be the friends of God—the friends of the principles of life and salvation; and we must adhere to those principles and shape our lives according to them, or else we lay the foundation for our own destruction.

Talk about liberty anywhere else! What liberty is there in anything that will be dissolved and return to its native element? What liberty can any intelligence enjoy that is calculated to be destroyed? There is no, liberty, no freedom there.

The principles of life and salvation are the only principles of freedom; for every principle that is opposed to God—that is opposed to the principles of eternal life, whether it is in heaven, on the earth, or in hell, the time will be when it will cease to exist, cease to preserve, manifest, and exhibit its identity; for it will be returned to its native element. I say, let us live our religion, serve our God, trust in Him; and when we are called to contend against the enemy within ourselves, contend against him manfully, just as we would against an open enemy—contend against those passions that rise in the heart, and overcome every one of them.

You will hear some of the brethren say, as brother Carrington as just said, that there are times when the blood courses like lightning, upon seeing men who are opposed to us—who are striving with all their powers to destroy this people. Can they destroy us? No, they cannot. There are a great many in this congregation who are witnesses that the Devil has been warring, with all his imps arrayed against this work, ever since the organization of this Church, and trying to obliterate it from the earth. Have they gained any ground? No; they have lost ground all the time. This people, with brother Joseph at their head, and with all the powers of Satan, earth, and hell for him to contend against, have built up the kingdom of God and spread the principles of the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth.

In regard to the battle in heaven, that brother Truman O. Angel referred to, how much of a battle it was I have forgotten. I cannot relate the principal circumstances, it is so long since it happened: but I do not think it lasted very long; for when Lucifer, the Son of the Morning, claimed the privilege of having the control of this earth and redeeming it, a contention rose; but I do not think it took long to cast down one-third of the hosts of heaven, as it is written in the Bible. But let me tell you that it was one-third part of the spirits who were prepared to take tabernacles upon this earth, and who rebelled against the other two thirds of the heavenly host; and they were cast down to this world. It is written that they were cast down to the earth. They were cast down to this globe—to this terra firma that you and I walk upon, and whose atmosphere we breathe. One-third part of the spirits that were prepared for this earth rebelled against Jesus Christ, and were cast down to the earth, and they have been opposed to him from that day to this, with Lucifer at their head. He is their great General—Lucifer, the Son of the Morning. He was once a brilliant and influential character in heaven, and we will know more about him hereafter.

Do you not think that those spirits knew when Joseph Smith got the plates? Yes, just as well as you know that I am talking to you now. They were there at the time, and millions and millions of them opposed Joseph in getting the plates; and not only they opposed him, but also men in the flesh. I never heard such oaths fall from the lips of any man as I heard uttered by a man who was called a fortune-teller, and who knew where those plates were hid. He went three times in one summer to get them—the same summer in which Joseph did get them. Baptist, Presbyterian, and Methodist priests and deacons sent for him to tell where those plates were, and to get them out of the hill where they were deposited; and he had not returned to his home from the last trip he made for them more than a week or ten days before Joseph got them. Joseph was what we call an ignorant boy; but this fortune-teller, whose name I do not remember, was a man of profound learning.

He had put himself in possession of all the learning in the States—had been to France, Germany, Italy, and through the world—had been educated for a priest, and turned out to be a devil. I do not know but that he would have been a devil if he had followed the profession of a priest among what are termed the Christian denominations. He could preach as well as the best of them, and I never heard a man swear as he did. He could tell that those plates were there, and that they were a treasure whose value to the people could not be told; for that I myself heard him say. Those spirits driven from heaven were with him and with others who tried to prevent Joseph’s getting the plates; but he did get and secrete them, though he had to knock down two or three men, as he was going home, who were waylaying him to kill him. From that day to this, a part of the hosts of heaven made mention of in the Bible, with the cursed corrupt priests and the cursed scoundrelly Gentiles with them, have been trying to put down this work. But what have they gained? I should suppose that they would have stopped their operations long ere this, after uniformly meeting with such bad success.

When I commenced preaching, I told the people that if they would let us alone, and not raise any persecution, we would go peaceably along among the people and preach to them; but that just as sure as they fought us and opposed this work we would actually revolutionize the world a great deal quicker than if they let us alone. I have stuck to that faith ever since; for every time that there has been an opposition raised against this work, God has caused it to swell like seed in the ground; He has caused the seed to sprout and bring forth the little mustard-trees, as brother Kimball has said.

The Gospel is certainly bringing forth a multitude of Saints. Has it not been so all the time? Yes, it has. A great deal could be said on this subject, but I have not time to say it now; for there are some other matters I wish to speak about.

We have issued almost 2,000 tickets inviting our brethren and sisters to pass the 24th of July at the Lake in Big Cottonwood Kanyon; and no doubt a great many more would also like to receive tickets. Hence, I want to tell you my feelings on the subject. If I call upon my friends to join me in a short excursion, to form a social party at my residence, or to unite upon any festive or memorable occasion, I never know where to stop in my feelings until every Latter-day Saint is invited. I wish those who do not receive invitations to go into the kanyon to understand that it is not because we have any feelings against your going there, nor is it because we wish you to tarry at home, nor because we not desire your society. But is it consistent for all the people to go? It is not. We will therefore gather up some that ought to go—some who can conveniently go, and leave the rest, with precisely the same good feelings towards those who tarry at home as those who go into the kanyon.

Last season it was observed, “I would like to have gone into the mountains to celebrate the 24th; but I did not want to go without an invitation.” I did not want you to, and I will tell you why. If we had permitted such a course, a great many would have gone that were not wanted there, as there are persons who would like to put fire into the kanyon and destroy the timber, or create a disturbance, if they could get a chance. We expect those who go to observe the instructions on the tickets they receive, and to go, tarry, and return in harmony and peace. Let all who go observe good order and try to make themselves happy. If I were to satisfy my feelings, I would invite the whole of you. I will do so by-and-by, and we will have a party right here in this Bowery on some Sabbath-day, where we can all be together and enjoy each other’s society.

There is another item that I will touch upon. Two weeks ago to-day, I mentioned the course of some individuals in this place who are writing slanders concerning us, stating that a man cannot live here unless he is a “Mormon,” when at the same time they come here to meeting with perfect impunity. Some of them are in the meeting today, and are now preparing lies for their letters. A parcel of them clan together and fix up letters, and they write to the East how desperately wicked the “Mormons” are—how they are killing each other, killing the gentiles, stealing and robbing, and what wicked, miserable creatures the “Mormons” are. And when any of them go from here, they report, “We have barely escaped with our lives: Oh! it was a very narrow escape that we made; but we did manage to get out of the place with our lives; yes, we did get away without being killed.” They all safely escape to tell their lies.

They say that it is with great difficulty that they can live with the Saints, when at the same time no one has molested them during all the time they have been writing lies to stir up the wicked to destroy us. They pass and repass in our streets with the same privileges that other citizens enjoy; and there are professedly of our faith those who sympathise for them. May God Almighty let His curse rest on all such sympathizers. [Many voices, “Amen.”]

Will troops come here and inquire into my just rebukes of such characters and conduct? “Oh!” says one, “I am afraid they will come; and what shall I do?” They have been with us many a time. We have been accustomed to seeing a hundred to our one, with their guns to shoot us, and their knives to cut our throats. Do people imagine that they can kill “Mormonism?” I may die for my religion, and who cares for that? Brother Carrington has told you that God can carry on his own work, and the spirit of Joseph which fell upon me is ready to fall upon somebody else when I am removed.

There are a few apostates here, and I have understood the whining and sympathy they manifested for our enemies. It makes me think of what I heard from a High Priest’s house, that he did not know a Saint’s face from the Devil’s. It is just so with a great many. They would not know the angel Gabriel, if he were to stand here to preach to them, from Lucifer, the Son of the Morning. If Lucifer were to hand out a dollar—“ You are a gentleman; won’t you call at my house?…. Here is another dollar.” “Call over at my house; I have some daughters: perhaps you would like to be introduced to them. I have a fine family; call in, and get acquainted with my family.”

Do you know that there is no fellowship between Christ and Baal? Do you think that a union has taken place between them? Can you fellowship those who will serve the Devil? If you do, you are like them; and we wish you to go with them; for we do not want you. We wish that all such men and women would apostatize and come out boldly and say, “We are going to hell upon our own road;” and I will say, “Go ahead, and may the Devil speed you on your journey! Here is sixpence for you.” But do not be snooping round, pretending to be Saints, at the same time be receiving such men into your houses and such spirits into your hearts, as many do. Well, all that is necessary, and it will be so; but the time will come when “judgment will be laid to the line, and righteousness to the plummet;” and if it is not hailstones, it will be some other kind that will sweep away those who make lies and love them.

Brother Truman said that we are here, are we not? We are in the tops of the mountains, and all hell cannot remove us. What do you suppose Joseph and Hyrum would have said, if they could have been here with only one hundred such boys as they could have chosen? Their enemies might have hunted them to this day, and they would have wasted them away as fast as they could have come.

Brother Truman said that there are as many for us as against us. Yes; there are ten to one for us more than those against us; but the difficulty is that all have not eyes to see. The soldiers of the Lord are in the mountains, in the kanyons, upon the plains, on the hills, along the mighty streams, and by the rivulets. Thousands and thousands more are for us than those who are against us, and you need not have any fears. They may be permitted to kill our bodies, but that is yet to be determined. They try to fire a pistol; the cap snaps, and they are in the lurch; for some would have a dagger into them before they would know it. Or, if they tried to shoot with a rifle, perhaps the person aimed at would be standing a little one side of the range of the bullet.

Brother Carrington’s testimony proves to you that men’s eyes are liable to be deceived. It may appear strange to some that he could not tell me from Joseph Smith, when I was speaking in the stand in Nauvoo during the October Conference of 1844. Somebody came along and passed a finger over his eyes and he could not see any one but Joseph speaking, until I got through addressing the congregation.

They may shoot, and they will see Brigham a little to one side, and Heber in another place, and fire away—at what? At shadows. We shall live as long as the Lord wants us to. They may lie and write lies, and they may stay here, if they behave themselves; but if they do not stop their devilish conduct they will be overtaken; for we will make their words true in regard to their being in danger, if they persist in their efforts to bring destruction upon us. We do not ask any odds of them, nor of hell, nor of the world. We only ask favours of our God; and He is the Being we serve: to Him we go; and we do not pray to a God without body, parts, passions, or principles; for we do not serve such a personage. We serve the living and true God, who has body, and parts, and passions, and feelings for His children; and the wicked may help themselves the best they can. Amen.

A Vision

Amasa Lyman

Related by Elder Amasa Lyman, in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 19, 1857.

I have not got up to preach a long sermon; but, as President Young said, if anybody wanted to talk, to talk away, I have a matter in my mind, and I have felt disposed to mention it to the brethren and sisters. I was reminded of it by an expression that was dropped by the President in his remarks this morning, where he said, if we could have our eyes opened, as were those of the servant of Elijah, to see the innumerable hosts that are in our favour, we would not have to wait and, to wonder when the help of Israel will be sufficiently numerous; for we should know there are more for us now than can be against us.

When we were in Nauvoo, at the beginning of the last winter we spent in Illinois, about the time the clouds were gathering so thick, and the last storm began to break upon us, we heard the thunders and threatenings of our enemies wherein they stated that we were to be driven away.

At that time I was confined to my bed with sickness, but I heard the report of the proceedings day after day; but I could not come out to see the face of the heavens, to judge what the issues would be. To get away was impossible with me at that time, and we knew that the longer we stayed the more we should be oppressed by our enemies.

After I had commenced to recover my health, one morning, while lying in my bed in open day, as wakeful as I am at this moment, the surrounding objects which I could see when in my natural condition all in an instant disappeared, and, instead of appearing to keep my bed, I found myself standing in a place where those acquainted with Nauvoo and the location of the Printing Office, subsequent to the death of the Prophets, will remember. There was a vacant lot in front of the Printing Office; I stood there, and I heard a rumbling noise something like that which attends the moving of a mass of people. I turned round to look in the direction of Main Street, and behold! the whole country was filled with one moving mass of people that seemed to be travelling directly to the point where I stood. As they approached somewhat nearer, they seemed not to be travelling on the ground, but somewhat near the altitude of the tops of the buildings.

At the head of the company were three personages clothed with robes of white, something like those which many of us are acquainted with. Around their waist was a girdle of gold, and from this was suspended the scabbard of a sword—the sword being in the hand of the wearer.

They took their places with their faces directly west; and as they stopped, the individual in advance turned and looked over his shoulder to me with a smile of recognition. It was Joseph; and the others were his two brothers, Hyrum and Carlos.

I contemplated them for a few moments; but to tell my feelings would be impossible. I leave you to guess them; for it would be futile to attempt a description.

After contemplating the scene a few moments, I was again in my bed as before, and the vision had disappeared. This was my assurance, in the commencement of our troubles there, that I received of the guardianship that was around us and the protection that we were receiving from the hosts of heaven.

The sequel of our history proves that it was no idle tale. Our safety was pledged and guaranteed; but what does our history prove? That the heavens have laboured for us—that those who have gone behind the vail laboured for us; and they still labour for us. If it were only ourselves that guaranteed the success of “Mormonism” on the earth, it would be but a poor guarantee; but that help that has sustained us will not be taken or withdrawn from us.

While we seek to sustain the truth we shall be sustained. As the President observed, we shall be preserved just so long as our Father in heaven requires us. All the interests which we have upon the earth ought to be pledged to sustain the truth; and when our interests require us to go from here, why should we dread it, any more than we dread to go to England or to any other place.

We serve our interests when we serve our God; and it is all that we have to do. It is so with me, and it has been so, and it should be so with all of us. It is not choice with me whether I stay or go. I have friends there, and I have friends here; and if I were to calculate which I love best, I could not tell.

Well, brethren and sisters, may the Lord Almighty bless you is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

A Visit to the House of Congress, etc.

George A. Smith

Remarks by Elder George A. Smith, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday morning, July 26, 1857.

I arise this morning, my brethren and sisters, feeling considerable dependence upon your faith to give me ability to address you. The prayer of faith, of the righteous, availeth much; and if the Saints desire to be instructed by me this morning. to any considerable extent, I am certainly satisfied that faith must be exercised in my behalf, as my lungs are not in a suitable condition to enable me to say much.

In entering into a congregation of the Saints, a man who feels the Spirit of the Lord, and has this ruling principle in him, must, under all circumstances of the kind, rejoice with exceeding great joy for the privilege of beholding the faces and of addressing the Saints of the Most High, and of bearing testimony of the truths of the everlasting Gospel in their presence.

Last year at this time I was in the city of Washington, surrounded by those who are struggling by any and every process that can be imagined to get their hands into Uncle Sam’s pockets. It was the principle and almost the only business of every man there to invent some scheme, or find some means or contrivance to make a draw on the Treasury. It was necessary that all their motives and their policy be guarded, and that they be careful of their acquaintances and cautious in their conversation, lest something they might say might endanger the object they were endeavouring to obtain Praying, thanksgiving to God, and acknowledging His hand in all things was the last thing thought of, if thought of at all; but that is exceedingly doubtful. I looked upon the confusion, the struggling for power and place, the thirst for gold, the contention and strife that were attracting together so many thousands from the different parts of the United States, and all by the glittering of the United States’ Treasury; and I wondered. I cannot say that it produced in my mind the first pleasant feeling. The spirit of wrangling—the spirit of contention seemed to be determined to rend in pieces and utterly destroy the Union. There is a trampling under foot of the principles upon which the Union was founded, and this caused me to be sorrowful.

I frequently went into the Capitol to take a look at the boiling foam of political strife that was amongst them; and I saw a spirit that seemed to be determined to demolish the fabric reared by our fathers, or to disable it by anarchy and misrule.

Brother Heywood and I roomed together, we prayed together, we conversed together, and we visited brother Bernhisel, and talked to him, counselled with him, and comforted him all we could. I believe that we three were the only men in the city of Washington that had any idea that it was of any use asking God for anything, except they did it as a form. To be sure there are meeting-houses and temples of worship for the Catholics, for the Presbyterians, for the Methodists, for the Episcopalians, and for the various sects of Protestants; and there were chaplains who prayed a few minutes in the Senate Chamber and in the Hall of Representatives.

I heard the old gentleman pray several times who was the Chaplain in the House of Representatives. I used to go into the Representatives Hall with brother Bernhisel in the morning, and he would introduce me to the members and to the chaplain; and I could stay there until the praying was over: then all had to leave but members and officers.

They had a very fine man for Chaplain in the House. He was ninety-six years old. He had served in the revolutionary war. He was a sober, fine man; but his mind was set down to what he had learned forty-five years ago. I conversed with him, and told him what an excellent man Governor Young was—how kind he was to the Indians; and he replied that he was glad to hear it. The last session we discovered that his step began to falter, and that from one session to another he was considerably altered; but he made out to continue his duties through the session. The old man made it his business to preach in the Capitol on Sundays: he exhorted the people to do right. What they were to do to be saved had never, I suppose, entered into his brain. I must to the last of my days have respect for the old Chaplain; for I considered him a fair specimen of the old school soldiery.

As I became acquainted with the gentlemen of the House, the subject of “Mormonism” was soon introduced; and most generally the first question would indicate prejudice and the want of knowledge of our feelings and views here in the mountains.

It was said by some of the old Prophets that “The people had made lies their refuge, and under falsehood hid themselves.” It is an old adage that falsehood will go round the world while truth is getting on its boots. In talking with strangers, I found very few who, from all they had heard and read, had formed any correct notions of this people, and of this Territory, and the circumstances which surround us: but tales of falsehood, tales of folly, tales of wickedness, and stories imaginary of various kinds—these could be found anywhere; but very little of the truth seems to have rested in anybody’s brain.

The Old Book talks about a city called the New Jerusalem. The passage I refer to is in the Revelations of John, 21st chapter, and from the 8th to the 11th verses:—“But the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolators, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” [President H. C. Kimball: “They have got to die a second time.”] “And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God; and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.” John goes on and describes the city to a great length, and then in the following chapter and 15th verse, speaking of the same city, he says—“For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolators, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”

Just let me tell the truth—the naked facts as they exist in open day, to any person I would visit or meet and they would look at me with distrust; and it would be plainly manifest in their countenances that the truth had no resting-place there. No matter if I conversed with the great and wise men of the nation, they seemed not inclined to receive the truth; but let them read a falsehood or an exaggerated statement, and it would strike their attention in a moment. They loved lies, they loved falsehood, they loved corruption, they loved whoremongers, they loved wickedness.

I used to suppose that all that was necessary was to convince the children of men that anything that was presented was right, and I thought that all men naturally had a disposition to receive anything, and to accede to anything that was right; but I learned from the observations I made that the right of the case was about the last thing to be considered, and that justice, truth, or the righteousness of a subject is the last thing to be brought under consideration.

The question to be considered is, Is there any money in it, or is there a chance to make any? Is there a chance to get any political influence? Is there a chance to elevate ourselves in the eyes of our constituents? It makes no difference whether it murders an innocent person or not, if it is only popular, and money can be made at it. This appears to be the ruling power with the children of men in their present wicked and degenerate state.

We are here in the Valleys of the Mountains, and we profess a religion that has a form; and we are very technical in regard to the form, and in regard to our prayers, in regard to our baptism, in regard to our confirmation, in regard to our administrations to the sick, and in regard to all those things that pertain to our religious faith. We are very particular, the most of us, in our feelings, and quite strenuous to observe strictly those outside ordinances—but no more so than we should be.

But the question arises, and we all ask ourselves the question, Is it the form only, or are we suffering ourselves to carry out the form without the inward work and the power of the Holy Spirit? Notwithstanding all this, we should realize that the Lord looks on the heart.

My desires and my feelings are that, if I can observe the forms of religion, I must also use my utmost exertions not to suffer the spirit to be lacking; for all these things must be done heartily and as unto the Lord. Now, I have some knowledge in relation to this work; I have been in the Church from my boyhood, and I have grown grey and bald in the midst of Israel. I have been in the Church when there were but few comparatively—when one such city as we now count by numbers in these valleys would have embraced all that were in the Church.

I was baptized in the year 1832, and I have grown and seen its windings and changings, and I can now bear testimony that every evil and distress that has come upon the Saints has been in consequence of not listening to the counsel of their Prophet and President; and this has been by misunderstanding, and in adhering to our old prejudices, and by not listening to the testimony and warning of the Prophet Joseph. For these causes our enemies have fallen upon our leading men, and operated among us like a mighty sieve to separate the chaff from the wheat.

The supposition is that the smut machine is ahead, and that by-and-by every man and every woman who feel disposed to serve the Lord with all their hearts will have a chance to be tried whether they love the Lord or the things of this world the best—whether they love the things of the Most High God, or whether their religion is a mere form carried out to please their Bishop, to satisfy their Teachers, or whether they do give their hearts to the Lord, and all their might, mind, and strength.

Now, I feel, my brethren, to thank my Heavenly Father for the spirit of reformation that I have witnessed since I returned; and I feel to pray that it may continue, and feel to exhort the people to fear God, who can destroy both the soul and body in hell; and also for them not to suffer doubt to trouble them, to make them wayward in their hearts or thoughts; for I have seen the effect of this to a great extent in times past.

I do know that the world is full of wickedness, and that it is bound in bundles, and is fast preparing for the day of burning; and I do know there is no chance of deliverance or of safety but in being tried, that they may be screened and sifted, and that all unrighteousness may be cleansed from their midst.

This is my testimony of these truths, brethren and sisters; and I pray that we may live up to them, and be prepared to inherit the glory of God in the worlds to come, through Christ our Redeemer. Amen.

Filial Duty, etc.

Lorenzo Snow

Remarks by Elder Lorenzo Snow, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Thursday morning, April 9, 1857.

While those young boys have been speaking, a few thoughts occurred to my mind, which I thought I would speak for their comfort; for I desire to do them good.

If a father, for instance, had a large, extensive family, his object would be to do them good, to promote their interest and happiness, to put into their hands power, knowing that they could not accomplish much alone, and that they would have to take or obtain assistance from that family. The son that would take the deepest interest—that would devote himself the most faithfully to promote the designs of the father and head of that family, for the happiness and prosperity of the whole, would increase in power and influence faster than any other one; for the father would be disposed to put as much power and influence into his hands as it would be possible for him to receive, and as would be for the benefit of the family.

That would be the principle upon which all the members of that family would increase in knowledge, influence, and power above others. It would be by. having the faculty, the feeling, and the disposition and desire to carry out the mind of the father, and that, too, for the benefit and exaltation of the whole family.

In order to do this, every particle of power, influence, and ability that a son holds, he should hold in subjection to the will of his father, be ever ready to carry out his commands; and his object and aim should be to obtain influence with his father; and then he would feel like holding everything that he obtained subject to the control of the father. No matter if he had obtained great temporal influence—no matter whether his influence be of an intellectual or spiritual character—no matter whether he obtained his influence by his knowledge of books the study of science—whether he had obtained farms, or lands, or riches, or whether he had his influence by obedience to his father’s will he would hold all at the control of his father, for the general good of the family. Just so far as he had this in him would he gain influence with his father and get the power upon him which it is absolutely necessary for him to possess.

If men would search deep into their own hearts, they would discover that their desires and feelings, and in fact many things which they do and say, are not in accordance with the mind and will of the Lord.

These boys do not profess to have received much—not a great deal of knowledge; but yet they are willing to do that which they are set to do: they place all upon the altar to be used as the master pleases; and herein lies their strength to carry out those great and glorious designs for the salvation of this people and the rolling forth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It matters not how little they are, or how little they have received, inasmuch as they keep faithful and discharge the duties devolving upon them, the Lord will make them powerful for the rebuking of iniquity, and for the establishment of the kingdom of God, and to minister to those that dwell upon all the face of the land.

Now, when a person receives intelligence from the Lord, and is willing to communicate that for the benefit of the people, he will receive continual additions to that intelligence; and there is no end to his increase so long as he will hold fast to the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ; and so long as he will hold himself in readiness to operate here, go there, and work for the Lord, travel abroad to the nations of the earth, or to travel among the mountains of Israel, that individual is bound to become strong and mighty in the power of God and in the intelligence of eternity.

You, brethren, that are here in these valleys have a certain privilege which you ought to appreciate—namely, that of consecrating your property to the Lord. If you want to know the secret and principle upon which you may become rich, it lies in contributing your means and in putting your property into the hands of the leaders of this Church. When a man has much property, he is very apt to fix his heart upon it. Some have one thousand dollars’ worth of property, some five thousand dollars, and some more; and I fear that many are using their means in a way that will prove a curse instead of a blessing; and when the Lord says, Give me your property, we are not unanimously ready to answer the call.

In this respect, however, we are beginning to learn, and in some degree answering the call. We are beginning to learn that it all belongs to the Lord, and that he has given us a little power by which we have acquired some knowledge of his will and his designs concerning us. Take the man who has a large share of this world’s goods, and examine what kind of a man he is—try his spirit, and you will generally find that it is often one of the greatest trials that can come upon him, to be called upon to part with any of his property.

If you please, you may contrast such a person with these boys who have been addressing you, and you will find them ready and on hand to do anything that may be required at their hands. Those youths are more willing and pliable in the hands of the servants of God than many men who have been in the Church from the beginning.

Latterly, however, you have learned the principle to some extent, and the power of God has been manifested, so that you are now ready to give a little of your means for the building up of the kingdom of God; and by-and-by I presume you will progress like some others have done, and be ready to put all upon the altar.

Take this people at the present time—consider what they possess—then inquire how many of them have consecrated their property, and you will find that the amount consecrated is a mere nothing compared with that which the people actually possess.

I tell you, brethren, that although this may seem a small matter, yet, if we cling to the property that we possess as the wicked do to theirs, we shall never obtain that which we are trying for. We must learn to obey the word of the Lord. Why is it that we do not talk more about consecration? It is because brother Brigham does not care anything about it, only that he wishes the people to take a course to secure themselves against the powers of the Evil One, that he may not gain any control over them or their families.

If this people who live in these valleys of the mountains are willing to put their property into the hands of the Trustee-in-Trust, that it may be preserved for the benefit of the kingdom, and will continue to live their religion as they have done the past few months, they and their property will become sanctified to the Lord; and thus we will show to all nations and people that we have learned a principle that they know nothing of and that they have nothing to do with—show them that when we can get a little property, we put it where the Lord can use it just as He pleases.

This is a practice and a principle the world knows nothing of; but when this people deed over their property, they understand what they are about; they know that they will eventually be exalted to possess all that is desirable—the land, the houses, the vineyards, the cattle, the gold, the silver, and all the riches of the heavens and of the earth. The Lord says, All these things are mine; and because of the willingness of my people, all will be restored back to me; and then I will put them in possession of all the riches of eternity.

This is the only principle upon which we can secure the promised blessings. “Then,” says one, “why is it not talked about more than it is?” If the people do not see it now, and cannot act upon it with the light and knowledge they have already received, if they cannot see the principle by which they can be established, it follows, as a matter of course, that they cannot be established in our Father’s kingdom.

It is the design of the Almighty to work into the hearts of the people the principles to operate upon, in order to obtain an eternal exaltation and glory; and if we do not see them now, with the instruction already given unto us, we shall have to learn them by experience more severe.

We have not the power to do anything without the assistance of the Spirit of the Lord; but do we all know that the Gospel we preach is true? Do we know as well as those little boys know, who have been speaking to you? They do actually know that this is the work of God; but some of them do not really comprehend that they understand as much truth as they do. But the truths of the Gospel of Christ are in them, and through them; for they were born in the Gospel, and hence they are born Latter-day Saints. The root of the matter is in them, and they are preserved by the good hand of the Lord; for He has His eye upon them, and designs to use them in a future day. What they possess of influence, means, or knowledge, they are ready to put to their Father’s use.

Let these boys go into a High Council, and, by the Spirit that is in them, they will give better judgment than those old men do; and I can safely say this, and that, too, on brother Brigham’s responsibility; for I have heard him say it a number of times.

Do I feel sure of this? Yes, I do; for the fact of the matter is, they do not know anything about error: they know nothing but truth, while we old fogies, who are so filled up with tradition ought to think twice before we dare to speak once.

In this way I look upon the movements of those young men in contrast with the actions of the old fogies. They are lively, energetic, always on hand, by night or by day, to carry expresses or to do anything required of them.

Brethren, I feel first-rate to-day, and I know that you do, by the light that beams forth from your countenances. There is one thing upon my mind, which I will speak upon before I conclude. I want my brethren to understand it, because that and the things we have heard pertain to our exaltation and glory. They lie deep, but still they are important.

Let us go forth and do precisely as we are told; and just as fast as we increase, so will we have to use that spiritual knowledge which is given unto us in a way that will aid in building up the kingdom of God: and it is just so with what little property and means you have got; it must all be upon the altar. You must get rid of this little, mean, nasty spirit, and walk in the light of God. Let your minds expand, and be on hand for every duty that is placed upon you.

There are men right before me who have done but little for the kingdom of God, and who, if they knew what would be for their good, would go within twenty-four hours and say to President Young, There is a thousand, or five or ten thousand dollars, which I will donate for the benefit of the kingdom.

But, then, I realize that we are children yet, and we have not learned, our duties fully. It is true that once in a great while there is a man who can break out from the common track of doing things, and such a man will increase in influence, in the knowledge of God, and in the riches of eternity. There are men who will do this at the present time; but by and by all the Saints of God will more generally learn the principle and obey it.

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

The Way to Eternal Life, etc.

Orson Hyde

A discourse by Elder Orson Hyde, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, March 8, 1857.

Brethren and sisters—I arise this morning to make a few remarks to you; and I crave your prayerful and watchful attention. I must necessarily be careful and guarded in my speech and communication, in order to preserve my lungs, having used them pretty freely of late—often in the open air, and sometimes in the storm, in the midst of large assemblies of the Saints; and, consequently, I feel the effects of constant labour and exposure; but if I now begin on a low key, and guard and restrain my voice, I may be able to make you all hear and understand me, at least before I shall come to a close.

While sitting here and reflecting upon our condition, this morning, the words of our Saviour came to my mind with peculiar force, which say, “Strive to enter in at the strait gate; for I say unto you, that many shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able. These words, in and of themselves, cannot fail to awaken and alarm every reflecting mind—that many will seek to enter in and not be able? Is this thy state and condition? Let each one answer the question. It is like the awakening peals of Mount Sinai’s thunders. It is a summon of itself—a volume. It should serve to us all as the warning cry to be up and doing, and to seek in the right way to enter in. If we were to seek for a lost treasure in places where it was not, we might seek as diligently, and even more so than the person who sought where it was and found it. How necessary, then, that truth and wisdom guide our steps! To this point I wish to call your attention to-day.

We have had a good season during the past winter, and a precious opportunity to improve our minds and to gain knowledge and information preparatory to our assuming those responsibilities, and to act that part in the great drama of God’s eternal kingdom, which our profession, office, and calling imperatively demand at our hand. But if the season had been open and mild, as it sometimes is in this country, we might, perhaps, through a great desire to accumulate comforts around us, have been led away by our worldly interests to the great neglect of the “one thing needful.” If, therefore, an overruling Providence has mercifully laid an embargo upon our temporal pursuits by the pitiless storms of a long and dreary winter, and poured out His Holy Spirit upon us to awaken us to reformation, we have double reason to acknowledge His hand and to praise Him for ever for the good and benevolent designs He has manifested towards us.

It now beho[o]ves us, in this time of prosperity, when Zion shines under smiling face of her God, to lay by in store a good foundation against the time to come. To the faithful Saints, it matters not whether the seasons are mild and pacific, or boisterous and severe. If we do right, we shall all have abundant reason to say,” True and righteous are Thy ways, Thou King of Saints.”

You were taught, brethren and sisters, before my arrival from Carson, (which was on the 9th of December last,) to awake from your sleep—to repent of your sins, and then to restore to the injured according to the wrongs you may have done them. Next, you were taught in doctrine and in principle—reproved, admonished, comforted, and guided in the path wherein you might seek, and seek not in vain.

Truths of almost every character and kind have been declared and dealt out to you with a profuse and a liberal hand. Day after day, and night after night, the voice of inspiration has been heard in your midst. Truths adapted to every character, every state, and every condition in life, have been faithfully portrayed unto you in letters of living light, and in words of most burning and soul-stirring eloquence—even such as the Holy Ghost inspired—from the simple to the sublime, and from the tone of the harp to the voice of thunder.

Have you performed the tasks given you? Have you done the work and kept abreast with your instructions? Or have you indulged a wish to get some new thing—something far-fetched, which can have no effect other than to allure your minds from the truths that worthily demand your sincere attention and observance? It sometimes happens that a scholar at school, anxious to advance, takes a lesson to-day in one branch of science, and to-morrow in another, and the third day in another, and so on, until, in his own estimation, he comes out a polished and refined student, a professor and a sage—when, in fact, he understands nothing that he has read, and is only cherishing a deception that he has practised upon himself.

Is this the case with us? Have we thoroughly learned the lessons that have been given us, and reduced them to practice? There is nothing better calculated to imprint upon the mind any science or theory than to reduce it to practice and really act upon it. Then we see its force and bearing; and while engaged in the practical part, it stamps indelibly upon our minds, never to be forgotten, the principles we have imbibed.

If we have practised upon the lessons and teachings we have received, we know that they will stand by us; but if we have merely heard them, and not entered into the practical duties thereof, they will die in our memory, never having been incorporated in our organization, and we become like the man beholding his natural face in the glass, and straightway goeth away and forgetteth what manner of man he is.

I might explain to you all about the art of printing; yet, with all the knowledge that my explanation could give you respecting this important art, who of you that is not a compositor can take my sermon and go into an office and set it up? “Practice makes perfect.” If we learn righteous principles and practise them, they have power to change our natures in conformity with themselves. They become a part and parcel of ourselves, bringing us into an alliance with them that knows no separation. Hence we become a righteous people; and, if we continue, we not only strive, but shall be able to enter in.

Each of you can recollect acting upon certain things taught you in the days of your childhood. They are as fresh in your recollection now as they were in the day you acted upon them. Therefore, let us ever act upon true and righteous principles, and they will remain with us, and we shall become righteous in our natures; and if we never act upon an evil principle, we shall forget all the evil we ever knew, and God will forget it also; and our natures will never be evil inclined.

If we have reduced to practice all the teachings and instructions given us from this stand and from other places, we are a blessed and happy people. If we have not, we have not done justice to ourselves. Let us honour the teachings we have received, and we shall find ample ground to occupy without anything far-fetched and dear bought.

We are a congregation of Latter-day Saints (so called), assembled here this morning to hear the words of life or edification concerning the kingdom of God. This question arises in my mind—Are we all Saints of the Most High God? Or, are we composed of individuals bearing that name, when, indeed, we all may not merit it?

I will present to you a figure to illustrate my idea; for I wish to make plain to your understanding the thoughts of my own heart; and if I can transmit them to you as they exist in my bosom, they may operate on your minds as they do upon mine. It is now the time of seeding. Our farmers are sowing at the north and in the south—a matter of great satisfaction to me. And here allow me to express a wish, that while they sow in faith, they may reap with joy! By-and-by, when this wheat grows up, you may see it waving in the wind, and you will say, Here is a beautiful field of wheat. It is fine, healthy, and presages a bountiful harvest. It gradually matures in the sun’s scorching rays; and you see the field white already to harvest. You call it all wheat. Now, the question is, Is it all wheat? Is not the greater portion of it straw? Though you call it all wheat, even as you call this congregation all Saints, may not a portion of the products of that field be chaff likewise? Certainly. Then, again, is there not often considerable smut in that which you call wheat? Yes, and a great many shrunken kernels that will yield no flour, but will be blown away. In bulk you call it all wheat; yet, come to analyse and separate its different properties and qualities, you find from the bulk of the growth of that field which you called all wheat but a small portion that is really genuine wheat. Then, after the plump berry is separated from the straw, chaff, smut, &c., there remains yet a finer quality of chaff, which you call bran. Then there are different qualities of flour—No. 1, or superfine, No. 2 and 3, or shorts. But a small portion of the produce of that field, we discover, is really fit for the Master’s table!

Now, then, here is a thing which I wish you to consider, which is this: The chaff, straw, &c., produced in that field draw their nourishment from the very same source that the berry does from the moisture and fatness of the soil! They all feed upon the very same food! Not only so, but we perceive that, by ligaments and fibres, the chaff, the straw, and the berry are all connected together; and in view of a similar principle, our Saviour said, “Root not up the tares until the time of harvest, lest, by rooting up the tares, ye root up the wheat also.”

It is necessary that the straw exist to sustain the wheat, the chaff to protect the berry, by serving as an overcoat and shield from the various and varied influences of the weather, from insects, and to keep it warm. The same nourishment that supports; the berry and keeps it alive also sustains and keeps alive the chaff as its cloak or mantle. There is not a sparrow that flies in the air that partakes not of the goodness of our God. He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. All the tribes of men, the swarms of insects, the herds of animals, the flocks of the feathered millions that fly over our heads, are all sustained by by the same liberal hand of our Heavenly Father. His providence provides for all, even for the wolf and the poisonous rattlesnake.

Now, in the midst of all this, who among us are prepared to say whether we are straw, chaff, smut, or wheat—bran, shorts, or flour? “Many shall seek to enter in and shall not be able.”

Perhaps I shall be able, ere I close my remarks, to give you some key to this matter, which, if it shall enable you fully to determine, may at least materially aid you in your inferences in relation to yourselves. But of this one thing rest perfectly assured, that the way to life is straight and very narrow. The straw and the chaff are growing up and striving to enter the granary; but they will be hardly able.

As I look about upon this congregation, and as I mingle with the Saints at large, I discover that there are different spirits. Every organization has a spirit peculiar to itself. I do not say that there is any fatality in this. Do not understand me to convey that idea. But I do say this, that every spirit connected with an earthly organization may be tempered by the Spirit of God according to its fidelity, intelligence, and faith, so that there is no excuse. If I point you to the horse, you find a peculiar spirit attending the organization of that animal. When he is fine and in good condition, there is something stately and grand about him.

When we see the beautiful dove flying through the air, a pleasing sensation is produced in us by its graceful movements, because the Holy Spirit was once sent in that form. Again, we look at the serpent, and another feeling is produced—a fear—a chill—a horror. So every creature, beast and bird, man and woman, has a spirit peculiar to its own organization; and no organization is entirely, independent of the Spirit of God; for all have some intelligence. Were the spirits and temperaments all alike, the same instructions would serve for all. But as it is, every man must receive his portion of meat in due season. And the word must be rightly divided—giving to every man his portion that is adapted to his organization and temperament, that he may thereby be saved.

Man is composed of matter and spirit; and the Spirit of God operates upon and tempers man’s organization according to his faith and good works. Some are tempered very highly. Such not only carry a keen edge, but are susceptible of a high polish. Others are of low temper, because of a low, dull, and sluggish disposition and character, which they have indulged, and consequently formed. They are not a very smooth or sweet cutting tool. They have not sought to cultivate their temperament by seeking and courting the Spirit of God as they should.

Yet these may be guilty of no out-breaking sin. They keep within the pale of the law, pay their tithing, and keep along, and are considered good, peaceable, and honourable citizens. They despise to steal, are willing to labour, and pursue an even, straightforward course. Still, we cannot look upon them as being tempered by the Holy Spirit to the extent of their privilege. Yet they work righteousness as far as they work at all. These persons are fond of going to meeting, and are often heard to say, “What a good sermon we have had!”

This is all right, if you did have a good sermon. They will ask you a thousand and one questions in order to draw out something to satisfy their eager desire for knowledge and understanding, not hardly recollecting their privilege to ask of God and receive for themselves. But there is no crime in this. Still, one can hardly refrain from thinking, when he sees his neighbour begging and borrowing bread, how much more commendable it would be in him to apply himself to labour and produce thereby bread from the soil by his own exertion.

And inasmuch as our Heavenly Father is accessable to all, it is far better to store our minds with the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, by our own spiritual labours and toil, direct from the great Fountain of celestial light and love, than to trust wholly to the testimony and teachings of others. Obtain the testimony of Jesus, which is the spirit of prophecy. Startle not at the idea of prophecy and prophets; for I would to God that all the Lord’s people were prophets. There is no professing Christian in the world, who does not possess the spirit of prophecy, that can tell whether he is wheat, straw, chaff, smut, or tares. And no person can have the spirit of prophecy who declares that the days of the prophets are gone by and are not needed now, unless that spirit should be given to seal condemnation upon the narrow-minded bigot who will not confess it and give God the glory, after it may have fallen upon him; for he loves the praise of men more than the praise of God.

The sun, moon, and stars are the representatives of the final homes of the departed dead, if not their real homes. The sun is said to shine by its own light inherent in itself. I might not admit this under some circumstances; but the popular thing will here answer my purpose. The moon and stars shine by borrowed light. These stars or planets vary in their size, motion, distance from the earth, and intensity of heat, cold, &c. Some of them may revolve in eternal day, while others roll in endless night; and still others, like our earth, may have alternate day and night.

Here are homes for all grades of spirits, from the faithful martyr to Christ’s kingdom and Gospel, whose glory is represented by the sun in the firmament, to the wicked tare, who will be sent away into outer darkness, upon some planet destined to roll in endless night. “In my Father’s house are many mansions.” There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars. One star differs from another star in glory; so also is the resurrection of the dead.

The children of this world who love darkness rather than light, will find themselves, finally, to be inhabitants of those planets that move in outer darkness; having a home adapted to their disposition and character.

The inspired Apostles and Prophets, together with the martyrs of Jesus, and all the pure and sanctified ones, will inherit a glory like the sun; while the hypocritical professor, the liar, the adulterer, the profane swearer, with all who hold to a religion without Prophets and Apostles, without inspiration and miracles, without revelation, prophecy, keys, and powers to bind on earth and in heaven, after the call is made upon them by the messengers of the true religion, will be damned and sent away into outer darkness, even into prison, where they will gnaw their tongues for pain.

In this prison they must remain until they have paid the utmost farthing. The antediluvians were in this prison for a long time, until at length Christ preached the Gospel to their spirits, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh. He opened the prison-doors to them that were bound, and proclaimed a release to the captive sons and daughters of earth, enslaved by sin in the days of Noah.

While the Saviour’s body lay entombed in the sepulchre, his spirit was not inactive. He was preaching the Gospel to the spirits in prison. But after they have suffered in prison and are finally released, after many a thousand years’ servitude in pain and darkness, their glory cannot be like that of the sun, neither like that of the moon, nor yet like the stars of the first magnitude; but, perhaps, like the faint glimmer of a distant star—so distant from the sun, that a ray from that brilliant orb can hardly reach it.

The foolish virgins, not having the means of light in themselves, could never enter a mansion or world that shines by its own light; but as they had no oil in their vessels, they were compelled to borrow; and hence, they must go to a world or mansion that shines by borrowed light. Have light in yourselves! You may borrow all you can of me, and I will cheerfully lend all in my power; but have, at least, some light in yourselves, and salt likewise.

Oh that the testimony of Christ, which is the spirit of prophecy, were freely shed upon all this people! It would be, if we were all pure and worthy. Then one need no longer say to another, Know ye the Lord; for they would all know Him, from the least unto the greatest. Then we should know that we were neither straw, chaff, smut, bran, nor tares, but pure and genuine, superfine No. 1, and labelled for the celestial kingdom—“Right side up, with care.”

With the light and knowledge which we, through the grace of God, have obtained, let us press forward with boldness and a laudable ambition to secure the prize bought by a Saviour’s blood, and freely offered unto us in the full blaze of inspiration, which light is despised by the world, scoffed at by the religionists, and hated of all nations. God grant to establish this light in the earth, and us in this light, and this light in us, and the love thereof, for ever and ever. Amen.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 26, 1857.

I will read a portion of the writings of the prophet Daniel, commencing at the 27th verse of the 2nd chapter of the book of Daniel. [The speaker read the verses alluded to, from verse 27 to verse 49 inclusive.]

These verses are of themselves a text and texts, a sermon and sermons.

We have a great deal of talking, preaching, exhorting, counselling, giving advice, &c., from this stand and in many other places where the Saints assemble; but perhaps it may be the case with many, as it is somewhat with me, that they in a measure neglect to read the Bible, and forget many things which are written therein. Perhaps there are many who have not read much in the Bible since they came into this Church, not having had much time to do so.

I was a Bible reader before I came into this Church; and, so far as the letter of the book was concerned, I understood it. I professed to be a believer in the Bible so far as I knew how; but as for understanding by the Spirit of the Lord, I never did until I became a Latter-day Saint. I had many a time read Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, but it was always a dark subject to me. I was well acquainted with many of the priests of the day, and I would frequently think to myself that I would get some knowledge from them. And as I became acquainted with smart, intelligent, literary priests and professors of religion, I thought, Now I can obtain some intelligence from this or from that man; and I would begin to ask questions on certain texts of Scripture; but they would always leave me as they found me, in the dark. They were there themselves; and I knew of a surety, before I heard the Gospel, that the priests were blind guides leading the blind, and that there was nothing left for them only to stumble here and there, and perhaps fall into a ditch. That much knowledge I had previous to my becoming acquainted with what is called “Mormonism.”

It would be very profitable to the inhabitants of the earth to learn one fact, which a very few in the world have learned, that they are ignorant—that they have not the wisdom, the knowledge, and the intelligence outside the circle of what is called the wisdom of man. For persons to know and understand their own talent, their own strength, their own ability, their own influence, would be very profitable to the inhabitants of the earth, though but very few learn it.

I do not know that I feel particularly thankful that I learned what I did with regard to the lack of intelligence and knowledge professed by Christians to be in their possession; but I have been thankful that my lot and fortune were such that my God gave me good, sound sense. I am thankful for that. When the Gospel came to me, surely within me and all around me I could see very plainly what the Apostle meant in the words, “When the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.”

I could see clearly where the inhabitants of the earth were, in their position before their God. The whole world—everything upon this globe—was vailed in darkness. There was a mist, a fog, a vail, or covering over the minds of the whole of the people on this earth: and what they understood was nothing more than a faint glimmering of light that would dazzle before their eyes for a minute, and they would see it no more. They were like a ship befogged on the ocean and depending for guidance upon a lighthouse whose glimmering rays could only be discerned at long intervals, when the ship could again be put upon a safe course. But the wind has shifted; and, without light or compass, they do not know whether it is blowing east, west, north, or south; and then how could they tell whether they were directing their course aright? The Christian world, I discovered, was like the captain and crew of a vessel on the ocean without a compass, and tossed to and fro whithersoever the wind listed to blow them. When the light came to me, I saw that all the so-called Christian world was grovelling in darkness.

We profess to have the light, intelligence, and knowledge with which to understand the things of God. The dream of King Nebuchadnezzar and its interpretation by David are as plain to the man and woman filled with the power of the Holy Ghost, as are the most common lessons to the school-children: they most clearly understand the interpretation. Daniel saw that in the latter days the God of heaven was going to set up his kingdom upon this his earth. He has set that kingdom up, as you who are here this day are witnesses.

What brought you from the States and other regions to these mountains? What caused the men and women before me to leave their good farms, their good houses, their merchandize, and all the luxuries and comforts of life so dear to the natural man? What caused many women to leave their husbands, their children, their parents? What caused all this? What is the reason of such conduct? Can any man tell? The world are trying to; but they are even more ignorant about it than they are of the present movements and designs of the President of the United States. They know not the reason why the people are assembled here; for they cannot and will not see and understand anything only as they discern it by the powers of the natural man.

I have told them many times, and I can now tell them again, if the whole world could hear my voice, they are to be pitied; and I pray for them. We have traversed the earth to preach the Gospel to them. We have often started upon our missions almost destitute, without hats, nearly without shoes and any of the comforts of life, to travel thousands and thousands of miles to preach the Gospel to the people. If they will not be benefited, our skirts are clear of their blood, and they must bear the blame.

Can they tell the cause of this people’s being here to-day? Can they give the cause for the influence I have over the Latter-day Saints? They cannot. If this was not the kingdom of God upon the earth, do you suppose that the world would be arrayed against it? No. There is not a sound, well-informed mind in the world but what would decide at once that there is no cause of enmity against this people, and that all hostility towards us arises from the fact that we have the eternal Priesthood and the influence thereof. The kingdom of heaven is here, and we are in it, and they are angry at us solely for that.

There is not a king, governor, or ruler, but what desires, and is endeavouring to obtain the influence that I and my brethren possess and are lawfully striving to obtain. Do you suppose that there was ever a President of the United States but what desired the confidence of his constituents? No, never. Was there ever a senator, a representative, a governor of a state, a politician, or a priest, but what desired the same power in his sphere that I have in mine? They cannot get it, because they do not know how. What is the reason? They have not got the kingdom of God, which binds the people together. They are ignorant of it, though we have travelled, barefooted and almost naked, to preach it to them; and I say that they are to be pitied.

How many times I have gone to preach to them, and, with all the kindness and calmness I was capable of, told them that I had something to cheer and comfort them, if they would hear it with good honest hearts. How often I have asked, “Can I have your meeting-house or your school-house to preach in? Can I have the privilege of preaching to the people?” “No, you cannot, if I can prevent it.” That is the spirit of the priests.

It is the priests and elders of Christendom who have the power of hell in them which causes the trouble that you see, and that you have seen and borne for many years. They are like that unruly member, the tongue, which sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire of hell.

The priests have this fire, and who fans the flame? Brother Smoot has told you who blows the bellows. It is the politician, the drunkard, and the filth and offscouring of the earth, who run at the beck and call of those who have a dollar or sixpence for them—of those who will treat them and give them an oyster supper and a good lodging.

There is another class, the speculators, who endeavour to get up some plan or other by which to make money. Brother Smoot has given you a few items concerning their present movements in the east. Through their whining, bickering, howling, grovelling, squalling, and scratching, and in a political and speculative point of view, many are striving to most egregiously befool our Government and squander its revenue. And the priests are also at the bottom of this movement; for they have the power that is of hell, and others blow the flame and furnish the fuel to persecute the Latter-day Saints, because they are in the kingdom that the God of heaven has set up in the last days, and that shall never be destroyed.

It is a little more than twenty-seven years since I commenced reading the Book of Mormon and defending the cause we are engaged in. My mind was open to conviction, and I knew that the Christian world had not the religion that Jesus and his Apostles taught. I knew that there was not a Bible Christian on the earth within my knowledge. A few years previous to that time Joseph had obtained the plates and began translating the Book of Mormon; and from the time he found those plates in the hill Cumorah, there has been just that tirade of abuse, lying, slandering, defaming the name and character of the Prophet and his associates, that there is at this day. It is no hotter a time now than it was then; there is no more persecution now than there was then.

God has commenced to set up his kingdom on the earth, and all hell and its devils are moving against it. Hell is yawning and sending forth its devils and their imps. What for? To destroy the kingdom of God from the earth. But they cannot do it.

The God of heaven showed Nebuchadnezzar that this kingdom would never be destroyed; and that is my testimony. This is the kingdom of heaven—the kingdom of God which Daniel saw—the kingdom that was revealed to King Nebuchadnezzar and interpreted to him by the Prophet Daniel. This is the kingdom that was to be set up in the last days. It is like a stone taken from the mountain without hands, with all its roughness, with all its disfigured appearance—uncomely—even a stumbling-block and a stone of offence to the nations of the earth. This is the kingdom that is set up; and the history of the kingdoms of this world all understand, or can read and understand it.

Some may cry out, “Your saying that this is the kingdom of God does that make it so?” No, not by any means. “Your testimony,” Mr. Young, “is, that this is the kingdom of God on the earth—that which was shown to Daniel the Prophet centuries ago.” Yes, that is my testimony. “Does this make it so?” No it does not; but let me tell you that it is true; consequently, I bear my testimony of its truth, though my testimony does not alter that truth in the least, one way or the other; neither does any other man’s. That is my testimony, and has been all the time.

Why I testify of these things is because they are revealed to me, and not to another for me. They were not revealed to Joseph Smith for me. He had the keys to get visions and revelations, dreams and manifestations, and the Holy Ghost for the people. Those keys were committed to him; and through that administration, blessed be the name of God. I have received the spirit of Christ Jesus which is the spirit of prophecy. Our testimony does not make this true and the testimony of our enemies that it is not the kingdom of God does not make that true or false. The fact stands upon its own basis, and will continue so to stand, without any of the efforts of the children of men.

I have told you the cause of all the bustle and stir against us. The blind are leading the blind; and if their hearts were honest—if they would throw off the mask of prejudice and erroneous parental education, they could receive the truth as well as you and I. Once in a while one says good bye to the traditions of the fathers. A few will cast off those prejudices that surround the people, and say, “We will read, pray, think, and meditate, and we will ask God for ourselves. That is the reason why you and I are here to-day. We asked God for a testimony, and he witnesses to us from the heavens that this is the kingdom which Daniel saw, and we have embraced it, and it is dearer than everything else upon the face of this earth.

Do we expect that the devils will howl? Yes. When has this Church had the peace that we have had since we have been in the mountains? Never. Where is there peace now upon the face of the earth like the peace we enjoy here? Nowhere. Brother Smoot said that he had been in the lower regions. He could say that with propriety; for, in fact, we are all in the lower regions. Where do you think the devils live?

Do you suppose that there is any such thing as a devil? Yes, a great many believe that there is. Where does he live? The answer comes very readily. He lives in hell, of course. Then, if there are devils here, we must also be in hell. Do you not think that the devil is in pain? I should think he was, by the groanings that are uttered from the east. You see that with propriety brother Smoot could say that he has been to the lower regions; but when he arrives here, although the altitude is much greater, he still is in the same world. We are all here, and we are surrounded by the devils.

Men rage and boil with wrath and indignation, and they do not know the cause of it. If they think, “What injury have the ‘Mormons’ done to me?” the response from their own minds will be, “Not any.” What can the men truthfully say, who have civilly passed through here to the west to make their fortunes? That here is a place of peace and contentment; and, though a thousand miles from civilization and from all the luxuries and many of the comforts of life, yet here is a people satisfied, contented, and happy. Did they injure you? “No.” Did they treat you kindly? “Yes.” Ask the people in the east what is the matter? “We cannot tell you—only somebody has said something.” What have they said? “We do not know; we only heard a rumour—that is all.”

The people abroad are just as foolish, unwise, and short-sighted as they can possibly be represented by the best learned men in the world. What are they doing? What they have done all the time. Have they been trying to destroy “Mormonism?” Yes. Did they destroy it when they took the life of Joseph? No. “Mormonism” is here, the priesthood is here, the keys of the kingdom are here on the earth; and when Joseph went, they did not go. And if the wicked should succeed in taking my life, the keys of the kingdom will remain with the Church. But my faith is that they will not succeed in taking my life just yet. They have not as good a man to deal with as they had when they had Joseph Smith. I do not profess to be very good. I will try to take care of number one, and if it is wicked for me to try to preserve myself, I shall persist in it; for I am intending to take care of myself.

When they killed Joseph, they were talking about killing a great many others. Would you believe that the apostates say that I was the instigator of the death of Joseph and Hyrum? And William Smith has asserted that I was the cause of the death of his brother Samuel, when brother Woodruff, who is here to day, knows that we were waiting at the depot in Boston to take passage east at the very time when Joseph and Hyrum were killed. Brother Taylor was nearly killed at the time, and Doctor Richards had his whiskers nearly singed off by the blaze from the guns. In a few weeks after, Samuel Smith died, and I am blamed as the cause of his death. We did not hear of the death of Joseph until some three or four weeks after he was basely martyred.

What is now the news circulated throughout the United States? That Captain Gunnison was killed by Brigham Young, and that Babbitt was killed on the Plains by Brigham Young and his Danite band. What more? That Brigham Young has killed all the men who have died between the Missouri river and California. I do not say that President Buchanan has any such idea, or the officers of the troops who are reported to be on their way here; but such are the newspaper stories. Such reports are in the bellows, and editors and politicians are blowing them out.

According to their version, I am guilty of the death of every man, woman, and child that has died between the Missouri river and the California gold mines; and they are coming here to chastise me. The idea makes me laugh; and when do you think they will get a chance? Catching is always before hanging. They understand, you know, that I had gone north and intended to leave this place with such as would follow me; and they are coming to declare a jubilee. It is their desire to say to the people, “You are free; you are not under the bondage of Brigham Young; you need wear his yoke no longer; now let us get drunk, fight, play at cards, and race horses; and every one of you women turn to be whores and become associated with the civilization of Christendom.” That is the freedom they are endeavouring to declare here.

I will make this proposition to Uncle Sam. I will furnish carriages, horses, the best of drivers, and the best food I have, to transport to the States every man, woman, and child that wishes to leave this place, if he will send on at his own expense all those who want to come to Utah; and we will gain a thousand to their one, as all who understand the matter very well know. It would have been much better to have loaded the waggons reported to be on the way here, with men, women, and children, than with provisions to sustain soldiers; for they will never get here without we help them; neither do I think that it is the design of President Buchanan that they should come here.

I am not going to interpret dreams; for I don’t profess to be such a Prophet as were Joseph Smith and Daniel; but I am a Yankee guesser; and I guess that James Buchanan has ordered this Expedition to appease the wrath of the angry hounds who are howling around him. He did not design to start men on the 15th of July to cross these Plains to this point on foot. Russell and Co. will probably make from eight to ten hundred thousand dollars by freighting the baggage of the Expedition. What would induce the Government to expend that amount of money for this Territory? Three years ago they appropriated $45,000 for the purpose of making treaties with the Utah Indians. Has even that diminutively small sum ever been sent here? It is in the coffers of the Government to this day, unless they have stolen it out, or improperly paid it out for some other purpose.

Have they ever paid their debts due to Utah? No. And now they have capped their meanness by taking the mail out of the hands of Hiram Kimball, simply because they knew that he was a member of this Church. If he had only have apostatized in season and written lies about us, it is not probable that his mail contract would have been taken from him without the least shadow of right, as has now been done. He was to have $23,000 for carrying the mail from Independence to this city once a month, which was the lowest bid; but because he is a “Mormon,” the contract must be disannulled, and that, too, after he had put by far the most faithful and and efficient service on the route that there ever has been, as is most well known at Washington. If I thought that my prayer might be answered, I would pray that not another United States’ mail may come to this city; for until Mr. Kimball began his service it has been a constant source of annoyance, disappointment, and to us loss. We can carry our own mails, raise our own dust, and sustain ourselves.

But woe, woe to that man who comes here to unlawfully interfere with my affairs. Woe, woe to those men who come here to unlawfully meddle with me and this people. I swore in Nauvoo, when my enemies were looking me in the face, that I would send them to hell across lots, if they meddled with me; and I ask no more odds of all hell to-day. If they kill me, it is all right; but they will not until the time comes; and I think that I shall die a natural death; at least I expect to.

Would it not make any man or community angry to endure and reflect upon the abuse our enemies have heaped upon us, and are still striving to pour out upon God’s people? Brother Bernhisel says that McGraw’s mail contract was out in August last; but they demanded at his hands and would pay him to carry it two or three months longer. The Post Office Department knew, or should have known, that it had forwarded the acceptance of Mr. Kimball’s bid for the new contract in that mail which McGraw was not carrying; and then it took advantage of the failure of that mail and trumped up a false allegation of the unsettled state of Utah, and on those grounds disannulled the contract with Mr. Kimball. Our mail rights and other rights and privileges are most unjustly trampled under foot; but they can spend millions to raise a hubbub and make out that something wrong is being done in Utah.

Let me be the President of the United States a little while, and I would say to the Senators, Representatives, and other officers of Government, Gentlemen, you must act the part of men and statesmen, or I will reprove you. What are they angry at me for? Because I will reprove men for their iniquity, and because I have such influence here—the very thing they are all after. They think that they are going to obtain it with money; but they cannot do it.

There is no influence, truth, or righteousness in the world only what flows from God our Father in the heavens. We have that power, that influence; we also have such love and submission that we submit ourselves to our Father and God, as a child does to a kind parent.

May God bless you, brethren and sisters. Amen.

Report of Journey from San Bernardino to Great Salt Lake City

Amasa Lyman

Remarks by Elder Amasa Lyman, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday morning, June 7, 1857.

Brethren and sisters—I am happy, this morning, to enjoy the opportunity of meeting with you again. The reasons why can be appreciated by most of you. I do not feel, this morning, much disposed to preach; but I have been told that the people would like to hear me. Well, I am glad to see you, brethren and sisters, as I have already said I am happy to be here. I am happy to see you, and also to see the continuance of unmistakeable evidences around me of the progress of the work of God.

I do not know that there is much that I might say in relation to my coming here that would be interesting, though there were some things connected with my visit to the settlements south of here—some of the most recent that have been made, that might be interesting to many who are before me this morning.

From the commencement of our journey, which was on the 18th of April that we left San Bernardino, we encountered nothing but those vicissitudes that are common in journeying. When we came within twelve miles of where the road that we travel leaves the Rio Virgin, I there left the company that I was travelling with; and, in company with Elder David Savage and an Indian guide, I crossed over the mountain between the California road and Santa Clara; and in this we found a great deal of labour. We were assured by our guide that there was a good road, and that we could take our mules along. To be sure, they told us that we could not take our waggons. We were desirous to visit those brethren; for the Presidency had expressed their wish for us to do so as we came along. Brother Rich was confined to the train with his family, which accounts for my going with but one man and a guide. When we had performed a part of the day’s journey, and had passed over a ridge which we had to cross, we concluded that we were getting along finely, and that the words of our Indian friend were true in relation to its being a very good way to travel. But when we came to enquire the course we had next to take, we learned that, instead of passing up a “gravel wash,” our road, as indicated by our guide, wound into the face of the most forbidding of the hills that were in the way. Our guide indicated by his stick that we commenced at the wash, and then wound up the mountain until his stick rested against the highest points on the mountain in front of us! I did not think much of backing out; but I was well satisfied that, if I had seen the mountains before I had started, I should not have undertaken the trip.

We went along, and, by hard labour, succeeded in climbing up the mountain. My mule helped herself along, and I got up the best way I could. I would climb 50 or 60 yards on my hands and feet, and then I would have to stop and rest. We made the toilsome trip over the high mountain which I before alluded to, and then we were gratified by the assurance that there was nothing to do but to climb over another about as bad as the one we had just succe[e]ded in surmounting; and night was upon us. This surmounted, we found ourselves travelling down the gentle wash leading, as we subsequently learned, to Santa Clara. And after feeding to our guide some bread and water—the last we had, we asked which was the way to Jacob’s “Wickyup.” Our guide pointed to the left, and our attention was called to a huge frill of rocks extending upwards as far as the eye could reach in the doubtful light of the evening. There was a moon, but it was hid from us by the clouds; and hence we had to have torch-light, which our guide provided. He then commenced winding his way up amongst the rocks, and we followed along until brother Savage’s mule refused to go up any further; and she would have fallen to the bottom, had not brother Savage prevented it by his timely exertion.

We went to the foot of the hill and concluded that we would wait there for daylight; and we lay down; but we had no blankets—no food; but the accommodations of the place were very good. We lay down and slept, from our excessive weariness, until morning.

The next morning we succeeded in climbing the hill; and you may judge of our gratification when, as we reached the summit, we could see that, had we travelled a few rods down the wash, we could have reached the summit by a gentle ascent; and that, had we travelled down the wash, we should have come to the Santa Clara below brother Hamlin’s Fort one mile. I do not allude to this because it is particularly interesting; but still there was a truth in it that was not without its profit to me—and that was, that a guide without understanding was almost worse than no guide at all.

But, after all, when we reached brother Hamlin’s, where we arrived just as they were getting up, we were kindly received and well treated, and made to feel happy. We refreshed ourselves and rested through the day. We found an excellent feeling existing among the Indians, and brother Hamlin has great influence amongst them. The brethren have built themselves a small stone fort, in which they are pretty safe, much more so than in one made of adobies. Their homes are rough, excepting their fort, which is a good one.

We found a marked difference between the Indians at this point and those we had encountered before reaching there. The first we met were in the region of Los Vegas; they were all hungry and nearly starved; but this was not the case with those at the Santa Clara. They were all fed and clothed, and consequently felt well.

The field crops planted there look well. Brother Hamlin had planted some cotton, which was not looking very well—perhaps in consequence of the rude manner which they had adopted in their planting; for they had adopted the Indian manner of planting, which the cotton-growers told me was not a good one.

From the Fort on Santa Clara we passed over ten miles to the Rio Virgin. We found the company of cotton-growers in good health and excellent spirits. They were engaged in getting out the water and making ditches for the cotton. They succeeded, about the same time we arrived, in finding a good pasture, plenty of water, and an inexhaustible amount of cedar. The men with whom I conversed about the soil expressed their opinion that from the appearance and resemblance of the soil to that in Texas, it will produce good cotton. I gave them what good advice was suggested to my mind, told them as many good things as I could think of, bade them farewell, and came away.

I will here mention one thing that brother Knight told me. He said that he had made an exploration from thereto the point on the old California Road called the Beaver Dam, to find a way for a road, and had found a good chance for one. To make a road in the direction explored would only require the labour of ten men with teams for two days, and then this road will pass the Cotton Farm and intersect the present California Road at Coal Creek, by way of Harmony from Cotton Creek.

I came to Harmony and preached there, and then came on to Coal Creek and preached there, as has been my custom whenever I have travelled that way for several years past. At the last named place we waited on our train, which came in some two or three days subsequent to our arrival. I found the brethren there labouring to make iron. They were putting up the engine, and they confidently asserted that there would be iron made there, and that, too, of a quality that will meet the wants of the people.

From Coal Creek I passed over to Parowan and preached to the people there, and found the good Spirit among and with them.

We had no particular bad luck, that I know of, on the way, except that brother Rich’s family were afflicted, and one of his children died. This was all the ill luck that befel us up to the time I left camp a week ago yesterday. When the mail overtook us, I got into the waggon and rode with the mail, which I supposed would be a slight relief from the mode of travelling which I had practised while with the train. I travelled with the mail until I arrived in this city, which was on last Wednesday evening; since which time I have been resting.

As I said when I arose, I do not feel like preaching; but I would simply ask you, as a part of Father’s family, Does our courage increase? Does our valour increase, so that we can live for the truth—for our religion? It is a common thing with the world for them to be complimented for their bravery. And this matter of dying for the truth—dying for a man’s opinions—is a common thing. Men have died for their opinions when those opinions were erroneous; but if it is truth that men die for, it is all the better. But it occurs to me that it is better for us to live our religion, and let the dying take care of itself; for I find that it is a very easy matter for an individual to die. Men can with much less faith and less trouble of life place themselves in a position to get killed than to so purify themselves, their actions, and by regulating themselves by the truth and actually to live their religion in the legitimate spirit of the Gospel.

This is what I consider to be the greatest, the noblest thing for the Saints to do. It is this that has brought all the joy to my mind—that has fixed the principles of the Gospel upon my mind; it is this that has brought all the blessings that I have realized since I embraced the Gospel; and it is this that enables me to enjoy the Spirit as I get along through the world: and I feel that it is good for me to continue to enjoy this Spirit. And that we may all be so happy and so blest as to keep this constantly and unceasingly in view, that we may be saved eternally in our Father’s kingdom, is my prayer. Amen.

Necessity of Adhering to the Priesthood in Preference to Science and Art

Wilford Woodruff

Remarks by Elder Wilford Woodruff, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Thursday, April 9, 1857.

It is a pleasure to me, and I presume it is to all the brethren who have lived in the midst of this people during the rise and progress of this Church and kingdom, to see the sons of the Prophets stand before the people as they have this day and hear their words while bearing testimony of the work of God.

I well remember the time that our young brethren who have addressed us were called on their missions, and they, in connection with brother Grant, brother Ellsworth, and others, met at my house one evening to receive their blessings under the hands of the Twelve Apostles. When they had received their blessings, they were called upon to speak their feelings—most of them, I suppose, for the first time in their lives. True, they had sat under the teachings of the servants of God from their infancy. When most of them had expressed their feelings relative to going on a mission to England, brother Joseph A. Young said, “Brethren, I will tell you my feelings when I come home.” We have heard from him since he came home. His feelings have been expressed much to our edification. That remark sounded well to me, and truly it has been very edifying and interesting to me to hear the speeches which have been made by all the young brethren since they have returned. The spirit they manifest shows to me that the blessing and spirit of their fathers are with them; and I realize that the Spirit of the Most High is in them, and that ere long they will become mighty men in Israel, and will have to bear off this kingdom and shoulder the care and responsibility of it, when their fathers are resting in the grave or leaning on their staffs for very age.

There is Parley Pratt, jun., who has just spoken. I remember the day of his birth very well; for his mother died the day he was born, and I attended her funeral. Now he has grown to be a man, and I rejoice to hear him bear testimony of the work of God in connection with the other young brethren. It does my soul good to see them coming on to the stage of action. I realize that the kingdom of our God, of which we are members, is only in its infancy, although we look upon it as being great, compared with what it has been.

It commenced like a small mustard seed, but it has gradually increased until the birds begin to lodge in its branches; and yet it is but small, compared with what it is to be. We have had many symbols and figures presented to our minds to illustrate the growth and increase of the kingdom of God; and I will here say, in respect to its being like the comparison made by Daniel, it answers the figure very well—only, instead of its rolling down hill, it has come up hill into the tops of the mountains; and I do hope and pray that it may continue to grow and increase in strength and in power, that when it rolls down hill it may go with mighty power and accelerated speed, that it may not require so much toil, labour, and fatigue to carry the kingdom from the mountains as it did to bring it up.

I have no fears in regard to the increase of this kingdom, and I may also add that I never had any, only so far as concerned the weaknesses and frailties of mortality. I hope we may all pursue the course laid down for us by the servants of the Lord; for, if we do this, I know that we shall be safe in this world, and secure happiness and exaltation in the world to come.

There are a few thoughts that I wish to present to the congregation touching one principle that has been alluded to by the brethren—namely, in regard to following the instructions and counsels of those who lead us. I have reflected much upon this subject, and I contend that there is one principle by which the Lord leads his servants, and if we are faithful, they will lead us in the way of life; and inasmuch as we have faith to believe in their instructions—in the teachings of the Holy Spirit through them, we are always in the safe path, and shall be sure of our reward.

You take a shepherd, for instance; and, according to the ancient practice, we learn that they always went forward and prepared the way, so that there could be no danger in advance but what the shepherd would learn of in time to save the sheep. If they are allowed to run by the shepherd, the wolves are apt to catch them and destroy them; and the very moment that men in this kingdom attempt to run a-head or cross the path of their leaders, no matter in what respect, the moment they do this they are in danger of being injured by the wolves.

This is a subject upon which I have thought a great deal; and I have gained a little useful knowledge, during my experience, by watching the conduct of men; and I have never in my life known it to fail, that when men went contrary to the counsel of their leaders, either in the days of Joseph or brother Brigham, they always became entangled and suffered a loss by so doing.

Now, whatever I might have obtained in the shape of learning, by searching and study respecting the arts and sciences of men—whatever principles I may have imbibed during my scientific researches, yet, if the Prophet of God should tell me that a certain principle or theory which I might have learned was not true, I do not care what my ideas might have been, I should consider it my duty, at the suggestion of my file leader, to abandon that principle or theory. Supposing he were to say the principles by which you are governed are not right—that they were incorrect, what would be my duty? I answer that it would be my duty to lay those principles aside, and to take up those that might be laid down by the servants of God.

I have seen men in the days of Joseph bring up principles, and read, and teach, and advocate theories, when the Prophet would say, “It is not right to do so: they are not true.” Those men would still argue, maintain their position, and they would write in defence of their theories when the Prophet condemned them, and they would say, “We have no faith in your theory, nor in the system you present.” The very moment a man does that, he crosses the path of the servant of God who is set to lead the way to life and salvation. This is one thing that the Elders should carefully avoid. The fact is, there are a great many things taught in the building up of this kingdom which seem strange to us, being contrary to our traditions, and are calculated to try men. Brother Joseph used a great many methods of testing the integrity of men; and he taught a great many things which, in consequence of tradition, required prayer, faith, and a testimony from the Lord, before they could be believed by many of the Saints. His mind was opened by the visions of the Almighty, and the Lord taught him many things by vision and revelation that were never taught publicly in his days; for the people could not bear the flood of intelligence which God poured into his mind.

How was it in that day in reference to many things that were taught and practised? All was not revealed at once, but the Lord showed the Prophet a principle, and the people acted upon it according to the light which they had. All the perfection and glory of it was not revealed at first; but, as fast as it was revealed, the people endeavoured to obey.

I will bring up one thing which will show that the position I take is correct—viz., baptism for the dead. When that was first revealed, we rejoiced in it; and, as soon as we had an opportunity, we began to be baptized for our dead. A man would be baptized for both male and female. The moment I heard of it, my soul leaped with joy; for it was a subject in which I felt deeply interested. I went forward and was baptized for all my dead relatives I could think of, both male and female, as did others; but, afterwards, we obtained more light upon the subject, and President Young taught the people that men should attend to those ordinances for the male portion of their dead friends, and females for females. This showed the order in which those ordinances should be administered, which ordinances had before been revealed, and shows us that we are in a school where we shall be constantly learning.

This revelation, in connection with the revelation and vision concerning the three glories, gave me more joy and consolation than any revelation I ever read, and I had a great desire to obey it.

I was taught from my childhood that there was one heaven and one hell, and was told that the wicked all had one punishment, and the righteous one glory—that the grey-headed sinner, who had spent his days in wickedness, debauchery, and murder, would go to hell to suffer everlasting torments, and that the youth but sixteen years of age, who had not been religious, would go to the same hell, suffer the same kind of torment and for the same length of time, and that Jesus, and the Apostles, and all men who had suffered death for the testimony which they bore for the kingdom of God and the works of righteousness would have the same glory and no more than the Presbyterian deacon in Kentucky with his hundred negroes, who had never made a sacrifice in his life, but had been full of this world’s goods, but he was a professor of religion.

I never did believe a word of this doctrine a day since I was born, and I am sure that I never did before; and when I read the vision and was taught the principle of the baptism for the dead, it enlightened my mind and gave me great joy. It appeared to me that the God who revealed that principle unto man was wise, just, and true—possessed both the best of attributes, and good sense, and knowledge. I felt He was consistent with both love, mercy, justice, and judgment; and I felt to love the Lord more than ever before in my life. I never was satisfied with the doctrine taught by the sectarian world upon this subject in my life, and hence I felt to say hallelujah when the revelation came forth revealing to us baptism for the dead. I felt that we had a right to rejoice in the blessings of Heaven. I felt, when I first learned of the justice of God in relation to his rewarding all men according to their deeds, that such a God was reasonable; and I felt I could worship such a God; and I was just so when I heard of baptism for the dead.

There are thousands and millions who never had the privilege of being baptized for themselves, and hence never ought to be punished for not obeying a law which they never heard. How did we feel when we first heard the living could be baptized for the dead? We all went to work at it as fast as we had an opportunity, and were baptized for everybody we could think of, without respect to sex. I went and was baptized for all my friends, grandmothers, and aunts, as those of the male sex; but how was it? Why, by-and-by, it was revealed, through the servants of the Lord, that females should be baptised for females, and males for males; but the full particulars of this order was not revealed till after the days of Joseph: therefore this shows an advance in the building up of the kingdom, the gathering of Israel, and the warning of the nations of the earth.

You will see an advance in a great many things; for the Lord will open the mind of brother Brigham and lead him into many principles that pertain to the salvation of this people; and we cannot close up our minds and say that we will go so far and no farther. This we cannot do without jeopardising our standing before God.

With regard to crossing the path of any man who may be appointed to lead us, I will say we never should do it; and I do not care what our feelings and views may be upon the subject as far as our traditions and education are concerned. If God has anything to reveal, he will reveal it to that man who stands at the head. Now, here is the quorum of the Twelve Apostles: we cannot bring forth a new revelation for the guidance of this people while the First Presidency are here; for there is no other plan, no other system by which to guide and govern men in this kingdom, only that which has been established by the revelations of God in the order of His church and kingdom; and that is, for the head to lead, counsel, and govern in all dispensations in which the will of God is revealed to man.

I wish to say a few words to the missionaries—to those who are going abroad to preach the Gospel of Christ. I want to give you a word of exhortation and counsel, brethren: that is, whenever you are in doubt about any duty or work which you have to perform, never proceed to do anything until you go and labour in prayer and get the Holy Spirit. Wherever the Spirit dictates you to go or to do, that will be right; and, by following its dictates, you will come out right.

We shall be brought to many places during our career in the ministry among the nations of the earth, where we may consider a certain course of procedure to be right; but, if we do not know, it will be better for us to go before the Lord, and ask in faith that we may be instructed in the way of life.

I will take the liberty of saying that it is your privilege, brethren, to get the mind and will of the Lord in relation to your duties while abroad among the people; and it is also the privilege of the whole people who are called Israel to obtain the revelations of the Holy Spirit to guide them in every duty in life. Whatever position a man may stand in, it is his privilege, as a Saint of God, to enjoy this blessing; and a man who understands himself will not move without the operations of that Spirit to lead him.

Brethren, as the order of the day is short sermons, I will not detain you longer; but I will say that I am happy to be with you, and my soul does rejoice in the things of God; for I feel that I have been fed in my mind, not only to-day, but yesterday, and all through the Conference; and I do feel that we of all men have the greatest reason to rejoice; for the Lord has committed into our hands the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the way of life and salvation. We can walk into this Tabernacle and our places of worship, and sing, and pray, and preach, and praise the Lord, with none to molest us. We can plant, and build, and eat, and inherit those things which God has given us, in peace and quietness. For these things we should feel thankful, and feel in our hearts to acknowledge the hand of God therein.

The truths and revelations which have been made known unto this people, for their salvation, and exaltation, and glory, and for the salvation of all men, both the living and the dead, are of great value and worth unto us—and unto all men, if they would receive them. We are the only people to whom this holy Gospel, Priesthood, and covenants have been committed in our day; and we shall be held responsible for the use we make of them. Then we should be diligent and faithful in offering this great salvation unto the children of men, and in building up Zion and the kingdom of our God. We should also be careful to strictly obey the voice of our Heavenly Father and the voice and counsel of His servants who are set to lead us; which may the Lord enable us to do—which I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Oneness of the Priesthood, etc.

Heber C. Kimball

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 2, 1857.

If the brethren and sisters would like to hear me talk a little in my rough way, I will try.

My feelings are like this, that I may have no will but that which is extract from the will of God, that my will may be the will of God, just as much as there are three drops of water, the first, the second, and the third drop, and the second and the third drops run into the first, and they are combined in one. Now, inasmuch as they are combined and have become one with the Father and the Son, it is a pretty hard thing for any person on earth to extract those three drops; they cannot be extracted or divided, for they are one, and they are one with the Father and the Son.

We receive the Spirit of Jesus as he receives it from the Father, and we receive it from the Son, or down through the channel of the Holy Priesthood from the Father; then we are like one vine or one tree, the Father being the root, and the Son of God the tree or vine that sprung from the Father, and we are the branches, or this Church is the main branch sprung out of that vine. Then, inasmuch as we abide in Joseph or in Brigham, and then Brigham abides in Joseph, and Joseph in Peter, and Peter in Jesus, and then Jesus in the Father, don’t you see we are one? And then we will extend it to the Twelve in these last days; they are one with the First Presidency, and then the Seventies with the Twelve, and then the High Priests and other officers. Ain’t we one?

That is the way we have got to be one; we have got to come to that; and when we do, the Spirit of God will rest upon us, and the Spirit of Jesus, and of all the Prophets, and Apostles, and holy men of God that ever did live or ever will. Then the same Spirit and power will rest upon our sisters as it did upon Mary, and Elizabeth, and Anna, and thousands of others.

I wonder if the brethren understand me? If you do not, I shall have to get some more simple figure; for a tree in its nature is like a grape vine, or a cucumber vine, or a watermelon vine. You plant a cucumber seed, and it brings forth a cucumber vine. You may take this vine, and there is a main vine, and then there are other vines that break out of that main vine; you take away one of these vines from the main true vine, and it would cease to exist, because it is disconnected from the vine to which it was connected; therefore it cannot bring forth fruit. Don’t you understand this, you men and women that are farmers?

Brother Brigham was speaking this forenoon, showing what an influence he has over this people. I want to know if he has any over a man or woman that is not in this vine, he being the head now? When Joseph was here, he was the head of the vine in the flesh; but since he stepped away, brother Brigham is head of the vine, and we are connected to it; all you men and women, and then all the Saints throughout the world are connected to that vine to which he is connected; and he has power and influence over them, because they partake of his nature and his element, and he partakes of the element that that came through Joseph, and Joseph from Peter, and Peter from Jesus, and Jesus from the Father, and then it extends through all the Quorums that pertain to the house of Israel.

I was speaking the other day how you should make your connections very strong; and, instead of breaking these fibres pertaining to that cable, you should keep adding strength to strength. If you do that, there never will be a separation between us and those that hold the Priesthood before us—no, never.

What an almighty influence our Father and our God will have when He has gathered all His children! Will they control the remaining portion of the human family? They will. As I said that day, and as brother Joseph has said to-day, we hold the keys—that is, brother Brigham and his brethren—they hold the keys of the living and the dead.

What! of those that do not belong to this Church? Yes, just as much as those that do; and they cannot get salvation upon any other principle. Well, now, you need not think that is a tight jacket; for I will tell you it is a jacket you have all to wear. You may grunt, and you may take a course to kill this people and destroy the Prophet. Good God! there will a hundred come up where you kill one. Bless your souls, if a man is a Prophet, and that Prophet has a posterity, his whole posterity are prophets. Tell about raising up kings, and priests, and prophets unto the Most High God! You may kill brother Brigham: kill him, if you can; but I tell you, you will never do it, nor his brother Heber, until the time comes.

I never killed anybody, and I have a pretty good assurance to live a good while. You may kill brother Brigham, if you can, and what will be the effect of it? There will be a thousand Brighams that will rise through him, just as much as it would if you went into your field and you found an almighty big mustard stalk, and it was ripe, and you had no more sense but hit it a crack and break it down; there will be a thousand, and perhaps a million of mustards come from the old stalk. It will be just so if you kill brother Brigham or Heber, and it was so when they killed brother Joseph; there is a thousand now living where there was but one when he was killed.

Prophets! There is not a man or woman in this congregation, if they live their religion and have the Holy Ghost upon them, but what are prophets, every one of them. I feel as Moses said to a certain class that had the sweeny; they were superstitious, and could not bear to hear any men and women prophecy but themselves: they complained to Moses of a certain person prophesying; and said he, “I wish to God they were all prophets.” I wish to God you, brethren and sisters, were all prophets and prophetesses; you may be, if you live your religion; you cannot help yourselves. We shall be like so many drops of water all run into the first drop; then the first drop and all the drops become amalgamated together, and they are like one drop. Bless your souls, our little children will prophesy, that come out of us, because we are one.

It is living in the vine of the last dispensation that makes us one, and we should be one, for Jesus says, “Except ye are one, ye are not mine.” As brother Brigham, brother Smoot and others have said, can the world do anything against this work? No. Jesus says that they can do nothing against the truth, but for it; and it will increase it, just the same as it would to destroy the old mustard stalk that has got ten thousand little seeds; you only increase it ten thousand times.

Can the world obliterate “Mormonism”—this Church and kingdom of God? Gentlemen, you might just as well go into the heavens and undertake to obliterate the worlds and the stars that you see on some of these beautiful nights when it is so clear. You can see the stars; they are as thick as the hairs on my head. What are they? They are worlds like this, and redeemed worlds, as this will be some time; and we are the boys that will help to redeem it. We look a good deal like other folks.

I speak of these things, brethren, by way of encouragement. They may just as well try to obliterate those worlds that are redeemed, and perhaps ten times larger than this world, as to undertake to obliterate “Mormonism.”

You call us fools: but the day will be, gentlemen and ladies, whether you belong to this Church or not, when you will prize brother Joseph Smith as the Prophet of the Living God, and look upon him as a God, and also upon Brigham Young, our Governor in the Territory of Deseret.

Well, I will say there is no other man, except it is his successor in the Priesthood, that will ever rule over me as a Governor. [Voices, all over the congregation: “Amen.”] A man not holding the Priesthood may come here in the capacity of a Governor, if he pleases, and will act properly in the line of his office; but if he does not magnify wholesome laws, we will teach him his duty.

Sending a man here with 2,500 troops! They have no design in God Almighty’s world only to raise a rookery with this people and bring us into collision with the United States; and when they come here, the first dab will be to take brother Brigham Young, and Heber C. Kimball, and others, and they will slay us. That is their design; and if we will not yield to their meanness, they will say we have mutinized against the President of the United States, and then they will put us under martial law and massacre this people. That has been the design of the men that have been here. [Voice in the stand: “They can’t come it.”] “No, they c-a-n’t come it.”

Drummond, and those miserable scoundrels, and some that are now in our midst—how do I feel towards them? Pray for them? Yes, I pray that God Almighty would send them to hell. Some say across lots; but I would like to have them take a round about road, and be as long as they can be in going there. How do you suppose I feel?

I have been driven five times—been broken up and my goods robbed from me, and I have been afflicted almost to death. I am here with wives and children, and as good women as can be found in the United States. You may search the States through, and you cannot find as good ones. Have others here got as good? I do not know that I will talk about others; but I will say what I have a mind to about my own. I have got women that were brought up decently and respectably; and they are virtuous women; and you may send all the men from hell, and they cannot come around my women and brother Brigham’s, notwithstanding some have told in Carson Valley that our women are all prostitutes, and that they could use any one of them they pleased, as I have been informed.

That is the story they have told about you, sisters, as I have heard. How do you like that statement? Still there are some here who sustain such characters in their wickedness, as they did Drummond and others. I think just as much of the persons who sustain those miserable characters as I do of them, and no more. And I think just as much of those who sympathize with them. Whether they are men or women, I do not care one whit. I know the virtue of my women, and the virtue of brother Brigham’s women, and of those of our brethren who are connected with us.

The world say that we have things in common stock. There is no such thing. We throw our interest together, but my wives are wives that are given to me by the Almighty God through the proper source; and it is so with every other man. There is no man in this Valley that is a Saint that meddles with my wives, nor I with his. Those things are not carried on here. Every man has his house by himself and his concerns; but, if we have a mind to throw in our property into the general reservoir and hold it in common, then every man has a stewardship; I want to know what business it is to anybody? I have a right to throw in my property in connection with brother Brigham’s, and he with me, and then occupy it for ever, and let the avails thereof increase our riches; and if every other man would take the same course, it would be far better for us. If we cannot be one in temporal things, how can we be one in spiritual things?

We do not believe in whoredoms here; we do not admit of any such thing as women to whore it, or of men to come here to do any such thing. We have none of this. [Voice: “That is civilization.”]

Yes, such as they have in New York at the Five Points there. Some of you have, perhaps, been there, and in Philadelphia, and in every other city in the United States. There is the city of Rochester, about as small a city as there is in the United States. I have been there when there was but two little log cabins, when there was not such a thing known as a prostitute; and now, at this day, there are thousands of persons of ill fame, and the authorities license such things.

Christians—those poor, miserable priests brother Brigham was speaking about—some of them are the biggest whoremasters there are on the earth, and at the same time preaching righteousness to the children of men. The poor devils, they could not get up here and preach an oral discourse, to save themselves from hell; they are preaching their fathers’ sermons—preaching sermons that were written a hundred years before they were born.

We are very tenacious, as brother George A. said, pertaining to the law of God and the institutions of heaven. We know there is no other way for men to be saved—there is no person on the earth can be saved upon any other principle than the one that saves me. Says one, “What is that?” The first step is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God; and when you have, and laid your sins aside, and think you will quit sinning, then be baptized in water, that your sins may be washed away, or blotted out, that you may receive the remission of them; and have a man that has got authority to do it lay hands. upon you, that you may receive the Holy Ghost.

Can you change these ordinances? No. They are eternal; they always were and always will be; and no man or woman upon earth can be saved without them. You may get a Methodist priest to pour water on you, or sprinkle it on you, and baptize you face foremost, or lay you down the other way, and whatever mode you please, and you will be damned with your priest. There is but one way, and that is to be buried in water, buried with Christ by baptizing in water, that your sins may be blotted out by one having authority, or else it will do you no good.

Every man that is alive can act for himself under the hands of a man having authority. How will you manage for the dead? You will have to do it by proxy. For instance, I have got a father who died before “Mormonism” came; I go to brother Brigham when we have a place for it: says I, “brother Brigham, I want to be baptized for my father;” he takes me and baptizes me for my father, I acting as proxy, or for and in behalf of my father, and it is done upon the same principle that we do it for ourselves; and that is recorded.

Can I go and be baptized for my mother? Yes, I can be, though that is not the strict order of the law of the kingdom; but let a man act for a man, and a woman for a woman, that each may bear their share. I will let my wife go and attend to that, she acting as proxy for my mother, and I for my father. Well now, I have got to attend to all the ordinances faithfully that I attend to for myself, and then, when the time comes, I can take my father and mother, and act for my father, and my wife act for my mother; and then they can be connected in marriage, and then their father and their mother, and so keep going on until we get back where we came from, and connect the Priesthood together, and have the chain perfect from these days to the days of Jesus, and then back to Adam.

Perhaps my father may not receive the Gospel. If he don’t, my baptism will not do him any good. He is in the spirit-world; he has to believe and embrace the Gospel in his heart and affections, and then I receive knowledge from him through a proper authority, and I am administered to for him. You might as well go and be baptized for a devil as for a man who will not receive the Gospel in the spirit-world.

I expect I shall have to go and preach to the spirits in prison where they live, in London, in Germany, and other places. What! after I am dead? Yes. You may call us wild for believing such things. Go and read the Bible—the book your mother taught to you when you were sitting on her knees and nursing at her breast. This good old Bible, you think we do not believe it: we believe every word of it, and practice it. If we do not, we are determined we will, by the help of God, that portion of it that alludes to us.

Plurality of wives! I have a good many wives. How much would you give to know how many? If I were to tell you, you would not believe it. I suppose many of you have not believed a word we have said to-day. We do not care whether you do or not. I am speaking to the unbelievers, and not to the Saints. If I spoke lies, you would believe quicker. Suffice it to say I have a good many wives and lots of young mustards that are growing, and they are a kind of fruitful seed.

You know my comparison was, when Dr. Bernhisel was at Washington, we did not know what the Dr. would think when we let the old cat out of the bag. I told him that the old cat would have kittens, and the kittens would have cats. It is so with “Mormonism;” it will flourish and increase, and it will multiply in young “Mormons.” “To be plain about it, Mr. Kimball, what did you get these wives for?” The Lord told me to get them. “What for?” To raise up young “Mormons,”—not to have women to commit whoredoms with, to gratify the lusts of the flesh, but to raise up children.

The priests of the day in the whole world keep women, just the same as the gentlemen of the Legislatures do. The great men of the earth keep from two to three, and perhaps half-a-dozen private women. They are not acknowledged openly, but are kept merely to gratify their lusts; and if they get in the family way, they call for the doctors, and also upon females who practise under the garb of midwives, to kill the children, and thus they are depopulating their own species. [Voice: “And their names shall come to an end.”] Yes, because they shed innocent blood.

I knew that before I received “Mormonism.” I have known of lots of women calling for a doctor to destroy their children; and there are many of the women in this enlightened age and in the most popular towns and cities in the Union that take a course to get rid of their children. The whole nation is guilty of it. I am telling the truth. I won’t call it infanticide. You know I am famous for calling things by their names.

I have been taught it, and my wife was taught it in our young days, when she got into the family way, to send for a doctor and get rid of the child, so as to live with me to gratify lust. It is God’s truth, and I know the person that did it. This is depopulating the human species; and the curse of God will come upon that man, and upon that woman, and upon those cursed doctors. There is scarcely one of them that is free from the sin. It is just as common as it is for wheat to grow.

Do we take that course here? No. I have buried several children; I have buried them in York State, too, in Monroe county, where I lived all my young days, and where I became acquainted with brother Brigham, which is rising of thirty years that we have been together, about twelve miles from where Joseph Smith lived and found the Book of Mormon. I buried two children there, lawful children, born to me by my first wife; and then I have buried some ten children here, born to me by my lawful wives; and I have had altogether about fifty children; and one hundred years won’t pass away before my posterity will out-number the present inhabitants of the State of New York, because I do not destroy my offspring, I am doing the works of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and if I live and be a good man, and my wives are as good as they should be, I will raise up men yet, that will come through my loins, that will be as great men as ever came to this earth; and so will you.

I will tell you that some of the most noble spirits are waiting with the Father to this day to come forth through the right channel and the right kind of men and women. That is what has to be yet; for there are thousands and millions of spirits waiting to obtain bodies upon this earth.

I thought a good deal about one verse of brother Poulter’s song that he sang here to-day—one verse in particular, speaking of the ladies. A man is a man, if he is connected with the Priesthood and is a good man of God—a holy man. That man can produce wonders, although he may be inferior in stature.

A great many women are more nice than wise. If they can get a man with a pretty face, they think it is all there is about it. Some men think if they can get a woman that has a handsome face, that is all there is of it. But it is that woman that has a head and sensibility—I do not care if her head is three feet long—it has nothing to do with the character that lives in the body. It is the character that is in the man’s house, the spirit that is in the man; it is the spirit that is in the woman and in the house that makes the woman and that makes the man.

Talk about going into the spirit-world. The whole nation will go there. Are they going to know Jesus Christ? Are they going to know Joseph, and Brigham, and Heber? No, they won’t know us there, because other men will go and preach to them; and then they have got to believe on those men, or else they cannot pass them and go by those authorities.

Then let us live to be men and women of God, and cultivate that Spirit that dwells in us; for I have told you many a time that if you receive a bad spirit in you here to-day in this Bowery, you may get up and go out of door; but will you not have the same spirit as you had received when you started to go out? If you retain that wicked spirit, going out of door will not make you better.

When a man becomes a devil, and has killed the Prophets and Apostles, while he is in this house, or tabernacle of his spirit, will it change his feelings to go out of door, or to lay down that tabernacle? There will then be the same spirit and disposition that is in the spirit while it is in the body. When it leaves the body, does that change the spirit?

It is the spirit in man which affects the conduct; it ain’t the body. I can stand here and let you go to work and defile this house. I have to answer for that sin. If my spirit is guilty in letting my body do a thing that is contrary to the will of God, it is my spirit that has got to pay the debt. It is my spirit that is to be judged in the day of eternity and is answerable for the sins that I suffer my body to do.

I want you to think of these things, live your religion, keep the commandments of God, do as you are told, lay up your grain.

Brother Joseph made me think of one thing this morning when he was talking, that we are the very characters that will have to save the poor curses that are trying to kill us. They are trying to destroy that Priesthood that pertains to them as much as it does to me. We have got to save them and they have got to come to us. It is degrading to their feelings; but, as degrading as it is, they will come bending to us. What! to brother H. C. Kimball? Yes, as true as the sun shines, if I live my religion; and you will have to bow to me, brother Brigham, and Joseph Smith, and the Twelve Apostles, and thousands and millions of others; for I will tell you, if you make war while you are in the flesh with the servants of God, you never can be redeemed until you make an atonement to satisfy us, and then Joseph, and Peter, and Jesus, and to satisfy the Father: you have offended the whole of them.

The day will be, and it will not be many years either: it will be about the time the United States want to send a sufficient force here. About the time they will get unto the hottest times will be about that time. They will persecute us all the time the same as Joseph’s brethren did Joseph in Egypt. They whipped him and threw him into a pit, and then they thought of killing him; but Judah prevailed and saved him, and then they took him and sold him as a slave, and he obtained favour in the eyes of the King, and finally held dominion over that whole kingdom, and reared the kingdom, and raised grain previous to the famine, and saved and redeemed his whole father’s house and millions of others; and everything had to bow down to the power of Joseph.

As true as that thing is true, so true it will be that our enemies will have to bow down to us; and we may do the best we can to store up stores; and it is all we can do before they will come bending unto us. And the President of the United States will bow to us and come to consult the authorities of this Church to know what he had best to do for his people.

You don’t believe this. Wait and see; and just about the time they think they have got us, the Lord has got them fast. Now mark it, George; you may write every word of it.

I will tell you that brother Brigham and his brethren can tell the difference between the wheat and the chaff. [Voice: “The Lord gives wheat and the Devil gives chaff.] Retain all the wheat; and if there is any chaff there, give it to the Devil; and the wheat, and the oats, and the barley you shall have; and the day is at hand for you to go to work to raise sheep and raise flax, and there shall be a coat on it four times thicker than any flax you ever saw, and everything else shall increase.

Why do you ask God to give you these things until you go to work and raise them? I sowed wheat three years before I got a bit. The Devil or somebody tried to prove me; but I would have stuck to it until this day. I would not give a dime for a man or woman that is not of that character.

Am I going to be a Joseph? I will be a Heber, and Brigham will be a Brigham, and he will lay up stores for the inhabitants of the earth, and we will redeem the earth and the inhabitants thereof—I care not whether they are dead or alive; and I would rather have a lot of dead creatures than many that profess to be Saints here. If they were dead and out of the way, their absence would be a help to us; for they try to hinder the progress of the work of God; but we will be the saviours of the children of men in the last days.

Mark my words, and see if these things do not come to pass quicker than you can prepare yourselves for them.

Will this land be a land of milk and honey? Yes. Missouri is cracked up to be the greatest honey country that there is on the earth; but it will not be many years before they cannot raise a spoonful in that land, nor in Illinois, nor in any other land where they fight against God. Mildew shall come upon their honey, their bees, and their crops; and famine and desolation shall come upon the nation like a whirlwind.

Go and read the Prophets: they all say so. You never saw a Prophet in your life but what would say so. Don’t be frightened: I tell you it will come. I am willing that my friends that have come through here from California should tell them of it; and it would be better for you to believe it yourselves, and go and make calculations accordingly.

Shall we ever be brought to want? I tell you, if we live our religion, we never shall. Cannot God Almighty send manna here, honey, and everything else, just as well as he could in the days of Moses? This is the last dispensation, and it has got all the power, the interest, the miracles that were in all of them, and tenfold more.

Last year or the year before they made some thousands of pounds of sugar at Provo and other places from the honey-dew. Where did they find it? On the leaves of the cottonwood, the quaking asp, and the milk-weed. They are now making honey from milk-weed.

What does all this mean? And then don’t you believe God can rain sweetening as well as running water? This I can prove by thousands of witnesses—good sugar, as handsome as I ever made in the United States; and I have made hundreds of tons of it. The maple-trees in the States will be blasted; yes, and they might as well try to make sugar from an oak tree: and everything else will be mildewed and go to destruction, when we shall have thousands.

Have not we felt the rod? Yes; and God says judgment shall come, and it shall commence at the house of God first, and then it will come upon those that have rebelled in the house of God; and of all the suffering that ever fell upon men and women will fall upon the apostates. They have got to pay all the debt of the trouble that they have brought upon the innocent from the days of Joseph to this day, and they cannot get rid of it.

Will we have manna? Yes. The United States have 700 waggons loaded with about 2 tons to each waggon with all kinds of things, and then 7,000 head of cattle; and there are said to be 2,500 troops, with this, and that, and the other. That is all right. Suppose the troops don’t get here, but all these goods and cattle come. Well, that would be a mighty help to us; that would clothe up the boys and the girls, and make them comfortable; and then, remember, there are 15 months’ provisions besides. I am only talking about this. Suppose it extends on for four or five years, and they send 100,000 troops, and provisions, and goods in proportion, and everything else got here, and they did not.

I am talking by comparison to the Saints, and you that are without do not understand it. I am a kind of funny fellow; I always was. I will tell you what kind of a chap I am, and brother Brigham, and brother Joseph, and Hyrum, and David, and Charles, and all those boys. I will tell you now, as true as you live, I am one of the sons of the old veterans that won the liberties of this land, and so is brother Brigham, because he knew his father, and I knew my own father; and it is not every man that does.

You may write that—there is one man on the earth that knows his daddy. We are the boys, with thousands of others that their fathers, their grandfathers, and great grandfathers redeemed this land; and God Almighty inspired those men. They were naturally heirs to the Holy Priesthood, every one of them, pretty much; and we are their sons, and we will redeem this land, and we will save the children of this land, and the Constitution of the United States; and we will bring about the restitution of the house of Israel.

I do not care if we die in twenty minutes—as true as there is a resurrection, or ever was, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Joseph, and thousands of others will be redeemed and get their resurrection; and I will see you as I see you to-day, and we will save all that we can, and the rest will have to go to hell.

I believe in annihilation in one degree. Men will sin so that they will be damned spiritually and temporally. There will be a dissolution of the natural body and of the spirit, and they will go back into their native element, the same as the chemist can go to work and dissolve a five-dollar gold piece, and throw it into a liquid. Does not that show there can be a dissolution of the natural body and of the spirit? This is what is called the second death.

May the Almighty bless you! May the peace of God be with you, and upon your children, and your children’s children, for ever and ever! And may God Almighty curse our enemies. [Voices: “Amen.”] I feel to curse my enemies: and when God won’t bless them, I do not think he will ask me to bless them. If I did, it would be to put the poor curses to death who have brought death and destruction on me and my brethren—upon my wives and my children that I buried on the road between the States and this place.

Did I ever wrong them, a man or woman of them, out of a dime? No; but I have fed thousands where I never received a dime. Poor rotten curses! And the President of the United States, inasmuch as he has turned against us and will take a course to persist in pleasing the ungodly curses that are howling around him for the destruction of this people, he shall be cursed, in the name of Israel’s God, and he shall not rule over this nation, because they are my brethren; but they have cast me out and cast you out; and I curse him and all his coadjutors in his cursed deeds, in the name of Jesus Christ and by the authority of the Holy Priesthood; and all Israel shall say amen.

Send 2,500 troops here, our brethren, to make a desolation of this people! God Almighty helping me, I will fight until there is not a drop of blood in my veins. Good God! I have wives enough to whip out the United States; for they will whip themselves. Amen.

Joseph Smith’s Family—Bashfulness in Public Speaking, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 2, 1857.

I rejoice in the privilege of hearing the servants of the Lord speak to the Saints. It is a feast to me, and to hear men speak by the Holy Ghost. I very much rejoice in seeing brother Elias Smith upon the stand this morning. I have been acquainted with him for many years, and yet I have never until now heard him address an assembly, except in the capacity of a Judge. I am thankful to hear his voice in public. He is a cousin of the Prophet Joseph and of George A. Smith.

I have reflected much concerning the family of the grandfather and father of Joseph the Prophet. Their family connections were very extensive; and it has been a subject of deep regret to me that there were so few in that large circle who have been valiant for the truth since the death of the Prophet. Still I do not know but that Joseph had quite as many of his connections valiant for the truth, in proportion to their number, as Jesus had; for Jesus had many brothers and sisters, and the most of them were opposed to him, and continued so during the greater part of their lives. I used to think, while Joseph was living, that his life compared well with the history of the Saviour; though the most of father Joseph Smith’s family have believed and obeyed the Gospel, and have lived their religion in a good degree. Many of them are not here. Some of them I have known in the Eastern States that never have gathered with us. But the old stock are pretty much dead, and I do not know but what all of them are. Father John Smith was the last one, in this Church, of the brothers of father Joseph Smith; and he died, and is buried here. Grandmother Smith lived in Kirtland a short time after she gathered.

I trust in the good feelings and in the confidence that brother Elias has gained this morning in speaking as he has from this stand; for many times I have thought of it, and regretted that he was not on the stand a preacher with the rest. Some men rise here to tell about their feelings, and are so diffident, so bashful, and it is so hard for them to speak—men, too, who have had such privileges in their former lives as brother Elias has had, who is well schooled, and has had an opportunity of becoming acquainted with the best of society—with men of influence. When he arrived to years of discretion, as he has told you, he marked out his own path. His advantages in his youth were far greater than were those of most of our public speakers.

And there is brother Carrington, when he rises here to address a congregation—though it is seldom that we can get him on this stand—will tell how he shrinks from speaking to the people, how bashful and delicate his feelings are in this matter. Men who understand language, who were taught it in their youth, who have had the privilege of schools and good education, to get up and tell how they shrink from addressing this people.

When I think of myself, I think just this—I have the grit in me, and I will do my duty any how. When I began to speak in public, I was about as destitute of language as a man could well be. But tell about being bashful, when a man has all the learning and words he can ask for! With scores and hundreds of thousands of words with which to convey one’s ideas, and then tell about being bashful before a people! How I have had the headache, when I had ideas to lay before the people, and not words to express them; but I was so gritty that I always tried my best.

I do not like to hear men make excuses, although it is natural, and I put up with it. I wish they could see and understand that they have had advantages above many of their brethren—that they have been greatly blessed, and should never complain, but should stand up here and exercise themselves according to the best of their ability, and do all the good possible for them to do.

Brother Elias Smith, I can say, is a man possessed of as much judgment and discretion in his feelings as any man I know. He is filled with wisdom. He is filled with judgment and with counsel, if he would dare to let it out. I would like to hear his voice and the voices of others, and I would like to have them not complain much about getting up to speak before the public.

Often, when I stand up here, I have the feelings of a person that is unable to convey his ideas, because I have not the advantage of language. However, I do not very frequently complain of that, but I rise to do the best I can and to give the people the best I have for them at the time; and if it don’t suit them they can go without it, for I am not responsible whether it suits them or not.

I rejoice in the words of brother Heber this day. He has spoken by the power of the Holy Ghost, and you are his witnesses. You may all witness to this; and his ideas are as rich, I may say, as the flowers of eternity, and his ideas and his words are congenial to my feelings and spirit. He told you here to-day that we never differ—that I say, “Go ahead, say what you please.”

I look at the spirits and the principles of men, and try to behold what is in them; and if I can discover that they are right, I do not care one particle how they express their ideas, so that I can but understand them. I can say furthermore that you cannot, the best of you, beat brother Kimball’s language. You may call up the college-bred man, and he cannot beat it.

Brother Heber and I never went to school until we got into “Mormonism:” that was the first of our schooling. We never had the opportunity of letters in our youth, but we had the privilege of picking up brush, chopping down trees, rolling logs, and working amongst the roots, and of getting our shins, feet, and toes bruised. The uncle of brother Merrell, who now sits in the congregation, made me the first hat that my father ever bought for me: and I was then about eleven years of age. I did not go bareheaded previous to that time, neither did I call on my father to buy me a five-dollar hat every few months, as some of my boys do. My sisters would make me what was called a Jo-Johnson cap for winter, and in summer I wore a straw hat which I frequently braided for myself. I learned to make bread, wash the dishes, milk the cows, and make butter; and can make butter, and can beat the most of the women in this community at housekeeping. Those are about all the advantages I gained in my youth. I know how to economise, for my father had to do it.

There are a great many little items pertaining to life that I do not very often speak about. Still they have to be borne with. They arise from traits in our characters, and we have to meet with them right in this community. The imported goods that we purchase are brought over a thousand miles in waggons, and yet probably I have not a young child that is three years old but what has cost me more to furnish with shoes than I ever cost my father to furnish me with shoes in my whole life. Brother Heber has been teaching you a little economy. I tell you that you have been warned and forewarned again, that the time would come when, if you had hats, you would have to make them; and if the ladies had bonnets, they would have to make them here.

Whether it is to your sorrow or joy, I will tell you what I discover; and I have been much surprised, and sometimes I have been overjoyed with the discovery. Sometimes my heart quakes a little, my nerves tremble in consequence of the great things that God is bringing forth. Do we realize that they are coming on us, I may say, faster than we are preparing ourselves to meet them? There is one sign after another, revelation after revelation. The Lord is hastening his work. He is bringing to pass the sayings of the Prophets faster than the people are prepared to receive them. You know that we have often exhorted you to be wide awake to your duties, to be watchful and prayerful, and to be full of the Holy Spirit, lest the Lord should roll on his work faster than you could understand it.

It would be hard for the people to explain away the idea that the Government of the United States is shutting down the gate upon us, for it is too visible; and this is what hastens the work of the Lord, which you are praying for every day. I do not believe that there is a man or woman here, who prays at all, but what prays every day for the Lord to hasten his work. Now take care, for if he does, may be you will not be prepared to meet it.

The time must come when there will be a separation between this kingdom and the kingdoms of this world, even in every point of view. The time must come when this kingdom must be free and independent from all other kingdoms. Are you prepared to have the thread cut to-day?

I know the feelings of a great many, and I need not go out of my own family to hear, “O dear, are there no ribbons coming? I want that artificial quick; I want you to go and buy me that nice bonnet, for I am afraid there never will another one be brought here.” If I am tried in any point in this world, it is with regard to the bearings of my own conduct to my own family. I have told them, and tell them, and talk to them, and talk about it, and ask them, Am I in the line of my duty while I can feed women and children who do nothing but sit and fold their hands, and wear out their clothing, and dress them in finery, and pamper them, and they get so that good beef, pork, bread, butter, cheese, tea, coffee, and sugar, with fruit, and all kinds of garden sauce, are no rarity to them at all, and their appetites are poor and they cannot eat? This is the case with me in my family. If there is any trial upon me, it is to know whether I am in the line of my duty in this matter.

Should not I take my tea and coffee, my beef and pork, and every other good thing, and put it into the hands of the men who sweat over the rock for the Temple, instead of feeding men, women, and children, who do not strive to do all they are capable of doing? I am tried on that point, and I must say that if there is anything in the world that bothers me, it is the whining of women and children to prevent me from doing that which I know that I ought to do.

I will acknowledge with brother Kimball, and I know it is the case with him, that I am a great lover of women. In what particular? I love to see them happy, to see them well fed and well clothed, and I love to see them cheerful. I love to see their faces and talk with them, when they talk in righteousness; but as for anything more, I do not care. There are probably but few men in the world who care about the private society of women less than I do. I also love children, and I delight to make them happy.

I accumulate a large amount of means, but I would just as soon feed my neighbour as myself. And every one who knows me knows whether or not a piece of johnnycake and butter and a potatoe satisfies Brigham. I can live on as cheap and as plain food as can any man in Israel. I have said to my family, a great many times, I want you to make me home-made clothing; but I would meet such a whizzing about my ears, if I were to have even a pair of home-made pantaloons made. I do not know that I have a wife in the world but what would say, “You are not going to wear them; you ought to wear something more respectable, for you deserve to as much as any man does.”

It is the man who works hard, who sweats over the rock, and goes to the kanyons for lumber, that I count more worthy of good food and dress than I am. But do not I labour? Yes, with my mind. Can any man tell what labour there is upon me? No, not a man can begin to tell what I feel for the Latter-day Saints in this Territory, throughout the mountains and the world—what I feel for their salvation and preservation. They have to be looked after and cared for; and all this more particularly rests upon me. My brethren love to share with me all that the Lord puts upon them; but in the day of trouble they look to me to secure them and point out a way for their escape.

Now, let me tell you one thing—I shall take it as a witness that God designs to cut the thread between us and the world, when an army undertakes to make their appearance in this Territory to chastise me or to destroy my life from the earth. I lay it down that right is or at least should be might with Heaven, with its servants, and with all its people on the earth. As for the rest, we will wait a little while to see; but I shall take a hostile movement by our enemies as an evidence that it is time for the thread to be cut. I think we will find three hundred who will lap water, and we can whip out the Midianites. Brother Heber said that he could turn out his women, and they would whip them. I ask no odds of the wicked, the best way they can fix it.

Brother Heber says that the music is taken out of his sermons when brother Carrington clips out words here and there; and I have taken out the music from mine, for I know the traditions and false notions of the people. Our sermons are read by tens of thousands outside of Utah. Members of the British Parliament have those Journals of Discourses, published by brother Watt; they have them locked up, they secrete them, and go to their rooms to study them, and they know all about us. They may, perhaps, keep them from the Queen, for fear that she would believe and be converted.

I know that I have seen the day when, let men use language like brother Heber has today, and many would apostatize from the true faith. In printing my remarks, I often omit the sharp words, though they are perfectly understood and applicable here; for I do not wish to spoil the good I desire to do. Let my remarks go to the world in a way the prejudices of the people can bear, that they may read them, and ponder them, and ask God whether they are true.

I am thankful to hear the servants of God speak; and, as I have frequently said, I do not care what you say when you rise to speak here; for I want to know whether a man seeks with all his heart to know the mind of God concerning him. If he does, all is right with him.

Brother Heber alluded to counseling men and women who come to him after they had been to me, and said that they always received the same counsel I had given them. I never have known it to fail, that if they come to me and then go to brother Heber, they will get the same counsel all the time. And so they would from every one of the Twelve, from the High Council, from the Seventies, and High Priests and every officer in the Church, if every officer in the Church would take the course that brother Heber, and I, and a few others do. What is that? Never to give counsel, unless you have it to give. If you have counsel, give it, because you can have no correct counsel except by the Spirit of revelation: that is my standard. I have no counsel for a man, unless I have the testimony of Jesus on the subject. Then, when the same man asks counsel of me, and goes to brother Heber, do you not see that if he acts on the same principle and gives counsel, it must be by the Spirit of revelation; or he has no counsel to give, if it is not by that Spirit. Then let the same man go to brother Wells and ask his counsel on the same subject, without letting him know that he has been to Brigham or to Heber, and brother Daniel will give the same counsel by the same Spirit.

The difficulty with regard to giving counsel that conflicts consists in men’s giving counsel from their own judgment, without the Spirit of God. Every man in the kingdom of God would give the same counsel upon each subject, if he would wait until he had the mind of Christ upon it. Then all would have one word and mind, and each man would see eye to eye.

But there is a weakness in the brethren, and it is in mankind in general. You ask almost any person in the world a question, and he thinks it a disgrace to be unable to answer it. He feels chagrined, his mind flags, when he finds that he is not quite as knowing as his neighbours think him to be; and, to avoid this, he will often venture an answer without knowing the facts in the case, or the effects of his answer.

If you would always pause and say, I have no counsel for you, I have no answer for you on this subject, because I have no manifestation of the Spirit, and be willing to let everybody in the world know that you are ignorant when you are, you would become wise a great deal quicker than to give counsel on your own judgment, without the Spirit of revelation. If the Elders of Israel would observe this rule, never to give counsel unless they give it by the testimony of the truth, by the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, and, if they cannot give counsel in that manner, not to give any, there would be no conflicting counsel in the kingdom. All would be one; counsel would be one: we would soon come to understanding and be of one heart and mind, and our blessings would be increased upon us faster than in taking any other course.

May God bless you and preserve us in the truth. Amen.

Joseph Smith’s Family—Details of George A. Smith’s Own Experience, etc.

George A. Smith

A discourse by Elder George A. Smith, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, August 2, 1857.

I suppose that my brethren and sisters are acquainted with George A.; and whenever he presents himself in the presence of the Saints, and attempts to entertain them or amuse them with his chin-music, they expect that he will say something funny.

I have been interested to-day very much in listening to the instructions of brother Elias, and brother Kimball, and the President. I have been interested, amused, and instructed, and I may say chastened and reproved, perhaps, all at the same time; and I hope that the instructions of the forenoon will be of lasting benefit to me. In every part of the Territory, and in every other place where I have been, I have taken a good deal of pleasure in endeavouring to talk to the people, to preach to them; but whenever I have been in Great Salt Lake City, I have felt disposed to listen and to take counsel from my brethren; and I have felt that there were many others whose appearance in addressing the Saints would be much more acceptable; and hence I have felt to hold my tongue.

My father, late Patriarch John Smith, was the sixth son of Asahel Smith, and was born in New Hampshire. Joseph Smith, the father of the Prophet, and second son of Asahel, was born in Topsfield, Massachusetts. The second Asahel Smith, the father of Elias who addressed you this forenoon, was the third son of my grandfather.

I merely name this fact because, as brother Kimball and brother Young remarked, so very few of that family have been valiant for the truth. There are but few comparatively of their numerous posterity that have been valiant for the truth.

After the family of Joseph Smith, senior, was destroyed, there were but few left to stand up for the truth of the Gospel, of all that numerous family. My father’s elder brother was the father of a numerous posterity, and was a bitter enemy to the truth, and his descendants remain so to the present time. The only remaining brother of the Prophet, William, has done all that he could do—all that was in his power, I may say, from the time of the Prophet’s death, to annihilate and destroy the principles which the Prophet taught to the nations of the earth.

My uncle Silas Smith, the fourth son of Asahel, died on his way to Missouri, or rather on his return from there, being driven from that State in 1839, in Pike County, Illinois. He had been in the Church some years, and had been faithful.

Asahel Smith, the father of Elias, was a man of an extraordinary retentive memory, and possessed a great knowledge of the Bible, so much so that he could read it as well without the book as with it; and after he embraced “Mormonism,” nobody could oppose him successfully, for all their objections were answered from the Bible immediately, giving chapter and verse. He died on his way to the Valley, in the State of Iowa, in 1848. He was a Patriarch in the Church, and bore a faithful testimony to the truth.

Of my grandfather’s family there is but one living—an old lady by the name of Waller, residing in the city of New York, and she is 90 years of age, and remembers all that has transpired during the last eighty years just as well as if it had all just occurred. I visited her when I was last back there, and in talking with me she would talk of things that had transpired many years back, as though they had occurred within a year. She is sanguine in relation to the truth of “Mormonism,” although she has never embraced it; and, to use the language of her son, she preaches it all the time.

My grandfather, Asahel Smith, heard of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and he said it was true, for he knew that something would turn up in his family that would revolutionize the world. The news came to us in 1828: we then lived in New York. The four brothers were there, Asahel, Silas, Jesse, and John; the old man, my grandfather, living with them.

We received the news that some place had been discovered containing plates of gold. The old man, as I remarked, said that it was true, although his oldest son felt disposed to ridicule it. He lived till the Book of Mormon was brought to him, and died when he had read it, about half through, being 87 years of age.

The congregation will excuse me for naming this; but I was so disgusted with the conduct of William, that, when I was in the Eastern States, I almost took pains to obliterate the fact from the earth that my name was Smith; for I considered it was the worst thing a man could do to endeavour to build himself up on the merits of others, and I feel so yet; and for cousin William to go and endeavour to pull down the work of his brother, I feel that he has disgraced the family and the name.

I have never suffered one single exertion to be omitted on my part that would in any way tend to sustain the principles and doctrines of the Holy Gospel, and aid in the development of the Holy Priesthood which God has revealed. I have endeavoured all the time to preserve as perfect a history of the Prophet and those connected with him, from the organization of the Church to the present time, as I possibly could.

The Saints could have carried William upon their shoulders; they could have carried him in their arms, and have done anything for him, if he would have laid aside his follies and wickedness, and would have done right. It is like the Latin figure—but I beg your pardon, I never studied Latin; but suffice it to say, the husbandman found a rattlesnake cold and frozen, and he took it, and he put it in his bosom, and kept it there till it was warm; and then the snake coiled about the husbandman and destroyed his life.

This was the conduct of William Smith in the days of Joseph and afterwards, up to the present time. The principle that a man should stand upon in this world is simply this—He should do right himself, and thereby set an example to others. But for a man to have good blood in his veins, and then to go and disgrace that blood, is perhaps a double responsibility.

If we descended from Abraham, or from Joseph, or from any other virtuous, good, upright man, and we do not emulate his deeds and follow his example, the greater will be our shame.

When I was about eleven years old, my grandfather received letters containing the news that Joseph, the son of uncle Joseph, had discovered, by the revelations of the Almighty, some gold plates, and that these gold plates contained a record of great worth.

It was generally ridiculed and laughed at. A short time after this, another letter came, written by Joseph himself, and this letter bore testimony of the wickedness and the fallen condition of the Christian world. My father read the letter, and I well remember the remark he made about it. “Why,” said he, “he writes like a prophet.”

Some time in August 1830, my uncle Joseph Smith and Don Carlos Smith came some two hundred and fifty miles from where the Prophet was residing in Ontario County, New York, and they brought a Book of Mormon with them. I had never seen them before, and I felt astonished at their sayings.

Uncle Joseph and Don Carlos were anxious to get to Stockholm to see grandfather. Accordingly they started, and my father went to carry them. I and my mother spent the whole of Saturday, all day Sunday, and Sunday night in reading the Book of Mormon; and I believe I read and studied it more then than I have done ever since. I studied it attentively and penned down what I considered to be serious objections. Although I was but thirteen years of age, yet I considered the objections I had discovered to be sufficient to overthrow it.

About five o’clock in the evening the neighbours came in and wanted to see the book. They took hold of the book, and some of them were professors of religion, and they began to raise their objections, to find fault with and ridicule the book, and there was no one to defend it; so I thought I would try. I commenced to argue in favour of the book, and answered one objection after another, until I came off victoriously and got the compliment of being a very smart boy. No one brought the objections to the book that I had: mine were ge[o]graphical objections. I had studied geography a few weeks, but that few weeks’ study made me think that I knew a good deal about it.

It is like a man that studies the Hebrew language; he has to drink deep before he can do much with it, and I thought I could confound them. In a few days I saw my uncle and talked with him, and in about half-an-hour all my learned objections to the Book of Mormon were dispensed with, and I found myself in the same position as my neighbours; and from that day to this I have been an advocate of the Book of Mormon, and have never suffered it to be slandered nor spoken against without saying something in its favour, with one exception, and then I said something.

I had been the favourite of my uncle Jesse, and he was a religious man—a “Covenanter;” and I thought what he did not know was not worth knowing. He came out with all his strength against it, and exerted the most cruel tyranny over his family, prohibited my uncle Joseph from talking in his house, and threatened to hew down with his broad axe any who dared to preach such nonsense in his presence.

I went to visit him, and he abused me because I had become favourable, and because uncle Joseph had a private conversation with me. I had always treated him with the greatest respect, and entertained a very high opinion of him. He was a man of good education, and had considerable display; and, being the elder of the family, he naturally elicited from us more or less respect.

Finally, in conversation upon various subjects, he turned and talked about that private conversation, and he said, “Joe dare not talk in my presence.” Then says he, “the Devil never shut my mouth.” I replied, “Perhaps he opened it, uncle.” I thought I should have lost my identity: he gave me to the Devil instanter. I went and told uncle Asahel what had transpired, and the old gentleman laughed; and I then went to see uncle Silas and told him; and he said, “If old men begin to talk with boys, they must take boys’ play.” And from that day to the present, if I have said anything, I have said what I have thought.

During the fall of 1830, a gentleman who lived in our neighbourhood went to Western New York and saw the Prophet, got baptized and ordained an Elder; and that was Elder Solomon Humphrey. Very few knew the old gentleman: he died in Missouri in 1835. He was a very faithful man. Previous to joining the Church he was a Baptist exhorter. He came back to our place of residence in company with a man named Wakefield, who is named in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. They came and preached and baptized for the remission of sins.

I had been raised a Presbyterian, and my mother was a very pious woman. The Reverend Elijah Lyman, her uncle, who lived in Brookfield, Vermont, was the standard of religion in that country, and he had bestowed upon her the greatest care, that her religion might be of the best kind; and of course I had a great deal of this religion in me, which I had learned from her.

I wanted to know what I should do to be saved; so I went to a Presbyterian revival meeting to get religion, that I might be prepared to join the Latter-day Saints, or “Mormons,” as they are termed.

At the time, my father was sick with the consumption and given up to die. I had a herd of cattle to take care of; but, notwithstanding my numerous duties, I went to the protracted meeting, and took a load of persons with me; I carried them there and brought them back every day. They had a fashion of religion that I had never heard of, and it was one that was not known in the days of the Apostles; and even John Wesley, nor any of the old reformers had got such a thing into their heads—that of converting souls by machinery.

The process was like this: All who desired to be prayed for were to take certain seats, and then one of the ministers preached to them and depicted the miseries of hell and the duration of eternity. Then those people were taken to a praying establishment, where praying was carried on night and day. Then, after a certain time, they were brought back and preached to again, the ministers keeping before their eyes the untold miseries of hell and the duration of eternity. When the ministers got them to feel anxious, they would sing with them, and then pray again. When a man by this process was declared to be converted, then he was required to get up and formally renounce the world, the flesh, and the Devil, and to tell his experience. This was about the process as near as I can recollect. I did not go to the anxious seat myself, for I was not yet under conviction.

During this time of going to the protracted meeting, I had firewood to cut, my sick father to attend to, and to take care of our stock; but still I endeavoured to attend meetings, partly to accommodate my friends, and partly because I desired to be present myself. Subject to these circumstances I was under the necessity of returning home every evening, and hence I could not stay as late as many of them.

While at the protracted meeting, however, I had the satisfaction of hearing some of my own comrades who had got converted formally renounce the world, the flesh, and the Devil, and promise henceforth to be Christians.

In the midst of all this, you may depend upon it that, if ever a poor soul asked God to show him the way of life, I did—and that, too, with all my might, mind, and strength. I could not be a hypocrite; and to say I was afraid of damnation, when I had no fear of it at all, that was what I could not do.

I always had the credit of being the greatest coward in the family, and hence the others used to take pleasure in ridiculing what they termed my cowardice. It is also well known that whenever there has been anything the matter in the shape of Indian difficulties, I have had the character of being the greatest coward in the country, especially in the southern part of this Territory; and yet I was not afraid of hell, when all its miseries were painted before my eyes, neither would I say that I was under conviction when I was not.

This meeting was a great one, and the progress made in converting souls was also great; and they made hell look so terrible to nearly all present, that they burnt out and frightened about all the sinners in the place, except myself. At one time they had two hundred sinners under conviction; and such crying, groaning, sighing, and lamentation for sins I never heard either before or since: they were so forcible and terrific, that they are indelibly written on my memory.

I soon found myself alone; not a soul except myself but was either converted or awfully on the way. Mr. Cannon, our minister, pointed his finger at me as I sat alone; for there was not a sinner in the gallery except myself; and he said, “O sinner, I seal you up to eternal damnation, in the name of Jesus Christ.” He repeated it three times over, and concluded by saying, “O sinner, may your blood be upon your own head.”

I went home that evening and scattered my friends about, leaving the girls at their respective homes; for I, like my brethren, am very fond of the ladies; therefore I carried a goodly proportion of them to meeting every day. I thought a good deal upon what I had heard, and scarcely knew whether to go again or not, but finally concluded that I would go; therefore the next morning I gathered up my load of passengers, and carried them to meeting again.

When on the way to meeting, a young man by the name of Cary asked me where I was going to sit that day. I told him I was not very particular. “Well,” said he, “suppose you sit with me.” I said, “Agreed.” I had heard this same young man in a previous meeting formally renounce this world, the flesh, and the Devil.

When we arrived at the place of meeting, according to agreement, I followed him with the intention of sitting with him. I had a decided objection against being driven to heaven, but I found he was actually leading me to the anxious bench; and I considered that if the priest the day before, who had sealed me up to eternal damnation, had any authority, it was very little use in my going to the anxious bench.

I did not discover where friend Cary was leading me to, till I got near by the minister. He looked at me, when I turned away from the anxious bench, and he again walked into the pulpit, and pronounced the solemn sealing of eternal damnation upon me, and again appended to it that my blood was to be upon my own head.

On that day, the Reverend Mr. Williams delivered an address on the untold miseries of hell and the duration of eternity. Whether my mind was then agitated in consequence of the solemn woes pronounced upon me by the other minister, or whether the address was such a very eloquent one, I cannot now say; but, of all the discourses describing hell, eternal damnation, and the complication of miseries to which damned souls were subjected, it seemed to me that his address was the most terrific. I admired it for its sublimity and the beautiful descriptive powers that were exhibited throughout the whole discourse; and where he got it from I did not know, and of course could not tell.

At the conclusion of the meeting, I gathered up my passengers, took them home, and distributed them about, and told them that I had no idea of going any more to the protracted meeting for, said I, I have been sealed up nine times to eternal damnation, and hence, if the priest had any authority, it is no use in my going any more; but, said I, if he indeed had any, he would not act the infernal fool.

[Elder O. Hyde blessed the sacramental cup.]

I have, no doubt, wearied you with so minute a detail of my experience; but it is at least a gratification to me to relate it; and hence, I trust, you will excuse my being so minute in detail.

A short time after this, the Elders of Israel preached in our neighbourhood the doctrines of repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, precisely as preached by the Apostle Peter and by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. These doctrines I was pleased to hear. I believed them and received them in my heart.

Now, you are all aware how I was formerly sealed up to eternal damnation. Notwithstanding this, I was waited upon by the agent of the “Presbyterian Young Man’s Society,” and told that if I would abandon my father, and pledge myself never to become a “Mormon,” they would give me seven years’ education; and then, at the expiration of that time, I might study divinity, and become a minister of the Presbyterian order.

But, said I, Mr. Cannon sealed me up to eternal damnation, and hence it would not do for me to become a minister. He replied,” Oh, that don’t make any difference.” Well, then, said I, if that is all the force your religion and your ministers have, I will not have anything to do with them. Then he concluded they would not require me to preach, but he said they would give me seven years’ education, and then I might choose what profession I liked.

I told him I was required to honour my father, and as he was sick, I should attend to him at present, however much I might desire an education.

As soon as I had got baptised, all the folks in the neighbourhood commenced imposing upon me. The idea that they had of a religious man was this—If he would stand still to be spit upon, to be mocked, and abused, then he was religious; but if he resented any of these insults, then they considered that he had no religion.

I was very large of my age, but I had not strength in proportion to my size, and I was always very clumsy; but finally I told the boys who were imposing upon me, that it was part of my religion to fight, and I pulled off my coat and flogged the whole school, and from that day I was respected so long as I stayed in the neighbourhood.

It was with a good deal of reluctance, however, that many of the boys who had previously been able to handle me would yield; for some of them were four or five years older than I was: but in two days it was all finished up, and I had peace.

That winter I commenced to study arithmetic. I had previously studied geography, as you have already learned and during that winter I worked at arithmetic until I got to “Vulgar Fractions,” but I could not find out what vulgar fractions were, and I don’t know yet, and hence I do not think I am entitled to much credit for the proficiency attained in my education.

I always took great pleasure in reading history, both religious and profane; but as to getting an education such as is requisite for a professional man in the world, I did not have the chance, excepting the one before alluded to, and that I did not choose to accept of.

In 1833 I moved to Kirtland with my father, and went to work on the Temple, doing whatever I was able to do.

I will here digress from the subject of my experience, and remark that I have asked a great many if they could tell who those twenty-four Elders were who laid the foundation of that Temple; but I have never yet got the information: and if there are any who can give it, they are smarter than me, and I was there and looked on. If there are any of the brethren who have this information, they should hand it in to the Historian’s Office, where it can be preserved in the archives of the Church.

It is proper here to say that I went to work at the first principles, and that you know is necessary for every one to do. I went to work at quarrying rock, then hauling rock, tending mason, and performing such other work as I was considered capable of doing in my bungling way.

We were a pious people in those days; but, notwithstanding our piety, our neighbours soon talked of mobbing us. They had already tarred and feathered the Prophet Joseph and Sidney Rigdon, and they threatened us with mobbing and expulsion. As I remarked, we were then very pious, and we prayed the Lord to kill the mob.

It was but a little time before the Saints were driven out of Jackson county, Missouri, the printing press destroyed, men tarred and feathered, women ravished, and men, women, and children scattered to the four winds of heaven, all in consequence of our religion.

Now, I am never afraid when I do not think anything is going to hurt me. When I am certain that there is no danger, then I am not the least afraid. The reason I have been called a coward has been from the fact that, whenever I believed there was any danger, I have always gone in for providing for it, and used my ingenuity to thwart that danger; and hence I have been called a coward by some.

With my brethren who have addressed you, I have lain by the side of the Prophet, in Kirtland, to guard him half of each night for a whole winter, so that, if anything occurred, I could give notice to all the brethren in a very short time.

I have been by those cross roads that some of the brethren remember, and have seen our enemies pass by so near that I could have knocked them down with a stick. Things were so arranged that, if a considerable number came along, I was prepared to communicate it to the brethren. I have had considerable experience, and I have learned that, curious as it may appear, whenever a man becomes a Latter-day Saint, the Devil wants to kill him.

As I have told you, I was raised in the northern part of New York, a rough country, where, instead of going to get poles to fence with, we used to cut down hemlock trees, and split them up into rails.

East is said to be the quarter for light: hence it may be admitted that I have acquired a little. I once strayed as far as Massachusetts, and in a town where there were several Baptist priests. I endeavoured to preach the Gospel; but they sent their sons into the meeting-house, who smoked out the congregation with brimstone; and that is a specimen of what would be poured out upon the Saints by the whole Christian world, if they had the opportunity.

In an address delivered some years ago, I spoke of Maryland as a State of liberty; but our reporters made me say Massachusetts—though they are not to blame, for they are raw Englishmen, and therefore the fault must have been with the Editor.

I said that Massachusetts was the hotbed of superstition and religious intolerance, and that Maryland was the first State that by her laws and institutions allowed men to worship God as they pleased. Whether this mistake was accidental or not, I cannot say, but I wish now to correct it for I do believe Massachusetts to be the very hotbed of superstition and religious intolerance.

In the progress of this Church mobs gathered around us, and continued to grow thicker till our history brought us to Far West, where the Governor ordered out seventeen thousand troops to exterminate the “Mormons,” and a great many were marched on to the ground preparatory to being shot by the order of Major Clark.

There are a great many men alive that were there, and lived through the operation, and who were finally driven from Missouri, not to say anything of the hundreds, and thousands, and tens of thousands who are dead, whose deaths were more or less caused by the sufferings and distress that were brought upon them by their extermination.

It was a free State; it was a free country: it had a Constitution that guaranteed liberty, at least to every white man. All religions were tolerated by their laws; but we must be exterminated from the State, because we were that kingdom which had been spoken of.

The result was that Prophets and High Priests were arrested and put in prison, numbers of them were murdered, women were ravished, goods and property stolen, houses burnt, and children butchered, and every possible cruelty was invented to cure men of their religion.

I told Mr. Morril, of Vermont, last winter, that it was utterly impossible by law to change men’s opinions. If a man believes a thing, you may whip him, and he will believe it still.

Men and women are as apt to be tenacious as the old lady was down in the country, where men have but one wife. She got quarrelling with her husband, and called him “crack-louse.” He told her that if she called him that any more, he would drown her. She repeated it again, and he took and put her in the river, then took her out, and she said, “Crack-louse!” So he put her in again, and held her down awhile, till she was almost gone. Then he took her out again, and she could hardly speak, but finally she made out to say, “C-r-a-c-k-l-o-u-s-e!” He was determined to use her up; so he put her down, and held her under till she was dead; but she came up with her finger nails clenched, or rather in the position required for cracking a louse. So, you see, she stuck to it to the last moment.

So it is with our Uncle Sam—our dear, infirm, old uncle; although he has got very rich, and has got several millions of money in the Treasury that he scarcely knows what to do with, he wants to expend some of it in bringing us to the standard of virtue and righteousness according to their notions. To this end he is sending out 2,500 troops, with ministers and schoolmasters to regulate things in Utah. Notwithstanding all this, he may possibly find some instances where people may be as determined and stern in their notions as the old lady was of whom I have been speaking.

Now, a religion that is not worth living for is not worth having. If religion is not worth living for, I am sure it is not worth dying for; and of course, if we are not willing to stand the test, our religion is of very little use. Our enemies judge us by themselves, for they know that the best of them will renounce their religion for the sake of self interest. They treat it as a mere work of time.

A gentleman once asked another why he turned from the reformed Methodists to the Episcopalians; and he said, in reply, “A good fat living will change any of us.” If we can be changed in our religious views by a few soldiers or a few threats, we certainly made a great blunder in coming out here, that we may have the privilege of turning a little, and of giving a little change into the bargain. Our dear old Uncle has had a desire to give us a little of the change from the time we came here. Soon after we arrived, we began to turn this desert into a garden. There came a captain with troops into this city: they were a specimen of the virtue and morality of the United States. They came here and began to insult the people, and then tried to cover up their wickedness by the dignity of Uncle Samdom. Passing along, they came to a lone house, and there undertook to ravish a woman in open daylight; and the brother who interfered to prevent this villanous outrage was most shamefully maltreated by them, and got some of his bones broken. After this outrage, the officers of the company were soon told that if they did not take their troops out of the city, the “Mormons” would cut all their damned throats; and that was the last we had of them here.

I may be a little mistaken as to the precise language made use of; but this subject follows up so close to what I had in my mind, that I wanted to ask myself what I was now going to do in case the soldiers come here.

From year to year we have had companies of these gentry visiting us, and remaining for a season, and then going away. The Government have tried, year after year, to establish garrisons, and get troops into these valleys. They have had troops at Laramie, at Fort Hall, and several other points; but circumstances so turned that they soon marched into Oregon.

The talk now is that they are going to bring 2,500 soldiers into this Territory. That is not a peace establishment; for twenty-five hundred men are not enough to obtain peace in an Indian country. These troops, we are informed, are to be furnished with fifteen months’ provisions, to be delivered in this city this fall, and twelve months’ provisions to be lodged on the other side of the mountain. They are to have four hundred mule teams for hauling their extra baggage, and they are to be provided with judges and a full corps of territorial officers; and these soldiers are sent along to enforce their rule. This is what we understand from those channels which have been opened to us.

Whether it is done with the intention of making a disturbance here and taking the lives of our leaders, the facts in the case being known to the Government of the United States is not for me at present to say. The mail is stopped, and no more permitted to run, because, they say, of the unsettled state of affairs in Utah.

Now, I am a “Mormon,” and a descendant of the old Puritanical stock that descended from the old Anglo-Saxon reformers, and hence I feel all the sentiments of resentment that any man could feel during the rise against the mother country, when our forefathers were determined to break off the yoke of bondage and be free. When I see men, the descendants of those worthy sires who were the first to stand forth and create the resolution of the colonies, and to break loose from the King of Great Britain—I say, when I realize that my own country and nation are disposed to hold the sword over my head and to threaten me with extermination, I feel to say, Let them send who they please. They are determined to send who they please for Governor, who they please for Judges, and who they please for our Territorial Officers, and to permit those men whom they send to place their interpretation upon the acts of our Territorial Legislature, and upon the condition of things as they surround us; and I care but little what comes next.

They will send men here who are ignorant of the circumstances that surround us—men who are totally ignorant of the irrigation of the land by mountain streams; they will permit them to interfere with the rights of the people of this Territory, with fifteen hundred or two thousand bayonets to back them up.

Under these circumstances, as big a coward as I am, I would say what I pleased; and for one thing I would say that every man that had anything to do with such a filthy, unconstitutional affair was a damned scoundrel. There is not a man, from the President of the United States to the Editors of their sanctorums, clear down to the low-bred letter-writers in this Territory, but would rob the coppers from a dead nigger’s eyes, if they had a good opportunity. If I had the command of thunder and lightning, I would never let one of the damned scoundrels get here alive.

I have heretofore said but very little about the Gentiles; but I have heard all that Drummond has said, and I have read all his lying, infamous letters; and although I have said but little, I think a heap. You must know that I love my friends, and God Almighty knows that I do hate my enemies. There have been men, and women, and children enough who have died through the oppression and tyranny of our enemies to damn any nation under heaven; and now a nation of 25,000,000 of people must exercise its wealth in violation of its own principles and the rights guaranteed by the blood of their fathers—blood that is more sacred than their own heart springs; and this they are doing to crush down a little handful who dwell in the midst of these mountains, and who dare to worship God as they please, and who dare to sing, pray, preach, think, and act as they please.

All I have to say is, Just go ahead and burst your boiler. [Voice: They will.] This is the way the thing shapes itself in my mind; and if I were not afraid to die, I would fight as long as there was a finger left. Yes, if I were not afraid to die, I would fight till there was not as much left of me as there was of the Kilkenny cats. Just look at him—view his conduct towards this people: besides his being my uncle, he has acted most shamefully mean. When I told my uncle I was afraid, he only laughed at me; but I now tell you that if I were not such a well-known coward, I would die like a man of war. The very idea that a man has been awed down by the bayonet is something that I cannot stand. It will do very well for the Emperor of France, and it may do for the Autocrat of Russia, but it don’t do for freeborn men; and if asked which we will prefer slavery or death, we should be very apt to answer in the language of a Roman senator, if we had any voice in this matter, who, when this question was once put in the days of Julius Caesar and Pompey, promptly answered, We prefer death to slavery. But you know we are Latter-day Saints—we are “Mormons,” and hence we cannot be treated as free men.

Report says that the plan is deep, and it is laid with the intention of murdering every man that will stand up for “Mormonism.” But the evil which they design towards us will fall upon their own heads, and it will grind them to powder. The men that have been living in these valleys, living their religion, and serving their God. They will laugh at their calamities, and mock when their fear cometh.

We must die like the Irishman, and then we shall do well enough. An old parson was riding along one day, and met with an Irishman, and said, “Sir, have you made your peace with God?” Pat replied, “Faith, an I’ve never had a falling out.” The parson seemed very much surprised at the answer, and very piously said, “You are lost, you are lost!” The Irishman very quaintly answered, “Faith, and how can I be lost right in the middle of a great big turnpike?” The moral which I wish to deduce from this is, that, if we have not had a falling out with our God, we are in the middle of the great turnpike. They may cut off our supplies of tobacco and tea. [Voice: What a pity!] Why, bless you, there are young men in Israel who would suffer far more, if deprived of their tobacco, than the ladies would if their ribbons had to be stripped off right in the public meeting; and therefore I advise them to go to work and plant tobacco, for if they were deprived of it, it would take away their peace and happiness, and they could not nasty and besmear everything within a mile of them; and when they wanted to come and get counsel, they would not be able to let out of their mouths a stench that would drive away a skunk.

I feel great pity for those young men, and I would like to discipline them as a certain lieutenant did the cabin boy on a steam packet. He said, “Boy, there is something the matter with your mouth,” whereupon he ordered one of the sailors to bring him a pair of tongs, and ordered the boy to open his mouth, and with the tongs took out a large quid of tobacco. He then called for some canvass and sand and scoured the boy’s mouth out, and told him that when he got sick and needed that again, he was to call on him and he would give him another dose.

I consider it a disgrace to any young man under thirty-five years of age to use tobacco. [Voice: Forty is the age.] That is my age: I was thinking I was thirty-five.

Brethren and sisters, I am a Latter-day Saint, and I know that this is the people of God; I know that this people have the Priesthood, and that Brigham Young is as much an inspired man as was Moses or any other man that ever lived upon the earth.

This is my testimony, and I believe that if I were cut in pieces, though I never was killed, and of course don’t know how it feels; but I do not believe that it would alter my testimony.

I am a good deal like the man in the old world, where they have but one wife. He was shaving, and at the same time having some unpleasant words with his wife: finally, he said he would cut his throat if she did not hold her noise. She replied, “Cut away; I am young and handsome.” “I would, if I did not think it would hurt so damned bad.” And I don’t know but it would feel so very bad to be killed, that I am really afraid where there is any danger. But just so long as I think there is no danger, I shall go ahead.

Brethren and sisters, pardon me for detaining you so long; and may the Lord God of Israel bless you, and may He curse and damn every scoundrel that would bring misery and injury upon this innocent people. Amen.

Difference Between the Spirit of Zion and the Spirit of the World—Doings in the States, etc.

John Taylor

Remarks by Elder John Taylor, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 9, 1857.

Beloved brethren and friends—Being called upon this morning to address you in a few words, I do so with very great pleasure. The sea of upturned faces that present themselves to my view at the present time is indeed something new, although I have been in what may be called the metropolis of the United States for some length of time.

Gazing round upon my brethren and sisters with smiling countenances and happy, contented feelings, imparts peculiar sensations to my mind; and it is difficult for me at the present time to concentrate my thoughts so as to express the feelings that are in my bosom, if in fact I could express them. Suffice it to say that I am glad to be here; I am happy to meet with my brethren of the Priesthood, and my sisters, and all those who are friends to the cause of God; I rejoice to see you, and am glad of the opportunity of standing before you once more to speak of the things pertaining to the interests of Zion, and the building up of the kingdom of God upon the earth.

There are many here who, like me have been absent from home for some time, who, when they come to meet with former associations and friends, particularly those with whom they have battled for years in the cause and kingdom of God, feel as I feel on the present occasion. Those alone, and there are many of them, can enter into the sympathies and emotions which I experience at the present time.

There is a very material difference between associating with those that have the fear of God before their eyes, whose first object is their own salvation, the salvation of their progenitors and posterity, and the building up of the kingdom of God, and associating with those who “have not God in all their thoughts,” who regard him not in all their transactions, but who are living “without God and without hope in the world,” whose hearts—and I am sorry to say it, but yet it is true—whose hearts are “full of cursing and bitterness,” who roll sin under their tongues as a sweet morsel, “whose feet are swift to shed blood,” and “the way of of peace,” as the Prophet hath said, “they have not known.”

There is a very material difference between associating with men and women who are the sons and daughters of Zion, and characters such as I have last named. The contrast is so striking, the spirit is so different, the atmosphere varies so much, that any man possessing one spark or particle of the Spirit of the Most High must experience it the moment he breathes the atmosphere and comes in contact with the two contending parties. The one is engaged in the acquisition of wealth: gold is their god, and, associated with that, lust, pollution, and corruption of every kind.

While we are aiming to fulfil our destiny on the earth, to accomplish the object for which we were created, to magnify our calling, to honour our God, to build up His kingdom, to redeem the earth from the curse under which it groans, to roll back the tide of corruption that seems to have overspread the universe, our opponents are engaged in pursuits directly tending to dissolution and destruction. Their lives, their views, their objects are short, transient, and evanescent. Ours are wide as the universe, extended as eternity, deep as the foundations of the earth, and elevated as the throne of God; receiving and imparting blessings that are rich, glorious, and eternal—blessings which effect us and our posterity through endless ages that are yet to come.

The contrast so striking, so vivid, so manifest, is it to be wondered at, when a person reflects upon these matters, that ten thousand thoughts should crowd upon the mind and produce sensations that is impossible to fully express with human language. Such, then, are my sentiments, and such my feelings.

I have been for some length of time past associated with the Gentiles. I have been engaged in battling corruption, iniquity, and the foul spirits that seem to fill the atmosphere of what you may term the lower regions, if you please; and the Lord has been with me, His Spirit has dwelt in my bosom, and I have felt to shout, Hallelujah! and to praise the name of the God of Israel, that He has been pleased to make me a messenger of salvation to the nations of the earth, to communicate the rich blessings flowing from the throne of God, and put me in possession of truth that no power on this or on the other side of hell can controvert successfully.

In regard to the world, the Elders who have been out, as I have, and as others have around me, know something of its nature and spirit, and the feelings by which the people are governed and actuated. Our young men and women, who have not come in contact with it, can scarcely conceive of the amount of iniquity, depravity, corruption, lying, deception, and abomination of every kind that prevails in the Gentile world.

Talk of honesty! It is a thing in theory; and they will preach about it as loud and as long as anybody. As a a matter of theory, it is honourable to be honest—to be men of truth theoretically; but when you come to put your finger upon it, you cannot find it, it is like a shadow—it vanishes from your grasp.

Where are the men of truth—nationally, socially, religiously, morally, politically, or in any other way? Where are the patriots? Where are the men of God? I declare before you and high heaven, I have not found them. Sometimes I have thought I had got my hand upon them, but they slipped out of my fingers.

I bless the God of Israel that I am permitted to mingle with the Saints of the Most High—to associate with men who, when I meet them and ask them concerning anything, I may expect to have an honest and truthful answer—men in whom there is some truth, some integrity, something to to catch hold of, something you can rely upon.

To speak of men whom I have seen dissatisfied, and who have gone back to Babylon, I must say that I do not very much admire their taste. If people understood things as I do, and as I have seen and experienced them, they would thank God from the bottom of their hearts that they are permitted to have a name and a place among the people of God in these valleys of the mountains.

We have been engaged in publishing a paper, which is generally known, because it has been circulated here. About my proceedings and acts, I have got very little to say, only that I have done as well as I could, the Lord being my helper; and I believe my brethren here have prayed for me, and that I have been sustained by their prayers and faith.

I have not been in that place, because it was my desire to be there for I have had a hard struggle and a good deal to pass through: but that is common with us all; and if there were no struggle, there would be no honour in a victory.

I have conversed with some of the Twelve since I came home, and they all feel about the same; and when have read about your affairs here, and the position in which you have been placed, I have said, “My brethren have had to struggle.”

There is one thing that I have noticed: wherever I have come across a Saint, they differ very materially from others. I have met with those in different places who have been sent out on missions to the various stations, and missionaries going off to preach in Canada and other places; and I found, wherever I came in contact with one of them, I came in contact with a man; and wherever I came in contact with those who had not been up here, I came in contact with children—babies, if you please, hardly knowing their right hand from their left, I mean in the practical sense of the word.

There are a great many theorists in the world. They can talk and splutter, and make a noise, and have a great many theories; but they cannot reduce them to practice. There is no energy, vitality, or power. But come in contact with our own brethren, and they are all quick, full of animation, life, and energy; and there is a spirit infused into them that I do not see anywhere else. This is my experience.

You may pick up men from any part of the world you please, and bring them to this place, and what are they fit for? They are poor, miserable, croaking old grannies. But there is something in the atmosphere of the place—something in the scenery we have passed through. There is something in the difficulties we have spoken about, and something in our joys and prospects, that has a tendency to strengthen the mind and brace up the nerves. There is something, too, in the hope that is implanted in the bosom, that is different from that in the possession of other men.

Every true man among us feels he is a Saint of the living God, and that he has an interest in the kingdom of God; every man feels that he is a king and a priest of the Most High God. He is a saviour, and he stands forth and acts with energy and power, with influence, and he is full of the Spirit of the Lord. Hence the difference between them and others, and hence the necessity of the experience we are passing through, the various trials we have to combat with, and the difficulties we have to overcome.

All these things seem to me to be so many lessons, which it is absolutely necessary for the young, the middle-aged, and the aged to learn, to prepare them and their posterity for more active scenes in the rolling forth of the great work of God in the last days. Consequently, if we have to pass through a few trials, a few difficulties, a few afflictions, and to meet with a few privations, they have a tendency to purify the metal, purge it from the dross, and prepare it for the Master’s use.

So far as I am concerned, I say, let everything come as God has ordained it. I do not desire trials; I do not desire affliction: I would pray to God to “leave me not in temptation, and deliver me from evil; for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory.” But if the earthquake bellows, the lightnings flash, the thunders roll, and the powers of darkness are let loose, and the spirit of evil is permitted to rage, and an evil influence is brought to bear on the Saints, and my life, with theirs, is put to the test; let it come, for we are the Saints of the most High God, and all is well, all is peace, all is right, and will be, both in time and in eternity.

But I do not want trials; I do not want to put a straw in anybody’s way; and, if I know my own feelings, I do not want to hurt any man under the heavens, nor injure the hair of any person’s head. I would like to do every man good. These are the feelings, the spirit which the Gospel has implanted in my bosom, and that the Spirit of God implants in the bosoms of my brethren. And if men will pursue an improper course, the evil, of course, must be on their own heads.

I used to think, if I were the Lord, I would not suffer people to be tried as they are; but I have changed my mind on that subject. Now I think I would if I were the Lord, because it purges out the meanness and corruption that stick around the Saints, like flies around molasses.

We have met on the road a great many apostates. I do not want to say much about them. If they can be happy, all right; but they do not exhibit it. When a man deserts from the Gospel, from the ordinances, from the Priesthood and its authority, from the revelations of the Spirit of God, from the spirit of prophecy, from that sweet, calm influence that broods over the upright man in all his acts, he loses the blessing of God, and falls back into error; and, as the Scripture says, “The evil spirit that went out of him, returns again, bringing with him seven spirits more wicked than himself; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

It has become proverbial, where apostate “Mormons” live, to say, “Oh, he is only an apostate Mormon.” They look upon them as ten times meaner than a “Mormon.”

I happened to go into a barber’s shop, one day, to get shaved. A man came in, and when he went out again, the enquiry was made, “Who is that man?” “Oh, he is only an apostate Mormon.” Their mouths are full of cursing; and you will find them chewing tobacco and getting drunk, thinking that, by so doing, they will recommend themselves to the people; but they have not learned the art very well; they can’t swear and degrade themselves so naturally as others, and the people find them out and repudiate them.

You that don’t know him, have heard of Thomas B. Marsh, who was formerly the President of the Twelve Apostles, but who apostatized some years ago, in Missouri. He is on his way here, a poor, decrepid, broken down, old man. He has had a paralytic stroke—one of his arms hangs down. He is coming out here as an object of charity, destitute, without wife, child, or anything else. He has been an apostate some eighteen years. Most of you know his history. He has been all the time since then afraid of his life—afraid the “Mormons” would kill him; and he durst not let them know where he was.

In meeting with some of the apostates, he said to them, “You don’t know what you are about; if you want to see the fruits of apostacy, look on me.” I thought they could not look on a better example.

In relation to some of those other folks that left here—the Gladdenites and others—where are they? Some of them that contended most strenuously for Gladden have cast him off, and now have nothing to tie to. Where is their hope of salvation?

In regard to the spirit of the times, I do not know but that I have published my feelings. I would observe, however, that there is a material difference between the people of the East and the people of the West. A great majority of the people of the West, on the borders, may be emphatically termed “Border ruffians.” The Eastern people call them by that name, and by that name they are known. There is a species of ruffianism among them, of rowdyism, groggeryism, of bantering, bullying, fighting, and killing, that is a disgrace to humanity.

The most of you who have read the news must be familiar with the scenes that have transpired in Kansas between the two parties that have existed there—one party in favour of slavery, and the other opposed to it. There has been a great struggle between them, and mobocracy has abounded to a great extent. Who are the best and who are the worst, would be very difficult for me to tell.

The Eastern people, of whom I have been speaking, as quick as they go to the borders, partake of the spirit that reigns there, and turn “border ruffians” too. It is not difficult for them to enter into it; for the spirit of deep seated hatred which prevails among many in the East towards the South soon breaks out, and their feelings are manifested in acts of violence, and they generally maintain their points by the bowie knife and pistol, by mob violence, vigilance committees, &c.

This disorder of things extends all along the frontiers. If a man does not do right, they get up a vigilance committee, and it takes up a man, judges him, whips him, banishes him, or puts him to death, as they please; and it has become popular to act in this way in all those border places.

They are called “border ruffians,” and I think the name is as appropriate as anything you could give them. I do not know that I could pick out a better title. In the East, they do it with their tongues; they do not use the bowie knives, pistols, and rifles so much as in the West and in the South; but a spirit of rancour, animosity, and hatred seems to be engendered in the bosoms of the people, one against another. They have their most deadly enemies in their very midst. Every man’s hand is against his neighbour.

The feelings of the North and South have run very high, each party seeking to support their own peculiar views alone, and truth is out of the question. If they tell the truth, it is by accident. The object is not to tell the truth, but to sustain parties and party interests; for to tell the truth is not generally considered very politic.

True, there is a great profession of truth, and a great deal of apparent abhorrence of lies and falsehood, because falsehood is not popular, although it is practised all the time.

The ministers say it is right to tell the truth, and then go to work and lie. One politician banters another, on account of the hypocritical course he has taken: and as quick as he has done that, he goes to work and lies, and deceives as much as he possibly can to sustain his party; and it is not whether a thing is true or not, but whether it is policy or not; and if a thing becomes policy, every influence, every kind of chicanery, falsehood, and deception is brought to bear upon it; and when a little truth will tell better, they mix that up along with it, but it is generally the least ingredient in the whole mass.

Talk to them about the Gospel and the Scriptures! They seem to think, even the ministers among them, that it is old fogyism. Talk about Abraham and his institutions! Say they, “You are taking us back to the dark ages. Such things would do eighteen hundred years ago; but we are more enlightened now; we have got more philosophy, more intelligence, and comprehend the nature of human existence better; we are men of greater renown than they. Those things might do for our grandfathers and great-grandfathers, but they will not do for us.”

If a little Scripture will suit them, they put it in; but if it won’t, they keep it out, and talk about expediency. Expediency is the great principle by which men are governed.

Talk about politics! What is it? It is this or that man’s policy. “If it is policy to tell the truth, we will tell it; if not, we will tell a lie.” A man cannot obtain a cause because it is just, but because it is policy, and because he can bring certain influences to bear on that thing. This is about the position of things as I find them, so far as my experience goes.

But, as is the case in Congress, bullyism seems to be one of the most prominent arguments in the West, where they seem to imitate their honourable example. These are the two prominent places—Kansas and Congress. Brother Bernhisel here has been among them there; he knows something about it and something about their proceedings. If a man dare get up there and speak his sentiments, another stands over with a cane, and goes to work at caning him, and lays him in a sick bed for several months, so that he cannot speak; and for this dignified act, he is presented with numerous canes by his constituents, to show how they appreciate this Congressional argument, and to prove to others that if they speak the truth, they may look out for a caning. These things take place in this land of liberty and in the Congress of the United States. We have had a good deal of trouble sometimes in getting our appropriations; in fact, not sometimes, but always. And I will tell you how they do in the West and in California. A fellow goes up and seizes another by the collar, and says, “Damn you, if you stand in my way, I will put this into you,”—showing him a deadly weapon. The official says, “I am afraid that fellow will kill me; I will give him what he wants. But if an honest man goes and asks for his rights, he cannot get them, simply because he his honest, particularly if he happens to be a “Mormon.”

I have vowed in my own mind, over and over again, if I was in Utah, the United States might stand over me until doomsday, before I would do anything for them, unless I was paid for it beforehand. Excuse me, Governor Young, if I am not very patriotic. No men need call upon me to do anything in Utah for the United States, unless they pay me the money down. I won’t trust them.

I speak from experience—from things I have seen and known—from circumstances that have come under my own notice. I have seen the difficulties my brethren have laboured under, when they have had to do with Congress or the Departments at Washington.

Any unprincipled scoundrel, no matter how mean, if he comes with a bowie knife or revolver in his hand, can get what he wants. People back East used to blame me for speaking and writing plain. I talk the same now. I feel that I can be sustained by the truth; and if I cannot live by truth, I will die by it and I am not afraid of telling it before any people. I met a gentleman on the road, on his way to the States from California. I asked him how things were getting on in Utah. He said, “Very well; all is peace there; they seem to do very well. Are you going there?” “Yes, sir, I am going to Utah.” “Did you live there?” “Yes.” “I think it is not prudent, the policy upon which they act. I would recommend your people to pursue a quiet policy. I saw everything peaceable and quiet there as could possibly be in any community; but I heard Governor Young talk about General Harney. He said he was the squaw-killing General. I did not think that was courteous to be said of a United States’ officer.” I replied, Are we the only people that must not talk about the United States’ officers? What do you do in California, in the East, and everywhere we go? Are we going to be imposed on from time to time, and not have the privilege of saying our souls are our own? “Oh, I merely recommend it as the best policy to be peaceable and quiet until you get to be a State, and for the present put up with these things.” I said, We have been outrageously imposed upon by United States’ officials. They send out every rag-tag and bobtail, and every mean nincompoop they can scrape up from the filth and scum of society, and dub him a United States’ officer; and are we expected to receive all manner of insults from such men without one word of complaint? They will assuredly find themselves mistaken. “What! you don’t mean to say you will fight against the United States?” We don’t want to; but we feel that we have as much right to talk as anybody. We have rights, as American citizens, and we cannot be eternally trampled on; but we shall assuredly maintain our constitutional rights, speak fearlessly our opinions, and take just the course that we think proper. That is our policy, and we shall pursue a course of that kind. He replied, “My idea is, that quietness and peace is better.” I told him, it is, sometimes; but a little bristle sometimes does good in keeping off the dogs. That is about how I feel.

In relation to the general condition of things in the East at this time, there has been a great hue-and-cry, and almost every editor, priest, and dog that could howl, has been yelping. They joined heartily with Drummond, one of our amiable, pure, virtuous United States’ officers. You know him. I never saw him; but I have heard about him as one of those spotless, immaculate, holy kind of men that they sent from the United States to teach us good morals, correct procedure, virtue, &c., &c.

This pure man commenced a tirade against us, then other dogs began to bark. We soon told the truth about it; then, by-and-bye, somebody else would tell it; and he now stinks so bad, that they actually repudiate him. He is too mean even for them, and they had to cast him off. They supported him as long as they could, and finally had to let him drop.

The people are raging, and they do not know what for. The editor of the New York Herald, after summing up the whole matter, the only thing he could bring against us, after trying and trying for several weeks, was that we have burned some nine hundred volumes of United States’ law books. Of course I do not know anything about it; but if you did so, it is true, and if you did not, why it is a lie, and it all fizzles out. And, finally, he says, “The ‘Mormons’ have got the advantage of us, and they know it.” [Voices: That is true.] That was one truth, but it was told accidentally; one of those accidental things that slip out once in a while—“they have the advantage of us, and they know know it.”

The majority of the people think you are a most corrupt people, following a doctrine something like those Free Love societies in the East. Greeley, the editor of the New York Tribune, was associated with one of those societies, and was its principal supporter.

That is what is called a virtuous kind of an abomination, used under a cloak of philosophy, a species of philosophy imported from France. Hence they call Greeley a philosopher; and, in writing about him, I have called him the same. I believe him to be as dishonest a man as is in existence.

These are my sentiments and feelings. I have examined his articles, watched his course, read his paper daily, and have formerly conversed with him a little; but latterly I would not be seen in his company. I was thrown in his society in travelling from Boston, and occasionally met him afterwards; but I would not talk to him: I felt myself superior to such a mean, contemptible cur. I knew he was not after truth, but falsehood.

This Greeley is one of their popular characters in the East, and one that supports the stealing of niggers and the underground railroad. I do not know that the editor of the Herald is any more honest; but, as a journalist, he tells more truth. He publishes many things as they are, because it is creditable to do so. But Greeley will not; he will tell what suits his clandestine plans, and leave the rest untold. I speak of him, because he is one of the prominent newspaper editors in the Eastern country, and he is a poor, miserable curse.

I do not consider that many of them are much better. They are in a state of vassalage; they cannot tell the truth if they felt so disposed. People talk very loudly about liberty; but there are very few who comprehend its true principles. There is a species of bondage that is associated with every grade of society. It is with the mercantile community, the editorial fraternity, the political world, and with every body of men you can associate with, up to members of Congress and the President of the United States. There are yokes made for men of every grade to put their necks into; and every one bows down to them willingly, and they are driven in their turn according to circumstances.

In the mercantile world there is what is called the credit system, which I consider one of the greatest curses that was ever introduced among men. Some will set up a small groggery or grocery; they go into debt to those who have a bigger groggery; or to a man who can, perhaps, buy a barrel of whisky at a time, or a few pieces of calico. These little merchants are in debt to some larger ones in St. Louis; those to merchants in Cincinatti, New York, and New Orleans; and they are in debt to larger houses in England, France, Germany, and other places.

They all bow the neck: they are all trammeled and bowed down with the same chain. People talk about our credit not being good lately. I hope to God nobody will credit a “Mormon.” We don’t want anything on credit. I want us to live as we can live; and if we cannot live without going into debt to our enemies, let us die—never put our heads under the yoke.

The same thing exists in other branches. You may take a constable; he has got to pledge his honour to support such a man, no matter whether he keeps a doggery, a groggery, or whether he is an honest man or a rogue. Then a number of those support some other man that is more elevated, if there is any elevation in such doings. Then those other “elevated” ones form combinations and clubs, and sustain others; and so on, until you get up to the President of the United States, All are pinioned, and their tongues are tied.

There is Fremont, that great man, who could not lead a few men over these mountains without starving them to death. A few men, understanding his position, got him cooped up in New York, so that he could not be seen without coming at him through committees and checks, bars and bolts, lest he should speak and people find him out; and after all their great care, he came out at the little end of the horn: he was not elected.

When a President is elected, a crowd of men press around him, like so many hungry dogs, for a division of the spoils, saying, “Mr. President, what are you going to do for our town? Remember, here is Mr. So-and-so, who took a prominent position. We want such a one in such an office. And, finally, after worryings and teasings, and whining and begging, some. of those little men, mean, contemptible pups, doggery men, broken-down lawyers; or common, dirty, political hacks, bring up the rear, swelled up like swill barrels; they come to the table for the fragments, and, with a hungry maw and not very delicate stomach, whine out, “Won’t you give me a place, if it is only in Utah?” In order to stop the howling, the President says, “Throw a bone to that dog, and let him go out;” and he comes out a great big “United States’ officer,” dressed in a lion’s garb, it is true, but with the bray of an ass. He comes here, carrying out his groggery and whoring operations, and seeking to introduce among us eastern civilization.

The people here, however, feel a little astonished, some of them, although they are not very much astonished at anything that transpires; and when they look at him, they say in their simplicity, “Why, that man is acting like a beast.” His majesty, however, swells up, struts and puffs, and blows, and says, “You must not insult me: I am a United States’ officer; you are disloyal. I am a United States’ officer; don’t speak to me.” Of course you are, and a glorious representative you are.

I did start once to write a history of the judges sent to Utah; but I did not get through with it. You know we have the history of the judges in former days. If I had only had time, I would have liked to have written a history of the judges of Israel that came out from the Ammonites and Moabites down yonder.

There was one man here whom you considered one of the most honourable men among your judges. I refer to Judge Shaver. I do not know much about the man; he was spoken highly of, and a great deal of ceremony made at his funeral. I was on board of a steamer coming up to Florence, when some gentlemen got to talking about the “Mormons.” One man said, “I was there a year and a half, and I know them to be as good, peaceable, and quiet a society as I ever was among; but there is a pack of infernal scoundrels sent among them by the Government, that are not fit to go anywhere. A man, by the name of Shaver, was sent there, and he lay drunk around our town six months before he went there!” Thinks I, if that is one of the best, then the Lord have mercy on the rest.

With regard to office-hunters, they are in bondage to each other; and even the President of the United States is trammelled, bound down, and no man has the manliness to say, I dare do as I please.

These things are so in a monetary point of view, in a religious point of view, and they are so in a political point of view, and in every way you can view it. Every man bows down his neck to his fellow, and they have their parties of every kind in the United States; and every man must be true to his party, no matter what it is. Politicians are bound by their parties, editors by their employers, ministers by their congregations, merchants by their creditors and Governors and President by political cliques. Divisions, strife, contention, and evil are everywhere increasing, and there is little room for truth in the hearts of the people.

I believe, notwithstanding, there are thousands of honest people in the United States; but so much evil prevails, and so much corruption, that it is next to impossible for them to discover the difference between truth and error.

Our preaching does not seem to have any value or effect on the minds of men at all, scarcely. You can revise, renovate, regenerate the Saints; but come to take hold of the world, and preach to them, it is like idle tales to them. As I have said, talk to them about the Bible, and they will tell you it is an old-fashioned, old fogy affair, with very little exception.

I have laboured myself, as the rest of the Elders have, and the general result, wherever we have preached the Gospel, has been the same. I remember, in old Connecticut, the land of steady habits, some few embraced the Gospel, and one or two we had to cut off from the Church in a week or two after. There was one old lady, a farmer’s wife; she believed, and her husband treated us kindly, and they got a place for us to preach in, &c., and after listening for some time, said she would give anybody five hundred dollars to prove “Mormonism” untrue. I said I would do it for half of that sum: if she wanted a lie, she should have it.

In the neighbourhood of Tom’s River, a number came into the Church; some have stood, and some have not: they are doing pretty well there. There was as good a Church when I first went there as I found in the East. There was also another in Philadelphia. In New York, when we went there, we found a people that called themselves “Mormons.” I called a meeting, and there was only two that I would acknowledge as such. I told the rest to go their own way; told them what I acknowledged to be “Mormonism,” and, if they would not walk up to that, they might take their own course.

Since then, a great many emigrants have come from the old countries—from England, France, Germany, Denmark, and other places. They form quite a body: there are now five or six hundred. At Philadelphia and around there, there have been some few brought in; but most of the Saints there are those who have come in from England and other places.

It is almost impossible to produce any effect on the feelings of the people. In New Jersey, I held several days’ meeting, to see if something could be done. They turned out in great numbers: “Mormonism” was popular; as many as 200 carriages were present. We were treated well, and preached faithfully. Somebody came and set up a little groggery, and it was removed forthwith. Was anybody converted? No. They turned their ears like a deaf adder to the cause, and that is the general feeling, so far as I have discovered.

They do not love the truth. In most of these places they have rejected the Gospel, and they listen not to the voice of the charmer, charm he never so wisely. Many asked about their friends, and if their was any speculation on foot. I could get thousands to immigrate to this Territory for speculative purposes; and committees waited on me to learn what inducements are held out to settlers. I could get thousands to come here, if we would give them good farms, and furnish them cattle, and work their farms for them until they got started, and let them carouse around, and have all the lager beer they could drink.

Those who love the truth are scarce. There are, however, a great many scattered all over the United States, who believe “Mormonism” is truth, and have not moral courage to embrace it; but if it is policy, they dare once in awhile say a few words, but in a kind of milk-and-water way: they dare not say much, because it is unpopular; and many dare not read a “Mormon” paper; it is unpopular.

I have met men in the world as much my friends, apparently, as those that are in the Church; and they have handed out means to me when I was in need. One man wrote to me that he would be glad to see me; but if I would not let the people know who I was, he would be obliged to me. I told him I did not go to such places, for I was a “Mormon,” outside and in, and I could get along in the world by holding my head up, and I despise men who will go crawling and cringing around.

In relation to things that are now transpiring in the United States, I suppose you have later news than I have. The mail team passed me on the road, but it had no mail. In relation to any policy that may be pursued here, I feel it is just right. I know that President Young and his brethren associated with him are full of the spirit of revelation, and they know what they are doing. I feel to acquiesce and put my shoulder to the work, whatever it is. If it is for peace, let it be peace; if it is for war, let it be to the hilt. It has got to come some time, and I would just as lief jump into it to-day as any other time.

We are engaged in the work of God in rolling on His purposes; and if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to Him. The Lord has put His hand to the work, and all the potentates of the earth and their power cannot hinder its progress. The work is onward, and in the name of Israel’s God it will roll on, until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and His Christ.

We are gathering a nucleus for a kingdom here that is bound to stand for ever—

“While time and thought, and being last;

And immortality endures.”

All is peace—and I feel like shouting, Hallelujah, hallelujah; for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth, and all nations shall be subject to His sway.

I have talked longer than I thought I should.

There is one thing further I would like to say a few words upon. Brother George A. Smith, Dr. Bernhisel, and myself were appointed as delegates to go to Washington. I have never yet inquired what the First Presidency thought about our proceedings there. I was in Washington several times, and counselled with my brethren on the subject of our admission. We counselled with some of the most prominent men in the United States in relation to this matter; and those that dare say anything at all, dare not, if you can understand that.

That was about the feeling. We need not say much on this matter; but I believe that brother George A. Smith and brother Bernhisel laboured with indefatigable zeal to the best of their knowledge and intelligence to accomplish the thing they set about; and I did, while I was with them. But it was not necessary for me to remain there; and I told the brethren, if I was wanted, by sending me a telegraphic despatch, I would be there in a little time. I believe these brethren did all that lay in their power.

While speaking of the acts of the Elders, I remember remarking to brother Bernhisel that a set of men could not be found on the face of the earth that would go with the same talent and ability, and act with the same disinterestedness and zeal in the performance of whatever is required of them.

I have counselled with them, and that is the feeling and testimony I have to bear concerning them. When they get together, their feeling is, How can we best promote the cause in which we are engaged? Can a cause sustained by such men sink? Can the cause sustained by the power that sustains them sink? No. The truth will triumph, and shall roll forth until all nations shall bow to its sceptre.

I pray God, in the name of Jesus, to bless you and guide you, that we may be saved in His kingdom. Even so. Amen.

Approval of the Proceedings of the Delegation to Congress, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made at the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 9, 1857.

So far as I am concerned, with regard to the performance of duties by the Elders of Israel—the duties which have been placed upon them and required at their hands upon their missions—for the gratification of the brethren just referred to by Elder Taylor, I will say, If there has been nothing hitherto expressed here manifesting the feelings of the First Presidency of the Church and the members in general on this point, I can answer for the people, by asking and answering a question.

Brother Taylor brother George A. Smith, and brother Bernhisel, did you do your duty in Congress in reference to presenting our petition for a State? I think that I can answer for this Committee, as well as for the people, and say that they discharged their duty manfully and satisfactorily to their God and to their brethren. I can answer for the people, and say that they are most perfectly satisfied with the labours of our Committee. When a man can say of a truth, “I have done the very best that I could in my mission,” the heart of every Saint on earth acquainted with the circumstances, the angels in heaven, and our heavenly Father are all satisfied. There is no more required of us than we are capable of performing. The First Presidency are satisfied, and I can say that the people are satisfied.

With regard to the labours of brother Taylor in editing the paper called The Mormon, published in the city of New York, I have heard many remarks concerning the editorials in that paper, not only from Saints, but from those who do not profess to believe the religion we have embraced; and it is probably one of the strongest edited papers that is now published. I can say, as to its editorials, that it is one of the strongest papers ever published, so far as my information extends; and I have never read one sentence in them but what my heart could bid success to it and beat a happy response to every sentence that I have read or heard read. Brother Taylor, that is for you; and I believe that these are the feelings and the sentiments of all in this community who have perused that paper.

We are satisfied with the labours of the Elders generally. True, it is not every one that knows and understands all things; it is also true that men are liable to falter and fail in their judgment; but that is nothing against the real character of the man, if he is doing the best he knows how. It is true that at times Elders need correcting, and they receive correction in this place. It is also true that, when you correct an individual in his errors and try to place him in better circumstances pertaining to judgment and discretion, it is annoying, it is grievous, it is painful to the sensation of that individual. It is very true that chastisements are grievous when they are received; but if they are received in patience, they will work out salvation for those who cheerfully submit to them.

If the time was that the Elders of Israel could not be chastened and corrected for their wrongs, and be set right, you may know that they have proved recreant to the faith. And if those who are appointed to lead this people dare not rise up and tell them of their iniquity and chastise them therefor[e], and teach them the way of life and salvation, you may know that your leaders have fallen from their station.

The Lord has bestowed the everlasting Priesthood upon the children of men for their salvation. It is not believed for a moment, by any person who believes in the Bible, that a man or woman can be saved in their sins. They have to be separated from their sins and iniquity; they have to put off the old man, with all his deeds, and put on the new man Christ Jesus. If ever we see the time that we dare not tell men of their evils, and correct them when in fault, you may despair of salvation in this kingdom.

One grand cause of the enmity entertained towards us by officials sent here by the General Government has simply been, that I take the liberty of telling men where they do wrong and wherein they do wrong—both those who are in the Church and those who are out of it; and my brethren take the same liberty. If men do evil, we tell them of their meanness; whereas, in the other portion of our Government, men dare not speak their minds. They are tied up, bound up; they are in fetters and chains in every particular—as much so as brother Taylor has told you, and a great deal more. He said that if a man was found in Congress who dare speak in favour of innocence, justice, truth, and mercy, he dare not speak. If there were any there, when our petition was expected to be presented, who felt in their hearts to favour it, they dared not open their mouths in favour of its being granted; for if they spoke at all, they must speak according to the popular notions of the people; they must go with the tide of popularity.

This is the case with the whole world; but we are chosen out of the world. And if we accept salvation on the terms it is offered to us, we have got to be honest in every thought, in our reflections, in our meditations, in our private circles, in our deal, in our declarations, and in every act of our lives, fearless and regardless of every principle of error, of every principle of falsehood that may be presented. We have no difficulties with our Government: we never have had any difficulties with any government under which we have lived. But there has been a difficulty, and what is it? The “Mormons” have got something that the rest, of course, have not, “and we will kill them out of the way; we will not have them.”

As brother Taylor has said, speaking of the wisdom and power exhibited by the people of the world, there are men of talent, of thought, of reflection, and knowledge in all cunning mechanism: they are expert in that, though they do not know from whence they receive their intelligence. The Spirit of the Lord has not yet entirely done striving with the people, offering them knowledge and intelligence consequently it reveals unto them, instructs them, teaches them, and guides them even in the way they like to travel. Men know how to construct railroads and all manner of machinery; they understand cunning workmanship, &c.; but that is all revealed to them by the Spirit of the Lord, though they know it not.

You can find in the minds of the people most admirable intelligence in things pertaining to the world; but when you touch the intelligence that pertains to other worlds, to the kingdom of heaven and heavenly things, they are dark as midnight darkness—so dark as this, that, let ever so good a thing be revealed to them, no matter how good for a nation, a people, a community, or an individual—let a man have it revealed to him how he can benefit the whole nation, they turn around and deny God in it. They are so dark as that, when they never received a particle of intelligence but what came from God. They are filled with darkness.

Instead of wishing injuries to come on them, my heart is pained for them when I behold their situation. They are drunk, not with strong drink, but with their own anger, and rage, and the spirit of the enemy which they have received. They are as wild as California horses. When a lasso is thrown on them, they will run madly against a fence, or a stone wall, or over a person, or anything; they are frantic, and would break their own necks. It is just so with the inhabitants of the earth, and especially so with our Government; and they are hastening with all possible speed, with the larriet around their necks, to jump the precipice and destroy themselves.

I can tell you one thing that I know concerning the inhabitants of the United States. It has come to this, that the honest among them—men, women, and children, have dreams foreboding evil. The visions of their minds are troubled; they are in sorrow; they feel melancholy, and have a presentiment that something evil is going to befall the people. And if you could discern the thoughts of their hearts this day, you would probably find millions of such persons in our Government. When they reflect upon the maddened zeal of the leaders, they know that they can endure but a little while, and query, “What will come?” What will the Lord bring on the people—upon this happy government? What evil catastrophe is about to befall us? Will there be war? Will we fight the “Mormons,” and will the Lord give the “Mormons” power to fight against us? Will the North make war upon the South? Will they take the sword one against the other? What will become of us? These forebodings are upon the people. They have dreams in the night which frighten them, and reflections in the day-time which give them sorrow; and they are harrassed from day to day. They are to be pitied; for sorrow, woe, destruction, shame, and misery await them. I am sorry for them: they are to be pitied—to be prayed for.

Almost every man that has come from the East of late is telling you the political feelings and desires of the Government towards this people. Brother Taylor has just related that a gentleman he met on the road remarked, “What! can you ‘Mormons’ fight the United States? Can you contend with them? You had better take a more specific policy than you have. Do not speak about the President, nor about any of the officials.” We shall talk as we please about them; for this is the right and privilege granted to us by the Constitution of the United States: and, as ministers of salvation, we shall take the liberty of telling men of their sins.

I shall take the liberty of talking as I please about the President of the United States, and I expect that I know his character better than he knows it himself. I will tell you in a few words a little of it. James Buchanan, who is now sitting in the chair of state, and presiding over this great Republic, is naturally a passive, docile, kind, benevolent, and good man—that is his natural disposition, I will venture. Arouse him, and he has been a man who could make flaming speeches. He is now bound up; they have the fetters upon his feet; he is handcuffed; his elbows are pinioned; he is bound on every side, and they make him do as they please. Is he obliged to do so? No.

Is a man fit to be President of the United States, who will bow and succumb to the whims of the people? No. A President should learn the true situation of his constituents, and deal out even-handed justice to all, utterly regardless of the clamour of party. Suppose the President to be under the clamour and dictation of several parties, he would order out a company to-day, and to-morrow call them back; he would make a decree to-day, and next week revoke it and make another to suit another party. He ought not to pay attention to any party, but consider the nation as a family, and deal out justice and mercy to them equally and independently.

I wish that Hickory Jackson was now our President; for he would kick some of those rotten-hearted sneaks out, or rather order his negroes to do it. If we had a man in the chair who really was a man, and capable of magnifying his office, he would call upon his servants, and order him to kick those mean, miserable sneaks out of the presidential mansion, off from its grounds, and into the streets. But the President hearkens to the clamour around him; and, as did Pontius Pilate, in the case of Jesus Christ, has washed his hands, saying, “I am clear of the blood of those Latter-day Saints. Gentlemen, you have dictated, and I will order a soldiery and officials to Utah.” It is said in the Bible, that whosoever ye yield yourselves to obey, his servants ye are. The President has yielded himself a servant to cliques and parties, and their servants he shall be. And all that has been spoken of him by brother Kimball, in the name of Jesus Christ, shall come upon him.

Do you think that we shall be called treasoners, for rebuking him in his sinful course? Yes. Talk of loyalty to Government! Hardly a man among them cares for the Government of the United States, any more than he does for the useless card that lies on the table while he is playing out his hand. They disregard the Constitution as they would any old fable in any old school book. Scarcely a member on the floor of Congress cares anything about it.

While brother Taylor was referring to the conduct of officers of the Government, to the pistols, bowie-knives, the oyster suppers, the pleasant little knick-knacks, and this, that, and the other, I was reminded of a circumstance that transpired in the region of the Salt Works in the State of New York. In that section there was a place called Salt Point, one of the roughest in the world for drunkenness, gaming, fighting, and cursing; and within a few miles from Salt Point was a place called Onadaga Hollow, and the people in those places used to be in a constant strife to see which should act the worst. As a man named Thaddeus Woods, who had become considerably wealthy by making and selling salt, was going from Onadaga Hollow to Salt Point, he stopped at a tavern, half way between the two places; and when he and his travelling companions had rested themselves and fed their horses, Woods told one of his teamsters, who was one of the wickedest men to be found in those two places, that he would treat him if he would say three of the wickedest words that he could think of. The man agreed that he would; and when he had the attention and eyes of the company fixed upon him, he shouted out “Onadaga Hollow, Thad. Woods, and Salt Point,” remarking that those were three of the worst words that he could think of.

Brother Taylor says that language cannot express the conduct, the feelings, and the spirit that are upon the people in the States. Well, suppose you take up a labour and swear about them, what are the worst words that can be spoken? ‘Nigger stealing,’ Mobs or Vigilance Committees, and Rotten-hearted Administrators of a Government are three of the meanest and wickedest words that can be spoken. I expect that somebody will write that back to the States, as being treasonable, because spoken by a Latter-day Saint.

With regard to the present contention and strife, and to our position and situation, there are few things to be considered, and there is much labour to be performed. Let the Saints live their religion; let them have faith in God, do all the good they can to the household of faith and to everybody else, and trust in God for the result; for the world will not believe one truth about us. I tell you that the Government of the United States, and other governments that are acquainted with us, will not believe a single truth about us. What will they believe? Every lie that every poor, miserable, rotten-hearted curse can tell. What are we to do, under these circumstances? Live our religion. Are you going to contend against the United States? No. But when they come here to take our. lives solely for our religion, be ye also ready.

Do I expect to stand still, sit still, or lie still, and tamely let them take away my life? I have told you a great many times what I have to say about that. I do not profess to be so good a man as Joseph Smith was. I do not walk under their protection nor into their prisons, as he did. And though officers should pledge me their protection, as Governor Ford pledged protection to Joseph, I would not trust them any sooner than I would a wolf with my dinner; neither do I trust in a wicked judge, nor in any evil person. I trust in my God, and in honest men and women who have the power of the Almighty upon them. What will we do? Keep the wicked off as long as we can, preach righteousness to them, and teach them the way of salvation.

Some speak of the nations now on the earth forgetting God, they have not forgotten Him, for they have never remembered Him. They have not departed from His ways, for they never found them; they have not lost faith in Him, for they never had any. There are men sitting here who were brought up Christians, who were trained to believe in the sacred words of truth contained in the Old and New Testament. What were you taught by your priests, your fathers, mothers, and associates, with regard to God? How many anxious hours I have experienced in my youth, to know, see, and understand things as they were and as they are. Did I ever see a man who could instruct me in those matters, until I saw Joseph Smith? I never did. And after I had made a profession of religion, I would ask the most powerful preachers whether they knew anything about God—where He is located, where Heaven is, and where Hell is, who is the Father, who the Son, and what the distinction is between them, who is Michael the archangel, who is Gabriel, and so on. Could they tell a thing about it? No: and I am a witness that no man in Christendom knew anything about it, unless it was revealed by the Spirit to him.

I may say that many had revelations from God, but they had not the keys, and rights, and knowledge, and system of the religion of God. John Wesley was a good man, and so were thousands of others. Will they be saved? They are saved. You know what my doctrine is with regard to this matter. Every man will be judged according to the deeds done in the body. Did they know anything about heaven, or God? No, they did not. Could they even explain one of the first simple lessons in the religion we believe, with regard to mortal man? Could any of them explain what the soul of man is, when it is written in the Bible, and they have read it thousands of times? No.

I have heard men preach hours upon the soul of man; and one of the smartest men that I ever heard preach, wound up a long discource [discourse] by saying, “Finally, brethren, I must come to the conclusion that the soul of man is an immaterial substance.” I have sat days and weeks, and months, and years to hear men explain the things of God; and what did they know about them? Nothing.

We have the keys of the priesthood and the words of eternal life, and understand them, and what manner of persons ought we to be? We ought to live our religion, believe in our God, love and serve Him, be faithful to Him, to one another, to all our covenants, and keep the devils from killing us as long as we can, and that is just as long as we have a mind to.

I recollect saying to a certain official here—one who wanted a few Indians for killing Gunnison, If you want them, I will put them into your hands. They were presented to him, but he dared not take them. I told him at the time of the conversation, that there might be some thirty of those Indians; but, if the United States should send 50,000 of their troops here they could not get one of them, if they had a mind to keep out of the way; and he believed it. I suppose you would like to know upon what principle? Like some of brother Taylor’s honest men that he thought he had found in the States, who, when he thought that he had found them, and went to put his hand upon them, were like the Paddy’s flea—they were not there, they were somewhere else. That is the reason why they could not get the Indians. There is the same reason why they cannot get us, until we have a mind to go them.

Do you wonder that the world is angry at us? No; for the time must come when your faith must be tried. Can the Lord take this kingdom and separate if from the kingdom of darkness? Can He bring it forth to establish His work upon the earth as extensively as the Prophets have prophesied, without separating us from the kingdoms of this word? You say, No. How is he going to do it? You have seen how, so far. In the days of Joseph, a string of guards was set around him on every side, lest he should have communion with the remnants of Israel who are wandering on the plains and in the kanyons of this country. Those guards fought us, whipped us, killed our Prophets, and abused our community, until we are now driven by them into the very midst of the Lamanites. Oh, what a pity they could not foresee the evil they were bringing upon themselves, by driving this people into the midst of the savages of the plains. And here am I, yet, Governor of Utah.

Do you wonder that they are angry? Five years ago I told them that I should be Governor as long as the Lord wanted me to be, and that all hell could not remove me. They have tried during those five years to remove me, and I have had to appoint a Secretary for this Territory three times in that period; for the ones appointed by the President absconded from the Territory. And the prospect now is, that I shall still have to be the Governor—that I shall again have to preside over the Legislature, and that Captain Hooper, whom I appointed Secretary, will have to continue in that office.

God bless you. Amen.

Organization, etc.

Heber C. Kimball

A discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 2, 1857.

I have appreciated brother Elias Smith’s remarks. He has stated things as they are, according to my knowledge. I have been acquainted with him some twenty-three or twenty-four years. He is our Judge in this county, and I can say to his praise that he is one of the best Judges we have in the Territory; and my prayer and wish to God is that we may not have a swore Judge from this time henceforth and for ever, and that we may never have any Judges in this Territory but men of our own choice, and that we may never have any person to preside over us in the capacity of a Governor of this Territory but the man of our own choice. [Voices: “Amen.”] And I can say further, we never will. [Voices: “Amen.”] I have my reasons for this.

This people here are the people of God. Here, in the Territory of Deseret, is the kingdom of God, and here are all the officers pertaining to that kingdom; and here is an organization that is organized after the order of God, and it is organized after the order of the Church of the First Born.

Let me explain what the Church of the First Born is. It is the first Church that ever was raised up upon this earth; that is, the first born Church. That is what I mean; and when God our Father organized that Church, He organized it just as His Father organized the Church on the earth where He dwelt; and that same order is organized here in the City of Great Salt Lake; and it is that order that Joseph Smith the Prophet of God organized in the beginning in Kirtland, Ohio. Brother Brigham Young, myself, and others were present when that was done; and when those officers received their endowments, they were together in one place. They were organized, and received their endowments and blessings, and those keys were placed upon them, and that kingdom will stand for ever.

Now mark it—that kingdom will never be overthrown; although they may kill, that is, if they can, brother Brigham and me, and brother Daniel H. Wells, and they may kill the Apostles, if they can, and so they may keep on from this time to all eternity, and they never can obliterate this work. I know it. They may kill, and destroy, and waste a great many limbs that are upon this Church; but let me tell you, they never can kill the tree nor destroy the root from whence we have sprung; for our Father and our God is that root, and Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the tree or vine, and we spring out of that vine; and if we keep His commandments and receive the Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost, it is that nourishment that comes down directly from the Father, from Jesus Christ, the true vine.

And as President Buchanan, the President of the United States of America, holds the keys of the government of this whole nation, so Brigham Young holds the keys pertaining to this Church and people.

Well, do I suppose, when I reflect, that troops are being sent here without President Buchanan’s permission? No, not for a moment: he has permitted it. We are a poor, isolated people, driven over one thousand miles from our native land, and many of us have been driven and broken up five times; and he and his coadjutors have acknowledged it and have said pointedly there could nothing be done for us as a community: and here we are; after sending forth our men, the Elders of Israel, and redeeming this land from Mexico. They are now designing to come with troops to break us up and to kill our Prophets, and our Apostles, and our Elders.

Brethren, I will tell you one thing, and you may be sure of it, as the Lord God lives, and as my soul lives, that nations that raise the weapons of war against this people shall perish by those weapons. [Voices: “Amen.”] Every nation, every tongue, and every people shall perish, and every man and woman that gives consent to it. [Voices: “Amen.”] You may “Amen” to the whole of it, for it is true. Go and read the Book of Mormon, the Prophets, and the revelations given to Joseph the Prophet; and you will learn that God has said that every nation and every people on this earth that will not serve Him shall be destroyed.

This is the kingdom of God. When they fight us, they fight God, and Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, and they fight all the Prophets that have been from the creation down to the present time. Why? Because Joseph was the last Prophet; God spoke to him, placed the keys upon him, by Peter, James, and John. Do you suppose they did it without having authority from Jesus? No; Jesus told them when to do it, and told them who the man was; and Joseph, the Prophet of the living God, placed those keys on brother Brigham.

The Father told Jesus when to go and again commit these keys to men on the earth; Jesus told the Twelve when to do it; Joseph told Brigham when to do it. Now, look at it naturally, and you will see that every man and woman that raise their hands against this people will be destroyed, and that without remedy.

Set your heart at rest, then: you need not be troubled, nor frightened at all; for as the Lord liveth, and we live, we will prosper, and we will come off victorious. [Voices: “Amen.”] You know we have to stick in an if—if you live your religion, and will do as you are told, and become like the clay in the hands of the potter.

Who are you to be subject to? You say you are willing to be subject to God—to Jesus Christ. You are willing, if Peter came along, to listen to him. Well, Peter is here, John is here, Elias is here, Elijah is here, Jesus is here, and the Father is here. What! in person? If not in person, their authority is here, with all the power that ever was or ever will be to seal men and women up to everlasting have—seal them on earth and in heaven, by the power of Elijah, which is upon brother Brigham; and it is on every man he authorizes.

Joseph had those keys and powers directly from those men, and we received them from Joseph; so you see we are legal heirs to the kingdom of heaven. You have got to be subject to these powers that be; for there is no power only that which is ordained of God. You have to listen to that.

Can we be Saints by having our own will, our own way? Brother Elias has been talking about that this morning, how he has felt that will that was in him. Gentlemen, he has not been easy to handle and place upon the wheel; if he had been, he would have been filled with almighty power, even the power that was upon Joseph and Brigham, and upon every other good man in this Church; but he is going to walk up henceforth; he aint going to stand back any more. He is akin to brother Joseph, and Joseph is ashamed of his own kindred that will not step forth and be valiant, and God is ashamed of them.

Be passive in the hands of God, in the hands of His servants, as clay in the hands of the potter. How is that? How can the servants of God mould you, fashion you, and prepare you to become moulded and fashioned after the likeness of God, unless you are passive?

If you go into the adobie yard, you may see men engaged in the business of adobie making, and you can see them moulding adobies out of the elements. Suppose that clay would not be passive, but would have its own will, and not be subject to the moulder of the adobies, he could not mould them, because the adobie would not let him mould it.

When I carried on the pottery business; I used to take a good deal of pains to get good clay, and hauled it a long distance, and then I always immersed it before I put it into the mill to grind it. Why? To make it passive; and I mould, grind, and grind it again, until it becomes passive; then I took it out of the mill, and carried it into the shop, where it was kneaded as you would a cake, and then put on to the wheel and turned into a vessel unto honour. Did I ever design to turn a vessel unto dishonour? No. If I did, I did not get any reward for it: I only got reward for those I moulded and fashioned according to the dictation of my master; and I presented them to him that he might receive them, as Jesus says—“Father, I have lost none of those thou gavest me, except the son of perdition.”

Go into the blacksmith’s shop, on this block, and you will find brother Jonathan Pugmire, the foreman. I go to him and say, “Brother Jonathan, make me an axe.” He goes to work with a piece of iron that, the moment he tries to shape it, flies into a thousand pieces. “I can do nothing with that,” says he; “I must get a piece of iron that will be passive, and then I will make you an axe that will be as keen as a razor.” He gets another piece, and that begins to fly. It is not the fault of the blacksmith. “But,” says the iron, “don’t you handle me in this manner.” He throws that aside: that has got to go back to the furnace again, to be melted and made into a loop, and that turned out into iron again, because it was not passive; and then it becomes passive by getting the snappish stuff out of it: it runs out with, the dross. The dross, you know, is very brittle and snappish.

When you find a man or woman snappish and fretful, and not willing to be subject, you may know there is. a good deal of dross in that character, because dross is brittle. That dross has got to come out.

Talking about trials, brother Elias says he did not come here with the pioneers. It was pretty hard and laborious, I admit; but it was one of the pleasantest journeys I ever performed. Still there was a great deal of care and anxiety, especially on brother Brigham and those that helped him. Did we persevere? We did. We came here to the Valleys of the Mountains, and you have followed us.

Let me tell you, gentlemen, you have got to learn to be passive and be like clay in the hands of the potter, or be like a tallowed rag or wick before a hot fire: it becomes limber and passive, and you can tie it into a thousand knots, and it will not break.

Are you of that nature that you will not break and fly as though there were a hundred convulsions in you? You have got to come to that standard, as true as you ever become the true subjects and heirs of the kingdom of God. And let brother Brigham take a hundred men of that character, and I would give more for them than ten thousand people who are stiff in their own way; and he would take that hundred men and go into the mountains and whip out the world.

We read that one shall chase a thousand, and two shall put ten thousand to flight. We read that in the Bible. You have always heard it from the days of your youth to the present time. Do you appreciate it?

We will refer to Gideon, the Prophet of God, when his host was so numerous that he went and made a selection of three hundred men to put all his enemies to flight. That is in the Bible. For heaven’s sake, believe that, if you won’t believe me.

There was Daniel, a servant of God, one who kept His commandments; he was valiant, and his friends said to him, “Daniel, put down the window, or they will see you praying.” “I will pray with it open,” he replied; and he opened his window and prayed, and told them all that he asked no odds of them. “I will pray to my Father and God, who can preserve me in a den of lions, or in boiling hot oil, or in anything else, and He will sustain me while He will send you to hell, you poor devils.” He had such confidence in his God.

Should not you have as much confidence in God as brother Brigham, Heber, or the Twelve Apostles have?—as much confidence in this vine as any branch that pertains to it? You should.

To gratify some who cry, “Oh, don’t say anything, brother Heber—don’t say anything, brother Brigham, to bring down the United States upon us,” we have at times omitted printing some of the remarks that might offend the weak-stomached world, and we have made buttermilk and catnip tea to accommodate the tastes of our enemies; but the poor devils are not pleased after all. Would they come any quicker if we told them that they were poor, miserable, priest-ridden curses, who want a President in the chair that dare not speak for fear those hell-hounds be on him?

God knew that Zachary Taylor would strike against us, and He sent him to hell. President Fillmore was the next man who came on the platform, and he did us good. God bless him! Then came President Pierce, and he did not strive to injure us. We hoped that the next after him would do us justice; but he has issued orders to send troops to kill brother Brigham and me, and to take the young women to the States.

The woman will be damned that will go: she shall dry up in the fountain of life, and be as though she never was. But there aint any a-going—[Voices: “There are none that want to go!”]—unless they are whores. If the soldiers come here, those creatures will have the privilege of showing themselves and of becoming debauched.

I tell you there is not a purer set of women on God’s earth than there is here; and they shall live and bear the souls of men, and bear tabernacles for those righteous spirits that are kept back for the last time, for the winding-up scenery.

Will the President that sits in the chair of state be tipped from his seat? Yes, he will die an untimely death, and God Almighty will curse him; and he will also curse his successor, if he takes the same stand; and he will curse all those that are his coadjutors, and all who sustain him. What for? For coming here to destroy the kingdom of God, and the Prophets, and Apostles, and inspired men and women; and God Almighty will curse them, and I curse them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, according to my calling; and if there is any virtue in my calling, they shall be cursed, every man that lifts his heel against us from this day forth. [Voices: “Amen.”]

Am I afraid? No; but I am afraid to do wrong. I feel joy in my heart to be valiant and tell you the truth; and I pray that God my Father and his Son Jesus Christ may bring the evil upon them that they desire for this people.

Our enemies are crying out that we are confused, that we have rebelled, and that the Devil is to pay. I pray that God Almighty may bring that thing upon them that they have imagined upon us. But we are at peace and in harmony; we are worshipping and serving God. Will they overcome us? Never; no, never; no, never, while the earth stands, if we will stand up and be valiant.

I know that you never heard brother Brigham rebuke me for being valiant before this people. He says, “Let her go, Heber; let her slide.” You never saw any other spirit in him in your life; and every other good man there is will say so and has said so; and they are the elect of God, and they will be saved.

But be wise, be wise, be still, as I told a man this morning. Said I, You are always talking, you talk to everybody, and think everybody our friends; but they are not. I have lots and scores of friends here, and so has brother Brigham, who, by their ignorance would destroy us from the earth.

You have received your endowments. What is it for? To learn you to hold your tongues, and keep what you get, and increase upon it. If you do not keep the word of life you receive—that which proceeds from God, your minds never will expand, and you will always be barren, like unto a barren woman.

Now, receive the seed, as Jesus says; and if that seed takes root, it will grow, and swell, and sprout, and bring forth. What will it bring forth? Something like the character that produced the seed. If you plant corn in the field, and that corn is rooted out of the ground, it perishes, and don’t produce anything. Receive the word and treasure it up in your hearts, and then you shall continue to receive the word of life, here a little and there a little; and you shall grow, and increase, and multiply, and no good thing shall be withheld from you.

Learn, above all things, brethren and sisters, to have a passive spirit, and be subject where you should be subject. I hear a great many say, “I am willing to be subject to brother Brigham, but I don’t want to be subject to this one and to that one.” Let me tell you, gentlemen and ladies, if you won’t be subject to my words, and listen to them, and receive them, you will not be subject to and receive brother Brigham’s words. How can it be possible for you to receive his words and reject mine?

Now, we will say brother Brigham is the head of this vine that has sprung out in the latter days—that is, the head of the vine that is upon the earth, that you naturally see; but Joseph was the head of the vine when he was here, and he is now, only you cannot see him: then I am connected to that vine, as one of brother Brigham’s Counsellors; and then the Twelve, the Seventies, High Priests, and other officers. Now, just look at it. Why should you not listen to one man as much as to another connected to that vine; in case he produces the fruit of that vine? And they should know whether that branch is connected to the vine: they should know whether the fruit is the same as that produced by the head of the vine.

When I speak the truth, is it not the same as though brother Brigham spoke it? When I tell it as it is in the Lord Jesus Christ, what is the difference? I can go into my garden and show you apple-trees there with perhaps a hundred limbs which have apples on them. You may taste an apple from the first or head limb, then of the second, and the third, and the hundredth; and the fruit tastes just alike, because it all came from one tree, and the tree came from the root, and it is all one thing.

This is the principle; we should be connected one with the other, every Quorum in its place, and keep organized, and keep in our places, according to the order of the Church of the First Born.

Are we going to be preserved? Bless your souls! I have no more fears, if this people will live their religion, and learn to be passive like clay in the hands of the potter, than as though I was in heaven; for if I was there and rebelled, as Lucifer did, I should expect to be chastised and cast out with all those connected with me.

A great many suppose that when they get there they will be perfectly safe. You will, if you keep the commandments of God; but if you cannot learn to keep the commandments of God in Great Salt Lake City, how can you learn to keep them when you have to flee to the mountains? And if you cannot keep them here, how do you expect to keep them in Jackson County?—for we are as sure to go back there as we exist.

This Church and kingdom will reign triumphant; and when the United States take a course to bring us into collision, they will strive to take away everything from us that they have given us. What of it? We will make them the aggressors: they shall be the first men that shall rebel against God and against this people; and if we are not the aggressors, and we stand on the defensive, and they come upon us, and they fall into our hands, the Lord says, if they repent and we forgive them, our blessings shall be doubled unto us; so also for the second time: but if he comes upon you the third time, thine enemy is in thine hands; thou mayest do with him as seemeth thee good: but if he repent, and you forgive him the third time, then I will reward unto you a hundred-fold. But don’t you forgive, unless brother Brigham does. If he says, Give them justice and righteousness, then it will be right.

Now, you need not sit here as judges, and judge brother Brigham. Good heaven! how does any one without any priesthood look when judging him and his brethren? He is capable of judging all things pertaining to this kingdom; for he has the keys of light and revelation, and God is with him. I cannot comprehend him, only in proportion to the measure of the Spirit bestowed upon me. Can brother Wells comprehend me? No, he cannot, nor never can, only as he has the same measure of the Spirit; and no man can comprehend his file-leader, except he has the same measure of the Spirit.

But let me walk in my place, and the sap that is in brother Brigham is in me; and the sap that is in me is in him: but can I measure any further than my capacity? No. Then what do you judge me for? God will lead brother Brigham; don’t you be scared He will give him revelation upon revelation; and when he says, Do this or that, God will sanction it, and he will bless all men and women that walk up to it, and curse every one that backs out.

Suppose I am partaking of the same spirit and nourishment that brother Brigham partakes of, and he is resting himself while brother Heber speaks, don’t you see he speaks the mind of brother Brigham? You may see it has been so all the time, and it will be so for ever.

You have come to me, and I have given you counsel, and then you have gone to brother Brigham, and he has given you the same counsel; and when you have asked counsel of him, and then come to me, you say, “That is just as brother Brigham said to me.” Do you suppose I could give any counsel contrary to his mind?

Well, then, let that Spirit and power be in our families, and I want to know what difference there will be? Brother Hyde, don’t you never give counsel from this time henceforth but what would be the counsel of brother Brigham. Just so with the Seventies.

There is brother Pratt, in England, and the brethren that preside there: let those men do as the Spirit of God dictates them, without being carried off by some other spirit, and they will never go astray—no, never, although they are nine thousand miles from here. By taking this course, would you ever see a wife trying to pervert the way of her husband? I am talking about good men and good women. Would she do it? No: she would be one with him, even as I am one with brother Brigham.

Listen to the counsel of God and those men that are placed here; and if you will do that, I can promise you, in the name of Israel’s God, and by virtue of my calling, that you never shall be swerved aside, and our enemies shall be overcome every time before they cross that Big Mountain, if we have to do it ourselves.

If I did not say that, you would be calculating that we were going to make a perfect servant and drudge of of our God, just as a great many of you wish to make of us. If you want a pound of coffee, or tea, or a pair of shoes, it is, “Come, brother Heber, go quick, and get me what I want; if you don’t, I will go and tell brother Brigham.” Go, and be damned.

I wish that all such characters were in hell, where they belong. [Voice: “They are there.”] I know it; and it is that which makes them wiggle so—the poor, miserable devils. They would make our Father and God a drudge—make him do the dirty work, kill those poor devils, and every poor, rotten-hearted curse in our midst. With them it is, “O Lord, kill them, kill them, damn them, kill them, Lord.” It is just like that, and their course has just as much nonsense in it. We intend to kill the poor curses ourselves, before they get to the Big Mountain. And we are going to dig a cache, or take some natural one, and put all the whining men and women into it, and let them whine. We want to be released from such poor hellyons, and we will be; we won’t have a murmurer or complainer in the House of Israel. If we go out to war, let them stay here, and let the Devil handle them.

How long is it, brother Brigham, since we first went to Kirtland? [Brother Brigham: Twenty-four years, this fall.] In September, 1833, we went to Kirtland and gathered with Joseph and the Saints. We had to go and buy guns, and stand in his defence, in that early day; and we did it for months and months, to keep the hellyons from him in Kirtland, twenty-four years ago; and so it continued from that day to the day of his death; and it is just so now. They are trying to take the lives of brother Brigham and your leaders. It is their design, and the design of the President of the United States, with his cabinet, and of Congress; and all the priests there are in the world back them up. That is the truth.

Get the Spirit of the Lord, and stop your whining, every one of you. “Oh,” says one, “I will leave you, if you don’t wait on me as you have hitherto, and get me all the things I ask for.” I wish you would: you could not please me better. Does that show such whiners have got integrity in them? A man or woman that has got integrity should have it, if there is nothing but a potatoe to eat. And if you have not a stocking to your feet, nor a gown, nor a petticoat, nor a short gown, you should be as true as the sun to the servants of the living God; and if you are not so under such circumstances, you would not be if you were loaded down with treasures.

It is true, I will tell you, the day of your being petted is past; and you have got to come to the crisis when the gate will be shut down between us and the United States, and that very soon, ladies and gentlemen; and if you don’t get your test, you may say I am false. [President Young, in a crying tone, said, “There are no more ribbons coming here: what shall I do?”]

O dear, I want to know if we aint going to have any more ribbons? A great many of your hearts are on nothing else but ribbons, and fine dresses, and bustles, and fineries: you don’t think of anything else. What is your religion good for, or your integrity? Did brother Brigham and Heber turn away from Joseph, because the Kirtland Bank broke, and the stores all run out, until there was nothing but an old dried-up johnny-cake?

Did we forsake him? No, never; and we never had anything except we worked for it and go it by the hardest licks; and our wives would think that they were very extravagant to get a piece of calico of six yards for a dress pattern; and they thought that there were too many puckers then: and now you have got to have six or eight breadths puckered up. Why don’t you take some of those breadths out and make aprons, and not call on your husbands for new calico, &c., every week.

No man on the earth loves women better than I do. I love a good woman, one that has a good spirit; I love that woman that will strive to make me happy, and I love that son that seeks to please his father and mother; for he will make a good husband. I love that daughter that seeks to please her father and mother, because she will make a good wife.

You cannot help yourselves; the gate will be shut down directly, ladies. I am talking to you because it is customary in the States to address the ladies first; so, if you get it first, you must not be jealous of me. I respect our ladies; and there should not be a lady in the house of Israel but what should be like an angel to administer to her husband, and to pray for him, and to nourish him by night and by day, and watch his house and his pillow, and see that he is preserved in the last days.

We have got to go to work and manufacture our own clothing, our shoes, our stockings, our bonnets, our dresses, and everything we need.

I will refer you to brother Brigham’s words. How many times has he said to you, Ladies, make your own bonnets at home, out of the elements that grow in the valley of Great Salt Lake and in the regions round about. Why do you not do it? Tell about listening to brother Brigham! You look to-day as though you were listening to his counsel.

Many of the sisters presume to judge us. Say they, There is brother Kimball; his women have all got store bonnets, and ribbons, and laces, and this, that, and the other thing, brooches, jewellery, and feather beds sowed under their arms. Aint we just as good as they? Yes, if you do as well as they do.

I won’t say anything about anybody else’s family, only my own. Are you listening to brother Brigham’s counsel? Some of you say, I am willing to listen to him. Well, listen to him, and listen to him for ever. I am under the necessity of laying out of my substance, and every dime I have got, and that I can get, that I would lay up for a little sugar, a little of this, and a little of that, that we actually need, a little butter and lard, that we grow in our midst; but instead of that, I have to pay every dime I can get for morocco shoes, for my women to wear to meeting; and they will wear out a pair while once going to meeting. [Voice: “Don’t you wish they earned them themselves?”] Yes, I pray that you may have to earn them with your own fingers, or go without them. I pray that prayer, and I know it will come to pass.

I am defending brother Brigham here, and that by the Holy Ghost and the dictation of the counsel he received from the Father, and the Son, and the old Patriarchs, and Prophets. You may go home, and say, Brother Kimball is hard. Go and say it as quick as you please. I ask no odds of any such people. I am independent of you; I know his feelings, I will preach his word, and the word of God that came through him; and that is all that will save you.

Do you want such things to cease? I just know it aint right. We ought to make our own leather, and we can make as good as can be made in the States: but no, we must have some States leather. We can make as good things here as can be made by any other people; but you want foreign fixings.

We have our Spanish fixings—a pair of spurs that will weigh seven pounds, ringing and gingling as though all hell was coming. Why don’t you put them away? I want you to make an ox goad with a spike in the end of it, and ram that into your horse, and get this instead of spurs, and destroy a horse at once. I cannot keep a decent horse, neither can brother Brigham, or any other man; for the boys will kill them. Let them rest: they are as good as we are in their sphere of action; they honour their calling, and we do not, when we abuse them: they have the same life in them that you have, and we should not hurt them. It hurts them to whip them, as bad as it does you; and when they are drawing as though their daylights would fly out of them, you must whip, whip, whip. Is there religion in that? No; it is an abuse of God’s creation that he has created for us.

I do not think that many ever suppose that animals are going to be resurrected. When God touched Elijah’s eyes, and he looked on the mountain, he saw chariots and horses, and men by thousands and millions. Where did they come from? There is nothing on this earth but what came from heaven, and it grew and was created before it grew on this earth: the Bible says so.

We grow peaches here, and they are created, and we send them to Sanpete. Don’t they grow before they are sent? Yes, and everything that is upon this earth grew before it came here; it was transported from heaven to earth.

Let us us be merciful to the brute creation.

God bless you, brethren and sisters, and multiply you. Peace be with you, and upon this people, and upon your children, and upon every being on the Lord’s footstool that wishes peace to Israel. [Voices: “Amen.”]

The world is going to seek to destroy us from the earth. [Voice: “They will destroy themselves.”] They will destroy themselves, as the Lord liveth, and the day of their destruction has come. [Voices: “Amen.”]The Lord God will bring mildew on the nation that has afflicted us; for that nation shall take it first, and thence it shall go forth to every nation, kingdom, government, and state, and upon every town that shall lift their heels against God and this people. Amen.

Persecution of the Saints, etc.

Orson Hyde

Discourse by Orson Hyde.

It is with much pleasure that I arise, this morning, to address you, my brethren and sisters; and I hope to have your undivided attention, and to share liberally the benefits of your prayers.

My object is to enlighten your understandings, and to strengthen your faith, so far as I may be able. The responsibility of a public speaker in this Church is truly great, especially when his official standing and character are of such a nature as to give to his words a weight and an importance commensurate with the high position which he may be called to occupy.

The husbandman is ever desirous to procure the very best qualities and kinds of seeds to plant and sow in the earth. One principal reason is, he must himself eat of the products of the seeds that he plants and sows. So, also, the speaker that plants certain principles in the hearts of his audience must himself eat the fruits thereof sooner or later; and it should be our aim to avoid planting any principle in the hearts of our hearers, the fruits of which would set our teeth on edge, or shed upon us an inglorious reputation. Therefore, the fruits of any principle, true or false, inculcated by me, will as naturally and as necessarily fall to my lot, as the seeds of any grain or plant, when ripe, will fall back into the earth, from whence it sprung.

Truth, therefore, is my delight: and if I know and understand myself, I have no delight in anything else. Truth came from God as a precious magnet. It is a part of himself, and he who possesses it possesses a property that may be attracted, with its possessor, to the great source and fountain of truth—even to God himself.

True it is that we are here in the valleys of the mountains for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ; and it is also true that, after being robbed and plundered of our worldly fortunes because of the hatred of an unbelieving world, excited against us because of our religion, we are exiles here to-day, having been denied citizenship in the States from which we came. Our Prophets have been cruelly martyred in cold blood, under the plighted faith of a great State for their protection from all unlawful molestation. We have seen how much such promised protection was worth in the days of Joseph and Hyrum; and would it be worth any more now? Rather trust in the God of Heaven, in these mountains, than in any such rotten promises that may be made only to beguile us and deliver us up to ignominious death.

The woman spoken of by John the Revelator as being driven or fleeing into the wilderness, after having brought forth the man-child, is said to be the Church by our wise orthodox commentators upon holy writ. Be it so. The Latter-Day Saints fled from the face of the serpent monster into this vast wilderness and desert, and it appears the serpent cast out a flood of water from his mouth to destroy the woman. This is highly figurative language; yet is there any one present who can favour us with a better solution of the matter than the waters or troops which the United States are now sending here to destroy us? God grant that the earth and the heavens also may help the woman!

Plausible may be the pretences of these troops; yet if their real object is not to persecute every man and woman that will stand by the Prophets and servants of God, and uphold them, then I do not read correctly the manifestations to me. How far they may be able to carry out their plans, time will determine.

Once, however, a man put forth his hand to steady the ark of God. It reeled to and fro. It was in a cart, drawn by oxen. Probably it might have pleased Uzzah better if it had been put into a stately carriage, drawn by two or four fine steeds; but he ventured to put forth his hand to steady the ark of God, and was smitten of God at once for his presumptuous interference with the affairs of the great I AM. I suppose there are seeming irregularities in the affairs of Utah that Uncle Sam does not like, and he puts forth his hand in the shape of an army to right up and steady the ark of God.

As the Book of Mormon has been brought to the notice of Congress, by a quotation from its pages, respecting a man having but one wife, unless commanded of God to have more; and though such command has been given to the Latter-day Saints, yet I omit comment thereon at this time, and proceed to give another quotation from the same book, which appears to have a bearing upon the present aspect of affairs. (Third European edition, page 28.) The Prophet Nephi, in vision, saw the vast multitudes of men upon the face of this land, America, and said that there were saved two churches only. The one is the Church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the Devil; and whoso belongeth not to the Church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church which is the mother of abominations and 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 people.

“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.

“And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the Saints of the Church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.

“And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was poured out upon the great and abominable church, insomuch as there were wars and rumours of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the earth; and as there began to be wars and rumours of wars among all the nations which belonged to the mother of abominations, the angel spoke unto me, saying, Behold the wrath of God is upon the mother of harlots; and behold thou seest all these things; and when the day cometh that the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church of all the earth, whose foundation is the Devil, then, at that day, the work of the Father shall commence in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants which he hath made to his people, who are of the house of Israel.”

In view of the sentiment contained in the foregoing quotation, I am led to believe that whatever branch of the great and abominable church shall lead the way to fight against the Lamb of God, will have a greater task to perform than they are aware of. It is not merely a little handful of Latter-day Saints that they have to contend with; but, it is with all the celestial powers. This, however, they do not believe; and, consequently, like the unthinking horse, they rush to the onset.

What a direct bearing the foregoing quotation has upon the present signs of the times! It is as correct as as though he was writing the history of the past. Is not this an evidence of of its truth? The scenes are rolling on in the very track of the prophecy; and while our eyes see, let us fear God, and be grateful to his name; while our enemies, having eyes, see not, but boldly rush on to destruction.

I feel disposed to bring to your notice other sayings of ancient and also of modern times, touching the events of these days.

The Book of Mormon, in a dozen places, tells the fate of the Gentile nations, if they shall harden their hearts against this work when it shall be brought to their knowledge; and also the fate of every one that shall fight against it or its followers: so I will not detain you with quotations upon this subject. You all know them, or ought to. Read the Book of Mormon.

In the month of December, 1833, soon after the Saints’ troubles began, in Jackson County, Missouri, the Prophet Joseph had a revelation from the Lord respecting the Saints there, in which he says:—“Let them importune at the feet of the Judge (for protection and redress); and if he heed them not, let them importune at the feet of the Governor; and if the Governor heed them not, let them importune at the feet of the President; and if the President heed them not, then will the Lord arise and come forth out of his hiding-place, and in his fury vex the nation, and in his hot displeasure and his fierce anger, in his time, will cut off those wicked, unfaithful, and unjust stewards, and appoint them their portion among hypocrites and unbelievers—even in outer darkness, where there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth,

“Pray ye, therefore, that their ears may be open to your cries, that I maybe merciful unto them, that these things may not come upon them. What I have said unto you must needs be, that all men may be left without excuse; that wise men and rulers may hear and know that which they have never considered; that I may proceed to bring to pass my act—my strange act, and perform my work—my strange work; that men may discern between the righteous and the wicked, saith your God.”

Did the Saints importune at the feet of the Judge and of the Governor? Yes, they did, in all humility and sincerity. What was the result? About the same as if you were to importune with the thief and robber to protect you from abuse and restore to you the stolen treasure. They heeded not the petition. Then importunity was made at the feet of the President, not only in writing, but also by the Prophet Joseph in person; and what did this avail? It elicited this answer:—“Your cause is just, but we can do nothing for you.” Sovereignties must manage their own affairs. Congress nor the Executive can interfere. So the President heeded them not.

Now, when will the Lord’s time come to vex the nations, &c.? It is not for me to say; yet it would be a time very opportune, when the nation shall begin to dictate to an organized State or Territory in matters of their own internal policy and municipal regulations. When we were in distress and trouble, the nation had no power to help us; but when we attempt to help ourselves and to rid our community of lying and corrupt men, then the nation can send her armies against us. Well, be it so. It is all right, and will hasten the downfall, of the mighty image of Nebuchadnezzar; and the power that falls upon “this stone” will be broken, and the stone rejected by the builders will become the head of the corner.

As Joseph Smith has sealed his testimony with his blood, his testament is now of force; and I will quote again from a revelation given through him, on Fishing River, Missouri, June 22, 1834:—“Therefore it is expedient in me that mine Elders should wait for a little season for the redemption of Zion; for I do not require at their hands to fight the battles of Zion; for, as I said in a former commandment, even so will I fulfil—I will fight your battles.”

Although, here is a great and precious promise; yet do not suppose that we are to sit down in idleness or indifference and share this promise; but remember this common-sense, home-made scripture,” God helps those who help themselves.” Therefore, let us neglect no duty on our part, but be ready, not only for the powers of this world and the powers of darkness, but for the day of judgment and eternal glory in the mansions of our God.

If armies from the East and from the West are approaching our Territory, to offer protection and removal to all who wish it, and to deal out death and ruin to all the balance, the hand of the Lord is in it. He will send forth his angels, and gather out of his kingdom all things that offend and that do iniquity. He may use any beings that he has made, or that he pleases, and call them his angels or messengers. The Devil himself is an angel of God, but a fallen one.

Again, the presence of an armed force will prove to ourselves, to God, and angels, which we possess the most of—the fear of God or the fear of man. We are commanded to fear not them that can kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do; but we are required to fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. But there is one Scripture which says—“When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” He will make the wrath of man to praise him, and the remainder of wrath he will restrain. We have all got to die at some time, and why should we object to the time or the manner? If we are right before the Lord, and in the discharge of our duty, it matters not when or how we go hence.

I will venture here to relate an open vision had by brother Stephen M. Farnsworth, of Pleasant Grove, Utah County, while he was residing in Nauvoo, previous to the death of the Prophets Joseph and Hyrum. Some may possibly think and say, it was manufactured for this occasion. But there are many here under the sound of my voice who heard brother Farnsworth relate the vision years ago. I will tell it as correctly as my memory will allow me.

In the spring of 1844, brother Farnsworth started out after dinner, to go to work on the Temple as usual. The sun shone brightly as he walked down Parley-street towards the place of his labour, when suddenly the sky became overcast, and a dizzling rain set in. He stood amazed, and saw a tumult and excitement among the people about the Temple, and a great excitement in the lower part of the town. He wondered what it could mean. Presently he was told that the Saints had to leave Nauvoo and take a great journey to the west. So great was the journey that it seemed almost impossible for him to perform it. Now he could see numerous trains of covered waggons and teams crossing the Mississippi River, and bending their course westward as far as the eye could reach. He also hitched up and joined the trains, and the journey did not seem so arduous as he first anticipated. He saw the Twelve Apostles in the crowd but saw neither Joseph nor Hyrum.

They journeyed westward a great distance, and finally came to a place where they intended to locate. They stopped, and began to make improvements: but distress and starvation stared them in the face, and it really seemed to him that they must perish; but soon there began to be plenty of everything to eat, &c. This lasted quite a time: then there began to be scarcity again, and famine seemed to prevail; yet he saw none die of starvation, yet great distress among the people. Then there began to be plenty again—enough to eat of everything desirable. The people all appeared in one place, with large, strong hoops around them in a body. The Twelve followed brother Brigham with mallets and fierce countenances, and vigorously drove those hoops upon the people until it did seem that they would be pinched or squeezed to death. Still they resolutely continued to drive the hoops. Dark clouds now began to arise, and a general gloom prevailed. The hoops were all the time being driven tighter and tighter.

About this time, an army or force of the enemy came into the neighbourhood and offered protection to all who wished it. The darkness of the clouds, and their awfully-threatening aspect are now past description. The people burst those hoops and sallied out like a flock of sheep, and more than one-half of them went to the enemy for protection. The scene was so awfully frightful that he was just on the eve of flying himself; but a thought oc[c]urred to him to hold on a little longer. He did so. Dark, angry, and frightful were the clouds, indeed! Now is your hour and the power of darkness! Presently the cloud over the Saints burst, and light beamed upon them.

This cloud rolled off upon the enemy and those who had fled to them for protection: and oh! the scenes of death, lamentation, and mourning that occurred in the enemies’ camp beggar all description. The burning wrath of earth, heaven, and hell, in fiery streams of molten lava seemed to leave not one alive to tell the tale. It did not stop here, but rolled throughout the United States, carrying the same desolation in its track. The faithful band of brethren left, then followed Brother Brigham up into a large open cave, where there was everything good to eat and drink that heart could desire. The shouts of hosannahs!—the songs of praise and thanksgiving to God for the deliverance wrought for them rent the air and made the mountains echo the praises of our God. From this cave they journeyed, I need not say where; but, suffice it to say, no opposition had any effect upon them. The power of God was with them, and His voice was in their camp.

There is much more to this vision which I deem unnecessary to write. But after it was all over, brother Farnsworth came to himself, standing in Parley-street on a beautiful sunshiny day. No covered waggons or excitement in town or about the temple. When he came to himself, he concluded that his exercises were of the Devil, from the fact that he saw neither Joseph nor Hyrum in all the scenes; but it was Brigham, brother Kimball, and the Twelve. Before these scenes began to really take place, Joseph and Hyrum were killed at Carthage, and consequently were not seen by brother Farnsworth.

I relate this from memory, being some months since I heard brother Farnsworth tell it at his residence in Pleasant Grove; but, in the main, it is as he told me, so far as I have related it. There are those here to whom brother Farnsworth told it more than twelve years ago, and they know whether I tell it as he did.

I have considerable confidence in this vision, for two reasons. First, brother Farnsworth is a correct man: his character is without spot or blemish. Secondly, this vision corresponds with a hundred and one other sacred things written in ancient and modern times. And I may add a third reason—it has all been fulfilled to the very letter, so far as time would allow.

I am fully inclined to believe that all these sayings, both ancient and modern, must mean something; and God will defend a people who trust in him—a people whose prayers are ascending up into His ears day and night for protection and redress. He will steady His own ark without the aid of voluntary service, and will signify the fact in unmistakeable terms to such as volunteer a crusade against him or his cause. Did not God create the heavens and the earth? Has he no rights? Must he have no voice in the affairs of this world, without being indicted, arraigned, and tried for treason?

If we cannot live by trusting in God, do we wish to live at all? What enlightened Latter-day Saint can see any charm in this world to chain or bind him here, when his hope and his trust are in Christ his Saviour? To talk about a religion to a Latter-day Saint that has no living Prophet or Apostle in it—that has no living God in it, who can and will speak to his creature, man, in this day, is to talk to him of an egg without meat, a body without spirit, an eye without sight, or an ear without hearing. To make a Latter-day Saint, or even a Mormon, if his heart were ever touched with the fire of truth, into any kind of orthodox Christian, would require as much faith and skill as it ever did to turn water into wine, or to feed five thousand men, women, and children with five loaves and two fishes.

After apostatizing from this Church, some may join some of the sects for popularity’s sake, or for the sake of making money or a living, and profess to believe all about the God without body, parts, or passions: but secretly they say, You are fools—you are in the dark—you worship, you know not what. Scores of apostates, that have left this Church and returned to it again, have confessed these very things. While they outwardly affect to believe the dogmas of the religious world, they secretly pity and despise. I mean such as are not past feeling.

Do our enemies object to some being frightened away from here by the glass of truth being held before them to enable them to see themselves as God sees them, and have become frightened at their own moral deformities and left? Will the time not come when none of the uncircumcised in heart or the unclean can enter the abodes of the Saints? If the old Prophets have told us the truth, such times must come; and if they now begin to be foreshadowed, think it not strange! “Zion will be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness. And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together; and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed.” (Isaiah.)

I feel and know that I am a poor, weak, unprofitable servant, at best. My life is of no great value, when compared with the value and importance of this kingdom; and I have lately thought that it would be about the height of my ambition to lose my life to save that of some better man. I know not what I will do; but I pray God my heavenly Father that I may do my duty and honour His name and cause with my every and latest breath. I have tried to do right and to live my religion. I have sought the Lord day and night, and still seek Him, and by His grace shall continue to seek Him until I can fall upon His neck and embrace Him, and say, “Thou art my Father;” and He will say to me, “Thou art my son!” I have no righteousness to boast of. I have no oil to spare.

But if sore trials must come, even to the laying down of our lives, I do not know that I can ask for the time to be prolonged with any hope of being much better. I mean to be about as good as the light and knowledge I have will allow me. Full of imperfections as I am, my heart, soul, and spirit feel to bless the Saints with all who wish them well; and the enemies that would persecute the Saints—that would try to overthrow the kingdom of God on the earth, and ensnare the feet and shed the blood of the Prophets of God, let their blessings be turned into cursings, their prayers become sin, and the stain of innocent blood blast their hopes for ever, if they repent not.

Mormonism is true. The Priesthood of God is on the earth, and is destined to bear rule not only in heaven, but in the earth also; and likewise in every part of God’s dominions. This makes the Devil and all his subjects angry at the Saints, and they wish to kill us off. Kill just as many and just as soon as God will let you. In this respect, I ask no favours of any man in this lower world. I ask God to be my friend, and to give me grace and strength to be His friend so long as I live in this world.

Ye Saints of latter day be humble, meek, and child-like. Be fearless and resolute. God grant unto you and me hearts of iron and nerves of steel, abounding with faith, hope, and charity, full of every good work, and no evil work. Pray in faith that God may guide our leaders aright, and that wise and profitable counsels may be given them for us, and we possess hearts to appreciate and obey. The Lord dictate the policy of his kingdom, and shield his faithful ministers from the snares of this world, and of death, until we shall have completed our earthly mission; and then may our exit shed a lustre upon the cause which our lives have been devoted to sustain.

Ignorance and Low Condition of the World, etc.

John Taylor

A discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 23, 1857.

In listening to the remarks made by President Kimball this morning, I felt myself very much edified, very much instructed, and very much blessed. In fact, where the Spirit of the Lord is, and the oracles of God dwell, there must of necessity be truth, intelligence, and certainty. Many of those things, as he justly remarked, that seem light and trivial, and of little importance to many, are pregnant with meaning, are full of interest, and are of the utmost importance to the Saints that dwell in these valleys, and to the world of mankind, if they would only pay attention to and be governed by them.

Mankind are, more or less, fond of paraphernalia, show, pomp, and parade; but the kingdom of God does not always come with “observation,” as the Scripture says. The great and precious principles of eternal truth, like pearls and precious gems, are often hid from the view of the human family.

What is the reason that the world of mankind do not appreciate the principles that are so plain and so manifest to us? How is it that all of our friends, relatives, and associations, and the neighbourhoods where we have resided have not fallen in with the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Why is it that all these things have not been received and appreciated by the millions of the human family who have had precisely the same opportunities that we have had? It is because they do not appreciate them—because they cannot see and understand. The light shone in darkness and it comprehended it not; but to those who received it, it was life and salvation.

Why is it that a swine cannot discern the value of pearls, and tramples them under its feet? Because it does not understand—it has not the intelligence, and does not comprehend the difference between the filth that surrounds it and precious gems. You might cast a precious jewel at a hog, and it would turn and rend you; but throw that to a man of understanding and intelligence, and he would ask for more. That is the difference. God has so ordained that strait shall be the gate, and narrow the way that leads to life; and but few there are that find it.”

If the men of the world, if the princes and potentates of the earth, if the statesmen and great men among the nations could comprehend things as we comprehend them, could understand the Gospel as it has been revealed to us—if they could know anything of our high calling’s glorious hope, and of the principles that animate our bosoms, they would, many of them, lay down their honours and their thrones, and come down and ask for admission into this kingdom. But they have got to receive the kingdom of God like a little child, just the same as you and I, or they cannot enter it; they have got to enter by the door into the sheepfold; and hence there is a test for every man to try him by; and hence the difference between us and them, and therefore a difference in regard to our views and position, which necessarily produce a difference in our feelings. They think differently, they speak differently, they look upon things in a different point of view to what we do. They look upon us as being enthusiastic, foolish, wild, and visionary, and among the rest as being polluted; and they would, forsooth, sympathize with us, some of them, and think we are in the most dreadful position of any people under the face of the heavens—that we are degraded and fallen. But they know not the spirit that animates our bosoms; they know not the hope that God has inspired in our hearts; they know not the things pertaining to the kingdom of God; they are as ignorant of them and of their own destiny as the brute beast which is “made to be taken and destroyed.”

It was a very correct figure that the Apostle made use of formerly, when he spoke of men being as ignorant as brute beasts, which were made to be taken and destroyed. Man, holding a relationship with things that have been, with things that are, and with things that are to come, being an eternal being, having existed before, existing now, and destined to exist while endless ages shall endure—when he understands his relationship to God, how he is associated with his progenitors, the position in which he stands to the Church and kingdom of God on the earth, the blessing he is able to seal on his posterity, worlds without end, and the great things he is destined to enjoy, if faithful—there is as much difference between his views and the world of mankind in general as there is between midnight darkness and the light of the sun in its meridian glory.

Men that are in darkness do not understand why it is that we think as we do, that we act as we do, that we endure as we do, that men can be united as we are, that people will leave their homes and traverse seas, oceans, deserts, mountains, plains, and sterile wastes, in order to meet with a people so much despised by a great majority of mankind. They do not know why it is, because they do not understand the counsels of God. How is it in relation to them? They have no revelation, no knowledge of God; and hence they are like the brute beasts, and know nothing but what they know naturally, as beasts obtain their knowledge, &c. They know nothing of their own position, or of their relationship to God; they know nothing about their progenitors, of their own destiny in the future, of what is within their reach while here on the earth, or how to secure blessings on their posterity; in fact, they are ignorant of all the great and vital principles which have a tendency to animate, enliven, and give vitality and power to all the acts of the sons of God; and hence they are like the brute beasts.

You can take an ox, or a hog, and put it into a stable, and feed it, and it will get fat there. What for? For the knife. If you could only give it a little revelation—if you could only make that ox or hog understand that it was being prepared to be killed and eaten, I wonder how fat you could make it? It is just so with the world; they are ignorant of their position, and they glory in their own shame, just as much as a hog does in wallowing in the mire; and they are just as ignorant of their destiny. This is the position of the world, and that is the reason why you see things as they are—why there is so much darkness; and I only wonder there is so much light among them as there is.

You wonder why men act so much like fools. I wonder they have as much intelligence as they have: and the only reason why they have so much is, that the Spirit of God is not entirely withdrawn from them.

In regard to principles of science, mechanism, &c., they possess a great deal of information; but they do not know that “every good and perfect gift” proceeds from God, and they won’t acknowledge it or him; and hence the little light they enjoy relative to religious matters, in relation to eternity, to their present real position and destiny, and to the things which God has communicated to us.

Is it to be wondered at, then, that men acting in that way should feel strange and act strangely? You cannot expect the conduct of a gentleman to proceed from a brute beast; you cannot expect anything but a grunt from a hog: it is their nature; and it is the nature of the wicked to act as they have done and as they are doing; and if you see animosity, hatred, evil, strife, vicious feelings, bad practices, lasciviousness, corruption of every grade, and every kind of abomination prevailing, it is because of their nature. One of those little hymns composed by Watts for children describes it right:—

“Let dogs delight to bark and bite, for God hath made them so:

Let bears and lions growl and fight; it is their nature too.”

Not desirous to retain God in their knowledge; they have given themselves up to every kind of evil, and are led captive by the Devil; and the Scriptures say, “His servants ye are whom ye list to obey.”

Now, what is it that enlightens our minds? We were like them precisely. Is there any man here who knew anything about God until it was revealed to him? Is there a man or woman here who understood even the first principles of the Gospel of Christ until they were revealed to them?

I have travelled a great deal, and been in different nations, and I have never yet met with a man that did. To what are we indebted for that knowledge? To the administration of an angel, which made manifest the order of God to Joseph Smith, and he revealed it unto others to that we are indebted for the first principles of the Gospel.

Can you find anybody, anywhere, in any part of the earth, who professes to teach religion, that will tell the people to repent of their sins, be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of them, and receive the imposition of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost? And who dare promise them that they shall receive it in its power, as the Apostles did formerly? I cannot. I have not met with such a people, nor have you.

I was well versed in the Scriptures myself when this Gospel came along, but I was as ignorant as a brute about these things, and so is everybody else. I have not come in contact with a man who understood correct principles in relation to the principles of the Gospel, or who knew the way to enter into the kingdom of God. Who could know it without God revealing it? And it is to that revelation that we are indebted for the intelligence we have received concerning these matters, and to the spirit of prophecy and revelation that has been communicated with it.

Brother Kimball said he did not profess to be a Prophet of God. I bear testimony that he is a Prophet of God; and why do I do that? Because I have known many things that I could relate here, that I heard him prophesy years ago, that have been fulfilled to the very letter. And I bear testimony of it on another ground: any man that has the testimony of Jesus has the spirit of prophecy; or “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” so says the old Bible; and consequently, such a man is a prophet.

Concerning the first principles of the Gospel, at first they came by revelation; they were communicated to a young man who did not possess what is termed worldly wisdom, education, or intelligence; but he came and told it out just as God told it to him.

Was there anybody that could controvert it? No. It was not because it was in the Bible that he taught it, but because God had communicated it to him; and he went and told the things which he had received. Did you ever meet with a man anywhere that could controvert the principles Joseph Smith taught? Did you ever find a theologian, or priest, of any description, that could contradict these things successfully? Did I? I never did. I have never met with a man under the heavens that could successfully contradict one principle of it—never; NO NEVER; and I do not expect ever to be able to.

Why is it that people cannot contradict it? Because it is the eternal truth of heaven, and emanated from the great Eloheim, and is one of those eternal principles of truth which God has communicated to the human family; and truth, like God, is unchangeable, and cannot be controverted. Darkness flees before it, and error hides its head wherever it appears.

It was so in regard to the first principles of the Gospel, and it has been so in regard to principles that have been revealed and communicated from time to time, both by Joseph Smith, by President Young, by brother Kimball, and by all the authorities of this Church who have been inspired by the Holy Ghost.

In relation to the position we now occupy, the things that were spoken this morning are as correct, as true, and as incontrovertible as anything that could be adduced by any man—I do not care where he comes from, nor what may be his intelligence—I do not care whether he is king, president, potentate, or statesman, of any description, or what his intellectual qualifications: it matters not.

The principles that were spoken here are, in and of themselves, correct; and I want to speak a little in relation to some of these things, in order that men who have not examined them may understand them more minutely. You believe the principles because you heard them, of course; and so do I; so do we all; and every truth recommends itself to the minds of the human family; yet, at the same time, we are not all of us at all times prepared to judge of the correctness of all these matters.

The things we have heard this morning might sound to some croakers and ignoramuses, who have never examined the subject, and do not understand principle, like treason, as though we were in open rebellion against the United States and opposed to the Government we are associated with—as though we were going to trample down all law, rule, and order. No such thing. We are the only people in these United States, at the present time, who are sustaining them. I can prove this, and that it is others who are trampling them under foot, and not us. Whilst they are committing acts, themselves, that are treasonable in their nature, and pursuing a course opposed to the Constitution and the very genius of the institutions of the United States, they want to lay the sin at our doors that they themselves are guilty of.

Would I, as a citizen of the United States, come out in rebellion against the United States, and act contrary to my conscience? Verily no. Would brother Young? Verily no. Would brother Kimball, or brother Wells? Verily no.

Are they not true patriots—true Americans? Do they not feel the fire of ‘76 burning in their bosoms? Assuredly they do. Would they do a thing that is wrong? No; and they will also see that others do not do it. That is the feeling, the spirit, and principle that actuate them.

There are thousands of you who are Americans, who have been born in this land, whose fathers fought for the liberties we used to enjoy, but have not enjoyed for some years past. There are thousands of such men here who feel the same spirit that used to burn in their fathers’ bosoms—the spirit of liberty and equal rights—the spirit of according to every man that which belongs to him, and of robbing no man of his rights.

Your fathers and grandfathers have met the tyrant when he sought to put a yoke on your necks; as men and true patriots, they came forward and fought for their rights and in defence of that liberty which we, their children, ought to enjoy. You feel the same spirit that inspired them; the same blood that coursed in their veins flows in yours; you feel true patriotism and a strong attachment to the Constitution and institutions bought by the blood of your fathers, and bequeathed to you by them as your richest patrimony.

There are others of you that have taken the oath of allegiance to the United States; and some of you, not understanding correct principles, may, perhaps, feel qualms of conscience, and think, probably, that if we undertake to resist the powers that are seeking to make aggression upon us, we are doing wrong. No such thing. You let your conscience sleep at ease; let it be quiet: it is not us who are doing wrong; it is others who are committing a wrong upon us.

What was the case in Missouri? Let me draw your attention briefly to some of the circumstances that have transpired in our history as a people. Whom did we interfere with in the State of Missouri? Did we rebel against the United States, or against the State in which we lived? Verily no; and I am at the defiance of that State and Congress, with all the world at their backs, to prove that we did rebel in one iota. Did they give unto us the protection of American citizens? They did not; and they perjured themselves in not doing it. They perjured themselves before God and all honest men.

Whom did we rebel against in Illinois?

Let me mention one circumstance in the State of Missouri. How much land did we purchase there from the United States, and pay for, which they promised to warrant and defend us in the possession of? Did they protect us in the right they guaranteed unto us? No; they allowed us to be robbed and plundered with impunity. And how many suffered death in consequence of their recklessness, carelessness, and barefaced iniquity? Thousands. I have seen their condition when many thousands were driven from their lands and homes, were persecuted, harassed, and driven like felons without redress, robbed, plundered, imprisoned, and put to death; and thousands of men, women, and children wandered houseless and homeless exiles in their own land, and fugitives flying from the rage of a lawless rabble, infuriated banditti, and bloodthirsty miscreants and murderers. I saw then a whole people robbed and disfranchised, and this too in the middle of winter. Did the State authorities yield us any redress? No. They were foremost in the mob. Did the United States? No.

Many of my brethren around me also witnessed these things, and know the misery, destitution, and death caused by those bloodhounds, when they first fled to Nauvoo, resting where the mud was knee deep—the only position they could get—with three or four little sticks put up, and a counterpane thrown over them, and there left to die.

Brother Wells was in Nauvoo at the time. After the excitement was over, there was not enough of well folks to wait on the sick.

I was off on a mission to England at this time, and all my family were sick; and my son George, who has been away and returned with me, being quite a little boy, not able to draw water, and nobody in the house able to get it, had to go and wait at the well, with a little bucket, for somebody to come and draw him a little water to carry home to the sick, to quench the parching tongue and allay the raging fever occasioned by these Missouri demons.

Brother Brigham, brother Kimball, George A. Smith, and the Twelve here, and everybody, almost, was down sick; and in this condition, feeble, faint, and half dead, they started off on a mission, because we were commanded to go. We went to fulfil the word of the Lord. Did the United States step forward and yield us any redress? No; but they stood there, and were willing to see us imposed upon and robbed of our property and rights; and we have obtained no redress for it to the present day.

Who are the transgressors? Are we? Martin Van Buren, the then President of the United States, acknowledged the injustice done to us when he said, “Your cause is just, but we can do nothing for you.” And we endured it.

We staid in Illinois, lived there as peaceable citizens, and had a city charter, and under its protection improved our city, and had in a short time, by our energy, industry, and enterprize, built one of the best cities in the western country, and had one of the most peaceable societies that existed anywhere, without exception.

The first thing they did to aggravate us was to rob us of our city charter; and this very Judge Douglas, of whom we have heard so much as being our friend, was one of the first movers for its repeal. The first time I ever met with him was in a hotel in Springfield, Illinois, the time they were trying Joseph Smith before Judge Pope. He told me then that they had a right to do it, and that the Judges had decided so. I said, I did not know anything about the Judges.

I did not know who he was at the time, and it would not have made much difference if I had. I told him, It is no matter to me what the judges decided about charters; the Legislature had given us our charter for perpetual succession; and for them to take away a charter with these provisions proved them either to be knaves or fools.

They were knaves if they did it knowingly, to give what they knew they had not power to do; and if they did not know it, they were fools for giving us a thing they had not power to give. Did they do it? Yes. And that State robbed us of the rights of freemen; and the only chance we had then, when they sent their scamps and rogues among us, was to have a whittling society and whittle them out. We could not get them out according to law, and we had to do it according to justice; and there was no law against whittling—so we whittled the scoundrels out.

I remember that one of the legislators who had annulled our charter, named Dr. Charles, went to President Young, and says he, “Mr. Young, I am very much imposed upon by the people around here; there are a lot of boys following me with long knives, and they are whittling after me wherever I go; my life is in danger.”

Brother Young replied, “I am very sorry you are imposed upon by the people: we used to have laws here, but you have taken them away from us: we have no law to protect you. “YOUR CAUSE IS JUST, BUT WE CAN DO NOTHING FOR YOU.” Boys, don’t frighten him, don’t.”

They deprived us of the rights of law to protect ourselves, and in doing it, they deprived us of the power of protecting them; and we could not help them when they wanted help.

[Voice: “We still have whittling societies.”]

Yes, we still have whittling societies, as brother Kimball says.

Why did we leave Nauvoo? Had we killed anybody? Had we broken any law? Had we trampled upon the rights of any people? Had we done anything that the laws of the United States or of that State could interfere with us for? If we had, they would pretty soon have dragged us up.

The people wanted us to leave; and because the people were dissatisfied—because there were a lot of religious enthusiasts, political aspirants, black-legs, and scoundrels, who wanted to possess our property, all bound together to rob us of our rights, we must go away, of course.

Judge Douglas, General Harding, Major Warren, and some of the prominent men from Springfield met together in my house in Nauvoo, and these men could go to work and talk deliberately (and there was no less than two United States’ Senators among them at the time,) about removing thousands of people, and letting them be disfranchised and despoiled, as coolly as they would cut, up a leg of mutton.

[Voice:” And you told them of it.”]

Yes, I did.

Now, then, whom did we injure? What law did we break? Whose rights did we trample upon? Did we dispossess anybody of his land, rob anybody, interfere with anybody’s rights? Did we transgress any State’s law, national law, or any other law? We did not; and they never have been able to prove one item against us, and we stand clear. We maintained the law and tried to make it honourable.

What must we go away for? Why, they had murdered our Prophet and Patriarch under the sacred pledge of the Governor of the State and of his officers, all combined, and we could obtain no redress; and because they had done one injury, they must heap a thousand on the back of it.

That is the only reason I know of. They were murderers, and sanctioned the practice, and those men have got to atone for these wrongs yet. [Voices: “Amen.”] The debt has got to be paid.

[Voice: “Douglas is not a bit better than the rest of them.”]

Not a particle.

What is our position at the present time? Why are we here, gentlemen and ladies? Answer me, ye sons of the ancient patriots—ye sons of those fathers who fought for the rights and liberties this nation boasts so much of. Answer me—Why are you here? Because you could not go anywhere else—because you could not be protected in those rights that your fathers bled and died for. That is the reason you are here, gentlemen.

We are here, because we are exiled and disfranchised, because we are robbed of our rights, because we could not possess equal rights with other American citizens—rights that the Constitution guaranteed to every citizen of the Union.

We had to fly from the face of civilization, and found a refuge among the red men of the forest; we had to seek that mercy from the hands of the savage that Christian civilization denied us.

We are talking now about rights, laying aside religion. If we come to talk about the kingdom of God, that is another matter. We are talking now about our rights as American citizens, or rather our wrongs—the rights we have been robbed of.

We are here, then, under these circumstances. Have we broken any law here? No. I defied the whole Eastern country, when I was there, to prove that we have broken any law, and have not found a man that dare take up the gauntlet—not one, because they could not do it. Why could they not? Because we have done no wrong.

What did we do on the road here? Right in the midst of difficulties, in the midst of exile, when we were journeying to this place, this Government called upon us for 500 soldiers to go and fight their battles, when they were literally allowing us to be driven from our homes and to be robbed of millions of property without redress.

Did we send the soldiers? We did. Was it our duty to comply with such a requisition at such a time, and under such circumstances? I don’t know. I think it was one of those works of supererogation which the Roman Catholics talk about. I do not think any law of God or man would have required it at our hands; but we did it; and I suppose it was wisdom and prudent, under the circumstances, that we should take that course, because our enemies were seeking to entangle and destroy us from the earth. They laid that as a trap, thinking to catch us in it; but it did not stick.

What did we do when we came here? We framed a Constitution and a Provisional Government, and reported our doings to the United States again, right on the back of all the insults, robbery, and fraud which we had endured. We still went constitutionally to work.

Afterwards, we petitioned for a Territorial Government. Did they give it to us? They did. Is there any step that we have taken that is contrary to law? There is not? They have appointed our Governor, our Secretaries, our Judges, our Marshals; they have done to us the same in this matter as they have done with other Territories.

I do not believe in their right constitutionally to appoint our officers. Still they have done it, and we have submitted to it. And they have sent some of the most cursed scoundrels here that ever existed on the earth. Instead of being fathers, they have tried every influence they could bring to bear in order to destroy us.

Such have been our protectors. These have been the men who have been sworn to fulfil their public duties; but they have foresworn themselves in the face of high heaven.

What law have we transgressed? None. They trump up every kind of story that it is possible to conceive of, but have always been and are now unable to substantiate any of their barefaced assertions; and I declare it before you and the world, that this people are the most peaceable, law-abiding, and patriotic people that can be found in the United States.

What have they been doing in Kansas, in California, in Oregon? What in Cuba, in Nicaragua, and at present in New York, if you please? They have been filibustering in Cuba and in Nicaragua; and officers of every grade and condition, both civil and military, have winked at it and suffered those things to go on, right under their noses.

The position of affairs in Kansas has been anything but flattering; it has been North against South, and South against North, and Kansas has been the battle-ground.

The people there are not, perhaps, much worse than the rest of the people; they are principally emigrants from the North and South, who are arrayed against each other, whilst Kansas is the greatest Sebastopol, where the battle is fought. The inhabitants there are the representatives of Eastern, Western, Southern, and Northern civilization and Christianity, all combined.

Are they traitors? O, no! They are only a little excited. We must try and get a Governor who will try and compromise matters between the parties, and we will get things straightened out by-and-by. They send one Governor—he fails; and another, and he fails; and they have sent another; but whether he will fail or not, time must determine.

What are they doing in New York? The Legislature of New York passed laws interfering with the city of New York, and the city is in rebellion against the State of New York, and it was raging at the time I left. The State says, “I won’t submit,” and the city says, “I won’t submit.” And they had two different classes of officers there to regulate matters in the emporium of the United States: it is the mercantile emporium at least.

They are very peaceable; they are good citizens; there is no harm in that; it is only a little family trouble that we have to settle; and in doing so, we must use any pacific measure we can.

What is the matter with us? Have we broken any law? James Gordon Bennett, a man who is quarrelling with everybody, comes out at last, and says, “The Mormons” have the advantage of us, and they know it.” And out of all he could hatch up and scrape together against the “Mormons,” there is only one thing that seems even in his eyes to supply any pretext for hostilities against them, and that is, the charge of burning some 900 volumes of United States’ laws; and this charge is also false. Bennett is one of the most rabid “Mormon”-eaters you can find, with the exception of Greeley.

What are they sending an army here for? I had thought things were a little different until I got here; but I have found, in conversing with President Young, that he knows more about things as they exist in the Eastern country than I did, who had just come from there. I had read all the newspapers, examined the spirit of the times, and tried to get at all the information I could; and I find, from the information I have received since then, that he understood things more correctly than I did.

I thought it was a kind of a pacific course which the Administration was taking, in order, to pacify the Republicans, that they might have a reasonable pretext to have fulfilled their duties; for I do know that they were apprised of the unreliable character of some of their informants. When I heard that the troops now on their way here had sealed orders, were coming with cannon, and had stopped the mail, it argued that there was the Devil behind somewhere.

I will give you my opinion about their present course. The Republicans were determined to make the “Mormon” question tell in their favour. At the time they were trying to elect Fremont, they put two questions into their platform—viz., opposition to the domestic institutions of the South and to polygamy. The Democrats have professed to be our friends, and they go to work to sustain the domestic institutions of the South and the rights of the people; but when they do that, the Republicans throw polygamy at them, and are determined to make them swallow that with the other. This makes the Democrats gag, and they have felt a strong desire to get rid of the “Mormon” question.

Some of them, I know, for some time past, have been concocting plans to divide up Utah among the several Territories around; and I believe a bill, having this object in view, was prepared once or twice, and came pretty near being presented to Congress; but that was not done.

Now, they go to work and send out an army with sealed orders, and, if necessary, are prepared to commit anything that the Devil may suggest to them; for they are under his influence. They wish now to steal the Republicans’ thunder, to take the wind out of: their sails, and to out-Herod Herod.

Say they, “We, who profess to be the friends of the ‘Mormons,’ and support free institutions, squatter sovereignty, and equal rights, will do more to the ‘Mormons’ than you dare do; and we will procure offices by that means, and save our parties;” and, as Pilate and Herod could be made friends over the death of Jesus, so they go to work and plan our sacrifice and destruction, and make up friends on the back of it. They would crucify Jesus Christ, if he were here, as quick as the Scribes and Pharisees did in his day, and the priests would, help, them.

President Young says they shall not come here and destroy us; and I say, Amen. [The congregation shouted, “Amen.”]

I have not quoted a great deal of Scripture to-day, but I will quote some. It says there was the opening of the “first seal;” so we will open this seal for them. We will declare their orders—a thing they have not manhood to do. They are too sneaking and underhanded, and have not manliness enough to declare their mind to a handful of people—the poor, pusillanimous curses. We dare do it; and, I thank God, that I live among a people that dare; for I do despise this sneaking, miserable, cowardly tribe, that are obliged to act underhanded in all their ways. Why? For fear of something to come. We dare declare our intentions, and risk the consequences.

Now, I want to touch upon a principle which I spoke about awhile ago. We have submitted to their sending officers here; that is all right enough, if we have a mind to. We are citizens of the United States, and profess to support the Constitution of the United States; and wherein that binds us, we are bound; wherein it does not, we are not bound.

They have sent Judge after Judge, and many times we have been without them: their loss, however, was not felt. They have sent their officers, and we have treated them well; and for the good treatment we have received curses, bitterness, wrath, lying, and destruction in return. They have sought to destroy our reputation—to rob us of our rights. They have sought to injure us in every possible way that men could be injured, as patriots, Christians, and moral men. They have lied about us in every conceivable way.

We have borne it and borne it over and over again. Are we bound to bear it for ever? That is the question that necessarily arises. Are we bound to suffer their abuse and oppression continually? And if we are, upon what principle? If there is any man in this congregation, or anywhere else, that will show me one principle or one piece of instruction or authority in the Constitution of the United States that authorises the President of the United States to send out Governors and Judges to this Territory, I would like to see it.

I cannot find such authority. I will admit that a usage of that kind has obtained—that it is quite customary for the President of the United States, by and with the consent of the Senate, to appoint Governors, Judges, Marshals, Secretaries of State, and all of those officers that you have had here. But it is a thing that is not authorized by the Constitution—much less to force them upon us by an armed soldiery. There is no such authority existing.

I wish to quote to you one little thing. If I had the Constitution here, I would read it to you. It is to the effect, “That the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

No matter, therefore, whether the people live in States or Territories, they possess constitutional privileges alike. The most that is said in regard to Territories and the authority of the President and Congress is, that “The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property of the United States.” That is speaking of it as land; and some of the most prominent statesmen of the United States have so construed it. It is property as land—territory as land they have a right to interfere with, not territory as regards the people.

I published this in the “Mormon” long ago, and said the Missouri compromise was unconstitutional. By-and-by, the United States’ Judges gave the same decision. I gave mine, however, before they gave theirs.

It is a true principle, they have not the authority. If they have it at all, it is in the people ceding it to them, and not what they possess by the Constitution of the United States. They have sent scoundrels amongst us from time to time. If they had sent decent men, would we have opposed them? No: we would have respected them. But will we submit to such infernal scoundrels? Never; no, never!!

So far as right is concerned, then, they have no right to appoint officers for this or any other Territory; and I will defy any man to prove that there is any such right in the Constitution.

I conversed with a Judge Black, who was coming up to Nebraska Territory on a steam-boat—an intelligent man, a Democrat, of course. When talking about these principles to him, which he acceded to, I put my hand on his shoulder, and said, “Judge, what are you doing here?” “I am here,” said he, “according to the usage that has obtained; but if the people do not want me, all they have to do is to express it, and I will go away again.” I wish we had only half such decent men as that sent here.

He tried to take another tack, which is this: He pointed out in the Constitution where the Supreme Court of the United States was made one of the branches of the Government, and the President has the appointment of its Judges. That is true—he possesses the power to appoint the greater, but not the less. How do you make that appear? Simply because one is mentioned in the Constitution, and the other is not. The United States’ Supreme Court is a co-ordinate branch of the Government, and there is provision made by the Constitution for the election and appointment of its officers.

This is not the case in regard to the officers of a Territory. Out of courtesy we, as citizens of the United States, may say, “Mr. President, if you have a mind to appoint discreet persons to fill those offices, all well and good; but if you don’t, you had better take them back; for we won’t have them: we stand on our reserved rights as citizens of the United States.”

We are not lacking for men in the United States, at the present time, who want to make it appear that the United States have a right to lord it over the Territories, the same as the British Government used to do over their colonies.

Thousands of you before me were citizens of the United States, where you came from. You had the right of franchise—had a right to say who should be your Governor, and who should be your Municipal and State officers. You came out here by thousands or by tens of thousands. By what right or upon what principle are you disfranchised? Can anybody tell me? Say some, “You need not have come out here unless you had a mind to.” Of course not. But we had a mind to; we were American citizens before we came out, and we have transgressed no law in coming; and by what rule are we deprived of our citizenship? If we had a right then to vote for anything, we have a right now; and nobody has a right to cram this or that man upon us without our consent—much less have they a right to dragoon us into servility to their unconstitutional exactions.

What was the great cause of complaint at the time the Constitution was framed? In the Declaration of Independence, it was stated that the people had rulers placed over them, and they had no voice in their election. Read that instrument. It describes our wrongs as plainly as it did the wrongs the people then laboured under and discarded.

Our Government are doing the very things against us that our fathers complained of. “They send armed mercenaries among us, to subjugate us,” &c. What is our Government doing? The same thing.

As American citizens and patriots, and as sons of those venerable sires, can we, without disgracing ourselves, our fathers, and our nation, submit to these insults, and tamely bow to such tyranny? We cannot do it, and we will not do it. We will rally round the Constitution, and declare our rights as American citizens; and we will sustain them in the face of High Heaven and the world.

No man need have any qualms of conscience that he is doing wrong. You are patriots, standing by your rights and opposing the wrong which affects all lovers of freedom as well as you; for those acts of aggression have a withering, deadly effect, and are gnawing, like a canker-worm, at the very vitals of religious and civil liberty. You are standing by the Declaration of Independence, and sustaining the the Constitution which was given by the inspiration of God; and you are the only people in the United States this time that are doing it—that have the manhood to do it. You dare do it, and you feel right about the matter as the vox populi.

According to the genius and spirit of the Constitution of the United States, we are pursuing the course that would be approved of by all high-minded, honourable men; and no man but a poor, miserable sneak would have any other feeling.

I lay these things before you for your information, that you may feel and act understandingly. I have carefully criticised these matters, and examined the views of many of those who are said to be our greatest statesmen on this subject; for I have desired to comprehend the powers of the Government and the rights of the people; and I have watched with no little anxiety the encroachments of Government and the manifest desire to trample upon your rights. It is for you, however, to maintain them; and if those men that are traitors to the spirit and genius of the Constitution of the United States have a mind to trample underfoot those principles that ought to guarantee protection to every American citizen, we will rally around the standard, and bid them defiance in the name of the Lord God of Israel.

In doing this, we neither forget our duties as citizens of the United States, nor as subjects of the kingdom and cause of God; but, as the Lord has said, if we will keep His commandments, we need not transgress the laws of the land. We have not done it; we have maintained them all the time.

When we talk about the Constitution of the United States, we are sometimes apt to quote—“Vox populi, vox Dei;” that is, The voice of the people is the voice of God. But in some places they ought to say, VOX POPULI, VOX DIABOLI; that is, the voice of the people is the voice of the Devil.

We are moved by a higher law. They talk sometimes about a higher law in the States. Greeley is a great man to talk about a higher law, which means, with him, stealing niggers. We do not care anything about that. We want to do something better—something higher and more noble. That is rather too low for us; consequently, they need not be afraid of our stealing their niggers: we will let them have all the benefits of them as one of the grand institutions of Christians, together with the amalgamating process as another of the institutions of Christianity. And another grand institution they have among them is prostitution.

Well, thank God, we do not know anything about such things. A very respectable gentleman in Philadelphia said to me a while go, in talking over some of these matters—“ Suppose a Mahommedan should come into the city of Philadelphia”—that is one of the puritanical cities, where they profess to be so good, the city of brotherly love—and walk through our streets in the evening, and see a number of ladies walking alone, being informed that it was usual for respectable ladies to be protected, he would necessarily enquire what was the meaning of this. Being informed that these were prostitutes, he would very naturally say,” Then I suppose this is one of the institutions of Christianity?” This is the conclusion he would come to at once. Well, so it is; and this niggerism in the South is about the same kind of thing, only a change of colour.

These are all moral, all legal, all truly Christian. Men East may have one or a dozen misses, keep part of their children, and turn the other out as paupers. In the South, they buy them body and soul, prostitute them at pleasure, and sell their own children. Yet these men talk of our morals, and send out armies to chastise us for our corruptions, when God knows, and they know, that they are a thousand times more corrupt than we are.

We are not taking any steps contrary to the laws and the Constitution of the United States, but in everything we are upholding and sustaining them. Gentlemen, hands off: we are free men; we possess equal rights with other men; and if you send your sealed orders here, we may break the seal, and it shall be the opening of the first seal.

In relation to the kingdom of God, that is another matter. You before me understand about it—its laws, priesthood, principles, and influences, and the things that are about to transpire. God has set His hand to accomplish His purposes, to roll on His great designs, and bring to pass the things spoken of by all the holy Prophets since the world began, that should take place in the latter days, to establish His kingdom on the earth, that shall become mighty and prevail over all other kingdoms. You know all about this.

We are established here, and have the oracles of God in our midst, and the principles of truth revealed. This is the kingdom of God. The stone cut out of the mountain without hands has got to roll forth and become a great mountain, and fill the whole earth.

Satan has held dominion, and rule, and power, over the human family, for generations and generations; and God is gathering together a little nucleus here—a band of brethren clothed upon with the Holy Priesthood and the spirit of God, by which they will be able to roll back the cloud of darkness that has overwhelmed the inhabitants of the earth, and plant the principles of truth, and establish the kingdom of God. That is what we are engaged in, and what we mean to accomplish by the help of the Lord; and in regard to any little thing that may be transpiring around us, in regard to their little armies they are sending here, great conscience! it is comparatively nothing; there will be thunder and lightning and the bellowing of earthquakes, in comparison with that, before we get through. Thrones will be cast down, and desolation, war, and bloodshed will spread abroad in the earth, and desolate nations and empires, and God will turn and overturn until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and His Christ, and he will reign for ever; and we are going to have part in it, and our children and our children’s children.

It is for us to act as the sons of the living God, magnify our calling, honour our God and His Priesthood, and live as men and as God’s true children on the earth, accomplish His purposes here, and then join with the redeemed that have gone before to help to roll on weightier matters in the upper world.

I do not know but I have been talking long enough. I feel well. I am happy. All is right; and if it thunders, let it thunder; let the lightnings flash and the earthquakes bellow; let them rage: there is a God in heaven that can hold the children of men, and He will do it, and His work will spread, His kingdom increase, and His power be made manifest among us and among all nations, and Zion will spread and go forth, and every creature in the heavens, and on the earth, and under the earth will be heard to say, “Blessing and power, might and majesty be ascribed to Him that sitteth upon the throne and to the Lamb for ever and ever.”

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

Correction, etc.

Heber C. Kimball

Discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday morning, August 30, 1857.

You must expect, when you see brother Heber stand before you to speak, that you will hear what is called the rough etchel to this generation. I am pretty well satisfied brethren, that there are only four or five persons in this congregation that dislike to hear me talk; and when you take out those four or five, I know that this people would rather hear me speak than any other man who speaks from this stand, except brother Brigham. It is not that those four or five have anything particular against me, but it is because I do at many times give vent to my feelings, and, by so doing, I hit them a crack where they deserve it. Well, this is all right.

I wonder if there is a man or woman here that really wants to be a Saint—I mean those that want to live their religion—but what desire in their hearts and seek in their prayers to the Father that they may be corrected when they are wrong—that they may be admonished? Is there a person in this congregation but what has that desire and that feeling? If there is, I am greatly mistaken; for I hear them when I go into meetings and when I go into family circles; they will say, if I have a wrong thing about me, I want to be corrected. Have you not heard it so this morning? Every man that speaks before this community has those feelings. Have not I those feelings? Brethren, if I have a fault, or have anything about me which is not right, I want to get rid of that; and so do you, if you are Saints.

Well, there is not a mother in this congregation but feels in that way; else, when they see one of their children in fault, why do they correct those children? Why do you correct them, when you are not willing to be corrected yourselves? Neither a father nor a mother, from this time forth, should correct a child, except they are willing to be corrected in their faults.

Do you see it? You will see mothers who will correct their children when they get angry, and that is almost the only time they will correct a child. Am I angry to-day? Just look at me, and see if you think I am angry. I tell you I am just as good-natured as I can be, according to the nature of the case that I am now dwelling upon. Well, this is for you to reflect upon.

Is this a good people? You may take the Elders of Israel throughout these valleys, and those at the stations, between here and the United States, and those that we have sent to the nations of the earth, and then thousands, who never were here, and there never was a more amenable set of men upon the earth, with the experience that we have got; and there never was that day that this people were one as they are one to-day; no, never.

Well, I feel to, praise the Elders of Israel for their faithfulness. Is there a chance for improvement, brethren, ye Elders of Israel? If you think there is a chance for improvement, notwithstanding all of my praising you, just raise your right hands. [A forest of hands was raised.] Those that think there cannot be any improvement, but that you are stereo-typed, raise your hands. I cannot see any hands raised upon that side.

When I went to chop, I was always taught to pull off my coat, and spit on my hands. I pull off my coat because I am too warm. If I don’t talk here more than twenty minutes, I want my coat off.

May I tell you some of my feelings, and not have any of you angry with me? [Voices: “Yes.”] I hate to have the ladies angry with me, above all things; and I will tell you one thing, and that is, all you that are ladies will not find fault; but the woman that finds fault with me, I can analyze her, and show you she is not a lady. I am a physician. Well, you can hardly mention a thing that is good but what I am.

I want to tell some of my feelings here to-day, in a few words, relative to brother Brigham. I call him brother, because he says if I call him President, he shall call me president; and just as sure as he does, I am as flat as a pancake. I shall only call him President before the Saints, in his calling—I was going to say before our enemies; but, damn them, they shall never come here. Excuse me, I never use rough words, only when I come in contact with rough things; and I use smooth words when I talk upon smooth subjects, and so on, according to the nature of the case that comes before me.

You all acknowledge brother Brigham as the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; then you acknowledge him as our Leader, Prophet, Seer, and Revelator; and then you acknowledge him in every capacity that pertains to his calling, both in Church and State, do you not? [Voices: “Yes.”] Well, he is our Governor. What is Governor? One who presides or governs. Well, now, we have declared, in a legislative capacity, that we will not have poor, rotten-hearted curses come and rule over us, such as some they have been accustomed to send. We drafted a memorial, and the Council and the House of Representatives signed it, and we sent to them the names of men of our own choice—as many as from five to eight men for each office—men from our own midst, out of whom to appoint officers for this Territory. We sent that number for the President of the United States to make a selection from, and asked him to give us men of our own choice, in accordance with the rights constitutionally guaranteed to all American citizens. We just told them right up and down, that if they sent any more such miserable curses as some they had sent were, we would send them home; and that is one reason why an army, or rather a mob, is on the way here, as reported. You did not know the reason before, did you?

Well, we did that in a legislative capacity; we did it as members of the Legislature—as your representatives; and now you have got to back us up. You sent us, just as we sent brother Bernhisel to seek for our rights and to stand in our defence at Washington.

Well, here is brother Brigham: he is the man of our own choice; he is our Governor, in the capacity of a Territory, and also as Saints of the Most High.

Well, it is reported that they have another Governor on the way now, three Judges, a District Attorney, a Marshal, a Postmaster, and Secretary, and that they are coming here with twenty-five hundred men. The United States design to force those officers upon us by the point of the bayonet.

Is not that a funny thing? You may think that I am cross, but I am laughing at their calamity, and I will “mock when their fear cometh.”

Now, gentlemen and ladies, you look at these things, and then right in this book, the Bible. It says, our nobles shall be of ourselves; that is, our Lords, our Judges, our Governors, our Marshals, and our everything shall be of ourselves. Won’t you read the 30th chapter of Jeremiah?

1. Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have mercy on his dwelling places; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof.

2. And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.

3. Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all them that oppress them.

4. And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their Governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the Lord.

5. And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

6. Behold, the whirlwind of the Lord goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked.

7. The fierce anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it.

Well, the day has come when our Governor has come out of our midst and he is in the tops of the mountains just where the Prophets said these things should come to pass; and now the United States are reported to be trying to force a Governor upon us, when the Lord has raised one up right out of our midst.

Now, I am going to talk about these things, and I feel as though I had a perfect right to do so, because I am one of the people.

If this people should consent to dispossess brother Brigham Young as our Governor, they are just as sure to go to hell as they live, and I know it; for God would forsake them and leave them to themselves, and they would be in worse bondage than the children of Israel ever were.

Supposing this thing all blows over, and they don’t come up here, but they begin to flatter us and be friendly, what will be the result? They may flatter as long as the earth stands, but I never will be subject to one of their damned pusillanimous curses. They may court and flatter as much as they please, but I never will be subject to them again—no, never. Do you hear it? [Voices: “Yes.”] Do you think we will submit to them? No, never. They have cut the thread themselves.

You are the people who have the privilege to acknowledge brother Brigham as our Governor and continue him in his office; and you also have the privilege, through your agency, to reject him, if you please; but it will be to your condemnation if you do, because he has got the keys of the kingdom; and the very moment you reject him, you cut yourselves off from the right of the Priesthood.

I will now bring up a comparison. I live in the City of Great Salt Lake. I am a father, a husband, a benefactor to between sixty and seventy subjects: I feed them; I clothe them; and they do not have a pin, a drink of tea, nor anything but what I provide: I provide them houses to live in and beds to sleep on. But suppose that, by-and-by, some stranger comes along, and my family say to him, “We will have you to preside over us,” and they reject me, when at the same time they say, “Brother Heber is a good man,” but the other man comes with a smiling face, and my family take him and reject me—what have they done? If they reject me, they reject their head; and, by so doing, they destroy their heirship to the head or limb to which they are lawfully connected. Is not that so?

Suppose you acknowledge the man reported to be coming, what do you do? You reject your head, and if so, where is the body, and what will become of it? I will compare it to my body. Supposing the head is cast away, the body will die, won’t it? Yes; and you will die just as quick as that, if you reject brother Brigham, your head.

We are the people of Deseret. She shall be Deseret; she shall be no more Utah: we will have our own name. Do you hear it?

Brethren and sisters, these ideas are comforting to all of you: they are most gloriously comforting to me. I tell you, the feelings within me are glorious.

We are the people of Deseret, and it is for us to say whether we will have brother Brigham for our Governor, or those poor, miserable devils they are reported to be trying to bring here. You must know they are miserable devils to have to come here under arms; but they shall not rule over us nor come into this Territory. What do you say about it? Are you willing, as a people, that they should come in here? You that say they shall not, raise your right hands. [All hands raised.]

Mr. Gentile, won’t you tell of this to your co-workers for the Devil’s kingdom?

The reason that I talk as I do is because I don’t hold any office in the United States; but this people, some time ago, appointed me Chief-Justice of the State of Deseret, and brother John Taylor and Bishop N. K. Whitney as my associates. You also appointed me Lieutenant-Governor; I always told you I was going to be Lieutenant-Governor. This is a stump speech!

We are going to have our own Governor from henceforth. Brigham Young was then our Governor, Heber C. Kimball was Chief-Justice and Lieutenant-Governor. I was a big man then; I felt as big as brother Morley does in the Legislature. The fact is, he does not understand their gabble: if he does, he understands more than I do.

It is for us to say, according to our rights under the Constitution, whether we will have those cursed Gentiles to rule over us, or not.

I want you to publish this, Mr. Editor.

I am giving you a little of my feelings; for I want you to know that you are under no more obligation to receive those men than brother Brigham’s family is to receive another man and to reject him as their husband, their father, their friend, and benefactor.

I know that what I have said has informed many of your minds, and I choose to present my ideas by comparison. I have a right to say the Gentiles shall never rule over me, although this people might admit of their coming here. I have a right to say, also, that we shall never be ruled over by them from this day forth, while grass grows or water runs; never, no, never.

[Voices: “Amen.”]

Well, we have got to sustain these amens, and we have got to sustain these vows. You ladies, too, will certainly have to do your part, or back out. I told you last Sunday to arm yourselves; and if you cannot do it any other way, sell some of your fine bonnets, fine dresses, and buy yourselves a good dirk, a pistol, or some other instrument of war. Arm your boys and arm yourselves universally, and that, too, with the weapons of war; for we may be brought to the test, to see if we will stand up to the line. I never knew it to fail, when men made covenants, but they were brought to the test, to see if they would live up to them.

This people have made covenants, they have made vows, and they have been instructed by brother Brigham; and he has told them that those covenants and penalties are true and faithful; and I say they are as true as the Lord God liveth; and the day will come that you will have to fulfil those vows and covenants that you have made; and not one word shall fail.

I have told you of it, and I have backed it up when others have said it. Now, mark it; for God will drive us to it. These instructions, given to us from time to time, will have to be carried out and fulfilled; for I just know that you have got to reap that which is sown. If you sow to the spirit, you will reap life everlasting; but if you sow to the flesh, we shall reap corruption; and the bed that we make, we have got to lie in. Now, I will tell you another thing that bears heavily on my mind, as much so as any other thing, and that is, for this people to live their religion, and do as they are told.

I will ask you this question, gentlemen and ladies—Can you live your religion, except you do as you are told? I have said, again and again, that if we live our religion, and do as we are told, those men will never come over those mountains; for we shall slay the poor devils before they get there.

I do not know of any religion, except doing as I am told; and if you do, you have learned something that I have never learned. You have a Governor here to dictate you and to tell you what to do; and if we will live our religion, we are always safe, are we not?

There are a great many that will not live their religion, for they think they belong to the aristocracy; but understand, gentlemen and ladies, that I withdraw from that society. I told you last Sunday, that of all the corrupt beings upon the face of the earth, the present aristocracy are the worst.

I am a pretty rugged fellow, and valiant for the truth; and may the Lord make everybody like me, that we may stand against our enemies; for the corruptest devils on the earth are the present aristocracy.

Let us go to work and lay up our grain, lay up wheat, and everything that will and can be preserved; and in so doing, we will save ourselves from sorrow, pain, and anguish; and the Lord will give us a law and a word for us to abide, and he will cut off our enemies; and if every man and woman will go to work, lay up their grain, and do as they are told, the Lord will hold off our enemies from us, until we can lay up sufficient store for ourselves. This is a part of our religion—to lay up stores and provide for ourselves and for the surrounding country; for the day is near when they will come by thousands and by millions, with their fineries, to get a little bread. That time is right by our door.

Brother Stewart says he has discovered that this work is five years a-head of what he had supposed. Let me tell you that this people are more than ten years a-head of what they supposed. They were all asleep; but the Lord has waked them up, to prepare them for a time of trial and famine. If you do not see it, and feel it, and taste it, and smell it, it will be because God will have mercy upon you; and he will, if you will do as you are told from this time forth.

Do I feel comfortable? Gentlemen and ladies, I never saw the day that I felt any better. I become weary with toil, but I feel well in regard to this work. But there is a spirit of calmness, of peace, that I am jealous of.

I never have seen the day for twenty-five years, but before there was a storm there was always a calm. In Kirtland, before the trouble commenced, there was this calm. Joseph and Hyrum were men that would stand the test, but finally they had to flee from Kirtland to Missouri. Well, previous to that, we had received. our endowments, and a more calm, heavenly, and prosperous time I never saw.

Was it so in Missouri? Yes, it was: after they became settled, they became composed; and the year of the trouble we never had such crops in the world as we had then.

Was it not so in Nauvoo? Yes; and the spirit of composure rested upon the people; and it is more or less so now; and such crops as we have this year never were produced.

What does this mean? And the spirit of composure seems to be upon the people more than ever. And what does this mean? I am rather inclined to be jealous of it. Say I, wake up, ye Saints of Zion, while it is called to-day, lest trouble and sorrow come upon you, as a thief in the night.

Suppose it is not coming, will it hurt you to lay up the products of the earth for seven years? Will it hurt you, if you have your guns, swords and spears in good condition, according to the law of the United States? Some of the States give a man his clearance at forty years of age; others, at forty-five: they call men to train when they are eighteen years of age; but we call upon all from six to six hundred years old: we do not except any; and I want the world to know that we are ready for anything that comes along. If it is good, we are ready for that; and if it is evil, we are ready to stand against it.

We are calculating to sow our wheat early this fall, in case of emergency. I throw out these things for you to think upon; and if they are not right, they will not hurt anybody.

But wake up, ye Saints of the Most High, and prepare for any emergency that the Lord our God may have pleasure in bringing forth. We never shall leave these valleys—till we get ready; no, never; no, never. We will live here till we go back to Jackson County, Missouri. I prophesy that, in the name of Israel’s God.

[The congregation shouted “Amen,” and President B. Young said, “It is true.”]

If our enemies force us to destroy our orchards and our property, to destroy and lay waste our houses, fields, and everything else, we shall never build and plant again, till we do it in Jackson County. But our enemies are not here yet, and we have not yet thrown down our houses. Let me tell you, if God designs that Israel should now become free, they will come and strike the blow; and if he does not, they will not come: That is as true as that book (pointing to the Bible).

Go to work, and lay up your grain, and do not lay it out for fine clothes, nor any other kind of fine thing, but make homespun trowsers and petticoats. What would please me more than for my family, instead of wanting me to go to the store for petticoats and short gowns, to see them go to work and make some good homespun? What would be prettier that some of the English striped linsey, and a bonnet made of our own straw? Those are the women I would choose for wives. If you want virtue, go into the farming country, for there it is homespun. Farming dictricts [districts] contain the essence and the virtue of old England.

I do not know that you know what homespun is; but it is that which is spun at home; and it is for your welfare, both men, women, and children, to make your own clothing. It is also for your salvation to equip yourselves according to law.

Now, I will tell you, I have about a hundred shots on hand all the time—three or four fifteen-shooters, and three or four revolvers, right in the room where I sleep; and the Devil does not like to sleep there, for he is afraid they will go off half-cocked.

If you will lay a bowie knife or a loaded revolver under your pillow every night, you will not have many unpleasant dreams, nor be troubled with the nightmare; for there is nothing that the Devil is so much afraid of as a weapon of death.

You may take this as some of Heber’s wild visions, if you please. I have acknowledged myself as one of the people; and now I say, we will take our own name, and we will not be false-named any more. We are the Kingdom of God; we are STATE OF DESERET; and we will have you, brother Brigham, as our Governor just so long as you live. We will not have any other Governor.

I mean just what I say, and this people say they will not have any other Governor, and especially any one that has to come here under arms; for we consider that any man is a poor, damned curse that has to come here under arms to rule over us. These are my feelings; and if anybody votes against it, they are not of us: but there are but four or five but what vote for us; and they are apostates, and will go overboard. There is not a child but what goes with us in these things.

When we reject brother Brigham Young, we reject the head; but we will not do it, for the body shall dwell together, and we are members of that body, and he shall be our Governor just as long as God Almighty will have him to be. Those who are in favour of it, raise your hands.

[The vote was unanimous.]

You may try it just as long as you like, and it will be just so every time, except those four or five, and they never will vote. Can I point them out? Yes, I can. I have had my eye on them ever since they came into the congregation.

Let us do our duty, be humble, prayerful, honest, virtuous, and punctual in all our engagements. Let us have no lying, no deception; but let us be honest, and let the labouring men that labour on the public works be honest, and let them be punctual to their work.

Why do I speak to the public hands? Because they are on the most important work there is in the world. And how would a man feel to go into that house (pointing to the endowment house), that had stolen the nails out of the carpenter’s shop or out of the machine shop, or the boards out of the lumber yard?

Let us be faithful, and the Lord will be on our side, and I doubt whether we shall be under the necessity of shedding much blood ourselves; but let us be ready, guns cocked; none of your half-cocked.

This is my exhortation to Israel; and may the Lord God bless the righteous, the humble, those that tell the truth, and those that are honest and punctual.

Can I bless any that are not humble and amenable to their superiors? Can I bless those that are always finding fault? I wish to God I could; but blessings would not stick to them; but if you will do as you are told, you shall be blessed in everything that you put your hands to, from this time forth and for ever. You shall have health and strength, and you shall multiply and increase in everything you undertake to do: and that is not all: you will have faith, that, when a man or woman that is sick sends for you to bless them, you will say, “Be thou made whole; and that will be the case from this time henceforth and for ever.

There is one man whom we saw up north when we went to eat watermelons, who had thought of having an artesian well bored. He said, “If I knew that we were going to stop here three years, I would have one very soon.” Says I to that gentleman—You put out peach trees, apple trees, apricots, and currants; and if we have to go into the mountains, we shall cut off the trees, and the roots will be there still; but we shall not go into the mountains.

We were told that we were going into the woods before we came here; and then, when we got here, there were no woods. But you need not be afraid; you go and graft and innoculate your trees, and build houses, that you may know how to build when you get to Jackson County.

All that we built in Kirtland, in Far West, in Missouri, in Nauvoo, and in Winter Quarters—for every one of those places, gentlemen, we are to have our pay. Who are to pay us? Those that took our property away from us, we will make servants of them: the day will come that we will have them for our vine-dressers, and we will set them to digging holes to put the rest of the damned scoundrels in who have rebelled against God and His servants. Amen.

Tradition, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 30, 1857.

I can truly say that I am happy for the privilege of meeting with the Saints.

When I am alone, and look by the vision of the Spirit upon this people, my heart says within me, God bless the people, God bless the people; and I bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus. I feel to bless the people continually, from day to day. Their interest is my interest; their welfare is my welfare; their hope is mine. We are of one faith; and to see the people drawing near unto the Lord and becoming more of one heart and of one mind is the most cheering thought and reflection that can pass upon my mind: there is nothing else that compares with, it. As for the riches of the world or the good things of the world—as for gold or silver, houses and lands, they are nothing in comparison to the purity of the faith of the people.

This people are increasing in their faith, they are increasing in their good works, and they are really becoming the Saints of the Most High. Any person possessing the Spirit of the holy Gospel, and who has been acquainted with this people during years that are past, can readily discover that they are merging to the period when they will become the disciples of the Lord Jesus. Perhaps we think that we are perfectly so now; but it is not the case—we are engaged in a preparatory work.

When the Gospel came to us, it found us in the depths of ignorance; it found us in darkness; it found us possessed of all the prejudices, feelings, and views that now exist in the world. There is no man—there is no woman, but what was more or less clothed upon with the traditions of their fathers. There cannot a person be found at the present day—one who has arrived at the years to think, to act, and to judge for himself, but what is more or less clothed and enveloped in the traditions of their fathers.

On the other hand, there is no person possessing the Spirit of revelation but what can very readily discern that the ways of the Lord are not like the ways of man, and that the children of men have gone out of the way. Take all nations—all people—by communities, by societies, by families, and by individuals—take the whole mass of the inhabitants of the earth, and they have each taken to their own way, as any person possessing the Spirit of revelation can discern to be the case in the whole world. At the same time, they imagine that they are right—that they have light—that they have intelligence—that they are possessed of true knowledge pertaining to God and the things of eternity.

Take the inhabitants of Japan—islands situated between here and China—and if you are acquainted with the people, with their feelings and true sentiments, you know that they actually believe that they are the only people that are enlightened, and that all the rest of mankind are heathen. Go to China, which is called by its inhabitants the celestial empire because of their supposed purity, and they actually believe that they are the only nation under heaven that has the true knowledge of eternity.

Turn to the Christian nations on the eastern and western continents—take enlightened Christendom as the whole—and they believe that they are the only people who have the knowledge of God. It is true that they far exceed all other nations in many of the arts and sciences, and they also believe that they are the only people who understand the true religion of heaven.

They are sending their missionaries to the east and to the west, to the north and to the south, and they are penetrating every nook and corner, to enlighten what they call the heathen nations. Is not that the case? That arises from the traditions of their fathers which are handed down to the children, and they are enveloped in them.

When we look at this people, could we expect them to become prepared to be the disciples of the Lord Jesus in one, in five, in ten, in twenty, or in thirty years? No. And it will be just as much as we can do to be worthy to be the brothers and sisters of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ when he makes his appearance. Let us strive with all our might, be as watchful as it is possible for us to be, apply ourselves by faith and diligence to the keeping of his commandments, and continue so doing until Jesus sets his feet upon this continent, and we will then find that we are only just prepared to receive him. This is the preparatory work, and it will prepare the people, if they will live for it.

How can we live our religion, except we do as we are told? I will reverse the question and enquire, How can this people do as they are told, except they live their religion? They cannot. Every family—every neighbourhood is taught to glorify God. They are instructed from day to day, they are taught the way of life and salvation, they are counselled continually to seek unto the Lord their God, to obtain the faith of the ancients, to obtain the light of the heavens, to walk in the light of His countenance day by day; but how can you do these things, except you do as you are told? You cannot. Neither can you live your religion, except you do as you are told; for the people are taught to live their religion—they are taught to cease from every evil thought and every evil action, to cease having a murmuring spirit, to cease having a doubtful feeling; and they are taught to cease being neglectful in regard to any known duty We are taught to double our diligence where we have been slack, to seek unto the Lord day by day, that we may have the light of his countenance upon us.

Brother Heber has been prophesying. You know that I call him my Prophet, and he prophesies for me. And now I prophesy that, if this people will live their religion, the God of heaven will fight their battles, bring them off victorious over all their enemies, and give to them the kingdom. That is my prophecy. I said amen to all that brother Heber prophesied, for it is true; and he may say amen to all that I prophesy, for it is also true.

I have no fears in regard to the kingdom of God upon the earth; but I have fears lest this people be not prepared to receive glory, immortality, and eternal lives, when those principles are presented to them. This is all the fear that I have—that we will not walk up to our privileges and be prepared for them.

I thank my Father in heaven—yes, my soul says, Glory, hallelujah, praise the name of Israel’s God, for the blessings I enjoy at the present time! One year ago this very day, and previous to that time, my soul was pained within me. No tongue could tell—it could not be portrayed before the people, the feelings that I had: I could not tell them; and I did not know but that, if I should come out in the presence of the people and try to speak my feelings, they would call me crazy. However, I tried to make the people understand my feelings, but no tongue could tell them; and I actually believe that I would have lived but a little time in this existence, had not God waked up the people. I wanted to take up my valise and go throughout the Territory crying, Is there a man in this Territory for God?

If you want to know how I felt, I cannot tell you better than by describing my feelings in the way that I am now doing. One day, I told a number of the brethren how I felt, as well as I could; and brother Jedediah M. Grant partook of the Spirit that was in me and walked out like a man, like a giant, and like an angel, and he scattered the fire of the Almighty among the people. But what was the result so far as he was concerned? He went beyond his strength, and it cost him his life.

There is now scarcely a man but wants to do as God would have him do among those who claim to be Latter-day Saints, except those four or five that brother Heber speaks of; hence we hold a very large majority of that class of men and women who desire to do precisely as God would have them, and my heart says, God bless the people. God bless you, brethren and sisters. I bless you all the time. You are near my heart, and it is all my business to look after the welfare of the Saints. Remember that it will be just as much as you and I can do to prepare to meet the Saviour when he comes, no matter whether we previously go into the grave or not.

There has been a great deal said in the lower world about this little handful of people; for you terrify the whole world! Not alone in the United States, but in England, in France, in Italy, in Germany, and in every State upon the eastern continent, the people are looking to see the result of the present movements of our Government towards this people. They are looking at the Gospel we preach, the course that we take, the influence we are gaining, and the numbers we are gathering to us; and they look at the subject not only in a religious point of view, but also in a national capacity.

Brother Heber said to you, if the time has come, designed by the Lord Almighty, for the thread to be cut between this people and the residue of the world, then the Lord will suffer our enemies to clip the thread; and I am with him in that sentiment. But if the time is not come, the Lord will not suffer them to come. If He designs that traffic should continue between us and them, that we shall have the privilege of bringing our immigration, of preaching the Gospel and saving the people, let me tell you that they will not come; God will stop them.

As for myself, I would just as soon this was the time as any other. If it is the time for the thread, in a national capacity, to be severed, let it be severed. Amen to it. But I will tell you what I have concluded: when we talk of gold, of silver, of riches, of the comforts of this world, with me it is the kingdom of God, or nothing; with us it must be the kingdom of God, or nothing. I shall not go in for anything half-way. We must have the kingdom of God, or nothing. We are not to be overthrown.

Cannot this kingdom be overthrown? No. They might as well try to obliterate the sun. And I should suppose that an experience of twenty-six years would have proven to the wicked that it could not be overthrown; but it only wakes them up to anger and stirs them up to be more diligent in their opposition to the righteous. They have been trying to break up this people and destroy their organization, ever since we became a church; and every time they try, their oppression forces us into greater note; they increase our numbers and strengthen us in faith and in the knowledge and power of God. And how long must they live before they can learn that such has been and invariably will be the result? They will learn it when they get into hell, and never before—never till they get into the spirit world; and then they will see that they have all the time been fighting against God; and never till then will they learn it. You cannot teach them anything.

Here are men who have been with us for six or seven years, and if they had any good, common philosophical power, they would know that ours is something different from any other authority and organization in the world. The union and peace that are here are in no other place on the face of the earth. Here are power and influence that are nowhere else on earth. Among this people there is an intelligence that is nowhere else to be found. Can darkness discover light? No; and even when it reflects itself, they turn it away as a trifling affair, and that light which was in them becomes darkness; and then greater is their darkness in the second instance than in the first.

Some of this people apostatize. But do you think that any would apostatize from the kingdom of God, if they knew that it was the kingdom of God? No. Why do they apostatize? Because, through disobedience, that little light they were in possession of is taken away, and they are left to believe a lie that they may be damned. That is the reason why they go away.

I say to this people, Do as you are told; and if you live by every righteous principle that you can learn and forsake every evil principle and act through your whole lives as becometh Saints of the Most High, all will be well. Can men live so that they can have the serene, blessed, calm, soft, soothing Spirit of the Lord always to abide with them? Yes, they can. And if they are tempted, they can resist temptation. Can women? They can. If they have temptation, they can resist it, and it will flee from them, and they will gain a victory.

So live, day by day, that your lives will be like an even spun thread. Let there be no lying, no backbiting, no evil; but let the whole life of every man and woman tend to good. Then, when they have their failings, they will forgive each other, and will find the words of the Saviour to be true, that his Spirit will be in them as a well of living water springing up into everlasting life. Will they become prophets? Yes, and prophetesses. Let them honour their religion until they pass the ordeal, and they will reach the time when the Lord will never suffer them to fall. There will be a time when the fountain of life is within them; then they are prophets and prophetesses, and tell the truth all the time. They walk no more in darkness, but in the light; and that is the privilege of every man and woman.

Thank heaven that bickerings and contentions are lessening every year among this people. Suppose that we all most strictly lived our religion, would there be a hard word in this community? There would not. Do you understand that? Never accuse a man or a woman of evil, until you find out the cause. Never judge by the outward appearance, but judge righteous judgment. And if persons who are striving to do good should happen to commit an overt act, and are ready to restore to the uttermost, then that would be the occasion of a feeling of kindness and affection towards them. There is no reason for the people to do wrong, but there is everything to encourage them to do right.

The brethren have had a good deal said to them this morning, but I feel to bless the people; and I wish you to live nearer and nearer to the Lord. Seek unto the Lord our God continually; seek to possess more of his Spirit; throw off the power of erroneous traditions and of the evil influences that were around us in our youthful days and before we came to a knowledge of the truth. Learn the things of God, and you will find that they are very different from the things of the world; you will find all the plans and schemes of the world to be so different that you would hardly suppose that they ever knew anything about the plan of salvation.

Also remember to lay up your grain. Brother Heber has been preaching to you about that; therefore remember to lay up sufficient for your families. Sow your grain early this fall. Many wish to know whether I think we shall reap. I do not care whether we do or not. I intend to sow early this fall, so that it will ripen next season. How bad we should feel, if we did not sow, and all should be peace and safety next season, to know that we could have harvested if we had sown. I reckon that I should feel bad, if I were placed in such a condition; but I will prepare for the people to live so long as they dwell upon the earth.

What more will I prepare for? I will prepare for a fight, I will prepare for peace, and I will also prepare for everything that comes along; then I am ready for anything. Build? Yes, build, and make your homes as comfortable as you can.

If I knew that I was going to burn all my buildings next season, it would not hinder me for one hour from making improvements. The more I do, the more I shall be prepared to do. And I am determined to prepare to lay up the walls of Zion and to learn all I can, so that, if I should happen to be one of the men to engage in that work, I shall know how to commence and dictate the foundation of the walls of Zion and those of the Temple.

A great many think that we have been extravagant in laying so broad and deep a foundation for this Temple; but I would rather have that foundation, though it should lay as it is till the Millennium, than to have the most splendid superstructure built upon a sandy foundation. What do you say, you men and women of judgment? [Voices, “You are correct.”] Is there not more honour in that foundation; though it lay there till we go back to Jackson County, than there would be in such a building as I have named?

About two weeks ago, Elder Hyde began to say, “There is no knowing where;” and I took the words from his mouth and continued, “The Latter-day Saints will land in Jackson County, Missouri.”

The Lord has suffered the wicked to drive us about, that we might accomplish his designs the sooner. Some of you sisters are afraid of cousin Lemuel; and some say that our enemies are bringing presents to bribe cousin Lemuel. Let them bring and let them bribe, and then, if the time has come, when they have got through bribing, cousin Lemuel will turn round and take the rest.

God is at the helm. This is the mighty ship Zion. You stick to the ship, and honour it, and see that you are in favour with the ship Zion, and you need not worry about anything else. God has the hearts of the children of men in his hands; he puts hooks in their jaws and turns them about at His pleasure. God is here; the Holy Ghost is here and rests upon this people, and I am a witness to it. I know that the Holy Ghost dwells in the hearts of this people; and the world are afraid of the union that exists upon this people. They were afraid of that in the days of Joseph, and it has been their fear all the time. You might take a Democrat, a Republican, a ranting Methodist, and old, stiff-necked, ranting Presbyterian; and when they came to consider Joseph Smith and the Saints, they saw that they were one in faith, and it scared them all. They would say, “We are Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians, but we are of different politics; in our churches may be found all kinds of politics, but you, Joseph Smith, alter men’s politics; you change them and make them all one.

Brethren and sisters, do not be angry with them, for they are in the hands of God. Instead of feeling a spirit to punish them, or anything like wrath, you live your religion; and you will see the day when you will pray God to turn away from your eyes the sight of their afflictions.

There are thousands and millions in the United States, and in the world, whose hearts are like an aspen leaf because of this little handful of people in Utah. Pity them; for they know not whom they are fighting against; they know not their destiny.

This army that is reported to be coming to this place know no more about you and me than you know about the interior of China: they go because they are sent. If they knew our real character, the soldiers themselves would turn round and tell their officers to go to hell; they would take a stampede, and if their officers urged them to come and fight this people, they would turn round upon them or tell them to do it themselves.

Now, do not feel angry. Are not they to be pitied? Yes. Are you to be pitied? Yes, if you forsake God, or your religion. The Saints need to be pitied for nothing but for forsaking their religion. Be careful that you do not get darkness into your minds.

May God bless you. Amen.

Faith in the Priesthood, etc.

Heber C. Kimball

A discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday morning, August 23, 1857.

I feel very much pleased at the arrival of our brethren that take missions. I know how to sympathise with them. There are a great many young Elders that are taking missions now. Twenty years ago, I was labouring in England; I baptized brother G. D. Watt, twenty years ago last month, (July,) in 1837. That was the first foreign mission that was taken by the Elders of this Church.

At that time it was almost impossible to realize what we now see and understand. I went over to England at the time the Church was broken up in Kirtland. There were very few persons then who could stand by “Mormonism” faithfully and uphold our Prophet Joseph Smith: where one would stand valiantly and uphold him, there were twenty who did not.

That day was a day wherein the Saints were tested; their integrity was proved; they were put to the test whether they would stand by “Mormonism” and by the Prophet, or not.

Many people now pretend that they stand by what they call ancient “Mormonism,” or “Mormonism” in their own way, but in brother Brigham they do not believe particularly.

No man can believe in “Mormonism,” except he believes in the man that leads the Church of God—in the man that holds the keys of life and salvation pertaining to this people.

How is it possible for a limb to be attached to a tree, and at the same time manifest its disapprobation of the tree? That limb will die and wither away, except it manifests its approbation, faith, and favour to the tree to which it is connected.

So it is impossible that a man or a woman who disbelieves that brother Brigham is a Prophet—that he is God’s representative and holds the keys of his kingdom pertaining to this people, can retain the Holy Ghost and partake of the life and sap of the true vine. Such persons have no faith of the genuine bearing kind, and consequently there are no works to correspond.

Will good works produce faith? Yes; there is very little faith without works; and then again, there never was but very little works without faith.

How can my body exist when my spirit leaves it? It cannot. Can my spirit exist without this tabernacle? It can; but the body cannot exist without the spirit, because the spirit that dwells in my body is the life of my body, and there is no life without it.

Some say the earth exists without spirit; I do not believe any such thing; it has a spirit as much as any body has a spirit. How can anything live, except it has a living spirit? How can the earth produce vegetation, fruits, trees, and every kind of production, if there is no life in it? It could not, any more than a woman could produce children when she is dead: she must be alive to produce life, to manifest it, and show it to the world. It is so with “Mormonism.” We must manifest our faith by our works.

I speak these things because they come to my mind. When I arise to speak, I have never a premeditated subject; I let God, by the Holy Ghost, dictate me and control me, just as a musician would his violin. It is the player on the instrument that plays the tune; the instrument does not dictate the player. So I should be in the hands of God, to be dictated by him; for we are told that the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, will teach us all things past, present, and to come.

The Holy Ghost knows the minds of this people, and what is necessary to deal out to every man and every woman in due season—their portion. If I am not dictated by the Holy Ghost, I cannot communicate to you that which is necessary.

Supposing you are all pure, except a very few—say there are twenty or thirty men in the assembly that are impure, and then there are a dozen or fifty women that do not keep the commandments of God—when I am speaking to the disobedient, the Spirit in me alludes to those persons only.

Why do men or women condemn me when the Word of God is sharp, and say I am harsh and hard? It is because they are not right; and that is the way I prove them. You never would complain of the sharpness of the word of God, if you were not under transgression.

You say I allude to you: so I do; or, it is the Spirit of God alludes to you through me. You are the persons who are under censure—you are the birds that flutter, because it hits you. Why should a person find fault who is not under condemnation? That proves they are.

How shall we manifest our faith by our works? I will speak of that a little further; and I cannot speak the truth as it is in Christ Jesus, without I censure many of you. I will ask those who have been here for four, seven, and eight years past, and from the day that we came into these valleys, if they have proved by their works their faith in the words of the Prophet Brigham?

Here are brother Amasa Lyman, brother Woodruff, and other brethren, who recollect Brigham testifying most strenuously in the Bowery—then occupied by the pioneers, when we first entered the Valley—of the propriety of this people laying up grain and other stores for seven years—because, said he, “The time has come when the words of the Prophets should be fulfilled, that the earth should rest every seventh year.”

He said it was our duty to lay up grain for seven years, because he foresaw what would be; he foresaw what we came here for—viz., to be the saviours of men. I have spoken also of these things constantly. How oft have you heard these things proclaimed for four years past? And, after all we have said, who is there that has laid up grain to last them one year, much less two, previous to, the late scarcity we have passed through?

Those that did lay up a little had to feed that out, or be called scoundrels constantly. Some of the people considered a man a scoundrel that would not hand out the last kernel he had, or the last load of wood he had at his door.

Brother Brigham, myself, and Jedediah have blazed away on this matter for the last four years; and how many have manifested their faith by their works? Have one of you got wheat laid up to last you seven years? No; not one of you have got enough laid up to last three years.

Uncle Sam—I won’t call him uncle—he is a likely man, but his children have degenerated most awfully; and one of his sons who sits in the chair of state, Mr. Buchanan, is most awfully adulterated and sunk in degradation, that he would permit an army of 2,500 or 3,000 men to come here to enforce officers upon us contrary to the Constitution, and to enforce a Governor upon us, when we have got one of our own choosing.

The Prophet said that our Governor should rise up among ourselves. That you will find in the 30th chapter of Jeremiah:—“And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their Governor shall proceed from the midst of them, and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me, for who who this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the Lord.”

Now that day has come, as true as you live; our nobles will proceed from ourselves, and our Governor, and our judges, and all of our officials shall come out of ourselves, from this day forth. [Voices: “Amen.”]

Now mark it, gentlemen and ladies; the day has come for this people to take care of themselves. The President of the United States has taken a course—that is, the Lord has let him do it, knowing that no man can do anything against the truth, but for it; He has organized His work in that way. The Lord has permitted him to pursue a course that has brought you to your senses, to know whether or not it is necessary that you should lay up wheat, because you did not believe what brother Brigham said; and if you had believed what he said, you would believe what brothers Heber, Jedediah, and Daniel said, and the Twelve.

You have never believed me, nor brother Brigham, nor one of the Prophets, ancient or modern. You say you did believe it, but you did not think it was so near to us. You should always be the judges, should you not?

Have I any fears about them coming here? No. If the day has come for there to be a collision between us and the United States and the world, they will come, you may depend upon it, because God will stir them up; but if the time has not come, they do not come here; so you may set your hearts at rest.

You now see there is a time coming for every man to go to with his might, and lay up his wheat and his oats, his barley, his peas, and his beans, and dry your fruit, and lay it up; and then, when you have done it this year, do it next year, and then prize it as the most precious thing upon the earth.

The Bible says a man will give all he has got for his life. If you had a million of dollars in gold or in silver you would give the whole of it for food to save your life. Well, then, why do you not take a course to lay up that very thing that will save your lives and the lives of others, as Joseph did the lives of the people of Egypt and his father’s house?

Joseph warned the people of a famine that was coming on the land, and laid up corn; so Brigham and Heber have taught you that we are going to see a day similar to that, but more terrible—more awful.

How strange it is, brethren, that you are so dilatory in those things that pertain to your salvation and the salvation of millions besides us? Am I taking that course? I am. And before I built my store-house, I saw these things, and I went to work and set an example that was worthy of imitation, although it was small; and the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Society gave me a diploma, but did not give me any money, although I had done the best, in their thoughts, of the kind. And I am going to continue.

I have got somewhere between eleven and twelve hundred bushels of old wheat now in my store-house, and it will stay there until Brigham says, “I want it.” And I have room for another twelve hundred—yes, for twelve times twelve; and when that is filled, I will fill another one, and so I will keep it going. The Lord will put means in my hands that I will continue to do so, and he will bless every man and woman that will take that course and continue it; they will increase in their stores, while those who take the opposite course will decrease and they will wither away.

Do you not see that the man who will store up knowledge, virtue, wisdom, and understanding, will increase in those principles? It will be just so with the fruits of the earth.

I shall continue to teach you these things and arouse your minds.

I have referred to you ladies. I told you, a week or two ago, to take some of your fine clothes and buy wheat. Let me bring up a circumstance of a certain woman that came to me and wanted an every-day dress. She said she had seven dresses too good for every day. I said,” Why do you not make an every-day dress of some of them; for one of them will out-wear three dresses made of twenty-five cent calico?”

I would advise you to take everything that is unnecessary, and buy wheat and barley, and such things as you need with it, and lay up your stores for the time that is to come, that you can feed your own kindred and friends, who will actually come to you. Lots of my kindred will come to me, and brother Brigham’s will come to him, as Joseph’s father, and mother, and brethren came to him in Egypt. As that is true, this is, as the Lord liveth.

The Lord says that saviours shall come upon Mount Zion in the latter days. Mount Zion is here in the tops of the mountains; and has not our Governor come out of us? He has come out of this Church—out of a branch of the house of Israel; yes, our Governor and our Lieutenant-Governor, and our Judges and Marshals, &c.

Now, sisters, I am going to bring before you a circumstance of one man: he is our barber down here—brother Squires. Although he is shaving to good advantage, if he had subjects enough, he could make ten dollars a day—that is, if he could get enough for it. He went down here close to a piece of land I am keeping, and he worked four or five days; he took his wife and two children with him, and he averaged two-and-a-half bushels every day at gleaning the heads of wheat that were scattered.

Now, supposing those that have got no wheat would take the same course. Is the wheat there? I presume there could be fifty bushels gleaned from ten acres with all the ease in the world. Go to brother Brigham’s ten acres, and fifty bushels could be gleaned there; a man would make his bushel a day. I am telling you how to get your wheat.

Would it not be better for you to leave your mechanic shops, every one of you, and spend a week in the wheat-field, and see what you could do? Will we discharge you? Yes; go in peace, and God Almighty bless you, and make you glean double all the time. Do we want that wheat saved? We do.

Hundreds of this people have not raised a kernel, and brother Squires can go with his wife and two children and glean two-and-a-half bushels a day. It is a pretty good example, ladies. How much better are you than they—that is, if they do right and keep the commandments of God? I want to know why one person is better than another, without they surpass another by their good works?

Says one, “I used to belong to the aristocracy in the States, and I belonged to that class in the old country.” But, gentlemen and ladies, I belong to the aristocracy, and that is all the difference there is between you and me.

Supposing you have been brought up in “high life,” what made you well off? Because, in the providence of God, you had a rich father or a rich uncle, and they made you comfortable; but I had the misfortune to be a poor boy, and had to go from house to house to beg my bread.

I want to know if I am any the worse for that? Joseph of old was a shepherd, and was considered one of the most inferior boys in his father’s house; but God made him a king and a Prophet, and a saviour of his father’s house and millions of the human family; and so He will you, and so He will me, so sure as I am faithful, honour my calling, and be obedient to my superiors, and honour the Priesthood, and God will honour me; but He will not honour me except I honour myself.

If I had time, I would go into the wheat-field myself, and esteem it a privilege, in preference of doing what I have to do here.

Need you take the straw and stubble and bring it to your homes? No. Be like the honey bee; she carries away the honey and leaves the rest; she goes and gathers the bee bread, and leaves the flowers behind her, and of this she makes pots or bins to store away the honey: that is all the bee bread is for. We use it for many purposes. Brother Squires, instead of taking the straw, broke off the heads of wheat, and put them in a bag; he took the wheat and left the straw.

Are these things interesting to you? There is not one of you has got an article of clothing on your back, but what has been obtained through the industry of men and women.

We talk about smart women: we have the smartest women on the earth, and the smartest men and smartest boys; and we have also got some of the meanest men and women there is on God Almighty’s footstool; they are the taglocks, and will be sheared off.

The farmer never takes a sheep into the water to wash him until the taglocks are first cut off, because they have taglocks so quickly again, they besmear the wool. They did that where I lived; still there were a great many things done where I lived that was not done where you lived.

I merely speak of brother Squires to show you what advantages there are to be gained by gleaning. Then I will go to the field where men and women have been and gathered up a few scattering straws, and make a better sweep of it than they, and then another will follow me up, and gather a good pile. What is the cause of this? They cannot see much—only now and then a few stalks.

I will be bound to say, in this county of Salt Lake, that if people will go to work, they may gather four thousand bushels of wheat from the gleaning; and I am not straining it one particle; and it is the best of the wheat that falls to the ground.

Just so with the Saints: the best Saints lay at the feet of Jesus, serving him and doing the will of God. These things are not only for you who are present to-day, but they will go to every city and place throughout the mountains, to arouse the people, and they will think more of them than you do that are continually under the droppings of the sanctuary.

The world and many of the Saints abroad and at home are asleep, and that day will overtake them as a thief in the night, and it will come upon them like a whirlwind; and so it will you, if you do not wake up and listen to our words.

How many times I have heard it—“We believe what brother Brigham says, and we believe this, and we believe that; but here is brother Heber—he is a kind of wild, kind of enthusiastic; he is full of visions and wild notions.” Tell me one notion I have had that is not correct. Say you, “Some things you have prophesied have come to pass, but we do not know whether the rest will or not.”

I do not profess to be a Prophet. I never called myself so; but I actually believe I am, because people are all the time telling me that I am. I do not boast of that. I say that every man and woman who will live their religion, be humble, and be dictated by the Holy Ghost, the spirit of prophecy will be upon them.

Some of you, ladies, that go abroad from house to house, blessing the sick, having your little circles of women come together, why are you troubling yourselves to bless and lay your hands on women, and prophesy on them, if you do not believe the principle? You make yourselves fools to say that that same power should not be on the man that has got the Priesthood, and with sisters that have not got any, only what they hold in connection with their husbands.

We can tell what will come to pass; and one of you can talk in tongues and pour out your souls to God, and then one interpret; that is the course you take, and it is all right: go ahead, and God bless you and multiply blessings on you; but do not go round tattling about your husbands and talking against the Priesthood you are connected to. I do not say many of you do it; but you that do it are poor, miserable skunks.

Brethren and sisters, let us go to work now, every man and woman, where you have it in your power, and lay up our grain—lay up our oats barley, and everything else that will keep, and go to work and raise flax and make clothing.

Now, you said you did not believe a word I said here a few Sundays ago, that if we would go to work and raise flax, and cultivate it, and pray for it, and keep the commandments of God it should have a coat on it fourfold more. I said that, ladies and gentlemen. You go to, and do as I told you, and see if it does not come to pass.

Did not the Lord rain down the honey-dew upon the trees and upon the vegetation in Utah? Yes. I can go down on Cottonwood here, and show it to you, lots of it. If he can do that here, what will he not do, if we keep the commandments of God? And, gentlemen and ladies, if you will do just as you are told, without any deviation, you need never trouble yourselves about mobs—never, no, never.

The Lord said to Joseph, If you will do my will, and listen to my counsel and the counsel of my servants, it is my business in the last days to fight your battles and provide for my Saints.

I have no more fears, nor never shall have, if you will do just as you are told, every one of you, and stop your contentions, your lying, your deceptions, and your dishonesty; and let every man do right—let him do justice, and we will never be troubled with troops, and we will have one, two, three just as good years of peace as we ever had since we were born, beginning now; and I know it. Gentlemen, it depends on your doing right.

Could the Lord stir you up, through the testimony of brother Brigham or his brethren, to believe it was necessary to lay up your stores, until the Devil kicked up a fuss to show you that death and destruction would come on this people? That is true. Do not tell me that you listen to his counsel, when you do not practise his words.

And, ladies, do not tell me that you take his counsel, when I do not see you here with bonnets manufactured out of the elements of this valley: It is a lie before God when you say you listen to his counsel, and come here before him and sit under his eyes in open disobedience to it.

Where did you get your bonnets? Were they made here? No; they were made in the States; they came by succouring those poor curses who would send us all to destruction, by nourishing these Gentile merchants here. The best of them would sell this whole people for ten dollars, and permit my life and Brigham’s life to be taken in a minute. I know this.

What do they care for us? There is not one of them that is in any degree friendly towards us, and feels to believe and sustain “Mormonism.” There is not one of them but what would be perfectly willing that the troops should come here and massacre this whole people, for the sake of a few dollars.

Have we any confidence in them? Yes, as far as deal is concerned; but when it comes to “Mormonism,” I have not a particle. I never saw that man that had not an inclination in his heart to embrace “Mormonism” that I ever had one particle of confidence in.

Many of you have sustained Judge Douglas as being a true friend to this people; and he is just as big a damned rascal as ever walked, and always has been. He has taken a course to get into the chair of State, and that is what he is after: he will try to accomplish that, if he goes to hell the next day; but he will not go into the chair of State; he will go to hell.

Now, do not be scared; I am going to talk what I feel, and I ask no odds of anybody, except my leader: I will be subject to him. I will be amenable to any branch belonging to the true vine of Jesus Christ, and I will nourish it, and cherish it; but those poor curses, I have not one particle of confidence in them.

I never knew an instance in the days of Joseph, when he confided in those poor devils, but what they turned traitor to him, and were the very men that took his life, aided by the apostates that left this Church; and I know it, and so do you.

How many times have I been through the mill? Lots of times; and I expect to go through it again, and then through the bolt, and the screen, &c.

Joseph never trusted in one of them but what they betrayed him; and I wish to God I had taken some of their lives when I had a chance: they were blacklegs, whoremongers, murderers, liars, sorcerers, and rascals; and you may take many of the leading men of the United States Government, and they are not one whit better.

These merchants here have collected their millions of dollars from us. Are they your friends, ladies? There are not many of them, if they dared do it, but what would seduce you in a minute, if you would yield to them.

In Kirtland, when we were broken up, which was a serious time, and in Far West, in Missouri, and Illinois, the priests of the day, the bigger portion of them, and those they call the best men, were combined against us.

But let me tell you that the best men in the United States are not among the rulers; they do not scramble and gamble for office. They have got the meanest curses for politicians, and the poorest curses for priests.

What did they say in Missouri, in Kirtland, in Illinois—the Methodist priest, the Baptist priest, the lawyer, the judge, and the governor, with all their religion? They positively considered it no crime to seduce a “Mormon” sister, nor do they now; and that is what they are after.

Sisters, let us take a course that you may not be brought into these straits—that you may not have to take your children, and your budgets under your arms, and flee to the mountains. But if you do not listen to counsel, and begin to-day, you will have to do that; but if you obey counsel, you never will have to go into these mountains—no, never, while the earth stands.

We will stand on our own dunghill and crow, and the hens will crow, and the chickens will crow, and they will all crow long and loud, and you will not be able to tell the difference between a hen and a rooster, nor between a rooster and a hen, for they will all crow the same tune. We will stand on our own dunghill and crow, and say what we please from this day, and they never will prevail against us—no, never; and I will prophecy it in the name of Israel’s God. [Voices: “Amen.”]

Do as you are told, and Brigham Young never will leave the Governorship of this Territory from this time henceforth and for ever—no, never; and there shall no wicked judge with his whore ever sit in our courts again; for all who are against Israel are an abomination to me and to our God.

When you look upon it, you shall know that Heber told the truth, as wild as he is; but there is no wildness in this boy.

Will we go into these mountains? Will these troops come here? No, no, no, not yet. We do not want them to come till we are brought to the test and have not anything to help ourselves with: then we want them to come and bring the honey and the good things; then we will show them how it is done. We do not want armies of men to go out of here; we have got boys here, ten thousand of them, enough to take everything they have got.

The Lord said there should be no time in the last days; the time is only measured to the ungodly, but to the Saints there shall be no more time; it is all time. Go ahead, and we do not care if you let your beard grow sixteen feet long.

You need not ever trouble yourselves, gentlemen and ladies, about the army coming here to this land, whether you have your endowments or not: those that have not got their endowments are just as safe as those who have, and they will live just as long. Do not trouble yourselves at all; let these things sleep and you be awake, and watch, and pray, and be humble, and serve your God, and go and glean wheat.

Bless your soul!—if the daughters of Israel go and glean wheat, they may be like the woman anciently, increase all around: she had been a barren woman formerly, but gleaning wheat put her in the notion of getting—I can’t say it.

The Spirit that is on me this morning is the Spirit of the Lord; it is the Holy Ghost, although some of you may not think that the Holy Ghost is ever cheerful. Well, let me tell you, the Holy Ghost is a man; he is one of the sons of our Father and our God; and he is that man that stood next to Jesus Christ, just as I stand by brother Brigham. If brother Brigham goes ahead, and I stand by him, and Daniel stands by me, and the Twelve by us, we never shall be separated—never, no, never.

Men that are engaged in this work and kingdom, if they are one, they will be tied together, that they never will be separated, no more than two drops of water.

There is a great curiosity here. Some say they are of Judah, some say they are of Jacob, some of John, and some of Peter. When we are restored back to our Father, we shall find that every one of us is in the tree of life: and what is the difference, as long as we are all in one tree.

You say there are twelve limbs in the tree of life, and we have all got to be connected to those twelve limbs or branches. Go and read the Bible, and see what is said about the tree of life, and those that partake of the fruit of it. It is all on natural principles. We are all one family: God the Father is the tree of life; he is the root of it, and we spring out of it, or else we spring into it by grafting, by inoculating, and by doing the things of the kingdom of heaven.

Now, there have several left since we proclaimed last Sunday: they have put right out; some went that very day. Am I not glad? If they had been here, and waited till to-day, and heard what I have said, they would not have gone. We wanted them to go; so they could not hear what has been said to-day. They think troops are coming here, and that we are going to fight. What the devil can we right, when there is nothing to fight?

I want you to go and get your butcher-knives, your bowie-knives, and jack-knives, and sharpen them. There is nothing to fight, and there will not be this year; we shall have a year of peace. They may try to come here, and then they will not come here. If they do not undertake to come here, then there will not be any trouble; but they never will force a Governor on us again—no, never—nor their poor, rotten-hearted judges and marshals, &c., if you will do right.

If these words fail, it is on your backs. I am pretty careful there, and not careful either. I am going to let it out, and let God speak and tell. you words of consolation, if you will receive them.

Let me tell you, gentlemen and ladies, Brigham’s words, and Heber’s words, and Jedediah’s words, and Daniel’s words have been to many of you like the sound of a bell: it is a pretty sound in your ears, but as soon as the sound is gone, it has lost its charms.

You have come here and heard the sound, and you know no more about the sound when you have gone away, than though you had never heard it, as good as the people are.

If you would have listened, there would have been this day millions and millions of bushels of wheat in store. Instead of that, we have not any, with a very few exceptions, except that which has come in this year.

We are more choice of it than we would be of gold or of silver. I would part with money quickly for it. I mean to part with every rag of clothes that I have to spare for wheat; and if you have got it, I will sell everything I have got, except a change. and you shall have it forthwith. I will set you an example.

Will the United States send troops here? Yes. And when they have done, the other inhabitants of the earth will send them. But, remember: the Prophets have said that the riches of the Gentile world shall be consecrated to God and to his people. I think we will have a little of it along occasionally.

Do not be sad; our God rules in the heavens and in the earth beneath, and he has almighty power.

Will you go to work now, and lay up your grain? There are a great many boxes making at the Public Works that will hold from fifteen to twenty bushels each; but the boxes cost more than the wheat. That I do not like; still we are willing to make them for you. Some of our Bishops have been to me, and wanted to know if the design is to cache the wheat now. No, sir, not till we get it; I am not going to cache anything I have not got.

Go and build your store-houses, and get your wheat together, and when the time to cache the wheat comes, we will cache it.

Bless your souls, Uncle Sam is not coming here yet awhile; we shall not let them. And when they do come, we shall take their cabbage, stock, and all.

I have told you the truth, every word I have spoken. You think our Father and our God is not a lively, sociable, and cheerful man. He is one of the most lively men that ever lived; and when we have that sociability and cheerfulness, it is the Spirit of the Lord.

God delights in a glad heart and cheerful countenance. Some people carry faces as long as my leg, and that is about three feet long; and they are just the biggest hypocrites we have got in this city.

Confidence in them? Yes, I have confidence to believe they are the meanest hypocrites that ever walked. You may go to their houses, or wherever they are, and speak about Brigham, Heber, and Daniel, and they are ready to give them a dab and hoe them down. How do you suppose I feel about them? Such persons feel about me as they do about my brethren, all the time. I will not speak a blessing for them, for they are damned.

What!—speak against the man who holds the keys of life and salvation for you, and the Priesthood of God that has been handed down directly from him? You poor, miserable creatures—you are not fit to live. There are not many such characters; but they are those poor, miserable, sanctimonious ones you find around.

“Oh; Brigham, don’t! Don’t, Heber! don’t, for God’s sake! All the world will be on us!” Damn the world. Now, that is just as they feel. I wish there was a magazine in you, and we could touch you off. You are not fit to live in hell, nor anywhere else; and you ought to be touched off before you get anywhere.

Now, I do not mean any of you good folks.

Brethren, be honest; and when you are to work for the Public Works, work; and when you are to work for me, work; when you are to work for brother Hyde, work, and earn your wages, and not carry it all off when you go home at night, in your bags, as some do at the Public Works. You have quit it now yourselves; but some of you have set your children at it. Stop it! You have no business to touch a nail, nor a pin, nor a block two inches long, for they are not your property. What is it but stealing?

When people come to visit the works, you sit down and spend your time with an acquaintance. That time is not yours. If I was brother Mabin, I would not let a man go about those works without he had permission, and then not to hinder the men from their labours.

I have no fault to find with good men.

You men that come from England, were you idle there? You never were permitted to be idle in your own land. They have to go to work at such a time, and work until the time to stop, and go to dinner, and so on. This is the way the people work in the old country, except those who belong to the aristocracy. There are not many of them here.

I belong to the humble and meek, and they will inherit the earth. I am an heir to it with them. God help me to be faithful, good, kind, and benevolent; that is my prayer.

Let us remember that we will not be rewarded for that we do not do; but you will be rewarded for that you do, and nothing more.

There are a great many things I might talk about. God bless you, brethren and sisters. I bless the pure and good; and I bless that man and woman that will go to and do as they are told; and you shall be blessed, with your children after you, for ever; and those that do not do it shall go the other way. Amen.

The Rights of Mormonism

John Taylor

A discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 30, 1857.

I did not expect to be called upon to address you this afternoon; but I always feel ready to speak of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, whenever I am called upon.

Brother Kimball said he would like to hear me say something about the RIGHTS of “Mormonism.” The rights of “Mormonism” are so varied and extensive, that it would be very difficult to speak of them all in one discourse. We have the right to live. That is “Mormonism.” We have the right to eat and drink, and to pursue that course that we may think proper, so long as we do not interfere with other persons’ rights. We have a right to live free and unmolested; and there is no law, human or divine, that rightfully has a right, if you please, to interfere with us. We have a right to think, and we have a right, after we have thought, to express our thoughts, and to write them, and to publish them. We possess as many rights and as much liberty in relation to this as any other persons; and there is no law, human or divine, that can rightful[l]y rob us of those liberties or trample upon our rights. We have a right to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience; and no man, legally, in this land, has a right to interfere with us for so doing. We have a right to believe in and practise as we please in relation to matrimony. We have a right to choose whether we will have one wife or twenty; and there is no law of the land that can legally interfere with us neither is there a man that I have met with, that professed to be a man at all, that can say that we are acting illegally. We have a right to secure the favour of God, and we have rights as the citizens of the kingdom of God. We have rights upon earth, and we have rights in heaven; we have rights that affect us and our posterity and progenitors, worlds without end; and they are rights that no man can interfere with. We have a right to our own Governor, as brother Kimball says; we have a right to our own Judges; we have a right to make our own laws and to regulate our own affairs.

These are some of the rights that belong to us; but when you come to talk about rights, they are so various, complicated, and extensive, that it is difficult, without reflection, to enumerate them. They exist with us here and all around us, and they are rights that affect us, our progenitors, and posterity, worlds without end. But in regard to some of the things with which we are more intimately connected, we have our individual, our social, and political rights, so far as existing here as a people is concerned. I do not know but that you will think that I am for sticking to my text pretty well: however, I will try, as well as I can, to do justice to it.

If we look at the very foundation of government, we may enquire, How were governments formed? Who organized them? and whence did they obtain their power? It is a subject for deep thought and reflection, and one that very few have understood; nor is it very easy to define, definitely, the rights of man politically, socially, and nationally.

Now, I will suppose there was no government in the world, but that we were thrown right back into the primitive state, and that we had to form a government to regulate ourselves; what would be the position? Why, the strong man would intrude upon the weak, even as a strong animal intrudes upon a weaker, taking from it its rights; for that is a natural animal propensity that exists in all the creatures, as well as in man.

How was society organized? Upon natural principles. I am not now speaking about God and his government, but upon the rights of man. If there were a few bullies in the land, and we had to organize the government anew, the people would combine to protect themselves against them to protect themselves against those who had injured them, that would rob them of their labour, of their cattle, of their grain, or of anything they might have.

What would be the result of this course? It would be that a combination would exist that would organize to protect themselves, that the weak might be protected in his rights, that the feeble might not be trampled under foot. This would be the natural construction and organization of society.

Very well; when society became large and extensive, and could not convene in a general assembly to represent themselves, they would send their representatives, who would combine to represent their interests by delegation, or proxy.

Who would those individuals represent? They would represent the parties of that neighbourhood, of that state, of that country or district of country that sent them; would they not? And what would you think of those men that were sent, if they attempted to rule over those who sent them? Why, you would say, “Come back here, you rascals, and we will send others; we sent you to represent us, and now you are combining to put your feet upon our necks.

This has been the case ever since governments were organized; and hence have arisen governors, kings, and emperors. They have generally contrived to get the reins of power into their own hands; and, through the cunning of priestcraft and king-craft, they have generally managed to bring the people under their feet and to trample upon their rights. Such has been the case in the nations of Europe and Asia. It is, in fact, the history of the world.

By what right have any kings obtained their dominions? Has it been from God? No. Has it been from the people? No. How did they get in possession of their kingdoms? How was France organized? How England? How Germany? And how were other states and nations organized? They have been organized because men usurped power, brought into subjection other men, trampled under foot their rights, and made slaves of them, and made them carry out their laws, and do their pleasure without any peculiar interest in the things that were done. And those men, instead of governing the people according to the principles of righteousness and truth, have generally made yokes and put them on their necks, and trampled them in the dust—so much so, that in many of the countries of Europe you cannot travel but you must have a passport; and every little upstart has a right to examine it and to stop you, if he likes.

You have to ask a right to stop in cities, and they will prevent you when they please, and not only strangers, but their own citizens; and there are many European cities now, where, if a father was to receive his own son into his house, if he had been absent without the permission of the police, he would be subject to a heavy fine.

It is the governors of the people that bring them into subjection in this manner, until the people think that kings and priests have rights—and they have no rights—until they think that presidents, governors, and kings are the persons who possess certain inalienable rights, and that no one has a right to interfere with them.

Kings, presidents, and priests combined govern men, body and soul. The first fetter them in their bodies and liberties, and the latter in their minds and consciences; and the human family, instead of being free, are literally and almost universally in a state of vassalage.

At the time of the Reformation, men began to break off their political fetters and to claim their rights, both politically and religiously. Many people talk of that event as a church concern alone: it was as much a political matter as anything else. The causes that prompted them to take the steps they did were both religious and political, the benefits accruing only very limited and partial; still it was a resistance to tyranny and oppression. The kings that sustained the Reformers did so merely upon political grounds, and not that they cared for their religion.

What made people come from the old countries to this land? It was because they were oppressed in England, in Germany, and in other states, and they fled from that power which sought to bind chains upon their necks. And why were they determined to flee from that government into this country? Because the mother country tried to make them subject to institutions and laws that they were unwilling to submit to, and because she wanted to put yokes upon their necks. Then the mother country sent armed men over here, and sought to enforce their armed minions upon the people; but they would not submit to it; for it was on that very account that they had fled from their mother country.

Such were the feelings of your fathers, and these were the things they talked about, a few years ago; and on account of the encroachments of the parent government, they took up the sword, and declared that they would live or die free men.

What was that freedom for which they contended? Just what I said a few minutes ago; it was the right to think, the right to speak, the right to act, the right to legislate, and the right to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences, and the right to do their own business without being interfered with.

We have come here to this land as citizens of the United States; and why have we come? Because there were men who sought to rob of us our rights, and because there was not sufficient purity and justice in the Government to protect us in our rights—because magistrates, constables, judges, governors, presidents, and officers of state, either directly or indirectly drove us, or suffered us to be driven—suffered us to be dispossessed of that which legally belonged to us.

Who are we? We are men made in the image of God, possessing the rights of other men. We have turned this desert into a flourishing field, and the desert has blossomed as the rose, and God has blessed our labours. And whom have we interfered with? Have we gone over to the States and interfered with them? Have we gone over to California and interfered with them? Have we gone to Oregon? Have we gone to New Mexico? Have we gone to any State and interfered with their rights, their laws, their immunities, or their privileges? I say we have not.

Well, then, what right has anybody to interfere with us? Oh, because they have got the power! That is, there is no right to it; there is no legal authority to it; there is no more right to it than there is in a bully and a blackguard insulting a little, weak man, because he has the power to do so. They have just the same authority that a large ox has to goad a small one, because he has the power.

They dare not interfere with some nations as they are doing with us: they dare not interfere with England or France, for fear of the consequences; and it is nothing but a principle of nasty little meanness that would try to interfere with us, and try to make you believe that they are the lords of creation. Great God! who are they? Poor, pusillanimous curses, that have not manhood nor gentility enough about them to be gentlemen. They have just the same right that the highwayman has to put his hands into your pockets and take out your money.

Who led us here? Not the Christians of the United States, nor their governors, legislators, nor president. Who provided for us? Did the Government of the United States? Verily, no. Who built the houses in this city? Who made the improvements around it and through this Territory? Did the inhabitants of the United States? No. But they have done all that lay in their power to discourage us in every possible way. Who have fed you and clothed you? Your own right hands—your own energy and industry, by the blessing of the Almighty.

Then by what right, and by what authority, in the name of God, and in the name of every principle of right, honour, and integrity, have they a right to interfere with us?

“Oh,” say they, “the land belongs to us.” Ah! indeed; and I wonder where you got it from? “Oh, we got it by right of treaty with Mexico.” And whence did the Mexicans obtain it? Who treated with those Indians? Did they pay them for it? No: but they are good Christians, and the Indians are poor savages; and what right have savages to land?” Where are their deeds and their right of possession? Will anybody tell me? “Oh, we took it because we had the power, and the United States took it from Mexico, because they had power.”

It is just like a lot of boys playing together, and one of them steals the other’s marbles because he has the power; and then another steals them, and calls them his, because he is a little more powerful than the other: or, when one man meets another and robs him of what he has, then two more go and take from him what he has stolen from the first one.

The simple fact in the case is, they say, “You are left upon our land, and therefore you must be in subjection to us, and we must rule over you. But even on this principle they are at fault; for we, if there is any glory in the conquest, sent five hundred men, and possess equal rights with them as American citizens.

In speaking upon this subject once before, I showed you that, by the Constitution and the very genius of our Government, they had no right to interfere with us

Again, on the common principle of justice, where did they get their rights to interfere with us? They did not bring us here, nor cultivate our farms; they did not send us either schoolmasters or priests to teach us; and we are not indebted to them for anything else. I would like to know what right they had to interfere with us? They have not aright upon religious grounds; for they kicked us out because of our religion; and, consequently, they have nothing to do with that. It is not because we have learned any morals of them: for we got our morals from a superior source. We have not learned either our religion or morality from them. We have not had them to cultivate our farms nor to build our houses. They have not done anything for us.

In relation to the land, I will suppose they did steal it, which they did. They obtained it because they had the power, and Mexico obtained it upon the same principle: the United States made a quarrel with the latter nation, because they knew they could bring them into subjection, and they intended to capitulate for California before they began the quarrel, and they took it upon those grounds. But that is righteousness—that is purity, truth and holiness, in the eyes of a corrupt and mighty nation.

We have got a little place that nobody else would live upon; and I will warrant that if any other people had been here, half of them would have died, the last two years, of starvation. But they cannot let us alone. This is their greatness—this their magnanimity, and this is the compassion manifested by the fathers of our great country. Of course we must feel patriotic; we cannot but feel strongly attached to such a kind, such a benevolent, such a merciful Government as we have got! How can we feel otherwise? They would take from us the right to live, and then it would be in their hearts to sweep us from the face of the earth; but they cannot do it.

There is no right associated with this matter; there is no justice about it. There are old rights and privileges the people used to have, and we have our rights. In the first place, we have a God that lives, and He will help us to take care of them, to maintain and preserve them. Then look at this in whichever light you please, you cannot change it: we are citizens of the United States, and have a right to the soil, if they did steal it.

I am ashamed of being associated with such things, but we cannot help ourselves; we are a part of the people, and we had to partake of their evil deeds.

When we came here, we came as American citizens; and we had just as much right to be here as any other American citizens in the United States.

They have made a religious pretext to rob us of the right of preemption—that is because we have more wives than one. This is the course they have pursued towards us.

Have they a right to force upon us judges and send officers under a military escort? The very act says they are afraid of something. Have they a right to send those men to rule over us, without our having a voice in the matter? I say they have not, according to the laws which exist among men; they have not according to the principles of justice and truth; they have not according to the principles upon which this Government is established: but they want to rule over us contrary to the principles of the Government; and, as you have expressed it, you have a right to withstand it.

God be thanked, there are not as many sneaks here as there are in the old country: men here dare think and speak.

Well, these are our feelings and some of our rights; but I will speak to you of other rights; for we have greater rights, that I have not yet touched upon.

[Blessed the sacramental cup.]

I speak of those other things because they are inalienable rights that belong to men—to us as American citizens—to us as citizens of the world: but there are other rights, other grounds upon which we claim these rights.

The Lord God has spoken in these last days; he has revealed the fulness of the everlasting Gospel: he has restored that Gospel in all its fulness, blessings, richness, power, and glory; he has put us in possession of the principles of eternal life; and he has established his kingdom upon the earth, and we are the legitimate heirs and inheritors of this kingdom. He has established his Priesthood, revealed his authority, his government, and his laws; and the grand reason why there is union and power here, and nowhere else, is because it emanated from God.

When we talk over those other things, we are under a lesser law, that we can any of us keep and that we have kept. We are not rebelling against the United States, neither are we resisting the Constitution of the United States; but it is wicked and corrupt usurpers that are oppressing us and that would take our rights from us.

To speak of our rights as citizens of the kingdom of God, we then speak of another law, we then move in a more exalted sphere; and it is of these things we have a right to speak.

God has established his kingdom; he has rolled back that cloud that has overspread the moral horizon of the world; he has opened the heavens revealed the fulness of the Everlasting Gospel, organized his kingdom according to the pattern that exists in the heavens; and he has placed certain keys, powers, and oracles in our midst; and we are the people of God; we are his government. The Priesthood upon the earth is the legitimate government of God, whether in the heavens or on the earth.

Some people ask, “What is Priesthood?” I answer, “It is the legitimate rule of God, whether in the heavens or on the earth;” and it is the only legitimate power that has a right to rule upon the earth; and when the will of God is done on earth as it is in the heavens, no other power will bear rule.

Then, if we look at it in this point of view, we are standing in a peculiar position; we are standing here as the representatives of God, and the only true representatives he has upon the earth; for there is not another power or government upon the earth that acknowledges God for their ruler, or head, but this: there is not another.

Why did we come here? We came here because the people drove us, and because the Lord would have us come here; for it was necessary we should come into our secret places, and hide ourselves till the indignation of the Lord be overpast—until the Lord has shaken our enemies by the nape of the neck, as it were, until nations and empires are overthrown. We came to serve our God to a place where we could more fully keep his commandments—where we could fulfil his behests upon the earth. This is the reason why we came here.

Well, then, if we are the only people that God acknowledges as a nation, have not we a right to the privileges which we enjoy? Who owns the gold, the silver, and the cattle upon a thousand hills? God. Who, then, has a right to appoint rulers? None but him, or the man that he appoints.

Who has ruled the earth? Who has borne sway? Man, who, by the power of the sword, has got possession of thrones, powers, and dominions, and has waded through seas of blood.

You read history, and what is it? A history of the depopulation of the nations, brought on by the overthrow of empires, and through the tyranny and ambition of wicked men, who have waded through seas of blood in order to possess themselves of that power which they now enjoy.

If we go to the United States and enquire into their rights, we may ask, have they a right to drive back the Indians, from time to time, and dispossess them of their rights? So long as they purchased of them it was well enough; but when they forced them into a swap, just as the Indians did with some of the traders back here, and made them trade on their own terms, that is something which they have no right to do; and, to use the language of one of the Indian Chiefs, “They have not left room for us to spread our blanket.” Have they purchased this Territory of them? No—nor made any arrangements to do so; but they have taken possession of it.

What authority has the President of the United States, or the Representatives of the several States? They have no authority but what the people give them, according to the institutions of the United States.

What authority had England over this land before they came here and took possession? None.

By what right, then, do nations and governments rule generally? Do they rule by the grace of God? I will tell you. They rule by the power of the sword.

Read the history of England, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and other nations, and you will find they obtain their authority by their swords; and then, when they have obtained, they go to work and sanctify it; they appoint and anoint kings by the grace of God and through, the agency of their priests. That is the way they get their authority, and that is all the authority they have.

When the Pope was going to put the crown upon the head of Napoleon, he said, “Here, let me put that on; I won it myself.” But they generally want the priests to put it on.

You may go into any court in the world and say, “Thus saith the Lord,” and they will kick you out. Try it and see.

[Voices: “You have tried it.”]

No man can go and say, “Thus saith the Lord” amongst them; for they would put a strait jacket on him, if he was a respectable man; if he was not, they would kick him out. Such is the feeling of the people and the condition of the world, and yet they profess to worship God that rules on high.

Where does God rule on earth? Is he listened to in any nation? Is there any that will acknowledge him and his authority? I will tell you the nearest that I ever saw of it. It was Nicholas of Russia: he was an autocrat, you know. Some years ago, when they had the cholera very bad there, a feeling prevailed among the inhabitants that the wells had been poisoned: a mob arose, and they were going to kill many; but Nicholas went in amongst them and said, “My children, this is not so; this is the hand of God. Let us fall on our knees, and acknowledge our sins, and ask him to forgive us.”

That is the nearest to acknowledging God that I have heard of among the nations; but as to their authority, it is not there. Their emperors and rulers have been the most beastly in their conduct and oppressive in their acts of any other nations that rule under heaven.

Now, where can you find a nation that acknowledges God? They are very religious. Why, the Queen of England is said to be “Defender of the Faith.” Then it is not the faith of the Church of America—it is not the faith of the Church of France, nor of Germany, nor anywhere else, except the Church of England. Where did she get her right from? She is the descendant of a line of kings.

Henry the Eighth, some time since, wrote a book against the Protestants, and the Pope gave him the title of “Defender of the Faith,” which faith he afterwards sought to destroy, rebelled against the Pope, and started the Reformation, because the Pope would not allow him to divorce his wife. Hence the Protestant kings and queens of England have stolen the Roman Catholic title, to rule or defend the faith of the Protestants by kings and queens, whom they now anoint.

How do they anoint them? They anoint them by their Bishops, who declare them to be kings and queens by the grace of God. Go back, however, to their origin, and you will find that their kingdoms were first obtained by the sword; they stole their kingdoms and power, and then got priests to sanctify the theft.

Go back in England to the time of William the Conqueror, and you will find that he was a usurper; he was a Norman and a wholesale robber; and then, when he had subdued the Anglo-Saxons, the priests turned round and anointed him king by the grace of God. That is a fair example of the other European nations, and is all the authority that any of them had.

What is the Government of the United States? It does not profess any religion. There is no religion nor priesthood connected with it nationally, only they allow, or profess to allow, everybody to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences; but nationally they are a nation of infidels. They have no national creed, no national religious institutions; and hence the absurdity of interfering with us, when forsooth they have none themselves, and they do not want that we should have any.

Do they seek to acknowledge God in their acts? Or, is there any other nation that profess to acknowledge God? There are the Mahomedans, they had a Prophet, and professed to be governed by him. There is some talk about his being a false one: he might have been, or he might have been a true one, for aught I know; I leave them in the hands of God.

The Mahomedans have a certain faith or profession, which is spoken of in the Koran, or Alkoran. They, however, like the rest, obtained their nationality by the sword. We cannot find a nation upon the earth that has obtained its dominion or power to rule from God. If there is any people, except this people, I know them not.

The Lord has said, “If ye observe my law, ye have no need to break the law of the land.” We have not broken the law of the land, and we do not mean to, although he has revealed to us his will and given us certain privileges and immunities that he never gave to any other people. Still, we have not broken the law, and there is not another people who maintain the laws of the United States as faithfully as this people do.

Why, they are in storm and trouble every way in the United States, and here is the most perfect peace and the best morality that can be found in the world by a thousand-fold: yes, it is a thousand-fold better than I have seen in any part of the earth where I have been. There is not a place that can compare with it; and nothing but the very Devil himself could inspire the hearts of the children of men to make war against such a people as this.

What are we engaged in? We are engaged in building up the kingdom of God, and many of you have been ordained by the revelations of the Almighty to hold the power and authority of the Holy Priesthood. Besides this, you have been ordained kings and queens, and priests and priestesses to your Lord; you have been put in possession of principles that all the kings, potentates, and powers upon the earth are entirely ignorant of: they do not understand it; but you have received this from the hands of God.

The kingdom is put upon the shoulders of President Young and this people to carry it out, and by whom? By the Lord God—by him who holds dominion throughout the universe; by him who created all by the word of his power; by him who said, “Let there be light, and there was light;” by him who spake, and the worlds rolled into existence. By him you received rights that are not of this world—rights that flow from the great Eloheim.

What are we going to do, then? We are going to establish the kingdom of God upon the earth. This is our privilege—our right, if you please. But I consider it a high privilege—the greatest boon that can be bestowed upon mortals on the earth, to be the representatives of God. Let me say another thing. The people of the earth, their legislators, their princes, their kings, and their emperors, if they ever get salvation, have got to have it through us: if they obtain a celestial kingdom, they have got to go through the door that God has appointed, and there is no other way for it.

What are we doing here? We are here to stand up in defence of our individual rights—to stand up for our farms, our families, and our property, if it be necessary. Property! Why great conscience! it is just like the chaff and straw; and I was glad to see when the vote was taken, that if it was necessary to burn every house and all our property, every hand went right up for it. I was glad to see you appreciate these things.

Would we fight for these things? Just so far as I am concerned, they might take what I have got, and go to Gibraltar with it, or to Halifax; and I would say, You poor, miserable, corrupt creatures, take it.

But this is not all. The Lord has put us into a place where we cannot dodge, if we wish. We have asked for the blessing of his kingdom, and he has poured out blessings upon us, and there is no backing out. God has rolled his kingdom upon our shoulders; and now I ask, as a poet did some years ago,

“Shall we, for fear of feeble man,

The Spirit’s course in us restrain?”

Shall we, for fear of those miserable curses, barter away eternal lives? Shall we set at naught those principles that God has imparted to us? Shall we exchange the pearl of great price, the riches of eternity, for the dirt and filth that the Gentiles wallow in? I know we do not feel like it.

Brother Kimball says we have to stand up to what we say, and the Lord will bring us to it; and I will tell you what I heard Joseph say years ago. He said, if God had known any other way that he could have tried Abraham better than he did, he would have put it upon him. And he will try us to see whether we will be faithful to the great and high calling that he has put upon us.

What are we doing? God has seen proper to establish his kingdom upon the earth, and here is that kingdom—that stone which has been cut out of the mountain without hands, and it is rolling forth to fill the whole earth.

A great charge is committed to us as a people: it is for us to walk up to the rack, resist the powers of darkness, and bear off the kingdom of God, that the powers of darkness may be rolled back with all their forces.

We are placed in this position to see if we will let the kingdom of God be trampled under foot of men. It is not a little thing, but it is one that is associated with our progenitors and posterity, as eternal beings, having to do with the past, the present, and the future.

The little stone was to smite the image on the toes; and I would not be surprised if there was to be a monstrous kicking—particularly, as brother Kimball says, if there should be any corns on the toes.

It is not whether we can stop here, and eat and drink, and say, poor pussy, and put off the evil day. It is not an evil day; it is a day of rejoicing—a day of bursting off the fetters from us; it is a day when every son and daughter of God ought to sing, Hosannah to the God of Israel! We know we used to sing sometimes,

“We’ll burst off all our fetters, and break the Gentile yoke,

For long it has beset us, but now it shall be broke:

No more shall Jacob bow his neck; henceforth he shall be free,

In Upper California:

O! that’s the land for me,” &c.

We used to sing that years ago, and we can sing it now; but we have got to do it. Yes, it is “Yankee doodle do it.”

Well, what are we doing? We are laying the foundation for salvation for ourselves, for our progenitors, for our children, and our posterity after us, from generation to generation. The foundation of liberty, whereby the bond that has been on the neck of the nations, shall be burst asunder; for it is here that liberty shall spring from.

Here is a nucleus—a band of brethren inspired from on high, having the oracles of God in their midst—the only people that are taught by the revelations of God. Here is the place where the standard is to be erected to all nations.

We were talking, some time ago, about our rights: these are our duties; we have got through with our rights. There is an old motto that they have got very conspicuously in England; it is this—“England expects every man to do his duty.”

What is a man’s duty here? It is obedience to the oracles of God that are in our midst; and so long as we keep the commandments of God, we need not fear any evil; for the Lord will be with us in time and in eternity.

“But,” says one, “I have got a son, who has gone out upon the Plains, and perhaps the soldiers will kill him.” Let them kill him. [President Kimball, “There can be more made.”] I suppose there can.

Did you ever know your sons were in possession of eternal life, and that this is only a probation or a space between time and eternity? We existed before, in eternity that was, and we shall exist in eternity that is to come; and the question only is, whether it is better to die with the harness on, or to be found a poor, miserable coward.

All that I said to my son Joseph, after blessing him, before he went out, was, “Joseph, do not be found with a hole in your back.” I do not want any cowardice—any tremblings or feelings of that kind.

What of our friends that have gone behind the vail—are they dead? No; they live, and they move, in a more exalted sphere. Did they fight for the kingdom of God when here? Yes, they did. Are they battling for it now? Yes; and the time is approaching when the wicked nations have to be destroyed; and the time is near when every creature is to be heard saying, “Honour, and power, and might, and majesty, and dominion be ascribed to him that sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb for ever and ever.”

We have got to bring this about, whether we do it in this world or that which is to come. I have seen the time I could have died as easily as to have turned my hand over; but I did not feel like it.

[President H. C. Kimball: “You did not have time.”]

Supposing I live, I have got a work to do; and if I die, I shall still be engaged in the cause of Zion. Why, great conscience! what difference does it make? They can only kill the body. And do not we know that we have an interest beyond the grave?—that we have drunk of that fountain which springs up into eternal lives? Then what difference does it make?

These are my feelings. If it is for life, let it be for life; and if it is for death, let it be for death, that the spirit may move in a more exalted sphere; and then all is well with us. If we live, we live to God: and if we die, we die to God; and we are God’s, any way.

We have friends gone behind the vail. There are Joseph, Hyrum, Willard, Jedediah, and many of our friends that are there, and they have been moving and acting there for years; and if any of us are called to go, it is all right: there is a Priesthood there to regulate things, as well as here; and if we have to go there, we might as well go by a ball as by a fever, or any other distressing disease. I want to go with the harness on; and if others go a little before us, does it make any difference? Do not you know the old Apostle said, “They without us cannot be made perfect?” Could they attend to these ordinances that are being attended to here on earth while they are there? No, they cannot. Can you do what they are doing? No, you cannot; but when you get there you can.

When in the old country you were striving to get here, many of you had friends here; and when you came, they would say, “I am glad to see you, brother William, and sister Jane, or Mary, or Elizabeth.” Now, when a person dies, you say, “I am glad to see you go, but still I am sorry that you are going.”

I remember saying so to uncle John Smith. When I went to see him, I felt that his time was come, and I said, “I am glad you are going, but still I am sorry to part with you;” and said, “I hope you will carry my respects to our friends behind the vail.” He said, “I will.”

We have angels that are ministers of salvation; we have Joseph, Hyrum, Willard, Jedediah, and lots of others that are engaged in rolling on the work of the Lord in the upper worlds. What if they want any of us? Why, let us go, old men or young men. What if we are called by a ball, or die by a fever, what difference does it make?

What! are we all going to die together? God has designed and said he would establish his kingdom upon the earth, and that the Devil shall not reign for ever; but he whose right it is shall come and take the kingdom, and possess it for ever and ever.

Now, brother Brigham has said all is right, and he is the representative of the Almighty upon the earth, and it is for us to stand by him and obey him: and he says, “Rejoice, and live your religion, and all shall be well.” Is not that the voice of God? It is. Shall we not listen to it? Yes; and we will maintain our rights as citizens of the United States.

I pray that God may bless you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Reminiscences and Testimony of Parley P. Pratt

Parley P. Pratt

A discourse by Elder Parley P. Pratt, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday, September 7, 1856.

Beloved brethren and sisters—Being about to depart from this Territory and from the “home mission” to which I was appointed among you, and to journey to the States on a mission, I rise to express my feelings and my faith, and to leave my testimony with you.

There are some, I presume, in this congregation, who personally have been strangers to me, and who have not heard my testimony. I have been acquainted in this Church and connected with it from the first year of its organization in the wilderness of western New York. It was organized on the 6th day of April, 1830, and I was baptised into it about the 1st of the September following.

When I first became a member of this Church, one small room could have contained all the members there then were in the world, and that, too, without being crowded; for at times, I presume, there were not fifty.

The first thing that attracted my attention towards this work was the Book of Mormon. I happened to see a copy of it. Some man, nearly a stranger to it, and not particularly a believer in it, happened to get hold of a copy: he made mention of it to me, and gave me the privilege of coming to his house and reading it. This was at a place about a day’s journey from the residence of Joseph Smith the Prophet and his father, and while I was returning to the work of my ministry; for I was then travelling and preaching, being connected with a society of people sometimes called Campbellites or Reformed Baptists.

I had diligently searched the Scriptures, and prayed to God to open my mind that I might understand them; and he had poured his Spirit and understanding into my heart, so that I did understand the Scriptures in a good degree, the letter of the Gospel, its forms and first principles in their truth, as they are written in the Bible. These things were opened to my mind; but the power, the gifts, and the authority of the Gospel I knew were lacking, and did really expect that they would be restored, because I knew that the things that were predicted could never be fulfilled until that power and that authority were restored. I also had an understanding of the literal fulfilment of the prophecies in the Bible, so that I really did believe in and hope for the literal restoration of Israel, the cutting off of wickedness, the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the triumph of his kingdom on the earth. All this I was looking for; and the Spirit seemed to whisper to my mind that I should see it in my day.

Under these circumstances, I was travelling to impart the light which I had to others; and while doing this, I found, as I before stated, the Book of Mormon. I read it carefully and diligently, a great share of it, without knowing that the Priesthood had been restored—without ever having heard of anything called “Mormonism,” or having any idea of such a Church and people.

There were the witnesses and their testimony to the book, to its translation, and to the ministration of angels; and there was the testimony of the translator; but I had not seen them, I had not heard of them, and hence I had no idea of their organization or of their Priesthood. All I knew about the matter was what, as a stranger, I could gather from the book: but as I read, I was convinced that it was true; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon me, while I read, and enlightened my mind, convinced my judgment, and rivetted the truth upon my understanding, so that I knew that the book was true, just as well as a man knows the daylight from the dark night, or any other thing that can be implanted in his understanding. I did not know it by any audible voice from heaven, by any ministration of an angel, by any open vision; but I knew it by the spirit of understanding in my heart—by the light that was in me. I knew it was true, because it was light, and had come in fulfilment of the Scriptures; and I bore testimony of its truth to the neighbours that came in during the first day that I sat reading it, at the house of an old Baptist deacon, named Hamblin.

This same spirit led me to enquire after and search out the translator, Joseph Smith; and I travelled on foot during the whole of a very hot day in August, blistering my feet, in order to go where I heard he lived; and at night I arrived in the neighbourhood of the little village of Manchester, then in Ontario County, New York. On the way, I overtook a man driving some cows, and enquired for Joseph Smith, the finder and translator of the Book of Mormon. He told me that he lived away off, something more than an hundred miles from there, in the State of Pennsylvania. I then enquired for the father of the Prophet, and he pointed to the house, but said that the old gentleman had gone a journey to some distant place. After awhile, in conversation, the man told me that his name was Hyrum Smith, and that he was a brother to the Prophet Joseph. This was the first Latter-day Saint that I had ever seen.

He invited me to his home, where I saw mother Smith and Hyrum Smith’s wife, and sister Rockwell, the mother of Orin Porter Rockwell. We sat up talking nearly all night; for I had not much spare time, having two appointments out, and a long day’s journey for a man to walk. I had to return the next morning, and we conversed during most of the night without being either sleep or weary.

During that conversation, I learned something of the rights of the Church, its organization, the restoration of the Priesthood, and many important truths. I felt to go back and fill the two appointments given out, and that closed my ministry, as I felt that I had no authority, and that I would go back and obey the Priesthood which was again upon the earth.

I attended to my appointments, and was back again the next morning to brother Hyrum’s. He made me a present of the Book of Mormon, and I felt richer in the possession of that book, or the knowledge contained in it, than I would, could I have had a war[r]antee deed of all the farms and buildings in that country, and it was one of the finest regions in the world. I walked awhile, and then sat down and read awhile; for it was not my mind to read the book through at once. I would read, and then read the same portion over again, and then walk on. I was filled with joy and gladness, my spirit was made rich, and I was made to realize, almost as vividly as if I had seen it myself, that the Lord Jesus Christ did appear in his own proper person, in his resurrected body, and minister to the people in America in ancient times. He had surely risen from the dead and ascended into heaven, and did come down on the American continent, in the land Bountiful, on the northern part of South America, and did minister to the remnants of Joseph, called the Nephites, and did show his resurrected body unto them.

They did handle him, see him, and examine the wounds that were pierced in his hands, his side, and his feet; and they bathed them with their tears and kissed them, and thousands of them did bear record of these facts. He did deliver to them his Gospel in its fulness and plainness, in the presence of thousands, and did command them to write it in a book; and he promised that that book should come to light in latter days, in time for the great restoration of all Israel, and the fulfilment of the prophecies relating to the great work of the last days.

I was made to realize this and to bring it home to my faith, my senses, and my knowledge, with a warmth, love, and assurance that I could scarcely contain for I had either studied and seen him in my reflections, or I had heard his voice whispering to me. Do you not think that I rejoice?

As before stated, I fulfilled my two appointments; crowds heard me and were interested, and solicited me to make more appointments. I told them that I would not—that I had a duty to perform for myself. I bid them farewell, and returned to Hyrum Smith, who took me to a place, about twenty-five miles off, in Seneca county, New York. He there introduced me to the three witnesses whose names appear at the beginning of the Book of Mormon, also to the eight witnesses. I conversed with Oliver Cowdery, one of the three witnesses, and on the next day we repaired to Seneca Lake, where I was baptised by Oliver Cowdery, then the second Apostle in this Church, and a man who had received the ministration of an angel, as you can learn by reading his testimony.

After being baptised, I was confirmed in a little meeting during the same day, was full of the Holy Ghost, and was ordained an Elder. This transpired on the 1st day of September, 1830; and from that day to this, I have endeavoured to magnify my calling and to honour the Priesthood which God has given me, by testifying to both small and great of the things that he has revealed in these last days.

I have testified and do still testify of the truth of the Book of Mormon—that it is an inspired record, the history of a branch of the house of Israel that live in America; that it does contain the fulness of the Gospel as revealed to them by a crucified and risen Redeemer; and that wherever it goes and its light is permitted to shine, the Spirit of the Lord will bear testimony of its truth to every honest heart in all the world. Wherever that book is candidly perused, the Spirit will bear record of its truth: and I bear this testimony this day, that Joseph Smith was and is a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator—an Apostle holding the keys of this last dispensation and of the kingdom of God, under Peter, James, and John. And not only that he was a Prophet and Apostle of Jesus Christ, and lived and died one, but that he now lives in the spirit world, and holds those same keys to usward and to this whole generation. Also that he will hold those keys to all eternity; and no power in heaven or on the earth will ever take them from him; for he will continue holding those keys through all eternity, and will stand—yes, again in the flesh upon this earth, as the head of the Latter-day Saints under Jesus Christ, and under Peter, James, and John. He will hold the keys to judge the generation to whom he was sent, and will judge my brethren that preside over me; and will judge me, together with the Apostles ordained by the word of the Lord through him and under his administration.

When this is done, those Apostles will judge this generation and the Latter. day. Saints; and they will judge them with that judgment which. Jesus Christ will give unto them; and they will have the same spirit and the same mind as Jesus Christ, and their judgment will be his judgment, for they will be one.

Some of my brethren feel, once in awhile, as though we were but men, which is true; and at times we are forgetful, and especially myself. Sometimes men will come up and say, “Why, do you not remember me, brother Pratt?” No, I do not, particularly, though your countenance looks familiar. “What, do you not remember me? I was along with you at such a place: it is strange that you cannot remember me.” At such times you may think, how will brother Parley, with his brethren, sit in judgment upon us when he forgets some things, and cannot remember what we have done to him? I expect, by the power of the resurrection and the quickening power of the celestial glory, that my memory will be perfected, and that I will be able to remember all the acts, duties, and doings of my own life. I will also remember, most correctly and perfectly, every act of benevolence that has ever been done to me in the name of the Lord and because of my calling; and I will remember, most perfectly, every neglect and slighting by those to whom I have been sent.

I will be able to say to a just person, “Well done, good and faithful servant; for you did do good so-and-so to me or my brethren: therefore, enter into the joy of your Lord.” I will also be able to say to others, “Depart from me; for I was an hungered, and ye did not feed me; I was naked, and ye clothed me not; I was sick, or in prison, or in a strait, and ye helped me not; I had a mission to perform, and ye took no interest in it.”

So it will be with brother Joseph, or brother Brigham, or any of the Apostles or Elders that hold a portion of the keys of the Priesthood to this generation; if they hold them faithfully. They will be able to remember and understand all their own doings and all the acts of this generation to whom they are sent; and they will judge them in the name of Jesus Christ. We will be judged by brother Joseph; and he will be judged by Peter, James, and John, and their associates. Brother Brigham, who now presides over us, will hold the keys under brother Joseph; and he and his brethren, who hold the keys with him, or under his direction, will judge the people; for they will hold those keys to all eternity, worlds without end. By those keys they will have to judge this generation; and Peter, James, and John, will hold the keys to preside over, and judge, and direct brother Joseph to all eternity; and Jesus Christ will hold the keys over them and over us, under his Father, to whom be all the glory. This is my testimony; and in obedience to these keys, if God will open my way and spare my life, I will continue to act.

I am now about to start to the States, to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and bear testimony of those things which I most assuredly do know; for this is my calling. I have desired, after travelling for twenty-five or twenty-six years, mostly abroad, to stay at home and minister among the people of God, and take care of my family; but God’s will be done, and not mine. If it is the will of God that I should spend my days in proclaiming this Gospel and bearing testimony of these things, I shall think myself highly privileged and honoured. And when the Spirit of God is upon me, I think it matters but very little what I suffer, what I sacrifice—whether I secure the honour or dishonour of men, or where I die, if it so be that I can keep the faith, fight the good fight, and finish my course with joy.

I have all eternity before me, in which to enjoy myself; and though I am a stranger and a pilgrim on this earth, and whether I be rich or poor, or live long or short, I shall yet plant gardens and eat the fruit of them, plant vineyards and drink the wine thereof, build houses and inhabit them, and, as one of the elect of God, shall long enjoy the works of my hands. All this shall I do; though worms eat the body that I now have.

There are many who consider the times to be hard, and the sufferings to be endured so great that they feel to withdraw from this people. Some say they have no faith in the Book of Mormon. A word for those. I do not believe that they have read that book; or, if they have, I do not believe that they have read it humbly, attentively, prayerfully, and under a good influence. I do not think they were counted honest, or that they had a heart that had place for the Spirit of God. If they were at all acquainted with that influence, or had it in them, they would not only believe it, but they would know that it was true. They would not only know and acknowledge it by the Holy Ghost, but they would know it naturally, just as we know that a man is a Prophet, when the thing which he predicts comes to pass.

Twenty-six years ago, that book was published in English, and within those years have been progressively fulfilled many plain and definite predictions that are therein recorded, insomuch that a professed infidel, one who had not before believed in Jesus Christ nor in the Bible, may easily comprehend that the things predicted in the Book of Mormon, many of them, have demonstrated themselves by their plain, literal, simple fulfilment. I will mention one thing among a thousand. When that book was printed in English, an ancient prophecy in it stated that it should come to the knowledge of the Gentiles in the latter day, at a time when the blood of the Saints would cry from the ground because of secret murders, and the works of darkness, and wicked combinations. And not only the blood of Saints, but the blood of husbands and fathers should cry from the ground for vengeance on the workers of iniquity, and the cries of widows and orphans would come up before God, against those that committed those crimes.

When that book was translated by Joseph Smith, and published in English, we were living in a constitutional Government, the laws of which guaranteed liberty of conscience to every man in his religious belief. It was at a time when no man had been seriously injured because of his belief; and it was as incredible and unlooked for that a Saint would be slain for his religion as that the Government would be broken up; and nobody believed that it would be broken up; for the principles of truth had ruled, guaranteeing liberty and protection to all parties. No man had been persecuted to death for his religion, under the effectual working of that Constitution. Hence, I want those persons who have not faith in the Book of Mormon to tell how Joseph Smith could think of such things; and if the ancient Prophet did not foretell those things, Joseph Smith did.

How came he to tell that the people of his father’s house would suffer? or that husbands and fathers, widows and orphans would send up their cry for vengeance on the wicked of our day? You that do not believe in the Book of Mormon, I want you should account for that prediction. It is plain and simple. I read it in 1830, and no man had then suffered a violent death for his religion in this generation in our nation.

Now, then, imagine yourselves living in the United States twenty-eight years ago, and causing to be printed such a production as the Book of Mormon, and I want to know how you would know of any such thing as is there predicted? I say there was no probability that it would be fulfilled, but yet I say that it has been very remarkably fulfilled, so that every public minister and officer knows that it has been fulfilled, and that the Union is trembling and being threatened, and our right to law and protection being questioned.

The blood of innocence cries for vengeance, because its enemies have not administered justice. They have not carried out the constitutional guarantees, but have suffered innocent blood to flow. They have not administered justice nor law in the case, but have allowed wholesale murderers to run at large in Missouri and Illinois. And many of the people and of their rulers have consented to the shedding of that innocent blood, and the result is that the cries of widows and orphans ascend to God. I wish those who do not believe the Book of Mormon to tell me by what power or foreknowledge that prediction was published in 1830.

I used to read an epistle which stated that if the Gentiles should reject the fulness of the Gospel contained in the Book of Mormon, and become filled with all manner of iniquity and murders, priestcraft, whoredoms, and lying, the Lord would take the fulness of his Gospel from among them, and send it into the, midst of the remnant of Israel. What have we been doing these ten years past? Ten years ago, a good portion of this people lived in the old settled States, and they were in so many places that a man had to dodge or hide up somewhere, to keep from hearing the fulness of the Gospel. It was preached in their cities, at their capital, in their villages, in town and in country, in the groves and in their court-houses; and thousands upon thousands in the United States flocked to hear the fulness of the Gospel, which was preached everywhere.

How is it now? With the exception of a few, who are on missions or business there, a man might travel from Maine to Louisiana, and scarcely have a chance to hear the fulness of the Gospel; and if he wished to hear the Gospel, he would have to come here. Thus we see the literal fulfilment of that prediction. I read it in 1830, and used to wonder how it would be fulfilled. But notwithstanding the jealousy that existed in the United States in regard to this people, the Book of Mormon was so common and preached so extensively, that some of them, right in their wickedness, Herod-like, happened to discover the prediction in regard to the fulness of the Gospel’s coming to the remnants of Joseph, and happened to understand it in part.

So Herod, in his wickedness, when he heard of the rejoicing of the Jews and that their Messiah was born, when the wise men read the prophecies to him, believed those prophecies and tried to hinder their fulfilment. For that purpose he issued an order to murder all the young children of Bethlehem of two years old and under. He must have believed the prophecy, or he would never have undertaken to hinder its fulfilment.

In like manner, the people in the United States were afraid that “Mormonism” was true, and in their sins they partly believed it; wherefore the proclamations for murders and for banishment, for mobbings and plunderings, with a view to hinder its accomplishing what was predicted it would, and to prevent the fulfilment of prophecy. Were you to ask them the reason for all this, their truthful reply must be, “We were afraid that the ‘Mormons’ would fulfil a prediction of the Prophets, and carry the Gospel to the remnants of Joseph.” They considered that, Herod-like, to be treasonable. Some have wondered that a king’s being born in Bethlehem should be treason, not understanding that the kingdom of God meant an eternal kingdom. And in speaking of the United States and “Mormonism,” they said, “If the fulness of the Gospel should be preached to the remnants of Joseph, it would be awful,” and tried to prevent its being so, but failed in the attempt.

Myself, Elder Oliver Cowdery, and others crossed the Missouri line, into what is now called Kansas, and preached the Gospel to the Delaware Indians. We presented them with the Book of Mormon, and left a copy or two with those that could read it and interpret to others. At that time “Mormonism” had not been heard of any further west of Ohio than we carried the news, and lyings and misrepresentations concerning it had not preceded us. But there were sectarian missionaries on the frontiers, Methodists, Baptists, &c., striving to gain a foothold among Indians; and they all joined against us. Such was the envy and jealousy of the spirit in them, they knew not why, that we were ordered out of the indian country, on penalty of having the Militia take us out.

In Missouri the Saints were watched like thieves, and, when we became more and more known among the people, were mobbed and plundered again and again, till eventually we were driven into Illinois.

At those times, I used to wonder how that prophecy would be fulfilled, contained in the Book of Mormon, which reads, “If the Gentiles reject the fulness of my Gospel, and are full of all manner of evil and wickedness, I will bring the fulness of my Gospel out from among them, and will establish it in the midst of the remnants of Joseph.” I watched it for years, looking for it to be fulfilled, and marvelled. But we were again mobbed, and they continued to mob us for eight or ten years, thus helping us to fulfil that very prophecy. They were made the instruments to annoy us, till we could have no peace without leaving them and coming out here into the wilderness.

We loved home so well, and our houses, and temples, and farms, that we would not willingly leave and accomplish the work laid upon us; therefore we were made to be willing—made to do what we were pleaded with to do before. You know that an ancient Prophet said, “My people shall be willing in the day of my power.” Here we are; and just as sure as the things in the Book of Mormon have been progressively fulfilling until now, and as sure as all the powers of the Saints and of their enemies have tended to that point, just so sure will every remaining item be fulfilled in its time and in its place.

Again, the man that believes “Mormonism,” believes in the gathering of the people of God and in the keys of the Priesthood and Apostleship, and that through those keys the people are to be built up, preserved, sanctified, and prepared for the coming of the Lord. Let me ask many that have been gathered through the instrumentality of those keys, do you believe that to scatter again is disobeying them? No, many of you do not.

Some folks think that “Mormonism” is a certain set of doctrines found in the books, together with certain ordinances, and think that one is a Saint if he credits those doctrines and those ordinances. Suppose an island peopled by persons who by some providence had the Book of Mormon and the Bible, or either of those books, but no Priesthood. They are not members of the Church, even though they be most strictly honest. They may have read the sacred records and believed them, all the principles contained therein, and desired to serve God; but the question is, could they obey the Gospel of which they read in those books, organize themselves into the Church of Christ, and be governed by the principles of the kingdom of God, and be accepted of God as his Church? I say, they could not.

What could they do? They could believe in Jesus Christ, and pray to the Father in his name, and observe his moral precepts. But to obey the ordinances of God—to become his Church and kingdom, is something which they could not do, unless their prayers of faith prevailed upon the Almighty to in some manner bless them with the Priesthood. Otherwise, all they could do would be to rejoice in the truth, worship God, obey his moral precepts, and wait for some messenger to come and organize them; and if they were obliged to live without the Priesthood, they would have to receive its ministrations in the next world.

In what manner was the Priesthood restored to this earth in our day? Angels ministered from heaven—men who had died holding the Priesthood of the Son of God, and revealed the Book of Mormon, and conferred the Priesthood upon our first Apostles, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. When they were baptised by the command of the angel, had received the Holy Ghost by the laying-on of hands, and been ordained according to the command, they continued to receive commandments, from time to time, to ordain other Apostles and other Elders.

In the year 1835, in Kirtland, Ohio, they ordained our President, Brigham Young, also Heber C. Kimball, your servant that is now addressing you, and many others, by the word of the Lord. Thus our President and others received the keys of the Apostleship, and we magnified it until Joseph’s death, when two of his Quorum of Three went behind the veil, and the third, Sidney Rigdon, who had got in the background, became an apostate. The First Presidency was re-organized, under the authority proceeding from the Almighty through Joseph Smith, in the persons of Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Willard Richards; and they, by virtue of the keys lawfully in their possession, filled up the vacancies occasioned in the Quorum of the Twelve, and also the vacancy made in their Quorum by the death of our beloved brother, Willard Richards.

Had we undertaken President, making in this Church simply by our uninspired notions, Brigham Young held more keys than all our votes put together; and had we voted against him, we would have voted ourselves out of the kingdom of God. He and those that stood by him would have held the keys of the Priesthood, as they have and do, and would have built up the kingdom, while those who opposed them would have been like salt that had lost its savour. It was not in our power to manufacture this Presidency, but only to uphold and cleave to it; and blessed are we, inasmuch as we have done this thing.

These keys came from Joseph Smith, who received them from Peter, James, and John, who received them from the risen Jesus, the Redeemer of men. If we hearken to these keys, we shall be saved, and inherit celestial glory and exaltation; if we do not, we shall be damned, and fall short of all the blessings promised to the saved.

Such is my faith; this is my knowledge, this is my testimony, and these are my feelings and real sentiments. God being my helper, giving me his Spirit, and counting me worthy to abide in his kingdom, I mean to continue to the end in upholding those keys, and, by my prayers and works, to stand by them and live in obedience to them as long as I live on the earth. If I abide in the vine, I will have strength, by the power of the Holy Ghost, to magnify my calling and to inherit a crown of celestial glory: if I do not, then I will fall, and, I had almost said, become like another man: but not so; for then I will only be fit to be cast out and trodden under foot, like salt that has lost its savour.

I crave the privilege of remaining within this kingdom; and I ask for your prayers, your blessings, your faith, and your assistance, as a people, and for the assistance and watchcare of the angels of God, and for the blessings of my brethren that preside over me. I crave these things, and the privilege of serving God unto the end.

If I go forth and testify of the truth of the Book of Mormon and of Joseph Smith as a Prophet, a Revelator, and an Apostle of the living God; also of Brigham Young, Heber C Kimball, Jedediah M. Grant, and the rest of my brethren that hold the keys of this kingdom; and call upon the people to repent and forsake their follies, their priestcraft, their adulteries, and their errors, and to obey the Gospel under the hands of the Elders sent out by these men; and tell them to gather together and obey those ministers of Christ as long as they live, and then obey their successors in office:—if I do all this, and live faithful, and set a good example, it will be the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of God unto all that receive it. If I do not do this, it will not be the Gospel, but it will be something else. It is appointed unto all men, whenever this Priesthood is on the earth and comes within their reach, to repent and be baptised under the hands of this Priesthood, in the name of Jesus Christ, and to receive the Holy Spirit by the laying-on of hands by the servants of God, and to break off from their sins and bring forth fruits of righteousness. If they do this, and endure to the end, they will be saved; but if they do not, they will be damned.

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

Reformation, etc.

Heber C. Kimball

A discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, October 12, 1856.

I can say amen to what was said this forenoon by brothers Spencer and Grant, and also by brother Brigham; for it is true: and I presume there was not a Saint in the congregation but what realized the truth of their sayings.

I am satisfied that it is the good pleasure of our God that a reformation should take place in the hearts of all Israel. I do not believe that there is any man or woman here so good but what they can be a little better. There are good people; there are those that we call the best. My feelings and exertions for this people and for all the house of Israel are, and have been to the end, that we may be all of that class which we denominate the best.

The spirit of reformation has been upon me all the while; but for the last six months that spirit has in a more particular manner moved upon the Presidency of this Church, and they have cried unto you as with the voice of an earthquake, and commanded you to repent and forsake your follies. Their voice has been like the voice of thunder unto this people, calling upon them to repent and turn unto the Lord their God.

But what is the use of persons being baptised until they first confess and forsake their sins, and make restitution where they have injured any one? If persons have lied, it is their duty to repent and retract their false statements, and confess their lies. If any have stolen, it is for them to repent and steal no more; also to restore fourfold, where it is required. I have my doubts whether a man or woman can be saved upon any other principle; for this was the doctrine of Jesus, the Son of God, and it is the doctrine taught in these latter days.

Where sins have been committed, there must be an atonement made to satisfy the demands of justice: and when justice is satisfied, mercy claims the subject. Have these requirements been complied with by this people? Many of you have broken your covenants and lost that spirit to a great extent, that you might and ought to enjoy; for you ought to be in favour with God continually, that you might have the power of his Spirit to be with you.

Brother Brigham is not responsible for this people any further than they will follow his counsel. When they observe his counsel, doing just as he says in all things, then he is responsible. The only way that you can make him responsible is by observing his sayings in the most strict manner possible. Am I responsible for the acts of my wife or wives? Only on condition that they are subject to my counsels. You can readily understand that their disobedience releases me from responsibility for their conduct.

When brother Brigham predicts that certain things will happen if the people persist in a certain course, that prediction will be fulfilled, except the people make a retraction and an atonement sufficient to satisfy the demands of justice; for that is what God requires. When that is done, the sins of the people will be remitted. I speak of this, that you may understand that your re-baptisms must be agreeable to the order laid down. It is not simply a man’s saying, “Having been commissioned by Jesus Christ, I baptise you for the renewal of your covenant and remission of your sins,” but you must be subject to your brethren and fulfil the law of God.

Supposing you have sinned against your brethren, or in some way offended them, will your sins be remitted, unless you go and make the proper acknowledgments? No, they will not. You have got to pay the debt; and sin cannot be remitted until you confess it and make satisfaction to the party aggrieved. You may try another course as much as you please, but you will find it to be just as I have told you.

If I have offended brother Brigham in any way whatever—rebelled against him, lied about him, or sought to abuse him, what is the use of my going to the water to renew my covenant, until I have made satisfaction to him? The proper way would be to go to him and say, “Brother Brigham, I lied against you wilfully, under the influence of an evil spirit;” or, “I have ill-treated and wronged you, and know that I must make satisfaction, and I am ready to do anything that you say.” Satisfaction must be made to the one injured, or baptism will be of no benefit: the Holy Ghost will not ratify that act until I have paid the debt. Then brother Brigham would say, “I forgive you, and pray my Father, in the name of Jesus, to forgive you also.” Then our Father in heaven would forgive you, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost would forgive you. And if you get pardon of those you have injured, and of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, you are free and ready to begin a new life.

You have heard brother Brigham say that if we sin against the Father, we must confess our sins to him, and get pardon from him: and if we sin against the Son, we must ask pardon of him, for he will not pardon you without you do ask him; and if you sin against the Holy Ghost you cannot get pardon, for that is a sin which cannot be forgiven. You must do that which is right, and get the forgiveness of the Father and the Son; then they and the Holy Ghost will take up their abode with you. That is my faith, and that is a part of “Mormonism,”as I understand it.

If men and women make a practice of lying, stealing, and doing other things forbidden in the law of God, they need not go into the water until they have sincerely repented and will covenant and promise that they will not do those things again. Some of you make a practice of telling little lies, of deceiving and be rating each other, of disputing with each other, and with the servants of God. Is that right? You all know that it is not, and that God will punish you for it. Does the Son know when you do these things? Does the Holy Ghost know? Do the angels know? I answer, they do know, and they are displeased with such acts, and will not associate with you in consequence of them.

Some quietly listen to those who speak against the Lord’s servants, against his anointed, against the plurality of wives, and against almost every principle that God has revealed. Such persons have half-a-dozen devils with them all the time. You might as well deny “Mormonism,” and turn away from it, as to oppose the plurality of wives. Let the Presidency of this Church, and the Twelve Apostles, and all the authorities unite and say with one voice that they will oppose that doctrine, and the whole of them would be damned. What are you opposing it for? It is a principle that God has revealed for the salvation of the human family. He revealed it to Joseph the Prophet in this our dispensation; and that which he revealed he designs to have carried out by his people.

What a joy it would be to me if my family were in such a state of mind that an angel would come and tell me, “On such a day I will meet with you, and your wives, and your children, if you will sanctify yourselves.” Would not that be a joy and a consolation to me? Do I disbelieve such visitations? No, no more than I disbelieve that an angel came to Joseph and Oliver, to Abraham of old, and to many others.

Let us take a course that will be pleasing to our Father, and lay aside our follies and our sins, and obtain favour with our God, that his angels may come and associate with us. They would do so now, if you would believe and practice that which is laid before you day by day. And if you will strictly follow the leaders of this people, you never would want for clothing, nor for any of the comforts of life; for if it must needs be that we be protected and delivered from our enemies, God would cause a famine to scourge them, and would rain manna down from heaven to sustain us, as he did to the children of Israel. But he never will do that, until it is necessary to our salvation and deliverance.

Now, there is no necessity for such a display of his power, neither will there be, until we are brought into the midst of certain trials, as Joseph Smith and his brethren were, about twenty-two years ago. I refer to the time when he and some of his brethren went up to Missouri; and those who went up then believed “Mormonism” in their hearts. There were two hundred and five who volunteered to go and redeem their brethren. And how was it in those days, when we were in that strait? Hosts of the people in Missouri were up in arms against us, both behind and before us, on our right and on our left. How did God defend us then? He sent a hailstorm fierce enough to stop their progress. The hailstones were so large that they cut their horses bridles, broke their gun-stocks, and cut holes in their hats: the storm had such an effect upon them that they would not any longer pursue us. The waters of the river rose forty feet in one night, and the whole region was flooded. In that way the Lord defended us, when we were a small company, and when he knew that we should be overcome, if he did not stretch forth his hand for our benefit.

Let us arise, every man and every woman, and lay off our sins; and wherein you know that you have sinned, repent and ask forgiveness, and then cease sinning from this time henceforth and for ever. Many murmur and are disaffected, after being privileged with the great blessing of deliverance from the oppression of the world. Many who have been gathered by the P. E. Fund murmur against those who have gathered them. When you become disaffected with brother Brigham and brother Heber, what is your course? You will associate with those poor murmuring devils whose hearts are as corrupt as hell itself, and thereby partake of their spirit; and it is a spirit that suits you: it is one of your own kind and your own class. Now, you know that your are more apt to sympathize with the ungodly than you ought to be, and that you are too apt to think that brother Brigham, brother Heber, and brother Jedediah are rather hard upon such characters. We are only hard upon sin and ungodliness.

Do not be baptised and then take an unrighteous course, but repent of and forsake all sin. I have nothing in my heart to preach to this people but faith and repentance, and to teach them to have confidence in God, in brother Brigham, and in each other, and to cultivate, nourish, and cherish that confidence; also to cherish, comfort, and to sustain brother Brigham from this time henceforth and for ever.

The more I do for this cause, the more God will love me—the more he will bless me, and he will give me power over the Devil and over all his imps. Can I do too much for God and his cause? Can I do too much for brother Brigham? No; for the more I respect him as the delegate of God, the more God will honour me and my acts. I know that these things are true; also that some of you are afraid that you will love him too well. I will tell you how much you should love him: you should love him enough to strictly observe his counsels. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” This was a test; for whoso loved him would keep his commandments

I have thought a great many times upon the condition of this people, and I would that they all should turn unto the Lord; but I have fears that many will not reform; and I am inclined to think that they will feel the rod of the Almighty, unless they do repent.

Go to work and build up and establish each other; wives establish your husbands, husbands establish your wives, and wives and husbands establish your children in righteousness, and God will be with us for ever; he never will forsake us in times of trouble. Cast in your Tithes and offerings into the storehouse of the Lord, and you shall have a blessing that you have not room to contain.

The Father, and the Son, and all the servants of God of every dispensation that ever was on the earth, are engaged in inspiring those brethren who now faithfully hold the Priesthood in the flesh. You are aware that the Lord said that in the last days he would have labourers who would labour with their might to gather up the wheat for the last time; and this is the last time. You need not ask who administer to brother Brigham; for I will tell you: They are Moses and Aaron, Elijah, Jesus, Peter, James, and John, brother Joseph, Michael the Archangel, and the hosts of the righteous behind the vail: they are all engaged in this great work.

God have mercy upon you, and give you his Spirit to understand all things aright, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Return of Thomas B. Marsh to the Church

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, introducing Brother Thomas B. Marsh, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, on Sunday, September 6th, 1857; Remarks by Thomas B. Marsh.

Brother Thomas B. Marsh, formerly the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, has now come to us, after an absence of nearly nineteen years. He is on the stand to-day, and wishes to make a few remarks to the congregation.

You will comprehend the purport of the remarks he wishes to make, by my relating a part of his conversation with me yesterday. He came into my office and wished to know whether I could be reconciled to him, and whether there could be a reconciliation between himself and the Church of the living God. He reflected for a moment and said, I am reconciled to the Church, but I want to know whether the Church can be reconciled to me.

He is here, and I want him to say what he may wish to. [Brother Marsh then arose, and the President continued.] Brethren and sisters, I now introduce to you brother Thomas B. Marsh. When the Quorum of the Twelve was first organized, he was appointed to be their President.

Remarks by Thomas B. Marsh

I do not know that I can make all this vast congregation hear and understand me. My voice never was very strong, but it has been very much weakened of late years by the afflicting rod of Jehovah. He loved me too much to let me go without whipping. I have seen the hand of the Lord in the chastisement which I have received. I have seen and known that it has proved he loved me; for if he had not cared anything about me, he would not have taken me by the arm and given me such a shaking.

If there are any among this people who should ever apostatize and do as I have done, prepare your backs for a good whipping, if you are such as the Lord loves. But if you will take my advice, you will stand by the authorities; but if you go away and the Lord loves you as much as he did me, he will whip you back again.

Many have said to me, “How is it that a man like you, who understood so much of the revelations of God as recorded in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, should fall away?” I told them not to feel too secure, but to take heed lest they also should fall; for I had no scruples in my mind as to the possibility of men falling away.

I can say, in reference to the Quorum of the Twelve, to which I belonged, that I did not consider myself a whit behind any of them, and I suppose that others had the same opinion; but, let no one feel too secure; for, before you think of it, your steps will slide. You will not then think nor feel for a moment as you did before you lost the Spirit of Christ; for when men apostatize, they are left to grovel in the dark.

I have sought diligently to know the Spirit of Christ since I turned my face Zionward, and I believe I have obtained it. I have frequently wanted to know how my apostacy began, and I have come to the conclusion that I must have lost the Spirit of the Lord out of my heart.

The next question is, “How and when did you lose the Spirit?” I became jealous of the Prophet, and then I saw double, and overlooked everything that was right, and spent all my time in looking for the evil; and then, when the Devil began to lead me, it was easy for the carnal mind to rise up, which is anger, jealousy, and wrath. I could feel it within me; I felt angry and wrathful; and the Spirit of the Lord being gone, as the Scriptures say, I was blinded, and I thought I saw a beam in brother Joseph’s eye, but it was nothing but a mote, and my own eye was filled with the beam; but I thought I saw a beam in his, and I wanted to get it out; and, as brother Heber says, I got mad, and I wanted everybody else to be mad. I talked with Brother Brigham and Brother Heber, and I wanted them to be mad like myself; and I saw they were not mad, and I got madder still because they were not. Brother Brigham, with a cautious look, said, “Are you the leader of the Church, brother Thomas?” I answered, “No.” “Well then,” said he, “Why do you not let that alone?”

Well, this is about the amount of my hypocrisy—I meddled with that which was not my business. But let me tell you, my brethren and friends, if you do not want to suffer in body and mind, as I have done—if there are any of you that have the seeds of apostacy in you, do not let them make their appearance, but nip that spirit in the bud; for it is misery and affliction in this world, and destruction in the world to come. I know that I was a very stiff-necked man, and I felt, for the first four or five years especially, that I would never return to the Church; but towards the latter part of the time, I began to wake up and to be sensible that I was being chastised by the Almighty; and I felt to realize the language of Jeremiah concerning Ephraim in the last days, where he says, “Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still; therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy on him, saith the Lord.”

Thinks I, this language suits my condition. I then thought, I will go back and see if the Lord will heal me, for I am of the seed, of Ephraim, and I felt troubled from that day, and my soul was vexed with the filthy conversation of those Sodomites.

After forming this resolution, I tried to get an outfit, and I kept trying for two or three years; for I did not want to come hear sick, lame, decrepid, and dependent; and therefore I kept on trying; but instead of gaining, I was like the man that undertook to climb the tree—I slipt down further than I got up. I then thought to myself, I am getting old, and every year makes me older and weaker; and if I do not start, I shall soon die, and then whose fault will it be? I concluded it would be my own fault if I stayed. I therefore said, “I will go now.” That was last January. I looked round a few days to see what I could raise, and I raised five dollars and ten cents, and I said, “Lord, if you will help me, I will go.” I felt that he would: therefore I started with but five dollars and ten cents, from Harrison County, Missouri, to come all the way to this Valley. I knew that I could not come here with that small sum, and I did not see how I was to get any more; but before I got out of the State, the Lord had changed my fortune, and I had $55.05. I then concluded within myself that the Lord was with me; but still I had some hardships; for I travelled on foot in some severely cold weather, and I found that my chastisement was not over, notwithstanding the favour of the Lord in helping me to some means. I remarked that I had fifty-five dollars when I left the States, and that, too, obtained honestly, without any speculation, trading, swapping, or stealing; but I earned what I got, and left a good name behind me.

I have given you some items of my apostacy. I will now relate some of my recent experience.

When I got to Florence, or Winter Quarters, where I had to stay, waiting for an opportunity to cross the Plains, I read many of the publications and works of the Church, and became strengthened and informed in regard to the Priesthood of the Son of God. Although I knew something about the Priesthood before, so far as the theory was concerned, yet I discovered that I had never properly understood it; and hence I feel that my faith is greatly strengthened. I wanted to get posted up and see what the “Mormons” had learned since I left them; and I learned very much by reading the discourses that had been preached here.

The doctrine of plurality was a great bugbear to me, till I got to Florence and read the works of brother Orson Pratt; and now I see that it is heaven’s own doctrine, and the Church of Jesus Christ can never be perfect without it. Had I known as much of the Church of Jesus Christ and its doctrines before I apostatized as I now know, I think I could not have back-slidden.

I have come here to get good society—to get your fellowship. I want your fellowship; I want your God to be my God, and I want to live with you for ever, in time and eternity. I never want to forsake the people of God any more. I want to have your confidence, and I want to be one in the house of God. I have learned to understand what David said when he exclaimed, “I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.” I have not come here to seek for any office, except it be to be a door-keeper or a deacon; no, I am neither worthy nor fit; but I want a place among you as a humble servant of the Lord.

I did say once, when coming along, inadvertently, They may think that I am coming to get office, but if they offer it to me I will not have it, and that will show them I do not want any; but I took a second thought and said, I will say, The will of the Lord be done.

I have now got a better understanding of the Presidency of the Church than I formerly had. I used to ask myself, What is the difference between the President of our Church and a Pope? True, he is not called a Pope, but names do not alter realities, and therefore he is a Pope.

God is at the head of this kingdom, and he has sustained it. I was along in the start of it, and then Joseph was the little one; but, as the Scriptures say, “The little one shall become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation;” and Joseph lived to become a thousand, and this people are fast becoming a strong nation.

I am just as confident as I can be in the truth of those things that brother Heber has spoken of; for I see in my meditations how the Priesthood has been restored, when the Lord had taken it from the earth by the death of the Apostles, and how the authority to administer in the name of Jesus Christ was also taken, and that, when the authority went, miracles were taken away and the power of God ceased to be manifested through men during the long period of the rule of antichrist and anarchy.

I see the propriety of God’s vesting the authority in one man, and in having a head, or something tangible to see, hear, and understand the mind and will of God. When I saw this, I said, It is consistent: Christ is the great head of the Church. Christ is the head of his Church in the same relationship as every head is to the body to which it belongs; for every head must have eyes to see, a mouth to speak, and ears to hear. Well, Jesus Christ is the head of the Church, and he has got a man to represent him on the earth—viz., President Brigham Young. Jesus Christ is still the head of the Church; and his will to man on the earth is known by means of the mouthpiece of God, the Prophet, and Seer.

When I came to these conclusions, I said, Now I will go there among them; for I have found out how I may learn wisdom from God. I want to learn wisdom, and not to be ruled by my own imaginations.

God has given me reasoning powers, and I will use them, so far as I am capable, in the acquirement of knowledge. But how will I get wisdom from God? The answer is plain. He speaks through his mouthpiece; therefore I will go and place my ears close to his mouth—for I am not good of hearing—and I will pray to God in secret; and to such he has said he will answer them openly. I will pray for the thing that I want; and the chief desire of my heart before God is, that I may know that he accepts me.

Well, Where shall I go, was the next question, to get a response to this desire? The answer was, Go to the President of the Church—to the mouthpiece of God, and then you can be taught, and there will be no difficulty in learning the mind and will of God.

I thank God that he has brought me back here, where I can receive such instructions, and with a prospect of seeing, notwithstanding my advanced age, the glory of God. Many of you that are young will live, as has been said, to see the glory of God manifested on the earth. Amen.

Further Remarks by President Brigham Young

A portion of the congregation have heard what brother Marsh has said; but he spoke so low that you could not all hear. He wants to know whether this people are willing to receive him into full fellowship. When he came to Florence, he applied to brother Cunningham, who was then presiding there, for baptism. Brother Cunningham at first refused to baptise him, probably thinking that it would be better for him to wait till he came to this place; but he afterwards gave his consent to brother Marsh’s being baptised. Brother Marsh now wishes to be received into full fellowship, and to be again baptised here.

There are many here who have formerly been acquainted with him—with his moral character, and they can judge as well as myself. Those who are not acquainted with him will be willing to coincide with the judgment of those who once knew him.

I shall call a vote, to ascertain whether the people are willing that he should be baptised into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and be acknowledged a member in full fellowship. I wish those who are willing to receive brother Marsh into full fellowship as a member in this Church and kingdom to manifest it by the uplifted hand. [All hands appeared to be raised.] If there are any who are not willing, they now have the privilege of manifesting it by the uplifted hand. [Not a hand was raised.]

Brother Marsh, I think that will be satisfactory to you.

[T. B. Marsh: “It is, and I thank God for it.”]

I presume that brother Marsh will take no offence if I talk a little about him. We have manifested our feelings towards him, and we know his situation. With regard to this Church’s being reconciled to him, I can say that this Church and people were never dissatisfied with him; for when men and women apostatize and go from us, we have nothing to do with them. If they do that which is evil, they will suffer for it. Brother Marsh has suffered. He told me, yesterday, that the Christians might hang up their fiddle in regard to there being no Catholic Tophet or Purgatory.

You are aware that the children of the Mother Church have dissented from the idea of there being such a place as Purgatory; but brother Marsh says that there is such a place, and that he has been in it during the past eighteen years and upwards. I asked him whether he did not have to pray himself out. He answered, “Yes.” I then remarked—If you prayed yourself out, I suppose you saved the priests’ fees. “Yes, he said; “It did not cost me a cent of money.” However, it cost him a great deal of labour, trouble, and pain.

In conversing with brother Marsh, I find that he is about the same Thomas that he always was—full of anecdotes and chit-chat. He could hardly converse for ten minutes without telling an anecdote. His voice and style of conversation are familiar to me.

He has told you that he is an old man. Do you think that I am an old man? I could prove to this congre[ga]tion that I am young; for I could find more girls who would choose me for a husband than can any of the young men.

Brother Thomas considers himself very aged and infirm, and you can see that he is, brethren and sisters. What is the cause of it? He left the Gospel of salvation. What do you think the difference is between his age and mine? One year and seven months to a day; and he is one year, seven months, and fourteen days older than brother Heber C. Kimball.

“Mormonism” keeps men and women young and handsome; and when they are full of the Spirit of God, there are none of them but what will have a glow upon their countenances; and that is what makes you and me young; for the Spirit of God is with us and within us.

When brother Thomas thought of returning to the Church, the plurality of wives troubled him a good deal. Look at him. Do you think it need to? I do not; for I doubt whether he could get one wife. Why it should have troubled an infirm old man like him is not for me to say. He read brother Orson Pratt’s work upon that subject, and discovered that the doctrine was beautiful, consistent, and exalting, and that the kingdom could not be perfect without it. Neither can it be perfect without a great many things that the people do not yet understand, though they will come in the own due time of the Lord.

As I have but a few minutes for speaking, I will relate a little of the current news of the day.

On Friday evening, the 11th inst., two of the brethren who accompanied brothers Samuel W. Richards and George Snider from Deer Creek to 118 miles below Laramie, came in, and reported that soldiers and a heavy freight train were there encamped opposite to them and on the south side of the Platte. They could tell that they were soldiers, from the appearance of their carriages, waggons, tents, and mode of encampment. We did not learn anything very definite from these two brethren lately arrived.

Messrs. Russel and Waddle are freighting for Government, and some of their trains were scattered along to the Sweetwater. They have twenty-six waggons in each train, with a teamster and six yoke of oxen to a waggon. Some of those trains were on the Sweetwater when brother Samuel passed down, and quite a number of them are in advance of the soldiers. The brethren learned that Captain Van Vliet, Assistant Quartermaster, was coming on to purchase lumber and such things as might be needed for the army.

Last evening, brother John R. Murdock arrived direct from St. Louis. He left here with the mail on the 2nd day of July, and reached Independence in sixteen days, making by far the shortest trip on record, and in eighteen days-and-a-half from here landed in St. Louis. He tarried there till brother Horace S. Eldredge and brother Groesbeck had transacted some business, and then started up the river with a small train. On the 9th of August, brother Murdock left Atchison, K.T. Troubles were daily expected to break out in Kansas between the Republican, or Free State, and the pro-slavery parties; for which reason General Harney, with the cavalry, a portion of the infantry, and, I think, one or two companies of the Artillery, were detained there by orders from Washington, and Colonel Johnson ordered to assume the command of the army for Utah.

Some fifteen or sixteen hundred infantry started from Leavenworth; and when brother Murdock passed them, one hundred miles below Laramie, about five hundred had deserted, leaving, as he was told, about one thousand men on their way to this place. He passed a few freight trains, which were entirely deserted by the teamsters, and Russel and Waddle were not able to hire teamsters to bring those trains forward.

Brother Murdock did not think that they could get here this fall, unless we helped them in. Their teams are pretty good, but they are very much jaded. Their mule teams are in better condition, because they regularly feed them on grain.

From the time that I heard that the President of the United States had issued orders for soldiers to come here, they have had my best faith that the Lord would not let them get here. I have seen this people, when palsied with agues, fevers, and with various other diseases, hurled out of doors, driven away from their cellars full of potatoes, from their meal chests, from their cows, houses, barns, orchards, fields, and finally from their happy homes and all the comforts of life. I have seen that a good many times, and I pray that I may never see it again, unless it is absolutely necessary for the welfare and advancement of God’s purposes on the earth. I want to see no more suffering. I will not use the word suffering, for I call it joy instead of sorrow, affliction, and suffering. If we live our religion and exercise faith, it is our firm belief that it is our right to so exercise our united faith that our enemies never can come here, unless the Lord in his providence sees that it will be for our good.

It is my faith and feelings that, if we live as we should live, they cannot come here; but I am decided in my opinion that, if worse comes to worst, and the Lord permits them to come upon us, I will desolate this whole Territory before I will again submit to the hellish corruption and bondage the wicked are striving to thrust upon us solely for our exercising our right of freedom of conscience.

I will say, in reference to President Buchanan, that, for his outrageous wickedness in this movement, he shall wear the yoke as long as he lives; he shall be led about by his party with the yoke on his neck, until they have accomplished their ends, and he can do no more for them; and his name shall be forgotten; and “Old Bright,” as brother Kimball calls him, shall be free. I am persuaded that for their horrible, wicked treatment to this people—the only loyal people in the United States—the only people who know the worth of the Constitution—they will be sorely punished.

After doing what they already have done to this people—after sending among us the filth and scum of all creation (as some of the officers were) as officers of the Government, contrary to the genius of our institutions, I want to tell them that, though they continue to send poor pusillanimous curses here to be Government officers, we will not submit to it, troops or no troops. I shall tell them this in plainness and simplicity; and they shall find that in my simplicity I will try to sustain so righteous a position. And I believe that the point is yielded, both in Europe and America; and I believe they acknowledge that Brigham is a man of his word; and I have come to the conclusion that we will not again have officers thrust upon us contrary to our consent, the Lord helping us.

When brother Murdock left St. Louis, Mr. Cummings, the person who had received the appointment of Governor of Utah, was going to Washington, and he could not learn that there was one of the Territorial officers with the soldiers: hence I do not see but that I shall have to again preside over our Legislative Assembly this winter. I do not see that it can be otherwise; and William H. Hooper will be Secretary, just as he was last winter. They have refused to pay the expenses of the last Assembly and other just debts due to this Territory; but God will overrule those things for our good and the advancement of his kingdom, if we live our religion.

Our enemies will yet be glad to come to us for safety and salvation; and we will do as brother Kimball has said—we will save the old veteran fathers; and the time will come when we will be baptised for them, while those who trample upon the rights of their fellow men will be weltering in hell. Yes, we will bring up those old revolutionary sires and save them; for God loves men who are true to each other and are true to him.

If any want to apostatize, I want them to look at brother Marsh. I wish you could all see and understand what he has suffered. He has suffered a little; and I could tell you a good deal of the suffering induced by the weaknesses of men.

When the Quorum of the Twelve was first chosen, Lyman Johnson’s name was called first, Brigham Young’s second, Heber C. Kimball’s third, and so on. I had seen brother Marsh and others who were nominated for the Quorum of the Twelve, and I looked upon them as men of great powers of mind—as men of ability—men who understood the things of heaven. I looked upon them as angels, and I looked up to them just as my children look up to me.

I considered brother Marsh a great man; but as soon as I became acquainted with him, I saw that the weakness of the flesh was visibly manifest in him. I saw that he was ignorant and shattered in his understanding, if ever he had good understanding. He manifests the same weakness to-day. Has he the stability of a sound mind? No, and never had. And if he had good sense and judgment, he would not have spoken as he has. He has just said, “I will be faithful, and I will be true to you.” He has not wisdom enough to see that he has betrayed us once, and don’t know but what he will again. He has told me that he would be faithful, and that he would do this and the other; but he don’t know what he will do next week or next year.

I do not know what I shall do next year; I always speak for the present. But a man that will be once fooled by the Devil—a man that has not sense to discern between steel grey mixed and iron grey mixed, when one is dyed with logwood and the other with indigo, may be deceived again. You never heard me say that I was going to be true to my God; for I know too much of human weakness: but I pray God to preserve me from falling away—to preserve me in the truth. I depend not upon myself; for I know too much of human weakness and of myself, to indulge in such remarks.

I derive strength from a superior source. I have been drinking from that source for many years; and, as I told you last sabbath, I have been trying to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. And, if we are faithful, we will all be counted worthy to be his disciples. God bless you! Amen.

Union of the Priesthood—Salvation of the American Nation—Punishment of the Saints’ Enemies, etc.

Heber C. Kimball

A discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 6, 1856.

I can say, brethren, as far as I am concerned, that I have no particular anxiety about the final issue of “Mormonism.” But if I have any trouble about the matter, it is about a great many limbs or vines connected to that vine. Probably you understand what I mean when I am talking about vines and trees. I speak about these things because I most humbly desire to touch upon simple principles—that is, the most simple figures, that the most simple person in this congregation may understand me.

I am not troubled about the learned few—those that have learned right, and are taught of the Lord: I have no trouble about their understanding; for children may understand the things that I present, and any man that is taught directly from God will understand; he will understand the most simple things, and he will understand the greatest things; for the greatest things are the simplest things. Do you not know it?

There are thousands of men in the house of Israel, and among the Elders of Israel, that are now considered to be small men, and not of much account, that will supersede, eventually, thousands of men who may now think that they are the smartest. That may be queer to you; it may be singular to many; but I have known of a great many instances of that kind.

When we go into a fruit orchard or vineyard, we find the husbandman, as he is called, who has charge of it; and I have myself seen very inferior trees that never brought forth any fruit. A great many men would come along and say to the husbandman, “Why don’t you take up that tree? It never will be of any account.” Those men do not understand, as the husbandman does, or they never would make such a speech.

Is there a way to restore that tree, and to make it one of the most thrifty trees in all the vineyard? Yes, there is. Well, what course will you take to do that? Take the old stock away and put a thrifty graft into the root, and then it becomes one of the most thrifty trees in the vineyard, because the young stock renews the old, and the old becomes a good tree.

So it is with you, many of you: yes, thousands of you will become mighty men, inasmuch as you honour your calling and receive nourishment from the Father, or from the root; for it comes from the root, and then spreads itself all through the vine, and every vine that is attached to that partakes of the same nourishment, and to the same extent, and in the same degree as the others.

Now, can you realize that? Bless your souls! go into the gardens. I am going to talk to you as I would to little children; for there are a great many of you that need to be taught. Go into your gardens and take a cucumber vine, and do you not know that in the latter part of the season you will find the largest and longest at the most extended part of the vine? Do you know that? [Voices: “Yes.”] There is one woman that knows it; “but she would not if she did not work in her garden; and those that do not work there do not know anything about it. I am talking to you that go into your gardens to work.

You may take water-melons, and you will find the largest at the extreme part of the vine. Can it be possible that the most extended part of the vine can bring forth as much as the most extended limb on a tree? Yes, it can. Where does it come from? From the root, and from thence into the main limb or vine, and then into every branch and twig that is connected to that vine.

Does not that prove, that you who seem to be small now, can become great and mighty men in the kingdom of God—yes, even Prophets? Does it not prove that you can become great and mighty men, as well as those that are now more intimately connected to the vine? Of course it does.

Now, you may take an apple tree, a grape vine, a plum tree, and you may take a cucumber vine, and all these trees and vines are one in their organization: they are all alike, only one is called a tree, and another a vine. They are also a little different in the fruit they bear: one is a peach, or a plum, another a grape, &c.; and these fruits are different in appearance, yet they are one in relation to the principle that governs them.

One man is called upon to be a Prophet, another to be an Apostle, another to be a Seventy, another a High Priest, another a Patriarch, and so on; and don’t you see they are all, in general features, alike? There is not one of them that is not attached to a root. How could I grow, if I were not attached to a tree or to a vine? I could not produce fruit.

Well, the nearer I approach to my Father and to Jesus in my conduct, the more I become like Joseph and the servants of God; and the more I become like those characters, the more perfect a pattern I become for others; and of course my fruit will be just like the characters I pattern after; and then, of course, my fruit will be just like the characters I am connected to. Will it have the same effect upon you? Why, of course it will. Will it have the same effect upon you, ladies—you, sisters? Yes; and it will have the same effect upon your children.

I do not know whether you understand me or not, but I wish you would have your gardens trimmed and kept clean; and if you do not have any, go into the mountains and to the timber countries.

I merely touch upon these things to refresh your minds, though I did not think anything about them when I got up; but if you will go and look at them—I mean every Elder, High Priest, Apostle, and Prophet in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—you will be benefited; for you ought to be exactly like one tree. What! bring forth the same fruit? Yes, all be one in your works for the benefit of Israel.

Some time ago I brought up a comparison about an apple tree, and although I did not know it then, I have got one tree that has probably got fifty limbs on it, and there is not one but is so full that I have had to pick apples off it twice, and every limb is weighed down with fruit. Well, I have tried it since then, and there is not one particle of difference in the fruit of all those limbs. Is it good fruit? No; the first limb is not worth a dime, and all the rest are just like it.

Can a pure tree bring forth impure fruit? The tree of which I have spoken is not impure in its appearance, but it is very smooth externally, and likely to look upon; but there is not a particle of goodness in it, or, at least, there is not in the fruit it produces. That is the case with many of you.

Well, then, we say that, if the root is good, the tree is good, and the limbs, because they are attached to the tree and receive nourishment from the tree.

Well, if the root is not very good, the limbs, the tree, and the apples will not be very good, because the root is not very good.

You take a man that is not very good, and that has a wife that is not very good, and they cannot produce very good fruit, because the root is not good. Do you understand that, brother Hunter? [“Yes, Sir.”] Is it as plain as cattle? You understand how to originate good stock, and so do I. You go into England and into the New England States, and every man that is raising stock is taking a course to take away the ringed, and the streaked, and the little, dried-up fixings, and to produce a more noble stock. It is upon the same principle that this people should become regenerated.

Well, supposing that a man is a long way beneath his fellows, and is a little, dried-up, knotty, inferior man; can that man be cultivated? Yes, sir, he can; he can take a course in the principles of righteousness, by treasuring up truth; and truth is light, and light is life. Every word of truth that you gather into your bosoms is light and life; and the most inferior man or woman can be regenerated through the word of the living God; for that word will be in you springing up unto everlasting life. That is the principle.

I throw out these few ideas to cause you to reflect. They may seem eccentric, but they are true.

Sometimes I am at work at an apple tree, and sometimes at a cucumber vine; but what is the difference? They have all roots, and they have all cores, and they are all produced for a noble purpose.

The aristocracy—that is, those that are called the aristocracy, came out of the old country: they came as far as Lehi came from Jerusalem, and so on, till they came into this country; but still those that remained behind considered themselves the aristocracy. But let me tell you those men that came here were the true aristocracy; they were the original stock; they were produced by the aristocracy, and they are the original stock. Those men were choice characters, and God spoke to them, and they came over here.

That is what they call aristocracy; that is as it is; though I never studied grammar; but I have looked into the Bible and into the Book of Mormon, and I have looked into the visions of eternity, and I know that I am true, and that I am of the true vine. I am one of the sons of those old veterans, and so is brother Brigham.

Will you let me talk just as I please to-day, ladies and gentlemen?

[Voices: “Yes.”]

Now, I will refer to brother Brigham, brother Heber, brother Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Bishop N. K. Whitney, and lots of other men. Brother Joseph actually saw those men in vision; he saw us in a day when we were all together. We have been separated by marriage and thrown apart; but he saw the day when we all came out of one stock, and that was out of the aristocracy. Yes, we came directly down through the Prophets, and not only us, but lots of others—the whole Smith race. I could remember probably twenty or thirty that Joseph mentioned came down through that channel.

My father’s father and his brothers intermixed by marriage with the Smiths, and uncle John Smith was baptised in Nauvoo for upwards of twenty of my kindred. They mixed up in marriage, and in that way the names became changed; for they were the old veterans.

There is another thing that brother Joseph said—viz., that we were positively heirs of the Priesthood; for he had seen us as such in his vision; yes, just as much so as my children are that have been born since I received my endowment. Our fathers were heirs to that Priesthood, which was handed down from father to son, and we came through that lineage.

Never mind, brethren and sisters, give me your attention a little while. The gentleman that came to the stand with brother Brigham is Thomas B. Marsh. I tell you this, that you need not be over-anxious.

Joseph told us these things, and I know them to be true. I know them by the revelations of Jesus Christ, and so do a great many men. We are and we were heirs when we were called and ordained to the Apostleship: we were of that class; yes, we were the sons and daughters of those that came down through that lineage.

We will yet save the Constitution of the United States. We will do it, as the Lord liveth, and we will save this nation, everyone of them that will be saved. Brother Brigham Young and brother Joseph Smith stand at our head, and will do that thing, as the Lord liveth. Yes, we, as their children, with our children to assist us, will do it. We have got that power, and so have they, and will bear the kingdom off victoriously to every nation that is upon God’s footstool; and I know it.

Let your hearts be comforted; for just as sure as that is true, so sure will we have good peace for three years from last winter. And why? Because we will make peace, and we will sustain it and support it, and we will bear off the kingdom and establish it. We will bring forth every one of those old veterans, and we will place them upon this land that they fought for. Now, mark it; for we will do it, and all the devils in hell cannot hinder it, if this people will only live their religion and do as they are told; and you cannot do as you are told without living your religion; and if you will do that, we never shall be troubled.

I tell you, if we now live our religion every day, inasmuch as the President of the United States, or the Senators or Legislators make laws to afflict us, the thing they design to bring upon us shall come upon themselves; and the affliction, the snares, the traps, and the gins which they lay for us, they themselves shall suffer with and be caught in. These words never shall fail.

Brethren and sisters, can you do as you are told? It is the easiest thing in the world.

[President Brigham Young: “Tell them something to do.”]

We want some thirty or forty yoke of oxen to go out and meet James A. Little’s company. Do you all say yes?

[The congregation responded, “Yes.”]

To-morrow morning, at seven o’clock, we want forty yoke of cattle to help in our trains. You, Bishops, see to that, will you?

[” Yes, Sir.”]

I tell you we have got enough for you to do: we will call on you for another hitch by-and-by. Take care of your grain, and have all the sisters help to take care of it, and do not let the children waste it; for we do not want you to have enough scattered round to fat three hogs on the crumbs and pieces of bread that are around your door yards. Will you do that?

[President Young: “I guess they will.”]

My discourse is rather eccentric. It is in detachments. [Voice: “That is the way they are building the big ship in London.”] That is right, is it not, brother Carrington?

[” Yes, Sir.”]

But let us be attached together, and then we are one; let us yield up our will, and let it run into the tree or branch to which we are connected. Yield up your wills.

I will compare you to a drop of water; inasmuch as you are not willing to yield up, you cannot be one. Now, just let us all run into one drop, and let all the branches be connected to that one tree; and then will we not increase? We will.

Now, as to those enemies down here below, they are not going to trouble us: the brethren will have to go and help them in. Some of those baggage waggons are nearly to Bridger now, and they cannot get back. Their teams are failing fast, and the supposition is, they will have to hire our teams to help them in, but the soldiers will not come. There is nobody to molest them, but their minds are not quiet: they are scared almost to death; and the nearer those baggage waggons get here, the more they are afraid.

As to the army, one-fifth of them have deserted, and the others are making preparations to do so likewise. And as to old Harney, the old squaw-killer, they have made him stop to aid the Governor of Kansas, and, it is likely, to kick up jack. But we do not care anything about it or them. Let us lay up our grain and prepare for the siege, for it will come.

We commenced last Sunday to declare that we are a free people, and we will be free from this day henceforth and for ever; and we never will come under that yoke again. I tell you, as my soul lives, the bow-pin has dropped out of old Bright’s bow, and the bow has dropped out, and the yoke is now on old Buchanan’s neck.

Did you ever see a yoke of cattle, and see one get loose, and the off-ox swinging round the yoke and knocking everybody’s shins? If you have, that is just the way with old Buchanan: he cannot do anything, but he will bruise somebody’s shins, and they will be after him, and he never shall rest again—no, never, until the time comes for us to redeem him. And that is not all. All his coadjutors, his cabinet, and all his governors—yes, I will say from here, or from Dan to Jerusalem—they shall go over the dam: they never shall rest in peace till the Lord Almighty has scourged them until they are fully satisfied.

The Lord God is going to play with them, as he did with Pharaoh in Egypt; and let me tell you, there will not be much fighting for us to do, if we live our religion; but God will use them to accomplish his own works, as the monkey did the cat, when he took the cat’s paw to pull the nut out of the fire. We will make monkeys of them, and we will make them crawl on all-fours, and they never will rest.

They have afflicted us ever since the day that Joseph got the plates. They have driven us five times and broken us up, and here we are. Have they ever repented? No, they have not. Have they afflicted us as many as seventy times seven? They have, speaking of it individually. Well, they are not yet punished as they will be; but they are in punishment, are they not, Thomas? They are. Our government is God’s government on the earth, and he will see to the interests of his kingdom. He will know the designs of our enemies, and he will know at all times to take them when they do not think of it.

The President of this nation and his brethren in office, with all the rulers and all, the priests, have sanctioned the destruction of this people. Yes, the President and all his coadjutors have sanctioned our death as much as if they had taken our lives, and they are a bloodthirsty nation. They have killed our Prophets, Patriarchs and Apostles, and they have slain, or caused to fall, thousands—yea, thousands of our brethren and sisters, our wives, our fathers, and our mothers; and they shall see the same fulfilled upon themselves, and it shall be measured to them double for all they have dealt out unto us.

When we consider all things, are they not to be pitied? They are. If you will live your religion, you never will have anything to do but to live your religion and lay up stores and prepare for the sceneries that are to come; for, as true as the Lord lives, the people of the nations will come by hundreds and by thousands for food, and for raiment, and for protection; and that time is right at our door.

This is one thing to rouse our feelings; for God saw that you would not listen to the words of his servants, but you listen to your own words, and you did not have confidence to lay up stores. There is not one man to a hundred that ever did it; and that is proof sufficient that you did not believe what was said. This is but a shadow of what is coming: it is in embryo. You will see such a time as you never saw. But bless you we won’t be troubled. We will live as in the presence of God and of angels. And will we ever have to go into the mountains? No, never. If you will live your religion, you never will.

[Voice: “That is true.”]

Do just as brother Brigham tells. you; for he always tells you what is right, and he generally tells you what I say is right; and if there is anything wrong, he will correct it and give you the truth. But do I wish to teach you an error? No; I have not such a desire in my heart.

Had I a desire before I was a “Mormon” to propagate an error? No. Why, bless you, I always was a “Mormon.” My father and grandfather were “Mormons;” and it is “Mormonism” right away back.

You know brother Brigham and I know our daddies; and if no other men on the face of the earth do, you may feel perfectly satisfied that all is right with us.

Now, let us be faithful, let us be humble, let us lay aside our pride and, everything that is calculated to distress us or to distress our wives; and then let wives lay aside everything that is calculated to distress their husbands.

Wives, lay aside your vanity, and go to work and make everything that we need, until the time comes when the Lord will consecrate the whole earth unto this people. But that time is not now.

I do not do as many do; for many have looked at these troops that are coming with a degree of fear. But what are they? [Voice: “Scarcely worth picking up.”]

I wish there would never a pin’s worth of their property come in here, because there are those who think more of a pound of tea than they do of their religion.

[President B. Young: “There are not many of that class.”]

But there are a few. If there were not, I should feel discouraged; I should feel to give counsel for you to go to work and accumulate as fast as you could. Bless your souls! there is nothing but what we could make here.

Need we send to the States for anything? No; we need not send even for sugar; and we can make, almost everything under heaven, and all the rest is in heaven; and they can be sent down here to us; for heaven and earth are connected by this Priesthood as much as my body and spirit are connected. All these things are in heaven—sugar, flocks and herds, wool and silks, and everything else; and they are not only in the heavens, but in the earth, just as much as that pitcher was taken out of the earth. It was in the earth, and the same kinds are also in the heavens.

We can make all these things ourselves; and all we have to do is to organize the elements that God has created or that he organized; for he did not create this earth any more than the potter created this pitcher. The potter took the rough material and ground it, and put it on his wheel, and made it just into the shape you see it now.

It was so with our God. The elements were already created, and he took them and shaped them into an earth; and this is the way that all things are organized.

Can we make silk? I have told you that if you go to work and raise flax, you should have the privilege, in my lifetime, of reaping four times as much flax as you ever reaped in the States; that is, you shall have a fourfold crop.

Do I believe that such can be the case with sheep? I know it can; for we have sheared more wool from the sheep here than we ever did in the States, and have we not done the same by wheat?

I heard brother Brigham and brother Wells speaking of a person that took from an acre and thirty rods ninety-six bushels and a half of wheat, and there are others who have taken their fifty-seven bushels an acre. Why, Thomas, you never saw such things in the States! God bless you, Thomas! you shall become a sound man, and be a comfort to us in our old age.

Well, I have no feelings in me against any one—not against brother Marsh; but I feel to bless him with the blessings of God, with the blessings of the earth, from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet; for this is my calling, and I do not feel to curse. But as for our enemies, they have cursed themselves with all the curses they can bear; and the cursings that are on them they never can get off, neither can those who sustain them. The Church and kingdom to which we belong will become the kingdom of our God and his Christ, and brother Brigham Young will become President of the United States.

[Voices responded, “Amen.”]

And I tell you he will be something more; but we do not now want to give him the name: but he is called and ordained to a far greater station than that, and he is foreordained to take that station, and he has got it; and I am Vice-President, and brother Wells is the Secretary of the Interior—yes, and of all the armies in the flesh.

You don’t believe that; but I can tell you it is one of the smallest things that I can think of. You may think that I am joking; but I am perfectly willing that brother Long should write every word of it; for I can see it, just as naturally as I see the earth and the productions thereof.

Let us live our religion, serve our God, be good and kind one to another, cease all those contentions in your houses, and live in peace.

Sisters, if you have got husbands, nourish them and cherish them; for they have got an almighty work to do; they have enough to do to lay up the comforts of life; and you wives are the women to nourish them that nourish you; for they feed you, and clothe you, and give you every mouthful that you eat and drink, and they have brought you to these valleys of the mountains, that you might see the sons of Jacob become a mighty host. Good heavens! you may yet see the day when the sons of Jacob will be ten times thicker than they now are; and I know it will be so.

We will build up Jackson County, and I am going to tell them of it, with your consent, brother Brigham; and if you do not find any fault with it, I do not know that anybody else has a right to.

Sisters, love your husbands, and encourage them to listen to their file leaders and to their officers pertaining to this Church; for this is their calling, and not to sit down and cry, snuffle, and find fault with their leaders and the other authorities in the Church; for there is where so many go over the dam.

Brother Thomas has learned that this won’t do. He has said he got mad with brother Joseph, and then he got mad with brother Brigham and me, because we did not get mad also, like him. The truth was, we were so busy, we had no time to get mad. It was nothing to us what brother Joseph did, and it is just so with you: it is none of your business what brother Brigham does, though you all know that he would not do anything wrong. Why, bless you, brother Brigham would die ten thousand deaths rather than walk one hair to the right or to the left from that which is right.

Well, we are not jealous of you. Do your duty, and you will make every house and every place a palace, and your homes will be as the gate of heaven, and a source of joy to your husbands. Of course you must have a heaven of that which you have made.

Why, I would go to work and make an altar and a heaven, and I never would take any other course than that which is honorable before God; and how can you live your religion without this?

You poor, miserable, disaffected beings, if there are any such here, learn to do right.

Sisters, sustain and comfort your husbands; for they have got plenty to do in these last days. After we have laid up stores and got seven years’ provisions, there will be seven years for us to be on guard, but never can our enemies touch us if we do right.

We are up in the tops of the mountains, and our Governor is here. What do you say to that? And his God is here, and his associates are listening.

Well, if it is time for the Government of the United States to cut the thread, we are perfectly competent to take care of ourselves. We would not give a dime for this people to be one more in number than they are. There are enough of us; for the Lord is going to manifest his power and to play with our enemies as he did with Pharaoh and all his host. Now, mark it, and see if it does not come so, or something similar. All these things are in this dispensation, and why? Because this is the fulness of times: it is the time fixed for all to make a sacrifice before God.

God bless you, and may you receive the blessings of brother Brigham, brother Heber, brother Daniel, the Twelve Apostles, and the blessings of the Patriarchs of the living God.

Peace be unto this people. Peace be in these valleys and upon the mountains around us! and peace be upon everything that we possess! But peace shall not rest upon those who will grumble and find fault with the servants of God. No; and he or she that will do it shall be as a barren tree.

God bless you and make your minds fruitful, and fill you with revelation, with dreams, and with the visions of eternity, which is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Report of a Visit to the Southern Country

George A. Smith

Remarks by Elder George A. Smith, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, September 13, 1857.

The last time, I believe, brethren and sisters, that I had the privilege of speaking from this stand, was the day previous to my starting for the southern country. We were then expecting a visit from a very formidable force, directly from the State of Missouri. It waked up in my mind the feelings that I used to have—say from ten to twenty years ago, in hearing the constant annoyance of an approaching enemy. And according to the report which has been published of my remarks, I talked rather strong. But one thing is evident—if I did not talk strong, it was not because I did not feel strong on the occasion.

I left the next morning and wended my way southward. I visited the different settlements hurriedly, until I reached Parowan, in the county of Iron, the place of the first settlement in the southern part of the Territory. When I arrived there, it appeared that some rumour or spirit of surprise had reached them; for there were active operations going on, seemingly preparing for something that was near at hand. As I drove in at the gate, I beheld the military on the square exercising, and was immediately surrounded by the “Iron Battalion,” which seemed to have held its own very well since it was organized in that place.

They had assembled together under the impression that their country was about to be invaded by an army from the United States, and that it was necessary to make preparation by examining each other’s arms, and to make everything ready by preparing to strike in any direction and march to such places as might be necessary in the defence of their homes.

As it will be well recollected, I was the President of the company that first made the settlement there. I was received with every feeling of enthusiasm, and I never found them in better spirits. They were willing any moment to touch fire to their homes, and hide themselves in the mountains, and to defend their country to the very last extremity.

Now, there had been no such preaching as that when I went away; but the Spirit seemed to burn in my bones to visit all these settlements in that southern region. Colonel Dame was about organizing the military of that district under the law of last winter. As the Colonel was going along to organize the military, I got into the carriage and went on a mission of peace, to preach to the people. When I got to Cedar, I found the Battalions on parade, and the Colonel talked to them and completed the new organization.

On the following day, I addressed the Saints at their meeting-house. I never had greater liberty of speech to proclaim to the people my feelings and views; and in spite of all I could do, I found myself preaching a military discourse; and I told them, in case of invasion, it might be necessary to set fire to our property, and hide in the mountains, and leave our enemies to do the best they could. It seemed to be hailed with the same enthusiasm, that it was at Parowan. That was the same Sabbath that brother Young was preaching the same kind of doctrine; and I am perfectly satisfied that all the districts in the southern country would have given him their unanimous vote.

I then went to Harmony. Brother Dame preached to the military, and I to the civil powers; and I must say that my discourse partook of the military more than the religious. But it seemed that I was perfectly running over with it, and hence I had to say something about it.

I then went over a lovely country, and passed over “Peter’s Leap,” and some other such lovely places. It is rather rough; but I could not but admire its extreme beauty; and I think, if the Lord had got up all the rough, rocky, and the broken fragments of the earth in one, he might have dropped it down there.

When I reached the cotton country, I had previously learned that they were failing in their attempts to raise cotton, and that the waters of the Rio Virgin were poisoning the cotton. But I learned that the seed had not come up: but what had come up, perhaps one-third of it was exceedingly fine. The difficulty was, that their cotton was planted very late, and the sun heated the sand; for the soil is nothing but the red sand of Sahara. They planted in the sand, as there was nowhere else to plant it, and the sun was scorching it; but they found that all that was necessary was to keep the sand wet; and when they poured on the water, the cotton grew. And old cotton-growers told me that they had never seen a better prospect for cotton, for the time it had been planted, in the world; and this is the condition of things in that country, and the prospect is, that they will have pretty good cotton and about the third of a crop, and the next year they will be able to raise lots of cotton; for they will be there early enough, and have seed that can be depended upon.

The corn in Tutse-gabbot’s field, which was planted early, was eighteen feet high. If the sand was not wet, it would all blow away. The country seemed very hot to me; otherwise, I enjoyed the visit very well. But the brethren insisted that it was a very cool spell while I was there.

I preached to them in Washington City, and I thank the Lord for the desert holes that we live in, and for all the land that can be watered—in all, amounting to but a few hundred acres. There are but a few rods wide that can be watered in a place; but I tell you, when the day comes that the Saints need these hills to be covered with vegetation, they have only to exercise faith, and God will turn them into fruitful fields.

We started from Washington in the night, and the brethren told me, if I had seen the roads, I would not travel them. But I told them I did not want to see the roads; for I was determined to go ahead.

We travelled ten miles, and camped by a small spring, called “Allen’s Spring.” Some Indians took our horses. We told them we were afraid they would get into some corn-fields. They told us they would put them where they would get plenty to eat and do no mischief. The Indians brought our horses early in the morning, and we arrived at “Jacob’s Wikeup,” as the Indians call Fort Clara, about nine o’clock, and found their crops suffering for want of water. I saw beautiful indigo, cotton, and corn; and the stalks of the corn were perfectly dry, while the ears were green and fit to boil.

We also had a glorious interview in this, as in other places, with the natives of the desert. We remained there through the heat of the day, and then proceeded down “Jacob’s Twist,” (a magnificent kanyon,) to where the California road joins the Santa Clara, and then followed up the Santa Clara in the dark of the night—a river upon whose banks many scenes of desperation have been enacted.

About ten o’clock at night, we were surrounded by some hundreds of the natives that were anxious we should stop over night. They took care of our horses, built us camp-fires, and roasted us corn, and made us as comfortable as they could; and I never ate better corn or better melons in my life. We stopped over night with them, and not one of them asked me for a thing; which is remarkable, as the Indians are intolerable beggars. But I was treated as well as if I had been among the Saints, and I never enjoyed a treat better.

We pursued our visit to the Mountain Meadows, and there were kindly treated by the families of the missionaries, who lived at this place on account of the abundant grass for their stock. I then went to Penter, and there addressed a houseful of people in the evening, and then proceeded to Cedar the next day. They had heard they were going to have an army of 600 dragoons come down from the East on to the town. The Major seemed very sanguine about the matter. I asked him, if this rumour should prove true, if he was not going to wait for instructions. He replied, There was no time to wait for any instruction; and he was going to take his battalion and use them up before they could get down through the kanyons; for, said he, if they are coming here, they are coming for no good.

I admired his grit, but I thought he would not have the privilege of using them up, for want of an opportunity. I also visited the Saints at Paragoonah and preached to them, and in every place felt the same spirit. I then came over to Beaver which is a new settlement; and the day previous, an Indian came in and told them there were shod horses’ tracks at a spring over the big mountains about twenty miles to the east.

Major Farnsworth, supposing that there was a body of men in the neighbourhood, and that these were the tracks of the scouts, they immediately went over the mountains and traced the horses’ tracks, until they ascertained they came from Parowan. I do not know whether the inhabitants of Parowan intended to whip a regiment of dragoons, or not; but it is certain they are wide awake, and are not going to be taken by surprise. There was only one thing that I dreaded, and that was a spirit in the breasts of some to wish that their enemies might come and give them a chance to fight and take vengeance for the cruelties that had been inflicted upon us in the States. They did feel that they hated to owe a debt and not be able to pay it, and they felt like an old man that lives in Provo, brother Jameson, who has carried a few ounces of lead in his body ever since the Haun’s Mill massacre in Missouri; and he wants to pay it back with usury; and he undertook to preach at Provo, and prayed that God would send them along; for he wanted to have a chance at them.

Now, I never felt so; but I do not know but it is on account of my extreme timidity; for I would a great deal rather the Lord would fight the battles than me; and I feel to pray that he will punish them with that hell which is to want to and can’t; and it is my prayer and wish all the time that this may be their doom. This is what I want to inculcate all the time; and at the same time, if the Lord brings us in collision with them, and it is his will, let us take hold—not in the spirit of revenge or anger, but simply to avenge God of his enemies and to protect our homes and fire-sides. But I am perfectly aware that all the settlements I visited in the south, Fillmore included, one single sentence is enough to put every man in motion. In fact, a word is enough to set in motion every man, or set a torch to every building, where the safety of this people is jeopardized.

I have understood that there are half-a-dozen fellows in Provo that have but one wife each, and that they are not for fighting, because they say this trouble has come on account of plurality. Well, I pity them, because I know the women will leave them, and that it would not be but a few days before there would be so many brokenhearted, disconsolate men; for the women among the Latter-day Saints will not live with such men.

I have rejoiced and enjoyed myself on this visit to the south as much as at any time; for I perceive a hearty willingness to do and sacrifice anything that was required for the preservation of Zion: and whenever I got up to preach, I was full, and it seemed as if I could not stop; and before I got through, I would be tired.

I will say to the brethren and sisters, that I feel to return to my heavenly Father my thanks that he has thus far frustrated the designs of our enemies: and I know that he has got the power to wield and frustrate them at his will; and I know, if we are humble and united, and moved upon by the right Spirit, God will fight our battles. And if any of us are called to lay down our lives in the defence of our religion, God will save us in celestial glory, and he will preserve us, though all the world be against us.

[President B. Young: “That is true.”]

These are my feelings, and this is my faith. No matter what day or hour we are called to go into the presence of our Father in heaven; for every man and woman that has not got a religion that is worth more than their mortal lives, and unless we are willing to sacrifice all that pertains to these temporal feelings, we are not worthy of salvation.

Why, there was an honest Dutchman came to me this morning, and he had just heard that the President had concluded to let the soldiers in here. His heart had sunk within him at the thought, and “Oh!” says he, “can I live to see those troops come in here?” He can live through a great many things besides that. God will protect his people, and he will fight their battles; and if he wants a little help, I presume that he will find us ready.

I have preached to the brethren to live their religion, and “trust in God and keep their powder dry.” I borrowed it from Cromwell. Be ready to defend Israel; and when we have done all we can, the Lord will do the balance. Why, say the world, it is presumption for you to talk so. Uncle Sam has twenty-five millions of people, and 100,000,000 of surplus money in the treasury, and thousands of men in the country that are aching to be killed. We used to talk to them in this way when we lived down in their midst; and then, when it came to the sticking point, we would bow to them; and what did we get by it? Brother Taylor told you that thousands had suffered in consequence.

I tell you, we have suffered more waste of life and property than we will to face the music; and let them do their cursedest, and then every honest Dutchman and every man will get all he wants; and many of us Yankees will get many of our dirty tricks purged and pruned out of us: and our picayunary will vanish; it will all fail; for everything that we have in our hearts that is not right will be purged out; for our interest will be centred in the kingdom of God.

When I was back in Washington last season, I had a long conversation with Senator Douglas; and he is a kind of personification of modern democracy—very thick, but not very long. He asked a great many questions about our Temple, and I gave him a description of the foundation, and he asked me if I expected we would ever be able to accomplish it? The manner he communicated it was to show that he had his eye upon another thing than that which he alluded to; but I realised then just as well as I did when I read his proposition to “cut out the loathsome ulcer.” I said to him, “O Judge, we are not a little handful, as we were in Nauvoo: we can now do anything we have a mind to.”

Some of our national statesmen profess to be Christians and wonderfully pious. Mr. Morill, of Vermont, said to me, “Your domestic relations are so at variance with sacred books!” Why, said I, the Father of the faithful, our father Abraham, seemed to have the same view of the matter that we do. “Oh,” says he, “Abraham was guilty of a great many eccentric tricks.” “Eccentric as he might be,” I replied, “it is in his bosom that all Christians expect to rest; and we do not expect that he is going to kick his wives out to please anybody.”

Many people do not know why it is that they feel so enraged against us. I found in talking with hundreds and thousands of persons, in the course of our travels, that there was a deep-rooted spirit of hatred; and in talking of this I found that my reasons were superior to theirs; and they felt it and realized it, and my conversation seemed to suit and carry a good influence.

Our Elders have preached the Gospel freely throughout the world, and they have tarred and feathered them and put them to death. If they could have defeated them by arguments, all well enough: but no—these weapons proved ineffectual, and they tried mobs and violence; and now they array the armies of the United States against us, that under their wings they may send missionaries among us to convert our souls. Poor cursed slinks! Do not they know that we were raised among them in the very hot-bed of sectarian bigotry, and that we know all that the priests know about their religion, and ten thousand times more?

The United States Administration and Utah Army

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday morning, September 13, 1857.

Before the meeting closes, I want to make a few remarks. My feelings are so complicated that I want to say a few words, and I do not want to; I want to talk, and I do not want to talk. You recollect hearing one of the Elders state upon the stand, not long since, that he came into the Church mad, and had been mad ever since. And I am too angry this morning to preach.

I have been in this kingdom a good while—twenty-five years and upwards, and I have been driven from place to place; my brethren have been driven, my sisters have been driven; we have been scattered and peeled, and every time without any provocation upon our part, only that we were united, obedient to the laws of the land, and striving to worship God. Mobs repeatedly gathered against this people, but they never had any power to prevail until Governors issued their orders and called out a force under the letter of the law, but breaking the spirit, to hold the “Mormons” still while infernal scamps cut their throats. I have had all that before me through the night past, and it makes me too angry to preach. Also to see that we are in a Government whose administrators are always trying to injure us, while we are constantly at the defiance of all hell to prove any just grounds for their hostility against us; and yet they are organizing their forces to come here, and protect infernal scamps who are anxious to come and kill whom they please, destroy whom they please, and finally exterminate the “Mormons.”

I did not arrive till late; and brother Taylor was then preaching upon this subject, and I was glad of it. He has taught you good principles. This people are free; they are not in bondage to any government on God’s footstool. We have transgressed no law, and we have no occasion to do so, neither do we intend to; but as for any nation’s coming to destroy this people, God Almighty being my helper, they cannot come here. [The congregation responded by a loud Amen.] That is my feeling upon that point.

On the 24th of July last, a number of us went to Big Cottonwood Kanyon, to pass the anniversary of our arrival into this Valley. Ten years ago the 24th of July last, a few of the Elders arrived here, and began to plough and to plant seeds, to raise food to sustain themselves. Whilst speaking to the brethren on that day, I said, inadvertently. If the people of the United States will let us alone for ten years, we will ask no odds of them; and ten years from that very day, we had a message by brothers Smoot, Stoddard, and Rockwell, that the Government had stopped the mail, and that they had ordered 2,500 troops to come here and hold the “Mormons” still, while priests, politicians, speculators, whore-mongers, and every mean, filthy character that could be raked up should come here and kill off the “Mormons.” I did not think about what I had said ten years ago, till I heard that the President of the United States had so unjustly ordered troops here; and then I said, when my former expression came to my mind, In the name of Israel’s God, we ask no odds of them.

I do not often get angry; but when I do, I am righteously angry; and the bosom of the Almighty burns with anger towards those scoundrels; and they shall be consumed, in the name of Israel’s God. We have borne enough of their oppression and hellish abuse, and we will not bear any more of it; for there is no just law requiring further forbearance on our part. And I am not going to have troops here to protect the priests and a hellish rabble in efforts to drive us from the land we possess; for the Lord does not want us to be driven, and has said, “If you will assert your rights, and keep my commandments, you shall never again be brought into bondage by your enemies.”

The officer in command of the United States’ army, on its way to Utah, detailed one of his staff, Captain Van Vliet, who is now on the stand, to come here and learn whether he could procure the necessary supplies for the army. Many of you are already aware of this, and some of you have been previously acquainted with the Captain. Captain Van Vliet visited us in Winter Quarters (now Florence); and, if I remember correctly, he was then officiating as Assistant-Quartermaster. He is again in our midst in the capacity of Assistant-Quartermaster. From the day of his visit to Winter Quarters, many of this people have become personally acquainted with him, both through casual intercourse with and working for him. He has invariably treated them kindly, as he would a Baptist, a Methodist, or any other person; for that is his character. He has always been found to be free and frank, and to be a man that wishes to do right; and no doubt he would deal out justice to all, if he had the power. Many of you have laboured for him, and found him to be a kind, good man; and I understand that he has much influence in the army, through his kind treatment to the soldiers. He treats them as human beings, while there are those who treat them worse than brute beasts.

Well, the enquiry is, “What is the news? What is the conclusion?” It is this—We have to trust in God. I am not in the least concerned as to the result, if we put our trust in God. The administrators of our Government have issued orders for marching troops and expending much treasure, and all predicated upon falsehoods, while every honourable man would have first made an economical and peaceful enquiry into the circumstances. And even now, every honourable man would use all his influence to avert the present unjust and entirely groundless movement against us; but Captains, Majors, Colonels, and other subordinate officers have not the power. Wicked persons, solely for the accomplishment of their unhallowed schemes, have had the power to array the Government against us, through their lying and misrepresentation; but citizens, unorganized into cliques and parties, no matter how good their intentions and wishes, have not the power to avert the blow when the Administration of our Government is arrayed against us, unless they will also unite against the few well-organized scoundrels who are plundering our treasury and fast urging our country to dissolution. We have got to protect ourselves by the strength of our God. Do not be concerned in the least with regard to all the affairs that are before you; for we shall live and grow finely, as said a certain woman, who weighed but two pounds when an infant, and was put in a quart cup. Upon being asked whether she lived, “O yes,” she said, “I lived and grew finely.” It will also be said of the Latter-day Saints, “They lived and grew finely.”

You are taught from Sabbath to Sabbath what to do; and if you do that, all will be well. There is only one thing to fear, and that is, that you will not be faithful to the kingdom of God. We have that kingdom; and it will spread its balmy wings over thousands and millions who have not yet heard the Gospel, and they will find Israel to be “the head, and not the tail.”

What is the cause of the hostile feeling against this people? Brother Taylor has been telling you. God has restored the Gospel of salvation to earth again. That unites the hearts of the people, brings together those of different nations, notwithstanding their various traditions and their different manners and customs, and makes them of one heart and of one mind. And what follows? All hell is moved against them, because the kingdoms of this world—the kingdoms of darkness—are in danger. All hell is moved against this people, because we are of one heart and of one mind.

The faith of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is calculated to unite the people in one, and to bring them back to the unity and faith of those who obeyed the Gospel anciently, and finally to bring them back to glory. Then do you wonder that all the sects of the day are enraged against us? I have told you that I do not wonder; neither do I wonder that governors and rulers are enraged at our success. Are there any Democrats, any Whigs, any Methodists, any Baptists, or anything like the parties and sects of the day among us? No. What is there? Those who want to do the will of their Father in heaven; and when they can know his will, their faith is one, their hope is one, and they are one in all things.

It is not alone the United States that is in fear because of the union that exists with this people, but all Europe trembles this day in consequence of the faith there is here. Some may think that it is not so; but I know more about the United States than men do who come here direct from Washington. I read their history and their feelings every day. You need not think that the world are not opposed to us—you need not think that politicians are not opposed to us, for they are.

We have sent a delegate to Congress during the past six years, and has there ever been an opposing vote in his election? No. The people only want to know who the right man is, and then they will support him. Dr. Bernhisel is our delegate; and has it cost him thousands of dollars to gain his election? No; it has not cost him a single dollar; no, not so much as a red cent. We think that he is the most suitable man for us to send to Washington, and we say, “Let us send him,” and he is unanimously elected. And if we had a thousand officers to elect—if we had to elect the President of the United States, you would never see a dissenting vote.

Parties in our Government have no better idea than to think the republic stands all the firmer upon opposition; but I say that it is not so. A republican Government consists in letting the people rule by their united voice, without a dissension—in learning what is for the best, and unitedly doing it. That is true republicanism.

Do not be angry. I will permit you to be as angry as I am. Do not get so angry that you cannot pray: do not allow yourselves to become so angry that you cannot feed an enemy—even your worst enemy, if an opportunity should present itself. There is a wicked anger, and there is a righteous anger. The Lord does not suffer wicked anger to be in his heart; but there is anger in his bosom, and he will hold a controversy with the nations, and will sift them, and no power can stay his hand.

The Government of our country will go by the board through its own corruptions, and no power can save it. If we can avert the blow for another season, it is probable that our enemies will have enough to attend to at home, without worrying the Latter-day Saints. Have faith, and all will be well with us. I would like this people to have faith enough to turn away their enemies. I have prayed fervently about this matter; for it has been said that the troops would come: but I have said that, if my faith will prevent it, they shall not come. If God will turn them whithersoever he will, so that they do not come here, I shall be perfectly satisfied. But another man steps up, and says to the one that prays for our enemies to be turned away, “Brother, you are a coward; damn them, let them come, for I want fight to them.” Herein you perceive a conflict in our faith; and that should not be. If there was a perfect union of our faith, our enemies could never cross the Rocky Mountains; or, if they undertook to come some other way, they never could cross the Sierra Nevada Mountains, nor the Basin Rim, on our north, nor the deserts at the south. But, says one, “I want to fight.” Do all such persons know that they are not right? If they will examine their hearts, they will find a wicked anger and a malice there; and they cannot get into the kingdom of God with those feelings.

Learn to control yourselves; learn to be in the hands of God as clay in the hands of the potter; and if he will turn our enemies away, praised be his name. But if it should become a duty to take the sword, let us do it manfully and in the strength of Israel’s God. Then one will chase a thousand, and two will put ten thousand to flight.” The day will be in which a man will go out and say to an army of a hundred thousand men, “Do thus, and so, or we are upon you;” and they will hear the rumbling of chariots and the rushing of troops, as in the days of Elijah.

You recollect of a Prophet’s telling what bread and meal should be sold for in a straitened city the following day. The enemy thought that there were millions of the Israelites after them, for they heard the rolling of chariot-wheels, the clashing of armour, and the trampling of horses, and they fled. The Prophet had told the king that he would be trodden to death in the gate, and he was; and a measure of meal was sold in the city for a penny, in fulfilment of the word of the Lord. The doctrines of salvation are the same now as they were in the days of Adam, or Elijah, or Jesus, when he was upon the earth.

While brother Taylor was speaking of the sectarian world, it occurred to my mind that the wicked do not know any more than the dumb brutes, comparatively speaking; but it is our business to hunt up and gather out all the honest portion of the nations of the earth, and give them salvation. We may very properly say that the sectarian world do not know anything correctly, so far as pertains to salvation. Ask them where heaven is?—where they are going to when they die?—where Paradise is?—and there is not a priest in the world that can answer your questions. Ask them what kind of a being our Heavenly Father is, and they cannot tell you so much as Balaam’s ass told him. They are more ignorant than children.

We have the knowledge of those things; and we have the greatest reason to be thankful of any people upon the face of the earth. If others ought to do right, we more. Be full of love and compassion to your fellow-beings, full of kindness, such as human beings can possess, for that is our business. The only business that we have on hand is to build up the kingdom of God and prepare the way of the Son of Man.

If you do your duty in this respect, you need not be afraid of mobs, nor of forces sent out in violation of the very genius of our free institutions, holding you till mobs kill you. Mobs? Yes; for where is there the least particle of authority, either in our Constitution or laws, for sending troops here, or even for appointing civil officers contrary to the voluntary consent of the governed? We came here without any help from our enemies, and we intend to stay as long as we please.

They say that their army is legal, and I say that such a statement is as false as hell, and that they are as rotten as an old pumpkin that has been frozen seven times and then melted in a harvest sun. Come on with your thousands of illegally-ordered troops, and I will promise you, in the name of Israel’s God, that you shall melt away as the snow before a July sun.

There is one thing that I want, for the satisfaction of Captain Van Vliet. One of our old senators, Stephen A. Douglas, recently said before his constituents in Illinois, that nine-tenths of our people were aliens. We have a larger proportion of foreigners in this city than in any other part of the Territory, and there are a good many here to-day who have just come in from the Plains. I want those who are native born and naturalized American citizens to raise their right hands. [Over two-thirds of the congregation raised their hands.] You who have not yet received your naturalization papers will please manifest it in the same way. [Less than a third of the congregation raised their hands.] Now, Captain, you can see for yourself that over two-thirds of this congregation are either native born or naturalized American citizens.

I have called this vote that Captain Van Vliet may be able to do as he always does—speak the truth boldly, and tell them of it next winter in Washington; and that he can, if he sees Senator Douglas in Washington, tell him that his statement was false, for he has seen for himself.

If it were any use, I would ask whether there is ONE person in this congregation who wants to go to the United States; but I know that I should not find any. But I will pledge myself that if there is a man, woman, or child that wants to go back to the States, if they will pay their debts, and not steal anything, they can go; and if they are poor and honest, we will help them to go. That has been my well-known position all the time.

Brother Taylor has said that he bantered the United States for a trade, and promised them that if they would send all to Utah that wanted to come, we would send all to the States that wanted to go. We would get our thousands to their one, if they would make that trade. But no—they must keep on lying, howling, and trying to oppress and kill the innocent.

When some went away last spring, I told them to go in peace, and they did so. What are they doing now? Many of them are struggling to get back, and the rest are wishing that they had never left here. It is a kind of dear business to apostatize every year. I would rather stick to the old ship Zion.

When I was written to in Nauvoo by the President of the United States, through another person, enquiring, “Where are you going, Mr. Young?” I replied that I did not know where we should land. We had men in England trying to negotiate for Vancouver’s Island, and we sent a shipload of Saints round Cape Horn to California. Men in authority asked, “Where are you going to?” “We may go to California, or to Vancouver’s Island.” When the Pioneer company reached Green River, we met Samuel Brannan and a few others from California, and they wanted us to go there. I remarked, “Let us go to California, and we cannot stay there over five years; but let us stay in the mountains, and we can raise our own potatoes, and eat them; and I calculate to stay here.” We are still on the backbone of the animal, where the bone and the sinew are, and we intend to stay here, and all hell cannot help themselves.

We are not to be persecuted as we have been. We can say, “Come as a mob, and we can sweeten you up right suddenly.” They never did anything against Joseph till they had ostensibly legalized a mob; and I shall treat every army and every armed company that attempts to come here as a mob. [The congregation responded, “Amen.”] You might as well tell me that you can make hell into a powder-house as to tell me that you could let an army in here and have peace; and I intend to tell them and show them this, if they do not keep away. By taking this course, you will find that every man and woman feels happy, and they say, “All is right, all is well;” and I say that our enemies shall not slip the bow on “Old Bright’s neck” again.

God bless you. Amen.

Movements of the Saints’ Enemies—The Crisis

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, September 13, 1857.

I would like very well to hear some of the rest of the brethren speak, if I had entirely got over being angry and had patience to sit and hear. I think, however, that I shall be able to calm and control my feelings, though I do not expect to become entirely settled until the affairs around me are settled.

It is a pretty bold stand for this people to take, to say that they will not be controlled by the corrupt administrators of our General Government. We will be controlled by them, if they will be controlled by the Constitution and laws; but they will not. Many of them do not care any more about the Constitution and the laws that they make than they do about the laws of another nation, That class trample the rights of the people under their feet, while there are also many who would like to honour them. All we have ever asked for is our constitutional rights. We wish the laws of our Government honoured, and we have ever honoured them; but they are trampled under foot by administrators.

There cannot be a more damnable, dastardly order issued than was issued by the Administration to this people while they were in an Indian country, in 1846. Before we left Nauvoo, not less than two United States’ senators came to receive a pledge from us that we would leave the United States; and then, while we were doing our best to leave their borders, the poor, low, degraded curses sent a requisition for five hundred of our men to go and fight their battles! That was President Polk; and he is now weltering in hell with old Zachary Taylor, where the present administrators will soon be, if they do not repent.

Liars have reported that this people have committed treason; and upon their lies, the President has ordered out troops to aid in officering this Territory: and if those officers are like many who have previously been sent here, (and we have reason to believe that they are, or they would not come when they know they are not wanted,) they are poor, miserable blacklegs, broken-down political hacks, robbers, and whoremongers—men that are not fit for civilized society; so they must dragoon them upon us for officers. I feel that I won’t bear such cursed treatment, and that is enough to say; for we are just as free as the mountain air.

I do not lift my voice against the great and glorious Government guaranteed to every citizen by our Constitution, but against those corrupt administrators who trample the Constitution and just laws under their feet. They care no more about them than they do about the Government of France; but they walk them under their feet with impunity. And the most of the characters they have sent here as officers cared no more about the laws of our country and of this Territory than they did about the laws of China, but walked them under their feet with all the recklessness of despots.

I do not want to be angry, nor to have my feelings wrought up; but I cannot keep quiet under the continued outrageous tyranny of the wicked.

I have said that if the brethren will have faith, the Lord will fight our battles, and we will have the privilege of living here in peace. I have counted the cost to this people of a collision with our enemies; but I cannot begin to count the cost it will be to them.

I have told you that if this people will live their religion, all will be well; and I have told you that if there is any man or woman that is not willing to destroy anything and everything of their property that would be of use to an enemy, if left, I wanted them to go out of the Territory; and I again say so to-day; for when the time comes to burn and lay waste our improvements, if any man undertakes to shield his, he will be sheared down; for “judgment will be laid to the line and righteousness to the plummet.” Now the faint-hearted can go in peace; but should that time come, they must not interfere. Before I will suffer what I have in times gone by, there shall not be one building, nor one foot of lumber, nor a stick, nor a tree, nor a particle of grass and hay, that will burn, left in reach of our enemies. I am sworn, if driven to extremity, to utterly lay waste, in the name of Israel’s God.

I know that the Saints, both the brethren and sisters, pray that our enemies may not come here; for their entrance is designed by our Government to be the prelude to the introduction of abominations and death. And you cannot talk to a brother, or even to a sister, but that she will tell you that, if she consents in her feelings to have our enemies come here, she feels uncomfortable, and her heart sinks within her. If I consent in my feelings to have them come here, my heart sinks within me, my buoyant spirits are gone, and I have no comfort; for I know the hellish designs concealed under the present movement. But we are free, and every man says, “Stand by the kingdom.” When this is the case, every man is like a troop; they are like lions.

Admit of corrupt administrators sending troops here, and what would be the result? All hell would follow after. I naturally dislike to have any trouble, and would not, were I not obliged to; but we are obliged to defend ourselves against the persecution of our oppressors, or have our constitutional rights rent from us, and have ourselves destroyed. We must either suffer that, or stand up and maintain the kingdom of God on the earth.

We have known all the time that the kingdoms of darkness were opposed to the kingdom of God—that the powers of earth and hell were combined against it. Christ and Baal cannot make friends with each other: you cannot mix oil and water, righteousness and wickedness. This is the kingdom of God; all others are of Devil. They never can be united in this world, nor in any other: there is no possibility of the two kingdoms becoming one. Those who believe and obey the Gospel of the Son of God, and forsake all for its interests, belong to the kingdom of God, and all the rest belong to the other kingdom. There is a distinction, and the line must be drawn; and you and I have to stand up to it, even though it may take from us our right eyes and right hands. We must stand up to the line and maintain the kingdom of God, or we will all go to destruction together.

I am perfectly willing that the brethren should stop all improvements, if they choose, and spend a few years in seeing what our enemies will do; though their efforts against us will only tend to use them up the faster. If the people prefer it, they may stop their improvements and take care of their wheat, and cache a supply of grain, flour, &c., where no other persons can find it; though we can raise grain here all the time—yes, all the time.

Suppose that our enemies send 50,000 troops here, they will have to transport all that will be requisite to sustain them over one winter; for I will promise them, before they come, that there shall not be one particle of forage, nor one mouthful of food for them, should they come. They will have to bring all their provisions and forage; and though they start their teams with as heavy loads as they can draw, there is no team that can bring enough to sustain itself, to say nothing of the men. If there were no more men here than there are in the Seminole nation, our enemies never could use us up; but they could use up themselves, which they will do. The Seminoles—a little tribe of a few hundred in Florida—have cost our government, I suppose, in the neighbourhood of 100,000,000 dollars; and they are no nearer being conquered than when the war commenced. And what few have removed have been induced to do so by compromise; and it would be far cheapest for the Government to pay the debts they honestly owe us, and leave us unmolested in the peaceful enjoyment of our rights.

Would not our enemies feel well in going to the kanyons for wood the first night to cook their suppers with? The idea puts me in mind of an anecdote told by one Brown about the man who took the first barrel of whisky up the Missouri river on a log-raft.

They might stay amid blackened desolation till they had ate up what they had brought, and then they would have to go back.

It has been asked, “Have you counted the cost?” Yes, for ourselves; but I cannot begin to count it for our enemies. It will cost them all they have in this world, and will land them in hell in the world to come, while the only trouble with us is that we have two or three times more men than we need for using up all who can come here to deprive us of our rights.

As I said this morning, ten years ago on this ground I stated that we would not ask any odds of our enemies in ten years from that date; and the next time that I thought of it was ten years afterwards to a day. “They are now sending their troops” was the news; and it directly occurred to me, “Will you ask any odds of them?” No; in the name of Israel’s God we will not; for as soon as we ask odds, we get ends—of bayonets. When we have asked them for bread, they have given us stones; and when we have asked them for meat, they have given us scorpions; and what is the use in asking any more? I do not ask any odds of those who are striving to deprive us of every vestige of freedom and to destroy us from the earth.

Suppose that we should now bow down, and they should order their troops back, and then send a Governor and other officers here, how long would it be before some miserable scamp would get into a fuss with the Indians in Utah County, or in some other county, and get killed? Then the Governor would order out the Militia—probably two or three hundred men—to kill off those Indians. Well, the brethren, knowing that the aggressor is a white man, do not want to turn out and, like Gen. Harney, kill the squaws; and they say, “We shall not go.” Then the Governor would say, “They have committed treason;” and it would be, “Send an army here, and shoot and hang them.” Our enemies are determined to bring us into collision with the Government, so that they can kill us; but they shall not come here.

If the troops are now this side of Laramie, remember that the Sweetwater is this side of that place. They must have some place to winter, for they cannot come through here this season. We could go out and use them up, and it would not require fifty men to do it. But probably we shall not have occasion to take that course, for we do not want to kill men. They may winter in peace at some place east of us; but when spring comes, they must go back to the States, or, at any rate, they must leave the mountains.

We have no desire to kill men, but we wish to keep the devils from killing us. If you hear that they are near the upper crossing of the Platte, they will probably stay there till they can collect 50,000 troops. We will say that 9 and 3 equal 17; and if that is so, how long will it take to get those troops here? Let an arithmetician figure out how long it will be before 9 and 3 will make 17; for that will just be as soon as our enemies will get 50,000 troops here.

We have got to be called treasoners by our enemies. Joseph was taken up six times, if I remember rightly, on the charge of treason. Once he was brought into court by some enemies who thought they could prove that he had committed adultery, and that they termed treason. At another time our brethren wanted to vote in Davies County, Missouri, and said they would cast their votes and have their rights with other citizens; whereupon Joseph was taken up for treason. Another time, he was taken up on a charge of high treason; and when he came before the grand jury, his enemies wanted to prove that he had more than one wife, asserting that that was high treason.

Our enemies are constantly yelling “Rebellion! treason!” no matter how peaceful, orderly, and loyal we may be. And now to come out in open opposition to their cursed, corrupt practices, will of course be counted treason. But let me tell you that the real, actual treason is committed in Washington, by the administrators of our Government sending an army to take the lives of innocent citizens. Every man is allowed by the Constitution to have what religion he pleases and to profess what religion he pleases. That liberty is guaranteed by the Constitution; “but you, ‘Mormons,’ an army must be sent against you, because you are Latter-day Saints.” Yes, an army must be sent to drive us from the earth.

There is high treason in Washington; and if the law was carried out, it would hang up many of them. And the very act of James K. Polk in taking five hundred of our men, while we were making our way out of the country under an agreement forced upon us, would have hung him between the heavens and the earth, if the laws had been faithfully executed. And now, if they can send a force against this people, we have every constitutional and legal right to send them to hell, and we calculate to send them there.

When I get over being angry, I may preach something else; but the past travels and sufferings of this people through mobocracy are before me.

I am not speaking of the Government, but of the corrupt administrators of the Government. They make me think of a sign in New York, upon which was lettered, “All manner of twisting and turning done here.” It is just so in Washington city; they can twist and turn in any and every way, to suit their hellish appetites.

Were I an officer sent to Utah for the purpose of aiding the unhallowed oppression of the innocent, (and in this connection I disclaim all personalities,) I would know the facts in the case before I would make any hostile move; and sooner than side with tyranny and murder, I would resign my commission, and say, “Take it and

stick it in your boot, and go to hell, and I will go my way.” And I would rather go and raise my own potatoes for my wives and children than to hold office under such a set of administrators and bow down to their wicked designs; though, if I were of the world, I should probably do as the rest do.

I have already told you that the main cause of an army being now sent here is a political scheme for the purpose of getting money out of the United States’ treasury. Politicians and traders combine to lay plans, no matter how devilish, for getting their hands into the treasury of the United States, that they may have money with which to sow corruption and gratify their debauched natures.

Some men do not realize what they are doing. I said, a few weeks ago, that the deeds of some men are out of sight. Our merchants here have fanned the flame, and what for? To peddle off my blood and yours for gold and silver. Although that design may have been out of their sight, yet such is the case; but they will not make money by the operation. Should the crisis come, they will find themselves in poor pasture, with nothing but greasewood and sage to feed upon. It will not do for them to sell us for money; for we are worth more than the Methodist society was sold for in Canada, where they were sold at three cents a head.

I am aware that you will want to know what will be the result of the present movement against us. “Mormonism” will take an almighty stride into influence and power, while our enemies will sink and become weaker and weaker, and be no more; and I know it just as well now as I shall five years hence. The Lord Almighty wants a name and a character; and he will show our enemies that he is God, and that he has set to his hand again to gather Israel, and to try our faith and integrity. And he is saying, “Now, you, my children, dare you take a step to promote righteousness, in direct and open opposition to the popular feelings of all the wicked in your Government? If you do, I will fight your battles.”

Our enemies had better count the cost; for if they continue to job, they will want to let it out to sub-contractors, before they get half through with it. If they persist in sending troops here, I want the people in the west and in the east to understand that it will not be safe for them to cross the Plains.

It has cost the Government hundreds of thousands of dollars more for the Indians in other territories than it has in this; and I have saved the Government hundreds of thousands of dollars, by keeping the Indians peaceable in Utah. Hundreds of miles have the Indians travelled to see me, to know whether they might use up the emigrants, saying—“They have killed many of us; and they damn you and damn us, and shall we stand it?” I have always told them to hold on, to stop shedding blood, and to live in peace. But I have been told that the first company of packers that went through here this season, on their way from California to the States shot at every Indian they saw between Carson Valley and Box Elder; and what has been the result? Probably scores of persons have been killed; animals have been taken from nearly all the emigrants that have passed on that road; and the Indians in that region have now more stock than they know how to take care of; and they come into settlements with their pockets full of gold. The whites first commenced on the Indians; and now, if they do not quit such conduct, they must stop travelling through this country; for it is more than I can do to keep the Indians still under such outrageous treatment.

The people do not realize what they have done by driving us into the midst of the Lamanites. They prevented Joseph from associating with the Indians; but they, through their ignorance, thought that we were going to Vancouver’s Island, or on the borders of the Pacific; but lo they have driven us into the midst of the Lamanites. These Lamanites begin to have a knowledge of their forefathers, and they are cultivating the earth. Here were the most degraded classes of Indians to be found; but now there is not a tribe so enlightened, nor one that has so good a knowledge of its real position and standing before the Lord as have some of these Utah Indians. It is now very different with them to what it was when we first came here. It is now becoming a universal practice with them to punish the guilty, and not the innocent: they have been taught that from the time we first came here. Talk with them, and you will learn that they have a good deal of knowledge. They must be saved, for they are the children of Abraham.

The Lord in his mercy has suffered our enemies to do that which we could not have accomplished for many years; and, let a war commence, and there is no knowing where we shall next land in Jackson County, Missouri. They will learn that “Mormonism” is a living creature.

All the world have to learn that the Lord is God, and that he is the God of his children. He will protect his anointed; he will defend his own family; and all we have to do is to do his will; and every man, woman, and child ought to seek to learn the will of God and do it. When that is the case, we need not fear all earth and hell. Do not offend God by not doing as he wants you to.

May the Lord God bless you, brethren and sisters. Amen.

Communism—Sectarianism—The Gospel and its Effects, etc.

John Taylor

Remarks by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, on Sunday morning, September 13, 1857.

It is rather a strange anomaly, particularly in the estimation of the world, that a people so numerous as the Latter-day Saints should be gathered together in one place, having the one faith, and believing in the same doctrines. It is the more strange because there have been various social and political movements, aided by philosophy, established among men in various ages of the world; and almost if not all of these have signally failed.

Among the number of social movements in our day, there is that of Robert Dale Owen, who thought he could ameliorate the condition of mankind by a sort of communism, having a fellowship of goods among them—a sort of common stock principle. Everything pertaining to this speculation, however, has flatted out; and in all his schemes and movements, whether in England or in this country, they have signally failed.

It is so also with Fourierism—a species of French philosophy, established by one Fourier, a Frenchman, and advocated by Greeley of the New York Tribune. They had tried it in France, and then came over to this country; and not far from New York a society of this kind was established. They had a good deal of property, and I am informed they established something of the nature of what is called the free love principle; but within twelve months back, while I was residing in New York, everything they had was sold under the hammer.

Mr. Cabet commenced lecturing in France, and had very extensive societies there. About the time we left Nauvoo to come to this land, Mr. Cabet, with a company of his men, came there. This is a species of communism; they are called “Communists,” believing, with Mr. Owen, in a community of goods. They published a newspaper in Nauvoo, and one or more in France. I baptized one of their editors while in Paris on my mission—a man who is now in this valley, by the name of Bertrand.

Mr. Krolokoski, who was also an editor of the same paper with Mr. Bertrand, came to me to have a conversation about the first principles of the Gospel. After a long conversation, he said, “Mr. Taylor, do you propose no other plan to ameliorate the condition of mankind than that of baptism for the remission of sins?”

I replied—“This is all I propose about the matter.”

“Well,” he said, “I wish you every success; but I am afraid you will not succeed.”

Said I, “Mr. Krolokoski, you sent, some time ago, Mr. Cabet to Nauvoo. He was considered your leader—the most talented man you had. He went to Nauvoo when it was deserted—when houses and lands were at a mere nominal value: he went there with his community at the time we left. Rich farms were deserted, and thousands of us had left our houses and furniture in them, and there was everything that was calculated to promote the happiness of human beings there. Never could a person go to a place under more happy circumstances. Mr. Cabet, to try his experiment, had also the selection in France of whom he pleased. He and his company went to Nauvoo, and what is the result? You have seen the published account in the papers. We were banished from civilized society into the valleys of the Rocky Mountains to seek for that protection among savages which Christian civilization denied us—among the peau rouges, or red skins, as they call them. There our people have built houses, enclosed lands, cultivated gardens, built school-houses, opened farms, and have organized a government and are prospering in all the blessings and immunities of civilized life. Not only this, but they have sent thousands and thousands of dollars over to Europe to assist the suffering poor to go to America, where they might find an asylum. You, on the other hand, that went to our empty houses and farms—you, I say, went there under most favourable circumstances. Now, what is the result? I read in all of your reports from there, published in your own paper in Paris, a continued cry for help. The cry is to you for money, money: ‘We want money to help us to carry out our designs.’ The society that I represent comes with the fear of God—the worship of the great Eloheim: they offer the simple plan ordained of God—viz., repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, and the laying-on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. Our people have not been seeking the influence of the world, nor the power of government, but they have obtained both; whilst you, with your philosophy independent of God, have been seeking to build up a system of communism and a government which is, according to your own accounts, the way to introduce the millennial reign. Now, which is the best—our religion, or your philosophy?”

“Well,” said he, “I cannot say anything.”

He could not, because these were facts that he was familiar with.

What has become of that society? There are very few of them left. They have had dissensions, bickerings, trouble, and desertions, until they are nearly dwindled to nothing.

I might enumerate many societies of a similar nature, commenced in different parts of the world and at various times. The results, however, would be proved to be the same: they commenced in the wisdom of man, and ended as speculative bubbles. Truth, based on eternal principles, alone can stand the test.

If Owen, Fourier, Cabet, and other philosophers have failed—if all the varied schemes of communism have failed—if human philosophy is found to be at fault, and all its plans incompetent, and we have not failed, it it shows there is something associated with this people and with “Mormonism” that there is not with them.

Now the question is, What is this principle?—why is there a difference?

The first account I ever heard of this Gospel was simply preaching what are termed the first principles of the Gospel of Christ. There was nothing very ostentatious about it—nothing very grand—no great pomp or parade. The Elders were in many instances uneducated: they had no particular advantages among men; but they had received certain principles, certain doctrines, that were plain and easy to comprehend—things that were childlike and simple, and that recommended themselves to every intelligent, unbiassed [unbiased] mind.

What was it we first learned in relation to this Gospel? Was it something very profound and philosophical, that some sage either in this or some other country had discovered—the plan of some politician or statesman?

Verily no; it was no such thing. What was it? It was a proclamation made, declaring that a holy angel from heaven had appeared—that he had revealed himself unto a young man that was born in the backwoods of America—a farmer’s son, without any particular educational advantages; that this angel, having appeared unto him, had revealed unto him an ancient record that gave an account of the aboriginal inhabitants of this country; that in this record there was an account of Prophets having existed on this continent in former days, of Jesus having appeared, and of angels having administered unto them—an account of their having been in possession of the Gospel, having the same doctrines, the same blessings, the same privileges and powers that were associated with the Gospel on the Asiatic continent; and that this record agreed with the Bible in doctrines, ordinances, teachings, and blessings.

And furthermore, these men referred us to the Bible, and showed us that this book was spoken of—that it was to come forth—that it was the “stick of Joseph,” and that it was to be one with the “stick of Judah,”—one in prophecy, one in revelation, one in unfolding the purposes of God, and one in bringing to pass the great events that were to transpire in the last days.

We heard of these things, and to many of us they seemed foolish. We heard the cry of “False prophet and deceiver!” The first thing that I heard from a priest, after hearing this Gospel preached by Parley P. Pratt, some twenty years ago, was the cry of “Delusion!” I was immediately informed that “Joe Smith was a money-digger,” that he tried to deceive people by walking on planks laid under the water, and that he was a wicked and corrupt man, a deceiver, and one of the biggest fools in creation, and so forth. I heard every kind of story; and the priests have kept up the same things, pretty much, to the present day.

I remember, when I first had an Elder introduced to me, I said to him, “I do not know what to think about you ‘Mormons.’ I do not believe any kind of fanaticism: I profess to be acquainted with the Bible; and, sir,” said I, “in any conversation we may have, I wish you to confine yourself to the Bible; for I tell you I shall not listen to anything in opposition to that word.”

From the report which I had heard of “Mormonism.” I thought it was anything but a religious system. I was told about the French prophets—I was told about Matthias, Johanna Southcote, and of all the follies that had existed for centuries; and then they put “Mormonism” at the end of them all.

In my researches, I examined things very carefully and critically. I wrote down six of the first sermons I heard preached by Parley P. Pratt, in order that I might compare them with the Bible, and I could not find any difference. I could easily controvert any other doctrine, but I could not overturn one principle of “Mormonism.”

I have travelled to preach these doctrines in most of the United States and in the Canadas; I have preached them in England, in Scotland, in Wales, in the Isles of Man and the Jerseys, in France, Germany, in the principal cities of America and Europe, and to many prominent men in the world; and I have not yet found a man that could controvert one principle of “Mormonism” upon scriptural grounds. If there is a man, I have yet to find him.

The first proclamation by the Elders was, that the ancient Gospel had been restored. We had had Methodism, Presbyterianism, Dunkerism, Shakerism, Catholicism, Quakerism, and every other ism that you could think of; but there was none that had the ancient Gospel—no, not one.

I was, however, well acquainted with theology. I consider that if ever I lost any time in my life, it was while studying the Christian theology. Sectarian theology is the greatest tomfoolery in the world.

There are certain principles in reason which are unalterable. Two and two made four 1,800 years ago, and they still make the same. Two parallel lines never would meet: they will not now. A Gospel that was true 1,800 years ago could not be false now. If they, then, have the same Bible, and profess to have the same Spirit, and to be educated men, why do they not see alike? If there are any of whom we have spoken possessed of good common sense, it would lead them to union, and not to discord; for the scriptures tell us, there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God, who is above all, in you all, and through you all.”

We used to quarrel with one another, when we were among the sectarians, about our peculiar doctrines. One was a brother Methodist, and another was a brother Presbyterian; and we used to fall out about which was right—whether the doctrine of freewill or of fate was right; for we did not know which was right—though both were right, if we had understood them. There was also much wrangling as to whether infants that died went to hell or not. Some sent them to heaven, and some to hell, where they were to be pitched up with pitchforks, and stung with scorpions, and wasted there everlastingly.

This is the doctrine of the Catholic Church. I have got a book at home that I obtained in France, which represents sinners falling into a tremendous fire; and there are dragons, scorpions, serpents, and every kind of reptile searching like fiends for their prey. Naked sinners are depicted falling into devouring flames, and a great dragon with open mouth, forked tongue, and horrid teeth, ready to receive them. If they should miss it, there are scorpions, and serpents, and devils, with three-pronged pitchforks, waiting a little below, that they may get the sinners and give them a good roasting.

You are here, a conglomeration from all the different churches. The day when you came into this Church was the time when you showed your honesty. What! are there honest-hearted Methodists and Presbyterians? Yes. And honest Baptists? Yes. Persons have been brought into this Church of all those different kinds of faith, and you are actually all one.

[President B. Young: “That scares the world.”]

Yes, as President Young says, that scares the world. Why are they not one? Because they have not the Gospel as it existed in its purity.

Peter preached it, Jesus, and James, John, and Paul preached it, and the Apostles and Elders preached it on this continent; for the Gospel in the Book of Mormon and the Gospel in the Bible both agree: the doctrines in both books are one. The historical part differs only: the one gives the history of an Asiatic, the other of an American people.

Stephens and Catherwood, after examining the ruins that were found at Guatemala, in Central America, and gazing upon magnificent ruins, mouldering temples, stately edifices, rich sculpture, elegant statuary, and all the traces of a highly cultivated and civilized people, said—“Here are the works of a great and mighty people that have inhabited these ruins; but now they are no more: history is silent on the subject, and no man can unravel this profound mystery. Nations have planted, and reaped, and built, and lived, and died, that are now no more; and no one can tell anything about them or reveal their history.”

Why, there was a young man in Ontario county, New York, to whom the angel of God appeared and gave an account of the whole. These majestic ruins bespeak the existence of a mighty people. The Book of Mormon unfolds their history. O yes; but his was of too humble an origin, like Jesus of Nazareth. It was not some great professor, who had got an education in a European or an American college, but one who professed to have a revelation from God—and the world don’t believe in revelation; but nevertheless it is true, and we know it.

Those men who profess so much intelligence that they cannot listen to the word of the Lord, and have so much egotism and philosophy that they cannot listen to sound reason and common sense, cannot be edified by these things, while we, who have not such lofty pretensions, enjoy them.

Now, what did Jesus teach? He said, “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature: he that believeth and is baptised shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” (Mark xvi. 16—18.)

This is what Jesus taught: this is the Gospel that he and his disciples taught. Who teaches this Gospel now? Do the Methodists, the Presbyterians, the Dunkers, the Baptists, or the Catholics? Could you find anybody that taught the doctrines that Jesus taught his disciples to teach? I have not found them anywhere; and yet the thing is so plain that he that runs may read.

Go and preach the Gospel to every creature; and he that believeth and is baptised shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned. “O yes, we believe that.” Well, then, read on. “O no,” they will say; “stop there if you please.” But it reads: “And these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

“But,” say they, “you must not read that.” But it is in the Bible. “True,” say they; “but it is a spiritual thing: it means those that are sick spiritually—they shall be healed. “It means,” say they, “the sin-sick soul.”

It is like the school-ma’m who came to a difficult word, and not understanding it herself, told the child to say “hard word,” and pass on. You must not say that which is contrary to their belief.

Now, if we look a little further, we shall find that the disciples were instructed to “tarry at Jerusalem until they were endowed with power from on high.” It was necessary that they should be qualified. Did they tarry? They did.

Why was it necessary for them to tarry? Had they not been with Jesus? And had they not ate and drank with him? Yes. Had they not seen his miracles? They had; and they were called to go and preach the Gospel. And were they not prepared? No, not until they had received the necessary qualification. It was not every upstart that could go and preach the Gospel.

There are some, now a days that go to college; and by their learning they think they will preach a Gospel without God. There are others who go because they are fools. Now, when the Lord qualified the Apostles to go forth and preach the Gospel, he endowed them with wisdom and inspired them from on high, and they spake as the Holy Ghost gave them utterance; and the word that they spake was not the word of man, but the word of God, dictated by the Spirit of God, pointing out to the people the way of life.

Why was it necessary for those Apostles to tarry at Jerusalem? They had an important mission to perform; their testimony was going to seal the doom of nations. Their message was, “He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned.”

Could the Methodists, Baptists, or Presbyterians say this? No. No one professes to say that their word will seal the doom of nations, among modern Christians.

Those men, however, who stayed at Jerusalem till they were endowed with power from on high, made this profession. They assembled in an upper room, and the Spirit of the Lord God rested upon them, and they spoke as the Spirit gave them utterance. There were no Methodists, or Presbyterians, or Baptists there.

As soon as it was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and some said, “Why, these men are drunk: we have got a lot of drunken scamps here—the followers of Jesus of Nazareth.” But Peter said, “O no, this is not the case; it is but the third hour of the day.” The Jews never got drunk before nine o’clock in the morning; so that was a sufficient argument.

Peter said, “These men are not drunk as ye suppose; but this is what was spoken by the Prophet Joel—“And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophecy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit, and they shall prophecy.” (Acts ii.) This is not drunkenness, but it is the power of God beginning to be made manifest: these are the servants of the living God, the Apostles of the Lord, set apart to preach the principles of eternal truth to the nations of the earth; and they are speaking as the Spirit gives them utterance.

The Apostles began to tell them about Jesus, that he was the Son of God, that they had rejected him, crucified, and slain him. They testified that he was not an impostor, as the people had supposed, but that he was the Messiah.

When they heard these things, they were pricked to the heart, and cried out, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

You have heard this kind of cry in those revival meetings among the sectarians: people would get convinced and under a sort of contraction of mind, and they would want to know what they should do to be saved.

Now, here was a lot of people gathered from all parts of the surrounding country, speaking different languages; and Peter was preaching to them to believe, repent, and be baptised: and while reasoning upon the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, they cried out, “What shall we do?” Did he tell them to go to the anxious seat to be prayed for? No, he did not know anything about such a seat: the Devil had not yet invented it. Did he tell them to go and put their names into a class-book, and that they would receive them on probation, and then, if they were worthy, they would be received as members? No: this is something in advance of Peter’s time; it is something of Christian civilization.

It was necessary that we should have the enlightenment of the 19th century to reveal these things. Did he tell them to pray? No, he did not. Prayer is well enough in the season thereof; but they had something else to do.

Is it not right to go into your closet and pray? Yes. But when you have ordinances to attend to, then that is your business. What did Peter say to them? He said, “Repent, and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

You perceive that he told the people the same that Jesus told him to teach.

“In the first place, you tell us to repent, and then to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and what then?”

To have hands laid upon you for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

“What will the Holy Ghost do for us, Peter?”

You have seen its effects upon us. It shall bring things past to your remembrance; it shall show you things to come; it shall make prophets of you; your sons and daughters shall see visions; the heavens shall be opened unto you; you shall know of your origin, comprehend who you are, what you are, where you are going to, the relationship which exists between you and your God; and there shall be a channel opened between the eternal worlds and you; and the purposes of God shall be made known unto you.

What did the Elders of this Church preach to you? The very same things which Peter taught. And have not the same effects, or signs, followed them that believe? They have, as you all know this day. (See 1st Cor. chap. xii.)

I will tell you how I felt when I was investigating the doctrines of “Mormonism.” I compared them to try if they agreed with the Scriptures; but when I tried to pick “Mormonism” to pieces, I could not do it. And now, said I to the Elders, you promise me that if I embrace the doctrines you teach, I shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost: what will this produce? They told me it would produce the same as it did anciently. If I had not experienced those things and seen them manifested around me, I would have got up and called those men impostors. I would have said, “Sirs, you promised me and others blessings which we have not experienced, and this people and you, sirs, are impostors.

I do not call the priests of the day impostors, because they do not profess anything of the kind that I have spoken of: they are simply false teachers, “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men,” as the Scriptures say.

We read the Book of Mormon, and found it contained the same doctrines the Apostles taught on the Asiatic continent.

And what has this Gospel done? It has caused you to leave your families, your connections, your homes, and your associations in life. Many of you have left thousands and thousands of dollars’ worth of property; you have wandered over oceans, deserts, plains, and mountains; you have been mobbed and scourged from city to city, and from State to State, and you have endured all this. Why? Because of that hope which is within your bosoms, which blooms with immortality and eternal lives. You have asked this question to yourselves, “Who am I, and what is the design of my existence?” and the Gospel has unfolded these things to your understandings. You feel that you are eternal beings: you feel that you are living for eternity and not for time only.

I have heard it recommended, by some poor fools in the shape of editors in the United States, to send missionaries here to convert the people. I told them to send them, and promised they should have a hearing. They thought if they came here and introduced some of their good Christian ideas and practices and some of their pure morals, that you would see such a striking difference that you must be enamoured with them, and that you would be broken up.

Why, said I, poor fools! Do you think that this people have left their friends, associations, and everything that would render life precious among men, and wandered off among those who are called fanatics and fools—those who are everywhere spoken against?—and do you think that they are going to be led astray by your poor-pussy priests?

Are you to be like the Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, and Catholics? No; you are to have one faith, one baptism, one Lord, one Holy Spirit.

You are terribly tyrannized over, according to what I hear; and many of you want to leave.

I engaged, when I was back in the States, that if they would send all to Utah that wanted to come, we would send all back that wanted to go. That would be a fair bargain, you know; but I think they would have the heaviest job on hand.

[Voices: We know they would.]

What was your object in coming here? Was it to rebel against the General Government?

[President B. Young: To get away from Christians.]

Brother Young says it was to get away from Christians—from that unbounded charity which you had experienced amongst them. In consequence of their treatment, you had to come away to seek a home in the desert wilds, and to obtain that protection among savages which Christian philanthropy denied you.

We came here because we could not help it, and now we have got an idea to stay here because we can help it: this is about the feeling.

What was it that implanted the idea of gathering and union in our bosoms? It was the Gospel of Jesus Christ; and that principle is implanted in our breasts by the power of the Holy Ghost, which earth and hell cannot eradicate.

There are certain ideas of God, and futurity, and the nature and fitness of things implanted in the human bosom, even while in the world; for there are many things which lead to reflection.

Why do this people feel so comfortable when an army is approaching? Are you not afraid of being killed? No, not a great deal. Why are you not mourning and sorrowing, and why are you not distressed and troubled? Because you have got a principle within you that cannot be conquered in time nor in eternity: you possess the principles of eternal life in your bosoms, that cannot be subdued. You know what your relationship is with the Eternal God, and his Spirit gives joy and consolation to your bosoms.

I have heard men and women rejoice in France and in Germany as much as in any parts of the world, and in their own tongue blessing and thanking God that ever he permitted the light of truth to beam upon their minds. You feel the same: you have got the treasure in earthen vessels; you have got that within you of which Jesus spake—a well of water “springing up unto eternal life.” You are looking forward to the time when thrones, principalities, powers, and eternal lives will be given unto you in the kingdoms of our God.

Again: You know that you are in the kingdom of God; for God, among other things, has revealed this to you. And while the Communists, Fourierites, and others have sought to bring about a reign of righteousness without revelation, God has revealed unto you a kingdom that shall abide for ever, by the principles of eternal truth and by the revelations of God. You know that you are associated with this kingdom: you feel it; and no man can deprive you of this feeling, nor rob you of that Spirit.

Satan has had the dominion over the world for centuries, and no nation or people has acknowledged God or bowed to his sceptre. They have anointed their kings, they have hewn down and trampled upon the rights of man, and their hands reek with blood. In this condition they have had priests to come and anoint them kings! But they are wholesale murderers and robbers.

Who has reigned by the grace of God in the nations? And who has had authority from heaven? Who has acknowledged God in all their ways? Has any kingdom or dominion under heaven? Not one! You go into any kingdom, or let a Prophet of God go into any cabinet, to any governor, or potentate, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord! and they would kick him out. [Voice: “They would kill him.”] Would they do it in the United States? They would anywhere.

To behold man, whose breath is in his nostrils, who flourishes, and is cut down like the grass that exists, and withers and dies, that expands and bursts like a bubble—poor, pusillanimous man—assume government, authority, and power, without any authority from God, to regulate the kingdoms of the earth, shows his littleness, weakness, egotism, and pusillanimity, and reminds one of boys playing marbles or building cob-houses.

Why was this earth made? and who made it? We are told in the Scriptures that “all things were created by him and for him; whether they be principalities, powers, or dominions, all things were created by him and for him.” Has he had the dominion? If so, when and where has he had it? He did partially rule for a short time among the ancient Patriarchs, and also among the Jews; but all the rest of the nations have ruled without him and taken to themselves the glory. They have assumed to themselves certain positions and powers, and, aided by their peers, lords, governors, and immediate associates, they have oppressed the human family, and brought them into bondage.

The nations have forgotten God. They have forsaken God, the fountain of living waters, and hewn out to themselves broken cisterns, that can hold no water; and like dogs, wolves, panthers, and beasts of prey, they have done nothing but tear each other to pieces…

Read the history of nations, and examine the paintings they have in their National Galleries, and you will find they represent, almost exclusively, scenes of blood, deadly struggles, triumphant victories, or sanguinary battles, and the groanings, troubles, sighs, sufferings, and death of the human family.

This has been the way that things have been carried on by kings and governors; but where and when has there been a person to save, and bless, and act as a father and benefactor to the world? And where has there been a servant of God listened to? Jesus came among his friends; but they would not listen to him. He sent his servants—his Apostles, but they put them to death. He has sent again in the last days; he has anointed his servant Joseph Smith, and afterwards Brigham Young, to speak as his mouthpiece to the people, for the government of his Saints not only here, but to all that will hear and obey the Gospel throughout the world.

God has determined to have a people that will serve him. What have you heard taught here? Nothing but the law of God and obedience to the laws of the land. Nobody but the most blackhearted villains that ever lived would have gone among our enemies and represented things otherwise.

You comprehend liberty, and you will have this boon. Many of your fathers have fought for this, and you are resolved to enjoy it. Will you endeavour to disannul the Government? No; but we will rally round the Constitution that was purchased by the blood of our fathers, and will support it.

These are our views; and while we do not trample under foot the Constitution, we will take care that others do not do it.

[The congregation responded, “Amen.”]

What has been the difficulty with you for some time past? You have had doctrines of purity revealed unto you; you have been taught principles of righteousness, to repent of all your evils, to purify yourselves, that, as Saints of the living God, you might come and receive blessings at the hands of the Almighty.

While you have been doing this, the spirit of psychology has been operating in the hearts of men, even the spirits and powers of darkness; devils have been railing, and men thundering out their anathemas; all hell has been to pay, and “no pitch hot,” and why? Because you have been adhering to the principles of truth, and been doing better than you have before.

What was the reason that they crucified Jesus Christ? Because he adhered to the truth; and those very men that persecute us would crucify him, if he was here to-day.

[Voices: “Yes, they would.”]

Well, what is the matter? The Lord has given to us a Prophet who receives the word of the Lord for us. These revelations have led us from principle to principle, from doctrine to doctrine, and from ordinance to ordinance, until we are found as we are at the present time.

We feel well, our spirits are light and buoyant, and our hopes strong in the God of Israel. If we could not trust in God, we should indeed be without hope. How many have gone from here to teach the principles that God has revealed? Thousands of the Elders of Israel. They were sent to do the people good, and have been more disinterested in it than any other people.

Have you, Elders, gone because you were sent by missionary societies? No, you have not. Have you gone because you had drafts and acceptances on banks and merchants? No: you have gone without purse or scrip. President Young, brother Woodruff, brother Hyde, brother Franklin, myself, and others, have travelled thousands and thousands of miles without purse or scrip, trusting in the living God.

Did we have to beg? No. I do not believe in begging: God will take care of us. It is not so with other ministers. You tell them to trust in God for the support of their bodies, and they are not willing to do it. They will be quite willing to trust in God for their spirits; but they dare not trust him for their bodies.

Go to the United States, and I will engage to give $50,000, if you will find a thousand men in all the United States that will go without purse or scrip to the nations of the earth to preach the Gospel. Come, now, I will banter the world with this offer.

On the other hand, if President Young wants a thousand men, they will be ready in one day, if it is necessary. Is it not so, brethren?

[Thousands of voices responded, “Yes:”]

This state of things exists in the world because they are governed by filthy lucre.

We have embraced the Gospel because we knew it was true. I have travelled with brother Young thousands of miles, preaching the Gospel, and with brother Woodruff, brother Hyde, brother Smith, brother Franklin, and many others around me. What did we do? We went trusting in Israel’s God; and we are doing the same now. What did we go for? Because we loved the human family, and knowing that God had revealed principles that would exalt men and women in the kingdom of God. We wandered forth to preach those principles voluntarily. We did it because we loved mankind.

Why have this people confidence in President Young and others? Because they have seen them leave their homes and go forth and endure every privation to promote their welfare in time and in eternity. They could not have confidence in a priest that would not go to preach except he had $10,000.

Furthermore, this people have confidence in their leaders, because in times of trouble and trial they have stemmed the torrents and been foremost in the battle. It is not a kind of soft, smooth eloquence to tickle the ears of men, but it is stern matters of fact that the people know.

As Paul said, “Can anything separate us from the love of God?” No, brethren; we are cemented together by eternal ties that the world does not know, nor can it comprehend. Talk to us of bowing to the Gentile yoke! Nonsense. What would be your feeling if the United States wanted to have the honour of driving us from our homes and bringing us subject to their depraved standard of moral and religious truth? Would you, if necessary, brethren, put the torch to your buildings, and lay them in ashes, and wander houseless into the mountains? I know what you would say and what you would do.

[President Brigham Young: Try the vote.]

All you that are willing to set fire to your property and lay it in ashes, rather than submit to their military rule and oppression, manifest it by raising your hands.

[The congregation unanimously raised their hands.]

I know what your feelings are. We have been persecuted and robbed long enough; and, in the name of Israel’s God, we will be free! [The whole congregation responded, “Amen.” And President B. Young said, “I say amen all the time to that.”]

I feel to thank God that I am associated with such men, with such a people, where honesty and truth dwell in the heart—where men have got a religion that they are not afraid to live by, and that they are not afraid to die by; and I would not give a straw for anything short of that.

The great God has set his hand to roll forth his purposes; and the hand that opposes it shall be palsied. The power of God shall be felt among the nations that reject the truth. All is right in Israel, and we do not want to hurt anybody; but we feel to bless everybody, and our hearts are full of blessings for all who will work righteousness.

Shall we still bless the human family? Yes. Shall we rally around the Constitution of the United States, and protect it in its purity? Yes; we will save it when others forsake it.

In the day of our sorrow and affliction, when hunted by our enemies, was there anybody to pour in comfort to the wounded bosom? Have there been any of the priests and editors to take our part? Where are they?

Brethren, I feel thankful that God has revealed unto us the keys of the kingdom of God and given us a knowledge of the things that shall transpire in these last days.

I ask my heavenly Father that I may be counted worthy and faithful to endure to the end, that I may obtain the crown that is in reversion for me.

I do not care anything about shooting: I have been shot. Neither do I care anything about dying; for I could have died many a time if I had desired to; but I had not got ready. But I do care about those principles of truth which I have received; and I would not exchange my position for that of any emperor, king, or potentate in any nation under heaven.

God will put a hook in the jaws of our enemies and turn them aside; and the day is not far distant when empires will crumble to pieces and the hand of God be against the nations; and they will know that there is a God in heaven, and a hand that is stronger than theirs.

Brethren, all we have to do is to live our religion, to obey the counsel of our President, be humble and faithful, and not exalted in our own strength; but ask wisdom of God, and see that we have peace with God, with our families, with one another, that peace may reign in our bosoms and in our community.

I pray God to preserve you in peace unto the day of redemption, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Possession of the One Spirit, Blessings Pertaining to the Righteous, etc.

Heber C. Kimball

A discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday morning, September 20, 1857.

There is but one course for this people to take, in order to be Saints; and that is to do right, to be just, to be true, and to be honest. I will tell you, gentlemen, it is not the character of a Saint to lie, to deceive, and to take the advantage of one another: that is not the character of a Saint. It is to receive the truth from God, from his Son Jesus Christ, and from the Holy Ghost.

Just as sure as I abide in the vine, so sure am I to partake of that Spirit that is in the Father; and it comes down through the Son, continuing down through that vine till it comes to me.

Well, I am standing very near the head of that vine; that is, the vine that is springing out of the Father, even in the latter days. Brother Brigham is the head of the vine, and I stand right by him, and every man that holds the Priesthood stands right by us, and should have the same Spirit that we have, and the same that was in Jesus Christ.

Now, if I have got the Holy Ghost in me, I am dictated by the Father, and by the Son, and by the Holy Ghost; and everything is clean and right between me and the Father. Then what is there to hinder me asking the Father, in the name of Jesus, and receiving, if all is right and there is no obstruction?

If there is an obstruction, that obstruction is not in the Father, it is not in Jesus, neither is it in the Holy Ghost; but if there is an obstruction it is in me. I caused it, did I not? Yes, I did. But if we have the principles of this Gospel dwelling in us, that is by the Spirit of truth; and they are life.

Every word. of truth you receive and treasure up in your bosoms is light and life, for light is life; and if these principles are in us, and we cultivate them, I tell you there is no spirit of death in us. But we abandon the principles of death, and there is no place in us for death; but it is light, and life, and intelligence; and if those principles continue to dwell in us, we will be like a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

How can a man lie when there is not an untruth in him? How can he take the advantage of his brother? How can he act the hypocrite? How can he be dishonest, when there are none of these things in him? How can he do any of these evil things, when there is nothing but light and truth in him?

I am aware that a great many people have not an idea that light is life, and truth is light: they do not believe it nor comprehend it; but it is so. Have I a disposition to lie to my brother? If I had said anything, and brother Brigham was to say, “Brother Heber, how is it? Is it so?” I would not dare to lie to him; for he holds the keys of life, light, and intelligence to this whole nation: he holds the keys of light and truth; and you might as well lie to God as to lie to him; for the man that would lie to him would lie to God.

Now, if any man follow the practice of lying, deceiving, or working any manner of iniquity, I do not care if he pretends to be a Saint to-day, his corruption will surely be made manifest; and although he may have a name to live and to dwell among this people, yet, if he continues that course, he will go to destruction, both body and spirit.

Take a person that practises evil, and you will see that person uneasy: such individuals are never easy a minute. But you take a person who has got the Spirit of God, who is humble, meek, and of a child-like spirit, that is the man: I do not care if he is in a mud-hole, neither do I care if he has forty mobocrats after him, or if he is a-straddle of a cannon, he is happy.

This makes me think of brother Amasa and brother McGinn: the mob took them and rode them on a cannon. Well, this is easier than it is to ride on a rail.

They asked them to preach; so brother McGinn preached to them, showing the reverence of the animal creation towards their God, and said, “The hen put down her head and took a drink of water, and then lifted up her head in thanks and adoration to her God. Well, you see, there is a good deal of thankfulness and reverence in a hen.” “Amen,” says brother Amasa: “Lord, make us all hens.” That was about the winding-up of the discourse; and by preaching these things they gained the affections of those mobbers, so that they let them go.

Brethren, let us take the counsel that we received from brother Spencer; and let us be humble and be Saints; and let every man honour his calling and make it honourable; and by so doing, God will honour that man, and he will honour every man who honours that man and who honours his religion. If every man will live his religion, serve his God, and honour his Priesthood, we never will be troubled from this day henceforth and for ever; no, never.

Will our enemies come among us? They won’t come this year; they may try as much as much as they please.

[President B. Young: “Except we let them in.”]

No, never can they come here, except we let them in.

Well, as the evil is measurably turned away this year, if the Saints will be faithful, they will be foiled next year, and then more abundantly the year after that, and so on. But they will keep sending their troops and forces from year to year and from time to time, and you need not lay down your watch. The day has come when the Devil is coming with all his combined forces: he has laid a siege against the kingdom of God, and it never will cease till this kingdom triumphs.

It is for you to be just as good judges of the truth as I am; and you will be, if the truth dwells in you.

Brethren, let me tell you that I have no spirit in me to shed blood. I never had it in me but once in my life, except I have it in me when I am angry. Once I was inspired by the Almighty with that spirit, and that was in Nauvoo; and so was brother Brigham; and I felt to say that I was sorry that peace was declared. We had just got ready when the gap was shut up.

Do I want to shed the blood of my brethren and sisters, or to see it shed? No: and neither do you, unless the Holy Ghost dictates for us to shed the blood of our enemies; then it is just as right as it is for us to partake of the sacrament. But I wish they would take the hint, and go the other way, and not attempt to come here. We do not want to hurt them; but if they come upon us, and we have to repel them by the force of arms, God Almighty will give us the power to do it: now, mark it.

You know, I said that I had wives enough to whip the United States; and why? Because they will whip themselves, and my wives would not have to resist them.

This is a good day; and what is there for us to do? It is for us to take a course to lay up our grain, our corn, our barley, and oats. A great many of you have been brought up on oatmeal porridge. I have been in the old country, and seen you live on it, and have eaten it with you; and so has brother Hyde.

There are thousands of people in England that would consider they were perfectly happy, if they could get one spoonful of oatmeal each day for life. I have heard brother Brigham state the same thing. Why, here are women, and men, too, who sing before us, with whom I have eaten oatmeal porridge; and I like it, for it is digested very quickly, and leaves people very comfortable.

And now, take a course to lay up your stores and prepare for the worst. We are blest, this year, above all the blessings that have been since the earth was organized.

Here is brother James Smithies: he is working some land on shares for me upon the Church farm. He has this year raised one-third more than any previous year, and on less ground. And this people are blest in proportion like that. Who has done it? God has done it, and has blest this people, because they have repented of and forsaken their sins, and confessed them, many of them.

Well, if we take this course, he will continue to bless us and to multiply blessings upon us; but, let me tell you, brethren and sisters, if you persist in evil, in lying, and in your deceptions, the curse of God will be upon you, and you will be cursed.

I do not allude to any, only those of that character; and if there are any of that character present, I will say to them, If you feel disposed to persist in your wickedness, you shall see sorrow, while the virtuous and the honest shall increase in blessings; their crops, their stock, and all that they have shall increase. There is no blessing that can be withheld from a righteous man or a righteous woman the heavens cannot withhold its blessings; but all the blessings of the heavens and of the earth are theirs because they are heirs.

We are to become heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. What blessings are to be withheld from Jesus Christ? There is no blessing pertaining to this earth but what belongs to Jesus: then there is no blessing that will be withheld from the faithful.

Brethren and sisters, we are heirs with him to the estate of his Father, just as much as two sons and one daughter and their faithful children are legal heirs to a father’s estate. When a father dies and makes his will, he wills that property to them that are faithful to him; and so it is with us; and it is natural.

I feel to ask the Father, in the name of Jesus, to help my brethren to live their religion, honour their Priesthood and calling; and I pray you, brethren, to live your religion and serve your God, that we may see the power and the magnitude of our God in the last days. I tell you there never were any people, since the world was organized, that have seen such mighty and romantic power of God as this people will see.

Is there a collision between us and the United States? No; we have not collashed: that is the word that sounds nearest to what I mean. But now the thread is cut between them and us, and we never will gybe again; no, never, worlds without end.

[Voices: “Amen.”]

You may think that I am not correct; but I am in the habit of telling the truth when in fun as well as in earnest; and men that cannot are not worth much.

We have never been the aggressors, but they have raised the weapons of of war to exterminate us as many as five times, and they have robbed us of all we had. I have but three little articles in this world that I obtained before I was a “Mormon,”—an earthen vessel, a tin tea-canister, and a chest that brother Brigham made for me: he made me several, but that was the first one.

I have been robbed, and plundered, and afflicted, if you call it affliction; but I do not call it affliction. I have heard many tell of what sorrowful times they have had; but they are as good times as ever I had in this life. I leave it to brother Brigham, if I have not been as happy in the mud as I have been anywhere. Some of you have seen these times in Iowa: I think some of you were there. I had happy days during those times; and I am happy and thankful that I live in the tops of these mountains, right on the backbone, where we have got on some good spurs. I tell you we boast that we are on the tops of the mountains; but let us boast in the Lord and in his strength.

We have received the Gospel of repentance—of baptism for the remission of sins; and we have received the Holy Ghost, and it has brought us here. Well, a great many tell what sorrowful times they have had. “O dear, I think I have a perfect right to lie like the Devil; for I think what I have passed through ought to atone for all I have done.” It is a poor coot, let me tell you, that will make such excuses. Let me tell you, that does not pay for one lie.

Supposing you lie, or steal, or commit adultery, and so on—what you have suffered is not going to pay for this debt. Independently of these things, what are trials for? To prove our integrity—to try us, whether we will stand to God and to his kingdom. The Bible says that we are to come up through great tribulation; that is, the hardest kind of trials. You know, the harder you put on the robes to the wash-board, the better they are washed.

I want to bring up a comparison. Brother Brigham is the head of the limb: and which has the hardest work to bear—he that has to lug all that is attached to that vine, or you that are branches of that vine? Which is the hardest, and which has the most to carry—the tree, or the one apple that clings to the tree? Which has the most suffering to pass through—one individual apple, or the tree itself?

Your troubles, and trials, and perplexities are nothing more than one apple, in comparison to brother Brigham’s cares; and still I presume there are lots who think that they have more trouble than brother Brigham or brother Heber. But you do not appreciate your privileges and blessings: you are not thankful to the giver, or to the benefactor; and that makes you troublesome, and you feel as if you could not endure it: you feel that you are passing through more than all the rest of the Saints.

Do you suppose that I calculate to get any pay for what I pass through? No; but I am thankful, and praise the Lord every day of my life that I was true to Joseph, and to Hyrum, and the brethren that have gone. What would those give that were not faithful, if they had been as true as brother Brigham and brother Heber? They would give all they have got; yes, they would sit down and be skinned from head to foot, and have every nail pulled out of their toes and fingers. I am thankful that I was faithful; but I am sorry for them: but that man that has murmured, and complained, and tried to make brother Joseph a dishonest and unhallowed man, has great need to mourn for himself.

If I were in the position of some, instead of letting a week pass before I made an atonement to the satisfaction of those offended, I would go right off and do it at once. Some men come upon this stand who have acted unrighteously, and forsaken and betrayed us, and thereby brought death and destruction upon thousands of men, women, and children. They will get up and say, “I have sinned against God and in his sight; and now, brethren, I want you to restore me to perfect fellowship and friendship.”

Do you not see that they want to be restored, every limb and joint, to the perfect embraces of this people? Well, we have to take them at their word and receive them into fellowship. Do I feel to say, Yes, receive them? Yes, I do. But are they in full fellowship when they have been out of the Church ten or twenty years? How can such a man be restored to full fellowship without a time for making restitution to the complete satisfaction of all the parties aggrieved—until we can say, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into our joys and partake of our blessings?” This is my faith. If a person takes a course to injure me, although he might not injure, yet it is the same as though he did: the will is taken for the deed.

I look to my head and to my governor—the man who holds the keys of the kingdom of heaven on the earth. I have thought, a great many times, of what the Lord has said, through his servant Joseph the Prophet, that not a hair falleth from the head of a righteous man without the notice of our heavenly Father. Do you think that God does not notice little lies and deceptions—little this that, and the other?

Do you believe, brethren and sisters that that man who does not appreciate the kindness of his benefactor that feeds him, and clothes him, and administers to his wants—do you suppose that he will be thankful to God for his favours? No; the men or the women who do not appreciate the kindness of their benefactor, are not thankful to God. They are under condemnation; they are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; and I know it.

Did I ever receive a kindness or a blessing from a person without being grateful for it? No, never; but, say I, “Thank you for this, because it comes when I am in need of it.” Well, supposing I mete out to a person from year to year, and he or she does not appreciate it, but says, “It is nothing more than your reasonable service, Mr. Kimball, to give me a living.” Well, we admit of that; and it is no more than reasonable that you should make some kind of acknowledgement and show kindness to me.

I would not give a dime for you, except your love is manifested by your works—by your faith and works. Love or hatred is manifested in this way. Do not I prove to that man that I return the compliment to him by my kindness? The man or woman that will not return the compliment is not of much account.

I have said for years that never—no, never again will I be subject to such cursed scoundrels as the United States Government have sent here as officers. I say, in the name of Israel’s God, I will not.

[Voices: “Amen.”]

James Buchanan now occupies the chair of state. He and his counsellors, his coadjutors, his cabinet, and Congress have met and planned the destruction of this people—of brother Brigham and his associates in particular; and the priests of the day say amen to it; and they exhort the people to say amen to it; and the whole people of the United States are under condemnation. They consented to the death of Joseph, Hyrum, David, Parley, and lots of men, women, and children. The ground is planted with men, women, and children, from Nauvoo to this place; and the world have consented to it, and they say it is just.

The Government, the President, the heads of the military departments and of all the governmental affairs have consented to these things.

When we were poor, and lived on cow-hides and cattle, skunks and thistle roots, brother Brigham and his brethren paddled this way and that way, and sought out this place.

While we were in Winter Quarters, 500 men were demanded. They travelled over the Plains and gained a part of Mexico, which is this land. Then came grasshoppers and crickets, and eat up our crops; and our enemies have all the time been saying that it is just—they deserve it.

Now, brethren, if you can comprehend what I have said, they shall suffer all that we have, and it shall be doubled upon them, and then it shall be pressed down.

I know that while you and I have no feelings of anger, we are right. Jesus says, “With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again”. The Scriptures say that Jesus said this; but if he did not, it is just as true as anything that is written: it is God Almighty’s truth. Yes, they will meet it in the United States, beginning at the head.

But we are free! They have laid a snare to entrap us and to kill brother Brigham; and they want to hang him between the heavens and the earth, and every other man that will support him: but as the Lord God Almighty lives, they shall meet that also; and if I had the power, I would tell it to them so that they could hear it. Do I fear them? I do not fear anything that is upon this earth.

Do I fear my God? No; but I love him, and I fear to offend him. He is my Father, and I sprang out of his loins, just as my son William Kimball’s children sprang out of his loins; and every man and woman that has been upon this earth was once in our Father’s loins, just as much as my children ever were in mine; and Jesus was the first born, and we are heirs of our Father and our God, and we will gain the prize through much tribulation.

Let me tell you that ten years will not pass away before God will play with this nation as he did with Pharaoh, only worse.

I tell you these things, that you may know that wherein you measure out you have got to receive back; and where you lie, you have got to take that lie back; and where you offend your God and benefactor, as the Lord God liveth, you have to take that back, or you will get a scourging—that is, where your benefactor is a man of truth and is walking in his calling.

If I abuse brother Brigham, it is my business to make satisfaction to that man. Well, I would not offend him nor any good man in this congregation; no, I would not. If I offend him, I do it ignorantly; and if I did, I would repent of it. I did offend him once or twice in my life, and I repented in tears and in sorrow; and I wish to God there had never such things existed since I was born. Well, I was ignorant, and I was a child. Well, if I have got to make those recantations, you have, too, when you offend or do wrong to each other.

I am teaching what you call strong doctrine; but I am teaching nothing but what is true. It was true to me, and it is equally true to you. It is the duty of every Elder, Teacher, High Priest, and Deacon to begin to live a new life. Why? Can you do any better than you are doing this day? Yes.

This year I have built a barn 102 feet long. Well, then, the next year I may build two such barns. This proves that the more a man does the more he is capable of doing. But because I made ten rods of fence last week, does that prove that I can make twenty this week? If you, sisters, knit one stocking this week, must you knit two next week, and kill yourselves? Or, if you have put ten yards of cloth in your skirt this year, should you put in twenty next year? No; but put in six next year. But I want to show you the extremes.

I was speaking here, last Sunday, by the permission of brother Brigham, of brother Eddington. He is an honest man; or, if he is not, we will prove him.

[President B. Young: “You will prove him to be an honest man.”]

Well, brother Eddington seemed to fall in with the idea. We want the ladies to bring in their surplus clothes for brother Eddington to sell for wheat and other grain. I speak of the females, because they have got the most clothes in their hands. If you have got five dresses, hand two over to him, and let him buy wheat, corn, barley, pork, mutton, tallow, &c.; and then he will. pay you in those articles for your coats, jackets, pantaloons, and bustles! Just put in your bustles there, and get them full of wheat instead of bran!

I have foreseen the necessities of these things.

Go and take your clothes, and do not be afraid that you will never get any more; for, let me tell you, if you will lay up these stores, you will have clothing till it shall be a drug and a trouble to you.

You do not believe that, some of you; but I tell you, if you do not believe it, and if you do not know it, it is because you are not living your religion. But the day will be, and it is right at our doors, when thousands and millions in the United States and in the old countries will come to us and render to us all the rich things that this earth affords, in exchange for food.

Brother Eddington says that where there is one person that brings clothing there are twenty that have wheat to dispose of. Go into the country north and south, and there is not one woman in ten that has got as much cloth as you have on your backs to-day.

There are many before me that have got an abundance of as good clothes as ever were put on, while those who live in the country have scarcely any.

Do not be afraid of brother Eddington, for he is an honourable man, and will pay you in wheat, corn, buckwheat, tallow, or anything else that he can command. Well, you take a course to sustain him and buy wheat; and if you do not want it, there are others that are ready to take it; and the day will come when you will hand over your rich clothing and jewellery for it.

Do you not know that brother Brigham told you he would not deal it free again?

[President B. Young: “We will buy them too.”]

Brother Brigham Young does not lie, nor his brother Heber.

Well, now, am I going to save men and women by lying. No; I will save myself by telling the truth; and I will take the truth all the time, and others may take lies, and see which get to heaven first. I tell you, you will find us as far apart as are heaven and hell.

“Well,” says one, “Are you going to do this?” Yes, I am going to put one suit of clothes on and sell the rest, except a change; and see if the day does not come when I will have so many clothes that my wives will not have boxes to put them in.

I realize that I am a poor man—a worm of creation; but I just know that when I dwell in the truth—in Jesus Christ—when I dwell in his light and partake of his Spirit, I am right. I would give more for one hundred men of this character than I would give for this whole people, if they were not of that character. Can they whip the world? Yes; men of that character will whip everything that can be put on that road, from this place to Dan, and from there to Beersheba. Amen.

Superiority of Pure Motives—Ascendancy of the Kingdom of God—Obedience of Counsel

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 20, 1857.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 20, 1857.

Brother Heber wants to know whether he has said anything wrong. So far as I am concerned, and so far as the truth is concerned, he has not. He is very careless in the use of language; but I do not so much care how he or any of the brethren express their ideas, when their hearts are right before God.

When we have only the one desire to promote the kingdom of God on the earth, the people will be right.

Brother Heber is very full of comparisons; and I will liken brother Heber’s language to the conduct of some of this people. He talks just as ideas happen to come into his mind; and some of the people act just as it happens at the moment, not thinking what they do. And yet their desire is to do right; and the greatest faults that most of them see in each other arise through weakness and ignorance, and not through an evil design. They desire to do right, just as brother Heber desires to talk as straight as a line; but he has so long been in the habit of making his own dictionary and using his words out of it, that it would be difficult for him to change his style now.

No matter what the outward appearance is—if I can know of a truth that the hearts of the people are fully set to do the will of their Father in heaven, though they may falter and do a great many things through the weaknesses of human nature, yet, they will be saved. You will hear among such persons observations that appear very much out of the way; but, at the same time, they will say that “it does seem that when I would try to do good, and to do my best, evil will come before me.

If there is an outward appearance. of mistakes or evils, we ought to have the Spirit of the Lord to look at the designs of the actors, and know whether they act from impure or sinister motives. If their motives are pure—no matter whether their outward appearance is particularly precise, their acts will be discerned by the Spirit of the Lord, and will be appreciated for what they were intended. If people act from pure motives, though their outward movements may not always be so pleasant as our traditions would prefer, yet God will make those acts result in the best good to the people.

I wish the people to know that they have to come to the position that, in their feelings and affections, the kingdom of God must be all in all to us. If we are not in that position, you will find that we will be scourged and afflicted until we are. With us it must be the kingdom of God all the time: it must be that or nothing. The time has come in which that must be the common feeling with the Saints.

As to the world’s being in fellowship with us, it never was and it never can be. We cut off the Gentiles just before we left Nauvoo; and they have cut us off from their fellowship. The thread is cut that has hitherto connected us; and now we have to act for ourselves and build up the kingdom of God on the earth, which we will do, by the help of the Lord; for he has decreed that his kingdom shall take the ascendancy over all other kingdoms under heaven.

It was observed by brother Spencer that the time had come for this work to be making far more rapid strides than it has hitherto done. You will find that it has not been by any act of our own that this thread has been cut; but we will now have to sustain ourselves, or we will go under. We have not desired it—we have not naturally wished for this crisis to come; but inasmuch as it has come, if the people, in the strength of Israel’s God, sustain themselves, they will be be sustained.

If we are united, we are independent of the powers of hell and of the world, which terms are synonymous with me. We are now free and easy; and if we succumb to the wicked, our hearts sink within us and we sicken and die; but when my feelings are decided that we will defend ourselves against all who come here to destroy us or to oppose the establishment of truth on the earth, I feel perfectly free and light as the air. Does brother Spencer feel so? I presume that he does, and also that every Saint feels as free as the mountain breezes.

I am free and easy, and I am not concerned about having too much rest; though, when my feelings are at rest, and I have not an hundred tons weight upon my shoulders, a feeling comes over me like this—“Are you not becoming slothful? As soon as I have a good sound reflection upon the matter, I feel to thank God that he will let me rest at times, and not always require me to bear a burden like carrying a hundred tons.

Be faithful; and if you are attentive to your duties, God will take care of the rest.

We talk of enjoying, multiplying, and increasing in the things of God. All that we can do is to prepare to receive anything that God may see fit to give. I do not know but that I am just as well prepared to receive revelations this morning as I shall be millions of years hence. I do not know but that I shall be prepared to do the will of God, according to my capacity, as well to-day or to-morrow as I shall be when I have spent millions of years in his presence.

You hear people in the sectarian world talk about preparing to die; but the religion that we have embraced teaches us to prepare to live. If we were now going to exchange this world for another, I do not know but that we are as well prepared as we shall be in years to come. I have felt that I never should be better prepared to receive the glory of the spirit-world than I am now, according to my present capacity. While brother Heber was talking about our travels in 1834, I remember that brother Joseph said the camp should be cursed. We had some wicked men in the company, and Joseph discerned the spirits of those men, and said that the camp should be cursed and that they should feel the heavy hand of the Lord. Brother Heber came to me and said, “I do not know that I could have done any better, even though it had been to save my natural life;” and he did do well and continued to do so. And I will say that I do not know that I can do any better than I am doing.

You and I may be ready to fight: we may be ready to plant seed, and, if called upon, to cache grain in the mountains, and to do whatever the Lord may require at our hands. Let us do whatever may be required. If we are called upon to take our women and children into the mountains, let us do that; if to burn, let us be on hand to burn; if to build more, let us do that; and whatever we are required to do, let us do.

We called up a Bishop, the other night, to go on an express; and when he came to my office, I said to him, “Brother Thomas, are you ready? He replied, “Yes.” Though he did not know what was wanted of him, yet he was ready. He asked, “When do you want me?” I replied, “Early to-morrow morning” (now, yesterday morning); and he was there at the time—which is the way that men should feel and act.

The main object of my present remarks has been to have the people know whether they are taught right—to have them know whether they are receiving the word of the Lord from this stand—to have them know whether they are led right.

As to being afflicted, never fear that: only fear that you are not living as well as you might, and then there is no danger. You know how you have been led, and I can say that you try to walk in the path that leads to improvement and purity and to never do a known evil. When you know that an evil is before you, pass it by, and do that which tends to good, and all will be right.

If you are not led right, or if you are afraid that you are not going to be led right, just find out a better way; for that is your privilege, if you are not already led right. And if you will live so as to know God better than any other man, or find some one that knows God better, and of whom you can learn more of God—a man that knows better how to dictate the affairs of the Church, all will be right.

I wish that every man would live so that he could have communion with angels—so that Jesus would come to visit him. I wish I could see this people in such a position; but there is yet too much sin in our midst: our traditions cling to us so strongly, that we cannot yet break through into that liberty; but we will see the day, if faithful, in which we can converse with angels. There are persons in this congregation that will converse with angels just as freely as we converse with each other.

Be faithful, and God will not only fight for us, but he will also lead us to victory. What has been said today is true. You know that brother Heber almost always testifies to the truth of what he says; but I do not care whether you think that what I say is true or not, for that does not concern me. You may judge of the truth you hear to-day and of that which you will hear in times to come; for we shall be judges of ourselves as well as of our enemies, and we shall also judge angels. God bless you! Amen.

Education—Revelation, Obedience, etc.

John Taylor

A discourse delivered by Elder John Taylor, in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, September 20, 1857.

I listened with very great pleasure to the remarks made this morning both by President Young and President Kimball, and it always affords me pleasure to listen to anything that is associated with the kingdom of God and its interests; and, on the other hand, I feel as ready and willing to communicate anything that the Lord may have committed unto me.

[Asked a blessing on the bread.]

In relation to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it is something that is full of importance and information, and is associated with our present and eternal welfare: it enters into all the ramifications of life where we can understand it. It is not a sing-song sort of a thing, such as we hear taught among the sectarians; but there is something tangible about it: it consists of eternal principles, unfolding light and intelligence, and is adapted to the nature of man as a mortal and immortal being—principles that affect us in time and in eternity, in life, in health, in sickness, in death, and which lead to life everlasting.

We heard some remarks made this morning upon education—about words and language, and so forth. In relation to the education of the world generally, a great amount of it is of very little value, consisting more of words than ideas; and whilst men are verbose in their speaking or writing, you have to hunt for ideas or truth like hunting for a grain of wheat among piles of chaff or rubbish. It is true that a great amount of it is really valuable, and it is for us to select the good from the bad.

The education of men ought to be adapted to their positions, both as temporal and eternal beings. It is well to understand the arts and sciences; it is well to understand language and history; it is well to understand agriculture, to be acquainted with mechanics, and to be instructed in everything that is calculated to promote the happiness, the wellbeing, and the comfort of the human family.

That education which but amounts to a little outward appearance and applies only to a few conveniences of this life is very far short of that; education and intelligence which immortal beings ought to be in possession of. The education of the present day is generally misapplied; indeed, men have misapplied the education which they have received for generations and generations.

The priests in Egypt had mysteries immediately associated with themselves, and the calculation was to keep their people ignorant of those things which they knew, that they might govern them the more readily and that they might reign and tyrannize over them. Among the various nations in different ages, their sages and wise men held their intelligence as a secret mystery to be divulged almost or altogether to their disciples, who generally conveyed it in unknown characters, symbols, or hieroglyphics. The Egyptians had their priests, the Assyrians their magi and astrologers, the Greeks their philosophers, and the Jews their wise men, and all more or less mysterious or cabalistic.

This was a misapplication of information, or that which they might possess; although, in many instances, the information amounted to nothing in reality.

The same is applicable, in a great measure, to our lawyers, doctors, and priests: they make use of terms that nobody can understand but the initiated. If you study medicine, law, or botany, and many of the sciences, you must study Latin first, because the doctors and professors make use of that language to convey their ideas in; and the calculation is for all except men of science or linguists to be befogged and bewildered—yes, all except the initiated few who have been able to bestow the same amount of time as they have in learning some of the dead languages.

Whom does their learning benefit? Certainly not the multitude. I will tell you my idea of true intelligence and true eloquence. It is not as some people do—to take a very small idea and use a great many grandiloquent words without meaning—something to befog and mystify it with—something to tickle the ear and please the imagination only: that is not true intelligence. But it is true intelligence for a man to take a subject that is mysterious and great in itself, and to unfold and simplify it so that a child can understand it. I do not care what words you make use of, if you have the principles and are enabled to convey those principles to the understandings of men.

It is true, at the same time, that a man who has a good use of language can present his ideas to better advantage than one who has not, in some instances, and in some he cannot; for the Lord gives some men a natural talent and powers of description that others do not possess and cannot acquire. But the great principle that we have to come to is the knowledge of God, of the relationship that we sustain to each other, and of the various duties we have to attend to in the various spheres of life in which we are called to act as mortal and immortal, intelligent, eternal beings, in order that we may magnify our calling and approve ourselves before God and the holy angels: and if we obtain knowledge of this kind, we shall do well; for this is the greatest good of the the whole: it embraces everything that we want.

In relation to the principles of eternal life, we are told that these treasures we have in earthen vessels were given of the Lord and retained in those vessels through our faithfulness.

Now, then, if men, without much of the advantage of what is termed education in this world, are filled with the Spirit of God, the revelations of the Holy Ghost, and can comprehend the relationship of man to God, can know their duties, and can teach a people, a nation, or a world how they may be saved and obtain thrones, principalities, powers, and dominions in the eternal worlds—if men can understand these principles by the gift of the Holy Ghost and the revelations of the Most High, and are enabled to place them before the people so that they can comprehend them, then, I say, these are the men of education—the men of intellect—the men who are calculated to bless and ennoble the human family. This is the kind of education that we want; and the more simple those principles can be conveyed the better: they are more adapted to the wants and intelligence of the human family.

Here is the difference between us at the present time and the priestcraft and kingcraft and the craft of the various systems among the nations. They have tended to befog, bewilder, bind down, and lead the masses into ignorance; but the principles of the Gospel are calculated to expand the mind, enlarge the heart, unfold the capacity, and make all men feel their relationship to God and to each other, that we may be all partakers of the same blessing, that we may all be intelligent, that we may all be learned in the things of the kingdom of God, and all be prepared for the celestial inheritance in the eternal worlds. This is the difference between the system that we have embraced and the systems of the world—they are of men, this is of God. Among the Gentiles, they tread upon one another and ride into power and influence on the ruin of others; and they do not care who sinks, if they swim. The kingdom of God exalts the good, blesses all, enlightens all, expands the minds of all, and puts within the reach of all the blessings of eternity.

Do you repudiate education, then? No—not at all. I appreciate all true intelligence, whether moral, social, scientific, political, or philosophical; but I despise the folly that they hang on to it and the folly that they call education.

What did any of us know as rational, eternal beings, until we were educated in this Church?

It is true that we are eternal beings; but did we know or understand anything about the principles of eternal life? Nothing. Yet we have believed that we were going to live for ever. But did we know anything about where we came from, or what was our origin, or what was the object of our creation? We did not know anything about where we were going. We had a dreamy idea of heaven—of a God without body, parts, and passions—of a heaven beyond the bounds of time and space; and the hell we believed in was a bottomless pit. We had a dreamy idea of these things; but what did we know? Was there any authority, religion, or philosophy that could unravel these mysteries? No, not any.

Then of what practical use is their philosophy or religion to us? It did not unfold unto us our position; it did not show us how to obtain eternal life: it could not do it. Of what use was our intelligence as applied to our position?

How many times have you listened to preaching from a speaker who was considered quite an eloquent man? He would study his sermons well, and perhaps write them. They were full of words—the language was eloquent; but, after all, it was mere verbosity, empty sound, and barren in ideas. Then you would go away and say, “What an eloquent sermon Mr. So-and-so preached! He preached the best to-day I ever heard him. It was such a treat—so rich, so great, and so deep!” “What was it about?” “Oh, it was so deep that I could not understand a word of it,” as brother Brigham says.

“Well, what was it about?” “I do not know; but I heard it, and it was so deep and so profound that I could not understand it.” “But how was it that you could not understand what he was preaching about, when he was so eloquent, so refined, and made use of such elegant language?” Shall I tell you? The man did not know what he was preaching about himself; and as he could not understand it himself, he could not explain it to you. How could he lead others to comprehend that which he did not know himself? These are facts: this is the education of the world. If you examine the philosophy of France and Germany, and other parts of the earth, you will find them to be on a par with the religious world: they are going to ameliorate the condition of mankind and to perform wonders, according to their professions. If you attempt to reason with them about their philosophy, like the Paddy’s flea, when you attempt to put your finger on them they are not there.

[Voice: “All the difference is, there is nothing there.”]

All their philosophy is mere chimeras of the brain. I met with so much of it in those countries that I was sickened with it.

A gentleman came to me in Paris—an Englishman, and, pointing to a species of very light cake, asked me what it was called. (It is a kind of bread that is so light that a man can eat all the time and not fill himself, and you could blow it away with a puff of your breath.) I told him I did not know what they called it, but I would give it a name; I will call it fried froth, or philosophy, just which you please—fried bubbles, or the bubbles of learned men; for it reminded me of their philosophy.

I believe in the solid bread, and I do not care if it comes in big chunks; for then it is better than when there is not enough to satisfy the appetite. Truth and intelligence have a tendency to enlarge the capacity, to expand the soul, and to show man his real position—his relationship to himself and to his God, both in relation to the present and the future, that he may know how to live on the earth and be prepared to mingle with the Gods in the eternal worlds.

Now, if men will teach me these principles, I do not care what words they use. If truth comes, tail or head foremost, I am not very particular.

It is the principles of truth which cement us together and make us act in union and strength: it is those principles that buoy up our feelings, animate our souls, and make us feel joyous and jubilant under all circumstances. It is light, it is truth, it is intelligence, it comes from and leads to God, exaltation, and celestial glory. We feel joyous because we have the principles of eternal life within us. It is because we have partaken at the fountain of life, and know our relationship to the Lord, and have a position in his Church and kingdom.

Being, then, in possession of the truth—of a knowledge of those principles which develop the revelations of God, and knowing that he has given unto us the Holy Priesthood, restored Prophets, Apostles, and Revelators to give revelation unto his people, therefore have we confidence in our God and our religion.

And what is that revelation, this order, and this organisation for? They are to enlighten us, to enlarge our minds, to teach us all principles associated with our present and eternal welfare. This revelation is the word of God, the eternal truths of heaven, the everlasting Gospel, the word of life and salvation.

No matter what words are used, it is the principles we are after, and our religion interests and affects us in all the ramifications of life: it does not set up God as some austere being that we cannot approach, but it tells us he is our Father, and that we are his children, and that he cherishes in his bosom a paternal regard for us; and we have experienced something of the feelings that exist between father and son, mother and daughter, parents and children; but we could not apply that unto our God and consider that he was our Father before we embraced the Gospel.

We have been taught by the simple principles of the Gospel to go to our Father who is heaven, and that he will hear us. We have also been taught that if we, as earthly parents, will not give our children stones when they ask for bread, and that if we will not give them scorpions when they ask for fish, God, as our Father, will not give us one thing when we ask another, but that he feels as much concerned about our welfare as we possibly can do about that of our children.

This is the way that we now regard our God; but this is not the way we used to look at him: we used to be all the day long subject to bondage, through the fear of death. Do we feel anything of that now? No, we do not: that feeling is taken away. Now we feel that if it is required of us to die, it is well; if to live, it is well. We feel that we are eternal beings and have laid hold of eternal life, and therefore all is well. We feel altogether different to what we did before we heard this Gospel: it teaches us our duty to each other; it teaches us to reverence God’s name, and not blaspheme it as the Christians do.

I will tell you how it is in the world. In the world the masses do not care what the devil they do, if men do not see them; and I am sorry to say that we also are cursed with a few such scoundrels. They do not care about God seeing them, for they have not the fear of God before them, but they have fear of men.

We never ought to do a thing that we would be afraid of God seeing us do; and if we are not afraid of God seeing us, we should not be afraid of man seeing us.

Well, then, we are taught our duty to our God by our brethren. And who are our brethren? The officers and authorities of this Church—the servants of the living God. Who is President Young? The mouthpiece of God to this Church and to the world. Has God any other? Yes, lots of them appointed by him, but he is the head.

[Blessed the sacramental cup.]

Formerly every man used to take his own way: we used to claim a great many rights, privileges, and immunities that belonged to us individually. Well, we enjoy many of them yet; but we did not acknowledge the authority of God, and we could not do it, for the simple reason that we knew nothing of it.

There was no one to come with “Thus saith the Lord”—no man that could go forth and say he was commissioned of Jesus Christ; therefore there was no authority. There was no umpire—no standard of truth to go to, to decide any doctrine that you might have in your mind. But now we have “Thus saith the Lord God.”

Is there any other place under heaven where there is anybody to say “Thus saith the Lord?” If there is, I have heard nothing about it; I have not read nor heard of it, and I am satisfied there is no such thing.

I suppose there are in the neighbourhood of from 1,000,000,000 to 1,200,000,000 of inhabitants upon the earth; and nowhere but in this place can there be found a man to say, “Thus saith the Lord God,”—nowhere but here, or where those are who have been sent from here.

Are there men of intelligence in the nations? Yes, as to the world’s intelligence—as to the intelligence associated with the arts and sciences, natural philosophy, and mechanism, they are as intelligent as any that can be found, without God. There are also many learned professional men, princes, statesmen, and potentates. The latter have the power to govern the nations over which they rule, and yet among the whole of them not a man can be found that can say, “Thus saith the Lord God.”

Well, if this is the case in relation to them, and if this is the position of the world, is it not time for the Almighty to interfere? I speak of them, for many of the thousands who are now before me are come from the different nations, and they comprehend what I say, and they know that this is true.

What is our position? Are we not favoured ten thousand times more than any other people under the heavens? Are we not put in a position to have communication with the Lord? Have we not the principles of life given unto us from day to day and from week to week? Have we not the opportunity of hearing the word of the Lord from his chosen servant—the only mouthpiece to lead the people that he has under the heavens?

Can we appreciate this and realise our position? Can we really appreciate our blessings? Do we really feel as we ought to in relation to these matters? Why, we begin to experience, in part, the riches of eternity. They begin to be unfolded before we can fully appreciate them.

We are favoured at the present time, but we cannot comprehend our blessings fully: we can only see in part, comprehend in part, and shall not fully comprehend until the fulness of the blessings of God shall be revealed; then we shall be able to appreciate our position, our relationship to God, and the great blessings we enjoy, as servants of the Most High.

We are only little children now. This is the way I feel. I feel as a little child, and I pray to God, O God, expand my mind that I may understand and comprehend the things of God, and not act the fool, but be a wise man, and be able to comprehend the blessings that are around me.

Why, the kingdom of God is established, the Prophet of God and his servants are among us, and we are now enjoying the very things that Prophets prophesied of as they looked through the dark vista of ages unborn and contemplated these blessings that we enjoy.

They told about the time when the kingdom of God would be established upon the earth, when he would restore the ancient order of things, when his Spirit would be poured out, when light and revelation would be communicated, when his purposes would be developed, and when the little stone would be cut out of the mountain without hands. They saw, in vision, that a little nucleus here in the mountains would arise, and that the mountain of the Lord’s house would be established above the hills, and that all nations should flock to the standard, as doves to their windows.

They saw the things in visions that we are now doing; they sang and prophesied and rejoiced at what we have now commenced—the building up of the kingdom of God.

Well, now, can we really appreciate these things? Do not we often feel as we did in the Gentile world? We used to say, “I will be damned if I do not have my own way.” I tell you that you will be damned if you do.

But how much of that feeling exists? I could not but think of it when I heard the remarks of brother Kimball this morning. They led me to reflect upon this subject. Some of us think we are smart men; some of us think we know what is for our good as well as our leaders, and that our judgment is quite as good as theirs; and some feel like saying, “We will be damned if we submit to them.” But you will be damned if you do not.

Now, I will suppose that you were God, and that you had inspired some men to go forth and preach the Gospel, to gather the people, to establish a kingdom upon the earth—that you had got a few together, and they gathered others; finally, you issued your will and your law to the people: what would you think if they turned round and said they would do as they pleased? Says one, “I do not know;” and says another, “I do not know.” Supposing they should say, “We think we understand better than you do,” how would you, as God, regulate the affairs of the earth? What could you do with a people that would not be obedient to your law? Just the same as God did with the antediluvians, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, or the Jews. If you could not do anything with them, how could God?

The Presbyterians used to say that people ought to thank God for the privilege of being damned. But I would not thank anybody for being damned; but I think, however, that such men as would not submit to his authority and rule ought to be damned, whether they like it or not. Nothing but obedience to his law, obedience in families, obedience to Bishops and to the Priesthood in all its ramifications, and especially to President Brigham Young as the head, to carry out his law to the whole people, can accomplish the purposes of God or our salvation as a people.

If the Lord can have a people to listen to his law, there may be a chance to establish his kingdom upon the earth: if not, the only way he can establish his kingdom is to remove them from the earth, or give up his kingdom until another time; for it is impossible to establish his kingdom without having a people obedient to him.

What does that obedience imply? Obedience in all things—that the Twelve should be obedient to the Presidency, the Seventies to the Twelve, and so on through all the ramifications of the Priesthood—obedience of wives to husbands, children to parents—and that a general order of this kind should be established in every neighbourhood, in every house, and in every heart.

Well, this is the feeling that ought to exist; and where this feeling does not exist the Spirit of God does not exist; and where there is not a feeling of obedience, the Spirit of God will be withdrawn: people cannot retain it and be in rebellion against the authorities and counsels of the church and kingdom of God.

When the kingdom of God is established and his word is listened to, the spirit of obedience extends through the ramifications of the body of Christ, even as the sap extends through the trunk of a tree till it reaches to the extreme branches and twigs, and to every part of it. It is just like some of those large streams issuing from the mountains and dividing into smaller streams until they reach to every field and garden throughout the city.

Well, now, suppose some of you should say, or suppose a branch should say, “I want to be independent, and I will not be dependent upon the larger branches.” I ask, how will you help yourselves, except you take a course to be cut off? And then where will your sap come from? You will wither and wilt down.

Suppose you undertake to water the garden, and you say that you will not be dependent upon that larger stream. “It is true,” say you, “that I got my water from that stream; but I will not have anything to do with it now.” Will your vegetation flourish, if you discard the larger stream from whence you get your water? It will not. So in regard to the water of life, and so in regard to a tree. Jesus said, “A branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine;” nor can you do anything without obedience, for the moment you, rebel you are in this position.

If we, as a little company gathered together on the tops of these mountains, in possession of the great and glorious privileges that we enjoy—if we cannot magnify our calling and honour the Priesthood conferred upon us, how do we expect salvation to flow to the world? How can we expect men to do what we do not do?—to listen to and obey us, if we do not obey our superior officers?

Furthermore, as the servants of God here living in these mountains, the Lord is determined to try to prove us in every way; and we are, as it were, just broken loose from the old barren stalk: The old ship is about being launched, and we are thrown upon God and our own resources, both in a governmental and a mental capacity. The Devil will be enraged—the powers of hell let loose upon us.

Now, let me ask how we are going to stand, except we are guided by the revelations of God? And let me further ask how you are going to get the revelations of God, except you live your religion and obey those set over you? Let me further ask, What is the use professing to be the people of God if we do not live our religion and magnify our calling?

I speak of these things merely for argument’s sake. I believe that, so far as I have seen, the general feeling among this people is to do right; but I merely speak of them, for it is necessary that we should have line upon line, precept upon precept: it is necessary that we should understand our true relationship.

For instance, there is an army coming up here. Can any of you tell what will be the result, except the proper authorities dictate? Do you know what will be the best? But suppose we get through with this, and I suppose that some of you may begin to guess for this year: but can you for next? Is there a man here that can tell how and where to hide his family and his grain? Are there any in this congregation who know anything about it and that give counsel to this people either for present or coming emergencies? This is bringing things to a focus. Now, you wise men, or men of education and literary attainments, or philosophers, speak and display your wisdom. If you cannot, and if we have not any knowledge in this matter, what next? Why, we have got to be dependent upon the authority that is over us; and if we cannot submit, how can we be governed by it?

This principle pervades all, whether in a civil or military capacity or in any other capacity. We used to have a difference between Church and State, but it is all one now. Thank God, we have no more temporal and spiritual! We have got Church and State together, and we used to talk of baptism and repentance, and we used to whip out sectarian priests with their own Bible, and we thought that we were tremendous fellows.

But in what part of the Bible do you find what we are to do this year or the next? This will be part of a new Bible, for when it takes place it will be written, and then that will be a Bible, and then the world will find that we shall have a “Mormon Bible.”

Men have been opposed to the Book of Mormon because it was a new Bible. The poor fools did not know that wherever there was a true Church there was revelation, and that wherever there was revelation there was the word of God to man and materials to make Bibles of. We are all of us now in the harness, and the issue is fast rolling upon us: it is therefore necessary that we understand our position. We have all had the opportunity of going away from here; but I do not know that you can have that opportunity now, for I see a proclamation here, and you cannot go without permission.

We have no vague theories: you have now to ask leave to go. The time has come for decisive action; and whether you are called to act in a religious, civil, or military capacity, it is all in the kingdom of God and the will of God is to be done upon the earth as angels do it in heaven.

We are not fit to occupy our places in the kingdom, either as High Priests, or as Seventies, or as Apostles, or as anything else, except we are willing and obedient: and the same thing applies to our families. Then let us seek to submit ourselves to the law of God and do it.

I do not know but I have talked long enough. God bless you, in the name of Jesus! Amen.

Blessings—Trials—Obedience to Counsel, etc.

Wilford Woodruff

Remarks by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday morning, September 27, 1857.

We are glad to see the brethren return home from their long missions or short ones. We are glad to greet them, to hear them talk, to see their faces, and to hear their testimony that the Lord has been with them, These things are a pleasure to us who remain here in Zion. There are a multiplicity of evidences that God is with this people, and that the Lord has been with his Elders, wherever they have been, from the beginning of this work.

There has been something peculiar connected with the Elders of this Church from the beginning. You may take the rest of the world, politically, temporally, spiritually, or any other way; and there never has been such an example in the eyes of heaven, earth, or hell as has been in the Elders of this Church, in preaching this Gospel to the nations of the earth. The hand of God has been in the work from the beginning, and it is in it yet; and the hand of the Lord has been with them to succour them all the time. The revelations given from heaven, through Joseph, concerning the Elders, have been fulfilled to the very letter.

There are many things that are consoling; and one is, to know that the Lord is with us—that he does reveal his mind and will in the ordinances of the house of God, and through the administration of blessings, whether by Patriarchs, or by the Twelve Apostles, or in the endowments. We find those blessings are fulfilled to the very letter.

The brethren to-day have spoken in reference to the blessings that are given to our brethren when they go out on their missions to the various nations of the earth. I remember the day very well when we blessed those missionaries that went to India and to Europe; and I must say that I never had such a variety of feelings as I had at that time.

In blessing brother Luddington, I recollect that I was mouth, and I well remember that I could see nothing but seas, waves, and storms. The seas appeared to be heaped up, and I knew that he was going to see storms and be exposed to troubles and dangers. But there was one thing that we did bless those brethren with that I rejoice in, and that is that they should return home again.

Well, our words have all been fulfilled to the very letter, and this gives us consolation. If we go forth, and have the Priesthood and Apostleship upon us, the Holy Spirit of God, though it may not be visible, does dictate to us; and it is so in ordaining: it is so in going to battle against the nations of the earth, who have given their consent to the shedding of the blood of the Prophets.

Brother Brigham feels calm and serene as a summer’s morning; and in his desire to save Israel he wishes to save also the lives of our enemies, if possible. Why is he so calm and steady? It is because God is with him; and though armies are approaching and ready, apparently, to swallow up this people, yet he and his brethren feel calm, and the Lord reveals unto them, by the Holy Spirit, how to govern and control this people. They have had a long experience in proving the Almighty God, who holds the destiny of the Saints and the sinner. And has he ever failed us? No, never.

Some of our brethren have told their trials here to-day, and they have said that they have not done much; but the greatest work they have done has been in saving themselves. But this is not all they have done. They have done something else; they have accomplished the purposes of God in India—as much so as though they had baptised every king and queen in those islands: they have literally fulfilled the revelations of Jesus Christ in carrying the Gospel unto them, because those nations could not have been left without excuse and the earth prepared for the judgments of God, if those Elders had not gone and preached to the people of those nations. No matter if they had not have baptised one, they are as much justified as we who first went to Herefordshire, England, and baptised twenty or thirty priests in a day. They have fulfilled the commandments in carrying the Gospel to the nations.

It is no testimony to me that a man is not faithful, because he has not baptised numbers of princes, lords, governors, and kings; not at all. The Lord has sent them there: he has tried them and put them in strait places; but has he left them? No, he has not. Has he not brought them forth? We have had the testimony of brother Musser, who is here; and we see that it is the hand of God that has been over them, and we are glad of it; and we do not expect that the Lord will send the Elders out there again until they have other missionaries and messengers that they cannot stone, tar, or feather, but messengers that will come with their sharp sickles: then they will find that they have messengers that they cannot conquer nor overcome.

I feel to rejoice in these things and to know that the Lord is at work with this people. We are living in a fast age—an age fraught with great events, and every day is bringing to pass more of the predictions; and more revelation is being fulfilled in one year, now, than has been fulfilled in centuries before. We are living in a day when that flood of revelation is coming to a focus; and that focus we stand in, and we are seeing it fulfilled day by day.

The wicked rage and the heathen imagine a vain thing; and they say, “Let us go and take a prey and a spoil; let our eye be upon Zion, and let her be defiled.” But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his counsel. God will work for us and defend us, if we do our duty, and Zion will soon be free. We will not suffer the oppressions of our enemies as we have done.

You need not fear: all we have to do is to be passive in the hands of the Lord, and follow the counsel of our leaders, and not be particularly anxious that the Lord should reveal to you or to me his mind and will and intentions concerning our present difficulties; but pray earnestly that the Spirit of the Lord may be upon those men who stand at the head. All we have to do is to live our religion; and when the Presidency say “Come here,” or “Go there,” let us be on hand to obey, and all will be right.

Let the people be quiet and pray that God may reveal his mind and will to those at the head. We may have our ideas of what we should do in this or that case; but there is no man so well qualified to lead, govern, and direct for the salvation of the people as that man whom God has appointed. We have as good leaders as we need. There never was a better leader given to Israel, nor one more capable of leading this people to salvation, than Brigham Young: he is filled with the Spirit of God day by day. If the United States make war upon this people, the Lord will hold them responsible for it, and the measure they mete will be measured unto them again; and if they are ripe and the cup of their iniquity full, they will be shattered to pieces—their union broken up and destroyed. They will be visited with thunder and lightning and hail and the judgments of God; and every man that will not draw his sword against his neighbour will be obliged to flee to Zion. They are sending their armies here to destroy us; but I ask none to weep for Utah or spend their sympathy for us—not even my relatives or the priests, the doctors, lawyers, or editors; no, not even one soul—from the President of the United States down through the whole nation, who have given consent to our death; for they will have plenty to bear themselves, and they may save their weeping for themselves and their children. The Lord will teach them that their proud looks and haughty feelings will be laid low. It is right to pray and it is right to keep our powder dry. Pray for the Presidency of this Church—pray for them to have the Spirit of revelation. We have never seen a day when “Mormonism” was taking such a stride as it is at the present time. They may come over the Plains singing their songs about what they will do when they get to Utah; but many of them will find a place in hell before they get here.

There have been many truths taught here to-day. Many who have been here for years do not know or realize the great blessings we are enjoying in these valleys of mountains. Our granaries are filled with bread and we enjoy peace and the comforts of life. We come to the Tabernacle of God and associate with holy men, and we should be holy ourselves: if we are not, it is our own fault.

You have all the blessings which the celestial kingdom and laws of God impart unto men on the earth, while the Gentile nations have suffered ruin, wickedness, and abominations of every kind to increase in their midst until they are ripe for destruction. Do they not thirst for the blood of the Saints and every man who is righteous? Do they not delight in wickedness? They are full of wrath and anger, and they are ripe for the damnation of hell. Yes, the nations of the earth are ripe to-day.

Then we should be faithful and diligent in all things committed to our charge. Even though the Lord has suffered some of the brethren to go through strait places, in days which are past and gone, and he may still call us to go through strait places, yet he will sustain us when we trust in him.

The Lord has suffered some of our Prophets and Apostles to be martyred; and what for? That the cup of the iniquity of the nations might be full and that his servants might be crowned heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ to a martyr’s crown.

Through the persecutions of the enemies of truth, many of the Saints have been worn out; but, as a body, the kingdom and people have been led off as victorious conquerers. We stand now and hold the keys of the American continent; we stand in the strong chambers of the mountains; and can the Lord God give us the victory? He can and he will, and he has been preparing us for this by pouring out upon us his Holy Spirit, uniting the people who have been willing to repent and forsake their sins; and I hope we shall continue faithful to the end.

I am glad, and my soul rejoices in these things, and I believe that the people are ready to shoulder their guns and walk into these kanyons and line them from here to Fort Bridger in defence of the Constitution of the United States and the rights which both the laws of God and man guarantee to us.

We have had to stoop to our enemies heretofore and bear many things from them worse than death; but if there is anything that gives us joy and consolation—at least, I can speak for myself—it was when I heard the brethren say, “You are free, brethren—you are free; and you may prove yourselves before God and men that you are willing to defend yourselves against tyrants and oppressors.”

When I heard this, I was full of joy; and who would not be? Who would not rather die than bow down to the yoke of the enemy? It would sweeten death to a man to know that he should lay down his life in defence of freedom and the kingdom of God rather than to longer bow to the cruelty of mobs, even if the mob have the name of being legalized by the nation.

I thank God and I rejoice that this people are determined to be free from mobocracy and oppression, and that they are determined to have peace, if they have to fight for it; and if the yoke is ever put on again, it will be by ourselves: and I say, God bless this people and the missionaries that have gone to the nations—no matter whether they have baptized one or a thousand, if they have done the will of God.

Nothwithstanding [Not withstanding] the lightnings may flash, thunders roll, and earthquakes bellow, the Lord will extend his hand over his servants and protect them as he has done those that have returned unto us. And the Lord will remember our brethren that are on the Plains; and let us remember them in our prayers, that the Lord may be on our side; and let us be on hand and be ready at any and every call, and the kingdom will spread abroad, and it will smite the image not only on the toes but on the head; which may God grant for our sake. Amen.

Spiritual Dissolution—Ignorance of the World

Heber C. Kimball

A discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, delivered in the Bowery, Sunday afternoon, September 27, 1857.

I was going to say I was glad that I live. Bless your souls, I expect always to live. Most of the people are always talking about death. I do not know anything about it, and I never wish to know anything about what is called death, and I never shall, except I sin and turn away from this Church and away from Jesus Christ. When I turn from him, I follow a character that is called Death; but while I live my religion, I never shall die—that is, my spirit never will die.

My tabernacle that is now standing before you, that you see with your eyes, I expect will decay, just like an old house. When it is done with, it decays, and turns back to the mother earth, from whence it was taken; and it is so with my body; it is so with yours; but it is not so with my spirit, if I live my religion.

If I do not live my religion, but turn away from the principles of light and life, my spirit will die. You have heard me speak of that a great many times, and so you have brother Brigham. There are thousands upon thousands whose bodies will die by the power of the second death; and then they never will return again. Many call that annihilation.

It is just the same with that as it is with this pitcher: it was made in England; it was once in its mother element, and it was taken out of the earth, and went through a certain process. It was then modelled and fashioned into the shape in which you now see it.

Now, will the day come when this pitcher will return to its mother earth? It will; and it may be thrown into some part of the earth where it may be thousands and millions of years before that pitcher or the elements of which it is composed will be brought back again; and so it will be with thousands and millions of the people: they never will be brought back into the shape they were in once.

Some men enquire, “Why?” Simply because they have dishonoured the spirit and bodies that God gave them; therefore God will make a desolation of those bodies and spirits, and he will throw them back into the earth; that is, that portion that belongs to the earth will go back there. And so it will be with our spirits: they will go back into the elements or space that they once occupied before they came here.

Now, you may believe what you have a mind to about it; it is just as easy to conceive of a dissolution as to conceive of anything else. Chemists take elements and dissolve them and separate them, and can it not be done with our bodies? I answer yes, and with our spirits too, just as easy as a chemist can take a five-dollar piece and dissolve it into an element that is like water. Can that be restored again? It can: it can be dissolved, and it can be brought back again. And upon the same principle can our bodies be dissolved and restored again.

You know I am always at work at something that I can make you understand. As to eloquence, brother Taylor told you last Sunday what it was. “What is it?” says one. Nothing but truth, and that in its simplicity. My prayers are—and if your prayers were always right, you would pray so also—that our leader, brother Brigham, would convey things in a plain and simple manner. And you should also pray that I might do it; for I know there are many things laid before this people that hundreds of them do not understand.

I have often talked to this people about their ceasing from their evil ways. You hear the same things every sabbath. Brother Case has been teaching it, and my exhortation today is, Cease from your dissensions.

Well, there are scores of people in this congregation who do not know what that means. When brother Brigham says a thing is so and so, and I answer that I do not believe a word of it, that is justifying my conduct. Do you not see it is? You would not believe that there are people in this congregation who are so ignorant that they do not understand this; but there are. Some are so ignorant that they will make fun of this, and they are of all the most ignorant. You never saw a learned man or a learned woman, who was a gentleman or a lady, that would ever ridicule a man or woman for not being better educated.

There is a difficulty with many of the Elders who go to England, to the United States, and to the islands of the sea: they do not explain things in that simple manner which they ought to do; but they use words that are above the capacity of the people.

Go into Philadelphia, New York, Rochester, and many other great cities, and you will find the most ignorant people that are in the world. In those very cities there are thousands and hundreds of thousands that do not know as much as my old cow.

You may think that is extravagant; but there was a Baptist priest as ignorant as that—a Mr. Barrett, who kept an academy called Barrett’s academy, in London. He did not know what baptism or repentance was, and we could not teach him, he was so ignorant and stupid.

But let one of my wives go up to a cow of mine, and say “So,” and the cow knows what that means, and will stand still. Then my wife says to her, “Don’t you kick one bit while I am milking you. If you do, I will whip you;” and the old cow stands still till the last drop of milk is drawn.

There are a great many men and women who do not know as much as that: but you can teach cattle, for there is instinct in them; and you can teach a horse, for we have seen it done in this city. Did not God cultivate a donkey one time? He did. Yes; the Lord cultivated the ass, and he spoke and rebuked the Prophet: and cannot he do the same now? Did he not speak to a raven and tell it to carry food to Elijah?

These are a few preliminary remarks. I have said what I have said, and you may take from it what you please. We have to learn the principle of obedience and do as we are told.

As a general thing, this people will listen and do what brother Brigham and brother Heber say; but there are some who will not do what their Bishops say. Does that show obedience? You cannot obey him and then disobey his brethren that are with him. If a wife cannot be obedient to me, will she be obedient to anybody else? I don’t think she will; but I think, if you place anybody else in my situation, she will disobey him, and she will disobey every other one that she may go with, and there is no end to her disobedience.

I have got to be obedient to whom? To my leader. It does not make any odds what he says. If he says, “Brother Heber, go and build a barn thus and so,” and he gives me a sketch of that barn, and I go to work and build it, there is obedience. Well, after I built it, there is something about the barn that he does not like, or that does not suit him, and he says, “Brother Heber, I want you to go and take that away and put up such and such things;” and then he tells me to take down the barn. I go and do it. Then he tells me to build it again, and I do it. That is obedience. You see it, do you not?

I cannot honour God nor angels unless I am obedient to my leader; neither will God honour me, except I will honour the words of those men whom he sends. Do you know it? You know you have got to come to that standard, every man and every woman. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.” (John xiii. 20.)

If I could not see the spirit of obedience in you, I could not warrant you, neither could I warrant any man or woman, nor could any Prophet or Patriarch warrant you salvation. We must be passive in the hands of the authorities, as this pitcher was passive in the hands of the potter that made it.

Gentlemen, ye Elders of Israel, whether you are old men, young men, or middle-aged, you have got to learn the lesson of obedience.

Now, brethren, do you not think it is about time that we began to learn? Does middle age or does old age excuse a man? No, it does not. Well, then, what will justify a man in doing wrong? Not anything. To do as I am told is my duty. It is written in the Bible somewhere, “Obedience is better than sacrifice, and to hearken, than the fat of rams.” If I want to honour God, let me honour those whom he has sent and whom he has placed to dictate and control the affairs of his kingdom.

I frequently talk about the clay in the hands of the potter. The Lord said to Jeremiah, “I will show you a thing that I cannot tell you. Go down to the potter’s house, and I will be there, but you shall not see me; and I will make that potter mar a vessel.” Jeremiah went down to the potter’s house, and the Lord showed him the very thing he had promised; for the potter undertook to make a vessel, and the clay marred in his hands, and he cut it off the wheel and threw it into the mill; “and now,” says he, “take it out again and shape it into a ball, and turn it into a vessel of honour.” He did that very thing, though it is not written. The Scriptures say that out of the same lump he made a vessel first unto dishonour, and then unto honour.

I used to preach upon that in Nauvoo, and Joseph said it was the true interpretation. Now, Jeremiah was a man like brother Brigham, brother Heber, Amasa, and thousands of the servants of God that were valiant. There are thousands here that have never seen a potter’s house. But if I was in one, I could take a lump of clay and show you; and perhaps, being out of practice, it would mar in my hands: then I would throw it back into the mill and grind it, and afterwards I would take it up again and make a vessel unto honour. And thus the Lord said to Jeremiah, “As you see that clay mar in the hands of the potter, so shall it be with the house of Israel. They shall go and be in prison till I bring them out and make them vessels unto honour.” That is to be done in the latter days, when the Lord is to say to the dry bones, “Come forth,” and so on. Go and read the Bible, and you will learn about it. It will be just so with thousands and tens of thousands who will embrace “Mormonism:” they will go back into the mill again, through disobedience.

I do not believe, of all the Branches of this church that were raised up twenty-five years ago, that there is one man out of twenty who now stands firm and is living. Of the two thousand whom I and my brethren baptised, when we first went to old England, I do not believe there are five hundred now in this Church.

Brother Brigham and I paid from ten to fifteen thousand dollars to emigrate Saints from that country to the States. But where are they now? They have not all remained with us; and, in fact, it was not six months before many of them turned round and cursed us. They would not live their religion: they were stupid, and wanted their own way like a mule. All such characters will go overboard, and they will have to lie there till the Lord Almighty says, “Go and deliver the Gospel to them again.” I am talking what I know and what I realize.

Brethren and sisters, you have all got to be tested; but I know I cannot force things into your minds: I can only tell you things as I see them. There are a great many of this people that are exulting, and they feel as though they could whip a hundred men each: but you are not going to have very much trouble this fall.

Those troops seem to feel determined to come here. There are about 1,400 of them; and, with their officers and servants, altogether there will be upwards of 2,000. Captain Van Vliet advised them to turn in somewhere and fix up and stay for the winter; but he had no orders about the matter: therefore all he could do was to give them good counsel. But when he found they could not be prevailed upon to take his advice, he told them that if they attempted to come in here we should slay them. When they heard this they shouted with anger, and the next day they travelled thirty miles towards this place: they made two days’ march in one.

While brother Jones was there, they exulted over us and sang all manner of songs, telling how they were going to kill brother Brigham and all those who would uphold “Mormonism;” and they seemed to be as crazy as fools. They swore that they would use every woman in this place at their own pleasure—that they would slay old Brigham and old Heber; and they actually think that there are many—especially women—that will feel glad should they enter this valley, that they may be reprieved. Indeed they carry on in a most disgraceful and disgusting manner.

How long is it since brother Brigham proffered to release all the women in this Territory who wished to be released? At the last October Conference. That woman is to blame who wanted to be free and did not take the liberty that was given; and I say to all of mine that want to go, Go, and I will give you all the writings you want; and, besides that, I will give you the means to help you away.

These are my feelings in relation to those who want to go away. I say you shall have the privilege; for we will prepare the way so that you can go, if there are any who wish to go; and such has always been the case. But, as it happens, there are none who want to go, that we know of.

In relation to those soldiers coming here, they never can come, so long as the Lord God Almighty gives us strength to resist them. And that is not all. There is no man that can rule over this people but Brigham Young.

[The congregation shouted, “Amen.”]

And as long as we uphold him as the man holding the keys of this kingdom, he shall rule as Governor of this people. What a foolish thing it would be for us to drop brother Brigham and say that a wicked man should have that position! Oh! the hell and the sorrow that this people would see! But we never will have any other man so long as he liveth; and then it shall be his successor in office—the man whom God Almighty appoints, and no other man.

The brethren talk about our freedom. Why, we are just as free as the old veterans of the revolution were before they got their independence.

We have declared our independence But, gentlemen and ladies, we have got to maintain that by the strength of Jehovah. And that man and that woman who cannot stand up to the test, I ask you to leave as quick as you can; for when the time of the test comes, as the Lord God Almighty lives, if you then leave us or betray us, that is the end of you.

Do not exult over our enemies; but when you have an opportunity, get down upon your knees and cry unto the Lord God till you get his Spirit, and be as clay in the hands of the potter, and learn to do as you are told. This is the thing to learn. The virtue is not altogether in taking a fiddle and playing the tune, but it is something of a job to dance to the tune.

This year’s trouble will not be much. It is not going to amount to a great deal; but it will amount to this—a collision between this people and the United States; and the gate will be shut down between us and them. This is already done to a certain extent; but many of you do not see it.

We have been telling you these things for years; but did you believe them? Yes, and so did the devils. The devils believe and tremble; but where is the practice, gentlemen? Where is your practice, ladies? Your practice has been chiefly exhibited on your heads, around your necks and shoulders, and all over you. Does this correspond with what is about to take place with us—when there is about to be a collision with us and the world—when we have got to maintain the kingdom of God? As brother Brigham says, it is the kingdom of God or nothing.

Brother Case was talking about our being an independent people; and I say we are independent—just as independent as we ever shall be, until we completely gain the victory. This we have got to do by faith and by good works. We have to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, as God Almighty willeth us to do; for all men are subject to him, to do his will, keep his commandments, and bring to pass his righteous purposes.

I would advise my brethren from this day to attend faithfully to their duties wherever they may be called upon to act; and I would advise my sisters to stay at home and attend to their domestic concerns, and prepare diligently for the approaching day of trial. Prepare for the worst; for you need not expect any better times than you now see.

I have told you you have seen the best times that you would see until the kingdom of God is established for this world has to become subject to the kingdom of God and his Christ.

When the United States have done their best, then other nations will tackle us, and so things will go on, until every nation is brought into subjection to the kingdom of God. Go and read it in the Bible. I could not say anything else, if I should try.

All the difference between ancient and modern prophets is—we are fulfilling what they told, only it was not all written. The scenery is the same; and then, again, it is not. This is the fulness of all dispensations; and it so much bigger than any of the others, that all the rest are embodied in it.

Everything spoken of that has not been fulfilled will have to be fulfilled in this dispensation. The kingdom of God is set up in a degree: it is in embryo, and it will continue to receive strength. The child has proclaimed its liberty, although it has not got its full growth. The child is free; but he has got to whip out all the wicked and bring them into subjection to the kingdom of God, or to the kingdom of his Father. We are the boys that are being brought to this test. God is going to test every one of us—men, women, and children.

I will here say, in the name of Israel’s God, that I will not be trammelled in the purposes of God; neither should any other one. I have said the day of petting is past with me, and it should be past with all good men. I heard my leader say, the other day, that he could manage the affairs of this people and of the United States and of Europe with more ease to his mind than he can listen to the little, peevish, trifling complaints that women bring to him. A good deal of it is little peevishness.

What kind of matters do they trouble him with? Why, one woman runs and—“Brother Brigham, my old hen has laid an egg; and I heard that if I set it on one end it would be a hen, and if on the other it would be a rooster; and I want a rooster.” That is a simile.

I am speaking of this for you to let him alone. If you have difficulties brethren and sisters, go to your Bishops, and let those Bishops investigate the case; and if it is worthy of his notice, let your Bishop go to brother Brigham and have his counsel upon it.

When our President says that these little things trouble him, I say they should never go to him at all. It is generally women that have to go—that class of them that seem to wish to do all the business.

You will frequently see from twenty to sixty women round that Tithing Store. If I have any business there, I go and do it, and then go about my other business. The brethren there are weary; and I want brother Hunter to have his days set to deal out to the people. You should be at home gleaning wheat or knitting. Let me advise you, sisters, to be humble and prayerful before your God. Pray for your husbands, if you have got any; and if you have not, pray for those men who lead you and bear off this kingdom.

You do not have to go out to fight; and you should think of this when you are gadding about from one place to the other—you that have so much visiting to do that you even visit on Sundays too. I want to know why such ones are not serving their God and taking care of that which is put into their hands?

Now, am I hard upon the sisters? No. The good woman sits here and says it is heaven to her to listen to such teachings. I do not wish to say anything to such persons; but it is those that are guilty that I am after.

Do I want to hurt your feelings? No; I would not for my right arm. But stop going to brother Brigham with your little family affairs. I hardly ever go to brother Brigham’s office but there are some sisters there—sometimes from ten to twenty in a day; and some few come to me, but not many.

Do I advise a woman to leave her husband? No. But, say I, Go home; make peace, and be a comfort to your husband. Do I advise a man to leave his wife? No. But I tell him to go home and nourish her, comfort her, and clothe her, and then see that she does her duty. I will admit there are some men who are hard and overbearing; and then there are some women who cannot be controlled.

I have one or two women that I cannot control, and never did; and I would as soon try to control a rebellious mule as to control them. I have not given them a word of counsel for the last eight years but what they have murmured or rebelled against and called me a hard man. I have not told you who they are; but I know them.

Is it wrong to speak of these things? I have one or two women that I cannot control, and never did. “Do you support them?” says one. Yes, as well as the best women I have. And if you want to know why I do it, it is because I want to get along with it as well as I can in this life. But I can tell you that if the time comes when I am obliged to desert and lay waste my habitation, I will then lug them no more.

Let us do a good work and be a good people. Do I give you the credit of being the best people on the face of God’s earth? I do. There is not a better people on the face of God’s footstool; and they are generally doing just as well as they know how to do.

I see the evil that is coming next year, except God frustrates their designs—which he will do, if we are faithful. Our enemies may undertake to send from fifty to a hundred thousand troops next year; and if we are faithful, God will frustrate their designs. We can plead with the Father, and then it will depend upon our faithfulness as a people.

If there is a good woman that has not got a good man, she can be a good woman as she is; and if there is a good man that has not got a good woman, he can be a good man without one. Before I would live in a quarrel, I would take my johnny-cake and go into the woods! And if I was a man that worked on the public works, and I could not live in peace, I would take my victuals with me, and I would stick to God and to his kingdom, and I would not quarrel. You know I am not a quarrelsome man. This is what I call disputation.

Let us do right, keep the commandments of God, and live in peace and quietude. Is there a man in this congregation that has any difficulty with me? No, there is not; or if there is, I do not know it. If I have any difficulty with any one, I tell them of it; and then if I am in the fault; I repent and make satisfaction, if any is needed; and if they are in fault, I expect them to do the same. That is the Spirit of God, is it not? It is the Spirit that should exist with every man.

Mr. Buchanan and his coadjutors are striving to oppress Utah and deprive us of our constitutional rights: They have taken the Eastern mail from us, and they will endeavor to take away everything they have given us, and will make their heaviest efforts to destroy this people. But if this community will entirely cease to do any evil and will unitedly live their religion, God Almighty will so confound their enemies that they cannot bring an army into this country. He will do that, if you will do as you are told.

When I think of those things that exist among some of this people, I am grieved. “Do you not quarrel, brother Heber?” says one. No, I do not. But; when a woman begins to dispute me, about nine times out of ten I get up and say, “Go it,” and then go off about my business; and if ever I am so foolish as to quarrel with a woman, I ought to be whipped; for you may always calculate that they will have the last word. I know that there are some quarrelsome individuals, but I do not want any such spirits about me.

When I sleep, I have fifteen shooters, six shooters, and all other kind of shooters; and the devils do not come there: and if they succeed in troubling me, they have to get into some other person’s body. I have left the Devil’s kingdom and have enlisted in the kingdom of Jesus, and I never intend to turn away from it.

As for our enemies, they never can injure us; but they will make their heaviest strides against us. And it will not be long before the world will turn over the riches of the world to us, and I know it. If you will only live faithful, you will never be driven to the necessity of burning up your houses, your lumber, or your fruit trees.

Our peach and apple trees are beginning to bear fruit, and we may just as well eat the fruit from them as not. But if we do not live our religion, we may have to go into the mountains and take it Indian fashion.

The United States have robbed the Indians, and now they are trying to afflict us; and they will go to hell with all the nations that forget God.

Brethren and sisters, God bless you! May the Lord God Almighty bless you, every one; and you may consider the blessing just the same as though I had my hands upon your heads; for every one of you shall be blessed who will do right and uphold his servants.

Now, let brother Brigham alone, will you not? I do not suppose there are any who want to annoy him. But let me say to all of you, if you have any difficulties that you cannot settle, go to your Bishops; and then, if the case is worthy of further notice, your Bishops can go to brother Brigham and get the proper information and settle the difficulty accordingly. You have no idea how he is troubled; for of all the trouble and perplexing things on the earth, the little complaints and murmurings of women are the most tedious.

God Almighty bless you, brethren and sisters! and I bless you, and I bless the air, the earth, the mountains, and everything that is in these regions. I bless the elements in these mountains; and my prayer is that the fathers of these Lamanites—the old prophets and old patriarchs—will visit them by night and by day; and they will do it when the proper time comes, and they will visit this people when they are worthy and when it is necessary. God Almighty will arouse every tribe and every nation that exists in the East, West, North, and South, and they will be on hand for our relief. Now, mark it; for the day is nigh at hand, and it will be here sooner than you can lay up your corn, your barley, your wheat, and the comforts of life: yes, they will be here for our relief.

I feel that I am pleading with this people to stop all bickerings and to be Saints in very deed. We give you the name of being the best people upon the earth. Brother Brigham says that this people are doing the best they can. I will admit that. But when a man steals, that man is not living righteously. When a woman steals, I do not believe that she is doing the best she knows.

This people, as a community, with but here and there a solitary exception, are doing about as well as any other people could do upon the face of the earth. I believe and know that I do the best I can to please God and my brethren: I leave it to them if I do not. I did last week: I laboured till I thought I should faint; and I would rather die than be in rebellion. Do I take a course to hurt brother Brigham, brother Spencer, brother Woodruff, brother Amasa, or any other Saint? No, I do not.

God bless you! I want my brethren to live near me, so that I can see them. God bless you, brother Phineas, and brother Case, and the old Patriarch! and God bless you, John and William, and Betsy and Sally! Is not that manifesting good feelings? That is the way to be happy. Now let us go home and take a course to be industrious and happy and to secure a livelihood.”

There is considerable sickness from colds in our city: it is a kind of epidemic. It has been in the horses and mules, and now it is turned upon us; and let us fast and pray that the sickness may cease, and it shall not continue upon the house of Israel; for I rebuke it in the name of Israel’s God, and you shall rebuke it, and it shall be turned away from us, and it shall go to our enemies, and they shall see sorrow. They cannot come here. But if they will be peaceable and behave themselves, they shall live, and we will have compassion upon them, though they are in our hands as much as any people ever were in the hands of another upon the face of the earth; but in the mercy of God they have been spared because they are ignorant. But would to God that they were composed of the priests of the day and the thousands that have caused Joseph and Hyrum and many others to lie down in the dust! Would not we have joy, if they were along here? [Voices: “We would.”] Yes, and so would I. But these troops are all foreigners—almost all of them: they are what we call the low Dutch, the Irish, the English, and of almost all nations. They are ignorant of the wicked course and object of this movement against us; and so are many, if not all of the officers who lead them. But they must go where they are ordered by their superiors, or resign. However, they cannot get here to work their abominations, destruction, and death. Amen.

Murmuring Against Divine Authority, etc.

Orson Hyde

A discourse by Elder Orson Hyde, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday morning, October 4, 1857.

Brethren and Sisters—I feel to occupy a portion of the time allotted to us this morning, in calling your attention to some matters which I hope and trust may be for our benefit, for our security, and for our prosperity.

We are all aware, or should be, of the condition that we are in and the circumstances by which we are surrounded. We have duly considered them, for we have, had time for reflection: we have had time to weigh the matter in our own minds; and it is now for us to be fixed and firm in our purpose, that we deviate not in our actions, neither in our feelings from the path that is marked out for us, but cheerfully, resolutely, and patiently pursue that track. There is no doubt at all but that we shall have trials to pass through—all, perhaps, that we are able to bear; for all strength that is given to us will be tested, and will be tried, and will be proven.

It is now for us to avoid one fatal rock, I may say, upon which the Israelites of old wrecked to a certain extent; and that is, that when they were gloriously delivered by the hand of our God and brought into the wilderness by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm, they murmured against Moses and they murmured against God because they could not enjoy the luxuries—the good things of Egypt, such as they were wont to enjoy while in bondage.

How soon did they forget the mighty miracles that were wrought for their deliverance! There was a time that the Israelites could do nothing. They had come to the shores of the Red Sea: they could not advance; their enemies were in their rear, and they could not advance. When they looked forward, it seemed impossible for them to pass onward; and when they looked back, destruction awaited them; and in the midst of this they exclaimed, perhaps, “What shall we do?”

It appears that there was nothing to be done, and hence the word was to them to stand still and see the salvation of God. In due time Moses was directed to smite the waters of the Red Sea: the waters were divided and Israel bade to go forward.

It appears that the Lord will open the way wherever he requires his Saints to go, however dark and hedged up it may seem. Yet, when the time comes for us to take one step, the way will open; and it is not likely that we can see the final issue or the result of our journey at first. If we could see the end, there would be no trial of our faith; but all the time we must walk by faith, and not by sight.

It is a good deal in this respect as it was with the disciples of old: it was required that they should take no thought what they should eat, what they should drink, or wherewithal they should be clothed.

It was also required that they should take no thought what they should say, for they were told it should be given unto them in the very hour what they should speak; and so it will be given to the faithful and pure before the Lord in this age of the world in the very hour that it is required and in the very time that it is needed.

They will see how to take one step and where to place one foot; and if they cannot see where to put the second, they must wait till they can see where to put it.

This was the case with the children of Israel when they were bade to go through the Red Sea; for whether they could see the track open all the way across is very questionable with me; but as they saw where to take one step, so they were required to advance all the way through that mighty deep, and they went through dryshod; and the very means ordained for their salvation were the very means for the destruction of their enemies.

But after the children of Israel had such a glorious triumph and sang the songs of deliverance, how soon they murmured against the authority of God and the Holy One who was appointed to lead them. They wanted the flesh, the leeks, and onions of Egypt; and the Lord was forced to come out of his hiding-place and cut them off from the face of the earth; and there fell in one day three-and-twenty thousand. This is written for our example, that we through faith and patience of the Scriptures might have comfort.

It is written, “A prophet shall the Lord our God raise up like unto me:” that is Moses speaking: “And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people.” I am not going to say who that Prophet is; but I am going to present some few things for your consideration, and you may draw your own conclusions.

Did Jesus Christ ever lead forth the people of God like unto Moses? Did he not say, “How often would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not?” Did he lead them with an outstretched arm? He wrought miracles and did all the good he could; but I cannot see that Jesus ever led the people as did Moses. He performed his work and fulfilled his mission: but a Prophet was to be raised up like unto Moses; and hence I draw the conclusion that this is the only Prophet or the only dynasty of Prophets through whom the Lord would speak.

I know that some think the Lord is going to establish his kingdom through other prophets than those amongst us. Well, if the law is to be given through others, why is the responsibility placed upon us to go and preach the Gospel to all nations? If it is not to proceed from this Priesthood wholly, why should the Twelve Apostles be required to open the Gospel to all the nations of the earth, if there were other channels through which the Gospel might be preached? By this I come to the conclusion that whosoever will not hear this Prophet will be destroyed from among the people.

This is the only people who profess to have Prophets of this character, even like unto Moses; and the word is that whosoever will not hear that Prophet shall be destroyed from among the people. A Prophet shall be at the head to lead, as it was with Israel when Moses led them. Did he not say, “I will take and lead you as in days of old?” Well, then, the ministration and signs of Moses are to be enacted again. Joel shows us how they are to be. Read the 2nd chapter of Joel all the way through, and that will show you how things are to be.

“Why,” says the Lord, “I sent my angel before my people hitherto; but I have said that in the last days I will go myself before my people.” He has declared that he will utter his voice before his army, for his camp is very great.

We shall be led into straitened places—into tried places; and now it is for us to prepare ourselves, to fortify our hearts, to fortify our spirits, that we never murmur against God nor against the Moses that he has given us; for I tell you that the man that God has raised up is no more responsible than we are; and I have thought not so much.

Can he make one erroneous move? If our prayers are offered up to the Lord in his behalf—if our hearts are set upon doing that which we know to be right, then we are right; but if not, we are wrong. If he is wrong, our prayers are not heard.

Well, then, you see, the weight of responsibility reaches back upon our shoulders; and we are the ones to take that responsibility and to have faith in the words and in the prayers which we utter before the Lord.

Brethren and sisters, be agreed in this respect, and be sure that when you ask for a thing you do not doubt it; but hold on to it and believe that you receive the things you ask for, and you shall have them. What mind of spirit is it that comes and says, “Now, I will go and ask for this or that; I do not know whether I will get it; it is a question whether my prayers are heard; but I will pray because it is my duty?”

Now, a double-minded man is not a man of faith. We should consider what we want and what is the mind and will of God to grant us. Say, “So and so is the mind of God,” and satisfy yourself that the prayer you are about to offer is really the mind and will of your Father in heaven; then bow down and ask for that thing or for those very things. And when we have asked for any blessing, never let a doubt arise in our minds as to whether we shall receive the blessing, but believe that our prayers are heard, and then they will be answered.

Let me say, brethren and sisters, do not pray for too many things at once. What would you think if your son were to come and say, “Father, I want a yoke of oxen, I want a cow, I want a horse, I want some money, I want this, and I want that?”

“Why,” says the father, “you ask for so many things that I cannot give you anything at all.” That son is covetous; he reaches for everything, and I cannot give them to him; and hence the father concludes that he won’t give him anything; when, if the son had come and said, “Father, if you can let me have a cow, I shall be glad,” and then stop at that, the father would say, “Yes, I will give you a cow;” and he is pleased to do it. The son takes care of her, and by-and-by he comes and says, “Father, won’t you give me a horse?” “Yes,” says, the father. And so, you see, he gets all that he wants, but not all at once.

Our Father in heaven says, “Where two or three of you agree as touching one thing, and ask in the name of the Son, it shall be given. Our Saviour had his eye upon this when he said, “If thy eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light; but if thy eye be evil, (some say double,) thy whole body shall be full of darkness.”

If your affections are divided, can you love two individuals or two objects alike? Water, when its power is concentrated, turns machinery; but when you divide it and apply its force upon many wheels at the same time, it accomplishes little; whereas its condensed force upon one wheel will effect the desired object.

This is true in relation to prayer; but is it true in relation to the plurality of wives? Can a man really love more than one wife at the same time? I may answer this question in the negative or in the affirmative, and either may be considered correct according to circumstances.

It was the prayer of Christ that his disciples, though many, might be one—that is, to have no mind or will of their own, but all partake of his spirit and his mind; and thus, they being one in him, he could easily love them all. But if one set up a will of his own—rebelled in his feelings against a union with each other and with his legitimate head also, he might pity the folly of that rebellious one, but could not love him as those who rebelled not.

If a man have forty wives, and they all receive his mind and spirit, and are thus one in him, he can as easily love them all (because they are one,) as a father can love a half-score of children who copy his mind and spirit. But if a woman rebel in her feelings against a good man, and yield to the temptations of the Devil, she may know that her husband may pity, but cannot love her, because she has ceased to be one with him and to partake of his mind and spirit. If, therefore, your husband be a good man, and you copy his mind and his spirit, he cannot help loving you, though he have forty other wives in the same situation.

Now, you wives, partake of the spirit of your husbands, and you will be loved; but you set up a standard and a spirit aside from his, and he never will love you; no, he never will. I speak to the knowledge and experience of some: yes, too many know that this is true.

And ye husbands, drink into the Spirit of your God and of your superiors in the Priesthood on earth; and if your wives are good women, they will love you; but if you do not, they will not love you; they won’t have confidence in you.

You husbands, go to work by your own spirit and set up a standard independent of the Holy Ghost, and will God love you? No, he won’t. If you do not drink into the spirit of your superiors, will they love you?—will they have confidence in you? No, they won’t.

Well, you see it is all flowing in our legitimate channel. If God has ten thousand children, or a million, or ten millions, and all partake of one spirit, and they are one, does he not love them all? Yes, he does. But if one steps aside from the path marked out, will he love him? No, he won’t. But if the ignorant sin and go astray, he may send a messenger after them and get them back. He may rejoice over them and pity them when they are away, and rejoice over them when they come back.

Now, brethren and sisters, consider these principles: weigh them well in your minds; for the greatest evil that I know of in this people is the little bickerings in families. I am happy to say that even this evil is diminishing; yet there should be none at all.

The spirits of men and women should ever be guided and tempered by the Holy Ghost; and I believe that the desire and intention of a large majority of the people are to keep the spirit of their superiors and of their God—to drink it and live by it.

Would to God that all the women that are adopted into families would partake of the spirit of their husbands, if they are upright men. They have no right to an independent standard any more than I have a right to a standard independent of the Holy Ghost. I should have an independence to turn away from all sin; for that is the Spirit of God, and that is the right kind of independence, and that is the only kind that is justifiable.

I feel, brethren and sisters, that I should not go amiss—that I should not go astray from the path of duty, were I to call upon families to repent of their sins in this respect. I have laid before you, this morning, some of the greatest evils there are in families—an unwillingness of the members of those families to keep the spirit of their head. Some of them are unwilling to do it: it is too much the case. I only direct these remarks where they are applicable; and therefore those to whom they do not apply will not take them: and perhaps there will be some to whom they are applicable that will say, I do not believe that doctrine. To such I would say. You are the very one; you are the very character to repent and submit yourself to the proper government, of God.

In relation to murmuring against: God, brethren and sisters, do you not know that the Israelites were reproved and that they were slain because they murmured against their God? Well, now, in the same light do families stand who murmur against their head and partake not of the spirit of their head; for, say the Scriptures, “Whoso will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people.” Remember that it is by patient continuance in welldoing that we seek for honour, happiness, and eternal life—by patient continuance all the time, and not when we come into trying places to turn aside; but to abide in the covenants and be patient, seeking for honour, immortality, and eternal life.

Well, now, you brethren, do not you go home and say that just suits me—that is my doctrine, and take liberty thereby to tyrannize over your families. If it just suits you, and if it is your doctrine, all right. But one thing let me tell you—Seek the spirit of your head; and if you will do that, you will never take advantage of the remarks of the servants of God to mistreat your women. But, at the same time, the principle must be laid open before you, so that you can understand it. No doubt you all know it and understand it perfectly well; but it is necessary once in a while to “stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance.” Do not murmur against God, against Moses, nor against your legitimate head: no, do not do it; for “Whoever will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people.”

Well, now, brethren and sisters, these are about the remarks that I wanted to make. There are a great many things in which we have improved; and in respect to the things of which I have spoken, there is no doubt but you have greatly improved; but I tell you there is room for a mighty stride of improvement in this respect. This is the way I feel about it.

I do not wish to divide your attention upon a thousand things, but I wish to call your attention to this thing and say, Repent of all your deviations from the path of duty; and I believe that you know this is a true doctrine—that you are satisfied that it is true. Cast away from you every feeling of rebellion and of murmuring that will lead you to oppose your legitimate head, and drink down the spirit of your superiors, and abide by it; and then you are one: and when you are one, God can love you all at the same time. Why, when I love a person, I not only love the head, but I love the face, the hands, the feet, and all the members of that body. Well, then, if we are all members of the body, does not God love us all? Certainly he does. Then away with the idea that a man cannot love but one object at a time: away with this, I say, and let us all be one. Then if any part of us is loved, we are all loved. I believe that I have said all that I wanted to say. May God bless you and save us all in his kingdom! Amen.

There is one word more that I want to say, and it is right in connection with what I have said. I won’t turn your minds away from what has been spoken; but I want to tell you that brother Brigham, brother Heber, and brother Daniel’s responsibilities laid upon them make them feel more than any other men can feel. They are enough to burst iron hearts, aside from their family responsibilities. Pray, therefore, that their strength may be equal to their day; and while you pray for them, work to your prayer. And if you ask, “How shall I work to it?” I will tell you. If you get some little difficulty on your mind, you Bishops, you Elders, you members, do not run to brother Brigham, to brother Heber, nor to brother Daniel. You have prayed to God that their burdens may be lightened; then do not throw your troubles upon them, but pray to God to nerve their bodies and their spirits, and to give them power and strength sufficient for their day.

You would not say to the mule or jackass that is bending beneath his burden, “Oh! poor animal!” and then jump on to him yourself: you would not do that. Then, when you see the Presidency of our Church—, our leaders—when you see them bowed down, if you cannot go to do them any good, do not go to them with any of your petty troubles and difficulties. We want all these miserable petty cases put away or settled between parties and their Bishop, and mercifully relieve our head from unnecessary, petty, and vexatious troubles.

God bless us and enable us all to do so, through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Preparation of Heart for Divine Blessings, etc.

Erastus Snow

Remarks by Elder Erastus Snow, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday morning, October 4, 1857.

I feel like offering a few of my reflections in connection with those remarks we have heard this morning from Elder Hyde. I feel that they are timely and good for the congregation of the Saints to reflect upon and treasure up. I would not say anything to draw the minds and reflections of the people from those sentiments which have been presented by Elder Hyde this morning, but rather to enforce and impress them upon the minds of the congregation, that every person capable of understanding may be able to treasure them up, that these principles may abide in our hearts; for, says the Saviour, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, they shall be in you as living water, and ye shall bear much fruit.”

Now, this people are not perishing for lack of knowledge: they have not a lack of the words of the Lord. But if this people perish for lack of knowledge at all, it is because they do not retain the word of the Lord which is delivered to them: it is not because it is not planted in our hearts, but because our ground is not properly broken up. The ground of our hearts is not prepared, that the word that is sown may bring forth fruit. This is the trouble and the reason why we do not advance and bring forth more fruit, and grow more thrifty in the work of the Lord our God, and increase in faith, in power with God, in unison with him and with those whom he has set over us, and with one another.

The trouble is not in our God, neither is it in our fellow servants—those whom he has set to be our leaders, our teachers; for God is with them, and he would be with them much more abundantly, if we as a people were more ready to listen to them, and there was place found in us for their words, and their words take effect in our hearts. Then his Spirit and power would increase upon us, and there would be no lack. The lack is in us—in the people, and always has been, and is not in our God. He is waiting and anxious to pour out blessings, and glory, and honour, and exaltation upon his people, far more than we have ever received, and far more than we are capable of receiving; and the only reason we have not received it long ago is because there was no place found for it.

The great labour of the Lord and of all his servants is to prepare the hearts of the people, to concentrate the feeling of the people, to concentrate their faith, and to make them one, and to prepare their hearts to bring forth the fruits of the kingdom of God. This is the labour of preaching and praying, of exhorting, inviting, and beseeching all the time—to move upon the hearts of the people and convince them of the necessity of union—to impress it upon them, that they may remember all those principles which alone can exalt them. And, as was said by Elder Hyde, the responsibility of our conduct rests upon ourselves, and not upon our leaders. The responsibility that is resting upon our leaders is alone the responsibility of doing what the Lord wants them to.

The responsibility of what befal[l]s this people is no more upon brother Brigham than it is upon me, and no more upon me than it is upon you; and every individual soul in all Israel has his own responsibility to bear, and he cannot throw it off. Whether it be good or evil—whether it be joy or sorrow—whether it be affliction or blessings, the responsibility thereof rests upon us individually.

Brothers Brigham, Heber, and Daniel, who are they but our fellow-servants—those that the Lord has given us to be our leaders and the mouthpieces of the Lord unto this people—the legitimate channel through which to lead, govern, and control this people? But are they responsible any more than you or I? No, not one whit. When they have discharged their duties, they are as free from responsibility as you or I. When they have done what lies in their power to do, they are exonerated before their God, although they feel as no other men on earth can feel, because there are no others placed in their condition; and it is impossible for any others to feel as they feel and have the same interest they have for the welfare of this people.

It is God who rules and leads; it is God who controls the destinies of all men. Every man is in his hands, to be used as he will. Whithersoever this people are led, they will be led through that channel he has intended; and whether they go to the east, west, north, or south—whether they burn their dwellings and flee to the mountains, or remain here—whether they fight the Gentiles, or turn their backs upon them—whatsoever they have to do, it will be the Lord Almighty that does it; but he will do it through the channel he has appointed.

But will the responsibility of thousands be upon those men that are set over us to lead us? No, it will not. I am well aware that there are a great many people who in their childish simplicity feel that any act that they do is nothing to them.

So far as taking thought or having trouble in our spirits about what is to come or what will be the result of things, it is well that we should set our hearts at rest and be at ease and feel quiet, and our spirits calm as a summer’s morning and resigned, and our feelings prayerful and peaceful. But as far as feeling indifferent and like throwing off the responsibility from our shoulders upon our leaders, this should not be; neither should we claim exemption from the responsibility of anything in Israel. Every one should have a share of that responsibility, and they cannot throw that responsibility off; for upon my head devolves the responsibility of directing my hands and my feet and other members of my body in their exercises. It is equally the duty of every other member of the body to administer to the head. The hands have to feel the head, and the head has to be properly guarded and shielded, that it may be active and the brain vigorous, that every movement may be wisely directed and every energy of the body directed in proper channels.

Our God deals with us as a people. He does not deal with brother Brig-ham, brother Heber, or brother Daniel separately and distinctly from this people, or the people distinct from them. We cannot be separated; we are one. We are the Twelve Apostles, the High Priests, the Seventies, the Elders, the Priests, the Teachers, the Deacons, the Bishops. Every quorum of the Priesthood, every man in Israel, and every woman in Israel are members of the same body—branches of the same vine, and partake of the same spirit, unless they are branches that are withered and dried up. God will deal with us as a whole all the time.

How was it with Israel of old, as has been referred to by Elder Hyde? They were led by the hand of God all through the wilderness. God led Moses. Sometimes they were led in one direction, and sometimes in another. They were brought up against the Red Sea; and did not they, in their blindness, chide with Moses because he had led them thus? Looking at things naturally, they could say, “You might have gone round and avoided this snare: we might have taken another road, instead of running right into this kanyon, between these two mountains, and against the Red Sea, where there is no chance to dodge; and so we are to perish by the armies of Egypt close in our rear and the sea before us.” These were the feelings of a great many weak in faith and ignorant people among them; and they were ready to pick up stones to stone Moses because he had done it.

There are a great many instances of the same kind during their forty years’ sojourning in the wilderness. Sometimes they were led into the wilderness when they might have followed some streams of water, had the Lord have led them in that channel. And when they were led into different circumstances there were always some who complained and threw the responsibility upon Moses, exonerating themselves.

Some wished to turn back unto Egypt, and a great many plans were in view to extricate themselves from difficulties; except fleeing to the Almighty, who had led them into those difficulties; and time and again the Lord rebuked them and manifested his power to deliver them. But who led them? Did Moses lead them? No. The Almighty led them. Moses was his servant, and led them as the Almighty directed him.

Why did not the Almighty direct him to lead them round the Red Sea instead of through it? And why did he not lead them to follow the streams, instead of taking them across the desert? Why did he not lead them a straight course from Egypt to Canaan, instead of keeping them forty years in the wilderness? Who was most to blame for it? Was the responsibility upon him, or was it upon the people? Why was it upon the people? Because they were a stiffnecked people, a hardhearted people, and an ignorant people.

We read in the Scriptures that they were so stiffnecked as to provoke the Lord, and he came out upon them in his wrath and consumed them from his presence—sometimes by fire that came forth from his presence, at other times by causing the earth to open and swallow them up by thousands, at other times by pestilence, and at other times by fiery flying serpents which came among them and bit them that they died.

Why was the anger of the Lord kindled against them? Because of the hardness of their hearts and the stiffness of their necks. It was not because of Moses. Only in one instance did Moses offend. That was not in any of his movements in leading and controlling Israel, but because he did not sanctify the Lord God of Israel before their eyes when he smote the rock of Horeb. This was the only instance in which the Lord condemned Moses; but he directed Moses how to lead Israel, and Moses led them in the way he was directed; and they were tried forty years in the wilderness, until most of them were worn out and perished.

Were they a wicked people above all other people, that their carcasses should thus fall in the wilderness? What think you, brethren and sisters—ye that are called Latter-day Saints, were they, as a people, more wicked than the rest of mankind, that God should have dealt with them thus? I answer, No. But of a truth they were the best people upon the face of the earth, and the only people that had the Priesthood of God among them.

They were the people whom God had delivered from Egyptian bondage with an outstretched arm; and by his power, they were the only people God could make use of. They had faith sufficient that he could govern and control them; and so far from being the worst, they were the best people upon the earth; but upon them rested the responsibility, and they did not improve upon their privileges and appreciate their blessings as they ought to have done; and for this reason were they set forth as examples to all who should live after; and the responsibility of their carcasses falling in the wilderness, the responsibility of their being led into the desert, the responsibility of all their trials and troubles was not upon Moses and their leaders, nor upon their God, but upon themselves; for, had they been pliable, submissive, willing, and obedient, and had their spirits been pliable before the Lord, willing to be moulded and fashioned, they could have been led forth conquering and to conquer, and been planted in Canaan just as well in two years as in forty. And if this people were capable of receiving it, the Lord could as well give them the kingdom to-day as forty years hence. And if the people of the United States would have hearkened to the voice of the Lord, given through the Prophet Joseph, they might have been a more prosperous and powerful nation to-day.

The history of all religious generations and dispensations is similar, and shows this fact to us, that human nature is the same in every age of the country, and among every country, and among every people—that all men are subject to like weaknesses and have to be taught gradually.

Children grow from infancy to manhood; and whether God leads our footsteps in correct paths or not, he is only leading us to school: he is only directing our course in a round of experience by which he trains us, and makes us one, cements our hearts together, and rids our spirits of iniquity and abomination. He wants to teach men and women how to walk together in union and be great—to teach this people how to be bound to him and to those that he sets over them, and to teach his Saints how to reign in the house of Israel as his servants.

I do feel conscious that if the men of Israel do their duty and live their religion, reformation will go forth from them through their families, and it cannot be stayed; and every branch of every family in Israel will feel the effects of that reformation: every woman and all her children will feel it.

If a man of God lives his religion and is controlled only by the Spirit of Zion in his family, and if he has a turbulent, disobedient spirit in his family, that spirit will be subject or that individual will be separated from his family, upon the same principle that turbulent persons that repent not are severed from this Church by the vote of this people; and when that turbulent person is severed, he will dry up and wither, and will be gathered and burned with the ungodly.

It may be that heretofore the fanning-mill has blown out more of the men than it has of the women; but if it has done this, it is because the sieve is not quite fine enough. But as the work of reformation goes forward, it will sift to the very bottom; and every member of every family in Israel will feel the effects of the driving element that will sanctify them for the Lord Almighty or separate them from this people.

Every man in Israel is responsible in a certain degree for the conduct of his wives and children. He has covenanted that he will assume that responsibility; that is, he will assume the responsibility of the sins of his wives, if he fails to discharge his duties towards them in teaching and leading them in the ways of life and salvation.

I assume the responsibility of the acts of my wives and children so far as they are obedient to me; and when I discharge my duties to them, reprove them in their transgression, set a godly example before them, live my religion, and show forth the spirit thereof in my course with my family, and they will not drink into the same spirit and receive good at my hands, those consequences shall roll from me upon them; and it becomes my duty to separate myself from those sins and from the rebellious members of my family, that we may not all be cursed because of the transgression of one or two individuals.

But if I do not discharge my duties towards them, admonish them when they are out of the way, instruct them in their duties, and walk as a man of God before them, the consequences and responsibility of every individual’s transgressions, even those of every wife and every child I have, and of every evil that is done in my house, shall rest upon me. God has laid it upon me.

Sometimes we may err by being remiss in duty—too lenient in our families, and some of us may be under condemnation by being too careless about transgressors in our families; for if we hold fellowship with transgressors and spirits that are in rebellion against God and that will not repent and humble themselves—if we close our ears to it and go to sleep while wickedness is stalking unrebuked through our habitations, we become partakers in that transgression, and the consequences thereof will stick to us.

But if the head of a family reproves iniquity and seeks to purge it from his presence—from his family, then his hands are free from stain of guilt; he is not a partaker in the transgression, and by his doings he says he will no longer hug to his bosom that individual—he will no longer eat and drink with him or her as a member of the body of Christ—he will no longer be held responsible for their sins.

So should every man and every family rid themselves of evil and transgressors in their midst; for God deals with every family as a whole, as he deals with this people as a whole; and every man in Israel is responsible, and that responsibility he assumes when he assumes the responsibility of a family.

If there is no sieve fine enough yet to separate the dross from the wheat of the female portion of this community, I tell you, in the name of Israel’s God, there is a fine one preparing, and it will separate the chaff from the wheat from every family in Israel, as sure as there is a God in Israel, until the families of Israel shall be sanctified before the Lord—until they shall be one, even all the families in Israel, that the Lord God shall accept and not be ashamed of them.

There are many ways by which this may be accomplished; but the Lord in his own due time will bring it to pass. We naturally cling to our families, loving and cherishing them; so does every man that feels the weight of his responsibility—that is set over this people to administer in any department thereof: he feels his heart full of compassion, and he desires the salvation of every member thereof. So does our Father desire the salvation of every member of his family.

Many among us, in their ignorance, manifest a weakness of soul in training up their offspring. Their weakness is such that they cannot administer chastisement unto their children; but they love them with a foolish, blind, ignorant love, that gratifies every desire and allows them to have their own way and pursue the channel of their own inclinations unrebuked, unchastened, until they grow up wild, as it were, without any proper impulse being given to their minds. If I feel satisfied in thus allowing my offspring to follow the bent of their own inclinations, God will hold me responsible for their evil acts.

If any man have members in his family whom he cannot control by the principles of the Gospel, far better were it for him, if they want to go to the States or to any other country, to give them a good outfit and send them off, get them out of the way, and let them go their own way: far better this than to harbour them where they were like a viper in his bosom corrupting and corroding in the midst of his family.

The female portion of this community have to bear their share of this responsibility; and we know they are the best set of women that exist upon the earth; and that all the world will bear witness to, when they talk about plurality.

Men of some discretion in the Gentile world ask questions about the operations of the plurality of wives among us. “How many wives live in each house? How do they get along in their associations? Are they all the time quarrelling and fighting?” A man said to me once, “My wife would not stand it five minutes, if I should bring a woman into my house to have a share of my company and my affections: I should have a hell upon earth, and no house that I could build would be big enough to hold my wife. It is marvellous to me how you can live, and how it is you are not killed.”

They cannot understand it, because they are governed by their passions, and not by principles; and it is the hardest thing in the world for them to be convinced that this people are governed by principle. This is the doctrine we have been preaching abroad, and it is the very thing the Gentiles will not receive; and they marvel and wonder that we do not tear each other’s eyes out. They say this would be the case with them: in a little while they would be bald and blind and full of wounds, bruises, and putrifying sores; or, like the Kilkenny cats, use each other up all but the tails, and then the tails would jump at each other. So it would be among them indeed; for there is no law of the Lord that would keep the people together a minute in the peace and order that exist here.

Existence among this people is of itself one of the greatest privileges. The world of mankind may soon know that God is with us, and that, he is at the helm, that he is the founder of this work, and that the women as well as the men are the best upon the earth, and that we are determined to live and be governed by principle and not passion.

Have we all learned to be altogether thus governed? No, we have not. But we are learning it: the men and women of Israel are learning it; but some of them are very dull scholars, and would a great deal rather go off and play than take a lesson; and they whine and cry over it, and sit on the dunce block rather than study and learn their lessons; and they will be dunces, because nothing but foolishness is bound up in their hearts. But many of us are learning to be governed by principle, not passion, and learning that we must become one—that there is somebody else that has feelings besides them—that there is somebody else worthy of respect and love besides them—that there are some good qualifications in some other being—and some other woman’s children have some claims as well as mine; they are learning to let principle rule them.

Well, go on: let the good work continue. This is my prayer all the time. Are all the families of Israel and every woman striving herself to play well her part and reverence her husband as her lord; for he is her lord. Will she ever have another? No, never; and if she ever expects to have another, she has not learned “Mormonism” aright. She may tear herself loose from him and attach another, but she may have a worse one: she ought to have a worse one. If she cannot learn to honour him, the next one she gets, if she is permitted to have another, ought to be a worse one. How shall women honour their husbands? Just as we honour brother Brigham in his place, and the authorities of the Wards in their places; because upon him is laid the responsibility of that family, and he cannot get rid of it. He is in duty bound to purge them of their follies, and they are in duty bound to listen to his reproofs and honour him and pray for him, that he may be led aright.

Do the women, when they pray, remember their husbands? Do you pray for brother Brigham? Yes, you should always pray for him. But when you pray for him, do you pray also for your own husband, that he may have the inspiration of the Almighty to lead and govern his family as the lord? Do you uphold your husband before God as your lord? “What!—my husband to be my lord?” I ask, Can you get into the celestial kingdom without him? Have any of you been there? You will remember that you never got into the celestial kingdom without the aid of your husband. If you did, it was because your husband was away, and some one had to act proxy for him. No woman will get into the celestial kingdom, except her husband receives her, if she is worthy to have a husband; and if not, somebody will receive her as a servant.

We have one God, the Father of us all, who is graciously kind to us; and those who call upon his name receive his Spirit; but the spirit we have got to be in is for every woman to be one with her husband, and every man to be one with those that are set over him in the Lord, Thus we become as branches of one vine, partaking of the same spirit.

Does every woman pray for her children and with her children? Does she teach them to reverence their father and honour him? If she does not teach them thus to honour him in her own words and examples, her children learn disobedience from her. Show me disobedient children, and I will show you disobedient parents, the world over.

Where there are disobedient and rebellious children in the midst of Israel, tell me who their father and mother are, and I will point out to you disobedient, rebellious, disaffected parents; and if there is a woman in any family whose children dishonour their father, I will show you a woman that dishonours her husband and shows him disrespect, from which the children take their example.

We do not want such women in Israel: we do not want their offspring, nor anything that pertains to them, except they repent. If they will have their children learn righteousness, let them seek it themselves, and pray to God in their apartments for their little ones. It is the mothers in Israel that have the charge of children; the men of Israel are abroad among the nations of the earth to preach the Gospel and fight the battles of Zion, to go abroad and return once in a few years, perhaps, to visit their family and become acquainted with their children. God wishes the mothers in Israel to assume that responsibility, and assume it by the Holy Ghost, that there may be a generation raised up that shall be fit for the Lord to use.

Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, ye mothers in Israel, and fast, and hunger and thirst after righteousness. Pray for and with your little children in your apartments. Is it enough for a father to gather together his wives and children when he is at home, and pray with them? That is his duty; and every mother should take pattern by his example, and with their own offspring follow his example and call down the blessings of heaven upon them, and they will learn from her. While they listen to her prayers, they will learn to lisp from her mouth the words of prayer and thanksgiving to God; and faith will rest upon them, and the Holy Ghost will rest upon them, and they will be inspired with faith and power, and draw down blessings upon her and upon their father; and the blessings of God will rest upon them from their mother’s womb, if they pursue this course.

May the God of heaven help us to pursue this course, one and all, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Ultimate Victory of the Saints

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday, October 4, 1857.

I will say a few words before the congregation is dismissed.

As but few can be in our offices to learn the news that is brought in, I will say that on the 2nd, Friday last, a messenger arrived with intelligence that the soldiers were going up Ham’s Fork.

Previous to that I had sent by Lieutenant-General Wells a copy of the Proclamation proclaiming martial law, and ordering the troops not to come here. They treated it as I presumed they would. They say that they are sent by the President, are subject to superior officers, and intend to abide their instructions; and I expect that they will, until some other power checks their progress.

The brethren are well, and the spirit of peace and contentment rests upon them. They are doing their duties—living to and serving their God.

Keep the “‘Mormon’ creed,” and especially just now in regard to the remarks made by brother Spencer. Some may think they will have to deviate in attending to digging their neighbours’ potatoes; but this is now the very business for the brethren to do. This is now their duty, and what the brethren ought to do.

I do not know that anybody’s heart burns, except it is to get a little nearer to our enemies and for the troops to undertake to come in here. Well, we are in the hands of the Lord our God, and he will overrule things just as he pleases.

Many want to know what the result will be; and they want the Lord to give them revelation. Get revelation, if you can. I have told you before, and I can tell you now, that the result will be that “Mormonism” will be higher and greater in power and influence than ever it was before. Our enemies will sink, while we will increase in power and strength, and enjoy an influence that we never enjoyed before; and the Lord will have his own way in bringing about these things. I know that all will be made right; and an allwise, overruling Providence will bring us off victorious. He has led us to victory and peace, and has given us power and influence that we can sustain ourselves; and I believe that it is the calculation of all to sustain themselves against all that can come to annoy, destroy, desolate, and drive the Saints of God. God will fight our battles; and he will do it just as he pleases.

You know that it is one peculiarity of our faith and religion never to ask the Lord to do a thing without being willing to help him all that we are able; and then the Lord will do the rest.

The main object I had in coming to meeting this morning was to let you know that my health is better. Last Sabbath I did not think it prudent to come out; but I am at my post, and God is at the helm.

Let us walk in the precepts of our Saviour—those that he has marked out for us, and God will bless us; and I bless you, my brethren and sisters, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I mean to save my brethren and sisters, God being my helper. God bless you! Amen.

Advantages of Trials and Experience, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made at the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Tuesday morning, October 6, 1857.

Quite a goodly number have assembled to our Conference to transact business in a Church capacity. We shall first present and attend to the business, and then to such instructions, teachings, exhortations, &c., as may come before the Conference.

I think there are quite a number of brethren present who have lately returned from their fields of labour. We would like to have them come to the stand, and we will give them the privilege of occupying a portion of the time. I think brother Jacob Hoffheins has not been on the stand since his return; and I see several others who have not.

We shall first present the authorities of the Church to the Conference this morning, though such has not been our general practice. I believe the brethren are pretty much in readiness, and have all got their guns ready for shooting. We will first attend to the business, so that if it is necessary to repair to the kanyons we can do so.

I do not know how long we shall hold this Conference, and therefore no one needs to ask me. There is a time for all things; and I never saw a better time than now to secure potatoes and other crops, and thus do our preaching in the season thereof and digging potatoes in the season thereof. And I could almost wish that our Conference would be dismissed this morning, and all hands go and secure the potatoes, squashes, corn, &c.

We have heretofore spent a great deal of time in Conferences unmolested, and we shall again have a great deal of time to spend in this capacity undisturbed. We must have what is good for us—that which puts us in mind and brings to us principles that are free. Should we live in peace, year after year, how long would it be before we were glued to the world? Our affections would be so fastened to the things of the world that it would be hard for us to spend a little time in Conference; it would be hard to go on missions; it would be contrary to our feelings to attend to anything but our own individual concerns to make ourselves rich.

It seems to be necessary for the Lord to bring this people into circumstances to show them that the things of this world are mere nothingness in their present state—are but a shadow. They are to-day, and tomorrow they are not. This shows to us that all things pertaining to this world are subject to change, and such changes as we cannot control. We find that kings are raised up and emperors placed in power, and then they are hurled down. We see men who are popular, wealthy, and rich become poor. History and our own experience prove all this, and that riches take the wings of the morning and fly away. To-day we are rich—to-morrow we are poor. Next week we may be rich, and the week after poor again. It is the Lord that gives and the Lord that takes away; and it is a blessing that we have the privilege of this experience in our present condition.

Look at ourselves—run over our own experience, and we shall discover that ourselves, our neighbours, our friends, our acquaintances, and all people do not always know when they are happy. In other words, if you could crowd an individual or a community into heaven without experience, it would be no enjoyment to them. They must know the opposite: they must know how to contrast, in order to prize and appreciate the comfort and happiness, the joy and the bliss they are actually in possession of. Can you realize this? How many there are who will exclaim, “If I had but known it, I was happy in such a situation! How happy I might have been, if I had only known that I was happy.”

You will see individuals who are easy and comfortable, that would like to change their situations; and when they change, they find that they have changed for the worse. They then turn round and say, “How happy I could have been, if I had known how to appreciate my own happiness! I had nothing to annoy me; I was in comfortable circumstances; I enjoyed good health, and had all that I could ask for to make life desirable; but I did not know at the time that I enjoyed one of the comforts of life.”

Is that the experience of any of you? I know that it is of a great many of you. Then learn to be happy when you have the privilege. For many years we have had the privilege of living in peace and making ourselves comfortable in these valleys of the mountains; and do you recollect that but a short time ago it seemed as though almost everyone had wandered his own way? The people had almost forgottten [forgotten] and lost sight of the principles of truth and righteousness, of the religion that we have embraced; and the whole plan of salvation. They had almost lost sight of the redemption of the nations of the earth, and each one had turned to his own way. Can you recollect that situation of the people?

We have reason to be thankful that we have forsaken backslidings and returned to the Lord in a great measure; but we are still far from being as we should be, taking every individual, though the great majority of the people are doing the best, or about as well as they know how. This I believe with all my heart; and they feel very anxious to live so that they can enjoy more and more of the knowledge of God: they are very anxious to know how to obtain more of the revelations of Jesus Christ; and some are fearful that the people are not doing right, and that they do not live up to their privileges.

Some of the brethren were conversing in my office the other day, and I discovered that a part of them had a great anxiety for us to know more of godliness, and had a feeling that this people must do better—must more strictly refrain from evil and walk more humbly before their God. I said to them, “Brethren, I will take you for an example, with myself; and I tell you, for one, that I do not know how to do any better than I do; and if the Lord wants me to do any better, he must let me know it; for I cannot do any better of myself. Can you say the same?” They said they could. So it is with the people: the most of them are doing the best they know how. There are a few who sin, and a few who will do wrong—do things that they ought to be ashamed of. They are scarce: but there is once in a while one of that class in this community; and we expect that there will be, just so long as the wheat and the tares grow together. There is once in a while one that we would like to be rid of—would love to have leave us and this community.

It is astonishing that any should prefer to act wickedly, and yet there is a reason for all this. We expect it—at least I do: I look for it. I do not look for anything else but that them will be tares in the field until the time of burning. I will just say, for your consolation and mine, that I think the field is now pretty well weeded out, though the roots are here, and they will spring up occasionally, and once in a while things are done that are disgraceful. Some will do things that the Devil would be ashamed of and would not think of doing. But I am thankful that there are but few of that class here; and I pray that the evils may be lessened and that the people may be purified before the Lord.

It is truth—it is God’s truth—it is eternal truth, if people did but know it, that it is much better to be honest, to live here uprightly, and forsake and shun evil, than it is to be dishonest. It is the easiest path in the world to be honest—to be upright before God; and when people learn this, they will practise it. If they could only believe this, it does appear to me. that they will forsake every evil practice, every evil thought, and banish them from their minds, and try to practise virtue and truth, and to live in that way that they will overcome: every evil disposition, and live so that they can control their reflections, and that their reflections will tend to virtue, truth, and holiness; for this is our privilege, until we become pure in our hearts, and find that the principles of righteousness dwell within us. Then, as it was said by the Saviour to his disciples, He will be in us a fountain of living water, springing up into everlasting life.

That is the principle—the fountain that Jesus our elder brother dwells in; and we can have the same privilege of overcoming sin in ourselves until we have no desire to do anything but right—no desire only to build up His kingdom upon the earth, and have the Spirit of the Lord Jesus to be in us a fountain of living water. Let us do so, and thereby be prepared for every emergency that shall come upon us.

Let us secure our crops. I feel to exhort the brethren to secure their crops so as to be ready, if our enemies come upon us, to defend ourselves. Let us obey our officers, not loving the world nor the things of the world above our duties. The Lord will prepare the way and provide all things necessary for us; and if we suffer a little, it is good for us. If we suffer for food, for raiment, it gives us an experience that we will know how to appreciate the comforts of life when we have them in our possession.

We will attend to the business of the Conference first, and then dismiss until afternoon.

[After putting the motion for himself to be sustained as “Prophet, Seer, and Revelator,” the President remarked:—]

I will say that I never dictated the latter part of that sentence. I make this remark, because those words in that connection always made me feel as though I am called more than I am deserving of. I am Brigham Young, an Apostle of Joseph Smith, and also of Jesus Christ. If I have been profitable to this people, I am glad of it. The brethren call me so; and if it be so, I am glad.

Sufficiency of the Gospel, etc.

Charles C. Rich

Remarks by Elder Charles C. Rich, made at the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City. Wednesday afternoon, October 7, 1857.

Brethren and sisters, I can truly say, as others have said, that I have been edified during the Conference and greatly benefited by the spirit that has been made manifest and the testimony that has been borne by the brethren. It has cheered my heart, and I have not had a better time for years.

We have great reason to rejoice, notwithstanding some people might think that we have reason to mourn.

But I do not think so, neither do I think that you feel so. I think there is but one feeling, and that is peace and joy. Notwithstanding all the appearances that are around us, we have abundant reason to rejoice; for we have something to rejoice about and in, if we comprehend our position, which I have no doubt the great majority do.

We have had the privilege of embracing the Gospel of salvation; and inasmuch as we have embraced it with honest hearts, it has been salvation to us: and what is there besides this that we should rejoice in, or that should make us rejoice? For my part, I feel, as has been expressed by some of the brethren who have spoken from this stand, that this Gospel contains all that I desire; consequently, I have no feelings nor desires to go outside of it, simply because it bestows upon you and me everything that will do us good and that will save us. All that is outside of it will damn us in time and in eternity; consequently, we have no need of that which is outside of this kingdom.

If we understand the principles of truth as we should, we shall have no desires to go after anything but what is right, simply because it would do us an injury; therefore, it will be well for us to examine ourselves, and know whether the principles that are in our bosoms are of God. If they are, they will bless us in time and exalt us in all eternity. If they are not, they will be an evil to us in time, and as long as we have them in our bosoms; consequently, it would be well for us to know something about ourselves, and what we have in our bosoms, and the principles that we practise from day to day continually.

We profess to be Saints—to have received the Gospel of salvation; and if we have embraced it with pure motives, it is salvation to us—and that, too, at the present time. When we look at the world we find them talking about being saved; but all the salvation they are looking for is a long way from this, which I think will be the case. But we receive the Gospel for the purpose of being saved. It proposes salvation to us on the onset, at the commencement, and from that day to all eternity.

If we do not embrace the principles of life and live by them, we do not partake of the principles of salvation at the time we receive them; but if we live by them, they continue to save us from that time onward.

For instance, when we heard the sound of the Gospel, it proposed to us that we should have the same Spirit that was poured out upon the ancient Saints—upon Christ’s disciples. This was the doctrine that his servants declared to us. When we received their testimony, we went forward and were baptised for the remission of sins; and what followed? I will tell you what followed: we were enabled to bear testimony that we had received the truth, and we obtained thereby a knowledge that our Father in heaven lived—that his son Jesus Christ had been crucified for the sins of the world.

But did we not discover that we were saved—saved from ignorance that had beclouded our minds? We had received something that we did not before know. We could then rejoice in the truth when the whole world were in darkness on this subject; and what further? Why, there was one truth after another made manifest to us—one truth after another revealed. Well, if we have embraced those truths that have been made manifest, we have received the blessings that are given from time to time—yes, from the time that we embraced them up to the present; and they have saved us.

The Gospel requires to be honest to our God, to ourselves, to our brethren. We should not steal, we should not commit adultery, and there are a great many things that we should not do and that the principles of eternal truth would forbid. If we had not among us any who commit any of these sins, those evils would not be in our midst. If the principles that dwell in the bosom of our God are in us, we will do nothing under any circumstances that we know to be wrong.

When some men’s evil deeds are discovered, they will say that they did not do the evil with which they are charged. They will deny it. This is a mark of the greatest degradation and infamy.

Evils are of two classes; and what are they? First, people do wrong because they do not know how to do right: second, they do wrong because they are disposed to do wrong: and do you not see that in either case they are wrongs? We are not half as well saved as we should be; consequently, to be saved, we want to learn to know what right is. If we are dishonest and want to do wrong, we are wicked. Nevertheless, it is wrong both ways; and we are not saved by pursuing such a course.

You know it is said that in the last days the knowledge of God shall cover the earth as the waters cover the great deep. We can bear testimony that the Spirit of God is poured out upon his Saints. We see it day by day and from time to time, and we are increasing in the knowledge of the truth.

Inasmuch as we are trying to be saved, we are all the time increasing in the principles of truth; we are continually treasuring them up, and we can use them for our benefit.

We may easily discover that a person cannot use that which he has not got. He must first learn a principle before he can act upon it. Well, if we do not know the truth, the best way is to get somebody that does know to lead us; and perhaps, by diligence, we may arrive at the knowledge thereof. This has been a course of safety pointed out to the Saints from the beginning, and it is the same now.

When we have learned one truth we are prepared to learn another; for every truth seems to unfold some other truth. When a matter is presented to a person who has a knowledge of a great many truths, let him compare it with the many truths that he knows, and they will agree; for all truth will agree. If it is not truth, it will come in contact; therefore, the more truths we are in possession of, the more keys we have to test other truths by; and the longer we live in this way, the more we know of our Father and the principles that pertain to his kingdom, and the less disposition we will have to do wrong: we will be more inclined to do right, and to carry out the principles of his government. We will do this because it is the safest and best course to pursue: hence, if we have a disposition to be blest and saved, we shall be disposed to take this course.

I feel rejoiced in one principle that I see manifest among the Saints in these days, and that is, the principle of union. Of course we have; as a community, always been more united than any other people; but we still come short of that fulness of union which should exist among us. But I consider that we have done first rate.

It is an easy matter to do right, if we only pursue the right course: at least I have always found it so. I never had any difficulty to be agreed with those I was associated with. The way that I am united with my brethren is simply this: I calculate to adopt the same policy that the Lord manifests through his servants that have a right to dictate me. I do not calculate to have anything in my heart that is not right; then you see there will be no difficulty, if I pursue this course, to be united with my brethren that preside over me.

I have been a member of the Church over twenty-five years, and I have been preaching all the time: at least, I have been a preacher, whether I have been preaching all the time or not. I have never seen the time but I have always found those who were leading me to be right; and I have never seen the time but I could bear testimony that they were right; for I knew it by the Spirit of God that was in me. I knew it was the privilege of every Saint to have this knowledge.

When we are agreed and live our religion, we are prepared to receive the blessings that are poured out upon us. We cannot claim the blessings that are in store for us, except we pursue a course that will put away all our sins and iniquities far from us.

I do not say that I am perfect, but I can say this—that I never intended to do a wrong thing. I have done the best I could. To be sure I have been away from this place most of the time among the wicked: at least I term them wicked. They say they seek after God and everything that pertains to godliness. But if ever I was glad to get home among the Saints it was this summer.

I have thought that the spirit that is among this people and the quiet feeling that seems to prevail when difficulties are approaching was most heavenly; and I have sometimes felt and queried as to whether I did not feel too well. But when the brethren have been pouring out their feelings from this stand, I have felt to rejoice. I feel that we have got further along than I thought we had before I came back here.

I have been looking for the time of deliverance, but I did not expect it so soon. But I know it cannot come too soon to meet with a hearty welcome. I have been through some of the difficulties, as some others have said and can tell you, in all that I have passed through from the beginning, I have felt paid as I have gone along. I have always felt that the course to do right was the best, and that there would be the most joy and happiness in doing right.

So far as our enemies are concerned, I feel about them precisely as our brethren have expressed themselves. I do not fear them; but I feel that the Lord will take care of his Saints and of his kingdom. All we have to do is to do as we are directed, and all will be well.

A great number of the Elders have been on missions, and we have been bearing testimony to the world of mankind that this is the kingdom of God—that God has set his hand to recover the house of Israel. We have been bearing testimony of this, and we still continue to bear it, and the Spirit of God flows into our hearts when we testify to this. Have we any fears that the Lord is not able to deliver his Saints? We ought not to have any.

I will tell you how I feel. It is best for us to do right; and there will be more salvation flowing to us through doing right than pursuing any other course. This is the course of salvation. Whatever our heavenly Father dictates, that is the thing for us to do, whether it is to fight or let it alone. I have been in difficulties where there actually was fighting, where the Saints had to defend themselves against their enemies; but the time had not come for us to take the stand that we have now taken. But the Lord directed matters then, and he is directing matters now. We have seen difficulties from the beginning, from the time that the Lord established his kingdom upon the earth until the present time.

Every person that has a portion of the Spirit of God can see the manifestations of the power of God, from the time that the kingdom was established until the present. We have no need to fear for the kingdom; but it is for us to do our duty, and then all will be well with us.

I do not wish to occupy time that should be occupied by my brethren. I say that I feel well: I never felt better, and never had less fears of our enemies than I have at the present time.

That we may live so as to be sanctified through the truth—that we may secure salvation in this world, and in that which is to come, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Testimonies of Returned Missionaries, etc.

Erastus Snow

Remarks by Elder Erastus Snow, made in the Bowery.

I have listened during the progress of this Conference with very great satisfaction. Every one that speaks bears testimony to us that our God has not forsaken us, and that the prayers of this people are still acceptable before him, and, notwithstanding our weaknesses and our sins, that we are a blessed and a happy people, and that our God is near at hand to multiply his blessings upon us.

I have rejoiced in listening to my brethren who have recently returned from their missions. I feel that I am one of them, and I thank my heavenly Father for that good Spirit which has so bountifully attended their labours and returned with them.

I do not believe that it has ever fallen to my lot, since we have been a people, to hear, at any one time, so large a number of our returned missionaries stand forth before the people to give in their testimony and speak of the dealings of God with them, as we have heard during this Conference. They universally bear the same testimony, rejoicing in their labours, manifest the goodness of our God upon them and upon the people where they have laboured; and it is evidence to my mind of the increased favour of God upon this people, and that it is the faithful prayers of this people that sustain our sons and our brethren who are sent forth by the voice of this people as their representatives to preach the Gospel to the nations.

It appears that there is no one who lifts up his voice to speak in the midst of this people but is constrained to speak good for Israel. There seems to be no doubt upon the minds of the people—no forebodings of distress in the hearts of the Elders of Israel. What there may be lying in our path—I was going to say, we neither know nor care; but we do know that the straightforward path is strewed with blessings, glory, honour, exaltation, and eternal lives. Let us not, therefore, turn either to the right or the left from the path our God has marked out, whatever there may be of trial alongside of the path.

I feel firmly convinced of this, whatever may be by some accounted trials, that when we reach them, if the light of the Lord is in us, we shall pass them without stopping to consider whether they are trials; and we shall look back upon them and count it all joy. To us it will be glory, honour, and exaltation, and stepping-stones to that which we are seeking for—the very means, in the hands of God, of preparing us to receive all that he has in store for us.

Is it not enough for us to know that our Father in Heaven will suffer nothing to come upon us, only that which is to prepare us to receive the good he has in store for us? Ask this people, Are the soldiers coming in here? Are we going to have a fight this fall? Are they coming in on our Emigration Road, or going round by Fort Hall? What will the United States do? Will they raise 50,000 volunteers next spring? Shall we burn up what we have got and take it Indian fashion? What is to be the result of all these things?

Ask anybody to tell you; and who is there that will describe the course God will mark out before this people and the course our enemies will take towards us, or the precise details of the programme that is before us. Who is there that can tell us?

Ask this or that Elder if he has any revelation on the subject, or appeal to the congregation of the Saints; and who is there that can answer it? I confess I cannot answer it, nor have I ever heard it answered by anybody else in detail; and I conclude the Lord will take his own course; and doubtless he will show us the programme as fast as we are prepared to act it, and that will be fast enough.

The Lord hath shown us both ends of the drama. As to the particular scenery of the different parts of the drama, it will be made manifest from time to time. When the curtain is raised, we shall see it, if we are on hand to play our part. I am fully persuaded we have a good manager, and he is our God: it is he that is moving upon the checkerboard of nations, and he understands the game and will make the right moves.

Go back and take a retrospective view of this people and the dealings of God with us from the time of the organization of this Church, the persecutions through which this people have passed in Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, and the various places where we have been located; and when has the Lord beforehand made known all the particulars of the scenery through which we were destined to pass? He has always given us general items and sufficient to encourage every faithful man to do his duty and trust in him for the result. But if all the details were made known unto us—if we could see every minutia portrayed, would there be a chance for the exercise of our faith in the same degree as now? Would there be a chance for the faith of this people to be shown in the same degree?

For my own part, I feel perfectly satisfied to leave it in the hands of our God, where it is, and where it should be, to make manifest unto us just as much from time to time as he sees is necessary to bear up and sustain this people.

It is through faith that the Lord performs his wonders among his people; and in enduring that trial of their faith he gives a blessing; and often the Lord shapes trials in a manner different from our expectations. We, in our limited capacity, may mark out in our minds a programme; and when he moves upon the checker-board, he does not move the men we have in our minds, but he shapes and moves in another way; and we should be satisfied with the result. He will get the game, and in the end will move into the king row and be able to move both ways,

I feel first-rate. All is right with the Lord; all is right with his kingdom, and with everybody that is right. And may the Lord help us to keep his commandments for ever! Amen.

Benefit of Experience, etc.

Amasa Lyman

A sermon by Elder Amasa Lyman, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday morning, October 11, 1857.

The circumstances of our meeting this morning has brought me to this place to occupy a portion of the time allotted for the worship of to-day. I cannot say, as I have heard men say at times, that I have thought of nothing to say; for it has been my study and my labour, since my connection with the work of God in the last days, to learn what to say, in order that I might have something whereof to speak, in case that I should be required to say anything; and I would always wish to be able, through the blessing of God and the manifestation of his Holy Spirit, to say, at at any time when it might be my duty to speak, something that will be calculated to benefit those to whom I may speak. I know of no other blessing, or glory, or wealth accruing from our living and our labours in the world, but that which we learn of the truth, that will bless us and make us free from the dominion and influence of error.

We talk about experience, and we have had a great deal of experience, and we are constantly in the school of experience. But I am inclined to think that it may be the case with us in that school as in other schools. We sometimes improve by what we experience, adding to our store of knowledge; and then, again, we may experience very considerable from which we derive no particular benefit, like the scholar that attends school, but from inattention, a failure to apply himself properly to his lessons and to the acquirement of the knowledge that is imparted, he fails to comprehend the truth to the extent that he might otherwise have done; and hence he is not benefited to the extent that he might have been, although he has been in the school.

Well, as Saints and as children of God, we are in the school; and if there is any higher purpose connected with our being in the school—connected with living in the world, and connected with all our labours in the world, and what we are supposed to be here for—if there is any higher object than the attainment of the knowledge that will save us, I do not know it: I never have heard of anything greater or more glorious, or more to be esteemed, than our being saved. It is simply for this that we are being taught and that we are learning: it is for this that we are required to be obedient: it is for this that we are obedient.

When we have been obedient to every requirement—made every possible attainment that can be made, what is our condition? We are saved from the bondage of sin and darkness, the consequences of ignorance. Well, then, it will be profitable for us to think of what we experienced—to think of the experience through which we have passed. Has it been a varied scenery, embracing an almost countless variety of changes and of circumstances, involving a good deal of comfort, pleasure, and happiness, with a corresponding amount of sorrow, affliction, and wretchedness?

Have we profited from it all? When we have supposed that the hand of chastisement was upon us, and we have been afflicted, has that affliction been to us a source of knowledge to benefit and to perfect us in our sphere of action? We were passing through this as a necessary school of experience. And when we have passed through it, has it left with us an increase to the store of our knowledge? Has it profited us to an extent that we have comprehended more of the truth that influences our Father in the heavens? And have we learned more of the principles which constitute our happiness and that will be the bliss and the glory of the saved and the sanctified? Has this been the case with us, or have we done as many others have—passed blindly through the school of experience, passed through the sufferings, endured the sorrow, and experienced the joy, the pleasure, and the happiness, and still are unenlightened—still are ignorant?

I believe we may, with profit to ourselves, look over our experience; and why? So long as we have been connected with the Church, if we have not been following, as Saints, in the path of our own making, in yielding obedience to the requirements of the work of God—if we have been obedient to the counsel that has been given—if we have acted up to the calls that have been made—if we have done these things, we have done them for this purpose, for our salvation, our deliverance, and for our improvement, that it might tend to increase our happiness and our comfort.

Under this view of the matter, should we to-day really conclude that we have really been made sufferers, and that we have in reality been afflicted, and that we have really been made to participate in some wretchedness and misery, we cannot conclude that we have passed through these things for any other purpose than that we should have been brought to a comprehension of the truth by them.

If it was not our misery that prompted our Father in his dealings towards us—that gave character to his operations with us, then he had an object in view. He commenced with us to accomplish his own purposes, to bring about an increase of his own glory in our salvation. Well, when that increase shall be accomplished, we shall know that it was not our sorrow or our affliction that he sought: it was because he wished our salvation, that we were made to partake of the cup of suffering, that we should partake of sorrow before we could reach happiness and bliss as a reward for it.

Well, then, in what way should we look at what we have endured and at what we have suffered? Why, simply as lessons—as admonitions imparted to us for our benefit, for our profit, and for our learning, and that we might increase in knowledge, and this might produce an increase of the legitimate principles of happiness: and it was simply a conscientiousness that we were free from sin that led us to persevere in the pursuit of further happiness, by endeavouring to obtain a more extensive knowledge of the truth. It is for this, then, that we have endured all that we have endured. Have we regarded this in this light, while we have been passing through those scenes that have marked our history from the commencement of the work of God to the present moment?

It was said of the Saints anciently, that they took joyfully the spoiling of their goods; and no doubt they did. It has probably been the case in this dispensation, that the Saints have taken joyfully the spoiling of their goods. But to how great an extent have we taken patiently the spoiling of our goods as trials that were calculated by our Father in heaven only for our good?

We have been in the habit, in consequence of the feelings that pervaded our minds, of looking at the doings of our Father in a limited light; and we have been in the habit of looking at his operations in this way, and whatever was required of us to-day we regarded as being the fulness of his purposes and of his operations with us; and if we should comply perfectly or readily to-day with the requirements made of us, we have thought that we had attained all that was to be obtained.

Well, is this so? No. He has been making requirements of us continually: requirement after requirement has been made of us. He has required us to accomplish a work to-day, and something else the next day; and each succeeding day, from the beginning to the present time, has brought some change in his requirements. He has required us to travel in one direction, for instance, to-day; and then the accomplishment of the same work which he has to do requires us to take a directly opposite course to what we were pursuing. Well, then, if taking up one course to-day and another to-morrow seems to be undoing the work of yesterday and to be diametrically opposed to the work of yesterday, can we recognize the hand of God in it? If we have recognized his hand in these things, we have had a profitable experience by them.

“But,” says one, “how can it be that God should require one thing to-day, and then something else to-morrow? We thought he was a straightforward dealing individual—that there was no variableness nor shadow of turning in him.” Well, this is the character of him; but, perhaps we have been in difficulty, and could not recognize the hand of God, and could not recognize the blessing in the present apparent suffering. We could not recognize the hand of God as on yesterday, when we thought we were in better circumstances than we are to-day. Where is the difficulty? It is simply that we have not recognized the hand of God so clearly as in the day that we have considered to be more rich with blessings and prosperity; and what is the reason? “Why,” says one, “we could not see the design of these things.” Well, if we could not see their ultimate design, there must have been a reason why we could not see; and we will consider that there was a purpose in this, as well as in the Lord sending the Gospel which has reached our ears.

Suppose that we should have known that it was his purpose to bring us to this place; why, we never could have believed that we were following his counsel when we were travelling to every other place; for in our journeyings we travelled towards almost every other place before we came here; and, in fact, every other place that we have visited we visited before we came here; and still we were following the purposes of God every time and in all those windings. Well, if we could not know it then, it will be good to know it now—to discover it and to look at it in a way and to an extent that will profit us. It will be well to look at the true position we have been in, now that we understand that all the scenes that we have passed through have been for the accomplishment of his purposes.

If we did not understand his purpose at the beginning, we must at some time comprehend it, or we never can see his hand in it—we never can be blessed with that freedom from ignorance, from error, and from darkness; but the chains that have hitherto held us in error and in bondage will continue to hold us until we reach that point. Then to see and to comprehend, by the light that dwells within us, that God is with us, and that he is round about us, and that he is fulfilling his purposes all the time, however varied our circumstances may be—however they may change from time to time, if we can but know that God is in it, what will be the result? Why, contentment that will be unbroken; it will be a feast to our souls; it will be the banquet of happiness for our minds to feast upon; and then, however difficult our circumstances may be considered, we shall have an inward joy, a peace, a satisfaction, and resignation to the will of our Father, that we could not have while we were bound down by the chains of ignorance and error.

Well, is there anything that we should know? Yes, if we would be happy, we should know that if the clouds of adversity lour around us—if there are indications of a storm continually threatening us, then, if we have not assurance and a knowledge of the truth that will enable us to look through the clouds that have thickened around us to the triumph of the cause that we are engaged in, the scenery will become discouraging to us; and consequently, we shall become unhappy. The consequence will be that we shall be fearful; and it will be that fear that produces unpleasant feelings and which is the result of ignorance. It is required of us not so much to read and comprehend the future which is not revealed, but like the schoolboy that is rapidly passing over lessons given by his preceptor, and who glances over them without seeing their importance, but simply commits the words to memory and passes rapidly along to something else. We should read and learn these lessons in our experience; and let us in all these windings see that there is an importance attached to every lesson of experience through which we are called to pass.

Then, if we can see the hand of God in all these changes and trials, and if we can see to the extent that the relationship is perfect in our comprehension, between the purpose of God and its accomplishment, then we are settled upon a basis from which we cannot be moved, and we are then standing upon a rock which cannot be shaken; and while the Spirit of God is upon us, we will not become wretched; but so long as that Spirit can find a place in us, we cannot become alienated from the things of God.

It was said in old times that when the Lord commenced his work in the latter times, he will actually accomplish it. Well, now, we have actually come upon the stage of action to take our part when that work is about to be done, and we are to constitute a portion of his agents to accomplish that work. And when we have done that. which is needful for the accomplishment of his work, then we shall see the consistency of God’s hand dealing with us.

For the last twenty-five years, and especially when the kingdom of God was first established, it became necessary with our Father, as with any other workman, to have the requisite material for the building, and then in the next place to have that material in a suitable condition to accomplish the work with. The same as when the Presidency of the Church designed to build a Temple—a holy place to the name of the Most High, what is requisite? In the first place, it is requisite to prepare for a foundation; and then, in the next place, the material to lay that foundation is required, and the Temple commences to be built: and as the material is prepared, the work of the building goes on, and the material is adjusted in the foundation of that Temple according to the plan of the architect. Well, so with our Father, to accomplish his work in the last days; his first move was to find men that would engage in it, and then to send men forth to attract the attention of others—of those who would give heed to it.

This called forth the preaching of the Gospel as it was first sounded in our ears. Did we understand anything of the work of God in the last days? I speak from my own experience, and answer, No. We believed the truth as it was first announced to us, but not in all its extent nor what it really amounted to; but what developments it would show we were ignorant of. But still being attracted by the sound that brought with it the Holy Spirit, we followed it; and what has been the result? We are here to-day; we have passed through all the varied scenes that have filled up the history of this people; we have been associated with all the changes and vicissitudes that fill up the work of God for the last twenty-five years, and we are here to-day, and our experience is what we have passed through in that length of time.

And how have we profited by it? Is the great superstructure of the kingdom of God built up? Is the organization of the Saints complete? Are they perfect? No. Then what has been doing? Why, the people have been receiving instruction; they have been taught from year to year; lesson after lesson has been given; one field of experience has followed upon the track of another; we have been practising upon those things revealed through the Priesthood upon the earth; and, by following this Priesthood, it has brought us to these times and to this place. Well, it has done how much of the work of God? How much of the foundation is laid? How much of the Temple is built?

Why, you can go out here and see the Temple that is being built on this ground, and you can see how much. Just as much has been built as there has been material brought on to the ground and adjusted in its place according to the design of the architect. Is this all that has been done towards the building of the Temple? No. Here has been a canal built, and there has been rock quarried and laid on the way in almost every place from here to Big Cottonwood Kanyon. But is the Temple built? No: but just so much as is adjusted there to-day tells us that so far the Temple is built. Will it be any different when the top-stone is laid? Will it make any difference with the parts that are already adjusted? No: they will still maintain the position that was assigned them; but that was not given them until they were every whit prepared, according to the plan of the architect, to take their place in the building.

Well, look at our place as Saints of the Most High God, and what is there developed in relation to the building of it? The Gospel has been preached, perhaps, to every nation under heaven, or they have heard the sound borne by our own report, either in Zion or in the nations abroad. But what has been done? Why, the people of the Saints have been wandering from State to State, from country to country, unsettled, having no abiding-place, no permanent home.

Was it necessary for us to wade through all these scenes? Yes; it was necessary that we should move and remove, until we gained the place we now occupy. It is necessary, before the kingdom of God can be built up in strength and in power, to stand for ever, that there should be developed in the people a sufficiency of the knowledge of salvation to hold them to the truth just as firmly and as ste[a]dfastly as these rocks are held to their place in the foundation of the Temple, so that there will be no disposition to apostatize. And the people must be possessed of capacity, like the rock in the building; they must be possessed of strength to bear the weight upon them in the superstructure.

This is the work that has been going on, and we have to learn, experience, and appreciate this; and until we do, we only learn as the brute beasts, who may experience, but know no reason.

The Lord has been leading us for our profit and for our learning; he has been leading us in a course of experience, and we shall be continually subject to changes and vicissitudes until our experience becomes sufficiently fruitful in knowledge that we shall be bound to the work of God. “How? says one. Why, by a knowledge of the truth; and when we know the truth in relation to the work of God, shall we cherish a desire to depart from it? Does a man ever apostatize when he knows the work is true and that God is working for his own glory, and when he all the time sees this? No, never. You never see a man apostatize that in the days of his apostacy ever knew this or appreciated it. Why, if he knew this, he would not apostatize.

Apostates are found as we pass through the country, and they will say, “I knew the work to be true, twenty years ago, when you, brother Lyman, or somebody else, came through our section of country and preached the Gospel; I knew that it was true then.”

Then, why did you apostatize and leave the Church? Have you found out that it was false?

“Well, I do not know that I have, but it was that ‘Mormonism’ that was preached twenty years ago that I knew.”

Well, if you knew that which was preached twenty years ago, you would have recognised it to-day, because this is the first fruit of that which you were acquainted with; and if you had known it, you would not have departed from it. You did not know the Gospel; you did not understand it: you might have known or felt conscious that what some man told you was true. But what is the spirit of the Gospel to that man that comprehends it? It is that which comprehends all truth and all good; and there is no truth, neither is there any good outside of it; and there is, consequently, no chance for the individual that views the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this light to adopt those kinds of conclusions that lead men away from the truth and that cause them to apostatize.

If we realize this, then we are secure, and we are prepared for any contingency that may arise; and if God does not build up his kingdom with us and with the people that are gathered together to the place that he has appointed, there is but one reason: why he does not do it, and that is, they do not understand enough of the principles of salvation; therefore, his kingdom cannot be built up entirely and completely.

Now, the fact of a man’s being gathered with the Church and with the Saints does not constitute his salvation in the kingdom when the kingdom shall triumph; for men will apostatize and go away from the Church, until they know that it is worth everything else, that it is everything that is good, and that it is all that can bestow permanent happiness upon man. Until they understand this, they are in danger, because there are agencies in the world, throughout the world, and a train of corrupt influences that are in lively exercise among men and that have gained power in consequence of the ignorance of mankind; so that until there is as much of the knowledge of the truth within the people that constitute the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as will sustain them till there is no disposition to look after anything else, until they consider nothing outside the kingdom of any value, they will be in danger of stepping aside and doing wrong. What is it that will save us? Why, simply knowing that the truth is so broad that it fills the infinitude of space and embraces all true happiness, glory, immortality, and eternal life—all that man will possess when he is associated with the redeemed and sanctified.

When we have this understanding and these views of the subject, will we ever go away from the truth? I say, No, we will not. What will we go away for? There is no money to be made; there is no blessing to be obtained; there is no power or riches that can be gained or acquired, or that can be hoped for; there is nothing outside of the truth.

Does a man get away from the truth by apostacy? No; he simply revels in the darkness, with truth all around him: the truth pervades the whole country where he may dwell and where he may travel; he cannot get outside of it. Then what has he done? He has closed his eyes and said, “I will not see;” and by doing so, what has he effected? He has only run around the circle of truth, until he is worn out and comes back and finds that the truth is still there. When he opens his eyes, there is the truth; God is there, his influences are there, his Spirit is there, his work is there; and he finds that he has not gone away from God, neither has he gone away from the truth; but he has simply closed his eyes and refused to see that light and truth which were presented to him.

What has he got to do? He has got to take up the truth where he thought he had left it, be obedient to its requirements, live to it, and put it on like a garment; he has got to shake off the shackles of darkness, and emerge into the light and liberty that the Gospel brings.

“Well,” says one, “where?” Why, in that very place where a long time ago you closed your eyes against the light and the truth. You may apostatize, go away, and stay as long as you please; but you must get a good deal of money, or you will not have enough to get through with. I have never seen an individual that could get enough that would last him through.

Men may go round the world, and they cannot get away from the truth. It is simply because we do not understand the Gospel as a system of truth that we are subject to doubts and fears. If we did understand it in that light, we would not be carried away, for the best of all reasons, that we would not have any inclination to. go away from the truth. If we love it, do you think we will apostatize, or or become alienated from it? No, never.

Do you see what is requisite to learn, to prepare for those dangers to which we are liable? Why, it is simply to comprehend the truth; and when we do this, what shall we see? We shall see that God has a hand in all things—that he designs to build up his work and to establish it with us, but not until there is a sufficiency of the light and manifestations of the Spirit of truth in us that we could not be separated from it.

All this scenery that we have been passing through has been preparing us, just as the labourer, in taking the rock from the mountain, has been preparing it for its proper place in the House of God.

Well, what is necessary next? Why, you know, the stone-mason, when he commenced on the rough ashlar that was in the quarry, commenced with heavy tools; and when he had knocked off some of the rough corners and smoothed down the exterior appearance of the stone, he then used lighter tools and continued to use lighter still, until the piece under his hand was prepared and polished and fit for its place.

Well, what will we have to be when we are as smooth as some of the nicely polished pieces of stone that will be in the house of God? We will have to do a great deal more in “Mormonism” than to join the Church and make a journey of some ten thousand miles. Men have been journeying all the time, but very few have journeyed so as to be saved in the kingdom of God; and what is the reason? Why, in their travelling there has been something that has been neglected. Well, if nothing has been neglected with us, and we are to be removed no more, but to become abiding fixtures in the kingdom of God, why, then we can see that it has been necessary that every evil should be drawn out, and that the Spirit of truth in every part of our organization should become a living pulse that should vibrate and reach every individual action and that should purify every individual thought, and that the fountain of life and thought within us might become well purified by its sacred and life-giving influence, that it might purge out from us all that unhallowed leaven within us and round about us, and in which we find ourselves involved as we pass through the journey of life.

We get angry, we get out of humour, “out of sorts,” as the printers term it; hence we do not have that equanimity of thought which it is desirable that we should possess. Our passions rule us, and we do not rule them; the passions, the feelings that may be within us, overcome us, and we say we did not think anything about it. We do not think that we are to control ourselves, that this is our business upon the earth, that we came here to learn our Father and the principles which influence him—to learn how he has put on power, and how he has surrounded himself with glory and strength, come off victorious, and never become subject to evil.

Well, are we learning it when our passions are running away with us like a wild, untrained team with the carriages that they are attached to? “Why,” says one, “we shall do as the Spirit dictates us.” There is a saying that I have read somewhere, that says the spirit of the prophet should be subject to the prophet; hence I infer that I should not always prophesy because the spirit of prophecy is in me; for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, which we should have all the time. But although we should have the spirit all the time, we should only use it when it would be prudent and profitable to do so. It is so with all our conduct in life; it is so with all those duties that fill up our time and that occupy our attention in the domestic circle; for there is where we should begin to build up the kingdom of God—first in ourselves, then with our wives, next with our children, and then all build up the kingdom of God together.

Well, but we have been told that this was our sectarian traditions, to think of building up the kingdom of God in our hearts. But I want to tell you, not because you have not heard it before, but because it is a thing that you have been told again and again; and what is that? To live your religion; and to live your religion is to have every principle pertaining to the building up of the kingdom of God, to its perpetuity and perfection, developed in you; and what will be the result? Why, then, when you are adjusted in the Temple of God and assigned your position, you will not run away, but you will remain and become as a pillar here. What is a pillar? It is a fixture. You know they are put in a building to remain there while the building stands. If the building is designed to be an eternal place—a dwelling-place for God, then they are to remain there for ever.

You want to live so that your minds will be filled with his Spirit; and to do this, you need not take a mission to the sun, to the moon, or to the stars, to find out their distances or how much they weigh? But are you acquainted with your homes? You answer, “Yes.” Well, then, do right at home, do not do wrong, do not quarrel at home, do not stir up disunion, do not, in a word, do anything to bring about a pandemonium instead of a paradise; but do that which brings peace—that which produces the spirit of peace and of heaven.

But where division of sentiment, diversity of feeling, and discord exist, the principles of heaven are not there; the principles of peace are not there. Study these principles, and for what purpose? Why, that it may stir up the spirit of peace within you, that the spirit of peace may be, not a casual visitor, but a constant attendant—that he may take up his abode with you; and when an individual takes up his abode with you, then you do not consider him a transient visitor, but there is his home—there is where he lodges, where he stays, where he imparts blessings—if he is a minister of blessings, where he imparts good, if he has any good to impart. And if you open a door that this Spirit will take up his abode with you, then that fountain which will be opened up will become very plenteous in its supplies; it will become so to you because you welcome the Holy Spirit there, and you study to cultivate within you such a feeling that the Spirit will love to tarry with you day by day; and its book of instructions will be opened to you, so that each succeeding day will give you an increase of knowledge, and you will find yourselves able to comprehend one degree of light and knowledge after another, until your whole soul will be swallowed up in your love for the truth; your affections will be bound up in the truth, for which you will be willing to sacrifice all; and you will throw away all the old fogyism that was around you; and if you have acted as if you thought the world was yours, then you will think that it is your Father’s, and that he only lent it. You will acknowledge his ownership to it, and you; will give yourself to him and to his cause continually.

What will this prepare you for? For any contingency that may arise; and you will be contented in the storm and confident of what the result will be. If the storm-clouds lour around you, you will be comforted by the sunshine of the Spirit of God; and however dark the clouds that may lour around, you will find that Spirit to be your companion; you will see the sunshine that opens to you the prospect of happiness, of glory, and of eternal life when the clouds shall pass away.

Why will this be the case? Because you have prepared yourselves that the Spirit might be in you, having cultivated it all through your lives. Then you have a devotion to the truth, and the Spirit of truth will tarry with you, and by-and-by you will become fully devoted to the truth; your affections will become pure and holy; and then when you are purified and made holy, you will not depart from the truth, nor go into darkness and apostacy, because the sunlight of truth is within you.

This is what I want you to learn; and why? Because the days, the times that are around us require that we should be firm in our purpose, and not only that we should put up our hands or raise our voices to high heaven to sustain the kingdom, but that we should be prepared with every feeling that is within us to devote ourselves to the truth, knowing that it is all in all, and that there is nothing. outside of it that is worth possessing.

Knowing this, then, let us be devoted to the truth, not blindly, but because the affections that are within us are chained by a knowledge of its excellency above everything that can be possessed—above every good that can be attained, and then we shall be secure.

Brethren and sisters, if we will cultivate this principle and seek to subject ourselves to the truth, all things are right around us. There can be nothing wrong to the man who is swallowed up in the truth—whose whole affections are swallowed up in the beauty and excellency of that truth which he has learned. There is no feeling in him to apostatize—there is no room for such a feeling, and consequently he will not apostatize.

Such a man would not apostatize at seeing the little plans our enemies are forming for our destruction. But when we have endured all the sufferings that our enemies can bring upon us, let us so live that we may come from the battle-field unscathed, unharmed, and be victorious; then we shall find that the least of the foes over which we have triumphed will be the enemies outside.

If we can triumph over our feelings, our affections, so that our whole souls can become subject to the principles of heaven, then we shall easily conquer the other foes. These are the things to be conquered; and when these are conquered, the others are at our feet.

What is continually declared to us through the mouth of the Presidency of the Church? All will be right, if we do right. Well, now, how can you neglect these things and do right? You cannot. But if we do right, what does it do? It saves our backs from the rod—it secures to us the protection of our Father; and if we fail to do right, he will do with us as he has been doing. He has led us through all the meanderings of our course; his hand has been over us all the time; and what has been his design? It has been his design to develop a people to do his own work—to move them until they should find the place where his kingdom should be built up in strength and in power.

Well, cannot we see it is idle for us to gather around us hopes that we can be saved and redeemed, or that God will redeem and save us any farther than the principles of truth are developed within us? If we do see it, it leaves hope to us and an inducement to live better; and if there are lesser sins that find place and that still exist in the more narrow circles of our life, let the work of purification go on until there shall not be a fault-finding wife nor a husband that shall exact anything that is not right in the circle of his home.

When this is the case, where will wickedness find a place to be nestled and nourished? Where there is no evil in the heart, there is no evil committed. Let us strive for this with all our energies, and let us take the word, with us to our homes; for the way is for us to take this home to ourselves. Let this be the case in every home, and the work is begun.

Brethren and sisters, may God bless you with wisdom, faith, prudence, humility, and every grace that is necessary to strengthen you, that you may take hold of this work and carry it home with you! The most of it is to be done at home, where you wash dishes and attend to the duties of domestic life: this is the sanctuary that is to be made pure and holy.

And that everything may go on right, that God may help you to purify yourselves and to reach this point—this consummation, is my prayer. Amen.

The Blessings and Privileges of the Saints, etc.

Lorenzo Snow

A discourse by Elder Lorenzo Snow, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, October 11, 1857.

I presume, brethren and sisters, that we all feel measurably thankful and grateful that we have had the privilege of receiving the fulness of the Gospel—that we have been counted worthy to be gathered out from among the nations, to meet in these valleys of the mountains for the purpose of receiving instruction, learning the mind and will of our Heavenly Father, and of preparing ourselves for those things that are coming upon the earth.

But, at the same time, I presume to say that we do not all of us fully comprehend the blessings and privileges that are prepared in the Gospel for us to receive. We do not fully comprehend and we do not have before our view the things which await us in the eternal worlds, nor, indeed, the things which await us in this life and that are calculated to promote our peace and happiness and to answer the desires of our hearts.

The Lord has established certain constitutional desires and feelings in our bosoms; and it is so with all mankind—with the whole human family. There are implanted and interwoven in their constitutions certain desires and capacities for enjoyment—desires for certain things that are in their nature calculated to promote our peace and wellbeing, that answer their feeling and promote their happiness. But how to obtain the gratification of those capacities and desires, the world do not know nor understand. But the Lord has seen fit to put us in the channel and in the way of understanding those things by being faithful and walking in the light of the Holy Spirit, and receiving truth, and eventually coming in possession of everything that our hearts desire in righteousness, to promote our peace and happiness and the highest things that pertain to glory and exaltation in the eternal worlds.

We frequently, in the multitude of cares around us, get forgetful, and these things are not before us; then we do not comprehend that the Gospel is designed and calculated in its nature to bestow upon us those things that will bring glory, honour, and exaltation—that will bring peace and glory. We are apt to forget these things in the midst of the cares and vexations of life; and we do not fully understand that it is our privilege, and that the Lord has placed it in our reach to pursue that Gospel whereby we may have peace within us continually.

All this trouble and vexation of mind is but a matter of the present; and if we keep the light of the Spirit within us, we can so walk in the Gospel that we can measurably enjoy and happiness in this world; and while we are travelling onward, striving for peace and happiness that lie in our path, in the distance, we shall have a peace of mind that none can enjoy but those who are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Now, let a worldly man once conceive that it is in his power, after a succession of years of trial and difficulty, to come in possession of worldly riches and wealth, and of all things that his heart can desire, what is he not willing to do? Why, he is willing to labour and toil; and although dressed in poverty and in rags, and with but little of the comforts of this life, yet, so long as he has a sure testimony that eventually he is coming in possession of all the desires of his heart, he urges forward undaunted and full of courage. He has within him a secret desire and hope that the people around him do not comprehend. When the people think there is nothing like peace and happiness about him, he is full of peace; and he has a secret and strong assurance that he is coming in possession of that which he has wished for and that his heart is seeking for.

In the Gospel we have received, by the light thereof and by the power thereof, we see that by-and-by we are coming into possession of those things that we have so long desired and laboured for. Those who are not in possession of this Spirit do not understand that the Lord God of our fathers has revealed himself unto us; and although many of them have had a like opportunity, yet they have not made use of it to acquire that knowledge.

Through a continual course of progression, our heavenly Father has received exaltation and glory, and he points us out the same path; and inasmuch as he is clothed with power, authority, and glory, he says, “Walk ye up and come in possession of the same glory and happiness that I possess.”

In the Gospel those things have been made manifest unto us, and we are perfectly assured that, inasmuch as we are faithful, we shall eventually come in possession of everything that the mind of man can conceive of—everything that heart can desire.

Well, then, in the midst of poverty and deprivations, or in the midst of comforts and conveniences, still these hopes are the secret springs of our joys. We see that our heavenly Father does provide us with everything we need; we see that we are in the sure path to come in possession of those richer blessings that are promised; and nothing in this world can, or ever will, place an impediment in our way to prevent us from receiving those blessings.

Is not our liberty, our comfort in the everlasting Gospel, the assurance that we shall receive all the reward that is made sure to the faithful children of God? Then where is the man that is not willing to set fire to his substance—that is not willing to yield everything for the salvation of himself and the people, if that be the principle upon which salvation is to be obtained?

Let a man have the visions of the Almighty unfolded to his view, and see in yonder heavens the government of the eternal worlds—let him see the liberty and joy that are to be participated in, and let him see that the Gospel gives all to this man, and he is willing in his heart and in his feelings to yield everything to the will of God, that he may come in possession of those things. Will such a man pursue a course that will eventually throw him out of the kingdom? Will he give up those blessings and those prospects for a little comfort, or for a little of this world’s goods, or to enjoy the comforts of this life for a season?

Where is there cause to mourn? Where is there cause for the Saints to wear long faces? Where is there cause for weeping or repining? There is none; but it is life or death that is set before us. Principalities and powers are ours, if we continue faithful; sorrow and banishment, if we disregard the Gospel.

What can we wish for more than is comprehended in our religion? If we will stand firm upon the rock, and will follow the Spirit that has been placed in our bosoms, we shall act right in the way of our duties—we shall act right to those who are placed over us—we shall act right, whether in the light or in the dark.

Where is the man that will turn aside and throw away those prospects that are embraced in the Gospel which we have received? In it there is satisfaction, there is joy, there is stability, there is something upon which to rest our feet, there is a sure foundation to build upon, and upon which to yield that which is required of us.

When the enemy is near, and when the stormy clouds arise, and the war-clouds approach, even then we can feel free and quiet, and be satisfied that all is right in Israel. It is only for us to be ready to do our duty, to serve our President with all our heart, with all our might, with all our feelings, with all our property and energies, and with all things that the Lord has put into our hands.

Let the power that God has put into our hands be used; for herein lies a continued advancement in dominion in power, and in knowledge. We should be ready at all times to exercise all the power, means, and influence we possess in the service of our God, and resignedly follow out the directions of our President and those that are appointed over us.

Let us be like little children, ready and willing to do as we are commanded by the powers that we should obey. Let us be obedient to the voice of truth, and ever be found in the path of duty; and there let us continue. Let a man do this, and he continues to advance; he will grow in the knowledge of God, and in influence, and in everything that is good. We may well be said to be a people of one mind, for we are the Saints of the living God. The Saints who are brought from the nations of the earth—those who have been gathered together in one, are the ones who hold the birthright to reign on the earth.

It is a good thing, brethren, to be a Saint. We are as children; we have to pass through the state of infancy, of childhood, and of youth, before we can arrive at manhood; and we have to learn by degrees.

There are some who do not learn and who do not improve as fast as they might, because their eyes and their hearts are not upon God. They do not reflect, neither do they have that knowledge which they might have: they miss a good deal which they might receive. We have got to obtain knowledge before we obtain permanent happiness; we have got to be wide awake to the things of God.

Though we may now neglect to improve our time, to brighten up our intellectual faculties, we shall be obliged to improve them sometime. We have got so much ground to walk over; and if we fail to travel today, we shall have so much more to travel to-morrow. We should try to learn and understand how we may best perform our daily duties, and learn what enjoyment it is our privilege to receive.

Wives and children fail in a great many instances to enjoy that which they might enjoy, because of tradition—because of not employing their minds in reflection. Take an individual family in Zion, for instance, and you will see that there is not that amount of enjoyment that there might be, provided they would act up to their privileges; for then they would receive the blessings in store for them.

The husband has to learn to give proper counsel and direction; he has to learn how to manage his wives and his children, and it takes him some time to learn how to manage wisely and to bestow comfort upon each member of his family.

Our children, if we are diligent in cultivating in ourselves the pure principles of life and salvation, will grow up in the knowledge of these things, and be able with greater facility than ourselves to promote the orders of heaven and establish happiness and peace around them. But our traditions are so interwoven with our nature that it requires more time and effort on our part for us to learn.

It does not trouble some women to follow out the counsel of their husbands: they will serve them in faithfulness—they will honour and respect the power of the Priesthood that is upon their husbands. In this respect they do well and enjoy themselves in doing so, as every woman will; but in the relationship that exists between them and other wives of that man, you are are very apt to see a little discord.

And some men will at once fall into the channel of obedience, while it takes other men quite a length of time to learn that principle and carry it out. While a man is full of the Spirit and power of the Almighty, he perceives the line of duty in a moment.

There are men who will follow the counsel of President Young in every particular; but set such a man to preside over men who have not that fulness of light that he has, and he will find difficulty in governing those men: they have to think about it and study about it.

It requires more energy and more strength of purpose in a man to follow out the counsel of one who is just above him than it is to follow a man that is a long way ahead of him. So it is in regard to the women; they can follow the counsel of their husband and do as he wishes much better than they can regard one another. But we should do our duty, if it not so pleasing to ourselves.

We are all imperfect and full of weaknesses; we have not become perfect in the things of God; and hence we have to suffer for one another. Now, in my dealings with the brethren, I have more difficulty in getting along with the man that is ignorant than with him who can see his duty. I perceive that the ignorant man is weak—that he is blind; and inasmuch as I have to suffer from his wrong, because he has not learned to control his passions, it becomes a greater virtue in me to be patient with him; for there is more required of me.

Well, so it may be with some women. You very seldom find that husbands and wives are perfect; but perhaps it is very well that the husband is not perfect, because, if he was, he would be placed at a great distance from his wives. It requires a great exertion on the parts of wives to keep pace with their husbands.

You all perceive more imperfections in those around you than you do in yourselves. It is much more difficult for wives to learn than it is for husbands, because women have not the degree of light and knowledge that their husbands have; they have not the power over their passions that their husbands have: therefore, they have to suffer one for another until they get power over themselves like unto those that have advanced more fully in the knowledge of our God.

There is a struggle all the time, and it requires exertion on our part to know how to manage, how to move, and how to come in possession of the greatest amount of happiness. Let wives pursue an even course with regard to their husband; let them bear with his faults; let them be united and live in peace, and they will increase in light and intelligence. Let the one that has got the most light learn to be the most forbearing, for the sake of her husband and for the sake of the principles of truth. If the Lord has made one woman more perfect than another, and given her more intelligence than her sisters, let her show more mercy and patience in overlooking their faults. By this means a wife will gain influence and favour with her husband, with her sisters, and with her heavenly Father. She thus advances herself and puts herself in a position to enjoy all that is for the righteous. The whole is summed up in this—DO RIGHT.

The man that has the most influence will enjoy the most, and the most is required of him. It is so with you women. If any of you have more knowledge and influence than the others, more is required of you; you have the more to endure.

Let families put themselves in possession of all the good they can—be in a position to do right, and be continually in the path to exaltation and glory. We should all think of these things and practise them. If you want to know how to be great, good, and happy, and how to advance faster in the principles of exaltation and perfection, why, then, set yourselves to work to find out how you can do the most good good. You, women, do this, and learn how you can best serve your husbands. You, men, learn how you can best serve President Brigham Young.

Well, it may be more glory for you, sisters, to serve your husbands, than to serve each other; but you have got to learn to do both, and you will get all the honour and glory that you are capable of receiving. But some do not conceive of this: they think that it matters not whether they love their husbands or not, so long as they do not let them know it. But if they do not put themselves in the way of acting properly, they bring darkness and trouble upon themselves.

For instance, if one of my fingers is injured, I feel that injury all over my body. So also if a man has several wives, and one of them gets injured, he feels the injury that is put upon that wife. Some women think, if they can do all that is required by their husbands, that is all that is required. That is very good; but it is a wild, fanciful notion to think that this is all that is called for. But if you will set to with all your energy to bless your husband in serving him and those around him, and endeavouring to make them all happy, because they desire exaltation and happiness, then you are in the line of your duty. This requires an exertion; it requires faith, prayer, and the Spirit of the Lord to enable you to carry out this operation.

But you, sisters, have made rapid advances in consideration of where you stood a few years ago. Well, still continue in the good work and attend faithfully to those things that pertain to your duties and to the stewardship appointed you. See that the little, trifling misunderstandings in domestic concerns do not poison your happiness.

And you, brethren, attend to those duties that pertain to your calling and Priesthood, and know that the Lord has called us to receive the fulness of the Gospel.

We are his Saints, his sons, and his daughters, and all things are open to us; the treasures of time and of eternity are ours—everything is ours, if we will serve our God in faithfulness, even to the sacrifice of all we possess. There lies the preparation for happiness hereafter.

Brethren and sisters, may the Lord bless you! I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Peace, Confidence, and Ultimate Victory of the Saints, etc.

Amasa Lyman

Remarks by Elder Amasa Lyman, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Wednesday afternoon, October 7, 1857.

I can say that I have been gratified, edified, and blessed in various ways since the commencement of our Conference. I have not been anything but blessed, that I know of. So far as our meeting here is concerned, I have been highly gratified in hearing from our brethren who have just returned from abroad. The spirit with which they have expressed their feelings and delivered their testimony here is a living evidence that the cause of God and of truth is onward—that it is progressive—that it is increasing in the earth.

When we were young and had but just commenced to testify of the Gospel, we could not hear the same testimony that we hear now: still the Spirit of God was always good, and the testimony of the servants of God that were inspired by it was always good, and the days that are past were very good days, and the times past were very good; but to day is a better time than any other that I ever saw: the circumstances that surround us to-day are better than any with which we have ever been surrounded since we have been a people.

Our prospects are brighter than ever they were before; and the clouds that gather around us, if there are any, are hardly perceptible, from the increased amount of light that is shining: they vanish, they disappear in the increasing confidence, faith, intelligence, and knowledge that exist in the people.

We need not question this, if we but for a moment contemplate the quietude, the harmony, and the peace that pervade the homes of the Saints—the place where they dwell. There is no excitement such as is generally attendant upon an expected war; but it seems the time approaches nearer that was to effect the establishing a line of division between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world—that there has been a full and corresponding increase of confidence on the part of the people in relation to the truth they had embraced; so that I can hardly see or determine, from anything that has outwardly taken place, that there is anything that has happened, except it is their progress in the truth and their advancement in knowledge.

Nobody seems to be alarmed; all seem to feel confident that the contest that is in prospect is to decide the question: it does not seem to be who will prevail; it does not seem to be asked at all who will conquer; but the matter is all settled, that Israel will prevail.

This has been written a long time ago; and we are happy if we can see it and understand it—if we can appreciate it so as to inspire within us that confidence that would be requisite to our salvation.

Now, is it because we all understand—is it because we all comprehend the truth, that we are in this position? What will be the sequel of our history? We may as well read it to-day as to wait for the future to reveal it. What will it be, if the confidence and quietude that we enjoy to-day, that pervades our souls to-day, is the result of our comprehension of the truth? It will be the same ever and always: the history of the future will never reveal that we have departed from the truth—that we have professed to know, to understand, to comprehend, and feel the blessings of the truth, and then have at a subsequent period of our lives departed from it.

I do not know altogether what may inspire your hearts or what may have an influence upon your minds; but I believe that I know—I feel satisfied in my own mind that I know why it is that I have no fears as to the issue of matters that we are interested in. To sum it all up and tell what it is, in the shortest possible way, would be simply to say that I cannot see any place for a failure; I cannot see any place, nor conceive of the existence of a possibility of a failure. “Why,” says one, “there is no room for a failure. The truth upon which is predicated—upon which is based the declarations of the servants of God in ancient times, that when God should set his hand to build up his kingdom, that he would build it up, that it should be established, that it should triumph over every other kingdom and stand for ever, that truth is so broad, so extensive, that there is no room for a failure—there is nothing on which to hang a doubt, or on which to ground a single exception.”

I am not preaching now of what may be my fate, but I am speaking about the fate of the work we are interested in, that we are engaged in, that has brought us together, that holds us together, and that at the present moment is influencing us.

I may apostatize—I may leave. What! could I really leave the truth? It is generally implied that if we leave anything, we get away from it; but, for my part, I do not know where to go to get away from it. I might stand still, shut up my ears, harden my heart, and say that I would not have it; but I could not get away from it.

I suppose there is no such fate for me: I hope not. But for the work of God there is nothing but victory—the triumph that has been spoken of and written about by many of the ancients.

Have we found the time when that triumph is to take place? I think we have good reason to believe that we have, if for no other reason than that we have searched for and found the place.

If Abraham went to seek a country that he knew not of, so have we been seeking a country. I do not care whether we were in the company of the pioneers who came to Salt Lake Valley first, or whether our pioneering has been in other places, preaching and calling upon the inhabitants of the earth to embrace the Gospel and trying to induce them to gather together. We have all been pioneering—we have all been exploring under the direction of our Father—for what? For a place on which to build up his kingdom upon the earth. What else have we been doing? Why, we have been doing some other things that are equally necessary as the finding of a place.

When the experience that we have gained is sufficient for the accomplishment of his work, if we have at the same time found the place at which the work could be accomplished, then two points are gained preparatory to building up his kingdom and carrying out his purposes. Without either of these, he could hardly be calculating to accomplish his work, unless he works differently from what we generally understand that he does.

When we shall in a future day look back over our travels in connection with the history of this Church, we shall not set them down as awful persecutions, as we may have regarded them in days that are past. We shall look at them as we now look at the wanderings of Israel in the wilderness between the land of Egypt, where they were held in bondage, and from which they were led to the land of Canaan, which was given to them as a possession.

Why did they not travel directly? We generally understood it was because they were rebellious; it was because they would not learn so much of the truth as was necessary to qualify them for entering into the rest of God. This prolonged their travel in the wilderness, and they travelled and travelled, and continued to travel, till there was a people that could be led—that could be controlled—that could be managed and led to possess the land, and to do the thing that was designed to be done at that time. The Lord had it in his heart to accomplish a work with the people of this dispensation in the proclamation of the Gospel—to call them to the knowledge of the truth; and then, by the revelation of his will from time to time, he taught them the things that they could believe and that they could receive, and he imparted those things that were suitable for them. The things that they could not and would not receive were withheld from their sight until other times and other circumstances surrounded them—until there was a disposition developed in the people that they would receive them; and under this kind of guidance we have travelled west, even under the direction of God; then the Devil has kicked us east, and then we have travelled west again; and finally our journeying has led us to this place—the first place that the Saints have ever occupied where the kingdom of God could be built up.

This makes me calculate that the time has come when the kingdom of God should be built up—when it should become a nation, a kingdom, a power upon the earth, whose increasing enlargement should be the diminution, the decline, the falling away of all other powers of the earth.

Well, then, should we be driven away from here, or should we be trodden down here? To admit this is to admit that this is not the kingdom and work of God. This is the work of God, and this is his kingdom; and we are here—not because the Devil would have us here, for he is very sorry that we are here; neither are we here because our enemies have desired to have us here, but because it was the design of our Father to bring us here. His own right hand has brought us here, and his Spirit has led us and dictated his people and servants until he has brought us here.

However this may appear to us, it is the Lord’s own doing. Why so? Because he could not accomplish his purposes without it. And if it is the Lord’s work, then there is no failure—then we are not to be destroyed, we are not to be driven away, we are not to be wasted any more, we are not to be trodden down any more by the iron heel of oppression; but we are here to gather strength, to put on, power and might, and to be in the midst of the nations what our Father has designed from the begin[n]ing of his kingdom upon the earth in these last times.

What should we be driven away from here for? Has God any purpose to serve by our being annoyed—by our being again driven away? If he has, it is something that I do not know of. He has brought us here through immense labour and toil. We thought it was awfully hard when we came here: we nearly had to waste away all that we had, all that was given to us—not what we had of our own in reality, but what was given to us: we have had to lose nearly all that we had to get here, and now we are in the place where God designs we should be.

Will he build up his kingdom on the earth? Yes he will. Well, then we shall not be driven away. Has he found the people—the material out of which to build his kingdom? Yes, he has. We have been travelling and preaching backward and forward to prepare us for these things. Is there a people here that is capable of being governed, and not only that are capable of being governed, but capable of becoming governors?

Where did these governors come from? Why, they have been manufacturing all the time from the time that we first heard the Gospel. We have been trying to be obedient to its behests and requirements. From the time that men began to learn obedience and gain knowledge, God has been preparing and manufacturing them out of the material of which he is going to build up his kingdom.

In Nauvoo, when our enemies repealed the charter, we were better off than we were before; and I do not suppose that we have retrograded, but we have come out here and have made a Government—a State Government;

and then Uncle Sam thought he would have a finger in the pie, and he made us a Territory, and we have got along very well.

I expect that the next time we are made anything, it will be the kingdom of God, and no amalgamation; and it will be made of the material that God has manufactured in the course of the training that we have had. This is what we are here for.

We have found the place and the material of which to build the kingdom; and this leads me to think that we shall not be driven away; for I can see the hand of God in our coming here; and “Why?” one may ask. Because he said, in the beginning, that this was his work—to build up his kingdom; and knowing that there must be a place to build it upon, and then seeing the Lord lead us to a place, and seeing his servants building it up through his guidance and counsel, cannot I see the hand of God in it? I can; for he told me this in the beginning.

Then is it not his hand? It is. Can you see it? Many will answer, “Yes.” Then why not be contented? This is the reason that the peace of heaven pervades the land where we dwell, and why fear is banished from our hearts.

The Spirit of truth, the Spirit of the Highest dwells in the Saints and inspires them with confidence, and victory is the song of every heart. The Saints do not sing any other song. The songs are made in prospect beforehand; but they all speak of victory—they are all songs of triumph.

Now, I do feel well: as the western man says, I reckon I do. Why do I feel so well? Because I cannot find anything to feel bad about. I have a great many things, to think about; and what are they, and where are they?

If I can only maintain my relationship unbroken with the cause of God, and remain identified with it, why, then I am saved; and why? Because the kingdom of God will make me just as great as I can be, and greater than I know enough to speak of now. Why? Because I will know more then. It is all embraced in the kingdom of God.

Is not this a simple thing, that this is God’s kingdom and that he has allowed our enemies to kick us till they have kicked us to this point? And when they reached at anything else they have always been restrained; but while the Devil was kicking us to this point, the Lord was well satisfied, and he kept his hand over him and said, “Now, old fellow, do not kick too hard; these are my people: when you have kicked them so far, all well; but you must not kick any farther.”

Now the Lord has got us here, our enemies want to drive us off farther still. But now comes the declaration that meets with a hearty response—ISRAEL IS FREE!

Free from what? From labour, from toil, from watch? No, not at all. Then what are we free from? From the restraint that we have been under. Now, we are declaring boldly that we are the kingdom of God, and that in the strength of God we are determined to defend it and to defend the truth.

Now, all these things considered are among the things that make me feel well. This is the reason that I think we shall prevail—that is, in the strength of our God.

I do not feel any other way than that we are a part of the work of God, and that the decree of the Almighty has fixed it immutably and unchangeably that his kingdom shall be built up, and that as it rises in its greatness and grandeur he has fixed our exaltation and glory, if we are so happy as to maintain our relationship unchanged in harmony and beauty.

Is it so with you all? This is the way I feel; and it is this that makes this day the best day that I ever saw. This is why I rejoice; this is why I have no fears but that our cause will be triumphant; and we will triumph so long as we live with it and do not separate ourselves from it by any sin.

Brethren and sisters, this is a theme big enough to talk about a long time. There can be a great deal said about it; but I will not trespass upon the time, but conclude by saying, God bless Israel in every land and clime, that they may triumph, that God may remember our enemies, that they may not be forgotten, but that they may be remembered and have their reward in full; and if they can be taken care of without much trouble, let us be satisfied; and if the Lord requires us to take care of them, let us do as we have been doing while preaching the Gospel. This is my feeling.

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

Wisdom Gained by Experience, etc.

Lorenzo Snow

Remarks by Elder Lorenzo Snow, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Wednesday morning, October 7, 1857.

There is one thing, brethren, that I reflect upon, that pleases me very much; that is, to see, under our present circumstances, the feeling of calmness and serenity which manifests faith in the Lord. The calmness and serenity that is in the minds of the Saints in regard to the circumstances of war and threatenings that are around us at the present time is a principle that we, as the people of God and as wise men and wise women, need very much to inculcate within ourselves. We should be perfectly calm and serene, without excitement, otherwise we will be excited and consider that the circumstances around us are of a dangerous nature, and thus shall not be able to act prudently and in a way that would be pleasing in the sight of our Father in heaven.

Sailors and mariners become wise, useful, and qualified for their stations only by experience. Storms, tempests, and hurricanes have to occur in order to give them that experience. If all was calm, and storms never arose at sea, where would the mariner get the experience that is necessary for him to have, that when storms do occur and difficulties arise, when the ship sails out upon the ocean, he shall be prepared to manage and guide his his vessel safely into port. If there are individuals on board that have never experienced storms, or perhaps have never ventured away from land before, when storms arise, you see that trepidation of spirit that you do not witness in those that have had experience.

So it is with ourselves in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we have to learn by the things that take place around us and act in the stations assigned us by the circumstances that transpire and the experience we gain.

As a general thing, I presume to say that the people before me to-day feel that all is well—that all is right, notwithstanding an armed force is only about 147 miles distant from us, full of their hellish designs for our destruction, and have formed their schemes for the purpose of entering into our settlement for the destruction of the principles of righteousness and to gratify their hellish lusts. The least idea never entered their hearts that the people would be found here that would dare to oppose them. I presume the Saints feel that all will be well as a general thing, and to see these feelings existing in the bosoms of the Saints this day is pleasing and gratifying to my feelings; and I feel assured that whatever shall take place—whatever course shall be pursued by our enemies or be taken by ourselves, all will terminate for the glory and exaltation of the Saints of the living God. The kingdom of our God is bound to prosper and to go forward.

While we are here studying the interests of Zion—of the honest in heart among the nations of the earth—how we can gather them together, that the fetters under which they are now labouring may be broken—while we are doing this, on the other hand our enemies are scheming for the destruction of these righteous principles, for the purpose of binding the yoke more strongly upon our neck—of destroying those pure and holy principles that have been revealed for the salvation of the honest in heart—principles that are calculated to exalt, to happify, and glorify.

Such principles have been revealed—such principles have been restored—such principles have been held forth by the Elders among the nations as you heard yesterday. For these principles this people have been driven several times; they have forsaken their homes; they have forsaken their enjoyments and the privileges they might have had among the nations; and they would now willingly burn up their dwellings, if they were so commanded. We understand, from the feelings of our bosoms, and we find, as a general thing, that the people are willing to continue their efforts for the promotion of these principles, that they may still remain upon the earth, and that the honest in heart may be delivered. For the dissemination and final triumph of these holy principles, all that is required on our part is to sustain and support them, so far as the God of heaven shall lead us by his Holy Spirit. Where the Lord plants us there we are to stand: when he requires us to exert ourselves for the support of these holy principles, that we are to do; that is all we need to trouble ourselves about; the rest our Heavenly Father will take care of. But it need not surprise us that difficulties and storms arise—that we see hurricanes playing about us—that we see war-clouds gather thick and fast about us; this need not be surprising. Where there is no trial there can be no deliverance; where there is no temptation the power of God cannot be made manifest to any great extent.

You, brethren, that have been baptised for the remission of your sins, receive the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the Holy Ghost has been poured out upon you, did you not have to make your sacrifice? Did you not have to give up some things you had formerly held dear to you? Did you not have to come to this place that you might receive the blessings of God? And after you had done all this, did you not receive what you had anticipated and been promised?

Take the children of Israel from the days when they were called from Egyptian bondage, and take ourselves from the day we were organized through brother Joseph as the kingdom of God upon the earth; you will see that in every instance his power and deliverance were manifest to a greater extent than we could have anticipated. Take it individually or take it collectively, we have suffered and we shall have to suffer again; and why? Because the Lord requires it at our hands for our sanctification.

In the days of brother Joseph the mob came and took individuals: brother Joseph suffered them to take him; he suffered them to take possession of the brethren’s houses—to come in and shake hands with him, as traitors; and in every instance, they sacrificed every principle of virtue, of honour, and purity.

This course of conduct continued year after year. We suffered them to come upon us in Jackson County, and they there sacrificed every principle of virtue and righteousness. In Nauvoo, also, the devils incarnate were there again laying their hellish plots for the destruction of every holy principle; and after the death of Joseph the Prophet, President B. Young and others of the servants of God swore that if their enemies laid their hands upon them they should die. But the brethren never declared this until they had suffered from their enemies until forbearance was no longer a virtue.

We suffered these things day after day and year after year; and why? Because the Lord suffered it and required it of us. Men may be good and righteous; yet the Lord causes them to undergo trials to a certain extent. And when the Lord gave us the privilege of giving away our lives and letting the enemy have power over us, our enemies never troubled us.

When we kindly, generously, and with the utmost courtesy asked the President of the United States, if he could, possibly, to let us choose rulers out from amongst ourselves; and if that was not agreeable, to go so far as to let us have kind, decent sort of men—men that have some interest here—men that would themselves obey the laws which they came to administer; the Government were offended, and hence they are sending an army—men that wear epaulettes. Probably these are the citizens which they consider will be interested in our welfare.

The power of the Almighty bears record in every heart that the position for us to take is not to suffer them to come in here; and this is the universal feeling in this community; and it is the power of the Holy Ghost which testifies to every man and to every woman that this is our position.

The Lord has preserved us in every position; and although we have suffered, he has been with us by the power of his Spirit. He has suffered us to give up our arms and to exhibit his mercy. He did this in Far West and in Nauvoo. He suffered brother Joseph to give himself up, and now we see what they have done. But now it is altogether different; we are in a different position from what we were then. The Lord has revealed to brother Brigham to take the stand which we are taking.

I was speaking yesterday of the contrast between this people and the world. We are here in the capacity of a Conference; we are labouring, striving, and struggling for the deliverance of the honest in heart throughout the world; we are labouring for the establishment and continuance of holy principles.

There are men on this stand whose testimony you have heard; and those very men would suffer themselves to be cut in pieces, inch by inch, before they would suffer those principles to be trampled upon. It is their business to make people happy—to put them in possession of eternal life, so that sorrowing and crying may cease from the earth.

Look 147 miles eastward; there our enemies are contemplating what they may do—how they may come or send an armed mob here. They would hire and bribe a posse, if they could, to come and take President Young; and they are all the time plotting and scheming how they may subvert this people. When our brethren were amongst them, they were all the time singing their lustful songs and damning those holy principles which we have embraced. Look across the wild sage plains—over the deserts to the United States, and the same spirit is there; they are studying how they may rid the United States of the principles of righteousness. Now, which will prevail?

[President B. Young: “Truth will prevail?”]

Yes, the truth will; the Saints of the Most High will prevail. It is the Lord Almighty that has called his Saints; he has chosen his sons and daughters.

It is not our work, but it is the work of our Heavenly Father, and we are called to be engaged in it. The storms must arise—the oppressor must lay his hand upon the people, or it could not be taken off. And you, brethren and sisters, whose husbands are yonder in the kanyons, who have gone forth to defend Israel, pray for them that they may be victorious, and pray that you may be united unto each other.

I think, as Elder Hyde observed here the other day, that probably the greatest unpleasantness may be found in families. Now, you sisters, just unite your hearts together; and if there is dissension in your midst, get rid of it, and put away those hard feelings; then you can bow together as the children of God and as the wives of your husbands, united together in all things; you can then call upon the Lord, and he will give you power to obey your husbands; and do you pray that they may be able to execute the designs of the Almighty, and that the enemy may have no power over them.

If you have difficulties, go and settle them, and do your duties as the Saints of God, and pray that the Holy Spirit may rest upon your husband; and that will nerve him up more than your flour—more than your extra shirts. Just tell him that you are calling upon God in his behalf—that you are praying that the enemy may have no power over him. Sisters, be united in these things, and the blessings of Israel’s God will be upon you; your husbands will come home safely, they will be full of the Spirit of the Lord, and the wicked will fear and tremble to see the calmness and serenity that rests upon the people of God.

May the Lord bless you, brethren and sisters. It is a time of rejoicing: never did I feel better than I do this day. Everything signifies that the day of our deliverance is at hand. If there should be a little difficulty in getting the child born, all will be perfectly right. I tell you the child is bound to pass through its childhood, its boyhood; and whatever it may cost, the victory must be ours. A man or a woman is just as well the other side of the vail as here; it does not matter a particle in relation to their going forward in the principles of exaltation.

Our duty is to do right here and everywhere—to keep right all the time with our God; then all is right with us, whether we are here or on the other side of the vail.

Leave things in the hands of God, and I tell you the physical conquest is ours as well as the spiritual one. Remember those little striplings who went forth some twenty or twenty-five years ago, without first learning to preach the Gospel: they had not the wisdom of the colleges nor of the schools, but they went forth not having any natural hopes of an intellectual conquest; but they went forth and they stopped the mouths of the priests, and men of learning were in dead silence before them through the power of God which attended their preaching.

The Lord said unto his servants, “Ye are not to be taught, but to teach.” (Doctrine and Covenants.) He also said, Be valiant and be diligent in laying up wisdom; but take no thought for the morrow, but all things shall be brought seasonably to your minds in the very hour that you need them. This is the work of the Lord, and it is the way the Lord works.

Well, here comes another conquest to be gained: they have forced us into this, and the result will be precisely the same in the physical as in the spiritual.

Are we studied in war? These fellows have been studying it from all the books that have been written from the days of Adam down to now, and they are full of military science as the priests were full of divinity. But remember that but a little stone from the sling of David put to death the Goliath of the Philistines; and so it will be in the deliverance of Zion. If the brethren go forth depending upon their physical arms, they cannot do much; but if they go forth depending upon the Spirit of the Almighty, I can assure you that the conquest will be as glorious as in the day when we went forth to preach the Gospel under those circumstances which I have named. I just know it, for it is God’s work.

Women will find that they hold a good deal of power and influence in relation to blessing their husbands; therefore, let your faith and your hearts be united together, and pray for your husbands and for your children, whose fathers have gone forth to fight the battles of Zion. Children, pray for your fathers, and that will cheer them up. But if a man looks back and sees that there is nothing but confusion and disorder in his family, he is apt to slacken his efforts; his heart gives way; he has not the power nor the hardihood that he would otherwise have, providing that he knew that all was peace—that all was right at his home.

Think of this, you sisters. I tell you a great deal depends upon your conduct. I presume there are persons with families, who, if called to go out to fight, would pray God that they might never return again. This should not be.

Brethren, be united; pray for brother Brigham, for brother Heber, for brother Daniel, and the brethren with him in the mountains; and the enemy can never—no, never get possession of them. It is for you and me—yea, even if it costs our life’s blood, to defend those men. If you or me saw a weapon presented at President Young, it is our business to step in and save his life, if it costs our own; and you will see the day when you will understand this; you will see the day when you will be ready to stand in the gap.

Now, if I saw a sword drawn, would I not lift my hand to prevent its injuring the Prophet of God? Yes, if it was at the risk of taking off my hand. This is right; and if this people are willing to sacrifice all for the purpose of preventing our enemies coming in here, they never will come into our midst. We are willing and ready to burn everything, and then we are in a right position; and I believe this is the general feeling, and this indicates to me that the Lord is on our side.

Some people are not sufficiently schooled to know how to make sacrifices. When we are satisfied of the course the enemy will take, that will be enough; we shall then know what to do.

The Lord bless you, brethren and sisters! Be willing to follow counsel—the counsel of President Young, also of your Bishops, and then all is well. Zion stands and prospers, and it will not be long before the enemy will melt away as before the morning sun. Zion will spread and increase until she holds dominion over all the nations of the earth.

The Lord bless you all for ever, is my prayer. Amen.

Testimony of the Spirit, etc.

Brigham Young

Observations by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Wednesday afternoon, October 7, 1857.

I rise to bear my testimony with the rest of the brethren who have spoken. Several who have lately returned from foreign missions have addressed you during this Conference. As has been observed here, we are all missionaries; and when our mission will be ended I am not able to say. I expect that in all probability our bodies will have to rest for a time, by-and-by: when they fall back to their mother earth, they will have a rest. But as for the mission being at an end with a faithful person, I do not know anything about its closing merely because the body has been laid in the grave. In this Church I have always felt myself to be a missionary, and I always desire to be ready and willing to bear my testimony to the truth. That has been about the amount of my preaching for the last twenty-six years. As for sermonizing, I have but seldom attempted it, but I have borne my testimony of the truth to the people.

I had only travelled a short time to testify to the people, before I learned this one fact, that you might prove doctrine from the Bible till doomsday, and it would merely convince a people, but would not convert them. You might read the Bible from Genesis to Revelations, and prove every iota that you advance, and that alone would have no converting influence upon the people. Nothing short of a testimony by the power of the Holy Ghost would bring light and knowledge to them—bring them in their hearts to repentance. Nothing short of that would ever do. You have frequently heard me say that I would rather hear an Elder, either here or in the world, speak only five words accompanied by the power of God, and they would do more good than to hear long sermons without the Spirit. That is true, and we know it.

My testimony is that this is the kingdom of God on the earth. The people that sit before me, in connexion with the many thousands that are upon the earth, are the people of God. If we have become so taught that the Lord sees that we shall be capable of managing, governing, and controlling the kingdom of God upon the earth in a more perfect manner than it has been heretofore, you may rest assured that this people are bound to victory. Just as fast as we are capable of rightly dispensing the principles of power, of light, of knowledge, of intelligence, of wealth, of heaven, and of earth, just so fast will they be bestowed upon this people. Could we in wisdom ask to have things bestowed upon us, if they would be to our injury? Every honest heart would at once say, “No.” One of the Elders observed that he prayed the Lord not to reveal too much to him, lest it should prove a stumbling-block and cause him to deny the faith. Pray that the Lord will reveal nothing to this people for their injury, and that he will only reveal that which will be for their good.

Brother Lorenzo Snow, while he was speaking in the forenoon upon the principle of self-government—victory over every besetting sin, spoke of the inward work required to be done, as every person in his experience knows that the spirit wars against the flesh, and the flesh against the spirit. So far as our spirits by the power of God, by the Holy Ghost—by the Spirit of the Lord Jesus, are assisted to overcome every seed of iniquity and sin within us, we may expect to gain the victory over our evil passions; and in that proportion this people will gain victory in a national capacity. That is as true logic as ever was introduced in this world. This people might have been independent—might have been a kingdom, had they been capable of receiving, disposing, and controlling that kingdom to the Divine acceptance of our Father in heaven. As brother Amasa said, the Lord has a school upon the earth, and we are his scholars; and the Devil also has a school attended by a great number of scholars. While we have been learning how to sustain the kingdom of God upon the earth, the Devil and his pupils have been learning how to sustain the kingdom of darkness. From the very nature of the two kingdoms upon one planet, the crisis must come when there will be a literal open warfare, just as much as there now is a warfare within us against evil; and if we, as individuals and as a community, have gained the victory over our passions to such a degree that our Father knows that we are capable of actually sustaining the kingdom of God upon the earth, just so true we shall be a kingdom by ourselves. If we are not yet capable of maintaining and rightly managing that kingdom, it will not at present be given to us in the fulness thereof; but the time will come when it will be given and established in its perfect organization on the earth.

A great many—yes, the most of this, people have kept up a spiritual warfare until they have become almost masters of their passions; yet we still see some of them who do sin. Brother Rich has said that they sin ignorantly; but I say that some sin knowingly, and others sin that would know better if they had stopped to reflect. And you will see men and women commit acts which make them appear as though every particle of thought of the honour and true dignity of humanity had left them. Keep your spirits in subjection to the principles of truth and life, and do not let evil spirits control you.

How often you hear men and women confess their sins and say, “I committed this, that, and the other wrong.” Why do they want the evil within and around them? Why do they suffer their spirits to be subject to evil influences, and their tabernacles thereby be disgraced by the commission of wicked acts? What would you give to have such acts obliterated, if there was a price set upon them and you could pay it with property? Can you keep your spirits in subjection to righteous principles all the time? Yes; but many do not?

Keep your spirits under the sole control of good spirits, and they will make your tabernacles honourable in the presence of God, angels, and men. If you will always keep your spirits in right subjection, you will be watching all the time, and never suffer yourselves to commit an act that you will be sorry for, and you can see that in all your life you are clear. Do not do anything that you will be sorry for. You may take the Quorums in this Church—the First Presidency, the Twelve, the Presidents of the High Priests, the High Councillors, and the Presidents of the Seventies; and a person may go to each of those Quorums for counsel upon any subject, and he will invariably receive the same counsel. Why is this the case? Because they are all actuated by the same Spirit. Do you know why some men give counsel different one from another? Because they undertake to give counsel without the Spirit of the Lord to dictate them. But, when the Spirit dictates, then each one knows what to do, and their counsel will be the same. Adam, Seth, Enoch, Noah, all the Patriarchs and Prophets, Jesus and the Apostles, and every man that has ever written the word of the Lord, have written the same doctrine upon the same subject; and you never can find that Prophets and Apostles clashed in their doctrines in ancient days; neither will they now, if all would at all times be led by the Spirit of salvation. If men will so act as to order their lives aright and continually keep the commandments of God, they will be able to administer the blessings of the kingdom of God.

There is no clash in the principles revealed in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants; and there would be no clash between any of the doctrines taught by Joseph the Prophet and by the brethren now, if all would live in a way to be governed by the Spirit of the Lord. All do not live so as to have the Spirit of the Lord with them all the time, and the result is that some get out of the way.

We want a people that will be pure and holy; and I wish that the principle that brother Lorenzo Snow spoke of this morning could be understood and practised by all, you would then gain your spiritual conquest. If we have not gained that, we must labour until we do. And although we cannot tell the result of all the affairs that are in motion, yet we know that the kingdom of God will prosper, that his name will be revered, that the spirits of darkness will have to give way to the kingdom of God, and that “Mormonism” will triumph, and that no power can hinder it.

But there are still many things for us to learn pertaining to our salvation.

The great stumblingblock in the midst of the people is, that their minds are not yet wholly weaned from the evil habits and practices of the world. With some, the end of strife and covetousness has not yet come. You can yet see one brother take another by the throat, figuratively speaking, and say, “Pay me what thou owest.” You may see another come up and say, “I owe you, but you need not ask me for the pay, for I will not pay you.” Which is the worst? If there is any difference, the one who refuses to pay is the meanest.

If a man is so mean as to say to you, “I owe you, but I shall not pay you,” it is best to say to him, “All right—I can live without it.”

The Lord will rule; and if we continue stedfast to the kingdom of God, it will save us; but if we do not, we shall be left off, and the old ship Zion will sail right a-head and safely carry her passengers into port. If the people could understand, they would be able to discern that we must gain that spiritual victory I have already spoken about, before we can have the privilege of proclaiming the building up of the people of God in the mountains.

We have a nation here in the mountains that will be a kingdom by-and-by, and be governed by pure laws and principles. What do you call yourselves? some may ask. Here are the people that constitute the kingdom of God. It may be sometime before that kingdom is fully developed, but the time will come when the kingdom of God will reign free and independent.

There will be a kingdom on the earth that will be controlled upon the same basis, in part, as that of the Government of the United States; and it will govern and protect in their rights the various classes of men, irrespective of their different modes of worship; for the law must go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and the Lord Jesus will govern every nation and kingdom upon the earth.

A great many have thought that every person will then be in the Church, but that will not be the case. There will then be as great a variety in religious belief as there is now; one will believe one thing, and another will believe something different, while the Devil rules among men.

Will the kingdom of Jesus triumph? It will; and the legislators of that kingdom are in this congregation and will remain, and the laws of that kingdom will be made in accordance with the revelations from Jesus Christ.

Many have thought that all will believe in the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ when the kingdom of God is fully established; but they will not; and if those characters were in heaven, they might believe, but would not obey the revelations of Jesus Christ. There are multitudes in this Church who have not yet learned these truths; and there are multitudes in the world who would not know Jesus, were he to pass before their eyes, and would not understand what he meant, if he were to speak to them. Such will be the case in the millennium.

The kingdom of God will grow out of this Church, and the time appears to have been hastened faster than we anticipated. This is the best time we ever saw. We are happy, and we make a heaven of every place to which we go, which is the reason we are happy. How long it will be before the kingdom of God sends forth its laws, I do not know. Brother Erastus Snow remarked that no one can foretell all the events that may arise from our present difficulties; but I can tell you a part. God will reign and will bring forth victory to the humble and faithful; that I know, and so do you.

I have never found any fault with the Lord for not bringing victory sooner; for I know that if our enemies intend to try to come here by way of Emigration Kanyon, we shall be ready to meet them; and if they intend to come round by the Malad, we shall be ready to meet them; and if they undertake to come by Fort Hall, we shall also be ready to meet them. If they thought that we were or would be asleep, they might undertake to come here.

I recollect a dream that my father had. He dreamed that he was travelling, and that during his journey he came to a tremendous mountain of snow and saw that his pathway was hedged up. But some one said, “Take one more step.” My father replied, “But that will be the last.” However, he took that step, and then his guide said, “Do you not, see that there is room for you to take another?” When he had taken another, his guide told him to take still another in advance; and there was a passage all the way through. So it will be with us. The Lord will not reveal all that we at times wish him to. If a schoolmaster were to undertake to teach a little child algebra, you would call him foolish, would you not? Just so with our Father: he reveals to us as we are prepared to receive, and I hope to continue to learn. There is no cessation, in time nor in eternity, to the progress and increase of the righteous. If we will but put away every selfish feeling, we can come in possession of all the blessings that are in store for us.

Some of the speakers have been exhorting you to let your prayers ascend in behalf of the brethren who are in the mountains; but your prayers cannot prevail if there is disunion among you.

The teachings given us from Sabbath to Sabbath must be learned and lived before we can enjoy the kingdom of God in its fulness.

I am thankful that I do not hear, of late, since the Spirit has been generally diffused among the people, “O Lord, give revelation through brother Brigham.” I wish to fulfil what we have received before I ask for more. I said to brother Joseph, the spring before he was killed, “You are laying out work for twenty years.” He replied, “You have as yet scarcely began to work; but I will set you enough to last you during your lives, for I am going to rest.” All I can do or ask now is to do the work, so that it will be right and acceptable to him when he comes here again. And that is not all; for you have or should have the candle of the Lord continually burning within you. Then I ask you if you still need revelation? You will say, “Yes, just as much as we need a candle to enable us to see to walk in our streets at noonday.” A person that is filled with the Spirit knows just as much as he has occasion to know; for the Spirit of our God is a Spirit of revelation.

The time has arrived when we have either to be trodden under foot by our enemies and die, or to defend ourselves and our rights; and which will it be? Every man and woman feel their hearts fail them when they think of submitting to the oppression and unlawful abominations practised by our enemies, and sought by them to be introduced into our society; and we will not submit to such wicked and unlawful treatment, whether it comes from United States or united hell, for the terms are synonymous as the Government is now conducted. I tell you and I tell our enemies that we are here, and we intend to stay here. [The congregation responded, Amen.”] They have a job on hand, if they persist in their efforts to deprive American citizens of their rights. I told Captain Van Vliet that I did not care how many troops they sent. “Why,” said he, “The United States, with an overflowing treasury, can send out ten, twenty, or fifty thousand troops.” I replied, “I do not care anything about that.” The Captain then asked whether I had counted the cost; and I said, “Yes, for this people I have; but I cannot estimate it for the United States; for if they actually persist in their present tyrannical course, before they get through they will want to let the job to sub-contractors.” They do not know the Captain of the armies of Israel; and although they profess to believe in him, they do not realize that he is about to hold a controversy with them for their iniquity.

Their belief reminds me that brother Joseph B. Nobles once told a Methodist priest, after hearing him describe his god, that the god they worshipped was the “Mormons’” Devil—a being without a body, whereas our God has a body, parts, and passions. The Devil was cursed and sent down from heaven. He has no body of his own; therefore he is constantly endeavouring to obtain possession of the tabernacles belonging to others. Some have grumbled because I believe our God to be so near to us as Father Adam. There are many who know that doctrine to be true. Where was Michael in the creation of this earth? Did he have a mission to the earth? He did. Where was he? In the Grand Council, and performed the mission assigned him there. Now, if it should happen that we have to pay tribute to Father Adam, what a humiliating circumstance it would be! Just wait till you pass Joseph Smith; and after Joseph lets you pass him, you will find Peter; and after you pass the Apostles and many of the Prophets, you will find Abraham, and he will say, “I have the keys, and except you do thus and so, you cannot pass;” and after a while you come to Jesus; and when you at length meet Father Adam, how strange it will appear to year present notions. If we can pass Joseph and have him say, “Here; you have been faithful, good boys; I hold the keys of this dispensation; I will let you pass;” then we shall be very glad to see the white locks of Father Adam. But those are ideas which do not concern us at present, although it is written in the Bible—“This is eternal life, to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.”

What is the nature and beauty of Joseph’s mission? You know that I am one of his Apostles. When I first heard him preach, he brought heaven and earth together; and all the priests of the day could not tell me anything correct about heaven, hell, God, angels, or devils: they were as blind as Egyptian darkness. When I saw Joseph Smith, he took heaven, figuratively speaking, and brought it down to earth; and he took the earth, brought it up, and opened up, in plainness and simplicity, the things of God; and that is the beauty of his mission. I had a testimony, long before that, that he was a Prophet of the Lord, and that was consoling. Did not Joseph do the same to your understandings? Would he not take the Scriptures and make them so plain and simple that everybody could understand? Every person says, “Yes, it is admirable; it unites the heavens and the earth together;” and as for time, it is nothing, only to learn us how to live in eternity.

I will prophesy a little, and I will say that my word shall be as true as any word ever spoken from the heavens. If this people, called Latter-day Saints, will live to the truth, the thread of oppression which is cut will never be united again, and we shall have the privilege of saying, “Here is the kingdom of God, and here are the people that God owns and blesses,” and we shall reign triumphantly for ever and ever. But if you do not live your religion, that period may be postponed a little longer. You know that cases sometimes rest in court for want of witnesses and documents. But if we live our religion, from this afternoon, this is the kingdom of God, and we are free and will live in it; at any rate, the kingdom will prosper.

I feel to bless this people, and they are a God-blessed people. Look at them, and see the difference from their condition a few years ago! Brethren who have been on missions, can you see any difference in this people from the time you went away until your return? [Voices: “Yes.”] You can see men and women who are sixty or seventy years of ago looking young and handsome; but let them apostatize, and they will become gray-haired, wrinkled, and black, just like the Devil. If we will stand up as men and women of God, the yoke shall never be placed upon our necks again; and all hell cannot overthrow us, even with the United States to help them. It is not pleasant to the natural feelings to be obliged to talk in this manner about fellow-citizens with whom we have been reared; but when they act like the Devil, it is impossible for us to bow to their unjust and illegal mandates without becoming as corrupt as they are. It is an honour to resist the wicked; and my name will be had in, honour, and so will Joseph Smiths, and so will your names, for not bowing to their iniquitous doings.

We are the happiest people when we have what are called trials; for then the Spirit of God is more abundantly bestowed upon the faithful. If the Lord requires it, I would as soon consume all I have and go into the mountains with my family as to do a good many other things. The women and children might suffer a little; but, as I told you the other day, we are upon the backbone of the continent, and we intend to enjoy that freedom which is our right. If our enemies will behave, themselves, all right; and if they do not, they may take what follows. We could have used up those now in our borders, and have taken their trains; but we do not wish to hurt one of them: but let them undertake to come in here, and they must abide the consequences. And in reality, instead of their speaking against my character, they ought to send in presents for having lived till now.

The question now is, Shall we close Conference to-day? I know that many of you have much work to do. I do not know how soon you will be needed in the mountains. I deem it most prudent for all to go to their work and to be always prepared with five days’ rations; and then, when the word comes, you are ready for the mountains, and the women and children will be safe here.

If you now wish to close this Conference, all right; and if you want to continue it another day, you are at liberty to do so; and I am willing to do as I have a mind. The last missionary who spoke said that a captain could not please everybody; but I have tried to first to please my Father in heaven, and have not cared so particularly about the will of the people. I have said, “Father, let me know your will, and I will do it.” And there is not a person in this congregation but will do my will, if he will do the will of his Father in heaven. If all would do so, they would be free from those little nasty sins that some are occasionally guilty of and that I am ashamed of.

If you say, “Adjourn this Conference now,” all right. Amen.

Divine Communications to the People Through Their Leaders, etc.

Heber C. Kimball

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday morning, October 18, 1857.

I feel first-rate. I can say one thing for a surety, and that is, that God is on our side, and that he does hear prayers. He hears mine; that is, I suppose I pray for the thing that others pray for, and it comes to pass; and I think he hears my prayers, and it is just as well as any other way, if it is answered.

I just as well know that what brother Brigham has said to you to-day is ours and will be ours for ever, just as well as you know that I am in this stand to-day before you.

I will tell you how I pray. I ask my Father and my God, in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, Father, will you speak to brother Brigham—will you speak to our leader—will you speak to my President—will you dictate him just as you would dictate matters if you were here in the flesh? That is my prayer, and that should be the prayer of this whole people; and I just know, from this time henceforth, if he lives a hundred years, he never will be led to do a thing except the very thing God would do himself, if he was here. I just know it, brethren. You all understand, naturally, that the food that you partake of goes into the head first, and then passes through to the extremity of every limb to every fibre and to every member of that body, does it not? Well, then, do you not see that everything must first be received by the head, and that there is where God will communicate? And when he communicates to the head, if you are all members of that body and connected with that head, like the limbs of a tree, how can you help partaking of that same Spirit, the same knowledge with the head? You cannot help it. He cannot be a person of much sense that cannot believe this.

These are my feelings. I want to point your minds to it; and when our President—our leader wants a man to do anything, God will go with that man, even as he is with brother Daniel H. Wells; he will attend to the business that pertains to the mountains, and he is almighty in the place in which he is authorized and appointed to act, and so is every other man. If he will go there and honor that calling, God will honour him, and he will honour every man who will honour him. God never will honour you except you honour the Priesthood and pay due respect to it and to every commanding officer in the Church and the kingdom of God.

If this people will do as they are told from this day, I will eat peaches, apples, plums, and the products of these valleys in Great Salt Lake City till we go to Jackson County, and I know it. [President Young,” I believe it.”] Brethren, I am telling the truth, and I am telling it as it is in the bosom of our God and of our leaders. It is the first time we ever eat peaches—that is, of our own raising, since we came into this Church; and it is the first time we ever eat apples; and it is the first time we ever were a free people.

Now we are living under the blessings the Prophets foretold. They said the time would come when we would sit under our own vine and fig trees, and our own peach trees and apple trees, and would eat; and that we should build, and another should not inhabit.

Brethren, our enemies never will inhabit these valleys if we do just as we are told from this time forth; and we will inhabit these valleys and will have power and victory over our enemies from this time henceforth and for ever. Good heavens! I cannot live your religion: I can only live for myself. Every man, every woman, and every child must live the religion of Jesus Christ, and the religion you are taught by your leaders, according as you are dictated. Do you not see it? You have got to do it.

Can I live the religion for my wife and my children? I cannot. But if they will take my counsel, I will lead them just as brother Brigham leads me, and as God leads him; and we will go right into heaven, just like taking the head of a vine and drawing it right into our Father’s kingdom: every branch goes with it that sticks to the vine, with the fruit thereof that cleaves to the branches.

Do I feel well? I never felt better in my life. I felt pretty well in Nauvoo, at the time brother Brigham was speaking of; though I did regret—perhaps I did wrong—but I did regret that peace was proclaimed so quick; for I tell you there were about one or two score of men I wanted to see under the sod; then I was willing to make peace: but I had to, as it was. We have made peace a great many times, and the United States have taken a course to make us do as they wished us; but let me tell you that day is past and gone, and we will now proclaim the course they will have to take; and they will have to make peace with us, and we never shall make peace with them again. Brother Brigham will designate the course they have got to take; and if they come here, they have got to give up their arms: they cannot come in here with a gun on their shoulders, or a pistol in their belts.

War has commenced, and the Devil will never cease his operations upon us; but if we live the religion of Jesus Christ, we are just as free today as we ever shall be; and when it comes to-morrow, we are free to-morrow; and we are free this year, and will be free next year, and will be just as free twenty years from now as we are now, only a little more so: we increase and advance as we live.

Well, we shall prosper, and we shall not burn up our houses; we shall not cut down our orchards, nor throw down our walls, nor our barns; and I am not going to stop building, because I just want to secure my fruit; I want to secure it and take good care of it.

Am I discouraged? If this people do right, you will live for ever and prosper and aggrandize these valleys. Well, now, will you stop increasing? When you stop increasing, that is the end of you; when you stop multiplying, that is the end of you; when you stop improving, that is the end of your improvements. Many persons, if they had a peach-pit or an apple-seed, would not put them in now. I am going to put in more now than I ever did, and raise them; and I will give them to those that will take them and be choice of them and live their religion. Those that will live the religion of Christ will have orchards.

Well, these are my feelings. God is with us and with brother Brigham, and he will lead him right from this time henceforth and for ever.

God bless you! God bless the boys in the mountains, for they shall live to let live; and the angel of life will be with them and with all those that do the will of God and the will of those that lead. Amen.

Present and Former Persecutions of the Saints, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday morning, October 18, 1857.

I purpose to have read to you this morning some of the communications that have passed between our enemies and ourselves, for the people are anxious to know the feeling of the two parties; they are very anxious to learn the news. I am perfectly willing that they should know all, for my feelings and yours are very different from those of the world. You are aware that among the nations the soldiers are never permitted to know anything about the plans of the officers: statesmen withhold from their constituents every policy they possibly can, and the statement of one of them is verily true pertaining to their use of the English language—that is, to secrete ideas instead of revealing them. Men study to talk a great deal, when at the same time they know but very little, and often even strive to conceal the little they do know. Among its other capabilities, the English language is better adapted than any other in existence to the using of thousands of words without conveying an idea.

If the Government of the United States have sent soldiers to this Territory, I do not know it; for I have had no official notice of such a circumstance, and you will perceive that I treat them accordingly. If they are sent by Government, they are sent expressly to destroy this people; and if they are not sent by the Government, they have come expressly to destroy this people; therefore I shall treat them, as I have informed the officer in command, the same as though they were an avowed mob—not as I would those who have heretofore mobbed us, but as parties who have come to mob us now.

I have informed Colonel Alexander that had his command been the men who have heretofore mobbed us, and the lying scribblers and the wicked rabble, who have all the day long been trying to incite mobs against us, they never would have seen the South Pass.

You will perceive from the communications which brother John T. Caine will read, the feelings of the two parties—myself representing the Latter-day Saints, and Colonel Alexander representing the officers of what he states to be a portion of the United States army. Whether it is or not, I have no business to know, and shall not know, until I am officially notified.

Brother Caine will now read the principal letters in the order best adapted to your comprehending their purport.

[Brother Caine read an unofficial letter from President Brigham Young to Colonel Alexander, dated Oct. 14; one from Lieut. General Wells to President Young, dated Oct. 15; one from Colonel Alexander to Governor Young, dated Oct. 12; and one from Governor Young to Colonel Alexander, dated Oct. 16.]

There are a good many here who have not witnessed the scenes of persecution that some of us have. I was asking father Morley, this morning, whether he thought the enemy could now ride into our corn-fields and through our gardens and shoot down our cattle, and plunder and burn our houses, as they did in Missouri.

When the mob in Missouri commenced burning our habitations, we frequently sent to the Governor, petitioning him to stop mobbings; but, instead of doing that, he rendered them assistance, by ordering about 3,500 men to go and lay waste the city of Far West, and destroy men, women, and children. Those orders General Clark had, though at their close the Governor said to him, “I shall leave it discretionary with you whether you kill all the Mormons or not.” We saw them coming, and some thought they were sent to disperse the mob, in answer to our petition; but the mob were expecting them and seemed to understand the movement.

The first act that I saw General Clark’s army perform was to throw down about half a mile of fence that opened into a six hundred acre field of corn. The mob mingled with the army, and they rode and drove their animals into and through that cornfield. At night, they took the rails and burned them for firewood, and let their horses run loose in the field. That I saw and knew; hence I was just asking father Morley whether he thought our enemies could now ride into the corn-fields of the “Mormons.” He said that he thought they could not. This blessing makes me say, Hallelujah to God.

It is pretty hard for us to come here with nothing; and we have come as near coming here with nothing as the Lord did to creating the heavens and the earth out of nothing; and I have frequently thought a little higher. I do not think that he was under the necessity of borrowing; but I was. I believe that the Lord has material enough to build all he wants; but I had almost nothing. Some of us worked in the Temple in Nauvoo until about five days before we left, which gave us but little opportunity for outfitting, though many were crossing the river before that time.

If I remembered rightly, I then owned one span of horses and a buggy that brother Daniel Spencer gave me. I traded for waggons, other things that I needed, and for an old horse. I then had three horses and three waggons. I bought, and borrowed, and traded, and got the brethren to help me out; and a good many others borrowed on my credit. Suffice it to say, we left our houses and lands and thousands and thousands of bushels of grain.

This year has made me think of the season that we were obliged to leave Nauvoo. That was one of the most. productive seasons ever known in the State of Illinois. It has been asked me by some of the brethren, “Do you think we shall have to leave our fine crops? The earth seems to be loaded as well as it was in Nauvoo.” We have not got to leave; we shall not be obliged to leave our crops and our houses to our enemies: we can sustain ourselves. It makes me rejoice that we are now in a situation that, if this people will live as they should live, they will no more have to be driven as we have been hitherto. Should we ever be obliged to leave our houses, the decree of my heart is that there shall naught be left for our enemies but the ashes of all that will burn. [The congregation responded, “Amen.”] They shall not have my house nor my furniture, as they have had hitherto.

That privilege gives me joy and comfort; and I will now say to those who are not acquainted with such scenes, (for many of you are not,) that if you see the time that you are obliged to lay waste and leave your homes, you will say, right in the time, and afterwards, that you never felt so well in your lives; for the Spirit and power of God will rest upon you in proportion to the necessity of the case. I know that those who have been in our past troubles—those who have been in the midst of death and destitution can bear testimony that they never enjoyed so much of the Spirit of the Lord at any other time in their lives. I do not know that anybody complained in Nauvoo, except brother Kimball; and he was only sorry that the war closed so soon, for we had our eyes upon a good many of those infernal scoundrels, and we wanted to sod them.

We have sought for peace all the day long; and I have sought for peace with the army now on our borders, and have warned them that we all most firmly believe that they are sent here solely with a view to destroy this people, though they may be ignorant of that fact. And though we may believe that they are sent by the Government of the United States, yet I, as Governor of this Territory, have no business to know any such thing until I am notified by proper authority at Washington. I have a right to treat them as a mob, just as though they had been raised and officered in Missouri and sent here expressly to destroy this people. We have been very merciful and very lenient to them. As I informed them in my unofficial letter, had they been those mobocrats who mobbed us in Missouri, they never would have seen the South Pass. We had plenty of boys on hand, and the mode of warfare they would have met with they are not acquainted with.

I would just as soon tell them as to tell you my mode of warfare. As the Lord God lives, we will waste our enemies by millions, if they send them here to destroy us, and not a man of us be hurt. That is the method I intend to pursue. Do you want to know what is going to be done with the enemies now on our borders? If they come here, I will tell you what will be done. As soon as they start to come into our settlements, let sleep depart from their eyes and slumber from their eyelids until they sleep in death, for they have been warned and forewarned that we will not tamely submit to being destroyed. Men shall be secreted here and there and shall waste away our enemies, in the name of Israel’s God.

I have thought that perhaps the Lord designs to furnish us a little clothing and ammunition; and if he does, he will permit our enemies to try to come in here; but if he sees that that would be an injury to us, he will turn them another way.

I intend to publish the communications between the army and myself; for I wish the whole United States to understand it.

Colonel Alexander complains of our mode of warfare. They have two or more field-batteries of artillery with them, and they want us to form a line of battle in an open plain and give them a fair chance to shoot us. I did not tell the Colonel what I thought; but if he had a spark of sense, he must be a fool to think that we will ever do any such thing. I am going to observe the old maxim—

“He that fights and runs away

Lives to fight another day.”

Should our enemies venture upon violent measures, I design to so manage affairs that none of our boys will be killed; and in my answer to the Colonel, I have told him pretty plainly what we shall do under certain contingencies.

Did he not granny it off admirably about the prisoners, when he wrote, “I need not assure you that not a hair of their heads will be hurt?” He dare not hurt them, neither has he the first particle of reason for hurting them. He has released and sent in the younger brother with an express, under the alleged consideration of his having a wife and three children entirely dependent upon him. I wonder that the Colonel had not a young officer to send with him.

The boys report their order of march to be the 10th Infantry in front, the baggage in the centre, the 5th Infantry in the rear, and several flanking companies travelling through the brush as best they can. Don’t you think they would look well coming from the United States in that way? That is the way in which they were travelling at our last advices, and it was said that their picket-guard declared they would not watch.

If the soldiers knew the facts in the case as do their officers, they would probably nearly all leave the army; but the officers keep the soldiers in the dark. The last report is that the officers had been telling the men that I had written a very favourable letter to Colonel Alexander, and that they were intending to come in.

When I think, Are they in your houses? Are they in your fields? I can answer, No: they are in the mountains; they are in the cold and snow; and if they continue, as those officers appear to intend to, upon the side of despotism and mobocracy, they justly ought to be served as we would serve all mobocrats. But we are here and we are free, as brother Kimball has said—just as free, in one sense, as we ever shall be. We need not think that we are always going to be unmolested by the efforts of mobs, until wickedness is swept from this earth. If we live, we shall see the nations of the earth arrayed against this people; for that time must come, in fulfilment of prophecy. Tell about war commencing! Bitter and relentless war was waged against Joseph Smith before he had received the plates of the Book of Mormon; and from that time till now the wicked have only fallen back at times to gain strength and learn how to attack the kingdom of God.

Colonel Alexander preached to me a little, stating in his letter, “I warn you that the bloodshed in this contest will be upon your head.” But that warning gave me no thought. But if the blood of those soldiers is shed, it will be upon the heads of their officers.

What they will do I neither know nor care; for it will be just as the Lord God wills it. If he sees that we need their substance, he will turn things to that end; and if he designs them to be wiped out, he will either cause them to undertake to come here or will overrule some other plan to accomplish that end.

Another year I am going to prepare for the worst, and I want you to prepare to cache our grain and lay waste this Territory; for I am determined, if driven to that extremity, that our enemies shall find nothing but heaps of ashes and ruins. We will be so prepared that in a few days all can be consumed. I shall request the Bishops to see that the people in their wards are provided with two or three years’ provisions. There is already enough raised in many places this season to supply the people from two to three years, and I wish them to take care of it; though I expect that in all probability we will raise a great many crops before our enemies again attempt to come here to disturb us; and I expect that we are fully able to defend ourselves, and that our enemies will not be able to come within a hundred miles of us. I know that ten men, such as I could name and select, could stop them before they got to Laramie. And if we had seen fit to have sent such men this season, they alone could very easily have so stopped our enemies that they never would have got through the Black Hills. I count five such men equal to twenty-five thousand, and believe that two of them could put ten thousand to flight. I believe we are now where that could be done. I will take five or ten such as I can name; and if two can put ten thousand to flight, I am sure that ten are perfectly able to do it.

Who has sought for war? Have we? No. We have preached the Gospel to Saints and strangers, when strangers would come and tarry long enough to hear it. We do not want to stand here and talk about war. There is nothing so repugnant to my feelings as to injure or destroy. But what is upon us? Nothing, only another manifestation of the opposition of the Devil to the kingdom of God. War has been declared against the Saints over twenty-seven years, and our enemies have only fallen back so as to gain strength and pretexts for making another attack. Will that spirit increase? If it does, and we love our religion, let me tell you that we will increase faster than our enemies will. This Territory and people are perfectly able to defend themselves, with the help of our God. They are perfectly able to set apart men of the right stripe and maintain a standing army that can keep off the armies of our enemies. And if the world combine against us, so we are but one, then all will go on well and work together for our good.

Our enemies, in the last treaty they made with us, should have stipulated that we should have gone only a short distance, so that we would not be out of their reach. They had better have made that stipulation; but they did not have wisdom, or they would have stopped us from going so far away. They drove us away from their society and allowed us to travel so far over the sage plains, that it is impossible for an army to bring provisions enough to last them here.

I have been told that the first artillery company, upon its arrival at Laramie, loaded up all the grain they could haul to feed their mule teams; and when they reached the Devil’s Gate they sent forward after their grain from their freight trains, and then they had not enough to last them to Ham’s Fork. It is impossible for them to load up teams with sufficient forage to last them to Green River; and the more men they send the more there are to eat up what the mule and ox-trains haul; and the consequence is that the more men they send the worse it is all the time.

If they undertake to send fifty thousand men to Utah, I will venture to say that they cannot raise so large a company in the United States but what would cut each other’s throats before they travelled a thousand miles across the Plains, to say nothing about any other persons molesting them. They would be cursing, damning, and howling all the way. I know that the comparatively few scattered here and there over the country and in the mountains can spoil their march before they could get here.

If the Lord sees that we need to be afflicted, he can apply the rod. I do not say this to urge you to your duty; for if you will not live your religion for the blessings that God bestows upon it, you will not live it anyhow; and the man who will not live his religion ought to be damned. Never serve God because you are afraid of hell; but live your religion, because it is calculated to give you eternal life. It points to that existence that never ends, while the other course leads to destruction, to dissolution, where they will be destroyed from the earth and from the eternities, and return back to the native elements.

What blessing can be bestowed upon man equal to that of eternal life? The greatest blessing that can be bestowed is that of eternal existence—to place mortal beings where they can endure for ever—where they are free from sorrow and pain, and possessed of keys, thrones, and dominions—where they can be perfectly swallowed up in happiness and bliss. What greater gift can be bestowed upon beings? None. Therefore, if we will not live up to our religion, according to our ability, we ought to be damned.

We have the privilege of honouring the stations we are in; we have the privilege, in the Lord’s hands, of preparing for exaltation. We are compared to the making of pottery upon the wheel; but the Lord never intended to show in that comparison that we were helpless beings and had no agency. Clay has so little intelligence that it is often so full of lumps that it will mar; but it is not to blame for that: but the Lord says, “You, intelligent Israel, are to blame, if you do not obey my voice; and if you are disobedient, I will serve you as the potter serves the clay that has very little intelligence. You, Israel, are capable of choosing, you are capable of refusing, you are capable of performing, you are capable of hearing counsel from my mouth and of carrying out those principles that I tell you; but the clay upon the wheel has no such intelligence; and if you do not obey my voice it will prove that you are not worthy of intelligence, any more than the clay upon the potter’s wheel: consequently, the intelligence that you are endowed with will be taken from you, and you will have to go into the mill and be ground over again.”

I wish the people to hasten and gather together and secure all that they have raised in the fields; and when this little skirmish is over, I am going to instruct the people to begin to prepare for going into the mountains, also to raise their grain another year, and to secure that which we now have by putting it where our enemies cannot find it.

You want to know where you can go. I know of places enough where I can hide this people and a thousand times more, and our enemies may hunt till doomsday and not be able to find us.

I do not know but we shall call upon the sisters to go into the fields and raise potatoes while their husbands go out to war; and if they can do that, then perhaps we will see whether they can go into the fields and raise wheat while their husbands are defending Zion. In such an operation we shall call for volunteers; we shall have no compulsion about it. So soon as I learn that a woman would sooner go to the enemy’s camp, just so soon I will send her; and you may mark it. I shall not warrant such a one safe, only until she reaches the enemy’s camp. I told a man yesterday—one that I understood wanted to go away, “If that is your feeling and faith, I want you immediately conveyed to those troops.” I want to forthwith send to our enemies every man and every woman that does not wish to do right, but wishes to join them in their crusade against this people. You may enquire why I take that course. I answer, So as to send them to hell as quickly as possible.

That reminds me of a circumstance that transpired here some years ago. A man from Boston, on his way to the gold diggings, stopped a few days in this city and heard me preach. Soon afterwards I met him in the street, and he asked me if I knew where hell was. I told him I thought that he was on the road to that very place; and when he crossed over the Sierra Nevada mountains into the gold diggings in California, if he discovered that he had not found hell, to come back and let me know. As I have not since heard from him, I presume he found it, which I now think a person will who goes East as as well as West.

The President of the United States, his Cabinet, the Senate, the House of Representatives, the priests of the various religious sects and their followers have joined in a crusade to waste away the last vestige of truth and righteousness from this earth, and especially from this part of it. Yes, they have joined together; and we have to maintain truth and righteousness, virtue and holiness, or they will be driven from the earth. With us, it is the kingdom of God, or nothing; and we will maintain it, or die in trying—though we shall not die in trying. It is comforting to many to be assured that we shall not die in trying, but we shall live in trying. We will maintain the kingdom of God, living; and if we do not maintain it, we shall be found dying not only a temporal, but also an eternal death. Then take a course to live.

Read the history of the world from the time that Cain killed Abel to this day, and see whether you can find an instance when, in a mountain country, fifty resolute, united men have been overcome by five hundred. If brother Joseph Smith had taken a company and come to this country, as he intended to do, he could have been living here now, in spite of earth and hell. Yes, he could have done this, if he could have brought only fifty men with him; for, with them, he could have defied the whole world; and you know that he would have had thousands of the upright gathered with him before now; though, if he had been here with only fifty good men, he could have bid defiance to all his enemies.

Did their enemies ever overcome the small band of Waldenses in the mountains in Piedmont? No. They slaughtered army after army sent against them and maintained their position, notwithstanding to reach them was only like sending an army here from San Pete, or from here to San Pete. They were within easy reach of their enemies.

Would Scotland ever have been so far overcome by England as to unite with that power, if her chiefs had not indulged in petty feuds with each other? No, it never would. But the chiefs were like our Indians: some were in favour of this one, and others of that one being crowned chief; and by contending with each other they lost the advantage of their position, or to this day Scotland might have been an independent nation, even though surrounded by water on all sides except the one joining England.

I instance those examples to show you that, if you will give me the right kind of men, I will take a few hundred of them and be at the defiance of the armies of the world; and that, too, upon natural principles. If God is for us, that of course makes us still stronger; but if he is against us, let us not strive to do anything in opposition to his will: let righteousness triumph. But I know that we are right.

When I used to be preaching in the world, priests would come to me and enquire about my doctrine. I would tell them my principles—every principle that I could get plainly before them that would be for their good; and after giving them my doctrine, I would ask, What do you Methodists believe? They would tell me. I would reply, I know all about that. Next would come the Baptists, and I knew all about them. Then came along the Presbyterians, and I would say, I know all about your doctrine. And I would have the Quakers and the Shakers; and when I talked to them, I knew all they believed. I understood the whole concern, and my religion embraced all the truth they all had and a great deal more. I could put on paper all the knowledge of salvation that all the religious sects possess, and put that paper into a snuff-box, and never miss the room it occupied. I would say, I know how much truth you have embraced; you have bounds to your religion, but I have no bounds to mine: the faith I have embraced is broad as eternity.

I would say, Brother Methodist, have you a truth? If you have, let us hear it: that is the Bible; that is my doctrine: I believe it. “I read in the Bible that the Saviour was crucified,” say the Methodists. I reply, I have embraced that in my faith: that is true; and every particle of truth that you believe I have incorporated in my faith; therefore you perceive that you must take the stand that you will defend error and falsehood, or there is no chance for a discussion or contention; for I believe all the truth that you believe. Now, all the truth I have I want you to embrace, and then go ahead; and then there is no chance for an argument.

We wish for all the truth and all the righteousness we can get hold of; and every heart that loves this religion, called “Mormonism,” exclaims, from the centre and circumference of his soul and feelings, “Let the Lord be God.” Without that, all will be worthless; with that is everything. Without that we are nothing; we cannot endure; and all our prospects are blasted and scattered to the four winds. In reality, we are nothing only what the Lord makes us. In a short time, if the Lord is for us, all will be right.

Take things upon natural principles, and I will organize this community so as to be prepared for any and every emergency. And the truth compels me to say, about our enemies that all hell are crying to come here and I must either say, Come in here and practise your principles of death and destruction, or I must say, I will contend against you, though I have prayed most fervently for the Lord to keep that event off. But the Lord says, “Will you be for me, or will you take upon you their cause?” I will say, “We will be for the Lord; for he is the God we serve.”

We are free. There is no yoke upon us now, and we will never put it on again. [The congregation responded, “Amen.”] That is the way for every man and woman to feel. When it is necessary, and the Lord calls me to do so, I would just as soon preach about war as anything else, or go and fight a battle as to do anything else.

You hear a great many people talk about a virtuous life. If you could know what an honourable, manly, upright, virtuous life is, you might reduce it to this—Learn the will of the Lord and do it; for he has the keys of life and death, and his mandates should be obeyed, and that is eternal life.

I pray God to bless you all the time; and I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ! Let us be of one heart and mind; and do you not see that the Lord is going to make us of one heart and mind, or we will be suffered to be scourged?

In Missouri most of the brethren signed what they called a “a deed of trust.” The brethren were forced to sign away their houses, lands, and property; for they were going to make us bear the expense of the war. When the brethren had done this, they would kick up their heels; and old Judge Camron saw it, and swore, and ripped out an oath and said, “They are whipped, but they are not conquered.” One fellow said, “I will swear we can make them consecrate: old Joe has been trying, but he could not do it.” I suppose a few have urged it upon the brethren to consecrate. But do you not see that we are coming to where the Lord will make us consecrate?

God bless you! Amen.

The Saints’ Blessings—Divine Protection, etc.

Amasa Lyman

A discourse by Elder Amasa Lyman, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 18, 1857.

I have been highly gratified to-day and edified in what I have heard and in what has been expressed, not only here by the Presidency who addressed us this morning; but the greatest or highest source of gratification in all this matter to myself is that I feel as they feel and as they have expressed themselves; I feel the spirit that is in them, and I feel that it imparts to me the same blessing that it imparts to them. If it is in them a source of light, eternal life, it is the same to me; if it is a source of comfort to them, it is to me. I feel this in relation to our position at the present time and the circumstances that at present surround us, which are different from those that have surrounded us in days that have gone by.

As was remarked by President Young this morning, in his correspondence with our enemies outside, the time has been when we were at the mercy of those that were around us—those that wished us no good—that never have done us aught but evil. But our circumstances have so changed, and the work in which we are engaged has so far progressed, that it has brought us to the circumstances in which we are placed even now. It has not only brought us to know the truth, but we have the privilege, the ability, and the capacity, through the blessings of heaven, to take care of and defend ourselves.

What are the honest convictions that are within us? They are that we can defend ourselves; for we are where we dare speak in favour of the truth; and I thank God that we are today so far removed from the seat and power of our enemies, that they are unable to reach us in the summary way in which they have done heretofore. This to me is a gratification and a comfort: it enables me to look upon those things around me with feelings different from those in which I have been in the habit of contemplating them.

In times that are past we have been forced by the surrounding influence to look upon things around us as though they were only to be enjoyed for a short time—that though we had something one day, there was but little assurance that we would have them the next. If blessed with home, with our firesides, and habitations, and those things that rendered us happy, we had but little assurance that to-morrow would not sweep them all away. But here, in this place in which we are at present located, we have our homes, through the blessing of God, we have our associations, and we have all that we have in our possession to happify our situation and cause hope to live within us for that which is still better; and we are so far removed from the land of our enemies, that we can hope consistently that they may be continued unto us for many days.

As has been remarked to-day, look at it naturally, as men not connected with the work of God in which we are engaged, and we are blessed; we are in a place that is blessed, and the very place of which we have almost, at times, been inclined to complain and to feel that we were sharing in a hard lot—that we were forced to live and to dwell in such a place as we now occupy. But the things that we have thus regarded as hardships are blessings to us.

If you never had been able to appreciate them at all in their truthful character until now, just now open your eyes, and do not keep your eyes closed against the truth; but open them and look upon our situation—the circumstances that surround us, and you will feel, if you feel as I do, to thank God—for what? For the rugged mountains that are around us—for the barren and desert country that lies between us and the land of our enemies. You will feel, in the spirit of the persecuted of other days and other climes and dispensations, to bless God for the strength of the hills, and that the Plains that lie between us and our enemies are sterile and barren; for in these things are our protection.

“But,” says one, “would not God protect us?” Certainly; and how has God protected us? He has protected us by bringing us to the land where we now dwell—a land where, if there had been great labour bestowed upon it, it could not have been better prepared to constitute a home for the naked, the driven, the afflicted, and the despised people of God. It is every way calculated to give security to the people of God. For this reason I feel well.

If I have ever seen the hand of God—if I have ever seen or known his dealings with his people, or have ever seen a manifestation of his wisdom, it is more than ever manifest in his bringing us to this land, where the distance is so great from the land of our enemies. The character of the country intervening between us and them is better to us than millions of millions of armed men to protect us: it affords us a protection that cannot be found in the armies of the earth, were they all marshalled in our behalf.

Well, then, I feel to thank God that we are here; I feel to bless him for every foot of desert country that intervenes between this and our enemies. There is not a foot of barren soil between us and them but for it I feel to thank God. I regard it as a bulwark of strength to protect the infant kingdom of God while it should gather to itself strength, that it might exist in the midst of the nations of the earth.

For all these things I feel well today; I feel happy, and I would that all the Saints could feel happy. “Well,” says one, “I would feel happy, if I could.” What is the reason you cannot be happy? Where is the evidence of the truth that the people are not happy in this country? Where are those who are not satisfied in this country? I do not believe that there is a dissatisfied soul in the whole length and breadth of the land where the Saints dwell that enjoys the Spirit of God. Why? Because here is the only place that man can live and enjoy the Spirit of God without restraint: here is the place where the peace, the bliss, the prospect of happiness can be cherished in the mind of man, free from restraint.

Well, then, this is the place in which to be happy. But shall we be protected? Shall we be preserved? Shall we be upheld? Shall we be sustained? I say, shall we continue to enjoy these blessings? This is a question that we may answer for ourselves.

“But,” says one, “has not President Kimball said that we should be victorious?” Yes, he has said it again and again, that we should, if we would but do right. This is why I say it is a question for us to answer for ourselves. Now, will we do right? What do we say within ourselves? What is the feeling that lives within us in relation to this matter? Will we do right? I have no doubt but what we may all think that we will do right.

If we conclude that we will all do right, let us make up our minds for the struggle; for it will require all our power. We are not going to do right without an effort; we will not attain to that which is right without an effort; neither will we retain the blessings when we have them without an effort, and one that is constant and unremitting—as constant as the life that we seek and the blessings that we calculate to secure to ourselves.

When we engage in this struggle, it should not be with half a purpose, nor with our affections divided; a part of our regards running out to the things that are around us, and that are but of little moment, without regard for God and his work and the consummation and perfection of our own salvation; but we should commence this struggle with all the energies of our souls concentrated upon this one point—that we will do right, and as fast as we learn the right, do it.

We have been told what it is to do right, and that is to learn the will of God and do it. We know the will of God in relation to a great many things, and you would think you were abused and underrated in relation to your knowledge, if you were told that you did not know how to do better than you sometimes do.

We know the will of God in relation to a great many things, because it has been sounded in our ears ever since we commenced in the work of God: it has been told us from day to day and from time to time.

You know that it is peace that we want. Our President has told us that he has sought for peace with our enemies. We have all desired peace with our enemies outside; but we shall not have peace in the complete sense of the term till we make it at home.

Have we made peace within ourselves and in our homes? Have we made peace in that territory over which we preside? Is the same unanimity of feeling, the same union, the same singleness of purpose developed within us, as individuals and families, that marks the action and the conduct of this great people when the public safety and the interests of the people require effort? When labour is to be performed or sacrifice to be made, and it is called for, is it made? Yes; the experience of the past few weeks shows this is the case. If you ask for men, they are on hand; if you ask for means, they are rendered without a grudge; they come freely, and then more than you have asked for.

What does this prove? Why, it proves that the feelings of unanimity exist in the body of this people. If this feeling exists to this extent in the mass of the people, one would suppose that it certainly would exist to a corresponding extent in individuals. Is this the case? Are we as ready to turn out, to make exertion, to lose sleep, to watch by night and by day, to weary ourselves again and again, that we may live acceptably before God—that we may bring ourselves into perfect subjection to the spirit of the Gospel that we have embraced—are we, I say, as ready to do these things as we would be to respond to the call to shoulder our guns and go into the mountains, as our brethren are doing and have done?

Are we willing, with the same hearty good feeling, with the same perseverance, to subject ourselves to the spirit of the Gospel and cultivate it within us with just as much industry, with as much indefatigable zeal as that with which we go into the mountains and labour by day, sleep out at night, and endure the weather, fair or foul, without grumbling, without fault-finding; so that our whole soul and our whole affections are in the cause? If we leave our homes for the love of God, and if we live our religion at home and honour the Gospel that we have embraced, what would it secure to us? It would secure to us a reward for all the difficulties, for all the losses that we have sustained. Would it save us from burning our dwellings and leaving the land covered with piles of smoking ruins? Yes; for this is the condition upon which we are promised these things.

I want to see the people go to work, as his servants have said, individually, throughout the length and breadth of this nation and kingdom of Israel, here in the valleys of the mountains. I want every man and every woman to say, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord,” and when we learn his will, then go to work and do it. I want you to commence a war of extermination on the evils that are between you and your God in claiming this promise.

I do not in my heart desire to see men, women, and children flee into the mountains. But we should be willing to go, remain here, or do whatever is required, and feel that in so doing we were doing the will of God.

How do you feel, brethren and sisters? Do you feel as though we would do right and keep the commandments of God, and claim the promises that have been made, us to-day, that, if we would do as we have been counselled, we should come and go, confront our enemies, and conquer them, and not many fall in the struggle.

[Blessed the sacramental cup.]

I presume that there is not a soul that belongs to the Church of the Saints, here or elsewhere, that feels a living interest in the prosperity of Zion, but what would wish that they might be enabled to pursue a course of life that would secure to them this blessing—that our brethren, a part of ourselves, those that are united to us by the ties of the Gospel, are called to go abroad to face our enemies, to be exposed as they may be to the chances of death, can secure this blessing and get the blessing and protection of our Heavenly Father.

Be perfect in your sphere; be constant, and you shall be preserved while in dangers that are around you, until you shall accomplish the object of your mission, return to us unscathed and unharmed, and rejoice in the blessings accruing from the victory gained.

Do you want this, mothers? Fathers, do you want this blessing? If you do, do as I have exhorted you this afternoon—put away everything from you that is evil, and cultivate the Spirit of truth within you, that your prayers may ascend up before God, and that they may be acceptable. Call down his protection upon the absent ones, as well as upon yourselves. Do not be careless—do not settle down in thoughtless indifference, thinking that because the servants of God have promised victory, that it must come, independently of your exertions. It is only upon this condition that safety is secured to you and to me, and that is, that we DO RIGHT.

It is only as the conditions are complied with, that the blessing is obtained; it is only as we live for them; it is only as we render ourselves worthy to receive, by the course of conduct that we pursue. This is the nature of the blessing that will come home to us; this is the blessing that our Father will bestow; and beyond this will we receive blessings? No. Well, then, have we not every reason to be faithful? Yes; and why? Because everything depends upon it.

Then, brethren and sisters, let us remember this brief lesson, and let us take it home with us when we go. “Well, then,” says one, “if we take it home with us, and do a requisite amount of praying, it will be right, will it not?” It will depend upon the way you pray. I want you to go home and pray acceptably; and, lest your prayers be hindered, be careful not to allow any spirit to live around you or in you that would not be pleasing in the sight of God.

Do not quarrel at home, because it will not do you any good. Now, that is reason enough. Do not cherish any bad feelings. “Why?” says one. Because they will not do you any good; and that should be reason enough. Do not allow yourself to do any wrong.

I want you to go home and do all the right that is required of you. You are only required to do right as far as you know what is right. You are not required to do right in the President’s place, nor for anybody but yourself. And the wrongs done by individuals, should they all be piled up until they made a pile that would reach the gates of the celestial city, would not justify you in a single wrong.

Then let us go home and turn aside this other calamity and this other chastisement that will come upon us if we do not do right. If we do not do right, the result will be that we shall have to suffer that which we are told: but we shall not suffer, if we will do right. If we do suffer, it will be because we have not done right; and we shall know in a few years whether we have done right or whether we have not.

If I could live for all the Saints or for anybody else besides myself—if I had any time that did not need to be occupied for myself, I would not mind doing right for others; but I cannot for I have only time enough to do the good that I am required to do myself, in order to do my share in this work: therefore I want you to do your share.

You, each one, do your piece of work; carry it to your firesides, to your fields; keep it with you, so that it may be in you all the time. Keep your face Zionward every day and every night and all the time that shall be allotted to you; and when you will all do this, what will be done? Why, we shall secure an insurance against the destruction of the comforts that are around us and desolating our country. If we are not forced to desolate our country, there is one thing that is certain—our enemies will not occupy it; they will not dwell in it, and it will not be cursed by their running over it.

If these are not inducements for us to live our religion, I do not know what are. It appears to me that they should be sufficient to secure the interest and the affections of every man and woman that has a knowledge of the truth.

This is a point that I feel particularly and specially interested about: I care but little about big things or mysterious things. If we can only, as a people, take hold of these small matters that affect us at our home, which, if not attended to, will roll obstacles between us and our God, and then ask God our Heavenly Father to do for us as we would do for each other—to bless us as we want to be blessed—to be charitable to us as we are charitable to each other—merciful to us as we are merciful to one another, what will be the result. If we always do these things, there will never be anything in the way of our prayers.

But if we withhold our hand, and do not bless our brethren and sisters as we should, will God hear us when we pray to him? I tell you he will not. We might pray until we were so hoarse that we could not speak; we might pray in thundertones, till our prayers could be heard from one end of the continent to the other, and still he would not listen to us.

He has told us what spirit we should pray in and how we should act towards those around us. Then let us go and cultivate these things in our homes, in our family circles; for this is the most effectual way to carry out these principles.

If all the men in the Territory or three-fourths of them are called away, do they quarrel? No. Some of them write home to me and say they have been for ten days assembled together in a motley crowd of four or five hundred men, in circumstances not near so comfortable as those by which we are surrounded here at home; and there has not been a sign of difference or of contention or quarrelling in their midst.

Well, is this a sign that everything is all right in Zion? I do not know. I wish that the same feeling pervaded the circle of every family in the mountains that pervades those brethren in the mountains. Well, sisters, cannot you help to make it so? You can. You have been told how to make it so. Be charitable to one another’s faults, just as you would be charitable to your children, or as you would wish God to be charitable to you. When you pray, ask God to do as you would have others do. And, as you think it would be good for God and angels to do, and as you would have others do, even so do yourself.

If you go home and do that way, whether it is in the domestic circle, or whether it is in the more extended circles of your associations in life, there will be a peaceable, happifying influence around and within you, and that influence will extend from you to others.

You come to the Tabernacle and enjoy the Spirit of peace and of truth that is here—the Spirit of God. Well, now, you ought to enjoy that Spirit, the Spirit of peace, just as much at home as anywhere else: you should have it there all the time. There is a fruitful field for the cultivation of practical purity and virtue, that is as imperishable as truth itself, that will render you secure in that victory that is anticipated in the conquest before us. Let us not be found delinquent; in the duties that are enjoined upon us.

That you and I may be enabled to attend faithfully to our duties is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Extent of the Latter-day Work, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 25, 1857.

We have heard considerable preaching this morning; and to me, what we have heard is full of pith and marrow.

This people are to the world an object of derision and hatred; to God, of care and pity. There are but few of us, when we compare ourselves with the rest of the inhabitants of the earth. We now have a day of trial. It has been observed that the Saints feel well: they never felt better.

Some present may not know that my oldest and my youngest brothers have been preaching to-day. There are but three boys between those two, and we are all here on hand.

As has been observed by brother John, my eldest brother, this is the first time that we have ever had the privilege of doing anything, only submitting to our enemies. Now, for the first time since this Church was organized, we are in a position for defending those rights common to all American citizens; and our true and lawful course to abide by the Constitution of the United States in the defence of those rights will probably give the wicked a pretext for complaint; so that in measuring out oppression to us, our enemies will have a new set of pretexts, instead of feasting on infernal lies so much as they have hitherto done.

Colonel Alexander accuses us of what he terms a very uncivilized method of warfare. If we are to do as they do, we shall have to get drunk, to swear, to quarrel, to lie, and believe in lies, and indulge in many other like traits of civilization, in order to be prepared to act as they do. I do not know anything about those men that are now in the mountains, only in the capacity of a mob. I have no business to know them as anything else, neither shall I, until I have been officially notified that the Government of the United States wishes to send troops here and build stations.

I suppose that the boys have annoyed them a good deal; but at the same time, I would much rather clothe them and feed them, if they would agree to go back in the spring and leave us in peace, as they found us. We are obliged to maintain our rights; for every blackleg, horse thief, counterfeiter, and abominable character are united with the hireling priests and lying editors and wicked leaders of our Government to falsely accuse the “Mormons,” with a view to our destruction. Can they now truly accuse them of anything? Yes—of burning up a little grass, as brother Attwood told them, when they asked him why we burnt the grass—“ That we may have a better crop next year,” which you are aware is customary in prairie regions. We have done that; therefore our enemies can now concentrate their power to shoot at the target they have compelled us to raise in self-defence, whereas heretofore they have shot without an object to fire at.

There is one thing in particular with regard to this people—they prove their faith by their work; and there is no other way for us to prove it. While brother John was speaking of the labour of this people to preach and send the Gospel to the nations of the earth, I thought that, take us as a people in this day, in the situation we have been in, and then look over the history of the Church of the living God on the earth from the days of Adam until now, and I will ensure that you cannot find the equal to the excessive labour of the Elders of Israel in our day in spreading the truth through the world to save mankind. I have no idea that it was done in the days of Enoch; for the human family had then spread over the earth but little, and the Elders did not have to travel scores of thousands of miles without purse or scrip among the wicked. So also in the days of Noah: they had but a short distance to travel. In the days of the Israelites, of the Prophets, of Jesus Christ, and the Apostles, what was their labour in the extent of its field, compared with that of this people? Very small. You may trace the course of their travel, and you will find that it was far less than that of the Elders of Israel in our day.

We have laboured diligently, and suffered everything but death to preach the Gospel to our fellow beings; and thousands of our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, children, and connections have gone into their graves through their sufferings, from being robbed of everything we had, and scattered, to find shelter where we best could. Are we going to suffer it any more? No, God being our helper. We are perfectly free, on condition that we do right; and upon that condition we never will be in bondage again.

You will recollect that this is the first time that this Church can say, “We are free.” Do we wish to be free from the United States Constitution? No. There is not a word in it but what we can subscribe to with all our hearts. Do we wish to be free from the laws of the United States? No. They are as good laws as we can ask for. Neither do we wish for any better laws than are the most of those enacted in Missouri and Illinois. What, then, was the difficulty with this people? Magistrates, sheriffs, constables, military officers, &c, walked those laws under their feet, and trampled upon them as a thing of naught, in order to get at this people and drive them from their hard-earned homes. I have said, and say it again, if those laws had been executed, they would have hung Governor Boggs and Governor Ford, with many others, between the heavens and the earth, or shot them as traitors to the Government. It is not the laws and the Constitution of our country that we wish to be free from, but it is from the power of those who profess to be law-makers and law-executors, but who trample every wholesome law under their feet.

We are now as free from them as is the mountain air we breathe; and we could wipe the few enemies now in our borders out of existence in a very short time, if I would give the word to do so. But they will judge themselves out of their own mouths and receive their just reward at the hands of him whom they have listed to obey. I believe the Lord has wisdom enough to make them destroy themselves—though, if it were left to me solely, under the guidance of the spirit pertaining to man, probably I should have had them in eternity before now. But the Lord dictates, governs, and controls: I do not, neither do I wish to.

It is said that if we do right we shall overcome. I will tell you one mark you have got to come to, in order to do right. If you can bring yourselves, in your affections, your feelings, your passions, your desires, and all that you have in your organization, to submit to the hand of the Lord, to his providences, and acknowledge his hand in all things, and always be willing that he should dictate, though it should take your houses, your property, your wives and children, your parents, your lives, or anything else you have upon the earth, then you will be exactly right; and until you come to that point, you cannot be entirely right. That is what we have to come to; we have to learn to submit ourselves to the Lord with all our hearts, with all our affections, wishes, desires, passions, and let him reign and rule over us and within us, the God of every motion: then he will lead us to victory and glory; otherwise he will not.

Brother John referred to some persons receiving revelations. I say to such persons, Go ahead, and get all the revelations you can. If brother Joseph visits you every night, go ahead, and tell him to bring brother Hyrum, father Smith, Don Carlos Smith, St. Paul, Peter, James, and John, and Jesus Christ, if you can induce him to do so. But I could almost lay my hand on that Bible and swear that the man or woman who gets such revelations has been guilty of adultery, or of theft, or has been rebellious and apostatized in feelings, but has come back again, and now professes to have such revelations. Hell is full of such revelations; and I could almost testify that a man or woman who receives them has been guilty of some outrageous crime. I have had men come to me and tell the wonderful great dreams and visions which they have, when those very persons have apostatized heretofore, have denied their God and their religion; and I knew it. Many come to me and tell me what wonderful visions they have—that their minds are open to eternal things—that they can see visions of eternity open before them and understand all about this kingdom—many of whom have at some time been guilty of betraying their brethren, or committing some atrocious crime. I never notice them much. I sit and hear them talk about their wonderful knowledge, but it passes in and out of my ears like the sound of the wind. It is for me to see to this kingdom, that it is built up, and to preserve the Saints from the grasp of the enemy. The visions of the class I have mentioned are nothing to me. They may exhibit their great knowledge before me; but when they have done, it is all gone from me.

Some are very anxious that I should have visions. I have all that the Lord gives to me; and all that he keeps back he may; for that is no concern of mine. We are on the old ship Zion; and if God is not at the helm, the old ship will wreck and go to the Devil. As for my taking charge of the kingdom of God on the earth, exclusively and independently of direction from heaven, I shall not do any such thing. If the Lord does not direct the old ship and act as captain and pilot, it will go to destruction, and I care not how quick.

He is at the helm, and will stay there. If you and I will bring our feelings to the point I have just spoken of, he will continue to guide the welfare of Zion and all its rights.

All is right. Sing hallelujah; for the Lord is here. He dictates, guides, and directs. If the people will have implicit confidence in their God, never forsake their covenants nor their God, he will guide us right, and we are free as the air of these mountains. The yoke of the wicked is off, and I am determined it shall stay off.

If any man or woman in Utah wants to leave this community, come to me, and I will treat you kindly, as I always have, and will assist you to leave; but after you have left our settlements, you must not then depend upon me any longer, nor upon the God I serve; you must meet the doom you have laboured for. If any wish to go away, come to me and I will assist you to go in peace and safety to the army or anywhere else; but if you come again with bitter feelings to this Territory, we shall meet you as we would a mob.

After this season, when this ignorant army has passed off, I shall never again say to a man, “Stay your rifle-ball,” when our enemies assail us; but shall say, “Slay them where you find them.” But the army that are now upon our borders are in ignorance, and know not what they are doing, nor the spirit that prompts them, or they would ere now have been visited with swift destruction. On account of their ignorance and their being sent by rotten demagogues and corrupt speculators, I feel like letting them alone, unless they turn to come here; which if they do, sleep will depart from their eyes and slumber from their eyelids until they sleep the sleep of death or beg quarters at our hands—God being our helper.

I do not altogether know why I should not feel it right to slay them where they are. But I do not; consequently, I withhold; and if that course should be right, I believe it will be manifested to me; and if it is not so manifested to me, and anybody else can know of a surety and will take the responsibility, go ahead.

I have joy and comfort in seeing this people trying to live up to the spirit of their religion—to the spirit of the Gospel; and I should be glad to see the spirit of reformation continue among them. I would be pleased to have it within myself, and do better than I now do, or do more, or do something I do not do. But unless the Lord will reveal to me something more than he has, I cannot do any better than I am doing; for I do not know how. I have done as well as I could since I have been in this kingdom. I can hardly refer to the time when I have not done the best I knew how, and I can hardly refer to the time when I put my hand to do a thing unless I knew it to be right.

I am not a visionary character nor subject to excitement in my feelings. My life, you know, is an even continuation; and I hope it will be until I lay down this tabernacle. If we take this course and trust in the Lord, he may send armies here or not, call upon us to fight, or let us raise grain, build houses, &c., or send us to the nations; it matters not. If we bring our feelings to this, we shall never be brought into bondage to the wicked again; but we will be free.

Do you not know, brethren, that the day will come of which the Lord says, “For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron;” and yet if those things were now delivered into our hands, there would be selfishness. I have seen that spirit manifested, and I am afraid of it. I am more afraid of covetousness in our Elders than I am of the hordes of hell. Have we men out now of that class? I believe so. I am afraid of such spirits; for they are more powerful and injurious to this people than all hell outside of our borders. All our enemies in the United States or in the world, and all hell with them marshalled against us, could not do us the injury that covetousness in the hearts of this people could do us; for it is idolatry.

As brother John observed, one devil can keep all Babylon in confusion continually, because they are already so wicked; but it takes armies of devils to take care of the Saints, lest they overcome the kingdoms of darkness. The Devil’s forces are particularly marshalled against us. If I can contend against the powers of darkness and get this people to control themselves so as to have no principle or feeling about them only to do the will of our Father in heaven, I do not fear all hell. Were all the United States arrayed against us in these mountains, I would rather have ten men who are Saints, and will do more with them to overcome all our outside enemies than this whole people, with their affections not sanctified to the Lord. Do you understand that, ye Saints? Or is it to you like some visions that are told to me—going in at one ear and out at the other? We, as a people, will be chastened until we can wholly submit ourselves to the Lord and be Saints indeed. May God bless you! Amen.

Privileges of the Saints—Trials, etc.

Orson Hyde

A discourse by Elder Orson Hyde, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, October 25, 1857.

I arise to make a few remarks to you, and I do it with a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction.

I feel, in the first place, to express my gratitude to God for the privileges that we enjoy, that we are permitted to meet together and hear instructions from time to time, by which our minds may be fortified against evil, that we may receive strength to resist the powers of darkness and every evil principle that may suggest itself to our minds. I trust that our hearts have become so softened by the power of truth and so opened by its blessed influence, that we are prepared to receive any impression which the truth may be calculated to make upon us, that it may affect us to the glory of our Heavenly Father.

I feel thankful that we are blessed with gifts and qualifications in our midst that can set right and give a proper tone to all things that go forth from us, so that we are not left to spell out our own course by the limited light and intelligence that we possess.

We have not only the Spirit of God in our own hearts to guide us in the path of duty, of principle, and of doctrine, if we live our religion; but we have the Spirit of God also in our President to set us right when wrong. I feel thankful that we are looked after with such an anxious and watchful eye—with an eye to our happiness and wellbeing and to our future exaltation.

I hope that we shall appreciate these gifts while we have them—that we shall profit by them, and do all in our power to preserve them unimpaired in our midst, that we may long derive benefit from such sources. To be sure, it is a day of trial to the Saints; and yet it is a matter of gratification to see that the Saints, as a general thing, take their trials so calmly, and to see that they are willing to pass through the fiery ordeal; for we know that the final issue will be glorious, and we shall see the desire of our souls and be satisfied.

This proves that we are satisfied with our lot and that we are living our religion in a goodly degree; and I hope and trust that the good Spirit that seems to prevail in our midst will be cultivated and its dictates carried out, that we may do nothing to grieve it away from us, but be ready to follow its suggestions—to fulfil its requirements and the requirements of those that preside over us. It is a day of trial to us; but our trials are light, and the test that we are subjected to is but light, compared with the final test to which we shall be subjected when the Son of Man shall be revealed from heaven, taking vengeance upon them that know not God and obey not the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I have mentioned once or twice concerning the trials that await the Saints at that time. We look forward to the day when the Son of Man shall come in his glory as the greatest event and most sublime display of power and glory that were ever beheld by mortal eye; and it is requisite that we should be prepared for that scene. We shall be prepared, if we listen to the Spirit of the Lord as it is manifesting itself, and so continue to do during our probation here; for the Son of Man shall be revealed in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the Gospel. The Prophet asks the question, “Who can dwell with devouring fire or with everlasting burnings?” He answers and says, He that has clean hands and a pure heart; he can dwell with devouring fire.

We are to be operated upon by the Holy Ghost, and undergo such a material change by its power that we can abide the day of burning in which the Son of God will be revealed with the same comfort that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did in the fiery furnace. They were cast into that devouring element and moved as pleasantly and as agreeably as the fish moves in the sea, its native element. When that day comes, it will be made to appear who is pure; for it will bear upon every individual; and those who are not right and pure will be devoured and destroyed. If we are faithful, we can abide that day and feel that we are wrapped in nothing more than in a blaze of glory, because we shall be prepared for it. But if we do not live our religion, we shall be consumed in that day; and it will be a day that no creature can dodge. Hypocrisy and deceit will then be no shield. Pure and unadulterated goodness alone will enable us to stand in that day. We shall then know who possesses the qualifications of Saints, and who does not; and we shall have to be tested, and that strongly, compared with that to which we are now subjected. The two will be so different, so widely apart from each other, that we cannot now imagine the difference.

But I do not know that it is profitable to go on so far ahead and picture out the tests or trials that we may be subjected to; yet still it may be necessary to show what we shall have to possess and guard against, that we may be ready for the day of exaltation.

At that time, we are informed that the wicked will call for the rocks to fall on them and hide them from the presence of him that sitteth upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. Why will they do this? If the flaming fire has the same effect as we may suppose it will have, it will be very natural for them to call upon the rocks to hide them from the face of the Lord. They will prefer this to standing the test. This will be the cry, “Fall upon us, ye rocks, and hide us from this terrible test.” But the rocks and mountains hear them not! The ungodly must be consumed by the devouring fire. There are stepping-stones to this test; and when we get to that point, that will be no greater trial than the present is now. It will not be any greater stumbling-block to us; it will be no more terrible than our present trial, if we live our religion; for we shall be prepared.

Brethren and sisters, we not only have the evidence that I spoke of this forenoon, but we have more. I desired, in my remarks this morning, to point out to the sinner and to the ungodly, if you please, or to those that do not belong to the Church; I wanted to show that they possess evidence in themselves—that they have it in their own hearts and in their own feelings, that this is the work of God; I wished to convince them that God had given them a testimony, that they might know for themselves. He has so ordered things that hypocrites and false-hearted individuals might know for themselves that this is the work of God and that he would accomplish it in his own way. For this reason he said that “sinners in Zion should be afraid, and fearfulness surprise the hypocrite,” and that they should go away; they should leave because they are afraid for their own persons; they are afraid for their property; they are afraid because the atmosphere that surrounds the servants of God is not congenial with their unhallowed natures, and they are fearful. This evidence is in their own hearts, and when they go, they carry the lighted candle of evidence with them.

There are some who have been acquainted with the Church from place to place and from time to time. There are some that have followed all the time, and they can neither take hold of it nor throw it away. Have they not had testimony that this is the work of God—that this is the truth of heaven? Has not the Holy Spirit raised convictions in their minds that this is the truth of God? Have they not been convicted of its truth? I will venture to say that they have been pungently convicted, and they have had all the lies that the Devil could put them in possession of and help them to, in order to resist the force of truth. Why have they not yielded obedience to the laws of the kingdom of God and taken upon them the yoke of Christ? It does seem to me that persons holding that position are ready to turn to the enemy or to any other quarter as may best suit their interests and circumstances. They are on the top of the fence, and rather leaning over to our enemies’ side. “He that is not for us is against us.”

It does sometimes appear that unwise persons not guided by the Spirit of God should take a course, with some such hangers-on, to make them take sides, one way or the other—to compel them to take to their own convictions before God, or else go away.

We find that God will overrule all actions that are performed, even injudiciously, to the best good and to the perfection of his people who trust in him, and to the best good of those also who would hang on, yet neither enter themselves nor let anybody else enter. Now, there are individuals that will not come into the Church themselves; and if they can lay a stumblingblock in the way of their friends, they will do it. They will say to a Gentile, or to a person who may be favourably impressed with the truth, “We have never joined the Church, and there is no particular need of it. We may appear friendly to the society, but not join it. Then we are under no rules or restrictions, and may do as we please.”

We read a man’s character and feelings by his actions. You have been acquainted so long, and the truth has made so small an impression that it shows there is no real love there for it. Such individuals are even ready to talk to those who come in here and to bias their minds, and then they come to the conclusion that this is not the work of God; for they conclude that those persons who have talked to them, having had such opportunities, must know.

If such individuals should have a jog that would knock their sensibilities into them, I do not know but God would work it for their good. I believe it is said that all things shall work together for good to those that love God and keep his commandments. We have convictions of those things; we are confident that all shall work for our good, not only in our hearts, but when we can see wisdom manifested that is evidently manifested by the hand of a superior being; but we cannot but acknowledge the hand of God. We have the testimony in our hearts of the truth, and what we feel and see all the time should stimulate us to cling to the Lord with all our hearts, might, mind, and strength.

The Saints in former days had a great deal to overcome; they had not only their weaknesses, but they had armies to overcome; and we find they put to flight the armies of the aliens. They had many trials. They were clad in sheep-skins, and goat-skins. Inasmuch as we believe that the cattle upon a thousand hills belong to the Lord, I do not know but that their very hides may be dressed, and we wear them instead of broadcloth. Well, now, those skins properly dressed, as I have seen some specimens in this town, may be our clothing when we get into the hills, and they will last some time to go through the mountains. Necessity, we say, is the mother of invention. The sisters may ask what they shall do for petticoats? I can tell you. (Voice: Let the women wear pantaloons.) Necessity being the mother of invention, we will seek them out something suitable; we have got common sense, and a good deal more too, if we will live our religion. Our father went to work and made coats of skins; and I suppose that mother Eve had a coat of skins as well as father Adam. But whether hers was a petticoat, we are not told.

We have been talking about the ancient order being restored; and if we live to return to that order, we shall live to be dressed in the skins of animals. I do not know how these things may be, but yet we judge, if we are driven to such necessity, we may have to adopt that style.

Let us prepare our minds for all things and to live where and when others may perish and die. We have got to learn that when the day of burning comes to be ready to live upon the barren rocks, where others would starve to death. If we get wisdom to live where they would perish, then we shall be the more completely independent. Thank God, we are beyond their reach. The Almighty God in his wisdom and kindness has given us understanding, and I have every reason to believe that he will deliver us and provide for us, if we live our religion and cleave unto him; for I tell you that some of the most simple things will be for our deliverance, and at the same time for the destruction of our enemies; and we can do all that is required, by his hand helping us. We are nothing of ourselves; but when we are inspired by the Almighty and take such a course as will give us confidence in God, we cannot perish. Then we have reason to rejoice and be glad.

Here is the evidence that this is the work of God. I remarked to brother Hardy, to-day, that last winter we preached some strong things in his ward (12th ward). Myself, brother Hardy, the Bishop, and brother Joseph A. Young doubled teams; and I then said, Where will these things lead us? I did not stop long to reflect; but, said I, we have the Spirit of God, and it will be all right; and I feel more satisfied now that his arm will bear us off triumphant. At that time fearfulness began to take hold upon the hypocrite, and we saw that sinners began to tremble and fearfulness to surprise the hypocrite. I tell you, perfect love casteth out all fear, if fear has no place in us; for our love for the truth casteth out all fear.

“Fear not, little flock,” says Jesus, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” I believe it is said in one revelation, “Unto you the kingdom has been given, and power to overcome all things that are not ordained of God.” I believe it is said so, in so many words, that you shall have power to overcome all that has not been ordained of God. What more can we ask for? Power has been given us, that that power may be in us, that it may be as a flaming fire; and I tell you the Almighty will be in us by his Spirit; he will go before us and clear the track. He does not require us to do anything without his first clearing the track, preparing the way for us to accomplish it.

That Zion is free is a satisfaction to the sons of light and causes joy in their hearts. In fact, we have lived so long under the Priesthood, that I, for one, do not want to live under any other government. If it is necessary, however, to take some other along, as the man did who made the stone soup, by putting in everything necessary to make the soup rich, palatable, and nutritious, before he put in the stone, concluding that the stone might give a favourite name to the soup, without; imparting to it any injurious flavour or quality, I shall not object.

However, I will tell you that the government of God is the only legitimate government upon the earth; and when he reckons with nations, rulers, and privates, he will pronounce all guilty of “high treason” who have opposed his kingdom, fought against his Saints, or in any manner interrupted them in the execution of his mandates. Then let us contend for the rights of our Sovereign, the God of heaven and earth, and for the rights of his kingdom. And may God in his mercy shield us by his all-powerful arm, and may we live so that his angels won’t be far off; but that we may have their aid and their cooperation!

Brethren and sisters, may God bless you! And I feel in my soul to bless you and to bless all that bless Zion. But let the wrath of God be upon the Mother of Harlots, and upon all that wish evil to Zion; and may the Lord God be round about his Saints, and his wisdom be manifested conspicuously in all their movements, is my prayer. Amen.

Religious Worship a Natural and Universal Principle, etc.

George A. Smith

A discourse by Elder George A. Smith, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, November 1, 1857.

Our Father who is in heaven has placed us in this world in the present generation, and has placed before us laws and principles by which we may obtain exaltation and celestial glory.

In the acquisition of any department of science, the laws thereof must be ascertained and the application properly made, or it is not in our power to become acquainted with its branches, so as to master it and realize the benefit of its effects. So, also, in entering into the kingdom of the Most High God, we enter by a door preparatory; and, to all those who have been traditioned in the false religions of the present age, this door seems to be but little understood.

I have watched the movements of persons coming into the Church of Christ from sectarian churches for many years, and I discover that they are almost entirely enveloped in a kind of cast-iron shell; and it is with the greatest of difficulty that they divest themselves of it—of their prejudices and traditions. It is the work of years; and although many come into this Church while young, without an extensive knowledge of sectarian principles, yet such is the force of tradition, even in them, that they have to stop, consider, and question whether principles are really true and received from a proper source, or whether they are false.

There is a feeling in the human breast to reverence something. We find it among the untutored savages; we find it among what are denominated the heathen nations—among those who are considered pagans, bowing down to worship images, the workmanship of their own hands.

I had the pleasure, while in the States, of being subject to the Sabbath-keeping rules of the railroad company. I wished very devoutly to have the privilege of spending my time with the Saints in Saint Louis: but, to avoid travelling on the Sabbath, the railroad decree had gone forth that we should not leave Chicago; so, on the Sabbath, I went to Saint Mary’s Cathedral for the purpose of hearing a Catholic discourse.

I was there gratified by hearing a very eloquent gentleman explain the reason why the paintings, crucifixion, and emblems of this kind are used in the Catholic churches. He said that it was not understood with them that a person bowing before a likeness or a picture of a saint did so with the intention of worshipping that saint or picture; but that the design was to inspire in the heart of the worshipper a disposition to emulate the virtuous deeds and good actions of that saint. Hence, said the orator, a portrait of the Virgin Mary, placed in a proper position where females, especially the young, can come before it and offer their adorations, inspires in their minds chaste and virtuous ideas, holy thoughts, pure principles, and ardent desires to live as perfectly, to be as humble, and to observe the laws of righteousness as fully as did the virgin whose picture they stand before.

I bring this up simply to illustrate the principle upon which the Catholics answer the objections raised by the Protestant world against the use of images, &c., in their churches, thus accusing them of idolatry.

There are reasons well known to every reader of history why pictures were introduced into the Catholic churches. Although they assign for this the reasons given by the eloquent gentleman in St. Mary’s Cathedral, Chicago; yet they were not originally used in the Catholic churches nor in any of the Christian churches previous to their becoming mixed with Romanism.

When it took its origin, the empire of Rome was both a religious and a political institution: its emperors and senators had attached to them sacred authority; and their religion embodied within it the power, perfection, and consolidated union of the pagan institutions of that age, which consisted in a series of systems of idolatry.

Hence, by order of the government, temples were dedicated particularly to their god of peace, to be opened in the time of peace and to be shut in the time of war; temples were also dedicated to the god of war, to be opened in time of war and closed in time of peace; for at certain times the gods of peace and plenty were to be invoked; at other times the god of war was to be courted.

The Christian religion silently advanced until it became a power to be courted by men who thirsted for dominion. When Constantine got possession of the throne, the empire had become to a considerable extent Christianized, and it became necessary to do something to consolidate the feelings of the whole. To destroy idols entirely would be taken with a bad grace by the higher order of the Roman people. In order to meet this difficulty, Constantine substituted pictures instead of idols. Instead of the statue of Minerva, he had the picture of the Virgin; instead of a temple dedicated to Jupiter, a church dedicated to St. Peter; instead of a statue of Apollo, a likeness of some of the Apostles, or of some saint or personage, imaginary or real; thus completely co-mingling the Christian religion with idolatry. Then men started up to assign reasons for this, and these reasons were presented in the eloquent style of the address I heard in St. Mary’s Cathedral.

Heathen and pagan idols are built for the same purpose. You ask the priest of a heathen temple if the real intent is to worship that stone or that image of gold, silver, brass, or iron, and he would tell you that it was only a representative of something—that you could not see the real god, and the image was introduced as a substitute.

Among the early inhabitants of the world who rejected the true religion, many began to pay their adoration to the sun, moon, stars, &c. These soon adopted personages that they considered would represent the objects of the adoration. Hence, we find Jupiter is represented as the king of gods, or as the god of thunder, more particularly—the thunder, representing his weapon, being the most powerful agent they had any idea of; and his image or statue was worshipped by the early inhabitants of the earth as the representative of that power. There was generally attached to these deities an idea of terror.

In studying the principles of mythology held by the Greeks, who are considered the most classical people of early ages, we discover that to almost everything they associated the idea of terror; hence, when a man passed from this world to the next, they considered it necessary to place a little change in his coffin to pay his passage across the river Styx. They had a personage named Charon, who, in their mythology, operated as ferryman; and the very moment the spirit of the dead crossed the river, it came in contact with a dog, Cerberus, with three heads, and, instead of hair, covered with snakes: that dog answered as watchman to keep the departed spirit from returning to the abodes of men.

The human imagination was tortured to bring up the most hideous pictures. In following these imaginations, they had a variety of detail; and in these we find that scarcely any two writers agree. The Greeks were about as united in the worship of their gods as the Christians are who profess to worship Jesus. They went in, however, for worshipping all the deities, and some of them to a great extreme.

For instance, go to Athens, in the day of its glory, as did the Apostle Paul, and you might see the statues of all the gods of the ancients; and, among the rest, an altar to the “unknown God.” There was a God they did not know; but they were determined to hit every case and be prepared to worship everybody, like the man in a storm at sea—it was good Lord and good Devil with him, for he knew not. in whose hands he should fall: therefore, to be sure that they worshipped all, they set up an altar to the unknown God, that, if they should fall into his hands, they could claim that they had worshipped him; and that is about the sum and substance of the so-called Christian worship of the present age.

You may go into any society of people, almost, and ask them what they worship, and they would as soon tell you they worship the unknown God as not. You may take up their creeds, and they give it out that they worship a God that has neither body, parts, nor passions, and yet has three persons. Their ideas are so perfectly confused, and their knowledge so supremely ridiculous on this subject, as to make it clear to those enlightened by the Holy Ghost that they are entirely ignorant and totally in the dark on this matter. They must have made their creeds without thinking whether the words composing them had meaning or not.

When I was 18 years of age, I was sent on a mission preaching the Gospel. I called one Sabbath to see a friend of the Baptist persuasion. The old gentleman wanted I should go to the Baptist meeting with him. As I had no appointment until evening, I went with him. I had not been there a great while before he made an effort to have them let me preach. They, however, did not feel disposed. Their minister was gone, and one of the deacons got up and read an old-fashioned, close-communion, dry chip-and-porridge sermon; and besides the deacon being a miserable, poor reader, I was not very much interested.

When the meeting was dismissed, the deacon came up to me, and asked me where I lived. I told him; and I in return enquired of him what church that was. He said it was the Church of Christ. Said I, “What Apostle built it?”

“The Apostle Paul,” he replied.

I said I was not aware that Paul had been in this country preaching and building up churches.

“Well,” said he, “it was built up upon his doctrine.”

“Indeed,” said I: “what Apostle presides. over it?”

“We don’t have any in these days.”

“Then it is not the Church of God.”

“Yes, it is,” said he;” Apostles and Prophets are done away.”

“Not so,” said I; and I drew out the New Testament and read, “God hath set in his church first Apostles,” &c. “Now,” said I, “the very fact of there not being Apostles and Prophets in your Church proves that it is not the Church of God; and I don’t want anything to do with it.”

Says he, “You are a strange follow [fellow]: I never thought of that before.”

I told him to read the Scriptures, and said, “You may for ever read such sermons as you have been reading to-day, and they will keep you blind. Unless there is a principle in the organization of the Church inspired from the Almighty—unless there is an authority that is governed by the power of God and his Spirit, men might just as well worship dumb idols, the fancy gods of the ancient heathen, or the pictures of the Catholics, as to go to meeting or perform any other kind of worship. If you undertake to go to any place, you have got to take the right road: you must start right. If you start wrong, you are sure to come out wrong; and the further you go in a wrong direction, the further you are off the starting-point.”

I have heard it said, in the course of my travels, that if persons think they are right, they are right—that if persons are only sincere, all will come out well. That may answer for people to talk about who know they are wrong, and are trying to carry themselves into the idea that it is just as well to be wrong as right. But if we wish to enter the kingdom of heaven, we have to enter by the door; for, says the Saviour, “I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall have life.”

But suppose you enter through somebody else; where has the idea originated that there is the least possible prospect of coming out right from starting wrong? Suppose a man should start to the States, but instead of that he makes his way into the Western desert, saying, “It don’t make any difference which way I go;” what would be the result? He would wander in the desert and perish. Suppose a man, in attempting to serve the Lord, by mistake should serve the Devil; is the Lord going to reward him for serving the Devil? Not at all.

When Joseph Smith commenced to proclaim to the world the truth, the way of life and salvation, in the manner he was inspired of the Lord to do, every religious denomination, Protestant, idolater, or what not, the moment they heard of it, commenced a dismal howl of “False prophet! False teacher! Imposture! Deception!” &c. Why? Because there was a light directly from the Almighty; a man had come forth that taught in the name of the Lord; a personage bore testimony of the plan of salvation, that would actually overthrow, dissolve, use up, annihilate, and destroy everything that did not come from God.

“Well,” says the old priest, “if this goes abroad, what will be the result? The people will see the light, the true doctrine, and they will quit coming to my meeting and paying me for preaching; and I cannot grunt and groan over them and play the hypocrite with them any longer; and I shall have to go and get an honest living: I will therefore stir up the people to kill and destroy the man.”

This was the spirit and design of every one over whom the spirit of the Devil had dominion. The very instant the first message of truth began to be proclaimed to the children of men, all the devils in hell and all the devils on earth and the spirits of demons were stirred up, and went to work at once to frustrate, destroy, and overthrow this work.

“Where did you get your authority?” say they.

By the inspiration of the Almighty the holy Priesthood was conferred, and we were ordained to the Apostleship and Priesthood to go forth and preach to you the plan of salvation. Where did you get your authority?

“It came down from the ancient Apostles, through the Church of Rome, and by the way of the Waldenses,” says the Baptist, or by the way of the Reformers.

But were not those reformers expelled by the Church of Rome?

“Yes.”

If they, then, had their authority from the Church of Rome, that Church must have had the power also to divest them of that authority. If we admit that the Romish Church had this power and authority, we must go back there to find it; and if we take that testimony, it proves that all the reformers have no authority.

The Baptists attempt to show that their authority came through Waldo. Who was this Waldo? He was a merchant, and hired a man to translate for him the four books of the Gospel. He went to preaching without any inspiration, revelation, or light from heaven: he had only the light which he could discern from the translation made by an excommunicated monk. He was zealous and doubtless honest in his intentions, but without the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, Priesthood, or authority from God.

Now, as I said before, if you start wrong, you will be wrong all the way. Without a messenger from God, with. out the revelation of the Most High, it is all folly and useless to attempt to follow the Saviour. It is written, “If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him.”

The Saviour said, “If any man will be my disciple, let him take up his cross and follow me.” You may follow all the men and devils in the world; but, unless you follow Christ, you cannot be his disciple; and the more men and devils you follow, the worse you are off.

When we talk about following Christ, we hear it said that we should believe in him with all our hearts, repent of our sins, and be baptised for the remission of them. Before the Saviour commenced his mission on the earth, he went to Jordan to be baptised, that he might set an example for us to follow. Take any other track, and you go wrong. The right track is the only plan, the only design, and the only intention that can bring us to the enjoyment of salvation; and it is not only in starting right that salvation depends, but when we start it is necessary to continue to the end.

Now, it is plain and reasonable to me why it is that the nations of the earth seek to destroy the Saints. They pretend that the Bible is their platform, and it condemns them on every page, both their doctrines and practices. In order to maintain their false systems, they have created a kind of aristocracy, called Priesthood, who are hired to explain away the sayings of the sacred book. By this means, having itching ears, they have heaped to themselves teachers to turn away their ears from the truth unto fables.

These false teachers have a strong hold on the minds of the people; the rulers bear rule by their means, and most of the people love to have it so. If anybody comes to change this order of things, almost every man is up in arms against him. They are so perfectly organized that it takes but a few devils to keep them in subjection.

This makes me think of an old Chinese fable. A man travelling through the country came to a large city, very rich and splendid; he looked at it and said to his guide, “This must be a very righteous people, for I can only see but one little devil in this great city.”

The guide replied, “You do not understand, sir. This city is so perfectly given up to wickedness, corruption, degradation, and abomination of every kind, that it requires but one devil to keep them all in subjection.”

Travelling on a little further, he came to a rugged path and saw an old man trying to get up the hill side surrounded by seven great, big, coarse-looking devils.

“Why,” says the traveller, “this must be a tremendously wicked old man! Only see how many devils there are around him!”

“This,” replied the guide, “is the only righteous man in the country; and there are seven of the biggest devils trying to turn him out of his path, and they all cannot do it.”

The Devil has these Christian Priests and the whole world with them so perfectly at his disposal, that it only takes a very few devils to keep them all in subjection; and the whole legion of devils have nothing to do but look after the “Mormons” and stir up the hearts of the children of men to destroy them—to put them out of existence.

If you will examine the public prints of the United States for the last two years, you will find in them the most bloodthirsty articles, cruel declamations, and awful imprecations, originating from the pens of religious priests and their dupes. Say they, “If we talk with the Mormons on principles of religion, the Bible, of course, sustains them; if we talk with them on human rights, those principles sustain them; if we talk with them on the Constitution and laws of our country, these sustain them; if we talk with them on the dealings of God with man, they get the better of us; and our only way is to try and destroy them from the earth.”

This is the spirit that is being stirred up in the hearts of the children of men. There have never been in reality but two kingdoms on this earth—the kingdom of God and that of the Devil; or, I will say, those who are willing to observe the principles of truth and those who are not. The latter array themselves against the Saints.

A gentleman, with whom I came in contact while at Washington, made this objection against “Mormonism.” Talking about the institution of plurality of wives, said he, “It never will answer; it will break up all the whore-houses in the country; for women would not abide in such establishments and sustain them, if they could only have respectable and comfortable houses. This polygamy system will smash up that (Christian) institution altogether.”

The spirit of opposition to “Mormonism” takes hold of the king on his throne, the president in his chair, and all those would-be sacred priests—those holy hypocrites who stir up the hearts of the people to seek to overthrow the work of God. High and low, great and small are united in one grand union for the destruction of the Saints of God, though they be deadly foes on all other questions.

To endure this hatred—to be cursed, despised by his friends, jeered at by his neighbours and all who ever knew him, and to be set down as a poor, cursed, worthless, good-for-nothing “Mormon” fool, requires a courage in any man or woman who will step forward to receive the pure principles of this Gospel, that is a stranger in the heart of the greatest warrior that ever faced an enemy on the battle-field.

It is the animosity of the Adversary that fills the hearts of the children of men to overflowing, so that they desire to destroy the Saints—so that they are filled with anger, violent wrath, and indignation. But they know not the reason of these things.

Go and ask a Christian priest why he wants to put down “Mormonism;” and if he would honestly acknowledge the truth, he would say, “It will upset our trade, and,” as the gentleman said in Washington, “it will destroy our peculiar institutions.” The politicians say, “If the Mormons adopt the principle that honest men are to come into power, and they succeed with that principle, we shall be rooted up and our means of gain be taken from us.”

You understand that a petition was sent from the Legislature of this Territory, begging of the President of the United States to send no more damned scoundrels here, but to send good men. Then, it went on to tell him, if he did not send good men, we were not going to have them. It was considered by Congress and the great men of this Government as one of the greatest outrages, and equivalent to treason, because we said we would not receive the cursedest scoundrels that could be scraped from the very scum of the earth, and bow down to them and lick the dust of their feet.

We are right in this matter, whether we act as Saints of the Most High God or as citizens of the Republic of the United States. There could not be a greater outrage committed on any community than to place over them, contrary to their choice, corrupt demagogues to rule their destiny. The idea of forcing these corrupt dogs on a community to rule it is what I call dogmatism.

I am not very familiar with the dictionary, but I will tell a story that will illustrate my meaning. A fine fellow, who considered himself smart, had married a learned lady, and he felt very proud of her learning and education; and in order to be on a par with her, he used many very pretty words, and, now-and-then, one he did not understand the meaning of himself. On one occasion he used the word dogmatism improperly. Says she, “My dear, what is the meaning of that word?”

He drew down a hard face and said, “Dogmatism, dogmatism, my dear—why, it is full-grown puppyism.”

I do consider that to undertake this kind of measure is full-grown puppyism, whether it is to exterminate men for their religion or to annihilate them from the earth for political motives.

Every human being has rights; and it is a true principle, in all governments upon the earth, that governors should rule by the consent of the governed. But there is not a people on the face of the earth that I know anything about, except the Latter-day Saints, that are actually governed in this way. In our government, all our movements are by the unanimous consent of the governed; and we are the only people on the earth that observe this constitutional principle. Other people may try to do it to some limited extent.

When men are placed as rulers and governors to control the destinies of any people, they must do it by the consent of that people, or it is unlawful, unconstitutional, unjust, unholy. God himself does not rule the children of men upon any other principle. “You can serve me, live under my dominion, observe my laws, if you choose,” says the Lord: “if not, you may serve the Devil and reap the reward that follows.”

I forgot, however, that I was preaching a religious sermon when I ran off into politics; but I have had my head a little charged with politics of late; and consequently, when I undertake to preach, it is natural for me to shoot off in that direction.

We, as a people, have to depend, to a great extent, upon the policy we adopt. We have got to respect ourselves, at least, if the world will not respect us. It will not be many years until the world will understand that when they speak of us we are to be respected. They will realize, feel, and understand this more and more.

To be sure, we have submitted to them, suffered our houses to be burned, and ourselves to be driven from our homes; we suffered our friends to be murdered, and we have fled into the wilderness: for 20 years we have fled before our enemies. But it is a long road that never has a turn. The day will come when our enemies will flee before us. There must be a change. Although they may despise us, let them remember—an old adage has it—that despised enemies are dangerous.

The time will shortly come when it will be considered better policy for men to stay at home and mind their business than to be marching a thousand miles to murder the “Mormons.” The day will come when it will be considered more for the health and happiness of the human family to let the “Mormons” alone.

Brother Hyde, in addressing us this morning, spoke very strongly about cutting out an ulcer. When any man goes to cutting off a member of his body, he mars it. If he only chops off his big toe, he cannot hop quite so good as he could before. So, when the Government of the United States—our dear uncle, whom I have always been so afraid of, chops off one member of the great confederacy, the work of dismembering begins.

Peace has been taken from the earth, and there is little or no confidence among the children of men and while all the devils in hell and all the priests upon the earth are at work to unite for the extinction of the kingdom, it is in the mountains pursuing the even tenor of its way, every man minding his own business. But, confusion will increase in the midst of the wicked—those who are our enemies, and, as says the revelation, “the wicked will slay the wicked.”

The Lord says it is his business to take care of his Saints. The safest place on the earth is in Zion. If you were in the city of New York, San Francisco, St. Louis, or in any of those great cities, and had 10 dollars in your pocket, a valuable penknife, or a gold watch, and should happen to be walking in the streets at night, you would be under the necessity of keeping a constant guard, peradventure your life should be taken for the property in your pocket. Policemen are not of much use. If you place two policemen in a street, there will be four robberies; if you place four, there will be eight robberies: they nearly all colleague together, and no man that is decently dressed can lie down or walk the streets in safety or quiet in any of those cities without risking his life almost as much as he would in facing an enemy on the battle-field.

These are solemn truths: they are what I have seen. Somebody is after a stranger every moment he is in the streets, to rob him. Is it so here? No. This is the safest place on this earth; and as we learn more righteousness, divest ourselves more and more of selfishness, and become more and more instructed in the intrinsic value of earthly substance, compared with eternal riches, the principle of safety will increase and the Millenium will actually commence with this people.

There is yet in the hearts of our people, although the reformation has done a great work, a spirit of selfishness. We have got to divest ourselves of this principle; we have got to become so perfectly stript of it that we will love the Lord our God with all our hearts and our neighbours as ourselves, that our hearts will not be set upon our own property or upon the property of others, so as to covet the things that pertain to this world, and that, with our whole soul, mind, and strength, we will desire to serve the Lord our God—that we would just as soon set fire to our own dwellings, sacrifice our property, and flee into the mountains, to dwell there in dens, caves, and holes, as did the ancients, as dwell in palaces and enjoy the soft raiment of kings.

Every man and woman should cultivate in their hearts a desire to love the Lord, keep his commandments, and appreciate the spirit and the freedom of the Gospel and the privilege and blessing of the fulness of the holy Priesthood more than all the treasures upon the face of the earth.

Do you recollect that when the children of Israel were invading the land of Canaan, to drive out the Canaanites and inherit the land, in some instances they coveted the property of their enemies? In one instance, an individual stole a wedge of gold and a Babylonish garment. Because of this, God was offended and suffered Israel to be driven before their enemies. Let us not be caught in this snare, but cast out from our hearts every principle of covetousness, and let our desires be to serve the Lord.

If our enemies will let us alone, we are rich enough, and can enjoy all the comforts of life that we need to make us healthy and happy, and we will spring forth a mighty people. If they do not let us alone, God will preserve us and reward us for all the sacrifices we have to make. Covet not anything that is theirs; let not our spirits desire it, but in all things do as we are counselled, and pray God for wisdom, knowledge, and intelligence to live righteously, soberly, and be devoid of idolatry, to be prepared to dwell as Gods and reign and have dominion in our time and season.

Had it not been for the faith and works, the union and exertions of the Saints, we might this day have had our streets paraded with the martial forces of our enemies. But God has blessed us for our faith and exertions—for our willingness to listen to the counsel of him whom he has appointed to direct us, to be our father and counsellor in Israel. Because they have to spend their time in the mountains, some men may feel as though it is a waste of both time and labour to no good. Others say, “We have been robbed so many times of our homes, and so many of our friends murdered, we would now like to draw the sword and slay our enemies.” If it had not been for this principle in the breasts of many, I do not believe our enemies would ever have crossed the South Pass.

I believe, if we, as a people, were of one heart and mind, and would place ourselves in the right position before the Lord, and ask him for what we need, that we never would have any serious annoyance from our enemies. But it is a great labour to place the whole people in this position.

I believe, for the time the work has been progressing, that the people of Enoch’s city were not more united than are the inhabitants of these valleys. I believe the greatest work has been performed towards bringing the children of men back into the presence of God, since Joseph Smith commenced to preach the Gospel to this generation, than ever was since the creation. It requires all our faith and watchfulness to continue the work and roll it on fast enough to keep out of the way of our enemies.

If there are any among us who have not obeyed the Gospel, now is a good time for them to repent of their sins: or, if there are any who have not renewed their covenants, now is a good time for you to repent of your sins and be re-baptized for the remission of them; and let it be our whole intent and only desire to serve the Lord our God all the days of our lives. May the blessings of Israel’s God rest upon us, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Present Crisis—The Prospects of Zion and the Fall of Babylon

John Young

A discourse by Patriarch John Young, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday morning, October 25, 1857.

I am glad to be here and to bear my testimony of the truth. I shall speak such things as may be presented to my mind by the Holy Ghost. I know that I have the prayers of the Saints and of the faithful servants of the Lord. I realize that their prayers are always in behalf of those that are mouthpieces for the Lord.

I realize for myself that this is a time when it is necessary that every man and every woman should enjoy the Spirit of the Lord. The time has been when men and women in this Church and kingdom could pass along without a great deal of the Spirit of the heavens to rest upon them; but I want to observe to my brethren and sisters, that that time has gone by; and no man or woman that professes to be a Saint of the Most High can stand any longer in this Church and kingdom unless they have faith in the Son of God.

Our Prophets and Apostles have long been teaching to the people that the time was near at hand when everything that could be shaken should be shaken—that that which could not be shaken should remain. You have often heard it proclaimed from the stand that the time was near at hand when the line would be drawn. The time has come that was spoken of by the Prophet Micah, when we should discern betwixt him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

I realize, my brethren and sisters, that this is the day when we need to have communion with the heavens—the day when we want the Holy Comforter to abide with us continually; for I know it is a trying time with the Saints; it is a turning-point; and I know that none but the pure in heart can stand.

There never was a time since the Church was organized, that I have any knowledge of, when there was more necessity for the people being united than there is at this time; for we are told that “union is strength;” and this is what we want at this time. We all very well know and understand that we have no friends abroad in the world out of this Church.

When I consider this, I am glad that I can say to-day and bear testimony that there is now more union among the Saints than ever there was before, since I have been in the Church.

Can I speak good concerning Israel to-day? I can. I have no misgivings in my feelings; for I tell you, my brethren and sisters, the Lord God Almighty is on our side. He is for us; and who can be against us? I know there are persons who are against us in their feelings. A few such are now before me who have their misgivings: their faith is not concentrated. Sometimes they look on one side of the picture, and sometimes on the other; and sometimes, perhaps, the devils make them believe that we are all going to be blown to the four winds by our enemies.

I can tell you the Devil does not sleep in these times; and I do not believe that he has slept any for a long time; but he works powerfully with the children of disobedience: therefore I exhort you to be obedient.

“Well,” says one, “I thought we were obedient.” It is true there is a very large majority that are; but this does not prove that they are all so; and I know they are not.

I am thankful that things are as well with us as they are. I am thankful that we have got Prophets and Apostles; and I know that the Spirit of the Gods has rested upon them, and it is resting upon them; and as long as the people will be obedient and do as they are told, they have nothing to fear; for nothing can harm them. But I can tell you what the Devil is doing. It is as the Apostle said—“We are not altogether ignorant of the devices of Satan.”

Now, Satan is hard at work, and the Lord is at work, the angels of heaven are at work, the fallen angels of heaven are at work; and I tell you, in the name of the Lord, there is a mighty war. “Well,” says one, “who will conquer and overcome?” The Lord Almighty will overcome; his Saints and his servants will overcome.

I believe that the Scripture would apply very well to this people which Jesus used to his disciples—“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

You perceive that they were small in numbers, for he called them little. I can say to my brethren and sisters, “Fear not, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Zion is free, and I rejoice in it. Talk about revelation; if there has not been some of the greatest revelations given within one year to the Saints of God, then I know nothing about it. Says one, “I wish you would tell of one of them.” Well, I will; for nothing short of the Spirit of the living God, right from the Gods of eternity, could have brought our military into the organization that they are in now. I want to know how the Prophets of God could have done that without revelation? They could not have done it. Was there ever such an organization before? No, never since the days of Moses. Then they had their captains of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens; and no Prophets have gone into the organization since that time; and I contend that this is by revelation; and it was by the revelations of Jesus Christ that these things were made manifest.

I feel thankful that we are where we are at the present time. We have been driven; and sometimes I look at the present prospects of the Church and compare it with the days of its infancy, and I am perfectly astonished at the marvellous strides the work has taken. We have been driven from one place to another and afflicted, until, last of all, we have been driven into the mountains, to fulfil the words of the Prophets; for it could not have been done in any other way. The language of the poet will apply very well here—

“God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform.”

I thank my heavenly Father to-day that there is so goodly a number of the Saints in the valleys of the mountains; and I know that God will work all things together for our good. Our enemies gave the kingdom one more jog than they intended to have done. Before this we had always been in a place where they could pick up a rock and throw it, and it would fall on to us; but now they have to pick it up a good many times before it will reach us.

[Voice: “And it will fall on to them.”]

The time has come when this Church and kingdom can no more be amalgamated with any other kingdom. What was the reason that the Lord, could not destroy Sodom? It was because Lot was there, and the Lord told him to go out; and when he had gone out, the city and people of Sodom were destroyed. The Lord has destroyed wicked nations at various times; and he has declared that he would destroy the nations of the earth, and that Babylon should fall; but that cannot be the case so long as this Church is amalgamated, in any sense of the word, with it; therefore the Lord has designed to cut the thread, and our independence was declared the 24th of last July; and I was glad of it, and I feel glad of it to-day. There is a good deal for us to do; and we are required to straighten up and live our religion, so that we may be enabled to sustain ourselves through the mighty struggle that is to come.

I realize that it is time for the Saints to look about themselves; and every man and every woman should be on the watch-tower, wide awake, and have almighty faith in the Son of God, and call mightily upon his name. Although brother Brigham said here at Conference that there was not time to pray much, he meant that we should not spend too much of our time in praying; I suppose the war was uppermost in his mind, as it is in everybody else’s; but, in speaking to some brethren about it, I told them that it was all “Mormonism.”

You know there are some who neglect to pray, and there are others who pray too much—or, in other words, they do nothing else. But I think some of our sisters might be a little more diligent in their faith prayers, and good works, while the brethren are in the mountains to stand in the defence of Zion.

I understand that some of the sisters have a great many things to attend to. I have understood that, since our brethren have gone, the sisters have undertaken to set things in order in the family. But I think they had better let that alone. I know the Devil will try every stratagem; and if he cannot make an inroad in one place, he will in another; if he cannot get into the brethren, he will try to get into their families, and he will work there and set them at variance with each other.

I tell you it is time for us to cease quarrelling with each other. We should be united in our families, in our neighbourhoods, and in the kingdom of God. If we are united, we shall stand and overcome: there is no mistake about that at all. And if there should one-half of the people apostatize and go away, the other half are pretty sure to stand. I heard brother Brigham say that, if there are not more than fifty that keep the faith and are united, the kingdom will be sure to stand.

It is a great thing for the brethren and sisters to be united in the cause of truth. I have travelled a great deal among the brethren, especially in the southern settlements, and I never saw half the union, the strength, the faith that is in the people at this time; and as long as you will continue humble and faithful to the Gospel, and keep the power of God in you, then our enemies cannot have any power over us.

In every place where I have been and heard the Saints pray, they have prayed for the Lord to confuse our enemies, to clothe them with darkness, and to cause fear to come upon them; Has the Lord heard our prayers? Yes, he has; for I have noticed dark clouds to be travelling along the eastern mountains, and they move up and down as the troops move; and my prayer is, that they may be clothed with snow. That has been my prayer for some time; and I still continue to pray for darkness to cover them.

Says one, “You are a hard-hearted man.” I cannot help that. I love to pray for my enemies; and in doing so I have fulfilled the word of the Lord in that thing. I do not pray so much for our enemies that are out here; but it is for the whole world. You know all mankind—every class and society of mankind have got their artillery pointed against this people.

The Devil and his emissaries are out against us. They want to destroy our Prophet and to glut themselves with the blood of innocence. There is not a spot where the Lord can tarry over night outside of these valleys of the mountains; the rest of the world is Babylon, in the strictest sense of the word.

Oh, how the Devil does labour to diffuse the spirit of Babylon among the people. To do this he has sent his emissaries across the Plains a thousand miles to bring destruction upon the Saints of God; but the Lord Almighty has defeated them in their plans. The angel of the Lord has stood in the way as much so as in the days of the Prophets; and if our asses have not spoken, our boys have, and the way of our enemies is hedged up so that they cannot get here; and they never will, so long as the people will do as they are told. This is a comfort to my heart. How I have longed to see this day when the kingdom of God should be free—when the Saints should enjoy their rights and privileges as Saints of the Lord. This is what we have been labouring for. It is what Joseph and all the Apostles have laboured for day and night, unwaveringly.

When I look back upon the exertions which have been made to spread the truth among the nations, to gather up Israel, I see that it is beyond all that can be imagined. I am not master of language enough to tell the thing as I see it; but suffice it to say that this is the Zion of the Lord—this is the only place where the Lord has a people. He has no place only with the Latter-day Saints, because the Lord will not dwell in unholy temples. He loves the pure in heart, and he dwells with them.

Brethren and sisters, let us be encouraged; for the day is ours, the kingdom is ours, all is ours; for the Lord is on our side, and we have nothing to be afraid of from our enemies. We have more to be afraid of from ourselves than anything else; and as long as men and women will do as they are told and keep it in their hearts to do good continually, they are safe.

There is no need to fear about anything. Some of the brethren and sisters feel fearful; sometimes they are weak: they do not feel to do wrong—they have no wish to violate any law, but they are subject to temptations and weaknesses.

There are some who know what it is to be driven from their homes, and that in the dead of winter, cold and barefooted; and many of those persons are here, and have survived and come up to this place with the Church. There may be trials equally as severe as those already past; but if we do right, all will be well with us. There never was a truer thing said, than that if this people have to leave here, it will be for our good, for our salvation, temporal and spiritual, and they will be better off than ever. But still, if the people will keep humble and do as they are told, they will stay here as long as they have a mind to, and then go back and build the Temple in the centre stake of Zion.

Perhaps I do not feel right, but this is my feeling all the time—that the Lord Almighty will deliver us, and we shall find everything to work together for our salvation, for our good and welfare, and for the welfare of Zion. I never heard nor read of any people under heaven, when they were obedient to the Prophets of God—to those that led them—I say I never heard of such a people being given into the hands of their enemies.

When the Nephites were given up to their enemies, it was when they became wicked and disobedient, and made derision of the Prophets and Apostles that were sent unto them; but when they were obedient to their Apostles and Prophets and to the servants of God, then their enemies had no power over them. So it is and will be with this people.

I can speak good of Zion, for I know the people are obedient. I have really thought in some places that the people would be willing to sacrifice everything, if called upon to do it, and also to lay down their lives for the cause of God and to carry out the counsel of the servants of the Lord.

Every man and every woman seem determined to put forth their hands to sustain the servants of God in the cause in which we are engaged. It is generally said that actions speak louder than words, and with us it is as brother Grant used to say, “Yankee doodle, do it;” and has [as] long as this people do this, all will prosper with Israel.

The Saints who are filled with the Spirit of the living God like to go and hear the servants of the Lord proclaim the words of life and salvation.

I feel thankful, my brethren, that things are as well as they are with us; and I feel thankful every day and every moment of my life, and I see and realize a great deal more than I can express; but I can truly say that I am not discouraged in the holy warfare. I have always believed, from the first moment that I heard this Gospel, that it is the work of God, and that it will stand when all other kingdoms will go to ruin and sink into oblivion.

We know that the kingdoms of Babylon must fall, and that this kingdom must rise; for we know it is the kingdom of God; and I have always known it ever since I embraced the work. I have had no doubts in relation to its authenticity and truthfulness; but all the ground I have gained and all the advancement I have made has been at the point of of the sword. To be sure I have been slow, but the matter seems to be rooted and grounded in me; and my prayer is that the Lord Almighty will preserve me in the faith, and that he will keep me as in the hollow of his hand.

Everything goes to prove that this is the kingdom of God. I remember that in the rise of this Church I used to argue with the priests; and when they would contend that this was the kingdom of the Devil, I would remark that it must fall; for a kingdom divided against itself must fall to pieces.

This is the kingdom which Daniel spoke of, and I know it; and I know that there are hundreds and thousands in these valleys of the mountains that would lay down their lives before they would deny one word of the principles of the Gospel to please anybody. There are many who would suffer themselves to be massacred sooner than deny the word of the Lord; but under all circumstances they will testify to the truth.

I want my brethren and sisters to do right—to live by faith, that they may be strong and powerful, and have mighty faith in the Son of God, and power over our enemies, and strength to overcome them; and we shall, ere long, become strong and terrible in the sight of our enemies, when the children of Zion shall return to the land that the Lord has designed for the building up of a temple in the last days.

I do not wish to take up a great deal of time; but I do wish to let the people know that I feel everything is right with us as a people. I do not say it is so with every individual; but I know that there are a very large majority who are right, and they show their faith by their works. This pleases me, and it pleases all the servants of God. I rejoice in these things continually; and, brethren, let us be faithful, and we shall be immoveable; for they that trust in the Lord are to be as Mount Zion, that cannot be moved.

When I am abroad, I try to do what I can to strengthen the Saints, to build them up in the most holy faith, and to bless them, that they may prosper and become a sanctified people, that we may all be prepared for the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ; for he has declared that he would come to those that look for his coming without sin unto salvation.

I believe that the time is not far distant when the servants of God will commune more visibly with the heavens than they now do: the time will come when they will commune with the angels; and I believe there is a right place for it to begin.

I have understood, of late, that some of our brethren and sisters have got a little ahead in this respect; but they had better let such things alone, and be humble and faithful, and remember that we cannot get higher than the head; for the fountain is as high as we can go. If there are any who have a disposition to go ahead of their leaders, I think they will find themselves in difficulty. Brother Brigham says, “Tell them to go ahead.” But I can tell you they will go till their heads go against the dunce block, and that will bring them up all standing.

I do not like to see men and women that want to be a little ahead of anybody else—a little ahead of Prophets of God. The Spirit of the Lord is liberally enjoyed by the Saints generally; and if they continue, they will hold converse with the servants of God who are behind the vail. But that time is not yet.

Some of the brethren and sisters tell of their receiving visits from Joseph, Hyrum, brother Grant, and others. Such persons must look out for their ship; for, if they do not watch, just as sure as you are born, they will run under and be overcome. When a man or woman comes and tells me that he or she is visited by the Prophets and Apostles that are gone beyond the vail, and that they have these communications day and night, and all the time—that they have the opportunity of conversing with the spirits of just men made perfect—I will just say that the Devil is in them, and not the Lord. I wonder if the Lord loves them so much better than the Prophets that he would send to them all the heavenly hosts?

I do not know that it is my business to say anything about this; but brother Kimball told me I might say what I pleased. I can tell you the Devil has left the great chair in hell; for his emissaries could not accomplish what he desired they should; therefore he has come to see to it himself. Why, bless you, Lucifer has nothing to do in the world; for one of his imps can keep all Babylon going and keep them in eternal night. But let a man go through the world, having the principles of salvation in him, and I tell you the Devil and his hosts will growl. But here, in the Territory of Utah, it is different: we can stand forth and boldly declare our views and religious opinions.

Still, brethren, you need not think that you have yet got rid of them; for the devils will be after the Saints of God: therefore be careful and keep them out of your tabernacles.

“What shall I do?” says one. Why, keep your mouth shut when you have no need to open it, and the devils won’t get in at your ears. James, the Apostle, said that the tongue was an unruly member, and that it set all the rest on fire; and there is considerable truth in the saying. If you cannot keep your tongue still, put it between your teeth and hold it there until you can control it; and I will promise that, if you will do that, the Devil cannot do much with you; but I can assure you that he will play upon the tongue. And you know when he gets the women going, their tongues are as limber as a bird’s wing.

I am not in the habit of saying much about the women. But they are said to be the weaker vessel; but I tell you some of them carry mighty heavy sail. I advise you, sisters, to take in your extra sail. Talk of being the weaker vessel, and carrying such a superabundance of sail! Sisters, live in peace with each other, and do not allow yourselves to be fault-finding, but peaceable and happy together.

Some may enquire, “Do you not mean your own family?” Yes, I do exactly; for I expect they need it as much as any other.

I saw the Devil’s looking-glass once. In it the faults of others are written in capital letters, but our own are all kept in the dark. When the Devil presents his magnifying-glass, do not allow him to overcome you. I have told you to shut your mouths; and now, when the Devil’s looking-glass is brought before you, I tell you to shut your eyes. You have no occasion to read; for if you do, you will read the faults of every creature but your own, especially of those that you are most intimately associated with.

The Devil does not care how he cheats a man or a woman out of their souls, so that he is able to accomplish that. He desires to torture us all that he can. Let us get the Spirit of the Lord, and retain it; for the work of our common adversary is to overcome the kingdom of our Father, and he works in various ways and tries every stratagem in his power whereby he can afflict the Saints of God.

One of the Apostles has told us that if we would resist the Devil, being steadfast in the faith, he would leave us; and I know that he won’t have any power over us if we are faithful. I desire to be delivered from his grasp and power; for I know he is a powerful foe. He has spread his vail of darkness over the whole world, and he is acknowledged to be the prince and power of the air: in a greater or less degree he controls the elements, and endeavours to do it to the destruction of the Saints; but the Lord Almighty controls him and listens to the voice of his servants who trust in him, and he holds them as in the hollow of his hand and under the pavilion of his wings.

The reason that the people are now so much united is because they are living better than ever they were before; and the time is near at hand when there will be a highway cast up for the people of God, and their deliverance will be wrought out. The principles of salvation are portrayed from this stand; and if we deviate from that way, Satan will have power over us.

Many of you who are acquainted with the works of John Bunyan will doubtless recollect the place where he talks about the trials of Christian, and his description of the lions and the tigers in the way, so placed and stationed on each side of Christian that, if he should deviate from the narrow path, he is in the power of the lions and tigers; but if he keeps in that path, he is safe.

Now, the Almighty has laws by which he works, and he has pointed out the path, which is so plain that it has been said that a fool may see to walk therein.

Let us be careful and do our duty, for we have got the game to play. Let us be faithful and honourable and keep the Spirit of God. Let us so conduct ourselves and so order our lives before our heavenly Father, that we will feel the approbation of heaven, so that we shall have the testimony of Jesus, the Spirit of the Lord, in us day after day.

When we have this spirit in us we can say, All is well. Then, when I meet a man or a woman and ask them how they are, I can feel well, for I can see the Spirit of truth in them. I have met a number of the Saints of late, and enquired, “How is it with you?” “Oh, all is right; the truth triumphs.” There never was a time, since the kingdom was organized in the last days, when the Saints felt so well as they do now. It is so in every place. The Saints feel this same Spirit on the other side of the planet and upon the remotest island of the seas. They feel better, and why? Because ZION IS FREE! The Saints know this, feel it, and bear testimony of it.

We hear of wars and rumours of wars; and these are some of the signs which Jesus spoke of when he said, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matt. xxiv. 14.)

The messengers of salvation have been sent from this place—scores and hundreds of them: they have travelled thousands of miles over deserts and mountains to go to hell, if you please, to bear testimony of the truth. I have a testimony in my heart that the servants of God who have been out for the few years past have been faithful, and they have been to almost every nation upon earth.

What will come next? Why, they will be warned by thunderings, by lightnings, by pestilence, and by fearful sights—men’s hearts failing them for fear of those things that are coming upon the earth. After their testimony, these things will come and I knew that the time is near at hand when Babylon will fall.

Let us be a sanctified people, and keep out everything that is calculated to drive us asunder; for “union is strength;” and the Lord has said that except we are one we are not his. I desire to see this people united in one.

The Lord saw that it was necessary that there should be a reformation; and he inspired his servants to call upon the people and to wake them up out of their sleep; and if this had not been done, how would it have been? How good the Lord was to wake us up by his servants who stand upon the watch-tower of Zion! They have called upon the people to wake up, and the people have complied; and I thank my heavenly Father for it. There is now a good feeling throughout the Territory where I have been; there is union among the people; but still there are some things that I could wish were otherwise.

If you will be humble and faithful to the counsel of the servants of God, not a hair of your heads shall fall. I have felt to say to the brethren whom I have blessed, “If you will trust in the Lord, there is no weapon formed against you that shall prosper.” I see now the reason that I was so led; and I feel to assure them that the Lord is able to preserve them by the Priesthood, and I do not think nor feel that the brethren will have any fighting this season, but am rather of the opinion that the Lord intends to fight the battles himself, and to send them down to hell.

I am not a man of blood; but I want to see the cause of Zion flourish. I know the feelings of my brethren who have been driven by the poor, miserable devils from Kirtland to Missouri, and from there to Illinois, then across to Mississippi, and over the Plains to the valleys of the mountains; and yet the poor curses cannot let us alone.

I can tell you that the time is near when He will reign whose right it is to reign; and when the Son of Man comes again, we intend that he shall have a place where to lay his head, and not be as he was when he came before. We are but few, but we are able to do mighty things in the strength of Israel’s God. Our enemies have got the arm of Jehovah to fight against, and he will work for the salvation of Zion; for the cause of the Lord hangs upon his arm; and inasmuch as we do right, he will make this a sifting-machine, and the hypocrites will be found out, Satan’s kingdom will be overthrown, the Saints of God will possess the land, and it will not be a great while before the Church will go back and take possession of their inheritances.

I can say, for the benefit of our brethren that are out in the mountains, that there are hosts of angels with them all the time. I have prayed that the Lord would be a strong tower, a hiding place, a buckler, and a shield to his people; and I know he will be.

I see that the Saints are going to be free: they are no more going to be bound with the cursed yoke of the Gentiles. You will never feel it from this time henceforth and for ever. We have worn it long enough, as long as he wants us to wear it.

The servants of God want the chaff and bran to be sifted out. There is no danger of the pure wheat being hurt; for it will stand through all the processes. The pure gold will endure the burnings, and troubles, and drivings.

Jesus had enemies when he was upon the earth. He has them now, and always will have until he subdues the kingdom of Satan and reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords. And that this time may be hastened is my constant prayer.

May the Lord bless us all. Amen.