Journal of Discourses

Volume 8

Delivered by President Brigham Young,

His Two Counsellors, the Twelve Apostles, and Others.

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

Liverpool: Edited and Published by George Q. Cannon, 42, Islington.
London: Latter-day Saints’ Book Depot, 30, Florence Street, Cross Street, Islington.

1861

Journal of Discourses, Volume 8. Kindle edition published September 2010 by Ben Crowder. Updated November 2011.

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Table of Contents

Original page numbers are in parentheses.

- Preface

- Man, by John Taylor (1–6)

- True Civilization, by Brigham Young (6–10)

- Hints to Faultfinders, &c., by Brigham Young (11–19)

- The Holy Priesthood — Judgment — Separation of Spirit and Body, by Orson Hyde (19–26)

- Death — Resurrection, &c., by Brigham Young (27–31)

- Advancement in Knowledge, &c., by Brigham Young (32–34)

- Universal Salvation, by Brigham Young (34–36)

- Personal Reminiscences, &c., by Brigham Young (37–39)

- Education — Testimony — Miraculous Signs, &c., by Brigham Young (39–43)

- Testimony of the Spirit, &c., by Orson Pratt (44–52)

- Instructions to Missionaries, by Brigham Young (52–56)

- Privileges of the Sabbath — Duty of Living Our Religion — Human Longevity, &c., by Brigham Young (57–64)

- Confidence and Influence of the Saints — Knowledge, &c., by Brigham Young (64–70)

- Religion of the Saints — Preaching of the Gospel — Contention, &c., by Brigham Young (70–74)

- Blessings of the Saints — Apostacy, &c., by Orson Hyde (75–77)

- Filialty of the Saints — Appointments, &c., by Brigham Young (77–80)

- Religion, Progress and Privileges of the Saints, &c., by Brigham Young (80–84)

- Trials of the Saints, &c., by Heber C. Kimball (85–88)

- Temporal Salvation, by Heber C. Kimball (89)

- Practical Religion, by Heber C. Kimball (90–91)

- Blessings of the Saints, by Brigham Young (91–92)

- Objects of the Gathering, by Daniel H. Wells (92–94)

- Professions of the Saints — Trust in God — Man the Founder of His Destiny, &c., by John Taylor (95–100)

- Divine Authority, by Orson Pratt (101–106)

- Practical Religion, by Heber C. Kimball (107–111)

- Celebration of American Independence, &c., by Orson Pratt (111–113)

- Character of God and Christ — Providences of God — Self-Government, &c., by Brigham Young (114–117)

- Personal Sacrifices — Evil Influences and Powers, and the Necessity of Overcoming Them, by Brigham Young (117–119)

- Attendance at Meetings — Self-Improvement, by Brigham Young (120–121)

- Light of the Spirit — Coming Tribulations — Present Salvation, by Brigham Young (121–125)

- Privileges of the Saints — Providences of God, &c., by Brigham Young (126–130)

- Gospel of Salvation, &c., by Brigham Young (130–132)

- Gospel of Life and Salvation, &c., by Brigham Young (133–137)

- Light of the Spirit — Laws of Health — Joy in the Gospel, &c., by Brigham Young (138–141)

- Influence of the Elders in Preaching the Gospel — Duty of the Saints Living Their Religion, &c., by Brigham Young (141–144)

- Effective Preaching — Support of the Poor, &c., by Brigham Young (144–146)

- Triumph of “Mormonism,” &c., by Brigham Young (147–149)

- Dealings of the Lord with His People, by Brigham Young (149–151)

- The Three Glories, by Brigham Young (152–155)

- Privileges of the Gathered Saints, &c., by Brigham Young (156–158)

- Diversity Among Men as to Their Capacity for Receiving Truth, &c., by Brigham Young (158–162)

- Trials and Duties of the Saints, by Brigham Young (162–166)

- Covetousness, &c., by Brigham Young (167–170)

- Civilization — Missionary Labours, &c., by Brigham Young (171–173)

- The Spirit of the World and the Spirit of Zion, by Brigham Young (174–175)

- Light of the Spirit — Course of Missionaries, by Brigham Young (176–182)

- Remarks Pertaining to Foreign Missions, &c., by Brigham Young (183–187)

- Blessings of the Saints — Covetousness, by Brigham Young (188–191)

- Helping in the Immigration, by Brigham Young (192–193)

- Persecution — The Kingdom of God, &c., by Brigham Young (194–200)

- Joys of Eternity, by Brigham Young (200)

- Funds of the Church, by Brigham Young (201–205)

- Source of Intelligence — Laws of the Gospel, &c., by Brigham Young (205–209)

- The Gospel Commission, &c., by Heber C. Kimball (210–212)

- Gospel of Salvation, &c., by Heber C. Kimball (212–215)

- Mental Improvement and Spiritual Advancement, &c., by Erastus Snow (215–220)

- Blessings, by Heber C. Kimball (220)

- Blessings, by Heber C. Kimball (221)

- Restoration — Resurrection, by Brigham Young (222–226)

- Teachings of the Priesthood — Religion of the Saints, &c., by Brigham Young (227–231)

- Testimonies of the Truth, &c., by Orson Hyde (232–238)

- Restoration of the Dead, &c., by Heber C. Kimball (238–242)

- Improvement, &c., by Heber C. Kimball (243–244)

- Principles of the Gospel — Consequences of Their Rejection, by Heber C. Kimball (244–247)

- The Latter-day Kingdom — Connections of the Priesthood — Temporal Salvation, &c., by Heber C. Kimball (247–253)

- Testimony, &c., by George A. Smith (253–255)

- Evil Habits and Practices, &c., by Heber C. Kimball (256–258)

- Faith and Belief, &c., by Brigham Young (259–261)

- Testimony of the Spirit of Truth — Effects that Followed the Gospel Anciently and that Follow It Now, &c., by Wilford Woodruff (261–267)

- Blessings of the Saints — Training of Children, by Wilford Woodruff (267–272)

- Establishment of the Kingdom of God, by Heber C. Kimball (273–276)

- Privileges of the Saints — Building Up Zion, by Brigham Young (277–280)

- Knowledge — Object of Man’s Existence on the Earth, by Brigham Young (280–285)

- Journeyings of the Saints — Temporal Salvation, by Brigham Young (286–290)

- Appointment of Bishop for Cache Valley — Counsel to the People, by Brigham Young (290–291)

- Counsel to the Saints Settling in Cache Valley, by Brigham Young (291–293)

- Salvation and Condemnation — Improvement, by Brigham Young (293–297)

- Privileges Enjoyed by the Saints — Confusion Existing in the World, by George Q. Cannon (297–306)

- True Source of Happiness — Riches, Temporal & Spiritual, by Orson Pratt (306–314)

- Testimony of the Spirit — Counsel to the Bishops, by Brigham Young (315–318)

- Human Intelligence and Freedom — National Administrative Movements, by Brigham Young (319–326)

- Unity — Commandments of God, etc., by Heber C. Kimball (327–334)

- Self-knowledge — Futility of Attempts to Destroy “Mormonism”, by Brigham Young (334–338)

- Duties of the Saints — Organization of Element — Economy, etc., by Brigham Young (338–347)

- Gathering of the People of God in the Last Days — Return to Jackson County, by Heber C. Kimball (348–351)

- Establishment of the Kingdom of God — Gathering of the Poor, by Brigham Young (351–359)

- Celebration of the Fourth of July, by G.A. Smith (359–360)

- Confession of Faults, &c., by Brigham Young (361–363)

- Rebuking Evil, &c., by Brigham Young (364–368)

- Testimony and Religion of the Saints, by Ezra T. Benson (369–370)

- Kingdom of God and the Governments of Men, by Daniel H. Wells (371–376)

Preface

The deservedly ranks as one of the standard works of the Church, and every rightminded Saint will certainly welcome with joy every Number as it comes forth from the press as an additional reflector of “the light that shines from Zion’s hill.”

We rejoice, therefore, in being able to present to the Saints another completed Volume—the Eighth of the series; and, in doing so, we sincerely commend the varied and important instructions it contains to their earnest consideration.

THE PUBLISHER

Man

John Taylor

Remarks by Elder John Taylor, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, February 19, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I am always pleased to hear brother Joseph Young speak, because, as the Indian says, “he talks good talk;” and I always like to hear people talk good talk, and things that are calculated to make one feel pleasant and comfortable.

A passage of Scripture which he quoted attracted my attention. It is one of the sayings of David—“What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?”

In one point of view, man appears very poor, weak, and imbecile, and very insignificant: in another point of view, he appears wise, intelligent, strong, honourable, and exalted. It is just in the way that you look at a man that you are led to form your opinions concerning him. In one respect, he appears, as it were, as the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven. He is changeable in his opinions, in his thoughts, reflections, and actions. He is idle, vain, and visionary, without being governed by any correct principle. He comes into existence, as it were, like a butterfly, flutters around for a little while, dies, and is no more. In another point of view, we look at him as emanating from the Gods—as a God in embryo—as an eternal being who had an existence before he came here, and who will exist after his mortal remains are mingled and associated with dust, from whence he came, and from whence he will be resurrected and partake of that happiness for which he is destined, or receive the reward of his evil deeds, according to circumstances.

If we look at the position of man as he has been and as he is, what is he, whether we regard the most powerful and mighty, or the most humble—whether as emperors, warriors, statesmen, philosophers, as rich or poor, we find he has passed away, and to us is sleeping in oblivion. Where are some of those great and mighty men that made the earth tremble—at whose nod and beck, and at the crook of whose finger nations quaked with fear? They have returned to dust, and ashes and worms prey upon their systems. They have waned away, and many of the great and honourable are as much despised since they died as they were honoured while they lived and were in the possession of their earthly glory. What is man?

In some points of view, the human race are feeble indeed. They are feeble in their bodies, minds, and spirits, and need some sustaining influence to uphold them both in body and mind before they can occupy their true position in society, whether in relation to this world, or in relation to the world which is to come. For instance, a man may study for years, and perhaps some faint affliction of his body will overturn his intellect; he loses his senses, his reason is fled, and he becomes a raving maniac. We are indeed poor creatures. Think what a number of infirmities the human system is subject to, until finally death closes its mortal career, and it is laid among the silent dead.

Let us ask what the nations of the earth have accomplished for the last six or seven thousand years. What great work have they achieved? What have the greatest warriors and statesmen that have existed from the beginning done? What good have they accomplished for the world? What boon have they handed down to posterity, and how much better are we off because they lived, because they moved upon the earth, and because they possessed a certain power upon it? They have accomplished a solemn nothing. Where are those mighty conquerors and bright geniuses now? Where are some of the mightiest men? and what has become of the nations and cities where they flourished? It has become a matter of doubt where even the foundations of Babylon and Nineveh were laid. Egypt, it is true, has preserved some of its ancient monuments, kings, and princes unto the present day. What are those men? Loathsome mummies. What are they doing with them? The great Potiphars, Ptolemies, and Pharaohs are now being used for fuel to make steam to drive railway cars.

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou rememberest him?

What is man, surely, when we look at him in this point of view? and what are those ancient nations? What intelligence have they communicated to the men of future ages? What real good have they done them?

A great many of the ancients nations were idolators. They worshipped dogs, cats, crocodiles, serpents, and every kind of thing that came within the range of their imagination.

They could not get any idea of the true God, any more than the Christian world can at the present time, without revelation, nor any knowledge of the reason of their being on the earth, what they came into the world for, and what they were designed to accomplish. If we look at the world in this point of view, it presents a sorry spectacle.

We talk sometimes about the great works of artists, painters, sculptors, &c., But what have those smart geniuses accomplished of real practical good to the world? What do their records show? Their works may be seen in many of the capitals of the nations of Europe. What are they? So many representations of war, destruction, and death. If you examine some of the galleries of art in France, the history of that country can be traced from the third century to the present time. You find in those galleries splendid specimens of art; and what are they? Here is a representation of a battle fought; there, the representation of death and destruction; and yonder is a splendid picture representing the march of a victorious army, destroying an unfortunate and vanquished people, and treading down the dead and dying. The history of those nations is marked in blood and tears.

How much better is the world now, in any point of view, than in former days? What blessings have the great men of former ages handed down to posterity? Were they all collected, they would appear in little room. It is true there has been some little knowledge of chemistry and astronomy developed. And I question very much whether the people now know more about astronomy than Abraham and Joseph of old did, after all their problems and calculations, and all the intelligence of the schools in relation to this branch of science.

It is true we have obtained a little knowledge of the power of steam and electricity, and have been able to use magnetism and many other such principles which possess some utility at the present time to the human family. But how much better off is the world of mankind now than they were four or five thousand years ago? I do not know. If anybody else does, I should like them to tell me. Tell me how much more union there is now than then, how much more happiness there is now than formerly, how much more conversant the world is now with correct principles than the world was in what is called the dark ages, and how much better principles they are governed by than they were thousands of years ago. They then had their republics, their monarchies, and their despotisms. There is as much of the spirit of war in existence now as in any previous age of the world.

Witness the present position of Europe and China; witness the position of Mexico, Central America, and the United States, of America at the present time; witness the bitter hatred that exists between the North and South in the bosoms of the Representatives in the halls of the nation at Washington, which is manifested when in the Senate chamber.

How much better, then, are we in the present age than the people of other ages? and what is man in reality, with all his boasted intelligence and knowledge? He is a poor, weak worm of the earth.

Look at him in a social capacity. Are we much better off now socially than the people were several thousand years ago, with all the teachings of our philosophers and moralists, and with all the essays there have been written, combined with all the influence of the Priesthood of the present day? Men are paid in our age for doing a great deal, and they ought to accomplish, at least something. As I told a Catholic priest once in France, when speaking of the position of France—I said, “There are some fifty thousand Catholic priests in France; and if Catholicism does not produce an influence in this nation, it ought to; for there is enough money paid to sustain men to do good among the people.”

When we contemplate all these things, how weak and inefficient and poor and feeble and contemptible man appears!—how little he has accomplished for the benefit of his fellow-man, or for succeeding generations!

“What is man, that thou art mindful of him?”

What is he? Let us look again and view him in another aspect. Why, he is an eternal being, and possessed within him a principle that is destined to exist “while life and thought and being last or immortality endures.” What is he? He had his being in the eternal worlds; he existed before he came here. He is not only the Son of man, but he is the Son of God also. He is a God in embryo, and possesses within him a spark of that eternal flame which was struck from the blaze of God’s eternal fire in the eternal world, and is placed here upon the earth that he may possess true intelligence, true light, true knowledge—that he may know himself—that he may know God—that he may know something about what he was before he came here—that he may know something about what he is destined to enjoy in the eternal worlds—that he may be fully acquainted with his origin, with his present existence, and with his future destiny—that he may know something about the strength and weakness of human nature—that he may understand the Divine law, and learn to conquer his passions, and bring into subjection every principle that is at variance with the law of God—that he may understand his true relationship to God; and finally, that he may learn how to subdue, to conquer, subject all wrong, seek after, obtain, and possess every true, holy, virtuous, and heavenly principle; and as he is only a sojourner, that he may fulfil the measure of his creation, help himself and family, be a benefit to the present and future generations, and go back to God, having accomplished the work he came here to perform.

And if ever there was a time on the earth, since this world rolled into existence, that man was placed in a most important position, it is at this time. If ever there was a people under the face of the heavens that enjoyed great privileges, and ought to be acquainted with eternal principles, this is the people.

In ages and generations that are past men could not accomplish much. They came in to the world—they lived—they died—they had their Prophets once in a while, and slight manifestations from God. Those Prophets, when wrapped in prophetic vision—when their minds were illuminated with Divine truth, looked through the dark vista of future ages, and contemplated a time when iniquity should no longer triumph, when the powers of darkness should be brought under subjection to the kingdom of God, which should be established in the latter day, and the government of God be maintained, and his holy Priesthood hold universal rule, where there should be a re-organization of light, truth, intelligence, rule, and government pertaining to things that are, to things that were, and to things that are to come. The Prophets in former times had their minds lit up from time to time. They got simply a glimpse of the things that it is our privilege as a people to enjoy.

God has gathered us from among all the nations of the earth. He has called us together by the light of his truth—by the light of his Spirit—by the light of his Gospel of peace. He has gathered us together into one fold; he has given us revelation; he has given us a knowledge of ourselves, and a slight knowledge of himself, so far as we have lived up to our privileges, and so far as we have cultivated the light of the Spirit he has given to us. He has given us a knowledge of our weakness and of our strength and of our imperfections. We are permitted to derive from God all the powers of the Priesthood. The light of truth has been developed, and many things pertaining to the future.

If we will only be faithful, he will lead us on from light to light, from truth to truth, from intelligence to intelligence, until we shall know and see and comprehend God, whom to know is life everlasting. He has planted within us, through the principles of eternal truth, the germs of everlasting life; so that Death, which has been a terror to all nations for generations past, which has caused men to quail, and through which the Jews all their life long were subject to bondage, has lost its terrors on the minds of men who live their religion, who walk according to the laws of the holy Priesthood, and cultivate the Spirit of God. That grim messenger has lost his formidable appearance, and people feel easy and comfortable under any circumstances; that is, those who do right, fear God, work righteousness, and keep his commandments. They know they have within them that principle of eternal life which shall live after this mortal tabernacle shall crumble in the dust.

To them, if it is peace, it is all right; if it is war, it is all right; if it is sickness, it is all right; if it is health, it is all right; for it is all eternal life to the man that is in possession of that principle.

What is man? He is an immortal being. He is a part of the Deity. He is the Son of God, and God is his Father; and he has come here to work out his salvation and accomplish the thing he came into existence for. We have come here to build up the kingdom of God, to establish correct principles, to teach the world righteousness, and to make millions of the human family happy—even all who will listen to the principles of eternal truth. We are here to introduce correct doctrine, to introduce correct morals, to introduce correct philosophy, to introduce correct government and to teach men how to live and how to die—how to be happy in this world and in the world which is to come, and to lay the foundation for eternal lives in the eternal worlds.

What is man? A god, even the son of God, possessing noble aspirations, holy feelings, that may be governed by virtuous principles, possessing elevated ideas, wishing to realize everything that God has destined to submit to all his laws, to endure every kind of privation and affliction and suffering, as seeing Him that is invisible, looking for a city that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God—feeling to live for that purpose, and that alone.

This is what man is, if he lives the religion of heaven, and performs faithfully those things God has appointed him to do, that he may increase from intelligence to intelligence, and go on with that eternal progression, not only in this world, but in worlds without end.

What are we? Do we expect to immortalize our fame by demolishing cities, wasting countries, and destroying their inhabitants? No. Do we expect to have our name perpetuated by being embalmed and laid by, as the Egyptians were after they died? No. Do we expect to perpetuate our fame by building cities and monuments? No. What then? We expect to perpetuate our fame and our name by living and propagating correct principles—by the establishment of correct laws—by the building up of the kingdom of God—by imbibing and receiving light and intelligence from the living God—by living in the enjoyment of all the blessings that God has in reserve for his Saints—by driving back the dark cloud of error and superstition that has overspread the moral horizon of the world—by establishing a nucleus of truth, intelligence, light, morality, philosophy, religion, government, and everything else that is calculated to promote and exalt the human family in time and in all eternity; and then, like some of the ancient patriarchs—like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and many of the ancient Saints, enter into the New Jerusalem, and there live with our posterity, our friends, and relations; and then pass on by the eternal laws of progression to associate with the Gods, worlds without end, in all intelligence and perfection, and in promoting the happiness of all beings pertaining to this world and the world that is to come.

There is something of man when you look at him in a proper point of view.

How much we shall accomplish in this thing I do not know. Some of us very little, I fear.

Some of us are learning to swear almost as good as some of the Gentiles. Some of us are learning to get drunk almost as good as they can. I do not think that will benefit us very much. Some of us are learning to cheat and defraud our neighbours, and some are learning to steal. There is nothing smart about all this. A negro, a Hottentot, or an Indian can do that. There is nothing in these practices that bespeaks an intelligent mind, or that would recommend a person to the estimation of a good man, angels, or God. There is nothing Godlike in them.

It is for us to do right and cultivate correct principles, and seek to be elevated in the scale of human existence in time, that we may be prepared for an eternal exaltation in the eternal worlds.

I pray that God may enlighten our minds, guide our feet in the way of truth, and save us in his kingdom, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

True Civilization

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, March 4, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

In detailing the different grades of people, of which we have known but little, and in discoursing upon their character and habits, I think that Captain Gibson, in his lecture, has been both amusing, instructive, and interesting.

When Captain Gibson first came to this city, he proposed addressing the people, and wished to know whether the subject possessed sufficient interest to warrant an audience. I think he is now well satisfied that he can have all the hearers he wishes.

The religion embraced by the Latter-day Saints, if only slightly understood, prompts them to search diligently after knowledge. There is no other people in existence more eager to see, hear, learn, and understand truth.

In a quotation read by Captain Gibson I noticed the word civilization; and I wish to know whether there is a person present who understands the term as I do. What is meant by “civilization?” We readily answer, “the state of being civilized,”—refinement of manners, in contradistinction to the grossness of savage life. According to my definition of the word, there is not a strictly and fully civilized community now upon the earth. Is there murder by wholesale to be found in a strictly civilized community? Will a community of civilized nations rise up one against another, nation against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, using against each other every destructive invention that can be brought to bear in their wars?

When will they be civilized? When the Lord shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruninghooks; when nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither learn war any more. When the world is in a state of true civilization, man will have ceased to contend against his fellow-man, either as individuals, parties, communities, sects, or nations. This state of civilization will be brought about by the holy Priesthood of the Son of God; and men, with full purpose of heart, will seek unto Him who is pure and holy, even our Great Creator—our Father and God; and he will give them a law that is pure—a government and plan of society possessed by holy beings in heaven. Then there will be no more war, no more bloodshed, no more evil speaking and evil doing; but all will be contented to follow in the path of truth, which alone is calculated to exalt and dignify the whole man, mentally and physically, in all his operations, labours, and purposes. Short of this, mankind cannot be said to be truly civilized.

God forbid that modern civilization should make that simple, unsophisticated people, whom Captain Gibson has portrayed to-night, as are the Christian nations of Europe and America! God forbid that such a civilization should ever be introduced among them! But bestow upon them the principles of eternal truth; teach them how to live so as to do honour to their existence; teach them how to preserve themselves—how to preserve their companions, their associates, friends, and relatives; teach them how to preserve themselves as communities and nations, and how to secure and preserve to every person his equal and legal rights, seeking to preserve them in the truth, in light, in intelligence, in honour; and in every principle and act calculated to make a happy, Godlike, heavenly, social community. These are my views of civilization.

I shall be very happy when I can know that the people of the East Indian Archipelago, and the people on every island and continent, both the high and the low, the ignorant and intelligent, have received the words of eternal life, and have had bestowed upon them the power of the eternal Priesthood of the Son of God, by which they may become truly civilized.

I am trying to civilize myself. Are you trying to do the same? If we have succeeded in this, then we have control over our words and over our actions, and also, so far as our influence goes, over our associates. If we are civilized ourselves, we shall be partially prepared to receive the things that our Father and God has in store for all such as prepare themselves to become recipients of his choice gifts—for enlightenment, for intelligence, for glory, for power, and for every qualification he wishes to bestow upon his children here upon the earth, to prepare them to dwell in mansions of eternal light.

It is written that the greatest gift God can bestow upon man is the gift of eternal life. The greatest attainment that we can reach is to preserve our identity to an eternal duration in the midst of the heavenly hosts. We have the words of eternal life given to us through the Gospel, which, if we obey, will secure unto us that precious gift. The greatest blessing that can be bestowed on the children of men is power to civilize themselves after the order of the civilization of the heavens—to prepare themselves to dwell with heavenly beings who are capable of enduring the presence of the Gods.

It has been supposed by many writers that there is a regular gradation from the vegetable kingdom to the highest intelligence that has been bestowed upon man, gradually rising from one degree of intelligence to another. We learn that great intelligence has been bestowed upon certain persons among the children of men. We discern degrees of intelligence in our own society. There are also degrees of intelligence in a national capacity. There are degrees of intelligence in one family: you see its variations in communities, and you may mark its gradations from the highest and most refined intelligence of man down to the brute creation.

God has given this great variety of intelligence. He has also given this great variety of forms—that eternal variety which we see upon this earth, not only among human beings, but in every class of all the creations of God; and they are all designed to be preserved to all eternity. None of them were made to be destroyed, except those that do not abide the law given them.

The earth will abide its creation, and will be counted worthy of receiving the blessings designed for it, and will ultimately roll back into the presence of God who formed it and established its mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms. These will all be retained upon the earth, come forth in the resurrection, and abide for ever and for ever.

Who will be destroyed? Those who have the words of eternal life offered to them and reject those words. They will remain uncivilized and in their heathenish darkness. There are others who will become civilized, purified, and prepared to dwell to all eternity in the kingdoms God has prepared for them.

The last time I spoke to you here I told you that I found my religion just as sweet to me in my private capacity, in my secret meditations upon my bed, and in my closet, in my office, or with my family, as it is when I am in this stand. I love it as well—esteem it as highly; it is as precious to my understanding, and it invigorates, buoys up, strengthens, and fills every power of my capacity with unspeakable joy, just as much at home as it does here. I hope this is the case with you all. If you live your religion, it is as dear to you when you are out of this Tabernacle as when you are here. Live your religion, walk humbly before your God, and secure to yourselves eternal life. That is what I desire; it is what I pray for.

The kingdom of God will roll, and no power can stop the work that the Almighty has commenced. Kings, rulers, governors, presidents, peoples, and all the armies of hell joined with them will never be able to impede the steady, onward, accelerated progress of this glorious latter-day work. If we should deny the faith of the holy Gospel, and go out of this Church, still it will roll on the same. This kingdom will stand for ever. This religion will abide the day of the coming of the Lord Jesus, and will prepare us to meet him in peace.

Live your religion, walk uprightly, deal justly, love mercy, eschew evil of every kind, and sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and purify and sanctify your affections with the principles of eternal life, that Jesus may fulfil his own words—that he, by his Spirit, may be in you a well of water springing up to everlasting life.

The world is before us, eternity is before us, and an inexhaustible fountain of intelligence for us to obtain. Every man, and more particularly my immediate associates who are with me daily, know how I regret the ignorance of this people—how it floods my heart with sorrow to see so many Elders of Israel who wish everybody to come to their standard and be measured by their measure. Every man must be just so long, to fit their iron bedstead, or be cut off to the right length: if too short, he must be stretched, to fill the requirement.

If they see an erring brother or sister, whose course does not comport with their particular ideas of things, they conclude at once that he or she cannot be a Saint, and withdraw their fellowship, concluding that, if they are in the path of truth, others must have precisely their weight and dimensions.

The ignorance I see, in this particular, among this great people is lamentable. Let us not narrow ourselves up; for the world, with all its variety of useful information and its rich hoard of hidden treasure, is before us; and eternity, with all its sparkling intelligence, lofty aspirations, and unspeakable glories, is before us, and ready to aid us in the scale of advancement and every useful improvement.

See that your children are properly educated in the rudiments of their mother tongue, and then let them proceed to higher branches of learning; let them become more informed in every department of true and useful learning than their fathers are. When they have become well acquainted with their language, let them study other languages, and make themselves fully acquainted with the manners, customs, laws, governments, and literature of other nations, peoples, and tongues. Let them also learn all the truth pertaining to the arts and sciences, and how to apply the same to their temporal wants. Let them study things that are upon the earth, that are in the earth, and that are in the heavens.

There are hundreds in this community who are more eager to become rich in the perishable things of this world than to adorn their minds with the power of self-government, and with a knowledge of things as they were, as they are, and as they are to come. I will say to such, Get rich in gold and silver, in horses and lands, in goods and chattels, in flocks and herds, until you possess all you can possibly gain; but let me caution you not to get one cent, unless you get it honestly. And when you have amassed your millions, never allow yourselves to possess one dollar with the belief that you are capable of disposing of it judiciously without wisdom from our God. In all things inquire of the Lord, that you may wisely direct your earthly substance, as well as the energies of your minds, to the building up of his kingdom and the consummation of his purposes pertaining to this world and our salvation.

We are not yet half civilized, though we are more civilized than any nation upon the earth. Our neighbours say we are barbarians, sunk in heathenish ignorance. I will acknowledge my lack of memory to retain scientific phrases, and the names of places, and of men who have figured in the history of the world. With these exceptions, I am not a whit behind them as to a knowledge of things as they are, though I confess that my knowledge is limited. If they understand the Hebrew language, I understand its roots, and how it originated. If they understand the Greek tongue, I know whence it came, and how it was introduced among men.

I know the cause of the various languages and customs among the people, and the reason of the variation in our appearance, and the difference in the intelligence given to the children of men; and after all, I feel very ignorant, when I scan the wide field there is for improvement; and I know that this community are ignorant, and are not what they should be. I also know that if the enemies of truth will let us alone, as barbarous as we are, we will soon show them the most peaceable, right-loving, and law-abiding community in the wide world. We will show them the most civil community—a community farther advanced in the arts of refinement than any other upon the earth. We will show them men and women the most profound in learning, and mechanics the most expert and ingenious. We will show them men endowed with the most brilliant natural talent and the most wisdom that can be found in the world. We will do this, if they will cease driving us from our homes, and robbing us of our homesteads to the music of the rifle and cannon, and the horrible oaths and fiendish hilarity of civilized mobs who mock at our sufferings, and laugh to scorn our sorrows. If they will not let us alone, we will take the musket and the sword in one hand, the trowel and the hammer in the other, and build up the Zion of our God; and they cannot prevent it.

I am very thankful for the knowledge I have received from Captain Gibson’s book, from the little I have conversed with him, and from the lectures I have heard him deliver. I shall not cease learning while I live, nor when I arrive in the spirit-world; but shall there learn with greater facility; and when I again receive my body, I shall learn a thousand times more in a thousand times less time; and then I do not mean to cease learning, but shall still continue my researches.

Let us be patient with one another. I do not altogether look at things as you do. My judgment is not in all things like yours; nor yours like mine. When you judge a man or woman, judge the intentions of the heart. It is not by words, particularly, nor by actions, that men will be judged in the great day of the Lord; but, in connection with words and actions, the sentiments and intentions of the heart will be taken, and by these will men be judged.

There are men in this community who make blunders; but they would not do an intentional wrong. They are weak; they do not fully understand themselves, and are sometimes overtaken in fault. Am I to condemn them? No; but to take them by the hand, and lift them up, and instruct them—give them a little intelligence as they can receive it. If they can receive but a little, give them only a little, exercising patience with them.

Ye mighty men of God, make sure the path for your own feet to walk to eternal life, and take as many with you as you can. Take them as they are, understand them as they are, and deal with them as they are; look at them as God looks at them, and then you can judge them as he would judge them.

May the Lord bless you! Amen.

Hints to Faultfinders

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, March 5, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I rejoice in the privilege of speaking to you this morning, and hope I shall have your prayers and faith, in connection with my own, that my remarks may be beneficial to those who hear.

Brother Spencer, in his remarks, indicated that there are some fault-finders here—some who take exceptions to the acts and doings of the Saints, especially to those of their leaders. Some of these persons profess to be Saints, some have been cut off from the Church, and some have never been in the Church.

I have no part with such men, neither have I any contention or argument with them. I am sent to preach the Gospel of life and salvation. If men are not pleased with my ways, they have as good a right to dislike them as I have to dislike theirs. If they do not believe in my advice, teachings, and counsel, they are at perfect liberty to disbelieve them, and I will not find one word of fault with them for so doing. They have full liberty to think and say what they please with regard to my acts; but, as I have often said, they must keep their “hands off.” The slander and lying of tongues set in motion by wicked hearts I have always met, and they do not affect my character before my God, nor in the eyes of just men.

Take the evildoers, in this community, those who have once tasted of the good word of God, who have received the Spirit of truth, and then turned again to the allurements of the enemy, have forsaken their God in their feelings, and connected themselves with those who are not in the Church; they know my character, and have much more confidence in me than I have in them. They believe what I say to be the truth; but they deceive, and I know it. I tell the truth; and, so far as I have power, I always act the truth; but they are disposed to refuse and neglect the truth, and to prefer error and falsehood instead.

I have very little to say to men who are dissatisfied with my course, or with the course of my brethren. Some have wished me to explain why we built an adobe wall around this city. Are there any Saints who stumble at such things? Oh, slow of heart to understand and believe. I build walls, dig ditches, make bridges, and do a great amount and variety of labour that is of but little consequence only to provide ways and means for sustaining and preserving the destitute. I annually expend hundreds and thousands of dollars almost solely to furnish employment to those in want of labour. Why? I have potatoes, flour, beef, and other articles of food, which I wish my brethren to have; and it is better for them to labour for those articles, so far as they are able and have opportunity, than to have them given to them. They work, and I deal out provisions, often when the work does not profit me.

I say to all grunters, grumblers, whiners, hypocrites, and sycophants, who snivel, crouch, and crawl around the most contemptible of all creatures for a slight favour, Should it enter my mind to dig down the Twin Peaks, and I set men to work to do so, it is none of your business, neither is it the business of all earth and hell, provided I pay the labourers their wages. I am not to be called in question as to what I do with my funds, whether I build high walls or low walls, garden walls or city walls; and if I please, it is my right to pull down my walls tomorrow. If any one wishes to apostatize upon such grounds, the quicker he does so the better; and if he wishes to leave the Territory, but is too poor to do so, I will assist him to go. We are much better off without such characters.

I preach to the people and reason with them with regard to the dealings of God with the children of men. Many have apostatized because we were driven by our enemies from Missouri, notwithstanding they were taught that we never should be driven, if the people would sanctify themselves and be prepared for the blessings in store for them. But no, they did not sanctify themselves, and all the subsequent schooling was necessary to prepare the Latter-day Saints to receive the blessings of the Almighty. We are not prepared to receive his choicest gifts, unless we also have experience to know what to do with them. How many years have the Saints been taught upon these principles, to give them an understanding of the dealings of the Lord with the children of men?

When a man begins to find fault inquiring in regard to this, that, and the other, saying, “Does this or that look as though the Lord dictated it?” you may know that that person has more or less of the spirit of apostacy. Every man in this kingdom, or upon the face of the earth, who is seeking with all his heart to save himself, has as much to do as he can conveniently attend to, without calling in question that which does not belong to him. If he succeeds in saving himself, it has well occupied his time and attention. See to it that you are right yourselves; see that sins and folly do not manifest themselves with the rising sun. I repeat that it is as much as any one can well do to take care of himself by performing every duty that pertains to his temporal and eternal welfare.

Suppose that in this community there are ten beggars who beg from door to door for something to eat, and that nine of them are impostors who beg to escape work, and with an evil heart practise imposition upon the generous and sympathetic, and that only one of the ten who visit your doors is worthy of your bounty; which is best, to give food to the ten, to make sure of helping the truly needy one, or to repulse the ten because you do not know which is the worthy one? You will all say, Administer charitable gifts to the ten, rather than turn away the only truly worthy and truly needy person among them. If you do this, it will make no difference in your blessings, whether you administer to worthy or unworthy persons, inasmuch as you give alms with a single eye to assist the truly needy.

Again: Suppose that you are required to do ten pieces of work, but of the ten only one is necessary for the promotion of the kingdom of God; which had you better do—perform the ten pieces of labour, to be sure of doing the right piece, or neglect the whole ten because you do not know which the right one is? Had you not better do the whole ten pieces, that you may be sure of performing that which the Lord does really require at your hands?

First, believe in the Lord God Almighty, in his Son Jesus Christ, and in his Prophets that he sent in days of old; then believe in Joseph Smith, and do the works of the Father, before you question what I dictate to this people.

The Lord says, by one of the ancient prophets, “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their hearts far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precepts of men; therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you; for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night; and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.”

The sound of the Gospel of life and salvation, to gather the house of Israel and redeem the children of men, is a terror to all nations. The fulfilment of this prophecy is plainly manifest, as is also that of revelations given in our day in connection with the great latter-day work; and yet all modern Christian communities disbelieve in new revelation. Are they hunted and cast out? No: they are received in the first society of the land as gentlemen. They are associates for Presidents and governors—for the chief rulers of the nation, who receive them with all the courtesy and generous kindness of which they are capable. But let men come, as Peter, James, and John, with words of eternal truth in their mouths, and they are despised and looked upon with withering scorn, as I and others of my brethren have been, and as Joseph Smith was, who was slain by the hands of wicked men.

Why do men hate me? Why do they hate you? Why did they hate Joseph Smith, Jesus Christ, and his ancient Apostles? Jesus they nailed to a cross, and Peter they crucified with his head downwards. John the Evangelist they banished to one of the islands of the Mediterranean, to be a slave in the lead mines, and tried to destroy him by putting him into a cauldron of boiling oil. Had he declared that Jesus and Moses were impostors, and that revelations from heaven were a humbug, would they have treated him as they did? They would not, but would have hailed him as one of their bosom friends. Hatred and persecution have been the lot of every man that ever lived upon the earth holding the oracles of the kingdom of heaven to deliver to the children of men. Wicked men, Satan and all the powers of hell hate and are at war with every holy principle that God wishes to place in the possession of his children. That is the true reason of the hatred and persecution meted out to us.

If people will believe the Gospel, and live by the principles thereof, they will be saved. They will not be fault-finders, they will not be discontented, they will not be workers of iniquity, they will not seek to falsify and change the truth into a lie, nor a lie into the truth; they will not seek to make white black, and black white. The Spirit of God has no place in persons who do such things. What have I to do with them? I am willing to preach the Gospel to all, and to seek the eternal good of all people. I have examined myself very closely; I have been trying to learn myself, to govern myself, and purify my own heart. The worst evil I can imagine or wish to come upon the enemies of truth is, that they be obliged to live by holy principles, and to deal by their fellow-creatures as they would wish to be dealt by. This is the worst wish I can possibly wish upon my worst enemies who thirst for my life. There is no question but what this would be a great punishment to them. I would not wish them to be punished any more, nor to suffer any more. But I also could wish them to forsake the evil influence within them, which they constantly yield to, and partake of good and holy influences, that they may rejoice in the truth.

I shall see the day when every son and daughter of Adam will bow the knee, and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world—that to him we owe our lives, and that we are indebted to him, and through him to the Father, for every blessing we enjoy. They will acknowledge his right to rule and govern, King of nations, as he does King of Saints. This they must do, notwithstanding all their hatred. Can people receive this? Yes, every son and daughter of Adam can; though I once in a while meet with an individual who says that he cannot believe in religion of any kind. I will venture to say that there are men in this Church who would tell you so, were you to converse with them privately. They will tell you that they cannot in the least degree comprehend angels, spirits, God, and the kingdoms and thrones of the eternal worlds, nor anything of that character.

What do I say to such persons? Live that moral religion you believe in; for they believe in the same moral religion that you and I do. Let them deal justly with their fellow-men, be truthful, honest, and charitable, full of good works to the day of their death, and I will insure them that the kingdom of God is theirs. And when their spirits leave their bodies, their eyes will be opened to see those heavenly and eternal realities which they could not comprehend while in the flesh. Now, I do not admit that good, active, bright, intelligent hearts and brains, or, in other words, good spirits put in mortal tabernacles are quite so ignorant as some imagine, although they may feel that they are, and may think that they cannot conceive of anything but what they hear with their ears, see with their eyes, &c. This is a mistake: they can see and understand more, but they do not know how to classify it. Let this be as it may, as I have said already, all who will correctly live an external religion are entitled to a degree of salvation.

Man is a mystery to himself. You see some who at once believe the truth when they hear the Gospel of salvation declared by the servants of God. Truth fastens upon their understandings, they yield to it at once and openly acknowledge it, and yet they live for years and years without receiving a love of that truth. Is not this a great mystery? It partially is In their outward faith and lives they believe the Gospel of salvation as much as any person can; and, after all, darkness will come upon them; they will forget the love and communion they had with the Spirit of the Lord, and turn away from the holy commandments, and tell you that they never knew that the Gospel was true. How many are there of this class, year by year, who will say, “We never knew the truth of ‘Mormonism?’” I will relate an incident by way of illustration. A brother now here and working for us had a brother in Nauvoo, in the days of Joseph, who was sent to England on a mission. He went and preached to his brother that is now here, and bore testimony to him that he knew Joseph Smith to be a Prophet of God, that the New Testament is true, that the Book of Mormon is true, that the Book of Doctrine and Covenants contains true revelations from God, that God had sent an angel from heaven revealing the everlasting Priesthood, and had bestowed the Holy Ghost upon his servants, which he would give to all who believed in their words. Thus he preached to his brother and to the people, and returned to his house in Nauvoo. In a few years his brother came to Nauvoo, and the brother previously there began to tell him that “Mormonism” was not true, and that if Joseph Smith was ever a Prophet, he must have been a fallen Prophet. His brother then asked about the Book of Mormon. “Why,” said he, “I do not think it is true, though I do not really know.” “How about the Bible?” “I do not know much about it; but I think you had better stop here: here are houses and lands unoccupied, for the Mormons have gone west, and left their gardens, farms, and the furniture in their houses, and you can make money here.” “But is not ‘Mormonism’ true?” “I do not think it is, for the Mormons are now clearing out to go into the wilderness.” “But,” said his brother, “That has nothing to do with it. It is no matter where they go. Is the doctrine you preached to me in England true?” “Well, I do not hardly think it is.” Finally he said, “It is not true,” “Well,” said the young man, “I will ask you a single question: Did you tell the truth when you came to England to preach the Gospel? or did you lie then, and now tell the truth? You either lied then or now, and I want you to tell me which time you lied.” He did not reply. “Now brother, I have a few words to say to you: You came to England and preached the Gospel, and told me not to trust in man, but to seek unto the Lord my God, in the name of Jesus Christ, and receive a witness for myself and know for myself that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God, that the Book of Mormon is true, and that God has set to his hand to gather the house of Israel and build up Zion. You said, Do not rely upon my word; for if you believe and embrace the Gospel, you have the promise of receiving the Holy Ghost. Now, I have to say to you that I did not merely take your word, for I did not consider I was under any obligation to believe and embrace what you called the Gospel, unless the Lord revealed it to me. You were to me a fingerboard to point the right way: I walked in it, and received a testimony that Joseph Smith is a true Prophet, that the Book of Mormon is true, and that this work is the work of the Almighty. You have apostatized. I am going to the camp of the Saints, and you may go where you please.” He left his brother, and is here in good standing with us. That illustrates a principle I wished to have you understand.

I recollect that while on my way to Ohio, to see brother Joseph the first time, I took dinner with a Mr. Gillmore—I think a Methodist priest. He began to tell me the character of Joseph Smith, what he had been guilty of, how long he had been a money-digger, how long a horse-jockey, and how many horses he had stolen; and his statement made Joseph to be some seventy or eighty years of age. I said to him, “Joseph Smith I never saw. He says that he has received revelations from God, and declared that an angel visited him. He has declared that he found plates, and other witnesses have seen and handled them, from which the Book of Mormon was translated. I know nothing about these witnesses, neither do I care. I went to my Father in heaven and asked him with regard to the truth of the doctrines taught by Joseph Smith, and I know they will save all that will hearken to them, and that those who do not will miss salvation in the celestial kingdom of God; and though Joseph Smith should steal horses every day, or gamble every night, or deny his Saviour from the crowing of the cock in the morning until sunset in the evening, I know that the doctrine he preaches is the power of God to my salvation, if I live it. I did not make him a revelator; I have no business to dictate him. I never called him in question, even in my feelings, for an act of his, except once. I did not like his policy in a matter, and a feeling came into my heart that would have led me to complain; but it was much shorter lived than Jonah’s gourd, for it did not last half a minute.

Much of Joseph’s policy in temporal things was different from my ideas of the way to manage them. He did the best he could, and I do the best I can. Joseph’s hands were continually tied. Who dared to trust him with their money? Very few. He had to defend lawsuit upon lawsuit. He passed through forty-seven lawsuits, and in the most of them I was with him. He was obliged to employ lawyers, and devise ways and means to shield himself from oppression. He had to struggle through poverty and distress, being driven from pillar to post. I wondered many a time that he could endure what he did. The Lord gave him strength in all these afflictions.

I do not employ lawyers, unless they are my brethren; and I seldom have occasion for employing them. Lawyers would come to Joseph, professing to have been his friends, and palaver around him, to get a fee. I could see through them and read their evil intentions.

The worst wish I have for such characters is that they had been obliged to tell Joseph Smith the truth when they came to him. Then they would have said, “Joseph, we have been laying our plans to get you into a lawsuit, and we want you to employ us, that we may receive a fat fee from you for defending your case.” Or, “there is an election coming off, and we take this course to turn your vote.” Bennett told the truth once when he said, “There is not much to be made in political traffic with the ‘Mormons.’” It never did any of them any good. We are not to be bought or sold.

I will now make a few more remarks upon, belief and disbelief, understanding and not understanding. I am satisfied that persons are sometimes not so ignorant as they think they are. Faith is an eternal principle; belief is an admission of the fact. Faith, to us, is the gift of God; belief is inherent in the children of men, and is the foundation for the reception of faith. The principle of love within us is an attribute of the Deity, and it is placed within us to be dispensed independently according to our own will. Hatred is another attribute inherent in our organization. These and other inherent principles were planted in man when he was organized in the spirit, and when the spirit took the body they were not destroyed. Belief and unbelief are independent in man, the same as other attributes. Men can acknowledge or reject, turn to the right or to the left, rise up or remain seated: you can say that the Lord and his Gospel are not worthy of your notice, or you can bow to them. When the Elders went into your neighbourhoods to preach the Gospel, you had the privilege of believing or disbelieving. You believed it; your neighbours disbelieve it. It is free and at your own option to di[s]pose of at your pleasure. Could not your neighbours have believed the truth as well as you? Yes.

Now, follow out this idea to the last days in which we live, the time spoken of by the Prophets, and by the Saviour, and his ancient Apostles, when the unbelief and hardness of the hearts of the children of men would cause them to be overcome by the power of Satan, to yield themselves to be servants to that wicked one. God has borne and foreborne with them, until he has begun to send them strong delusions, as he long foretold that he would, that they might believe a lie and be damned, for they have pleasure in unrighteousness, and have no pleasure in truthfulness, nor in the salvation of the Lord Jesus. They have pleasure in rioting, fighting, warring, killing, contentions, and every crime that can be enumerated. What will become of their belief? Will it not perish? Yes. When you believe the principles of the Gospel and attain unto faith, which is a gift of God, he adds more faith, adding faith to faith. He bestows faith upon his creatures as a gift; but his creatures inherently possess the privilege of believing the Gospel to be true or false. Is the belief they possess, to believe a lie expressly that they may be damned, faith? No. You may say it is a portion of faith. It is immaterial to me what you call it. It is the belief, the ability, the power that God has organized in the organization of man, and which he can do with as he pleases. If he uses it to believe a lie that he may be damned, both himself and his belief will perish and fall, to rise no more, while God will bestow faith on those who believe the truth.

Forsake the Spirit of the Lord—the Holy Ghost—the influence that comes from above, and partake of an earthly, dark, unbelieving influence or spirit, and your faith is gone; you have no faith. Is there a person who can possess faith without belief? No. Can men possess belief without faith? Yes, every son and daughter of Adam. Belief is an inherent principle in the organism of man to lay the foundation for faith.

I will sum it up again: Faith is an eternal principle—one of the attributes of the Deity by which the worlds are and were created. Belief is the admission of either truth or falsehood.

It has been stated that I teach the doctrine that the Gods continue to increase in all their attributes to all eternity. Have you ever heard me teach such a doctrine? I have taught doctrine; but have I called in question any of the Gods? It has been stated that God our Father comprehends eternity, from eternity to eternity, all there is, all there was, all there ever can be about eternity, in and through it. When a person undertakes to establish such a doctrine, what does he do? He gives bounds to that eternity which he at the same time admits to be boundless. Admit such doctrine, and eternity flees away like the shadow of morning; and that is as much as I ever teach about it. Do I say that heavenly beings improve? I am not yet there; I do not know.

Understand eternity? There is not and never was a man in finite flesh who understands it. Enoch has been referred to in this matter. How many of the Gods and kingdoms he saw when the vision of his mind was opened, matters not. If he had seen more than he could have enumerated throughout his long life, and more than all the men on earth could multiply from the time his vision opened until now, he would not have attained to the comprehension of eternity. How much Enoch saw, how many worlds he saw, has nothing to do with the case. This is a matter that wise men know nothing about. I do not know, though I know as much about it as any man in this house or in this generation. I can comprehend, by the words of eternal life, that there is an eternity before me. Has it bounds? Whether it has or not, neither we nor any other finite beings can comprehend it.

I will leave this subject, because I am not capable of understanding it. You leave it, and do not contend about things that are beyond our reach—that are too great for you to know at present. And when you go into the spirit-world you will not understand it; and when you have lived in the spirit-world until you again receive your bodies, you still cannot understand it; but you can continue to learn more and more about it, in the same manner as we learn here. I can teach many things about the future existence of man; but it is more directly our business to pay attention to those duties that more immediately concern us while we are here.

Brother Spencer says that we can tell a little about God the Father by his handiwork. It is very little. What does the world know? A wicked man may pray from this time to all eternity, and he will not be able to discern the print of his footsteps. It takes a spiritually-minded wise man to discern the hand of God in all things, and to be ready to acknowledge it, to discern that he rules among the armies of heaven, and that he is dictating, ruling, managing, and turning the hearts of the people on the earth to the right and to the left. He grants this and takes away that at his pleasure, but the people do not know it; they cannot discern it. One may here say, “What am I to do? If God dictates and guides the hearts of the people, they cease then to be responsible?” He gives to all men their agency to act, reserving to himself the right to control the results of their acts. The Lord does not dictate to do wrong; but when men are disposed to do wrong, he brings out the results in accordance with his own pleasure. You may plant and water, but can you make a kernel of grain or a spear of grass? This is not in the power of man to do; but God in his providences produces this. Let the Lord send an angel through this valley to cause certain properties in the air and water to depart, and your grain-crops fall, or your fruit is cut off. He says to you, “Go and do a piece of work.” You do it, and by means of this he causes your enemies to stumble. Say that you are tilling the soil, and the Lord says to an angel, Do thus and so. What do you receive for your labour? Perhaps fifty, sixty, or a hundred bushels of wheat to an acre, when another year, perhaps, in the same place and with like labour, you do not receive more than five, ten, or fifteen bushels. Do you know the cause of this? No. No man can know, unless he enjoys the revelations of the Almighty. I make these remarks that you may understand that our Father controls the results of our acts at his own pleasure, and we cannot prevent it. Man can produce and control his own acts, but he has no control over their results. God causes even the wrath of man to praise him, to resound to his glory and the salvation of his children.

Israel were slaves in Egypt four hundred years; they were treated harshly and cruelly, and their children were slain. Then the Lord took them out from Egypt to wander in the wilderness forty years, travelling about as far as from here to Nauvoo—a distance that we can travel and back again in a season. This was to produce a result. They could not understand why they wandered thus in the wilderness; but God knew. They could not understand why he said to Jacob that they should wander in a strange land four hundred years; but the result was for the salvation of the children of men. God had promised to save that seed; but their wickedness would not let him save them without giving them the punishment they received. God took them into the spirit-world and raised up their children to do a better work. If the Lord has promised to save a son of a man or woman that is full of faith—has promised that he shall come into his kingdom, though that son be froward and disposed to be wicked, yet he will receive his punishment in the flesh. Now, on the other hand, do not become Universalists and say that every man and woman receives punishment only in this world, for that is not true.

There are a number of other things that I might speak about; but I have spoken long enough.

God bless you! Amen.

The Holy Priesthood, etc.

Orson Hyde

A discourse by Elder Orson Hyde, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, March 25, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

Brethren and sisters, it has fallen to my lot to make a few remarks to you this morning. Were my own feelings gratified, I should be a hearer on this occasion, and not a speaker; but I am willing to contribute my mite to increase, if possible, the current of intelligence, and to increase the comfort and happiness of the Saints of God.

We, brethren and sisters, are occupying a very important position. Perhaps we do not all realize it; and I may also add that very likely I do not realize the importance of the position that I occupy as an individual identified with the body of the people.

There were some few reflections passing through my mind this morning, while contemplating the scenes that are before us. There are two things that are for us to consider—the truth and certainty that God has verily spoken to us from on high, or that he has not. One or the other of these statements is certainly true. We profess that he has spoken to us from heaven, and revealed unto us his mind and will touching our duties and the course of life that we should pursue in order to build up his kingdom and spread the light of truth throughout the world.

Now, if he really has spoken to us—if he really has given to us the holy Priesthood, which is the power that rules in heaven, and the prayers of all Christendom are, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,”—if these prayers be heard and answered, the same power that rules in the heavens must eventually rule on earth. Then, if the Priesthood has been given to us, as we claim it has, we are occupying a very important position in the world. What is this Priesthood? What is this power that is conferred upon us in the holy Priesthood? What particular power do you give when you send a man to some other land to transact business in your name? You give him a power of attorney, authorizing him to transact in your name the business that you wish to be performed; and in that letter of appointment would be conveyed all your power, your authority, and ability to transact that business, even as effectually as if you yourself were present to perform it with your own hand.

It is an agency, then, though it may be said that the Priesthood, which is authority from God to act in his name, differs from that authority which is given to man to transact business for his fellows. I am willing to admit that there is a difference so far as the business for which they are delegated is concerned; for one is temporal, the other is spiritual; the one is earthly, the other heavenly. But let me ask, Where is the man who is authorized to go forth and act in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? If I obey my own will—my inclination or burning desire to go and preach what I believe to be the Gospel, that does not authorize me to go in the name of the Lord. If I, by my own act and deed, have authorized my friend to go in my name, to give receipts and acquittances, to sign conveyances for me or in my behalf, and under my own signature he has received that authority, he then has authority in himself; that is, the authority in me is transferred to him to go and transact business in my name. Am I then bound by what he does? Yes, to all intents and purposes. Am I bound by the act of any individual authorized by another person, yet not authorized by me? No, I am not. Is the transaction of any other than my legally-appointed attorney valid to me in law? No, it is not: it is worth nothing.

Well, then, if this people have the holy Priesthood—if it has been conferred upon us, and we actually do exercise under that Priesthood, and according to the instructions that are given us from on high, is or is not the Almighty bound to respond to and to own our deeds and acts? Is he not bound upon the principles of law, even that are common among men and well known to us? Most certainly he is. Did you ever know a gentleman or agent delegated by an individual to go forth to do business in the name of that person, and yet deny that he had any line of communication with the principal or party for whom he was agent? That would be a contradiction of the position he occupied. If he claims to have authority and power to transact business, the inference is legitimate and conclusive that he has had a correspondence with the principal by whom he is employed. But what do the world at large tell us? Why, that God has not spoken from the heavens—that he has given no revelation—that he has not made known his will to man for the last seventeen or eighteen centuries. Admitting the truth of this statement, where, then, is their authority to act in that name? Their denial of any correspondence—of any communication between the King of kings, is clear and conclusive that they themselves testify, by these statements, that they have no such authority as they pretend to exercise.

To act in the name of another, then, without having the requisite authority, what does it amount to in law? Does it amount to forgery to use a name without authority? Yes, even the name of any man in business transactions.

If it is not forgery, what else would you call it? What would you lawyers term it? And if it be forgery, what is the penalty? Is it not a fine? Is it not imprisonment? And does it not deprive a man of citizenship and liberty? Most assuredly it does. Well, then, to commit forgery against man is but a trifling offence to the committing of forgery against the King of kings and Lord of lords, by the use of his name when we are not authorized. Hence we are told that no man shall take the name of the Lord his God in vain, “for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”

If I am not legally appointed to act as a minister of Jesus, am I not taking his name in vain? Judge ye what I say. It is my opinion that when the vail is rent, there will be a page disclosed that will astonish the world; for the holy Priesthood has been given unto us—that is, authority to act in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ; and a voice from heaven has declared that at that name every knee shall bow and every tongue confess. If we are authorized by that personage, and he has given us a right to use his name, then our heavenly Father is bound to fulfil and to honour our acts and doings, when we proceed according to the letter of instructions that he has given to us. Judge ye. My declaration, however, may not be sufficient; therefore I will refer you to the declaration of the Son of God, which bears directly on the point at issue. What is it? “Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matt. xviii. 18.) Hear it, ye people! Hear it, ye that mock at the authority of God, and remember that I have declared and borne testimony that the kingdom of God has come nigh unto you.

Again: If this Priesthood has been committed unto us, and I will take the responsibility of saying, in the name that I have named before you that this authority has been conferred and placed upon us by messengers from the courts of glory; and this is as strong a testimony as I am capable of bearing on this point. I know it, and I am an eye-witness before you, and so are my brethren who surround me on this Stand; and it is written that the testimony of two or three is good, and by it shall every word be established. The testimony of two in a court of justice will hang a man, or take away his liberty.

Now, we, in the sacredness of that name, bear testimony unto you that the Priesthood has been given to man, and we do it with the assurance that God will respond to the deeds done in his name, and by the authority of that Priesthood which he has given; and remember that he has said unto his servants who are clothed with his power, as he said unto those whom he called when his Son ministered amongst men, “Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

The Priesthood that does not possess this power I would give no more for than I would for a power issued and given from any irresponsible source. There is no power in it to back it up or to respond to its petitions. We do not ask for such a Priesthood—one that would lead us to commit forgery and to use that name in vain of which I have been speaking; I say we do not ask for any information or power from such a source. Such a Priesthood would subject me to a penalty that I would not like to incur; neither would any man that has any knowledge, or that knows his right hand from his left. But, O the ignorance and blindness of this generation! They know not the right hand from the left in the things of God, with all their boasted wisdom and skill, and all their inventions. They are wise in many things that pertain to this world, and they possess some knowledge of the sciences; but when they come to the policy of the King of kings and Lord of lords, they know little or nothing about it.

We say, again, that we are occupying an important position. Take it on the other hand, and let us see how we stand. If God has spoken to us and given to us the holy Priesthood, then this is the only door by which men and women can enter and be saved in the kingdom of God; this is the only door that enters into the celestial kingdom, that entitles us to dominions, principalities, and powers: it is the only door and key by which mankind can obtain an entrance into life everlasting.

The world is arrayed against us. They have long sought an action against the people of God, and what are they doing? Now, says the Almighty, I have given unto you power to save all mankind that believe and repent. Oh, but says the world, that is blasphemy!—that is taking the laurels of the Saviour and twining them around your own brow! Do you assume such responsibility as that? It is the very height of folly and wretchedness. This is what our accusers say: but let us look at this matter a little. Did not the Saviour say, when speaking to the Jews, “If the salt has lost its savour, then it has no power to save, and is good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men”? and, says the Prophet—“Saviours shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the Mount of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.” Did not our Saviour say, “He that heareth you heareth me?” Then if we have this authority, this Priesthood, this agency to act in that name—the name and power and Priesthood of the Saviour, are we not entitled to a fulfilment of the promise—“Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world”? What more can you ask?—what more can you desire?

This is the virtue of that Priesthood that the Saviour has conferred upon us by the powers that are centred on high, and this I know to be true. Although it is bestowed upon a people that is everywhere spoken against, yet I feel to say in my heart, God be thanked that he has conferred this honour upon us! We ought to be willing to endure the hardness of the world as good soldiers.

Don’t you know that the world are seeking to ensnare and kill their only saviours? If they kill us, they are damned. Hear it! Ensnare us, and you shall be ensnared. Throw stumbling blocks in our way, and stumbling-blocks shall be thrown in yours. I speak by authority. I know the source whence the authority came.

I am here reminded of a little anecdote—a little circumstance that will serve to illustrate what I would wish to say. I do not know that I shall get it exactly right, but I shall be able to get the principle. Once, in Nauvoo, brother Joseph Smith had a dream. It was about the time of his troubles, just before his martyrdom. He dreamed that certain characters had dug a pit and bound his arms with a view of pushing him into it. Well, there he was, with his hands bound fast and all ready for being pushed into the pit. But when his enemies made a stride at him, they happened to miss him and fell in themselves. Then, when they could not get out themselves, they cried to Joseph, saying, “Help us out of the pit!” But he said, “I cannot do it, for you have bound me.”

That is the position of the world. They desire to destroy their only real benefactors; and when they get into trouble, so that they cannot save themselves, they will cry to the servants of God for deliverance; but the reply will be—“You have bound us, you have crushed us, and have rendered it impossible for us to save you.” Then the cries of the wicked will ascend up to heaven; and finally, when they are brought before the judgment-seat it will be said unto them, “Depart from me, ye cursed; for I was an hungered, and ye fed me not; I was naked, and ye clothed me not; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink.”

Well, then, inasmuch as the salvation of the world is to a great extent dependent upon our integrity and the faithful performance of our duties in this Priesthood, do you not see that we are required to work not only for our own salvation, but for the welfare and salvation of others? Now, if we respect mankind, we will not waste any of our valuable time, but go right forward; and although men may meet us with their rifles, with their cannon, and engines of death, yet the day will come when they will thank God that there was integrity in us and a disposition to save, because they will find that their salvation has depended upon us. And were we to turn back and fly from the track, they would curse us for having done so; for they will see that if they gain any favour at all, it will be owing to our faithful adherence to the cause with which we have been entrusted.

Brethren and sisters, there are many things that pass through my mind when I reflect upon the magnitude of the work in which we are engaged; but I feel as though I had said just about enough at this time.

[Blessed the sacrament cup.]

Brother Young says he wishes me to go ahead and speak as I feel led by the Spirit. But when I arose I did not anticipate speaking but a few minutes; and hence, I keyed my voice too high for a lengthy speech. Though willing to speak, I have to confess that I feel my voice giving way. In my remarks so far, I have not touched on the thing that was in my mind when I commenced to address you; therefore these are only preliminaries. Still I felt that I wanted to apprise the Saints and all concerned of the authority under which the servants of God act.

Among the Jews, the Scribes and Pharisees would teach the people in this way—“Now, if this is to be, then the inference is so-and-so; and if this proposition be true, then the conclusion is certain.” But when Jesus spoke to the people and taught them, he made no vain propositions and drew no milk-and-water conclusions: but he spoke and it was done; and the contrast was so great between the teachings of the Jewish Rabbies [Rabbis] and the teachings of the Saviour, that they could not but notice it. “Why,” said they, “he speaks as one having authority, and not as the Scribes.” He, having this Priesthood, and having communion with God, our heavenly Father, manifested the wisdom of the heavens; and this difference is manifested and felt in this generation when the servants of God proclaim to the inhabitants of the earth that God has spoken, and that he again reveals his will to man.

I am not now speaking of those who may have this Priesthood in form only, and who go and get drunk, as some have done: I am not speaking of those who have committed whoredom in the land; for they will all go to hell together, if they repent not. I want to draw the line of distinction between them and those who call upon God day and night for instruction to mark out their course. They are the ones who have the favour of Heaven, who are filled with his Spirit, and whose words are quick and powerful, and whose testimony causes the wicked to fear and tremble.

We speak that which we do know, and testify to that which we have seen. “What do you know?” says the inquirer. I know that the Gospel which we have received is the truth of God, and I know that it will rule the world, and I know that every man, kingdom, and people that opposes it will be broken to shivers. I do not care whether the opposition arises in the Church or out of it, I know that he that raises his puny arm against this work will be broken of his power and finally destroyed, if he does not cease his hostilities. I care not whether it be the judge upon the bench, or commanders of armies, the consequence will be as I have told you.

God has spoken, and I know it, because I have heard his voice, and know the voice of the Good Shepherd, and am thankful that I have felt his power. Do I know that he has given this authority to use his name? Yes, gentlemen, I know it; and not only so, but I know that there are heavenly messengers that are now near me, as near as brothers Watt and Long, who are taking notes as faithfully as they are, and more so. The natural eye cannot see them, but they are here, and by our acts and our words shall we be judged. Yes, and these messengers transmit our words and our acts up on high, which are registered there in books; and by-and-by, when the dead, small and great, shall stand before God, these are the books that will be opened, and the dead will be judged out of the things that are written in the books. Then let us be careful what we do and what we say. The sacred writings on earth contain the law, but the records above contain the facts.

There is no corner so remote, no place so secret, none so secluded or dark that the angel of God is not there taking notes. What does the poet say? “Angels above us are silent notes taking.” And I suppose they are daily transcribed and posted; and when they get through with their labour pertaining to us, their notes will all appear in the great ledger, in which the accounts and balance-sheet will be fully shown up; and by our keeping a faithful watch, it is hoped there may be a favourable record kept there.

There was a text of Scripture occurred to my mind after I came here this morning, but I do not know whether I can preach anything about it or not. When I arose to address you, my mind was led off in another direction. The text is this—“He that liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” This is a peculiar saying, especially when we take it in connection with the words used in the morn of creation—“Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return.” This is a pretty hard saying, especially for those who do not believe. Let us come at it by an approach more gentle and moderate, and not come abruptly all at once; for it appears too strong language for us to receive without modification.

It is said that all things are possible with God. Now, we will come down a little nearer to the point. The Scriptures say, “All things are possible to them that believe.” If all things are possible, don’t you see that there is a great deal depending upon our faith? Whether we can really get over the saying, “He that liveth and believeth in me shall never die,” without stretching it out and putting any other interpretation upon it, may be difficult; but I do not feel it safe to put any different interpretation upon the Scriptures than that which is manifest upon the face of them. Abraham and the Prophets are dead, or at least some of them: I cannot say that they all were when Jesus uttered this language; but now, said Jesus to the Jews, “Before Abraham was, I am.” “Why,” said they, “you are not yet fifty years old.” No; he was only about thirty-one or thirty-two. “How is this shown?” says one. If I could really discover the principle that I could escape death, that would carry me over the gulf without dying, I should rejoice, for I hate to die; I hate to be laid in the ground to wither and perish.

Well, there is a principle of life. The Gospel is life, and the Saviour is life; for says he, “I am the light and the life of the world.” It is now as it was of old—the people keep putting off every good thing: they of old put them off just as we now put off things to the future. “Why,” said Martha, speaking of her brother, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” But said Jesus unto her, “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”

Here is another thing with regard to the judgment. I know that a great many are postponing it, and thinking that the day of judgment is a long way off, and that it will not come in our day; but what says the Saviour? “Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out.” Then you need not look away off through the dark vista of unborn generations; for whom the servants of God shall judge, or, in other words, what they shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. Then the wicked are at once bound up, and the judgment is truly gone forth; but the secrets thereof shall not be known until the books are opened and a fair balance-sheet is exhibited. “Yes,” said Martha, “I know he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” But, said Jesus, “Did I not tell you that if you would believe, you should see the glory of God, and that he that liveth and believeth in me shall never die?” This is an encouraging promise. “But,” says one, “Do you mean to say, by this, that this mortal tabernacle that is at present the tabernacle of the spirit shall not go to dust?” I do not say that. But I do not know that I can explain it any better than to say, I am clothed with my garments; but, suppose I should go into the other room and lay off some of them, should I not be the same creature that passed off into that room? Did I die in making the transition? No. And if you were to look into the other apartment, you would see Orson Hyde all alive, but his old clothes left and abandoned.

Brother Taylor said, the other day, that it was right to gather truth from every source. If the Devil has got truth, then it is right to secure it. [President Brigham Young: “What truth he has he has stolen.”] We have a right to gather up truth just on the same principle that the United States gather up property that is marked U.S. You know when they go through the land and find anything with U.S. on it, they take it. So likewise, when we find any truth with U, S, US on, we claim it as our own. It belongs to US. [Laughter.]

With regard to the operation of death, I do not know that I will exactly endorse the principle, but I will take up what Andrew Jackson Davis says. It is rather singular, and I don’t think it is very far from the truth. When the article I alluded to was first published, it took such hold upon me that I immediately published it in the Guardian. It was something like this: He stood by and saw a person depart this life; and as the spirit was leaving the body, (you know death is nothing more than a separation of the body and spirit,)—and while this was going on, Mr. Davis was in a state of clairvoyance, watching this individual depart. As the pulses became weakened and ceased to beat, he saw the spirit gradually emerging from the body; and as it drew itself out, the tabernacle became more deathly, until finally the perfect image of the man arose from the ashes of mortality, and there was nothing left but a lifeless corpse. But there was the living form born from that old body standing apparently free and untrammelled.

This is from a Spiritualist. I do not know that I have ever spoken of it before; but it came to my mind, and I thought I would present it; for I am in a good place now to be corrected, if wrong.

If that live image did come out as he represented, that is the part that shall never die; and whether it passes out in that particular form, matters not; we know that it does escape and lives for ever. Here, then, you see it passes from a mortal tenement, from the carcass, or flesh and bones, something similar, perhaps, to the butterfly being born from its coarser tenement;—not that I wished to advocate anything like transmigration; but as the butterfly sallies out of the cocoon, leaving it to be manufactured into fabrics, and free-and-easy she moves in another element, basking among the flowers of earth, so the spirit emerges from the body, to regale itself in a more congenial clime.

Many of you are accustomed to put corn into the earth, and perhaps those who do not plant corn, sow wheat; and you know there is a germ in every perfect kernel; and when it shoots out, or sprouts, we call that good, because it has the power of life. It continues to grow, and forms a new stock; but if you take one kernel that has not the living germ within it, it dries up and dies, just like that poor ungodly sinner that has not the germ of eternal life within him. He dies, body and spirit; but that man’s spirit, who has the principle of life abounding in him, passes out of the body at the time appointed, just as I would pass out of this room, leaving my old clothes behind me. I am not prepared to say that this is the perfection of the principle; but I know there is some way for the spirit to emerge from the body and enter into an advanced sphere of action.

I believe I have said enough. I only wish to add, Let us live our religion; and if we cannot comprehend all that we wish, and financier our way all through, let us trust in Christ. God bless you! Amen.

Death—Resurrection

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, March 25, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I will make a few remarks upon the portion of Scripture quoted by brother Hyde in the discourse he has just delivered as follows:—“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”

In all such sayings, and in every part and portion of the revelations of God as given to the children of men, or to any individual in heaven or on earth, to properly understand them, a man needs the Spirit by which they were given—the Spirit that reveals such matters to the understanding, and makes them familiar to the mind.

In the Scripture above quoted, the death spoken of is a death that the intelligent being undergoes, and never recovers from: it is an eternal death. For the body to decay, like a kernel of wheat that is cast into the ground, is not considered a death. Brother Hyde observed—“If the germ of corn is not good, it all dies.” That is true: but if it is good, the corn does not die; it is placed in the ground to yield an increase. It is commonly termed death to have the spirit and body separated; but literally that is not death only to those who are sons of perdition.

This earth is brought together and organized from native elements as we now behold it, our tabernacles included. The matter of which all animate and inanimate existence is formed is from all eternity, and it must remain to all eternity, without beginning and without end. There are certain portions of this native element that will be refined and prepared to enter into the celestial kingdom—into the celestial family of the celestial world. If the spirit honours the body and the body honours the spirit while they are here united, the particles of matter that compose the mortal tabernacle will be resurrected and brought forth to immortality and eternal life; but it cannot be brought forth and made immortal, except it undergoes a change, for “dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return.” What for? To prepare the body to be made immortal and fitted to dwell in the presence of the Gods.

The death that Jesus referred to had no reference to these bodies going into the grave. He is the life and the light. He is the resurrection; he is the power; and “if you believe in me,” says Jesus, “you shall live for ever—you shall be prepared to dwell with me in my Father’s kingdom.” If the question had then been asked him, “Will not this body be placed in the grave and return to its mother earth?” his answer would have been, “Yes, for otherwise you cannot be prepared for that eternal life of which I have been speaking—to live for ever.”

Had the question been asked the Saviour, when he uttered those words, “Do you say that the decree that the Lord gave to Adam is now removed?” he would have told them, “No;” for they could not be quickened, made immortal, and prepared for life everlasting, without going through these ordeals.

What can you know, except by its opposite? Who could number the days, if there were no nights to divide the day from the night? Angels could not enjoy the blessings of light eternal, were there no darkness. All that are exalted and all that will be exalted will be exalted upon this principle. If I do not taste the pangs of death in my mortal body, I never shall know the enjoyment of eternal life. If I do not know pain, I cannot enjoy ease. If I am not acquainted with the dark, the gloomy, the sorrowful, I cannot enjoy the light, the joyous, the felicitous that are ordained for man. No person, either in heaven or upon earth, can enjoy and understand these things upon any other principle.

“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power.” The death that is spoken of here is the death that is opposite to the eternal life the Saviour spoke of. If you dishonour that body—transgress the natural laws pertaining to it, you are not worthy, in your sphere, to possess this body in an immortal state. What will become of it? It will return to its native element. That is the death that never dies. That is endless death. In this Jesus had no allusion to the changing or putting off of this mortality.

The very particles that compose our bodies will be brought forth in the morning of the resurrection, and our spirits will then have tabernacles to be clothed with, as they have now, only they will be immortal tabernacles—spiritual tabernacles.

When death is spoken of as in the words quoted, it is spoken of as death in reality. In many places in the Scriptures, the separation of the body and spirit is called death; but that is not death in the strict sense of the term; that is only a change. We are naturally inclined to cling to our mother earth; our bodies love to live here, to see, to hear, to breathe, and to enjoy themselves, because we are of the earth, earthy. But probably, in most cases, the change from mortal to immortality is no greater, comparatively speaking, than when a child emerges into this world. We shall suffer no more in putting off this flesh and leaving the spirit houseless than the child, in its capacity, does in its first efforts to breathe the breath of this mortal life.

After the spirit leaves the body, it remains without a tabernacle in the spirit-world until the Lord, by his law that he has ordained, brings to pass the resurrection of the dead. When the angel who holds the keys of the resurrection shall sound his trumpet, then the peculiar fundamental particles that organized our bodies here, if we do honour to them, though they be deposited in the depths of the sea, and though one particle is in the north, another in the south, another in the east, and another in the west, will be brought together again in the twinkling of an eye, and our spirits will take possession of them. We shall then be prepared to dwell with the Father and the Son, and we never can be prepared to dwell with them until then. Spirits, when they leave their bodies, do not dwell with the Father and the Son, but live in the spirit-world, where there are places prepared for them. Those who do honour to their tabernacles, who love and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, must put off this mortality, or they cannot put on immortality. This body must be changed, else it cannot be prepared to dwell in the glory of the Father. To me all these things are plain and easy. All we want is to understand the very subject Jesus was talking about, the nature of our organizations, the world we occupy, the laws by which we are, and by which we continue to exist.

Brother Hyde says, “Take the world, and what do they know pertaining to the things of God?” Do they know their right hands from their left, figuratively speaking? No. All that brother Hyde has said concerning our important position is true. It is beyond the power of man to fully unfold it, though a portion has been beautifully portrayed, and it seems that the people should see things that are so plain. Were it possible for the nations to gain power to destroy this kingdom on the earth, by so doing they would seal their eternal damnation. That is as true as it is that Jesus died for the sins of the world; as true as it is that there is a heaven, a God, and that the world exists, and the children of men dwell upon it.

When the wicked seek to destroy this kingdom, I can endure it tolerably well; but when I see those who profess to be Latter-day Saints taking a course to destroy themselves, and to prove themselves children of folly, children of darkness, it is a great source of grief and regret to me.

All mankind have the principles of eternal life implanted within them. Much has been taught in regard to this and to the agency of the children of men. God has organized the spirit and placed it in a tabernacle—has given it certain capacity and certain laws, and it is as independent in its sphere of action as are the angels and the Gods in the heavenly worlds. It is for us to act upon that intelligence that is ours in every sense of the word; and if we do honour to our tabernacles and to the spirits God has given us, we have the promise of eternal life, which is the gift of God. This promise is made to every son and daughter of Adam, if they obey the conditions laid down; and their names have been written in the Lamb’s book of life from the beginning, before we came into the world, and they will remain there to all eternity, unless we blot them out through a wicked course.

Try to understand the position you occupy, and then you will understand the sayings of the Apostles and Prophets. Thanks be to the Lord our God for the understanding he has already given us, for the spirit of revelation he has bestowed upon us, and for the holy Priesthood and the keys thereof, by which the heavens are opened, and by which men are enabled to understand things as they are. God be thanked for the intelligence there is with this people.

A week from next Friday it will be thirty years since this Church was organized with six members. The kingdom of God has thirty years growth on the earth, and does it not seem that we should be far advanced in the things of God? It does. At a glance we should know and understand many things that some are still in more or less dubiety about. One Elder will say that he knows nothing about God. “I believe in the Father and the Son, and in the revelations given through Joseph Smith; but to really say that I positively know anything of the true character of God, our Father in heaven, I do not know that I can.” A few moments’ reflection and the Spirit upon the vision of the mind, and that same Elder would say that he does know. Such statements arise from a want of the vision of the mind being opened to see things as they are for a few minutes.

The whole Scriptures plainly teach us that we are the children of that God who framed the world. Let us look round and see whether we can find a father and son in this congregation. Do we see one an elephant and the other a hen? No. Does a father that looks like a human being have a son like an ape, going on all fours? No; the son looks like his father. There is an endless variety of distinction in the few features that compose the human face, yet children have in their countenances and general expression of figure and temperament a greater or less likeness of their parents. You do not see brutes spring from human beings. Every species is true to its kind. The children of men are featured alike and walk erect.

The Bible clearly teaches us that we are the children of the very Being who framed this earth and peopled it. Such teachings may be found in hundreds of places in the Scriptures, and yet we do not know anything about our Father! Is it not astonishing? I frequently think that truly the things of God are spiritually discerned, when man, in his reflections, thoughts, words, and acts, as a finite being, knows nothing of God. But when he meditates and acts from the intelligence of the spirit God has placed within him, the visions of eternity are opened to him; heaven and eternity are before him.

Brother Hyde compared the departure of the spirit from the body to going into another room, and referred to a statement made by Andrew Jackson Davis. He placed himself in a clairvoyant state beside the bed of a sick person and observed the spirit of a lady leave her body. He saw the spirit ascend from the head of the mortal tenement—saw it walk out into the open air in company with another spirit that came to escort her away. They appeared to him to ascend an inclined plane, and continued to walk away until they were out of his sight. Do you not believe that your spirit will be in existence after it leaves the body? I care not whether it goes out from the head or from some other portion. Mr. Davis says that after the spirit was fully out of the body, he saw as it were an umbilical cord that yet retained the spirit to the body; and that when that was separated, the spirit was free, and the body was consigned to dissolution. Whether this be true or not, it is as certain that the spirit leaves the body as it is that it enters it. When it leaves the body, it dwells in the spirit-world until the body is raised up by the power of God; and when it is raised up, do you not think that we shall look like our Father? If any of us could now see the God we are striving to serve—if we could see our Father who dwells in the heavens, we should learn that we are as well acquainted with him as we are with our earthly father; and he would be as familiar to us in the expression of his countenance, and we should be ready to embrace him and fall upon his neck and kiss him, if we had the privilege. And still we, unless the vision of the Spirit is opened to us, know nothing about God. You know much about him, if you did but realize it. And there is no other one item that will so much astound you, when your eyes are opened in eternity, as to think that you were so stupid in the body.

Be very careful that you do not so conduct yourselves that when your bodies die, you will not receive them in an immortal state. Be careful that your lives are such that you be not deprived entirely of these bodies which have borne so much affliction and pain. There is a great design in the formation of the body.

The people cannot comprehend the deep mystery of the design of the Almighty in bringing so many people into this human world, shall I say? This is a world of pain, of darkness, sorrow, affliction, and death. The Almighty has his objects and plans all laid, and we are to pass through all these afflictions and to endure all that he calls us to endure, to give us knowledge, wisdom, and experience; for we cannot receive them upon any other principle. His design is to exalt the human family, and to bring them back to the presence of the Father and the Son. The heir of the family died to take away our sins. He has suffered, that we may live. He has offered himself up for the sins of the world. Why? Because he is the heir of the family. The Father and the Son are now doing all they can to save his children, and all the heavenly hosts are exerting their powers to accomplish the same great end. “But,” says the Father, “do not infringe on the agency of mankind; for my children, to be brought into my presence to enjoy with me the fulness of my glory, must pass through the same ordeals I have passed through. They cannot inherit eternal life upon any other principle.”

How far does our agency extend? There are certain bounds to it. What we have witnessed in thirty years’ experience teaches us that man can appoint but God can disappoint. Man can load his gun to shoot his neighbour, but he cannot make the ball hit him, if the Lord Almighty sees fit to turn it away. He can draw the sword to hew down his fellow-man; but instead of that, he may fall upon it himself. Paul says, “I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So, then, neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase.” You may plead with the people and beseech them to embrace the truth; but unless God touches the heart your labours are vain. The Lord will bring about the results, and mankind cannot prevent it. The wicked may design an evil against the righteous, and he causes it to result in good. That is making the wrath of man praise him. He has not granted to man to bring out the result of his works, but he he has given him the ability to work as he pleases—to go here or there—to do this or that—to obey the Gospel or disobey it. He has not committed the keys of the results of the acts of the nations of the earth to any man on the earth; but that power he retains to himself.

I can discern the hand of the Lord in preserving and leading this people. A great many do not discern this, because they have not eyes to see, nor ears to hear; for, if they had, they would discern the footprints of the Almighty and hear his voice, and would understand that he leads this people by the right hand of his wisdom and power, and that no power can prevent it. Anoint your eyes and pour oil in your ears, and pray that your hearts may be softened and your minds quickened to understand.

God will overrule the acts of the children of men in this kingdom as well as among the nations. After the children of Israel had travelled thirty years in the wilderness, they thought that they had prospered tolerably well, though they were still travelling. In their travels they crossed their tracks many times, whereas we, in our travels, have done so but a few times. How many times we may have to do so, I do not know.

Strive to prepare your hearts as fully as possible to enjoy a great portion of the Spirit of the Lord at our Conference; strive to enjoy that Spirit above all things. Let us prepare our hearts to receive the Holy Ghost to be our constant companion.

May the Lord God of Israel bless you! Amen.

Advancement in Knowledge

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 5, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I have been happy in hearing the brethren bear their testimonies to-day, and I have a word of consolation and comfort for you.

I hope to live to see the day when the Lord will bring again Zion in its fulness, when the watchman will see eye to eye. This period of time is very desirable to every good and faithful person, and I hope to see it before I lay down this tabernacle to rest.

I can say to the brethren, I do not think that I have ever heard a more satisfactory testimony from them than I have to-day. An observation made by brother George Halliday is true—that if a person suffers his feelings to rise above the natural level of his capacity, they will sink in the same ratio. He wished us not to consider him an enthusiast. I do not know that I have heard a person to-day that I thought to be enthusiastic. A firm, unchangeable course of righteousness through life is what secures to a person true intelligence. The brethren today have advanced a great many ideas which are true, manifesting an interesting and instructive variety. I am highly gratified with the remarks I have heard.

We have very scanty ideas concerning the great plan called the plan of salvation—the system of doctrine, ideas, and practices that pertain to all the intelligence that exists in eternity. Very small, minute, and abstract ideas and principles are given to the children of men in relation to it, because they can bear but little—a little here and a little there, as it is written by the Prophet, “line upon line, and precept upon precept.” If you can receive one line to-day, it may prepare you to receive another to-morrow pertaining to the things of God. I am very happy and rejoice much, because I believe that I am now looking upon men and women who are steadily increasing in knowledge, firm in their integrity, truthful, and lovers of virtue in their hearts; though some, as has been observed, give way to temptation, are overcome by the enemy, and are led away. This we expect. As many as will be faithful to their calling, and manifest their faith by their good works, will find that they belong to the elect; and every one that forsakes his covenants and his God, and turns away from the holy commandments delivered to him, will find that he belongs to that class who are reprobates. God has given us ability to do good or evil. According to certain principles inherent in the organization of the people, they can believe the truth, or disbelieve it and believe a lie. They can falsify, or cling to the truth. They can continue to do good, or forsake it and commence to do evil. Every man is capable of doing either good or evil: he has his own choice, and will be judged by his works.

We will see the time when it will be said to us, as written in the New Testament, “Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee.” I partly judged a man who spoke here to-day from his own mouth. I have not much to say about him. Let God be his judge, and yours, and mine. If you wish to receive and enjoy the favour of our heavenly Father, do his will. If you wish the fellowship of his Saints, hurt not the wine and the oil, nor seek to destroy them, as many do. The man I have alluded to has sought diligently to destroy the oil and the wine—to destroy the virtue, truth, and holiness of this Gospel. He who lifts his heel against the Lord and against his anointed will find himself a poor, pusillanimous, weak instrument in the hands of the Devil to accomplish his designs.

It is thirty years to-morrow since Joseph Smith organized this Church with six members. What is it now? Almost every nation, kindred, tongue, and people that would receive the Gospel have had the privilege; it has been proffered to them, and thousands and hundreds of thousands have been baptized into the Church; and the Lord will call his own out of this people, and will prepare the Zion that is spoken of for them to dwell in. If we wish to enjoy the Spirit of Zion, we must live for it. Our religion is not merely theory; it is a practical religion, to bring present enjoyment to every heart.

A brother on my right told you his experience, that there is no necessity for taking any man’s word for the truth of your religion; for it is the privilege of all to have the testimony of Jesus—to have the Spirit of prophecy. I have no greater privilege to enjoy the Spirit of prophecy than you have. I have no better right to the Holy Ghost than you. If you will live as you are taught, you will walk in darkness no more, but will walk in the light of life. I pray that we may constantly do this: it is my continual prayer. I pray for all whom I ought to pray for, and as I ought to pray for them. Captain Gibson says that he would pray for everybody in heaven, earth, and hell. I love to see men manifest that good feeling; but I will insure that, if I was in heaven when Satan rebelled, I prayed that Satan might be cast out. Cast out the dogs and wolves that will feed on the sheep. Cast all bitterness out of your own hearts—all anger, wrath, strife, covetousness, and lust, and sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, that you may enjoy the Holy Ghost, and have that Spirit to be your constant companion day by day, to lead you into all truth, and then you will have good doctrine, good feelings, good wives, good children, a good community; and, finally, you will be Saints in the fullest sense of the word, but not yet. I believe we shall be Saints, through the grace of God.

I feel to bless you, to praise you, my brethren, although we are continually afflicted with more or less foul, mean, low, grovelling, contemptible spirits in our midst. I do not mention names; but I know where some are now sitting in this house. The Latter-day Saints are improving. To-morrow the Church is thirty years old. We have enjoyed ourselves today; to-morrow let us have much more enjoyment than we have had to-day. The constitution of man is such as to be liable to be driven to extremes. He may be compared to a bark on the ocean, tossed to-and-fro by the influences around. Keep your eye on the compass and steer straightforward, and you cannot sail too fast; but if you get among the breakers and rocks, your bark may upset. Keep your bark straight for the port, and there is no danger of your having too much of the Holy Ghost.

I have hardly heard an incorrect idea advanced to-day, and I consider myself a judge in these things. I judge Israel in their doctrines and conduct, and know whether they are right or wrong. I can say, to my joy and satisfaction, we are improving. I know that I am, when I compare my present power of mind to scope in truth and my power of discrimination with what I possessed twenty, ten, or five years ago. I am almost astonished at myself, and to see the improvement there is in the people. But we are yet children, although we are almost as old as was Jesus when he began to preach. It is our privilege to continue to grow, and the Lord will protect his people and save Israel, and all hell cannot help it.

May the Lord God of Israel bless every one of you and his humble servant who is speaking to you. Amen.

Universal Salvation

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 6, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

Yesterday we had the pleasure of attending a meeting here, which, to me, was filled with riches—with treasures of good. To-day we have met in the capacity of a General Conference—the Thirty-first Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Thirty years ago to-day, the Church was organized with six members. And we will occupy this day in serving the Lord by instructing and encouraging each other, and by testifying of the things the Lord has revealed to us.

Some may suppose that I have the business of the Conference prearranged, but such is not the case. I seldom take thought for to-morrow upon such subjects. When morning comes, I try and be prepared for the business the Lord manifests should be done. I came here in that mind this morning, and knew no more about the manner in which this Conference will be conducted, with regard to its details, than you do, until I came here. Since I came into the house, my feelings and the circumstances have prompted me to say that we will hear further testimony from the brethren. Yesterday, several in the body of the house had the privilege of speaking; and this forenoon I wish to have the Twelve, the Seventies, and the High Priests give us five or ten minutes’ sermons from the stand.

I can testify to you, as I have to many congregations of Saints and sinners, that the Lord has revealed his will from the heavens, bestowed the holy Priesthood upon the children of men, and made us the happy partakers thereof. Most, if not all, assembled here this morning have felt the Divine influence of the Holy Ghost shed forth in their hearts: it has awakened them out of their sleep and out of their ignorance, and begun to teach them eternal things. This work is true. The Lord has bestowed the holy Priesthood upon the children of men, by which alone they can be prepared to enter into the celestial kingdom of our God.

How many Gods there are, and how many places there are in their kingdoms, is not for me to say; but I can say this, which is a source of much comfort, consolation, and gratification to me: Behold the goodness, the long-suffering, the kindness, and the strong parental feeling of our Father and God in preparing the way and providing the means to save the children of men—not alone the Latter-day Saints—not those alone who have the privilege of the first principles of the celestial law, but to save all. It is a universal salvation—a universal redemption. Do not conclude that I am a Universalist, as the term is generally understood, although that doctrine is true in part, like the doctrines or professions of all professing Christians. As was stated yesterday by one of those who spoke, when he was a Methodist, he enjoyed a portion of the Spirit of the Lord. Hundreds of those now present have had a like experience in a greater or less degree, before they joined this Church. Then, when we inquire who will be saved, I answer, All will be saved, as Jesus said, when speaking to the Apostles, except the sons of perdition. They will be saved through the atonement and their own good works, according to the law that is given to them. Will the heathen be saved? Yes, so far as they have lived according to the best light and intelligence they had; but not in the celestial kingdom. Who will not be saved? Those who have received the truth, or had the privilege of receiving it, and then rejected it. They are the only ones who will become the sons of perdition, go into everlasting punishment, and become angels to the Devil.

The Priesthood the Lord has again bestowed upon those who will receive it, is for the express purpose of preparing them to become proficient in the principles pertaining to the law of the celestial kingdom. If we obey this law, preserve it inviolate, live according to it, we shall be prepared to enjoy the blessings of a celestial kingdom. Will any others? Yes, thousands and millions of the inhabitants of the earth who would have received and obeyed the law that we preach, if they had had the privilege. When the Lord shall bring again Zion, and the watchmen shall see eye to eye, and Zion shall be established, saviours will come upon Mount Zion and save all the sons and daughters of Adam that are capable of being saved, by administering for them. Is not this pleasing? Is it not gratifying? Is it not a consoling feeling and influence upon the mind of every intelligent being? Our former views were that the majority of the inhabitants of the earth would not be saved in any kind of a kingdom of glory, but would inherit a kingdom of damnation. Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am ye may be also.” In other words, “I go to prepare a place for you who have received and obeyed the celestial law, which I have committed to you.” The celestial is the highest of all. The telestial and terrestrial are also spoken of; and how many more kingdoms of glory there are is not for me to say. I do not know that they are not innumerable. This is a source of great joy to me.

One of the brethren, yesterday, felt so rejoiced, under like reflections, that he said he could pray for the devils in hell, if it would do any good. It is not for us to pray for them, because they have become sons of perdition. You may pray for your persecutors—for those who hate you, and revile you, and speak all manner of evil of you, if they do it ignorantly; but if they do it understandingly, justice must take its course in regard to them; and except they repent, they will become sons of perdition. This is my testimony.

The vision given to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon is the greatest vision I ever knew given to the children of men, incorporating more in a few pages than any other revelation I have any knowledge of. “This is the Gospel—the glad tidings which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us,” state Joseph and Sidney, “that he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness; that through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him, who glorifies the Father, and saves all the works of his hands, except those sons of perdition who deny the Son after the Father has revealed him; wherefore he saves all except them: they shall go away into everlasting punishment.”

Will the Methodists be saved? Yes. Will other sects? Yes. I think you could not now find an Elder in this Church who would rise up in a congregation and tell you that John Wesley is weltering in hell. Have the Elders ever preached such a doctrine? Yes, some of them have preached that all the Reformers, from the days of Christ and the Apostles until Joseph Smith received the Priesthood, must be damned. I do not think that you could now hear such doctrine from any of them.

There is a chance for those who have lived and for those who now live. The Gospel has come. Truth and light and righteousness are sent forth into the world, and those who receive them will be saved in the celestial kingdom of God. And many of those who, through ignorance, through tradition, superstition, and the erroneous precepts of the fathers, do not receive them, will yet inherit a good and glorious kingdom, and will enjoy more and receive more than ever entered into the heart of man to conceive, unless he has had a revelation.

My heart is comforted. I behold the people of God, that they have been hunted, cast out, driven from the face of men. The powers of earth and hell have striven to destroy this kingdom from the earth. The wicked have succeeded in doing so in former ages; but this kingdom they cannot destroy, because it is the last dispensation—because it is the fulness of times. It is the dispensation of all dispensations, and will excel in magnificence and glory every dispensation that has ever been committed to the children of men upon this earth. The Lord will bring again Zion, redeem his Israel, plant his standard upon the earth, and establish the laws of his kingdom, and those laws will prevail. No law can issue from man or from any body of men to govern and control in eternal things; consequently, those laws must come from heaven to govern and control both Saint and sinner, believer and unbeliever, and every character upon the earth; and they will be issued according to the capacity, knowledge, and mode of life of the people to whom they are promulgated.

I will now call upon the brethren in the stand to speak, and let you have our testimony, strength, and faith, as we have received yours yesterday.

God bless you! Amen.

Personal Reminiscences

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 6, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I feel very well satisfied with our thirty-first anniversary. The brethren testify to the goodness of our God, and we have had much excellent instruction.

There is one principle I wish to urge upon the Saints in a way that it may remain with them—that is, to understand men and women as they are, and not understand them as you are. You see the variety of mind, dispositions, judgment, and talent, and variety in explaining and communicating thoughts. There is an endless variety, and I wish you to understand men and women as they are, and not to judge your brother, your sister, your family, or any one, only from the intention. When you know the intention of the act performed, you will then know how to judge the act.

Some may wish to know whether my religion is as good to me now as it was twenty-eight years ago. It is far better. Twenty-eight years ago last February I went to Canada after my brother Joseph. He was a very spiritual-minded man. You have heard him say to-day that he did not laugh for a period of two years. I did not know of his smiling during some four or five years. I well remember his calling upon me, after he had been away preaching more than two years. Would he sit and chat with me? No, because of his serious reflections. I knew that he was solemn and praying all the time. I had more confidence in his judgment and discretion, and in the manifestations of God to him, than I had in myself, though I then believed the Book of Mormon to be true. Previous to this I had thoroughly examined the Book of Mormon. In about eight days it will be twenty-eight years since I was baptized. I brought brother Joseph home from Canada, and told him what I had experienced of the power of God, and what I had observed of the folly and nonsense so prevalent in the Christian world.

You have heard the brethren state their experience before they received this Gospel. I was not disposed to attach myself to any Church, nor to make a profession of religion, though brought up from my youth amid those flaming, fiery revivals so customary with the Methodists, until I was twenty-three years of age, when I joined the Methodists. Priests had urged me to pray before I was eight years old. On this subject I had but one prevailing feeling in my mind—Lord, preserve me until I am old enough to have sound judgment and a discreet mind ripened upon a good solid foundation of common sense. I patiently waited until I was twenty-three years old. I do not know that I had ever committed any crime, except it were in giving way to anger, and that I had not done more than two or three times. I never stole, lied, gambled, got drunk, or disobeyed my parents. I used to go to meetings—was well acquainted with the Episcopalians, Presbyterians, New Lights, Baptists, Freewill Baptists, Wesleyan and Reformed Methodists—lived from my youth where I was acquainted with the Quakers as well as the other denominations, and was more or less acquainted with almost every other religious ism.

Upon the first opportunity I read the Book of Mormon, and then sought to become acquainted with the people who professed to believe it. Brother Pulsipher said that he watched to see if he could find fault with the Elder who preached the Gospel to him. I did not take that course, but I watched to see whether good common sense was manifest; and if they had that I wanted them to present it in accordance with the Scriptures.

When “Mormonism” came, I was not under the necessity of hunting Scripture arguments to contradict them, for I had all my life been more or less familiar with the Scriptures. And I do not remember that I ever saw a day when I attacked a sectarian priest with the Bible, for I was well satisfied that they were in water too deep for them to fathom. I understood the Scriptures tolerably well, and my whole mind and reflections were to seek for every particle of truth with regard to doctrine.

I always admired morality, and never saw a day in which I did not respect a good, moral, sensible man far more than I could respect a wicked man. I embraced the Gospel. I then had not the Priesthood, but my mind was susceptible of the Spirit of Truth, and that truth I imparted to my brother Joseph. He caught its influence, came home with me, and was baptized. I was not baptized on hearing the first sermon, nor the second, nor during the first year of my acquaintance with this work. I waited two years and a few days after this Church was organized before I embraced the Gospel by baptism.

Up to the time that “Mormonism” came to me, I did earnestly pray, if there was God, (and I believed there was,) “Lord God, thou who gavest the Scriptures, who spake to Abraham, and revealed thyself to Moses and the ancients, keep my feet that they may not be entangled in the snares of folly.” So far as the Spirit went, its application and enjoyment were all right with me; but with regard to doctrine, I did not then see any that altogether suited me. I said, Let me pray about this matter, the Gospel, and feel right about it before I embrace it. I could not more honestly and earnestly have prepared myself to go into eternity than I did to come into this Church; and when I had ripened everything in my mind, I drank it in, and not till then. From that day to this, it is all right with me. I am more and more encouraged because I can see the hand of the Lord more clearly and distinctly than I did no longer than two years ago.

As I frequently tell you, we can rise up, sit down, go here or there, act in this or that way, trade here or there; but we cannot bring out the results of our acts. God does that. I can see the results which he brings to pass by his handiwork. I can discern his footsteps among the people, and his going forth among the nations. His footprints are clearly discovered by his faithful Saints.

Brother John Young says there are some complainers. Who cares for that? I have nothing to do with them at present. Some are afraid there will be a good many apostates. That we expect, for many receive the truth who do not receive the love of it. Do not be afraid, but take fresh courage and persevere.

Some inquire, “Is this community going to be destroyed by thieves? No. But they have their agency, and their course affords us an excellent opportunity to see the operation of the benign influences of so-called “civilization.” Do you suppose that I am now looking upon thieves? No: they do not come to meeting.

Those who are for right are more than those who are against us. More will prove faithful than will apostatize. A certain class of this people will go into the celestial kingdom, while others cannot enter there, because they cannot abide a celestial law; but they will attain to as good a kingdom as they desire and live for.

Do not worry. All is right, for God reigns. Trust in him, keep your hearts clean, and faithfully observe your prayers, that should the angel Gabriel appear in this stand, you could calmly meet his gaze, and say “All is right with me, Gabriel.” That you may be able to look an angel in the eye and say, “All is right,” you require a clean heart. How many of this congregation could do this? How many could look at an angel and say, “What is wanting? I am ready.” If you can do this, you can enjoy the spirit of the Gospel and be Saints. This is the bread of eternal life.

I bless you all in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Education, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 8, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

Pertaining to the school that brother Hyde has been mentioning, we shall devote the large building on the east side of Union Square to school purposes. Tuition will be free, and the school will begin to-morrow morning, with Orson Pratt, jun., and James Cobb, teachers, under the supervision of Orson Pratt, sen. The Union Academy is designed exclusively for boys and young men. So soon as we have a suitable building, we intend to open an Academy for females, in which they will be taught the common branches of English education, music, and probably some of the modern languages.

We wish those who attend the Union Academy to qualify themselves to be useful to themselves and this community as speedily as possible. We shall urge the study of mathematics, and more particularly their practical application, that as many as have a taste and aptness may become familiar with surveying, which they can fit themselves for in a very short time. There are but few here who are practical surveyors, and we wish that number increased.

One of the teachers will probably attend to the rudiments of education, though we prefer to have scholars tolerably well advanced in arithmetic, writing, reading, and grammar. Still it may be requisite at the start to admit some in the elementary branches.

I give it as my opinion that you may go to any part of the United States or of the world, where parents are not obliged by law to send their children to school, and you will find more schools in the midst of this people, notwithstanding their poverty, their drivings, sufferings, and persecutions, and more persons that can read and write, in proportion to our population, than in any other place on this earth. You may select any community of the same number, and in this particular we will favourably compare with the best of them, and I think we are ahead of them. But this furnishes us no reason for keeping children from school.

There are many who are anxious to teach school, if the people will encourage them. The people have the privilege of sending their children to school, for there are plenty of teachers and plenty of rooms in every town and neighbourhood. However, it is often the case that, when they have sent their children one or two quarters, they neglect paying the teacher.

Some say they are not able to send their children to school. In such a case, I think I would rise in the morning, wash myself, take a little composition, and try, if possible, to muster strength enough to send my children to school, and pay their tuition like a man. When you have done this, if you are still unable, apply to some of your neighbours to assist you.

Men able to ride in their carriages, and not able or unwilling to pay their children’s tuition, ought, I think, to have a little composition, or catnip tea; and then perhaps, they will be able to send their children to school! I know such persons are weak and feeble; but the disease is in the brain and heart—not in the bones, flesh, and blood. Send your children to school.

As I have before remarked, there will be no charge for tuition in the Union Academy, and we shall learn whether the young men will go to school and qualify themselves for doing business and becoming useful in this world. Compare those who had their education before they came here with the boys who were born and brought up in this Church in the midst of our being driven, and I will furnish you ten grey-headed men who cannot reckon up the simplest account in figures, where you can find one of our boys fifteen years old that cannot. That is the difference between this people, with all the ignorance alleged against them pertaining to the learning of the day, and the professed learned world. I want them still to advance and increase.

We should be a people of profound learning pertaining to the things of the world. We should be familiar with the various languages, for we wish to send to the different nations and to the islands of the sea. We wish Missionaries who may go to France to be able to speak the French language fluently, and those who may go to Germany, Italy, Spain, and so on to all nations, to be familiar with the languages of those nations.

We also wish them to understand the geography, habits, customs, and laws of nations and kingdoms, whether they be barbarians or civilized. This is recommended in the revelations given to us. In them we are taught to study the best books, that we may become as well acquainted with the geography of the world as we are with our gardens, and as familiar with the people—so far at least as they are portrayed in print—as we are with our families and neighbours.

I will now make a few remarks upon testimony. I have heard a great many Elders in this Church, and people who were professing Christians before this work was revealed, testifying of the things of God. Men rise up here and say they do know that this is the work of God, that Joseph was a Prophet, that the Book of Mormon is true, that the revelations through Joseph Smith are true, that this is the last dispensation and the fulness of times, wherein God has set to his hand to gather Israel for the last time, and redeem and build up Zion on this land. How do they know this? Persons know and will continue to know and understand many things by the manifestations of the Spirit, that through the organization of the tabernacle it is impossible otherwise to convey. Much of the most important information is alone derived through the power and testimony of the Holy Ghost in the speaker, revealing itself to the understanding and spirit of the hearer. This is the only way you can convey a knowledge of the invisible things of God. By way of illustration, though a meagre one, suppose that a man may discern in his mind how the principle of perpetual motion can be made to operate, but cannot explain it to his neighbours.

Reflect for a moment upon the sensitive faculty implanted within us. We know when we touch anything with our hands. When we discern an object with our eyes, we know that we see. How do we know? By a principle common to all intelligent beings—by the sensations God has placed within us. Were it not for this, the eye could not see, nor sensation be communicated by touch. Were it not for the intelligent principle God has placed within us, we could neither feel, see, hear, taste, nor smell.

It is recorded that some have eyes to see, and see not; ears to hear, and hear not; hearts have they, but they understand not. You who are spiritually-minded, who have the visions of your minds opened—have studied yourselves, your organizations, the power by which you have been organized, and the influences that act upon you, can understand that the power that has given you physical sensation is the power of the same God that gives you understanding of the truth. The latter power is inward. My inward eyes see, my inward hands handle, my inward taste tastes of the word of God. The Apostle used this language. He spoke of tasting the good word of God and the powers of the world to come. Do you taste? Yes, by the sensations God has planted within you. Thousands and thousands know, by their inward and invisible sensations, things that have been, things that are, and things that are in the future, as well as they know the colour of a piece of cloth by means of their outward or physical vision. When this inner light is taken from them, they become darker than they were before, they cannot understand, and turn away from the things of God.

With regard to evidence, testimony, the acquirements of the children of men pertaining to the invisible things of God, who is it that requires a miracle done? Brother Hyde says that when he has been out preaching, this Priest and that Deacon would say, “If you are the servant of God, work a miracle.” I have had the same required of me a great many times; but if I had the power of the Gods, I would not work for them a miracle. Why? Because it would only be to gratify a hellish, worldly, corrupt, devilish disposition on the part of the one requiring it. Have we not an example? Yes—one expressly for the benefit of the Saints who were to follow in the footsteps of the Redeemer and pursue the path he walked in. The Devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, and saith unto him, “All things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” Then the Devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, “If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down; for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands shall they bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.” In other words, If you are the Son of God, work a miracle. All this world is under my control, and I will give it to you, if you will obey me and cast yourself down, that I may go and be a preacher and testify that you are the Son of God. Jesus would not do anything of the kind.

“Then,” said the Devil, “make bread of these stones, that we may have a testimony that you are the Christ; and I will go and tell the people of it.” The Saviour said unto him, “Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” Then the Devil leaveth him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him. He would not accommodate the feelings of the person that wished to tempt the Lord his God.

At another time Jesus exclaimed—“An evil and an adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall be no sign given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

In all my preachings and teachings, my faith to-day is the same as ever, according to the light I have had from time to time. If I had the power to turn the Mississippi directly to the opposite course it is now running, and make it empty into Hudson’s Bay, instead of in the Gulf of Mexico, I would not do it with a view to convince the people of the truth of the work of God.

The Gospel plan is so devised, that a miracle to make people believe would only be condemnation to them. When you hear people tell what they have seen—that they have seen great and powerful miracles wrought, and they could not help believing, remember that “devils believe and tremble,” because they cannot help it. When the voice of the Good Shepherd is heard, the honest in heart believe and receive it. It is good to taste with the inward taste, to see with the inward eyes, and to enjoy with the sensations of the ever-living spirit. No person, unless he is an adulterer, a fornicator, covetous, or an idolator, will ever require a miracle; in other words, no good, honest person ever will.

If this is the work of God, let us understand its beauty and glory. I do not say that all are like myself; but from the day I commenced preaching the Gospel to this present moment, I never had a feeling in my heart to occupy much time in preaching hell to the people, or in telling them much about being damned. There are the kingdoms and worlds which God has prepared, and which are waiting for the just. There are more beauty, glory, excellency, knowledge, power, and heavenly things than I have time to talk about, without spending my time in talking about the hells prepared for the damned. I have not time to talk much about them.

We have heaven, eternal life, eternal existence before us. Behold the sea of faces before me this morning, every one of whom God has organized to dwell eternally in his presence. Is not this a theme that is worth the attention of all the human family? We are alive. When shall we die? Never. Says our Saviour, “Whosoever believeth in me shall never die.” Shall we put on this mortality? Yes, we will lay down these bodies in the grave. What for? That the dust, our mother earth, that composes the house of the spirit, may be purified by passing through this ordeal, and be prepared to be called up and united with the intelligent heavenly body that God has prepared. This is nothing but a change. It is not the dissolution of the creature; it is merely putting off the flesh that pertains to this world.

The particles of this earth that now compose this body will be re-arranged, and the spirit will be clothed with an immortal tabernacle. Let the spirit reign predominant over the flesh, and bring into subjection the whole man, every feeling and every desire of his heart, and let him be devoted wholly, body and spirit, to the end for which he has been created. When the flesh is brought into subjection, it is made worthy through that means.

So live every morning, noon, and evening, every moment, as to enjoy the Holy Ghost continually. Do not deprive yourselves of this privilege, brethren and sisters; then you can see, hear, and understand, and know things that are of God, the visible and invisible, in heaven and on earth—things past, present, and to come. No power can deprive you of this privilege, and God will bless you, and we will bask in his presence with our Elder Brother, and with all the sons and daughters of Adam who have been redeemed from the four quarters of the earth, to live for ever.

What a pleasing thought!—what an entrancing idea it would be, if we had the privilege of making a selection of one of the most beautiful locations on this earth, where we could have our grounds, gardens, and walks laid out after the most enchanting and beautiful order, with every variety of trees, with fountains of water, and everything to make us happy and comfortable, with our carriages to ride in, &c., &c., and then live ten thousand millions of years upon that beautiful possession! Still that period of time would ultimately come to an end; and when the last moment had come, the possession ceases to be worth a groat, for it is not eternal. Boundless wealth and the most beautiful possessions cannot give pleasure and happiness of that exquisite and heavenly nature that is not in itself eternal.

I expect to see the streets paved with gold, and our common utensils made of the precious metals that the wicked now worship. There is no ornament, no beauty, no excellency, nothing that you can imagine that is great, grand, and useful on earth, but what is typical of the immortal and eternal riches that are in store for all those who overcome.

Excuse me if I speak loud. Were I to speak as I feel, I should speak like a Methodist for a little while, and cry, “Hallelujah!—praise ye the Lord.” Let his praise ring aloud through the heavens, and swell in anthems throughout the earth. Praise the name of our God, who, in the fulness of his mercy, hath provided a great salvation and eternal life for all the Saints, without money and without price.

I do not hate any man on earth or in hell. The worst wish I have for the wicked is that they may be obliged to live according to good and wholesome laws.

May God bless you! Amen.

Testimony of the Spirit

Orson Pratt

A discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 8, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

Having been requested, this afternoon, to address the congregation, I cheerfully do so, praying with all my heart that the Lord may grant unto me his Holy Spirit, that whatever I may say, whether much or little, may be dictated by that Spirit that proceeds from heaven, and then it will be right.

We read in the New Testament that the Apostles and righteous men in days of old preached the Gospel by the power of the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. I do not know of any way by which the Gospel of Jesus Christ can be proclaimed with any beneficial effect, except in this manner.

We can arise before a congregation of the Saints and make use of the principles of the Gospel in our own words. We can say to the people, Repent. We can call upon them to believe. We can tell them concerning baptism, show them the nature of it, and the causes for which it was instituted. We may tell them concerning the Holy Ghost, and preach many things in the wisdom and language of man, and yet all this would not be acceptable in the sight of Heaven, unless we were dictated by the power and gift of the Holy Ghost. Our words would have no effect upon the hearts of the people; they would not be edified; the speaker would not be edified: no good, perhaps, would be accomplished.

The world, during the last seventeen centuries and upwards, have been engaged in preaching what they termed the Gospel; they have been engaged in preaching many principles that are true; they have preached many of the first principles, such as faith and repentance; they have preached the ordinances and institutions of heaven; they have reasoned with the people; they have portrayed many great and glorious truths before the people; they have called upon them to receive those truths, and yet they have taught without authority—without that Spirit that giveth utterance—taught without being called of God; and hence their teachings have not accomplished that which an inspired man’s would have accomplished, when sent of God. So it is in reading the revelations of heaven. We may take up the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Covenants, and commit them to memory—at least the subject matter therein, and we may suppose that we understand the doctrine of salvation, and conclude from our diligent study that we have become altogether acquainted with the prophecies and revelations; and yet, after all these things, without the gift of revelation directly to ourselves, or the gift of the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven to rest upon us as speakers and hearers, we cannot expect to be materially benefited.

We may learn many things from the Book of Mormon. We may learn how this great western hemisphere was first peopled—how God brought the people from the Tower of Babel and established them upon North America. We may be informed of their history, of their numerous Prophets, concerning their wickedness and downfall. We may learn these things naturally as natural men, whether in or out of the Church, without the gift and power of the Holy Ghost and authority communicated from heaven resting upon us.

We cannot render ourselves any material service, or the world either, unless we have this power and authority: hence the propriety of that passage of Scripture recorded in the 2nd chapter of Paul’s 1st Epistle to the Corinthians—“For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of a man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” All our exertions, our reading, our meditations, and our endeavours to obtain the truth, without we obtain it lawfully, and not as natural men and women, will prove, in a measure, unavailing, though it may serve in some degree to remove darkness, to manifest what has been done, or what is to be done.

I am well pleased with the remarks that have been made upon this stand, more especially in relation to some few of the testimonies that I have heard, particularly bearing upon this matter. We were told by individuals upon this stand that they knew this work to be true. We were told by brother Watt that he knew this to be the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How do you know it? Just the same as the congregation know it. If the congregation have the gift and power of God to unfold the revelations of heaven to themselves, then they can comprehend how it is that the speakers know it is true. Though we may not be masters of language to communicate to others, we can appeal to their senses upon this subject. Do you know the things of God? If this question were asked, the whole congregation, with few exceptions, would lift up their voices with one heart and one mind, and say, We know these things to be true. How do you know them? You know them by the manifestations of the Spirit to your own hearts. You don’t know them by having seen with the natural eye, or by having discerned them with the natural understanding. You don’t know them because you have seen the sick healed, or the blind receive their sight. You don’t know them because you have seen the lame made to walk, or laid your hands upon the sick and seen them raised to perfect soundness, but because God has made them manifest to your hearts. Light has shone from heaven upon your understandings. You have tasted of that light by the spiritual sensations, or the spiritual faculties of your mind. You have understood and feasted upon the light that has come from heaven; and by this you know that the principles you have received are true. Do we understand clearly and properly that which is contained in the various revelations that God has given through his ancient as well as through his modern Prophets? Do we understand them in their true light? If we do, it is because we have received manifestations to ourselves, by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost.

What are Prophets for? What are revelators for? They are to reveal the truths of heaven for the benefit of the people. They bear testimony to the inhabitants of the earth, as you have heard declared from this stand, that the Lord has spoken and opened communications with men upon the earth, through the legitimate channel of his Priesthood. They also declare that men have been called by revelation from God, and sent forth with authority to baptize for the remission of sins. You hear this testimony, which is calculated to increase your confidence and your faith in the principles of life.

The word of God which is planted in your hearts begins to grow, to produce joy, light, and happiness; your mind begins to understand; you begin to receive revelation, and to receive those communications from the heavens that cause you to enjoy those blessings that you have heard spoken of by the servants of God. This makes all the Latter-day Saints witnesses; and thus we have a cloud of witnesses—a great army that can witness the truths of heaven as they have been revealed in these last days. This Spirit of revelation gives the Latter-day Saints boldness in their testimony.

What would have been our progress, brethren and sisters, if we had gone forth to the nations to publish these truths without the power of the Holy Ghost accompanying us? Could we have borne up under the power of persecution that has been heaped upon us? Could we have stood forth before the people and borne testimony as natural men to the great truths revealed from heaven? No, we could not. We should have shrunk from the task. It would have appeared too great for us to perform. The powers of darkness would have been able to crush us before them, without the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Lord foreknew this, and consequently he never designed that the great principles of his Gospel should be published to the nations, only by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven.

There are many revelations that were given to the ancient servants of God that we never can comprehend without further revelation, and perhaps some of them we shall never understand in this state of probation. One thing is certain—that we cannot comprehend them, unless God shall give more revelation and manifest many things in their fulness which have heretofore only been revealed in part.

Many things that were unveiled to the ancient Prophets have become very much corrupted by men who have formed systems to suit their own darkened minds. The revelations of John, now so obscure, so dark, and so intricate, that scarcely a person can comprehend the great things that are pointed out to take place in the last days, will be unfolded. Now there is scarcely a man living that can discern the meaning of the Apostle.

When this revelation was given to him, it was plain and simple, and easy to be understood of men; and all people possessed of the Spirit of the living God could understand it, so far as it was not sealed up. Some portions of it the Lord designed that they should not comprehend in that day. For instance, what the seven thunders uttered and several other things that are mentioned, no man understands, and will not until the proper time shall come. Since the days of John, it has been changed and altered by men who did not possess the Spirit of revelation, and from them it has been handed down to us in its present imperfect form, and we never shall understand it until God reveals it unto his servants the Prophets in the last days. Then the things written in that book will be plain, and we shall understand them.

So it is with regard to many revelations contained in the New Testament. The 24th chapter of Matthew, for instance, the sayings of Jesus to his disciples have undergone the same change in translation and in alterations by corrupt men. It is true, the Lord has given us information and bestowed upon us great favour by new revelation, and the Spirit bears witness that they are from heaven. We know them to be such. We comprehend them, we discern them, and say that God designed to reveal them to his servant Joseph. There are many who can comprehend those things and realize that they are from some superior source than the natural mind of man.

I might name some few things which may be found in the 24th chapter of Matthew, that are much plainer and much more simple as they were revealed to the Prophet Joseph in the new translation—so much so that it would almost satisfy even a natural-minded person that there has been a superior wisdom manifest in this new translation. In speaking of the signs of the coming of the Son of Man, and of the preaching of the Gospel to all the world, the new translation reads as follows:—“Again shall this Gospel of the kingdom be preached in all the world for a witness, and then shall the end come.” Now, the word “again” makes the thing all plain. It is as much as to say, You shall go forth, you shall preach to the people and declare my testimony among the nations of the earth; and after this there shall come a falling away, and there shall arise many false Christs and false prophets. Then shall follow many judgments and tribulations upon the face of the earth. And after the world has been in darkness for centuries, again shall this Gospel of the kingdom be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. What end? I answer, the end of the wicked world—the destruction of the wicked from the face of our globe.

In another passage to be found in that same revelation, the 24th chapter of Matthew, Jesus says, in speaking of his second coming, “As the light of the morning cometh out of the east, and shineth unto the west, and covereth the whole earth, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.” Now, how much plainer is this to the natural understanding! and how much plainer is this than the old translation as rendered by the wisdom of man! How does the old translation read? It reads, “For as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.”

The lightning is more visible and more frequent in some parts of the earth than others; and when it does appear, it is only visible for a few scores of miles at once, and is not visible in all parts; and consequently, this was not a proper figure to convey the idea. How much plainer is the rendering—“As the light of the morning cometh out of the east and shineth unto the west, and covereth the whole earth, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.”

How did this Latter-day Work commence? It did not commence all at once. On the 6th day of April, 1830, as it was justly observed by one of the speakers, there were not enough members to form the Church; but it came forth like the dim twilight of the morning, the darkness beginning by slow degrees to flee away as the light slowly advanced. It is grown brighter and brighter from that time unto the present.

Like the light of the sun, the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ will cover the whole earth; it will speak from land to land and from kingdom to kingdom, until it deluges the whole earth with the brilliancy of its light and the glory of its power. The testimonies of the servants of God, as well as the testimonies of his power, exhibiting his wrath and his sore displeasure, will go forth as has been proclaimed from this stand. And instead of the testimonies of the servants of God being smothered up by the persecution of our enemies, and the light being hidden under a bushel in some obscure corner, the decree of Heaven is that the light shall go forth, shining more and more glorious in the midst of the nations, and it will penetrate the darkest corners of the earth—it will visit the islands of the sea, until it has searched out every creature under heaven. There is no ear but shall hear, and no heart but shall be penetrated by the truths that shall be sent forth in this last dispensation.

Missionaries have been called. If they go and magnify their callings, they will be filled with the testimony that has been so freely manifested during our Conference; they will be filled with the Holy Ghost, and be able to bear testimony of the truths of the Gospel. It may be apparently in weakness. They may consider it so themselves. Their language may be feeble, their words feebly uttered, their sentences broken; but, after all, it will be the power of God unto this generation.

If you Missionaries will seek for the testimony of the Holy Ghost to go with you—if you will seek diligently for the power of God to accompany you, you need not be afraid of the nations; for your testimony will condemn the people who reject it, and it will save all those who receive it.

I look forward to the progress of this work through the Saints that are abroad and the Elders that are ordained on Foreign Missions, as well as by those Missionaries that are sent forth to their assistance. I look for this work to progress, and I cannot get anything else into my heart. I do not look for this people to be eternally assailed by their enemies, nor do I look for the Elders to be continually asleep; but I expect that they will bear a faithful testimony among the people of every nation where they are sent. And this testimony will be increased: it cannot be otherwise. That prophecy of Nephi recorded is the Book of Mormon must be fulfilled; the servants of God must be armed with righteousness, and with the power of the Almighty, and with great glory among the nations, wherever the Church is organized. It will be such a display as will excite the people against the Saints, or they would not, according to prophecy, gather together the armies of the wicked from among all nations to fight the people of the Most High. This must take place. The wicked must be gathered against the Saints. It is as it was stated by brother Hyde this forenoon about the dream. That dream had reference to foreign persecutions.

One thing is certain—that every nation under the heavens will array itself against the kingdom of God. Inasmuch as some individuals among the nations receive it, they will muster their forces and try to destroy the saints of the living God. To prepare for this, we must increase in the Spirit of God as our enemies increase in the spirit of darkness against us, and by the power of God proclaim in their ears a testimony that will overcome the wicked. There is no possibility of the wicked triumphing over this Latter-day Kingdom. There may be many who will have to fall—many who will have to suffer materially; but when we get to the home of the Saints of the living God, the wicked will cease from troubling us.

I look forward to a day that is not far distant, with great rejoicing; and that is a day when we shall all be engaged, as we are this afternoon, in partaking of the sacrament—the symbols of bread and wine, or in other words, the symbols of the body and blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I look forward with joyful anticipation to that glorious time. I look around upon this assembly, and when I see them partaking of this holy ordinance, and consider what Jesus has done by his sufferings, then I look forward to the time when he shall be in our midst, and we partake of these symbols in his presence.

Will not this be a joyful time? Who can but rejoice in a scenery of this description! Suppose you were expecting that this was to take place next Sabbath-day, who are pure in heart? Who are ready for such an event? What would be your feelings? Would you sorrow and mourn? Would it not be one of the most joyful messages to your ears that ever saluted them, to suppose that the time was so near at hand when you should partake of bread and wine with the ancient Apostles, and meet with the Saviour and all the Saints of former days—those that lived before the flood and those that have lived since the flood—to think that all this is to be made manifest to man—that we are to look upon the face of our Redeemer and be crowned with glory as he is—would not this be joyful tidings?

Although this is not going to take place next Sabbath, yet we know one thing—that in many of the revelations given to this Church, the Lord has closed by saying—“Behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give unto every man according to his works.” There are many revelations of this kind, and these words are true and faithful, for the Lord does not speak in vain; but he has thrown this out as an encouragement to those that fear him and keep his law.

The day is at hand, the morning has broken, the sun of the Gospel has arisen in the eastern horizon, and is beginning to shine with a degree of splendour. The time is near—how near, no man knoweth: the day and the hour when the Son of Man shall come is a secret. In a revelation given to this Church, it is said that no man shall know until he comes; therefore we cannot expect to know the day nor the hour; but we know it is near at hand, and what a consolation it is. There may be men that will know within a year—that will have revelation to say within one or two years when the Lord shall appear. I do not know that there is anything against this.

But the great question is, brethren and sisters, Are we ready?—are we perfect enough for this day? Are we honest enough? and are we filled with integrity enough to be ready for the Saviour and his holy angels? Is there a sufficiency of union? Have we that firmness in our minds that we can stand in their presence—that we can look them in the eye and say that all is right? If we are pure, when we see a pure and holy being, clothed with all the glory of the heavens, surrounded with light that far outshines the sun at noonday, so much so that his eye discerns all things and pierces the inmost recesses of the heart—when we can look him in the face, a, thrill of joy will run through our bodies, and we shall be happy.

I tell you, brethren and sisters, this would be one of the most glorious periods that we could possibly imagine: it would be one of the most joyful there is in the future. We know that men upon the earth have been so clothed with the glory and power of God that the people could not look upon their countenances; and why was this? It was because the people were wicked. When Moses had been upon the mountain, standing in the presence of God, being in his presence forty days receiving the tables of stone, and came down to teach the people, they could not endure his presence. Why? Because that glory that was manifested could not be endured by the wicked. But in this instance, the Lord permitted it to be manifested for a while. And when the people looked upon the countenance of Moses, they perceived that there were rays of light emanating from him—that he looked different from what he formerly did—that he was clothed upon with something which they had not been accustomed to see, and they fled afar off. Moses, therefore, was under the necessity of taking a vail and putting it over his face, for they could not endure it. They fled from the presence of a mortal man when he was clothed upon with glory, or with a reflection of the glory of God; therefore the only way was for him to cover his face, and then converse with the children of Israel.

Now, if a mortal being is permitted to have this power, how much greater will be the terror to the wicked when immortal beings shall appear—beings who have not simply been with the Lord forty days, but who have been with him thousands of years, who were redeemed before the flood and after the flood, and who have been in the presence of God more or less ever since—who have beheld his countenance, who have been seated upon thrones, swaying a sceptre of power, (as Abraham,) and reigning over millions of individuals—when they, as well as the redeemed of all nations and generations, shall make their appearance, and when they shall not attempt to put a vail over their faces as Moses did, but permit all the glory that they have accumulated for so many years to be visible to the human family! That will be a day of terror, astonishment, and dismay unto all the wicked.

At times when I reflect upon this subject, I try to portray before my mind the various revelations that God has given concerning this matter. There is one in particular which says, “Angels shall be sent forth to sound the trump of God, crying, Lo and behold! the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.” That will be a great time, independent of that of which I have been speaking, when Jesus shall come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Before that time, angels are to be sent forth to sound the trumpet, so that all the ends of the earth are to hear it, and all people are to be forewarned that the time of the coming of the bridegroom is at hand—that the time of the coming of the great Being has arrived. Then, when those angels have sounded, another great and terrible thing is to take place.

I simply mention these things to show how one thing after another is to precede the coming of the Lord.

After the angels have sounded this in the ears of all living, we are informed that there will be a great sign in the heavens. It is not to be limited so that some few only of the human family can see it; but it is said, “All people shall see it together!” At least, it is to be like our sun seen over one entire side of the globe, and then passing immediately round to to the other, or else it will encircle the whole earth at the same time. But the bridegroom does not come then. These are only the preceding events to let the Latter-day Saints and the pure in heart know that these are the times that they may trim up their lamps and prepare for the triumphant appearing of their Lord.

After those angels that I have alluded to have flown through the heavens, this sign is made manifest; and what next? Seven angels are appointed to give their signs and testimonies to the truth of this proclamation of the Gospel, the Latter-day Saints having previously given theirs. Thus we have the former angels sounding their trumpets, then the great sign, and then comes the seven angels. The first proclaims that great Babylon is about to fall, and her influence to be destroyed. He proclaims that all who remain in Babylon are bound in bundles and their bands made strong, so that no man can unloose them, and that they are therefore prepared for the burning.

After all nations have heard the proclamation, there will be silence in the heavens, and I do not know but on the earth too; for the people will doubtless be overpowered with astonishment to see an angel, the sound of whose trump shall pierce the ears of all living. After this, I say, there will be silence in heaven for half-an-hour.

Then, after the wicked begin to recover and get a little strength, behold and lo! the curtain of heaven will be unfolded as a scroll that is rolled up. You know how our great maps are rolled out to expose their contents to the people; and the Lord has said the heavens shall be unfolded as a scroll that is rolled up is unfolded. What will be seen when this takes place? Our Saviour, our Redeemer, will unveil his face. That Being who was born in Bethlehem—that being who has saved the world by offering his own life, how will he appear? Will he come as a common man? or how will he make his appearance? He will appear as a being whose splendour and glory will cause the sun to hide his face with shame.

The sun is a very glorious body and when you look upon it, so great is the light, that you can scarcely see surrounding objects; but the light of the sun is nothing to be compared with the glory of that personage who shall appear when the heavens shall be unveiled, or unfolded like a scroll. The light of the sun will dwindle away, and he shall hide his face with shame. Who will be with Jesus when he appears? The decree has gone forth, saying, Mine Apostles who were with me in Jerusalem shall be clothed in glory and be with me. The brightness of their countenance will shine forth with all that refulgence and fulness of splendour that shall surround the Son of Man when he appears. There will be all those personages to whom he alludes. There will be all the former-day Saints, Enoch and his city, with all the greatness and splendour that surround them: there will be Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as they sit upon their thrones, together with all the persons that have been redeemed and brought near unto the presence of God. All will be unfolded and unveiled, and all this will be for the wicked to look upon, as well as the righteous; for the wicked will not as yet have been destroyed. When this takes place, there will be Latter-day Saints living upon the earth, and they will ascend and mingle themselves with that vast throng; for they will be filled with anxiety to go where the Saints of the Church of the Firstborn are, and the Church of Firstborn will feel an anxiety to come and meet with the Saints on earth, and this will bring the general assembly of the redeemed into one; and thus will be fulfilled the saying of Paul, “that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him.”

About the same time that the Latter-day Saints are quickened, (not immortalized,) there will be Saints that have slumbered and slept for ages, and they are to be quickened and taken up into the heavens. Now the wicked are to see all these things; and if power of language could be given to them, what would they say? They would turn to the rocks and the mountains, and say, O mountains and rocks, fall upon us and hide us from the presence of Him that sits upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. And I have no doubt but they will have the power to say it. But they must endure the sight. After which, they must be consumed according to that which is spoken, and the heathen nations must be redeemed, and the way be prepared for the Lord to dwell upon the earth. The mortal Saints will then be transfigured and sanctified, but not immortalized. They will be prepared for the millennial reign. The tables will then be spread, and the Latter-day and Former-day Saints will be together to partake of the sacrament just as it is this afternoon, only more perfectly prepared.

This is my object in thus portraying these things before you this afternoon, for as often as we do this we show forth the Lord’s death till he come. When that time comes, he will partake of the fruit of the vine with us; and with him will be Moroni, Mormon, and Lehi, and all the inhabitants of this vast American continent who have been saved through the Gospel. There will be Enoch’s city, the Former-day Saints, and the vast throng of resurrected Saints to sit down and partake of the supper of the great Bridegroom, and he will administer in the midst of his brethren.

I hope and pray that I may be prepared to be one of that joyful throng to be assembled there with a pure heart, and one that is upright before God. I also hope that my brethren will be with me, and that we shall have the privilege of celebrating the marriage supper of the Lamb, for that will be a happy day.

May God bless you! Amen.

Instructions to Missionaries

Brigham Young

Delivered by President Brigham Young, in the Historian’s Office, Great Salt Lake City, April 25, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I believe that you already understand all that is necessary for your safe guidance through the perils and temptations that await the Elders and Saints of the last days. None of you can be said to have heard the Gospel last Sabbath, been baptized on Monday last, ordained on Tuesday, and on Wednesday sent forth to preach, as were many of the first Elders. On the contrary, I think you have been pretty well schooled.

But the inquiry arises in my mind, Do the Elders realize the importance of their missions? Do they realize that in their administration they carry with them the keys of life and death, not pertaining to this life alone, but to this in connection with all the life there is? It is necessary that you should fully realize this in your calling as Elders in the Church of Jesus Christ. The thousands and tens of thousands of incidents that make up the sum of human lives, whether for good or evil, depend on a momentary watchfulness and care.

If an Elder, in preaching the Gospel, does not feel that he has the power to preach life and salvation, and to legally administer the ordinances, and that, too, by the power of God, he will not fill his mission to his own credit, nor to the good of the people, and the advancement and honour of the kingdom of God. From all I can read, from all I can gather from the revelations from God to man, and from the revelations of the Spirit to me, no man can successfully preach the Gospel and be owned, blessed, and acknowledged by the heavens, unless he preaches by the power of God through direct revelation. Not but that, in a great many instances, a man may not be manifestly under the immediate and powerful influences and direction of revelation to dictate him all the time in his meditations and reasonings, and yet can advance many good ideas that he has gathered by means of his natural reasoning. But to magnify and make honourable the calling of an Elder in this Church, I cannot conceive, in my understanding, any other true principle by which it can be done, only when perfectly controlled by the Spirit of the Lord.

When men enjoy the spirit of their missions and realize their calling and standing before the Lord and the people, it constitutes the happiest portions of their lives. If our minds can reach forth to eternal things, can conceive the glory, honour, and benefit arising from the plan of salvation Jesus has purchased, and can grasp the gifts, blessings, powers, privileges, light, intelligence, and fulness of the eternities that are to come, these God has bestowed upon us to offer to the people. If they will receive it, they can have all the Lord has purchased for them. If they reject you, they also reject the Son; and if they reject the Son, they reject the Father and heaven and heavenly things, and seal their own condemnation. If the brethren can reach forth unto these things, so as to see and properly understand them, they can magnify their calling; and this is the only way in which they can.

Many of you have been in the world and met with opposition; and when the Scriptures have been honestly adhered to as the standard, you have successfully met all that can be brought against the plan of salvation. That is all very well, and is pleasing to such as have a philosophical turn of mind. Their modes of thinking and reasoning call for solutions of what appears to them mysterious and problematic; and those solutions, to be satisfactory to them, must accord with certain theories. But let one go forth who is careful to logically prove all he says by numerous quotations from the revelations, and let another travel with him who can say, by the power of the Holy Ghost, Thus saith the Lord, and tell what the people should believe—what they should do—how they should live, and teach them to yield to the principles of salvation—though he may not be capable of producing a single logical argument—though he may tremble under a sense of his weakness, cleaving to the Lord for strength, as such men generally do, you will invariably find that the man who testifies by the power of the Holy Ghost will convince and gather many more of the honest and upright than will the merely logical reasoner.

Debate and argument have not that saving effect that has testifying to the truth as the Lord reveals it to the Elder by the Spirit. I think you will all agree with me in this; at least, such is my experience. I do not wish to be understood as throwing a straw in the way of the Elders’ storing their minds with all the arguments they can gather to urge in defence of their religion, nor do I wish to hinder them in the least from learning all they can with regard to religions and governments. The more knowledge the Elders have the better.

It is well to perfectly understand the religious and governmental theories of the world; it is satisfactory: yet, in preaching the Gospel, an Elder who prides himself in using good sound arguments and logic is not so apt to lean upon the Lord for his Spirit as are those who are not so particularly gifted in reasoning. It is our duty, so far as we can, to gain knowledge and information pertaining to human life and the organization of the kingdoms, thrones, empires, and republics of the earth—to become well acquainted with their religions, laws, manners of administration, pursuits of life, manufactures, agriculture, arts, manners and customs, &c; but when we are possessed of all this knowledge, we need the power of God to teach the truths of the holy Gospel. I wish you to bear this truth in your memories and put it in practice.

By your own experience you know that “Mormonism,” if not true, is worse than nothing; and if true, its value is beyond our computation. In your travelling and preaching, you will meet with many who will oppose the Gospel, and by them your names will be cast out as evil. Pertaining to this, I will make but one requirement of you—that, when you are spoken everywhere against, as were Jesus and his disciples, for the sake of the kingdom, for the sake of the people, for the sake of our Redeemer, for the sake of our heavenly Father, and the heavenly hosts, and for your own sakes, you so live that there never can truthfully be an evil word spoken against you. Never, through committing evil, lay the foundation for a person to truthfully speak evil of you. If you pursue this course, you will be justified before God, Jesus, angels, and your brethren. You can then testify to the truth, and teach it in all plainness, simplicity, and honesty, and be able to bid defiance to the world.

In your travelling you will have to trust in the Lord. I do not know whether you have means sufficient to enable you to go directly to your fields of labour. Probably some of you have, and some have not. Strive to be full of the Holy Ghost, and the necessary means will come to you, often in a way you cannot comprehend, and you will be expedited in your journeyings and perform your missions. And furthermore, if you will not drop one thread in the garments of your characters, from the time you leave here, I am not in the least doubtful in my mind—I have not a shade of hesitancy in my feelings in promising that each of you will accomplish a mission that will please our Father in heaven and every good person on the earth and in heaven, and live to return to this place. Have faith to live, and do just as you should do; and do not imagine that you can go to the right or to the left, or do this, that, or the other wrong with impunity, thinking that it will be well enough in the end. Do that alone which you know to be right and which you ought to do. When you come to that which you do not know to be right, let it alone and trust in the Lord, and you will live.

Some of our Elders have died while on missions. I have nothing to say against them, for all must die sooner or later. But there is no necessity for laying down our bodies until we are full of years. If you only have faith, and every moment live according to the faith of the Gospel, and keep your gaze, thoughts, and acts heavenward, I have no hesitancy in saying that you will live to perform your missions.

You have received your blessings, and I say amen to them, and to much more. In this my faith resembled Father Smith’s, when he was asked by myself and one or two others for a patriarchal blessing. He said to us, sit down, and write every good thing you can think of in heaven and on earth, and I will sign my name to them, and they will be your patriarchal blessings. If you only live for them, they shall all come upon you, and more.” Live for the blessings you desire, and you will obtain them, if you do not suffer selfishness, pride, or the least alienation from the path of true virtue and holiness to creep into your hearts.

When you reach your fields of labour, do the best you can; and when the enemy comes along and tells you that you are somebody, say, “Mr. Devil, it is none of your business. What I have spoken is what the Lord gave to me I have presented it to the people, and that is all I have to do with it.” If you cannot preach as nicely and smoothly as you wish, and a feeling rises that you cannot preach at all—that you had better return home, tell Satan to get behind you—that he has no power to dictate whether you preach a word or not, for you are in the Lord’s service. So live that the Spirit of the Lord can instruct your minds at all times, and you can then defy the Devil and all his emissaries. If you have nothing from the Lord to present to the people, be as willing to be silent as you would to preach what might be termed a splendid discourse.

A short time ago I made a few remarks concerning the Elders who have been on missions, and I will now say to you, Do not come from your missions leaving behind you people whom you have oppressed, from whom you have begged their money. I would work my way there and back again, or beg from strangers, before I would take one dime from the Saints, unless they of their own freewill and accord wished to make me presents, and were able to do so without distressing themselves. True, I have seen the time, and so have many of my brethren, when my heart has ached to see men and women go without food day after day for the sake of feeding me, when I could feed myself; but any other course would not satisfy them. Under such circumstances you must humour the people and yield to their feelings. But do not go to preach this Gospel for the purpose of becoming rich. If the Lord has anything for you, he will give it to you; and if he has not, tell them that you can provide your own living when you reach home, if the Lord will bless you. You may say, “We may bless the people until doomsday, and still they will find fault with us.” Can they justly do so? If they cannot, their faultfinding cannot harm you.

Some of our Missionaries, after an absence of two or three years, return with their eyes cast down: their countenances are fallen. I wish you to take such a course that you can come home with your heads up. Keep yourselves clean, from the crowns of your heads to the soles of your feet; be pure in heart—otherwise you will return bowed down in spirit and with a fallen countenance, and will feel as though you never could rise again. When the Quorum of the Twelve was first organized, Joseph said that the Elders of Israel, and particularly the Twelve Apostles, would receive more temptations, be more buffetted, and have greater difficulty to escape the evil thrown in their way by females than by any other means. This is one of Satan’s most powerful auxiliaries with which to weaken the influence of the ministers of Christ, and bring them down from their high position and calling into darkness, shame, and disgrace. You will have to guard more strictly against that than against any other evil that may beset you. Make up your minds not to yield, for one moment, to the subtle insinuations of the animal propensities of your natures while you are absent on the Lord’s errands. Rather, suffer your heads to be taken from your shoulders than to sacrifice your honour, violate your covenants, and forfeit the sacred trust reposed in you.

When you arrive in Liverpool, you will find brothers Amasa Lyman and Charles C. Rich, two of the Twelve, and you will be under their direction and supervision. Some of you will again visit your parents and friends in your native lands. This, no doubt, will be very agreeable; but do not sit down in your ancestral homes with a purpose to stay there, but let your missions be first and foremost to preach the Gospel of life and salvation to the people, and gather them to the place appointed. I do not think there was worse said about the Saviour and his disciples in ancient days than has been said about the people of Utah in modern times. Take no notice of this, but attend to the business about which you have been sent. Tell this generation the truth, and pass along. Many will tell you that your religion is all error. Reply that you will make an exchange with them of ten errors for one truth. Do not contend or argue much, but pass along peaceably and preach the first principles of the Gospel—faith in God and in his Son Jesus Christ, and teach the people to repent of their sins and be baptised for the remission of them, and they shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost through the laying on of the hands of the Elders. It is often the case that some wish to preach about things of which they have little or no knowledge. Let alone that which you do not know or most assuredly believe to be true—doctrines which you do not perfectly understand, and strive to be honest. If you do not understand a doctrine or a portion of Scripture, when information is asked of you, say that the Lord has not revealed that to you, or that he has not opened your understanding to grasp it, and that you do not feel safe in giving an interpretation until he does.

May God bless you! Amen.

Privileges of the Sabbath, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, May 20, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I am happy for the privilege of meeting with the Saints. I delight in seeing their faces, and am very fond of their society.

I have much experience in the various habits, feelings, customs, manners, and conditions of mankind; and I have felt, for many years, as though I would be perfectly satisfied to associate with those who live in peace—with those who believe in God the Father and in his Son Jesus—to live with those who believe in the Holy Ghost which the Lord has bestowed upon the children of men—with those who adhere to all the principles in the Gospel, and live according to it day by day. Such society would be perfectly satisfactory to me. It would satisfy every feeling, every desire—in fact, my whole soul, without ever associating with another wicked person on the earth.

I have not the least desire, nor have I had for years, to mingle with a person who takes the name of God in vain, who in the least betrays his covenants, who wavers or falters in his integrity with his God or with his fellow-man; but I am most perfectly satisfied to associate with those whose hearts are filled with peace, with praise and adoration to our God, and whose lives are full of good works. Their voices to me are like sweet music. I have not the least desire to mingle with or look upon the faces of those who hate God and his cause.

I rejoice in the privilege of meeting with the Saints, in hearing them speak, and in enjoying the influence that is within and around them. That influence opens to my understanding the true position of those who are endeavouring to serve their God. I do not require to hear them speak to enable me to know their feelings. Is it not also your experience that, when you meet persons in the streets, in your houses, in your offices, or in your workshops, more or less of an influence attends them which conveys more than words can? By this the Father knows his children, Jesus knows his brethren, and the angels are acquainted with those who delight to associate with them and with those who hate them. This knowledge is obtained through that invisible influence which attends intelligent beings, and betrays the atmosphere in which they delight to live. Can you comprehend that I understand their condition when I meet with Saints? I am satisfied all is right: my soul is comforted.

You do not see me here every Sabbath. Perhaps some of you wonder why. I will tell you in a very few words. If I had my own choice, and could have my own dictation with regard to physical and mental labour, I would set apart, for the express benefit of man, at least one-seventh part of the time for rest. There are but very few Sabbaths that I have ever kept in strictly resting from my labours—permitting both body and mind to rest. Perhaps assembling here on the Sabbath is a rest to many, though it is not very much of a rest. To those who have been labouring all the week to the utmost extent of their strength, it may be somewhat of a rest to sit on these hard benches; but when I come here I have a constant labour on my mind. This congregation, the Saints throughout the world, and the world of mankind in general are before me. I think for them all. I would like to take one seventh part of the time to rest; but I do not often have this privilege. If I had my own mind, I would devote the time for meetings like this within the measure of the six days, and on the seventh, rest from all my labours, for the express purpose of renewing the mental and physical powers of man. They require it, as the Lord well knew; hence he established a day of rest. The natural tendency of the physical powers of man is to decay; and to preserve them as long as possible, they need this retirement from labour—this rest—this ease. I very seldom enjoy this privilege.

Our customs are more or less like the customs of our fathers, and their influence is often stronger upon us than any law. There is not a law of God, nor a law of any nation that exercises so strong an influence upon us as do our traditions at times, to bind us to certain customs, habits, and ceremonies: consequently, to carry out the old traditions, we observe this day of rest as we now do. Father went to meeting on the seventh day, and the priests and all good people go to meeting on that day. It has been the custom from time immemorial. Some men and women walk miles to attend meetings: some men walk as many as ten miles, hold two or three meetings, walk back, and are in their workshops by five o’clock on Monday morning. Custom binds us to this, and here we are to-day in compliance with its force.

Brother Hyde spoke of a revelation which he tried to find in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. That revelation was reserved at the time the compilation for that book was made by Oliver Cowdery and others, in Kirtland. It was not wisdom to publish it to the world, and it remained in the private escritoire. Brother Joseph had that revelation concerning this nation at a time when the brethren were reflecting and reasoning with regard to African slavery on this continent, and the slavery of the children of men throughout the world. There are other revelations, besides this one, not yet published to the world. In the due time of the Lord, the Saints and the world will be privileged with the revelations that are due to them. They now have many more than they are worthy of, for they do not observe them. The Gentile nations have had more of the revelations of God than is their just due. And I will say, as I have before said, if guilt before my God and my brethren rests upon me in the least, it is in this one thing—that I have revealed too much concerning God and his kingdom, and the designs of our Father in heaven. If my skirts are stained in the least with wrong, it is because I have been too free in telling what God is, how he lives, the nature of his providences and designs in creating the world, in bringing forth the human family on the earth, his designs concerning them, &c. If I had, like Paul, said—“But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant,” perhaps it would have been better for the people.

You may ask whether this is reasonable. I can prove it to be so in a few sentences. There are men upon whom God has bestowed gifts and graces, and women who are endowed with strong mental ability, and yet they cannot receive the truth; and then the truth condemns them: it leaves them in darkness. When they cannot receive every truth, let it be ever so important or unimportant to them, their neglect to grasp in their faith the truth God reveals for their benefit weakens them, comparatively, from the crowns of their heads to the soles of their feet, and the enemy may have the advantage over them in an hour when they think not. To please our Father in heaven, and do his will in all things, to walk up faithfully in the discharge of every duty preparatory to being crowned in his kingdom, when a truth is presented to an intelligent person he ought to grasp it and receive it in his faith. There are revelations, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding yet to be proclaimed, and whether they will please the world, or not, is immaterial to me. I shall not pledge myself upon a single point.

I wish to impress upon the minds of the Saints the importance of so living that they will always know the voice of the Good Shepherd. When they hear the voice of the Spirit of inspiration—the power of God, through any person, let the feelings and sensibilities of every one who professes to know anything of the things of God, be in a state to know and discern between that which is of God and that which is not. I have exhorted the brethren, all the day long, in this way. My whole study is employed and my whole soul is drawn out to induce this people to live their religion. How often has it been taught that if you depend entirely upon the voice, judgment, and sagacity of those appointed to lead you, and neglect to enjoy the Spirit for yourselves, how easily you may be led into error, and finally be cast off to the left hand? Is it desirable to lead you astray? No; it would not be a momentary satisfaction to a Saint of God—to a servant of God—to one who sees things as they are, to be the means of betraying and deceiving the whole human family and leading them astray where he pleased. For any man who understands the things of God to have power to lead the human family astray at his will and pleasure is calculated to destroy: it is ruin, it is waste, and will finally lead to disorganization. But a true servant of God takes more pleasure in saving the meanest capacity organized in human form upon the face of the earth than a wicked person can in leading hosts astray. Let a Prophet of God, an Apostle, or any servant of the Lord Jesus have the privilege of bringing the very smallest degree of organized intelligence up higher and higher until it is capable of receiving the intelligence of angels, and it will give more consolation and happiness than to lead all the posterity of Adam into a wrong path.

Brethren and sisters, I have a few words to say to you with regard to our present position as connected with future events, future prospects, future kingdoms, glories, and existence, and the rise, spread, glory, and power of the kingdom of God upon the face of the earth. You know that I am a to-day person in my preaching and exhortations. They are for the time we now live in—not particularly for the millennium, for the resurrection, for the eternities yet to come; for if we can live this day as we ought to live, we shall be prepared for to-morrow, and so on for the next day; and when the eternities come, we shall be prepared to enjoy them. You are constantly taught to live your religion for to-day. Can you not live it for one hour? Begin at a small point: can you not live to the Lord for one minute? Yes. Then can we not multiply that by sixty and make an hour, and live that hour to the Lord? Yes; and then for a day, a week, a month, and a year? Then, when the year is past, it has been spent most satisfactorily.

We may so live our religion every moment, and so watch our own conduct as to not suffer ourselves in the least to do anything that would infringe upon a good conscience that is formed and regulated by the Priesthood of God, and in all our acts to not permit ourselves to do one act that next year or a few years hence will wound the heart and bring shame and confusion over the countenance; but let every day be filled with acts that will be in our reflections a source of joy and consolation. This we can do. You are taught, both by ancient and modern prophecies, that the Lord is going to bring again Zion—is going to build up his kingdom on the earth, and reign King of nations as he does King of Saints. With all this so plainly portrayed in both ancient and modern revelations, we learn, when we look over the history of the children of men, how they have apostatized, have deserted their colours, (the flag God gave them for their standard,) and have hewn to themselves cisterns that can hold no water. They have wandered after strange gods, and the world has faltered and failed from generation to generation, not only in their mental faculties and pertaining to the things of God, but also in their physical existence.

How far back shall we have to search before we find a people that attained to the longevity for which the body of man is framed? If we could meet here Sabbath after Sabbath for a hundred years to come, would it not be a glorious privilege? What parent would not rejoice in seeing his children and his children’s children grow up to manhood, while he still lived on the earth to direct their minds and mark out the path for them to walk in, and lead out before them in righteousness and holiness, inspiring them to continually pursue the way of obedience to the will of their God? Would not this be more pleasing than laying down the body in an early grave? Would it not be consoling to a good man to live long on the earth in the full enjoyment of all his mental and physical faculties, filled with experience and judgment to direct the steps of youth, and to see his children, his grandchildren, and great grandchildren, and still continue from year to year and from generation to generation, until he is six, seven, eight, or nine hundred years old? “But no,” says a father or mother; “I probably shall not live until I see my children grown up. I will direct them as well as I can while I do live.” It is seldom that men in our day can count more than three generations of their children; but suppose we could count forty or fifty generations of our offspring, and be all the time guiding them in the path which leads back to our heavenly Father—to our heavenly home, guiding our rising generations by our examples, good judgment, and the superior counsel and experience we have gained in the things of God—of heaven and earth; would not this be consoling to every good person?

You read in the Bible, “There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner, being an hundred years old, shall be accursed. And they shall build houses and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.”

The human family has again to return to this state—not you and I as individuals. Mankind have degenerated; they have lost the physical and mental power they once possessed. In many points pertaining to mechanism, men have in modern times been instructed by revelation to them, and this mechanical knowledge causes them to almost boast against their Creator, and to set themselves up as competitors with the Lord Almighty, notwithstanding they have produced nothing but what has been revealed to them. In the knowledge of astronomical and other philosophical truths, which our modern great men are searching after and pride themselves in, they are but babes, compared with the ancient fathers. Do the wise men of modern ages understand the laws which govern the worlds that are, that were, and that are to come? They cannot fathom this matter. They have grown weaker when they ought to have grown stronger and wiser. We look forward to a day when we must begin to approximate towards the life that is eternal—the life that will endure. You may ask, “Do we wish to live in the flesh always?” No; only so long as we can endure the sufferings, hardships, toils, labours, pains, and afflictions that are in this world, and make every day benefit ourselves and our posterity, and our acts redound to our own exaltation and to the increase of the kingdom of our Father who placed us here.

Some of our old traditions teach us that a man guilty of atrocious and murderous acts may savingly repent when on the scaffold; and upon his execution you will hear the expression—“Bless God! he has gone to heaven, to be crowned, in glory, through the all-redeeming merits of Christ the Lord.” This is all nonsense. Such a character never will see heaven. Some will pray, “O that I had passed through the vail on the night of my conversion!’” This proves the false ideas and vain notions entertained by the Christian world. They have no good sense pertaining to God and godliness.

This is a world in which we are to prove ourselves. The lifetime of man is a day of trial, wherein we may prove to God, in our darkness, in our weakness, and where the enemy reigns, that we are our Father’s friends, and that we receive light from him and are worthy to be leaders of our children—to become lords of lords, and kings of kings—to have perfect dominion over that portion of our families that will be crowned in the celestial kingdom with glory, immortality, and eternal lives. If we are crowned to become lords of lords and kings of kings, it will be to rule and reign over our own posterity pertaining to this flesh—these tabernacles—this commencement in our finite state of being. When I reign king of kings and lord of lords over my children, it will be when my first, second, third, fourth, and so on, son rises up and counts thousands and millions of his posterity, and is king over them; then I am a king of these kings. Our Father, who is Lord of all, will reign a King of kings and Lord of lords over all his children.

Mothers really and verily have very great influence, from the commencement, in forming the leading temperaments and feelings of their offspring. I have not time, neither do I here wish to fully explain this subject. When a father is abusive in any way—is a drunkard, a swearer, &c., if the mother is humble and looks to her God, beyond her earthly lord, as it is her right under such circumstances, the influence that would otherwise operate upon her has little or no power to affect her offspring. If she secretly prays and lifts her desires to her Father in heaven, beyond her miserable, drinking, swearing husband, the sacred, peaceful, trusting, happifying influence she enjoys, when thus living near to her God, produces its impression upon the earthly tabernacle—upon the course in life of her prospective offspring.

The father should be full of kindness, and endeavour to happify and cheer the mother, that her heart may be comforted and her affections unimpaired in her earthly protector, that her love for God and righteousness may vibrate throughout her whole being, that she may bear and bring forth offspring impressed and endowed with all the qualities necessary to a being designed to reign king of kings and lord of lords.

But few women have a realizing sense of the immortal, invisible, and powerful influence they exert in their sphere. A mother may inquire, “What is to be done?” Break off, by faith, and in the name of Jesus Christ, from every false principle, from every hurtful practice, and overcome every appetite that tends to injure and destroy the tabernacle you wear. Take a course that will produce life, that children may be born full of life and vigour.

And during the period of nursing, let the mother be faithful and prayerful, that her infant may enjoy a powerful, Godlike, and happy influence. Do mothers so act? or do they prefer to run here and there, and to desire this and fret for that, to gratify their appetites?

Look to it, mothers, that you desire only that which will most promote the health and life of your offspring; and ask the Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, to enable you to resist every depraved appetite; and let fathers be full of the power of God, to lead, guide, direct, and influence mothers, that they may have no desires but those which are prompted by the influence of the Almighty. I make these few remarks upon life, that you may know how we ought to begin to conduct ourselves relative to the rising generation, that the days of the children of men may begin to return to them.

It is the business, duty, and power of the eternal Priesthood to commence laying the foundation to bring back the days, years, and intelligence that have been lost through transgression. I intend to pursue this course as long as I possibly can. I have a desire to live on this earth until I am one hundred and thirty-five years old; and I may conclude to ask the privilege to live until I am one hundred and fifty. I intend to live as long as I can; and, through the grace of God, I trust that I shall not commit an act that will annoy my feelings when I meet my Saviour. I pray for this every day and every moment.

At times I may to many of the brethren appear to be severe. I sometimes chasten them; but it is because I wish them to so live that the power of God, like a flame of fire, will dwell within them and be round about them. These are my feelings and desires. I wish to see this people take a course to bring back the days, years, and intelligence that have been lost through transgression. This cannot be performed in a day. Zion will not be redeemed and built up in a day. Israel will not be brought back to the fold of Christ and redeemed in a day.

If you fully knew things as they are, you would understand that the “peculiar institution,” as it is called—that doctrine which is so obnoxious to our beloved Christian brethren—for a man to have more than one wife—is one of the greatest blessings bestowed upon man. If the Elders of Israel, who enjoy this privilege, understood it as it is in the bosom of eternity, they would not trifle with and abuse it, and treat the blessings of the Lord lightly, as is too often the case. How often am I called upon to hear tales of sorrow which are like bitterness to my soul—like drinking a cup of wormwood. I hate this. God hates it. He does not hate to have us multiply, increase, and replenish the earth; but he hates for us to live in sin and wickedness, after all the privileges bestowed upon us—to live in the neglect of the great duties which devolve upon us, notwithstanding the state of weakness and darkness in which the human family lives. Burst that vail of darkness from your eyes, that you may see things as they are.

Many professing to be Saints seem to have no knowledge, no light, to see anything beyond a dollar, or a pleasant time, a comfortable house, a fine farm, &c., &c. O fools, and slow of heart to understand the purposes of God and his handiwork among the people. Let me present a few ideas in regard to the things you enjoy. Suppose we say that the time is coming when you will possess this house, that garden, the other farm, and own such and such possessions, and have no more headache, tooth-ache, inflammation of the eyes, back-ache, rheumatism, pain, sorrow, and death, would you not consider that you were greatly blessed—that you enjoyed a blessing worthy of the eternal world? Suppose it possible that you have the privilege of securing to yourselves eternal life—to live and enjoy these blessings for ever; you will say this is the greatest blessing that can be bestowed upon you, to live for ever and enjoy the society of wives, children, and children’s children, to a thousand generations, and for ever; also the society of brethren, sisters, neighbours, and associates, and to possess all you can ask for to make you happy and comfortable. What blessing is equal to this? What blessing is equal to the continuation of life—to the continuation of our organizations?

The Lord has blessed us with the ability to enjoy an eternal life with the Gods, and this is pronounced the greatest gift of God. The gift of eternal life, without a posterity, to become an angel, is one of the greatest gifts that can be bestowed; yet the Lord has bestowed on us the privilege of becoming fathers of lives. What is a father of lives, as mentioned in the Scriptures? A man who has a posterity to an eternal continuance. That is the blessing Abraham received, and it perfectly satisfied his soul. He obtained the promise that he should be the father of lives. In comparison with this, what did Abraham care about machinery, railroads, and other great mechanical productions? We have the privilege of becoming fathers of lives to all eternity, and of existing in the presence of God. Is not this worthy of our living in righteousness and complete obedience to the commandments of God? Then away with all little meannesses, and deal out kindness to all. Chasten, where chastening will answer best; but try persuation [persuasion] before you try the rod.

If the days of man are to begin to return, we must cease all extravagant living. When men live to the age of a tree, their food will be fruit. Mothers, to produce offspring full of life and days, must cease drinking liquor, tea, and coffee, that their systems may be free from bad effects. If every woman in this Church will now cease drinking tea, coffee, liquor, and all other powerful stimulants, and live upon vegetables, &c., not many generations will pass away before the days of man will again return. But it will take generations to entirely eradicate the influences of deleterious substances. This must be done before we can attain our paradisaical state, for the Lord will bring again Zion to its paradisaical state.

May God grant that we may see and enjoy it. Amen.

Confidence and Influence of the Saints, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, a.m., June 3, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I am thankful for the privilege of standing before you, and feel desirous to enjoy the Spirit of intelligence, that when I speak to the Saints I may be a comfort to them, and strengthen them, and so dictate and guide their minds that they may receive strength and consolation in the faith of the Gospel, and in the hope of eternal life.

One reason why I have not of late addressed you oftener is because I wish other brethren to have an equal opportunity to speak to the people. I often regret when we call upon the Elders to speak in this Tabernacle, to hear them say that they have been in the Church ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, or more years, and have not before had the privilege of speaking to the Saints in their large assemblies, apparently casting a reflection upon me or upon my brethren because we have not invited them to preach. We would be glad to have all such persons preach. Let us know who you are, for it creates a feeling of regret for any of the brethren to intimate that they have been neglected.

Some who have lost the confidence and influence of the Saints, may expect that confidence and influence to be restored to them by me and my brethren. I have always told the brethren, in our private conversations, that that is impossible: it is a work we cannot accomplish. I might call upon a person who had stolen your cattle or your horses, and taken them to the camp and sold them, or who had stolen your fencing or other property, to address you from this stand; but would that restore confidence? No. We might call a man into this stand who has been in the habit of getting drunk and appearing intoxicated in the streets; but would that cause the people to have confidence in him? No. If I and my Counsellors should strive with our might to support and recommend him, that would not give him the influence he wishes, but would disgrace the man of God who undertook it.

If the Elders wish to exhibit their talents before the Saints and the world, let them make themselves acquainted with all the principles they desire to represent in speaking and administering to the Saints. And if those who have lost their influence, through disreputable proceedings, wish to regain it, instead of expecting to regain it at once by being called into this stand, go to the private prayer-meeting and there humbly pray God to bless you and your brethren. When you imagine that you are neglected and do not have the privilege of exhibiting your talent—I speak of these who have been in the habit of doing wrong, and thereby have lost confidence—pursue a course that will convince your brethren that you have reformed. Go to your neighbours’ houses and tell them you have appointed a meeting in your house. Call the brethren together, and pray with them and for them; and let them see, by the power of the spirit of the holy Gospel, that you have repented of all your evils—that you will refrain from sinning—that you will not again be caught, as heretofore, transgressing the law of God, the grace of God assisting you.

If you can make as good a beginning as did an old lady, you will do well. She went to a school-house, and, on her return, called at a neighbour’s, who inquired where she had been. She replied, “I have been to meeting.” “Has there been a meeting?” “Oh, yes, and a glorious one, too.” “Dear me, we did not hear of it. Were there many there?” “No, there were not many.” “Who was there?” “Why, the Lord was there, and I was there, and had a blessed good meeting.” If you cannot get any person to meet with you, be sure and have the Lord meet with you, and you will soon gain confidence in yourselves and have influence with your brethren.

No man can gain influence in this kingdom, and maintain himself in it, or magnify his calling, without the power of God being with him. Persons must so live that they can enjoy the light of the Holy Spirit, or they will have no confidence in themselves, in their religion, or in their God, and will sooner or later turn from the faith. They are in sorrow, and leave in search of something that will satisfy their minds. Hundreds have been to Camp Floyd, to the States, and to their native foreign lands, to find that comfort and consolation they have lost. They need not go out of their own houses to accomplish this, for the Lord is near them—the Gospel is at their doors—life and salvation are with them, if they will only repent of their sins, return to the Lord with all their hearts, and humble themselves until they get the Spirit: they will then learn that they have the treasure hunted for in California, in Carson Valley, and the world over—the riches of eternal life.

You who feel that you are in the least slighted, begin to have your meetings; and if there is no person to pray with you in your own houses, pray by yourselves until the Lord meets with you and you enjoy the light of the Holy Spirit. Then, if you wish to, call in your neighbours and pray with them and for them. There is no law against doing good. You have all the privilege you can ask for, to perform all the good you have any talent to perform. When a man complains that his talent is not appreciated by his brethren, he is lacking one important piece of information more important to him than to any other—a knowledge of himself. This would do him more good than all his great talents without it. When he knows his own ability—can understand himself, he can properly employ every talent he has. Without that, he cannot do so.

Those who seek for wisdom, for knowledge, and eternal life, understand the exhortation just delivered by brother George Halliday. So far as I heard, it was very sweet—very good. Without the light of the Spirit of Christ, no person can truly enjoy life. I thought brother Halliday very correctly portrayed the feelings of some, when alluding to certain wives becoming as skilful and noted, and a little more so in their own estimation, than were their husbands. I am not in the least fearful that any one will gain too much knowledge of God, and through that knowledge undertake to dictate me. If you know the Spirit of God, have the power of revelation, and know the mind of the Lord from day to day, I am not afraid of your disagreeing with me. Do not have any fears of knowing too much, lest you should feel to rise up and dictate me, as wives, in many cases, do their husbands.

You may examine from the beginning to this day, and continue to watch in the future, and where you find a man who wishes to steady the ark of God, without being called to do so, you will find a dark spot in him. The man full of light and intelligence discerns that God steadies his own ark, dictates his own affairs, guides his people, controls his kingdom, governs nations, and holds the hearts of all living in his hands, and turns them hither and thither at his pleasure, not infringing upon their agency. There is not the least danger of disagreeing with persons enjoying the Holy Spirit.

With regard to those who leave us, brother Kimball’s comparing it to removing disease from the body is true. Every individual, every family, and every portion of the community that desire to leave this kingdom, the quicker they go the better for us. The sooner such branches are severed, the healthier will be the tree; its roots and stock will become more powerful, and it will spread its branches to the nethermost parts of the earth. Dead branches tend to make the tree sickly, if they are permitted to remain. Let them be cut off, that the healthy branches may drink more strength and vigour from the roots of the tree, and the foliage of the whole tree be beautiful.

Do not have the least fears in regard to this Church and kingdom. Some Elders, and perhaps some presiding Elders, entertain a fearful looking for the time when they shall be driven again. Brother Kimball has told you that we shall not be. We shall not, unless we are disposed to. The Lord has led this people from the beginning. From the day that Joseph obtained the plates, and previous to that time, the Lord dictated him. He directed him day by day and hour by hour. He led this people in different parts of the United States, and the finger of scorn has been pointed at them. Officers of the Government of the United States have lifted their heel against them, and this people have been driven from town to town, from county to county, and from State to State. The Lord has his design in this. You may ask what his design is. You all know that the Saints must be made pure, to enter into the celestial kingdom. It is recorded that Jesus was made perfect through suffering. If he was made perfect through suffering, why should we imagine for one moment that we can be prepared to enter into the kingdom of rest with him and the Father, without passing through similar ordeals?

The iniquity of the evil-doer must be made manifest, and those who hate the kingdom of God on the earth must have the privilege of filling up the cup of their iniquity. The Lord has led the people through scenes of sorrow and affliction; but what have we passed through here during the two last years? Nothing, comparatively speaking. I can say that I do not consider that I have ever suffered anything for this kingdom—nothing in the least. I have never sacrificed anything, without it be the evil propensities that are sown in our nature, springing from the seed that was sown at the fall. May that be termed a sacrifice? I will not call it so. What do we possess on this earth? Do we even own our bodies? Had we the power to produce them? Is the intelligence in these bodies our own? Did we organize and implant it? No human being has had power to organize his own existence. Then there is a greater than we. Are we our own in our bodies? Are we our own in our spirits? We are not our own. We belong to our progenitors—to our Father and our God.

We say that we have lost an ox, a cow, or a horse; or, “I left my farm, my house, and have sacrificed a great deal for this work.” This is a mistake. You had nothing to lose. Not one particle of all that comprises this vast creation of God is our own. Everything we have has been bestowed upon us for our action, to see what we would do with it—whether we would use it for eternal life and exaltation or for eternal death and degradation, until we cease operating in this existence. We have nothing to sacrifice: then let us not talk about sacrificing.

The Lord has led the people carefully along, and dictated according to his pleasure. Brother Heber says we have been going from place to place, until, finally, we have come into these valleys in the mountains. Why? Because we were obliged to. The Lord has had his eye on this spot from the beginning—upon this part of the land of Joseph. Read the history contained in the Book of Mormon, and ask yourselves whether God has ever suffered a king to reign on this land. Will he ever? No. This is the land that was given to Joseph—the son so well beloved by his father Jacob; and no king will ever reign upon it but the King, the Lord. Could that book have been brought forth and published to the world under any other government but the Government of the United States? No. He has governed and controlled the settling of this continent. He led our fathers from Europe to this land, and prepared the way to break the yoke that bound them, and inspired the guaranteed freedom in our Government, though that guarantee is too often disregarded. He could bring forth his work, and has prepared a people to receive and commence his kingdom. Could this be done anywhere else? No. He has known, from the beginning of creation, that this is the land whereon to build this Zion. He knows how to commence his work and how to finish it, and he will finish it where he commenced it.

How our faith would stretch out and grasp the heavenly land where our father Adam dwelt in his paradisiacal state! That land is on this continent. Here is where Adam lived. Do you not think the Lord has had his eye upon it? Yes. He is the King of all the earth, and has reigned supreme according to his own goodwill and pleasure, and makes the wrath of man praise him. He has had his eye upon his work, and has led this people from place to place, until he has led them into the chambers of the mountains—into the holy hill of God; and they will reign upon Mount Zion.

Many have looked upon our trip south as a great stumblingblock, because we left our houses and possessions. I am willing to see my houses in ashes, and be stripped of every description of property, if it is necessary to the advancement of the kingdom of God. That move was made for an express purpose: it had and will have the desired effect, and will accomplish all the Lord designed. We have prayed that the wicked may be confused, broken, and scattered. Are they not broken and scattered? And are we not here? We are, and we will stay until we go away. And should the Lord require it, we will make this region as clean and desolate as it was when we found it. Do not murmur or complain about this, that, or the other.

I now wish to ask the strong-minded men—the talented men (we say nothing about strong-minded women,) How many of you have had wisdom enough to procure and lay up for yourselves produce enough to last until harvest? You may call this a small matter. How many of you have wheat or flour to last you a year? If you are without bread, how much wisdom can you boast, and of what real utility are your talents, if you cannot procure for yourselves and save against a day of scarcity those substances designed to sustain your natural lives? You wish to come here and preach to the people, when you have not knowledge to sustain yourselves temporally, to say nothing of a spiritual salvation. You cannot save yourselves, a wife, and a child from starvation, unless some one takes you by the hand and leads you; and yet you want to make us believe that you are almighty big men. I exhort the brethren to seek unto the Lord for wisdom. If you cannot provide for your natural lives, how can you expect to have wisdom to obtain eternal lives? God has given you your existence—your body and spirit, and has blest you with ability, and thereby laid the foundation of all knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, and all glory and eternal lives. If you have not attained ability to provide for your natural wants, and for a wife and a few children, what have you to do with heavenly things?

You know how to raise wheat and corn, how to build a house or a barn, how to raise a horse, a cow, or a sheep, and how to manufacture wool, because you have had practice in those labours from your youth up; but you do not all know how to preserve such things to yourselves and make yourselves comfortable. Instead of trying to find out how God is made, or how angels are made, I wish you would try to learn how to sustain yourselves in your present existence, and at the same time learn the things of God—the things that await you, that you may begin to prepare to dwell to all eternity—not merely to dwell to-day, to-morrow, this week, next week, and next year, but how to secure salvation in your present organization. If you cannot do this, you must be perfectly submissive in the hands of the Lord, and learn wisdom. This is the first thing for you to learn.

We are to build up and establish Zion, gather the house of Israel, and redeem the nations of the earth. This people have this work to do, whether we live to see it or not. This is all in our hands. I hope to live to see Zion redeemed and built up. I desire to see the time when Jerusalem shall be established, and the Jews gathered—when the law shall go forth from Zion to govern the people, that all may rejoice in the truth—that the poor may rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. If we do not know how to preserve ourselves in our present organization and existence, how can we prepare for an eternity? We must learn this first: it is an every-day experience. Ye men of Israel, go to with all your might, and seek to know how to sustain yourselves, that you may live long on the earth, to glorify our Father in heaven, and build up his kingdom on the earth.

We are legal heirs to all the kingdoms there are in the heavens for the faithful, if we but prove ourselves faithful. We are all the elect, if we will only keep the commandments of God and work righteousness. If we turn away from the holy commandments of the Lord, we shall be accounted as reprobates. What of Joseph Smith’s family? What of his boys? I have prayed from the beginning for sister Emma and for the whole family. There is not a man in this Church that has entertained better feelings towards them. Joseph said to me, “God will take care of my children when I am taken.” They are in the hands of God, and when they make their appearance before this people, full of his power, there are none but what will say—“Amen! we are ready to receive you.”

The brethren testify that brother Brigham is brother Joseph’s legal successor. You never heard me say so. I say that I am a good hand to keep the dogs and wolves out of the flock. I do not care a groat who rises up. I do not think anything about being Joseph’s successor. That is nothing that concerns me. I never asked yet, or had a feeling as to what kind of a great man, O Lord, are you going to make me? But, Father, what do you require of me, and what can I do to promote your kingdom on the earth, and save myself and brethren? I do not trouble myself as to whose successor I am. I do not know but that I am one of those great men that brother Parley preached about in Nauvoo, after Sidney Rigdon preached his great sermon in which he strove to make it appear that he was one of those great men of whom the Prophet wrote. Parley rose up and said, “I am one of those great men the Apostles never wrote about.” I may be one of those men the Prophets never knew or wrote about—one that is hardly worthy the notice of the Lord. He has placed intelligence within us, and it is for us to know what we can do to promote righteousness and peace on the earth, and establish his kingdom. If I can have the privilege to gain faith and grace, and secure to myself an eternal existence in the kingdom of God, I am not concerned but that I shall be as great as I ought to be, and have all I ought to have.

All is right. God can carry on his own work. This kingdom will stand for ever. You have heard brother Kimball testify that this kingdom will stand for ever. It will begin to roll on to and mash the toes of the great image, and then the feet, the legs, and the body; and by-and-by it will fill the whole earth, and no power of earth or hell can hinder it. The Lord Almighty will reign until he puts all enemies under his feet. That is the promise—that is the decree of the Father, that Jesus shall begin to reign on this earth in the latter days; and his kingdom will increase upon the right and upon the left, until, by-and-by, it becomes a great kingdom and fills the whole earth, when he will begin to reign King of nations, as he now reigns King of Saints. It is and has been a warfare with Satan, and the war will continue until Jesus puts all enemies under his feet, disposing of death and him who has the power of it, who is the Devil. I hope and pray to be always ready to do anything the Lord wishes to be done. We are the men who will strive to live by every word that proceeds from his mouth.

I feel perfectly satisfied. I am rejoiced. My soul magnifies the name of God that there is a people on the earth as good as we are, and yet there is room for us to be better. This people are improving; they are growing in grace. If it had not been for the mighty power of faith here, and the many righteous ones, you would not have had the privilege of living here. The faith of the Saints bound the enemy and sustained our feet on this ground; and my prayer is for the Lord to make fast our feet in the mountains, until we go forth to redeem the centre Stake of Zion. What do you say? [“Amen! amen!”]

God bless you! Amen.

Religion of the Saints, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 22, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

I delight, as brother E. D. Woolley has just observed, in my religion, and had rather talk about it than upon any other subject. I esteem it the only true system of religion, and its practice the only correct course of life. In it are the only true principles of philosophy: it comprehends all true science known by man, angels, and the Gods. There is one true system and science of life; all else tends to death. That system emanates from the Fountain of life.

But to say that we love our religion, and delight to live it and talk about it, is, in comparison, like a person’s telling those who are fond of it how sweet and delicious honey is—how much better they like it than they do mud! Or, to use another comparison, it is like a person’s telling how much pleasanter it is to prosecute a long journey over mountains, deserts, and streams, with his eyes open, than it is to grope his way blindfolded! That is about the comparison, when we speak concerning the principles of eternal life and those principles that tend to death.

You hear men speak about going to transact temporal business. Suppose you cease the temporal, where is your spiritual business? Does it not end? Yes; and if you wish to live, prepare to live to-day. My religion comprehends all the mental and physical powers; and a man who realizes this never allows himself to go about any work without wishing and striving to enjoy the principles of eternal life.

I will say a few words in reference to those who are about to start on missions to preach the Gospel, and those who are going on business. If those who are going to preach do not go with that faith that pertains to eternal life, and that spirit that is like a well of water, springing up into everlasting life, their labours will be vain. They may be the best theoretical theologians in the world—may be able to preach a Bible and a half in a sermon, to read history without a book, and understand all the dealings with men from the days of Adam till now; and, without the Spirit of the living God to guide them, they will not be able to accomplish anything to their credit towards building up his kingdom. They must realize that success in preaching the Gospel springs not from the wisdom of this world. They must so live as to enjoy the power of God: otherwise, they may bring home their converts; but what are they good for? They are not worth bringing across the Plains; for, after their arrival, they annoy and disturb the peace of others. Do such come here to build up Zion? Did such persons love the Gospel? No; or, if they did, they lost that love while coming here.

If persons receive the power of God through the Gospel, and turn away, they very soon manifest the spirit they are of. Some do not receive the power of God, but they obey the first principles of the Gospel, live it to all outward appearance, and by-and-by manifest that they do not love it. Though you can scarcely discern the difference by their outward acts, time will disclose who are Saints and who are not.

The day will come when the cry will be—“Lo, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.” Till that time, the Elders who go to preach should go clothed upon with the power of God—filled with the Holy Ghost, that they may be enabled to perform a work that will be acceptable in the sight of High Heaven. Do I say, love your enemies? Yes, upon certain principles. But you are not required to love their wickedness: you are only required to love them so far as concerns a desire and effort to turn them from their evil ways, that they may be saved through obedience to the Gospel.

I have observed in this Church from the beginning, that when Elders follow others in the work of the ministry, they wish congregations, Conferences, societies, and all people to respect them a little more than anybody else; and this feeling will more or less beset the Elders now about to go forth. You would like to have the people think that you know a little more than any other persons—particularly more than your predecessors, and that all you teach is just right. I wish you to build up every man who is in the faith of the Gospel—who is in the faith of God, angels, and good men; and if you strive to pull down good men who are around you, you are sure to fall yourselves. Tell the people what we have in Utah—that we have the light of the Gospel, that we hold the keys of the kingdom, and that here is the place to be cleansed, purified, and sanctified by the furnace of affliction. Do not tell them that gold grows on our trees, and that their troubles will all be over when they arrive here. The Saints are not tried in the world as they are here. True, they have trials among their friends and relations, but those trials are not such as they meet here. Tell them that, in gathering, they are going to the thrashing-machine—that they will then be, run through the smutter, afterwards through the mill; and if they prove to be fine flour, they will be saved: if not, all their previous righteousness will be counted as nothing.

When people receive the Gospel, their minds are opened; they see Zion in its glory; but they do not see the troubles on the Plains, or the troubles with false brethren. They are young, weak, and unprepared to receive those things which the Lord will suffer to come upon them. They are not prepared for those trials that will purify and prepare them for exaltation; their minds are only prepared for the riches and fulness of the glory of God that has been shown to them when the vision of their minds was opened by the Spirit of the living God; and but little do they know what they have to pass through.

You need not teach that this place is Zion, or that Nauvoo or Missouri is Zion; but tell the people that North and South America are the land of Zion, and that our God will finish his work where he commenced it, where the centre Stake of Zion is, and where the garden of Eden was. Say to them—“If you want to become as gold seven times purified, go up to Utah.” Gather the Saints, but do not flatter; invite, but do not urge, and by no means compel any one. Gather the Saints here as quickly as possible. Why? Because among the nations their dreams and reflections are all joy and glory, and they know but little else until after they arrive here. Some must come here in order to apostatize. We have thought that we could try to stop that class in the States, and let them apostatize there; but we cannot. They think all things should be here now as they are in heaven. This is the very place for them also, and we want them here as soon as possible.

Brethren and sisters, I like to meet with and speak to you; I also like to reason with myself, to instruct myself, and to consider whether I can detect in myself anything that should not be. I strive to know myself, and would be pleased to have you all strive to know yourselves. Put away all unkind feelings, and let all your meditations be correct—precisely as they should be. I like to ascertain whether my feelings and meditations are correct, and whether in other circumstances I should feel as I now do. But leave that in the hands of the Lord; for my labours and reflections to purify this people and prepare them for the things that are to come, to instruct them, and urge them to look at themselves as they look at their neighbours, seem to bear upon my mind with greater weight.

Contentions frequently arise to so alienating a degree that brethren have no faith in each other’s honesty and integrity, when, perhaps, both parties have stumbled over a little, selfish, ignorant, personal misunderstanding, and are carrying it to the extent of wishing to cut each other off from the Church. Very frequently such cases are presented before me. Unravel the difficulty, and it is found to have started in a trifling misunderstanding in relation to some small matter; all the trouble has arisen from a most frivolous cause. Avoid nursing misunderstandings into difficulties. Some talk with a heavy, deep stress upon their words, without intending anything harsh or unkind. Sometimes a little misunderstanding in dealing causes a contention, and the parties become alienated. An offended person will ask himself, “Does that man want to cheat me?” Or, “Does that sister mean to lie to me?” Or, “Does that neighbour mean to wrong me?” Before you decide, learn, if you can, the design in the heart of the actor.

A few Sabbaths ago, I compared the mind of man to machinery. The human family frame certain ideas or notions in their minds; and when they get them arranged to suit themselves, it seems impossible to induce them to give them up. When the idea of inventing perpetual motion possesses the mind of an individual, he will waste all his time and substance, rather than give it up. A person will get an idea that he must be a merchant, and handle a few calicos and cloths, and deal them out by the yard. I would not condescend to such business: but some cannot see anything else. Why? Because they do not like any other business. We should divest ourselves of all feelings of selfishness, become like clay in the hands of the potter, and say, “I have no mind of my own; it must be passive, and suffer God to direct. He has given me good powers of mind, and he shall have the privilege of directing them. Then you can enjoy this, that, or the other, and all will be right.

We, as other people, have our minds formed according to the liberty we enjoy and the education and intelligence we have received. We frame, fashion, compose, and arrange things in our mind—form this, that, and the other plan, and say, “I am going to such a city;” “I will trade;” “I will make me a farm;” “I will go to the east, west, north, or south, and will do thus and so.” Do you not know that the whole human family are more or less working upon this principle? Many do not seem to realize that they cannot go to any city and buy and sell, or make a farm, or go to the kanyons, to California, to the States, or do this and that, without God permits. The result of the doings of the children of men are all in the hands of God; then shall I say that I will do thus and so? I will stop, unless the Lord requires at my hands such a performance of mental or physical labour. I will wait, for I wish to spend my strength and life upon sure ground. My acts, principles, and powers must be directed by the Almighty, that the results may be according to my desires; and they cannot, unless I am so directed.

The nations and kingdoms of this world are striving for something to make them happy; but if they will pause and consider that though they may go to a city on the right, to another on the left, to the east, west, north, and south, and do as they choose, unless the Almighty directs, they may expect the result will be darkness and death.

The Lord has placed mankind here, and offered them salvation without money, and without price. All who take a course opposite to that which is marked out will come to an end. Which is the best—life or death? bitter or sweet? Let your lives be so directed that the results may be according to your wishes. No man will attain the results he desires without striving for them, while he who will act his part will receive the honour and glory of God as a reward for his labours.

I will urge upon the Elders who are going abroad, and who are judges in Israel, to remember that “there are many masters, but few fathers;” and I wish you to be fathers. Do not oppress the poor, but trust in God, and, you will go neither hungry, naked, nor thirsty. If you oppress the poor, the day will come when you will be naked, thirsty, and hungry, and will not be able to get anything to supply your wants. Go trusting in God, and continue to trust in him, and he will open your way and multiply blessings upon you, and your souls will be satisfied with his goodness. I cannot promise you any good in taking an unrighteous course; your lives must be examples of good works. You know that some men have said, “We have worked long enough for the Lord; we are now going to work for ourselves.” They never worked at all for the Lord. The ignorance of such men is deplorable; they do not know so much as the brutes, for they know enough to come to the crib whence they procure their food; but these characters do not know enough to come and be fed.

We are made intelligent, and are heirs of the everlasting kingdom. Unless we forfeit that heirship, we are heirs to the glory and power of worlds to come; but we must take a course to maintain the position that we occupy. We are the children of our Father in heaven; and unless we do that which will cause our names to be blotted out, and our right to the blessings of the kingdom cut off, all will be well. Let us take a course to save all who will hearken to our counsel; let us be kind and charitable to all people, doing unto others as we would they should do unto us in like circumstances, and the blessings of our Father will be multiplied unto us.

I will relate a little of my course and experience in my family. I have a large family of children, many of them small, and yet I do not think that you ever saw even four children in one family live together with so little contention. Watch them, and their conduct will prove that there is a good spirit influencing them, I never knew one of them to be accidentally hurt, without more sympathy’s being extended to that one than the whole of them needed. You may ask how I manage to bring about this result. I seldom give a child a cross word; I seldom give a wife a cross word; and I tell my wives never to give a child cause to doubt their word. A child loves the smiles of its mother, but hates her frowns. I tell the mothers not to allow the children to indulge in evils, but at the same time to treat them with mildness. If a child is required to step in a certain direction, and it does not seem willing to do so, gently put it in the desired way, and say, There, my little dear, you must step when I speak to you. Children need directing and teaching what is right in a kind, affectionate manner.

The Elders who are going abroad should deal out kindness to those they are sent to watch over, and your smiles will be far better than your cursings could be.

A child at five years old would disobey me much oftener than one at fifteen. Do you not think that is a good sign? Some may ask whether I may not lose some of my children. I cannot tell. God gave them to me; and if one of them is lost, I want to be able to say, Have I failed to bring them up in a right and acceptable manner? I have done all that I could. Have I done right? It is in thy hands.

Brethren and sisters, we are improving and increasing in the truth, though slowly. I can realize improvement in myself; my sensitive powers are quickened, and I can discern a growth in others that pleases me.

Instead of divisions and excitements, we are preparing for the kingdom of heaven. Walk up to the line of right, for the kingdom is powerful, and is becoming more powerful every year. Your patience and integrity are on the increase; keep faithful until we can return and begin to build up the centre Stake of Zion, and be ready for whatever may be required of us.

I desire to live upon this earth till I see righteousness established. Is there a Saint who wishes to see disorder and confusion here? No: all wish to see the peace of God constantly resting upon the people. Ask sister Cook, who has for years taught my children music, whether she ever saw or heard me scold. She never did; but my children must mind father. Is this feeling increasing among the Saints? It is; and the Lord will increase it as fast as the people are prepared; and the Saints will have oil in their lamps, and will be received at the wedding as the bride of the Lamb.

Be patient. Judge not your brethren in their frivolous faults, nor for faults that are not designed for injury.

God bless you! Amen.

Blessings of the Saints, etc.

Orson Hyde

Remarks by Elder Orson Hyde, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 22, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

Brethren and sisters, having been called upon by brother Spencer to make a few remarks, I cheerfully comply.

We have been listening to many good and wholesome remarks from Bishop Edwin D. Woolley. He has given much good counsel and timely instruction this afternoon. In the morning we had good advice given to us by brother Woodruff, and I do think that we are a highly favoured people.

We have the privilege of assembling here in peace and quietness, without anything to disturb our happiness; and we can listen to the words of life that are given unto us, store up the truth, and adopt in our lives those principles that we learn from this stand. Considering our privileges, I think we cannot too highly appreciate them.

For my own part, I see nothing in our way—nothing that will prevent our progress in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I see no obstacle that should obstruct us in our career of working righteousness and building up the kingdom of God.

In his goodness and mercy, our Heavenly Father has graciously moistened the earth with rain from heaven, and prepared it, to send forth its fruits, and has admirably adapted it for the use and benefit of man the present season; and if we labour faithfully, we shall reap an abundant harvest.

I feel to acknowledge his hand for temporal as well as for spiritual blessings; for if we were to have the one without the other, we could not get along in this life so well as we do. The body needs to be supported as well as the spirit, in order that we may fill the measure of our creation, and return to our Father with the fruits of welldoing, prepared to enter into his kingdom.

I thank the Lord for his goodness unto me, for I know that his general providences are marked with favour to them that fear his name and live up to the law that he has given, magnifying the high callings whereunto they have been called.

For my own part, I never experience any feelings of trouble concerning the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the arrangement of her officers, and the course they pursue: I say, I have no feelings other than those that are good. It is all right with me: I have neither secret nor public sentiments, only those that are correct and that are in strict accordance with the sentiments and views of my brethren.

I believe—yes, I am satisfied that many who turn away from the faith previously become cold and indifferent, they indulge in secret feelings against some of the regulations in the Church. The apostacy of many might be traced to them allowing their secret prejudices to be aroused against the heads of the Church, and in their feelings they have murmured, but probably did not let out immediately what was in them, simply because it was not popular. Still those feelings are written in the heart; they are encouraged to remain there; and what do they do? They corrode and canker the finest feelings of that heart that was once unsullied, they weaken the strength of the resolution that was once possessed, and they so far corrupt the mind that all such persons are obliged to speak out and to act out those very feelings that have been suffered to corrode the mind and to dwell in the heart for many months. The safer plan is to throw off that influence when it first presents itself to our minds.

If we should be tempted, then let us go to work in faith, nothing doubting, and ask God our Heavenly Father to pour the spirit of wisdom, soundness of judgment, integrity, and righteousness upon us.

When we take this course, what shall we care who else may murmur? We can do our duty; we can give good advice to others, and that, too, without contaminating or affecting our own hearts; we can do that and be justified before God, and prevail with the heavens. Then when the answer comes to our petitions, it is a balm to our own souls; it is a blessing to all for whom it is intended.

These are safe grounds to tread upon, and are well calculated to lead us from the snares of the Adversary, and to preserve us in the way of life. Perhaps I should not say wrong if I were to say that there are many who will meet the authorities of the Church with a friendly and a brotherly smile, while they are indulging in feelings which they are ashamed to make manifest. If we carry about with us such views and feelings relative to our brethren, we subject ourselves to become the Devil’s pack-horses, and our backs will become sore, and we shall faint and fall under the load that he will place upon our shoulders. It is for us to trust in the living God, that his blessings may be upon our Elders, upon the people, and upon all they take in hand, that they may have wherewithal to sustain themselves.

What do we live for? To get dollars and cents? Those are very useful; the comforts of life are very agreeable; it is very convenient to have money to purchase what we need; and even if we sacrifice the comforts of this life to secure the blessings of that which is to come, we have then gained our point; we have gained everything. And remember that he and she and all who do the will of our Father who is in heaven will reap the reward of the faithful, for Jesus says, “Whosoever doeth the will of my Father in heaven, the same is my mother, my sister, my brother.”

Again: There is another scripture which says something like this—“He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.” Hence, all that the Father hath promised unto the obedient shall be given unto him. Now, if all that the Father hath promised shall be given unto him that is faithful—to him that receives the kingdom as a little child, do you not see that by our unwavering ste[a]dfastness we gain the victory, we win the prize, we lay hold on eternal life, and enter into the Celestial mansions of our Father?

This is the great object we have in view; and what, I ask, is left for those that do not receive the testimony of Jesus, if all is given to them that receive and obey it? Brethren, there is too much at stake for us to allow ourselves to have one unjust feeling, one uncharitable thought, or to indulge in that which might prevent us from becoming substantial heirs to the promised kingdom. If there were only dimes at stake, it would not matter so much; but as it is, we have everything to lose or gain.

Now, brethren and sisters, I always take the liberty of testifying to the truth when I feel the most of the Spirit of the Lord in my heart, for it is then that I feel the best towards my brethren who preside over me; and if all in this house were to speak their sentiments, they would speak the same thing. When we have the Spirit of the Lord, and give utterance to the convictions of our minds, and manifest that which we feel in our hearts, we all say the same thing.

If the Spirit of the Lord justifies, who is he that can condemn? We have nothing to fear. Let us all work to the line that is marked out for us, keep ourselves free from a murmuring and complaining spirit, be like little children that have no guile, no animosity, no hatred, and pray the Lord to give us all that we need to aid us in building up his kingdom, that we may fulfil our missions here, and be received into the bosom of our Father; which may God grant, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Filialty of the Saints, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by Brigham Young, made at Logan, Cache Valley, June 10, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I contemplate the scenes before me with great satisfaction, and feel gratified with the privilege of seeing so many in this far-off land assembled to worship the King of kings and Lord of hosts.

Some of us first heard the Gospel in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, &c., &c.; and it is very interesting to see people gathered from so many of the nations of the earth, with their different customs and traditions, associating with a kind, filial feeling, nowhere else to be found. This is a people that begins to bring forth the fruits the Lord designed in the creation of man. This mixed people dwell together on the most friendly terms and with brotherly feelings; still we need and expect to have more of this brotherly feeling. The seed is sown, and the plant is growing. The kingdom the Lord has commenced will continue to increase, and no power on the earth can hinder it.

It is highly interesting to see people from so many nations joining hearts and hands to build cities, gather the poor, preach the Gospel, cultivate the earth, and do whatsoever is necessary to be done to accomplish what the Lord designed in the beginning of this creation. What is the cause of this? Is it because brother Joseph Smith, the Prophet, had influence superior to any other man to call the people together in his day, and unite their feelings and affections? He had no more power than any other man, only as it was given to him. Is there a man now living who has power over the feelings and affections of the nations of the earth, to call any portion of them together and make them of one heart and mind? No, only as he receives power from the same source from which the Prophet received it.

Into whatever neighbourhood you go throughout these valleys in the mountains, amid the great variety of nationalities, with all their different habits and traditions, you find the warmest affection pervading the people to be found upon the earth. With all our weaknesses and imperfections, there is more brotherly kindness here than in any other country. What power produces this result? It is the work of the invisible hand of that Being we call our Father and God, who frames the worlds, holds them in existence, and places his intelligent beings upon them, giving those beings their agency, and placing good and evil, light and darkness, bitter and sweet, righteousness and sin before them, that they may have an opportunity to exhibit the intelligence he has bestowed upon them. He preserves them in existence, and governs and controls the planetary systems. His power fills the immensity of space, without bounds, without beginning, and without end. The principle of eternal life brought us here.

Many ideas are presented to my mind; among them, What are the wants of the people in this place? As yet you have no houses, no fences, and no saw and grist mills; for which reason I will take the liberty of giving you a little information and instruction in regard to your temporal affairs. While at Franklin, we ordained brother Preston Thomas, agreeable to the wish of the people, Bishop of that place; and I think that each settlement in this valley now has a Bishop. You have brother Benson, one of the Twelve, residing here to encourage, dictate, counsel, and instruct you. You also have brother Peter Maughan, who is an experienced man for your presiding Bishop. We have been acquainted with Brother Maughan for many years, and I will say a few words about him. If he has enough vanity to cause my remarks to make any difference in his feelings or actions, I shall learn something about him that I have not yet learned. In 1840 we commenced our systematic emigration from England, in which brother Maughan assisted: that was my first acquaintance with him. He visited us in Liverpool for instructions, and from my first acquaintance with him till now I have found him as straight and correct in his business transactions as any man that I have ever known to assist in any branch of business in this Church. He is a man that I think much of in regard to his integrity, honesty, and judgment in counselling. He has always been as willing to receive counsel as any man I have ever known in this Church, and to obey that counsel with as few words. We wish to have him take the supervision of all the Bishops in this valley. Let them be under his dictation, and we will settle with him at the General Tithing Office.

Brother Maughan has brother Benson for one of his Counsellors, and probably he will choose me for the other; and if we all do right, I think the brethren will be pretty well satisfied with their presiding officers.

I have not discovered in this valley any soil fit for making adobies. What are you going to build with? Log buildings do not make a sightly city. We should like to see buildings that are ornamental and pleasing to the eye, as well as convenient and commodious. We wish to see cities that that are an ornament to the country. In Great Salt Lake City nearly all the buildings are made of adobies, and I do not fancy their appearance, unless they are neatly finished. They are the dryest [driest] and healthiest houses that can be built, unless it is a frame house. I have an objection to frame houses in this country; and always have had, on account of our very dry weather’s rendering wood so very inflammable (I consider them dangerous), whereas an adobie, stone, or brick house may have a room or part of a room burnt, with far less danger of setting the whole house on fire.

I remember, when I was quite young, painting a commodious frame house built for a tavern. It was nearly completed when it took fire from a little oil a workman was boiling in the cellar kitchen to use in finishing the inside work. Two or three women rescued their bonnets and shawls, and an old clock was removed, which were all the articles that were saved. Had that been a properly-built adobie house, it would not have been burned. Still I am going to recommend that you use timber in building in this valley. It costs as much in Great Salt Lake City to make the foundation for a good adobie house as it would to build a comfortable house, of the same size, of lumber.

I recommend the brethren in this Valley to erect saw-mills and prepare to build with lumber. They are the cheapest and best houses I can think of, under your circumstances. I do not wish the brethren to cut all the timber to put it into log-houses. Erect saw-mills and make lumber, which will be far better than building log-houses. We have no timber to waste. We should save our timber, and make buildings that will look better than log-houses, and at the same time be easier and quicker built.

You will be obliged to make pole-fences for the present, which can be made to answer until you can make post and board fences. And, as soon as possible, if you can find good rock, build stone fences. When we get to making iron, we can have wire fences which are very durable and cheap.

As this is the county seat, complete, as soon as you can, a house that will answer, for the present, for a meeting-house, school-house, and for the transaction of county business.

We know that you labour diligently; and we only regret, in the working department, that you cannot make loafers and horse thieves work as hard as you do. Have you neighbours who harbour horse thieves—whose sons are horse thieves? You are here commencing anew? The soil, the air, the water are all pure and healthy. Do not suffer them to become polluted with wickedness. Strive to preserve the elements from being contaminated by the filthy, wicked conduct and sayings of those who pervert the intelligence God has bestowed upon the human family.

Does the Lord rule and reign on the earth? He controls the results of the acts of all the nations of the earth; but does he rule supreme in the hearts of all people? He does not. Where can he reign on the earth? If you can find a place where wicked men are not, there is a place where the Lord can reign. Man was appointed to rule and have dominion over the earth under his Creator; but where the wickedness of man is, the Lord does not reign by the power of his Spirit. He partially reigns in the hearts of his Saints. He brings forth the results of the acts of all nations, but does not dictate them in their acts.

Keep your valley pure, keep your towns as pure as you possibly can, keep your hearts pure, and labour what you can consistently, but not so as to injure yourselves. Be faithful in your religion. Be full of love and kindness towards each other.

Secure yourselves against depredations and attacks by Indians. Raise stock and take care of it, and keep it from being stolen either by Indians or whites, that you may do good with it. Be at all times prepared to successfully resist Indian hostility. Keep minute-men ready, that they can be be in the saddle and off on short notice, enough to protect your settlement.

Hearken continually to the whispering of the Spirit of the Lord, and you will hearken to those who are appointed to guide and direct you in all your duties.

May God bless the Saints here and everywhere! Peace be with you! Amen.

Religion, Progress and Privileges of the Saints

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made at Ogden City, June 12, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I am very thankful for the privilege of meeting with you this afternoon. There may be many present who never saw me until now, and many who are acquainted with me, but, probably, have not for years had an opportunity to speak to me. As I now have the privilege of speaking to you, please accept of my good feelings towards you, and of my good desires in your behalf. Peace be to you and to your habitations! and may God bless you!

I will not occupy much time; for I understand that, through some mistake in the appointment, many of you have been here a good part of the day. I am aware that both yourselves and your children are weary, and I think it would be a relief to the children if the teachers would supply them with water.

For many years I have been trying to promulgate the principles of eternal life, and I am thankful that we are in possession of that religion which gives food to the mind and exercise to the body, I am thankful for such a religion. It is different from the religions of the day: it is not only a Sabbath-day religion and a Monday religion, but it is an everyday religion—a religion that will feast a person all the time. It draws forth the mind, and expands the understanding of every intelligent being who will open his mind to understand and see by vision the creations of God—the worlds that are and the worlds that have been—who can grasp in the vision of his mind the truth that there never has been a time when there have not been worlds like this, and that there never will be a time when there will not be worlds organized and prepared for intelligent beings to dwell upon.

Those beings bear the image of Him who is invisible—of our Father and God. Were your eyes opened to see the heavenly hosts, you would see beings similar to us. We are in our weakness and imperfection—we are in darkness; they are in light—they are in glory. We are in mortal flesh, subject to sickness, disease, pain, deformity, and death. The heavenly hosts are beings like these my brethren, only in greater perfection, having passed through the same ordeals we are now passing through. They have been made subject to vanity, as we now are; they have had to taste of the bitter cup as we have; they have had the privilege of the light and of the darkness, of the truth and of the error, which privilege we now enjoy. Life eternal has been offered to them, and they have chosen it. It is offered to us who are here assembled, and we have chosen to follow in the path in which it is to be obtained. Had we chosen, we might to-day have been in our native lands, as are those whom we have there left.

It is to us a matter of joy and rejoicing, a solid satisfaction, to know that there are a few among all the inhabitants of the earth who are willing to receive the words of life to prepare themselves to dwell eternally in the presence of our Father and our God. We enjoy a great privilege in being gathered out from the wicked. We now have the privilege of associating together, not only as individuals, families, neighbourhoods, and cities, but God has provided the place where we can assemble, as it were, in a national capacity. We are now in the relationship, so to speak, of a limb or branch pertaining to the Federal Government, which must grow, increase, spread, and prosper exceedingly.

You have built a commodious Tabernacle, where but a few years ago was a swamp. But a few years ago, there were no inhabitants here. When we first visited this place, after the people began to move here, there was hardly a settlement between here and Great Salt Lake City. There were a few families at Willow Creek, but none north of that, and only a few between here and Great Salt Lake City. You may now ride until you are weary, and pass through settlement after settlement, neighbourhood after neighbourhood.

You have manifested a spirit of advancement and improvement, which is according to the Gospel of life we possess. The intelligence we possess was given to us for a purpose. We are the children of the Supreme Being of the universe. The inhabitants of the whole earth are the offspring of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Intelligence is given unto us to improve upon. Who will choose life? These my brethren and sisters. The Valleys in the Mountains are becoming filled with those who have chosen the way of life, and thousands more are in Europe and on the islands of the sea. The Gospel we preach has been proclaimed to most of the nations of the earth. God will gather his children from all nations, and bring them home to Zion. This is the land of Zion—this is the continent whereon the Lord has commenced his work for the last time, and whereon Jesus will make his appearance the second time, when he comes to gather and save the house of Israel. It is our duty to prepare for his coming.

Each person possesses an intelligence, each one has an agency, and each has his own salvation to work out, for the spirit and body to be crowned with crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal lives. Let not your hearts sink, nor your faith waver; let not your fervency slacken in the least, for the kingdom is ours. God has prospered his work on the earth. Towns and counties have risen up against it, and States have united and organized to destroy this kingdom and the government of God from the earth. The kingdoms of the world are opposed to the kingdom of God. You have seen your neighbours rise up and persecute you—you have known those who should have been your friends and assisted you forsake and persecute you, for the Gospel’s sake. You have all, more or less, experienced such treatment. Is it at an end? No.

You see persons gather here, and assist to gather hundreds and thousands, and yet some will turn away. Does this discourage you? How frequently it has been said to me—“A great many are going to California.” My reply is, Let them go; there will be plenty left. This work is on the increase, and the power of God is becoming more and more manifest before all flesh. The faith of the Gospel is increasing among the children of men, and the Saints are increasing. Compare this place with what it was here ten years ago. Has there been an increase? Yes, and a very great increase. Ten years ago, how many were there in the States and in foreign lands who wanted to come here? Not one to where there are now ten. The spirit of the Gospel is going forth among the nations, and the people are gathering out. The kingdoms of this world must become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ. To aid in accomplishing this work, we must overcome sin and every evil propensity of the natural man—every selfish and unhallowed desire. Let no man covet the things of this world, nor lust after the vain and foolish things that pertain to it.

It is the privilege of the Saints to enjoy every good thing, for the earth and its fulness belong to the Lord, and he has promised all to his faithful Saints; but it must be enjoyed without [the] spirit of covetousness and selfishness—without the spirit of lust, and in the spirit of the Gospel: then the sun will shine sweetly upon us; each day will be filled with delight, and all things will be filled with beauty, giving joy, pleasure, and rest to the Saints. The vegetable kingdom is made for man, to gratify the taste and add health to the body and gratification to every sense. The gold and the silver will be given to the Saints, the riches of the world will be put in their possession, and they will be legal heirs. We are now passing through a day of trial, to determine whether we will prove worthy of all we may enjoy and possess, for it must be enjoyed and possessed without the spirit of covetousness. Without the pure Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, we cannot enjoy the good things of life.

The fulness of the heavens and the earth—the mountains, the gold, and precious things in them—will all be devoted to those who are devoted to their God and their religion. The wheat, the fine flour, the oil, and the wine, the cattle upon a thousand hills, and every blessing the Lord has in store for every creature he has organized and placed upon this earth, are to fall into the hands of the legal heirs, who are the Saints. This is an unpleasant idea to unbelievers. Then why do they not believe? If there are any here who do not believe the Gospel, and think that the Saints are selfish, all they have to do is to become Saints; then they will be heirs with the rest of the Saints. There is no selfishness about it that I know of, for they have the same privilege that we have, and that any man or woman upon the earth has.

The kingdom of God is set up, the ordinances of the Gospel are dispensed to the people, life and salvation are offered to all, and who would miss entering into the kingdom of our Father and God? All who believe, have honest hearts, and bring forth fruits of righteousness, are the elect of God and heirs to all things. All who refuse to obey the holy commandments of the Lord and the ordinances of his house will be judged out of their own mouths, will condemn themselves as they do now, will be accounted unworthy, and will have no part or lot with the righteous. But the heathen nations that now exist and that have existed on the earth will all be blessed, will see the time when they will have the privilege of receiving the blessings of the covenant established on the earth by the Son of God, and through it will be brought into glory and rest.

Brethren and sisters, I wish you to continue in your ways of welldoing; I desire that your minds may be opened more and more to see and understand things as they are. This earth, in its present condition and situation, is not a fit habitation for the sanctified; but it abides the law of its creation, has been baptized with water, will be baptized by fire and the Holy Ghost, and by-and-by will be prepared for the faithful to dwell upon.

Shall we not strive to prepare ourselves as much as possible for the coming of the Son of Man? The Saviour will dictate his kingdom, through his Apostles and Prophets, until all the heathen nations are virtually redeemed by the ordinances that effect redemption, that they may inherit the kingdom that is prepared for them. This work must progress. This earth must become a paradise—must be purged of the sin that has been upon it for many generations, for all sin and iniquity must be swept from it, and a people be prepared for the coming of the Son of Man. He will prepare a people long before the earth is celestialized and prepared for the presence of God. The Saints will increase, the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge will increase, and every grace of the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ must increase upon the earth, until a people and place are so prepared that the Saviour can come and finish the work given him to do, when he will present the kingdom to the Father.

There is a great work for the Saints to do. Progress, and improve upon, and make beautiful everything around you. Cultivate the earth and cultivate your minds. Build cities, adorn your habitations, make gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and render the earth so pleasant that when you look upon your labours you may do so with pleasure, and that angels may delight to come and visit your beautiful locations. In the meantime, continually seek to adorn your minds with all the graces of the Spirit of Christ.

Sin must be overcome and righteousness exalted, until Jesus reigns King of nations as he reigns King of Saints. This is not unkind to the wicked, for they have the privilege of embracing the overtures of mercy, if they choose. No one will be compelled to do so. All may freely eat, drink, and satisfy themselves, or they may turn away and feed upon husks. Let every one who wishes to go to California, go, for we do not want them here. This country is most excellent for sifting out those who are not here for the love of their religion. The mountains, the deserts, the barren plains, hard labour, and hard fare are all so calculated that those who do not love the truth will leave for California and elsewhere, and we love to have them go. Some who are now here ought to leave, unless they will repent and become good men.

Be faithful, humble, prayerful, and watchful, and be sure to live your religion. Store up your surplus grain; and when you have done that, do (to speak ironically,) as some have done—take every pound of butter, every dozen of eggs, every bushel of grain, and every good thing you can lay hold of to those who would cut our throats, if they had the power. Had they the power, they would slay every soul that would not renounce this work. They have not the power, and never will have. Israel will be gathered, the poor will be gathered, and this land of Joseph will be freed from oppressors. Their power is broken, and they will go down to the pit, while Zion will arise, and wicked men and devils cannot prevent it. God has decreed this, and we are going to help him to perform it and bring righteousness upon the land; and the righteous will see the day when they can say their prayers and lie down in peace, for murderers will not be around them.

Will you let every act of your lives promote the kingdom of God? If you do, you may be sure that every person who is opposed to righteousness will be our enemy. But those who are here to steal our cattle and horses, instead of striving honestly for an honest living, had better forsake their evil habits, or go where they are more popular. The Lord Almighty will have a pure people—a people that will serve him; and we shall yet see the day when we shall be free from murderers, thieves, robbers, liars, whoremongers, drunkards, and every other description of persons who pollute the earth.

My constant prayer is that the anger which is in the hearts of the disobedient will turn upon each other, and the wicked slay the wicked, until no place can be found on the earth for those who will not observe good laws, that the righteous may live in peace. The wicked are doing so; and in the midst of their rage which has been around us, it is astonishing how the preserving and invisible hand of God has been over his people. I do not now remember that any in our Territory, during the time alluded to, who desired to live their religion, fell by the hands of the wicked, except brother William Cook. They credit this wonderful preservation to me; but they are mistaken. The Lord Almighty can control the acts, and bring forth the results far beyond the wisdom and calculation of man. He has brought to pass these purposes, and the wicked have been and are helping him. “The wrath of man shall praise him.” May the Lord God of Israel bless you and the whole house of Israel, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Trials of the Saints

Heber C. Kimball

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, June 3, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

Brethren, I am obliged to keep my head covered, for I am fearful of taking cold. I expect I am beginning to look strong again, but I am very weak. You may be assured that I am grateful, and rejoice that I live in this day. I am thankful that I live in this generation, and especially that I dwell in these mountains with you; for it is one of the happiest places that I ever saw, right here upon the tops of these mountains, and particularly if you can have the right kind of microscope—such a one as the Lord will give you.

I presume that you can all see what the world are at down yonder: they are beginning to have times as well as we, and they may well expect to have difficulties. I do not call those drivings, and what we used to call persecutions, difficulties. I never was more happy in my life than I was in Missouri and Illinois, when we were passing through those trying scenes; and I can say that I never felt better than I have for the last two or three years, although it has been very trying to some. Some of our friends think we are cowards; but we only act so when it is necessary; and then when it is not necessary to be such, we stand forth in our proper light; and it is always necessary for us to be men of God, holding the Priesthood in righteousness, doing right and always being ready to do good, and assist in rolling forward the great work. The Lord will help us, if we are willing to be guided by his Holy Spirit.

President Young was speaking to the Elders about coming into this stand to speak, preaching in the Wards, and telling the people honestly what is required of them. I can tell them the plain, simple principles of the Gospel—advise them to lay up their grain, and do all the good they can.

It has troubled and worried me more, perhaps, than anything that has transpired in these mountains, when I have considered how we were situated for grain. We are almost destitute, and our friends have got plenty; and they are capable of selling to us, and then they will have enough for themselves; for, as I told you this morning, they have got at least three years’ provisions on hand at Camp Floyd. It is true that it does not take very much grain to sustain a man and his wife and a few children, if he is prudent with it; but then it requires a certain quantity for every family, and when added together, we need a great deal of wheat and corn to sustain us here in these mountains.

I would rather see my family go very poorly clad than to see them without bread and meat; for there is nothing in the world that will make a woman so cross as to go hungry, and the men are much worse. I have not tried this much; but I have a few times sat down and eaten up all the food I had. I was not cross at that time, but I called upon my Heavenly Father to open the way whereby I might be fed and be nourished and cherished. I know that God is merciful and benevolent to his creatures; I know that the earth belongs to him, and that all power is his, both in heaven and upon the earth, and all the children of men are in his hands. We are all his children, every soul of us, not only the righteous but the wicked; and they all have their agency and the right to do as they please, but they are responsible for all their acts.

As we measure to others, so it will be measured to us again; and as we make up our beds, so we shall sleep, and we shall have to give an account to God for all the acts done in the body. When, for instance, you sin against President Young, you have got to make that right with him: I have no power to remit that sin. And when you sin against Jesus Christ you have got to make that restitution to him which is necessary to gain forgiveness. When you sin against the Holy Ghost you have got to make the atonement to him. And as we do to others, so it will be done to us, and the nation and the government that we look to for our rights.

We are born of the fathers who won our liberties. We are the children of that God who spake to our fathers, and gave them the law, and inspired them to write the Constitution of our country. And those who now sit in the judgment-seat should remember that as they measure to us it will be measured to them again, and they cannot avoid it; and we may with safety apply the same to ourselves, for as we measure to each other, so will it be measured back to us. If we transgress a law, we must pay the penalty, for the Almighty requires this of every one of us. He will not force any man to keep his law; but all will find, when they wish to enter into the kingdom, that there is Mercy on one side of the door, and Justice on the other; and what Justice cannot claim, Mercy will.

With these views of the subject let us learn to take a course to do unto others as we would wish them to do unto us in like circumstances. Be honest and upright in all things; abstain from all lying and hypocrisy, root it out of your hearts, and work righteousness continually.

This is the religion of Jesus Christ as taught in these books—the Bible and the Book of Mormon, and it is in accordance with that which is in my breast and which is a better book, for it is life in Christ; and that living being that receives light and intelligence from the heavens through the revelations of the Holy Ghost is a living oracle. It is the living Oracle that is within us that will guide us in the way of life.

Now, you require brother Brigham to live in that manner that he can hold the oracles of God and be to you a living oracle—the mouthpiece of the Almighty, to communicate line upon line, and precept upon precept and have the word of truth constantly on hand. Now, why should you require more of the head than of the other members? The Lord has said that upon those members that you consider the least honourable he has conferred the most honour; and he will confer upon every man and woman that honours the Priesthood, the Presidency, the Bishops, and all the members of the body. We cannot honour God except we honour his authority: there is no possible way of honouring the kingdom of God only by honouring its authorities.

If we take this course, we shall do well and be prospered in all things. I am satisfied that the majority of this people are improving, and it is for their sake that we are sustained. God takes hold of our enemies and controls them, and he has kept them at a distance and led them by his power, as a groom leads a horse by the bit. We have been praying and beseeching the Lord by night and by day to hold them, and he has done it. This is the way it is done, and this is the reason that we can go to work unmolested, and build up the kingdom of heaven, and do all that is required of us. Let us do that which is right. Act towards this Church in every respect just as you would like others to do by you.

Brethren, you need not be troubled in your minds, but be of good cheer and rejoice evermore. Bow down at night, plead with your Heavenly Father, ask him to bless this people—to bless the earth, the mountains, the waters—to bless your wives and children: ask him to bless the seed you put in the earth, and to turn away the storms, that we may have good crops. These things are required of you. You are commanded in this book (Doc. and Cov.) to do these things. There is not a day passes over my head but I bow before my Heavenly Father in secret and plead with him to bless you, to bless the Saints and the Elders abroad among the nations, to give his angels charge concerning them, that they may have power over every evil and over all the enemies of Christ. This is my prayer. I am pleading continually for the work of our Father to be carried on, and for his will to be done upon the earth as it is done in heaven.

Do you think that a Saint will steal poles, or go to a man’s wood pile and steal his fire-wood? Or do you believe that a Saint will lie and do that which will prejudice a man against his friends? This is the way Lucifer acts; and probably the last thing he did before he left heaven was to take the census; and we calculate that he will leave here soon, seeing that he has commenced to take the census.

Now, brethren, let us remember to pray—“Our Father, who art in heaven, thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Just think how they are in heaven, and then you can form an opinion of what we ought to be. Lucifer is not there now, for the Bible tells us that he was cast out and then things were set in order. Do you suppose they allow lying and stealing there? Do you suppose there are any hypocrites there? I want you to think of these things; for you will find, when you get into heaven, that all kinds of deceitfulness and every abomination will be done away; for they are honest there, and they watch over us: they are interested in our welfare, and they desire us to do good. They have just as strong a desire for our welfare as I have to see my sons do right.

There is nothing in this world that makes me feel worse or more sorrowful than to see my children taking an unwise course. I feel these things very sensitively, and I shall continue to feel so; for my soul and body and all that I possess delight in God and in his work, and to see you doing right. It is all the pride I have when I can see the Latter-day Saints doing their duty. I have no pride in clothing, in dress, or in any man, except he does the will of God; but I delight in walking humbly and faithfully before God, and setting a good example. When my wife pursues this course, I have pride in her—I adore her, as I would you, if you were all to do right, gentlemen, and no more. Why should I love a woman more than a man? They are no more to me than good men.

I am aware that this world is filled with hypocrisy, and I expect it will continue so until the end; but I shall soon leave this tenement and go into a better place. I do not know how long it will be, neither do I care: it does not trouble me one particle.

About two weeks previous to the death of brother Jedediah M. Grant, I dreamed that we were travelling, and we came to a beautiful stream of water. I thought I was going to cross it with him, and with the expectation and understanding that he would guard me across. He crossed the stream unobserved by me, and then I saw him running up the hill as fast as he could, and he got away from me and passed out of my sight. The stream kept rising and becoming more boisterous and apparently more dangerous; and so it continued till I awoke.

As for you Saints looking to the Government of the United States for quarters, I can tell you that you never will get any. Satan never will allow you any quarters, except he does it for the purpose of leading you into a worse snare; and therefore you need not look for anything of the kind. What! the Devil give the Saints any quarters? No, never: but if he has got the back pull upon us, he will hold us. We may whip and flog all we choose—if he has got a claim upon us, he won’t give us any quarters. Would you, if you got the advantage? You all say no. Well, then, if you have got the advantage, keep it. And if you will let the Devil alone, he cannot do much. But I can tell you that you need not look for much from this generation. They may yield to get a better hold of us, but I don’t ask any odds of them; and I pray to my Father and God, saying, “O Lord, preserve thy servant; preserve me in thy truth, that I may never sin against; thee, nor against thy faithful servants, nor against angels, that I may be a co-worker and be subject to them and to the power of God.”

I never saw the time that I was afraid of sickness, pain, or anguish. Still we are all liable to these things. I do not feel to boast. If I do, it is through mistake and a slip of the tongue. But I feel to bless the Presidency of this Church and the Priesthood generally, and all that believe on their words throughout the world. This work will roll on in spite of all opposition.

Go to work and take care of your grain; store up your wheat, so that the worms cannot get it. I have kept some wheat five years, and it is still good. Let us all take a course to preserve ourselves temporally and spiritually, and listen to what is said by the Priesthood.

I have heard that some of the brethren have found a great deal of fault with me for talking so much about wheat; but I can tell them that this won’t put wheat in their bins, nor flour in their sacks.

God bless us all—root out the wicked from among us, that we may be one. Amen.

Temporal Salvation

Heber C. Kimball

Remarks made by President Heber C. Kimball, Box Elder, June 7, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

All that has been said by President Brigham Young is very precious to me. The righteous will root out wickedness, and I want to live to see it, for that time will give great consolation to the righteous. I wish to speak relative to a temporal salvation. If we do not have wisdom to take care of and save our own lives, it appears to me that it will be more difficult for us to attain to that principle necessary to save the spiritual life. As Elders of Israel, we must take a more judicious course, as relates to a family capacity and a Church compact, than we have yet taken. If we do not, I fear exceedingly for the result. Yet God is much more merciful than we are. He is determined to save those who will take a course to secure their election and heirship to eternal life. All such people will prevail. If they fail in their integrity and firmness to the cause of righteousness, and repent not, they will lose all they have already gained, all they have expected, and all that has ever been promised to them that overcome.

Let it not be said that any portion of the people of this Territory have not wheat enough to last them until harvest. Let them be sure to do one thing, if God permit it—secure well the coming harvest, and be sure to lay up enough to last one, two, or three years. When we have done this, we have time then to beautify our gardens, cities, palaces, and playgrounds, and more thoroughly school our children. It is hard to improve when there is no bread. When a man has no bread, and his neighbours have none, he must have horrible feelings. The day will come when millions of people will flock to us for bread, and thousands of them will be honest; they will be the elect of God: they will come to us for salvation, either to this place or to Jackson County.

Let us seek dilligently to save ourselves, and also to save the whole house of Israel, and the house of Esau—that part of them that will repent, and they will repent only when they are obliged to—a great portion of them. A portion of this people have been rooted up six times, and as often left our possessions, because we were obliged to. It will be something like that in the saving of the house of Esau. But we shall not move from these mountains until the Lord tells us to, though Uncle Sam may request it as much as he has a mind to. We shall go when our Father and God tells us to, and stop where he tells us to stop.

Let us rise up in the strength and power of righteousness, and God will bless us as no people were ever blessed. Let us provide for our own wants as a people, and raise flax and wool, and every other thing that is requisite for temporal salvation and the preservation of the natural body, and this will aid us much in our endeavour to attain eternal salvation.

In connection with brother Brigham, I say, Peace be upon you all! Amen.

Practical Religion

Heber C. Kimball

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made at Logan, Cache County, June 10, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I cordially agree with what has been said by President Young, and I know that every reasonable man does. The religion we believe in consists of faith and works. I would not give a dime for all the faith there is in this world without works. We believe or disbelieve what we hear. After we believed the testimony of the Elders who brought the intelligence that God had sent an holy angel, raised up a Prophet, &c., then we were required to repent. After we had repented, we went forth and were baptized in water for the remission of sins. Then we received the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, whose office it is to show us things to come and bring things to our remembrance. Then we received the holy Priesthood, shouldered our knapsacks, and started out to preach without purse or scrip. As soon as we believed, we began to work, and we have kept working all the time until now. By working, we receive the fruits of our labour.

Wheat cannot be produced unless the ground is prepared and the seed sown upon it. When it has attained to ripeness, it must then be reaped, thrashed, and taken to the mill to be ground; then it must be fermented, kneaded into dough, and baked into bread, before we can eat it. This is a good comparison. The religion of Christ cannot exist without works. “Faith without works is dead, being alone,”—as much so as the body is dead without the spirit. Go and do what you have been told to do to-day. Our religion is a daily work; it is our duty to work continually.

I have travelled through many portions of the United States; I have lived in the best country there is in the United States; I have been to Europe; but I have never seen such a scenery in my life as I have seen in this valley. It is the best valley there is in the mountains, that we have seen; still I expect there are better valleys than this. I do not know but Sanpete is the next.

I never have had better feelings in seeing any country, and to see the people in it who have commenced to improve it. We are pretty well satisfied that they are Saints that live here. A great many people, when starting, said they were going to Cache Valley; but we do not find them here: they have gone to Carson Valley, or to some other place. I can say, Peace be to this valley; and peace be to the righteous; and sorrow and tribulation, weakness, and utter destruction from the angel of God waste away the wicked that will not repent. I pray that an Uncle Sam’s army may never come into this valley; and if they do not come near you, this valley will be one of the greatest granaries that ever was in the house of Israel.

I am calculating, if it continues to rain as it does to-day—that is, when it is wanted, that the Lord will receive some ten to twelve thousand bushels of grain here in his granary. If the people here will take the course to do as they have been told, listening to those men who have been appointed to preside over them, they will have one of the richest valleys in the world; and the Lord will temper it: he will temper your winters and your summers, and he will temper the people—help them to control their tempers, and the peace and blessing of the Lord will dwell here. I feel to pray all the time—“O Father, bless this people, bless this valley, bless these mountains, the fountains of water, and bless everything that pertains to this people,” that this place may be a place when Salt Lake fails of having wheat, that we may come here and get a little. I feel to bless Sanpete, that it may still continue to be a granary. It is, so far; and I feel as though this would be, and I am satisfied it will be, if you live right.

Brother Rix undertook to build a saw mill. He has the irons, and here are the timbers; you are sitting upon them. He would have had hundreds of bushels of wheat more, had he gone on and built that mill. You all want lumber; and I would now, if I were in his place, put up that mill.

Take upon you the yoke of Christ, and wear it, for it is easy, and the path of the righteous is plain. But when a man is wrong and neglects his duty, he is full of sorrow, he is uneasy, and unhappy all the day long. You know this. Peace be with you! and may God help you to do right, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Blessings of the Saints

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made at Kaysville, June 13, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I have time to say but a few words. It is three years and a few days since I was last here, and you are acquainted with the scenes we have passed through since that short time.

I am rejoiced to meet and associate with the Saints. It is one of the greatest privileges and blessings I can enjoy on the face of this earth, to gather out from the wicked world with the Saints, and be far away from the contaminating influence of the breath of the ungodly.

It is a great comfort to enjoy the privilege of passing day after day, week after week, and month after month, without hearing the name of God blasphemed. Here we have the privilege of sending the Gospel to the utmost parts of the earth, of teaching our children righteousness, of setting a righteous example before our neighbours, of associating together, of praying with and for each other, and mingling our voices in praising our God. Is not this a blessing? True, we are not entirely free from wickedness; we are in a world of sin and iniquity. All the inhabitants of the earth have wandered from the path of truth, and it is our duty to lead our children and friends towards our Father and God, to forsake the wickedness that is in the world, and promote righteousness and the principles of life—the life of the body and of the mind—the existence of the spirit and the body here and to all eternity—to dwell with our Father and our God. Life is before us.

Here are the Saints, and the words of the Saviour will apply to them—“He that liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” He does not say that his body shall not crumble to dust. It will go back to its mother earth, to be raised immortal—to be brought forth to enjoy the light, glory, and presence of our Father and God, which we cannot endure while we are in this mortal tabernacle. This body must be purified and prepared to dwell in eternal burnings, for it is there where our Father and God dwells in the perfection of glory, light, and power.

Is it not a blessing to have schools in our community, where our teachers can teach our children correct principles, and impart to them education that will be useful? Is it not a blessing to associate with each other and build up the kingdom of God? Is it not a blessing to you, mothers, to raise up Prophets and Apostles—men filled with the glory of God, to go forth and extend the work of our God?

Do I not realize, day and night, that I have the good feelings, prayers, and faith of the Saints on the earth? I do. Let me enjoy the fellowship of angels, of God, and of his Saints, and I am right.

You have my prayers continually for the welfare of the kingdom of God on the earth.

May God bless you! I know that his blessings will rest upon you, if you live for them. Amen.

Objects of the Gathering

Daniel H. Wells

Remarks by President Daniel H. Wells, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday, June 17, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

I rejoice in the privilege of meeting with the brethren and sisters—of meeting, I may say, with Saints—with those who have gathered out from the midst of the nations of the earth for the purpose of building up the kingdom of God upon the earth with persons from almost every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. Actuated by a single motive, and that motive and that object the building up of the Church and kingdom of God, have this people gathered from among the nations and from the islands of the sea. Should it not rejoice our hearts to meet such characters? Should it not be a matter of pleasure to be associated with such a community, and to have a part and lot in the establishment of truth and righteousness upon the earth.

I feel to rejoice continually in connection with my brethren in this work in which we are all engaged. No matter what order of occupation we are in, it is all for this sole object—to establish righteousness and peace, and put down every species of wickedness. Our object is to establish a nucleus of power to protect and preserve righteous principles upon the earth, and the kingdom and government of the Almighty that shall never be thrown down. This is the motive, and it is a great and glorious and a noble enterprise, and its results will be pleasing, affording joy and peace in the Holy Ghost, and eventually exaltation and eternal lives.

Our minds have been touched with the light of truth—the law of heaven—the Spirit of the living God, and we have been enabled to see a few things, and we have now come together that we may learn of those principles. This work and cause which we have espoused is no idle tale, but a living, stern, and glorious reality. It was said by our Saviour to the multitude, “What have ye come out to see? A reed shaken with the wind?”

We can answer that question in the negative. No; we have come for a great, grand, and glorious purpose. We have many things in connection with this purpose to perform to unite our lives, resources, and powers in the spreading abroad the truths of high Heaven, the gathering of Israel, the redemption of Zion, and the establishment of the principles of righteousness and peace upon the earth.

We have to train up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord—to seek to establish the principles of righteousness among men—to put down iniquity, stop the floods of wickedness and corruption that almost overflow the earth.

It is a strong current we have to stem; it is a warfare. We have to wage war against the powers of darkness; and sometimes it seems as though the floods were so great that it would overwhelm the Saints. It frequently appears as if there were no possibility of rising above it. But our past experience has shown us that the Church and kingdom of God has risen above these things, and that it has continually increased and extended abroad, and it is still progressing, and will continue to prosper from this time forth and for ever. From its commencement it has known no stopping-place, neither will it ever.

We live in the generation of the world in which the set time to gather Israel has come, to bring about and accomplish the purposes of God, which must be brought about in the last days. The Lord has commenced to gather and organize his people, that they may be more fully taught in the principles of eternal life. It is now too late for the people of the wicked nations to think that they can overcome it, as did the wicked in days gone by; for this never can be done. The work of God will roll forth in power, in might and strength, sweeping sin and wickedness from the earth, and the Lord will rule King of nations as he does now King of Saints.

This, brethren and sisters, is the work for which we are assembled together, and we have the pleasure and satisfaction of knowing that we can travel hundreds of miles here without meeting with scarcely any, except these who have embraced the Gospel, and gathered to this Territory for the selfsame purpose that we ourselves have. The majority of the people in this extensive Territory have come for this cause, and with a desire to do right and live the lives of Saints.

Is there wickedness here? Yes, there are those who have been born in this kingdom, that have dishonoured themselves—some of them, too, that bear the names of those who were witnesses to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, as well as others who bear the name of Prophets who are mentioned in that book. It pains my heart to see it—to hear children profaning the name of the Deity. How will we feel, if we train up our children to permit them to live in this way—in a way that they will become a disgrace to their parents? Is it an honour to be born in Zion? Is it a blessed privilege to be trained up under the genial influences of that Spirit that leads to life and to an understanding of the principles thereof? Is it not a blessing to be enabled to discover and put far from us the false traditions of our forefathers? If so, how much more the disgrace of that person who dishonours his parentage, and the Church and kingdom of God, and that will also dishonour himself? Men do this to themselves—to the kingdom of God—the cause of truth and righteousness. But thanks be to our Father that the cause of truth and righteousness cannot suffer at the hands of the wicked, but Zion will rise and shine, and her greatness and glory will be seen, and in her strength, power, and might she will tread down every opposing foe. How should we feel in regard to our children, and to training them up that they may not depart from the ways of righteousness and truth? Does it meet with the approbation of the Almighty when we neglect them? The Lord said to Abraham when he blessed him—“I know that he will command his children after him.”

If this was a reason for giving blessing to Abraham, why should not every man who will live for it get a similar blessing in this generation? And in this way man can become great and mighty in the kingdom of God, and be useful in the Church of Christ.

Then let us pursue this course, that our children may honour us in their day and generation, that they may be an honour and an ornament in the Church and kingdom of God, instead of being a disgrace to those they associate with.

Mothers have a great deal to do with this; their duties and responsibilities are great towards their children; and none need be idle in this kingdom, for all can make themselves useful, no matter what their calling is.

There is everything needed in the kingdom of God that is required for the establishment of any other kingdom, save wickedness, and that I suppose must abide until a righteous influence shall be raised broad enough and deep enough to wither and dry it up. Then let us labour to root up wickedness, and let righteousness prevail in the minds of the Saints.

These are my feelings and my desires; and I pray God to bless all with the light of his Holy Spirit to guide us in the path of virtue and rectitude, that we may be enabled to do right, walk humbly and obediently before our God, and continually do those things that shall be pleasing in his sight, that we may at all times have his smiles and approbation. This is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Professions of the Saints, etc.

John Taylor

Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, June 17, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

It is not very often that I take a text when I attempt to preach; but I have thought, since I was invited to address you, that I would take one—two or three, perhaps, this afternoon, and make some remarks upon them. I generally like to observe passing events, and to notice words and actions of men—to study their import and bearing upon me and the community. It is upon some reflections of this kind that I am about to speak, and from which I shall take my text.

The first is a remark made by President Young. You may call it the gospel according to St. Young, St. Brigham, or what you please; and I am not very particular which book you put it in, or how you name it. In some remarks that he made to the inhabitants of Cache Valley, he said—“This people will never be driven from this Territory, except they drive themselves.” This is part of my text. Another part is contained in some remarks made by President Kimball this morning, and you may call it the gospel according to St. Heber, if you please. It is something like this—“We can all be happy, if we have a mind and disposition to labour for it.” The next is from some writer—I do not now remember his name. He says, “Man is the founder of his own destiny.”

Wherever there is a true principle presented, it is well to investigate, and see how far it is applicable to us. We find here remarks made and uttered, of the greatest importance to the human family. We do not realize or appreciate their bearing fully, neither do we comprehend how far they concern or will affect us or the society with which we are associated. As intelligent beings, as men possessed with the spirit of truth, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, as men who believe that we are acting with reference to eternity, it is well for us at all times to ponder well the path of our feet, and understand the position that we occupy on this earth, to know as near as possible the relationship that we sustain to God, to each other, to the world, and, as near as we can, the various duties that devolve upon us to attend to. These are things that we profess more or less to be governed by. We profess to have a portion of the Spirit of Truth, and we pray frequently that that Spirit may guide and direct us in our movements among the children of men. Let us endeavour to be guided by it in all our business relations, and in our intercourse with each other, that it may govern all our actions in life.

These are feelings that we often have experienced, and yet how frequently we depart from that spirit which we possess intuitively, and the instructions from those who are teaching us the principles of truth.

Now, there is nothing more true than these sayings that I have repeated over in your hearing. Take into consideration this people, and the position they occupy. What is it? And who are we? Why, we profess to be the people of God, and we are the people of God. We profess to be Saints of the Most High, and this is what we are in reality, or should be. This does not, of course, apply to those who are not Saints. We profess that this is the work of God in which we are engaged, and our profession is strictly correct. When we say this is the Church and kingdom of God, we believe it and so it is; and it is the only Church and the only kingdom that he has on this earth in this generation that we know anything about. We profess to know that God has revealed his law, that he has restored the holy Priesthood, and that he is communicating his will to the human family. We profess to believe that the kingdom of God will overrule and prevail over every other power and every other form of government and that it will go on from strength to strength, from power to power, from intelligence to intelligence, from knowledge to knowledge; and that in the due course of events, it will rule over the whole earth, until every creature upon the earth and under the earth and on the sea will be subject to the law of God, to the kingdom of God, to the dominion of God, and to the rule of the holy Priesthood.

This is our profession. We believe it: at any rate we profess to believe it; and if we do not we are hypocrites. We profess, further, to be the elect of God—set apart elected, chosen by him to be his servants to accomplish his work upon the earth;—in the first place, to establish correct principles among ourselves, and then to teach these principles to others, no matter what they relate to, whether to family matters, to the state, to a town, a corporation, or a government—no matter whether they relate to the Government of our own country, our own family, or a world. We profess to be under that Government. And further, all our opinions, all our movements, and intercourse with each other and with the nations of the earth, we believe to be governed and regulated by the law of God. These are some of our views and feelings respecting our religion and its influence upon our actions.

If these things are correct—and they most assuredly are—we are God’s people, and he is bound by everything that is calculated to bind either man or God. He is bound to take care of his people, if they take care of themselves. If they honour their calling and priesthood—if they magnify and do credit to the power and authority that is conferred upon them—if they do not deviate from correct principles, God is bound to fulfil all things according to the obligations that he is under—one of which is to provide for his Saints. Now, where does the matter rest taking it in connection with the first part of our text? Where does it necessarily rest? Does it not rest with God? It does, and he is faithful in his part. Who has ever known God to depart from correct principles? Come, let me stand up in his defence, if you please. I never have, and I am well satisfied that you never did.

There is not a man upon the earth that has put his trust in God, I do not care what part of the world he has been in, but what can say that he delivered him. I know that has been the case with me, emphatically so. I have been satisfied, when in foreign lands and in strange countries, where I had no access but to the Almighty, that he was on my side, and I know that he has answered my prayers.

We know that God lives, because we have the things that we ask at his hands. Taking it then, in this point of view, What is it that can cause us, as a people, to suffer any difficulty, or trouble, or privation? It is our own acts, our own corruptions, our own faults and weaknesses. Did we not have a sample of it this morning in the President’s remarks? He said, “I have, in years gone by, gone almost shirtless, and I have gone to men who had plenty, but they would not trust me ten dollars.” Well, he was faithful, and they could not deprive him of that to which he was entitled. They might deprive him of the necessaries of life, and of those things that would make him and his family comfortable and happy for the time being; but they could not put anything between him and the kingdom of God. That being who had promised to stand by him, and whom he continued to fear, blessed him temporally and spiritually; he supplied all his wants, enabled him to feed and administer to those individuals who were so penurious that they could not trust in God. Is not that a proof of the position I am taking? It is; and you can see proof after proof and circumstance after circumstance: I could name many of them.

I have seen those that were proud cast down; I have seen the meek exalted, and the poor made to rejoice in the Holy One of Israel, and seen peace and plenty poured into their lap, so that they have been comfortable and happy, while the other class have been cast down—become poor and destitute; or, if they have wallowed in luxury, they have since gone to the Devil.

These are things which, if you will reflect upon them, will produce good results, if they lead you to conduct and regulate your heart by the Spirit of truth and the law of God. It is well to study the world and the overruling hand of God. You will see many pursue the path of luxury and ease, and neglect their Priesthood and their God, and the result will be as those mentioned. I speak of this as a general principle—as one that exists between God and this earth. Man, assisted by the Lord, is the founder of his own destiny. We do not always see this principle developed at once. Sometimes the hand of God is withheld, and he suffers his people to be chastened. At present this appears hard, and to some it seems urgent; yet it is for their good. This principle has existed to a great extent among the nations of the earth. They are raised up and cast down. They come into existence, grow, flourish, and expand, and are powerful; and by a touch they crumble, wither, and decay. But the nations know not God; they do not observe his laws, and have no claim upon his protection. It has been so from the commencement and it will continue so until the winding-up scene. It will apply to the human family until the earth shall be redeemed.

It is true that these things are not always visible to our senses. We sometimes see the wicked flourish, just as David said he did; but by-and-by they are cut down. There is no pity in their death, neither is there that kindly feeling that is manifested for the righteous.

Good men have had to endure affliction, privations, trials, and sorrow, it is true. Abraham had to pass through afflictions that were harrowing to his feelings. Men of God have had to wander about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, and been considered the scum and offscourings of society, by men who understood not their relationship to God. They appeared destitute, but were, in reality, not. They had a hope that was buoyant and looked for a city that had foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Events of a similar kind have transpired among us. Brother Kimball and others have realized it, as those did in ancient times. There is no difference between this latter and former dispensation in this respect. Those who have held the Melchizedec Priesthood, many of whom had the gifts of the Holy Ghost, and much of the spirit of prophecy, even where there was no organization of Priesthood or of the kingdom of God upon the earth, stood as isolated characters in the world, and maintained their integrity before God. But we have a kingdom, the pattern of which has been revealed from the great God, given for our own happiness and salvation. And with the laying of the foundation of his kingdom on the earth there is a promise given unto us that the powers of darkness and all the power of hell combined shall not prevail against this kingdom. In this respect we differ from all others.

At the time that Jesus lived, the Apostles entertained this hope respecting the kingdom that he organized; but long before that, it had been prophesied that a certain power should prevail against the Saints, and that the kingdom, with its organization, should pass from the earth; and this all came to pass: but such will never be the case with this kingdom. Here is the difference between the dispensation of Jesus and the one in which we live.

The Lord organized this earth for a certain purpose, and placed you and me upon it, and also millions of beings who came here before us and passed into another state. He organized it for a certain purpose, and it will accomplish its design; so also will the human family. Should I say, then, that God is the arbiter of his own fate?

You will allow me to mix up my texts, I presume; for I do not mean to take up firstly, secondly, and thirdly; but I mean to use them wherever I think they will apply.

Is God the arbiter of his own fate? There is no necessity for this; for God rules and reigns, and controls things at his pleasure. Will righteous men always be trodden under foot by their enemies? No; for it is contrary to the design of God: he has given us ability to choose the good and refuse the evil. We can work iniquity or righteousness, just as we please; and the Devil has taken advantage of this, and tried to surround men’s minds with such influences as would bring about their ruin, that he might lead them captive at his will. The Lord has not bound them, nor controlled them; but the result of their actions he has controlled, whenever they have taken a course that was of itself calculated to injure his people.

The Lord says, “The wrath of man shall praise me, and the remainder I will restrain.” He will let mankind pursue happiness in their own way; and according to their desire, he will let them drink the cup of their own iniquity in their own way. On the other hand, he has manifested his goodness, and will continue to do it to all his children. What does he design to accomplish? The building up of this kingdom upon the earth, the establishment of righteousness, the driving back of the Adversary, and the banishing of his Satanic Majesty from the earth. By this means, the principles of truth will be extended throughout the length and breadth of the earth, and all will bow to God and his Christ, and the chosen ones will administer the ordinances of his house for ever and ever.

The Almighty had this object in view long ago: the old Prophets testified of it in generations that are passed. Job, who was said to have been a very patient man, spoke of it in his day, and the Apostles of our Lord talked about the time when Jesus would come to reign upon the earth. Visions, dreams, and revelations are multiplied upon this subject. The Lord is a little more capacious in his views than we are, and calculates more largely; and things that look very great and important to us are very small with him.

It is said that a thousand years with us are as one day with the Lord. He will bring to pass the work which he has designated; and what will it be? It will be the destruction of the ungodly, and the exaltation of the Saints to a celestial kingdom and glory. It will be the resurrection of the dead, and the exaltation of all who have obeyed him to thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers in worlds that are prepared for the faithful. Then he will have accomplished his purposes with regard to this world. Then those men who have suffered for a long time will feel like old Job, when he said, “I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God, whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another, though my reins be consumed within me.”

It was by the Spirit of truth and the revelations of God to Job that enabled him to say, “Though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.”

Father Abraham will come forth in the resurrection of the just. He saw the day of the Lord and was glad, and he will possess and enjoy all the blessings promised unto him. He will accomplish all that is written concerning him and that has been predicted by the Prophets.

The Apostle Stephen prophesied of this, and said, “God promised to Abraham that he would give him this land, and he will fulfil his promise.” Abraham will inherit that which was promised to him upon this earth, when he has fulfilled his destiny in other respects; then the promised land will be awarded to him. I might enumerate many other circumstances and instances of a similar kind. The Lord called Joseph Smith to be a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator. As soon as this was done, the Devil was ready for the opposition, and said, “I shall stand in my place, and what will Joseph Smith be able to accomplish?” We say that he will accomplish all that is required of him, despite all opposition.

One of the ancients said, “Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vine; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stall: yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

Who has been injured by the late crusade of the United States against us? With one of the best equipped armies that was ever organized in the United States, they came to crush this people and to wipe us out of existence, defiant, menacing, threatening, proud and haughty, with all the parade, the pomp, and circumstance of war: but the Lord put a hook in their nostrils, stripped them of their glory, left them shivering in the cold, and fed them on mule’s legs. Who has been hurt?

We are still here, and God is controlling matters for our good. President Young says, “It will continue to be so, if we live our religion as we understand it, and leave the wicked alone; for those who are opposing the Church of Christ cannot hurt us, and all such characters will have their portion in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. Then let us gird up our loins and maintain the principles of truth—do all we can to root out iniquity from our midst, but let the wicked wallow in the filthiness of their own debaucheries.

We have separated ourselves from the world in which we live; we have been baptized, by immersion in water, for the remission of sins; we have had hands laid upon us for the gift of the Holy Ghost; and the question with us now is, Shall we condescend to go again into the beggarly elements of the world, or shall we continue in obedience to the law of God? If we do not obey the law which the Lord has given for our guidance, we shall go down to destruction, and our second state will be far worse than the first. We are now laying a foundation for ourselves and our posterity; and what is it that will flash upon our minds if we turn away from the truth? We shall think of the time when we thought we were the Saints of God; we shall think of our associations with this people, and these reflections will greatly increase our misery.

Are we not the framers of our own destiny? Are we not the arbitrators of our fate? This is another part of my text, and I argue from it that it is our privilege to determine our own exaltation or degradation; it is our privilege to determine our own happiness or misery in the world to come. What is it that brings happiness now—that makes us so joyous in our assembling together? It is not wealth; for you may pour wealth, honour, influence, and all the luxuries of this world into the lap of man; and, destitute of the Spirit of God, he will not be happy, for that is the only source from which true happiness and comfort can come.

If I am doing right, I am preparing for thrones, principalities, and dominions, resolved by the help of God that no man shall rob me of my crown. With this view of the subject, all the outward circumstances of this life do not trouble me.

I know it is the case that many men would like to have everything they can desire or think of; and I used to think, if I were the Lord, I would give the people everything they wanted—all the money, all the honour, all the riches, and all the splendour their hearts could desire; but experience and observation have caused me to change my mind, for I know that such policy would not be good for the human family.

The Lord will try this people in all things, that they may be prepared for celestial glory.

Brethren and sisters, the time to bring our meeting to a close has come, I will therefore bring my remarks to a close, and pray God to bless you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Divine Authority

Orson Pratt

Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, June 24, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

I arise, by the request of brother Kimball, to speak to the congregation. What I may say I do not know at the present time; but one thing I do know, and that is, I earnestly desire the gift of the Holy Spirit, to enable me to speak to the edification of those present; and then, whatever is said will be right, and we shall be mutually instructed, and our minds informed.

One of the great fundamental principles of our religion is the Divine authority which God has sent down from heaven and conferred upon man. It lies at the foundation of the great work that we have embraced. Without it, we are nothing—we are mere cyphers; we are no better off than the rest of the world. No matter how many truths we might embrace in our faith, and how many principles we might advance for the instruction of one another, nor however much knowledge we might gain and impart one to another, yet, if we were not in possession of this principle of authority from heaven, all would be vain—all would be useless; all we could do would be like the turning to-and-fro of the door upon its hinges. Our ordinances would be in vain, our baptisms would be in vain, our confirmations would be in vain, our preaching and our testimonies would be in vain, and, finally, there would be nothing pertaining to our religion that would be serviceable or saveable in its nature. But let authority be sent down from heaven and conferred upon man, so that he will have the right to act in the name of the Lord, and so that he will have the right to administer ordinances in his name, and to act, to preach, to testify, and exhort in the name of the Lord.

Then what is done will stand; it will be lawful, it will be eternal, it will be recognized in the heavens in the day of judgment, and it will be sanctioned by all the pure and holy beings that are saved. When, therefore, we teach this generation, we teach this as one of the great fundamental principles of our religion.

That authority has been given, not from man, not from any individual or combinations of men, but it has been given from a superior source and a superior power, and eventually it has been conferred upon us, giving us the legal right to administer to the human family. This authority, when acted upon and when properly received, is saveable in its nature, and without it we may despair of obtaining salvation in the kingdom of God. We might as well give up first as last. But we do verily know (for with us it is not belief or guess-work,)—but we have a knowledge, that God has given this authority: we know it for ourselves; we know it as individuals, and not for the rest of mankind, but each individual for himself, provided he has received the gift of the Holy Ghost; and if he has not received that gift and blessing, he does not know it, for no man can know the things of God but by the Spirit of God. No man can know by his natural eyesight, nor even see the things of God; they are to be spiritually discerned. No man can know by the hearing of the ear—by the testimonies that are given to other individuals, nor by the miracles that are performed; in short, no man can know the things of God unless he has received the gift of the Holy Ghost.

The Egyptians did not know, when Moses and Aaron performed miracles, that they were the servants of God. They saw water apparently turned into blood; they saw frogs and insects come before their eyes; but they saw the magicians do the same things, and they had not sufficient knowledge to know the difference between the powers of the children of God and those possessed by themselves. Although they believed, yet they did not know, for want of the Holy Spirit. Their hearts were not sufficiently prepared to receive that heavenly light, that divine gift by which that power was among them.

How easily we may be operated upon, and how liable we are to be led astray by the opposite power! How easily the children of Israel were led astray! Their minds darkened and their faith was destroyed, because they did not retain this authority and power in their hearts. The thunders of Mount Sinai, the clouds and darkness, and all the magnificent scenery that surrounded them did not create within them that living, abiding testimony that comes by the Holy Ghost. There, in the midst of all these scenes, they could build a calf, fall down before it, and acknowledge it to be their god. They could say, not only in their own hearts, but to one another, “These be thy gods, O Israel!” While mountains were covered with vast clouds, while the lightnings were yet striking down, and while the whole mountain of Sinai was trembling because of the power of God, yet that power was not recognized—it was not respected, but a golden calf was considered to be the god that brought them out of the land of Egypt.

How vain, then, without the Holy Ghost, his abiding witness, this authority that comes from heaven and the knowledge of it! By this authority, sent down from heaven, we obtain a knowledge of future events; by it we obtain a knowledge as the fathers did—we receive that which is promised upon our heads, even that which is promised in regard to our posterity to the latest generations; by it we shall obtain all that was promised in relation to our ancestors—also that which is promised in relation to Priesthood, power, greatness, and glory. All these things are given through the authority that God has ordained and bestowed on man here upon the earth.

[Blessed the sacramental cup.]

Mankind have assumed to themselves various degrees of authority. Mankind have assumed to themselves, from the earliest ages, after our creation, to establish by their own authority civil governments, and also to establish by their own authority ecclesiastical or church governments. These governments that have assumed authority to rule, and reign, and govern the people, will crumble to ashes before the might, the strength, and power of the kingdom of our God. One, perhaps, has assumed authority after one method; another has assumed it after another: one has established one form of government, and another another form: one has erected a standard of religion to guide the human mind in relation to their welfare and happiness, and another has set up a separate creed; and we find that our world, from ages immemorial, has been under all kinds of authority and government, civil and ecclesiastical; and the nations of the earth have honoured these governments, more or less.

Perhaps it may be said that the Lord is the Author of all these governments. That we may admit in one sense, and in one sense only, because he controls those governments to a certain extent, as we have been told from this stand. But is the Lord the Author of a government that admits of no authority from heaven? He may permit those governments to exist, and he may control the result of their actions for the glory of his name and for his own benefit; but to suppose that the Lord has directly established the monarchical governments that have existed for ages that are past, and the Republican governments that have existed through or in different generations, and the various other governments, some of which have stood the test of centuries—to suppose that the Almighty organized all of them, I say, would be inconsistent.

But some might say, Is it not better to have these forms of government than to have none at all? Admit that it is better than to let every man go which way he pleases; and therefore, when the Lord saw that the people were so far departed from heaven and from him, and from the form given from heaven, he may have suffered those forms of government to be established, and that, too, for the benefit of the inhabitants of the earth; and he may have had, and may still hold, his hand indirectly over the wise men of the earth, and move upon their hearts to establish many good and wise principles for the benefit of the people. All this he has done for his name’s glory; therefore we acknowledge the hand of the Lord in controlling all the governments and kingdoms of the earth. But where is that heavenly, divine authority that comes down from above? Where is it to be found in the present generation, among all the nations and kingdoms in the four quarters of our globe, except it be in these mountains? Where has it been in ages that are past, since the Apostles fell asleep? You may traverse our earth from one side to the other to find a government established by the Almighty, and you cannot do it. Or, if you do not want to find a people who will say that God was at the foundation of the establishment of their governments, find a people who will say that God directs in their movements, in their councils, in their senates, in their houses of parliament—find a nation that will acknowledge that God governs them by the spirit of revelation. You cannot find such a one: there are none such in existence among the nations abroad, for they all say they do not acknowledge the principle. If you go over to the Old World, and travel from one end to the other and ask the question, Do you acknowledge God in your movements—in making war one with another? Does God give you revelation to guide you? Have you any Prophets that are appointed by divine authority, who can say, “Thus saith the Lord God concerning this people?” You will find the united testimony of kings and senators to be that God does not speak in this our day—there is no such thing as revelation in this generation. Then go to the ecclesiastical governors and ask the same question. Go to the Pope that pretends to occupy the chair of St. Peter, and he will say, “Oh, I occupy the same position as Peter—the same apostleship and calling.” Do you act in the same duties? He will answer, “Oh, yes, I guide and direct my people as Peter did; but there is no revelation now; for, since the days of John the Revelator, the canon of Scripture has been closed up, and we are to be guided by their revelations; but we are not to have any more.

This is what the Pope would tell you; it is what the cardinals would say; and the bishops and clergy would all tell you that the canon of Scripture is for ever closed. They have no God to decide relative to their principles and doctrines, and to correct errors that may creep into their church. In the next place, you may go to all the reformers and other branches of the ecclesiastical government, and with one united voice they will all tell you the same thing—viz., that the Bible contains all that is necessary and that can conduce to the benefit of the people. No prophet, no inspired man in our day, and has not been for many generations past; and hence there has been no additions to our Scriptures. This is the state of the whole world, apart from this divine authority that is claimed by the Latter-day Saints in these mountains.

If the question be asked us by all the nations and kingdoms upon the earth, “Do you profess to be guided in your councils by revelation from the heavens?” There would scarcely be a voice in the negative. I believe they would all answer in the affirmative, and say, “We believe in revelation from on high; we believe that angels have come and administered to the Apostles and Prophets, that intelligence has been sent down from heaven, that Prophets and Revelators have been in our midst, and that revelations have been given from the commencement of the Church, and that we know that the counsels and great movements of our Church have been dictated by revelation.” And here is where we differ from the whole world.

It must be remembered that this is not one of those points that are generally supposed to be non-essential: it is as different from many of those disputed questions as the sun at its meridian splendour is from the moon making her appearance in mid-day. This is a great and an important question.

Where is there power to govern civilly or ecclesiastically—I mean the power of God? Will he not bring all their thrones to an end? Where is there a law passed by human authority that will stand the searching glance of the Almighty? Where is there a kingdom or council organized among the nations that now exist that gets the counsel of the Almighty to direct them? All that do not obtain this direction will be rooted up in the great day to come; they will be overthrown and brought to naught. And even their domestic institutions are wrong. Where is there a nation among those governments where the people have been brought into the bonds of matrimony according to the order of God? When the great day of the Lord comes, it will come to end their marriages. There will be nothing but good feelings left between man and wife—between parents and children, because they have not been begotten, neither have their marriages been solemnized by that authority which is known on high: Then children can no longer recognize their fathers and mothers as such, neither can men and women any longer dwell together as husband and wife, when that great day shall come; for all things that are established by human authority must come to an end, and cease for ever.

But when, on the other hand, we consider the authority that is given to us from heaven, we see something that will never come to an end. There will be something that will endure when the mountains and hills shall melt like wax, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. At that day there will be among the Latter-day Saints those holding that authority that is from on high—that inspiration that comes from heaven. Then, when the Great Eternal Son of the Father shall come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, we shall stand firm upon the rock that will endure for ever, even by the authority that God has ordained.

How great reason the Latter-day Saints have to rejoice when they contemplate these great privileges and blessings, and when they contemplate that the same authority that God established in the beginning, when our first parents were upon the earth, (the same authority that proceeded from the Great Eternal in the morning of creation,) is again restored. Ours is an ecclesiastical Church, and an ecclesiastical state. We have something that is enduring, and this rejoices my soul when I think upon it. This present state of existence is, as the Apostle says, but a shadow, and our probation ends in death.

Many of the Latter-day Saints have been properly instructed in regard to this authority that is sent from God. Where is there an individual that has been united in the order of God who would like these bonds to be severed, and henceforth be left in conjecture? What would the world give, if they were acquainted with these divine principles? It is because they are ignorant of them that they are contented to marry in the way they do at the present time. We can see that they are principles that we need, and that are ordained by the Almighty, implanted in the bosoms of men and women. They are principles that minister to our happiness. Then why should those sacred ties be torn asunder when this body dies? Why should the pursuance of that course which sustains us in this life be broken up for ever in that which is to come? Would this be consistent with the character of the All-wise Creator for him to implant certain principles, instincts, and passions in our nature, to be enjoyed in our present existence, and to break them asunder for ever? No, it would not; neither has he any disposition to impart gifts, principles, and passions, and then destroy them again. To this end the Lord has ordained authority to be exercised upon the earth, and he is manifesting that it is He who rules in the heavens; and he will continue to show to the people that these ordinances, powers, privileges, and blessings enjoyed in this Church are to continue and endure for ever, and that his house is a house of order. He can easily overthrow this human authority, and carry out that which is heavenly.

For the accomplishment of this, he has given the keys of the holy Priesthood, and there are many sitting before me who have received this Priesthood, and it will remain with the faithful after their graves shall have been covered up and the green grass grown thereon. It will go with them in the spirit-world and aid them in disseminating the principles of salvation there, and by it they will be brought forth in the resurrection of the just.

The first speaker expressed his opinion as to the possibility of our attaining that point, or reaching that degree of perfection that will enable us to retain all the heavenly principles in our bosoms that we receive from day to day, and be able to practise upon them, and thereby overcome disease and death itself. This is all very good; but there is much to be done—many temptations to resist, and weaknesses to overcome, before we can live by the light which is in us.

If we fall into transgression and wallow in iniquity, we lose our position and our claim on the goodness and protection of our Heavenly Father; but, by a faithful adherence to the principles of virtue and righteousness, we shall prepare ourselves to come forth in the resurrection of the just, and dwell with the sanctified.

Let us shake off our imperfections and put away our follies, lift up our heads and rejoice, and call upon the name of the Lord. The promises made to us are sure, and we shall inherit them.

Consider the great blessings that have been already conferred upon us, having been sealed up by the Holy Spirit of promise to come forth with the just and inherit all things; and these have been recorded for our benefit. If we transgress, we shall have to suffer for that transgression here in the flesh; and after we lay our bodies down, we shall suffer in the spirit-world, until we have suffered enough for all our sins, unless we have shed innocent blood. For those who have committed that sin there is no forgiveness in this world, nor in that which is to come.

Here is something that is permanent; here is a chance to take hold of the word of the word of God, as described by Lehi. It is our privilege to hold fast and hold on to them. And if we should be cut off in the flesh and sent down to be punished in the spirit-world, and there be buffeted by those spirits, and still retain our memories, we can say these sufferings will not endure for ever, but we shall enjoy all that has been put upon our heads, and, through the Priesthood, and signs and tokens that have been revealed, come forth in the first resurrection, and pass by the sentinels and the Gods that stand to keep the way to eternal lives. And if there be thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, we shall come in possession of them, for this is the promise of the Almighty.

This is like an anchor to our souls; this is something to rejoice in beyond this world. It lays hold of eternal lives; it lays hold of eternal exaltations, of eternal thrones, of eternal authority and power to reign in the kingdom of God for ever and ever.

This is the kind of authority and blessing that is calculated to satisfy mankind in relation to the things of God, and nothing else will.

May God bless us all, is my prayer. Amen.

Practical Religion

Heber C. Kimball

Discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, July 1, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

I have been very much interested with the discourse we heard this forenoon. It is what I call practical religion; and you will understand my feelings when I tell you that I consider there is no religion of any kind that is of any use, except that which is practical.

I read in the Book of Mormon, Bible, and in the revelations that are given and written for our instruction and benefit, and for the benefit of the people who lived in past ages, that the Lord says, in speaking of those that have favour with him—the meek, the humble, and those that have a contrite spirit—that manifest their faith by their works and call upon him continually, I will administer to them and impart unto them my will. The Lord our God lives, and it is because he lives that we live; for if the Lord had been dead, we should have been dead. He certainly does exist and dwell in the heavens, and I am aware of it.

During my experience in the Church, I have been placed in many situations, and thousands of items have been presented to my mind that would be of great service to the people. I have called upon the Lord and asked him for a great many things, and he has heard and answered me; and I have endeavoured to take a course that would give me favour with him, with his Son, and with the Holy Ghost, that I might have things brought to my remembrance—that I might have a knowledge of things present and things to come.

This is our privilege, brethren, and it is the privilege of all the men that live upon the earth. We are Saints, and we should all live in that manner that would insure us all the blessings that are promised to the faithful Saints. Every man that has received the Priesthood, whether an Apostle, Prophet, High Priest, Elder, Bishop, Priest, or Teacher—all should live as one man—be of one heart and one mind. In regard to those things we have heard with regard to living and practising our religion, that we may be able to build up Zion and establish the New Jerusalem: Unless we are very diligent, we shall be very far behind the times when the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven, adorned as a bride for her husband. Now, I believe that Enoch went away from here on a piece of earth, but I do not believe that he remained idle all the time: they have been improving and cultivating the earth—they have been multiplying and increasing the inhabitants where they live. So it is with the lost tribes of Israel: they are not asleep. God speaks to them through their Prophets, and they are learning to be obedient and to be subject to the law of God.

It is the privilege of the Elders of Israel to rise by the power of God, by living the religion of Jesus Christ.

Brethren, go to work and adorn the earth, adorn your habitations, and improve in everything that is good, that you may be qualified hereafter to do a good work. I have worked in my day, and learned two mechanical trades—the potter’s and blacksmithing, and worked considerable as a carpenter; but I never saw a blacksmith yet that was perfect, or one that could not improve more and more in making edge-tools and other things, In fact, I never saw a mechanic perfect in his business; for there is always an advancement, an improvement in blacksmithing, in machinery, and in every branch of business. I learned the potter’s art, as I have said, and have carried on the business. I always found that I could improve, and I never saw a journeyman but I could learn from. It is so in England and everywhere else. I saw new styles in Staffordshire, England, when I was there. I saw something there that was very beautiful, and superior to anything I had ever seen before. So it is in building, in manufacturing. This, you know, will apply to our sisters as well as to our Elders. In short, we should all try to improve in everything that is good. I never saw a better time than it is to-day to improve in every thing that is good, and then continue the work to-morrow, the next day, and so on.

[Blessed the Sacramental cup.]

I wish to talk about things that are present with us, that pertain to us. We are continually talking about being the saviours of men. Now, how is it possible for one of us—I will take myself for an example, and I will repeat—If I do not take a course to preserve myself and my family, my wives and children., to provide for, and feed and clothe a small family, I want to know what I can do for a large one. We have to learn this, and that if we cannot take a course to lay up wheat, corn, meat, and the comforts of life, make cloth for our families, we cannot make cloth nor provide for others. If we do not take a course to provide for those around us, can we provide for our friends? We cannot. Then here is the place for us to begin—right here in the mountains.

We are out of bread: we have none in the Tithing Office only what we have drawn from Iron, San Pete, and Box Elder counties. Are we not in a fine condition? Suppose the Lord should deal with us as he is dealing with the people in California and those in Missouri, what should we do? I saw it in the papers that they have got as beautiful straw as ever grew, but there is not a kernel of wheat in it. If this should be the case with us, or if the Lord should send a hailstorm to destroy our grain, would we not be in a bad situation, as a people?

I can tell you it is time for us to be humble, prayerful, to live our religion—not only those men who hold office—not merely those who are selected to lead prayer-circles and to pray according to the holy order, but it is for all; and we should ask our Father to bless these mountains and valleys—to bless our crops, our herds, and flocks; for every soul of you knows that by them our natural lives exist. Then, supposing your wheat is preserved, and mine is cut off, and that there are three-fourths of this people without bread, gentlemen, you have got to divide with us until we are all out. Now don’t you see that it depends upon one man as much as another? Do you think I would like to lock up my drawers and bins, and tie up my sacks? No. And if any of you want to do it, we should not let you: we would talk to our Bishops, and let them open the bins and take out a little, and then pay you for it. We do not want it of you for nothing at such times; we want to pay you the gold and silver for your grain, or whatever we receive from you. Suppose that each of you had your hats full of gold and silver, it would not make bread; and if you put yeast in it, it would not rise.

I have seen the time when my hat full of gold would not buy a barrel of flour, and then again I have seen the time when it could be got for almost nothing. I contend that every man that holds the Priesthood ought to be a saviour temporally as well as spiritually, for we are in duty bound to try to save our natural lives. I would not give much for a spirit without a body, because it takes the spirit and body to make the soul of man: the temporal and the spiritual must be united to make the man.

The Lord is beginning to pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon his people, and he is also pouring out his wrath upon the wicked, especially the Missourians and others in the States. Their cattle are dying with disease, their crops are being cut off; and while these things are taking place, you and I ought to be humble and faithful: we ought to be good stewards, and lay up stores for that time which is to come, and thereby prepare for a day of scarcity.

Brethren, do you believe that there will be thousands and hundreds of thousands that will flock to this people for bread, for meat, for clothing, and for the comforts of life? Such will be the case, and I do not know but it will come before we are ready for it. There has never been a greater prospect of grain than there is at the present time; but we cannot tell how it will be next year at this time. There are hundreds of men in this Church that would not have believed that this people would have been brought down to the scarcity of wheat they are now.

Where is the wheat we boasted about having. The army down at Camp Floyd have got three years’ provisions on hand; and in case of famine, they would have to feed us. But don’t you see they have got the power in their own hands? And we have placed that power in their possession. What do we find in the Bible upon this subject? “The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light.” They make preparation for that which is to come, more so than many of this people do.

Now, you know that you have tried to make it appear that brother Brigham has sold his grain to the army: but he says he has not, and I know he has not; neither have I. I have hauled wheat to the camp that the merchants have bought of this people, and I have got my pay for it. When I was on my last trip, it was reported that I was sending my wheat to Fort Hall; but I never sent any there. I do not suppose there is a man here that believes that President Young and myself have sold our wheat and flour, or provisions of any kind: but they seem to have a mind to make a scapegoat of us; but in this they have done wrong. If we had done as many of you have, you would not have had a mouthful; for there are many of you who do not raise any, and who have none but what you get from the Tithing Office and from private individuals. I have talked with brother Brigham, and he says that if this army were to go away, and another come in two years, this people would do just as they have done; but we must stick to them. It makes me feel, and it ought to make you feel. We put our grain into the hands of those men that should execute the law and see that we are protected. But they have come here to take your lives and mine; and if you would destroy all that kind of wickedness that has been introduced, live your religion, ye Elders of Israel, and honour your high callings.

I have done just as I have said: I have let my wheat out to my brethren. I could have had two dollars per bushel, but I would not have taken three dollars; and I still have some wheat in my bin.

I want to see the brethren and sisters engaged in home manufactures. My family are making cloth now, and it would be a good thing if all the people in this Territory would go to making cloth to clothe themselves with. What! says one, make cloth now, when there are plenty of goods? Yes; I am going to make more cloth this year than ever I did before. There are people in this congregation that I could point out who have decided to please themselves about making cloths and everything else; but I can tell you we have to learn to pursue that course that will make us independent. We must learn to keep our grain, take care of our stock, keep what we have got, and get what we can honestly; and we should never slacken in the principles of industry, in mechanism, or in the economy of life. Are you taking that course, brethren? Are you, brother Heber? I am: I can prove it. I never saw a time when it was more needed than it is now, and it will be more needed yet. Some will turn round and say, If you are just, you will teach us what God’s will is pertaining to us. The Lord has said that he will provide for his Saints, and nourish them, and send his angels to protect them. Don’t you see he is a jealous God? He is jealous of the nations of the earth, and he is going to scourge them for their iniquities.

These are my feelings, and these are things that I know, and I speak in soberness, in sincerity, and in truth. Am I going to bow down and let my enemies have power over me? No, sir; no person will prohibit or attempt to prohibit any one doing right, except those that do not wish to keep the commandments of God—such, for instance, as the thief, the robber, the whore and whoremonger, and those that try to make all the lies they can.

Brethren, let us gird up our loins and be faithful in all things. Will you go naked and hungry? No, not if you will do right: there will be an abundance for all that do right. I have been as poor as the poorest of you. I have been so poor that I have seen many times when I had not a change of shirts. I have also been with brother Brigham when we were both very poor; and when you talk about going through troubles and trials, I think of what I have passed through for the Gospel’s sake, in connection with my brethren; but in the midst of those trials I have always been the happiest. What have we sacrificed? Nothing at all, when we consider that all belongs to our Father. Why do you want to get up in the meetings of the Saints and tell how you have sacrificed? Think of this in the future.

Have we not been among false brethren? Yes, we have suffered from that source. When Joseph had to flee, and there was hardly a person that you could trust, that was a trying time. You have left your homes, you have left nations of tyranny and oppression, and have come to these peaceful valleys, where the devils have been made subject to the Priesthood of the Most High.

So far as I am concerned, I can say that I have sacrificed ignorance to get light—I have sacrificed to overcome the Devil, and I will rise with those that rise and come off victorious. I consider that I have sacrificed nothing for God, but that the sacrifices I have made are for my own individual benefit, and to benefit the Almighty.

This is my testimony, and you know it as well as I do. Then do not talk about these sufferings. Do not go down to the grog-shops and get drunk, fall and break your noses, and then tell how much you have suffered for the Gospel’s sake. Do not go without clothes when you might have plenty. Go to work and purchase a ewe sheep, and then you will soon have plenty; yes, you will soon have a large flock. Our chorister had but two sheep four years ago, and now he has a nice little flock, and has sold some; and you can do as well, if you will try—yes, every man and woman. How nice you look watching and taking care of a ewe sheep! Far better than you do with those little bonnets, for they are a cursed disgrace to the Saints; and all good men would say Amen.

Why don’t you raise sheep, and make your own dresses instead of putting on those rotten rags? Brother Brigham, Am I scolding? [President B. Young: “I don’t know.”] He says he don’t know; and if he don’t, how is it likely that you should?

O my Father and God, where is the honest man? I have lost confidence in the world, and in those that lay schemes of iniquity.

Celebration of American Independence

Orson Pratt

Address by Elder Orson Pratt, Sen., July 4th, 1860.

I rise, not for the purpose of delivering a lengthy address before this assembly. I do not claim to be an orator, a statesmen, or a politician; but I am an American citizen, in common with you all; and I am proud of the name.

I look back upon my ancestors as American citizens also, not only from the foundation of this republic, but from the first settlement of this country. They were among the “Pilgrims” that landed upon our eastern shore seven generations ago.

We have listened to a very eloquent address on the rise of the American nation—on the achievement of our national Independence, in relation to establishing the great platform of American liberty—viz., the American Constitution.

Much might be said upon each of these topics. Much might be said in relation to the sufferings endured by the colonies before they achieved their independence. Much might be said in relation to the battles fought by our fathers to obtain that liberty which they and we their children enjoy. It is not my intention to dwell upon these subjects; but I will call your attention, upon this occasion, to some of the rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution of our country.

A few years sufficed to demonstrate the inadequacy of the “Articles of Confederation,” to obviate which the Constitution was established, conferring increased power upon the General Government. That its power might be clearly understood, Article X. of the amendments was ratified as follows:—“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.” It will be perceived that there are no prohibitions upon citizens outside the boundaries of States.

In the Constitution we find certain rights and privileges guaranteed to ALL American citizens. We there find certain powers delegated to the General Government, and certain powers reserved in the respective State governments, or to American citizens.

We read, in the 4th section of the 4th article of the Constitution, words to this effect:—“The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican form of government.” This one item in the Constitution is a power granted to the American Congress—to the American nation. They were limited by the Constitution in regard to the form of government that should be established upon American soil. They have not the right, by that Constitution, to organize a government upon any other than Republican principles. They have not the right to establish a monarchy upon this soil: the Constitution forbids or prohibits their doing so. In a national capacity, under the Constitution, they have not the right to guarantee any but a Republican form of government, which government of right emanates from the people to be governed. This is the very nature of a Republican form of government, as we American citizens understand it. It differs from various other governments whose history we have read. It differs from the Republican governments of past ages. We read that Republican governments existed in some of the ancient nations. They existed for a short period, and then ceased. But their forms and the forms of the governments now in the European nations are of a kind more or less different from the one with which we, as American citizens, are blest. It is not necessary, however, for me, in the few remarks I shall make, to dwell upon the various kingdoms and empires of the old world. Doubtless the citizens of Utah are sufficiently acquainted with the history of those nations to know that our American Government differs from them all in unreservedly granting to the people the power to govern themselves—the power to appoint their own officers—the power to enact their own laws; and Congress has no power granted by the Constitution to interfere with that system. But the Congress, the United States as a Union, are restricted in this particular; they are prohibited from granting any other than a Republican form of government upon the American continent.

Let us briefly turn our attention to the State Governments, and see if the Parent Government has fulfilled its pledge, in the Constitution, by granting Republican forms of government to the several States that have been admitted into our Union. Yes, they have permitted them to elect their own officers, enact their own laws, vote at Presidential elections, and have a representation in Congress, and a voice and vote in the governmental affairs of the nation.

How is it with the Territories? Is a Republican form of government extended to the Territories, according to the spirit and letter of the Constitution? In the first place, where can you find one item, from the beginning to the end, that grants to Congress the right to establish a Territorial government, unless petitioned by the people so to do? It cannot be found. And should citizens in a Territory petition Congress to grant to them a form of government, Congress are restricted to granting a form strictly and fully Republican. Some urge that a part of the 3rd section of Article IV.—“The Congress shall have power to dispose of, and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the Territory or other property belonging to the United States,” gives Congress the right to legislate for American citizens who chance to reside in Territories. But the portion thus relied upon relates only to the disposition of Government property, and does not grant the power to dispose of the inhabitants that may dwell upon the public lands in Territories, as though the people thereof belonged to the United States as property.

My opinion is that Congress has no more power to exercise legislative jurisdiction over American citizens in Territories than it has over American citizens in States. In other words, that American citizens in Territories, equally with those in States, have the plainly guaranteed right to govern themselves. People from the various States settle upon the public domain; and shall simply crossing an air-line in the same country prevent them from enjoying a Republican form of government, having a voice in the selection of their rulers, and the privilege of making their own laws without being subject to have them disapproved by Congress? If this is not the case in the treatment of Territories, I consider there is an infringement. It lies in the foundation—in the organization itself. And should the people living upon the public domain petition Congress to comply with certain conditions that were in vogue in the old monarchial nations of the world, and have their petitions granted according to its letter and spirit; they have no reason to complain. Still, it is assumed power in Congress to grant a territorial government.

But suppose we petition, in good faith, that Congress would notice that part of the Constitution that directs the giving of a Republican form of government, and we get something else, what shall we do then? It may suit the condition of the people, and it may not.

There are many rights that are named in the Constitution, and many that the Constitution says nothing about. These rights I shall not attempt to define. We have rights in regard to observing the Sabbath, and worshipping God according to the dictates of our conscience. We also have social and political rights guaranteed to us and to all the American people. All these might be taken up and reasoned upon; but you are acquainted with them.

If I were to petition Congress, I should petition that this old relic of the mother Government should be done away; and that when Congress granted a Government, they should grant a Republican instead of a monarchial one, and let all the people have the same privileges.

“But,” says one, “there is a great disparity in numbers.” What of that? Look at New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and many of the old States, where we find not only hundreds of thousands, but millions of inhabitants, and then look at Rhode Island, Delaware, and Maryland, and see the difference. If this disparity exists in States, why should it be brought up against a Territory? Those smaller States have the same representation in the Senate of the United States as the larger ones. Why, then, bring up this disparity of numbers? Some say we must not admit the Territories, because the disparity in Congress would be so great. It is all folly to bring up this argument.

Having said this much upon the rights guaranteed to American citizens, I will merely state that it is my opinion that it is the privilege of people settling upon the public domain to form a Republican “Provisional Government,” according to the feelings of the people, until Congress shall admit them into the Union.

Character of God and Christ, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 8, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

Our minds are capable of receiving and digesting a certain number of ideas; but we are not able to comprehend a great many at one time. We can hear all that a speaker is disposed to say; but whether we can comprehend it, be it much, or, as in many instances, little, is another and very important consideration. Some minds can comprehend but very little at a time.

What we have just heard is very good. True, we have been taught those principles from our youth. There are but very few in Christendom who have not been taught those principles in childhood by their parents, and in maturer years by their school-teachers and priests. The character of the Saviour has been exalted as much as our language will permit.

Brother Joseph Young, in his remarks, frequently quoted the words of the Saviour, as recorded by his Apostle, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” I would be pleased to see the divine who can thoroughly acquaint us with that Being whom we call God—the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. From our youth, we have heard much in regard to the Father and the Son, but in a mystified manner, so far as treated upon by the divines and theologians of the so-called “orthodox” churches. How many of you can give us sound, sensible ideas relative to the character of our Father in heaven? If the Elders of Israel, who speak to us from Sabbath to Sabbath, and who go forth into the world to preach the Gospel of life, cannot, no man on the earth can. How much have we learned in regard to it? How far have our understandings expanded to comprehend the character of that Being we call God? or even to comprehend the character of his Son Jesus Christ, whom we call our Saviour?

The character of the Father is plainly portrayed in the Bible, so far as it is necessary for it to be revealed; but who can tell anything about him? All that we hear from this one, that one, and the other, is but very little. We have formerly been in the habit of hearing—“Great is the mystery of godliness, God manifested in the flesh,” and there having the subject left. With the world things pertaining to eternity are such a mystery that all is left in the dark—left with the mantle of ignorance cast around it. But, God be praised, the vail begins to be thinner, and will be withdrawn for us, if we are faithful. The work that God has commenced in this our day is calculated to remove the vail of the covering from all the face of the earth, that all flesh may see his glory together. And if the principles of the holy Priesthood that we have received continue to be carried out by the people at large, the vail will be taken away, so that we can comprehend that Being who is such a mystery to the great portion of the human family.

Jesus was appointed, from the beginning, to die for our redemption, and he suffered an excruciating death on the cross. A person possessing the power of the Gods has that power to sustain him in all his trials and sufferings. He has power and faith to endure unto sweating blood, to bearing thorns, and to being nailed upon a cross, as patiently as did our Saviour. Is this speaking disparagingly of his character? Not in the least. Many of our people have suffered unto death. Could a God do more? He could not. Could he suffer more? Only in proportion to his intelligence, faith, and power, which also proportionally sustain him in his sufferings. Many of the Saints have been pierced with bayonets, riddled with bullets, beaten to death, and slain in various other ways, for their testimony of Jesus. They paid the debt. Jesus fulfilled the obligations he had entered into as the heir of all things pertaining to this earth. He is the King—the Ruler, and the results of the acts of the people he brings forth, and will continue to do so, till he reigns King of nations as he now reigns King of Saints. When he again visits this earth, he will come to thoroughly purge his kingdom from wickedness, and, as ruler of the nations, to dictate and administer to them as the heir to the kingdom; and the Gentiles will be as much mistaken in regard to his second advent as the Jews were in relation to the first.

The eyes of the Gentiles are like the eyes of the fool, wandering to the ends of the earth. They are deceived, blinded, and far from understanding the things of God. All who would understand the things of God must understand them by the Spirit of God. In reflecting upon his providences, it often seems singular that every person cannot understand the things of God; but when you understand the Gospel plan, you will comprehend that it is the most reasonable way of dealing with the human family. You will discern that purity, holiness, justice, perfection, and all that adorns the character of the Deity are contributing to the salvation of man.

Those who acknowledge the hand of God in all things, and abide in his commandments, are the only ones who will sustain the principles of truth and purity. If their influence upon the character is not good and pure, how will they produce that pure feeling, pure faith, and pure godliness which prepare a person to dwell in eternal burnings? Should we not abide in and be influenced by the commandments of God? We should; for, without the spirit of revelation, no man can understand the things of God, nor his dealings and designs in relation to the inhabitants of the earth.

While brother Joseph was referring to the providences of God, I was led to reflect that there is no act, no principle, no power belonging to the Deity that is not purely philosophical. The birth of the Saviour was as natural as are the births of our children; it was the result of natural action. He partook of flesh and blood—was begotten of his Father, as we were of our fathers.

Do you understand yourselves, brethren and sisters? Only to a small degree; and there are as yet but few who can strictly govern themselves. The foundation for all intelligence is placed in man to be developed to produce great and more powerful results than he has ever thought of. You may place all the world’s wisdom in one man, and ask him whence he received his intelligence, and he cannot tell. Ask him, “Do you believe man has a soul? Do you believe his soul lives when he dies?” He will answer, “Yes; but I cannot tell where.” Or inquire of him, “Do you believe that the soul had an existence previous to its coming here?” He will reply, “I do not know.” Can you answer such questions? Yes; for you have been taught concerning these things. Have you been taught the character of the Father? Yes.

Will you improve upon the gifts bestowed upon you? Let me ask you, as a favour, to bless yourselves and friends by conquering and controlling yourselves—a principle that you should cultivate; then you may control others. But unless you control the passions that pertain to fallen nature—make all your faculties subservient to the principles God has revealed, you will never arrive at that state of happiness, glory, joy, peace, and eternal felicity that you are anticipating. Then learn to govern yourselves.

Were any professed Saints present, and there may be, who indulge in paltry pilfering, thieving, carousing, tipling, cursing, &c., I would advise them to contemplate their conduct with shamefacedness. Shame, also, to those women who run after the Gentiles! Such women are so corrupt that they are a distress to their sex. Are there any here of that class? I expect there are a few who will say, “Brother Brigham, how are you?” and shake hands, and then go and lie with a Gentile. I don’t want such persons to shake hands with me.

Brother Joseph has exhorted you to revere the character of our Saviour. He who does not will sooner or later suffer. The Lord will bring us to an account for all we do, before that tribunal that will punish for all disgraceful conduct. Shame to those men and women who call themselves Latter-day Saints, and act disgracefully! You ought to be as pure and holy as angels. We are commanded to be pure as Christ is pure, and holy as he is holy. He passed through the trials, became sanctified, and prepared himself to dwell with the Gods; and he dwells in the midst of eternal burnings, where the principles and all that pertains to the celestial kingdom are a consuming fire to all that is impure. He has been exalted, crowned, and has received thrones, principalities, and powers; and he commands us to walk in his footsteps, in reference to every principle that pertains to eternal lives. Let us do this, that the whole body, from the crown of the head to the soles of the feet, may be sanctified. Those who come short of this will be judged accordingly.

As to the persecution, the slander, and malicious acts aimed at us, who can expect anything else from the wicked and ignorant? Christ and Baal are not reconciled; the Lord will hold no fellowship with the Devil. But Satan will contend until he is driven from the earth. He is the adversary, the opposer, and accuser of the brethren. He opposes the Son of God in the great struggle between truth and error. This victory must be gained in our houses, neighbourhoods, towns, counties, and states; and this common enemy of all Saints will continue to offer his opposition until driven from the earth, and will contend for every inch of ground.

Let us walk in the footsteps of our Father and of our Saviour, cling to the principles of life, and live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Live to purify yourselves, and you will be able to overcome every power of the enemy. Children are now born who will live until every son of Adam will have the privilege of receiving the principles of eternal life.

God bless the Elders who preach to the nations, the sisters who pray for the kingdom, the men who labour in the fields and elsewhere, and all who ask Him to bless and build up his Zion, and bring in the reign of righteousness and peace, that all who desire may rejoice in the blessings of the government of God among men. God bless them, and the children of the Saints, in the name of Jesus.

Parents, have you ever noticed that your children have exercised faith for you when you have been sick? The little daughter, seeing you sick, will lift her heart with a pure, angelic-like prayer to heaven; and disease is rebuked when that kind of faith is exercised. God bless the children! I pray that they may live and be reared up in righteousness, that God may have a people that will spread and establish one universal reign of peace, and possess the powers of the world to come. This is my prayer constantly.

God bless you! Amen.

Personal Sacrifices, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 8, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

I will say a few words before we dismiss, and I wish to say that which will be comforting and consoling to those who delight in the truth—that which will be pleasing to our Father in Heaven, and be sanctioned by his Holy Spirit, by angels, and by the Saints who live upon the earth.

You hear much said by some about their sacrifices. As they use the term, it is without meaning to me. Divines exclaim—“Come, and give all for Christ.” I would like to know what the children of men have to give—what they have to sacrifice. To my understanding, the term is used improperly. We are but stewards over what our Father puts in our possession. We possess houses, farms, gardens, orchards, vineyards, and pleasant locations: but are they actually ours? No. Is there a foot or an inch of this earth that rightly belongs to us? No. God has put it in our possession, and has given us ability to take from the elements to make habitations to shelter ourselves; but are the elements ours?

Suppose the Lord should cause a tornado to pass through here, as he has lately done in some places in the States, and destroy all we possess, can we say to the winds, Cease blowing? Or suppose he should cause lightning to destroy our buildings, can we stop it? No. We have power to plough, sow, till, and irrigate; but can we, of ourselves, produce one spear of grass, or one kernel of grain? No. With me, it is folly to say that we own anything; and to speak of giving or sacrificing, as many do, is a misapplication of terms.

The spirits of the human family are pure and holy at the time they enter tabernacles; but the Lord has so ordered that the enemy has great power over our tabernacles, whose organization pertains to the earth. Through this plan arises our probationary warfare. Our tabernacles are conceived in sin, and sin conceives in them; and our spirits are striving to bring our bodies into subjection, and to overcome the Devil and the evils in the world. This war and striving to overcome that evil power must continue until we triumph. To accomplish this, we must so yield obedience to the Divine influence as to learn the principles of eternal life—to learn to bring the whole man—all the passions, sympathies, and feelings in subjection to the spirit. Our spirits are warring against the flesh, and the flesh against our spirits; and all we have to do is to let the spirits that have come from our Father in heaven reign triumphant, and bring into subjection everything that tends to evil: then we are Christ’s.

The Saviour has not finished his work, and cannot receive the fulness of his glory until the influence and power of the wicked are overcome and brought into subjection. When the wicked inhabitants of the earth, the beasts of the field, fowls of the air, fish of the sea, all mineral substances, and all else pertaining to this earth, are overcome, then he will take the kingdom, present it to the Father and say, “Here is the work you gave me to do—you made the appointment—I have wrought faithfully, and here are my brethren and sisters who have wrought with me. We have wrought faithfully together; we have overcome the flesh, hell, and the Devil. I have overcome, they have followed in my footsteps, and here are all thou hast given me; I have lost none, except the son of perdition.”

Jesus suffered himself to be crowned with thorns and crucified; but suppose he had said, “I will not make this great sacrifice; I am the Almighty; I will dash my enemies to pieces, and I will not die for the world,” what would have been the result? Jesus would have become a son of perdition; he would have lost every power and right to the kingdom he was about to redeem—would have become no better than the son of the morning who contended against him, and would have contended against righteousness from that time, and against whoever the Lord would then appoint to destroy sin and death, and him that had the power of it.

We can follow darkness and death, if we choose; but let us cling to light instead of darkness, malice, hatred, wrath, and bitterness; for Jesus will make an end of all evil. Himself is all that man has to give for wisdom. When you do this, it is not giving facts for facts, but it is exchanging falsehood for facts, and folly for truth. What have you to give for life everlasting? You are your Father’s. We cannot own anything, in the strict sense of the word, until we have power to bring into existence and hold in existence, independent of all other powers. One will say, “I have given a thousand dollars towards building up the kingdom of God,” when strictly he did not own a dollar. You take the money you have in your possession and put it in another place, or to another use; and though you thus use millions of gold and other property, unless you do so with that spirit of charity in which the widow cast in her mite, it will avail you nothing.

We have received this and that, but it is not ours; it is committed to us as agents. We have nothing of our own, and will not have until we have power to sustain our own lives. You have not power to sustain your own lives, and yet you have done much. You can own nothing until you have filled your missions on earth, and gained power with the Almighty, when you will be clothed with glory, power, and dominion. When the Lord says, “This is yours, my son; I give you power to control all under your jurisdiction;” then you can consider that your own.

Our religion has been a continual feast to me. With me it is Glory! Hallelujah! Praise God! instead of sorrow and grief. Give me the knowledge, power, and blessings that I have the capacity of receiving, and I do not care how the Devil originated, nor anything about him. I want the wisdom, knowledge, and power of God. Give me the religion that lifts me higher in the scale of intelligence—that gives me the power to endure—that when I attain the state of peace and rest prepared for the righteous, I may enjoy to all eternity the society of the sanctified.

We have been keeping the commandments of the Lord, and should continue to do so more diligently; for he has commanded us to do so—to strive to overcome the evils and put away the follies and sins which have been sown in our nature by the fall of our first parents, and let every feeling and affection be centred upon him and the things of his kingdom, that when we awake in the morning of the resurrection we may be crowned with honour and glory in our Father’s kingdom. When the wicked appear, they will learn that God is a consuming fire, while that which is for him is eternal in its nature. The principles of our religion are good. If we will obey them, we shall reign eternally with the Father and the Son. There are kingdoms also prepared somewhere for those who obey not the celestial law.

May the Lord bless you! Amen.

Attendance at Meetings—Self-Improvement

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 15, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

Often in the Tabernacle the congregations were crowded, but there is room under this bowery for more than are here to-day. If the brethren and sisters do not wish to come to meeting, knowing what they know, they have the privilege of staying at home. While Bishop Hunter was relating his feelings with regard to the people, and speaking of his great interest for their welfare, an anecdote occurred to me—one which many of you, perhaps, have heard. Many of you have heard of Lorenzo Dow and his oddities. He would go into the woods, get on to a stump, and preach without a soul being near to hear him, and probably leave an appointment to preach in the same place a year from that day. I have seen him. He was as odd-looking as were his acts. When travelling in the State of New York to fill an appointment, as he neared the foot of a bad hill, he overheard a man cursing and whipping his team, and rode on carefully until he overtook the swearing man, and said to him—“If you will swear as wickedly as you can until you reach the summit of the hill, I will give you a dollar.” The man agreed, and added to his own condemnation by striving to earn the dollar, which Dow handed to him, and rode on his way.

How many of you will stay away from meeting for a dollar? This people delight in attending meetings.

If any Elder dislikes to hear others preach, come to the stand yourself, full of the Holy Ghost, and preach the everlasting Gospel to the people, and they will come to hear you again. But when you spend your time foolishly, and your hearts and affections are, like the fool’s eye, to the ends of the earth, after speculation, if you come here and speak to the people, you are like “sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal.” Though a man should say but a few words, and his sentences and words be ever so ungrammatical, if he speaks by the power of the Holy Ghost, he will do good. The people want the shepherd to feed the sheep, though it is not prudent to feed them too much at a time. Brother Kimball says that he holds the salt tight, and lets the sheep lick it through his fingers, and they run after him; but if you throw down a large quantity at once, they will eat until they are cloyed, and will not follow you. Improve upon even a small portion of what has been taught, and you may grow day by day, which you cannot so well do when surfeited with good things.

Unless you improve upon it, every correct principle advanced through the authority of the holy Priesthood becomes to you a dead letter. But if you have the life within you, you will grow, whether you stay at home or come to meeting; and every true principle, power, and manifestation that God gives you, you will improve upon and treasure up in your hearts. Ask the Father, in the name of Jesus, to help you to treasure every true principle in good and honest hearts, that it may produce to your own advantage and that of others. Then your capacity and ability will increase, your faith in Christ will increase, and the light of Christ will increase within you.

As I have before mentioned, I heard brother John Taylor preach in the Tabernacle one of the most heavenly discourses ever spoken, upon the principle of Jesus Christ being in man a well of living water. If people will live to the light they have, and to every manifestation from God, they will arrive a[t] such a state of perfection that God will dwell in them a well of everlasting life—a fountain of living water that will dispense life wherever they go. Whatever they do, every act, thought, and word will be full of life, and they will grow into eternal lives in the kingdoms of our God. It is your privilege to so live that you are constantly filled with the light of revelation, that Jesus Christ may be within you as a fountain of living water continually springing forth and yielding life eternal.

God bless you! Amen.

Light of the Spirit—Coming Tribulations, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 15, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

The words of eternal life, the holy Priesthood of the Son of God, with its keys, powers, and blessings, are committed to us. If they and the God who gave them are honoured by this people, great peace and joy are ours, through the Holy Spirit of this Gospel. Great peace have they who love the law of the Lord and abide in his commandments.

It has been said this morning that those who turn away from the Lord are dark—very dark and benighted. Every principle of true philosophy convinces a person who understands the spirit of the Gospel and has received the good word of life, that the darkness is in proportion to the light that has been forsaken. Rear a child in a cell which only admits a small glimmer of light, and the child will pass its time with some degree of satisfaction, when a person accustomed to the bright light of day could not at first see anything. And the greater the light bestowed upon an individual or upon a people, the greater the darkness when that light is forsaken.

The light of the Spirit reflects upon the understandings of those who have not passed the day of God’s favour, and teaches them whether they are walking in the truth or violating the commandments they have received of the Lord. If persons reach a period when the Spirit of truth ceases to reflect upon their understandings, then they know nothing of the commandments of the Lord, but follow the lusts of the flesh and of the mind, and are bound to perdition. So long as persons are in a position that it is possible for them to return to the Lord, after having once received the love of Christ—after having once been enlightened by his Spirit, there will be times when they will be taught whether they are walking in the truth or not.

Truth is the opposite of error—it is a matter-of-fact—no matter where it is found. A man, though he has not received authority from heaven, but is convinced by the light he has received that the nations have wandered far from God, and that his associates—members of the same profession or community—are not walking according to the revelations given in the New Testament, rises up and declares that he feels bound in his faith and conscience to go forth and raise up a pure church unto Christ. He goes forth and preaches to the people, calling upon them to be Saints of the Most High. He calls upon the people to return to the Lord with all their hearts—to become truly the children of God by faith—teaches many good and wholesome principles, many of the commandments of the Lord, and the revelations given in the New Testament, knowing nothing further. Revival after revival and seceder after seceder follow in the footsteps of the reformer. He professes to teach purer and holier doctrine than has been taught; and the question arises, who is under obligation to obey that man’s mandate? The Lord has not called him; Jesus has not appeared to him; Peter, James, and John have not met with him and conferred upon him the keys of the holy Priesthood; he has no communication with the heavens, only through the spirit of conviction.

Such is the situation of the Christian world. They are convinced by the traditions of their fathers, and by that portion of the light of Christ that lighteth every man that cometh into the world, that they are under obligation to a Supreme Being, and him they are naturally inclined to adore, reverence, honour, and worship. Under that impression they build up churches, professedly unto Christ on their own responsibility. Who is under obligation to obey their words? When truth is presented, it matters not whether by a deist, atheist, professor of religion, or a person of no such profession, it belongs to the people of God. Were Lucifer to present a truth to this people, they have a right to take it, for it is theirs. But if he demands obedience to the truth, are people under obligation to hearken and obey through his word? Not in the least.

When a man merely from a spirit of conviction goes forth to build up the kingdom of God—to reform the nations of the earth, he can go so far as morality operates upon and enlightens him; but he is without authority from heaven. Let such a person come here and teach one truth, or ten or a hundred truths, he is only handling that which does not legally belong to him unless he obeys the commandments of the Lord. That property is ours. It is for us to receive all truth. But we are under no obligation to obey any man or being in matters pertaining to salvation, unless his words have the authority and sanction of the holy Priesthood.

All truth belongs to the Saints of the Most High. They inherit it through obedience to his commands. It does not belong to the hypocrite—to those who disobey the commandments of the Lord or turn away from them; it belongs to the faithful Saints—to those who love and revere the name of God and keep his commandments. All truth, every good and holy principle, the fulness of the heavens and of the earth, and all time and all eternities that ever were, or are, or are to come, belong to the Saints of the Most High. Do those blessings belong to others, if they take an opposite path—if they disobey the commandments of the Lord? No; but they, as well as the faithful, will reap the reward of their doings. If they take the road that leads to destruction, they may expect to be destroyed. If they take the road that leads to dissolution, they may expect to be dissolved. If they take the road that leads to ruin, they may expect to be ruined. The words given to us in the Bible and Book of Mormon, and the words of the Saviour through his servant Joseph Smith, will all be verified and fulfilled. How do the Saints feel in regard to this matter? Is there faith and power among them? Do they feel grounded upon the Rock of ages? Do they feel that the words of Prophets will be fulfilled? There are times, perhaps, when men are measurably left to themselves, and when they are somewhat in doubt. But when they are active in the faith of their calling, are they sure and ste[a]dfast, and do they feel built upon the rock of eternal truth, the rock of ages, the rock of revelation? Do they realize that all the words of the Lord will be fulfilled? Those who read and hear, and do so understandingly, can comprehend for themselves. But how can people understand? They may read and hear the words of truth—the words of life, and yet the natural man in his natural state cannot understand them. Mankind must have revelation, either through a preacher or some other source, and must enjoy the Spirit that should always attend the preaching of the Gospel, to enable them to understand what they hear.

“Do you think there is calamity abroad now among the people?” Not much. All we have yet heard and all we have experienced is scarcely a preface to the sermon that is going to be preached. When the testimony of the Elders ceases to be given, and the Lord says to them, “Come home; I will now preach my own sermons to the nations of the earth,” all you now know can scarcely be called a preface to the sermon that will be preached with fire and sword, tempests, earthquakes, hail, rain, thunders and lightnings, and fearful destruction. What matters the destruction of a few railway cars? You will hear of magnificent cities, now idolized by the people, sinking in the earth, entombing the inhabitants. The sea will heave itself beyond its bounds, engulphing [engulfing] mighty cities. Famine will spread over the nations, and nation will rise up against nation, kingdom against kingdom, and states against states, in our own country and in foreign lands; and they will destroy each other, caring not for the blood and lives of their neighbours, of their families, or for their own lives. They will be like the Jaredites who preceded the Nephites upon this continent, and will destroy each other to the last man, through the anger that the Devil will place in their hearts, because they have rejected the words of life and are given over to Satan to do whatever he listeth to do with them. You may think that the little you hear of now is grievous; yet the faithful of God’s people will see days that will cause them to close their eyes because of the sorrow that will come upon the wicked nations. The hearts of the faithful will be filled with pain and anguish for them.

How do you feel, Elders of Israel? Do you feel as though this tribulation would come soon? Would you like to have the scene commence this season, and have the vials of God’s wrath placed at your disposal? Would you like to unstop those vials and pour their contents upon the heads of those who have afflicted you and driven you from town to town, from place to place, and from city to city, until you found a home in the mountains, and have even followed us here, believing that they yet have power to destroy the last Saint? Would you like to empty these vials upon the heads of the nations, and take vengeance upon those who have so cruelly persecuted you? Do you delight in the sufferings of your fellow-beings? Jesus died for those very beings. Have you ever realized that the blood of Jesus, the Son of God, was voluntarily shed for those very characters as well as for us?

Do you not think that he has feeling for them? Yes, his mercy yearns over the nation that has striven for a score of years to rid the earth of the Priesthood of the Son of God and to destroy the last Saint. He has mercy upon them, he bears with them, he pleads with them by his Spirit, and occasionally sends his angels to administer to them. Marvel not, then, that I pray for every soul that can be saved. Are they yet upon saving ground? Many of them can yet be saved, if they will turn to the Lord.

If a person with an honest heart, a broken, contrite, and pure spirit, in in all fervency and honesty of soul, presents himself and says that he wishes to be baptized for the remission of his sins, and the ordinance is administered by one having authority, is that man saved? Yes, to that period of time. Should the Lord see proper to take him then from the earth, the man has believed and been baptized, and is a fit subject for heaven—a candidate for the kingdom of God in the celestial world, because he has repented and done all that was required of him to that hour. But, after he is baptized and hands have been laid upon him for the reception of the Holy Ghost, suppose that on the next day he is commanded to go forth and preach the Gospel, or to teach his family, or to assist in building up the kingdom of God, or to take all his substance and give it for the sustenance of the poor, and he says, “I will not do it,” his baptism and confirmation would depart from him, and he would be left as a son of perdition. But if he says, with a willing heart and mind, “Here is my substance; I will not only pay the tenth of it, but the whole of it is at your feet; do with it as you please,” does he not continue to be saved? Yes.

It is present salvation and the present influence of the Holy Ghost that we need every day to keep us on saving ground. When an individual refuses to comply with the further requirements of Heaven, then the sins he had formerly committed return upon his head; his former righteousness departs from him, and is not accounted to him for righteousness: but if he had continued in righteousness and obedience to the requirements of heaven, he is saved all the time, through baptism, the laying on of hands, and obeying the commandments of the Lord and all that is required of him by the heavens—the living oracles. He is saved now, next week, next year, and continually, and is prepared for the celestial kingdom of God whenever the time comes for him to inherit it.

I want present salvation. I preach, comparatively, but little about the eternities and Gods, and their wonderful works in eternity; and do not tell who first made them, nor how they were made; for I know nothing about that. Life is for us, and it is for us to receive it to-day, and not wait for the millen[n]ium. Let us take a course to be saved today, and, when evening comes, review the acts of the day, repent of our sins, if we have any to repent of, and say our prayers; then we can lie down and sleep in peace until the morning, arise with gratitude to God, commence the labours of another day, and strive to live the whole day to God and nobody else.

Whomsoever you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are. Do not obey the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eye, and the grovelling grasping after property. There are those in this congregation who are so short-sighted, and so destitute of eternal wisdom and knowledge, that they believe that brother Brigham is after property—after the things of this world. That is a false feeling, a false view, and a false faith in such persons. I am obliged to take care of what God puts in my possession, and to make the best possible use of it. I seek not for the world, nor for the things of the world; but God heaps property upon me, and I am in duty bound to take care of it. Do you think that I love the world? I do not. Where is the man who would more willingly give up his property than I would?

Do not gather to yourselves false notions. When you imbibe that which is not true, it tends to darken your understandings. I wish you to feel right and do right. Love not the world—seek not the things of the world, but seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all things necessary will be added to us. Perhaps some of you think there is more added to me than is necessary. I do not think a single individual in this congregation knows how to take care of the things of life any better than I do.

You have been asked, to-day, whether you know how to save yourselves temporally. I have seen persons who were devoted, spirit and body, to their religion, and yet did not know how to hoe through a row of potatoes: they would be all over the field hoeing—a little first in one row, and then in another. One of the brethren that brought the Gospel to brother Kimball, myself, and others, happened to be by when we were raising a log-house. We then, as now, believed in men’s making themselves useful in all places, and asked the minister to help us to roll up a log. He took the handspike and undertook to lift the log on to us, instead of on to the building. There are many just as ignorant as this man.

Though some persons do not know how to obtain the necessaries of life, they may know how to gain the kingdom of heaven. If the knowing ones are not faithful with the mammon of this world, who will commit unto them the true riches?

God bless you and all who love the truth! Amen.

Privileges of the Saints—Providences of God

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 22, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

It is a great privilege to enjoy the society of the Saints. We are in possession of great blessings and privileges, if we can but realize it. No person can realize the blessings, or understand the providences of God, unless he has the light of the Spirit of God. Without that Spirit, a person is dissatisfied, though he be constantly privileged with the society of the Saints, and all his transactions and associations are with them. With that Spirit, a person placed in the society of the wicked, unless duty requires it, is sorrowful, uneasy, and unhappy: he is not filled with the joy and peace he delights in. He desires to see the face of a Saint, to hear the voice of a Saint, and to be associated with those who love God.

How many are there here who do not like to pass by a camp of emigrants, but much prefer, if they could do so with impunity in regard to the feelings of their brethren, to go into the camp, sit down and chat, apparently with a filial feeling towards those who regard not the things of God—who treat lightly everything that is sacred? The name and character of the Being we worship they hold in derision; and yet how many of this community delight in such society? They do not realize the blessings conferred upon them. How many desire to mingle with the ungodly?

It may be asked, and with propriety, “Is it not reasonable, right, and our duty to associate with the wicked?” Yes, when duty requires it. I presume that Jesus had no hesitancy in his feelings or in his faith, when the time came, to fill his mission to the dark and benighted spirits in prison. But do you think that he visited those spirits because he delighted in their society? Every person will at once answer, “No.” He did not visit those spirits, nor have a desire to preach to them, until his body lay in the grave. That was the appointed time, and he refused not, but said, “Not my will, but thine, O God, be done: now is the time for me to preach to the spirits in prison.”

But you can see persons who call themselves Latter-day Saints composedly listening, and that, too, with apparent delight, to those who are blaspheming the name of God. How do you feel about such conduct? Take this community, as they are, and place them in heaven, and do you think they would be satisfied to stay there? They would be in complete misery; and yet we are called Saints. It is easy to see that this people are not yet prepared to enter into the fulness of the glory, power, exaltation, and excellency of the knowledge, wisdom, light, and intelligence of heavenly things that they expect to enjoy when Jesus will be revealed from heaven. A father says, “I cannot part with my son,” when the son is a miserable, drunken, swearing thief; and a son, who has a beastly, low, and debauched father, says, “I must have my father with me.” Do you not see, at a glance, that if the Saviour was now here, those persons would prefer to walk hand-in-hand, and then must join hands with some others of like character, and they must join with a crowd worse still, and they with another still worse, until they muster-in the hosts of hell, and march with them; they will not part from each other. Do you not, then, see the situation of many in this community?

Who among you realizes the blessings we are privileged with? Glory, immortality, eternal wisdom, and eternal existence are on one hand; darkness, night, death, pain, damnation, and hell are on the other; and some would like to join those opposing principles, and are striving to do so.

The Elders exhort you to refrain from every evil, to be careful, prudent, faithful, and wise, and to learn how to sustain your mortal career—how to preserve your bodies. Will you give heed? Not all of you. The Elders of Israel may preach themselves to death, and still fools will sell their last kernel of grain for whisk[e]y, or for a song, and, so far as they are concerned, let their families die of want. I greatly desire to see you all so live that you can understand the blessings God bestows on us, the organization of the spirit and the body, and the germ of eternal intelligence that is planted within us to increase. I would like to have all understand that the Lord has sent forth the plan of salvation expressly to enable mankind to overcome the sin sown in the flesh, and exalt themselves with the faithful who have gone before to dwell with angels and Gods.

We cannot alter our position, only as we live for such change as we desire, and prevail upon our friends to follow our example. Here are thousands of the brethren who are anxious to preach the Gospel to the world, declare what they understand pertaining to eternal life, and gather their scores and thousands, with what result? The saving of a portion of the whole number, while the rest will be prepared for eternal destruction. Is it not grievous? How many there are who have been taken like infants, as it were, from foreign countries and from the States, and been helped, fed, clothed, and nourished, and yet have turned round and become our greatest enemies! Is not such folly sickening to the soul, and an abhorrence to every feeling? Mankind have the privilege of eternal life—the privilege to prepare themselves to dwell in the presence of the Father and Son—to dwell in eternal burnings, where all is pure and holy. No sin—no corruption can dwell there. Sin came through the fall, and death by sin; and they are warring against our spirits now in tabernacles, which warfare continues from childhood to death; and who will overcome?

A propensity to evil seems to be sown more strongly in the natures of some than it is in others. One seems to love strong drink better than he loves his life; it is sweeter to him than is the cooling stream, and he is overcome through the weakness of the flesh. Who has the greatest reason to be thankful to his God—the man that has no strong passion or evil appetite to overcome, or the one that tries day by day to overcome, and yet is overtaken in fault? The power of his strength, faith, and judgment is overcome, and he is found in fault through his evil propensities, though he is striving, day after day, and night after night, to overcome. Who has reason to be the most thankful? The being that has comparatively no strong passion to overcome ought constantly to walk in the vale of humility, rather than boast of his righteousness over his brother. We are under obligation, through the filial feeling and ties of humanity, to more or less fellowship those who do evil. We must endure this until the Lord shall see fit to separate the wheat from the chaff—until the righteous are gathered out, and the wicked are bound in bundles prepared for the burning—until the sheep are separated from the goats. Those who have not strong passions to contend with, day by day, and year by year, should walk in the vale of humiliation; and if brethren and sisters are overtaken in fault, your hearts should be filled with kindness—with brotherly, angelic feeling—to overlook their faults as far as possible.

Where persons wish to go to the States, to California, or elsewhere, to gather riches and return, they still have a desire to drink of the bitter cup and mingle with the ungodly that will give them sorrow. If understood, to associate with the Saints is one of the greatest blessings we can enjoy upon the earth. I should be much pleased, and so would you, were we to never again hear the name of God taken in vain. And I have thought, for years and years, that if the Lord had plenty of labour for me to do in the midst of the Saints, I would be well satisfied to never again place my eyes upon a human being who hates God and righteousness. Why not live perfectly satisfied to look only upon the Saints—upon our brethren and sisters—the old, the young, the middle-aged, and the children, whose faces smile and glow with that heavenly expression through which the Spirit of the Lord is beaming? I would be well satisfied not to be required to ever again see the face of a devil. Why not so live in time and through eternity? A certain class would refrain from mingling with the wicked, while others delight to mingle with them: they long to know what is in the world, and present plausible arguments for their desire. Our children plausibly state, “We know nothing of the world; we know nobody but ‘Mormons.’” It is sufficient to mingle with the wicked when duty requires.

The providences of God are over all the works of his hands, and it is our privilege to so live that we can understand those providences, and understand his design in the creation of all things. His watchcare is over all his work, and he turns, overturns, and changes at his pleasure. It is our privilege to understand this; and if we do, and practice in accordance therewith, we are the best people upon the face of the earth. We enjoy privileges that no other people on earth enjoy; and the greatest of all is to enjoy communion with our Father and his Son Jesus Christ. There is no blessing equal to that, whether it is enjoyed in palaces or in prisons, in wandering in the mountains, or passing our time pleasurably in great cities. Whoever the Lord Almighty enlightens and fills with the joy of the upper world is happy: the Spirit, the joy, the peace, and the comfort are within them.

We are to learn how to enjoy the things of life—how to pass our mortal existence here. There is no enjoyment, no comfort, no pleasure, nothing that the human heart can imagine, with all the spirit of revelation we can get, that tends to beautify, happify, make comfortable and peaceful, and exalt the feelings of mortals, but what the Lord has in store for his people. He never objected to their taking comfort. He never revealed any doctrine, that I have any knowledge of, but what in its nature is calculated to fill with peace and glory, and lift every sentiment and impulse of the heart above every low, sad, deathly, false, and grovelling feeling. The Lord wishes us to live that we may enjoy the fulness of the glory that pertains to the upper world, and bid farewell to all that gloomy, dark, deathly feeling that is spread over the inhabitants of the earth.

My brother Joseph, before “Mormonism” came to us, was a man of a sad heart, seeking to find in the Bible the principles of eternal life. He once said to me, “Brother Brigham, there are no Bible Christians upon the face of the earth, and I do not see any possible escape for the human family. According to the writings of the Old and New Testaments, all must go to perdition.” I do not suppose that he had a smile on his countenance for years. I said to him, “You and I believe in God and in the Bible. We suppose the Bible to be true, or at least the most of it. I admit it to be true, and admit that there is a God. We have always been taught so, and that we have a just God, if we have any. I believe in a just, holy, equitable Being; and if the Gospel is not on the earth, my feelings are to do about the best I can; and when I am through, I shall be in the hands of the same God in whose hands I have been all the time, and I will risk it. I did not produce myself—I did not cause my existence. A being superior to me has done this; and if I do as well as I know how, I will then risk all in his hands, and be perfectly contented and satisfied. I shall go with a cheerful countenance, and shall pass through the world as cheerfully as I can, making the best of it.” But there was more or less of a gloom over my feelings from the earliest days of my childhood that I have in any recollection, until I heard the everlasting Gospel declared by the servants of God—until I heard men testify, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith is a true Prophet of the Lord, who had revealed the holy Priesthood from heaven, had established his Church, was going to gather Israel, and was coming to judgment. Under that preaching the gloom vanished, and has not since troubled me for a moment.

The dark shade of the valley of death is over the nations of the earth; the vail of the covering is over them; they are hid from the presence of the Lord. They do not behold his glory—they do not understand his providences; the fear of death is over them, and it is a dark shadow. That was over me, and I made the best of it. But “Mormonism” has opened up light. Removing the curtain from the broad sunshine, it has lighted up the souls of hundreds of thousands, and they have been made to rejoice in the light of truth. Continue to be faithful to your calling. It is your privilege and duty to so live as to be able to understand the things of God. There are the Old and New Testaments, the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, which Joseph has given us, and they are of great worth to a person wandering in darkness. They are like a lighthouse in the ocean, or a finger-post which points out the road we should travel. Where do they point? To the fountain of light. Joseph has gone to the spirit-world: he is on his way to his glory and exaltation, and all his sayings, from first to last, lead us to the fountain of light, where we can understand for ourselves and walk in the light. That is what these books are for. They are of God; they are valuable and necessary: by them we can establish the doctrine of Christ. I never asked for any book when I was preaching to the world, but the Old and New Testaments to establish everything I preached, and to prove all that was then necessary—that it was the duty of the people to throw off their sins, cast evil from them, return to the Lord their God, embrace the fulness of the Gospel, be baptized for the remission of sins, receive the Holy Ghost, and then go forward in all the commandments and requirements of heaven, walking in the light of eternal truth.

Our duty is to make the best of our present position. We have the Gospel of life and salvation, to make bad men good and good men better. We are to preach, exhort, expound, continue in our duty, be fervent in spirit, bearing and forbearing with our brethren, being filled with love and kindness; and we will yet, perhaps, get some of our froward connexions into heaven. Jesus said, when the woman caught in adultery was brought to him, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” We are all sinners, and it is our duty to cast sin from us when we learn what it is. If we are a little good, become a little better; if we have a little light, get a little more; if we have a little faith, add to it; and by-and-by we shall be prepared to build up and beautify Zion, and to be exalted to reign in immortality and be crowned with the Gods.

God bless you! Amen.

Gospel of Salvation

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 5, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I rejoice in the Gospel of salvation. It is the first of all things upon this earth to me and to every one who has received its fulness and the light and glory of the Spirit that accompanies it.

I have been highly gratified with the remarks just made by brother Bywater: they were truthful and to the point. Also, to what brother Kimball has just said, my heart responds, Amen.

In teaching the ways of life and salvation, a teacher seldom fully explains all the ideas he advances, and the light of the Spirit is necessary for their comprehension. I frequently throw out a part of an idea, or an idea without explanation; and some will understand, while others do not. The Spirit of the Gospel is the fountain of salvation; the Spirit of revelation attends the Gospel, and without that Spirit no man can understand it. Brother Bywater alluded to the consistency of the system adopted by this people; yet it is a great mystery to that portion of the inhabitants of the earth who do not fall in love with the truth and embrace it in their faith.

False ideas and false principles are as tenaciously adhered to by those who inbibe [imbibe] them in their faith as is the truth by those who love it. I presume that the worshippers of idols in China, Japan, Hindostan, &c., were we to enter their congregations and tell them that our religion differs from theirs, would be as astonished as we are that they see and understand things as they do. They are as tenacious of and as sanguine in their belief—as enthusiastic in their religion as ever a true Saint was or can be in his. When I contemplate the endless variety in the dispositions, understandings, temperaments, countenances, and organizations of people, I am not surprised that there are those who do not understand things as I do. I expect people to have their own peculiar views, forms, principles, and notions. In consequence of this great variety, we should not be astonished if all do not believe the Gospel—do not love the truth.

When Jesus was on the earth, he reproved sin, taught righteousness, strove to save the Jews, and deliver the Gospel to the nations of the earth; but the Jews could or would not understand things as they were. He came to save, not to destroy; but the Jews took a course through which they were afflicted and scattered among the nations of the earth, and brought upon themselves that which they said—“Let this man’s blood be upon us and our children,” though he was not disposed to destroy, but to save them. Stephen prayed that those who stoned him might be forgiven, as they knew not what they did. Jesus so prayed for those who assisted in and consented to his death, when he was crucified for the sins of the world. He was not astonished that all people did not believe. They would not come unto him that they might be saved; they would not come to the light that their deeds might be reproved.

It may be asked, Can people come to the light? Yes, all can, that their evil deeds may be reproved—that they may forsake their iniquities and receive the truth. But will all do so? No. Will all people believe the truth? They will not. Cannot the inhabitants of the earth submit to the Gospel? They can. Will they? No, they will not. Is there a conviction upon the minds of the people, when they have heard the Gospel preached, and where they have heard of it? Is there a conviction conveyed by the Holy Spirit that this is the Gospel of salvation? There is; and it cannot be denied without falsifying the truth. This has caused the persecution we have received. We are chastised for our sins, and by this means we are brought to understanding. We have been persecuted because there is a conviction, so far as they have heard the Gospel preached, that we have the truth. This is the cause of the opposition against us.

Would a priest of any denomination oppose “Mormonism,” if he was not convinced that it is true? No. Were a man to come into this congregation and relate something that every man, woman, and child present knew to be false, who would take the trouble to disprove it? We all know the statement to be false; consequently, will [we] not take pains to oppose it? On the other hand, were there no conviction in the sound of the Gospel to the minds of the people—that it is true—that it is of and from God, who would take pains to oppose it? Let a person go into a congregation of Methodists and try to prove that Jesus was an impostor, that every system of religion is false, and that the Bible is a matter of speculation got up by selfish divines expressly for their own benefit; and who in that congregation would deem it worth while to oppose views so erroneous to the minds of those who have heard from Sabbath to Sabbath, the doctrines of the Gospel preached, so far as they understand them? No one, because to them the speaker’s views would be so obviously false.

No man can disprove a truth. This is why people are angry, and why they contend against facts. They are fearful, and say at once, “If this system is true, all others must fail.” Why not rather every man rise up and say, “Let God be true, let the truth remain, and let me know the truth; that is what I want—I will submit to it; and let every false theory and principle fall, to rise no more?” Will they do this? No, they will not.

With regard to people’s being confined—cramped—contracted, in their liberties in the midst of these people, all that is required of anyone is to cease to do evil and learn to do well. Brother Bywater observed that he had never been in the least contracted, controlled, or in any way infringed upon, with regard to doing good; neither has any man or woman in this community. But there is a certain class here that say, ‘We want so-and-so, such a piece of ground, or such other kind of property;’ and because they are not always gratified, right or wrong, they say that they are curtailed in their liberty, and allege that they are abused. Permit them to have their way, and what do they do, or want to? Some of them wish to open grog-shops, and have the people patronize them, and get drunk. They wish to put the cup to your lips and pour the strong drink down your throats, caring only for what is in your pockets. They remind me of a Methodist priest in Iowa, after a good collection. The money was on the table, and he wished the people to sing; so he struck up, “This is the God we adore.”

Others, of the class alluded to, wish to establish brothels in our settlements; and because we will not permit it, they assert that they are curtailed in their liberties and privileges. That class wish to scandalize the name of every Saint on the earth, and ridicule the name and character of the God we adore and serve; but we will not permit them to do it here. They wish to ride through our streets blaspheming, and damning everything and everybody that does not bow to their corrupt practices; and because we will not permit it, they say that they are oppressed and curtailed in their privileges. Oh, how they are oppressed! They have not the privilege of serving the Devil quite as much as they want to. They do not enjoy quite as much privilege to steal our property, our horses, &c, as they wish to.

Do our enemies love the truth? No; they love lies, and make them. It is acknowledged all the time that there are evildoers here; but are they Saints? No. I am not going to give up the ship, or forsake my religion, because there are those who do evil. I will stick to the old ship Zion until every passenger, the crew, and every officer on board are holy and live to God; and, God and good men being my helpers, we will conquer, and we will run the ship into harbour—the haven of rest. Be encouraged, all good men and women, and all you grumblers and complainers, who think that you are curtailed and oppressed, and do not enjoy liberty here, go elsewhere and get all the liberty you can. We do not want you here; but if you stay, do not take the name of God in vain, nor endeavour to corrupt and abuse everybody within your reach.

We have some drunkards who halloo in the streets, and we bear with them, and intend to as long as we can; and when we can bear no longer, we will disfellowship them. We have men who are dishonest, and are as yet obliged to have them; for the net gathers in the good and the bad. We have the meanest and the best mixed together.

The Gospel we preach is the Gospel of salvation. It is the power of God sent down from heaven. The Spirit of life, intelligence, and revelation is in it, and all who do not possess that Spirit do not enjoy our holy religion.

May God bless you! Amen.

Gospel of Life and Salvation

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 29th, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

Here is a congregation of Saints who have forsaken all they formerly esteemed near and dear, for the sake of the knowledge of the holy Gospel of salvation; and when an Elder of Israel rises to speak to you, how many are paying attention to what he says? People are, in comparison, like little children who have to be frequently cautioned not to throw articles into the fire—not to cut or mar the furniture, and requiring almost constant watchcare and instruction. In like manner, the young, middle-aged, and old require to be taught every Sabbath, every day, and all the time, as it is written—“Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another.”

We are but babes in the Gospel of life and salvation, take this people as a whole. What poet, who understands things as they are, would write—“Bear the cross and despise the shame”? It is a cross to the feelings of many to acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ. “Take up your cross, brother, and bear it, and you shall wear the crown.” What cross? If the eyes of a person were opened to see the eternal principles that pertain to the worlds that are, that were, and that will be, and the Gods that dwell upon those planets we behold, would he talk about a cross—about despising the shame? What is the shame? Where is it? Miserable, filthy individuals, full of the principles of death, point the finger of scorn at those who confess that Jesus is the Christ. Will you regard their scorn? No. Pity the ignorant creatures who are bound to ruin. To a man devoted to God, and endowed with the fine feelings and principles of life everlasting, the pointing, by the wicked, of the finger of scorn at one who acknowledges that Jesus is the Christ—at one who believes in God the Father and in Jesus the Mediator, is not worthy of the least regard. Do you despise those who scorn and ridicule the righteous? No; for in comparison they are no more than the dust, or the smallest insect you can behold with your best microscopes.

True, the human family are endowed with the germ of life; but who is capable of preserving that life—of preserving his identity?

When we talk about sinners, Saints, the world, Christ, men of God, men of the world, men of science, men of talent, and kings on their thrones, every person that understands the Gospel of salvation realizes that more glory and honour are attached to his character and calling than to all the man-made kings ever crowned upon the earth.

When I reflect upon these things and realize them, it is impossible for me to answer my feelings before the people. You frequently hear me express a wish that I had a voice to penetrate the heart of every being upon the earth. But if I had the power to speak to them, and the ability to convey my ideas in language so plain that children could not misunderstand, speaking to all in their own language, I should still come far short and be obliged to say, “My soul is burdened, because I have no place to pour it out.” That is the situation of angels and Prophets who have gone behind the vail. Here are persons who have been in this Church from the beginning. Do they so live that the heavens are open to them? or are they still of the earth, earthy? Are they grovelling in the darkness that covers the nations of the earth? This inquiry you may answer for yourselves. Perhaps some will say they have a reason to be discouraged. This people have not received, improved, grown, and enlarged in their capacities as fast as they should have done. I am not accusing any individual; but, as a community, we have not improved and increased in the knowledge of God and godliness according to our privileges. Am I discouraged? I am not. Does my heart fail me? Am I ready to say that the kingdom of God is broken, and there is no salvation for the people? By no means. If I live as long as Enoch lived, who walked with the Lord three hundred and sixty-five years, can I then see a people prepared to enter at once in the celestial world? No. Many may think that Enoch and his whole city were taken from the earth directly into the presence of God. That is a mistaken idea. If, within three hundred and sixty-five years, I can see a people capable of surmounting every sin, of overcoming every evil and effect of sin to such a degree as to be separated in the flesh from the sinful portion of the world and from all the effects of the fall—a great people as pure and holy as were the people of Enoch, I should not complain, and, perhaps, have no cause to. Yet, in the latter days, God will cut short his work in righteousness.

Do you understand that what the Lord will perform in the latter days will be done quicker than in the former days? He suffered Noah to occupy one hundred and twenty years in building the ark. Were he to command us to build an ark, he would not allow so long a time for completing it. On account of the work’s being hastened in our time, I have good reason to urge upon the people the necessity of their living their religion every moment—of their increasing in faith, in wisdom, in knowledge, and in power to forsake all bad habits—to say to all who are in the habit of doing wrong, of getting angry, of contending with their neighbours, and abusing them with their tongues, and abusing themselves, Refrain from your evil ways. “We will,” say they; but in a very short time time many are engaged in their former evil practices, like the child’s whittling the furniture. It appears as though such persons were glued to the world, and will love and worship it. When they learn the truth, they will learn that it is a folly for a man to love gold and silver, goods and chattels, or any other kind of property and possessions. One that places his affections upon such things does not understand that they are made for the comfort of the creature, and not for his adoration. They are made to sustain and preserve the body while procuring the knowledge and wisdom that pertain to God and his kingdom, in order that we may preserve ourselves, and live for ever in his presence.

When the Elders address you from this stand, how many of those who seem to be listening hear and understand? Are most of the congregation thinking about what they design to do to-morrow? Are the sisters planning their weaving and spinning for to-morrow? Are the brethren planning to go to the kanyons tomorrow? Do you know that it is your privilege to so live that your minds may all the time be perfectly within your control?—that you may be so well schooled in the knowledge of your religion, that your minds are as perfectly under your control as are your bodies, except when they are nervous? Persons taking too strong tea or coffee, or too much whisk[e]y, have not that control over themselves that they should have, because they become too weak. Study to preserve your bodies in life and health, and you will be able to control your minds. And when you come to meeting, bring you minds with you. After all our experience and the knowledge the Lord has given us, but few can take their minds to meeting. Others have their minds here before them; their affections and feelings are at the assembly of the Saints, and they want their bodies there also, to enjoy themselves. That class come here to pay attention, and to understand all that is said to them. Others come here with their bodies, but where are their affections? Upon the labours of the coming week. “I do not know how I shall get my adobies to-morrow, or how I shall get my timber out of the kanyon.” Or, “I have a fence to build, to secure my field before the crop is destroyed,” &c., &c.; and the mind is not in the meeting.

Can you understand that we are behind our privileges? I know the argument that arises in the minds of the people—“I am bound to provide for myself.” I wish that obligation rested stronger on some than it does. “But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” That is the argument, and yet some will sell their last bushel of wheat, and then come to me, or to others of the brethren, and beg. They will peddle off every particle of substance God has given them for their sustenance. It is our duty to be economical, to go to meetings, to the kanyons, and to build, plant, and do everything required of us to build up the kingdom of God on the earth; but the first duty is to learn how to sustain ourselves. The people have not yet learned that, though they are learning it. One may plough, plant, water, and till, but have no increase. Another person sows a field with wheat, but cannot get water for it, and goes to this neighbourhood and that to attend to a little Church business; and when harvest time arrives, he reaps an abundant harvest. The man who took the water has no wheat, and the one who laboured, as his Bishop called upon him, for the benefit of the people, has a good crop. This is a lesson the people are learning, that God gives the increase.

How the world hate us! How they despise the kingdom of God! How they have sought to destroy it! How they exclaim—“What ignorant, degraded beings the Mormons are!” The insignificant, low, degraded, contemptible opinion they have of the Latter-day Saints does not reach the depth of the low, miserable degradation that they themselves are in. But do we despise them? No; we pity them. “Pity them?” Yes, pity them. They are flesh of your flesh, bone of your bone. God “hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth;” consequently, they are flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone. They profess to despise us, but they are not able to think as meanly of us as we know them to be, and we pity them. We seek to do them good. They are endowed with capacity to learn and practise principles that will preserve them on the earth, in the world of spirits, and after the resurrection; but they are abusing their talent, and they are to be pitied.

All who understand the principles of eternal life look upon their fellow-beings with a watchful eye, and their hearts are filled with deep anxiety for their welfare. They anxiously desire that people would see and understand what pertains to eternal life. It is highly gratifying to the Lord, to angels, and to all good men, to see intelligent beings organized to receive a great amount of intelligence—seeking to possess eternal life. On the other hand, how sad it is to see them wasting their time with trifles, and directing their steps to eternal death! How delightful it would be to see them pursuing the way of life—to preserve both the body and spirit, and in the resurrection to see their noble spirits reunited with their bodies and coming into the presence of God to live for ever! There are men here who look upon us as being of an organization inferior to that of the generality of the people of the world. If I did not pity them, I should be chagrined at myself.

Contrast the course this people are pursuing with that of the world. All ye inhabitants of the earth, hearken and hear! God has, in our day, spoken from the heavens; he has bestowed his holy Priesthood on the children of men; he has called upon all people to repent; and here are the few who have left all for the sake of the eternal life proffered to them, and their course is upward and onward to eternal increase. Do this people know more than they did a few years ago? Yes; every day’s experience adds to your amount of knowledge: you are treasuring up knowledge and wisdom. The children raised in this Church are more than a match, in spiritual matters, for the kings, princes, governors, senators, representatives, and all the reputed wise men of Egypt. And the boys of from twenty to twenty-five years of age who have been raised in this community, who have enjoyed the teachings of the Prophet Joseph, will outweigh, in intelligence in relation to national policy, the Congress of the United States, with the President at their head.

Your course is onward and upward, although you do not improve as rapidly as you should. You should walk continually in the light of God’s countenance, and no more walk in darkness. Were such the case, would you hear of any contention—of those those little, frivolous, trifling difficulties that now too frequently occur? Would you hear,”The world is something to me!” “My farm is something to me!” My goods are something to me!” “My heart is upon the things of this world!” “I must provide for my family,” &c.? There are but few of this people, in comparison, who yet know how to provide for a wife and two children. What of the world. Are they any more capable of providing for themselves than are this people? In the world you will find many more, in proportion, who know less, and are less capable of taking care of themselves.

I wish you to thoroughly under stand economy, and how to preserve your bodies. I wish you to fully understand the principles of natural life. How necessary it is that you should know them for your own benefit, and that you may be able to teach them to your children, which you should do all the time. Be careful of your bodies; be prudent in laying out your energies, for when you are old you will need the strength and power you are now wasting. Preserve your lives. Until you know and practise this, you are not thoroughly good soldiers nor wise stewards. Learn how to do good—how to do right. Work righteousness, and build yourselves up in the faith of the Gospel.

In the ordinance we here attend to in the afternoon, we show to the Father that we remember Jesus Christ, our elder brother: we testify to him that we are willing to take upon us his name. When we are doing this, I want the minds here as well as the bodies. I want the whole man here when you come to meeting. “Is that the way you come?” Yes, it is the way I go everywhere, when I go from home. When I leave home, I dismiss it from my thoughts.

“Is not your mind upon your family?” When I pray, I ask God to bless and preserve them; and then, whether he does or not, it is all the same to me. I do not trouble my mind about anything but the business before me. That is the way for us to conquer this weakness in us, and take our minds with us. Then, when you come to meeting, you know what is said, and what this ordinance is for. Then, when you are baptized, you know what it is for. Whatever duty you are called to perform, take your minds with you; and apply them to what is to be done. You may leave your selfishness when you start to meeting, but take yourselves. And if your minds are reaching after this, that, or the other, tell those ideas to stay away. You may feel anxious about your fields, about your crops, or about going to the kanyons; but bid those thoughts depart, for you want to go to meeting to worship the Lord, and wish to drop all care while at meeting. Then, when the time comes, go to the kanyons and to your other avocations, and do not let anything else interrupt you. That is the way to live.

May God bless you! Amen.

Light of the Spirit, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 5, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

In instructing the people, I desire and seek to obtain the light of the Spirit of truth, and the power and assistance of God to give me words to so convey my ideas that the hearers can understand me. I have ideas that I deem very valuable, and I wish to so impart them to my fellow-beings that they can comprehend them as I do, and, if they will, esteem them as I do, really feeling their worth. It is all I ask. Preachers are in the habit of reading a portion of Scripture for a text, and preaching from it, but seldom upon it. Such discourses as brother Bywater and brother Kimball gave us this forenoon, and such as you generally hear from this stand, would serve those preachers a long time, for they are all texts. We have not time to show wherein an Apostle or Prophet meant thus and so, but we pour out the words of life to the people, as did the Apostles and Prophets anciently.

No man ever preached a Gospel sermon, except by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. Without this power, there is no light in the preaching. Brother Bywater remarked that he did not desire a man of God, when he arose to speak to the people, to say, “Thus saith the Lord God Almighty,” or “Thus saith Jesus Christ.” People who require this, or who constantly require written revelation, have not a correct conception of revelation and its Spirit. What do the present professing Christian world know about the words of the Lord that came to Jeremiah, Isaiah, and other ancient Prophets? They read and hear without understanding much; they have not a true conception of the truth or principle of what they are reading. Is this the case with the Latter-day Saints? It is more or less the case with those who are continually desiring to have “Thus saith the Lord,” and more written revelations. Those who possess the Spirit of revelation know the voice of the Good Shepherd when they hear it, and a stranger they will not follow. They discern the difference between the spirit and power of the Gospel and the precepts of men. When they hear truth poured upon the people, in comparison like the cataract of Niagara, they do not want “Thus saith the Lord,” for it carries with it its own evidence, and is revelation to the believer. They understand, and the fountain within them springs up to everlasting life; they are happy partakers of the peace of God through the administration of his servants, and of the truths the Lord dispenses; and they receive truth upon truth, light upon light, which cheers and comforts their hearts day by day. If you wish to understand the true principles of revelation, live for it: there is no other way of obtaining eternal life.

Our spirits were pure and holy when they entered our tabernacles; and if they have been defiled, it has been by the influence of Satan, through the weakness of the flesh. There is a constant warfare, and in the great majority of cases the flesh overcomes the spirit. In the few cases where the spirit overcomes the flesh, it yields obedience to the whisperings of the eternal Spirit of truth, which elevates it above the power of all unholy desires and passions.

Is there anything on this earth you could not dispense with, for the sake of the Gospel? There should not be.

Our bodies are organized to derive enjoyment from their proper use. There is enjoyment in eating when you are hungry, and in resting when you are fatigued, to the extent the body rightly requires; but if appetite is so gratified that your body, when you wake, is tormented with a raging fever, where is the pleasure in eating so much of this or that delicious food? Satisfying the appetite brings to an end the pleasure of eating; and where food is partaken chiefly to gratify the pleasurable sensation derived from eating, disease is gendered, and true misery springs out of this unwise gratification. Some healthy, strong-constitutioned persons can eat large quantities of food with apparent impunity; but, in so doing, the tax they place upon their systems will ultimately bring disease and death. Those who have suffered excessive thirst while passing over plains and deserts realize that there is no blessing that is greater than cold water. When the system is thus parched for want of the proper supply of moisture to sustain the continual perspiration it is subject to, is there any luxury on the earth that can excel pure, cold water? Though, in case of excessive thirst and consequent exhaustion, care is required not to drink too freely, until the system is cooled, and becomes gradually imbued with this life-restoring element. But through the use of water, by-and-by your thirst comes to an end, and you feel as though you had not been thirsty in your lives: the enjoyment has passed away.

Now, compare the greatest of earthly joys with the joys you receive in believing in Jesus Christ and obeying the Gospel he has delivered to the children of men. It is sweeter than the honeycomb; and to those who live according to it, it gives constant joy—a lasting feast, not merely for an hour or a day, but for a whole life and throughout eternity. The appetite is always keen, and there is always plenty for it to feast upon. This is my experience. The revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ are sweeter than honey or the honeycomb. We can eat, and continue to eat; drink, and continue to drink. Is there durable satisfaction? Yes. I am in the height of my enjoyment. All the pleasure and all the joy that can be bestowed upon a finite being is in the Gospel of salvation, through the Spirit of revelation, upon the creature—upon the Saint of God—old or young, male or female. Not that this comparison fully conveys the idea; for the language of mortals fails to fully portray the joys of the Gospel of life everlasting.

Cease not to do good, but let the Saints cease to do evil and live for God and God alone, and their fleshly appetites and passions will not be in their way. Learn to overcome and control self. It is impossible for me to preach the sermon contained in this text; but let all live the life of a Saint, and they will understand it by-and-by. Let each person be determined, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to overcome every besetment—to be the master of himself, that the spirit God has put in your tabernacles shall rule; then you can converse, live, labour, go here or there, do this or that, and converse and deal with your brethren as you ought. If you have a chastisement for any, you can deliver it in the spirit of meekness. If you are abused, trampled upon, or in any way imposed upon—if men take a course to injure you or your property or feelings, you can treat such conduct as you should, for you live above the channel of selfishness, pride, and every worldly vanity that some men walk in. This is the privilege of all the Saints.

Law is made for the lawless. Let the Saints live their religion, and there is not a law that can justly infringe upon them. They are subject to the powers that be, by living so pure that no law can touch them. Let them live their religion, and they keep the celestial law, so far as it is revealed. There is no law against doing good. There is no law against love. There is no law against serving God. There is no law against charity and benevolence. There is no law against the principles of eternal life. Live them, and no righteous law of man can reach you. The wicked and ungodly can injure the Saints, as they have done all through the history of this world; they can persecute and kill Saints. The wicked said there was no law that would condemn Joseph Smith, for he never transgressed the law; but, said they, Powder and ball will reach him; and they assassinated him. It is the privilege of all Saints to live as he did, that no law in heaven or upon earth can condemn them. It is our privilege to say, every day in our lives, “That is the best day I ever lived.” Never let a day so pass that you will have cause to say,” I will live better to-morrow,” and I will promise you, in the name of the Lord Jesus, that your lives will be as a well of water springing up to everlasting life. You will have his Spirit to dwell in you continually, and your eyes will be open to see, your ears to hear, and your understandings to comprehend.

I will take a text, and I want the people to preach upon it. The brethren cast the seed into the ground, and, so far as we have knowledge, the Lord has given them a bountiful increase.

Brethren and sisters, old and young, here and throughout the world where-ever there is a Saint, when righteousness and peace are sown in your hearts, I ask you, for yourselves, for the inhabitants of the earth, for the good of the prosperity of the kingdom of God, and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to water the good seed sown, that the Lord may give you an increase. Let wisdom be sown in your hearts, and let it bring forth a bountiful harvest. It is more profitable to you than all the gold and silver and other riches of earth. Let wisdom spring up in your hearts, and cultivate it. Ask God to help you to live to his glory every day, and when night comes you cannot say you could have bettered it. There are thousands of this community that so live every day that when night comes, they could not have bettered it. That is a consolation. Let us induce all to live so, and we shall have power over Satan, over the powers of the earth, and over all the influences that hell wishes to pour upon us.

Shall we try to cultivate our minds, our feelings, the talent God has given us, so that we may improve continually and grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth, and cultivate wisdom in ourselves, and so live that we can truthfully say, to-day, that we are masters over every appetite? The person that wants the whisk[e]y, cannot you do without it? Which would you part with first—your tobacco, your whisk[e]y, or your religion? Your tea, or your religion? Which would you shake hands with and bid good-bye for ever—your coffee, or your religion? I should think I had disgraced the man that stands before you this day, if I loved any object on the earth better than I love my religion and my God. If we are not willing to live up to every requirement of the Gospel, we more or less disgrace our profession and being.

The woman that says, “I will follow my husband to hell,” will have the privilege. The man that says, “I will follow a woman to hell, but what I will have her,” will have the privilege of following her there. It is a disgrace to a Saint to love anything that he would not drop or forsake for his religion. Love your religion better than anything else. Love your God. Life everlasting is all in all to us. Indulgence of appetite is not worthy the notice of men and women, though the body must be sustained, for that is a duty God has placed upon us.

Let us honour God, and prepare to embrace our Father and the family connection we were associated with at the time we left the spirit-world to come here, and to be more familiar with them when we leave this world than we now are with one another. Live so as to enjoy each other’s society hereafter in the light of eternal day; which may God grant. Amen.

Influence of the Elders in Preaching the Gospel, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt City, August 12, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I fully understand that all Saints constantly, so to speak, pray for each other. And when I find a person who does not pray for the welfare of the kingdom of God on the earth, and for the honest in heart, I am sceptical [skeptical] in regard to believing that person’s religion to be genuine, and his faith I should consider not the faith of Jesus. Those who have the mind of Christ are anxious that it should spread extensively among the people, to bring them to a correct understanding of things as they are, that they may be able to prepare themselves to dwell eternally in the heavens. This is your desire, and is what we continually pray for.

Brother J. V. Long’s discourse this morning was sweet to my taste; and the remarks of brother T. B. H. Stenhouse were very congenial to my feelings and understanding. Brother Long has good command of language, and can readily choose such words as best suit him to convey his ideas.

Brother Stenhouse remarked that the Gospel of salvation is the great foundation of this kingdom—that we have not built up this kingdom, nor established this organization—we have merely embraced it in our faith; that God has established this kingdom, and has bestowed the Priesthood upon the children of men, and has called upon the inhabitants of the earth to receive it, to repent of their sins, and return to him with all their hearts. This portion of his remarks I wish you particularly to treasure up.

If the angel Gabriel were to descend and stand before you, though he said not a word, the influence and power that would proceed from him, were he to look upon you in the power he possesses, would melt this congregation. His eyes would be like flaming fire, and his countenance would be like the sun at mid-day. The countenance of a holy angel would tell more than all the language in the world. If men who are called to speak before a congregation rise full of the Holy Spirit and power of God, their countenances are sermons to the people. But if their affections, feelings, and desires are like the fool’s eyes, to the ends of the earth, looking for this, that, and the other, and the kingdom of God is far from them, and not in all their affections, they may rise here and talk what they please, and it is but like sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal—mere empty, unmeaning sounds to the ears of the people. I cannot say this of what I have heard to-day.

Those faithful Elders who have testified of this work to thousands of people on the continents and islands of the seas will see the fruits of their labors, whether they have said five words or thousands. They may not see these fruits immediately, and perhaps, in many cases, not until the millennium; but the savour of their testimony will pass down from father to son. Children will say, “The words of life were spoken to my grandfather and grandmother: they told me of them, and I wish to become a member of the Church. I also wish to be baptized for my father and mother and grandparents;” and they will come and keep coming—the living and the dead; and you will be satisfied with your labors, whether they have been much or little, if you continue faithful.

Brother Long remarked that before he gathered to Zion he had imbibed an idea that the people were all pure here. This is a day of trial for you. If there is anything that should give us sorrow and pain, it is that any of the brethren and sisters come here and neglect to live their religion. Some are greedy, covetous, and selfish, and give way to temptation; they are wicked and dishonest in their dealings one with another, and look at and magnify the faults of ever[y]body, on the right and on the left. “Such a sister is guilty of pilfering; such a brother is guilty of swearing,” &c., “And we have come a long distance to be joined with such a set: we do not care a dime for ‘Mormonism,’ nor for anything else.” The enemy takes the advantage of such persons, and leads them to do that for which they are afterwards sorry. This is a matter of great regret to those who wish to be faithful. But no matter how many give themselves up to merchandizing, and love it better than their God, how many go to the gold mines, how many go back on the road to trade with the wicked, or how many take their neighbours’ wood after it is cut and piled up in the kanyons, or steal their neighbours’ axes, or anything that is their neighbours’. You live your religion, and we shall see the day when we shall tread iniquity under foot. But if you listen to those who practise iniquity, you will be carried away by it, as it has carried away thousands. Let every one get a knowledge for himself that this work is true. We do not want you to say that it is true until you know that it is; and if you know it, that knowledge is as good to you as though the Lord came down and told you. Then let every person say, “I will live my religion, though every other person goes to hell. I will walk humbly before God, and deal honestly with my fellow-beings.” There are now scores of thousands in this Territory who will do this, and who feel as I do on this subject, and we will overcome the wicked. Ten filthy, dirty sheep in a thousand cause the whole flock to appear defiled, and a stranger would pronounce them all filthy; but wash them, and you will find nine hundred and ninety pure and clean. It is so with this people: half-a-dozen horse thieves tend to cause the whole community to appear corrupt in the eyes of a casual observer.

Brother Long said that the Lord will deal out correction to the evildoer, but that he would have nothing to do with it. I do not know whether I shall or not; but I shall not ask the Lord to do what I am not willing to do; and I do not think that brother Long is any more or less ready to do so than I am. Ask any earthly king to do a work that you would not do, and he would be insulted. Were I to ask the Lord to free us from ungodly wretches, and not lend my influence and assistance, he would look upon me differently to what he now does.

You have read that I have had an agent in China to mix poison in the tea, to kill all the nations; that I was at the head of the Vigilance Committee in California; that I managed the troubles in Kansas from the beginning to the end; that there is not a liquor-shop or distillery but what Brigham Young dictates it: so state the newspapers. In these and all other accusations of evil-doing, I defy them to produce the first show of evidence against me. It is also asserted that President Buchanan and myself concocted the plan for the army to come here, with a view to make money. By-and-by the poor wretches will come bending, and say, “I wish I was a ‘Mormon.’” All the army, with its teamsters, hangerson, and followers, with the judges, and nearly all the rest of the civil officers, amounting to some seventeen thousand men, have been searching diligently for three years to bring one act to light that would criminate me; but they have not been able to trace out one thread or one particle of evidence that would criminate me. Do you know why? Because I walk humbly with my God and do right, so far as I know how. I do no evil to anyone; and as long as I can have faith in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to hinder the wolves from tearing the sheep and devouring them, without putting forth my hand, I shall do so.

I can say honestly and truly, before God, and the holy angels, and all men, that not one act of murder or disorder has occurred in this city or territory that I had any knowledge of, any more than a babe a week old, until after the event has transpired. That is the reason they cannot trace any crime to me. If I have faith enough to cause the devils to eat up the devils, like the Kilkenny cats, I shall certainly exercise it. Joseph Smith said that they would eat each other up, as did those cats. They will do so here, and throughout the world. The nations will consume each other, and the Lord will suffer them to bring it about. It does not require much talent or tact to get up opposition in these days. You see it rife in communities, in meetings, in neighbourhoods, and in cities. That is the knife that will cut down this Government. The axe is laid at the root of the tree, and every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit will be hewn down.

Out of this Church will grow the kingdom which Daniel saw. This is the very people that Daniel saw would continue to grow and spread and prosper; and if we are not faithful, others will take our places; for this is the Church and people that will possess the kingdom for ever and ever. Shall we do this in our present condition as a people? No; for we must be pure and holy, and be prepared for the presence of our Saviour and God, in order to possess the kingdom. Selfishness, wickedness, bickering, tattling, lying, and dishonesty must depart from the people before they are prepared for the Saviour. We must sanctify ourselves before our God.

I wanted to ask brother Long a question this morning—what he had learned in regard to the original sin. Let the Elders who like speculation, find out what it is, if they can, and inform us next Sabbath. Or if you have anything else that is good, bring it along. I wish to impress upon your minds to live your religion, and, when you come to this stand to speak—not to care whether you say five words or five thousand, but to come with the power of God upon you, and you will comfort the hearts of the Saints. All the sophistry in the world will do no good. If you live your religion, you will live with the spirit of Zion within you, and will try by every lawful means to induce your neighbours to live their religion. In this way we will redeem Zion, and cleanse it from sin.

God bless you! Amen.

Effective Preaching—Support of the Poor

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 19, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

When the preaching is very dry, the Bowery is generally thinly attended; but when the preaching is full of marrow and good things, the Bowery will be full of people. This reminds me of an anecdote. A Presbyterian priest invited an Indian preacher to occupy his pulpit; and when the Indian was through preaching, the priest asked him why the people kept awake during his preaching, remarking that they invariably fell asleep while he was preaching. “I will tell you,” said the Indian: “You feed them with a silver dish and silver spoon; you rap the dish with the spoon, and the ringing sounds put the people to sleep. But the Indian takes his wooden bowl and ladle, and lades out the rich, nourishing succotash to the people, which makes them wide awake, and they want a little more.”

Brother George Q. Cannon has been in the States during two years past, and has done all he could to do good to the people of Utah. He has been faithful, has travelled from place to place, and has accomplished all he possibly could; and what he has not accomplished others have.

You know the history of “Mormonism;” and if this is not the Lord’s work, we had better quit it, for we should derive no benefit from remaining in it. If this is the Church of Christ, God will take care of his people and carry on this work. Brother Cannon stated that one gentleman he conversed with said that there is a power in this work beyond the power of Brigham Young. If we did not know this, we should quickly scatter. All that any man can do is to do his duty. No one possesses power in himself to bear off the work of God and build up the Lord’s kingdom. It is his work, and the Lord will accomplish it by the means he will employ. Brother Cannon has been successful, in the hands of God, in doing good; and so have others. Brothers Hooper and Eldredge have done good.

Brother Eldredge stated that he was not sent on a mission this time. He was not, but I was thankful that he took it in his head to go. We did not know whom to call upon to go and transact business for us in the States. He had crossed the Plains for us so often that I would not call upon him to go, but I was pleased and thankful when he concluded to go and proffered to attend to our business. He has always transacted our business to our satisfaction. I do not know that he has ever dropped a stitch in the net he has woven for us in his business transactions, and that is almost more than I can say of any other man. He has had my faith and prayers, the same as though he had been called. I was determined, if he did go, that he should make the first step towards it. He went, has done good, and all is well; and so have others done good: they have made themselves useful.

While brother Cannon was speaking of the trouble the Gentiles have in providing for their poor, I thought, if they would take my counsel, that I could tell them a better way than they practise. They raise large amounts of means for supporting their poor. It is given to them; they use it up, and are where they were at first. Had they wisdom, they would appoint a man to take charge of the poor and take them into Kansas or Nebraska, or some other locality where land is cheap, and teach them to support themselves. Set the men to ploughing and the women to planting, with a good farmer to show them how, and in a little while they will be able to sustain themselves. Let each Ward of a city do this, until all the able poor are provided with farms and know how to raise their bread; then let them get a few sheep, and manufacture the wool into good, warm, and comfortable clothing, and then raise flax and manufacture it. By pursuing this course, in a few years there would be but few poor in the United States.

The reason we have no poor who are able to work is because we plan to set every person to work at some profitable employment, and teach them to maintain themselves. If a person is not able to take care of himself, we will take care of him. How? Ever since I left my father I have had some of his family to provide for. Ever since I have been in this Church I have never suffered a relative to be maintained by the Church. But some men and women cast their children and other relatives upon the Church. If one has an aged sister who cannot maintain herself, he passes her over to the Church; or if an aged father or mother, why, “let the Church or brother Brigham take care of them and provide for them.” It is a disgrace to every man and woman that has sense enough to live, not to take care of their own relatives, their own poor, and plan for them to do something they are able to do. There are some blind people here who more than maintain themselves. Some old ladies cannot do hard work, but they can darn stockings and do other light work.

There is yet much to be done by the Bishops in these matters, though I have not so much occasion to preach to the Bishops on this subject as I used to have. We have been removing and appointing others who do better. We intend to do this until we have fathers for the people. If a Bishop will act to the extent of his calling and office, and magnify it, there will not be an individual in his Ward that is not employed to the best advantage. He would see that all lived as they should, walking humbly with their God, attending to their prayers, observing the Sabbath-day to keep it holy, and ceasing to swear and steal. There would not be a person in his Ward that he does not know, and he would be acquainted with their circumstances, conduct, and feelings. That will be the case by-and-by. We are improving; and by-and-by we shall be quite a well-behaved family, and can hail each other with delight as brethren and sisters, and the Lord will own and bless us as his children.

We are all, both Jew and Gentile, of one common Parent, though now we are divided into various tongues and people having a great diversity of sectional feelings. I am pleased to see national feelings passing away in this community. The spirit of wisdom is so increasing that I think a national feeling is constantly growing less and less in the midst of this Church, though we can still see it in some. If you have the Spirit of God to a fulness, and your eyes are open to see things as they are, you will find that we are but one nation and family—but one people—but one flesh but one blood, no matter where born.

Put forth your ability to learn as fast as you can, and gather all the strength of mind and principle of faith you possibly can, and then distribute your knowledge to the people. Give them virtue, knowledge, principle, truth, godliness. The Lord is gathering those principles home to Zion from among the wicked nations, and is leaving them in darkness. What a pity it would be for the Lord to gather out all the good, and we be found unworthy of it. We shall be worthy of it, if we live for it; and may the Lord help us so to do!

God bless you! Amen.

Triumph of “Mormonism”

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 19, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

I will bear my testimony to the truths that we have heard this morning. To my understanding, to my feelings, and to the spirit within me, we had a good, sound discourse, about three minutes and a half long, from brother Andrew Moffat. It was right to the point, and every word was a text. We have also had an excellent discourse from brother Hooper: his remarks were sweet to the taste of those who love the truth.

It is a matter of rejoicing to me to have the privilege of bearing my testimony to what we have heard this morning. Brother Andrew Moffat started from here for the States, last fall, on business; and he has labored most admirably in buying cattle and in assisting brother Cannon and others who were engaged in getting up trains, and in so doing has made himself very useful. And I think that he has not neglected, in his business transactions and in his travelling, to let people know that he was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and to bear his testimony of the truth of the Gospel, and at the same time asked no odds of anyone who did not want to hear. This is the feeling of the Elders who are full of the Spirit of God, and what are the wicked going to do about it? The Elders have this assurance within them.

Father Smith, who spoke first this morning, has been in the Church almost from the beginning, but has not gathered with the Saints till this season. In conversation with him the other day, he told me that leading men in New York said that “Mormonism” would be used up at the time the President issued his orders to the troops. Some of them asked what he thought of it? He replied that he did not know what would be done, but the result would be that “Mormonism” would triumph over all its enemies, and in that affray would come out of the top of the heap. This assurance is in every man who lives his religion; but when any begin to doubt, then they begin to think that this is rather a hard religion to live.

All that has been said by brother Hooper about temporal affairs is good, I have lived nearly sixty years, and am acquainted with many portions of the United States, somewhat acquainted with Europe, and historically acquainted with many parts of the world; but, so far as I have travelled and read, this is the best country we were ever in, or can now find, for raising Saints.

The Spirit of the Almighty is being withdrawn from the people; and is it not your prayer that he will gather to Zion all the wisdom, strength, intelligence, and integrity of the earth? This is the prayer of everyone that understands “Mormonism.” What will be their condition when the Spirit of the Lord is withdrawn? They will whet the knife to cut each other’s throats, and, as brother Hooper remarked, try to make Mason and Dickson’s the dividing line; but that will not remain, for they will cross it to destroy each other, and the sword and fire will be prevalent in the land. Says one, “But you are a ‘Mormon,’ and we do not believe anything in ‘Mormonism,’ though we believe that calamities await the people, and that great events are at the threshold,” The world, and particularly the United States, have been told these things during thirty years past; and though no one but myself had warned them, there would not now be a man upon the face of the earth but could have heard the Gospel, if he had been disposed to listen to it. They would have been prepared for what is coming; for any one of these my brethren has said enough to warn the whole world. This frees our garments, for we are bound to do our duty; and then, if they neglect, the blood of their garments will be found in their skirts, not in ours.

Brother Hooper remarked that he had learned that “Mormonism” is true. It is both the duty and privilege of the Latter-day Saints to know that their religion is true. If brother Hooper had yielded to his own natural feelings, he would not have represented us in Congress. Here is a great people, and they wish a man in Congress to represent them in their proper light. Now, who would say that he is capable of doing this? Brother Hooper submitted to the people’s choice, as every man should. Had the choice fallen upon any other, as it did upon brother H. S. Eldredge, who was our first choice previous to the last election for Delegate, (but it was thought best to change it,) he also would have been able to have done his duty in Congress—to have done whatever the Lord wished to have done. Brother Bernhisel was our Delegate for several years, and are we satisfied with his official course? Yes: he did his duty.

How shall we know what to do? By being obedient to every requirement of the Gospel. Brother Hooper has stated that I promised him the assistance of the Almighty. I did. I laid my hands upon him and blessed him, and told him that he should have dreams and visions, and power with God to know what to do, if he lived his religion; but if he did not, I promised him nothing. He prepared himself to pray; and when a man with a disposition to listen to a truth called upon him, he felt as well as with his friends, and could express his feelings; but if visitors had no place for the truth, the sooner they left the better. Joy filled his bosom, and each time the brethren called to see him was the best time he had. When a man approached him with the Spirit of God, he felt—“This is the man for me: here is the Spirit; here are joy and peace in having fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ and with the Father.” This is the way brother Hooper felt; and just as much confidence as he had in what I told him, so much he received.

Revelation is here poured out every Sabbath. Thank God for it. Am I not happy? Yes, all the time. There is no darkness; and is there any necessity of having sorrow? No. Our religion is peace, happiness, wealth, and a fulness of good things to walk in the light of truth. These blessings are with and for the Latter-day Saints, and we have nothing to do but to live for them.

God has given us our tabernacles, and planted in them the germs of eternity; and it is for us, in this present existence, to let the spirit overcome every passion of the flesh, and never to suffer the spirit to submit to the temptations of the flesh. Labour to bring everything into subjection to Christ, for this is his earth. It came from God in the beginning, and that, too, not by any chances of creation; for all that you see and can comprehend and understand, that is good, is produced by the Almighty Creator of the worlds.

Respect one another; do not speak lightly of each other. Some, if they get a little pique against an individual, are disposed to cast him down to hell, as not worthy of a place upon earth. O fools! not to understand that those you condemn are the workmanship of God, as well as yourselves! God overlooks their weaknesses; and so far as they do good, they are as acceptable as we are. Thank God that you know better, and be full of mercy and kindness. I speak evil of no man; but I hate, with a most cordial hatred, the evil actions of some men. Their organization came from God, but their conduct does not. It is not the persons, but it is their wicked conduct that I despise and hate.

Live your religion. “Mormonism” will triumph, and all hell cannot prevent it; and those that live faithful will be exalted. When people get into the dark, they want to leave; and I do not know but that it is one of God’s fore-ordinations that as soon as they lose the Spirit they should want to leave. That is just what I want; and I pray that there may be no barrier in their way—that no man may ever stay here, unless he loves God with all his heart.

May the Lord bless you! Amen.

Dealings of the Lord with His People

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, Provo, August 26, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I am happy in the privilege of again meeting with you. I am well in spirit and in body. I never was better in my spirit than I am this afternoon. The day I now enjoy is the best day of my life; these days are the best days I ever lived, and I expect them to grow better. The many reasons I might give for this I will omit.

It is some time since we met with you here. Next Sabbath, I think, it will be twenty-six months since I was upon this stand. Our circumstances then were very different from what they are to-day. Since then, some of our relatives and friends have been consigned to the silent tomb; but there is a goodly number of us still living, and the favourable circumstances under which we are to-day should influence every heart to rejoice. If we could but understand and see things as they are—comprehend the dealings of the Lord—the workings of his kingdom, it would be a matter of great joy and rejoicing to us; but as yet we only see and understand in part, though it is our privilege to so live that we may know things pertaining to our conduct here as they are understood by more intelligent beings. Let us faithfully improve upon what we do understand.

Can you discern and understand the dealings of the Lord with this people from the beginning? If we can understand this, it is indeed a matter of great rejoicing to us. All intelligent beings who are crowned with crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal lives must pass through every ordeal appointed for intelligent beings to pass through, to gain their glory and exaltation. Every calamity that can come upon mortal beings will be suffered to come upon the few, to prepare them to enjoy the presence of the Lord. If we obtain the glory that Abraham obtained, we must do so by the same means that he did. If we are ever prepared to enjoy the society of Enoch, Noah, Melchizedek, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, or of their faithful children, and of the faithful Prophets and Apostles, we must pass through the same experience, and gain the knowledge, intelligence, and endowments that will prepare us to enter into the celestial kingdom of our Father and God. How many of the Latter-day Saints will endure all these things, and be prepared to enjoy the presence of the Father and the Son? You can answer that question at your leisure. Every trial and experience you have passed through is necessary for your salvation.

The greatest trial this people are under the necessity of bearing is to hold fellowship with false brethren. Which would you choose—to leave your homes, as this people have done in many instances, and suffer yourselves to be driven, and seek new homes, and make new acquaintances in a strange country, or to live in your houses and upon your possessions, and be surrounded with false brethren? That question can be readily answered by every Saint. I can see those in this congregation who were in Missouri when thousands were ready and anxious to kill the few Saints then there; but the Saints would rather suffer all that was suffered there and in other States, than be obliged to live with thieves—with those who would swear falsely against them, and deceive, and be guilty of every kind of abomination. They would rather leave their homes, seek new locations, and make new possessions, than be under the necessity of mingling with, of eating bread and drinking water in the name of Israel’s God, and fellow-shipping the ungodly—the wretches who would destroy them from the earth.

Some may think that they have passed through severe trials during the few years past; but so far as my own experience and knowledge go, I have passed through no scenes of trial or sorrow. I have never felt better in my life than I have during two or three years past. I do not know that I have had wicked, unrighteous, or ungodly feelings pertaining to the whole matter, though I may have felt desirous at times to lay righteousness to the line and judgment to the plummet and sweep away the refuge of lies; but that would have only gratified that which pertains to the natural man. I am confident it would not have satisfied that immortal part within us that is pure and holy, but partakes more or less of the weaknesses incident to the fallen portion. I have sometimes had feelings of this kind—“Draw your swords, ye Elders of Israel, and never sheathe them so long as you have an enemy upon the earth.” I sometimes felt before the move, like taking the sword and slaying my enemies, until they were wasted away. But the Lord did not design this, and we have remained in peace and quietness.

Do you see persons who have been in this Church for years, drinking the deathly draught put to their mouths by the wicked? Yes. Have you not seen them forfeit their right and title to the kingdom of God upon the earth, and yield to a paltry, foolish, fallen disposition to do evil? Yes; wives have been called to weep and mourn for their children and husbands, husbands for their wives and children, and children for their parents. The parable of the Saviour still holds good—the net still gathers good and bad. There are families here whose husbands and fathers are now preaching the Gospel. They will return by-and-by, and will bring their sheaves with them. Those who have been converted through their labours will follow them, and there will be a few who will be ste[a]dfast and live their religion, but not all who are gathered from the nations; for the Gospel net will gather good and bad, and will continue so to do as long as the fishermen cast their net into the sea. Still, a righteous person will never be discouraged, but will constantly contend against his evil passions, and against evil in his family and neighbourhood; and the Lord will utterly cleanse his thrashingfloor as with the besom of destruction.

Be not discouraged, for it is a joyful time. Do you have peace and plenty? Yes. We have all the time enjoyed peace and plenty in Great Salt Lake City. Great peace have those who love the law of the Gospel, and nothing shall offend them. Great joy have they who love our Lord Jesus Christ; and great peace do those enjoy who delight in working the works of righteousness. Let the blessings of heaven attend you, is my prayer continually. Be faithful, ye Saints. Contend against evil, and cease not to take every measure to do away with all the evil that is in your midst until God shall sanctify a people and prepare them to dwell in his presence.

Marvel not that we have what are called troubles: marvel not that our enemies seek to destroy us and the kingdom of God from the earth. These persecutions are to prepare the humble and faithful to dwell in the presence of God the Father and his Son, while the vast multitudes of the earth must dwell in the kingdoms prepared for them, but cannot dwell in his presence. If you expect to gain the glory you anticipate, never grieve, nor sorrow, nor mourn at the providences of God when they cause you to suffer, or to part with every earthly object you have. If they cause fathers and mothers to separate from their children, and husbands from their wives, it matters not: God is our Father, and the offspring of Adam are our brothers and sisters. Who is my father, mother, sister, and brother? Those who do the will of my Father in heaven.

God bless you! Amen.

The Three Glories

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 26, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I will read a portion of the vision Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon had concerning various kingdoms that God has prepared for his subjects:—

“And the glory of the celestial is one, even as the glory of the sun is one. And the glory of the terrestrial is one, even as the glory of the moon is one. And the glory of the telestial is one, even as the glory of the stars is one; for as one star differs from another star in glory, even so differs one from another in glory in the telestial world; for these are they who are of Paul, and of Apollos, and of Cephas. These are they who say they are some of one, and some of another—some of Christ, and some of John, and some of Moses, and some of Elias, and some of Esaias, and some of Isaiah, and some of Enoch; but received not the Gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus, neither the Prophets, neither the everlasting covenant. Last of all, these all are they who will not be gathered with the Saints, to be caught up unto the Church of the Firstborn, and received into the cloud. These are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie. These are they who suffer the wrath of God on the earth. These are they who suffer the vengeance of eternal fire. These are they who are cast down to hell and suffer the wrath of Almighty God, until the fulness of times when Christ shall have subdued all enemies under his feet, and shall have perfected his work, when he shall deliver up the kingdom, and present it unto the Father spotless, saying, I have overcome and have trodden the winepress alone, even the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. Then shall he be crowned with the crown of his glory, to sit on the throne of his power, to reign for ever and ever. But behold, and lo! we saw the glory and the inhabitants of the telestial world, that they were as innumerable as the stars in the firmament of heaven, or as the sand upon the sea-shore; and heard the voice of the Lord, saying, These all shall bow the knee, and every tongue shall confess to Him who sits upon the throne for ever and ever; for they shall be judged according to their works; and every man shall receive, according to his own works, his own dominion, in the mansions which are prepared; and they shall be servants of the Most High: but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end. This is the end of the vision which we saw, which we were commanded to write while we were yet in the spirit.” (Doc. and Cov., sec. xcii., par. 7.)

I do not know that I have any particular desire to dwell upon this any more than any other subject of the Gospel, although this subject, in the abstract, occupies more of my affection, adoration, and heartfelt gratitude to our Father and God than any other that has ever been revealed to my knowledge, from the days of Adam to the present.

Looking at the human family—the millions of intelligent beings who have come upon this earth from the days of Adam until now, and those that must still come in the course of events—the question naturally arises, What are they created for? what is the object of their being? None of them have power to produce themselves. Jesus Christ is the heir of this vast family. He said that he had power to lay down his life and and take it up again; but he had no more power to produce his life, in the beginning of his existence, than we have. Every human being is endowed, more or less, with eternal intelligence, with the germ of life everlasting, of glory immortal; and then, when I view the human family as they are, with the traditions of the fathers, what the Bible has taught; what the priest has taught, and what kings and rulers have introduced and fastened upon their people, through traditions and customs, and contemplate the variety now existing and that has existed upon the earth, the marks of these finites, and what is their end, I can truly say that, in my estimation, no other revelation so glorious was ever given. You may read the character of the Deity as portrayed in all that has ever been revealed, until you come to this vision, in relation to his justice, his judgment, his power, his life, his glory, his excellence, his goodness, his mercy, and the fulness of every gift, of every trait, of every principle inherent in the character of the Supreme Being, and it is not equal in magnitude, in my reflections, to that which God revealed to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon in the vision from which I have read.

We are far advanced in the things of the kingdom of God. To say nothing about any other principle or doctrine that has ever been revealed, the transcending glory, excellency, wisdom, goodness, virtue, and power that God has revealed in this vision far outweigh all the Christian tenets, doctrines, and systems they have drawn from the Bible. No cistern, to use a figure, hewn by man, can hold water; and every human doctrine and principle, professing to point the way of salvation, fades away. The doctrine God has revealed here is more precious to me, and is worth more than all the doctrines of Christendom.

We may read that the Lord will turn the wicked into hell, and all the nations that forget God; but, so far as the Bible and priests are concerned, the world are left in the dark upon what this vision reveals. Fatality is sealed on the world by the priests as an everlasting inheritance and legacy, from which they never can be delivered. Their doom is to dwell in a lake of fire and brimstone. God has created this intelligence to preserve it. If the world, with its present feelings, believed this vision, they would say—“Our condition will be so far better than we had anticipated, that we will continue our course; for we love the world and the things of the world, and we will roll sin as a sweet morsel under our tongues, and delight in all the iniquity we have indulged in from youth, and continue to imbibe the erroneous principles taught by the fathers and others, and will pass on from day to day; for our condition is to be so far better than our priests have taught us.” It would have been better for them had they never been born, were it not so.

Were the wicked, in their sins, under the necessity of walking into the presence of the Father and Son, hand-in-hand with those who believe that all will be saved that Jesus will leave none, their condition would be more excruciating and unendurable than to dwell in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. The fatalist’s doctrine consigns to hell the infant not a span long, while the adulterer, whoremonger, thief, liar, false swearer, murderer, and every other abominable character, if they but repent on the gallows or their death-beds, are, by the same doctrine, forced into the presence of the Father and the Son, which, could they enter there, would be a hell to them.

The kingdoms that God has prepared are innumerable. Each and every intelligent being will be judged according to the deeds done in the body, according to his works, faith, desires, and honesty or dishonesty before God; every trait of his character will receive its just merit or demerit, and he will be judged according to the law of heaven as revealed; and God has prepared places suited to every class. The Saviour said to his disciples—“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.” How many kingdoms there are has not been told to us: they are innumerable. The disciples of Jesus were to dwell with him. Where will the rest go? Into kingdoms prepared for them, where they will live and endure. Jesus will bring forth, by his own redemption, every son and daughter of Adam, except the sons of perdition, who will be cast into hell. Others will suffer the wrath of God—will suffer all the Lord can demand at their hands, or justice can require of them; and when they have suffered the wrath of God till the utmost farthing is paid, they will be brought out of prison. Is this dangerous doctrine to preach? Some consider it dangerous; but it is true that every person who does not sin away the day of grace, and become an angel to the Devil, will be brought forth to inherit a kingdom of glory.

The sectarian world, as we call them, is a professed church of God, without the Priesthood. Sectarians have not the Priesthood; but all of them who live according to the best light and intelligence they can obtain through faithfulness to what they believe, as taught unto them, will receive a kingdom and glory that will far transcend all their expectations, imaginations, or visions in their most excited moments, whether in their falling-down power, jumping power, or squawling power. All they have ever desired or anticipated they will receive, and far more; but they cannot dwell with the Father and Son, unless they go through those ordeals that are ordained for the Church of the Firstborn. The ordinances of the house of God are expressly for the Church of the Firstborn.

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned; and these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name,” &c. This is the law of the celestial kingdom, and those who hearken to this law, and embrace its truths in their faith, and live them in their lives, will be brought to enjoy the presence of the Son, and will dwell with him and the Father. And all the residue, who do not sin against the Holy Ghost, will be punished according to their deeds, and will receive according to their works, whether it be little or much, good or bad. Jesus will redeem the last and least of the sons of Adam, except the sons of perdition, who will be held in reserve for another time. They will become angels of the Devil.

What say you, ye Latter-day Saints? Is not this the most glorious thought that ever was revealed to mortal man? Let the Elders of this Church go forth and preach that every person who does not become as they are will have to suffer the wrath of God, and go down to hell to dwell in a lake that burns with brimstone and fire, “where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched,” and I would not give the ashes of a rye-straw for all they will do. It is good for nothing: there is no life in it—there is no soul in it.

This intelligence must endure. We must preserve our identity before the Lord, who has sent his Son and angels, and is sending the Holy Ghost, and his ministers, and revelations, to comfort, cheer, guide, and direct the affairs of his kingdom on the earth. Shall we dwindle out in our faith and in those blessings God bestows on us at this time? No. Let us live to increase them. Let us so live, that when we receive our bodies in the resurrection, we will be received in the presence of the Father and the Son. This kingdom is designed expressly to prepare the people to dwell with God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ, and all the world beside will receive according to their works upon the earth. This is a joy that is unspeakable: it is a glory beyond the capacity of our minds at the present time to appreciate. It is a great joy to me.

Sometimes I feel as though I would like to dwell upon these principles, they are so delightful; but I do not feel like preaching or talking much this morning. The glory and intelligence that God has prepared for the faithful, and for every other being that is worthy to receive, expand, extend, and comprehend, no man knoweth. Should not this fill every heart with peace and joy that there is no end to the progress of knowledge? Let us continue to prepare ourselves to dwell with Him in eternal burnings.

May the Lord bless the people! Amen.

Privileges of the Gathered Saints

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 26th, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

We enjoy great blessings and privileges, and ought to appreciate them. No people on the earth enjoy that peace and tranquility that we do in these mountains; and no people have so much reason to be truly thankful and grateful, and to acknowledge the hand of God in all things, as we have. We have the words of life: the law of life is committed unto us the Priesthood of the Son of God, which is after the power of an endless life. We are in the happy and peaceable possession of it.

We have great reason to be truly thankful that we are in these mountains. I have said so from the time we first came here. When our enemies learned that we were going to locate in these mountains, they said that we never could be driven from them, and they told the truth. If we ever go from them, we shall go voluntarily. They said that they would drive us from Ohio, from Missouri, and from Illinois, and they did so; but they cannot drive us from these mountains we now inhabit. All we have to do is to do right, walk humbly before God, deal justly one with another and with the whole human family, and let our worst wish toward our worst enemies be that we may see the time when they will be obliged to do right. I never did wish anything worse upon them than they should do right, pay their debts, deal justly, and walk humbly one with another. This is the worst wish I have towards those who are now here and have tried to shed our blood for money, and that when they leave the Territory they do not steal anything. I despair of inducing them not to lie about us.

All the nations are fast approaching the brink of ruin. Search the most enlightened nations now dwelling on the earth, and you will learn that they live upon fiction, delight in shadow, run after error, greedily drink down falsehood, and hate truth. This is particularly the case with the nation in which we live, as every one knows, who is acquainted with its religious, political, and moral classes. There are individual exceptions; but, taking the nations of the world as nations, they do not believe the truth; they are after falsehood and lies, and say to themselves—“the world goes on—the morning comes as usual, and is followed by the evening. We live day after day, and all things are about as they were yesterday.” How long will they continue so? They think that all things are going to remain as they were since the fathers fell asleep, that Christ is not coming, and that the prophecies will not be fulfilled, except it may be spiritually.

Search history, from the days of Enoch, when he built a city which was taken from the earth; pass on to Noah who built an ark and floated on the water over a drowning world, and to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; read the writings of Moses, and of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the lesser Prophets, down to the time of John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah, or until Mary and Elizabeth rejoiced together that the Messiah was to be born; then read the writings of the disciples of the Lord Jesus, and search history from that day to this, and you will learn that when the nations have for years turned much of their attention to manufacturing instruments of death, they have sooner or later used those instruments.

Our nation, England, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, and other nations have for years exercised their inventive skill, and expended much means in inventing and fabricating instruments of death. Upon his return, brother Hooper presented to me a rifle, for which it is almost claimed that it will kill people while it is hanging up, and without powder and ball; and brother George Q. Cannon brought a brace of pistols, each of which can be fired twelve times instead of six. From the authority of all history, the deadly weapons now stored up and being manufactured will be used until the people are wasted away, and there is no help for it. The spirit of revolution goes on through the nations: it never goes back.

We are in these mountains, and in the enjoyment of peace and plenty. Are there any who have not enough bread? Some complain of living poorly; but what hinders such persons from living well? Have you not plenty of breadstuff? Yes, you have the best of flour, and can have plenty of good corn-meal. You also have rye, barley, and oats. Who prevents your keeping a cow and having butter and milk? Can you not raise potatoes, squashes, turnips, onions, cabbages, and every other kind of produce that you can use? What hinders your keeping a pig and having a little pork? Nobody hinders you: you can have all these things, if you are so disposed, and live well. Who can disturb you? Nobody but yourselves. You can quarrel with each other, rail against each other, and make life disagreeable, if you are so disposed; otherwise you may have an agreeable life here, and the peace of God will rest upon you.

We are the best people in the world, and have the greatest reason to be thankful because of our location and situation. Let us love one another, and love God supremely. It is written, “Love your enemies.” Brother Erastus Snow was going to correct Paul for trying to excuse himself. I do not think the term was any more misapplied than when the Apostles wrote, “Love your enemies;” for I do not believe a word of that. “Love your enemies?” What, love hell? When people do that, they get where devils are. If it had been written, “Love the spirits God has placed in tabernacles, and try to reclaim them and do them good, and pray for those who despitefully use you,” I would feed and clothe them, take peculiar care of them, and place them where they would not hurt anybody. You may think that I am disputing the Bible. If you understood what the Lord means when he talks about loving his children, you would understand that he does not love them as they are now; for he hates and is angry with the wicked. He dislikes their wicked acts, but he loves his children, because he has organized them, and he wishes to see them obedient.

Many of you are acquainted with brother John Smith, the Patriarch, who went to the States last year after his friends. He has just come into the Bowery. The companies are all well? They want some flour, and we can send it to them. Brother Kimball will send his team this time, and there is no necessity for calling upon the Bishops. We have heard from the last company. On the fourth of August they were on Wood River: their cattle looked well, and the company was making good progress. They had been eleven days out from Florence, and had travelled 170 miles. A few cattle have died in some of the companies; and if any of the brethren, who have relatives or friends in the companies still out, wish to assist them, they can do so by sending out their teams and helping them in.

God bless you! Amen.

Diversity Among Men as to Their Capacity for Receiving Truth

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 2, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

Are our minds framed to receive and profit by those communications which the Lord would give through his servants? We are so constituted that we can receive but little at a time, though there is quite a diversity in men as to their capacity for learning, and also in regard to retaining what they learn. Some comprehend their lessons quickly, while others are not so gifted. I have also noticed that some children commit their lessons quickly and well; but ask them the meaning and intent of what they have committed, and they cannot answer you; while others pay more attention to the intent and meaning of what they learn. Such is the case with all persons, no matter what their age; and some are capacitated to receive more and faster than others.

When the Latter-day Saints and those who believed in the coming of the Messiah, and those who believed in him when he came, and those who have believed in him since he came, see eternal things by the vision of their minds being opened. They will consider it a great mystery why all people did not understand the things of God, they are so easy to be understood and so congenial to our capacities and situation on the earth—so admirably adapted to our nature. That mankind do not understand the things of God is marvellous to an enlightened person, and that what truth they do learn they wish to have it understood that it is by their own wisdom: the wisdom that comes from God they do not desire.

We observe in some of the Latter-day Saints a dull stupidity in regard to learning the things that pertain to life. For persons to understand themselves, their own organization, they must understand the character of that Being who has organized them, or they never can understand their own organization. This mankind are unwilling to admit. No person can follow the thread of his own existence, without inseparably connecting it with the Father—the Supreme Being who dwells in eternity. We are inseparably connected, and must be, to that eternal Being who produced us. You will therefore readily understand that without the principle and Spirit of revelation, it will be impossible to communicate these principles to the people.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the opening avenue the open gate in the road or way from earth to heaven, through which direct revelation comes to the children of men in their various capacities, according to their callings and standing in the society in which they live. The Gospel of salvation is a portion of the law that pertains to the kingdom where God resides; and the ordinances pertaining to the holy Priesthood are the means by which the children of men find access to the way of life, wherein they can extend their travels until they return to the presence of their Father and God. This no person will dispute, who has faith in the character of the Deity. They will acknowledge that God is true, that his system of salvation is correct, that his law is just, that he is equal in all his ways, and that the ordinances of his house are true and faithful; but when you speak of the Gospel as preached by the Elders of this Church, the query arises in a moment, “Is this true?” Yes, as you have often heard stated, it is a fact that earth and hell cannot deny. The sound of this Gospel carries conviction to every heart that has heard it; it carries an influence and power that no other sound has. But, though they are thus convicted, yet they will query, “Is it true?” If it were not that the conviction of the Almighty pervades even the sound of “Mormonism,” you would not see armies arrayed against this people.

This is the most moral people upon the face of all the earth, with all the rascality there is in a few. The Gospel net gathers both good and bad. We have both here. But this people, as a people, are the most circumspect and moral people that now live. It has been said that we are a low, groveling, lawless people. There is not a man in our Government, who has a good sound heart and brain, but what will say that we are the most law-abiding people in the United States.

All, so far as they have heard, are convicted that the work in which we are engaged is true—that it is the Gospel of salvation the voice of God from the heavens to all people. Hear it, O ye inhabitants of the earth! The Lord has again spoken from the heavens, and revealed the holy Priesthood, to save the children of men from impending ruin. Though this is true, they fancy that they can devise systems by which they can save themselves, enter into the gate of rest, and secure to themselves that eternal repose the heart aches for all through life. There may be some exceptions to this general truth, but the existence of a Supreme Being is universally acknowledged by man. This is to be found in the lowest of the heathen nations, and they worship according to the best knowledge they have. The inhabitants of Hindostan, Japan, &c., are devotional people, though they worship before images, not knowing better. The aborigines of this country also worship according to their traditions, as do all the heathen nations. They make their graven images of brass, wood, silver, and gold to represent the Deity they seek to please. The Roman Catholic Church uses paintings and images of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary; but ask them if they worship these pictures and images, and they will tell you, “No: the picture or image only represents to the eye the Being we worship.” So it is with the worship of the heathen nations: they will tell you they “do not worship the inanimate image, but that the God they worship is in eternity. We do not see him, but our fathers have taught us many things which we wish to retain in memory.” You present to your children the image or picture of the Saviour, or any good being, and teach them to imitate his example, and by this, means strive to create the best possible impression upon their young minds. And which is best—to do this, or to present them a pack of cards and teach them the use of them? Then do not depreciate the heathen worship, nor the brethren of our former Christian faith; for the majority of them worship according to the best knowledge thoy [they] have. Intelligent beings are organized to become Gods, even the sons of God, to dwell in the presence of the Gods, and become associated with the highest intelligencies [intelligences[ that dwell in eternity. We are now in the school, and must practise upon what we receive. Wickedness now dwells upon the earth; but as we are exhorted from time to time by words, deeds, and examples, and by the faith of the good, let us continue in this labour of love until we overcome the evil that is within ourselves. With all the rest of the good that you can commit to memory, be sure to recollect that the Gospel of salvation is expressly designed to make Saints of sinners, to overcome evil with good, to make holy, good men of wicked, bad men, and to make better men of good. Wherein we are wicked, wherein we have evil passions, the Gospel will aid us in overcoming evil. It gives us the influence, the power, the knowledge, the wisdom, and the understanding to overcome our weaknesses and to purify ourselves before the Lord our God. How often we have heard it said that “a Saint will be a Saint a devil will be a devil, and the wicked will be wicked!” People should understand that there is no man born upon the face of the earth but what can be saved in the kingdom of God, if he is disposed to be. There is not a word to contradict this in all the sacred writings. When the wicked man forsakes his wickedness, though he has rolled it under his tongue as a sweet morsel, he can be saved. If God has foreordained certain men to certain ends, it is because he knew all things from eternity, as in the case of Pharaoh, who he knew would do wickedly; consequently, selected him to be put upon the throne. “You are determined to be wicked and to carry out the schemes of the Devil; therefore I will use you to promote my kingdom on the earth and to exalt me among men, for I know that you will do all you can against my children, against my work, and against my grace to save the children of men.” God raised him to the throne of Egypt because he foresaw that in this position he could use him to the greatest advantage to His cause—not because he was foreordained to that position.

There are no persons without evil passions to embitter their lives. Mankind are revengeful, passionate, hateful, and devilish in their dispositions. This we inherit through the fall, and the grace of God is designed to enable us to overcome it. The grace of God is bestowed upon all, and the kingdom of God is planted on the earth expressly to enable mankind to overcome the evil that is in them, and to save all. If the Latter-day Saints live their religion, they will forsake iniquity and overcome the evil that the enemy of all righteousness causes to rise within them, until every passion and appetite is as perfectly under their own control as a patient animal they hold by the bit.

Ye wise men, ye great philosophers, do you comprehend and know what is the origin of the intelligence we behold? Where did it spring from? Who is the author of our existence? Who has brought us forth upon the earth and given us this intelligence, creating us erect, given us ability to learn and to continue to learn to all eternity, and to reach forth for the hidden things that are in the future? Can the wise men of the day define this intelligence? Can the chemist analyze it? No; it cannot be searched out by human wisdom. We must admit that God is true, that his law is just, that his kingdom is just and pure, and that it is now set up upon the earth, or there can be no being saved in his presence. We are his children. This is obvious, and is easy to be understood by those who can only understand simple facts. We are his offspring, and to him we shall return. This being so, we should so live as to be counted worthy to be again received into the family of heaven, to be participants of all the glory, excellency, and power that pertain to the family of God in eternity, and to be joined with those who sing hallelujah to his name in mansions of bliss. Let the wicked world pass on and the inhabitants of the earth rail, and let the wicked imagine a vain thing and the heathen rage and run to-and-fro; yet knowledge will increase, and they cannot prevent it. The kingdom of God and the ordinances of his house are again restored, and we are made happy participants thereof. Praise his holy name, then, brethren and sisters, and acknowledge his hand in all things, improving your talents, and making yourselves worthy to receive more. The kings, queens, nobles, and great men of the earth will yet bow to the Gospel, though not until they are obliged to.

We have not much history of the wise men of the east after they saw the star and found the child Jesus. He had not lived two years before an edict was sent forth to slay all the children in certain regions, under such an age, thinking that the child Jesus would be caught among them and slain. But Joseph was warned in a dream to escape with the young child. Where then were the wise men who came to worship him? They had gone their way, and were still. There are many wise men of this day who feel so influenced; they would worship with the Saints, but will not endure the opposition they must receive, if they should do so. Never was the kingdom of God so privileged as it is now. The children of Israel had the Gospel and the kingdom in their possession, but they were so wicked and ungodly that only Joshua and Caleb, of all the adult males who went out of Egypt, were left to go over and possess the promised land. They were prospered and slew their enemies; but after a while they went into bondage, were again made free, and again went into bondage. Did they enjoy the privileges that we do? No. We can travel and preach from island to island, and from nation to nation, and can travel and preach in our own nation, for God has prepared the way. We are blessed more than all the people on the face of the earth, and are therefore under the deepest obligations to praise and serve God. It matters little, though we have many times left our houses and other possessions, having been driven from them by our enemies; for the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof; the gold and the silver they are taking from the earth are all in his hands to dispose of at his pleasure. He sets up kingdoms and casts them down at his pleasure. The fulness of the earth is in his hands, but it cannot be enjoyed, in the full sense of the term, without enjoying it in connection with his kingdom. When put to its proper use, gold, instead of being made a god of, will be made into dishes, and all things will be prepared for Jesus to reign and rule and live here, for he is the heir of this earth. The gold will also be used for paving streets for us to walk upon: all the faithful will have the privilege of walking the golden streets of the New Jerusalem.

I feel that this is the best day I ever saw; and were I to give vent to my feelings, I should jump and shout, like a Methodist, Hallelujah! God reigns; his kingdom is upon the earth, and he will save the remnant in the latter days. I feel happy. “Mormonism” has made me all I am, and the grace, the power, and the wisdom of God will make me all that I ever will be, either in time or in eternity. Do you think that I suffer affliction? No; for I am happy when in a house, or in the mountains, or wherever I chance to be. Our religion measures, weighs, and circumscribes all the wisdom in the world—all that God has ever revealed to man. God has revealed all the truth that is now in the possession of the world, whether it be scientific or religious. The whole world are under obligation to him for what they know and enjoy; they are indebted to him for it all, and I acknowledge him in all things. Is it not reasonable and highly commendable to worship Him, unto whom every knee shall bow, with a pure heart and conscience uncontaminated by the sins of the world?

The greatest weakness, ignorance, and foolishness of the human family are exhibited in their denying the Saviour, denying the hand of God, and not submitting to his supremacy on the earth. O fools, and slow of heart to believe. Let the few who have received the truth live to it strictly, daily, hourly, and momentarily, so that they can receive more and more, and grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth. That is my prayer for you constantly to my Father and God, in the name of Jesus.

That we may be blessed, let us do our duty, gather the house of Israel, redeem and build up Zion, see Jerusalem established, and Jesus reign triumphantly upon the earth; which is my desire, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Trials and Duties of the Saints

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 2, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I will say a few words to those who have lately arrived.

The Spirit of the Gospel which they received in their native countries caused them to rejoice, lighted the lamp of devotion within them, and created in their hearts a love of truth. When people receive the Holy Ghost, or the Gospel evidenced by the Spirit of truth, they in a degree feel and realize the glory of Zion. The commandment has gone forth for the Saints to gather and build up Zion. They very readily receive the impression that the gathering-place is Zion, that the gathered are actually living in Zion, that the evil influences abroad in the world and which afflicted them there will cease to afflict them here, that they will enjoy the sweet communion of the holy ones upon the earth, and that their sorrows and all that afflicts them will have passed away.

I wish to inform you, brethren and sisters, who have just arrived in these valleys, that all your trials hitherto are but trifling in comparison to the trials you will now be called to meet and pass through. How many of you will continue faithful—preserve yourselves in your integrity and in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ? You have come here expressly to be assembled with the Saints; your object in gathering was to forsake the wickedness that is in the world and to mingle with those who serve God with an undivided heart, and you expect to be faithful; but let me inform you that you will not all prove faithful; some of you will apostatize. Can you tell who? You reply, “No:” but the first you are aware, some of you will be off to California, perhaps, with the words—“To Cache or Carson, we don’t care a d— which,” on your waggon-covers, as they were on the waggon-covers of some who started for Carson last spring. Some of you will be tempted above what you will bear—will tamely submit to darkness and its powers—to the evil influences of wicked spirits—will forsake the faith, and the Devil will get the advantage of you.

Your troubles have just commenced; you are on the threshold of the department wherein you will have fiery trials, such as you have never had. Some who have been here for years will come around you and say—“Well, brother, or sister, how do you do? Do you like the country and people?” “I don’t know. I guess I shall; I should like to have some things a little different; but this is a good people.” “Well,” says an old brother who has been labouring in the Church for years to save the people, “I don’t know about it; I understand that A. says thus and so. I don’t know about it; a few days ago, I saw a brother, who seems to be a good brother, talking with the President; he seems to be in close communion with the heads of the Church, and is all the time stealing horses. I really do not know about this.” Very likely the Lord has suffered this old “Mormon” to stay in the Church thus long to get some of you to apostatize; and when he succeeds, you will go to hell together. Thus you will be led step by step to deny the faith, and to reduce the light that was in you to total darkness.

One will reflect—“I do not know about brother John; there are some things in his character that look dark to me, and, according to the religion I have embraced, I do not understand them; and there is James, if his conduct corresponds with the Gospel as I have heard it preached in my native country, I do not know about it; I will look more narrowly into this;” and the first you know you will retire to rest without praying in your family. And when you rise in the morning you are meditating upon what John and James are doing—that you just saw one of them taking a pole from his neighbour’s fence, and you say, “I don’t know about this; this is rather a dark affair among the Latter-day Saints who have assembled here from among all nations to serve God! Well, wife, have you got your breakfast ready? Come on, family; breakfast is ready; gather round the table.” The wife’s heart sinks, for she had been accustomed to hear this man pray; but there is no prayer this morning. A short blessing is asked, the breakfast is eaten, and the man looks off to John, James, Dick, Harry, the Devil, and hell; and by-and-by away he goes, another apostate.

God gathers his people to school them. While you were in England, France, and other foreign countries, were you prepared to receive the oracles from heaven? No. Are you prepared now? No. Are those who have been in the Church twenty, twenty-five, or thirty years prepared to have the visions of eternity opened to them? No. To hear the voice of the angel Gabriel? No. How can you be prepared, if you let little, frivolous, trifling afflictions and temptations overcome you and turn you away? The Lord has brought you here to try every fibre of your hearts, even as Abraham was tried in all things, to prove whether you are friends of God. And when you see anyone do wrong, you should say, “That is nothing to me; he is in the hands of God, and will have to answer to Him, and I for myself.” And when you see persons about to give way to temptation, you should say to your families, “Let us pray to the Lord to give them strength and power to overcome the temptations of the evil ones, that they may remain here, instead of apostatizing.”

Some of you will do as I have stated; but if you will be faithful to your covenants, you will not only be saviours to yourselves and to your wives and children, but also to your neighbours. When you see a neighbour begin to slip, pray for him that he may have the Spirit of the Gospel as he once had. And if you feel this Spirit within yourselves, pray for an increase of that light you received when you first received the Gospel, and you will save yourself and house.

Yet, after all the labour that will be performed by the Elders of Israel in travelling to the utmost parts of the earth, in gathering out the people from all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, and gathering them home to Zion and Jerusalem, and perhaps other places the Lord will appoint for the gathering of the people in the latter days; and after all the preaching, faith, and toil that will be wrought by the servants of God, when Christ comes, there will be five foolish virgins and five wise.

My exhortation to every man, woman, and child that has named the name of Christ—my positive command to you, which I urge upon you, and which it is your imperative duty to hearken to and obey, is to so live every moment that there will not be a dark spot upon your lives—that you can say every night, “The last is the best day I have ever lived. God be praised that I have been enabled to so live this day that I can go to sleep with a clear conscience.” In short, so live that when you wake in the spirit-world you can truthfully say, “I could not better my mortal life, were I to live it over again.” I exhort you, for the sake of the house of Israel, for the sake of Zion which we are to build up, to so live, from this time, henceforth, and for ever, that your characters may with pleasure be scrutinized by holy beings. Live godly lives, which you cannot do without living moral lives.

A man can commit sin, and return to the Lord and receive forgiveness; But who has the assurance that he will have power to repent? Who has the right and privilege granted unto him to swear, or to take that which is not his own and make use of it for himself? I know of no such right. Who has a right to commit adultery? If any one has such a permit from the Almighty, bring it forth and let us read it to the congregation, that we may know it. Who has a right to bear false witness? Who has a right to defile himself by getting drunk? If you have this right, let us see it. If you have a right to disgrace your wives and children in the eyes of the people, and God says it is just and true, bring out your authority and let us see it. I know of no person who has a right to sin.

“Brother Brigham, don’t you sometimes sin?” If I do, it is none of your business; and the whole of you are not smart enough to catch me in a wrong. Look back at my life since I have been preaching the Gospel, and point out, if you can, the iniquity I have committed. “Have you not taken the name of God in vain?” Not the first time have I ever used the name of my Saviour, or the name of a holy angel, or the name of the mother of Jesus, or the name of our Father in heaven with trifling feelings. “Have you not taken that which was not your own?” No; and I have not been able to get half of what is my own. I am going to have much more than I now have—not twice or thrice, but a hundredfold more. I never yet felt that I had license to commit a sin; and if I have not, who has?

Some may imagine that I am boasting: you may call it what you please. God has preserved my feet and tongue, and I am here to-day, though not so good as I ought to be; and you are not so good as you ought to be: there is a chance for us all to be much better. Where is there a boy in this community who has the right to disgrace his father by sin? Where is the daughter who has the right to disgrace her mother by defiling herself? Have you such a license, young women? Have you such a license, young men? If you cannot show your license to commit sin, we shall consider you impostors, and that you have no right and do not belong to our society. We will disfellowship all such men and women, whether old or young: they are already disfellowshipped in my feelings.

You new comers are here expressly to mingle your faith with the faithful, and your acts with those who perform the acts of righteousness—to bring together to Zion, from every nation, kingdom, tongue, and people, the good, and the strength, power, and wisdom of God that has been dispensed to the nations—to take hold with us who have been trying to purify ourselves and the people. It is your duty to take hold with us with your might to exalt righteousness. Look to God for grace to purify yourselves, instead of looking at your brethren. You who wish to be numbered with the wise virgins, keep your vessels full of oil; do not let it burn out, and lie down and sleep, thinking that you can get a supply of oil when you wake. Be careful that you are not caught with your vessels empty: keep them full, and your hearts full of the Holy Spirit. Cease not to do good. By so doing you will be numbered with the wise virgins.

This is the best country in the world for raising Saints, though many things will cause it to appear strange to you for a time. People here procure livelihoods differently, in many respects, from what you have been accustomed to in your native lands. Many of you have been used to receiving your wages at the end of the week—then only barely sufficient to provide for your wants during the coming week. How did you manage in cases of sickness, when you could not work? I presume some of you nearly starved. Here there as yet has been no starving. Some do not know what they will do here: you cannot starve to death, as many do in countries you have come from.

Find shelter for your families, and do not be in a panic, nor fret; and when a person meets you and says, “Brother, I want to hire a little help,” perhaps you are a collier and never worked above ground, or a silk-weaver and never worked at anything else, and you ask what he wants done. When he tells you, you may not know how to do it, but you can learn. If a person wants the silk-weaver to take the spade and dig a ditch, let the weaver say, “I don’t know how, but I can learn; fetch on your spade.” Take the first job of work offered, and earn a bushel of wheat or a bushel of potatoes; and when that job is done, another will be ready. Do not be anxious to get great wages. Go to work and say nothing about wages, but feel that “this is Zion; and what can I do to build it up, without asking any man to pay me one dollar?” Let that be your chief joy and delight, and you will never lack for work, food, or raiment. The Lord has all these things for those willing characters.

“But,” says one, “some are very poor.” That is because they are not liberal enough in their feelings. I remember a question being asked of Aaron Lake, in Canada. He went into a house, and by way of introduction was asked, “Can a man rise by falling, or gain by losing?” He thought a moment, and replied, “Yes.” You say, “There are some here who are poor and destitute.” That is because they refuse to fall that they may rise, to become poor that they may become rich, or to humble themselves that they may receive the righteousness of God in their hearts to dictate them day by day. Do you think that the Lord will suffer his people to be hungry and starve to death, to go naked and freeze to death, or to go houseless, if they serve him with an undivided heart? He never will—never, no, never.

This people have been driven from place to place, to give them expanded hearts to receive the blessings of the Lord, and that the wicked might fill the cup of their iniquity and receive their reward, and the right was theirs. So soon as we are prepared to receive his blessings, the warfare is over; but that will not be just yet. We yet have to contend for every inch of ground, for the Devil has power and possession on the earth, and he does not mean to give it up. But, God, angels, and good men being my helpers, I will never cease to contend, inch by inch, until we gain the ground and possess the kingdom. That is my feeling and faith, and we will accomplish it. I will prophesy, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that we will possess the kingdom of God upon the whole earth, and possess the earth. Do you believe it? [Many voices: “Yes.”] That is as true as it is that the sun now shines.

God bless you! Amen.

Covetousness

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 16, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I can say amen to what brother Pratt has just said. I think I can with propriety say to him and a great many of the Elders of Israel that they may dismiss those little doubts that brother Pratt has spoken of in regard to proving faithful. You who are in the Church and have been a long time faithful, the Lord will never suffer to so fall away that you cannot be saved. I hardly know of a man who has been in the Church fifteen, twenty, or twenty-five years and longer, but what had better be thankful that that time is past, and not wish to live it over again, for fear he would not do as well. True, some of the brethren have taken missteps—have dealt amiss in some instances, and have not done so well as they could, had they lived so as to have known more; but I am satisfied with them, if they will continue to learn and improve upon their gifts and become perfect; otherwise, I shall not be satisfied, either with myself or with my brethren, the Elders of Israel. The knowledge we now have in our possession is sufficient to guide and direct us step by step, day by day, until we are made perfect before the Lord our Father. If we do not take a course to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, and attain to perfection, I do not intend to be satisfied with either myself or anyone who comes short of this.

When I came into the meeting, brother Pratt was speaking upon the principle of covetousness, which is idolatry. This a matter that ought to be understood, though it is as impossible to make those understand who are not seeking to know, as it is to make blind people understand the difference between colours. It is a hard matter to so bring some to their understanding that they will comprehend, recollect, and practise correct principles. Preaching the word to Saint or sinner is of but little moment, unless there is a place in the hearts of the hearers to receive it; otherwise it is to them like sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. To enjoy the light and power of the Holy Ghost day by day is prayed for by brother Pratt; but the preacher does not need it any more than the hearers. The preacher needs the power of the Holy Ghost to deal out to each heart a word in due season, and the hearers need the Holy Ghost to bring forth the fruits of the preached word of God to his glory.

We need not refer to the traditions of the fathers with regard to the manifestations of the covetousness we see so much of. Observe the customs and habits, not of the fathers, but of the children—our brethren and sisters here. We see men, from twenty years up to old age, who are entirely overcome by their desire to obtain gold. It is asserted that there are 75,000 people at Pike’s Peak. What business have they there? Simply to worship the god of this world. He was said to be there, and they flocked there to worship him. A little gold dust was found near Pike’s Peak; the golden god—the god of this world—was hoisted, and what is the result? Priests and people, the old and young, rich and poor, wise and foolish, noble and ignoble, are all running after this god.

Are all who profess to be Latter-day Saints entirely free from this Mammon worship? No. You have heard “Oppression!” sounded from Maine to Texas, from Texas to California, then to Washington Territory, in the British Provinces in America, in England, and all over the world—“Great oppression in Utah!” because we exhort the people not to be such fools as to run after the golden image; and sometimes we tell them that we will cut them off from the Church, if they do. This has caused this great outcry. Some who have come here this season expressly to enjoy the privilege of their religion are not satisfied, but want to go where there is more money. Money is their god. Go—go after it and worship it as much as you please, and trouble us not. Go your way rejoicing as much as you can; but you will have sorrow in that course. Instead of bettering your condition, you will make it a great deal worse. Your spirits will sink into darkness and wretchedness, and you will go your way mourning instead of rejoicing.

It is reported that thousands of persons will soon be on Strawberry Creek, a little east of the South Pass. What are they after? Some one, they say, has found sand with a little gold dust in it. There is their god again, and hosts are coming running after it. The world is after riches; riches is the god they worship. It is a marvel that they do not discover the emptiness of earthly riches, when hundreds are going out like a candle burnt down in the socket. We know that we are here, and how soon we shall go hence we know not. Perhaps some of us may be called from this life before to-morrow morning, and some, perhaps, before sunset will pass into the spirit-world. But that does not lessen the appetite for gold. I do not know that a miser’s appetite for gold would be lessened in the least degree, if he knew that he would be required to leave it to-morrow.

Such riches can give no real enjoyment. There is no happiness in gold, not the least. It is very convenient as an article of exchange, in purchasing what we need; and instead of finding comfort and happiness in gold, you exchange it to obtain happiness, or that which may conduce to it. There is no real wealth in gold. People talk about being wealthy—about being rich; but place the richest banking company in the world upon a barren rock, with their gold piled around them, with no possible chance of exchanging it, and destitute of the creature comforts; and they would be poor indeed. Where then is their joy, their comfort, their great wealth? They have none.

What constitutes health, wealth, joy, and peace? In the first place, good pure air is the greatest sustainer of animal life. Other elements of life we can dispense with for a time, but this seems to be essential every moment; hence the necessity of well ventilated dwelling-houses, especially the rooms occupied for sleeping. You can live without water and food longer than you can without air, and water is of more importance than meat and bread. In what, then, consists your riches? In being comfortably clad, comfortably sheltered, and suitably provided with food. Gold, where those comforts could not be obtained, would avail nothing. But the greatest of all comforts are the words of eternal life: they also comprise the greatest of all riches. The greatest riches that can be bestowed upon man is eternal life—the power to sustain ourselves and preserve our identity before our God, though this is not esteemed riches by the world. You may assemble such men as Dick Turpin of England, Joaquin of California, and Joseph C. Hare of the United States, and let them hoist the golden flag, and you will see priest and people running after them, and they will call them fine gentlemen, give them of their substance, and their daughters to wives.

We have the real wealth here. We have not much gold and silver here, but we have the good, fine flour, good wheat, horses, cattle, beef, pork, vegetables, fruit, sheep, and wool, and good wives to manufacture the wool into clothing. This is real wealth. This people is a rich people. We are the wealthiest people, in what constitutes true wealth, and in proportion to our number, that there are in any other part of our country: we have the comforts of life.

I will now inform the Latter-day Saints in this Territory that I wish them to fit out our Missionaries, who are going into the world to preach, with means to go to their fields of labour, and then sustain their families when they are gone. That is the text I wish to lay before the people. If I do not preach upon it this morning, I may this afternoon. I was with the Bishops last Thursday evening, and I requested them to notify the brethren to come here prepared to donate their half-eagles, eagles, fifty dollar pieces, horses, mules, waggons, wheat by the twenty and hundred bushels, and other available means, that we may send these brethren away rejoicing; and then we will give them a promise that we will provide for their families after they are gone, so far as they are unable to provide for themselves.

You may inquire, “What has happened? Is there anything new under the sun? Are the Church and kingdom of God becoming different from what they were?” All this can be explained to you—only give us time. I think that the brethren were required to go and preach “without purse and scrip,” and that is what I am now trying to get them to do—to go “without purse and scrip,” and not beg the poor Saints to death. Let us support the Elders, instead of making the poor do it. We are able to send these men out to preach the Gospel, and they may go “without purse or scrip.” It may be asked, “What do you say to the following words of Paul?—‘Yea, ye yourselves know that these hands have ministered unto my necessities and to them that were with me. I have showed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and so remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” When the Elders are on Missions, I want them to let speculation alone. I call trading, begging, and borrowing, and laying plans to come home wealthy, speculation. The Elders of Israel have not magnified their callings as they should have done. Had they known things as they really are, and seen them as they are in the bosom of eternity, they would rather have suffered their right hands to be cut off, or their heads to be severed from their bodies, than do as some have done.

“The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.” All the gold and silver are in the hands of the Lord. When he is so disposed, gold cannot be found; and when he is disposed, the surface of the earth is full of it. There may be gold here; but, to find it, the persons will have to ride over my faith. No doubt many of the Elders are hunting to find gold. I was going to say that I would rather they would find hell; for they would, if they found gold. Every man that prays to find it here virtually prays that the Devil may have power over the kingdom of God to destroy it from the earth. Perhaps some of these very men will give a sixpence, shilling, or a dollar to the Elders who are going out to preach. Such men know no more than those Elders who go out on missions to gather gold to administer to their nonsensical appetites; but it goes from them, and they know not where it goes. Every Saint should understand that the Lord will bring forth to us the gold when we need it. We now want shoes, boots, hats, bonnets, dresses, coats, food, and comfortable houses, to enable us to live long on the earth, with wisdom to know how to use all creature comforts.

The means which you donate for supporting our Missions shall be entered in the book of the law of the Lord, that the record thereof may go down to your posterity. It will not be put into our pockets, nor used for other purposes—at least, not with my knowle[d]ge or consent. I shall throw this business into the hands of the Bishops. The good Bishop will get a liberal donation, while the others will not get much. “As is the priests, so are the people;” and as is the Bishop, so is his Ward. Let the Bishops commence at the intermission to receive donations, and continue so to do until a week from to-night. With these means we expect to send the Elders directly to their fields of labour.

It is my business to control the disbursements of the Tithing paid by the Saints, and not the business of every Elder in the kingdom who thinks the Tithing belongs to him. In the English Mission, where comparatively but little was done, fifty-four thousand dollars of the Tithing money has been expended by the Elders during the last two years. This has been kept from my knowledge until recently; but I have now got hold of the rope, and I will search out every secret act pertaining to this matter. The money that has been spent on those Elders ought to have been used to gather the poor and pay the debts previously contracted in their emigration. Elders have expended hundreds of thousands of dollars of Church funds, and have left me hundreds of thousands of dollars to to pay. The motto of many seems to have been—“Not one cent will we let the Trustee-in-Trust have, if we can keep it out of his hands.” I am going to search into this course until it is stopped. It is the business of the Elders to preach the Gospel and gather the poor. If they do not do this, they will come home shorn of their strength. You may wonder why I have not sooner spoken of this. I could not get it in shape to do so until now, and have had to groan under it. My Counsellors and immediate associates know how I have felt, ever since I have been in this Valley, with regard to the way in which the work is carried on abroad.

The Lord takes one man, whom he knows to be just and righteous, and places in his path an abundance of possessions—houses and lands, cattle, and every good thing that can be bestowed upon an individual, while many of his brethren and neighbours around him imagine that he has obtained his possessions by deceiving, by oppressing the poor, and keeping back the wages of the hireling, and they undertake to get rich by dishonesty. This is the case with many of the Elders of Israel, and herein they make a great mistake. “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor riches to men of wisdom,” but to those whom God favours. You may ask me for proof of this. It is ready, were it wise to produce it. May the Lord bless you! Amen.

Civilization—Missionary Labours

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 16, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

In the forenoon, brother Hooper asked—“What will not people do for gold?” I will answer the question. They will not serve God with a pure heart; you cannot hire them to do this. If they serve God, it will be by their own freewill and choice. Persons can be hired to preach for money, but it does not follow that such preaching is doing God service.

As I mentioned this morning, when the god of this world is hoisted, the priest from the pulpit and the pious deacon and the people worship at its shrine. All the churches and all the world run after gold.

The arts and sciences are somewhat advanced among the Christian nations; but as to a true knowledge of things as they are in eternity, there never were nations more ignorant. According to my definition of the word, a people are heathenish that do not know things as they ought. The Christian world, so called, are heathens as to their knowledge of the salvation of God. If those nations that we call heathen were civilized as we are, intelligent as we are, we would not call them heathen. The civilized world term those heathen who do not follow their customs, who are not educated as they are, and who do not worship according to the modern Christian form of worship. Without doubt, much of the display and pretended knowledge and wisdom that were presented to the Japanese visitors by the senators, representatives, and great men of our nation, were offensive to them; and perhaps they looked upon the inhabitants of the United States as a poor, miserable, degraded, abominable people, not fit to live upon the earth. Pass from Japan to China, then to India, then westerly across Asia, and probably those people view our nation in much the same light. And when you arrive in the Christian nations, they esteem themselves wiser and far in advance of those they call heathen.

The women in Christendom cannot successfully compete, in spinning and weaving, with those in the East Indies and some other heathen nations. And arts and sciences, in the so-called heathen nations, in many respects excel the attainments of the Christian nations. Then pass in review the ancient heathen nations—examine their architecture and their other productions in the mechanical departments, as to this day exhibited in their works and ruins, and all the boasted knowledge of Christendom in those branches fades in comparison. The civilized world have a tolerably good understanding of the art of navigation, but father Noah knew more about it than do all the mariners now upon the earth. Abraham knew more about astronomy and true philosophy than does all Christendom. The civilized nations know how to make machinery, put up telegraph wires, &c., &c.; and in nearly all branches, they are trying to cheat each other; and finally they will learn that they have been cheating themselves for the golden god—the Mammon of this world.

The world is drunk, but not with wine or strong drink; and our country is the most drunken of all. They are deluding themselves; they are drunk with party fanaticism; they are high-minded, heady, and senseless, and are fast going to destruction. As brother Heber has stated, the Lord Almighty will empty the earth of the wickedness that has dwelt upon it for so many hundreds of years: it will not be suffered to dwell upon it much longer. The wicked will go to their place, and the Almighty will gather his Saints and raise up a people who know their right hands from their left, which Christendom does not know, so far as pertains to the plan of salvation.

Serve your God, but not for gold. Strive to be righteous, not for any speculation, but because righteousness is lovely, pure, holy, beautiful, and exalting: it is designed to make the soul happy and full of joy, to the extent of the whole capacity of man, filling him with light, glory, and intelligence. If you cannot love it for that, do not undertake to be righteous. A man cannot be a Saint at the same time that he loves sin and rolls it under his tongue as a sweet morsel, any more than an Elder can do good on a mission while his heart is set upon riches, planning to bring home merchandize. The Elders cannot accomplish both these things at once; and in trying to do so they have missed their aim, for they have neither got rich nor magnified their calling and priesthood.

I can say amen to what brother Heber has said. Those who now go forth upon missions will feel more of the power of God than they ever had, and will speak as men having authority, asking no odds of the wicked. I said, in Nauvoo, that we were going to leave our possessions. We did so, and God has been and is our helper, and is on our right and left, and round about us like a wall of fire to defend this people, if they serve him with an undivided heart. Will our enemies be saved? No. They have had the Gospel preached to them year after year, and have rejected it. What are they? Comparatively nothing. Where are they? Nowhere. Who are they? Nobody; and as they ripen in iniquity they will depart to the place prepared for them, and be as though they had never been. Can you so much as hire them to serve God? No: but go into the East Indies and you can hire hundreds to profess to serve God, by paying them so much a day. Christian ministers are said to build up their churches there by hiring the natives to be sprinkled and have their names written in the church records. There is a gentleman now in our city who has been blamed by missionaries, both in Europe and America, for writing the truth about their operations in Africa. They had not made as many converts as they had lost missionaries on the African soil.

We want the Elders of Israel to preach the Gospel without purse or scrip, and to trust in God for their food, raiment, and lodging. If you have not a second shirt with you, do not be fretting about it, but trust in God for some person to give you another; for you will not have anything without the Lord pleases, neither food nor raiment; and what he wants you to have he will bring about. Then trust in the Lord, going forth in his name. I will leave the matter of gathering means to the Bishops.

“How much, brother Brigham, do you want gathered to enable the Missionaries to reach their fields of labour and assist their families during their absence? Will five dollars do? for we are very poor in our Ward: we cannot give much.” You are a poor Bishop. We want your hundreds and thousands; and what is not needed now, we will save for the Elders next spring; and when we bind burdens for you, you shall not be able to truthfully say that we will not reach out our little fingers to lift them. You may bring two or three of your best men, and I will give more than they all; I will put forth my whole hand. If any man in this kingdom will give me two-thirds of what my property is worth, I will sell it to him and give every dime of the money towards gathering the poor, and in ten years from now I will be far richer than I am now. I would like to devote every dollar I am worth to preaching the Gospel and gathering the poor, to show the people what God is willing to do for his servants, though he be possessed of weaknesses. Bring the man or woman, who has laboured for me, that can say in truth that I have oppressed the hireling in his wages. No living being can in truth say that I have; but I have fed and clothed hundreds and thousands who have not laboured for me.

I shall keep the plan of assisting our Missionaries from here before the people until we learn that it is the best policy. I do not, on this account, wish the people abroad to omit paying their Tithing and doing all they can; but I wish to dictate the Church means in a way that will benefit the kingdom of God; for I will gather the poor and build up Zion, while the course of others wastes and destroys. Doubtless many of the Elders think that they are smarter than I am. As brother Kimball has said, some of the knowing ones marvelled when we were called to the Apostleship. It was indeed a mystery to me; but when I considered what consummate blockheads they were, I did not deem it so great a wonder. When they would meet brother Kimball and myself, their looks expressed, “What a pity!” Then I would think, You may, perhaps, make tolerably good men after a while; but I guess that you will tumble out by-and-by, just as they did: they could not stay in the Gospel net, they were so big and grew so fast; they became larger than the ship and slid overboard.

I ask no odds of the enemies of truth, neither have we from the beginning. Let us so live that God and angels are with us, and all is right; and if we do not, it matters not what becomes of us, nor how quickly we are overthrown as a people. Let all hearts be fervent in their covenants, and glorify their Father who is in heaven, with their spirits and bodies, which are his. Let our most earnest desire be to bring forth and build up the kingdom of God upon the earth, save the house of Israel and all the honest among the Gentiles, and fill the whole earth with the light, glory, power, and knowledge of God, and be prepared to enjoy it; which may Jesus grant. Amen.

The Spirit of the World and the Spirit of Zion

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 9, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

The instructions, faith, revelations, and Scriptures that have been given from the earliest ages to the present—all the past that has come within my notice—all that is now transpiring among the nations of the earth, so far as we can see and understand—all the privileges that men can enjoy, that are allotted to the intelligent beings now before me, with the rest of mankind, and much more than all this, continually occupy my mind, feelings, sympathies, and judgment. We enjoy the greatest blessings and privileges of any people we are acquainted with.

What causes this people to do as they do? It is written, “But there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” It is a spirit that causes this people to do what they do—to leave their native countries, to leave their fathers and mothers, brethren and sisters, and take up their line of march and travel thousands of miles to this distant country; and then, when selected for missions, to again leave their fathers, mothers, and friends, and travel back to their native lands, or to some other place, wherever they are appointed to go. We cannot behold that spirit and influence with our natural eyes. The results alone are known.

What causes the inhabitants of the earth to do as they do—those who do not believe in the Christian religion? You remember that a few years ago Mr. Sut[t]er, in California, hired some of our brethren, who had been in the Mormon Battalion, to dig a mill-race, in which they found gold. The news spread rapidly; and now, in the States, how many places you can find forsaken! Good farms, mechanic shops, stores, and other good situations for men to live in and make themselves comfortable, are deserted, having been sold or mortgaged for a few hundred dollars with which to go and get gold. Then try to number the widows and orphans who have been left in a state of destitution; then count the bones that are bleaching on the prairies between the frontiers of the Eastern States and California, and is not this conduct as great a mystery as it is to see our Elders do as they do? There is also a spirit that prompts this craving for gold.

There is a spirit that prompts the nations to prepare for war, desolation, and bloodshed—to waste each other away. Do they realize it? No—no more than a wicked man realizes the propriety of an Elder’s taking his line of march to Europe to preach the Gospel. The Spirit of the Gospel that is in the hearts of believers prompts them to do as they do, and the spirit of the enemy that is in the wicked prompts them to do; as they do and is it not a mystery? Verily we can say that man is a mystery to himself—that he does not understand himself. When he understands himself, he will understand much about his Creator—his Father and God.

The greatest desire in the bosom of our Father Adam, or in his faithful children who are co-workers with God our Father in heaven, is to save the inhabitants of the earth. Many spirits have gone forth into the world—very many, as also the Holy Spirit of the Gospel to lead this people and all the human family, who will receive it, back into the presence of our Father and God. It has been the greatest desire of the faithful to see their relatives and friends follow that good Spirit, that they may return to the presence of their Father and God.

Brother Hooper has stated that he has charity. Every good man has; but there are only a few men on the earth who understand the charity that fills the bosom of our Saviour. We should have charity; we should do all we can to reclaim the lost sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, and bring them back to be saved in the presence of our Father and God. If we do this, our charity will extend to the utmost extent that it is designed for the charity of God to extend in the midst of this people. But I have no love or charity for a wicked and corrupt scoundrel, who commits iniquity with his eyes wide open, though I pity and regret the condition of the human family in their ignorance. They would come to the light, but for one thing—their deeds are evil, and they do not mean to have them reproved. They would be rebuked; and they will not bear it; and so they pass on, and will, until they are punished.

May God bless the righteous and sustain his cause. He will do so. The wicked cannot do anything against the truth. Every move they make to crush the kingdom of God will be attended with the signal blessings of the Almighty for its further extension and ultimate triumph. All their efforts will result in the overthrow of sin and iniquity, and the increase of righteousness and the kingdom of God upon the earth, until “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.” “Shall we see this in the flesh?” Yes. “Before we receive new bodies?” I do not know, though I expect to see all this in the flesh. Whether in this or in a new body, God being my helper, I shall contend for the righteousness of God and the rights of his Saints, and contend manfully, until we gain possession of our relatives, friends, neighbours, country, the nations of the earth, and the earth, to purify it and prepare it for the habitation of angels. That is our business. May the Lord help us to accomplish this purpose! Amen.

Light of the Spirit—Course of Missionaries

Brigham Young

Instructions by President Brigham Young made in the Bowery, and in the Historian’s Office, Great Salt Lake City, September 9, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt and J. V. Long.

If I have the Spirit of the Lord sufficiently, I may have a word for each and all classes present; though in a few remarks I by no means expect to comprehend all the duties that devolve upon the Saints. Here are new comers who, for the first time, have the privilege of assembling with the Saints at the gathering-place; some of them perhaps have been here one Sabbath, and others two. You have travelled thousands of miles to be assembled with the Saints. Here is another class of persons who have been living here for years, and who also need teaching. And here is still another class that needs teaching, perhaps, more than unbelievers. I refer to the Elders who are about to start on their missions.

We say to them, Go forth and preach the Gospel, gain an experience, learn wisdom, and walk humbly before your God, that you may receive the Holy Ghost to guide and direct you, and teach you all things past, present, and to come. I cannot say that this is sufficient to say to them, for it is not.

We say to the citizens of these valleys who have lived here and are going to stay here, Seek unto the Lord your God with all your hearts, ye Latter-day Saints, and so live, that the Holy Ghost will be your constant companion. It will teach you all things; it will bring to your remembrance past things that you have forgotten, things that are now present, and show you the providences of God, the dealings of the Lord with his people, his designs in organizing the world and in peopling it, &c. You Latter-day Saints, live humbly and live your religion faithfully, that you may enjoy the spirit of revelation to a fulness.

We say to the new comers, If you will live your religion—live to the light that was given to you when you embraced the truth, you will enjoy the same Spirit you then received, and there is not the least danger but what in so doing you will be Saints at home and abroad, in the morning and in the evening, enjoying the light of the Holy Spirit; and the Holy Ghost will be your constant companion, teaching you all things, which will constantly suffice for you.

For unbelievers we will quote from the Scriptures—“Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” Again—“Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God.” I will now give my scripture—“Whosoever confesseth that Joseph Smith was sent of God to reveal the holy Gospel to the children of men, and lay the foundation for gathering Israel, and building up the kingdom of God on the earth, that spirit is of God; and every spirit that does not confess that God has sent Joseph Smith, and revealed the everlasting Gospel to and through him, is of Antichrist, no matter whether it is found in a pulpit or on a throne, nor how much divinity it may profess, nor what it professes with regard to revealed religion and the account that is given of the Saviour and his Father in the Bible. They may say that they acknowledge Him until doomsday, and he will never own them, nor bestow the Holy Spirit upon them, and they will never have visions of eternity opened to them, unless they acknowledge that Joseph Smith is sent of God. Such people I call unbelievers. They tell about believing in Jesus Christ, but they might as well talk about birds understanding the Hebrew language. This statement is no more positive than true.

The spirit that confesses that this is the kingdom of God and his Church has the Spirit that fills the heavenly worlds, and every other spirit is of Antichrist. All whom I call unbelievers, if they will repent of their sins, obey the requirements in the New Testament, be baptized for the remission of sins by a man who holds the key and authority to lead them into the waters of baptism, and receive the laying on of hands for the Holy Ghost, shall receive a witness that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and that he was sent of God to build up his kingdom in this last dispensation. You will receive a Spirit that will bring all things to your remembrance, past present, and to come, teaching you all things necessary for you to understand. There are but a few in this generation who will do this. “Will one to a thousand?” Doubtful. “One to ten thousand, or a hundred thousand?” I hope so. Of the Latter-day Saints there will be many who will not so live their religion as to fully enjoy the Holy Ghost. The Latter-day Saints are like children who have to be taught continually, and still, like children, they handle, figuratively speaking, razors, glasses, cups, saucers, &c., contrary to the teachings that are given them.

Those Elders about to start on their missions will declare before this congregation and before the whole world that they do know, by the power of God, that Joseph Smith is a true Prophet of God, and that this is the work of God; that God has set to his hand to gather Israel: but let them neglect their duty and get into darkness, and they will lose this Spirit and testimony. They do not see this with their natural eyes, for it is spiritually discerned, as all things of God are. Let them do wrong and lose the Spirit, and by-and-by they apostatize and declare that they do not know “Mormonism” to be true, and think that they never did. How many are there of this class? Brethren, live your religion. As a mischievous child needs constant watching to keep it from falling into the fire, or otherwise injuring itself, so you need watching, warning, teaching, and admonishing all the time; you need to be continually teazed to your duty.

A spirit prompts both the good and the evil: an invisible influence seems to be shed abroad upon all nations. Let us seek unto the Lord, that we may be prompted by a good spirit. It matters not what your neighbours do, look to your God with all your heart, instead of watching your neighbours, and there will be no danger of your leaving the true path. If they will only live up to it, there has already been enough taught the brethren who have lived here for years to prepare them to enter into the strait gate and into the New Jerusalem, and be prepared to enjoy the society of the holy angels.

No other people are under the obligations to God that we are, who have been privileged to meet here Sabbath after Sabbath. We have the privilege of being gathered—the privilege of the law of the celestial kingdom, of receiving revelation, of enjoying the keys and power of the blessings of the Priesthood as sons of God. What other people have these privileges? No other that we have any knowledge of. This brings us under deep obligation to one another, to angels, to Jesus, and to God our Father. We have to live close to the Lord, in order to have his Spirit to learn and understand what he requires of us. You hear some say—“I wish I had influence and power, and were in a situation to do good!” Is there a man in this community deprived of the privilege of doing all the good his heart can desire? You can every day live to promote the cause of our God, and your whole lives can be filled with doing good.

The travels and labours of the Elders about to go on missions will throw them into positions which will cause them to seek unto the Lord. They need to live their religion, to go forth with pure hearts and clean hands, and then preach the Gospel by the power of God sent down from heaven. They should touch not and taste not of sin, and when they return they should come pure and clean, ready to meet the Saints with open countenances. To all appearance, the Elders on missions have been in the habit of making their pockets a matter of more consideration than the souls of men. I am not going to suffer this any longer.

I want every Elder to make his calculations to get rich here, and not go abroad to get riches from the Saints there. Plan and operate here to make as much property as you please; and if you can put it in a shape to gather the Saints, do so; and when you are abroad use every sovereign to emigrate the poor. You may have one shirt on and one at the washerwoman’s, and decent and comfortable clothing; but what you obtain over this must be used to gather the poor. “May I obtain money enough to come home?” Yes. “How many coats and pantaloons may we bring, and how many trunks packed with clothing of the most expensive kinds, for our wives and children?” I utterly forbid this practice. I forbid your bringing or sending home silk dresses and the like. Send and bring home the poor. I forbid your coming home in your carriages; I forbid your going out preachers and coming home merchants, but come home bringing your sheaves with you the souls of the children of men—spirits clothed in tabernacles. I forbid the Elders of Israel coming home as they have; but men, women, and children must be all the property, means, wealth, glory, and power that they bring home.

O ye gentiles, let me tell you that every Elder will do as I have told him, when he learns that the opposite course is wrong. And let me tell you that you will see the day when you will wish that you were “Mormon” Elders. By-and-by the Elders of Israel will have gold and silver for plates, cups, saucers, &c.; and when we have adorned and furnished our houses we will have gold and silver to pave our streets, and their enemies will be in hell, unable to raise a decent fiddler there, or any liquor, for it will all burn up, and every decent fiddler will go into a decent kingdom: we will have them. We are going to have the kingdom of God and the fulness thereof, and all the heights and depths of glory, power, and knowledge; and we shall have fathers and mothers, and wives and children.

Brother Cannon remarked that people wondered how many wives and children I had. He may inform them that I shall have wives and children by the million, and glory, and riches, and power, and dominion, and kingdom after kingdom, and reign triumphantly. “What will you do with all those who have sought to kill you?” Make them soap-boilers and kitchen flunkeys. We are not going to send them into hell fire, for it takes a good Latter-day Saint apostatized to get down into that deep (did I say bottomless?) pit. A person, to become an angel of the Devil, has first to be a good Saint, and then deny the Lord who bought him.

Do you query why we give endowments to A., B., and C? It is to make devils of those who will deny the faith, for that is also necessary, as a host of devils will be needed. We also want Saints, angels, holy ones, and those that are exalted to the highest glory—we want them to inherit kingdoms that number millions on millions.

Brother Hooper stated that he had charity. My charity is that God has provided for his children, the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, where all who have lived according to the best light they had will have better kingdoms than ever entered into their hearts to conceive. That is the charity of God in his plans to save his people. Will the Latter-day Saints so live that they can enjoy the fulness of the heights, depths, glory, and intelligence in which the Father and the Son dwell? If they do not, they must go into another kingdom. He has designed that we should become Gods—the sons of God—fathers of eternal lives, like Abraham. This is the promise he received—to be the father of endless lives, that his posterity and generation should never cease, in time nor eternity.

Some may think that the restrictions upon our Missionaries are greater than they should be; but if they learn to be practical men, they will learn that my system is the best. Send Elders forth to attend to the business of the churches—to the spiritual and the financial departments, and to preside over them, and the care and toil are very laborious. But if, at the same time, their minds are upon speculation, and they lay awake at night to calculate how they are going to speculate—how many teams they need to bring a lot of goods across the Plains, &c., the labour becomes so severe as to nearly drive them crazy: it at least causes them to have but little spiritual strength when they return; and I really think it best to relieve them from this extra burden. To study, plan, and labour to be merchants, and to bring home silks, satins, velvet, &c., for their wives and children, is a great burden; and we wish to relieve them from that, and let them come home, bringing the poor with them.

If Elders go and fill their missions, they have enough to do; and if they at the same time study to be merchants and to speculate, it will crush them into weakness and poverty. Those who have mixed speculation with preaching, and have thereby oppressed and hedged up the emigration of the poor, upon their return seem to have no spirit left for anything except speculation. Your best plan, if you wish to make money, is to make it here at the gathering-place. This is the place for you to accumulate property—to make your families comfortable, that when you go on your missions you can go stript for the race and harnessed for the battle, for the work before you, and have nothing else in your hearts.

If the Lord ever revealed anything to me, he has shown me that the Elders of Israel must let speculation alone and attend to the duties of their calling, otherwise they will have little or no power in their missions or upon their return. It commenced long ago in England, and those who have practised it are in poverty; and it is high time that it was put a stop to, which I am going to do, God and good brethren being my helpers.

I am in earnest in this matter, and God will sustain me in it. Quit sending or bringing silks, satins, and furbelows for your wives to flaunt in. I am strongly opposed to it.

Some may inquire whether I did not make money when on missions. If I did, it has been expended to gather the poor. When I returned from England, I had but one sovereign left when I reached home. Brother Joseph asked me what I was going to do for a living. I told him that I was going to borrow fifteen cents to put with my sovereign to buy a barrel of flour, visit my friends, and when that flour was eaten I should be ready to do what the Lord required. I went on my mission to England, performed its duties, and returned with clean hands and a pure heart; and all who desire to honour God and their holy calling to the Priesthood must pursue this course.

From this time forth every man that goes on a mission with a view to speculation will be overtaken by poverty, for speculation is no part of the duties devolving upon the Elders. They should practise the strictest economy, especially while on their missions. I have not sought for riches, nor placed my affections upon the things of this world. I do not at home any more than I did abroad. When I obtain money and other property, I study to dispose of it to the best advantage for promoting the cause in which we are engaged. And I tell you, in the name of Israel’s God, that it is my counsel and imperative command that our Missionaries let speculation alone, and preach the Gospel, and so live that when you blow the Gospel trump your words will be like melted lead in the hearts of the people, and not return unto you void, that you may glory and do good in the labour to which God has called you. Do not operate as some have, but let your minds and energies be devoted to the business on which you are sent.

Publications have been issued from the Liverpool Office and crowded upon the people, seemingly regardless of the wants or ability of the brethren, and creating what is known as the “Book Debt,” the very sound of which is disagreeable; lithographed and engraved likenesses of Elders have been forced upon Conferences; and in some instances the money on hand in London and Liverpool has been taken and used by the Elders to the estimated amount of the publications and likenesses, a large portion of which remain lumbering storerooms as dead stock, except where sold out of the way as waste paper. Brethren have been obliged to take more or less copies of publications, whether they could use them, or afford to pay for them, or not; and this very system of forcing publications upon the brethren and Conferences has prevented hundreds and thousands of the Saints from emigrating, turned a great deal of money from its legitimate channel, and left us useless articles instead of the money the Church or the people should have had. Put thousands of pounds into the hands of an Elder in this manner, and it will go from him without his being able to tell where or how it has gone: it seems impossible for him to keep it or its value; it slips away.

There are thousands of pounds’ worth of books, &c., now lying useless in the Liverpool Office, that have been paid for with Tithing money, which ought to have been used for emigrating the poor, paying debts, and otherwise carrying on the work, in accordance with counsel from here: but instead of this, the books lie use less in the Office. And a few have tried to get rich, but all their riches seem to have had the wings of the morning and have flown far from them.

How many in Utah pay Tithing on their money? Comparatively very few. Probably we do not get one dollar to a thousand on cash Tithing. And if horses, oxen, or cows could be sold for money, probably but few of them would be turned in on Tithing; and if wheat could be sold for money, we should get no wheat except from a very few. But we get along and are not dead yet; and we shall live and do well, while others will be dead and in their graves. The humble will live, their spirits will be buoyant, and they will live to a great age.

You Elders who are selected to go on missions, be virtuous and holy before the Lord your God, that you may be filled with his Spirit. And when you reach your respective fields of labour in the States, in England, or elsewhere, do not begin to pull down your predecessors. So far as their conduct will permit speak of them as your brethren, and as men who have done the best they knew how. Testify that you know them to be good men, when you know that they have been doing according to their best judgment and understanding; and do not say hard words about your predecessors in the vineyard. Not one who does this will gain anything by it. Do not discourage, deride, or bring anything against any of your predecessors to lessen the character of any one who has done the best he knew how. You have not heard me say that I disfellowship them, for I believe that they have not intended to do a wrong thing in all that is past. All that I blame them for is because I believe that they could or should have known better. I consider that having lived till now, they should so live as to have the Holy Ghost within them continually, to guide them in the way of life.

We are so organized that we need preaching to all the time. This is because of our weaknesses, and we shall have to bear with one another until we become stronger and wiser. Until then, we will travel and preach and do all the good we can. And those that put their shoulders to the wheel, with a desire and determination to preach the Gospel, save souls, and aid in whatever they are called upon to do for the rolling forth of this great work, will live the longest have the most gold and silver, and enjoy more eternities of happiness and exaltation than those who do nothing but grumble and find fault with what others do and say.

It is not necessary, in crossing the Plains, for our Missionaries to travel on foot and carry their valises; and we wish you to be provided to cross the Plains comfortably, and to take prudent care of your bodies while absent and to come home as comfortably as you can: but do not get money from the poor Saints to buy a carriage with. I have travelled and preached a great deal, and had to live, and I have always had a large family to support. I have had to borrow money to come home with, and I do not remember that I ever brought any money home, but what it has gone directly to relieve the Prophet of his burdens. He used to ask me how I managed to support myself and family. I told him that I made a sixpence go, perhaps, as far as some would make a quarter of a dollar go—that I had done what I could, and the Lord had done the rest, and that was all I knew about it. Of course there are some things I know, and many that I do not; but I do know that Heber C. Kimball and myself used 86 dollars in board and other expenses when travelling on a mission, and that when we started we had but 13 dollars, 50 cents. And I do know that I once took a five-dollar bill out of my pocket, when we were raising money for brother Joseph, and threw it in, and that the next day I had just as much as I had before I gave away the five dollars. I do know that when I went to pay some money that I owed, after giving some away to the poor, I had just as much when, I came to pay my debts as I had before I gave any to the poor. I do know that I handed out a half-eagle to a poor man in my office, and then found two half-eagles in my pocket that I never put there. And I also do know that I never hungered or thirsted for property.

Some may say—“Brother Brigham, you are boasting, and you may be tried.” I may be tried; but if I am, I pray God to give me strength to bear the trial. I feel under the most positive and strict obligation to make every penny go as far as I can towards preaching the Gospel, gathering Israel, and doing good. I do not lust after property; and I wish my brethren could see my heart as I see theirs. I know the hearts of my brethren who are around me, whether I chasten them or not. You act out what is naturally in you, and I can tell, by the acts, by the faces, and by the doings of men, what is in their hearts. We are here, and we have the kingdom of God to build up as the Lord directs, and carry out his requirements in all things.

The Saints abroad are required to pay their Tithing, but they have been made to donate and pay so much that they have felt that the cords were drawn pretty tight. Of late we have let the strings loose, and the people in the European Missions have become slack in regard to paying even their Tithing. This is a natural result, and I expected it. The brethren will now exhort them to renew their good works in again paying Tithing, and we must have a correct account of it, and must have the privilege of directing its expenditure for gathering the Saints and building up the kingdom. We wish to hurry and gather the brethren, that they may receive their endowments, and either remain Saints or apostatize; and those who continue faithful may be taught to more and more honour their faith and co-operate in building up the kingdom of God on the earth.

I have detained you long enough. God bless you! Amen.

Remarks Pertaining to Foreign Missions

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 23, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I am happy in discerning from brother Calkin’s remarks that he is really expanding and improving. He could not have talked to this people before he went on his mission as he can to-day. I now know that he has been prompt and fervent in the discharge of his duty, and has enjoyed the Spirit of the Lord. And so far as I have learned concerning his labours, I do not know but that I am perfectly satisfied with his course during his absence. He reported himself immediately upon his arrival, before he went home, saying, “I am here, and all I have is here; now what is wanted of me?” Go home, rest, and make yourself happy and comfortable, and by-and-by we will have a long talk. I am pleased with his remarks to-day. He is ready to leave again to-morrow, to go here or there, east or west, north or south. This is a satisfaction to me. He feels to bless the people, and to pray for them. He has had no doubt in regard to the results of the afflictions or seeming trials that our enemies strove to bring upon us. Every heart that believes in the fulness of the Gospel of life and salvation, as it is revealed in this our day, has never had a doubt as to the good results: there is no doubt in the case. We may fail, if we are not faithful; but God will not fail in accomplishing his work, whether we abide in it or not.

I will now express a wish in relation to all who may rise here to ask a blessing on the bread and water of the sacrament, or to speak to such large congregations as assemble here. When a blessing is asked upon the bread and water by some persons, you cannot hear them ten feet from the stand, and only a few persons in this vast congregation can hear one word. I want brother Hunter to let his voice partially correspond with his body; and when brother Hardy opens his mouth, or any of the rest of the Bishops, I want their voices to correspond with the occasion; I want them to so lift up their voices that all may hear, that all may say “Amen.” When the Elders rise here to speak, I want them to so raise their voices that the people can hear them, that the audience may be able to say “Amen” to all the good; and if there is evil, refuse it. Naturally, I speak low, and use but few words; but here I see thousands of people who wish to hear what is said; and how can they hear, unless the speaker uses sufficient voice? I am often obliged to so raise my voice beyond my natural strength that it hurts my lungs and my whole frame; but I do this for the satisfaction of the people. I want my brethren to do the same, that the hearts and faith of the congregation may have an opportunity to join in the worship of God. When any one rises to preach, pray, sing, exhort, or bless the sacramental emblems, let him do so with voice sufficient for all to hear.

I am highly gratified with brother Calkin’s report in relation to the Foreign Missions. We understand the situation of the brethren in those Missions, and one fact we wish the Saints at the gathering-place to understand. How many hearts are now ready to receive what I am going to say? How many of you can receive the sentiments I will now advance, and treasure them up—make them more choice in your feelings than the pure gold? They are worth everything to us and to the people abroad. Do you know that here is the standard, the nucleus, the fountain, the head for all the exercises of the kingdom of God upon the face of the whole earth? Now, let the Saints in this congregation droop in their faith, and that spirit will spread before to-morrow morning throughout the vast domain of this creation. Every Elder that goes abroad is a witness of this fact. This spirit spreads through a telegraphic influence or force that is independent of wires. Let this people at the gathering-place wake out of their slumbers, gird on their armour, and go forth like men of war against wickedness, and every Branch throughout the Church feels the influence in a very short time—it is speedily imparted to all creation. The wires, as it were, are set, the lightnings flash over them, and all feel the influence, when we are doing our duty here. It all depends upon us here. “Are we not obliged to send forth Elders?” Yes, for helps and governments, which are all necessary to God’s work.

Here is the kingdom, the Priesthood, and the power. Here are the eyes, and here is the sense; the head and the body are here, and every component part that comprises the kingdom of God upon the earth. The small Branches abroad feel the impulse of the spirit here, whether it is for good or for bad, whether it is for information, for forgiveness, for life, for faith, for light, or for power, or apostacy; the whole Church throughout the world feels the spirit that predominates here. Hear it, O ye Saints, and profit by it. We are sending forth our Elders, and do you think it is in our power to tie their hands? If the head that has sent them forth into the world to preach the everlasting Gospel goes to sleep in its armour, wallows in wealth, or in anything that is this side of the power of God, our Elders are at once tied; they feel the oppression, are trammelled and weakened, and will totter and fall, unless the head is wide awake for them.

Brother W. C. Staines, in his remarks, wished the Saints here to remember him in their prayers. Thousands here will hold him up in their faith and prayers. I wanted to add to his life on the earth, which going on his mission will do, even many years, if he does his duty. Such will be the case with brother John Needham. They are merchants, and have heard that they are sent on this mission because they are speculators. I do not know anything about that, but I feel that it is time that William C. Staines went on a mission: his life is worth more than the gold which he gathers from the sale of the goods he deals in. He is going on a mission, and is going just right. Brother Needham has been a merchant from his youth, and brother Staines has been a tiller of the soil. I have not the least fault to find with either of them; but brother Needham would probably die in a short time, were he to stay here. If he goes on this mission, he will probably live many years to do good, and be richer than if he staid [stayed] here and followed merchandizing. We have called them because we want them to go, and we wish them to go their way rejoicing.

We have promised the Missionaries, if they will live according to the manifestations of the Spirit, and preach the Gospel by the power of God sent down from heaven, that they will feel more of the Spirit and power of their calling than they have ever felt before. Do you think that we are always going to remain the same size? I am not a stereotyped Latter-day Saint, and do not believe in the doctrine. Every year the Elders of Israel are improving and learning, and have more power, more influence with the Heavens, more power over the elements, and over diseases, and over the power of Satan, who has ruled this earth from the days of the fall until now. We have to gain power until we break the chain of the Enemy. Are we going to stand still? Away with stereo-typed “Mormons.” I have more power than I had last year. I feel much stronger than ever before, and that too in the power of God; and I feel as though I could take the people and bring them into the presence of God, if they only hearken to counsel. Do you think that I am improving? “Yes.” Keep up, then; keep your places, and follow in the track.

The kingdom of God is all that is of real worth. All else is not worth possessing, either here or hereafter. Without it, all else would be like a dry tree prepared for the burning—it is all consumed, and the ashes are driven to the four winds. Let the brethren who go upon missions go with the power of God upon them, and shun every appearance of evil. Love the Gospel and cling to the Lord. Seek unto him by day and by night, that you may have his Holy Spirit to be with you to guide your feet and your affections, and give you wisdom to ask and answer questions; then you will not be apt to fall into temptation and be caught away in the snares of the Devil.

So far as I have learned, the brethren and sisters have most liberally responded to the call made on them last Sunday for sending forth the Elders. I have not a full list of the contributions, or I would report it to you to-day. A few of the Bishops have reported to me what their Wards have done, but I have not learned the full amount that has been collected. So far as I can learn, the Saints have felt the responsibility that is upon them. It belongs to us to send the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth, and it belongs to the Elders to preach it. Some may say that the Elders ought to start from here without anything, and go into the world and get their support. You who have never given anything, since you have been in the Church, for the spread of the Gospel, have an opportunity to begin now; and those who have always been on hand to help will help more; and between the two classes, we will receive enough to send the Elders abroad, and sustain their families during their absence, so far as their families need assistance.

I wish the Elders to go forth as I have taught them. If you have a clean shirt and one to be washed, then be satisfied. If you are clothed so as to be comfortable, be satisfied, and do not let your minds reach out after anything only to preach the Gospel and gather the souls of men. That is all the business you have upon your hands—it is your whole mission; and trust in God to get home—trust in the Lord to go from place to place, and the way will be opened for you. And when you start to come home, if you have more than you need to bring you home, without bringing a dress-pattern for your wife or children, and though, when you reach home, your own clothes will be worn to strings and tatters, if you have five dollars more than you need to defray your expenses on your return, help the poor Saints with it, and I will warrant you more food to eat, more clothing to wear, and more friends in heaven and on earth, more houses, lands, and possessions, than you would have, were you to bring home rich dresses for your wives and expensive clothes for yourselves, with your minds shrunk with covetousness and love of the world.

I have been striving with my brethren, all the day long, to build up the kingdom of God. As long as Joseph lived, I laboured with all my might with my brethren. In the days of the Prophet it was proven to a demonstration that he could not bear off this kingdom without temporal means. If this was absolutely necessary in his day, why not now? Elders of Israel have taken a course—those who have been to Australia, to the East Indies, to California, San Bernardino, the State of New York, Philadelphia, and other places in the United States, and those who have had charge of the European Missions, to keep every dime out of my hands. I will not suffer this any longer. They require me to bear off the kingdom of God, and they would keep every dollar from me, if they could. I am satisfied with the brethren, for they seem to have supposed that this kingdom was a kingdom of merchandize. I do not say that the brethren have done as they have with their eyes open, for they are as good men as ever walked on this footstool; but they have been mistaken. This is the kingdom of God, to gather the poor, for the poor are the people of God, and they shall inherit the earth; and if you make merchandize of anything, buy the souls of the children of men, and bring them into the kingdom of God, and lay them at the feet of Jesus.

Every person who knows anything about life must know that it requires means to carry on this work; and that means I shall require, from this day forth, to be at my control, and not at the beck and call of every Elder; and at the same time they make me gather the poor and pay all the debts of the Church. We want to build the Temple walls on this block. We now support thousands of people, and wish to support thousands more. They want hats, coats, shirts, dresses, tea, coffee, and sugar. The wife wants the comforts of life to give to her husband while he is labouring hard, and for herself while she is knitting stockings, etc., for the hands. The Elders abroad are wallowing in their riches, and there are women here before me in their silks and satins that have been bought with money that belongs to my purse. They shall not do this any longer. I wrote to brother Calkin to give me a history of matters abroad: he has done so. In the emigration operations of one season Church funds were kept out of my hands by Elders, and they rolled seventy-six thousand dollars of Church indebtedness on me to pay, and that too without the least notification, until it was all transacted and done. While the Elders were buying the best silks and satins for their wives, and the most expensive clothes for themselves, with the money that I ought to have controlled, (going out preachers and coming home merchants, with their pockets full of money and drafts,) I have had to take the old worn-out horses, and the old toothless cows, and the potatoes, and wheat, when they would not bring money, and make a shift of a shirt, and a shirt of a shift, and a pair of breeches of a shirt, and then make another shift to get hold of money to keep the work in motion. If I were not one of the best financiers on the earth, we should have been in trouble to-day; and all I know, God has taught me. I have been obliged to ask brother Wells to work like a slave, to deal for me here and there, and change property, and to keep him running until he was almost run out; and now the people are teasing him all the time, for they want dresses, shirts, boots, pantaloons, etc.; and he has nothing to give them, while some are rolling in wealth.

I am going to make the Elders of Israel help to bear off this kingdom, or I will scourge them until they do. “How is it with yourself, brother Brigham?” I would rather wear gray homespun than your fine broadcloth. I have it made up; but, to please my family and the people, I wear such as I do. I would as soon wear a good home-made coat as a coat of the finest cloth in the world. As to food, my greatest luxury is roasted potatoes and a little good, clean, sour buttermilk. Such fare is good enough for Brigham.

Now, let me say to you all, and hear it, O Israel, you have either to give me the control of the Church funds, and pay your Tithing promptly, or take the responsibility of bearing off this kingdom. If the Twelve Apostles and the Presidents of Seventies and the High Priests will take the responsibility of bearing off this kingdom and sending the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth, of gathering the poor, building up Zion, and doing all that is necessary preparatory to the coming of the Son of Man, Brigham is with you to labour with you all his days, and support himself. I have fed and clothed myself from the beginning, and I am willing to do it now, and to spend all my time in the work of God, no matter in what department. If you take the responsibility, you shall have the means; but if you roll the responsibility upon me, I must have the means. If you wish me to bear off the kingdom, will you give me the means to do it with? If you will, raise your right hands. [All hands were raised. To the contrary vote, not a hand was raised.]

We all should follow our leader; and when we are perfectly united in one, we produce the best results for Israel.

God bless you! Amen.

Blessings of the Saints—Covetousness

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 30, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I feel the force of the ancient saying—“Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard, that went down to the skirts of his garments; as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life evermore.”

I realize all that has just been said in regard to the blessings of heaven being ready to be poured out upon this people, if they were prepared to receive them, and that too in a far greater degree than has ever entered into the heart of man to conceive; for the heart of man is incapable of fully comprehending the blessings that God has in store for the faithful, unless he has revealed those blessings to them by the revelations of his Spirit. The natural man is contracted in his feelings, in his views, faith, and desires, and so are the Saints, unless they live their religion. If they live their religion, all that has been said this morning they will fully realize to be true.

It may be asked, “Shall we go to the world for wisdom?” They have none, so far as pertains to the plan of salvation. To be sure, they have considerable knowledge of the arts and sciences; but in those do they understand all that has formerly been understood? I have no idea that they do. Do they know anything of the things of God? No. Brother Taylor observed, “Go to the priests of the day, and they cannot inform you.” There is a good reason why—because they know nothing directly in regard to the things of the kingdom, and they are equally ignorant with regard to the design of their present existence, to say nothing of either their prior or future existence. They are a mystery to themselves, and do not even understand the things which they see; still they are searching and researching, and studying and striving with all their powers to understand the things they see every day, and come short of doing that. How, then, can they understand the invisible things that pertain to eternity? There is no knowledge of these things in the so-called Christian world, in comparison with what they should possess, in consideration of the advantages which have been granted to them, neither is that knowledge among those denominated heathen. There are only a few dark traditions—a few incorrect and garbled ceremonies and ordinances remaining of the true system that was once possessed by mankind.

We are in the kingdom of God, and must yield obedience to it: We say that we do—we feel that we do, but when will this people fully see and understand things as they are? I may answer in the future, and all I can now say is that they are learning—growing in grace and in the knowledge of the truth; but to say we are perfect, we cannot. When brother Taylor referred, in his remarks, to our leader and dictator, with regard to his perfections and imperfections, I felt that I could almost say that I did not want him to be perfect yet. I remember Joseph Smith’s saying, “If I were as pure and holy as you wish me to be, I could not stay with you; I should not be here to guide and direct you, for the Lord would take me from you.” He did take him; the people were not worthy of him. The people required him to be as holy as the Almighty himself, and to never make a mistake. Wherein the First Presidency and the Twelve do wrong, it is not in the ability of the people to detect them in those wrongs. They are far advanced, and they know enough more to lead out; and if they commit an error, it is passed over, and the people cannot tell wherein or when, nor how to correct it.

The Christian world are all looking for a day of perfection, and are donating their money and sending out Missionaries—they have also a great many Tract and Bible Societies, &c., &c., expressly to convert the world and bring forth the day the ancient Prophets have written about—a day of rest, the millennium, or any other term you please to apply to it, but it is a day when the Saints who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ shall see eye to eye, when all shall come to the knowledge of the truth, and the law of the Lord shall be written in the hearts of all, and none shall need to say to his neighbour, “Know ye the Lord,” for all shall know him, &c. All Christendom is looking for that day. I will inform this congregation and the whole world that they will never come to perfection—never can commence the great work of reformation in themselves and with each other, until the superior knowledge can take the inferior and direct it, and, if need be, chasten it, and remove its errors, and give it the truth.

During a few weeks past much has been said in relation to the folly, feelings, and doings of Elders of Israel. Joseph Smith was a rod in the hands of the Lord to scourge the Elders of Israel; he was the mouthpiece of the Almighty, and was always ready to rebuke them when requisite. You who were acquainted with him know his course and life. He had a word of comfort and consolation to the humble and faithful, and a word of rebuke to the froward and disobedient. But for a few years past, in the midst of the Elders of Israel, they have treated each other with what may be called silken words spoken with velvet lips; and what you have lately been hearing about has produced this course of life and feeling among the Elders not to chasten or rebuke each other. If they wished to correct, they would preach a long sermon, and tell how miserable they themselves were, how wicked they had been, how much evil they had done, and how many times they had transgressed and been out of the way; and after they had painted their own characters as black as darkness, they would say, “Brethren, do you not think that you have done wrong in what you have done? I am afraid you have; but my own evil works are so much greater than yours, that I dare not mention it.” This conduct is connected with other things; in fact, the whole experience of man and the whole plan of salvation are so interwoven that it is hard to draw out and divide one subject from another, though it may be done in some instances. Men become darkened in their minds; they say that the Elders of Israel, they believe, have fallen from grace and have received the spirit of the world. Those Elders are not willing to acknowledge this, but almost every track they make proves it; almost every deed they perform proves that they have become lukewarm, and they preach with silken lips, and do not pour the truth of God upon the people as the Lord wishes them to, nor cause the overt acts of the ungodly to feel the wrath of justice and the weight of truth. This is what I see, and what I have seen for a long time.

People become covetous. The whole world is more or less covetous; and when the questions are asked, “Where shall we go for wisdom—for strength? To whom shall we apply for knowledge? Where shall we seek for life?”—there is but one source, and that is the God who organized us. When will we become entirely independent? Never, though we are as independent in our spheres as the Gods of eternity are in theirs. When will we lead out and act for ourselves? When we have overcome, and that is not yet. Jesus has not yet overcome; he has not received his kingdom from the Father. He has to contend against the enemy—against the power of the Devil, until he overcomes death and him that has the power of it. If he is successful, and we believe that he will be, when he overcomes and subdues all enemies and puts them under his feet, he will present the kingdom to the Father; and then he will be crowned, and not until then. When will we be crowned? Not until we pass through ordeals preparatory to receiving those crowns. We are not our own. We have our existence, but it is not our own.

That which we seem to possess is not our own, but is owned and controlled by a superior power. Even the power of the Devil can take money from one man’s pocket and place it in another man’s pocket, to say nothing of what the power of God can do. Some men seemingly possess much riches, as did Job, and how long may it be before they have not a farthing’s worth of property, or a wife, or child? In a few weeks the Lord took almost all from Job; he spared to him a wife, who, as recorded in the Bible, seemed to taunt Job’s trust in his God—his fidelity to his Maker. “Now,” says she, “you had better curse God at once and die. I told you that he would not stand by you.” I presume Job felt like saying, “Go to the Devil your own road.”

Who does have true power? Those who have overcome and sat down with the Gods in eternity, and who have committed to them the keys that are prepared for them. Then they can reign triumphantly, for they have perfect control over death and him that has the power of death, and over all evil: then they control life.

I frequently reflect upon how much power we need. You hear the Elders of Israel praying for power to overcome their enemies: they want power to strike them blind and to strike them dead. We have seen times, within a few years back, when we would have been glad to have had power to destroy our enemies. Have you power, independently, to make a kernel of wheat grow, or any vegetable with which to feed yourselves? No; you have not power to control those lesser powers that pertain to the elements.

What does the Lord want of us? To build temples, raise potatoes, wheat, &c., and preach the Gospel to and gather the poor. The Elders of Israel do not thoroughly know how to do this; yet they want to rise here and tell how the Gods are made. They had better learn how to raise potatoes, and how to take care of them after they are raised. Some do not know even this, but would let the potatoes rot before they are half used up. If they had an abundance of gold and silver, they would not know what to do with it. Are not the people reaching after that which does not belong to them? That is the reason why the whole world do not receive the Gospel; it is too low and humble for them. They are looking after something in the future; they are like the fool, whose eyes are wandering to the ends of the earth; like some of the Elders who rise here to preach and want to tell what is going to be in the millennium, and what has been long before the creation of the world, but never think of inquiring as to their duty to-day. Learn first to obtain power over the smaller objects and principles around you. Learn to control yourselves and that which is immediately around you, and always keep in view that the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms—the earth and its fulness—will all, except the children of men, abide their creation the law by which they were made, and will receive their exaltation.

Who will possess the earth and the fulness thereof? Will those who love money, and who barter their lives and their hopes of salvation for a little gold? Those who love it in its present existence will perish. Gold is one of the most refined metals, and mankind have to be tried like gold that has passed seven times through the crucible, making it a little hotter each time, until the metal is as pure as it can be. Who will possess it? Who will possess the earth and all its fulness? Will it not be those whom the Lord has reserved to this honour? And they will come upon Mount Zion as saviours, to labour through the millennium to save others.

Are the Elders able to correct a person when he is wrong, without having personal feelings? You are not as you should be, unless you can correct every person you know to be wrong, without having personal ill-feelings against them? If you cannot possess gold and silver without having one particle of love for it, you are not as you must learn to be. All that a man should have in his heart with regard to goods, and chattels, and possessions on the earth, is to know of the Lord what to do with them. If I do a wrong, let me correct that wrong, and become right; if I see a wrong in my neighbour, correct that, and remove the fault from him, and give him something better. The object of the Elders of Israel ought to be to glorify God and sanctify their feelings and affections before him. If we have anything else in our hearts, it is wrong: contending one with another is wrong.

May God bless you, brethren! Amen.

Helping in the Immigration

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

Last spring we called upon some of the Bishops to furnish a few teams to go to the Missouri river and back this season, to prove to the people a fact that several of us were convinced did exist. We obtained twenty teams from the Wards; I also sent a few, and they have successfully performed the journey to Florence, N.T., and back, under the charge of Elder Joseph W. Young. Bishop Woolley also went down with some mule and ox teams, and returned with the ox train. I want to hear them both speak this afternoon on the subject of freighting with teams sent from here.

The handcart system has been pretty well tried; and if a handcart company start in proper season, and manage properly, I will venture to say the most of them can come in that way more pleasantly than they generally come with waggons. But drawing their provisions, &c., is a hard task, and it would be more satisfactory, if we could manage it, to bring in waggons the freight and those who are unable to walk.

In 1834, a company of us were called upon to go to Missouri, and in that trip the labour of walking, so far as we averaged in a day, was very fatiguing. A great many of that company walked, and we cooked by the way as much as do those who travel across the Plains, and we carried a greater weight than is generally carried by those who walk from the Missouri river to this city. This I know, for I was one of those who walked the whole distance. In less than three months I walked two thousand miles, as far as to Florence and back; and others of the company did the same. And instead of having a healthy climate to walk in, we passed through one of the most deathly and sickly climates in the United States, which proved to me that most people can walk, if they will try.

We now contemplate trying another plan. If we can go with our teams to the Missouri river and back in one season, and bring the poor, their provisions, &c., it will save about half of the cash we now expend in bringing the Saints to this point from Europe. It now costs in cash nearly as much for their teams, waggons, handcarts, cooking utensils, provisions, &c, for their journey across the Plains, as it does to transport them to the frontiers. We can raise cattle without an outlay of money, and use them in transporting the Saints from the frontiers, and such freight as we may require. Brethren and sisters, save your fives, tens, fifties, a hundred dollars, or as much as you can, until next spring, (considering yourselves, as it were, a thousand miles from a store,) and send your money, your cattle, and waggons to the States, and buy your goods and freight them. Twenty dollars expended in this way will do you as much good as several times that amount paid to the stores here.

If we can convince the brethren that it is a successful operation, we shall endeavour to engage in it largely next year. We wish to send two or three hundred waggons, with two or three yokes of cattle to a light Chicago wagon. If you have not the wagons, you can send the money and buy them. In this way, where we could emigrate a hundred from Liverpool to this place by the old method, we can emigrate some two hundred by going to the frontiers and bringing them. This will facilitate, by almost half, the gathering of the Saints, and at the same time enable us to procure, at cheap rates, such articles as we do not produce. I wish the brethren to grasp in their faith the facts that will be presented, and believe that we can do all that we can, and then be ready to do it. We have plenty of cattle and can send them, and they will perform the journey as well as horses or mules, with far less risk of their being stolen on the Plains.

I wish the Bishops to improve upon the counsel I gave them this morning, receiving it as kindly as it was given; for we only desire to turn the current of our business transactions into the channel that will most conduce to the welfare of the Saints. I also want them to present to their Wards the plan of sending teams to the frontier; and I want the men who think and write to send to the Editor of the Deseret News articles about sending teams to the States to bring our poor brethren and our freight, and to take out and bring back our Missionaries.

Last spring our Elders went down with the trains at a saving of some two thousands dollars in cash, and on reaching the frontier were prepared to go on their way rejoicing. And when they return, I anticipate the honour of our teams bringing them back as poor as they went—that they will not return as merchants; for if they do, from this time forth, the curse of God will rest upon them, and they will lose the spirit of their religion and apostatize. I want them to respect their missions, themselves, their brethren, their religion, and our God, as to return poor in regard to gold, silver, &c., but rich in gathering the souls of the children of men to this place, where we can chasten them and prove whether they are Saints or not, and where the Lord will have the privilege of proving them either to be Saints or unworthy of the kingdom.

I will now call upon brother E. D. Woolley to preach a sermon about ox-trains going to the States.

God bless you! Amen.

Persecution—The Kingdom of God

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 7, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

You have heard the testimony of brother Hyde: it is full of spirit, full of matter, full of marrow. He has spoken words of truth—the words of the Lord.

There are hundreds and thousands of Elders who would be glad to bear their testimony to the truth. Be faithful, walk uprightly before God, deal justly with all, love mercy, shun every appearance of evil, and magnify your Priesthood, and you shall have the opportunity of speaking, bearing rule, dictating, guiding, and directing, to your full satisfaction, the things that pertain to the kingdom of God. This promise is to all who are faithful. They shall receive a fulness of kingdoms, thrones, principalities, powers, dominions, and all the fulness pertaining to the Godhead, to their full satisfaction and capability. This should be a satisfaction to all.

At the first impression, the testimony of one man is equally valid with that of another; but when people are filled with understanding to discern and comprehend the principles by which the worlds were made, and by which they are governed and controlled, they realize that there is a vast difference between the man who assumes his authority and the one who is appointed by his master, to go and transact business. Suppose that a number of individuals having no appointment, credentials, or authority, should come from any foreign country to the capital of our nation, and pretend to be ministers of the government from whence they came, what attention would be paid to them by our Government? None, officially; though they would probably be treated kindly, and as gentlemen, if they behaved themselves. But when a minister from the English or any other European court comes with his appointment, credentials, recommends, &c., the President of the United States, the Congress, and officers of state are ready to receive him with the respect due to his position. So it is in the kingdom of God, and in regard to this people.

Our persecutors have supposed that they persecuted us upon the the same principle that the Reformers were persecuted in the days of Martin Luther and others; but in this they are mistaken. Tell the world—sound it in the ears of kings and rulers, that they are persecuting a people to whose God they will have to pay every debt they contract: they will be brought into judgment for every act against this kingdom. This is the kingdom of God; these are the people of God, as are all who receive the truth and follow its principles. As to parentage, we are no more the children of God than are the rest of the inhabitants of the earth. Originally, as to our parents, as to our organization and that which pertains to our life, we are all the children of one Father, whether we be Jew or Gentile, bond or free, black or white, noble or ignoble. The difference we see arises in consequence of the different use made of the agency given to man. Be careful, all the world, and touch not the anointed of the Lord. Afflict not the people who have the oracles of salvation for all the human family. Will the world believe this statement? They can if they choose; but the great majority of the inhabitants of the earth will reject life and salvation when it is presented to them, and in the end it will be like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done. A few here and a few there will receive the truth, and the Lord will empty the earth of the wickedness that now dwells upon it.

As brother Hyde has stated, the “harmonious democracy” that undertook to destroy this people, broke in pieces in the State where the Lord, twenty-eight years ago, on the 25th of next December, revealed to the Prophet Joseph that the nation would begin to break. But I do not wish to make a political speech, nor to have anything to do with the politics and parties in our Government. They love sin, and roll it as a sweet morsel under their tongues. Had they the power, they would dethrone Jehovah; had they the power, they would to-day crucify every Saint there is upon the earth; they would not leave upon the earth one alive in whose veins runs the blood of the Priesthood. Yet they are our brethren and sisters—bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh—sprung from one parentage. God is our Father—Jesus Christ is our Elder Brother. If the world would understand this, and take warning, and be cautious, it would be far better for them. Will they? No: they do not and will not realize facts as they exist, and we cannot help it. All we can do is to plead with them, preach to them the words of eternal life, and offer it to them as it has been offered to us. If they receive it, blessed are they. If they reject it, it is their privilege. The powers and faculties of their organizations are for themselves to use as they elect; for they, as well as we, are agents before God, and can choose or refuse according to their own pleasure. But they are broken in pieces. Do I wish to predict this? No, for it was predicted long ago. The nation that has lifted itself against the kingdom of God is already shivered to pieces. Touch it, and it will crumble under your touch. The cohesiveness of its particles is gone—they cannot cling together, and they will be sifted as with a sieve of vanity. God’s controversy with them has commenced; he has commenced with this nation, and in its turn he will sift every nation there is upon the face of the earth.

In the beginning, after this earth was prepared for man, the Lord commenced his work upon what is now called the American continent, where the Garden of Eden was made. In the days of Noah, in the days of the floating of the ark, he took the people to another part of the earth: the earth was divided, and there he set up his kingdom. Did they receive his kingdom? No; they rejected it. Afterwards he called a man, and ordained him, and showed to him the inhabitants of the whole earth, and gave to him a promise that his offspring should be the people of God. He spoke to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their children, as his covenant people. The Jews rejected Jesus Christ, who came to redeem the world. They cried—“Crucify him, crucify him!” Let his blood be upon us and upon our children!” God has removed the kingdom from Jerusalem again to Zion, and here he will wind up the scene. Righteousness will go forth, and the wickedness upon the earth will be swept from it. Will I prophesy evil? No; let us prophesy good. But the justice and mercy of God must have their demands. Let everything have its place and its just due, both the good and the evil; and we will not curse the wicked, for they are already cursed; the wrath of the Almighty does not slumber upon their track; their condition is lamentable. They live and flourish, and may have a few days of prosperity, as the enemies of the Prophets did anciently. They flourish like a green bay tree, and may so flourish for a few days; but they will become withered and dried and prepared to be cast into the fire, while the kingdom of God will stand; and if we do not remain faithful, others will take our places.

This is the kingdom of God, set up for the last time; and whosoever persecutes it persecutes the Son of God and the Father who sent him. Here is the Priesthood (the keys of power and wisdom) that unlocks the storehouse of knowledge. These keys and this power the world know nothing of. It is marvellous to the world that the things that are known here—the very things that God reveals here—are often at once known by portions of this kingdom in other nations. To many it is marvellous that intelligence can be so rapidly communicated by means of the electromagnetic telegraph, but our method of communication is from heaven.

We know and understand the nations of the earth, the power by which they exist, and their rise and downfall: the facts are before us. Reflect upon those powerful nations that have existed, but are now nationally as though they had never been: so it will be with the nations that now exist—they will pass away, others will come, and God will reign King of nations as he now does King of Saints. It is a glorious thought, my brethren—a thought that should touch the heart of every being on the face of this earth, that God is going to reign Lord of lords and King of kings—that he is coming to the earth again. His kingdom is growing, and his grace is bestowed upon his children, and they are coming to understanding and growing in grace.

It is not pleasing to a potter, after he has a batch of clay mixed, ground, and made smooth and pliable for working into vessels, to have an apprentice throw rough, unbroken, unground stuff into the prepared clay; but, comparatively speaking, we have to bear this. When we are getting the clay into fine condition, a mass of unprepared material is mixed up with it, and it is our business to continue to grind, to prepare the whole of the mass together. I suppose the Lord wants to prepare all the good clay that can be found upon the face of the earth, that when he comes he can make up his jewels. Then you who have oil in your vessels will go and meet the Bridegroom. Are we going to be prepared? Let every soul of us strive to be found among those who will be counted wise at his coming, for we can go into the highways and hedges and find plenty of the foolish. Let us try to be wise—to obey the servants and commandments of the Almighty, doing his will continually, that we may be prepared to enter at the marriage supper.

The scripture concerning the five wise and five foolish virgins will be fulfilled, as will also the revelation that was given to Joseph about the nations breaking to shivers. I wish some of the world’s learned theologians would tell us what became of the foolish virgins. Call up the wisdom and knowledge there is in Christendom, and learn whether they can tell anything about those foolish virgins. I have not time now to tell what became of them, but I think they did not go to the bottom of the bottomless pit. Is it not a glorious thought that there are kingdoms, mansions of glory, and comfortable habitations prepared for all the sons and daughters of Adam, except the sons of perdition? All will not have part in the first resurrection, and perhaps many will not appear in the second; but all will be resurrected, and, except the sons of perdition, enter kingdoms, the least of which I presume is more glorious than ever John Wesley saw in vision. All the inhabitants of the earth will enter a glory, except the sons of perdition, or angels to the Devil. But where will they dwell?—what shall be their fate before they are prepared for a kingdom of glory? They will be cast into prison, and there remain until they have paid the debt they have contracted; wherefore it is better to make peace with the officer while in the way with him, as Jesus has said. After they have been thrust into prison and paid the uttermost farthing, then perhaps they will receive a life, a glory, a kingdom that will be in accordance with their feelings, desires, and doings while they were on the earth.

The kingdom that this people are in pertains to the celestial kingdom; it is a kingdom in which we can prepare to go into the presence of the Father and the Son. Then let us live to inherit that glory. God has promised you, Jesus has promised you, and the Apostles and Prophets of old and of our day have promised you that you shall be rewarded according to all you can desire in righteousness before the Lord, if you live for that reward. As Patriarch Joseph Smith, the father of Joseph the Prophet, said—“If I have not promised blessings enough on your head, and stated enough in the blessing I have given you, sit down and write every good thing you can think of, and every good thing your neighbour can think of, and put all into your blessing, and I will sign it and promise the whole to you, if you will only live for it.” But suppose a person does not live for the promised blessings, will he receive them? No. And we say to the Elders of Israel, Be faithful, and you shall see the day when you will have all the power you can wield and manage to advantage. I can call Thos. B. Marsh, who is now in the congregation, to witness: he was once the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Soon after the selection of that Quorum, brother Marsh felt to complain. I said to to him, brother Thomas, if we are faithful, we will see the day, in the midst of this people, that we will have all the power that we shall know how to wield before God. I call him to witness if I have not already seen that day. Look at the rest of my brethren, and have they not all the power they can wield?

Brother Hyde, in his remarks, spoke about the voice of God at a certain time. I could tell many incidents relating to that circumstance, which he did not take time to relate. We were in his house, which was some ten or twelve feet square. The houses in the neighbourhood shook, or, if they did not, the people thought they did, for they ran together and inquired whether there had been an earthquake. We told them that the voice of God had reached the earth—that they need not be afraid; it was the power of God. This and other events have transpired to satisfy the people—you, and all who belong to the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth.

When I met Sidney Rigdon, east of the temple in Nauvoo, I knew then what I now know concerning the organization of the Church, though I had told no man of it. I revealed it to no living being, until the pioneers to this valley were returning to Winter Quarters. Brother Wilford Woodruff was the first man I ever spoke to about it. Said he—“It is right; I believe it, and think a great deal of it, for it is from the Lord; the Church must be organized.” It then went to others, and from them to others; but it was no news to me, for I understood it then as I understand it now.

The policy of God is not the policy of man: his wisdom and power are above the wisdom and power of man. Be faithful to your calling and magnify it. The kingdom and the greatness thereof under the whole heaven are ours. The yoke is broken, the fetters are burst, and the Lord Almighty will assert his right; and his will will be done by the Saints on this the land of Zion, to purify and cleanse it. And those who are expecting to receive the benefit and blessings of Zion never will, but will receive the judgments of Zion, unless their hearts are as pure as the angels. The man that is acting according to his ability, as are the angels, must be pure and holy in heart, must not have an evil wish or desire reigning in his mortal body, but must be sanctified through the truth to the God of heaven. What do you think, Elders—will any of you receive blessings upon any other grounds? No, not one of you.

There are a great many who profess to be still in the faith, neglecting to gather, and waiting for the time when Zion will be redeemed. George W. Harris, whom many of you remember, was going to wait in Kanesville until we returned. Brother George A. Smith told him that the nearest way to the centre Stake of Zion was through Great Salt Lake City. Harris has gone to the spirit-world, and where his circuit will be I neither know nor care, though I am well convinced that brother George A. Smith was right.

Where is the centre Stake of Zion? In Jackson County, Missouri. Were I to try to prevent you from going there, I could not do it. Can the wicked? No. Can the devils in hell? No, they cannot. Zion will be redeemed and built up, and the Saints will rejoice. This is the land of Zion; and who are Zion? The pure in heart are Zion; they have Zion within them. Purify yourselves, sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and have the Zion of God within you, and then you will rejoice more and more. Pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks. Is it not a hard task to live this religion without enjoying the spirit of it? Such a course worries the feelings, fills a person with sorrow and affliction, and makes him miserable. The easiest life to live, by any mortal being on the earth, is to live in the light of God’s countenance, and have fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ. I know this by my own experience. In this course there is no darkness, no sorrow, no grief. The power of the Spirit of God has preserved me in the vigour of youth, and I am as active as a boy. How is it with you who do not enjoy the spirit of your religion? It is a hard life for you to live; and you had better, from this day, take a course to enjoy the Spirit of the Lord; then you will be numbered with the wise. Let us all so live as to have oil in our vessels, our lamps trimmed for lighting, and be ready to go in with the Bridegroom to the marriage supper. I could tell you the meaning of that portion of Scripture, but I have not time now.

The most ignorant of our Elders, with the Spirit and power of God upon them, can, in knowledge of Scripture, lead the smartest of the Gentile priests into deep water, and dip them under, and draw them back again at their pleasure, and confound the Scripture knowledge of the priestcraft that is on the earth. During our return from England, brother Heber C. Kimball was beset by a number of Baptist priests who had been attending a conference. He read them all down out of the New Testament. Brother George A. Smith sat beside them with a pocket Bible, and brother Heber would say—“Brother George, turn to that.” “Oh,” said the priests, “you need not turn to it, for we recollect it,” when there was no such passage in the Bible. He sat for two hours and advanced much Scripture that never was in the Bible, as did Benjamin Franklin, when he was conversing with a man who opposed him upon the subject of charity, and was particularly in favour of justice. “You remember the Scripture,” said Franklin, where it reads like this:—Once on a time an old man came at eventide to Abram’s tent. Abram bid him welcome, but as he entered the tent he gave not God thanks. He said to Abram, Canst thou give me meat? And Abram said, Thou art not a servant of God, and thou shalt not have meat. The old man said, Let me have meat, that I may live and not die. And the voice of the Lord came to Abram in this wise: Abram, Abram, beholdest thou this aged servant of mine, with whom I have borne ninety-nine years, and canst thou not bear with him one night?” When Franklin got through, the man had yielded the point, and asked him where he read that; to which Franklin replied, “You will find it in the 51st chapter of Genesis!” and there are only fifty chapters in that book. Our Elders may tell the priests that there are fifty-one chapters in Genesis, and but few of them, if any, will know that there are only fifty. With regard to true theology, a more ignorant people never lived than the present so-called Christian world.

Saints, live your religion faithfully, and you will enjoy life; and when you are as old as I am, your hair will be as bright as mine is. If I live to the first day of next June, I shall be sixty years old, though I do not look or feel as though I had reached that age. What preserves me? The spirit of my religion—the power of God that is upon me and through me. I love it; it is better to me than meat and drink—than my temporal life. Many a man will lay down his life for his religion, but will not live it one day. Live your religion, and have no desire but to build up the kingdom of God on the earth. The love of God is bestowed upon this people, and what is its effect? Persons in foreign lands, for the Gospel, for the sake of Jesus and the kingdom of God, have left fathers, mothers, children, wives, husbands, and every other relative they had, and come to this distant region. The Gospel will take two of a city, and, once in a while, one of a family; it will take one here and another there. Fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters are no more to me than are any other persons, unless they embrace this work. Here are my fathers, my mothers, my sisters, and my brethren in the kingdom, and I have none outside of it, neither in any part of the earth, nor in all the eternity of the Gods. In this kingdom are my acquaintances, relatives, and friends—my soul, my affections, my all.

I will carry this idea a little further, for the sake of those who are unmarried. Since I was baptized into this Church and kingdom, if all the female beauty had been simmered down into one woman not in this kingdom, she would not have appeared handsome to me; but if a person’s heart is open to receive the truth, the excellency of love and beauty is there. How is it with you, sisters? Do you distinguish between a man of God and a man of the world? It is one of the strangest things that happens in my existence, to think that any man or woman can love a being that will not receive the truth of heaven. The love this Gospel produces is far above the love of women: it is the love of God—the love of eternity—of eternal lives.

May God bless you! Amen.

Joys of Eternity

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1860.

I wish the people could realize that they walk, live, and abide in the presence of the Almighty. The faithful shall have eyes to see as they are seen, and you shall behold that you are in the midst of eternity and in the presence of holy beings, and be enabled ere long to enjoy their society and presence. You are greatly blessed. How many there are who say—“ God bless you!” How many times it is said to the Saints—“I bless you, and may the Lord bless you!” You shall be blessed all the time. Good is poured out on the people, and we say Amen.

The brethren have done nobly in their contributions to the Missionary Fund, and we expect to continue to do nobly. How much do we expect to do for the kingdom of God? The talent, ability, and everything placed in the hands of this people shall be devoted to his cause and kingdom on the earth, in the name of the God of Israel. These are my feelings. As far as I have control, and as far as I have influence in this kingdom, all within its pales shall be devoted to its upbuilding. When Elders are called to go and preach, they go; and when we want means we shall have it.

To morrow morning we expect to meet you here again. When shall we meet to part no more? Never, never; no, never. That is a curious idea, and I have not time to give full explanations. We shall go and come; and when we are in the eternity, we shall be on this earth, which will be brought into the immediate presence of the Father and the Son. We shall inhabit different mansions, and worlds will continue to be made, formed, and organized, and messengers from this earth will be sent to others. This earth will become a celestial body—be like a sea of glass, or like a urim and thummim; and when you wish to know anything, you can look in this earth and see all the eternities of God. We shall make our home here, and go on our missions as we do now, but at greater than railroad speed.

It is time to close our meeting; and, by the power and right I have in the Priesthood of the Son of God, I bless the Saints of latter days. Amen.

Funds of the Church

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, October 8, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

By the cash manifest just read by brother John T. Caine, you perceive that there has been expended, during the years 1857, 1858, 1859, and to Oct. 4, 1860, $70,204 in excess of what has been received in money and Tithing. This excess has been derived from cash received for lumber sold to the army to the amount of some 16,000 dollars or 18,000 dollars, and from the sale of sheep, horses, mules, cows, waggons, harness, &c., to various persons for cash. It has been rather difficult to raise the large amount of cash we have expended over the amount received on money-Tithing; but when it comes time to sleep, I do not stay awake contriving how we are to financier. I can understand in a very few minutes all that is necessary and possible to be done, without taking very great thought in the matter.

At times it seems as though all hell and earth are combined to keep money out of my hands. A great many of the people would give me millions, if they had it; but most of those who have it will not part with it. Those who are liberal have nothing, and they would give me all they have. Scarcely a man comes into this Church., having much of an amount of money, but what spends his money before he gathers with the Saints. Persons would conceal from Joseph that they had any money, and, after they had spent or lost it all, would come to him and—“Oh, how I love you, brother Joseph!” If you think you can keep the money from me, you will be mistaken, for I shall have what is necessary to carry on this work; and those who take a course to hedge up my way in business transactions, pertaining to carrying on this work, will go to the Devil. They shall have that promise, with my blessing. I do not curse people, but I bless that class with a plenty of devils.

For four years past we have not had much money pass through our hands. In previous years merchants here have received as much money from me yearly as you have heard read here to-day. During the past few years we have had to manage and plan pretty closely in our business transactions. Those who bring coal to sell want money, and the brethren who labour on the Public Works need a little money now and then. Some think that brother Wells, who is our Superintendent of Public Works, is hard and close in his public dealings; but he is not. I have explained all that is necessary in regard to this matter. We traffic and trade, we drive cattle to California, and trade here and there, and do everything we can to carry on this work. You know, and my wives and children know, that it is my mind that those who do nothing but sit in rocking-chairs can live on potatoes and buttermilk, while those who do the labour should have both the substantial food and the luxuries. My friends know that this is my mind all the time.

Some may think that my individual business is so mixed and combined with the public business that I cannot keep them separate. This is not the case, as you can learn by asking brother David O. Calder, or brother John T. Caine, who has been reading a manifest to you. Hiram B. Clawson, John T. Caine, and Thomas Ellerbeck are the clerks who keep the books of my private business; and the Trustee-in-Trust has his clerks, of whom David O. Calder is the chief. Horace Whitney, Joseph Simmons, and Amos M. Musser are his associate clerks, and they keep the books pertaining to the public business. My own private business is kept distinct from the public business. If brother Calder wishes one hundred or a thousand dollars, if I have it, he borrows it of Hiram B. Clawson and pays it back; and so also brother Clawson borrows of him and returns it. The teasers who come all the time after women, and soon get tired of them and want to divorce them, I make pay ten dollars for each divorce, and that is my individual bank. If I want five dollars or fifty cents from Hiram B. Clawson, it is charged to me; and if he receives money from me, it is credited to me; and not a dollar (except what I hand out or give away out of my private purse,) goes out of my office, either in private or public capacity, without passing through its appropriate set of books. I tell you this, that all may know that my private affairs are not amalgamated with the public affairs. Brigham Young and the Trustee-in-Trust are two persons in business. When you speak of Brigham Young as Trustee-in-Trust, he is one man; and when as Brigham Young, he is another; and the business between these two names is kept as strictly separate as is the business of any two firms in the world. If you want to know anything about the money, item by item, how it has been obtained and how expended, our books are open.

We do not ask anybody to pay Tithing, unless they are disposed to do so; but if you pretend to pay Tithing, pay it like honest men. And Bishops who have it in their power to gather money-Tithing, it is their duty to do it; and if they do not, they do not magnify their calling. And brethren that have money, pay your Tithing on it while you have it; and when you turn your property, upon which Tithing is due, into money, pay your Tithing in money. Here are thousands of men wearing good hats, coats, pantaloons, &c., &c., that I have paid the money for. And women with costly ribbons on their bonnets, I pay the money for these ribbons; and I pay the money for the slippers on their feet, for their stockings, their garments, &c. I have paid the money for these articles, year after year. Is it not your duty to see that I have a little money? Were the Lord to reveal to me where the ancient Jaredites hid their hundred of millions of dollars’ worth of treasure, I should not take it and hand it out to the people, unless the Lord directed me to do so; otherwise, it would perhaps seal the damnation of many; for at present you are better off without those treasures than you would be with them.

If I am under obligation to see this Gospel carried to all the nations of the earth, so also is every Elder of Israel. If it is my duty to see the poor gathered, so it is the duty of every Elder. There is no excuse for any man: every one ought to put forth his hands and means, and do according to his ability.

We have often told you that we want to build a Temple, but not for convening promiscuous congregations. I inform you, long before you see the walls reared and the building completed, that it will be for the purposes of the Priesthood, and not for meetings of the people: we shall not hold public meetings in it. I should like to see the Temple built, in which you will see the Priesthood in its order and true organization, each Quorum in its place. If we want a larger building than this Tabernacle for public exercises, here is the ground already planned, and has been for years. We can, if we choose, build a Tabernacle that will accommodate fifteen thousand people. The Temple will be for the endowments—for the organization and instruction of the Priesthood. If you want to build a Temple on these conditions, you can have the privilege. But I never again want to see one built to go into the hands of the wicked. I have asked my Father to give me power to build a Temple on this block, but not until I can for ever maintain my rights in it. I would rather see it burnt than to see it go into the hands of devils. I was thankful to see the Temple in Nauvoo on fire. Previous to crossing the Mississippi river, we had met in that Temple and handed it over to the Lord God of Israel; and when I saw the flames, I said “Good, Father, if you want it to be burned up.” I hoped to see it burned before I left, but I did not. I was glad when I heard of its being destroyed by fire, and of the walls having fallen in, and said, “Hell, you cannot now occupy it.” When the Temple is built here, I want to maintain it for the use of the Priesthood: if this cannot be, I would rather not see it built, but go into the mountains and administer there in the ordinances of the holy Priesthood, which is our right and privilege. I would rather do this than to build a Temple for the wicked to trample under their feet.

There are great and glorious things yet to be revealed. We are but babes and sucklings in the knowledge of God and godliness. With all we know and understand by the Priesthood here in the midst of this people, we are mere infants before the angels in heaven. We want to instruct the people and prepare them to enter into the presence of the Father and the Son. We want to gather the poor, send the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth, and do a great many other good things; and we will do so. We will turn the world right side up, for it is now wrong side up, and we want to turn it over, prepare it, and present it to Him who owns it, in a more goodly form and attitude than it has been for many centuries.

[Here Elder John T. Caine read a list of the subscriptions to the Missionary Fund.]

We will send our Elders forth to preach, and will furnish, as we have now, waggons, mules, harness, &c., to those who are not able to provide those things for themselves. When our Missionaries reach the frontiers, they will place a fair valuation upon their animals, &c., the money will be paid to them, and they can at once proceed to their different fields of labour. I pay them the money for the property they have at the frontiers, and when they return I want them to come home as poor as they go away. If any one wishes to get rich, let him stay here and get rich, and not enrich himself from the labours and means of the poor Saints abroad. You may think that I am severe on that course. I am, and I mean to be, until I stop it. It has been growing and growing, becoming tall—almost ungovernable and out of my reach; but my foot is set upon it, and I will walk it under and the influence of any one who promotes such a principle. If I want to become wealthy, I will stay here and accumulate property. If brother Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells, or the Twelve Apostles want to accumulate wealth, stay here and do it, and not go into the world to become rich. When you go into the world, go to preach the Gospel; and if you have a sixpence, give it to the people. Give your time and talent to the people; and if the Lord puts money into your pockets, it is not yours, only for you to use to save the people spiritually and temporally.

We are going to fit out our Elders from here, asking no odds of the world: we have proved them enough. The gold and the silver belong to the Lord Almighty, and he will hand it over to us as fast as we know how to use it to his name’s glory. Some say, “If we had a gold mine, we would do well.” If I knew where there was a gold mine, I would not tell you. I do not want you to find one, and I do not mean that you shall; or, if you do, it shall be over my faith. We have gold enough in the world, and it is all the Lord’s, and we do not deserve more than we get. Let us make good use of that, and send out the Elders.

Brother Woolley stated, yesterday, that he wished to see men and women who are too lazy to cook their victuals come with handcarts. They are the ones that will not come with handcarts; they have to be conveyed in waggons; and when they arrive here they will apostatize. It seems impossible to have them to do so anywhere else; and we want them here as soon as possible, that they may apostatize and leave—get out of our way—that we may go on with our labours; and in this we are making a few devils for future use, to carry on our kingdoms.

Let the brethren who pretend to be Bishops be so indeed, and gather Tithing. And if the people pretend to pay Tithing, pay it properly and fairly, so far as you do pay, or let it alone entirely. Keep your dollars and cents, your horses and mules, your grain, &c., if you choose; but if you pretend to pay Tithing, pay it like men: act like men and Saints. We want to build a Temple on this block. Don’t you think that hell will howl? What did we tell you when we laid those foundation walls? We told you that all hell would be on the move. That has transpired, and still they say, “We have not persecuted you;” but they are liars. Who among them have stepped forward and said, “Let those men alone?” Only a few. Our friend who came here in the dead of winter, having left his wife sick nigh unto death, is one of those who will yet have a celestial crown; he is on the road to it. When Judge Kinney was in Washington, he spoke well of this people. So far as I know, he has never spoken evil of this people, but every time he met an Elder in Washington he received him as a friend, spoke to him kindly, and was not ashamed to walk arm-in-arm with him in the streets of that city. There is a kingdom for him—a kingdom of glory. When they wanted him to come here as a Governor, I am told that he said, “Yes, if you send no soldiers there.” He has a heart; and I say, God bless him and every other good, honest man, whether he is a “Mormon” or not. Who ever walked more correctly in his sphere of business than Judge Shaver? No man. He was as upright as a man could be. He came here as a Judge, and he honoured the people, he honoured his office, he honoured the President in his appointment, and he honoured the laws of the Territory and the laws of the Government. There is a kingdom for him; he will have his reward.

There is a great difference between persecuting this people and the people of other sects. God will make persecutors pay every debt they contract with this people. This is the Priesthood of the Almighty. God has set his hand the second time to gather the people. It will not do to trifle with this people. “Touch not mine anointed,” saith the Lord. O ye inhabitants of the earth, be careful how you infringe upon the Latter-day Saints. They are the anointed of the Lord, and are like the apple of his eye, and he will bring you into judgment for every act and move you make against them. This nation will be shivered to pieces. There is no cohesion in the particles that compose it. If you touch it, it will fall to pieces, for it is shattered from its centre to its circumference. They think it so strange that the “harmonious democracy” can divide. You might as well try to put out the sun as to make them united. God is working with them; he is taking his Spirit from them. They are like water spilled upon the ground; there is no soundness nor stability left in them; they are devoid of good sense. God has called away the intelligence he bestowed upon them, and every move they make will sink them deeper and deeper in the mire, until they are lost and gone for ever. We wish them no evil; we heap no coals of fire on their heads, only by doing them good and exhorting them to refrain from meddling with this people. The time is nigh when every man that will not take up his sword against his neighbour must needs flee to Zion. Where is Zion? Where the organization of the Church of God is. And may it dwell spiritually in every heart; and may we so live as to always enjoy the Spirit of Zion! Amen.

Source of Intelligence—Laws of the Gospel

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, October 14, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

We have enjoyed interesting and intelligent remarks by brother Taylor this morning; and perhaps we may all say, with propriety, that what has been said is sufficient for the present—that we are now full and need no more. What has been presented is very true and very satisfactory. I delight in hearing my brethren speak of things that pertain to God and godliness. Brother Taylor says there is no intelligence only that which comes from God. We might ask, Is there any valuable fact known by any person, except by the revelations that flow from the Lord Jehovah? God is the source, the fountain of all intelligence, no matter who possesses it, whether man upon the earth, the spirits in the spirit-world, the angels that dwell in the eternities of the Gods, or the most inferior intelligence among the devils in hell. All have derived what intelligence, light, power, and existence they have from God—from the same source from which we have received ours.

My delight, my joy, my life consist of the very things that brother Taylor has been laying before this congregation. Those principles pertain to eternal life. It is my delight to hear the things of God brought to the understanding of the children of men. This is the beauty of the Gospel we have received. The excellency of the glory of the character of brother Joseph Smith was that he could reduce heavenly things to the understanding of the finite. When he preached to the people—revealed the things of God, the will of God, the plan of salvation, the purposes of Jehovah, the relation in which we stand to him and all the heavenly beings, he reduced his teachings to the capacity of every man, woman, and child, making them as plain as a well-defined pathway. This should have convinced every person that ever heard of him of his divine authority and power, for no other man was able to teach as he could, and no person can reveal the things of God, but by the revelations of Jesus Christ. When we hear a man that can speak of heavenly things, and present them to the people in a way that they can be understood, you may know that to that man the avenue is open, and that he, by some power, has communication with heavenly beings; and when the highest intelligence is exhibited, he, perhaps, has communication with the highest intelligence that exists.

This Gospel is my glory. Jesus said to his disciples, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls; for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Why is it so? As brother Taylor has said, it is through the love that the people should have for the Gospel, which ought to be more than their love for fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, wives, children, houses, lands, goods and chattels, or anything that pertains to this earth. The Spirit of revelation, even the Spirit of eternal life, is within that person who lives so as to bear properly the yoke of Jesus. The heavens are open to such persons, and they see and understand things that pertain to eternity, and also the things that pertain to this earth, which will pass away with it; and those who love the things of earth will pass away with it. When death takes them, all is gone.

But the person that wears the yoke of Jesus and bears his burden—who loves the cause of truth and righteousness more than all else—“Why,” says he, “Eternity is full of fathers and mothers. There is my Father enthroned in glory. He is the Father of my spirit.” God our Father, who dwells in eternity, is the Father of our spirits and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The man or woman that lives in the revelations of Jesus Christ can see and understand this. Here are our earthly fathers, the begetters of our mortal bodies; but there is the foundation of all the life that I or any other person can possess on the face of the earth, even God my Father who dwells in the heavens. There also is my mother.

I am not confined to love my father and mother here, if they do not love God, the fountain of all truth. In the heavens are fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers. Unless my father, mother, brother, sister, wife, and child, pertaining to the flesh, love God supremely, embrace the truth, and follow out the dictates of the Holy Ghost, they are not my kindred—I do not own them—I have nothing to do with them; they will perish, die, sink into forgetfulness, and be as though they had never been; they will pass away and return to native element. In heaven dwells my Father. There are the heavenly hosts—my sisters, my brethren, my kindred, and my friends; they are my bosom acquaintances. We behold each other with the natural eye, and that is short-sighted. But had we eyes to see as God sees, we could see our antipodes as well as we can see each other’s faces. We could see the uttermost parts of the earth and behold all creation as well at midnight as at noonday. Darkness would be no obstruction, incorporated matter, this Tabernacle, the houses, the earth, and even matter that fills space and prevents our seeing objects at great distances, would be no obstruction to our visions. Then we should behold that God is here, that our Father dwells here. We are in his presence, just as much as those who sit at the farthest side of this congregation are in my presence. There is much in my presence besides those who sit here, if we had eyes to see the heavenly beings that are in our presence.

The person that wears the yoke of Jesus, that has communication with the heavens, finds his yoke easy and his burden light; he is master of it. Wear the yoke of Jesus, bear his burden, and the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ will show to every individual that you are not servants of anything, but that the principles of eternal life give you the mastery—the supremacy over all things in heaven and on earth. As the Apostle has said—“Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors, through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” “Therefore let no man glory in men; for all things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours, and ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” All this, and all that men can imagine and a million times more, God has in store for us. If we are faithful, all is ours. If we trample sin and iniquity under our feet, then we are the masters, which makes the yoke easy and the burden light.

As has been observed, it is hard for a person to give up his appetites, and yield his passions and will to the will of God. The son and the father, the child and the mother, the servant and the master, are all amenable to the laws of the land in which they live. They are all under law: if not, they are a law unto themselves. They know right from wrong, and are restricted from doing wrong. The Gods are under the same restriction. If people do not observe the principles by which they should be guided, they sink under condemnation. If they follow correct laws, they preserve the identity of their character to all eternity, and will dwell with the Gods, angels, and these that inherit eternity. If we yield ourselves servants to obey the principles that hold us in existence, it gives to us our exaltation, and glorifies us with the Gods, and puts all things under our feet. What a glorious law that is! There is nothing here, except the sin within us, that repels this law. Trample every feeling that is opposed to this law under your feet.

The majority of the world of mankind would rather be damned than oppose their appetites. They feel like following them at the expense of their salvation. They do not like to be under the restriction of truth and right. They want to be where they can do what they please. They obey the law of death, and will have their reward and reap the extent of their wages; for they will have death, and nobody can have life but those that inherit it from God. All that refuse the truth—the Gospel of salvation, and yield themselves obedient to the law of sin and death, will reap in full the reward of their doings. It is hard for a child to obey its parents, for a servant to obey his master, and for people to obey the laws of the land. You frequently hear some persons grumbling about the laws of this city, and about the laws of this Territory, which are wholesome and good. Why don’t such persons live as some others do? I live above the laws. They do not in the least infringe upon me. The City Council never passed an ordinance that infringed upon me or upon my rights. Our Legislature has never passed a law that infringed upon me, because I live above the law through honouring every particle of it. In this course the law is beneath my feet and is my servant, not my master. Thousands live in this way.

The laws of the Gospel are neither more nor less than a few of the principles of eternity revealed to the people, by which they can return to heaven from whence they came. A few of the laws of the Gospel have been revealed to us in the last days, by which we can begin and walk the path back into the presence of the Father and the Son, having the communication opened between the heavens and the earth to reveal the will of God to the children of men. We delight in the heavenly law—in that law that will preserve us to all eternity. We delight more in this than in everything else. Here are my fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, wives, children. “What, are there wives and children for me in the eternal worlds?” Yes.

Let me here say a word to console the feelings and hearts of all who belong to this Church. Many of the sisters grieve because they are not blessed with offspring. You will see the time when you will have millions of children around you. If you are faithful to your covenants, you will be mothers of nations. You will become Eves to earths like this; and when you have assisted in peopling one earth, there are millions of earths still in the course of creation. And when they have endured a thousand million times longer than this earth, it is only as it were the beginning of your creations. Be faithful, and if you are not blest with children in this time, you will be hereafter. But I would not dare tell you all I know about these matters, though I know but little: still I am not a fool in the things of God, neither is brother Taylor, though he saw so much to learn that he did not realize that he had learned anything. We have learned a great deal, although we are still but babes and sucklings in the things of God; yet the truth and knowledge we possess pertaining to the plan of salvation outweigh all possessed by others on the earth. Be faithful, and you will delight in the things of God, and bear the yoke—carry the burden God has placed on you to bear.

Brother Taylor lifted his arm, and asked by what power he did it. It is by that inherent divinity you call will; God has placed it in every being. When you go into the dram-shops in Whisky-street, (Elders go there!) the salutation is, “How do you do, brother? Won’t you take a glass with me?” I have power to lift a glass and hand it to my brother, and say, “Come, brother, take a little liquor.” “No; I do not drink any strong drink.” “Oh, come, take a little for friendship’s sake.” I have power to hand it to my neighbour’s lips, and my neighbour has power to dash it out of my hands. Who has given me that power? It is inherent in me. What do you do, when these are presented to you—when the cup is handed to your lips? Will you partake of it, or say, (taking a glass of water in his hand,) Here are my best wishes for you to do right, but you may go to the Devil with your whisk[e]y (dashing the water upon the floor). Have I the power to do this? You call it will. It is the divinity God has placed in his intelligent creatures. It is for us to overcome every evil passion we have, in consequence of the fall.

The Devil has the mastery of the earth: he has corrupted it, and has corrupted the children of men. He has led them in evil until they are almost entirely ruined, and are so far from God that they neither know Him nor his influence, and have almost lost sight of everything that pertains to eternity. This darkness is more prevalent, more dense, among the people of Christendom, than it is among the heathen. They have lost sight of all that is great and glorious—of all principles that pertain to life eternal.

Will you overcome evil? You have power to do so, for God has given you this power. You can toss the proffered glass to the ground, dash it out of your neighbour’s hand, or drink its contents, be a fool, wallow in the gutter, and die the death of a fool. Do as you please. I do not know of anything but what I am master of, with regard to appetite, as I have often told you. If I were not, I would at once have a war with myself.

What is there that I cannot do without? Can I do without seeing my father and mother pertaining to the earth? I can. I have not seen them for many years. My mother died when I was fourteen years of age, and my father died a few weeks after I left the States for England, in 1839. After the driving from Missouri, he said that he did not want to live any longer. I have not seen him for a long time. Can I do without seeing him? Yes, and pass my time comfortably. Suppose my wives and children should say, “Husband, father, we are going to leave you, unless you do thus and so.” I would say, Leave as quickly as you please, every one of you. My children, if they are froward and will not believe and obey the Gospel, are no more to me than the children now sitting here. Here are children, that I can take to my bosom, that will love and serve God; and they are dearer to me than those I have, unless they love the Lord Jesus Christ.

I do not believe it possible, since I have been baptized into this Church, for a woman to be presented to me that I could love, were she not in the Church of Jesus Christ and did not love the Gospel. That is my feeling to-day, and I expect it to remain from henceforth and for ever.

The discourse we have heard this morning is excellent. It seemed to me as though the heavens were here and I could talk about them with a very good feeling, and induce the people to see and understand correct principles. How quickly they would shun evil and forsake that which would drag them down to everlasting ruin, if they could but see it.

Brethren and sisters, let us treasure up in our hearts all the good we can learn, and forsake all the evil we meet with—walk it under our feet. Evil is not worthy the notice and attention of these intelligencies. Heavenly things and eternal principles will exalt those intelligencies in the eternities of the Gods: these principles alone are worthy of your attention.

May the Lord help us to choose the way of life and salvation, and to be prepared to enjoy his society hereafter! Amen.

The Gospel Commission

Heber C. Kimball

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 2, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

You have all heard what has been said, and I presume there is not an intelligent mind here to-day but what could say Amen. Every person can hear and judge for himself. In judging, you must be sure and judge a righteous judgment, which is to judge without prejudice.

The enemies of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are so prejudiced against this people, that they cannot hear the truth, neither can they open their minds to receive it. It is with them that speak evil of the religion we profess, as they said anciently, “There can no good thing come out of Nazareth.” They did not believe it possible that the Saviour could come out of such a place as Nazareth, and now the world do not believe that any good can be produced by this people; but we know that all the truth there is on the earth belongs to this kingdom and people, and that which has been revealed in the last days is comprehended by many of the Saints of God in these mountains.

It is our duty as a people to practise our religion, and not say that we are Latter-day Saints and never practise it; but when we say so, let us practise that religion which teacheth us to do good, to be generous, and extend the hand of benevolence to all men. This is our religion, and it is the religion which Christ taught.

Now, I will bring up a saying of Jesus, used when giving a commandment to his Apostles, and that commandment is to us. He said, “Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway[s], even unto the end of the world.” (Matthew, 28th chap.)

This is the commission that Jesus Christ gave to his Apostles, and he authorized them to call others and place upon them that authority necessary to qualify them to administer the ordinances of the Lord’s house, and make them ministers of righteousness. In another place his commission to them is worded a little differently. It reads as follows:—“Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name 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, chap. 16, ver. 15-18.)

If you have a little water sprinkled in your face, poured upon your head, or you kneel in the water, is that baptism? No; you must go and be buried with Christ—be immersed—overwhelmed in the water. This requirement is binding upon all, both high and low. Kings upon their thrones have got to bow to it or be damned. And I will say to you, gentlemen and ladies, who have not complied with this, you will have to do so in a day to come, before you can receive an exaltation in the kingdom of God; for the day will come when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. This is the Gospel of Christ that we preach, and it is going to all the nations of the earth; and it will never stop till every ear shall have heard the sound, and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Lord.

I introduced the Gospel into Europe 23 years ago. Now where is it? It has spread throughout many of the European countries, its sound has been heard in Asia, Africa, and Australasia [Australia], and in many of the islands, and tens of thousands have received the truth. I know that this is the Gospel of Christ, and it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth and practises it; but it is not the power of God to those who do not practise it.

If this Gospel of the kingdom had been preached in its simplicity by all the Elders, there would have been a thousand in the Church now where there is one. But the Elders preach everything to the world but what they are sent to preach. Instead of going down to the root of the matter, and coming up to the trunk and limbs, they begin at the top and cram it down; yes, they make them swallow the tree top foremost.

Now, in all the missions of President Young and myself, there was never a circumstance occurred where men wanted to argue and hold discussion with us, because we presented the plain truth. But when men reason upon things they know nothing about, they get into trouble. It is the duty of the Elders to simplify everything as they can, go down to the roots, and do not take hold of the biggest roots but the small ones, and show them gradually every principle that pertains to eternal life.

If men that are going to preach the Gospel will do this, the Lord will teach them something, for he is a natural mechanic; and that man is a natural preacher and a natural being who is like his father; for our God is a natural man, and as President Young says, our Heavenly Father is the beginning; the first of all mechanics. Where did he get his knowledge from? From his Father, just as we get knowledge from our earthly parents. Why, bless you, there are men in this Church that knew my grandfather, and I knew my father, and many of you know your fathers. Now, you know me, all of you, and I have offspring, and they are acquainted with me, and know considerable of my mind. Then why not the children of our Heavenly Father know his mind and will? If the people were as natural as they were in the beginning, they would be much more intelligent than they are now.

In relation to the way in which I look upon the works of God and his creatures, I will say that I was naturally begotten; so was my father, and also my Saviour Jesus Christ. According to the Scriptures, he is the first begotten of his father in the flesh, and there was nothing unnatural about it.

I will say to all friends, neighbours, and visitors, and all the world that that have not complied with the Gospel, Repent of your sins and be baptized for the remission of them, and receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands by those having authority. Be honest, and seek to serve the Lord your God. This is my advice to you and those of my brethren that have come in with the handcarts, or what I call the Independent Company of the United States. Be Saints; live your religion; be upright and virtuous in all things. Do you think you will find sharks here? Yes, I tell you there are plenty of sharks, and lots of those sawfish; and then there are those that will try to fulfil the Saviour’s words respecting entertaining strangers, and they will take you in, and they will shave you of every dime you have in the world; and if they cannot shave you, they will steal from you. I want to warn you of it, for that very kind of characters shaved me and stole some of my cattle, and they have stolen from my brethren and sisters; and the greatest suffering we have with such men is to bear with such a set of ungodly creatures; and it is the worst thing, and the most troublesome and oppressive, to have such kind of characters on the Plains. And this is the effect of the late reformation, when the United States sent the flower of the army to civilize us.

We have just such men here, and they bemean us all, and it is hard to find any meaner men than they are. I will tell you it is hard work to deal with such a hard set of people. A more wicked set of scoundrels never lived than we have got here. Is it not too bad to be afflicted with such like creatures? It is hard, but we have got to bear it, and we shall have to bear it till the Gospel net gathers of every kind of fish, and the Lord says, Go forth and reap. He will gather the wheat into the garner, that the tares may be burned; and that day will soon come.

God bless you, and peace be with you! Righteousness attend you, and your wives, and your children after you! God bless the mountains and valleys, and root out the wicked and the ungodly, that they may not have power to combine against us, is my prayer. Amen.

Gospel of Salvation (Kimball)

Heber C. Kimball

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 2, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

I do not know but the people feel tired. I have been tired a great many times, but I always stick to it till I get over it; and I don’t know of any other way for you to do.

We have had the Gospel of salvation preached to us to-day. You Elders take the words of Paul where he says—“ For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (Romans, chap. 1, verse 16.)

We know the Gospel is true, and so did Lucifer know it; but did that save him? No, it did not; but it was the power of God unto damnation. The Gospel that we have heard to-day will be the power of God unto salvation to every man and woman that has heard it and will practise it and live up to it: then I will warrant every one of you to be saved in the kingdom of God, and a part in the first resurrection, with power to enjoy it. What we have heard to-day I know to be true by the Holy Ghost and the revelations of Jesus; and I know it by every sense that is within me, from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet; and so do you, if you have the Spirit of God.

Now, when I take a text, I take the whole of it and apply it to the whole. It is as President Young was saying this forenoon, the Lord is a holy and just being; but where is man? Going forth in the name of the Lord, preaching the Gospel and promising those who obey it the gift of the Holy Ghost? Where is the man that has authority for laying hands upon the sick and manifesting the gifts and graces of the Gospel? There are none except the Latter-day Saints. The moment a man complies with these requirements he becomes a sheep in the sheepfold, and all who do not comply will be damned. Will the condemnation of those who violate the law, after having covenanted to keep it, be greater than that of those who have not received the Gospel? The moment a young man leaves the Church, he is then a traitor to the law of laws. You know the law of nations is that when a man becomes a traitor to the law of the land, all he has is confiscated, and he is punished accordingly; and so it is in the Church and kingdom of God.

Brethren, my advice to you who have lived here for years—to those who have come here with handcarts and waggons, is, Go to work and prepare yourselves for the winter. Go and lay up your grain, that you may not be poor and destitute next spring, and have to beg your bread. This is very necessary for us to do. Some will say, I wish you would not talk about wheat any more; for if we have more bread than we want, we have to sell it and buy clothing. I wish to say to all such, Go and get some sheep and make some clothes for yourselves, and be independent of those that come here to sell goods. Some of the merchants have been here from nine to ten years and although we have made them rich, yet when all hell was boiling over against us, they would not say a word in our favour; and you need not go down Whisky Street more than twenty rods to find them. I will see them in heaven, or in that other place, which they say has no bottom in it, before I will patronize such men any more.

Now, if hell has no bottom in it, those who were sent there would crawl out at the other side. If the inhabitants of the earth could be persuaded of the absurdity of the sectarian notions, they would not care much about the hell they believe in. You know, if sectarianism be true, the wicked will have to go down and down, and never stop! I would not suppose they would ever stop falling in a pit, if the bottom was out.

I do not wish to dwell upon these absurdities, but I desire you to go to work and save your grain against a day of famine. I am told that flour is now selling at $3 per hundred, and wheat at 75 cents per bushel; but then some say they cannot get the money to buy it with. You can, if you will work for it, and work cheap enough; but if you want and demand from $2,50 to $4,00 per day, you won’t get it.

My advice is, Take care of yourselves; and when you sustain yourselves, you sustain President Young and Brother Wells; and when we sustain ourselves, we sustain each other. We should be like unto a tree whose limbs are all united; for we shall never gain the victory until we become one—of one heart and one mind. While you are trying to gain the victory, the Devil will try to get your blessings from you. The blessings are yours, but look out that the Devil don’t get them away from you.

I expect that many of you who have come in from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, England, and the United States, will turn away. I expect to see this, and why? Because some of you will see some faults in the Presidency of the Church, the Twelve, and the brethren. Perhaps you will go to work and get a pile of firewood, go to bed at night, and when you get up in the morning half of it will be stolen. Probably you will get a hundred of flour, and three-fourths of that will be stolen; you will then get a pig, and that will be stolen. In the next place you get a cow, and when you get up in the morning you will find her milked. Then you will say we have had enough of this milking business, and you will find fault with the authorities because of these things; and very likely there are some of you who have come here for the loaves and fishes, and to steal from others. If you have, repent; and if you have not, you used to practise those things where you came from, therefore you have need to repent and do right.

The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that forsakes evil and does right—who walks in the ways of righteousness and truth.

I have been irritated frequently with the conduct of the brethren, and I have often thought that if I could get hold of them I would cuff their ears. We have some of those loose, careless characters here, I have no doubt. The difficulties with many are that when they came here they brought themselves, and the worst characters they will have to deal with will be themselves.

I have frequently taken in brethren that have come in with the handcarts, given them wood, flour, and meat and vegetables; and they are welcome till they get settled, and then they must go to work and earn their own living. I have had such men around me, and they said they never saw the like in their lives. They were not worthy of my hospitality. I have eaten some of their oatmeal porridge when I was over there. I did not get much meat in those days; but now and then we got some meat-pie, as they called it, but there was precious little meat in them. They were like the bean-porridge that President Young and I got; in Vermont, and I would have defied anybody to find a bean in it!

It is no disgrace to be poor. I have been so poor that I could not get up in the morning! That may seem funny, but it is true. I have lived in Vermont when I did not have half of what they have in Europe, and I have seen as poor people in the United States as I ever saw in the cities in England; and they are the ones that receive this Gospel. Now, here there is not one man in twenty but has got a good farm and raised from one hundred to a thousand bushels of grain. What have they to complain of? They complain because our Father in heaven is too kind to them. Are there still vacant lands here? Yes, enough to locate every man upon that will come into the Church for five years to come. There never has been so much grain raised in these valleys, since we have been here, as we have raised this year; and still, if you don’t look out, there will be suffering here before another harvest.

I have not sold my wheat or flour to the world, and I am inclined to think that I shall not do it yet: I will try to be a saviour to my brethren and to all the house of Israel. We should all do this, and take an industrious and saving course. I will say, Let our brethren go and glean, that they may help themselves to some bread.

Brethren, I will not continue any longer; but my heart feels to bless this people, the elect of God, the righteous sons and daughters of the Most High, with their seed after them, for ever. Father, give thine angels charge over them to bear them off victoriously, that their feet may never slip nor their tongues speak guile, but that they may become one in their purpose.

I hardly ever pray but I pray for the valleys in which we live, and that the indignation of the Almighty may rest upon every enemy. This is a choice land, and we are in the chambers of the Lord; and I tell you, if you besmear the chamber, you will never be permitted to go down into the parlour. Woe unto them that attempt to corrupt and work wickedly in the chambers of the Lord.

Brethren, be faithful and humble, and you shall be blest. Amen.

Mental Improvement and Spiritual Advancement

Erastus Snow

Remarks by Elder Erastus Snow, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 26, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

It is so seldom that I address my brethren and sisters from this stand, that I find my bow unstrung, figuraratively [figuratively] speaking. (President B. Young: Is your harp upon the willows?) Perhaps I may say that my harp is upon the willows, so far as public speaking is concerned. But, notwithstanding, I sing but little and pray but little, and use the bow but little. I have not altogether lost the power of discernment, or the power to appreciate the sweet sounds of the heavenly music; and I oftentimes feel that it were far better to exercise upon those gifts and callings of God whenever we are called to act; and to use one of brother Kimball’s phrases—“It is far better to wear out than to rust out.”

If I understand myself correctly, I feel this morning, as I have felt the greater part of my life, to be devoted mentally and physically, as far as duty requires and circumstances permit, and as the Lord and my brethren call, and as the Spirit of the Lord shall dictate, to the happiness of my fellow-men and to the advancement of the kingdom of God upon the earth. I will say further of myself, that it is not a lack of willingness and disposition on my part to labour and to do good; it is not from a lack of desire to magnify the Priesthood—to honour my God—to promote his cause—to build up his kingdom—to increase the happiness of his subjects; but it is ignorance or weakness.

When I reflect upon the past and contrast it with the present so far as I myself am concerned, I can occasionally discover the weakness of my faculties and perceive hindrances to their exercise. I do not know that this is anything peculiar or strange, but I can say that my heart rejoices in the things of God. When I hear the things of the kingdom and the truths of the Gospel—those that are old to you and me—though we have heard those truths sounded in our ears at different times in our lives, they are still precious and cheering to our hearts, refreshing to our intellects, brightening up our hopes, encouraging our spirits, awakening in us charity and love towards our God and towards his creatures, stimulating us to love our religion, and render ourselves worthy of that everlasting Father who has produced us, and who has sent us forth upon this earth to gain an experience and to prove ourselves here in the flesh.

When we contemplate these things that have been revealed, the purposes of our Father in heaven concerning his creatures, his magnanimity, his extensive preparations for the happiness and the exaltation of those intelligent beings, to give unto them all that they are capable of receiving, and to stimulate them by every possible inducement to faithfulnes[s], to glory, and to exaltation—when we reflect upon these things, they are calculated, if we are able to appreciate that which is sublime, that which is ennobling, that which is Godlike and glorious, they are calculated to inspire in every heart a good degree of affection and love to our Heavenly Father, and also obedience to his will, and at the same time to inspire in us a love for each other, and to all that part of his creatures who are created in the image of our Father, and who are called and destined to inherit eternal life, or, in other words, to preserve their identity for ever and for ever; and the whole subject of the Gospel of salvation and the principles which are revealed for the guidance of mankind here in the flesh are designed and calculated in their nature to cement the hearts of the children of men together, to make them see and feel that they are one family—that their duties to each other are those of common brotherhood. We must learn to know that in serving each other here in the flesh, we serve our God, promote his glory; and in that we promote the happiness, glory, and exaltation of his children, our brethren and sisters.

It is by mental improvement and spiritual advancement that we increase our happiness, and by the enlargement of our understanding we increase in light, virtue, and intelligence. So, by bringing before the understanding of men the truths of heaven, we inspire them with love for the truth—a love of goodness and integrity; and thus, by our mental efforts, by wholesome counsels, kind examples, and affectionate regards, spiritually and physically we are the means of bringing them into closer communication with the Lord; or if our labour be in promoting the comfort and welfare of the tabernacles of men, aiding and assisting them physically and temporally, doing that which adds to the comfort or supplies the wants of the body, we are doing good and promoting the happiness of the children of men. To be sure, this is and ought to be secondary with us; for as the life we possess and enjoy is more than meat and the body more than drink, so is the spirit being first created, of paramount importance, and consequently the body is secondary. The body was not first created and afterward the spirit formed in the tabernacle, but we are informed in the revelations that God has given, that we were created and organized in the spirit-world, in the image and likeness of our Father in heaven, and consequently our physical tabernacles were formed for the benefit and in behalf of the spirit and adapted to the use of the spirit prepared for its habitation and dwellingplace; not to be the master and controller of the spirit, to govern and dictate it, but on the contrary, to be for the spirit, to be subject to it under its control, dictation, and guidance in every sense of the word. And it is with this view and for this purpose that the Lord has revealed unto us that those spirits will be held accountable for the acts of the mortal tabernacle; for it is understood that the deeds done in and by the tabernacle are done by and with the consent of the spirit. Notwithstanding, Paul may have said, “When I would do good, evil is present with me;” and he excused himself by saying, “It is not I that sinneth, but the spirit that is in me; for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Now, I am willing to let the Apostle Paul excuse himself in this manner, for I should think he made a bad selection of words if he were to represent things otherwise; but as for the deeds or actions I am so far from excusing the spirit in any sense of the word that I should entirely condemn it on the ground that every man is responsible for the deeds done in the body; and therefore it can only be taken at best as an apology or palliation for the dereliction of duty, caused by the weakness of the flesh and its liability to temptation; but not in the least degree can it be regarded as justification. The Lord has said that he cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance, and that he has not placed the spirit subject to this tabernacle, and will not justify it in being dictated or governed by the body. He has required of us to study to understand our true position before Him and before each other as the offspring of the Almighty here upon the earth; and as we study our own positions, and study ourselves properly, we shall at the same time comprehend measurably, the condition of those of our fellows around us with whom we are surrounded; and in comprehending our true position and the position of our fellow-creatures about us, we shall understand our callings and destiny and the purposes of our Heavenly Father.

This will lead us to the comprehension of the duties we owe to each other. Through our ignorance, we may oftentimes do things that will operate both against our own interest and happiness, and against the interests and happiness of those with whom we are associated, and whose interests and happiness we desire to promote. These things occur in our experience, and are faults and weaknesses in mankind, occasioned through ignorance. Are these excusable? Yes, I understand that our Heavenly Father excuses them. We all have a great desire to excuse ourselves, and we desire to be excused by our friends and by our brethren and sisters, and in turn we try to excuse their faults and imperfections in like manner. But are we justified in these things? No; I understand that it is useless for us to talk about being justified in our ignorance or dereliction of duty—at least so long as light is placed before us, and we have the privilege of becoming acquainted with the things of God and doing our duty.

We are very differently situated from the world of mankind, who are without the Gospel, without the light of truth, and who have not received the Priesthood, who have not received the revelations of the Holy Spirit to teach and guide them: they possess not the advantages of acquiring this understanding and of perfecting themselves in the knowledge of God as do the Saints. With the Latter-day Saints, who are favoured with the light of the revelations of heaven, with the voice of Prophets, with the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, with the privilege of walking in the light of Christ, and the privilege of obeying the everlasting Gospel, in all things it is vastly different. It is their privilege to learn themselves and their position before God, and to study the interest and happiness of those with whom they are associated, to do all they can to fit them for that higher position and order of intelligence and glory which has been referred to this morning by our President and which are touched upon in the vision which God gave to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon in February, 1832.

We are called upon by the revelations that are given to us, and by the living oracles, to be Saints of God and heirs of celestial glory. Are we heirs to celestial glory? I understand that every son and daughter of Adam who hear the sound of the everlasting Gospel when it is proclaimed by a servant of God having authority, and who yield obedience to that Gospel, and who retain the Holy Spirit and offer themselves in humility as candidates and receive baptism for the remission of sins—such persons become candidates for celestial honours—for that inheritance which is eternal and fadeth not away, and eventually become prepared to enter into the glory and presence of the Father and the Son. This is the promise to the Saints, if they continue faithful, and in all things abide the law of the Lord, and keep sacred and holy the covenants they made in baptism. It is faith in the first principles of the Gospel, faith in the first testimony that is presented, and repentance of their past sins, and baptism for the remission of sins, laying on of hands by the Elders for the gift of the Holy Ghost, that they may receive the remission of sins and the blessings of the Holy Spirit, and that they may be endowed with power to prophesy, to speak in tongues, to interpret tongues, to heal the sick, and rebuke evil spirits, and cast them out from those possessed; yes, that they may even have faith to raise the dead, and exercise the power of God in every case of necessity.

Does this prepare them for the celestial kingdom of our God? If they have in reality taken upon themselves the name of Christ and kept sacred their covenants, and the Almighty should take them to himself, and thus cut short their mortal career, I understand that they are saved. But so long as they remain upon the earth in the flesh, they remain under the same obligation to serve the Lord today as much as yesterday, and then continue the next day and the next week as they were at first to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins, when the commandment of the Lord comes to them in England, Australia, Denmark, Switzerland, and the islands of the sea, to gather up their substance, come to the gathering-place, and assist in building up the Zion of our God, and to assist in establishing his kingdom in the tops of the mountains. Until then, there is another commandment binding upon them, which is a part of the law of the Lord; and if they are required to contribute to feed the poor, clothe the naked, and assist this people in the great work of the gathering, and donate for the building up of the Zion of our God, this is a part of their duty, and it is included in the commandments of the Lord to them as heirs of celestial glory.

If they then begin to say in their hearts, “I have served the Lord for a little season; I have been baptized; I have received the Holy Ghost and have become some great one; I have received the gift of tongues, and have prophesied; I have received the power of healing the sick, and other manifestations of the power and mercies of the Almighty; I think I can remain where I am and do well in disregarding the counsels of the Almighty respecting gathering together and dividing my substance for the gathering of the poor and building up of Zion.” It will be said to them who speak and act thus, as it was said to Nebuchadnezzar of old. If they cling to that which is given, and set their hearts upon the things of this world, and love them more than they do the kingdom of our God, those blessings will be withdrawn, the Holy Ghost will be taken from them, and that light received through obedience to the first principles of the Gospel will flee away; that love which they possessed will leave them, and they will become weak as before and darker than ever, unless they speedily repent and turn unto the Lord with all their hearts. Then, if there is sufficient integrity left in them; the Lord may have forbearance and patience to try them a little longer; but it will be by leading them in such a path and such a line of experience as to altogether strip them of the idol of their hearts, and leave them in poverty and wretchedness. And when they have experienced wretchedness until, like Nebuchadnezzar, they have learned that the Most High reigns, and that he gave them all they have, and that they are nothing but his stewards, then they may peradventure receive again the favour and blessings of Heaven.

This lesson we have all got to learn—that we and all that we possess is the Lord’s, and that continually, and that we must for ever hold ourselves subject to his counsels and ready to obey his will.

If we are called upon to bear the vessels of the Lord, to be witnesses of those things that we have seen and heard, and to go forth to a gainsaying and reviling world, we have got to lay aside personal considerations of selfishness, lay aside the ties of home, and go forth trusting in God, and have all confidence in him, taking our lives in our hands, like the disciples of Christ went as lambs in the midst of wolves, and bear witness of the truth, nothing wavering or flinching; and whether it be to those of our native tongue, or to individuals of other tongues, or to the islands of the sea, they are all our kindred and the offspring of our Father, heirs of the same grace and life; and we are bound to extend the same blessings that we have received. As we have received freely, so we should be willing to freely impart, and as God had mercy and regard for us and our fellow-creatures, so we should give to those who are waiting to receive, who are of our Father and heirs to all his blessings.

These Elders of Israel before me to-day should feel continually; yes, all the Elders, Priests, and Apostles, and all the people of God should feel this saving, heavenly feeling; and every woman should feel this to her husband who may be called and found worthy to bear a portion of the holy Priesthood and be a witness for the Lord and of his word. And every true, faithful Latter-day Saint—yes, every mother and wife in Israel do feel this, and under no consideration would they throw an impediment in the way of their father, husband, or brother, to prevent their going to bear this message of life, or, if required to build up the temples of our God, to establish the cities of Zion, to cultivate the earth, and make it produce that which is necessary for the sustenance of the people of God; and if their duties are to labour physically while in this tabernacle, they should be willing to do it, and do it with the same missionary zeal and the same good feeling that they would preach the Gospel.

Finally, we should all feel that all we possess is the Lord’s—that he adds to our labours and gives us our reward, whether we deserve much or little; and when we have this feeling, and acknowledge the hand of the Lord in all things, we are right—we are in the path of duty and of safety.

May God bless you, brethren and sisters, in the name of Jesus! Amen.

Blessings

Heber C. Kimball

Remarks by Heber C. Kimball, made in Kay’s Ward, June 13, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I have not much to say; but I feel as though I had a right in my calling, and by virtue of the holy Priesthood upon me, to bless you, and to pray the blessing of our Father and God to be with you, in connection with the blessing you have received from President Young. I feel to bless the earth, and to bless the seed you may place on the earth—you and your wives and your children, and your children’s children. I am aware that you are not fully aware of the great work that will yet spring from this people, and the great work of our Father that has to be accomplished in the latter day.

Brethren and sisters, let us go to work now and cultivate the earth. I see a great deal of land here that is vacated. I am glad of it, for some have tried to farm more than they could attend to well, and have made nothing. Let us cultivate well what we do cultivate—make gardens and adorn them, and build good houses and adorn them. What a blessing it is for this people to have the privilege of beautifying the earth and making it like it was in the beginning in the garden of Eden! It is not necessary to build such tremendous great houses, but houses that we can complete and plaster over head, and on the sides and all over, and make them beautiful.

We shall be blessed and stay in these mountains. You need not be disheartened, for we shall stay here, and all hell cannot help it. We have done as they told us, until we got into the mountains, and here we will do the will of our Father in heaven, he helping us. Let us prepare ourselves, that, when we go to Jackson County, we shall know how to do right, and make beautiful gardens, &c. May God bless you! Amen.

Blessings

Heber C. Kimball

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made at Ogden City, June 12, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I can say, as President Young has said, God bless you, and peace from God our Father be with you always; and may peace be multiplied unto you, and to the whole house of Israel, and to the elect in all the world. I am not disposed to say much; I am not very well in health.

We have had a very pleasant journey. I think I can say with safety it has been one of the most pleasant journeys that I have ever taken. On all other journeys that I have ever travelled with the Saints, the companies have been strictly organized; but on this journey we have not been organized at all, and every man has been orderly in every respect. We have been into one of the most beautiful valleys in these mountains. Last Sabbath, at Logan, we met with, I suppose, about half as many people as there are here to-day—just as good a set of people as I ever beheld. A great many started to go there that were disaffected—those that were inclined to turn away from Mormonism. I supposed they were in Cache Valley; but they are not there: they went somewhere else. We do not know of any there but good people. And it is a good land: the people, and the mountains, and the valleys, and fountains of water are all good.

We still feel to bless Ogden City and the regions round about, and this people are going to be blessed mightily—I mean all the righteous—although there are a great many, perhaps, who are wicked—who are inclined to steal—to be dishonest. But the Lord God will bless the righteous all the time, and he will not forsake us; and the wicked will come to an end. This world will roll on, and the kingdom is established here in the tops of the mountains; and it never will be removed—no, not one hair’s breadth. We never shall go from these mountains until the Lord God calls us to go, or when we go back to the central place, in Jackson County, where the Lord God our Father planted his garden and commenced his work; and there he will finish it, and that day is near at hand. Therefore let your hearts be of good cheer, and let your souls rejoice, and cultivate the earth in hope, and enrich it, and make the earth like a garden, as our Father did; for when he comes, he will not make the garden for us, but he will cause his sons and daughters to do it—that is, those that are qualified for it; and those that are not qualified, of course, will be taken by them as apprentices to learn. “Mormonism” is true, and all persons that raise their hands against it will perish; and this is their end—they will go down to hell.

God bless you, brethren! Peace be with you, and peace be multiplied upon this people for ever, and upon their children after them for ever. Amen.

Restoration—Resurrection

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, October 21, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

We wish the Saints to distinctly understand that the remarks just made by brother Hyde do not pertain to doctrine, are not commandments, and have nothing to do with the ordinances of the house of God. He has given us some of his views and reflections. Suppose them to be true, and what of them? Suppose they are not true, and what of it? They have nothing to do with the doctrines and faith of this people. Whether they are true or not is about as immaterial as to know whether it is going to rain to-morrow or next week. If it rains, all we can do is to say, Let it rain; if it does not rain, all we have to do is to prepare to do the best we can with the dust: that is all there is of it. It is no matter whether those views and reflections are true or false.

According to the Scriptures, as they have come to us, we most assuredly believe that the measure we receive at the hands of our enemies will be measured to them again. But whether the wicked seek to corrupt the Church of God or not, the Saints will inherit every good thing. This is not saying that we are Saints. I have not yet come to that, though I firmly believe that we are trying to be Saints. Those that overcome and sit down with Jesus in his Father’s kingdom will possess all things: no good thing will be withheld from them.

Man is the lord of this earth, not woman. It is frequently told you that all the creatures of God, except man, will abide and honour the law under which they are placed. The vegetable, mineral, and animal kingdoms, except man, will abide the law by which they were made, and will be prepared to dwell on the new earth, in the midst of the new heavens that will be re-organised—the earth that we now inhabit. Man is the transgressor. Eve was the first to partake of the forbidden fruit, and the man was disposed to follow her, and did follow her; consequently, sin is in the world, and when redemption comes it must come by man. When we speak of law and the transgression of law, we refer to the law of God to man.

I doubt whether it can be found, from the revelations that are given and the facts as they exist, that there is a female in all the regions of hell. We are complained of for having more wives than one. I don’t begin to have as many as I shall have by and by, nor you either, if you are faithful. I am not the one that will dispose of them, but the Almighty to whom they belong; and it is His right to dispose of us and of all his creatures and creations.

I assuredly believe that all brother Hyde has said in regard to the restoration of the Saints to their inheritances, &c., will come to pass. And I believe, furthermore, if the men who have driven us:—the counties, States, and the General Government of the United States, proffer to take me back to the land of my inheritance, I shall refuse to go by their hands. I think I shall say, You can go to hell: I came here without any of your assistance, and I shall return again on the bounty of God, asking no assistance from you. That is my belief. I also believe that the gold and the silver belong to the faithful, and not to those who oppose the work of God. The horses and the chariots belong to the faithful, and not to the wicked. I believe they will be hungry, naked, and barefooted, while we are well fed, well clad, and ride in our carriages. I do not intend to be brought under obligations to or any alliances with the wicked, nor to have any affinity with them in heaven or on earth, nor to go to hell to have any with them there. I expect to individually own enough horses, waggons, carriages, oxen, cows, sheep, and everything this people will need in going back to Jackson County, Missouri, and ask no assistance of those who have driven and persecuted us. They may think that I have a poor opinion of them; but I cannot be as contemptible in their opinion as they are in mine, for the reason that they do not know enough. They, like us, were formed in the image of Him who has created us sons and daughters of the Almighty; but they have disgraced their being and violated every blessing that pertains to their organization. They remain for the wrath of God to rest upon them, and it will rest upon them. I have no particular allusions to those who have been here, though you may stir them up together (those who have been here and those who have not), and with few exceptions, they will all appear of the same colour. With few exceptions, they are all alike, for those who are not for us are against us.

Every intelligent person under the heavens that does not, when informed, acknowledge that Joseph Smith, jun., is a Prophet of God, is in darkness, and is opposed to us and to Jesus and his kingdom on the earth. What do you suppose I think of them? They cannot conceive their own degradation. If they could, they would turn away from their wickedness. I know them, but they do not know me. We live in an atmosphere they do not approach; they have not ability to see the path we walk in. Would I treat them as badly as they would treat us? No. They would murder us in a moment, if they had the power, unless we would renounce our religion. But they are trifling with their own existence, when they measure arms with the Almighty. All the day long we have extended to our enemies the hand of mercy and charity. We would offer to them life and salvation. What would they offer to us? Death and damnation, if they had the power; but they have not the power, and never will have.

From the day that Joseph brought forth the records of the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the power of God, until the day of his death, they said that he was seeking to bring down the wrath of the Lamanites upon the whites. They have driven us among the Lamanites, whom they were continually trying to keep us from mingling with. Why did they do this? God had decreed that they should, and they could not help it; and they will keep teasing and worrying and contending and fighting with one another, until the prophecy be fulfilled concerning the sons of Jacob, who will rise up and go through among the Gentiles like a lion through the forest. And who can stand before them? No one. Jew and Gentile, hear it; you are bringing upon your heads the very things you are trying to avoid, like the Government of the United States, which is striving with all its might, and calling to its aid the best wisdom of the nation to preserve its existence. Everything they do divides them until they will be split asunder and shivered to pieces. So they would do with this work.

They succeeded in killing Joseph, but he had finished his work. He was a servant of God, and gave us the Book of Mormon. He said the Bible was right in the main, but, through the translators and others, many precious portions were suppressed, and several other portions were wrongly translated; and now his testimony is in force, for he has sealed it with his blood. As I have frequently told them, no man in this dispensation will enter the courts of heaven, without the approbation of the Prophet Joseph Smith, jun. Who has made this so? Have I? Have this people? Have the world? No; but the Lord Jehovah has decreed it. If I ever pass into the heavenly courts, it will be by the consent of the Prophet Joseph. If you ever pass through the gates into the Holy City, you will do so upon his certificate that you are worthy to pass. Can you pass without his inspection? No; neither can any person in this dispensation, which is the dispensation of the fulness of times. In this generation, and in all the generations that are to come, every one will have to undergo the scrutiny of this Prophet. They say that they killed Joseph, and they will yet come with their hats under their arms and bend to him; but what good will it do them, unless they repent? They can come in a certain way and find favour, but will they? No. We paid for lands in Missouri that the wicked now possess. The United States could rise up and say, “You Mormons, come back, and we will defend you in your rights.” But will they do this? No, but they will spend their millions to deprive us of our just rights. They might do a great many good things: they might forsake their meanness, if they had a mind to.

If this people will do right and keep the law of the Lord, he will bring them back to the lands of their inheritances. The question might be asked, “Have you lands to return to?” Yes, I have lands in Missouri—lands in a number of places—farms that I am the rightful owner of. I am the rightful owner of lands in Illinois. Did I occupy them? No. Why? Did I observe the laws? Yes: I lived so entirely above them, that to me they were comparatively beneath my feet. “Why could you not live in Missouri or Illinois?” I believed that Joseph Smith, jun., was and is a Prophet, and that Jesus Christ is coming to cleanse the earth from pollution and gather the Saints from the four quarters of the world. Because I believed in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the world, and in the doctrine he taught, and because I practised that doctrine; and if you say that you believe this doctrine and do not practise it, you can be a good Christian.

The administrators of the Government of the United States violated every principle of the Constitution in the very act of making a war upon their own subjects; and if the laws of Congress were carried out, they would be treated as traitors to the Government. I was in Missouri through the troubles. Did this people transgress the law of that State or of the United States? Did they do anything to justly bring the wrath of that State or of the Government upon them? No. This people observed the laws of Missouri and the law of God more strictly than any other class, and yet the State authorities could issue their orders to exterminate the “Mormons”—to drive or destroy them—every man, woman, and child of them. Suppose the Constitution of that State had been carried out to the letter, every man that had anything to do with that mobbing—at least those in authority, with the Governor at their head, would have been hung.

Every man that used his influence to send an army here, if the Constitution is carried out, (and the day will come, as the Lord lives, when we shall be able to carry it out,) will be at the disposal of the hemp, if we say so. The day will come, as sure as the sun now shines and the Lord Almighty leads us through, as he has spoken from the heavens, when this people will return to the land of their inheritance. Perhaps these parents will not return, but their children will return and inherit the land promised to their fathers, and all the powers of hell and earth cannot prevent it. If we live our religion, we will enjoy this blessing, either in this life or in the next. That is the consolation the Saints have. If we lay down these tabernacles to rest in the grave, by-and-by we will take them up again, purified from all inbred corruption and made whole from every power of Satan in our flesh.

Our bodies are now mortal. In the resurrection there will be a reunion of the spirits and bodies, and they will walk, talk, eat, drink, and enjoy. Those who have passed these ordeals are society for angels—for the Gods, and are the ones who will come into the Temple of the Lord that is to be built in the latter days, when saviours shall come up upon Mount Zion, and will say, “Here, my children, I want this and this done. Here are the names of such and such ones, of our fathers and mothers—our ancestors; we will bring them up. Go forth, you who have not passed the ordeals of death and the resurrection—you who live in the flesh, and attend to the ordinances for those who have died without the law.” Those who are resurrected will thus dictate in the Temple. When the Saints pass through death, they cannot officiate in this sinful world, but they will dictate those who are here. “Go, now, and be baptized for the honourable—for those who would have received the law of God and the true religion, if they had lived; be baptized for the heathen—for all who were honest; officiate for them, and save them, and bring them up. Be baptized for them, anointed for them, washed and sealed for them, and fulfil all the ordinances which cannot be dispensed with.” They will all be performed for the living and the dead upon Mount Zion.

We can receive the truth, live in it, and enjoy its benefits, or we can reject it: that we have power to do. This generation have power to reject the Gospel, and they are very fervent in so doing. They are as perfectly enthusiastic in that course as any people that ever lived. Nation after nation has had the Gospel offered to them, the fulness of the Gospel has been preached to them, and they have studiously rejected it. This was the first nation blessed with the Gospel in our day, and have they not been fervent to reject it by towns, cities, counties, states, and the nation? They are as determined to reject the Gospel as they are to live and overcome the kingdom of God. Will they overcome that kingdom? No. Every time they persecute and try to overcome this people, they elevate us, weaken their own hands, and strengthen the hands and the arms of this people. And every time they undertake to lessen our number, they increase it. And when they try to destroy the faith and virtue of this people, the Lord strengthens the feeble knees, and confirms the wavering in faith and power in God, in light, and intelligence. Righteousness and power with God increase in this people in proportion as the Devil struggles to destroy it.

We cannot help being Saints; we cannot prevent the rolling forth of the work of God: in and of ourselves we have no power to control our own minds and passions; but the grace of God is sufficient to give us perfect victory. The power of the Lord our God helps us, and the Devil and his emissaries help us—the one on the one hand, the other on the other hand. We have power to receive the truth or reject it, and we have power to reject the evil or receive it.

This is the kingdom of God, and the people have not been preserved by my wisdom, but by the wisdom and power and knowledge of God. He knows how to weaken the armies of the Philistines. They may come here by tens of thousands, and multiply that number by ten and make it hundreds of thousands, and He can make them destroy themselves, until they melt away like the snow upon the mountains in summer. He can also strengthen this people or weaken them at his pleasure. And if they are faithful to the covenants they have entered into with their God, they will multiply and wax strong, until not a dog in all the mountains of Ephraim, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, and from Hudson’s Bay to Cape Horn, dare open his mouth or raise his voice against the anointed of the Lord. Don’t you pity our nation? I do. They have not enough knowledge to act according to their own laws. The officers they send here do not know enough to act according to the laws they were sent to magnify. The nation is becoming imbecile and weak; they are unstable as water; they do not seem to have the wisdom of a child; and every move they make they manifest their weakness before the world, and put themselves to shame before each other. I have said enough about this matter, though I have only dropt [dropped] a few hints.

I began with brother Hyde’s remarks, and I will end with them. He has not been teaching you doctrine. Whether those things he has been speaking about are true or not, who cares? Who cares who takes us back to the land of our inheritance? I have told you my feelings on the subject. If they want to take us back to-day, I say, No; I came here without their aid, and I ask no assistance from them. All I ask of them, or ever have, is, when any of them leave this Territory, to pay their honest debts and not steal. Some few come to me, when they are about to leave, and say—“I am going to this or that place; anything I can do for you, Governor Young, I am at your service.” My reply is, I have one thing to ask of you and of all creation—namely, When you speak of this people, speak the truth, and do not lie about them. Will they do that? Some will, and some will not; some will publish a lie from east to west, from north to south. If you would give a dollar a line for publishing the truth, as a general thing you cannot get editors to publish it. Now, lie and be d—d, the whole of you; I ask no favours of you.

God bless the humble in heart, and those who promote truth and righteousness upon the earth; and let the wrath of the Almighty be upon the wicked and ungodly. Amen.

Teachings of the Priesthood—Religion of the Saints

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, October 21, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I do not wish to be over zealous, to say the time is mine, or that I have the privilege, above others of my brethren, of speaking. I like to hear my brethren speak quite as well as to speak myself; but as there is time, I feel it my privilege to stand before the Saints and instruct, guide, and encourage them, and build them up in the faith of the holy Gospel.

The same principles and the same feelings that I imbibed when I embraced the Gospel of salvation are still within me, but in a greater degree. As you have frequently heard me say, there is nothing, except the Gospel of life and salvation—the power of God—that would ever induce me to become a public speaker. But the principles of eternal life are so engaging, so endearing, so lovely, so worthy of all acceptation, so sweet, so great, that I could not refuse; consequently, I have been striving for many years to perfect myself; with others, in the history, plan, knowledge, and ways of the Lord upon the earth, and in the holy Priesthood that is calculated to save the children of men. I delight in hearing my brethren speak. I do not know that I was ever more gratified in hearing a servant of God bring forth out of his storehouse the riches of eternity than I was, a week ago this morning, in hearing brother Hyde set forth the beautiful things pertaining to the kingdom of our God. I have been equally edified to-day, if I do not exactly agree with him in regard to the means for the further promotion of the kingdom of God, and bearing off his people. In the remarks I have heard from brother J. D. Ross, this afternoon, I am delighted. I drink, and I drink again, and am I still dry? I am at least still prepared for more; and the more I receive in my understanding, and the more my mind expands for the things of God, the better, seemingly, I am prepared to receive more and more.

I do not always entirely agree with some in their sayings; but my brethren, like myself, sometimes do not use the language best adapted to convey their ideas. For instance, I am not ready to confess as do some that I know nothing, and that I am a fool. I know a great many things, and I know them right. Brother Ross says that people are more willing to believe the testimony of men who have been dead many centuries than the testimony of living men. This, however, does not apply to me; for I delighted more in the voice of Joseph Smith than in all the voices of the dead Prophets I never heard. He was the living oracle of God with me; he was the medium through which the Lord spoke to me. Do you not think that his voice was delightful to me? Yes. When I read his letters, his sermons, his revelations, unless I am in the spirit by which they were dictated, they are lean to me to what they used to be when he was with us. They were rich, they were full of interest, full of good things, when I could see his face shine like an angel’s: they were then sweet as a honeycomb.

Before I had made a professsion [profession] of religion, I was thought to be an infidel by the Christians, because I could not believe their nonsense. The secret feeling of my heart was that I would be willing to crawl around the earth on my hands and knees, to see such a man as was Peter, Jeremiah, Moses, or any man that could tell me anything about God and heaven. But to talk with the priests was more unsatisfactory to me then than it now is to talk with lawyers. If possible, the priests were then even more ignorant upon certain points than men are now. Did they know the first thing pertaining to salvation? No: they could not even tell that it was necessary to be baptized for the remission of sins. No man could tell me that, until I saw Joseph Smith. No man could say that the ordinances, of God should be obeyed, that the same doctrine taught by Jesus and his Apostles is the only doctrine to save the people. They were divided and subdivided—split into small fragments, and every man was for himself.

I am delighted when I feel and enjoy the presence and power of that instruction given by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost: our hearts are made glad. You believed the Gospel in your native countries and took up your line of march to this desolate wilderness. If I might so speak, you have sacrificed all you have on earth that is near and dear to you for the sake of the Gospel. What made you do this? The spirit of revelation, the Spirit of God, the power of God. Is it not lovely? I am proud of, I am delighted in my religion—in my God. And when I speak of those who have persecuted this people and sought diligently to destroy us, using every endeavour and means they were master of to obliterate this people and kingdom from the earth, what do you suppose I think of them? I cannot speak it: language is too full of poverty, too obscure, too unmeaning for me to talk about it. Suppose you see two men in conversation, and one of them rises up to his Father and God with all deference, and, vailing his face, comes before him in all humility, while the other rises up and says, “Damn him, I am not afraid of him!” which of the two would you love? and which of them would you hate? Both of them are his offspring; both of them live on his mercy, and are nourished and cherished by his bounty; and one says, “I am not afraid of him, but I will abuse his name and character, and deride his goodness!” and the other comes with his face vailed, saying, “I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for thy mercy is over me continually, to preserve me; and through thy goodness I am permitted to come into thy presence!”—which would you love the most? Language cannot express it.

When you contrast the religion that we believe with the religion that the world believes, with all their pomp, grandeur, wealth, and gaudy show, I look upon them with more disgust than I do upon the gates of hell—language cannot tell it. I am proud to say that I honour my God—that I love him—that I worship him; I am proud to call him my Father, while many are proud to deride and despise him. They are proud when they get together and curse and swear, damning and calling the name of Jehovah in vain, calling upon God to damn each other: they are proud that they have this audacity. They will sink into hell. I defy all the enemies of this work to think as diminutively of me as I do of them. There is just as much difference between their knowledge and mine as there is between light and darkness. Here we have the words of life, and do I not glory in them?

Paul gloried in the cross of Christ. Previous to that he was a poor, miserable, vain, wicked, abominable, corrupt creature, brought up as a servant in Gamaliel’s house, where they despised God and every God-like principle. He held the clothes of the men that stoned Stephen to death, and consented to his death. The Lord appeared to him when he was on a mission to persecute his followers, and told him that he was a chosen vessel for the Lord to show forth, through him, his power. Paul gloried in the cross of Christ. He might have said that he gloried in having the privilege of paying the debt that he had contracted by his previous mean and evil treatment toward the Saints and Jesus Christ when he was upon the earth. He derided them, stoned them, laughed them to scorn, threw sticks after them in the streets, spat upon them, and was ready to raise a mob and do anything that was mean to afflict the Saints and servants of God. The Lord says—“I will show you that I have had my eye upon you, from before the foundation of the world, to make you a chosen vessel to bear my name where I would not send a man who had never persecuted my Saints.” Were I to meet brother Paul, he would say—“Brother Brigham, I have not received at the hands of my enemies more than I deserved. And when you were talking about me on the stand, on such and such a day, your eye was opened to see the path I had walked in.”

Do you not think that the Lord has his eye upon a great many? There is a passage of Scripture that reads thus:—“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren,” &c. Whom did he not foreknow? I do not think there is anybody now on the earth, or that has lived before us, or that will come after us, but what he knew. He knew who would be his anointed; he has had his eye upon them all the time, as he had upon Moses, Pharaoh, Abraham, Melchisedec; and Noah, who was a chosen vessel to build the ark and save a remnant from the flood.

Did you ever hear the story of an old man that came to Noah when he was building the ark? “What, Mr. Noah, are you still at the ark? You are a veritable old fool, building an ark far away from any water! How are you going to float it?” “Wait a little while, and I will show you: by-and-by the Lord will break up the mighty deep and send forth the waters and drown the wicked.” “Oh, you are a fool, Noah! You had better build a good house, and plant and till the earth. I am going home,” &c. “Go on,” said Noah; “by-and-by you will learn that I am right.” They waited year after year, and by-and-by the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the rain began to descend. The old man came along, and Noah said to him, “What do you think now, neighbour?” “Oh, this is only a shower; it looks like clearing up; it will soon be over.” In a short time the old man came again, wading in water to his knees, when Noah said, “Well, what do you think now?” “Oh, it will soon clear away.” He came again, and that time he was paddling along in water up to his neck, and said, “Won’t you take me in, Noah?” “I have got my load; all who have received tickets are aboard, and those who have not tickets cannot come aboard. What do you think of it now, old man, is it only a little shower?” Then it was not, “Damn old Noah!” but they were crying, “Oh, Mr. Noah, take us in.” By-and-by it will be, “Mr. Smith, won’t you have a little compassion on us?” ” No,” Joseph will say; “you would not take a ticket when I offered it to you by my brethren; you refused my tickets, and said it was ‘nothing but a shower, we guess it will pass off.’” According to the words of the Saviour, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man.”

“Brother Brigham, I think you talk pretty hard; for we feel very important, and we do not like to hear you speak against our charity and against our doings.” They assassinated Joseph Smith, and they drove us into the mountains, where, as they said, “the land is sterile and good for nothing,” and where the Indians would kill us, as they believed with all their hearts. They said and believed this, and prophesied day and night that the ‘Mormons’ were going, and would be starved to death or killed by Indians. We came here naked and barefoot: do you think that I shall ask any aid from them, when we are ready to go back? No. We brought our provisions, when we came here, to last us until we raised more. We brought our few farming implements, our seed grain, wives, and children, with comparative nakedness and poverty as to this world’s goods. My wives took skins and made moccasins to wear.

We have sustained ourselves, so far, in this far-off, barren region, and we shall live here. Do they want us to live here? No, nor anywhere else. Bark away; bark away; follow up the Saints; persecute the Saints. Can’t you buy them out, think you? “Oh dear, the ‘Mormons’ are getting Uncle Sam’s timber in the kanyons.” Who is Uncle Sam? All of us. Get the timber out of the kanyons, build houses, burn lime, cultivate the soil, and raise animals on the range, for we have a right so to do. But our enemies hunt, persecute, and make war upon us, and have done this to their sorrow. They have made war upon the Saints from the beginning, and now they will have war to the hilt, until they are used up, root and branch. In the name of Israel’s God, there will not be one of them left upon the earth. Will I hurt them? No. The Lord Almighty will lead them in a path wherein they will use themselves up. Don’t lay it to me; though, if you do, I don’t care.

It is quite interesting, is it not, for a man to rise up and make war upon one of his own children? Think how it would appear for a father to kick, cuff, and otherwise abuse the youngest and best son of twelve, never give a dime to encourage him, and then say to the eleven—“Now, boys, rise up and kill him outright.” Is not that treason of the blackest kind? It has been as much committed as it will be; and if they do not stop, they will be rubbed out. Have this people committed treason or transgressed the laws of their country? If any man says they have, he is a liar, and will go to hell, for he lies like hell. Those who say they have are of the Devil, and are his servants; they lie, and there is no truth in them; and they shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone.

They made war with us, and they have committed treason. We have received enough abuse at their hands. Would we trouble them? No. If they would only let us alone, we would only preach the Gospel, and that we will do. The Lord has called me to this work, and I feel as though I will do it. We will send the Gospel to the nations; and when one nation turns us away, we will go to another and gather up the honest in heart and the rest we care not for until we come on Mount Zion as saviours, to attend to the ordinances of the house of God for them. The Lord will let the people know that he will rule. The Devil has had possession of the earth a great while.

It would be very tyrannical, would it not, for a king to make laws that would make people do right? Oh what an overbearing government, that would be, would it not? “Now, let that man alone; earn and eat your own food, and do not steal that man’s.” What oppression there is in Utah, when one man rises up and hinders another from oppressing his neighbour! “Oh, what oppression! I will write to Washington about it.” Write where you please: all such will meet their doom.

Stop swearing and taking the name of God in vain. Are any in the habit of lying? Stop it. Are any in the habit of bearing false witness against your neighbour?” Stop it. A man rises up—“Wife, I am going to break your head!” You can’t do this in Utah. A man rises up—“I want to steal that man’s waggon, or my neighbour’s axe!” You can’t do it with impunity in this community. Those who are in the habit of getting drunk, stop it: you must not get drunk in this community. Are you in the habit of spending your time for naught, and wasting the talents God has given you, and running about the streets tattling and making mischief? Stop it; this is not allowed in Utah. Stop your evil and all your sinning, and love righteousness, for that is applauded in Utah. I glory in it; I love it: it is sweet to me, sweeter than the honey or the honeycomb. I am with it, and it is with me; I live in it, delight in it, and expect to die in it, and live to all eternity in it. The spirit and power of justice, mercy, long-suffering, patience, kindness, and good acts to all around, filling up the measure of my life here and to all eternity in doing good, is what I delight in. That is the kingdom I love—the kingdom I am in; and I pray that God may roll on his work, and that iniquity may be swept from our midst, until we overcome, gather the honest in heart from all the earth, and fill it with righteousness. That we may enjoy that day of rest—that day of peace and perfect triumph over sin and iniquity, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Testimonies of the Truth

Orson Hyde

Remarks by Elder Orson Hyde, made at the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, October 7, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

Feeling thankful for the opportunity of meeting with you, this morning, in the capacity of our Semi-Annual Conference, I cannot but express my gratitude to God that I am a member of that Church which is everywhere spoken against, even the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am thankful to God, my Heavenly Father, that he has revealed the everlasting Gospel in its fulness, and made me, as well as many of you, the honoured instruments to proclaim it to all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, whereever [wherever] our lots may be cast.

Of all people upon the face of the whole earth, none have so great reason to be thankful as we. We are brought into the school of Christ to be instructed in the laws, spirit, and policy of his kingdom.

Many of you will bear in mind that at our last Conference, six months ago, many of the speakers bore powerful testimony to the truth and certainty of the cause in which we are engaged; and you will also recollect that I told you then that that testimony would seriously affect all nations and people that it would be felt throughout the entire world—that it would be borne by an invisible hand, and its influence, like the frosts of autumn, blight the growing and flourishing prospects of all political and worldly schemes and enterprises. Contemplate now, through the glass of the public newspapers and journals, the condition of the nations of Europe, of Asia, and of America! Our own favoured land is in commotion. The political elements are heavily charged with electricity, and the louring storm-clouds are gathering in our horizon, threatening to avenge the blood of martyred Prophets and Apostles, and the inhumanity and cruelty practised upon the Saints of God. None of those things are forgotten. They are written with imperishable characters in the memory of this people, and their cries and their prayers have transmitted them to the sacred records above, to be answered in their behalf by storms, by tempests, by whirlwinds, by earthquakes, by famines, by the sword, and also by flames of devouring fire.

The testimony of the servants of God, before alluded to, forcibly reminds me of a certain class of men spoken of in the Revelations of St. John, who overcame by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. When our testimony goes forth from this stand, we cannot always tell exactly where it may take effect; but we know that it will not return void. It must fall somewhere. It is like the seeds of plants and flowers, which are often carried high in the air and wafted on the breeze to a remote distance; yet the laws of gravity will ultimately compel them to a resting-place, where their effects may be seen.

For me to testify to you that “Mormonism” is true—to declare its destiny and final triumph—would be like telling you that the sun shines. It is something that you see, and consequently know; yet it is not at all likely that the sun now shines in the eyes of all people. Hence I volunteer my testimony. You may regard it in the light of a ship-of-war taking in her shot and shells at a home port, that are designed to batter down an enemy’s walls on a foreign shore.

What is called “Mormonism” by the world is the fulness of the everlasting Gospel—the truth of God—the only way of salvation for all people to whom it is made known or in any way declared, and destined to rule the world. While on this branch of my subject, allow me to introduce a testimony given me, not long since, under other and peculiar circumstances. Hear it, all ye people! “Mormonism will win its way through the world, and triumph in the face of any and all opposition. There is a God that never sleeps, an eye that never slumbers, and an arm that never becomes feeble. This God is our God, and through our agency he has decreed the triumph of his cause. ‘Fear, not little flock; it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.’ There is no man on earth, no people on earth, no nation on earth, no kindred or tongue on earth, or the whole combined, that raises the hand or voice against the kingdom of God or its policy as now established, but that will be rejected of God, dishonoured of men, and go to ruin with the wrath of Heaven upon them.”

Having the spirit of our calling, we wax bold in our testimony. When a few more Conferences shall have been held by this people, compare the coming history of nations with this my testimony, and you will be satisfied that I now tell you the truth.

The liberty of the Gospel, with your indulgence, will allow me to give some political matters a passing and respectful notice. I am no politician, and it cannot be expected that I shall treat such subjects as Messrs. Douglas, Bell, Breckenridge, or Lincoln would. In such matters they are workmen. I am but a bungler; yet in times of general election, when political speeches are flaming all around, it is not to be wondered at that even a novice should attempt to fire up a little on the importance of the times.

First and foremost, I will briefly allude to some aspirants to office and honours in the Church of which we are members. There have been aspirants to the Presidency of this Church ever since the death of Joseph Smith, and even before. It may be regarded as lost time to allude to these things at all by which any portion of the day is consumed. But, brethren, bear with me. I have read the writings of every aspirant to the presiding Priesthood in this Church since the days of Joseph. I have marked their cold, dry, technical, husky, and spiritless reasonings from the Book of Mormon, from the Doctrine and Covenants, Bible, &c., quite voluminous, resembling the bile ejected from a disordered stomach. I have never discovered one burst of the Spirit of God in all their claims or publications.

Who has ever read Brigham Young’s writings in which he has laboured to establish his right and claim to the Presidency of the Church? No one. God pleads his own cause through Brigham, because he obeys him; but man has to plead the cause of man who is sordid, illiberal, murmuring, and corrupt.

In the month of February, 1848, the Twelve Apostles met at Hyde Park, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, where a small Branch of the Church was established; and I must say that I feel not a little proud of the circumstance, and also very thankful, on account of its happening in my own little retired and sequestered hamlet, bearing my own name. We were in prayer and council, communing together; and what took place on that occasion? The voice of God came from on high, and spake to the Council. Every latent feeling was aroused, and every heart melted. What did it say unto us? “Let my servant Brigham step forth and receive the full power of the presiding Priesthood in my Church and kingdom.” This was the voice of the Almighty unto us at Council Bluffs, before I removed to what was called Kanesville. It has been said by some that Brigham was appointed by the people, and not by the voice of God. I do not know that this testimony has often, if ever, been given to the masses of the people before; but I am one that was present, and there are others here that were also present on that occasion, and did hear and feel the voice from heaven, and we were filled with the power of God. This is my testimony; these are my declarations unto the Saints—unto the members of the kingdom of God in the last days, and to all people.

We said nothing about the matter in those times, but kept it still. [After seating myself in the stand, I was reminded of one circumstance that occurred, which I omitted in my discourse. Men, women, and children came running together where we were, and asked us what was the matter. They said that their houses shook, and the ground trembled, and they did not know but that there was an earthquake. We told them that there was nothing the matter—not to be alarmed; the Lord was only whispering to us a little, and that he was probably not very far off. We felt no shaking of the earth or of the house, but were filled with the exceeding power and goodness of God.] We knew and realized that we had the testimony of God within us. On the 6th day of April following, at our Annual Conference, held in the Log Tabernacle at Kanesville, the propriety of choosing a man to preside over the Church was investigated. In a very few minutes it was agreed to, and Brigham Young was chosen to fill that place without a dissenting voice, the people not knowing that there had been any revelation touching the matter. They ignorantly seconded the voice of the Lord from on high in his appointment. (Voice from the stand: “That is Vox Dei, vox populi.”) Yes, the voice of God was the voice of the people. Brigham went right ahead, silently, to do the work of the Lord, and to feed his sheep, and take care of them like a faithful shepherd, leaving all vain aspirants to quarrel and contend about lineal descent, right, power, and authority.

Some persons say that Brigham does not give revelations as did Joseph Smith. But let me tell you, that Brigham’s voice has been the voice of God from the time he was chosen to preside, and even before. Who that has heard him speak, or that has read his testimonies, or that is acquainted with his instructions, does not know that God is with him? Who does not know, Jew or Gentile, that has come in contact with his policy, that he possesses a power with which they are unable to compete. He possesses skill, wisdom, and power that trouble wise men and rulers. God will make him a greater terror to nations than he ever has been.

I will now quote a few passages from the revelations of God as contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants:—“My words shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice out of the heavens, or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.” Again, concerning his servants—“Whatsoever you shall speak by my Spirit shall be Scripture—shall be the word of the Lord, the will of the Lord, the mind of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.” Again, from the New Testament, Jesus says, “Whosoever heareth you (whom I send) heareth me.” You men of business do not empower and send an agent to transact business for you unless you intend to honour his words and his doings. The law will compel you to do this. The God of heaven does not send forth his servants upon the earth but with the fixed purpose to honour their words when they abide in the instructions given them.

I will now pave the way for my political manifest. Jesus says, “Whosoever falleth upon this stone shall be broken.” What stone does he refer to? The Lord says to his disciples, “Whom say ye that I am?” Peter answers—“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus indicated to Peter that he had spoken truly by saying unto him, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” This stone or rock was the word of God revealed unto Peter. Present revelation from God, then, is the stone or rock which our Saviour spoke of. Any church or any people built upon this foundation cannot be prevailed against by any power, for one obvious reason: whenever a people are built upon this foundation and they get into trouble and difficulty, they will ask the Lord to show them the way out; and being built upon present revelation and in communion with God, he will tell them what to do. His wisdom is greater than the cunning of the Devil, and consequently the gates of hell cannot prevail against them. Any people built upon this foundation are hard to head, though their numbers may be small. The ancient church was never overcome until they lost this principle of present revelation. Then they were prevailed against and fell away, because they ceased to build upon this foundation—the stone or rock of present revelation. Solomon says”Where no vision is, the people perish.”

Many churches are built up in the world, professedly, unto the name of Christ. But have they present revelation? No, they have not. They despise the idea of present revelation, and kill the Prophets that give them, and persecute the people that believe them. Will the gates of hell prevail against such? To whom will our Saviour say—“Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity; I know you not”? Will it not be to those who are not built upon this rock? Now for politics.

To send the army to Utah was the measure and policy of a Democratic administration of the United States Government. This Democratic administration was the only legitimate power that could send it here. It was the official channel through which the flood was poured in upon us. Merchants, gamblers, whoremasters, thieves, murderers, false writers, drunkards, and, to cap the climax, a drunken, debauched judiciary, with plenty of bayonets to enforce their decrees. Some decent men came, most likely; yet I know not one with whom I could safely trust the virtue of any female in their power. They came to gratify their basest passions; and they will leave, if they leave at all, with the wrath of God upon them, candidates for damnation. They have burned strange fire upon the altar of God, and with strange fire such will be consumed. The Democracy of the country fell upon this stone by the military arm of their power. Are they now broken? Let us see.

On the 25th day of December, 1832, the Lord spoke to Joseph Smith, and said—“Verily, thus saith the Lord, concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls. The days will come that war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at that place.” The Democratic party found it necessary to call a convention of delegates to nominate a successor to President Buchanan. No place but Charleston, South Carolina, could be agreed upon as the place for that body to assemble in. A most unlikely place, indeed!—entirely out of the political centre—a small town of about twenty or twenty-five thousand white inhabitants, accom[m]odations very limited for such a body of men, and at a half-dozen prices. But to South Carolina they must go; for the prophecy, twenty-seven years before, said that the serious troubles of the land should begin at that place. The Democratic party or administration fell upon that stone of present revelation, and, according to our Saviour’s words, they must be broken. They had to go to Charleston to break. They did go there, and there they did break into several pieces—split asunder. It was said by the ancient Prophet “Out of Egypt have I called my son.” Joseph and Mary took the young child by night and fled into Egypt to elude the cruelty of Herod, and God called his son out of Egypt. It was necessary, equally, that the Democratic party go to South Carolina, being urged there by a silent prophetic influence; and though they had hearts to understand, they understood it not. They had eyes to see, but they saw it not There they broke—there the trouble began, “which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls.” They sent their army to fall upon this stone—to fall upon God and upon his people and upon their policy. They sent their corrupting influence—their demoralizing principles and practices—among us; and God will make the nation heirs to the penalty for all these offences. “It must needs be that offences come,” but God grant us grace that we may endure manfully to the end.

This is my political speech to the Saints of God. Will the Democracy continue in power? The sequel will show. They are trying to “fuse,” but the iron and miry clay will never permanently unite. But they are in the hands of God, and they know it not; they are under his influence, but they acknowledge not his hand.

What was the immediate outside pressure that caused the army to come to Utah? Was it not the multitude that wanted to speculate out of the army—out of the citizens of the territory, traders, freighters, merchants, and sutlers, doctors, lawyers, and devils? Anybody may answer these questions. How many have got rich at it? How many have realized the object of their hopes and wishes in anything? God blesseth not unrighteous designs. Is the whole train of speculators broken? They fell upon this stone, or were ready to back those that did. Are they broken? If they are not, they are almost. Their creditors in the East will find this out in due time. Our gold, our virtue, and our blood is what most of them came to traffic in, and their reward is sure. This outside pressure cannot be confined, in truth, to the class of men alluded to. What was the voice of the nation through their public journals, priests, and people? What the popular clamour? Crucify him! Crucify him! Away with him! The “Mormons” are not fit to live! Let the race be exterminated! With the exception of now and then a Joseph of Arimathea, this was the popular cry. Will the nation be broken? It has fallen upon this stone to all intents and purposes. The signs in the heavens and upon the earth, the political feuds or factions, the seditious tendency of the people, were never more portentous over Jerusalem, previous to its destruction, than they are now over the United States of America. Who so blind as not to see it?

This picture is held up as a mirror to reflect the condition and fate of any and every other nation or people that slays the Lord’s anointed—that persecutes his people—that sends its armies to corrupt, annoy, or lay waste the heritage of God. I have no apologies to make. I tell you that God Almighty sits upon the throne of his kingdom. He has decreed its onward march, and it will march onward; and the power to stay it exists not on the earth. We were driven out into this wilderness, and here we are. Our friends will find us here, and our foes also. They made us cross the Mississippi pretty lively. They pressed us and pricked us with their bayonets. Was there any mercy shown to the sick, aged, or infirm—to women and children? No. The fever of frenzy and rage had dried up the fountain of compassion in their hearts. We had to fly, and to what place Heaven only knew. The timid wife, the tender daughter, the widowed mother and her children were forced into the flat-boat like so many cattle or swine. By casting an eye back to their once pleasant and peaceful habitations, they could mark the lurid flame and smoke curling up to heaven from the crumbling walls of their desolated homes. One widowed lady, while seeking her little boy among the mob on the margin of the river, was cursed and damned because she was not sooner aboard of the boat. When she found her child, she went aboard, and, turning round and looking them full in the face, said to her persecutors—“You shall yet dearly pay for all this.” I dined with that same lady not ten days since, and she told me that she should live to see her prediction fulfilled. I said, God grant it. Jesus says—“With the same measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again.” God will not speak to them much more by Prophets, for they have persecuted and slain them. But he will speak unto them yet more. It will be, however, by the voice of thunder, by the voice of lightnings, by the voice of whirlwinds, tempests, and tornadoes—by the voice of hail, fire, flood, and famine—by the voice of hostile forces in deadly combat—by the wailings of widows and orphans—by pestilence and decrease of both man and beast. The horrors of the scenes will be lighted up by the incendiary’s torch. In this way will God make requisition for the blood of his anointed, and for the cruelty practised upon his people. With these arguments will God plead his cause at the nation’s bar until the builders seek the stone which they have rejected, even present revelation, and place it at the head of the corner. This will be the Lord’s doings, and it will be marvellous in our eyes. The Supreme Creator of all, the Almighty Sovereign of the universe will assert his rights and maintain them, and reign King of nations as he now does King of Saints. The power that attempts to check his designs will be ground to powder.

The present aspirants to presidential honours in the nation appear to be in good heart and firm in faith that they shall triumph. They seem to spare no labour or effort; they lack no zeal, and are full of hope, full of expectation, strong in spirit, strong in will, and strong in assurance. But the days are near at hand when all such will be weak as water. Their voices will be feeble, their arms palsied, their knees tremble, and they will no sooner aspire to that station than they would to the berth of Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego in the fiery furnace. They will no sooner aspire to that summit of fame than would the Israelites approach the crest of Mount Sinai when the thunders of heaven rolled in awful majesty, and the lightnings flashed in forked lines as arrows from the bow of the Almighty. At the appointed time in Heavens’s will, the capstone, long rejected, will be brought forth with shouting, crying Grace, grace unto it! Remember the words of the Lord where he says—“All my words shall be fulfilled: whether by mine own voice out of the heavens or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.” And again—“He that heareth whomsoever I send, heareth me.” Forget not these things.

I covet no man’s silver, gold, or apparel; neither his goods, wares, or merchandize. I covet not the honours of this world, neither the good opinion of ungodly men; but I do covet the Spirit of the living God. I covet grace equal to my day, and earnestly pray God, my heavenly Father, in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, that I may have power to honour my priesthood and calling, to bear a faithful testimony to the truth, and by no act spot or stain the testimony which I bear.

God bless the people and his servants, and roll on his mighty work, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Restoration of the Dead

Heber C. Kimball

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, November 25, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

I have been hearing a few words advanced by Bishop Woolley, and I rejoice to say that I have a testimony within me that his sayings are true and faithful, and according to my experience. I have come to the conclusion myself that I do not know much, excepting that which I have experienced, and I have had quite a lengthy experience in this Church. I have seen what are commonly called the ups and downs of “Mormonism;” I have passed through the mobbings and drivings of the last twenty-eight years, and have endured many things that but few of this congregation or this people know anything about. There are but few now in these Mountains who have passed through the trials and difficulties that have been endured by the leaders of this people, and therefore they have not the same experience, they do not know how to appreciate those things that we have passed through, as we do.

For instance, we were driven from Jackson County, in the State of Missouri: some were obliged to leave Kirtland, in Ohio, through persecution; others were driven from Far West, Caldwell County, and from Clay County, Missouri; and then the great body of the Church were finally driven from Nauvoo. I might go on to tell you how numerous Branches of the Church were driven from many other places, and how many there were in the Church at those different periods; but I will only remark that there are not a great many of those men with us now, in comparison with the great number that are in these mountains.

I discover one thing, however, that may have escaped the notice of many—namely, that quite a number of those who are now in the Church originated or sprung from those who first obeyed the Gospel. There are a great many of their children who are now numbered with us; yes, there are hundreds of young people with us that have been born in the Church. I frequently see some of them—persons that I have known from their childhood, and whose parents I knew before they were born. This is very gratifying to me.

Many of those who received the Gospel at an early day have turned away from the truth; others have died and gone to the spirit-world; but their children are here; they have come and taken the position of their parents, and will eventually be the means of redeeming them; they will act as saviours raised up by the Almighty, and they will become very useful in the latter days in restoring their parents into the presence of God.

I speak of these things because they were they [the] first presented to my mind when I arose to address you, and I will now take the liberty of saying that I pray continually that this people and all the Elders of Israel may honour their calling—that they may be blest with us, and with their children for evermore. I pray that we may live long upon the earth, and that we may accomplish a great and mighty work in this last dispensation, and that we may be so guided as to enable us to accomplish the work which we have the privilege of assisting to perform. This Gospel will accomplish that for which it was sent, and there is no power upon this earth that can stay its progress. There is no combined power upon the face of this earth that can stay this Gospel in its course—no, not for one single moment. This is according to the design of our Heavenly Father, for he has said you cannot do anything against the truth, but for it.

These things are truly so, and I have never known a man, whether in the Church or out of it, but what has promoted this cause and increased the influence of this people; and it will be so from this time henceforth and for ever. Then why do you fathers in Israel want to lie down and go to sleep, and neglect the duties that devolve upon you? If you continue to do this, some of your children will have to rise up and become your benefactors. Why don’t you step forward, set an example before your children, become their benefactors, and lay a foundation for them and your children’s children to the latest generation. It is your privilege, and the power is in your possession, for you have the Priesthood, and you have a portion of that Apostleship which will help you to attain to all the blessings promised to the faithful sons of God. But many, I am aware, will let the candle of the Almighty that is within them go out; and when that once goes out, it is very hard to light it up again, and to have it as brilliant as it was in the beginning.

In regard to the world at large, and my views in reference to the Lord’s, performing his work, I have only to say that I look back and trace the revelations that God gave to Joseph with great pleasure. He told the Prophet at one time to go forth with his brethren and importune for redress at the feet of the Governors and the Judges, and finally to the President of the United States, to give them the privilege of redressing their wrongs. The Lord then said, if they will not redress your wrongs, I will come out of my hiding-place, and in my hot displeasure I will vex those unjust judges that are placed at the head of the nation, and I will cut them off from the face of the earth, and I will appoint their portion to be with the hypocrites and with the unbelievers. Brethren, do you not think that day is right here? Are we not receiving news every few days, by the Pony Express, that the Lord is fulfilling his word? I think the last two or three days has brought us news that ought to satisfy all upon that point.

It is now for you and me to rise up in the strength of our Heavenly Father, and let the light of heaven shine upon us, that everything that is not right may be purged from our midst, and let us say to every unholy thing, Begone! Let us honour our tabernacles; let us honour the earth, and let us honour the heavens, that we may enjoy the blessings that flow therefrom; for the man who dishonours his tabernacle and the earth upon which we dwell will not inhabit them again for some time to come. It will be with them as President Young was talking this morning about a certain class of individuals: there will be a dissolution, not only of the tabernacles, but of the spirits: for the body is not accountable to the spirit, but it is rendered accountable for the acts of the person that dwells in it—that is, to some extent. But, in reality, it is the person who dwells in the house that will have to pay the debt. I am now speaking about the spirits that dwell in our bodies. I know that these things will be as I say.

I have seen the time when I did not know the meaning of the phrase, “second death,” but I now comprehend it to my satisfaction. There will probably be thousands who will be brought forth, in the resurrection, in their sins, and their conduct in life will have rendered them worthy of the second death. I have no desire to see any of the human family become subjects of the second death, and I especially desire that I may not see any of my brethren and sisters transgress the law of God to that extent that will render them subjects of the second death. My anxiety on this point is sometimes very great, for I desire the welfare of the Saints, and my interest in your behalf is daily increasing. I desire that we may so live in this life that we may ever dwell together, that we may rise together in the resurrection of the just, and then dwell together as men, women, and children in the Lord.

Now, brethren and sisters, do we know what is right for us to do? Yes, every one of us. I can safely say there is not a man or woman here but knows what is right in the sphere in which they move. For instance, there is not one but knows better than to tell a lie, or steal, or bear false witness, or go and get drunk, or to bemean our fellow-creatures. We all know that with that measure we mete, we shall have it measured back to us again. Then it is necessary for you and me, if we have been wrongfully and unkindly treated, to wait until we see a change; and, if we are patient, we shall see that to that man who measured to us will be measured back again, and we have no need to say anything about it. The law has gone forth—“With what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again.” We may all rest assured brethren, that this law will be carried out, and that as we measure to each other, so will it be measured back to us again, in order that justice may have its demands.

You will all admit that this is true doctrine, for these are the words of our Saviour: they are the words of the Prophets and Apostles. Yes, they have all borne testimony to the same doctrine, and so has every pure-minded man that has lived upon the earth.

Now let me ask of you Latter-day Saints if you think we do not know enough to lay aside our selfishness. Can we lay aside our precious selves and our proneness to do evil? Yes, we can.

When I returned from the South I had quite a bundle of stories laid before me, and they were calculated to prejudice me in my feelings; but I declared, after due reflection, that it would not do for me to acknowledge such stories as truth, or permit them to have any bearing or weight upon my mind, because, if I had, prejudice, to which we are all more or less susceptible, would have taken hold of me. When I investigated and fathomed the thing to the bottom, there was not a word of truth in the reports. If men who are accustomed to fire off big guns could take such yarns for wadding, and thus blow them away, it would be a good thing for this community.

We are the greatest people for believing everything that is reported that ever lived on the earth. It was just so in brother Joseph’s day. When I went to Kirtland, they told me stories about brother Joseph, but I would not believe them. In those days, I would not believe that a Prophet could do a wrong thing. But there are some now who will try to make it appear that Prophets will tell lies; but I tell you they will not do it. I might reason in the language of Paul and say that, if I could bring more into the kingdom of God by telling a lie than by telling the truth, I would do it; but I know that the truth will bear its own weight, and accomplish that for which it was sent; and there is no need of any lies being told, or of any misrepresentations being made about it.

There used to be a great many big stories told in Nauvoo, and the only way that I got along was by trying to put them down. I speak of these things to show you what has been; and if you can draw any good conclusions from them, I shall be satisfied. My principal object in speaking thus is, I want you to know that we are a people who are very much inclined to believe lies, and to encourage that which is not right.

If you know a man who is guilty of a crime, is it best for you to reveal it? I will tell you what I would do. If I knew of men in this Church, who were guilty of crimes that were not unto death, I would never reveal that knowle[d]ge; for I consider it would not be good policy to throw my brethren into hands that would be a great deal worse than they were themselves; but I would see that the law of God was executed.

The Bible says we should have charity and increase therein; and we are further instructed to increase and multiply in all good works, that the capacity of our minds may be enlarged, that we may grow, thrive, and increase in the knowledge of our Father and God.

Brethren, my heart is kind towards you all; I feel towards you as a father feels towards his own children, and it is the pride of my heart to see you rise up and honour and magnify the callings that are placed upon you. You cannot honour God upon any other principle than by honouring that which he has conferred upon you. Give honour to all to whom honour is due. Do right in all things, and by so doing your minds will expand, and you will be enabled to comprehend the things of God.

It is not wisdom for you who hold the Priesthood to take the sickle that is given you to reap with and hang it up on a tree, but you are to carry it with you, and be faithful in using it; for if you leave it, an enemy will come and rub all the edge off. Let us take a course that our spirits will be keen and bright to understand the things of God, and that the revelations of Jesus Christ may be with us all the time, that we may be natural men and women, and that God may be with us, and open our hearts to see the things of this kingdom.

In regard to the outside pressure that is so often spoken of, if those who make it do not get pressed or squeezed, if there is any juice in them, then I am mistaken. I mean those that killed Joseph and Hyrum Smith, David Patten, and many others who have been slain for the Gospel’s sake.

The Lord is going to finish his work, for he has promised to cut it short in righteousness.

I will now turn from the spiritual to the temporal, and advise you to finish your work. Put the covering on your houses—bind on the cornices; for, if you don’t, the Devil will raise a wind that will blow the tops off. I have concluded that I will hold myself still and not say much, for fear my roof should blow off, the same as many have been thrown off up north.

Brethren, be diligent in gathering up the honey; be humble, kind, and merciful, and then we shall obtain mercy. God will mete unto us according to our deserts; he will bless the righteous and the meek. The Lord will reckon with the wicked and those that have committed abominations in the earth. He will shortly reckon, too, with those who hold the Priesthood—who have been acting as ministers of justice and mercy; he will reward them according to their works.

May the Lord our God bless the meek and contrite in spirit; may he bless those that lead you, and inspire their hearts that they may be like one drop of water, or like a unit; and may he grant that you may be one with them; and may he grant that we may all walk before him in righteousness all the days of our lives.

May the God of our fathers bless you all, is my prayer. Amen.

Improvement

Heber C. Kimball

Remarks by Heber C. Kimball, made at Willow Creek, June 12, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

In all the days of my life, I never heard more plain preaching than I have heard to-day, taking it altogether. It is not such preaching as you hear all the time. A great many of you probably were professing Christians before you became “Mormons;” and you have been used to what we call spiritual food. Good heavens, whoever partook of spiritual food in the flesh, except he first partook of natural food? The spirit is in the natural food, and no man receives it except he takes the natural food. It is the religion of Jesus Christ—it is the religion of the kingdom of God; and as far as I am concerned, I do not know anything about any religion that does not consist in faith and works. Faith without works is dead, being alone; so is the body dead without the spirit. The spirit and body are the soul of man. It is the spirit of man that prompts to improvement—to putting up good houses and good barns, planting fine orchards, and improving the country generally.

It appears that it would be impossible for me to live unless I gratified the feeling of improvement that is within me. When I first got married, I worked at the potter’s business, and not being fully employed, I would go and look at my hog-pen, to see if I could make an improvement on it. I would tear it down and build it over again upon an improved principle. I dare venture to say that if you move some of your houses here, you will have an excellent rich garden spot. Improvement is the result of labour. Do you suppose this earth was organized and created without labour? No, no more than a piece of crockery-ware is made without hands. We know that that pitcher was made by some being like unto us, and so it was with this earth.

After the earth was made, then there was a garden spot selected, and the Lord commanded some of his associates to go and plant it, and to cause all kinds of vegetation to grow, and fruits of every description. Some suppose the Lord commanded all these things to come out of the earth. Yes, he did, after the seeds were put in the earth; and he blessed the earth, and the vegetation that was in the earth. When all these things were done, the garden was beautified, and made pure, and clean and holy and sanctified; and then the next thing was to bring forth the animal creation; but the animals were not brought there until the vegetation was planted and grown. We often sing, “This earth was once a garden place,” where God our Father dwelt, and took possession and a stand that mankind will take who attain to that honour.

It is our duty to take the counsel that has been given us to-day by brother Brigham. It is as good doctrine as I ever heard in my life. It is choice—yea, more choice to us than all the jewels and gold and silver that you ever saw. This is a pretty place naturally; but now your roads and streets are occupied with your firewood, waggons, ploughs, harrows, stables, dunghills, and out-houses, and, in fact, everything else that ought not to be there. The religion of Jesus Christ, of angels, of Brigham, and of all good men is to take a care of and improve and adorn the earth as Adam did. When he planted the garden, he planted it with seeds he brought with him; and he also brought the animals from the earth he lived upon, where his Father dwelt.

We are not living our religion, and angels will not dwell with us until we take a different course. These mountains and valleys are the places for us, and all hell cannot get us out of them: if we do right, we shall not leave them until the Lord says, Go. It is the place for us to improve, and make mills, and beautify cities and gardens. How would you like it today, if you had a few pails of fine large strawberries to treat us with? I had strawberries to eat before I left home out of my own garden.

May God bless you in all your endeavours to beautify your city, in fertilizing your farms and gardens, and in adorning your lives with righteousness. Amen.

Principles of the Gospel—Consequences of Their Rejection

Heber C. Kimball

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 15, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

The truth is the same when preached by one man as another. If an idolator should come here and present the truth, its being delivered by him would not make it any less true. What has been said to-day by brother James W. Cummings is the Gospel of Christ, and salvation to everyone that hears and obeys it. Is the Gospel the power of God and salvation to everyone that heareth it? No; but he that heareth these words of mine and doeth them, says Jesus, the same shall be saved.

If I should preach the Gospel as Jesus did when he said, “Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world—well, now, he that believeth and is baptized—does that save the man? No. But there are ten thousand commandments that are connected to that. The Apostle says, Go on unto perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works.

This is for you and me to do, and we are required to do it to-day and to-morrow, next year and continually, and live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, and practise it in our lives, in our conversation, at our homes, and when we are abroad.

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: that is only one principle. Baptism alone will not save a man, but the fruits of righteousness will. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; and when you have taught them, and got them into the fold, then teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you to teach them. Teach them to do everything that pertains to righteousness, and to abstain from everything that is wicked.

When I was baptized, I had heard the Gospel and believed it. Then I went and submitted myself to it in humility. I began to pray before I was baptized. As soon as I heard this Gospel, I began to inquire of the Father, in the name of the Son, if it was true. I received a testimony of it, and bore testimony for months to my neighbours and to the inhabitants in the country where I lived, and told them it was true. A great many of them believed it; and as soon as we received it and had the authority, I administered to others. Many more received it, being baptized for the remission of sins. When I received the truth, I commenced a a new life, and I have endeavoured to live it from that day to this. Do I realize that I am a poor creature? I do, and the more light I have the more I see this; and the less light a man has the less he sees and knows his imperfections. The more light and knowledge a man has the more he sees he is nothing without God.

I am preaching the Gospel in connection with brother James Cummings. What he said is true; and if you observe and practise it, you shall know these things, whether he spoke spoke of himself or whether he spoke of the doctrine of Christ: He talked about famine, and pestilence, and earthquakes, and hurricanes, and mighty winds, in the States. These things are raging in the countries where Joseph dwelt, and those that exulted in the death of Joseph and Hyrum, David and Parley, and hundreds of our fathers and mothers, and our brothers and sisters, will suffer for it. They said to the nation and to the army, Go there and make a desolation of that people, and as God liveth he will make a desolation of them. [The congregation responded, “Amen.”] God has revealed this to me, and I know it will come to pass. You may call this prophecy or anything else you please, it matters not to me. What I know I understand as well as anybody else. Have not they done this? They have practised it upon us. God will put a hook in their jaws and lead them, and has done from that day to this, and he will continue to do so from this day henceforth and for ever. He will lead the whole of the nations of the earth, and they cannot help themselves, and I know it.

The Eastern papers give a full account of the great winds, and the great destruction occasioned by them. Such winds are horrible that will lift off the road ten baggage-trains loaded with from five to ten tons weight each, and smash them as a reed, and take off tops of houses, blow down chimneys, tearing them asunder, and burying them in the earth. Whole cities are laid desolate, and not a whole piece of furniture is to be found.

The Lord and his angels are at work to measure to the inhabitants of the earth as they measured to his people. This will be done, and they cannot help it. Jesus says, “With that measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” These words are true, and will never fail; they cannot be avoided, if God is just. He will not reap where he has not sown. If I reap where I have not sown, I reap another man’s crop. Where we sow the word of life, there we shall reap; and if we bring forth the fruits of righteousness, we shall reap to our joy, and shall be satisfied.

To him that hath he will give more, and from him that hath not he will take away that which he seemeth to have, and give it to him that will improve upon his talents. Let us be faithful and keep the commandments of God, and leave the event with him. The majority of this people are trying to do right, and are improving in righteousness to my certain knowledge. On the other hand, it gives me pain when I go into this place and that, and suppose I am talking to Latter-day Saints, and I find I am conversing with thieves and robbers; and here they are right in your midst. “How do you do, brother James, George, or Brigham? How glad I am to see you,” and at the same time they are laying the axe at the root of the kingdom of God to destroy it. They are in our midst. They are to be found in the grog-shops and in all public places, watching and hearing what is said, and you and I and all the rest are sitting down to go to sleep.

I want to refer to what brother James has said this morning. He told you the truth. Receive it, practise it, live it, and enjoy it, that the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost may take up their abode with you. Where the Father takes up his abode, there will the Son be; and where the Father and the Son dwell, there will the Holy Ghost dwell also, because they are one. We should be one like unto them. A great many neglect their prayers. Should they do this? No. A great many women that live by themselves neglect their prayers, and God forsakes them, and Satan takes possession, and they have no power over themselves; the light of God leaves them, and they are stupified: when they hear they heed not, and when they see they believe not. Jesus says—“He that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a man that built his house upon a rock; when the winds blew and the floods came, it fell not, because it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, I will liken him unto a foolish man that built his house upon the sand; and when the winds blew and the floods came, it fell, because it was built upon the sand. They go down to hell—to that which is beneath. That which is from God cometh from heaven.

I will not say much more about grain: you can do as you please. I might just as well say nothing about it, for I know none will listen to it but good Saints, men of God, and men that have an experience, and can see things as they are: they are the men that will save this people. If one to fifty proves a saviour in the end, I shall think that things are much better than I expected to find them. And those who have not skill, power, and wisdom, and salvation enough to save themselves and families temporally, what are they going to do with the spirit? The spirit goes into the spirit-world, and then has to be taken by some Bishop—some man that has power to feed them, to lead them, and teach them in the ways of salvation. We are not going, then, as some suppose, in a hurry.

God bless the righteous brethren, and your righteous wives and children, and your children’s children, for ever. Can I say God bless the thief and the robber, the whore and the whoremonger, and those that love and make lies? No. I will leave them just where they are; for they will meet the demands of justice, and they will welter and wallow in that pit they have dug for themselves; and they cannot avoid it. I feel to bless every man I meet that is a good man; and if I was oil, I would run through him. But when I see a wicked man and woman running after the Gentiles to be contaminated with their cursed lies, I say, You have damnation enough in yourselves. I will not say a word to them. You poor miserable creatures, trying to bring desolation upon the people—upon the Israel of God, you are building a fire big enough to burn you up, and I know there will be an end of you some day. God bless the righteous, and peace be with you! and God bless the righteous throughout the world, and all those who believe in the words of Jesus Christ, and on the servants of the living God! Amen.

The Latter-day Kingdom, etc.

Heber C. Kimball

Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

We have come together this morning for the purpose of holding our General Conference, and to attend to matters of business that pertains to the whole Church, not only for the people in this Territory; but we have met to do business that concerns all nations and people, both the living and the dead, or those who have passed behind the veil; and I feel to rejoice in the privilege we now have.

I know that this is the kingdom of God. It is that kingdom which was shown to the Prophet Daniel, as recorded in the second chapter of his book. This is the kingdom that was set up in the days of Jesus, and it is the kingdom that our Father and God set up after he organized this earth; and he is the King: but there are and will be tens of thousands of kings this side of him, and will be a perpetual increase of kings and priests in the kingdoms of our Father.

I desire to express my feelings in a few words upon those things, that you may know how I feel, and understand that I view this kingdom as something that pertains to or that will affect all the creatures of God in this creation—yes, the thousands and millions of beings who have not yet appeared upon this stage of action. It is that kingdom that concerns every man that ever did or that ever will live.

I wish to encourage you Elders and all good Saints to live so as to get that Spirit that is promised to the faithful; and let us lay aside our selfishness, and become interested in the general welfare of the kingdom of God; for it is something that should interest every man and woman in the world.

This Church is that Church which has been spoken of by the Prophets, and this people constitute that kingdom that was to come forth in the latter days. We are members of this kingdom, and we proceeded from the King of this earth. We are all his sons; and when, through our obedience, we become heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ, we in reality become princes, for we emanated from that King; and he is our Father and God, and he will call every son and daughter of Adam to an account for their deeds. It does not matter whether they belong to the Church or are outside of the fold of Christ, our Father will call them to give an account of the deeds done in the body; and the spirits of men that were in existence before they inhabited these bodies have got to be responsible for the acts that are wrought in the flesh. This is upon the same principle that President Young commits to me the care and supervision of a house—for instance, the sanctum sanctorum—a holy place, where the ordinances of God are administered. He commits that to me, and holds me responsible for its safe keeping. So it will be with you and me; so it will be with all men and women in regard to their works on the earth. There will be thousands of men brought to an account for their conduct towards women, for in many instances it is shameful.

We have come here to day to worship God, to speak of his purposes and designs, and to bear testimony of his work. It is rainy and rather wet and unpleasant, and therefore we cannot do much else; and we shall stay here until the Spirit indicates that it is best to adjourn; and when that will be I cannot now tell. But I hope none of you will be troubled upon that point, for President Young will hold it as long as it is interesting and the Spirit of God shall dictate to him. In referring to the sons and daughters of Adam, and to this great work which I have already said concerns us all, and especially the Elders that have come into the Church in the beginning, and who hold this Priesthood which God has revealed through his servant Joseph, I wish you to understand that all that is connected with you—your wives and children—should interest you in their welfare and in the prosperity of the work of God; and you will be interested in proportion to the light knowledge, power, and spirit there is in the Elders; and that spirit will rest upon the Elders, their wives, and children. Their animals and all they possess will be quickened by it.

You can read in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants that the Lord spoke to Thomas B. Marsh and the Twelve Apostles, telling them that they held the keys of the kingdom with the First Presidency and the fathers from the beginning of the creation.

“For unto you (the Twelve) and those (the First Presidency) who are appointed with you to be your counsellors and your leaders is the power of this Priesthood given for the last days and for the last time, in the which is the dispensation of the fulness of times; which power you hold in connection with all those who have received a dispensation at any time from the beginning of the creation; for verily I say unto you, the keys of the dispensation which ye have received have come down from the fathers, and last of all being sent down from heaven unto you.” (Doc. and Cov., sec. 104, par. 12.)

The Lord told us there that the fathers are interested for us just in proportion to the interest we feel for this work and for the Church and kingdom of God here upon the earth. I want you to think of that and reflect upon it. You need not doubt in relation to the truth of what the the world call “Mormonism,” for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, established and organized through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith, is the true Church of God. With it is the Priesthood and power of God; and you might as well try to doubt that the sun shines, for it is truth; and although all hell may deny it and all the men upon the earth, that will make no difference, for it is from God. The Lord called that man, and sent his angels to ordain him and confer upon him that authority necessary for the building up of the kingdom of God; and it was through him that we received all the authority we hold, and through us every soul of you who have received the truth received it—through that Priesthood which came from God through Joseph Smith; and you grew out of that Priesthood, and none of you have a particle of power except that which comes through that medium. It came from Jesus to Peter, from Peter to Joseph, and from Joseph to President Young and his Brethren, and from us to you. You hold that Priesthood and authority in connection with them; and except you are connected with them, you cannot have any Priesthood or authority. You must honour that tree with which you are connected; for, if you dishonour that tree, you dishonour yourselves, and I would not give a farthing for your authority.

These are some of my views upon the subject; and I feel to say that this work will roll forth with greater power hereafter than it has done in times past; and my prayer to my Father in heaven is, Let thy work roll on, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That is the way it has got to be, for things must eventually be done here as they are in heaven. We have got to do right, and we cannot do this except we honour our callings and Priesthood; for we are like a great tree, having roots, body, great and small limbs; and I want to know what the difference is between one limb and another, so far as honour is concerned? All should be honoured in their place and calling. Let every man honour the head, the body, and every member that pertains to that body, if you wish to honour God. Now, can I rise up and chastise the limb that I am connected with? No, I cannot; and the limb will die quicker without my interference, if there is anything wrong about it. Could a man rise up and chastise President Joseph Smith when he was alive? No; no man had the right. Well, then, can any man chastise President Young? No, sir; but it is the duty of all to honour the head and the body with which they are connected. Upon the same principle, the smallest member of the body should honour the part to which it is attached. You know two feet are required to carry two legs, and two legs to carry a body; and so it is in the Church of Christ.

The Apostles and Prophets used to talk in this way, presenting figures and comparisons for the purpose of conveying things to the minds of the people more forcibly. Now, let every man take a course to honour one another and the Priesthood they have received. “Well,” says one, “I will honour the First Presidency of the Church; but I don’t want anything to do with the Twelve: they are not of much account.” That is the way some of you feel. Now, if you treat these men in this way, how long will it be before you will treat President Young in like manner?

The course for us to take is to honour the Priesthood which the Almighty has given to man. How can you honour God except you honour that Priesthood? This is well worth your consideration. You all sprang out of that Priesthood as one limb of a tree comes out of the main body. This is honourable in all men, and I feel to say, Let every man honour his calling, and his fruit will appear.

Will a good apple tree produce a thorn or a thistle? No, it never will. But notwithstanding this, I believe there are a great many thistles that call themselves apples; yes, many that are briars, thistles, and other useless things they ought not to be. I frequently think of these things. I consider our Priesthood and the vows that we have made with God. “But,” says one, “we have made those vows with our brethren, and not with the Lord.” Let me tell you that it was the brethren in authority in the Priesthood who called you into the house of the Lord; but you made your covenants with God. The brethren were merely the witnesses of those things which you did—of the covenants you made with the Father, with the Son, with the Holy Ghost, and with all the heavenly hosts; and your brethren stood as witnesses for God, and you will have to give an account of the way and manner you keep and observe those covenants.

There are many who think these things are of no account; but I will tell you, brethren, that you will be straightened out when the Lord appears, taking vengeance upon those that will not obey his Gospel. In that day the wicked will be as chaff or stubble, and they will be destroyed from the earth, and their tabernacles dissolved; but the righteous will receive new bodies, and they will inhabit a new earth, and eternally enjoy the favour of that God who sent his Son that you and I might be redeemed and brought back into his presence.

There is a great deal for us to do, and I wish you would all think so, and have these things before your minds continually. How can this evil be remedied? I say, in the name of the Lord God of Israel, Wake up from your slumber, and get within your souls the Spirit of the Most High God; and the more you have of it, the more you will feel the necessity of being wide awake and attentive to your duties.

Your eyes have become dim because of your dul[l]ness and inattention to your duties. The Scriptures say—“Let thine eye be single, that thy whole body may be full of light.” The reason we do not see things as they are is because we have become dull and stupid, and do not understand the things of God. It is said in the Scriptures that the eyes of certain characters are like the fool’s eyes, reaching to the ends of the earth; and like the door upon its hinges, doing no good, but just swinging backwards and forwards. Brother Benson, won’t you shut that vestry door, and open it again? [Which he did.] Now, don’t you see, brethren, that has neither lost nor gained anything; but it will soon wear out. This figure I wish to apply to you indolent persons, and thereby show you that you ought to go to work and improve—bring about something for the honour and glory of God, and the adorning and building up of his kingdom. I do not want you to be like the sow that has been taken and washed clean, and then as soon as the door is open she goes into the dirtiest mud-hole there is in the neighbourhood. But as you have been washed in the waters of baptism and entered into the fold, I want you to remain clean and pure, and to labour for the welfare of Zion and the upbuilding of the kingdom of our God. If you act like the sow, then your last end will be worse than your first.

You have entered into the kingdom, and should be like a little child, humble, meek, and passive in the hands of your superiors.

You will remember that when those commissioners came to make peace with us, we came up from the South to see them, to find out what they wanted. The night we arrived in the city, I dreamed that there was an awful flood, and that the flood-wood had stopped up the stream. I watched it; and after a while the flood-wood gave way, and it came down Emigration Kanyon, and went in a southwesterly direction. I then looked round to see what the effects were, and all at once this whole city and adjacent country became full of hogs. I spoke to the President and the brethren who were with him, and said—“The country is full of hogs,” and they were frothing at the mouth just like mad hogs do; and I saw them running after the brethren, who got on the walls and fences in different directions, and they were jumping up at them, but their mouths were full of froth; and I was pleased to see that there was not one of those hogs could bite any of the brethren. By-and-by our attention was called to other business, and when I had a little leisure I looked round and said to the brethren—“Where are those hogs gone?” We looked around us, and lo and behold there was not a hog to be found in the country!

But while they were here did they not froth at the mouth? They did, and they jumped and made a terrible stew; but I do not know that they have ever hurt anybody. They have not had the power to meddle with or hurt anybody except those who wanted to be meddled with. Now I consider that those men and women who have suffered themselves to be overcome by these hogs are no better than the hogs themselves.

This may be considered a very good introduction, in my way, to this General Conference.

I do not know that I ever felt better in my life than I do to-day. I feel that I can touch a little thing here and another there, and I see before me ten thousand times more than I speak of; and among the many things that I can see, one is, that all the hogs are going to leave as fast as they can! If the Elders and Saints will only do right, all will be right for them and with them; and they ought to know that the responsibility is upon their shoulders.

If you, brethren, go and sell your wheat, that will not be laid to the sisters, excepting in those cases where the men are under petticoat government. Those who do this are taking a course that will bring sorrow upon themselves; yes, those who trade away the staff of life will suffer pain, sorrow, and nakedness, and many things that have not entered into their hearts to think of.

Since the Latter-day Saints have been in these mountains, there has never been such a deep designing and well-got-up scheme to draw grain out of this Territory as there is now; for there is a branch of a store in almost every settlement, and they are buying wheat and sending it to Pike’s Peak, and they are getting it at a very low price, too. I am afraid this is going to bring trouble upon you, brethren and sisters. President Young has talked and talked upon the subject of saving your breadstuff, and the Twelve have borne testimony of it in all your settlements day after day and year after year; and yet many of the people don’t care any more about it than if we had never spoken upon the subject. There are some who have listened and laid up their grain. Look at the men who have done this, and you will find men that have got power with God and man. Let us try to improve, and get as many to do this as we can, and we shall do well. We cannot get everybody to do it, but we can use an influence with a few. There are a great many here who have lived from hand to mouth all their lives, they have been accustomed to get their wages on a Saturday night; and let their wives have them; then their wives would go and pay such a portion for the week’s provisions—so much for ale, so much for the priest, the tithing, and other things; and they don’t know how to get along any other way.

How can you be saviours, except you lay up knowledge of the things of God? And how can you be temporal saviours, except you lay up provisions? Jesus says, Seek first the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness, and all other things shall be added unto you. The Lord is not bound to feed us, except we take care and do our part. Do you imagine that the Lord will go and raise you a crop of wheat, without your first going and ploughing the ground?

You have heard President Young say that none of us know enough to make a spear of grass grow, and this we all know to be true; but I will tell you what you can do. You can obtain the ground, plough it, drag it, sow the seed, and dedicate it to your Father and God. Then, when you find it necessary, you can irrigate it, and you will be pretty sure to get a good crop of wheat, or corn, or whatever you may choose to plant.

There are a great many that are going into speculation now-a-days. Some of our Elders are becoming merchants, taking the Gentiles’ goods and peddling them off for wheat, and then turning it over to our Gentile speculators who have persecuted us. Well, you will see that pretty much every one of them will lose the Spirit, except they repent.

Now, you have been told again and again to take care of your cattle, and send back for your goods. This has been done this year by a number of the brethren, and it can be done by the majority of the people. There was a train of goods came in a few days ago: the cattle started from here last spring, and they have come in in better condition than any other cattle that have crossed the Plains this season. The same thing has been done before. The year the pioneers came in, we bought oxen, mules, and horses; and some of the cattle we brought in with us went back to the Missouri river the same season, and they got through about three weeks before we did, for we had to stay back and help our horses. When we struck the Platte river on our return, we found that there was no substance in the grass; the frost had killed it. But in the spring, when cattle go down from here, the grass is fresh and good, and the cattle get fat; and then on their return they get into the “bunch-grass country” before the frost comes, and you know bunch-grass is good all the year round. I want to see the people go into this business forthwith.

I cannot do much, but I have had it in my heart ever since I have been in this Church to do some good, not only to myself but to this people; and I want to honour this Priesthood, and to see the day when this people will circumscribe and circumnavigate the whole world; and I want to see the kingdom of God govern and rule the world, and this I will see with mine eyes, if I am faithful; and if I am not faithful, I shall be sure to see it, and that to my sorrow.

I desire to be humble and faithful; but I am like you—I have my weaknesses to contend with. We seem as if we must have something to excite us to good works—to encourage us to press forward in the good work of our Heavenly Father; and I consider we have everything to encourage us to do good—to practise virtue and righteousness.

Brethren, I feel to bless you with the blessings of Almighty God, that the Spirit of God may run through your bones like blood running through your veins, to cheer up your hearts. And I ask my Heavenly Father to bless you; and he will do it, if you be faithful and diligent. He will bless the virtuous, the upright, and those that honour their calling, and that honour this Church; and he will honour me for ever, so long as I do right and honour the Priesthood; and he will honour my wives, my sons, and daughters, if they will honour themselves; and I will honour them. The men who honour this Church, and try to promote its interests, God will bless; and if they honour God, they never will take a course to crush their brethren: they will honour their Presidents, whether they be Apostles; High Priests, or Elders.

Uncle John Young is a Patriarch in the Church of God, which office he received honourably, for he is an heir to it through his father; and he may bless all the people with the blessings of the heavens and of the earth, and they will only get what they live for. This is the promise of God to his Saints.

The Spirit of the Lord giveth line upon line and precept upon precept, here a little and there a little for the comfort of the Saints. These are given to you to improve upon. I feel this spirit of improvement, and desire to advance and see my brethren advance in the things of God.

I pray God to bless you all, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Testimony

George A. Smith

Remarks by Elder George A. Smith, made in the Tabernacle, October 6, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

It is about thirteen months since I had the privilege of rising and speaking in your midst. It is therefore with a heart filled with thankfulness to our Heavenly Father that I now enjoy the privilege of bearing my testimony on the present occasion of the things which pertain to the kingdom of the Most High. In his kind providence we are enjoying a great multitude of blessings.

The testimony which has been given to us this morning of the power and manifestations of the Spirit of God in the midst of Israel is calculated to make us rejoice. The Lord speaks unto us in his own way, and after his own manner, and in our language, and after our understanding, and the light of his Spirit which shineth in our minds, inasmuch as we will suffer it to do so; but if our hearts are clogged with the things of this world—if our souls are suffered to become enamoured of the earth and the objects that are sought after by the wicked world, we lose the Spirit of the Lord, and by that means do not understand when we are taught and instructed in the way of life.

The object of obtaining wealth and the desire to handle or control a considerable portion of this world’s goods have blinded the eyes of many Elders, and caused them to go astray in the ways of extravagance and folly. It has decoyed them from the path of virtue, and by that means they have become totally estrayed from the path of truth. If we can keep in view the one great principle, to build up the kingdom of God, proclaim the fulness of the everlasting Gospel, to labour for the sustenance of Zion, make that our first, our great, our only object, and fear not for the earthly things we may need, we shall have the Spirit of the Almighty to enlighten our minds and guide our feet in the true path.

When the Presidency bear their testimony to us, our spirits will then meet with theirs, and we shall feel and enjoy the truth of the principles they proclaim to us. But while our minds become concentrated upon earthly objects, we are dark, and we begin to think we know better than other people; we begin to feel that we can do something independently of God or his servants.

I will relate an instance that occurred in 1849. I was talking with one of the brethren who had been many years in the Church. He told me he wanted to situate himself so that he could leave his family and be prepared to go preaching. I said, “Are you not pretty well situated now you have a large farm, plenty of cattle, and other property, and your family are able to take care of themselves?” He said he did not feel as though he had ready means enough to go. “I want to get myself in condition so that I can leave home; and in order to do it, I have determined to go to California; and I think in the course of five or six months I can there raise ten thousand dollars, and on that means I can go to the southern part of California, buy 1,000 head of horses, and bring them to Salt Lake, and next year sell them for one or two hundred dollars each. With that means in my hands I shall be able to leave my family and go preaching.” That was the design he laid out. I may say the plan was very tempting: he went to California, but the tremendous results anticipated were never realized. There are a great many men in the midst of Zion that have lost their power and ability to perform those works they seem to wish to perform by endeavouring to take a wild goose chase to place themselves in possession of wealth on their own responsibility. The circumstances which have transpired in our midst for the last few years have been calculated to try many men.

In reviewing the history of ourselves as a people, we have encountered many things which have been calculated to try some men. They have been compelled many times to submit to the most cruel exactions—seeing their friends murdered, their families driven from their possessions, and yet bearing up under it splendidly. They have had to pioneer into the midst of a barren and hitherto unknown desert, make settlements, rear their families in the midst of want, and toil, and bear it patiently. Yet, after a few years of prosperity, you will see those very men, when they become better situated, surrounded with the blessings and comforts of life—they begin to feel as though they were not doing quite well enough, and their thoughts begin to wander like the fool’s eye to the ends of the earth. In some instances the scenes of the last few years have caused them to turn again, as President Kimball expressed it, like the hog to the mire after he had been cleanly washed.

It puts me in mind of a compliment paid to Queen Elizabeth by an English farmer. Her Majesty was out on a ride, and was caught in a storm. The farmer was very much rejoiced that the Queen had called upon him, and she was pleased with his rough hospitality. Being just after the defeat of the Spanish Armada, he complimented her on the success of her arms by saying—“The King of Spain got the wrong sow by the ear when he made war with your Majesty.” The Queen was much amused at this vulgar comparison.

Though, really, the dream related by brother Kimball, describing the multitude of hogs that were in the city, was so perfectly illustrated at the time the town was so tremendously full of soldiers, teamsters, gamblers, and camp-followers, and they floated off so suddenly, that it could almost be said it was dreamed awake. That is the best way to dream: a man can many times dream wide awake straighter than when asleep.

I remember once (when in Zion’s camp,) I was very thirsty, hungry, and tired, that I dreamed when I was walking on the road I could see a loaf of bread, a bottle of milk, and a spring of water. It was one of the pleasantest dreams in the world, and I dreamed it while walking along the road. At the same time a great many dreams, as men consider, are no more nor less than open vision, and a great many dreams are the result, perhaps, of fatigue—of over-exercise—of over-eating before retiring to rest, or some other cause.

When a man’s mind is illuminated by a dream, it leaves a vivid and pleasant impression: when it may be guided by the Spirit of God, it leaves the mind happy and comfortable, and the understanding clear.

I have regretted, for the past year, that I have not been permitted to speak to you, that my testimony to the truth might be heard in the midst of Israel, and in this city particularly. It was owing simply to an accident which lamed me in such a manner that I could not walk about—could not stand up, though after a while I got so much better that I could ride. I have rode about the Territory, and talked to the brethren in the settlements, generally sitting down; and many of them heard my testimony, which is the same as it has been for the last twenty-eight years—a testimony to the truth of the revelation of the fulness of the Gospel to the Saints in these last days. It is the work of the Lord, and the hand of God is visible in everything that is passing before us; his hand and power have been over us. He has shielded us from the political machinations of evil-designing men, and preserved us from the wrath of our enemies. He has given wisdom to our President to guide, to counsel, to direct us; and if ever revelation guided a people on the face of this earth, this people has been guided by special revelation ever since we came into these valleys. The power of the Almighty has been with us, his hand has been over us here, his wisdom has directed us, his inspiring Spirit has been on our Presidency, his revealed will has been given from, the lips of him God has given to lead us. Fear not to do right ourselves, and let us be fully aware of our own follies and weaknesses and corruptions, and listen to the watch-men of Zion, and we shall overcome and inherit the blessings of glory. We shall rise above our enemies, light and truth will shine upon us, peace will be on our path and the lamp of life that will guide us to eternal glory.

This is my testimony. You have it as I feel and realize it and know it, for these things are of God. And may his blessings attend us, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Evil Habits and Practices

Heber C. Kimball

Remarks by Heber C. Kimball, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, December 16, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

You have all heard the remarks and sentiments of brother Wells. His exhortations are very good; they will make you and every soul who obeys them free, because truth is life, and life is light.

I do not believe there is a man here to-day but what knows that the doctrine taught to-day is truth. It is the word of God—the revelations of Jesus Christ to every one that hears, and salvation to all who yield obedience to it and carry it out practically. Your faith without works is vain. The religion which you and I believe in requires us to live by its precepts—to be Saints in very deed. It is life, joy, and peace to those who practise it, and condemnation to those who despise it.

Brother Wells has made some excellent remarks on the practice of drinking liquors. The results of this evil are seen everywhere; but to say that it leads to all manner of evils would be as far out of the way as the saying that the love of money is the root of all evil; for there are hundreds of men in the world that do not drink a drop, and they are as full of wickedness as any men upon the face of the earth.

Drinking liquor is a habit you may easily become habituated to: drinking one dram creates an appetite for a second. It is just so with a man who commences telling lies: he commences with a little childish lie, believing that it will do no harm, and so he continues on until he becomes an habituated liar. These things become habits, and men bend their minds to them by degrees. The same may be said of stealing: persons addicted to stealing first began by stealing some trifling thing—perhaps a halfpenny or a penny; from that they get to a picayune, sixpence, and a dollar, and they then become habitual thieves. I could mention many things that we as a people permit ourselves to do.

Some will tattle about their neighbours, and they will be very busy at what we call backbiting, or, more properly speaking, telling lies. These are evils that will eventually lead a man down to death.

People may say there is no sin in stealing from an unbeliever; but I tell you that the man who will do it will, if I let him have the chance, steal from me; and such a course will lead them down to death and destruction. And I now prophesy that the day will come when the man who will do this will become poor, and be a vagabond upon the earth; and probably it may affect his children, if they partake of the same influence.

These are my sentiments, in the presence of God, angels, and men. Brethren, these very men who lie and steal will try to hide their own sins by saying that the Presidency both do this and sanction it. God will curse all who say such things, and all Israel will say Amen. If I knew that I must draw my last breath in ten minutes from now, I should still know that I am telling the truth. There are many of these characters of whom I am speaking, who do not drink any liquor at all; and then, again, we know that there are many who do indulge. Every murder that has been committed in this Territory has been done under the influence of liquor; and I will here remark that the most of them have been men who deserved to die; and, furthermore, I think it would be quite as well if there were a great many more on the same road.

Brother Wells has truly remarked that the world and all hell combined cannot stop this great and mighty work. This is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, established by revelation from heaven; and of this I feel proud to bear testimony.

So far as the world are concerned, I care no more about them than I do about the snow that is upon the ground, except they repent and obey the Gospel. They cannot effect anything one way or the other.

Brother Wells states that all the trouble and annoyances he fears are those that may arise among ourselves. I wish to see these things cultivated in the hearts of the people, or rather stored up for cultivation. The question was asked, Whence is all this sorrow and pain? These things arise from men and women who profess to be Latter-day Saints. This I consider one of the most irritating and tormenting things upon this earth.

Saints, rise up to the dignity of men and women in Christ Jesus, do right, learn to be men, learn to lay aside every bad practice, cease your drinking, and put away everything else that is evil. Let us be one; let us try and live so that all will be as one man, or one drop of water, and thus partake of each other’s principles and attributes, and of the attributes of God, that angels may be our associates by night and by day.

If this people will take this course, and live their religion in all things, I can prophesy in the name of Israel’s God that you will never have to fire a gun, for the Lord will send his angels to do the work of destruction among the wicked. The Almighty will lead the wicked as a man leads a horse, at pleasure. Brethren, why don’t you live your religion, magnify your callings, and honour God in all things you do and say? Be humble and prayerful; be faithful to your duties at all times.

I am speaking plainly to you: you may perhaps call it scolding, but I am speaking of unrighteous practices—such as will bring trouble upon you, and a final dissolution. Tell me of a man that understands what has been said here this afternoon, who does not know this as well as I do? Why do I say this? Because here is light, knowledge, and revelation handed to you every Sabbath by President Young and others. This is plain and easy to be understood by all the Saints who have been here and partaken of the words of life that have been dispensed to the people for the last few years.

I have pride in the improvement that I see among the people, and I have great satisfaction in seeing my family do right, living an humble life, and setting an example that is worthy of imitation. I am also proud of the industry that I behold around me, in seeing the people making their own clothing. In this my family greatly improve, and I delight in it, for it is setting a good example before my children. I delight in seeing my children temperate, and it would please me more if they would not touch liquor at all. Then my sons would be honourable and filled with the power of God, and that would be the height of my ambition, to see my sons and daughters walking in the way of life and salvation, my sons becoming kings and priests of the Most High, and my daughters becoming mothers in Israel, like unto Abraham, Moses, Sarah, and Rebecca of old.

You might suppose that I am proud of this coat or any other clothing that I wear, like many people in this Church who make dress their god. It is true, when I am kept warm by wearing good clothes, that I feel comfortable and thankful; but I do not set my heart upon clothes; and I would like to see you Elders of Israel act upon the same principle—to be honourable and upright in all things. I would like to see every soul of you doing right and carrying with you a holy influence. I feel as honourable, and yet as humble, as if I were in the presence of God and his holy angels.

There are some of our people who do not believe that angels have anything to do with us; but I can tell you that angels are here to-day. Who are they? They are men who hold the same Priesthood as President Young and his brethren. They are engaged in this work individually and collectively. They are the characters who watch over you Seventies and Elders: they want to save you and bear you off victoriously. I know this, for they have been with me and administered to me.

If we are faithful, the victory will be ours; and all the combined powers of the wicked nations of the earth, aided by all the devils from the infernal regions, cannot remove this people out of their present location, neither can they stay the progress of the work in which we are engaged; but it is the wickedness that will rise up in the Church that will cause us trouble. It is now as it was in the days of Jesus and the Prophets. We read in the Book of Mormon that the Gadianton robbers came down from the mountains—they robbed, plundered, and in many instances slew the Saints. I can tell you, brethren and sisters, that we have similar characters in these mountains, who are making pretty rapid progress in preparing to destroy this people. This I know to my sorrow.

When we take hold of men in this kingdom, we want to make something of them: in many instances they are dishonest, and we cannot do much with them. But in regard to the people of the world, I do not trouble much about them: they do not live the religion of Jesus Christ—they do not profess to live it, but they think that we are all fools for following Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. We know our religion is true—we profess to live its principles; but if we turn against it, we have more knowledge, and hence more power to operate against it.

You have frequently heard of brother Hyde, brother Russell, and myself being afflicted with devils in England. There were legions of them came upon us and sought to destroy us: but we were not alone; our guardian angels were there to assist us, and they delivered us out of the danger, and out of the power of our enemies.

Brethren, be of good cheer, lift up your heads and your hearts in purity before God, and rejoice in the strength of the Holy One of Israel, for the wicked shall not overcome, but we will ride off victoriously and sing songs of praise and triumph.

The day will come when the Lord our God will empty the earth of all her wicked inhabitants, for he is going to cleanse this earth from wickedness and prepare it for the abode of the righteous; and you may rest assured that it will take a tremendous shaking and an unprecedented great fire to purify this earth ready for the Saints of light.

May the Lord bless you all, brethren and sisters, and all the faithful and righteous Saints that live upon the earth, that they may be prepared for the coming of the Lord Jesus, is my prayer. Amen.

Faith and Belief

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 1, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

The Elders who have addressed you have imparted much excellent instruction, many great and glorious principles have been advanced, the audience have been put in possession of them, and there are a great many more in store for us.

We constantly behold an endless variety in the appearance of the human family, and in their dispositions. No two persons are exactly alike in form, appearance, expression, disposition, and quality of character. We have seen a talent exercised before us to-day that is new to many of us. I have been acquainted with brother Mace more than twenty years, and never heard him speak in a meeting until to-day. I am pleased with his discourse; his ideas are bright and active: yet he will learn more; and we shall learn many things that have not yet entered into our hearts to conceive, and know better how to correct one thing with another, and more cle[a]rly understand these seeming discrepancies in doctrine, &c., that so often cause persons to differ.

The subject presented to you this morning I explained two weeks ago in a manner to be satisfactory to persons of good understanding: it is the subject of faith and belief. Perfection in conveying ideas is not yet given to the children of men. Our language is altogether inadequate for always conveying our ideas with unmistakeable precision, and the same ideas are generally advanced in different words by different persons. This peculiarity has been observable to-day. It has often been told you that all people, sects, and denominations have more or less truth. None of the religious sects have a perfect system of salvation, though all of them have a portion of true doctrine, and suppose they have a perfect plan. Elders in this Church—men who have been members for years—often speak of principles in the abstract, when they would be better understood if they spoke of them in connection with other kindred principles. Faith and belief, for instance, should not be separated.

Belief is inherent in the creature—implanted within him for his use and benefit—to believe or disbelieve. Your own experience may satisfy you that faith is not brought into requisition by the presentation of either facts or falsehoods to the external senses, or to the inward perceptions of the mind. If we speak of faith in the abstract, it is the power of God by which the worlds are and were made, and is a gift of God to those who believe and obey his commandments. On the other hand, no living, intelligent being, whether serving God or not, acts without belief. He might as well undertake to live without breathing as to live without the principle of belief. But he must believe the truth, obey the truth, and practise the truth, to obtain the power of God called faith. Belief and faith continue in the person who is in possession of faith. It is thought by some that the time will come when we shall no longer believe. So far as I now know, I shall have to live a few hundred thousand years before I come to that conclusion. I am satisfied that belief will eternally exist with me, whether it will with others or not. When I am in full possession of faith and the power of God, if I should say to that mountain,”Be plucked up and placed in the sea,” it would be done; or to a tree, “Be rooted up,” it would be done. I expect that objects will come within the scope of my belief to act upon before I have faith to act upon them; but I never expect to see the time when there will not be room and opportunity for belief, and to advance.

I am pleased with the remarks made by brother Mace and brother Pratt. Brother Mace is right and wrong in his ideas upon the birth of the water and the spirit, as he is with regard to faith in the abstract. There is such a thing as the birth of the spirit while we live in the flesh. And when we understand more perfectly our own independent organization which God has given us, and the spirit-world, and the principles and powers that act on this organism, we shall learn that a person can be so fully and solely devoted to the spirit of truth and to God, and be so wrapped up in that spirit, that it may be called, with propriety, a new birth. I read in the Scripture that a man must be born of the spirit before he can see the kingdom of God. And yet I have seen hundreds of people, in my experience and travels, who, after hearing the Elders preach, and the spirit of truth has found way to their hearts, have yielded to it and testified that this is the kingdom of God, and, after all, have never come into it. The love of the truth was so far lacking in them, or they were so far wanting in moral courage, that they did not embrace the truth. The writers of the New Testament were disposed to call it a birth, and I have no objection to their use of the term.

Jesus is the first begotten from the dead, as you will understand. Neither Enoch, Elijah, Moses, nor any other man that ever lived on earth, no matter how strictly he lived, ever obtained a resurrection until after Jesus Christ’s body was called from the tomb by the angel. He was the first begotten from the dead. He is the Master of the resurrection—the first flesh that lived here after receiving the glory of the resurrection. The resurrection from the dead may also, with propriety, be called a birth. All we can do in these matters is to exclaim, O the poverty of our language!—the poverty of our ideas!—of the power of our conception! But we shall learn more, and come to a better understanding.

It is for brother Mace and all others to understand that, because we believe in the ordinance of baptism, the ordinance of the sacrament is not to be done away. To learn that, if you believe in the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, you are not to deny the laying on of hands for the healing of the sick. It is not for people to take only part of the religion of Christ, and say “It is all we require;” but take the whole truth wherever you find it. It is good; claim it, take it to yourself, and cleave to it, for it will do you good. Cease to separate truth from truth. Heaven is full of truth; earth is full of truth and falsehood. The power of God, the power of angels, and the power of the Devil are all more or less exhibited before the children of men. Let us yield ourselves to the Lord our Saviour, that we may truly be his servants, and it will be well with us, and there will be no danger but that we shall be right. Let us learn to see the harmony of truth, and love and practise it, until we are made perfect and fully prepared to be received into the kingdom of our Father and God.

May the Lord God Almighty bless the Saints, and every one who will permit his blessings to come upon them. I am under the same obligations to bless sinners as I am to bless Saints, if they will receive my blessings. I pray for the blessings of Heaven upon the work of his hands, for we are all his children—the sons and daughters of our Parent who dwells in the heavens. Let us do honour to his character and to our own being, and so live that we may have knowledge of the light of eternity, that we may be prepared to dwell eternally with him. This is the greatest gift that can be conferred on intelligent beings, to live forever and never be destroyed. May the Lord help us in so living as to enjoy his society, through the merits of his Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

Testimony of the Spirit of Truth, etc.

Wilford Woodruff

Discourse by Wilford Woodruff, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 22, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

I always feel much pleasure in addressing a congregation of the Saints when I am inspired by the Holy Ghost, for then I can be of benefit to those who hear.

I realize that, until the Priesthood was restored to the earth, we had no way of knowing the truth in relation to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is true there were a great many anxiously seeking to know the Lord, but there were none that were able to give them the comfort and consolation they desired.

If a person goes without food for twenty-four hours, we all know that that individual will become very hungry; and it is precisely so with those who hunger for the principles of eternal life. While we enjoy the Spirit of the Lord, we shall find that there is enough and abundance to feed every human soul.

I have never seen the day or the hour that I was not susceptible of being taught by my brethren, neither have I ever seen the time that I thought I knew all the principles of the Gospel; and I can truly say that I feel as much edified to-day in contemplating the things of God as ever I did in any hour of my life. We are all dependent upon the Lord, upon his Holy Spirit, and upon the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ, for instruction, for light, and knowledge, such as is calculated to edify, encourage, sustain, and aid us in magnifying our callings in this life.

We need not enter particularly into the great mysteries of the kingdom of God in order to be edified. A man may preach upon the first principles of the Gospel, and he will find enough in them to instruct the people and edify himself in the things of God. Those principles are plain; they can easily be comprehended when presented to the children of men as they are revealed from heaven. But, as plain and simple as they are, for eighteen hundred years the world was almost destitute of a knowledge of the truth and of the Holy Ghost which is poured out to lead mankind in the way of truth. From the time of the great falling away, which took place in the early part of the Christian era, up to the present time, the world have been ignorant with regard to the first principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is true that professed Christians have had the examples of the Prophets and Apostles from their childhood up, as laid down in the New Testament; and yet they have been far from the truth, and did not know the correct way of worshipping God. It has been a mystery to you and to me that we have never been able to unravel or to find out by our own wisdom the true knowledge of God; but the very fact that generation after generation has risen up and established systems and organizations, all professing to be according to the plan of salvation, and yet opposed one to another, until they have raised up scores of churches, all differing on points of doctrine, proves that there has been something out of the way.

We know that we have the Gospel of Christ that has been revealed from heaven in this generation, wherein are taught faith, repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins, and that obedience to those doctrines will bring all things to our remembrance, and thereby enable us the more perfectly to do the will of God while we dwell here in the flesh. As the Scriptures have informed us, “There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth it understanding.” I do not know that I can explain to you the reasons for the great difference we see in mankind relative to the principles of truth, but it has been so in every age of the world; and when the Gospel has been preached, the honest in heart and meek of the earth have obeyed and been sustained by it, and they have been enabled to pass through many scenes of trial and to endure the persecutions that wicked men have devised to afflict the people of God.

The faithful have always had a positive knowledge that what they were doing was right and acceptable to the Almighty, and that they have been sustained in passing through scenes of trial by the gift and power of God. They have realized that it was better to sacrifice their lives for his kingdom than to live and enjoy the riches and honours of this world for a season. This principle sustained the ancient Saints in all their afflictions; it sustained them in the den of lions and in the fiery furnace; and although they frequently sealed their testimony with their blood, they were comforted and consoled in looking forward to the time when the earth would enjoy her sabbaths, and the Saints enter into their rest.

The Jews marvelled and wondered at the Saviour, for they saw that he was filled with light and truth. They had eyes to see, but they saw not. The Saviour laid before them the principles of truth; he came to them and undertook to convert them; but he wept over them when he saw what would be the consequences of their hard-heartedness, and how the Jewish nation would be overthrown and the people scattered among all nations, if they rejected the doctrines he presented to them. He informed them what would be the result of their disobedience, and told them that the judgments of God would fall heavily upon them. He portrayed to them the oppressions and torturings with which they would be afflicted—foretold the destruction of the temple, that it would be thrown down, and that there would not be left one stone upon another. The majority of them mocked his sayings, and finally succeeded in putting him to death; but yet all that he foretold the Jews has come to pass. The predictions of Moses also concerning that nation have been literally fulfilled, and that too in such a plain, pointed, and unmistakable manner that it seems almost impossible for a man to be a disbeliever in the dealings of God with the Jewish nation.

Peter, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, and the Apostles generally warned that people; but they spurned the servants of God and turned unto their idols. The Apostles were inspired by the Spirit of God; they enjoyed the gifts of the Holy Ghost; but the great mass of the Jewish nation hardened their hearts and would not listen to the words of life. I might say the same in relation to the present generation. The Church of Christ is organized precisely as it was in the days of the Apostles, and we are living in the day and age of the world when the righteous blood that has been shed upon the earth will be avenged on the disobedient, because they reject that Gospel which would save them and enable them to assist in the great work of the redemption of the dead. The Gospel has been again restored by the administration of an angel from heaven, whom the revelator John saw in vision when on the isle of Patmos; and when describing it, he says—“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come, and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” (Rev., 14th chap., verses 6, 7.)

Did you ever know the Lord to bring his judgments upon any nation, from the days of Adam in the garden of Eden until the present time, before he had warned them of their sins? No; the Lord has always warned the people before he has punished them for their wickedness. He warned Sodom and Gomorrah before he sent destruction upon them, and he has done so in every age of the world. In this generation the Almighty has raised up a Prophet who has organized the kingdom of God, and thousands of the Lord’s anointed have been inspired by the same Spirit to proclaim the words of life to the people. And who cannot foresee the judgments of God that await this generation? After the testimony of the servants of God, the judgments that have been spoken of will be poured out upon the wicked. Every man and woman who lives up to the principles of the Gospel can see by the same Spirit—they can understand by the things that are written in the Scriptures, and by the revelations of God that have been imparted unto us, and that are before the world, that these things are hanging over the nations.

We have before us the example of the antediluvian world: they were hard-hearted and unbelieving, and would not believe until it was too late. The inhabitants of Jerusalem did not believe that they would be surrounded with those dire calamities that afterwards befell them.

In looking at the judgments of the Almighty that we have witnessed and have been called to pass through, we see plenty to arouse us and cause us to be dilligent in the discharge of our duties. The heavens are full of judgments that are ready to be poured out upon this generation, and the Lord has as many ways in punishing the wicked as he ever had in any previous dispensation. We witness the power of God made manifest by day and by night, and we ought to realize the necessity of being obedient to all the requirements of Heaven.

The Elders of Israel have gone forth and borne a true and faithful testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and they have been assisted by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost. Our Prophet and Elders have been filled with good desires for the people and have gone abroad and tried to bring mankind to a knowledge of the truth. Our President has cast his mind abroad over the world, and in his meditations he has planned for the welfare of the human family, and yet the wicked have desired his life, and thousands have despised him because he has reproved them for their wickedness, and advocated righteous principles, and called upon them to repent of their sins and be baptized according to the order of God.

The Prophet Joseph was inspired to lay the foundation of the Church and kingdom of God. Before that time the masses of mankind were in darkness—the professors of religion were deceived in regard to God and the things of his kingdom. If the Lord had not sent forth his servant Joseph, the Devil could never have wrought upon the hearts of the children of men as he has done; but because the Prophet was laying the foundation of that great work which the Lord had determined to perform in the last days, the hearts of the children of men were stirred up to roar against the Lord’s anointed. But the truth was bound to prevail, and for the accomplishment of this object the Prophet laboured day and night.

I know that Joseph Smith was a good man, a Prophet, a Seer, and Revelator, and that he sealed his testimony with his blood, that the nation that was worthy might receive their reward. There is no principle revealed in this generation but those which are known by the Almighty to be for the salvation of his creatures. The spirit of warfare that is manifested in these days has existed in all ages when the Priesthood was upon the earth. There was always a war between light and darkness, God and the Devil, Saint and sinner, correct principles and false doctrines. We ourselves have a warfare with the evil propensities of our nature: we have already had to meet a warfare outwardly. In some instances there has been a physical contest, and our enemies have sought our destruction from the beginning. That warfare will continue until Satan is bound and iniquity swept from the earth. We need not suppose that we shall have peace, for there will be no peace to the righteous until he reigns whose right it is to reign. It is in this generation precisely as one of the Prophets foretold it should be—“Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.”

Thousands and millions of the sectarian world are in this condition, and will be led to use this or similar language. The honest among them will get their reward, and it will be far superior to anything they have anticipated. It is true they entertain many false doctrines, but let us remember that we believed false doctrines and were surrounded with the traditions of our fathers before we heard the fulness of the Gospel. When we heard its principles taught, we admired and received them for the truth’s sake, and rejoiced in the blessings that followed our obedience.

We have now got a warfare to endure; we must war against every evil principle until we can learn to do right in all things. This is the spirit we must learn to cultivate day by day. The knowledge we have of the Gospel will assist us in doing this.

There is one particular feature connected with the preaching of the Gospel: You may send out a thousand Elders and they will all teach the same doctrines; they will all labour for the building up of the same Church; they will be united; for their faith, their doctrines, and the organization of the Church have all been made known unto them by the revelations of God: hence they will see eye to eye in regard to the principles of the Gospel. Supposing a thousand ministers of different denominations were to be sent out into the world, it would be very different with them from what it is with the Elders of the Church of Christ: they would not be so united or so harmonious in their sentiments. Our union and oneness of sentiment constitutes one of the prominent beauties of the organization of the kingdom of God.

There was never any other Gospel taught to the old Prophets excepting that which is now taught to you and to this generation; neither was there ever any of the children of men saved upon any other principle than that which is now presented to the people. The Church of Christ always had in it Prophets, Apostles, and Patriarchs; it was always blest with the gifts of inspiration—power to heal the sick and to perform such miracles as were necessary for the salvation of the Saints.

If you were to meet with Father Adam, with Seth, Moses, Aaron, Christ, or the Apostles, they would all teach the same principles that we have been taught; they would not vary one particle. This Gospel is everlasting in its nature and unchangeable in its character. It might be urged that the house of Israel had the law of carnal commandments; but that only acted as a schoolmaster to bring them to Christ, because they would not receive a celestial law. They had the Priesthood of Aaron for a series of years amongst them; but the old Apostles, Prophets, and Saints were saved by the Gospel, and not by the law of carnal commandments.

I want to say a word about our present position. When we first received the Gospel, we professed to rejoice in its principles and in the blessings which followed our obedience; and should we not continue to rejoice and be diligent in the work of the Lord—yea, even more so to-day than we did when we first received it? When a boy begins his education at school he begins at the first rudiments, and continues to progress step by step. It is so with the student in the study of the everlasting Gospel. There were not many principles revealed to us when we first received it, but they were developed to us as fast as we were capable of making use of them.

I well remember the first sermon I heard. My conviction was that I had learned more about God and the things of his kingdom than I had learned in all my previous life. I believed the Gospel then, and I not only believe it now, but I know it to be true. Since then I have received much valuable instruction through the revelations of God that have been made manifest; and I have never yet heard a principle set forth, but I have been able to see beauty and glory connected with it.

The subject of the vision that was given to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon was alluded to by brother Young and others during our Conference. In reference to that, I wish to say that when I first read that vision it swept away a vail that had been around me all my life; it opened my understanding and shook off my shackles. There was something in it so different from the old sectarian notion—something that swept away the idea of one heaven, one hell, and that those who do not go to one place must go to the other, and that all in heaven have an equal glory, and all in hell an equal misery. There always appeared something very inconsistent connected with the doctrine of future rewards and punishments as taught by modern divines; but when I got hold of the vision, I saw more light, more consistency, and Godlike mercy and justice than I had ever seen in my life.

I refer to these things to show how the vail was taken from my eyes, and how I was made to comprehend that every man is rewarded according to the deeds done in the body. I then saw there was something to encourage a man to be true and faithful, and to be filled with integrity; while, on the other hand, it was made manifest that it would not pay a man to do evil. Every man gets the reward he earns by his labours. We can see this every day of our lives. You never saw a man who had partaken of the blessings of the kingdom of God, and then turned against the Lord, and would do wickedly and blaspheme the name of the Deity, but what the Spirit of God would withdraw from him and leave him miserable. The hand of God always overtakes such a one, evil lies in his path, and he is tormented by day and by night. We have seen this during our experience in this Church.

To me the principle of integrity is one of the greatest blessings we can possibly possess. He who proves true to himself or his brethren, to his friends, and his God, will have the evidence within him that he is accepted; he will have the confidence of his God and of his friends. It is a great and a glorious principle; it is something that gives you that assurance in your friends that you can trust your property, your life, your all in the hands of your brethren.

The Lord has said, “I will prove you in all things, even unto death.” How truly this has been fulfilled in this Church. Scores and hundreds of our brethren have laid down their lives in carrying out the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; they have been hastened away from this world by their enemies, but they have maintained their integrity, proven themselves to be true and faithful before the Lord, and their spirits now mingle with the spirits of the just.

We should all seek to do right, try to perform our duties day by day to God and to each other, and put away everything that wars against the Spirit of the Lord.

I rejoice every day I live in beholding the signs of the times, in looking at the progress of the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth. The Lord has guided and governed us all the day long. We have every reason to be thankful for his goodness unto us, and we may rest assured that his blessings will be poured out upon us just as fast as we are capable of receiving and making a right use of them.

The judgments that are coming upon the wicked will cause the ears of the children of men to tingle and their hearts to quake. Do you think they realize those things? No, they do not; they are all in the dark: but it is just as Elder Pratt said during our Conference—after the testimonies of the servants of God will come those of thunderings, earthquakes, pestilence, famines and the sword. The Lord also says, by revelation, that when these judgments do come, when they are poured out upon the earth, “O ye nations of the earth, how oft have I called upon you by my servants, by the ministering of angels, and by my own voice and by famines, tempest, earthquakes, and pestilence of every kind, and would have saved you with an everlasting salvation, but ye would not. Behold the day has come when the cup of the wrath of mine indignation is full, and it shall be poured out upon the disobedient.”

Remember these things, for the words of the Lord must be fulfilled. When a man who believes the Gospel reflects, he becomes satisfied that not one of those sayings will be suffered to return unto the Lord void, but he realizes that they will accomplish that for which they were sent. But a man who knows not God cannot realize anything about the calamities that are to come upon the earth. You might preach to him as long as Noah preached to the antediluvians; you might try till you were gray with old age, and you would try in vain to get him to understand the things of God.

If we had correct understanding, we should all see as the Lord does, and should understand how his purposes will be accomplished; but we are to walk by faith, and not by sight.

I feel to rejoice in knowing that the kingdom of God is established on the earth, and that it will spread itself abroad, become like a great mountain, and finally fill the earth. The words of the Lord will not return to him void; but whether he speaks by his own voice or the voice of his servants, those words will have their fulfilment.

Let us be faithful and adorn ourselves with the graces of the Gospel. There is nothing gained by doing wrong. Lying, stealing, blaspheming, drunkenness, backbiting, and denying the Lord Jesus Christ bring sorrow and remorse; they debase man who is organised in the image of God; but to do right, to obey the commandments of God, to be charitable and kind, brings joy and peace and the Holy Ghost, and an eventual exaltation in our Father’s kingdom.

May we all so live that we may be worthy to dwell in his presence in the world to come, and to participate in the fulness of that glory and blessedness promised to the faithful, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Blessings of the Saints—Training of Children

Wilford Woodruff

Remarks by Elder Wilford Woodruff, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 26, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

Brethren and sisters, we are blest above all other people upon the face of the earth, not only temporally, but spiritually. I consider any people blest of the Lord to whom he has revealed the Gospel of Jesus Christ—to whom he has given the holy Priesthood and authority to administer in the ordinances of his house. That people are greatly blest, far above their fellow-men, who do not enjoy this privilege. I consider this to be our position to-day: we have the privilege of walking in the light; we have the privilege of comprehending and knowing the truth—of knowing the way to be saved and exalted in the presence of our Father and God. We are in a position to know his mind and will, through his servants the Prophets. The Lord has given unto us teachers and inspired men—men who are inspired by the Spirit and power of God—clothed them with truth, and endowed them with wisdom to teach us at all times the path we should walk in. This is a great blessing, whether we realize it or not.

The Lord looks down upon our work and considers our ignorance, and so do those holy beings who surround his throne; but yet we know enough to do our duty, magnify our calling, and fulfil the object of our creation. And any man or community who have the Gospel of Christ, the holy Priesthood, and the power of the Holy Ghost that we have, possess a great advantage over the world; for they do not comprehend—they do not see nor understand the things that await them: they do not understand the dealings of God with them in any respect. It is not so with the Latter-day Saints; for as long as they continue to receive the truth, their minds are opened to understand the character of the day and age in which we live, and all those trying scenes that are approaching us; the vail is taken from off the face of the earth, and we see things, to some extent, as they are.

We have received the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and the vail of darkness, of doubt, and fear is taken from our minds, and we can see clearly where to go and what to do; and we feel that our spirit is right—that we are acceptable before the Lord our God, and are the subjects of his blessings.

When sitting here and listening to to the words of the servants of God, I reflect day by day on the things of God that are revealed to us, and I am inevitably led to the conclusion that there is no people upon the face of the earth enjoying such great blessings as the Almighty has bestowed upon us. The heavens are full of blessings, and the Lord is willing to bestow them upon us. The hearts of the servants of God are full of blessings, comfort, and edifying words for the Saints. Then it is certainly our duty to make a right use of the knowledge we have received, and to acknowledge the hand of the Lord in all things. We should try to gain wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, and from the experience we are having while in this great school. This would stimulate us to action; and inasmuch as we do this, and walk in the light of truth, we shall be satisfied, and continue to do as we have been taught. By pursuing this course in our connection with the work of God, we are enabled to drink of that well of water that springs up into everlasting life.

I do not believe that any man in the world who has power, wealth, influence, and a good understanding of things, is satisfied with the present confused state of the world, either religiously or politically; neither do I believe that a man who does not know God or the principles of eternal life and salvation—a man, for instance, that has come to an understanding of the world, and that has received the benefits of civilization, as understood by the great mass of Christendom—I do not, I say, believe that such a man is or can be satisfied. I can readily believe that the professors of religion are not fully satisfied in their minds and feelings, unless they have partaken of that life which is made manifest by the gift and influence of the Holy Ghost. And we have an abundance of evidence to prove that the world are not satisfied with their condition—not even those that are seeking the pleasures of life. We frequently hear them complaining of the state of affairs at the present time.

Man possesses a spirit that must endure for ever—a spirit that comes from God; and inasmuch as he is not fed from that same source or power that created him, he is not and cannot be satisfied. I can say, from my own experience, that although I sought for the truth diligently, I was never satisfied until I heard the fulness of the Gospel proclaimed by the Lord’s chosen servants. I had no inspired man to say “This is the way, walk ye in it.” It is true that I could read the Bible; I could pray and to some extent know what was right and proper for me to do—at least so far as moral religion was concerned. I enjoyed a portion of that Spirit which in those days would lead a man to do good to his fellow-man, but of course I had not the knowledge of God. But in these days, when the holy Priesthood is restored to us, we have no excuse for saying that our minds are not satisfied, for the blessings are given to us; they are within our reach, and it is your privilege and mine to enjoy them.

I feel to rejoice greatly in the blessings of the Gospel that are given to us, and that we can behold so visibly the hand of God in his dealings with this people. He has fought our battles and given us the victory.

We are all sensible of our imperfections; but, notwithstanding these things, the Lord has been true to his word; he is fulfilling his word, and has been doing this from the beginning. When I look at these things, my heart rejoices, and I feel to give thanks to the Lord and to aid all I can in the building up of his kingdom. We can enjoy the true comforts of the Holy Ghost. We should honour our calling and be true to the covenants we have made. If we attend to our duties and walk humbly before the Lord, we shall be satisfied with life and with the manifestations of the goodness of God unto us.

Let me advise you, brethren and sisters, to improve in everything that is good, perform every duty devolving upon us, and we shall have much joy and consolation at the close of this probation in knowing that we have done the best we could—that we have acted up to the best light we had. It certainly must be a satisfaction to us to know that we are building up the kingdom of God—to know that we are seeking to overcome the powers of darkness, and all evil that prevails upon the face of the earth, in our day and generation. This Gospel has been offered to the present generation—it has been offered to the Christian world, and almost all the nations have heard it in some way or other, and they now have the privilege of receiving it or rejecting it.

This people have received the word with joy and gladness, and many of them have brought forth fruit to the honour and glory of God, and have been valiant in the cause of Jesus Christ. They are friends of God, friends to themselves and to their fellow-men. But when men reject the Gospel, the gifts, the promises, and blessings that are presented and offered unto them, they come short of their duty and are under condemnation.

The Lord has said by the revelator John, in speaking of this work, that at the hour of his judgment he would send an angel, who should fly through the midst of heaven with the everlasting Gospel to preach to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, crying with a loud voice, saying, Fear God, and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come. The Almighty has in this way warned this generation, and told them what the result of rejecting the Gospel of Christ would be. Still many in the world have sought to destroy this work from the earth, as well as those who have been its advocates.

Scores and hundreds of the Elders of Israel have been faithful and true to their integrity, and for this they will have their reward, while the wicked will perish. I do feel thankful that so many of us have cleared our garments of the blood of this generation; and I rejoice that we are located here in these valleys of the mountains. I do not know that I could be in any better place than this. We are shut up in these chambers of the mountains in fulfilment of the words of the Lord, and he has led us all the time—he has marked out our course and directed our footsteps. Brother Joseph Smith, brother Brigham, and all our leaders have been inspired from the beginning to give counsel and to do those things that have been required of them; and they were led here by the inspiration of the Almighty, as much so as Moses or any others who have held the Priesthood. President Young prophesied the deliverance of this people, and his words were backed up by the testimony of the Holy Ghost, when, to all human appearance, there was no arm could save us, and we were delivered by the power of God. If we live our religion, we shall see more manifestations of the goodness and power of God.

It is our privilege to follow the dictates of the Spirit of the Lord, and to have it for our guide and companion; and by doing this the blessings of the heavens will be upon us as fast as we are prepared to receive them.

I know that the Devil seeks to overthrow this people, and it seems that the powers of darkness have to a great extent prevailed in their attempts to control the hearts of the children of men. For many generations the powers of darkness have had almost universal sway; but I thank God that I have lived to see the day when the kingdom of God has been set up on the earth, and that it is no more to be thrown down forever. Men with wicked hearts may seek to pull down the cause of truth, but all their efforts will be in vain, for the blessing of the Almighty is upon his Saints, the inspiration of the heavens is upon his servants, and they will overcome the powers of temptation and of the Adversary. It is verily true that we have a warfare to engage in, for Satan seeks to engage in one with us, with our children, and with all the rising generation the hope of Israel and of the Prophets and Apostles of this kingdom.

I feel that the time has come when we shall prevail, and I rejoice in it. I feel that the Lord is going to bless this people abundantly. The minds of the Saints are expanding, and they are coming to understanding. This certainly should be the case as we advance, for the Lord will make a short work in the last days; and there is but little time, if I may be allowed the saying, to have the words of the Prophets fulfilled.

There is a good spirit here. The righteousness and truth and the power of God are now prevailing over the wickedness of the profane and the iniquity of the depraved, and the power of the Devil is fast giving way and losing its hold on this people. The power of God is in the ascendant, and the faith of the Saints holds the powers of darkness at bay, so that they cannot carry out their evil designs in the midst of Zion. This is a consolation to me, and my heart rejoices in these things, and I can say truly that I feel happy and comfortable, and I pray that the Lord will sustain and uphold those that are set to lead us. The Lord is their guide, and there is not a man or woman in Israel but who knows that they are governed and controlled by the power of God, if they are living up to their privileges.

Israel was not always led with the same degree of clearness and understanding that we enjoy in our day. This is a great blessing to us, and we ought to be faithful and full of thankfulness. I feel happy in saying that I know our leaders are upheld by the prayers of the brethren and sisters, not only in this Territory, but throughout the world. This is right, and just as it should be; for it is our duty in our secret places, in our family prayers, to remember the Lord’s anointed and chosen servants and we should not only pray for them, but for each other, be full of faith, prayer, and confidence, and manifest our faith by carrying out the counsel that is given by the leaders of this people. Yes, brethren and sisters, it is a good day and generation in which we live. It is a good time to worship God and live faithful to our religion; and this is a most splendid place, in these valleys of the mountains, for us to live and improve. We are blest with good land, with water, and timber; and here we have the privilege of saving our children, and this is a great blessing unto us. If we set a good example before our children, and try to instruct them from their childhood to maturity—teach them to pray and to honour the Almighty—teach them those principles that will sustain them in the midst of all trials, that the Spirit of the Lord may rest upon them, then they will not easily be led astray. Good impressions will follow them through life, and whatever principles may be presented, those good impressions will never leave them.

I have long been satisfied that the Devil was making great exertions to drive a wedge in between parents and children—trying to inspire and instil into the minds of the sons and daughters of the Saints these corrupting notions that will prevent them from following the footsteps of their fathers and mothers; but this cannot be done! The sons and daughters of this people, if we do our duty, will be held by the strength and in the name of Israel’s God.

I have looked upon this matter a great deal, and I have concluded that there never was a generation of the people upon whose shoulders rested greater responsibilities than rest upon this people and than must rest upon their sons and daughters. If this be true, how important it is that we should be wise fathers and mothers, and that we should act wisely, in instilling into their youthful minds all those principles that will lead them to that which is just, and to carry out in their lives the principles of righteousness and truth. Many of our children have not had experience in the world; they know nothing of the scenes and corruptions that are among the wicked; they do not realize their present positions, nor the blessings conferred upon them by their parents having obeyed the fulness of the Gospel.

We who have gained experience see the darkness and abominations that are in the hearts of men; but our children, not being able to contrast the evil with the good, cannot see and realize the blessings they enjoy in being under the influence of teachers in Israel. I do not refer to their parents alone, but those who lead and govern in the midst of Israel.

I have felt for a long time, and I think I have realized to some extent that the duties resting upon us are very great, and that we ought to strive to improve in wisdom and knowledge and in the principles of government, in order that we may know how to be fathers, mothers, and saviours, and learn how to be counsellors and how to preside, not only in our own family circles, but wherever we may be called to act. It is a great thing to know how to act so as to gain the feelings and affections of our families, that will lead them in the path wherein they may be saved. This is a study and a work that should not be laid aside by parents, nor by the Elders in Israel.

Many times we may consider business so urgent that it must crowd these things out of our minds, but this should not be. Any man’s mind that is open, and who looks forward to the work that lies before us, will see and feel that the responsibility that rests upon him concerning his own family, and especially in the rearing up of his children, is very great.

We want to save our children, and to have them partake of all the blessings that encircle the sanctified—to have them receive the blessings of their parents who have been faithful to the fulness of the Gospel. We do not want them to go through all the routine of false doctrines and erroneous systems that we have had to wade through in our generation.

This is the way we feel in regard to our present position, and I feel that God will bless us, inasmuch as we strive to improve and listen to counsel. It is our duty, to pray before the Lord, and to teach those principles whenever we have an opportunity. And I feel to thank the Lord, and to rejoice in seeing as many as there are willing to listen to the counsel of their parents; for I realize that when they are called upon to act in their priesthood and ministry, they would be ready and willing to listen to the counsel of their brethren, and thus they will be the means of saving the rising generation.

I pray that the Lord may bless us and give us largely of his Spirit, that our minds may be clear to see and comprehend this great work. This kingdom is but yet a very small stone, comparatively speaking. It is not yet a great mountain, neither has it filled the whole earth; but, as the Lord lives, it will: This is how I feel; and I sincerely desire that we may have our minds opened upon the subject of the building up of the kingdom of God. In this we shall have joy, no matter whether in prosperity or adversity. So long as we do our duty, the Lord will protect us, and the powers of evil will have no dominion over us, but our hearts will be buoyant and we shall rise step by step in wisdom, knowledge, and power, until we shall be able to build up the temples of our God. “Behold, the law shall go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” This law he intends that we should receive to prepare us for the coming of the great bridegroom. In both our temporal and spiritual labour we should seek to know the mind and will of God concerning us. We should have the Spirit of the Lord with us continually, and our meditations should be righteous and holy before the Lord.

We cannot go to reap our crops and worship the Devil one day, and then the next go into the Tabernacle or Temple of the Lord and worship him. That is not our religion; it does not admit of this. We cannot feel justified in such conduct; but if we live our religion, the blessings of Almighty God will be with us, and he will multiply them upon our heads.

I hope and pray that each and all of us may do this—that we may seek to sustain each other, and those whom the Lord has placed over us; which may God grant, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

Establishment of the Kingdom of God

Heber C. Kimball

Remarks by Heber C. Kimball, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, June 3, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

Brethren and sisters, I will try to speak a few words to you. I have spent the last three or four months in my room sick, and I will assure you that I feel grateful for this opportunity of addressing you. I have desired thousands of times that I might have the privilege of again meeting here with you to express my feelings and tell of my reflections. Brother George Halliday has been preaching to you this morning and expressing his feelings: it is all good. Although I have been sick and prostrate, more so than I ever was in my life, which originated with a hurt that I received in my side about a year ago, still I have been happy.

I have been very sick indeed, but I have never had the first feeling, from the day I was taken sick till now, that I should die: I never thought of such a thing; but I have been thinking of living, and as brother George has said, of living to God, of living the religion of Jesus Christ—the religion that you and I believe in, and which I have believed and verily known to be true for twenty-eight years—almost half of my life—that is half of the days that I have lived here in the flesh. I knew it then, for it was revealed to me from heaven by the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. By revelation it was made known to me that God had set up his kingdom in these last days, according to his word, and in fulfilment of his promises, even that kingdom which is to stand for ever; and I also know that all people who dwell upon this earth will have to bow to it—yes, both the living and the dead. God has set to his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which are of the house of Israel, and to gather his elect from the four quarters of the earth. That kingdom is established with its authorities and powers agreeably to the will of God, and they are in the mountains, and all the combined powers of earth and hell can never get them out. They will never leave this land until the Lord God Almighty commands them to go, and then they will go where He directs them. You may set your hearts at rest upon this subject, for I have told you the truth about it, brethren and sisters; and you need not falter by the way, nor find fault about anything that transpires; for this kingdom will stand, whether you do or not. I want you to understand that this is my testimony: it is what I know. I am not telling what I believe, but I am telling you what I know.

I wish you to understand also that the United States will not overcome this kingdom, neither will Great Britain, nor all the powers of Europe combined, for it is that kingdom which is to stand for ever. The seed has taken root, and all the powers of the earth cannot root it out. It is not merely established in America, but it has a place in Europe, and its principles will be sent to every kindred, tongue, and people, and to every island of the sea, and there are many thousands of them; and this Gospel will penetrate those islands.

Joseph Smith was a Prophet of the living God, for the Lord Almighty revealed it to me more than twenty-eight years ago; and I have never had a doubt upon my mind of the truth of my religion from that day to this. That man was sent to set up this kingdom, to organize it, and to give you a law, not for his benefit only, but for yours; and God spake through him. He has been killed, it is true—I mean his natural tabernacle: his house has been destroyed, but he liveth in the heavens. He dictates this Church and kingdom, and will continue to do so for ever. Brigham Young is his legal administrator and successor, and Joseph speaks through him, and the angels that dwell in the heavens are assisting him; and I will say that if there are any of our enemies here, they need not try to overcome this work, for they cannot do it: they might as well try to overthrow the heavens or the throne of God—things which you know they could never accomplish. And I want to say that if there are any here who have come for this purpose, they had better go home again, and the quicker the better. If you do not do this, but continue to pursue an opposite course, the worse it will be for you, and the better for us.

Now, mark it, gentlemen, I am not dead yet; I live, and shall live to see our enemies, God’s enemies, and the enemies of Joseph, Brigham, and Heber overthrown by the power of God. Supposing I do not continue to live in this house, why I will get into another, and I will have a sharper sickle than I have now.

Brethren, this is the work of the Almighty God. Do the world believe it? No. Well, it is true, gentlemen; and the truth will prevail. I am bearing my testimony this morning, and it is for you to do the same thing when you have the opportunity. Those who have not laid a foundation for repentance had better not begin from dead works, but begin again, renew your repentance, and be baptized in water for the remission of sins, and do not forget to forsake them. Then you must receive the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost; and these ordinances must be administered by a man having authority. This is what all have to do, whether they be in America, Europe, Africa, or Asia, inasmuch as they love the truth and desire salvation in the celestial kingdom of our God, and all nations must bow to the sceptre of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Brethren, do you suppose that a little sickness is going to affect my spirit? No, not, at all: I have never seen the day but my spirit has been as bright and as full of light as the sun in his meridian splendour; still, if it had been better for my spirit to have leaped out of my body and gone into another state of existence, I could have done it. You have prayed for me and interceded with the Father for me, and I thank you for it—for your mediation and intercession that I might live and continue with you and with President Brigham Young, and be a co-worker with him in the cause of human redemption.

This work is true, and brother Brigham is our President—the legal successor of Joseph Smith, and God speaks through him as he spoke through brother Joseph. The world may wiggle and twist as much as they please. Suppose they should prevail as they did with Joseph Smith, would this work stop? No: if they were to kill a man every day, it would not affect it a particle: There will always be a head, and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the kingdom of God. The organization and authorities are complete, and the work will roll forth, and the more the world oppose it the more brilliant it will grow; and it will purge out those that have an apostate spirit, and those who remain will rejoice. A few of our people have gone to Carson Valley, but it will hurt them more than any one else. It will weaken them in a similar manner to what I was weakened by my late sickness; and the more disease and death there is purged from the body of Christ, so much more brilliant and powerful it will become.

We are all in the hands of God, and he will lead us by his Spirit in the way of life, and he will lead our enemies in that way that will subserve the interests of the kingdom of God; and all those who have had their minds open for the last two years can see that the Almighty has done this. A little while ago we picked up our goods and moved away, and what did we do it for? We moved away to stay, and you know a man must be willing to die in order to live. Now, my sickness has been unto life, and I shall feel better when I get my strength than I have done for twenty years. Some of the brethren and sisters came in occasionally to see me, and nearly all of them said they were very sorry to find me so sick. I think brother Taylor said so. I replied that I was not, for I considered it was only resting my body, and it is about the first rest I have had for years.

Now, brethren, do not be alarmed, but let everything pass away that is corrupt: for the Almighty says that everything that can be shaken will be, and that which cannot be shaken will remain. The work of our God will move on, let the world do as they please, and they wont be able to riddle out anything except that which ought to be riddled out. “Well, but,” says one, “Joseph’s successor has arisen.” I would not care if all the heirs to the Priesthood that are in the world were to arise, I know that President Brigham Young will lead this people till the time comes for a change. If the Lord wants another man to take the oversight of this people, he will know it, and in due time make it manifest. But is the Lord going to move upon a man to go and establish his kingdom among apostates? Why a man must be a fool to believe it. President Brigham Young is the man to lead this people, ladies and gentlemen; and he will lead them aright, and God will speak through him, and it will be like the trump of Jehovah. God will lead him, and it is for us to follow him and live our religion—to be one with him, as the members of a man’s body are one. If you live your religion, there are no dishonourable members in that body, for God says through Paul—“And those members of the body which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour, and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.” God will turn all things to the glory of his people and for the good of them that do right.

I travelled and associated with Joseph Smith, the Prophet, almost from the beginning. This work first began in the State of New York, and shortly afterwards the few Saints who had received the Gospel moved to Kirtland, Ohio, at which place I first visited the Prophet Joseph. I went with the first mission to England, and when I returned and settled with the Saints in Missouri, I had not much rest, for I had not been there long before our enemies requested us to leave. I went there as a gentleman, and I came away as one, and I have so remained. I went with the Saints to Nauvoo, and from thence I went to England again, and from England back to Nauvoo. Then I had not been there long before they requested us to leave the State of Illinois. Well, we came along to Winter Quarters; and we found very good quarters: and from there we came to this Territory, and his Satanic Majesty has requested us to leave here: but we shan’t do it, and you may tell the whole world so, if you please, gentlemen. The old gentleman has requested us too many times to leave our homes. Heretofore we obeyed, because we were obliged to; but that day has gone by.

There was an army sent here, also certain gentlemen as judges and other civil officers, and many of them really thought that they were going to kill us all off, and they were very hot and rabid about it. But the Lord said, through his servant, “Keep them out in the snow, and they will cool off;” and they remained there until we said they might come in. They went to Cedar Valley and remained there, and they have been very civil. I never saw an army more civil than they have been, with the exception of a few of their officers. The civil officers were sent here to be our servants; but did they serve us? Yes, some of them served us like the Devil would. Excuse me for the expression.

I will now say that all those that rejoiced in the death of Joseph and Hyrum Smith partook of the spirit of their murderers. And further, the people between here and Nauvoo, who have mocked at us, will be brought into subjection, and be made to bow the knee to God and to this kingdom, and repent of their sins in the flesh, or they will meet them in another place. When I lay down this body I shall take a new one, and I shall be where they won’t like to see me. You need not try to step in between me and my President, for you cannot do it without hurting yourselves. My name is Faithful!—my name is Integrity! and that too in my God and in his work; and I know that his work will roll on until his will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

May God bless you! Amen.

Privileges of the Saints—Building Up Zion

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, June 3, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I delight to meet with my brethren; it is my chief joy—it affords me great consolation and comfort. But whether I am alone or in the midst of the Saints, the spirit of my religion is continually a sacred consolation to me; I hardly ever see the time when I do not have a flow of it.

One of the greatest blessings I enjoy is the privilege of meeting with the assembled Saints. Do you realize that there is not another denomination, professing Christianity, that enjoys this privilege in so great a degree as do the Latter-day Saints? There is not another society or community professing to believe the Bible, embracing it in their faith, would consent, for one moment, to sell or give away all they have and travel half-way over the earth for the sake of assembling together. The position of all other professing Christians causes them to mingle more or less with the ungodly—with those who take the name of God in vain—with those who delight in unrighteousness. Were they called to make the sacrifices required of this people, they would refuse and abandon their religion rather than comply.

The Latter-day Saints are called to separate themselves from the wicked—to assemble together and associate with each other; and this is one of the greatest blessings bestowed upon me—that I may not be obliged to mingle with the ungodly. My business, my course of life, does not call me where I am under the necessity of hearing the name of that Deity whom I worship blasphemed—where his character, name, place, and attributes are held in the deepest derision, as they are in the world. I am not under the necessity of mingling with such characters. Is not this a blessing? It is. True, in travelling and preaching, I have mingled either more or less with the ungodly since I have been in this Church; though, when I have fallen into such society, I have passed along as speedily as possible.

In Kirtland, in 1833, the Prophet Joseph told the Elders that if they would do right—would promote the kingdom of God upon the earth, as they professed they desired to do, they would take his counsel to never put forth their hands to do another day’s work to build up a Gentile city. From that day to this, I do not know that I have done one hour’s work contrary to that counsel. You have frequently heard me refer to my poverty when I moved to Kirtland in the fall of 1833. Not a man ever gathered with the Saints, so far as I have known, but had more property than I had. When I came into the Church I distributed my substance and went to preaching, and when I gathered with the Saints I had nothing. I then said I would not work to build up a Gentile city. Other mechanics went from Kirtland to different cities to get employment. I said to them, I will work here, if I do not receive one farthing for my labour and have to beg my bread, and I will assist in building up this place, and will make many dollars to your one by so doing. I did; for when I started to the West, on the 5th of the following May, I could have bought what almost the whole of them had made during the winter. They told me that it often cost them more to get twenty dollars they had earned than it did to earn it. I went to work for brother Cahoon, one of the Kirtland Temple Committee. He had little or no means, and only a shell of a house. I helped him, and the Lord threw things in his path, and he paid me for my labour. I worked day by day, and when spring came I had more in my possession for my labour than any who had gone out in search of work during the past winter.

If they had waited for me to have lifted up my hands to build a city at Fairfield and its neighbourhood, they would have waited until the judgment day. I said, when they came here, and I now say, if they had loaded every one of their waggons with gold and offered it to me, they could not have bought me, and I would not have worked for them. You may ask, “Have you not helped them?” I have sold them a considerable amount of lumber. But in that operation, which received the most help—they or me? They paid my price, and I do good with it, and intend to continue doing good.

Were I residing in a gathering-place where I knew I could remain for two years, and had fifty thousand dollars to spare, I would expend it in the best improvements I could, and labour to improve until the last day of my remaining. The Lord is gathering his people, and this is a city for the Saints. A great many here are satisfied with a log hut. Some act as though they expected to be driven, and others say—“We will soon go back to the centre Stake of Zion, and this house will answer my purpose till then.” Let every mechanic and every scientific man of all classes and occupations, and every woman, improve to the best of their ability, faithfully living their religion, and we shall be none too well qualified to build up Zion when that time arrives. I never saw a stone-mason who thoroughly understood his trade. We have not a quarryman who fully understands getting out rock for the Temple walls. Then how, amid such ignorance, are you going to properly lay the foundation of the New Jerusalem—the Zion of our God? What do you know about building the great Temple that is yet to be built, upon which the glory of God will rest by day and by night? Where is the man that knows how to lay the first rock in that Temple, or to get out the first stick of timber for it? Where is the woman that knows how to make a single part of its interior decorations? That knowledge is not now here; and unless you wisely improve upon your privileges day by day, you will not be prepared, when called upon, to engage to the best advantage in building up Zion.

No nation possesses any wisdom but what it has received from the same God that we worship. He is the best mechanic and the most scientific personage that we have any knowledge of. There is not a principle in astronomy, known by men of science, but what has been revealed from heaven. All true knowledge among men, in relation to agriculture, the arts, science, commerce, and every avocation in life, has been given from our Father in heaven to his children, whether they acknowledge and obey him or not.

Brother Wells was just speaking about the Lord’s having a foothold on this earth. He holds dominion over the winged tribes of heaven: they obey his law. He holds dominion in the depths of the sea, where man cannot pollute it. But there is not a mountain, valley, continent island, or other portion of earth where mankind dwell, but what thereon they more or less pervert the ways of the Lord, and have done so nearly all the time, though his providences are over them all, and he will cause the wrath of man to praise him. Enoch was the only man that could build a city to God; and as soon as he had it completed, he and his city, with its walls, houses, land, rivers, and everything pertaining to it, were taken away.

God does not violate the agency he has given to man; wherefore let this be in the mouth of every Saint, “The Lord shall have perfect dominion in my heart and affections;” then he will begin to reign in the midst of the people; but he cannot do so now. When we have faith to understand that he must dictate, and that we must be perfectly submissive to him, then we shall begin to rapidly collect the intelligence that is bestowed upon the nations, for all this intelligence belongs to Zion. All the knowledge, wisdom, power, and glory that have been bestowed upon the nations of the earth, from the days of Adam till now, must be gathered home to Zion.

The wicked will become more and more weak and ignorant as they increase in wickedness. See the trifling, childish foolishness now among the nations of the earth. Brother George Halliday said this morning—“Mormonism has made me what I am.” That is true. “Mormonism” embraces all truth in heaven, earth, and hell; consequently, all we have received that is calculated to make us of any worth is from the principles taught by it. Look at the world! Where is the wisdom of the emperors, kings, and rulers of the nations? Imbecility and weakness are fast creeping into high places and spreading among the people. They love lies, and choose darkness rather than light, and the Lord will grant them their desires until they dwindle into degradation and utter destruction, when the government will rest upon those who are faithful to God and their country.

This is my country. I am a native-born American citizen. My father fought for the liberty we ought to have enjoyed in the States, and we shall yet see the day when we shall enjoy it. Had we the power, would we hold the wicked down and whip them? No; for, except in self-defence, it is our duty to plead with them and offer them the terms of life and salvation—to give them all the opportunity God has designed them to have. But what would they do, if they could get the advantage of this people? According to brother Kimball’s comparison, they would hug us close and tight—they would oppress, corrupt, afflict, and destroy us. If they could but realize the generosity there is in the Gospel of salvation, they would not hate us as they do now. But in their ignorance they would destroy a Saint, because they imagine that a Saint would do the same to them. A Saint would take no unjust advantage, but the Devil will. That is what he tried to do in heaven.

Brother Kimball asked whether there were liars and thieves in heaven. It is recorded that the Devil is somewhere there, accusing the brethren and finding fault with them. Men in the flesh are clothed with the Priesthood with its blessings, the apostatizing from which and turning away from the Lord prepares them to become sons of perdition. There was a Devil in heaven, and he strove to possess the birthright of the Saviour. He was a liar from the beginning, and loves those who love and make lies, as do his imps and followers here on the earth. How many devils there are in heaven, or where it is, is not for me to say. Does the Accuser of the brethren dwell with the Father and the Son? No: but he is somewhere; and when we go through the vail we shall know much more about these matters than we now do, for we shall possess all the sensibilities we now possess, brightened and increased in intensity by the visions and power of the spirit-world, to an extent of which you now have no idea.

I will now say a few words upon matters that immediately concern us. I believe it to be the duty of all sisters who profess to be Saints to make apparel, and, if they want ornaments, make them. It is the duty of the brethren to know how to build a house how to make a garden, and how to do everything that can be accomplished by the ingenuity given to man. Why? That we may know how to build and beautify Zion. Let us improve and gather all the knowledge and faith we possibly can, both from heaven and earth, being diligent and fervent in all our duties, private and public, and striving to gather the wisdom of God, as bestowed on the nations, home to Zion.

I feel much encouraged with regard to our academy: it is well attended, and the scholars are interested and energetic in their studies. Schools are becoming numerous and well attended, and the spirit of improvement is among the people.

Let all, in the coming harvest, which promises abundance, strive to secure their breadstuff; and especially do not part with it to feed your enemies.

Much depends upon mothers in regard to improving the rising generation. Let us all try to improve from the many and rich blessings we enjoy. The Priesthood is here. God is beginning to reign on the earth. Open your hearts and let him reign therein predominant. God bless you, every one! Amen.

Knowledge—Object of Man’s Existence on the Earth

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made at Box Elder, June 7, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I am happy, brethren and sisters, for the privilege of again meeting with you here, and speaking to you. I hope the Spirit of truth dwells within you, and that you have received an increase of that Spirit since I last saw you.

The mind that is stretched out in searching after the things of God—that is searching after wisdom—is quick and active, and a great many reflections pass and repass; and it queries how things are, and would like to know much that it does not now know. Probably we know quite as much as we should at present. Were I to ask the question—“Do each of you live up to all you know?—do you magnify every principle of God and godliness—every principle of the holy Priesthood, as well as you know how, day by day, hour by hour, and from moment to moment?”—what would be your answer? Do you think that you improve every moment of your time to the best advantage? Or would you rather be ready to acknowledge that in many instances you come short of the blessings of the knowledge we are in possession of? I believe that you would say at once—“Until we can live nearer to the light, and better improve upon the blessings of the knowledge that God has bestowed upon us, it would probably be better for us not to know any more of heavenly things than is already taught.”

Do you know this work which you have embraced, commonly called “Mormonism,” to be the Gospel of life and salvation? If you do, you know a great deal that pertains to principles of life eternal. If you do not know this work to be true, it is your privilege to know it; and at all times you have the privilege of doing as much good as your hearts can desire. If you are satisfied that there is such a place as Ireland or England, without going there, that is all the knowledge you at present wish on that subject. If you are satisfied, in your sensitive powers and faculties, that God has revealed the holy Priesthood, established his kingdom upon the earth, restored the fulness of the Gospel, and set to his hand to gather the house of Israel, this will answer your purpose just as well as though you went into heaven to see for yourselves. If you believe with all your hearts, you are entitled to the blessings of the things of the kingdom.

It is for yourselves to know and judge with regard to enjoying the fruits of the Spirit. You are pretty well conversant with them; you know pretty well when you see those fruits. They are enumerated in the Scripture, and more has been revealed by the manifestation of the Spirit than has yet been written. If you are satisfied that “Mormonism” is true, and that you have the enjoyment of the Spirit that accompanies the Priesthood, you can rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks. You will overcome every evil passion that tends to bring darkness instead of light, hatred instead of love, which should reign predominant in your bosoms. Instead of walking in the dark, not knowing where you are going, or what your lives are for, you will walk in the light and rejoice in your present existence; and instead of spreading sin and iniquity, you will do good and spread intelligence among your families and neighbours and throughout your cities, and continue to increase in the wisdom that promotes the happiness of the children of men and causes them to rejoice in and profit by their present existence.

It is not enough for us to have the good Spirit sufficiently to satisfy us that we are prepared to enter into the kingdom of heaven, though this is all that some people desire; but that will not answer the purpose of a Latter-day Saint. You have the privilege to receive the Spirit of the kingdom, and to rejoice in that Spirit. Then you have the privilege to exercise your faith to live. The first principle that pertains to the intelligence God has bestowed upon us is to know how to preserve the present organization with which we are endowed. It is man’s first duty to his existence, a knowledge of which would cause him to use all prudent efforts for the preservation of his life on the earth until his work here is completed. We have formerly been accustomed to hear such expressions as—“I feel great concern about my eternal salvation. I feel very much troubled to-day—very lonely, dark, and gloomy. I have fearful dreams. I want to hear something about my salvation.” “Come to the anxious seat. Come and give all to Christ; give your soul to Christ.” “What shall I do to be saved?” “Come forward, and we will pray for you. Give yourselves to Christ. Come and be prayed for, and give yourselves wholly, unreservedly, to the Supreme Being,”—when they do not know where he is, what he is, nor what he is doing, nor whether he created us, or not. Yet at times, under that system, the cloud of gloom, of darkness, and terror that has rested on their understandings is removed in a greater or less degree, and they are filled with joy and peace, and exclaim, “I know that my Redeemer lives.” They do not know where they are from, nor what they came to this world to do, only as they have been taught by their parents. “My soul rejoices, and I am ready to die,” seems to be the ultimatum of their religion.

We are here to live to spread intelligence and knowledge among the people. I am here to school any brethren, to teach my family the way of life, to propagate my species, and to live, if in my power, until sin, iniquity, corruption, hell, the Devil, and all classes and grades of abominations are driven from the earth. That is my religion and the object of my existence. We are not here merely to prepare to die, and then die; but we are here to live and build up the kingdom of God on the earth—to promote the Priesthood, overcome the powers of Satan, and teach the children of men what they are created for—that in them is concealed the germ of all intelligence. Here is the starting-point—the foundation that is laid in the organization of man for receiving a fulness of eternal knowledge and glory. Are we to go yonder to obtain it? No; we are to promote it on this earth.

Our neighbours, who have driven us from them, wish to civilize us. You have had a little experience in the lessons of their civilization—in the drunkenness, quarrelling, debauchery, fighting, and tumbling into ditches. They wish to civilize us! But I do not want to talk about it. They are to be pitied, for they are ripening for destruction.

The Latter-day Saints throughout the valleys in these mountains and throughout the world ought to be learning what they are on this earth for. They are here to increase and multiply, to enlarge, to gather the house of Israel, redeem Zion, build up the Zion of our God, and to promote that eternal intelligence that dwells with the Gods, and begin to plant it in this earth, and make it take root downward and bring forth fruit upward to the glory of God, until every obnoxious principle in the hearts of men is destroyed, and the earth returns to its paradisaical state, and the Lord comes and dwells with this people, and walks and talks with them as he did with Father Adam. That is our business, and not to suffer all our energies to be expended in merely preparing to die. Jesus says, “He that liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” His body may be laid away to rest for a short time, but he shall not taste of death. When his spirit is released from this mortal tabernacle, the body drops back to mother earth; but the spirit departs with an assurance that the body will not always remain in the dust. The body has merely fallen asleep for a while, to be again quickened and united with the spirit to live forever.

It is recorded, you are aware, that in former days mankind lived to a great age—to over nine hundred years. It is written that Methuselah lived to the greatest age—969 years; and perhaps many others lived to a like age. And would not you like to live long upon the earth, with power to overcome diseases, to overcome your enemies, to enjoy life, to plant gardens, build cities, and adorn and make them beautiful, set out shade trees, orchards, and vineyards, make walks, parks, and ornamental grounds, and have schools, academies, and universities, living six, seven, or eight hundred years and more to enjoy these blessings?

A few thousand years ago mankind outlived many of the present generations. Could you live to see twenty, thirty, or more generations come and go, see kings rise and fall or pass away, for many hundred years observe the rise and fall of governments, and enjoy all the pleasure and comfort of making a portion of this earth bloom as the garden of Eden, would you not like it? You would; for even now you cling to the earth, insomuch that if you thought you were going to die before to-morrow morning, it would be, “Send for the Elders!—run for a doctor and some medicine!”

It is written that in the latter days the age of man shall be as the age of a tree, when the Lord shall bring again Zion. The Prophet understood that what had been would be again; also that mankind would become blinder in the understandings, and make their days shorter and shorter, until they would become almost extinct; and that then the Lord would begin to revive his Spirit and power and Priesthood among his children; and when he could get a people that would hearken to his voice, he would begin to add to their days, to their intellect, to their stature, and to every power and virtue of life, as at first bestowed upon the human family. How are we to magnify the Priesthood, unless we begin to perform our part towards bringing to pass this restoration? This is a work in which the female portion of the Latter-day Saints can be efficient co-labourers. The sisters may inquire, “What can we do?” Rule your own passions, and exercise faith until you can govern and control your appetites, instead of drinking tea, coffee, and hot drinks. That is one of the smallest duties I can think of. Permit your bodies to have natural forms; also take pains to have the bodies of your daughters grow naturally, and teach them what they are made for, and that they, through faith, must overcome every besetting sin and every unholy passion and appetite.

Sisters, have faith, and begin so far as lies in your power to assist in raising a posterity that the Lord will delight to own and bless, that their days may begin to be lengthened; and teach them good, wholesome, and holy principles. Much can be said in reference to the duties of parents in regard to their posterity. It is our duty to approximate in all things towards the day of perfection, and to constantly reflect and act upon the best course to pursue for the attainment of that blessing.

You probably wish to know what I think about the Latter-day Saints in this northern country. I think of you as well as ever, and a little better. I care but little as to the outward appearance, if I can know that there is at heart a true feeling to do the will of God—to be honest before God and with one another. And in addressing a congregation, though the speaker be unable to say more than half-a-dozen sentences, and those awkwardly constructed, if his heart is pure before God, those few broken sentences are of more value than the greatest eloquence without the Spirit of the Lord, and of more real worth in the sight of God, angels, and all good men. In praying, though a person’s words be few and awkwardly expressed, if the heart is pure before God, that prayer will avail more than the eloquence of a Cicero. What does the Lord, the Father of us all, care about our mode of expression? Mankind have fallen into the deep vortex of darkness. They know not from whence they came. They have sprung from their Father, God, and Saviour, and have all gone out of the way. The simple, honest heart is of more avail with the Lord than all the pomp, pride, splendour, and eloquence produced by man. When He looks upon a heart full of sincerity, integrity, and child-like simplicity, he sees a principle that will endure forever—“That is the spirit of my own kingdom—the spirit I have given to my children.”

Be honest. I love the Latter-day Saints, and think as much of them as I ever did. It is three years since I was here, and I will tell you what I think of some things that have happened in that time. I think that those who undertook to civilize us have learned that the undertaking did not answer their expectations. I also think that some of the brethren have been wild, crazy, bewildered, apparently not knowing their right hands from their left. Waggons have passed through Great Salt Lake City with the inscription, “To Cache Valley, or Carson, we don’t care a d—n which.” What does that prove? That some are reckless, and would just as soon go to hell as to heaven. What do they know? Have they seen Jesus? Do they know that this is the Gospel of salvation, and know their Father and God who dwells in eternity? Do they know that they are his offspring? No, no more than Israel did, when the Prophet said the ox knows its owner, and the ass its master’s crib, but Israel does not know their God. Such is the case with some who call themselves Latter-day Saints. Their feelings are—“I don’t know whether Carson or Cache Valley is the best place—whether I should go to California or to the States to trade;” and they are as ignorant of heavenly things as are our mules that we hitch to our waggons. This is the case with only a very few of the Saints; but there are a few who have sunk into darkness.

“What do you think, brother Brigham, of our conduct during the move, and under the circumstances since that time?” I think that the very great majority of you have done extremely well. And I do not think that many moved from here but what were perfectly willing to do so. A very few say they have been broken up, and they do not know what they shall do. The great majority say, “All is right.” Those few do not understand the true principle of increase. You may plough, sow, plant, irrigate, &c., and you have not power, and will not have for a long time, to produce one kernel of wheat. Some do not seem to realize that the Lord gives or takes away, increases or diminishes at his pleasure. After the Devil, by permission, had stripped Job of his possessions, in a short time the Lord blessed him with a greatly-increased abundance. The Lord suffered the Devil to strip him of what he had blest him with, and then increased those blessings. Thus it is with his people in all ages.

The people here are rich. Look at those who were in Missouri, in Nauvoo, and in Winter Quarters, and there are only a very few but what are now worth more than they ever expected to be. The Lord has increased our flocks and herds until some are sorry they have so many for the Indians and thieves to drive away. Look at the fields, the settlements, the good houses, and the numerous comforts and conveniences calculated to make home happy. Throughout the Territory you see a people more industrious than any other people in the world, and one that produces more than any other we are acquainted with.

I used to be rather scrupulous with regard to the Nephites doing so much in so short a time, as stated in the Book of Mormon. After being plundered and driven by their enemies, they would soon increase again and become wealthy. This puzzled me a little, though I did not feel to say it was not true; but now it has opened to my understanding upon natural principles. You may search the history of the world, and see whether you can find the equal of this people’s progress; it exceeds all that is written in the Book of Mormon concerning the prosperity of the Nephites under like circumstances. The facts are now before us, but for a time it was difficult for me to understand the record of so great prosperity’s following so quickly upon adversity.

You may inquire—“Do you think we are doing right?” Yes, as well as you know how. If you do not fully live up to the knowledge you have, I can say that you have done about as well as you could. We have a warfare on our hands. Evil is here; the Devil reigns on the earth, and has held dominion on it for thousands of years. That reign we have to break and cast him out, with the help of God; but we cannot do it at once. Thousands of temptations assail, and you make a miss here and a slip there, and say that you have not lived up to all the knowledge you have. True; but often it is a marvel to me that you have lived up to so much as you have, considering the power of the enemy upon the earth. Few that have ever lived have fully understood that power. I do not fully comprehend the awful power and influence Satan has upon the earth, but I understand enough to know that it is a marvel that the Latter-day Saints are so good as they are. They are improving in the southern settlements, between here and there, and in other places.

Those who live their religion will enjoy the Spirit, and that enjoyment will increase; and if we will be faithful, the Lord will make our feet as firm in these valleys as are the everlasting riches in these mountains, and no power can remove us. He will give us a sure place in these mountains until we go forth and redeem Zion. Do right, be faithful, and make no calculations about removing before the time comes.

From the States’ newspapers, one might imagine that “hell was out for noon” there—that hell is boiling over. They are nigh unto destruction, and it is for us to so live that we can gain the goodness, glory, and mercy of our God. It is our right to claim his mercy, and our duty to labour to gather all the honest home to Zion.

I bless you with everything that is good, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, if you live for it. Amen.

Journeyings of the Saints—Temporal Salvation

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made at Wellsville, Cache Valley, June 7, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

The Gospel of salvation, which is an astonishment and a stumbling-block to the world, is true. The journeyings of the Latter-day Saints and their communications one with another and with the world are astonishing to the people. They wonder what causes us to gather into these valleys in the mountains, what causes us to become one, to hearken to the voice of one man, to be controlled, dictated, and governed by one individual. This is marvellous in the eyes of the world; but is it marvelous in your eyes, brethren? Were there no other proof than the oneness exhibited in the midst of this people, that alone is enough to condemn the world. That oneness cannot be found anywhere else; it is produced only in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints, and is not manifested in any other community. No other people will pick up such portions of their substance as they can, and travel thousands and thousands of miles—fathers and mothers leaving their children, husbands leaving their wives, wives leaving their husbands, children leaving their parents, brothers and sisters leaving each other—after this “strange delusion,” as it is called, and, when they are gathered, hearken to one man.

This circumstance creates the deepest regret in the hearts of our enemies, more, seemingly, than all other acts of the Latter-day Saints.

When I was in England did I, apart from the Priesthood, exercise an influence over any of your minds to cause you to come here and locate in Cache Valley? Was I the instrument that caused you to forsake your friends in your native country, and gather with the Latter-day Saints? Your enemies will tell you that it was the influence that I held over you which prompted your movements; but that is not true. I have no more influence over the Latter-day Saints, aside from the Priesthood, than you have over each other. If the Spirit of truth does not speak through me and dictate my words, they are no better than the words of another man. If the Holy Ghost manifests to you, one thousand or ten thousand miles from here, that this is the time the Lord has fixed for building up his Zion—that this is the time spoken of by the Prophets in which the Saints are commanded to gather out from the wicked, then it is the Spirit of the Most High that has influenced and controlled you, and not me nor any other man.

Are you satisfied with your location? Are you satisfied with yourselves? Are you satisfied with the brethren? Are you satisfied when your minds revert to your native lands, your former friends, and the old homesteads where you spent your childhood? Are you satisfied to make these sterile plains your adopted home, to live here in the mountains, forming new associations with those who are entire strangers to you those, perhaps, of other countries and other tongues? Are you satisfied with all this? If you are, it is evidence to you, so far as it goes, that you are accepted of the Lord. It is evidence to you that you have chosen the good part. It should be satisfactory evidence that you are in the path of life, if you love God and your brethren with all your hearts. You may see, or think you see, a thousand faults in your brethren; yet they are organized as you are; they are flesh of your flesh, bone of your bone; they are of your Father who is in heaven: we are all his children, and should be satisfied with each other as far as possible. The main difficulty in the hearts of those who are dissatisfied is, they are not satisfied with themselves.

How many have moved here this spring, I know not. Some have gone to Carson Valley, and a great many have come here. And, as I told the brethren last night, a part did not seem to care much, if at all, which way they went, and had written on their waggons, “To Carson or Cache Valley, we don’t care a d—n which.” Are such satisfied with themselves? No, nor with anything nor anybody around them.

I will say to you, my brethren, those of you who are from the Eastern States, and from England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, or any other part of the north of Europe, that you have a far better country here than you had in your native land. You have a beautiful valley, though some of you, perhaps, are discouraged. Perhaps some will not live here because they have to irrigate the ground, or because they have to go into the mountains after wood. There are many throughout the valleys who were raised where it was much more difficult to get wood in winter than it is here. I have known farmers obliged to cut down their orchards for fuel, because they could not haul wood a mile, on account of deep snow. The house in which I was born was so covered with snow, one winter, before I was two years old, that there was no way to get out only by cutting steps and beating a path to the surface. Almost every year the snow would cover the ground from four to six feet deep; and often, when a crust formed on the snow, stone walls and high fences were no impediment to sleighing in any direction.

Some may feel a little discouraged because their cattle will not live here without being fed more or less during winters. How many are there in the mountains of Europe that would be thankful for a privilege to go out to the sides of these mountains and make little gardens by packing soil from the bottoms? Thousands in the old country obtain their living in that way. My brethren and sisters from Italy, for instance, are my witnesses that many in that country would be glad to get a few square rods of rock on which to pack soil from the low lands and make gardens, and to gather feed from the bottoms to keep a cow through the winter.

Though many have moved here this spring with but limited supplies of provision, how many do you think I could count in this congregation who go hungry day by day? Do you think there is even one person who has not as much as he can eat, at least as often as once a day? These are temporal things, but over which the Devil causes many to stumble. Go to your native lands in foreign countries, many of you, and ask men there who are thirty years old, and probably women too, “How often in your lives have you had all you wanted to eat?” “Never.” You may find thousands who could tell you that they never saw a day in which they had all they wanted to eat. Are there such times in Cache Valley? No. Is there anything connected with this locality that should discourage you? No. Reflect, and ask yourselves whether you have the least cause for complaint in the exchange of your countries.

You may inquire why this land has been so long held in reserve—the design in this country’s not being settled by white people until recently. Until the Latter-day Saints came here, not a person among all the mountaineers and those who had travelled here, so far as we could learn, believed that an ear of corn would ripen in these valleys. We know that corn and wheat produce abundantly here, and we know that we have an excellent region wherein to raise cattle, horses, and every other kind of domestic animal that we need. We also knew this when we came here thirteen years ago this summer. Bridger said to me, “Mr. Young, I would give a thousand dollars, if I knew that an ear of corn could be ripened in these mountains. I have been here twenty years, and have tried it in vain, over and over again.” I told him if he would wait a year or two we would show him what could be done. A man named Wells, living with Miles Goodyear, where now is Ogden city, had a few beans growing, and carried water from the river in a pail to irrigate them.

Reflect upon these matters, read the writings of the Prophets, search the world over, and can you learn of any location to which the words of the Prophets can so justly apply, where the people of the Lord were to be hid up, in the latter days, in the chambers of the mountains? You cannot. No man here has any good reason to be discouraged—no good reason to complain. And those who will so live that they are satisfied with themselves will be satisfied with the country and with the brethren. This is a splendid valley, and is better adapted to raising Saints than any other article that can be raised here. Compare the tombstones with the number of those living in any other city, district, place, or country, for the same length of time, and you will find here less graves of persons from one day to ten, fifteen, or twenty years old, than in any other country you were ever acquainted with. It is the best country in the world for raising Saints.

Many may inquire, “How long shall we stay here?” We shall stay here just as long as we ought to. “Shall we be driven, when we go?” If we will so live as to be satisfied with ourselves, and will not drive ourselves from our homes, we shall never be driven from them. Seek for the best wisdom you can obtain, learn how to apply your labour, build good houses, make fine farms, set out apple, pear, and other fruit trees that will flourish here, also the mountain currant and raspberry bushes, plant strawberry beds, and build up and adorn a beautiful city. The question now rises—“Do you think it best for us to live in cities?” Lay out your cities, but not so large that you cannot readily raise the whole city, should an enemy come upon you.

Your houses are now scattered, and you have not closed up your fort. When new settlements are made where they are exposed to the Indians, settle so that they cannot get the advantage of you. This has always been my counsel. The settlements in this valley have been exposed to Indian depredations; but now there are so many here that, if they build in a prudent form, they are able to defend themselves. First secure your lives, and then your property, against Indian depredations. We do not wish to hear of any of you being killed. When the Indians become cross, and you see in them a wish to stir up difficulty, the brethren should immediately be on their guard; and in going into the kanyons, be careful that enough go to be able to defend themselves, and have each one take his fire-arms with him.

There is peace now, and probably will be for some time; though we do not know but that next week the marauding Indians about you may kill a few men in the kanyons. Take care of yourselves, and build up a safe and beautiful city. Make good houses; learn how to build; become good mechanics and business men, that you may know how to build a house, a barn, or a store-house, how to make a farm, and how to raise stock, and take every care of it by providing proper shelter and every suitable convenience for keeping it through the winter; and prove yourselves worthy of the greater riches that will be committed to you than this valley and what it can produce. Those who are slothful of the things committed unto them in a temporal point of view—the blessings pertaining to the world—how can they expect eternal riches to be committed to their charge? On the other hand, the neighbourhood or community that adorns its city, farms, gardens, and supremely loves and sets its affections upon these things, had better never have seen or had anything to enjoy.

Learn to improve the earth, and to sustain and preserve yourselves upon your inheritances, and then pray and exercise faith that the Lord will make our feet fast here—that they shall never be removed until we have the privilege of going to build up the centre Stake of Zion. Let your faith bear a holy life. Enjoy the Spirit of the Lord, and you have satisfactory enjoyment and solid consolation, and are ready to go here or there, to do this or that, as the Lord shall require at your hands. His Spirit is what has called you here. Live and enjoy it; continue to enjoy it and its increase, and your hearts will be comforted, and you will grow in grace and enjoy the truth.

We have come to pay you a visit, for we wanted again to see Cache Valley and other places. We wished to see you, and to have you look at us. Do you think we are “Mormons?” “Yes.” Some of you saw me and others of the brethren in England. What do think of us to day? Do we talk to you as we did in other countries? “Is ‘Mormonism’ as good to me as it was then?” Yes; and every year I am in it it is better, because I learn and understand more of the dealings of the Lord with his children on the earth—more of the design in the organization of the earth, in its being peopled, and what the Lord intends concerning its future, All these things are before us.

I will not detain you, for I purpose speaking but a short time, to tell you that I feel as well as I ever have. My spirit is full of joy and comfort, and I feel to bless you all the time, and to pray for you continually, and day by day to bear you in my faith before my Father in heaven. I long to see a people pure and holy, and to be so myself—to see the day when sin and vile corruption will cease on the earth—when man will cease to hunt his fellow-man—when every man shall try to assist his fellow, and add joy and comfort to his friends, neighbours, and all around him. This is what I live for and intend to live for, the Lord being my helper, and to pray and persevere.

Shall we, like the Presbyterians, Methodists, and others, simply prepare to die, and then depart? No: I intend to persevere in fighting the Devil until he is driven from the face of the earth, and it is turned into a paradise, and so prepared that angels and Jesus will come and dwell here. May the Lord bless you. Amen.

Appointment of Bishop for Cache Valley—Counsel to the People

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, Franklin, Cache Valley, June 9, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I understand that no Bishop has yet been appointed for this place. I would like to learn the feelings of the brethren here in regard to this matter, and will be pleased to have you inform us.

[Bishop Maughan moved “that President Brigham Young nominate the man to be Bishop, and we will say Amen.”

This unanimously met the feelings of the brethren.—Reporter.]

The instructions to the people of this settlement will be committed to paper, that they may be constantly before them.

I propose that brother Preston Thomas be ordained Bishop of this settlement. He is residing in Lehi, but came with us intending to visit Bear River Lake and Soda Springs, but has since concluded to settle here. I propose that he settles here, and that we make him your Bishop and presiding officer.

It is understood that brother Peter Maughan is Presiding Bishop for this valley; and Elder Ezra T. Benson, one of the Twelve, has been appointed to be one of his Counsellors, and probably he will choose me for the other.

If it meets your minds to have brother Preston Thomas settle here, and you feel that you can hearken to his counsel, raise your right hands. [The vote was unanimous.—Rep.]

Brother Preston Thomas will select his own Counsellors. I have no question but that there are excellent, good men here, and they will be willing to hearken to his counsel.

I propose to the brethren here, and wish them to take my counsel, to build a good strong fort. If you have not material for building a wall, you can make a strong stockade by putting pickets into the ground, which will answer a good purpose against Indian attacks. The stockade can be easily repaired by replacing decayed pickets. I wish you to build a stockade large enough for corraling your cattle outside the town. Let your grain also be stacked away from your buildings, and so arranged that if one stack takes fire all the stacks will not necessarily be destroyed.

You are very much exposed here. The settlements in this valley are, as it were, a shield to other settlements: you must therefore prepare as speedily as possible to make yourselves secure. You have a beautiful location and a plenty of excellent water.

This valley is capable of sustaining a multitude of people: it is the best valley we have.

Strive to stop the thieving that is carried on by some renegadoes [renegades] who have been in this valley, and do not in the least suffer stealing to be practised in any of your settlements. There is probably not a man here but that, if he saw an Indian taking his horse, and had a loaded rifle, would kill the Indian. That Indian has been taught, from his youth, to steal. His fathers before him taught their children to steal: it is in their blood, bone, and flesh. But there is not a white man or woman here but what has been taught that it is wrong to steal, and I want an end put to stealing. The boys who are brought up in our community know better than to steal. They have been taught the principles of life and salvation; and the people from the Christian world have been taught better than to steal.

Do right, be just, love mercy, hearken to the Spirit of that Gospel that you have embraced, keep the Spirit of the Lord with you, and you will be very apt to be led right and do right.

We have come to see you: we will leave our blessing with you, and will pray for you constantly. I heard the prayer just now offered in your behalf. It is the constant prayer of the Saints that they may be preserved.

Serve the Lord, and try not to find fault with each other. Live so that you will not have any fault to find with yourselves, and never mind the faults of your brethren, for each person has enough of his own to attend to.

I bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Counsel to the Saints Settling in Cache Valley

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made at Richmond, Cache Valley, June 9, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I will speak to you a short time, and then we will proceed on our journey.

So far as I know, no other valley in this Territory is equal to this. This has been my opinion ever since I first saw this valley, and I greatly desire that it may be filled with Saints, and not with rowdies—not with horse-thieves, murderers, and rioters, who roam over the country regardless of right. Can I have my desire gratified? If the Saints here will be faithful, will not contend one with another, and will sanctify the Lord God in their hearts, the Spirit of the Lord will reign here, and make your settlements too strait for the ungodly. But if you are slack and neglectful of your duties—if you forsake your covenants and wander into darkness, the power of Satan can reign here.

Fill this valley with those who love and serve God—make your settlements as it were a Zion, an earthly paradise, and you will in the highest degree gratify my feelings and desires. It all depends upon us, brethren, whether Satan shall gain dominion over us in this kingdom God has set up, or whether he shall not. My faith is, and my prayers day by day are, that the Lord will reign in the midst of his Saints. The inquiry may rise, “Does the Lord reign upon the earth?” We could answer, “Yes; for it is his earth, and he controlleth according to his pleasure, and it will yet be devoted to those who serve him. But, in consequence of the agency that is given to the intelligent children of our Father and God, it is contrary to his laws, government, and character for him to dictate us in our actions any further than we prefer. If we cleave to him and enjoy the light of his Spirit, he will lead us day by day; but it is left to our agency—is in our option, whether we seek the counsel that comes from heaven, or take the counsel suggested to us by our common foe. This is an act of our own responsibility, independent of God or the Devil.

The Lord will rule the acts of the children of men, and bring out the results of those acts, but will not dictate them in their acts contrary to their own wishes. This he has already done, of which we are witnesses for him. Survey the travels of this people, and you will see that the acts of the wicked have been to destroy this kingdom, and yet God has ruled the result to promote and extend the kingdom, to exalt it, and bring it into note. If the wicked had had their desire, they would have obliterated this kingdom years ago; it would have been blotted out of existence. They acted on their own will—from their own choice, but God has produced the result; and wherein they have tried to destroy us, they have built us up. Of this we are witnesses.

A few words with regard to your situation here. I discover that this is a new settlement: you have come here this spring to make a commencement, and you are rather scattered. What would you do, provided the Indians become angry and suddenly attack you? Suppose a few of them should come down here at a time when the men are scattered at their labours, what could they do to these women and children, when there is a man here, another there, and another yonder? An Indian comes to the door of a house, and, before the man can arrive from a distance, his wife and children are laid low by the rifle, tomahawk, or knife. Should a small band of hostile Indians come suddenly upon your settlement, every woman and child might be destroyed during the absence of their protectors. Ten Indians could kill every woman and child here, and break you up. Is this good policy? No. I will give you my counsel: build good stockades. Move your families and waggons close together; then, if you are disturbed, you are like a hive of bees, and every one is ready, and knows at once what to do.

The Indians are wicked and ignorant; they are taught to steal, and to kill each other and the whites, and it is nonsense for you to expose yourselves—it is a weakness and error. You say that you wish to be on your lots. Then unite and build some kind of common defence, that your women and children may be safe. So arrange your stacks of hay and grain that, if one is burned, the rest need not be set on fire by it. This is my counsel to you, and you can do with it as you please.

As you get able, put good fences around your city lots, and build houses that any person may be justly proud of. When you have done this, you have exhibited your talents in providing some of the comforts of life. But do not set your hearts on your buildings; for I would rather have you remain in your waggons and dugouts than do that. We have to learn how to build up Zion, and to realize, when it is built, that it is not ours, until it is given to us by our Father as our eternal habitation. We own nothing but the talents God has given to us to improve upon, to show him what we will do with them.

When you have built splendid habitations, be as willing to leave them as you would to leave a dugout. Say, “The Lord gave me ability to complete this building. It is not mine. He can dispose of it; and if he wishes me to burn it, all right—I am willing!” These are the feelings every Saint should have.

Improve this valley. Perhaps many hundred more persons will move here this season, and many more settlements be made. Do not be anxious to have large farms, more than you can till; but divide your lands with your brethren; and make yourselves humble and happy. This is temporal advice, so to speak; but, above all, so live that the light of the Spirit of the Lord will dwell in you day by day. If you do not do this, it is hard to live “Mormonism;” but take this course, and it is the easiest path to walk in. There are many here to-day who can say, in all truth and sincerity, that the words of Jesus, as the disciples have written them, are true—“My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Many of you can say that the yoke of the Gospel is the easiest a person can bear, and its burden the lightest.

I feel to bless you, and pray that you may dwell here and have wisdom to preserve yourselves and raise your children to be Saints, and sanctify yourselves, that you may be prepared for the things that are to come; for great events await us.

I have not time to say more. God bless you! Amen.

Salvation and Condemnation—Improvement

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made at Willow Creek, June 12, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

Brethren and sisters, I will occupy a short time, and then give way for others who may wish to address you.

We are trying to be Saints, and intend to keep trying. We are for the kingdom of God, and are not going to the moon, nor to any other planet pertaining to this solar system; but are determined to have a heaven here, and are going to make it ourselves, by the help of God and his angels. We have been traditionated that when we were prepared to be saved, we ought then to pass from this stage of existence, and that then we never would have anything more to do with this earth; for all our connections and associations with it, as pertaining to this life, also passed away, and we should see and know nothing about it in the future. This is not according to the design, as we believe, of God and his providences and works. It is not the work of the Lord to organize an earth and destroy it. That is not the system he has devised. His plan is to organize an earth, people it with intelligent beings, present to them the principles of eternal life, and bestow upon them the keys thereof, that they may be able to prepare themselves to dwell to all eternity, and to bring forth their increase to dwell with them. This our belief.

When the light of the Gospel came, truth sprang out of the ground, and the heavens were opened. The plan by which God works is rational, and meets the capacity of his children. This earth is the home he has prepared for us, and we are to prepare ourselves and our habitations for the celestial glory in store for the faithful. None will be destroyed except those who receive the oracles of truth and reject them. None are condemned except those who have the privilege of receiving the words of eternal life and refuse to receive them.

From Adam to the least and last of his posterity, none will be condemned and suffer as we were taught in our youth. The Christian world teach that the heathen and everybody else, except a few belonging to the Catholic church, the Church of England, or some of the orthodox sects of the day, are to be cast into a lake of fire and brimstone. The Bible teaches that the wicked will be turned into hell, with all the nations that forget God. That is true. How many nations do you think have forgotten him? The Lord will save all except those who have the privilege of life everlasting and reject it.

What is our duty? To promote the kingdom of God on the earth. Every person that confines his thoughts and labours to happifying his own family and immediate friends will come far short of performing the duties devolving upon him. Every sentiment and feeling should be to cleanse the earth from wickedness, to purify the people, sanctify the nations, gather the nations of Israel home, redeem and build up Zion, redeem Jerusalem and gather the Jews there, and establish the reign and kingdom of God on the earth. Let that be the heart’s desire and labour of every individual every moment.

I am extremely happy, and my joy increases according to my understanding and the sensibility God has given me, that this people, called Latter-day Saints, are improving—that they improve every year, and increase in the knowledge and understanding of the dealings and providences of God, and understand themselves more and better. You may ask, “How do you know this?” Because it is before me, and plain to be seen. True, there are some rude persons within our borders, and too much stealing is carried on. How is it with you? Are you in the stock-driving business? Do any of you belong to the class of marauders, pilferers, drunkards, or swearers? The very great majority of this people are striving to improve themselves before their God and their brethren. The wicked seek to destroy the kingdom of God, and it is for us to build it up, and promote righteousness upon the earth. When we do this, we shall promote honesty in all our conduct and transactions.

As we increase in understanding we shall increase our efforts to adorn our minds, our families, our possessions, and our neigbourhoods, and seek to promote every pure, holy, graceful, and delightful principle, custom, habit, or whatever else pertaineth to correct human conduct. This will increase the Spirit of life in the people, and will make the aged beautiful as well as the young. Without the Spirit of truth, without the Spirit of Christ, people will become hateful and disagreeable, or what the English term ugly, and the Yankees, homely; or, as others express it, ordinary-looking. The Spirit of truth beautifies and lights with intelligence an otherwise forbidding countenance. We need it to beautify both the body and mind.

I do not see much, if any, improvement in this settlement during the past three years. True, you lost time and labour in moving south; but if you labour all your lives, and God does not bless your labours, they are in vain. He can give you possessions and great wealth, as he gave Job. In a short time he added to Job much more than he had even previously possessed. If your hearts are pure and holy, the Lord can in a short time restore to your settlement fourfold.

How many times have I asked the Latter-day Saints what they could do with regard to building the New Jerusalem? Suppose the word were to come to us that Jesus had appointed a certain time in which he would again visit this earth, and that he wanted a place prepared for him; or the command, “Go forth, ye Latter-day Saints, and begin to build the New Jerusalem, and prepare to receive the city of Enoch that will come down out of the heaven;” where is the man competent to go and collect stone fit to lay in the first tier of the foundation of the walls of that city? To judge from their improvements, there is hardly a man capable of judiciously directing the labour of even two men—hardly a man that can properly erect a grist-mill or a building for carding machines. Where are your useful machinery, your beautiful habitations your fertile gardens, your lovely walks, and magnificent palaces? You may reply, “We are not going to stop here, but are going to the centre Stake of Zion,” and so you pass on in comparative inactivity, and attempt only to build log houses or mud shanties. If you had the spirit of your calling, you would be anxious to build the best houses you could, and make the best gardens, fields, and vineyards, though you knew that you would not enjoy them one day after they were completed.

I will here quote the words of the Saviour—“And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If, therefore, ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?” Now, he that is unfaithful in building a house, or in making a garden, an orchard, a farm, or in beautifying what is in his possession, who will commit to that man or people the great things of the kingdom of God that are to be attained on this earth?

I cannot preach upon the words quoted more effectually than I do in building, improving, and occupying upon the talent God has given to me. If it is ability to dictate the making of a road, dictate it, or make it as others dictate. Where is the man that made a road in a kanyon as it should be made, until I dictated it? Men go into kanyons and drive up and down hills where it requires six horses to haul up or hold back an empty waggon, and break their animals’ legs, and kill men and boys. Who has broken waggons on roads that I have dictated? No one. In such kanyons persons soon save more in cattle, waggons, time, and labour, than the roads cost. Why do not the rest of the brethren learn this?

I know how to build a meeting-house—how to place the first and last stone and piece of board, and how to put on the first and last touch of paint. I know how to build a mill and put the machinery in it, and I intend to keep improving as long as I live. There are mechanical branches that I do not understand, but I am constantly trying to learn. Should I live—and I would not then be a very old man—to hear the command, “Return and build the centre Stake of Zion,” I intend to know how to build it.

You may say, “If you know all about it, there is no necessity for our learning anything concerning it.” We cannot be in every place; and though we could, every man, woman, and child should improve as rapidly as possible. Parents should know how to teach their children, women should learn to make the most beautiful cloth, and men should become skilled in raising sheep, and in the improvement of all kinds of stock, and in making all kinds of useful machinery. It is said we are yet young. True; but we ought to, at least, make a beginning. Not one woman in ten, that I ever saw, thoroughly understands keeping a house.

Why do not women learn to be housekeepers? They may reply—“Brother Brigham, if you will teach us, we will keep our houses according to your instructions.” I could go into your houses and tell you item by item. Your husbands may furnish fine furniture and glass and china-ware, and some of you suffer your children to mar and break it. Give children such playthings as they cannot break, and with which they cannot hurt themselves. Were I now to go into one of your houses, perhaps I should hear the mistress inquiring for the dishcloth; but Sal does not know where it is: the last she saw of it little Abraham or Joe was playing with it out-doors. Where is the milk-pail? Turned bottom-side up on the hog-pen.

What I say of housewives will fully apply to farmers and mechanics. I laboured many years as a mechanic, and in the darkest night I could put my hand upon any tool I used. You may call this boasting, but it is not. It is merely mentioning the order in which I kept my shop. When a farmer has done with his ploughs, he should put them under shelter until they are again wanted. When harness is taken off, it should be so hung up that you can go at any time of night and find it, or a saddle, bridle, saddle-blanket, or any other trapping, and be ready at once, without a hostile Indian’s being able to see you, or being made aware of your preparations, through your being obliged to take a light to hunt scattered articles.

We have been toiling and delving at home, and now you see us enjoying ourselves, without one word of discord. A week ago to-day we passed this settlement, with several men, women, children, horses, mules, and vehicles; and I ask the company whether a single person has been found out of his place? We have travelled in order and peace, notwithstanding our dispensing with a formal organization. “Where is the captain of the company?” I do not know, unless I am he. We have travelled in the order in which persons joined us, and I do not think a rash word has been spoken by any man, woman, or child since we left Great Salt Lake City. What does this prove? That when the law of God is written on the hearts of a people, every person will know his place. It proves that we are improving.

Law is for the disobedient and lawless. When a people are made free in Christ, and come to understanding, they will know that there is a place for everybody, and every one will seek to fill his own place, and every hand will be reached forth to promote the kingdom of God on the earth. Our business is not merely to prepare to go to another planet. This is our home. We are to purify our hearts, our habitations, our families, associations, settlements, states, and country, until improvement circumscribes the whole earth, and sanctifies it, and prepares it to be brought back into the presence of our Father and God.

When your eyes are open, you will see that this earth has fallen from the glory and presence of the Father, to pass through certain ordeals, together with the people upon it. And by and by, when Jesus reigns and rules King of nations, he will say to his Father—“Here is my work! Here are my brethren! Here is my redemption—the fruit of my labour! I have ceased not to contend with the Enemy until I have put him under my feet. I have destroyed death, and him that has the power of death.”

You work hard. Study to apply your labour to advantage, and you will accomplish much more, without wearing yourselves out so fast. If you have to roll a log, cut down a tree, etc., study how to take advantage of the work. Contrive to accomplish your work with the least expenditure of strength.

You have rich land, good water, a pure atmosphere, and one of the pleasantest locations in the Territory. Adorn your houses and your city. I marvel to see you contented to live as you do. I have passed much of my life in a log-house, but do I like bed-bugs and darkness? No. I love light. Were I obliged to live in a log-house, I would have it plastered and whitewashed, that it might be neat and pleasant.

Study order and cleanliness in your various occupations. Adorn your city and neighbourhood. Make your homes lovely, and adorn your hearts with the grace of God.

May the Lord bless you. Amen.

Privileges Enjoyed by the Saints—Confusion Existing in the World

George Q. Cannon

Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 9, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

I rejoice this morning, brethren and sisters, in having the privilege of assembling with you under such favourable circumstances. While I have been sitting here listening to the singing, and looking around at the attention of the congregation, the thought has arisen in my heart, how is it possible for the Elders of Israel, who have partaken of the spirit that emanates from and surrounds this people, to remain so long absent from the society of the Latter-day Saints? I have never returned without having similar feelings; and now, to contemplate another mission, and the probability of being absent as long as I was on that mission from which I have just returned, seems, at the first view, terrible.

There is nothing but the Spirit of God—the comforting and sustaining influences of that Spirit which is promised to be given unto the Elders, that would enable a man to absent himself from society that is so pleasing, to go out into the world and labour to proclaim the Gospel unto the children of men.

I feel to rejoice that I am here; and when I look around me and see the comfortable circumstances of my brethren and sisters that have been gathered out from the nations to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences and the revelations of Jesus Christ my soul is filled with joy and rejoicing. I feel this to be a glorious privilege that we enjoy, and I do not think that the people generally appreciate it although there may be some exceptions.

If an Elder should go forth after residing here, and have for years to come to mingle among the inhabitants of the earth, if he be animated and led by that Spirit which prevails here, he will realize that holy influence to a very great extent. He will realize that God has gathered out a people whom he has filled with union and love, such as he does not witness or experience among other people or nations abroad. This he will realize, if filled with the Spirit that prevails here; for, wherever you go throughout the length and breadth of the earth, you find that there is a spirit of hatred, envy, malice, and everything that is in opposition to the Spirit of God. Spirits of this kind and feelings of this character prevail throughout the length and breadth of the land. There are exceptions to this: there are men and women who are animated with a good spirit and influence; but it is not so with the majority. There is a contrary feeling and influence that will destroy and pull down and completely break up everything that is pleasing in the sight of God. It is a spirit and influence that will break down and destroy every gift that is calculated to bind man to man, and that would enable them to live in union and peace.

This is not the worst feature in the case. The people themselves, though filled with this spirit and surrounded by this influence, do not seem to be aware of the dangers that threaten their peace and the perpetuity of their institutions, or that threaten the blessings that they have received from their fathers, and that they hope to hand down to their children. This is the worst feature of them all, in my estimation. If they could only be made aware of it and the power of the Evil One, they would give heed to the words of those bearing the everlasting Priesthood. By faith and diligence, those going forth holding this authority may escape these threatening dangers.

I know this from my own observation; and so far as my own experience has gone, these are the feelings that have animated my own bosom. If I find people that are faithful to their own creeds, and who are diligent in what they undertake to do, I have then hope in my bosom. Under these circumstances, I have had faith to lay down the ancient Gospel as taught in the Bible and Testament. This, however, is the difficulty under which the inhabitants of the earth labour at the present time: they are not true to that which they profess, and this causes the hearts of the Elders to mourn. I have been able many times to account for the saying in the revelations, that the heavens weep over the children of men, and the bosom of the Almighty is filled with sorrow because of the condition of the human family.

I believe that an Elder who goes forth can to some extent realize the deplorable condition of fallen men, and it fills him with compassion; and instead of killing them off and destroying them, he feels willing to lay down his own life, if, by so doing, he could bring them to the knowledge of the truth.

I have sometimes heard the brethren indulge in harsh expressions when they have been tried; but when we consider the condition of the inhabitants of the earth as it really is—view them from the standing-point which we occupy, instead of having these feelings of vengeance towards them, we should feel that their punishment has already commenced, and that that which they suffer while they tabernacle in the flesh would be sufficient for many things that they have done.

During my absence on my recent mission to the Eastern States, I found but few willing to listen to the truths I had to proclaim to them. There were, however, a few who were anxious to learn what we believed in—what our views were; but the great majority of the people were so completely filled with newspaper stories which go forth week after week and day after day, that they were not disposed to listen to what a “Mormon” had to say; and if there were any who were willing to converse, all their talk would be about brother Brigham’s wives, or some miracle of which they had heard; but they would not be willing to say anything about our faith.

This originates through a vitiated appetite which has taken possession of the people throughout the United States. There were some few who were disposed to investigate and inquire into our principles—to reason and reflect.

There is something connected with this system, and with the power that is exercised by the Presidency of this Church, that the world cannot understand. I found many men who were anxious to investigate, and, if possible, ascertain what produced this oneness of feeling, and what enabled President Young to sway such influence over the people during our times of difficulty.

The reflecting men over the whole land, however much they may be led to believe that we are a corrupted people, consider this one of the great mysteries. If there is anything in newspapers about the “Mormons,” it is very apt to be read with avidity. There is something which I do not suppose they can account for. We have gone forth from the time of the inception of this Gospel, and so signally triumphed over our enemies, that in the minds of many men who are posted in regard to the events of the age, there is an anxiety to form some idea of the features of the system: they are anxious to know whether it is going to be a permanent power in the United States, or whether it is going to crumble to pieces as has been talked of by our enemies.

There is one thing they will give us credit for—namely, that we are united, that we will give heed to authority, and that we are in possession of some of the best modes of getting along that are known in the world. But there is a difference of opinion about the origin of this union. What is the cause of it? Some attribute it to a wonderful power which the President exercises over the whole people, and which the Elders exercise when they go forth into the world to preach the Gospel: others say there are inducements held out by which the people are completely blinded, and this grows so strong that the people become willing to be led by the Elders; and then, when they get here, they are so surrounded by the Danites that they cannot go away, if they want to. Others entertain a different idea, and have a better opinion than to suppose that illiterate, unlearned men, like many of our Elders, can go forth and exercise such power.

I have had men admit to me that the advance of the age demanded a new revelation—that the old fogyism of the past age was not suited to the wants of this generation—that the people required a new revelation, a new influence—that there was nothing to bind the people together or cause them to believe in their leaders. And some are willing to believe that “Mormonism” is the religion that is best calculated to take the place required to be filled, and become the dominant religion. But, like other religions, it has to fight its way. All systems of religion had to do this in early days; but to acknowledge there is anything revealed from heaven that is inspiring the hearts of the people would be the first step towards associating religion with fanaticism!

It is singular to go out into the world and converse with people with regard to the opinions of men of influence respecting the Latter-day Saints. Some suppose that the power that is exercised by the leaders of this people will be short-lived; and many of them supposed, when the army came in here, that that would be the time when the system of fanaticism would be crushed. They hoped that the long-expected period had arrived when we should be obliged to succumb, and no longer have an existence as a distinct people upon the earth. The failure of that expedition, and of every other expedition to bring upon us the trouble designed, has changed the opinion of many, and they are now to some extent in doubt. The Adversary who influences them has been foiled. He is willing now to let them have a resting spell, and they are resting, not knowing what course to pursue. This is the feeling that is possessed by many. How long this feeling may last, I cannot tell; but that the fire of persecution that is now smouldering will again arise, there can be no doubt.

If we suppose that the future is peaceful, it is a delusion: the efforts of our enemies will be continued. They are encouraging their hatred and increasing their determination to bring destruction upon us, and they do know themselves that they are wicked in this respect; but they have an idea that we are a blotch upon the civilization of the nineteenth century; but they do not know the influence that guides them and that directs their determination.

A man who goes forth at the present time, if he be filled with the spirit of Zion, will find continually evidences upon the right hand and upon the left to strengthen him in the work in which he is engaged. This is not confined to the religions abroad, but it is to be found among the Saints here, and we see it every day. A man whose heart is open, and who is clear to behold the evidences that are to be gleaned during our experience, will have abundant cause of thanksgiving for having extended unto us the helping hand in time of need.

A man who goes among the people of the world is soon made to realize the confusion that exists, the spirit that controls them, and the doubt and uncertainty that they are in. Experience of this kind gives strength to the Latter-day Saints—to the Elder who may be labouring among the people. During the difficulties that arose here some years ago, I frequently heard the Saints express themselves thankful that God had given them a knowledge of the future. They knew, through that knowledge, how it would be with those who sought to oppress them. The whole of the United States are now in trouble. They have been excited about the Latter-day Saints; but lately they have had difficulties enough at home to occupy their thoughts. The attempt of John Brown, last fall, to overthrow slavery, engendered feelings of hatred between the North and the South which never will be allayed. For a long time after Congress met, it seemed as though they never would be able to elect a Speaker or do any business, and that a split be[t]ween the North and South was inevitable. Editors were troubled, and all men who made any pretence whatever to a knowledge of the signs of the times, were at a loss to comprehend what the future of the United States would be, if these difficulties continued. They looked upon it superficially, and supposed that the panic of those times was only temporary. They view things in the same light now; they believe that the obstacles will be removed, that the Government will go on and press forward to that position which they believe it will attain to. But there were many, previous to that time of difficulty to which I allude, maintained that there was no such thing as dissolution to the United States. But now, after all their hopes in relation to the greatness of this Government, they are willing to admit that possibly it may be dissolved, and that the difficulties at present in the nation between the two extreme sections will produce the dissolution.

There has been an attempt during the last session to remove this feeling, and to some extent it has been done. Men are so ready and willing to be deceived in regard to that which will produce their destruction, that they put far off the day of dread.

Although Joseph Smith and the Elders of this Church have proclaimed, both by their own voice and by publications, the downfall of this Government, and set forth things so plainly to those that would look at them, yet the people have closed their eyes and have pressed forward in their own way; and they will so continue until every word shall be fulfilled.

Brethren and sisters, if there were no other cause of thankfulness and of gratitude within us to God our Heavenly Father for the blessings that he has bestowed upon us, we should be thankful for this blessing—the blessing of foreknowledge—that he has revealed unto us, by his own voice and that of the holy angels, those things that are coming upon the nations of the earth; and that while uncertainty, doubt, and gloom prevail from one end of the land to the other, we are in the possession of a feeling and of knowledge which enables us to bear up. While the hearts of others are filled with fear and dread, ours are filled with hope and bright anticipations that we are privileged to live in a day and age like this.

If there were no other cause of thankfulness, this furnishes us abundant reasons. We can read in the newspapers, if we cannot ascertain it any other way, that they are filled with these influences, and that these feelings of fear pervade the mind. You know the feelings that now prevail, and that instead of dread and sorrow controlling the minds of the Saints, there is on the contrary a feeling of thanksgiving and joy that our lot has been cast in this day and age of the world. Where calamity and sorrow were, there are thanksgiving and joy; and when we bow our knees before our Father in heaven, we thank him for these blessings.

If the nations of the earth could realize that there were such feelings prevailing here, there would be hundreds and thousands that would associate themselves with us, especially, if they could believe it possible for them to attain to the same privileges. But lies have prevailed to such an extent, and have been so industriously circulated, that thousands of men and women now believe us to be the worst people upon the face of the earth. If they come here, although they may not profess our faith, but will submit to the regulations that are established here, they can be comfortable and enjoy themselves.

Our enemies, by the course they are taking, are bound to remove the stigmas they have tried heretofore to place upon us; for they have slandered us, told lie after lie about us, and predicted what would become of us; and many who believe in the stories published in newspapers will ere long be convinced that we are an injured people. Many of their stories have already been proven to be false. This result will produce its own fruits, and the reaction produced will be the overthrow of God’s enemies. And when the time of difficulty and sorrow overtakes them because of their iniquities, and they will be to a certain extent fearful of the consequences, the way will be prepared for the fulfilment of the words of the Prophet, that those who will not take up their sword against their neighbours will have need to flee to Zion. This will be the result of the actions of those who are now our enemies—those who should be our neighbours, and who are now operating to bring about our downfall.

But let me say unto you, my brethren and sisters, that all their efforts and all the moves that they have made have produced a contrary effect to what they intended, and all they do in future will be far more striking in its effects than anything that has previously transpired. They began in the first organization of this Church to tell so many falsehoods, and they have told them so long and circulated them so widely and so very rapidly, with a design to destroy our character, and with a design to make the world believe that we were a bloodthirsty people—a people guilty of every species of crime, that they think credence must still be given to all they do and say. Those who have circulated these unfounded stories are filled with the very spirit which they accuse us of possessing; and they do this for the purpose of creating difficulty and bringing trouble upon us.

I have seen this myself. I have seen men who knew when they were writing that they were writing statements that were not true. Some of these were men that have been associated with us in the bonds of fellowship, and the spirit which they sought to infuse into others they had received by transgression. This spirit has caused editors and other men who have laboured in this manner to bring about our destruction, to lay the foundation for their own damnation.

Fear is taking hold of the hearts of men, and it will doubtless increase until that will be fulfilled which was spoken by the Prophet—“Let us not go up against Zion, for the people thereof are terrible.” Men do not realize that they are fulfilling the words of the Prophet of God. No: they labour diligently and assiduously, as they think, to prevent that. Therefore not only are the good brethren and sisters and the pure and holy labouring for the fulfilment of the word of God and the spreading abroad of the truths of heaven, but the wicked who are labouring for the overthrow of the kingdom of God have all their efforts turned to good account, and the fruits thereof are beginning to be apparent. This, as I before observed will increase and be more apparent, every year that we live upon the earth. This is not a dead letter which I am speaking to you, but it is a truth which has been uttered by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost many years ago. Remember the saying—“We cannot do anything against the kingdom of God, but for it;” for God himself will control the result. It is not only true so far as we are concerned, but the nations that undertake to send their armies to fight against Zion will find everything trained in favour of the Saints, give them success, and enable them to overcome the difficulties with which they are surrounded; and they will continue to overcome until they attain that position which our Heavenly Father intends all his faithful people shall occupy.

The warning of the nations of the earth and the labours of all the faithful Elders among the nations all contribute to the accomplishment of this work and the preparing of the Saints for a high and exalted position in the kingdom of God, to reign as kings and Priests of the Most High, according to the promises of the Father.

I have felt during my absence this time, as well as upon other missions, that it did not matter much where I laboured; but I felt to mourn that I could not do more than I did for the kingdom of God. I was ambitious and felt a desire to hasten forward the purposes of our Father in heaven; but when I looked upon it in another light, I considered that whether the fruits of my labour were much or little, if I and all my brethren and sisters would only labour where we were wanted, we should be sure to accomplish that which our Father wished us to do.

It does not matter what we are doing or where we are labouring—in the adobie yard, in the kanyons, preaching the Gospel, or doing anything else that God through his servants directs us to perform—if we labour faithfully, we are contributing to the accomplishment of a great and good work, and are really doing much more than we think, and labouring to bring to pass all those predictions that have been delivered respecting the generation in which we live.

I know, however, that this is a difficult lesson for us to learn—that it is difficult to get the idea into our hearts. It is so natural for a man to be desirous to do something—to have the name, to have the credit of having done something upon the earth. And it is the desire of an Elder to do something in preaching the Gospel, and it is very difficult to curb the inclination that many have for preaching; but if we labour in the way and in the position in which the authorities have put us and directed us, we may rest assured that we are labouring for the accomplishment of all that which is required to be done by our Heavenly Father, and we are laying up treasures in heaven; and although we may not do as much here as we suppose we ought, there is an eternity before us in which we can labour. There is no end to our opportunities for doing good, and we are not going to labour here for the last time; and although we are making adobies, labouring in the kanyons, or sawing lumber, yet if we labour as our Father in heaven wants us, we have before us a destiny far greater than we can at present imagine: we have before us a field of usefulness much more extended than it has ever yet entered into our hearts to conceive of. There is yet a vast eternity in the future in which we can labour, and we are to press forward until we attain the fulness of our desire.

It is so with the wicked in one sense—with the enemies of truth. All that they do contributes to the rolling forth of this great and mighty work. In our expulsion from Illinois, our journeyings across the Plains, our settlement in this Valley, all has contributed to make us what we now are. Our enemies see this, and they regret that they did not leave us to be mixed up with the world, so that civilization might have surrounded us, and its surges eventually have destroyed our organization. But we are here, and it is now too late. We are now established, and we have become a fixed power; we are growing here in the mountains, and are beginning to be acknowledged and called a nation in the midst of the earth, and everything that the wicked have done and will do will be a source of regret to them, because they will see, as they have already seen, that they have worked into our hands. Then, to use a familiar expression we will say, Let it blow hot or cold—let them do just as they please, persecute us, send armies here or keep them at home, it will make no difference as to the final result. It may enable us to progress the faster in the good work in which we are engaged; but all that our enemies do, with a design to thwart the operations of the people of God, will be unsuccessful. I have felt grateful many times for the possession of this knowledge; and when I have walked among the people and seen how determined they were to take steps to overcome us, and then have considered that to our God and Father in heaven they were mere toys—playthings to accomplish that which is intended—and that they might labour and toil and concoct schemes for the injury of God’s chosen people, that all would be unavailing, I have then realized the goodness of our Father.

In my reflections upon these things, I have ever realized that God has spoken from the heavens, and said that this kingdom should fill the whole earth, and that the kingdom and greatness of the kingdom under the whole heavens will eventually be given to the Saints of the Most High. I have realized that the work will spread, though the wicked do all they can to stop it. Then let us rejoice in this knowledge which God has given unto his people.

I feel, in relation to the United States, that there is now an opening for the Elders to labour. While in the city of New York, there was a disposition to come and hear our people preach. I had the pleasure of baptizing a number. I was not often there; but when I was, our hall was crowded, not by Saints only, but by those who had been, and by others who were inquiring after truth. There was a disposition manifested to learn our doctrines, and I have no doubt but great good can be done in the future. I have no doubt but there are hundreds in the United States that are honest, but their eyes are now blinded by the influences that are around them. Among editors and public men generally there is not this feeling that you find among the poor and middle classes. They have said that we are wicked, and they are determined to wipe us out.

During my last mission I have had many opportunities of conversing with the leading editors of the most popular journals in the States, and I have frequently had the evidence in my hands to disprove the lying stories in circulation about us. They would acknowledge it—say our views appeared to be correct, and that the evidence we presented was of such a character as to give them reason to doubt the stories that were in circulation about us. But would they take that evidence we presented as an offset for the lies they had published? No: they would tell you that their readers expected something different from them. You could not hire their columns only for advertising purposes. There were some who would express a willingness to write something about us of a political nature, but they would not like to have anything said in favour of our religion. For instance, they were quite in favour of the Territories electing their officers; but of Utah, they could not think of it. They would be willing to write something for the benefit of the people of Utah, they would say; but when it came to be written, you could easily see that they were very willing that the other Territories should have this privilege, but they could not think of giving it to Utah! It was a determined hostility to us, and they were resolved that we should not have the privilege which they designed to give to other people. You go to them and talk about crime—tell them what was in our nation, they would colour about it; but they had not the manhood to rebut our statements or to expose the guilty. This is the feeling that prevails in the United States; and while this prevails, it cannot be wondered at that the people should partake, to a certain extent, of the influences that prevail.

Men and women would acknowledge unto me that this work was true, and that they had been blinded by the lies and wicked stories that had been in circulation about us. How long this will continue I cannot say, but I presume until judgment and calamity will overtake the people, as a punishment for their driving and persecuting the Saints of the Most High.

There are some of the people, however, with whom the Spirit of God is pleading. I received a letter by the last mail from the States. The person has had a misfortune in his family, and writes to me to know what consolation there is in “Mormonism”—what consolation there is in the doctrines of the Saints. He acknowledges that the systems of religion by which they are surrounded in the States are entirely inadequate for the purposes for which they are established.

Of course we understand that they are not blest with the same light that we are: in fact, they confess themselves that there is a power and a degree of light in the principles of the Latter-day Saints, so far as known, that is not among the religions of the day. What are the religions of this generation, under many trying circumstances? Why, there is no consolation; all is dread before them; there is an eternity of apparent darkness and woe, whence there is no deliverance, and from which they recoil with horror.

On the other hand, there is not a case comes under our observation of trouble, of suffering, or misfortune, but in the doctrine of Christ there is something to stimulate us, and to encourage our further exertions. This truth is plainly set forth in the doctrines of Christ, that every man shall reap the reward of his works, whether they be good or evil. If a man has not merited an eternity of punishment, there will not be such a punishment awarded to him. This is the hope, this is the consolation of the Saint, in the midst of sadness and despair, that he will eventually be rewarded for all his labours. This is not to be found in the religions of the world, and the consequence is that infidelity is getting a strong hold upon the minds of men. This is being felt at the present time by many of the more enlightened.

I have many times thought that the labours of the Elders were not so productive of good as they might be. We ought to labour more earnestly to prepare the people for the day of calamity that is coming. I believe that we, so far as our relatives are concerned, have no cause of sorrow, if they are honest, though they may not have received the influence of truth; yet the day may come when they will receive the Spirit of God; and if they do not come to these valleys to obey the Gospel, they may come here as to a place of refuge!

My prayer is that we may be faithful, humble, and obedient to that Priesthood and those living oracles which God has placed in our midst, and ever labour for the upbuilding of that kingdom which he has set up, never more to be thrown down.

This is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

True Source of Happiness, etc.

Orson Pratt

Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 16, 1860. Reported by J. V. Long.

I arise to address myself to the congregation of the Saints who are here assembled with a degree of pleasure and satisfaction, feeling that it is a great privilege that we enjoy of meeting together in this bowery, from Sabbath to Sabbath, for the purpose of hearing from and worshipping the Lord our God.

It has always been a great satisfaction to my mind, and a source of pleasure, to speak of the things of the kingdom of God, especially on those occasions on which the Lord has condescended to bless me with a portion of his Spirit; for the Spirit of the Lord gives joy and satisfaction to all those who are made partakers of it, whether it be the speaker or the hearer; and without that Spirit no person can expect to enjoy any great degree of happiness in this life or in that which is to come. It is contrary to the nature of happiness for us to undertake to enjoy ourselves independent of the approbation of Heaven, and independent of the Holy Spirit which the Almighty pours out upon those who are honest and upright before him. There is no happiness in anything else; there is no place worthy of being called a place of happiness only in the enjoyment of the favour of God and of his Holy Spirit. And those persons are truly blessed who have the greatest share of that Spirit abiding with them; and when that Spirit withdraws from the hearts of mankind, they are truly cursed. In the Spirit of the Lord there is peace, there is joy, there is light, there is truth, there is hope, and there is truth. Without that Spirit all is darkness, all is wretchedness, and all is shut up and closed as it were to the human mind, and future hope, or hope of future blessings and exaltation, is cut off.

Perhaps this may be the last opportunity, for some time to come, at least, that I shall have of addressing the Saints in Utah. In a few days I expect to be wending my way, in company with some of my brethren, on another mission to the United States, for the purpose of doing whatever the Spirit of the Lord may direct in those lands. Whether I shall return again to Utah, it matters not, if it so be that I keep the commandments of God and do his will. All flesh is in His hands, and He governs and controls all things according to his own righteous will and purposes, and preserves in life whomsoever he sees proper, and takes away his servants whenever it seems to him good to do so. Whether I shall be spared many years or few, it matters not to me, if I am only faithful to the end. This is my object; this is the foremost thing in my mind; and it should be the foremost in the minds of all the Latter-day Saints. Many great and good men have fallen by the power of their enemies, by the Destroyer, by sickness, and by accidents; but this is the lot of all mankind, to pass through the vail—to go from this stage of existence to another, altogether a different state of existence from this, in many respects. But even this state of existence that we now enjoy is a pleasure to the righteous; it is a great satisfaction to those that keep the commandments of God. Life is sweet, and there are but very few individuals who are willing to part with it, even though they knew with the perfect knowledge that when leaving this mortal state of existence, where we are subject to toil and fatigue, to pain and sorrow—though they knew that they would enter into the presence of God, and enjoy complete happiness in his kingdom henceforth and forever; yet there are many, who although they might know this with the most perfect knowledge, they would pray in their hearts that they might abide here a little longer. There are but very few individuals upon the earth among the Latter-day Saints who desire to die; and I doubt very much whether there have been many persons of that kind, in the past ages of the world, among the true-hearted servants of God, who desired to die. When they reflected upon the work that they might accomplish and perform in this world, they would still feel to pray for life, even immortal life to be continued unto them.

Why do we desire to live? Is it to accumulate riches? No; this ought not to be the cause of the desire in our hearts; for if we should have power to heap up gold as the sands—if we should have power to collect the treasures of the earth together to a very great extent, and have power to have everything, so far as this world’s goods are concerned, to the fullest extent of our desires, what is it even then? Can we take those things into the grave with us? Can we carry our farms, our houses, our carriages, and other property, behind the vail with us? No, we cannot. Then why should this be in the hearts of so many of those who profess to be Saints as the uppermost desire? Why should the people lie awake to study how to collect an abundance of the things of this life? Why should they cling to the things that must perish and be done away? This is one of the great temptations that beset the pathway of mortal man. He desires to heap up the riches of this world, as though he were to stay here forever. But he may inquire if the original desire is not placed in the heart of man for a good purpose? Yes, it is; but that desire should be controlled according to the law of God and the will of Heaven. We should seek for nothing in this dispensation and in the kingdom in which we are engaged—we should seek for nothing, I repeat, that would be calculated to lead our minds astray from the great purposes we have in view as Latter-day Saints. Nothing should be permitted to lead our minds from God and his kingdom, and from worshipping him with the fulness of our hearts. Desires are very good in their places: when dictated by the Spirit of God, they will be gratified in due time. Every man and woman should seek in a lawful way to procure the things that are necessary in this life to benefit themselves, their neighbours, and the poor around them, and make a good use of the blessings God bestows, and the things he intrusts them with in this world. But how many there are among the Saints of the living God, whose hearts and minds are almost overwhelmed with the things of this present life! They covet gold and silver, houses and lands, and other riches in abundance; and they know not why. I should delight to see the Saints of God rich; yes, I should be pleased to see the poorest Saint among us have in his possession all that his heart could desire, if he would use those things properly that were committed to his charge and according to the will of Him that made him. I should also desire to see no poor in the midst of Zion, but that all might be blest with a good supply of the things of this life. I desire to see the day come when all the Latter-day Saints who have suffered shall have everything which their hearts can desire in righteousness of the things of this world, when they will be good for them, and when they can use them for the glory of God. Until that period shall come, I doubt whether riches will benefit the Saints of God. If, peradventure, any of you, by your diligence and perseverance, should happen to accumulate riches to some extent, if you should use them for the purposes which God has ordained, all will be well; but if not, they will prove a curse to you, instead of a blessing. And I will add that there is one thing that I am confident of—viz., that in Utah there is not much danger of the Latter-day Saints becoming very rich. If they accumulate by their perseverance a sufficiency of breadstuffs and those things that are necessary for their present sustenance and future security against the famines that are to spread desolation in the earth, they will do well. I think there are no people upon the face of the earth that need to envy the Latter-day Saints, so far as their temporal prospects are concerned. In other respects they have great cause to envy them.

There is not much chance for the Latter-day Saints to grow rich in this Territory—I mean according to the meaning of the term in the world. There is and ever will be too much to be done in various kinds of labour for the building up of the kingdom of God. Your land, of course, yields abundantly where it is well cultivated; but it requires a great deal of toil to accomplish it. About three or four times the labour is required of the farmers and agriculturists than is required in other countries. Why, it takes a man almost one-half of his time to get his fuel from the kanyons, about one-quarter to irrigate the soil, and of course the rest is well occupied with the other duties of life. This being the case, then, there is not much prospect of soon becoming very rich. We ought, nevertheless, to be thankful for the blessings we enjoy; for the Almighty has brought us into a country where we have not the privilege of heaping up riches and ruining ourselves forever. It takes a people a long time to prepare themselves for riches. The old principle which was planted in the hearts of our ancestors, which was a principle of covetousness, as practised by the Gentiles in all ages, has become a part of the nature of the human family, by tradition; so much so, that it seems to be one of the most difficult things to root out of the hearts of men. To accomplish this, the Lord has to train the people, year after year, in order to get it out of their minds; and he has given us a very thorough training and experience in order to deliver this people from this covetous feeling and principle.

If we reflect back upon our past history—and I believe that the Latter-day Saints are acquainted with that history, either by actual experience, by reading, or by hearing it verbally recited; suffice it to say that they are pretty well acquainted with the history of this Church for the last thirty years;—what has the Lord been trying to accomplish since the rise of this Church? Has he not been trying to accomplish one of the greatest events and one of the greatest works ever accomplished among mankind? Yes, he has been trying to eradicate from the people the old leaven of the Gentiles that has been established in the hearts of men so many generations, and to prepare the Saints for the great work of the last days. In regard to heaping up a multitude of the riches of this life, all our past history shows that the Lord was so determined to rid us of this principle as far as possible, in order that we might enjoy riches when he shall see fit to bestow them upon us, that he suffered us to be driven from our inheritances, to undergo many privations, and thus be prepared for the vicissitudes of future life.

We need not be faint-hearted nor discouraged in regard to the riches of this life, for this people are bound to be the richest of any people upon the face of the whole earth, in the Lord’s own due time. That will be in fulfilment of prophecy, and no people that ever dwelt upon this earth ever came up to what the Latter-day Saints will be in the accumulation of the things of this life. But when we reflect upon these things, we ought to pray earnestly that we may never be put in the possession of those things until we are rid of those feelings of selfishness and covetousness. (President B. Young: We shall not be; for the Lord knows that wealth would certainly be a curse to us.) It frequently looks very curious to me, looking at it naturally, and causes me some astonishment, when I see the pride and arrogance of the children of men; for I see that the whole bent of their minds is upon the wheat and corn, that they may grow: their contemplations seem to be upon the plans and means by which they can best accumulate the treasures of this world. Who would place their minds in this direction when they see thousands and millions perishing and annually going into their graves? and who would believe that they would be so exceedingly anxious to heap up millions more than they actually need? They see scores of their neighbours cut down upon their right hand and upon their left: they have the experience before them to prove that all must go into their graves without carrying with them the goods and riches of this world. Why is it that it does not take away this feeling from them, either morning or night? Men of this kind are awake during many of the silent hours of the night to calculate how they can the easiest accumulate riches.

We have brought these principles and notions with us; we have inherited them from our fathers; they were instilled into us by our parents; and we have to get rid of them as soon as we can, in order that we may be prepared to receive the true principles in the proper spirit. We ought to be thankful that we are in a country where we cannot get rich as easily as we desire to—a country where it takes from morning till night in hard labour to get the common necessaries of life, and that this will continue until the Lord says that our hearts are prepared, and we are capable of enjoying the good things of this life.

We, as Latter-day Saints, not only have the promise of earthly riches and temporal comforts; but, what is far more joyful to us and more satisfactory to our minds, is, that we look forward to an eternity of riches—to a perpetual increase of wealth to be given unto us, if we are faithful before the Lord, to be enjoyed upon righteous principles—to be enjoyed where no covetousness shall mar our feelings—to be participated in by the Latter-day Saints when they have clean hands, pure hearts—when they can use the blessings bestowed upon them according to the mind and will of God and in peace, where riches will impart the most perfect happiness to the Saints of the living God.

These are the riches we should seek after first—these the treasures that our hearts should be set upon—the riches that are behind the vail, that extend beyond this mortal sphere—the riches that are as endurable as eternity. It is these riches that will be able to endure and stand when all earthly riches shall vanish away like the dream of a night vision.

Thirty years ago next January, by a revelation that was given through the Prophet Joseph, we were told to seek earnestly for the riches of eternity; and the Lord said it must needs be that my people shall be tried and proven, that they may be prepared to receive that which is in store for the faithful. Seek first for the riches that are in the future life. Seek first, as our Saviour bade his disciples, the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all things shall be added to you, that are needful and necessary.

It will be thirty years next Wednesday since I was baptized into this Church—almost one-third of a century since I have had an opportunity of understanding the things of the kingdom of God in some measure—of being baptized into that kingdom which shall endure for ever. How shall I look back upon these thirty years? In many respects I look back with exceeding great joy; in some respects, with exceeding great sorrow. I can see where I have failed in many things, and that if I had lived as faithful as I might have done, I might have done more to the honour and glory of God. I might have been a person more humble and diligent in obeying counsel—more faithful in the discharge of many duties that are required of a person holding the Priesthood; I might have taken a course that would have been better for myself in many respects, better for mankind, better for my family, and for the cause and kingdom of God. You can easily perceive, then, that reflection upon these things gives me a degree of sorrow. But after considering all these matters, when I reflect upon the little good that I have done, and upon the travels and labours that I have performed, the success that has attended my efforts, and the few good desires that I have had to build up the kingdom, I certainly have great joy. I feel a satisfaction in my own mind in contemplating my past life. I feel a joy and satisfaction that I would not part with for all the luxuries and honours of this present life. These would be nothing in comparison with it. I ever expect to look back upon the past period of my history with joy, so far as the good is concerned. I shall have to reflect with pleasure that I have preached the Gospel to so many—that I have so often borne my testimony to the great work of the last days in which we are engaged. I shall never regret any of the testimonies that I have borne in regard to the future events that are coming upon the earth; I shall never have to regret exhorting mankind to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, to repent of their sins, to believe in the laws, doctrines, and ordinances of the Church and kingdom of God, and in the holy Priesthood restored to man in this generation. Have I any reason to regret these things now? No; and I should very much dislike being placed back thirty years in my history, and to have to live my life over again. I should be exceedingly fearful that I might not live it as well as I have done; I should be afraid of taking a step that would prove my overthrow. How long I shall live hereafter it matters not. I desire to live, if it is the will of my Heavenly Father; and if it is his will, I desire to die. I desire to be perfectly submissive. Death has lost its terrors to me. I feel no fear of pain, for it is only momentary. There is pain in yielding up this mortal tabernacle in many cases, but what is it? It only lasts for a few minutes, a few hours, days, or weeks, and then all is over.

The great object of our existence is to have the mind and the spirit right, the feelings and passions under control—to have the mortal man that dwells within led and dictated by the Holy Spirit. If that is right, the pain and suffering of the body is but small. If we have hope of eternal life—I do not mean that kind of hope that exists among the Christian world at large, or that which exists among the Pagans or Mahomedans—but I mean that kind of hope that is based upon a sure foundation—a hope that we can really depend upon—a hope that is not built upon a sandy foundation, but one that takes hold of the things in eternity, that lays hold of the things of the Most High God—a hope founded upon the promises of the Almighty, upon the Priesthood which is after the order of an endless life, and obedience to the laws of heaven and those of the kingdom of God on the earth—a hope that blooms with immortality and eternal lives.

This is what imparts confidence to man and takes away the fear of death, distress, and terror from the minds of the Saints.

Have I this hope? I have to some degree, and I would to God that I had it to a greater degree. Promises have been showered upon my head: blessings have been pronounced upon me by the Priesthood at different times; other blessings have been sealed upon me, through the holy ordinances of the Gospel, by the proper authority: but I contemplate that these are conditional. There is a small degree of trembling and fear that, after all, I may prove unfaithful, and that I may not be able to endure unto the end.

The great promises of our Saviour to his Apostles have been made upon this condition. It is true there are some promises that God has made upon some subjects without conditions. We might mention the following in the revelation upon marriage, concerning sealing blessings upon persons, and sealing them up to eternal life—sealing upon them blessings for time and for all eternity, at the time when the man and woman go forth and are sealed by the Priesthood having authority to do this. This remains upon them, if they are sealed unconditionally; at least, the revelation says, if such a one transgresses, he shall be destroyed in the flesh and suffer until the day of redemption; and then they shall come forth and inherit all that was placed upon their heads by the servants of God, on the condition that they have not committed the sin against the Holy Ghost or shed innocent blood. This would seem to be as near an unconditional promise as can well be made to mortals. But this is not altogether unconditional, for there are some exceptions; but it would come as near as anything we have ever read of.

This ought to be a comfort to the Saints, and not a license for them to sin and commit all manner of blasphemies; but it should be a comfort and a consolation to those that may, in the hour of temptation, be over-taken in a fault, to encourage them to turn unto the Lord their God with all their hearts, minds, might, and strength. Then they can lay hold of these promises, and with them come forth in the morning of the first resurrection, and inherit all that was placed upon their heads. But when we reflect upon pain in this life, it is grievous to be borne and to think of. When we think that a man may be buffetted, not only in this life, but until the morning of the first resurrection, this ought to cause the heart of every Latter-day Saint to shrink from everything that is sinful. What! shall we offend God who has made these great and precious promises? Where is our life, if we should offend God, the giver of all these good things? If we should dare to sin upon such a promise, we should indeed be deserving of the severest punishment. Let no Latter-day Saint, then, try to claim these great and precious things, if they wilfully commit sin, and because the Lord has promised that they should only be punished for a season. The time of their punishment is here in this life and it is sure not to extend into the other for any great period. Yet there is far more satisfaction in being perfectly honest before God and men—yes, far more satisfaction, joy, and consolation here in this life, to live without any threatening and punishment in this or in the next life. Every man that has the right spirit within him will feel that he ought to keep the commandments of God; and it is the great source of our happiness and the fountain from which we draw all these great, glorious, and honourable tokens of the approval of our Heavenly Father. Obedience produces enduring happiness in our minds. Then let us love God and love righteousness, because it is right; let us love honesty love to do good, because there is pleasure in doing so; let us hate wickedness because it is hateful in its nature; let us hate that which has the appearance of evil, and do that because we know it to be the feeling of God, of angels, and of all good men.

These should be the feelings of every Latter-day Saint; they should study to discriminate between the right and the wrong, and be determined to walk continually in the path of virtue, of righteousness, and of truth. Let us study to make ourselves approved before God, that we may have his smiles and approbation continually.

We are fallen beings, and are not aware how deeply the prejudices of our forefathers have been visited upon our minds. When we think ourselves free from the bondage of our fathers, we then imagine that we become perfectly untrammelled, and we are not at all aware how deeply these prejudices have entwined themselves around our hearts. How diligent we should be to root them out, and get every feeling of our nature in the proper direction for that new state of society into which we have entered. The Lord does not prompt his servants to love the manners and evil customs of the world, and you can scarcely put your finger upon the custom that is not evil; and although the passions of human nature have been planted in the breasts of men for wise and good purposes, yet they have become so changed by associating evil with them that we do not appear to realize the influence they may exert over our minds. We therefore ought to study and to seek diligently for that light which comes from heaven, to look into our own hearts as we look into a mirror, that we may be enabled to see our foolish practices, turn from them, and feel that we are not only in the presence of man, but that we are in the presence of God, that we may become sensible of our responsibility, and act consistently in all things, that our government may be righteous and holy in all things. Let us ask ourselves the question, Are we practising as though we were in the presence of heavenly beings, and enjoying what they enjoy, and being with them day after day, and night after night throughout all eternity? Are we prepared to stand up before God, angels, and before holy and celestial beings, with confidence and a oneness of feeling, being assured that there is nothing the matter in our hearts, but that we are upright as they are upright—that we hate iniquity as they hate it? We may feel that we are trying to do this; but a little more light of the Spirit from heaven—of the Holy Ghost shed forth upon our hearts—would enable us to see many imperfections and follies that are gathered up by the traditions of our forefathers and from the acts of our neighbours.

This being the last time, probably, that I shall have the opportunity of speaking to you in this place for some time to come, although I almost consider it unnecessary to bear my testimony before a people that have so often heard it, yet it seems it would be a satisfaction to my own mind, if it is not so to you, to bear testimony concerning the kingdom and work in which you are engaged as well as myself. Do I know that this Church and kingdom that is established here in the Territory of Utah, and whose branches extend abroad in England, in France, and in various parts of the earth—do I know that this is the kingdom spoken of by the Prophets of old—that this is the great Latter-day Kingdom of the Most High God? Yes, I do. How do I know this? Not by miracles that my eyes have beheld, though I have seen many; not by manifestations in healing the sick, although I have seen many healed; not by the testimony of others, although I have heard many, but that would not give me a living and an abiding witness. How do I know that this Latter-day Kingdom, organized by the inhabitants of this Territory, as well as the Branches that are abroad, are all included in that great and glorious kingdom of the last days that is to stand for ever? Have I seen the face of the Almighty in open vision? No; this is a great privilege that I have never attained to. Have holy angels come down from heaven when I was awake and conversed with me as one man converses with another? No; I have not had so great a privilege—I have not attained to that. But I know by the power of the Holy Ghost shed forth in my heart from time to time; for, notwithstanding all my faults, all my weaknesses, my imperfections, and failings, through the past thirty years, I do know one fact, and that is that God has from time to time, through his infinite mercy and goodness, shed forth upon me his Holy Spirit, unworthy as I was to receive it, and that has borne testimony, time and again, that this is the work of God: it has given me a knowledge which it is impossible for me to doubt. If I had seen angels, I might doubt, without having the Holy Ghost. I might doubt if I had seen great miracles, without the Holy Ghost accompanying them; and I might doubt if I saw the heavens opened, if I heard the thunders roll; and I might go and build a golden calf and worship it: but when the Holy Ghost speaks to me and gives me a knowledge that this is the kingdom of God, so that I know it just as well as I know anything else, then that knowledge is past controversy. By that knowledge I know this work to be true; by it I know that this kingdom will roll on until it shall attain its high destiny, and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ.

I feel truly thankful for this knowledge that I have been counted worthy to receive, and the greatest desire of my heart is that I may always retain this knowledge within me. The Spirit may depart for a little season, but it will return again, if we are faithful. How miserable, how unhappy would every person be to have this knowledge remain and the Spirit be taken from him. It would be calculated to make a man one of the most wretched beings upon the face of the earth. What! a knowledge that this is the work of God, and at the same time lose the Spirit that imparted it?

Now, brethren and sisters, if all of you have this knowledge, and have had the Spirit to bear this witness, beware how you grieve the Spirit of the living God, and how you turn from the influences of that Spirit to evil, unless you want to become miserable all the days of your lives.

I am going forth shortly to the United States, and I pray that the grace of God may sustain me. What is the desire of my heart? It is, O Lord my God, let thy servant have thy Spirit to direct him while upon this mission. This is the chief desire of my heart. I do not care whether I preach much or little, or whether I administer much or little, so that I perform those duties that may be required at my hands. As for poverty or affliction, they matter not, if I only have the Spirit of God to accompany me. If it were not for this, I would not give anything for the testimony of this work. All those holding the Priesthood without the Spirit to accompany them can do nothing. Without a man’s testimony is accompanied by the Spirit, it will do nothing. He may multiply words—he may study, as the revelations says; and after he has done all this, without the Spirit is with him to carry conviction to the hearts of the people, all his labours will be in vain.

They have systems in the world; they have the best books that are published amongst themselves; but they do not make a right use of them; and when a man goes to preach without the Holy Ghost, to bear testimony, to be in his heart to give him utterance, it will be all in vain. Nothing can be done satisfactory either to himself or to this people.

Then I do hope and pray that not only myself, but all the Missionaries that are going across the Plains may have this Spirit all the time to be with them. Give me the Holy Spirit, and I can work the work of the Lord. Let this be promised, and all will be well.

May God bless you all! Amen.

Testimony of the Spirit—Counsel to the Bishops

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1860. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I feel quite thankful for the comfortable circumstances we enjoy—for our blessings, spiritually and temporally, which I realize to be the free gift of our Father and God. All the wisdom, ability, and talent displayed among the children of men are the gift of God to them. He has given us ability to make ourselves comfortable and happy, for which I am extremely thankful.

I am happy in hearing the voices of the brethren, and would be very much gratified if we had time, and it would meet the minds of the brethren, to give them an opportunity to speak as the Spirit might dictate, and bear their testimony. It has been a source of comfort to me to hear the speeches of my brethren, and to observe the variety of capacity, of reflection, and manner of communication displayed by them. I should be very glad if we could have the privilege of hearing many of them speak during this Conference. Whether we shall or not, I am not now able to say. Our Conference commences to-day. To-morrow is the Sabbath, and probably many who have come from the country will wish to return home on Monday. Whether we shall continue our Conference longer than to-morrow, I do not know. We shall continue it until we finish the business to be transacted and fully answer our feelings, and then we will close. I wish to present several ideas; but I have been more edified in hearing the music in brother Kimball’s remarks this morning than I would have been in speaking myself.

When the authorities of the Church are present, if we are possessed of the true spirit, we are ready to sustain the faithful, and to wish them to continue in the faithful discharge of their duties. And the brethren who rise to testify of the things of God, if they enjoy the Spirit of the Lord, know that “Mormonism” is true. No person can receive a knowledge of this work, except by the power of revelation.

All the world are ready to tell you that this work is not of God. Kings, princes, dukes, lords, and other great men of the earth are all combined in this testimony. Why do they fear this work, if it is the work of men? The very sound of it carries conviction to all the inhabitants of the earth—a conviction that it is ordained of God. Were this not so, you would not see it contended against by the priests in the pulpit, who are bitter against it, and are most vigilant in circulating all manner of falsehood concerning it, picking up the sayings of corrupt, debased, abandoned characters to swell their catalogue of lies against it, which they publish throughout the world. All this would sleep, if this work was not of God. They would never think enough of it to say one word about it. But they are pricked by the conviction of its truth when they hear the sound of it. When false reports go out against Joseph Smith and his brethren, against the Book of Mormon, and the kingdom of God, a conviction goes with them to the hearts of the people that this is the work of the Almighty. Were this not so, we should not have been persecuted—we should not have been driven as we have been. But we have been driven for the last time, thank God my heavenly Father. But our persecutions are a subject that I do not wish to speak about. We have the power in our own hands, if we live with our lives hid with Christ in God. We are here where the the Lord wants us to be; and if we will be as he wants us to be, the kingdom is ours—the greatness, the glory, power, excellency, light, intelligence, and eternity of the kingdom of God are ours, and no power can hinder it.

When men lose the spirit of the work in which we are engaged, they become infidel in their feelings. They say that they do not know whether the Bible is true, whether the Book of Mormon is true, nor about new revelations, nor whether there is a God or not. When they lose the spirit of this work, they lose the knowledge of the things of God in time and in eternity; all are lost to them. Contemplate the things of God and his kingdom, this earth, man in his present condition, and you may clearly comprehend that we are now in the midst of eternity. When we preach, or pray, or exhort each other to good works, if we could realize it, we are in the midst of the kingdom of God, and his all-searching eye is here. You may readily comprehend this; for, when I look at you as you are now assembled, I can see several hundred faces at once. Now, suppose that I had power to see as the Spirit sees, I could then look through the earth and see our antipodes as well as I can look through what some term empty space. My eyes would be eternal, and I could see the vast eternities of God as I can now see your faces. God sees us; and if we had eyes like his, we could behold him as we sit here as easily as we can now see each other’s faces—no matter where he dwells, whether in Kolob or anywhere else; for his glory and light fill the sun, and we could behold it as we now behold each other’s faces. God has the power to look at his vast works; and if we had power and eyes like his, we could behold him as he does us. He is in the midst of eternity. His kingdom is here, a portion of his glory is here, eternity is here, and we are in the midst of them. Let us live worthy of them, and not dishonour our being upon the earth.

There are many of the Bishops here to-day, and my advice to them is for them to be honest with me, to be honest with their God, to keep their covenants sacred, and to make a clean breast of all their business transactions, that their consciences may be void of offence towards God and man. I am not searching only the course of the Twelve, or that of the High Priests and Seventies, but I am searching after all the authorities whose conduct is not in accordance with the best interests of the Church; and from this time forth, if they do not do different from what many have done, they shall do wrong knowingly, with their eyes open. I want the Bishops to remember the counsel I have given them. I shall learn whether they are strictly honest or not; and if they are not honest, I will expose them. If they come out and own things as they are, and honestly prove that their past errors have proceeded from the head, and not from the heart, they can be placed upon the right track and magnify their calling. Some may not understand the cause of these remarks concerning the Bishops, and I will explain. For instance, when tithing-chickens, butter, &c., are brought in, a Bishop says to his clerk—“You need not trouble to take an account of these chickens; my wife will keep an account of them;” and the Bishop’s wife takes the chickens, the ham, the butter, the cheese, &c., and puts them away; and when the clerk wants to know what has been brought in by such a brother, “O never mind,” says the Bishop; “my wife will give an account of it;” and the wife forgets it. “Are such things done?” Yes, more or less, all the time. This example was set long ago, and some of the Bishops have followed it.

At the death of Joseph, when the Twelve returned to Nauvoo, to use a comparison, the horses were all harnessed and the people were in the big carriage, and where were they going? They did not know. Who would gather up the lines and guide the team? No man would step forward, until I did. There was not one of the Twelve with me when I went to meet Sidney Rigdon on the meeting-ground. I went alone, and was ready alone to face and drive the dogs from the flock. When I got hold of the lines, and began to direct the team, I found tithing-butter spoiled, potatoes rotted in the cellars, and pork spoiled in the barrels, while the brethren at work on the Temple would come to their labour without breakfast, and pork, butter, beef, &c., rotting under the feet of the Temple Committee. Said I, “Empty these barrels, or I will walk into your cellars and empty them for you: let these workmen have something to eat.” “Oh,” said the committee, “we are afraid there will not be enough to last a year.” Then, if we starve, we starve together; and if we live, we live together. I ordered the wheat, the pork, the butter, &c., to be issued to the workmen. Too many of the Bishops here have taken pattern from those who have gone before. I have been to Bishops’ houses when they had hams and eggs during months in the year, while our hands on the works were not able to get one; for the Bishops had eaten all the hams, every egg and chicken, and all the butter. I will trace out those who conduct in this manner and expose them, unless they honestly report their transactions and strive to do right. Brethren, you may think that I am a little extravagant in my talk; but time will prove.

When a good, handsome cow has been turned in on tithing, she has been smuggled, and an old three-titted cow—one that would kick the tobacco out of the mouth of a man who went to milk her—would be turned into the General Tithing Office, instead of the good cow. If one hundred dollars in cash are paid into the hands of a Bishop, in many instances he will smuggle it, and turn into the General Tithing-Office old, ring-boned, spavined horses, instead of the money. I am inquiring after such conduct, and will continue until I cleanse the inside of the platter.

Brother Heber has been speaking about discipline. Elders in Israel, I am as willing and ready to be closely examined and scanned as I am to examine and scan you. Walk into my office, examine my books, and scan every act of my life. I am as ready to have it done as I am to search into your practices. You may say that you have not been dishonest, or, if you have been, that you were ignorantly so. I am glad, if such statements will prove to be correct. I never saw the day in this Church that I could consider it honest to take one cent of tithing and turn it out of its legitimate channel; but some of our smart men do not know as much as that, though they would seem to know more of the great things of the kingdom than I do. I want to instruct you in the little things. It is the little foxes that spoil the vine; it is the little acts of men that make up the sum of their lives and form their characters for eternity.

Some may think that I am rather too severe; but if you had the Prophet Joseph to deal with, you would think that I am quite mild. There are many here that are acquainted with brother Joseph’s manner. He would not bear the usage I have borne, and would appear as though he would tear down all the houses in the city, and tear up trees by the roots, if men conducted to him in the way they have to me.

I am required by those who sit here to-day and by the whole Church to bear off this kingdom, to see that it is preserved inviolate, and that the Priesthood is honoured; but it seems, on the right hand and on the left, as though there is a concerted plan among nearly all the Elders and High Priests to keep every dime of money out of my hands, make me pay the debts of the Church, do the work, and they keep the means and use it for their own purposes. The ancient Apostles and ministers of Christ could not live without eating. They had to eat, drink, and wear—to have sustenance while on earth. So do I, though I do not require the rich luxuries of life. I am not so fond as many are of high living, but I have to eat and rest. And when a Church debt comes from England, New York, Missouri, St. Louis, or elsewhere, the money has to be paid. I cannot chew paper and spit out bank-bills that will pass in payment of those debts, neither shall I undertake to do it. I want the gold and silver that are paid on tithing, and the identical horses, cows, and young stock that are brought in on tithing; or, if stock and other products are retained, give us better than what you keep, and not keep the good and give us the bad. Neither do I wish a person owing tithing to offer an old hipped horse at forty dollars, and ask me to pay him twenty dollars in cash and let the balance go to pay tithing, when the old animal is not worth ten dollars.

Pour means into the storehouse of the Lord, and prove him, and see whether he will not pour out greater blessings than you can contain. You have not room enough this year in which to store the abundance of grain the Lord has given you: you have to store it in waggon-boxes, &c., and much of it goes to waste, and the people are not blessed for it. You ought to carefully save every kernel. As for prophesying that a famine will come upon you, I shall not do so. Should it come, we will do the best we can. We have had a light famine here, and dealt out provisions to the brethren as long as we could, and got along very well.

May God bless you! Amen.

Human Intelligence and Freedom, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, February 10, 1861. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I have no doubt with regard to the good work of the Lord, referred to by those who have spoken, and it will continue among the nations of the earth. The Lord will bring out the results to his own honour and glory; but are we ready?

The Lord has bestowed great knowledge and wisdom upon the inhabitants of the earth—much truth and knowledge in the arts and sciences. Those nations that deny their God and Saviour will have those principles of intelligence taken from them. Are the Latter-day Saints prepared to receive them, enjoy them, and improve upon them, or will those principles have to go to some other kingdom? There is great wisdom in the world; their knowledge in mechanism and the exact sciences is very great. This wisdom will be taken from the wicked. Who will receive it? Is there a people upon the earth prepared to receive this knowledge and this wisdom? There should be. Is it reasonable to suppose that the wisdom God has bestowed upon the nations of the earth should continue upon it? Or should it be taken from the inhabitants of the earth and carried back from whence it came? My faith and my desire are that there should be a people upon the earth prepared to receive this wisdom. It should not be so forfeited as to be taken from the earth, for I question whether it would return again. There should be a people prepared to improve upon their knowledge and wisdom, for all knowledge and wisdom come from God. All true intelligence is the gift of God. He is the true fountain of all knowledge and wisdom.

The query arises in the minds of many with regard to their capability. Is there a principle inherent in the man that loves liquor to let it alone? Or is he compelled to follow his appetite? Is there ability in the man or woman that is inclined to handle that which is not their own, to resist that temptation and learn to be honest and honourable? Is this inherent in the people, or not? I have my own belief about it—my own views. I conceive that man is framed, formed, created, made, fashioned after the image of his God, with a germ in him of that independence that belongs to the Gods; and that independence is to be acted upon, to prepare every person that is exalted to enjoy the society of the sanctified, by a strict obedience to the principles of right. And each and every individual has the ability, the power, to overcome every passion within him, subdue every evil, and ride triumphantly over those passions.

“But,” says the man that is addicted to evil, “If I refrain for a day, the temptation haunts me; if I refrain for a week, I yet am inclined to sip at the poisonous cup. I could hardly endure to see my neighbour drinking the poison draught without joining with him: it is almost impossible for me to resist it.” This is folly in the extreme, for you deny your own senses. There is not a man on the earth but what denies his own judgment when he reasons with himself in this way. I can take or refuse, partake or reject, at my own will and pleasure. That power is inherent in every man and woman upon the earth, to a greater or less degree. In proportion to the intelligence people are endowed with, so do they possess the qualification for bettering their condition by improving their lives and receiving truth for error, light for darkness. And if they continue to overcome every temptation and every evil appetite, they will become masters of them, and will conquer at last, and be counted worthy to be crowned; otherwise they will miss the glory they anticipate.

Cannot people refrain from taking that which is not their own? Speaking of moral religion alone, they can. Cannot an individual, who is in the habit of taking the name of God in vain, resist that temptation? He can, if he chooses. If he cannot easily do so, let him do as a boy who came to this country with me said that he did. He was addicted to swearing; and got a piece of India-rubber to chew when tempted to swear. That person, I think, has not been heard to swear for years. No boy, in his youth, was more addicted to that habit than he was. He did not beat his brains out, but he acts as though he has more brains in his head than he used to have. I was brought up as strictly as any child ever ought to be, with regard to morality; yet, when I went into the world, I was addicted to swearing, through hearing others. I gave way to it, but it was easily overcome when my judgment and will decided to overcome it.

Now, brethren, are you prepared to receive the wisdom that God has bestowed upon the nations? You recollect that this forenoon, we had a few remarks from brother Simms, in which he stated that the greater portion of the inhabitants of the earth were inclined to do right. That is true. There is a monitor in every person that would reign there triumphantly, if permitted so to do, and lead to truth and virtue.

There is not a man living upon the earth but, when he hears the truth, is inclined to believe it and reject error. What prompts them to receive the evil? They yield to the temptation of that Evil One that lies in wait to deceive. The pride of the earth is in wickedness—in the abominations and corruptions of mankind. They delight themselves in their proneness to wander from their God and from the path of rectitude, and pride themselves in their iniquity of every kind. It has become the fashion of the nations of the earth to do evil.

Where is there a nation that acknowledges the Supreme God to be their President and their King? The best form of man-made government upon the earth is that of a nation now breaking to pieces. Have they ever acknowledged God? No. They spurned from their presence the man who would acknowledge that God should reign King of nations as well as King of Saints. Have we proof of this before us? We have. When Joseph Smith rose in the majesty of his calling before God, he saw what we are now hearing of through despatches [dispatches] received from week to week. The nation is ruined, and will crumble to pieces. They will destroy themselves. Joseph rose up and said—“I will save them, if they will let me.” He stepped forth like a man and proffered his services to save the nation that is now breaking; and he would have saved it, if they had permitted him. What did they bestow upon him in return? They made a martyr of him—I would not like to say a saviour, although he is our benefactor. He is the man through whom God has spoken and revealed some of the most glorious principles that ever were revealed to the children of men; yet I would not like to call him a saviour, though in a certain capacity he was a God to us, and is to the nations of the earth, and will continue to be. He was not the Only Begotten of the Father, who died for the sins of the world; but he was the Prophet of the Lord, through whom God spoke to the nations and dictated laws by which they were to be governed to secure to themselves eternal life. And when he would have saved the people of the nation, they crowned him a martyr of Jesus. They performed an act that secures to him crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal lives. They succeeded in shedding his blood and that of the Patriarch Hyrum. They shed the blood of the innocent, and the nation said amen to it. Were they aware of it at the seat of Government? I have no doubt they as well knew of the plans for destroying the Prophet as did those in Carthage or in Warsaw, Illinois. It was planned by some of the leading men of the nation. I have said here once before, to the astonishment of many of our own countrymen, that there was a delegate from each State in the nation when Joseph was killed. These delegates held their council. What were they afraid of? You and me? No. They were afraid of those eternal principles God has revealed from the heavens; they trembled and quaked at the sound of them. Joseph would have saved the nation from ruin.

Some have inquired, “Will they patch up the old garment?” Let them apply their new cloth, if they please. Mr. Crittenden has reported a patch to put on the old garment. Let them put it on, and the rent will be made worse. Let them remain as they are, and the garment is worn out. Is the form of the Government ruined? Has its form become evil? No; but the administrators of the Government are evil. As we have said many times, it is the best form of human government man ever lived under; but it has as corrupt a set to administer it as God ever permitted to disgrace his footstool. There is the evil. Can they better the condition of our country? No; they will make it worse every time they attempt to do so. What is the difficulty? Brother Carrington says there is no noble-minded master-spirit to lead out—one whom the rest will follow. They are all master-spirits! They are all smart men! This is the difficulty. They used to have men whom they looked up to, though but very seldom. I can recollect almost every President of the United States. There never was a wise man that was much looked up to or revered until after his death: then the people could revere him—a Jefferson, a Monroe, an Adams, &c. The administration of Andrew Jackson was as good as that of any one that ever occupied the presidential chair, and he had a great many enemies. What do you think of that, you gentlemen who are acquainted with the United, or rather the once United States—you who have age and experience? You remember the struggle at the election of Andrew Jackson, and so do I. I repeat that his administration was as good as that of any man that ever administered the government. Some of his opponents did not like him very well for some of his political moves. I liked his moves, only he did not go far enough in removing the deposits and spoiling the United States Bank. But the administration of King James Buchanan, what an administration!

Brother Carrington alluded to William H. Seward of New York. He is considered by many as one of the smartest men that ever was in this Government. Were it not that he had the advantages of the learning and wisdom of one of the best men in the Government—had he been a mechanic or farmer, I doubt whether he would have possessed an extra amount of knowledge. “What of his natural abilities?” I do not consider him a man of great ability. He came to Auburn, N.Y., to study law with a gentleman I well knew. That gentleman took him into his office and house a boy, and made a man of him. He was one of the most influential and best men in the country; he was a man of brain and heart, and he took all the pains possible to make something of the boy. After Mr. Seward had been with the Judge a few years, he began to be looked upon as one possessed of a considerable degree of smartness. What would he be, if he was the President? Judging from his late speech, as received in a dispatch [dispatch], I would suppose that he hardly knew enough to find his way across the little city of Washington. The prospect of his lofty position appears to have nearly ruined his brain.

What is the difficulty with King James? His high position and exalted opinion of himself so addled and bewildered him, that he said, “I am the greatest man in the nation! I am the Chief Magistrate!!

What shall we do with such men? Perhaps we may call them honourable men in the earth, in order not to hurt the feelings of some by speaking lightly of such talent in our nation. They are so wonderfully smart! That is the difficulty. Every man in Congress is so smart that he is looking to the presidential chair. The boys of West Point and the boys studying law in the nation have their eyes on the presidential chair. The general feeling is—“I am intending to sit there.” They are all looking to the presidential chair, and have been for years—the boy, the middle-aged Congressman, and the grey-headed Senator. The boy says—“I am the best council I can get. I am at West Point, and I shall soon graduate. Generals Washington, Taylor, and Jackson reached the chair of state, and I shall soon be there.” Could he be counselled by anybody? No. Every man is his own counsellor, his own general, and his own governor. We used to say, when we were boys—“Hurrah! Every man for himself, and the Devil for us all!” and they will find it to be so.

They are too wise. They will prove, by their conduct, whether they are capable of forming and sustaining a government for the Southern States that have seceded. There is no more a United States. Can they amalgamate and form a government? No. Will they have ability to form a government and continue it? No, they will not. Hear it, Jew and Gentile. Suppose there is a division between the North and South, and the fifteen slave States try to form a permanent government, can they do it? I tell you they cannot. They are too smart. South Carolina is taking the lead, and says she—“We will sit as kings and queens, or revolt from you.” Says Georgia—“We have as smart men in our State as you have, and we will have a President for our State.” “But you cannot,” says South Carolina. How long will it be before some other State, perhaps New York, forms a separate government? And if a State has a right to secede, so has a Territory, and so has a county from a State or Territory, and a town from a county, and a family from a neighbourhood, and you will have perfect anarchy.

King James is not so prompt now as he was three years ago, when he sent troops to Utah. South Carolina comes out and boldly declares her secession from the compact of States, and takes possession of all the public property within her borders, except Fort Sumter. There is no Latter-day Saint engaged in this act. One of the most contemptible of characters we ever had here could swear falsely in Washington, and the Government could receive his oath, and make it a basis, with other lies, of sending an army here. William Drummond went to Washington and swore that we were treasoners, and to many palpable falsehoods; and King James could act upon that and send an army here at an expense of, probably, fifty million dollars. Says King James—“Those lies are true.” “What! receive a lie?” Yes, go and swear to a lie, and the Government can hear that and act upon it. But when South Carolina takes possession of the public funds, of the custom-house, of the arms, arsenal, dock-yards, forts, cannon, &c.—“You must not coerce. Do not infringe upon them: they have the right to do this.” What a reign is the reign of King James! It is enough to astound and throw into the shade the wisdom of all nations upon the earth!

What will King Abraham do? I do not know, neither do I care. It is no difference what he does or what any of them do. Why? God will accomplish his own purposes, and they may do or not do; they may take the road that leads to the right, or they may take the road that leads to the left; and whichever road they do take, they will wish they had taken the other. King James pledged himself, at Cincinnati, that on his election to the presidential chair he would take the Island of Cuba, annex a portion of Mexica [Mexico], and so obliterate the “Mormons,” that “Mormonism” should not be known at the end of his reign. These three things he pledged himself to his party to do. Some gentleman may say that I am mistaken. I am not mistaken; I am telling the truth, and you may believe it or not.

Did he take Cuba? He did not. Did he annex Mexico, or any portion of it? He did not. Did he destroy “Mormonism?” He did not. What has he done? Ruined the nation, at far as he had influence to do so. He began at the wrong end of the race: the course was marked out for him, but he ran the wrong way. He ought to have begun by taking Cuba, then annexed Mexico, or such portion of it as he wanted; and then he might have considered a little about “Mormonism.” If he had just reflected for a moment, he knew Joseph Smith. If he had reflected upon the career of Joseph and the career of this people, he would have seen at once that every time the enemies of this kingdom undertook to trample it under their feet and obliterate it from the earth, the more they spread it abroad and brought it into note and character. But he began at the wrong end, and he has wished, every step he has taken and everything he has done, that he had taken some other step and done something else. One reason of this is, that his will is such that he will ride over his friends and tread them in the dust, and not make the first apology to them. I attribute this to his ignorance. This is not wisdom; it is not greatness, nobility, or magnanimity; but it is sheer ignorance, wilful ignorance, know-nothing ignorance; and that is the difficulty.

What will Abraham do? King James says that if Mr. Lincoln takes the oath of office, and enters into the administration of the Government with as great pleasure as he resigns his official duties, he will be a happy man. If I could advise King James, and have him take my counsel, it would be to resign to-morrow morning, and let Mr. Breckenridge be crowned king for three weeks, that another king might come before King Abraham to see what the administration of that king would be. I do not know of anything better that I could advise him.

“Mormonism” will live, and God will promote it; but shall we be prepared to be promoted with it? That is the question with me. It is in my thoughts by day and by night, Shall I be prepared for the things that are coming upon the earth? I will try to be; and if I have an evil appetite, I will overcome it. If I have a disposition to do that which is morally wrong, I will reject that disposition; I will subdue and overcome it. Will you? Then you who drink, lie, steal, or do anything that is morally wrong, or break the commandments of God in any way, or injure your fellow-men, cease to do that evil and learn to do well.

I exhort the brethren not to boast over our enemies’ downfall. Boast not, brethren. God has come out of his hiding-place, and has commenced to vex the nation that has rejected us, and he will vex it with a sore vexation. It will not be patched up—it never can come together again—but it will be sifted with a sieve of vanity, and in a short time it will be like water spilled on the ground, and like chaff upon the summer threshing-floor, until those wicked stewards are cut off. If our present happy form of government is sustained, which I believe it will be, it will be done by the people I am now looking upon, in connection with their brethren and their offspring. The present Constitution, with a few alterations of a trifling nature, is just as good as we want; and if it is sustained on this land of Joseph, it will be done by us and our posterity. Our national brethren do not know how to do it. They are not capable of controlling their own passions, to say nothing of ruling a nation. What is the reign of a king who cannot control his passions? Will not his subjects sorrow? Yes, they will feel the weight of his wrath, and their backs will ache, and their heads will ache, and they will receive the lash from a heavy hand.

We are serving a King who can control his passions; and who, as brother George Simms remarked in the forenoon, can be touched with the feelings of the infirmities of the weak. Who can be thus touched, except those who have suffered in like manner? None. And no being knows how to control or govern on earth, unless he has been a subject on an earth. No being is fit to rule, govern, and dictate, until he has been controlled, governed, and dictated—has yielded obedience to law, and proved himself worthy, by magnifying the law that was over him, to be master of that law. We are serving a King who wisely controls himself and his subjects. If we are permitted to rule, govern, and control, in the first place we must control our passions until they are in perfect subjection to us. When we have controlled one and got it perfectly mastered, we shall be prepared to control two; and if we can properly rule over two, we can reign over two thousand or over millions as well as two. If you can control one, you are then prepared to control your family; and if you are prepared to control a family, then you are able to control a city; and if a city, then a nation, upon the same principle. That is the way that God hath obtained his power, and that is the way that we shall obtain power.

A large share of the ingenuity of the world is taxed to invent weapons of war. What a set of fools! I wonder if they think that they will never die, unless they kill one another. Is there any danger of their living here forever? Not a bit of it. Let the people alone, and they will die of themselves, without killing them. But much of the skill, ingenuity, and ability of the Christian nations are now devoted to manufacturing instruments of death. May we be saved from the effects of them! As I often tell you, if we are faithful, the Lord will fight our battles much better than we can ourselves. We should be apt to get nervous in fighting battles, and sometimes get into corners where we might almost have to take a little gunpowder to encourage us—to nerve up our energy—or have to burn some under our noses to become a little used to it. When the Lord fights the battles of the Saints, he does it so effectually that nobody gets nervous but the enemy. We might become nervous, and perhaps give way to passion.

We are never going to destroy the enemies of God by the evil passions that are in us—never, no never. When those who profess to be Saints contend against the enemies of God through passion or selfwill, it is then man against man, evil against evil, the powers of darkness against the powers of darkness. But when men who are sanctified, purified, do anything, they will do it with a coolness as if conversing at their firesides with each other; they will do it with the power of the living God. If they are ever called to wipe out their enemies, they will do it without excitement; they have to do it by the power of the Gods, or not at all. They are not going to do it with wicked hands. Are we prepared to receive the blessings, and let the fighting alone? I do not believe much in fighting, and my faith is to escape such a calamity as to war and fight with either friends or enemies. I want to so have power with God, that he will govern and control and guide and direct the steps of our enemies, until they drive into the ditch. How easy it is for the Almighty to direct the steps of our enemies, until they fall off the precipice and are dashed in pieces, without the efforts of his servants.

Let us be faithful, live our religion, govern our passions, and boast not against our enemies because we live to see the commencement of the fulfilment of this prophecy in our day. The prophecies must be fulfilled. Boast not, then, over your enemies. One might say, “Is it not a delight for us to speak of fulfilment of prophecy?” Yes. If it delights your soul, speak to the Saints; but do not boast to the wicked and ungodly that the Lord is coming out of his hiding-place to vex the nation. They will learn that soon enough. I have heard Joseph say, “You will see the sorrows and misery of the world and the misery that will be upon this land, until you will turn away and pray that your eyes may not be obliged to look upon it.” Said he, “There are men in this Council that will live to see the affliction that will come upon this nation, until their hearts sink within them.” He did not live here to see it, though he will see it. Can you endure the sight of it? No. Boast not over the misery of your fellow-men. God will fulfil his purposes.

Be ready at all times and in all places to do your duty, and be the friends of God. Cease to mingle with the wicked. Many of our Elders seem to believe that Christ and Baal can yet be made friends. How many times Elders of Israel try to make me fellowship the Devil, or his imps, or his servants; also try to make you fellowship your enemies, to amalgamate the feelings of the Saints and the ungodly! It cannot be done; it never was done, and never can be accomplished. Christ and Baal never can be friends. One or the other must reign triumphantly on the earth, and I say that Jesus Christ shall reign, and I will help him; and Baal shall not reign here much longer—the Devil shall not have power much longer upon the land of Joseph. I will be the friend of God and his Son Jesus, my Saviour. Let the Elders of Israel and all the Saints be the friends of Jesus and our Father in heaven, and cling to them. Now, take one side or the other. Either be for God, or else walk out and show that you are for the Devil and believe that he will come off conqueror, and that you are going to stick by him. Here are the two powers on the earth—the evil and the good, not to speak of the ten thousand paths they make through the earth, and the various spirits that go to-and-fro. It is the good and the evil. Will you have the good and refuse the evil? Then be moral Christians, as we frequently say, and was alluded to this morning. There are moral Christians among the heathen, among the Hindoos, and among all nations. God has laid a plan to save all such. His name be praised!

Can you learn a little, and treasure it up in good and honest hearts? Be honest before God and with yourselves, and let that monitor that God has placed within you take the preeminence; and when persons say they are inclined more to evil than good, tell them it is a falsehood. Until they sin away the day of grace, there is something in all persons that would delight to rise up and reject the evil and embrace the truth. There is not a person on the earth so vile but, when he looks into his own heart, honours the man of God and the woman of God—the virtuous and holy—and despises his comrades in iniquity who are like himself. There is not a man upon the earth, this side of saving grace, unless he has sinned so far that the Spirit of the Lord has ceased to strive with him and enlighten his mind, but delights in the good, in the truth, and in the virtuous, and despises his own comrades that are with him day by day. Look into the world and into the hearts of the people, and see what they see in their secret reflections, and they will manifest to you that they delight in and reverence that character that lives a virtuous and holy life. “What do you think of your comrades that drink, curse, swear, carouse, and follow all manner of abominations?” “My heart loath[e]s them,” will be the reply, though they will not tell this only in a whisper in the ears of their fellow-beings. But you speak into their hearts, and there it is; and every time they have the privilege of thinking and holding converse with themselves, there is the good that leads to happiness: the evil and misery you all know.

Let truth bear sway, and true integrity shed a charm around your whole being. Rise up for the right in the strength of your own ability. God has bestowed upon you the power to reject the evil and receive the truth; the good, the light, and the virtuous. Cleave to God with all your hearts, that we may be ready for the day that is fast approaching.

May the Lord bless us! Amen.

Unity—Commandments of God, etc.

Heber C. Kimball

Discourse by Heber C. Kimball, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, January 6, 1861. Reported by J. V. Long.

It would be very gratifying to me this afternoon if I could speak freely of those things that I have been meditating upon for the last few days. It would be a great satisfaction to me, and doubtless instructive to this congregation, if I could lay before them those things that are revolving in my mind. But instructions to the Saints only appear to be given a word or two at a time, here a little and there a little; and I do not understand that the Lord will ever manifest his will in any other way. This is because of the weakness of humanity and the great variety in the minds of the Saints.

I can say as I have said for years, the religion of Jesus Christ professed by the Church of Latter-day Saints, which Church I have entered into, and of which I have been a member twenty-nine years—I can truly say that it is a hundredfold more precious to me than it was when I first embraced it. My mind was contracted at that time, and I knew but little of the things of God. I will here remark that I do not profess to know much now; still I understand them more perfectly, and I take a more comprehensive view of God and godliness than I did, or was capable of doing when I first received the light of truth. Instead of becoming dark in my mind and growing stereotyped in my ways, I have expanded with the increase of my experience. I feel more acutely, I see more clearly, and I comprehend more perfectly the principles that pertain to life. The older I grow in the Church, the riper I become in my mind, and the more I discover of the beauty and excellency of the plan of salvation.

In regard to treating upon the mysteries of the kingdom, and what are commonly called the great things, or, in other words, going into the top of the tree, or doing as some do who take the tree and cram it down the people’s throats top foremost, I do not believe in anything of the kind, neither have I been taught so to treat the people. I consider that the Elders of Israel should understand well and thoroughly digest the first principles of the doctrine of Christ, for obedience to them will prove the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes and practises them. You know it is written that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. I can tell you something in connection with this: you may believe what you please—it will do you no good unless you practise it. We are required to manifest our faith by our works, and to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, for it is the Lord that worketh in us to will and to do his good pleasure. If we seek with all our hearts and observe those things that pertain to righteousness, working diligently in his kingdom, he will feel after us and inspire our hearts with his Holy Spirit; and the influence thereof will rest upon us continually: it will enter into every muscle, sinew, and fibre of the body, in proportion to our fitness to receive it. If we render ourselves susceptible of the nourishment that is imparted by the Spirit of God to the spirits that dwell within these mortal bodies, we shall have sufficient light and power to enable our spirits to dictate our bodies, and lead them unto eternal life.

“And behold, he that is faithful shall be made ruler over many things. And again, I will give unto you a pattern in all things, that ye may not be deceived; for Satan is abroad in the land, and he goeth forth deceiving the nations; wherefore he that prayeth, whose spirit is contrite, the same is accepted of me, if he obey my ordinances. He that speaketh, whose spirit is contrite, whose language is meek, and edifieth, the same is of God, if he obey mine ordinances. And again, he that trembleth under my word shall be made strong, and shall bring forth fruits of praise and wisdom, according to the revelations and truths which I have given you.” (Doc. and Cov., sec. 66, par. 4.)

In the great day of accounts all men will be judged according to the works that are wrought in their natural bodies; and it is of the highest importance that we should consider the final result of our acts.

I am always for the consideration of these little minute things that concern us to-day. We should always be engaged in doing the things that belong to to-day. There is but one course that you and I can pursue and be right, and that is, to be sufficiently humble to look at the most minute fibres. The large roots of a tree receive their nourishment through the little fibres, and they receive it from the fountain; and then that nourishment is sent through the main trunk of the tree into the limbs, branches, and twigs. It is just so with the Church of Christ. A similar figure might be made use of in regard to people studying languages. There is no man who has got a good education in the English, French, or German languages, but who has got that knowledge by going into the roots, or what they choose to term the etymology of language.

It is just so with the man who becomes educated in the science of the Gospel of Christ: he begins at the first principles; he learns them thoroughly and practically; and by carrying them out in his daily walk and conversation he becomes educated in the religion of Jesus Christ, which is the only perfect science revealed to man.

When Jesus Christ was upon the earth, he taught the people, saying, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered, and men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” (John, chap. 15, verses 1-7.)

This is precisely the position we occupy in the Church of Christ. If we do not abide in the vine, we shall be cast out; and all the inhabitants of the earth that do not connect themselves to the true vine, Jesus Christ, will become as stubble, and they will be burnt up and become ashes under the soles of the feet of the Saints that will come upon the earth to trim it, adorn it, and make it like the garden of Eden, that they may dwell upon it forever.

If we are in the vine of Christ, we shall bring forth the fruits of righteousness, and our works will be performed daily according to the requirements of the law of God. Except we live daily in the line of our duty, and keep the platter clean inside as well as out, we cannot obtain the blessings promised. If we take this course, we shall live and prosper, and bear off the kingdom independent of those that do evil, for God will nourish and cherish those who do right.

Supposing we compare this Church to a tree, and suppose that one-fourth of the limbs are dead, what use are they to the tree? They are lifeless; and, consequently, the sooner they are taken away the better for the health of the tree. Is there anything lost by lopping off those lifeless limbs? No; for the power and strength that was formerly in the whole tree will enter into that part which is left. Do you not go and clip off the small sprouts, and sometimes some of the bunches of grapes from your vines, in order to make the rest of the vine and the fruit grow larger and stronger? Upon the same principle, this Church has to be proven; for the work of God must and will roll on, and all the opposition in the world cannot stop it. It is a kingdom that is established to remain upon the earth until it subdues every other kingdom and brings them into subjection to the law of God. I know this just as well as I know that I stand here to-day, and my desire is that you may know it also, and that you may become as the heart of one man. Jesus says, If you are not one, you are not mine. For instance, suppose I come into this stand and offer up a prayer, it is the duty of all present to join with me not only in the sentiments, but to actually allow the very words to pass silently through their minds. In this way we become one; our faith is united, and we answer the requirement of the law of God.

I have frequently said in your hearing that I would give a good deal if I could unfold to you the secret feelings of my heart. I do not know of any better way to get at this than by comparison. I have not language to soar above and spread myself like an eagle, but I desire to present my sentiments in such a way that all will understand. There are none of you but what know right and wrong just as well as I do, and you are obliged to carry out the principles of right.

Has there been any change in the first principles of the doctrine of Christ as revealed by Jesus himself? No: that doctrine stands good, and will forever remain so. Some suppose that the ten commandments given through Moses have been done away; but I can inform you that they are still in force. It will do no harm for me to read those commandments as contained in the 20th chapter of Exodus. They are as follow[s]:—

“And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour’s.

And all the people saw the thunderings and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they removed and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not; for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.

An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings and thy peace offerings, thy sheep and thine oxen. In all places where I record my name, I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone; for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.”

You will find in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants that these commandments have been renewed unto us. The Lord says in one place, All old covenants have I caused to be done away; and this is a new and and everlasting covenant. It is even that which was in the beginning; it is that covenant which was made in the days of Jesus. It is that same covenant which the Almighty revealed to Father Adam in the garden of Eden; but it has been renewed in these last days, and hence it is a new and an everlasting covenant. If you would only think of it for a little while, you would remember that we imitate many of those things that were done in former dispensations.

Jesus told the people in his day to seek to enter in at the narrow gate, or, as the New Testament calls it, the “strait gate.” He also told them to seek not to counsel God, but to walk in that path which leads to life; for narrow is the gate that leads to life, and few there be that enter in thereat. And he further says that the wicked will come and say, We have prophesied in thy name, and in thy name done many mighty works. And I will add to this that many of them will have to say, “We have stolen hundreds of cattle from the Mormons, and driven them from their homes, because they preached a new religion. Still the Lord will say, “I know you not.”

Those covenants that we have made with God were also made in the beginning of the creation. They are now renewed to us; and revelations of this kind are just as binding upon you and me as the words and counsels that come from President Young and others. We are acting in the same capacity that the Apostles and Prophets of former dispensations have acted, and our word will have the same effect upon this generation that theirs had upon the generations in which they lived. We have the same God to worship; the same Jesus lives to save, and he has spoken and renewed this covenant to us and for us, and to remain with us forever and forever.

Brethren, reflect, look at yourselves and see what you are about, consider the positions you occupy, and ascertain if you are acting well your part—if you are speaking the truth and guarding against all manner of evil.

The Book of Mormon informs us that the Devil will come along with all manner of deceitfulness, and persuade the people to lie a little, to steal a little, and to rob your neighbour of anything that lies within your reach. Such a course leads to death and dissolution, and will cause those to mourn hereafter that follow it.

These are mysteries that are worth finding out; and although you may have read them from your childhood, and your mother may have taught them to you from your infancy, yet still they apply to you, and it is very important that you should not forget these small things. Some people come to this country who have been taught these things and many other good lessons; and when they get into these mountains they forget all their claim to the blessings that flow through obedience to the requirements of heaven and the requirements of their parents. Men who hold the Priesthood, and dishonour their fathers and mothers and the servants of God, will see sorrow. But some do this and still consider themselves good men, and they claim that they honour their calling and Priesthood. I will tell you how I feel: when my son turns away from the truth and disregards my counsel, he turns away from God. Why is this so? It is because I am a branch of the vine. I am a limb that is attached to the great tree, and when my son disengages himself from the tree he dishonours me, and by dishonouring me he dishonours the God whom I serve. It is a most excellent thing to find children listening to the admonition of their parents, and especially if they are blest with good ones. Those whose parents are not in the Church should strive to get within them the righteousness of Christ.

When the Adversary begins to tempt a person, he persuades him to do a little thing here, and a little wrong yonder, and persuades him to walk in that course that will cause the disposition to do wrong to increase upon him. The best way to do is to let alone that which is wrong.

These are some of the small things. I am down among the little roots and little vines, entering minutely into the subject of keeping them clean. I wish all to understand who believe on Jesus Christ, that they should repent of all their evil deeds; and the only way that a man can prove his penitence is by forsaking his evil practices and being baptized for the remission of his sins. But what good does it do for a man to come and be baptized—to be overwhelmed in water in the likeness of the death of Jesus Christ, and then to go and partake of those cursed old sins that they have just been washed clean from? I tell you that baptism in such cases brings greater condemnation. When people are baptized, they should then receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands: he will show them things to come, he will dwell with them, and comfort their hearts, and cheer up their spirits.

There never should be a limb upon a fruit tree that is not bearing fruit. But you will see a great many members in this Church who are not bearing much fruit. Where is there an Elder, High Priest, Seventy, Apostle, or Prophet that is not required to bring forth the fruits of Christ, and those that will redound to his glory? Let us pursue that course of life that will make us the friends of our Father and God, friends of his servants Joseph, Hyrum, Peter, Paul, Jesus, and all the Apostles of Christ, and let our friendship extend back to those who are in the spirit-world.

Don’t you suppose that the Lord will send his angels to sustain this people? Yes, he will; and if he has to knock these mountains, by which we are surrounded, into ten thousand pieces, in order to accomplish his purposes, he will do it.

It is very easy to be seen that the nation that has oppressed us is going down. The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith something about the judgments that await the inhabitants of the earth, and he said in the revelations that the judgments should commence at the house of God. I will read to you parts of the revelations which speak of these things.

“But, behold, I say unto you, that before this great day shall come, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall be turned into blood, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and there shall be great signs in heaven above and in the earth beneath, and there shall be weeping and wailing among the hosts of men, and there shall be a great hail-storm sent forth to destroy the crops of the earth. And it shall come to pass, because of the wickedness of the world, that I will take vengeance upon the wicked, for they will not repent; for the cup of mine indignation is full; for behold, my blood shall not cleanse them, if they hear me not.

Wherefore I, the Lord God, will send forth flies upon the face of the earth, which shall take hold of the inhabitants thereof, and shall eat their flesh, and shall cause maggots to come in upon them; and their tongues shall be stayed that they shall not utter against me, and their flesh shall fall from off their bones, and their eyes from their sockets. And it shall come to pass that the beasts of the forest and the fowls of the air shall devour them up; and that great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall be cast down by devouring fire, according as it is spoken by the mouth of Ezekiel the Prophet, which spoke of these things, which have not come to pass, but surely must, as I live, for abomination shall not reign.” (Doc. & Cov., see. 10, par. 4, 5.)

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, that when I give a commandment to any of the sons of men to do a work unto my name, and those sons of men go with all their might and with all they have to perform that work, and cease not their diligence, and their enemies come upon them and hinder them from performing that work, behold it beho[o]veth me to require that work no more at the hands of those sons of men, but to accept of their offerings; and the iniquity and transgression of my holy laws and commandments I will visit upon the heads of those who hindered my work, unto the third and fourth generation, so long as they repent not and hate me, saith the Lord God. Therefore, for this cause have I accepted the offerings of those whom I commanded to build up a city and a house unto my name in Jackson County, Missouri, and were hindered by their enemies, saith the Lord your God; and I will answer judgment, wrath, and indignation, wailing, and anguish, and gnashing of of teeth, upon their heads, unto the third and fourth generation, so long as they repent not and hate me saith the Lord your God.” (Doc. & Cov., sec. 103, par. 15.)

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, darkness covereth the earth, and gross darkness the minds of the people, and all flesh has become corrupt before my face. Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth, saith the Lord.

And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord. First, among those among you, saith the Lord, who have professed to know my name, and have not known me, and have blasphemed against me in the midst of my house, saith the Lord.” (Doc. & Cov., sec. 104, pars. 9, 10.)

“Let them importune at the feet of the Judge; 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 in 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 opened unto your cries, that I may be 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.” (Doc. & Cov., sec. 98, par. 12.)

And do you hear it, O Israel? and have you seen it, and felt the pangs of war, when they have sent their army to this Territory, intending to drive us from our homes? As they commenced it upon the house of God, it must go forth upon themselves; for as they measured out to us, it must be measured unto them fourfold.

The nations are already convulsed. Not only the United States, but many of the European nations are feeling the effect of the judgments of the Almighty; and they will continue to be afflicted more and more, until the above revelations are fulfilled. There is no evading the judgments of the Almighty: their only escape is in obedience to the Gospel we have to preach. But do they believe what we have said? No, they do not believe a word of it; and therefore there is but little hope in their case.

Brethren and sisters, let your hearts be open to receive the word of truth, that the Spirit of the Most High may be in you as a well of water, springing up into everlasting life. God bless you for ever, and all those that hear these sayings and will render obedience unto the law of God. Peace be upon the righteous, that they may multiply and increase in wisdom and knowledge. I know, as well as I know that I am here, that the Priesthood will be taken from those who dishonour it; for they have no power to hold the oracles of God who do wickedly. They may not all be cut off from the tree, but they are dead, and the Spirit of God does not dwell with them, and therefore there is no life in them.

May the blessings of the Lord our God attend you all, is my prayer. Amen.

Self-knowledge, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, February 17, 1861. Reported by G. D. Watt.

Brother Joseph W. Young, in his remarks, alluded to the intelligence to be dispensed to the people here—that which they do not get elsewhere. The brethren come here from the States and from the old countries: they gather from different parts of the world, expecting to learn the great mysteries—the secret things of our God. What do you learn, brothers and sisters? If you are good scholars, you learn to treat your neighbours as they should be treated, and to have the same affections for a person from Ireland or England as you do for one from your own native land. You come here to learn to drive oxen into a kanyon, and return without sinning. You come here to learn that every person you see is a little different from you.

Brother Kimball most beautifully compared this people to a tree, remarking that we all receive nourishment from the same fountain. A tree shoots forth; it soon begins to have branches; but you cannot find two limbs precisely alike. A branch puts forth to bear fruit; the tree continues its course upwards; another branch starts out; and if it is a little different from the first branch, should it find fault and complain of the tree because of that difference in shape and capacity? You cannot find two twigs alike. You may examine any tree of the forest and see whether you can find any two leaves that are precisely alike. You cannot. Then you may go to a meadow, and see whether you can find two spears of grass just alike in shape and form. There are no two precisely alike. Examples of that endless variety are now before me.

The greatest lesson you can learn is to learn yourselves. When we learn ourselves, we learn our neighbours. When we know precisely how to deal with ourselves, we know how to deal with our neighbours. You have come here to learn this. You cannot learn it immediately, neither can all the philosophy of the age teach it to you: you have to come here to get a practical experience and to learn yourselves. You will then begin to learn more perfectly the things of God. No being can thoroughly learn himself, without understanding more or less of the things of God: neither can any being learn and understand the things of God, without learning himself: he must learn himself, or he never can learn God. This is a lesson to us; and you cannot learn that abroad which you can learn here.

How simple it appears, how trifling at the first thought, to the noble mind of man that is reaching after eternity and eternal things, to come here to learn to drive oxen, to learn to build houses, to learn to mingle his feelings with his neighbour and treat his neighbour as he is, and to learn that he must not expect every person around him to be precisely like himself; for we see that endless variety renders it impossible. Let every man learn to properly treat his fellow-man for this we come together to learn.

There are a great many other things that it is important to learn, and one in particular is to learn to live and operate on the principle brother Kimball spoke of, that “the earth is is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof.” I am a witness to what brother Kimball said. When I asked him to build a house in Nauvoo, he had not five dollars to begin with. Do you want to know how poor he was? I might tell you that he was as rich as I was, except, perhaps, in his feelings: in that respect I do not think that he was quite so rich as I was there, for I felt like asking no odds of anybody. He had not a farthing when he returned to Nauvoo from England. Upon our return, we found our families comparatively naked and barefoot as we had left them. Who was ready to step forth and help to administer to the comfort and relief of brother Kimball? A certain Apostle managed to take the fleece of the flock that we had raised. Would he let brother Kimball have a dress pattern for his wife Vilate? No. Sister Kimball had not a second dress, and yet brother Kimball could not get a dress pattern from his brother Apostle. He began to build a house, and when it was finished he owed no one. Suppose he had sat down and counted the cost.

There are words said to have been spoken by the Saviour—“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first and counteth the cost, whether he hath sufficient to finish it?” No matter whether he said this or not: it is only a question asked: he did not give it as his counsel or advice. I have built a great many houses, and never counted the cost before I built them. I never wanted to know anything about it. What is to be done? I want some rock. Go and get it. I want some lime. Go and get it. I want a mason: I hire him, and pay him to lay up the walls. I hire my carpenters and painters, and pay them. I want something to put on the walls. Get it and put it on: if it is a frame building, get the timber and put it up. In short, when I want a house, I go to work and put it up, and do not stop until it is done, and never count the cost. “The earth is the Lord’s,” with all its fulness.

When I hear of the brethren and sisters going after gold—the riches and wealth of the earth—I think that if they had it in the spirit-world they could not do anything with it there. There are no merchants there with their merchandise—no grog-shops there in which to spend money. Those who possess wealth must leave it here for the Saints, and the Saints will become heirs of it; and we wish the people to be ready to receive these and all blessings the Lord has in store for them. Be ready. We were ready when King James Buchanan sent his friends here to initiate us into Christianity. If we had not been ready, your heads and mine might have been cold ere to-day. We were ready, and we said, “Stop—stay your sad career, until you think.”

Did Thomas H. Benton aid in gathering the Saints? Yes, he was the mainspring and action of governments in driving us into these mountains. He obtained orders from President Polk to summon the militia of Missouri, and destroy every “Mormon” man, woman, and child, unless they turned out five hundred men to fight the battles of the United States in Mexico. He said that we were aliens to the Government, and to prove it he said—“Mr. President, make a requisition on that camp for five hundred men, and I will prove to you that they are traitors to our Government.” We turned out the men, and many of them are before me to-day; among whom is father Pettigrew—a man that ought to have been asked into the Cabinet to give the President counsel; but they asked him to travel on foot across the Plains to fight our country’s battles against Mexico. We turned out the men, and Mr. Benton was disappointed. He went to his grave in disgrace, and shame covered him. Was he a man of influence in his last days—in the latter portion of his career in public life? When he could not be President, nor be returned again to the Senate, after much exertion he succeeded in being elected a member of the House of Representatives, and at the close of his public career, because the hands of the clock in the Representatives Hall were turned back, and the hands of his watch did not agree with it when at twelve o’clock, said he, “Mr. Speaker, I am not a member of this legislative body.” The Speaker said, “Sergeant-at-Arms, show that gentleman to the door,” and there was scarcely a man in the House that so much as turned his eyes to look. The ground he walked on was disgraced by his step, and his acquaintances shunned him: and so it will be with others.

Brother Kimball says that King James will have to pay the debt he has contracted. He has more on his hands than he will settle for many generations. You will see the old man go down to the grave in disgrace. He has cast off his political friends, and they will all cast him off as a thing of naught, and he will become a hiss and a by-word, and has already.

The London Times speaks of the old man’s being incapable of magnifying the office bestowed upon him. They complain of him now; but, when he was minister from our Government to England, did they not in secret council induce him to pledge himself to destroy the “Mormons,” if they would assist in electing him President? Did they not connive with Buchanan to destroy the “Mormons” from the earth? Did they not send their armies to the north to head us in our retreat, provided King James succeeded in routing us from our homes? I spoke of this to Captain Van Vleit, when he was here. I merely ask these questions, that those who are acquainted with political moves may draw their conclusions upon the workings of governments. But the Lord has given his people power to elude the grasp of our enemies; for he led them in a way they knew not, turned them hither and thither, diverted the blow aimed at our heads, and brought disgrace and ruin on those who sought to bring ruin and destruction upon us. It will take them a great while to pay the debt they have contracted. That Government known as the United States has become like water spilled on the ground, and other governments will follow.

“Kings become nursing fathers,” indeed? Not King James: no. Queens become nursing mothers?” Will Queen Victoria become a nursing mother to the Saints? I have not one word of fault to find with her as an individual; but the Government holds her; she is fettered. She is a good woman, but she will never nurse the Saints. Will the Queen of Spain? Never. But the kings and queens I am looking upon to-day will belong to that class; they will be the fathers and mothers to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. There are many sheep on the earth that we have not yet found. We consider ourselves the flock of God—the kingdom of God; and when you travel upon the islands of the sea and among the nations who have never heard the Gospel, you will learn that there are thousands and millions of the sheep that have not heard the voice of the Good Shepherd. They are to be entered into the fold, and we have it to do.

Remember that “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.” And I can say to the Bishops and brethren of this city, that, in rating teams to send to Florence, they have answered our expectations and more. We shall send and bring up the poor, and shall build, and continue to increase in our ability. Every time we put forth our ability to do good and build up the kingdom of God, according to the means the Lord bestows upon us, our means and ability will be doubled and trebled. Yes, we shall receive tenfold, and, as Joseph said, an hundredfold. Have we witnesses of this? Yes, plenty of witnesses. I will mention one little circumstance. When we were finishing the Temple in Nauvoo, the last year of our stay there, I rented a portion of ground in what was called the Church farm, which we afterwards deeded to sister Emma. Brother George D. Grant worked for me then, and planted the corn, sowed the oats, and said this, that, and the other must be attended to. They called for teams to haul for the Temple, and could not get them. Said I, Put my team on the Temple, if there is not a kernel of grain raised. I said I would trust in God for the increase, and I had as good corn as there was on the farm, though it was not touched from the time we put the seed in to the time of gathering. I proved the fact. I had faith.

The poor miserable apostates there prophesied, and the Gentiles prophesied, and all creation of wickedness seemed to agree that that Temple should not be finished; and I said that it should, and the house of Israel said that it should, and the angels and God said, “We will help you.” Many of you remember my setting my foot on the capstone and addressing the people. We completed the Temple, used it a short time, and were done with it. On the 5th or 6th of February, 1846, we committed the building into the hands of the Lord, and left it; and when we heard that it was burned, we were glad of it.

How many circumstances could I relate to the brethren that God does hold the purse-strings of the world! Brother Kimball has slightly alluded to a circumstance, without mentioning the particulars. When brother Heber C. Kimball and I were on the way to England, and were left in a little place called Pleasant Garden, I know, as I know I live, that we had no more than thirteen dollars and fifty cents. This was all we had, that we knew anything about. In the course of the journey, we paid out just about eighty-six dollars, as near as I can recollect, for conveyance, food, and lodging, always finding just money enough in my trunk to pay each bill; and when we arrived at Kirtland Corners, we had just the York shilling left.

I might stand here and relate to the brethren incidents, until you would be tired of hearing. I merely wish to impress upon you the feeling that God holds your purse-strings. You may hoard up your gold, keep your cattle on the ranges for the Indians to steal or the winters to destroy, and tie up your hearts as tight as you please; the Lord will let the Indians steal your cattle and thieves your purses—will let calamity come upon you, or permit you to roll in wealth until you go to your own place.

It has been told you that we want to bring the brethren here and give them their endowments, and then let them apostatize if they will, and have done with them. Those who are ste[a]dfast and faithful, we will teach to work in the adobie yard, in the quarry, &c.; and learn them to be cleanly and prudent, and teach them what their organization is, that they may understand the things of God.

May God bless you! Amen.

Duties of the Saints, etc.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, January 20, 1861. Reported by G. D. Watt.

It is a great blessing to be able to understand things aright; and how precious the gift of communication! How delightful it is to a person, whose mind is stored with rich ideas, to have power to communicate them to his fellows—to his family, friends, and acquaintances with whom he associates. I really think we do not fully appreciate this blessing and gift as we should. If I can communicate to the audience what I wish to, so that they can understand it perfectly, I shall be very glad—it will satisfy me.

Before me is a sea of faces, and, with but few exceptions, all are professedly Latter-day Saints belonging to the kingdom of God, and are numbered with the family of heaven. They are heirs of God, and are expecting to become joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. Were I to ask these Latter-day Saints what they are willing to do to build up the kingdom of God, bear it off to the nations, gather the house of Israel and the honest in heart among the Gentiles, and redeem the Zion of our God, what would be their answer? “Anything we can do we are willing to do—anything we are counselled to do.” Would not every heart respond in this manner? It would. You are frequently told that the Latter-day Saints are as free to confess with the mouth as any people that ever was upon the earth. You are further told that they are willing to sacrifice everything for their religion, and to travel the earth around without purse or scrip; but will they do one thing that is essentially necessary? Yes, a great many will. Will they do one necessary duty that is devolving upon them, which is the starting-point—the gate or way to all other duties; that is, seek unto the Lord their God with all their hearts? All are not willing to do this.

This people must be pure in heart. The necessity for this rests upon me day by day, week in and week out, year after year. This people must be sanctified, or they will not be prepared to meet their Lord and Master. This is first of all. It is taught us in all the revelations that we have received in various ways, according to the understanding and gift of communication in those who have communicated this principle to us. But the greatest and most important of all requirements of our Father in heaven and of his Son Jesus Christ, is, to his brethren or disciples, to believe in Jesus Christ, confess him, seek to him, cling to him, make friends with him. Take a course to open and keep open a communication with your Elder Brother or file-leader—our Saviour. Were I to draw a distinction in all the duties that are required of the children of men, from first to last, I would place first and foremost the duty of seeking unto the Lord our God until we open the path of communication from heaven to earth—from God to our own souls. Keep every avenue of your hearts clean and pure before him. You may inquire whether we would do away with the ordinances of the house of God. This leads you to them, and it is the only thing that can lead the people to a true knowledge of the reality of facts as they exist.

We are aware that the Christian world cling to this one item, passing by every one of the ordinances of the house of the Lord, treating every commandment with lightness. They will pick up perhaps one or two of the ordinances and a few of the commandments; but they are opposed to the residue, and look upon them as a thing of naught. Though the kingdom of God and all the attributes he has dispensed to the children of men are ours, (he has placed them upon our heads by ordinances,) yet if I should rise up here and tell you that I would rather have these than all the ordinances, the statement would need explanation. First of all, have the mind of Christ within you, and know that we are governed and controlled by his Spirit—by the Comforter, the Holy Ghost—by the influence of heaven; and this leads us to every one of the ordinances of the house of God; wherefore we by no means do them away.

Some of you may ask, “Is there a single ordinance to be dispensed with? Is there one of the commandments that God has enjoined upon the people, that he will excuse them from obeying?” Not one, no matter how trifling or small in our own estimation. No matter if we esteem them non-essential, or least or last of all the commandments of the house of God, we are under obligation to observe them. Nothing will lead us to them, short of the mind of Christ within us to lead us understandingly to observe them to our own benefit. This is what I want of the people, so that we may be prepared, each and all of us, for the things that are coming upon the earth.

We might mention a great many circumstances that are transpiring. We might refer to the prophecies and their fulfilment in these our own times; but this does not bear with so much weight upon my mind to tell the people what the Lord is doing and what he is going to do, as it does to urge the Latter-day Saints to faithfulness, to strict obedience, to every requirement of the Gospel of the Son of God, that we may be prepared for every event as it transpires, no matter whether the prophecies are fulfilled under our eyes or on the other side of the earth. No matter whether we live to see them fulfilled or fall to sleep before they are fulfilled, we must live prepared for the events that will take place preparatory to the coming of the Son of man.

I ask the people what they are willing to do? “All we want to know is what we should do.” My mind is continually exercised to urge the people to faithfulness, that they may have the Spirit of Christ; and being in possession of this mind, everything comes to us naturally. We understand these things we call natural. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. All things are natural, and all are spiritual. Every duty of life, no matter what it is, every requirement necessary to sustain and exalt man, is incorporated in the kingdom of God and in the ordinances of his house—in the duties God requires of his children. It is all in the Church and kingdom of our God. “What! our labour?” Yes. I sometimes take the liberty of preaching upon economy to this people. Perhaps some are inclined to think that in so doing I transcend my own duties and obligations. I do not. I instruct the husbandman how to till his farm, because I know and understand the nature of the elements that produce grain better than he does. I know how he should prepare the elements for the seed to produce the increase which he desires in the things necessary to sustain himself and family. It is my duty to instruct my brethren, if I understand any branch of business better than they do. If I understand how to make myself comfortable—if I understand better than others do the organization of the elements God has given us ability to operate with for our benefit, it is my duty to instruct them. Here are the elements. They are not made in vain, but are made for the benefit, comfort, convenience, and happiness of God’s children.

There is an infinitude of elements; and if you know more than I do with regard to bringing them together and organizing them for the comfort and happiness of man, it is your duty to impart that knowledge to others. This may appear to some of the Saints as though it was out of the pale of our duty, not strictly incorporated in the ministry; and I want to inform all such that there is not a labour performed under the sun but what we have to render an account of it to our Father and God. There is not an act of man, in any case, in any circumstance, but what is by the gift of God. Every power, ability, capacity, and gift that man possesses is the gift of God; and man must render an account to him for the improvement he makes, no matter what the labour is. No element that we see, no part of the earth, no part or portion of the starry heavens, or of the deep above or below, but what is God’s creation. He organized it. Do we realize this, that every element that now is in existence, that we have any knowledge of, that we can conceive of, is organized by our Father in heaven, and is his property? It is his in time and in eternity. The earth and its fulness are his, and the heavens are his; the height, the depth, the length, and the breadth, all are his. Every capacity that the children of men possess is the gift of God.

Many might ask whether God is the author of sin and iniquity. I have told you many a time that everything is good, is perfect; everything is right, is lovely to look upon, to enjoy; for we received it from our Father and our God. Properly use it, and there is no gift, no blessing, no enjoyment, no happiness in the heavens or on the earth, but what belongs to our Father in heaven; and he is willing to bestow these blessings upon his children. But whence comes evil? It comes when we make an evil of a good. Speaking of the elements and the creation of God, in their nature they are as pure as the heavens. When we see the vanity that is around us, the magnanimity of the Deity, and contemplate the extent of his knowledge, we can enjoy him as supreme in every act, in every path of life, in every portion of life that belongs to the children of men, if we can understand things as they are. Was there ever a spear of grass, or a single grain upon this earth, or in any other kingdom, but what was produced by that beneficent Being? Not one. Behold the vanity and extent of his knowledge in the creation of the elements! Every element is His. The gold? Yes. “He organized and made it” is a common term used. The silver? Yes. He made it. The diamond? Yes. And every other precious stone? Yes. The rude rock? Yes. The land and all are his. The earth that we walk upon, the air we breathe, and the water we drink are his creation. He organized them and placed them here for our good. Take all the elements that God has created, and do you think we use them, and not abuse them?

What do we see? All the elements that we have any knowledge of are the handiwork of our Father in heaven, and then you see poor, pusillanimous man rise up—a worm of the dust, whose breath is in his nostrils; and if God should say the word and withdraw his supporting hand, he is no more—and says, “This is mine.” He has a purse obtained through the blessings of God, and says, “This is mine.” He has a sack of silver, and says,” This is mine.” He builds a house, and calls it his house. He makes a farm, and says, “This is mine.” This poor, weak man does, who is not capable of making a spear of grass. He cannot sustain his own existence one moment with-[out] being dependent on God for the next breath, and yet he says, “These possessions are mine,” and he clings to them with the tenacity of death. This you see in mankind; they hold to the earth as though it was their all. You see this every day of your lives.

When I carefully scan the subject, we cannot, neither in this time nor in the spirit-world, possess the least particle of element or our own beings, and call them ours, until we pass the ordeals the Gods have passed, and are crowned with crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal lives. And when we pass through the spirit-world and hear the trump of Gabriel sound, and our bodies rise from the dust and again clothe our spirits, even then we are not our own. We have not passed through all the ordeals until the Father crowns a son and says, “You have passed so far in the progression of perfection that you can now become independent, and I will give you power to control and organize and govern and dictate the elements of eternities. There is a vast eternity stretched out before you; now organize as you will.” Not until then shall we possess one particle that is really our own, and yet we see people clinging to the earth.

I am going to reduce my remarks to practical life, and perhaps I shall introduce ideas that some would naturally take exceptions to. I, in the providence of God, am here before you again, and I wish to instruct this people. They say they are willing to do anything for salvation, to build up the kingdom of God on the earth. They are willing to forego everything they can, and undergo all that is possible, to save themselves and the children of men, and bring the day of peace and righteousness upon the earth. Then let all learn that the earth is not ours. Let us learn that these elements are put into our possession to work with and improve, and to determine whether we know how to improve upon them. We wish to see Zion built up—the earth beautified and prepared for the coming of the Son of Man. We are looking forth to the day when Zion will spring into existence and stand forth like a bride prepared to meet her husband, with all the beauty and glory that belong to the kingdom of God on the earth. We shall then see Zion in its beauty. We are looking for this. We look forward to the day when the Lord will prepare for the building of the New Jerusalem, preparatory to the city of Enoch’s going to be joined with it when it is built upon this earth. We are anticipating to enjoy that day, whether we sleep in death previous to that, or not. We look forward, with all the anticipation and confidence that children can possess in a parent that we shall be there when Jesus comes; and if we are not there, we will come with him: in either case we shall be there when he comes.

To think of all this, and then think of the course the Latter-day Saints are taking—the life they live! How do the brethren feel? Is there a feeling that “This is mine, and that is mine?” Yes; it is as natural for them to say so as to breathe. They are of the earth, earthy. Can we school our own feelings and judgments, our hearts and dispositions, really to be the children of God, and ask our Father whether this is ours, or not which he puts into our possession? Do we ask him what we shall do with the abundance he has put into our possession? I am in possession of houses and lands—I have legally obtained them by my economy. The earth is here, and there is no end to the elements we are using day by day. We look to the right and to the left, and see poverty and distress, though there is less in this community than in any other upon the earth. We all see more or less a lack of wisdom and judgment in providing for the wants of the body; yet there is not that family in this community but what would feed a brother or sister that was hungry, and do so from day to day, so long as might be necessary. With all the lack of wisdom manifested by the people, and their covetousness, there is no community in the world that suffers so little as this.

Is distress among a people caused by the want of element? No. It is through want of ability to bring the elements home to our use and benefit. There is a great scarcity of gold, and you hear some brethren, throughout this Territory, complain of taxation. Really I want to say to all the brethren here, with the Bishops and representatives from different parts of this Territory, and to all the people, that your legislators are very easy—their hand is very light upon you, in the matter of taxation. “Well,” say some of the brethren, “I thought they were hard, rigid, extravagant in establishing a territorial tax of five mills on a dollar.” There must be in the neighbourhood of eighty or ninety thousand persons in this Territory, and there are probably more than fifteen thousand men who are subject to taxation. How much tax money do you get? Shall I tell you how much coin was received in taxes last year? Less than twelve hundred dollars from some fifteen thousand men. Do you call this paying a heavy tax? Was this all they were taxed? No; the tax amounted to some twenty odd thousand dollars, and some complain and feel that they are hardly dealt with.

Some complain and say that the tithing is too hard on the people, while at the same time some of our legislators rise up and say, “Considering that we pay such a tax in tithing, we think the Church should make all our public improvements.” The whole amount of coin paid in on taxes last year was in the neighbourhood of twelve hundred dollars. In what was the residue of the taxes paid? In wheat, chickens, eggs, butter, city scrip, county and territorial scrip, auditor’s warrants, labour, &c., &c. Is this hard on the people? No. Is there any lack of gold or silver here? These are matters I wish you to understand. How can you understand them in the kingdom of God? You cannot only through the light of revelation, just as you see anything else in truth and with the Spirit of truth, by which means only can you discern truth from error. I want you to learn by the Spirit of truth There are a good many legislators here, and I want them to go home with these instructions, and put in practice some things they already understand. They are active men, men of wisdom, men of ability and good judgment men of strong minds; and yet in some things they are more ignorant than children ought to be. The gold is not yours, nor the silver, nor the cattle that roam over these hills and plains; neither are they mine. They are put in our possession, but they belong to Him who owns the whole of them. All we want is the ability to convert them to our own benefit. There is no lack. Has there been a lack of money here? Some of the legislators have been opposed to taxation. I have a right to talk about these things, though I am not Governor, and do not sign nor veto bills passed by the Assembly. I ask again, Is there any lack of money? I will propound one other question—“Will five hundred thousand dollars cover the amount that has been paid by this people to the merchants during last year?” I presume not, though if you had the statistics before you, you would probably find this sum to be not far from the amount. Since 1849, we have probably paid to them at the rate of nearly a million of dollars each year. Is there any scarcity of money? No. Are you fearful that one man is going to get all the gold in the world and sift it to the four winds, so that it never can be gathered? You need have no such fear, for it cannot be destroyed. Are you fearful that all the silver is going to be destroyed, so that we cannot have it? Such fears are groundless, for you cannot destroy a particle of it. What is the difficulty? A want of judgment—a want of true knowledge pertaining to the earth and to the heavens, to the elements and their organization—a want of the power to master the elements, to handle them advantageously and make them useful, and devote them to our own comfort and happiness.

I frequently take the liberty to teach economy to the people. This is natural to me; it agrees with my feelings, experience, and faith. I do not know that during thirty years past I have worn a coat, hat, or garment of any kind, or owned a horse, carriage, &c., but what I asked the Lord whether I deserved it or not—Shall I use this? Is it mine to use, or not? If I had my will satisfied, I would not use a farthing’s worth of anything without its being put to the best use my judgment could dictate, increasing and multiplying it, and bringing forth those things that make men comfortable and happy, using my means in the fear of the Lord for the building up of his kingdom and glory upon the earth. My experience is that this people have too great a tenacity for the goods of this world, and the Enemy thinks he can get the advantage over them in this respect, and he is improving the time.

It is different with us now from what it was three years ago. Then it was, “What is the news from Bridger? from Echo kanyon? from the Plains?” We are not destroyed; but are the Latter-day Saints preparing themselves for the calamities that are coming upon the earth? or are they covetous? There is no trait in the character of man but what the Devil, the opposer of all good, understands. Our common foe is an ingenious workman; he is a master at his business. Bunyan speaks of a city that was perfectly given up to idolatry, and needed only one devil to watch the whole of it; but one Saint, a poor old man walking through the streets, required a score of devils to watch him. The city was already in possession of the Evil One, and it needed no care or watching. There are scores of evil spirits here—spirits of the old Gadianton robbers, some of whom inhabited these mountains, and used to go into the South and afflict the Nephites. There are millions of those spirits in the mountains, and they are ready to make us covetous, if they can; they are ready to lead astray every man and woman that wishes to be a Latter-day Saint. This may seem strange to some of you, but you will see them. As soon as your spirits are unlocked from these tabernacles, you are in the spirit-world, and you will there have to contend against evil spirits as we here have to contend against wicked persons.

This people lie down in carnal security, and complain of this and of that. You know that apostates, who rise up and deny their religion, complain of being oppressed, and find fault with this, that, and the other, and call this imperfect, and that imperfect, and the other imperfect. How many have complained of taxation? Go to Nebraska, Washington, and New Mexico. Is there a Territory that has as light taxes as this? Not one, so far as I know. A great many complain of the taxes in this city; but go to Chicago, St. Louis, or New York, or any other city in the States, and you will find the taxes greater, I think, without exception, than they are here. I know that taxation is complained of in those cities, and that too justly in many instances. In many places the people are taxed to that degree that they never can rise out of their poverty. In London, a watchmaker said to me, “When I earn ten pounds and receive it, eight pounds of it has to go for taxes, which leaves me only two pounds with which to pay my house-rent, buy fuel, and feed and clothe my family.” They there complain of taxation, and it is right they should. What do they do with the revenue? In too many instances feed a horde of lazy officers, though I cannot accuse England of this so much as I can some other countries, so far as I know them. The taxation more or less goes in many countries to feed cutthroats, loafers, gamblers, blacklegs, &c. Many of the people who have immigrated to this Territory come from countries where they have been ground down by taxation. We are more lightly taxed than are the people in any other country, so far as I know.

But what I dislike most is, that when the officer requests the taxes, some will lie from morning until night to escape paying them. If any man ought of right to be exempted from paying his taxes, let him refer his case to the County Court and have his taxes remitted. There is a provision in the law for this. I tell you what I say to tax-gatherers: I would sell every improvement, every ox, cow, mule, horse, sheep, hog, &c., but what I would have the taxes in the kinds prescribed by law. You may call that hard; but what would the cash portion be, compared to the money that is paid to these merchants? This is what I do not like. Go to a man, and he will declare that he cannot pay his taxes; then go into his house, and he has taught his family to lie; but begin to sell his cow, &c., and it will be, “Stop, Sally; go and bring out that old stocking.” I have proved this. That is what I do not like. I can put up with poverty. If I have only a little buttermilk and salt to my potatoes, I can be satisfied; but a liar I cannot be satisfied with.

Sell every house and every particle of property there is in the Territory, but what you have the proportion in gold and silver, and you will find that there is plenty of money; and it may far better go to do good than to go for nonsense. Much money is spent for paper shoes. Have you any? Yes; and I presume that more than one score of women in this congregation have on that kind of shoes. A large amount of money is paid for ribbons, ruffles, fringes, gewgaws, and baubles in general. These are unnecessary expenses, as they are not incurred particularly for the body’s comfort. I find no fault with them. I like to see women prettily dressed, as well as anybody; but save a portion of the money that is laid out for useless articles, and pay your taxes.

What I am saying is for the benefit of the community. Some of our legislators would vote down every particle of tax, if they had the power. Are they conscientious in this? Yes. But are they wise? No. They have no wisdom on this subject; they do not understand national affairs.

Some complain and say that they are taxed by tithing. We ask no tithing of any man. In this we are as independent as the Lord is. I say, Do not pay another dollar in tithing unless you want to. And to those who say that tithing should defray all classes of public expenditure, I will say, If you will put into my hands one-twentieth instead of one-tenth, I will pay every dollar of expenses for territorial, county, and city purposes. But do I, as Trustee-in-Trust, receive one-fiftieth, or one-hundredth? No. I do not get the tithing on the tithing that is due, and which it is my province to dictate. Are you afraid that I will make a bad use of it? I have plenty of money for my private use. You may wish to know how I get it. I believe I will tell you how I get some of it. A great many of these Elders of Israel, soon after courting these young ladies, and old ladies, and middle-aged ladies, and having them sealed to them, want to have a bill of divorce. I have told them, from the beginning, that sealing men and women for time and all eternity is one of the ordinances of the house of God, and that I never wanted a farthing for sealing them, nor for officiating in any of the ordinances of God’s house; but when you ask for a bill of divorce, I intend that you shall pay for it. That keeps me in spending money, besides enabling me to give hundreds of dollars to the poor, and buy butter, eggs, and little notions for women and children, and otherwise use it where it does good.

You may think this is a singular feature in the Gospel, but I cannot exactly say that it is in the Gospel. Hear it, O ye Elders of Israel; and ye sisters, hear it: There is no ecclesiastical law that you know anything about, to free a wife from a man to whom she has been sealed, if he honours his Priesthood. I do not want you to run after bills of divorce. I would rather be without the money you pay for them. I know where there is plenty of gold. The earth is full of it, and the heavens are full of every good thing; and the heavens and the earth are created for us: therefore be prudent and not covetous; do not cling to property because it is in your possession. Do I own a house? No. I am in possession of houses. I left a good many houses that were in my possession in Nauvoo. I left a number in like manner in Kirtland. I did not leave many houses in Missouri, but I left a number of pieces of land, and there they remain. I received nothing for them, neither do I want anything. Why? Because the Lord has blest me with ability to bring forth the elements and organize them for my own convenience; and if I was stripped and kicked out now, I would be richer in ten years than I ever was. When the gold or silver dollar goes into my pocket, it is not mine: the Lord in his providence places it there, and it is for Him to say what I shall do with it. Do you practise this course? If you do, you do not complain. If our legislators understood this, they would never complain for the people. You ask why I take up this subject. That you may be instructed—that a legislator may not be so unwise as to introduce a bill that taxes be paid in anything that cannot be sold for money.

The people are not as they used to be in regard to tithing. In the days of Joseph, when a horse was brought in for tithing, he was pretty sure to be hipped, or ringboned, or have the pole-evil, or perhaps had passed the routine of horse-diseases until he had become used up. The question would be, “What, do you want for him?” “Thirty dollars in tithing and thirty in cash.” What was he really worth? five dollars, perhaps. They would perhaps bring in a cow after the wolves had eaten off three of her teats, and she had not had a calf for six years past; and if she had a calf, and you ventured to milk her, she would kick a quid of tobacco out of your mouth. These are specimens of the kind of tithing we used to get. If you give anything for the building up of the kingdom of God, give the best you have. What is the best thing you have to devote to the kingdom of God? It is the talents God has given you. How many? Every one of them. What beautiful talents! What a beautiful gift! It is more precious than fine gold that I can stand here and give you my ideas, and you can rise up and tell me what you think and feel, and thus exchange our ideas. It is one of the precious gifts bestowed upon human beings. Let us devote every qualification we are in possession of to the building up of God’s kingdom, and you will accomplish the whole of it.

A few Sabbaths ago, brother Wells was strenuously talking to you in in regard to temperance. No man has a right on the earth, and certainly not in this kingdom, to spend his means and time in drunkenness. Every moment of time belongs to the Lord, and the people demand it. Here are young men stepping on to the stage of action, of whom you have never heard an evil. And every little while one begins to come into note, and it seems as though he had dropped from unfathomable space. “Who is he?” “Such a brother’s son.” “I never heard of him.” What are my calculations? That he is a good man—that he is not a rowdy in the streets. A host are growing up in this way: they spring up like lovely plants, trees, or flowers. Now, young brothers and sisters, is there anything against your characters? Not anything. If you were in possession of all the wealth in the world, it is not worth so much to you as your good characters. Preserve them. If you have a happy influence with your brethren and sisters, preserve it, for it is more choice than fine gold. How many times have I told the Elders, “When you go on missions, be careful to preserve your Godlike dignity and integrity.” I have an experience that is probably equal to that of any man in this kingdom, and no person can say, man nor woman, but that in the dark hour my angelic character has been preserved; and it is more precious to me than all the riches of the earth. The name of king or emperor has always sunk into insignificance when I contrasted it with the character of a man of God—of a person who holds the destinies of men in his hands, and the issues of life and death, and can dispense them to the people. Such a man should preserve himself like a God, or an angel of God.

Hear it, men and women, young and old. Preserve yourselves, and be ready to do what is required at your hands. And Elders of Israel, when you say you are ready and willing to dedicate all to God, never be covetous and selfish; never shrink back at anything you are called to do; but by the help of God become sons of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. If you revolt in your feelings against the ordinances and commandments of God, and against the counsel given you by his servants, and continue to do so, you may become angels to the Devil, and it will be through your own conduct. But by the help of God you can be prepared to dwell in the presence of the Father and the Son, and be crowned with him with crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal lives.

I have given you some of my views in regard to tithing, taxation, and yielding willingly to every requirement for building up the kingdom and for the salvation of the people. May God help every one of us to live up to our profession, that we may be saved in his kingdom. Amen.

Gathering of the People of God in the Last Days—Return to Jackson County

Heber C. Kimball

Discourse by Heber C. Kimball, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, February 17, 1861. Reported by J. V. Long.

You have all heard what has been said by brother Joseph W. Young, and you know it to be true, just as well as I do. You also know that it is necessary for us to observe and practise, in order that we may become Saints. He has told us a great many things, and they are all very good.

If all the people would magnify their callings and honour the positions for which they were created, they would do a great deal better than they do. This is considered by some to be but a small matter; but still there is a great deal contained in the expression.

Man is an independent creature, as you were told this forenoon; but every man is accountable for his own acts. Every debt you contract you have got to pay. I shall never pay any of your debts, except I order you to contract them. If you will take counsel and do as you are told, you never will contract any debts that will affect you much. Every sin that I commit while in this tabernacle of flesh I have got to settle; and if any debt is not settled while I am in the flesh, I shall have to pay it hereafter. This will apply to you as well as me, and therefore you need not try to avoid it, for you will have to meet all your accounts.

We are considered to be the saviours of men; we are appointed to save, and not to destroy. We are gathered here in the mountains. Some have gathered themselves by the help of God, others have been gathered by the Church funds. It is not every man that has got the ability to manage his own emigration, though he may have the means; for some men are not capacitated for that kind of business.

Perhaps you will now refer to the Bible to prove that the time is to come when the kings of the earth will gather the Saints together, and when they will bring the sons and daughters of God from afar, and when they will protect and sustain them—when the queens of the earth will have them by their sides and become nursing mothers unto them. We shall not send queens from here to the nations of the earth to teach the people, but the people have got to be brought here up to the heights of Zion; then the kings and queens will instruct them and nurse them, when we have them gathered together.

Now, a great many suppose that this applies to the kings and queens of the various nations; but I can tell you that the kings and queens of the Gentiles will never gather the Saints. I want to know how many of the Latter-day Saints were gathered to these mountains by king James Buchanan? [President B. Young: There were a few teamsters came with the army.] How many did Tom Benton gather? The most of us: that is to say, he was the means of driving us from our homes to this place, which was then a wilderness; but he never helped us. James Buchanan never put forth his hands to aid this people. Will he ever strive to restore this people and make right that which he has made wrong? I don’t suppose he ever will; but as the Lord God liveth, he will have to pay the debt he has contracted with this people. [A voice in the stand: it will take him a great while to do it.] If you wait for him, or for any of the wicked, to take you back to Jackson County, Missouri, you will have to wait some millions of years. And if we should wait for the rotten-hearted kings and queens of the wicked nations to gather us home, we shall have to wait a long time. Possibly some of them may come and look at the place, but they will never come to stay and assist in building up Zion. Many of them will yet drive the Saints from their lands and homes, just as the wicked have driven us from the United States into these mountains of Deseret.

Then who is to gather the people of God? You all say that we are to become a kingdom of kings and priests—of queens and priestesses; and the Bible supports this doctrine. Now, the truth is, you are the very kings and priests that have got to gather the Saints, and your wives have got to school them and nurse them. I might put this in different language, but this will answer the purpose and convey to you the true meaning of the text.

We are informed in the Bible that in the last days the sons of God shall be brought from afar, and his daughters from the ends of the earth; and also that the elect will be gathered from the four quarters of the globe. Now, this will most assuredly be fulfilled, and this is the work which you and I have got to perform. How shall we bring them together? The Scriptures say they shall come upon swift beasts and dromedaries; and I will add mules and oxen.

I tell you honestly that I do not believe that the corrupt kings and queens of the earth will ever gather the Saints of God; but still I acknowledge that they cannot do anything but what will tend to promote the interests of the kingdom of God, any more than James Buchanan could. Every step he took tended to promote this cause and give influence to this people. That very Expedition has opened your eyes so that you can see a great deal farther than you could before, and your perception will increase with your experience. Now, brethren, if you could see the thing just as it is, there is not one of you but what would put forth your means, your hands, and your minds like men and like saviours upon Mount Zion. It is as brother Joseph said—“If you have the right spirit, you will be ready to lend your ability towards the gathering of Israel.”

The Scriptures say that with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again. Then let us all sow good seeds. Let us strive to do good, learn to be one, and to be firmly connected to the Church and kingdom of God—every member partaking of his attributes, and of the spirit of those men who lead us. By pursuing this course we shall be prospered and blest in all things.

You need not wait for any of the kings to gather Israel; you need not wait for anybody else to perform the duties that devolve upon you. We have got to gather the people, and our wives and sisters will become the nursing mothers, for they are the queens spoken of in Scripture. If we will all take this course, we shall be blest of the Almighty; his Spirit will be with us to impart joy and consolation continually.

There is one thing that brother Joseph omitted to tell you. It was presented to his mind, but he did not like to say it; but I will say it. Have your rifles and muskets ready. Keep your powder dry, and have your balls and duck-shots ready; for you know not what a day may bring forth. It is our duty to be ready for every change and for every attack of the enemy; for the Lord’s people were always subject to opposition and persecution from their enemies, and they will continue to be so until the kingdom of God triumphs.

Brother Joseph W. Young is going to the Missouri river to fetch the people who are gathering from Europe and various parts of the United States. I intend to do everything I can for the accomplishment of this laudable enterprise. If I could raise oxen sufficient, I would send ten teams and waggons; but if I cannot do this, I will at least send three or four. It is far better to do this than let the Indians steal your cattle, and then you waste your time and property in hunting for them.

When I say anything of myself, there are some people who think it is egotism; but I have always been accustomed, since I came into this Church, to do all I could for its advancement. I am always willing to give anything that is required of me for this kingdom. I have lived in this Church almost thirty years, and I have never been in any situation, however difficult, but the way has been opened for me. I never failed to accomplish anything I set about, and I never shall, if I continue to pursue this course.

I am speaking this by way of encouragement, and brother Brigham knows that I am telling the truth; for when we have been poor, the Almighty has placed means in our hands, and oftentimes so mysteriously that we did not know where it came from. For instance, in Nauvoo we were commanded to build the Temple; and in order to accomplish that, we had to build a great many big houses. Brother Brigham told me to go and build a good house. I had scarcely anything to begin with; but when I got through building I had a span of horses, a waggon, and a yoke of oxen. I could prove this, if it were necessary; for many others did similar things; and the more we built, the more means we had to build the Temple with. In the following February we left. My house was sold for seventeen hundred dollars, intended to be used to help to gather the Saints; but Almon W. Babbitt put it in his pocket, I suppose. I have still got some buildings in Kirtland and in some other places; and if I don’t have them again, those who drove me from them will have to pay a high price for them.

Brethren, I shall go to Jackson County with thousands of this people who will be faithful to their integrity; but we cannot go back until we have built some good houses. Let us honour the plan of salvation, that we may become one. My constant prayer is that the Spirit of oneness may descend upon this people; first upon the Presidency of this Church, and then upon every Quorum and authority thereof.

How is it with a tree? Does it not all partake of the same nourishment, and that sap go to every limb, branch, fibre, and leaf? It does; and it should be so with every man and woman in the Church and kingdom of God.

Let us gather up the Saints, then. Let us also build some good houses. We want to build the Seventies’ Hall, and several other large buildings the present season. We also want to devote a portion of our means to the building of the Temple, that thereby we may have an increase to the blessings of the heavens and of the earth.

I feel very cheerful and happy today. I do not feel any of that contractedness of mind that makes men selfish, penurious, cold-hearted, and of a sad countenance. I find that the more that I have of the Spirit of God, the more cheerful I am; and it is so with all men of God. I know that those Prophets who have lived in my day loved to tell stories and be cheerful: they delighted in a glad heart and a cheerful countenance. Father Smith was one of the most cheerful men I ever saw, and he was harmless as a child. Amen.

Establishment of the Kingdom of God—Gathering of the Poor

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, March 3, 1861. Reported by G. D. Watt.

There are a number of subjects I wish to say a few words upon, and I will first make a few remarks pertaining to the kingdom of God on the earth.

It is told us that the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof. It is also told us that ere long the Lord will possess the earth. Christians are exhorted to be faithful, for eventually Jesus will crown his brethren as kings and priests—not only the Twelve Apostles that brother Broderick referred to this morning, but also all that keep his commands and live faithfully to the requirements of the holy Gospel. We are exhorted to be ste[a]dfast and immovable, always abounding in good works. This is our tradition; it is the doctrine we have heard from our youth. Many of you are acquainted with the various doctrines of the Christian world. Some believe, “Once in grace, always in grace.” Others, “A Saint to day, a sinner to-morrow, and next day again a Saint,” &c., &c. “The kingdom of God on the earth?” “Has not this kingdom been established long and long ago?” ” Why does not the Lord Jesus come to take possession of the earth, as it is his?” These are questions that arise, especially in the minds of critics—of those who are inclined to be infidel in regard to revealed religion; and they inquire of the Christian, “Why does not your God do thus and so? Why does he delay? Why does he permit the enemy to hold possession of the dominion of the Saviour?” with many other inquiries that rest in the minds of the people. Perhaps some of you have satisfactorily answered these questions to yourselves, and perhaps you have heard them satisfactorily answered to your minds and understanding by the Elders of Israel.

There is a reason for all this. I have not time this afternoon, and do not wish to confine myself, to say all that my mind would be led to say on the subject. I can say at once, If Jesus had taken the kingdom in the days when he was upon the earth, he would have spoiled the whole plan—he would have ruined the object for which he came into the world. If he had established his kingdom directly after the flood and reigned triumphantly on the earth, the earth could never have answered the ends of its creation—the inhabitants of the earth could not have been accountable. If he had to take possession of the earth at this present time, he would ruin his own scheme—thwart his own plans. It may be a mystery—it is with the many—why the Lord permits this and that, and dictates thus and so. This is for want of intelligence in the intelligent beings that are upon the earth. If they understood the object of the creation of this earth and the inhabitants upon it, these matters would be an easy and pleasing theme to their understandings; they would become natural principles to them, easy to be understood. They would comprehend the design of the Almighty in the formation of these intelligent beings, in the direction of them, the object of the creation of the earth, and the final issue in the end, when all that has been designed of this earth and all consigned to this earth have come upon it, and the work is completed—the winding-up scene has come, when Jesus shall have finished his work pertaining to man and his agency—you will then see that the kingdom will be taken possession of, and that very quickly.

Every mortal being must stand up as an intelligent, organized capacity, and choose or refuse the good, and thus act for himself. All must have that opportunity, no matter if all go into the depths of wickedness. Whether they sustain the kingdom of God and promote the Gospel of salvation, or not, the earth must remain in the hands of men, liable to be acted upon continually by a superior power and authority. Man’s independence must be held inviolate; it must be reserved to each and every individual: all must have the privilege of acting upon it. Until the last spirit that has been designed to come here and take a tabernacle has come upon the earth, the winding-up scene cannot come; I have not time to say what I would like to upon this subject, but will leave it to your own reflection.

Marvel not that the kingdom of God is not in its fulness. Marvel not that you see every man and woman subject to the passions that belong to fallen nature. There never was a Prophet on the earth but what was subject to passions, as we are. Every son and daughter of Adam that has come into this world has been subject to sin, and prone to wander. They must have their times and seasons; and when the day has come in which all things are to be gathered in one, the Lord will gather those things. When the day comes in which Jesus will take possession of the earth, (he will take possession of it when the time comes that Satan will be ejected from the inheritance of the children—of the legal heirs,) you will find that ejectment will be served, and it will be effectual. It will be effectual upon every tenant or occupant upon the premises of the Almighty, and they will be forthwith removed. But the time is not yet come—the work is not yet finished. Be patient—be co-workers with our Saviour and Master until this work is accomplished, and we shall be blessed in our deeds.

I wish to make a few remarks to the brethren in this city in regard to reaching forth their hands and means to assist in gathering the poor Saints. At first, some deemed it inexpedient to call upon the people in this city to assist in sending teams for the Saints; but we have otherwise concluded. We expect that we have more power here than they have in any other place in all the Branches and associations of the Church of Jesus Christ upon the whole earth. We here see for the whole of them, we speak for the whole, and, comparatively speaking, we have more power than is possessed in any other part of the body. If we wish to have a great thing performed, we must take the lead. And when we feel that we are weak and feeble, incapable of doing this or that, with poverty staring us in the face, and the want of means is felt, let every person rise up and consider his calling and standing, and the design of the Almighty.

I will present a comparison from our mechanics. You will find mechanics here who can go to work and build a beautiful house, but they must have all the necessary tools and materials. Another can build a carriage, but he must have the necessary tools and materials. You can find a man who can build a steam-engine, but he must have the tools and materials. But you find the mechanics that can go to with an old three-cornered file, a jack-knife, a spike-gimlet, and an inch augur, and build a waggon in a workmanlike manner, and you would say that he is a superior workman. As the fisherman says, “It is no trick to catch fish, if you have the tools and know how it is done.” It is no development of skill for us to preach the Gospel to the nations, if we have our pockets full of money, and Bible societies and tract societies and missionary societies gathering it for us to pay our expenses—scraping up for us the filthy lucre. I suppose that in such cases we should feel as others do. You know how some of those feel who can go from one side of the earth to the other, and have the privilege of gathering means to go with. The way they feel is shown forth very forcibly in an anecdote of a priest, after a collection had been made. He gathered up the money, and while putting it in his pocket gave out the hymn—“This is the God that I adore.”

You see Elders who start from here without purse or scrip, and cross the Plains with handcarts, and they have ingenuity enough to go from city to city, from country to country, from nation to nation, and circumscribe the earth. In that there is certain skill, talent, and ability, great zeal, or excellent good luck: you must attribute it to something. It would be no great affair for us to gather the Saints, if we had plenty of gold. How many times I have thought I would like a handy place to go to for gold with which to gather the Saints; but where would be our glory and reward, to go from here to Europe, and travel East to China and home again, having been preaching several years, with our pockets full of gold? Where, then, is your great ability? In your pockets—in the god so much adored. But take the men that can travel the earth over, preach the Gospel without purse or scrip, and then go to and lay their plans to gather the Saints. That looks like the work of angels. Does it not look like the work of beings superior to the common people? Do you know that we are called to this work?

If the Lord had called upon some great man, some rich man, some one of the prominent Bishops in the Roman Catholic Church or in the Church of England, or the Pope, to dig the plates out of the earth, and translate them, and publish the Book of Mormon, and then have furnished them with plenty of gold and other means to distribute to the disciples—plenty of wealth, honour, fame, and good name in the midst of the people—would there have been any particular manifestation of a superior being in all this? There would not. The Lord chose Joseph Smith, called upon him at fourteen years of age, gave him visions, and led him along, guided and directed him in his obscurity until he brought forth the plates and translated them, and Martin Harris was prevailed upon to sustain the printing of the Book of Mormon. All this was done in the depths of poverty, obscurity, and weakness. The Book has been translated, printed, and handed to the world; and every time that a man of letters, rhetoric, or profound worldly learning, comes into this Church and undertakes to preach the Gospel, relying upon his worldly wisdom, that man will fail. No matter where upon the earth he undertakes to start this kingdom according to the customs, feelings, fashions, and pride of the world, it will sink as sure as he undertakes it.

I recollect one remark that brother Joseph used to make frequently, when talking to the Elders. No matter what he set them to do, whether he wanted them to go to a foreign land on a mission, or to go into business, he would say, “When you commence, go in at the little end of the horn; for if you do not, but enter at the big end, you will either have to turn round and come out at the end you went in at, or go out at the small end and be squeezed nigh unto death.” Let an Elder hire the best halls in large cities to begin with, and go to lecturing, and it will take him a long time to raise a Branch of this Church. But let him begin among the poor of the earth—those who live in the cellars, and garrets, and back streets; “for,” says the Almighty, “I am going to take the weak things of the earth, and with them confound the wisdom of the wise.” You will see that trait in every step of “Mormonism.” God has chosen the obscure and weak, to bring them up and exalt them. Is not that the work of a God, the performance of this work without money and without price? The Gospel is sent to all the inhabitants of the earth—to the high and the low, the noble and the ignoble, the young and the old. “Here is the Gospel; you are welcome to it.” “Don’t you ask anything for it?” Not a farthing. It has to go to the world without money and price.” Now, compare this with carrying the Gospel with your pockets full of money; and in the latter case where is your glory and honour?

As an instance, we have men who quarry rock out of the mountains; and we would say to those men, Can you go and quarry rock without the suitable instruments? Says one, “I must have so many picks and wedges, and I must have so many drills of different sizes, and so many sledges and hammers.” Another man says, “I am going to make the tools; I have the ability, and I will make the instruments from the ore in the mountain.” You remember what Nephi did. When he came to the sea, and prepared to build his barge, the Lord showed him the ore, and Nephi made the tools with which he formed his barge. He did not have to go back to Jerusalem to get tools. I would like to see a little more of that skill displayed here than I do at the present time. I am using this comparison to show that we, in our poverty, have this work to do.

As was observed this morning, in a wholesome, lovely, excellent discourse, we will have to go to work and get the gold out of the mountains to lay down, if we ever walk in streets paved with gold. The angels that now walk in their golden streets, and they have the tree of life within their paradise, had to obtain that gold and put it there. When we have streets paved with gold, we will have placed it there ourselves. When we enjoy a Zion in its beauty and glory, it will be when we have built it. If we enjoy the Zion that we now anticipate, it will be after we redeem and prepare it. If we live in the city of the New Jerusalem, it will be because we lay the foundation and build it. If we do not as individuals complete that work, we shall lay the foundation for our children and our children’s children, as Adam has. If we are to be saved in an ark, as Noah and his family were, it will be because we build it. If the Gospel is preached to the nations, it is because the Elders of Israel go in their poverty, without purse or scrip, to preach the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth.

If the Elders of Israel could see the true track and thread of faith, they never would say they could not do this or that, but would see at once that we are the head, the law-giving department. We are the eyes, the ears, the mouth; we dictate, and it is for us to lead out in every good work. If we build a Temple here, it will be because we need one; and if we really need one, go to work and build it. Will we count the cost? No. If I am going to build a temple, I am not going to sit down and count the cost. I care not what it will cost. So long as we are occupied in doing a good work, it keeps us out of mischief and unrighteousness, and at the same time enhances the value of our whole property, and beautifies our cities.

If we wish to send for the poor, gather up teams. “But,” say you, “I have not got any.” Then prepare yourselves to go as teamsters, to do anything and everything. As I have not time to make many remarks upon this, let me say to the Elders of Israel, and also the sisters, One-third or one-fourth of the time that is spent to procure a living would be sufficient, if your labour were rightly directed. People think they are going to get rich by hard work—by working sixteen hours out of the twenty-four; but it is not so. A great many of our brethren can hardly spend time to go to meeting. Six days is more time than we need to labour. Sixteen hours out of twenty-four is more time than we need to labour, or even ten hours, if that labour is rightly directed. If we labour, let us labour to advantage, so as to accomplish what we design.

I wish to say to the brethren and Bishops here, When we concluded that we would call upon this city for help, we got all we asked for, and more, I say, Credit is due to them. Let me say to you, brethren, I am satisfied; the Spirit that is within me is satisfied. And one thing in particular let me say to you, In all your transactions in these public matters, do not do, unless you want to. As we say to the Saints, Do not pay Tithing, unless you want to; do not help to build up this Temple unless you want to; do not put forth your hands to one day’s work, unless you want to; do not put forth your hands to help build the Seventies’ Hall, unless you want to. If you grudgingly put forth your means to help to gather the Saints, it will be a curse to you; it will mildew, and every effort you make will wither in your possession. If you do not wish to help, let it alone; but if you really want to help to gather the Saints, turn out with your teams, as you agree to. If you wish this Temple built, go to work and do all you can this season. Some say, “I do not like to do it, for we never began to build a Temple without the bells of hell beginning to ring.” I want to hear them ring again. All the tribes of hell will be on the move, if we uncover the walls of this Temple. But what do you think it will amount to? You have all the time seen what it has amounted to.

I can say, for my comfort and consolation, and for yours too, that we did build two temples, and commenced another. We completed a temple in Kirtland and in Nauvoo; and did not the bells of hell toll all the time we were building them? They did, every week and every day. For our consolation I will say, We are here and not there. You cannot ride from here to Carthage, in Hancock County, Illinois, before breakfast, if you try; and every one that now tries to come from Warsaw or Carthage to the headquarters of “Mormonism” will have to put more crackers in their pockets than they used to. What did they accomplish? They magnified the work of the Lord in the eyes of the nations. They are more afraid of our union than of any other power. They are afraid of the God that is within us. If that union and the power of God is with ten men, they fear that in them more than they fear a hundred thousand men that are not united. We are here, and I am satisfied.

In regard to the acts of this city in turning out teams, we shall send them this season to bring the poor across the Plains; and what will we do another season? Send a great many more. Will the way be hedged up by the wars and distress of nations? I neither know nor care. I am looking for the words of Joseph to be fulfilled. The time will come when men and women will be glad to catch what they can, roll up in a small bundle, and start for the mountains, without team or waggon. That day will shortly come. Hundreds of people in this house are my witnesses, who heard Joseph say, when asked whether we should ever have to leave Nauvoo, “The Saints will leave Nauvoo. I do not say they will be driven, as they were from Jackson County, Missouri, and from that State; but they will leave here and go to the mountains. And the next time the Saints remove, or are caused to remove, they will be turned out of the frying-pan, not into the fire, but into the middle of the floor.” If this is not the middle of the floor, I do not know where you will find it. When we left Missouri, we were turned out of the frying-pan into the fire; and the next time our enemies succeeded in their warring against us, they cast us into the middle of the floor. I think this is the middle of the floor. Can we look to the back side of it, or to the front side of it? I can look to the south and to the north, and it is a great way to the bed or to the table. I think we are in the middle of the floor. We are here, and not there. “Do you think there will be war, so that we cannot gather the Saints?” I do not know, nor do I care. They must come.

I want to say a few words to those of my brethren who are apt to prophesy evil. Some of the brethren are all the time foreseeing evil that the Saints are going to suffer, and saying that we are going to see harder times than ever before, and that the armies of the Un—hold on—the armies of the nations will yet gather against us. Let them gather: the Lord will perform his work. “But don’t you think we shall be afflicted again?” What if we are? I am not sorry that the army came here. “What are you sorry for?” I am sorry to see so many foolish persons in our midst. If I possessed the influence over this people that it is my right to possess in the midst of the Latter-day Saints, I would have made our enemies pay well for what they bought. But to see the sisters run with butter, eggs, and chickens, and the brethren with their flour and wheat, to their enemies who came here to cut their throats, or else make them renounce their religion, is what pains my heart. Our enemies are ruined, the gold is spent, and we are here where we can procure more. Who has made the money in what is called the “Utah War?” Mr. Floyd, Secretary of War, expected to make a large amount. When he started his crusade, I considered that he would make some five millions of dollars. He has probably done so, and he will lose the whole of it, and will become a stink and a by-word among his friends, and will rot; and very many of you will see it come to pass. This will also come to pass upon every one of those that came here to destroy “Mormonism,” as very many of you will see. The likeliest class that did come here were the gamblers, and they were most of them broke; and all who engaged in the crusade will be broken. When they undertook the job, they did not count the cost.

It is seldom I think of them; but when I get to talking about them, the times we have passed through come up, which were good times. I felt remarkably well through them all. “You, Brigham Young, are a Mormon; you believe in Joseph Smith, and you are not fit to live on the earth.” “You, John, Peter, and Paul, ought to be killed, because you believe in Jesus Christ.” How do you think I feel towards them? One of our sisters lay sick in bed in Far West; and when the mob came in there, one of them took a pitchfork and threatened to stab her with it. She said, “Stick it into me as quick as you please, for you will not do any great things in killing an old woman like me—one who is not able to get off from her bed.” When they hunted us into this desolate wilderness, if you will permit me to use a vulgar figure, I had to put on scores of old-fashioned Pennsylvania breechings; I had to keep putting on another, and another, to hold them within bounds. The Lord said, “Hold on.” He can fight our battles far better than we can. Anger towards them is a poor, miserable feeling; and I am trying to get rid of it. But to reflect on what they have done! Hundreds and hundreds of fathers, mothers, and children have been wasted by the wayside, through their hellish persecutions! I feel that I want to live until I see the earth emptied of such characters. Are all thus mean? No, only those that feel to persecute and destroy the kingdom of God from the earth.

I will tell you another prophecy of Joseph’s, of which both Jews and Gentiles are my witnesses. Joseph said that the bones of hundreds of the Missouri and Illinois mobocrats, who drove the Saints from those States, should bleach on the plains, and their flesh should be meat for wolves. Are you witnesses to that, in coming over the Plains? Yes, hundreds and hundreds of those characters that started to go to the gold mines, their flesh was meat for the wolves, and their bones are there bleaching to-day, so far as they have not been buried, or entirely rotted away. That is another prophecy of Joseph’s. I do not say that all who differ with us in matters of religion are mobocrats. No: there are as honest men in other churches as there are in ours.

Go into the world among the infidels and the Universalists: they are two good classes of men. Then visit the members of the Church of England, and the Roman Catholic Church, the Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Quakers, Shakers, &c.; and millions of them are as honest as we are. Shall I call them mobocrats? Who are the evildoers? Those who have had the light presented to them, and rejected it. I do not feel as I have represented towards all the children of men; only towards those who have hunted our lives from the beginning—who have hunted the life of every Saint from the beginning. But they have not the power, neither will they have it, to divide this kingdom. This Church will prosper and increase. You understand that, when I talk about those men, I talk about those who have been active, in what? In trying to bring destruction upon us. Have we injured them? No, we have not; at least, I have not, and I hope you have not. Have they any great reason for their usage to us? They have not. I will leave them in the hands of God; and when the time comes, as I have told you, for the present occupants and tenants to be disinherited, the writ of ejectment will be served, and they will be forthwith hoisted from their position, and Jesus will take possession. And, as has been observed this morning, though a terrific thought for all men to be under the control of one, that man will never live on the earth that will not control the inhabitants of the earth, until he can do it with justice and mercy. Do not be afraid: the enemies of God and his Christ will be divided and subdivided all the time, and Jesus will come to reign and rule. You say, “We all like the reign of Christ.” The wicked will not like the Saviour half so well as you like me. He would tell them to go to their own place. I honour no other being in heaven and earth more than him; and no man can rule triumphantly until he rules in righteousness. Wherefore have no fears in the least. I will leave this subject.

We want to build this Temple. Now, brethren, shall we do so? Yes; and we will do all that is necessary. The Bishops talked over the matter and thought sending teams from this city would prevent our putting forth our strength upon the walls of the Temple. But let me tell you that we can do far more on the Temple this year, if we touch it at all, than we could if we did not send our cattle and waggons East. Perhaps some of us cannot understand this, but I trust you will so live that you will see the time when you will understand that God rules in heaven, and does his pleasure upon the earth; and that the cattle upon a thousand hills are his; and that he will control all matters to your benefit, if we are co-workers with him, with a pure heart, and an eye single to the building up of his kingdom, and do what is wanted to be done; and that the more we do the more means we shall have. Let the wicked continue to fight and quarrel, and the Lord will open the path for us, and we can gather the poor Saints for a good while yet. No matter what is done among the States, the earth is the Lord’s, and He will dictate, govern, and control where he pleases; and by-and-by he will take possession of the whole farm—of the whole earth.

It is now time for us to wake up to business. We have had a pleasant winter, and have enjoyed ourselves in the dance, in concerts, and parties. I want to say to the Bishops, now wind up these amusements, and let us go to work. You have often been told that all the amusement Latter-day Saints enjoy, or will enjoy, we have to make. One of the most useful amusements we could have would be for the Seventies and High Priests to meet here, instead of in their small halls, and lecture. Which is the most delightful, to satisfy the wants of the natural body, or those of the intelligent part within us? Which is the most precious? Both.

Little boys play with their waggons, tops, marbles, &c.; little girls with their dolls, cradles, and skipping ropes. They are in the height of their enjoyment, while there sits the mother, whose mind comprehends all the children can enjoy, and then she can see enjoyment far beyond what they are then capable of enjoying. Perhaps her vision is open to see forward into the eternity before her, and that she will be able to preserve her identity in the future existence. Do you not see how easy it is for her to circumscribe all those little children can enjoy? Her feeling is, “I am delighted: it is a great satisfaction to see my children enjoy themselves.” But how would she like to engage in their plays? “It is my joy to see them enjoy themselves.” Do you like to get together in your parties? How are you looked upon by beings in the eternal worlds? Precisely as a mother looks upon her children when they are enjoying themselves and passing their time so kindly with each other. Says the mother, “I do delight in seeing my children enjoy themselves.” I also delight in enjoying myself with the brethren and sisters, and giving to my natural organization the food that the natural body requires. The body requires food, and the immortal spirit requires food; the whole organization requires something to feast upon, and we get up amusements to satisfy it. I say to the Bishops, Now wind up the dancing parties. What do you think, brother Woolley? What do you think, brother Hoagland? [“Yes.”] I presume all the rest feel the same.

I think we will stop dancing parties for a time. Now make your parties around your ploughs; see that your teams are where you can get them, and that your fences are in order, and have your teams and waggons ready to go East. And when you wish to enjoy yourselves with your brethren, you are welcome to this room, to lecture in and present any public business requisite to be done. We have much public work laid out to be done this season. We intend to make some improvements on this Tabernacle, and do something at the Temple, and build the Seventies’ Hall, besides lecture rooms, assembly rooms, &c., in this city; and if we are let alone, in thirty years we shall make quite a city of this place. We also expect to build a theatre this season, as a place of amusement for the brethren and sisters. I am not going to have the devils make fun for me: they have fun that will keep them pretty busily occupied. I will never go to hell for fun; and if I have any fun, I wish my brethren and sisters to make it. God bless you! Amen.

Celebration of the Fourth of July

George A. Smith

An address delivered by Hon. G. A. Smith, in Great Salt Lake City, July 4, 1861.

Fellow Citizens—the circumstances under which we are now assembled are those of no ordinary character. The display made on the present occasion and the vast assemblage on this ground indicate in a great degree, I might say perfectly, the result of liberty, of honest industry, and of adherence to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, of which we have been hearing, and the result of strict obedience to those declarations made by our fathers and transmitted down to their posterity.

Although we as a people are placed under circumstances entirely different from those of every other part of our common country, we were forced to come here unprepared, comparatively, for such an undertaking, and have had to contend with the sterile soil and inhospitable climate. We have had to encounter and overcome a great many difficulties arising from our isolated situation; but still we can here successfully pursue the arts of peace: we can enjoy the blessings of liberty.

While almost all the inhabitants of every portion of our common country from north to south, from the Rio Grande to the St. John’s, are engaged in fratricidal strife, and almost every city, town, village, and hamlet to-day echoes with the sound of fife and drum, calling men to war, we are all enjoying peace.

The procession to-day was a display of mechanical skill, of agricultural industry, a display of tools and ingenuity of almost every kind, and men at work with them. What little powder we burn is simply in honour of our country’s flag—not to destroy our fellow-countrymen.

We have heard something of the hostile preparations that are going on in the Eastern States. I know of no language adequate to describe the true character of the present civil war. It is the height of folly—the extreme of madness, without a parallel in history; and it does seem like illustrating the maxim of Grecian mythology—“Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad!”—North and South rushing to battle over an idea or whim, perfectly heedless as to the consequences.

It was the result of that spirit of oppression and violation of the principles of our national Constitution which drove us here; it is the natural result of the training, the education and the foolery with which priestcraft has blinded the people.

We are at the present time the only people in the United States that are willing to be governed by the Constitution, and to grant to all men the same liberties that we ourselves enjoy—the same privileges and protection which are in accordance with the guarantees in the Constitution and the laws of the United States made in accordance therewith. To be sure, there are a great many who pretend to honour the Constitution; but they are determined in the North and the South that they will fight each other, Constitution or no Constitution.

Now, if the Constitution of the United States was actually the supreme law of the land, we could go back to our possessions in Missouri and Illinois, and enjoy our religion, our property, and the blessings of peace and liberty, and our wives and children, in Jackson county, Missouri, and in Hancock county, Illinois, just as well as we can here, and none would dare to molest us. And until the Constitution becomes the supreme law of the land, no man or people having the misfortune to be unpopular can enjoy liberty, or even be protected outside of these mountains.

Now, brethren, are we not thankful that, at least, we can see the providence of the Almighty in suffering us to be driven into these valleys, where we can enjoy the sweets of true liberty—where none dare molest or make afraid? These are abundant reasons for us to be thankful.

I am aware that many of the school children in this vast assemblage have been detained long enough. I have been pleased with what I have seen and heard. I simply say a few words because my name was on the programme for an address.

May the blessings of Israel’s God rest upon you all! Amen.

Confession of Faults, &c.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, March 10, 1860.

I wish to bring before your minds what brother Hyde began to state in a portion of his remarks, that he was sorry to see certain conduct, and yet he does see it; that if a person is overtaken in a fault, he is very much inclined to hide it, if he can. I think this trait to be very natural. Brother Hyde is sorry for the same things that I am. If I have injured any person, I ought to confess to that person and make right what I did wrong. But suppose that I have sinned against God, and no being on earth but myself knows anything about it, should I conceal that sin, or reveal it to the public?

It is just as natural for us to dissemble as it is for us to breathe. This is what brother Hyde had on his mind. Where brethren, though they be in high standing or low, are in fault and have injured their brethren, they should make full restitution. There are a few who will frankly acknowledge their faults, though only a few will do so. Is not this our experience? It is mine. If I am faulty towards my God, I will keep my faults from the people as long as I can. Is there any good reason for this? There is. Were I to relate here to you my private faults from day to day, it would not only do you no good, but it would injure you. If you were to relate your private faults to one another, it would tend to injure you; it would weaken and not strengthen either the speaker or the hearer, and would give the enemy more power. Thus far, I would say, we are justified in what some call dissembling. I will also say, so far as I am concerned, that I pray the Lord Almighty to so preserve me that you cannot find fault with me righteously. Do you not desire the same?

I have my weakness, and you have yours; but if I am inclined to do that which is wrong, I will not make my wrong a means of leading others astray. Many of the brethren chew tobacco, and I have advised them to be modest about it. Do not take out a whole plug of tobacco in meeting before the eyes of the congregation, and cut off a long slice and put it in your mouth, to the annoyance of everybody around. Do not glory in this disgraceful practice. If you must use tobacco, put a small portion in your mouth when no person sees you, and be careful that no one sees you chew it. I do not charge you with sin. You have the “Word of Wisdom.” Read it. Some say, “Oh, as I do in private, so I do in public, and I am not ashamed of it.” It is, at least, disgraceful to you to expose your absurdities. Some men will go into a clean and beautifully-furnished parlour with tobacco in their mouths, and feel, “I ask no odds.” I would advise such men to be more modest, and not spit upon the carpets and furniture, but step to the door, and be careful not to let any person see you spit; or, what is better, omit chewing until you have an opportunity to do so without offending.

But if you have stolen your neighbour’s cattle, own it, and restore the property, with fourfold if it is requested. If you have taken your neighbour’s spade, own it, and return it, with fourfold if he requires it. I believe in coming out and being plain and honest with that which should be made public, and in keeping to yourselves that which should be kept. If you have your weaknesses, keep them hid from your brethren as much as you can. You never hear me ask the people to tell their follies. But when we ask the brethren, as we frequently do, to speak in sacrament meetings, we wish them, if they have injured their neighbours, to confess their wrongs; but do not tell about your nonsensical conduct that nobody knows of but yourselves. Tell to the public that which belongs to the public. If you have sinned against the people, confess to them. If you have sinned against a family or a neighbourhood, go to them and confess. If you have sinned against your Ward, confess to your Ward. If you have sinned against one individual, take that person by yourselves and make your confession to him. And if you have sinned against your God, or against yourselves, confess to God, and keep the matter to yourselves, for I do not want to know anything about it.

It has been the doctrine of some Elders in this Church (whence they got it I do not know, without they got it from the Devil,) that all the sin you can hide from your brethren and sisters, no matter what its nature and magnitude, will not be brought against you in the day of judgment. Such persons are greatly mistaken. For the sins you commit against yourselves and your God, unless repented of and forgiven, the Lord will hold his private council and judge you according to the degree of guilt that is upon you; and if you sin against others, he will make that public, and you will have to hear it. You need not think that you can hide your sins. Confess your secret sins to your God, and forsake them, and he will forgive them; confess to your brethren your sins against them, and make all right, and they will forgive, and all will be right. The doctrine of hiding sin is a false doctrine. If such doctrine be true, how will any be brought into judgment? and how is it that their secret words and thoughts and idle words will be brought into judgment? The Scripture saith—“But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Be careful not to have evil words and evil thoughts, “For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Keep your follies that do not concern others to yourselves, and keep your private wickedness as still as possible; hide it from the eyes of the public gaze as far as you can, and make the people believe that you are filled with the wisdom of God. I wish to say this upon this particular point in regard to people’s confessing. We wish to see people honestly confess as they should and what they should.

I can say, as far as my knowledge extends, that there is a decided improvement among this people. When the Elders go forth and preach to the world, they see the weaknesses of the people and the improvement that is required at their hands. Though we see many weaknesses in this people, yet we can see that the kingdom of God is rolling and increasing; and it is no matter what becomes of the world, if they will not repent of their wickedness.

Brother Hyde has remarked that State after State is leaving the Union, but there is no Union to leave; it is all disunion. Our Government is shivered to pieces—it is in fragments, as will still more be made manifest. But the kingdom of God will increase. Then let every person that desires truth and righteousness increase in all the wisdom and knowledge they can gather from every source in the heavens and on the earth, from one another, from the angels, and also from the wicked. Gather the wisdom they have, and treasure it up in good and honest hearts, and increase continually. And let us righteously guide our own minds and feelings, and guide the people in the ways of all righteousness. Take people in every capacity of life, and their wills are first and foremost. You can gain and lead the affections of the people, but you cannot scare them, nor whip them, nor burn them to do right against their wills. The human family will die to gratify their wills. Then learn to rightly direct those wills, and you can direct the influence and power of the people.

I have frequently thought, looking at the inhabitants of the earth, matters would be different, were it not fashionable to be sinful—were it, as it was in the beginning, a disgrace for a man to be sinful, and a credit to do good. I expect to see the time when the inhabitants of the earth will pride themselves in doing good. But now goodness, truth, and virtue are publicly frowned upon. The time will come when we shall be proud to have it said of us that we are good persons. Even now the wicked world, in their sober reflective moments, honour a just, righteous, and truthful person a great deal more than they do a person who falsifies his word; but they generally keep that secret. The time will come when the people will be proud to be Saints; it will be an honour to them. Will that be their feeling in regard to this Church? Yes. But the Lord will suffer this people to be afflicted until they are made pure and holy, so that when people feel a pride in being virtuous, truthful, and Godlike, it will be a holy pride, an angelic pride, a delightful, heavenly pride, to exalt and praise the name of our God and acknowledge him wherever they are.

Suppose the eyes of the inhabitants of the earth were opened to see the heavenly things and the earthly—to understand the evil that is attached to the earth and to the children of men—which do you think they would choose? Do you not think the whole world would choose the good? Yes, as readily as a hungry person would choose to go into a dining-room and eat a good dinner. Would he not rather do this than go naked on the ice in the dark and wander hungry all night? Every person would delight in doing good, if his eyes were opened to see. This people are increasing in knowledge and heavenly wisdom; they are willing to do whatever we require of them. Only let them know what is required of them, and they will perform it with alacrity.

May the Lord bless you! Amen.

Rebuking Evil, &c.

Brigham Young

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, March 17, 1861. Reported by G. D. Watt.

I wish to present to the people a saying of Solomon’s—“Open rebuke is better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” I want to say a few words upon the principle contained in this scripture. It is a matter that concerns all people, and is one of the most delicate points in the dispositions of the human family. The inhabitants of the earth are sensitive—their feelings are acute. Infringe upon their judgment, interrupt their tastes, and you disturb the equilibrium of the whole system. To receive a rebuke, to be chastised, to be interrupted in our course, is not pleasant to our feelings. Though we may have ten thousand wrongs that we understand, you know perfectly well that we do not like to have any one tell us of them. It is one of the worst whirlpools, I may say, for the inhabitants of the earth to get into, and leads directly to destruction—casting down thrones and kingdoms—the very abhorrence we have to be rebuked. No matter what the king does, we as his subjects must say that the king does right and cannot do wrong. That you know very well to be the feelings and teachings of the nations of the earth. The king cannot do wrong, and of course he is not to be rebuked. And when he sends his princes, his ministers, his messengers, to perform duties for him, they say to the people to whom they go—“The king can do no wrong; his agents can do no wrong.” Observe, and you will now see this trait among the nations of the earth.

Who are willing to acknowledge that they are wrong? The feeling of the inhabitants of the earth has been and is—“I will receive no rebuke from you: my judgment, my will, my discretion, my wishes, my passions must reign supreme.” I do not much care what Solomon did in his day—how many individuals he rebuked; but I wish the inhabitants of the kingdom of God to learn, when they are rebuked by a friend, to receive that rebuke kindly, and kiss the rod; and reverence the hand that administers it—to learn that the rebuke of a friend is for our good. This principle is not practised in other parts of the earth, though I will confine this remark to the civilized nations, more than to the barbarous. In the world the principle of rebuking is walked under foot. No matter what the character of a king is—no matter what the character of a President is—no matter what are the characters of rulers, governors, and other officers—“They can do no wrong,” and they wish to have it so understood. These are the feelings and these the teachings and belief, and not only the belief, but the practice. It is not so in this kingdom; it must not be so; it cannot be so; it has not been so; and I presume many a man has gone out of this Church, because he has been rebuked in his evil course. All such will have the supreme satisfaction, as brother George A. Smith remarked, last Sabbath, when they lift up their eyes in hell, of reflecting upon their former connection with this people, and saying, “We are abused.” What a comfort! What a satisfaction!

We wish the Elders of Israel to understand that when evil is presented, that evil must be rebuked. Could we attribute all the mistakes or evils that we see in men to total depravity, and conclude that there is nothing good within them? Not by any means. If we see one of our brethren out of the way in word or in deed, learn, in the first place, whether that person designs a wrong, or whether he has a desire to do good. Learn whether the spark of the Spirit of God is left within him; and when there is one particle of the light of God within him, and he wishes to do right, do not attribute that wrong word or deed to total depravity. It is a weakness—it is a fault—it is a want of better judgment—it is the want of revelation—it is the want of a correct understanding of things. Attribute it to his weakness; tell him of it kindly, fatherly, brotherly; take him by the hand and tell him the evil he must leave.

How many I have seen, when you tell them of a few of their faults, and say, Why, brother, you are so and so: do you see how you have missed it here and there? Can you perceive that you have wanted better judgment? What a wrong you have committed in this or that!” who will be at once cast down in their feelings, and will say, “I believe I am good for nothing; I really think I am not worthy of a name in the kingdom of God.” You will hear wise men make this expression. Tell them that they have reported that which is false, not designedly; tell them that they have said thus and so to their friends, or that they have committed this or that act that is unwise, foolish, sinful in its nature; and you will see a wise man, perhaps, rise up and say, “If I am guilty of this, I am not worthy of a name in the kingdom of God.” That is a most unwise expression. Do you expect you are perfect? No. Do you expect to see people that are perfect? No, not for a great while. Do you expect that every trait of your character is perfect? I do not. You may expect this, that if I see a wrong in you, I shall tell you of it. I shall rebuke that wrong, and do it with all kind feelings. What do you say, High Counsellors, Bishops, High Priests, and all the officers of the kingdom of God on the earth—will you rebuke a wrong? Yes, most of the Elders of Israel will, and too many will do so in the spirit of malice and personal enmity. When this Elder, and that Elder, and another Elder sees a man do wrong, but his wrong is with his neighbours, a little outside the Elder’s immediate path, (the Elder says, “It does not directly infringe upon me, though he is doing wrong with his neighbours,”) will he rebuke him? No; he waits until he infringes upon him, and then the Elder rises up in the malice of his heart, and rebukes him in the spirit of anger. That will do hurt: it is not the rebuke of a friend; it is the rebuke of one that has become an enemy.

When you see a person out of the way, no matter whom the injury is inflicted upon, rebuke the individual who commits the evil. Will this do good? Yes, if you rebuke in the spirit of the Gospel—in the spirit of meekness. Rebuke as a father should reprove his children, not as a tyrant rules his servants or slaves. Take this course with your brethren, and you will learn that “Open rebuke is better than secret love,” and that the wounds you make are better than the deceitful kisses of an enemy. This is a principle I have thought much upon. I have talked some about it, and have tried to comprehend the principle, and I have sought to have the people comprehend it. If your neighbour commits an evil upon another of your neighbours, you are under obligations to see that the person who has committed the evil be suitably chastised, as much so as though the wrong had been committed upon you. Now this is hard to believe; but if you wish to correct people, and lead them to life and salvation, what difference is it where the evil is committed, or upon whom? Is it not the duty of a minister of God to correct evil and take it from an individual or from the people, and place them upon saving ground, whenever an opportunity presents itself? It is the duty of every individual.

You need not wait until somebody infringes upon you—until he comes and intrudes upon your premises. If you see your neighbour John turn his horse into the wheat-field of your neighbour William, you pass along. That, I may say, is the road that too many of the Elders of Israel travel in, as well as the great majority of the world. “Oh, it is not my wheat; it is William’s: it is no matter of mine.” When you know that John has turned his horse into William’s wheat, or in any way disturbed his property, or berated his character, or done him an evil, will you wait until he commits an evil upon you? If you do, you are as sure to meet evil with evil as you are to breathe; you will meet wrong in a wrong spirit. But if you will meet evil when it does not personally concern you as an individual, but only as a member of community, you will feel all that fatherly kindness to John that an earthly parent does for his son, and will go to him and point out the wrong, and show him the correct path to walk in, and give him a suitable chastisement. But if you wait until he takes one of your poles from your fence—till he turns a horse or an ox into your wheat—until he picks up a stick of wood from your wood-pile, and burns it, and you then meet him, you meet him in a spirit of wrath. You are indignant at such conduct, and you say that you will not put up with it. Is this true? I do not wish to say much about the matter, but I wish to have you understand that the principle of correcting the people—taking their wrongs from them, giving them true principles, instead of their imbibing wrong principles—errors, and practising them in their lives, is the way for us to be purified and set right.

I have seen Elders covenant to sustain each other at all hazards, under all circumstances, and in all places. Now, what will this amount to? You make the covenant to sustain each other without any reservation whatever, and the first you know, one of the number has done wrong. You meet him, and he says, “You covenanted to sustain me, and that too with an uplifted hand; you promised, in the name of Israel’s God, to sustain me; and now do it. I will hold you to your covenant.” Another does wrong, and you wish to have him rebuked before your Quorum. Says he, “No; you have made a solemn vow that you will sustain me: now do it, or break your covenant.” It amounts to just this, and will lead from step to step in evil.

I have observed, many and many a time, a feeling among the people that “I will not receive this rebuke from you.” I have had quite a number of the brethren tell me—“Brother Brigham, I will not bear this rebuke from you.” My reply is, What are you going to do about it? I will chasten you until I am satisfied. I believe that I have proved to every person that my chastisements have not been in anger, malice, or wrath, but in the spirit of a father; and I believe that all good men I have chastened are satisfied of this fact. I do not know but that some have apostatized whom I have chastened, but they are very few. Once in a while you will find a person, that must have a severe chastisement, leave the kingdom of God; but this is very seldom.

True, there are degrees of feeling and degrees of chastisement, and you are led to chastise one man differently to what you do another. You may, figuratively speaking, pound one Elder over the head with a club, and he does not know but what you have handed him a straw dipped in molasses to suck. There are others, if you speak a word to them, or take up a straw and chasten them, whose hearts are broken; they are as tender in their feelings as an infant, and will melt like wax before the flame. You must not chasten them severely; you must chasten according to the spirit that is in the person. Some you may talk to all day long, and they do not know what you are talking about. There is a great variety. Treat people as they are.

When you consider that you are not worthy to belong to the kingdom of God, wait a moment. Would you like to be a Saint? “Yes; I would give anything in the world—yea, my life, to be a true Latter-day Saint.” What, and then say you are not worthy to have a name in the kingdom of God? That is the most unwise expression you have uttered. We are making Saints of just such characters. I expect to be made a Saint myself, though I have many weaknesses about me. I am going to get rid of them as fast as I can. Have I not a desire to do right? Yes; and the Gospel is designed to make us better and bring us to understanding. When you are rebuked by each other—when brethren meet you and say, “This is wrong in you,” you should receive it kindly, and express your thanks for the reproof, and acknowledge the wrong frankly, and admit that you may frequently do wrong when you do not know it, and say, “I wish you to enlighten my mind, to take me by the hand, and let me go along hand-in-hand, and strengthen and sustain each other.” What, in your weaknesses? Yes. Do you expect to see a perfect man? Not while you stay here.

To the capacity you are now in, as mortal beings, a certain degree of perfection belongs. Many attain to this, and they have as good desires to be Saints as ever the angel Gabriel had. Then, will you cast a person off for his weaknesses? No. Rebuke him for his weaknesses, and convince him of them, and point out the right path, and see whether he will not walk in it. This is the way I wish the Elders to treat each other. Do not be afraid, nor hesitate, if you can possess the Spirit of Christ, to meet your brother, or your wife, or child, and reprove a wrong in the spirit of meekness. Never be afraid to testify against evil, and you will remove the wrong and do good. But when you have the spirit of envy, and feel, “Such an individual has trampled upon my toes—he has sought to injure my character by speaking evil of me,” you are more or less out of the way. I wish all the Elders thought as I do about character; then they would never trouble themselves about what others said of it. But if you rightly gain influence, preserve that. And if you have been wrong, and that wrong is taken from you, it will create influence for you, and give you favour before God and with the Saints; but if you cling to the evil, it will deprive you of gaining that influence you desire.

I do not know but that kings of the earth would give half their kingdoms, if they could have the affections of their subjects: they know they have them not. No President of the late United States ever had the affections and sympathies of half his constituents. Rulers in the nations would give worlds, if they could have the influence of the people they preside over that I have in the midst of this people. They have not got it. And the man that is now inaugurated President of a part of the States of America would give half of his power, if he could have the influence among his constituents that I have in the midst of the kingdom of God. He cannot get it. Rebuke him, and he will resent it in a moment. Let one of his cabinet—I would not care if it was William H. Seward—go to the President and tell him that he is wrong, and he will at once resent it. He would say, “I think I know as well as you.” And perhaps he does know more than Mr. Seward, upon all points of sound intelligence. James Buchanan would resent it; and even as good a man as Washington was would resent it. He would believe that his dignity was infringed upon, if he had been told that he was in fault.

If you gain a righteous influence, preserve that as you would the apple of your eye. As for your good name before the people, if your brother tells you of your wrongs and shows your your faults, what are you going to do about it? Your best plan will be, if you have done wrong, to repent and refrain from that wrong, and ask forgiveness of your brethren and of God, and do wrong no more, and you will regain your influence. If you have done wrong, though all creation says you have not, what does that amount to? Nothing; for they would all be wrong on that point.

Do not throw away a man or a woman, old or young. If they commit an evil to-day, and another to-morrow, but wish to be Saints and to be forgiven, do you forgive them, not only seven times, but seventy times seven in a day, if their hearts are fully set to do right. Let us make it a point to pass over their weaknesses and say, “God bless you in trying to be better in time to come,” and act as wise stewards in the kingdom of God.

I have spoken longer than I expected to, and wish brother Kimball to address you.

God bless you! Amen.

Testimony and Religion of the Saints

Ezra T. Benson

Remarks made by Ezra T. Benson, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 6, 1861. Reported by J. V. Long.

I feel truly thankful, brethren and sisters, for the opportunity I enjoy this morning. I trust that we have come together with prayerful hearts before the Lord our God, that his Spirit may be upon us, and that our prayers and all our devotions during this Conference may be acceptable in his sight. If I understand my duty as an Elder in Israel, this should be my object and my desire, not only in coming to Conference meetings, but also in all my associations with the people of God. I feel well in beholding your faces and in having the privilege which I now enjoy of standing before you. I feel that it is a blessed opportunity, and one that should be appreciated by us all. We have the privilege twice in each year of coming up to headquarters to visit the First Presidency and leading authorities of the Church in G. S. L. City; and inasmuch as we have come with pure hearts and clean hands, we shall all have confidence before God and his people who reside here. Our anticipations will be realized. We shall receive such instructions and counsels from our brethren who are called to preside over us as will be for our best good.

I do not feel competent to teach this people; hence I merely rise to bear my testimony to the truth of the Gospel of the Son of God. I testify that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of the Most High, that he was a minister of life to the nations, that he revealed the will of the Father concerning his sons and daughters, that many of the revelations which he gave concerning this nation have already been fulfilled, and that others are being fulfilled before our eyes: I know that he revealed the future destinies of the nations of the earth, and his predictions are being fulfilled to the joy and satisfaction of every Latter-day Saint, and there is no doubt upon our minds in regard to those that are still unfulfilled. Then what shall I do? Shall I cease to bear any further testimony? or shall I continue to aver the truth of the Gospel we have espoused, and the teachings we have received from Presidents Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Daniel H. Wells? Yes; these counsels and teachings have been just as good, just as true as the as the counsels given by the Prophet Joseph Smith.

I now want to ask you a question. What more do you want? What greater things can you ask for than those gifts and endowments which you have received? If we have rejected, or treated coolly and walked underfoot the blessings of the Almighty, remember that we are on the Devil’s ground.

While some are grovelling in the dark, drying up in the things of God, and striving to lead into other channels, and doing that which will gratify their own corrupt dispositions, we should be endeavouring to increase in the light and knowledge of the truth, and to set an example that is worthy of all imitation.

Seeing that I have been called upon to make a few remarks, I feel disposed to take for my text, “Latter-day Saint.” If you take up the character of an Elder in Israel—one who has received the Gospel in humility, been ordained to the Holy Priesthood because of his faithfulness, who has preached to the nations of the earth, borne a faithful testimony to the truth of our holy religion, what more do you want? and what more can you ask in proof of that man’s integrity? Do you want to search in the kingdoms of this world for any other testimony than that which we have received? No. Neither do we want to inquire, except in the household of faith, respecting the character of our brethren. The very moment that a man lets go his testimony and the spirit of his religion, where is his faith? and where is his power? They pass into the shade: the testimony first given is laid by; it is put aside—his faith, his wisdom, the power—to receive something else; and the vacuum is filled up with darkness. Is not a man in that situation a suitable subject for the Devil to work upon? Yes, he is. Having set aside the Gospel, closed up the channel of light and the medium through which he received intelligence, he cannot comprehend the things of eternity. He has turned his attention to something else, gone after other gods, become subject to other spirits, from which he receives dreams and visions that lead him on to destruction.

If we who profess to be Saints expect to keep the light of heaven within us, and the candle of the Almighty shining round about us, we must hold fast the beginning of our confidence and strive to increase in the principles of life and salvation.

If I were to go and pray to another God, I should expect that he would give me revelations to suit his own purpose, and that he would lead me out of the path in which I am now striving to walk. He would lead me away from the true and living God, and he would lead me into doubt and darkness.

If we are led by the Spirit of the true and living God, we are always led aright, we are always happy—always cheerful, we rejoice evermore, and pray without ceasing. We need not fear in regard to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is as true to-day as it was when we first heard it. We have more light, more faith, more knowledge, and consequently more power than we ever had before; and God has just as much right, and he is just as willing to reveal his will unto us as he was twenty years ago.

Let us be prayerful, let us cleanse our hearts from every impurity, and sanctify ourselves before our Heavenly Father, and we shall surely win the prize; but we cannot upon any other condition. This is the promise made to us by the Elders who brought the Gospel to our doors. We were told to cultivate brotherly kindness, virtue, and charity. We were told to nourish and cherish the spirit of wisdom, and to be constantly striving to add to our faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge temperance, to temperance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity; and we were told that, if these things were in us, we should neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

May God bless us all, and enable us to do these things, is my earnest prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Kingdom of God and the Governments of Men

Daniel H. Wells

Remarks made by President Daniel H. Wells, in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 6, 1861. Reported by J. V. Long.

The text taken by brother Benson, I think, is a very good one; and he has portrayed before us what is necessary to enable us to be one in following out those virtues and principles which are Godlike, and which are calculated to make us one, that we also may become like God. This is our duty and our privilege—to be Godlike, in our ways, to imitate the virtuous, the true, and the good, and, inasmuch as it is possible, to become ultimately as pure and holy as our Father and God. This is the privilege of the human race in our day and generation. We have the light of revelation to guide the souls of men aright—to make ourselves like our Father in heaven.

We have not known these things until within the last few years, since the revelation of the fulness of the Gospel. It is one of the greatest privileges and blessings ever made known to man, clothed with the light of truth and knowledge from the heavens, having a channel of communication opened up, through which we get intelligence from the Father of light, with whom there is no variableness nor the least shadow of turning. This light and knowledge has been imparted to the children of men, and by obedience to its directions they can make themselves like Gods in the eternal worlds. What beauty, what love, what greatness and power, and what exceeding great glory lie before the true-hearted Saint! Let your minds open up to behold in vision the greatness thereof for the moment that you can see what light, greatness, and glory are strewn in, and now illuminate your pathway to cheer you onward through the shifting and varied scenes of life, to the haven of bliss and glory hereafter, continually enlightening your minds, solacing you through life, and enabling you to overcome every difficulty which you may have to encounter in life’s journey.

As sorrow and distress are in the world, we expect that every one will, more or less, have to drink of the bitter cup. This light, these great gifts, this promise of reward, of happiness, and exaltation, the lovely principles that are unfolded to our view are enough to inspire in the human heart, every day, joy that could not be conceived of by the natural man.

As was asked by brother Benson, what more could we ask to prove to ourselves that this is the work of the Almighty? What more could we have to induce us to pursue the right way? Still, how little are these blessings appreciated by the world at large—yes, and by the Saints of the Most High, in comparison with what they should be. It seems as though we often forget what our real blessings are, and thereby let darkness creep into our minds and cover up the little light that is in us. We should remember that our religion is designed to redeem a lost world from sin, from the bondage of iniquity, and also from the rule and thral[l]dom of Satan, which have enveloped it for generations, and covered it, as it were, with a thick pall, and well nigh desolated the earth. It is designed now to restore it to and place it in the light, to fill it with intelligence and sanctify it through the truth. Our religion teaches us to draw wisdom from the fountain of wisdom, and to extend it to the minds of others; it opens up to its adherents every privilege which the heart of a righteous man can desire, and it leads on the faithful to glory and honour in worlds of light.

But what is the reverse? What is the other side of the picture? It is confusion, distress of communities, division in families, distress of nations, a fearful looking forward into the future because of the judgments of the Almighty, which they apprehend are near at their doors. Have they any desire to do any better? No. But the wicked are striving to see how they can get more advantages over their neighbour, and thus do worse and serve the Devil better, and almost with railroad speed, that they may see wickedness predominate throughout the length and breadth of the land. The conduct of the wicked leads to darkness and misery in the present as well as in the future.

How thankful, then, we should be that this Gospel and the light of revelation have reached our minds, and caused our bosoms to vibrate with the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. The welcome sound and accompanying power have plucked us as brands from the burning, Then do you not feel thankful that we have this blessed privilege, and that we had understanding enough left with us when this Gospel reached our ears to embrace it? It has been the privilege of the world to do the same; our contemporaries in all nations have the opportunity of becoming acquainted with its blessings. The light of this Gospel has been shed forth, more or less, among all nations of the globe; thousands and millions have heard it, but many only to reject it, because of the pride of life and the lust of the world. Friends and relatives who have dared to differ in opinion with their connections, and to join themselves to an unpopular people, have found that it has cost them their name in society, their character among their fellows, their fortune, and all they possessed. This view having been taken of it by many who have examined its principles, has caused them to reject it.

It is the privilege of the people of this nation, as much so as it has been ours, to receive the benefits of this Gospel: it is also the privilege of our Government to do good to this people; but it is left with them to act according to the dictates of their own consciences. It is not only their privilege, but it is their duty to foster this kingdom; and it was one of the main objects of the Government in laying the whole structure thereof, that it should afford succour and support to the kingdom of God. It was the wish of the Almighty that the principles of liberty and of righteousness should underlie the flag of the Union and the institutions that flow from that Government. “Who could dare to question the rights of conscience?” was a question often asked in revolutionary times. How has the Government of our country performed that important duty towards this people? We only need refer to our past history to answer this question. It ignored the privilege that we claimed, and refused to do its duty. That neglect on the part of our Government caused thousands to be ruined—to be driven forth into the trackless wilds, and for want of ordinary subsistence many weakened and died. The wilful neglect of our Government caused the best blood of this generation to be shed; it caused hundreds to die through exposure, and in every respect it has failed to come out and maintain the rights of conscience towards the Saints of the Most High. It would have been far better for us if we had had no pretensions to government at all, than for it thus to have encouraged the hand of the plunderer and of the murderer. We should have fared much better than we did, to say nothing of their finally concentrating their power and their influence to wipe us out of existence, after we had gained a foothold in these dreary deserts.

Then, so far as we are concerned we should have been better without a government than with such an one. It is a principle in political economy that no government shall be bound together any longer than it is good for its subjects. Whenever any government fails to protect and preserve the rights and interests of its people, they can no longer be expected to render unto it their allegiance and support; hence we see the people occasionally shaking off the chains of tyranny that bind them. Through all this abuse and neglect on the part of the present Government, this people has shown the most devoted loyalty, and they never have breathed a word or exhibited a desire to throw it off. When administered in its legitimate channel, it is one of the best governments upon the face of the whole earth; and if it had been used for the purposes for which it was originally designed, it would have been both stronger and better.

We find no fault with its institutions, neither do we particularly object to its form of government; but it is its administration, and the way its institutions and laws have been abused. The way it is now and has for years past been administered has founded the cause of complaint. It recognises the principle of self-government, that the people have the right to control. Of that principle we have long been apprised, but it has never been extended to us as a people. Through the arts and plans of politicians, they have managed to deprive Territories of that which is given to the States. This is contrary to the genius of the Constitution which gives the people the right to choose their own rulers: taxation should only be exacted where representation is allowed. These privileges have been withheld from this, as well as from other Territories; and the pattern given for this Territory in the organic act is not materially different from any other. Our offence has been that we have asked for those of our own choosing to rule us. It has been the case, it is true, that they have chosen persons from the States to hold offices in all the Territories, and ostensibly they have made no difference; but this should be considered, that the appointing power has given others the opportunity of making known their preference, and such wishes have generally been considered, with the exception of the people of this Territory.

I am now speaking of the past. Hitherto it has been as I have now mentioned. This Government has been partial in this and in many other respects, and has no real claim upon our affections; but still we seek to preserve those institutions and to keep sacred those wise provisions which are embodied in the Constitution as it was formed by our fathers; and perhaps we are the only people that do seek the salvation of our country at the present time; and it will finally be shown that we are the only people that will stand by its principles, and make it what it was intended to be—an asylum for the oppressed of all nations.

It is truly a strange crisis to which the country has now arrived. It is something like a statement I saw the other day, very truly depicted, though very humiliating to receive, to be compared with an old rotten government like that of Austria—a government naturally crumbling to pieces—a government notorious for its oppression of its subjects for many generations. Another and a new one that has not yet attained its full size presents the same picture to the enlightened world; it also is crumbling to pieces from the same cause—corruption from the centre to the circumference. I do not think there is a more corrupt government upon the face of the earth. It seems that when they commenced their war upon us, they commenced to glide the downward road to destruction.

It is patent everywhere that the Government does not look for anything from their public servants but corruption and robbery. They settle all their accounts with this understanding of the subject, and the whole machinery has become corrupt in the sight of Heaven and all good men.

In departing from the principles of truth, of life and mercy, in rejecting the message of salvation that has been sent to them, through the instrumentality of Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Most High God, who was chosen to open up the work of this last dispensation, they paved the way for their own destruction. They have rolled up against this people in their wrath and in their hatred, and have striven to destroy the Priesthood from the earth. We now begin to see the results. In the days of our tribulations they said to the mobs, “Go on.” Yes, they encouraged our enemies in the perpetration of all their abominable acts. The Prophet of the Lord spoke and told them they should have mobs to their heart’s satisfaction, but it should be among themselves, one State against another, until the whole land should be deluged with the blood of its inhabitants.

When our people applied to the Government to compel the State of Missouri to restore us to our lands, they pretended they could not interfere with a sovereign State; and, as a reward for their conduct, they have now got State’s sovereignty to their heart’s content; and this will continue to be poured back upon them: they will have to walk in the road which they laid out for us, and that which they would have put upon us is now fast coming upon their own heads. What more striking illustration could be brought to bear upon the minds of this people? What course could the Lord pursue that would seem to satisfy mankind more that these are his people, and that this is his work, than that which is being daily acted before all the world? It is as was said of old—this work is as a light set upon a hill. This cause and kingdom are a living, perpetual, and final testimony to the nations that God is with us, though we are despised by the world.

The wicked reject this Gospel and this message from the Almighty, which is given in much mercy for their salvation. The fault must rest upon their own heads; they have certainly been warned time and again. They live in the time of final warning, and they begin to feel the reaction which is coming upon them. They have sent forth their thunderbolts against the Lord’s anointed ones, and the rebound is beginning to take effect upon their own heads. It does seem to me that, if they were honest, they would acknowledge this. But we do not expect them to do it at at the present time: they are too far steeped in the follies and wickedness of the world to confess that God has thwarted their designs. Many, perhaps, do see it; but the pride of life and their own wicked desires may prevent them from acknowledging the hand of God in the midst of this people.

We have been sent forth into the world to preach the Gospel, and the Almighty has been with us to take care of us. We need not fear when nations are crumbling to pieces; we need only press on in the way of our duty, and there will always be sufficient light given in this kingdom to lead every Saint of God in the path of duty and of right. It is, then, for every soul to cleave to God, walk in the way of righteousness, to be united in doing good, to be one in heart and in mind—one in purpose and in faith, to live our holy religion, and let outside things take their course; and let us be true to the cause we have espoused, and be ready at a moment’s notice to do anything that may be required of us. Let our hearts and minds swell with thanksgiving to God, strive to obtain his Spirit, and we shall see the propriety of his working among the children of men.

Did any of you ever do anything contrary to your own feelings because you were set to do it? I have one request to make, which is, that when he whom we have all known to be the chosen of God to lead this people requires anything at our hands, let us not only do it, but strive to see a propriety and a consistency in all his plans, that we may thereby increase in our faith to work with his for the redemption of Israel; and we shall soon see the benefit and beauty of doing things with our whole heart. It is very easy to find fault with an enterprise—much more so than to introduce one that would be better. It is much easier to object than to originate. There is evil growing out of this: it breeds division, encourages contention; and hence the necessity of striving to get a right conception of all things.

Let us seek for light from on high, that our actions may be more productive of union. Do you not know that when the earth is redeemed from sin and iniquity, and from the degradation that desolates the whole face thereof, that this people have the promise of inheriting it forever, and that they have now the privilege of establishing the principles of truth upon a firm foundation, never again to be thrown down? Do you not know that it is the privilege of the Saints to take the kingdom and possess it as an everlasting inheritance? And how is this to be done? Is it to be by going forth in martial array, and taking it by force of arms? No, not so fast: wait a little. It is to be done by snatching from the Devil every inch of ground that we can, and then keeping it. It is to be brought about by observing the principles of salvation which have been revealed from the heavens for the exaltation of the people; it is to be by uniting together that we may become a mighty phalanx against which the surges of iniquity may strike in vain.

I always feel happy by going into a settlement and seeing a few faithful Saints. They are more precious to me than would be the crowns of nations. All this fearful and dark influence that is being gathered together among the wicked, for the purpose of destroying God’s kingdom, is going to be rolled back upon the wicked nations that dwell upon the earth’s surface; and they will be swept off, and the light of truth and the knowledge of God will increase among the faithful inhabitants that remain, until the whole earth will be illuminated by the righteousness of the Saints, and the elect of God will enjoy all the benefits of redemption, unmolested for a thousand years. This, then, is a great and a glorious work—one that will cheer the heart of man; and there is nothing that a man can be engaged in that will at all compare with it.

Let us be faithful before the Lord our God; let us live our holy religion, and be cheered with these heavenly ideas, and with this influence that emanates from our Father and God. Let us go on our way rejoicing; let us be faithful and true, virtuous and holy; and let us, above all things that we do upon the earth, strive with all our power and might to advance the interests of the kingdom of our God. That this may be our purpose, and that in the end of our probation we may be found worthy of the society of the sanctified and redeemed of all ages and nations, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.